All posts by h716a5.icu

England are set to tinker with their top three again by dropping opener Alex Hales for the first warm-up match of their Sri Lanka tour

Alan Gardner20-Nov-2014England are set to tinker with their one-day top three again by dropping opener Alex Hales for the first warm-up match of their Sri Lanka tour. Moeen Ali is expected to take Hales’ place alongside Alastair Cook, with Ian Bell also coming back into the side after missing England’s previous two ODIs against India.The absence of Hales does not necessarily mean he won’t start the Sri Lanka series as Cook’s opening partner but it is a further evidence of uncertainty around the top order.Moeen opens the batting for Worcestershire and has shown himself to be a languid striker of the ball but he is a left-hander like Cook, which could help opposition bowlers find a line to test both. Bell and Cook were England’s previous opening partnership and enjoyed a steady association between 2012 and 2014 but they were broken up to accommodate the more explosive talents of Hales.Hales is currently ranked the No. 3 T20 batsman in the world and his hundred against Sri Lanka at the World T20 earlier this year is the only time an England batsman has achieved three figures in the format. He only managed 92 runs in four ODI innings against India at the end of the summer but had been touted as a possible matchwinner at the World Cup.Moeen made his England one-day debut on the tour of the Caribbean ahead of the World T20, opening the batting alongside Michael Lumb and scoring one half-century from three innings. He made 67 off 50 balls against India at Edgbaston batting at No. 7, before moving up to No. 3 with Bell out injured. His offspin provides another facet, one which could be particularly useful in Sri Lankan conditions.”At the moment, we’re trying to find a settled combination as a team,” Peter Moores, England’s head coach, said. “I think anyone who’s watched us play – we haven’t played as well as we want to. There are certain slots up for grabs, and it’s a case of people getting a chance to go out and grab them.”Hales, initially viewed by England as a T20 specialist, had a breakthrough season in 2014, scoring more than 1000 first-class runs along with four List A centuries at an average of nearly 50. However, Moores and Cook seemingly continue to value circumspection at the top of the order, with the aim of providing a platform for powerful hitters such as Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler lower down.Whether that will work anywhere outside of England is a well-worn subject for debate but the benching of Hales is another rebuke for those calling for a change in ethos. While Moeen’s more dexterous batting may be better suited to the subcontinent – despite Hales’ T20 ton coming in Bangladesh – Moores confirmed that England’s planning goes beyond the Sri Lanka series.”We’ve got to try to win this tour first,” he said. “But it would be daft not to be thinking forward to the World Cup. We’re trying to move to be a more positive side, with both bat and ball, take every opportunity to score runs and put pressure on the opposition. It’s not a simple process to say ‘I’m going to walk out and whack it’.”

The pitch in Mirpur was something of a revelation for Suresh Raina, who said: “Especially in the subcontinent, I haven’t seen a wicket do this much in the last 10 years”

Alagappan Muthu in Mirpur19-Jun-2014The pitch in Mirpur was something of a revelation for Suresh Raina, the India captain. The monsoons in Bangladesh had been delayed, but their impact led to the final match becoming the first rained out at Shere Bangla Stadium. Under overcast conditions and a deck that did not lack in moisture, lateral movement was almost perennially available and batsmen had to cope with some testing bounce as well.”Especially in the subcontinent, I haven’t seen a wicket do this much in the last 10 years,” Raina said. “It was good for the team, for the batsmen to adapt to these conditions and take it to England and Australia for the Tests and the World Cup. Bangladesh are also going to West Indies. So I think it was a good battle between bat and ball and winning the series was important.”The average score in an ODI at Mirpur has been 240, but over the course of the last two ODIs, India had been bundled out for 105 and were on 119 for 9 when the rain ended things today. Bangladesh succumbed for 58 on Tuesday. There is room for an argument that both teams had been caught unawares by the amount of help that was on offer. Raina believed conditions like these made batsmen work harder and the bowlers were also allowed to come into their own.”Whenever we play in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, I think the batsmen always have the upper hand. Here, rain was coming in and bowlers had a new ball at both ends. So you had to control your shots and decide when to attack and when not to. Still I think, both sides played really well, especially India.”Everyone stepped up to the plate. Most importantly all the bowlers had a fantastic tour. Especially Stuart Binny and Mohit Sharma . I think the two debutants, Parvez and Akshar also did really well. When you come to any tour, one thing that comes to your mind is that you need to win all the games. The series was tough, the wicket was doing something. Very happy with the boys, they did a fantastic job.”Four of the squad that visited Bangladesh – Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny and Wriddhiman Saha – would also feature for the tour to England. The lessons learned from facing probing seam bowling in favourable conditions could help them.”A lot of young players have come out of one and a half months of IPL. They were playing their first tour in Bangladesh when the wicket was doing something. We have learned how to tackle seaming conditions and a few players from our side are going to England so they could utilise these conditions to prepare for the Tests.”When asked how India could handle tougher conditions outside the subcontinent, Raina pointed out that long-format cricket would prompt a change in mindset and the pitches for those matches would be truer, which would help the batsmen. “That wicket is going to be more batting-friendly. Bounce will be there, but at the same time you can play your shots. Here I think the wicket was really doing a lot.”

South Africa’s bowling attack proved too good for Ireland in the first of their three T20s played in Solihull

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2014
ScorecardMarizanne Kapp played an important innings for South Africa•ICC/Solaris ImagesSouth Africa’s bowling attack proved too good for Ireland in the first of their three T20s played in Solihull. Although they did not have it all their own way with the bat, Ireland then slumped to 71 all out.Shabnim Ismail and captain Dane van Niekerk produced miserly four-over spells, conceding just 10 and eight runs respectively. Ireland’s last eight wickets fell for 39.It had been a tricky start for South Africa, who completed their series against England on Sunday, as they slipped to 28 for 3 in the seventh over.The innings was given some bulk by a stand of 65 between Marizanne Kapp and Bernadine Bezuidenhout then late striking from Chloe Tryon, who hit 28 off 12 balls, provided them further breathing pace.Isobel Joyce was the pick of Ireland’s bowlers with 3 for 16 and then top scored in the reply.

Zaheer Khan’s long-term coach, Sudhir Naik, is not very optimistic about the pacer making a comeback for India

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2014Zaheer Khan’s long-term coach, Sudhir Naik, is not very optimistic about the pacer making a comeback for India. Speaking to following Zaheer’s exclusion from the India squad for the England Tests, Naik said he does not think the selectors will consider him for national duty in future.Zaheer had injured his back while playing in the IPL for Mumbai Indians. Following a visit to London for treatment, he is now back home, in Mumbai.His only chance of being recalled, Naik said, was if the group of younger bowlers selected for the England tour failed “miserably”. “I don’t think the selectors will consider Zaheer again. It will be very, very difficult for Zaheer to make a comeback into the Indian team,” Naik said. “The only possibility is if the younger lot of pace bowlers selected fail miserably. Then, the selectors might consider Zaheer again. Otherwise, there is no chance.”The BCCI had not specified why Zaheer had been left out of the 18-man squad that included six pacers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron and Pankaj Singh – whether it was due to his injury or whether he had been dropped. Naik said in his opinion it was because of doubts over whether Zaheer could last the duration of the five-Test series.”Although he would be fit for the Test series, the selectors would not like to take a risk with Zaheer’s fitness,” he said. “Their major concern would have been whether he could last for the full series. So, that is why they did not select him.”Zaheer, 35, is currently fourth on India’s wicket charts, with 311 scalps from 92 matches. The previous time India went to England, in 2011, Zaheer’s hamstring gave way on the first day of the first Test, and that set the tone for a disastrous series for the visitors. Thereafter his fitness remained a talking point and his form fell away, culminating in him being dropped during the home Tests against England in December 2012.In his time away from the national team, he underwent rigorous fitness training in France with Yuvraj Singh, and returned looking in much better shape. He was recalled for the South Africa tour in December last year. In the New Zealand series that followed, he further dispelled the worries over his fitness when he bowled extended spells – 107 overs over two Tests. However, the latest injury will not be easily overcome, Naik said.”His dream was to complete 100 Tests and then retire. But I guess now that will not happen. I was confident that he could achieve his goal when he returned to full fitness after a nearly one-year injury lay-off. But unfortunately, this injury has practically ended his international career. There are only 25% chances of him making a comeback now.”

Mumbai Indians have signed up the right-arm seamer Praveen Kumar as their replacement for the injured Zaheer Khan

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2014Mumbai Indians have signed the right-arm seamer Praveen Kumar as their replacement for the injured Zaheer Khan, who played six games before he was ruled out for the rest of the season because of a side strain (left latissimus dorsi muscle).Praveen will be available for Mumbai’s next game against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.Praveen went unsold in the auction in February. He was a regular for Kings XI Punjab in the 2013 IPL, taking 12 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 6.62. He picked eight wickets in six games for Uttar Pradesh in the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before the IPL. He last played for India in a T20 against South Africa in 2012.Since his exclusion from the Indian team, Praveen has struggled with fitness and disciplinary issues. He couldn’t play a full domestic first-class season in 2012-13 due to injury and his comeback was marred by a suspension, earned by an angry outburst against a player during a Corporate Trophy match in February 2013. Following a full season with Kings XI in 2013, injuries kept him out of the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy.Praveen, who was a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008 to 2010, moved to Kings XI Punjab in 2011.

India born Ish Sodhi is looking forward to the challenge of bowling against India, who are fine players of spin

Abhishek Purohit in Auckland04-Feb-2014Ish Sodhi was born in India and spent his childhood years in the country before migrating with his parents to New Zealand. He could be playing his first match against the Indians at Eden Park in two days’ time, and his parents could be watching from the stands. While he feels that will be a special moment, he makes it clear it means a lot to be able to represent New Zealand. Sodhi is only 21, and says it will be his hardest challenge so far to bowl to the Indians, who are such fine players of spin.”First and foremost the main thing is I might get a chance to play for my country and that is the biggest thing for me,” Sodhi said. “And any chance to play India, obviously I was born there (Ludhiana) and it is special being able to play against India because I have a massive Indian heritage. But I am playing against the best players in the world. That is the big thing to come out of it. The players are also very good players of spin. In general Indian batsmen do come hard at spin. It is quite exciting. Emotion is always going to be there.”It is a very big challenge. Obviously you want to be playing against the best in the world and you want to be challenged, and that is the way you find yourself as a cricketer and a person. Also as a person you put yourself in tough situations. Playing at Eden Park is also special to me.”Sodhi grew up idolizing Anil Kumble and has recently spent some time talking legspin with Shane Warne. He said the biggest takeaway from the meeting was Warne’s ability to focus. “As a child you always like to copy bowlers, you try to be Shane Warne, you try to be Anil Kumble. He was my hero growing up. But it is different because you get to a point where you sort of tell yourself ‘I can’t be like Anil Kumble, I can’t be Shane Warne because I’m not built the same way, my mind doesn’t work the same way’. So I have to take into account the bigger things they do and sort of make them the best I can make them with the ability that I have.”The biggest thing for me was that he (Warne) was so balanced about the approach to the game. Whether that be, inside the cricket field or outside the cricket field. He was never really clouding his mind with too many thoughts. But when he did bowl everything he took into account how he was going to bowl that day. That was massive to me, kind of relaxed. You are not the only person under pressure.”As a young bowler, advice comes from all corners, and Sodhi said one had to learn how to filter out the useful bits, although he would keep talking to people who were close to him. “A lot of people do offer you advice, and the way you use that advice is up to you really. Some stuff is really good and some is not helpful. But being young you sort of listen and depending on how tough you are you sort of list things you should and shouldn’t do. That is how I am learning as I grow. As I say I am still young and I have quite a lot to learn before I can feel like a whole package.”I have spoken to a few people like Daniel Vettori, we have spoken a few times about it but not in too much detail. In the next two days I will have a few conversations. Otherwise a lot of people in this team have played a lot of cricket and I will be able to pick their brains.”Sodhi goes into the Tests on the back of a five-wicket haul for Northern Districts against Canterbury. While he said his rhythm was good, he admitted he would have to perform a defensive role as well, especially in the first innings. “(With) legspin you see yourself as an attacking weapon. But I think there are going to be times in the Test series there will be the holding job and I might have to do that. It will be the pace bowlers in the first innings and if it does spin later in the second innings then I might have to (attack). It is about adjusting between those two modes.”

After yet another defeat chasing a 250-plus total, Misbah-ul-Haq said Pakistan could have won easily had he and Umar Akmal remained at the crease till the end

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-20140:00

‘We should have won that’ – Misbah

Pakistan’s 12-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the opening match of the Asia Cup meant they hadn’t managed to chase a 250-plus target successfully since February 2011. Asked what the issue was, their captain Misbah-ul-Haq said they had no problem constructing chases, but simply lacked finishing.”I think there is no problem,” he said. “We just chased even in the Test match [against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, where they scored 302 in 57 overs in the fourth innings], and the effort even today was good. A little bit more, we should have batted the same way, batsmen should have taken a little bit more responsibility and finished the game.”Misbah-ul-Haq’s 73 took Pakistan to the brink of victory•AFPAt one stage, with Misbah and Umar Akmal at the crease and both having crossed 50, Pakistan seemed to be cantering to an easy win. Their batsmen then proceeded to gift Sri Lanka wickets with a series of poor shots.”The way Umar and I had a partnership going, if we had just played out the overs the match was easy,” Misbah said. “Only a wicket could get them back in the game, and that is the mistake we made.”Pakistan had done well to restrict Sri Lanka to 296, after Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara had laid the platform for a massive total with their 161-run stand for the second wicket. Misbah was pleased with the job his bowlers had done at the death, but wished they had started the match a little stronger.”In the last 10 overs, if you see, whichever bowlers we used, they gave away 64 runs,” Misbah said. “This was the reason we held them back. Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan have been bowling the last few overs for some time now, and they did the same thing today. I think at the start we bowled too many bad balls, or boundary balls. If we had bowled a little better then, the 10-15 run margin that decided the game, I think we could have done better.”

Sulakshan Kulkarni, the Mumbai coach, has strongly backed Pravin Tambe, the 42-year-old legspinner who is yet to play a first-class match

Abhishek Purohit05-Dec-2013Sulakshan Kulkarni, the Mumbai coach, has strongly backed Pravin Tambe, the 42-year-old legspinner who is yet to play a first-class match. Kulkarni said Tambe had hardly been hit even in the harsh Twenty20 format, and had delivered wickets whenever asked to by his Rajasthan Royals captain Rahul Dravid.Tambe was included in the Mumbai Ranji squad to face Jharkhand on the strength of his recent performances in club cricket and the unimpressive form of younger spinners such as Iqbal Abdulla. Tambe impressed in the Champions League T20 for Royals earlier this year. He was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets in five games at an economy-rate of 4.10.”Forty two ? (So what if he is 42?) He has performed,” Kulkarni said. “It is not about how many wickets he has taken (in club cricket). It is about the quality. People have seen how he bowls. In all the IPL seasons so far, I have never seen a legspinner, including a quality one like Amit Mishra, who has never been hit for six. In the entire tournament (CLT20) Tambe was never hit for six.”Whenever the captain wanted a wicket, he would get it. That too on a seaming track in Jaipur. For a legspinner to take wickets on a seaming track requires heart, both from the captain and the bowler. Name me a bowler who has not been hit for six. He has all the deliveries. Legspinner, googly, flipper. And the temperament.”Kulkarni recalled the great Mumbai left-arm spinner Padmakar Shivalkar’s comeback in 1988 when he was nearly 48. “I was part of that game against Karnataka here in which Paddy played a key role. He turned the game with two crucial wickets (of Gundappa Viswanath and Roger Binny). We came through in a very close finish.”Kulkarni was guarded on whether Tambe would be handed what would be an incredible first-class debut for a man who would consistently stand out over the years among the gaggle of local net bowlers for his age and tirelessness. Kulkarni would only say that there was nothing wrong in selecting a 42-year-old in the squad when he had the quality.However, Abhishek Nayar, the Mumbai captain, suggested the Wankhede pitch might not be one on which you would play two spinners. Left-armer Vishal Dabholkar, 16 years younger than Tambe, has been Mumbai’s first-choice spinner this season, and has taken 20 wickets from four matches at an average of 16.80.

Lalit Modi’s plan of returning as a cricket administrator in India, via the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, has been put on hold because of confusion over the election dates

Amol Karhadkar and Nagraj Gollapudi19-Nov-2013Lalit Modi’s plan of returning as a cricket administrator in India, via the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, has been put on hold because of confusion over the election dates. The association is split into two factions, each of which has announced an election date, and the dispute over who controls the RCA is now being contested in various courts across Rajasthan.Modi had been banned for life by the BCCI from all cricket matters in India but the ban was stayed by the Rajasthan High Court in October, following which he announced his intention to run for the RCA president’s post. His appeal before the court exploited a technicality – since the RCA is governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act, the BCCI ban cannot be applied to him – and the court agreed with his contention.The incumbent, CP Joshi, then advanced the election date from December 7 to November 24 while the opposing faction announced it would hold the election on November 23. Those dates, however, are now a matter for the courts to decide.The Rajasthan Sports Act

When the Rajasthan Sports Act was passed by the state cabinet in 2005, it was the first sports act in India. The Act, with Sanjay Dixit as its key formulator, had suggested drastic measures for sports administration, like one-term rule for principal office bearers for sports bodies.

The Act makes it mandatory for every sports body registered in Rajasthan to follow its guidelines. Had it not been for the Act, Lalit Modi wouldn’t have been able to become the RCA president, nor recontest despite being banned for life by BCCI. Before the Act was framed, RCA elections included votes of 32 district associations and 66 individual members. The new Act nullified individual members’ votes and that paved the way for Modi to head the RCA.

According to the Section 8.2 (c) of the Act, only the secretary can call for an election. Since Sanjay Dixit, the former secretary general, was sidestepped and KK Sharma was appointed as officiating secretary early last year, both the warring officials have announced separate dates for elections.

Though it was initially welcomed by the cricket fraternity, slowly virtually all the sports associations started opposing the Act. In fact, in June 2013, a delegation of various sports bodies in the state met with the sports minister and asked him to repeal the Act which was “brought in only for cricket”.

Modi said his decision to make a comeback – he became the RCA president in 2005 – was because of the way Joshi had ignored cricket in Rajasthan. “Cricket has taken a beating in Rajasthan. My opponent has not done anything for the game. I was hoping as a federal minister he [Joshi] would have done a lot but I am disappointed. We had worked very, very hard and it is about time we start getting our act together,” Modi told ESPNcricinfo from London.He said he’d been in touch with various district associations within Rajasthan and was expecting healthy support on the elections. “I have good support from various associations and we are looking forward to the elections on November 23 and 24.”Modi’s ally in the current campaign is Sanjay Dixit, a senior bureaucrat who had helped Joshi defeat him in a bitterly fought RCA election in 2009. Dixit, who was elected RCA secretary, was a vocal critic of Modi’s autocratic style of functioning but he and Joshi too fell out. Dixit was then replaced by KK Sharma as the officiating secretary at RCA.On Monday, Dixit issued a press release pointing out to an order passed by the RCA election officer that stated that he had returned to function as the secretary while deciding to “divest KK Sharma of all functions with effect from October 28”. Dixit himself announced the elections on November 24.Asked why he had decided to join hands with Dixit, Modi said both men were on the same page as far as cricket was concerned. “Sanjay and I were together as far as cricket is concerned. Then we had differences on certain issues. But he is a strong cricket administrator without doubt, which we had seen when I had left and he came in briefly at RCA. But he had a difference of opinion with Joshi and he was disappointed by the non-performance of the RCA,” Modi said.Modi and Dixit might be positive about their alliance but there is no clarity and certainty about the poll dates. The biggest hurdle surrounds the legitimacy of the list of candidates and voters. There are 33 voters, one from each of the affiliated district units of RCA. Even though both Joshiand Modi are in both lists, their alleged attempt to push their own supporters into the final lists has only worsened the situation.”What most of the voters have been demanding is a free and fair election and I am ready for that,” Dixit said. “But the other party is not agreeing to, which has caused confusion. The voter list is being changed by them to suit themselves and it has resulted in multiple litigations. In a field of 33, if you change seven voters, it is as good as sealing the fate of theelection.”The Sharma faction’s response was similar as it blamed the Modi-Dixit combine for creating the mess.

New Zealand’s six major associations have completed their contracting process for the 2013-14 season, handing out 14 contracts each

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2013New Zealand’s six major associations have completed their contracting process for the 2013-14 season, handing out 14 contracts each. The associations had already handed out 11 to 13 contracts each on July 26.Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, who turned down a national contract due to uncertainty over his recovery from surgery on his Achilles tendon, has not been included in the list for Northern Knights.Allrounder Jacob Oram will also be without any contract this season. Oram had given up his national contract in December last year, after reaching an agreement with New Zealand Cricket. He had said he could no longer make “a full-time commitment to NZC” due to various factors including his age and the then impending birth of his second child, but would continue playing Twenty20 cricket for Central Districts and in various competitions around the world.Veteran allrounder Scott Styris was among those to benefit from the final round of contracting, being added to Northern Districts’ squad.The contracts come into effect on October 1, 2013.Full squads
Auckland: Dean Bartlett, Michael Bates, Craig Cachopa, Lockie Ferguson, Tipene Friday, Colin de Grandhomme, Donovan Grobbelaar, Gareth Hopkins, Anaru Kitchen, Tim McIntosh, Robert O’Donnell, Matt Quinn, Jeet Raval, Bhupinder Singh
Added: Robert O’DonnellCanterbury: Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Brad Cachopa, Andrew Ellis, Matthew Henry, Roneel Hira, Simon Keen, Ryan McCone, Matthew McEwan, Henry Nicholls, Rob Nicol, Shanan Stewart, Logan van Beek, George Worker
Added: Simon KeenCentral Districts: Carl Cachopa, Greg Hay, Jamie How, Adam Milne, Andrew Mathieson, Tarun Nethula, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Ajaz Patel, Dean Robinson, Bevan Small, Ben Smith, Kruger van Wyk, Ben Wheeler, William Young
Added: Ajaz PatelNorthern Districts: Graeme Aldridge, James Baker, Jono Boult, Anton Devcich, Cameron Fletcher, Daniel Flynn, Tony Goodin, Jono Hickey, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Ish Sodhi, Scott Styris, Anurag Verma, Brad Wilson
Added: James Baker, Tony Goodin, Scott StyrisOtago: Nick Beard, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Mark Craig, Derek De Boorder, Jacob Duffy, James McMillan, James Neesham, Aaron Redmond, Iain Robertson, Jesse Ryder, Blair Soper, Sam Wells
Added: Blair SoperWellington: Brent Arnel, Josh Brodie, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Andy McKay, Iain McPeake, Stephen Murdoch, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Michael Pollard, Luke Ronchi, Ili Tugaga, Henry Walsh, Luke Woodcock
Added: Iain McPeake