All posts by csb10.top

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.

Marlon Samuels believes his growing maturity and hard work while recovering from serious knee problems have paid off in the lead-up to the first Test against Australia. Samuels had a stunning warm-up for the three-match series when he scored 257 against Queensland at the weekend before following it up with 5 for 87.The impressive double will ensure greater responsibility as the young West Indian outfit test themselves against the world champions. “I wasn’t really surprised,” Samuels said of his efforts in the tour game. “I’ve been doing hard work and we all know hard work pays off in the end. I’ve worked on being more mature and patience is the most important thing for me at the moment.”Samuels said his greater emphasis on fitness had already shown strong results and he was in top condition. “I think it played a major part in my batting [against Queensland],” he said. “But with most of my centuries I like to go on and get a big one.”Knee problems have hampered Samuels’ Test career, which began in Australia five years ago, and the last instance of surgery occurred when he was forced to leave the South Africa tour in 2003-04. “I started out well, but if you know my story injury has played a major part in my career,” he said. “I’ve been working very hard on my knee so I can play as much as possible.”West Indies have picked a large pace contingent and Samuels expects to chip in with his part-time spin to break up the fast men’s load. “I’ve learned to vary my pace as much as possible,” he said. “I think they will get me to bowl longs spells and I’m up for it. I’m up for anything.”Samuels said the squad was close-knit and there was no lingering discontent over the team sponsorship issues that resulted in a massively under-strength side playing the Test series against Sri Lanka. He also dismissed the concerns of Michael Holding, who questioned the team’s attitude on tour.”We are spending more time together and we are working very hard as one unit,” he said. “We have a bunch of guys who are very positive and will go up against any team.”

Guyana 310 and 148 for 8 (Ramdass 60; Smith 4-46) drew with Barbados 395 (Campbell 81, Smith 114; Nagamootoo 5-116)
ScorecardBarbados narrowly missed out on an eighth straight win in the Carib Beer 2004 Cricket Series, but went through to the final against Jamaica as a result of having gained a first-innings lead. Guyana, who started their second innings 85 in arrears, were 148 for 8 when stumps were drawn with Sewnarine Chattergoon and Mahendra Nagamootoo having defied the bowlers in the final stages.Dwayne Smith, later named Man of the Match, captured 4 for 46 from 25 overs, and Fidel Edwards took 3 for 34 as Guyana collapsed in their second innings. But Chattergoon, who came out to bat nursing a sore shoulder, and Nagamootoo did enough to thwart any attempt to go for an outright win.Barbados will now play Jamaica in the final on home turf – the venue has yet to be announced – from March 25 to 28. They have already won the Carib Beer Cup, and are looking to win a second trophy for the season.

Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer and VRV Singh checked in at the National Cricket Academy for the fitness test ahead of the South Africa series, starting on March 26. Over the next few days, Sourav Ganguly, RP Singh and Pankaj Singh will also undergo routine tests.Rahul Dravid, who has been recuperating from a finger injury that he picked up in the Adelaide Test against Australia, was also seen at both the morning and evening nets. “My finger injury has healed and I am feeling fine now,” he said.Dravid has not played any competitive cricket since the Australian tour – he didn’t turn out for Karnataka in the recent Ranji one-dayers – but has had intensive practice with the bowling machine for the last few days.The tests today – held under the supervision of Paul Chapman, the physical conditioning coach, and Paul Close, the physiotherapist – included skinfolds, bleep tests, repeat sprint and aerobic strength tests.Pankaj was supposed to arrive today but it’s learnt that his physio in the Rajasthan Cricket Association wrongly believed that he could issue a fitness certificate himself. Pankaj is carrying a slight niggle in the back and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his fitness test on Friday.While the more well-known bleep test involves short sprints, the aerobic vertical jump test records the difference between the height reached at full stretch with feet on the ground and from a standing jump. The skinfolds test uses callipers to measure body fat.While Laxman, Singh and Jaffer left for the airport to catch their respective flights, Kumble, the local boy, bowled for 30 minutes at the NCA ground. He started off with some spot bowling before using his full regular run-up. As he left the ground, Dravid came in for his evening nets session.

Australia 5 for 318 (Martyn 70, Symonds 66, Katich 60) beat Sri Lanka 7 for 202 (Jayawardene 50) by 116 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

Australia overcame an indifferent start to crush Sri Lanka by 116 runs in the opening match of this season’s VB Series at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome. Only briefly, when Australia struggled in their first 15 overs, was this even a contest but from the moment their batsmen cut loose, it became an increasingly one-sided affair. There was more than enough entertainment to keep a decent crowd amused, but it left a suspicion that Sri Lanka will struggle to retain a foothold in the competition.The game’s watershed came in the 16th over when Damien Martyn was caught off a no-ball from Chaminda Vaas. He certainly did not hear the call and was trooping off before he became aware of the reprieve. He celebrated by smacking Vaas for a massive six over cover and never looked back. With Simon Katich, he added 74 in 11 overs and Australia disappeared into the distance.Sri Lanka began brightly after putting Australia in, dismissing both Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting for 13 in a rather low-key beginning, Gilchrist missing an attempted heave over midwicket and Ponting, after an indifferent stay, gave Ruchira Perera the charge and missed. At the 15-over drinks break, Australia were 2 for 64 and Sri Lanka, coming into this match in dreadful one-day form, sniffed the slightest of openings.But the real strength of this Australian side is that it bats in depth, and that frees their batsmen to play their shots with little fear. There was a certain inevitability that Katich, who had been trying to run himself out all afternoon – surviving several close calls because the fielders kept missing the stumps – would go that way. His luck finally ended when he had made 60, Tillakaratne Dilshan scoring a direct hit after a classic yes-no mix-up with Martyn.To the crowd’s delight, that brought in Andrew Symonds, and rather than check the momentum it just resulted in it going into overdrive. It was one of those days when everything he tried came off, and even when he mistimed his strokes the end result was still the same. With Martyn he added 106 at more than a run a ball and Marvan Atapattu could do little other than shuffle his bowlers around. The outcome was the same whatever he did, although the fielding was at times sloppy – Atapattu himself dropped Martyn – and against the world champions, that’s a luxury no side can afford.

Martyn’s 64-ball 70 ended with a rather tired swish and Symonds (66 off 61) fell to a freak dismissal when his straight drive hammered into Michael Clarke’sboot and lobbed to Dilshan. It mattered little by then, and as Symonds departed he grinned at a smiling Clarke and indicated he was owed a post-match pint. You can laugh when you are cruising.Clarke and Michael Hussey then dismembered the corpse, improvising at will and smashing the ball to all parts as they added 90 in a little under 11 overs at the death.If Sri Lanka faced a daunting ask when they started their innings, it soon became almost impossible when Australia caught them cold. Brett Lee’s opening two-wicket burst and a third from Nathan Bracken all but ended this match as a contest as they slid to 3 for 31.Lee struck with his second ball, bring one back to clip Upul Tharanga’s off stump, and then in his second over Jehan Mubarak nicked one low to Ponting at second slip. With Australia’s fielding and bowling every bit as good as their batting had been, the game took on an increasingly one-sided feel, and when Kumar Sangakarra’s attempted leg-side flick looped to Clarke at mid-off, it was a question of by how much Australia would win.The remainder of Sri Lanka’s innings was of little consequence. Michael Vandort opted for crease occupation – always a good strategy in a one-day run chase – and made a turgid 48 off 117 balls before he ran himself out to end his and the crowd’s misery. Mahela Jayawardene made a breezy fifty of no consequence, James Hopes bowled a tidy spell, but it was all academic.Australia, in case anyone doubted it, looked to be back to their opposition-crushing best, but Sri Lanka have some serious issues to overcome. Since October they have won only two of the 12 ODIs they have played, and both of those have been in dead matches. On today’s evidence, that record is unlikely to improve during this series.

Adam Gilchrist lbw b Perera 13 (1 for 25)
Missed attempting swing over midwicketRicky Ponting b Perera 13 (2 for 58)
Simon Katich run out (Dilshan) 60 (3 for 132)
Damien Martyn b Fernando 70 (4 for 238)
Andrew Symonds c Dilshan b Mubarak 66 (5 for 241)

Upal Tharanga b Lee 2 (1 for 2)
Inswinger clipped off stumpJehan Mubarak c Ponting b Lee 2 (2 for 11)
Edged low to second slipKumar Sangakkara c Martyn b Bracken 16 (3 for 32)
Leading edge to attempted leg-side flick, looped to mid-offTillakaratne Dilshan b Bracken 29 (4 for 93)
Missed straight oneMichael Vandort run out (Ponting) 49 (5 for 118)
Poor judgment, well shortMarvan Atapattu c Katich b Hogg 8 (6 for 137)
Acrobatic catch above head at widish mid-offMahela Jayawardene c & b Hopes 50 (7 for 176)
Bowler held back ball, chipped return catch

Gideon Haigh
Perhaps because of the home-ground advantage each side enjoys, the history of cricket exchanges between Australia and India features a host of grand performances in the face of defeat. None, however, quite equals Vijay Hazare’s 116 and 145 amid the ruins of the two Indian innings at Adelaide in January 1948. The first Indian to accomplish the feat in Test cricket is still the only man to do so during a follow-on.Australia’s first Test series with India, and India’s first five-Test rubber, was a catchweight contest. The hosts were a constellation of talent seldom equalled; India were shorn of some of their best talent, including their first-choice leader Vijay Merchant, Mushtaq Ali, Rusi Modi and Fazal Mahmood.They accepted their subordinate role in the remarks of their manager Pankaj Gupta, who announced his hopes that Don Bradman would play: the Indians, Gupta said, had come to learn from him. Monstered by an innings and 226 runs at Brisbane then by 233 runs at Melbourne, they gave little appearance of having learned much. Hazare the bowler surprisingly accounted for Bradman at Sydney, but his bat was muted, and there were few expectations of resistance when India subsided to 133 for 5, chasing 674, shortly after lunch on the third day.In a match scheduled for six days, however, Hazare felt no need for haste, and soon found the pitch living up to the Adelaide Oval’s reputation for excellence. He reminded Ian Johnson of Len Hutton – the Indian was, perhaps, even “tighter” and “less inclined to be tempted”. But Hazare was not so much the renunciate that he could not work 14 boundaries. India finished nearly 300 behind, and followed on.When Ray Lindwall began India’s demolition in that follow-on, Hazare found himself taking guard in the first over to prevent a hat-trick, Vinoo Mankad and Lala Amarnath having been upended by the two preceding deliveries. Again, however, Hazare warmed to his task, meeting Keith Miller, Johnson, Ernie Toshack and Colin McCool alike. Though the crowds that turned out for Australia’s batting exhibition on the first two days had dwindled, the 5000 present became rapt in Hazare’s lonely vigil – “a great display of determined batting,” said Adelaide’s . He was 102 by the close, out of 188 for 6. “Two separate centuries in a Test!” exclaims Hazare in his formal, rather stilted autobiography, . “It seemed too good to be true.” Lindwall did eventually york him, breaking a 187-minute stand of 132 with Hemu Adhikari, but not until Hazare had batted six minutes short of 10 hours for the game, and generated 43% of India’s runs from the bat.Bradman later recalled a “lengthy argument with one of my compatriots” about Amarnath and Hazare – The Don preferred Hazare for his “soundness … and the correctness of his stroke production”, qualified only by concern about “a lack of aggression which prevented him taking charge of an attack”. In order to advance, though, Indian cricket had first to rule a line beyond which it discountenanced withdrawal, and Hazare had here engraved a very deep one indeed.
Raj Singh Dungarpur
Keith Miller was bowling with the second new ball – and Hazare considers Miller to be the toughest bowler he faced. Miller was bowling outswingers, but Hazare was so well-set that he flicked him for three boundaries through midwicket in an over. Miller said “Braddles, I want a deep midwicket.” Bradman turned around and said “Nugget, Australia’s new-ball bowler will not have a deep midwicket.”Hazare’s innings was awesome. The beauty was that he made it look easy. His hands moved up and down the handle like a flute player. When he cut, the right hand became dominant; when he drove the left. When he played fully forward, he stretched so much that he had to hop twice to get back.

Players at the Under-19 World Cup in Colombo are having their bowling actions filmed and assessed in order to try and spot any problems earlier enough so that they can be corrected. Dr Marc Portus, a human movement specialist with the Bowling Review Group (BRG), is travelling around the grounds collating footage.Javagal Srinath has also made a brief visit to Colombo in his capacity as a member of the BRG. He and Portus were part of the committee that upheld Shabbir Ahmed’s 12-month ban after he had appealed his case to the ICC.”It is more a preemptive move [being in Sri Lanka], to try and catch the actions while the bowlers are still young enough to work with,” Portus told Cricinfo during the match between Pakistan and Bangladesh. “We haven’t come out here with any blacklist of players to look for, our remit is just to watch as many as we can and report back. If there is anyone we think might have suspect action we will tell the board that it is probably worth looking at them.”Bowling actions are now assessed around the 15-degree limit imposed by the ICC. South Africa’s Johan Botha is the latest bowler to fall foul of the regulations, having his international abruptly halted when he was found to breach the limit following a report made during the third Test against Australia at Sydney.The new limit has come in for some criticism, opponents saying it could allow players with suspect actions to continue playing. However, Portus says that spotting 15 degrees of straightening is almost impossible to pick up without technology – in other words there would have been no questions raised about the action before this new ruling.”The thing is with the 15 degrees, is that it’s actually a very small margin. With the naked eye you probably wouldn’t be able to detect someone with a straightening of that amount, in other words the action would look fine. If an action appears dodgy to the naked eye it is generally going to be well passed that 15-degree margin, I’ve seen bowlers hit 30.”Portus explained that the ruling helps to accommodate the natural movement of the arm in bowling, something that doesn’t give any additional advantage. “Even the players who appear to have a completely sound action come up as something around seven, eight, nine or even 10 degrees. That’s really how the whole system started. Over about 18 months we filmed 20 bowlers in different match conditions and we produced 3D images and found that all of them were straightening to some extent. It’s a very rare occasion when it came up as zero or one.He also admitted that the development of the doosra is making the job harder, as it is very difficult to build up information. “The problem at the moment is we lack the match analysis of the delivery. When we do analysis in the field there is a much greater error factor, whereas in a control environment that is greatly reduce. But when bowlers perform in laboratories they know why they are there.”We try to reproduce match conditions but it is very difficult. You can’t recreate the situation of a final day in a Test when you are trying to win a match for your country. We are actually trying to develop technology at the moment, with the ICC, to allow us to come up with accurate 3D numbers from game situations, but it is a few years away yet.”

Australia and India could meet in a one-day series in North America this year with New York and Toronto shaping as the likely venues. But player workloads and the suitability of grounds mean the planned venture is no certainty, according to Cricket Australia.Michael Brown, CA’s operations manager, said India had approached Australia with a proposal for the limited-overs series. “You never say never but details at this stage are sketchy,” Brown told .Another possible stumbling block in the negotiations could be wrangling over the percentage of revenues to be shared between the two boards, with Australia reportedly demanding an equal share and the Indians demurring. Australia’s tight schedule features a trip to Zimbabwe in June, between the World Cup in March and April and the Twenty20 world championship in September.”There is also the issue of player leave,” Brown said. “So there are a few things to consider. India wanted to hold a tournament similar to the one we had in Kuala Lumpur.”A bilateral contest between India and the world’s number one team is aimed at capitalising on India’s lucrative pay television market, with each of the planned seven games expected to generate up to $6 million. A triangular contest would mean lesser returns for each participant and the possibility of a relative lack of viewer interest if India fails to reach the finals, as happened in the DLF Cup in Malaysia in October. The BCCI reportedly sold the offshore television rights for each game in the series that featured India for $US5.8m but had to offload the Australia-West Indies matches for only $US1.2m.The reported that India held the upper hand in negotiations as other nations would jump at the opportunity should Australia pass up the chance. But it also suggested the Indian board was desperate to play Australia if they hoped to raise $42 million from the series.It’s believed an indoor NFL stadium in New York would host the games, meaning the matches would be played on a synthetic pitch. But Brown had his own doubts. “I’m not even sure whether they would have a suitable ground in New York,” he said.

Bennett King, the West Indies coach, reposes more faith in his unproven bowling attack than in the team’s batting. King believes it will be the Australian bowlers who will turn on the pressure on the West Indies in the three-Test series that begins in Brisbane on November 3.”We have the bowling that can unsettle the Australian batsmen,” King was reported as saying in the . “History shows they have two of the best bowlers in the world, so batting is in for a tough time, I guess.”King regards Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne as the prime threats to a star-studded batting lineup that includes Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, all of whom have played over 50 Tests. Lara averages 53.75 with the bat, Chanderpaul 47.41, Sarwan 40.87 and Gayle 39.38, but King feels that they have their task cut out for them.The West Indies squad to Australia includes six fast bowlers, none of whom has played more than 17 Tests. Jermaine Lawson, whose action has been scrutinised in the past, is the only fast bowler who averages less than 30 with the ball. King believes all six have the necesssary pace and fire to succeed, and cited their good showing in Sri Lanka in July. “We didn’t get enough runs in Sri Lanka on very good batting decks but we certainly got very good players out,” King said. “We know we can get good players out. We have to make sure we get runs as well.”King’s claims come a day after his bowlers, led by Daren Powell (4 for 58), bowled out Queensland for 323 in a warm-up game ahead of the Test series. Lawson, Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore were all rested but are expected to come into contention for the first Test.

There is one bright spot in the darkness of Australia’s recent run of poor one-day form: their batting will be boosted by the return of the rested Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke for the World Cup. They can take no solace from their bowling situation.Australia’s inability to defend 336 at Auckland on Sunday was the latest in a worrying series of big targets they have proved incapable of protecting. New Zealand’s impressive effort was the second-highest successful run-chase in ODI history and was nestled between two other Australian failures from the past 14 months.In their second-last match before they travel to the World Cup, it should be a major concern for a team that has had its bowling line-up largely settled since at least the Champions Trophy in October. Only Shaun Tait has been added for his ability to bowl fast, inswinging yorkers at the death but he is yet to demonstrate that skill at international level.Big scores could be common in the West Indies, where the small grounds will encourage the sort of boundary-clearing strokes that led to a combined 20 sixes at Eden Park on Sunday. Unless Australia’s attack can remember how to bowl some tight, containing overs in the middle or closing stages, their one-day crown will be in danger of slipping even further.Glenn McGrath and Nathan Bracken, two of their most reliable performers, have been below par in 2006-07. Both suffered at the destructive hands of Jacob Oram at Perth as New Zealand came agonisingly close to overhauling Australia’s 343. The pair was also part of the four-man pace attack that could not break the partnership between Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell after England were in desperate trouble in the first CB Series final at Melbourne.Bracken has picked up wickets here and there but his consistency in breaking top-order partnerships with the swinging white ball has fallen away. McGrath has not rediscovered the joy of his Test farewell and his ageing body has been unable to produce the metronomic accuracy that formerly demanded respect from batsmen the world over.Mitchell Johnson has left behind the form that earned him the prize wickets of Brian Lara, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar at the DLF Cup in September. When he plays, he is now targeted by batsmen who want to belt him out of the attack.As Ross Taylor and Peter Fulton reeled in the target at Auckland, what Australia needed was a string of miserly overs that ballooned the required run-rate close to ten an over. Tait, McGrath, Bracken and Shane Watson all threatened to do it but there was always a loose ball just around the corner that let the batsmen relieve the pressure with a boundary.Australia have missed Andrew Symonds and his habit of tearing through overs of offspin as their fit slow-bowling options, Brad Hogg and Cameron White, went for a combined 87 from ten overs. White is, at this stage, not going to the West Indies but Hogg needs to regain the form that made him such a useful part of Australia’s 2003 World Cup squad.He has had limited opportunities this season and his knack for picking up important wickets seems to have deserted him. Batsmen have been willing to push him around and try for boundaries by hitting with the spin. On big grounds that can lead to outfield catches but on smaller ones he will need more control.

Within the 15-man World Cup squad, there are precious few other possibilities. Johnson was the only fit bowler going to the Caribbean who did not play on Sunday but he went for 49 from his eight overs two days earlier as New Zealand inflicted Australia’s first ten-wicket loss. There will be a temptation to bring in Stuart Clark, who is known for his consistency, if Brett Lee does not recover from his ankle injury.That might not be the best solution. Clark has been a Test match star but like the others, he has been too costly in the limited-overs game. His predictability – and on occasions his lack of control of the white ball – have led to an economy rate of 6.40 from his last ten games. He was the leading culprit as West Indies chased down Australia’s 272 in Malaysia in September, when he went for 87 from seven overs as Chris Gayle unleashed a fierce assault.Australia say they have been fine-tuning their attack in the lead-up to the World Cup. But they cannot possibly suggest their bowling line-up is in its best shape after their recent efforts, although Watson showed some promising signs on Sunday with his control and subtle variations. McGrath, Bracken, Johnson, Watson and Hogg are all capable of match-winning spells on their day. However, limited-overs bowling is largely about containment and unless they can remember how to restrict the runs, they will go to the West Indies in serious danger of being overpowered.In their pool matches the No. 1-ranked South Africa will be looking to justify their promotion and Australia must be on their game to contain Herschelle Gibbs and his team-mates. After that, any number of sides and individuals could hurt Australia. A destructive Gayle, a resurgent Sanath Jayasuriya, a fit-again Oram or a rejuvenated Sourav Ganguly are just a few of the countless threats. They have all taken notice of the last month and will want to prove they too can conquer the former masters.