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The fairytale of Zimbabwe’s run to the final is etched in every scorecard of this tri-series. They have not just been winning but have looked like a team that knows how to win

The Preview by Sriram Veera08-Jun-2010

Match Facts

June 9, 2010
Start time 0900 (0700 GMT)Will we see more of these happy celebrations from Zimbabwe in the final?•AFP

The Big Picture

The fairytale of Zimbabwe’s run to the final is etched in every scorecard of this tri-series. They have not just been winning but have looked like a team that knows how to win. They have rarely chased targets with such serenity ever before. Where did the nerves vanish? Where did the infamous middle-order collapses disappear? Where did that tendency to choke at the sight of victory go? Zimbabwe have had only one bad day so far and their confidence has visibly increased with each win. Their celebrations – the Bebeto-style cradle-the-child, Hamilton Masakadza’s ‘just married’ under-shirt flash, and the choreographed dance between Ray Price and Chris Mpofu – indicate a happy team basking and growing in success. They are a game away from their first triumph in a multi-nation tournament involving Test-playing nations. The stakes are that big for Zimbabwe and their fans on Wednesday. Schoolboys have flooded the stands and they have inspired grown-ups to dance as well, giving the atmosphere a carnival feel.While it’s tempting to side with the underdogs, it will be foolish to overlook Sri Lanka, the strongest team in the tri-series. Nuwan Kulasekara, a vastly under-rated new-ball bowler, will return for the final after missing the dead rubber against Zimbabwe, which Sri Lanka lost. So will Ajantha Mendis, who, despite his recent decline, sparkled in the second game against India, conceding only six runs in two overs during the batting Powerplay. Mendis has a terrific record against Zimbabwe, with 20 wickets from seven games. Tillakaratne Dilshan hinted that Angelo Mathews might also return for the final. Sri Lanka are going to be difficult to beat twice in a row.The final will also help determine whether this is a ‘win toss, bowl first, and win the game’ tournament. The inconsequential game between these two teams nearly disproved that theory. After getting sent in, Dilshan started with such impunity that Sri Lanka were on course for 300 at one stage but were thwarted by Zimbabwe’s spinners. Elton Chigumbura had used seamers for 13 of the first 15 overs but he won’t be repeating that tactic in the final. Expect the nagging Price and the deceptive Prosper Utseya to be unleashed on the Sri Lankans with the new ball, while Graeme Cremer and Greg Lamb await their turn. An absorbing contest awaits us.

Form guide (most recent first)

Zimbabwe: WWLWL
Sri Lanka: LWWLW

Watch out for…

Opener Brendan Taylor has been consistent this series but it’s Hamilton Masakadza who provides Zimbabwe the X-factor at the top. A lot depends on him if Zimbabwe are to get an aggressive start. Masakadza is unafraid to go over the top and has the skill to accompany that attitude.Don’t look beyond Sri Lanka’s best new-ball operator Nuwan Kulasekara. He has a wonderful wrist position at release and he can either cut the ball in or get it to go through straight without discernible difference in his action. Time and again batsmen have fallen to his two-card trick. Kulasekara, however, is not such a force with the old ball and he could bowl a large quota of his overs up front.

Team news

Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Jeevan Mendis, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Angelo Mathews/Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Thissara Perera, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Dilhara Fernando/Thilan Thushara, 11 Ajantha Mendis.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Brendan Taylor (wk) 3 Chamu Chibhabha/Andy Blignaut, 4 Charles Coventry, 5 Tatenda Taibu, 6 Craig Ervine, 7 Greg Lamb, 8 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Prosper Utseya, 11 Ray Price.

Stats and trivia

• Kulasekara has 88 wickets at an average of 27.93 in his career but his 10 against Zimbabwe cost only 16.20 apiece.
• Zimbabwe have won 99 ODIs so far. Will they win their 100th game tomorrow?
• Dilshan has only three fifties from 16 games against Zimbabwe and his highest is 78.
  

  Quotes

  “I try to tell myself to stay relaxed as much as possible; you have a job to do and go out there and do it. They [Sri Lanka] have rested some players in this game and so definitely the contest will be stiffer in the final.”
  “The seamers have struggled with the new ball but the spinners have bowled really well all through this season. If I lose the toss in the final, I won’t be too concerned; it’s just the matter of doing well on field.”

The low intensity of floodlights at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium has been a talking point during the Asia Cup, and it could be a factor in Thursday’s final as well

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla23-Jun-2010The low intensity of floodlights at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium has been a talking point during the Asia Cup, and it could be a factor in Thursday’s final as well. Kumar Sangakkara, the home team’s captain, thought it was important enough to bowl first in the dead rubber against India on Tuesday so that his side could get some batting time under the floodlights.The Sri Lankan board has been surprised by the complaints from players and insists it has done all it had to before the start of the tournament. “There have been plenty of day-night matches at Dambulla before and there have been no official complaints about the lights then,” Ashley de Silva, the Sri Lanka Cricket’s head of cricket operations, told Cricinfo. “We just had to check whether the floodlights worked.”The game’s governing body, the ICC, which has no direct involvement in the operational running of the Asia Cup, has elaborate guidelines on floodlight parameters from the necessary illumination of different parts of the playing area to the positioning of the towers.The complaints about the quality of Dambulla’s floodlights started on the opening day of the tournament, when Lasith Malinga said they were not up to international standard. It continued with Gautam Gambhir, Man of the Match in the gripping game against Pakistan, who said after the victory: “I wasn’t able to pick the spinners at all, it was impossible to pick them from the hand. The light has to improve.”Sangakkara said the batsmen needed to be more watchful while batting under lights at Dambulla. “You can’t exactly get into a rhythm as a batsman and keep hitting the ball the same way,” he said. “You’ve got to watch the ball really closely and, with the lights, that’s not an easy task once the colour goes off the ball.”Except in the final league game when Sangakkara experimented, all teams that have won the toss have decided to bat, wary of the bowler-friendly conditions and light later in the day.

Steven Smith is on the verge of becoming Australia’s newest Test spinner but his captain Ricky Ponting believes Smith’s bowling still has plenty of room for improvement after a disappointing tour match in Derby

Brydon Coverdale at Lord's12-Jul-2010Steven Smith is on the verge of becoming Australia’s newest Test spinner but his captain Ricky Ponting believes Smith’s bowling still has plenty of room for improvement after a disappointing tour match in Derby. Although Ponting is confident Smith can put in a strong performance at Lord’s, he had some concerns after the legspinner was handled with ease by Derbyshire’s batsmen last week.Smith collected 1 for 87 from 24 overs and his only wicket came late in the innings, after he struggled to find the right line and length for much of Friday. Pakistan have given Australian spinners plenty of wickets in recent years – Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill and Nathan Hauritz all have lower averages against Pakistan than overall – but it will be a big challenge for Smith to replicate those results.”Smithy has got a bit of work to do with his bowling yet,” Ponting said on Sunday. “He probably didn’t get out of the [Derby] game what he wanted the other day. He was a little bit off the mark there but you can understand that with a young guy playing his first game for Australia, a bit nervous and wanting to impress and wanting to do everything right.”We’ve worked a bit with him today on that, mainly on just the line that he bowled. I thought he bowled a little bit too straight to the right-handers down at Derby and got picked off through the leg-side a bit too much, so we’ve worked on that today [and on] a few other little things that will hopefully help him out.”Although Smith will be chosen primarily as a bowler, he will offer some serious batting depth at No. 8 and should provide a spark in the field. Ponting doesn’t believe Smith will be overawed by the occasion of becoming Australia’s 415th Test player – Tim Paine will be regarded as the 414th – despite his below-par bowling in the warm-up game.”He’s a great kid to have around,” Ponting said. “He’s very aggressive and you can see in the way he bats that’s pretty much the attitude he has with all of his cricket. If he does get that opportunity to play I think he’ll acquit himself nicely.”Shane Warne is another who believes there is much room for improvement in Smith. Warne would have preferred Smith to gain greater first-class experience before making his Test debut, but he is confident that Smith has all the deliveries a legspinner needs.”I think he has all the toys,” Warne told the . “But he is pretty raw and is a work in progress is nowhere near the finished product. He will almost certainly have some good days and some bad days. He will have to learn his craft on the run, while playing Test cricket. That is pretty difficult to do. But as long as he is patient with developing slowly I am okay with that. “Regardless of how Smith is handled by Pakistan, Ponting expects to draw on his part-time spinners for plenty of overs during the two Tests. It’s rare to see Simon Katich send down many deliveries in the nets but at Lord’s on Sunday he was given a long stint with the ball, and had his New South Wales team-mate Usman Khawaja noticeably perplexed.Katich’s left-arm wrist-spin has been used sparingly in recent years, but he has a knack of collecting wickets and since the start of 2009 has taken eight at an average of 17.25, having been called on in only six Tests. Given Pakistan’s poor record against Australian spinners over the past couple of decades, Katich could be a useful weapon.”The only reason he hasn’t bowled much in the last couple of years is he’s had a bad shoulder ,” Ponting said. “But since he’s been here in England he’s actually bowled a bit more than normal and his shoulder feels good, so whenever he’s feeling good we’ll try to get what overs out of him that we can.”I think him and [Marcus] North will both bowl quite a bit in the series, just for the sheer fact we’ve got a lot of guys coming back from [injury]. Mitch has come back from a pretty long lay-off and Hilfenhaus from injury, so we’d better look after the quicks and be mindful of how much they are doing through the series.”

An exciting final day is in prospect at Cheltenham where Gloucestershire are
well placed to win their first County Championship game at the College Ground
since 2001 against Worcestershire

06-Aug-2010
ScorecardAn exciting final day is in prospect at Cheltenham where Gloucestershire are
well placed to win their first County Championship game at the College Ground
since 2001 against Worcestershire.Despite a century from Daryl Mitchell, Worcestershire could make only 278 in
their first innings and conceded a deficit of 202 runs.With the pitch threatening to break up, Gloucestershire skipper Alex Gidman
decided against enforcing the follow-on and saw his side crash to 136 all out in
their second innings, Shakib Al Hasan taking 5 for 23 – his best figures for
Worcestershire – and Alan Richardson 4 for 57.But that still left the visitors needing an unlikely 339 to win. They closed
the third day on eight without loss and will need to bat very well to achieve
even a draw.Worcestershire had begun on 126 for 2 in reply to 480 and looked capable of a
decent first-innings reply while overnight batsmen Mitchell and Moeen Ali were
together. But once Moeen fell to Anthony Ireland for 59, including nine fours, only
Mitchell offered much resistance. Gemaal Hussain finished with 4 for 30 to
take his wicket tally for the season to 53.Mitchell was sixth man out with the total on 258, having faced 254 balls and
hit 16 fours. It was a solid effort by the opener on a pitch that began to
respond to spin in the latter stages of the innings and on which the home
seamers bowled well.Gloucestershire were no doubt planning on building a lead beyond 400 before a
declaration, but it never looked like happening as the out-of-form Jonathan
Batty was bowled by Matt Mason for three.First-innings centurion Will Porterfield hit a breezy 33, but Hamish Marshall,
Alex Gidman and James Franklin could make only 30 between them, perishing in the
quest for quick runs. Worryingly for Worcestershire, it was left-arm spinner Shakib who did most of the damage.Chris Taylor made sure the second innings was not a total disaster for the home
side by hitting 45 off 56 balls, with seven fours, but the last four wickets
fell without a run being added.Worcestershire will still feel they are in with a chance, but if
Gloucestershire fail to take this opportunity they may start to think they will
never win another four-day game at Cheltenham. Their spell without a victory there stretches back 15 Championship games.

Durham seamer Neil Killeen has announced his retirement from domestic cricket, and Durham’s Clydesdale Bank 40 clash against Kent at Chester-le-Street will mark his final appearance for the county

Cricinfo staff04-Sep-2010Durham seamer Neil Killeen has announced his retirement from domestic cricket, and Durham’s Clydesdale Bank 40 clash against Kent at Chester-le-Street will mark his final appearance for the county. Already a qualified coach, he will continue to be involved with the club as part of the coaching staff.”It was a tough decision to call time on my career but I’m incredibly excited about the opportunities ahead of me especially those that will see me continue to work alongside some of the quality talent we have here at Durham,” said Killeen. “I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the players, staff and members for their support over the years.”Killeen made his Durham debut in 1995, aged just 20, and has since made over one hundred first-class appearances for the county, as well as playing in 226 one-day games – taking over 300 wickets in the fomat – and 45 Twenty20s.He came close to an England call-up in 2000 before suffering an ankle ligament injury and was part of the team that secured Durham’s historic first piece of silverware, the Friends Provident Trophy, in 2007 when they beat Hampshire in the competition’s final at Lord’s.”I’ve had a wonderful career at Durham and enjoyed every minute of it. My absolute highlight has to be winning the Friends Provident Trophy at Lord’s, it was great seeing the hard work of so many people coming into fruition – it was a massive achievement for the team and that weekend is something I will always remember.””I’ve enjoyed watching Neil play cricket throughout his career and for him to retire as the leading wicket taker for Durham in one day cricket is certainly an accolade that is much deserved,” said Geoff Cook, Durham’s head coach. “He has worked extremely hard to give his best to the team and the club over the last 16 years and I’d like to wish him all the best with his future projects.””Neil’s contribution to Durham CCC has been one of real dedication, on and off the field,” added David Harker, the county’s chief executive. “We have been lucky to have him in our set up and while it’s sad to see him retiring we’re pleased that he will maintain his links with the club.”

The pitch at Hambantota, one of Sri Lanka’s new venues for the 2011 World Cup, was not to blame for the low scores in the second unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A, Sri Lanka’s head curator has said

Sa'adi Thawfeeq19-Sep-2010The pitch at Hambantota, one of Sri Lanka’s new venues for the 2011 World Cup, was not to blame for the low scores in the second unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A, Sri Lanka’s head curator, Anurudda Polonowita, has said.Only 505 runs were scored in the unofficial Test that finished in a little over two days with the home team winning by 39 runs. Twenty two wickets fell on the first day while 13 went down on the second. The ICC’s pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson, was also present to witness the first day’s play and despite the flurry of wickets he was extremely happy the way the pitch played, according to Polonowita.He said that there was some assistance for the bowlers from the newly-laid turf wicket, but blamed poor batting by both teams for the early finish. “The batsmen lacked application and they were getting out trying to hit boundaries without settling down to play a long innings,” Polonowita said. “This was a four-day test and the batsmen needed to spend some time in the middle before opening out.”National selector Ranjit Fernando, who watched the match, said that there was nothing alarming in the pitch. “Not a single ball misbehaved, nor was any ball unplayable,” he said. “There was more grass left on the pitch than at Colombo. It helped the fast bowlers in the morning and the spinners later. Both teams have been playing on very placid pitches in Colombo and when the ball did a little bit the batsmen were found wanting. It is a dry area and you need to have some grass on the pitch otherwise it will dry up very quickly.”On the first day, when 22 wickets fell, there was movement as well as turn but gradually, over a period, the pitch settled down as you can see from the second-innings totals. Every time teams get out for low scores you cannot say the pitches are bad.”Hambantota will host two matches in the World Cup – Sri Lanka against Canada on February 20 and Kenya against Pakistan on February 23 – and Fernando had a word of caution for teams travelling there. “Any team playing here should come 2-3 days ahead of the match to adjust to the conditions. The winds are so strong (I am told it is stronger than at Dambulla) that the bails often get blown away and have to be replaced constantly. Even after making deep grooves on the stumps the bails were still flying.”Also the batsman must know which side to hit the ball in the air. The stadium is so large that you need to get used to the atmosphere. The distance between the centre pitches to the boundary lines is about 100 metres.”

Grant Flower,the 39-year-old batsman, has made a shock international return more than six years after he last played for Zimbabwe, being named in the squads for the tour of South Africa next month

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2010Grant Flower, the 39-year-old batsman, has made a shock international return more than six years after he last played for Zimbabwe, being named in the squads for the tour of South Africa next month.In August, Flower had returned to Zimbabwe after six seasons with Essex, to be the batting coach of the national team and the player-coach of the Mashonaland Eagles franchise.He was one of Zimbabwe’s leading players during his 12-year international career, in which he has so far played 67 Tests (3457 runs at 29.54) and 219 ODIs (6536 runs at 33.69). In 2004, he became one of the key players to leave in an exodus following Heath Streak’s removal from the captaincy.”It (international cricket) is a different pressure,” Flower told the . “I just had a good season with Essex, playing some of my best one-day cricket with them, but international cricket is a step up.”Essex were relegated to the second division of the County Championship, but Flower’s 527 runs at 65.87 were pivotal to the county reaching the semi-final of the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition.He admitted that the dual role of player and batting coach could prove to be tricky. “There can be a conflict of interests with my role as the batting coach if I can’t turn things around as a player,” Flower said. “It can be awkward if I don’t. If it works, however, it can come out in positive fashion.”Zimbabwe’s three ODIs and two Twenty20s against South Africa are their only confirmed international assignments before the World Cup starts in February next year.Flower is the latest of several high-profile players who have become part of Zimbabwe cricket this season. Fast bowlers Allan Donald and Jason Gillespie have taken domestic coaching assignments, and former New Zealand allrounder Chris Harris has been put in charge of the national Under-19 team.Twenty20 squad Elton Chigumbura(capt), Hamilton Masakadza , Chamu Chibhabha, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Shingirai Masakadza, Ian Nicolson, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Charles Coventry, Ed Rainsford, Chris Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa, Grant Flower, Brendan Taylor.ODI Squad: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Hamilton Masakadza , Chamu Chibhabha, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Shingirai Masakadza, Ian Nicolson, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Ed Rainsford, Chris Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa, Grant Flower, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor.

India fast bowler Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the deciding third Test against New Zealand in Nagpur due to a groin strain and left-arm seamer Jaidev Unadkat has been called in as his replacement

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2010India fast bowler Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the deciding third Test against New Zealand in Nagpur due to a groin strain. Left-arm seamer Jaidev Unadkat has been called in as his replacement. The injury resulted in Zaheer missing a good part of the fourth day of the second Test in Hyderabad, where he left the field during New Zealand’s second innings, and the bulk of the fifth day when he bowled just three overs. The decision to leave him out of the third Test is a precautionary measure.Zaheer’s absence was felt in Hyderabad as India struggled to make inroads and New Zealand, led by Brendon McCullum, steered the Test to a draw. Zaheer had triggered India’s fightback in the first innings after New Zealand had taken the first-day honours, and helped bowl the visitors out for 350. His injury means Ishant Sharma could be drafted in for the final game to partner Sreesanth, who picked up four wickets in the Hyderabad Test.Unadkat, who will take Zaheer’s place in the squad, represents Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy and has picked up 26 wickets in six first-class games at an average of 26.34

Danish Kaneria is confident of making a return to the Pakistan squad after a “fruitful and positive” meeting with the board’s integrity committee

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2010Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, has said he is confident of returning to the national side pending clearance by the Pakistan board. Kaneria was speaking after a meeting on Wednesday with the board’s integrity committee, which he described as “fruitful and positive.””I am providing the board with whatever details they have asked for,” Kaneria said. “Now it is just a case of waiting for their decision. I am cooperating in every way. Obviously I am keen to have this stigma off my name and play for Pakistan again.”He said the board had asked him to submit details of his bank accounts and other assets and he had already provided them with some at Wednesday’s meeting.Kaneria was the subject of a criminal investigation in August by Essex police over allegations that he was involved in spot-fixing during a county game. He was released without charge in September.Despite his clearance in that case, the PCB stopped Kaneria at the last minute from going to the UAE to play the Test series against South Africa. He had been named in the original squad and attended the team’s training camp, but he was informed just before he was about to leave for the airport that he would not be on the tour. He was then left out of the squad for the Test series in New Zealand, along with Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik, who have also not been cleared by the PCB. The board did not give any reason for Kaneria’s exclusion.Kaneria has taken 35 wickets in five matches at 18.02 in this season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He said he was glad the board had not place any restriction on him playing domestic cricket. “Playing in domestic cricket means I am fit and in form and ready to play for Pakistan anytime.” Kaneria has taken 261 wickets in his 61 Tests.Kamran and Shoaib had both expressed disappointment with the PCB’s decision to not clear them for the New Zealand tour. Kamran had received clearance from the ICC, after he wrote to them asking if he was under investigation, but was still not named in Pakistan’s squad. Pakistan have delayed their announcement of the squad for the ODI series in New Zealand as well as the 30 probables for the World Cup and have said they want to further consider the clearances of some of their players. So, Kaneria could still be included in those two squads if he receives clearance in time.

India’s environment ministry has ordered an investigation into the building of an international cricket stadium by the Kerala Cricket Association, citing violations of coastal protection laws

Tariq Engineer24-Dec-2010India’s environment ministry has ordered an investigation into the building of an international cricket stadium by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). Citing violations of coastal protection laws, the ministry sent an order on December 21 to the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority instructing it to put a halt to all construction activity, take appropriate action under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and to submit a report within 15 days.The ministry claims the land contains protected mangrove swamps, most of which the KCA is accused of illegally removing, as well as being part of a Ramsar site, which are wetlands of international importance designated under an agreement signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.The KCA has denied the area ever contained mangroves, saying it was land that was used to grow paddy. “We are not lawbreakers,” KCA secretary TC Matthews, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are a law abiding association.” According to Matthews, construction has not even begun on the site as the stadium is still in the process of being designed by the architects, so there is no question of putting a stop to it. They have also applied to the state government for various building permits. “We have applied to the state government for an exemption to the Wetland Act and the Land Ceiling Act because we don’t want a problem at a later stage.”The KCA had acquired a 23.5 acre plot in Edakochi, a part of Ernakulum district in Kerala, to build the stadium. Its construction is widely supported by the local community, who see it as a way of attracting tourists, which in turn would boost further development. The prospects of the stadium actually coming up in Edakochi, however, appear somewhat bleak, as the Union environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, told the last month that “we will not support a stadium coming up in that area.”