All posts by csb10.top

Ireland women have named the squad they hope will earn them a place at the 2009 World Cup. Heather Whelan, who has been captain since 2005, will continue to lead them in the qualifiers in Lahore next month.Their latest World Cup campaign, in 2005, was disappointing: they came bottom, having failed to win a match. Most of the squad have experience from that campaign, though, and with a busy summer under their belts – including a full domestic programme, participation in a men’s league, summer tour to Sussex and the European Championships in Holland – and intensive training, they are confident of making the World Cup.Pakistan represent the biggest challenge of the group. Though Ireland women have never lost to them, Pakistan will be out to settle some scores from when their men fell to Ireland men in the World Cup earlier this year.But some of Ireland’s players from that match, and indeed the World Cup, are on hand to lend their experience. Trent Johnston, Adi Birrell and Matt Dwyer are helping out the women with one-to-one coaching, alongside their bowling coach Thinus Fourie, who is also an Ireland international.The women’s coach Miriam Grealey said of the preparations to come: “We will be working on playing spin, footwork, and batting with more aggression and confidence, but also on areas for individual development. We are working hard on our consistency which is the key to winning.”Our fielding has really improved over the last couple of years, we have watched and learned from the likes of Australia and New Zealand and, in this area, I feel we are on a par with any of the top nations.”We recognise that the conditions will be tougher in Pakistan, so physical fitness, conditioning and circuit training are all part of our overall preparation.”Squad Anne Linehan, Caitriona Beggs, Cecelia Joyce, Ciara Metcalfe, Clare Shillington, Eimear Richardson, Elaine Nolan, Heather Whelan (capt), Isobel Joyce, Jean Carroll, Jill Whelan, Jillian Smythe, Marianne Herbert, Nicki Coffey.

Hooray for helmets
The selection of Farveez Maharoof created a headache for the team before the first Test and the bowler finished the match with one. Brett Lee’s bouncer is mean most of the time, but it is even more dangerous on a murky morning and Maharoof was unable to avoid it. He turned his head as he ducked and the ball thudded into the back of his helmet, ballooning to Adam Gilchrist. It was the second helmet Lee had struck in the game after finding Marvan Atapattu’s in the first innings.Not yet safe hands
Phil Jaques staged a verbal defence of his fielding before returning to the Test team on Thursday and he has spent much of the match at short leg, a position he has been working hard to master. His efforts in close have been fine but he made a mistake at square leg in the second over of the morning. Lunging to intercept Chamara Silva’s flick off Stuart Clark, he was unable to grab the chance that was comfortable by Test standards.Nifty fifty
After Stuart MacGill’s speedy achievement of 200 wickets in 41 Tests comes Stuart Clark’s acceleration to 50. Clark recovered quickly from Jaques’ spill to trap Prasanna Jayawardene lbw in his next over and bring up his half-century in 10 games. Charlie Turner reached the mark in a record six matches while other Australians to beat Clark included Fred Spofforth, Rodney Hogg and Terry Alderman (eight matches) and MacGill, Arthur Mailey and JJ Ferris (nine).The immoveable feast
Tea times have permission to switch due to rain or a team being nine wickets down, but the lunch reservation is always the same. Sri Lanka lost four wickets in the 18.5 overs allowed by the rain and regulations in the first session, with Lee making the penultimate breakthrough two minutes after the food was due. The 40-minute break was taken and the players returned for 15 balls before Muttiah Muralitharan was bowled by Clark.

Barbados-born Mark Lavine turned on a bit of Caribbean style on Saturday to entertain fans in a one of the backwaters of the cricket world with a all-round performance that continues to have the fancied Highveld Strikers on the back foot against North West.After taking career-best figures of six for 55 in the the Strikers’ first innings, Lavine held the North West reply together with a hard-hitting 85, before taking the one Strikers wicket to fall before stumps on day two.Lavine’s knock came off just 97 balls and included ten fours and three sixes, helping to hold together a North West innigs that at one stage looked as if it was on the point of imploding dramatically.When Lavine strode to the wicket, North West had just lost their fourth wicket with just 109 on the board. Despite a useful start from the openers, wickets fell at irritatingly regular intervals for North West as they looked to establish a healthy first innings lead.That they earned an advantage of 53 runs was as much a result of some fine batting for the tenth wicket as it was the product of Lavine’s brilliance. Roe and Jordaan rode their luck in a partnership of 49, frustrating the Strikers attack with a succession of unorthodox strokes.The sense that Lavine was the beneficiary of some divine assistance was only enhanced when he raced in to take the only Strikers wicket to fall before bad light stopped play – Bacher caught behind by Poole for just nine. If North West can continue to prise such spectacular performances from Lavine and play with the kind of collective commitment they have already shown this season, they may have a surprise in store for some of the other traditional powerhouses on their visits to Potchefstrom.

Left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava has been named Zimbabwe’s new Test and ODI captain.Ngarava, 27, takes over from Craig Ervine, who stepped down from the role, according to a media statement from Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC). Allrounder Brian Bennett was announced as Ngarava’s deputy. Veteran Sikandar Raza will continue to captain Zimbabwe in T20Is.The new appointments were made following the Zimbabwe board’s fourth quarter meeting in Harare. “Ngarava has shown remarkable growth as a player and leader over the years,” ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said. “He commands respect within the dressing room and has consistently delivered for Zimbabwe across all formats. We believe he is ready to lead the team into its next chapter.”Craig Ervine led with professionalism, resilience and dignity during a challenging period. ZC is deeply grateful for his contribution to the team’s stability and progress.”Ngarava has played 11 Tests and 145 white-ball internationals for Zimbabwe since making his debut in 2017. He is Zimbabwe’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, with 108 strikes in 90 matches at an economy rate of 7.30. He also has franchise T20 experience, having had stints in the UAE’s ILT20, Lanka Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League.At 22, Bennett has scored centuries in all formats for Zimbabwe and is known for his attacking enterprise at the top.”Brian’s appointment as vice-captain reflects our confidence in his cricketing intelligence, maturity and long-term leadership potential,” Mukuhlani said. “He represents the future of Zimbabwean cricket.”

Clare Connor has been taken on a new role alongside being the ECB’s chief executive – she has been appointed as the European representative to the ICC Women’s Committee. It’s the same role that her predecessor Gill McConway held.The committee, formed in 2005, has three main objectives: to govern and manage women’s cricket in conjunction with the ICC; provide leadership to the Regional Development Managers to assist them in developing women’s cricket in their region; and to make recommendations to the ICC Development Committee for future women’s cricket initiatives.Connor will join representatives from four other regions on the committee, which meets twice a year, including Carol Whilby-Maxwell (Americas), Catherine Campbell (East-Asia-Pacific), Kerri Laing (Africa) and Shubhangi Kulkarni (Asia). The Netherlands’ Betty Timmer is the committee’s chairwoman.Connor captained England for six years from 2000 until retiring. She was awarded the MBE in 2004 and the OBE in 2006. She said she was honoured by the appointment. “With so much international cricket on the horizon, and participation levels at an all-time high, it is an exciting time to be in a position to make an impact on the women’s game through association with ICC.”In particular, the women’s World Cup and the Twenty 20 World Championships, both in 2009, will be impressive showcase events to show how dynamic the women’s game has become in recent years.”

Scorecard

Michael Dighton completed a brilliant week with his second one-day century as Tasmania overcame Western Australia by three wickets in Hobart. Having slammed an unbeaten 146 against New South Wales on Sunday, Dighton backed up with a smooth 106 as he steered the successful chase of Western Australia’s 6 for 227 and extended the Tigers’ FR Cup lead to 10 points.Dighton drove the ball strongly down the ground and was powerful off the back foot during his 119-ball innings that included 13 fours, including a pull off Brad Hogg to bring up three figures. The Tigers needed his mature display as they threatened to slip up on a two-paced pitch.Travis Birt (18) and Ricky Ponting (10) went early in the chase and there were further stumbles when Dan Marsh, George Bailey – he fell to a stunning outfield catch by Ben Edmondson – and Tim Paine departed. Dighton look relaxed throughout and he almost sealed the win, exiting 18 runs short when he was caught trying to loft over mid-off. He became the third of Danny McLauchlan’s four wickets and left Luke Butterworth to secure the result with 32 not out.The pitch looked made for runs, but both teams had to fight on the surface after Western Australia won the toss and batted. They were rescued by their captain Adam Voges and Darren Wates after slumping to 6 for 129 when Hogg miscued a full-toss on 33.Western Australia had Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey in their ranks, but both international players went quickly and when Sean Ervine was bowled trying to sweep Xavier Doherty they had lost half their batsmen for 75. Brendan Drew bowled both Hussey and Shaun Marsh while Ben Hilfenhaus and Brett Geeves also made early marks.Voges remained calm and shelved his aggressive shots as he plotted a way out of the damage. It took him 118 balls to reach an unbeaten 88, which included two sixes as he accelerated, while Wates picked up 44 not out. The 98-run stand pushed the visitors to a useful total, but it was not enough.

Chris Martin, the New Zealand seamer, has expressed surprise at being selected for the Twenty20 World Championship but hoped he would excel in the tournament. “I’d scheduled this time of the year to do a few university studies,” Martin told the .Martin, who will share the new ball with Shane Bond, was picked as John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, wanted specialists to play in the tournament. “The likelihood of me having to bat is quite minimal and you need to have specialists at either end, I think,” Martin said.Martin said the Twenty20 format would be harsh on the bowlers. “I’m leaving the country without my ego, I think,” he said. “If I can go at under ten an over then I’ll be happy, so it’s not usual for any type of cricket I’ve played in the past.”Martin said he had only played about half a dozen games of Twenty20, but had enjoyed them. “It’s got a nice speed to it, which you sort of get used to – performing under quite intense pressure,” he said. “And the crowds come along to watch as well which is quite a bonus.”People are still learning how to play it and there are some countries around the world that have played it a lot more than New Zealand. So for us to arrive with the right game plan and the right philosophy will be quite important to us doing well. It’s also one that I’ll hopefully look back on as being a highlight.”Meanwhile, Brendon McCullum, the wicketkeeper, hopes to bat up the order and take charge of the innings with some big-hitting. McCullum started his international career as an opener before dropping down the order.”I have a little bit of responsibility to try to score a big innings somewhere along the line,” he said. McCullum was looking forward to play with his brother Nathan McCullum, who was picked for the tournament for his all-round skills. “It’ll be good,” Brendon said. “I caught up with him last week and I know he’s pretty excited.”The offspinner Jeetan Patel, who is suffering from flu, has been working on pitching the ball in the blockhole at the indoor nets. “Being able to hit the hole is a big part of Twenty20 so I’ve been working on that, but it seems a little bit fake doing it indoors so I can’t wait to get away and start doing some real work,” Patel said.

Jacques Kallis has joined the chorus of international cricketers in urging the ICC to have a separate window for the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kallis felt the players were experiencing an increasing workload and highlighted it as the reason for the lack of allrounders in the game at present.”If you see the amount of cricket we’ve been playing there may be evenmore of a decline [in allrounders],” Kallis said ahead of the first Test against India in Chennai. “There’s just too much of workload on the allrounders and they’re going to have to come up with some plan to cut it down. Otherwise the allrounders may have to become [solely] Test players or ODI players to cope with the workload. From that point of view, it is sad to see.”Adding to the gruelling schedule will be the inaugural 44-day IPL tournament, set to start on April 18. “It’s tough to turn down good money,” he said, “and somewhere along the line there is going to be sacrifices having to be made. It will have to be done by individual players. As far as I’m concerned, I still think I’ve got a good few years left in me and hopefully the IPL will be lucrative.”It’s going to be a tough decision and maybe the ICC will have to integrate the IPL into the international season and make sure that’s part of it. Hopefully work around it, still giving the players a break. Maybe they can come up with some formula – limit it to 20-25 ODIs and 14-15 Tests. I don’t know the ideal number but maybe someone can work it out.”However, after its meeting in Dubai on March 18, the ICC had made it clear that the Future Tours Programme will not be altered to suit the IPL as neither the league nor the Indian board, which runs it, made such a request.South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur was the first international coach tosuggest something similar last fortnight. “I do think the IPL is good for cricket,” he told Cricinfo. “However, there must be a window period for it in the international schedule.”John Dyson, the West Indies coach, had also voiced similar concerns in the wake of the possibility that Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul would miss the first two home Tests against Australia in order to be available to play for their IPL franchises.

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson expressed regret at the five-year ban imposed on Shoaib Akhtar by a PCB disciplinary committee, adding that the fast bowler would remain an unfulfilled talent.”Whether he got banned today or not, there was always going to be some problem with Shoaib,” Lawson told the . “He has so much ability but he lacks the responsibility that’s needed to become a great fast bowler.”At times he tried really hard for us, but you just never knew what to expect when you turned up to the ground. Personally, I wouldn’t have banned him; I’d have made him earn his international place back by playing domestic cricket. It’s always sad when you see a guy who doesn’t fulfill his talent.”Lawson, in his recent tour report on the away series against India, had advised against Shoaib’s selection for Tests, indicating that he had lost confidence in his abilities in the longer version of the game. But Lawson thought Shoaib would perform well in the Indian Premier League, to which the ban does not extend. “I reckon he’ll go pretty well. We timed him in the nets last week and he was bowling over 93mph.”Meanwhile, Shoaib’s ban brought out contrasting reactions in Pakistan, with Shafqat Rana, a national selector, saying that Shoaib deserved the ban. “Akhtar has been involved in a number of controversies, and in my view the ban is justified. The decision will set an example for other cricketers as well. And they will concentrate on their game,” he told the . “It is true that a person learns from his mistakes, but unfortunately the fast bowler made it a habit of repeating his mistakes. I think the board’s zero tolerance policy should be commended.”But former captain Imran Khan criticised the PCB for its decision. “The ban on Shoaib and even on the players who have gone to play in the Indian Cricket League are unacceptable and will shake the foundations of our cricket system. We are losing good players to bad policies of the board.”Javed Miandad said that he was sorry for Shoaib while agreeing that he was involved in a lot of disciplinary cases. “I would like to add here that it is the result of the PCB’s leniency towards Shoaib’s blunders he did in the past. But now his [latest] offense is not that grave as several Pakistan Test cricketers in the past have done this type of wrong acts repeatedly and got away with those,” Miandad told .Hanif Abbasi, the newly-elected national assembly member from Rawalpindi, Shoaib’s home-town, told a local TV channel that the ban was “unacceptable” and that it would be overturned when a change of guard came about in the PCB.

Ehsan Mani has warned that the ICC could lose credibility as a result of the “disgraceful” handling of the Malcolm Speed affair. Speed was placed on gardening leave until the end of his contract in July after reportedly falling out with some of the executive board.Mani, who was president of the ICC between 2003 and 2006, said that he was disappointed with the way the matter had been dealt with. “He [Speed] has served the ICC with loyalty and a huge amount of distinction and I would have expected that if there were differences they could have been handled privately,” Mani told the .”The way the board has handled this has been disgraceful. If they do not pull their act together they will lose credibility.” Mani’s comments come in the wake of similar remarks by his predecessor, Malcolm Gray, who said that things had got out of control and that differences “should be handled better”.The current executive will also be uneasy with Mani’s comments about the independent forensic audit into Zimbabwe Cricket. It voted to keep the report secret, a decision which was the catalyst for Speed’s departure as he made it clear he did not agree with the move.”The ICC must always be transparent,” Mani said. “Ideally the report should have been made public. Nothing ever stays private. But I am hopeful that with David Morgan taking over [in July] the ICC will come through this.”