The Bangladesh coach is braced for the likelihood of a return to form for Kevin Pietersen at some stage during the two-Test series against England, which gets underway at Chittagong on Friday, but believes that his team has the bowlers to keep his attacki

Andrew Miller in Chittagong10-Mar-2010Bangladesh’s coach, Jamie Siddons, is braced for the likelihood of a return to form for Kevin Pietersen at some stage during the two-Test series against England, which gets underway at Chittagong on Friday, but believes that his team has the bowlers to keep his attacking instincts at bay.Pietersen’s alarming form slump has been the story of England’s tour to date, with just 69 runs from seven innings in all contests since arriving in Dhaka at the end of last month. Moreover, he has been dismissed by spin in each of his last five innings, and having named a squad packed with slow bowlers, including three left-armers in Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak and Enamul Haque Jr, Bangladesh intends to extend his lean spell for as long as they possibly can.”I think he’ll come out and try to play some shots, which will be good,” Siddons told Cricinfo. “He’ll either get us or we’ll get him early, which would be nice, but I hope he keeps failing because it’ll be one less batsman to worry about. It’s difficult when you’re out of form, as a right-hander in these conditions. Very difficult.”Pietersen’s single biggest weakness is against left-arm spin. With the ball turning away from the bat, and with the knowledge of a series of notable dismissals undermining his otherwise unshakeable confidence, he now appears to be in two minds when playing his favourite sweeps and leg-side flicks. In the one-day series he fell to that form of bowling in each of his three innings, and he also succumbed to the part-timer, Mehrab Hossain Jr, in the first innings of the warm-up game at Chittagong.Siddons confirmed that Razzak, who claimed Pietersen’s scalp in two of those ODIs, was the likeliest candidate to partner the captain, Shakib, with Bangladesh’s second allrounder, Mahmudullah, set to complete a three-pronged spin attack with his offbreaks. “If he struggles against left-armers, he’s got two bloody good ones against him,” said Siddons. “He’s a great player, there’s no doubt about it, at some point in the next four innings he’ll have a performance, but hopefully it won’t hurt us. We’ve got to get through all eleven of England’s batsmen. KP is just one of them.”Bangladesh have been preparing for the Test series at the National Stadium in Mirpur for the past week, a situation that left Siddons less than impressed with the scheduling, seeing as their opponents have been familiarising themselves with the Chittagong conditions ever since the third ODI on March 5. Nevertheless, he has reported a clean bill of health within the squad, and confirmed that Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain will spearhead the pace attack, just as they did during the one-dayers.Raqibul Hasan, who starred in the England warm-up with a century and a fifty in consecutive innings, is slated to come in at No. 4, with Junaid Siddique and Aftab Ahmed likely to flank him at 3 and 5 respectively, unless the selectors take a punt and promote the star of the recent New Zealand series, Mahmudullah, from his current No. 8 berth to the top order, in which case Naeem Islam will come in to balance the side.Either way, there is no place in the set-up for the country’s most experienced batsman, Mohammad Ashraful, whose omission from the squad was confirmed shortly after he was bowled for 30 in his second innings of the England warm-up. “At the start of that match it was between Raqibul and Ash, but Raq stood up and made it an easy decision,” said Siddons. “Most of us want Ash in the team, but only if he’s making runs. We’re definitely a better team with him in there making hundreds, and he’s had a lot of chances, but unfortunately he can’t find his form.”With 53 appearances from a Bangladesh total of 64 Tests, Ashraful is by some distance the country’s senior batsman, but Siddons was not worried about the void his absence has created, even though the next most capped player in the starting XI is likely to be the wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim, with 19. “Experience doesn’t count unless you’re performing,” Siddons said. “Ash’s stats just aren’t stacking up.”Bangladesh have achieved just three Test victories since their elevation in November 2000, and all of those have come against weak opponents. They start the series as massive outsiders, but Siddons reiterated that performances are more important to him than results.”Each game is different, each challenge is different,” he said. “Our matches are now going five days which is a great start, but for me it’s about improvement day by day, game by game, and ironing out our weaknesses. These days, it’s not just the one particular thing that is costing us games, we’re not playing rash shots anymore, we’re getting out fighting which is a good thing.”But we worry about ourselves,” he added. “England are having their ups and downs with new guys coming in from the one-day team. They are trying to find their feet, and our attack is different from the ones they’ve been playing. If we’ll bowl a ball in the right areas, they’ll get out. And hopefully they’ll get out for less than we make.”Probable Bangladesh team 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Aftab Ahmed, 6 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 7 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Shafiul Islam.

The coach Mark Greatbatch has called on New Zealand’s batsmen to be more consistent and ruthless so they can challenge Australia

Cricinfo staff12-Mar-2010The coach Mark Greatbatch has called on New Zealand’s batsmen to be more consistent and ruthless so they can challenge Australia. Greatbatch doesn’t think his side has gone backwards during the Chappell-Hadlee Series defeat, but he wants more runs from his order starting with the final ODI in Wellington on Saturday.”Hopefully you see fight in the players across the board,” he said. “Yes, our batting is not consistent enough and needs to be more ruthless. When guys get in they need to finish the job, and they know that.”Australia have registered one hundred and seven half-centuries during the first four games while the hosts have managed four fifties, including two to Ross Taylor. “It’s pretty tough to win a series with numbers like that,” Greatbatch said. “There’s definitely some improvement needed.”Greatbatch said the issue had been spoken about and it was up to the players to make the changes. “The individual needs to take personal responsibility to be better,” he said. “Whoever it is, if he’s on 50 he needs to get 80 or 100. If it’s the fifth bowler, he goes for 40 instead of 60.”Nathan Hauritz, the offspinner, said Australia would be chasing another victory to finish off the limited-overs leg of the tour. “We’ve copped a fair bit of stick since we have been out here,” he said, “so the boys would be pretty keen to wrap it up 4-1.”

Saurabh Tiwary hit an enterprising fifty and Kieron Pollard played a delightful cameo to charge Mumbai to a strong 184 for 5 which proved beyond Bangalore’s reach

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera21-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outSaurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu revived Mumbai with a 67-run stand•Indian Premier League

Everything changed in the last five overs of the Mumbai Indians’ innings. The game was in a deadlock at the end of 15 overs with Mumbai on 107 for 4 – some might have even felt that Royal Challengers Bangalore held the edge – but things took a dramatic turn from there on. Saurabh Tiwary hit an enterprising half-century and Kieron Pollard played a delightful cameo to charge Mumbai to 184 for 5 at the DY Patil Stadium. It was a bridge too far even for the batting-heavy Bangalore and they never really threatened to get anywhere close to the target. The 35-run win took Mumbai to the final, and sealed their qualification for the Champions League Twenty20 to be held in September.It was always going to be a difficult chase and things got really tough for Bangalore in the tenth over with the fall of Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries. Bangalore had reached 80 for 2 from nine overs and had already lost Kevin Pietersen to a smart leg-side stumping by Ambati Rayudu off Harbhajan Singh; they then suffered the twin blows that effectively killed the contest. Uthappa was in hot form, collecting 18 runs from Harbhajan’s over with the help of two thumping sixes, but he dragged a slower one from Pollard straight to deep midwicket.Before Bangalore could recover from that asphyxiating blow, they lost Dravid, who had played a fluent knock, to a run-out resulting from a misunderstanding with Ross Taylor. Pollard removed both Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey and though Taylor hung around for a while, he couldn’t produce any miracle tonight. Bangalore were left to rue their ordinary effort in the field in the last five overs where they lost the game.The game actually changed in character twice during Mumbai’s innings: first after the first time-out was taken at the end of seven overs, and second from the 15th over onwards. Mumbai had recovered after the early fall of Sachin Tendulkar, courtesy an impish knock from Rayudu who counter-attacked initially before settling down, to reach 62 for 2 in seven overs, but were gradually choked by the slower bowlers. In the next six overs, before the second time-out was taken, only 31 runs came with the addition of two wickets.Things looked desperate for Mumbai but Tiwary looted 17 runs from the 16th over bowled by Jacques Kallis to turn things around. The first delivery, a slower one, was swung over the midwicket boundary; the fourth was bludgeoned to midwicket for a four; and the fifth ran away to fine-leg boundary via an inside-edge. Mumbai had broken free and continued to indulge themselves in the end overs.Anil Kumble, who, before then, had combined well with Pietersen, handed back the initiative as he conceded 17 runs in the 17th over. It was Tiwary, again, who did the damage. He made use of a freehit to collect a boundary to backward square-leg before flat-batting a six to the straight boundary, as Kumble’s visage grew angrier. It was the image of the night.Pollard joined in the fun right in the end, with his big lofted drives, to further boost Mumbai. Pollard pinged the long-off boundary with two sixes against Vinay Kumar and slugged Dale Steyn over long-on for another six as Mumbai finished off in style. And so, after 41 days of non-stop action, Mumbai entered their first final in the three years of IPL.

Three senior team discards – allrounder Farveez Maharoof, fast bowler Isuru Udana and opening batsman Mahela Udawatte – have won a place in the Sri Lanka A team’s one-month tour of Australia from June 10

Sa'adi Thawfeeq19-May-2010Three senior team discards – allrounder Farveez Maharoof, fast bowler Isuru Udana and opening batsman Mahela Udawatte – have won a place in the Sri Lanka A team’s one-month tour of Australia from June 10.All three players have been picked for the one-day squad which will play three matches against Australia A. Maharoof has been out of the senior national team since playing an ODI against India in February 2009, while Udana’s only international appearance was in the second edition of the World Twenty20 in England. Udawatte had a brief run with the limited-overs side, but has been out of favour since September. Middle-order batsman Chamara Kapugedera will captain the one-day side.The selectors picked two different squads for the tour, one to play in the two four-day ‘Tests’ and one 3-day warm-up game against the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) and the other for the one-day matches. Thilina Kandamby who led Basnahira North to the final of the 4-day inter-provincial tournament will captain Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the longer format.The visitors will also play a Twenty20 match against Australia A for which a separate team has not been picked, but will most probably comprise of players from the one-day squad.‘Test’ squad: Thilina Kandamby (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Tharanga Paranavitana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Jeevan Mendis, Kosala Kulasekara, Nuwan Pradeep, Dinesh Dharshanapriya, Dammika Prasad, Chaminda Vidanapathirana, Sachitra Senanayake, Seekuge Prasanna and Nadeera Nawala.One-day squad: Chamara Kapugedera (capt), Thilina Kandamby, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Jeevan Mendis, Kosala Kulasekara, Nuwan Pradeep, Dinesh Dharshanapriya, Sachitra Senanayake, Seekuge Prasanna, Dilshan Munaweera, Isuru Udana, Farveez Maharoof and Mahela Udawatte.

Clyde Butts, chairman of West Indies’ selection panel, has said the players needed to “show more determination and maturity” in their approach to cricket

Cricinfo staff20-May-2010Clyde Butts, the chairman of West Indies’ selection panel, has said the players needed to “show a bit more determination and maturity” in their approach to cricket, following the team’s Super Eight elimination in the ICC World Twenty20.”We did not do as well as we were capable of. Sometimes, you don’t mind losing, but the way we lost was bad for our cricket. It was a little bit of a surprise. At that level of cricket, you expect much more out of our players,” Butts told the . “Look at the way we batted against Australia and to a lesser extent against Sri Lanka. One would have expected us to show that we are capable players and that we could have put up a better fight.”West Indies topped their group by beating Ireland and England in a rain-affected match, but won only one Super Eight match – against India – while losing heavily to Sri Lanka and Australia. Despite that performance the selectors retained the same squad, with the exception of Wavell Hinds, for the two Twenty20 internationals against South Africa and West Indies lost the first one in Antigua by 13 runs on Wednesday. Most of the contenders for spots in the squad were with the A team in Bangladesh, while others in the Caribbean had had their chances, Butts said.”Should we go back to the old guard, or should we give these players a little bit more of a run and then try and look to our A team for the future. That is how we the selectors looked at it,” he said. “We selected these players for the World Cup. They had five games. They have two T20 games here and five ODIs. There are going to be times in the near future when the team is going to change. The Test matches are coming up. I am sure you are not going to see some of the same players for the Test series.”Butts said scheduling of regular matches for West Indies A was a step in the right direction for the development of the region’s cricket. The team had a recent home series against Zimbabwe and is presently in Bangladesh. “One of the things that has been put in place is the A team. The young players in Bangladesh are performing. That is one of the good things that is happening now and these players will understand that those players are right up their backside. There are replacement players that can replace them.”West Indies play the second Twenty20 international against South Africa in Antigua on Thursday before the five-ODI series begins on May 22.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has rallied his players to carry forward their consistency in the Twenty20s against Australia to the two-Test series that begins at Lord’s on July 13

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2010Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has rallied his players to carry forward their consistency in the Twenty20s against Australia to the two-Test series that begins at Lord’s on July 13. After getting hammered by Australia in all formats of the game earlier this year and in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, Pakistan hit back by winning both the Twenty20s at Edgbaston to get their England tour off to a resounding start.”I think now that we have regained our winning habit we must work harder to maintain it and make winning a habit,” Afridi told a Pakistani sports channel. “I knew sooner or later we will win back-to-back matches because we have been performing well since the Twenty20 World Cup but missed out in close matches.”Twenty20 cricket has suited Pakistan both technically and temperamentally and their crowning moment was the World Twenty20 title win in 2009 in England. However, their form in Tests hasn’t been up to the mark, having been beaten 3-0 by Australia away, and drawing a three-Test series in New Zealand 1-1 before that. Afridi, whose leadership has won himself admirers, is determined to reverse that trend in the longer format.”There is a difference and we have to be aware of this,” Afridi said. “But the good thing is that a win is a win in any form of the game and this series win should serve a confidence booster for us ahead of the Tests.”The coach Waqar Younis agreed that the team can take a lot of confidence into the Test series. “I think these two wins are really going to help us to get into the momentum,” Waqar said. “Test matches are a different ball game fair enough, but with victory behind you it always helps.”With senior players Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan missing the tour despite their bans being lifted by the PCB, Afridi threw his weight behind the younger players to fill the gap. Yousuf hasn’t yet come out of retirement while Younis was left out due to disciplinary reasons.”Obviously we will miss their experience. I wanted them in the team for this tour and I tried my best to see they were in the team but for different reasons this couldn’t happen and it is unfortunate,” Afridi said. “But one has to manage with the available resources so right now I am focusing completely on the team I have, on the new players because they are the ones who will fight for Pakistan in the Test matches and I retain confidence they can do this.”

Zaheer Khan, India’s strike fast bowler, has been ruled out of the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka due to a shoulder injury

Cricinfo staff06-Jul-2010Zaheer Khan, India’s strike fast bowler, has been ruled out of the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka due to a shoulder injury. The tour includes three Tests, followed by a tri-series in Dambulla, also involving New Zealand. The BCCI, in a statement, has announced that the Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun will replace him.Zaheer was rested for the recent tour of Zimbabwe in order to preserve himself for the busy season ahead. He participated in the Asia Cup in Dambulla and played in all four of India’s games. The BCCI did not reveal the cause of the injury or for how long he has been adviced to rest. The indication is that he will miss the Test leg of the tour, at least, as the squad for the ODI tri-series will be announced later.Zaheer however didn’t reveal much in his Twitter feed: “Shoulder is troubling me a little need to sort it out …hope to be back soon … Important season ahead …”Zaheer’s absence will come as a big blow to India, whose fast bowlers haven’t been up to the mark of late, due to injuries and loss of form. That leaves a lot of responsibility on the likes of Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth to carry the attack in Sri Lanka.Mithun has been on the fringes for the last few months after performing impressively for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, where he was the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. He was rewarded with a call-up to the national squad for the Tests against South Africa earlier this year and an international debut in the ODIs that followed. He was withdrawn from the India A squad in England to replace the injured seamer Vinay Kumar in Zimbabwe, but didn’t get a game. He rejoined his team-mates in England for the one-dayers and in his most recent outing on Friday, taking 3 for 49 against West Indies A.The tour begins on July 18 with the first Test in Galle.

Lalit Modi’s lawyers will press for the removal of interim-IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley from the disciplinary committee

Tariq Engineer31-Jul-2010Suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi’s lawyers will continue to press for the removal of interim-IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley from the Indian board’s disciplinary committee at a hearing in New Delhi on Sunday.Modi has repeatedly demanded the removal of Amin from the panel, claiming he holds a grudge because Modi revealed he was part of a failed bid for one of the two new IPL franchises. Modi’s lawyers have also argued Jaitley should not be on the panel either because he had voted to ratify the charges against Modi at the board’s special general body meeting on July 3.On Sunday, Venkatesh Dhond, one of Modi’s lawyers, will first conclude his arguments for why the two men should not be part of the panel. PR Raman, the BCCI’s counsel, will then get a chance to respond. Finally, Dhond will get 15 minutes for his rejoinder. Once the committee has heard all the arguments, it will make its decision. Dhond began his arguments at the previous hearing, which was adjourned before he could finish.At that hearing, held on July 27, Mehmood Abdi, another of Modi’s lawyers, pushed for the addition of a neutral judge. “A retired Supreme Court judge must be there in the committee,” he had said at the time. “We have grave concern about the BCCI’s stance. If they have already decided then what’s the point in all their meetings?”Modi’s lawyers were also given copies of the minutes from the special general body meeting at which the charges against him were ratified and relevant extracts of two IPL governing council meetings (April 26 and June 25). In addition, they were given a copy of the amended agreement between the BCCI and Sony-MSM on condition of the strictest confidentiality. Abdi asked for these documents because he said they were crucial to the case.Although required to attend the hearings in person, Modi has stayed away from the proceedings, claiming security concerns keep him from returning to India, and therefore from giving the BCCI dates on which he would be available. However, he is willing to be present via video conferencing. In the meantime, the board has allowed Modi’s lawyers to stand in for him. The committee has until October to make its recommendation to the BCCI.Modi had petitioned the Bombay High Court earlier this month to reconstitute the committee on the grounds that it was biased against him, but the court dismissed the petition without considering its merits or demerits. The third member of the committee is Union Minister of State and Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association president Jyotiraditya Scindia.The BCCI suspended Modi immediately following the conclusion of IPL 3 in April and charged him with financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England.

Will Porterfield and James Franklin blasted Gloucestershire to victory as Rotterdam rain reduced their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash with Holland to a 10-over thrash

27-Aug-2010
ScorecardWill Porterfield and James Franklin blasted Gloucestershire to victory as Rotterdam rain reduced their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash with Holland to a 10-over thrash.Batting first after losing the toss, the Gladiators racked up an imposing 122 for 3 on the back of 46 from 26 balls by Porterfield and Franklin’s unbeaten 45 from 20.Jon Lewis put an early end to any hopes Holland had of chasing down the target, removing opener Mudassar Bukhari for a four-ball duck on his way to figures of three for three from his two overs.Wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi top-scored with 20 not out and Eric Szwarczynski (12 from six balls) and Bas Zuiderent (11 from seven) added some impetus, but the Dutch could only limp to 68 for 6, losing by 54 runs.

Geoff Lawson, the former Pakistan coach, has criticised the PCB and its chairman for failing to provide the strong leadership that the country needs during one of its biggest challenges

Cricinfo staff07-Sep-2010Geoff Lawson, the
former Australian fast bowler and Pakistan coach, has criticised the PCB and
its chairman, Ijaz Butt, for failing to provide the strong leadership that
the country’s cricket needs during “one of its biggest challenges.””Even through this crisis we have heard virtually nothing from their
chairman,” Lawson said on ESPNcricinfo’s audio show . “He hides from a crisis, he is not a
leader and when Pakistan need a strong leader and people to show them the
way forward, they are not getting it from their board.”Lawson said before the appointment of Butt, Pakistan cricket had in place
detailed long-term plans to develop the game from the grassroots up.
“There were 10 and 15 year plans, plans to build regional cricket academies, fitness, fitness trainers, physios and stocking gyms with better equipment and better pay for the first-class players.”Things in Pakistan changed after Butt took charge, Lawson said. “After
the elections in 2008, it took some months with their hung parliament to
appoint a new chairman and Ijaz Butt was appointed and really, I just see
from that instant, there has been a decline in Pakistan cricket.”Before the spot fixing controversy, Butt’s tenure coincided with the
Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team, the refusal by other countries to
tour Pakistan, several captaincy changes, the fallout of the Australia
tour with match-fixing and disciplinary charges being levelled on players
and deteriorating relations with the ICC.Last week, Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were charged under the ICC’s anti-corruption code and provisionally suspended from the game while their case is being heard. However, Lawson said Salman Butt had done a great job with a young side since being appointed captain of Pakistan and that he would be shocked if Salman Butt turned out to be at the center of the spot-fixing scandal.”If it is the case that these young players are being affected, then there is something very bad with the environment in which Pakistan cricket is being played in.”Given the stakes, Lawson said the current crisis is the greatest Pakistan cricket has faced, and unlike previous crises, the team will not have the opportunity to mend fences by playing matches at home once things calm down.”The hearings on Asif, Amir and Salman will be extremely important,” he said. “I hope against hope that things will turn out alright but this is very much a watershed for Pakistan cricket right now.”