Tag Futebol

In a move clearly designed to embarrass Peter Chingoka, the ZImbabwe Cricket chairman, on the eve of the ICC executive meeting in Dubai – and to send a blunt message to Malcolm Speed and Ehsan Mani – clubs in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe’s second biggest province, voted to boycott all club games this weekend in protest against his leadership.All the matches in the Matabeleland Cricket Association First League set for Sunday have been called off, and a stakeholders meeting has been called at Queens Sports Club where a decision is set to be made on whether Matabeleland continues to associate itself with Zimbabwe Cricket.”All clubs in Matabeleland are boycotting cricket starting this weekend pending a stakeholders meeting to be held on Thursday,” a spokesman said. “We are doing this to send a clear message to the ICC that Peter Chingoka does not have the mandate of anyone in Zimbabwe. So who is he representing in that meeting?”With Matabeleland turning against Chingoka, he appears to have almost no support among any of the country’s major clubs. Although Mashonaland backs him at provincial level, the six major clubs – Takashinga, Old Georgians, Alexandra Sports Club, Harare Sports Club, Old Hararians and Universals – have all split from the official provincial league in protest against the leadership of Cyprian Mandenge, a close ally of Chingoka and ZC managing director Ozias Bvute. A result of that dispute was evident in Mashonaland’s substandard side during the Faithwear Provincial One-Day tournament.

The timing of the announcement coincides with a move by senior administrators to advise the ICC of continuing deterioration in the state of cricket inside Zimbabwe. One source told Cricinfo that since January when the Sports and Recreation Commision appointed an interim executive – led by Chingoka – to run the affairs of ZC, the situation has deteriorated. He claimed that there was no evidence that the independent forensic audit into serious allegations of financial irregularities had made any progress, and added that the board had continued to be politically cleansed of anyone opposing the existing regime.”If the ICC still chooses to believe that Chingoka is in control and has the support of the stakeholders, then we might as well all give up,” he told Cricinfo. “The situation continues to get worse and the ICC has effectively endorsed all that has been done. They know the reality, and yet they have done nothing to help. The meeting next week represents the last chance for them to act”

Glenn McGrath is the only fast-bowling certainty as Australia try to fit four into three for the opening Test against New Zealand starting on Thursday. While Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz are widely considered to be fighting for one spot, Jason Gillespie’s place has become more contentious as the selectors try to juggle a trio of openers.”I would say McGrath is probably the favourite to start, and then it’s down the pecking order from there,” Adam Gilchrist, the vice-captain, told The Australian. “They all warrant a spot, but we all know the maths doesn’t work. I’ll be as interested as anyone when it comes to seeing that final position.”Lee’s one-day form has provided an incredibly persuasive case for inclusion after 14 months out of the side, but if he plays he will open and Kasprowicz, who took 47 wickets in 13 Tests last year, would be more suited to the role of first-change than Gillespie. The last time Gillespie did not take the new ball was in South Africa in 2002 when Lee and McGrath were preferred.Gilchrist said Lee’s bowling, which earned him 10 wickets in the ODIs, reminded him of the last tour to New Zealand when he was regularly at top speed. “His pace combined with good line-and-length bowling – good pressure-building bowling – is what’s going to be effective,” he said.Lee fired a 160.8kph delivery during his first over of Saturday’s final one-day match at Napier and Gilchrist told the Sydney Morning Herald he felt the previous ball at 160.4kph was faster. “It swerved up a bit as I tried to take it and it nearly hit me in the head,” he said. “I was very happy just to be there for the next ball.”Matthew Hayden finished two net sessions yesterday and continued to improve from a shoulder injury suffered during the second one-day match. But Gilchrist was wary of picking a four-pronged fast-bowling attack if Hayden was ruled out. “If Matthew wasn’t fit we’ve lost one of our most experienced players and best batsmen, so that is going to be a bit unsettling,” Gilchrist told the Courier-Mail. “We don’t want to tinker with it too much if we’ve already got forced changes.”

With the aim of developing future Victorian and Australian cricketers, the Commonwealth Bank and Cricket Victoria today announced an exciting new partnership.The initiative will provide a clear pathway for cricketers from junior representative ranks through to first-class cricket and will be known as the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Victoria Pathway Development Program. The four-year partnership will provide junior Victorian cricketers with enhanced levels of skill and personal development, as well as access to the latest in cricket technology.Commonwealth Bank Regional General Manager, Mr Richard Porter said he was delighted to be associated with the Pathway program. “We view Cricket Victoria’s Pathway program to be consistent with many values and objectives of the Commonwealth Bank. A commitment to community, in particular providing opportunities for young people to strive for achievement is central to our philosophy and as such we are very excited."Cricket Victoria President Mr Bob Merriman said the announcement was another chapter in what has been a successful partnership. “Cricket Victoria’s association with the Commonwealth Bank has been a long and fruitful partnership for both organisations. Their commitment to the game of cricket has been quite outstanding from both a national and state perspective and we are delighted that they are going to partner Cricket Victoria’s quest to develop our state’s young players”.The Commonwealth Bank Cricket Victoria Pathway Development Program consists of a series of programs and competitions for talented cricketers beginning at Under 13 level and includes statewide championships at Under 15, Under 16 and Under 18 age levels. These programs feed players through to the State Youth teams, Victorian Bushrangers and ultimately Australian representation.

Geoff Marsh, the Zimbabwe cricket coach, believes that the team is getting its act together despite the embarrassing defeats in Sri Lanka. He talks to CricInfo about his four months in charge and the tours ahead:”I think the performances in Bangladesh were very good. That was a good promise for the team. We were obviously disappointing in Sri Lanka. The boys came away from their disappointing one-day performance but it was a tough series to come up against Murali – everyone knows what a great bowler he is. It was hard work.It was a disappointing performance, and if you look at the whole team the guys will be disappointed with some of their performances, no doubt about that. I think everyone would be honest and say they would have liked to score more runs but it was tough. The wickets were turning square and Murali took 30 wickets in the series. But from the coach’s point of view the guys never stopped working and it was just one of those things.One pleasing thing for myself was that the boys worked very hard right to the end, fighting right to the last ball in a Test match. But we were up against a good team and we couldn’t quite get it right. Hopefully we can take the positives out of that tour and I hope all the players learnt from the experience so we can get to India in a good frame of mind and improve on our performance.There have been problems with the opening partnerships. We had Trevor Gripper and Stuart Carlisle making a record stand against Sri Lanka in the last Test and hopefully that partnership will blossom in India.It’s always important to get a good start. That’s the key. In Sri Lanka Andy Flower was always coming in with the score at 20 or 30 for three. He had pressure of not only being number one in the world but also of getting the team back and getting runs on the board.In the final Test it was very disappointing that after putting more than 150 for the first wicket and being 230 for five overnight we were all out for 236 and then dismissed for less than 80 in the second innings. But if you actually saw Murali bowling that day, that’s what he is capable of doing. For three days in that match the guys were doing very well and hanging in there, but then Murali bowled that spell and it set the team back. We went into that day really keen to have a good fourth day and get ourselves into a winning position. Unfortunately Murali bowled too well that day and we were unable to build on the overnight score.After the tours of Sharjah, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, I thought Heath Streak’s performance was very good. Travis Friend showed improvement, as did Trevor Gripper. The most important thing now is to get consistency from all the players. If we manage that, we will be very competitive.After the three months that we have been away I am happy with the couple of changes that have been made to the team for India. Obviously bringing Alistair Campbell back in the team was good. We all know that he is a very experienced player whp has been in terrific form in the A team and hopefully he can bring that form into our team.At the end of the day we need all our batsmen to raise the bar and improve on their performance because if you don’t get enough runs on the board then obviously you don’t give your bowlers a chance. That’s what our goal will be when we get to India.There has been the need for a specialist spinner and Raymond Price has come into the team, which is good. Grant Flower bowled very well for us in Sri Lanka. We have Trevor Gripper who can roll his arm over but atthe end of the day it will be very helpful if all the bowlers do their job in India.You know India is a good place for swing and seam bowling so I think we have our bowling for the tour pretty balanced. I also hope that the guys have learnt a lot playing against Murali. He is the benchmark, isn’t he? He is the best spinner you can play against and I’m sure when we get to India our batsmen will be a lot more positive and take what they learnt in Sri Lanka into that series.We will not be worried about having to play just one warm-up match in India because we have just come from Sri Lanka where they have similar conditions. Players are now used to having just a couple of net sessions, one warm-up match and go straight into the one-day and Test matches.Every team in the world struggles to play well away from home and when I was coach of Australia it was our goal to improve on our away performance. That’s something that the guys here have spoken about and something that we will address before the series starts inIndia.Those players who have been dropped from the first team should go back and play cricket. It’s important that those players who get left out of the first team can go back on to the domestic scene and play for Zimbabwe A, and prove to the selectors that they want to return. That’s why it’s important to have more threeor four-day cricket because not everyone can make the A team. Players like Gary Brent, Mluleki Nkala and HenryOlonga need threeor four-day cricket so that they can go out there and perform, get themselves back in good nick and put themselves back in contention for first-team places.Personally I would want to see a lot more threeand four-day cricket played over a long period of time. I think that it’s very important for the development of young players. At the moment I think there are only five three-day matches on the domestic scene every season, but hopefully we can get ten games a season. This gives players an opportunity to go out there and make big scores and bowlers can bowl long spells.”

In nine Test matches against South Africa Muttiah Muralitharan has taken five wickets in an innings or more eight time, including a double against South Africa in the drawn first Castle Lager/MTN Test match that ended at Kingsmead on Saturday.South African opening bat and man of the match at Kingsmead Gary Kirsten, however, poses one question: "How many of those Tests have Sri Lanka won?" The answer is one. Kirsten makes a very good point.For all Muralitharan’s success against South Africa, it was always the home team who dominated this match and, but for the loss of the fourth day to the weather, probably would have won.Muralitharan had a remarkable game, taking 11 for 161 and reaching 300 Test wickets in the process. For this achievement he was presented with an award by the Sri Lankan minister of tourism and sport, Lakshman Kiriella, at tea time on the last day.But even then Sri Lanka were fighting to save a match dominated by South Africa. In the end a fifth-wicket stand worth 52 which took up 111 minutes between Russel Arnold and Tillekeratne Dilshan saved the game with the tourists, set 345 to win in 82 overs, ending on 149 for six with eight overs remaining when play was called off for bad light.And that was just about the measure of South Africa’s dominance. The home side gave wickets in the morning as they extended their lead, eventually declaring at 140 for seven. Muralitharan took six for 39, but the South Africans were taking chances, prepared to exchange their wickets for quick runs.Shaun Pollock juggled with his batting order, bringing in himself at four and with Neil McKenzie, Lance Klusener and Daryll Cullinan going in at seven, eight and nine respectively.You can argue with this, but Pollock’s defence was that he wanted to send in the players happy to go after it – "The sloggers" – and give those who have to graft for their runs for a living a little protection.Perhaps the declaration was delayed a little too long, but with the last day not going the full distance anyway, the debate became academic.In the event, South Africa got rid of the Sri Lankan top order with Nicky Boje snapping up two, Mfuneko Ngam accounting for Sanath Jayasuriya and Makhaya Ntini bowling quite beautifully to eventually work out Mahela Jayawardene.Then Arnold and Dilshan dug in and although Pollock eventually had Arnold caught miscuing a pull and Romesh Kaluwitharana caught soon afterwards at mid on, they had already done enough to frustrate the South Africans.Arnold made 30 and Dilshan was not out on 28 at the end, but they batted for two hours and two-and-a-half hours respectively and they gave Sri Lanka the draw.Jayasuriya praised Muralitharan afterwards. "All of Sri Lanka is proud of him," he said. "He is the only Sri Lanka who could do this."He also felt that the Sri Lankan batsmen would be a little more confident going into the second Test at Newlands on January 2. This is a moot point. The South Africans will almost certainly field the same attack, but there is a possibility that Herschelle Gibbs, whose six-month ban ends with the New Year, will be brought in for Boeta Dippenaar.Perhaps more importantly, South Africa will look for a faster pitch at Newlands than they have had in four home Tests this summer. Even Kirsten, who scored 180 at Kingsmead, was talking about looking for a pitch that would give the South Africa quicks a little more assistance.Maybe the Newlands groundsman might come up with something a little more sporting for 2001.

ScorecardPeter Della Penna

Papua New Guinea’s batting underwhelmed again as they conceded the ODI series 2-0 to Scotland with a six-wicket defeat in Dubai. Scotland’s spin trio of Mark Watt, Con de Lange and Michael Leask returned combined figures of 6 for 91 in 30 overs to break the back of PNG’s batting. Scotland took 46.2 overs to run down the 193-run target, and lost six wickets in the process. Kyle Coetzer’s 66, and his partnerships of 61 for the second wicket with Calum MacLeod and 57 for the third with Richie Berrington proved crucial.After being invited to bat, PNG endured a slow start, Tony Ura and Kiplin Doriga putting on 26 in 10.5 overs. Watt was first to strike when he pinged Doriga in front to send him back for 11. PNG then lost three more wickets by the time they had doubled their score, ambling to 52 for 4 in the 22nd over. Sese Bau and Mahuru Dai briefly resurrected them with a 66-run fifth-wicket stand and finished as PNG’s top two scorers, notching up 41 and 38 respectively.Watt’s three wickets made him Scotland’s most successful bowler. He was also their most economical bowler, his 10 overs costing only 21. Leask took 2 for 42 in 10 overs, while de Lange ended his quota with 1 for 28.Scotland stumbled early in their chase, losing Matthew Cross for 3 in the second over. But they pulled themselves together with Coetzer taking control with his ninth ODI fifty. PNG’s bowlers did well to force Scotland to take the chase deep, and eventually the equation read 38 off 64 balls. By then Coetzer had gone. So too were MacLeod (19) and Berrington (39)It was George Munsey’s a run-a-ball 17 that took Scotland closer to the target as he partnered de Lange in a vital 25-run stand for the sixth wicket. De Lange remained unbeaten on 18 while a couple of lusty blows from Safyaan Sharif ensured the tension dissipated rather quickly.

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

A hundred from Mohammad Yousuf and a fine all-round performance by Shoaib Malik led Pakistan to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Yousuf and Malik put on 141 for the third wicket to steer Pakistan’s chase, with Yousuf’s 14th century the first in what has been a horribly one-sided Mobilink Cup. Malik’s 88 added to the three wickets he took earlier to restrict Zimbabwe to 244.The pair came together after Pakistan’s newbie openers had gone by the 15th over. Malik had already settled by then, returning to the one-down role he had once made his own, with Younis Khan resting. He averages over 40 from 34 innings at No.3 and it was immediately easy to see why so many argue for him to move up the order. He was off the mark immediately, clipping off his toes for four and in the next over he drove and cut Gary Brent for a couple more.Soon after, he twice cut Elton Chigumbura and then did likewise to Brent five overs later. Having grabbed the initiative then and with no real pressure, Malik’s calculating approach came out, as he dabbed and nudged runs for fun. A swift fifty was brought up, and though he lofted Ray Price over the boundary and welcomed Hamilton Masakadza with a brace of boundaries soon after, he was more than happy to play second fiddle.Yousuf, meanwhile, began regally, picking up singles when he felt like it and only occasionally breaking sweat to find the boundary. It seemed for a while as if he wasn’t even there, at least until a late dab to third man in the 27th over brought up the fifty partnership.He made his presence known after it, twice depositing Masakadza over wide mid-on to bring up his own fifty. His pace picked up to such an extent that only 34 balls later, he was bringing up an effortless hundred, the highlight of which was a magnificent loft over long-on off Price. The only blemish on a flawless innings was a mix-up with Malik, which prevented the captain from reaching a hundred of his own.It didn’t prevent Malik from taking the Man-of-the-Match award. He had already excelled earlier, prompting a slump as Zimbabwe – not for the first time in this series – let slip a position of considerable strength after opting to bat. Sean Williams and Tatenda Taibu had rescued the innings early, with an intelligent 85-run partnership, but just when much was promised, Malik dismissed both, and Brendon Taylor, during eight mid-innings overs.The pair have been Zimbabwe’s best batsmen this series and it was soon apparent why. Taibu repeatedly came out of his crease to neutralize the early swing which so bewildered the openers, most effectively when he drove Kamran Hussain past mid-off for the day’s first boundary. He cut twice soon after, but the real spurt came from Williams in the 14th over.Hussain tired after an impressive opening spell and Williams took toll, twice flicking him through midwicket for three and driving over point to bring up Zimbabwe’s 50. He then targeted Shahid Afridi, driving him elegantly through extra cover to mark the fifty stand, before cutting and lofting him for six an over later.Taibu provided typically impish support and at that stage, until Malik brought himself on little was of concern. But in his second over, Williams inexplicably chipped back two short of what would have been his third fifty of the series. Taylor went in Malik’s next over and the drive quickly petered out of the innings. Taibu fell immediately after getting to his ninth half-century and runs soon slowed to a trickle.Singles were grudgingly given up, boundaries even more so. Chigumbura and Chamu Chibhabha battled well without any great urgency and it was only at the death, through Keith Dabengwa, that Zimbabwe rallied. He took 19 off the last over, part of a 33-ball 45, to drag Zimbabwe to a competitive score. Competitive, but no more.

England have boosted their backroom staff by calling on the services of Jeremy Snape to act as sports psychologist.Snape, who is also Leicestershire’s captain, was already out in the Caribbean working with the Associates, but England have drafted him in for the World Cup. He will miss Leicestershire’s pre-season tour.England’s coach Duncan Fletcher said that while he expected a great contribution from Snape on the psychology front – Snape has a masters in sports psychology – he could also offer other skills.”Jeremy has extensive experience of the one-day game, ability to work with the spinners and good understanding of sports psychology,” he said.Snape will join England once he’s worked with the Netherlands.

Simon Jones has welcomed his return to fitness and, after spending the past week at Dennis Lillee’s bowling academy in India, can’t wait to return to bowling for his country.Jones suffered an ankle injury during the summer, forcing him to miss the final Ashes Test against Australia and England’s subsequent tour to Pakistan. For the past week, he has been honing his skills at Dennis Lillee’s MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai.”If I can achieve half as much as Dennis did, I’ll be well chuffed,” he told the . “He still talks to me as an equal, he doesn’t talk down to you.”We’ve just worked on a few technical aspects, like the alignment of my front arm and front leg in delivery stride, and his advice is top-drawer,” he said. “He keeps things simple and realistic and he doesn’t try to over-complicate your action. Yet every time I’ve come away from a session with Dennis I’ve felt as if I’ve learned something new.”He told me that, around 40 years ago, he jumped over a fence at the WACA stadium in Perth to watch my dad bowl for England and he reckons I’m a real chip off the old block.”England fly to India on February 12 for three Tests and seven one-dayers, and will want to drastically improve upon their performance in Pakistan in November. Jones, whose absence arguably affected England greater than they anticipated, says his expertise of reverse-swing could be a deciding factor in the series.”It’s been ideal preparation for the tour – it’s nice to get outside and bowl again because you can go stir-crazy when you’re stuck indoors all winter,” he said. “I’ve also had a sneak preview of the conditions, and although we will be using a different type of ball to the ones we used during the Ashes, there is a bit of reverse swing over here.”A couple of years ago I took five wickets in an innings twice for the A team, so I know my style of bowling can be effective on Indian pitches. They say you always become a better player when you are not in the England side, and a lot of people have been saying they missed me in Pakistan before Christmas.”I wouldn’t know about that, but I’m looking forward to linking up with the boys again and trying to start us off on another winning run – and I know the last week out here in Madras has put me in good stead for the tour.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Brisbane rain spoiled Australia’s chances in the inaugural Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in December, but today they were saved some serious blushes against West Indies by two thunderstorms at the Gabba. Stuck in deep trouble at 5 for 43, Australia tiptoed from the ground relieved to escape a severe beating, if not a drenching.Desperate for a win to stay close to second-placed Pakistan, West Indies were bouncing after snapping up early wickets while defending a sub-par total that grew in competitiveness as the Duckworth/Lewis Method came into play. However, their hopes were sapped by the 141-minute break, with Australia hobbling at 2 for 12, and crushed by the abandonment, when the West Indian bowlers had them on the mat. Pedro Collins, who collected three searing wickets, and Wavell Hinds deserved to be the most hurt.With the target reduced to 195 in 28 overs, Australia lost two wickets in quick succession: Ricky Ponting was first trapped by a Collins inswinger before Andrew Symonds nibbled at one in the same over (4 for 26). Symonds has five ducks in his past six innings, but the run – or lack of runs – was the least of Australia’s concerns. Everyone in the home dressing-room wanted the heavens to open again as Michael Clarke bunted a pull straight to Marlon Samuels at mid-on (5 for 30). Australia’s wishes were granted 13 runs later, and as the players left the ground for the final time the only clapping came from the thunder.The chase began poorly when the comebacks of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist ended in similar ways, for identical scores. Hayden, refreshed from a week spent surfing cyclonic waves, still had his feet stuck in the sand when he played away from his body and edged Collins for 6 (1 for 8). Ian Bradshaw, the second piece in the left-arm opening pair, then induced an edge from Gilchrist with a terrific outswinger (2 for 12).An over later Kevin Mitchell junior, the curator, tractored his covers on to the field with the players taking their positions and the umpires conferring. A bulky man, Mitchell eventually convinced everyone, including the reluctant West Indians, to leave the arena before the first strikes of lightning and stand-shaking thunder.There were few shudders in the West Indies innings as Hinds, who adopted a batting style reminiscent of openers in the 1980s, anchored them to 263. Top-order batting has evolved over the years and batsmen playing themselves in during a one-day game now carries antiquated connotations. Hinds managed a fair combination as he tortoised while Chris Gayle hared, and discovered a smoother roller-blading motion as the innings wore on, finishing with 107 off 138 balls.Taking 88 balls to reach his half-century, Hinds increased the tempo in the second half with some powerful shots, particularly to midwicket, to collect his fifth ODI century. Both openers caused Australia trouble – Gayle rocketed West Indies to 22 in two overs – but Hinds was the slow-burning candle, lasting into the 48th over until he skyed Shane Watson to Adam Gilchrist (6 for 253).

Each time West Indies started moving ahead Australia dragged them back. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was as lively as the music that greeted his entrance, even though his only boundary was a six over midwicket off Symonds. Crabbing his way to 45 off 48 balls, Chanderpaul increased the scoring rate, and his 89-run partnership with Hinds threatened to do more than sparkle until he picked out Ponting at cover off Michael Kasprowicz (4 for 181).Kasprowicz’s next significant moment came with the amazing run-out of Marlon Samuels, the victim of a mix-up with Hinds. Running in from point, DamienMartyn threw to the bowler’s end, where Kasprowicz collected it off balance about two metres from the wickets. As he fell, Kasprowicz flicked the ball behind him on to the middle stump (5 for 210). A second piece of brilliance came when he dived forward for a stunning catch off Dwayne Bravo at long-off (7 for 260).Playing on his home ground, Kasprowicz’s bowling was also accurate and restrictive, while Gillespie proved expensive in his return from a calf injury, despite picking up three wickets. Ponting gave Brett Lee only four overs at the start, and called him back when Brian Lara came in. He quickly got his man to a doubtful Simon Taufel decision.Lara was on 6 when he rocked back to drive Lee through cover, and the Australians appealed in unison as the ball went through to Gilchrist. But replays showed it wasn’t close to the bat, and Lara stood his ground for several seconds before trudging off. He also fought to stay when the rain came, and suffered another unfortunate result.