All posts by h716a5.icu

New USA board unveils a 100-day plan

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2012In November 2010 Don Lockerbie, the USA Cricket Association chief executive, was removed from office, a decision, so the story goes, made unilaterally by board president Gladstone Dainty.In the intervening 18 months the board has limped along without a replacement and aside from a unconvincing advertisement midway through the period little seems to have been done to find one.Now, a month after controversial elections returned the incumbent board almost to a man, USACA has finally broken cover and announced it is looking for a successor to Lockerbie.Unveiling a 100-day plan, USACA is going to appoint a committee charged with identifying candidates with a view to carrying out interviews within three months.Details of the plan and the recruitment process can be found here

Sri Lanka Women held their nerves to beat West Indies Women by one wicket with two balls to spare. With the win, Sri Lanka have squared the three match ODI series, with a match remaining

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2012
ScorecardShemaine Campbelle’s half-century helped lift West Indies to 197•WICBSri Lanka Women held their nerves to beat West Indies Women by one wicket with two balls to spare. With the win, Sri Lanka have squared the three match ODI series, with a match remaining. Chamani Seneviratna was the star of the match with a quick 36 during the chase, following her two wickets during West Indies’ innings.The chase was held together by Yasoda Mendis’ gritty half-century – she was part of partnerships of 33 for the second wicket, 39 for the third wicket and 32 for the fourth. But with ten runs required with two wickets remaining, it was left up to Seneviratna to make sure that she finished the game.West Indies had set a good foundation for their middle order as opener Juliana Nero, who scored 45, led the team to 67 for 1. But Sri Lanka’s bowlers picked up regular wickets to reduce West Indies to 114 for 5. A half-century by Shemaine Campbelle and her 61-run partnership with Merissa Aguilleira lifted West Indies to 197.

Sunil Narine’s coach at Trinidad & Tobago, Kelvin Williams, has said that the offspinner must add more variations to his repertoire to avoid “fading away” like Ajantha Mendis

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2012Sunil Narine’s Trinidad & Tobago coach, Kelvin Williams, has said that the offspinner must add more variations to his repertoire to avoid “fading away” like Sri Lanka offspinner Ajantha Mendis.Williams, who was in charge of T&T when Narine made his first-class debut in 2009, said that the offspinner must continue to work hard to avoid being picked by batsmen around the world. “He has got to develop variations,” Williams told Trinidad and Tobago . “In international cricket batsmen will work you out so you can fade away if you don’t do that and that is what happened to Mendis. Narine is too smart for that to happen to him, though, but the first two years of his career will be a dream start.”Mendis had a sensational debut Test series, against India in 2008, with a record 26 wickets but failed to live up to his promise and is no longer a permanent fixture in the Sri Lanka squad.Narine played an important part in Kolkata Knight Riders’ title-winning IPL campaign this season by picking up 24 wickets from 15 matches at an economy-rate of 5.47 – a tally that earned him the Man-of-the-Series award.”It’s nice to see him doing so well,” Williams said. “He is one who has been dedicated towards the development of his cricket. He always had my utmost respect because he was so determined to get to the top. He works extremely hard and is always trying to develop new things.”However, Williams said the West Indies selectors must not rush Narine into the squad for the third Test against England, which begins in Birmingham on June 7. “He has proved himself in all the other versions of the game and the next step is Tests. I think he will do well because he is so difficult to read,” Williams said. “I don’t think he should be rushed in. He will be up there for the ODI series (which starts on June 16) and I think he has made himself unavailable for the Tests. He should be in the Test team against New Zealand.”Edited by Carlyle Laurie

After bowling out Essex for 253 to gain a first-innings lead of 62, Surreyfinished on 104 four 4 in their second innings during an absorbing day’s playin their County Championship match at Chelmsford

08-Sep-2011
ScorecardAfter bowling out Essex for 253 to gain a first-innings lead of 62, Surreyfinished on 104 four 4 in their second innings during an absorbing day’s playin their County Championship match at Chelmsford.It left the promotion-chasing visitors going into the third day 166 ahead andin a far healthier position than had seemed likely after the Essex openers BillyGodleman and Tom Westley had put together a century partnership.Tim Linley and Stuart Meaker led the Surrey fightback, the pace pair claimingnine wickets between them. It was Linley who inflicted the early damage, starting immediately after the opening stand had moved into three figures. He found the edge to have Godlemancaught behind by Steve Davies for 43 and point the way to a spell of four for 12in 34 deliveries.Owais Shah got off the mark with a six against Pragyan Ojha, the left-armspinner, but added just one more run before being bowled. Jaik Mickleburgh was next to go, trapped lbw without offering a stroke and he was followed back to the pavilion by the impressive Westley. The right-hander had laced his innings of 57 with some beautifully timed drivesamong his seven boundaries until finding the hands of cover point.Westley’s departure left Essex 135 for 4 and 16 runs later, Adam Wheaterdrove high to mid-off to provide Ojha with his solitary success. That left the home side needing a substantial partnership between James Foster and Ryan ten Doeschate if they were to get close to Surrey’s total of 315.For a while, they threatened to succeed but having added 46 in 11 overs, mainlyas the result of Ten Doeschate’s belligerence, Meaker embarked on a devastatingspell. In it, he claimed the remaining five wickets for 16 in 32 balls, starting withFoster who was caught behind for 14, a contribution spanning 32 deliveries.Graham Napier was undone leg before for his third successive duck and inbetween bowling David Masters and Tymal Mills; he ended the aggressive inningsof Ten Doeschate. The Essex all-rounder had smashed three sixes among his 10 boundaries before being trapped lbw for 56. Those runs arrived in 51 balls whilst Meaker finishedwith figures of five for 66 from 16.4 overs.Linley returned figures of 4 for 48 and taking his season’s Championshiptally to 66. Surrey, however, were soon in trouble when they set out to build upon theirlead. David Masters struck to have Davies caught in the covers without scoring andtwo more wickets fell before the 50 was raised.Rory Hamilton-Brown chopped on against Napier with the total on 35 and nineruns later, Masters had Mark Ramprakash popping-up a simple catch to Godleman atshort leg. However, Tom Maynard and Zander de Bruyn put together an entertaining stand of60 in only seven overs before Maynard was trapped by leg before by Masters inthe final over of the day.

The PCB has advertised the job of Pakistan coach, and has set a 15-day deadline for applications

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2011The PCB has advertised the job of Pakistan coach, and has set a 15-day deadline for applications. The three-man committee appointed to select the next coach, comprising ex-Pakistan players Zaheer Abbas, Intikhab Alam and Naushad Ali, met for the first time on September 8 to decide on the criteria for choosing candidates for the role.Ramiz Raja, who had agreed to assist the committee, could not attend the meeting as he was in Zimbabwe, where he is a commentator for Pakistan’s ongoing one-day series.The committee said the job of Pakistan coach was open to candidates from both within and outside Pakistan. Alam, who coached and managed the national side before and is head of the committee, said PCB chairman Ijaz Butt had given them the freedom to choose whoever they wanted as candidates. “The PCB chairman briefed us prior to our meeting and has given us a free hand in the search for the national coach,” Alam said. “We definitely will be considering both local and foreign applicants. The advertisement goes up today and will give interested parties 15 days to apply for the role.”We will scrutinise and interview the candidates and then the PCB will announce the coach in light of our recommendations. Also, the committee can approach someone on their own if they want to.” Alam also said that all the details of the meeting had been emailed to Raja, and confirmed that none of the committee members could themselves apply for the job.The committee was appointed on August 29 following current coach Waqar Younis’ announcement that he would quit after the tour of Zimbabwe due to personal and health reasons. There have been divided opinions on whether Pakistan should go with a local or foreign coach, with Abbas and Raja favouring the former while Alam said the second option was also something Pakistan should consider. Aaqib Javed and Mudassar Nazar, who have both been involved with coaching in Pakistan for several years, were two names that emerged as possible candidates for the role of head coach.

Bangladesh have named four players from the squad for the ongoing Chittagong Test – Raqibul Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo and Shuvagata Hom – to tour the West Indies with the A team from October 29

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2011Bangladesh have named four players from the squad for the ongoing Chittagong Test – Raqibul Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo and Shuvagata Hom – to tour the West Indies with the A team from October 29. Jahurul Islam was named captain of the squad.The Bangladesh A team is scheduled to leave Dhaka for the Caribbean on the same day the second Test against West Indies begins in Mirpur. Raqibul and Nasir, who are playing the Chittagong Test, are likely to leave only after the end of the home series against West Indies. Shuvo and Hom, on the other hand, are likely to fly with the rest of the A squad if they are not part of the XI for the second Test.Bangladesh A are touring the Caribbean for two four-day matches, two Twenty20 matches and three one-day matches.Bangladesh A: Jahurul Islam (capt), Mithun Ali (vc), Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Robiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Shuvagata Hom, Nasir Hossain, Nasiruddin Faruque, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mominul Haque, Noor Hossain, Shohag Gazi, Alauddin Babu.

Opener Paul Horton fell one short of his first hundred in the County Championship since April 2010 as title-chasing Lancashire closed to within 33 of Nottinghamshire’s first-innings total of 326 at Trent Bridge

21-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Paul Horton fell one short of a deserved century•Getty ImagesOpener Paul Horton fell one short of his first hundred in the County Championship since April 2010 as title-chasing Lancashire closed to within 33 of Nottinghamshire’s first-innings total of 326 at Trent Bridge.The 28-year-old right-hander was one of four victims of Notts all-rounder Paul Franks, the star performer with the ball for the hosts after top-scoring on day one with 69. Horton shared an opening partnership of 82 with Stephen Moore (42) before Notts made inroads into the Lancashire batting in the afternoon session thanks to an excellent spell from Franks, who took three for 13 from eight overs.With Lancashire falling to 243 for 8, Sajid Mahmood then added an unbroken 50 for the ninth wicket with Kyle Hogg to push the visitors on to 293 at the close. On a pitch that has offered something for both batsmen and bowlers throughout the opening two days, the Lancashire openers survived the first hour-and-an-half’s play before Stephen Moore fell to a poor shot, slashing at a wide delivery from Luke Fletcher and edging a simple catch to wicketkeeper Chris Read.Fletcher struck again six overs later with a good ball that found the edge of Karl Brown’s bat for a slip catch, but Horton was unbowed at lunch on 46 not out alongside Mark Chilton. The afternoon session belonged to Franks, who has stepped up to become a crucial member of the Notts XI once more since the retirement of Mark Ealham in 2009.Finding bounce and seam movement from the Pavilion End, the 32-year-old bowled Mark Chilton via an inside-edge, Steven Croft caught at midwicket and Tom Smith caught behind as Lancashire went into tea on 194 for 5.Horton was the least troubled by Franks, leaving well and taking singles as well as hitting 11 fours as the rest of the Notts attack struggled to meet Franks’ excellence. It was no surprise Franks was the man to end Horton’s resistance with another fine delivery, lifting to take the shoulder of the bat on the way through to Read.Charlie Shreck struck with the new ball to remove Farveez Maharoof, well caught by David Hussey at second slip, who also caught Gareth Cross off Fletcher’s bowling three overs later. Mahmood then turned the tide again with a rapid 39 from 45 balls, including five fours, with Hogg providing able assistance with an unbeaten 19 in what is an intriguingly-poised match.

Virender Sehwag, India’s vice-captain for the World Cup, has said that he is “fully fit” for the tournament that begins on February 19

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2011Virender Sehwag, India’s vice-captain for the World Cup, has said that he is “fully fit” for the tournament that begins on February 19. Sehwag missed India’s five-match one-day series following the Tests in South Africa to attend to a shoulder injury, but says his recovery is well on track.”I was feeling some pain in my shoulder,” Sehwag told Indian news channel . “So [I thought it was] better to quit the South Africa one-dayers. I didn’t want to get injured in South Africa tour and miss the World Cup. So I came back and went to Germany to see a couple of doctors. I got a couple of injections and now I’m fine.”I am going to the National Cricket Academy [in Bangalore] and will spend a couple of days there, to check everything – if I can bowl and throw also but if I can’t, then I’ll let them know. But yes, at the moment I’m fully fit.”Sehwag is wary of the opening game against Bangladesh, who had derailed India’s 2007 World Cup campaign with a shock win. “Because we’re playing the opening game against them in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi people are expecting them to beat us again. But this time we have to prepare well … You can say it is a revenge game for us and we won’t take the game lightly. We will give our best shot and we will come hard on Bangladesh.”Sehwag was confident of India’s chances against the other major teams in Group B – South Africa, England and West Indies. “When we played against England last time, we won 5-0 and against South Africa we did well in South Africa and we have done well; when Sachin Tendulkar got the double hundred [in Gwalior], we won the series. West Indies have good players like Pollard and Gayle, if they click then maybe it’s difficult for us but India also have very good players.”

Sourav Ganguly has said India should have different captains for Tests and limited-overs matches in order to ease the workload on MS Dhoni

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2012Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has said India should have different captains for Tests and limited-overs matches in order to ease the workload on MS Dhoni, who is leading in all three formats as well as keeping wicket. Following India’s defeat against England at Eden Gardens, the first time they have lost back-to-back matches at home in 12 years, Ganguly said the selectors should follow the example of most countries in order to get the most out of Dhoni.”Every team in the world has gone with split captaincy. I am not saying the selectors should sack Dhoni and say, ‘You’re out’. I have always said there is too much burden on him. I think we are losing MS Dhoni as a player,” Ganguly told , an Indian news channel. “Captaincy and your ability as a player are interlinked, I think Dhoni is a much better one-day captain than he is a Test captain.”His performance in recent Tests has not been up to the mark, but that is because there is too much of a burden on him. I am a firm believer that his job has to be split – he needs a reprieve.”Ganguly said the selectors needed to “sit with Dhoni and ask him what form of cricket would he like to captain. I fear we may lose him as a player if we continue like this. He is a match-winner for India and he has done wonders for the team.”Responding to a statement about the selectors not naming a potential successor to Dhoni, in order to groom him, Ganguly said the captains who were successful for India did not develop through a such a system. “I was not groomed to be captain of India I just became captain, captain is something that comes by itself,” Ganguly said. “It is the same case with Dhoni. When Rahul Dravid decided to give up captaincy, and you know the captaincy was offered to Tendulkar and he refused to do it, the job went to Dhoni. I don’t agree with this thing that you have to groom someone to be captain.”In the ongoing Test series against England, Dhoni has scored only 92 runs in five innings, with a best of 52 in the first innings in Kolkata. England lead the four-Test series 2-1.

A marathon unbeaten half-century from Pikky Ya France and Gerrie Snyman’s 88 helped Namibia save their Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland in Windhoek

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2011
ScorecardA marathon unbeaten half-century from Pikky Ya France and Gerrie Snyman’s 88 helped Namibia save their Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland in Windhoek. Scotland added 36 runs to their overnight total, leaving Namibia 384 to win in a little less than a day. It was always going to be a case of batting out the day for Namibia and Ya France stuck it out for 225 balls on his way to 63 not out. Snyman played a more aggressive knock, hitting 14 fours and three sixes, and the two took Namibia to safety.Offspinner Majid Haq, who had taken six wickets in Namibia’s first innings, caused a flutter of nerves in the Namibia camp when he dismissed Christi Viljoen and Sarel Burger within eight overs. Seamer Richie Berrington then bowled Craig Williams to leave Namibia 99 for 3. But Ya France and Snyman ensured there was no collapse.Scotland had led by 87 runs after the first innings but, perhaps, did not leave their bowlers enough time to bowl Namibia out.