All posts by csb10.top

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.

HOBART, Nov 25 AAP – Stuart Clark took six wickets to bowl New South Wales to a heart-stopping 22-run win over Tasmania and earn the gratitude of anxious captain Simon Katich in the Pura Cup match in Hobart today.Katich admitted to some heart flutters as Shane Watson threatened to hit the Tigers to an unlikely victory.”Heartstoppers are better than getting flogged, but you don’t want to have them too tight,” Katich said.”Once it got into the twenties you start to wonder, you think it only takes four or five good shots.”But it was Clark who ended Watson’s death or glory charge to finish with 6-84 as, with first innings destroyer Don Nash injured, he shouldered a disproportionate workload.Katich said Clark had done a wonderful job while also praising Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill.Tasmania began the final day at 3-98 and needing another 167.It never looked like getting them after Michael Di Venuto (52) and Dan Marsh (39), who’d batted stubbornly for 90 minutes last night, were both dismissed in the first half hour.Watson stayed, but no-one could stay with him and when Damien Wright went to the last ball before lunch, the Tigers were 8-190. That became 9/199 when Shane Jurgensen was run out.But Watson wasn’t finished and in Adam Griffith, though he played and missed at Clark innumerable times, stuck like a limpet.Watson farmed the strike and started to attack, once smashing Clark out of the ground, and the target steadily shrank.But he went for the big one once too often and skied a hook which Brad Haddin ran about 30 metres to take and it was all over. Griffith stayed 47 minutes for four.Watson made 75, the best score by a Tasmanian batsman this season, which largely explains why last year’s finalist is pointless after four matches — its worst start to a season.Nash injured his foot while taking 6-48 in the Tasmanian first innings and Katich said that was one of the reasons he didn’t enforce the follow-on despite a 169 lead.He bowled six relatively ineffective overs in the second before leaving the field. X-rays showed he had a broken bone and Katich said he’d probably be out for about six weeks.However he was named man of the match, for his bowling and his lusty 50 as the NSW first innings tail wagged damagingly.Disappointed Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox found some positives – particularly the superb bowling of Wright and Jurgensen to dismiss NSW for 86 in its second innings and give the Tigers a realistic target and Watson’s return to form.The boom allrounder seems to have had trouble adapting back to the four-day game after becoming part of the Australian one-day team.But Cox found no consolation in the tightness of the match.”Losing by 20-odd runs may as well have been 200,” he said.”In fact 20-odd runs makes you feel worse because we know we were competitive and had a fantastic opportunity today, but with the exception of Watto (Watson) we weren’t good enough with our batting.”

The morale of the Indian team must be very high after aresounding win over Sri Lanka at Bristol. It was a highlydisciplined show from the Indians after their loss againstEngland in the rain-shortened match. Going into Saturday’s finalat Lord’s, the Indian team, then, would be very confident ofclinching the NatWest Trophy.Having outclassed Sri Lanka in all departments of the game, Indiawill have to outsmart and outplay Hussain and his men. I am sureboth the teams would be working towards evolving a game-plan forthe final. Hussain with his astute leadership skills has beeninstrumental in reviving English cricket. Ganguly also has, inthe meanwhile, steadily matured as a captain who has the respectand support of his teammates. The battle between the two leadersmight prove as intriguing as the final clash itself.

As for Thursday’s game, its result was only of academic interestas India had already qualified for Saturday’s final. Ganguly hasbeen winning the toss on a regular basis these days and hisdecision to bat first against Sri Lanka was the right one. Thetrack was full of runs and making first use of it was the wisestthing to do.I am pleased that Harbhajan Singh was given an opportunity toplay in this match. It came as a mild surprise to me to see theSri Lankan batsmen struggling against the over-spin of HarbhajanSingh. This is precisely the kind of delivery that they must havefaced against Muralitharan in the nets.The Sri Lankan bowling, which has a depleted look without theirstar bowler, was completely devastated by Tendulkar’s onslaught.It must be worrying for them that their best fast bowler ChamindaVaas has had an indifferent tour of England. As I had mentionedin my previous column, Sri Lanka will have to do some serioussoul-searching and sort out their problems quickly. Somehow thebody language of the boys from the Emerald Isles was that of abeaten side, and it indeed was sad to see them play without theirusual gusto.Sachin Tendulkar is a master batsman, and he is not one who isgoing to miss out on an opportunity against an attack strugglingto get the breakthroughs on a perfect batting track.The run-outs of Ganguly and Sehwag, earlier, were shocking to saythe least, and this is clearly an area where India will have toshow greater discipline. The Englishmen are quick to exploit theweaknesses of their opponents and India have to sort out such asimple thing as ‘clear calling’ between the batsmen.Moving on, the fact that the likes of Dinesh Mongia and MohammadKaif are in good touch augurs well for the Indians. I was impressed by the way Kaif paced his innings and helped Tendulkar to build a partnership of 71 quick runs which effectively took the match away from the Sri Lankans.

Among the Sri Lankans, I was particularly impressed by the wayDilhara Fernando went about his business; he has the physique aswell as the pace to unsettle the best of batsmen if only he wouldadd some more control to the thunderbolts he delivers.For once, I thought Kumar Sangakkara might tear the Indian attackapart; the ease with which he launched into the big shots wasawesome. Ganguly was forced to bring in Harbhajan Singh and theyoung spinner showed the kind of temperament he possesses. I have a gutfeeling that Harbhajan knew how to get Sangakkara’s wicket.Talking of Harbhajan, he has a key role to play in the upcomingTest series. I am sure he will return home with a bagful ofwickets if he can turn the ball prodigiously on tracks that wouldsuit the spinners in the second half of the summer.Having said that, I doubt whether Harbhajan will play in thefinal against England. Kumble’s hamstring injury does not seem tobe very serious and his experience will count when bowlingagainst the likes of Trescothick and Flintoff. Trescothick indeedis the one English batsman who can single-handedly take the matchaway from India.India, to reiterate, will be up against a thoroughly professionalEnglish side and they will have to play at their very best atLord’s. The winner of the final will definitely carry forward thepsychological advantage into the Test series that is to follow.There is absolutely no room for complacency on Saturday and Iwish the boys well.

BRISBANE, June 25 AAP – New Zealand Cricket is keen to play a one-day tournament against three Australian states in Cairns in August.The Cairns Cricket Association is believed to have earmarked Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania as the most likely opponents for the Black Caps during the warm tropical winter.But the future of the tournament remains uncertain despite the interest of New Zealand officials seeking a warm-up for September’s International Cricket Council Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.”We are evaluating it at the moment but it is likely New Zealand will take part,” NZC operations manager John Reid told cricinfo.com.”We wanted some sort of build-up because our team would have been going there (to Sri Lanka) after having at least two months of a New Zealand winter.“Temperatures at the time of the Champions Trophy are expected to be between 30-40 degrees celsius.”Queensland Cricket chief executive Graham Dixon said he was aware of the concept but the Australian Cricket Board had to approve any Australian tournament featuring an international team.The ACB has more pressing issues, trying to sort out the future of Australia’s proposed tour to Pakistan in late August.”There is uncertainty as to whether (the Cairns tournament) can go ahead based on the fact that it must first have ACB approval,” Dixon said.”The ACB are aware of it, we’re aware of it but there is still uncertainty.”It is believed issues such as player payments would need to be discussed before any tournament is approved.New Zealand will be among the leading contenders for the Champions Trophy after winning its predecessor, the ICC Knockout Trophy, in Nairobi in 2000.

Darren Gough has climbed to fourth place in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Ratings for bowlers. He is at the highest points level for an English bowler since Bob Willis in 1983.Andrew Caddick has climbed to ninth place, while Graham Thorpe hasreturned to the batting top ten for the first time in three years.Saqlain Mushtaq (10th) remains the top rated Pakistan bowler, making his omission at Lord’s all the more mystifying.

Chris Drum’s surprise retirement, the elevation of Robbie Hart to the Test wicket-keeping role and the dropping of Otago’s Brendon McCullum, are the features of New Zealand teams named today for the tours of Sharjah and Pakistan.Drum has told New Zealand Cricket that the third Test will be the end of his international career as he wishes to pursue other interests.Hart, 27, has been the favoured option to replace Adam Parore and has duly won his place. Chris Nevin has retained his place as the one-day wicket-keeper.The one-day side also includes Jacob Oram, who has returned from a stress fracture in his foot while Auckland leg-spinner Brooke Walker has been selected in Daniel Vettori’s absence.Selection committee chairman Sir Richard Hadlee said Vettori was being rested as part of the pro-active management of his back injury and it had been targeted some time ago as being necessary at the end of the England series.He has been included in the Pakistan Test tour side, but subject to fitness.Walker has leap-frogged ahead of Glen Sulzberger who was on the Test leg of the Australian tour earlier in the summer. Walker has also been included on the Test leg.”The selection of Walker reflects the need to develop another spin bowling option and is reward for the 28 wickets he has taken in State domestic cricket this summer,” he said.The rehabilitation of left-arm spinner Matthew Hart, who last played for New Zealand at the 1999 World Cup, has been confirmed with his placing on standby for the Sharjah tour.His brother Robbie would get a chance to make the Test position his own on the tour.”Robbie Hart has been a reliable tradesman with the gloves over the last few years and has been in good form with the bat for the State Northern Districts Knights this summer,” he said.Hadlee added, “Now that Jacob has fully recovered from his foot injury, we feel the time is right to reintroduce him to the international arena to help us assess his progress with a view to the World Cup.”A surprise in the Sharjah selection is the naming of Matt Horne in the one-day side. Despite his dropping from the third Test team Hadlee said, “We still think Matt has something to offer in both forms of the game and his selection is also part of our desire to get some continuity at the top of the order.”Horne has clearly gained McCullum’s place in the side.The team for Sharjah and the Pakistan One-Day Internationals is:Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, James Franklin, Chris Harris, Matt Horne, Craig McMillan, Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Lou Vincent, Brooke Walker.Players on standby are: Mathew Sinclair, Matthew Hart and Glen Sulzberger.The team for the Pakistan Tests is: Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Chris Harris, Robbie Hart, Matt Horne, Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Mark Richardson, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori (subject to fitness), Lou Vincent, Brooke Walker.Players on standby are: Mathew Sinclair, Lance Hamilton, James Franklin and Glen Sulzberger.

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.

An unbeaten 149 run fifth wicket stand beween North Zone opener ViswasBhalla (150) and Gaurav Gupta (74) was the feature of the opening day of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Under-16 tournament semifinal match between North and West Zone at the Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodayar Sports Centre in Bangalore on Sunday. North Zone took the days honours as they went into stumps at 338 for 4.Put into bat, North Zone made a sedate start with openers Bhalla and Shakar Dhawan (30) adding 46 runs in 9.5 overs. Dhawan was the first wicket to fall, caught by Suriyavanshi off Gautam Yadav. The new batsman Rahul Arora (8) flattered to deceive. After plucking two boundaries, Arora was caught behind by Parthiv Patel off Yadav in the 14th over. Then Paras Dogra (17) joined Bhalla and took the score to 95 before being bowled by Kunjan Fadia.Deepak Soni (27) then forged the first significant partnership with Bhalla. Coming in at the fall of Dogra, Soni added 94 runs for the fourth wicket before Soni departed being run out in the 55th over. Thereafter Bhalla and Gaurav Gupta took over the proceedings. Viswas Bhalla reached his 150 at the fag end of the day. During a day long stay at the crease, Bhalla has so far faced 268 balls and his innings was studded with 19 hits to the fence with one clearing it. At the other end Gourav was at the middle for 144 minutes and faced 108 balls and has hit 10 fours.

Australia’s Cricket Academy turned the tables on New Zealand’s Academy and took a first innings win from their second two-day match at Adelaide Oval No 2 yesterday.New Zealand had scored 399 on the first day and while Australia were 12 for one at one stage they produced some sound batting performances to claim their win.Shaun Marsh led the way against some disappointing New Zealand bowling. He was joined in a 126-run partnership for the third wicket by Rowan Brewster and when they went to lunch, Australia were 169/2 off 44 overs.Bowling two lengths on the placid pitch proved detrimental to New Zealand’s hopes but just after the break Jamie How snapped up left-hander Marsh from Nathan McCullum’s bowling as the Australian departed for 77 off 145 balls with the score at 180.McCullum also claimed Tim Welsford’s wicket to a catch at mid wicket by Greg Todd when he attempted a lofted on drive.Then with the score on 214/4, McCullum picked up Brewster for 72, scored off 112 balls, when How took the catch at slip.But Luke Ronchi hit out hard to deny New Zealand the initiative and by tea he had helped Beau Casson add 89 runs off 103 balls for the sixth wicket with Australia 303/5.Even the new ball could make no impact and Ronchi scored his century off 100 balls while Casson, an ideal support, scored his half century off 101 balls. Sam Whiteman finally broke the stand when bowling Casson for 55, ending the partnership of 169 runs.However, only 17 runs remained for the first innings win and Ronchi had the satisfaction of hitting them to be 124 not out off 112 balls. He hit two sixes and 16 fours and Australia got home by four wickets.New Zealand coach Dayle Hadlee said the New Zealand effort in the field was disappointing as the bowlers ignored the basic fundamentals of line and length.”Changes of pace and subtleties at the crease were rare as the batsmen dominated and errors in the field contributed to the eventual first innings loss,” he said.The two-day series finished one apiece and two one-day games will be played over the weekend.

Shaun Tait has knocked back a request from Ricky Ponting to return to Tests, ruling himself out of the Ashes series. Tait knows his body won’t allow him to play the game’s longer forms and he will continue to focus on one-dayers and Twenty20s, including next month’s Champions League with South Australia.He came back to Australia’s 50-over team in England and his express speed – he hit 161.1kph at Lord’s in July – made Ponting wonder about his Test prospects. “He just mentioned it quickly but nothing was really talked about,” Tait said in Adelaide. “I think I have made it quite clear what I’m doing. Obviously, you get through a couple of one-day games and a few people get excited, I suppose, and there is talk about it.”One of those ODIs included a Man of the Match performance and the fastest ball in Australia’s history. However, he remains realistic about his future, after breaking down so often in the past that he had to take time off for physical and mental exhaustion.”I don’t think they [the selectors] would ask me to play anyway,” he said of getting a start in the Ashes. He has appeared in three Tests but none since struggling against India in Perth in 2007-08. After that experience he took a break and focussed on keeping himself in good shape.”The body has been pretty good, touch wood, I have stayed on the park just playing the shorter forms of the game,” he said. “It’s never about anyone else … it’s a decision I made for myself and so far I have been happy with it, it’s worked pretty well, so I’m sticking by it.”