Round-up of the third day of the fifth round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2010Water and Power Development Authority have gone clear of Habib Bank Limited at the top of the table after an innings and 82-run victory over Karachi Blues at the National Stadium in Karachi. WAPDA had won their prior two matches in just two days, and needed just 38.1 overs on day three, this time, to bowl Karachi out for 189 in their second innings. WAPDA captain Naved-ul-Hasan took 4 for 54 to take his match-haul to eight wickets, while seamer Umaid Asif finished with figures of 3 for 62 in the second innings. WAPDA had shown their intentions of winning the match early after declaring on Tuesday, 271 runs ahead. Karachi started the day on 19 for 1, and lost wickets consistently, their tail finally capitulating as the final four wickets fell for nine runs. Karachi opener Rameez Raja managed to hold up one end for a while, scoring 58, but the next highest scorer was extras with 25, as Karachi did little to improve their first innings batting performance, which saw them get 128. Karachi are just three points off the foot of the table.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited suffered a dramatic collapse as they fell to 57 all out, giving Islamabad a 73-run victory at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Islamabad seamer Nasrullah Khan took 7 for 31 to finish with ten wickets for the match, and Rauf Akbar chipped in with the other three wickets for Islamabad. SNGPL started the day on top and got Islamabad’s last wicket without too much damage, leaving themselves a target of 130. The match had been a low-scoring affair till the third morning, with neither team having gone past the 200-mark in their first innings. SNGPL lost three early wickets, but a 20-run sixth-wicket stand put them in with a chance at 53 for 5. Nasrullah, though, ripped through the tail as SNGPL’s last five wickets fell for four runs. The win gave Islamabad six points, which takes them up to sixth in the table, just one place behind SNGPL.Multan’s dismal season continued, as Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited consigned them to their fifth consecutive defeat, at the Multan Cricket Stadium. ZTBL neded just 28 overs on the third day to complete the nine-wicket win, after having reduced Multan to 149 for 7 on Tuesday. Multan at least forced ZTBL to bat again as debutant Mazhar Bashir scored 71 off 77 balls, to set target of 40. ZTBL seamer Iftikhar Anjum, who has played 62 ODIs for Pakistam, took Multan’s last two wickets to finish with four for the innings and six for the match. ZTBL are now level on points with Habib Bank Limited in second position.The run-fest at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha continued as Faisalabad moved to within 35 runs of National Bank of Pakistan’s first-innings total of 467, with five wickets still in hand. Faisalabad look set to pick up their first points of the season as Asif Hussain’s unbeaten 149 took them within touching distance of a first-innings lead. Faisalabad had responded well to NBP’s big score, reaching 151 for 0 on Tuesday. And, after a couple of wickets fell early on the third day, Hussain held fort, batting through the rest of the day, and adding 90 runs for the fourth wicket with Faisalabad captain Naved Latif. The hosts’ strong reply means that Kamran Akmal’s double-century for NBP in their first innings may go rewardless.Rawalpindi seamers Rizwan Akbar and Nasir Malik set up what should be an upset against Habib Bank Ltd at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Akbar and Malik had shared seven wickets to bowl out HBL for 164 on Tuesday, and repeated the dose on the third day of the match, taking three scalps apiece to reduce HBL to 265 for 8 after the hosts had enforced the follow on. HBL are now just 39 runs ahead, and barring a miraculous recovery by their tail, Rawalpindi should have a fairly easy chase tomorrow. Malik and Akbar followed a similar formula to HBL’s first innings, with Akbar getting the early wickets, and then Malik coming in to dismantle the middle-order. Aftab Alam and Khaqan Raja got half-centuries for HBL, but there was little back-up from the rest.Sialkot got their foot in the door against Pakistan International Airlines, taking four wickets in the last session, after PIA had done well to dismiss the hosts for 274 in their first innings. Sialkot’s opening bowlers, debutant Waqas Ahmed and Prince Abbas, struck early in PIA’s second innings, reducing them to 3 for 2 at one stage. Ahmed struck again, as did fast bowler Mohammad Abbas, to leave PIA at 55 for 4 at stumps. PIA’s first innings total of 388 means they have a 169-run lead, and Faisalabad will need to strike early tomorrow to make sure they don’t have to chase too much. Sialkot had started the third day at the Jinnah Stadium at 142 for 3, and PIA seamer Ali Imran and Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain, took four wicket each to get them out for 274.

A round-up of the first week of matches in the MTN40

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2010The Dolphins set the tone for a South African weekend that was dominated by Natal-based sides when they beat the Cobras by 37 runs in Durban. Things started badly for the Dolphins. Loots Bosman, fresh from his trip to the UAE, was out for a duck in the second over. Then, the procession of half centuries began. Cameron Delport (52 off 44 balls), Imraan Khan (53 off 66 balls), Ravi Bopara (80 off 82 balls) and Glen Addicott (70 off 41 balls) helped the Dolphins to a healthy 281 for 6. Bopara shared in a 60-run partnership with Imraan and a 126-run stand with Addicott to earn the Man-of-the-Match award. Monde Zondeki was the most economical bowler for the Cobras, taking 1 for 27 in five overs.In reply the Cobras started strongly. Herschelle Gibbs (40 off 32 balls) and Andrew Puttick (47) put on 69 for the first wicket in 11.3 overs. Gibbs was bowled by Quinton Friend (2-48) and Stiaan van Zyl (20 off 29 balls) joined Puttick at the wicket. Imran Tahir (2-32) was one of the two Dolphins’ substitutes and showed his class as a limited-overs bowler. After he removed van Zyl, the Cobras middle order couldn’t get it together. Justin Kemp scored 37 off 41 balls, but the support he required from Justin Ontong (27 off 25 balls) and Richard Levi (11 off 8 balls) was lacking. The Cobras ended on 244 for 9, handing the Dolphins a respectable win.In Potchefstroom, the Lions beat the Knights by three wickets. The Lions opted to field and had immediate reward. Ethan O’ Reilly (2-33), who Alviro Petersen describes as having “a heart bigger than his body”, plucked two early wickets. Morne van Wyk (0) was bowled with the first ball of the match and Reeza Hendricks was caught behind. Rilee Rossouw rode to the Knights rescue. He scored 102 off 103 balls, with 12 fours and one six, to form the mainstay of the Knights’ innings. Small contributions from Deal Elgar (30 off 39 balls) and Adrian McLaren (29 off 31 balls) helped the visitors to 259 for 8. Paul Harris (2-43) made clear his intention to challenge for a place in the national one-day side with an economical return.The Lions relied on batting contributions all-round to chase down the total. Petersen (49 off 38 balls) and Richard Cameron (52 off 51 balls) rallied to put them in a commanding position after Stephen Cook departed early. Zander de Bruyn (52 off 52 balls) also chipped in with a half-century. Robbie Frylinck (23* off 11 balls) was with Werner Coetsee at the end as the Lions won off the penultimate ball of the match.The Knights will be disappointed with their bowling performance, giving away 20 wides. Dillon du Preez (0-41) will be particularly aggrieved. Despite not bowling a wide, he went for a more than ten runs an over.The Warriors and Titans also contested a thrilling encounter, in which the defending champions beat their northern rivals by four wickets. Makhaya Ntini (1-33) struck early to remove Blake Snijman and Basheer Walters (1-34) had Gulam Bodi out for 5 as the Titans found themselves 22 for 2 in the sixth over.Jacques Rudolph (85 off 95 balls) withstood the storm of wickets and was helped by late bursts from his lower order. Roelof van der Merwe (36* off 32 balls) and David Wiese (39* off 26 balls) propelled the Titans to 212 for 7. None of the Warriors bowlers got more than one wicket.Davy Jacobs led the Warriors reply. His 58 runs came off just 42 balls and laid the foundation for his team. Mario Olivier (2-24) got the Titans back into the game when he removed Jacobs and Arno Jacobs in consecutive overs. Ashwell Prince (45 off 63 balls) and Justin Kreusch (36 off 59 balls) were made to work hard to put the Warriors back in the driving seat. Kelly Smuts (22* off 21 balls) and Lyall Meyer led the Warriors to victory with two balls to spare.Batsman of the week: For the first century of this season’s MTN40 and helping dig his team out of a hole, Rilee Rossouw earns this week’s prize.

If the Indians thought they had hit rock bottom on the opening day, they were in for the most unbelievable of shocks as they crashed through that bottom and continued their free-fall

The Bulletin by George Binoy18-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
AB de Villiers was a man in a hurry, and scored South Africa’s fastest ever Test century•Getty Images

South Africa’s powerful performance during the first half of the third day added so much ground to the territory captured on the previous two that the dominance of India’s openers for 29 overs, their half-centuries and three dropped catches made no dent in the home team’s ironclad prospects of taking a 1-0 lead in the series.If India thought they had already hit rock bottom, they were in for the most unbelievable shock as they crashed through that and continued to free-fall. Their bowling was toothless, and South Africa infinitely more ruthless. Under blue skies in Centurion, AB de Villiers pulverised the featherweight attack like a heavyweight might, and scored a hundred in under two hours. South Africa’s lead swelled by 225 runs in 36 overs before lunch and Jacques Kallis reached his maiden double-century soon after the break. Graeme Smith declared shortly after on 620 for 4 – when de Villiers fell – with a monstrous lead of 484.In cloudier weather, Virender Sehwag and Gambhir gave India a modicum of respite by surviving the new ball and scoring briskly. Their partnership was worth 137, but the battle was for longevity and both batsmen lost it. Their dismissals left India with eight wickets in hand and two days to survive. They’ll need a batting performance without precedent, and perhaps substantial rain as well.That India were attempting to avoid an innings defeat so early was because their bowlers were helpless in the morning: unable to make a breakthrough, unable to control the run-rate, unable to do anything to help their cause. Ishant Sharma was gifted a wicket but de Villiers seamlessly picked up where Hashim Amla left off. His 76-ball century was the quickest by a South African. Kallis, who until today averaged about 14 after resuming on an overnight century, added plenty more.The maiden over de Villiers played out against Jaidev Unadkat soon after he came in – on 396 for 3 – was the lull before the hurricane. His first forceful shot was the straightest of drives, bisecting the gap between Ishant on his follow-through and the stumps. de Villiers then executed the plan to target Harbhajan Singh to perfection. He stepped out to the offspinner’s first delivery, but had to readjust to a fuller length and squirt it through point. In Harbhajan’s next over, de Villiers nimbly got down on one knee and launched the ball over deep square leg. Soon he was reverse-sweeping and his aggression rubbed off on Kallis, who had been restrained for the first hour.The century partnership came when de Villiers danced towards Suresh Raina and caused some of the fans on the grass banks at wide long-on to rush to catch the ball. Two more consecutive sixes off Raina, a muscular pull and a slog-sweep, took de Villiers to his century. Kallis helped himself against Raina’s long-hops as well and also dismissed Sachin Tendulkar over deep midwicket.

Smart Stats

• South Africa’s total of 620 for 4 is their sixth-best in Tests, and their highest against India.

• South Africa’s first-innings lead of 484 is their second-highest in Tests. The only occasion they managed a higher lead was against England at Lord’s in 2003, when they took a lead of 509 and eventually won by an innings and 92 runs.

• For India too, it’s their second-highest first-innings deficit: they’d fallen behind by 490 runs against West Indies at Eden Gardens in 1958-59.

• AB de Villiers’ 75-ball century is the tenth-fastest in all Tests, and the quickest by a South African.

• Jacques Kallis’ unbeaten 201 lifts his overall average against India to 67.78, with four centuries in 14 Tests. At home, he averages 88 against India.

• The 224-run stand between Kallis and de Villiers is South Africa’s second-highest for the fourth wicket, and their best against India.

• Kallis’ 230-run partnership with Hashim Amla is the second time they’d added more than 200 against India in 2010: in February, they’d put together 340 in Nagpur.

• The Amla-Kallis and Kallis-de Villiers pairs are among the top five pairs in terms of runs scored for South Africa.

India were using part-timers because the form of the specialists left MS Dhoni with few options. After the battering on the second day, India were desperate for a stronger start, and Sreesanth began with a no-ball, complementing his first-ball wide yesterday. Ishant was better but one of his fielding efforts was indicative of India’s morale. Sreesanth had delivered a short ball, Amla had pulled, and Ishant, having just completed an over, jogged along the boundary and made no effort to save the four. Some Indians glared at him, but no one’s performances lifted.Smith might have declared at lunch but Kallis was 18 short of a double-hundred. He got there by glancing Jaidev Unadkat to fine leg to spark off tumultuous applause at SuperSport Park. de Villiers was celebrating for his partner with arms aloft, and the South Africans in the dressing room clapped vigorously. Kallis took off his helmet, revealing his flushed face and full shock of hair, and raised his arms aloft. He had flung that monkey off his back after 142 Tests and his fans cheered for longer than usual.The pitch had certainly eased for even Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were unable to extract as much assistance from it on the third day. Their pace and bounce made a difference though. Gambhir was hit on his glove and thigh off successive short balls from Morkel, but grew more assured once he survived that period.Sehwag, bristling after his first-innings duck, slashed and drove repeatedly square on the off side, even though several fielders were waiting for the catch. Smith brought Tsotsobe into the attack in the eighth over and Sehwag blazed his second ball over wide long-on for six and the fourth over point. He continued to attack Tsotsobe but one powerful but airy drive was dropped by Amla at short cover. The chance was extremely difficult and Sehwag was on 34.With few men protecting the boundary on a fast outfield, Sehwag and Gambhir got terrific value for their shots and scored at around six an over. On 43 and 62, Gambhir was put down by Alviro Petersen at point. Sehwag, however, skied Paul Harris to Smith at deep cover, and Gambhir was lbw to one that kept low from Steyn. Those blows before the light faded in Centurion tightened South Africa’s vice-like grip on the Test.

At stake during the hearings is the playing future of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir as well as the reputation of the ICC as a governing body

Osman Samiuddin in Doha05-Jan-2011The hearings into the spot-fixing scandal involving three players from Pakistan will begin from Thursday in the unlikely setting of Doha, Qatar. At stake during the hearings is the playing future of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir as well as the reputation of the ICC as a governing body able to deal with a problem that strikes at the very heart of the game.Michael Beloff QC, the head of the independent tribunal and chairman of the ICC’s code of conduct commission, addressed the media at the Qatar Financial Centre Civil and Commercial Court, where the hearing will also take place. The briefing was a formal one, merely outlining the procedure the hearing will follow.Beloff outlined the history of the charges against the trio, stemming from a News of the World investigation into the Lord’s Test between Pakistan and England in August last year, as well giving brief profiles of the other members of the tribunal, Justice Albie Sachs from South Africa and Sharad Rao from Kenya.The hearing will be held behind closed doors, with only the tribunal, the ICC’s lawyers Jonathon Taylor and Ian Higgins, the players and their lawyers and witnesses present. The process, Beloff said, will begin with an opening statement from the ICC presenting its case against each of the three players. The players will each then be entitled to respond.”Thereafter, the ICC will present all of the evidence that it has prepared in support of the charges it has brought,” Beloff said. “That will take various forms and will include hearing from witnesses ‘in person’ and over the telephone.”Witnesses from the ICC are set to include representatives from as well as teleconferences with Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan limited overs captain, and Waqar Younis, the team coach.The players will then be expected to present their defence, and will be open to cross-examination by the ICC’s lawyers and the tribunal, before closing statements are made. Though January 11 is the last working date of the hearing, a decision could conceivably be arrived at before that. Alternatively the judgment could also be reserved till after the final date.The players arrived in Doha on Tuesday and as they have done all along, again protested their innocence. Butt, who was captain at the time of the Test and will be represented by London-based barrister Yasin Patel, told AFP, “I have always played the game for the love of it and have never been involved in any wrongdoing.”I am confident that I will soon be playing for my country. I have been practising all through this difficult phase of my life so that whenever I am cleared I am able to play.”Amir, who along with Asif is alleged to have bowled the deliberate, pre-planned no-balls, said, “This is the toughest phase of my life. My elders tell me that such phases come in the life of a professional, so I am bravely facing this situation and will hopefully come out of it to play for Pakistan.”Shahid Karim, Amir’s lawyer, said the incident had affected Amir emotionally. “One of the mitigating factors is age and the other mitigating factor is Amir’s previously unblemished record,” he told AFP.”Emotionally he is drained, he’s been affected badly by it, but he’s coping as best he can and above all he is very confident that he will come out of this clean.”The hearing is taking place in Doha because the third player, Asif, is not allowed to enter the UAE after he was deported from Dubai in 2008 because of a drug-related offence.The three were provisionally suspended by the ICC soon after the scandal emerged and though Butt and Amir contested that decision, their appeals were rejected. If found guilty, they could be banned for anywhere from five years to life.This is the first time such a case is taking place with the ICC effectively the prosecutors. Past offenders, such as Salim Malik and Hansie Cronje, were punished by their own boards.

The West Indies Cricket Board has moved to strengthen the roots of the game in the region with a historic US$360,000 grant programme

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2011The West Indies Cricket Board has moved to strengthen the roots of the game in the region with a historic US$360,000 grant programme which is aimed at supporting club cricket across the Caribbean.The Grassroots Cricket Support Facility will make available US$90,000 to clubs in four periods between March 2011 and December 2012. Clubs and local cricket organisations can apply to the WICB for a grant of up to US$5,000 each. The grants will be issued to clubs to aid in one of three areas, namely: infrastructure development, strengthening training programmes and procurement of gear and equipment.”This is one of the most important initiatives the WICB will undertake to help strengthen cricket at the grassroots level,” said WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire. “We are focussing on the clubs throughout the region who have expressed how difficult it is to organize and sustain cricket and we are lending a hand in a tangible way. West Indies cricket needs club cricket to be strong and we need to assist and give meaningful support.”Veteran cricket administrator and writer Tony Becca has been prominent in lamenting for years that club cricket is in dire need of a shoulder to lean on and this programme is one way in which we believe we can help to build and strengthen West Indies cricket from the ground up.”We want to have partnerships with clubs all across the region because these are where West Indies players come from and we have to not only recognise that but demonstrate to the clubs that the WICB is serious about assisting them as they execute their programmes and activities which benefit all of West Indies cricket.”

Two matches, two close defeats, crucial mistakes in the final stages of both matches. South Africa have to be hurting

Sidharth Monga in Cape Town19-Jan-2011Two matches, two close defeats, crucial mistakes in the final stages of both matches. South Africa have to be hurting. Batsmen freezing might just be the lesser of the evils. They pride themselves on their fielding, and tonight they dropped two catches they would normally take nine times out of 10. Zaheer Khan got reprieved on nought, Harbhajan Singh on 12, and the duo carried India home. Something similar happened when they were batting: after recovering well from an average start, they slumped from 198 for 4 in 44.4 overs to 220 all out.Graeme Smith chose to focus on that period – during the end of an innings – that has hurt them the most in this series. “I think 220 gave us a chance. The wicket was very difficult to bat on, had sort of plates on it, and its two-paced nature made strokes very difficult. It also had up and down bounce,” he said. “[But] we were really hoping for 240. I think 240 would have been a really good total there. JP [Duminy] and [debutant] Faff du Plessis played well together to take us to a decent total [rescuing them from 90 for 4]. Our Powerplay was poor again, we lost JP and Faff within two overs, and we only got 19 overs in our last six overs.”I really felt if we got 240 we were in with a real good chance of winning the game. We came real close, we missed two crucial chances at the back end, but I can’t fault the guys’ commitment tonight, their intensity and the effort they gave.”The commitment was of course there, in the way Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn bowled, in the way they caught, Steyn off his own bowling and Morkel at third man. Also pleasing was how – despite an expectedly nervous start – du Plessis made it easier for the selectors to pick him for the World Cup.”Terrific to see a guy like him come in,” Smith said. “He had a good domestic season, and just to carry that on here is good. He has prepared well, I have watched him in training. He will bring a lot to the squad I think. It was great to see him and play that well. Especially under pressure. We were under pressure when he came in. I think he has something special, which is good.”Smith said the key to bouncing back from such close defeats in back-to-back games was to not change what has been working for them. “I think it’s always important to keep doing the right things at training,” he said. “Keep reiterating the same point. The margins have been so small in the last two games, we could easily be 2-1 up or 3-0 up. Just got to keep training hard and keep doing the right things and hopefully the things will kick into place.”The World Cup squad comes out tonight, that will ease a lot of minds and stress on players. Hopefully free up a lot of players, and make them play with sort of freedom in the next few games.”They will need all the freedom because the opposition – an under-strength one at that – is sensing they are under pressure. “Our team is full of confidence right now,” Yusuf Pathan, Man of the Match tonight, said. “South Africa will obviously be under pressure because they have lost two matches, and we have done better in pressure situation. We made a comeback in the previous game, and here too. So the pressure will be there.”

Tasmania got through the defenses of the New South Wales tail to complete a crushing innings victory over the visitors within three days in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2011
ScorecardIn a top of the points table clash, Tasmania got through the defenses of the New South Wales tail to complete a crushing innings victory over the visitors within three days in Hobart.New South Wales resumed on 6 for 130, needing to score over 149 runs to make Tasmania bat again. The visitor’s lower order showed some resistance, with overnight No. 8 batsman Steve O’Keefe going on to score 46 – the innings’ top score.O’Keefe strung together fighting partnerships with Peter Nevill and Scott Coyte, but after the top order failed for the second time in the match, New South Wales were never going to make Tasmania sweat. The Tasmania bowlers produced disciplined spells, the pace trio of Luke Butterworth, James Faulkner and Adam Maher picking up three wickets each.Both teams were tied at the top of the points table on 32 points when the match began. With six points from this game, Tasmania move ahead.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first quarter-final between Pakistan and West Indies in Mirpur

The Preview by Andrew Miller22-Mar-2011

Match Facts

March 23, Mirpur

Start time 1430 hours (0830 GMT)The end of the line for the Rawalpindi Express? Shoaib Akhtar’s international career could finish in Mirpur on Wednesday•Associated Press

The Big Picture

The last time West Indies were in Dhaka, they couldn’t have been in more of a rush to get away – in every sense. First there was their on-field performance, as clinical as anything ever witnessed in a World Cup encounter, as a potentially awkward tussle with Bangladesh was done and dusted in barely 30 overs of one-sided action.Then, however, came the darker aspect of the day’s events. As the West Indies team bus pulled out of the Shere Bangla stadium, it was pelted with rocks by an irate section of the Bangladeshi support – in the mistaken belief, it was later reported, that their own defeated countrymen were on board. Chris Gayle’s alarmed tweet buzzed around the world in minutes, and though the team was later garlanded with flowers by an apologetic supporters’ group, the lack of amusement was tangible. “Is it ok for me to say thank god I left bangladesh???!!!” added Sulieman Benn once the team had departed for India.But now they are back, amid drum-tight security, and while the venue may not be to their liking, the opportunity could hardly be more alluring. Of all the teams in a tricky Group B, arguably no-one had a smoother on-field run to the quarter-finals than West Indies. Unlike England, whose struggles against the lesser teams turned every one of their subsequent games into nailbiters, the Windies took the polar opposite approach. They won the games in which they were favourites with such ease – with only the Irish coming close to giving them a scare in a 44-run defeat – that back-to-back defeats against England and India couldn’t rattle their rock-solid Net Run Rate.As a consequence they may start as underdogs in the knock-outs, but West Indies have landed the opponents that most suit their hot-and-cold style. Pakistan surpassed expectations to finish top of Group A, and in doing so they bookended the single most remarkable statistic in World Cup history – Australia’s 34-match unbeaten run that began in the wake of a Moin Khan-inspired 10-run defeat at Headingley in 1999, and came to an end at the hands of Umar Akmal in Colombo on Saturday. But as their remarkable defeat against the apparent weaklings of New Zealand demonstrated, there’s never any point in predicting predictability from Pakistan.The other three quarter-finals involve clear favourites, and it would be a shock if any of India, South Africa and Sri Lanka failed to advance to the semis. This one, however, is anyone’s game. On form, Pakistan should shade it, and a potential semi-final date with India in Mohali will ensure their resolve is at its sharpest. But as West Indies showed on their last trip to Mirpur, when they get on a roll they have players who can prove unstoppable.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWLWW

West Indies LLWWW

Watch out for…

In their Chennai defeat against England, West Indies threw punch after punch to leave their opponents weak at the knees, but they lacked the subtlety in between whiles to make their position count. Nevertheless, the star of their show was undoubtedly the 22-year-old Andre Russell, whose performance with bat and ball could and should have been the decisive factor. His energetic seamers claimed career-best figures of 4 for 49, and he followed that up with a rough-diamond 49 from 46 balls. In a contest that could be decided by individual brilliance, he has two strings with which to make his bow.Pakistan have long cultivated a reputation as mercurial performers, but scarcely a match goes by these days without a command performance from Umar Gul. He’s picked off 13 wickets in his six outings in this World Cup, including nine in the past three games, in which time he has been promoted to new-ball status as well. His effortless variations provide a threat at any stage of an innings, but never more so than at the death when his pinpoint yorkers can prove unhittable. With Chris Gayle at the top of West Indies’ order, and Kieron Pollard lurking at the bottom, his ten overs could prove instrumental in deciding the course of the match.

Team news

Chris Gayle and Kemar Roach are expected to slot straight back into the team after missing the India fixture, in place of Kirk Edwards and Ravi Rampaul, who will count himself unlucky to miss out after picking up figures of 5 for 51 in that match. There could also be a recall for the veteran Shiv Chanderpaul, who was dropped after a tally of 70 runs in four matches at the start of the tournament, but whose experience in such a crunch fixture could be invaluable. Ramnaresh Sarwan is the likeliest man to miss out, although Devon Thomas could conceivably hand the keeping duties to Darren Bravo.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Darren Sammy (capt.), 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Devendra Bishoo.Chanderpaul’s return would mean four left-handers in West Indies’ top five, and so the offspin of Saeed Ajmal is being seriously considered in place of the effective but unassuming left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman. Shoaib Akhtar, with his retirement imminent, will hope to earn a recall in place of Wahab Riaz, who was expensive against Australia, but the variation offered by his left-arm line is not an asset that Shahid Afridi would wish to dispense with in a hurry.Pakistan (possible) 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Wahab Riaz.

Darren Sammy reckons the Dhaka wicket looks like “a cricket pitch”, which is just as well really. Still, Bangladesh managed to make it look like a minefield on West Indies’ last visit to the venue, as Sammy, Roach and Benn routed their opponents for 58 in 18.5 overs. There is some grass on the surface, but it ought to be full of runs, as Virender Sehwag demonstrated during his 175 in the opening match of the tournament. The weather is set to be humid, with some prospect of dew in the second innings.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have won 64 of their 114 ODIs against Pakistan, but just two of the past 13 completed matches, dating back to January 2005.
• Shahid Afridi’s highest score in four World Cup campaigns is 37 against Zimbabwe in June 1999. However, he has claimed 17 of his 24 wickets in the current tournament.
• West Indies are bidding to reach their fifth World Cup semi-final, and their first since 1996. Pakistan reached the semis in five of the first seven tournaments, but haven’t got that far since losing the final in 1999.
• For a full statistical preview, click here

Quotes

“This is a ground where we executed our plans perfectly so it’s good to be back here. We feel loved by the people and we are ready for tomorrow.”
“It was a great win. We really worked hard before this tournament and I don’t think in my 14-year career we’ve ever worked as hard. Definitely, the expectation is greater now. We are feeling more confident.”

Shahid Afridi reflects on the achievement of beating Australia in Colombo

Australian cricket is on the “dance floor” of private ownership after Cricket Australia’s board opened the way for the part sale of two Twenty20 franchises to outside investors

Daniel Brettig13-May-2011Australian cricket is on the “dance floor” of private ownership after Cricket Australia’s board opened the way for the part sale of two Twenty20 franchises to outside investors. James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, confirmed the decision following a two-day board meeting at which the pressing issues of the 2011-12 Big Bash League loomed large.A stalemate between CA and its players over pay issues remains a major stumbling block, and Sutherland could not yet say which of the teams – one each in Sydney and Melbourne – would be put up for sale. Nonetheless, the formal decision to seek private investors, either in Australia or overseas, was highly significant for the game.There had been whispers of discontent among prospective buyers, some based in India, about financial and team modelling surrounding the sales, but Sutherland said administrators were now confident the move would meet with success. Money derived from the sales, with figures mentioned in the tens of millions, would come back to CA and then be distributed according to the wishes of board directors.”It’s fair to say we wouldn’t be making these decisions today if we didn’t have a level of comfort or anticipation about that,” Sutherland said of the 49% model. “We might be on the dance floor but there are things that need to be put in writing and signed off on in order for those deals to come to fruition and that’s really the stage that we’re at.”The board arrived at a decision this was an appropriate step to take bearing in mind the focus we need to have on the launch of the BBL, bearing in mind the levels of interest we are seeing from potential private investors, and just trying to balance all those things. We believe it’s appropriate to put our toe in the water.”That toe will be protected by plenty of terms and conditions, designed to prevent the kind of circus atmosphere that prevails in the Indian Premier League. Shane Warne’s revelations that he threatened to quit Rajasthan prior to the tournament’s first edition unless given full control of team selection will not be mirrored in Australia.”There’s no doubt CA and the state associations are very concious of ensuring control of the game and the teams rests with the respective state associations and that’s why the board’s resolved to sell to allow private investment of up to 49%,” Sutherland said. “That said ultimately it becomes an investment proposition we put to respective buyers, and there will ultimately be some sort of term sheet that a buyer needs to consider. We’ve got strong ideas on value, and not just in terms of dollars, but also other terms and conditions – there are some things that are not negotiable.”Negotiations on the MOU between the board and the players have proceeded even though neither party has shown an inclination to change its position, but Sutherland said the best chance of resolution lay in the healthy relationship that exists between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association. His optimism will be tempered by the shrinking amount of time left to reach agreements before player contracts expire on June 30.”My sense having spoken to Paul (Marsh, the ACA chief executive) a number of times over the last couple of weeks is that there is a sense of goodwill on both sides to try to find a way through things and certainly our board is of that mindset,” Sutherland said. “How those issues get resolved or unfold is really something that Paul and I and others from our respective teams need to work through, and we will I’m sure.”I don’t really have any firm timeframe, obviously the sooner the better, but I’m confident there’s enough goodwill on both sides to find a way through this. We both need each other, we know we need a positive outcome and resolution, we’d like to have Australian players, state players and BBL players contracted as soon as possible.”

Punjab’s bowlers, led by a resurgent Piyush Chawla, capitalised on Delhi’s woes to run to their third win on the trot, keeping their late-blooming campaign alive

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar15-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIrfan Pathan surprised everyone by rediscovering old-ball swing, but not much else changed for Delhi as they continued to flounder•Associated Press

The scorecard will say Paul Valthaty hammered 62 to power Punjab to an eventually match-winning 170, but that’s not even half the story. Through 50 balls of clueless flailing, Valthaty put on a display completely out of place in the beautiful setting that is Dharamsala. Delhi Daredevils matched his ordinariness with a shoddy show on the field, followed by the sort of batting display that can be expected from a one-man team, when that one man is missing. Punjab’s bowlers, led by a resurgent Piyush Chawla, capitalised on Delhi’s woes to run to their third win on the trot, keeping their late-blooming campaign alive.By all counts it was an average game of cricket, and the tone for the ordinariness was set right at the start. There was swing for Irfan Pathan, but not enough pace. There were swings of Adam Gilchrist’s bat, but not too many connections. At the other end, Morne Morkel’s other-worldly bounce systematically exposed Valthaty’s limitations. The pressure was on Punjab and the chances promptly followed, but Delhi graciously fluffed them. Yogesh Nagar and Irfan combined to mess up a straightforward run-out opportunity, before Venugopal Rao dropped a chance at slip. Delhi’s generosity was duly reciprocated by Punjab, as Gilchrist gifted his wicket soon after the botched run-out. It was like watching two football sides trying to outdo each other in an own-goal contest.Shaun Marsh’s advent sought to bring sanity to the proceedings – he began by charming Aavishkar Salvi over mid-on, before shredding him through point – but Valthaty’s methods continued to spoil the scenery. Initially he attempted on-the-up thumps, regardless of length, and often missed by ridiculously large margins. He later tried to counter the bounce with cuts, but rarely made contact. He then resorted to the pull, and it was soon evident why he doesn’t play that shot too often. On the one occasion when he managed to middle the ball, Varun Aaron at fine-leg ran in too far, and the ball sailed over the boundary.Valthaty eventually found his match against James Hopes’ trundle and ignited the innings with two violent sixes over the leg-side and an edged four through third man. Bowling listless lengths to Valthaty wasn’t Hopes’ biggest mistake of the innings though. He brought on S Sriram’s nondescript left-arm spin in the 13th over and Marsh indulged himself to some slog-sweeping violence. The over bled 25, including three big sixes over the leg side, as Punjab galloped from 70 for 1 in ten overs to 115 for 1 in 13.Delhi managed to contain the damage in the remaining overs, through Aaron’s pace, and Irfan’s surprising rediscovery of old-ball swing. Marsh and Valthaty perished to Irfan’s stock indippers off successive balls in the 15th over. Delhi could have taken control in the next over, but Naman Ojha grassed a chance to let off Dinesh Karthik, allowing Punjab to motor along to 170.Delhi’s chase followed a now-familiar template: David Warner’s shocking loss of form – he had cobbled up 47 runs in his last six innings before the game – and Virender Sehwag’s absence meant the innings lost steam quickly. Along with Naman Ojha, Warner played out ten successive dot balls early on, in the process giving Praveen Kumar his fourth maiden of the season. Ojha eventually found release by clouting Shalabh Srivastava for two sixes and a four in the sixth over, but it proved to be a false dawn. Ojha guided Srivastava behind in the eighth over for a run-a-ball 28, before Warner miscued the same bowler for a run-a-ball 29. Run-a-balls were, however, not going to be enough.Chawla has endured a rough time recently: he struggled for impact in the World Cup and his place in the team became a national debate; his struggles continued in the IPL, and he’s been left out for the West Indies ODIs. On Sunday, he finally came into his own with a sprightly spell, in which he refrained from his old failing of over-doing the googly. He accounted for Sriram, Rao and Hopes in successive overs, as Delhi went down with the setting sun in Dharamsala.