Michael Clarke’s dash home to support his fiancee Lara Bingle has forced a delay in the naming of Australia’s Test squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand

Cricinfo staff09-Mar-2010Michael Clarke’s dash home to support his fiancee Lara Bingle has forced a delay in the naming of Australia’s Test squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand. The touring party was set to be announced on Tuesday but following Clarke’s decision to fly home from the one-dayers it is unclear how long he intends to be away from the game.The vice-captain is still expected to be named in the squad that will play two Tests in Wellington and Hamilton later this month. His manager Chris White confirmed on Tuesday that the “personal matters” referred to by Cricket Australia when he flew home were related to Bingle, who is embroiled in a controversy over a topless photo of her published in a magazine.”Michael has come home to support Lara through this difficult time,” White told AAP. Bingle has been under intense media scrutiny after the photo, which was allegedly taken in 2006 by the AFL footballer Brendan Fevola, found its way into print and she subsequently launched legal action against Fevola.Clarke left the tour so quickly on Monday that some of his team-mates were not even aware he had departed until the following morning. After Australia won Tuesday’s game in Hamilton, the captain Ricky Ponting said he did not know how long he would be without his second-in-command.”We don’t know yet,” Ponting said. “I haven’t heard from him today and I don’t really expect to. We’ll give him as much time as he needs and all that we can do is give him as much support as possible. The last thing that I said to him last night before he left was for him just to take as much time as he needed.”The Tasmania captain George Bailey has been added to the one-day squad as Clarke’s replacement. He said he was keen to take his chance if a debut came in one of the final two matches over the next few days.”I obviously read that Michael was coming home in the paper, which is unfortunate for him,” Bailey said. “But so many Australian players have grabbed that opportunity when that’s been handed to them, that’s how a lot of people have made their starts. So I’m very excited for myself and Michael will obviously work through his issues.”

Mumbai Indians were just a win away from reaching the semi-final, but their progress hit a stumbling block following their second consecutive scratchy batting performance, this time against an inspired Kings XI Punjab in Mohali

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran09-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outPiyush Chawla’s triple-strike helped limit Mumbai to a below-par score•Indian Premier League

Mumbai Indians were just a win away from reaching the semi-final, but their progress hit a stumbling block following their second consecutive scratchy batting performance, this time against an inspired Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. Punjab were assisted by a slow pitch and a disciplined show by their bowlers who exploited it well to restrict Mumbai to an unsatisfactory 154. Piyush Chawla and Irfan Pathan took three wickets apiece to set up Punjab’s win, which was achieved in the final over.Kumar Sangakkara’s half-century was constructed on a decent platform built by his openers, who had added 41 in quick time. A couple of late wickets gave Mumbai a narrow opening, but a second specialist spinner, or more slow-bowling options, could have resulted in a closer contest.The spell which stamped Punjab’s authority was Chawla’s, who removed the big hitters in four overs to deliver his first convincing performance of the tournament. It took 11 games for Chawla to finally show up. In the ten games prior to this, he bled 55 runs per wicket at 8.33 an over, all for just five wickets. His selection for the ICC World Twenty20 ahead of the tournament’s leading wicket-takers, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha, flummoxed many. It took a long time coming, but for once, sixes didn’t fly off his bowling and the batsmen treated him with a bit more respect.He was fortunate to be bowling in conditions which suited him. Though the pitch didn’t take much turn, the slowness assisted bowlers like him and Ramesh Powar, who bowled out their overs in one spell. Punjab captain Sangakkara realised that spin was the best option after the seamers got tonked by Ambati Rayudu.A change of pace brought about an immediate shift in momentum, as Chawla breached Rayudu’s defences with a topspinner. An alert and brilliant stumping by Sangakkara sent back Saurabh Tiwary but the trophy wicket was undoubtedly Sachin Tendulkar’s. Having progressed to 25, he attempted a wild slog off Chawla but lost his middle stump to a straighter delivery. Re-run the tapes to 2005 and it was at this very venue where Chawla had castled Tendulkar with a googly during the Challenger Trophy. Not surprisingly, it was the 16-year-old Chawla’s claim to fame.His partner Powar didn’t get a wicket, but he kept things tight by varying his flight and pace to make the batsmen think twice before stepping out. Chawla’s three wickets dented the run rate, which dipped from 9 to 7.25 after he finished his spell. It started to pick up once JP Duminy got his eye in. But he didn’t get enough support from the other end to finish the innings in a flourish. Irfan induced a thick outside edge from R Sathish and flattened Kieron Pollard’s off stump with a yorker. Sathish and Pollard had added 26 and 38 respectively with Duminy, but those were nothing more than brief recoveries.Mumbai’s best chance of fighting back was to pick up early wickets, but curiously, Tendulkar didn’t attack with Harbhajan Singh straightaway as he had done in recent games. There were two bowling changes in the first four overs; by then Punjab had raced to 41 thanks to Mahela Jayawardene. He was harsh on length balls and played some crispy drives through the off side. Lasith Malinga kept him in check with slower balls before dismissing him with a chip to Tiwary at mid-on. Adrian Barath too played with freedom, using his feet to Harbhajan and not letting him settle. Harbhajan conceded 34 off his four overs; the part-timer Duminy had better figures of 1 for 15 from three.Sangakkara got going with crunchy drives off Zaheer Khan and didn’t try any risky shots till he got out in the penultimate over. His presence ensured that Punjab were never in grave of danger of losing. Yuvraj Singh supported him in a stand of 38 before he holed out to deep midwicket. Sangakkara reached his fifty off a fumble at the extra-cover boundary but a loft towards long-off cut short his knock. Pathan backed his good showing with the ball with a few big hits to seal the game, which never slipped out of Punjab’s grasp.

Anthony McGrath scored a special century as Yorkshire’s batsmen made excellent progress on the first day of their Championship match against Essex at Scarborough

04-May-2010

ScorecardAnthony McGrath scored a special century as Yorkshire’s batsmen made excellent progress on the first day of their Championship match against Essex at Scarborough.It was the former captain’s 30th first-class century for the White Rose county and the first one that he has ever taken off the Essex attack. Now only four counties remain to be added to his list (Surrey, Notts, Northants and Sussex) for him to complete the full set.Current captain Andrew Gale was also in splendid form and he and McGrath had put on an unbroken 163 together by the close when Yorkshire had reached 313 for 3 after winning the toss, McGrath having moved on to a gritty 112 and Gale a fluent 89.New Zealand paceman Chris Martin, making his Championship debut for Essex, shared the new ball with David Masters, and although there was some movement through the air and off the seam it could not prevent Adam Lyth from getting off to a cracking start with some great shots.Joe Sayers also hit a fine cover boundary off Masters, but having contributed only five to a stand of 32 in six overs he edged Martin into the waiting hands of Alastair Cook at first slip. Lyth continued to look a class act while McGrath took time to settle in and it came as something of a surprise when the young left-hander was out for 47. An intended drive at Ryan ten Doeschate appeared to deflect off either his pad or glove and into his stumps.Yorkshire remained in control as Jacques Rudolph continued his recent great form and the morning session belonged to the home side who went in to lunch on 109 for 2. Rudolph quickly scored his 500th run of the season after the interval and Essex were left to rue a glaring miss when McGrath had reached 33, the batsman edging Martin straight into and out of Cook’s hands at first slip.Having amassed an unbeaten 228 against Durham last week, Rudolph appeared to have laid the foundations for another huge score but in trying to drive a swinging delivery from Ten Doeschate he gave the bowler a return catch and Yorkshire were 150 for 3.The dismissal did not worry the hosts too much, however, as McGrath and Gale went on to combine in the biggest stand of the day, although it took McGrath a little over three hours to complete his 50 off 133 balls with seven fours.McGrath opened out to drive spinner Tim Phillips for an off-drive six into the pavilion enclosure, whereas Gale’s half-century was a much speedier affair than his partner’s, coming off only 47 balls with seven fours and a six.After a good spell from Phillips, Essex took the new ball at 288 for 3 off 86 overs and McGrath immediately scampered the single that brought up his five-hour century from 244 deliveries, with 14 boundaries. A tough day for the visitors got even worse when McGrath, on 106, was put down for a second time, John Maunders at second slip dropping him off Masters.

New Zealand Cricket is viewing its joint venture with United States of America Cricket Association as a long-term investment

Cricinfo staff29-May-2010New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is viewing its joint venture with United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) as a long-term investment that could even see USA host the ICC Champions Trophy, possibly after 2015.”[2013 is] a real long shot. We talked about that, but ICC regulations require two venues pretty close to each other and at the moment we’ve only got one [in Florida],” NZC chief Justin Vaughan told the . “It also needs a number of practice
facilities and at the moment there are no other turf wickets in Florida, so it would be a stretch. From the ICC’s perspective, and a commercial perspective, there would be a lot of enthusiasm for it, but it’s probably a bridge too far. ICC events beyond 2015, certainly that is something very much on the horizon.”Despite the lukewarm response, and financial loss, generated by the two Twenty20 matches played between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Lauderhill, Florida, NZC has a lot of faith in the potential of the US market, particularly northern California, New York and Florida, areas with a high percentage of subcontinent ex-patriates.”The projected losses were being underwritten by a third party,” Vaughan said. “So we can go ahead and further develop a relationship with US cricket. It will take time. I think everyone understands you are not going to immediately transform the US into a cricket-mad nation, or excite the local sponsors and broadcasters.”NZC’s interest in the US is part of its strategy to increase revenues, as it seeks to diversify its income sources, currently limited to the dividends it receives from the ICC and from cricket played within New Zealand.That is why NZC views the recent Twenty20 matches as an important first step despite the games themselves being low-scoring affairs in front of modest crowds. “We got reasonable crowds. Obviously they were mainly ex-pats but we got some Americans there,” Vaughan said. “The players really enjoyed themselves and through word of mouth that will have a positive effect on the cricket community there.”While the wicket wasn’t up to the standards we would like to see for international Twenty20 cricket, the facility is otherwise really good. The wicket has potential, but we had issues where the grass died.”

Worcestershire’s losing streak in the Twenty20 Cup continued with a fifth straight defeat as Derbyshire won by six wickets to move into the top three of the North Group

Cricinfo staff21-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Worcestershire’s losing streak in the Twenty20 Cup continued with a fifth straight defeat as Derbyshire won by six wickets to move into the top three of the North Group. Moeen Ali did his best to halt the slide with 67 off 52 balls out of the Royals 127 for 7 and then took 2 for 14 from his four overs to make the Falcons sweat under the County Ground floodlights.But Garry Park hit an unbeaten 41 from 40 balls and shared a stand of 64 in 10 overs with Robin Peterson to see the Falcons to 128 for 4 with four balls left. The result means Worcestershire have now lost 35 games in the competition, more than any other team in the eight-year history of domestic Twenty20 cricket.The signs were ominous for the Royals after they were put in and Phil Jaques chopped the first ball of the match from Charl Langeveldt onto his stumps. Sanath Jayasuriya also failed, scooping Tim Groenewald to mid on for nine in the fourth over and a great reaction return catch by Wes Durston cut short a blossoming innings from Alexei Kervezee.After 10 overs, the Royals were struggling at 59 for 3 and only Moeen came to terms with another slow Derby pitch to at least give his bowlers something to defend. Daryl Mitchell was lbw playing across the line at Peterson and when James Cameron sliced Durston to backward point in the 15th over, the visitors were still well short of a challenging total on 83 for 5.But Jack Manuel drove Greg Smith for the only six of the innings – which also included only eight fours – in the next over and helped Moeen add 40 before Steffan Jones speared one in to trap Moeen lbw in the 19th over. Gareth Andrew came in but failed to give the innings a final flourish and was bowled for a duck swinging wildly at Langeveldt, who conceded only four from the last over.The Falcons appeared to be coasting to victory when Loots Bosman launched the chase by hitting seven fours, three of them in one over from Andrew, but the spin of Moeen and Jayasuriya put the Royals back in the game. Bosman skied Moeen to long on and Smith played around one to be lbw before Durston was caught and bowled in the next over when he drove too soon at the Sri Lankan.The flow of runs had now dried to a trickle and the pressure on the home side would have increased if Peterson had not been badly missed before he had scored by Cameron at deep midwicket, who fell over and allowed the ball to cross the ropes. The result was still in doubt when the Falcons needed 25 off 18 balls but they had wickets in hand and Park settled any nerves by twice hitting Alan Richardson for four in the 18th over.He then swung Mitchell for six over midwicket and although Peterson was bowled for 24 off 22 balls trying to seal victory in style, Park pulled Andrew for the winning run off the second ball of the final over.

Sussex’s Monty Panesar marked his return to first-team action with three wickets before Chris Taylor led Gloucestershire’s fightback on an even first day of their Championship Division Two tussle at Arundel

07-Jul-2010

ScorecardSussex’s Monty Panesar marked his return to first-team action with three wickets before Chris Taylor led Gloucestershire’s fightback on an even first day of their Championship Division Two tussle at Arundel.Panesar was overlooked during Sussex’s Friends Provident t20 campaign and kept himself ticking over instead by playing league cricket for Bexhill. But he relished the slow turn offered by a dry pitch at the Castle Ground to take three for 68 from 29 overs before Gloucestershire, led by former captain Taylor’s 89, recovered from 142 for six to close the first day on 286 for 9.The left-arm spinner was brought into the attack 75 minutes after the start and wheeled away in four productive spells. He briefly switched ends before lunch to claim his first victim and finish a promising innings by 19-year-old left-hander Chris Dent, who edged to slip.After lunch he ended a patient vigil by opener Kadeer Ali, who sliced a drive to mid-on after making 58 in just over three hours, and Panesar claimed his third wicket when Jon Lewis (32) was bowled heaving across the line having added 73 in 17 overs for the seventh wicket with Taylor.It was an important partnership, for Gloucestershire had looked in some trouble when the persevering Corey Collymore picked up two wickets in three balls. Skipper Alex Gidman and then James Franklin were both lbw stuck on the crease, Franklin falling for a duck. Like Panesar, Collymore has not played competitively since Sussex’s last four-day game finished on June 7 but his control of line and length was exemplary.Yasir Arafat was the ideal foil for Collymore as his skiddy pace proved difficult to master and he picked up two wickets. Opener Jon Batty fell in the fifth over, lbw to one which hurried on, and the Pakistani returned after lunch to bowl Hamish Marshall with an off-cutter.Initially, it was not such a productive day for Robin Martin-Jenkins in his last Championship game before retirement. The all-rounder had Kadeer dropped at slip on 31 and a vociferous appeal for leg before against Dent from the next ball turned down. To add to his dismay, Dent struck the next three balls to the boundary – although Martin-Jenkins did return to take two wickets after tea.Taylor produced the most impressive strokeplay of the day, particularly after tea, driving fluently against the seamers and using soft hands to manipulate Panesar and off-spinner Ollie Rayner into the gaps.He looked on course for a hundred when he feathered a catch to wicketkeeper Matt Prior to give Martin-Jenkins his second wicket just before the close. Taylor’s 89 came from 112 balls and included 12 fours as well as a six off Panesar, but no Gloucestershire batsman has yet scored a Championship hundred this season.

Mark Cosgrove scored his third century of the season to put Glamorgan in a
useful position going into the final day of their County Championship match
against Leicestershire at Swansea

23-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Mark Cosgrove scored his third century of the season to put Glamorgan in a
useful position going into the final day of their County Championship match
against Leicestershire at Swansea.The Australian left hander scored 117 out of Glamorgan’s 290 all out to give
the Welsh county a 43-run first-innings lead, despite Leicestershire slow left
armer Claude Henderson recording figures of 5 for 72.In their second innings Leicestershire reached 41 for 2 by the close, still
two runs behind.On the third morning Glamorgan had resumed their first innings on 45 without
loss in reply to Leicestershire’s 247 in positive fashion with Cosgrove scoring
88 of the 125 runs scored in the morning session.Much had depended on Matthew Hoggard if Leicestershire were to make early
inroads but he was dispatched for two boundaries by Cosgrove through backward
point on his way to a 52-ball half-century.But with Glamorgan 74 for nought Cosgrove lost Gareth Rees (15), who edged
Nadeem Malik to Matthew Boyce at first slip. There were another two setbacks for the Welsh county when Tom Maynard (19) was bowled by Jigar Naik attempting a cut and Ben Wright was leg before to Henderson
as the home side were reduced to 153 for 3.But in between those dismissals Cosgrove went to his third century of the
season from 111 balls with 15 fours. After three hours Cosgrove’s innings came to an end when he was stumped by Tom New off Henderson.Jamie Dalrymple and Jim Allenby put on a useful 54 in 17 overs in difficult
conditions, and despite the ball starting to turn appreciably Dalrymple struck
consecutive Henderson deliveries for four and six.But Glamorgan then proceeded to lose their last six wickets for only 60 runs.
Dalrymple was the first to go as he was caught at short leg by James Taylor off
Naik just two runs short of his 50.And one run short of their second batting point they then lost Mark Wallace to
a brilliant catch by Taylor at short leg, before Paul Nixon produced an equally
good catch, diving at short extra cover to remove Allenby.Robert Croft, who had reached 1,000 first-class wickets for Glamorgan on the
second day, took the new ball at the start of Leicestershire’s second innings. But it was James Harris who got the breakthrough at the other end having Boyce caught at second slip by Dalrymple to leave Leicestershire 1 for 1.That became 36 for 2 nine overs before the close when Will Jefferson was
trapped leg before by Dean Cosker.

Eric Simons, India’s bowling coach, has stressed the need for teams to have a large pool of bowlers to stay competitive in top-level cricket

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla20-Aug-2010Eric Simons, India’s bowling coach, has stressed the need for teams to have a large pool of bowlers to stay competitive in top-level cricket. India entered the tri-series without two of their established bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, and Munaf Patel had to be drafted in as cover after Ishant Sharma had an ankle problem, Ashish Nehra had a glute injury and Abhimanyu Mithun suffered a heat stroke in the opening match.”I think in the modern era you need a group of bowlers because you can’t always rely on your main bowlers to be fit,” he said after the Indian team’s practice session in Dambulla.India have handed one-day debuts to eight bowlers in the past eighteen months due to injuries or a loss of form to established players, though their first-choice attack still consists mainly of those who have been around for plenty of years. “We’re still discovering what we can do with them [new bowlers] and what we can achieve with them,” Simons said. “I’ve been happy with the guys I’ve worked with. But you need time, because it’s a big difference from first-class cricket to international cricket. So you need to spend time with them and show confidence in some of them.”One trend with Indian fast bowlers over the past few years – including Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel – has been that they lose pace within a couple of seasons on the international circuit. Simons said that it was an issue he was addressing. “We are trying to get Ishant Sharma back up to the 140kph mark consistently. He’s starting to show those kind of signs,” he said. “The biggest job for me is to give them confidence. When you’re confident you can run in and bowl quickly in good areas.”

For the third season in a row now, the Board President’s XI batsmen have done the job of softening up the opposition’s spinners ahead of a Test series

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh27-Sep-2010
ScorecardAjinkya Rahane impressed as the match meandered to a draw•AFP

The Australians like to mentally disintegrate the visiting captains, while the Indians – lesser known domestic batsmen, that is – go after visiting spinners. For the third season in a row now, the Board President’s XI batsmen have done the job of softening up the opposition’s spinners ahead of a Test series.Two years ago, when Australia visited India, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh took Jason Krejza’s 31 wicketless overs for 199 runs. Last season South Africa’s Paul Harris was unsuccessful as Manish Pandey and Abhishek Nayar hit him for 71 runs in 12 overs. Over the last three days, which have been almost ideal preparation for Australia for the upcoming two-Test series, Nathan Hauritz has emerged as a concern.In the first innings, Piyush Chawla, known more for his legspin, repeatedly danced down the pitch and either pushed him for singles or lofted him over his head. In the second, Ajinkya Rahane, the Mumbai batsman, scored a stroke-filled century in two hours. Hauritz’s figures over the two innings: 24 overs, 93 runs, and one wicket. Steven Smith’s flat legbreaks at the other end extracted even less respect. Chawla hit him for a six in his first over in India, and he went for 55 in his 10 overs.Before Rahane entertained the small crowd at the Sector 16 Stadium, though, the Australians had had another good day of practice. They took the remaining four BP XI wickets for 34 runs, and Shane Watson went onto score a second century in the match, hitting 18 boundaries in his unbeaten 104 off 121 deliveries.Gautam Gambhir, Simon Katich and Marcus North chose to go easy on mild injury scares. Gambhir, who was hit in his right hand by a rising delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus on day 2, chose to stay away from action. Katich, who has a bruised thumb, opted out of batting but came on to field. North, who has a mild back strain, stayed away too.The match was always going to be a draw when the Australians gave BP XI just a session to bat. Rahane’s strokeplay, however, made sure it was an entertaining draw. His hook off Peter George, which went for six, and punches through the covers stood out.While it could be argued that this session was just low-key practice, and not much should be read into it, Hauritz would have desperately wanted to improve on his first-innings effort.

Round-up of the fourth day’s action in the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010A searing opening burst from Abdul Razzaq, and a typically belligerent half-century from Umar Akmal ensured a nine-wicket victory for Lahore Lions against Multan Tigers at the Gaddafi Stadium.Razzaq stunned the Tigers with wickets off the first two balls of the game, and Shabbir Ahmed struck twice from the other end to leave the score reading 15 for 4. Rameez Alam resisted with 42, but no one else in the top seven managed to cross five. From 49 for 7, the final score of 92 was an improvement and came thanks to a 42-run stand between Rizwan Haider and Abdur Rauf for the eighth wicket.Ahmed Shehzad departed early in the chase, but Akmal was in punishing mood, striking 11 fours in his innings to take his side home in the 15th over.Abbottabad Falcons were guided by a composed half-century from Adnan Raees to seal victory against Peshawar Panthers after their bowlers kept the target to a manageable 124 in Lahore.After the Falcons elected to field, Nabeeullah had the Panthers in early trouble with two quick wickets. Khalid Usman and Yasir Shah kept up the pressure, snaring 5 for 38 in eight overs as the Panthers struggled for momentum. Haroon Ahmed’s run-a-ball 33 was the saving grace and gave his side something to bowl at.Mir Azam and Wajid Ali departed early in the chase, giving the Falcons a scare, but Raees calmed the nerves with a well-paced innings. His 58 came off 47 balls, and support from Mohammad Kashif and Ahmed Said took their side past the line in 18.4 overs.Earlier, Islamabad Leopards bucked the trend of chasing sides winning the match, but only just, as they defended 149 by the margin of four runs against Quetta Bears at the Gaddafi Stadium. The Leopards score was based on a solid opening stand between Raheel Majeed and Umair Khan that raised 76 in 10.3 overs. Naeem Anjum hustled 24 off 12 balls in the closing stages to prop up the final tally, while Jalat Khan finished with figures of 4 for 22.Mir Wais fell early in the chase, but Shoaib Khan jnr was in his element, striking 11 fours and a six in his 66 which came off 46 balls. Bismillah Khan offered steady support, but after his exit in the ninth over, the Leopards tightened the screws. Abid Ali crawled to 20 off 31 balls as the pressure mounted, and the game was in the balance when Shoaib departed in the 17th over. With five runs required for a win off the final delivery, Iftikhar Anjum got Jalat to offer a catch to Fayyaz Ahmed, confirming victory for the Leopards.