All posts by csb10.top

Dale Steyn has been rewarded for his outstanding bowling in the Test series with a place in the South African squad for the three-match ODI series and the one-off Twenty20 game. Steyn inclusion, in place of Justin Kemp, is the only change from the squad that won the ODI series in Pakistan earlier this year.The selectors have also put Morne van Wyk, the right-hand batsman, on standby for Herschelle Gibbs for the one-day series. Gibbs hurt his knee during the second Test in Centurion, which South Africa won by an innings and 59 runs to wrap up the series 2-0.Explaining the decision to replace Kemp, a batting allrounder, with a fast bowler, selection convener Joubert Strydom said: “With the number of allrounders in our squad we are happy with the depth we have to our batting. Dale gives us an exciting extra option as a wicket-taking bowler.” New Zealand were clueless against Steyn’s pace and swing in the Test series – in two matches he took 20 wickets at a remarkable average of 9.20, with a wicket every 16.8 deliveries.The Twenty20 match will be played at the Wanderers on Friday, while the ODI series starts in Durban on Sunday.Squad
Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Albie Morkel, Vernon Philander, Johan Botha, Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn. On standby: Morne van Wyk.

In an interview with London’s Daily Telegraph, Clive Rice, the former South African captain, has slammed the “inverted racism” he claims is threatening to turn South Africa into another Zimbabwe.Speaking on the day England start their tour with a game at Randjesfontein, Rice said that the blame for South Africa’s decline lay with the United Cricket Board (UCBSA). “It’s apartheid in reverse,” he explained. “White players are being driven out of our country in droves. Good luck to them. There’s no future here.” Rice was instrumental in persuading Nottinghamshire, his old county, to sign Kevin Pietersen, the Pietermaritzberg-born batsman who recently made his debut for England after deciding his opportunities were too limited in South Africa.Rice was especially critical of what he claimed was an overreaction in the desire to redress the racism of the apartheid era. “The board have got it into their heads that there’s a generation of black and coloured players straining at the leash to play Test cricket and that holding back whites is the only way they’ll ever get a chance to shine. Wrong. Tiger Woods isn’t a great golfer because he’s black. It’s because he’s a great golfer. Nobody would welcome an influx of top-quality black cricketers more than me. We desperately need them. Unfortunately, few black South Africans regard cricket as their national game. They are more interested in football. They talk about players from Soweto but most of them have been Kenyans imported to make it look good.”Although the UCBSA claims that the quota system was jettisoned in 2002, Rice dismissed that as “absolute bullshit” and added that the bias against whites was driving them away from cricket as well as rugby. “Why do you think South Africa are slipping down the rankings? We aren’t much better than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, who are, frankly, pathetic. They call it Test cricket when it’s no better than a series of charity matches. The public aren’t stupid. Mediocrity chases crowds away. That’s why our grounds are half-empty.”And he said that the UCBSA stifled free speech in a bid to paper over the cracks. “No one in the press is allowed to criticise the regime,” he told the Daily Telegraph’s Tony Francis. “Television commentators have to present a sugar-coated view of South African cricket when it’s crumbling before their eyes. Once Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs have retired, it’s Old Mother Hubbard time.”

Match facts

Sunday July 19, 2015
Start time 1pm (11am, GMT)0:34

‘Focussing on our own strengths’ – Uthappa

Big picture

Whatever rustiness India may have felt in their tour opener last weekend appears to have been well and truly shaken off. Their slick, measured performance in the first Twenty20 suggested they weren’t exactly stretching themselves, and Zimbabwe will need to step up their game enormously if they are to bridge the yawning gulf in experience between the two sides in this format.India charged to 178 on Friday on a pitch that wasn’t entirely conducive to strokeplay, and a slightly less frenetic performance from Zimbabwe’s bowlers could have helped them keep the visitors to a slightly more manageable total. The brevity of this format means that every delivery matters, and for Zimbabwe to gift India 25 extras was unforgivable. After Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha’s steady start to the chase, the middle order wilted with a string of soft dismissals.Their win on Friday made it 4-0 to India on the tour, and everything has gone to plan for them. In each match, someone has performed with both bat and ball, and they’ve also blooded a number of uncapped players. India are clear favourites and will also not want to blot their copybook with a slip-up in the final match.Zimbabwe’s inexperience in this format was clearly evidenced by their approach to the chase in the first game, in which their dot-ball percentage was 50%. Against tight bowling, on a pitch that didn’t immediately lend itself to aggressive batting, they were found wanting and this will be a key area for them to improve upon.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe: LLLWW
India: WLLWW

In the spotlight

It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time early in Hamilton Masakadza‘s career when he was considered too sedentary for limited-overs cricket. He’s yet to make a real impact in this series though, and Zimbabwe need Mount Masakadza to erupt at the top of the order if they are to take the pressure off their middle order and challenge India.Robin Uthappa‘s returns on this tour have been increasing with each outing, and though his innings in the first T20 match was less than explosive, it was the adhesive that held India’s lower order together. Given his position at No. 3 and the fact that he seemed to come to terms with the pitch and conditions quickly, he may be the key player to bat through and set up another big total.

Team news

Zimbabwe’s top six should be settled for the second match, although Craig Ervine is the sort of batsman who would probably be better utilised up the order. Offspinner John Nyumbu is the only man in the squad not to have played a game yet during India’s visit, and given the slowness of the pitch, and his control as a bowler, he could be a good pick.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Elton Chigumbura (captain), 5 Charles Coventry (wk), 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Graeme Cremer, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Neville Madzia, 10 John Nyumbu, 11 Chris Mpofu.Such was India’s dominance in the first T20 that they will probably feel safe giving a chance to a sixth debutant in Sanju Samson, who came in for the injured Ambati Rayudu.India (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane (captain), 2 M Vijay, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Kedar Jadhav/Sanju Samson, 6 Stuart Binny, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Mohit Sharma, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Sandeep Sharma.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch being used for this game is the same one used in the second ODI, and though it will have had a week to recover from that match, one can expect it to behave sluggishly. While the Dukes ball has offered some movement through the air to the quicks throughout, the pitches have played slow and low in the afternoon, and Sunday should be no different. Expect another bright, sunny day.

Stats and trivia

• Hamilton Masakadza is Zimbabwe’s leading runscorer in T20 internationals, with 943 runs, including seven fifties, in the format.
• India’s 178 for 5 was the fourth highest T20I total scored at Harare Sports Club. At the top of the pile is Pakistan’s 198 for 4 scored four years ago.
• Axar Patel is now India’s leading wicket-taker on this tour, with eight scalps at an average of 17.13 in four matches across two formats.

Quotes

“You’re already basically cooked when you’re coming in here, so you’re ready for it.”
“Not many people will expect us to win, but if we go out there with the attitude that we have everything to gain I think we will come out with a victory.” .

Wage negotiations between Cricket Australia and the players’ union are at a stalemate after the Board rejected a proposal endorsed by Tim May, the Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive. May said the decision came despite making significant progress during dealings with James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive."The ACA has at all times approached these negotiations with the intention of balancing the interests of the game with those of the players," May said. "We believe that our rejected proposal properly reflects such balance.”May said the negotiations had reached a critical stage as Cricket Australia continued to work to dilute the players’ share of the game’s revenue from 25% under the current Memorandum of Understanding to 23%. The agreement expires on June 30 and May demanded the Board revisit their position."The present players have taken team performances and the value of cricket’s major revenue streams to unsurpassed levels in this country," he said. "It is disappointing that CA seek to reward the players’ contribution by reducing the players’ share of the game’s revenues."

CHELTENHAM & GLOUCESTER TROPHY 4TH ROUNDSOMERSET v SURREYAT THE COUNTY GROUND, TAUNTON28 MAY 2003
(RESERVE DAY 29 MAY)Gates open 9.00 a.m.
Play starts 10.45 a.m.Somerset County Cricket Club are pleased to announce that tickets are selling steadily for the above fixture. Anyone wishing to attend the match is advised to buy in advance of the match and details of how to obtain tickets are as follows:Adult £15.00Junior (under 16) £10.00No concessions for Senior CitizensTickets can be purchased in person from the Club Office at the County Ground or by telephone using a credit / debit card (handling charge of £1.50) per application will be added). For telephone orders please call 01823 272946. Postal applications must include the correct remittance and a S.A.E. The Club Office is open Monday – Friday 9.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. On Match Days the office is open from 9.00 a.m. – close of play.Due to the match being televised there will be no parking on the County Ground for Vice President Members but alternative car parking has been arranged in Victoria Park (off Priory Way, a 5 minute walk to the ground). The charge is £3 per vehicle.The new Riverside Entrance is now open and fully operational which should speed spectators entry into the ground!

Anxious to field a competitive outfit for the 2007 World Cup, the West Indies board has announced that it plans to have a short list of 30 players by September this year, who will be put through special training for the event. A report in The Jamaica Observer states that Teddy Griffith, the president of the WICB, has asked the selection panel to look out for players who could feature in the 30-man squad.”They [the players short-listed] will be engaged in their cricket, but they would also be involved in a programme using the facilities at the St George’s University in Grenada and the University of the West Indies in Barbados,” Griffith said on a cricket discussion on CBC-TV. “Granted there may be people who may drop out and other people [may come] in, but [we] want to get this done by the time the team returns from the Champions Trophy in England in September.” West Indies will feature in another one-day competition before that, when they battle it out with England and New Zealand in the NatWest Series tournament later this month.West Indies have recently struggled in both forms of the game. Though they beat Bangladesh 3-0 in the one-dayers, a couple of games could easily have gone the other way. Before that series, they were thrashed by England in the Tests, but made a better fist of it in the ODIs, holding them to a 2-2 draw in a rain-affected series.Griffith also clarified that no foreign team would be invited for this season’s Carib Beer Cup, West Indies’ domestic four-day tournament. Overseas teams have been playing in the competition for the last four years – A teams from England, Bangladesh and India participated, as did Kenya’s national team – but Griffith ruled out another invitation next season.”First of all, it’s very expensive to bring foreign teams for our first-class competition and so if we are going to have them they must be of the best quality,” he said. “In the first year, England came and that was marginally successful, but certainly with the other teams it was not so.”

Zimbabwe A 232 for 7 (Coventry 102*) beat Pakistan A 181 (Mahwire 3-44) by 51 runs
ScorecardCharles Coventry produced an extraordinary unbeaten 102 from 108 balls to rescue Zimbabwe A from a shaky start, as they recovered to beat their Pakistani counterparts by 51 runs at Harare. Coventry came to the crease at 54 for 4, after a middle-order collapse of 4 for 24 had left Zimbabwe reeling.But, with Stuart Matsikenyeri hanging in for a gritty 55 from 89 balls, Coventry began to turn the innings around. The pair added 68 for the fifth wicket, and then – after another flurry of wickets – Blessing Mahwire dug in for an impressive 41, before falling to the final ball of innings, having added 102 for the seventh wicket.Pakistan’s reply never got off the ground. They were 50 for 5 and then 88 for 6, and though the lower order attempted to regroup, Mahwire was on target with the ball as well, ripping out three wickets for 44. Mohammad Khalil gave Zimbabwe a late alarm by clubbing four sixes in his 39, but that was the highest score of the Pakistani innings.

Clive Lloyd has insisted he has not requested for any footage of James Kirtley’s bowling action, despite suggestions in the press that he had.Lloyd, the match referee for England’s series in Sri Lanka, was reacting to reports in newspapers that he was to inspect video evidence of Kirtley from two years ago, when he underwent remedial work with Bob Cottam, the former England bowling coach.Kirtley was reported in 2001 by Colonel Naushad Ali, a Pakistan official, during England’s one-day series in Zimbabwe, in which he made his one-day debut.However, after his work with Cottam to iron out any problems, his action was passed by the ICC. He then made his Test debut against South Africa earlier this year, taking eight wickets and the Man of the Match award.He also played in England’s second Test against Sri Lanka at Kandy, and neither umpire battered an eyelid about his action. Hence, Lloyd today insisted there was no need whatsoever to take the matter any further by watching video footage.”I wouldn’t do that unless the umpires have said something was wrong and nothing has been said,” said Lloyd. “I hadn’t seen him bowl before and there’s obviously been some speculation in the past. We will have to keep monitoring the situation as we do with all bowlers.”Ha added: “I can understand that it has been hard for James Kirtley. I was a cricketer and I understand the guy’s position. Nothing has been reported so Mr Kirtley can rest assured and so can the England team that everything is fine. Nobody wants to mar this series.”The young guy has had some problems before. He has rectified his action and if as such things changed then we would take it from there but at the moment everything is all right.”

Thilanga Sumathipala, the former president of Sri Lanka Cricket, will take up a new formal role as the board’s official representative to International Cricket Council this weekend. Sumathipala is scheduled to attend the ICC’s executive meeting in Lahore on October 16 and 17.”The executive committee unanimously decided to request Mr. Sumathipala to attend the ICC executive meeting in Lahore on October 16 and 17,” a media release said. “Sumathipala is the longest serving ICC executive board member, who has been handling the most important affairs in the international arena for Sri Lankan Cricket.”Sumathipala decided not to run for a fourth term as board president earlier this year, after an immigration scandal led to him being held in police custody for nearly five months. But he remains a powerful and influential figure in the current administration.The position as an international envoy had been offered earlier in the year, but Sumathipala, at the time under police guard in a private hospital, turned down the post. He was released on bail in June and has now been handed back his passport.The immigration case, however, still continues with the next hearing set for later this month. The case revolves around Sumathipala’s alleged assistance of Dhammika Amarasinghe, a man implicated in more than 28 murder cases, to obtain a forged passport and travel to London as a cricket board guest in 1999.

Scorecard

Michael Vaughan gave England a timely boost by returning to form with an unbeaten 116 for Yorkshire in the National League. In his only innings before the second Test, Vaughan reached his hundred from 120 balls to show that his one-on-one sessions with Duncan Fletcher may well have been the answer to his poor form.However, with no disrespect to the Kent attack, Simon Cook, Martin Saggers and James Tredwell are not quite Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Shane Warne – but then not many are. The important factor is that Vaughan has spent time in the middle and has got used to the ball hitting the middle of the bat. Net sessions have their benefits but there is no substitute to actually getting time in the middle and runs in the bank.Vaughan wasn’t finished with his century, he proceeded to take 2 for 42 from eight overs – to again suggest that his bowling is worthy of more consideration on the international stage. However, despite Vaughan’s allround performance, Yorkshire still finished on the losing side as Matthew Walker guided Kent home, making 56 from 51 balls, with four balls to spare. Vaughan will be hoping that isn’t an omen for Edgbaston.