All posts by csb10.top

Bruce Patterson, 39, has been called up to play for Scotland in their Intercontinental Cup match against Holland at Mannofield, Aberdeen, next week. Patterson’s last international game was against Ireland in the home countries tournament in 2001. He is an opening batsman with three first-class hundreds to his name, and a wealth of experience.Stewart Bruce, the 34-year-old left-arm pace bowler, has also been named in the side. Bruce was forced to postpone his Scotland debut earlier this season, as he was serving in Iraq as an explosives expert. Majid Haq, the 20-year-old offspinner, is also in the squad for the Intercontinental Cup. Scotland’s success in the tournament could determine their future prospects in world cricket.Scotland captain Craig Wright said: “All the players for the Intercontinental Cup have to be Scotland-qualified, so neither Sriram nor Arafat is eligible. Instead, we are fortunate to have both Bruce Patterson and Stewart Bruce, with whom we were greatly impressed during the winter, available for this game.”Scotland C Wright (capt), S Bruce, A Butt, C. English, M Haq, P. Hoffmann, S. Knox, B Patterson, C. Smith, I. Stanger, R. Watson, F. Watts.

Ricky Ponting will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Steve Waugh, AdamGilchrist and Mark Taylor by winning his first Test as captain on Australiansoil, when the second and final match against Sri Lanka begins at Cairnsthis morning.Ponting, who missed the opening Test in Darwin because of the death of hisaunt, is expected to be the only change in Australia’s victorious XI, replacing his temporary stand-in Matthew Elliott.He enters the game confident of both his batting form, having undergone a”really good workout” at a pre-series camp in Brisbane, and captaincypedigree. Already Ponting has led Australia to one World Cup and successiveVB Series triumphs, plus victory in all three overseas Tests in which he hascalled the shots.His vanquished opponents on all three occasions, needless to say, were SriLanka, who have never won a Test in Australia at seven attempts and wouldseem less well-qualified for optimism.Two changes to their side appear probable. Upul Chandana, the legspinner, whostruck an erratic length and failed to trouble the Australian middle orderin Darwin, might make way for the left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, whoimpressed observers in the tour match against a Northern Territory ChiefMinister’s XI.Meanwhile Romesh Kaluwitharana, the veteran wicketkeeper, stands a strongchance of playing his first Test in more than a year at Russel Arnold’sexpense. Arnold, who was himself playing his first Test since November 2002,looked unconvincing in struggling to 6 and 11 at Darwin.Kaluwitharana’s possible elevation would reduce the workload of KumarSangakkara, the vivacious left-hander, who too often looks knackered by thedouble burden of keeping and batting at No. 3. If you discount Tests againstZimbabwe, Sangakkara has not passed 34 in his last 12 innings and last hit ahundred 27 months ago.The days leading up to this match have felt a bit like the traditionalbuild-up to a WACA Test, even if Cairns and Perth – according to the map -might almost be a couple of continents away. All attention has centred onthe rumoured bounce and zippiness, conditions considered ripe for theAustralians and anathema to the visitors.Even Shane Warne, seldom one to talk down his abilities, has publicly allbut ruled out his chance of securing the eight wickets he needs to becomethe supreme wicket-taker in Test history. Warne’s logic ignores the factthat precisely half the wickets during Cairns’s inaugural Test last yearfell to spin, and should be seen for what it probably is: a colossal bluff.As for Ponting, even if Australia conspire to lose this game the omens lookpositive. The last Australian skipper to blow his first Test on home dirtwas Ian Chappell; before him, Don Bradman and Monty Noble also began theircaptaincy careers in Australia with a thud rather than a bang. And thosethree turned out all right in the end. Australia (probable) 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 RickyPonting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Simon Katich, 7 AdamGilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11Glenn McGrath. Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Marvan Atapattu (capt), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya,3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Romesh Kaluwitharana (wk), 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 NuwanZoysa, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lasith Malinga.

On whether he was under pressure coming into this game
There is no doubt I was under pressure coming into this game. Thatpressure had nothing to do with being made the vice-captain. Afterall, I am only the deputy, and I am not even sure if a captain isunder pressure because he is leading the side. There was pressurebecause I didn’t bat well or catch and field well in the first Test. Ijust decided to go out with a positive outlook. I wanted to enjoymyself out in the middle, and so I courted success today – as simpleas that.On being backed by his team
That’s what pleased and touched me no end. Everyone in the team backedme, and a day before the Test here, Inzamam sat me down and had a longchat. I appreciate everything the team did for me, and in return, Iwanted to make sure that I did not let them down. That I have managedto repay them for the faith they showed in me is my most importantachievement today.On whether he has made any technical changes from Mohali tonow
A little bit, nothing too much. I am the same Younis who played thefirst Test. A lot of people have said in the past that I bat veryslowly, but I have always played positively. In this innings, I wantedto bat out the whole day, wanted to spend time in the middle, and atthe end of the day, that helped.On running singles with Youhana
Yousuf and I are not like Sehwag or Afridi who can blast the bowlersaround. We look for singles all the time. Afridi got us off to a greatstart today, and we kept looking for singles even if we played goodballs in the gap, so the run-rate was up right through. We just madesure we carried on from where Afridi’s short knock put us.On whether Pakistan are on top
It’s a little too early for that. We have had only two days’ play, andeverything will depend on how things go tomorrow. If we can bat outthe whole day and snatch a lead of between 150 and 200, we willdefinitely be well placed. At the moment, though, it is 50-50.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outIf yesterday at Edgbaston had been Test cricket at its very best, then today’s hopelessly one-sided farce was it at its worst – that it was even labelled as Test cricket was bordering on the ridiculous. It has to be assumed that the Trade Descriptions Act doesn’t apply in Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe have had many wretched days on the international stage in the last year or so, but at Harare Sports Club today, they plumbed a depth that was spectacular even by their rapidly declining standards.They were bowled out by New Zealand twice inside a day, only the second side to suffer such a fate. The other were India at Manchester in 1952, but they were caught cold on a miserable and damp Old Trafford track which suited England’s bowlers. Zimbabwe had no such excuses. They were at home, and the conditions were not that one-sided.New Zealand did what they had to efficiently and clinically, but few of Zimbabwe’s batsmen troubled them and, more worryingly, few looked to be remotely good enough technically to survive at this level. New Zealand barely broke sweat, not that they had to.After declaring overnight, New Zealand unleashed Shane Bond and James Franklin. Bond showed impressive pace from his first ball, which rose and flew off Neil Ferreira’s gloves over the keeper’s head to the boundary. The die was cast.In the fourth over, Franklin had Ferreira caught at the wicket and he then trapped Dion Ebrahim and only a no-ball stood between him and a hat-trick as he had Hamilton Masakadza plumb leg before. Both batsmen’s footwork was questionable and both prodded half-forward. Next over Craig Wishart unwisely shouldered arms to a ball from Bond that cut back viciously off the pitch, and at 11 for 4 the innings was in shreds.Chris Martin also found movement to take three wickets in the middle order, with Stuart Carlisle (20 not out) standing alone as the tail collapsed around him; his was a fine but utterly futile rearguard. Daniel Vettori picked up the last two wickets immediately after lunch – his first-day hundred and six wickets in the match won him the Man-of-the-Match award. Zimbabwe’s only solace was that they just about passed their previous low – 54 against South Africa in March.Second time round, they started with a little more fight, although Brendan Taylor soon drove uppishly and was caught at short extra cover without scoring. That he was playing at all was a sign of Zimbabwe’s desperation. A month or so ago he was slapped with a six-month ban for disciplinary offences. But the cupboard is so bare that he was quickly forgiven and brought back.His was virtually the only attacking stroke to be played in the first 10 overs, as Ferreira and Ebrahim played with great application, but as they ventured out of their shells, the wickets again started to tumble.After tea Ferreira (16) seemed to lose his nerve, and played a couple of uncharacteristically risky strokes before he dabbed feebly outside the off stump at a ball from Franklin and provided Stephen Fleming with the first of three successive catches. The others were Wishart (5) and Carlisle (0), both softened up by short balls from Bond and then driving loosely outside off stump.What resistance there was was provided by Masakadza (42), who drove and pulled in impressive fashion, the only Zimbabwe batsman in the match to take the attack to the bowlers with any success. He had scored half the total of 84 when he tried to chip a drive on the leg side and had a leading edge well caught overhead by Vettori off his own bowling.As New Zealand closed for the kill, they got a stroke of luck as Vettori took his 200th Test wicket in dubious circumstances, Heath Streak adjudged leg before by Darrell Hair despite a thick inside-edge apparent to all but the umpire.

Tatenda Taibu hung around before being caught by Fleming and the last wickets fell without a whimper. Chris Mpofu set up his own Test record by being twice stumped for a pair inside two sessions. That summed up the wretchedness of Zimbabwe’s efforts.It is hard to see where Zimbabwe go from here. For the first time in 16 months they fielded their full-strength side, and yet the defeat was as one-sided as any they have suffered in that period. Their bowling lacked penetration and their batting at times would have embarrassed a good club side.In such hard times, world cricket has to be seen to support Zimbabwe. But there is an argument, which few who witnessed today would counter, that the time has come for a change of tack and a rethink about what is being achieved by ploughing on regardless. Nobody benefited from this massacre, and the pitiful attendance showed that even the locals have tired of such wretched fare. This was a match of interest to nobody but the statisticians.

ZimbabweNeil Ferreira c McCullum b Franklin 5 (9 for 1)
Dion Ebrahim lbw b Franklin 0 (9 for 2)
Hamilton Masakadza lbw b Franklin 0 (10 for 3)
Craig Wishart b Bond 0 (11 for 4)
Brendan Taylor run out (Styris) 10 (28 for 5)
Tatenda Taibu lbw b Martin 5 (46 for 6)
Heath Streak c McCullum b Martin 0 (46 for 7)
Blessing Mahwire lbw b Martin 4 (51 for 8)
Graeme Cremer c Martin b Vettori 1 (53 for 9)
Chris Mpofu st McCullum b Vettori 0 (59 all out)
Zimbabwe second inningsBrendan Taylor c Vettori b Franklin 0 (5 for 1)
Dion Ebrahim b Martin 8 (14 for 2)
Neil Ferreira c Fleming b Franklin 16 (53 for 3)
Craig Wishart c Fleming b Bond 5 (76 for 4)
Stuart Carlisle c Fleming b Bond 0 (80 for 5)

Hamilton Masakadza c and b Vettori 42 (84 for 6)

Heath Streak lbw b Vettori 3 (90 for 7)
Tatenda Taibu c Fleming b Martin 4 (90 for 8)
Graeme Cremer c James Marshall b Vettori 3 (99 for 9)
Christopher Mpofu st McCullum b Vettori 0 (99 all out)

Dan Marsh, the Tasmania captain who led them to last summer’s ING Cup, will play his first game of the season after recovering from a shoulder injury to face Western Australia in the Pura Cup match at Bellerive Oval on Wednesday. Marsh will take over the leadership from Michael Di Ventuo, who scored 105 in the 13-run loss to the Warriors on Sunday, and the Tigers have also been helped by the return of the fast bowler Brett Geeves.Geeves came back from an ankle problem in the limited-overs match at Devonport, taking an expensive 1 for 57 in 6.2 overs, and he has been included in the squad instead of Darren McNees. The spinner Shannon Tubb has been dropped to accommodate Marsh.South Australia have been boosted by the recoveries of Paul Rofe and Greg Blewett from fitness problems for the game against Victoria at Adelaide Oval starting on Thursday. Rofe will face a fitness test on his knee, which was operated on earlier this month to repair cartilage, but Blewett has been cleared after straining his thigh two weeks ago. Ben Cameron missed out on a place in the squad while Matthew Elliott, who hurt his knee last week, was not considered.Tasmania squad David Dawson, Travis Birt, Michael Bevan, Michael Di Venuto, George Bailey, Dan Marsh (capt), Adam Griffith, Sean Clingeleffer (wk), Xavier Doherty, Brett Geeves, Brendan Drew, Ben Hilfenhaus.South Australia squad Shane Deitz, Greg Blewett, Mark Cosgrove, Cameron Borgas, Darren Lehmann (capt), Callum Ferguson, Graham Manou (wk), Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Paul Rofe, Cullen Bailey, Shaun Tait.

The overloaded one-day calendar just became even fuller, with news that three of the game’s key superpowers – Australia, India and Pakistan – will stop off in the Netherlands on their way to this year’s Champions Trophy in England.Each side will play each other once with the top two sides going through to a final. The tournament will reportedly run from August 22-29, coinciding with the Athens Olympics.In 25 years of tri-nation one-day tournaments it will be only the second time these three countries have faced off in a triangular tournament. In their previous three-way encounter, the Carlton & United Series of 1999-2000, Australia won nine straight matches.It will be the first multi-nation series to take place in the Netherlands, who staged one World Cup game in 1999.A Cricket Australia spokesman could not confirm the dates but said the Australians are scheduled to arrive in Holland on August 20. The 12-nation Champions Trophy begins on September 10.The Australians have already played 17 one-day internationals this year, more than India (15) and Pakistan (10). The new, as yet unnamed, tournament means they are so far scheduled to play a possible 28 ODIs in 2004 – down from 35 last year and their 1999 peak of 37. But it’s only May.

Tickets
Tickets for the tournament will be available from June 22 through the Dutch agency Top Ticket Line. Book through their website, www.topticketline.nl (beware: it’s in Dutch), telephone (+31) 20 2061084, or write to Topticketline, PO Box 12850, 1100 AW Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The start of the first day of the Intercontinental Cup play-off tie between Namibia and Nepal at Windhoek was washed out, and the prospects are that the whole match will be a stop-start affair.Namibia, like much of southern Africa, has had the wettest rainy season in 30 years, and over 500mm has fallen in Windhoek in the last six weeks alone, almost double the usual annual rainfall. On Tuesday night a massive storm dumped 70mm of rain in a little over an hour.Although the outfield at The Wanderers was very wet, the pitch itself remained dry. The forecast for the next few days is bleak and it is increasingly likely that the game might not even start. If so, then Namibia will qualify for the group stage of the tournament. If the teams do take to the field, then the side gaining the most bonus points will go through.

Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, felt that Sachin Tendulkar’s absence from the Indian team for the one-day series in the West Indies would deprive the youngsters in his side and the spectators the opportunity of watching a superior player in action.Tendulkar is recuperating from shoulder surgery and his availability for the four Tests against West Indies starting June 2 is still uncertain. The Test team will be announced on May 24.”I think it is unfortunate because we are all entertainers. The public would have loved to see Sachin,” Lara told after a practice session at the Queen’s Park Oval before his team’s sixth ODI against Zimbabwe. “He’s going to be here for the World Cup hopefully, but any opportunity to see him would have been great for the public.”Lara was upbeat about his own team’s chances and how Tendulkar’s presence would have lifted the opposition’s game. “It doesn’t mean that India, with a player like Sachin Tendulkar in the team, is actually going to beat the West Indies”, he said. “Yes, they would have a player of high class but we would have loved to have him here playing against us. As team members, we can only learn from a player like that.”

The Warriors batsman HD Ackerman has been suspended for the final Supersport Series match as well as the first two Pro20 games after breaching Cricket South Africa’s code of conduct.Ackerman was found guilty by Advocate Michael Kuper SC for breaking clauses 1.2 and 1.5 – which relate to dissent and conduct which could bring the game into disrepute – following the Warriors’ Supersport series match against the Titans at Port Elizabeth on February 1.He will now miss the four-day match against the Eagles starting on February 15 and the opening two Pro20 matches on February 21 and 23 against the Eagles and the Dolphins.

North West completed a hard-earned 70-run win over Gauteng despite a fine 138 from Warren Dugmore. Early in the day it seemed as though North West would have much easier task wrapping up the match as Gauteng slipped to 86 for 5 before lunch. Dumisa Makalima took the long-handled approach and sped to 51 off 39 balls then the lower order gave Dugmore more conventional support. However, the North West attack stuck to their task and shared the wickets around. Vusumuzi Mazibuko finished off the innings and his three wickets included Dugmore for a career-best effort which was, ultimately, futile.Western Province won by 56 runs against Border but that only tells half the story. The win came with the final ball of the match when Siraaj Conrad trapped last-man Rowan Richards lbw to complete a 10-wicket haul. The result was harsh on Bevan Bennett who struck 150, carrying Border to the brink of a draw. But he fell to Conrad with nine overs remaining and Western Province snuck home at the last possible moment. Warren Wyngaard earlier reached his second century of the match to set up the declaration although the real drama was still to follow.Zimbabwe Under-23 failed offer much resistance before slumping to a 10-wicket defeat against Boland as their miserable season in the South African domestic competition continued. Wallace Albertyn took two of the remaining wickets to finish with 4 for 33 while Tinashe Hove was unable to bat. It took five balls for Boland to score the run they need courtesy of four byes.