All posts by csb10.top

Michael Hussey wants Australia to ignore Friday’s disturbing hit-and-miss performance and recall the strong batting memories from last week at the SCG for the first final. Hussey was one of the many failures as Australia fell from 0 for 107 to 208 all out against Sri Lanka in Melbourne, but he does not believe the display will affect the home team when it faces India in the most crucial one-day match of the season so far.As a spiteful summer draws to a close, Hussey has urged his team to shut out the various distractions, which have ranged from on- and off-field verbals to the shadow of the Indian Premier League, as they attempt to win the last Australian tri-series. “I’d prefer to bury everything and focus on final,” he said. “Both teams and the Australian and Indian public have had enough of the controversy.”Hussey encouraged his team-mates to take the emotion out of the encounter to achieve their peak performance. “It’s important we don’t let the distractions play any part on our minds,” he said. “If we play on emotions sometimes those distractions can have a detrimental part on your performance. If we take emotion out of it, I think we can play our best and go 1-0 up in the series.”A key ingredient to any Australian success is a well-rounded batting performance, which is something that has been missing for much of the series – they have played eight games and only twice passed 250. Despite the stuttering, Hussey expects the more batsman-friendly surface at the SCG to help the side forget the low of Friday night.”There have been difficult conditions in Melbourne during the year and all teams have struggled,” he said. “We don’t want to look too much into [the MCG performance]. We’re looking to our last performance in Sydney, when all the batsmen played particularly well.”Ricky Ponting broke free from his run drought with 124 in that game and all of the top six made useful contributions in the total of 7 for 317, which led to an 18-run victory. “We know we’re playing well,” Hussey said, “and we know we can put on a good performance.”

India’s cricket officials refused to reschedule the one-day series against the West Indies despite crowd trouble in all the three matches played so far.”There is no threat to the series, it will be completed as scheduled,” said Karunakaran Nair, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).While the first two matches in Jamshedpur and Nagpur were briefly interrupted by missile-throwing fans, Tuesday’s game in Rajkot was forced to be abandoned after West Indian fielders were hit by plastic water bottles.Two of the remaining four matches will be played in Ahmedabad and Baroda, which like Rajkot are situated in the sensitive western state of Gujarat where thousands were killed in communal violence earlier this year.BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said he had spoken to state administration officials to ensure the untoward incidents of the first three matches were not repeated.”We are happy the Gujarat government has agreed to our suggestions to increase security in Ahmedabad and Baroda,” Dalmiya said.”We have also issued necessary instructions to the staging associations to install close-circuit cameras as strategic points in the stadiums, so that mischief-mongers can be identified.”Ahmedabad will host a day-night match on Friday, followed by day games in Baroda (November 18), Jodhpur (Nov 21) and Vijayawada (Nov 24).The West Indies lead the series 2-1 after winning the first two matches. The third at Rajkot was awarded to India by a margin of 81 runs after the home side was ahead on run-rate when the match was abandoned.Nair said the problem was not lack of security, but hooliganism by a small section of spectators.”We can control 99 per cent of the crowd. But if the remaining one per cent decides to create nuisance, we are rendered helpless,” he said.”We can only appeal to the sporting public of India who are great fans of cricket to desist from such behaviour as it is bringing a bad name to the country.”The International Cricket Council (ICC), worried at the incidents in India, said it was looking at expanding its powers to remove international status from unruly venues.ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said while it did not at present have the authority to remove the international status of a venue, its Safety and Security Committee would consider it “imminently”.”We have asked this committee to consider appropriate penalties for venues which consistently fail to meet their obligations in meeting minimum standards of security,” Speed said in a statement.”This is likely to include the ultimate sanction of withdrawing international status from a ground, combined with a heavy financial penalty.”

Punjab completely dominated the first day’s play of their three day North Zone Cooch Behar Trophy (under-19) match against Jammu & Kashmir at the Dhruv Pandove stadium in Patiala on Tuesday. At stumps they were 140 for two in reply to J & K’s first innings total of 126.Winning the toss, J & K ran into trouble against A Uniyal and G Mandora and lost six wickets for 51 runs. A seventh wicket partnership of 64 runs off 24.4 overs between V Kaw (38) and A Mongotra (28) produced a recovery of sorts. But then three wickets fell with the total on 115 and J & K were all out for a highly adequate score. Uniyal (3 for 19) and Mandora (3 for 23) were the wreckers-in-chief while SP Singh hastened the end of the innings by taking two wickets for two runs off 3.4 overs, of which two were maidens.When Punjab batted, SP Singh (60 not out) and opener Binwant Singh (41) with a second wicket stand of 77 runs off 14 overs steered the side to a strong position by close. While Binwant faced 51 balls and hit five fours, the more aggressive SP Singh faced 69 balls and hit five fours and three sixes.

The ICC annual conference will be held in Dubai this June, ending a 99-year association with Lord’s.Cricinfo has learned that the decision to abandon London as the host venue was taken by the majority of the ICC executive board at the opening of the IPL in Bangalore last week after claims by Peter Chingoka that attempts by him to obtain a visa to enter the UK had been blocked.Although there was no formal meeting held in Bangalore, only two or three board heads were absent, and when Chingoka flagged that he had not been successful in obtaining a visa, it was agreed to switch the get together to the ICC headquarters. A formal announcement is expected in the next few days.A spokesman for the MCC, who host all events at Lord’s, told Cricinfo the club was aware of the decision.The annual ICC conference has been held at Lord’s since the first meeting in 1909. The decision to relocate this year casts a shadow over plans to centre the ICC’s centenary celebrations on Lord’s, and unless Chingoka is allowed into the country – and given the hardening of the line against anyone associated with Zanu-PF, that seems unlikely – then the loss of the conference could be the first in a chain of events moved from the UK.The ICC’s centenary celebrations next year are due to be centred on Lord’s, and there is also scheduled to be a bilateral tour by Zimbabwe followed by the ICC World Twenty20.

Jamaica 107 for 4 (Nash 56*) trail Trinidad & Tobago 121 (Miller 5-29) by 14 runs
ScorecardNikita Miller put Jamaica in the box seat on the first day of the Carib Beer Challenge final against Trinidad & Tobago at Sabina Park. Miller took a career-best 5 for 29 as T&T, put in to bat, were bowled out for 121. Jamaica were 107 for 4 when bad light brought an early close.It could have been worse for T&T who at one stage were 69 for 7 before a rearguard led by Dave Mohammed. None of their top order got to grips with the variable pace and bounce from the pitch and were guilty of gifting their wickets with reckless strokes.Jerome Taylor started the slide when he bowled Adrian Barath for 9 and then Darren Bravo, the brother of Dwayne, was caught at midwicket for 12. Lendl Simmons was caught at short leg off Miller for 0, and Daren Ganga was run out for 18 after indecision between him and Kieron Pollard. Three wickets fell for four runs in 17 balls to leave T&T 43 for 4.Pollard followed soon after lunch and T&T’s problems grew when Denesh Ramdin was forced to retire hurt after Powell struck him on the left cheek. Miller then held a return catch from Richard Kelly and Ravi Rampaul caught at silly point for 0. Mohammed helped steer the score past the hundred but it was woefully below par.Jamaica had their own problems as they slipped to 29 for 3, the rot starting with the run-out of Danza Hyatt in the second over. Marlon Samuels miscued a hook to mid-on and then Wavell Hinds fended a lifter from Mervyn Dillon to gully.But Brendan Nash, who finished on 56, and opener Brenton Parchment added 65 for the fourth wicket to put Jamaica in charge by the end of the day, even though they lost Parchment, caught at short leg for 34 playing defensively forward to a well-flighted delivery, shortly before the close.

Virat Kohli has said his Test side showed first signs of resurgence in Australia where India managed to draw two Tests out of the four, and came really close to winning the one that they lost in Adelaide. Since then India have beaten Sri Lanka 2-1 in Sri Lanka, and this 3-0 triumph over the best Test side in the world has given them the No. 2 Test ranking.”Test cricket has been one format where we all have wanted to do well,” Kohli said after the win. “Like to give credit to the team to show character and bounce back in last two series like the way we have. I feel that it all began in Australia for us, the way we played there. Showed character even in defeats. [They were] Not one-sided defeats. We were always on opposition’s heels, [we felt] that we could cash in on any stage. That gave us a lot of belief as a Test team. We can play well around the world.”We carried from Australia, took it to Sri Lanka, had a few plans, rules, things that we needed to do in order to do well and gave everyone responsibility that you have to give your 110% effort every single day. You are being honest to the work ethics, the team requires going out there to play the best cricket that one can play. Not focusing on opposition too much, not on what people were saying. We focused on our skills. [The] strong bond that team requires.”Kohli spoke of the joy of making things work when asked what it felt like leading the side to the No. 2 ranking in one year as captain. “Rankings do not matter to me neither do they matter to the particular squad right now,” he said. “Keep performing well, obviously rankings will go up. You don’t play for that. Obviously it’s an incentive, which we don’t aim for, but we want to play good cricket and be a good Test side. Rest of the things can follow.”It’s been couple of series, three series, I have been full-time captain. I have enjoyed it. I relish making plans with bowlers, and when it comes off, that particular feeling is hard to explain. I like the fact that I am always involved in things. Active. It fits me perfectly.”Kohli said he felt this team had the belief it can succeed anywhere. “It [such a big win] has a positive and huge impact on the mindset of players,” he said. “It all started in Australia as the kind of belief we went there and the kind of cricket that we played there, it gave us the confidence that we can beat any side in the world. That sort of mindset, is important to win Tests and series. If you win one Test match, it can turn around pretty quickly. We saw that in Sri Lanka, that was major boost for our mental set-up. This is the icing on the cake.”Throughout this series the pitches have been a big talking point, but Delhi managed to avoid those discussions because it had something for everybody: runs, seam, spin, reverse swing. Kohli did reiterate that perhaps talking of the pitches seems like saying they wouldn’t have won without a particular kind of surface. “You are free to write whatever you want,” he said. “We will do what we can do, and that is perform. If we do well, you will write good things. If we falter, our weaknesses will be pointed out, which is fair. But if it’s written that pitch is a factor in victory, then it’s unfair. We are international cricketers, we are working hard, a match is not so pitch-dependent that a team sees a pitch and immediately concedes defeat. You still have to win the match.”It was perhaps fitting that in a series that Kohli’s press conferences have centred on complaints about the coverage of his team’s success, the last question was potentially a naughty one. How does he compare his leadership with his predecessors, he was asked. That is a heavily loaded question, but a calm Kohli just said “well tried” and smiled back before saying he doesn’t compare his style with anybody’s. It was now time to enjoy a hard-earned Test win.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt was a good day for batting so Hashim Amla did just that. He was in situ all day, an elegant figure bringing repose to South African cricket. Everything will be fine, he soothed as he repelled England’s attempts to force victory in the second Test.England were persistent, but the pitch was placid, and Amla entirely self-possessed. By the close of the third day, he was unbeaten on 157, a poor 2015 put behind him not by stirring deeds but with a sheen and grace that reasserted his quality. A deficit of 276 insists that much work remains to be done, but there are seven wickets intact to do it.South Africa made 212 on an attritional day. They made it very quietly. It was all a striking contrast to the fun of the fair on the previous day when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow rattled up 196 in the morning session alone. Test cricket’s appeal lies in the fact that it is a game of many moods – and this was quite a jolt. No matter: South Africa’s captain had served his side admirably in times of need.England will recall Amla’s triple-century at The Oval in 2012 and fear what may still lies ahead. But the artist is painting slowly. He made 93 in the day, only 25 in a final session where England became footsore and interest waned. You will find some of the travelling supporters traipsing around Table Mountain on Tuesday.At least England were spared a wicketless day, their optimism stirred just once when AB de Villiers fell 20 minutes before tea. De Villiers departed on 88, pulling a short ball to midwicket where James Anderson held a head-high catch at the second attempt. England, who dropped three and reacted slowly to another, had finally clung on.That breakthrough fell to Steven Finn, whose bounce and hostility in unfavourable conditions made him comfortably the most dangerous component in an attack which held South Africa in check, but struggled to find solace.Hashim Amla recorded his 24th Test hundred•AFP

There was no turn for Moeen Ali – 37C is forecast for Tuesday and it remains to be seen if the bowlers will crack up before the pitch does – and the ball failed to swing or reverse, perhaps too blustery for the latter. South Africa were conscientious in defence and, when the batsmen did err, England’s fielding was found wanting.Amla and de Villiers dutifully set their sights on a long haul to safety, poring like senior librarians over a stand of 183 in 69 overs. South Africa failed to file away a single century stand in 2015 as they rarely justified their No. 1 Test ranking. In the first innings of the New Year, they addressed that shortcoming.England will rue those three dropped chances, evenly spread like fumbled water bottles on a marathon. De Villiers was spared on the second evening on 5 when Joe Root spilled an opportunity engineered by Anderson; Amla allowed a let-off on 76 half an hour before lunch when this time Anderson flapped down a quick edge off Root.That left them evens, although a bit more sulking had been evident when Root dropped the edge from Anderson. Part-time bowlers are not allowed such liberties: for them, every wicket is a bonus.Amla also escaped on 120, Nick Compton failing to hold an acceptable chance to his left at backward point as Finn’s insistence forced another opportunity.De Villiers passed 8000 Test runs in the morning, becoming the third South African alongside Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith to achieve the feat when he struck Moeen down the ground, one of the most adventurous moments in a session characterised by sober defence. There were only 20 runs by drinks, and only 58 in the session at two runs per over, as South Africa’s third-wicket pair concentrated on watchful defence.Anderson’s morning salvo was a stalemate, largely delivered outside off stump to packed off-side fields. Moeen gazed forlornly at cracks that failed to widen. Broad’s hot spurt was nowhere to be seen. But Finn caused discomfort from the start, his extra bounce unsettling de Villiers who produced an uneasy edge, cut and pull in quick succession, all of which fell short of expectant fielders.In England’s innings, the second new ball had been the catalyst for Stokes and Bairstow’s assault. Nobody expected such tomfoolery this time: there was work to be done. It came at 230 for 2. A daring captain might have gambled and thrown the ball at Finn, but Cook preferred the tried and trusted, Anderson and Broad. It was only when Finn appeared that things began to happen.It would have been tough on Amla if he had been run out on 119 when Finn got a finger on a return drive from de Villiers, but Amla regained his ground in time. Stokes then won an lbw appeal from Aleem Dar when de Villiers was 85, but even as de Villiers signalled for a review, Stokes knew that the batsman had got an inside edge.Late in the day, as Faf du Plessis also made his first Test fifty since the start of 2015, Finn responded sluggishly at mid-off to a leading edge off Anderson. Even Alex Hales had a trundle: trendy sunnies, sleeves down, collar up – shades off a more famous Nottinghamshire offspinner, sadly retired in his prime. Then Hales released something as fluffy and innocuous as a kitten. Du Plessis smiled wanly, as if he would rather have been met by a rabid hyena, but survived.The final hour was a stalemate, with approaching clouds encouraging both sides to wonder if they could get off the field. Amla’s solid defence, smooth drives and wristy manoeuvres were now typed repetitiously on English minds. South Africa, on a ground where they have been so successful, had rediscovered their spine.

South African players are unlikely to participate in the Indian Premier League tillApril 25th, as they will be involved in the Standard Bank Pro20 matches in SouthAfrica. The franchises were informed of the development by the IPL governing councilin a meeting held in Mumbai, where a host of administrative issues surrounding the league were discussed.Ten South African players have been signed on by the eight IPL franchises, and a few of them, depending on how their domestic teams fare in the Pro20, might join their IPL teams after the tournament ends on 25th.However, a franchise representative was confident the players would beavailable for the full duration. “The decision is not final as yet. We are in the process of talking to the players, their teams and the board and we will work something out.”In among other things that were discussed in the meeting, each franchise has been allotted a liason officer from a South African agency, which was involved with the ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa, who will travel with the teams and oversee the security preparations.The meeting saw a host of experts from the consulting firm IMG counselling the franchises on the issues ranging from security, accredition, ticketing, and movement of officials across grounds, and entertainment guidelines. “Not many of us [franchises] have prior experience in organising games and this meeting was very helpful in that regard,” a franchise representative said.

Scorecard
Offspinner Amit Jaggernauth and seamer Ravi Rampaul took seven wickets between them to send CCC crashing to 97 before Kieron Pollard scored 85 off 79 balls to help Trinidad take a 127-run first-innings lead in their Carib Beer Series match in Bridgetown.Trinidad’s openers, William Perkins and Lendl Simmons, put on 44 runs for the first wicket, but both were removed by Kevin McClean before tea. Pollard, who came in at No.4, was in an aggressive mood, bringing up his half-century off 48 balls. In the mean time, he added 117 runs for the third wicket with Darren Ganga, who made 47. Jason Bennett, the right-arm seamer, then dismissed both batsmen, before Denesh Ramdin slogged at the third-last ball of the day from Shirley Clarke, the CCC captain, to be bowled for 18.In the morning session, Rampaul took three wickets in a ten-over opening burst to leave CCC at 29 for 3. The introduction of spin hastened the end of CCC’s innings as Jaggernauth, who was included in West Indies’ Test squad for the coming series against Sri Lanka, took 4 for 35, including the wicket of their top scorer, Nekoli Parris, who made 27. Dave Mohammed, the left-arm spinner, complemented Jaggernauth by taking two wickets – he had Kurt Wilkinson caught at cover and induced a top-edged sweep from Bennett.
Scorecard
Guyana, aided by a four-wicket haul from offspinner Zaheer Mohammed, restricted Leeward Islands to 204 before they made their way to within 67 runs off taking the first-innings lead in St. Thomas.Lionel Baker, the Leewards seamer, took two wickets to have Guyana at 17 for 2 before Krishna Arjune, who made 35, and Travis Dowlin (26) resurrected the innings. After both batsmen failed to extend their scores, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyana’s batting mainstay, anchored the innings with a patient 36, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan (16*), ensured that there was no further damage.Put in, Leewards lost Austin Richards and Runako Morton before a run was scored, both of whom were removed by Esuan Crandon. Shane Jeffers and Tonito Willett, who scored 37 and 34 respectively, steadied the innings, before they were dismissed by Brandon Bess. The Leewards’ middle order, comprising Orlando Peters, Steve Liburd, and Jahmar Hamilton, could not build on their starts, all of them falling to Mohammed, edging to Sarwan in the slips. Lionel Baker scored a quick 26 to stretch Leewards’ score, before Mohammed returned to finish off the innings by getting rid of Bront de Freitas.
Scorecard
Windward Islands’ bowlers combined well to keep Jamaicia down to 232, but they conceded the momentum when they lost Devon Smith and debutant Raymond Casimir to the fiery Daren Powell with only a run on the board just before the close of play in St Elizabeth.Windwards’ decision to field reaped immediate reward when three early wickets by Nelon Pascal had Jamaica on the back foot at 95 for 3. Jamaica slipped further when Chris Gayle was caught behind off Deighton Butler for 55. Shane Shillingford, the offspinner, then ran through the middle order, taking three wickets including the prized scalp of Marlon Samuels for 28, before returning to dismiss Nikita Miller, who also made 28. The tail was taken care off by Butler, who removed Carlton Baugh for 25 and had Jemore Taylor caught behind for a duck to finish with figures of 3 for 35.

Kagiso Rabada said it five times but it was difficult to believe the mood in the South African camp was “positive,” as they prepared for the final Test against England at SuperSport Park.Before the session had officially started, the players milled about in the middle, some tossing balls to each other, others shadow-boxing, but with little of the intensity that usually accompanies the start of a Test-match week. Whatever the outcome of this match, it is not going to change too much for a squad that has come out of their biggest season in recent memory, including two four-Test series in a row, with nothing to show for it.”It hasn’t been a great two months from us – coming from India and also here against the English,” Rabada said. “But we are bonding together as a team. I think that’s the best thing we can do right now. We are trying to get ourselves in a good space. We’re very positive at the moment. That’s the best thing to do.”The words escaped his lips but his eyes betrayed him. There was no spark. There was no smile. Rabada was resigned in the way Ashwell Prince, now a selector, feared young players would be when even their captain, AB de Villiers, has condemned the current situation as hopeless.”I feel that it is very disappointing,” Prince said in an interview with the Cape Times. “The messages coming out in the media about AB not enjoying the game, about whether he is going to play, and how long is he going to play. And obviously that comment that ‘all hope is gone’. If I was a young player in the team, I would be concerned about what the captain is saying. Does that mean he has no faith in me as a young player?”Although de Villiers recommitted himself to Test cricket in the immediate aftermath of the Wanderers defeat, there remain concerns about how much longer he will make himself available to South Africa. And he is not the only senior player in the spotlight.Dale Steyn will sit out his sixth Test in eight when he misses the Centurion match, and the fact that he broke down in the other two matches, at Mohali and Durban, merely adds to the doubts over his long-term future.Steyn himself responded to a speculative story about the end of his career by tweeting the publication where the piece appeared, saying he still had a long time left before his career was finished. Nevertheless, his absence, coupled with the injury that kept Vernon Philander out of the series, cost South Africa dearly. Rabada even identified it at as a possible difference between the two sides.”Maybe we can say we’ve got a young bowling attack, they’ve got a very experienced bowling attack. That’s the only difference,” he said. “I don’t think they are that much better than us. Maybe they are playing better cricket than we are.”The reality is that, even with their inexperience, South Africa’s bowling is the only thing that has kept them competitive. Their batting, barring the first innings in Cape Town, has floundered. The line-up has struggled for consistency in an XI battling for balance. In the last two months, they have been shot out for their two lowest totals since readmission – 79 in Nagpur and 83 at the Wanderers – and the number of soft dismissals has pointed to mental fragility. But Rabada insisted they have some fight left.”We are trying our best. It’s not like the batters are trying to get out. You are playing for your country; you have to do your best. I know for a fact every guy is trying to do their best. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” he said. “The fighting spirit is natural in the team. No-one is trying to lose their wickets. Everyone is fighting out there.”Prince believes one person needs to fight harder than the rest and that’s de Villiers. “People say we don’t have Graeme Smith anymore, Alviro Petersen, Jacques Kallis, so AB is not batting behind all those types of guys anymore. That means there is even more responsibility on his shoulders as a batsman,” Prince said. “We don’t have the names that people are throwing about, so especially in terms of where the team is at the moment – our backs against the wall – his performances are going to become even more important than they were in the past. The country needs him now more than ever.”That may be Prince’s way of asking de Villiers to stay a little longer, to lead a little more by example or just to try and lighten the mood. Whatever it was, it hasn’t worked yet.By the time Rabada’s media session was over and he had tried his best to convince everyone present that “we are very positive,” the squad had formed a huddle. On previous occasions when they stood in that ring, you could hear the war-cry, their clasping of hands and the shout of “Protea Fire.” Maybe that came later. But as the clouds gathered overhead and the squad stood with their arms around each other, they were an image of unhappiness. Over the next week, only they can change that.