All posts by csb10.top

Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, has jumped 15 places to a career-best third spot in the ICC one-day bowling rankings after his successful series against Pakistan in which he bagged 11 wickets. The other big gainer in the rankings was Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul, who climbed 18 places to the 23rd spot after topping the series bowling charts with 12 wickets in the five ODIs.There was also a further sign of Eoin Morgan’s increasing importance to England’s limited-overs sides as his match-winning 107 in the deciding ODI helped him become the highest-ranked England batsman at 14th. His captain, Andrew Strauss, who was Man of the Series after making a hundred and two half-centuries against Pakistan is one spot behind him, having gained 10 places.England’s hard-fought 3-2 victory in the one-day series has not affected their fifth place but they have lost one ranking point to be three behind India, Sri Lanka and South Africa, all of whom are tied on 112 points. Australia remain runaway leaders, maintaining a 17-point gap over their nearest challengers.Click here for full ranking lists.

ScorecardIndia Blue rose to the pressure of a must-win game with a flawless performance to upstage India Green and set up a final showdown against the same opposition on Monday. Shikhar Dhawan struck a century, while Ajinkya Rahane continued his consistent run with 95 to set Green a target of 321. S Badrinath’s side, who had already booked their place in the final with a bonus-point win against Red, slumped to a massive defeat as their chase fizzled out under lights.India Blue’s innings began in disastrous fashion when Shreevats Goswami departed in the opening over, run-out without facing a ball. That was the only success India Green experienced for a while, as Dhawan and Rahane set about their task with gusto. Dhawan got going with a brace of boundaries in the second over from Pankaj Singh, before going after Abhimanyu Mithun in the fifth. Rahane found his range with three crisp boundaries off Jaskaran Singh and a pulled six of Mithun as Blue raced past 50 in the seventh over.Having sized up the conditions to perfection, the pair settled down for the long haul. Good placement and a spate of singles and twos followed, interspersed with boundaries, as the spin trio of Sarabjit Ladda, R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma struggled to check the runs. Mithun’s reintroduction in the 35th over ended the stand on 193, Rahane trapped in front five short of a ton. There was to be no denying Dhawan though, as he pulled Mithun to bring up three figures and celebrated with another loft over mid-on for four. Yuvraj took the batting Powerplay, and though Dhawan departed without capitalising on the restriction, the captain, and later Manoj Tiwary exacted full toll. Jaskaran, Pankaj and Mithun all came in for some tap as Tiwary blitzed 46 off 27 to take the total well past 300.Naman Ojha began the pursuit with two boundaries in the second over, but Umesh Yadav trapped him in front with the sixth ball. India Green then struggled to find the boundaries and Badrinath’s exit against the sharp RP Singh killed their momentum further. The aggressive firm of Srikkanth Anirudha and Robin Uthappa also failed to make an impact, and at 61 for 4 after 15 overs, India Green were in need of a massive repair job. Rohit briefly promised before Yuvraj got him to offer a return catch. With the tank running quickly out of gas, Kedar Jadhav kept trying with 71, but Yo Mahesh, with support from the rest of the attack, brought down the shutters in the 42nd over.

Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal, has been released on bail without charge by Scotland Yard but will be questioned further at a later date. Majeed was caught on camera by claiming to have bribed Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif to bowl no-balls at previously agreed moments during the Lord’s Test. He was arrested on Saturday, following the expose that claimed he was paid £150,000 to arrange a fix with the Pakistan team, but was bailed on Sunday evening.”He is obliged to return for further questioning at a specified date,” a Scotland Yard spokesman told Cricinfo. However, he refused to confirm what date that would be.Sharad Pawar, the ICC president, said the game’s governing body would wait for the police report on the issue before deciding on a course of action.”Until and unless the British authorities complete the investigation, which we hope will be done in two-three days, and establish there is prima facie case, it is difficult for the PCB to take appropriate action,” Pawar said after a teleconference with ICC officials, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and ECB chairman Giles Clarke. “ICC is waiting for the British police to complete investigation. ACSU is also looking into the details. It is also preparing a report in two to three days. The report by British Police and ACSU will give us a proper picture.”Pawar said it was the desire of the ICC, PCB and ECB that Pakistan’s tour of England should continue. “We discussed in depth the Pakistani players’ issue. One thing is that the British Police have not completed their investigation,” he added. “Neither any player has been arrested. As per our information, PCB president is preparing a confidential report which will be submitted to the president and prime minster. He wants guidance from the country’s leadership.”Many boards have already reacted, some of them airing concerns over the fate of planned series against Pakistan. New Zealand Cricket appealed for a swift resolution to the issue to avoid any fallout on Pakistan’s year-end tour of the country . “Justice needs to be done, but also swiftly to stop this dragging on,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan told . “It’s very important that we have their best team and that we prepare as well as possible for the World Cup which immediately follows the tour.”Pakistan will play three Twenty20 matches, two Tests and six one-day internationals against New Zealand between December 26 and early February. Before that, Pakistan are set to host South Africa in the UAE for two Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20, but Cricket South Africa has said the series will go ahead as planned.”The tour of Pakistan is part of the ICC Future Tours’ program, which we have to honour, unless instructed otherwise by the ICC,” Gerald Majola, CSA’s CEO, said. “As such, the tour will go ahead as planned.”The BCCI said the matter was for the PCB and ICC to handle. “The BCCI has got nothing to do with it,” its media and finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said. “Even if some Indian bookies are involved, the Indian police will look into the matter.”Yawar Saeed, the touring side’s manager denied that the allegations proved that Pakistan cricket was institutionally corrupt. “I would not like to say that. Yes, one has heard and one has read [the allegations], but I would not like to go that far,” said Saeed, insisting that the tour itinerary would continue as planned.

ScorecardAn exciting final day is in prospect at Cheltenham where Gloucestershire arewell placed to win their first County Championship game at the College Groundsince 2001 against Worcestershire.Despite a century from Daryl Mitchell, Worcestershire could make only 278 intheir first innings and conceded a deficit of 202 runs.With the pitch threatening to break up, Gloucestershire skipper Alex Gidmandecided against enforcing the follow-on and saw his side crash to 136 all out intheir second innings, Shakib Al Hasan taking 5 for 23 – his best figures forWorcestershire – and Alan Richardson 4 for 57.But that still left the visitors needing an unlikely 339 to win. They closedthe third day on eight without loss and will need to bat very well to achieveeven a draw.Worcestershire had begun on 126 for 2 in reply to 480 and looked capable of adecent first-innings reply while overnight batsmen Mitchell and Moeen Ali weretogether. But once Moeen fell to Anthony Ireland for 59, including nine fours, onlyMitchell offered much resistance. Gemaal Hussain finished with 4 for 30 totake his wicket tally for the season to 53.Mitchell was sixth man out with the total on 258, having faced 254 balls andhit 16 fours. It was a solid effort by the opener on a pitch that began torespond to spin in the latter stages of the innings and on which the homeseamers bowled well.Gloucestershire were no doubt planning on building a lead beyond 400 before adeclaration, but it never looked like happening as the out-of-form JonathanBatty was bowled by Matt Mason for three.First-innings centurion Will Porterfield hit a breezy 33, but Hamish Marshall,Alex Gidman and James Franklin could make only 30 between them, perishing in thequest for quick runs. Worryingly for Worcestershire, it was left-arm spinner Shakib who did most of the damage.Chris Taylor made sure the second innings was not a total disaster for the homeside by hitting 45 off 56 balls, with seven fours, but the last four wicketsfell without a run being added.Worcestershire will still feel they are in with a chance, but ifGloucestershire fail to take this opportunity they may start to think they willnever win another four-day game at Cheltenham. Their spell without a victory there stretches back 15 Championship games.

Ricky Ponting might have played his last Test in England, but he still hasn’t ruled out one final attempt to win the Ashes on enemy soil. Ponting flew out of London last September freshly hurt by the loss of the urn and keen to return in 2013, but a year later he has become more philosophical about his chances of being part of the next Ashes battle in England.The country has been troublesome for Ponting. It has reduced him to mortal status as a batsman – he averages 41.79 in 20 Tests in England – and Australia have won only three of their 12 Tests in the British Isles under Ponting’s captaincy. Pakistan’s victory at Headingley levelled the series 1-1, so he has still not won a Test series in England as leader.By the time Australia return for an Ashes tour Ponting will be 38, and he knows that his chances of still being in the Test side depend not only on his desire but also on whether he retains his reflexes and ability. On that front, the signs for Ponting are slightly worrying. In the past 12 months he has averaged 39.81 in Tests and the powerful pulls and hooks that have been his trademark have at times brought his downfall.His 209 in Hobart in January was made possible only because Mohammad Aamer dropped a sitter at fine leg when Ponting had not yet scored. At Headingley this week he made 66, but he could easily have been sent on his way first ball when he padded up to an Aamer delivery that would have clipped the top of off stump.”I honestly don’t know [if I’ll play in England again],” Ponting said after the Leeds loss. “It’s all going to be down to how well I play. I love playing for Australia. I cherish every moment that I have to captain the side and represent my country. If I get back here in a couple of years time then so be it, but if I’m not good enough then there’s nothing I can do about that.”If there was a hint of self-doubt in that statement, it would be a rarity for Ponting. He is not keen to concede vulnerability by giving up the pull shot, or by shifting himself down the order. Even when Australia were trying to claw their way back into the game at Headingley, Ponting tried to be attacking against an excellent group of swing bowlers.”I don’t think I played any more defensively than normal,” he said. “Over the years I’ve always had that fairly aggressive intent to go out there and put it back on the bowlers. I still felt I had that in the second innings but they bowled pretty well.”Combating the moving ball will be even more difficult at 38. For now, Ponting will focus on the Ashes at home and a World Cup defence on the subcontinent early next year. Whether Australia’s captain will push on beyond that is anyone’s guess.

ScorecardMatt Prior made the sixth highest score in Twenty20 history as Sussex Sharks maintained their stranglehold on the South Division with a crushing 53-run win over Glamorgan Dragons at Hove.Prior, 28, is desperate to win back his place in England’s one-day side after losing out to Craig Kieswetter and strengthened his claims with117 from just 55 balls – matching knocks by Chris Gayle and Andrew Symonds – as Sussex piled up 239 for 5, the third biggest total in this Friends Provident t20 history.It was all too much for the Dragons, although they restored some pride by completing their 20 overs at 186 for 5, but Sussex still claimed their eighth win out of nine so far. Prior and New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who was making his final appearance for the Sharks, put on 33 in 21 balls to get the innings off to a flying start but that was a mere warm-up as Prior began to dismantle the Glamorgan attack.His first 50 runs came off a relatively sedate 30 balls although he got to the milestone with the third of three successive sixes off David Harrison. Prior then went into overdrive without ever resorting to slogging as he found gaps on both sides of the wicket with a mixture of powerful drives and pulls.He went from 52 to 117 in just 25 deliveries, hitting six fours in eight balls at one stage off James Harris and Jim Allenby. In doing so he put on 73 in 42 deliveries for the second wicket with Murray Goodwin and a further 56 in 23 with Dwayne Smith, who contributed just nine to the partnership.Prior brought up only the third Twenty20 century by a Sussex batsman with a four down the ground and when he top-edged an attempted pull off Australian quick Shaun Tait his innings had contained 90 runs in boundaries – 15 fours and five sixes – and he departed to a standing ovation from the 4,000 crowd.If Glamorgan thought their suffering was over they were mistaken as Chris Nash improvised superbly to score 60 not out from just 26 balls with seven fours and three sixes, adding 63 in 27 deliveries with Joe Gatting for the fifth wicket.Dragons skipper Jamie Dalrymple, who had won the toss, used seven bowlers but Tait apart they all suffered with Harris, who conceded 61 in his four wicketless overs, taking the worst punishment. In the reply, opener Mark Cosgrove made 43 off 32 balls and at the end of their powerplay Glamorgan were only four runs behind Sussex’s position at the same point.But after the Australian left-hander holed out to deep mid-wicket in Nash’s only over of off-breaks the Dragons never threatened. Skipper Dalrymple did make an unbeaten 46 but regular wickets – five of the six Sussex bowlers picked up a scalp – meant there was never a meaningful enough partnership to take the batting side close.

Sri Lanka Cricket is planning to revamp its domestic Twenty20 tournament by allowing foreign players to participate, Aravinda de Silva, the board’s newly-appointed chief selector has said. The move was also an attempt to attract overseas sponsorship, he added.”This (new) Inter-Provincial League will create opportunities for players, spectators and viewers and raise scope for foreign advertisers to reach a much wider audience,” de Silva was quoted as saying by .The current Inter-Provincial Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka comprises six teams, with Wayamba the reigning champions. In 2008, the governing body for rugby in Sri Lanka allowed foreign players to feature in domestic competitions.de Silva admitted the move to include foreign players was part of the trend set in motion by the IPL. “With IPL, the Twenty20 format went a step further,” he said. “Just when Test cricket was sagging, IPL was formed three years back. The whole dynamics changed. Boundaries were cleared and players were merged from across the globe to form teams.”Viewers now have short attention spans. They want to see quick results,” de Silva said. Sri Lanka Cricket is expected to announce the new structure soon.

Durham 218 and 88 for 4 v Nottinghamshire 559 for 8 dec
Scorecard
Chris Read worked his side into a very dominant position•PA Photos

Nottinghamshire’s emphatically successful start to the Championship season is likely to be extended to a fourth win in four matches after Durham, the defending champions, suffered one of their poorest days in recent memory, conceding a first-innings lead of 341 after a breathtaking Ally Brown-inspired fightback by the home side and then slipping to 88 for 4 at the close.Durham, champions for the last two seasons, are unbeaten in 23 matches since the 2008 campaign, but unless rain plays a major part on the final day it is hard to see them preserving the record for one more game.Brown proved again that age need not be a barrier to effectiveness on the cricket field. The former Surrey batsman, who turned 40 in February, stunned Durham with a savage 134 off only 121 balls as he and Chris Read, the home captain, led Nottinghamshire from 226 for 6 to a tea-time declaration on 559 for 8.It was a spectacular turnaround in which Durham’s current troubles were painfully exposed. With four bowlers ruled out by injury, they are obliged to play both Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett when neither can be considered fully fit, while Dale Benkenstein is playing but cannot bowl because of a dodgy knee.Harmison and Plunkett both conceded more than one hundred runs, as did Chris Rushworth, although the Sunderland-born seamer at least claimed his first Championship wickets. Harmison threatened at times and was unlucky not to have some success in the first hour but looked tired and frustrated as the afternoon turned into one of unbroken carnage.And while Durham can plead extenuating circumstances, there was no pretending that the way in which Brown, Read and Paul Franks batted them out of the game was not massively impressive, suggesting that it will be a good side that denied Nottinghamshire their title aspirations.Yet it had appeared at first that Nottinghamshire were no more comfortable with a lively pitch than Durham had been in labouring to 218 in their first innings.The first ball of the day did not augur well. Mark Wagh, who has been looking as though he is beginning to tame his more impetuous tendencies, reverted to type by driving airily at Rushworth’s loosener, which flew off the edge to Michael di Venuto at second slip.Rushworth does not look out of place at this level, despite his elevation from club cricket, and the opening 40 minutes earned him three wickets as he brought one back to trap Samit Patel leg before and had Mullaney edging also to second slip.Harmison should have had Mullaney had his brother, Ben, clung on to a chance at third slip and Nottinghamshire, just eight runs in front, seemed sure to scrape together only a modest advantage.But when Read joined Brown in the middle the tone of the innings changed dramatically as Nottinghamshire demonstrated the depth of their batting.Brown went on the counter-attack with exhilarating gusto. He and Read are both bold, aggressive hitters and having accelerated the total to 333 for 6 at lunch, they added another 130 before Brown’s blitz ended, Phil Mustard plucking an uppercut out of the air above his head to give Plunkett revenge of sorts, having been hit for six by Brown the previous ball.The former England one-day batsman, the first of whose 46 career hundreds was made against Nottinghamshire for Surrey in 1992, had hit 17 fours and three sixes. He also passed 1,000 career runs in first-class matches against Durham at an average of 59.35. He has 1,000 runs or more against seven counties now and centuries against all of them bar Surrey.The partnership with Read, who survived a painful blow on the right hand from Rushworth on 73 and was caught off a no-ball on 87, realised 237 runs in 42 overs. Read’s unbeaten 124 was his 17th first-class hundred and took him beyond 10,000 career runs.Durham wilted, almost as if the weight of statistics was too much as Brown and Read pulled and drove with mounting confidence and authority. None of Durham’s bowlers could restrict them and for the novices – Rushworth and Ben Stokes – it was an uncomfortable experience from which there was no hiding place.Yet it did not end there. Franks pitched in with 64 off 45 balls as Harmison’s body language began to give away his frustration. His 28 overs cost 123 as Durham acquired another unwanted stat by conceding more than 500 first-innings runs in back-to-back games for the first time since 1992, their debut season.Read declared at tea, 341 in front, after the afternoon session had yeilded 226 runs, but Durham’s troubles were not over. Darren Pattinson produced a fine delivery to have di Venuto caught at second slip, Steven Mullaney made Will Smith pay for fishing outside off stump, Franks found some extra bounce that Benkenstein could only fend to second slip and Charlie Shreck had Kyle Coetzer leg before. They have it all to do on the final day.

Lancashire have moved to sign Simon Katich and Shivnarine Chanderpaul as replacements for Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara who has been ruled out on account of his extended international commitments.Australian opener Katich will arrive in June and be available to play in the first half of the Twenty20 and also the Roses Match with Yorkshire. He will then link up with Australia for their series against Pakistan in England, being replaced by Chanderpaul who will remain with the club for the remainder of the season having had previous spells with Durham.”Kumar was due to join up with the club after the completion of the World Twenty20 next month, but the prospect of the Asia Cup and Sri Lanka’s potential programme meant that option would be no longer possible,” said Lancashire cricket director Mike Watkinson. “The news meant we had to look elsewhere, and we are very pleased to have signed two world-class players in Simon and Shivnarine.”Head coach Peter Moore is thrilled to have found top-class replacements for Sangakkara. “While it was disappointing to learn that Kumar wasn’t coming, it is fantastic that we have been able to secure the services of two world-class left-handed batsmen to keep the continuity within the side once Ashwell Prince departs,” he said.

Namibia 583 for 8 dec (Steenkamp 206, van Schoor 157) beat Bermuda 214 (Hemp 52, Verwey 5-46) and 184 (Hemp 65, Klazinga 5-45) by an innings and 185 runs.
Scorecard
Raymond van Schoor and Ewaid Steenkamp’s 374-run opening partnership helped Namibia complete a crushing innings victory over Bermuda in the Intercontinental Shield match in Windhoek.Namibia take the full 20 points on offer and move second in the table, nine points behind Uganda after winning a match they dominated from the off. Bermuda were bowled out for 214 after winning the toss and opting to bat first with captain David Hemp, the former Warwickshire batsman, the only man to put up any fight. He scrapped his way to 52, but wickets kept tumbling around him as Bermuda collapsed from 173 for 3. Tobias Verwey was the pick of the bowlers, collecting 5-46, his maiden five wicket haul.What looked a below-par total turned out to be barely credible as van Schoor and Steenkamp set about building Namibia’s response. Without taking undue risk the pair marched relentlessly past the Bermuda total, with both openers making centuries on their way to a record stand in Intercontinental Shield cricket. It was Steenkamp’s first hundred at first-class level and he cashed in, converting to 206. The partnership finally ended when van Schoor fell to Foggo for 157. The pair had added 374 in 84.5 overs and had almost made the match a formality for Namibia.Craig Williams, the Namibia captain, made the most of the damaged morale, punishing all the bowlers on his way to a 74-ball 110 not out. In total he hit nine fours and three sixes, sharing a 76-run stand with Verwey to push the score to 583 before declaring 369 ahead.It was a mountain Bermuda were unlikely to climb and when they lost their openers in quick succession to leave them 25 for 2, there looked no route back. Once again Hemp provided the only resilience, making the most of his first-class experience that stretches back to 1991, to score his second battling half-century of the match, ending with 65 off 86 balls. Louis Klazinga chipped his way through the Bermuda line-up to collect 5 for 45 and deliver his side their first win of the tournament.