All posts by csb10.top

Jacob Oram was delighted with his first major contribution with the bat inTest cricket on the third day of the second Test in Kandy.Oram scored a career best 74, sharing crucial partnerships with MarkRichardson and Robbie Hart, as New Zealand scored a respectable 305."It is nice to get a first milestone although I would have liked to got ahundred," he said afterwards. "It was tough against world-class bowlers indifferent conditions but I really enjoyed it."At 75 for 4 we were in a bit of trouble and it was a matter of getting apartnership going, so I was more than happy to just bide my time."Normally renowned for playing big shots, Oram believes he needed "to put hisend in the bin and put the shots away" to survive."I like to hit the ball hard and see the boundaries but you can’t do thatevery innings. I have been more consistent back home in first-class cricketbeing a bit more circumspect."Oram, 24, enjoyed the challenge of facing the world’s leading spinner,Muttiah Muralitharan, who claimed 3 for 90 in 34 overs."I did not want to die in the hole to Murali, which can happen if you justsit and wait, because sooner or later he is going to bowl you an unplayabledelivery – I therefore used the sweep as an option."Oram said New Zealand were still hopeful of forcing a win: "It is a matterof us getting early wickets tomorrow and then trying to progress as much aswe can with the bat before a final day declaration."

England Under 19 captain Bilal Shafayat, who was totally confident of success for his side on their tour of Australia, led by example on day one of the first Test against Australia Under 19s in Adelaide. He scored 108 out of the first innings total of 331.Nottinghamshire’s Shafayat won the toss, chose to bat first and then took charge. He stroked 17 fours and two sixes in his 140-ball innings which was the cornerstone of the England innings.No other batsman reached a fifty, although Luke Wright, batting at number eight, was the next highest contributor with 48. There were several other useful innings, with thirties from Andrew Gale, James Pearson and Samit Patel while opening bowler Trent Kelly had the best return for the Australians with four for 63.Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan, who had been left 27 not out at the end of the England innings, then took the wicket of Australian batsmen Matthew Harrison with his third ball to ensure that England finished the day in good heart.For connoisseurs of cricket trivia, the day began 11 minutes later than the scheduled start – because of a lost ball!

Takashinga return to Murare Sports Club this Sunday – three weeks after their day of infamy – to contest the semi-finals of the league knockout competition. Awaiting the outcome of a ZCU disciplinary hearing set for Thursday 21 February for their conduct during the earlier game, this match should provide compulsive viewing for the Mutare public. Spectators are advised to keep clear of war zones this time – in the last game Odzi farmer Logie Slabbert and his wife Estelle were relaxing in deck chairs near the boundary rope when a Takashinga fielder pursued a ball over the top of Estelle, smashing chairs and bodies everywhere. Reality TV would have paid handsomely for copyrights. Missing the reliable all-rounder Richie Sims and three Test stars, Manicaland are wobbling and vulnerable after losing their Logan Cup game against CFX Academy last weekend.Alan Walsh – the umpire at the centre of the storm in the previous game – is away on leave, so Manicaland Umpires Chairman Kevan Barbour has requested a `neutral’ umpire to drive down from Harare for the game. His concern is that numbers will plummet in his association if he asks members to stand in volatile `unprotected’ games of this nature. That it has come to this is unfortunate but reflects the times in which we live. There will be substantial financial rewards at stake for the winner – another factor likely to increase on-field tension.Losing with four sessions to spare in the four-day game last weekend, Manicaland will need to dig deep to stay with Takashinga. Positives are the form of captain Neil Ferreira and the returning form of left-arm seamer Justin Lewis. Ferreira hit 106 (14 fours) and Kingsley Went 57 in Manicaland’s first innings. Andre Soma and Tino Mawoyo managed just 30 runs between them in four innings – a disappointing return for batsmen of such obvious quality. After a first-innings failure Naeem Sheth top-scored (40) in the second after recovering from a clash of heads with Mawoyo as the pair converged on a catch in the CFX second innings.Happiest man on the field for all three days was pint-sized twelfth man Marvin Vogel. A 16-year-old leg-spinner from Mutare Boys High, his enthusiasm whilst rushing drinks or equipment onto the field was enjoyed by everyone. His best moment came at Friday midday when Naeem Sheth left the field to attend prayers at the local Mosque – an hour’s uninterrupted fielding in first-class cricket.Adiel Kugotsi was another to have a quiet game. Managing only 10 runs in two innings with bowling figures of 3-0-16-0, his moment of glory came early in CFX’s first innings when he effected a stunning direct throw run-out from the covers. In his O-level year at Mutare Boys High, he hopes to earn a living one day from cricket.There was excitement off the field on Saturday afternoon when security guards employed by the cricket association apprehended a suit-wearing thief in the process of removing a pair of track shoes from the change rooms. Unlike the other first-class grounds in the country, Mutare Sports Club is not security fenced and occasionally plays host to unusual visitors.

As long as they had taken the precaution of packing sunscreen as well as a coat, and perhaps even an umbrella for the journey home, spectators at the opening of this Pura Cup match between Victoria and Queensland couldn’t have had too many grounds for complaint today. Because, around weather which underscored Melbourne’s capacity to produce a full range of seasons in the course of one day, they saw Matthew Hayden play a glorious innings and watched his Test teammate Shane Warne help to offset its impact by igniting a collapse.As the Pura Cup finalists of the last two seasons were drawn into battle, the first day rapidly looked like becoming a no-contest. Having won the toss and gained a decided advantage by having the first chance to bat on a placid pitch, the Queenslanders were quick to assert the authority that they have consistently hawked over the Victorians in big matches over recent years.Hayden (145*) was at the heart of the Bulls’ progress en route to a scoreline of 7/305 by the time that bad light fatally intervened, joining with Jimmy Maher (96) in an opening stand of 176, and then forging another union of 74 with Martin Love (33) for the second wicket.A near-flawless exhibition of strokeplay from Hayden delivered his second first-class century in the space of five days, albeit that he initially played second fiddle to the even more aggressive Maher. His shotmaking was typically authoritative and, in replicating many of the methods that brought him success against spin bowling on Australia’s recent tour of India, he also looked the most capable batsman against the Bushrangers’ two best bowlers – Warne (3/90) and Colin Miller (1/81).Only one wicket fell – and even that came courtesy of a brilliant running catch from Mathew Inness as he raced in some 20 metres off the fine leg fence to claim a top edged sweep from Maher at full stretch – in the opening four-and-a-half hours, and very few false shots were even played.As the temperature cooled and sunny skies gave way to overcast ones, though, the state of the match altered in kind. It wasn’t only the almost mass donning of jumpers which made the two teams look completely different, but also Victoria’s sudden capacity to gain movement from a previously barren surface and to hold some difficult catches instead of dropping them.Thirty minutes into the final session, medium pacer Ian Harvey (2/36) convinced Umpire Parry of the merits of an lbw decision against Love and the shift was under way. Harvey had endured a frustrating morning, spilling particularly difficult chances at slip from Warne’s bowling when Maher was on 22 and Hayden on 41 respectively, but wasted little time in turning matters around. The second scalp in a procession that saw five crash in total for the addition of just 11 runs came when Clinton Perren (1) drove outside the line of a ball that seamed back marginally at him.The Bushrangers’ recovery was assisted by further controversial lbw decisions against Andrew Symonds (1), struck as he came well forward to defend a ball that pitched only a few inches in front of his lunging front pad, and Stuart Law (3), who seemed to inside edge another Warne delivery into his pads.And great catching also helped: short leg fieldsman Jason Arnberger magnificently intercepting a shot played off the toes by Wade Seccombe (1) and Warne hanging on to the proceeds of a slash to end a mini-revival from Hayden and Andy Bichel (15).Whatever was on the Victorians’ menu at tea now looks likely to be incorporated into their diets on a more regular basis.

A little-known fact about Indian cricket is that the country’s youngtalents in various age groups have really proved their mettle at theinternational level. Aside from the under-19 team winning the World Cuptwo years ago in Sri Lanka, the under-15 team lifted the World Cup inEngland in 1996. The under-17 team won the Asian Championship last year.Somehow, though, this supremacy is lost during the transition to thesenior ranks. But the juniors have certainly covered themselves withglory in bringing laurels to the nation.

These thoughts come to mind as the Indian lads are now in New Zealand totake part in the under-19 World Cup competition. As the well-knownsporting adage goes, it is hard to get to the top, but harder to staythere. Indian cricket authorities are well aware of the truth behindthis adage and have left no stone unturned in preparing their squad todefend a title that they won in Sri Lanka in January 2000.For one thing, the training sessions for the 26 probables were long andsystematic. For example, coach Balwinder Singh Sandhu was well awarethat the lads would encounter considerable lateral movement in NewZealand, where the World Cup is to be staged between January 19 andFebruary 10. So this was among the specifics that went into thetraining. Then, after a long stint at the National Cricket Academy inBangalore, the squad travelled to Chennai to play three practicematches.Unfortunately this aspect of the training was hit by rain, but theenthusiastic lads made the best of the truncated opportunities. Further,the selected squad of 14 first went to Australia for a nine-day tour,during which they played – and lost – two practice games before leavingfor New Zealand. But most important of all, the authorities, underliningthe importance of defending the title, have done well in appointingformer Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar as consultant.Indeed, the combination of Vengsarkar and Sandhu, both members of thevictorious World Cup squad in 1983, forms a think-tank that would behard to beat. Sandhu is head coach at the NCA, and Vengsarkar has spenta lot of time with the boys, giving them the full advantage of hisconsiderable experience. The boys certainly do not have to look too farfor inspiration.The squad, led by Parthiv Patel of Gujarat, is nicely balanced, but onlytime will tell whether it is good enough to retain the Cup it won twoyears ago. Vengsarkar, however, is in no doubt that the team is strongenough to retain the title. “The confidence level of the squad is prettyhigh, and they have trained strenuously. We have a couple of fine allrounders and a good attack, both spin and medium pace,” Vengsarkar saidin Chennai recently. He was of the view that the under-19 age group heldthe key to the future of Indian cricket. This viewpoint is difficult todisagree with, especially when one considers that players like YuvrajSingh, Mohammad Kaif and Reetinder Singh Sodhi, all members of thatvictorious squad in Sri Lanka, went on to play for India within a shortperiod.Vengsarkar said that the youngsters should be nurtured to fill the gapsin the Indian side and for this, the proper exposure would be to makethem play in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England. Whiletalking with confidence about the Indian team’s chances in New Zealand,the former star batsman, who scored 6,868 runs in 116 Test matches andis also the only non-Englishman to score three Test hundreds at Lord’s,felt that Australia and South Africa would be the teams to beat. Thingsare not very different even at the junior levels, are they?

Lancashire today attempted to play down suggestions that Yorkshire stalwart Geoff Boycott could be linked with their coaching position at Old Trafford.The former England and Yorkshire opening batsman had been named by Lancashire chairman Jack Simmons in connection with the vacancy following Bob Simpson’s announcement that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.But in a statement in which any reference to Boycott was conspicuously absent,Lancashire sought to clarify the situation.The statement read: “After recent speculation about the future coach ofLancashire County Cricket Club, the club wishes to point out that as yet nodecisions have been made.”It was decided at a recent general committee meeting, following the decisionof Bob Simpson not to seek a renewal of his contract, that there would be aperiod of reflection and discussion before the way forward was decided.”The statement pointed out that no prospective new coaches, Boycottincluded, had yet been identified in the three days since formerAustralia coach Simpson announced he would be leaving Old Trafford.”No names have been discussed, and no one has been approached over theposition,” it continued.”It is expected to be some weeks before a decision is made, and furtherdiscussions will take place at the next full committee meeting in September.”But on a day of confusing statements coming out of Old Trafford, Simmons again added more weight to a Boycott link.”Geoffrey would not be out of the equation if he wanted to apply. If he wantsto apply and he can come for what we normally pay then he would be assessed withthe rest,” said Simmons.”We want the best, and if the best were a Yorkshireman so be it,” he said.But Simmons was not sure the club could afford Boycott, who was paid £30,000 for 15 days’ work by Pakistan earlier this year.”He is an excellent coach, but I do not think he would want to come back tothe daily routine of county cricket,” Simmons told Sky Sports.”We could not afford him anyway. When you talk about £30,000 for three weekscoaching Pakistan – if you are to believe what you read – then there is no waywe could afford it.”

Shaun Udal Hampshire’s all-rounder, won the counties Players, player of the season 2001. Adi Aymes won the fielder of the season award.Jimmy Cook coach presented the awards at the teams end of season fancy dress party. He said of Shaun Udal “He has been 100% professional this season, his bowling has been a large contributary factor to the teams promotion, and he also batted better than ever, coming in at awkward situations to recover the innings.Shaun Udal was delighted with the award – “It is a great honour” he replied on receiving the shield “to be voted by your own colleagues to be the players player brings a lump to your throat, and I will treasure the memory”.”Adi Aymes“, Jimmy Cook said, “has not only been a great wicket-keeper for his side, and a great contributer with the bat, but he also inspired players around him. His fielding, was as always exemplary and deserves he the accolade”.

A sterling effort by the groundsmen, administrators and a willing Netherlands team saw Australia run out winners in a rain-affected match at the North West Stadium in Potchefstroom.Continuous rain in the area and water that had seeped under the covers of thepitch had at one stage thrown any thoughts of play out of the window. Using anymeans at their disposal the ground staff used sacking under the rollers, power blowers and even the police helicopter to help dry the wet patches on one side of the pitch.The Netherlands team held meetings and would have been quite happy with the two points for a no-result had it not been for the fact that they had come to the World Cup to play cricket and learn from the opposition. As captain Roland Lefebvre commented: “We cannot learn anything from sitting in the changing rooms.”The match started an hour late, with the Netherlands winning the toss and askingAustralia to bat first in a reduced 47-over innings.Two further breaks, in which three and then eight overs were lost, made itdifficult for both the fielding and batting sides, with the ball having to bedried and batsmen having to re-focus.Some excellent bowling, especially from Lefebvre, 0/19 in eight overs, and Jacob-Jan Esmeijer, 0/16 in five overs, saw the Dutch restrict Australia to 170/2 in the 36 overs.The four Australian batsmen spent good time in the middle but were never in a position of dominance. Apart from the first over they were pinned back to below five runs per over for the whole innings.Matthew Hayden played a subdued knock before being caught at deep mid-wicket for 33, after Jimmy Maher was caught behind for 26. Their 50-run partnership had come up in 68 balls.Hayden was also involved in a 50-run partnership with Damien Martyn, who went on to make an undefeated 67 after giving a caught and bowled chance early in his innings.”I had a bit of luck out there but in the end it was good to spend some time in the middle after it appeared as if we would not play at all today,” Martyn said after receiving the Man-of-the-Match award.Martyn was involved in the third 50-run partnership, the quickest of the innings (57 balls), with Darren Lehmann who ended not out on 29.In the final eight overs the Australians seemed to misinterpret the Duckworth-Lewis system by trying not to lose any wickets, not knowing that wickets lost at that stage of the game would not have a major impact on the final target.The recalculation meant that Netherlands would require 198 to win in the 36-over allocation.Losing wickets at regular intervals, the Netherlands never made any serious attack on the target, and with the introduction of Andy Bichel and Ian Harvey into the attack, any thoughts of a win were wiped away.Both mixed up their pace well to be rewarded with three wickets each as they mopped up the tail. Bichel finished with 3/13 and Harvey with 3/25 as the Dutch were bowled out for 122 in 30.2 overs.Luuk van Troost tried to go after the bowling, scoring 23 before splicing Lehmann to Bichel at deep mid-off, and Tim de Leede scored 24 fluent runs,including the first six of the game off Lehmann.The total of 122 may have been the lowest at the ground, and it may also have been Netherlands’ lowest in their World Cup history, but they were not disgraced by the number one team in the world.”We played well and it was most enjoyable. We had all looked forward to playing against and learning from the best, and are proud that we managed to restrict Australia to 170,” Lefebvre said after the match.Ricky Ponting was very happy with four points, which he never thought they would take after arriving in the rain.

Pakistan’s defeat in the Lord’s Test was their 68th in test cricket. Out of 278 tests played to date, Pakistan have lost 18 against Australia, 16 against England, 13 against West Indies, 6 each against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, 5 against India, 3 against South Africa and 2 against Zimbabwe. 51 of these defeats have come on away grounds, against 17 at home.West Indies and Sri Lanka have most victories (4) against Pakistan on Pakistan grounds. Pakistan suffered their heaviest defeat – by an innings and 185 runs – against New Zealand at Hamilton in 2000-01. In terms of runs, Pakistan have lost two matches by a margin of over three hundred runs – against Australia (Melbourne 1976-77) and South Africa (Johannesburg 1994-95).Pakistan’s heaviest defeat at home was by an innings and 156 runs at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore, against West Indies in 1958-59. Pakistan’s inaugural test against India at Delhi in 1952-53 resulted in an innings defeat. Their 10th defeat came against England at Lahore 1961-62, 25th against England at Edgbaston 1978 and 50th against Sri Lanka at Sialkot 1995.The complete break-up of Pakistan’s 68 defeats against each country in chronological order, followed by margin-wise and venue-wise defeats, is presented below:

Defeats against each opponent

India

England

New Zealand

Australia

West Indies

Sri Lanka

Zimbabwe

South Africa

Summary of defeats against each country from 1952-53 to date

Pakistan’s defeats – 1st, 10th, 25th & 50th

Defeats – by margin

Biggest defeats

Margin-wise defeats – highlights

• 19 of Pakistan’s defeats were by an innings, 28 by wickets and 21 by runs.
• Three innings defeats were by an innings plus 150 or more runs (v New Zealand at Hamilton 2001, v West Indies at Kingston 1957-58 and v West Indies at Lahore 1958-59).
• Six innings defeats were by an innings plus 100 to 149 runs (v Australia at Sydney 1999-2000, v England at Nottingham 1954, v Australia at Brisbane 1995-96, v England at Lord’s 1978, v England at Leeds 1962, v Australia at Adelaide 1972-73).
• Two defeats by a margin of over 300 runs (v Australia by 348 runs at Melbourne 1976-77 and v South Africa by 329 runs at Johannesburg 1994-95).
• Pakistan also suffered three other defeats of over 200 runs (by 286 runs v Australia at Perth 1981-82, by 212 runs v India at Delhi 1998-99 and by 204 runs v West Indies at Port of Spain 1992-93).
• Pakistan’s narrowest defeat, by one wicket, was recorded at St John’s Antigua v West Indies 1999-2000.

Defeats – by venue

Venue-wise defeats – Highlights

• 17 out of 68 defeats have been recorded at home grounds while the remaining 51were suffered on opponents’ grounds.
• Most number of defeats (6) on one home ground have been suffered at Lahore.
• Outside Pakistan, the most number of defeats (3 each) have been recorded at Lords, Edgbaston, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Port of Spain.
• West Indies and Sri Lanka have defeated Pakistan on four occasions each on Pakistan grounds, Australia thrice, England and New Zealand twice and Zimbabwe and South Africa once each.
• On their own grounds, Australia have beaten Pakistan in 15 tests, England 14, West Indies 9, India 5, South Africa 2 and Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe one each.
• India is yet to win a test match on Pakistan soil.

Moors Sports Club made up for a disappointing display against Tamil Union yesterday with a morale boosting victory over Antonians today at Braybrooke Place.When play finally got underway at 12pm there was only time for 37.4 overs per side. Moors Sports Club won the toss and had no hesitation in asking Antonians to bat first. However, the Antonians openers started well and added 66 runs for the first wicket. Charles Silva led the way with 43 from 42 balls. He hit four fours and two sixes in the run-a-ball innings before he was stumped off Chandika Haturasinghe.The Antonians innings then ran into difficulties as number two batsman, Lahiru Chaturanga, was dismissed in the next over. 34 runs were then added fro the third wicket before Rangana Herath plucked out the middle order. The left arm spinner finished with three wickets for 23 runs.The Moors reply started disastrously as three wickets were lost for nine runs. However, Bhatiya Perera (28)continued his good form of the previous rounds and put on 50 runs in partnership with Roshan Cooray (43). When Perera was dismissed Iroshan De Silva came to the crease and scored an unbeaten 35 runs to guide Moors to victory. He was ably assisted by Mahesh Palihakkara who scored an unbeaten 30. Moors Sports Club eventually overhauled the victory target with just 11 balls to spare.