Former India and Rajasthan cricketer Parthasarthi Sharma has died at the age of 62

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2010Parthasarthi Sharma, the former India and Rajasthan cricketer, has died at the age of 62. Sharma, who had been suffering from gallbladder cancer, played five Tests for India between 1974-77, averaging 18.70 with a high score of 54, and two ODIs.A right-hand middle-order bat, Sharma had a successful start to his Test career, making 54 and 49 on debut against West Indies in Delhi in ’74-75. He was less successful in the next Test, though, and was dropped for the rest of the series. He returned for India’s tour of the Caribbean in 1975-76 but played one Test, opening with Sunil Gavaskar, and two more the following season at home to England. However, a highest score of 29 in those six innings brought his Test career to an end.His first-class career with Rajasthan and Central Zone spanned two decades during which he scored 4372 runs averaging 38.69 in the Ranji Trophy, and 1379 runs at an average of 38.31 in the Duleep Trophy. He was a mainstay of the Rajasthan side that repeatedly won the Central Zone championship and finished runners-up several times in the national competition. He was also part of Central Zone’s maiden triumph in the Duleep Trophy in 1971-72.Post his playing days, Sharma coached the Rajasthan Ranji team and went on to become an acclaimed coach. One of his famous wards is Gautam Gambhir, who credited his transformation, from Test sidelines to being India’s first-choice opener, to Sharma. “He is one man who has changed not only me as a player, but a lot of other players as well,” Gambhir said. “The kind of technical knowledge he has is phenomenal.”When I got dropped from the Test squad, and had this problem of falling across too much, I had tried everything possible. But he made that change possible. That was something I was working on for a long time, but the one thing that he changed, I give a lot of credit to him.”He changed me completely as a player. My stance, my grip, my falling across, and the way we discussed how to go about things. [It was of] tremendous help to me, overall, as a person to and how to approach my cricket. A lot of credit goes to him for my performances over the last couple of years.””I had seen him grow right from a ten-year-old boy,” Salim Durrani, former India and Rajasthan cricketer said. “He had shown tremendous promise and talent. I feel he should have played a longer period for India”Former India captain Bishen Bedi also paid tribute. “In the domestic arena he was an outstanding batsman,” Bedi, who remembers Sharma’s century against North Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Chandigarh in 1976, said. “It was an interesting match in that our own officials thought the opposition were favourites. But he [Sharma] played a brilliant knock and gave us a hard time till I bowled him. We were lucky to scrape through.” North had made 327 in their first innings and Central fell two runs short, enabling North to qualify based on a first-innings lead.Bedi shared many a social evening with Sharma and if there was a regret he felt that Sharma could have worked a little harder – something that would have helped him play for longer at the international level.

A round-up of the first day of the opening round of matches in Division 2 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010An unbroken 123-run partnership between Lal Kumar and Kashif Bhatti lifted Hyderabad to 293 after they had collapsed to 170 for 7 on the first day against Quetta at the Niaz Stadium. Kumar hammered 12 fours and two sixes to reach his maiden first-class century. He found support in left-arm spinner Bhatti who remained unbeaten on 54, his maiden first-class half-century. Their fightback brought Hyderabad back into the game after Quetta’s opening bowlers Gauhar Faiz and Arun Lal had rattled the top order with three quick wickets. Rizwan Ahmed and captain Nasrullah Memon tried to rebuild the innings but fell in their thirties before Kumar came to Hyderabad’s rescue.Armaghan Elahi, the left-arm fast bowler, put Abbottabad on top on the opening day of their Division 2 encounter against Pakistan Television at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Pakistan Television had a poor start to their debut season in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, as Elahi removed their openers cheaply. Yasim Murtaza and Awais Zia staged a mini-recovery to take the score to 90 for 3, but both fell within two runs of each other. The lower order could not resist for long, and Elahi returned to take two more, finishing with 4 for 32. Left-arm seamer Saad Altaf had Abbottabad in some trouble at 16 for 2, but opener Ghulam Mohammad and captain Wajid Ali ensured no further damage was done, ending the day only 88 runs in arrears.Ashraf Ali made a patient half-century as Lahore Ravi crawled to 198 for 6 at the end of the first day of their game against State Bank of Pakistan at the Lahore Cricket Association Ground. Ashraf’s unbeaten 55 came off 163 deliveries, as he played the anchor role for Lahore to perfection. Mohammad Naved and Mohammad Rameez, the opening bowlers for State Bank, took two wickets each, as did fellow fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti.Lahore Shalimar held the advantage at the end of the first day against Peshawar at the Sports Complex in Mardan. Peshwar were asked to bat and they looked set for a formidable first-innings total after their top order delivered a solid start. Opener Mohammad Fayyaz (50) and Naved Khan (47) added 73 for the second wicket while Sajjad Ahmed top scored, remaining unbeaten on 78 at stumps. However, the middle and the lower orders failed to build on the platform as the Lahore bowlers struck back. Left-arm seamer Emmad Ali led the way with three wickets as Sajjad could only watch his partners return to the pavilion one after another in relatively quick succession. Emmad was well supported by the rest of the bowling line-up. At one stage, Peshawar lost five wickets for 20, and it seemed they would get bowled out for under 200. But Sajjad was helped by No.10 batsman Waqar Ahmed, who made 25, and Peshawar finished the day on 263 for 9.

Wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, brother of Kamran and Umar, has been added to the Pakistan squad for the two-Test series South Africa, along with allrounder Mohammad Hafeez

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2010Wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, brother of Kamran and Umar, has been added to the Pakistan squad for the two-Test series against South Africa, along with allrounder Mohammad Hafeez. Younis Khan was retained in the side following his performances in the ODI series – he scored two half-centuries in the five games – on his return to the side after the Pakistan Cricket Board overturned its ban on him. Sohail Tanvir, the unconventional left-arm seamer who was initially included subject to his fitness, has been left out.Adnan was a replacement for Zulqarnain Haider, who left the team ahead of the final ODI in Dubai in mysterious circumstances and resurfaced in London. Haider has meanwhile announced his retirement from the game after receiving threats, the latest in a series of quick and bizarre developments. Hafeez was retained from the limited-overs leg of the tour following the PCB’s decision to refuse Danish Kaneria clearance to join the team.Adnan, 25, plays for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament. He made his first-class debut in 2003-04 and averages 22.78 in 72 matches with two centuries. He has been on the periphery of national selection over the last couple of years, but Kamran remained Pakistan’s first-choice wicketkeeper until his recent run of inconsistency behind the wickets. Haider was originally picked for the UAE tour, but his sudden departure to London – after he reportedly received threats following his match-winning role in the penultimate one-dayer – left Pakistan without a wicketkeeper for the fifth ODI and the Tests. Umar stepped in for the fifth match, but the selectors decided to include a specialist for the Tests, giving Adnan his first international call-up.Hafeez had featured prominently in Pakistan’s limited-overs plans as an opening batsman and part-time offspinner. He was their leading run-scorer in the recently concluded one-day series, with 203 runs including two half-centuries. His inclusion in place of legspinner Kaneria suggested he may have been retained to beef up a spin attack that is thin on experience: Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, the main spinners in the squad, have a combined experience of ten Tests.Kaneria was in the original squad named in October, and it is not clear whether the PCB’s decision to exclude him had anything to do with their attempts – compelled by the ICC’s warning last month – to put its house in order and tighten up against corruption. Kaneria was the subject of a criminal investigation through the summer by Essex police over allegations that he was involved in spot-fixing during a county game. The investigations had begun in May but Kaneria was cleared by police in September.Squad: Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdur Rehman, Adnan Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz.

Daryl Tuffey, the New Zealand fast bowler, will return home to recover from a bicep strain he suffered during the first one-day international against India in Guwahati

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2010Daryl Tuffey, the New Zealand fast bowler, will return home to recover from a bicep strain he suffered during the first one-day international against India in Guwahati. New Zealand have not named a replacement yet, and will do so if the need arises during the ongoing five-ODI series.”Daryl developed some discomfort in his right bicep when playing but was able to manage it during the match,” Mark Greatbatch, New Zealand’s coach and selector, said. “It’s appears to be okay when he bowls but he’s unable to throw without pain, so he will return to New Zealand for further assessment and treatment.”Tuffey took 2 for 56 in eight overs during the series opener, which New Zealand lost by 40 runs to go 0-1 down in the series. Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori did not play that match because of back problems and their fitness will be assessed ahead of the second ODI in Jaipur on December 1.”We are hopeful that both Dan and Brendon will be available for the next match,” Greatbatch said. “Dan is more likely at this stage but we are monitoring both on a day-by-day basis. A decision on the final line-up is not expected until shortly before the match.”

Scotland coach Pete Steindl says his team are in desperate need of a cash boost if they are to avoid being overtaken by their rivals

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2011Scotland coach Pete Steindl says his team are in desperate need of a cash boost if they are to avoid being overtaken by their rivals.Scotland missed out on a potential $60,000 when they lost the final of the Intercontinental Cup to Afghanistan in December last year and though they were able to add a fourth full-time professional – Matthew Parker – to their ranks, Steindl is worried about the future.Cricket Scotland have been unable to attract a major new backer since the withdrawal of Lloyds TSB almost two years ago and Steindl thinks that if the financial concerns are not sorted out soon it will become impossible for the team to improve.”We have done well to maintain all our development programmes and match schedules,” he told the Daily Record. “But we have reached a threshold and there is no room for manoeuvre.”Even if you stand still in sport you go backwards in real terms. We need more financial security to take things to the next level. It’s great to get a fourth professional but we need more. Ireland and Afghanistan are virtually fully pro, as are Kenya – and Canada have about eight full-timers. We have to make sure we can compete.”Scotland are next in action in the CB40 campaign, having failed to qualify for the 2011 World Cup.

Round-up of the first day’s play in the first round of matches in the Faysal bank Pentangular Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2011Baluchistan were blown away for 173 by the spinning pair of Atif Maqbool and Danish Kaneria as Sind assumed control on the curtailed opening day of the Faysal Bank Pentagular Cup, at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground.Baluchistan’s start suggested they had come to terms with the challenges of the Sind attack, as the openers moved passed 50 without much ado. That was the cue for the spin twins to begin their handiwork. Kaneria’s legspin accounted for Shoaib Khan jnr, who wa bowed, while Maqbool’s offspin induced Abid Ali to nick behind. From there, it was a steady procession of wickets as the pair chipped away mercilessly. Naved Yasin dropped anchor at one end, and remained unbeaten on 25, but wickets kept tumbling at the other end. Maqbool surged to his seventh first-class five-for before finishing with career-best figures of 6 for 69, while Kaneria, who has fallen out of favour with the Pakistan selectors, picked up 4 for 49. Sind saw off the two overs that were possible in their innings, without loss.Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province made slow progress in the 38 overs of play that were possible against Federal Areas, as they went to stumps at 82 for 4 at the Gaddafi Stadium. Nasrullah Khan was their chief tormentor, removing the top order to end the day with figures of 3 for 20 from nine overs. Mohammad Fayyaz and Aftab Alam managed to get starts, but could not get past the 20s. Wajid Ali decided to hold one end up, and proceeded to an unbeaten 11 off 83 balls. He will attempt to salvage the situation on the second day.

The USA U-19 team completed an undefeated week in Florida with a 23-run win over Canada to win the ICC Americas U-19 Division One championship

Peter Della Penna16-Feb-2011The USA Under-19 team completed an undefeated week in Florida with a 23-run win over Canada to win the ICC Americas U-19 Division One championship. It’s the second time USA has won the tournament title and first since 2005.”It feels great. It’s an honour to captain the side,” USA U-19 captain Abhijit Joshi said. Opening batsman Cameron Mirza was named Tournament MVP after leading USA in runs scored at the tournament with 193 and was dismissed only once.”Coming in to this tournament, my goal was to be the highest run scorer,” Mirza said. “I wasn’t that; I missed that a bit, and to not get out, so I was pretty close and I’m happy about that.” Mirza was beaten by Sacha DeAlwis of the Cayman Islands, who finished with 210 runs at 52.50. However, in the three matches that USA batted second, they bowled out their opponents for first innings totals of 54, 40, and 50, limiting opportunities for Mirza and the rest of USA’s lineup to have time at the crease.Canada medium pacer Manny Aulakh and USA leg-spinner Gurpreet Sandhu were the top wicket-takers in the tournament with 12 wickets each. Sandhu’s figures of 5 for 7 against equalled offspinner Abhimanyu Rajp’s 5 for 7 against Bermuda in 2005 as the best figures for a USA U-19 bowler.”It feels amazing. I’ve been working really hard for this over the years,” Sandhu said. “I’ve been training since I was 11. It’s been a dream to represent USA one day. My dream’s finally coming true so it feels really amazing.”Much of the credit to USA’s success during the week goes to head coach Robin Singh. Despite arriving in Florida with less than 72 hours to prepare for the first match, he has worked at instilling the much-needed focus and in the team.”I think he’s a really good and hard-working coach,” Joshi said. “He’s not about wasting time. People saw during the games, he worked the 12th, 13th, and 14th man like crazy. He never gave a chance for us to relax. I think that’s important.”USA and Canada both qualified from the Americas to join Afghanistan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kenya, Namibia, Scotland and hosts Ireland for the 2011 U-19 World Cup Global Qualifier from July 28-August 9. USA will be attempting to finish in the top six at that event in order to qualify for a second consecutive ICC U-19 World Cup.”I think our team is real strong,” Joshi said. “We have a lot of talent on our team and all the confidence we get from our coach is real supportive so hopefully we can go a long way.”

Ian Bell believes Andrew Strauss’s brilliant 158 against India is a sign that England are well placed for success at this World Cup

Brydon Coverdale in Bangalore28-Feb-2011Ian Bell believes Andrew Strauss’s brilliant 158 against India is a sign that England are well placed for success at this World Cup, as they get ready to return to Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium to take on Ireland. England had to settle for a tie with the hosts on Sunday, but Bell said he and his batting colleagues would look at their captain’s effort as the template for how to bat in this tournament.”It’s probably the best knock I’ve ever seen, to be honest with you, from an England player,” Bell said. “It had everything. He hit his boundaries when he wanted to, he rotated the strike, he played his sweeps. He looked very, very hard to bowl to.”If you can have a player like that at the top of the order, it really holds us in good stead. In the next game if it’s not Straussy that goes on and makes a hundred, it’s [hopefully] one of the other top four that does, because it really was for the rest of us a template for how you play a proper one-day innings. He’s done that for a while for us.”However, Ireland’s young spinner George Dockrell said his team would not be intimidated by the hefty and almost successful chase when they meet England on Wednesday. Ireland are still searching for their first win of the World Cup, after missing a golden opportunity against Bangladesh, and they know they will have to score big to challenge England, who could regain Stuart Broad after he missed the India game due to illness.”With both teams getting 338, you can see that the pitch is very good and the outfield is quick, it’s a small stadium,” Dockrell said. “There’s big scores out here in India, there are going to be games like this. I don’t think we’ll be daunted by that. We played one of the warm-up games in Nagpur, a lot bigger stadium and yet we got 290 against New Zealand, so I don’t think we’ll be too daunted by that.”We’re obviously disappointed with the game against Bangladesh and now we’re looking forward to this England game and hopefully getting that first win. We took a lot of positives from that Bangladesh game. It was a very good bowling performance from us, the batting went wrong in a few places but we’re quite confident still coming in to this game.”Dockrell is one of several members of the Ireland squad who have been handed county deals, after he was signed by Somerset last year, and his bowling colleague Boyd Rankin is another who is well known by the England players. Rankin has played with Bell at Warwickshire and, despite leaking 62 off his nine overs against Bangladesh, could be more of a handful in Bangalore.”Boyd has got a lot of ability and is someone who I think could go a long way in this game,” Bell said. “For Warwickshire I’ve seen him bowl some fantastic spells. He’s got good pace and really good bounce. Playing at Dhaka isn’t the easiest place to play as a big 6’6-plus guy. If you’re slightly off line to someone as good as Tamim Iqbal you get punished.”This wicket will probably have a little bit more pace and bounce than Dhaka did. He’s someone you respect. We’re going to have to play him well with the new ball. A lot of those guys are respected on the county circuit. There’s a lot of experience now in their side, in county cricket, and it’s a game that we’re looking forward to and we’re going to have to play well in. It’s not a game that we can turn up in and just coast.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in Bangalore

The Preview by Nitin Sundar13-May-2011

Match facts

Saturday, May 14, Bangalore
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)You don’t mess with Chris Gayle•AFP

Big Picture

The IPL’s glut of games makes it tough to remember what happened yesterday or last week. In that context, not many will recall that the now invincible Royal Challengers Bangalore endured a three-match losing streak in the first fortnight of the tournament. It took a Jamaican opening batsman to spark Bangalore’s turnaround, and since his arrival they have run up six wins without breaking a sweat. Chris Gayle has obliterated all attacks that have come before him, and threatens to win the tournament single-handedly. Can someone find a way to stop him, or strand him at the non-striker’s end?The Gayle show began when he took guard against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 22. On that day, Gayle took out his travel-weariness – and his anger at the WICB – on his former IPL franchise. It was the only time in this season when Kolkata’s ‘rebuild from scratch’ auction strategy backfired on them. They have otherwise been quietly efficient, and remained at the top end of the points table through the course of the season.The format of the tournament’s play-offs incentivises teams that finish first and second in the league phase. Kolkata are currently fourth, and Gautam Gambhir will be eager to find a way into the top two. ‘Operation Gayle’ will be the first step on the agenda for Gambhir, who is set to lead India’s ODI side to Gayle’s part of the world after the IPL.

Form guide (most recent first)

Bangalore: WWWWW (third in points table)
Kolkata: WLWWW (fourth in points table)

Team talk

Tillakaratne Dilshan’s role in the IPL is over and Bangalore have a bunch of options to replace him at the top. Rilee Rossouw, Jonathan Vandiar and Luke Pomersbach are the contenders to replace him, and whoever comes in, is likely to open with Gayle. Daniel Vettori will also miss out, having flown back to New Zealand to get advice on his knee injury, which means Charl Langeveldt should keep his place.Kolkata haven’t played for a week, since beating Chennai Super Kings at home. They might not want to fiddle with the XI, though the temptation to push Eoin Morgan into the middle order must be high.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team Selector.

In the spotlight

Brett Lee has been one of Kolkata’s unnoticed heroes. Barring one shoddy over against Kochi, when Brad Hodge went after him, he has been reliable with the ball. His four-over spell against Chennai yielded a paltry eight runs. Having recovered from a bout of viral fever in time for the match, can he exhibit the same miserliness against Gayle?Saurabh Tiwary has had an interesting second season after grabbing the headlines last year, with Mumbai Indians. There he was the prime-mover of the middle-order, setting up Mumbai’s innings along with Ambati Rayudu. Bangalore have used him partly as a back-up to the big guns, and partly as a finisher. The top order’s good form has meant Tiwary hasn’t had much to do, but his time is bound to come soon.

Prime numbers

• Chris Gayle has hit the most sixes so far in IPL 2011 – 30 in six innings. Virender Sehwag is second, with 18 from eleven outings
• Kolkata have four bowlers who have conceded under seven runs per over. Yusuf Pathan has been the best of the lot, going at 5.93 in 32 overs this season

The chatter

“Now I’m watching ‘You don’t mess with Chris Gayle’… O shocks, I meant ”. We kick Bad Minds. Lol.”

Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has made himself unavailable for Test selection because of a long-standing degenerative condition in his right knee

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2011Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan fast bowler, has given up Test cricket because of a “long-standing degenerative condition in the right knee”. He intends to continue playing the shorter formats, though, and hopes to play in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.Malinga, 27, made himself unavailable for the upcoming Test tour of England citing his fitness problems, but has been playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Sri Lanka Cricket asked him to return home and undergo a rehabilitation programme, but Malinga has now clarified that his condition stops him from playing only the longest format.”Although I am sufficiently fit to play both ODI and T20 cricket, I have a long-standing degenerative condition in my right knee that needs to be carefully managed,” Malinga’s statement read. “The condition relates directly to the chronic knee injury I sustained playing for Sri Lanka in Australia back in February 2008, an injury that prevented me from playing ODI cricket for 16 months.”The injury was a career-threatening injury and my orthopaedic surgeon was of the opinion that given his experience with other professional athletes in Australia I was very fortunate to play again. I have since been advised by the national team physiotherapist and my orthopaedic consultant that my condition will deteriorate when fielding or bowling for prolonged periods.”I did try to return to Test cricket after a three-year absence last year [against India] following requests from the team management and the selectors, but it left me unfit nursing severe knee pain for two months.”I have realised that the heavy workload of Test cricket, which requires a fast bowler to be able to bowl more than 15 overs, sometimes on consecutive days, could lead to permanent injury. I have carefully considered my options and have decided that not playing Test cricket will help me achieve my goal of representing Sri Lanka in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.”Malinga said he was available for all limited-overs internationals, and planned to travel to Sri Lanka soon to discuss his plans with the selectors.Since his debut in July 2004, Malinga has played only 30 Tests and 84 ODIs. His slingshot round-arm action and focus on pace put a lot of strain on his body, and he was forced to miss several games. His career seemed to have stalled after the Galle Test against England in December 2007, but he returned for the series against India mid-2010. It was, however, a false dawn on his stop-start Test career.