All posts by csb10.top

Punjab scored a facile innings and 123 run victory over Jammu and Kashmir on the third and final day of their North Zone Cooch Behar Trophy (under-19) match at the Dhruv Pandove stadium in Patiala on Thursday. Punjab thus earned eight points from their opening fixture.Resuming at the overnight score of 68 for 6, Jammu & Kashmir lost the last four wickets for the addtion of a further 98 runs. The tail wagged particularly Anoop Mongotra (59) and Sumit Silwal (22). Anoop, who was at the crease for 125 minutes faced 119 balls while belting three fours and two sixes.On Wednesday, Punjab’s domination continued. The day saw Jammu and Kashmir tottering at 68 for 6 at stumps, 289 runs in arrears. Punjab had earlier declared at 415 for six.Resuming at the score of 140 for 2 on the second morning, SP Singh (200 not out) and Vikram Sodhi (111) continued from were they left off the previous day. The two forged a 238-run partnership for the third wicket from 46 overs. Sodhi was the first to be dismissed when he was caught by Jasritia off Mongothra. During his 185-minute stay at the crease, Sodhi faced 172 balls and found the boundary ropes eight times.Meanwhile SP Singh who was the more flamboyant partner, reached his double century. Singh, who faced 217 balls during his 320 minute stay, hit 14 boundaries and cleared the ropes six times. Three balls after the fall of Sodhi, Baljit Singh (0) followed him back to the pavilion after giving a catch to Sathyajit Singh off Mongotra. Punjab lost two further wickets, those of Rajan Singh (9) and C Madan (16) before skipper Gagandeep Singh declared the innings.Jammu & Kashmir started their second innings disastrously losing opener M Mir (3) off the first ball of the second over bowled by Uniyal. But I Thakur (26) and A Jalani (17) took the score to 45 when Thakur fell leg before to Sawal. Jammu and Kashmir were neck deep in trouble within the next four overs as they lost four wickets.Jalani and V Kaw took Jammu and Kashmir past the fifty run mark but with the score at 54, Jalani fell in the 29th over. They recieved a further setback five balls later when P Mahajan (0) was trapped leg before by SP Singh. In the next over they lost Jasrotia (0) when he was caught by Mandora off Sawal. Kaw (7) followed him in the next over bowled by SP Singh. A Mongotra (5) and Satyajit Singh (8) safely negotiated the remaining overs before play was called off for the day.

14-20 Oct ’01 Preparation Week at RMA SandhurstSat 27 Oct ’01 Depart Heathrow (tbc) Arrive Adelaide 29 Oct ’01Fri 16 Nov ’01 1-day v South Australian Cricket Association Academy at Adelaide19-22 Nov ’01 1-day Tournament at Adelaide involving Australian Cricket Board Under 19, Bangladesh Cricket Board Under 19, South Australia 2nd XI, Queensland Association of Sport03-06 Nov ’01 4-day v Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy (Australian equivalent of ECB NA) at AdelaideSat 15 Dec ’01 Depart Adelaide (tbc) Arrive Heathrow 16 Dec ’01Jan ’02 (tbc) Preparation Days 2 days – Venue tbcSat 12 Jan ’02 Depart Heathrow (tbc) Arrive Adelaide 14 Jan ’0221-24 Jan ’02 4-day v Victorian Cricket Association 2nd XI at the MCG, Melbourne26-29 Jan ’02 4-day v Australian Capital Territories 2nd XI at CanberraSat 02 Feb ’02 1-day v Australian Cricket Board Country XI at Bowral11-14 Feb ’02 4-day v South Australia 2nd XI at Adelaide25 Feb-01 Mar ’02 1-day Tournament at Sydney involving Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy, New South Wales 2nd XI, New South Wales Colts10-13 Mar ’02 4-day v Western Australia 2nd XI at PerthFri 15 Mar ’02 Depart Adelaide (tbc) Arrive Heathrow 16 Mar ’02

ScorecardFile photo: Tanwir Afzal struck seven sixes and one four in his 73•Graham Crouch/IDI/Getty

Tanwir Afzal blitzed Hong Kong to a comfortable 146-run win against UAE with a 33-ball 73 in Dubai. Coming in with his side precariously placed at 159 for 6 after 37 overs, Afzal turned the match in Hong Kong’s favour as he propelled the total to 282 for 8. He smashed seven sixes and one four in his innings and also formed a 101-run, eighth-wicket stand with Aizaz Khan, who contributed a 31-ball 37.Earlier, Hong Kong chose to bat and were given a solid start by their openers Anshuman Rath (53) and Waqas Barkat (27) who added 63 in 15 overs. However, the UAE bowlers chipped away at the wickets and also effected three run-outs to stall he charge of Hong Kong’s middle order. Zaheer Maqsood picked up two wickets and left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza was the most economical bowler with figures of 1 for 35 in his 10 overs.UAE’s chase was dented from the start and the team never recovered from a barrage of early wickets, with Afzal also causing the damage with the ball as he picked up three top-order wickets to reduce UAE to 38 for 4.Shaiman Anwar held one end up with a solid 71 but could not find able support as wickets frequently tumbled. UAE were bundled out for 146 in the 41st over, with Afzal and Nadeem Ahmed picking up three wickets apiece.

The Highveld Strikers, who had set their sights on winning the Standard Bank Cup after a dismal defence of their Supersport Series first-class title this season, took another step backwards in the limited overs format when they lost to Free State by six runs at Goodyear Park on Wednesday night.In a match reduced by rain to 42 overs a side, the Strikers twice seemed to be cruising to their target of 223. First, when Adam Bacher and debutant Marthinus Otto were fashioning a third-wicket stand of 66.Then Bacher, who top-scored with 40, and Otto, who got 25, were caught in the deep off consecutive deliveries from Morne van Wyk. Van Wyk is an occasional left-arm spinner and had only been employed in that role when the man originally picked for the job, Johannes Mokoenanyane, picked up a back injury in his fourth over.The Strikers’ ship had seemingly been righted when Nic Pothas and Ottis Gibson were together, adding 37 for the sixth wicket off less than five overs, but Gibson too was caught in the deep, at long-off by Herman Bakkes, having been put down off the previous ball at long-on by Gerhardus Liebenberg, and the innings crumbled.With Pothas trying to keep the strike, but unable to hit boundaries off some superb bowling from Dewald Pretorius and Victor Mpitsang when he had it, the asking rate grew and the wickets fell. Mpitsang had Geoffrey Toyana caught by twelfth man Andre Abrahams and then trapped Clive Eksteen in front in the space of three balls in the 41st over, an achievement that also pushed the runs required to 14 off the last.Neil Fusedale lasted two Pretorius deliveries after Pothas had, perhaps unwisely, taken a single off the first, and Pothas, having got back to strike as Fusedale was picking out Van Wyk at mid-on, couldn’t get the 12 required off the last three. Pretorius jammed the first one into his pads and he was unable to get it away, rendering the last two balls academic, provided he could avoid wides and no-balls, which he did.Van Wyk’s catch, two wickets and a superb 62 in Free State’s 222 for five earned him the man of the match award. The platform had been laid by Kosie Venter (89) and Andrew Gait (41), who put on 90 for the first wicket, and after the cheap dismissal of Wiaan Smit, Van Wyk helped Venter maintain the early momentum.

Queensland Cricket and Castlemaine Perkins today announced a new five-year major sponsorship at the XXXX Queensland Bulls and Konica Queensland Fire season launch.Castlemaine Perkins Managing Director Les Sayers announced the deal in the appropriate surrounds of the XXXX Brewery where guests were served a special commemorative XXXX Gold Bulls stubby at today’s function.”This deal is both important for cricket at an elite level with a team like the XXXX Bulls but also at the grassroots level across the State because that is absolutely crucial to our business," he said.The renewed sponsorship comes on top of the previous major sponsorship that has spanned nine years. The relationship with XXXX commenced in 1993-94 when the Bulls were launched.Included in their lucrative sponsorship package were naming rights for the XXXX Queensland Bulls and exclusive beer pourage rights at the Gabba during all cricket matches at the ground.Queensland Cricket Chief Executive Officer Graham Dixon said the new sponsorship deal confirmed the healthy state of the game in Queensland.The sponsorship announcement coincided with the first selection of the Bulls team for the coming season.Pace bowler Ashley Noffke has been included in the full-strength Queensland team for the opening Pura Cup clash against the Western Warriors at the Gabba from Wednesday, although he will face a final fitness check on his injured ankle on Monday.The player of the match in the Pura Cup Final last season, Noffke has made a steady recovery from an ankle injury that cut short his Ashes tour in August and bowled a ten over spell for the QAS Colts team in their one-day win over the Northern Territory yesterday.The Bulls will also check the status of captain Stuart Law, who was forced to miss today’s launch after being bed-ridden with a virus.The Queensland Academy of Sport 2nd XI team to play New Zealand at Allan Border Field from Tuesday was also named, with eight Bulls squad members contained within its ranks.Opener Jerry Cassell will captain the team which contains Lee Carseldine, Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Brendan Nash and Scott O’Leary with Queensland rookie-contracted players Damien Mackenzie and Craig Philipson also selected.XXXX QUEENSLAND BULLS v Western Warriors, Pura Cup, Wed-Sat, the Gabba:Stuart Law (c), Andrew Bichel, Adam Dale, Joe Dawes, Matthew Hayden, Michael Kasprowicz, Martin Love, Jimmy Maher, Ashley Noffke, Clinton Perren, Wade Seccombe, Andrew Symonds.QUEENSLAND ACADEMY OF SPORT v New Zealand, Allan Border Field, Tues-Fri:Jerry Cassell (c), Lee Carseldine, Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Damien Mackenzie, Brendan Nash, Scott O’Leary, Daniel Payne, Craig Philipson, Chris Simpson.

Yorkshire looked anything but the championship Division One contenders they areas Durham bowled them out for 129 and forced them to follow on at Leeds. Left-armer Simon Brown (4-33) spearheaded a more than competent team-effort. Only three home batsmen reached double-figures and they have now lost al but one of their last five games in all across different competitions.Brown was well supported by his county colleagues. Steve Harmison struckfirst by dismissing David Byas and Richard Blakey, and Paul Collingwood trappedMichael Vaughan (34) l.b.w. after he had been 86 balls at the crease. Darren Lehmann (28), the Australian, threatened briefly until he sliced a ball from Mel Betts to substitute fieldsman Nicky Phillips.That was as good as it got for Yorkshire who fell from 84-4 to 129 all out as Brown dismissed four of the last six batsmen. Anthony McGrath (29 n.o.)looked on as his partners followed each other out in swift succession. Simon Katich and Collingwood stood out in some fine Durham catching. Following on 185 runs in arrears Byas and Vaughan played out the last twelve overs without loss.Earlier in the day Durham had progressed from 253-8 to 314 all out againstless than effective Yorkshire bowling. Ryan Sidebottom (5-66) was defied by captain Nick Speak (61 n.o. from 185 balls) and Harmison (43).

The last time Chandrakant Pandit was in charge of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team, for the 2004-05 semi-final against Punjab, the team had five Test cricketers. During his three-year stint as coach, Mumbai won two titles, thanks to the presence of a plethora of experienced and international players in the side.In 2015-16, when Pandit marks a return as the Mumbai coach after over a decade, there isn’t a single Test player in Mumbai’s squad for the first two matches. Naturally, Pandit has his task cut out to get Mumbai back to winning ways.”Mumbai have always had experienced players, that is something we are probably missing out on,” Pandit told ESPNcricinfo ahead of Mumbai’s season-opener against Andhra. “Some of the players have been around for four-five years. That four-to-five years’ experience has to be utilised. One has to stand up as a role model especially when we have six-seven youngsters who can look up to them. I always believe whatever force we have, we should believe in it and go forward.”Its legacy of winning the Ranji Trophy as frequently as the local train logjam in the monsoon aside, Mumbai Ranji teams have always seen a plethora of current and former Test players in action. The old Mumbai fans would not have imagined a Ranji squad without a single Test player.It has happened this year. Even last season, with Wasim Jaffer being injured for most of the season, Mumbai had to field a team without a Test player but Jaffer was present in the dressing room and worked as a mentor for most of the season.Jaffer has switched to Vidarbha as a professional now. With Zaheer Khan unfit and the duo of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane on India duty, Mumbai have had to field a relatively young squad. More than his run-scoring ability, it is the experience factor for which Mumbai will miss Jaffer the most.”You think about every experienced player who has contributed in the dressing room, there is no replacement at all. Wasim Jaffer has been a great player. He was a pillar for Mumbai,” Pandit said. “What he has done in the last so many years, I think that will be missed in the dressing room. He was looked at [as] one of the role models in the dressing room. When I was young, we looked at Vengsarkar, Gavaskar, Patil who inspired us. That is what something will be missed this season.”A young outfit led by Aditya Tare will begin the quest for winning Mumbai’s 41st Ranji title. But it will be a humongous challenge for Mumbai, considering seven of the 15 squad members have had single-digit caps in first-class cricket. Pandit feels it’s a “huge challenge” to get the best out of youngsters.Thanks to their consistency in pocketing Ranji titles in the past, anything but a title-winning performance is traditionally treated as a failure. Pandit believes Mumbai cricket is coming to terms with that fact.”People who are involved in Mumbai cricket, they do understand you can’t win it every year. But everyone wants to win,” he said. “I am sure they understand that now. We may miss out for another one or two years but the plan is to dominate for five years thereafter [in succession].”I don’t really think about it because some other states have really improved. The competition level, infrastructure and facilities have improved. Naturally every state is going to take advantage of that. We cannot underestimate any other team.”

Match facts

Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Start time 1230 local (1030 GMT)1:26

‘Baby’ Rabada may sit in Durban

Big Picture

Now for the excitement. A series absent of context and eclipsed by bigger contests around the cricketing world could finally come to the fore. The Ashes is over, the Test match in Colombo is over; Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers and Kumar Sangakkara’s farewells are over so there is no excuse not to be interested and the last match is a decider, with the teams locked at 1-1. South Africa will move to the third place in the ODI rankings if they win, overtaking New Zealand itself.So far, the cricket has been creative at times as was evident when both teams opened the bowling with spinners, which is rarely done in South African conditions and comical at other times, with dropped catches making as many highlights as runs and wickets but it has not been as competitive as some may have liked. South Africa’s 20-run victory in the first match was more about routine than ruthlessness and New Zealand’s eight-wicket canter in the second was won by the halfway stage. With a trophy on the line both teams should have more fire and fury in the belly.They would also have had the time to assess whether they have gleaned anything from their experimentation and probably found an equal number of solutions as problems. South Africa still have the No. 7 problem after David Wiese struggled but at least they know Morne van Wyk’s days are over. New Zealand have seen Tom Latham and George Worker come good but may be concerned about whether Colin Munro has a long-term future. Those are issues to mull over later – on Wednesday, it’s about claiming a series.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)South Africa LWLLW
New Zealand WLWWL

In the spotlight

Rilee Rossouw has looked the most in-form batsman among his team-mates, although he does not have the numbers to show for it, and could use a big score to cement his position in the team in the near future. When Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy return, South Africa’s line-up will be crowded and Rossouw could be relegated to the reserves. A reminder of what he has to offer would be timely.With scores of 7, 29, 5, 6 and 1, it’s fair to say Luke Ronchi has not made a major contribution on this tour so far. He does not always get the opportunity to do so with New Zealand’s top order regularly leaving him with little time in the middle. However, like any good wicketkeeper, he is hardly noticed behind the stumps which means he is doing a fairly good job, but he will hope for the chance to bat a little longer or at least pull off a stunner behind the stumps.

Team news

Kyle Abbott is the only member of the ODI squad who has not played yet and South Africa may choose to give him a run on his home ground. With Vernon Philander bowling well, it may be a choice between Abbott and Kagiso Rabada with Aaron Phangiso likely to sit out in favour of Imran Tahir. Although Morne van Wyk has misfired, South Africa do not have another reserve batsman unless they choose to play Dean Elgar, who was included as cover after du Plessis was injured.South Africa (probable): 1 Morne van Wyk (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Wiese, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Kagiso Rabada/Kyle Abbott, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran TahirA trio of tweaks to their starting XI saw New Zealand win the second game and they may be tempted to keep their victorious team but conditions could dictate otherwise. Two specialist spinners could be a luxury in Durban so Ish Sodhi or Nathan McCullum may have to make room for either Mitchell McClenaghan to come back in or Matt Henry to get his first opportunity. George Worker is likely to keep his spot because James Neesham, who missed out the second ODI with back pain, is unlikely to recover in time for the decider.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 George Worker, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Colin Munro, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum/Ish Sodhi, 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Ben Wheeler/Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Adam Milne

Pitch and conditions

There won’t be any more complaints or need for paint on the outfield as the dead, dry grass of the Highveld is being left behind for the lush green ground of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Kingsmead’s pitch was also the one that received the most praise by the teams after it hosted the first T20. It won’t be as slow or sticky as the surfaces up country and should have some spice in it for the quicks, but decent scores for the batsmen too. Another warm day is forecast for Durban with day-time highs of 27 degrees.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have come back from a game down to win the next two matches in their last two series. In England, they then lost the last two to concede the series 3-2 but in Zimbabwe they won the three-match series 2-1.
• South Africa have not lost two bilateral ODI series in succession since 2009-10 when they suffered back-to-back defeats against England and India.

Quotes

“It’s a huge game. Decider. Winner take all — it’s a final, in essence.”
.”We’ve done it before, before a few big World Cup games in Australia. We’ve got a few niggles and I don’t think one practice session is going to make too much of a difference. We just feel it might be a good day to connect as a team and doing something other than cricket.”

Delhi-based Shradhanand College put University of Technology, Sydney out of contention for a place in the semi-finals, after beating them by six wickets in their Group A encounter at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy on Wednesday.For the second-straight match SC’s fast bowler, Abhishek Vats, found himself amongst the wickets, as he dismissed UTS’ openers, Nicholas Charlwood and Christopher Spratt, in his first-two overs.He then accounted for captain, Harry Dalton, in his third over and then Angus McKay his in fourth. His four-over spell left UTS’ top-order in tatters and they failed to recover from the setback and managed just 69 in their innings.UTS’ fast bowler, James Campbell, gave his side just the start that had hoped for, when he struck thrice in his first over.But a 50-run stand between Shubham Dhaiya and Jitish Saroha was all it took for Shradhanand College to cross the line.The win put Shradhanand College through to the semi-final, in Group A, alongside Loughborough MCC University. UTS and European University of Bangladesh failed to make it through to the knock-outs.International College of Business and Technology from Sri Lanka made the semi-finals from Group B by beating Heriot Watt University by a 74-run margin.ICBT’s openers, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Nipuna Ganage provided a solid 126-run platform for the side after they won the toss and elected to bat.Samarawickrama slammed 57 from just 42 balls and Ganage 65 from 39. Following their departure three-balls apart in the 14th over, ICBT fumbled.They lost five-quick wickets, but still managed to post 172. Rohit Singh from HWU showed signs of form with the bat, with a solid 48. But the other batsmen failed to provide any resistance. The team from UAE managed just 98 in reply.Defending champions Assupol TUKS easily overcame Jinnah Degree College, Karachi by nine wickets in the last match of the day.JDC batted first but found it difficult to score freely, as TUKS bowlers maintained their discipline to strangle any signs of a JDC attack.JDC managed just 103 in their 20 overs. TUKS lost opener Aiden Markram in the first over itself, but Murray Coetzee and Gerald Pike added 147 runs for the second wicket to take their side home in ten overs.

Former India spinner Murali Kartik said the ban on Sunil Narine’s offbreaks was a setback and added rushing him back into bowling could be detrimental to Narine and his team Kolkata Knight Riders.”It is already hurting him [Narine] in terms of physical and emotional pain because just to be called or to be put on the suspect [actions] list is a big thing,” Kartik told ESPNcricinfo. “You can see it is hurting. He is not the Narine we have known because his economy rate has gone up and his wicket-taking ability has gone down.”Narine’s economy rate in five matches this season is 7.35, a noticeable increase from the 5.77 he has managed across three previous seasons. In those five matches, Narine has gone wicketless thrice. In 47 previous IPL matches, he had gone wicketless in only 13 matches.”He needs to have very strong people around him,” Kartik said. “People who need to give him the belief that by changing and remodelling his action he can comeback. And secondly he needs to given a bit of time because it is a scar – not just a mental scar but a scar on your record.”If he is going to be questioned again it is a lots of mental stress for both the team management as well as the player. Are you trying to tell me that if there is no Sunil Narine, there is no team? Unless they feel his other deliveries are going to be as effective and play him.”Kartik said it would be impossible for Narine to refrain from bowling his stock delivery. “You are so used to doing it. (But now that) He has been reported for his offspinner because they have spotted some flex when he bowls it.”Kartik felt the greatest challenge for a bowler asked to remodel his action was to suddenly stop doing something that has been ingrained in them since they started learning his art. He pointed out Saeed Ajmal’s struggles in the on-going Bangladesh series, where the once dangerous Pakistan off spinner was dealt with easily by the opponents. “To unlearn and re-learn something and be as effective as before it does not happen. I have not seen anyone doing that at least in the short term.”