All posts by csb10.top

Former India batsman VVS Laxman believes the ODI side is one batsman short for their upcoming limited-overs tour of Australia. India’s ODI squad to Australia has only five specialist batsmen after the selectors dropped Suresh Raina, following a poor series against South Africa.Laxman, who was at a promotional event in Delhi, said the decision was harsh on Raina, but would make the batsman hungrier for success in the future, should he make the cut.”I think we are one batsman short. I still feel it was harsh on Suresh Raina. He did really well in the World Cup. He had a tough series against South Africa. Coming at No. 6, when the asking rate is 8 or 10 and with the change in the new rules, the conditions against South Africa were not ideal to play the big shots straightaway,” Laxman said at a Star Sports event to promote India’s limited-overs tour of Australia.”It’s always a pressure situation whenever he walks out to bat. This is also good for him. Raina is probably a very important member if India has to win the T20 World Cup. This will hurt him, but also make him hungrier.”Laxman also urged India’s pacers to refrain from bowling short-pitched deliveries at the Australia batsmen in the series. He brought up India’s World Cup 2015 semi-final against Australia in March this year as an example of why a short-ball strategy would hurt India. Led by Steven Smith’s 105, Australia rattled up 328 for 7 in the semi-final after opting to bat, and India could only muster 233 in reply.”You can bowl short to other teams, which are not used to playing in Australian conditions,” Laxman said. “But if you bowl short to the Australians they will cut and pull you. That is what happened during the semi-final.”Warner is most dangerous batsman in the line-up and you cannot bowl defensive lines to him. There is a formula to get him out and I am sure Ishant Sharma knows that because when he was in (Hyderabad) Sunrisers, we realised what shots he likes to play and what he doesn’t. It is important to make him play the cover drive, and once you do that you always have a chance to dismiss him early on. But don’t bowl short deliveries to him, because he will cut and pull.”Kapil Dev, who was also at the event, said that India would need to focus on getting early wickets in the first 15 overs, even if it came at the cost of a few runs. It was the only way, he said, India could keep Australia from making a strong comeback.”In Australia or even South Africa, the ball does something even after 35 overs. There is bounce and nip for a fast bowler,” Dev said. “I think that is the best part. After 35 overs, I hit the deck and the wicketkeeper holds it up very nicely. So if the batsman loses concentration you can get a wicket.”Somebody who can bowl close to 140 kph will be a success in Australia. At the same time, if you want to do well in Australia, it’s important for you to pick up wickets. Get three wickets in the first 15 overs, even if you have conceded 90 runs. Because then you still have a chance to make a comeback. But if you don’t take wickets and give away 45 runs, they can always make a comeback. Don’t concentrate on bowling maidens overs, think about getting wickets only.”Stating that the top four batsmen in the line-up would have to absorb most of the responsibility, Laxman stressed on the importance of playing with an angled bat in Australian conditions. He said that batters could not play with a straight bat off the back foot.”In Australia, you cannot afford to play on the back foot with a straight bat. The bat face has to be pointing down. Otherwise, it will straight away go to the slip owing to the extra bounce and pace,” Laxman said. “It’s important to play with an angled bat. Also the general mistake that a young batsman tends to make is that he will get out to the back of the length delivery. But then, it is the fuller delivery, which gets the batsman out. The challenge is not to lose wickets early on. There will be a lot of responsibility on the top four.”

An outstanding showing in the Champions Trophy has seen Chris Gayle move up to the second place in the latest ICC player rankings for ODI batsmen.He was the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 474 runs at an average of 79.00 and a strike-rate of 92.94. He hit three hundreds and took eight wickets to end up as the Player of the Tournament.Gayle’s current tally of 804 rating points is the highest he has ever reached. He is now 17 points behind Mike Hussey, who retained his position as the highest-ranked ODI batsman in the world.Kevin Pietersen is another big mover in the player rankings for batsmen. Despite England not getting through to the knockout stages of the tournament, Pietersen did enough to move up three places to a personal best of third.Gayle has also overtaken Shaun Pollock as the top one-day all-rounder. These two are well clear of Sanath Jayasuriya in third and Andrew Flintoff one place further down. Another man who has moved up the order was Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, who is now 10th on the ODI allrounders list, his personal best.Among bowlers, Glenn McGrath has moved up four places to number two and now has another warhorse, Pollock, in his sights. McGrath has taken over from Brett Lee as the highest-ranked Australian ODI bowler. With Nathan Bracken also making moves, the Aussies now have three bowlers in the top five as well as four batsmen in the top seven.Australia’s position at the top of the ICC ODI championship got a further boost with their maiden Champions Trophy triumph. They are now nine points clear of South Africa in second place, who are in turn nine points ahead of New Zealand in third. South Africa and New Zealand were both beaten semi-finalists at the Champions Trophy. Runners-up West Indies are currently placed seventh in the world but only seven ratings points separate New Zealand and West Indies. Pakistan are fourth, India fifth, and Sri Lanka sixth.

Rahul Dravid can take unflappability to dangerous levels. With a game down and two to play, he preferred to talk about the simplicity of the task: “In a way it’s made things simple for us; we need to win the next two to win the series.”At the same time, he spelt out the areas of concern, minor points that often make a major difference. He admitted that three run-outs in the previous game were the moments that had tilted the scales, adding that it was one of several areas that needed rectifying. “We need to work on our fielding, running between wickets, and taking chances with run-outs. It’s the little things that make a difference. Our judgment of the runs can be better … Also our lower order needs to contribute, considering our strategy of playing five bowlers. We are working on giving them more batting practice, asking them to rotate strike and not go for the big shots.”Dravid knows that India, unlike West Indies, can’t afford any sort of slip. “We need to play to potential. West Indies can afford another mistake, because they are 2-1 up. But we’ve come back from these positions before. It’s a good challenge, a good test for us. If we play to our potential, I think we can get the right result.”One factor that could make the big difference, Dravid reckoned, is Virender Sehwag, who clattered an awesome 97 in the previous game. “It’s nice to have Veeru back in form,” he continued. “He’s always been hitting the ball well in the nets. Got run-out in the first game, hasn’t been able to convert the starts he’s got. I just hope he’s consistent. He showed that, on a wicket that was slow, he got 96 off 83 balls and played better than any of us. With him firing, it makes a big difference. It’s important for him to back it up with consistent scores and end the series in style.”He was fully behind Ramesh Powar, when there were suggestions of Anil Kumble to be included in the one-day squad. “Powar has done a really good job for us. He’s someone who bats lower down. We know Kumble is someone who we can fall back on. One poor spell from Ramesh is not an indication. I’d rather focus on the team we have here.”The last time Dravid played in Trinidad, India won their first-ever one-day series in West Indies. Before that, he had been part of a Test-match winning side. “Obviously it’s nice to come back to Trinidad where we have pleasant memories in one-day and Test series,” he continued, “but I don’t think it’s going to have any relevance to this series. For people who’ve been here in the past, it’s some good memories.”

The ICC has announced that the sale of sponsorship rights for the eight-year period starting after the completion of the World Cup in March will start shortly. It is expected the deal will bring in more than $500 million on top of the $1.1 billion the sale of broadcast rights to ESPN-STAR Sports in December netted.In a statement, the ICC said that it would enter into negotiations with potential sponsors with a view to finalising deals by the end of June. The period up for grabs includes 18 ICC tournaments, with two World Cups and a minimum of three ICC Champions Trophy events. Also included are the first two Twenty20 World Championships, in South Africa (2007) and England (2009).”With those events and a broadcasting agreement to cover them in place, we are now in a position to go to market to obtain the best possible partners for cricket,” Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said. “For the first time the ICC is able to offer one major event every year and the quality and variety of those events and the fact they span the globe mean they represent exceptional value for sponsors.”With growing media convergence and evolution likely over the next eight years this sponsorship will engage fans via a variety of platforms, including television, internet, mobile, radio, print and at the venues themselves.”It is widely reported that the ICC has initiated negotiations with companies – such as LG, Hero Honda, Hutch, Pepsi, Videocon and Reliance – rather than deal thorough a third party. For the period between 2004 and 2007, its sponsorship rights were being handled by Nimbus Communications.But Speed acknowledged the need to protect against ambush marketing while avoiding the clashes with players and boards which have blighted the current deal. “We will guarantee exclusivity to our global partners, at the same time, relax some conditions for independent player and team sponsors to avoid clashes between sponsors,” he insisted. “By limiting restrictions, we would offer more flexibility to sponsors.”

Zimbabweans 221 for 8 (Matsikenyeri 49, Hossain 3-34) beat Bangladesh Cricket Board President’s XI 195 (Chowdhury 42, Brent 3-32) by 26 runs
Scorecard

Zimbabwe got their tour off to a winning start with a 26-run victory over a Bangladesh Cricket Board President’s XI at the BKSP cricket ground in Dhaka.Zimbabwe won the toss and Stuart Matsikenyeri anchored the innings with 49 from 61 balls, including four fours and three sixes. He was ably supported by Mluleki Nkala (37) who was standing in as captain for the injured Prosper Utseya. Mosharraf Hossain was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 34 and Tapash Baishya weighed in with 3 for 50. The home side never overcame the loss of early wickets, and their hopes were virtually wiped out by a mid-innings wobble.”It was a good test for the guys because most of them had time at the crease,” said Kevin Curran, Zimbabwe’s coach. “The bowlers also got some valuable overs. We batted well, especially Stuart. But a competitive score would have been about 240, so we were short of that.”Our ground fielding also let us down as we let through 20-25 runs. If we had stopped them, we would have bowled the BCB President’s XI out much earlier. It was good that we won in the end but we made the margin much narrower that it should have been.”Zimbabwe now travel to Khulna for a Twenty20 match against Bangladesh on Tuesday, and the first ODI on Thursday.&

If Michael Hussey was a mountain climber he would have spent years sprinting up lower-level peaks before getting a chance at Everest and reaching the summit without oxygen masks or sherpas. Hussey’s opening season in Test cricket was so dizzying that he enters an era-defining campaign with a sportsman’s form of vertigo.Second-season syndrome might be ranked next to the Discworld’s foaming sheep sickness among manufactured diseases, but if athletes don’t swear by the affliction they are definitely aware of its dangers. Hussey was the master of most situations in 2005-06, finishing with career averages in the 70s for both Tests and one-day internationals, and the threat of slipping towards mortal status pushed him to form a guidebook for success.”I have actually thought about it [the second-season blues] and I’m a little anxious about the summer,” he said. “Last year went so well, better than I could have ever dreamed of, so it’s natural that I think how can I back that up? How can I average 75 in Test cricket again?”The plan involves following the same routine to prepare for each innings, which is a regime he has perfected through the past five years of dominance in England, Australia and with the national team. “I know and I trust it,” he said during the squad’s camp at Coolum. “If I stick to my plan and stick to my processes, maybe I won’t go as well, maybe I’ll go better, but I know in my heart that hopefully I can be pretty consistent and have strong performances.”Hussey’s second full international campaign begins as vice-captain in place of Adam Gilchrist for the Champions Trophy warm-up in Malaysia in two weeks. The ascent to the team’s leadership ranks has been almost as swift as his batting rise. Hussey is comfortable in charge and holds leadership ambitions, but is not in a hurry to accept full-time authority.After his first off-season in five years Hussey’s priority is releasing the nervous energy of the winter by playing. A compulsive trainer, he has been running, netting and shadow batting and is “sick of all the preparation”. “I’m not used to having such a long break,” he said, “and I’m craving cricket and time in the middle.”Reading Steve Waugh’s autobiography has helped fill in some of his recent spare time, but most has been devoted to his wife and two young children. “The kids were a bit sick in the winter and I really wanted a cricket tour when I was getting two hours’ sleep a night,” he said as he chuckled. He is about to get his wish.The Champions Trophy starts in October, the Ashes in November and then there is a rash of one-day matches before the World Cup concludes in April. With plenty of spaces for pitfalls, Hussey is ready if he slips off the path. “The game does have a great way of bringing you back down to earth,” he said. “I am prepared if things don’t go according to plan.”He is also willing to trade his mountainous figures for those of a regular batsman if it means securing team success. “I would be happy if I averaged 45 and Australia won the Ashes, the Champions Trophy, the World Cup and every other tournament we set our minds to,” he said. “Actually, I’d be happy averaging 35 if we did that.”

Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has predicted there will be no changes to the batting and fast-bowling line-ups for the first Test against West Indies unless there are injuries. Australia’s 15-man squad starts its pre-tour camp in Brisbane on Monday and the incumbents, who were part of the 2-1 victory over India, will be boosted by Nielsen’s faith.”The success Lee, Clark and Johnson had as a fast-bowling group last summer means if they are fit and well they’ll be leading the attack,” Nielsen said in the Sunday Mail. “The batting group has been quite stable – Hayden, Jaques, Ponting, Hussey, Clarke and Symonds had successful summers – so the guys that featured in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will have the first opportunity to represent Australia in the West Indies.”There are only two vacancies and Brad Haddin will become the country’s 400th Test player when he takes the gloves from Adam Gilchrist for the first Test in Jamaica on May 22. Stuart MacGill, who has recovered from wrist and knee injuries, is the leading candidate to replace the retired Brad Hogg while Beau Casson is also in the squad. “Traditionally, we like the balance of a spinner,” Nielsen said. “So unless it will be a raging greentop, I’d say we’ll play a spinner.”Ashley Noffke and Doug Bollinger were the two form bowlers during the first-class season, but Mitchell Johnson has the inside running to add to his six Tests. Noffke will start the tour, his second to the West Indies, as the first-choice back-up option.”He’s in the squad so that shows how close he is, but to be honest I wouldn’t expect him to be in the first team unless there is injury,” Nielsen said. “Ashley was rewarded with some one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket last year and he’s jumped up another level again. It’s really pleasing for us to know that if we have an injury, a guy like Noffke can step in and do the job.”

India 157 for 5 (Gambhir 75, Gul 3-28) beat Pakistan 152 (Misbah-ul-Haq 43, Pathan 3-16, RP Singh 3-23) by 5 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Ten days earlier, India and Pakistan couldn’t be separated in Durban. Infront of a frenzied crowd at the Wanderers on Monday, they played outperhaps the best final ever seen in a major tournament. Once again, theice-cool Misbah-ul-Haq threatened to drag Pakistan back from the brink,but the Indians just about held their nerve to clinch a five-run victoryand the inaugural ICC World Twenty20.After scrapping hard to get to 157 for 5 in the face of some tigerishbowling and fielding, India were inspired with the ball, and Pakistanappeared to be well out of contention with 54 needed from 24 balls andjust three wickets in hand. But when Misbah thumped Harbhajan Singh forthree sixes and Sohail Tanvir chipped in with a four-ball 12, theimprobable became possible.With Misbah on strike, Pakistan needed 13 from the final over. After agreat deal of thought, Mahendra Singh Dhoni gambled on the inexperiencedJoginder Sharma. When he started with a wide, Indian fans groaned, and thesituation became even more desperate when Misbah pummelled a full tossmiles over long-off for six. But with victory in his grasp, his judgementfailed him. Moving across his stumps, he went for the scoop down to fineleg. He didn’t connect cleanly, and millions on the subcontinent heldtheir breath as Sreesanth came under the ball at short fine leg. When heheld it, the stadium erupted.The architects of the Indian triumph were the two left-armers, RudraPratap Singh and Irfan Pathan, both of whom scalped three wickets toscupper the chase. Singh struck in both his opening overs, having MohammadHafeez caught at slip and knocking Kamran Akmal’s off stump out of theground, but Imran Nazir played a blinder at the other end to keep his sideahead of the asking rate.Two sixes and two fours came in Sreesanth’s opening over, as Nazir cut andpulled with immense power. Sreesanth redeemed himself with a maiden toYounis Khan, but India still needed wickets as they sought to defend amiddling total. The inspiration came from Robin Uthappa, whose unerringthrow from mid-off to the keeper’s end ended Nazir’s blistering 14-ball33.Joginder’s lack of pace provided the next breakthrough, with Younismiscuing one to mid-on, and the onus was on Shoaib Malik to see his sidehome. But with Irfan bowling a impeccable line and length and the Indianvoices in the crowd growing louder, something had to give. And it wasMalik that cracked, dragging a long hop to midwicket.Pathan was euphoric, and moments later he and his team-mates were beyondthe clouds. Shahid Afridi came to the crease with a boom-boom reputation,but left with a whimper after a heads-up heave that found Sreesanth atlong-off. With the scoreboard showing 77 for 6, the match had seeminglyswung inexorably India’s way.But Misbah, supported brilliantly by Yasir Arafat and Tanvir, had otherideas. And even though Irfan, Sreesanth and RP Singh produced magnificentyorkers to take India to the brink, no one breathed easy until Misbahfluffed his final line.Gautam Gambhir and Umar Gul had shared the limelight in the Indianinnings, with Gul taking 3 for 28 in a splendid spell where he bowledyorkers almost at will. Gambhir’s scintillating 75 held the Indian inningstogether, and a late 30-run cameo from Rohit Sharma gave India them hope.India’s plans for the game had been rocked by the groin injury to VirenderSehwag, and his replacement, Yusuf Pathan, was nearly run out afterdawdling for the first one. Otherwise known as Irfan’s older brother,Yusuf came into prominence in domestic Twenty20, and he quicklydemonstrated his ability with a straight six off Mohammad Asif.With Asif bowling well below his normal pace, Yusuf then carved onethrough point for four before an ambitious pull landed in Malik’s hands atmid-on. That stemmed the early tide, and India were reliant mainly onsingles to up the scoring rate. Uthappa endeavoured to inject somemomentum into the innings, but his attempt to go over extra-cover landedtamely in the hands of the fielder.

With Malik quickly bringing on Afridi and Hafeez, India needed someone tofind the gaps. Gambhir was the man, lacing some lovely drives through thecovers and pushing the singles as Yuvraj Singh played himself in. Gambhirwas ruthless with the loose delivery, heaving Afridi over midwicket forsix as runs started to come too quickly for Malik’s liking.His response was to call on Gul, Pakistan’s most effective pace bowler inthis competition. Gambhir cut him behind point en route to a 38-ball 50,but Gul’s round-the-wicket line was soon to earn its reward. Yuvraj, inresplendent batting form in previous big games, didn’t ever get going anda miscued pull landed straight back down in Gul’s hands.With the fielders showing tremendous commitment in the outfield and Gulmixing short-pitched deliveries with perfect yorkers, the batsmen grewincreasingly frustrated. The pressure finally told on Dhoni, whose swipemet only with air as Gul produced another fast-and-straight special.Gambhir tried to break free of the shackles, and a massive six thatthudded into the scoreboard at midwicket had the Indian fans dancing, butGul’s retribution was swift. An attempted flick-paddle went straight toAsif at short fine leg, and Gambhir’s splendid innings was finally over.Sharma had shone against South Africa in a crunch game, and he came to thefore again in the final two overs, taking Arafat for two fours before helofted a slower ball from Tanvir in the direction of long-on. Hafeez gotthere, but could only tip the ball over the rope. On such incidents arematches between these two great rivals won and lost. On an enthrallingafternoon at the Bullring though, there were no winners or losers, just aresounding success for a format that is undoubtedly here to stay.

Nantie Hayward, the South Africa quick bowler, has signed as one of Ireland’s overseas players for the Friends Provident Trophy. He has played 16 Tests and 21 ODIs for South Africa but hasn’t appeared on the international stage since 2004.Hayward has plenty of previous experience in English domestic cricket having had stints with Middlesex and Worcestershire. His arrival will help bolster the Irish team which has lost a number of its World Cup stars to counties since their return from the Caribbean.”It’s been no secret we’ve been actively pursuing an opening bowler following Boyd Rankin’s return to Derbyshire,” said coach Phil Simmons. “I’m delighted to have captured Nantie, who is a proven quality performer, experienced in English conditions, and who has the extra pace and bounce necessary to trouble county opposition. He will be here in time for the weekend double header.”Last season the Pakistan duo of Shahid Afridi and Saqlain Mushtaq appeared for Ireland, who lost their opening Friends Provident fixture this season against Kent by 58 runs.

A trust has been created to fund a number of projects in South Africa, including a training academy, in memory of Bob Woolmer, the former Pakistan coach who was murdered last Sunday.The money raised will fund the creation of a Bob Woolmer Cricket Academy outside Nelspruit in the eastern Mpumalanga province, and to ensure his book on the art and science of cricket gets published.”The Academy is for the benefit of world cricket not just South African cricket and will be run as a not-for-profit organisation,” read a statement. “One of the objectives is that children from underprivileged communities in South Africa will benefit in both a sporting and academic way.”The trust would also aim to provide financial security for his widow Gill, and sons Dale and Russell. Jonty Rhodes, the former South African batsman, was named as one of the trustees.”Bob Woolmer was one of world cricket’s most recognisable characters and servants of the game. Being one of the top coaches in world cricket did not stop him from sharing his skills and philosophies with the emerging cricketers of the world.”The investigation into Woolmer’s murder continues.