All posts by csb10.top

An unbeaten 92 from left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon guided Guyana to a healthy 230 for four at the end of the first day of their three-day Busta Cup semi-final against Leeward Isles.In the morning, Guyana skipper Carl Hooper won the toss and elected to bat. Chattergoon and Azeemul Haniff made a steady start, adding 66 for the first wicket before Haniff was dismissed for 23.Lennox Joseph Cush and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who were the next two batsmen to follow, did not make significant contributions – Cush making 15 and Chanderpaul just 17.Then, followed, the tragic run-out of Ramnaresh Sarwan for no score; Guyana had suddenly slumped to 144 for four. But Hooper, who replaced Sarwan, was in fine touch.Combining well with Chattergoon, the skipper ensured that his side ended the day on a healthy note. When stumps were drawn, Hooper was batting on 52. Both he and Chattergoon will be hoping to carry on the good work and post mammoth scores in order to ensure their team a place in the final.

A tournament that has been racked by the monsoons and marred by the unavailability of national players now moves into its final stages when both Mercantile Cricket Association Division A semi-finals are played this weekend.Hatton National Bank, who didn’t lose a game in the group stages and remain firm favourites for the title, will play third placed Janashakthi, whilst runners up East West take on Sampath Bank.Seylan Bank, normally one of the most competitive teams, and Commercial Bank were both humiliated after failing to win a single game in the league stage .If they progress to the final, Hatton National Bank, although possessing a star studded squad full of international experience, will be hit by the loss of Avishka Gunawardene and Akalanka Ganegama, both of who will soon join the national squad in England.

Sri Lanka, easily the best side of the Morocco Cup 2002, were given a fright by Mark Boucher and Boeta Dippenaar in a remarkable stand of 101, retrieving the situation from 91 for 6 to 192 for seven. But Sri Lanka prevailed by 27 runs, with nine balls to spare.His dislocated right shoulder all strapped up after a fall in the third over, Sanath Jayasuriya still came to receive the trophy with a wall-to-wall grin. He also walked away with Man-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series awards. Waqar Younis received the Man-of-the-Series for Pakistan.Sri Lanka’s confident march to the title here raises their status to co-favourites for the ICC Champions Trophy. And Pakistan must take note of this, for they play their all-important opener at Colombo against the hosts.On their way to victory, Sri Lanka too had faltered, gathering only 235 after they seemed to be coasting to a far higher total. But their bowlers made up for that lapse, by getting amongst the wickets early on. As a result, despite a courageous partnership for the seventh wicket, the South Africans were never in the hunt.The Proteas’ intentions were aggressive, but their application flawed. Promoting Lance Klusener to open the innings with Herschelle Gibbs meant that they wanted runs at a brisk rate at the start. But Sri Lanka got two wickets inside the first six overs and another in the 13th over to upset their best-laid place. There was, however, a major reverse for the Lankans as well. They lost their captain Sanath Jayasuriya through an injury, dislocated right shoulder that thudded into the ground after catching Gibbs at mid-off off Chaminda Vaas.The Sri Lankans missed Jayasuriya’s influence in the field, not to mention his left-arm slow bowling, also not visible.With Gibbs gone, Klusener tore into Palsathi Gunaratne, clouting him for four at square leg and six over mid-wicket. Marvan Atapattu, in charge as Jayasuriya was rushed to the hospital, promptly relieved Gunaratne next over, bringing on Dilhara Fernando from Cap Spartel end. He bowled what must have looked like a mouth-watering full toss to Klusener, but it dipped at the last moment, hit him on the pads and umpire Simon Taufel had no hesitation in adjudging him leg before.Vaas had another scalp in his seventh over, as Graeme Smith dragged him on to his stumps to make it three for 52. Their misery was compounded from here. Atapattu, having a great time in the field, caught Jacques Kallis (24, 36 balls, 3 fours), the most authoritative of South African batsmen, top edging a sweep off Chandana at square-leg, and followed with the run-out of Jonty Rhodes from long-on.With half the Proteas side back in the pavilion at the halfway mark, and only 89 runs on the board, the asking rate pushing close to six an over and Muralitharan not yet on, the writing was pretty much on the wall. He was given the 26th over, and immediately made it six for 91, clean bowling Nicky Boje through the gate with a straight one.Mark Boucher and Boeta Dippenaar (53 runs, 98 balls, 2 fours) turned things around in a brave stand of 101 off 112 balls, taking the Proteas within a hand shake’s distance to glory. But Dipennaar got out trying to hit Gunaratne out of the ground, with Jayawardene taking a good catch at long-off. Pollock was run-out shortly afterwards, and Telemachus was bowled by Murali. Boucher (70, 65 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) too perished, guiding Gunaratne into Sangakkara’s hands, bringing the Proteas’ late charge to a close in the penultimate over.Earlier South Africa came back to contain Sri Lanka to 235 for seven, far fewer than they would have expected when they were cruising at 119 for one in the 22nd over. Once their top two batsmen were dismissed, Sri Lamka made just 116 runs off 227 deliveries.Sanath Jayasuriya (71, off 71 deliveries, 10 fours, 1 six) had got them off to a brisk start, first with Marwan Atapattu (25, 40, 3 fours) and then Kumar Sangakkara (40, off 54 deliveries, 4 fours). With the first and second wicket adding 78 and 41 runs, they were ideally placed for an imposing total. More so as the South Africans had used seven bowlers and yet were unable to stem the flow of runs.But Jayasuriya, having scored his 50th fifty in 230 one-day-internationals, lofted a Boje full toss in the direction of long-off, straight into a running Donald’s hands at long-off. Yet again, Jayasuriya had thrown it away when he seemed destined for greater things. But his stay on the crease was still a highly productive one, and it provided the Lankan innings the impetus.Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva, the maestro who had taken 151 runs in two league games against the Proteas without being conquered, had another productive stand of 48 for the third wicket. But Kumar Sangakkara holed out to Boeta Dippenaar at deep squre leg after lofting Nicky Boje over extra cover fence. From here on the Lankans found it extremely difficult to get runs at a reasonable rate and keep the partnerships going.Aravinda de Silva was batting well, but seemed to be a touch restless. He charged down the wicket to Kallis, sent him soaring over extra cover for a six, but then offered a simple chance to Mark Boucher on a short delivery.With de Silva gone, the South African bowlers, who had seemed so helpless early on, seized the opportunity and choked the Lankans for runs. And though Donald went for 11 runs in the penultimate over, the rest was mostly a crawl, as only 37 runs came between over No 31 and 41, 42 off the last 10 overs.

You know the English are getting desperate when they bring Kylie Minogue into an argument about cricket.That’s what Martin Samuel did in The Times today when he argued that England could have a better chance of beating Australia if they looked at other areas where their country was superior.Displaying the typical English knowledge of Australian culture that starts with Rolf Harris and ends at “Home and Away”, Samuel ignored chart-toppers like The Avalanches and The Vines to declare that English pop music was better.”Believe it or not, there are still some things the English do better than the Australians. Pop music, for instance,” he wrote.”Sure, that Kylie tune from a year back was catchy … It was No.1 for longer than Darren Gough’s been injured.”Anyway, the point is, who wrote it? Cathy Dennis. As English as they come. All the best stuff is ours. That’s why the Aussies spend so much time bragging about sports. Take it away and what else is there?”Warming to his theme, Samuel cites Men At Work as the other great example of Australian pop and “Aussie Aussie Aussie oi-oi-oi” as Antipodean lyrical genius.Samuel concedes that Australia has a great team.But he says English captain Nasser Hussain and his men should be focussing on the Australian weaknesses rather than behaving as if it was an honour simply to be on the same pitch as them.”Here’s the alternative view,” he said.”Justin Langer is a highly ordinary opening batsman carried along by an exceptional partner.”Darren Lehmann is no great shakes as a middle-order batsman and Andy Bichel, the first-change bowler, took two tailend wickets for plenty on his own Queensland turf.”As for his possible replacement, Brett Lee, if he’s so hot, how come he spent the weekend shaping up for New South Wales against Tasmania?”

West Indies batsmen need to learn from the way the experienced Shivnarine Chanderpaul compiled his courageous century in the first Test, says their captain Ramnaresh Sarwan.Sarwan said Chanderpaul’s 18th Test hundred was one of the positives from the match and this, according to Sarwan, was something his team-mates should try to emulate.”Obviously, we’ve got a lot to take from this match. We’ve got Fidel [Edwards] bowling very well and Shiv’s hundred,” said Sarwan.Chanderpaul was floored by a painful blow on the back of the helmet by Australia fast bowler Brett Lee which left him in a daze, but got up and went on to make 118 after receiving on-the-field treatment.”I thought he showed a lot of determination and courage. It is important that we try and take a page out of his book in the way he batted and we got to continue to be positive,” Sarwan said.He was also happy with West Indies’ fielding. “It is the best I have seen us field in the longest while.”

Somerset Seconds have enjoyed a successful season in 2002, having won two out of their ten championship matches, to end in twelfth place in the championship table, an improvement of three places on last year. They won their opening match against Worcestershire and crushed Kent inside two days in the final game, as well as beating Gloucestershire in a three day friendly.Mark Garaway, who joined the club in November 2001 as Director of the South West Regional Academy and assistant coach in charge of the second team told me: " This has been a very enjoyable season for everyone, which is halfway towards achieving my initial objective, and because we have got a small staff at the club we have had to recruit from the Academy and from triallists."He continued: "One of the biggest compliments I had all season came from Scott Cunningham who played six games for us and scored some good runs. He said he felt very comfortable at the club because there was a good atmosphere in the dressing room, which he hadn’t found to always be the case at other clubs."Whilst Mark has been delighted with the results of the team, when he took over he didn’t expect to win too many matches because that wasn’t his main objective. "Second team cricket is a learning ground for young players and a stepping stone towards first team cricket. It’s about processing and learning, and the proof that has been Arul Suppiah who went out for Somerset Sabres up at Durham in his first game and did the business, which was very pleasing."The young players who have made up the side have given a good account of themselves. The coach continued: "Our biggest loss of the season was up at Warwickshire where both young James Hildreth and leg spinner Michael Munday played well against very experienced opposition. Faced with that situation they did let themselves down, and as a result the spin off has been the success of our Under 19’s side who won the ECB two day competition recently. The youngsters have grown up during the season and it has been fantastic for me to see them doing so well."Mark Garaway paid tribute to three of the players who have played such a major part in the teams success Graham Rose, Joe Tucker and Tom Webley. Regarding his senior player he told me: " Graham has been absolutely brilliant, and has willingly taken on the mentoring role for the younger players. It was good to see him do so well in the last game at Kent when he was returning from injury."I asked the coach to identify some of the young players who he felt had particularly impressed him this season. He told me:"Arul Suppiah is a serious talent who is desperate to play first team cricket. Michael Munday is a wholehearted leg spinner who has worked very hard on his batting and fielding this season He will shortly be spending sometime in the winter with Terry Jenner in Australia. Neil Edwards has come a long way this summer and has just been selected for the England Under 19 party for Australia. Gareth Andrew has had a good year and Michael Parsons has done well in his first year at the Academy. James Hildreth has looked very comfortable playing at Under 17 and second team level as has sixteen year old Richard Timms who scored 69 against Gloucestershire, he is very talented."The most pleasing aspect is that the sides that have been fielded by Somerset Seconds have been very young this season which is all looking very encouraging for the future of the club.

With two days of the Test to go, the West Indies are in a dominating position at Jamaica. Ahead by 375, with Chanderpaul at the crease and three wickets left, it is almost impossible to see the hosts losing from here. True, stranger things have happened in the history of the game, but one suspects that will not be the case here.The day began quite well for the visitors. A determined Sourav Ganguly and a comfortable VVS Laxman looked in no trouble at all. The West Indies seamers stuck to their task, plugging away at a good length on a wicket that kept the bowlers interested. Eventually, one ball did just enough to account for Ganguly. Fending at a ball just outside the off, Ganguly edged the ball through to ‘keeper Ridley Jacobs.Jacobs has hardly missed anything in this series, and this catch was no exception. Ganguly (36 runs, 72 balls, six fours) became Merv Dillon’s first wicket of the day. Pumped up and energised by the wicket, Dillon improved as the overs rolled by.Ajay Ratra (3), Harbhajan Singh (4), Zaheer Khan (6) and Javagal Srinath (2) contributed precious little to the Indian cause. Dillon, though, was pleased as punch with the wicket of Harbhajan Singh, his fifth of the innings.Despite Nehra’s being run out for a duck and the Indian innings ending on 212, the follow-on was not enforced. Laxman, who has been a picture of confidence and strength throughout the series, top-scored with an unbeaten 65 (152 balls, seven fours). Despite going on to make only one big score, his contribution to every innings has been substantial.The fact that the West Indies chose not to enforce the follow-on did not come as a huge surprise. But then, the hosts probably could not have anticipated the events that followed.Wavell Hinds, who batted tremendously for a century in the first innings, was completely undone by a spell of good bowling by Javagal Srinath. Although nowhere near his quickest, Srinath seemed to find a good rhythm, teasing the batsmen just outside the off-stump. Hinds (6) could not resist forever, and one prod saw him edge the ball to Laxman at second slip.Soon after, Srinath accounted for Gayle (15) in similar fashion.Sarwan, coming in at one drop, began positively, finding the gaps well and stroking the ball through the infield. Perhaps it was this confidence that caused his downfall as well. Driving far away from his body, foot not quite to the pitch of the ball, Sarwan hit Zaheer Khan to a diving Shiv Sunder Das at cover. Making amends for earlier gaffes, Das took a good low catch, sending Sarwan (12) packing.Carl Hooper (6) too could not stick around and dabbed a Zaheer Khan delivery through to wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra. The West Indies, at that point, were in a spot of bother at 60 for four.But if that position before tea gave the visitors hope, their eventual 165 for seven at stumps set things up intriguingly. The hosts are ahead by 375, and one can be sure this match will not end in a draw. With two full days to play, a cracking finale is in the offing.Brian Lara, growing in confidence, played a tremendous pull off the front foot that would have sent a shiver down the spines of the bowlers. The tough situations bring out the best in some cricketers, and Lara in the past has certainly shown that he falls in that category. But there was to be no last Lara hurrah in a forgettable series. On 35, Lara dragged a Zaheer Khan delivery back onto his stumps.Ridley Jacobs, after being dropped in the slips by Rahul Dravid off Zaheer Khan in the 26th over of the innings, went on to compile a tidy 16, whipping the ball through the onside time and time again. Just when he looked like he might help Chanderpaul stretch their partnership, Jacobs was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh.Defending awkwardly at a flighted ball that did not really turn much, Jacobs gloved the ball to substitute fielder Dinesh Mongia at short-leg.Dillon then whacked one ball through square before losing his cool and attempting a wild slog through the on-side. He missed, Nehra struck, and the West Indies were 122 for seven.Then came a period of play that made life miserable for the Indians. Pedro Collins, coming in at number nine, lasted a remarkable 41 balls for four runs and was involved in an unbeaten partnership of 43 with Chanderpaul.Chanderpaul continued to torment India with his accumulation of runs. Never spectacular, yet always carefully doing what is best for the West Indies, Chanderpaul made an unbeaten 55.The West Indies are now right on top of this game. They will have to play very badly, or India extraordinarily well, for this game to end in anything but a win for the home team.

Cricket World Cup office – Zimbabwe
e-mail [email protected]
Phone: 263-4-791289
Fax: 263-4-791282
Physical address:
Ground Floor
Bowls Pavilion
ZCU Headquarters
Harare Sports Club
Cnre 5th / Josiah Tongogara Avenue
Harare
ZimbabwePostal Address:
PO Box 2739
Harare
Zimbabwe

ADELAIDE – Darren Lehmann knows he’s close to Test selection but headmitted today it would take a “tough call” to oust Mark Waugh.Lehmann flew into Adelaide from Sharjah today, released early from theAustralian squad to lead South Australia against NSW in the Pura Cupmatch from Friday.After sitting through the three Test series against Pakistan, it’s hisone chance in a four-day match to show he’s in the right form to earnselection for the first Test against England at the Gabba strating onNovember 7.If he gets the nod, it will almost certainly come at the expense ofWaugh, who has endured another disappointing series against Pakistan.”Everyone’s dream is to play in an Ashes Test series,” Lehmann said.”Hopefully, if I get a chance, I can play well.”It’s really up to me to make as many [runs] as I can before that firstTest and then see what the selectors do from there.”But Mark Waugh’s been a great servant as well, so it’s a tough call.We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”Waugh finished the three-Test series against Pakistan with meagrereturns of 55, 0, 2 and 23 at an average of 20.Over his past 17 Test innings, the 37-year-old has averaged just over 30- but one fact that may save him is a sterling average of 50.09 againstEngland.For 32-year-old Lehmann, the series against Pakistan was equallyfrustrating, sitting it out, but he said he was still pleased to be partof the squad.”At least you’re there and you’re a chance to play every Test match, younever know what’s going to happen with form or if someone gets ill,” hesaid.”So it’s good to be on the tour and you really feel involved.”It’s better to be there than stuck at home.”Lehmann was also cheered by the performance of the SA side in the firstPura Cup match against Victoria last week, the Redbacks scoring anoutright win after being dismissed cheaply in the first innings.”News we were bowled out for 140 first up was a bit disappointing butthey fought back really well and played well from there,” he said.

At the start of another bright sunny morning at the County Ground in Taunton, Somerset Head Groundsman Phil Frost was working hard alongside his team to make sure that the ground is in peak condition for the first home match of the season against Glamorgan in the Benson and Hedges Cup on April 30th.Phil, who won the coveted Groundsman of the Year Award for a record breaking number of times in 2001 told me: "It’s all looking very good at the moment. The early season net wickets and the wickets out in the middle have all played well, but it is always so much easier when it is dry. We have been very lucky with the weather this season so far."Phil Frost continued: "The pitch for the Glamorgan game in a fortnight is virtually ready, and we are now keeping it dry. It should be a typical Taunton wicket, and after the Hampshire friendly match on Wednesday we will put the main covers over it."