All posts by csb10.top

Mike Hussey has had the consistency, Alastair Cook has shown incredible endurance, but arguably the classiest batsman of the Ashes to date is a man whose appearances have been all too brief for England’s purposes. In two of the most pressurised situations of the series to date – during England’s first-innings collapses at Brisbane and Perth – Ian Bell belied his reputation for soft runs with two of the most composed half-centuries of his career. In both cases he might well have reached a century had it not been for the wickets tumbling at the other end.The clamour since Australia squared the series at Perth has been for Bell to move back up the order from his berth at No. 6. With scores of 76, 68 not out and 53 in his first three innings of the series, he showcased not only an appetite for runs that has always been a feature of his game, but a new hardened approach to the mental aspect of cricket. Since being exposed by Shane Warne as a rookie in the 2005 series, Bell has improved his average in each of his four campaigns against Australia, and has now made 11 fifties in 16 appearances. The elusive breakthrough hundred seems only a matter of time.”I’m desperate for an Ashes hundred, but I’m hoping the way I’m playing, there’s one round the corner,” said Bell. “I’m really happy with the way I’m playing out here. My performances are becoming better under pressure, and playing against Australia I’m becoming the type of cricketer that people saw in me in my early ages. I’m happy with the way I’m playing but I want an Ashes hundred, and a few of them to be honest. It’s something I’m excited about, but I want to keep improving as a player.”Whether he gets his chance at Melbourne, however, could depend on whether the England management see fit to reward his fluent form with a promotion. To date, it is a prospect that Bell claims has not been raised by the management, and with the team set to return to training on Christmas Eve after a four-day break, Andrew Strauss implied that they would retain the order that has served them well in the past year, with Paul Collingwood backed to come good in his usual position at No. 5.”I’m not going to 100% rule it out but I’d be surprised if we went down that route,” said Strauss. “Belly has been a very reassuring presence at No. 6 and there may come a time in the future where he can go up the order. But now is not the time for massive changes. It is the time to go back to what has worked very well for us on this tour and Belly has been a fine example of a No6 batsman coming in and taking the game away from the opposition.”He’s in very good form and I can appreciate why people are clamouring for him to go up the order but I’m very happy with what he is doing down there. The main problem is that he has been left with the tail because there haven’t been batsmen alongside him building big partnerships and that is our job.””I’ve had no discussions about [No. 5] at all,” said Bell. “It’s always nice to get moved up the order, but whether that happens or not is irrelevant for this series. It’s nice to be contributing to the team, but to me, whether I move up the order doesn’t really matter, as long as we are winning the next two Test matches. That’s the biggest and most important thing to me, winning the Ashes.”One man who believes Bell must be given the chance to show his full worth is the former England opener, Geoff Boycott, who told ESPNcricinfo that it was now or never. “There comes a point in everybody’s life when you either learn from your mistakes or you go backwards,” said Boycott. “And it might be that Bell is at a point where he’s matured, and this is the time for him to move forward. When a player who is playing well is ready to make a mark in the series, you can’t afford to hold him back. In my opinion technically he’s the best player in the team. Front foot, back foot, his timing is exquisite. It’s now what’s between his ears.”Bell himself recognises the strides he has made on this tour, particularly in convincing a sceptical Australian public of his worth, but he knows it’s just the beginning if he wants to complete his transition and become a top-quality international cricketer. “I don’t want to stop,” he said. “I think I’ve improved a hell of a lot over the last 18 months, but I’m desperate to keep improving, and certainly I’m not happy with where I’m at, I want to keep kicking on.”It’s nice to play some good cricket in an Ashes series, and to contribute to us playing well since we’ve been over here, and hopefully that can continue this week in Melbourne, because like I said it’s an exciting Test match.”The England players have been enjoying a mini-break from the grind of touring life since the early loss in Perth, with several players taking the chance to spend time with their families before returning their focus to the challenge of the Boxing Day Test. “It’s been a long tour, so a bit of downtime isn’t a bad thing,” said Bell. “We had a good meeting after the Test at Perth, and put everything to bed that we needed to. It’s the usual thing to be training two days before a Test, so the guys will be refreshed and ready to go. It’s a great event, and everyone’s excited about being here.”Despite the loss at Perth and the concerns that come with such a setback at such a crucial time of the series, Bell believes that England are still very much in command of their own destiny. “Australia have got some momentum going in, no doubt,” he said, “but out of the three Test matches, I’d say we’ve been playing the better cricket. We’re going to have to come out and play well, and take a bit of the momentum back again.”

Nathan Hauritz’s World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread with it confirmed he would undergo surgery after dislocating his right shoulder at Hobart. He now faces a nervous few weeks before finding out whether he’ll make the global one-day tournament. However, there was better news for Shaun Tait who has been cleared of serious injury but Mitchell Johnson won’t be available for the third ODI against England at the SCG.Hauritz was helped off the field in severe pain and underwent further scans on Saturday. They revealed ‘moderate disruption’ to his shoulder and it has been decided surgery is required although the medical staff remain hopeful over his World Cup chances.”Nathan Hauritz will have arthroscopic surgery of his shoulder joint in Melbourne,” Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. “This is a small procedure that we hope will give him the best opportunity to be available for the World Cup.”He will then have a period of intense rehabilitation and attempt to return to training in the coming weeks if we feel this is appropriate. His availability for the World Cup will depend on his progress through this rehabilitation.”Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner, had already been called up to Australia’s squad for the next two matches against England and would replace Hauritz at the World Cup. At least the hosts have had good news regarding Tait after he left the field five balls into his sixth over at Hobart with pain in his thigh. He hasn’t yet been ruled out of Sunday’s match at the SCG although it would be a major risk to play him.”Shaun complained of some left upper thigh pain,” Kountouris said. “As a precaution he was advised to stop bowling and leave the field. He had scans this afternoon which have cleared him of any new and significant damage. He will be assessed over the next 12 hours to determine his management and availability for tomorrow’s match and the remainder of this series.”Johnson, meanwhile, has recovered from the throat infection which kept him out of the Hobart match but the medical staff don’t feel he has had enough time to prepare for Sunday’s clash. Peter Siddle, overlooked for the World Cup, has been added to the squad and will link up after playing Saturday’s Big Bash match against New South Wales at the MCG.

The ICC is investigating whether Salman Butt has breached the terms of his 10-year ban for spot fixing by becoming a studio pundit for a Pakistan TV channel during the World Cup. Five years of Butt’s term were suspended on the condition of him making no further breaches of the code and participating in an anti-corruption education programme under the PCB.However, just a matter of days after the judgements were handed down in Doha Butt was reported to have joined up with Channel 5, a local station in Pakistan, to act as a studio expert during the World Cup. Because the channel is a non-licensee (non-rights holder) the ICC said it had no power to act against Butt, although the governing body is now taking the matter further.”We are not satisfied with this appointment and we have written to Tribunal chairman Michael Beloff QC to enquire whether this could be viewed as a breach against the terms of his suspended sentence,” Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said.The matter was discussed at the ICC board meeting in Dubai on February 15, when enhanced anti-corruption measures were also confirmed with fines now in place for any players or support staff who take communication devices into dressing rooms. It had earlier been confirmed that all members of World Cups squads, including backroom staff, will be banned from using Twitter during games.Steve Bernard, the Australia manager, is a frequent tweeter during matches but he now won’t be allowed to post messages although the restrictions won’t be in place outside of games and managers will still be allowed to have their phones in the dressing room.”This is just a precaution, it’s not something we are overly concerned about,” an ICC spokesman told AFP. “But we do feel a team manager’s phone should be used for operational purposes only during matches. This applies to all teams and this decision has not been taken in response to anything the Australia team manager has said or done previously.”The ICC Governance and Review Committee also discussed various options for the 2015 World Cup, which will be staged in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament will be reduced to a 10-team event and it is currently being decided whether there will be a qualification phase to allow an Associate nation to take part. The move to shrink the World Cup has sparked anger among the Associate countries, who feel they are being marginalised.It was also confirmed that the 2011 ICC Awards will be held in London on September 12 and the Annual Conference will take place in Hong Kong from June 26-July 1.

Ricky Ponting has congratulated Shoaib Akhtar on “an outstanding career” and said Akhtar was unquestionably the fastest bowler he had faced while playing for Australia. The two men could face off one final time in Colombo on Saturday, after Akhtar announced he would retire at the end of the World Cup, and Ponting said he would always remember the battles they had shared.”I had some great duels with Shoaib over the years,” Ponting said. “To this day, I’ve always said he’s the fastest bowler that I’ve ever faced in international cricket. There’s one spell that everyone can watch on the internet of him bowling to me at the WACA. That was reasonably entertaining – more so for Justin Langer, who was at the other end laughing at me all the time when I was trying to keep Shoaib’s deliveries out.”He was express pace, a very, very good bowler. Over the years he’s had his fair share of injuries that have not allowed him to play as much as he would have liked. But even in this tournament so far, you can see that he’s still got it with the new ball. He still has good pace, and his experience has helped him at different times as well. Congratulations to him on what has been an outstanding career.”Shoaib made his decision known to his team-mates on Thursday morning at an emotional gathering where he delivered a farewell speech and was embraced by fellow players and support staff.”We feel sad for Shoaib as he has been a very nice team-mate and we’ll always remember him as someone who always tried hard for the team and every player thanks him,” Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, said.The Pakistan coach Waqar Younis added: “”I played with him and then coached him. He has been a great bowler for the country and served the team well. It is a nice way to leave the place for youngsters and that’s something we must appreciate.”Several former Pakistan captains also paid tribute to Shoaib. “I would like to remember him as a tear-away bowler who with his strike-rate was a match-winner on his day. He battled through injuries and controversies with a lot of heart throughout his career,” Ramiz Raja, now a television commentator, said.Rashid Latif claimed Shoaib was the fastest bowler he kept wicket to. “He was amongst the most glamorous cricketers of all time,” Latif said. “He was famous for his attitude but let me tell you he was down to earth and never been a problem for me when I was his captain. The only worry for me was his pace, quite easily he was the fastest bowler I kept to.”Aamer Sohail added it would be difficult for Pakistan to find a replacement for Shoaib. “When I captained him I found him to be very responsive and eager to perform for the country. He has done the right thing to retire now but it will take time for someone to take his place.”He has set a good precedent for the future generation of cricketers.”

The Titans franchise will not be renewing the contract of head coach Chris van Noorwdyk for the upcoming season. van Noordwyk was in charge for two seasons, during which the Titans failed to win any silverware.van Noordwyk succeeded former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus, who enjoyed a succesful five-year stint with the Titans. Under Pybus, the Titans won seven trophies, including three SuperSport Series, two MTN domestic titles and two Pro20s. Pybus quit in July 2009, which gave van Noordwyk, who was then his assistant, to move up to coach at the franchise level.”During his tenure as coach of the Northern Cricket Union Amateur team and Titans assistant coach, Chris had the unique ability to identify players who came through the system to play at a higher level,” Andy O’Connor, chairman of the Easterns Titans board said. “We appreciate the contributions that Chris has made and wish him well in the future.”van Noordwyk, who was born in Durban, has done all his administrative work at the Titans. Before he was appointed coach, he was the Titans’ cricket coordinator and was responsible for identifying and developing talent. Youngsters like Roelof van der Merwe and Farhaan Berhardien came through at that time. While youth flourished, when van Noordwyk took over as coach, the Titans lost some of their key players such as Dale Steyn, who moved to the Cobras, Imran Tahir, who went to the Dolphins and Paul Harris, who joined the Lions.

ScorecardMichael Yardy made a successful return to competitive cricket as he led Sussex Sharks to a five-wicket victory over Holland in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Hove.Five weeks since he returned home early from England’s World Cup campaign to be treated for depression, the 30-year-old took 1 for 36 with his left-arm spin and then made 39 as the Sharks overhauled their target of 226 with 19 balls to spare thanks to an unbeaten 109 from Murray Goodwin.In his first competitive game since he helped England beat South Africa in Chennai nearly two months ago, Yardy brought himself on in the 10th over and immediately put the brakes on a fast start by the Dutch openers Eric Szwarczynski and Wesley Baresi, who had put on 64 before Baresi was caught down the leg side off Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.In his first six-over spell Yardy conceded just 23 runs and picked up the wicket of Tom Cooper who was caught behind trying to turn a ball down the leg side. When he returned to the attack Szwarczynski swatted him over long off for six on his way his maiden one-day hundred.Szwarczynski, 28, played some stylish shots off the front foot and reached his hundred when he dug out a yorker from Naved and deflected it fine for one of 13 boundaries. He departed in unfortunate circumstances when he was run out backing up too far when Yardy, in his final over, deflected Mudassar Bukhari’s straight drive onto the stumps. Szwarczynski faced 117 balls for his 111.None of his team-mates made more than Baresi’s 21 as Holland lost their way after reaching 105 for 1 in the 18th over. Chris Nash picked up 3 for 30 with his off breaks but Amjad Khan had to leave the field halfway through his fourth over suffering from a calf problem.Sussex’s reply began poorly when Ed Joyce, who made 28 for Ireland when they beat Holland in the World Cup, drove loosely to extra cover. Nash mis-timed a pull off the splice to mid-off and Bukhari had picked up his third wicket when Naved was bowled slogging across the line.That left the Sharks on 47 for 3 in the eighth over but Yardy and Goodwin took control on a flat pitch against an attack which offered little menace once Mudassar had been seen off. They added 80 in 15 overs before Yardy played on to Berend Westdijk, having struck four boundaries.Goodwin played superbly and cruised to the eighth one-day hundred of his career which he reached with his 15th boundary. The 38-year-old finished unbeaten on 109 from 88 balls, sealing Sussex’s first victory in this season’s competition with a straight six off Shane Mott.

ScorecardHalf-centuries from Trevon Griffith and Shemroy Barrington, and solid contributions from Narsingh Deonarine and Shivnarine Chanderpaul ensured Guyana’s two-day game against the Pakistanis in Georgetown petered out into a draw. Openers Griffith and Barrington made sure the Pakistani bowlers would have to earn their stripes as they added 77 together. Barrington, who eventually fell leg-before to Saeed Ajmal, was the top scorer with 58, while Griffith made 55.Chanderpaul, who was named in the squad for the first Test, and Deonarine backed up the openers with 44 and 40 respectively. Five bowlers picked up wickets, with only Umar Gul missing out. Ajmal was the most successful, with figures of 2 for 41 from 15 overs.

Vincent Barnes has turned down an offer to coach Bangladesh but has been asked to reconsider his decision by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Barnes’ contract as South Africa’s assistant coach will be terminated at the end of June and he is not part of the revamped national set-up under newly-appointed coach Gary Kirsten.”I did turn it [Bangladesh job] down, but I have been asked to reconsider,” Barnes told ESPNcricinfo.At a press conference in Johannesburg, Cricket South Africa named Russell Domingo, who coached the Warriors, as assistant to Kirsten, and Allan Donald as the bowling coach. Barnes was offered a role at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, said they were waiting for a response from Barnes.If Barnes does not reverse his Bangladesh decision, it will be a setback for the BCB, who had said they were close to signing him to fill the vacancy created by Jamie Siddons’ departure after a disappointing World Cup campaign. Stuart Law, the interim coach of Sri Lanka, was also in the running but there were reports of his chances failing due to a disagreement over conditions with the BCB.

Ruhuna surged to the top of the Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Tournament table with a 84-run hammering of Combined Provinces at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Ruhuna put in a team batting effort, led by Sanath Jayasuriya’s 44, to reach 174 and their bowlers then skittled Combined Provinces for 90. Jayasuriya scored at a strike-rate of 169.23 and got his team off to a flier. Ruhuna had reached 87 in 7.1 overs before Jayasuriya was dismissed. Jeevan Mendis helped Combined Provinces pull things back with three wickets.But Ruhuna’s innings had one final surge when Chinthaka Perera came in at No. 10 and smashed 19 off 7 balls. The target of 175 was always going to be a stern task for the Combined Provinces line-up, but to capitulate in 13 overs would have disappointed them. Chanaka Welegedara struck twice early, before Suraj Randiv and Perera ran through the rest of the batting with six wickets between them, consigning Combined Provinces to their third-straight defeat in the tournament.
Basnahira also completed a thumping win on the day, chasing Kandurata’s 120 all out in just 14.1 overs without losing a wicket. Ishara Amerasinghe and Tillakaratne Dilshan combined to restrict Kandurata to a low total. Amerasinghe struck in his first over, and when Rangana Herath removed Tharanga Paranavitana, Kandurata were struggling at 18 for 2. There was bit of a recovery from there, with Chanaka Wijesinghe scoring 42 and putting together a 50-run stand with Farveez Maharoof. But Tillakaratne Dilshan chipped away at the wickets, finishing with figures of 3 for 23 and then Amerasinghe ran through the lower order to finish with 4 for 18.Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dilshan Munaweera made light work of the target, the former racing to 56 not out off 34 balls and the latter getting 57 not out off 51 balls.

ScorecardAn entertaining stand of 132 between Darren Stevens and Sam Northeast helped Kent to a four-wicket victory over the Netherlands in the Clydesdale Bank 40.Stevens was at his fluent best with 70 from 67 balls, while Northeast more than played his part with 58 not out as Kent won with more than four overs to spare to bring an end to a successful 160th Canterbury Cricket Week.Allrounder Stevens, whose knock was a season’s best, and Northeast helped Kent recover from 51 for 4 to score 200 for 6 in reply to Netherlands’ 199 for 6, which was dominated by a record seventh-wicket partnership of 124 in 106 balls between Tom de Grooth and Mudassar Bukhari.Pakistan-born Bukhari chanced his arm with several lusty blows in a season’s best unbeaten knock of 78 from 62 balls, featuring seven fours and two sixes. His partner, de Grooth, anchored the innings with an unbeaten 37 from 49 as the pair ensured the Netherlands had something to bowl at after having slumped to 75 for 6.Kent had earlier looked like bowling the Netherlands out for less than 100 when a lively opening spell from Wahab Riaz and Azhar Mahmood heralded two wickets as the Dutch side were reduced to 7 for 2.Wilfred Diepeveen then went to Simon Cook and visiting skipper Peter Borren walked after edging a slow James Tredwell turner to Geraint Jones as the Netherlands slipped to 67 for 4. Adam Ball, the left-arm seamer, then bowled Michael Swart to end his 46-ball knock of 17 and Tim Gruijters, who missed a straight one.It was then left to Bukhari and de Grooth to share in a vital partnership, although they were helped along the way by 19 wides by an, at times, wayward Kent attack.Kent, too, struggled in the first 10 overs of their reply, losing four quick wickets as the ball continued to do plenty on a two-paced St Lawrence track. Openers Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond, in for absent skipper Rob Key, both fell to left-arm seamer Shane Mott and when Mahmood and Martin van Jaarsveld were both out in the first nine overs, Kent were struggling at 51 for 4.However, Stevens and Northeast, who was dropped by wicketkeeper Barresi when on 49, shared in a crucial stand from 136 balls. The home side lost Stevens four overs before the end and Geraint Jones, leaving Adam Ball to hit the winning boundary off the penultimate ball of the 35th over as Kent recorded just their fourth win in nine outings in the CB40.