The third day was a hard one for all the New Zealand bowlers but their ageing spearhead Chris Martin has reason to feel concerned

Brydon Coverdale in Hamilton29-Mar-2010The third day was a hard one for all the New Zealand bowlers but their ageing spearhead Chris Martin has reason to feel concerned. The youthful Tim Southee picked up two early wickets and the newcomer Brent Arnel grabbed a couple later in the day but Martin earned none while leaking runs at a greater rate than any of his colleagues.While fast men are entitled to occasional days of difficulty, the worry for New Zealand is that such days are becoming too frequent for Martin. In this series Australia’s batsmen have found his lines predictable and he has taken 1 for 260. Notably, he was the last of the specialist bowlers to whom Daniel Vettori handed the ball on the third day.”It was tough for our seamers,” Brendon McCullum said. “We don’t have that out-and-out pace of some attacks and we need more assistance from the wicket. They did a reasonable job. Tim Southee continued to bowl well; Brent Arnel came back with that second new ball and did a really good job.”It was disappointing for Chris, he probably wasn’t at his best but they attacked him and put him under pressure. For a guy who’s played 50-odd Test matches I’m sure he’ll come back and respond next time.”The problem for Martin is ensuring there is a next time. At 35, a man who offers nothing with the bat or in the field has no option but to take wickets, and an average of 41.14 over the past year is not an adequate return. New Zealand’s next Test tour is not for six months, when they are scheduled to visit Bangladesh, and by then injuries should not be a barrier to choosing Daryl Tuffey, Kyle Mills or Andy McKay.Arnel has shown promise in his first series, nibbling the ball around in both games, and he was nominated by the centurion Simon Katich as the pick of the bowlers on the third day. Southee might not have played this Test but for Tuffey’s injury, yet highlighted his potential with four first-innings wickets and a couple more on the third morning when he bowled to an inventive plan from Vettori.Shane Watson was the first to fall for a well-laid trap, when he pulled Southee straight to the man at deep midwicket. But the masterstroke was the plot to remove Ricky Ponting, who walked out to see the leg-side field stacked, was targeted on his pads and duly clipped the ball straight to short-leg, where BJ Watling held an excellent catch.”It wasn’t something we worked on overnight, just the fact Tim was bowling really well and getting a bit of tail,” McCullum said of the Ponting plan. “We discussed it and it seemed like the right thing to do. It probably wasn’t how we thought we would get him out, but you’ve got to be a bit proactive and try to get in front of the game and hope that things happen.”Unfortunately for the hosts, not much happened for them after the Ponting dismissal as Katich and Michael Hussey built a 155-run partnership and the lead swelled to 300 with six wickets in hand by the close of play. However, McCullum said New Zealand had not given up hope of rattling through the Australian lower order to take a declaration out of Ponting’s hands.”We’re two wickets away from bowling at their bowlers and we saw in the first innings there’s no reason why we can’t run through that bottom order,” he said. “For us the key is to get those first two wickets, and if we do that relatively early then I see no reason why we couldn’t bowl them out and still have the game in our control.”For that to happen, they will need contributions from their best bowlers. There is still room for Martin to stand up and show the skills that have earned him 181 Test wickets, but his time to lift is rapidly running out.

Bangladesh A succumbed to their second consecutive defeat in the tri-series, falling short by 29 runs against West Indies A in Mirpur

Cricinfo staff08-May-2010
Scorecard
Bangladesh A succumbed to their second consecutive defeat in the tri-series, falling short by 29 runs against West Indies A in Mirpur. West Indies were boosted by half-centuries from Darren Bravo and Brendan Nash which helped take their team to a competitive 259 for 7. The pair added 84 for the third wicket, and some attacking batting at the death from Imran Khan took West Indies past 250.Bangladesh were well placed for much of their innings, opener Nazimuddin leading the way with an 86-ball 89, comprising 13 fours. He was supported by captain Shamsur Rahman, with whom he added 84, while Raqibul Hasan and Marshall Ayub scored 46 and 43 respectively to keep the chase on track. At 176 for 3 in the 35th over, Bangladesh had the upper hand but two quick wickets in successive overs for one run pegged them back.Ayub fought hard, batting with the lower order, but when he fell with the score on 230 to make it nine down, West Indies had the game covered. Seamer Nelon Pascal starred for them, taking four wickets to trigger Bangladesh’s slide after they had threatened to scale down the target.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle pulled no punches in his assessment of the team’s failings, after they lost to South Africa by one run in the second Twenty20 international.

Cricinfo staff21-May-2010Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has questioned the batsmen’s mindset following his team’s one-run defeat in the second Twenty20 international against South Africa in Antigua. Gayle said they “have to look into themselves and try and redeem themselves as quickly as possible” after losing the series 2-0.”It is a pressure situation,” Gayle said. “The mindset is just not right. They’re maybe a bit too worried about the position.”South Africa finished with a modest 120 for 7 but West Indies struggled from the start, losing Gayle for a duck, and the rest of the batsmen never quite got going. With 15 needed from the final over, Darren Sammy managed two boundaries, including an all-run four thanks to some loose fielding, but Ryan McLaren held his nerve to leave West Indies a run short.”It’s blatant,” Gayle said. “It’s not right. We need to have discussions on it. The guys need to free up and go out there with a free mind to play some good cricket. We should have won that game…no doubt about it. To chase 120 runs, I don’t see why we shouldn’t get it, but we didn’t get it.”It was the second straight game in which the West Indies batsmen failed to perform. On Wednesday, they lost by 13 runs chasing 137 to win.”It’s very disappointing but credit must go to the bowlers. I thought they bowled well on an on-and-off pitch,” Gayle said. “In the end we allowed the run-rate to climb up a bit too much. We should have tried to take a few more chances.”He denied experience was the problem, saying, “We have quite a few experienced guys in the team, guys who have been in big situations before. Experience is not a problem.”The problem, according to him, lay with individual players, who need to start taking responsibility for their performances. “It’s up to the individual. They have to look into themselves and try and redeem themselves as quickly as possible. I can’t do it for them. I have a lot to think about as well. It is up to the individuals to try and get over these situations as quickly as possible.”In contrast, South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith was full of praise for his team’s ability to keep calm in the clutch, although he couldn’t resist a wry comment on the team’s history of coming up short in high pressure situations.”It was a bit tense at the end so we had to find somebody to remain calm, and Ryan kept a good sensible head, although we had a few guys running all over the place. It was an exciting finish, and nice again to get over the line,” he said. “We have performed well enough in tense situations like this before, although our record in such situations in competition play is quite poor, but we have performed really well again under pressure in a game that we probably shouldn’t have won, so it’s to our credit, and the confidence is definitely growing.”

Zander de Bruyn produced a magnificent 95 not out to guide Somerset to a
six-wicket win over arch-rivals Gloucestershire in the Friends Provident t20
match at Taunton

18-Jun-2010

ScorecardZander de Bruyn produced a magnificent 95 not out to guide Somerset to a
six-wicket win over arch-rivals Gloucestershire in the Friends Provident t20
match at Taunton.The Gladiators won the toss and set an imposing total of 199 for 8, with
Steve Snell scoring 50 and Hamish Marshall 45. There were three wickets each for
Ben Phillips and Alfonso Thomas.Somerset looked in trouble until Kieron Pollard (54) joined de Bruyn in a
century stand for the fourth wicket in only seven overs. The West Indian hit
five towering sixes to help turn the match. But no one hit harder than de Bruyn, who faced just 49 balls and smashed five sixes and eight fours to lead his team to victory with seven balls to spare.It was a superb innings by a player more noted for textbook shots than
murderous hitting and the partnership with Pollard will be long remembered for
clean striking of the ball.Vikram Banerjee suffered more than most. The left-arm spinner went for 54 off
his four overs, while Anthony Ireland conceded the same figure off one ball
fewer.Earlier, Gloucestershire had batted positively and well from the start of their
innings and reached 61 for 2 by the end of their six overs of Powerplay.There was a moment of controversy when Thomas dived to claim a caught and
bowled offered by Will Porterfield on 18. The opener refused to walk and was
given not out, adding six more to his score before being caught behind off Mark
Turner.Chris Taylor played well for his 29 and Marshall hit five fours and a six in
facing 26 balls. However, the best innings came from Snell, who smacked four sixes and three
fours in reaching his half-century off just 25 deliveries. Kadeer Ali added 17 off just seven balls at the end of the innings and Somerset’s bowlers could reflect on an off-night.Their one moment of brilliance in the field came in the last over when Peter
Trego dived full length to his left to hold a stunning catch at short third man
to dismiss Snell. By then the Gladiators had posted a very challenging total.

Ahead of their first meeting with interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin, a number of franchises have told Cricinfo they are against player retention and playing fewer matches next year

Tariq Engineer23-Jun-2010Ahead of their first meeting with interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin tomorrow, a number of franchises have told Cricinfo they are against player retention and playing fewer matches next year, and would like to see more transparency and accountability in the way the league is run.Following the suspension of Lalit Modi as IPL commissioner and the addition of two new franchises, a number of issues concerning this year’s player auction and next season’s tournament are still to be resolved. Chief among them is the issue of player retention. There have been debates over whether the original eight franchises should be allowed to keep any of their current players. Sachin Tendulkar has suggested teams be allowed to retain eight players – four Indian and four international – but the four franchises that spoke to Cricinfo felt all players should go back into the auction pool.”The practical thing to do is let them go and bid for the players you want in a transparent manner,” one franchise official told Cricinfo on the condition of anonymity.As a potential compromise, an official from another franchise suggested giving each team two “cards” for the auction. The cards would give the teams the first right of refusal for one Indian player and one foreign player from their team. So if the maximum bid for a player, say MS Dhoni, was set at $2 million, then Chennai could use the card to bid $2 million and automatically retain him even if another franchise bids the maximum amount.In case Chennai choose to bid less than $2 million for Dhoni, and that bid is matched by one or more of the other franchises, then Chennai would have the first right to break the tie and take the player, using the card. “[That way] everything is decided on the auction table,” the official said.In the wake of India’s disastrous World Twenty20 campaign, many observers blamed IPL fatigue for the team’s poor performance, leading to speculation that fewer matches will be played next year. The IPL governing council is reportedly studying a proposal that recommends the teams be split in two groups, with a total of 68 matches. Under the current format, 94 matches are set to be played next year.However, none of the franchises Cricinfo spoke to were in favour of shortening the tournament. They argue that their decisions are based on a particular business model and certain projections. “The number one reason for adding teams and having more matches was having more revenue. If the number of matches is reduced, it doesn’t work for me,” a franchise official said. “We can address the problems [player fatigue] arising out of that; there is a solution. But reducing matches and the reduction of revenue is not on.”One proposed solution was to limit the Indian players to 14 matches each, but there were reservations about how acceptable that would be, considering the large sums of money being paid for them.Other issues of concern are the maximum permissible size of teams and a salary cap that includes players bought outside the auction. As things stand, teams will be allowed to spend $7 million each on players at the auction. But there is no limit to how much money can be spent on players outside the auction, or how many players a team can buy. This gives franchises with deeper pockets an advantage; hence a cap to level the playing field.”We will ask for a cap on the spend,” a franchise official said. “We will ask for a cap on the number of people a team can hire. Nobody should have a squad of more than 25 or 30.”The teams would also like a larger voice in the running of the IPL. Among the suggestions is that the governing council should include a franchise representative, who would pass on information to the franchises in a timely way, allowing them to plan their operations more efficiently. Ultimately, clarity and communication are what the franchises want most to get on with the business of running their teams.

Warwickshire beat Scotland by seven wickets in their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at Titwood in Glasgow

01-Aug-2010
Scorecard
Warwickshire beat Scotland by seven wickets in their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at Titwood in Glasgow. After winning the toss Scotland decided to bat but a disastrous innings saw them all out for just 95.Chris Woakes started impressively for the visitors, taking the first three wickets of Fraser Watts, Preston Mommsen and George Bailey to initiate a rapid decline for the home side.Matthew Parker was top scorer for Scotland with 22 but quickly ran out of partners as the wickets tumbled.It did not take the visitors long to get the 96 runs required, even though Neil Carter was out for only four, bowled by Parker and caught by Mommsen.His partner Darren Maddy racked up 43 not out and despite Keith Barker out for 12, followed by Jim Troughton on 28, Ian Westwood came in to take Warwickshire over the line.It was the second home defeat of the weekend for Scotland who lost by 47 runs to Durham on Saturday.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has included Mohammad Ashraful and Tamim Iqbal in a 26-strong provisional squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand.

Cricinfo staff19-Aug-2010Tamim Iqbal, who is set to go to Australia for treating a persistent wrist problem, and Mohammad Ashraful, whose place in the side has been uncertain following a prolonged bout of poor form, have been included in a 26-strong provisional squad released by the BCB for the upcoming series against New Zealand.There were no surprises in the squad, and all the players who were on the tour to England, Ireland and Scotland, were included.The players will begin their preparations for the series on August 21, under the supervision of coach Jamie Siddons and newly appointed fielding coach Julien Fountain.Provisional squad: Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Jahurul Islam, Raqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Faisal Hossain, Nazimuddin, Shahriar Nafees, Mahbubul Alam, Dolar Mahmud, Mohammad Sohrawordi, Robiul Islam, Shamsur Rahman and Sahgir Hossain

A late afternoon collapse that saw Kent lose three wickets for four
runs in the space of five balls allowed Hampshire to wrest the
initiative of this first division survival battle

Mark Pennell at Canterbury08-Sep-2010
ScorecardA late afternoon collapse that saw Kent lose three wickets for four
runs in the space of five balls allowed Hampshire to wrest the
initiative of this first division survival battle and leave the hosts
staring down the barrel at Championship relegation.Having dismissed their fellow strugglers for 182 to secure a slender,
yet precious first innings lead of 22, Hampshire survived a dozen nervy
overs in fading light through to the close and go into day three on 16
without loss and an overall advantage in the match of 38 runs.Rain and bad light ensured there was no hope of Kent resuming on their
overnight total of 15 for one until 1.35pm and after the loss of 30
overs out of the day.Home second-wicket pair Rob Key and Joe Denly emerged seemingly hell
bent on making up for lost time and, with an array of drives and cuts,
took the score on to 41 before the gloom started to descend on the
Kentish faithful.Playing across the line of a canny off-cutter from Dominic Cork, Key
was almost walking by the time the finger went up to confirm the
Hampshire skipper’s leg before appeal.Denly, with a top-score of 42, and Martin van Jaarsveld (41) dug in to
double Kent’s tally before Denly played inside the line of a Sean
Ervine leg-cutter that rearranged middle and off stumps.Just before tea, Geraint Jones aiming to leg and against the spin
when facing left-arm spinner Danny Briggs also went lbw, though the
batsman left the middle somewhat quizzically and only after making a
point of inspecting the inside edge of his bat.Kent’s collapse gathered momentum soon after tea and coincided with a
second stint by seamer James Tomlinson, the pick of the visiting attack
on an overcast day with four for 59.He enticed Darren Stevens (13) into an ill-advised waft outside off
that found the edge through to the keeper and then beat Alex Blake for
pace next ball up to pin the rookie left-hander leg before.With five slips and a gully in place for the hat-trick delivery,
Tomlinson dragged the ball onto leg stump allowing James Tredwell to
survive it by glancing for four to fine leg.However, there was little or no respite for Kent as veteran seamer
Cork maintained his side’s grip on the game by plucking out van
Jaarsveld’s off stump in the next over as the hosts conspired to lose
three in the space of five deliveries.Malinga Bandara aimed a lusty blow against Tomlinson to miss by a mile
and go lbw, then Matt Coles steered to the keeper when trying to
withdraw the bat at the last minute. It was left to Ervine to polish off the innings by having James Tredwell caught at deep midwicket to end a last wicket stand of 22.Hampshire’s bowling hero Tomlinson, said afterwards: “We’re back in
the hunt in this game now and we’re delighted. We knew if we could nip
one or two out we might get more and we somehow managed to get wickets
at key moments.”

A number of IPL franchises have questioned whether the BCCI respects the rights of all the league’s stakeholders after the board ejected Punjab and Rajasthan from the IPL

Tariq Engineer10-Oct-2010A number of IPL franchises have questioned whether the BCCI respects the rights of all the league’s stakeholders, with Vijay Mallya asking if the teams are merely slaves, following the board’s decision to suddenly terminate two of the teams – Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab – on Sunday.”I wonder if the franchisees are serious stakeholders whose investments and participation are respected, or are they slaves who only come and play.” Mallya, who owns the Royals Challengers Bangalore, asked on Twitter.Raj Kundra, part-owner of Rajasthan Royals, questioned whether there the IPL will even be played next year if the board continues to treat the teams so callously. “I am still not sure why our contract has been terminated,” he told news channel . “I am mulling legal options but I am not sure whether we can have IPL 4 if teams are treated like this.”If a case is filed, it could force the league to postpone the player auction, currently scheduled to be held in November, something that worries a number of the remaining teams. “This will affect all the franchises,” another team official told ESPNcricinfo. “It adds to the uncertainty, which is bad for business.”An official with the Punjab franchise, however, said they were not considering legal options at the moment and expressed hope of resolving the situation with the BCCI. “We are in shock. It came out of the blue, it was absolutely unexpected.”Sidhartha Mallya endorsed his father’s comments, saying that the teams are the main shareholders in the league. He said that just like the UB group, India’s largest alcoholic beverages company which is owned by his family, has obligations to its shareholders, the league has certain obligations to the franchises that have been ‘terminated.’ Sidhartha Mallya said Sunday’s decision had led him to “question whether we are being looked after at the level we should be.”Shane Warne, who led Rajasthan to victory in the augural IPL, called the decision a big shock on Twitter, and hoped that the BCCI would come to its senses. Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who is fighting his own battle with the board, said that the teams are what makes the league and what has happened “is something that will only harm the image of the IPL and BCCI.”Abhijit Sarkar, spokesperson for the Sahara Warriors, one of the two new teams in the league along with Kochi, said that the franchise had no comment to make on the legal issues. Sarkar said, “We are newcomers in IPL and have been busy with getting our team ready. Our primary concerns are the player auction and the player retention.”Franchises are now anxious about the legal ramifications of scrapping two out of the IPL’s eight original franchises. An IPL team official said, “The legal domain is a very tricky one. What happens if the auction is stayed by the court? This could jeopardise the IPL itself.” The BCCI’s statement about the termination said the decision had been arrived it based on “legal opinions obtained” about Rajasthan and Punjab. The ‘legal opinion’, IPL frachise believed was not necessarily a switft conclusion to the controversy. He said, “Legal opinion also advised the BCCI to file charges against Jagmohan Dalmiya and how did that go?”The IPL governing council ejected Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab from the league on charges of transgression of shareholding and ownership norms at its emergency meeting earlier today.

The one-year ban on Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was lifted on Saturday by the PCB, clearing the way for the fast bowler to be considered for national selection once again

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2010The one-year ban on Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was lifted on Saturday by the PCB, clearing the way for the fast bowler to be considered for national selection once again.Rana was one of seven players banned or fined earlier this year by the board following a disastrous tour to Australia; the other six have already had their punishments lifted or reduced on appeal – Mohammad Yousuf did not appeal but is back in the national fold – and this decision means that each one of the seven has now been pardoned. Rana and Younis Khan apart, the others have all played for Pakistan since.”Rana’s one-year ban has been lifted and his Rs 2 million fine has also been halved,” Taffazul Rizvi, the board’s legal advisor told ESPNcricinfo.The overturn came a day after Pakistan announced their Test squad for the South Africa series but Rana believes he still has a future with the national side. “Obviously this is a great relief for me as it’s been hanging over my career for a few months now,” Rana told ESPNcricinfo. “But I’m confident I can get back into the Pakistan side. I’m fit, I’m bowling well and I believe I can contribute.”Rana is scheduled to take part in the PCB’s Twenty20 domestic tournament for reigning champions Sialkot Stallions from Sunday. If he is not part of Pakistan’s winter plans, which include a tour to New Zealand, he will turn out for Tasmania in the Big Bash as he did last season.