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Cricket South Africa (CSA) is considering a request from the Bangladesh board president Mustafa Kamal for South Africa to play Bangladesh in May

Firdose Moonda22-Apr-2012Cricket South Africa (CSA) is considering a request from the Bangladesh board president Mustafa Kamal for South Africa to play Bangladesh in May, CSA’s acting chief executive Jacques Faul has said. Kamal made a request to CSA president Willie Basson last week and offered to pay all the costs, whether the series takes place in Bangladesh or South Africa.”We have received the request and we are in the process of checking whether it would be possible,” Faul told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve got nothing against it, it’s just about scheduling. At the moment, I can say it is a request we are looking at.”Faul will meet with the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and national coach Gary Kirsten next week to discuss the possibility of playing the series. He said the decision will be based on South Africa’s schedule and whether this fixture can be included without causing fatigue. “We always want to play cricket and foster cricket but we’ve got to be careful with how much preparation and how much rest we give our team,” Faul said. “It is quite important how we pace the team.”Bangladesh have no international cricket scheduled before the World Twenty20 in September. Their trip to Pakistan, for an ODI and a T20 later this month, was put on hold after a court order placed a four-week embargo on the tour, and their visit to Zimbabwe in August was postponed because of work being done on the pitches in Harare and Bulawayo.By contrast, South Africa’s schedule is busy. Having already spent a month in New Zealand, they will go to England for more than two months in early July, head straight to Sri Lanka for the World T20, tour Australia in October and November and then host New Zealand during the home summer.Even if all parties agree the Bangladesh-South Africa series should go ahead, it will face a number of logistical problems. With the IPL only ending on May 27, South Africa could be without some of their key players. Twenty South African players, including limited-overs captain AB de Villiers and bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, are involved in the IPL. Bangladesh, though, only have two players in the competition – Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.Another issue will be location. The matches are unlikely to be held in Bangladesh because of the heat in summer and Faul confirmed South Africa, where it will be winter in May, was the only possibility as a venue. “Winter will be a factor for sure,” Faul said. “Durban is a possible venue but the Highveld [Johannesburg and Centurion] will be out.” Cape Town, where in rains in winter, will also not be a possibility.Another option would be for the series to be held in Zimbabwe, who were approached by the BCB to participate in a tri-series with South Africa. While Zimbabwe Cricket officials could not be reached on Sunday for confirmation on whether they received the request and were considering it, cricket can be played there during their winter. They will host South Africa for five T20 matches, which have not been given international status, in June before maintenance work on their two main centres begins.Zimbabwe could also travel to South Africa for the proposed tri-series and Faul said CSA would welcome the idea. “We always try to help Zimbabwe, we have an obligation to them because we are closest to them and we try to look after them where we can.”

Essex teenager Ben Foakes narrowly missed out on a century on Championship debut as their game against Leicestershire was left finely balanced

18-May-2012
ScorecardEssex teenager Ben Foakes narrowly missed out on a century on Championship debut as the Division Two game against Leicestershire was left finely balanced at the end of the third day at Grace Road.Foakes, 19, made an eye-catching 93 to help Essex to a total of 409 and a first-innings lead of 37. But with Ramnaresh Sarwan making his second half-century of the match, Leicestershire closed on 148 for 3 to lead by 111 runs going into the final day. Sarwan was still there on 61.Foakes, an England U-19 international who was handed his debut in the absence of both Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara, became one of five victims for the Leicestershire seamer Wayne White when he edged behind shortly after lunch.But Sarwan and Will Jefferson steered the home side back into the game with a third-wicket stand of 97, halted when Jefferson was out for 49 just before the close as bad light and rain brought an early end with 6.2 overs remaining.Resuming the second day on 239 for 5, still 133 behind, Essex enjoyed a productive first session, adding 121 runs in 32 overs for the loss of just one wicket. The batsman out was James Foster, who received a virtually unplayable rising delivery from Matthew Hoggard and edged behind. His share of a stand of 87 with the impressive Foakes was 26.Foakes looked untroubled, and cover-drove White to the boundary twice in one over. He reached 50 from 72 balls by on-driving Matthew Hoggard to the ropes for his ninth boundary. He went into lunch on 93 but failed to add to his score after the break, edging a fine delivery from White to wicketkeeper Ned Eckersley in the third over of the afternoon. He hit 14 boundaries and faced 139 balls in an excellent debut performance.A typically aggressive knock of 35 from Graham Napier kept the scoreboard moving, but White brought the Essex innings to a close with the wickets of David Masters and Charl Willoughby to finish with 5 for 74 – his third five-wicket haul of the season. Wicket-keeper Eckersley also impressed with five catches.Matt Boyce and Greg Smith went cheaply when Leicestershire batted again, but Sarwan, who reached 50 off 73 balls with seven fours, and Jefferson regained the initiative until Jefferson edged behind off a swinging delivery from Willoughby.

James Pattinson has asked Cricket Australia to choose a new long-term bowling coach with Test match experience

Daniel Brettig16-Jun-2012James Pattinson, Craig McDermott’s most prominent pupil during a compelling year as Australia’s bowling coach, wants Cricket Australia to choose a long-term replacement with Test match experience, describing such knowledge of international bowling as a “must” for whoever is appointed.CA are set to commence formal interviews for McDermott’s replacement at the conclusion of Australia’s tour of England and Ireland but the team performance manager, Pat Howard, has already spoken with the former Pakistan captain and coach Waqar Younis. Tasmania bowling coach Ali de Winter is another contender, and will work in a caretaker capacity with Australia’s fast men on this tour. Pattinson was adamant that the permanent role should go to a coach with international experience to call upon.”It’s fantastic to have someone as your bowling coach who has had that experience at Test level or [of] international cricket. I think it’s almost a must now, with the amount of cricket that we play, to have someone around the squad who has all that experience in there,” Pattinson told ESPNcricinfo. “For me it is a bit of an emotional roller coaster playing Test cricket, as I’ve found out over the six months I’ve been involved. So to have someone who has that experience and has done that before is outstanding, and definitely a must.”McDermott had an unmistakeable impact on Pattinson’s bowling, encouraging the fuller length and unstinting line that laid waste to New Zealand and India in four Tests before a foot injury halted the 22-year-old’s progress. He returned for one Test in the West Indies and tweaked his back when throwing from the outfield, but is now fully fit for duty in the UK. In the meantime, McDermott called an end to his touring with Australia for family reasons, leaving Pattinson to deal with the loss of a major influence on his progress.”It is tough [without McDermott]. The bowling group were very happy with his input into the team, he did a fantastic job, especially for the young guys coming into the team and trying to find their way,” Pattinson said. “I’m a bit disappointed to see him go, but that’s life. Family things take a toll sometimes. It is sad to see him go, but he’s only ever a phone call away and he’s hopefully going to be there for the rest of my career giving me advice.”I think for me in the West Indies, with such a good start I had [against India], I tried to do a bit too much with the ball and tried to take too many wickets – but the good thing is he’s told me to keep it pretty simple and everything else will take care of itself. It’s great to have him in the back of my mind, [someone] who I can give a call to and get some more advice.”De Winter will need to earn the trust of Australia’s bowlers, though his widely admired work with Tasmania’s seam and swing bowlers has preceded him. “We’ve had little bit of a chat, he’s pretty fresh to me, I haven’t had a lot to do with him over my career,” Pattinson said. “But from all reports he’s a fantastic bowling coach and he’s done really well for Tasmania as you’ve seen over the last couple of years with their success with their fast bowling brigade. So he’s another great inclusion into our squad of staff.”Having arrived in London ahead of a first tour match against Leicestershire on June 21, Pattinson is warming up for a trip that will provide him with valuable knowledge about how to bowl in England. Australia have one ODI against Ireland and five against England, before an Australia A tour will allow Pattinson and others to practice with the Dukes ball in a first-class environment.”The conditions are pretty good for swing bowling over here, so it’s just about my adjusting my skills to the situation and what the pitches throw up,” Pattinson said. “It’s almost a year to the Ashes, so I’ll be doing my best to get as much knowledge of these pitches and tap into some knowledge of past bowlers as well, how they’ve gone over here and how they’ve succeeded.”As the younger brother of Darren Pattinson, who played one Test for England, James Pattinson has plenty of close links to the UK, and was understandably keen to make himself known in the land of his father. “My family’s from here so it is a place I’ve always wanted to go and compete and play cricket,” he said. “It’s going to be a good lead-in for me going into the Ashes and get some experience over here, so I’m looking forward to it.””With my brother it’s always good to have someone who’s got great knowledge of playing over here and the conditions to ring up and have a chat to. I’ll be having a chat to him in more detail in the days to come.”

Kevin Pietersen has kept the door open for a return to limited-overs cricket for England

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2012Kevin Pietersen has kept the door open for a return to limited-overs cricket for England and is still hoping for a late change of policy by the selectors to allow him to appear in the World Twenty20. Although, he admits that both scenarios still remain unlikely.Pietersen quit international one-day cricket at the end of May citing England’s heavy schedule and the way the ECB central contracts are written meant his decision made him ineligible for Twenty20 selection as players have to be available for both limited-overs formats. Pietersen, who returned to action with Surrey at the beginning of this month ahead of the Test series against South Africa, said the fixture demands would need to change for him to consider reversing his retirement but he still wishes he could play Twenty20.”Never say never. I’m a lot older and more mature than a few years ago, so you never know,” he told the about whether he would return to coloured clothes. “Anything can happen. I’ll never say no, but the schedule would have to be a hell of a lot different for me to come back. Wait and see.”I’ve had my wife, mother, dad, mother-in-law, brothers and my best mates all saying to me ‘don’t you wish you were out there batting against Australia?’ And I’ve said to them I haven’t missed it at all. But maybe all I needed was a break. Who knows? I’ve played a lot of cricket in the last seven years.”As for the World Twenty20, which takes place in Sri Lanka from late September, where England will be defending their title, Pietersen has always been clear that he wanted to play in that tournament.”I still hope there might be a compromise for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka,” he said. “The squad hasn’t been announced. I would love to play in that and defend our title with England. If it happens, great, but I’m not holding my breath.”Pietersen’s comments about the packed international schedule have not always gone down well because he continues to play in the IPL. However, he believes it is unfair that he is criticised for taking up that opportunity when so many of the game’s leading players take part.”Okay, the ECB may say me playing in the IPL makes it hard to rest me but what annoys me is that, with every other board the IPL is a matter of fact. It’s not going away,” he said. “It’s going to be there and players want to play in it. Players want to go and earn their money and unless you let them decisions will have to be made.”Big players want to play in front of big audiences. You want to hear your name chanted by 50,000 people. It’s amazing. It makes you feel so good. The window for that has been created by the other boards but unfortunately not ours.”England have responded outstandingly well to the loss of Pietersen from both limited-overs formats. Ian Bell has slotted into the opening role with 364 runs in five innings while Alex Hales made 99 in the Twenty20 against West Indies and Pietersen has enjoyed watching the results.”I’m a huge England fan and it’s brilliant to be beating Australia at the moment,” he said. “We’ve got an Ashes series next year and you want their guys to say ‘we’ve got to play against these blokes next year. We can’t score more than 250 against them in a one-day game’. It’s the mental edge you want over them. We’ve thrown some big punches against them and that’s fantastic.”

It is a clash between two professional and well-drilled outfits that contains what could potentially be one of the contests of the tournament

George Binoy in Townsville18-Aug-2012By finishing second in Group A, England have been drawn against South Africa, winners of Group D, in the quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup in Townsville. It is a clash between two professional and well-drilled outfits that contains what could potentially be one of the contests of the tournament: England’s new-ball attack against South Africa’s openers.The majority of England’s players had the day off on Friday, after beating Nepal by 127 runs the day before, and spent it recuperating at their service apartments on Palmer Street: playing FIFA, watching bits of the Lord’s Test, staying out of the harsh sun and keeping off their feet as much as possible. Today, they’re back to practicing with sharpened focus. Tim Boon, their coach, said: “We’re as best prepared as we can be.”England have played South Africa before, in a seven-match home series they lost 2-4 in July last year. Only eight of those South Africans, however, are part of the World Cup squad so half of their outfit is not familiar to Adam Ball’s team. Someone they do know well is the opening batsman Quinton de Kock, who top scored with 341 runs in that series. “We felt if we could get him out early and expose that middle order as early as we could, we were right in there,” said Ball, England’s captain. “That will probably one of our main goals this time around and we will see how it goes.”De Kock is a threat once again. He enters the quarter-final as the World Cup’s leading run-scorer, 226 in three innings in Brisbane. His opening partner Chad Bowes is third on the list with 179 and they have been responsible for South Africa’s substantial batting success so far. In Reece Topley and Jamie Overton, however, England have two of the tallest and quickest bowlers in the World Cup, and they’ll be gunning for those South African scalps as early as possible.”Quinton de Kock had a good series against us but we know how he plays, so there won’t be any surprises there,” said Topley. “We’ve got good plans and we’ll attack him. We’ll attack most of the order to be honest.”Since that defeat to South Africa, England’s Under-19 cricketers have had a rigorous training programme at home, and toured Bangladesh and Australia. “I’d like to think so,” said Boon, when asked whether his players were significantly improved now. “Over the last two years quite a number of our guys have been getting international experience, which is what it is all about.”A “bombshell,” was how Boon described what his players were hit with when they entered theEngland Development Programme. “It’s a really tough regime. Just the work rates and the key learnings at 16-17, it’s a very intensive program at that age.”Ball said the focus of the system he’d been through was to produce “mentally tough players”. He said they’d learned the discipline required of a professional cricketer, the sacrifices that were necessary, and how they couldn’t “just go away and do what every other person does in their daily life.””We have had some very stressful times preparing for this,” Ball said. “We have been preparing for about two years now. That involves long periods up to 10 days at Loughborough, our centre of excellence. Very long days – waking up at 6am and leaving thecentre at about 8pm in the evening. So we have been put through the hard yards and now it’s come to the business time.”The business time didn’t begin well. After winning both warm-up games comfortably, England were sent in by Australia on a difficult batting wicket at Tony Ireland Stadium and dismissed for 143 in their first group match. “We learnt a lot of lessons in the game that we lost against Australia. There were some fundamental things that we didn’t do and that was just to occupy the crease and see the tough times out,” said Boon. “The toss made it tricky early doors, and I think we could have coped with that a little better. It provided us with another learning experience. Most of our players now have played and either got runs or had a decent bowl so everyone’s in a pretty good frame of mind.”In their next two games, England did occupy the crease, chasing 113 in 36.3 overs againstIreland with seven wickets in hand, and making 274 against Nepal. Ball saw room for more improvement. “I think making sure that we post big scores on the board for our bowlers to defend and then again, to chase down big scores,” he said. “We have shown signs that we can do it but we just need to keep developing that on a consistent basis.”One of their problems has been at the top of the order. Coming into the World Cup, Daniel Bell-Drummond had been tipped to be one of the batsmen to watch, but he’s managed only 31 runs in three innings. He began with a duck against Australia and finished the group stage with a hard-earned 23 against Nepal. Boon said it was a “question of time” before Bell-Drummond came right.”DBD [Bell-Drummond] is an exceptional player, an exceptional character,” said Boon. “He’s been in a rich vein of form, he’s scored runs [for Kent] against the senior South African team and to me it’s just a question of time before he comes right.”The quarter-final against South Africa could be Bell-Drummond’s last opportunity to show the world what he can do. Topley, however, is confident that it won’t be. He believes this class of England Under-19 has been groomed to successfully deal “with pressure situations such as Sunday”.

Warwickshire’s response provided the measure of Middlesex’s first innings, which may not have been below par to the extent it was suspected after the Division One leaders made hard work of getting their noses in front

Jon Culley at Edgbaston22-Aug-2012
ScorecardIan Westwood scored his second century against Middlesex this season before Warwickshire’s lower order collapsed•Getty Images

Warwickshire’s response provided the measure of Middlesex’s first innings, which may not have been below par to the extent it was suspected after the Division One leaders made hard work of getting their noses in front. With Ian Blackwell, the former England allrounder, coming in at No. 8, Warwickshire’s batting line-up looked irresistibly strong, yet there were more failures than successes and they take a lead of only six runs into the third day, eight wickets down.Yet they had been 175 without loss as Ian Westwood and Varun Chopra again demonstrated their effectiveness as an opening partnership. The two have shared four three-figure stands this season, three of those in the last six innings. Until Chopra fell to a fine, diving catch by Sam Robson at gully off the first ball of Gareth Berg’s second spell, they seemed capable of establishing a lead all on their own.They had ridden their luck at times, in terms of streaky runs off the edge of the bat, but as on Tuesday nothing went to hand. And as the ball aged their authority grew. Chopra, unusually, was the more passive partner, allowing Westwood to take the lead. The left-hander’s first 51 runs spanned 85 balls, to which he added his next 41 at a run a ball, increasing his boundary count from seven to 16. Only in the 90s did he feel he should take stock, facing 22 balls while scoring only six before his 17th four took him to 102.Westwood gave up the Warwickshire captaincy two years ago after enduring a full season without a first-class century. This was his fifth since then and his second in the space of three weeks, both against Middlesex.It seemed to give Warwickshire a platform for a substantial total yet thereafter the innings somewhat lost its way. No subsequent combination was able to add more than 29 and if Chris Wright and Keith Barker are parted quickly on the third morning Warwickshire will have achieved scarcely better than parity.A hailstorm drove the players from the field with a dozen overs left of day two, leaving puddles on the outfield that had not drained more than an hour after the storm had passed, which illustrated the problems the groundstaff still face after such a wet summer.They were not helped in their attempts to protect the square by the umpires’ indecision about when to take the players off, even though dark clouds were looming ominously. Jim Troughton cannot have been impressed either, given that it was in pretty poor light that he was caught at second slip off Tim Murtagh, who is not exactly on the slower side of medium.Others had less obvious excuses. As on day one, anything bowled too short asked to be hit but fuller deliveries posed problems. There were some notable catches, with Steven Crook matching Robson for athleticism at gully when he held a stunner, diving to his right, to give Neil Dexter the wicket of Darren Maddy.It was Dexter’s medium pace, ultimately, that did for Westwood, inducing a chip to mid-off from a mistimed drive, after facing 183 balls for his 120. There was a maiden Championship wicket for the 21-year-old left-arm spinner Ravi Patel, who started nervously but found some confidence after William Porterfield edged to slip.The innings took a sharp downturn after the new ball became available, with Toby Roland-Jones inflicting the most damage and removing three of Warwickshire’s better bets for another substantial score. He had Rikki Clarke caught behind with a ball that found some extra bounce and followed up when Tim Ambrose edged one that cut away late. Blackwell was leg before to one that nipped back and stayed low.

Chris Tremlett has committed his short-term future to Surrey after a signing a one-year deal following the loss of the ECB central contract

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2012Chris Tremlett has committed his short-term future to Surrey after a signing a one-year deal following the loss of his ECB central contract.Tremlett had an injury-hit 2012 season, with back and knee problems, which restricted him to a single Championship appearance. He has since undergone knee surgery and is now targeting a full return for Surrey’s pre-season training.”I’ve signed the new contract at the end of the season and I’m absolutely delighted to stay at Surrey for another year,” he told Surrey TV. “We’ve got a big year ahead of us next year so I’m looking forward to that challenge. In the meantime it’s all about working hard and getting my body in the best shape ready so I can hit the ground running for the new season.”Tremlett last played for England in the first Test against Pakistan, in Dubai, in January before being forced out of that trip with his back injury. When the latest round of central contracts were announced earlier this month his name was absent meaning he now goes back on Surrey’s payroll. However, Tremlett does not see this as an end to his international career.”I’m very keen to get back out there and almost start a new chapter in my career,” he said. “I still feel as though I have a lot to offer at Surrey and hopefully again at England at some point.”

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Deccan Chargers’ plea to put a stay on the Bombay High Court order which upheld the BCCI termination of the franchise from the IPL

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Oct-2012The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Deccan Chargers’ plea to put a stay on the Bombay High Court order which upheld the BCCI termination of the franchise from the IPL. The chief justice of India, Altamas Kabir, heard the case but refused to grant a stay to the franchise owners, who approached the apex court immediately after the Bombay High Court yesterday overruled the arbitrator’s order to put a stay on the expulsion.The development means the Chargers are now completely out of the IPL. There are only two ways the Chargers can now bounce back – if the Bombay High Court judge, who rejected the ad-interim order on Thursday, reverses his decision once he has heard in detail the arguments from both sides on October 29; or the court-appointed arbitrator, CK Thakkar, finds the grounds of the termination were not correct.On October 12, the Chargers approached Thakkar for rescue immediately after they had failed the deadline to provide the stipulated Rs 100 crore ($19 million) as directed by the Bombay High Court. The justice, SJ Kathawalla in his final judgement on October 1 had asked Chargers’ owners to provide the bank guarantee or risk the stay order he had imposed on the BCCI termination be revived. Thakkar issued a stay on the High Court order, but the BCCI responded by filing an ad-interim order (urgent relief) in the High Court, which was heard by Justice RD Dhanuka yesterday. He rejected Thakker’s order, saying the arbitrator had no “jurisdiction” to overrule the court order.The Chargers’ owners had also filed a special leave petition (SLP) under Section 9 in front of Dhanuka, against the order by the Bombay High Court to allow the BCCI appeal of lifting the termination. Dhanuka once again ruled in BCCI’s favour even without listening to the arguments of Raju Subramaniam, the board’s lawyer.As a last resort, the Chargers filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting the SLP be stayed. “That SLP was dismissed today. That means the order of the Bombay High Court has been confirmed and the termination will now stand,” a BCCI official said. “I think they have played their last card. I do not think they have any further cards.”According to him the Supreme Court found that there was nothing wrong in the order passed by the Bombay High Court and therefore there was no reason for the apex court to interfere and hence it dismissed the SLP.According to the official, the BCCI is confident that neither the October 29 hearing nor the arbitration proceedings were likely to further stall the board’s plans to go ahead with installing a new franchise to fill the void left vacant by the Chargers.”There are so many more grounds for termination, so I don’t even know if the arbitration would go on. Because they were supposed to file their statement of claims today in front of the arbitrator, which they did not,” the official said. According to him, the Chargers’ counsel is likely to ask for an extension to file the statement of claims which could easily last more than the three-month time frame, which was suggested by the judge SJ Kathawalla in his final order on October 1.”It would be difficult for the court to reverse its order because it was a reasoned order given at the ad-interim stage without even the BCCI counsel’s response. The BCCI lawyers are yet to argue their case completely and that could further worsen the situation for the Chargers. And with this affirmation by the Supreme Court, we do not think the judge would change his view,” the official said.In a release, the BCCI also said that “all [Chargers] players’ dues for the last season have been met”.The BCCI has already moved forward by floating a tender inviting interested bidders for the new franchise. The deadline to file the final bid document expires noon on October 25.

Michael Clarke, after his unbeaten double-century in Adelaide, has said it’s his formula of “counter-attack, being positive, playing my natural game” that has helped him succeed

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval22-Nov-2012As the 16,512 spectators at Adelaide Oval rose to honour Michael Clarke at the end of the day he became the first man in Test history to pass 200 four times in a year, one broadcast observer marvelled at the captain’s sense of timing, as records and milestones tumble to his bat at all the right moments. “It’s almost like he’s a news editor,” he gasped.This was indeed another note-perfect occasion for Clarke, a man and a cricketer growing in stature among the game’s greats with every day at the batting crease. He reached two major marks with the sort of timing once the exclusive preserve of his friend and mentor Shane Warne, smashing Morne Morkel for five boundaries in an over to go to 150, then reaching a double-hundred the ball before Michael Hussey passed his own century, cause for hugs and photos all round.But there is substance, thought and courage too behind a face at ease with the cameras. As in Brisbane, Clarke was rewarded for a tremendous attacking intent from a position of some uncertainty, this time 3 for 55, but here in Adelaide the innings had the added advantage of taking place on the first day to push Australia into a position in which they already appear the only side capable of victory.Clarke has not yet had the time or the inclination to ponder on the wider context of what he achieved on Thursday, or this year, but he is certain that the greatest source of his success is an aggressive attitude. In this he resembles the famed remark of the French General Ferdinand Foch who offered the following thought on his battlefield situation: “My centre is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I will attack.” Having twice had Australia three down for not many, South Africa have twice been turned back with impressive force.”Through my career that’s probably the only way I’ve had success, when you look at the innings I’ve made big scores, it’s exactly that – the counter-attack, being positive, playing my natural game,” Clarke said. “And there’s risk there. As Graeme [Smith] and AB [de Villiers] reminded me a lot of times today I had a lot of arse, there’s no doubt about that but you need it in this game. I remember playing England through the Australian summer a couple of years ago and I couldn’t make a run, so when you’re scoring runs you want to cash in.”It’s really nice to be making runs, and the down side to this great game is when you’re not, you find it really hard to find your next run, and that happens through your career. That’s happened a lot for me, and I’ve got dropped, and when I came back from getting dropped I said I want to make the most of the good days and that’s what I feel like I’m doing.”Apart from culture, intent is one of the buzz words for Australia’s cricketers these days. Clarke and David Warner resolved not to waste time trying to survive on an Adelaide pitch that offered true bounce and comfortable pace. Their bravery delighted the coach Mickey Arthur just as much as the assembled crowd. “The one thing Davey and I spoke about during the week was our intent, the way I tried to play in Brisbane and the way we were going to try to play today was exactly that, we wanted to be positive,” Clarke said. “We both took that approach today, we were going to see the ball and react and not worry too much about the result, if we get a good ball, we get a good ball.”Partnerships such as those with Warner and Hussey have been a critical element of Clarke’s success since he became captain. The one major innings in that time that was an entirely solo effort – the 151 against South Africa in Cape Town – was ultimately inconsequential because no one else was able to help Clarke, resulting in a middling team tally around a brilliant individual one.”A lot of credit needs to go to Huss and Davey as well, the way they played up the other end today made my life and my job a lot easier,” Clarke said. “If I didn’t score there was no stress. That gets forgotten a lot of the time: how important your partner is when you have success.”Another partnership that has helped Clarke is the one that he has established with his wife Kyly. They married in a lavish but secret ceremony during the winter, and the wry note made by Ed Cowan in Brisbane that Clarke does not have a Test batting average since becoming a husband remains true – he has now scored 483 runs for the series without being dismissed, and he gestured with passion in Mrs Clarke’s direction as he strode towards 200.”I know she’s supporting me, that’s the type of woman she is,” Clarke said. “She’s getting into her cricket and it’s great she can be here in Adelaide. It’s special for everybody [who] has thrown their support behind me, and the people that are close who’ve been there through good days and bad days, whether that’s on the field with cricket or off the field with my personal life and things that have happened through my life, especially with my family. I think when you perform well, my dedication is certainly to my team-mates first and foremost, but also through the people who’ve stood by me through good and bad days.”

Zaheer Khan had a fruitful first day as captain of a first-class side, as Mumbai bowled out Gujarat for 244 in what is a virtual pre-quarter-final

Amol Karhadkar29-Dec-2012
ScorecardFile photo: Parthiv Patel went to the top of this season’s run charts during the course of his century•K Sivaraman

Zaheer Khan had a fruitful first day as captain of a first-class side, as Mumbai bowled out Gujarat for 244 in what is a virtual pre-quarter-final. Had hosts Mumbai not lost opener Kaustubh Pawar in the last over of the day, the smile on Zaheer’s face at stumps would have been even wider.It didn’t come as a surprise when Zaheer, leading the team in the absence of regular captain Ajit Agarkar who was ruled out with a groin injury, opted to bowl on a sporting track with a sprinkling of live grass at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium. And when Zaheer trapped Smit Patel, one of the stars of India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign, in front of wickets, Mumbai would have hoped to run through the Gujarat top order.However, rookies Samit Gohel and Bhargav Merai frustrated them for more than an hour. Not only did both the right-hand batsmen scored freely at the start of their innings, but they defended well, leaving balls outside off stump with relative ease. As a result, by the time Dhawal Kulkarni forced Gohel into a false shot, Mumbai had used as five bowlers.At 89 for 2, captain Parthiv Patel took guard. And by the time he was dismissed as the penultimate Gujarat wicket, the seasoned batsman had scored 101 off the 154 runs that Gujarat added since his arrival at the crease. Had Merai not attempted a risky single and fallen short of the crease at the non-striker’s end when Kulkarni’s direct hit shattered the woodwork in the last over before lunch, Gujarat would have had the advantage going into the break.However, once Mumbai had got an opening, they lived up to their tag of domestic powerhouse by breaking through at regular intervals. As a result, the 64-run association for the second wicket between Gohel and Merai turned out to be the only noteworthy partnership of the innings.While wickets were tumbling at the other end, Parthiv appeared to be playing a completely different match. En route his third century of the season, and the top of this season’s run charts, the left-hand batsman displayed his cutting and driving abilities in abundance. His standout stroke was a straight driven boundary off Kulkarni soon after his arrival at the crease.Once Mumbai had broken into the longish tail of Gujarat batting, Parthiv switched gears and targeted left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan, who was flighting the ball on the opening day for the first time in the season. He first charged down the pitch to hit him for a boundary over mid-off, and in his next over, drove him through the covers for the same result.The only blemish during Parthiv’s knock came when he was on 64. Having surpassed Ravindra Jadeja’s tally of 794 runs to emerge as the leading run-getter, Parthiv nicked Kulkarni but Hiken Shah dropped a regulation catch at first slip. Nevertheless, with little support from the other end, it was a commendable effort from the Gujarat captain.”Obviously the additional motivation is to return to the Indian team, so I try and score big. Thankfully, it has been paying off all through the season,” Parthiv said after stumps. “It is a challenging wicket but I think we were about 100 runs short of what would have been an ideal first-innings score here.”