All posts by csb10.top

Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), says he hopes that the forthcoming Test and one-day series with England will improve his country’s image – both on and off the field.”I think the series against England is important for our safe image because England is the first side other than the subcontinental sides to play in Pakistan for five years,” Khan told AFP. England were the last non-South Asian side to play in the troubled cities of Karachi and Peshawar in 2000 before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States sparked security fears about Pakistan. “Tension was at the peak after 9/11 because no team was ready to tour Pakistan,” he added. Khan has been a former foreign secretary and high commissioner [ambassador] to India and the United Kingdom.Australia and the West Indies refused to tour Pakistan, citing players’ safety concerns and the series were played at neutral venues in 2002. New Zealand, who postponed their tour of Pakistan a week after the 9/11 incidents, had to cut short their revised schedule after a bomb blast outside their team hotel in Karachi killed 14 people in May 2002. That followed South Africa and India’s refusal to play a five-day Test in Karachi where bomb blasts and ethnic violence has killed scores of people in the last five years.England, too, have refused to play a Test in Karachi over security fears and agreed to play only one limited-overs international in the southern port city on the current tour. “England had and still have security concerns but I think that, after providing them security assurances and taking good care of them, we hope our image will improve as a safe country,” said Khan, who took over as cricket chief in December 2003.Khan said India’s tour of Pakistan last year was the first step in improving Pakistan’s image. “I remember that the wives of Indian stars Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid did say that they would not like their hubbies to tour Pakistan over security fears.” The PCB not only hosted India without any problems but earned a record 22 million dollars from the series, India’s first in Pakistan for 14 years. “Now England will play a one-day match in Karachi and we are sure India will play a Test in Karachi,” Khan said.Khan also said Pakistan’s team can improve its Test image. “England is on a roll after their Ashes win and if Pakistan beat them they too can get a place among the top teams. Let the best team win and people enjoy the intense competition in the series.”Pakistan and England clash in the first of three Tests at Multan, starting November 12. The Tests will be followed by a five-match one-day series.

The ICC has announced the suspension of their Project USA initiative, which was aimed at developing cricket in the United States, because of concerns about the governance of the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA).Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said that the issues had not been dealt with in a satisfactory manner: “The ICC is not satisfied that the USACA is meeting its obligations to review and restructure its governance to meet the needs of Project USA, and as a consequence Project USA is now suspended.”Speed added that the future of the three-way initiative between the ICC, the West Indies Cricket Board and the USACA would now be discussed by the ICC Board.”We have witnessed the unseemly and public debate surrounding the USACA elections,” said Speed. “At this stage we are not able to recommend to the ICC full members that they participate in Project USA given the unsatisfactory state of governance in the USA. I will now be preparing a report on the status of this project for consideration by the ICC Board at its next meeting in March.”The initial phase of Project USA began in 2004 with a feasibility study into hosting one-day internationals in America, to raise funds for the development of cricket there.

Heath Streak, who was sacked as captain of Zimbabwe earlier this month, has urged England and all other Test-playing nations to boycott Zimbabwe until the current impasse over player selection is resolved. Streak’s dismissal triggered off the dispute which culminated in 15 rebel players being fired by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.England are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe in October, and Streak expressed the fear that a decision to play there would been seen as approval of Robert Mugabe’s regime. Talking to the BBC’s Test Match Special programme, he said, “If England come, it would suggest they agree with what is going on. I don’t think any country should be coming to play cricket in Zimbabwe until they have fixed the problem, whether it be England, Australia or Bangladesh.”The International Cricket Council is set to debate Zimbabwe’s Test future in June, after the two-Test series against Australia – scheduled to start last Saturday – was cancelled. The team that took on Sri Lanka recently was barely club standard, and two crushing defeats reinforced the fear that such unequal contests were making a mockery of the game.The rebel players have turned to the ICC to resolve the crisis, and it is currently making a legal assessment of whether it can intervene in what some, including Imran Khan, seen as a domestic dispute. As things stand though, it’s unlikely that England’s players will have to make that trip to southern Africa this autumn.

On a day when Sourav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan saved Indian blushes, it wasHarbhajan Singh – whose cavalier 47 in the final session exasperated thebowlers – that came to address the media. The official line was that bothmen were too exhausted, though it didn’t stop them jogging around the parkwith their team-mates as the evening shadows lengthened across SedgarsPark.Harbhajan sounded bullish after contributing his bit to a determinedfightback. “We can take a lot of confidence from today’s battingperformance,” he said. “When you make 300 runs in a day, it’s abig positive. One of our goals coming into this game was to make 300 runsin a day. That has been achieved. Now we need to do well with the ball aswell. The way Sourav [Ganguly] and Irfan [Pathan] batted was veryheartening.”He refused to point the finger at any of his top-order mates, whoseslipshod batting against the pace of Morne Morkel had India reeling at 69for 5 at lunch. “I feel it’s always just a matter of one innings,” hesaid. “All these batsmen have been successful in the past, and there’s noreason why they can’t score again. I think once they make runs in oneinnings, they will start contributing regularly.”If we play to our potential in the Test matches, the seamers and spinnersas well as the batsmen, we can do a good job against South Africa. I’mlooking forward to bowling here. I don’t know if it will help thespinners, but it will be good to get a long bowl before the first Test,should I play in that match.”One person who won’t be playing any part at the Wanderers next week isMorkel, but surely the day’s not far off when he’ll get his first nationalcap. He had figures of 4 for 29 before lunch, finishing the day with 4 for74. Had Vaughn van Jaarsveld not spilled Ganguly in the gully, and JacquesRudolph not dropped Zaheer Khan late in the day, the figures would havebeen even more impressive.When asked about the experience, Morkel called it a privilege to bowl tothe likes of Sachin Tendulkar. “They were my heroes growing up,” he said.”I was lucky enough to be able to play against them today, and to get themout was very special. I can go home now and sleep well tonight, knowingthat I have gone a good job.”Allan Donald had written recently that he considers the 22-year-old MorkelSouth Africa’s next potential fast bowler, and there were definitelyshades of the man they called White Lightning as he scythed through thetop order using pace and bounce as his primary weapons. “I had my ownlittle plans for them,” he added. “I had an idea what lengths to bowl tothem. I wanted to hit the deck hard and get it to climb. I could’ve had afive-for but unfortunately, a couple of catches did not stick.”On a day where he did very little wrong, the Indians will be grateful forthose small mercies.

Close Pakistan 42 for 0 (Farhat 17*, Taufeeq 20*) trail India 675 for 5 dec (Sehwag 309, Tendulkar 194*) by 633
Scorecard

The second day of the Multan Test will be remembered as the one in which VirenderSehwag became the first Indian to hit a Test triple-century, and Sachin Tendulkarwas left 6 short of an impeccable double-century. However, it should also beremembered as the day when John Wright’s belief in putting the team ahead of the individual was clinically put into practice, as India declared on 675 for 5, giving themselves an hour of bowling against Pakistan’s openers.There is a jaunty air to Sehwag’s batting that belies the thinking and effort thatgoes into crafting innings like the one he played. You do not score 309 against aTest attack, even on the flattest track, by clattering away at every ball asthough it is the last you will face in your life. That he edges a deliverystraight to slip, sees the catch dropped, and plays a blistering square cut off thevery next one, as he did to go past VVS Laxman’s 281, does not mean thatpresenting slip fielders with catch practice does not bother Sehwag. That he waftsat deliveries outside the off stump when he could just as easily wait for theloose delivery does not mean that he is reckless – it means that he genuinelybelieved that the delivery deserved to be put away. It may not always be obvious, but there is a method to Sehwag’s madness.When the day began with India on 356 for 2 and Sehwag on 228, the method of choice was waiting and watching. Tendulkar, on 60, led the way, showing his moreimpetuous partner the virtue of leaving the ball alone, carefully choosing highpercentage scoring areas and targeting specific bowlers. Tendulkar preferred theacres of space available to him just backward of square on the leg side. He filledthat zone with ambled ones and jogged twos, slowly but surely pushing his scoreon.Only a fool or a brave man would tell Sehwag that he should show the same degreeof self-control as Tendulkar. After getting a significant chunk of the strike, andseeing off a probing spell of fast bowling from Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami andShabbir Ahmed, Sehwag opened his shoulders as the lunch break approached. Thegloves were off and Sehwag’s jackhammer slammed down on the ball with metronomic efficiency. If Tendulkar and Sehwag leaving the ball alone frustrated Shoaib, who bowled his heart out, this audacious attack drove him to despair.

Laxman’s mark of 281 fell and records tumbled. At the stroke of 1pm Sehwaglaunched Saqlain Mushtaq into the stands over midwicket to become the first Indianto reach 300. When he edged Sami to Taufeeq Umar at first slip (509 for 3),Sehwag’s blazing knock of 309 (375 balls, 531 minutes, 39 fours, 6 sixes) had cometo an end. It brought to a close the third-wicket partnership of 336, which beatthe previous best of 316 made in Chennai in the 1991-92 series against England.The eventual Indian total, 675 for 5 declared, was the highest ever againstPakistan, beating the 531 for 9 at Chennai in 1961.But, it was not milestones that the Indian think tank had in mind when theirbatsmen piled on the runs. Every run beyond the 600-mark piled on additionalpressure on Pakistan’s batsmen. Mountains often seem harder to climb when youcannot see the top. In this light, it was hardly relevant that VVS Laxman (29)scratched around before being run out (565 for 3) or that Yuvraj Singh (59) scoredhis maiden Test half-century. To a lesser extent it was not even relevant that theinnings was declared with Tendulkar within sniffing distance of a fourthdouble-century. That he made 194 of the most solid runs, spending eight hours and13 minutes at the crease, was vital. Tendulkar is too mature a cricketer to wonderwhere his next double-century is going to come from.Having put 675 runs on the board, India’s bowling attack had something to workwith. Whether you’re batting on a flat deck, like this one, or a bowler’sparadise, becomes less relevant, because the pressure comes from within. ImranFarhat and Taufeeq Umar, who had both dropped catches when India were batting, had a chance to make up by getting Pakistan’s first innings off to steady start. Theydid just that, seeing off 16 overs in the fading light. Pakistan were 42 for noloss and still in the long shadows of India’s 675, and Sehwag’s 309.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo. He will be following the Indian team throughout this tour.

Frizzell County Championship Division One
Table
Lancashire 450 for 6 dec v Sussex 251 and 21 for 2 at Old Trafford
Scorecard
Sussex will have to endure a nervy final day at Old Trafford, after they were forced to follow-on by a tigerish Lancashire side whose hopes of snatching the title at the death have improved dramatically. Murray Goodwin gritted his teeth and survived a nasty blow from Peter Martin to make 118, but Gary Keedy and John Wood shared nine wickets between them as Sussex folded for 251. Only Mushtaq Ahmed, with a brisk 54, halted the slide. Sussex were then reduced to 21 for 2, and have managed a mere four bonus points in the match. That is enough to end Surrey’s hopes, but should Lancashire wrap up victory tomorrow, everything will hinge on the final round of matches – when Sussex are at home to Leicestershire and Lancashire face Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.Leicestershire 295 and 5 for 0 beat Kent 130 and 169 by ten wickets at Leicester
Scorecard
After a shambolic season, Leicestershire finally recorded their first championship victory in 15 attempts – and emphatically as well, as a disinterested Kent side crumbled to a ten-wicket defeat at Grace Road. Kent contrived to lose 19 wickets in the day, and it was a measure of their surrender that there were no outstanding performances from the Leicester bowlers. Charlie Dagnall grabbed three wickets in the first innings, and David Masters three in the second, and although the pitch was beginning to show unpredictable bounce, there were several carefree end-of-term shots on display. Leicestershire were denied an innings victory – just – but had no hassles in rattling off the five runs required in their second knock.Nottinghamshire 361 and 48 for 0 v Middlesex 326 at Lord’s
Scorecard
Owais Shah top-scored with 87 to all but ensure Middlesex top-flight cricket next season, as their match against Nottinghamshire dwindled towards a draw. Chris Cairns gave Notts the perfect start when he removed Andrew Strauss early in the day, and a below-par Stuart MacGill grabbed 4 for 98 in a curate’s egg of a performance. Ten of Middlesex’s batsmen reached double-figures, with David Nash slashing his way to an unbeaten 53. They were aided by an unfortunate injury to Charlie Shreck, who broke a finger in the outfield while diving in vain to cut off one of Shah’s classical off-drives.Essex 256 v Warwickshire 456 for 7 at Chelmsford (Day 2)
Scorecard
Mark Wagh led the way in a powerful Warwickshire performance, scoring a fine 118 to push Essex towards the brink of relegation. Essex had resumed on 249 for 9, and were soon cleaned up to leave John Stephenson unbeaten on 75, before Warwickshire demonstrated what should have been possible had Essex’s top-order applied themselves. Wagh and Nick Knight added 107 for the second wicket, and only James Middlebrook – with four top-order wickets in 42 disciplined overs – was able to make an impression. Dougie Brown, fresh from his century against Lancashire last week, compounded Essex’s problems with an unbeaten 67.Frizzell County Championship Division Two
Table
Somerset 409 and 214 v Derbyshire 400 at Taunton
Scorecard
Dominic Cork completed the superb match figures of 10 for 127, to give bottom-placed Derbyshire every chance of their third victory of the season, against Somerset at Taunton. Derbyshire had conceded a first innings deficit of nine runs after being bowled out for exactly 400, and Somerset built on that by pushing on to 124 for 1. But Mohammad Ali removed both of Somerset’s top scorers, Matthew Wood and Neil Burns, and with Nathan Dumelow wheeling through the middle-order, Cork swung out the tail – including the final two wickets from consecutive deliveries in the last over of the day. Derbyshire will need an eminently gettable 224 tomorrow.Northants 319 and 265 v Glamorgan 203 and 167 for 4 at Cardiff
Scorecard
Robert Croft denied Mike Hussey a record-equalling sixth consecutive century, but Northants nonetheless remained on course for victory thanks to a solid batting performance on a spinners’ wicket at Cardiff. Hussey made 50 before falling to Robert Croft, who finished with 5 for 54 and ten wickets in the match. But David Sales kept him at bay with a half-century, before Andre Nel topped up the total with a hard-hitting 42 from No. 10. Glamorgan were left needing 368 for victory, and Jason Brown and Graeme Swann continued the spin-domination with three wickets between them. Mark Wallace was run out for 38 as they closed on 167 for 4.Gloucestershire 374 and 288 for 7 dec v Durham 218 and 171 for 4 at Bristol
Scorecard
Jonty Rhodes produced the perfect send-off for his adoptive home crowd at Bristol, by scoring his second century of the match to put Gloucestershire in sight of a hugely important victory against Durham. Rhodes added 102 to his first-innings 103, to leave Durham needing an unlikely 445 for victory. He was aided and abetted by Ian Harvey, who clubbed five fours and two sixes in his 36-ball 41, and Jack Russell, who was left unbeaten on 34 at the declaration. Shoaib Akhtar was the pick of Durham’s bowling with 4 for 48. In reply, Durham reached 171 for 4, with much resting on Martin Love, who finished unbeaten on 49.Worcestershire 309 for 5 v Yorkshire at New Road (Day 1)
Scorecard
Ben Smith and Kadeer Ali dominated Yorkshire’s bowling with a third-wicket stand of 182, to put Worcestershire in control of the match – and the second division championship – at New Road. Kadeer, who was this week called into England’s academy squad, fell one short of a celebratory hundred, but Smith made no mistake with 110, his second century of the season. He eventually fell lbw to Steve Kirby, who picked up two wickets but was dispatched for 100 runs in his 23 overs.

Much has been made of the specific plans that New Zealand’s think-tank draw up for each opposition batsman, but in the case of Akash Chopra, Ashley Ross and Stephen Fleming clearly missed a trick. In the tour games, Chopra had been troubled by the well-pitched-up delivery, often playing with an angled bat towards gully. However, in this match, Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram continually pitched it short with the new ball, allowing Chopra the luxury of playing off the back foot.

Off the 23 balls that Tuffey bowled to Chopra in the morning session, only three times was he drawn forward; the corresponding figure against Oram was six out of 31. On a pitch which had neither the pace nor the bounce to aid the seamers, banging the ball in short was unlikely to meet with much success. The one chance that Chopra did offer was when he was drawn on the front foot by Tuffey in the third over after lunch. The ball pitched on a good length, just outside off – precisely the region where New Zealand’s bowlers should have attacked with the new ball – and Chopra obliged with an angled-bat defensive stroke. Robbie Hart made a hash of a regulation catch, but a look at the videos from today’s play might just prompt Fleming to chalk out a new plan of attack when New Zealand next bowl to Chopra. The way Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman batted in the last session, though, Tuffey and Oram might have to wait till the second Test at Mohali to get that opportunity.The Wisden Bulletin
The Wisden Verdict: Planning’s not enough
NZ View: Tuffey makes his point
Roving Reporter: Screaming for Sa-chin
Quotes

“What could be better, when the winter months are upon us, than to curl up by the fire and relive all the action from those long, hot summer days?” asks the book’s preface. There is the warm glow occasioned by memories of The Oval fightback and the lump-in-the-throat moment that accompanies a picture of Nasser’s tearful resignation. There is an appropriately sentimental tribute by Hussain to Alec Stewart, the inaugural winner of the C&G Man of the Year award. For those of a statistical bent there is even, for the first time, a scorecard from every Championship match.It is a comforting read, especially for those who like their tradition vacuum-packed from year to year. Apart from the change of sponsor from B&H to C&G, little about the book has changed in either format or content. Agnew’s regular radio chums – Jim Maxwell, Tony Cozier and Bryan Waddle – bring commentary from overseas. The review of the domestic season retains its stubbornly unique chronology of events, which is great if you want to recreate the ebb and flow of the summer, but pretty frustrating if you want to track down Worcestershire v Glamorgan (look for an index and you’ll be disappointed).The book’s only major drawback is that like an overprotective mother, it is so in love with the game that it smothers it. Jonathan Agnew looks back on 2003 as the year that “the future of county cricket was debated with a vigour that we have not seen in a while”. But as there is little or no two-sided discussion from Agnew or his fellow contributors the C&G sometimes comes across as First Class Forum propaganda. Having grudgingly admitted that the two-tier Championship has shown “evidence of improvement” Agnew nevertheless contends that “increased competition does not necessarily improve the ability of a batsman or a bowler”. Hardly a maxim that many sports administrators or coaches will be lining up to defend. Still, it’s a book to cheer many a fanatical heart this Christmas.

The man responsible for running the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean has claimed that two of the region’s highest-profile cricket grounds are in desperate need of renovation.Chris Dehring, chief executive officer of Windies World Cup, told the Sunday Sun newspaper that Jamaica’s Sabina Park and Barbados’s Kensington Oval were not fit to be used in the 2007 World Cup, and that investment of several millions of dollars was needed to get them ready in time.”You are talking about two countries which have been so-called traditional venues of international cricket in the Caribbean,” Dehring explained. “Yet, because of their status as traditional venues, very little, or certainly not enough, has been done, to improve the quality of the stadiums in these countries over the last 40 years.”So what you have is a situation where the best or the most modern cricket stadiums are actually now in the Eastern Caribbean: St Lucia, Antigua, St Vincent and Grenada, which have new facilities and purpose-built cricket stadiums.”That’s one area where both Jamaica and Barbados have fallen behind. I think it’s quite sad when you think about the tradition of cricket in Barbados where you have Kensington Oval, which the Barbadians refer to as the Mecca. I ask myself if this is the Mecca, why hasn’t an investment befitting a Mecca taken place in Barbados over the last 30 years.”Dehring did, however, argue that the very lack of readiness presented its own opportunities. “The beauty about it is that there is really no country that is absolutely ready, so, this is a green field. You don’t have these massive infrastructures you would have to move out of the way to put the World Cup infrastructure. It really is an opportunity to put in place exactly what we want and factor in what we need in the Caribbean, whether it is the cricket World Cup or not.”Dehring concluded that although the plans were as much as two years behind schedule, he believed that the Caribbean would be ready in time, and he dismissed reports that the International Cricket Council (ICC) was looking at alternative venues. “All of the television rights have been sold all around the world,” he said. “I don’t think it could be disbanded even if the ICC wanted to, and the ICC and the Caribbean have no intention of walking away from the exciting challenge of the World Cup in the West Indies.”Asked whether last week’s suggestions for a revamp of the whole one-day structure would affect the tournament, Dehring smiled. “It’s just like saying that somebody submitted a proposal for restructuring the Olympic Games and Athens is in danger.”