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SuperSport Series

Fef du Plessis’ 103 guided the Titans to a remarkable four-wicket win over the Warriors at Centurion. The Titans were set a target of 261 for victory, and du Plessis’ innings underpinned a remarkable turnaround after the Titans had trailed by 153 runs on first innings. Arno Jacobs (70) and Murray Goodwin (77) set the Warriors on their way to their first innings 348 with a stand of 123 for the fifth wicket. Lyall Meyer then scored a career-best 72* from number nine, coaxing Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Mario Olivier to stay with him.The Titans’ reply was a sorry affair, save for an extraordinary innings from Justin Kemp. None of the top six reached double figures, decimated by a spell of 5 for 45 by Tsotsobe. Kemp, however, seemingly oblivious to what had gone before him, struck an unbeaten 100 from 106 balls. He received valuable support along the way from Morne Morkel and Ethy Mbhalati, who scored 15 in a last-wicket stand of 69. If Kemp was the star with the bat, Alfonso Thomas was the hero in the Warriors second innings, claiming 5 for 50 as they were dismissed for 105.Morne Morkel also claimed 3 for 23, and they did not show the Warriors any mercy, bundling them out in just 31 overs. The Titans were left with 261 needed for victory, and lost Heino Kuhn with the score on 32. Gulam Bodi followed seven overs later but du Plessis ensured there would be no collapse in a partnership of 110 with Martin van Jaarsveld. du Plessis finally went with 23 still needed but he had given his team the platform for a memorable victory.Centuries from Justin Ontong and captain Neil McKenzie laid the foundations for an innings-victory for the Lions against the Cobras at Newlands.The Lions posted 508 in the first innings and then bowled the Cobras out for 215 and 128 to record a convincing win.McKenzie chose to bat after winning the toss, and proceeded to put on 265 for the third wicket with Ontong after Steven Cook and Alviro Petersen had departed early on. Ontong finished with 155 from 334 balls, while McKenzie scored 135 from 276, with Vaughn van Jaarsveld contributing 54. Monde Zondeki took 4 for 82 for the Cobras, who got off to the worst possible start in their reply when Derrin Bassage was run out by Ontong from the second ball of the innings. Several of the top-order could not convert starts into meaningful scores, and in the end they were grateful to the powerful Rory Kleinveldt, whose 46-ball 63 lifted them over the 200-mark.Kleinveldt shared a stand of 66 in 6.4 overs for the last-wicket with Charl Willoughby (32* from 18 balls) before he was finally removed by Claude Henderson, who finished with impressive figures of 6 for 87. With the Cobras still 293 behind the Lions were quick to enforce the follow-on, and quickly struck again when Andy Puttick was caught by Petersen off the bowling of Friedel de Wet in the third over. Bassage and Benjamin Hector looked to be repairing the damage in a stand of 50 for the second-wicket, but when Bassage fell to Claude Henderson it triggered a loss of seven wickets for 35 runs to leave the Cobras as good as buried at 91 for 8. Paul Adams hit a late 30, but the day belonged to the Lions. Tyron Henderson took 5 for 37, while Claude Henderson claimed a four second-innings scalps to finish with match figures of 10 for 127.A century from Boeta Dippenaar and career-best figures for Ryan McLaren helped the Eagles to an innings-and-119-run victory over the Dolphins at Bloemfontein.Dippenaar overcame the pain of his omission from the national squad, putting on 165 for the fourth wicket with Morne van Wyk (88), before he was out for 135. Captain Nicky Boje scored an unbeaten 80 and McLaren contributed 53 not out as the Eagles declared on 500 for 5. Doug Watson and Imraan Khan put on 66 for the first-wicket for the Dolphins, but Khan’s dismissal for 34 started the rot.Six wickets went down for 39 runs, and despite a rally from Ahmed Amla and Lance Klusener, they were all out for 170, with McLaren claiming 5 for 57. With the Dolphins still 330 behind the Eagles enforced the follow-on and McLaren soon had them in trouble again, dismissing Watson and Khan within the first nine overs. Amla again tried to lift his side, but after he was dismissed with the score on 60 it seemed any hope had gone. Jon Kent and Duncan Brown fought hard in a stand of 86 but they were only delaying the inevitable. Eventually the Dolphins’ resistance wore out and they were dismissed for 211, with McLaren’s 4 for 59 giving him match figures of 9 for 116.

SAA Provincial Challenge

North West beat Easterns by 44 runs at Benoni in another match that saw a dramatic turnaround. North West had trailed by 73 on first innings after Jaco Booysen’s 103 helped Easterns to 243 in their first innings in reply to North West’s 170. However, a career-best 103 from Niel Bedenkamp, to add to his first-innings 57, lifted North West to 290 second time around. Patrick Letseleme then claimed 4 for 28 to clean up Easterns tail in a second innings that saw them dismissed for 173 and fall to a 44-run defeat.The match between Griqualand West and Free State petered out into a draw at Kimberley. Adrain McLaren scored 92 to give Griqualand West a 133 run first-innings advantage, helping them to 336 in reply to Free State’s 203. Any hopes for Griqualand that they might be able to force a result were ended by 127 from Jonathan Beukes and 99 from Divan van Wyk, younger brother of Morne, taking Free State to 413 all out in their second innings. The target of 280 from 43 overs was unlikely, and Griqualand closed on 144 for 3.

SAA Provincial Cup

Kobus Pienaar hit 58 from 44 balls to help Easterns to a 5-wicket victory over North West with 62 balls remaining at Benoni. Andre Seymour’s undefeated 69 anchored the innings to help chase down the target of 202 with ease. Jonker scored an unbeaten 94 in North West’s innings but received little support from his team-mates.An unbroken partnership of 109 between Divan van Wyk and Dean Elgar took Free State to a seven-wicket victory over Griqualand West with 23-balls remaining at Kimberley. Van Wyk scored an unbeaten 80, while Dale Bossenger can count himself unlucky to have finished on the losing side after he hit an undefeated 111 in Griqualand West’s 234.

In the last 11 years, Bangladesh have won only three out of nine deciding matches in a bilateral ODI series comprising three or more games. The three wins have come against Zimbabwe in 2005 and 2009, and against West Indies in 2012.The third ODI in Chittagong on Wednesday gives them a chance to add another win to that list – this time against South Africa.After losing to South Africa by eight wickets in the first game, Bangladesh bounced back in the second match with a seven-wicket win. With the three-match series tied 1-1, Bangladesh have a chance to claim their third straight home bilateral series win in 2015 and allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has little doubt about the importance of the occasion.”This is big, no doubt,” Shakib said. “We haven’t achieved such things before. Whenever you go to achieve something you haven’t, then it will obviously seem big. We haven’t beaten South Africa in a series before so that is a big deal.”Every match is important for us. Whenever we get on the field, we think the same but all matches don’t go according to plan. Because this is the series decider, however, it is important. We haven’t lost at home in a long time. So this will be another opportunity for us if we can win this match. I won’t tell you how big a match this is, but this is a very big opportunity for us.”Against Zimbabwe in 2005, Bangladesh were trailing 2-0 in the five-match series before they made a comeback and won the decider by eight wickets. In the three-match series against Zimbabwe in January 2009, they lost the first match but bounced back quite comfortably to win the series 2-1. Against West Indies, they took a 2-0 lead in Khulna before losing the third and fourth games, and the fifth ODI was a tight affair which they won by two wickets.Shakib was a part of two of those turnarounds and it was his bowling that brought Bangladesh back into contention in the current series against South Africa. Shakib stated that his returns of 0 for 30 in the ten overs in the second ODI in Mirpur was his best bowling performance in recent times, which should be encouraging for Bangladesh after he had conceded difficulty in bowling before the Tests against Pakistan in late April. He is only two wickets away from becoming the seventh cricketer – after Sanath Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi, Jacques Kallis, Abdul Razzaq, Chris Harris and Chris Cairns – to take 200 wickets and score 4000 runs in ODIs.”I think after a long time I bowled quite well in the last match,” Shakib said. “I was satisfied personally. After a long time I think I bowled as I wanted to. If you get rewards, then you will feel good but I am not that disappointed regarding those things. I am happy as long as I can contribute.”I don’t think I have changed much in my bowling. But the opponent’s batsmen don’t charge at me as much as before so in one-dayers it is difficult to get wickets, unless you have a pitch of that kind. I think you also need luck to get wickets. I try to do everything that is in my hands.”Shakib said that the team’s confidence has remained even after contrasting results in the series: “Actually I don’t think our confidence will go down the drain when we lose one match or be sky-high if we win one match. No player thinks that way. All our matches are important. It’s not possible [to win] all the time but I am sure that if we can stick to our processes then it’s possible to do well at home.”

The English season may still be another six months away but Mahela Jayawardene is already looking forward to making his county debut. Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, signed for Derbyshire yesterday as the county ring the changes with a new-look squad which includes Wavell Hinds.”It’s good,” he told Cricinfo in Adelaide, as he warmed up for Sri Lanka’s tour match here this weekend. “I haven’t played before. It’s a great opportunity.”I don’t think I will be there for long because of my international commitment. But they’re trying to start all over again, Derby, and they’ve got a few good players coming in. It’s going to be good fun and hopefully I can learn something at a different level of cricket.”And he promised to lend new captain Rikki Clarke, who will be joined by former Surrey team-mate Nayan Doshi, the benefit of his experience. “I’ve played against him a few times and I think he’s a very good cricketer.”Give him the responsibility, he’s a young guy and I think he’s looking forward to it. It’s a good challenge for him as well, so if I can help him in any way it would be great and try to start anew at Derby. A good challenge for me, as well.”Jayawardene will arrive towards the end of April and stay until the middle of July after which he can be replaced by another overseas player.

Scorecard

John Eugene blasted the first century in Stanford 20/20 history, but could not prevent St Maarten from falling short of St Vincent and the Grenadines by ten runs at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Coolidge.Eugene, who claimed the US$25,000 Man-of-the-Match award, gave St Vincent a scare by launching into a late-over blitz with the run-rate having climbed to 18 runs an over, smashing 20 off the 17th over, 24 off the 18th and 14 off the 19th. But with 14 required in the final over, Eugene could not sustain the momentum against left-arm seamer Keon Peters, who conceded only four runs to clinch a ten-run win for St Vincent. Eugene, however, managed to bring up his hundred off 46 balls.St Maarten, chasing 169, found it difficult to get off the blocks, scoring just 50 in ten overs, and slumped further to 88 for 5 as legspinner Orlanzo Jackson claimed three wickets. But the tide changed when the 37-year-old Eugene, who hit seven fours and six sixes, added 66 for the sixth wicket with Kenroy David, who contribution with eight.Opting to bat, St Vincent rode on an unbeaten 37-ball 73 by wicketkeeper Lyndon James. James took his team to a commanding position after they had lost four wickets for 50. Most of James’ runs came during his unbroken 118-run fifth-wicket stand with Alston Bobb (38 off 27 balls),During his innings, James seemed to have his sight set on hitting the clock tower at the top of the Southern Stand, with two of his four sixes coming close to fetching him a US$100,000 bounty. But he had to be content with the Play-of-the-Day award worth $10,000 for launching a six out of the ground and into the adjoining airport runway.

As the clock winds down to the ICC’s executive board meeting in Dubai, the selection of the next chief executive is developing into a potentially fractious matter with the Indian board backing the candidature of IS Bindra, its former president, who, the ICC secretariat is keen to point out, is over the specified age. In the event of Bindra failing to get the job, it is likely to go to Imtiaz Patel, a South African, who heads Supersport, the broadcast network.Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager, and Haroon Lorgat, the former chief selector of South Africa, are said to be the other names in the fray to replace Malcolm Speed.Bindra’s candidacy is viewed with some concern given that, once Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, takes over as ICC chairman in 2010 as scheduled, the top two positions in world cricket will soon be held by India.The BCCI has already faced a hurdle which it tried to sidestep. Pawar is learnt to have recently sent a letter to the ICC picking out holes in an “age rule” that could hamper the chances of their candidate. The letter was apparently sent in response to a note from the ICC to all national boards pointing to the age bar prevalent in the UAE, where it is based.Pawar’s letter asks the ICC not to attach much value to the rule, which bars those above 65 from taking up employment in the country, because it refers only to a particular category of employees. “The rule refers only to a specific category of candidates, essentially government employees, and Bindra doesn’t fall in that group,” a top source said. “Bindra is above that age limit but he is a veteran in these matters. He knows enough about the rules and regulations of the ICC and helped Pawar prepare the letter.”The chief executive will be selected by a four- person sub-committee comprising Ray Mali, the ICC chairman, David Morgan, the ECB head and Mali’s chosen successor, Creagh O’Connor, the Cricket Australia chairman and Pawar. Bindra has confirmed to Cricinfo that he was contacted by a head-hunting firm early this year regarding a shortlist.”A recruitment firm called Egon Zehnder International was appointed to source potential candidates and make recommendations to the four-person sub-committee. That process is complete,” an ICC spokesperson told Cricinfo. “The sub-committee will make its recommendations to the ICC board and then it will discuss the matter at the meeting.”However, with Pawar slotted to take over as ICC chairman in 2010, after Morgan’s two years at the helm under a compromise formula reached last year, the other national boards are concerned that an all-India show may lead to a monopoly on world-cricket administration.Already, the WICB, which has supported India over various issues in the past, is learnt to have switched sides, leaving Bindra with the BCCI’s traditional support base of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.But Bindra told Cricinfo that he would take a call on this issue only after he was offered the job. “Even if I am offered the job, I will have to take a call on whether I need to take it up or not. I have certain issues to work out even if the job is offered, about my quitting the Punjab Cricket Association (he heads the association), my daughter’s education and other personal issues,” Bindra said.If the BCCI is not able to get its way on Bindra, then Patel, a former director with the then United Cricket Board of South Africa, is likely to emerge as the candidate who will fit the bill. “The key criteria for selection: Whatever makes them the best person for the job,” the ICC spokesperson said.

A good innings from skipper Ronnie Irani who made 95, helped Essex torecover from 13 for three to make 292 all out in 103.2 overs againstfellow Division Two County Championship promotion hopefuls Glamorganat Southend on the first day today.Irani (95) and Stuart Law (70) put together a partnership of 111 forthe fourth wicket before Law fell to Robert Croft. Irani was out toDean Cosker, the left arm spinner.The other impressive performer for Essex was the debutant James Foster(52) who fell to Steve Watkin. For Glamorgan, Watkin, Croft and DarrenThomas took three wickets each.In reply, Glamorgan were 40 for 1 with Steve James being the batsmandismissed for 30 by Ashley Cowan. In the process he crossed 1000 runsfor the season.

On Monday, Hamish Marshall was batting for Northern Districts in New Zealand’s domestic State Championship final. On Wednesday, he was in Antigua preparing to bat at No. 3 in New Zealand’s Super Eights match against West Indies a day later.Marshall said it had been a hectic week after he was called up to replace Lou Vincent, who broke his wrist, in the 15-man squad. “There’s a bit of excitement,” he told AFP.”It’s always nice to get to a new country so I’ve been staying up reasonably late but I got to sleep last night and got eight hours in. I had a schedule that [the fitness trainer] Warren Frost had given me – when to sleep and when not to – and I stuck to that.”Marshall was dropped from the New Zealand team in January after reaching double-figures only twice from eight ODIs since the start of the Champions Trophy. However, his domestic form has been strong and on Monday his unbeaten 80 helped Northern Districts win the State Championship title.”It’s nice to be here, a little bit of a shock and I’m disappointed for Lou,” Marshall said. “It’s an opportunity for me and it’s just nice to be over here. The batting’s been going well for ND and playing some cricket in a team that’s winning is also pretty handy. To get some runs myself has been good for my confidence.”Marshall said facing up to West Indies on Thursday would be a huge challenge having only just arrived in the Caribbean. “It’s a quick turnaround but it’s part of the job,” he said. “I knew that was going to happen when I was coming over.”Mentally and physically there’s not a lot you can do, just get as much rest as possible and hydrate and eat well – that sort of thing. Mentally the key is to get on track to play a game which is pretty important for us at the start of the Super Eights.”Marshall’s appearance at No. 3 is not the only change to the New Zealand top order, with Peter Fulton set to open with Stephen Fleming. A win for New Zealand would put them well on the way to a semi-final berth.

Match facts

Friday, April 25, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

There is plenty at stake here as both sides have gone two rounds without a win and languish at the bottom of the points table. Mumbai, who were at the wrong end of two close encounters, will pin their hopes on the possibility of their captain and icon, Sachin Tendulkar, making his IPL debut on a batting-friendly Mohali wicket. It will be interesting to see whether the crowds flock to arguably the most spectator-friendly stadium in India, after large sections of the stadium were empty in Punjab’s first game.

Watch out for …

… a classic contest between Tendulkar, if he plays, and the fiery Brett Lee. Look for needle between Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh; there was some friction over fielding issues during the recent Test series against South Africa. Harbhajan, who may have to captain the side for the third match running, has the added challenge of playing for the away team in what is his Ranji home ground, and will play opposite his state-mate, Yuvraj Singh.

Team news

If Tendulkar does return, Vikrant Yeligati, the offspinner, could be dropped after going for 16 runs in his one over in Chennai. The rest of the team will probably remain largely unchanged, but Nayar may feel he deserves a promotion after taking Mumbai close to a win in the last game.Mumbai: (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar (capt), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Luke Ronchi (wk), 4 Robin Uthappa, 5 Abhishek Nayar, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Shaun Pollock, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Musavir Khote, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Dhaval Kulkarni.Punjab may bring in VRV Singh, the right-arm seamer who has played for India in Tests and ODIs, in place of Wilkin Mota. Mahela Jayawardene is likely to retain his place despite making just 2 in his only innings.Punjab: (probable) 1 Karan Goel, 2 James Hopes, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Sunny Sohal, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Vikram Singh, 11 Sreesanth.

Without taking anything away from Zimbabwe’s first ODI win over West Indies, the next four matches will show if this was a flash in the pan or the start of something more substantial.Since taking over from Kevin Curran as Zimbabwe coach, Robin Brown has been singing the one tune: the need to reverse an inherited negative approach towards the game by his players which was a hallmark of the Curran regime. “The days of playing to compete are over,” he is reported to have told local reporters at a press meeting on the eve of the first ODI.Curran sent his players out to do no more than bat out the overs, with the result that rarely did they ever give themselves a chance to win matches. It was safety first and that negativity spread to the players. “My contract doesn’t say that I have to win matches, it says as long as I am competitive, then my employers are happy,” he boasted. In the end, even swatches of non cricketers within the ZC board realised that was not a viable approach.Brown oozes self-assurance in the midst of adversity. His confidence lies in his own ability as a cricket instructor of note, and his power to uplift and overhaul the whole attitude of a bunch of young players, who he has bluntly told to pull up their socks.The results have been apparent from as early as his first assignment when Zimbabwe stunned Australia at the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa. For once the Zimbabwe Cricket board deserves a pat on the back for a cricket decision which seems to be bearing early fruits.The players too are buying into Brown’s regime. Commenting on his outstanding all-round performance which earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, Chamu Chibhabha paid tribute to the coach, saying that he “allows us to play our natural game.” That could never have been said under Curran.Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya, who seems to be growing in confidence under Brown, admitted that his side can no longer use inexperience as an excuse for poor cricket and self-inflicted defeats.It is certainly an approach which can be taken forward. But will it be? Only time will tell and much will be clearer by the end of the week. Zimbabwe have the remaining four matches to prove that their first ODI win was no fluke, and that they can genuinely claim to be a bona fide member of the international cricket family.They need to take forward the positives from the first match, like the resurgence of Chibhabha and Elton Chigumbura as versatile players with the ability to deliver in all departments. This development has meant sure that the seam bowlers on the sidelines are kept on their toes as the team begin to rely more and more on players with all-round abilities.Zimbabwe cricket has a tendency of burning down its own house in order to build again. One hopes that they have learned and will leave cricket to cricket people and allow Brown to get on with the job in hand.

Former Surrey and England one-day captain Adam Hollioake is reported to be about to hold discussions with Essex over playing for them in this year’s Twenty20 Cup, according to a report in today’s Guardian.The move stems from Hollioake’s appearance in a beach-cricket tournament in Australia in January which left Graham Gooch impressed. “I played pretty well and Goochie said I was good enough and young enough to play county cricket again,” Hollioake told The Guardian from his home in Perth. “Later, when he got home, he sent me an email asking if I’d be interested. I am. Nothing has been confirmed yet. We’re still talking. But it’s not the worst idea in the world.”Essex’s chief executive, David East, confirmed to Cricinfo that the talks were taking place. “We have had some initial discussions with Adam and are jointly exploring the possibility of him playing Twenty20 cricket for us.”Hollioake will be in the UK next week to attend a charity event and is expected to chat to Essex officials then. He admitted that he was approached by Nottinghamshire a while back but nothing came of it.