All posts by csb10.top

Hampshire Hawks moved into the third promotion spot in the National League Division Two when they comfortably defeated top of the table Northamptonshire Steelbacks at The Rose Bowl in a day/night encounter on Monday.Man of the Match Derek Kenway set the tone with a well struck 78, holding the innings together on the slowish wicket. He and James Hamblin gave the innings some structure after Simon Katich was lbw to Michael Cawdron. Together they compiled 82 runs, and although losing a steady stream of wickets the home side posted a useful 216 for 8 in their 45 overs. Their cause was greatly assisted by 16 wides and four no-balls added to the tally, one of the no-balls was given when only five fielders were in the circle when a ball was bowled.Dimitri Mascarenhas and Chris Tremlett left the Steelbacks reeling as the first three wickets fell for 19 runs. David Sales was the only Northamptonshire batsman to come to terms with the accurate Hawks attack being last man out, as the visitors failed to catch up the asking rate following their poor start.Mascarenhas the countries leading wicket taker in National league this season bowled his 9 overs together finishing with 4 wickets for 22 runs, his third four wicket haul of the season. Shaun Udal also chipped in with 4 wickets to send the 6,000 crowd home happy.

England all-rounder Craig White is expected to be out of international cricket for three months after undergoing a rib operation.The surgery was carried out this morning after the 33-year-old Yorkshireman suffered a series of problems with his side over the winter.A statement released by Yorkshire revealed that a piece of rib approximately two inches in length had been removed during surgery.White suffered a side strain during last summer’s Test series against India. After he scored an unbeaten 94 in the Trent Bridge Test, it prevented him from bowling for the remainder of the season.The injury resurfaced during the winter, and White took part in England’s World Cup campaign despite the pain in his side.”It is a problem that has recurred two or three times over the winter,” said Yorkshire’s medical consultant Wayne Morton.”It got to the stage where if we didn’t do something about it and rehabilitate it properly he would be in a situation where he always had to compromise.”White will be ruled out of England selection for around three months, but Yorkshire are hoping that he will be able to return to County Cricket sooner, possibly as a specialist batsman.

GOLD BOND
SUPER DRAW
Week 10 07/03/03

£2000 JackpotU.3635 C Gange£500 GG6657 C Robinson£200 C.1627 R Maghoo£200 AN2477 B Westcott£100 D.4400 Mrs Cross£100 Y.5400 Mrs Mawson£100 M.0603 R Macdonald£100 X.4847 Mrs Sherington£100 S.5511 Mrs Abbott£100 U.0562 Mrs Docwra£100 V.2161 T Jones£50 J.6744 J Bradley£50 B.6206 Mr Mann£50 T.0174 P Sayer£50 MM4781 M Davidson£50 M.2584 A Hill£50 V.1152 J Dennis£50 Z.0883 M Knight

With Graham Grace hitting an unbeaten maiden limited-overs century, North West scramble to a one-wicket win over Border in a Standard Bank Cup match in Potchefstroom on Sunday.Grace, who went to the wicket with North West at 2 for one, stayed for the rest of the innings for his 111 not out, adding 21 with last man in, Jake Malao, to see North West home.Earlier, Border’s 205 for eight had been built around contributions of 54 from Stephen Pope and 42 from Craig Sugden.

ST JOHN’S – West Indies cricket team management is ensuring its players do not fall victim to drug-testing that will be carried out during the World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya next month.Manager Ricky Skerritt said seminars had been done with the players in the past and there would be a follow-up tomorrow at the ongoing preparation camp in Antigua to sensitise the players."We have already run two workshops on [drug-testing]," Skerritt said. "One in Sri Lanka [last September] and one in India [October/November]. For most of the tour in India we had Dr Akshai Mansingh [a member of the medical panel] – and he did some ground work with the players as a follow-up."We also have in our programme this Saturday one of our medical panel doctors flying in from Jamaica to spend some more time with the guys."Skerritt said the West Indies Cricket Board had already informed the International Cricket Council about the medical condition of two players whose names were not disclosed."We have also made declaration on two players who use prescription drugs relative to certain health conditions that they have as required by the system that is in place," Skerritt said."What it means is that in the event these two players get tested and the particular test shows positive for those ingredients, it would have been declared well in advance for medical reason. That’s what the system allows and that has to do with prescription drugs."These are private medical concerns. This kind of thing will be going on in all of the teams. This is not any big mystery. But it is obviously personal medical situations."The Kittitian businessman said the game’s governing body was falling in line with international practices adopted by other world sporting authorities such as the International Olympic Committee."The ICC is making a big step on what they perceived as the need to comply with world standards. It sends a signal to us that throughout the ICC territories we are going to have to look in terms of implementing it our own local level sometime in the future."The ICC has made it clear that all future ICC tournaments will involve the Olympic-style, which is where it originated, drug-testing."Skerritt said the Windies players had no reservations about drug-testing and all the players saw it as a necessary requirement. He said they were not worried."Our players are not out to cheat. This is a step designed to prevent cheating of some kind. West Indies cricketers have not been the type of players to set about to cheat. So anything that is going to eliminate and prevent these kinds of activities, West Indies are not going to resist it," he said."We have provided the relevant information. We have tried to put it forward in ways which players understand. We had professionals explain [it] to the players. We feel that it is important. It is something new."West Indies wrap up their camp on Sunday before departing for South Africa via Barbados. They will have two warm-up matches before facing South Africa on February 9 at Newlands, Cape Town, in the tournament opener.

A convenient memory is of great help to cricketers as long as they are aware of their shortcomings as well. This is the situation that the Indians are in, on the eve of the second Test at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth. They can conveniently remind themselves of their comebacks in the second match in a Test series against Sri Lanka and Australia. Yet they would do well to be aware that solid batting led to their success. It was Laxman at the Eden Gardens and Ganguly and Dravid at Kandy who played the stellar roles.

Unfortunately, Laxman has been hard up for runs and his method of batting is compounding his problems too. Dravid has been thrust into the opening slot and Ganguly has been off the boil in Test matches for the best part of this year.This has meant that though the batting line-up runs deep and appears solid on paper, it has flattered to deceive when required. The captain has to take decisions and own them up even if eventually proved wrong. The most important decision relates to the opening slot. In my opinion, Dravid should be batting at the one-drop position. He has done well abroad batting at that slot and sending him in earlier than necessary will be detrimental to the side.

The team management has to think hard about their bowling options too. The left-arm duo of Khan and Nehra failed to make any impact on the South African batsmen in the first Test. That they were not fully fit is not the point here really. The pitch at St George’s Park does encourage seam bowlers a lot but it is not quick by any standards. As there will be a lot of lateral movement available for the seamers, Venkatesh Prasad must figure in the plans strongly. His experience will come in handy and his natural outswingers will be of great advantage. In fact he is capable of getting wickets by the bagful on pitches such as these. Over and above all these factors, Prasad and Srinath make a good combination and they do better bowling in tandem.Agarkar or Nehra can be the options for the third seamer’s slot but the one major factor against either of them will be their fitness. Between Nehra and Agarkar, it would make sense to go in for Agarkar for two reasons. One is that he has been in the thick of things right from the start of the tour. Secondly, he has bowled to the South African batsmen and is aware of what not to do while bowling at them.

Harbhajan Singh opted out of the first Test with an injury and now that he is fit, conditions may not allow two spinners to play in the eleven. While Kumble is a seasoned performer, Harbhajan has proved to be a real force to reckon with in Kumble’s absence. The young sardar also bowled well in the one-dayers and it was quite clear that the South Africans were all at sea against the off-spinner.All in all, Ganguly is in an unenviable situation, having to take the bull by its horns both with the bat and with his decisions. He has no room for any dilly-dallying and it is a must-win situation for the visitors. The pressure is really on Ganguly’s gang to stay in the series. They will not be encouraged by the fact that St George’s Park has definitely not been a successful venue for the Indians in the past.The Indians though have exceeded expectations under Ganguly in the past and they may put it across the South Africans. But in order for that to happen, the batsmen will first have to put up runs on the board.

*Goa canter to eight-wicket winGoa chased down the highest total of their Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Kerala at Panaji to win the game by eight wickets on thefourth day.Chasing 213 for victory, Goa’s opening bats put on 113 runs for thefirst wicket before Sudin Kamat fell, having made 71 off 143 balls.When Kiran Powar also fell, for the addition of just one run, acollapse looked in the offing.Tanveer Jabbar and opener Vivekanand Kolambkar, however, played wellto see their side through to victory without any more losses.Kolambkar remained unbeaten on 74 off 209 balls, striking 11 fours anda six. Jabbar made 57 off 80 balls, with eight fours and a six. Goapick up eight points by virtue of this outright win.*Karnataka draw with Andhra PradeshFaced with a target of 352 off seven overs, Karnataka could only playfor a draw in their Ranji Trophy league match against Andhra Pradheshat Kurnool.Andhra Pradesh’s first innings ended on Day Two, with Y Venugopal Raomaking 151 and holding the innings together. For Karnataka, NSCAiyappa was the most successful bowler, taking 5-112 off 40 overs.Karnataka, batting in their first essay, managed only 293, builtlargely around KMA Aiyappa’s 62 and 49 apiece from Barrington RowlandVijay Bharadwaj. Andhra Pradesh relied mostly on KS Sahabuddin, whotook 5-92.Venkatesh Prasad was the destroyer-in-chief in the second innings,taking 6-35 off 21 overs and almost single-handedly reducing AndhraPradesh to 228 all out, with only RVC Prasad (78) making a significantscore. Karnataka played out seven overs for their draw, from whichAndhra Pradesh pick up five points, while Karnataka pick three.*Tamil Nadu ensures first-innings pointsTamil Nadu played analytical cricket on the fourth day of their RanjiTrophy league match against Hyderabad at Chennai, picking up fivepoints by virtue of a first-innings lead.With the match destined for a draw, Tamil Nadu batsmen TR Arasu (78off 268) and MR Shrinivas (28 off 154) made the required runs with adisplay of grit and resolution. Arasu fell with the score on 290, butShrinivas and R Ramkumar (37 off 60) took Tamil Nadu past Hyderabad’sfirst-innings total of 336.Bowled out for 351, Tamil Nadu then reduced Hyderabad to 150/2 by theclose of play, with Ramkumar picking up both wickets. Daniel Manoharwas unbeaten on 65, while Arjun Shivlal Yadav was unbeaten on 38.

After a four-day break for Vesak, Sri Lanka’s festival of lights, the Bank Alfalah Cup resumes on Sunday with all three teams still in the hunt for a place in the final.Sri Lanka, who were bowled out by Pakistan – the team they face again on Sunday – for a paltry 139 before winning unconvincingly against New Zealand, were the team in most need of a time-out. It remains to be seen, though, whether they’ve figured out and fixed the causes for their poor batting so far in the tournament.Sri Lanka have not lost a one-day series at home since July 1998, but they are in danger of doing so here – they are presently in third place, with just five points. New Zealand, thanks to Sri Lanka handing them a bonus point by failing to reach their target within 36.4 overs, top the table with seven points. Pakistan have six.This means that Sunday’s match against Pakistan is now crucial for Marvan Atapattu’s side. Even if they win, however, they will not be assured of a place in the final. Ideally, they must win with an extra point.Their best chance of doing that would be to win the toss. With theremaining four matches now being played in Dambulla because of the poorweather in Colombo, the toss has attained a vital significance. The pitch has offered immense assistance to the fast bowlers early on, and the luckiest tosser will probably lift the trophy.The daily pattern of morning cloud cover continues in Dambulla and thecharacter of the two new strips prepared is unlikely to change a great deal. Although the pitches are paler in colour – and perhaps slightly drier – Atapattu believes that Sri Lanka’s batsmen will still need to adapt their games slightly.”One conclusion that we have made is that on a wicket like this you arenever in – you can get an unplayable delivery at anytime,” said Atapattu. “Unlike normal Sri Lankan wickets, you cannot relax once you get to 20 or 30.”Sri Lanka will continue with Romesh Kaluwitharana opening the innings with Sanath Jayasuriya, a change that worked against New Zealand as the pair added 68 for the first wicket, laying the platform for the team’s victory. Atapattu will bat at No. 3, with Kumar Sangakkara coming in next.Sri Lanka’s only selection dilemma – assuming Muttiah Muralitharan shrugs off a slight groin niggle – is whether to play a third seamer, Dharshana Gamage or Kaushlya Weereratne, or a spinning allrounder. A final decision will be made after an inspection of the conditions in the morning.Pakistan, who spent much of the week practicing indoors in Colombo before traveling to Dambulla on Wednesday evening, are likely to play an unchanged side for the third game in a row.Javed Miandad, their coach, believes that his side hold the upper hand against Sri Lanka. “This is a crucial match for both sides” he said, “but we have the moral advantage after our earlier win. We have the bowlers to win easily but the toss will be important.”Pakistan’s key bowler in the conditions will certainly be Shoaib Akhtar, making a comeback into the national side. But is he under pressure to prove a point? Rashid Latif, Shoaib’s captain, said, “I don’t think he [Shoaib] is feeling any pressure in this series. Other players have taken the pressure off him. He has bowled impressively in both the matches and proved that he is still one of the best strike bowlers in the world. This tour could be the turning point of his career.”While Pakistan’s batsmen – especially their inexperienced openers – would find the going difficult if they batted first, it would also be good preparation for the NatWest Challenge in June. The lively wickets in Dambulla are similar to the ones Pakistan are likely to encounter in England.Probable teams
Sri Lanka 1 Romesh Kaluwitharana (wk), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Marvan Atapattu (Capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Kumar Dharmasena, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Dharshana Gamage, 10 Prabath Nissanka, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.Pakistan 1 Taufeeq Umar, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Yousuf Youhana, 5 Faisal Iqbal, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Rashid Latif (Capt and wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Mohammad Sami.

Consider this for a statistic: in six previous tours to Australia, SouthAfrica have never won a Test series. In 1952/53 (under Jack Cheetham), in19963/64 (under Trevor Goddard) and in 1993/94 (under Kepler Wessels) SouthAfrican teams returned with a share of the spoils. The other three sides,most recently in 1997/98 under Hansie Cronje, all lost.So should it be any different this summer. Bluntly, the head says no. Evenordinary Australian teams are formidable opponents at home and this is aparticularly good one, well-organised and confident. By contrast, SouthAfrica have included two veteran fast bowlers, one of whom has barely bowleda ball in anger this summer, there are at least four batsmen in the side whoeither have questions to answer or are unproven at this level and SouthAfrica do not possess a spin bowler likely to win matches on Australianpitches.So, should Shaun Pollock’s side bother to get on the plane on Saturday. Theanswer is an unequivocal yes, if for no other reason than this is anopportunity for the current South Africans to make history. For some it willbe a last chance, for others perhaps the only chance.During the 1993/94 tour South Africa played dismally to lose a one-day gamein Hobart. Afterwards a grim-faced Wessels noted that Australia “makes orbreaks players”. The message got home and the team returned with thatamazing win in Sydney and a share of the series. The point, however, remainstrue.Wessels has again been connected with Australia this week when the UnitedCricket Board turned down a request for him to accompany the team as aconsultant. This was probably the right decision, if for no other reasonthan to give Graham Ford and Corrie van Zyl a chance to succeed or fail ontheir terms. Neither knows a great deal about Australia and both prefer to stayin the background, but they will never face a sterner test of their methodsand strategies than on this tour.The one asset they do have is the captain,Pollock. If the three can lift the side when the bad moments come – and theywill – then South Africa will have at least a fighting chance.Briefly, then, these are the question marks against the South Africans: canNeil McKenzie, one of Jaques Rudolph and Boeta Dippenaar and, to a lesserextent, Justin Ontong survive against an attack more disciplined thananything they have faced before and which includes the world’s best spinbowler? Can Allan Donald produce it once more for his country and, if not,can Steve Elworthy step in the breach? Has Makhaya Ntini got it out of hishead that he is an automatic selection and that he, more than most, needs tocompensate for his lack of variety by putting one ball after another forhour after hour? Can Lance Klusener quell the suspicion that he’d prefer toavoid the new ball if possible?Most importantly, can this South African side find the mental resolve tocope with all that Australia will throw at them over the next two months(and when I say all, I mean everyone – taxi drivers, waitresses, customsofficials, barmen – all of whom will be saying in one way or another: “Wait’till Warnie gets ya”).If the South Africans can find answers to these questions, then this verygood team could be remembered as a great one.

Powerhouses Piton Dover and the relative unknowns MTW will clash inthe final of the Barbados Fire & Commercial Shield cricket competitionnext week.The two sides booked their final date with hard-fought wins in thesemifinals, yesterday. Dover, the kings of lower division cricket,worked hard for a four-wicket victory over Combermere School, making144 for six after the original target of 175 was reduced due to rain.MTW, at home, reached their first final by restricting Central to 197to win by 12 runs.At Waterford: Experience got the better of youth as Dover’s middleorder chose the right ball and the right moments to launch theirattack.Man-Of-The-Match Jerry Kirton blasted three sixes in the space of fiveballs just when it was needed. Kirton’s 28 off 16 balls came with hisside still needing 52 runs off eight overs. Together with Wilbur Bruce(50 two fours and two sixes off 79 balls), he added 45 in six decisiveovers to which the students had no answer.This festival of power hitting came after rain had forced the umpiresto reduced the target from 175 in 40 overs to 144 in 33 overs. At thebreak the score was 76 for three in 22 overs with the game truly inthe balance.I’m an attacking player and I knew I had to be positive in order forus to win the game, said Kirton, who like Bruce is a former CarltonFirst Division captain.From the time I left the pavilion I was planning to attack. We arefull of confidence but not over-confident. Any team (MTW) which makesthe final must be good. We won’t be taking them lightly in the final.Kirton paid Combermere the ultimate compliment, saying they were thebest school side he had ever played against. The level of fitness, thebatting and the bowling was very good. They really made us fight, andfight hard.Kirton also starred with the ball, snatching four for 23 as theschoolboys lost their way at the end, losing the last five wickets for18 runs after Calvin Watson (49) and Rohan Nurse (34) both battedattractively.Maybe the boys could write this one down to experience.At Pine Basin: Cheers and shouts greeted MTW’s victory over theseasoned Central.Fortunes fluctuated all day and the margin of victory said it all. MTWhad to battle back from a difficult start but took control after thevisitors bowlers’ rocked them at the start.Led by their captain and Man-Of-The-Match Geoffrey Padmore with aflamboyant half century, they transformed a position of uncertainty toone of comfort.Padmore belted out seven fours and two sixes in a entertaining knockof 73 which took his team from 70 for five to a respectable total of212.Padmore enjoyed two good partnerships;the first was a seventh-wicketstand with Peter Blackman worth 69 and an eighth-wicket stand withWinston Gittens for 59 runs.The tail rallied around their captain until he was last out.Central started positively posting 50 in six overs with in-formopening batsman David Forde striking four sixes in a quickfire knockof 37.However, the introduction of left-arm spinner David Payne saw theinnings quickly slumping to 112 for six, before Arglye Catwell, with42, brought some glimmer of hope back to the Vaucluse men, but with 19needed in the last over, he only managed four before he was stumped bykeeper Peter Blackman.