All posts by h716a5.icu

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has been ruled out for three to four weeks after picking up a calf strain

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2012Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has been sidelined for three to four weeks after picking up a calf strain on the second morning of the only Test against Zimbabwe in Napier. Taylor will miss the rest of the Zimbabwe series and is hoping to be fit for the home one-dayers against South Africa in late February.Taylor was injured attempting a single and was forced to retire hurt on 122 early on the second day. Only 15 overs of play was possible before rain intervened with New Zealand at a strong 392 for 5.Paul Close, the New Zealand physio, said that Taylor would have further tests before starting a rehabilitation programme. “While it is early days, our target is to have Ross available for the one-day series against South Africa in late February,” Close said.Opener Brendon McCullum is expected to take over the captaincy from Taylor, although no official vice-captain has been named for the Zimbabwe series.

Middlesex were in sight of victory and promotion at the end of the third day of their County Championship Division Two match against Leicestershire

14-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Middlesex were in sight of victory and promotion at the end of the third day of their County Championship Division Two match against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Gareth Berg hit a career-best unbeaten 130 as Middlesex totalled 502 to secure a first-innings lead of 183 runs.Then their bowlers took over leaving Leicestershire tottering on 222 for 7 by the close. Tim Murtagh dismissed both Leicestershire openers in his first two overs before offspinner Ollie Rayner took three for 32 as the home side crumbled in the evening session despite half-centuries from Greg Smith and James Taylor.Middlesex now look set to clinch the victory that would send them up as Division Two champions. They began the day at 401 for 8 and added another 101 runs in 19 overs with Berg and Murtagh sharing a record ninth-wicket partnership of 172.It beat the previous best of 160 set by Patsy Hendren and Jack Durston against Essex at Leyton in 1927. The runs came quickly against some erratic Leicestershire bowling with Berg reaching the second century of his career off 122 balls with three sixes and 11 fours.Murtagh also enjoyed himself cracking nine boundaries on the way to his first half-century of the season. He finally succumbed, edging a delivery from Wayne White that provided wicket-keeper Ned Eckersley with his sixth catch of the innings, one short of the record held by Neil Burns against Somerset 10 years ago.With a lead of 183 Middlesex made immediate inroads into Leicestershire’s second innings with openers Matt Boyce and Will Jones back in the pavilion in less than three overs for the second time in the match. After striking two crisp fours in Murtagh’s first over Boyce was out lbw to the final delivery.Jones, out for a duck in the first innings, managed two runs before he too was trapped lbw by Murtagh leaving Leicestershire at 11 for 2. But a battling third-wicket stand of 121 in 34 overs between Smith and Taylor put the break on Middlesex’s progress.The two of them showed plenty of determination and concentration with Smith reaching his second half-century of the game with a glorious off-driven boundary against Steven Crook. Taylor also went to his 50 off 89 balls with six boundaries and the pair of them finally began to give Leicestershire some hope of staging a fight back.But Smith was then trapped lbw by a quicker delivery from Jamie Dalrymple for 58 and although Taylor continued to look in good form wickets began falling at the other end.Having reached 80 Taylor edged a short pitch delivery from Crook through to the wicket-keeper and Rayner bagged the wickets of Jacques Du Toit, White and Rob Taylor as the home side lost four wickets for 35 runs in the final session.

A round-up of the action from the fourth day of the fourth round of matches from the Ranji Trophy Elite League 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2011Group BSanjay Bangar hit an unbeaten 77•ESPNcricinfo LtdAshok Dinda’s aggressive fast bowling fetched him his maiden ten-wicket haul in a first-class match and set up a thrilling final day on which fourteen wickets fell at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak. Haryana succumbed to the accuracy and pace of Dinda to be bowled out for 169 in their second innings, setting Bengal a target of 189 from 37 overs. The visitors made a good first of the chase, but bad light stopped play 30 minutes before the scheduled end of play, at which point Bengal were 128 for 5, needing 61 runs from 54 balls. Haryana had begun the day on 42 for 1, 61 ahead of Bengal, with a draw looming. But Dinda ran through the line-up to finish with career-best figures of 7 for 44, giving him 12 for 142 for the match, also a career best. Though Bengal lost opener Arindam Das early on, the second-wicket pair of Rohan Banerjee and Abhishk Jhunjunwalla injected the required urgency into the chase with a 55-run stand before Sourav Ganguly cracked a brisk 22-ball 21 that included the only six of the innings to set up what looked like exciting finish until the light decided to play spoilsport.Bengal have five points from three games, while Haryana are slightly better off, in fifth place with eight points from four. Bengal had missed a golden opportunity to overtake Haryana’s first-innings score on Thursday by the small margin of 19 runs when their lower order folded in feeble fashion. Dinda summed up the hurt in the dressing room: “I am happy with my effort but I can’t forget that we fell short,”In Delhi, the fast bowling pair of Parvinder Awana and Ashish Nehra rattled Baroda with speed and movement at the Feroz Shah Kotla, sharing the final six wickets, to help the hosts to a ten-wicket victory. Baroda resumed on 81 for 4, still trailing Delhi’s first-innings score by 16. On the final day, Nehra picked up three quick wickets: the engine room of Baroda’s batting in Rakesh Solanki, Pinal Shah and Ambati Rayudu, who played with a swollen thumb. Awana, who had taken two wickets on Thursday , then polished off the lower order and the tail to pick his fourth five-for of his career. Baroda had been shot out inside 20 overs on the final morning and a target of 48 runs was knocked by the Delhi openers easily. The six points (including the bonus) helped Delhi register their first outright win of the season and jump atop Group B.Awana later told the that during the IPL, Shaun Pollock, the Mumbai Indians’ consultant, had told him not to give up on bowling fast and to “develop” his fast bowling muscles. He also thanked Nehra, who finished with nine wickets, for inspiring hims. “Ashish bowling with so much of effort spurred me a lot. He told me to keep bowling my heart out and the wickets will flow.”Udit Birla’s maiden first-class fifty, in his third match, helped Madhya Pradesh register a five-wicket win over Gujarat on a final day devoid of drama at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore. MP began the day needing 91 to win, with six wickets in hand on a pitch that had offered the seamers good purchase on the previous three days. The overnight pair of Abbas Ali and Harpreet Singh started confidently before Ishwar Chaudhary induced an edge from Ali. The 22-year-old Birla then took charge of the chase – MP were 70 runs away from victory when he came in, and he scored 52 of them.”It was my third match and it’s a special feeling to score [my] maiden Ranji fifty in a winning cause,” Birla told .Niraj Patel, Gujarat’s captain, did not hide his disappointment, though he praised his fast bowlers. “Our top-order did not stand up and be counted on both the occasions. However, I am really pleased with our bowling and fielding efforts.”Madhya Pradesh are tied on eight points with Baroda, Tamil Nadu and Haryana, but they have played three games to Baroda and Haryana’s four.Group AIt took Mumbai an hour to bundle out Orissa at the DRIEMS Ground in Cuttack and secure an easy innings-and-210 runs win. Orissa began the final day on 163 for 7, and lost Basant Mohanty off the second ball of the day for 41. The dismissal gave Ramesh Powar his 23rd first-class five-for. The last two wickets put up brief resistance, with partnerships of 41 and 22, but Mumbai eventually bowled out Orissa for 226 with plenty of time to spare. Zaheer Khan, who bowled 22 overs in the entire match, picking four wickets, did not bowl at all on the final morning. The six points Mumbai take from the match put them at the top of Group A, while Orissa are still at rock bottom.Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni praised his team for not getting distracted following Ajit Agarkar’s decision to head back to Mumbai on the first day of the match because he was not included in the playing eleven. “We did not expect it to be so easy, for Orissa have been in the Elite division for some years now, and have scored well in excess of 400 in their last two matches,” Kulkarni said. “So their collapse came as a bit of a surprise. But then, a victory is a victory. Our bowlers bowled beautifully. Our batsmen, particularly Kaustubh Pawar and Suryakumar Yadav, set the tone of the match by posting a big total. It was total team effort.”Aakash Chopra celebrated going past 10,000 first-class runs on the third day by converting his start into a century on the fourth, to help Rajasthan earn a draw against Uttar Pradesh at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Rajasthan were made to follow on and started the fourth day still 127 runs behind. Chopra and Vineet Saxena took their opening stand from 91 to 166, with Chopra registering his 28th first-class century of his career. Uttar Pradesh bowlers were finding it hard to create any sort of impact on a lifeless pitch. Robin Bist, who had got a century in Mumbai, took advantage of the bowlers’ predicament, scoring exactly 100 not out as Rajasthan reached 349 for 2, enough to earn a point. Rajasthan have managed just one point from each of their four games now, while UP have taken three from each of their games.Karnataka secured three points for the first-innings lead against Saurashtra at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Saurashtra started the day on 179 for 5, facing Karnataka’s 503. It was a question of how long they could bat; they lasted 49 overs – not enough to deny Karnataka three points but just about enough to avoid an outright loss. S Aravind dismissed Pratik Mehta in the second over, but veteran Shitanshu Kotak and Sandip Maniar batted time to prevent a collapse. Kotak, one of the more determined dead-bat batsman in domestic cricket, was let off in the very first over of the day by Stuart Binny in the slips and then again by KB Pavan in the eighth over. He stuck on for the next two hours, virtually snatching Karnataka’s hopes of an outright victory. Aravind eventually dismissed Maniar and offspinner Sunil Raju took a wicket to finish with four in the innings.Though the hosts picked three quick wickets in Saurashtra second innings, Cheteshwar Pujara made a patient, unbeaten 52 to ensure there was no collapse.Punjab’s lower order made handy contributions to prevent Railways from making a comeback at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. The hosts had started the day 144 runs ahead but were four wickets down in their second innings. They slipped to 83 for 6 on the fourth day and needed the lower order to step up to avoid giving Railways a gettable target. Amitoze Singh scored 68, Mayank Sidhana got 49, and Manpreet Gony smashed 45 off 39 balls including two sixes. That took Punjab to 242 for 9. They declared and left Railways with 35.3 overs to bat, which they negotiated thanks to Sanjay Bangar’s unbeaten 77. Punjab took three points from the game to go to fourth in the table.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Harare

The Preview by Firdose Moonda15-Aug-2011Match facts
August 16, Harare
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT)Vusi Sibanda has been solid at the top of the order for Zimbabwe•Associated PressThe Big PictureZimbabwe are within sniffing distance of ending their drought of five years without an ODI series win over a Test-playing nation. They have beaten Ireland and Kenya in recent times, but their previous series win against a Test playing-country was in August 2006 when they beat Bangladesh 3-2 at home. Much has changed since then, and should Zimbabwe pull off this victory it would underline their notion that this is indeed a new era for their cricket.So far they have outplayed their opposition convincingly, bowling with aggression and batting with composure. They have all the ingredients to cook up a successful summer – a new-ball bowler, Brian Vitori, who looks better and better with every match, back-up seamers like Elton Chigumbura, who play a supporting role but can also take wickets, a top order that can play seam and spin with equal conviction, and, as they showed in the last match, a middle order that can finish the job.It all looks a little too easy for Zimbabwe at the moment and they may want to challenge themselves by trying to defend a total rather than chase one down, especially since their middle order has not spent enough time at the crease. Perhaps those ideas will be left to Bulawayo, if the series has been won by then, and there is room for experimentation before welcoming Pakistan and New Zealand.For Bangladesh, disaster looms, according to Shakib Al Hasan, who called his team situation a crisis. Their mistakes have become more glaring as the series has progressed and are now in urgent need of attention.The top order appears to need superglue stuck to their spikes so that they will stay at the crease and avoid forcing the middle and lower orders to fix their mistakes. The top four have failed – their execution has been poor and their application non-existent. Although they are fronting up against a good attack, they are also been given a pitch and conditions conducive to batting, and if Bangladesh are to come back into this series, they are going to have to learn patience very quickly.The Bangladesh bowlers have not been given much to work with but they have also not shown much perseverance and have tended to give up after getting an early breakthrough. The left-arm spinners have not threatened and it will be up to the offspinners and seamers, who showed that they can extract some reverse swing, to take wickets. A more determined effort is required from Bangladesh if they are to go to Bulawayo with any thoughts of restoring respectability.Form guide (most recent first) Zimbabwe WWWLL
Bangladesh LLLLL
In the spotlight He has been out cheaply in both matches so far and even though he leads a winning team, Brendan Taylor will want to produce with the bat as well. Taylor’s perennial problem has been a lack of footwork and after being bowled by his opposite number in the first match and edging while playing away from his body in the second, it may be an issue he wants to address as the summer continues.Nasir Hossain rescued a tattered Bangladesh innings on debut in the previous game and immediately impressed with his handling of the short ball. On first glance, there is something distinctly different about Nasir when compared to other Bangladesh batsmen. Rather than mistiming his pull shot or being hurried into it, he plays it with skill and grace and his maturity at the crease was evident in his well-paced 63. He was only given two overs with the ball, but it will be interesting to see how he performs in that department as well. Team news With a series win just a match away, Zimbabwe are unlikely to tinker with a successful XI. Kyle Jarvis is still waiting for his opportunity, but may have to hang on until Bulawayo to get it, even though Chris Mpofu struggled a little in the second match. Regis Chakabva will also have to bide his time before getting a look in.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brendan Taylor (capt), 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Forster Mutizwa, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Ray Price, 10 Brian Vitori, 11 Chris MpofuA continually failing top order should call for some change and Bangladesh may have no choice but to finally bring Junaid Siddique in. One of Tamim Iqbal or Imrul Kayes should pay the price for their poor showings so far. However, the selectors have been hesitant to drop either and Siddique may slot into the middle order ahead of Shahriar Nafees or Mohammad Ashraful. Abdur Razzak is likely to keep his place, more for his batting than his left-arm spin, meaning that Suhrawadi Shuvo will have to sit out again.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes / Junaid Siddique, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Nasir Hossain, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain Pitch and conditions
The surface should remain good for batting, as it has done through the one-off Test and previous two ODIs, with all the strips on the square known for being flat. The first hour has had something for the bowlers though, with just a little bit of extra bounce and movement on offer. Later in the day, the pitch has slowed down, but there is not a lot of turn. Batting should be a reasonably easy task and the bowlers will have to stick to good lines and lengths and bowl wicket-to-wicket to get results.Stats and trivia The team chasing has won 50% of the time at Harare Sports Club in its 19-year history as an international ground. However, in the last two years, the team fielding first has won 64.2% of the time and in the last year, that increases to 80%. Imrul Kayes’ batting average in day matches, 27.41, is almost 10 runs fewer than it is in day-night matches, 37.09.Quotes “We have to do what we have done so far and be hungry on the day.”
“We should put on 260 every time we bat but our top order is not scoring runs, I would love to see those top order guys scoring some runs for the team.”

Australia A pressed home their advantage on the second day at the Country Club in Harare; Phil Hughes’ 125 helping them get to 294 for 4 at stumps, a lead of 64

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill16-Jul-2011
ScorecardPhil Hughes’ century on day two helped Australia A take the lead against Zimbabwe XI•Zimbabwe CricketAustralia A pressed home their advantage on the second day at the Country Club in Harare; the fast bowlers recovered from a wicketless start to cut through Zimbabwe XI’s lower order in quick time before Phil Hughes’ 125 helped them get to 294 for 4 at stumps, a lead of 64.Zimbabwe’s batsmen had done well to deny Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle any joy on the first day, but both quicks made amends after the hosts resumed on 206 for 6. The new ball was taken first thing, and Siddle found it to his liking as he soon trapped Elton Chigumbura in front of his stumps for a 16-ball duck.Tendai Chatara also failed to get off the mark before he, too, was removed by Siddle, while Brian Vitori managed to reach the boundary once before he presented Hilfenhaus with his first wicket of the match. No. 11 Njabulo Ncube edged his second ball through to wicketkeeper Tim Paine, leaving Malcolm Waller unbeaten on 14 as Zimbabwe were dismissed for 230.Hughes and David Warner got off to a spirited start in reply, with Warner taking a particular liking to Chatara’s seamers. Warner looked set to reach his half-century before falling to Vitori two runs short of the mark shortly before lunch, and after the break Hughes and Usman Khawaja continued to pile on the runs.The 100 was raised in the 29th over, with Hughes bringing up his fifty shortly afterwards, but Zimbabwe had some relief when Chatara found the edge of Khawaja’s bat to dismiss him for 26. That brought Callum Ferguson to the crease, however, and he proceeded to add 104 for the third wicket with Hughes, easing past fifty before he was bowled by one of Waller’s offspinners with the score on 233.Hughes slowed in the afternoon, bringing up a 171-ball hundred after tea, but he helped extend Australia lead to 54 before he finally fell to Chigumbura. Paine and Mitchell Marsh added a further 10 runs before the close, and Zimbabwe will need to show a lot more penetration on the third day if they are to keep the lead under 100.

ESPNcricinfo previews the game between Mumbai Indians and Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Mumbai

The Preview by Dustin Silgardo14-Apr-2011Match FactsFriday, April 15
Start Time 2000 (1430 GMT)Lasith Malinga has taken wickets in his first over in both games•AFPBig PictureIn a tournament where predictions based on cricketing logic are often about as valid as that of a prescient octopus, Mumbai Indians have returned some sanity to proceedings. They were the best side on paper coming into the tournament, and rather than succumbing to the supposed “predictable unpredictability” of the IPL, they have translated their theoretical strength into two clinical victories; and Kieron Pollard and Andrew Symonds haven’t even had a bat yet.Friday will be a test not just of whether Mumbai can continue their dominance, but also of whether the IPL itself can occupy the sort of space in the country’s consciousness that it has in recent years. Cricket returns to the Wankhede Stadium for the first time since Sachin Tendulkar was hoisted on his India team-mates’ shoulders during the World Cup celebrations, and the IPL organisers will be hoping the cheers that greet him when he walks out to bat will create a ripple effect that will keep the buzz around the tournament going.Mumbai’s opposition, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, look a lopsided team. Their batting line-up boasts names worthy of making a Twenty20 all-star team, but the bowling, if you take out the ageing Muttiah Muralitharan and the volatile Sreesanth, reads rather eerily like a list of former India bowlers. The weakness was apparent in their first match in particular, when Mahela Jayawardene, stuck for options, had to toss the ball to the inexperienced Raiphi Gomez and watch him get hit for 20 runs in the 18th over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase.If there is one weakness Mumbai have that Kochi can try to exploit, it is the support bowling. But in order to get there, they have to first pass the Lasith Malinga test. Malinga’s mastery of the old ball is well documented, but he has been as lethal with the new one in the tournament so far, striking in his first over in both of Mumbai’s games.Team talkKochi have two options to strengthen their bowling: John Hastings will be back from Australia’s tour of Bangladesh, while Thisara Perera could provide some extra pace. Including either of those two, though, would mean having to bench either Brad Hodge or Murali. Steven Smith will not be joining the Kochi squad as he is returning to Australia to have surgery on his ankle.Andrew Symonds missed Mumbai’s first two games with a niggle and is likely to come in for James Franklin, meaning he will play alongside Harbhajan Singh. They were the protagonists in the Sydney saga in 2008. Harbhajan played down the incident, saying it was behind them and that they were looking forward to playing with each other.Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector. Predict the playing XIs for this match.In the spotlightThe three squads that have won the IPL so far had one thing in common: they were built around the image of their captains. Mahela Jayawardene has led his national side to a World Cup final (in 2007) and is a dangerous Twenty20 player, although his best performances in the format have come in the opening slot. Pushing himself up the order to take on his team-mate Malinga would be a sign of confidence that could filter down to his team.Rohit Sharma came into the tournament with his $2 million price tag hanging like a weight around his neck; cynics ever-ready to lament the IPL’s ability to inflate the egos of impressionable youngsters. Friday is a chance for him to prove his worth.Prime numbers Ravindra Jadeja is Kochi’s highest run-getter this season with 70 runs from two games. During the first season of the IPL he scored 135 runs in nine innings, while in the second he got 295 runs.
Mumbai’s new wicketkeeper Davy Jacobs scored only 88 runs in eight innings during the Standard Bank Pro20 series in South Africa, while Owais Shah, who is yet to get a game for Kochi, was the leading run-scorer in that tournament with 293 runs from eight innings.Chatter”He’s a great guy. Whatever happened in Sydney, that’s all history now. We don’t want to keep on thinking about what happened then. Hopefully, with his performance and mine, we can do a lot of good things for Mumbai Indians. “
“It is just the beginning of the tournament, we need not be negative. I think just one win can change things for us and the momentum will take us ahead in the tournament.”

Albie Morkel and Colin Ingram have not been included in the Jacques Rudolph-led South Africa A squad to tour Zimbabwe and Malaysia for personal reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2011Albie Morkel and Colin Ingram have not been included in the Jacques Rudolph-led South Africa A squad to tour Zimbabwe and Malaysia for personal reasons. South Africa A will play in a one-day tri-series against Zimbabwe and Australia A followed by a six-team Twenty20 competition in Kuala Lumpur in June and July this year.”Albie’s wife is expecting their second child and he understandably needs to spend time at home,” Andrew Hudson, convenor of selectors, said. “Colin has been on the road in India for more than four months now.” Ingram was in South Africa’s World Cup squad and stayed on for the IPL, where he was part of the Delhi Daredevils.The A team will be captained by Rudolph, who also led the side against Bangladesh in April at home. Rudolph has committed himself to South African cricket after opting out of his Kolpak deal with Yorkshire last year and looks set for a national recall.The wicket-keeping role – which has come under scrutiny in South African cricket circles as a successor to Mark Boucher has yet to be found – looks set to be shared between Heino Kuhn and Morne van Wyk. That means there is no place for Davy Jacobs, who is recovering from a broken thumb, which he sustained while playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.The squad includes regular A team participants, Vernon Philander, Dean Elgar, Loots Bosman, Ryan McLaren, Rusty Theron and Roelof van der Merwe. There are two new additions for the T20 competition in Lions pace bowler Ethan O’Reilly and Cobras opening batsman Richard Levi. Wayne Parnell has also been included in the T20 squad.South Africa also named their emerging squad for the annual competition that is played in Australia and also features the emerging teams from New Zealand and India. Stiaan van Zyl has been named the captain of a squad that features young talent such as batsman Mangaliso Mosehle and left-arm spinner Dale Deeb.South Africa A squad for Zimbabwe triangular: Jacques Rudolph (capt), Craig Alexander, Farhaan Behardien, Loots Bosman, Dean Elgar, Rory Kleinveldt, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Vernon Philander, Rusty Theron, Roelof van der Merwe, Jonathan Vandiar, Morne van WykSouth Africa A squad for Kuala Lumpur T20 tournament: Jacques Rudolph (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Loots Bosman, Richard Levi, Ethy Mbhalati, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Ethan O’Reilly, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Rusty Theron, Roelof van der Merwe, Jonathan Vandiar, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Morne van WykSouth Africa Emerging Players squad: Stiaan van Zyl (capt), Kyle Abbott, Temba Bavuma, Andrew Birch, Dale Deeb, Reeza Hendricks, Richard Levi, Pumelela Matshikwe, Mangaliso Mosehle, Ethan O’Reilly, Dane Piedt, Obus Pienaar, Mthokozisi Shezi, Jon-Jon Smuts, Shaun von Berg

Despite being one of three nations hosting the mega event Sri Lanka find themselves as much as in the same situation as Canada when Kumar Sangakkara goes out to toss with Delhi-born Canadian skipper Ashish Bagai in their opening World Cup match at Hambant

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Hambantota19-Feb-2011Despite being one of three nations hosting the mega event Sri Lanka find themselves as much as in the same situation as Canada when Kumar Sangakkara goes out to toss with Delhi-born Canadian skipper Ashish Bagai in their opening World Cup match at Hambantota.None of the 15 players in the Sri Lanka squad have played at this venue before and they have no first hand information of how the pitch is going to behave and what the conditions are going to be especially under lights. It is in the context of such adversity that Sri Lanka take on Canada.”We trained on the ground and there doesn’t seem to be any issues,” said Sangakkara looking ahead of Sunday’s game. “We need to play well whatever the conditions that we get. It looks a magnificent ground it looks beautiful and the wicket looks fantastic. So conditions will be good for cricket tomorrow.”The guys have been practicing here and they are happy the way conditions are. It’ll be beautiful for cricket and we are all amazed at what a transformation Hambantota has gone through. We will enjoy everything about this ground. Whatever happens with the toss, we need to be strong mentally whether we bowl or bat first we need to do it better than the opposition,” said Sangakkara.”I think our job is to try and win the first game. It’s important to build it up step by step. You have to take it game by game. You can’t change what other people say about us whether they say that we are good enough to win the tournament or whatever,” he said.”We know we are a good team to compete in this tournament and that’s the most important thing rather than worry about anything else. Our focus is on tomorrow’s game. India and Bangladesh are good sides, especially India. They are the best ODI unit in the world and most people expect them to win the tournament.”Not only do Sri Lanka have to overcome the alien conditions that they will confront at Hambantota, but for the team overall it has been a tough four days following the deaths of manager Anura Tennekoon’s father and team member Chamara Silva’s sister. Silva apparently will miss today’s game.”We feel very much for them and at the same time these things bring us closer together,” said Sangakkara. “We just need to concentrate on playing good cricket because they be will wanting us to do well.”Leading his country for the first time in a World Cup, Sangakkara said that it was “a great privilege and an honour not just to captain a World Cup team, but to captain this particular team”. “They are a wonderful bunch of guys and the best we have in Sri Lanka.”Sri Lanka is likely to go in with a two spin, two pace attack with all-rounder Angelo Mathews playing the role of third seamer.The team received a timely morale booster with the arrival of Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka’s World Cup hero of their 1996 triumph and present chairman of selectors, at the team’s practice session on Friday.”Aravinda just came to express his confidence in the team. His advice is extremely valuable at all times and he’s a very shrewd thinker on the game and a fantastic cricketer on his own right,” said Sangakkara. “It’s good to have him not just as the chairman of selectors but once in a while just talk to the team. His job has been a tough one especially in the light of decisions he had to make. But he was very forthright in his selections.”Sangakkara was wary of Canada and said that you cannot take them lightly. “If you take the warm-up game they played against England, they lost only by 16 runs. Every team raises their game when the World Cup comes and we need to raise our game and if we do that we can do well.”

The limited-overs series between Australia and England will turn into one continuous flood-relief effort, as the situation worsens in parts of south-east Queensland

Brydon Coverdale12-Jan-2011The limited-overs series between Australia and England will turn into one continuous flood-relief effort, as the situation worsens in parts of south-east Queensland. Twelve people have died in the floods but that number is likely to rise, and up to 20,000 homes are expected to be inundated in the state capital, Brisbane.The Australia and England teams will be collecting donations in the crowd at the Adelaide Twenty20 international and it will be the first of many fundraising drives during the series. England’s players will donate part of their match fees for the first Twenty20 to the flood relief appeal, as will their Australian counterparts, while Kevin Pietersen is keen to auction a shirt and bat he used during the Ashes to assist the flood victims, and Cricket Australia has donated $100,000 to flood relief.Shane Warne and Darren Gough are also becoming involved, tweeting their interest in setting up a “legends” Twenty20 match to help raise funds. Cricket New South Wales will donate all gate receipts from their Big Bash match against Queensland on January 29, the day before the Brisbane ODI, which Queensland Cricket remains hopeful will go ahead.”It’s been really heartening to see how many people are so willing to stop and do something to help,” Cricket Australia’s spokesman Peter Young said. “Everyone is feeling the pain. It’s really heartening to get calls from clubs in the community who are having sausage sizzles, and they’re saying ‘where do we send the money?’ We have a program called Cricket Cares. What’s been demonstrated today is that cricket does care.”We decided a week or so ago that we, Commonwealth Bank and Channel Nine would run a fundraiser during the Brisbane ODI, on January 30. Given the deteriorating situation with the floods, we’ve decided to broaden that, so we’re starting the fundraising tonight at the international T20 in Adelaide and we’ll run fundraising through the matches culminating in the match at Brisbane.”The offices of Queensland Cricket in Brisbane have been sandbagged and the state’s staff were working from home on Wednesday, as the city was in the grip of a major natural disaster. The Brisbane River was expected to peak at 5.5 metres on Thursday, which would be the worst flooding in the city in more than a century.

A round-up of the first day of the third-round matches of Division Two of the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2010Left-arm spinner Yasim Murtaza and left-arm seamer Saad Altaf gave Pakistan Television the upper hand against Karachi Whites at the National Stadium in Karachi. The pair bagged nine wickets between them, Murtaza bagging his second five-for, as Karachi folded for 307. The hosts will be disappointed for going on to score something substantial, as three of their batsmen went past a half-century but none was able to convert it to three-figures. Opener and captain Khalid Latif made 91, Asif Zakar chipped in with 65 and supported Latif in a 122-run second-wicket stand while Asim Kamal, who has represented Pakistan, made 80. Karachi were going strong at 249 for 4 but lost their last six wickets for 58 as Murtaza and Altaf turned the tables. In reply, Pakistan Television were 4 without loss.The first day of the third-round contest between Hyderabad and State Bank of Pakistan at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad harkened back to the days of first-class cricket in the 1980s and 1990s. Only 179 runs were scored by Hyderabad in 84 overs, and just two wickets lost. Opener Azeem Ghumman, who led Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, batted out the day for an unbeaten 73. He helped his team recover from an early loss, adding 86 with Aqeel Anjum and a further, unbeaten 79 with Rizwan Ahmed who is going strong with 48.Table-toppers Abbottabad, who have two wins from two games, put themselves in control against Lahore Ravi at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Opener Waqar Orakzai, playing his sixth first-class game, scored his maiden century and remained unbeaten to guide his team to 227 for 1 at stumps. Orazkai, who struck 13 fours, was assisted in an 81-run opening stand by Ghulam Mohammad, and Zia-ul-Haq batted patiently, consuming 193 balls for his unbeaten 48.Half-centuries from Hamza Paracha and Usman Salahuddin ensured the first day at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground went Lahore Shalimar’s way in their contest against bottom-placed Quetta. Opener Paracha top-scored with 85, supported by handy contributions from everyone else who followed. His opening partner Mohammad Hamza made 31 in a 60-run stand, Rana Adan helped add a further 48 while Salahuddin, who finished the day on 65 not out, took the total to 238 for 3 at stumps.A collective bowling effort from Khan Research Laboratories helped them bowl Peshawar out for 242 at the Sports Complex in Mardan. Nazir grabbed four wickets while each of the other bowlers took at least a wicket to strike at regular intervals. There was resistance from No.3 batsman Mohammad Fayyaz, who made 49, and chiefly from Sajjad Ahmed who top-scored with 65. At 112 for 6, though, it seemed Peshawar would fold for a score less than 200 but Riaz Afridi, with 44, helped them go past that mark. In a first-class game, KRL also bowled 23 wides, part of an extras tally of 36. In response, KRL lost an early wicket, Saeed Anwar jnr trapped in front by Afridi for zero.