All posts by csb10.top

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Ahmed Shehzad hit 10 fours and one six•BCCI

Comilla Victorians, who thrashed Barisal Bulls in their first meeting, produced another dominating display in the return leg to secure their place in the final four. After the bowlers, led by Ashar Zaidi, limited Barisal to 105, Ahmed Shehzad struck an unbeaten 63-ball 76 to seal a seven-wicket win.Still smarting from their 58 all out against Sylhet Super Stars, Barisal struggled to cobble together a competitive total after being inserted. Chris Gayle was the first to go, trapped lbw by Shoaib Malik in the fifth over after scoring only eight. Evin Lewis too failed as he holed out to deep midwicket for 17, four overs later. Ashar Zaidi then deepened Barisal’s trouble, his top-quality slower ball bowling Mehedi Maruf for a duck. Zaidi followed it with the wicket of Rony Taluklar to leave Barisal at 45 for 4 in 11.3 overs.Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman then got together and repaired the damage with a 43-run stand. Just as the pair shaped for a late flourish, Mahmudullah was bowled by Abu Haider for 26 in the 18th over. Soon after, Kamrul Islam Rabbi undid Sabbir with a beauty: a back-of-the-hand slower ball which yorked the batsman and bowled him between his legs, for 17. The double-blow meant that Barisal were kept to a low score again.Zaidi, who returned impressive figures of 2 for 12 in four overs, including a maiden, later played a supporting role in the chase. He made 20 off 18 balls in an unbroken stand worth 58, after Comilla were reduced to 48 for 3 in 9.5 overs. Liton Das was the first to go when he gave Sabbir a simple return catch off Sajedul Islam. Imrul Kayes was also out for a duck, edging Al-Amin Hossain behind in the fourth over, before Taijul Islam had Malik stumped.Shehzad, however, took up the lead role and helped his side surge ahead.He hit 10 fours and a six during his 63-ball 75 and profited from the pull and the cut when the bowlers erred short. Shehzad even lofted Taijul over cover and midwicket, which gave one an impression that he batted on a different track.

Normal service has been resumed for Kevin Pietersen. After the longest and most frustrating lean spell of his international career, he crashed back to form on the first day at Napier with his 11th Test century, a superb innings of 129 from 208 balls. The circumstances of the knock, however, were not quite as he had envisaged. In his mind’s eye, he would have been leading England on a run-spree, en route to a memorable series win. In reality, his was a backs-to-the-wall effort that saved his side from humiliation, but not as yet from defeat.Nothing demonstrated Pietersen’s mindset better than the celebration of his century. The shot he brought it up with was streaky, a thick edge through gully off Chris Martin, but the reaction was low-key in the extreme. A puff of the cheeks and a modest wave to all corners of the ground. England were 170 for 6 at the time, and Pietersen rightly said that the match situation, rather than his personal fortune, was foremost in his mind.”I didn’t have it in me to go prance, and jump around like a cake,” he said. “I knew I had to stick in there. It was a really important time for us, and I was working in tens, and trying to get a partnership going. I’m sure if we had been two-down, and in a whole lot better position, I’d have been more extravagant. But my head just wasn’t in that space.”His head hasn’t been in that space for quite some time. Pietersen hadn’t managed even a half-century in his previous ten innings of the winter, and even for a man with his levels of self-assurance, the pressure was beginning to tell. Not least at the start of today’s innings. “At 4 for 3, there was me thinking, ‘crikey, I’ve got to get a score here even more’,” said Pietersen. “It’s been a tough time, but to be honest with you, that’s the cycle of life, these things happen. Hopefully I’ve come through it and I can continue scoring. At the end of the day. I’m pretty happy with 11 hundreds in 30 games.”When he did end the drought, the first person he picked out with his bat-waving was his wife, Jessica, who he acknowledged for her role in maintaining his morale. She had originally intended to fly home on March 12 for a wedding, but remained out in New Zealand for the final two Tests of the series. “She knew I wasn’t in as happy a place as I could have been, and she stayed on,” said Pietersen. “It’s great, I love having family around. I hate being away from home.”He’ll be rather happier with his travels now, regardless of the match situation. “I’m not a robot, I’ve got to go through a patch where I don’t score for a while,” he said. “Hopefully that patch is finished now and the cricket gods are smiling. How fun would life be if everything was hunky dory all the time. I like to fight and be challenged, and I’ve worked harder on this trip than I have done any stage [of my career], because I’ve really strived for success. The cycle of life says the harder you work you’re going to be rewarded.”Pietersen picked out Ricky Ponting, who managed one score in excess of 25 in the recent VB Series, as an example of a cricketer who’s enduring a rough trot that cannot last. “I’ve been playing well in the five Tests leading up to this, and I’ve got a 30 or 40 in every single match. If that’s your bad patch it’s not all bad,” said Pietersen. “It’s frustrating because I’ve let a load of people down who come and watch all the time, and I like to entertain, play good innings, and keep people going.”At 4 for 3, entertainment wasn’t the first thought that crossed Pietersen’s mind, and yet, as he demonstrated so memorably with his incredible 158 in the 2005 Ashes, match-saving and crowd-pleasing needn’t be mutually exclusive. “There was pressure, definitely,” said Pietersen. “But I reminded myself of that big day [at The Oval] in 2005. There was more pressure on that day than there has been on an England team in a long time. And I played okay that day. I just walked out to bat backing myself, because for two nets sessions leading into this game, I’ve played well.”Steve Waugh always said back yourself, because preparation is what you look after,” said Pietersen. “I can’t work any harder, and I’ll continue to work as hard as I have done. It’s how you work through your bad patches that make you a better person. When I got to fifty today, I really wanted to make it count.”

Dolphins offspinning allrounder Khaya Zondo’s bowling action has been cleared after an assessment was conducted at an ICC-accredited centre in Pretoria.Zondo, who was reported for a suspect bowling action in the semi-final of the Ram Slam competition between Dolphins and Cape Cobras in Durban on December 9, was required to submit an independent assessment of his bowling action in accordance with CSA regulations.The assessment which was conducted on December 17, revealed that all his deliveries were within the permitted 15-degree limit and therefore will be allowed to continue to bowl in domestic cricket.Zondo, whose primary role for his domestic franchise is with the bat, has taken 35 first-class wickets at an average of 34.11 with a best of 6 for 52, and also has 12 wickets in 64 T20s.

The ICC appears to have taken a huge step forward in appointing a new chief executive with Haroon Lorgat, the former convenor of Cricket South Africa’s selection committee, accepting an official offer to take up the job. The offer, Cricinfo has learnt, was made on Wednesday evening during a “well-conducted” and “professional” meeting Lorgat had in Cape Town with David Morgan, the ICC’s president-elect.Morgan met Lorgat on behalf of the ICC’s four-man recruitment committee, which includes Ray Mali, the ICC president, Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president and Morgan’s chosen successor, and Creagh O’ Connor, the chairman of Cricket Australia.However, Lorgat’s appointment is still some way away: Morgan will now report to the recruitment committee, which will have to agree on the preferred candidate and then make a recommendation to the ICC executive board to confirm the appointment as early as possible.Lorgat will take over from Malcolm Speed, who steps down from the position after this year’s ICC annual conference, which will take place between June 29 and July 4.The ICC has been looking at an early resolution to the search for its next CEO after its earlier choice Imtiaz Patel, also from South Africa, declared on Sunday that he had withdrawn interest in the job. Lorgat, who figured on the ICC’s original shortlist of six, had told Cricinfo on Monday that he would consider any such offer as “a great honour”.Lorgat, 47, headed CSA’s selection committee for three years till the 2007 World Cup. A qualified chartered accountant – whose roots, like Patel’s, are in India – and formerly a senior partner in Ernst & Young, he is currently on the board of Kapela Investments, a private venture he set up last year with five other associates.Dave Richardson, the former South Africa wicketkeeper and ICC’s general manager, was the other significant candidate for the job after Patel pulled out. IS Bindra, the former BCCI president and a third name of note on the ICC’s shortlist, has already been appointed the ICC’s principal advisor.

Match facts

January 20, 2015
Start time 1500 local (0900 GMT)Bangladesh are a step away from their second successive T20I series win over Zimbabwe•AFP

Big Picture

It is becoming increasingly difficult to predict playing XIs from both sides, who aren’t afraid to tinker with their combinations in their quest to narrow down on an ideal combination going into the World T20 in India.Both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have to play in the preliminary round, also featuring Oman, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands, with the top two teams progressing. That means, both sides will want to throw the younger players into the deep end, to see how they acclimatise to the pressure. That Bangladesh are sitting pretty with a 2-0 lead means the time is ripe for them to unleash their bench strength. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, are still smarting from their series loss to Afghanistan in the UAE. Ordinary performances in the first two games means they are running out of time.They rested the designated captain Elton Chigumbura among three players in the last game. It remains to be seen if they are brought back in at a crunch time. That apart, they will also need impact players like Sikandar Raza and Luke Jongwe to come good if they are to challenge the hosts in conditions as subcontinental as they can get.With Bangladesh missing Mushfiqur Rahim due to a hamstring injury, even as Mustafizur Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain, their best seamers on show in the first two games, have been rested, Zimbabwe will hope to cash in on the relative inexperience of some of the Bangladesh players. Among them, Sabbir Rahman will be keenly followed after his impressive outing in the previous game that also earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)

 Bangladesh: WWLWL
Zimbabwe: LLLLW

In the spotlight

With Mushfiqur out of the series, Nurul Hasan, who impressed in the Bangladesh Premier League, will now have a lot more focus on his batting as well. But his main job would be to keep things clean behind the stumps.Malcolm Waller did well in the last T20 series in Bangladesh and also had his moments in the BPL, but hasn’t really come up with a blinding knock in this series. Zimbabwe will look at him to provide a late flourish.

Teams news

Although Imrul Kayes has remained in the squad, it is likely that newcomer Mosaddek Hossain will come in place of Mushfiqur, while three out of Taskin Ahmed, Muktar Ali, Mohammad Shahid and Abu Hider are likely to get a place in the XI. Bangladesh: (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Muktar Ali, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Abu HiderWith the series on the line, Zimbabwe could bring back their regular captain Chigumbura along with senior members Sikandar Raza and Luke Jongwe. Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Sikandar Raza, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Wellington Masakadza, 11 Taurai Muzarabani

Pitch and conditions

Favorable batting conditions are likely to continue. Both sides have started well with the bat, but haven’t been able to finish off the innings. The team batting second will have the advantage of dew, as it would allow the ball to slide onto the bat nicely, while making life difficult for the spinners.

Stats and trivia

• If Bangladesh hand debuts to three players, it will be the first time since December 2012, against West Indies. The uncapped players are Abu Hider, Mohammad Shahid, Mosaddek Hossain and Muktar Ali.
• In the previous game, Hamilton Masakadza became the first Zimbabwean to reach 3000 runs in T20s.

Quote

“Like we always do, we will try to win tomorrow. If we play our own game we will definitely win. We are not talking about a series win right now.”

Cricket Kenya chairman Samir Inamdar has denied claims made by Steve Tikolo, Kenya’s captain, that more of the country’s players need to be made professional.In a recent interview, Tikolo said that more players needed to be on full-time contracts to allow them to train properly. While admitting that some of the national side were contracted, he added that “the rest of the players need to be looked after too”.”I think Steve is talking about players outside the contracted ones,” Inamdar told Cricinfo. “Calling the contracted players semi-professional is not accurate. They are fully-contracted based on a scale of salaries, match fees and other allowances that he himself together with his senior players approved in June last year.”While players emoluments are always an emotive issue, the players are receiving a regular income with match fees to boot. Their health care needs, daily lunches, insurances and physiotherapy needs are all looked after. A total of about 18 players are contracted on this basis. The other players who are not contracted but help out by turning up for nets etc each receive a daily allowance and a lunch.”Given the state of our resources I think that the players have done reasonably well. It is quite plain – and the figures were given out at our stakeholders meeting – that the overwhelming major portion of our revenue goes to the players – probably two-thirds or thereabouts in 2006.”Kenya are the only non Test-playing country to have players on full-time contracts, and while others have signalled their desire to follow suit, they have not had the finances to enable them to do that. CK has only been able to buck the trend because of the side’s success in the World Cricket League last February – it earned them US$250,000 – and a new media deal signed in 2007.

Since his debut in 2018, Ajaz Patel has only played three Tests at home. Remarkably, he is yet to take a Test wicket in New Zealand, even as he has gone on to collect 400 first-class wickets including 85 at an average of 28.01 in Test matches away from home.With Mitchell Santner injured, a long list of fast bowlers unavailable, and a Bay Oval surface that promises some assistance for spin, Ajaz has been added to the New Zealand squad for the third and final Test against West Indies at Mount Maunganui.Related

• Ajaz Patel, Blundell back in New Zealand squad for third Test

• West Indies strengthen patchy batting in final bid to draw level

It has, in fact, been five years since Ajaz last played a Test in New Zealand, and even though conditions appear to align in his favour ahead of Thursday’s Test, there have been no guarantees from captain Tom Latham that he will play. With allrounders Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell available as part-time spin options, Ajaz’s wait could yet continue. Still, Latham was full of praise for Ajaz’s perseverance.”You guys probably speak about it more than what we do,” Latham said, when asked about Ajaz still being without a Test wicket at home. “Ajaz has performed beautifully in overseas conditions and he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities here in New Zealand due to the surfaces that we play on.”I think with us having allrounders as well in the group that do bowl spin, it has made his opportunity hard here in New Zealand, from just a strength in our batting point of view. I’m sure if he gets that opportunity he will do everything he can to take a wicket but more importantly do his role for the team as best he can.”In the last Test played at Bay Oval, South Africa left-arm spinner Neil Brand took a first-innings six-wicket haul, while Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Ravindra took a combined nine wickets in the match. Traditionally, the surface has favoured seamers over the first two days before flattening out, with spin coming into play later in the match. Ajaz, Latham said, becomes an appealing option because of his understanding of how to operate across changing conditions.Rachin Ravindra is one of three spin-bowling allrounders in New Zealand’s squad•Getty Images

“I think it’s probably his experience, really,” Latham said, when asked what keeps New Zealand returning to Ajaz. “I saw the other day that he brought up 400 first-class wickets, which obviously shows he’s got a huge amount of experience and probably knows his game better than probably anyone else.”He has been extremely successful for Central Districts doing what he does in terms of being able to apply pressure, tie an end up, and when the opportunity presents itself, and when a spinner becomes a little bit more attacking, he knows how to bowl in those conditions that are favourable to him.”Latham also acknowledged that New Zealand’s reluctance to regularly field more than one frontline spinner at home stems from a preference to lean into their strengths – using tall seamers to exploit green surfaces while playing to their batters’ advantages against visiting teams.”For us, it’s always been about working together [with the groundstaff] and for them being able to come up with the best cricket wicket that suits our skillset,” Latham said. “We’ve certainly seen throughout the last 5-10 years that surfaces have tended to be on the greener side and that certainly suited our balance as much as possible.”If Ajaz, 37, misses out again, his next realistic opportunity may not come until March 2027, when New Zealand tour Pakistan for a two-Test series. In 2026, their away Tests are scheduled in Ireland, England and Australia, with a home series against India in between. For Thursday’s match, Ajaz is competing with fast bowler Kristian Clarke for the final place in the XI, opened up by the shoulder injury Blair Tickner suffered in Wellington.

Luke Ronchi, the big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman, will join Mumbai for next month’s Indian Premier League after signing a three-year deal with the franchise. Ronchi owns a 56-ball century with Western Australia, a domestic one-day record, and his all-round skills are perfectly suited to the Twenty20 format.Mumbai have Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh and Shaun Pollock in their squad and Ronchi, who has a strike-rate of 176.97 in his 12 abbreviated matches, is looking forward to joining them. “I can’t wait to get over there and start training with the likes of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya and try to gain as much as I can from the wealth of experience they possess,” Ronchi said.”It will be a tremendous learning experience for me, not just in how to play Twenty20, but in all aspects of my game because I will be surrounded by so many champions. And there may be an opportunity to open the batting with Sachin in front of his home crowd in Mumbai – that would be the stuff dreams are made of.”While Ronchi has joined the IPL’s playing ranks, Matthew Mott, the New South Wales coach, has accepted an offer from John Buchanan to be an assistant with Kolkata. Mott guided New South Wales’ Pura Cup final victory last week and he will be in India for Kolkata’s first game against Bangalore on April 18.”It’s going to be a great experience for him,” Dave Gilbert, the New South Wales chief executive, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “They have a terrific side, and the opportunity to work with Buchanan will be beneficial for him.”To be honest, our limited-overs form has been pretty ordinary in the last couple of seasons, and this is a great chance for Matt to go there and observe first-hand some of the game’s innovations. There will obviously be some pretty interesting cricket being played, and he will be able to take note of it all and plan for our assault on the title next season.”

Morne Morkel, Yorkshire’s overseas player, will return home to South Africa after sustaining a hamstring injury.Morkel, who was signed until June 1 as a short-term fill-in for Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, broke down during last week’s Championship match against Nottinghamshire. He was diagnosed as having a grade 2 hamstring tear which usually takes between three and six weeks to heal.”I am really upset that an injury is forcing me to return home,” Morkel said. “Everyone at Yorkshire has made me very welcome and I was desperate to take some wickets and get Yorkshire off to the best possible start.””We are all sad to see Morne depart so soon after his arrival,” Martyn Moxon, the county’s director of cricket, said. “He was fitting in well, provided our bowling attack with some variety as he is a genuinely quick bowler.”We have a strong squad and as Rana Naved will be unable to be registered as a Yorkshire player before May 19, there is now a chance for one of our other seamers to grab an unexpected first-team opportunity.”Morkel will travel with the squad for their Friends Provident Trophy match against Lancashire on Sunday before flying back home. He should be fit again in time to return to England with the South African squad at the end of June.

Northerns Titans paceman David Townsend exploited a disappointing batting performance from the Highveld Strikers to earn his side a 186-run lead on the second day of their Supersport Series match at the Wanderers on Saturday.Townsend took three wickets as the Strikers limped to the close on 170 for eight in response to the Titans’ first innings total of 356 all out.Earlier in the day, the Titans resumed on 306 for seven and with Steve Elworthy on 39 not out. Elworthy unleashed a hard-hitting and unbeaten 75 to further bolster the Titans’ innings.The veteran of Northerns cricket hit 10 fours and three sixes off the 115 balls he faced, and carried his bat when Northerns were bowled out for 356.Andrew Hall led the Strikers’ bowling attack, taking 5-93 as both he and Clive Eksteen wrapped up the Titans tail in the morning.Having done themselves little justice with ball in hand, the Strikers then failed in their attempt to prove themselves as a batting side. Only Adam Bacher stood out with 61.Sven Koenig was the first to make the long Wanderers walk back to the changeroom, dismissed for 16 by a catch at mid-wicket from Greg Smith off a ball from Elworthy that was pitched wide outside the off-stump.David Townsend then stepped into the attack for Northerns, and made the most vital breakthrough of the day shortly after lunch.Having just returned to the Titans side after a previous season where he was plagued by injury, Townsend had settled into an excellent rhythm.Bowling a good line and length, Townsend had Andre Seymore caught behind and then took Daryll Cullinan for a duck with his very next ball, lifting out the latter’s off-stump with embarrassing ease.Bacher was left to fend for himself, although he was given some support by Zander de Bruyn.The duo shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 61 runs before a horrendous run-out. It was sparked by some excellent fielding from Allahudien Paleker, who did well to stop a boundary off Bacher’s bat.The batsmen were busy on the third run when, despite being three-quarters of the way down the pitch, Bacher suddenly stopped and joined De Bruyn running to the same end. De Bruyn paid the price for the mistake.The weight of the innings eventually proved to great for the shoulders of Bacher to bear. With a much-needed century certainly beckoning, Bacher went out to the tamest of deliveries from Townsend, caught at point by Neil McKenzie.There was little resistance after that. But it has to be said that the Strikers’ batting did not make it very hard for the Titans to take wickets.