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A round-up of the fourth day’s action of the eighth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2009-10

Cricinfo staff25-Nov-2009

Group A

Asif Hussain’s watchful century was the highlight of the day as the match between Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Khan Research Laboratories in Rawalpindi fizzled out to a draw. Resuming on 1 for no loss, WAPDA were lifted by Asif’s eighth first-class century to 195 for 4. The right-hander remained unbeaten on 100, hitting 11 fours during his 263-ball innings, as WAPDA declared after 59 overs. The target of 354 was impossible for KRL, but they lost their openers during the seven overs they had to face. Both teams agreed to a draw, but WAPDA captain Ahmed Said would be happier, having pocketed first-innings points.

Group A

Lalit Modi will remain in charge of the IPL for the length of his term, BCCI president Shashank Manohar said on Thursday

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Dec-2009Lalit Modi will remain in charge of the IPL for the length of his term, BCCI president Shashank Manohar said on Thursday, calling all reports on his imminent ouster baseless and false. It was his first public statement on what has been a messy running battle in the media involving his two seniormost colleagues, Modi and N Srinivasan, the board secretary.Manohar, speaking after a meeting of the IPL’s governing council, departed from his usual terse style to deny any rift between the two. Someone with a “fertile brain’, he said, had cooked up the idea that Modi was being removed as IPL chairman in a conspiracy being hatched by Manohar, Srinivasan , BCCI treasurer MP Pandove and Farooq Abdullah of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association.”Modi is doing an excellent job as IPL commissioner and chairman,” Manohar said. “He is appointed by the general body till 2012 and there is no reason and no power or authority with either of us to remove him.”Reports of strained relations between Srinivasan and Modi have been in the public domain for the past few days, fuelled by media “leaks” with both points of view. Most recent was a strongly-worded letter allegedly written by Modi to Srinivasan over the appointment of match observers during the ODI series against Australia in October-November.When contacted at the time by Cricinfo, Modi did not deny the letter only saying, “We write to one another on many issues and these things are for internal consumption and not for the world at large.”The letter has Modi – chairman of the BCCI’s tournament and fixtures committee – claiming he was kept in the dark over the appointments. “”As chairman, I should have been taken into confidence,” the letter said.It said that the committee meeting before the series had not discussed the issue, nor had it been on the agenda. Even then, it said, Srinivasan – as convenor of the meeting – could have corrected his mistake “through a conference call or circulation with the members”.It went on to say that Srinivasan’s office was making decisions on “ad hoc” basis and asked for the BCCI secretary to include Modi’s views at the board’s next working committee meeting, in Mumbai on Friday.The first rumbles came after Modi lost the elections to the president’s post of the Rajasthan Cricket Associaton (RCA) on December 7. Media reports at the time suggested a threat to his position in the IPL – the BCCI, it was reported, was thinking of appointing its president as the ex-officio chairman of the lucrative league, relegating Modi to the role of a convenor.

A summary of the fifth round of matches in New Zealand’s domestic one-day competition

Cricinfo staff28-Dec-2009Martin Guptill’s scintillating innings made light work of a challenging chase as Auckland cruised to a five-wicket win over Canterbury in Christchurch. Canterbury’s start was thwarted by the loss of their openers before Peter Fulton and Johann Myburgh steadied the ship with a 93-run stand. Scott Styris accounted for Fulton when he was a shot away from his half-century, but Myburgh had set his sights on a big innings. Craig McMillan provided the impetus with a typically belligerent 57 that included five fours and two sixes. The fifth wicket raised 90 in 73 balls before McMillan’s dismissal triggered a flurry of wickets that denied Canterbury the finishing flourish. Myburgh was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 112, setting Auckland a steep chase of 283. Guptill, however, was intent on making it a no-contest and took charge of the match with a calculated assault from which only Rob Nicol and Chris Martin escaped. Striking 20 fours and three sixes off 137 balls, Guptill put Auckland in sight of victory through useful stands with Richard Jones, Ravi Bopara and Styris, before falling for 156.While Guptill’s effort scuppered Canterbury’s chances, Central Districts faced no such problems from Otago, easing to a 59-run victory in Dunedin. The toss was one of the few things that went right for Otago, who were immediately on the back foot with Central Districts’ rapid start to the innings. Neil Wagner and Yasir Arafat engineered a strong comeback, getting three wickets for seven runs to stifle the momentum. However, their joy was short-lived as Timothy Weston and Jacob Oram rebuilt the innings with a 121-run stand that set Central Districts up for a strong finish. While both batsmen missed hundreds, the lower middle-order ensured that their work did not go to waste as Kieran Noema-Barnett, Graham Napier and George Worker pushed Central Districts to 297 before a late spark from Ian Butler bowled them out in the last over. Despite getting starts, none of the Otago batsmen were able to play the anchor role and they floundered to 125 for 5 just after the halfway mark. Butler was again in the thick of action, trying to spark a lower order revival, but steady spells by Central Districts’ back-up bowlers ensured that the script ended in their favour. Oram picked up 3 for 48 as Otago’s innings folded in the 45th over.Wellington completed a 22-run win against Northern Districts in a rain-affected encounter at Seddon Park. Kane Williamson’s 70 was the mainstay of Northern District’s innings, while Michael Parlane and Anton Devcich chipped in with useful contributions. Dewayne Bowden, Andy McKay and Paul Hitchcock took two wickets apiece to keep the score down to 223. Wellington’s chase looked to be on course when the heavens opened in the 35th over of the chase with the score on 156 for 4. Mathew Bell’s responsible 40 had taken charge of the chase when the D/L method adjudged Wellington the victor.

Former England captain Tony Greig believes ball-tampering has been prevalent over the years

Cricinfo staff09-Feb-2010Shahid Afridi’s ‘biting the ball’ incident during the fifth ODI between Australia and Pakistan in Perth may have raised a furore and led to a two-match ban but former England captain Tony Greig believes ball-tampering has been prevalent over the years.”Some may choose to deny it but most bowlers have technically indulged in ball-tampering,” Greig told Cricinfo’s show. “Ball-tampering is one of cricket’s most open secrets and it has been for at least 50 years.”In the most recent incident, Afridi was caught by TV cameras apparently biting the ball on a couple of occasions during the last ODI against Australia. This was reported by the TV umpire to the on-field umpires who, after a chat with Afridi, changed the ball. At a hearing with the match referee Ranjan Madugalle immediately after the game, Afridi pleaded guilty to the charge, apologised and regretted his action but was banned for two Twenty20 internationals.Afridi later said the practice was common in cricket, a sentiment echoed by Greig. “It is common knowledge that bottle tops and sand paper in particular have been used in the past to change the surface of the ball in an effort to create reverse swing,” Greig said. “New Zealand’s Adam Parore openly admits that New Zealand, in retribution for what they thought Pakistan had been doing, went to work on the ball with a bottle top in a Test in 1990 in Faisalabad. Parore said Chris Pringle was the major beneficiary in so much as he took 11 wickets in the match.”Saliva and sweat are permitted as shining agents but what about the mints and gum those alter the make up of saliva? What about sunscreens and lip balm which mixes with sweat and so it goes on.”Greig also sought a rewrite of the current laws regarding ball-tampering as they threw little light. “Most of the better cricket administrators have been former players and they know that its been happening,” said Greig. “But their attitude has been to write the laws as strictly as possible knowing full well that short of submitting all balls for forensics testing there is little chance of doing anything other than what is being done at the moment.”Ian Chappell, the former Australia captain, said everything possible should be done to encourage swing. “Rub the laws and start again,” Chappell said. “If bowlers feel that the contest is even then I don’t think you will get so much of the illegal actions and the ball tampering. They should sit down with all the captains, and say – write down the list of all the things that make ball swing.”We will then go through the list and then pick out – 6, 7, 8 …pick a number. Then we present the list to all the captains, and we ask them to pick one out of that lot, and make it legal and the rest is illegal. And if you are caught doing any of those – big trouble, you will be handed a suspension.”You’ve got to keep swing bowling in the game. Because swing bowling and leg spin bowling are the two aspects of the game that you must do everything to encourage, they are both attacking forms of bowling.”

MS Dhoni has credited Zaheer Khan and the other bowlers for the thumping ten-wicket victory over Bangladesh that secured a clean sweep

Cricinfo staff27-Jan-2010MS Dhoni has credited Zaheer Khan and the other bowlers for the thumping ten-wicket victory over Bangladesh that secured a clean sweep.Bangladesh had frustrated India by moving along to 290 for 3 soon after the drinks break in the morning session, and were even looking good to pose a stiff challenge for the injury-riddled Indian batting line-up in the fourth innings.However, they imploded spectacularly – losing their final seven wickets for 22 runs – to be bowled out for 312, and setting India a target of just two runs. The collapse was sparked by the spinners before the pace and movement of Zaheer wrapped up the innings three deliveries after lunch.”It was a difficult task to get wickets in this track, both for spinners and pacers,” Dhoni said after collecting the series trophy. “But all credit goes to the bowlers. They really put their best to get those 20 wickets, especially Zaheer’s spell.”The ball was getting old and the wicket was getting slower and slower,” he said. “This is a reason we decided to bowl first in this wicket. If you bat first you need to score 600 plus or else you have to again come and bat. So it was tough but I think the bowlers did a terrific job.”Zaheer picked up a career-best 7 for 87 in the second innings, and his first ten-wicket haul to be named Man of the Match, and also bagged the Man-of-the-Series award. He was out of action for several months last year after a major shoulder operation in July, and only returned during the home series against Sri Lanka two months ago.He said the incisive spell with the old ball has boosted his confidence but warned that he was still short of his best. “I am happy the way my spell went today and it has boosted my morale,” he said. “I still need to work on my fitness. My shoulder needs to be monitored and I have to do the rehab exercises.”The win also improves Dhoni’s captaincy record to eight wins in 11, and completed India’s fifth consecutive series victory, increasing their lead at the top of the Test rankings by a point. “We always can do better. For the last 12 months we have done well in both ODIs and Tests,” he said. “There is always scope for improvement but the result is very satisfactory.”The one source of concern for Dhoni is injuries to three of his middle-order batsmen – VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh. Laxman missed the second Test in Mirpur with stitches to his hand, Dravid has a jaw fracture and Yuvraj has a torn ligament in his left wrist and there’s still a question mark over their availability for the series against South Africa next month. “The series was full of injuries so I am a bit worried. But with the amount of cricket that we play these days, it is okay. I hope the players (VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh) are fit before the South Africa series.”

Bangladesh’s highest-profile batsman, Mohammad Ashraful, has been dropped from a 13-man squad for the three-match one-day series against England, which gets underway on Sunday, after an extended run of poor form

Andrew Miller in Fatullah25-Feb-2010Bangladesh’s highest-profile batsman, Mohammad Ashraful, has been dropped from a 13-man squad for the three-match one-day series against England, which gets underway on Sunday, after an extended run of poor form. His place in the squad has been taken by the uncapped allrounder, Mohammad Sohrawordhi, while the country’s leading strike bowler, Mashrafe Mortaza, comes back into the reckoning after an eight-month injury lay-off.Since scoring a century on debut as a 17-year-old, against Sri Lanka at Colombo in September 2001, Ashraful has gained a reputation as one of the most naturally gifted batsmen in the world game, and on rare occasions, such as his matchwinning century against Australia in June 2005, he has lived up to that star billing.But his respective Test and ODI averages of 22.78 and 23.72 do his talent no justice whatsoever, and the past 12 months have been particularly torrid. His last century came against Zimbabwe in August 2009, shortly after he was relieved of the captaincy to help him concentrate on run-scoring, but he managed just 62 runs in six innings, across all three forms of the game, on the recent tour of New Zealand.”Ashraful himself wanted a break and we also felt that the pressure on him had increased to the extent that his confidence was suffering,” said the Bangladesh chairman of selectors, Raqiful Alam. “We believe that a gap from international cricket would be beneficial for him and he will come back strongly soon and do justice to his calibre.”Ashraful’s replacement, Sohrawordhi, adds depth to the team, in the opinion of the selectors. “He is a very capable cricketer and is in the team as a specialist left-arm spinner,” said Alam. “He can also be a more than handy batsman in the middle and lower-order and he is a top fielder. He is someone who has progressed step-by-step through the development system and has been a consistent performer at Academy and A Team levels over the years.”The return of Mortaza is the big boost to the Bangladesh squad, following his latest bout of rehabilitation after suffering a knee injury in the Caribbean in July. Although he went wicketless in his appearance for the BCB XI in Fatullah on Thursday, the selectors are confident that he is ready to resume his role of strike bowler.”He has played in the practice match today [against England] and he has also been declared fit by his doctor,” said Alam. “Someone like Mortaza has got nothing to prove regarding his ability and we have confidence in him. He is a big-match player.”Roqibul Hasan, who toured New Zealand earlier this month but made just 9 in his solitary ODI at Napier, was not able to preserve his place in the squad when he fell for 14 in the Fatullah warm-up, while the selectors also omitted the pacemen Nazmul Hossain and Shahadat Hossain because of the balance of the side.Bangladesh squad Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Zunaed Siddique, Aftab Ahmed Chowdhury, Mahmud Ullah, Naeem Islam, Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Md. Sohrawordhi.

Doug Bollinger, the Australian fast bowler, has been drafted in by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for the injured Jacob Oram

Cricinfo staff27-Mar-2010Doug Bollinger, the Australian fast bowler, has been drafted in by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for the injured Jacob Oram, who was ruled out of the 2010 season of the IPL. Bollinger will join the team on April 5.Sundar Raman, the IPL’s chief executive, had confirmed the news on his Twitter page: “Doug Bollinger to debut for CSK, replaces injured Jacob Oram who is out for the entire series.” Bollinger’s inclusion will bolster Chennai’s bowling attack, which sorely lacked a genuine strike bowler during a disappointing start to their campaign.Oram suffered a patella tendon tear shortly after New Zealand’s home series against Australia began and was advised rest for up to a month. His participation in the IPL was in doubt, but the franchise chose to wait before taking a final call on his replacement.Bollinger, who came in to the Australian Test side in January 2009, has emerged as one of the team’s best strike bowlers in the last year. He had an outstanding 2009-10 home season, taking 25 wickets in five Tests, against West Indies and Pakistan. He also took 15 wickets in eight ODIs against the two teams and began the Test series in New Zealand with a five-for in Wellington.

Tony MacGibbon, who died aged 85, was one of the survivors from New Zealand’s first Test win over West Indies in 1955-56

Martin Williamson17-Apr-2010Tony MacGibbon, who died aged 85, was one of the survivors from New Zealand’s first Test win over West Indies in 1955-56. Only just Sam Guillen, Jack Alabaster and John Reid, the captain, remain from that famous side.A tall, brisk bowler and capable batsman, MacGibbon made his debut for New Zealand against England at Lancaster Park in 1950-51 and went on to play 26 Tests, taking 70 wickets at 30.05, at the time a New Zealand record, and scoring 814 runs at 19.85.On the 1953-54 tour of South African tour he was crippled by illness, but still took 22 Test wickets. His 35 runs in a low-scoring match contributed considerably to New Zealand’s maiden Test victory, while an aggressive 66 at Old Trafford was the highest score by a New Zealander in the dismal England series of 1958. At the end of that tour, MacGibbon remained in England to read Civil Engineering at Durham University”Tony was a hell of a good team man and he had some good figures,” Reid said. “I can’t say we won too many Tests with him, but we did win one and that was the first. I used to pick up quite a few catches in the slips off him.”He was a tall guy, about six-foot five, who used to bowl outswingers nicely. Of course, in those days, it was the old back foot no-ball rule – the drag rule – so as long as you landed behind the wickets you could reach way over the front-foot line and he would have been bowling at that pace from 19 yards.”Speaking to the Southland Times, Reid recalled one occasion on New Zealand’s 1958 tour of England when against Essex, MacGibbon was less accurate. “We were told it was one of the first games that had been televised by the BBC and he opened the bowling and sprayed them a bit. I was fielding at second slip, I think it was, and he hit me on the shin it was that bloody wide.”At the end of the over I must’ve stormed down the other end and he said, `Take it easy, Boss. Don’t go crook, we’re on television’. He was a bit of a character and one of my best team-mates.”

Hampshire’s winless early season run continued as they played out a high-scoring draw with Somerset on a flat pitch at the Rose Bowl.

13-May-2010
Scorecard
Hampshire’s winless early season run continued as they played out a high-scoring draw with Somerset on a flat pitch at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire, who had lost their opening five games in all competitions, at least managed to halt the damaging run, but with a draw all but sealed yesterday after Somerset’s batsmen filled their boots on a placid pitch, the final day’s play was tepid fare.Resuming on 441 for 6 and with debutant Jos Buttler, fresh from a maiden first-class century, still at the crease, the pattern of play was simple for Somerset – bat, bat and bat some more. Buttler was out for 144 in Somerset’s 524 and Hampshire reached 37 for 2 before the match was declared a draw.In partnership with Damien Wright, Buttler remained cool and composed at the crease, showing the same dogged determination and decent range of shots which characterised his fuss-free progression to three figures yesterday.Hampshire used 10 bowlers and were toiling. But with Somerset in sight of 500, the hosts claimed their first breakthrough of the final day’s play.
With the score on 499, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson claimed his first
Championship wicket of the season, drawing a leading edge from Wright not long after the Somerset batsman had claimed a deserved half century.The game was low in intensity but Buttler continued to impress, breezing
towards his 150 with ease. But after tailender Ben Phillips chopped an attempted cut off Rangana Herath into his stumps, Buttler began to open his shoulders.With his score on 144, he chanced his arm once too often, holing out to Dawson at deep mid on to give Herath another scalp. And the innings was finally wrapped up as last man Charl Willoughby was cleaned up by a Herath delivery which kept low.Hampshire did their best to make the tie interesting, beginning their second innings in abysmal fashion when Jimmy Adams edged Willoughby to Marcus Trescothick for a duck in the first over and Michael Carberry followed in near identical fashion just two runs later.But even the most excitable of Somerset fans were unable to muster anything
other than lukewarm enthusiasm, as Dawson combined with the experienced South African batsman Neil McKenzie (20 not out) to prod Hampshire timidly to the close and a first positive result of the season.

Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chairman, has submitted documents relating to several important IPL contracts sought by income-tax officers to the BCCI

Cricinfo staff08-May-2010Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chairman, has submitted to the BCCI documents sought by income-tax officers relating to several important IPL contracts. “Some more documents are to come which, we have been told, would be delivered in a day or two,” Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the BCCI, told .The documents submitted reportedly include original as well as notarised copies of all franchise agreements, global media rights agreements, global media rights packages, bids by franchises, media rights licensee agreements, eligibility letters of all bidders with details and sponsorship agreementsThe board, previously, did not possess several original documents which included the three losing bids in the 2008 auction where the eight franchises were bought, and the agreement with Multi Screen Media (MSM), which holds the rights to broadcast the tournament. Shetty was entrusted by the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, following the IPL governing council meeting on April 26, to retrieve the documents.Modi was suspended by the BCCI following allegations of financial impropriety, and will respond to the charges on May 10. “I have just come to wrap up my reply to the show cause that I have to submit on Monday. I am going to reply personally because there is nothing to hide,” Modi was quoted by as saying.