All posts by csb10.top

The first phase of tickets for the 2011 World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been put on sale following a meeting of the tournament’s Central Organising Committee in Mumbai. The tickets have been priced affordably, with the cheapest costing 20 cents US in Sri Lanka, the committee said. The tickets are available on the ICC’s website from June 1.”The prices confirm the promise we made that the tickets would be affordable and accessible,” Sharad Pawar, the ICC vice president, said. The committee said that in excess of 100,000 tickets were being released for the first phase of online ticket sales. The move to make tickets cheaper comes after the debacle of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, where tickets were expensive and the grounds largely empty as a result.Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, was happy with the progress of preparations for the competition. “While there is a lot of important operational detail ahead of us, I am pleased at the progress we have made to date,” he said. “For example, in the next few months, safety and security aspects will be dealt with in detail by the security directorate headed by BCCI President Shashank Manohar.”

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has asked for the infusion of youth for the Asia Cup starting in Sri Lanka on June 15.”We should have three to four new players along with the seniors so that we can strike the right balance in the one-day side. I think the time is right to start grooming and giving exposure to some of our young lot because we also have to keep the 2011 World Cup in mind,” Afridi said.Afridi was reacting to a query over the omission of 19-year old allrounder Hammad Azam from the 35-member long list of probables for the Asia Cup and the tour of England. He said that neither he nor team coach Waqar Younis had a say in the selection of the probables.”The selectors had picked that squad but as a matter of policy myself and the coach want to give exposure to young players so that they can provide stable support and back up to the seniors in future,” he said.Afridi refused to comment on the controversial inclusion of Shoaib Malik in the list, following the reversal of his ban after being accused of causing unrest within the side. “It is something that concerns the board. As far as I am concerned whoever is eligible for selection is an important player for me,” Afridi said.Yawar Saeed, the manager of the squad, was confident that the team would not face any problems over Malik’s return. Saeed was not with the team during the tours of Australia and New Zealand, after which Malik came in for harsh criticism from Afridi, former captain Mohammad Yousuf, former coach Intikhab Alam and tour manager Abdul Raquib, for his attitude.”All these players have played before when I was manager and I faced no problems at all from them. They know each other well so I don’t think it is a big thing if Malik or even Younis Khan is selected in the side,” said Saeed, who was a member of the PCB inquiry committee over the side’s performance in Australia.”There is no personality clash involved anymore and the New Zealand and Australian tours are past. The code of conduct on tour is the same for any player. I am confident no player will give me or PCB any cause for complain.”

Match Facts

Saturday, May 8, Bridgetown
Start time 1330 (1730 GMT)Morne Morkel’s aggressive approach has paid dividends on a receptive Barbados surface•AFP

The Big Picture

For contrasting reasons, England and South Africa endured stuttering starts to their World Twenty20 campaigns, but right at this moment the pair are sitting pretty at the top of Group E with one convincing Super Eights victory apiece. All of which means that Saturday’s showdown in Barbados will push the victor to the very brink of the semi-finals.England might feel they have a slight psychological edge, having secured a morale-boosting five-wicket victory over South Africa in last week’s warm-up fixture on this same ground, but two factors ought to dent their optimism a touch – firstly, England had to recover from a shaky 9 for 3 in order to chase down a middling target of 127; and secondly, that collapse was instigated by neither Dale Steyn nor Morne Morkel, two quick bowlers who looked in awesome touch in South Africa’s subsequent victories over Afghanistan and New Zealand.When the teams last met competitively in this format, in South Africa before Christmas, the series was shared 1-1 – although that scoreline masked the sheer brutality of South Africa’s victory in the second match at Centurion, when Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith smashed a massive opening stand of 170 in 13 overs, en route to an insurmountable final total of 241 for 6.With Albie Morkel finding his range against New Zealand with a six-laden 40 not out from 18 balls, South Africa’s range of power-hitters remains formidable, but England have unearthed a few top-notch tonkers of their own. Eoin Morgan’s repertoire is already well known to Smith’s men, but the decisive joust may well come at the top of the order. Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter have shown prowess against less accomplished attacks, but how will they fare against the world’s top-rated pace attack?

Form guide (most recent first)

England: WNLLW
South Africa: WWLWL

Watch out for…

On a lively surface against Afghanistan, Morne Morkel was thuggishly effective, banging away on a splice-jangling length to rout the rookies with figures of 4 for 20. And while England’s experienced batsmen will not be caught quite so unawares as that, it nevertheless remains to be seen how they seek to combat Morkel’s fearsome combination of height, pace and bounce. In their win against Pakistan, England’s own seamers used the short ball as a default setting, the notion being that cross-batted strokes are trickier to control than straight-batted lofts and drives from fuller-length deliveries. Expect a fair few deliveries to rattle the rib-cage on Saturday.Given the current make-up of England’s top-order, Kevin Pietersen’s South African connections no longer set him apart from his colleagues, but whenever these two teams collide, he is invariably pitched into the spotlight. And, following a disappointing winter tour of his homeland, it’s fair to suggest he’ll be ultra-motivated to make amends in this match. He made a first-ball duck in the warm-up, but goes into this game with some much-needed form, having rattled along to 73 not out from 52 balls against Pakistan. And what is more, with the birth of his son drawing ever nearer, every next innings could be his last of the campaign.

Team news

England have resisted the temptation to tinker with their line-up since the surprising decision to select Ryan Sidebottom ahead of James Anderson, and the probability is that they’ll stick to the same again, much to Anderson’s chagrin. He was the forgotten hero in England’s last win over South Africa in this format, at Johannesburg in November, when he clawed his side into the ascendancy on the Duckworth-Lewis charts with a tight final over in a one-run win, but right now he’s out of favour.England (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Stuart Broad, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Michael Yardy, 11 Ryan Sidebottom.Bosman has form against England following his remarkable 94 in Centurion, but he has struggled in the Caribbean and against New Zealand he made way at the top of the order for the old guard of Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, with Herschelle Gibbs slotting in at No. 3. Charl Langeveldt’s canny swingers have been an asset since he was drafted into the side as well, and he’s likely to hold his place against familiar opponents.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Kallis, 3 Herschelle Gibbs, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Johan Botha, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Charl Langeveldt.

Pitch and conditions

It’s a springy surface and bowlers have enjoyed themselves so far in the tournament, although the ability to put bat through ball hasn’t exactly cooled the ardour of the likes of Pietersen, Morkel and even Afghanistan’s Hamid Hassan. The weather is set fair – fairer, certainly, than anything England encountered in Guyana – and the likely scenario is that the side who wins the toss will bat first.

Stats and trivia

• The teams have met in four previous Twenty20 internationals (with one abandonment). England’s only win came in Johannesburg, while they were comfortably beaten in each of their previous two World Twenty20 encounters.
• England have purged their Twenty20 line-up to such an extent that only four of the men who took the field at Centurion in November are likely to line up in Saturday’s match. Whither Joe Denly, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Adil Rashid, Matt Prior and Sajid Mahmood?
  

  Quotes

  “I’ve played in the team for five or six years and to have a batting line-up like we have now is incredible. For every bloke from one down to nine or ten to be able to hit sixes is brilliant.”
  Kevin Pietersen is pleased, publicly at least, not to be the only go-to man in the England batting line-up
  
  “We’ve been searching for the right combination and we certainly started a little rusty in this tournament.”
  Graeme Smith believes the best is yet to come from South Africa.

Match facts

Chennai v Delhi, Chennai
Thursday, April 15
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Suresh Raina’s purple patch has removed the pressure off Chennai’s out-of-touch middle order•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

Time is running out for Delhi Daredevils, faster than their batsmen are running out themselves. In three consecutive games, needless run-outs have sparked decisive batting collapses, resulting in defeats. Worse, the culprits – Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag – are usually reliable between the wickets. However, there is more to Delhi’s travails than poor running; Amit Mishra, David Warner and Paul Collingwood, who were central to Delhi’s surge earlier in the tournament, have not quite turned up for the crunch games. In the three recent reversals, Mishra’s 11 overs have yielded 1 for 86, while Warner and Collingwood have contributed 37 and eight runs respectively.Somehow Gambhir’s men need to overcome their woes and grab two points on Thursday. Thanks to better times before the slump, they are still in the top four, but Deccan have a realistic chance to pull them down. Bangalore’s hammering of Rajasthan on Wednesday has played into Delhi’s hands, but defeat tomorrow could restore parity. It would then require Delhi to beat the in-form Deccan, possibly by a good margin, to get the final spot in the semis. Delhi would prefer the security of increasing their points-tally, than rely on the fickle decimal-places in the net run-rate. Moving up to third spot would mean Delhi don’t have to face red-hot Mumbai in the semis, and that’s another incentive to win tomorrow.The task ahead of Delhi promises to be difficult, given the opposition, and the venue. With their supporters getting behind them, Chennai have struck the right notes at the MA Chidambaram stadium, where they have now won four on the trot. Despite failures from their two biggest overseas players, they blew away Kolkata on Tuesday, to boost their run-rate significantly. That victory followed three contrasting wins against strong sides, where different members of the team stood up to tackle tough situations. Against Bangalore, the bowlers came back well to set up a gettable chase. Vijay and Albie Morkel turned it on with the bat to put it past Rajasthan on a flat track, before the team fired collectively to defy the mighty Mumbai outfit. The away loss against Deccan was an aberration, and worryingly for Delhi, Chennai look unlikely to repeat mistakes from that match. These two teams may be tied on points, but Chennai are significantly ahead on both net run-rate and confidence.

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai Super Kings WLWWW
Delhi Daredevils LLLWW

Team talk

Chennai have a tough call to make over Muttiah Muralitharan’s spot. He was the weakest link in the victory against Kolkata, and may have to go, given how well Ashwin and Shadab Jakati have done. MS Dhoni could strengthen the suspect middle order by bringing in either Michael Hussey or Justin Kemp.Andrew McDonald was ripped apart by Kieron Pollard in the loss to Mumbai, and may have to make way for the world’s best left-arm spinner. After watching Ashwin’s exploits against Kolkata, Daniel Vettori will be eager to get a bowl on this track. AB de Villiers came back for the previous game, but could not get going. These are desperate times for Delhi, will they gamble by giving Tillakaratne Dilshan another chance?

Previously…

Chennai 3 Delhi 2
In previous seasons, these sides have traded blows equally, a fact that augurs well for Delhi who lost the first encounter this year. Chennai’s fielders turned in a tigerish performance, with Kemp and Raina taking blinders, to pull Delhi back to 185 after a ballistic start. Matthew Hayden then mauled Delhi’s bowlers with the Mongoose to seal the win.

In the spotlight

Since that game in Delhi, Matthew Hayden has had an IPL to forget. The wickets have slowed down through the course of the tournament, and he has struggled for timing, the Mongoose’s extra power notwithstanding. His little new weapon has generated more hype than results. Hayden prides himself on topping the run-charts in every global Twenty20 tournament he has been a part of – the 2007 World Twenty20 and IPL 2009. He’s unlikely to repeat the feat this year, but Hayden is not the type who will concede defeat without trying.He has been spot on with his team selection and bowling changes, but as a batsman MS Dhoni has been under-par. He blasted Chennai to their first win of the tournament before being forced out by injury for the next few games. The team’s fortunes changed for the better with his return, but he has not contributed much with the bat. An in-form Dhoni is critical to Chennai’s prospects, given the inexperience and lack of muscle in the lower middle-order. The captain has a reputation for turning it on when it matters, both in the IPL and at the international level, and Delhi will be concerned that he is due. Pragyan Ojha eliminated him with a wonderful over in Nagpur, and Amit Mishra should feature centrally in Delhi’s plans to keep Dhoni quiet.

Prime numbers

• With 787 runs between them, Suresh Raina and M Vijay occupy the third and fourth spots in the race for the orange cap. 423 of those runs have come in the last four home games
• Dirk Nannes and Paul Collingwood have conceded 6.51 and 6.59 runs respectively per over this season. They are the third and fourth most economical among bowlers who have sent down at least 10 overs. Ashwin is sixth, while Doug Bollinger is ninth on that list.
  

  The chatter

  “The way Raina and Vijay chased down 140 was good, it is a bit of a worry that the middle order is not getting enough practice!”

  “We got to win both games now, so maybe that [the loss against Mumbai] is a blessing in disguise.”

Alastair Cook, England’s Test and ODI captain, has been omitted from England’s 30-man provisional squad for the World Twenty20 that starts in April in the Caribbean. Cook’s new ODI opening partner, Craig Kieswetter, has been included, alongside Peter Trego and Michael Lumb, after their success on the England Lions tour to UAE.Cook’s omission came as something of a snub after he was named in the recent Twenty20 party that played two matches against Pakistan in Dubai, and although his accumulatory style is not best suited to the cut and thrust of the 20-over format, he showed impressive form for Essex in last season’s Twenty20 Cup, and was England’s most fluent batsman with a brisk 64 in their 50-over victory against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday.Cook himself had been unaware that the 30-man squad was imminent when asked about it after the first ODI, but said he hoped he had done enough to demonstrate that he has what it takes to succeed. However, according to Geoff Miller, the national selector, who met with England’s coach Andy Flower prior to the team’s departure for the UAE, he is still some way short of meriting a place in the set-up.”We didn’t think Alastair was a 20-over player so consequently he wasn’t selected,” said Miller. “He knows the decision and he’s obviously very much improving in 50-overs, and that might develop his Twenty20 too. But there’s a dramatic difference between 50-over cricket and Twenty20. We don’t feel he has gone over that mark to be part of our Twenty20 squad, but that does not mean he’s out of it [for good].”England’s spinner, Graeme Swann, who has been named in the 30-man party, said before the announcement that the gulf between the formats was growing. “I think the games are too different to be honest,” he said. “The games in Dubai, we focussed on those as our practice for the World Twenty20. I think 50-over and Twenty20 are completely different games these days. Certainly as a spin bowler, every single ball you know guys are going to try to hit you for four or six, whereas in 50-over cricket you can try to put a decent spell together.”Lions pacemen Steven Finn and Chris Woakes have both included, while Sajid Mahmood holds his place despite struggling in his recent Twenty20 outings for England against South Africa. There is no place, however, for James Foster, Robert Key and Graham Napier, all of whom featured in the 15-man party for the 2009 tournament in England.Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara, who are both set to go to the IPL but did not feature in England’s squad for the recent T20s against Pakistan, are both included – and for Bopara, it is his first mention in an England squad since he was dropped for the Ashes decider at The Oval in August, after struggling through the first four Tests of the series. He has since been in New Zealand, rediscovering his form in their domestic Twenty20 tournament.”Ravi’s been reassessing himself,” said Miller. “He had a bit of a torrid time; he knew that. He’s gone away, gone abroad and looked after his career, and done really well. He’s a vital part of our squad, and we still think a lot about him. So when he comes back we’ll have a look and see where he is.”Shah’s return is conceivably his last chance in an England career that dates back to 2001. He played 50 consecutive ODIs up to and including the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa last September, but was outspoken in his criticism of the selectors after being dropped for the bilateral series in South Africa that followed soon afterwards.”We know he’s a quality player,” said Miller. “He had a bit of a rough time. We needed to see a little bit more so left him out [recently] but we still feel he has something to offer. He’s going to the IPL, so [we hope] he can put in a few performances there.”Another interesting conundrum awaiting the selectors is the final availability of Kevin Pietersen, whose wife Jessica is due to give birth to their first child around the time of the tournament in early May.”We’ve had discussions with Kevin,” said Miller. “As you know, I’m a greatadvocator of people being solid family-wise and I have no argumentabout that. I’m prepared to allow him to go home. We’re talking about the birth ofa child here and we don’t know when that’s going to be, so we’ll play itby ear. Kevin’s absolutely fine with the situation.””All players named have shown their ability in the shortest form of the game and the selectors have some difficult decisions to make when reducing the squad to 15 players,” Miller added. “We have a number of young players knocking on the door which underlines the depth in talent currently available and I know all concerned will be hoping they make the final squad for what is a highly anticipated tournament.”Full Squad Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Steven Davies, Joe Denly, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Sajid Mahmood, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Peter Trego, Jonathan Trott, David Wainwright, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy.

Greg Chappell has turned down an approach from the Pakistan board to coach the national team. Chappell’s name had been floating around Pakistan cricket’s corridors of power as a possible alternative to Intikhab Alam, the incumbent, whose position is currently in limbo following Pakistan’s tour to Australia where they failed to win a single match.Chappell, a former Australian captain, coached India for two tumultuous years between 2005 and 2007. He is now working with Cricket Australia, a role which he is reluctant to leave and he confirmed that an approach had been made. “Wasim Bari [chief operating officer, PCB] rang me yesterday,” Chappell told Cricinfo. “I was honoured and flattered by the approach but I have declined the invitation.”I have no ambition to coach at the international level again and I am committed to my role with CA as Head Coach at the Centre of Excellence and Chairman of our National Youth Selection Panel.”The approach does at least confirm that the PCB is actively looking for a replacement for Intikhab, an issue over which there is considerable confusion still. Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, told a TV channel a few days ago that Pakistan would have no problems in looking outside for a coach.It was then announced that Intikhab would not be accompanying Pakistan to Dubai where they take on England in two T20Is on February 19 and 20. Aaqib Javed, the assistant coach, is not travelling with the side either. Instead, Ijaz Ahmed, coach of the Pakistan Under-19 side that finished runners-up at the recent World Cup, will be with the team as a batting and fielding coach; he is already in the UAE with the Pakistan ‘A’ side.Bari played down the move, saying it wasn’t unusual for a coach to not travel with the side, especially on such a short tour. He refused to say definitively whether Intikhab, in his third stint as coach with the senior team, was being removed and also denied that contact had been made with Chappell.Cricinfo understands that the board, perhaps surprisingly, has yet to make any contact with Intikhab over the decision to not send him to Dubai, or over his future beyond that, a lack of communication those close to Intikhab say has disappointed him. Intikhab was appointed by the board in October 2008, as a replacement for Geoff Lawson, on a two-year contract. At the time the board was keen to go for a local option. He was at the helm as Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 in June last year, but has also seen Pakistan go through all of last year having failed to win a single ODI or Test series.He is due to appear before a board inquiry committee, headed by Bari, on February 13 to explain the reasons behind Pakistan’s performance in Australia. His tour report has already been handed in. The board insists that any final decision on the future of the coach, a new captain and any other appointments, will only be taken once the committee has presented its findings

The Indian selectors, who have been under fire for having named an unbalanced squad for the first Test, made the correction by getting rid of the extra seam bowler and drafting in a proper reserve batsman, Suresh Raina. Also in contention for a spot in Kolkata, should VVS Laxman not return to full fitness, is Dinesh Karthik who pushed his case for a recall with two centuries in the Duleep Trophy final last week.Sreesanth, who missed India’s last two Tests with a thigh strain, also made his way back into the squad. The back-up seamers, Sudeep Tyagi and Abhimanyu Mithun, and reserve wicketkeeper, Wriddhiman Saha, were dropped from the squad for the Nagpur Test that India lost by an innings and six runs.By calling in Karthik, who has a much better batting record in first-class cricket than Saha, they gave the team extra cushion in the batting department. Saha, who unwittingly became a villain by having to debut as a batsman because of the injuries on the morning of the match, will be left wondering why he was dropped when his primary skill, wicketkeeping, wasn’t even tested. Karthik last played in the second Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur recently.The biggest story of the squad, though, was the selection of Raina, who made his international debut in 2005 and has played 87 ODIs. Of the younger crop of middle-order Indian batsmen, Raina is the first one to have cemented his place in the ODI and Twenty20 sides. Since his first international century – during the Asia Cup in June 2008 – he has been a permanent member of the ODI middle order and has averaged 46.61 at a strike-rate of 97.70. He is primed for a Test debut should Laxman fail the fitness race for the Kolkata Test. Being a left-hand batsman should make Raina a serious consideration after India’s right-hand batsmen struggled against Paul Harris’ outside-the-leg line in Nagpur.Sreesanth will be a welcome addition to the squad after Ishant Sharma bowled 28 wicketless overs in Nagpur. A few hours before the selectors met, Sreesanth confirmed to Cricinfo that he was fully fit and had been bowling regularly at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. He recently made his comeback from a long injury layoff with a five-for against Sri Lanka in Kanpur, but strained his thigh in Chittagong.Squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Dinesh Kartik, Suresh Raina.

Chris Cairns has announced he intends to sue Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi for comments made in relation to the IPL’s decision to withdraw Cairns’ name from the initial list of potential players.Modi’s comments appeared on his Twitter page and also in an interview with Cricinfo. “The allegation made by Lalit Modi that I have been involved in match fixing is scandalous and wholly untrue,” Cairns said in a statement issued by Andrew Fitch-Holland, his solicitor. “For him to circulate such a falsehood around the world is outrageous. Mr. Modi’s allegation has caused me huge personal distress and professional damage.”I cannot allow these slurs to ruin my future and I have instructed my solicitors, Collyer Bristow LLP, to bring proceedings for defamation against Mr. Modi”.”This situation has really caused Chris terrible upset,” Fitch-Holland told Cricinfo. “There appear to be a lot of negative feelings against him being generated as a result of Modi’s comments.”This is both hurtful and distressing for Chris but also damaging to his future prospects. We immediately took advice from Rhory Robertson at Collyer Bristow here in London, who is a leading specialist lawyer with extensive experience in both defamation and professional sports.”Having spent much of the last day seeking this expert advice, we will now move quickly to fight the damage being done to Chris’ reputation.”When contacted by Cricinfo, Modi said: ” We will deal with it as and when it arrives.”

In a closely-fought match, Holland defeated Zimbabwe A by four wickets, the homeside putting up another mediocre performance. The hosts are now the only teamnot to have won a match yet, in a tournament they probably expected to win.Zimbabwe A 203; Holland 206 for six. Holland won by four wickets.Holland won the toss and put Zimbabwe in to bat on a pitch giving a little helpto the bowlers. They were to receive much more assistance from the Zimbabweantop-order batsmen, who played some very poor cricket. The top five allsurrendered their wickets for scores of between 5 and 12. They made littleattempt to work the ball around the field for ones and twos, but favoured the bigshots with a sad lack of discrimination.The Dutch bowlers, led by former Somerset all-rounder Roland Lefebvre, weredisciplined and did not allow too many liberties. First to go was Mark Vermeulen(8), who pushed outside the off stump to Asim Khan and was caught at the wicketby Danny Thampinayagam, who put up a very impressive display behind the stumps.His partner Doug Marillier (12) drove powerfully at Lefebvre and was very wellcaught by Dick Kramer at mid-on. Captain Gavin Rennie and Neil Ferreira steadiedthe innings for a while, although neither looked as secure as usual. Ferreira(7) was drawn forward by Khan, did not get far enough across and was caught byTim de Leede at first slip, while Rennie (10) cut a ball straight to RogerBradley in the gully. Then Craig Evans, after a wild leg hit that flew over theslips for four, pushed outside the off stump to Ben Goedegebuun and was caught atthe wicket. Zimbabwe A were now 56 for five in the 16th over.Don Campbell played an innings that bordered on lunacy at the start. He pulled along hop from Kramer for six, but then sliced a ball just over cover for two, andanother massive heave saw a skyer behind the square-leg umpire dropped. He thensnicked a four in the air past slip, and seemed to be leading a charmed life.The drinks interval seemed to calm him down, though, and he batted quite sensiblyafter that until he finally hit Kramer down the throat of de Leede at deepmidwicket for 38, including a six and six fours, making his team 136 for six.All this time Academy student Greg Lamb had been playing much the most sensibleinnings, hitting the bad ball to the boundary but keeping the ones and twoscoming with skilful placement and running. David Mutendera scored 5 beforelobbing a ball over the head of bowler de Leede to be caught by mid-on runninground. With the likes of ‘Pommie’ Mbangwa coming in at number nine, on 143 forseven, it looked as if Zimbabwe A were indeed in trouble, but Mbangwa actuallyplayed very well in partnership with Lamb, who reached a fine fifty with a driveto the extra-cover boundary. Lamb did enjoy an escape when he tried to pull Luukvan Troost and skyed a catch that fell to earth just behind the slips before afielder could reach it.After a while, though, Mbangwa (28) decided to rely exclusively on one stroke,the skyer over the bowler’s head. While he got away with it twice in an overfrom van Troost, the third time he was well held by mid-on ambling round andswirling underneath it. Ian Engelbrecht came and went, yorked first ball byKhan, who also yorked Brighton Watambwa without scoring, bringing the innings toan abrupt end at 203 in the 44th over. Lamb was left stranded with a superb 72,in complete contrast to the poor displays put up by his fellow specialistbatsmen.With the early end to the innings, Holland went in to bat before lunch. Theopeners struggled against Mbangwa and Watambwa, bringing some quite unacceptablelaughter bordering on ridicule from certain Zimbabwean close fielders. Slowlythe tall Bradley and the diminutive Ahmed Zulfiqar got the score moving, thelatter edging the first boundary just past the slips, while Bradley indulged insome rather unorthodox pulls, especially against Watambwa who pitched too short.They were still together at lunch, taken after 5 overs, when the score was 17(Bradley 7, Zulfiqar 10).After lunch the batsmen went for their strokes enterprisingly. Watambwa hadZulfiqar dropped at second slip by Evans, but Bradley (12) was less fortunate; hewas caught at first slip for 12 by Campbell, fielding there while Ferreira keptwicket, and Holland were 29 for one. Klaasjan van Noortwijk (8) never settledbefore being caught at the wicket off Mutendera, before Tim de Leede came in and,in partnership with Zulfiqar, began to swing the balance of the match towardsHolland. The side was maintaining a rate of four runs an over until de Leededrove Rennie for two sixes in the same over, one to the off side and one to theon. Rennie, who took seven cheap wickets against Manicaland the previous day,was finding Holland a tougher proposition.A major blow came when Mutendera won an lbw decision against de Leede (28),making the score now 105 for three. Zulfiqar, however, was still there, withpowerful cuts his most impressive stroke, and he ran to his fifty. He wasfinally dismissed for 63 when slow left-armer Engelbrecht came on to bowl, bowledattempting to sweep. The sound of mocking laughter from one Zimbabwean playerwas beyond contempt. Holland were 130 for four.Van Troost looked uncomfortable and ungainly early in his innings, but thebowlers were unable to take advantage of his apparent technical deficiencies. Hegot under way with a six over long-on off Rennie, and later repeated the shot atthe other end against Engelbrecht. Powerful leg-side blows seemed to be his mainweapon, amid some stoic defence, although he occasionally unleashed a blisteringoff-drive.After 40 overs Holland were well on course for victory at 170 for four. Thencame another swing in the balance. Nick Statham (5) became bogged down againsttight field-placing and was adjudged lbw to the wildly over-enthusiastic Evansand, still on 170, von Troost (36) unwisely tried to come down the pitch toWatambwa and snicked a catch to the keeper.Lefebvre and Goedegebuun fought back steadily with some selective strokeplay,until 10 were needed off the last three overs. Perhaps untrusting of statistics,Lefebvre decided three balls would be better, hammering Watambwa straight oncethen twice to leg to bring his team a well-deserved victory by four wickets. Hefinished unbeaten on 23, with Goedegebuun on 11.

Brett Lee’s chances of playing the first Test have all but disappeared after being ruled out of this week’s Sheffield Shield match at the SCG due to a recurrence of his elbow injury. Lee played in New South Wales’ one-day loss to Tasmania on Sunday but suffered a reaction to his elbow problem and was told to sit out of the four-day game that starts on Tuesday.The injury means Lee has little chance of making the squad for the first Test against West Indies, starting at the Gabba next Thursday, because he has no further chance to prove himself match fit before the Test. His strong Twenty20 and one-day form had brought him significantly into the reckoning for the Test team having not made it into the starting line-up during the Ashes.However, the elbow trouble forced him home from Australia’s ODI tour of India and he has not played a first-class game since the Ashes warm-up match against the England Lions in early July. Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus carried the pace attack in England and remain the likely frontline bowlers for the Gabba.Australia’s chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, will be at the SCG for this week’s Sheffield Shield match and will also be keeping an eye on Test hopefuls Stuart Clark and Doug Bollinger. But in Lee’s absence the major interest will be in how Michael Clarke handles a four-day game having struggled with a back problem that prevented him playing for nearly two months.Clarke made his comeback in Sunday’s one-day match but lasted only 23 deliveries before being run out. The New South Wales coach Matthew Mott said Clarke was keen to spend plenty of time at the crease.”[Clarke] said it was hard to get into the [one-day] game,” Mott told the Sydney Morning Herald. “There’s nothing like being out in the middle and he’ll be better for the run. He’s keyed in for a lot of batting tomorrow and the Shield game will suit him. He can take a bit more time.”Clarke was named in the 12-man squad along with Phillip Hughes, who is pushing for a Test recall after being axed during the Ashes. Hughes hurt his hand while fielding on Sunday and went to hospital for x-rays but was cleared to take his place in the four-day clash.”He’s fine,” Mott said. “Thankfully the x-rays came back with no break. It was a bit of a scare but he’s in good spirits. A bit of ice the next few days and he’ll be fine. It’s very relieving for him and for us.”New South Wales squad Simon Katich (capt), Phillip Hughes, Phil Jaques, Michael Clarke, Usman Khawaja, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Steve O’Keefe, Stuart Clark, Josh Hazlewood, Burt Cockley, Doug Bollinger.