All posts by csb10.top

South Africa’s selectors have resisted the temptation to rest leading players en masse in the forthcoming three-match one-day series against Zimbabwe, with only Jacques Kallis being allowed time to recharge his batteries.But Haroon Lorgat, the selection convenor, said that several leading players would be allowed to sit-out at least one of the games. “We have decided to give Jacques Kallis a complete break, and we will be looking to give Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Graeme Smith a rest at some stage in the series,” he told reporters. “They have done an enormous amount of work over the last few months and we must be mindful of the Test series and the tour of the West Indies.”Kallis has been replaced by allrounder Albie Morkel. “Albie is one of a group of very fine young allrounders in the country at the moment,” Lorgat explained. “He has impressed us with his good form for both South Africa A and the Titans and we hope he continues that form for the senior team.”The only injury doubt is Justin Kemp who is battling to recover from a strained intercostals muscle and will undergo more treatment before having a fitness test before the opening match on Friday.South Africa squad Graeme Smith (capt), Nicky Boje, Adam Bacher, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Rudolph.

Glenn McGrath finished playing for Australia a year ago but he remains in the mind of Stuart Clark, who has looked at vision of his former team-mate to prepare for the West Indies series. Clark operates in a similar way to McGrath and he believes his predecessor “found the key” to success in the Caribbean.In ten Tests in the West Indies McGrath captured 50 wickets at 20.70 and he finished his career by winning the Player of the Tournament award at the World Cup. His 26 victims in 11 games were crucial to Australia claiming the trophy for the third consecutive time.”He obviously found the key over here,” Clark, who is preparing for his 16th Test, told AAP. “From the footage and the vision we have looked at, he was successful by keeping it pretty simple and being consistent and patient on these wickets.”Clark also plans to tie down the West Indian batsmen, who are led by Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and expects them to be a tough proposition at home. “They like to score runs quickly,” he said. “So I suppose I have to try and go against that and try to keep it nice and calm and force them to make the errors.”Australia’s only warm-up for next Thursday’s first Test starts on Friday against a Jamaica XI and Clark will be one of a number of players looking to adjust to the conditions. Balls leapt at the batsmen during a net session at Sabina Park on Wednesday, including one from Brett Lee to Ricky Ponting, who was struck on the glove.Ponting was unhurt, but the Australians will be happy to return to the safer conditions in the middle. Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, is with the tour party and will decide whether Simon Katich and Ashley Noffke get a chance to impress in the practice game as the team management considers its options in case Michael Clarke, who stayed at home due to a family death, doesn’t arrive in time for the first Test.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Gallery
5th day
Bulletin – Kumble bowls India to victory
Verdict – India’s colossus delivers again
On the ball – Impeccable Kumble
Pakistan View – Beaten, not disgraced
News – Harbhajan’s action reported
Stats – Kumble the destroyer
Quotes – Ganguly – ‘The turning point was getting a wicket off the day’s first ball’Quotes – Inzamam – ‘We can draw level at Bangalore’4th day
Bulletin – Dravid’s gem sets up a classic
Verdict – Making the impossible possible
On the ball – Runs all around
Commentary – Karthik turns it around
Stats – A six-year gap
Quotes – Dravid – ‘The side that holds its nerve will win’3rd day
Bulletin – Tendulkar’s fall levels the scales
Verdict – Cut down in full flight
On the ball – Allround fluency
Commentary – Sami’s challenge
Plays of the Day – The twilight twist
Quotes – Kumble – ‘We’re back in the game’2nd day
Bulletin – Younis and Youhana sizzle
Verdict – Trading flair for resilience
Commentary – Payback time for Younis
On the Ball – Striking the balance
Plays of the Day – Finding their voice
Stats – Y & Y’s success
Quotes – Younis: ‘I appreciate everything the team did for me’1st day
Bulletin – Late strikes mar India’s day
Verdict – Dravid’s masterclass
On the Ball – The off-side God
Plays of the Day – The end of Sehwag
Stats – First-class Dravid and high aggregates
Quotes – Dravid: ‘I felt in control throughout’Preview Preview – An equal battle
The ground in numbers – The perfect Test venue
Feature – Breaking down Kaneria
Quotes – ‘Younis Khan will play’ – Inzamam

England have named an unchanged squad for the second Test against Australia, starting on Thursday at Edgbaston. Despite their comprehensive 239-run defeat at Lord’s the selectors have resisted the urge to tinker with the 12-man squad, instead sticking with the policy of continuity which has served the team well over the past two years. Chris Tremlett, the Hampshire seamer, retains his place in the squad but is again likely to be the paceman to miss out on the final XI.Despite all the pre-match optimism England were soundly beaten at Lord’s, with only Steve Harmison and Kevin Pietersen performing to their best. There had been speculation that Paul Collingwood, the Durham allrounder, would be drafted into the squad following three consecutive hundreds in county cricket but England will retain the same balance to their team as they had at Lord’s.David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said: “The selectors met on the Monday after the Lord’s Test and looked at the way we played and identified the obvious plus points including bowling Australia out twice, Harmison’s bowling, and Pietersen’s batting.”Obviously there were areas we needed to improve on in order to win the game, but the conclusion of the selectors was that we wanted to stick with the same squad for the second Ashes Test.”We don’t believe that there’s any need to change the team, clearly we are disappointed that the result of the first Test went against us, but we still have strong belief in the squad that was selected.”England squad Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (capt), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Chris Tremlett.

Imran Farhat’s 107 for Pakistan A against India has earned him an expected return to Pakistan’s squad for the first Test against India. In a 15-man squad relatively free of surprises, Pakistan have included four fast bowlers as well as Abdul Razzaq who has only recently recovered from typhoid. Razzaq missed the Tests against England with an elbow injury and was considered doubtful for the first Test after he was admitted to hospital.Iqbal Qasim, a member of the selection committee, told Cricinfo that the squad was a straightforward one to pick. “It wasn’t too much of a problem. I would say most of the squad picked itself and only a few little areas needed some consideration. You don’t want to disrupt a winning combination too much.”Farhat’s recall is notable; he was dropped in December 2004 after the Melbourne Test against Australia. At that time, he had played in 11 consecutive Tests as the first-choice opener for Pakistan, an extended run that few openers have been granted in the recent past. “But I was never disappointed during the last year because such up and downs come in your career,” said Farhat of his exclusion to AFP. He spent most of the year performing solidly on the domestic circuit, where in eight matches this season, he averages over 60. His performance ensured that rumours of an alleged bust-up between Farhat’s father-in-law, Mohammad Ilyas, and Bob Woolmer over Farhat’s continued exclusion from the Pakistan side last year were overlooked. A timely century against India in the warm-up game sealed his return.”Imran has performed very well domestically since he got dropped and he was rewarded for that by being picked for the Pakistan A side. By scoring a century he has taken his opportunity very well and he deserves a place in the squad,” added Qasim. Although his inclusion means Pakistan now has two specialist openers in the squad – Salman Butt is the other – the mood within the camp suggests he is unlikely to find a place in the starting line-up. As Pakistan continue their search for a settled opening pair, it seems likely the Shoaib Malik experiment as opener will continue for the time being. Woolmer is thought to be keen on giving Malik another opportunity while, according to Wasim Bari, the chief selector, Inzamam prefers Malik for the balance he provides with his offspin.Many thought Umar Gul, who played such a vital role in Pakistan’s win against India in Lahore in 2004, would find a place in the squad but Mohammad Asif edged him out. Qasim admitted picking between the two was a tough decision. “They have both done well recently. Ultimately we had only one place available and we just felt, given how he did against England on his ODI debut, and how he has improved over the last year and performed domestically, that he deserved a chance ahead of Umar. But it was a very tough choice.”Asim Kamal also finds himself out of Pakistan’s squad for the first time since his debut against South Africa in October 2003. With eight fifties in 12 Tests, he could consider himself unlucky but he has been woefully out of form in the last few months, as Qasim acknowledged. “We are monitoring him but he’s unlucky because he has been out of form for a while now. Even before the England series, he seemed out of touch, domestically and in warm-up games. He remains in contention, however, as he has proved himself capable of handling international cricket.”Yasir Hameed and Riffatullah Mohmand have also been released from the squad although the former, stricken with typhoid, will curse his luck. After missing out on the Test series against England, Hameed was recalled for the last ODI of the series in Rawalpindi, where he responded with a controlled half-century. He is likely to be out for at least a week now.Pakistan
Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan (vice-capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Yousuf , Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Arshad Khan, Mohammad Asif.

The Australian batsman, Martin Love, has signed a one-year contract to play for Northamptonshire in 2005.Love, 30, enjoyed a successful month-long stay at Wantage Road earlier this season, scoring 394 runs in two Frizzell County Championship Division One matches – including a century in each innings against Worcestershire at New Road – after replacing the South African, Martin van Jaarsveld.Mark Tagg, Northamptonshire’s chief executive, said: “It was a pleasure to have Martin Love here. He showed tremendous professionalism in his short stay with us and was a firm favourite both on and off the field.”His decision to sign for next year so early reflects his belief in theoutline plans we have for the future, and shows confidence that Northants are determined to make progress in the years to come.”Love, who plays for Queensland during the Australian season, said: “I enjoyed my brief spell working with Kepler Wessels and can see great potential in the squad.”

“Circumstantial evidence shows that Bengal is not getting proper treatment. If they (the selectors) have dropped him now, then why did they include him in the Indian squad for Pakistan? Where is the logic?”
“Please spare me. I am terribly upset and am not in a position to comment. All I can say it was totally unexpected.”
“The selectors are claiming that they want to look forward. Then why why have they taken Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman? I don’t understand whether they are looking forward or backward. His experience to the Indian middle order. They are maintaining double standards towards Sourav Ganguly.”
“It’s a shocking news. It seems a conspiracy, especially when Yuvraj Singh is not in the team”
“I was sure that he (Ganguly) will be in the squad. How can they ignore his experience?”
“Ganguly’s return may seem possible but is highly improbable.”
“I think it was coming and the decision has made it clear that the selectors have already made their mind to keep Sourav out. If they are talking about the future by infusing young blood, then why single out only Sourav? Since Yuvraj was ruled out, Sourav should have made the squad and I cannot blame the selectors alone for the decision, I think it’s also the management’s move to shut the door on the former skipper. It seems Sourav’s fate is quite clear.”
“This is a good forward-looking move. And if Saurav is not picked now, definitely there is a still slimmer chance for him in the future.”

A quickfire half-century from Albie Morkel led the Nashua Titans to victory by four wickets off the last ball of their Standard Bank Pro20 match against the Gestetner Diamond Eagles at SuperSport Park on Sunday.A target of 170 looked to be out of the Titans’ reach as they bumbled to 108 for 5 after 15 overs, but that was before Morkel bashed the second-fastest half-century in Pro20 history, off 23 balls, to steer them home against the defending champions in another thrilling match.Morkel’s tremendous firepower brought him two fours and five sixes as he blazed 56 off just 28 balls to leave the Eagles stunned and beaten. The Eagles looked to be in control when they removed the Titans top-order by the 14th over, with their slower bowlers serving them especially well after Francois du Plessis had punished the new ball to the tune of 33 runs off just 19 balls.But the introduction of Nicky Boje and Thandi Tshabalala changed the course of the innings, Tshabalala producing two wonderful pieces of flight and dip to remove Gulam Bodi for a run-a-ball 23 and Gerald Dros for 14, the ball after he had been hit for six.But once the spinners left the scene, Tshabalala taking two for 27 in four overs, Morkel bared his teeth. Victor Mpitsang bowled his first over for just three runs, but then Morkel ripped him to shreds as he took 20 off the 17th over.More heroics followed in the 18th over from Johan van der Wath, in which another 20 runs were scored, leaving 15 required off the last two overs.Morkel’s superhuman effort ended with two runs needed off three balls when he holed out at long-on off Van der Wath, but Farhaan Behardien, who scored a gritty, valuable 23 not out off 18 balls, had spanked the first ball of the over through the covers for four and, with the scores tied, a wayward over ended with a wide.The Eagles, who had won the toss and chosen to bat, were given a rapid start by opener Jacques Rudolph, who top-scored with 61 off 44 balls, slamming six fours and three sixes.Morne van Wyk (27) once again shared a fine opening stand with Rudolph – 69 off 53 balls – but the Eagles then threw away wickets with something approaching gay abandon.Boeta Dippenaar (14), trying to run a single to alert wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn, and Ryan McLaren (10) were both run out, while Ryan Bailey (12) and Van der Wath (18) both made starts before holing out off poor deliveries.The Titans kept their composure well in the field and Brendon Reddy (4-0-23-1) and Dale Steyn (4-0-26-1) deserved their fine figures as they bowled the last four overs of the innings for just 21 runs.

West Indies aim to negate Australia’s intimidating legspin threats before launching a fierce bowling assault on their rivals in the three-Test series starting in Brisbane on November 3. The fast men are not as furious as their predecessors of the past 30 years, but the coach Bennett King is confident they will exploit the bouncy pitches even if they aren’t as tall as the men who knocked over Australia during the Ashes.”We have a very different set of bowlers to England, given they are all around 6ft4in [193cm] and our blokes are all around 5ft9in [175cm],” King said in . “But we have three or four blokes who bowl around that 90-95mph [145-155kph] mark and hopefully even quicker, so we have a bit of firepower there which can hopefully unsettle the Aussies.”Back home they are forced to bowl to their knees on really flat tracks which are batsmen and even spin-friendly.” The squad arrived in Brisbane on Thursday and Corey Collymore is expected to lead the attack with back-up from Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson and Fidel Edwards.While the bowling appears settled, the batsmen’s weaknesses to legspin will mean a host of local slow men will be called to assist their preparation for a potential confrontation with Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill. The pair performed well in tandem during the Super Test and will be considered for Brisbane even though the surface usually suits the fast bowlers.”With what happened in the recent Test match you’d have to expect that [both Warne and MacGill playing] could happen again,” Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, told the paper. “We know it will be tough but that is what makes you a Test cricketer. You have to deal with whatever may be in front of you.” West Indies play Queensland in a four-day match starting on Thursday.

Three days ago, South Africa were ranked No.1 in the world, the Guyanesesky was largely cloudless, and two points were expected to be there forthe taking against Bangladesh. Fast forward to Grenada though, and thepicture couldn’t be more different. The dismal 67-run defeat to Bangladeshhas not only cost them the top ranking – some would argue that they werenever as good as Australia anyway – but also made far more difficult their task of qualifying for the semi-finals.On paper, they can lose to West Indies and win against New Zealand andEngland to progress, but few South Africans will want to leave it to thelast, especially with New Zealand in such good form and Kevin Pietersencertain to up his game against former .There’s also the small matter of South Africa’s record in the big eventsand in pressure situations. The head-to-head statistics are strongly infavour of a South African win – 26 wins against 12 losses in 39 games -but it’s a different story in the matches that matter. West Indies havewon both their last two World Cup games, the 1996 quarter-final and theopening encounter of the 2003 competition, and also meted out punishmentsin recent Champions Trophy games [2004 and ’06].The last meeting was a drubbing in the Jaipur semi-final, with ChrisGayle’s magnificent strokeplay at the top of the order reducing achallenging pursuit to walk-in-the-park proportions. Shaun Pollock andMakhaya Ntini got a pasting that day, and will be wary, even though Gaylehas yet to find his bat’s sweet spot in this tournament.After strolling through their group games, West Indies have fallen awaydramatically, with the batsmen inconsistent and the support bowlers unableto replicate the sterling efforts of Daren Powell with the new ball. Evenmore damaging has been the failure of Gayle and Marlon Samuels to providethe offspin tourniquet that was such a part of their recent one-daysuccess.Some of the players went home after Sri Lanka handed down a third-successive Super Eights defeat more than a week ago, and the attitude ofthe team has come in for scathing criticism from some of the legends ofthe Caribbean game. “Even before that fatal game against Sri Lanka, theWest Indies’ practice session was something to behold, or perhaps not to,”said Colin Croft in a newspaper column. “It was lacklustre as ever, withplayers even complaining that the sun was hot. Are these people for real?”Criticism is something that South Africa took with them to Grenada after afrankly abysmal showing against Bangladesh. One minute, Andrew Hall beingstood down from the XI was a “tactical decision”, the next minute he wassuffering from a quadriceps problem – more spin than a White House mediarelease. With Herschelle Gibbs almost certain to miss out with a calfstrain, there are selection issues to ponder as well.The most likely scenario should see Loots Bosman opening with GraemeSmith, and AB de Villiers dropping into the middle order. Hall must be ashoo-in as well, with the run-less and wicket-less Justin Kemp making wayso that Andrè Nel’s pace and aggression can be unleashed for a secondmatch in succession.Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, spoke candidly about the loss to Bangladesh, but insisted that the pressure was on West Indies to deliver. “After the game the boyshurt a lot, which is a good thing,” he said, echoing what Smith had saidabout “taking our pain”. “We had a good chat about it and we’ve closed thedoor on Bangladesh. We realise that we still hold the key to our destinyin this competition. The pressure is going to be more on the West Indiesthan us.”No matches have been played at the National Cricket stadium in Grenada, and both camps expect a fair bit of assistance from a damp pitch in the morning. Winningthe toss and bowling will again be the mantra, and West Indies could lookto a three-pronged seam attack of Powell, Jerome Taylor and Ian Bradshaw.What is certain is that it’s last orders time at Last Chance Saloon. Thesituation isn’t quite as desperate yet for South Africa, though there willbe few tears shed in these parts if the hosts take a big step towardsknocking out one of the favourites. “South Africa can lose all theirremaining games and go home, complaining as they always do when theylose,” wrote Croft, perhaps irked by frankly ridiculous suggestions that’cabin fever’ had contributed to the Bangladesh loss.Ecclesiastes talks of “a time to heal” and “a time tobuild up”. Two teams for whom this appears to be a time to whinge would dowell to consider the resonance of those words.