All posts by csb10.top

When Danish Kaneria came on in the 81st over of the day, Virender Sehwag was approaching a double century. Typically, rather than slow down, he seized on theopportunity to continue his dominance over the Karachi leggie. The very first ball was dispatched high over long-off for four. Later, he cut him through third man for four more. Nine runs and dominance re-asserted. Kaneria looked down, smothered by the best players of legspin, but was he out?In his next over, Sehwag, on 199 continued to attack. He skewed one high over point for two to bring up his double. Yet two balls later Kaneria, belatedly, got his man, Sehwag playing across the line and scooping the ball back to the bowler. He had been hammered, possibly scarred by Sehwag’s assault but he wasn’tbeaten. A couple of overs later a poignant footnote was added.Sourav Ganguly, once legendarily dismissive of spinners but now woefully out of form, was dropped by Younis Khan at silly mid-off. The very next ball hestepped out, was completely deceived by Kaneria’s googly and duly stumped. Kaneria back in the game and Ganguly down … and out? (OS)Like making loveVirender Sehwag plays cricket as if he is making love, with lust and abandon. He does not think twice when the moment is there to do what just has to be done, and where some other men would be cautious, he goes right ahead and does it. Slow down approaching the end of the day? Not Veeru. Be cautious approaching a landmark? Remember Multan. Cautious on 147 as his 150 comes up? Ha.So he plonked his right foot down as Danish Kaneria bowled it where Sehwag wanted him to, and heeeeaved it over long on for six, a puff of dust coming from the pitch, as if it was gasping. The crowd went into raptures, their most basic instincts aroused, and sated, by this amazing batsman, who has now crossed 150 the last six times he has crossed 100. It is good, but for Virender Sehwag, it isn’t enough. (AV)

Dwayne Bravo will not say sorry to Graeme Smith despite his request for an apology after being cleared of racial abuse in last week’s fourth Test. Tony Howard, the West Indies manager, said the West Indies Cricket Board backed Bravo’s stance and the matter was now closed.”We have full confidence in the processes that the ICC has put in place to deal with matters like these, and our position is quite clear,” Howard told AFP. “It was a matter that was reported, adjudicated upon, and a decision was handed down. Like true cricketers, we abided by the decision of the match referee.”Smith, the captain, demanded Bravo apologise after he was found not guilty by Jeff Crowe, the ICC referee, on Wednesday. He then said he would take the matter further if Bravo did not say sorry. South Africa hold a 2-0 advantage in the one-day series, with Smith scoring 103 and 6 in the weekend’s matches.Jamaica’s police have begun an investigation into a “small number” of counterfeit tickets found during the opening games at Sabina Park. “The board urges patrons to purchase tickets from authorised outlets to avoid the possibility of not being allowed entry,” a West Indies board spokesman said.

The race for India’s next coach reached one step closer to the finish line when the four short-listed candidates – Mohinder Amarnath, Greg Chappell, Desmond Haynes and Tom Moody – began the process of final interviews for the job on Thursday afternoon.A BCCI-appointed committee began the interviewing process at 2pm local time (0830 GMT). Those chosen to sit on the panel include former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. The first candidate in was Amarnath, and the rest were to follow in alphabetical order.Speculation has reached fever-pitch over who will eventually get the job, and a clear front-runner is yet to emerge. Chappell and Moody are thought to be the most likely to get the job. Haynes is thought to have been picked with the fact that the World Cup will be staged in the West Indies next, but his lack of coaching experience could go against him.There was also some doubt that Haynes would not arrive on time, because he had notyet obtained a visa, but the Indian external affairs and home ministries ensured that the necessary paperwork was processed in time, and he reached Delhi late on Wednesday evening. Amarnath, if you believe recent media reports, has done his chances no favours by making rather bold and provocative comments about who should be coach.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Danish Kaneria shrugged off an indifferent tour with a crucial four-wicket haul to put Pakistan on the verge of a series-levelling win in Jamaica. With some help from West Indian ineptitude, a wearing pitch, and David Shepherd’s largesse, Pakistan rode on, and even occasional breaks for bad light and rain could not stop their march towards victory. At the end of the fourth day they had West Indies on the ropes at 114 for 6, and suddenly the target of 280 looked an Everest-climb away.On this pitch, with the odd ball taking the top off the surface and either kicking up or staying low, it needed a bold and aggressive innings from the likes of Chris Gayle or Brian Lara to give West Indies comfort. Neither was forthcoming. Gayle, after struggling for a time against the new ball, slashed Shabbir Ahmed to Yasir Hameed in the slips (27 for 1). Soon after Ramnaresh Sarwan, who treated Kaneria with exorbitant respect, trod on his stumps and was hit-wicket (48 for 2). Lara, who needed to turn it on, tickled Kaneria to Kamran Akmal, who snapped up a fine catch down the leg side, and walked before Shepherd could give him out (48 for 3).Then Shepherd got in on the act. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a key batsman for West Indies now that the big strokemakers were gone, attempted a pull shot as ungainly as a movement of Clarence the Crab, the cheerleading float fluttering in the breeze atop the stands. The ball pitched outside the off and struck the pad outside the line of off, and yet Shepherd upheld the appeal (56 for 4). Kaneria finished with the shiny figures of 4 for 36 off 14 overs.Devon Smith was the glue that held the West Indian innings together, but he too fell as twilight descended, caught behind off a quick one from Kaneria for a 49 that included some handsome strokes (94 for 5). Wavell Hinds was the next to go, out-thought by Abdul Razzaq, and the wheels were coming off. When the light was offered with the score on 114 for 6, a long and depressing day for West Indies came to an end.When the day began, Pakistan were 193 ahead, and in a good position to seal the match and settle a score. Shahid Afridi was at the crease, ready to do his worst, with the orthodox and composed Inzamam-ul-Haq at the other end to make sure nothing went wrong. Afridi opened his arms and powerful Pathan shoulders as only he can, and attacked from the word go. He heaved and missed more than once, but he also connected. Daren Powell was the first to suffer, as a ball marginally short of length was dispatched over the midwicket fence with monstrous power.Afridi launched into a succession of big hits – mostly cross-batted shots over the on-side – and forced the bowlers to keep a full length. He added two fours and a six to his overnight tally, and reached a run-a-ball 43 before chipping Tino Best straight to Smith at midwicket (267 for 5).Razzaq replaced Afridi, but his stay was brief. He was bowled by one from Best that nipped back and stayed a touch low (273 for 6). Best then made it three good ones, sending back Akmal, attempting to cut, with a short ball that went safely to Courtney Browne’s gloves via the outside edge (279 for 7).Reon King chipped in with a wicket, and in the meantime Inzamam had moved in sight of a century, but was fast running out of partners. Good fortune did not abandon him – he chopped hard at one from King on 92 and edged to the keeper, only to see Darrell Hair signal no-ball. Eventually he did get to three figures, glancing King to the fine-leg fence.Best then rounded off a good morning’s work with his fourth wicket, when Shabbir tickled one through to the wicketkeeper (295 for 9). Kaneria was well shielded by Inzamam, but succumbed when he was left to face a full over. He fended awkwardly at a short one from Corey Collymore and managed only to spoon a catch down the pitch. Collymore covered ground well in his follow-through and took a good tumbling catch to end the Pakistan innings on 309. Inzamam was unbeaten on 117, and Pakistan had set West Indies a sizeable target to win.

How they were out

West Indies 2nd inningsGayle c Hameed b Shabbir 15 (27 for 1)
Chased a wide one and edged to the slips.Sarwan hit wicket b Kaneria 8 (48 for 2)
Trod on his stumps shifting his weight after playing a stroke.Lara c Akmal b Kaneria 0 (48 for 3)
Tickled one down the leg side and walked.Chanderpaul lbw b Kaneria 0 (56 for 4)
Adjudged lbw when struck outside the line while playing a shot.Smith c Akmal b Kaneria 49 (94 for 5)
Tickled a quick one that did not turn.Hinds c Younis b Razzaq 19 (100 for 6)
Poked at a wide one.Pakistan 2nd inningsAfridi c Smith b Best 43 (267 for 5)
Chipped a full one to midwicket.Razzaq b Best 2 (273 for 6)
Done in by a ball that came in off the pitch and kept low.Akmal c Browne b Best 1 (279 for 7)
Edged a lifter trying to cut one that was too close.Naved-ul-Hassan b King 0 (280 for 8)
Dragged a wide one back on to his stumps.Shabbir c Browne b Best 0 (295 for 9)
Tickled a full one to the keeper.Kaneria c & b Collymore 0 (309 for 10)
Fended a short ball for the bowler to take a tumbling catch.

Sourav Ganguly is getting better as a captain with everypassing day and his record is beginning to reflect it too.The Indian skipper’s 12th win in 28 Tests at the helm wasscripted by his main trump cards on home soil – hisspinners.

After winning a good toss, Ganguly wisely decided to batfirst on a newly laid track. The ever-confident VirenderSehwag was at hand to ensure that his team got off to astrong start. The more I see of the dashing opener, the moreI am convinced that he is the most refreshing thing to havehappened to Indian cricket in recent times. He never seemsto be saddled by any unwanted burden and always gives fullrein to his naturally aggressive instincts.I thought Pedro Collins bowled a good spell on the openingday. He was bowling the odd heavy ball, and getting a few tobounce rather nastily. It was one of these quick bouncersthat smashed into the back of Sehwag’s helmet. This is whatthe Windies fast bowlers have been most renowned for -hostility. I must add that Mervyn Dillon, though, cut asorry figure; he was too keen on bowling well withinhimself. Dillon and the rest of the West Indies fast bowlersfailed to apply any pressure on Sehwag and gave him enoughwidth to play his trademark strokes through the off side.Sehwag’s partner Sanjay Bangar is also coming along nicelyas an opening batsman. It is always good to have a batsman,who puts a high price on his wicket and will do his utmostto stick around and take the sheen off the new ball. WithSehwag blazing away at one end, Bangar certainly makes foran ideal foil. Each of the 201 runs that the duo put on forthe first wicket bears testimony to the strength of theirnewly-forged partnership. I sincerely hope that theselectors give these two openers a good run.The other batsman to come up with a standout performance wasRahul Dravid. By scoring his fourth consecutive Testhundred, the Indian vice-captain yet again underscored hisimportance in this Indian team. The moment he retired hurt,the rest of the Indian batting fell apart.Moving on to the West Indies, I just can’t find anythingpositive to say about their performance. With the exceptionof Chanderpaul’s batting, everything about their cricket wasat best mediocre. If they continue to bowl, bat and catch inthis fashion, they’d even struggle to get the better ofBangladesh in their next series.Their woeful catching was what appalled me the most; no teamcan afford to drop so many crucial catches. This from a teamthat is in India with a fielding coach! As for the batting,I feel the current team is sorely missing the spark and theconfidence that the presence of great batsmen like GordonGreenidge and Viv Richards could have provided.When it came to the Indian efforts in the field, ParthivPatel’s performance behind the wickets during the two WestIndian innings gave me a lot of heart. The young man was nottroubled one whit by the prospect of keeping to eitherKumble or Harbhajan and his glove-work was confident andvirtually impeccable. This does augur well for Indiancricket.Moving on to the bowling, I felt that Harbhajan Singh didnot bowl all that well in the West Indies first innings,being yet again guilty of bowling flat and quick. That saidhe was quick to correct his mistakes in the next innings,bowling much more slowly and getting the ball to turn a lot.

Zaheer Khan was the other Indian bowler to make animpression. The left-arm quick has come on by leaps andbounds, and these days he can be seen charging in to bowl. Ithink he deserves a five-for in Tests now and I am confidentthat he will claim that soon.Bangar also drew my attention when he rattled RamnareshSarwan with a few bouncers. The medium-pacer was generatingmore pace than Srinath, which suggests that he couldactually share the new ball with Zaheer Khan. Given thenature of tracks in Chennai and Kolkata, it would be a goodidea to go along with this combination and replace Srinathwith the young leg-spinner Amit Mishra. It is always best toplay to one’s strengths, and in India’s case it is our spinbowling.All said the beleagured West Indies team is, in my opinion,not in any position to salvage anything out of this series.Their weakness as a side places Sourav Ganguly’s men in theenviable position of recording India’s first clean sweepover the West Indies by winning the Chennai and KolkataTests. I for one would dearly love to see the Indian juggernautroll on.

Michael Kasprowicz, the Queensland fast bowler, has been chosen as Brett Lee’s replacement in the 14-man Australian squad for the one-day triangular tournament in India. Lee was forced out of the tour yesterday after pulling an abdominal muscle while bowling in the second Test against Zimbabwe at Sydney.Kasprowicz has played 16 ODIs for Australia, the last being in February 1999 at Melbourne against Sri Lanka. He had a successful stint with Glamorgan this season, taking 77 wickets, including career-best figures of 9 for 36.”With injuries to our senior bowling line-up, we felt that on this occasion it was necessary to look for another experienced quick,” said Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors. “Michael also has experience in the challenging conditions of the subcontinent and that will be a real asset to the squad.”Given the work load that Andy Bichel and Brad Williams will face during this current Test match, it is fair to say that Michael will play a big role in India.” Kasprowicz was the winner of the 2002-03 Ian Healy Trophy as Queensland’s most valuable player.Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Lee would be out of action for about one month. `I am bitterly disappointed,” said Lee. “I’ve worked really hard on my fitness and have basically gone through the past three seasons unscathed, so to miss this tour now is a major blow.”I pretty much knew from my first ball this morning that something was wrong. There are times when I have stiffness and I can pretty much bowl through it – that’s part and parcel of bowling – but this certainly felt worse. But hopefully we’ve identified the problem early and it won’t turn into a bigger problem.”

Three one-day practice matches in Namibia and Zimbabwe may not be international cricket’s most mouth-watering prospect, but when players are returning from injury and pushing for selection in the country’s only two Tests scheduled for eight months, they can be forgiven for feeling a tad nervous. Four Black Caps fit that category ahead of New Zealand’s opening match tomorrow against Namibia in Windhoek.They are big-name players, too. Jacob Oram, the premier allrounder, Daniel Vettori, the world-class spinner, Scott Styris, the regular No. 4, and, fingers crossed after a two-year absence, Shane Bond, the 150kph opening bowler. The calibre of the returning quartet means the adage “never change a winning combination” will have already received a thorough examination, even though their last Test was a convincing innings-and-38-run victory over Sri Lanka at Wellington in April.Namibia’s vast temptations, such as quad-biking the Swakopmund sand-dunes or game viewing in Etosha National Park, will be ditched with the attention squarely on the three playing days before the first Test against Zimbabwe at Harare on August 7. The victorious XI from Wellington are on the tour while the returning four men are at varying levels of fitness and form so the selection process – Vettori to replace Paul Wiseman excepted – is not simple.Most interest centres on Bond, who last played a Test in May 2003. Despite plenty of favourable comments, the wickets have hardly flowed for Bond since he returned to the first-class stage in the latter stages of last season. However, one thing in his favour is plenty of recent bowling during the New Zealand Academy’s tour of Australia.As the selectors are likely to be just as keen as the fans to see Bond terrorising international batsmen again, he will probably replace Kyle Mills. No Test appearances would give Mills even more reason to be relieved about his sponsor’s change of heart over its threat to withhold payment if he toured Zimbabwe. Oram, who would be a shoo-in for the third-seamer spot without his back injury, will challenge James Franklin and Chris Martin, but he has bowled only a handful of overs for the Academy and needs to play a full part in the warm-up matches to be considered.Franklin made useful progress last season and offers the left-arm variation while Martin is coming off a six-wicket bag against Sri Lanka, and both deserve to retain their places. However, Oram’s batting prowess is such – his Test average of 43.56 is bettered only by Hamish Marshall – that he held the No. 6 position in his last Test at Adelaide in November and should do the same against Zimbabwe.For that to happen there is a logistical nightmare. One of the incumbents, probably Lou Vincent, who scored 224 in his last innings, would be a casualty and there would be no room for Styris. The alternative would be a top-order re-shuffle with Stephen Fleming replacing either Craig Cumming or James Marshall. Fleming is as well equipped as anyone to face the new ball and had New Zealand struck anyone other than Australia after Mark Richardson’s retirement at the end of 2004, he would almost certainly still have the job.

Fleming has been primarily a No. 3 for the last three seasons, but with Hamish Marshall an instant hit there last summer, the captain seems intent on staying one place further down. But there is a recent precedent for Fleming opening when John Bracewell, the coach, has wanted to field his best batsmen. Last year in England Michael Papps was left out to allow the hit-or-miss Craig McMillan to come into the middle order. This year’s case, with both Oram and Styris, is even stronger.As New Zealand are strong favourites to win irrespective of who plays, and with Zimbabwe’s return tour apparently ruled out by the New Zealand government, the decision may well come down to whether Fleming sees himself opening in the Test series in South Africa next April. However, Oram, who averages a whopping 54.60 in the Bracewell era, is a must for the top six and only when he is able to operate as a frontline bowler should slotting in an extra batsman be considered.For a man who debuted with a century from No. 8, Styris has done an excellent job at second drop since he assumed the role in India in October 2003. The incumbent until suffering an injury in February that gave Vincent his chance, Styris is in a tight race for selection and his lack of first-class runs for Middlesex – 385 at 25.46 – might prove fatal. Styris has been in top form with the ball, but with Nathan Astle effective as a back-up medium-pacer it is of lesser importance.New Zealand (probable) 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 James Marshall, 3 Hamish Marshall, 4 Lou Vincent, 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 James Franklin, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Chris Martin.

Sheriff Hutton Bridge 203 for 6 (Crowder 76) beat Eynsford 201 (J Wise 59) by four wicketsSheriff Hutton Bridge, from North Yorkshire, won the National Village Cup final at Lord’s, beating Eynsford (Kent) by four wickets with eight balls to spare.A good-sized crowd basked in glorious sunshine, although their attention sometimes wandered as events unfolded at Trent Bridge. Chasing 202 to win, Sheriff Hutton Bridge, who were beaten semi-finalists in 2004, reached 203 for 6 off 38.4 overs.Eynsford, who won the toss, were bowled out for 201 in their 40 overs. Jamie Wise, one of three brothers in the side, top-scored with 59 before holing out to long-off.Sheriff Hutton Bridge got off to a flying start in reply, racing to 108 for 2 in 20 overs before being pegged back. Steve ‘Stiggy’ Crowder emerged as the hero with an unbeaten 76, including nine fours, after crucially being dropped at long-off when he had made 56.Crowder, who was named Man of the Match, hit the winning runs when he pulled spinner Ian Playfoot for four over mid-on to finish with 76 not out.

England emphatically retained their Hong Kong Sixes title by passing Sri Lanka’s total of 61 in just 3.1 overs after Kabir Ali walloped 34 off 11 balls in the final.Accurate bowling from England stifled Sri Lanka’s batsmen, with only two Sri Lankans reaching double figures. Graham Napier conceding just six runs and took one wicket in his one over.Matthew Maynard, England’s captain, was clear about how the victory was achieved: “We bowled magnificently. Our bowlers won the game for us.” Only Pakistan, in 2002, and England themselves in 1994, have won the Hong Kong Sixes in successive years before.To reach to final England had beaten United Arab Emirates by 15-runs in their semi-final. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan to by 10 runs in the other semi, as Dilruwan Perera, an offspinner, took a hat-trick.In the final of the Plate Competition, for the sides that were knocked out yesterday, Hong Kong’s total of 135 proved too much for Kenya, who lost by 50 runs.

A delegation has completed running a six-day course for 30 university-level coaches in China as part of an ongoing programme to establish the sport in the country.China, who were admitted as an Associate Member of the ICC last year, have ambitions to play international one-day cricket. Cricket Australia (CA) joined forces with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003 to assist Asian countries develop their own coaching set-up to help with their talent identification structure.Zhang Xioaning, the director of the Multi-ball Games Administration Centre, said: “There are 96 sports in the State Sports Commission but what makes cricket special is that it is a game of the physique, it is a game of the heart, and it is a game of the mind. It is a game for the individual within the team. It is truly a noble game that is perfectly suited to the Chinese people. It is being introduced in China at the perfect time.”During the six-day course, participants were coached by representatives from the ACC and CA. “We were very excited to learn about this great game and we have enjoyed the experience immensely”, said Liu Jingmin of Peking University. “Cricket is a very enjoyable sport for boys and girls, young and old alike.””Never in my life have I seen any country’s children pick up the game so quickly”, said Rumesh Ratnayake, the ACC’s development officer for China. “They had the basics of the game – hitting and throwing – within just five minutes.”Syed Ashraful Huq, the ACC’s chief executive, was very upbeat, claiming that China would be playing in the World Cup within 15 years. “All the talent and determination is here already and with the hard work and support of the State, I am sure that cricket will be one more sport with which the Chinese people can bring honour to their country.”Ross Turner, the head of the Australian delegation, was equally impressed. “All the coaches here in the playground and classroom are now my colleagues in the world of cricket. Having seen them work, I too firmly believe that China will one day, sooner rather than later, have a team that will play Australia in a World Cup.”