All posts by csb10.top

When they sat next to each other on the team bus during an ill-fatedone-day series, Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik couldn’t have dreamt of aday such as this, and a 153-run opening partnership that thwarted SouthAfrica until Asad Rauf upheld an optimistic appeal from Paul Harris.Jaffer took that setback in his stride though, going on to make 116 beforea tired push at a Dale Steyn delivery gave Jacques Kallis a 100th catch inTest cricket.”We’re pretty good friends,” said Jaffer at the press conference after theday’s play. “We have sat next to each other on the bus right through thetour, and I know him very well as a person. We get along well off thefield, so there were not too many adjustments to make while opening theinnings.”He was playing a Test after a long while, and it was a commendableperformance from him, not merely to accept the task of opening the inningsbut to make 60-plus.”When the two walked out in the morning after Rahul Dravid won the toss,they might have been forgiven for thinking that it was a home Test, minusthe bedlam in the stands. According to Jaffer, it was “an Indian pitch”that greeted them.”When we saw the track yesterday, we were surprised how a pitch in SouthAfrica could look like this,” he said with a characteristic shy smile. “Itwas very good for batting today and I’m glad we capitalised on it. Theball’s already turning and there are rough patches. Obviously, Anil Kumblewill have a role to play as the game wears on.”His place in the side had come under the scanner after two poor outings inthe one-day series and failures in the tour game and first Test. But theteam management kept faith and he played two attractive innings atKingsmead, though the lasting memory will be of that awful pull that ledto his dismissal on the final morning.Jaffer called his third Test century the best possible gift that he couldgive his team at the start of the year. “I was definitely under pressurecoming into this game,” he said. “Right through this tour, I haven’t madeenough runs. I’m thankful to the team management that they stuck by me andgave me a chance to bat here. Thank God I came good in this Test.”He was mindful of what had happened in Durban, and showed commendableconcentration for six hours under a blazing sun. “There’s pressure inevery match,” he said. “I had spent some time in the middle in Durban, andthat helped me here. I had a lapse in concentration there, and I wanted toavoid those mistakes.”Jaffer had been informed on the eve of the game that he was part of the12, but he said that he only knew for sure that he’d be padding up when hearrived at the ground in the morning. The identity of his opening partnerdidn’t surprise him unduly though. “It’s the management’s decision, I haveno role in that,” he said. “I am happy to bat with anyone as my partner.”For the moment, the man who sits alongside him on the bus appears to be asgood an option as any.

Ricky Ponting has been ruled out of today’s Twenty20 match against India in Melbourne as he continues to struggle with a back injury. Ponting batted in the nets on the morning of the game but Australia decided not to risk him and will now attempt to have him ready for Sunday’s opening CB Series match against India at the Gabba.”He pulled up pretty sore this morning,” Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen said. “His back is just not 100% and with the uncertain nature of Twenty20 cricket and the frantic nature of it we’re just a bit concerned that if he has to dive in the first over if we’re fielding and pulls up very sore it could leave us one short.”Michael Clarke will captain Australia for the second time in two months and he is set to lead a side with one debutant after Nielsen confirmed David Hussey would play his first match in Australian colours. Brad Hodge will slot into Ponting’s No.3 position and Ben Hilfenhaus has been named the 12th man.Nielsen said with the first tri-series match only two days away there was no guarantee Ponting would be available, and the travel to Brisbane was a concern. “Today’s decision was all about today,” Nielsen said. “We’ll have to keep assessing him and see how he goes each game from here.”Nielsen was confident his players could move on from the controversial Test series and he was impressed with the resolve of the individuals in the team. “Don’t for a second think that this is an easy thing to go through for anybody,” Nielsen said of the aftermath of the Sydney Test. “It’s been draining on our whole group. To be able to continually come out and play as well as we have as a group of individuals and as a collective team is something we’re very proud of.”

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, will be joining the Mumbai Indians squad to replace the injured Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga.Lalchand Rajput, Mumbai’s coach, confirmed that Bravo was the unanimous choice of the “few” names discussed by the team think-tank. “The decision to pick Bravo was a collective decision,” he told Cricinfo.Malinga, recovering from a knee injury that he picked during the CB Series in Australia, and, had to miss the Caribbean tour but was confident last week he would be fit to join the Mumbai squad. But Rajput said “we got a report that his recovery might take a further two to three weeks. So we decided to have a back-up”.Charl Langeveldt, the South African pace bowler was amongst the names discussed but Bravo nosed ahead by virtue of being an allrounder. “We wanted an allrounder and not another regular bowler”, Rajput said of the outcome of the team meeting that took place on Thursday. Bravo will be the fourth West Indies player to feature in the IPL joining Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan.Bravo would only be available for short period before he returns home for the Australia series but the Mumbai team management felt they could extract the most out of him before he heads back. Bravo will also miss Mumbai’s opening game against the Bangalore Royal Challengers at home as he arrives only on Sunday but will get to be part of seven of their 14 league matches before he heads back home on May 14. “We know he would be returning on May 15 but by then we would have played most of our games.”While confirming the signing, Reliance, owners of the Mumbai team, did not disclose the price they had offered him. A sum in the range of US $200-250,000 wouldn’t be amiss considering his international record. Bravo may not have a good Twenty20 record – he averages 11 in seven Twenty20 games and has just two wickets at 55 – but he could light up the show like he did in the first game of the ODI series against Sri Lanka recently, grabbing four wickets and playing a handy cameo as an opener.Bravo’s late call-up means that he misses out on Trinidad & Tobago’s Carib Beer Challenge match against Jamaica, starting on April 24. The development was confirmed by Trinidad’s manager, Colin Borde, who said the experience of playing in the IPL would be beneficial for Bravo.”I think everybody is excited for him going up to the IPL and playing with Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, [and] Shaun Pollock,” Borde told CCN TV6, a television station based in Port-of-Spain. “I think it’s good for him and as a Trinidadian you must feel proud … he’s the first guy to get in the IPL.”

Darrell Hair has admitted he can be “stand-offish” and has vowed to improve his communication skills after being reinstated as a Test and one-day international umpire. Hair is back after being demoted following his role in the forfeited Pakistan-England Test in 2006, but he believes it is time to “move on”.”Well it caused me a lot of stress, I suppose it caused a lot of people some stress along the way,” Hair told Sydney radio . “The laws now have been changed to take those decisions out of the hands of the umpires and I fully support the way that that’s going to happen in future. So, it’s time to move on.The ICC ruled Hair’s “rehabilitation”, which included a course at Sydney University, has been completed and he remains contracted for another 12 months. “Every day in life you like to pick up something and move forward,” he said. “So I won’t say my whole attitude to umpiring has changed but I think I have picked up a few things that are going to be very helpful to me in the future.”Probably just … having a broader understanding of what everybody else is thinking and the old communication issue of making sure that what you say and what you want is understood by the other people. I’ve always been a little bit … stand-offish in that I’ve always preferred to let them play the game themselves and only get involved when things go overboard but maybe there’s a case to be made for a little bit more work in that area.”The ICC will keep Hair away from games involving Pakistan, who are upset with the official’s elevation. “I’ve got no comment on anyone else’s reaction really,” he said. “I’m just going to look after my own patch and go out there and umpire the matches that I’m appointed to and do that to the best of my ability, which is what I’ve always done.”

Twenty20 internationals will continue to be a support act for Test and one-day cricket in Australia with the national body not planning a push for more matches. Australia will play one of their two shortened games on Tuesday against New Zealand in Perth, but despite the popularity of the format it will not be expanded past the ICC limit of three home matches a summer.”Our emerging view is that Twenty20 has to find a place that complements but does not compromise Test and ODI cricket that already exists,” the Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young told the Daily Telegraph. “We have started to move towards the view that there is a lot of potential to develop it as an interstate style of product.”The domestic competition starts on New Year’s Eve and lasts for two weeks. Each team will play five matches before the final on January 13 and the top two sides will be part of a global tournament next year.”That’s where our focus is at the moment,” Young said. “But there is obviously an international place. The ICC has played the Twenty20 World Cup and there will be Twenty20 international games.”

Saket Bhatia and Sanjeev Sharma, with a sixth wicket partnership of112 runs, were instrumental in Rajasthan gaining a first innings leadof 26 runs on the third day of their Central Zone Ranji Trophy leaguematch at the KL Saini stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday. Replying to UP’s270, Rajasthan were all out for 296. In their second innings, UP were81 for three at stumps.Resuming at 183 for five, Rajasthan lost their sixth wicket only at253 when Bhatia was leg before to Salabh Srivastava for 79. Bhatiafaced 184 balls and hit ten fours. Sanjeev Sharma kept going till hewas ninth out at 296. For his 85, he faced 180 balls and hit 11 fours.The bowling honours were cornered by opening bowlers AW Zaidi (5 for84) and Srivastava (4 for 98).Openers Rohit Prash (26) and Jyoti Yadav (28) gave UP a good start byputting on 46 runs. But in the last hour, UP lost three wickets to bein a position of some anxiety at close.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

England cruised into the Super Eights with a seven-wicket win over Kenya in St Lucia as Ed Joyce and Kevin Pietersen made light work of the run chase through a stand of 103. Joyce struck his second half-century of the World Cup while Pietersen enjoyed an extended net against the gentle Kenyan attack. Steve Tikolo had been the only one to stand up to England’s bowlers as the pacemen put in a strong effort.Michael Vaughan had been more than happy by Tikolo’s decision to bat after a two-hour delay, due to heavy morning rain, reduced the contest to 43 overs per side. Being in the field first allowed England to settle any early nerves and overall this was a very competent performance in the manner the team needed. James Anderson struck with the new ball, Andrew Flintoff was fiery on his return to the ranks and Paul Collingwood’s medium-pace wobblers were productive.Ideally, chasing 178, England would have wanted a nice confident start from Joyce and Vaughan. But Kenya bowled tightly with the new ball, Peter Ongondo extracting some tennis ball bounce to undo Vaughan for just 1. Collins Obuya made excellent ground to his right, dived and held an impressive catch to complete another failure for the England captain.Joyce, though, was quickly into his stride and showed excellent timing. He waited for the ball and worked the gaps on both sides of the wicket, while also remaining aware to punish the loose balls. His cover driving was in fine order and a Graham Thorpe-style pull shot was also in evidence.Ian Bell made a steady start, keen to use his feet to the medium-pacers, but after doing the hard work lazily lofted a drive to mid off as Thomas Odoyo was rewarded for a persevering spell. But Joyce latched onto Lameck Onyango, cracking him off the back foot before swivelling onto a pull which went into the stand at deep square-leg, to keep the innings on track.Pietersen imposed himself immediately with an elegant straight drive off his first ball, but Kenya missed a chance to keep themselves in the match when he edged Hiren Varaiya’s first ball only to watch Maurice Ouma shell the chance. From then on it was one-way traffic as Pietersen used his innings as a useful sighter ahead of the next stage and Joyce went to a calm 62-ball fifty. Pietersen’s half-century took 54 deliveries and included a glimpse of some of his power and craft as he milked the spinners. When Joyce was bowled by Tikolo’s doosra England were home and hosed and completed the job with 10 overs to spare.

Kenya appeared to hand themselves a disadvantage when they batted first and Anderson exploited the early conditions to remove both openers in his first spell. Tikolo responded with a rush of boundaries – some off the middle and others the edge – and Kenya’s run rate remained a healthy four-an-over.But Sajid Mahmood struck with a well-disguised slower ball to remove Tony Suji and Tanmay Mishra dragged Collingwood into his stumps as the innings stumbled to 74 for 4. With his main men back in the pavilion the onus was on Tikolo to carry the innings, and his fifty came off 58 balls. But he continued to lose partners at the other end and had a hand in Obyua’s run out when, after playing a sweep against Monty Panesar, he was more interested in the appeal rather than Obuya racing up the pitch. By the time Tikolo sent him back it was too late and a furious Obuya trudged back to the pavilion.Flintoff finally got his first wicket of the tournament when he trapped Odoyo in front, although his shout was so half-hearted it nearly passed everyone by. He could have had a second next ball but Jimmy Kamande escaped a close lbw shout. All the while Tikolo soldiered on, was dropped on 52 by Joyce at mid on, and showed his class with a couple of late deflections and deft sweeps off Panesar. He was eventually cleaned-up by Flintoff, who produced a rapid yorker and offered Tikolo a pat on the back, while England’s late-innings bowling and fielding was on target.It wasn’t a faultless performance from England but after a week to sweat on this match they’ll just be glad to have come through unscathed. Next up is the home nations clash with Ireland; what a day that promises to be in Guyana.

Steve Stubbings, the Derbyshire batsman, has been awarded a benefit by the club for next season.Stubbings, 29, has served Derbyshire for 11 years, scoring 6,755 first-class runs at 32.01. He was handed his county cap in 2001 and has captained the side on several occasions over the past two years.”This is a thoroughly deserved accolade for Steve who has been a terrific servant to Derbyshire for over a decade,” Don Amott, the Derbyshire chairman said. “Not only has he been an outstanding and reliable player, he is also one of the nicest and most genuine guys you will meet in cricket.”I hope he has a very successful benefit year and that the members and supporters come out and support his events throughout the year 2008.””I have been very proud to represent Derbyshire over the last 11 seasons,” Stubbings said, “and to be given a benefit year is an incredible honour and is very humbling.”Being awarded a benefit year is something that doesn’t happen to everybody and I feel extremely privileged to be selected, particularly when you look at the list of previous beneficiaries in recent years which is pretty exclusive company to be in.”

The on-going schools cricket season in Sri Lanka has been thrown into chaos as a result of the government imposing an indefinite ban on all school sports because of an escalation in the on-going war in the north against the Tamil Tigers.The ban came into effect on Wednesday when an education ministry circular announced an indefinite cessation in all school competitions. Almost immediately the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association postponed all matches. The final of the Under-13 tournament scheduled to be held at weekend will be the first casualty.The move followed a suicide bombing at the Fort Railway station in the heart of Colombo which killed several students and the coach of DS Senanayake College baseball team.This ban will seriously affect the on-going schools cricket season and also the major matches of leading schools in Colombo, including the oldest contest between Royal and St. Thomas’, St. Peter’s and St Joseph’s, and Ananda and Nalanda, which are scheduled to be played next month. The period January to first week of April is the height of the school cricket season with more than 130 schools being involved in competition around the country.The England Under-19 cricket team, which stayed back after the one-day triangular against Pakistan and Sri Lanka to play some practice matches, made a hasty departure ahead of schedule for Malaysia to take part in the Under-19 World Cup.According to the original schedule, they were not due to leave until February 9.Sri Lanka Cricket’s director of operations, Bandula Warnapura, stated: “I don’t know the exact reasons why England left earlier than schedule. They wanted one of their practice games to be rescheduled for an earlier date and we obliged them. They however played the three practice games before departure.”

Wasim Jaffer and Laxmi Ratan Shukla have been named captains of the West and East Zones, respectively, for this season’s Deodhar Trophy.Jaffer, after a dismal Test tour of Australia, has been in solid form during the Ranji Trophy one-dayers. His 349 runs at 116.33, with a best of an unbeaten 178 from just 132 balls, are a main reason Mumbai top their group.The West team comprises names such as Rohit Sharma, who scored 235 runs in ten innings during India’s CB Series triumph, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Under-19 winner Iqbal Abdullah and Munaf Patel, who also featured in the tour of Australia.Sourav Ganguly and Manoj Tiwary have been named in the East team, as has another victorious U-19 player, Saurabh Tiwary.The limited-overs tournament will be played at four centers in South Zone from March 14.Teams
West Zone: Wasim Jaffer (captain), Ajit Agarkar, Ajinkya Rahane, Parthiv Patel, Venugopala Rao, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Mohnish Parmar, Iqbal Abdulla, Munaf Patel, Sandeep Maniar, Siddharth Trivedi, Kedar Jadhav, Pinal Shah.East Zone: Laxmi Ratan Shukla (captain), Sourav Ganguly, Anustup Majumdar, Arindam Das, Manoj Tiwary, Ranadeb Bose, Wriddhiman Saha, Shib Shankar Paul, Ireash Saxena, Haladhar Das, PR Sinha, Saurabh Tiwary, Ishank Jaggi, Manish Vardhan, SS Rao, Deeraj Goswami, S. Purkayastha.