All posts by csb10.top

The BCCSL is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Charnika Munasinghe as the Media Manager with effect from today.Ms. Charnika Munasinghe is a Journalist by profession with 20 years experience in the Media field. She has been a Sub Editor, a Feature Writer and a Columnist in the Print Media and has also Produced, Directed and Presented many programmes for the Electronic Media.In the Capacity of a Media Consultant she has also excelled in Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing.She takes over from Niresh Eliatamby who resigned from the BCCSL on 31st October 2002.

Simon Jones enjoyed an outstanding debut with both bat and ball in Test cricket duringEngland`s 170 run victory over India at Lord`s.On Friday, Jones marked his international debut with a most entertaining 44 offjust 43 balls, with seven fours and one towering six that after the match was adjudgedthe champagne moment of the match by the B.B.C. Test Match Special commentary team.As the table below shows, it was the also the best score a Glamorgan player had ever made intheir first ever innings for England in Test cricket, and remarkably, Simon in the course ofhis debut innings scored more runs for England than his father Jeff made in 17 knocks in Testsbetween 1964 and 1968.On Saturday, Simon produced a most impressive spell, and might have dismissed Sachin Tendulkarwith only his second ball of the morning, as the Indian maestro almost chopped the ball into hisstumps. A few overs later, Jones` raw pace hurried Tendulkar into edging the ball into the slips,but Graham Thorpe spilled a catch inches above the turf.Jones finally got the wicket his bowling deserved, as wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra slashed at afast rising ball and edged into the safe gloves of Alec Stewart. Then Ajit Agarkar snicked adelivery from Jones into Andy Flintoff`s hands at second slip. As the table shows, Jim McConnon`s haulof 3-19 from 13 overs against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 1954 remains as the best bowlingfigures on debut for England in Test cricket.

DEBUT PERFORMANCES BY GLAMORGAN PLAYERS IN TESTS FOR ENGLANDMaurice Turnbull 7 v New Zealand, 1929/30Johnnie Clay Dnb and 0/30 v South Africa, 1935Austin Matthews 2* and 1/52 v New Zealand, 1937Allan Watkins 0 and 0/19 v Australai, 1948Gilbert Parkhouse 0 v West Indies, 1950Jim McConnon 5* and 3/19 v Pakistan, 1954Peter Walker 9 and 0/13 v South Africa, 1960Jeff Jones 5 and 0/48 v India, 1963/64Tony Lewis 0 v India 1972/73Greg Thomas 0 and 82/2 v West Indies, 1985/86Matthew Maynard 3 v West Indies, 1988Steve Watkin 2 and 2/55 v West Indies, 1991Hugh Morris 3 v West Indies, 1991Robert Croft 5* and 2/116 v Pakistan, 1996Steve James 10 v South Africa, 1998

Simon picked up a further two wickets as England bowled out the tourists on Monday afternoon.As well as a place in the Test record books, Simon`s hostile bowling won a host of plauditsfrom the media.Peter Roebuck, the former Somerset captain, also wrote “he continually pushed the batsmen backand troubled them with pace and hostility. Nobody looked comfortable against him. His bestdeliveries are hard to play and he must go to Australia.Former England captain Mike Atherton also said “On first showing his selection for thewinter tour is assured.”

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly grinned from ear to ear when he met the press after his side waltzed to an eight-wicket win over England to set up a semi-final clash against South Africa.Centuries from Ganguly and Virender Sehwag ensured that that India overhauled the target of 271 with more than 10 overs to spare.”We should not have allowed England to get to 270, but Sehwag’s 100 took the game away from England,” began the Indian captain.Not too many people expected India to beat England with such ease and Ganguly echoed this. “This game is never easy,” said the skipper.He was effusive in his praise of Sehwag’s knock, saying, ” Sehwag’s innings was absolutely brilliant and took the pressure away from us. The way he played was took the sting out of the game. By the time he was dismissed the game was already in our pocket. Unless something went terribly wrong, we were going to win from that position.”Nasser Hussain for his part admitted that his England side were totally outclassed on the day.”Nothing went wrong really. India just played exceptionally well on the day. The first eight overs they bowled were very difficult for our batsmen and again when they batted their first 15 overs were very good. Sometimes you just have to give credit where it’s due.”The England skipper seemed powerless to stop the onslaught of the Indian batsmen and conceded that nothing he tried on the day worked for him.”We’ve played against India a lot and have studied their game carefully. We know what areas they do most of their hitting in and have thought of a few ways to restrict that. It just didn’t work today though.”Both openers came at us strongly and we didn’t have an answer. We need to show more character in situations like this. We’re all right when teams don’t quite come at us as strongly as this and we’ll have to work out ways to counter this.”Hussain acknowledged that his side had problems when batsmen came at them and pointed out a couple of areas where England need to improve to counter this.”We need to show more character in these situations. And variations become important too. We tried a few variations today, slower balls and bumpers and the like. But today everything we bowled seemed to go for four. In English conditions where the ball does a bit more off the wicket and in the air you don’t need to do much more than put the ball in the right place. In conditions like this you need more variations.”Not totally distraught at the loss, Hussain did look back positively at the way the batting fared.”As far as the batting is concerned I’m quite pleased with the way we’ve done. In the last year or so the batting has not been a cause for worry. Even today I thought the middle-order batted exceptionally to take us to 270.”Ganguly has now led India to more than one dramatic win against England. He did however say that there were other wins that gave him more satisfaction.”Every win is satisfying really, at the international level. But I would have to say that the win at Lord’s in the NatWest trophy final and the Test win at Headingley probably mean more to me.”

Rob Turner and his Somerset team enjoyed their Jubilee Day trip to Cornwall yesterday and came away with a resounding victory over their hosts Callington.Almost 1000 spectators crowded into the New Road Ground, the home of the Cornish Premier league side, and were thrilled to see England stars Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick in the visitors line up.Somerset were anxious to avoid suffering a second defeat at the hands of the Cornishmen, having lost in the final over of a similar match for Peter Bowler’s Benefit two years ago, but on this occasion they came away with their pride restored, and having made a lot of new friends.Somerset batted first and got off to a flying start with openers Andy Caddick and Keith Dutch sharing a partnership of 117 before `Dutchy’ was out after scoring a quick fire 73.This brought Marcus Trescothock to the wicket, and everyone in the ground was looking forward to seeing the England star pick up where he had left off for his country in the Test match against Sri Lanka.However local lad Dave Bradbeer had other ideas, and before the left hander could establish himself he spoiled the party by having Marcus caught by Andy Birkett.Andy Caddick continued with a couple of new partners until he was fourth man out with the score on 160 after making a very impressive 68.The real fireworks of the Somerset innings however came from Ian Blackwell, who blasted 60 off just 25 balls, which included 8×6’s and 1×4, much to the delight of the crowd, losing five cricket balls in the process! By the close of their 40 overs Somerset had reached 305 for 9.In reply the Callington batsmen found it hard going and never really got to grips with the Somerset attack and were eventually all out for 184, to give Rob Turner’s Somerset team victory by 121 runs. The leading wicket taker for the visitors was appropriately enough Peter Bowler who took 3 for 18 in his four overs.After the game Callington Cricket Club secretary Lewis Bond told me: "It was a brilliant day for the club and for Rob Turner. Everybody is delighted with the way it has all worked out."Rob Turner told me: "The weather has been kind to us and a lot of people have turned out to support the day. I’m very pleased indeed and would like to thank everybody who has helped to make the day such a success."

Stephen Fleming produced an innings of international class to lead Middlesex to a five-wicket win at Bristol after Gloucestershire had set a target of 293 in 82 overs.The New Zealand captain was unbeaten at the end on 121, carefully compiled off 206 balls, with 16 fours, having paced his innings perfectly to see the visitors home with 3.1 overs to spare.It was a top quality effort from Fleming to add to his half-century in the first innings and gave Middlesex 16 points from a match in which they had been on the back-foot for long periods.The final day began with Gloucestershire extending their second innings total to 265-4 before Mark Alleyne made what proved a very sporting declaration. Matt Windows finished 106 not out, having completed his 11th first-class century.Clear skies and glorious sunshine clearly favoured the batsmen. ButAlleyne’s closure looked sound enough when Ian Harvey sent back Middlesex openers Mike Roseberry and Andrew Strauss with only 27 on the board.Owais Shah then joined Fleming in a third-wicket stand of 95, moving effortlessly to a half-century off 87 balls, with nine fours, before surprisingly edging Alleyne to wicketkeeper Reggie Williams.At that stage, with the total 122-3, the result looked in the balance. But Ben Hutton came out to play an aggressive innings that wrestled the match out of Gloucestershire’s grasp.The young grandson of Sir Leonard Hutton hit Jeremy Snape and James Averis for sixes as well as striking seven fours in equalling his best ever Championship score of 59.He and the unflappable Fleming added 129 for the fourth wicket before Harvey returned to dismiss Hutton and Simon Cook in quick succession on his way to figures of 4-86.The damage was done as far as Gloucestershire were concerned. Paul Weekes joined Fleming to see Middlesex to their target and the home side had to settle for five points.

New Zealand’s requirements from day four of the second National Bank Test could not be clearer – they must score at a reasonable clip, keep wickets intact, and look to get a much bigger score than the 280 England achieved at the Basin Reserve today.Easier said than done.But they made it through to 70/1 at stumps, albeit at a slow pace, clearly designed to keep wickets intact.”We’re happy with the position. We fought back very well and have to push on tomorrow,” New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said tonight.It would be important for New Zealand to score quickly tomorrow. It had been a day of mixed fortunes.England’s 280 was probably 30 more than New Zealand wanted but when England were 220/4, to bowl them out for 280 was a reasonable effort.New Zealand was still guilty of not closing in quickly enough on opportunities when wickets fell and Fleming said the bowlers still needed to tighten up between wickets.Once the tragedy of their team-mate Ben Hollioake’s death was received, just after play started for the day, it was always going to be a struggle for England.It was understandable that in the moments when determination to concentrate that little bit harder to get through a tough period is required, young men cannot help but have their minds wonder as they reflect on the circumstances of their own mortality.There is a natural reaction to want to be able to take time and reflect on their own association with Hollioake and the times they shared.But there was a job to be done.New Zealanders have grown up on the story that surrounded the tragic Christmas Eve train crash of 1953 at Tangiwai in the middle of the North Island which claimed the life of the fiancee of New Zealand Test cricketer Bob Blair who was in the midst of a Test match across the world at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.The response of New Zealand’s batsmen to a Boxing Day pace bombardment, and Blair’s courage in joining his team-mates when no-one expected him to play ahead of his own sorrow, was the stuff of legend.It wasn’t repeated at the Basin Reserve today, but there was a genuine understanding of what the England players were going through.New Zealand’s players were having to deal with their own demons, a no-balling curse that denied the side two wickets that could have made all the difference to this match delivering a result under its rain-reduced circumstances.Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori had Nasser Hussain caught at mid-on by Ian Butler for 46 only to see Darrell Hair standing with his arm out-stretched for a no-ball. Hussain added another 20 runs before he was given out, albeit controversially caught off his forearm.Then Ashley Giles was caught by Adam Parore for a duck from Butler when he found he bowled one of 10 no-balls he bowled during the innings.Fortunately, he scored only 10 before Butler finally got him, square cutting to Craig McMillan at point.Fleming said as a batsman it was hard to accept the problems had with staying behind a line on the ground that didn’t move. It was a discipline for bowlers and it was a bad habit, certainly a bad habit that could yet prove costly in the final outcome of the game.Butler, however, had shown he was learning a lot about himself and Test bowling when advancing his career-best figures to four for 60 today. Vettori had two for 62, Chris Martin two for 58 and Chris Drum two for 85.Butler had generated good pace from the wicket and Fleming said he was excited by him and saw him as a real talent for the future.New Zealand swung the game back in their favour with a four-wicket middle-order haul for 17 runs generated by Butler and Vettori.Some late hitting by James Foster 25 not out, Giles and Andy Caddick (10) had provided bonus runs.New Zealand’s response saw Matt Horne cleaned up by a ball from Caddick for eight and then an unbroken stand of 54 between Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent. Vincent was considerably lucky to be still there having benefited from some umpiring decisions that could just as easily have gone England’s way.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reacted cautiously to Kenyan sports minister’s statement which Tuesday said next month’s triangular one-day tournament cannot be held in Nairobi.PCB director Chisty Mujahid said shortly before his departure for Colombo that as far as his board was concerned, the tournament was on.”I am leaving for Nairobi on Aug 5 to inspect the facilities there. We have not been informed about the sports minister’s statement by the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA),” Chisty said.Chisty added: “Like the International Cricket Council (ICC), we recognize the KCA and would prefer to deal with them instead of the sports minister. What happens between the two is their internal problem. But so far, the tournament is on between Aug 29 and Sept 7.”However, Chisty kept the options open to shift the series to another venue in case the infighting between the KCA and the government intensifies. “Naturally we will look for an alternative venue if things do get serious. I mean we have to be convinced by now that the series is being played at Nairobi.Chisty said he would be meeting Australian team manager Steve Bernard in Nairobi, adding that he would try to convince him to go-ahead with the tour to Pakistan in October.”President Gen Pervez Musharraf has given security assurance. I don’t think the Australians can ask for anything more than that. “But even if there are any apprehensions, I would invite the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) inspectors as PCB guests to visit Pakistan and see for themselves.”AFP adds: Kenya’s acceptance to host the triangular one-day series involving Pakistan and Australia here next month may have hit a snag after the Kenyan sports minister advised against it, local cricket officials said Tuesday.Kenya had been asked by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to replace New Zealand, which withdrew from the series originally scheduled to be played in Pakistan in March.The Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) willingly accepted to host the Aug 29 to Sept 5 tournament as the third country. However, Sports Minister Francis Nyenze advised the PCB, through the Pakistan High Commission in Nairobi, that it would not be possible to stage the event here since the KCA was not recognised by the government.Nyenze dissolved the entire KCA executive in May and appointed a caretaker committee to run the sport for a period of three months. But the KCA moved the court and obtained an injuction against the minister’s intervention, claiming their eligibility as the rightly-elected body.The move was supported by the sports governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), which said it would abide by the court ruling.”This is just being too personal. It’s the country’s name which is at stake here,” KCA Cricket Committee chairman Sharad Ghai told AFP.Nyenze and his senior staff left Nairobi on Monday to attend the Commonwealth Games which open Thursday in Manchester, England.Ghai said the KCA would convene an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the matter.Kenya are scheduled to host New Zealand and Sri Lanka in two matches of the 2003 World Cup in February next year.The tri-series was originally planned for the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, which saw two bomb blasts in May and June that left 26 people dead.New Zealand had to cut short a tour of Pakistan after the first suicide blast outside their hotel on the morning of the Karachi Test on May 8.

The battle lines were drawn in mid-afternoon. By late evening, however, Jamaica were winning the war against Barbados.Chris Gayle, heartbeats away from his third regional hundred, was the general in command, assisted by an able lieutenant in Wayne Cuff.Their fighting third-wicket stand of 126 that frustrated Barbados for half of the day’s play has given the defending champions a comfortable lead of 243 ahead of today’s final day.Even if Jamaica went on the defensive in the final 45 minutes, they will still feel they can press for victory on a Kensington Oval pitch that remains a paradise for batsmen.Gayle resumes this morning on 97 in a Jamaica second innings total of 182 for four and no one excepts them to bat for more than an hour.Yesterday, in the middle of an absorbing contest between bat and ball, tempers flared slightly.Barbados pacers Hendy Bryan and Dayne Maynard were unwavering with the ball and Jamaica’s Gayle and Cuff were doggedly trying to survive. There appeared to be a slight collision between Cuff and Maynard and it seemed to create a bit of tension between batsmen and fielders.At the time, Jamaica, with the useful first innings advantage of 61, could hardly accelerate and managed only 63 runs between lunch and tea.To their credit, Gayle and Cuff were unflustered by all the chatter and made sure that Barbados captured no more than two wickets in the session.The two victims were achieved from stupendous catches that lifted the sprits of the Barbadians, but they made no further inroads until after 5 p.m. when the partnership was in progress for three hours and 20 minutes.Gayle, Most Valuable Player of last season, grew more and more assured as the afternoon progressed.If he was uncharacteristically cautious for the first three hours he was in, the 21-year-old West Indies discard came back after tea to unleash some of the powerful off-side strokes that brought him many of his 623 runs last season.The tall left-hander favours either the square or cover drive and the cut and they were responsible for a high proportion of his 13 boundaries.Indeed, the shot placement chart showed that 64 of his 97 runs came through the off-side, with more emphasis between extra-cover and third-man where he scored 54.Barbados had their chances to remove him with a couple of edges and the one that went to hand came late in the evening, when he was 87, was put down by Dave Marshall moving to his left at slip.It was Marshall who had earlier raised the standard of Barbados catching with a sharp third slip catch from an edge offered by Leon Garrick which was rapidly heading to the ground.Another slip chance soon came Barbados’ way, but Floyd Reifer missed his third chance of the season and was soon placed in the outfield where he made up for his miss with an excellent diving effort at cover that accounted for Brenton Parchment.Cuff is not exactly the type of batsman fans will leave home to see, but he is an uncomplicated left-hander who steadily accumulates his runs from a low crouch.The Jamaica Defence Force man followed up his highest first-class score of 65 in the first innings with an equally dogged 39 that was the ideal foil for his more illustrious partner.Cuff had faced 112 balls when Bryan, back in the attack after a long rest, claimed him lbw with a ball of fullish length. Before walking off, Cuff indicated the ball might have struck the bat.When Franklyn Rose emerged from the Garfield Sobers Pavilion, there was a feeling he was sent out to increase the scoring rate.It was therefore a surprise when he blocked the first couple of balls he received from Ian Bradshaw, who resorted to trundling left-arm spin late in the day.Rose soon skied a catch to mid-on off Bryan and confirmation came that Jamaica had packed up shop when Ryan Cunningham, the second nightwatchman, refused to take singles that would have exposed Gayle to the strike.Earlier, Gareth Breese completed career-best first-class figures of six for 47 by grabbing Barbados’ last three wickets,helped by the same type of careless strokeplay of the previous day.Roland Holder, batting at No. 8 because of a combination of stomach problems and fever, was in trouble for the hour and ten minutes Barbados batted yesterday. But without the luxury of accomplished partners, he chanced his hand and gave a catch to deep mid-on to be last out for 38.Before him, Marshall, who survived for 45 minutes after Barbados resumed on 173 for eight, choose to sweep Breese when he came on for his first spell of the day and spooned a top-edged catch to backward square.

Dismissed captain Moin Khan was given a clean bill of health by thepanel of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) doctors. Moin, who appeared intwo one-day matches for PIA , was said to have recovered well and wasfit to resume competitive cricket.”He has recovered well from his injury and can well resume hiscricketing activities,” Dr Meesaq Rizvi says in his April 13 report.Dr Meesaq observes that during the rehabilitation process, there wasno obvious swelling to joint effusion.”At this stage of his examination (April 13) of the right knee joint,there is no obvious swelling or joint effusion, there is no wastingQuadriceps muscles and the Apprehension Sign for Patellar Subluxationis a negative possible,” Dr Meesaq observes.The doctor, however, has advised the wicket-keeper weight training,stretching exercises and aerobic activities.