All posts by csb10.top

Brian Lara has reiterated that he’s unlikely to play any one-dayers after the World Cup and hoped he could make a sizeable contribution in the matches leading up to the event. Lara also hailed Marlon Samuels, who rediscovered his sizzling touch with a fine century, and urged his side to carry on their good form and level the series at Karachi.Samuels, who smashed his first half-century after a drought spanning close to three-and-a-half years, came in for special mention. “I ‘m very happy and proud, not just satisfied,” Lara said. “He has been having a tough time with the bat this year and to come out with such a magnificent century shows a lot of class and hopefully he can carry it on from here. What we need now is consistency, we’ve got very, very important cricket over the next six months in the one-day arena and we’ll be asking him to come up trumps on a few occasions.”It shows his potential, for him more than anybody else or the team. I think it shows what he’s capable of. What he needs to do now is to put it together more often than not and now we’ve seen it and we’re going to be asking him to produce and not necessarily that he has to produce a top performance like that but in the one-day internationals, you need everyone contributing and I think this is going to do his confidence a whole heap of good.”Lara wasn’t required to do much with the bat today, after Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had dominated the bulk of the run-chase, but admitted that his form had been sketchy. “I don’t mind going out with 30 to 40 runs to score each and every single game,” said Lara who’s failed to cross 15 the last seven times he’s walked out to bat. “I’m 37 years old and I know I have to make a contribution and I’m looking forward to the next few games. I’m not sure if I am going to be playing any one-day cricket after the World Cup so I think it’s coming up to a very important period for West Indies cricket and I would be looking to make my contribution.”The seven-wicket win at Multan was West Indies’ first win on this tour and Lara was more than relieved after the game. “I think it has been long in coming,” he said. “We should have won that game in Lahore with the Duckworth/Lewis (method) giving Pakistan 191 to get in 35 overs. It was definitely in our favour, especially with how the pitch was playing, but coming here today I thought the guys showed a lot of character being 2-0 down.”It’s been a very long tour and I thought the effort today was exceptional, we played without a couple of our main strike bowlers in Jerome Taylor [rested] and Corey Collymore [flu virus] but you saw [Daren] Powell with his best bowling figures in one-day internationals coming in and bowling really well and also Dave Mohammed in his first game bowled well. All in all I’m quite happy and proud of the performance and we must take it into Karachi to level the series.

Geoff Lawson would like to see Pakistan playing more Test cricket over the next few years, but admits there is little that can be done about it.Pakistan are scheduled to play only three Test series in two years and one less if Australia pull out of their scheduled tour to the country next month. As the Future Tours Programme (FTP) stands, Pakistan will play Australia next month, host India towards the end of this year and then go to Sri Lanka in July 2009. Their last Test series was in November-December last year against India.”It is strange that that we play only three Test series in two years but I am not responsible for the FTP and I don’t organize the programme,” Lawson said at the National Stadium in Karachi. “It’s a little bit like India a few years back where we had lots of ODIs but few Tests. More Tests would be great sure.”Towards that end, Australia coming, even if for a shortened tour, would help and Lawson said that getting them over was the top priority. “My first concern is that Australia come over,” Lawson said. “We can’t affect what Cricket Australia or their players do but we can affect our own preparation and cricket. My focus is to make sure that our minds are on cricket and that we are mentally and physically ready to take on Australia when they do come.”Things are coming together for Pakistan in that respect. As ever, they will rely heavily on their pace attack for the series, in particular Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul, who have both been out with injuries recently. Lawson said, however, that the pair was getting back to full fitness. “They’re both working hard at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore and are bowling again. Asif is bowling off a three-quarters run up and if his elbow holds up, he will come back an even better bowler.”Gul has come back from Australia [after a check-up on his back] and has been cleared and is doing some gym work now.”Pakistan are also looking into the possibility of hiring a sports psychologist for the side, a recommendation that Lawson had made after the tour to India. “We’re in the process of trying to organize it,” Lawson said. “Every major sporting team has one and we want to do everything to make our team the best side.”I have suggested a few names from Australia who have experience with cricket, but I am also open to local names as they might understand and work with the Asian mindset better.”

There was a real buzz before the first ball was bowled in the Challenge final between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago yesterday.Fortunately, the Caribbean Media Corporation technicians were able to sort out the problem on the line just in time and “live” television commentary was transmitted from the peace, quiet and desolation of Sabina Park . The same can’t be said for the radio broadcast, but it was in keeping with the anonymity of the alleged showpiece of the regional first-class cricket season that no-one was able to hear what was going on for the first 90 minutes because of a simple matter related to organisational efficiency.When there aren’t enough people around for the Carib girls to wine in front of, even with the additional benefit of regional exposure, you begin to understand what it must be like covering a one-day International in Sharjah between New Zealand and Zimbabwe. A funeral would have had greater atmosphere, while most of the noise floating across the refurbished venue during the first hour actually emanated from the Alpha Girls’ Primary School just across South Camp Road as the students there were making the most of what seemed an exceptionally long morning recess.However the match unfolds, whether or not it produces an absorbing contest and a nail-biting finish on the final day Monday, let us hope this is the last time we see the final as it is presently structured, because it really makes no sense.Should Daren Ganga’s team rally from being routed for 121 and prevail by the most comprehensive of margins to complete a hat-trick of Challenge triumphs, it will not change the fact that Jamaica are officially the first-class champions of the West Indies by virtue of finishing at the top of the standings in the round-robin stage of the season. It was the same situation last year, when Barbados were crowned kings of the Caribbean for a record 21st time and lost handily to Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park .So what is the point of the fixture? If the sponsors are insistent on a final for the purpose of greater brand exposure, surely that objective remains largely unfulfilled when there is almost no local interest in the match, unless of course the television and radio audience around the region is so massive as to justify its regurgitation next year.Let us remember that this idea of a Challenge final following the main league format only became a reality with the introduction of an invited team ( England “A” were the first) and a West Indies “B” side in 2001. To circumnavigate the potentially awkward situation of an outsider being crowed champions of the Caribbean, the amended rules mandated that only the top team among the six traditional territories were eligible for the first-class title, although the other two squads could have advanced to the Challenge phase of the season, which incorporated semi-finals and a final.With the West Indies Cricket Board incurring significant financial losses year after year, the burden of two additional teams in an already draining first-class season eventually proved too much, the elimination of that concept being followed closely by the removal of the semi-finals and leaving just the final to follow after the regional champs had already been determined.In other words, for what is assumed to be the finale of the campaign, only bragging rights are at stake, except that those rights don’t seem to carry too much value given the general disinterest in the fixture.If the argument is that it gives our players more cricket, whether or not the public is attracted to it, surely one more match–involving two of the six regional sides–doesn’t get anywhere near to satisfying the requirement.Now, with the advent of the Indian Premier League, Indian Cricket League, Sir Allen Stanford’s widening ambitions and whoever else wants to cash-in on the marketability of the Twenty20 version of the game, it is quite likely that more of the cream of West Indian talent will be skimmed off to these lucrative competitions.For this encounter in Kingston, West Indies captain Chris Gayle is not around to lead the home side, while mercurial all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is unavailable for the visitors. Had Guyana advanced to the final, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan would not have been playing because, like Gayle and Bravo, they are involved in the inaugural season of the multi-million-dollar IPL.If the intention is to stubbornly continue with this fixture, as is, for the foreseeable future, it will be rendered embarrassingly obsolete by the other developments in the cricketing world. Australia have a final in their domestic first-class competition, but there the real title is very much at stake, not just something as superfluous as bragging rights.Should the people who are putting their money into supporting the competition maintain that there must be a showpiece showdown, then they have to come up with something different to make it worthwhile, and therefore interesting, for an audience that has so much to choose from via television.How about the English county champions of the previous season squaring off against the new West Indies champions? It could also serve as a competitive warm-up fixture for the visitors ahead of the defence of their title.Maybe it’s impractical, maybe it’s too costly, but what we’re doing now doesn’t make much sense and hardly anyone seems to care, as the emptiness of Sabina Park attests.

Toby Radford has left his position as head coach of Glamorgan after two seasons in the role. He has departed with a year remaining on his contract as Glamorgan seek to restructure their coaching operation.There have already been calls for Robert Croft, a former England offspinner and a long-time Glamorgan servant, to be given a more central role – with the former England fast bowler Simon Jones among those naming him as a strong favourite.Both Croft and his former team-mate Steve Watkin, who is also on Glamorgan’s coaching staff, applied for the head coach role when Radford was chosen to replace the Australian Matthew Mott.Hugh Morris has been serving as both chief executive and director of cricket, an onerous task, but there are no indications he will step down from one of the roles.Radford will now return to specialist batting coaching, a role he performed both for the ECB at Loughborough and with the West Indies when they were crowned ICC World Twenty20 Champions in Sri Lanka in 2012.Glamorgan finished fourth in Division Two of the Championship last season, their second-highest position in the past decade, but a small squad faded badly in the second half of the season. They were also one of the few counties not to benefit from a general rise in T20 attendances, although they were not helped by a block of early-season matches in unfavourable weather.Radford admitted that he was disappointed with his departure, talking of “big strides” in developing a Welsh flavour in the side that Glamorgan again crave.”I am obviously pleased that the team showed major improvement in the past two seasons and it has been highly competitive across all formats and in all competitions,” he said.”It is disappointing for me not to be able to see the work through to its conclusion but I am confident that the wealth of home-grown young talents like David Lloyd, Aneurin Donald and Andrew Salter, all of whom are now first team regulars, gives the club huge optimism for both the immediate and long-term future. I would like to thank all of those who supported me in taking this club forward. Together we made big strides.”Morris said: “Toby’s hard work and commitment to the role has been evident for all to see and under his leadership we have made an important step forward in championship cricket. The coaching Toby has done with our young batsmen has been particularly important and I believe the players and the club will reap the benefits of this work in years to come. He leaves the club with our best wishes for the next stage of his coaching career.”

Scorecard
How they were out

A mentally shattered England folded for 81, their lowest total for five years, on the third day at Galle as Chaminda Vaas led a bowling display which put Sri Lanka within sight of the 2-0 win that will lift them to second place in the world rankings. Vaas ripped out four as England crashed to 33 for 6 before rain brought some relief. However, on resumption the tail folded meekly and the follow-on was unsurprisingly enforced by Mahela Jayawardene, who had earlier reached a majestic double century against a forlorn attack.There was always potential for England’s dramatic slump, but they took it to extremes. Thoughts briefly turned to the record books and their low points; 45 against Australia in 1887, narrowly bettered by their 46 at Trinidad in 1994. Although those ignominies were avoided, their eventual meagre total is the first time they have been bowled for less than a 100 since 2002 against Australia at Brisbane. Sri Lanka bowled superbly as a unit, showing that there is plenty in the surface, but England’s strokeplay spoke volumes of their mind set.For the second match running they had been through a draining experience in the field and the top order didn’t appear in any state to mount a rearguard that would at least save face, if not the series. The bare statistics give the best picture; England’s feeble lasted 30.5 overs, while during the morning Sri Lanka slammed 115 runs in 19.5.The first two wickets were typical of a team that had one eye on the flight home. After spending 149 overs trying to marshall his bowlers, Michael Vaughan inexplicably padded up to Vaas, a horrendous misjudgement with the ball heading for middle. Partly that was good bowling, but the second wicket was a mess all of England’s own making. Alastair Cook dropped the ball into the off side, called for a run then changed his mind. Ian Bell tried to turn around, but couldn’t beat Tillakaratne Dilshan’s direct hit from backward point. It was another feather in Dilshan’s cap during an impressive return to the Test scene and reminded everyone that he remains one of premier cover-point fielders in the world. That one moment put England’s lethargic efforts to shame.Cook failed to make amends with a major innings, nibbling outside off stump as Vaas showed how to bowl in helpful conditions. After swing undid Cook, a brutal delivery from Lasith Malinga brought the end of Kevin Pietersen. A searing ball flew off a length and brushed Pietersen’s gloves through to Prasanna Jayawardene as he tried to sway out of the line. There wasn’t much he could have done and he has one innings remaining to avoid this series being his first without at least a half-century.

England lunched in a miserable state at 24 for 4 and nothing improved after the break when Ravi Bopara, who batted with split webbing in his right hand sustained during the morning warm-ups, limply chipped to mid-on, allowing debutant Chanaka Welegedara to make his first impact. Vaas knew exactly how to operate on this surface, full and straight with a hint of variation, and gained more rewards when Matt Prior was beaten by one which kept low. If he’d been forward he would have had a chance, but England were planted on the back foot in every sense.Rain sent them to the safety of the dressing for three hours, but there was no escaping another tricky spell. Paul Collingwood and Ryan Sidebottom showed some resistance, but once Sidebottom edged Muttiah Muralitharan to short leg the rest folded meekly. Welegedara was rewarded for a nippy burst when he bowled Collingwood with a beauty which held its line and had Matthew Hoggard taken at slip. The shambles was summed up when Monty Panesar was run out in a chaotic mix-up.The scoreline handsomely justifies Jayawardene’s decision to push England to breaking point in the field. He missed out on a double by five runs in Colombo, but made no mistake this time and reached the landmark in empathic style. Facing a comeback over from Steve Harmison he elegantly lofted him over the covers to bring up his double off 406 balls. He’d offered one more chance, on 154, with Prior again unable to gather an edge low to his right off Sidebottom, who looked ready to walk off in disgust.In the last Test played on this ground, before the devastating tsunami, against South Africa in 2004, Jayawardene hit 237 so it was an innings to befit the occasion. Vaas was equally dominant, crunching 11 boundaries in his 133-ball 90. He appeared set for his second Test century when he top-edged Hoggard to Vaughan at midwicket, but even the simplest of catches needed two attempts. The England captain escaped embarrassment on that occasion, but his team are facing humiliation.

New Zealand Cricket has formed a subcommittee to determine whether John Bracewell should be retained as the national coach. Bracewell’s contract expires next month and John Wright, the former India coach, has expressed interest in being involved in the country’s cricket.Wright withdrew his application for the head of Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane and is likely to feature highly in discussions for the role in his home country. The subcommittee formed by Justin Vaughan, the new NZC chief executive, met on Tuesday to review the position and outline a process to appoint the coach.Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan have publicly supported a contract extension for Bracewell and Wright believes his former team-mate will keep the job. Bracewell guided New Zealand to the semi-finals of the World Cup but the team received a shake-up after the tournament when Stephen Fleming stepped down as one-day captain.Ric Charlesworth, an Olympic gold-medal winning hockey coach and NZC’s high performance manager, is on the subcommittee that includes Vaughan, Stephen Boock, Lindsay Crocker and the players’ association representative Heath Mills. No date has been set to make a decision on Bracewell’s future.

Stephen Fleming insists he will not copy Sri Lanka’s controversial tactics and rest key bowlers for Friday’s clash against Australia. Both sides are already through to the semi-finals, but the dead rubber will not prevent them from playing their best outfits in their final Super Eights match in Grenada.Fleming said New Zealand would not compromise their chances of making it four straight wins against Australia after a 3-0 Chappell-Hadlee home triumph in February. “We’ll go in with the best possible team bar injury scares,” Fleming said in a clear indication Shane Bond would play. “If someone needs to be rested from an injury point of view we’ll be cautious with that.”We want to continue where we left off against Australia in New Zealand. They’re a tough side if they get on top of you and they’ve got a point to prove.”New Zealand bounced back from defeat by Sri Lanka, their only loss in the tournament, with a five-wicket victory over South Africa on Saturday. Barring an extraordinarily huge win against Australia that would force them to swap first and second places on the table, they will face Sri Lanka in the first semi-final in Jamaica on Tuesday. Australia are set to take on South Africa in the other semi-final in St Lucia on Wednesday.”It’s a great opportunity before the semi-finals start to maintain the standards we had against South Africa,” Fleming said. “Part of the selection [against Australia] is looking forward to Sri Lanka and assessing what conditions we’ll get in Jamaica and Barbados and just make sure the team picked for Australia covers those bases.”Australia, who are defending a 26-game unbeaten record at the World Cup, face a key decision over the allrounder Shane Watson, who is recovering from a calf strain. If he doesn’t take the field against New Zealand it will place a huge question mark over his participation in the rest of the tournament.New Zealand have never won a World Cup, or even reached the final, but Ricky Ponting is in no doubt about their quality. “They love a fight,” Ponting said, “they love a scrap.”

After months of rumour and little information, signs of progress in the review of the USA Cricket Association’s constitution have finally emerged.In a letter to regional league presidents, John Aaron, the chairman of the USACA League Presidents Reconciliation Commission, has announced that a document will be sent out this week.Referring to the last few months, Aaron said that there had “been some minor victories, several stalling moments and political meanderings that saw the forward progress stumble, stop and start. It has been equally frustrating for the five league presidents of the Reconciliation Commission, as much as it has been frustrating for each of you, particularly in the absence of information emanating from our national body – USACA.”I have called for calm along the way, seeking your patience and cooperation, as we see participated in this renewed effort of getting cricket back on track. I appreciate the support you have given the commission and myself, and now seek your support in reviewing the constitutional document expected to be on the USACA web site within the next 24 hours.”Aaron said that Chris Dehring, the former World Cup organiser charged by the ICC with overviewing the process, was looking for three goals; the distinction between policy making and administration in the structure of USACA; the need to have true regional representation and responsibility in determining national policy; transparency and accountability in the governance of USACA.Feedback from the initial document will be considered with the intention that a final version would be circulated on November 1. Aaron said that the aim was still to hold fresh USACA elections before the self-imposed deadline of November 30.

Paul Millman, Kent’s chief executive, has appealed to players’ associations across the world to hold talks with India’s Twenty20 leagues as well as the ECB to avoid a possible legal showdown over the status of players in county cricket.Kent are concerned that Justin Kemp and Azhar Mahmood, currently playing in the unofficial Indian Cricket League, may be unavailable to them if regulations outlined by the ECB last week prevent them from honouring their county contracts. There is also uncertainty over the future of Yasir Arafat, who has yet to receive Pakistan Cricket Board clearance to re-join Kent. “If Pakistan put a stop on Yasir Arafat and the ECB prevented Azhar and Justin from joining us then the consequences would be catastrophic, we would be left in a hole,” Millman said. “But should we be allowed to sign two out of the three, then I think we’d have a fighting chance.”This is moving rapidly, even as we speak, but as we stand we have filed our player registration applications for Kemp and Mahmood – Justin as a Kolpak signing and Azhar as a newly-qualified British citizen, and we await the board’s response.”There are so many different interpretations floating around right now it’s difficult to know which to believe and it’s not my job to pre-empt what the ECB’s stance will be. All I hope is that pragmatism will prevail, otherwise this will end up in the courts.”If these Indian leagues truly want to help cricket, they must find a window to play their games that doesn’t conflict with the international programme or with domestic schedules in other countries.”Millman told the Kent Messenger that Kemp’s “preference was to play IPL, but because that clashed with county cricket, he turned it down”. He continued: “I’ve spoken with Justin extensively. He’s locked in hotel rooms with dozens of other potential county cricketers out there in India who are all left feeling a bit rudderless.”We have lots of documentation going back to 2006 stating Justin’s intent to play county cricket for us long-term. He’s just turned 30 and has said to me on a regular basis his greatest wish now is to play cricket for Kent. All he was looking to do was supplement that with off-season opportunities, as most overseas players look to do. Since then the war has escalated and retribution is being sought against players are about to go out on the pitch over in India.”Millman concluded by asking FICA (The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations) and the PCA (Professional Cricketers Association) to broker a solution.

Andre Nel and Danish Kaneria are both returning to Essex for the 2008 season. Nel, the South Africa fast bowler, will play from April 16 to May 18 while Kaneria, Pakistan’s legspinner, will take over from May 21.”Although we had already contracted Danish Kaneria for the 2008 season he asked us if he could delay his arrival in the UK so that he could be with his wife for the birth of their second child,” David East, the Essex chief executive, said. “Naturally we agreed to this request and are delighted that Andre has agreed to play for us for the important opening month of the season. Andre is well known to us and has a fantastic rapport with our players.”Subject to his domestic cricket commitments he ensures that we have a world-class overseas bowler for the whole of our 2008 campaign.”Nel’s signing is subject to obtaining a work permit and permission from Cricket South Africa, but he was nevertheless bristling with enthusiasm at the prospect of returning to the club for the third time.”I am delighted to be returning to Essex for the beginning of the season,” he said. “I enjoyed my time at the club in 2007 immensely and can’t wait to rejoin the boys for the first game. I look forward to giving my all in an early season burst for the club.”