All posts by csb10.top

Hopes that the USA would become a major force in world cricket were effectively ended with the announcement by the ICC that Project USA had been scrapped.An ICC statement said that “in light of the inability of the United States of America Cricket Association to address the fundamental governance issues of the game inthe USA, the executive board decided to immediately terminate its initiative to stage international cricket in the USA to generate funds to develop the game in this country.”Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, said that the board was left with littlechoice but to make this decision. “The decision to terminate Project USA is taken with some regret. Cricket is growing in America and Gary Hopkins who was appointed to run this project had done some excellent work in preparing the way for international cricket to be played there,” Mani said. “Nevertheless, the success of this project relies on having an effective governing body for cricket in the United States.”Our experience in dealing with the USACA and the current controversyover the governance of the game in this country has convinced the boardthat it cannot support investing ICC members funds in this project andit has been terminated.”Constant in-fighting within the board and growing animosity between senior officials led to the ICC suspending the project in February. But rather than grab the bull by the horns, the USACA executive did almost nothing except provide further examples of its inability to act decisively.In the same week that the ICC met, the USACA’s president, Gladstone Dainty, embroiled the association in further controversy when he suspended the secretary and attempted to disqualify candidates after the poll had closed.There was also a feeling in some circles that the ICC needed the USA more than USA needed it and that it wouldn’t dare to abandon the project. That was always a risky strategy, and that particular bluff has been well and truly called.

The ECB has secured an extension to their sponsorship of the County Championship by Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society running up to 2009. Currently known under the name Frizzell, the Championship will now take the name Liverpool Victoria – the company’s main public brand.The deal is worth £1.2 million to the ECB over the four years and Ian Cordwell, Liverpool Victoria’s Group Marketing Director, said: “The sponsorship has been very successful for Frizzell and we now want to transfer the benefits of the media coverage and other exposure to our main public brand Liverpool Victoria, which is promoted to a wider audience. We believe there is a good match between cricket followers and our target audience, and the sponsorship will therefore allow us to reach a large percentage of our existing and potential customers.”The ECB’s Commercial Director John Perera says the new deal highlights the current strength of cricket. “We are delighted that Liverpool Victoria has decided to extend the sponsorship of the County Championship for another four years. This demonstrates the popularity and appeal of cricket to commercial partners at a very exciting time for the sport.”

Saqlain Mushtaq is unlikely to be considered for the Pakistan squad to tour India after failing to recover in time from knee surgery. Saqlain, whose last Test appearance produced unflattering figures of 1 for 204 against India at Multan last year, is still on crutches, and has little or no chance of getting games under his belt before the squad is chosen on February 18.Saqlain enjoyed a wonderful tour in 1999, when his offspin was the difference between the two teams in an epic Chennai Test decided by his dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar. But despite an impressive haul of 208 wickets in his 49 Test, Saqlain has been on the periphery in recent seasons, with Danish Kaneria now firmly ensconced as the premier slow bowler.Another to miss out on the Indian experience will be Umar Gul, whose intelligent use of swing and seam won Pakistan the Lahore Test against India last year. Gul broke down during that game and was subsequently diagnosed with three stress fractures in his spine. South African specialists, who have been monitoring his progress, don’t expect to have a clear picture until at least June.In Saqlain’s absence, the likes of Shahid Afridi – who was in great form in the VB series and who made a thrilling Test hundred at Kolkata in 1999 – might come into contention to supplement the spin-bowling component.There are also injury concerns over Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, neither of who played a part in Pakistan’s improved displays at the denouement of the VB Series in Australia. However, both should be fit to face India, if selected.

Wasim Akram, Courtney Walsh and Henry Olonga are among an astonishing array of past and present Test stars to play for Lashings against the Scottish Saltires in a special Twenty20-format evening game on Friday, 25 June.The Lashings batting line-up includes players such as Richie Richardson, Grant Flower, Gregg Blewett and Shahid Afridi, and under the management of Alvin Kallicharan the star-studded team will surely provide spectacular entertainment for the Edinburgh crowd. More than a thousand tickets for the game have already been sold, which is thought to be a record advance sale for a cricket match in Scotland.Lashings Richie Richardson (capt), Jimmy Adams, Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Gregg Blewett, Sherwin Campbell, Vaspert Drakes, Grant Flower, Rashid Latif (wk), Junior Murray, Henry Olonga, Franklin Rose, Courtney Walsh, Stuart Williams.
Scottish Saltires Craig Wright (capt), Yasir Arafat, Stewart Bruce, Majid Haq, Dougie Lockhart (wk), Gregor Maiden, Dewald Nel, Sridharan Sriram, Ian Stanger, Greig Williamson, Ryan Watson, Simon Smith(12th man).

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Australia broke their semi-final jinx at the Champions Trophy with a34-run triumph over a spirited New Zealand at Mohali to enter their firstfinal. In a game which turned out to be a lot closer than expected, New Zealand,seemingly down and out at 35 for 6 chasing 241, fought back with anincredible 103-run stand between Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram. Vettorimade 79, his second-highest score in ODIs, but even his effort wasn’tenough to make up for the shocking collapse of their top order.As has been the norm in this tournament, this pitch was another on whichrun-scoring wasn’t easy. The New Zealand bowlers showed that after StephenFleming won the toss, as Kyle Mills – who finished with 4 for 38 – reducedAustralia to 4 for 2 by the third over. Half-centuries by Ricky Pontingand Andrew Symonds – both scored 58 – lifted Australia to a competitive240, but that seemed more than sufficient when New Zealand’s top order wasblown away by Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken.Perhaps wary of the fact that this was the same pitch on which SouthAfrica’s bowlers bundled Pakistan out for 89, New Zealand’s approach atthe start was to play cautiously and see off the new-ballchallenge posed by Lee and McGrath. They survived five overs withoutlosing a wicket, then lost six in a heap as their technical deficiencieswere horribly exposed.McGrath began the slide, defeating Lou Vincent outside off like he hasdone countless batsmen in his distinguished career. A peach of a deliveryfrom Lee – pitching just off, and ducking in at a furious pace – was fartoo much for Nathan Astle to handle, while Hamish Marshall soon becameMcGrath’s second victim. Fleming shaped well, then edged a drive, whilePeter Fulton and Brendon McCullum were soon swept away as well.The crowd at Mohali would have been preparing for a very early finish, butVettori and Oram had other ideas. Australia had an early chance to nip thepartnership, but Michael Hussey made a mess of a regulation slip catchwhen Vettori was on 5. Neither batsman needed a second invitation as theyslowly got on top of the attack, as the pronounced seam movement graduallyeased. The fast bowlers, so potent at the start, suddenly lookedinsipid as Oram and Vettori found the gaps at will. Oram stood tall andclipped the ball effortlessly through the on side, while Vettori preferredto move to leg and squeeze it through backward point and third man.The runs came thick and fast, the asking rate hovered at around six anover, and Ponting was forced to turn to the spin of Symonds, who finallybroke the stand, turning it enough to beat Oram and have him stumped.Vettori kept the fight going, audaciously shuffling outside off andclipping it to leg when Ponting packed the areas square on the off side.Even after he was bowled off the pads, Mills and Bond continued the fight,adding 26 for the last wicket before finally succumbing.New Zealand fought hard with the bat, and they were similarly competitivein the field earlier in the afternoon, as all the bowlers except JamesFranklin gave the Australian top order plenty to ponder about. However, unlike NewZealand’s shockingly brittle top order, Australia had the class to combatthe conditions.

After their openers left early, the rest of the batsmen all contributedcrucial knocks, with Ponting and Symonds leading the way. The key wasregular partnerships – the third, fourth and fifth wickets put together66, 54 and 65, ensuring that New Zealand never had the luxury of bowlingto two new batsmen during the middle overs.Ponting and Damien Martyn – whose innings of 26 was worth a lot more -started the recovery process. The early part of his knock was patchy, butonce Ponting got into his stride the Mohali crowd was treated to somegorgeous strokeplay, with his driving down the ground being absolutelyexhilarating. When Martyn was trapped on the sweep, Michael Hussey,promoted to No.5, took over, playing second fiddle perfectly to anincreasingly aggressive Ponting.Fleming marshalled his resources well, shuffling his bowlers around anddelaying the third Powerplay when Ponting and Martyn were tonking it allaround, but Australia’s depth in batting ensured that New Zealand neverseized the initiative. Ponting’s dismissal, for example, brought Symondsto the middle, which meant little respite for New Zealand as heimmediately got stuck into Vettori. A straight hit over long-on for sixwas followed by a slog-sweep for four as Vettori leaked 28 in his lastfour overs after conceding 13 in his first six.Australia lost their way in the last ten overs, though – despite havingsix wickets in hand, they only managed 52 as New Zealand finished stronglyin the field. A total of 240 promised a competitive match, and despite thewashout at the start, there was enough drama to keep the Mohali crowdentertained till late at night.How they were outAustraliaShane Watson c Fulton b Mills 0 (3 for 1)
Fetched one from outside off and top-edged a pull to mid-offAdam Gilchrist c Oram b Mills 3 (4 for 2)
Lobbed a flick to square legDamien Martyn lbw b Vettori 26 (70 for 3)
Missed a sweep and trapped plumb in frontRicky Ponting c Vettori b Mills 58 (123 for 4)
Miscued a pull to mid-onMichael Hussey c Marshall b Franklin 35 (188 for 5)
Short ball cut straight to pointAndrew Symonds b Bond 58 (211 for 6)
Shuffled too far across; leg stump pushed backMichael Clarke c Vettori b Mills 14 (220 for 7)
Slogged to third manBrett Lee b Bond 5 (223 for 8)
Made room to flay and missedMitchell Johnson run out 3 (236 for 9)
Direct hit by the bowler at the non-striker’s endNew ZealandLou Vincent c Ponting b McGrath 1 (16 for 1)
In the corridor, edged to second slipNathan Astle b Lee 0 (20 for 2)
Perfect indipper, crashed between bat and pad into middle stumpHamish Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 5 (30 for 3)
Tried to cut, and edged to the keeperStephen Fleming c Ponting b Bracken 15 (30 for 4)
Full delivery swinging away, edged to second slipPeter Fulton b McGrath 2 (34 for 5)
Shouldered arms to a straight ball on off stumpBrendon McCullum c Martyn b Bracken 1 (35 for 6)
Inside-edged a flick to mid-onJacob Oram st Gilchrist b Symonds 43 (138 for 7)
Daniel Vettori b Johnson 79 (180 for 9)
Kyle Mills c Gilchrist b Lee 21 (206 all out)

Michael Vaughan was delighted with his team’s performance after England had dug deep to secure a draw on the final day of their series in the Caribbean. “I hope everyone is as happy as we all feel,” said Vaughan, whose 140 was instrumental in protecting England’s 3-0 series lead. “It’s a fantastic achievement by all who contributed, not just the 11 who played but the whole squad and the support staff.”We always felt like we had 12 on the field because of our support out here,” said Vaughan, in reference to the thousands of England fans who made the trip. “We really appreciate that. It’s been a historic tour. We are a young side and we must now build on this and drive forward for the New Zealand series in the summer.”England had entered the match with the prospect of inflicting West Indies’ first home series whitewash, but that ambition was dramatically thwarted by Brian Lara’s magnificent unbeaten quadruple-century. “It was a privilege to see Lara score 400,” said Vaughan, “but we played very well, and now we are looking forward to a good one-day series. Hopefully we can take that trophy as well.”Lara had mixed emotions about his achievement, as he spoke to Sky Sports after the match. “I am very happy, but at the end of the day my spirit is still dampened by the series result. If we are going to learn from this game, we must put in the hard work and maybe get the result another time. All I want is to bring more cohesion in the West Indies team and our people. These performances, let’s share them out, that would have more value than anything else.”The seven-match one-day series offers a new challenge. “We are now starting afresh and going to Guyana,” said Lara. “We need to start on a positive note. That is important for me and this team. I think we have learnt from England how to put a game together. They have batted and bowled in partnerships and they have played like a team over all five days. We need to learn to play five days to win Test matches.”The Man of the Series award went to Steve Harmison, for his series haul of 23 wickets. He had entered the match with the prospect of breaking England’s record of 27 wickets in the Caribbean, jointly held by Angus Fraser and John Snow, but could add only one more scalp on a featherbed of a pitch.”There was talk of a record but a wicket like that is not breaking any [bowling] records,” said Harmison. “I think Angus Fraser was happy in the commentary box. Before I came here I wanted to establish myself in the England team. I feel I have done that now and hopefully I can improve as a Test cricketer.”

Monday’s Australia-New Zealand clash will be the 10th one-day international at the Nehru Stadium in Pune. Both Australia and New Zealand have played once each here, with contrasting fortunes: Australia beat India by eight wickets in 2000-01, while New Zealand suffered a five-wicket at the hands of India in 1995-96.

The past record at this venue suggests that bowling first is clearly the way to success: seven of the nine previous ODIs have been won by the team chasing a target. Winning the toss isn’t necessarily a blessing here, though: only four times has the team winning the toss gone on to win the match as well.

One of the two occasions when the team batting first won was in a 1996 World Cup match, when Kenya pulled off a stunning upset against West Indies. Kenya batted first and managed just 166, but then bundled West Indies out for a mere 93 to win by a convincing 73-run margin.

Only once in nine attempts has the team batting first scored more than 250 here. India achieved that feat, making 286 against Sri Lanka in 1998-99, and ended up winning the match by a comfortable 51-run margin. In the next match played at Pune – against Australia in 2000-01 – the Indians came close again, notching up 248, with Hemang Badani scoring his maiden ODI hundred. It wasn’t enough, though, as Mark Waugh struck a delightful unbeaten 133 to ease Australia to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory with 29 balls to spare.

New Zealand will hope Chris Cairns recovers in time for Monday’s ODI. The only time New Zealand played here, Cairns thumped 103 off 87 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes, and then took 3 for 37 from 10 overs. He won the Man-of-the-Match award, despite New Zealand losing the game.

Significant changes to the role of New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre at Lincoln University are part of the on-going development of that asset, and of the strategic plan under which the sport operates.Martin Snedden, the chief executive of NZC, said feedback from an independent report done on the HPC was that there was insufficient integration between the Black Caps, the High Performance Centre and the first-class coaches, and he said changes that have been put in place will address this finding. While there would be more communication and involvement of coaches, such as that which has seen three of them, Bruce Blair (Northern Districts), Mark O’Donnell (Auckland) and Vaughn Johnson (Wellington) selected to take part in an assistant’s role on the tour of India and Pakistan, it was not intended that the structure result in a cloning of coaches.Snedden said it was a case of everyone going in the same direction but not necessarily thinking about doing things in the same way. “We don’t want to take individualism out of it,” he said.There would be a restructuring of the coaching education system developed by John Howell. This would now be divided between High Performance needs and the participation side of the game. As a result, Alec Astle’s development programme would be responsible for coaching education from the earliest stages through to Level Two.John F Reid would then be responsible for what happened after that point. There would also be more work done with the coaching directors from the Major Associations to improve the systems beyond that already in place. Howell had pulled together the bones of the coaching education over the last 10 years and now it was time to up the quality and deliver something much better, Snedden said.He said there had been a misconception, even among cricket people in New Zealand that the HPC and the Cricket Academy were one and the same thing. “The Academy is just one part of the HPC and we need to communicate that to make people aware,” he said.There had also been a look taken at where the Academy, and its philosophy, fitted into NZC’s overall pathway and what role NZC and the Major Associations would play in that. Snedden said there was a need to avoid centralisation although NZC wanted to ensure it maintained responsibility for the elite level players. But there was also a requirement for players to a pre-determined level to be the responsibility of the Majors.It was possible that it might be something like a mobile academy so that participants didn’t always have to go to Lincoln, and the academy could go out to the Majors. That would allow utilisation of facilities at a local level, while also avoiding the need to duplicate the resource that the HPC provides at the elite level.Up until the Under-17 level players were the responsibility of their Associations, and it was once taking part in that tournament that the talent identification started to take effect. It was after the Under-19 tournament level that NZC started to play a larger role in the development of players. NZC would have to make sure that the Majors could do the job.There would also be more focus in research and development, something that Snedden said New Zealand as a country had tended to shy away from. “Now we have to understand that if we are going to be innovative and create an edge over our opponents we have got to be prepared to do the research,” he said.

Central Districts’ joy at dismissing Wellington for a low score was short lived, Matthew Horne made runs on a rainy day, and Otago were placed well at the end of the first day of the latest round of State Championship matches.1st day close Central Districts 55 for 8 (Franklin 4-22, Gillespie 4-29) trail Wellington 181(Parlane 40, Franklin 39, Thompson 7-55) by 126 runs
ScorecardAfter dismissing Wellington for 181 at McLean Park in Napier, Central Districts would have felt it was a job well done. But by the end of the day the smiles were upside-down, when they were reduced to 55 for 8. Ewen Thompson dominated Wellington with seven wickets for 55. One batsman after another trudged back to the stands as Thompson ran through the top order, barring Neal Parlane (40) and Luke Franklin (27), who put on a 74-run stand, before falling to the same bowler. Brendon Diamante achieved his maiden first-class wicket on debut when having Mark Gillespie leg before wicket to finish with one for 24. After the fine start, Central Districts were stunned when Mark Gillespie and James Franklin came out with a vengeance and grabbed eight wickets. The lead, and the form of their bowlers augurs well for Wellington, who made a strong bid for a place in the Championship final.1st day close Auckland 143 for 3 (Horne 91) v Northern Districts
ScorecardBecause of inclement weather, Auckland could play out only 48 overs on the day. In that time, Matthew Horne made the most of his stay in the middle to finish the day on 91, scored off 144 balls. He played a vital hand for Auckland who ended the day on 143 for 3. There was disappointment for Tim McIntosh when he was run out for one. Mark Richardson scored 14 while Lou Vincent, returning from injury, scored 12. Rob Nicol was on 11 as stumps were taken.1st day close Otago 278 for 5 (Wasim 66, Lawson 50) v Canterbury
ScorecardCanterbury asked Otago to bat first at Alexandra where an uninterrupted day was enjoyed, a rare thing in recent weeks. Otago made the most of the opportunity to finish on 278 for five wickets. Mohammad Wasim’s good run of form in recent weeks continued as he scored 66 in a 75-run partnership with Chris Gaffaney. They parted when Gaffaney was out for 29. Wasim went on his way soon after, and it was left to Robbie Lawson and Marcel McKenzie to rebuild the momentum of the innings. They added 94 runs before Lawson was out for 50 while McKenzie followed for 46. By stumps, Gareth Hopkins and Jeff Wilson had restored things, leaving the way clear for a second day assault. Hopkins was on 24, and Wilson on 34. Stephen Cunis took 2 for 38 and Andrew Ellis 2 for 47.

Jagmohan Dalmiya reckons that the contracts row, which hogged so much attention in the build-up to the World Cup, is certain to be resolved now that Ehsan Mani has taken over from Malcolm Gray as the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a thinly-veiled attack on the previous incumbent, Dalmiya said that the issue had not been “handled the right way”.In a television interview, Dalmiya went on to add, “Everybody wants to serve the game well, but the methods are different. I have no problem with Gray. No jealousy or anything. Somewhere down the line, it might have appeared that we were not going in the right direction. That’s why we are not great buddies.”The ICC have withheld India’s share of the World Cup revenue, which comes to almost US$9 million, until an agreement can be reached with the Global Cricket Corporation (GCC), which marketed the event. The GCC had filed for compensation of $50m, claiming breach of player contracts.Dalmiya and Mani worked closely together during the Dalmiya’s tenure as ICC chief, and he’s convinced that Mani will sort things out at the earliest. “He (Mani) has now put the matter on the right track. It could have been sorted out earlier. I know him personally and I’m sure he’ll do what is in the best interest of the game.”Dalmiya launched a scathing attack on the GCC last month, claiming that they had not marketed the tournament properly. But a full-scale confrontation was avoided when Mani intervened. “We have accepted Mani’s request to avoid confrontation and also do not want the matter settled through arbitration,” said Dalmiya. “There is a lot of behind-the-scenes activity going on which I do not want to disclose now, but I am confident the matter will be settled amicably.”