All posts by csb10.top

John Howard, Australia’s Prime Minister, says that authorities are investigating claims that terrorists planned to attack the Australian and England teams during last year’s Ashes.He was responding to a report in , a London newspaper, which said that the London bombers were initially ordered by Al-Qaeda to target the teams during the series, by spraying sarin gas inside the changing rooms. According to the source, who goes by the pseudonymn Ahmed Hafiz, the bombers were instructed to get jobs as stewards at Edgbaston and then carry out the attack.Howard says the source, Hafiz, has to be thoroughly checked. In an interview with , he added that vigilance was necessary at all times. “Whether this particular report is true or not, we have to again remind ourselves of the reality that there are people around who want to do us in, who do want to do damage.”

Keith Dutch has rejected the offer of a one-year contract with Somerset.”I moved to Somerset from Middlesex in the hope of securing a permanent first team place in all forms of the game,” he explained. “That’s not happened and obviously no player can be guaranteed a place. At my age [27] I do not want to be playing 2nd XI cricket”.Commenting upon Dutch’s decision, Peter Anderson, Somerset’s chief executive, said, “The cricket panel is disappointed but fully understands the reasoning. Keith was a popular player with both his colleagues and the supporters. We thank him for his service and enthusiasm whilst representing the club”.

The ICC hearing into allegations that the former Kenya captain Maurice Odumbe had inappropriate contact with a known bookmaker will be held on July 27.Odumbe and his lawyer met with Justice Ahmed Ebrahim, who has been appointed to investigate the charges by the ICC, at a Nairobi hotel this morning for a preliminary hearing.Odumbe’s lawyer stressed that his client had not been charged with match-fixing, receiving bribes or giving information on pitch conditions. He explained that while Odumbe admitted that he had dealings with an Indian, he was unaware that the man concerned was a bookmaker.Odumbe, 34, is alleged to have received payments from at least one Mumbai bookmaker in 2002, so that he could coerce his team-mates into underperforming in matches. If found guilty, Odumbe – who has been the face of Kenyan cricket, along with Steve Tikolo, since that astonishing win over West Indies in the 1996 World Cup – faces a life ban.Justice Ebrahim said after the hearing that he recognised the seriousness of the allegations, and had therefore considered the matter very carefully before making his ruling. “In light of the documentary evidence supplied and the arguments raised at the preliminary hearing, I reached my determination that it is right and proper that this matter is progressed and set down for a full hearing in July,” he said. “The charge put is that Odumbe allegedly received money, benefit or other reward which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute.”The formal hearing will start in Nairobi on July 27, and is expected to last five days. Both parties will have the opportunity to put forward their case, and call witnesses.The hearings follow an investigation by the ICC’s Anti Corruption & Security Unit and a recommendation by Michael Beloff, the chairman of the ICC’s Code of Conduct commission. Under the code, the penalties a player found guilty can face range from a two-year suspension to a life ban, depending on the nature of the charge.

Scorecard

Hyderabad Heroes were powered to a seven-wicket victory over the Chennai Superstars by their South African recruits Nicky Boje (61*) and Justin Kemp (66*).In the first match of the ICL to be held in Hyderabad, the Heroes went against the trend in this edition of the tournament at the toss and instead chose to field. Their decision seemed to have backfired as Ian Harvey and G Vignesh gave the Superstars a breezy start with 41 coming off the first six overs.Boje was then introduced into the attack and he struck immediately, dismissing Vignesh for 19, and sent down a miserly three-over spell, giving away only seven runs. Harvey, though, continued to plunder runs off the other bowlers before being trapped lbw by left-arm spinner IS Reddy for a 36-ball 49. Hemang Badani then carted three sixes and two boundaries in an express 33 to lift the Superstars to a respectable 152.The Heroes’ reply got off to a dreadful start as Jimmy Maher and Anirudh Singh were both dismissed in the first over. The runs didn’t flow until Thiru Kumaran’s first over; 17 runs came off it. Boje then picked off three consecutive boundaries off Harvey as he and Ambati Rayudu put on 50 runs in quick time.Rayudu’s dismissal left the Heroes at a shaky 53 for 3 and brought Kemp to the crease. By the end of the 12th over, the asking-rate had climbed to 9 before Kemp showcased his ability to muscle the ball out of the park. Four sixes and six fours flowed off his bat as he clobbered his way to the tournament’s highest score. Boje also completed a superb half-century as the two put on 103 to take the Heroes to victory.The result leaves the Superstars at the bottom of the table having lost both their matches while the Heroes now have one win and one loss so far.

Australia’s Mike Hussey has signed a short-term contract with Gloucestershire, and will return to county cricket while Shoaib Malik is on international duty with Pakistan.Hussey, who scored unbeaten triple-centuries for Northamptonshire in three consecutive summers from 2001, opted to take a break from the county treadmill this season to push for a permanent place in the Australian Test team. He played in a solitary VB Series match against India at Perth last winter, but has not been called upon since.”Michael is a proven high-volume run-scorer who will add great value to our team,” said Gloucestershire’s head coach, Mark Alleyne. “I am really looking forward to working with him over the next few weeks.”

Rohan Gavaskar’s inclusion ahead of Mohammad Kaif – poor county stint notwithstanding – and Sridharan Sriram seemed a bizarre choice, given that his name has never been part of discussions regarding Test match probables.Sriram has more reason than most to rue his wretched luck after a couple of seasons when he has piled on the runs in domestic cricket. There was a touch of class about his batting in the Challenger Trophy, though to be fair, Gavaskar also acquitted himself admirably.For Shiv Sunder Das, Gautam Gambhir and Kaif, being left out is a terrible blow, and it calls into question their chances of playing against New Zealand. For Kaif, who was the toast of India just over a year ago after his heroics in NatWest Series final, it’s back to the practice pitches if he fancies himself as anything more than a one-trick pony.The two Bs, Laxmipathy Balaji and Amit Bhandari, appear to have nudged ahead in the pace tussle. With Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra still far from certain to get on the plane to Australia, they’ll never have a better chance to impress. But first they have to pass the Sachin Tendulkar test in Chennai, and that’s never easy, even when the first swallow of summer’s flying overhead.

The Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) in Trinidad has finally voted to allow female membership after a seven-year campaign spearheaded by Vaneisa Baksh, a freelance journalist. At a special general meeting on Thursday, the QPCC put the resolution to its 3000-plus all-male membership that women would be eligible for admission to all classes of membership, and that girls could apply for Colt membership.The club, which is 108 years old, had its all-male convention challenged when Baksh applied for membership in 1997. The application was rejected at the end of 1999, but the campaign for female membership continued until the QPCC had to recognise that it was an issue which needed to be addressed.The club’s president, Willie Rodriguez, wrote to members prior to the special meeting, saying that "in the current social environment, it is imperative and in the best interest of the club to admit women and girls to membership."Some members who did not hold this view hurriedly presented a resolution asking the club to defer the issue until June 2007, after the Cricket World Cup, and that, if then there was still a negative vote, the matter should not be eligible for discussion before another three years had passed. However, the importance of hosting ICC matches which will be held in the West Indies in 2007 went a long way towards determining the club’s direction.The club’s vice president, Bruce Anansen, said: “On the question of continued International cricket being played at the Oval, we need to take note of the fact that the Prime Minister has publicly indicated that he has a problem in providing funding to the club pre-cricket World Cup 2007 because of its policy on gender discrimination."In furtherance of this position, the Prime Minister has commissioned the construction of a new cricket facility in San Fernando which will be completed by 2006. His intention is to have World Cup games at this facility and not at the Oval.”Caricom Governments and the West Indies Cricket Board had already made it clear that they would not support discriminatory practices of any kind, but it seems it was the threat of corporate sponsors backing away from the club, which receives no government assistance, that tilted the scales in favour of female membership.Still, fewer than two thirds of the votes went towards female membership, with 346 voting in favour and 194 against. And, in a move to placate those who still do not want females inside, the club’s president has indicated that women would still have to join the long waiting list before getting in, and that it would still be a further three years before the club’s infrastructure is ready to receive them.

Division One

Points TableWarwickshire defied Middlesex’s bowlers at Lord’s to complete a brilliant victory. Losing Nick Knight early on, who had yesterday batted aggressively with Jim Troughton to set up the chase, followed soon after by Neil Carter and Tony Frost, Middlesex looked set for victory. But a stablising innings of 95 from Alex Loudon, and solid partnerships with Dougie Brown and the 21-year-old Luke Parker saw Warwickshire home by three wickets.Gloucestershire lost 7 for 37 in pursuit of 411, as Hampshire completed victory by 178 runs. Shaun Udal, the off-spinner, took six of Gloucestershire’s second innings wickets in a brilliant spell of controlled, economical bowling. At one point, Gloucestershire had a chance of at least eeking out a draw, when Ramnaresh Sarwan and and Matt Windows were at the crease. However, their promising partnership ended on 79, as Dimitri Mascarenhas took the wicket of Matt Windows – his first and only wicket of the match. Hampshire are placed second in Division One, trailing some way behind the leaders Kent.

Division Two

Points TableLancashire stormed to victory against Leicestershire to retain hopes of being promoted to Division One for the 2006 Championship. Resuming on 78 for 5, James Anderson had the Indian Dinesh Mongia caught behind, one of six catches for Warren Hegg, and five wickets for Anderson. Ottis Gibson and David Masters put on 44 for the ninth wicket – the second highest partnership of Leicestershire’s innings – but it was too little too late, as they were dismissed for just 164.Essex were grateful for Andy Flower’s superb, undefeated innings of 132 to complete a victory over Durham. Overnight, they were well placed with Flower and Ronnie Irani established, but Durham’s bowlers fought back well to restrict Essex’s middle-order, continually picking up key wickets. Flower, though, could not be stopped, as he went on to score his fourth hundred, and his 1000th run, of the season. Despite losing their eighth wicket as victory beckoned, the 20-year-old Antonio Palladino hung around for ten balls to help Flower see Essex through. Despite this loss, only their second of the season, Durham still remain the leaders of Division Two. Essex are placed third, but have played two more matches than Yorkshire, who trail by just four points.Ant Botha and Andy Gray, Derbyshire’s spin twins, starred with the bat against Somerset as they led a lower order revival and left this match heading for a draw. The pair came together at 264 for 7, with the follow on looming, and proceeded to add 170. Botha fell nine runs short of his century, when he was bowled by Andrew Caddick, before Ian Blackwell declared with Gray unbeaten on 77. It was hard toil for the Somerset bowlers, Caddick sending down 40 overs for his four scalps. Somerset then crawled along in the final session – losing Matthew Wood for 10 – leaving the final day needing some innovative captaincy to make a result possible.Ben Phillips and spinner Monty Panesar bowled Northamptonshire to a comprehensive victory over Worcestershire at New Road. Setting Worcestershire 360 to win, with two days left to play, only four batsmen could reach double figures; Ben Smith comfortably top-scoring with 92. Panesar hit the stumps three times in his haul of 4 for 40, including the key wickets of Smith and the South African Zander de Bruyn. Earlier, Northants had added a further 87 in their second innings of 386, David Sales finally falling for a brilliant 190.

VVS Laxman, Murali Karthik and Parthiv Patel have been included in India’s 14-man one-day squad for the first three matches of the triangular TVS Cup. The squad, which was announced during lunch on the second day of the India-New Zealand Test, also includes Aavishkar Salvi, who will undergo a fitness test on October 21 to see if he has recovered from a split webbing on his hand which forced him out of the second Test squad.Ashish Nehra has been omitted from the squad as it was felt that he needed more time to recover from his ankle injury. He is undergoing physiotherapy, and might be picked for the later matches in the series. It was also announced that Sourav Ganguly would definitely be fit to lead the team.India play the first match of the tournament against New Zealand on October 23, before clashing with Australia on October 26 and November 1.Squad
Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid (wk), VVS Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Aavishkar Salvi.

For the second week in a row Army came from behind to snatch victory after conceding a first-innings lead and maintained their position atop the Premier Tier B standings.With the Tier A clubs enjoying a free weekend, the focus was on Tier B and whether Panadura, the nearest challenger to Army’s position, would be able to close the gap. By the end of the second day it looked likely that they would do so with Army struggling against Air Force. But Army were able to come back strongly and overcome a first-innings deficit and win, Panadura were denied victory by Police, who managed a draw at the Police Park Ground in Colombo.Panadura were in a strong position, having reduced Police to 104 for 9 in reply to their first-innings total of 272. A follow-on looked inevitable for Police but they managed to avoid it with a last-wicket stand of 36 which meant that Panadura had to bat again. In the process, they lost precious time while setting Police a target of 335 to chase in the fourth innings. When play ended on the final day, Police were 215 for 7.Army’s match-winner was once again right-arm spinner Ajantha Mendis, who helped dismiss Air Force out for 92 in the second innings, leaving Army only 146 to chase. The victory was Army’s sixth of the season and they maintained their unbeaten streak.Third-placed Saracens also lost ground when they conceded a narrow first-innings lead of 13 runs to Singha in a drawn match Nondescripts Cricket Club.Sebastianites were the only other club apart from Army to record a win Burgher Recreation Club Ground, beating Burgher by 170 runs, their first victory of the season in six matches.Player of the Week: Ajantha Mendis
Ajantha Mendis isn’t playing in one of Colombo’s most influential club sides and his team isn’t competing in the elite Tier A but the less glamorous Tier B of the Premier League. However, Mendis’ spin bowling is one of the main reasons why Army are on top of Tier B and could be promoted to Tier A next season if they keep up their current form and emerge champions.Although classified as a right-arm, slow-medium bowler, Mendis is a spinner who bowls a mixture of googlies, offbreaks, top-spinners, flippers and legbreaks. Batsmen have been confounded by the variety of deliveries he has up his sleeve and are at a loss to figure out what his stock delivery is.”I had only two variations when I started to play for the Army but within a period of one year I have managed to increase it to four. Now I can bowl in six different ways,” said Mendis, who bowls with an unorthodox action.Mendis is the season’s top wicket-taker with 46 wickets at an average of 10.56 and strike-rate of 31 from six matches with five five-fors and one ten-wicket haul.Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling coach Ruwan Kalpage predicted a bright future for him and said that Mendis should be nurtured carefully because he was going to be Sri Lanka’s next Muttiah Muralitharan”The most impressive aspect of Mendis’ bowling is that he maintains a consistent line and length while still bowling five different deliveries in an over. To be a good bowler at international level you need to have a lot of variations and Mendis has them,” said Kalpage, a former Sri Lanka off-spinner.”Mendis came under the watchful eyes of Mahela Jayawardene, when he played in the provincial one-day tournament, and the captain was quite impressed with his bowling,” he said. Mendis turns 23 on March 11. He has a whole new world waiting for him, if he can be guided on the right path.