All posts by n8rngtd.top

A disciplined team performance helped India women beat West Indies women in the first Twenty20 by a comfortable six-wicket margin

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2011
Scorecard
A disciplined team performance helped India women beat West Indies women in the first Twenty20 by a comfortable six-wicket margin in Ahmedabad. Chasing 90 for victory, India got home with 16 balls to spare, going 1-0 up in the three-match series.Though there was no stand-out performer for the hosts, most batsmen chipped in, contributing to the victory in what was the first-ever Twenty20 between the two sides. West Indies’ new-ball bowler Stafanie Taylor got India opener Poonam Raut early, while her partner Rumeli Dhar was run out for 15. But the next three batsmen – Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Priyanka Roy – posted 20s to steer India to victory.It was all about teamwork when India bowled as well, as the wickets were shared around, with only skipper Jhulan Goswami being responsible for more than a single dismissal. She effectively dismissed three batsmen, getting Stacy-Ann King run out off a direct hit without facing a ball in addition to two bowling successes. Only No. 3 batsman Shanel Daley displayed some amount of resistance, scoring 35 off 51 balls. Despite her efforts, West Indies finished on a total of which proved inadequate.The second match will be played on Saturday at the same venue.

Graeme Swann will be out of action for up to two weeks after picking up a knee injury against Australia

Andrew McGlashan in Hobart19-Jan-2011Graeme Swann will be out of action for up to two weeks after picking up a knee injury against Australia. He sustained the problem during the first Twenty20 in Adelaide and played on over the weekend in Melbourne but was forced to leave the field during the first one-day international.”He’s got a slightly strangely formed knee cap on his left knee,” Andy Flower, the England team director, said. “He got hit and it is badly bruised and quite painful so he won’t be playing in the next game and might have to rest for 10 days to two weeks.”Swann was the pick of England’s bowlers at the MCG taking 1 for 42 from his 10 overs as the visitors failed to defend 295 with Shane Watson hitting an unbeaten 161. His absence will be a major blow for England, who are already without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, as they aim to level the series because their one-day cricket is heavily based around the duel spin attack of Swann and Michael Yardy. Although, in the long run, a short break for the No. 1 spinner in the world may not be the worst thing after the exertions of the Ashes series.If England decide to retain two spinners in Hobart it will mean a chance for James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner, to add to his two ODI caps. Whoever makes up the bowling attack will have to come up with a way of stopping Watson who finally converted his consistent form into a matchwinning innings in Melbourne.”The standout performance was Watson, who played an incredible innings,” Flower said. “I thought we had periods of some very good cricket and then the odd occasion where we let slip the advantage and the momentum we had gained in the game. That’s both with bat and ball. Early wickets are always important in 50-over cricket and that’s what we will be aiming for.”In the absence of Anderson and Broad, the pace attack is light on experience with a lot of pressure on Tim Bresnan who went for 71 at the MCG. Anderson is due back in Australia at the weekend when the tour moves to Sydney and will be available for selection for Adelaide on January 26. Broad, who has been out of action since the second Ashes Test with a stomach injury, is flying back with Anderson but isn’t expected to take part in the series.”We don’t anticipate Broad playing in this series,” Flower said. “It would be a surprise if he got up to speed in time to do that but it’s better for him to be out here with us rather than in the middle of an English winter back home.”

Misbah-ul-Haq believes Pakistan can, and must, improve further if they are to orchestrate a strong challenge for the World Cup

Osman Samiuddin in Pallekele07-Mar-2011Misbah-ul-Haq believes Pakistan can, and must, improve further if they are to orchestrate a strong challenge for the World Cup. Pakistan are the only side in the tournament who can still boast of a 100% winning record, having won three out of three so far, but they come up against New Zealand on Tuesday in Pallekele after struggling considerably to overcome Canada in Colombo.”There is always some room for improvement, and especially the way we have gone in our batting, it needs more improvement,” Misbah said. Pakistan were bowled out for 184 against Canada at the Premadasa, though that was ultimately enough for a 46-run win. “Sometimes we do very good fielding if you compare it with our fielding in the past, but in patches we have done badly so our effort is to show more consistency.”The conditions suited Canada in our last game, the wicket was a little bit slow and there were clouds so they exploited the conditions well, but that happens. Our batting has done well in New Zealand and against South Africa so the guys will be looking forward to it.”The batting will be tested further on Tuesday. The surface at the Pallekele stadium for its first ODI is expected to be faster and with more bounce than previous surfaces in Colombo and Hambantota, something New Zealand’s quick bowlers might exploit against a batting line-up that struggles to cope with bounce. In August, New Zealand played a warm-up game against a Sri Lanka A side in this stadium, in which they bowled out the opposition for 91 and those who watched the game talk of bowling aimed between the throat and ribs.Misbah-ul-Haq has been Pakistan’s best batsman in the World Cup so far•AFP

“The way it looks, it’s hard so it will have bounce,” Misbah said, a view shared by New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori. “Exactly how it will behave is tough to say but it looks hard and has grass. We don’t have stats of this ground, especially under lights, so you have no idea how the pitch will play.”Misbah’s own batting form is mostly above reproach. He is Pakistan’s leading scorer in the tournament with two fifties and his 37 was the second-highest score against Canada. He is also in the midst of a spectacular run of form against New Zealand, with six fifties in Tests and ODIs against them in New Zealand in January. His wicket will be vital.”They just can’t target just me, because before me there are three four batsmen who come and if they get hundreds, they can’t just target me,” Misbah said. “We are playing with six batsmen, so every one is important. We will be looking forward to our top order getting some runs because they did well in New Zealand so we are hoping they are going do it again.”There is every chance that Shoaib Akhtar will return to the XI, most likely in place of Wahab Riaz. That is probably the only change: Abdur Rehman’s leg injury has healed enough for him to bowl at practice but Pakistan are not keen on risking him in a match in which they could seal a quarter-final spot with a win.

Cape Cobras completed a wonderful season by claiming the SuperSport Series with a seven-wicket victory against Warriors in Paarl

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2011Cape Cobras were far and away the most powerful team in the competition with five victories and comfortably chased down their target of 151 to win in three days at Paarl. The success was set up Claude Henderson, the left-arm spinner, who took nine wickets in the match to take his season tally to 38. Warriors were restricted to 218 in their first innings and Cobras built a valuable 67-run lead with Owais Shah hitting 85 and Rory Kleinveldt an important 49 lower down the order after Simon Harmer’s offspin had caused problems. Harmer then top-scored for Warriors with an unbeaten 68 but couldn’t build a big enough run chase to trouble the Cobras.Titans did their best to complete a come-from-behind victory over Knights at Benoni after Obus Pienaar struck 212. Jacques Rudolph responded with an unbeaten 181 and when Knights slipped to 127 for 7 in their second innings it appeared Titans had a chance of a final-day run chase. However, Charl Pietersen led a lower-order rearguard which meant the target was eventually a very tough 346 in 69 overs. This time Rudolph fell for a duck and by the time rain ended the match Titans were struggling on 96 for 4.In the other match centuries from David Miller (149) and Daryn Smit (109) put Dolphins in charge as they amassed 476 for 8 at Durban then skittled Lions for 140 as Mthokozisi Shezi took 5 for 22. They followed-on and reached 72 for 1 but Dolphins were denied the chance to push for victory when rained washed out the final day.

Tom Maynard, the Surrey batsman, was given the silent treatment on his return to Cardiff last week

Andrew McGlashan26-Apr-2011Tom Maynard, the Surrey batsman, was given the silent treatment on his return to Cardiff last week but responded with an emotional maiden first-class hundred against his former team-mates at Glamorgan.The home side were told not to say a word when Maynard came to the crease even though the situation was perfectly set up for some ‘chat’ from the close fielders, but eventually the Glamorgan players couldn’t resist having a chirp as he finished with 123 in Surrey’s huge 575 for 7 declared.”They said they were told not to speak to me,” Maynard told ESPNcricinfo’s Switch Hit podcast. “There was a bit of silence for a while but once I got going there were a couple of guys who chirped in with some friendly banter, but nothing malicious. They were just trying to coax me into playing one of my erratic shots.”Maynard quit Glamorgan during the acrimonious winter which saw his father, Matthew, resign in protest at how the club was being run after Alviro Petersen, the South Africa batsman, had been secretly interviewed to be the new captain in place of Jamie Dalrymple. The fixture list meant an early return to Wales for Maynard jr and he was able to reach three figures for the first time as his dad watched from the stands.”It was fantastic to have him there,” he said. “I’d like to dedicate that innings to towards the family rather than anything malicious towards the management. I’d like to be something special for us to have. It was a surreal feeling especially going into the away dressing room. I’m just delighted about the outcome it’s just a shame we couldn’t win the game.”Despite wanting to remember the hundred without the baggage of what happened during the winter, Maynard isn’t shy at explaining why he left the club where his surname had become part of cricket history in Wales.”I just felt I couldn’t stay there with the people in charge and the management above the playing side,” he said. “I couldn’t stay and win games for some of the people who’d forced my father out and let the team down.”I’m still very tight with all the players and keep in touch with them a lot. That relationship is still very strong and none of the players have any animosity towards me. A lot of them sided with me and said if they’d had the opportunity to go after what happened then they would. I took advice from a couple of the players and they said I should go.”Although scoring the hundred against Glamorgan added extra meaning Maynard was just relieved to have registered his first ton having waited 38 innings. Last season he hit a low point where he could barely score a run but now feels he has a new lease of life.”To be honest it got to stage where I’d started so poorly in my first-class career that it couldn’t get any worse so I may as well go out and play freely,” he said. “It got to that stage at the back end of last year and from then on I’ve gone well. I’m looking forward to kicking on now this season.”The good news for Maynard is that he has another Championship match against Glamorgan at the end of May.

A dominant Nigeria prevailed in the ICC Africa World Cricket League T20 Division Two tournament in Johannesburg

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2011A dominant Nigeria prevailed in the ICC Africa World Cricket League T20 Division Two tournament in Johannesburg, defeating Tanzania in their final game to top with tables with 14 points from seven victories.Yet again batsman Sean Phillips was the star performer for Nigeria, racing to an unbeaten 80 as his team reached 150 for 6. His knock means he ends the tournament with 446 runs, including two centuries, at an average of 148. Tanzania’s batsmen made a fist of their chase but fell just short, reaching 144 for 4 before they ran out of overs.Nigeria and Ghana, who finished in second position with 12 points and ahead of Botswana on net run-rate, will now proceed to the Division One Twenty20 tournament, which is scheduled to be held in Entebbe, Uganda in July this year.

The Sindh High Court has deferred till June 16 further hearing on the case involving the PCB’s disciplinary proceedings against former captain Shahid Afridi

Osman Samiuddin09-Jun-2011The Sindh High Court has deferred till June 16 further hearings on the petition filed by former captain Shahid Afridi against the PCB’s decision to suspend his central contract and revoke No-Objection certificates (NOC).The court allowed the NOC to remain in place until the next hearing, which means Afridi will continue to be unavailable for Hampshire with whom he had signed a contract for a Twenty20 stint this summer. The question of whether the PCB was within its rights in revoking the NOC will become the focus of the legal battle from next week.The case was adjourned after a brief five-minute hearing, essentially because the PCB had not filed a detailed reply to the original petition; they have been asked to do so by the next date. There may be more legal wrangling and delay yet, as the PCB believes the case should be heard in the Lahore High Court.”We have objection to the assumption of jurisdiction by Sindh High Court,” Taffazul Rizvi, the board’s legal advisor, said outside the courtroom. “The PCB head office is in Lahore. We have been asked to file a detailed reply to his petition.”But the focus now seems set to fall on the central contracts itself. Rizvi and the PCB claim that Afridi was punished in accordance with the clauses of the central contract. “Punishment, rewards, they are all there in the central contracts,” Rizvi said.Afridi’s lawyers, however, claimed there was no such allowance in the contracts. “If the PCB worked according to the central contract, we wouldn’t be here right now,” Syed Ali Zafar said. “Where does it say in the central contract that the NOC can be revoked? It doesn’t say it at all. Article 18 of the Constitution [of Pakistan] says you can’t stop someone’s livelihood. NOC is a livelihood. There is no such clause in the contracts.”Zafar and associate Mahmood Mandviwalla asked the judges to reinstate the NOC on the basis that it was preventing Afridi from his right to earn a livelihood. There was talk in the courtroom and outside of compensation for monetary losses but that may not be the concern of this hearing. “The most important thing was to stop the disciplinary proceedings as a first step,” Zafar said.Afridi didn’t appear for the hearing, but despite that a generous crowd had gathered outside the courts to show their support, asking for his reinstatement and for the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt to be sacked.Earlier this week, the court had stayed the committee’s proceedings against Afridi, after his petition challenging the validity of the sanctions imposed on him by the PCB.The PCB suspended Afridi’s central contract and withdrew the NOCs after his decision to “retire”, which he had announced on a TV channel, as well as his subsequent criticism of the board officials.Afridi’s lawyers then sent a letter to the PCB in a bid to resolve the dispute between the two parties, stressing that they were asking only for a due process to be followed and that the act of suspension of the central contract and NOC withdrawal were punishments before the player had been heard.

They may have dragged the match into a fourth day, but Somerset will surely stumble to their fourth defeat of a bitterly disappointing first half of the Championship season early on the final morning. With nine second-innings wickets down, they lead Warwi

George Dobell at Edgbaston22-Jun-2011
Scorecard
They may have dragged the match into a fourth day, but Somerset will surely stumble to their fourth defeat of a bitterly disappointing first half of the Championship season early on the final morning. With nine second-innings wickets down, they lead Warwickshire by just five runs. More was expected of a team that started the year with high hopes of a first Championship title.It doesn’t take too much analysis to work out Somerset’s faults. They have a tail longer than a diplodocus and they’re overly reliant on Marcus Trescothick. Zander de Bruyn, who they allowed to go to Surrey over the winter, has been sorely missed. Their bowling, with Geemal Hussain struggling to make the step-up to the top division and Charl Willoughby beginning to show signs of wear, has also lacked bite. It may yet be matters at the wrong end of the table that occupy them come September.Here their middle-order was blown away by some well-directed pace bowling from Boyd Rankin and, in particular, the distinctly sharp Rikki Clarke. At one stage Clarke took three wickets in 25 balls. On a pitch that remains slow, flat and blameless, that’s a fine effort.Only Trescothick and Nick Compton showed any meaningful resistance. No-one else scored more than 15.There’s little that is entertaining about Compton. He’s so far batted for just six-minutes short of five hours in this innings and, at one stage, was scoreless for 33 minutes. Had he been sprayed silver, passers-by may have thrown money at him.But Somerset could do with a few more batsmen of his ilk. For, until the admirable Steve Kirby joined him in a ninth-wicket stand that thwarted Warwickshire for 53 minutes, there was remarkably little resistance from a middle-order of whom more is expected.James Hildreth, whose hopes of forcing his way into the England side are receding by the week, was trapped in front by one that nipped back, before Lewis Gregory’s middle stump was sent cartwheeling by a perfect yorker and Peter Trego played-on as he was hurried by Clarke’s extra pace.
Geemal Hussain, again beaten for pace, jabbed his bat down on a full ball and squirted a catch to leg gully before Murali Kartik attempted the most hideous sweep shot imaginable and departed lbw. Earlier Arul Suppiah clipped obligingly to square leg.Maybe Somerset can consider themselves a little unfortunate. While Trescothick was at the crease, a draw looked well within their grasp. There was even some talk of a challenging fourth-innings run chase.So to lose him in such unusual fashion was wretched luck. Middling a ferocious slog-sweep, Trescothick looked on in dismay as the ball thumped into Ian Westwood – hardly the largest of obstacles – at short-leg and somehow lodged itself in the fielder’s clothes. While both Westwood and Trescothick were left in pain, the smile was far quicker to return to the face of the Warwickshire man. Trescothick was also dismissed in unfortunate circumstances in the first innings; caught down the leg side as he attempted to glance.But Somerset can’t rely on their captain to save them every time. The likes of Hildreth – who has yet to score a century this season – also need to contribute far more.It was a particularly grim day for Craig Kieswetter. England’s newly recalled keeper departs with on international duty having just suffered the first ‘pair’ of his first-class career. His second innings dismissal, playing across a straight one from his new England colleague, Chris Woakes, meant Kieswetter had faced just nine balls in the match. Incidentally, Kieswetter and Woakes’ places on the final day of this game will be taken by Jos Buttler and Keith Barker respectively, though it’s hard to see either man making much of an impact.Earlier Warwickshire extended their first innings total to 448. It’s their highest score at Edgbaston this season and the highest score they’ve managed anywhere in their first innings since they last played Somerset. When they wrap-up victory on the final day, it will be the first time they’ve achieved home and away victories over Somerset in 50 years. While it might be pushing it to suggest that their fifth Championship victory of the season will revive their title hopes, it should, at least, ensure they are not looking over their shoulders in the final weeks of the season.Meanwhile Warwickshire finalised the signing of West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul as overseas player for the second half of the season. He’ll join them from mid-July.

A fascinating penultimate day ended with Sussex 82 for 3, needing 233 for a
fourth victory of the season after winning promotion back into the top flight
last year

13-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Sussex’s County Championship match against Hampshire was finely balanced
going into the final day at Hove.A fascinating penultimate day ended with Sussex 82 for 3, needing 233 for a
fourth victory of the season after winning promotion back into the top flight
last year. But with the south coast derby delicately poised, it is relegation-threatened
Hampshire who are more desperate to register what would be their first win of
the season.After resuming on 61 for 2, Hampshire were finally dismissed for 266
following an impressive half century from Michael Carberry, who is playing his
first championship match since blood clots were discovered on his lungs eight
months ago.Carberry’s career was under threat in November, just eight months after playing
a Test match for England in Bangladesh. But after being given the all-clear earlier this month, he played a second XI match last week before replacing the injured Michael Lumb at number three in Hampshire’s side.Having been dismissed cheaply in Hampshire’s first innings, Carberry made a
gutsy 59 to help his side make the highest innings total of the match. He faced 136 balls during his vigil before attempting a slog-sweep too many against Monty Panesar six overs before lunch. James Anyon (3 for 35) and Amjad Khan (3 for 47) were the pick of the
Sussex bowlers.Nightwatchman Danny Briggs had started the day by frustrating Sussex with 21
before Rana Naved-ul-Hasan got some extra bounce and found his outside edge. Only James Vince and Sean Ervine, who were caught behind either side of lunch, failed to make double figures.Neil McKenzie was bowled shouldering arms to Panesar for 34, and Hampshire’s
lower order also contributed potentially match-winning runs. Dominic Cork lofted a six against Panesar during his 25 and Kabir Ali, dropped on 27, had made his highest score of the season when he was the last to go, caught in the covers for 32.The wicket was not getting any easier to bat on, as Sussex discovered during
the final session. Hampshire captain Cork delivered a beauty that surprised Ed Joyce for bounce on its way through to Michael Bates, when another lengthy Danny Briggs spell was
under way from the Sea End.The left-arm spinner held a return catch to dismiss Sussex’s other opener,
Chris Nash, before captain Murray Goodwin became his 100th first-class victim in
his next over, caught by Liam Dawson at silly mid-off.Sussex’s hopes rested largely on Luke Wells (29 not out) and England’s Matt
Prior (2 not out), who shepherded their side to stumps with no further loss.

Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the remainder of India’s tour of England, and is likely to miss Mumbai Indians’ Champions League campaign as well

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2011Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the remainder of India’s tour of England, and is likely to miss Mumbai Indians’ Champions League campaign as well, after a visit to a specialist in London confirmed that he will require four to six weeks’ of rest to recover from an inflamed big toe on his right foot. S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu batsman, has been named as Tendulkar’s replacement.Tendulkar’s injury, which was caused by the aggravation of a former fracture, flared up on the eve of the first ODI at Chester-le-Street, and means that Tendulkar’s quest for that elusive 100th international hundred, which has been hanging over him all tour, will not now be resumed until England’s tour of India in October, at the earliest.”It was the injury that he had in 2001 and it flared up in Durham,” said an Indian team official. “He went to a specialist in London and we got the news he would not be taking any further part in the one-day series anymore and he might need rest for four to six weeks.”The news brings to an end a frustrating tour for Tendulkar, in which he showed glimpses of form during India’s 4-0 whitewash in the Test series without ever recapturing the presence at the crease he had displayed during India’s victorious World Cup campaign. He made 273 runs in the series at 34.12, with a highest score of 91 in the second innings at The Oval.Tendulkar’s exit opens up an opportunity for the 31-year-old Badrinath, who flopped in the West Indies in June on his comeback to the one-day side after three years. He made 40 runs in three innings before being dropped for the final match of the series.India have been rocked by a series of injuries on this tour of England, beginning with Zaheer Khan’s hamstring pull on the first day of the Lord’s Test. Following his withdrawal from the series, the BCCI said he not only suffered from a recurring hamstring problem, but also required surgery on his right ankle. Yuvraj Singh fractured a finger on his left hand, while Harbhajan Singh strained his stomach muscle during India’s crushing defeat in the second Test at Trent Bridge, ruling them out of the rest of the tour.Opener Virender Sehwag, it was understood, had not completely recovered from the shoulder surgery he underwent immediately after the IPL in May, and was suffering from hearing problems in his left ear, after being exposed to a loud sound on July 24, according to the team management. In another major setback, Gautam Gambhir failed to recover from a concussion he picked up while fielding on the third day of the final Test, subsequently missing the limited-overs leg of the tour. He had also missed the second Test at Trent Bridge after being struck on the elbow at Lord’s.Praveen Kumar had also joined India’s long list of injured, missing the fourth Test at The Oval because of an injury to his left ankle, before recovering in time for the Twenty20 international on August 31. Ishant Sharma wasn’t as fortunate, returning home after the Tests following a ligament injury to his left ankle, which will require surgery, during the third Test at Edgbaston.