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Ireland captain Trent Johnston has said his side after ‘cock-a-hoop’ after storming into the final of the ICC World Cricket League Division One on the back of five straight wins

Cricinfo staff10-Jul-2010Ireland captain Trent Johnston has said his side are ‘cock-a-hoop’ after storming into the final of the ICC World Cricket League Division One on the back of five straight wins. In Saturday’s final at Amstelveen, they take on Scotland, who finished second in the league phase after a close win over Afghanistan on Friday.”To go into the final with five from five, especially the way we won today, taking the last six wickets for six runs, means we are cook-a-hoop and full of confidence,” Johnston said after Ireland’s 39-run victory over Netherlands on Friday.Ireland have played their previous two matches in Amstelveen, something which Johnston felt could prove an advantage to his team. “What’s just as important is that we’ll be playing our third match on this pitch so we know what to expect,” he said. “We have an edge over Scotland by virtue of winning our group match against them, albeit helped by the toss of a coin on a sporting pitch.”Despite several first-choice Ireland players being tied up on the county circuit, the team easily topped the table in the league phase. “Before the tournament I don’t think we were given much of a chance, missing half our team through county commitments and injuries and I would have made Afghanistan favourites as they’ve had their full-strength side here,” Johnston said. “But we’ve brought in the young guys and they have been a real boost for us experienced players, it shows we have the strength in depth to fall back on.”Johnston said he expected a tough match on Saturday but was confident Ireland could reconfirm their place as the top Associate nation. “It’ll be tough, it’s always hard against Scotland, but we know that if we bring our A game then we can win the trophy,” he said. “We won’t be taking Scotland lightly, we’ll be determined to prove Ireland is the number-one Associate team.”Scotland’s opening batsman, Fraser Watts, also expected a hard-fought clash in the final and said that his side could take the title if they played to their potential. “We have full respect for Ireland but we’re in form and are now a confident side,” Watts said. “We have belief in ourselves and I think it will be a very evenly-contested match.”Ireland will come very hard at us and will try to make life difficult for us. We just need to keep our nerve and do our jobs individually. And if we manage to do our jobs, I’m sure we can win the final tomorrow.”

A hundred from captain Devon Smith led West Indies A to a crushing 166-run win against India A in the tri-series opener in Northampton

Cricinfo staff28-Jun-2010
ScorecardA hundred from captain Devon Smith, supported by a half-century from Andre Fletcher and followed by a clinical bowling performance, led West Indies A to a crushing 166-run win against India A in the tri-series opener in Northampton. West Indies A posted a daunting total of 329 for 6 and their bowlers backed that up by skittling India for 163 in the 34th over.Smith and his opening partner Fletcher shared a rousing partnership after India A chose to field, adding 193 in 30.2 overs before they were separated. Smith had made 104 off 98 balls when he was run out, while Fletcher contributed 88 off 93 deliveries. West Indies A slipped after that strong partnership and 193 for 0 quickly became 250 for 5.Any hopes India A might have harboured of limiting the score vanished when Kevin Stoute anchored one end with a fifty, while Andre Russell provided the innings with a blazing finish. He blitzed 42 off 21 balls and ensured India A had a tall target to chase.India A’s openers started briskly but both Abhinav Mukund and Ajinkya Rahane fell in the space of four runs. The chase never recovered from 36 for 2 and at 91 for 6 the contest was over. Jaskaran offered futile resistance with a half-century but he ran out of partners quickly. All six West Indian bowlers used picked up at least a wicket, with Anthony Martin taking 3 for 47 and Lionel Baker 2 for 33.

Andrew Flintoff has given his strongest indication that he will be fit to join Queensland’s Twenty20 campaign in January following his lengthy rehabilitation from knee surgery

Cricinfo staff23-Aug-2010Andrew Flintoff has given his strongest indication that he will be fit to join Queensland’s Twenty20 campaign in January following his lengthy rehabilitation from knee surgery. Flintoff hasn’t played since England won the Ashes last year and was hoping to return for Lancashire this month before delaying his comeback again.”I’m a bit frustrated, I was meant to play for Lancashire over the past few weeks but seeing the physio and seeing where I’m at, I can’t run properly, so it was decided that I probably shouldn’t start quite yet,” Flintoff told Sky Sports. “It’s just postponed a little bit so I’m back in the gym with the physio trying to get fit.”There’s the option of playing in Queensland in January for them in the Twenty20, which I’d like to do. But more important is Lancashire next year. I’m not quite sure what is realistic at this moment in time. I’m still getting a few twinges in the knee and can’t move as well as I’d like to.”Queensland tried to sign Flintoff for last year’s tournament and are hoping he will be fit enough to join them for the Big Bash. “He’s heard from us and is interested,” a spokesman said. “We assume it fits in with his plans. The issue is, is he going to be right?”The Bulls, who have finished third in the tournament over the past two years, have Andrew Symonds on their books. They are also open to Daniel Vettori returning in 2010-11 after he made a couple of appearances last year.

India’s Supreme Court has asked former India captain Sourav Ganguly to explain how he got government land worth $ 9.69 million for approximately $ 136,000

Cricinfo staff16-Sep-2010Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been asked by the Supreme Court to respond to a petition alleging that land worth US$9.69 million was given to him by the West Bengal state government for approximately $136,000 so he can build a school.An appeal challenging an earlier Calcutta High Court order approving the allocation was filed by a society called Humanity, and heard on Monday, according to the . The Supreme Court has given Ganguly four weeks to file his response.A bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly said that “a major source of corruption in our country lies in our habit to make exceptions”, and has also asked the West Bengal government’s urban development department, its secretary and the secretary of the law department to file responses to the petition within eight weeks.The society has alleged that the allocation of land to Ganguly is “bad in law” and that the High Court upheld the transfer despite a number of violations of the rules for allotment and school affiliations. According to the petition, 24 applications from a number of schools, societies and trusts were submitted to the government in response to an advertisement to set up a school in Salt Lake City, a satellite township on the outskirts of Kolkata. Yet Ganguly’s application was the one accepted.After taking possession of three-fourths of an acre, Ganguly reportedly asked state urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya for more land as the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) requires a school to have a minimum of one acre. The state promptly gave him the additional land, according to the petition.ICSE rules also state that one person cannot be in control of a school, so Ganguly formed a society made up of his mother, father, sister, brother, wife and other relatives, the petition claims.

The storied Irani Cup, once the curtain-raiser for the cricket season in India, has this year been consigned to a sideshow, as it coincides exactly with the first Test between India and Australia in Mohali

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit30-Sep-2010

Match Facts

Friday, October 1, Jaipur

Start time 0930 am (0400 GMT)Yuvraj Singh will have a point to prove after being axed from the Test squad•AFP

The Big Picture

The storied Irani Cup, once the curtain-raiser for the cricket season in India, has this year been consigned to a sideshow, as it coincides exactly with the first Test between India and Australia in Mohali. Not that it will make much of a difference to those on the fringes of the Indian team, who will use the chance to impress the national selectors.There are the usual suspects like S Badrinath, who must be wondering what has gone wrong with his fledgling Test career. After playing in the home series against South Africa this year, he now stands behind Suresh Raina and Cheteshwar Pujara in the fight for the No. 6 slot.It was Sourav Ganguly’s non-selection for the Irani Cup two years ago that eventually opened up a position in the fortress that India’s middle-order has been in recent years. That no one has since claimed that spot as his own only shows what a huge hole remains to be filled once the other three slots fall vacant.The Rest of India side is filled with batsmen who are potential Test candidates when the stalwarts currently occupying the Indian middle-order retire. While Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund had fine tours of England with the A team, Virat Kohli has become a regular member of the one-day squad and Saurabh Tiwary has also been a part of the senior squad for the past couple of ODI series.The captain, Yuvraj Singh, hasn’t hidden his disappointment at being axed from the Test side. The selectors wanted him to play this game to get some match practice before the ODIs against Australia but this is his chance to prove he is still worthy of a Test place.Meanwhile, the composition of the pace attack shows who are the current flavours in India’s revolving-door approach towards fast bowling. Last year’s squad had Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Sudeep Tyagi and Sreesanth. While Sreesanth is away on national duty in Mohali, none of the other three are in this year’s squad (Munaf is not in any of the three Challenger Trophy teams as well). They have been replaced by Saurashtra’s Jaydev Unadkat, Vidarbha’s Umesh Yadav, and the Karnataka pair of Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun. Unadkat and Yadav didn’t do too well against the Australians in the tour game in Chandigarh, and would be hoping for a better show in Jaipur.The other team, Mumbai, have now finished runners-up in their five previous appearances in the Irani Cup. The 39-time Ranji Trophy champions are not used to finishing second-best so often. Wasim Jaffer, their captain, is keen to add another trophy to his already large collection of domestic titles. “I am aware that we have not won the Irani Trophy for the past 12 years and we would give our best to break the jinx.”While Pujara’s 60-plus first-class average has been highlighted before, and after, his Test call-up, Ajinkya Rahane would feel that an average of almost five runs more than Pujara should keep him in the reckoning if the selectors are looking for a top-order batsman. An unbeaten century against the Australians in Chandigarh has further bolstered his case. Another big innings would do his prospects no harm. It’s also time for a certain Rohit Sharma to show why he had been considered as a possible replacement for Ganguly at one time.

Squads

Rest of India (from): Yuvraj Singh (capt), Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, S Badrinath, Saurabh Tiwary, Parthiv Patel (wk), Piyush Chawla, R Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Manish Pandey, Abhimanyu Mithun and Ravindra Jadeja
Mumbai (from): Wasim Jaffer (capt), Ajit Agarkar, Omkar Gurav, Harmeet Singh, Murtuza Hussain, Iqbal Abdulla, Omkar Khanvilkar, Sahil Kukreja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Usman Malvi, Sushant Marathe (wk), Abhishek Nayar, Ramesh Powar, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma

Quotes

“I am not aware what goes around. I too was surprised at not being chosen. I am not aware why I was axed.”
“We have become used to their absence. Due to the busy international calendar they often skip domestic matches.”

Rest of India extended their advantage on the second day, amassing 668, to leave Mumbai with a mammoth task in their pursuit of gaining a potentially decisive a first-innings lead

The Bulletin by Abhishek Purohit02-Oct-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Parthiv Patel’s 13th first-class century pushed Rest of India beyond 650•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rest of India extended their advantage on the second day, leaving Mumbai with the mammoth task of having to surpass 668 to gain a potentially decisive first-innings lead. Though Dhawal Kulkarni struck with three early wickets, Parthiv Patel’s hundred and half-centuries from Virat Kohli and R Ashwin ensured the day belonged to Rest of India.There was hope early in the morning for Mumbai, after seamer Kulkarni dismissed Abhinav Mukund, S Badrinath and captain Yuvraj Singh in quick succession. Both seamers Kulkarni and Usman Malvi got some away movement outside the off stump.Kulkarni bowled a nagging length and had the left-handers in trouble with the angle from round the wicket. He got Mukund, who had looked a bit tentative, to edge an away-going delivery to gully in the ninth over of the day. Badrinath, meanwhile, had been pushed onto the back foot by the away movement. Four overs later, Kulkarni bowled Badrinath, six short of a hundred, as he played from the crease to a delivery that came in with the angle. Much was expected from Yuvraj, but he didn’t last long. In his next over, Kulkarni took out his middle stump with a fuller one from round the wicket; Yuvraj playing all around it from the crease. Rest of India, on 353 for 1 at one stage, were suddenly 367 for 4.But Kohli and Parthiv ensured the advantage didn’t slip, adding 158 for the fifth wicket at close to five runs an over. Kohli stuck mostly to the Sunil Gavaskar school of batting. Anything outside off was left alone with a monk’s discipline, and when the bowler pitched it straight or drifted onto his pads, he took full toll, driving gracefully and powerfully in the arc between extra cover and mid wicket.One over from Abhishek Nayar, about an hour before lunch, typified Kohli’s approach. The first ball was full, close to off stump, and was straight driven for four in a flash. The next four balls, wide outside off, were left alone. When Nayar pitched the last delivery fuller and closer to the stumps, he was hammered through extra cover. However, like Shikhar Dhawan on the first day, Kohli missed out on a hundred when in total control, hitting a Ramesh Powar long hop straight to midwicket on 90.If Kohli dominated against the seamers, Parthiv was all footwork against the spinners, welcoming Powar with consecutive boundaries. He went over the infield when they flighted the ball, rocked back to play the cut and pull when they dropped it short, and was quick to use his feet on most occasions. Fifteen of his 18 fours came against the spinners. One of them to the midwicket boundary off Iqbal Abdulla brought up his 13th first-class century.After Kohli fell, Parthiv and Ashwin compounded Mumbai’s misery with the fourth century-plus stand of the innings at almost a run-a-ball. Ashwin played with all the assurance of a batsman averaging in the late-30s in first-class cricket. He lofted and cut the spinners, and pulled the seamers for boundaries. He mixed the powerful shots with some deft late cuts and guides, getting to his seventh first-class half-century with one such steer to third man.Kulkarni returned to take two late wickets to finish with his seventh first-class five-wicket haul. But he sorely lacked support from the other bowlers, and had Ajit Agarkar been able to bowl (he didn’t take the field today because of dehydration), maybe the story could have been different for Mumbai.Their openers began well though, facing ten overs without any fuss. Mumbai will need a gargantuan batting effort to make anything out of this match.

Tasmania lost Ricky Ponting and two of his team-mates as they attempted to reach the 163 needed for victory in an action-packed match

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2010Tasmania 125 & 3 for 73 (Ponting 27) need 90 runs to beat New South Wales 97 & 190 (Katich 36)

ScorecardSimon Katich top scored for New South Wales with 36 on another worrying day for the Test players•Getty Images

Tasmania lost Ricky Ponting and two of his team-mates as they attempted to reach the 163 needed for victory in an action-packed match at the SCG. New South Wales, who are crammed with Test stars, were dismissed for 190 on the second day, with Shane Watson, Simon Katich and Brad Haddin again going without making a significant impact.In another worrying sign for Australia, Ponting was out late in the day when hooking Shane Watson to fine leg for 27. Not only did the dismissal by his team-mate stop Ponting from a long stay, it also ensured he would be peppered with short balls by England at the Gabba next week.Watson finished with 2 for 17 off seven overs after having Jon Wells lbw in the same over he claimed Ponting. Tasmania were 3 for 73 at stumps, still requiring 90 in the testing conditions.Katich’s 36 was the top score for the Blues – he showed no lingering effects from the shoulder hurt on Wednesday – as they improved on their first-innings 97. Xavier Doherty took the lead in the head-to-head battle with Nathan Hauritz, who was called for the final over of the day in his only offerings of the game so far.Doherty, who delivered four overs in the first innings, collected 2 for 45 off 20, including bowling Katich around his legs. His opening breakthrough came when Moises Henriques pushed one to Ponting at short cover, while the offspinner Jason Krejza also gained a couple of wickets.Doherty was also responsible for the run-out of Watson, who added 15 to his first-innings score of 6. New South Wales’ top seven all reached double figures – Haddin got 17 – but none could go on against the visitors’ willing attack.

Steve Waugh has praised the togetherness of an England squad that he believes are favourites to secure the Ashes with victory in the third Test

Andrew Miller at the WACA15-Dec-2010Steve Waugh has praised the togetherness of an England squad that he believes are favourites to secure the Ashes with victory in the third Test at Perth, but says that the time has come for Australia’s selectors to identify the men that they believe can return the Test team to winning ways, and then back them through thick and thin – in much the same way that he himself was given time to learn his game in the early years of his own international career.Though Waugh finished his career with a formidable record of 10927 runs in 168 Test appearances, his early days coincided with the absolute nadir of Australia’s fortunes, as he was selected on a whim as a 20-year-old allrounder in December 1985, in a team that had been ravaged by the retirements of three key players in Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh, as well as a raft of defections to a rebel tour of South Africa.”Allan Border was captain and he’d played more Tests than the rest of the team combined,” Waugh recalled. “That’s a very inexperienced side, this side has still got some experience and good players. But what the selectors have got to do now, that they did then, was have belief in the younger players that they pick. Say, look, we believe in you, you’re the future of Australian cricket, and you’re going to have a bit of leeway.”It’s not always going to be successful all days, and I guess I was the perfect example,” he added. “I didn’t score a hundred until my 26th Test, I never won a Test until my 13th Test for Australia, so you’ve got to see the bigger picture. You can’t just chop and change, if someone fails in one Test and doesn’t look the goods, you’ve got to give them an opportunity.”With that in mind, Waugh was especially critical of the treatment meted out to the left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, who has been jettisoned from the squad after just two Test appearances, in favour of Western Australia’s Michael Beer. “We’ve been going through a lot of players,” he said, “but you don’t just chop and change for the sake of it.”It’s a great honour to play for your country, and I feel disappointed for someone like Doherty who’s played two Tests and now he’s gone. I think you pick a player, believe in them, and give them a good opportunity, and you don’t change that side unless you believe you can improve the side by getting another player in.”Speaking at the MCC World Cricket Committee meeting in Perth, Waugh believed that Australia’s spirit in adversity would give them a fighting chance in the forthcoming contest, but backed England’s greater cohesion to hold sway – an upshot, he added, that would heap huge pressure on Ricky Ponting’s tenure as Australia’s captain.”Ricky acknowledged [the pressure] at the start of the series,” said Waugh. “He would be thinking he can turn it around because that’s always been the case for Australian sides that I’ve played in, but questions will be asked for sure if they lose this series. It’s unlikely, looking at form, that they can turn this around, but anything can happen in sport, particularly on this unique wicket which is like no other pitch in the world. It’s only 1-0 down in the five-Test series, and the great uncertainty is what keeps us coming back.”England, however, have looked a formidable unit in the series to date, and Waugh – who has never been shy of stating his opinion on previous Ashes squads – believes that the influence of Andy Flower has been instrumental in moulding an outfit that is becoming the team best placed to inherit Australia’s mantle as the world’s No. 1 side.”They’ve impressed me for a couple of years,” he said. “I noticed the turnaround when England drew three Test matches having lost nine wickets in the fourth innings [at Cardiff, Centurion and Cape Town]. That showed to me a side that was together. Sides that aren’t strong don’t survive those sorts of matches.”That was a turning point for English cricket,” he added. “They look like they enjoy each other’s company, they are playing for each other, and they’ve prepared very well. I like the fact that Flower is their coach, behind the scenes and low-key. They look like they all know their roles and they are playing some good cricket.”All great eras have to come to an end,” he added. “I guess we modelled a bit of our cricket on the great West Indies era, because if you’re smart you look at the best and what they are doing, and look at their blueprint, and modify it to suit your needs. I think you can see England have done that with their cricket. They’ve looked at how we’ve been successful, altered it to suit their players, and now they’re playing their own style.”The net result is an Australian side with no choice but to go for broke in a bid to avoid their first home Ashes defeat in 24 years. “What option have they got?” said Waugh. “They were totally outplayed on a flat pitch at Adelaide. You’ve got to say England were dominant and that will have hurt the Australian side, particularly Ricky. They’ll give everything they’ve got in this Test, and I expect them to really firing up on the first morning, being really positive in their body language, and with a couple of younger players so I expect to see more energy in the field.”It’s a huge Test, and it’s going to be on,” he added. “The WACA is a great place to watch and play Test cricket, the quicks can get it through, it’s exciting, and more than likely it’s a place where players can get injured if they are not switched on. It’s going to be a bit of a battlefield out there.”

Bangladesh have reduced their preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup to 23

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2011Bangladesh have reduced their preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup to 23. Nazimuddin, Shamsur Rahman, Sahagir Hossain, Mithun Ali, Nasir Hossain, Shuvogoto Chowdhury and Enamul Haque Jr are the players who have been left out. The remaining 23 players will be of a preparatory camp that begins on January 9 at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur.All 14 teams participating in the tournament have to announce their final fifteen before January 19.Preliminary Squad: Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Roqibul Hassan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Shahriar Nafees, Jahirul Islam, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Dolar Mahmud, Shabbir Rahman, Alok Kapali.

Eden Gardens will not host the World Cup game between India and England on February 27, the ICC has said

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2011In a major embarrassment to the BCCI, the ICC has ruled out Eden Gardens as the host of the game between India and England on February 27. The ICC’s inspection team, which included some of the leading experts in the field of stadium and ground preparation, felt that Eden Gardens would not be ready in time. No alternate venue for the match has yet been named. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the three World Cup stadiums in Sri Lanka were all given the go-ahead by the ICC.”Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time,” Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said. “This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary.” The Cricket Association of Bengal is having an emergency meeting to discuss the development.Kolkata was to host three other matches in the World Cup, but the status of those games is still unclear. “At this stage no decision has been taken on those matches,” an ICC spokesperson said. The India-England clash was the only chance for fans in Kolkata to see the home side.BCCI president Shashank Manohar said that there was no need for the BCCI to call any emergency meeting, but pointed out that he would consult his “office bearers” to finalise the venue for the match. It is learnt that Bangalore is tipped to be a favourite. “99 % it will be Bangalore,” an ICC source said.The news of switching the match from Kolkata comes just two days after the tournament director, Ratnakar Shetty, waved away worries over readiness of World Cup venues. Media personnel had been barred from a recent inspection of Eden Gardens.The venue, one of the largest cricket stadiums in the world, has hosted some of the highest-profile matches of the previous two World Cups held in the subcontinent including the final in 1987 and the semi-final in 1996. No international matches have been held in Kolkata since the Test between India and South Africa in February as the stadium was being renovated.”All venues had ample time in which to prepare for World Cup matches,” Lorgat said. “We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks.”The Central Organising Committee had provided venues with a deadline of 30 November 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by 31 December 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week. Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline date of 25 January 2011.”The ICC is still deciding on the new venue for the India-England match. “We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise,” Shetty said.