All posts by csb10.top

West Indies captain Chris Gayle has described the series-winning display in the fourth ODI in Kingstown as a “team effort”, but also called for improvement after the hosts struggled in their chase of 142. Dwayne Bravo, the Man of the Match, grabbed four wickets, and Narsingh Deonarine guided his team, with a bit of luck, to the finish to seal West Indies’ first ODI series win since August 2008.”I am happy with the result because we have won the series, and have not won a series for a long time,” Gayle said. “We will take this victory and this series win with both hands because it has been a team effort – everyone has played some part.”West Indies have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series to begin a fresh phase under new coach Ottis Gibson on a positive note. They won three consecutive games after sustaining dispiriting defeats in the only Twenty20 international and the first ODI.While their bowlers, led by Bravo and Rampaul, put in an impressive performance, West Indies had threatened to undermine that effort with the bat. Graeme Cremer, the legspinner, grabbed three wickets, after Gayle had begun in aggressive fashion, to give Zimbabwe a shot at a surprise win. But Deonarine, while building important stands with Denesh Ramdin and Kieron Pollard, made an unbeaten 32 and took his team home.Gayle admitted the need for more improvement. “There are still some things for us to work on, but we will try to improve our cricket as much as possible in future matches,” he said.Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya was critical of the pitch, which proved highly conducive to pace bowlers, but added that a score of 141 was simply inadequate. “It wasn’t the best pitch for ODI cricket, even though we tried our best, there was still not enough runs on the board,” he said.The fifth and final ODI will be played in Kingstown on March 14.

The Indian selectors have called up Rohit Sharma to the squad for the first Test against South Africa as cover for VVS Laxman. Laxman hasn’t fully recovered from the finger injury he sustained while fielding during the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong last month.Captaining the Indian Board President’s XI in the tour game against the South Africans, Rohit managed just 20 but was delighted with his selection. “It feels good that I’ve been asked to stay back… (I’m feeling great),” he told the Kolkata-based .This is the first time Rohit is part of the Test squad since the 2008 visit to Sri Lanka. He was in fine form during the Ranji Trophy this season, making 527 at 87.83, including a highest of 309* against Gujarat.Meanwhile, Laxman skipped the team’s fielding practice on Wednesday afternoon, but did have a bat at the nets.India will be sweating over the injuries that have dogged the side of late – key batsmen Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and fast bowler Sreesanth have already been ruled out of this match.Captain MS Dhoni, though, looked to have recovered fully from the back spasms which forced him to miss the Chittagong Test. “One can’t have any control over injuries. Obviously, we’ll miss Dravid. It’s like a captain having no control at all over the toss.”

The ECB has asked the ICC to reinstate the review that was used up for the controversial appeal against Graeme Smith on the second day at the Wanderers. Daryl Harper, the TV umpire, upheld the on-field decision of ‘not out’ made by Tony Hill, but England were furious when it emerged he hadn’t had the volume turned up to hear the nick.Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said the board would continue to pursue the matter: “We have grave concerns about how this process was implemented and I will be addressing the issue at the highest levels within ICC during this match.”The technology wasn’t applied as it was meant to be in the pre-series discussions. We were told the volume would be turned up for reviews. Consequently we lost a referral and our other play is impacted by having one less. I think it’s thoroughly unsatisfactory and I’m not happy.”England were the only country to vote against the UDRS and Clarke remains especially angry that the same levels of technology, specifically Hotspot, aren’t applied globally. “My concern is that this system has to be applied correctly and with the right technology for there to be a worthwhile exercise in attacking the oldest principle of the game that the umpires’ decision is final,” he said.”Until the technology is applied correctly we are better off with our oldest method. If the umpire is as deaf as a post and as blind as a bat at least it’s the same for both sides. “Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, wrote to Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee in charge of this series, after the second day’s play and expressed England’s concerns over the review system.”The ECB has sought further clarification from ICC that there is nothing in the regulations to prevent the ICC chief executive and/or match referee from re-instating the referral to correct the gross error in process,” the statement said. “The ECB would like to make clear that the England team management had registered concerns regarding the absence of hotspot for use in the DRS system at a pre-series meeting attended by ICC officials and the match referee.”The England team management were advised that the protocol for this series would be that the sound on the stump microphone would be turned up on decision review to check for disputed catches.”In ECB and the England team management’s view, the agreed protocol was not implemented and the sound was not turned up on review. As a result a TV replay which indicated that bat had made contact with ball was heard by millions of television viewers but not by the match control team.”The ICC said they would launch a “full and comprehensive investigation” into the incident with Haroon Lorgat adding that the review system was still in a development stagfe. “There is a large amount of controversy, speculation and potentially unfair criticism circulating at present so it is important to establish the exact facts before reaching any final conclusions,” he said.”This is early days for the DRS and so far we are pleased with its effectiveness and the value it can add to the game in support of umpires. However, we have always acknowledged there is room for further improvement in the available technology and this investigation will be conducted in that light so the system becomes even more reliable.”Earlier in the day the ICC came out in defence of Harper saying all the correct protocols had been followed in coming to the decision, and also questioned Andy Flower’s version of events after the England coach said he’d been told Harper had forgotten to turn up the volume.The third day included further controversy for Harper when he overturned a decision against AB de Villiers after Tony Hill had given him out caught at leg slip sweeping at Graeme Swann. The ICC playing conditions state that the third umpire must have “a high degree of confidence” to change an on-field call, but replays didn’t appear to confirm one way or the other so, by the ICC’s own wording, Hill’s decision should have stood.To make England even more agitated they then used up their final review with an appeal against Mark Boucher. He had been not out lbw and the Hawkeye replays confirmed it should remain an on-field call with the graphics showing the point of impact being marginal. Then, however, moments before lunch, de Villiers got an inside edge off Ryan Sidebottom that was given not out, but England had no reviews left to challenge the call.

Almost two years after he gave up a New Zealand Cricket contract to join the ICL, Lou Vincent has returned to the country and revealed his desire to return to the national side.Vincent, 31, has been living mainly in Britain since moving on from the unofficial ICL and could also potentially qualify to play for England in less than two years. However, given the comebacks Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey made after they were granted amnesty on quitting the ICL, Vincent has reason to be optimistic about a New Zealand call-up.”I’m still classified as an overseas player there [in England] until I get my residency and passport,” Vincent told the . “That means I could play as a local on the county scene. That’s an option but I’m going to test myself in New Zealand first.Vincent played for an Auckland club side Takapuna on Saturday and hoped to join the Auckland squad next week. His first assignment for Auckland will be the one-day competition, before the domestic Twenty20 tournament in the following month.”Cricket’s been back on my mind in recent months. I want to get back to the top level. It’s time to give it one more crack. I wanted to come back and play rather than have a holiday. I can’t guarantee a place with Auckland this summer but I’m going to be training every day to prove my worth.”Former Auckland and New Zealand assistant coach Mark O’Donnell said the province was lucky to have Vincent on board. “Auckland’s fallen on its feet with Lou turning up,” O’Donell said. “He can definitely play. Provided he’s motivated, he’s a huge asset; a pleasure to coach.”However, things have not been smooth for Vincent. He admitted to “massive setbacks in life to grow up” and is currently dealing with depression, which he monitors through medication.”It’s going to be an ongoing battle. It was up and down for me, having just fought the demons of playing in New Zealand. I came straight into a new environment [the ICL] but didn’t have the hunger for cricket and my performances were poor.”I then signed for Lancashire, which went well. [Former Australian batsman] Stuart Law got me involved on a short term contract which ended up being until the end of the season. I got a hundred in a Twenty20, which gave me a lot of confidence.”However, Vincent scored just 272 runs at 24.72 in 12 first-class innings for Lancashire and was released.”The second season of ICL went even worse for me,” says Vincent. “That’s when I decided to get away from professional cricket and concentrate on my health and family.”However, with 1332 runs in 23 Tests at 34.15, and 2413 runs in over a 100 ODIs at 27.11, Vincent has the backing of NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan as well. “I wouldn’t have an issue with him playing for New Zealand again at all,” Vaughan told the . “I think he will have to prove himself and prove that he’s good enough. In terms of the ICL, we’ve let bygones be bygones. We are looking ahead not back and if Lou can prove himself and is committed and really wants to play for his country, then we should be looking at him.”

Sri Lanka 366 for 8 (Dilshan 109, Mathews 86*, Paranavitana 53, Harbhajan 4-107) v India
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outTillakaratne Dilshan scored his 11th Test century•AFP

A clever hundred by Tillakaratne Dilshan, supported by half-centuries from Tharanga Paranavitana and Angelo Mathews playing the innings of their young careers, took Sri Lanka to a comfortable total on the first day at the Brabourne Stadium. Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth bowled probing spells during the middle parts of the day but Dilshan and Mathews made sure a good start was not wasted on a pitch that had started to turn and bounce on the first morning of the Test.The Sri Lankan openers caught the new-ball bowlers on the hop and ran away to a brisk start and after that they didn’t let India build momentum, losing two wickets on the trot only once. India did not control the run-rate either, except during that brief phase when Harbhajan and Sreesanth tested Mahela Jayawardene and Dilshan. Sri Lanka scored only 59 runs in 16.5 overs in that period and then lost two wickets for one run but Mathews and Dilshan wrested the momentum again by scoring quickly. Their partnership involved a bit of luck but it worked and Sri Lanka eventually scored the most runs in a day for a team visiting India.There wasn’t much luck involved, though, when Paranavitana and Dilshan punished Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan, continuing the trend of frenetic first sessions in the series by scoring 116 runs. Unlike Kanpur, this pitch kept the bowlers interested with swing, bounce and turn – it wasn’t prodigious but more than enough for a first morning.Paranavitana, full of intent, leaned into the first delivery of the match and drove it through covers. Zaheer Khan was guilty of over-pitching while looking for swing. The most incredible shot of the morning, though, came when Paranavitana was saving his toe from an inswinging yorker from Sreesanth. The bat came down just at the right moment, and the ball flew through midwicket for four.While Zaheer erred looking for swing, Sreesanth failed to control the bounce and in the process was smashed by Dilshan for a six and a four off consecutive deliveries. A different test awaited the batsmen, though, when Harbhajan was introduced in the 12th over, with the score on 65. He got off to his best start in the series, enjoying the bounce and the turn, and got some good loop going.While Dilshan looked to hit the other spinner, Pragyan Ojha, out of the attack right away, Harbhajan kept improving. He finally drew Paranavitana outside off and got the edge with the break. Kumar Sangakkara didn’t look comfortable against either of the spinners and tickled Ojha down the leg side when looking for a single. Dilshan had reached 53 off 70 balls by then but, watching the ball turn, soon began to play a completely different game.Sreesanth, during a much-improved second spell, made Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene play cautiously. He got the ball to swing both ways, mixed up his deliveries and, after four overs of hard work, slipped in the surprise bouncer. Jayawardene, his energies spent in countering the swing, instinctively went for the hook and top-edged. Harbhajan was immediately brought back and he got a straightforward bat-pad dismissal against Thilan Samaraweera.Dilshan, though, kept wriggling out of India’s grasp. Every time Harbhajan looked like pinning him down, he either pulled out the paddle-sweep or stole singles. At the time of Sangakkara’s dismissal, Dilshan had scored 34 of his 53 runs in boundaries but the next 40 featured just three fours. He never let Ojha settle, kept driving Sreesanth’s outswingers for ones and punished every loose delivery from Harbhajan, scoring 38 runs off 64 deliveries against the offspinner. Dilshan’s respect for Ojha showed in the manner in which he stepped out and hit a straight six in the last over before tea. That shot took him to 99 and, after the break, he reached his 11th hundred on the same day that he crossed 1000 runs for the year.Harbhajan was the beneficiary when Dilshan was erroneously ruled out bat-pad when there was a sizeable distance between bat and ball. By then, though, he had added 76 for the fifth wicket, 47 off which came off Mathews’ bat. Mathews had started shakily, edging Zaheer and Sreesanth through gully, top-edging and inside-edging Harbhajan for fours, and toe-ending a pull through slips for four.However, Mathews capitalised on his good fortune in a manner that hurt India. He negated Harbhajan with the sweep, started focussing on the singles, and let Prasanna Jayawardene take the leading role in the sixth-wicket partnership. The sweep was Prasanna’s favourite shot too and runs came at a fair pace as India waited for the new ball. When Prasanna fell to the last ball of the 80th over, for 43 out of a 77-run stand, India took the new ball immediately.Nuwan Kulasekara swung his bat merrily and 30 runs came in the next five overs before Zaheer got his first wicket. With Rangana Herath falling just before stumps, Harbhajan finished one short of a five-for. And Mathews was 14 short of a maiden century.

New South Wales 2 for 151 (Katich 48*) trail Western Australia 8 for 499 by 348 runs
Scorecard
Phil Jaques is trying to get his career back on track after back surgery and he scored 40•Getty Images

Another rainy day in Sydney has reduced the match to a battle for first-innings points after only 47 overs were bowled on the third day. New South Wales were on 2 for 151 with Simon Katich on 48 and Usman Khawaja on 25, and they needed a further 349 to overtake Western Australia’s 8 for 499.The second day had also been severely curtailed by the wet weather and the Warriors declared on their overnight total when the start of play was delayed until 2.15pm. There was plenty of interest in how the Blues’ opening pair of Phil Jaques and Phillip Hughes would fare and while both men made starts, neither made full use of the opportunity.Both have opened the batting for Australia in Tests in the past 18 months but find themselves on the outer leading into the home summer. Hughes posted 32 from 65 balls, including four fours, before he was caught driving Ashley Noffke.Jaques, who is trying to give his prospects a kickstart after surgery on his back, scored 40 before he was caught off the bowling of the legspinner Josh Mangan. Katich and Khawaja then began their stand, which had reached 54 at stumps, and they will need a productive final day free of rain to overhaul the Warriors’ first-innings total.

Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor, senior West Indies players, who had participated in the players’ strike that saw them miss the home series against Bangladesh and the ICC Champions Trophy, have been named in the Jamaica squad for the President’s Cup starting October 28.Availability for the domestic one-dayers was a condition the West Indies board lay down on the striking players for selection to the tour of Australia in November-December. Dwayne Bravo, Trinidad & Tobagoand West Indies allrounder, had said all striking players would make themselves available for the Australia tour despite the contracts issue remaining unresolved.The squad also includes left-arm spinner Nikita Miller and middle-order batsman David Bernard, who were in the second-string West Indies side against Bangladesh as well as other internationals Brendan Nash, Xavier Marshall, Wavell Hinds, Brenton Parchment, Shawn Findlay, and Carlton Baugh.Andrew Richardson, who was called up to West Indies’ squad for the tour of England earlier this year after taking 32 first-class wickets in the 2008-09 season, also makes the squad along with Tamar Lambert, the leading scorer for Jamaica in last season’s one-day competition, Odean Brown, Jason Dawes, Krishmar Santokie, Danza Hyatt and newcomer Zeniffe Fowler. The squad will be trimmed to 14 members a week and a half before the start of the tournament. Jamaica will take on defending champions Trinidad & Tobago on the opening day.Gayle has been recommended as captain with David Bernard as his deputy.Jamaica squad: Chris Gayle, Odean Brown, Jason Dawes, Krishmar Santokie, Danza Hyatt, Zeniffe Fowler, Brendan Nash, Xavier Marshall, Wavell Hinds, Brenton Parchment, Shawn Findlay, Carlton Baugh, Jerome Taylor, Nikita Miller and David Bernard.

The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has expressed dismay at the decision by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to resume disciplinary action against all West Indian players who had breached the board’s Code of Conduct during the home series against England, India and Bangladesh this year.With the breakdown of mediation talks over pay and contractual disputes between the two parties recently, the WICB, in a statement on Monday, said they would go ahead with disciplinary action – a move, they claimed, that had been in motion even before the efforts to broker peace broke down.In response, the WIPA, headed by former West Indies legspinner Dinanath Ramnarine, issued its own release on Tuesday which read: “The said statement not only announces the WICB’s intention to continue such matters but goes considerably further, making claims that are highly prejudicial and intrinsically at odds with the very process the WICB wants to pursue.”It is clear that several of the statements made in this WICB release of September 7 have already drawn conclusions that impinge on the entitlements of those players who may be the subject of any such disciplinary matters and may well give them the view that the WICB referral mentioned in the release is for sentencing rather than for hearing.”WIPA also advised its members who may be affected to “seek legal advice immediately and take whatever action such legal counsel deems appropriate”.It also denied WICB claims that Ramnarine’s departure towards the end of the mediation talks in Barbados had derailed the peace process. WIPA claimed both parties were bound by a confidentiality clause, but the WICB contravened this engagement by revealing details of the talks at separate press conferences in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago last Monday and Tuesday.In addition, WIPA said WICB president Julian Hunte also made public a letter written to CARICOM chairman and Guyana president Bharrat Jagdeo and accused former board director Conde Riley of making copies of the WICB draft agreement public.WIPA also pointed out that on August 31, when the WICB continued in mediation, negotiations did not cease. “In fact, a further proposal put by WIPA and a counter-proposal made by the WICB were discussed and the state of play at the end of the session on 31st August was that a proposal was on the table by the WICB for WIPA’s consideration,” a WIPA release said.”When WIPA returned to talks on Tuesday morning 1st September 2009, led by Mr Ramnarine, who had returned in light of the new proposal put the previous day and a new document introduced late in the evening of 31st August, 2009 by the WICB by way of an email communication, the WICB was only prepared to deal with that new document.”The WICB made it clear that the previous draft agreement, the proposal and counter proposal made on the 31st August, 2009 were no longer to be the subject of any negotiation.”WIPA in turn informed the mediator and the WICB team that the content of the draft document submitted by the WICB on the 1st September 2009 could not be considered a serious and credible proffer for engagement.”

Those who argue the ECB’s decision to give exclusive rights to English cricket to Sky TV has reduced access to the game will be quick to seize on the viewing figures for the last day of the Ashes series at The Oval on Sunday as ammunitionJust under two million watched the climax of the game, and the average throughout the day was 856,000. Channel Five’s early-evening highlights, the only way for terrestrial viewers to see any action, was watched by about two million as well.This compares with the figures for the end of the Ashes in 2005, the last match to be shown free-to-air under the old Channel 4 deal. On that occasion 7.4 million saw the conclusion of the game even though it took place on a Monday. Between lunch and the close the channel averaged 4.7 million viewers, over five times as many as saw Sky this time round.Labour MP Derek Wyatt, until recently aide to sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe, said it was time for the ECB to examine its strategy rather than for the government to force it to deal with free-to-air broadcasters, as many are demanding.”It’s for the ECB to redefine what it does,” he said. “The public has lost its way and are confused. If it has any sense, it would recognise that it needs terrestrial coverage and that should be in any future contract.”

Australia 340 for 9 dec (Watson 95, Hussey 65) beat England Lions 237 (Dalrymple 58, Lee 3-37) by 103 runs
ScorecardBrett Lee took three wickets but is an unlikely selection for The Oval•PA Photos

And, now, the selection headache. Australia turned in a clinical and collaborative bowling performance against the England Lions on Sunday, but with no individual radically advancing his cause, the make-up of the tourists’ line-up for the fifth Test will remain a mystery for several days yet.Brett Lee was statistically the best of the Australian bowlers in Canterbury, removing both openers and skittling Liam Plunkett later in the day for figures of 3 for 37 from 16 overs. It seems highly unlikely, however, that his performance will be enough to convince selectors to part ways with one of the four incumbent fast bowlers who propelled Australia to victory inside three days at Headingley last week.Lee, in his first competitive outing in six weeks, began inauspiciously on Saturday evening but increased in pace and intensity on the second morning. His endeavours were rewarded with the wickets of Joe Sayers and Stephen Moore before lunch – the latter to a brilliant, diving catch from Simon Katich at point – but Lee reserved his highlight-reel moment for Plunkett. Unleashing a fast, full delivery, Lee scythed through Plunkett’s defences to splay the stumps, then watched on as one of the bails was pilfered by a souvenir-seeking seagull and flown to a nearby roof. “We were trying to see if he was going to eat it,” Nathan Hauritz said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”Australia’s main selection battle ahead of the Oval Test – that which pitches Hauritz against Stuart Clark for the final bowling berth – remained unresolved on Sunday, with both proving more probing than prolific. Hauritz dismissed Andrew Gale and Steve Davies in consecutive deliveries after the lunch break, and Clark accounted for James Harris, Glamorgan’s teenage allrounder, later in the day, but neither could manage a definitive knockout blow in their bid to impress Andrew Hilditch’s panel.Hilditch intimated last week the Australians would lean towards their preferred three-quicks-one-spinner formation for the Ashes decider, although the final decision will be largely influenced by conditions. Clark could feel justifiably aggrieved if overlooked for the fifth Test given his major contribution to Australia’s innings-and-80-run victory at Headingley, and his solid outing in Canterbury. Steven Kirby incurred his wrath with three bouncers to the helmet, but Harris would be his only victim of the day, caught by Chris Hartley, Australia’s replacement wicketkeeper, in the 76th over of the innings.Potentially working in Clark’s favour ahead of the fifth Test were the performances of the part-time spinners, Katich and Marcus North, both of whom claimed a wicket and reaffirmed themselves as legitimate bowling options. Hauritz, though, remains Australia’s preferred choice, and did his selection chances no harm with 16 controlled overs.”Selection will come down to how the wicket is and what they think the best mix is,” Hauritz said. “It will just come down to how the conditions are. The wicket may still be dry and they might want to take four quicks. If picked, I know I’ll do my role well. Every time I’ve had the opportunity I’ve done that.”Every Test you play you learn more about yourself and what you can or can’t do. Before I came out I was labelled a defensive bowler who didn’t spin the ball. But I think I’ve shown on a spinning wicket what I can do. That defensive tag was weird but I can’t change people’s perception. I suppose that came about because I didn’t spin it that much when I first started. It doesn’t really faze me. I can also play a role even if it’s not spinning. I think I’ve done okay.”