All posts by csb10.top

Adam Gilchrist has hinted that his retirement might be further away than he originally planned and says there is “a good chance” this year’s Boxing Day Test will not be his last. Gilchrist, 36, was mentally and physically fatigued at the same time last season during the Ashes campaign and at that stage he felt the end of his career was beckoning.”This time last year I probably would have thought this one would be my last but I’m really enjoying it now and I don’t know,” Gilchrist told the . “It might be but there’s a good chance it won’t be as well, so I’m not looking for any swansong or farewell. I’m just playing it as I go along and really enjoying it as well.”Gilchrist needs only five dismissals to pass Ian Healy’s Australian record of 395 victims and 14 dismissals would push him past Mark Boucher’s world mark of 403. Gilchrist has 391 victims from 92 Tests – Healy took 119 games to reach his total and Boucher has played 106 matches.”Just as it’s inevitable I’ll get to Heals’ Australian record, even if I was to go past and catch Boucher, he’s about four years younger than me so it will be inevitable that he’ll end up finishing his career with the world record,” Gilchrist said in the . “It’s something you don’t focus on too much.”During the Boxing Day Test Gilchrist will wear pink wicketkeeping gloves to raise money for the cancer cause the McGrath Foundation. Gilchrist’s sponsors will donate $18,000 per dismissal he claims in the Melbourne match.

Preparations have already got underway for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. According to a Government Information Agency (GINA), the construction of a brand-new stadium in Guyana is set to begin in April.Guyana is one of the eight Caribbean countries that won the bid to host the World Cup, and one of the primary requirements is for each representative to have a stadium that is up to international standards. At present, all international cricket in Guyana is played at the venerable Bourda ground in Georgetown, which is currently one of the largest stadia in the region, but has been deemed too outmoded for such a showcase event. The new ground is expected to have a seating capacity of 15,000 to 20,000.Four Indian companies have shown interest in the construction of the stadium, and two of these submitted their bids on February 1. Both companies, Lawson Turbo and Sha-Poor-Gi Pat-Lon-Ji, were in Guyana in December to conduct assessments and their initial estimated cost is US$25 million.The press release further stated that the amount will be obtained through a US$6 million grant from the Government of India, and a US$19 million loan from the Exim Bank of India. Both companies have the required experience in building stadia in and outside of India

Virender Sehwag dishes out the verbals with the same frankness and confidence that he clatters the ball over the infield. In an interview featured on the BBC website, Sehwag said that India are as good as Australia. “Definitely we are on par with them [Australia]. If we can go there and beat them on their home ground, definitely we are up there.””To beat a team like Australia, we have to battle it out for all the five days of a Test, and that’s what we did when we beat them in Adelaide,” said Sehwag. “We hope that we can put up a similar fight when they come here, and win the series.”When India toured Australia last, and drew 1-1, Australia were without Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. When they tour India later this year, Australia hope to have a full-strength bowling attack at their disposal and Sehwag has taken note of this. “If you ask me about their bowling strength as such, yes, it would definitely be a lot better than what they had in the last series in Australia, with four good bowlers in Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee and Shane Warne.”Sehwag, however, is not overawed by Australia’s bowling arsenal. “Against such high-quality bowling scoring runs will be a worry, but it would depend very much on what form the batsman is at that time. If the batsman is in good form, it does not matter what the bowling attack is,” he said.”One-day cricket is a difficult game, the result is achieved inside a day,” said Sehwag. “In one-day cricket there is always this fear, tension, as to what’s going to happen and when, but I don’t think they have any psychological hold over us. Maybe they are a better team, and a better team always wins.”Sehwag looked back at his record-breaking 309 against Pakistan with some degree of pride. “It feels good but the feeling was the same as that I have upon reaching any other milestone,” he told the Press Trust of India. “Very few cricketers manage to come even close to the 300-mark, so I am happy to have that figure to my name. To make 300, you need to stay very long at the crease and for that you need patience, dedication and technique too.”Sehwag also brushed off suggestions that his technique was lacking. “In my case, I kept attacking,” he said. “Maybe I was lucky too, I had my chances before crossing 300. But technique is essential, without that you can’t survive, at least for such a long time. Many say that I am not technically sound but as far as I am concerned I am comfortable with my technique. It is a good technique, which was why I was able to make 300.”

Harbhajan Singh has been banned for the remainder of the current IPL season for his altercation with Sreesanth at the end of Mumbai Indians’ match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday. The ban is for 11 matches, including last Sunday’s game, extendable to 13 if Mumbai progress to the semi-final and final.Sreesanth was let off with a warning after video evidence showed Harbhajan slapped him without any provocation. The duo embraced at the end of the hearing after Harbhajan offered an apology in front of the cameras. Harbhajan will not be appealing against the ban.”The referee studied video tapes of the incident and found the assault by Harbhajan was totally unprovoked. The footage exactly showed that Harbhajan went down the line, wishing all the players, shaking hands with a few players,” said Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the IPL who is also a vice-president of the BCCI. “Sreesanth was the third player that he met. Instead of shaking his hand he actually slapped him and continued down the line, shaking hands with the other players.”Farokh Engineer, the former Indian wicketkeeper who was the match referee, fined Harbhajan 100% of his match fee for Friday’s game. He will now be paid only for the first two matches of the IPL.Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Mumbai side, has also been found guilty of a level 2 offence and fined 50% of his match fee. “Rajput was right behind Harbhajan when the incident took place,” said Modi. “He didn’t take any step to restrain him. He has been fined 50% of his match fee.”The ban on Harbhajan comes as a jolt for Mumbai, who have lost all four games so far in the tournament. “We don’t have a say in matter as far as the ban is concerned,” said Tushar Pania, head of corporate communications at Reliance Industries Limited, who paid US$111.9 million for the Mumbai franchise. “But it does have an impact on the team now especially considering Sachin Tendulkar is injured.”Harbhajan also faces separate action from the Indian board, which has asked him to explain, “as a contracted player”, his role in the incident which came to light after Sreesanth broke down in front of the cameras.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said on Monday that Sudhir Nanavati, a lawyer, has been appointed to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” and submit a report “within 15 days” to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who will refer the findings to the board’s disciplinary committee for possible action.Shah also confirmed that Harbhajan had replied to the board’s show-cause notice. “He has given his reply, but I cannot reveal its contents.”

The ECB’s challenge of finding a replacement for Tim Lamb, who steps down as chief executive in September, is not proving straightforward, according to a report in today’s Daily Telegraph.It’s not a lack of numbers – the board has apparently received more than 150 applications – so much a lack of quality. The salary of around £175,000 is not considered enough to lure high-calibre candidates, especially given the public nature of the job and increasing workload associated with the role.Lamb’s is not the only role the ECB are seeking to fill after a string of resignations among senior staff in recent months. Commercial director Mark Sibley went within days of Lamb’s announcement, communications director John Read left last week and Des Wilson, head of the corporate affairs and marketing sub-committee, resigned over the Zimbabwe issue in June.The changes come at a bad time for the ECB, which is about to start tricky negotiations for the renewal of television and sponsorship deals. Contracts with Channel 4 and Sky (TV) and BBC (radio), and Npower, Vodafone and NatWest (sponsors) all expire in 2005.

Scorecard

A 118-run partnership between Ashraf Mall and Jon Kent was enough to seal a victory for the Dolphins over the Warriors at The Oval in Pietermaritzburg. Having been sent in to bat by the Warriors the Dolphins, at 49 for 4, were in dire straights when Mall and Kent started their rescue act. Brent Kops then levelled the scales as he dismissed Mall for 62, Kent for 78, Lance Klusener for 20 and Duncan Brown for three to finish on a career-best 5 for 42 as the Dolphins ended on 220 for 9.A target of 221 should have been on the cards for the high-riding Warriors but they lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 184 all out. Steven Pope (55) was the only batsman to come to terms with some good all-round bowling from the Dolphins. Andrew Tweedie took four wickets, Klusener three, and young Tyron Pillay took two as the Dolphins kept their hopes alive for a semi-final spot.
ScorecardAt the Wanderers in Johannesburg a century from Neil McKenzie could not save the Lions from losing to Western Province Boland. Winning the toss and electing to bat Western Province Boland scored an entertaining 250 for 6 with Henry Davids (84) and Ashwell Prince (50) doing the damage. Some indisciplined bowling from the Lions coupled with some solid partnerships set Province up for the win.The Lions lost Stephen Cook with the first ball of their innings but recovered well as Adam Bacher and McKenzie took them to 112, when Bacher fell on 49. McKenzie tried in vain to maintain the momentum, but with wickets falling around him, and only Justin Ontong managing to get into double figures, the cause was lost as they were bowled out for 205 having just secured the bonus point.

The tearaway fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has given the Australians a warning ahead of the second Test, which begins in Sharjah on Friday. Regardless of the extreme heat, he intends to bowl fast and maintain his wicket-taking ways. Although Pakistan are 1-0 down in the series, Shoaib is fresh from causing two batting collapses at Colombo, and believes the conditions in Sharjah will help him strike again.”I’m at my best. I am running fast, and the rhythm and flow is there,” Shoaib said after a gruelling net session. “I feel very strong in the legs. I’m always keen to do well against Australia. They are the best batting side in the world, and it gives me a lot of motivation to destroy this line-up.”The conditions in the desert emirate, where this is not usually the cricket season, are sweltering. The temperature is forecast to remain in the high thirties, but Akhtar relishes the trying conditions.”There will be more swing for me here. Unlike Colombo, while it is hot, it is not humid here, which suits us. I’ve played enough cricket at Sharjah to know that I’m more effective here. Since it is drier, I’d be quick off the wicket, and the dry surface would scuff the ball early for us to get reverse swing.”And reverse swing at his pace, he added, is absolutely lethal. “Other people have tried to reverse swing the ball, but it is the pace in our armoury that makes it unplayable.”Shoaib learned the art from Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, and intends to learn more about the nuances of fast bowling while playing county cricket next season.”I want to learn more through county cricket but without wrecking myself. Now that two overseas signings are allowed to each county, it is possible to have a lesser workload,” he said. Refusing to mention the county he would join, he added that negotiations were in progress with two counties.It was evident from his demeanour and his words that he intended to inflict more misery on the Australian batsmen. “I’ve always bowled well in one-day cricket. But my Test average is not good enough, simply because I’ve not played Tests regularly.”Shoaib believes he can get to 350 to 400 Test wickets. “But my job is to win matches for Pakistan. That is what I want to do.”The Aussies are beatable. We beat them in June, and that showed the way for Sri Lanka to beat them in the Champions Trophy. We came very close to beating them in the first Test at Colombo. There they were looking at 600 (in the first innings) and I had to manoeuvre to turn things around.”I was successful in the post-lunch session. I did it again on the fourth day with five wickets in 15 balls. Faisal Iqbal, Taufeeq Umar and Younis Khan batted well, but we could not finish it off, mainly because of our inexperienced batting. But the Aussies now know that despite the inexperienced batting, beating us would not be easy.”Anyway, it is my job to lead the way, to be the inspiration, to lift the team. And I’m doing just that.”

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA), in conjunction with Cricket Australia, has today announced various tributes in honour of David Hookes to occur across all levels of cricket this weekend in South Australia.Tomorrow’s One-Day International between India and Zimbabwe will see the SACA’s president Ian McLachlan lead a minute’s silence before the start of play.Both India and Zimbabwe participated in a minute’s silence prior to their match on Tuesday (January 20), therefore the SACA requested this opportunity for a small tribute to David Hookes for the benefit of the fans attending tomorrow’s game.The One-Day International between Australia and Zimbabwe on Monday (January 26) will see the West End Redbacks join the two international teams on the Adelaide Oval, following the national anthem, to observe a minute’s silence.The Redbacks will wear their Pura Cup uniform and SACA red cap during the tribute.All Grade clubs, both men’s and women’s, will wear black armbands this weekend and observe a minute’s silence prior to the start of each match.Flags at the Adelaide Oval will continue to fly at half mast throughout the weekend.

ScorecardFive wickets after tea infused life into a game heading for a draw, but the Titans could not prise out the Lions’s last two wickets. Lions ended on 276 for 8, far short of the unrealistic target of 409 they had to chase in 84 overs.Daryll Cullinan, the Titans captain, batted on for 12 overs at the start of the day, eventually declaring with the score on 394 for 9. From the very beginning, it became obvious that the Lions were not going to chase the target. At tea, they were 164 for 3. Five balls after tea, Adam Bacher edged Paul Harris to slip for 93. Dale Steyn then took two more quick wickets, and there was panic. The score was now 189 for 6. Hylton Ackerman and Ahmed Omar staged a revival amid fading daylight, but with the reintroduction of Stein, two wickets fell of consecutive balls. But Ackerman went on, and remained unbeaten on 81, a captain’s innings that saved his team.
ScorecardThe target of 374 set by Western Province Boland proved to be beyond the Warriors’s reach. The 114-run victory suggested WPB’s campaign was back on track after a rocky start to the season.To win, the Warriors needed some player to make a big score. What they got instead were only starts. Mark Bruyns, Arno Jacobs and Mark Boucher all failed to convert good starts into a winning score. Bruyns had worked hard and looked set for more when he was caught off Charl Willoughby for 61. Jacobs was patient in getting to 60 when he was also caught off Willoughby. Boucher was watchful but was bowled by Neil Johnson for 49. From 214 for 4 the innings fell away as the Warriors were bowled out for 258, with Rory Kleinveldt taking 3 for 40.
ScorecardThe Dolphins made a splash in Durban, squeezing past the Eagles by two wickets to move to the top of the table. After bowling out the Eagles for 193 in the second innings, it should have been an easy win. But the road to 206 was not easy, for Victor Mpitsang took three wickets to leave the Dolphins reeling at 40 for 3. Three more wickets, including Dale Benkenstein and Lance Klusener, heroes of the first innings, left the Dolphins on 110 for 6. Two more wickets for Roger Telemachus and the game was all but lost at 142 for 8.But Andrew Tweedie, at No.9, and Zahir Abrahim, one place below him, put on 67 in 12 overs to snatch an unlikely victory. Tweedie, who had scored at nearly a-run-a-ball, ended on 42.

The Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation (AACC) has drawn up plans for a six-team, 16-match Under-19 tournament in the Indian port city of Vishakapatnam. The competition, featuring teams from India, Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and Zimbabwe, will be held from November 19 -27, 2005, and will be used as a warm-up competition for next year’s U19 World Cup.Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Asian Cricket Council and chairman of AACC, explained the rationale behind the tournament. “Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation is a regional body formed by the Africa Cricket Association and the Asian Cricket Council to support the development activities of its members across both continents,” he said. “The recent Standard Chartered Afro-Asia Cup was the AACC’s first tournament venture. An A Team tournament, featuring the players on the brink of selection for the Test and ODI teams, is scheduled to be held early in 2006.”Peter Chingoka, president of the Africa Cricket Association said: “These kinds of player-formative exercises are very much part of what the AACC aims to promote over the next few years.”The U19 World Cup will be held in Sri Lanka in February 2006. “Our cricketers all have ambitions to play at the highest level,” said Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s chief executive. “Age-group tournaments such as these in different conditions against their cricketing peers can only help them on their way to the top.””It’s important that players get as much exposure as possible to top competition and different conditions,” said KK Haridas, ACC events executive. “Vishakapatnam will provide a close approximation to what the U19 players will encounter in Sri Lanka.”In a joint statement, Hoosain Ayob and Sultan Rana, the development managers of Africa and Asia respectively, affirmed that “Alongside Africa’s and Asia’s existing development activities, these high-profile events are welcome additions. The scale and scope of our development program through the support of the AACC, to boost the efforts of all our members will be substantial”.The tournament will feature three matches a day, beginning with Pakistan v Sri Lanka, India v Bangladesh and South Africa v Zimbabwe, and two rest days between qualifying matches before the final on Sunday, November 27.