Goswami's six in vain as India slump to another loss

ScorecardJhulan Goswami’s career-best haul of 6 for 31 wasn’t enough to prevent India from slumping to their sixth defeat in seven matches following another uninspiring batting performance against New Zealand. Lucy Doolan made a patient 76 – her maiden ODI half-century – that allowed New Zealand to post 201, a total that India never looked like getting.Doolan and her captain Suzie Bates (34) – leading the side after an ankle injury ruled out regular captain Aimee Watkins – added 81 for the second wicket after Goswami had struck early to remove Frances Mackay in seamer-friendly conditions. But the rest of the Indian attack accounted for only one wicket and that enabled New Zealand to reach a score that proved to be beyond India’s reach.Unlike India, five of the New Zealand bowlers shared the wickets, ensuring the pressure was squarely on the Indian line-up. Moreover, three of the Indian batsmen who managed to score more than 20 were run-out. Nicola Browne finished with 2 for 39 as India crawled to 162 in 50 overs.

Spinners need more time, says Doherty

Australia’s most-recently dumped Test spinner, Xavier Doherty, believes the selectors should give slow bowlers more time to establish themselves in the five-day side. Doherty was surprisingly picked ahead of Nathan Hauritz for the opening Ashes Test last summer but was dropped after two matches and is now viewed as a one-day specialist.The Western Australia left-armer, Michael Beer, is the incumbent but has played only one Test and will face pressure from the offspinner Nathan Lyon during the tour of Sri Lanka. Over the past few years, Jason Krejza was cut after two Tests, and Bryce McGain and Beau Casson after one each, and Doherty said it was a tough ask for spinners to prove themselves so quickly.”It’s obviously exciting because there’s plenty of chances around, plenty of guys are getting a go at it,” Doherty told AAP. “On that part of it there’s obviously some positives there but looking back, the guys that have had those chances have only really had one, two or a handful of Tests to strut their stuff. In an ideal world you’d probably want a little bit longer than that to find your feet.”It’s an art that’s quite tough, particularly in Australia, you don’t always get the conditions you want all the time. There is obviously a lot of positives being a spinner at the moment but there’s also quite a bit of pressure that comes with it. The message probably is you’ve got to find your feet quicker than normal because they’re really after someone to nail that spot.”With Hauritz still recovering from a serious shoulder injury, Doherty is the first-choice slow bowler during the one-day series in Sri Lanka. Although he has slipped out of the Test reckoning, Doherty is confident that should another opportunity present itself in the longer format, he would be ready to take it with both hands.”I felt like I finished off the Shield season pretty well and I’ve got my chance here to bowl well again,” he said. “My destiny’s really in my own hands to be honest. I’ve got this series to do well and I feel like I’m bowling really well and I’ve prepared as well as I can. I think I’m ready to go and if another opportunity presents itself down the track then I’ll make sure I’m ready if that comes along.”

PCB appoint committee to select coach

Pakistan’s coaches since 2001

  • April 2001: Richard Pybus takes over from Javed Miandad after a tough tour of New Zealand

  • July 2001: Mudassar Nazar takes over from Pybus, who steps down citing personal reasons

  • September 2002: Nazar hands the reins back to Pybus and returns to his coaching job at Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy

  • March 2003: Miandad takes over from Pybus following Pakistan’s first-round exit in the 2003 World Cup

  • July 2004: Bob Woolmer takes over after Miandad is sacked in the aftermath of India’s successful tour of Pakistan

  • July 2007: Geoff Lawson is appointed after Woolmer’s death during the course of Pakistan’s first-round exit from the 2007 World Cup

  • October 2008: After a run of poor results, Lawson is replaced by Intikhab Alam

  • March 2010: Intikhab is sacked and Waqar Younis takes over following Pakistan’s winless tour of Australia

  • August 2011: Waqar resigns as coach citing personal reasons

The PCB have appointed a three-member committee consisting of former players Zaheer Abbas, Intikhab Alam and Naushad Ali to select the next Pakistan coach. Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain and current television commentator, has agreed to assist the committee. The committee will be headed by Alam, who has had two stints as Pakistan coach and was recently replaced as team manager.Current coach Waqar Younis has announced he will resign after Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe, and the committee will find a new coach before Pakistan’s next assignment – Sri Lanka in the UAE this October.The PCB said they were open to selecting a foreign coach. “Following the resignation of Waqar Younis as head coach, the board has formed a committee to look for a new coach from within or outside Pakistan,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said. Pakistan have not had a foreign coach since Ijaz Butt became president of the board and removed Geoff Lawson. Ramiz said that trend could continue. “It is tough to list the best coaches available because currently opinion is divided on whether to bring in a Pakistani coach or a foreign one; both have advantages and disadvantages,” he told ESPNcricinfo.”The experiment with Waqar was quite successful. It would be ideal if someone from within the country with similar abilities and stature could replace him. But if not then someone from outside can come and understand our tradition, our cricket and our board.”Lawson had said Pakistan need a foreign coach who would not have to worry about local politics and that he did not have a problem with the language when he was in charge. Ramiz said it was more the unique political situation facing Pakistan cricket that would make it hard for a foreign coach to adapt. “As the PCB has repeatedly told the ICC, the situation in the country is a unique one; that should be made understood to any foreign coach. There are names that come to mind immediately but still it will take time to decide on the ideal candidate.”Abbas also said a local coach would be preferred. “My preference is for the next coach of the Pakistan cricket team to be Pakistani,” he told . “Although not entirely against a foreign coach, I think a non-Asian coach would be worried about the situation in Pakistan and this may affect the time he can spend in the country and how well he can perform the job. The individual we select should be non-controversial, someone who has played at the highest level for a lengthy period of time and a mature person.”During Waqar’s tenure, he had a public dispute with former one-day captain Shahid Afridi. Though Waqar has maintained his resignation is due to health reasons, and has nothing to do with a conflict with anyone, Abbas said players needed to change their attitudes to allow a coach to be effective. “The mindset and attitude of some of the Pakistan players needs to change to allow a coach to do his job properly. If there are any disagreements or misunderstandings, then no player should go running to the media; instead discussions should be held behind closed doors with the team management and the board.”Waqar had been contracted till the 2012 Twenty20 World Cup and his departure means Pakistan will have to make their ninth change of coach in a decade. In that time, the longest any coach had lasted was Bob Woolmer’s three-year stint from 2004 till his death during the 2007 World Cup.Abbas said he hoped the next coach would have a long term. “I’d prefer if the next coach was given a three-year contract. That way he knows that he has some security in the role and some time to mould the team. In addition, the role and responsibilities of the coach should be made clear to the coach himself and the captain, so that there is no confusion about what the coach’s domain is and there is no overlapping of duties.”

WICB asks Guyana government to convey intentions

The WICB has requested for written communication from the Guyana government on how it intends to involve itself in Guyana cricket. The West Indies board issued a release saying it had been informed that the president of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo had called a meeting of various stakeholders in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), and had therefore asked Guyana sports minister Frank Anthony to inform the WICB what the government’s plans were for the GCB.The meeting called by Jagdeo was to help end the ongoing discord between the boards of Guyana’s three counties – Berbice Cricket Board, Demerara Cricket Board and Essequibo Cricket Board – and the GCB. The main issue within the GCB was the election of Ramsey Ali as GCB president on July 10. The Berbice Cricket Board filed a court injunction to restrain the functioning of the Ali-led administration, which was struck out. The judge in the case had recommended the intervention of the sports ministry in the issue, which ultimately led to Jagdeo calling a meeting.The result of the meeting was the appointment of an interim management committee to run the GCB’s affairs, which means Ali’s executives will for the time being not be in charge of the board. Keith Foster, president of the Berbice Cricket Board, told Guyana’s Government Information Agency that Jagdeo had requested that consultation be facilitated more frequently at the board level in the different counties. “It is a work in progress so we will have to wait and see because the different boards obviously will be having different ideas,” Foster said.What may be of concern to the WICB is that, at the ICC’s annual conference in June, the game’s global body took a firm stand against political interference in cricket boards. The ICC had given all its member boards two years to free themselves of government influence. Jagdeo, however, has repeatedly stated that the Guyana government needed to be involved in the running of cricket in the country. “Given that sports are so important to our wellbeing, particularly cricket in the West Indies to our psyche and everything else, we cannot help but be concerned about the state of cricket in the region,” he had said in July.Jagdeo had also taken up the case of Chris Gayle, when he was excluded from the West Indies team, criticising the WICB and appealing to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads of government to intervene.

Clarke to play role in selecting coach

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke will set many of the parameters for the selection of the national team’s new head coach. The coach will be selected through a global search that will use the framework that brought the current Australian Football League premiership-winning coach to his job.While Cricket Australia trumpeted the use of Crank Sports, the Melbourne-based management consultants that have redefined the parameters by which Australian Rules coaches are chosen, it will be Clarke who has an enormous say in the choosing of the successful applicant.James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, said the relationship between the captain and the coach was arguably the most important professional bond in the game.”My personal views are the relationship between captain and coach are as important as any relationship in cricket,” Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo. “They need to be clear on their roles and responsibilities, and they need to have a real bond.”It will vary from team to team and personality to personality, in terms of how that relationship works, but in a successful cricket team there’s a strong bond between the captain and the coach and therefore Michael will be an important person as we look to set the framework and plan what the ideal characteristics and attributes are that we want from the coach.”This may well be a sign of great promise for Steve Rixon, currently Australia’s fielding coach, long-time mentor of Clarke’s, and formerly coach of New South Wales and New Zealand.Rixon’s time with New Zealand was particularly significant as he oversaw the growth of Stephen Fleming’s captaincy in a side that ultimately played well above its limited means.Two themes of the search for a coach will be the need for a candidate who can start swiftly, given that he is likely to be pitched into the job in mid-summer, but also someone with the vision required of the role.Under the recommendations of the Argus review, the head coach will devote much of his time to building a unified coaching vision in concert with the states, while also delegating the coaching of the national team to his assistants at times, namely for various ODI series.This part of the role grants the coach responsibilities in line with those of a coaching or technical director, far more than the national-team-specific commission of past coaches. Technical expertise will also be pivotal given that the new manager of team performance, Pat Howard, comes from a background rich in rugby but almost devoid of cricket.Steve Rixon is one of the candidates to be Australia’s next coach•Getty Images

“We will be looking for someone who can evolve in this role,” Sutherland said. “Clearly, whoever comes in will need to hit the ground running as we go straight into a competitive phase, with a summer of six Test matches and the tri-series ahead.”Ultimately we want whoever comes in to be able to step up into that role as head coach, as is contemplated under the team performance review, so we’re looking for someone who can be more than just a coach of a cricket team.”The employment of Crank Sports has been arranged partly to speed up the selection process, given that Howard is yet to make a formal start to his tenure. However it was also done out of interest in the way the firm’s framework for appointments had formalised and structured a previously ad-hoc selection process for AFL coaches.Its merits were seen in the fortunes of the Geelong football club in 2011, when they shrugged off the loss of the long-term coach Mark Thompson and the most high-profile player in Gary Ablett to claim a third premiership in five years under the coaching of Chris Scott.”One of the things that attracted us to what Craig Mitchell is doing at Crank Sports in other sports, particularly AFL, is to really set a strong framework that gets you to objectively assess the individual candidates against that framework,” Sutherland said. “Inevitably there is a degree of subjectivity about it, but in the first instance we make sure we assess each candidate on a level playing field.”

South Africa, West Indies seal qualification

South Africa Women have qualified for the Women’s World Cup after thrashing Zimbabwe Women in Fatullah and reaching the semi-finals of the qualifiers. It was a mismatch with South Africa having won all their games before the encounter and Zimbabwe having lost their three games. Zimbabwe managed to bat their 50 overs after being put in but only reached 103, which South Africa chased in just 12 overs without losing a wicket. Only four of Zimbabwe’s batsmen reached double figures in their crawl of an innings and offspinner Sunette Loubser took 5 for 9. Shandre Fritz raced to 69 off 45 balls to take South Africa to a thumping win.

Joining them in the 2013 World Cup in India will be West Indies Women who cemented their place in the semi-finals with an 80-run win against Bangladesh Women in Mirpur. Stafanie Taylor’s tremendous run continued as she hit her third consecutive score of over fifty. Shanel Daley also got a half-century as West Indies reached 217 for 8 after being put in. Daley and Taylor had built the innings carefully and Stacy-Ann King gave it momentum, hitting three sixes in her 24 off 18 balls. Bangladesh’s innings never got going and though they had lost only two wickets by the 26th over they had crawled to 67. The run-rate was slow throughout and Bangladesh were bowled out for 137 in 47.4 overs. Bangladesh though still have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals since they finished third in Group B and will meet the second-placed team from Group A in a play-off.Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka in two games before the qualifiers began and their coach Mamatha Maben recognised it would be a tough game but said she hoped her side had improved enough to win. “We’ve not performed to our full potential in previous matches against Sri Lanka but we are getting closer each time we play them and hopefully Tuesday’s game will be the game we finally beat them,” she said.”I have always said as a side we’re a good bowling and fielding team who is learning, but we are lacking in the batting department. That lacking was seen today against West Indies who proved to be a tough opposition and showed our batters what they need to be doing.

That team is Sri Lanka Women, who romped to an eight-wicket victory against United States of America Women in Savar. USA chose to bat but only one of their batsmen reached double figures as they slumped to 53 all out. Remarkably, USA played 49.4 overs to reach that low total. Shashikala Siriwardene took 3 for 9 in her 10 overs. Sri Lanka have made a habit of losing wickets in easy chases and did so again, stumbling to 15 for 2. The outcome was never in doubt though and Prasadani Weerakkody scored 22 not out as Sri Lanka got home in the 19th over.

Nida Dar scored 124 off 139 balls as Pakistan Women thrashed Japan Women in Savar. Pakistan got 272 after electing to bat and Japan were then skittled for 26 in 28 overs. Japan have not scored more than 71 all tournament but this was their lowest total. Six batsmen got ducks, only one reached double figures and left-arm spinner Sadia Yousuf took 6 for 2 in Japan’s capitulation. Pakistan’s total was always going to be out of reach but Japan may have hoped to put up a better fight.

Gayle to play T20s in Zimbabwe

Chris Gayle, the West Indies batsman, is among a number of current and former international cricketers who will play in the Stanbic Bank 20 Series, Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 competition. Gayle is part of the Tuskers squad while Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, and Lou Vincent, the New Zealand batsman, will play for the Mid West Rhinos. Netherlands allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate is part of the Eagles squad, while Australia fast bowler Dirk Nannes will turn out for the Mountaineers.”This is the tournament’s third year and we set our sights high,” Alistair Campbell, the Stanbic Bank 20 Series, said. “I didn’t expect everyone to be able to accept our invitation but I’m especially pleased that Chris Gayle is coming all the way from Jamaica to be a part of the tournament.”It makes it even more special for Zimbabwe Cricket that Chris was motivated by the chance see how the game is progressing in our country and make a contribution to our development and return to competitive international cricket after a pretty bleak decade.”Gayle has not played for West Indies since the 2011 World Cup, following a breakdown in his relations with the West Indies Cricket Board. Since then he has been restricted mostly to domestic Twenty20 competitions around the world, and has become an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s squad in the IPL and Champions League T20. He was the leading run-getter at this year’s IPL.”I am a cricketer and I want to play,” Gayle said of his decision to play in Zimbabwe. “It was a different challenge and a chance to travel and meet new people and new team-mates. I would rather be playing for West Indies but while that’s not possible I want to use my time wisely, entertain some people and try to do some good.”Former South Africa allrounder Andrew Hall, who is player-coach of the Eagles franchise, and former New Zealand allrounder Chris Harris, who will continue with Mountaineers from last season, are also part of the tournament. One big name missing out is Lance Klusener, the former South Africa allrounder, who played for Mountaineers last season.

PIA romp to seventh QEA title

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ScorecardPakistan International Airlines needed just 21.4 overs on the final day to claim their seventh Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One. They took just two balls to wrap up Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited’s second-innings for 70 before their top order wasted no time chasing down the target of 107 in 21.2 overs for the loss of opener Kamran Sajid.ZTBL had not added to their overnight score of 70 when Anwar Ali had Iftikhar Anjum caught to claim his eight wicket of the match. Then, with Agha Sabir playing the anchor role, Sajid went after the ZTBL bowlers, smashing eight fours in his 34 that came off just 29 balls. He was dismissed by Sohail Tanvir but Sheharyar Ghani made sure there would be no respite for the bowlers, making 36 from 34 balls, with seven fours to take his side to victory in the company of Sabir, who made a comparatively patient 40 from 65 balls,

Kohli positive after Indian top order wilts

ScorecardVirender Sehwag was out cheaply on a rainy day•Getty Images

On a rain-hit day in Canberra, the Indian top-order batsmen did not make use of what could be their last chance to bat in a competitive match ahead of the Boxing Day Test. They slipped to 4 for 84 against the CA Chairman’s XI, after play had begun two hours and 40 minutes late, before a positive partnership between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma steadied the innings.Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were rested for this tour match, while Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan were included in the thirteen after sitting out of the first game. Ishant Sharma, whose fitness is still doubtful, also missed out.After choosing to bat on a gloomy day – there was an interruption for bad light soon after the play finally began – the Indians lost Sehwag for a run-a-ball 12, caught off the bowling of Peter George. Gautam Gambhir, like he had in the first tour game, fell after getting a start. He was bowled for 24 by Jason Behrendorff, who was the most economical of the Chairman XI bowlers with figures of 1 for 8 in nine overs. Ajinkya Rahane, India’s reserve opener on the tour, also failed for the second time in two innings, and when he and Gambhir were dismissed in quick succession India had crawled to 3 for 53 in 21 overs.VVS Laxman showed signs of repairing the innings with Virat Kohli. Laxman struck a couple of fours – including a well-timed on drive – before missing one from left-arm spinner Jon Holland while trying to work it to the leg side. Holland had replaced Doug Bollinger from the Telopea Park end, after the fast bowler – who’s looking to work his way back into Australia’s Test team – had failed to pick up a wicket.Rohit Sharma was dropped first ball at short leg, after pushing at a delivery. Kolhi, who’s in a race with Rohit for the No. 6 spot in India’s batting line-up, counterattacked. He too had a bit of luck early on, edging wide of the slip cordon, but he made the most of it, driving through the covers, pulling and punching down the ground for boundaries.Kohli brought up his fifty, and Rohit too began to show some aggression. He drove twice through the covers and lofted the ball over long-off to bring up India’s 150. The pair added 78 off 104 balls before stumps – though Rohit was dropped once again, by Usman Khawaja in the slip cordon off legspinner Cameron Boyce – to take the Indians to 4 for 162.The Chairman’s XI captain, David Warner, left the field a couple of times during the day to get treatment for a sore back, though it wasn’t deemed a serious problem.

Nawaz shines as Pakistan U-19s level series


ScorecardPakistan Under-19s registered a four-wicket win againt South Africa Under-19s in a low-scoring one-dayer in Cape Town, to level the three-match series at 1-1. Pakistan chose to bowl and Zia-ul-Haq justified their decision by quickly getting rid of South Africa’s openers, leaving them 2 for 7 in the fifth over. South Africa never really recovered. While the middle order batsmen got starts, none of them were able to convert and the hosts were bowled out for 126 in the 39th over. Mohammad Nawaz did most of the damage with the lower half of the order, taking 5 for 19 in five overs.In the chase, Pakistan’s top order could not make any contributions of note, and at one stage they were tottering at 68 for 6. However, Nos. 7 and 8, Saifullah Bangash and Usman Qadir strung together a fluent, unbroken 60-run stand to take Pakistan home in the 34th over. Nawaz was named the Man of the Match.The teams will play the final match of the series on January 29 in Stellenbosch.