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Shivnarine Chanderpaul, yet again, was left waging a lone battle for the home team following a sorry collapse of its top and the middle orders

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya28-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-eye
Sulieman Benn grabbed a career-best haul, but his effort was undermined by some hapless West Indian batting•AFP

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, yet again, was left waging a lone battle for the hosts following a sorry collapse of their top and the middle orders that has taken them perilously close to another series defeat. The capitulation was as much a consequence of South Africa’s superiority as of the recklessness shown by some of the West Indian batsmen.South Africa’s first innings lead of 115 was lower than what they had expected. But, as it turned out, it was a handful for a batting line-up that was undone by senseless shot-making in the early stages followed by some crafty spin. West Indies began their second innings on a confident note, with openers Dale Richards and Chris Gayle, finding the boundary by relying on timing rather than power. But the innings soon took a predictable turn, triggered by an aggressive intent that cast aside any determination to survive.Richards began his innings with a crunched four off Dale Steyn through cover, and followed it up with a back-foot punch two overs later. There was a play and a miss, and a streaky boundary through gully, with Gayle at the other end frequently walking up to his partner to remind him of the job at hand.West Indies, also playing with two spinners, would have hoped to cobble up enough runs to challenge a side batting fourth on a deteriorating pitch, and level the series. But that objective was lost on two batsmen in the top order. Richards spooned a catch off a mistimed pull off Steyn, and Narsingh Deonarine, inexplicably, tried an expansive drive first ball, only to be caught by Ashwell Prince, perfectly positioned at short extra cover. Though denied a hat-trick, Steyn returned to surprise Gayle with some inward movement and extra bounce, producing an edge to Mark Boucher.Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash, centurions from the previous Test, battled hard before tea but it was only a matter of time before the spinners began troubling them by targeting the widening cracks on the pitch. Chanderpaul was beaten on a few occasions when Johan Botha, picked in place of seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe, got the ball to spit from the rough just outside the left-hander’s off stump. While Chanderpaul saw off moments of uncertainty with the occasional boundary, Nash found the bowling harder to combat. Botha, continuing on his success from the first innings, snared him when he pushed fatally to one that turned away sharply, nicking to slip.Like in the first innings, Paul Harris kept one end tight with his left-arm spin while bowling in tandem with Botha, and nipped out Dwayne Bravo. Bowling round the wicket, Harris got the ball to shoot away, squaring up Bravo who defended but failed to prevent the ball from bouncing back onto the stumps. When Denesh Ramdin, irresponsibly, slashed at a top-spinner from Botha the next over to be snapped by Boucher, it appeared West Indies were on their way to a three-day humiliation.Shane Shillingford was far from convincing against spin and a fiery spell that followed from the seamers, who began a short-ball barrage. He edged between the slips and almost gifted a catch to Steyn but, guided by Chanderpaul, gradually grew in confidence. Chanderpaul latched on to a couple of scoring opportunities, bringing up another half-century in a crisis with a dab through gully and helping West Indies erase their deficit. But a quicker delivery from Botha broke the stand, as Shillingford, playing for the spin, was struck on the back leg dead in front shortly before stumps.Sulieman Benn had earlier provided a glimpse of the kind of assistance on offer for the spinners, teasing the South African lower order with his variations to finish with his third haul of five or more wickets.Prince survived an early shout for a catch, after the ball lobbed off his glove, but remained firm thereafter to help extend his team’s lead towards the three-figure mark. Benn, though, ensured the frustration didn’t last long, seeing off Botha with serious turn and having Morne Morkel caught at slip with one that held its line.West Indies had been given an opening with the run-out of Boucher – on the second attempt, after the first had been missed by Ramdin – following a mid-pitch collision. Before Benn rounded things off, he was involved in an altercation with Dale Steyn, who, after being bowled by Kemar Roach, appeared to spit on the ground as he passed Benn.

Andrew Strauss played the hare and Ian Bell the tortoise, as England returned to winning ways by making light work of a decent but ultimately unchallenging target of 251 in the first ODI against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller at Trent Bridge08-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss got England’s chase off to brisk start with a 37-ball fifty•PA Photos

Andrew Strauss played the hare and Ian Bell the tortoise, as England returned to winning ways by making light work of a decent but ultimately unchallenging target of 251 in the first ODI against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge. Under the floodlights, and in front of a sparse 8,500 crowd, Strauss gave his side a flying start with 50 from 37 balls, before Bell ambled across the finish line with 29 balls to spare, having marked his first 50-over appearance since November 2008 with 84 not out from 101.The final result was in keeping with recent contests between these two teams. Bangladesh did not disgrace themselves – far from it – but neither were England required to reach top gear to maintain their 100% record. In Raqibul Hasan, last seen flouncing into “retirement” ahead of the Chittagong Test in March, Bangladesh showcased another young batsman with the technique and talent to add value to their often brittle middle-order, while Junaid Siddique showed sound judgment in his 70-ball 51. But England’s dominance was epitomised by James Anderson, who was smacked for 74 in ten overs, but was nevertheless able to weigh in with three wickets.With Mashrafe Mortaza returning to the captaincy that he relinquished through injury 12 months ago, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to play to their strengths by batting first. Sure enough, Tamim Iqbal picked up where he had left off in June by smacking consecutive fours from the first balls of both Anderson and Tim Bresnan’s new-ball spells, and at 40 for 0 after six overs, the stage was set for another of his whirlwind fifties.Stuart Broad, however, ended all such notions by pinning Tamim lbw for 28 as he attempted a glide to third man, and when Bangladesh were limited to seven runs from their next four overs, their hopes of racing to an impregnable total were dashed. When Imrul Kayes lobbed Anderson to Eoin Morgan at extra cover for 14, Bangladesh were 70 for 2 in the 14th over, but this time, the departure of the openers did not lead to the sort of surrender that had been witnessed during last month’s Test series.That was largely thanks to the earthy efforts of Siddique, who produced a handful of shots of real authority before being nailed lbw by Michael Yardy, and Raqibul, who would not have been playing had it not been for Jahurul Islam’s withdrawal through illness on the eve of the game. This was his first international since that Chittagong protest, but the headstrong naivety he had shown on that occasion was shelved for this performance.An arrow-straight drive off Paul Collingwood brought Raqibul an excellent fifty from 61 balls, and he might have expected more had it not been for a painful blow to the foot that brought about a somewhat farcical downfall. On 76, he was struck on the boot by an Anderson yorker, went down for lengthy treatment, and called for a runner. Before he had even faced another delivery, a three-man mix-up led to him being run out by the length of the pitch. It brought an unedifying end to his tour, after scans showed he’d sustained a broken toe, putting him out of action for two weeks.A late collapse of four wickets for 15 runs ensured a flaccid finish to Bangladesh’s innings, and that lack of oomph was put in context as soon as Strauss got into his stride in the run-chase. He cracked seven fours in first Powerplay to leave his team perfectly placed on 66 for 0 after 10 overs, but then, having brought up his half-century by dabbing Abdur Razzak through backward point for three, he answered Craig Kieswetter’s call for a sharp single in the same over, and was caught short of his crease by a pinpoint throw from Mahmudullah in the covers.Kieswetter at this stage had been trailing in his skipper’s wake on 19, much as he had done in each of the three innings of his debut series in Bangladesh back in March, when Alastair Cook had been the unlikely man to outscore him. He responded to the setback by flogging Razzak imperiously over long-off for an inside-out six, but before he could really hit his top gear, he sized up a slog-sweep against Shakib, and picked out Faisal Hossain on the midwicket boundary.At 93 for 2 in the 15th over, Collingwood came out to join Bell who was playing in his first ODI since November 2008, and the pair proceeded with utmost caution, picking off a solitary boundary between them in 13 overs. On 20, Bell was beaten by a beauty from Shakib that spat and turned, and flew away past batsman and keeper alike for four byes, but that was the full extent of England’s alarms.Of greater concern, however, was an incident at the end of the 26th over, when Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim, was struck on the cheekbone by a nasty lifting delivery from Faisal. His face swelled up almost immediately, and after a delay of several minutes, he was stretchered off the field and taken to hospital. He will now miss the final two matches against England but could return for Bangladesh’s fixtures against Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands at the end of the tour.His replacement behind the stumps, Junaid Siddique, was soon called upon, as Collingwood brought a dour partnership to an end by top-edging a mow across the line to give Shakib his second wicket, and Eoin Morgan made 23 from 26 balls before hoisting Razzak to deep midwicket. But for all the criticisms that have been levelled at Bell over the years, turning down a chance for easy runs is not one of them. He sealed the contest with a cut into the covers for his 84th run. It hardly amounted to a like-for-like replacement for Kevin Pietersen, but in the circumstances, it fitted England’s requirements precisely.

Lewis Hatchett boosted his hopes of landing a professional contract at Sussex
with the first five-wicket haul of his career on the opening day of the
County Championship match against Leicestershire at Grace Road

29-Jul-2010

ScorecardLewis Hatchett boosted his hopes of landing a professional contract at Sussex
with the first five-wicket haul of his career on the opening day of the
County Championship match against Leicestershire at Grace Road.The 20-year-old left-arm seamer took 5 for 47 as Leicestershire slumped to
204 all out after being put into bat. Only Australian all-rounder Andrew McDonald coped with the bowler-friendly conditions, top-scoring with a fluent 63 that included 13 boundaries.By the close Division Two leaders Sussex had reached 128 for 4 in their
reply, with Chris Nash hitting an unbeaten half-century off 67 balls. But the day belonged to Hatchett, playing in only the second Championship game of his career and still looking to earn himself a contract having progressed through the Sussex academy.The overcast conditions and stiff breeze blowing across the ground suited him
perfectly and he claimed the first wicket of the match with a swinging delivery
that trapped Will Jefferson lbw.There was then a lengthy wait before Hatchett struck again, but when he did it
was in spectacular fashion. He finished off the Leicestershire innings by taking
the last four wickets for six runs in 11 balls.Claude Henderson was bowled for 11, Nadeem Malik caught behind off the next
ball while Wayne White and Matthew Hoggard both had their stumps uprooted by two
more excellent deliveries.To complete his performance Hatchett also ran out Tom New with a superb throw
from square leg. McDonald was the only Leicestershire batsman who looked capable of coping with
the swinging ball and a series of powerfully struck drives took him to 50 from
61 balls with 40 of the runs coming in boundaries.Ironically he was the one batsman to fall to spin, trapped lbw by a quicker
delivery from Monty Panesar having scored 63 off 80 balls. Veteran Paul Nixon with 22 was the next highest scorer while 28 extras helped boost Leicestershire’s total.But Hoggard also revelled in the helpful conditions when Sussex batted, picking
up the wickets of Mike Yardy, Ed Joyce and Luke Wright in 10 overs at a cost of
42 runs.Nash held the Sussex innings together, reaching the close on 52 not out, with
the visitors still 76 runs behind.

A collapse of rare ineptitude sentenced Surrey to their sixth loss of the championship campaign as they slid to a 238-run loss at New Road

George Dobell at New Road19-Aug-2010
ScorecardIt wasn’t a happy return to New Road for Gareth Batty•PA Photos

A collapse of rare ineptitude sentenced Surrey to their sixth loss of the championship campaign as they slid to a 238-run loss at New Road.Surrey’s batsmen, displaying a recklessness that would have embarrassed schoolboys, squandered their last six wickets for the addition of 18 runs in just 27 balls on the final morning. It meant they had lost all ten second-innings wickets in the space of just 86 balls.The result was overshadowed, however, by an incident between Worcestershire supporters and Gareth Batty. Batty, who left Worcestershire at the end of last season, had been heckled throughout the match and, after his dismissal in Surrey’s second innings, stopped several times on his way off the pitch to exchange words with spectators.Following a brief visit to the dressing room to remove his pads, he reemerged, walked into seating area and sat down next to one of the more vocal critics. “What have I done to offend you,” Batty began. After several minutes of heated conversation, Ian Salisbury, who is on the Surrey coaching staff, led Batty away. Batty was later spotted in tears being consoled by his team-mates.Batty’s feelings, if not his actions, are understandable. He served Worcestershire with distinction for eight years and, as recently as July last year, captained the county. He could never be accused of giving anything less than his best and he was hardly the only man to leave the club last year. Indeed, his Surrey team-mate, Steve Davies, made the same move but was warmly received here. The antipathy towards Batty, therefore is illogical and mean spirited. I understand that his mother was also the victim of some pretty caustic comments. There’s no excuse for that.As a professional, however, Batty has to develop a thicker skin. He is 32 years old and a veteran of 18 internationals for England. However understandable his actions, he would have been better served turning the other cheek. The criticism he took here is nothing compared to that endured by professional footballers.Worcestershire’s chairman, ‘Percy’ Price subsequently apologised to Batty on behalf of the club. “We’re a friendly club,” Price said. “We don’t want to be known for this sort of thing. All our former players are welcome back and Gareth, who always gave his best, is a fine chap.””It’s quite sad,” Chris Adams said afterwards. “It’s quite sad that he wasn’t afforded respect by the supporters after putting in long service here. It shows a lack of respect.”He’s a feisty lad anyway. He plays with a lot of passion and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He outs everything into his cricket.”Exactly what was said, I don’t know. But I’m sure that when he reflects on it, he’ll be disappointed that he allowed himself to react.”He just really wanted to do well. He’s bowled fantastically at times this season but, Tremlett apart – he hasn’t been backed up by the other bowlers.”Surrey actually started the final day rather well. Davies and Rory Hamilton-Brown thrashed 46 in the first five overs of the morning, with Hamilton-Brown hitting Matt Mason for 14 in three deliveries: two beautifully driven fours followed by a flick over square leg for six.But if the aim was to be positive, it soon spilled over into recklessness. Davies, charging down the pitch and trying to hit Shakib Al Hasan over the top, succeeded only in lofting a catch to mid-off before, two balls later, Hamilton-Brown straight to the man on the long-off fence.It was remarkably gormless cricket. As Adams said later: “There’s no problem taking a positive approach. Hitting over the top to spread the field is fine. But, if you’ve spread the field and continue to play aerial shots, well, you’re mad, aren’t you?”We’ve seven youngsters [under 25] in this side and they’re learning what it means to be ‘positive.’ It doesn’t mean you go out there and play reckless cricket. You can be positive in defence, too.”But, I’ve been asked to do without an overseas player and, with a young side, you’re going to get these peaks and troughs. They’re going to make mistakes and they key is to learn from them. Those that learn the lessons will make it in the game; those that don’t, won’t. At the moment, if Ramprakash doesn’t bat for three sessions, we under achieve.”But the game wasn’t lost on the last morning. We had them 100 for 5 in their first innings, but they scored 300 and, in the second innings, we let them score 180 in a session. We’re far off where we want to be.”Shakib was the main beneficiary of Surrey’s poor batting. Maintaining a calm head despite the early assault, he lured the batsmen into rash strokes by varying his pace and flight. It was his second five-wicket haul in three games and the 11th of his career.Mason also bounced back to claim three wickets. If he was somewhat fortunate to win a leg-before decision against Stewart Walters – it looked far too high – he deserved the wickets of Matt Spriegel, back when he should have been forward, and Batty, who sliced a drive to point.This win revives Worcestershire’s promotion hopes. They are far from the finished article but, with players as young and talented as Alexei Kervezee and Moeen Ali in the side, they can look forward to the future with guarded optimism. It was also a fine start for new captain, Daryl Mitchell. He will not, however, have victory presented to him on a plate quite as easily as this very often.

Mohammad Amir will be removed from the list of nominees for the International Cricket Council’s emerging player of the year award

Cricinfo staff03-Sep-2010Mohammad Amir, the 18-year-old fast bowler who is one of three Pakistan players currently under investigation for spot-fixing, will be removed from the list of nominees for the ICC’s emerging player of the year award, ESPNcricinfo has learnt. Mohammad Asif has also been cut from the Test cricketer of the year category.The ICC statement issued late Thursday evening, which provisionally suspended the three players, also stated that “in accordance with the provisions of the code, this means they are immediately barred from participating in all cricket and related activities until the case has been concluded”. An ICC official said Amir’s removal from the list could be confirmed by “reading between the lines”. Amir was one of 16 players nominated, and a favourite to win the emerging player category.The decision, however, was criticised by Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdon, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, who asked what had happened to the general principle of law – innocent until proven guilty? “After the shocking, arbitrary and high-handed suspension of the three Pakistani cricketers through the ICC’s uncalled for action, nothing is coming to me as a surprise,” Hasan said. “Rather, my apprehensions that there is a rat in the whole affair are being strengthened. It is emerging as a fishy situation where pieces have now started falling in place to convince me that there is more than meet the eye.”The nominations for the 2010 awards recognise cricketing achievement for the period between August 24, 2009 and August 10, 2010. During that span, Amir took 33 wickets at an average of 31.45 in nine Tests and 16 wickets in 10 ODIs. He became the youngest player to reach 50 Test wickets during the Lord’s Test, which is at the heart of the Scotland Yard and ICC’s ongoing investigations. The Test took place just after the nomination period ended.

Wellington have signed the Australian fast bowler Brett Lee for New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 tournament this summer, but he will miss half their matches due to his commitments for New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2010Wellington have signed the Australian fast bowler Brett Lee for New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 tournament this summer, but he will miss half their matches due to his commitments for New South Wales. Lee has joined the England allrounder Luke Wright as Wellington’s overseas players for the HRV Cup, which begins in early December.He is expected to be available for five of Wellington’s ten matches, jetting across the Tasman Sea regularly so New South Wales do not lose him for any games. After an injury-plagued year, Lee made his state comeback in Sydney on Sunday and is hoping to be part of Australia’s limited-overs side to take on Sri Lanka starting on October 31.”It’s tremendous to have secured the services of Brett and his record speaks for itself,” Gavin Larsen, the CEO of Cricket Wellington, said. There will be at least one familiar face for Lee in the change-rooms – his former New South Wales fast-bowling colleague and now Wellington coach Anthony Stuart.”Not only will Brett run in hard and provide a cutting edge to our attack, he will also offer us extra batting power in the middle to lower order and he is a top fielder,” Stuart said. Lee is expected to make his debut for Wellington in their home match against Auckland on December 14.There will be several big names from around the world in the HRV Cup this summer, after Northern Districts signed Herschelle Gibbs, Brad Hodge and David Warner. There were also reports that Canterbury were chasing the Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait, although he will now be out of action until at least early December with an elbow injury.

MS Dhoni has asked for Tests to be played at venues that have a history of supporting Test cricket with big attendances

Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium13-Oct-2010MS Dhoni has asked for Tests to be played at venues that have a history of supporting the format with big attendances, and has appreciated the support received from the Bangalore crowd during the course of India’s victory against Australia. Of India’s 10 Test venues – Hyderabad being the newest – Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Mohali and to an extent Delhi are known for their lukewarm response to Test cricket.”Maybe some of these centres where people come up to see Test matches can be given preference over some other centres where people don’t come in large numbers to watch Test matches,” Dhoni said. “After all, if taken in the right sense, we are the performers in the circus, but you need the circus to be full. It [this comment] should be taken in the right sense.”Dhoni and his men liked what they saw in Bangalore. Three of the days – the weekend and the final day – were almost sold out. “It really helps the players who are on the field,” Dhoni said. “Frankly speaking, in the 45th or 50th over, when the fast bowler comes for his second or third spell, it’s the crowd that gets him going, apart from the fact that he is supposed to do well for the team and the country. You need some kind of a motivation, and especially because we’re used to playing IPL and ODIs in front of 30000 or 40000 or 50000 people, you want that kind of a crowd.”Throughout the last five days, the spectators have been India’s 12th man. They cheered every special effort by the Indians, appealed when the bowler appealed, got off their seats when Sachin Tendulkar and other batsmen played good strokes, and appreciated every good effort by the fielders. Some of them booed the Australians, but many were appreciative.”It was a remarkable crowd,” Dhoni said. “Throughout the five days there were good crowds, and on the final day it was literally house full. You could see as many people in the stands as in a Twenty20 or ODI match. They supported good cricket more than anything else.”They did get their money’s worth. Not only did they watch their home side complete a clean sweep against Australia, they saw Tendulkar go level with Virender Sehwag as the Indian with the most double-centuries; they saw Cheteshwar Pujara, the debutant, play an innings he wouldn’t mind as his epitaph; they saw M Vijay, a stylish batsman, add substance to his game at Test level; they saw Ricky Ponting bat beautifully but fall disappointingly short; they saw Zaheer Khan and Ben Hilfenhaus create wickets on flat pitches. The Indian team thanked the crowd with a deserved lap of the ground.

The ICC executive board has unanimously agreed that all of its members should introduce a domestic anti-corruption code

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2010The ICC has asked its members to adopt, by April 2011, a domestic anti-corruption code in line with the council’s international code. This follows a proposal from the Pakistan Task Team (PTT), which met with the board via teleconference today to discuss the PCB’s progress in implementing the changes required by the ICC in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal.Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive, said he had written to all the members in October requesting them to review their anti-corruption procedures and, where necessary, introduce new measures. He said the ICC had prepared a template domestic code – incorporating the essence of its existing Anti-Corruption Code – for use in countries lacking their own set of rules. Countries having a code in place should review it for adequacy.The ICC has asked its members to review their structures to deal with integrity issues; on-going education planning and delivery; reporting of integrity concerns in domestic cricket and the vetting of player agents. “All members have a responsibility to demonstrate leadership and good practice in protecting the integrity of the sport at domestic and international level,” Lorgat said.The board said it was satisfied with the progress being made by the PTT and the PCB, which has already established an integrity committee and appointed an integrity officer, saying the PCB has either implemented or begun to implement the ICC’s requirements within the 30-day deadline. The PTT is also working on providing recommendations to help the Pakistan board restore confidence in its administration, but reiterated that team selection is solely the responsibility of the national boards.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second ODI between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in Mirpur

The Preview by Dustin Silgardo02-Dec-2010

Match Facts

Friday, December 3
Start time 09:00 (03:00 GMT)Shakib Al Hasan scored a half-century in the first ODI against Zimbabwe but later said he was not happy with his role as Bangladesh captain•Associated Press

The Big Picture

Bangladesh will be under intense pressure to recover from Wednesday’s double-whammy – a surprise loss to Zimbabwe followed by their captain Shakib Al Hasan’s outburst that he was not satisfied with his role as captain nor with the team he has been given. A single loss should not really take all the wind out of Bangladesh’s sails, as the memory of their 4-0 drubbing of New Zealand in October is still fresh, but a wavering captain makes them especially vulnerable.Zimbabwe have the opportunity to prove they could be a threat to the other sides in their group during the World Cup next year. They are notorious giant-killers in World Cups, and the spin duo of Ray Price and Prosper Utseya will relish the conditions in the subcontinent, as they showed in the first ODI.Both sides will hope to better their batting performances from the first match. Even during Bangladesh’s series win over New Zealand, they never once crossed 250 and had to rely on their left-arm spinners to deliver victories. Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura will have to start with himself if he wants his batsmen to improve, having only scored one half-century this year.

Form Guide

(most recent first)
Bangladesh: LWWWWZimbabwe: WLLLLL

Watch out for …

Tatenda Taibu has averaged 37.38 in ODIs over the last 12 months and with Chigumbura struggling for runs and the inexperienced Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine making up the rest of Zimbabwe’s middle-order, the onus will be on Taibu to score runs in the middle overs. Taibu has had plenty of experience playing on subcontinent tracks and will need to take the lead in showing the rest of the batsmen how to deal with Bangladesh’s spinners.Bangladesh let Zimbabwe get away to a quick start in the first ODI before the spinners pulled the game back. They will be looking to Mashrafe Mortaza to prevent that from happening on Friday. Mortaza’s position in the side is an interesting one because he was originally named captain for the New Zealand series but injured himself in the first game. The selectors decided to stick with Shakib despite Mortaza’s return and he will now have to prove that he can be a match-winner with the ball if he is to be handed back the captaincy.

Pitch Conditions

The teams will stay in Dhaka for the second and third ODIs so conditions can be expected to be the same as the first match. The trend at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium has been batsmen struggling with the slow and low conditions and the spinners able to maintain a lid on run-scoring. As the first ODI proved, a total of anything more than 200 will prove challenging for the side batting second as the wicket gets slower and offers some turn.

Teams

Shakib said Bangladesh missed the fielding skills of Naeem Islam and Raqibul Hassan, so they could come in to the side. Mohammad Ashraful’s return to the team saw him make just seven runs, so there might be pressure to drop him again. Junaid Siddique will also be under pressure having failed to get past 20 in each of his last four innings.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique/ Naeem Islam, 4 Raqibul Hasan / Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shafiul IslamHamilton Masakadza was dropped for the first ODI and with his replacement Chakabva top-scoring for Zimbabwe, could continue to be left out. Zimbabwe also have hard-hitting allrounder Ryan Butterworth in their squad.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brendan Taylor, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Regis Chakabva, 4. Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Craig Ervine, 7 Keegan Meth, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Keith Dabengwa, 10 Raymond Price, 11 Chris Mpofu

Stats and Trivia

• There has never been a score of over 300 during a day game at the Shere Bangla Stadium
• Zimbabwe have only two batsmen in their line-up with a strike-rate of over 70 in ODIs. Elton Chigumbura strike-rate of 88.33 is the highest for any Zimbabwe batsman who has scored more than 1000 runs in ODIs.
• In 26 Innings, Zimbabwe No.11 Chris Mpofu has hit a solitary four and averages 2.38.

Quotes

“I am not satisfied with my role as a captain. The reasons are numerous, and I cannot detail all of them right at the moment.”
“We need to do more as a team and our total today fell short of what we had wanted as a target.”

Pakistan’s domestic players who are currently representing city cricket associations in the QEA Trophy have asked the PCB to resume the regional central contracts system

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2010Pakistan’s domestic players who are currently representing city cricket associations in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy have asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to resume the regional central contracts system, in order to ensure their livelihood through the off season.This year’s QEA Trophy features 22 teams – 9 departmental and 13 regional – divided into two leagues. During former PCB chairman Nasim Ahsraf’s reign, players in the regional sides were given central contracts, a practice that has been done away with in recent years, along with a reduction in the match fees.”The top players from the associations leave their regional sides in order to play for departments so how can you expect the regions to maintain their level of performances every year?” asked a president of one of the leading associations. “The standard of associations can only be gauged if there are different leagues for associations and departments. You cannot expect a region to defeat departmental sides in every match. There is a big difference of quality.”The earlier contracts system had three categories, with the top level getting Rs 20,000 ($ 233) per month, and the next grades earning Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. The monetary motivation, according to Karachi Blues player Tabish Nawab, encouraged players to pursue cricket in Pakistan instead of looking for more lucrative options abroad.”There has been a trend in Pakistan that most of our cricketers aim to play just five matches anyhow, in order to be eligible to play in Britain,” Nawab told the News. “Subconsciously, they neglect the main priority of performing well to represent the country. The feeling of nationalism dies once money becomes the first priority.”While the players are abroad they have to do job five days a week, and the remaining two days they have to play for their respective clubs. Thus their fitness level does not remain the same and players get injured. Cricket has become a profession and the board needs to understand that there is a dire need to invest in the game for domestic players as well. In today’s world money has become a necessity. In such lowly pay structure, you cannot expect that a player can have top quality cricket gear, a healthy diet to maintain his fitness at the same time. We need to end the financial uncertainty surrounding our players so that they only think about cricket which will eventually help Pakistan.”