All posts by csb10.top

BRISBANE, July 31 AAP – Bill Brown has turned 90 and Australia’s oldest living Test cricketer still loves the sport, even though he’s not taken with sledging or one-day matches.Brown celebrated his birthday in Brisbane today with family and friends, including Walter Hadlee, who led New Zealand against Brown’s Australians in 1946.It was the only time Brown captained Australia but he packed plenty into his 22-Test career, including two centuries at Lord’s and hundreds of days alongside some of the game’s greatest names.He played through most of the Don Bradman era, played against English stars such as Len Hutton and Walter Hammond, and finished his career as part of the Invincibles tour of England in 1948.Brown still follows cricket closely from his Brisbane home, with a vivid memory of his playing days, and today repeated his admiration for Australian Test captain Steve Waugh.But he wasn’t speaking in the same glowing terms of sledging and match-fixing, while admitting he didn’t follow one-day matches closely, preferring the “cut-and-thrust” of Tests.”I obviously find match-fixing abhorrent,” Brown said.”And one of the key things which has crept into the game which I’m not keen about would be the sledging.”I don’t like any form of sledging, that’s it.”We asked Sir Donald Bradman once about sledging and what he would do and he said `I would give them one warning and if they didn’t stop it they wouldn’t be in the side anymore’.”We had a far better accord with the opposition players than they do now although no longer being a player I can’t say too much.”It’s hard to imagine Brown being anything but pleasant during his long life and marriage to Barbara.Brown said he didn’t know much about life aged in the nineties, except that he would use the same formula which he used while bating in the nervous nineties.”Plenty of short, sharp singles,” Brown said.”With anything, you need a bit of luck and I’ve been fortunate to have a wonderful life.”According to cricket statistician Ross Dundas, Brown becomes the seventh Australian Test player to live into his nineties.Australia’s oldest Test cricketer was Ken Burn, who died in 1956 aged 93 years and 307 days.

Australia, though rattled in the Colombo Test, are still favourites to clinch the three-match series by winning the second Test starting Friday here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.And if Steve Waugh and his men are able to tame a youthful Pakistan side it will be Australia’s fifth successive Test triumph over Pakistan. When the two teams met last Down Under in 1999-2000, Australia whitewashed Wasim Akram-led Pakistan side 3-0.Sharjah has been a happy hunting ground for Pakistan but the present Australian team is without doubt the world’s best Test side and it will require something out of the ordinary to stop the baggy green juggernaut taking an unbeatable 2-0 lead.Conditions here are similar to Sri Lanka and the oppressive heat and humidity will be felt by both the teams as the mercury is likely to hover around 40 degrees Celsius making bowling and fielding a tough proposition over the next five days if the match lasts that long.On paper and in terms of performance the Australians have upper hand in all three departments of the game, batting, bowling and fielding. Despite the sensational collapse in the second innings in Colombo triggered by the express pace of Shoaib Akhtar, Aussies batting is formidable.With gangling Glenn McGrath and spin king Shane Warne backed up by tearaway Brett Lee, the Aussies have the arsenal to undo Pakistan’s vulnerable batting which invariably crumbles when put under pressure.If one goes by the words of groundsmen and pitch experts the track is going to be slow, offering some assistance to spinners from the third day onwards. And in all probability both the teams are likely to replace one seamer with a spinner although the final eleven will be announced just before the toss.Pakistan are expected to bring in young leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in place of speedster Mohammad Sami while Australia could induct uncapped off-spinner Nathan Hauritz for the injured Jason Gillespie although the pacer’s replacement Brad Williams has arrived.Reuters adds: Pakistan will target Steve Waugh in an attempt to make the Australia captain’s 150th Test appearance as uncomfortable as possible.Waugh and his twin brother Mark both made second innings ducks in Australia’s first Test win and have come under further pressure to justify their places in the Australia team.”No doubt Steve is a great player and has played some fine cricket at the highest level but we are not in mood to give him, or for that matter, other players any inch,” Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis told reporters Thursday.Steve Waugh discounted any suggestion that the Test would be a special landmark.”It’s just another Test for me,” he said. “The idea is to play well, score some runs, captain the side well and win the match for Australia.”Australia, for their part, need to counter Shoaib, who took five wickets in 15 balls in the first Test.”He did turn the match for a while, but in the end we won. That’s what matter in the final analyses,” Waugh said.Teams (from):Pakistan: Waqar Younis (captain), Imran Nazir, Taufiq Umar, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Rashid Latif, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Danish Kaneria, Mohammed Sami.Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Hauritz, Brad Williams, Andy Bichel, Darren Lehmann.Umpires: Srinivas Venkataraghavan (India) and Steve Bucknor (West Indies).TV umpire: Nadeem Ghauri (Pakistan).Match referee: Clive Lloyd (West Indies).

Somerset Sabres were beaten by the umpires decision at the County Ground today, where they lost to Glamorgan in the NUL by one wicket.Batting first the Sabres had slipped to 40 for 4 before Mike Burns (51) and Matthew Wood (58) rescued the innings.Graham Rose scored an invaluable unbeaten 20, including a six off the final ball to help the Sabres reach a respectable 220 for 9.Rose then got Somerset off to a good start by removing Steve James in the first over, and then Steffan Jones removed Robert Croft and David Hemp in quick succession as the Dragons slumped to 20 for 3.Matthew Maynard then hit some expansive shots to make a quick 36, and Adrian Dale(63) and Michael Powell (32) added 75 for the 5th wicket to put Glamorgan back into the game.During the Glamorgan innings there were two interruptions for rain , which had reduced the target to 209 from 39 overs.Over the last ten overs the game fluctuated in favour of both teams, but the visitors went into the last over requiring 12 runs with their last pair at the wicket.However unknown to spectators the umpires had penalised Somerset six runs because of a slow over rate and the final pair saw Glamorgan home of the penultimate ball of the match.After the game Kevin Shine told me: "I was dumbstruck, this is an unbelievable situation. I never thought that we were bowling slowly at any time. In fact Simon Francis was running back to his mark."He continued: "A silly rule has brought about a sad finish to the game today. There were some excellent performances from some of our players, but that decision just tarnishes the outcome. Cricket was not allowed to run its course today and we are as sick as parrots."

Otago Cricket are determined to make the most of their One-Day International in Queenstown this year when New Zealand will play India.Coming at peak holiday time on January 4, with TelstraClear Black Cap players like Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Nathan Astle, Andre Adams, Craig McMillan and Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, the game should be a huge attraction.Otago Cricket’s chief executive Graeme Elliott said the news was exciting for the region and he anticipates the Queenstown Events Centre will be capable of holding around 8000 people and he said the ideal situation would be to pre-sell the ground.However, whether that happens is still to be decided.In the meantime, Otago Cricket, New Zealand Cricket and the Queenstown Lakes District Council are working together to have the playing surface upgraded from that which caused some problems during the Otago-England three-day match this year.”There is quite a lot to do,” Elliott said. “There is drainage work, new practice pitches to go in and the wicket block has to be raised slightly.”Providing media facilities off the ground and one or two other crowd facilities would also need to be completed.Elliott said one of the problems during the England game had been that because the ground was level, there was a concern with rain on the outfield flowing under the covers. This caused delays on two of the days of play.He said there would be no problem raising the block and there were to be drains cleared that had prevented thorough drainage last year.”We are confident we can have all of the work done by the end of September. And that will allow the grass to come away during the early months of summer,” he said.”This is a one-off situation because of the World Cup but we want to do it really well,” he said.It was important for Otago cricket that at least one international cricket fixture was played in the region each summer and with the earlier tours that are now taking place, Queenstown was an ideal venue to promote.The traditional Central Otago venue at Molyneux Park in Alexandra would not miss out as two State Shield games are to be played there between Christmas and New Year.”There is no doubt it is a stunning venue. And when you walk through the airport after arriving, [the airport is at the southern end of the ground] there is no doubt that you are at an international resort,” he said.Local government authorities in Queenstown were very keen to be involved in the event, and Elliott said some thorough research would be done to determine just how many the ground could hold.

International off-spinner Shoaib Malik’s bowling action looks suspectonly for one particular delivery otherwise his action has no fault noragainst the ICC rules.This is the finding of two-man PCB Group of Bowling Advisors formerTest off-spinner Ijaz Fakih and fast bowler Mohsin Kamal.Malik wasreported for suspect bowling action during last Sharjah Cup.The Bowling Advisors, examined the video footage of Malik on Thursdayat the Gaddafi Stadium and gave their ruling on Friday. The footagewas received from the ICC. The advisors observed that Shoaib Malik’sarm for one particular delivery which goes the other way for the offspinner, apparently seems to deviate from the ICC rules otherwise hisaction was faultlessIt was decided by the PCB that Malik would be trained by the formerTest off-spinner and now an umpire, Mohammad Nazir Junior, in thePakistan National Academy which would start at the Gaddafi Stadiumfrom May 14, to remove technical flaws with his action. Earlier,Malik’s bowling action was physically examined by the Advisors onApril 26.The third member of Advisors Iqbal Sikandar could not attend themeeting as he is presently in England and attending coaching course.

Former top West Indies opening batsman Desmond Haynes is urging cricket officials to put a pension plan in place for former Barbados cricketers.The Government senator made his suggestion in an address at a dinner in honour of former Barbados leg-spinner George Linton at the Lester Vaughan School on Saturday night."We must begin to recognise cricket as a profession and, indeed, treat all other professional sports persons with the same respect as we do other professions," he said. "We must stop making sport at sports."Linton was a consistent performer for Barbados as a leg-spinner and reliable lower-order batsman in 23 first-class matches in which he made 583 runs (ave. 23.82) and took 66 wickets (ave. 30.71).This year, the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) is staging a series of activities in which all funds raised will be presented to Linton."I wish to take this opportunity to call on the BCA to facilitate a pension plan for former cricketers like George and, indeed, those who are playing now, so that they would not need to go cap in hand to the public after retirement," Haynes said."Benefit functions like this one would be a bonus."He added that someone like Linton, who had made such an outstanding contribution to the game at the local level, should not be made to "suffer in his old age".Since his retirement as a player, Linton has been coaching and several of his charges have gone on to play for national senior and youth teams."Not many people realise the sacrifices made by people like George who, in the main, volunteer their services to help in the success of good cricketers," Haynes said.Haynes was Linton’s Barbados teammate in the 1980s and his roommate when both were playing in the leagues in England.Haynes described Linton as a man with determination and courage."What sets George apart, is his dedication to his purpose of assisting young cricketers," Haynes said."He can be called upon at any time to share his views and to offer advice. His value is in his ability to get things done."

In the absence of Ajit Agarkar, Sairaj Bahutule and Nilesh Kulkarni,Punjab took advantage of the depleted Mumbai attack to post 244 forfour at stumps on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinalmatch at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. Punjab stumperPankaj Dharmani (68) and Indian one day batsman Yuvraj Singh heldcentre stage as Mumbai were made to toil all day.Mumbai’s stand in skipper Amol Mazumdar won the toss and opted to putthe opposition in. Punjab openers Vikram Rathour (14) and RavneetRicky (24) put up 32 runs on the board in 8.4 overs. But theexperience of Paras Mhambrey prevailed and Rathour was bowled. AnkurKakkar, playing just his second Ranji match, made his way to thecrease. But just when a good partnership was developing between Kakkarand Ricky, left arm spinner Rajesh Powar trapped the Punjab opener legbefore with the score at 58 in the 26th over.Dharmani joined Kakkar and forged a sedate 78-run partnership for thethird wicket on either side of the lunch break. Kakkar was unfortunateto miss out on his second half century in as many matches and wasstumped by Amol Rane off Ramesh Powar in the 45th over. Kakkar (46)who was at the centre for 157 minutes faced 117 balls and fourboundaries while managing to send one over the ropes.Yuvraj Singh walked out to join Dharmani and before long took controlof the proceedings. The two added 100 runs for the fourth wicket in 26overs. The Mumbaikars sorely missed the experience of their front linebowlers on a day when the Punjab middle order was toying with theattack. During the course of the partnership, Dharmani reached hishalf-century, needing 97 balls to reach the mark. After toiling allthrough the afternoon, Mumbai were finally rewarded with the wicket ofDharmani. Mhambrey, who came back into the attack, trapped Dharmanileg before in the 72nd over of the innings. During a 179-minute stayat the crease, Dharmani faced 130 balls and hit eight fours and a sixin his 68.Punjab, who have been in such ominous form this season – they won alltheir five league games – were now helped along by Yuvraj Singh andReetinder Sodhi (35 not out). Yuvraj Singh reached his fifty in duecourse, requiring just 73 balls. The two who have put on 63 runs forthe fifth wicket so far ensured that Punjab suffered no furthercasualities. By close, Yuvraj was unbeaten on 86 (131 balls, 11 fours,one six).

Portable pitch technology will take a significant step in New Zealand when the pitch for the first National Bank Test against England at Jade Stadium will be a portable pitch.It will be only the third time in a Test in New Zealand that a portable pitch has been used, and the second time in Christchurch.Last summer, in the second Test against Pakistan, the Jade portable saw double centuries scored by each side, Mathew Sinclair for New Zealand and Yousuf Youhana for Pakistan. The game was a dull draw.Before that the first Test in Auckland was a victory to Pakistan on the first portable used at Eden Park.However, with another year of development, New Zealand Cricket has taken the step of deciding to use the Jade portable 24 hours before the scheduled announcement.Earlier, NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said a decision on which pitch would be used for the Test match would be made tomorrow after the effects of tonight’s Super 12 match at the ground had been assessed.The pitch was to have been covered with an artificial surface to protect it during the match.However, NZC operations manager John Reid announced today that core samples taken of both the natural and portable pitches had resulted in the decision to go with the portable pitch.The samples had produced positive readings which suggested the pitch would have excellent pace and bounce.”The grass cover on the pitch is also outstanding, giving confidence that the pitch will provide very good playing conditions,” Reid said.”Given the sample test results we have decided to proceed with the portable pitch as our preferred option for the Test match at Jade Stadium,” he added.Jade Stadium turf manager Chris Lewis backed Reid’s assessment and is very confident in the quality of the portable pitch.Reid said: “We are acutely aware that the last Test played on a portable pitch at Jade Stadium did not produce a result, but all the indications about the portable prepared for this match are extremely positive.”We are confident that portable pitches are a technology that cricket needs to embrace if it is to successfully share venues with other sports and provide high quality playing conditions for the its players.”The New Zealand Sports Turf Institute carried out the sampling programme yesterday.

Jon Holland is one of the two best spinners in Australia at the moment, according to the national selector John Inverarity. The problem is getting a chance to prove it.Although Nathan Lyon remains the front-runner for the spin position in Australia’s squad for the first Test against South Africa early next month, the pressure will build on Lyon if Holland piles up the wickets over the next fortnight. That can only happen if Victoria’s world-class pace attack led by James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, John Hastings and Clint McKay don’t skittle opposition teams. And at the moment, they’re making batsmen from all over the country look like Chris Martin.That has created a selection dilemma for Victoria, who must also squeeze Andrew McDonald back into the side after his return from the Champions League Twenty20. Inverarity’s panel wants to see Holland given game time, especially after his strong performances during the Australia A tour of England during the winter. On that trip, Holland picked up ten wickets at 27.30 compared to Lyon’s eight at 48.75, which confirmed that he had jumped ahead of Michael Beer in the national queue.”I think it’s fair to say that we’re of the view that the two best spinners we’ve got just at this moment are Nathan Lyon and Jon Holland,” Inverarity said in Sydney on Tuesday.”I saw [Holland] bowl in Adelaide last year in a one-dayer when he got 6 for 29 and he bowled beautifully. There was a variation in spin, a variation in pace and he flighted the ball, he bowled beautifully. We took him on the Australia A tour and he bowled very well. We all go through patches, and Lyon was in a bad patch in England and Holland outbowled him. But Lyon in Adelaide was bowling very differently to the way he bowled in England.”Wickets have not been forthcoming for Lyon early in the Sheffield Shield season – he has two victims at 112.50 – but he remains the Test incumbent and appears likely to retain his place for now. But the glowing praise from Inverarity, who himself took 221 first-class wickets bowling left-arm orthodox, has given Holland heart that he is on the right track, and that an opportunity in the baggy green could come at any time.”It’s pretty good to hear that from the chairman of selectors for Australia,” Holland told ESPNcricinfo. “But I’m more focused on playing for Victoria at the moment. If that comes along then so be it. But Nathan Lyon is bowling pretty well and he’s done a good job with his opportunities. I dare say he’s still in front.”On the A trip he [Inverarity] was over in England, I spoke to him a few times there. He’s been pretty happy with the way I bowl, the way I go about things with my flight. He picked up something with my action in Brisbane on a pre-season camp, I was falling over a bit and my head was going to one side, he said to try and keep that as straight as possible.”Every little piece of advice is a bonus for Holland, who at 25 has been on the domestic scene for four years, and on the minds of Australia’s selectors for most of that time. He was called up for Australia’s ODI tour of India in October 2009 but did not play a game, and has now had four stints at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, gradually developing his art.Initially, his opportunities with Victoria were limited by the presence of the legspinner Bryce McGain, but over the past two years Holland has clearly been the Bushrangers’ frontline slow bowler. He is yet to take a first-class five-wicket haul, but that is not unusual for an Australian spinner on the cusp of a call-up – Nathan Hauritz and Nathan Lyon both claimed their maiden five-wicket hauls while playing Test cricket.Now his chances are dictated by the success of Victoria’s fast men. In the first two Sheffield Shield games this season, Holland was bowled a total of 10 overs and has taken 0 for 34.”There hasn’t really been a great deal in the wickets for me,” he said. “But with the bowling attack we’ve had, James Pattinson and Peter Siddle are world-class bowlers and Clint McKay, John Hastings and Andrew McDonald aren’t too far behind them. They’ve done a really good job in the first two games and have taken wickets on a regular basis, so I wasn’t really required at all, which is a good thing from a team point of view. It’s always good to take a few wickets yourself but as long as we’re winning I’m not really that fussed.”Next week, Holland will have the chance to bowl at the MCG for the first time this season – assuming he is picked to play Tasmania – and it’s a venue that is unlikely to offer him much spin. But much like Daniel Vettori, Holland’s key weapon is not prodigious turn but subtle changes of pace, and he is confident that his style will allow him to have success on any surface.”It’s pretty important on Australian wickets that you do change your pace and your flight, because you don’t get much help out of the wicket,” he said. “The MCG last year was fairly flat, it didn’t really break up and take much spin. But as long as I’m consistently bowling in the one area it should be right on any pitches and in any conditions. As long as I’m hitting the right spot and changing my pace I don’t think I need to vary my bowling too much.”For the time being, just getting a bowl would be a start.

Central Zone were struggling at 169 for 6 against South Zone at the end ofthe second day in the CK Nayudu Trophy (under-19) final at the BarabatiStadium in Cuttack on Monday. South Zone who were comfortably placed at 303for 6 on the first day were restricted to a first innings total of 377.Central were off to a bad start losing opener Anshu Kapoor (12) in thefourth over of the innings. Kapoor was caught by ASK Varma off the TamilNadu seamer L Balaji. Amit Deshpande soon joined his partner in thepavilion. Off the last ball of the fifth over bowled by Kerala pacemanSteve Lazarus, Deshpande was bowled leaving Central Zone in a spot ofbother at 26 for 2. But Sachin Dholpure (31) and Raza Ali (44) cametogether to take the score to 75. Sachin was the next to be dismissed whenhe lost his defences to G Shankar Rao.Raza Ali and Afroj Khan (35) forged a 51-run stand for the fourth wicketbefore Raza Ali was run out. And at the fag end of the day Central Zonelost two quick wickets which brought the pressure back on them. Mohd Faiqfirst had Manoj Srivastava bowled for 14. Then Balaji came back to pick upthe wicket of Afroj Khan by shattering his stumps. Surender Singh (4) andChandrashekar Atram (0) were manning the crease at stumps.Earlier, the South Zone overnight batsmen Mohd Faiq (9) and Vijay Sai Suri(29) were separated in the fourth over of the day. Sai Suri was the firstto be dismissed when he was bowled by Sunil Upadhay. Then Shankar Rao (23)joined Faiq to take the score to 335. Faiq was then run out. Lazarus, whoreplaced him, lasted exactly five balls and was then bowled by Atram for aduck. However, the last wicket pair of Shankar Rao and L Balaji (24 notout) added 41 useful runs before Shankar Rao was bowled by Raza Ali. SunilUpadhay (4 for 89) was the most successful bowler for Central Zone.