All posts by csb10.top

LAHORE – For the third series in succession, the PCB is engaging an extra official, this time for the tour to Australia for the three-match Super Challenge tournament. Dr. Aamer Siddique, previously designated ‘thought leader’, now ‘human resource consultant’, is basically meant to motivate the players to optimise their performance levels.

There has been some criticism of the idea, mainly based on the issue of the cost involved, but the PCB, even in these times of financial difficulty, largely remains unfazed. “We would like to focus on the benefits rather than the cost. And we feel that any expenditure on the development and self-enrichment of the human resource representing Pakistan at this critical juncture is money well spent”, said the PCB chairman, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia while talking to this correspondent.”While we do not want to be drawn into an unnecessary controversy, the fact of the matter is that for one we have observed that Dr Aamer’s contribution in the team’s recent resurgence was of some consequence. Secondly, the sum involved has been wrongly quoted as 1 million rupees. The actual cost is much less. And, let me repeat that the benefit of having a human resource specialist available to the boys by far outweighs the cost”, said the PCB chairman.”One problem in our environment is that the moment you digress from the trodden path, and try new ideas, instead of getting marks for taking new initiatives, you get uncalled for criticism. Instead of the cost involved, the point to note here should have been the merit of the concept and the suitability of the person engaged. There is universal acknowledgement that the output of even the best of the best professionals improves when experts adequately motivate them.”And Dr. Aaamer’s credentials as a human resource expert are pretty good. Actually what he is being paid for his services is well below the market rate. So being forward-looking is costing us something, but rest assured it is not a limb”, said Lt Gen Tauqir Zia.Another important factor, which has gone unmentioned so far but of crucial importance, is the mental level of the Pakistani players. Most of them, even the senior pros exposed to world cricket for a number of years, remain huge underachievers, and have next to no communication skills. That is why Pakistan cricket may be facing a ‘captaincy crisis’ once Waqar Younis and others of his vintage retire, which is not that distant in future.If the ‘thought leader’ or ‘human resource consultant’ call him what you may, could offer some panacea for these two ills – under-achievement and lack of well-rounded personalities in the squad, it would really be some feat.

International news agency Reuters has resumed coverage of Australia’s tour of India after the BCCI dropped contentious accreditation terms.Reuters suspended coverage on Thursday, the first day of the opening Test at Bangalore, because of “unacceptable” conditions imposed by the Indian board. They wanted the BCCI to remove the terms regarding distribution of pictures to cricket websites.The BCCI said on Friday it was amending the terms and conditions, and removing the section on website picture distribution and Reuters immediately resumed coverage for the second day of the Test.”We are grateful to the BCCI for taking such a fair and reasonable approach in this matter and are delighted to be able to resume coverage of the current series in India,” Christoph Pleitgen, global head of news agency for Thomson Reuters, said.”We look forward to our continued coverage of cricket in India on terms which respect the freedom of the press and protect the news interests and coverage rights of the media.”

Scorecard

Barely 12 overs into the game, India A had lost half their side and hopes of a place in the final seemed a distant dream. New Zealand A may have even entertained thoughts of an early finish but, as it turned out, the entertainment was at their expense. Yusuf Pathan, walking in at No.7, repaired a broken innings with an assault that included nine sixes and propelled the Indians to 305 for 8. New Zealand fell short by 81 runs and conceded a bonus point which means they need a sizeable victory against Australia on Monday.The surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium favoured batting but New Zealand’s sharp fielding and poor communication between India’s batsmen resulted in three run-outs, leaving the hosts 66 for 5. It was in this disarray that Yusuf began his innings, and though he recieved valuable support from Rohit Sharma and brother Irfan, it was his 148 off 127 balls that proved to be the difference between the two sides.Yusuf’s innings was filled with positive intent. He looked aggressively for singles early on, played the ball into gaps, improvised when necessary, and pounded nearly every loose ball that came his way. The frontline bowlers had succeeded in checking the top-order but the spinners and back-up seamers failed to contain Yusuf and Rohit.New Zealand’s captain Peter Fulton tried to stem the flow of singles by bringing Brent Arnel back into the attack but Yusuf greeted the new-ball bowler with a straight drive for four. Offspinners Nathan McCullum and Jeetan Patel tried bowling a yorker length but Yusuf merely paddled those away. The shorter deliveries were dispatched square of the wicket on both sides and the fuller ones were hit straight.Rohit fell after a workman-like 36, caught behind by Reece Young diving to his right. Irfan joined Yusuf and they didn’t let the initiative slip, adding 59 at a run-a-ball. The spinners offered too many freebies: full tosses were clubbed for sixes, one full-blooded pull by Yusuf off Patel landed on the roof.Fulton brought back Grant Elliott towards the end but the move proved costly. Yusuf began the over on 95 and, taking cue from Luke Ronchi, moved to 101 with a straight six. The next ball was driven past the bowler for four, and the pressure began to tell on the fielders when a skier was spilled at deep midwicket and rolled towards the boundary. He made room and scooped the next ball to extra cover before carting him into the stands at deep midwicket, making it 25 for the over.Mark Gillespie was punished in the final overs, and his no-balls didn’t do his team any favours. Neil Broom dismissed Yusuf off the final ball of the match as he miscued a loft to McCullum at long-on.Though the New Zealand top order didn’t suffer the Indians’ fate, their batsmen failed to convert their starts. Aaron Redmond and BJ Watling began steadily but both fell trying to carve the ball over the packed off side. Fulton found Dhawal Kulkarni’s gentle pace to his liking and hit him for a couple of boundaries during a breezy 42 off 39 balls before he was stumped down the leg side off Piyush Chawla.James Marshall pushed the singles initially before taking the attack to the spinners. He slogged Chawla for a massive six over midwicket, and improvised against Yusuf’s fast offbreaks, playing the reverse-sweep and the conventional sweep. His 71-run partnership with Neil Broom was the only passage of play in which New Zealand challenged the home side. That was to be the only substantial partnership in the chase as Suresh Raina ran through the lower order with four wickets. With the run-rate climbing, India had the match wrapped up well before Patel top-edged Chawla to Raina at mid-on in the 46th over.With the bonus point, India move to the top of the table with nine points.

Match facts

Thursday, May 22, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

With the fourth-placed Mumbai Indians having a game in hand, the Delhi Daredevils [equal with Mumbai on 12 points] aren’t quite on the inside track for a place in the semi-finals. And their task is made more arduous by the fact that a threat of rain hangs over their home game against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Their other concern remains the over-reliance on their top three – a top-order failure has invariably resulted in a Delhi loss.One factor to their advantage is that the Kolkata camp is demoralised after three consecutive defeats, virtually extinguishing their semi-final hopes and have had to deal with the distraction created by rumours of a rift between captain Sourav Ganguly and team owner Shah Rukh Khan. Also, Delhi’s impressive bowling should relish taking on a Kolkata batting line-up that has failed in four successive matches. However, Delhi should guard against complacency – the last time the two sides met, an incisive Shoaib Akhtar spell sent them crashing to defeat.

Tournament position

Delhi Daredevils: P12, W6, L6, NRR +0.350
Kolkata Knight Riders: P12, W5, L7, NRR -0.167

Form (last five matches, most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils: WLWLL
Kolkata Knight Riders: LLLWW

Watch out for …

Scorecard

South Zone, led by captain Urooj Mumtaz’s unbeaten 39, beat Central Zone Blues by five wickets at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday to clinch the inaugural women’s National Twenty20 Quadrangular Championship.Central began well after being sent in, with Bismah Maroof and Marina Iqbal putting on 48 for the first wicket. However, they squandered the initiative by losing three wickets for 13 runs. Iqbal was the first to go, caught behind by Batool Fatima off Sana Mir for 19. Kanwal Naz then accounted for Maroof, who made 27, and Sabeen Samad, both stumped by Fatima. Nida Dar and Almas Akram repaired some of the damage with a fourth-wicket stand worth 54 runs. Almas made 27 while Nida hit a massive six in the final over before being run out by Mumtaz for 47 as Central finished with 132 for 6.South lost their openers cheaply with 19 runs on the board but recovered when Mumtaz combined with Nain Abidi to add 48 runs. Their stand was ended in controversial circumstances, Abidi being adjudged caught at leg slip for 28 off what should have been a no-ball as only three fielders were in the inner ring. Play was held up for a few minutes when Mumtaz and South’s coach, Farrukh Bari, remonstrated with umpire Humaira Farah, but to no avail. Mumtaz recovered her concentration soon enough and focused on the chase. Pushing for singles and twos, she brought South to within three runs of victory in the final over, finishing the contest by striking the fourth ball for a boundary.Mumtaz was named Player of the Match and shared the Player-of-the-Series award with Maroof, her Pakistan team-mate.

ECB Performance Director Hugh Morris spent the day at the County Ground yesterday to carry out an audit on the first year of the ECB Regional Academy, that is based in the Centre of Excellence.During his day at the ground Hugh Morris spent time with chief executive Peter Anderson, he met Gareth Andrew and Neil Edwards, who have both just completed their time at the Academy, and also met with the Academy Director Mark Garaway and first team coach Kevin Shine.At the end of the day Mark Garaway told me: "He was very pleased with the way that things are going here, and sees the model that we have developed in Somerset as one that could be adopted by other counties."The Academy Director continued: "He felt that involving the first team coach and the senior players with the Academy players was working well, and me linking in as the second team coach was a real strength. He also thought that we have a great back up team in Darren Veness, Andy Hurry and sports psychologist Will James."The official report will be sent to the club during the next two weeks, but it would seem that the first year of the ECB Academy at the County Ground has been a great success, especially in the light of the number of youngsters who have made it either into their respective England age groups, into the Somerset Seconds or in the case of Neil Edwards into the Somerset first team.

The young Lancashire pace bowler James Anderson has been added to England’s injury-hit one-day squad as cover for Andrew Caddick, who is in doubt for Friday’s opening match of the triangular series.Anderson, 20, has been called up from the Academy after Caddick sustained a knee injury during yesterday’s four-wicket defeat by the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.Anderson took 46 wickets in 11 first-class matches last summer in his first season with Lancashire. He is the 30th player to be included in England’s tour party.

In their first match since the death of disgraced former captain HansieCronje, South Africa won the inaugural One-Day International played atTangiers, convincingly defeating tournament favourites Pakistan by 54 runs.Shaun Pollock’s side appeared inspired by the significance of the occasion,observing an emotional minute’s silence and wearing black armbands as a markof respect for Cronje, who remained close to the players despite his role inthe match-fixing scandal.”We dedicated this match to Hansie and tried to a produce a performance thathe would be proud of,” revealed Pollock afterwards, “and looking down on usfrom above, I’m sure that he would have been pretty happy.”Indeed the sharpness of their performance belied the fact that the majorityof the side had not played competitive cricket during the past three months,as the batsmen scored an above-par 283 on a slow pitch before the bowlersdismissed Pakistan for 229.Opener Herschelle Gibbs, who was only reunited with his lost cricket kitlast night, was adjudged Man of the Match for his 114, his seventh one-daycentury, which laid the foundations for South Africa’s victory.Gibbs hit eight fours and four sixes during an intelligent innings thatincluded crucial partnerships with Nicky Boje (52) and Jonty Rhodes (46).Assessing the pitch conditions quickly, the South African’s worked hard fortheir runs, running between the wickets particularly well.New coach Eric Simmons was impressed: “I don’t think it was a wicket for bigscoring shots and the crucial part was the way Herschelle and Jonty playedin the middle of the innings – if they had tried to get us to a large totalby going for their shots we might have struggled.”To threaten South Africa’s total Pakistan needed to start briskly, makingfull use of the hard ball and fielding restrictions. And openers Imran Nazirand Saaed Anwaar did just, bringing up Pakistan’s fifty in just the seventhover of the innings.Nazir hit nine boundaries in his 29-ball 40 and Anwaar struck five in his 23before Jacques Kallis, brought on after an expensive opening burst fromMakhaya Ntini, conjured up a crucial double strike: Anwaar was deceived by aslower delivery, chipping to mid on, and Nazir was trapped lbw to leavePakistan 69 for two.Pakistan remained in the chase right up to the final overs, but paid thepenalty for their middle order failing to crack on after playing themselvesin, no batsmen passing fifty despite all the top seven spending significanttime at the crease.South Africa bowled astutely, mixing up the pace of their deliveries andmaking it difficult for the Pakistanis to score the boundaries in which theythrive.And unlike Pakistan earlier in the day, who had missed several chances in amessy fielding display, the South African’s were vibrant in the field,especially Jonty Rhodes at backward point and mid-wicket.Earlier in the day, South Africa had boldly elected to bat first despiteuncertainty over the likely behaviour of a pitch that had only hosted twoclub matches before.But although they lost Gary Kirsten (2) and Jacques Kallis (23) within thefirst 15 overs, the decision was rewarded as Boje, promoted up the order,kick-started the innings with a rapid half-century.After his 85 run partnership with Boje, Gibbs then added 120 with Rhodes, astand that swung the initiative firmly towards South Africa.Pakistan came back strongly in the final overs, with Waqar Younis finishingwith five for 38 from his allotted overs, but South Africa’s 283 proved tobe more than enough in the circumstances.Pakistan and Sri Lanka will now play on Wednesday.

Mike Kasprowicz has won the inaugural Byron Denning Award for the Glamorgan Clubman of theYear.This new award, in memory of Glamorgan`s popular and long-serving scorer who died last winter,was presented at the club`s annual Awards luncheon in Cardiff this afternoon. The awardwas decided upon by each member of the Glamorgan squad voting for the person, who in theirown opinion, had made the greatest contribution off the field, in the dressing room, and in dealingwith sponsors and supporters.`Kasper` has already flown back to Australia, where he is soon to be in action for Queensland, so in his absencethe award was handed over by Mrs. Olwen Denning to Roger Skyrme, the Glamorgan dressing roomattendant and one of the key people behind the scenes in the Glamorgan pavilion.

Discarded Hampshire opener Derek Kenway cracked an undefeated 135 for Hambledon against New Milton at Ridge Meadow. But his century heroics failed to save Hambledon from a five-wicket defeat by the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 promotion contenders.Kenway and John Burdekin (48) rescued the Dons from a worrying 80-5 to 243-7 – but it didn’t stop New Milton.The Hampshire cricketer bowled seven unsuccessful overs for 45 runs as New Milton stormed home with time to spare – Ryan Beck (65) and Dean Miller (49) leading the run chase.Top dogs St Cross Symondians thrashed Leckford by 166 runs with Mark Parker hitting a century and Richard Boote taking four wickets.Second-placed Alton lost by four wickets to Hursley Park, while Flamingo appear to be fading after losing by 76 runs to Purbrook.Bashley II all-rounder Jo Hall was detailed in a Portsmouth hospital overnight after being struck on the head in the 67-run defeat at Havant.Luke Wordley celebrated his Redlynch & Hale debut with a career-best 107, but was unable to stave off a 117-run defeat at Gosport, who piled up 322-5.Paultons, Ventnor and Waterlooville were also Premier 3 winners.