All posts by h716a5.icu

Dinesh Chandimal has been fined 10% of his match fee, while Mohammad Hafeez has been reprimanded, both for showing dissent at the umpire’s decision

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2011Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been fined 10% of his match fee for showing dissent at the umpire’s decision during the one-off Twenty20 against Pakistan on Friday. The Pakistan opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez has been officially reprimanded for the same offence, in a separate incident.Both batsmen showed their bats to the umpire after they were adjudged lbw. Chandimal, who top scored with 56, was dismissed by Aizaz Cheema while Hafeez fell to Thisara Perera for 13. Pakistan went on to win by five wickets with three balls to spare. Both players were guilty of breaching Level 1 offences.”Accepting an umpire’s decision is an essential feature of cricket and part of the game’s unique spirit,” said the ICC match referee Andy Pycroft. “These players’ behaviour was not acceptable in any form of cricket and they must take responsibility for what they do.”

Thanks to some fine bowling from Xavier Doherty and Brett Lee, a calm innings from Shaun Marsh, and a couple of brain explosions from Sri Lanka’s batsmen, Australia secured the series with a match in hand, courtesy a five-wicket win in the fourth ODI

The Report by Brydon Coverdale20-Aug-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsXavier Doherty picked up a career-best 4 for 28•AFPCrisis? What crisis? To watch Australia demolish Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI in Colombo, it would be easy to believe all was well with Australian cricket. Thanks to some fine bowling from Xavier Doherty and Brett Lee, a calm innings from Shaun Marsh, and a couple of brain explosions from Sri Lanka’s batsmen, Australia secured the series with a match in hand, courtesy a five-wicket win in the fourth ODI.Smart stats

Australia won with 132 balls to spare, which is their second-largest ODI win in Sri Lanka in terms of balls remaining. For Sri Lanka, though, this was their largest defeat at home.

Only six times have Sri Lanka been bowled out for a lower total in home ODIs. The previous such instance was more than five years ago.

There were six ducks in the match, which is the most in an ODI in Sri Lanka. The most in an ODI anywhere is eight, in the 1979 World Cup final.

Brett Lee’s 4 for 15 are his best figures in Sri Lanka, going past his previous best of 4 for 28 against Pakistan in a World Cup game earlier this year.

Xavier Doherty’s 4 for 28 are his best figures in ODIs, and his second four-for. His first one was also against Sri Lanka, on debut.

Only five Sri Lankans have had better figures on ODI debut than Seekkuge Prasanna’s 3 for 32.

Sri Lanka’s 132 was never likely to be enough to keep the series alive, and so it proved, although there was one significant highlight late in the game, an unexpected triple-wicket maiden from their debutant spinner, Seekkuge Prasanna. In fact, the five wickets Sri Lanka collected came in two overs, after an earlier double-wicket maiden from Lasith Malinga.Prasanna had Marsh caught behind cutting for 70, and followed next ball with Michael Hussey, who edged behind for a golden duck. The hat-trick ball was negotiated by David Hussey, but he fell off the very next delivery when he played back to a ball that was much too full, and was bowled, to leave Prasanna with 3 for 32.But by then, Australia were ten runs from victory, and Michael Clarke (38 not out) and Brad Haddin guided them home in the 28th over. For most of the match, it seemed like business as usual for Australia, despite the turmoil back home after the release of the Argus report. But the atmosphere in the dressing room must be like when lovers live together after a breakup. Greg Chappell remains the selector on duty, in the knowledge that his duties will shortly be given to somebody else.Tim Nielsen, the incumbent coach, could also lose his job before the Australian summer, but for now has been promoted to the touring selection panel. At least they made one good decision ahead of this match, with the inclusion of Marsh, who looks set to become Shane Watson’s long-term opening partner after the out-of-form Brad Haddin was pushed down the order.Chasing 133, it was important that Marsh kept a cool head after Malinga snared Watson and Ricky Ponting to leave the score at 26 for 2. Watson drove Malinga to mid-on and four balls later Ponting pulled a catch to midwicket, but a typically sensible innings from Marsh and Clarke ensured the hard work of the bowlers would not be wasted.Marsh played his usual classy game, taking few risks while cutting and pulling with precision, and he brought up his half-century with a lovely cut for four off Tillakaratne Dilshan. Marsh can take some of the credit for the victory, but the most important work had been done earlier, when Lee and Doherty collected four wickets each.It was a terribly lacklustre batting performance from Sri Lanka, the only highlight of which was a patient half-century from Mahela Jayawardene. For the fourth time in the series, Sri Lanka batted first, and for the third time they failed to see out their 50 overs. But this was by far their worst effort of the series: nobody after the top four reached double figures, and the last seven wickets came in the space of 37 runs.It was a major disappointment for Jayawardene, who worked hard for 53. He had little support after Kumar Sangakkara (31) was caught at long-on trying to clear the boundary off Doherty. Sangakkara and Jayawardene had rebuilt calmly after both openers departed early, but once their 71-run stand ended, it was all downhill for the hosts.The key period came when Doherty collected three wickets in eight balls, beginning with the dismissal of Sangakkara. Chamara Silva had kept his spot ahead of the equally out-of-form Dinesh Chandimal, but will be in danger of being dropped after his second-ball duck. Silva simply prodded forward tamely and missed an arm ball, and was given out lbw.Soon afterwards Angelo Mathews (6) was stumped when he advanced and had a wild swing, beaten comprehensively by Doherty’s flight and turn. Nuwan Kulasekara was trapped lbw by the accurate Shane Watson and Shaminda Eranga was caught at third man when he tried to use the pace of Lee to his advantage, but picked out Doug Bollinger on the boundary.The wickets just kept falling. Prasanna was lbw to Doherty, who finished with 4 for 28, his best figures in a one-day international, while Lee ended up with 4 for 15 by collecting the final two. Jayawardene was trying for some late runs when he top-edged an attempted pull and was caught and bowled by Lee, who next ball rattled the stumps of Malinga with a fast yorker.It was far from the result Sri Lanka expected after Dilshan won the toss, but the scene was set when he didn’t stay long at the crease. Dilshan tried to cut a Bollinger delivery that was too close to his body and edged behind on 12, and soon afterwards Upul Tharanga drove wildly at a Lee yorker and was bowled.Australia were on top for the rest of the match. As the Argus report highlighted, Test cricket must be Australia’s major focus, so the upcoming five-day series is the real challenge. But for now, Australia’s team can celebrate. How much Nielsen and Chappell enjoy the win, though, is anyone’s guess.

Ijaz Butt will continue in his role as the PCB’s chairman until Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari decides on whether to extend his tenure

Umar Farooq08-Oct-2011Ijaz Butt will continue in his role as the PCB’s chairman until Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari, who is also the Patron of the board, decides on whether to extend his tenure. The matter is under consideration at the moment, and till a decision is arrived at, the incumbent will continue in office.Butt, whose constitutional three-year tenure ended today, left for Dubai to attend the ICC’s executive board meeting, putting to an end speculation of an immediate removal. “The matter of the extension of his tenure is under consideration,” the president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told ESPNcricinfo. “As per the normal practice in our governmental system, anyone whose tenure ends can carry on with [the president’s] consent.”So, while the case of his extension is being considered, he can work.”Butt took over from Nasim Ashraf on October 8, 2008 and, unlike several of his predecessors, completed his tenure – in the previous decade and a half Tauqir Zia, Shahryar Khan and Ashraf all had to step down before their tenure ran out.His tenure, though, has been plagued with controversies, including the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore that resulted in Pakistan being denied the chance to co-host the 2011 World Cup, the spot-fixing scandal (and the problems with the ECB in its aftermath when Butt made controversial accusations against the England team), Zulqarnain Haider’s fleeing to the UK mid-way through a tour after receiving threats from bookies and, most recently, a much-publicised clash with Shahid Afridi.Pakistan’s on-field results in the same period though were commendable, the highlights being the team’s triumph in the World Twenty20 in England in 2009, the semi-final finish in the 2011 World Cup and a successful tour of New Zealand.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads of government have decided to intervene in the West Indies Players Association’s ongoing dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board over the future of former captain Chris Gayle

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2011The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads of government have decided to intervene in the West Indies Players Association’s dispute with the WICB over the future of former captain Chris Gayle. The move comes on the heels of Gayle’s latest public and emotional statement against the board that included a request for government intervention.CARICOM chairman Denzil Douglas said the heads of government had agreed to resurrect the prime-ministerial sub-committee on cricket to try to work out a solution. “Today we had to take certain decisions with regards to the impasse that seems to be ongoing between the regional players association and the WICB,” Douglas told the . “We believe that West Indies cricket has not been one of the vehicles of which the Caribbean man today can be proud of moving himself upwards.”CARICOM’s announcement follows Guyana president Bharrat Jagdeo’s scathing criticism of the board. “It comes back to who owns West Indian cricket,” Jagdeo said. “The board thinks it owns West Indian cricket, my belief is that it belongs to all of us, the people of this region.”[In] many countries, when you have failures consistently, the board goes because sometimes it is the problem. Here it does not seem as if this is going to happen.”Gayle is being treated unfairly by the WICB. You can’t not tell him anything; he needs to earn too, and then you have a tour coming and when he goes off, he gets another contract then you’re concerned that he has left the region.”Jagdeo also claimed the board was following its own agenda against some of the players, and was highly critical of coach Ottis Gibson’s interference with senior cricketers.”This can’t be right. Something is wrong. It is all about pettiness and the culture of going with people who are compliant and I think we need to change a lot of these people. We need to have term limits there too. We need to have serious term limits on these boards.”The Gayle-WICB standoff was sparked off when Gibson criticised the senior batsmen following the team’s quarter-final exit at the World Cup. Gayle was subsequently ignored for the Pakistan series, along with fellow seniors Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Gayle travelled to India to participate in the IPL – where he was the player of the tournament – leaving the WICB disappointed since they were under the impression he was undergoing rehabilitation.Gayle reacted by slamming the board in a radio interview with KLAS Sports, saying he had been left with no option but to sign an IPL contract since the WICB had disrespected and mistreated him by not checking with him over his fitness before announcing the squad. He was consequently left out of the squad for the India games as well, and a heated meeting with the board – also attended by WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine – did little to improve matters, prompting Gayle’s impassioned release that stated he was going to seek options outside the West Indies to further his cricketing career.

Essex condemned Unicorns to their sixth Clydesdale Bank 40 defeat in as many matches as they coasted to an eight-wicket victory in today’s Group C match at Chelmsford

22-May-2011
ScorecardEssex condemned Unicorns to their sixth Clydesdale Bank 40 defeat in as many matches as they coasted to an eight-wicket victory in today’s Group C match at Chelmsford.After restricting their opponents to a modest 183 for 9, Essex triumphed with 14 balls to spare to preserve their season’s unbeaten record in the competition. An unbroken third-wicket partnership of 149 between opener Mark Pettini and Matt Walker, both of who scored half-centuries, saw the hosts home after Adam Wheater was caught at slip without scoring and Owais Shah fell victim to an unlucky dismissal with the total on 35.Shah, making his debut for the county following his return from the Indian Premier League, had made 13 when he was run out – bowler Dan Wheeldon deflecting a straight drive from Pettini onto the stumps with the batsman out of his ground.That was the last time the Unicorns had anything to celebrate, with Pettini and Walker underlining the gulf in class between the two sides. Pettini stroked his way to 88 runs from 106 balls, including nine fours and a six, while Walker’s 71 from 94 deliveries contained eight fours.Paceman Wheeldon was the pick of the Unicorns bowlers with figures of one for 25 from his eight overs, three of which were maidens. Former Hampshire batsman Chris Benham was the rock of the visitors’ innings, hitting an unbeaten 54 from 85 balls, an effort that contained just three fours. Mike Thornley and Glen Querl were the other main contributors with 36 and 23 respectively.Hopes of Unicorns setting Essex a testing challenge were dashed by Chris Wright, whose accuracy and hostility brought him figures of four wickets for 20 runs from eight overs. The pace bowler could have reaped a richer harvest, beating the bat without reward on several occasions.For good measure Wright also took a fine catch low down on the long-on boundary to remove Thornley and provide Lonwabo Tsotsobe with his only success at a cost of 39 runs. Left-arm spinner Tim Phillips picked up 2 for 33 from his eight overs, while 17-year-old Reece Topley and Graham Napier each finished with one wicket.As the game unfolded, Essex were able to celebrate victory by the same margin as when the sides met a fortnight ago.

Everton will travel to the West Midlands today to continue their fight against relegation this season, and Frank Lampard will surely be hoping that his side can emulate the fighting spirit shown in their victory against Chelsea last weekend.

After Burnley lost to Aston Villa yesterday, it has given the Toffees another golden opportunity to secure their safety in the Premier League and a win today could take them out of the bottom three, one point clear of their relegation competitors.

In terms of injuries, Lampard has ruled out Donny van de Beek alongside sidelined teammates Andros Townsend, Ben Godfrey and Nathan Patterson, however, Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be in contention to start this afternoon as he returns from a minor quadriceps injury.

With that being said, this is how Football FanCast expects Everton to line up at the King Power Stadium this afternoon…

We expect the Blues boss to make just one change to his team that beat Chelsea last weekend, with a 4-3-3 formation deployed against Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Despite not scoring since last August, Calvert-Lewin’s presence in the team will be hugely welcomed in the tough tie this afternoon, and his inclusion in the team allows his Brazilian strike partner Richarlison to reprise his role in his best position on the left-wing.

The £72k-per-week star who was hailed “cold” by Carlo Ancelotti has struggled with injuries throughout the season only managing 14 appearances so far, but with more goals (56) than any other player in the squad for the Toffees, the chances of the striker converting something against Leicester are higher even after an almost nine-month goal drought.

With that being said, it means that we predict Demarai Gray will lose his spot in the starting line-up to accommodate a spot for the returning centre forward.

The 25-year-old dud had a great start to the season and remains the third highest goal contributor in the squad, however, has not been able to maintain his goal-scoring form and has been unable to find the back of the net since he scored against Arsenal in December. Therefore, we expect that Lampard will drop the winger to the bench, but could easily make an appearance if the team find themselves chasing a goal.

Ultimately, there is no margin for error in the game today away from home and Lampard cannot take anything less than all three points from their trip to Leicester this afternoon if they want to maintain their chances of staying up in the Premier League next season.

AND in other news: Everton handed huge boost ahead of Leicester clash, Lampard will be buzzing

Rahul Dravid believes day/night Test cricket can be part of the future having experienced first-hand MCC’s experiment with pink balls in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2011Rahul Dravid believes day/night Test cricket can be part of the future having experienced first-hand MCC’s experiment with pink balls under floodlights in Abu Dhabi. Dravid hit 106 in the second innings against Nottinghamshire and was impressed with his first sighting of the different coloured ball as MCC continue their trials into floodlit first-class matches.Dravid’s first attempt ended with a second-ball duck on the opening day when he was trapped lbw by Luke Fletcher but he had much more success second time around. It was a valuable experience for Dravid, who is also part of the MCC World Cricket Committee which is pushing for day/night Tests.”There is definitely a future for day-night Test and first-class cricket,” Dravid said. “I think there are a few further tweaks that need to be made, and it would be beneficial to play some more trial matches at different venues and in different conditions, but as with any new innovation administrators and the players will need to take a leap of faith at some point.”When the pink ball was first used in the corresponding fixture last year there was criticism about the colour of the seam which has been modified by the manufactures Kookaburra. Dravid said for the most part he had no problems picking up the ball although, a little like day/night one-day cricket, the twilight period was a little tricky.”The 30-40 minutes when the natural light starts to fade, and the lights begin to take effect are challenging, and batting does become a little bit more difficult – but once you get through this period sighting the ball is quite easy,” he said. “If you are established at the crease it is not such a problem, and for a new batsman starting his innings, it is really just something to keep in mind. With practice players will learn to adapt to the challenge, and tactics will start to come into play, which can only add interest.”

Nathan Hauritz was relieved to learn of his World Cup selection after being left on the outer for the duration of the Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2011Nathan Hauritz was relieved to learn of his World Cup selection after being left on the outer for the duration of the Ashes. Hauritz is the sole specialist spinner in the 15-man outfit after the selectors overlooked Xavier Doherty, the left-arm orthodox from Tasmania.”There were still thoughts in the back of my head that it might not happen,” Hauritz said at the SCG. That’s because it has been an incredibly bumpy summer for Hauritz.He was Australia’s Test spinner in India but was overlooked for the Ashes, despite being the most successful slow bowler since Shane Warne retired in 2007. “It’s definitely a great deal of relief to be selected,” he said. “Generally it’s not good news but the last week it has been good news from the selectors. It’s a like a phone call you get from your mother, sometimes it’s bad news, sometimes it’s good.”Hauritz is now happy in his role as the only specialist, but he will be supported by Steven Smith, David Hussey and possibly Michael Clarke at the tournament starting next month. “Obviously it was disappointing not to be part of that Ashes but it’s fantastic to be part of the World Cup squad,” he said. “I’m extremely excited.”This time it is Doherty’s turn to feel the pain after his card was marked when he went wicket-less in Sunday’s ODI win over England. It was his third ODI, with all four of his breakthroughs coming on debut against Sri Lanka. Last month he was dropped after being ineffective in his opening two Ashes Tests.George Bailey, the Tasmania captain, said Doherty had been Australia’s best one-day spinner on the domestic circuit for the past two or three years. “He’s obviously performed really well in the few chances he’s had with Australia, and then he’s just basically shafted,” Bailey told AAP.Bailey pointed the finger at selectors for sending “mixed messages” over how Doherty should be bowling. “Then when he’s told he’s not in the team, he’s given very little direction to come back for us,” he said. “And this is not just Xavier, but I think all players that are dropped out of that Australian squad. I think communication from the top to players coming back is pretty ordinary.”

Sheffield Star journalist Joe Crann criticised Sam Hutchinson’s error in Sheffield Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat away to Sunderland in their League One semi-final first leg clash.

The Lowdown: Owls beaten at Sunderland

The Owls took on the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light on Friday evening, in what was their biggest game of the season to date.

Wednesday fell behind through Ross Stewart’s goal just before half-time, following Hutchinson’s mistake in his own half, as he allowed the striker to nick the ball off him and score.

Darren Moore’s side failed to find an equaliser in the second half, in what was a hugely disappointing performance overall by the team.

The Latest: Crann critical of Hutchinson

Taking to Twitter during the game, Crann made his feelings known about Hutchinson’s key moment, in what he also described as a ‘huge mistake’ and particularly infuriating due to his good display up to that point:

“So frustrating, that… Sam Hutchinson had been SWFC’s best player on the pitch up until that mistake.”

The Verdict: Bad moment for dependable figure

Hutchinson has been such a dependable figure over the years, putting his experience and quality to good use, but this was a night to forget for him.

His error was so uncharacteristic, with the 32-year-old dawdling in possession, and he eventually lost four out of six individual duels (66%) when all was said and done, according to Sofascore.

Hutchinson is a mentally strong figure who won’t let the mistake affect him, however, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him produce a big performance in the second leg at Hillsborough on Monday night.

In other news, Wednesday have reportedly opened talks with one player over a deal. Read more here.

India’s advance party for their three-Test series against South Africa will train on “hard, bouncy pitches with no lateral movement” to simulate conditions they expect to find through the series

Firdose Moonda06-Dec-2010The India Test squad, whose advance party arrives in South Africa on Monday evening, will prepare for their three-Test series by training on “hard, bouncy pitches with no lateral movement” to simulate conditions they expect to find through the series, particularly in Centurion, venue of the first Test. Their training will take place at the Gary Kirsten Performance Zone Academy in Cape Town.”We received a brief to prepare pitches that are similar to the Centurion surface,” Martin Brand, the patron for the Claremont Cricket Club where the academy is, told ESPNcricinfo.As India will have no warm-up matches before the first Test, their coach Gary Kirsten has been keen to get the players practicing on South Africa’s bouncy wickets to prepare them for the barrage of short balls expected from the home-team bowlers. India are expected to spend a week working in the academy to improve their record in South Africa, where they are yet to win a series and have won only a single Test in 12 attempts since 1992.The first batch of players to arrive in Cape Town will be Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Umesh Yadav and Jaidev Unadkat, and the training will begin on Tuesday afternoon. “More groups of players will arrive after that and they have requested morning sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” Brand said. “We expect the full Test squad to be here by Friday and they will all have a final net session on Saturday.” Friday’s session will also include intensive fielding drills.The academy has prepared seven pitches: three on the lower oval and four on the practice field. They will provide fielders for the Indians on Friday and bowlers from the club and the Western Province amateur side throughout the week. What the Indians won’t be getting is help from some of the frontline fast bowlers in Cape Town. Richard Pybus, who coaches the Cape Cobras, the city’s franchise, said the likes of Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt and Monde Zondeki will not be bowling to the India batsmen at any stage.Kirsten, Paddy Upton and Dale Williams founded the academy in 2006, about a year before Kirsten started travelling with India in late 2007. “He got the job with India before the academy could really get going, so there hasn’t been much going on here.”Kirsten’s brainchild has been lying dormant for some time but its first job is a big one. Brand and his ground staff have been getting ready to host India for the past week and are excited about the first assignment. “I can’t say we know what to expect because it’s the first time we are hosting a training camp here. This is the first time the academy has done something like this and been used in this capacity, but we are confident we will do a good job.”