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The plays of the day from the third day of the first Test at Centurion

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion18-Dec-2009Drinks on Ntini

Makhaya Ntini should have had his first wicket yesterday evening, but AB de Villiers couldn’t lend a helping hand and a ground-ful of thirsty punters weredenied a free drink. However, in the third over of the day, Ntini bowled Andrew Strauss and launched into an expansive celebration. Before the PA could announce the moment, however, the fans were already heading to the bar, including members of the Barmy Army who, possibly for the first time ever, had some consolation over England losing a wicket.Harris gets his mate

Paul Harris and Jonathan Trott are good friends. They played together at Western Province and for Warwickshire, but now they are on opposite sides. So it will have given Harris huge pleasure that he got the better of their first battle together. Trott had become bogged down as he concentrated on survival on a pitch starting to play tricks, and then he suddenly wanted to break the shackles. He advanced down the track and aimed an ugly heave through the leg side, but didn’t make contact. The leg stump went back, Trott went off and Harris went on a celebratory sprint.Belly, Belly, Belly …
Ian Bell had a thick covering of grass to thank for his place at No. 6. If the pitch on the first morning hadn’t looked so green, Luke Wright would probably have made his Test debut, but instead England chose to play it safe. So it was a big chance for him when he strode out with the game in the balance at 168 for 4. And what did he do? He left a straight ball from Harris. It wasn’t even a marginal leave as the ball demolished middle and off stumps. Harris is a hugely under-rated bowler, but he doesn’t turn the ball much. Bell clearly believed otherwise. The death rattle will doubtless have persuaded him otherwise.Screen issues
It’s amazing how many problems sightscreens cause in international cricket, and midway through the day it happened again. The screen at the Hennops River End couldn’t quite change itself back to white when the batsman was facing up, and it remained half-and-half with the advertisement. The solution was to drape a white sheet down over the screen which was a sensible move, but won’t have impressed the companies paying hefty sums to promote their products.Swann does a KP
England would have been several leagues up the creek with scarcely a paddle-sweep for salvation if it hadn’t been for Graeme Swann. First he bowled 45 overs to claim five wickets, then he walked to the crease with his team in a hole at 221 for 7 and responded with a crackling career-best 81-ball 85. In the course of his counter-attack he showed there’s more than one player capable of the switch hit, when he flipped himself into a left-hander and swung Paul Harris through cover (or is that midwicket?). It certainly gave him something to tweet about.Anderson’s sixer
James Anderson was pretty upset to lose his duck-less Test record when he fell for 0 in the first innings of the final Ashes Test at The Oval. He is hugely proud of his batting and has provided a number of valuable innings to England’s cause. His 29 at Centurion Park could well join that list and during his 78-ball stay he managed to register his first Test six, after six years of trying. Going down on one knee, he launched Harris out of the middle of the bat and miles over deep midwicket. He now lurks just one blow behind Alastair Cook’s tally of sixes.

Virtually chanceless centuries from Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir made sure they would go to their home ground, Feroz Shah Kotla, with the series in the bag

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga24-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outGautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli turned a stiff chase into a cruise•Associated Press

Virtually chanceless centuries from Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir made sure they would go to their home ground, Feroz Shah Kotla, with the series in the bag. The ease with which they chased down 316 in 48.1 overs, with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar out inside the first four overs, and the absences of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh for this match, was remarkable. On a day that youngsters outshone the more familiar performers in the series, Upul Tharanga’s first ODI century in 53 innings and more than three years, along with Suranga Lakmal’s opening burst finished second-best to the 224-run partnership between the Delhi batsmen.The Sri Lankan spinners were hampered by the dew, and were not helped by the ease with which the Indian batsmen kept alternating the strike. Kumar Sangakkara’s strategy to sit and wait for a mistake in the middle overs confounded equally. Of the 224 runs that Kohli and Gambhir added, they ran 125. As a result, they were not forced to take risks, neither did the required run-rate ever go over 6.7.That had little bearing on how well Kohli – who scored his maiden international century – and Gambhir played. The main features of Kohli’s innings were the flicks into the leg side, and punches off the back foot. Gambhir looked to run the ball off the face of the bat, place it into gaps for couples, and he also made sure he was there till the end.Lakmal would have happily settled with Sehwag and Tendulkar as his first two international wickets, within seven deliveries and before either batsman had settled down, had Kohli and Gambhir not staged the comeback. Neither batsmen needed to take the aerial route. The only element of risk was Kohli’s moving across the stumps, but his bat kept coming down at the right time.Debutant Thissara Perera went for 28 in his four overs, and was replaced by Lasith Malinga, who helped in opening the floodgates. Kohli flicked him for two boundaries on the leg side, and crashed him through the off side for two more, off consecutive deliveries in his first over. After nine overs, India had galloped along to 70, and Kohli to 26 off 22.Lakmal continued to get the odd ball to rise awkwardly, but he lacked support from the other end. And once India’s run-rate went above the required rate, both the batsmen settled down into milking mode and waited for the loose balls, which Malinga kept providing India with.With spin came signs that the dew would have an effect on the remainder of the match. In his second over, Suraj Randiv bowled a lob down the leg side, and Kohli took advantage. The boundary again took India ahead of the required rate, and in the next couple of overs both the batsmen reached their fifties.They cruised towards their centuries, but not before Kohli presented Sri Lanka with the only glimpse of opportunity. He had reached 88, and India 207 for 2 in 33 overs, when he nicked the first ball from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Sangakkara, though, couldn’t hold on to a tough chance. The two batsmen then reached their respective centuries mirroring each other – moving from 99 to 100 in consecutive deliveries. In what was the definitive tale of the innings, both got those singles with only four fielders inside the circle.The century attained, Kohli holed out to long-on, trying to finish off the game early, but Gambhir made sure there were no further mishaps, scoring 47 off the 70 remaining runs.Tharanga was made to work harder for his seventh century earlier in the day. For the first time in the series, India came out with an effective plan to keep Tharanga and Dilshan quiet in the opening overs. Both Zaheer and Nehra kept two men on the leg-side boundary for Dilshan, the third man was left vacant, but no room was given and neither was he offered anything to drive.As a result, India managed their first maiden of the series – bowled by Nehra – and not one boundary was conceded in the first five overs. In the first three matches, Sri Lanka reached their 50 in 3.4 overs, 6.3 overs, and 7.2 overs. At those various stages, Sri Lanka had scored 6 for 0, 23 for 0 and 24 for 0 today.Dilshan fell into the trap and pulled Nehra low to Kohli at fine leg, but in one swift act of acceleration, and solid consolidation thereafter, Tharanga almost single-handedly undid India’s improved effort.India’s fielding was a huge improvement over their earlier efforts, but they still dropped Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara. That cost them 171 runs, and left them chasing 300-plus – a total that did scant justice to the efforts of Zaheer and Nehra who took 4 for 117 between them.Like Malinga with Kohli later in the match, Ishant Sharma provided Tharanga with the release and the momentum in the 12th over. Ishant provided him driving length, and also width, and was punished with five boundaries in his first over. All of a sudden, Tharanga was 45 off 43 balls.A period of consolidation followed, and Tharanga and Sangakkara added 126 runs in 23.4 overs without any concern. After Sangakkara’s dismissal, and Tharanga’s soon after, Perera stunned India with 31 off 14 balls, but Zaheer and Nehra came back well to ensure the damage done was not beyond repair.

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said he is raring to go in the five-match ODI series against Australia, beginning in Brisbane on Friday

Cricinfo staff20-Jan-2010Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said he is raring to go in the five-match ODI series against Australia, beginning in Brisbane on Friday. Younis will be returning after a two-month absence from the team, having taken an indefinite break following Pakistan’s 2-1 ODI series loss to New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.Younis had claimed then that he had “lost command” of his side, amid reports that there was unhappiness within the team over his leadership. He went underground immediately after, only to resurface suddenly while attending a PCB coaching course in Lahore. His stint with Habib Bank Limited on the domestic circuit yielded little as well – 29 runs in two matches.Ushered back into a 17-man squad for the ODIs to help lift a side that was trounced 3-0 in the Test series, Younis said he had reached Australia feeling ”energetic”. ”If you look at my last four or five years – it has just been back-to-back travelling and I was just tired and I missed my family,” Younis told AAP. ”That was the main reason for me leaving – I needed some time for myself and my family. I got that and now I am back and I feel energetic. I had a really good time with my family so I am feeling very good at the moment.”Mohammad Yousuf, who was appointed captain in Younis’ absence for the Test series in New Zealand and Australia, had in fact criticised the Pakistan selectors for not sending Younis to Australia earlier to bolster the inexperienced side.However, Younis said the Test series was contested more closely than the score line suggested. ”I watched the matches and I thought we were really unlucky in that second Test in Sydney,” he said. ”It was very close. It was a whitewash but it wasn’t like it was totally one-sided. We have a very young side at the moment – I thought we fought really hard.”Pakistan will also welcome back Shahid Afridi and Naved-ul-Hasan for the upcoming series, both of whom played the Twenty Big Bash as part of Australian state teams. Younis believed that Pakistan’s fortune would change in the limited-overs leg of the tour, which also included a Twenty20. “This team, everyday, is different,” Younis said. “We are young, as everyone knows, but when we lose a couple of games we have fought back. In the one-dayers, I think things will start over – things will be very different.”

JP Duminy, the under-fire South Africa batsman, has returned home after sustaining a hand injury, and Kepler Wessels believes that the break is a blessing in diguise for Duminy as he searches for confidence and form

Cricinfo staff26-Feb-2010JP Duminy, South Africa’s middle-order batsman, has returned home and will miss the third and final ODI against India in Ahmedabad. Duminy, who has had a torrid time with the bat in recent times, sustained a hand injury in Gwalior, where India took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series.Kepler Wessels, the batting consultant of the South African team, feels that the injury-break is a blessing in disguise for Duminy, who is looking to regain confidence. “We mentioned a few technical and psychological aspects that we would like him to work on. It’s a good thing that he will now go and play in the Indian Premier League where the pressure is not so intense and he will be able to regain his confidence,” Wessels told .After a dream start to his Test career, including a fifty and a hundred in his first two Tests during South Africa’s successful tour of Australia, Duminy’s form has dropped alarmingly. In his last eight international innings he has managed 58 runs, with only one score in double-digits and four first-ball ducks. In particular, he has struggled to counter offspinners, such as Graeme Swann and Harbhajan Singh, early in his innings.But Wessels sees no reason why the youngster cannot regain his form. “It is not unusual for young players to start struggling after early success once opponents start making plans for them. In that case it’s the young player’s task to find a counter. JP has the world’s talent and I believe he can fight back,” Wessels said.

Waqar Younis has been offered a contract by the PCB to coach the Pakistan side until December 2011

Osman Samiuddin27-Feb-2010Waqar Younis has been offered a contract by the PCB to coach the Pakistan side until December 2011. The former fast bowler, in Sydney currently, received the contract yesterday and is expected to sign it and send it back over the next few days, in the process becoming Pakistan’s fourth coach in three years.The PCB finally confirmed that they had made an offer to Waqar to coach the side. “I would like Waqar to join the Pakistan team,” Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, said at a press conference. “We are awaiting a reply as we have offered him to take over as our head coach.”It is believed that Waqar has some concerns over the contract that has been sent and will raise a couple of points with the board. There is likely to be further negotiation over the financial package and Waqar is also keen to have a clause which allows him to take stock of his role after the 2011 World Cup, a buffer of sorts against what is a generally a period of considerable administrative turbulence.Some of the targets set in the contract, about what the team needs to be achieving in that timescale might also be re-calibrated. None of them, however, are thought to be significant enough to derail his desire to be coach.Waqar will likely be working alongside former team-mate Ijaz Ahmed, who will be, according to Butt, the fielding coach for the side. Ijaz was in charge of the recent Under-19 Pakistan side that finished runners-up at the World Cup in New Zealand; as one of the best Pakistan fielders of his time he is expected to improve the lot of what must be among the world’s poorest fielding sides. Ijaz was with the side in Dubai as a batting and fielding trainer for the two Twenty20 internationals against England.The PCB has also spoken about their plans to engage foreign coaches for consultancy stints as and when needed on Pakistan’s tours, of which there will be a few given that they are not playing at home for some time. The idea sits well with Waqar.”I think that is good thinking and I would be happy with anything that works to better and improve the state of the national side,” Waqar told Cricinfo.Remarkably there is still no official announcement on the fate of Intikhab Alam, the man Waqar is replacing. Intikhab still has time to run on his contract; he was appointed for two years in October 2008. The board initially said that a decision would be taken on the coaching set-up only after an inquiry committee analyzing the Australia tour completed its work and made its recommendations. But they seem to have pre-empted themselves by contacting and now offering the position, without having – publicly at least – decided on the fate of Intikhab.

Shahid Afridi has been named captain of the Pakistan squad for the World Twenty20 starting next month in the Caribbean

Osman Samiuddin23-Mar-2010The Pakistan Cricket Board ended weeks of uncertainty, by appointing Shahid Afridi to lead the country’s campaign to defend the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean from the end of next month. Afridi will once again take up the role he was given last year, after Younis Khan stepped away from the format, though he has for now only been handed the role for the duration of the tournament.”It’s a challenge for me and I accept it,” Afridi said. “We are going to the West Indies with only one aim and that is to defend our title.”The limit on the tenure appears to be a result of the disciplinary action Afridi has faced since he was found guilty of ball-tampering – biting the ball repeatedly – in an ODI in Perth where he was captain. Until then, Pakistan had settled on Afridi as the Twenty20 captain till the World Cup and potentially as an ODI leader as well. But after that incident Afridi’s stock fell considerably.He was banned by the ICC for two T20Is, which led to Shoaib Malik taking over, albeit reluctantly. Then, the board slapped him with a Rs 3 million ($35,000) fine for the same incident, as well as placing him under probation for six months. Any further breaches, the message is clear, and punishment could be harsher.The board took the unusual step of announcing a 15-man squad for the tournament without naming a captain earlier this month. Since then, and despite his punishments, Afridi was the clear frontrunner among a limited pool of alternatives. He met the chairman Ijaz Butt once in that period. He is flying in to Lahore today, having collected a presidential award during the day in Karachi.Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Salman Butt were thought to be in the running as well, but Afridi’s record in the format – he is among the most influential all-round players in the world – and a naturally aggressive streak has made the choice an easier one.Afridi has already led his country in three T20Is and won all of them, with little outward detriment to his own individual impact. The decision to announce the captain so late does leave open the charge, however, that neither captain nor coach – the recently-appointed Waqar Younis – had any say in the team they will be in charge of in the Caribbean.Pakistan will be without the services of Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, both banned by the PCB, as well as the injured Sohail Tanvir. Afridi said their absences from the Caribbean campaign were unfortunate. “Rana, Malik and Tanvir could have been in my playing eleven because they had performed well in the past,” he said.

third-wicket partnership of 223 between Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali saw Worcestershire recover well from the shock of losing both openers without scoring on the second day of their County Championship match against Surrey at Whitgift School

22-Apr-2010

ScorecardVikram Solanki’s silky hundred rescued Worcestershire from a tricky position•PA Photos

A third-wicket partnership of 223 between Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali saw Worcestershire recover well from the shock of losing both openers without scoring on the second day of their County Championship match against Surrey at Whitgift School.Facing an intimidating Surrey total of 493 in the Division Two encounter, Worcestershire started poorly when Andre Nel claimed Daryl Mitchell leg before in his first over and Iftikhar Anjum had Phil Jaques caught behind in his second.But Solanki and Moeen countered with a century apiece before Worcestershire closed on 262 for 3, 122 runs behind. The pitch was remarkably dry for April and the ball was turning for Gareth Batty and Chris Schofield, two former England spinners, but Solanki, still one of the best batsmen in county cricket at 34, and Moeen, the former England Under-19 captain, did not allow them to dominate.Solanki greeted both spinners by hitting them for four and six in their first overs and on one occasion Moeen hit Schofield for eight – a six over long-on and two penalty runs for a no ball.
Solanki had a fright on 94 when he gave Schofield a return catch off another no ball but was the first to his hundred off 153 balls with four sixes and 12 fours. He had made 114 when he was bowled pushing forward to a ball from Nel that seemed to nip back at him.Moeen reached his century off 179 balls with two sixes and 14 fours and was still there on 122 at the close. Their partnership was a record for Worcestershire’s third wicket against Surrey, beating the 165 set by Solanki and Ben Smith at New Road in 2007.Surrey had started the day on 415 for 6 but lost Schofield in the second over without addition to their score when he drove Richard Jones to Moeen at cover point. Steve Davies, playing against his former county, added 18 to his overnight 119 before skying Moeen to mid-wicket where he was well caught by Alan Richardson running round from mid-on. He had scored his 137 off 200 balls with a six and 16 fours.There were more useful runs from Nel until he was run out by Solanki’s direct hit from mid-off and Iftikhar before he holed out to mid-on off Moeen .

Cricinfo previews the Group A match between Pakistan and Bangladesh in St Lucia

The Preview by Osman Samiuddin01-May-2010

Match facts

Saturday, May 1, St Lucia

Start time 1330 (1730 GMT)The last time Bangladesh celebrated victory in a Twenty20 was at the 2007 World T20•Getty Images

Big Picture

Rust could conceivably be a part of it when Bangladesh and Pakistan open proceedings in a tight Group A. The defending champions have played six Twenty20 internationals since last year’s final and Bangladesh only two. Neither set of players had any involvement in the IPL, though there was some competitive domestic T20s.But the format bestows natural flavours to both sides; Pakistan’s players are long used to it and of Bangladesh it is said that the shorter the format the greater their opportunity. Bald statistics, in win-loss numbers, don’t bear this out but the threat remains greatest surely in this format, given the fine margins on which it is built.In any case, Bangladesh are much improved recently, as performances against India and England indicate. In Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza they have the makings of a solid spine. Sprinkled around them, Pakistan will do well to understand, is credible danger in men such as Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah and Abdur Razzak.But even without Umar Gul, Pakistan will take some bringing down. Is there any side in the tournament as flexible? There are five allrounders (not including Kamran Akmal) in the squad and conceivably four of them will make any starting XI. If the batting is thinned, and will miss Shoaib Malik and even Younis Khan from last year, the bowling attack and its variety will be the envy of all.Both sides are blessed with spin and it may well be a decisive factor.

Form guide (most recent first)

Pakistan WLLWW
Bangladesh LLLLL

Watch out for

Pakistan’s middle order is bare, so much will depend on Umar Akmal, their batting discovery of the last year. He hasn’t quite exploded in the format just yet, but his skills are far too well-rounded for that to remain the case. He has the shots and the head and a couple of handy innings in the Champions Trophy last year hinted at a temperament for the big stage.Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh’s Atlas, a man eminently capable not only of propping up his side when needed, but dragging them along in his brilliance. In particular, given Pakistan’s frailties against left-arm spin, his four overs will have to be carefully monitored. He hasn’t struck gold with the bat yet in T20 internationals, but it is only a matter of time.

Team news

Pakistan’s ideal line-up should be fairly straightforward, especially the batting, in which there are fairly limited options. The bowling will depend on the surface; if there is spin, they can play two seamers (with Abdul Razzaq the third seamer) and have up to five spinning options. Otherwise they can play three fast bowlers (with Razzaq again) and still have four spinning options.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Shahid Afridi (capt), 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Fawad Alam, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Mohammad Sami, 9 Mohammad Aamer, 10 Mohammad Asif, 11 Saeed AjmalBangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Aftab Ahmed, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Naeem Islam, 7 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 8 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Syed Rasel

Stats and trivia

The decline of West Indies cricket, Hilaire added, was also a reflection of what, according to him, was the virtual irrelevance of the “notion of being West Indian” to the younger players

Cricinfo staff28-May-2010In a scathing criticism of West Indies cricket, Ernest Hilaire, the CEO of the region’s cricket board, has said fans will have to endure more “embarrassment” in the years to come not merely due to the lack of quality cricketers coming through but also because of the overall attitude of players towards the game, with money and fame favoured over excellence. The decline of West Indies cricket, Hilaire added, was also a reflection of what, according to him, was the virtual irrelevance of the “notion of being West Indian” to the younger players.”I listen to our players speak, and they speak of money, that’s all that
matters to them – instant gratification,” Hilaire said during a panel discussion on the topic ‘Nationalism and the Future of West Indies cricket’ at the University of the West Indies in Barbados. “There’s no sense of investing in the future coming from them. We are producing young people in the region that we expect, when they play cricket for the West Indies, to be paragons of virtue. That just won’t happen.”Sometimes when you speak to the players, you feel a sense of emptiness. The whole notion of being a West Indian, and for what they are playing has no meaning at all.”They have not been brought up with a clear understanding of what it means,
and its importance. But do we blame them?”This change in attitude was a product of the wider societal ills in the Caribbean, Hilaire said. “Our cricketers are products of the failure of our Caribbean society, where money and instant gratification are paramount. We as a region have some real issues and problems that are producing young men in particular, that cannot dream of excellence. Excellence for them is about the bling, and the money they have.”There was no shortage of advice for improving the state of affairs in West Indies cricket, Hilaire said, but until there was the right infrastructure, the decline was bound to continue. “Until the High Performance Centre, as a structure of support that has been created now [in Barbados] to prepare the next generation, we will suffer a lot of embarrassments and a lot of awfulness, because our present cricketers are not prepared.”I have listened to many past players, taxi drivers, immigration officers,
and hotel barmen to name a few. All will give you advice on what to do with
West Indies cricket. People ask me, ‘What will you do about this team? They are an
embarrassment’! I tell them you have about three more years of embarrassment
still to witness.”Hilaire said there was little hope even in those who could take over the reins from the existing senior team. “I keep hearing from people, ‘Fire those [current] guys, and bring in new ones!’, but where is the new set coming from? Who are we going to
bring in?”Somebody said to me, ‘Bring in the Under-19s. They came third at the Youth
World Cup’. And I whispered that almost half of the Under-19 team could
barely read or write. The simple fact is that we are producing cricketers who are not capable of being world-beaters in cricket. It’s just a simple fact.”While acknowledging that there was talent coming through, Hilaire said there was a general failure in the transition to succeeding at the highest level. “We can win matches occasionally, but not consistently with what we have,” he said. “It is not that we do not have the talent, but in today’s cricketing world, having talent alone means absolutely nothing.”For the last nine years, we have been chopping and changing. Between 2000
and 2009, the WICB has tried 59 new players in Test match cricket alone. We have put young men in the international arena only to be slaughtered, demoralised, dejected, and the development path they ought to take never really takes place.”