All posts by csb10.top

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Centuries from Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke pushed the game towards astalemate, but the story of the fourth day was Adam Gilchrist, and mostlikely the final innings of an exceptional career. He didn’t make much ofa dent on the scoreboard, but those that witnessed a little cameo willnever forget the glimpses of greatness. Amid the outpouring of emotion,Australia gathered a valuable 37-run lead and then picked up the wicket ofIrfan Pathan, leg before to Mitchell Johnson, before India had wiped offthe arrears.Virender Sehwag was dropped by Clarke off Brett Lee, and survived two vociferousleg-before appeals as well before ending the day with a six and four offAndrew Symonds. India’s lead was a mere eight, and they faced the samestick-or-twist conundrum that was England’s undoing in the last AdelaideTest.All of that was peripheral though in the face of a hero’s last stand.Walking out to bat after Clarke’s innings of 118 had ended with a stunningcatch from VVS Laxman at second slip, Gilchrist received a standingovation from a crowd of 19,407. He was also clapped to the middle by theIndians, but the generosity ended there. Ishant Sharma was in the middleof a superb spell, and there was a sense of relief when Gilchrist struckone sweetly past him to get off the mark.A straight smack for four that nearly decapitated Billy Bowden was athrowback to the halcyon years, and there was a deft cut or two before hedrove Pathan straight to Sehwag at cover. As disappointmentstarted to seep through the stands, Ishant ran all the way from third manto shake his hand, and the rest of the Indians gathered in a group toapplaud him off.In the midst of all the sentiment, two superb hundreds were almostforgotten. Ponting had got to his before lunch, but after experiencingback spasms, he soon had Michael Hussey come out as a runner. The runs -there had been 103 in the morning – just kept coming though, with Clarkeeager to get to his own hundred. He got there with a single to cover offSehwag, and though it hadn’t been the usual ebullient and stroke-filledknock, it was vital in virtually eliminating any possibility of anAustralian defeat.Ponting got as far as 140 before an attempt to guide Sehwag past pointresulted in an inside edge on to the stumps. The partnership was worth 210by then, and India’s hopes of a series-equalling win were evaporating inthe afternoon heat.That didn’t stop Ishant from tormenting Symonds with some sensationalswing bowling. Two edges flew down to third man, and the ball whizzed pastthe outside edge on other occasions. Had he not got the wicket of Clarke,it would truly have been rough justice. After tea, he got Symonds too,chopping one on right after Australia had taken the lead.Pathan then picked up his 100th Test wicket by having Lee caught behind,before Harbhajan Singh and Sehwag wrapped up the innings. Anil Kumble,perhaps nursing a sore shoulder, bowled just nine overs in the day, and itwas noticeable that Sehwag was the more potent of the two offspinners onview.The morning session had been all about Australia grinding the bowlingdown. On a pitch that showed no great signs of deterioration, the new ballfailed to do the trick and the spinners got little purchase either.Ponting and Clarke went about run-making in steady rather than spectacularfashion, and India’s best chance of ending the partnership came a quarterof an hour before lunch, when Clarke moved away to cut Sehwag.The edge was travelling fast, but all Rahul Dravid could do was palm theball away from him at first slip. Clarke was on 84 at the time. Pontinghad enjoyed his slice of luck early in the morning, when a miscued hookoff Ishant just eluded Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leap on the leg side. Ishantwasn’t as accurate or threatening in the morning as he was on Saturday,and with Pathan also unable to break through, Kumble turned to Harbhajan.Heroics with the bat aside, Ponting’s tormentor has had a poor game, andthe batsmen easily picked up singles and twos with pushes and drives intothe gaps. It took Clarke all of 126 balls to bring up his half-century,and he celebrated by clipping Ishant through midwicket.After all the criticism of the past few weeks and sly jibes about beingHarbhajan’s bunny, it was perhaps fitting that Ponting should get to a34th century off his bowling. After taking 114 balls for the first 50, thesecond had spanned just 69 deliveries.Kumble brought himself on soon after, but India’s fortunes didn’t changeon a baking hot morning. While Clarke slog-swept both spinners for four,Ponting did damage with the pull, effortlessly piercing the field whenKumble dragged it short.After the euphoria of the first two days, it was India’s turn to feel thepain and appear lost for answers. A soft ball didn’t help, but neither didtwo premier Australian batsmen determined not to cede an inch. The thirdcouldn’t make the same impact, but it was his 21-minute stint that manyfolk might talk about years from now when the I-was-there stories aredusted off.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsInspired by Moeen Ali it took England just 24 overs to surge to an overwhelming 241-run victory on the final morning in Durban. AB de Villiers, South Africa’s last realistic hope of salvaging something, fell in the first over of the day and there was scant resistance after that as England went 1-0 up in the first Test of an overseas series for only the second time since 2004.Although South Africa were four down overnight, after the late dismissal of Faf du Plessis on the fourth evening, England might have expected to be made to work reasonably hard to extract the last six wickets but it all came surprisingly swiftly for them. In the end it was over 20 minutes before lunch when Morne Morkel was lbw to Stuart Broad with South Africa’s last seven wickets tumbling for 38 from the dismissal of du Plessis.In the field, England made a habit of setting the tone early in an innings in a bowling stint. Broad removed Stiaan van Zyl second ball of the first innings then claimed Temba Bavuma second ball of the third day and Moeen continued the theme today with his third delivery of the morning when, from round the wicket, he got one to straighten at de Villiers who was playing deep in his crease. De Villiers called for the DRS – he had to, really – but the ball was pitching in line and clipping leg stump.Moeen Ali struck in his opening over•Gallo Images

Jonny Bairstow had a fourth day of contrasting fortunes – a key innings of 79 followed by the missed stumping offered by de Villiers – so there was a heartening moment for him when he took the opportunity presented by Bavuma when he walked past a delivery from Moeen, which slid on past the outside edge. It was a simpler stumping chance as the ball did not spin sharply like the one Bairstow missed, but he took it confidently and his team-mates were quick to congratulate him.Moeen had a third for the morning when the angle from round the wicket worked again as Kyle Abbott was trapped on the back foot. His seven-wicket match haul was the second best of his career after the eight he claimed against India, at the Ageas Bowl, in 2014.Steven Finn continued his impressive work from the previous day, giving the nightwatchman Dale Steyn a working over before knocking back the off stump with a fuller delivery. Broad was the outstanding quick in the first innings, but Finn took that honour second time around.Before play, James Anderson bowled six high-intensity overs on the outfield and appears on track to return for the Cape Town Test. That would mean a likely omission for Chris Woakes, presuming all the pacemen pull up well from their exertions here, but he at least managed to open his wicket tally for the Test – a game where he has bowled consistently at good pace – when Dane Piedt popped a catch to short leg.With just two days between Tests, the extra few hours off England earned themselves will be welcomed by the fast bowlers but, barring the lack of a century and Bairstow’s two errors, it is South Africa with all the problems heading into the New Year Test at Newlands. It has been a 2015 to forget in Test cricket for South Africa, but a year of transition for England’s five-day outfit has concluded with a significant success.

Gloucestershire have signed Andrew Tye, one of the outstanding performers in the Big Bash League, as their second overseas player for the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast.Tye, a 29-year-old fast bowler and a team mate at Perth Scorchers of Gloucestershire’s profolic batsman Michael Klinger, was a key part of their victorious Big Bash League campaign in 2015.He took 14 wickets at an average of 18.3 and a strike rate of 16, prompting Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch to describe him as the “find of the tournament” on Twitter.Tye said: “I am delighted to have signed for Gloucestershire for the NatWest T20 Blast. I have heard great things about the club from many sources, including my Perth Scorchers team mate, Michael Klinger.”A specialist death bowler and clean-hitting lower order batsman, Tye’s form in 2014/15 saw him secure an IPL contract with the Chennai Super Kings.Despite hailing from Perth, Tye will be no stranger to English conditions, having played Second XI cricket for Somerset, Durham and Northants.He will be available for the duration of Gloucestershire’s NatWest Blast which kicks off under floodlights against Sussex Sharks in Bristol on May 20.Gloucestershire’s head coach Richard Dawson said: “I saw him last year in the Big Bash where he was very impressive in helping Perth Scorchers win the competition. We are looking to make improvements in T20 cricket this year and get through the group stages. Andrew will help us achieve that. He is a highly-skilled bowler who will significantly add to our T20 cricket.”A late bloomer, Tye only made his professional debut in 2013 at the age of 26, but he has gone on to cement his place in the team in all three formats of the game.

Match facts

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Start time: 2000 (local) 1430 (GMT)

The Big Picture

The Deccan Chargers’ powerful batting line-up will quickly want to forget their experience on a volatile Eden Gardens surface, as they prepare to take on a confident Delhi Daredevils outfit at their home base, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. Hyderabad will be keen to live up to their billing as one of the title favourites, but Delhi are no pushovers, and are riding on the confidence gained from their nine-wicket mauling of the Rajasthan Royals at home.After Sunday’s match, the pitch will be under scrutiny, but Kanwaljit Singh, Hyderabad’s assistant coach, felt there were no worries of a repeat act. “It will be a fair wicket, and will be good for batting,” Kanwaljit told Cricinfo, suggesting it would not be as “disastrous” as the Kolkata minefield.

Watch out for …

… a closely-fought contest. Hyderabad will be banking on their batting as they head into the contest. Andrew Symonds is the team’s fulcrum, and his only previous outing at the ground fetched him rich dividends – he hammered 89 in Australia’s 47-run win over India in the ODI last year. Adam Gilchrist showed brief glimpses of his touch in Hyderabad’s opening match, and could make a real impact. Additional reinforcements come in the form of two big hitters, Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi, whose all-round prowess makes him a shoo-in for the game.Delhi have weapons of their own; Gautam Gambhir’s reputation grows with every outing, and he will be taking first-strike alongside the aggressive Virender Sehwag. Shoaib Malik can also clear the field with ease, while Dinesh Karthik can improvise effectively. Among the lesser-known names in the team, Shikhar Dhawan has displayed his attacking instincts in the domestic circuit, and looked solid at the crease during his unbeaten half-century in their first game. Besides, Delhi’s bowlers had a good outing against Rajasthan: Glenn McGrath showed he had not lost his famed accuracy, while Farveez Maharoof claimed the Man-of-the-Match award for his figures of 2 for 11. And to top it all off, they have the quality left-arm spin of Daniel Vettori at their disposal

Team news

Delhi will be bolstered by the arrivals of Malik and Mohammad Asif, but that in turn gives them a selection headache as they can only select four foreign players. They used four overseas bowlers in their opening match, and Brett Geeves, who conceded 41 runs without taking a wicket, is likely to make way for Malik.Delhi: (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir 2 Virender Sehwag (capt) 3 Shikhar Dhawan 4 Shoaib Malik 5 Manoj Tiwary 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk) 7 Rajat Bhatia 8 Mithun Manhas 9 Daniel Vettori 10 Farveez Maharoof 11 Glenn McGrath.Hyderabad now have the full mix of their buys to choose from, and Chaminda Vaas might stand to miss out if the think-tank decide to go full throttle on the batting front. It is unlikely that any other changes will be made in the squad, though Hyderabad may need to be bold and reward promise instead of experience by bringing in young Ravi Teja instead of Arjun Yadav, who has an average of 22.50 from 60 List A games.Hyderabad: (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk) 2 Venugopal Rao 3 VVS Laxman (capt) 4 Andrew Symonds 5 Rohit Sharma 6 Scott Styris 7 Shahid Afridi 8 Arjun Yadav 9 Sanjay Bangar 10 RP Singh 11 Pragyan Ojha.

Stats and trivia

Languishing at the bottom of the table, Deccan Chargers were dealt another jolt when VVS Laxman, their captain, ruled himself out of the rest of the Indian Premier League after failing to recover from a hairline fracture just below his right wrist.”I was very keen to play in yesterday’s (Sunday) match and the coming one. But I found it nearly impossible to hold the bat and face even a tennis ball,” he said just before a practice session at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium after another visit to the orthopaedic surgeon.”It’s sad that I had to miss some of the matches. It is all the more disappointing since the injury came when I was getting into the groove,” said Laxman, whose right hand was encased in plaster.Laxman injured his wrist during his 52 in a losing cause against Bangalore and missed the games against Chennai and Rajasthan.

The Cape Cobras were the big movers during the latest week of the MTN Domestic Championship with two wins putting them firmly in the shake-up for a semi-finals place. The Titans continued to run away with the league stage after a washout and a victory consolidated their position at the top.There is plenty of congestion for the remaining three semi-final berths with the Cobras hitting form at the right time. They comfortably overcame the Lions by seven wickets as Herschelle Gibbs found touch with an unbeaten 74, but faced a much closer encounter against the Warriors.Defending 176 the Cobras appeared out of the game with the Warriors on 109 for 1 in the 31st over, however Con de Lange produced a superb spell to claim 3 for 31. The international trio of Charl Langeveldt, Vernon Philander and Monde Zondeki also played their part as the Cobras held on by three runs.The Eagles maintained their slim hold on second place despite a 61-run defeat against the Titans where Albie Morkel starred with 50 and 4 for 27. Earlier they demolished the Lions by 116 runs in Bloemfontein as Morne van Wyk crunched 125 off 141 balls and Ryan McLaren claimed four wickets.It was a shocking week for the Lions as, along with their defeats against the Cobras and the Eagles, they also slumped against Zimbabwe and fell to the bottom of the table. Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha led Zimbabwe’s run chase against a Duckworth-Lewis adjusted target and they won with nine balls to spare. That victory followed up a three-wicket success against the Dolphins where Stuart Matsikenyeri’s unbeaten 58 edged them home.The Dolphins suffered three defeats as their semi-final hopes took a hammering and although they are still in fourth place their form is only going one way. The Warriors may yet catch them with three games remaining and their 10-run win in Pietermaritzburg could prove crucial in the final outcome.

The preparatory camp before selecting the Indian cricket team to play in the home series against Australia, will be held in Chennai from February 5 to 10.The BCCI secretary, Jaywant Lele, told PTI in Mumbai on Tuesday that the Challenger Series limited overs cricket tournament involving three teams, including the national team, would be held in Chennai from February 12 to 15.”Soon after the Challenger Series, the Indian team would be picked to play in the three Test matches,” he added. “However, the itinerary for the home series against the Australians, which is yet to be finalised, would be declared only on January 22 at Delhi,” Lele said. The probables for the series against Australia will be announced on January 29.

Even before the start of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, the organisers have announced that the second edition is tentatively scheduled between April 10 and May 29 next year.According to the Future Tours Programme, Australia are slated to be touring South Africa in April, 2009, India are set to be in New Zealand, and West Indies in Bangladesh. India haven’t toured New Zealand since early 2003 with their scheduled trip in 2007 put of because plans to prepare for the World Cup.The announcement comes in the wake of comments from David Collier, the ECB chief executive, who said the board was planning to adapt their domestic Twenty20 Cup to attract more leading players and offer an alternative to the IPL.”It is a question of finding periods of the year for this [the IPL] to take place,” Collier had said. “We are one of the few countries who play in June, that is why our competitions are so successful because we can attract the best players in the world. That is why we believe that an English Premier League will be very successful including a broad range of cricketers.”Lalit Modi, the IPL Chairman, said the format of the tournament would remain unchanged in its second season. The eight franchisees will first play against one another in a league on home-and-away basis. The top four teams will then figure in the two semi-finals and a final.The first edition of the IPL kicks off on April 18 in Bangalore and the final is scheduled for June 1. “The dates of the second season of the DLF Indian Premier League were decided at a meeting of the Governing Council of the DLF Indian Premier League held inMumbai,” said Modi. “I am confident of the inaugural season becoming a huge success and the second season will be even a bigger success.”

Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, has blamed the country’s president, Pervez Musharraf, for Australia’s decision to postpone their tour to Pakistan. “Musharraf blindly follows the United States in the war against terror and we are paying the price,” Imran told AFP. “Because of that we are now at a stage when no one is ready to play cricket here.”Australia, who were scheduled to tour Pakistan this month for Tests and one-dayers, were unlikely to make the trip following former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and continued violence in the country.”People feel the Australians are unjustified in pulling out, but Australia’s decision is understandable as everything that happens in Pakistan is magnified to larger proportions abroad,” Imran said. “Australians don’t live here and they don’t know that bombings are not aimed at sportsmen but terrorists’ targets are specific. No one has ever targeted sportsmen in Pakistan.”Australia haven’t visited Pakistan since 1998 and Ricky Ponting is the only member of that touring party who is currently playing. “Had they [Australia] toured it would have created a lot of interest as everyone wants to see them play here. That is gone now for at least until the tour is rescheduled.”Imran said Pakistan had come to a point where they could only host weaker opposition like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. “Pakistan will also lose revenue by not hosting a high-profile series.”

Match abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe rain left the outfield too wet for play at McLean Park•AFP

The second ODI, in Napier, was abandoned without a ball being bowled, after heavy rain persisted until mid afternoon, and left the ground too sodden for play to begin. The skies had begun to clear well ahead of the game’s cut-off time of 7:19 pm, but with the outfield having received more than 24 hours of persistent rain, umpires Billy Bowden and Bruce Oxenford decided not to risk player safety.The game was called off just before 6:30pm. At that time, portions of the field still appeared waterlogged despite hours of drying withsuper soppers. Pakistan can now only draw the series at best, as the action moves to Auckland, for the final match of the tour, on Sunday.