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Australia’s fast-bowling great has questioned whether the current batch of fast men are more interested in looking good than looking after themselves properly

Brydon Coverdale at the WACA17-Dec-2009Australia’s fast-bowling great Dennis Lillee has questioned whether the current batch of fast men are more interested in looking good than looking after themselves properly, as Australia’s injury list keeps growing. Peter Siddle was the latest member of the pace attack to be sidelined by injury when a hamstring problem ruled him out of the Perth Test.Siddle has joined Ben Hilfenhaus (knee tendonitis), Brett Lee (elbow), Stuart Clark (back) and Nathan Bracken (knee) on the casualty list, which has left Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson as the only Cricket Australia fast bowlers fit and available for Test cricket. Lillee, who was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame at the WACA on Thursday, said his observations led him to wonder if the bowlers were training appropriately.”I think there’s more soft-tissue injuries now,” Lillee said. “You’re getting groins and elbows and I think a lot of it is the amount of cricket that’s played, and I’m not sure that fast bowlers in particular do enough training distance-running and real heavy sprinting work. I’m not sure they do enough of that.”That’s only a gut feel – I’m not that involved in the game and I’m not a scientist and I’m not a doctor. My gut feel is that maybe a lot of the training is more about maybe looking good rather than looking after the core, which is more essential than having a nice beach look.”For the older members of the attack like Lee and Clark, the injuries have raised the serious possibility that they may not play Test cricket again. There have been questions over whether Lee could still be an effective weapon if he cut back his speed in an effort to prolong his career and Lillee, who did that himself in his later years, gave Lee hope that it might be an option.”As you get a bit older you can’t actually bowl it as quick,” Lillee said. “If you’re going to cut your speed you’ve got to have other tricks, and the other tricks are learning about the trade of fast bowling. It is an art-form.”Anyone can do that, as long as they’re prepared to work on the trade itself. You can have an extended career and not just be an outright fast bowler by moving into the next phase.”

Australia will be pushing for another innings victory in Adelaide

Cricinfo staff05-Dec-2009Australia will be pushing for another innings victory in Adelaide after Shane Watson and Simon Katich took them to 174 without loss on the second day. They remain 277 runs behind West Indies, but the coach Tim Nielsen hopes his men will keep the visitors in the field for as long as possible.”We need to make sure we set a platform and I suppose the best way to do that for us is to aim to win by an innings,” Nielsen said. “[We need to] make a big enough score that we put them under huge pressure in the second innings that they’ve got to survive to get past us rather than having a chance to put us under pressure on the fifth day.”The wicket’s still playing well, but we saw a couple bounce and spin from big Sulieman Benn. As the game goes on, as is traditional here in Adelaide, the wicket will start to go a little bit up and down and we expect it to spin. The big thing is that we don’t get too impatient early in the game. The game moves quickly in the last half because the wicket starts to change a bit.”Brendan Nash, who compiled a patient 92, remained hopeful that West Indies could provide a surprise victory and send the series to a decider in Perth. However, he said it would be a challenge for his bowling colleagues to take 20 wickets within the next three days on a surface that was playing so well.”It’s looking pretty good,” Nash said. “The Australian openers came out and batted quite well. I didn’t think we bowled that poorly to be honest. The last little bit maybe not so great but it’s going to be one of those wickets where we have to get their batsmen hitting to our fielders more so than to the gaps and try and restrict the boundaries. That’s going to be our game-plan looking forward.”

No further decision was taken on the Pakistan team management’s request to call up the former captain to bolster the batting

Osman Samiuddin in Melbourne30-Dec-2009The chances of Younis Khan appearing for Pakistan in the New Year Test in Sydney have reduced significantly after no further decision was taken on the Pakistan team management’s request to call up the former captain to bolster the batting.The second Test is due to begin on January 3 and given the considerable travel time between the two countries, even if the request is accepted tomorrow and Younis were to leave the same day, he might struggle to be ready in time for the Test on Sunday.In any case, it appears as if the selection committee is not entirely convinced of the need for Younis, at least without him having attempted to find some kind of form first in the RBS Pentangular Cup, a domestic tournament due to begin on January 1. “It is not like the team is losing just because he isn’t there,” a member of the selection committee told Cricinfo.”The Pentangular is happening and that would be a good way for him to play and get some practice. The Sydney Test is looking very unlikely right now and no decision was taken today. And who will he replace there? Various batsmen have scored some runs here so it might be unfair to drop them.”Initially, the selection committee appeared to be waiting for the result of the first Test in Melbourne, which Pakistan ultimately lost by 170 runs, before taking a decision. Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s captain, reiterated after the match that the side needed Younis and that a request had been made some time ago.But there appears to be a gap in communication: one selector claims that no official request has come in writing to them from Australia and another said that the chairman of the PCB, Ijaz Butt, had received the request and was going to consider it after discussing it with the selectors. That, in all probability, will now happen tomorrow.Amid the confusion, it is increasing likely that Pakistan will have to do without Younis as they attempt to level the series in Sydney. Pakistan’s batting struggled in both innings of the first Test, bowled out for 258 and 251 on what was widely acknowledged to be an unusually placid MCG
surface. On the final morning, they lost seven wickets for 81 and it prolonged a run in which they have, as a side, passed 350 only twice in 14 Test innings.

Mohammad Yousuf has insisted he will stay on as captain despite Pakistan’s 3-0 drubbing in Tests and 5-0 humiliation in ODIs on the tour of Australia

Cricinfo staff04-Feb-2010Mohammad Yousuf has insisted he will stay on as captain despite Pakistan’s staggeringly unsuccessful tour of Australia. The PCB chairman had earlier called for a change in captaincy following the conclusion of the tour, but Yousuf maintained the results in Australia didn’t warrant him stepping down from his post. Pakistan’s chief of selectors, Iqbal Qasim, offered his resignation in the immediate aftermath of Pakistan’s 5-0 loss in the ODIs, but Yousuf wasn’t willing to follow suit.”If the chief selector has resigned it’s his thinking,” Yousuf told reporters on his return from Australia. “I didn’t do badly as captain, not as badly that I should resign or quit. I accepted captaincy when no one was willing to take captaincy for the tours. I took it [captaincy] only because of the country and will continue for the country in future.”Yousuf took over the reins when Younis Khan quit citing dissent within the team and took a temporary break from international cricket. Since then, Pakistan drew a Test series in New Zealand 1-1, before the capitulation against Australia. They had fought hard in Melbourne and especially in Sydney, where they failed to chase 176, but ended up losing all three Tests.”Under the circumstances we went there, I think we did well to draw the series in New Zealand. Our players were inexperienced but I think we did well in the Australia Tests,” Yousuf said.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith has credited India for bouncing back and levelling the series, retaining the No. 1 Test team crown in the process, but he also praised his team for keeping the hosts on the run till the very last minute

N Hunter18-Feb-2010Graeme Smith has credited India for bouncing back and levelling the series, retaining the No. 1 Test team crown in the process, but he also praised his team for keeping the hosts waiting till almost the last minute.”The game could have been easily over just after tea [on the first day] going by where we were sitting,” Smith said. “If anything, we created pressure on India. In this series, they had everything to lose and we had everything to gain. So we have come up with our heads above the water in terms of what we have achieved.”However, Smith could not deny the fact that Thursday’s result hurt South Africa, who once again came so close to winning a series in India for the second consecutive time as the home team escaped to series-levelling victory again in the final Test. Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince started the final day confidently but once Prince fell to a rare rush of blood just before lunch, the onus was solely on Amla to carry on the visitors’ resistance. Wayne Parnell and Morne Morkel understood that all they needed to do was follow Amla’s orders and they took the fight till the end.”I think the grit and determination was there the whole day,” Smith said. “The fact is we needed to come out and bat on a fifth-day wicket to save the Test match. Hashim is the glue who held it all together and we managed to find some guys to bat around him. Especially guys like Wayne and Morne, who got stuck in facing 50 to 60 balls, which is a terrific effort from a tailender under these conditions.”Smith felt the team had shown their will after the collapse after tea on the first day. Seven South African wickets fell from a position of 228 for 2 at the end of the second session; after the 100-plus partnership between Amla and debutant Alviro Petersen, the batting succumbed to pressure and good bowling.”We just let ourselves down in the last session [on the first day] and gave India the advantage, which they took with both hands,” Smith said. “We know that in the subcontinent it is very difficult to play catch-up cricket. Once we gave them the upper hand, they really drove the bus through the door.”Comparing the two Tests, Smith felt South Africa lacked precision in Kolkata, as opposed to the clinical victory in Nagpur. “We were not precise enough in our first innings with bat and ball. We dropped a few chances and we never really bowled in the right areas like we did in Nagpur.”Four catches and a stumping were missed during the Indian innings, resulting in four centuries from Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni. It was also surprising to see the waywardness of Dale Steyn, Morkel, Parnell and Paul Harris after their accuracy in the first Test. “They [India] scored at a high rate, which we weren’t able to control with the ball, which probably was disappointing as well,” Smith said. “We started the Test in a really solid way. At tea [on the first day], we were sitting really pretty. Then we just go into a situation where we lost two in-batters [Petersen and Jacques Kallis].”Smith added the failure of rest of the middle order hurt the team’s chances. “The guys coming in were lacking in confidence and suddenly wickets fell in a chunk and the pressure was created as it was the case with India in Nagpur where we were able to create pressure on them with the reverse swinging ball,” he said.He also confessed that the presence of Mark Boucher, sitting out with to a back injury, could have helped them take control of the situation. “Maybe, that is where we lacked someone with experience, someone like Mark [Boucher], who has played a huge amount of Test cricket,” Smith said. “We just never had anyone who could stop the momentum that India gained in that last period. There were nine balls left but 20 minutes of play [as well]. The way India were getting through the overs we probably would have got another three or four overs after that.”Smith is returning home tonight, after being ruled out of the ODI series with a finger injury sustained on the eve of the second Test. Even if South Africa are likely to feel his absence, Smith had a positive message for his team. “The fact that we have been able to come and draw in India is a credit to in itself. If you look at recent stats and recent records of teams that have come here, not many teams have been able to push India like we have been able to push them in these conditions. So that is a positive for us and the credit to our character.”

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has clarified that Ramnaresh Sarwan’s exclusion from the side was to give him more time to recover fully from his injury, in time for tougher assignments

Cricinfo staff09-Mar-2010Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has said that Ramnaresh Sarwan’s exclusion from the squad for the home series against Zimbabwe was to give him more time to recover fully from his injury, so that he could be ready for tougher assignments.”Ramnaresh Sarwan is very important to the team. He was with us in Guyana and seeing him around was very good. He had a serious injury with his back,” Gibson said.Sarwan was overlooked for the last three ODIs against Zimbabwe despite returning to first-class cricket and featuring in the Regional four-day competition. His omission raised several eyebrows especially after he made a century for Guyana last week, a knock that signaled a return to some level of fitness.”At the moment he could benefit from some more time to get fully ready. I don’t want to rush him back too soon. The last thing we want would be to rush him back and lose him for the long-term. It is a precaution to allow him to get 100% ready for the major international assignments we have later this year,” Gibson said.West Indies’s upcoming schedule includes the ICC World Twenty20 and a three-Test, five-ODI home series against South Africa later this year.The last three ODIs against Zimbabwe will be played at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Vincent, starting from Wednesday.

New Zealand didn’t understand the fuss over Doug Bollinger during the one-day series, but they do now after he put Australia on track for a convincing victory

The Bulletin by Peter English20-Mar-2010New Zealand 157 (Vettori 46, Bollinger 5-28) & 187 for 5 (McIntosh 83) trail Australia 459 for 5 dec by 115 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Doug Bollinger led Australia’s attack with two wickets in the second innings to follow his 5 for 28 in the first•Getty Images

New Zealand didn’t understand the fuss over Doug Bollinger during the one-day series, but they do now after he put Australia on track for a convincing victory in Wellington. After struggling through the limited-overs engagements and being attacked by the home batsmen, Bollinger has caused a lot of damage on a fine surface during the opening Test.A career-best 5 for 28 helped floor New Zealand for 157 in their first innings, which ended 65 minutes into the third day and left them 302 behind, and Bollinger returned to cause more difficulties during the hosts’ improved second effort. Despite Tim McIntosh’s obdurate resistance with 83 in 276 minutes, the home side finished at 187 for 5, still needing 115 to make the tourists bat again.Bollinger has played only seven Tests, but he was the attack’s main man as he recorded the second five-wicket haul of his career and followed up with 2 for 30 off 13 overs. There were five breakthroughs in the day as he finished off the first innings and gave his side some inspiration when the visitors were becalmed in the second session.Backing up after a demolition is not always easy for the bowlers, who expect to repeat their exploits despite their fatigue. The fast men didn’t regain the same opportunities until Bollinger stepped up, dismissing BJ Watling and Peter Ingram (1) in the half hour before tea.Watling, who made an unsuccessful challenge, was lbw to Bollinger for the second time in the game and walked off with 33 in 131 minutes, while Ingram flirted at Bollinger to give Brad Haddin an easy catch. Throughout the day he provided extra speed, bounce and a touch of swing to gain his rewards.In the morning Bollinger, the third bowler used, struck twice in three balls, adding the victims to his two of the previous afternoon. Brendon McCullum left after trying a wild pull – he was well caught by Harris at fine-leg – and Bollinger then delivered a beautiful shorter ball angling away to brush Martin Guptill’s edge.Bollinger’s fifth wicket came when Brent Arnel nicked his first delivery to Ricky Ponting at second slip. In celebration he attempted to kiss the team badge on his shirt – but smooched the sponsor’s beer logo instead.New Zealand resumed at a wobbly 108 for 4 and Daniel Vettori started the collapse of 45 for 6 when he edged the debutant Ryan Harris (2 for 42) to Ponting in the day’s opening over. They made a better fight of their second innings thanks to the effort of McIntosh, who settled the team during a 70-run opening stand with Watling.McIntosh, the left-hander, was a great man for the situation and was solid in defence before branching out a little as the afternoon wore on. For most of the time the going was slow, but it was exactly what New Zealand wanted, especially as wickets fell regularly after Watling departed. There were people in the crowd asleep, but they were allowed to dream of a lengthy second innings and possibly some rain over the final two days.Shortly before his dismissal there were two McIntosh fours in a row off Mitchell Johnson, including a crisp cover drive, in a collection of 10 boundaries and a straight six off Nathan Hauritz. However, his resistance ended when he pushed defensively at Hauritz and inside-edged to Simon Katich at short leg.New Zealand were 183 for 5 and Vettori found himself in a similar position to when he arrived yesterday. His side was in danger and needed a lot of runs. He had added 18 before stumps, while McCullum was 4 when bad light intervened.Hauritz, the offspinner, delivered 22 overs in a row after lunch and gained some worrying turn at times. He produced one crucial ball to Ross Taylor that landed in a footmark outside off stump and spun back sharply while keeping low. Taylor, who had earlier hit Hauritz for a six and a four, didn’t play a shot and was hit in front of off stump. The Australians challenged successfully after Asad Rauf initially gave it not out and it was another costly lapse on a bad day for New Zealand.

The ECB have confirmed that two Essex county cricketers are at the centre of a police investigation, following allegations of “match irregularities”

Andrew Miller at Chelmsford09-Apr-2010The ECB have confirmed that two Essex county cricketers are at the centre of a police investigation, following allegations of “match irregularities”. With the investigation still underway, the ECB added that they would be making no comment on the matter, but quoted a statement they had received from Essex Police:”Following allegations received about two Essex County Cricket players involved in match irregularities we have initiated an investigation,” read the statement, “and are working closely with Essex County Cricket Club and the English Cricket Board.”The Essex team was called into the dressing-room at the close of play on the opening day of their County Championship fixture against Hampshire at Chelmsford, where they were given a briefing from the county chief executive, David East. It is understood that the allegations first came to light a month ago, but Paul Grayson, the head coach, told reporters: “I am not allowed to comment on the matter.”Essex were at the centre of an investigation back in 1994, when their former seamer, Don Topley, alleged that collusion had taken place towards the end of the 1991 county season, when Essex were closing in on the Championship, and their opponents, Lancashire, were close to securing the Sunday League title.According to Topley, Lancashire agreed to bowl badly in their three-day fixture in exchange for a quid pro quo in the one-day match that took place midway through the longer game. While Essex’s subsequent win helped them to the County Championship, Lancashire’s one-day victory couldn’t prevent Nottinghamshire from claiming the Sunday League.The allegations were dismissed by the ECB as being without foundation, although they did resurface again six years later in 2000.A spokesman for Essex said there would be no official comment from the club until the investigation was concluded. Essex Police were not prepared to name the players involved at this stage, nor reveal the exact nature of the allegations.

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has said he is satisfied with his team’s overall performance in the World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff19-May-2010Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has said he is satisfied with his team’s overall performance in the World Twenty20 but admitted the shock defeat against Australia in the semis, after having dominated the bulk of the game, hurt them more than a loss in the final, had they qualified, would have done.”I was not expecting that we will perform so good against South Africa and Australia
especially after we dropped too many catches against England and lost narrowly (by one run) to New Zealand,” Afridi told reporters upon arrival in Karachi. “So I think overall I am quite satisfied with the team’s performance and importantly we played as a unit.”Had I won that match (against Australia) and lost the final I would not have been disappointed.”Michael Hussey’s late assault stunned Pakistan, as he smashed 60 off 24 balls, including three sixes and a four in the final over off Saeed Ajmal to seal victory with a ball to spare. “The situation was not looking like we were going to lose,” Afridi said. “We had our two best bowlers bowling the last two overs, but I must say the Australians played very well.”Afridi defended Ajmal, and said his performance at the death against South Africa in Pakistan’s previous game prompted the decision to let him bowl the final over. “It was a big match for Ajmal, he was under pressure,” Afridi said. “(But) he also bowled the 20th over against South Africa and moreover he was also bowling from his favourite end against Australia.”Pakistan play Australia again in England in a ‘home series’ in a couple of months, and Ajmal, then, will have another opportunity of facing off against Hussey. “I hope I will have another go at him when we meet in two months’ time,” Ajmal said.

Worcestershire’s hopes of forcing victory over Sussex were frustrated by a combination of rain and an unbeaten half-century from Robin Martin-Jenkins at Hove

26-May-2010
ScorecardWorcestershire’s hopes of forcing victory over Sussex were frustrated by a combination of rain and an unbeaten half-century from Robin Martin-Jenkins at Hove. The visitors still closed the third day of their County Championship Division Two game in a strong position on 76 for 2 in their second innings, a lead of 212.They might have been even better placed having reduced Sussex to 221 for 8 during the morning session. Instead, Martin-Jenkins, on the day he announced he would be retiring after 15 years in the game to become a schoolteacher, and Pakistani Yasir Arafat plundered 106 in just 77 minutes for the ninth wicket.The effort came either side of a rain delay which took 37 overs off the day’s allocation, to at least make sure the hosts avoided the follow-on. Martin-Jenkins cracked 10 boundaries in an unbeaten 66 from 70 balls, his fifth half-century of the season, although he was dropped in the gully on 15 by Phil Jacques – who grassed a difficult chance diving to his left. Arafat contributed 40 before he was taken by Jacques off Gareth Andrew.Richard Jones finished things off when Corey Collymore was caught behind to
give the outswing bowler career-best figures of 7 for 115 runs in front of England’s chief selector Geoff Miller. Sussex had resumed on 188 for 4 but were soon in trouble as overcast skies helped Jones get the ball to swing during the morning.He took three wickets in 11 balls with skipper Mike Yardy miscuing to mid-on in the second over of the day. Murray Goodwin, who had added only two to his overnight 109, and Ben Brown both fell to outswingers, Brown for a fourth-ball duck in his maiden Championship innings. When Luke Wright failed to pick Alan Richardson’s slower ball Sussex still needed 95 to avoid the follow-on but Martin-Jenkins and Arafat adopted an attacking strategy from the off.Sussex’s hopes of saving the game were aided by the loss of 37 overs during the afternoon to rain and when they resumed Worcestershire’s bowling was wayward with Andrew conceding 16 byes in his first three overs before he took the new ball and immediately removed Arafat, who sliced a drive to gully.When Worcestershire batted again they lost both openers with Daryl Mitchell caught at short leg in Monty Panesar’s second over before Martin-Jenkins ended the day on a high when Phil Jacques dragged onto his off-stump. But the allrounder’s final day of Championship cricket at Hove still looks like it will involve a battle to help his side avoid a third successive Championship defeat.