All posts by csb10.top

Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said he wants to use the upcoming Pentangular one-day tournament as a launchpad for a return to international cricket, which he hasn’t been a part of for nearly a year.Earlier this week, he had been named in the Federal Areas team for the tournament starting on April 17. “I am thankful to the board for giving me this opportunity to prove myself again and I want to give it my best effort,” he said.Shoaib attributed to the below-par efforts in his past few series to a persistent knee problem, which has been corrected through surgery. “Now that the surgery has been done and the rehabilitation process has also gone well, I am back to my top fitness and the knee problem is no longer a hindrance in my giving my best on the field.”After being left out of the squad for the World Twenty20, he has set his sights on returning to the national team during the series against Australia, which will be hosted by England in July. “The England tour would be the perfect place for me to comeback as it has good conditions for bowling and the best facilities for a bowler coming back from an injury.”Shoaib’s last appearance for Pakistan was last year, a wicketless outing in a Twenty20 international in Dubai against Australia. Since then fitness issues, the rise of Mohammad Aamer and the return of Mohammad Asif have eased him further out of national reckoning. He has not played a Test for Pakistan since December 2007.

ScorecardDespite all the changes at The Oval over the winter there was one very familiar sight on the second day against Derbyshire – Mark Ramprakash making effortless runs. Surrey will need plenty more from him, too, after Greg Smith’s three-wicket burst built on Chris Rogers’ double hundred to leave the visitors in charge, although the fifth-wicket stand of 109 between Ramprakash and Steven Davies averted an imminent collapse.Ramprakash’s pre-season was a disjointed affair as he spent time on the road with the tour, then helped himself to some runs in Dubai before missing the MCC match against Durham for personal reasons. But Ramprakash has been doing this job for so long that he just slots straight back in. Although he had an escape on 10 when Graham Wagg overstepped and the ball seemed to take an edge down the leg side he barely looked in trouble.By the close he had registered the first of what will be many fifties this season from 94 balls and alongside Davies had steadied the innings from a precarious 74 for 4. Davies, after spending the winter as a drinks waiter for England, played positively for his 70-ball half century although had a few uncomfortable moments against Robin Peterson’s left-arm spin out of the footmarks. And three overs before the close it proved his downfall as he pushed forward and got a low edge to slip, a wicket that confirmed Derbyshire’s position of strength.The Surrey openers had a fair degree of luck in a stand of 44 as both Arun Harinath and Matthew Spriegel were given lives. Tim Groenewald dropped a tough return catch from a leading edge off Spriegel when he had 10 and Harinath was missed off a much simpler chance by Peterson at first slip. So it didn’t come as a complete surprise when Spriegel pushed outside off to give a regulation catch to the keeper and Smith his first wicket.Smith, a versatile cricketer who also bowls offspin, bustled in from the Pavilion End and found a hint of movement with his skiddy action to take 3 for 4 in 14 balls. An over after dislodging Spriegel he ended Harinath’s fidgety innings when the left-hander skewed a catch to gully and Surrey were really in the mire when Usman Afzaal offered a simple edge to first slip.It meant a daunting position of 53 for 3 greeted Rory Hamilton-Brown as he joined Ramprakash, someone who hasn’t been overwhelming in the support of his captaincy appointment. Despite one pleasing cover drive Hamilton-Brown couldn’t stop the slide when he was trapped on the crease by Groenewald so it was left to the man who made his first-class debut in the year Hamilton-Brown was born.When play resumed the main interest was whether Rogers could register another double century and he duly reached the milestone from 318 balls – but not before a second let-off by Stuart Meaker who dropped a sitter a deep square-leg, then gave away four overthrows next ball. It was Rogers’ third double in his last four Championship matches for Derbyshire, a conversion rate that most English batsmen can only dream of. However, he couldn’t add to his tally before being trapped lbw sweeping at Gareth Batty.Peterson had already departed when he was beaten for pace by Meaker to partially atone for his poor fielding, but Derbyshire’s lower order frustrated the home side. Wagg struck the first six of the match during his 37, but Andre Nel finally found some deserved reward when he took the off stump and also added Groenewald.Still, though, there was no swift finish as wicketkeeper Lee Goddard and last-man Mark Footitt added 51 in nine overs with some merry stroke play including a reverse sweep from Goddard. But despite their large total, Derbyshire missed out on full batting points which this season have to be collected within 110 overs of the first innings. Surrey, too, missed out on a point, but that soon became the least of their concerns.

New Zealand 132 for 7 (Bates 48, Haynes 3-19) beat Australia 73 (Watkins 3-8) by 59 runs
ScorecardSuzie Bates was Player of the Match for her brisk 48•Getty Images

New Zealand’s Twenty20 expertise was too much for an overpowered Australia again as the hosts secured a 59-run victory in Wellington. After losing all five one-day matches in Australia, New Zealand hit back to conclude the tour with three Twenty20 wins in a row and took their streak to four after easily defending 132 for 7.Australia were in trouble from the start and the exits of Shelley Nitschke, who was bowled trying to pull Kate Pulford (2 for 21), and Alex Blackwell ended their chances. Blackwell played on to Suzie Bates, leaving her side at 32 for 4, and her team-mates were unable to fight back. Aimee Watkins cleaned up the tail with 3 for 8 to dismiss Australia for 73, their lowest T20 total.The opener Bates set up New Zealand with some strong hitting in her 48 off 40 balls and Sophie Devine helped finish it off with 28 off 22, including a six to midwicket, before being run out in the final over. Rachael Haynes was the most successful of the visitors with 3 for 19 in two eventful overs.

A day after the Rajasthan Royals announced plans to create the first global sport alliance, the BCCI has reacted warily to the move. Rajasthan revealed they had tied up with Hampshire, Cape Cobras, Trinidad and Tobago and an Australian domestic team to form a worldwide Twenty20 brand but the Indian board’s chief administrative officer, Ratnakar Shetty, said they had “not sought permission” to take such a step.”Rajasthan Royals have not written to us and have not sought permission on this,” Shetty told . “In case the Indian cricketers, who are contracted with the board, have to participate, they’ll have to seek our permission. We have not heard anything from anyone as yet and the players can’t take part unless we give them the permission.”Rajasthan, however, said the IPL was in the know and they were confident there would be no conflict of interest with the league. “The IPL has been aware of our plans and have been nothing but supportive. We know exactly where we stand and there has never been an intention to create any sort of conflict with the BCCI,” the franchise said.

Former Pakistan captains have criticised the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt for the timing of his announcement that Mohammad Yousuf will be replaced as captain after the ongoing tour of Australia, saying it will leave the struggling team further disjointed and dispirited.Under Yousuf, Pakistan squared a three-Test series against New Zealand but lost three Tests in a row to Australia before they surrendered the first ODI in Brisbane on Friday. Butt said Yousuf was appointed only for these two tours, but did not guarantee that he would be retained. Aamer Sohail and Inzamam-ul-Haq felt that Butt’s announcement came too early.”Why announce this in the middle of the Australia tour? What’s the urgency?” Sohail told PTI, adding that it could affect the team’s morale for the remainder of the tour, which includes four more ODIs and a Twenty20.Inzamam agreed that such an announcement will cause more confusion within the team, after Younis Khan quit the captaincy in a huff. “Even if the board thought that Yousuf is not good enough to captain the team, they should have waited till their return,” he said. “Ever since the team had gone to New Zealand and Australia, there is total chaos and lack of communication between the team management, selectors and board. This is another example of that lack of communication, which will only contribute to the team’s poor show.”Moin Khan, the former wicketkeeper, said that though Yousuf exposed his own shortcomings as captain during the tour, he did not deserve to be put under so much pressure by the PCB by way of this announcement.”He accepted the captaincy at a time when no one was willing to do it and he has given his best, but the same is also true that he lacked the aggression required in Australia to win matches,” Moin said. “But this does not mean that the board should announce that they will change the captain after the Australian tour. It will leave the team further disjointed and dispirited.”The relationship between Yousuf and the selection committee, headed by Iqbal Qasim, has been tense over the course of the long tour of Australia. He had Misbah-ul-Haq sent over to New Zealand after the player had been dropped from all three formats of the game just a month before. He also requested the committee to fly in Younis during the Tests to arrest the team’s batting woes but expressed his disappointment at the former captain’s late arrival.

Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa chief executive, has hailed Makhaya Ntini’s career as the fast bowler reached 100 Test caps in the opening encounter against England in Centurion.”Makhaya Ntini’s 100th Test match for South Africa marks a major milestone in one of the most incredible journeys yet undertaken in world cricket,” he said. “Makhaya rose from being a herd boy in the tiny village of Mdingi in the Eastern Cape to being rated as one of the world’s best fast bowlers and becoming the most popular sports person South Africa has known.”He has stridden the world cricket stage like a colossus since making his Test debut at the age of 20,” he added. “His 10 wickets against England at Lord’s in 2003 also stands alone in the South African record books at the home of cricket.”Majola praised the impact that Ntini has had within the sport and the way he has played the game over an 11-year career. “For more than a decade, Makhaya has been the face of South African cricket wherever the game is played,” he said. “His has been the face of friendship, enjoyment and a fierce will to win for his country.”Ntini himself has spoken of the pride of reaching his hundred milestone and admitted he never thought he would get the chance to represent his country. “For me, playing 100 times for my country – from a time when you thought, as a black cricketer, it wouldn’t be possible to penetrate and be successful among a white-dominated sport, it gives a lot of inspiration to younger people. If I can do it, so can they.”Ntini will have an even more important role to play in his 100th Test after South Africa lost the services of Dale Steyn shortly before the toss. Steyn pulled up during the warm-ups with a recurrence of the hamstring injury that has troubled him since the third ODI in Cape Town.He had appeared on course to make the Test after coming through South Africa’s training camp in Potchefstroom and his absence leaves Graeme Smith short of his main strike bowler. It also meant a last-minute debut for 29-year-old Friedel de Wet who had been kept with the squad on standby.Graeme Smith, the South African captain, said it had been a privilege to have had a part in Ntini’s career: “He’s a great success story, and he has worked very hard for this honour. He has always been an important part of the team – his work ethic, his commitment, his energy and his vibrant personality. I wish him every success in his 100th match.”He’ll tell you that his success is down to a lot of hard work. He’s had his ups and downs, but he’s always met them with 100 percent commitment,” he added. “Makhaya has become the spearhead of our attack and I’ve been very grateful for his energy and commitment as a leader.He’s a vibrant person and he’s played a prominent role, not just in this team, but in South Africa.”

Simon Katich and Shane Watson were only united at the top of the Test batting order midway through the Ashes series, but already they are eyeing their 1000th partnership run. The Australian duo, who are not regarded as regular openers for their New South Wales state side, have racked up impressive numbers over their past seven Tests, not least a partnership average of 71.33 that trails only Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe among international openers with ten or more innings together.Astonishingly, for a duo who have registered 856 runs for the first wicket in just seven Tests – a tally that includes three century and as many half-century partnerships – only once have they individually reached triple-figures. The Australians hope that innings, Watson’s unbeaten 120 in Melbourne last week, will relieve the tension among the openers who, between them, have been dismissed five times in the nineties this summer.”It’s quite a nervous time and it does mean so much to me and for us as batsmen to get a hundred,” Watson said. “It’s always been a big dream of mine to get a Test match hundred. When you’re close, I’ve got to fight myself to clear my mind and not let the occasion and what you’re about to achieve get too much. That’s something I felt I did much better in Melbourne, in the second innings especially. It’s something that I’m continuing to develop and work on as batsmen all the time.”Katich, who admitted he would need to “turn his hearing aid up” to avoid run-outs such as that which brought to a close Watson’s first innings at the MCG, was buoyant about his fledgling opening partnership with Watson. “The beauty is both of us feel comfortable with our games at the moment and I guess when you’re going out there and you have a left-right combination that can sometimes throw the bowlers off their line and length,” he said. “The way Watto has been playing, it certainly takes the pressure off me because I can just sort of bat normally and try to occupy the crease and the scoreboard’s ticking over because he’s playing so aggressively and he just bats his natural game. It certainly helps me and we’re probably complementing each other at the moment.”Both Watson and Katich vowed complacency would not prove a factor for Australia following their comprehensive 170-run victory over Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test. Katich predicted the SCG surface would suit the Pakistanis’ style of play, while Watson warned of the threat posed by emerging paceman Mohammad Aamer.”The only way you can knock his confidence around is to try and get him to bowl a lot of overs,” Watson said. “It was amazing; he just kept coming. Even in the second innings he was ablre to string a number of spells together that were still very fast and very hostile. He’s an amazingly talented young guy. He’s very clever with what he bowls. He doesn’t bowl too many bad balls, which is amazing for a 17-year-old, and he bowls at good pace. It’s great fun and a good competition out there. He doesn’t take a backward step and neither do I.”He’s definitely up there with Kemar Roach (in terms of pace). Kemar Roach obviously bowls with very good pace, but the left-armer definitely brings in a different trajectory to you and different angle. They’re very similar pace. You’ve got to be on your toes and ready to go otherwise you could get yourself into a bit of trouble.”

At his best Tillakaratne Dilshan is a dashing, adventurous batsman. When first asked to open in Tests a couple of months ago, Dilshan said he would try and remain true to his aggressive style of play. He has already cracked two vital hundreds in three Tests, along with a 92 in his maiden innings as an opener, but his 112 against India today was different – a calibrated effort that shaped Sri Lanka’s fighting reply to India’s large total.He was welcomed to the crease by a short one from Zaheer Khan that was called wide. The next two deliveries were bouncers; Dilshan tried to evade the second in an awkward manner and the ball hit his left shoulder. It was worthy of at least a wince; Dilshan merely narrowed his eyes and resumed the battle.When Zaheer returned a few overs later for his second spell, Dilshan hit his first ball inside-out past cover to record his first four of the morning. It was hit so hard that Virender Sehwag injured his finger trying to stop it and had to leave the field. In between, though, he bided his time, resisting the temptation – and Zaheer’s teasing game plan – to go for his shots. “They had a deep cover and deep square-leg straightaway and I felt the best thing to do was to go to the other end by knocking the ball down [for a single],” Dilshan said.It dovetailed with Sri Lanka’s strategy; having dismissed the dangerous Rahul Dravid and the tail in the first hour to take the morning’s honours, they needed a good platform. And for that Dilshan had to assume control given that Tharanga Paranavitana, though 27, was playing his seventh Test.All the while he also had to deal with two of his Delhi Daredevils team-mates, Gautam Gambhir and Amit Mishra, who kept taunting him to take them on. “Don’t hit and run to me, I’m quick enough” Gambhir told Dilshan. When Mishra failed to tempt Dilshan, he tried a verbal route. “I told him this is not Twenty20, this is a Test and I want to keep going,” Dilshan said.At 33, Dilshan’s life is evolving at a faster rate than when he started out a decade ago. Mostly under-used at No.6, the new leadership under Kumar Sangakkara decided he’d be better suited to open – prompted, no doubt, by his fast scoring-rate that could help the middle order. He’s probably the most unorthodox opener in Test cricket, perhaps more so than Virender Sehwag, and it’s that different approach that has troubled the bowlers and made them change their plans.Today, for instance, Harbhajan Singh, Indian’s premier spinner, was forced to deliver mostly from around the wicket to Dilshan to stop him from stepping out and hitting hard in front of the square. If Harbhajan thought he could capitalise on Dilshan’s weakness – his inability to sweep convincingly – the batsman had alternative plans; when he did not step out and push it firmly through the narrow divide between midwicket and mid-on, he would wait for the ball and then pull or flick it. And through the day he avoided his trademark scoop over the keeper’s head that made him famous during the ICC World Twenty20 earlier in the year, when he was the Player of the Series.During that tournament, in England, he hit three half-centuries and topped the run charts with 317 at 52 with a strike-rate of 144. But his Test strike rate has been peaking too: since 2005 it has climbed up to 72 (behind only Sehwag) and his average to 51 (his career average is 43).After reaching three figures Sangakkara, Dilshan’s on-field partner, advised him “Just don’t throw the wicket, keep going.” “I was trying to play the cut and he asked me to play straighter and don’t throw your wicket. Unfortunately that didn’t happen,” Dilshan said. He eventually fell to Zaheer off yet another short one, the final act of an enthralling battle that had run through the day. He would have been cursing his impetuosity but as he walked off he knew that he’d allowed his team to reach a position from where they could build a lead of 150-odd, vital on a pitch expected to take turn on the final two days.

Australia’s injury list from their tour of India has grown again with the news that Peter Siddle will return home after suffering stiffness in his left side during Monday’s win in Mohali. Siddle bowled five overs during the victory and the team physio Kevin Sims said the decision was in part a precautionary measure.”Peter’s injury does not appear to be a serious problem but it is unlikely he will be able to safely bowl within the next week which would therefore not allow him to have any further participation in the tour,” Sims said. “With this in mind we have made the decision that Peter will return to Australia where he will reviewed by Cricket Australia medical staff to ensure he is available for selection at the beginning of the Australian summer.”Australia’s selectors are yet to decide on a replacement player and the depth of the nation’s bowling stocks has already been tested during the tour. Brett Lee and James Hopes have flown home from India mid-series and the squad was already without Nathan Bracken, who has a knee injury.Clint McKay and Moises Henriques have joined the squad to boost the attack and the selectors will need to scour the state ranks for a third fast man to add to the group. Their options will include Dirk Nannes and Brett Geeves, both of whom have been part of the squad over the past year.

The ICC has backed Andrew Strauss and the umpires in the runner controversy with Graeme Smith, saying they followed the laws of the game. Smith suffered cramps when he was on 124 with South Africa needing another 69 from 36 balls to stay in the ICC Champions Trophy and requested for a runner but Strauss declined it.”He [Smith] asked for a runner and the umpires took the view that cramp is a symptom of fatigue,” an ICC spokesperson was quoted as saying by . “Being tired does not qualify batsmen for a runner under the laws of the game. That is the way it will be interpreted by the umpires for the rest of the tournament.”As per the ODI playing conditions, substitutes will “only be permitted in cases of injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons. ‘Wholly acceptable reasons’ should be limited to extreme circumstances and should not include what is commonly referred to as a ‘comfort break’.”Smith was unhappy with Strauss’s decision which he said was inconsistent since batsmen have been allowed runners for cramps on previous occasions. However, Strauss defended his move, saying the umpires were also not keen to comply with Smith’s request.