All posts by csb10.top

Over of the day
At 237 for 3 and with half an hour of the day’s play remaining, Englandwere in sight of a satisfactory day’s work. It had been slow andsapping, and possibly less rewarding than they had envisaged. Still, they were expecting to lay claim to at least a share of thespoils. And then Lasith Malinga wrecked all their good work in thespace of two new-ball deliveries. If Cook’s leg-before decision was debatable, therecould be no quibbling with his follow-up to Ravi Bopara. Full, fastand swinging, it ripped through the new boy’s defences and brought tomind the low-slung hostility Malinga generated in that incredibleWorld Cup spell in Guyana. He’s been quiet in this series so far, buthe’s always been about more than just his haircuts.Innings of the day
Throughout the first session, it seemed there was only one man to whomthis day was going to belong. Michael Vaughan was in such superlativetouch that by lunch he had outscored his junior partner by four runsto one. And yet, as the shadows began to creep, only one of thepairing was still standing. Cook committed himself to survival, andendured in the manner that recalled the endeavours of his Essexteam-mate, Nasser Hussain, seven years ago. Patience is the key in SriLanka, as all the sages in the England set-up like to profess. Cookcouldn’t quite see it through to the close, but he was the only manwho looked like heeding that advice.Drop of the day
It hasn’t been the easiest of series for Cook. His Kandy experiencelasted all of seven balls and though he had been hanging around forrather longer than that today, the runs were refusing to flow. Afterlimping to 8 from 38 balls, he edged Dilhara Fernando into no-man’sland between first and second slip. Realistically it was KumarSangakkara’s catch, but Mahela Jayawardene at second dived straightacross his team-mate, and the moment was lost. As England learnt totheir cost at Kandy, such let-offs can be crucial.Dismissal of the day
Like some mad scientist, Vaughan is always on the look-out for new andinventive ways to get out – handling the ball, getting bowled off theunderside of his thigh pad, serving up miracle one-handed plucks tooutstretched fast bowlers and the list goes on. Today, with a centurythere for the taking, he decided to test the adhesiveness of JehanMubarak’s thighs with a firm tuck off the hips. Mubarak at short legstood his ground, clenched his legs together, and rolled overbackwards to end the most fluent innings of the dayControversy of the day
A monstrous moment, and potentially a match-turning one as well.Kevin Pietersen drove with hard hands at his fifth delivery, and squirted asharp edge low to Chamara Silva’s left at third slip. Silva reactedbrilliantly, scooped the ball off the turf, juggled it as he fell toearth, by which time Sangakkara at first had swooped round to tidy therebound. Sri Lanka’s reaction was ecstatic and the umpires wereconvinced, but replays suggested the chance had gone to ground at thefirst attempt. Pietersen somehow attracts these moments. Against Indiaat Lord’s last summer he was reprieved as he reached the paviliongate, and once again he loitered with every intention of carrying onhis innings. This time it wasn’t to be, and England’s momentum waswell and truly quashed.Fight of the day
Ricky Hatton v Floyd Mayweather. It may have been taking place on theother side of the world, but the world title bout in Las Vegas was theonly topic of conversation on the morning of the Test. The ground wasechoingly empty for the first session of play as most of the BarmyArmy chose to watch the contest in the lounge at the Hilton. Onepunter was even said to have asked Angus Fraser over breakfast: “Whichare you off to watch today, the cricket or the boxing?”Idiot of the day
Midway through the 70th over, a streaker decided to liven upproceedings by hopping over the fence and giving a quick twirl of theoutfield. So far, so very average. The amusing aspect came a couple ofminutes later. Reunited with his shorts, and with a T-shirt drapedover his shoulder, he strutted along the hill, taking the salute fromEngland’s fans, and generally loving his moment. Unfortunately, hiscockiness left the ground authorities in no doubt whatsoever as to hisidentity. And off he was led to the local slammer, busted by his ownbravado.

Mark Cosgrove is disappointed after it emerged he was dropped for being out of shape as well as his poor form, saying South Australia should base selection on runs only. This is the second time in three seasons that Cosgrove, who debuted for Australia 18 months ago, has been dumped owing to fitness concerns.Cosgrove, 23, denied that his weight affected his game. “I don’t think it makes any difference at all,” he told the Adelaide Advertiser. “All you have to do is watch the ball, hit the ball. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to play cricket.”He averages 26.15 in first-class matches this year but he is the fifth highest run scorer for the struggling team. After retirements and the poor batting form of some team-mates, he still also averages in the top five of the recognised and available batsmen.”I don’t think I have let myself down in any shape or form. I can bat, bowl and I’m catching pretty well, so I am pretty disappointed. I didn’t think I was going that bad. I didn’t see it coming. I am the first to say I am not hitting them that great. This year was pretty disappointing but it was still a shock.”Graham Manou, South Australia’s captain, offered his support. “Mark’s got to go away and decide what he wants to do and what’s best,” he told . “That’s him playing good cricket and obviously presenting himself in the best possible fashion like the 28 other blokes in the squad.”As a mate it disappoints me to be honest with you, he’s got more talent in his little finger than a lot of other people going around playing parkland cricket and I’m sure they’re frustrated for him. We need him playing for us, he’s by far our best batsman when he’s going well and this week was one of the saddest I’ve had as a mate for him.”Mark Sorell, South Australia’s coach, said that Cosgrove was dropped for form and fitness reasons. “He knows he needs to be in the best possible shape to be a three-tiered player for us – batting, bowling and fielding,” Sorell told the Adelaide-based Messenger earlier this month. “We’ve talked about the need for him to be the best he possibly can and he’s got to keep working at that.”The batsman has played three ODIs, making 74 on his debut against Bangladesh in 2006 but a return to international cricket seems further away than ever. He can’t even buy a run at club level, in two knocks for Northern Districts this season he has made 3 and 12.

Sri Lanka 243 for 7 (Atapattu 99, Jayawardene 35) beat Shell Academy XI 128 (Muralitharan 3-5) by 115 runsSri Lanka won an easy tour game against the Shell Cricket Academy to begin their tour of West Indies in fine style. Leading from the front, Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka’s one-day captain, made 99 and Muttiah Muralitharan returned figures of 3 for 5 as Sri Lanka won by 115 runs.Atapattu won the toss and opted to bat, after which Sri Lanka made 243 for 7 in their 50 overs. Atapattu’s 99 was the centerpiece of the innings, though worryingly, none of the other batsmen managed to convert their starts.The Shell Academy batsmen were never up for the chase, and had no answers to Muralitharan. Five of Muralitharan’s seven overs were maidens, and he stifled the Shell Academy batsmen completely in the middle overs, snuffing out all resistance.Prabath Nissanka was the first to strike for Sri Lanka, getting rid of Kurt Wilkinson for just 5. Krishna Arjune (17) and Dwayne Bravo (12) showed some spunk in a 32-run stand, but Arjune was out with the score on 40, and three more wickets fell on 44.After that, it was routine. Matthew Sinclair, the wicketkeeper, top-scored with 22, but the Shell Academy XI only managed to crawl to 128 for 9 in their 50 overs.The quality of the opposition notwithstanding, it was a good start to a tour which doesn’t allow much time for acclimatisation. The Cable & Wireless one-day series between Sri Lanka and West Indies starts this weekend.

Hampshire have made the surprising inclusion of a third left-arm quick bowler for their fourth Frizzell County Championship Division Two fixture of the season at Bristol, starting on Wednesday.James Tomlinson has been added to the unchanged 11 that drew the previous Championship match against Yorkshire a fortnight ago.The Winchester-born left-armer joins Wasim Akram and Alan Mullally in the tri-pronged south-paw attack, as he is free from his studies and playing duties with Cardiff University.Derek Kenway is recalled to the starting line-up, having been dropped for the C&G Trophy fixture with Sussex last week. His scores of 35 and 68 against Oxford UCCE over the weekend having restored the selectors confidence in him.Hampshire squad of 12: Derek Kenway, John Crawley (capt), Simon Katich, Robin Smith, Will Kendall, Nic Pothas (w-k), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Wasim Akram, Shaun Udal, Chris Tremlett, Alan Mullally, James Tomlinson.

Close
Scorecard

Simon Jones completed a highly satisfying five-wicket haul, and Scott Newman and Kadeer Ali both made half-centuries, as England A built a 284-run lead against Tamil Nadu in Chennai. By the close of the third day’s play, England were 251 for 6, and had given themselves a good chance to win their first match since arriving in India a fortnight ago.Jones finished with 5 for 57 as England polished off the Tamil Nadu innings in the morning session. James Tredwell struck first, having Ganapathy stumped for 8. Kuthethurshri Vasudevadas and P Mathew then added 44 for the eighth wicket before Jones had Vasudevadas caught by Tredwell for 98, and then dismissed Ganapathi Vignesh to complete his five-for.Newman and Kadeer carried England to 35 for 0 at lunch, and both men reached fifty before falling in consecutive overs, after adding 125 for the first wicket. Matt Prior and Michael Lumb kept the score ticking over with a 55-run partnership, before Prior was caught off Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut for 35.That was the first of four wickets for Vidyut, a left-arm spinner who has been the main threat to England. He also dismissed Lumb (27), Kevin Pietersen (31) and Bilal Shafayat (27), whose dismissal in the final over of the day left Graeme Wagg not out on 4 at the close.

Yorkshire have signed Phil Jaques, the Australian batsman, as a replacement for when Darren Lehmann is away on international duty.Jaques, 25, played for Northamptonshire last season as a local player by virtue of a British passport. However, after he turned out for New South Wales this winter, he could no longer play county cricket as an English-qualified player under ECB regulations.Northants were keen to keep Jacques for this season after his 1,400 runs helped them to promotion in the Championship and the National League. However, after talks with the ECB, they agreed that Jacques would no longer be able to turn out as a non-overseas player.Jaques could make his Yorkshire debut against Hampshire in the County Championship game next week, and will spend a month at the club while Lehmann is in Zimbabwe for Australia’s tour next month.

Mark Butcher has admitted that he does not know when he will be back playing as his wrist injury continues to take longer than expected to recover. Butcher has had a injection in his left wrist, in a hope of improving the problem.He told BBC Sport: “I’m having a jab which will settle things down but I’m still waiting and seeing unfortunately.” He had to leave his commentary stint with Sky Sports during the Middlesex against Surrey Championship match at Lord’s to go and get the injection. He was the sporting a large amount of strapping on his wrist when he was interviewed during the tea interval.Butcher still has six weeks to try and prove his fitness against the Ashes but his chances of regaining his spot are rapidly receeding. Ian Bell made full use of his two innings against Bangladesh to rack up 237 runs without being dismissed while Robert Key and Kevin Pietersen are now ahead of Butcher if batting places become available.Butcher, who is in his first season as Surry captain but has yet to lead them on the field, originally suffered his injury during England’s tour of South Africa last winter. He was left out of Cape Town Test and flew home shortly afterwards. He subsequently underwent surgery during February the hope that he would only miss the start of the season but a return to action is still some way away.

Safety and security concerns over England’s tour of Sri Lanka have eased despite a state of emergency following advice from the British Foreign Office and the Sri Lanka government.Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Sri Lankan president, suspended parliament and sacked three powerful ministers on Tuesday. She also ordered troops to guard key installations, including the state television station, and declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.However, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We have now advised the ECB there is no reason to change their plans for Sri Lanka. The north and the east of the country are heavily mined and UK nationals should exercise caution when travelling to that part of the country. The rest of the country is trouble free.Earlier, Sri Lanka cricket board officials had insisted that the tour would not be affected by the political situation: “There is nothing to get alarmed about and there is no danger to the tour,” said board secretary Mohan de Silva.”What has happened is just a swapping of ministries. Cricket has been played in much worse situations.”The Sri Lanka government and the President’s Office also gave assurances about safety. Lakshman Kadirgamar, a presidential aide, told a media conference: “Everything that is humanly possible will be done to ensure that the tour goes on without any disturbances.”England are due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Nov 13 for a series of three one-day internationals and three test matches.

Close
Scorecard

Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent ensured that Rahul Dravid’s first day as Test captain was an utterly forgettable one. They piled on 231 runs for the first wicket, apart from the misery for the Indians, and took New Zealand to a commanding position at the end of the first day. India’s bowlers worked hard on a wicket that kept them interested, but Richardson and Vincent were unimpeachable. From 247 for 1, New Zealand would be hard pressed to lose.The tale of two centuries was a study in contrast. Vincent was the belligerent aggressor, the often scraggly batsman who gave the bowlers a whiff of hope without relenting. Despite the two chances he gave, Richardson was composed to begin with, and blunted the bowling with patience that would have done a trappist monk proud. Vincent planted his foot down the wicket, smiled like a pirate and swept Kumble to the square-leg fence to reach his hundred. Richardson, hobbling around with acute cramps flashed Anil Kumble between the wicketkeeper and first slip to notch up his century.You can forgive Dravid for not appreciating the difference in styles of the two batsmen. The day began quite brightly after he lost the toss and was sent out to field. Zaheer Khan and L Balaji relished bowling on a wicket that aided seam bowling. There was good bounce and carry to the keeper and the ball moved laterally both in the air and off the wicket. Balaji in particular looked a different proposition altogether from the bowler he was at Ahmedabad. His propensity for slipping deliveries down the leg side was shelved and the ball moved both ways, beating the bat repeatedly.The ball doing a bit on the first morning of a Test match is nothing to get excited about though – unless you’re coming from a Test match at Ahmedabad, of course. Vincent and Richardson, used to conditions where patience is a necessity rather than a virtue, saw off the new ball with quiet confidence. Balaji will feel he had Vincent trapped plumb in front in just the second over of the day and most people, other than David Shepherd, would agree with him. Dravid will feel he has a lot to make up for when he bats, for he dropped a relatively straightforward offering from Richardson at slip in the third over. At the end of the day though, the only feeling that translated into performance was the relief Richardson and Vincent would have felt at having survived the first hour.From there on, it was a numbing experience of blunting the bowling. Richardson used his high left-elbow and soft hands, Vincent the sweep and quick shuffle of the feet. Kumble toiled manfully, sending down over after over of brisk spin. His control was excellent and the solitary wicket of Vincent was a poor return considering his 28 overs went for a mere 57 runs.It is always dangerous to sweep a spinner who sends the ball down as fast and flat as Kumble does. When you are attempting the shot to a ball on the stumps, off balance, it is lethal, as Vincent (106, 227 balls, 14 fours, 2 sixes) discovered. By then, though, India had gone wicket-less for more than two and a half sessions. The fall of Vincent’s wicket (231 for 1) ended New Zealand’s best Test partnership against India. The 231 that Vincent and Richardson added bettered the 222 that Bert Sutcliffe and John Reid put on for the third wicket at Delhi in 1955-56.Soon after, Richardson provided a moment of hilarity when he overbalanced and fell in the process of pulling a delivery. Flat on the wicket and in some pain with cramps, Richardson grimaced, but waved off the stretcher that the authorities at the Punjab Cricket Association so optimistically sent out. This man was going nowhere. Even a swarm of bees flying low into the ground did not distract him. When stumps were drawn, Richardson was unbeaten on 102 (284 balls, 14 fours) and will be back to fight another day.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India.

In what is turning into a battle of the wicketkeepers, Adam Gilchrist has edged ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to recapture the top batsman’s spot in the ICC one-day rankings. Gilchrist leapfrogged his captain, Ricky Ponting, as well as Dhoni thanks to his performances in the recently-concluded three-match series in Bangladesh.Gilchrist now holds a slender advantage of just three rating points over Dhoni, who himself assumed the top position from Ponting for the first time less than two weeks ago. Ponting’s modest series in Bangladesh saw him slip to third. Australia now has four players in the top five of the ODI batsmen’s rankings with Gilchrist and Ponting joined by Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey in fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Shaun Pollock retained his spot at the top of the ODI bowler’s list with Irfan Pathan close on his heels in second. Australia’s highest-ranked player was Glenn McGrath – who was absent from the Bangladesh series for personal reasons – in fourth position.

Australia’s 3-0 success in the series means it held its 13 point lead over South Africa at the top of the ODI table, with India a further three points back in third spot. There will also be a basement battle unfolding in the Caribbean as West Indies and Zimbabawe begin their seven-match one-day series on April 29. The two sides are currently in eighth and ninth places respectively in the table. If the West Indies achieve a clean-sweep of the series they will improve their rating by two points, going 12 behind seventh-placed England. But if Zimbabwe can win the series, it will close the gap considerably on the home side.Brian Lara, recently re-appointed as the West Indies captain, will be making his first ODI appearance for the side since May last year, although he did play three matches for the World XI in the Super Series against Australia in October. Lara will also be anxious to improve on his current position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen as he begins the series in 33rd spot, one place below Chanderpaul.

Click here for the full list of ODI rankings.