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Serious challenge to Dainty's old guard

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There will be a serious challenge to the existing Gladstone Dainty-led USA Cricket Association administration at next month’s executive board elections.Cricinfo has learned that a group of senior administrators is standing against the existing board and has already gained the backing of several regions. Sources suggest that they have the support of the majority of the regional presidents.California’s Ram Varadarajan is lined up to oppose Dainty as president. Varadarajan would not only bring his passion for cricket to the post but he has considerable business acumen as president and CEO of Arcot Systems, an authentication software company based in Sunnyvale, California. He is backed by John Aaron, a well-known and respected figure inside US cricket circles, as secretary and John Thickett as treasurer.The group has already underlined its credentials by launching a slick website outlining who they are and what they stand for. This is in direct contrast to the moribund USACA site which has become almost legendary for its lack of any meaningful information to stakeholders.”Our team is receiving endorsements every day from players, current and former administrations, and cricket lovers from across the length and breadth of the country,” a statement on the new site says. “This outpouring of support is a clear indication that cricket enthusiasts across America see a complete break from the current USACA management as a necessary step for the game to flourish here.”

Now it's McGrath's turn

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Parting prize?: Glenn McGrath faces a home Test farewell at the SCG © Getty Images

Glenn McGrath is expected to tell Cricket Australia today that the Sydney Test will be his last. However, he still hopes to be part of the World Cup defence in the West Indies next year, where he will aim for a third consecutive trophy.The reported McGrath has spoken to his wife Jane, who has cancer, about the Caribbean tour and he would have released the Test news earlier this week if Shane Warne had not decided to step aside. “I am not sure what’s happening after Sydney but I want to go to the World Cup,” he said in the paper. If McGrath does resign Australia will lose half of its bowling attack and more than 1200 Test wickets in a couple of days.Jason Gillespie, who was McGrath’s long-term opening partner, said McGrath could look forward to a life in coaching when his playing days stop. “He’s got so much knowledge to pass on that he’d make a great coach,” Gillespie said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s really switched on, he knows a lot about the game. I always said the guys who would make great coaches are Glenn and Andy Bichel.”Gillespie said McGrath’s strength was his ability to keep things simple. “He is also a good communicator,” Gillespie said. “I think Glenn will have some sort of involvement in the game, if not as a full-time coach, then as a bowling mentor.”

Bowlers dominate early in day-night Test

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:16

Nicholas: Pink ball was a triumph

It was like ‘s George Costanza was in charge of this day of Test cricket, during his “opposite” phase. The first of play at the Gabba and the WACA brought only two wickets each; at Adelaide Oval 12 wickets tumbled. At the Gabba and the WACA, Kane Williamson and David Warner both scored centuries in the first innings; at Adelaide Oval they were both out cheaply. At the Gabba and the WACA, crowds were small; at Adelaide Oval, the stands were packed.And, of course, there was the small matter of a red ball and lunch versus a pink ball and dinner. Nothing worked out for George with tuna on toast, coleslaw and coffee, so he switched to chicken salad on rye, untoasted, with a cup of tea. It was a roaring success. So too the world’s first experience of day-night Test cricket. At stumps, which came at 9.25pm, the match was evenly poised, which was no bad thing after the run-fests in Brisbane and Perth.The evening finished with Australia at 2 for 54 in reply to New Zealand’s 202. The final session had been challenging for the batsmen as 47,441 spectators watched Trent Boult and Tim Southee hoop the new ball around under lights. The openers both fell: Warner edged an outswinger to third slip off Boult for 1, and Joe Burns toiled valiantly for 14 off 41 balls before he chopped on off the bowling of Doug Bracewell. But Steven Smith and Adam Voges survived.And they survived with the knowledge that batting might just get a little easier come the start of play at 2pm on the second afternoon. The curator had left extra grass on the pitch in an effort to help protect the pink ball but the surface played only a minor role in New Zealand’s struggles with the bat. The Australians swung few deliveries. Some seamed, and Nathan Lyon extracted turn and bounce, but there were certainly no demons in the pitch.Australia’s bowlers for the most part plugged away at consistent lines and lengths, and built pressure the old-fashioned way. It helped that they had Peter Siddle back in the side for that purpose. He became the 15th Australian to the 200-wicket milestone in Tests, and he was miserly until the lower-order started to swing at him. Especially important was the way Siddle helped to build the pressure on Williamson.For the first time in the series, Australia dismissed Williamson before he had reached a half-century. He moved briskly to 19 from 19 deliveries but the remaining 39 balls of his innings brought only three runs as the dots and maidens piled up. Williamson faced four maidens, including two from Siddle, and on 22 he walked across his stumps and was lbw to a straight yorker. The wicket went next to Mitchell Starc’s name, but the attack as a unit had earned it.That was one of three wickets for Starc, who finished with 3 for 24 from nine overs, his workload cut short when he was forced off the field due to ankle pain. It had the potential to be a significant blow for Australia, although they had little trouble running through the rest of the New Zealand order. Opener Tom Latham had been the only batsman to reach a half-century on the first day of Test cricket with a pink ball, and even he only just made it, out for 50.The first run had been scored by his partner Martin Guptill, though he managed no more than that single. He was also the first man to fall to a pink ball in Test cricket, lbw to a Josh Hazlewood delivery that would have clipped the top of the bails, and it was a disappointing result for Guptill, who has scored heavily against the pink ball in the warm-up matches on this tour.Guptill and Williamson were the only wickets to fall in the first session, but after the 20-minute tea break New Zealand wobbled. New Zealand’s lost 3 for 4 in the space of 11 balls, starting with Latham, who was superbly taken on 50 by Peter Nevill; an attempted cut off Lyon was edged through and stuck in the tips of Nevill’s gloves.In the next over Siddle claimed his 199th Test wicket when he nipped one back and found the inside edge of Ross Taylor’s bat – he was caught behind for 21. Then came a triumph of captaincy, Smith immediately recalling Starc to replace Lyon, who had just taken a wicket, so that Starc could have first chance at McCullum. Duly, McCullum slashed and top-edged behind on 4, Nevill taking another excellent catch.Debutant Mitchell Santner showed some positive signs in his first Test innings and struck seven fours on his way to 31 before he was bowled by Starc. Lyon added another when he produced a perfect offbreak that gripped, turned and beat the bat of Mark Craig, who on 11 could only watch as the ball clipped the very top of his off stump.After the 40-minute dinner break, as the post-workday crowd filed in to watch the first session of Test cricket completely under lights, they saw Australia clean up New Zealand’s last three wickets cheaply. BJ Watling was taken at slip off Hazlewood for 29, Siddle claimed No.200 when Doug Bracewell chipped him to midwicket, and Southee holed out to mid-off for 16 to give Hazlewood his third.Then came the sight everyone had been waiting for: the new pink ball swinging around in the evening. The contest was gripping, even if the runs came slowly for Australia. Survival was the order of the day – or night – and 2 for 54 from 22 overs before stumps seemed a fair reflection of the battle. It was certainly more of a tussle than 2 for 389 at stumps on day one in Brisbane, or 2 for 416 in Perth. It was, in every way, the opposite of those matches, and no bad thing for it.

Harmison must tour Sri Lanka says Gough

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Harmison has been out of action since August with a back injury © Getty Images

Darren Gough, the former England fast bowler, has criticised England’s insistence that Steve Harmison must prove his fitness and form before securing a place on the plane to Sri Lanka.Harmison, who has been recovering from a back injury, wasn’t among the squad of 15 named yesterday for England’s three-Test tour of Sri Lanka. However, if he doesn’t have any adverse reaction to his brief stint at Lions in South Africa, he could yet join up with the team.This, however, does not sit well with Gough who feels Harmison is being treated unfairly.”Steve is such a vital bowler for England and he has proved time and time again how good he is,” Gough told the . “He brings something different to everyone else and he is a must for me in the England team.”He is a match winner and with (Matthew) Hoggard also coming back, England will go into Sri Lanka with a very good bowling line up, with everyone vying for a spot desperate to do well and win.”Harmison will travel to South Africa with England’s recently appointed bowling coach, Ottis Gibson – a man who Gough insists is key to “firing” up Harmison.”Ottis has already shown what influence he can have on the bowlers and I have no doubt he is the man to get Steve firing,” Gough said. “He has got all the qualifications, played at Test level and he knows what the international game is all about.”All I want is for Steve to come out firing on all cylinders. We want him running through brick walls for England and hopefully he will come out and prove to everyone how good he is because he is one of our best bowlers.”

Ganguly reveals how Waugh's sledging backfired

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One of the things that Steve Waugh will long be famous for is his possibly apocryphal remark to Herschelle Gibbs in the 1999 World Cup that he (Gibbs) had just dropped the World Cup when he put down a simple catch off Waugh at square leg. Well, Sourav Ganguly has now revealed that Waugh tried the same tactic on Ganguly – and it backfired.In a forthcoming book called Ground Rules, excerpts from which were released in the Kolkata newspaper The Telegraph, Ganguly has written about how Waugh’s attempt at smart talk rebounded in the historic Kolkata Test of 2001.Describing the final day of that Test, Ganguly wrote: “Just before tea on the final day when they were only three wickets down, I dropped a sharp chance off Steve Waugh at backward short leg. Maybe if he had said nothing, the game would have drifted to a draw, the result that appeared to be its natural conclusion. But Waugh could not resist the chirp, ‘You just dropped the Test, mate.'”Sometimes sledging can work against you and, on this occasion, it had the effect of geeing up the Indians. Immediately after tea, Harbhajan Singh got Waugh out and Rahul Dravid gave him a sendoff from slip asking who had given away the Test match now.”Australia were 1-0 up before that Test; they ended up losing 1-2. So much for mental disintegration.

DY Patil Stadium to host IPL final

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Cricket returns to the DY Patil Stadium after much chopping and changing of venues in Mumbai © Cricinfo Ltd
 

Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium has been confirmed as the venue of the final of the IPL on June 1. Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, said the match had to be shifted out the Wankhede Stadium because the capacity of the DY Patil Stadium is much higher.”That stadium has more capacity and also there are many ICC representatives who will be attending the final and Wankhede doesn’t have so much space to accomodate,” Pawar told reporters in Mumbai. “Wankhede can accommodate only around 32,000 and DY Patil can house around 55,000. It’s (difference) huge.”Originally the DY Patil stadium, which is in Nerul (about 40km from south Mumbai’s business district), was scheduled to host Mumbai’s five league games between April 27 and May 16. But the MCA told the DY Patil authorities that since Mumbai’s next two games – against Chennai and Kolkata – take place on weekdays, it would be difficult for the fans to travel such a distance late in the evening after their office hours. Both games were shifted to the Wankhede Stadium, in South Mumbai’s business district. Wankhede, however will host the two semi-finals as scheduled.With the Wankhede Stadium set to host the final of the 2011 World Cup, Pawar said plans were on to demolish the stadium and rebuild it from scratch to meet ICC standards.”We had a meeting with the Mumbai Hockey Association and they have given us in writing that one portion of their space can be utilised by us. There’s no way we can conduct the World Cup final in present conditions. ICC will not accept it. We need to build better facilities for all, including for the media.”We will start work in August. The whole structure will be razed down first and a fresh one built. The refurbished stadium will be ready by December 2010 and the World Cup is in March-April 2011.”

Rain affected match ends in tame draw

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The ill fated South Zone under-22 game between Kerala and Andhra,badly affected by rain, ended in a tame draw at Kakinada on Saturday.The first two days were totally washed out because of inclementweather. On the final day play started only at 12.30 pm and in the 60overs possible, Kerala put in to bat, struggled to make 102 for fivewickets off 60 overs.KS Shahabuddin and Md Faiq each bagged two wickets as Kerala lostwickets at regular intervals. Symbolising Kerala’s struggle for runswas Vipin Lal. Coming in at No 3 after the first wicket had fallen at16, Vipin Lal remained unbeaten with 30 at the end for which he batted194 minutes and faced 150 balls without hitting a boundary. The teamsshared three points each.

Trescothick to skipper England in two day friendly

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Shortly after the disappointment of losing to New Zealand in the fifth and deciding one day international Marcus Trescothick said, “I’m feeling very tired and looking forward to three days off.”Marcus said that today he was flying with the rest of the England squad to Dunedin ahead of the two day fixture against Otago which starts on Saturday March 2nd.”I’m going to be captain for the two-day match and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.When he was asked if keeping wicket and opening the innings was detrimental to him he said, “I don’t think that doing the two jobs makes any difference to me at all.”Had he lost any weight because on the television shots of him keeping wicket he seemed to be looking thinner? Marcus said, “It’s possible that I have lost weight because I’ve been working very hard indeed.”How did he feel after the result of the fifth one day match. “Of course I’m disappointed but I’m looking forward to the three match test series which gets underway on March 13th, but before that I’m looking forward to skippering the side on Saturday.”During the one day series Marcus said that he had linked up with Somerset team mates Rob Turner and Keith Parsons who have been out watching the series along with a tour party as part of Rob’s benefit year activities. Rob and Keith and the rest of the party fly back to England today.Marcus is a regular reader of the Somerset Website so Good Luck from everybody back in England for the game on Saturday, and everybody hopes that you find a rich vein of form in time for the first test match.

The Lankan lions roar – 1996

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Sri Lanka’s triumph in the 1996 World Cup brought back strong memoriesof the West Indian victories of 1975 and 1979. For one thing, SriLanka, co-hosts along with India and Pakistan, did not lose a singlegame, even if Australia and the West Indies had forfeited their gamesciting security concerns.

© Reuters

Secondly, the Sri Lankan approach to batting very much resembled theflamboyant Caribbean style. Openers Sanath Jayasuriya and RomeshKaluwitharana in particular made nonsense of restrictive bowlingtactics and field-placings in the first 15 overs, so the slog did notcommence from the 40th over but from the very first. The apotheosis ofthis innovative strategy came in their match against Kenya at Kandy,when the first 50 was notched up in an astonishing 3.2 overs, en routeto 398 for five – still the highest-ever total in a one-dayinternational.The sixth World Cup returned to the subcontinent, and this time theformat was changed as the competition had extended to 12 participatingteams. The nine Test-playing nations were joined by three associatemembers – the United Arab Emirates, Holland and Kenya – and the 12sides were placed into two groups.Pool A comprised Australia, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, India,Zimbabwe and Kenya, while Pool B was made up of South Africa,Pakistan, New Zealand, England, the UAE and Holland. The top fourteams in each group qualified for the knock-out quarter-finals.With Australia, the West Indies, India and Sri Lanka from Pool A andSouth Africa, England, New Zealand and Pakistan from Pool B making itto the last eight, it would appear that there were few upsets in thepreliminary stage, but in fact, there were some surprising results.Few, for example, would have expected Sri Lanka to top the group,although detractors would argue that they were helped by bothAustralia and the West Indies refusing to travel to Colombo after abomb-blast rocked the capital weeks before the start of thetournament. Considering the manner in which Sri Lanka played, however,a victory over both Australia and the West Indies could not be ruledout, and this argument received certification when Sri Lanka defeatedAustralia by seven wickets in the final at Lahore.In the three remaining group matches, Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe bysix wickets, India by the same margin and Kenya by 144 runs. By thistime, they had emerged as the team to beat, and there was no stoppingthem in the knock-out stage either. In the quarter-final they rompedto a five-wicket victory over England with 10 overs to spare, and inthe semifinal against India at Calcutta, they were well on top whenrioters disrupted proceedings by setting the stands afire and throwingobjects on the field.The circumstances were unfortunate, especially for a traditionallycricket-loving city, and match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the matchto Sri Lanka after they had led off by scoring 251 for eight in 50overs and India were tottering at 120 for eight in 34.1 overs. In thefinal, they capped a memorable tournament by coasting to victory overAustralia, making light of what seemed to be a challenging Australiantotal of 241 for seven by racing to victory with seven wickets andnearly four overs to spare.The speed at which the Sri Lankans made their runs was quiteastonishing. At the end of the tournament, four front-line batsmen hada strike rate of over 100. Kaluwitharana’s strike-rate was 140.38 per100 balls, Jayasuriya’s 131.54, Arjuna Ranatunga’s 114.76 and Aravindade Silva’s 107.69. De Silva was in splendid form, getting 448 runswith two hundreds and two fifties at an average of 89.60. He emulatedMohinder Amarnath by nabbing the Man of the Match awards in both thesemifinals and final.Jayasuriya scored 221 runs in swashbuckling fashion, demoralising thebowlers totally. He also picked up seven wickets and was adjudged asthe Player of the Tournament. Ranatunga (241) and polished left-handerAsanka Gurusinha (307) were the other batsmen who played a notablerole in the triumph. Such was the strength of the batting that theservices of Hashan Tillekeratne and Roshan Mahanama were hardlyrequired. The bowling mainly revolved round Chaminda Vaas and MuttiahMuralitharan, and the two did their job commendably.

© CricInfo

If Sri Lanka topping their group was a major surprise, the singlebiggest shock was provided by Kenya. The African nation pulled offarguably the biggest upset in the competition’s history by defeatingthe West Indies by 73 runs. In the face of a Kenyan total of 166, theWest Indies collapsed dramatically for 93. Kenya, however, stillfinished at the bottom of the group; following Sri Lanka wereAustralia, India and the West Indies in that order.In group B, things moved more according to prediction. South Africawon all five matches to finish on top, taking heavy toll of thebowling of the two weak teams, the UAE and Holland, and notching uptotals of 300-plus each time. Against the UAE, Gary Kirsten notched up188 not out, still the highest score in the World Cup. Pakistan, NewZealand and England followed in that order.The highlight of the quarter-finals was a high-voltage encounter atBangalore between India and Pakistan. To the jubilation of the homecrowd, India won by 39 runs. There was a minor surprise when the WestIndies got the better of hotly fancied South Africa, who buckled underpressure to lose by 19 runs at Karachi. In-form Sri Lanka were toostrong for England at Faisalabad, while Australia overcame a gallantchallenge from New Zealand at Madras.In the penultimate round, the West Indies, after having things wellunder control, went down to Australia by five runs at Mohali. In theface of an Australian total of 207 for eight in 50 overs, the WestIndies seemed to be cruising home at 165 for two. But the last eightwickets fell in a heap, and the West Indies were all out for 202 inthe last over.In the other semifinal at Calcutta, India too were in a strongposition with a score of 98 for one in reply to Sri Lanka’s 251 foreight. Thereafter it was a veritable procession of wickets, andLloyd’s decision in awarding the match to Sri Lanka following theresultant disturbances was the right one.

© CricInfo

While the Sri Lankans predictably garnered many of the individualhonours, a few other players too left their mark. Sachin Tendulkar wasthe leading run-getter, scoring 523 runs with two hundreds and threefifties. Mark Waugh was not far behind with 484 runs, in the processbecoming the first player to get three centuries in a single WorldCup. Saeed Anwar (329), Aamir Sohail (272), Hansie Cronje (276),Andrew Hudson (275), Gary Kirsten (391) and Brian Lara (269) wereothers to be among the runs.Batsmen generally called the shots on subcontinental wickets, butthere were a few bowlers like Roger Harper (12), Damien Fleming (12),Shane Warne (12), Waqar Younis (13) and Anil Kumble (15) who bravedadverse conditions and performed commendably. The tournament alsomarked the end of Javed Miandad’s distinguished career, making him theonly cricketer to play in all the first six World Cup competitions.

NZC threatens to sue ICC over withheld payments

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New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is threatening to sue the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its decision to withhold US$2.5 million in World Cup payments because of the NZC’s forfeiture of its game in Kenya.According to NZCity News, Martin Snedden, NZC’s CEO, has asked the ICC to make the payment, failing which he intends to take recourse to legal action.Snedden said that India, Sri Lanka and England are also suffering because of the claims that the Global Cricket Corporation (GCC), which represents the Wold Cup sponsors, has put forth. According to Snedden, the legal process begun by this could take up to a year to get resolved.