All posts by csb10.top

When it was needed that he be a leader and display courage, Nasser Hussainwas found wanting.It was the same old predictable boring England.Sending the opposition in is a gamble.When you don’t have the bowlers to doany damage, it’s akin to suicide.England will now be lucky to follow-on. If they avoid it or it is notenforced, they will have an impossible target to chase.The tone of an Ashes series is set on the first day of the first Test.In 1986, Australia sent England in at the Gabba for them to finish the firstday at 2/198. They would make 456, enforce the follow-on and win by sevenwickets.In 1989, David Gower sent Australia in. Australia made it to the first dayat 3/207 and would won the Test by 210 runs.In 1994, Michael Slater hit the first ball of the series from Phil DeFreitasfor four. It was that kind of series.Hussain had to be positive. Get some runs on the board and at least putAustralia in a position where they didn’t feel 100% in control.Now he has placed his side in a huge hole which will require some greatbatting and the old rain dance for them to extricate themselves.Electing to bat first would have shown that England would not be lying down.Instead, they took the easy way out and are paying for it.For all the talk, their fielding is still basic. The bowlers aren’t bowlingto their fields. Too many balls are being bowled without a shot being playedand if a false stroke is made, the defensive field placings means that itcan’t be capitalised on.Hussain has sent out a message loud and clear – that his side fearAustralia. Obviously oblivious to the fact that it’s the exploitation of theopposition’s fear which is one of the major reasons for Australia’s success.The hero of the Mexican revolution, Emiliano Zapata once said, “It’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees”.England are dying on their knees.

For some disgruntled cricket lovers it may have come a day too late, but overnight, the World Cup organising committee turned things around to have almost a problem free day of ticket sales. Working late into the night technologies were improved and all venues reported excellent sales.The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, Newlands in Cape Town and Kingsmead in Durban were today completely sold out while stadium grandstand seats are only available at Centurion, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein. For the rest some open stands and grass embankment packages are still available.’Follow the Team’ packages for the first round for South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and England have all been snapped up. Super Six packages will go on sale after completion of the first round.Compared to the 98 000 tickets sold on Monday, 30 500 were sold today leaving a balance of 93,500. Total ticket takings for the two days now stands at R17 million. If these sales are anything to go by then stadiums are going to be packed to capacity during February and March next year and financially the cash strapped unions are going to be breathing a lot easier and cricket in South Africa can look to an bright future.In a statement released by the organising committee quoted Dr Ali Bacher, executive director, as saying: "We are pleased with the way the sale of ticket packages went today but we acknowledge that the system is slow because of the heavy traffic on both the call centre and website. The system stood up well today but we are sympathetic with the many cricket fans who have struggled to access the sales channels. Sales on both the call center and website proceeded smoothly."All sale outlets will be open to the public from 07:00 till 19:00 on Wednesday 17 July.

Ajay Ratra demonstrated that he is fighting to get his Test place back with an innings of 101 not out for the Indians in their tour match at Derby. Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh all got into the forties as the tourists reached an imposing total of 445 for seven declared – enjoying the batting practice afforded by a second string Derbyshire attack and some equally friendly conditions. Ratra took 206 balls and hit 14 fours in his hundred.The county side then made a steady start to their reply. Steve Stubbings and Rawait Khan put on 131 for the opening partnership before Stubbings was bowled by Harbhajan Singh for 66. Dominic Hewson fell to Kumble for 66 as well, and then Kumble picked up another wicket before the close leaving Derbyshire on 228 for three – still 217 behind. Khan is not out 77.

South Africa skipper Shaun Pollock admitted that the pitch used for the opening one-day international against Sri Lanka was too heavily loaded in favour of seam bowlers.Sri Lanka capitulated during the morning after losing the toss and were bowled out for just 128 in 46.4 overs, raising concerns over the suitability of the pitch for the World Cup final to be staged in exactly three months’ time."Going into the game the wicket looked grassy and clearly had some moisture in it," said Pollock afterwards. "We were always going to bowl first.""After the first over we knew there was something in it and that opportunities were always going to come our way," he said."That would not be a good wicket for the World Cup which needs to be a spectacle – we would want a better surface."Nevertheless, Pollock was delighted with the performance of his bowlers,especially with the new ball as they reduced Sri Lank to 30 for five in the 14th over."We stuck to our task and got the ball in the right areas," he said. "We had discussed what lines to bowl to their batsmen and stuck to that, bowling only two half volleys in our opening bursts."A only negative for the home side was the performance was the fact that fourwickets fell for 56 runs."That was disappointing," said Pollock. "When you are chasing a total like that you want to dominate – we need to improve on that."The Sri Lankans were reluctant to criticise the surface directly."During the first hour and a half it was not easy at all," said captain Sanath Jayasuriya. "The ball was doing a lot.""However, they did bowl well and we lost too many wickets in the first 15 overs. You cannot afford to do that."Coach Dav Whatmore hopes the side can re-group in time for Friday’s match atCenturion."After the first Test at Wanderers we picked ourselves up for the second Test on a different surface," said Whatmore. "We know that we are better than this."South Africa expect Jonty Rhodes to have recovered from his hamstring injury in time for that game. Physio Shane Jabbar said he had responded well to treatment and will have a fitness tomorrow.

Norfolk 239/8d (C Amos 95, AR Clarke 5-84)
Buckinghamshire 24-2
Cheshire 229 (SJ Renshaw 98)
OxfordshireDevon 388/8 (GTJ Townsend 131, KAO Barrett 84)
Shropshire 28/0Herefordshire 348-6 (PS Lazenbury 143, A Farooque 85)
Wales 7-1.Lincolnshire 295/7d (M Dobson 81, M Fell 57*, J Trower 52)
Staffordshire 15/0Dorset 392/8 (SWB Rintoul 139, TCZ Lamb 81, MG Miller 79)
Wiltshire 15/1

Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella made two changes to the national cricketselection committee by including former Sri Lanka Testwicket-keeper/batsman Amal Silva and former Bloomfield, Air Force and CCCcricketer K.M. Nelson.Silva and Nelson replace Shammi Silva and Lalith Kaluperuma respectivelyfrom the five-man committee which completed its term at the end of April.The new committee comes into immediate effect.Three members of the former committee – Tikiri Banda Kehelgamuwa, BrendonKuruppu and Kapila Wijegunawardena – have been retained.Kehelgamuwa, a former Sri Lanka fast bowler, continues his position aschairman of selectors.Silva joins Kuruppu and Wijegunawardena as the three people who haverepresented the country at Test level in the selection committee.Silva played for his country in nine Tests as a left-hand opening batsmanand wicket-keeper, scoring 353 runs (avg. 25.21) including twocenturies, one of which was made on his first appearance at Lord’s againstEngland in 1984. He also claimed 34 victims (33ct, 1st) behind thewicket and played in 20 One-Day Internationals.Silva is presently the chairman of the umpires committee of the Sri LankaCricket Board (BCCSL) interim committee.Nelson has been on the national selection committee on two previousoccasions. A former cricket administrator who had served the Cricket Boardin different committees, he is presently the chairman of selectors of theMercantile Cricket Association, of which he was once president.The first priority of the new selection committee will be to pick thecaptain of the Sri Lanka A team which will come up against Pakistan Ain a series of three unofficial Tests and three unofficial One-DayInternationals starting next month.They will also have to name the senior squad to commence training for theforthcoming home Test series against India and the one-day triangular series against India and New Zealand which begins on June 18 with the Test series to follow from August 14.

Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has advocated the need for appointing a media manager for the team, saying it would ease the pressure on the captain and the players considerably."Most of the teams have a media manager these days which makes the job much easier for the team. Only the teams in the sub-continent don’t have one. I think it is very necessary", Ganguly said in an interview to Doordarshan telecast on Friday.Ganguly said that the captain has to answer a lot of questions during a series and often the media misreports the statements which gives a totally different meaning."When statements are distorted, people who read the reports have a different idea of the situation. If we have a media manager, it will ease the pressure on the captain, coach and the manager", he said.The Indian captain, who appeared for the first time in a joint interview with wife Dona, spoke on a wide range of subjects covering some of the controversies during the recent series against Australia and his family life.Ganguly said the series of controversial articles and misreporting in recent times had prompted him to be more reticent and choosy while handling the media in the country. "…after some time, you come to know who is doing the right thing and who is not doing. You have to judge for yourself", he said.Ganguly, who led India to a remarkable 2-1 series win against the formidable Australians, said that the off-field strategies he had adopted against the Australians were deliberately done to create pressure on them."Everything was part of a strategy. They (Australians) did everything they wanted and often crossed the limits. I think it was not correct on their part. We just gave them back", the Indian skipper disclosed."When you are competing to win a crucial series, you tend to overdo it at times at the cost of sportsmanship. We thought that the only way to stop them was to do what they did. I could understand that it was affecting them", he said.Ganguly said that he had a lot of respect for the Australian captain Steve Waugh and his teammates but some of the complaints they made during the series were "school boy stuff".On the chucking issue which has resurfaced in international cricket, the Indian captain said the issue seemed quite complicated and he often saw no perceptible change in the action of a bowler after being cleared of throwing."It is no doubt an issue. There is no point giving a bowler undue advantage. But at times, when a suspended bowler returns after two months, I see no change in his action".Ganguly said that once a bowler was cleared of chucking by the International Cricket Council’s committee on illegal deliveries, he should never be called again. "If a bowler is repeatedly called, it puts a lot of pressure on him. He has to get cleared again and again and it is not good for him".Ganguly described an article by former Australian captain Ian Chappell during the India-Australia series as "pre-planned" and said he had to issue a rejoinder as he had made certain baseless remarks about the team."He has the right to criticise my batting and my captaincy. Every individual may have their own opinion. But he said certain things involving the team without even verifying the facts. Everything was pre-planned", he said.Going down memory lane, the Indian skipper recalled his schooldays which he thought were the most important part of life as it laid the foundation for the future.Wife Dona said that though life had changed a lot after her husband became the national captain, many of the things still remained the same. Going to the movie halls has become a big problem for Indian cricket’s star couple. "He enjoys going to the movies. We generally go for the last show. If there is a lot of crowd, Sourav joins us after the show starts when it is dark", she disclosed.Dona also recalled her early experience in cooking and how she was apprehensive of how Sourav would take it. "It is in England when I first started cooking for him. He was playing county cricket and craved for home cooked food. As time passed, my cooking also improved".Describing her husband as a "self-made man", Dona said Sourav seldom relied on his family for mental or emotional support. "He is strong. Anybody playing for the country has to be strong". She revealed how she used to carry Sourav’s favourite food items to the hotel during the Test matches in Kolkata where the captain stayed with the team in the hotel.

Javagal Srinath might have announced the reasons for his sudden and surprising retirement from Test cricket but Sourav Ganguly is not having any of it. The Indian skipper firmly believes that the Karnataka speedster must lead the Indian attack on the very demanding tour of England that is set to follow.”I shall definitely try and make him understand that the team needs him in England. I was surprised more since he didn’t tell anything about it (his plans to retire) when he left for India. I’ll try my best to convince him and take him to England,” Ganguly said before leaving the West Indies.Knowledgeable sources say that it was his omission from the one-dayers that prompted Srinath to make the decision. When told about this, Ganguly said, “I had absolutely no idea. This is the first time I am hearing about it. But I failed to understand what he meant by saying that he would not be playing in the Test matches any more.”Does he want to say that he would continue to play in the one-day matches? Once the selectors know that he will not be available for Tests, will they pick him only for the one-dayers? I’ve to discuss all these things with him and then only will I be able to say anything more on this subject,” he added.The tour of England will begin with the Indian team’s involvement in a tri-nation tournament including Sri Lanka and the home team. After this they would be involved in a four-Test series against the Englishmen. The Indian skipper was convinced that the team needed Srinath to do well in the Test matches.”We are developing into a team. Although we are yet to win a Test series abroad, we have shown that we can win Tests overseas. And Sri was an integral part of this team. He is our best bowler and can guide the young fast bowlers,” the Indian skipper observed.Srinath also seems to have been frustrated by the fact he could not bowl as well as he would have liked to in the last two Tests in the Caribbean. In fact, before leaving the West Indies at the end of the Test series, he indicated to some of his teammates that he was seriously considering retirement. But they did not take him seriously as this was not the first time that the star speedster had voiced such thoughts.”Yes, he told me that he could not bowl at the pace he was used to and that he was not enjoying playing. But I told him that with age, every great fast bowler lost a few yards of their pace but they made up for it by concentrating more on variety which assisted their team in a big way.”Marshall, Roberts, Akram, McGrath were all very fast at the beginning of their careers, but later they developed greater variety and became more dangerous. I told him to follow in their footsteps. He is too nice a bowler to be retired now,” Ganguly said, before signing-off.

Boland reached an imposing 274 for four by stumps on day one of this Supersport Series Super Eight match at local rivals Western Province, on a day that saw two of their young batting stars play a large hand.Justin Ontong (84) and Jonathan Trott (66 not out) both notched the highest scores of their brief first-class careers as Boland overachieved on the picturesque ground of their more illustrious neighbours.Ontong and Trott’s partnership of 136 for the fourth wicket was very much the spine of a fine Boland batting effort, with debutant Gerhard Stydom adding a useful 34 at the top of the order along with opening partner James Henderson (42).Ontong was a frustrated man when he bowled by a quick yorker from Jacques Kallis, the 21 year-old within sight of what would have been a maiden first-class century and a nudge in the direction of the national selectors ahead of South Africa’s tour to the West Indies.His innings was littered with fine strokes, eleven boundaries punctuated by just the one chance – an extremely sharp one at that to a diving Herschelle Gibbs in the gully. Trott too looked in good form after struggling earlier on this season – he will also be looking for his first three figure score at this level when Boland resume on day two.The Western Province effort was characterised by some inconsistent bowling and the occasionally stunning piece of fielding. Kallis took a particularly good catch standing at second slip, diving full length to his right to get rid of Henderson, and there were also fine efforts from Graeme Smith.Boland might perhaps feel they could have scored their runs at a slightly faster rate, and that as much as anything will help the home side feel they have not quite been batted out of the game yet.

Mahela Jayawardene has admitted his side faltered under pressure in their World Twenty20 final loss to the West Indies in Colombo, after having made an exceptional start to the match in the first 12 overs. The loss is Sri Lanka’s fourth in major finals since 2007, and they have now been bridesmaids in two World Cups and two World Twenty20s in the last five major tournaments.Sri Lanka had surged through the Super Eights and secured a tough victory over Pakistan on a dustbowl to progress to the final, but could not quell a West Indies resurgence in the title match. With West Indies mired at 48 for 2 after 12 overs the title seemed in Sri Lanka’s grasp before Marlon Samuels bludgeoned three sixes off Lasith Malinga’s second over on his way to a match-winning 78 from 56 balls. Jayawardene, who announced he was standing down as T20 captain, felt Sri Lanka should not have allowed West Indies, who were also 87 for 5 in the 16th over, to reap 89 from the last eight overs.Sri Lanka lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over in pursuit of 138, and were never able to catch up to the asking rate. Jayawardene did not see a trend in Sri Lanka’s inability to win finals, but said his side had responded poorly to West Indies’ middle-over onslaught, and marked out the three-over stretch between the 13th and 15th over, which cost 39, as the turning point of the match even though Ajantha Mendis took three wickets.”I think we tried very hard, but this match changed in three or four overs in the middle,” he said. “In the pressure situations we couldn’t control the match. Marlon Samuels batted really well and he took it away from us a little bit. But when we were put under pressure, we didn’t react well to that. When those small mistakes add up, that’s where you lose a match like a final, and that’s what happened to us.”Jayawardene has been at the helm for two of those four finals losses, while Kumar Sangakkara, Dilshan and Malinga have also played in each loss. In this tournament, Sri Lanka had lost only a seven-over match against South Africa in the group stage, and arrived in the final as the form team, and favourites with home advantage. Jayawardene said this defeat was different from finals failures in the past, because Sri Lanka had dominated the opening exchanges.”We played well right until the final. Every defeat has been different. How we approached a couple of the finals, we did not start well and we kept chasing the game and it was tough for us to get back into it. I thought today we started well. Marlon took a gamble after the 12th over and it paid off for him. Those were individual performances that you have to give credit to. Under pressure he put his hand up and performed and that crucial moment he controlled.”Samuels was dropped on 20 by Nuwan Kulasekara as he attempted a difficult running chance on the long-off boundary in the tenth over. Samuels made 58 from the next 22 balls he faced and propelled West Indies beyond a run-a-ball – a run rate they had not looked like achieving in the early stages. After Samuels’ demise in the 18th over, Darren Sammy propelled West Indies towards 140 with 26 from 15 balls.”We dropped a half chance and then they played well in the next three overs,” Jayawardene said. “I think that 20 or 30 runs was the difference. If we had kept them to 110 or 120 on this pitch we could have competed better in this match.”Jayawardene admitted that despite falling away in the field Sri Lanka were capable of chasing 138, but needed a strong start to do so. Ravi Rampaul’s superb delivery to uproot Dilshan’s off stump forced the hosts to be more conservative during their Powerplay, and the middle order were unable to reverse a flagging run rate amid a clatter of wickets.”We wanted to attack. The first six overs, it was crucial for us to get a good start, particularly with the hardness of the ball. But when Dilly got out in the first ball of the second over, that kept us back because Kumar and I knew we had to consolidate and we couldn’t lose another wicket in the first six overs.”We were looking at 45-50 runs in the first six to put pressure on them, but that didn’t materialise. They bowled really well and took pace off the ball. They didn’t bowl their quicks and kept bowling their spinners. We never had momentum going in that chase. We had to make sure we had a good start going and we lost wickets regularly.”Malinga’s second over disappeared for 21, but Jayawardene defended his decision to bring him back into the attack. Malinga’s two remaining overs went for 29, and he finished with his worst ever Twenty20 figures, having taken no wickets for 54 from his four overs. Jayawardene still had overs from Akila Dananjaya and Nuwan Kulasekara at the finish in addition to Thisara Perera, who has barely bowled throughout the tournament.”After the first 12 overs, Malinga had only bowled one over. I knew that they would have to play some shots, so I gave the ball to my number one bowler to take wickets. But they played well in that period and Lasith couldn’t bowl two good overs then, but that’s cricket. I thought we’d have a chance to take wickets if Lasith bowled because Marlon didn’t play Lasith well in our match in Kandy, so I had thought about that when I gave him the ball.”If I knew the script was going to be like that, I probably wouldn’t have bowled him.”Jayawardene said the loss would be particularly painful for having come on their home turf, in front of a hugely expectant crowd of 35,000. Sri Lanka had defeated West Indies by nine wickets in the Super Eights – their most comprehensive win over top-eight opposition – in addition to having defeated them by the same margin in a practice match.”As a team we gave everything we had. In a big tournament, we wanted to win to give something to the fans who have been cheering us. I’m very disappointed, we had a full house here as well. We just didn’t execute a good gameplan and we weren’t ruthless enough. So we’re very disappointed that we couldn’t give the fans what they wanted, and that hurts a lot.”