The messages to Nathan Bracken telling him it’s time to get a real job have been light-hearted, but he knows his mates are right

Peter English08-Apr-2010The messages to Nathan Bracken telling him it’s time to get a real job have been light-hearted, but he knows his mates are right. Bracken lost his Cricket Australia contract on Wednesday and will spend the winter without the security and status of the precious item he has owned for most of the past decade.At 32, having overcome some serious knee operations, he is effectively a state player despite being ranked as high as No.2 last year in the ICC’s one-day list. Bracken was surprised by the decision, figuring his limited-overs talents would be relied on heavily in the next 12 months, but he has been over-run by a group of younger, fitter and faster bowlers.He is not angry when he speaks about his omission and at times sounds like he is already in retirement, but he is definitely not stepping down. Just stepping back after five Tests and 116 ODIs, and beginning to think about what life might be like away from his bowling mark.It doesn’t mean he’s taking the news well. “It’s very disappointing to lose it,” he told Cricinfo. “As David Hussey said in the paper, he enjoys proving people wrong. I’m in a position where I’ve done that before and it feels pretty good. I want to prove that me being ranked No.1 in the world [in 2008] was no fluke, to show that I can get back there.”The cross from Andrew Hilditch and his selectors “changes things dramatically” for Bracken, who was planning to be at full fitness for the tour of the British Isles in June. He points out he was the one-day player of the year at the 2009 Allan Border Medal, but is realistic enough to know that if he heads to England during the winter it will be for the county Twenty20 competition.”I thought this year, with the amount of one-day cricket and the World Cup in India, that would really improve my chances of getting a contract,” he said. “The World Cup years are usually more in favour of the one-day players, but it didn’t quite go through as I thought it might.”He has already turned down a T20 contract with Northamptonshire for the winter because it clashed with Australia’s itinerary and his management is now scouting for other opportunities on and off the field. Having started a communications degree before his international career blossomed, he would enjoy a role in the media.Ideally he’d love to be a sideline reporter or a behind-the-scenes man who details the extensive preparation of high-profile players. “Missing a Cricket Australia contract gives me these sorts of opportunities,” he said. Support has come quickly from his followers on Twitter and Facebook and 47% of voters in a poll on Cricinfo’s Australia home page believe he didn’t deserve to lose his deal.Bracken isn’t sure what happens next in New South Wales’ contract process but he does know about the IPL auction later in the year. Injuries and Australian commitments ruled him out of the first two tournaments and his contract for this event was bought out by Bangalore during his knee rehabilitation. He is well-suited to a role as a Twenty20 bowler for hire, giving away less than seven runs an over and achieving a strike-rate of 19.8 during 19 internationals.While he was away from the Australian team Ryan Harris, Clint McKay and Doug Bollinger grew in popularity and won contracts along with Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. At New South Wales there is impressive younger talent in Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Trent Copeland. The environment has changed and Bracken is aware of it.”I’ve been lucky to be on a CA contract for the last eight or nine years and it’s been very good to be on them,” he said. “Missing out is never a great state to be in … It’s a chance to get back and re-set goals. It’s a time to sit back and have a look at a few things.”He is determined to be ready for New South Wales’ first game in October and the overall aim remains. “I want my contract back, plain and simple.”

Cricinfo previews the final of IPL 2010 between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians

The Preview by Sidharth Monga24-Apr-2010

Match facts

Sunday, April 25
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)The biggest question on the eve of the final: Will Sachin Tendulkar play or not?•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

Pitches have tired, outfields have grown barer during an unforgiving Indian summer, but for 45 days the players have braved sapping conditions, excruciating travel (made more excruciating by security concerns), IPL parties, inane interviews and columns, explosions outside the stadium just before a match, injuries, cramps, fines and reprimands to keep this league rolling. On the way some of them have played in the breathtaking environs of Dharamsala, many of them have put in special performances, some of them have announced themselves, some have shown aspects of their game others didn’t know existed, some have found second winds. Two teams, though, have one final issue to settle before we move onto more pressing matters like the World Twenty20 and ascertaining how clean the IPL is.
The image of the third IPL, though, will remain MS Dhoni upper-cutting himself in the jaw like a pumped-up boxer, upon having hit a match-winning six from Dharamsala into McLeodganj. Nobody has seen Dhoni react so emotionally on a cricket field, and Dhoni has quite a body of work behind him to draw that cool, composed image from. And about a fortnight ago, when Dhoni’s team was asphyxiating a Mumbai Indians chase in the merciless Chennai humidity, Sachin Tendulkar, short on fluids, retired hurt, saw what resembled a choke and came back to try and win what was then just another match for Mumbai, with their semi-final place not under much doubt. Both men, one perhaps India’s greatest cricketer, one who has the makings of India’s greatest captain, represent how much this means to their teams.

Form guide (most recent first)

Mumbai WLWWW
Chennai WWLWL

Team talk

There’s no decision yet on whether the injured Tendulkar will play, but if he can hold the bat, expect him to open for Mumbai. “It’s his call,” was all their coach, Robin Singh, could offer. “If he is not available, we have our back-up plans.” Kieron Pollard is fit. Mumbai will be tempted to think about Ali Murtaza ahead of Abhishek Nayar because of the nature of the pitch. In that light, JP Duminy weighs over Dwayne Bravo.Mumbai (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar (capt.), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Saurabh Tiwary, 4 Ambati Rayudu (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Ali Murtaza/Abhishek Nayar, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lasith MalingaOn a turning pitch, Chennai have no reason to divert from the three-spinner attack.Chennai (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 5 S Badrinath, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 S Anirudha, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Doug Bollinger, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Shadab Jakati

Previously…

Mumbai 3 Chennai 3
On a flat pitch at the Brabourne Stadium, Chennai failed to defend 180, but on a more difficult Chennai pitch, they defended 165 with aplomb.

In the spotlight

Law of averages says Matthew Hayden is due a single-handed match-winning blast. In an illustrious career, a Man-of-the-Match performance in a big tournament final is missing. In 12 innings since his Mongoose-charged 93, Hayden’s top score has been 35, and his strike-rate has been 117.2. Neither Chennai nor Hayden expects this, and he will want to set things right.Dhoni v Tendulkar Twenty20 games, if not won by a single-handed blasts, usually come down to captains, finals more so than others. These two captains also happen to be important batsmen of their line-ups. If Tendulkar has been remarkably consistent, setting up matches, Dhoni has been mercurial, retrieving lost matches. That holds true for their captaincy too.Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan have been the understated stars of Mumbai’s campaign. Of all teams of the IPL, you don’t want to be needing 10 an over against Mumbai: these guys are mean, accurate and wily. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni, Hayden and Co. go against these yorker machines. They do tend to make a bit of a mockery of spinning tracks.

Prime numbers and trivia

• Suresh Raina, with 1318 runs to his name, has overtaken Adam Gilchrist as the leading scorer in all IPL matches. Tendulkar is fifth with 1122 runs.
• Raina also holds the record for most catches, 26, for a non-wicketkeeper.

Chatter

“We have been doing well with our fast bowlers, so how does it concern me?”

“It gives us a slight edge that Mumbai have never been in a final before, and we have.”

Former New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle feels that captain Daniel Vettori should step down as a national selector because it might create a sense of insecurity among his team-mates

Cricinfo staff31-May-2010Former New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle feels captain Daniel Vettori should step down as a national selector because that responsibility could create a sense of insecurity among his team-mates. Astle fears the team spirit may be affected if the captain has a major say in selection, and added that if Vettori gave up that role, it would allow him to focus on his job as the team’s leading strike bowler, and captain.”He’s capable but deep down I think it is too much to take on. Being captain means you take on a certain role and while he should definitely have an input, he shouldn’t be a selector,” Astle told the . “You want your team-mates to be able to discuss things. Players won’t do that if they think it might hinder their selection.”Former New Zealand wicketkeeper Warren Lees was also concerned that Vettori’s role as a spinner may become redundant if he puts the team’s concerns before his own. Vettori is currently the second-highest wicket-taker for New Zealand, behind Richard Hadlee, with 325 wickets. “If he’s a good captain, there’s a risk he won’t get the most out of himself as a bowler because he’ll spend the whole time thinking of others,” Lees said. “He might need to be more selfish.”The former players also discussed another vital member of the New Zealand side, Brendon McCullum, whose dual role as a wicketkeeper-batsman in all forms of the game has been debated of late. McCullum, who gave up the gloves in Twenty20 internationals to focus on batting alone, isn’t sure whether he will follow suit in Tests and ODIs. He said he would take a decision in the coming months on the best way to preserve himself for New Zealand.Astle felt McCullum should give up keeping because New Zealand needed him as a batsman to shore up an inexperienced batting order. “Giving up the keeping should allow him more time to work on his batting. From what I’ve seen, it’s not that he doesn’t want to do it but it’s more of a physical thing and he’s looking for longevity in the game,” Astle said. “I think some people have been too quick to judge.”Lees, however, felt New Zealand couldn’t afford to lose him as a keeper. “We don’t know how bad his back is. I was surprised coach Mark Greatbatch did not originally know about that,” he said. “We are a weak team and need Brendon keeping to have the balance to beat the best in world.”Former New Zealand fast bowler, Danny Morrison, now a commentator, spoke out on the team’s recent performance. He felt the senior batsmen weren’t putting their hands up enough, going by New Zealand’s performance in the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean and in Florida, where they were bowled out for 81 in a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka.”I think more onus needs to go on McCullum, [Ross] Taylor and [Jesse] Ryder as a core group of senior batsmen, who have a responsibility to perform. There was a glaring lack of runs in the Caribbean and it wasn’t good enough.”Shane Bond’s retirement from all forms has weakened the bowling attack, and Morrison called for the youngsters to fill the breach quickly. “It’s time young guys stepped up because big Daryl [Tuffey] and Chris [Martin] haven’t got long left at the top. They’re still useful, especially in New Zealand conditions with their pace and bounce, but aren’t getting it through at real pace. Brent Arnel is a prospect. He looks like he’s modelled himself on Shane Bond with a nice action and small delivery stride,” Morrison said.”I also saw Corey Anderson up close at the Hong Kong Sixes last year, albeit off a shorter run-up. He had a strong, powerful action with a top speed of over 140km/h. Andy McKay gets it through too.”

A thrilling encounter saw North Group leaders Nottinghamshire Outlaws held to a tie as Northamptonshire Steelbacks captain Andrew Hall produced the goods with bat and ball

22-Jun-2010
Scorecard
A thrilling encounter saw North Group leaders Nottinghamshire Outlaws held to a tie as Northamptonshire Steelbacks captain Andrew Hall produced the goods with bat and ball.
After finishing unbeaten on 40 in the Northants innings of 121 for 7, with Alex Wakely top-scoring with 43, Hall showed all of his experience to deny the hosts with a nerveless final over.Needing only five runs from the last six balls, Hall had Notts’ top scorer Steven Mullaney caught on the boundary for 53 before conceding four thanks to Graeme White’s paddle sweep. But with the scores level the former South Africa international allrounder produced two perfect yorkers to finish, with Darren Pattinson and White run out attempting to scramble the winning runs.That ruined a memorable match for fast bowler Pattinson, who began the contest with a wicket maiden on his way to career-best figures of 4 for 19 as Notts restricted the visitors to just 10 boundaries throughout their innings.Only three Northants batsmen reached double figures in the face of disciplined and probing bowling from the Notts attack, with all but overseas quick Dirk Nannes conceding less than a run a ball. The Steelbacks’ total would have been far worse but for the final over, which saw Nannes hit for 15 runs, including three fours.Nevertheless, the total appeared an easy one for Notts, who had won six of their opening seven matches thanks in the main to the powerful strokeplay of Alex Hales, Ali Brown, Samit Patel and David Hussey.But with Chaminda Vaas removing the first three for a combined total of eight and Hall bowling Hussey for two off an inside edge, Notts were in deep trouble at the end of the powerplay overs on 23 for 4.Matt Wood batted with purpose in making 41 from 32 balls with five fours, adding 55 for the fifth wicket with Mullaney before being caught at deep cover off James Middlebrook. That put the pressure on the Notts tail and despite Mullaney’s pulled four off Vaas’ last over leaving the hosts requiring less than a run a ball, Hall had the final say in a gripping finish.

Kent wrapped up their Friends Provident t20 home fixtures and moved off the foot of the South Group table with a comfortable six-wicket win over Glamorgan in Canterbury with five balls to spare

11-Jul-2010

ScorecardKent wrapped up their Friends Provident t20 home fixtures and moved off the foot of the South Group table with a comfortable six-wicket win over Glamorgan in Canterbury with five balls to spare.The Spitfires posted a fifth win of the campaign courtesy of an unbeaten stand of 43 between Geraint Jones (22) and top-scorer Azhar Mahmood, who hit 30 from 29 balls to take the man-of-the-match honours.Pursuing the Dragons’ modest total of 126 at an asking rate of 6.4 an over, Kent made a poor start when James Hockley (nought) dabbed at a Robert Croft arm-ball to edge to the keeper.Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld both enjoyed a life in adding 43 for the second wicket but Van Jaarsveld’s good fortune expired two balls after giving his first chance when he top-edged a sweep to short fine-leg. Denly, who was dropped on 18, went on to reach 36 from 38 balls with four boundaries, before he too fell to the wiles of Croft.Beaten in the flight as he advanced to drive, Croft turned one through the gate to peg back off-stump and finish with 3 for 19. Left-arm spinner Dean Cosker, having seen two catches go down, deservedly picked up the scalp of in-form Darren Stevens (10) who missed an attempted lofted drive to be stumped by Mark Wallace.Kent promoted Mahmood to bat at number four and though he might have gone for two when James Harris downed a difficult diving chance at deep cover, the ploy ultimately worked as the former Pakistan Test all-rounder teamed up with Jones to see Kent home.With 20 needed off 18 balls, the duo crucially took 12 off Jamie Dalrymple’s third over, the 18th of the innings, seven came off the next from Shaun Tait leaving Jones to win it with a crisp off-driven boundary un the final over from Jim Allenby.Glamorgan’s low-key total of 126 for 6 contained only 10 fours and one six as their top order struggled for timing on a tinder dry pitch being used for the third time which helped both Kent spinners Malinga Bandara and Van Jaarsveld.The Dragons posted 48 for the first wicket through Mark Cosgrove, their top-scorer with 36 from 33 balls and with half their boundaries, and Allenby, who went for 17 in the eighth over after clipping a full toss from Ashley Shaw straight to deep mid-wicket.Bandara’s introduction at The Pavilion End swung the balance Kent’s way with an excellent four-over stint of three for 15. The Sri Lankan had Wallace (nought) caught off a top-edged reverse sweep then Tom Maynard (nought) off a miscued slog sweep at long-on.In his next over Cosgrove, who got under way with two edged boundaries to third man, eventually ran out of luck when his lofted off-drive was superbly held on the run by a diving Denly. Kent’s sharp fielding also led to a couple of run outs in the final two overs as Ben Wright (27) and Gareth Rees (nought) were undone by direct hits from Mahmood, following through, and Alex Blake from long-off.

Pakistan need to thank Mohammad Aamer for putting those winning smiles across their faces

Nagraj Gollapudi at Headingley23-Jul-2010Pakistan need to thank Mohammad Aamer for putting those winning smiles on their faces. His promise, his talent, his skills and his dynamic mindset have splashed across this brief series like vibrant colours. Many a burning talent has emerged out of Pakistan and sparked briefly before extinguishing, but Aamer is not a flickering hope. Still only 10 Tests old, Aamer has all ingredients to become the next generation’s best fast bowler.Late on the second day Australia had clawed back into the contest after a gritty partnership between their senior pair of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke. Ponting had already notched a half-century and Clarke was on the verge of matching him. On the third morning Headingley was bathed in bright sunshine, often a portent for a fast-emerging Australian dominance.Equally promising were the dangers Aamer and his new-ball partner Mohammad Asif could pose. Already these two were instrumental in breaking the Australian knees on the first day when they collapsed for 88. Ponting and Clarke walked in doubly stubborn to stamp their authority in front of a 5,000-strong crowd, which had come to witness an imminent result.Their positive footwork and the eagerness to play forward indicated the Australians’ aggressive plan. Ponting was lucky to get away in Asif’s first over when he plunged forward against a late outswinger and the thick outside edge flew past the vacant third slip. But a couple of overs later Aamer smartly darted an angled delivery wide across Ponting and, like a magnet, the Australian captain chased it and was caught behind. It was no teaser by Aamer. His thinking mind had alerted him to cast a net that Ponting would fall for in his attempt to go for runs.Aamer had also understood Michael Hussey’s usual method to play as late as possible. So he sent a slower delivery, which pitched on the seam and jumped on Hussey, who was dumbfounded by the resultant edge, which was caught nicely by Umar Akmal at first slip. Perhaps Aamer’s uncanny knack to work out batsmen prompted Marcus North, under pressure, to play a straight and short delivery onto his stumps. Those three wickets immediately put Pakistan in a truly dominant position and underlined Aamer’s preternatural brilliance to grasp the situation and impose himself.It was the same on day one when he sensed the need to get rid of the lower order, which had frustrated Pakistan in the second innings at Lord’s and played a big hand in the eventual defeat. Immediately after tea he delivered successive unplayable deliveries to Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson, knocking back the stumps on both occasions. Shane Warne called the Johnson dismissal the “ball of the series”. Johnson had lined up to clip the ball, sailing full at his legs, before it swung late and hit the bottom of off stump. It was a stunning delivery.Wasim Akram could manipulate such gems out of nowhere but mostly with the old ball. Aamer has the ability to dictate at all times in the contest. He gained seven wickets at Leeds, including his second-innings contribution of 4 for 86 off 27 overs.It is not just his pro-active attitude that stands out. Aamer has the hunger and drive to answer the call of his captain whenever required. An over before the second new ball was up, Salman Butt waved at Aamer, asking him which end he would like to bowl from. Asif was inclined to operate from the Kirkstall Lane End but still wanted to check with Aamer. The youngster did not care and pointed to both sides.On day two all of his nine overs came from the Kirkstall Lane End. This morning he turned the momentum Pakistan’s way from the old Football Stand End. He is not fussy, just hungry.When Waqar Younis joined the Pakistan team as the bowling consultant on the Australia tour last season he was apparently not happy at Aamer not getting the ball to swing into the batsman. He had not realised that the youngster had only made his international debut less than six months before at the World Twenty20 in England. Possibly the discerning eye in Waqar understood the amazing potential that Aamer has and was eager to let the youngster learn all the tricks quickly.It is no surprise that six months later Aamer can swerve the ball both ways and with confidence. It was a skill that came to Akram after years of hard work, but Aamer’s talent is innate. With time we will see more of his marvels. For now he has left Australia overwhelmed. England are next on the list.

England’s coach, Andy Flower, has told his underperforming batsmen there is no place to hide after two poor performances in the third Test at The Oval allowed Pakistan to pull the four-match series scoreline back to 2-1

Cricinfo staff23-Aug-2010England’s coach, Andy Flower, has told his underperforming batsmen there is no place to hide after two poor performances in the third Test at The Oval allowed Pakistan to pull the four-match series scoreline back to 2-1 with just the decider at Lord’s to come this week. On a good batting track, England suffered collapses in each innings, including a remarkable subsidence of 7 for 28 second-time around, to muster scores of 231 and 222, as Pakistan held their nerve to win a tense contest by four wickets.Although England have shown faith with their team by naming the same 11 players plus the nominal12th man, Tim Bresnan, Flower knows that his players have to front up if they are to avoid squandering a series victory that seemed preordained when they went 2-0 up after the second Test with a nine-wicket win at Edgbaston. “On the batting side, I thought we underperformed without a doubt,” he said. “On a good Oval pitch, scores of 230 and 220 weren’t good enough to win a Test match, and we need to produce better results, simple as that.”Having bowled Pakistan out for 80 and 72 in the first two games of the series at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, England’s own batting frailties had been masked to a certain degree. “I think the first two pitches we played on were very tricky surfaces,” said Flower. “So they would undoubtedly have contributed to collapses. But as a batting team we need to produce better results, simple as that. Lord’s should provide us with a very good opportunity to put things right and it is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that happens.”Despite conceding a first-innings deficit of 75, England were inching back into command of the game at 156 for 2, with Alastair Cook ending a season-long batting drought with his 13th Test century. But once he was dismissed, caught down the leg side for 110, the innings lost its momentum and the twin dismissals after tea of Kevin Pietersen and the well-set Jonathan Trott proved decisive in the final analysis.”At The Oval, although we won the toss and batted, they were still quite trying conditions,” said Flower. “But in the second innings there were no excuses whatsoever. We set up a brilliant platform through Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott and we performed poorly after that. Any batting collapse is concerning and there have been too many of them.”Nevertheless, Cook’s return to form, and the steady tempo that Trott displayed in his three-and-a-half-hour 36, were pleasing to Flower, who believes that – while Cook’s innings was a more aggressive affair than he is used to producing – both men have the ability to buck the current trend of fast and aggressive Twenty20-influenced scoring, for the greater benefit of their team. “There is a different style of batting in international cricket these days,” said Flower. “It is without doubt more attacking, and with that has come a heavier percentage of results and shorter games.”We thought that when Trott played an obdurate innings in our second innings and it was looked at as very rare and questioned by certain people. That was good, old-fashioned Test match batting. I thought it was quite a good example of how attitudes to strike rates in Test cricket have changed.”Cook is quiet but he is quietly strong,” he added. “After failing in the first innings and having a rough time of it recently, I think it was a courageous knock filled with really exciting strokeplay. He is a tough young man and that is why he has the record he has. But he has got to back that up now, at Lord’s and into the future.”The man whom Flower was most impressed by, however, was England’s wicketkeeper and No.7, Matt Prior, who followed up his century in the second innings at Trent Bridge with a vital 84 not out that dug England out of a big hole at 94 for 7 on the first day at The Oval. “He’s looking probably the most organised I’ve seen him as a batsman since he started playing international cricket,” said Flower. “Graham Gooch and he have worked hard at the basics of batting and I think we can see the results of some of those hours in training.”Despite the Oval loss, Flower was confident that his players would bounce back with a strong performance. “Lord’s should provide us with a very good opportunity to put things right and it is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that happens,” he said. “Once the boys step over the boundary it is their job to embrace that responsibility and be skilful enough to deal with the pressures of international cricket. I think we’re underperforming. I think our batsmen believe that as well. And they will be doing everything to put that right.”

Marcus Trescothick led Somerset to a crushing 95-run win in a spicy encounter with Essex at Taunton to book a place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 final next Saturday.

The Bulletin by Sahil Dutta11-Sep-2010

ScorecardMarcus Trescothick treated the Taunton crowd to an array of attacking strokes as he booked his side a Lord’s final•Getty Images

Marcus Trescothick led Somerset to a crushing 95-run win in a spicy encounter with Essex at Taunton to book his side a place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 final next Saturday at Lord’s.Batting first in front of a passionate and packed home crowd, Trescothick launched the innings with a Man-of-the-Match winning 79 from 62 deliveries and was supported by a muscular 55 from Nick Compton and three bright performances from James Hildreth, Jos Buttler and Arul Suppiah as Somerset’s imposing 312 for 6 proved too much for Essex, despite a brave half-century from captain James Foster.Somerset were clear favourites coming into the game and did not disappoint. While their young and talented line up has challenged for silverware in all three domestic competitions, Essex have been relegated from the First Division of the County Championship and lacked the class to really challenge the home side on the day.The gulf between the sides was all too apparent after David Masters and Tony Palladrino’s first three overs of the day disappeared for 29. The new-ball pair were both trundling in below 80mph and, with the fielding restrictions in place, Trescothick simply helped himself. He unleashed an array of trademark clunking off-drives and displayed some deft class with a couple of fours glided past short third man off the hapless Palladrino.Having raced to 50 from 32 balls he looked set to make plenty more but was undone when a gentle off-cutter from Chris Wright snuck past the outside edge to rattle off stump. The glee on the face of the Essex fielders was surpassed only by their surprise as they hoped to stage a fightback.It proved not to be, however, as from that point on Somerset’s progress was relentless. Hildreth’s prolific season continued with him running Essex ragged in partnership with Compton. He picked off five classy boundaries before spooning Danish Kaneria tamely to cover but the dismissal only heightened the visitor’s pain by bringing Buttler to the crease.Just 20 years old and in his first full season at Somerset, Buttler has saved his most impressive performances for the TV cameras this summer and once again was immediately into his audacious stride. Mirroring his captain’s stillness and clarity at the crease he launched 36 from 21 balls, including a straight six off Ryan ten Doeschate that ended up on the roof of the stand behind the bowler’s head. Somerset looked already to have too many before Arul Suppiah bludgeoned 42 from 23 balls in an innings that included two more enormous sixes off ten Deoschate. The late charge carried Somerset beyond 300 and out of sight.Facing such an imposing total Essex needed a bright start to give them any semblance of hope. Instead they lost Mark Pettini to the first delivery of the innings, chipping a tame leading edge to mid-off off Alfonso Thomas. The innings went from bad to a lot worse in the sixth over as, in the space of two deliveries, Somerset demonstrated the well-honed professionalism that has underlined their whole season.First Trescothick pulled off a blinding, one-handed catch diving to his left at short cover to remove Cook before ten Doeschate was run out next ball, risking a sharp single to Hildreth who swooped low and threw down the stumps in a flash to catch the speedy ten Doeschate short. Essex were reeling three down for 33 and the game looked in danger of slipping away quickly.Grant Flower, in his last appearance for Essex after six seasons at the club tried his best to go out with a bang, smiting five boundaries before becoming the second of three run outs in the innings. Attempting a sharp second to Buttler on the square-leg boundary a rifle throw came in and caught him just short of his ground.A brief revival came in the shape of the bulky Matt Walker and Foster. Suppiah was treated to some of the savage hitting he earlier dished out as Walker thumped a full toss out of the ground over deep square and deposited a length ball miles down the ground as Essex upped the rate. The bowler almost got his own back immediately but the catch Walker offered on the long-on boundary was spilled by Thomas.Thomas then put down another, much tougher chance next ball, diving one-handed to his right at short third man off a top-edged cut from Foster, as the fifth-wicket pair brought up a 50 partnership off 32 deliveries and carried Essex to level par with Somerset by the 20th over. It became third time lucky for Thomas soon after, however, when he snaffled Walker’s powerful sweep off Murali Kartik on the deep square-leg boundary and, tottering at 139 for 5, the game looked up.Foster, though, had other ideas. He thrashed 12 off Kartik in the first over of the batting Powerplay before his adrenalin-fuelled charge was interrupted by a Thomas beamer in the next over. Though the bowler apologised immediately, Foster was furious and ended in up in a bug-eyed exchange with both Thomas and Trescothick.Visibly riding on the drama of the occasion he brought up his fifty, off just 35 balls, by rocketing a drive through cover and when he struck another powerful boundary down the ground off Thomas, Essex might just have dared to dream of pulling off an incredible heist.Instead Thomas had his final revenge as Foster tried one shot too many, trying to clear long-on only to offer Buttler a simple catch on the boundary. Thomas stood triumphant with his arms aloft but he even would concede it was a brilliant innings from Foster. The dismissal signalled the end of Essex’s fight and they crumpled in a heap thereafter.Somerset are still in the Championship title race and as the form side must go into the final at Lord’s against Warwickshire as strong favourites.

Doug Bollinger, who arrived from the Champions League two days before the first Test, injured himself on the final day of the Mohali Test

Sidharth Monga in Mohali06-Oct-2010October 24, 2009. Brett Lee joins the Australian team barely 12 hours before the toss for the first ODI of the gruelling seven-match series. Till then, Lee has been occupied in winning New South Wales the Champions League Twenty20. On the day of the match, with Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar threatening a heist with the bat, Lee pulls up sore. End of series.It’s déjà vu in October 2010 in certain ways. Doug Bollinger, after a successful Champions League, arrives here two days before what turns out to be an all-time great Test, bowls impressively in the defence of a modest total, and when he is on absolute fire, running through the Indian batting with his aggression and hostility, he has to pull out because of abdominal pain. After an over in which he bounces Harbhajan Singh out, Bollinger is not available through the rest of the innings.”I actually had him ready to bowl the next over,” Ricky Ponting said later. “I went to grab his hat off him for the start of his next over and he said he’d felt some pain in one of his abdominals, and being a fast bowler and having that sort of injury I just sent him off the ground straight away.”
Ponting, captaining an Australian side not dominant any more and hence in need of every resource it can get hold of, didn’t hide his disappointment last year. He is not hiding it this year.”It would have been nice to have another fast bowler to rotate through when we needed that breakthrough,” Ponting said. “At that stage, Doug had bowled just the one spell as well, so he would have been nice and fresh. When you are bowling at the tail, you need those strike options. That said, we used five other bowling options, but none of them could give us that result.”Ponting – not obligated, unlike many other international players, to always sing praises for the leagues – and the Australian team management haven’t been a fan of the clashes the various leagues create with national duty, the preparation part more than the actual playing part. They have all been concerned about the late arrivals of Bollinger and Michael Hussey.There is nothing to ensure that Bollinger wouldn’t have been injured had he trained with the Australian team for the last 10 days, but it helps a captain to know that his strike bowler has not been away playing in a private league until two days before a Test.”It probably doesn’t help,” said Ponting of Bollinger’s Champions League commitments. “But he’d been bowling, and that’s one positive for Doug that he’d been playing competitive cricket.
“He probably hasn’t been bowling the amount of overs in the Champions League that some of the others have had coming over here, but the facts are that he’s been playing, he arrived a couple of days before the game.”I thought his work before that was very good, I thought his spell today was probably the best he’s bowled during the game, so [it was] disappointing for him to go down at the end there, it hurt us a lot.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suspended the central contracts of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2010The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suspended the central contracts of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who are being investigated for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the tour of England in 2010. The decision was taken after Butt and Amir’s appeals against their provisional suspensions were dismissed by the ICC in Dubai on Sunday. Asif, who withdrew his appeal ahead of the hearings, also remained provisionally suspended.’We only give contracts to players who can play for Pakistan. Until their cases are decided … they can’t get any benefits from the board in terms of contracts,” PCB legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi said.Board official Zakir Khan also said the contracts had to be revoked following the ICC’s latest decision. “Their contracts were active until the appeal hearing, but once their initial appeals were rejected, under the ICC code we can’t keep them on contracts.”The board pays a monthly salary of about Rs. 250,000 ($2916) to players in the top grade, which the three suspended players are now ineligible for. Butt, Amir and Asif will appear before an independent anti-corruption tribunal that will look into the actual charges and give a verdict on whether they are innocent or guilty. Amir’s lawyer Shahid Karim told that under the ICC code of conduct, the sport’s governing body had to decide by December 2 whether to remove or retain the suspensions on the players.