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Yorkshire’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals were virtually extinguished at Headingley as they went down by six wickets to North Group leaders Nottinghamshire

03-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Yorkshire’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals were virtually extinguished at Headingley as they went down by six wickets to North Group leaders Nottinghamshire.The only bright moment for Yorkshire came when 26-year-old debutant fast bowler, Iain Wardlaw, gave them brief hope by getting rid of Riki Wessels and Tamim Iqbal in the space of four balls after the second wicket pair had rattled up 61 together in seven overs as Notts chased a modest 153 target on a good pitch.Wardlaw, who plays for Bradford League club Cleckheaton, was recommended to Yorkshire by skipper Andrew Gale, and he was a late replacement for Ryan Sidebottom who was suffering from a stomach bug.He gained his maiden wicket when Wessels skied him to Adam Lyth at deep mid-off after striking 27 from 20 balls with two fours and a six and in the same over he had opener Iqbal also held by Lyth, this time on the long-on boundary, for 47 from 37 deliveries with five fours and two sixes.Before Wardlaw’s double strike, Notts had already been given an encouraging start by Iqbal and Alex Hales who added 41 in six overs before Hales was caught at cover point by Anthony McGrath off Richard Pyrah.Adam Voges was bowled reverse sweeping at Azeem Rafiq to leave Notts on 105 for four but Chris Read and Scott Elstone knocked off the remaining runs with little trouble, Reed virtually settling the issue by blasting Pyrah for consecutive mid-wicket sixes to finish unbeaten on 26 from 15 balls while Elstone also faced the same number of balls for his 21 not out.Once again, Yorkshire had their captain to thank for holding the innings together, Gale making 62 off 55 balls with five fours and a six before Jonny Bairstow upped the tempo later on with a four and three sixes in his unbeaten 41 from 26 deliveries.It was Gale’s fourth half-century of the season in the competition and he remains the only batsman in his side to have reached the 50 mark.Winning the toss, Yorkshire lost a wicket in the second over when Joe Sayers was brilliantly caught left-handed by the diving Wessels at short extra cover but early runs still came at a healthy rate as Lyth took consecutive boundaries off Andre Adams and Gale smacked Darren Pattinson for two fours and a six, the seamer going for 45 off three overs.Yorkshire’s good work in front of a 4,904 crowd was quickly undone as both Lyth and Gary Ballance were run out and the out-of-form, McGrath, recalled to the side at the expense of Joe Root, edged an intended cut at Graeme White into Read’s gloves.Both Lyth and Bairstow were made to work hard for their runs and Bairstow’s boundary off Voges was the first to be added in nine overs. Gale completed his 50 off 47 balls but the end came when he scooped Adams round the corner and into the waiting hands of Luke Fletcher.Bairstow began to hit out and he drove Pattinson for two towering sixes but he enjoyed a life in the same over when Steven Mullaney caught him on the boundary edge off a no-ball. Ajmal Shahzad also weighed in with 15 from ten balls but Yorkshire still finished short of a really competitive total.

Kent booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 with a 15-run win over Essex in front of a packed house at Chelmsford

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill15-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Kent booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 with a 15-run win over Essex in front of a packed house at Chelmsford. Allrounder Darren Stevens was Man of the Match after starring with both bat and ball, striking a brutal 41 and following that up with four cheap wickets to derail Essex’s middle order, but the night was not without controversy.Stevens entered the fray in the 13th over after the departure of Azhar Mahmood with Kent well-placed at 95 for 2, but didn’t get off the mark until the seventh ball he faced and had just 5 to his name when he uppercut Ravi Bopara to third man, where Scott Styris creaked in from the rope impressively quickly and showed he still retained the class from his international days with what appeared to be a diving catch, scooping the ball into his fingers millimetres from the turf.The umpires thought that the catch warranted a second look, however, and Styris reacted angrily when Stevens was eventually given not out. Essex have suffered disciplinary breaches more than once this season, and though captain James Foster managed to keep his cool Styris, who had claimed the catch as clean, trotted in for an extended chat with the umpires at the end of the over before being gently ushered away by team-mate Tim Southee.Kent had initially struggled to force the pace on a sluggish pitch that didn’t aid strokeplay, with Essex taking pace off the ball, but Stevens made full use of the reprieve to dominate the bowlers. He mowed Ryan ten Doeschate out of the ground and into the River Can, requiring a change of ball, but the harder, newer ball came on more easily to the bat and Stevens immediately thrashed another six, over long-off.Joe Denly, who chugged along at more or less a run a ball in the first half of the innings but accelerated as he passed fifty, departed soon after, swiping ten Doeschate to Tim Phillips, running in from deep midwicket. Essex might have had a second wicket in the same over when Stevens toe-ended a hoick at ten Doeschate, the ball looping agonisingly over the bowler, who sprinted back and got a hand to it but couldn’t complete the catch.Essex’s death bowlers did all that was asked of them but the luck was with Kent, as pinpoint yorkers were repeatedly inside-edged and squeezed down to the short boundary at fine leg. There were some good shots too, with van Jaarsveld peppering the leg side and Stevens going past 2,000 runs in domestic Twenty20s with a paddle to fine leg from the last ball of the innings as Kent reached 183 for 3 after 32 runs had come from the last 12 balls.If anyone was going to find swing in the placid conditions, it was going to be Charl Langeveldt, who opened with a slip in place and curved several deliveries past the outside edge of Mark Pettini’s bat in the first over. Mahmood also found some help with the new ball and slipped an inswinger under Pettini’s bat to rattle the stumps with the score at 9.Owais Shah repeated Stevens’ earlier feat with the shot of the match, an elegant checked-drive that sailed out of the ground and required another change of ball to kick-start Essex’s chase and by the third over of the innings, the movement through the air had vanishedEssex reached had reached 48 for 1 at the end of the field restrictions, but the introduction of Stevens in the seventh over turned the match as Adam Wheater ran past his second delivery – a slow cutter – and was easily stumped for 27. The required rate had crept above 10 an over when Shah lifted his second six over midwicket off Stevens, who barely touched 70 miles an hour all evening, in the ninth over but Stevens soon got his own back, disturbing Shah’s stumps after the batsman had stepped to leg to give himself some roomStevens struck for the third time in the 11th over as Bopara drove too early at a slow offcutter and popped back an easy return catch. Essex had slipped to 77 for 4 and the rate was fast climbing towards two runs a ball with James Tredwell also finding considerable grip and turn off the spongy surfaceStevens had made canny use of the slower ball in his first three overs, but it was a quicker one that brought him his fourth wicket as he snaked one in between ten Doeschate’s bat and pad to leave Essex tottering at 87 for 5.As had been the case at The Oval on Thursday night, Wahab Riaz was far more effective at the death than he had been at the top of the innings, whipping the ball in at a slippery pace and targeting the blockhole. He pegged back Foster’s middle stump with a dipping full toss after he had scratched around for boundary-free 12, and Essex’s hopes were rapidly fading at 120 for 6 in the 17th over.Kent, perhaps feeling a little too assured of victory, slipped dangerously in the closing overs, both Langeveldt and Riaz no-balling and repeated lapses in the field keeping Essex in the hunt as Graham Napier raced to 26 with five boundaries before he picked out Alex Blake on the midwicket boundary. Styris enlivened the Essex massive with a towering six off Mahmood in the final over, but there were simply too many needed, and the result was sealed when he lifted a slower ball to long-off.”I’ve got to be careful [what I say], with recent histories,” Foster said after the match. “But [Stevens] went on to play a crucial knock and turned out to be a match-winner. It’s frustrating, but you never know, someone else could have come in and scored runs. I don’t blame Steve-o, the umpires told him to hold fire and stay there until they’d had a look. [Umpiring] is a tricky job, I don’t know how many of us guys will go into it after our careers because it’s very difficult.””I turned for the second run, Ravi was in my line [of sight] so I asked the umpires if it carried or not, and they went to check it,” explained Stevens.Kent will now face Leicestershire at Grace Road in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Steven Crook returned only the second five-wicket haul of his first-class career against Northamptonshire but could not prevent them taking control against second-placed Middlesex at Lord’s

13-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Steven Crook returned only the second five-wicket haul of his first-class career against Northamptonshire – the county that let him go two years ago – but could not prevent the Division Two leaders taking control against second-placed Middlesex at Lord’s.A responsible half-century from Niall O’Brien helped the visitors gain a first innings lead of 82 before Chaminda Vaas, who had taken five wickets against his former county in the first innings, trapped Middlesex openers Scott Newman and Sam Robson leg before wicket.Then Andrew Hall claimed Dawid Malan lbw and had Neil Dexter brilliantly caught by Rob White at second slip in the space of three balls and Middlesex closed on 58 for 4, 24 runs behind.Crook, a 28-year-old fast-medium bowler who was born in Australia but has a British passport through his English parents, did not play at all last season but was given the chance to resurrect his career by Middlesex after a trial during the winter.He had already taken two wickets when Northamptonshire resumed at 188 for 2, 129 runs behind, and swung the ball at a good pace to pick up three more wickets and finish with five for 94 from 19 overs. Mal Loye added only seven to his overnight 80 before he was caught behindpushing forward to Tim Murtagh and after that the Northamptonshire batting was a curious mixture of obdurate defence from Alex Wakely and flashing strokeplay from Rob Newton, Hall and James Middlebrook.They all threw the bat and all perished to Crook, Newton miscuing a hook to midwicket, Hall edging to first slip and Middlebrook driving to cover where he was superbly caught by Dexter diving to his left. In between times, Wakely, who was strokeless for long periods as he spent twohours 10 minutes adding 20 to his overnight 12, was finally undone by a good ball from Corey Collymore which took out his off stump.Northamptonshire were still four runs behind at 313 for 7 but O’Brien, the Ireland wicketkeeper, curbed his attacking instincts and went on to make 50 off 88 balls – including six fours – before Jamie Dalrymple had him caught at mid-off.Vaas, who had joined O’Brien in an eighth wicket stand of 38, and Lee Daggett then added another 39 and by the time Middlesex went in again a sunny afternoon had turned cloudy and created ideal conditions for the swing of Vaas.

Justin Vaughan has cited the need to spend more time with his family as the major reason for his decision to step down as the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket

Brydon Coverdale21-Sep-2011Justin Vaughan has cited the need to spend more time with his family as the major reason for his decision to step down as the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket. Vaughan, 44, insisted it was entirely his own decision to finish at the end of November, having spent four years in the position after he replaced Martin Snedden in 2007.Snedden could be one of the front-runners to take the job for a second time, given that his role as the head of the 2011 Rugby World Cup organising team will soon be redundant. Vaughan said he made his decision based on the needs of his family, and also to allow the new chief executive plenty of time in the role ahead of the 2015 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.”It’s something that I’ve been conscious of over the last few months, around the balance of the needs of my family and the requirements of the business,” Vaughan said. “I’ve been spending a lot of time recently overseas and I think every time I go away it’s gnawing at me that really I ought to be spending time with my children, who are growing up.”Also from an organisational point of view, with the 2015 World Cup hosting being so important, I think a new CEO needs a year or two under their belt to fully maximise their potential. Adding up all those pieces made me feel that I was better off making the decision sooner rather than later.”Vaughan’s departure will come at the end of a period of significant change for New Zealand Cricket. In the past 12 months they have appointed a new coach, John Wright; a new captain, Ross Taylor; a new bowling coach, Damien Wright; and a new Black Caps team manager, Mike Sandle.But the biggest changes have been to the structure of the high-performance programme itself. John Buchanan has been installed in the newly-created role of director of cricket, and one of his moves has been to change the make-up of the selection panel.The little-known Australian, Kim Littlejohn, will be the national selection manager and will choose teams along with the head coach, Wright. Vaughan’s decision will take some stability away from the changing organisation, but he said he was confident NZC was on the right path, and he needed to spend more time with his three children, aged 13, 11 and seven.”I feel now that the key people have been in place now for a while, and in the end I just felt that the needs of my family were significant and I couldn’t continue to do the job properly, which requires a lot of international travel, and commit to the time I think my family needs at the moment,” he said. “I made my decision on that basis.”It’s entirely of my own accord, 100%. I am conscious there’s been change and certainly a good chunk of me would love to be able to stay and see the fruits of what’s been planted, because I really believe there’s huge opportunities for New Zealand Cricket and the foundations have now been laid. But my personal circumstances and my desire to spend more time at home has really overridden the part of me that would love to stay and be involved.”Vaughan said his biggest regret was that he would not be part of the organisation for the 2015 World Cup, which he said presented a major opportunity for cricket in the country. However, he said he was pleased with the progress NZC had made during his time in charge, which included growing the revenue of the organisation by 60%.”If you look back over the last four or five years, we’ve made some great strides,” he said. “We’ve got an international programme which is extremely good, with the new FTP with frequent tours by England and India. We’ve also got a great partnership arrangement with our players’ association now for the next eight years.”I think we’ve got the right structures and people in place around our elite cricket area with John Buchanan as director of cricket and John Wright as the head coach of the Black Caps. There are emerging opportunities, areas like the United States, which we need to build upon.”But I suppose in terms of future focus, building on those opportunities but also fully capitalising on the World Cup in 2015, that will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. It should be brilliant for cricket in this country in lots of ways. We’re seeing that at the moment with rugby. Cricket will have that opportunity in three and a bit years’ time. We’ve got to be fully prepared and fully ready to make the most of that.”NZC will begin the search for a replacement immediately. The chairman of NZC, Chris Moller, said Vaughan would be missed both nationally and globally. “I know Justin is highly regarded by his international colleagues,” Moller said, “and has been very effective and influential in terms of his work with the ICC and cricket CEOs around the world.”

Winning the Caribbean T20 wasn’t enough this time, but former finalists Trinidad & Tobago roared back into the Champions League main draw with a walloping of the England champions Leicestershire

The Report by Sidharth Monga20-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The century partnership between Adrian Barath and Lendl Simmons set up Trinidad & Tobago’s win•AFPWinning the Caribbean T20 wasn’t enough to secure a Champions League berth this time, but former finalists Trinidad & Tobago roared back into the main draw with a walloping of England’s champions Leicestershire. Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath put together T&T’s highest partnership in Twenty20 cricket, and the bowlers strangled the Leicestershire batsmen into throwing their wickets away on a slow track.T&T came across as the more aware side: while their batsmen exploited slow legs in the field (Leicestershire’s average age is more than 30), the Leicestershire top order didn’t seem to know that the legspinner Samuel Badree doesn’t turn the ball. Badree hit the stumps up twice during the most economical four-over spell in Champions League history, 4-1-7-2. The Leicestershire attack offered lengths batsmen could get under and the pace to use, whereas T&T opened with spin, and apart from Ravi Rampaul there was no pace on offer.Leicestershire would have known pace was not going to work when their captain Matthew Hoggard sent the first ball through to wicketkeeper Paul Nixon on the second bounce. Simmons went too hard at the start, survived the odd mis-hit, but stayed long enough to hurt Leicestershire. The key feature of his innings was the way he put behind him the mis-hits and the plays and misses. In the first four overs, he survived a bottom edge and a top edge, but also kept hitting fours to reach 25 off 20.Barath was more orthodox and correct, opening up only in the ninth over when he lofted Claude Henderson’s left-arm spin for six over long-off. That took him to 27 off 21; Simmons had reached 40 already. The next eight overs featured hard running, the odd boundary, fifties for both, and at 139 after 17 overs, T&T were set to tee off. Both openers then fell to top edges off successive deliveries, but Darren Bravo averted Harry Gurney’s hat-trick and lofted two exquisite sixes in the last over. Despite those two wickets, T&T managed 29 in the last three overs.Joshua Cobb began Leicestershire’s chase with a four, but Andrew McDonald summed up the effort. Twice he was cramped by Badree’s sliders before he went back to cut and was bowled. Rampaul continued his good form, taking two wickets in two overs: one a hole-out to deep cover and the other a wild swing from Wayne White that left the stumps exposed. Will Jefferson also played Badree for the turn and lost his leg stump.Sunil Narine, on the surface an innocuous little offspinner, bowls a smart legcutter, flicked almost like the carrom ball. It got rid of Paul Nixon and, at 20 for 5 in the sixth over, the rescue act was too much of a task even for the quintessential Twenty20 player, Abdul Razzaq. The talented James Taylor fought for 56 off 47, but there wasn’t much he could have done to reverse the result.

AB de Villiers, South Africa Test vice-captain, has been declared fit to play in the upcoming series against Australia

Firdose Moonda03-Nov-2011AB de Villiers, South Africa Test vice-captain, has been declared fit to play in the upcoming series against Australia. De Villiers has recovered from a hand injury sustained while training with Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Champions League T20 five weeks ago.”I went to see the specialist and he was very happy with the recovery process,” de Villiers said in Johannesburg. “He said I’m 100% ready to go, so I will be joining up with the Titans tomorrow [Friday] morning for a full nets session.”De Villiers missed out on the Twenty20 and ODI series against Australia, in which he was due to captain the side for the first time. With lack of match practice being a pertinent issue for South Africa, after the rusty showing during the limited-overs leg of the tour, de Villiers has taken measures to ensure he’s match-ready by playing for the Titans against the Knights in a One-Day Cup match on Sunday. “If I get through that game, I will be ready for the first Test match,” he said.De Villiers had been itching to get back on the field after his first long lay-off since becoming a regular in the national line-up. “Sitting out, especially during the ODIs, was quite frustrating, but I learnt a lot from the sidelines,” he said. “It was the first time in a long time that I was sitting on the side watching the boys play.”What made his absence even more disappointing was that it robbed him of his first chance to captain the team, after being appointed in June. Hashim Amla led the side and de Villiers said he thought Amla “captained very well”.With Graeme Smith in charge for the Tests, de Villiers’ next opportunity to lead will come only early next year, when Sri Lanka visit South Africa. De Villiers said he is “excited” about the changes to the Test line-up. “We have two world class spinners in the squad for the first time in a very long time,” de Villiers said, referring to Pakistani-born legspinner Imran Tahir receiving his first call up and Paul Harris being retained in the squad. “There’s a whole different vibe in the Test team and with Jacques [Rudolph] coming back, there’s a different look to the team.”Rudolph makes a return to the squad after five years in exile, during which he played for Yorkshire. He walked away from South African cricket a broken man, having lost form in the latter stages of his 35-match Test career. He returned at the start of the 2010-11 season stronger and more confident, and announced his arrival home by topping the SuperSport Series run charts. This season, he has already scored more than 500 runs in four matches. His recall was widely expected, even by the man himself.”It was not really a surprise,” Rudolph said. “Since October 2010, when I made it pretty clear that I badly wanted to play for the Proteas again, I believe I’d stacked up quite a lot of runs. It’s helped that especially in the first three games of this season I’ve done really well.” Rudolph said he is ready to cement his place in the national side. “I’m 30-years-old now, I’m really enjoying my game and I can see myself possibly playing for another couple of years.”

A round-up of the action from the first day of the fourth round of matches in the Ranji Trophy Plate Division 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2011Led by Mohammed Khader and Anwar Ahmed, Hyderabad skittled Goa for 147 on the first day of their Ranji Trophy game in Porvorim. Khader and Ahmed combined to take 6 for 50, and India spinner Pragyan Ojha took 2 for 43, as the hosts failed to generate any momentum. Swapnil Asnodkar, returned after serving his two-match ban for calling off a potentially achievable chase against Maharashtra, returned to the side, but failed to make an impact, falling for 8 as Goa crawled to 22 for 1 from 14.3 overs. The scoring-rate hovered around two for the duration of the innings, and only two batsmen managed to go past 20. Vaibhav Naik crawled to 23 from 81 balls while Abhishek Raut top-scored with 41 from 78 balls. Akshath Reddy got Hyderabad’s reply off to a positive start, remaining unbeaten on 41 as the visitors ended the day on 61 for 2.Dheeraj Jadhav’s 18th first-class century and a supporting hand from Amit Sinha gave Assam the first-day honours against Jharkhand at the Railway Stadium in Dhanbad. Assam began well after choosing to bat, their openers Jadhav and Pallavkumar Das adding 58. Sinha went along patiently at No.3, reaching 79 by the close off 198 balls, and guiding Assam to 234 for 3. Jadhav and Sinha put on 135 for the second wicket before the centurion fell for 102, dismissed by Samar Qadri who picked up two wickets. Sibsankar Roy fell cheaply but Sinha saw Assam through to the close with no further hiccups.Andhra Pradesh made the Kerala batsmen struggle on a rain-curtailed day at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Left-arm medium-pacer Takkami Atchuta Rao and left-arm spinner Shankara Rao. Takkami did the early damage, dismissing opener VA Jagadeesh and No.3 Robert Fernandez off successive deliveries in the eighth over. Those early strikes slowed down the innings considerably. Though the Kerala batsmen consumed several deliveries, their batting stagnated, and AP made steady inroads to reduce them to 95 for 5 in the 58th over. That became 110 for 6 soon after, Takkami ending the day with three and Shankara with two.Jammu and Kashmir batted out the first day at the Chatrapati Shivaji Stadium in Ratnagiri, reaching 302 for 8, against the in-form Maharashtra. Opener Adil Rishi top-scored with 88, backed up by important contributions along the way. He added 116 with wicketkeeper Manish Dogra, and was the third wicket to fall, with the score on 166. For Maharashtra, left-arm spinner Akshya Darekar grabbed 4 for 60 and his team would have felt confident of bowling out J&K for under 300 after reducing them to 236 for 7 at one stage. Captain Hardeep Singh and Samiullah Beigh, however, added 59 for the eighth wicket that made it possible for J&K to reach 302 at the close.Vidarbha had the better of the first day against Tripura at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in Agartala. Medium-pacer Sandeep Singh picked up four wickets to help restrict Tripura to 246 for 7 at stumps on the first day. Opener Rajib Saha made 77 and wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant also scored a half-century; this, after Tripura were struggling at 38 for 3 at one stage. Debabrata Chowdhury and Udit Patel chipped in with 37 and 38 respectively, ensuring Tripura reached a respectable score at stumps.A determined rear-guard action from the lower order rescued Himachal Pradesh from 95 for 5 and took them 262 for 6 at the close of the first day against Services in Dharamsala. Having been put in, Himachal lost wickets at regular intervals and when Nishan Singh removed Sridharan Sriram for a painstaking 16 from 94 balls, it looked like the hosts would capitulate quickly. However, captain Ajay Ratra and Amit Kumar turned things around with a 112-run partnership for the sixth wicket before Ratra became Nishan’s third wicket of the day, caught behind for 52. Kumar (76*) then found another willing ally in Rishi Dhawan (29*), and the pair addeda further 55 to give their side a share of the honours on the day.

The ICC has paid 46% of the fees due to Sri Lanka’s cricketers for the World Cup, ESPNcricinfo has learned

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2011The ICC has paid 42.36% of the fees due to Sri Lanka’s cricketers from the 2011 World Cup to September 30, 2011, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The payment of US$2 million was made directly into the players’ bank accounts, instead of routing it through Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), on December 16.The Sri Lankan players, who had not been paid since the tournament ended in April, were owed a total of about $4.3 million by SLC, who had not been able to pay the players because of financial constraints. The money from the ICC represented the participation fee from the tournament due to Sri Lanka.While the money was paid directly, it was arranged with assistance from SLC, who told the ICC of the amounts owed to each player and provided their respective bank account details, a person with knowledge of the payments said. Tony Irish, the chief executive of the South African Players Association, said that arrangement to pay the players was negotiated between the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) and the Sri Lankan Players Association (SLCA).Earlier this month the Sri Lanka sports minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, said the ICC had agreed to pay US$2 million to SLC and that the coach and players would be paid out of those funds. The SLCA had also contacted FICA for assistance over the delay in the cricketers’ salaries for series following the World Cup this year.SLC ran into financial problems after running up debts of $32.5 million to finance the building of two international stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and to renovate the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, for the World Cup. All three stadiums have since been handed over to the military because the board was struggling to maintain them.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second ODI between New Zealand and Zimbabwe in Whangarei

The Preview by Firdose Moonda05-Feb-2012Match Facts
February 6, Whangarei
Start time 1100 (2200 GMT)Tarun Nethula is in line for a debut•Getty ImagesBig Picture As with most one-day series, the first match of this one served as an illustration of the work that needs to be done from both sides.New Zealand were in a dominant position at 223 for 6 in the 43rd over but instead of turning that into a score flirting with 300, they were held to 248 as they lost four wickets for 25 runs in five overs. Zimbabwe’s bowlers gave their batsmen a chasable total, but at 15 for 3, they could not recover enough to even get close. Both teams will want to bat better but still maintain an incisive edge with the ball.The hosts have two more matches to toggle combinations before what they consider their ‘real’ challenge of the summer, against South Africa. They will look to find permanent homes for Andrew Ellis, Tarun Nethula, Tom Latham and Michael Bates in the starting XI while ensuring the regulars have enough match time to be peaking mid-month.Zimbabwe have much ground to cover, very quickly. This is their big test of the summer and to leave it having taken steps back instead of forward, or even simply solidifying their stand-still position, will be a failure. They have to rebuild – everything from their mental frame to their batting line-up but they showed massive improvement from the Test to the first ODI and if they can keep the increments growing, could even notch up a win or two on the way.Form Guide (most recent first)
New Zealand WLWWL
Zimbabwe LWLLLPlayers to watchAt just 19, Tom Latham has been earmarked as one of New Zealand’s future stars. He made 24 in his first ODI and has a reputation that suggests much more is around the corner. In 11 List A matches, he has scored 431 runs but it’s his average of 47.88 and strike rate of close to 95 that threatens to turn him into a forceful middle-order presence. If the top four come good and there is enough time in the innings, the stage could be set for Latham to light it up.Despite earning himself some time as one of the stalwarts of the side, Hamilton Masakadza is facing increasing pressure. He last scored a half-century in September last year but has not scored an ODI hundred since 2009, when he achieved an unbeaten 178 against Kenya. With temperament and technique that should translate into authority and success on the pitch, Masakadza is getting something wrong and, given Zimbabwe’s troubles on tour, there would be no better time to get it right than now.Team news New Zealand have committed to giving all 14 men in their squad a run and it’s the turn of Nethula, the legspinner, to get an opportunity, at the expense of one of the bowlers.New Zealand: (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Rob Nicol, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Tom Latham, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Tarun Nethula, 10 and 11 Kyle Mills/Tim Southee/Doug BracewellWith a fragile top-order, Zimbabwe may look to beef up by inserting one of Tino Mawoyo or Forster Mutizwa in place of Stuart Matsikenyeri or Regis Chakabva respectively. Prosper Utseya may also be included in the starting XI, in place of Ray Price, if Zimbabwe want an attacking spinner, or Keegan Meth. Shingi Masakadza and Kyle Jarvis will likely carry the seamers’ duties with Brian Vitori in charge of drinks.Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Regis Chakabva, 4 Brendan Taylor, 5 Tatenda Taibu, 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Keegan Meth, 9 Shingi Masakadza, 10 Ray Price, 11 Kyle JarvisPitch and Conditions The Cobham Oval will host its first international after being approved as a Test venue last year. It has a capacity of 5,500 and is the 12th in New Zealand to host an ODI. Northland Cricket Association’s curator Simon Harvey has been “quite stressed,” according to the ground’s operations manager, Stephen Curtis, because he sees the match as a test for whether the ground will be able to host other higher-profile fixtures in future. The expectation is of a run-laden, flat pitch, with the highest score recorded being 299 for 7 in the 2007-8 season. The ground hosted its first international team in 16 years when Pakistan visited in 2010 and were pleased with the facilities and conditions. A capacity crowd is expected on what should be a moderately warm day with the chance of a few showers.Stats and Trivia Kyle Mills is five wickets away from 200 ODI scalps.Northland Cricket in Whangerai has one born and bred player in New Zealand’s starting XI for its first international – Tim Southee.Quotes “As the series progresses, both teams get a better read on each other what they’re trying to do There’s a better understanding of individual strengths and weaknesses. There’s no doubt they’re going to come back a lot better, harder and stronger.”
“I may as well support the boys because they can be role models and influencers at national level if they choose to be.”

England began the third day imagining they had done the groundwork for a momentous recovery befitting the No. 1 Test side in the word. They finished it with a demoralising defeat more in tune with their Asian disasters of old as they suffered a second bat

The Report by David Hopps19-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSaeed Ajmal celebrates his 10-wicket match haul that helped his side to a big victory on the third afternoon in Dubai•AFPEngland began the third day imagining they had done the groundwork for a momentous recovery befitting the No. 1 Test side in the world. They finished it with a demoralising defeat more in tune with their Asian disasters of old, as they suffered a second batting debacle against a resurgent Pakistan.The end was swift. Pakistan secured a first-innings lead of 146 by lunch before dismissing England for the second time in 57.5 overs, needing only 15 for victory. Umar Gul’s new-ball incursions eventually brought him four wickets and Saeed Ajmal finished with 10 for 97 in the match.Everywhere you looked there was English angst: the continuation of Andrew Strauss’ desperate batting form, the abject folly of Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell’s appointment as Ajmal’s bunny as he succumbed to his doosra in no time for the second successive innings.Only in the closing overs of their bowling triumph did Pakistan’s players show the excitable tendencies more associated with their cricket and when they did, the seasoned captain who has restored discipline, Misbah-ul-Haq, restored order with the stony expression of a Russian president surveying the march past of the troops from a wintry Moscow balcony.England’s mediocre record in Asia is well documented and they face a formidable task to regroup for the final two Tests of the series. There was much talk of how conditions in Dubai were tipped too heavily in favour of the batsmen. England have certainly disproved that one. This proved itself to be an excellent Test surface and Pakistan outplayed England from the outset.Andrew Strauss came as close as he has to dissent during his imperturbable reign as England captain at his dismissal shortly before lunch. He was given out caught down the legside against Gul, a decision by umpire Billy Bowden that was upheld by the DRS. He walked from the outfield with a regal shake of the head. Actually, he allowed himself several regal shakes of the head. For a conservative sort like Strauss that was akin to rebellion.There was definitely a woody sound as the ball curled past Strauss’ bat and there was a brief delay before he called for the third umpire, although that was probably not as much a clue to guilt as proof of Strauss’ determination that England should gather their thoughts before using the review system. Hot Spot revealed nothing – but then Hot Spot is not infallible. The third umpire, Steve Davis, as the guidelines state, saw “no conclusive evidence” to allow him to overturn Bowden’s decision and he had no option but to follow such a course.Pietersen was suckered. He has always been a liability on nought, a batsman on heat, desperate for his first run. ‘Here it is,’ invited Gul, banging in a short ball. ‘Here you are,’ responded Pietersen, hooking it to Abdur Rehman at deep backward square. The eerie calm of an empty stadium might undermine Pietersen more than most, because he has an ego that feeds off big crowds. Somebody suggested on Twitter that they should tell him that all the spectators have come painted as empty seats.Ajmal could not be kept out of the picture for long. He bowled Bell first ball in the first innings and he was soon bamboozled a second time, so disorientated by his failure that he wasted a review in confirming the inevitable.Trott stood firm for nearly two hours for 49 but even his dismissal was disappointing as he carved at a wide one to give Gul his fourth wicket. All that remained was for Pakistan’s spinners to terrorise the lower order. Abdur Rehman was on a hat-trick after Stuart Broad holed out in the deep and Chris Tremlett’s golden duck, caught at slip to complete a poor game. Rehman almost got it too, as James Anderson allowed a ball to slip by, perilously close to off-stumpFittingly, though, the final moment, in the field at least, rested with Ajmal, smiling broadly as he lured Swann into error. He left brandishing the match ball towards the smattering of spectators in what has felt like a made-for-TV Test. Dubai’s newspapers had promised a bigger crowd on Saturday. There won’t be one now.England had conceded another 50 runs on the third morning in removing Pakistan’s last three batsmen. Adnan Akmal, one of seven brothers, three of whom have played Test cricket, chanced his arm to carry the game out of reach, advancing his overnight 24 not out to 61 before he was last out, stumped by three yards against Graeme Swann as he sought a single to farm the strike. If Mrs Akmal had managed to provide a full team, the Akmals would have constituted the most unpredictable side in the world, half cricket team, half circus troupe.Saeed Ajmal, even more than Strauss, had reason to rue his misfortune as Hot Spot, as it tends to do from time to time, seemed to be taking a day off. “Nobody claims the DRS is perfect,” Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive, had reminded everybody in Dubai on the previous day. DRS, according to Lorgat, had improved decision making to 99% accuracy. Ajmal got the 1% as the third umpire Steve Davis this time put small print ahead of commonsense.Billy Bowden, on the field, adjudged Swann had dismissed Ajmal at short leg, the batsman called for a review, and TV replays showed no flick of the glove as the ball deflected off the pad to Alastair Cook at short leg. According to Sky TV, Davis then told Bowden that because Hot Spot was obscured he had “no conclusive evidence” to overrule his decision.Long before the end, Pakistan had forgotten that. They had destroyed an England side, which has had few peers over the past couple of years. The series is alight.