All posts by csb10.top

Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper, has been appointed vice-captain for the tour of Zimbabwe starting next month. Shakib Al Hasan, the stand-in captain for the current tour of West Indies, will continue to lead the side in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza, who’s down with a knee injury.It’s the perfect reward for Mushfiqur, who was steady with the bat scoring 133 runs at 33.25 in the recently-concluded two-Test series against West Indies.Bangladesh will play five ODIs in Bulawayo from August 9 to 18.

Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss blamed his batsmen’s lack of footwork against the moving ball for his team’s precarious position at the end of the third day of the first Test against Pakistan at Galle.”We didn’t bat very well today. The boys will be the first to admit that,” Bayliss said. “It doesn’t matter where you play in the world, if the ball is moving and you are caught on the crease most of the time against quality bowling, you are going to be dismissed. If you look at (Thilan) Samaraweera’s innings against the pace bowlers he would get a full stride in and get to the ball before it had a chance to move too far.”Bayliss made these comments after Sri Lanka was dismissed in their second innings for 217 leaving Pakistan a target of 168 to go one up in the three-Test series. By stumps Pakistan had wiped out 71 of those runs losing two wickets.”We haven’t played well enough. We bowled well enough to give them only a 50-run lead. If you add another 50 onto the 160 and you are chasing 210 or 220 it might be a different story,” Bayliss said. “But still we are in with a small chance and we are going to try and take hold of that tomorrow.”We need to take some early wickets in the morning, hopefully we get a few overnight showers and the covers left on and some clouds overhead so that the ball will nip around a little bit like it has done a couple of times in this match. It’s going to be difficult but if we take a couple of early wickets, you never know.”The wicket’s been a bit docile after the shine has gone off the ball. That might have something to do with the cloud cover we had two out of the three days which has not allowed the wicket to really dry out and start to crumble a little bit. It’s holding together pretty well. That might have an effect on it I am not quite sure.”Bayliss said that they would depend largely on the bowling of Nuwan Kulasekara to give them the breakthrough Tuesday morning. “Kulasekara struggled a little bit against India 12 months ago on a couple of very flat wickets. This type of wicket probably suits him pretty well. It’s not really fast and it has a little sideways movement and seam. If there is little bit of movement tomorrow morning we will be looking to him to lead the attack for us.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Daniel Vettori was key to New Zealand’s victory, picking up 3 for 24•Associated Press

New Zealand’s unbeaten record against India in Twenty20s continued today by beating the world champions by nine runs in their warm-up outing at Lord’s. Several New Zealand batsmen chipped in with aggressive contributions to post an imposing total which their bowlers, led by the reliable Daniel Vettori, defended tenaciously against a powerful Indian batting line-up.The India team had faced questions regarding fatigue and fitness because of their players’ involvement in the lengthy IPL and they took the field without Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan. Yuvraj Singh also did not play a part in the match although he was on the team sheet. However, it was because of the batsmen that performed in the IPL – Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja – that India challenged New Zealand’s total of 170.Sharma, who opened with Gautam Gambhir, slotted seamlessly into his new role and attacked from the outset against Iain O’Brien. With an extravagant follow through, Sharma deposited the ball into the stands at midwicket, pierced the in-field at point again, and launched the ball over long-off to take 18 runs off O’Brien’s second over. The Indian fans had been gathering from the latter stages of the Ireland-Netherlands match, making themselves heard whenever the players were shown on the giant screen and now were shouting themselves hoarse.Through all the excitement, though, Gambhir remained almost unnoticed, catching the attention only when he spooned Ian Butler to Martin Guptill at extra cover. India, however, raced to 55 in six overs and New Zealand needed more to curb the momentum. Vettori duly did the needful. He slipped one down the leg side as MS Dhoni advanced and had him stumped, despite a fumble from Brendon McCullum, before bowling Sharma a few balls later as the ball bobbled off the pads.India suddenly had two new batsmen at the crease and New Zealand had an opening, but for a while it seemed Raina had slammed it shut. He plundered 19 runs off Vettori’s second over, slog-sweeping twice over the midwicket boundary and drilling the ball straight down the ground.He and Jadeja produced an impressive stand, adding 69 off 48 balls for the fourth wicket. It was only Raina’s dismissal – caught by a diving Jesse Ryder off Jacob Oram for 45 – that turned the match in New Zealand’s favour. Vettori bounced back strongly to dismiss Yusuf Pathan in another miserly over to finish with 3 for 24 and left India with too much to do in the last three overs.That the New Zealand bowlers had enough to defend was due to a collective performance from their batsmen. While no one went on to make fifty, New Zealand always had a well set batsman at the crease to keep the momentum going. Brendon McCullum provided the impetus at the start, while Ross Taylor continued his good form from the latter stages of the IPL during the middle overs. Scott Styris chipped in with a useful innings and Franklin enhanced his newly-developed status as a batting allrounder with massive strikes towards the ends of the innings.Most of the New Zealand batsmen favoured the leg-side boundary and some perished while trying to clear it. McCullum eventually skied a catch to midwicket, while Ryder, who failed to get out of his IPL rut, was bowled trying to swing across the line. Ishant Sharma was the bowler who dismissed both, making up for the void created by the shoulder injury to Zaheer.Taylor carted Pragyan Ojha for two consecutive sixes over deep-square leg and dispatched the left-arm spinner to the deep midwicket boundary as well. Ishant returned to peg New Zealand back by inducing a top-edged pull from Oram, which was held by Harbhajan.Taylor, too, fell in the 16th over when one slog-sweep against Harbhajan did not clear RP Singh. Styris kept the momentum going with a breezy 29 off 19 balls but it was Franklin who hurt India in the end. He laid into RP in the 20th over and deposited the ball beyond the straight boundary twice before pulling to midwicket for four. New Zealand managed 50 runs off their last four overs and that acceleration proved to be the difference.

by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outRoss Taylor made a brutal 33-ball 81, and was well supported by Mark Boucher, to seal a thrilling win for Royal Challengers Bangalore and keep them afloat in the competition•Associated Press

Royal Challengers Bangalore, buoyed by Ross Taylor’s return to form, overcame a formidable target set by Kolkata Knight Riders to boost their chances of making the top four, winning by six wickets in a tense encounter in Centurion. Brendon McCullum’s determined innings was in vain, as Taylor marked a timely comeback, feasting on some shoddy bowling by the seamers at the death, to inflict yet another disappointment on Kolkata, who squandered the edge they had held for most of the game.Taylor and Jesse Ryder were Bangalore’s key batsmen ahead of the season, and their failure, along with Kevin Pietersen’s poor performance, had proved embarrassing. Taylor, though, redeemed himself, remaining unfazed by the loss of three quick wickets to time Bangalore’s chase to perfection, carting five sixes and seven fours in a brutal assault that overshadowed Kolkata’s admirable batting display.Bangalore were on course in pursuit of 174, led by a solid opening stand of 58 between Jacques Kallis and Ryder. Neither of the two was excessively dominating, but combined their ability to punish bad balls with intermittent displays of improvisation when the situation demanded it. Kallis survived an early chance, when Ajantha Mendis ran too far in from third man, failing to snap an upper-cut, but two half-volleys from Ajit Agarkar were lofted for a six and four the very next over. Ryder looked fluent, in contrast to his terrible form in the early phase of the tournament, pulling Ishant Sharma before dispatching two full tosses over mid-off.The difference in strategy adopted by both teams was evident before the tactical time-out in each innings, with Kolkata sticking to the tested method of shuffling the attack, using as many as six bowlers in the first eight overs – Bangalore had used three. The spin of Ajantha Mendis and David Hussey was countered well, but a stupendous piece of fielding from McCullum, who flung himself to his left to snap Kallis put an end to the threatening stand. When Ryder sliced Agarkar straight to third man in the next over, and Robin Uthappa slogged one to deep midwicket right after the time-out, Bangalore had lost three in three overs to concede the advantage.Barring McCullum’s acrobatic effort, Kolkata were, yet again, poor in the field, missing attempts to run out both Taylor and Rahul Dravid, giving one a chance to regain some much-needed form, and the other to play the supporting role with flair. The game began to slip from Kolkata’s grasp when Taylor spoilt Murali Kartik’s figures with two sixes in his final over. The talking point for Kolkata has been the puzzling absence of Mashrafe Mortaza and the experienced Charl Langeveldt. The travails of Angelo Matthews – who was struck for three fours in an over by Taylor – provided more fodder for criticism.With 55 needed off 30, and seven wickets in hand, Bangalore held the cards but Dravid’s scoop back to Mendis in a miserly 16th over added another twist to the see-saw game. Taylor, though, was unflustered, smacking two fours off Ajit Agarkar to reach his half-century, and combined with Mark Boucher, who pulled a no-ball for six, to take 19 off Ishant’s final over.Agarkar’s reliability at the death has been questionable throughout his career and he failed his team, gifting two full-tosses to Taylor in the penultimate over, one smashed over midwicket and the other over long-on. The Bangalore batsmen were fed with full-length balls, which they promptly dealt with, proving decisive in the outcome. Mathews provided the fitting end, delivering another full toss, symbolically dismissed by Taylor for six over square leg to end the game and keep his team in the running for a semi-final berth.Taylor’s blitz spoilt an excellent innings from Kolkata’s struggling captain, who fought through a patchy phase to take a backseat to the aggressive Hussey, and then changed gears following the Australian’s dismissal to hand his team its most satisfying batting performance of the season. The burden of captaincy had proved too hard to bear for McCullum, and had affected his own performance adversely. He remained guarded for much of his innings, after he lost Sourav Ganguly and Arindam Ghosh early on, providing a glimpse of his more conventional side to batting, compared to the raw aggression that has typified his style. The boundaries kept coming, mostly of Hussey’s bat, but the feature of the partnership, apart from the two contrasting approaches by each batsman, was the wave of singles and twos that avoided any dip in scoring despite the two early setbacks.The roles changed once Mathews, the Sri Lankan allrounder, walked in. McCullum switched to his natural mode of play, stepping out to dispatch Kumble, and smashing Akhil for two sixes, bringing up his first fifty in ten innings. The cherry was a burst of three successive fours – two paddle-scoops and one contemptuous pull – off R Vinay Kumar which took his team to a competitive score.Kolkata, despite being knocked out, still have a significant role to play as their remaining games could well determine who finishes in the final four. However, their tendency to lose, even from winning positions, reinforced their unfortunate status as the tournament’s punching bag.

Steve Harmison’s chances of pushing for an England recall have been hit after he picked up a shin problem with concerns it could develop into a stress fracture.He is being sent to see a specialist having had similar problems earlier in his career and has certainly been ruled out of Durham’s remaining Friends Provident Trophy matches after missing the defeat against Yorkshire on Wednesday.Harmison was left out of the England squad to face West Indies after a disappointing winter where he failed to impress in India or West Indies. He played in two Tests in the Caribbean, managing four wickets at 36.75 and it has been made clear by Geoff Miller what is expected of him as a strike bowler.However, his form this season has been unconvincing and since taking 4 for 76 in the opening Championship match against Yorkshire he has collected just four wickets.

The new Indian Premier League (IPL) hosts along with the schedule will be announced on Monday evening. “We will have the final schedule and which country will host the IPL by tomorrow evening,” Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said. “We have multiple schedules, multiple venues, multiple countries available to us. Now we just need to reschedule the matches. Each team will have a home in another country, another state and another stadium.”Modi firmly stood by the BCCI’s decision to stage the second edition outside India, with England or South Africa heavily tipped to be the new host. He also said there’s no chance of hosting the final leg of games in India. However, Modi assured Indian fans that the tournament would be back on home soil the next year.”It will continue to be the Indian Premier League, unfortunately we cannot play it in India because of election issues this year and it will be back in India next year,” Modi said. “We have to ensure continuity of the tournament. There is no other time for the league to be held this year. So, it is important that the league goes forward. It is a domestic tournament being held at an international venue.”We explored all possibilities of moving the semi-finals and final to India. But it would have been too exhausting for the players. Players have to go back to England for the World Twenty20 (beginning on June 5).”Modi dismissed claims that the organisers’ desperation to hold the event was prompted by financial concerns. “It’s not about money,” he said. “We are going to be spending a lot more in holding the IPL out of the country. We will probably make no profit but that is not the concern.”Loss is not an issue, so don’t bring it up. We are not concerned about profit. Our issue is to make sure that all fans get to watch the highest quality of cricket wherever it needs to be played.”He said having a truncated IPL was never an option. “It cannot be a truncated tournament,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to have truncated tournament. We understand the sensitivity regarding elections in India and taking into account that sensitivity, we have decided to move the tournament overseas.”He added that Pakistan players will still not be allowed to take part, despite the tournament being moved out of India. “IPL announced the squads 30 days in advance,” Modi said. “No changes are allowed in that. Unfortunately, no Pakistan player will play this year.”

Scotland will play England in a Twenty20 match at Trent Bridge on June 2 ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 which gets underway the following week.England had been scheduled to be involved in the Stanford quadrangular Twenty20 tournament at the end of May, but with the ECB cutting all ties with Allen Stanford, there is now a gap in the calendar.”This is really tremendous news,” said Roddy Smith, the chief executive of Cricket Scotland. “We played the first-ever ODI against England only last year. Now we’re being pitched in against them in this Twenty20 warm-up game. You can be certain that our players will be up for the challenge, and in this short form of the game anything can happen.””We’re really looking forward to these games,” Scotland captain Ryan Watson said. “They should be a lot of fun, and a highlight of the forthcoming season. However, our thoughts are firmly on the forthcoming ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa. We cannot afford to look any further ahead than that.”Scotland will travel down to The Oval the following day to play against Netherlands in their second and final warm-up.

There is a possibility that Andrew Flintoff may not play for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2009 season of the IPL if it will endanger his chances of turning out for England during the summer. ECB chief executive David Collier said that the board would be “concerned if any player was carrying an injury that may affect his participation in the Ashes series”.”There are medical clauses. The IPL are very responsible in that area and we have very, very strong relationships with Chennai,” Collier said. “Andrew’s own team will also be looking at the injury prognosis. We would need to review it, obviously this has only just happened. But there are injury provisions in both sides of the contracts.”Flintoff, who was bought for a record $1.55 million by the Chennai Super Kings at the IPL auction, is currently suffering from a hip injury and is set to miss England’s fourth Test against West Indies beginning in Barbados on February 26. His progress is being monitored in the hope that he will be fit for the final Test in Trinidad from March 6 and the five ODIs that follow.England’s tour of West Indies ends on April 3 and Flintoff will be available to play in the IPL, which begins on April 10, for three weeks before the home series against West Indies from May 6. That series is followed by the World Twenty20 in England and the Ashes.

The ICC’s board meets in Perth on Saturday with the key item on its agenda being an application for recognition from the ICL. However, the issue is unlikely to reach a resolution over the weekend; it is learnt the BCCI will once again dig in its heels and continue to back a ban on the unauthorised Twenty20 venture.The board members will also discuss preparations for the Champions Trophy to be held in September, an internal report on Zimbabwe and international fixtures after 2012.The ICL issue, however, may not dominate discussions as previously expected, considering the BCCI’s hardline position. “Our position on ICL remains the same,” a top BCCI official told Cricinfo. “We see no reason for that to change.”Debate over the ICL gathered pace this week after the Pakistan Cricket Board received a legal notice against a domestic ban it had imposed on players associated with the private league. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had, under the previous administration last year, allowed five of its ICL-linked players to participate in a domestic tournament.The ICL’s request for recognition is based on an ICC rule that allows matches of an ‘exhibition/testimonial’ nature to be granted approval directly by the world body. However, the BCCI and other national boards are firm that such permission cannot be granted in this case without the home board’s approval.The ICC subsequently formed a five-member working group to study the rules that govern official and unofficial cricket. This group, including Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has since prepared a set of draft regulations that includes stricter norms, especially on unofficial cricket.The ICC board members will also discuss the way forward for international cricket after the current Future Tours Programme (FTP) gets over in three years. India and England have already opposed a proposal from Australia that the FTP be replaced by a Test Championship.Preparations for the Champions Trophy this year will be the other key subject of discussion over the weekend. The tournament is scheduled to be held from September 24 to October 5 in Pakistan, subject to a security clearance. The event was originally scheduled to be held last year in the same country but was postponed after ICC members expressed concerns about the then security situation there.The executive will also consider a report from an ICC panel, headed by Julian Hunte, the West Indies cricket board chief, on Zimbabwe following his visit last November which was conducted against the background of the cholera outbreak and the continuing breakdown of the economy. Peter Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, won’t be at the meeting after he refused to apply for a visa to enter Australia.

Group A

Pakistan International Airlines continued their supremacy at the top of the table with a comprehensive win against Sui Southern Gas Corporation(SSGC) at the Quaid-e-Azam Park. SSGC began the final day on 14 for 1, trailing by 195, and Tahir Khan ran through the opposition, picking up 4 for 63. Wajid Ali and Haaris Ayaz battled bravely to put on 79 for the seventh wicket, but it was not enough as SSGC collapsed to 191.Samiullah Khan and Imran Ali set up victory for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) against Lahore Shalimar at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. While Yasir Shah starred the previous day with his three-wicket haul, Samiullah and Imran helped themselves to Lahore’s lower order on the last day, finishing with three apiece. Lahore were shot out for 199 after resuming on 115 for 4, with the last six wickets falling for 84 runs. Unbeaten half-centuries from Ali Waqas and Umar Akmal then helped SNGPL reach the target of 119 in 26.4 overs.It was a complete turnaround from their first-innings display as Habib Bank Limited (HBL) drew their match against Karachi Whites at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium. Precariously placed on 63 for 3 overnight, and trailing by 259, the not-out batsmen Ahmed Shehzad and Aftab Alam completed a 105-run stand for the fourth wicket. Shehzad went on to reach his century and put on 142 for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper Farhan Iqbal. Shehzad finally finished on 175, hitting 28 fours and a six, and by the time Farhan brought up his fifty, the visitors had reached safety.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited had to be content with the three points by virtue of their first-innings lead as they failed to reach the target of 291 set by Water and Power Development Authority(WAPDA) at the Shiekhupura Stadium. WAPDA declared on 333 for 8, as Bilal Khilji remained unbeaten on 137 and Imranullah Aslam brought up his half-century. Azhar Attari was ZTBL’s most successful bowler with 4 for 77, but it was a little too late as his team ended the final day on 139 for 4.

Group B

The Rawalpindi pacemen, Rizwan Akbar and Mohammad Rameez, shared eight wickets to hand their team a 218-run win against Sialkot in Islamabad. Needing another 329 more to win on the final day, the overnight opening partnership of 53 was broken with just four runs added. What ensued was a total collapse, with Sialkot losing wickets at regular intervals. Rameez ended with a five-for and Rizwan picked up 3 for 62 to give Rawalpindi the nine points.Forced to follow-on, the Faisalabad batsmen put up a better show second time round to hold on for a draw against Multan in Okara. They declared at 400 for 8, setting Multan a target of 174 for victory, but the hosts could only reach 137 for 3 in the 16 overs. Resuming on 187 for 1, Imran Ali brought up his century and was well supported by captain Ijaz Ahmed jnr, who made 60 off 104 balls. While Imran hit 21 boundaries in his 310-ball effort, Ijaz managed eight fours and a six. Sajjad Hussain and Mohammad Irshad picked up three wickets apiece before the Multan batsmen had a dip at their target. The opening stand of 53 set the tone with Ansar Javed joining in towards the end with a 28-ball 43, but the hosts had to settle for just the three points as time ran out.Lahore Ravi ran into a resolute partnership between Mohammad Aslam and Ata-ur-Rehman as they failed to pick up an outright win against Quetta at Muridke. Both batsmen hit fifties but after their partnership of 110 none of the other batsmen offered resistance as the visitors were bowled out for 214. Waqas Ahmed picked up 5 for 41 to end with an eight-wicket match haul.Fifties from Mahfooz Sabri and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan guaranteed first-innings points for Peshawar against Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium. Replying to Hyderabad’s 292, Peshawar ended on 360 after Sajjad Ali had brought up his half-century earlier in the day. Sabri (52) and Rizwan (68 not out) then added 51 for the sixth wicket, as they neared the Hyderabad score. At stumps, Hyderabad’s first-innings hero Azeem Ghumon and Faisal Athar had taken them to 67 for 1.Hyderabad v Peshawar final day
Peshawar’s bowlers triggered a collapse to set their team up for a six-wicket win – their first in the tournament – at the Niaz Stadium. Having already conceded first-innings points, Hyderabad failed to bat out for a draw on the fourth day. Azeem Ghumon, the first-innings centurion, top scored with 46, with overnight partner Faisal Athar the next-best with 32. Opening bowlers Waqar Ahmed and Nauman Habib took three wickets each for the visitors, while the young legspinner Hidayatullah Khan finished with 2 for 43 off his 19 overs. Hyderabad added 125 to their overnight score of 67 for 1 in 52.3 overs, leaving Peshawar with a target of 125. Naeem-ur-Rehman struck thrice, but Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 50 saw them home.