All posts by csb10.top

Scorecard

India A called all the shots at Nairobi today, winning the toss, bowling out Sri Lanka A for 165 and then easing to a nine-wicket win to clinch the final of this three-nation tournament. There were big wickets from the pace bowlers and seamers and positive innings from Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Kaif as India reached their target inside 26 overs.Early morning rain meant the game got underway later than scheduled, and was consequently reduced to 39 overs a side, but the Indians wasted little time in getting stuck in. The last ball of the fifth over, from Irfan Pathan, swung away from Dilruwan Perera and the resultant nick was easily held by Parthiv Patel for the first of his six dismissals. Praveen Kumar continued his good series by beating Mahela Udawatte for pace, the batsman reacting late and losing his off stump for a brisk 35 from 27 deliveries.Pankaj Singh dealt the third blow when he forced Kaushal Silva to fend at a rising delivery outside off stump and edge to Kaif at first slip to make it 52 for 3. Gayan Wijekoon (38 from 42 balls) and Malinda Warnapura added 52 before Yo Mahesh dismissed Warnapura, and from there Sri Lanka were unable to string together and sizeable partnerships. Mahesh added Wijekoon and Sujeewa de Silva to his kitty. Pathan came back to get Kaushal Lokuarachchi and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha finished with 2 for 33 from his eight overs.India’s chase began with Pujara slashing one over the slips and to the boundary and edging another from Chanaka Welegedara that did not carry to the fielder but Kumar was not as shaky, hitting consecutive fours off Nuwan Kulasekara back past the stumps and over mid-off. Another flick to fine leg followed but Welegedara forced Kumar (26) to scoop a slower one back to him just after the 50 was raised in the seventh over. Kumar finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with a total of 165 runs.Pujara edged through the slips a second time and had to work hard for his runs but Kaif opened up with two pulled fours and one drive back down the ground. In one de Silva over he twice drove through the covers and slogged one past mid-on, raising the 50-run stand with Pujara in just 8.2 overs.A crowd of about 1000, mostly Indian, cheered loudly and made their players feel at home in the afternoon sunshine. Wijekoon erred in line slightly and Kaif pulled him for four; Pujara brought up his half-century, from 60 balls, with a drive for three down to long-on; Lokuarachchi tossed it up and Pujara hammered him over the infield. Kaif brought up his own fifty before hitting Lokuarachchi for a huge straight six. Pujara swept the same bowler for four take the partnership to a match-winning 115 runs.At the post-match conference, Warnapura, the Sri Lankan captain, conceded that his side batted poorly. Kaif said the toss was important as it set the tone for his game plan, and singled out his bowlers as key to this victory. He also thanked the fans and acknowledged his players’ commitment throughout the series in Zimbabwe as well as in KenyaPujara was awarded the Man of the Match and Kumar Man of the Series.

Brendan Nash, the former Queensland batsman who left Australia to restart his career in the Caribbean, has been named in Jamaica’s 17-man squad for this season’s forthcoming KFC Cup.Nash is eligible to play for Jamaica as his father, Paul, is of Jamaican origin, having represented the country as an Olympic swimmer. Nash is joined by two new faces in the squad: Donovan Sinclair and Krishmar Santokie, the left-arm fast bowler.Chris Gayle leads the strong side which includes Daren Powell, JeromeTaylor and Marlon Samuels.David Bernard, Xavier Marshall and Donovan Pagon, who have all played for the West Indies, have been left out, as has Dwight Washington.

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.

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.

ScorecardMithun Manhas’ hundred and Rajat Bhatia’s 83 took Delhi to 387 before the home side’s bowlers, led by legbreak bowler Chetanya Nanda, took seven Rajasthan wickets on day three at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Manhas duly moved from an overnight 86 to 100, but Bhatia could only add 18 to his score in the morning as fast bowler Pankaj Singh took his second five-wicket haul in the game to bowl Delhi out.Gagan Khoda (71) and Robin Bist (50*) battled hard but there was little support against Nanya (3 for 61) and Delhi’s opening duo, Pradeep Sangwan and Amit Bhandari. Rajasthan need 234 to win, but with the pitch suddenly cracking, it is Delhi’s game tomorrow.
ScorecardBowled out for 227 in 79.1 overs, Hyderabad were forced to follow on and finished day three 158 runs behind Bengal’s 461 at Eden Gardens. Resuming the third day 386 runs behind Bengal, Hyderabad combusted further and needed a career-best from Amol Shinde, in his third game, to get them to a respectable total. He added 74 for the eighth wicket with Pragyan Ojha (35) but fell to Saurashish Lahiri ten short of a maiden hundred. Lahiri picked up his fourth wicket to finish the innings, and following-on, Hyderabad slipped to 86 for 3 by stumps, all three wickets falling to Murtaza Lodhgar’s slow left-arm spin.
ScorecardHimachal Pradesh rallied around Ashok Thakur’s second five-wicket haul in the match, and a maiden first-class hundred from opener Manish Gupta, to draw with Saurashtra at Dharamsala. By virtue of a first-innings lead Saurashtra took three points to HP’s one, and but lost their last four wickets for 47 runs in the morning. Cheteshwar Pujara added just three to his overnight 106 as Thakur, who took 6 for 73 in the first innings, finished with 5 for 73. With an unattainable target of 384, HP lost two early wickets but Gupta, with 104 from 144 balls, and Ajay Mannu, with 57 from 93, steadied the ship.

ScorecardAndhra made Punjab toil in the field, hitting 287 for no loss on a fourth-day pitch, but the hosts took three first-innings-lead points from their draw at Amritsar. Pankaj Dharmani declared at Punjab’s overnight 372 for 9, just 38 runs ahead of Andhra, but none of his bowlers could manage a wicket as the top order weighed in. Hemal Watekar followed up his first-innings century with 100 from 146 balls before retiring hurt, and fellow opener Prasad Reddy finished with an unbeaten 114*, his fourth first-class ton. For good measure, No. 3 Satya Kumar Varma chipped in with an unbeaten 58 from 86 balls to deny Punjab. Medium-fast bowler Gagandeep Singh, who took 4 for 53 in Andhra’s first innings, did not bowl and his absence was felt on the final day.
ScorecardRahul Dravid found his true form on the last day of this match, hitting a double-century to guide Karnataka to a draw against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. Karnataka made 397 for 6 at tea before declaring to set Mumbai a target of 256 in 32 overs, 17 of which had gone by before both captains settled on a draw. Dravid fell one short of his highest score in the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai secured three points for their first-innings lead while Karnataka got one.Maharashtra 430 (Takawale 76, R Ashwin 6-133) drew with Tamil Nadu 338 for 7 (Badrinath 72, Srinivasan 62, Karthik 56, Ashwin 51*)
ScorecardTamil Nadu fought back from an overnight 58 for 3 to finish 338 for 7 in their rain-hit draw with Maharashtra at Chennai. There were no hundreds, but fifties from Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath, Rajhamany Srinivasan and R Ashwin helped the host complete a facile draw. Ashwin, after taking 6 for 133, scored his maiden half-century in his just sixth match. Both teams shared one point each.

Division One

Michael Carberry struck a career-best 192 as Hampshire completed a fantastic run-chase against Warwickshire at The Rose Bowl. They were set 331 after some pleasingly aggressive negotiations between Shane Warne and Darren Maddy following the third day washout. Carberry was dominant throughout, adding 117 with Michael Lumb, to put the chase on course, then a matchwinning 86 with Dimitri Mascarenhas. Carberry plundered 24 boundaries and a six as Hampshire completed a victory, one which closes the gap in a tight division. It was another example of Warne’s positive captaincy paying handsome dividends.Lancashire and Yorkshire completed their battle for bonus points at Old Trafford and the visitors edged ahead as Adil Rashid produced a highly impressive spell of legspin on the final afternoon, extracting sharp, if slow, turn from the surface. He troubled the Lancashire top order and trapped Brad Hodge with an impressive topspinner and had Stuart Law stumped off the final ball of the match to help Yorkshire claim an additional point. James Anderson produced a sustained spell of strong pace bowling as Lancashire claimed a full hand of bowling points. His 5 for 98 was his first five-wicket haul since August 2005.

Division Two

Derbyshire pulled off a thrilling 15-run win against Middlesex at Southgate after the home side lost their last six wickets for 58. Jamie Dalrymple and Alan Richardson added 32 for the last wicket, but Graham Wagg had the final say when he bowled Richardson and handed Derbyshire their second win of the season. When Ed Smith was going well on 65 Middlesex were 208 for 4 and needed 74 more for victory, but Greg Smith trapped his namesake lbw and claimed two more vital wickets. Andrew Strauss fell early in the day for 53 and Ed Joyce failed to build on his promising start.Monty Panesar claimed six wickets as he bowled Northamptonshire to a 138-run victory against Gloucestershire at Northampton. Panesar struck quickly on the final morning as he removed nightwatchman Steve Kirby and Chris Taylor for ducks and it was only a matter of time before the innings folded. Panesar helped himself to his best figures of a productive season before Steven Crook claimed the final wicket.Records continued to tumble in dream batting conditions at Chelmsford as Nottinghamshire amassed their highest first-class total, 791, against Essex. Chris Read made a career-best 240, the first time both wicketkeepers had made double-centuries in the same match after James Foster’s 204, while Graeme Swann fell three runs short of the seventh century in the match. The final session consisted of Nottinghamshire improving their over-rate and Read performed the rare triple of batting, keeping and bowling on the same day.It took Leicestershire only 25 balls to wrap up a 10-wicket win against Glamorgan at Grace Road. Arno Jacobs and Tim New knocked off the runs which carried Leicestershire to their first Championship win of the season.

Former Somerset captain Gerry Tordoff has died at the age of 78.Tordoff was a talented amateur sportsman who won Blues at football (1951-52) and cricket (1952) for Cambridge. As a left-hand middle-order batsman he had already made his Somerset debut, and after playing for the after coming down from university in 1952 he joined the Royal Navy and thereafter his appearances were limited. He turned out regularly for Combined Services and in 1954 hit the highest of his five first-class hundreds, 154, against the touring Pakistanis.In 1955 Somerset, who had finished bottom of the Championship in the previous seasons, were in need of an amateur captain – they were still a year off accepting a professional in the role – and Tordoff was given a leave of absence by the navy to take up the challenge. He was unable to lift the county off the foot of the table, although their performances were improved. Personally, he made 1196 runs.Hopes that he might continue were dashed when he was offered a commission and returned to the navy, and he did not appear for the county again, although he continued to play for Combined Services as well as Minor County cricket for Berkshire.In 85 matches Tordoff made 3975 runs at 27.99 and took 40 wickets with his occasional seamers.

Brad Hogg is the most unfashionable player on Australia’s 25-man contract list and admits to under-estimating his own capabilities at times. A 36-year-old employing a bowling style few have persevered with, he has remained in the national consciousness due to his one-day expertise. Now he is a cult hero at the SCG after scoring 79 in an innings-saving stand of 173 with Andrew Symonds.Australia, who won the toss, were in severe trouble at 6 for 134, but they were dug out of danger by two players who bat on instinct. Hogg performed like he had been in the team for years – it was his sixth Test – and attacked freely while Symonds waited a couple of hours to understand a two-paced pitch before relaxing.Driving strongly through cover off both feet, Hogg beat Symonds to a half-century before slowing down when reaching three figures became a serious possibility. “It was exciting to be in front of Andrew for a while, but he showed who was boss and got to 100 before I got to 70 and put me back in my place,” he said. “It was just exciting to be there.”Stepping back to cut at Anil Kumble, Hogg was caught by Rahul Dravid at slip and as he left the field he was cheered like one of the locals. Michael Clarke and Phil Jaques had failed and the spectators were desperate for someone to adopt. The players in the dressing room were also ecstatic and not just because the score had developed into a comfortable 7 for 307.”It’s fantastic to have a good partnership with my good mate Andrew and to knock a couple of records off,” Hogg said of the seventh-wicket stand, which was the highest against India and the largest at the ground. “It’s a fantastic feeling to have a good innings for Australia.”Hogg is an ideal team man who has waited four years for another Test chance, which arrived when Stuart MacGill underwent wrist surgery. Until Shane Warne exited a year ago Hogg was closer to retirement than a five-day recall and despite his strong batting performance, which lasted 102 balls and included ten fours, he knows he needs wickets to be sure of his place.The runs have provided a huge dose of confidence and Hogg is hoping it remains when he bowls. “It just makes you feel a bigger part of the team, knowing you’re contributing,” he said. “It’s good to get runs on the board, but I’m here for my bowling and hopefully I can get the wickets required.”Symonds was proud of his friend’s sensible batting and together they deflated an attack that was bouncing for the first half of the day. While Hogg missed three figures, Symonds brought up his second Test century with a single to mid-on. Both have come at critical stages.Australia were 5 for 84 when he reached 156 against England in 2006-07 and here he doused the early concerns of India getting back into the series following the heavy defeat in Melbourne. He was unbeaten on 137 at stumps after facing 173 balls and hitting 17 fours and two sixes.”The innings won’t mean much till the end of the game,” he said. “It’s a feeling of satisfaction, but it will mean more if we can have a result in the Test and I’ve contributed to a win. Four hundred is a very healthy first-innings score and we would hope we wouldn’t lose the game from there.”Patient in the first half of his display, Symonds increased his pace after bringing up his half-century early in the final session. Each run was painful for the Indians, who would have dropped Australia to 7 for 193 if Steve Bucknor had seen or heard the edge to Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ishant Sharma.”I was very lucky,” Symonds said. “I was out on 30 and given not out. That’s cricket. I could sit here and tell you about some bad decisions as well, but I won’t. People make mistakes, players make mistakes, umpires do too.”

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.”