Category Uncategorized

ScorecardBen Foakes ensured Surrey made reasonably smooth progress to their target•Getty Images

Ben Foakes finished unbeaten on 57 as Surrey completed a convincing six-wicket LV= County Championship win against Kent to close to within eight points of Division Two leaders Lancashire.Surrey, who had bowled Kent out for a second innings 99 to take control of the match, reached their fourth innings target of 125 with few alarms, the 22-point victory being confirmed in 36.1 fourth day overs.Rory Burns led the way with 46, with Foakes helping the opener to add a valuable 55 for the third wicket. And, as Surrey closed in on the win, Foakes had some fun by pulling Joe Denly’s leg spin for six and also twice lifting James Tredwell over the legside boundary for maximums.In all, Foakes faced 91 balls, hitting three fours besides those three sixes, while Jason Roy hit the winning runs by cover-driving Tredwell, who finished with 3 for 61, for four.Resuming on 4 for 1, having seen Zafar Ansari bowled by the last ball of day three by Tredwell, Surrey were a nervous 26 for two when Kumar Sangakkara fell for just a single in the sixth over of the morning.Jumping down the pitch to drive, Sangakkara was beaten by off spinner Tredwell’s sharp turn and stumped by wicketkeeper Sam Billings.Burns, however, looked in good touch from the start, punching Tredwell through mid wicket for the day’s first boundary and later lofting him over mid on for another four.Tredwell was Kent’s chief threat in spin-friendly conditions, but both Burns and Foakes, promoted to no 4, played him well as he toiled away from the Pavilion End.Both needed some good fortune against the turning ball, with two Tredwell deliveries beating them and keeper Billings to fly away for byes.Foakes, on 21, also edged Tredwell just short of Matt Coles at slip but soon he was hitting him high over mid on for four to keep Surrey moving swiftly towards their target.It was something of a surprise when Burns was bowled around his legs aiming a sweep at Tredwell, but by then he had hit eight fours in an important 85-ball knock for his team.Arun Harinath replaced Burns at the crease and joined Foakes in a partnership of 34 before on 14 edging Denly to Tredwell at second slip to leave Surrey 115 for four. But withonly ten more runs required, it did not take Foakes and Roy long to see Surrey over the line.

The sight of the tall Antiguan fast bowler, Alzarri Joseph, running in from the mist must have been unnerving for England Under-19 openers Dan Lawrence and Max Holden but it was a threat that West Indies Under-19s failed to take advantage of in their 61-run loss in Chittagong. Still, Joseph left a mark in his first appearance at the Under-19 World Cup with his pace and movement, even as he finished his full quota in the first 26 overs of England’s innings.Whether the West Indies captain Shimron Hetmyer made a mistake by not keeping Joseph’s overs for the death is an important question but with England cruising at 115 for 2 in the 18th over, he may have been looking for a breakthrough from Joseph. In each of his spells, Joseph gave away 17 runs but took only one wicket, getting Holden to pull a ball that got big on him. He ended the game as West Indies’ most economical bowler.Joseph has a calm personality on and off the field. Hailing from All Saints in Antigua, he understands the legacy he carries of legends such as Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose. Coached by Winston Benjamin, Joseph looks up to Dale Steyn as his hero and his first-class performance for Leeward Islands has impressed veteran writer and commentator Tony Cozier. Writing earlier this month, Cozier pointed to Joseph’s speed and tendency to take early wickets and observed that the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh will be the young bowler’s first test at the international level.”I try to bowl really fast,” Joseph told ESPNcricinfo. “I try to hit my areas and I try to be consistent. Any shape I would get on the ball, I will try to get it away from the right-hander. Down here [in Bangladesh], I haven’t found much movement so I will try to keep it in the right areas. We played some games here. The ball doesn’t do much so you have to apply as much pressure as you can.”I think fast-bowling comes naturally to me but I think because of the background and history that we have in Antigua, it really encourages me to go on and continue bowling fast. I know about the legendary fast bowlers but I only got to speak to some of them. I have been coached by Winston Benjamin. He has taught me to keep it simple. He has told me to be patient in four-day cricket. Let the batsman make the mistake.”I have interacted with Andy Roberts. He is a great bowler. I haven’t met Curtly Ambrose. He is a great bowler. I have seen clips of him bowl. I love his bowling. I watch every fast bowler and try to learn from them. My hero is Dale Steyn. I don’t really copy anyone, but I like his style of bowling.”Joseph says he has never had a speed gun trained on him but reckons he is quick. There wasn’t a speed gun either when he bowled at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong against England but the pace showed in the way the ball hit the bat.His efforts, which started with backyard cricket, were encouraged by his father, Alva, who played as an opening batsman and bowled a bit of medium pace. Joseph went on to play for Empire Cricket Club, where his father had played, before making it to age-group teams for Antigua and Leeward Island and then the Leeward franchise side.For now he is thinking of bowling with patience in the first-class and one-day formats and has his sights on Test cricket. He is also clear about how aggressive he wants to be as a bowler.”I am not trying to look at T20 cricket at the moment,” he said. “I am looking at Test cricket. I like it.”As a fast bowler you want to have the upper-hand over the batsman so you will try to be as aggressive as you can be. I don’t really try to hit a batsman but I let him know that I am there, so that the batsman doesn’t really come after me. I would try to keep it simple.”

The rift between the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) continues to widen, the latest being a reply from Bruce Aanensen, the chief executive of the WICB, to the letter issued by Dinanath Ramanarine, the president and chief executive of the WIPA.In the letter, Aanensen alleged that Ramnarine wrote the letter that was supposedly sent by the players to him, expressing displeasure over Aanensen’s criticism over their performance during the recent tour to England.”This kind of action is dangerous, malicious and dishonest,” Aanensen said, adding: “In all of these accusations Mr Ramnarine has deliberately not spoken the truth, quoted me out of context, or substantially misrepresented the facts.”I consider this attack on my reputation and character to be a malicious, premeditated act on the part of Mr Ramnarine to convey a negative message regarding my style of management and my respect of others.”Aanensen said Ramnarine deliberately left out some bits of information in his accusation. “Where he says that he has asked for meetings with me, what he does not say is that these requests are to negotiate the terms of the UK tour.”WIPA have rejected the standard tour contract offered by the WICB as is the norm in tours in the FTP [Future Tour Programme], and asked to have the tour negotiated,” Aanensen said.That is “in accordance with normal industrial relations practice, that WIPA submit to us their proposal to allow us to see what they are requesting, and create a basis for negotiations.”To date, Mr Ramnarine has refused to submit a proposal. The WICB cannot properly prepare for negotiations unless we have received a proposal from the WIPA.”Referring to the issue of the players being labelled incompetent, Aanensen said: “The statement, ‘a bunch of incompetent cricketers’, was made by an ex-West Indies captain from the commentary box after the Leeds Test match in which the West Indies suffered their heaviest loss in our Test history.”This statement was the subject of a discussion with a radio host who interviewed me about a series of matters and is not my statement,” Aanensen indicated.Aanensen concluded: “I came into this position hopeful that the rift between the WICB and WIPA could be resolved…I remain hopeful, that somehow, the two organisations can work together in the interest of West Indies cricket, but maturity, honesty and respect must prevail for this to be accomplished and, sadly, Mr Ramnarine has not demonstrated these qualities.”

Division One

Second day
Only 15 overs were possible at Headingley on the second day between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, with the home side looking for a win to survive relegation. Play didn’t start until 13.30BST and Yorkshire quickly lost their last two wickets, with Charlie Shreck finishing with 4 for 63. Nottinghamshire moved to 21 without loss when bad light and drizzling rain forced the players off the pitch.Lancashire v Durham – no play Thursday due to rain.Warwickshire v Kent – no play Thursday due to rain.

Division Two

Third dayJames Hildreth pounded a career-best 227 on the third day at Taunton as Somerset declared on 625 for 8 against Northamptonshire. Hildreth, resuming on 119, crashed 31 fours and three sizes in his 269-ball innings. Andy Caddick clobbered 28 from 21 and Will Durston batted cautiously for his 73 before Ian Blackwell, Somerset’s captain, declared. In reply Northamptonshire raced to 78 from just 15 overs, but they still have a mountain to climb.

While rain washed out two matches of the Australian women team’s three-game series against Ireland, it could not stop Cathryn Fitzpatrick from becoming the first bowler to take 150 one-day international wickets. Australia won their warm-up for the Ashes 1-0 with a 240-run victory in the second match at Dublin on Sunday, where Karen Rolton blasted 151, Lisa Sthalekar hit her first ODI century and Fitzpatrick pushed the bar even higher.The fastest female bowler in the world, Fitzpatrick, 37, took two wickets against Ireland to give her a 45-wicket gap over her nearest rival, the Indian Neetu David. Rolton and Sthalekar also shared an Australian third-wicket record of 244 in the win. The third match yesterday was called off because of a wet pitch.Australia, who have not lost a Women’s Ashes series since 1963, will play two Tests, five ODIs and their first Twenty20 fixture against England this month. The first Test starts at Hove on August 9.

India are unlikely to be awarded any major ICC events until the Indian government clears up its tax position. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, and Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, spoke to reporters in Delhi and expressed their disappointment about being unable to host major events in India.According to an AFP report, India may not be allotted the 2006 Champions Trophy. "The 2004 Champions Trophy was supposed to be held in India but it was moved to England because there was lack of clarity in the tax position in India," said Mani. "The 2006 edition is likely to be held in India. But unless the tax positions are clear, the event may not be awarded to India"The ICC cannot afford to shell out 40 to 50 percent tax for major tournaments like the World Cup or the Champions Trophy," said Mani, referring to the government’s entertainment tax levied on all international matches. "The ICC is not a profit-making body. Even the Caribbean governments have waived all taxes for the next World Cup in the West Indies in 2007. If the Indian government does not resolve its tax position, they might not get the next Champions Trophy in 2006. It will be difficult to bring cricket to India."Dalmiya meanwhile said that he was hopeful the government would change its position. "We’re confident the government will listen to us," he said. "If they don’t listen, we’ll go to the public and tell them the reason for our not being able to host big events. We’ll ask the people to support us."

SYDNEY, March 25 AAP – Australia’s unbeaten run on the way to retaining the cricket World Cup has extended its lead at the top of the ICC’s one-day championship table.At the end of 2002, Australia’s rating was only five points higher than its closest rival South Africa but an unprecedented run of 17 consecutive victories has opened up a record gap of 13 points.It’s rating of 136 – four more than it was at the start of the tournament – is the highest ranking recorded since the International Cricket Council launched the championship six months ago.As well as taking home the World Cup trophy, Australia also retains the ICC Championship Shield that Ricky Ponting first collected at the Sydney Cricket Ground last December.India was unable to match Australia at the Wanderers but its progress to the final helped boost its rating by four, pulling Sourav Ganguly’s team away from West Indies, New Zealand and England into clear fifth place.With Pakistan (third) and Sri Lanka (fourth) both losing ground, India has moved to within striking distance of third place.Kenya was the biggest beneficiary from the tournament, increasing its rating by 10.With victories over Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the Kenyans have open up a gap of 24 ratings points from Bangladesh at the bottom of the table.

Hats off to the dynamic Aussies and their great captain Steve Waugh for winning the 7th successive Ashes series. The honour came when Australia crushed England by 7 wickets to win the 3rd Ashes Test at Trent Bridge with more than two days to spare and take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five match series. It was also Australia’s 19th victory in the last 21 tests played between the archrivals.Winning seven successive Ashes series is a record equalled only by the England side of 1884-90 when Ashes campaigns were often of less than five tests. While England face a quandary to try break the Aussies winning streak albeit for face saving, the victorious Aussies have set their sights firmly on matching the achievement of Warwick Armstrong’s 1920-21 Australians, the only team in Ashes history to win a series 5-0.Disappointed with his team’s dismal performance, England coach Duncan Fletcher now appears to be most worried about a ‘complete white wash’ that stares England in the face. In his opinion it would inflict huge damage for the future and being without Nasser Hussain, a shrewd captain whose tactical acumen and man management had helped England win a few series before the Ashes, was a major disappointment.This may not be entirely true because Mike Atherton who led England, was an accomplished batsman as well as a much more experienced captain than Nasser. What makes the actual difference is the Australians are a more experienced side with a professional approach and pride as their symbol. They simply played a higher class of cricket.After losing the battle without really putting up a stiff fight, England is facing the wrath of criticism. Failure in piling up competitive totals is considered to be the major cause of defeat. Unarguably possessing an effective bowling arsenal, England did not bat well enough to make Australia take a second new ball and without enough runs on the board they could not possibly register a win over such a competent opponent. Now, while some of the former England players and critics were out to rip them, the vanquished were searching for a place to hide.Former opening batsman Geoff Boycott remarked, that what the team needed most was a batsman capable of grafting all day, in short, a player like himself. “Our batting is getting worse no better, so many people talk about batsmen being able to play shots. Our problem is that we cannot stay in. The first thing I look for in a good batsman is his ability to defend. Has he got a good defensive technique?”Discussing individual players, Boycott opined that all rounder Craig White and Ian Ward should be dropped with Ramprakash given a final warning. He, however, did not suggest the replacement of veteran wicket-keeper batsman Alec Stewart at this stage. His former colleague Ian Botham, however, disagreed and recommended Essex keeper-batsman James Foster be brought in for the 4th Test at Headingley next week.Offering comments on the team’s performance, former England captain David Gower slammed Ramprakash on the way he threw his wicket away in 2nd innings of the 3rd Test. Considering that the new recruits, if commissioned for the Headingley Test, would be in for a torrid time, Gower did not recommend any wholesale changes in the team at this juncture.Former Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson who terrorised England batsmen in the mid 1970s accused the England players of having glaring imperfections in their technique. With England’s repeated failures, he did not visualize anything but a ‘whitewash’ for Australia.In his rough and tough language Thomson remarked, ‘there must be some young blokes out there with hidden potential that you can just take a punt on rather than picking guys who have been tried and tested for years but are a waste of time.’News trickling down from England’s cricket circles reveal that Australia’s historical triumph in the series has left a familiar question hanging in the air, ‘where does English cricket go from here’? England’s stand-in Captain Mike Atherton, who has been involved in all the last seven Ashes series defeats, picked up the courage to say, ‘the loss is disappointing. It has been a long time (since England last won the Ashes in 1986-87). Over the period I have played, it is obvious Australia have had the upper hand over us. They have had a succession of very good teams over the last 10 years and beaten us comprehensively’.Atherton further added that ‘ there was no great mystery behind Australia’s three huge victories this summer. It is a mixture of reasons. You can look at a lot of things but the bottom line is that Australia have played much better cricket than we have’.Skipper Steve Waugh having injured his calf muscle while batting in the last test, Vice Captain Adam Gilchrist shall be leading Australia in the 4th Test at Headingley. Waugh was the only member of the present Australian squad to have experienced Ashes defeat, way back in 1986-87 and is said to have used that to motivate the team.A day before the 3rd test Waugh addressed the team saying, ‘fortunately no one here other than me knows what it is like to lose an Ashes series and that is the way I want to keep it’. Steve Waugh is a man of philosophical thoughts on cricket. In an article contributed to CricInfo a few days back he highlighted the following points:

• Any sustained success has to be based on the combined effort of the team rather than relying time and again on the same individuals.
• If some one fails it is up to the other to step up and fill the void.
• Players must be flexible enough to recognize different situations and adapt to them to take control of key moments.

Whether England succeeds in saving the next two tests or not, Australia has clinched the ashes series with excellent performance and overwhelming grace. The urn that contains the historical and invaluable Ashes is theirs, whether it remains in the Lord’s Museum or elsewhere. Well done Australia, keep it up. The standards of cricket that you have set will go a long way in helping other nations to improve.

Australia won their second warmup game against Queensland at Allan Border Field, Brisbane, today, completing their program of match practice before this week’s Super Challenge 2000. The Australians will be facing their 1999 World Cup adversaries South Africa in three one-day games under a closed roof at Colonial Stadium, Melbourne, starting Wednesday.They didn’t have it all their way, however. Chasing a small target of 174, they won the game with thirteen overs in hand, but only one wicket to spare.Played under the Mercantile Mutual Cup twelve-a-side rules, Australia played Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, who were rested from Friday’s game against the Queenslanders, with Michael Bevan taking the day off.Queensland captain Jimmy Maher won the toss and batted first, but tight bowling by the Australians saw the home state bundled out for 173 at the end of their fiftieth over. Lee Carseldine (40), opening the batting, was top score for the Queenslanders. Shane Warne (3/24 from eight overs) removed the Queensland middle-order cheaply, with Shane Lee taking 2/36. Brett Lee and Ian Harvey claimed one wicket apiece, while Jason Gillespie (1/28) removed Jamie Hopes to take his first wicket in his comeback to the Australian team.It was a casual batting display by the Australians, as if this were not the area where they needed practice. No batsman scored more than the 29 achieved by both Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh. Ricky Ponting (21 from 13 balls, two fours, two threes) provided a brief cameo early in the innings.Australia were always well ahead of the required run-rate, but with nine runs to go in the 34th over they lost three wickets in the space of seven deliveries – including Warne for a duck – and found themselves at 169 for 9. Gillespie and Brett Lee levelled the scores with four runs off Bichel’s next over before Lee took a single off Prestwidge to win the game.Former Australian international Andy Bichel was the most successful of the Queensland bowlers, though expensive, taking 3/54 from his ten overs. Another former Australian Test paceman, Scott Muller, was less successful, being removed from the attack after two overs cost him 21 runs.A good crowd well in excess of a thousand took advantage of free admission to see the two teams in action. The Australian team travel to Melbourne tomorrow morning for more practice and a string of promotional activities.Queensland continue to perform duty as practice partners for international teams, with two matches against New Zealand at Border Field on Monday and Tuesday. The Black Caps are en route to Singapore for a one-day triseries against Pakistan and South Africa commencing next Sunday.

2015

January 22
News – New panel to take call on Kundra, MeiyappanApril 14
News – Board panel has 82 questions for BCCI bossesJuly 21
News – Lodha committee seeks five months to complete reportJuly 24
News – BCCI officials asked to promise no conflict of interestJuly 27
Interview – ‘BCCI is trying to be more transparent and accountable’August 8
News – BCCI demands more accountability from statesAugust 20
News – BCCI’s conflict-of-interest declaration faces resistanceOctober 4
Features – Manohar’s immediate challengesOctober 18
News – BCCI proposals come down hard on conflict of interestNovember 3
News – IPL’s Sundar Raman quits ahead of Lodha hearingDecember 21
News – Lodha panel to submit report on BCCI on January 4

2016

January 2
News – BCCI governance structure a key area for Lodha panel
Features – What to expect from the Lodha panelJanuary 3
News – Conflict of interest still key point on Lodha’s agenda