All posts by csb10.top

Let me begin by saying that, sadly, crowd invasions seems tobe an integral part of this West Indies tour of India. Inthe second one-dayer, which West Indies won easily by sevenwickets, once again bad behaviour by the crowd ruinedthings. At one point so much rubbish was thrown on the ropesthat the fielders all had to gather in the centre of theground for their safety. This resulted in a considerabledelay and an over was even lost in the process.Crowd trouble apart, the second one-dayer produced a greatwin for the West Indians. Their plan of pitching the ballshort of a length and directing it to the rib cage area paidrich dividends when it came to getting rid of Sehwag early.The explosive opener, who is a compulsive strokemaker,pulled the ball straight to deep fine leg and got out injust the second over.Although the West Indians enjoyed early success, they couldnot cash in on it, as Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman battedwell. To start with the pair played within themselves, butthen opened up. It must be said, though, that two decisionswent against the visitors, both involving Laxman and thishelped India wrest the initiative from West Indies.The promotion of Harbhajan Singh has been a cause for quitea bit of talk and conjecture. I can only say that it givesme the impression that either the Indians are so confidentthat they can retrieve any situation or are just practicinga rotation policy in the batting line-up.Another point that bears mention is the wicket at Nagpur. Itwas much better than the one at Jamshedpur where the firstone-dayer was played. It was superb for batting and I mustgive the groundsman full marks on this count.Two partnerships – first between Ganguly and Laxman andlater on between Laxman and Dravid – helped the Indians putup 279, by all accounts a fighting total.Overall, the West Indies bowling was good despite the factthat they could not really pick up wickets at regularintervals. This was the only thing that came in the way ofthe West Indies implementing their game plan. Although theywere restrictive in the middle overs, and that is alright,taking wickets is the bottom line if a side has to be in thegame.Nowadays limited overs cricket is primarily loaded in thebatsman’s favour, but unless bowlers change their attitudefrom a negative approach to an attacking one, the game willalways remain a batsman’s game.To the end, West Indies played like champions. Inparticular, I am very impressed with Marlon Samuels. Hisstyle reminded me of some of the great West Indian batsmen Ibowled to in my time. He is always calm and collected at thewicket and this is an important thing for any batsman. Heseems to be very confident when playing Harbhajan andKumble, while on the other hand, the Indian spinners do notseem confident at all of bowling to Samuels!

With Javagal Srinath not bowling well at all, compounded bythe fact that he has lost his pace and is bowling veryslowly, there is a problem at hand. I don’t know how Gangulyis going to handle this delicate situation. With our bowlingdepartment lacking in every angle, the Indian skipper andcoach John Wright need to come up with a quick-fix solution.Secondly, I have my doubts about whether Harbhajan’s arm isok. His bowling action seems to have changed and there isstrain at the time of delivery. For his part, Kumble is notthreatening and his bowling has become a little stereotyped.He has to vary his line and length and of course turn theball if he wants to continue succeeding.All said, having gone 2-0 down in this seven-match series,the Indians will have to do a lot of homework before thenext one-dayer in Rajkot.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Before the start of the Norwich Union National League game against Kent at The County Ground on Sunday fast bowler Steffan Jones and all rounder Jason Kerr were awarded their county caps.Welshman Steffan Jones, aged 27 who joined the staff in 1997 and up to the start of the season had played in 38 first class. During the 4 day CricInfo County Championship match he took his 100th first class wicket. Steffan also has a first class century to his credit – against New Zealand in 1999.Jason Kerr, who hails from Lancashire is also 27 and made his county debut in 1993 . Up until the start of this season he had played in 50 first class matches. Last season he took a hat trick against the West Indies at Taunton, which included the wicket of Brian Lara.Somerset EXTRASMany people have asked about the identity of the twelfth man for the first three days of the Kent 4 day match. Eighteen year old Chris Gange who is in his second year at The Cricket Academy was the player charged with the responsibility. Chris, who is a left handed batsman was born a brought up in Burnham on Sea and plays club cricket for Wembdon, who are based in Bridgwater.What about all those run outs this season. “Run outs are part of the game. The players need to be cautious and know their limitations,” Somerset coach Kevin Shine now, and I’m looking more carefully to see where the batsman at the other end is hitting the ball.”

National team coach Geoff Marsh arrived back in the country on 8 April and he would have, as of last month, started preparations for the much-awaited home series against current world Test and one-day championsAustralia. Marsh had made a stopover in Australia after Zimbabwe’s tour of India in March.However, the tour, which would have seen the Aussies arriving in Zimbabwe on 11 April, was cancelled by the Australian Cricket Board, who cited security concerns. Marsh, a former Australian cricketer and national coach, is disappointed that the tour was cancelled at the last minute.”It’s disappointing that Australia are not coming for the Test and one-day series. I think that everyone in Zimbabwe was looking forward to plying against the best side in the world. Certainly their (Australia’s) performances in South Africa have been outstanding and it would have been a great challenge for our players to play againstAustralia but, unfortunately, the tour has been cancelled.”The good thing is that we will be able to play them within the next two years and it’s something to look forward to. Great players like Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath will definitely still be around because I think they still have a lot of cricket in them. Hopefully they won’t get any better by that time.”Marsh does not expect Australia to refuse playing their World Cup Group 1 match against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club in February. “The chances of them coming are very good. I don’t think there will be problems and everyone in Zimbabwe has to start looking forward to the World Cup, especially that we will be staging six games here inZimbabwe.”I know the national team players are looking forward to the winter break and getting themselves focused, fit and raring to go for the World Cup. First we have the ICC Mini World Cup in September prior to that and it will be a big build-up to next year’s event.”Quite a few of the players will be going to play winter cricket in England. The Zimbabwe cricket team has had a busy 12 months and I think that some of the players need rest. One of the things in cricket is that it’s difficult to get yourself fit in a cricket season so for some players it’s important that they spend time working on their fitness and getting themselves in good physical condition for the cricket coming up over the next couple of years.He added that he was impressed with the team’s performance in India, especially in the five-match one-day series. “We played some very good cricket and I thought that the fourth game was there for us to clinch the series three-one. We made 240 and had them three down for just over 50, but they then put up a good partnership, which we just couldn’t break.”The guys played well and really wanted to win the series. We played some good one-day cricket, which was pleasing from my point of view given the important one-day matches coming up over the next 12 months.”Following the cancellation of the Australian tour, Marsh will return to his home in Australia at the end of April and then return in July/ August to start preparations for next season, which starts with the ICCChampions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September.

The matchfixing saga has been one of the most long drawn andcontentious in the illustrious history of the glorious game we callcricket. Although the worst has probably passed, there is still enoughhanging in the air to cause concern at the headquarters of theInternational Cricket Council (ICC). The interim report of the ICC’santi corruption unit says, apart from India, no country has takenserious steps to tackle matchfixing, reports Dawn, a Pakistaninewspaper.The Anti Corruption Unit (ACU), headed by Sir Paul Condon, recentlyhanded over the interim report to Lord Griffith, Chairman of the ICC’sCode of Conduct Committee. The Dawn newspaper however, does notexplain how it got access to a report that has not been made public asyet. In addition, the Dawn does not quote any sources.According to the Dawn, the interim report states that countries likeWest Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand were not actingdecisively, even though there was increasing evidence that playersfrom these countries were involved in misdemeanors of this nature.When Pakistan toured New Zealand recently, coach Javed Miandad allegedthat matchfixing was still very much prevalent. The ICC too, seems toagree with this, if reports in the Dawn newspaper are to be believed.One must also keep in mind a couple of aspects. These allegations weremade by a man who had just been sacked. Again, The Dawn is known tocut corners on occasion. Recently, the newspaper leaked a report bythe Pakistan manager for the tour of New Zealand. Soon after the Dawnreport went to press, the comments referred to were denied by theFakir Aizazuddin.What is crucial in the report is that Condon and his team have foundthat the fixing and betting is not driven by greed alone. The reportallegedly has concluded that ‘some players, umpires and officials areso deeply involved with the criminal element they cannot stop cooperating for fear of their lives and property’. This brings theunderworld firmly into the picture, something that has been the worstfear of the authorities thus far.Although it is too early to draw any conclusions, with the report onlybeing leaked and not officially released to the public, one can besure that it will be yet another eagerly awaited document. First,there was the King Commission report in South Africa, based on whichHansie Cronje was banned for life. Herschelle Gibbs served out a sixmonth ban and returned to international cricket while Henry Williamswas let off with a warning.Then there was the Qayyum Report in Pakistan that found severalplayers guilty of malpractice of the kind that involved betting andmatchfixing. Salim Malik was banned for life while several otherprominent cricketers were fined.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report rocked Indiancricket, and as a direct fall out, Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Sharmawere banned for life while Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and Ali Iraniwere banned for a period of five years.Apart from India, Pakistan and South Africa, none of the other Testplaying countries have come out with comprehensive reports on theirinvestigations thus far. Although players like Alec Stewart ofEngland, Brian Lara of West Indies, Mark Waugh and Shane Warne ofAustralia and Arjuna Rantunga and Aravinda de Silva of Sri Lanka havefigured in various investigations, the matter has rested there.The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) conducted its own inquiry anddeclared both Warne and Waugh innocent of matchfixing. For the act ofproviding information to bookies, the pair was fined.Examining the evidence, it does not seem entirely improbable that theinterim report of the ICC has indeed stated what has appeared in theDawn. The same newspaper adds that the report will be made public onMay 23. When that happens, Indian cricket’s administrators could be infor a pat on the back from world cricket’s apex body. It may berecalled that Condon had a word of praise for the CBI inquiry and theinvestigation conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India’sown watchdog K Madhavan during his visit to India last year.

ScorecardLeicestershire teenager Shiv Thakor produced another eye-catching innings on a rain-hit second day with Gloucestershire at Grace Road. Thakor, 18, hit an unbeaten 68 off 96 balls to steer Leicestershire to 220 for 5 before the rain swept in and play was finally abandoned an hour and 40 minutes before the scheduled close.With the start also delayed for 15 minutes because of a rain shower, only 38.2 overs were bowled in the day, during which Leicestershire added 126 runs for the loss of two wickets to trail Gloucestershire’s first innings score of 234 by just 14 runs. But Thakor lit up the truncated day with another superb knock that brought him his fourth half-century in nine innings.Leicestershire began the day on 94 for 3 with opener Greg Smith needing three runs to reach only his second 50 of the season. He did it in style with a straight drive to the boundary off Will Gidman in the second over. It was Smith’s eighth four, and the half-century came off 85 balls.Josh Cobb, however, failed to add to his overnight score of 10 and was bowled by Liam Norwell off an inside edge trying to force the ball away off the back foot. Smith went past his previous best score of 68 for the season, but was then snapped up at short leg off the bowling off young off spinner Jack Taylor for 77.After that it was the Thakor show, with the England Under19 batsman unleashing a glittering array of strokes as he reached his half-century off 75 balls with eight fours. Three more boundaries quickly followed, but the rain began to fall with Thakor’s sixth-wicket partnership with Wayne White worth 65. An early tea was taken but with no sign of an improvement in the weather, play was called off for the day at 4.20pm.