All posts by csb10.top

Haryana took a first innings lead of 266 runs overMadhya Pradesh in the final of the Cooch BeharTrophy at the Deccan Gymkhana on Friday. MadhyaPradesh were shot out for 197 in 75.2 oversshortly after lunch on the third day. Haryanachose to bat again in the second innings and were167 for one off 39 overs at stumps on the thirdday for an overall lead of 433. They are thusvirtually assured of the title.Resuming at the overnight score of 86 for two, theMP batsmen failed miserably to overhaul themassive Haryana total of 463. Mohnish Mishra (40)was the first man to be dismissed in the morninggiving keeper Ajay Ratra his first victim of daywhen he edged an outswinger from Joginder Sharma.His fall ended a 71-run partnership for the thirdwicket off 23 overs. Mishra played 109 balls andhit seven of them to the fence. Maninder Singh,his overnight partner, soon followed, falling tothe same duo. Singh scored 39 off 83 balls withsix hits to the fence. The dismissal of both theovernight batsman triggered a collapse in themiddle order, as they lost six wickets for 67runs. Haryana took control and mounted thepressure on the batsmen who faltered against someaccurate bowling. Amit Mishra tempted and toyedwith the batsmen with his variations in flight andturn. The close in fielders were in businessthroughout the session. At the lunch interval, MPwere reeling at 165 for eight off 63 overs.The post lunch session witnessed a fightback ofsorts by the lower order batsmen. Ambalal Patidar(28) and Jitendar Likhar (18) added 46 runs off14.5 overs for the ninth wicket. MP were finallydismissed, 46 minutes after the interval. Mediumpacer Joginder Sharma, a product of the NationalCricket Academy, bagged four for 72. Amit Mishrabowled his spinners to good effect picking upthree for 39. Ratra had a fine day behind thestumps, collecting five catches.Despite having a big lead, Haryana chose to bat inthe second innings. Openers Manvinder Bisla andBhuvanesh Sharma put on 45 runs off 12.3 overs.Then Ambalal Patidar tempted Sharma with twoflighted deliveries before trapping him leg beforewicket with the third ball with a faster deliverythat kept low. His dismissal brought in SumitSharma to the crease. Sumit and Bisla wereconcerned in an unbroken partnership of 122 runsoff 161 balls for the second wicket. By stumps,Bisla was unbeaten on 96 off 134 balls with nineboundaries and two massive sixes. Sumit Sharma wasbatting with 51 off 65 balls, inclusive of ninehits to the fence.

With confirmation that veteran fast bowler Paul Reiffel will play on for at least one more summer, Victoria is still leaving the way open to appoint separate first-class and one-day captains next season.In announcing its list of contracted players for the 2001-02 domestic summer today, the Victorian Cricket Association has confirmed that 35-year old Reiffel will again be one of its key players. But, as yet, there is still no official word as to the complexion of the side’s leadership team for either its Pura Cup or ING Cup campaigns.Before matters need to be finalised at the end of September, the Victorians still have the opportunity to add a maximum of three other players to join the list of fully contracted players – a list from which current Australian Cricket Board contract holders Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, Colin Miller and Ian Harvey are exempt. In naming their initial group of seventeen, though, they have only made marginal changes to the squad which has carried them into successive Pura Cup Final matches during the last two Australian seasons.Instead, it is principally from the signing of their first four ‘rookies’ (under the terms of the newly-introduced system that allows previously unsigned players under the age of 23 to be tied to twelve-month retainers) that the Bushrangers have sourced newcomers for the upcoming season.All-rounder Jonathan Moss and outstanding young leg spinner Cameron White are the two players to win elevation to the core group of contracted senior players for the first time. Each featured prominently in the state’s colours during the closing stages of 2000-01, not least of all in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales in Sydney as the Bushrangers clinched their berth in the Final.Moss, 26, only arrived in Melbourne part of the way through the season after crossing from New South Wales in a bid to advance his career. White, 17, originates from Bairnsdale and is an exciting hard-hitting batsman and accurate leg spinner who has already made a big impression in state underage teams and in district cricket with Dandenong.The four players who have won rookie deals are batsman Travis Birt and all-rounders Liam Buchanan, Andrew McDonald and Tim Welsford. Birt is a current scholarship holder at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy and each of the quartet has played in both Victorian and Australian representative underage sides.Out of favour among the players contracted last season are batsmen Laurie Harper, Clinton Peake and Graeme Vimpani, and pace bowlers Simon Burriss and Lea Hansen. Off spinner John Davison is also not among the names to have been re-signed, although it is understood that it is merely his preparations for the upcoming ICC Trophy tournament in Canada that have delayed the negotiation of a new deal.Reiffel, for his part, is expected to be re-appointed as captain of the first-class team, thereby continuing to serve in a post that he has held for each of the last two seasons. But there has been conjecture in some quarters that he may not appear in the limited-overs arena again, leading in turn to suggestions that left handed opener Matthew Elliott may be elevated to the Bushrangers’ leadership position in that form of the game.The full list of players with Victorian state contracts for 2001-02 is: Jason Arnberger, Darren Berry, Shawn Craig, Simon Dart, Matthew Elliott, Shane Harwood, Ian Hewett, Brad Hodge, Mathew Inness, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, Jonathan Moss, Matthew Mott, Ben Oliver, Paul Reiffel, Peter Roach, Cameron White.Rookie contracts: Travis Birt, Liam Buchanan, Andrew McDonald, Tim Welsford.ACB contracts: Damien Fleming, Ian Harvey, Colin Miller, Shane Warne.

Alec Stewart has been interviewed by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) investigator Sir Paul Condon in connection with allegations that he took money for information on matches.An ICC Media Release announced:”On Tuesday 26 June 2001 Alec Stewart was interviewed in the presence of his legal advisor by investigators of the ICC Anti Corruption Unit.A report in relation to the allegation against Alec Stewart will be submitted to the England and Wales Cricket Board.”It is the second time that Stewart has met with Condon.The notorious bookmaker MK Gupta has declared that he will not substantiate his claims that Stewart took money from him (but refused to fix matches). Stewart’s name also appears in the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation report.

London-based Indian businessman Sanjeev Chawla, arrested by ScotlandYard six months ago in connection with allegations of cricket matchfixing, has been released as there was “insufficient evidence” toprove the charges against him.”There is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect ofconviction against him,” a spokesman of the Scotland Yard said inLondon on Wednesday.Chawla, who was absconding after his passport was revoked by theIndian Government, “has been advised that he is no longer required tocome to the police station,” the spokesman told PTI.Chawla, who is also sought by the CBI, was arrested on December 13 byofficers of the Serious and Organised Crime Squad from his home inHendon in North London after claims by former England player ChrisLewis that an associate of the Indian businessman had approached AlecStewart and Alan Mullaly ahead of a Test against New Zealand in August1999.”Having taken advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, theMetropolitan Police told us that there is insufficient evidence toprovide a realistic prospect of conviction and all police inquirieshave been now concluded,” the Scotland Yard spokesman said.Disgraced former South African Captain Hansie Cronje had admittedreceiving 6,000 pounds from Chawla for providing personal favours inthe final Test against England at Centurion Park, Pretoria, lastJanuary. On a tense last day of that match, England triumphed by twowickets after Cronje forfeited South Africa’s second innings.The 33-year-old Chawla was also named in the King Commission reportinto Cronje’s activities and also in the Indian CBI report, whichlinked him directly to Manoj Prabhakar, the former Indian all rounderwho is now banned for five years for his part in match fixing.The criminal investigation handled by the new Scotland Yard was notpart of the International Cricket Council’s investigation headed bySir Paul Condon, whose brief in investigating match fixing all overthe world continues.The Scotland Yard’s inquiry had been prompted by Lewis’s allegationthat an Indian sports promoter had approached him to help fix the OldTrafford Test by asking England players to take a bribe. The promoteris stated to be a close associate of Chawla, who owns a clothingbusiness in Central London.

As expected England have recalled Mark Ramprakash and Graham Thorpe into the squad for the Second Test against Australia at Lord’s starting on Thursday.The Surrey pair were named in a 14-man squad today. Ramprakash was recalled for the First Test at Edgbaston but had to pull out with a hamstring strain while Graham Thorpe has been out of action for six weeks with a damaged calf.He started training again on Thursday and is desperately trying to achieve match fitness before the start of the Lord’s Test. However, he will not have raised a bat in anger since the beginning of June.Yorkshire fast bowler Chris Silverwood also returns, 18 months aftermaking the last of his five Test appearances against South Africa at CenturionPark.He replaces Yorkshire colleague Matthew Hoggard, who has sustained a suspected stress fracture of his left foot. Spinner Robert Croft, who was included in the squad for the First Test, drops out to accommodate England’s mainly pace attack.Silverwood fought off competition from Surrey’s Martin Bicknell and AlexTudor, who was ruled out this morning after consultations with his county because he has only just returned from injury.It was the talks over Tudor which resulted in an hour’s delay in the announcement of the squad.”The reason for the delay in the announcement this morning was that we neededto check on the fitness of Alex Tudor,” revealed chairman of selectors DavidGraveney.”Having discussed the situation with Surrey, our view is that as he has onlyjust returned from injury and bowled only ten overs in the last ten days it would be unwise to risk him in a Test Match.”We’ll need to check on the pitch and local weather conditions at Lord’s, butthe likelihood is that we will need four seam bowlers.”We considered Martin Bicknell, but we felt Chris Silverwood has had a goodseason and fully merits a place in the squad on current form.”Graveney said England would make additional checks on the fitness ofThorpe and Ramprakash, but added: “Graham has reported no adverse reactionto his injury since returning and is keen to play.”We are also encouraged by Mark coming through the Benson and Hedges Cupfinal yesterday without any adverse reaction.”Silverwood, meanwhile, was looking forward to get back into action at the toplevel after returning to form this summer.”Everybody is desperate to play for their country, but my form wasindifferent and I can understand why I did not get picked,” he said.”I have got wickets this year and pushed for my place and thankfully I havegot it back.”It’s great to get back into it and pick up from where I left off in SouthAfrica.”Speaking about his injured Yorkshire team-mate Hoggard, Silverwood told Sky Sports News: “It is unfortunate that Matthew is out, but I havegot to go down there and do well and hopefully retain my place.”I know I can do it, but it is a case of being able to do it on the day. Theyare great opposition and to do it against the Australians would be a great boostfor my confidence.”We have got to play well – it is as simple as that. If we can play the typeof cricket we know we are capable of then there is no reason why we cannot levelthe series.”The England squad:MA Atherton (Lancashire, capt) Age 33 Tests 111, ME Trescothick (Somerset)25/12, MA Butcher (Surrey) 28/28, MR Ramprakash (Surrey) 31/42, IJ Ward (Surrey)28/3, AJ Stewart (Surrey, wkt) 38/111, U Afzaal (Nottinghamshire) 24/1, GPThorpe (Surrey) 31/68, C White (Yorkshire) 31/19, DG Cork (Derbyshire) 29/33, DGough (Yorkshire) 30/52, AR Caddick (Somerset) 32/46, CEW Silverwood (Yorkshire)26/5, AF Giles (Warwickshire) 28/8.

Surrey began their belated move up the CricInfo Championship Division One table today at Guildford thanks to a devastating burst of 5-3 off 31 balls by England discard Alex Tudor.Seven Northants wickets fell for five runs as they capitulated to the bounce and seam of the 23-year-old ex-England paceman. Suddenly a comfortable 115-3 became 120 all out as win-less Northants’ decision to bat backfired in the hour after lunch.Tudor told CricInfo: “The wicket helped me and I put the ball in the right areas so I’m delighted. The big three – me, Giddins and Bicknell – led by example.”He continued: “I try not to think too far ahead but if I can perform for Surrey and that gives me England recognition then so be it.”Surrey, minus five Enmgland players, capitalised reaching 209-5 at stumps with 20-year-old stand-in Michael Carberry stroking a career-best 46 with six fours off 102 balls.Northants had begun promisingly with 6ft 5in Adrian Rollins pulling 6ft 4in Tudor for two powerful sixes but Ed Giddins, who took 3-18 off 17 overs, removed Mike Hussey and Russell Warren as well as catching Rollins before lunch.After the post-interval havoc Surrey settled down to reach 76-0 at tea. This was extended by 133 runs at the 7.10 finish, mainly thanks to Adam Hollioake (47 off 58 balls) and Ally Brown (55no including 50 off 53 balls).Mike Strong took three of the five wickets to fall bowling from the Railway End where Tudor had earlier done the damage.

Well the Fourth Test was an amazing game.We were very disappointed to lose after dominating four out of the five days. There has been talk about a generous declaration and weather intervention but at the end of the day we couldn’t take the 10 wickets required to win the Test match.At the start of the final day, we backed ourselves to get all the wickets and we quite simply didn’t do that. I thought we bowled well in periods but the consistent pressure was not applied and we let them get away. That is the way the game goes sometimes.Full credit to the English batsmen. Mark Butcher played a great hand and received huge support from Hussain and Ramprakash. They applied themselves and set about the target and got through some testing times early in the day where we got the openers out. They took some risks and they came off. You always need a little luck to go along with a positive attitude and I think Butcher in particular played fantastically well.

The Fifth Test

Preparations for this match have been great considering the short amount of time between games. The bowlers haven’t done any bowling as we bowled on the last day of the Fourth Test and we just felt that a rest, massage and some swimming would be the perfect tonic in preparation for the game ahead.The batsmen and keepers like to get down to the ground and have a hit and a catch to keep in the groove. Adam Gilchrist and Wade Seccombe have what they call “catching bonanzas” where they will hit each other hundreds upon hundreds of catches!These two guys have been fantastic for each other over the whole tour and have both learnt a lot off one another during the course of the summer. The Ashes tour is the only Australian tour where two ‘keepers are taken so it certainly gives the wicketkeepers in domestic cricket in Australia something to really strive for.We are excited about this Test. This is the last game on tour and for some the last game they will play in England. It is a special occasion. I for one, cannot wait. We really want to win this series 4-1. There are a lot of hard yards to make to achieve that but the lads are hungry and raring to go. C’mon Australia!

Yorkshire, seeking their ninth CricInfo Championship win of the season, and the one which will almost certainly clinch them the crown – stacked up 580 for nine before declaring at Scarborough.This left Glamorgan requiring 357 runs to avoid the innings defeat but by the close of the third day they were reeling on 142 for six, still 215 runs away from making Yorkshire bat again.The crowd are to be given free admission at the North Marine Road to watch Yorkshire in their moment of glory.Captain David Byas led Yorkshire’s run chase in the morning when they resumed their first innings on 433 for five and although he quickly lost Anthony McGrath and Gavin Hamilton he found a solid partner in Richard Blakey, the eighth wicket pair putting on 113 in 34 overs.Byas reached his fourth century of the season in the over before lunch, having faced 173 balls off which he hit 12 fours and a six, but he was out straight after the interval when he fell lbw to Simon Jones for 104.Yorkshire declared as soon as Blakey was out for 54 from 115 deliveries with nine boundaries, leaving themselves a day and almost two sessions in which to go on and win the match.Ian Thomas and Jimmy Maher got Glamorgan off to a solid start but at 36 Maher was trapped lbw by Gavin Hamilton who was sick on the field just before beginning his spell.Thomas had batted 23 overs for his 21 when he was caught at second slip by Matthew Wood off Ryan Sidebottom, but Keith Newell and Mike Powell saw Glamorgan to tea without further loss.Resistance started to crumble when Darren Lehmann came on and in his first over had Powell neatly taken at slip by Byas and it became 127 for four when Newell fell lbw to Richard Dawson for 30.Glamorgan were now feeling the pressure of Yorkshire’s late assault and in consecutive overs, Steven Kirby pinned Mark Wallace lbw and bowled Darren Thomas but Yorkshire decided against claiming the extra half hour in the fading light.Yorkshire chief executive Chris Hassell said that Yorkshire would not officially be crowned champions until the final game of the season against Essex at Scarborough because they could have points deducted if they prepared a poor pitch for the match.

After a day of toil and sweat, Shane Warne finally landed his 400th Testwicket at the AMP Oval today while, after waiting ten years, Mark Ramprakashfinally made his first Test century on home soil.The long awaited hundred was only his second Test century in a careerspanning 46 Tests and it took five-and-a-quarter hours in the blisteringheat to complete on the ground the Surrey batsman made his new home earlierthis year. The innings brought England in sight of the follow-on target of442, closing the third day of the match on 409 for eight with Ramprakashunbeaten on 124.For much of his innings he played second fiddle to his partners with firstNasser Hussain, then Usman Afzaal stealing the limelight. But he workedhard in the background, accumulating his runs quietly and cleanly until hearrived in the 80s and with England losing their eighth wicket, he wassuddenly in danger of running out of partners.But Darren Gough stayed with him and finally, with the shadows lengthening,he drove Warne elegantly to the extra cover boundary to celebrate a momentthat will remain one of the most emotional of his career. It was his 15thboundary from 196 balls and it resulted in a standing ovation from the18 000 strong London crowd. His England colleagues applauded from thebalcony, Gough gave him a big bearhug and the Australian players, includingSteve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist, came to him to shake his hand.Warne also had to wait to reach his milestone. Five long hours after takinghis 399th wicket, he finally hit the jackpot with the support of his captainwho tossed him the new ball when it was just six overs old. It allowed Warneto enter the history books as the sixth bowler in Test history to take 400wickets.He celebrated in the new way – by holding the cricket ball above his headand turning a circle to acknowledge the applause, as batters do with theirhardware. And most of the crowd rose to their feet to showtheir appreciation, aware that for the second consecutive day in this lastnpower Test of the summer, they were witnessing something special.Alec Stewart, who was also Warne’s 150th and 250th Test victim, was caught behindtrying to steer the ball down to third man after he had made 29 and put on58 for the sixth wicket with Ramprakash.With the very next ball, Warne added another statistic to his record bookswhen he took five wickets in a Test innings for the 19th time, having AndrewCaddick leg before for a duck.His hat-trick opportunity arrived in the shape of James Ormond, playing in hisfirst Test match and arriving at the crease with England’s score 313 forseven, still 129 runs shy of the follow on, but Ormond shrugged offthe pressure and pushed Warne to mid on to get off the mark.Warne was in action from the Vauxhall End for most the day although he put in anexpensive four-over spell from the Pavilion End before returning north withhis new ball to devastating effect. He bowled a remarkable 34 overs andfinished with an equally remarkable 6-155.The two milestone moments topped off another spell-binding day. MarcusTrescothick was the first England batsman to depart, bowled by Warne’sfifth delivery of the day then Mark Butcher, who turned the match atHeadingley, also fell before lunch for 25, caught at silly point to giveWarne his 399th wicket.Hussain repeated his Headingley experience by playing with doggeddetermination to reach 52 then lost his wicket 19 balls after lunch, playingon to Mark Waugh, of all people, who was filling in at the Vauxhall endwhile Warne took a short break from his 400 campaign.Afzaal presented his credentials for the first time with a spiritedhalf-century, arguing his case persuasively for a place on England’s wintertour to India and New Zealand. By the time he went, England were 255 forfive, their only real hope lying with Ramprakash, who was lookingincreasingly at ease.

Hampshire’s Mark Garaway is moving to Somerset, where he will become county Second XI coach and the ECB’s South West region Academy Director.He leaves his present job as Hampshire’s Cricket Development Officer on October 29.An ECB level 3 staff coach, Garaway, 28, described his move to Taunton on a three-year deal as a “fantastic opportunity to work on a day-to-day basis with quality players.”The appointment has been made with the blessing of the ECB’s Performance Director, Hugh Morris who put Garaway in the frame after seeing him work over the past two years with the England Under 16/17 squads.Garaway, who helped Ventnor to an unbeaten Hampshire League championship this summer, will be working alongside his old Hampshire 2nd XI team-mate Kevin Shine at Somerset.”It will be great to team up with Kevin again,” Garaway said.”We are currently working together as part of the Level 4 Coaching Course, so we are both very much at the cutting edge of coaching.”It will be a wrench to leave Hampshire, who I joined as a young player back in 1993 and where, for the past 21 months I’ve been CDO, but this is a great career move for me,” he added.Garaway’s departure has created a vacancy for a Cricket Development Officer at the Hampshire Rose Bowl.The Hampshire Cricket Board has advertised the vacancy and further information can be obtained from Mark Garaway or the Board Administrator, Colin Savage,on 02380 465816.Applications with CVs should reach Colin Savage at the Hampshire Rose Bowl, Botley Road, Southampton, SO30 3XH by October 12 2001. A sound knowledge of cricket development at grass roots level, together with good administrative and communication skills, are essential for the successful applicant.