All posts by csb10.top

Somerset Sabres return to NUL National League action on Saturday when they travel to Sophia Gardens in Cardiff to take on Glamorgan Dragons.The Sabres are firmly rooted in the division one relegation zone and will be looking to get back to winning ways and gain four valuable points from the match to keep them in touch with the teams immediately above them.Currently the Sabres are in eighth position in the table, two points behind Durham, but with two games in hand, but twelve points adrift from Yorkshire, with just one game in hand.When the pair met at the County Ground in Taunton in June the match ended in confusion when six penalty runs were controversially awarded to Glamorgan before the start of the last over to effectively deny the Sabres of victory.Since their last meeting the Welshmen have strung together a run of good results and are currently in second place in the table, eight points behind the leaders Worcestershire, but with two games in hand.The Sabres on the other hand have lost both of their games since and have slipped further down the table, towards the division two trap door.Out on the pitch at the County Ground this morning I asked Somerset coach Kevin Shine for his thoughts ahead of the game at Cardiff. He told me: "We just have to get back to reality, wake up from the dream of yesterday and think into NUL mode.It really is a very different game, played with a different ball and needing a different game plan."He continued: "We have tried very hard with the NUL this season, but so far it just hasn’t come together for us. In the C and G we just seem to be able to lift ourselves to new heights. We have tried hard to find out why it’s not working in the NUL but we haven’t found the right recipe yet."Andy Caddick and Richard Johnson are both missing through injury,from the Somerset squad who made the journey over the Severn, but Johnson is set to return for the championship match against Kent at Canterbury on Wednesday , and the signs are also looking encouraging for England man Caddick to return in the same match.One of yesterday’s heroes Simon Francis, who is now fully fit is brought in to replace Johnson, and Pete Trego is also added to the twelve.The full Somerset squad is: Jamie Cox, Matthew Wood, Mike Burns, Peter Bowler, Keith Parsons, Ian Blackwell, Rob Turner, Keith Dutch, Matt Bulbeck, Simon Francis, Steffan Jones and Pete Trego.

All I know about the sending back of Yousuf Youhana from Nairobi on disciplinary grounds is what I have read in the newspapers. If there is more to it than meets the eye, I am not privy to it. I don’t know Youhana all that well, indeed all I may have done was to shake hands with him a couple of times.But of all the players in this present Pakistan squad, he seemed to be the one without an attitude, someone least likely to flaunt authority or throw a tantrum. He most fitted Milton’s “they also serve who only stand and wait”. Did something in him suddenly snap that turned Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde? I don’t know.But one must assume some horrendous behaviour that left the team management with no choice but to send him packing and to deprive the team of its best batsman, after Inzamam-ul-Haq. I emphasise that I know nothing beyond what has appeared in the newspaper and on the evidence of that, the team management acted harshly. The PCB chairman, Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia has got it exactly right that the whole matter was overblown and should have been settled at a local level.Every touring team has problems and there are varying degrees of indiscipline and varying degree of punishment available to a team management to impose on alleged offender, fines for example. Sending a player home should be the last option after other options have been exhausted and warnings ignored.In other words, a player should be a habitual troublemaker. Youhana doesn’t fit the bill. Nor do I feel that Yawar Saeed is someone who will act on the spur of the moment. He has age and experience on his side. I must confess that I am mystified by it all. No one should challenge the authority of the captain, all the more reason why a captain should not find himself in a situation where his authority can be challenged.Youhana wanted to skip nets because he had a shoulder injury. There is a doctor and a trainer attached to the team. Surely, these were the best people to decide on the extent of the injury.Coming at a time when the team has a tough schedule ahead of it, it seems to be the wrong time to disturb the harmony in the team. Both the team management and the players have never had it so good. This is a player-friendly PCB and a compassionate one. The goals that the team should be scoring should be against its opponents, not against itself.I don’t know how much this has affected the team’s performance in the triangular series but so far the performance has been far from satisfactory and against Australia, it was unbelievably bad. The team just fell apart. It was a game that was lost in the dressing-room as it was lost on the field.Australia was sent in to bat in conditions that should have suited our pace attack. Yet Australia made 332 and bit for Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, spinners, would have made more. Wides and no-balls were given away as if they were free samples and Wasim Akram was the main culprit. Inzamam had played the first match against Kenya and was hobbling about and went off and rightly was denied a runner when he came to bat. If he was unfit, he has a sore knee, he should not have been played.With the weight of 332 runs on its back, Pakistan fiddled with the batting order and Abdul Razzaq was sent in to open the batting, not Saeed Anwar or Shahid Afridi. Someone, it seemed had pressed the panic-button.The key to chasing a huge total is to see the new ball off and have wickets in hand. In a twinkling of an eye, the top order was gone. Imran Nazir could have stretched a back-muscle trying to reach what was a wide ball. Instead, he got an inside edge. Afridi was unlucky as the ball went of his pad to dislodge a bail and Saeed padded up to a straight ball. There being no Inzamam and indeed no Youhana, it was something of an achievement that Pakistan got past the 100 mark. It was a match that Pakistan would do well to forget.Cricket may be a game of glorious uncertainties but not absurdities and it was a foregone conclusion, as the tournament started that the final would be between Pakistan and Australia. But before the final, Pakistan has to play against Australia. A strong showing in that match could do much to bolster Pakistan’s confidence.At last, Shoaib Akhtar was at his awesome-best even though it was against the wrong opponent. But he has into his strides and he bowled really fast and was unsmiling, as fast bowlers should be. The decision to give him the new ball was a good one. In a way, it was a vote of confidence in him and he responded.I think Wasim Akram should have been rested in the second match against Kenya and Mohammad Sami played in his place. Wasim should have spent the day in the nets and made to work on the wides and no-balls he had been bowling. Wasim has looked out of sorts and, perhaps, a little too intense and over focused.But Pakistan’s main worry remains at the top order of its batting. Saeed Anwar seems to be lacking in confidence and Imran Nazir should be made to bat bare-footed so that he becomes aware that he has feet and they are supposed to be used to get at the pitch of the ball. Inzamam has a dodgy knee and there is, of course, no Youhana.As I write this, the contract row is no nearer a solution. The ICC apparently objected even to India’s main sponsor Sahara which is a conglomerate which includes an airline. One of ICC’s sponsors is South African airlines and as far as I know Sahara is a domestic carrier and in way could it be considered as being in competition with SAA. The whole issue is becoming a farce. What happened to common sense?

Nathan Hauritz has not given up hope of playing for Australia and adding to the one Test cap he earned in 2004. Hauritz has moved states and remodelled his action since taking five wickets against India in Mumbai and is preparing for another season with New South Wales.”The burn and desire is there, so strong,” Hauritz told the Sydney Morning Herald. “The dream is to get back there and play for Australia again.” Beau Casson, Hauritz’s state team-mate, has been promoted to the Test team and if he gets more international opportunities it will open the door for Hauritz to try to impress for the Blues.After his Test he was cut from the national team and later in the season was dropped by Queensland, which eventually led to his move south. “I went back to first-class cricket and thought: ‘I’m a Test player, I should be able to get these blokes out.’ My focus was all wrong.”How quickly it was taken away from me, being part of the Test set-up, it was a massive reality check for me. Not that I took it for granted, but I was happy with my action and the way things were going.”After struggling for wickets he worked out he needed to alter his technique. “Coming to New South Wales, you get to speak to a lot of guys and it changed it for me,” he said. “At Queensland it felt like I was just petering out.”The thing I realised was that you can only control the controllable – your own form. If you are doing everything you can, then whether the selectors pick you or not is up to them, but at least you know you could not have done any more.”

Hatton National Bank and John Keels have qualified for the final of theMercantile Cricket Association Division A, which is to be played nextweekend at NCC Grounds in Colombo.HNB, the tournament favourites, were forced to fight hard for their finalplace after a fine batting performance from Sampath Bank that saw them post290 for nine in their 50 overs.Opener Shantha Kalavitigoda led the way with 68, with captain ChandikaHathurusingha (67) and BMAJ Mendis (65) also scoring half centuries. KumarDharmasena took three for 51 with his off breaks.HNB were unfazed by the size of the target. Avishka Gunawardene celebratedhis selection for the Natwest triangular series with a blistering 66 off 33balls.Tillakaratne Dilshan, a surprise omission from the Natwest squad, thenscored 85 with Dharmasena guiding HNB home with an unbeaten 43.John Keels only qualified for the semi-finals after the elimination of EastWest for breaking player registration rules, but they defeated Janashakthiconvincingly by 35 runs.Michael Vandort scored 101 from 115 balls as John Keels posted 227 forseven. Janashkthi were bowled out for 192 as Jehan Mubarak grabbed fourwickets.

Ed: Maria Naureen is our correspondent from Karachi, a FM 101 radio talk-show host, cricket radio commentator and sports journalist

New Zealand have agreed to a match being dropped from the itinerary of their West Indies tour.New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden said today that a request had been received from the West Indies to drop a planned three-day game between the One-Day Internationals and the first Test.Snedden said the West Indians felt it would be better to have three days as rest days and he agreed, especially after the vigorous programme of games New Zealand will have had in Pakistan and in the ODIs.Apart from a one-day warm up game against the University of West Indies Vice Chancellor’s XI in Jamaica, every other game on the tour will be an international.

Somerset Under 16’s were frustrated by the weather in their 2 day match against Sussex at Horsham.Batting first Somerset had reached 68 for 6 , with Nick King making 23 and Robert Woodman being unbeaten on 23 before the rains came down and prevented any further play.Two days later the Under 16’s beat Wales at Weston super Mare Cricket Club.The visitors won the toss and asked their hosts to bat first. Liam Lewis was in fine form scoring 104, well supported by Ollie Norris who made 32 as Somerset made 188 for 6.In reply Wales were bowled out for 119, Simon Martin taking 3 for 13, Alan Carroll 2 for 15 and Nick King 2 for 26.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and I T wizard Dr Vijay Bhatkar were conferred with ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Puruskar’, Maharashtra’s highest civilian award in Mumbai on Tuesday.Tendulkar, became the youngest recepient at the age of 28, when he received the award for the year 2000-01, from the Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh at a simple ceremony held at Rang Bhavan in South Mumbai.The award carries a scroll, memento and Rs five lakh. ‘Wonderboy’ Sachin, whose presence evoked enthusiastic response from the crowd, said he was missing his father at this moment. “Without the teachings of my father I would not have been where I am today”, an emotionally charged Sachin said.He profusely thanked his coach Ramakant Achrekar, support provided by Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar and his family members. Sachin, who has scored 10,000 runs and scalped 100 wickets in the one-day edition of the game, vowed to give his best to the game thereby bringing laurels to the state as well as country.Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said Tendulkar ought to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Cultural Affairs Minister Ramkrishna More, Minister of State for Cultural Affairs Vimal Mundada, Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian cricket board chief Rajsingh Dungarpur and Ramakant Achrekar were among those present on the occasion.

Match Facts

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)

Big Picture

For a series with such an unhurried schedule, the rush to start within three days of the Tests is puzzling. India have had so little time to prepare that they decided to take an army chopper to Dambulla to save time on the five-hour road journey from Colombo. On Monday afternoon, the Indian team had their only practice session ahead of the one-dayers. They had a three-hour net in the middle, observed by the groundstaff going through their last-day preparations such as getting the advertising hoardings in place and the security personnel going through their drills.
In contrast to the packed schedule of Dhoni’s team, New Zealand are coming off a lengthy break and have had two sets of practice games, first in Darwin against Indian state side Maharashtra and then against a couple of teams made up of Sri Lankan fringe players.Both sides are missing key players but India will start as favourites, particularly given the amount of experience the team has of the conditions in Dambulla. One thing to New Zealand’s advantage side is that unlike most subcontinental pitches, Dambulla will favour their pace-heavy attack.Traditionally, the track is far tougher to bat on under lights than in the afternoon session, due to which the toss assumes plenty of importance.

Form guide

(most recent first)
India: WLWWL
New Zealand: WLLLW

Watch out for…

Suresh Raina is coming off a fantastic start to his Test career, and seems to have established himself as the best of the young Indian batsmen battling for middle-order berths. He didn’t have the best of times during the Asia Cup, and will want to make amends this time round.
In the absence of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor’s batting form becomes crucial to New Zealand’s chances. For a man with little captaincy experience, Taylor also has the added challenge of leading the side.

Team news

An ankle injury has ruled Ishant Sharma out of the first game which means Abhimanyu Mithun is in line to add to his solitary one-day cap. Dhoni had struggled with a finger problem during the third Test but he said that he expected to play despite being in a bit of pain.
Dinesh Karthik was Man of the Match in the Asia Cup final after making a half-century at the top of the order, but India also have the option of going in with Virat Kohli, who began his India career as an opener during a series in Sri Lanka two years ago.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Dinesh Karthik/Virat Kohli, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Abhimanyu Mithun, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Ashish NehraKane Williamson, the Northern Districts batsman who turned 20 on Sunday, gets the belated gift of a one-day debut on Tuesday. Andy McKay had impressed Daniel Vettori with his pace in a handful of international appearances but he may not get a chance given the presence of Daryl Tuffey, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee and several medium-pace bowling allrounders.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Peter Ingram, 3 Ross Taylor (capt), 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Daryl Tuffey, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Tim Southee/Andy McKay

Pitch and conditions

No cricket has been played at the Dambulla stadium since the Asia Cup which means there will be plenty of juice in the fresh, greenish track on Tuesday. To balance that is the fact that the boundary ropes have been pulled in at least 10 metres from where there were during the Asia Cup.

Quotes

“It is an opportunity for them [Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum] to spend some time with their families. They will come back fresh and strong, it has turned out to be a positive thing for them and for the youngsters as well.”

“The amount of games we are playing, it is very important to switch off from cricket because 365 days in a year, you can’t be thinking only about cricket.”

Northern Districts’ English imports, Steven Croft and James Foster, played crucial innings in the 24-run win against Otago at Seddon Park, in the opening game of the HRV Cup. They came together in the eighth over, with Northern Districts on 42 for 4, and added 126 runs for the fifth wicket. The 100-run stand had come off only 62 balls. Croft made 81 off 49 deliveries and Foster scored 48 off 30. Both of them were dismissed in the last over and Northern Districts made 174 for 7. Neil Wagner took thee wickets for Otago but was expensive, conceding 39 in four overs.Anton Devcich struck two early blows in Otago’s chase, reducing them to 19 for 2 in three overs. Hamish Rutherford top-scored with 47, but Otago did not have the powerful innings that Croft and Foster had provided Northern Districts. They were always behind the asking rate, and finished on 150 for 6. Left-arm seamer Bradley Scott did not take a wicket for Northern Districts but he conceded only 23 runs in four overs.