All posts by csb10.top

ScorecardForster Mutizwa and Craig Ervine out-batted the Bangladeshis in the tourists’ only practice game to lead Zimbabwe XI to a four-wicket victory. On the final day, the pair’s 84-run stand took the game away from the visitors who set a 223-run target. Mutizwa made an unbeaten 87 off 125 balls with four boundaries and two sixes, batting as confidently as one could on a wicket that could at best be described as sporting.Ervine too stayed calm after they had collapsed to 100 for 5 in the second session, hitting beautiful cover drives on his way to 42 off 61 balls. After Ervine fell to Nasir Hossain early in the final session, Malcolm Waller’s unbeaten 22 helped Mutizwa finish the chase with almost two hours remaining.During their sixth-wicket stand Ervine and Mutizwa were more confident than the whole Bangladesh batting line-up, though an easier pitch on the final day (after 32 wickets fell in the first two days) helped them. Ervine, who earned a call-up to the squad, looked the more graceful of the two, taking time and regularly playing it as late as possible.Mutizwa, at the other end, played his shots and his approach rattled the Bangladeshis, especially Abdur Razzak who went wicketless for 16 overs. Only Shakib Al Hasan showed class with the ball, drawing many appeals, but his two-wicket haul wasn’t enough as the seamers fell flat against the hosts’ patience.Earlier, it was opener Sikandar Raza whose batting gave the rest confidence. The Sialkot-born right-hander struck four boundaries and a six in his 39 before Shakib had him lbw late in the first session. Time is short for the Bangladeshis, and the experienced names in their line-up have to help the side return to a positive mindset after this demoralising loss.

Hampshire have been plunged further into the relegation mire after being docked eight points for a “poor” pitch following their County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at the Rose Bowl.The ECB pitch panel, comprising Tony Pigott and Mike Denness, ruled that the surface offered excessive turn. Spinners took 25 of the 36 wickets to fall with Samit Patel taking a career-best 7 for 68 and Danny Briggs claiming 6 for 65. Hampshire were already bottom of Division One and now have just 39 points which puts them 36 behind eighth-placed Worcestershire with seven four-day games remaining.”The club accepts the judgement of the pitch panel committee in good faith,” a statement said. “We now wish to concentrate on our aims of avoiding relegation from Division One of the County Championship, and defending our Twenty20 crown.”It’s the second time in two seasons that Hampshire, have been penalised for a poor pitch following last summer’s Twenty20 match against Somerset, which meant they started this year’s Friends Life t20 on minus two points. They are the second county to be hit by a pitch penalty this season after Warwickshire lost eight points for the surface they produced at Edgbaston for the match against Lancashire.

England’s winter itinerary remains shrouded in confusion after the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, appeared to confirm the UAE and Sri Lanka as the venues for England’s forthcoming ODI and Test series against Pakistan, only for John Carr, the ECB’s director of cricket operations, to suggest his assessment “might not be entirely accurate”.Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Clarke stated that the UAE had been chosen to host the five-match one-day series, with two Tests against Pakistan set to follow in Sri Lanka after Christmas. However, a working draft from the ECB shows plans to play Pakistan in January and February, possibly over three Tests and five ODIs.Meanwhile, a senior PCB official also told ESPNcricinfo “that they have not confirmed this schedule, neither the venue nor the break up.”If Clarke’s schedule had proved right it would have meant a baptism of fire for Alastair Cook’s one-day captaincy, with England set to play ten ODIs in the space of six weeks against India and Pakistan in October and November.On Saturday, the BCCI confirmed the venues for England’s one-day campaign, with matches scheduled for the major centres of Mumbai, Mohali, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata, which will also be hosting a one-off Twenty20. Prior to that, England also expect to play two extra Twenty20 matches against West Indies in late September, which had to be arranged to compensate their host broadcaster, Sky, for the collapse of the Stanford Super Series in 2008.”We are in discussions with the West Indies. There are several separate issues here,” Clarke told the BBC. “We have a contractual commitment to Sky and BBC. We have said we are interested in more preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup. The new captain would benefit from more opportunity to captain.”Clarke also claimed the matches would help the cash-strapped West Indies Cricket Board, with a suggestion that the matches would become an annual event. “There is the economic situation in the West Indies,” he added. “It is important to try to redress the balance economically of their game. It is important West Indies cricket is financially successful.”I’m not looking at it as two games, but more than that. We want to attract the the Caribbean community in this country back into cricket grounds. We are not looking at these games as vast money-spinners for English cricket.”A schedule similar to the one outlined by Clarke would enable England to complete their pre-Christmas obligations by mid-November, before flying to Colombo early next year, where Clarke suggested they would play a total of three ODIs and four Tests in Sri Lanka, two against Pakistan and two against Sri Lanka but the exact numbers are still to be confirmed.”Before Christmas we aim to be playing some ODIs – five – against Pakistan in UAE,” he said. “Then we will look to go to Sri Lanka, probably for two Tests and three ODIs in March, and we want to play two Tests against Pakistan – possibly in Sri Lanka – before then.”However, Carr told ESPNcricinfo that “a clarification was necessary”.

South Africa stalwarts Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher have both left the Warriors franchise and will re-join Cobras. The pair, who live in Cape Town, both want to spend more time at home and cite that as the main reason for the move.Kallis played most of his cricket in Cape Town and moved to Warriors in 2008-09 after a dispute with the Cobras management. Boucher, who grew up in East London and played for Warriors throughout his career, had a stint with Cobras in the 2007-08 season and then went back to the province of his birth, following the same dispute. Boucher will now return to Cape Town, where he has lived for the past few years.”For me Warriors is one of the best-run franchises in the country. It was a huge and difficult decision for me to leave,” Boucher said. “Cape Town is my home and I do need to be based there, to explore business opportunities for my future.”Boucher’s departure means that Warriors captain Davy Jacobs will have to take on the responsibility of keeping all the time. Jacobs, who played for Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded IPL, did not keep for Warriors during their Pro20 campaign last season because Boucher was available for the full tournament.The Warriors squad includes six nationally contracted players: Johan Botha, Colin Ingram, Wayne Parnell, Ashwell Prince, Rusty Theron and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. They have awarded 14 franchise contracts, two of which have gone to former internationals Makhaya Ntini and Nicky Boje. Warriors regulars Andrew Birch, Bevan Bennett, Garnett Kruger, Lyall Meyer, Jon-Jon and Kelly Smuts, and Craig Thyssen all received contracts.Two semi-professional contracts were given to up-and coming-players, right-arm medium-fast bowler Aya Gqamame and Eastern Province Player of the Year Athi Dyili. “It is a very good sign that the newly-contracted players are youngsters that are truly homegrown,” Chris Nenzani, the Eastern Cape Cricket chairman, said.Warriors won their first two trophies since the franchise system was implemented in the 2009-10 season, when they claimed the MTN40 and Standard Bank Pro20 crowns, but failed to defend their titles last season. Their head coach, Russell Domingo, has been appointed assistant coach of the national team and Warriors have not yet announced his replacement.

ScorecardAllrounder Matt Coles celebrated his 21st birthday by cracking the boundary that saved Kent from following-on against Derbyshire during a rain-affected third day of County Championship action in Canterbury.When heavy showers finally put paid to a protracted day, Derbyshire had reached 85 for 1 in their second innings for an overall lead of 193 going into the fourth and final day.In search of their second centuries of this Division Two contest, visiting batsmen Wayne Madsen and Usman Khawaja had reached 43 and 32 not out respectively, before rain arrived for a third and final time just after 5pm. Kent’s only success came after six overs when Chesney Hughes (eight) drove on the up against Ashley Shaw and only succeeded in picking out Azhar Mahmood at mid-off.The hosts had started the day under the cosh on 198 for 4 in their first innings and needing 311 to avoid batting again as they replied to Derbyshire’s 460 all out. They soon lost nightwatchman Neil Saker leg before wicket to the eighth ball of the day from all-rounder Tim Groenewald, who then enticed Darren Stevens to play across the line and also depart lbw, this time for seven.Experienced duo Geraint Jones and James Tredwell teamed up to add a useful 46 for the seventh wicket before Jones, having just celebrated an 80-ball half-century, went leg before to Jonathan Clare’s first delivery with the second new ball.Tredwell took three boundaries in an over when fellow off-spinner Azeem Rafiq attempted to bowl on with a greasy ball and had posted an eye-catching 34 when he fell, caught behind from an airy drive, to the seventh ball after lunch from Jonathan Clare.Coles and Azhar Mahmood took Kent to their third batting bonus point and it was Coles, with a glorious square drive on the up, that eventually eased Kent to 311 and alleviate the risk of following on. Mahmood went soon after, lbw to the impressive Groenewald – who finished with 4 wickets for 64 runs.However, Coles and last man Shaw survived a further eight overs in helping Kent to 352 all out – their best total to date in this season’s championship.

Michael Yardy, the Sussex captain, has returned to cricket for the first time since leaving England’s World Cup campaign early due to depression. He took charge of the Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Netherlands, at Hove, having flown home before the quarter-final against Sri Lanka in March.It was a successful comeback for Yardy who took 1 for 36 off eight overs with his left-arm spin and contributed a useful 39 from 52 balls in Sussex’s successful run chase.”I would like to take this opportunity to thank the supporters, and all those who have sent personal messages for their support over the last month and to the media for giving me and those close to me the privacy we have needed,” Yardy said. “I now intend to spend some time concentrating on my cricket and would ask that people respect my decision to focus on my performances for Sussex and continue to give me the space I need.”Yardy has been careful not to rush his return and has sat out Sussex’s first three Championship matches with Murray Goodwin captaining in his absence. Yardy was named in England’s summer performance programme squad last month, which consists of players the selectors feel are likely to be involved during the season, but it remains to be seen whether he returns to the international stage in either one-day internationals or Twenty20s.He became a key part of the 20-over side during last year’s World Twenty20 in the Caribbean which earned him a recall to the one-day side last summer.

Kevin Pietersen will undergo surgery on a hernia following the World Cup and has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League. Pietersen’s injury was confirmed after the team returned from Australia last month and will be managed through the rest of the World Cup.Pietersen will be out of action for around six weeks which means he won’t be able to take up his contract with Deccan Charges, but is expected to be fit in time for England’s first Test of the home season against Sri Lanka, at Cardiff, on May 26.”I’m obviously extremely disappointed to have picked up this hernia injury but I’ve been able to manage it so far throughout the World Cup and will continue to do so under the guidance of the England team’s medical staff,” Pietersen said. “It will no doubt impact my preparation but careful management should see me still play a significant role in the team’s campaign.”Representing England in a World Cup is something I’ve been looking forward to for the past four years and I’m excited by the prospect of helping the team achieve something special here on the sub-continent against the best teams in the world. I’m bitterly disappointed to be missing the IPL but can take comfort from the fact that I will be fit for the start of a very exciting English summer against Sri Lanka and India.”Pietersen picked up a groin strain during the one-day series in Australia but only missed one match. However, with only three days back at home between that tour and leaving for the World Cup there was little time for players to overcome any injury concerns.”Following an MRI scan on return to the UK after the Australia ODI series a diagnosis of a hernia was established. The nature of the injury is such that it can be managed for the duration of the World Cup,” Dr Nicholas Peirce, the ECB chief medical officer, said. “As the symptoms have been getting worse a decision has now been made that the appropriate course of action is for Kevin to undergo a routine operation upon his return to the UK after England’s World Cup campaign.”Kevin will continue to be managed through the World Cup and we would expect him to make a full recovery following a recuperation and rehabilitation period of approximately six weeks after the operation.”Pietersen has taken on a new role at the World Cup, having being promoted to open the batting alongside Andrew Strauss. He has looked in good form during his three innings with scores of 39, 31 and 59 but England need him to convert those starts. Pietersen spent time off the field during Ireland’s run chase on Wednesday but now that his injury is public it will be interesting to see if he is allowed a substitute should he need to leave the field again.England’s next World Cup match is against South Africa, in Chennai, on Sunday.

Habib Bank Limited eased past Water and Power Development Authority at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to seal their place in the tournament final. A collective bowling effort, four bowlers including Danish Kaneria, bagged two wickets each, while Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, the openers, struck half-centuries to ensure a seven-wicket win. Sohaib Maqsood top-scored for WAPDA with 87 but was short of support from the other end; only one other batsman went past 20 as WAPDA were bowled out for 204. A 143-run opening stand between two players who’ve represented Pakistan shut out WAPDA from the game and HBL completed their win – their fourth in five games – with 34 balls to spare.A lower-order revival led by Sarmad Bhatti and an all-round effort from Mohammad Talha handed National Bank of Pakistan a 32-run win over Pakistan International Airlines at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Bhatti rescued his team from a precarious situation at 79 for 5 and then 114 for 6, adding 70 with Talha followed by 64 with Uzair-ul-Haq to set the opponents a challenging target of 249. Bhatti top-scored for his team with 73, while Talha chipped in with a quickfire 49 that included three sixes. Uzair rattled PIA in their reply, picking up four wickets to reduce them to 95 for 6 at one stage. Shoaib Khan snr and Sarfraz Ahmed, though, helped the team recover with a 108-run stand but it proved unsustainable. Talha returned to bag two wickets as the innings closed on 216, sealing NBP’s place in the final.

World Cup-winning veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas were left out of Sri Lanka’s final World Cup squad of 15 players named on Friday by the national selection committee headed by Aravinda de Silva.The squad consists of 11 members who represented Sri Lanka in the three-match one-day series in Australia, which the visitors won 2-1, giving them their first ODI series win in Australia. The one surprise was that left-arm spinner Rangana Herath was picked ahead of offspinner Suraj Randiv.Both Jayasuriya and Vaas had been named in the provisional squad of 30, and there was speculation that either one of the two players would make it to the final team. They had indicated to the selectors that they would want to play in another World Cup before announcing their retirements from international cricket. Both players have retired from Test cricket but have been playing one-day and Twenty20 cricket. Vaas last played an ODI in August, 2008, while Jayasuriya last played a 50-over game for Sri Lanka in December, 2009.The only surviving member of the 1996 World Cup winning side is Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired from Test cricket after the first Test against India in July last year, but has remained eligible for selection in the 50-over game, and was always expected to make the final 15.Kumar Sangakkara will lead the side with Mahela Jayawardene as his deputy.India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh host the 2011 World Cup, which will take place from February 19 to April 2.Sri Lanka World Cup squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

Match Facts

Friday, December 10
Start time 14.30 (0900 GMT)
James Franklin provided a perfect end to the positive approach showed by New Zealand in the fourth ODI. Can they carry on in the same vein?•AFP

The Big Picture

The fourth ODI hinted at a New Zealand revival. Their approach was certainly different and refreshing. It was visible in their batting and bowling, and they were just about pinned down only because of Yusuf Pathan’s brutality. Their fans will hope that New Zealand continue with this positive approach in the final ODI. Despite being put into bat under overcast conditions in Bangalore, they weren’t circumspect. They didn’t focus on survival, as they had tried to do but failed earlier in the series, but chose to attack. It didn’t feel like a desperate attempt either – they never swung wildly – but a positive strategy to turn their fortunes around. Their bowlers too, nearly did the job, but were shoved out of the contest by a violent knock. They haven’t won an ODI in nearly four months and something had to give. This new approach might well be the right path to lead them out of the hole.For their part, India are likely to view the top-order collapse in Bangalore as an aberration and revel in the fact that the situation produced the best out of Yusuf, and raised hope of removing a weak-link in the lower order. They might also see their death-over bowling woes in the last game – 63 runs in the last five overs – as an aberration as it was Ashish Nehra, normally their best bowler in such situations, who gave away 38 in his last two overs. And even then, just like New Zealand didn’t account for Yusuf, India were blindsided by James Franklin.

Pitch and conditions

The good news is that Chennai, which had heavy rains earlier in the week, hasn’t seen a downpour since Wednesday. The bad news, though, is that the forecast suggests that it might rain on Friday.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India:WWWWW
New Zealand: LLLLL

Watch out for…

Is Martin Guptill on the cusp of breaking free from his old failing of throwing away his starts? Or is he still stuck in the same rut? He played a skillful knock in the previous ODI, using conventional shots as attacking options, but fell when set.Ashish Nehra is no Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis, of course, but he is a capable bowler in the end overs of an innings. He is the man MS Dhoni turns to during both bowling and batting Powerplays, and in the final overs. If he had got complacent – there is no evidence to suspect that – the fourth ODI would have been a wake-up call.

Teams

New Zealand could focus on one change: Jamie How hasn’t grabbed his chances and might be replaced by Kane Williamson, whose offbreaks provide another option. The case against Williamson, articulated publicly by former New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan, is that he is not a perfect fit for No. 3. The view is that Williamson slows down the run-rate as he is the type of batsman who needs time at the crease to get going. Is it just a perception? Can Williamson, given enough experience in that slot, change his game? Or is this not a good time to extend him that opportunity as the World Cup is around the corner? He could be pushed lower down the order, but would that role fit him?New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Jamie How/Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 James Franklin, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Andy McKayIndia, too, will probably make one change: they will most likely give Zaheer Khan a rest and bring back Munaf Patel.India (probable): 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Saurabh Tiwary, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Stats and trivia

• Nehra conceded 70 runs in nine overs in the last game. It was the ninth time he had leaked more than 70 in an ODI and he holds the dubious record of doing it the most times.Three other bowlers – Waqar, James Anderson, and Naved-ul-Hasan – have given more than 70 runs seven times.
• Yuvraj Singh took his 75th catch to dismiss Guptill in the fourth game of the series. Only six other Indians – Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, and Virender Sehwag – have caught more.

Quotes

“We will look at it as we do every game – to win it. I know that’s hard to say after losing so many games in a row but we still think we can do it. The batsmen showed how good they can be. If we get that performance again we hope our bowlers can do better.”