All posts by h716a5.icu

A Stewart Walters century helped Glamorgan to 242 for 3 and put them in control against Essex at Colchester

15-Aug-2012
ScorecardStewart Walters, seen here for Surrey, made the fifth first-class century of his career•PA PhotosA Stewart Walters century helped Glamorgan to 242 for 3 and put them in control against Essex at Colchester. He struck an unbeaten 129 and rarely played a false stroke against an Essex attack that sorely missed its spearhead David Masters, absent with a side strain.Admittedly, the pitch was of a friendly nature but that is hardly an excuse for bowling that left much to be desired in terms of length and direction.After the visitors had won the toss, Maurice Chambers did gain an early breakthrough when he had Nick James snapped up at forward short leg by Jaik Mickleburgh, but Essex had to wait until well after lunch for their next success. Walters and Will Bragg were responsible for that as they kept pace with each other with a series of well-timed strokes either side of the wicket.Bragg reached his half-century with a flowing drive through extra cover against Chambers, while Walters reached his fifty from 72 balls by straight driving Charl Willoughby to the fence in the next over. Both batsmen included nine boundaries as they reached the landmark, Bragg needing 94 balls to register his fifty.The pair had put together a stand of 107 in 28 overs to carry the total to 133 when Graham Napier ended the partnership when, half-forward, Bragg played a ball into his stumps after making 54.Walters, however, continued on his impressive way, wasting no opportunity to cut and drive as he moved into three figures with his 15th boundary, a leg side shot at the expense of Ryan ten Doeschate. The century spanned 140 deliveries.By then Marcus North had settled in well, although he was content to watch Walters do the bulk of the scoring. His contribution to a 103 stand in 25 overs was just 24 when he sliced Napier to Harbhajan Singh in the gully just two deliveries after he had been dropped low down by the same fielder.Soon afterwards, rain arrived to save the Essex bowlers from further punishment leaving Walters to resume, in the morning, an innings that has so far lasted 179 balls and brought him 20 boundaries. It also underlined his liking for the Essex attack because he went into the match with a season’s best 69 – made when the teams met at Cardiff early in May.

West Indies’ fast bowlers made best use of the early morning conditions in Townsville to give their team an advantage that India failed to bridge as the day wore on

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville12-Aug-2012
West Indies’ fast bowlers made best use of the early morning conditions in Townsville to give their team an advantage that India failed to bridge as the day wore on. They took the field after an aggressive war cry during the team huddle on the boundary, after which their four quicks worked their way through India’s top order with a primarily short-of-a-length attack. Deprived of scoring opportunities and losing wickets regularly, India stagnated and managed only 166.Faced with a middling target, West Indies could afford to see off the new ball but they lost two early wickets in the process. India’s pace options were limited, though, and once the spinners came on the middle-order batsmen settled in without much trouble. John Campbell and Anthony Alleyne charted the course with a 58-run partnership and Kyle Mayers helped finish it with 17 balls to spare. Mayers’ 43 complemented his performance earlier in the day – 10-0-35-2.The early work, however, was done by Mayers’ colleagues, Ronsford Beaton and Jerome Jones. Beaton hit speeds of 143kph bowling with the wind, while Jones ran into it and delivered at 135 kph. They focused on keeping the ball back of a length and quite straight, giving the Indian batsmen very little to come forward to. There were cracks on the surface, which resulted in some uneven bounce.Jones, the left-armer, struck first, having Prashant Chopra caught at square leg in the second over. Beaton hit Unmukt Chand on the body, forcing the batsman to take a breather on his haunches. Chand and Baba Aparajith concentrated on survival but in the ninth over Aparajith tried to hook a bouncer from Beaton and gloved it to the wicketkeeper.India were 25 for 2 after the mandatory Powerplay and Beaton and Jones finished their first spells with maiden overs. Their replacements, Justin Greaves and Mayers, kept the Indians pinned to their crease. India had hobbled to 50 for 3 when Chand’s patience wore thin in the 20th over. He had been let off by the keeper Sunil Ambris earlier but the second edge, off Mayers, was taken.Smit Patel, India’s wicketkeeper, settled against West Indies’ spinners and was instrumental in getting India over 150. He made 51 but was unable to stay until the end, when Beaton and Jones returned to check India at the death.India’s new-ball bowlers weren’t as fast but they were accurate. Sandeep Sharma moved the ball both ways. His inswing was significant but it was two perfect outswingers that found Ambris’ edge and the top of Kraigg Brathwaite’s off stump. His first spell read 5-2-5-2.Campbell and Alleyne had to see off a few overs of pace before spin was introduced in the 12th over, and from then on the chase got easier. They kept driving to long-on and long-off to pick up singles with little risk. The scoring wasn’t quick but it didn’t need to be. West Indies and India were level around the 31st over mark, at 87 and 86 for 4, but the gap grew after that.Harmeet Singh, the left-arm spinner, picked up three wickets but India needed to trigger a collapse to avert a West Indian victory. Alleyne and Mayers did not allow that to happen, and their 58-run stand secured the gam

Security for players at the World Twenty20 has been tightened by tournament organisers after a man found a way into the Australia team’s quarters

Daniel Brettig28-Sep-2012Security for players at the World Twenty20 has been tightened by tournament organisers after a man found a way into the Australia team’s quarters at their Colombo hotel and propositioned a player for sex.The man entered the hotel on Monday and managed to get past security in the foyer of the Cinnamon Grand hotel, before also avoiding the detail assigned to the Australia team’s floor. Team security and management immediately informed the ICC of the security breach, while stern words are also understood to have been exchanged with hotel and security staff.”The man had gone into a player’s room offering his services as a male escort,” a police officer told the AFP news agency. “The player refused and he barged into another room when the Australians alerted hotel security.”The incident has forced a beefing up of security around team hotels at the World T20, even if the man’s intentions did not appear violent, nor linked to any betting or match-fixing scams.”It was a minor and isolated incident, involving an over-enthusiastic cricket fan, which was reported immediately by the Australia team management to the ICC and relevant authorities,” an ICC spokesman said. “The trespasser has been dealt with by the law and the security for the tournament has been briefed and tightened.”A 21-year-old Sri Lankan man, reportedly a past employee of the hotel, was fined Sri Lankan Rupees 1,000 ($8) rupees and handed a one-month suspended jail term after he pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge of breaking and entering.

Sachin Tendulkar has announced his retirement from ODI cricket.

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2012Sachin Tendulkar has retired from ODI cricket. Tendulkar finishes an illustrious career in the 50-over format, having played 463 ODIs, scored 18,426 runs and made 49 centuries, each of them a world record. His last ODI was against Pakistan in Dhaka during the Asia Cup, where he made a half-century in India’s victory.”I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game,” he said in a statement. “I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup winning Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years.”Tendulkar made his ODI debut on his first international tour, in 1989, against Pakistan in Gujranwala, where he got a duck. He scored his first half-century in his ninth ODI and made an immediate impact when promoted to open the batting in 1994, in an ODI against New Zealand in Auckland, where he smashed 82 in 49 balls. His first century took 79 ODIs to arrive but he kept piling them on with remarkable consistency. (Click here to see Tendulkar’s cumulative ODI record.)Some of the batting highlights in his ODI career include back-to-back hundreds against Australia in 1998 in a triangular tournament in Sharjah, finishing as the highest run-getter in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, and becoming the first batsman to score a double-century in the ODI format, against South Africa in February 2010.He was part of one of India’s greatest ODI achievements over the last three decades, when they won the World Cup in 2011, beating Sri Lanka in the final on his home ground in Mumbai – it was his last ODI in India. In preparation for that World Cup, Tendulkar had curtailed the amount of ODI cricket in the year playing only four ODIs in the 12 months before the tournament. Since the end of the World Cup, Tendulkar has played 10 ODIs, seven in the CB Series against Australia and the last three of his career being played at the Asia Cup in Dhaka. His innings of 114 against Bangladesh on March 16 was his 100th international hundred in what turned out to be Tendulkar’s penultimate ODI match for India.Tendulkar’s announcement of his ODI retirement came through a statement from the BCCI which stated that he had spoken to BCCI president N Srinivasan. His retirement was announced on the day the Indian selectors picked the teams to play in the five-match T20 and ODI series against Pakistan.”It was not sudden. He informed us before the selection about his decision,” Sanjay Jagdale, the BCCI secretary, told reporters. “He spoke to me and the president about his decision. Naturally he must have been (emotional) I can’t say we just spoke on the phone.””What he has expressed is his concern that India has to prepare for the next World Cup,” the BCCI’s chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty added. “From that point of view, he felt that it was time that he retired.”

Cri-zelda Brits, the former South Africa women’s captain, will return to the international stage for the tour to West Indies later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2012Cri-zelda Brits, the former South Africa women’s captain, will return to the international stage for the tour to West Indies later this month which is part of the team’s preparation for the Women’s World Cup in India.Brits, 29, took an indefinite break from international cricket last year to focus on her off-field profession after she was promoted to a manager with her company. Now, with the World Cup around the corner, Brits is excited about her return.”I’m really happy to be back,” he said. “This is a very exciting time for me and I’m really looking forward to representing my country again. This break served to show me how much I love the game and how much I’ve missed playing international cricket. I can’t wait to get into get on the field in St Kitts and do what I was born to do.”Brits made her debut against India in 2002 and initially played for more than a decade during which time she gained 57 ODI caps. She has also played four Tests and 17 Twenty20s.Hilton Moreeng, the coach, said: “It’s a pleasure to see the return of an experienced player like Cri-zelda, I’m certain she’ll have a positive influence on the side. I’m confident about the team we’ve chosen, it’s a really good mixture of youth and experience and I’m happy with the depth in the side.”We’re excited about going to the West Indies and to face some tough competition. This is the best preparation for the World Cup that we could ask for and we look forward to our arrival and getting our campaign started.”The squad includes two debutants, Savanna Cordes and Elrisa Theunissen, after they impressed in CSA Women’s Provincial League.South Africa leave for St Kitts on December 28 for their series which will take place from January 7-15. They will finish off with a two-match T20 series before departing for the World Cup in India.Squad Mignon du Preez, Susan Benade, Cri-zelda Brits, Trisha Chetty, Savanna Cordes, Dinesha Devnarain, Shandré Fritz, Marizanne Kapp, Dané van Niekerk, Marcia Letsoalo, Sunette Loubser, Yolandi Potgieter, Chloe Tryon, Elrisa Theunissen

Graene Swann has said in a revealing interview with Alison Mitchell that it is becoming part of cricket history, rather than breaking statistical records, that gives him most pleasure

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2013Graeme Swann, the most successful spinner in England Test history and a driving force behind their recent Test series win in India, has said that it his sense of winning a place in cricket history, rather than setting new statistical standards, which gives him the most satisfaction in playing the game.In an ebullient and revealing interview with Alison Mitchell, Swann made light of the fact that during the India series he surpassed Jim Laker as the leading Test wicket-taker among England offspinners of all time.”I am more interested in history than stats, if that makes sense,” he said. “People who play the game with a desperation to average 40 or desperate to score a hundred against each team, things like that, personally I feel it is a selfish way to go about it.”I love the fact that if your name is known and you are remembered in cricket history then statistics go out of the window. Nobody can tell you anyone’s average, apart from Don Bradman’s because that was exceptional.”Swann jokes that his ability to surpass Laker as the most successful England offspinner in history has something in common with Dynamo Magician, the 30-year-old Bradford-born magician, Steven Frayne, who sprung to fame when he walked across the River Thames in front of the Houses of Parliament two years ago.”It is a lot of smoke and mirrors,” he said. “Everybody thinks if you are not a mystery spinner you can’t take wickets, but if you look at most wickets taken in the world the ball doesn’t do anything ridiculous. There might be one in ten. The batsmen just get themselves out. It’s like a game of chess when you are bowling. You just try to win as many battles as you can.”Swann’s ability to handle the pressure of Test cricket, he believes, also plays a part. “I can bowl at a guy in a county game and freed up from the pressure they are suddenly the best player in the world. If you are not fazed by the pressure it plays into your hands.”I am quite subdued when I bowl. I don’t say anything to the batsman. I don’t try to whip up a storm of excitement around the bat. But I hope they think I am working to a plan.”Swann does become more passionate, though, when errors are made in the field off his bowling, something he often promises to control but suspects he never quite will. “It’s not so much dropped catches I get angry about,” he said. “I get exasperated if a catch is dropped. I get angry if players aren’t watching or are in the wrong place. Bowlers mess up in the field because they are not as athletic but batsmen don’t concentrate.”Swann spends most of his time at slip, where conversation with England’s Test and one-day captain, Alastair Cook, often strays into farming territory. “Me and Matty Prior reckon we could have our own lambing season with all he has told us about putting his hand up sheep’s bottoms,” Swann said.

Derek Bowden, a former chief executive at Ipswich Town FC, has been named as the new chief executive at Essex. He will join the club early in the season.

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2013Derek Bowden, a former chief executive at Ipswich Town FC, has been named as the new chief executive at Essex. He will join the club early in the season.Bowden joins Essex at a vital time in the county’s history. Agreement has been reached for an £80m redevelopment of the County Ground which will include the building of several apartment blocks around the ground to finance a new pavilion, media box, cricket school, car park, public square and bridge over the River Cam.Before joining Ipswich, Bowden spent more than 18 years in senior management roles at Saatchi & Saatchi, the global advertising agency.Nigel Hilliard, chairman of Essex Cricket, said, “Derek has a wealth of experience in the commercial and sporting world, which will be of great benefit to the club at a time when we are embarking on a major redevelopment of the ground.”The first phase in the redevelopment is to build a block of 62 apartments on top of the current cricket club car park. Only a few remain unsold. Upon completion, Essex’s capacity will rise by 2,000 to 8,000.Bowden replaces David East who will soon take up the post of chief executive of Abu Dhabi cricket club and Emirates Cricket Board.

A draw was all Tasmania needed for their third Sheffield Shield triumph, and a draw was what they celebrated after a relatively uneventful final day at Bellerive Oval, Hobart

The Report by Alex Malcolm26-Mar-2013

ScorecardThe victorious Tasmania team with the Sheffield Shield. This is Tasmania’s third title win•Getty ImagesA draw was all Tasmania needed for their third Sheffield Shield triumph, and a draw was what they celebrated after a relatively uneventful final day at Bellerive Oval, Hobart.The title-winning moment came not with a wicket, but a solid front-foot defensive stroke from Hartley. But the celebrations were no less emotive or spontaneous. Twenty years after his debut for Tasmania, Ricky Ponting finally added a Sheffield Shield title to his long list of career achievements.Queensland took the final three wickets of Tasmania’s second innings within the first seven overs of the morning. James Faulkner, who batted so superbly yesterday, fell 11 runs short of his maiden first-class century when he gloved an attempted hook off Michael Neser through to keeper Chris Hartley. Faulkner’s disappointment of missing a century would have been tempered by his well-deserved Man-of-the-Match award.Luke Butterworth holed out to deep square leg five balls later. Cameron Gannon bounced out Ben Hilfenhaus in the next over. The last four Tasmanian wickets fell to short balls on a surface seemingly lacking life and bounce. It left Queensland needing 446 from 87 overs for the unlikeliest of victories.The Bulls never made any attempt to chase the set target. The run-rate scarcely exceeded two-per-over throughout the day.Both Bulls openers, Luke Pomersbach and Greg Moller, like their Tasmananian counterparts yesterday, dragged balls onto their stumps attempting horizontal bat strokes. Peter Forrest became Evan Gulbis’ fifth victim of the match when he played the wrong line and lost his off stump.Nathan Reardon and Joe Burns put together a 63-run stand from 187 deliveries before Luke Butterworth nipped one through the gate to end Burns’ season on the stroke of tea. Reardon made his way to just his third first-class fifty before a searing yorker from Ben Hilfenhaus struck him on the toe in front of off stump.The game looked destined for a draw with Hartley and James Hopes defending stoutly. But when Butterworth trapped the Bulls skipper with 10 overs remaining there was a possibility of Tasmania claiming an outright win. But Hartley and Neser ensured that result never eventuated.

Ryan Harris, the Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, has returned to Australia from the IPL after being diagnosed with an Achilles tendon injury

Amol Karhadkar25-Apr-2013Ryan Harris, the Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, has returned to Australia from the IPL after being diagnosed with an Achilles tendon injury. Harris left India on Tuesday, the night before he was named in Australia’s squad for the Ashes in England this summer.Harris, 33, had played in Kings XI’s first three games of the season before sustaining the injury. Once the nature of his injury was ascertained the Kings XI management, in consultation with Cricket Australia’s medical team, deemed it fit for Harris to return to Australia.If Harris’ rehabilitation goes as planned, he could recover well in time for the Ashes. “Harris has been ruled out for six to eight weeks, so it was best for him to be released and recover at home,” Arvinder Singh, the Kings XI chief operating officer, told ESPNcricinfo. “We will name his replacement in a day or two.”Harris has a history of injuries and this latest setback is unlikely to go down well in Australia. After missing most of the domestic season, Harris had recovered in time play three Sheffield Shield games. His haul of 19 wickets in those matches for Queensland earned him a place in the Ashes squad, which is being touted as Australia’s weakest since the 1980s.

Yorkshire crashed to defeat by 131 runs in Saturday’s Yorkshire Bank 40 match at Headingley after their batsmen were unable to match a vicious assault from Somerset, who piled up 338 for 5 off their 40 overs.

11-May-2013
ScorecardJames Hildreth struck 96 from 84 balls•Getty ImagesYorkshire crashed to defeat by 131 runs in Saturday’s Yorkshire Bank 40 match at Headingley after their batsmen were unable to match a vicious assault from Somerset, who piled up 338 for 5 off their 40 overs.Putting their opponents in to bat, Yorkshire were under severe pressure right from the start as Marcus Trescothick and Peter Trego lashed 96 inside 10 overs for the first wicket – and that was only the beginning of the home side’s misery.Jos Buttler warmed up for next month’s Champions Trophy with a blistering and audacious 89 from only 51 balls with 10 fours and four sixes, while James Hildreth also cruised along with an unbeaten 96 from 84 deliveries with seven fours and a six.In all, Somerset plundered 31 fours and 10 sixes in their total – which was the highest score Yorkshire have conceded at Headingley in the competition and their fourth largest in all matches. Moin Ashraf was pasted for 80 off his eight overs but he was not the only one to suffer, Ryan Sidebottom going for 77 and Steve Patterson 62 from their full quotas.Trego led the way in the opening partnership and he wasted no time in going on the attack, driving Patterson’s second ball over long off for four and hitting him into the mid-wicket terracing for six.Trescothick helped himself to two fours and Trego two sixes in a Patterson over which cost 22 but there was a life for Trescothick on 15 when Gary Ballance could not hold on to a difficult chance flinging himself to his left at slip.Trego’s 50 arrived off just 26 balls with four fours and four sixes and with runs coming at around 10 an over it took an unlucky run out to break the stand, Trego driving back to Sidebottom and the ball deflecting into the stumps with Trescothick out of his crease.There was brief respite for Yorkshire as Trego was bowled lashing out at Ashraf in the next over for 58 from 33 balls and Arul Suppiah edged Sidebottom to Adam Lyth at slip. But Alviro Petersen was then joined by Hildreth in an enterprising stand of 67 in 13 overs before Petersen fell to Will Rhodes’ second ball, which was well taken by Andy Hodd standing up to the stumps.Buttler then took over with some stunning strokes, his first six being smacked over extra cover off Rhodes and his second clearing long on at Rashid’s expense before he reverse scooped Sidebottom over the wicketkeeper’s head and followed up with a powerful drive. He was denied a spectacular century when he smashed Sidebottom towards the midwicket boundary and Rhodes did well to hold on to a stinging catch.Buttler and Hildreth had racked up 129 together from 14 overs and Hildreth went on to power a six in the final over from Ashraf but missed the chance of a century by losing the strike.Faced with a mountain to climb, Yorkshire’s batsmen had little chance to settle themselves in and Richard Pyrah was soon dismissed by Trego who saw Andrew Gale dropped when Craig Meschede put down a simple chance at third man. Gale blasted Trego for a midwicket six but was bowled for 28 by Steve Kirby, who failed to hold on at the second attempt to a catch offered by Ballance on 5.Ballance and Lyth added a useful 70 together before any realistic hopes Yorkshire had of winning the match vanished as Alfonso Thomas struck with consecutive balls by getting Lyth to sky a catch to Peterson and then holding a return catch from Adil Rashid.Hodd was lbw to Kirby but Ballance held firm until he tried to swat a slow bouncer from Thomas only to be caught behind for 60 from 57 balls with seven fours and a six, the bowler picking up his fourth wicket. There was no sustained resistance to come and Yorkshire were all out with 10 overs remaining.It was a disappointing day all round for the hosts, who announced that leading fast bowler Jack Brooks had broken his left thumb in the Championship match on the previous day and would be out of action for six weeks.