All posts by csb10.top

JOHANNESBURG – Australia should win the World Cup.It’s that simple.Ricky Ponting is the captain who, when players from all nations are paraded at Newlands in Cape Town tomorrow night for the opening ceremony, will have the most faith in the 14 surrounding him.Australia has some of the best bowlers: Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne.”I think we stack up very well with the other countries – very well,” said McGrath.”We’ve got all areas covered. Very good fast bowlers, very good spinners, very good medium pacers, we’ve got all bases covered. We’re very happy with what we’ve got.”They have the best line-up of batsmen: Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Ponting, Damien Martyn, Michael Bevan, Darren Lehmann and Jimmy Maher.”We probably couldn’t be much happier with the bat,” said Ponting.Some of the best fielders: Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Brad Hogg.”The one-day game is a chance to show your skills, dive around in thefield – Ricky is the best in the world and other blokes in our side areexciting to watch. I enjoy watching them from first slip,” said Warne.The best wicketkeeper-batsman: Gilchrist.”We really don’t know and understand how good Adam Gilchrist is to ‘keepfor that long and at that standard, which is outstanding, then come outand flay attacks like he does with a minimum of fuss,” said Maher.Arguably the best tacticians: Ponting, Warne, Gilchrist, coach JohnBuchanan.”We talk tactics normally a night or two before the game,” said McGrath.”We sit down and have a team meeting, a planning session. We look at certain players and discuss plans we have for each opposition batsman and also how we’re going to face each bowler.”It’s very well planned and thought out these days, most of it on computer.”We can type in any ball, any shot, anything we want to see.”We can find out the results of every possible delivery. If there’s ashort ball outside off stump, we can see where it goes more often thannot from a particular batsman.”Video technology plays a big part in getting us ready.”The coolest head: Bevan.”All I try and do is … make sure I give myself options,” he said.”I guess I know what works for me, the shots that I can play, the shotsI can’t.”Just having a clear objective in the tight stages of matches is important.”And they have the wood on every other nation, especially the hosts.”We’ve definitely got a psychological hold over South Africa,” said Warne.”The results prove that in all the different forms and the major gameswe’ve played against them.”When it’s got to the crunch, we’ve managed to beat them or they’ve beenin a winning situation and we’ve come back to win.”There’s an easy way to win a World Cup and a hard way.West Indies did it the easy way in 1975 and 1979 when they swept allbefore them.Australia did it the hard way in 1999 when two early losses to Pakistanand New Zealand left it needing six straight wins and a tie to lift thetrophy.As thrilling as that charge home was, Gilchrist wants no repeat.”I wouldn’t think the best way to go is getting ourselves in a sudden-death stage after three games like we did in ’99 – not good for your health, that,” said Gilchrist.”I don’t know that there’s any blueprint, any successful formula to winning the World Cup.”We won last time after very ordinary games in the first three games.”Pakistan, I guess, were very similar in 1992 in that they started slowly and really built the momentum up.”But what’s to say you can’t go and win every match?”We’re confident and we’re looking forward to the tournament.”Let the games begin.

Selection chairman Sir Richard Hadlee threw a positive spin on New Zealand’s early exit from the World Cup today.Speaking on Radio Sport, the national sport station, he said that New Zealand had gone into the tournament ranked No 8 in the world and could claim to be ranked No 4 or 5 now which indicated the side had made some progress.The side had also won 11 of its last 16 games which had not happened before.Hadlee defended the side selected from claims that not enough specialists were named by saying the top five or six batsmen had been selected as specialists while several of the bowlers had been selected on a similar basis.He said the side had won five games in a row and apart from the last one and a half games, the side had been winning.The loss to Australia had not been a selection issue, it was one where the players had to take a degree of accountability for what happened, he said.Hadlee said the balance of the side had been ‘absolutely right’ and it needed to be remembered that the side had to be picked by December 31, or January 2 in New Zealand’s case.He said the choice of opening with Daniel Vettori as a batsman had been a calculated gamble against the West Indies which had done reasonably well. It was attempted against Australia as an unorthodox move to try and break up the Australian game plan.It hadn’t worked on that occasion, he said.Hadlee also confirmed that he had been part of the selection process of the side, along with coach Denis Aberhart and captain Stephen Fleming and all teams chosen had been a unanimous choice.The opening batting had been an unsettled problem for 15 years and the decision to bat Nathan Astle at No 3 was because of the fact he was so crucial to the side. It was done in an attempt to make it easier for him with five overs or more having been bowled when he batted, and when that had happened the tactic had worked. But on other occasions he was facing in the first or second over.Hadlee added that the failure to go to Kenya had impacted on the chances for players like Mathew Sinclair and Daryl Tuffey. If New Zealand had gone to Kenya and picked up four points, they would have qualified for the Super Six before having to play Canada and that would have allowed those players a chance.Hadlee had been delighted with the form shown by Fleming who he described as superb while Shane Bond had been electric with his bowling.Hadlee said he and the selectors now had to look forward to Sri Lanka and it was time to reflect and reassess on the World Cup while also taking into consideration some very good performances in domestic cricket.”Maybe there are one or two players who may be introduced for the tour,” he said.

The Somerset pace attack gave just a hint of what lies in store for their supporters when they reduced Loughborough UCCE to 90 for 6 at the County Ground before the students recovered to 132 for 7 to hang on for a draw in their three day match that ended today.Resuming on their overnight total of 160 without loss, Peter Bowler and Rob Turner moved comfortably onto 191 before Bowler was dismissed for 84.Skipper Mike Burns joined Turner and took the score onto 307 before the wicket-keeper retired hurt on 139, which brought Ian Blackwell to the crease.The second wicket pair of Burns and Blackwell added 120 in just 13 overs before Somerset declared on 427 for 1 at 2.25 pm. By the time the innings closed Burns had reached 118, whilst Blackwell had blasted his way to an unbeaten 75, from 46 balls which included 3 x 6’s and 10 x 4’s.Facing a daunting 496 for victory Nixon McLean quickly made inroads into the Loughborough students second innings when he removed Rob White in his second over as the Northants youngster gave a catch to Richard Johnson at mid off, to give the West Indian his first wicket for his new county.The students moved onto 35 before McLean struck again a few overs later, when he tempted Jimmy Adams into edging a catch to Rob Turner.Simon Francis was looking equally as dangerous, but bowling without much luck, until the seventeenth over when with the score on 60 he claimed his first scalp when he held on to a caught and bowled chance from his brother John who had made 20.The game appeared to be slipping towards an inevitable draw when Francis suddenly brought it back to life when he struck again in the twentieth over taking a hat trick toreduce Loughborough from 90 for 3 to 90 for 6 in the space of just three balls.McLean claimed another wicket with the score on 107, when he had David Wigley caught by Rob Turner, but the Loughborough eighth wicket pair held on bravely to reach 132 for 7 at the close, by which time Vikram Atri had reached an unbeaten 57.The Somerset pace duo claimed all of the wickets to fall, with Francis ending with 4 for 47, whilst McLean took 3 for 49.At the end of the day Somerset captain Mike Burns said: "This has been a very useful run out for us against one of the strongest university sides. Simon Francis bowled well, and has probably bowled his way into the team for Friday, whilst Nixon McLean had a good spell and took wickets."West Indian Test star McLean said: "I just wanted to get some more overs under my belt and I was pleased with the way that it went for me today. Towards the end there was a bit more in the wicket for me, but it was just nice to register my first wickets for my new county."Meanwhile due to a cancellation the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground is able to offer individual coaching at at special discount price over the next three days.Somerset Cricket Development Oficer Andrew Moulding told me: “In view of the last minute cancellation we can now offer individual coaching at the bargain price of £20 for one hour , which discounts further to £18 for Somerset members.”These sessions are only available during the daytime this week and anyone interested in taking advantage of the offer should contact the Centre of Excellence on 01823 352266.

JOHANNESBURG – Andrew Symonds had a tear running down his cheek.Darren Lehmann had the ball in his pocket.Glenn McGrath had the biggest scalp in the game.Andy Bichel was pinching himself.Brett Lee was holding a bottle of water, but that would be a beer soonenough.Humbling India by 125 runs in the World Cup final provoked emotionsamong the players ranging from joy, relief, pride and immensesatisfaction to a hope that some joy had been given to Australiansaffected by the war.Symonds paused for a full ten seconds before finding the words toexpress what a World Cup victory meant to him.Dead and buried as an international cricketer last year, he resurrectedhis career in emphatic fashion in South Africa.He topped the batting averages with 163, fielding faultlessly and taking2-7 with his medium-pacers in the final.”It means just about everything,” he said.”A tear rolling down your cheek mean anything to you? I was in tears outthere when we won today.”Symonds said it was “no doubt” the biggest moment of his 26-year-oldlife when Lehmann took the winning catch from the bowling of GlennMcGrath and the players mobbed each other.”I’m just so happy – you’re out in the paddock and that last catch wastaken and we were all grabbing each other,” he said.”You look around that huddle and see people’s faces.”I have never been to war but it was like we were in the trenchestogether today and we won like the Anzacs had won, it was really special… squeezing the 15 blokes as hard as I could when that last catch wastaken.”McGrath was overshadowed to a degree by Brett Lee during the tournamentbut he did the business again today, taking the wicket of SachinTendulkar with the fifth ball of his first over.”He’s definitely a big key wicket in their line-up and to knock him overin the first over I was pretty happy with, yeah,” said McGrath.”They’ve still got some very good batsmen but chasing 360, and they’djust lost one of the best batsmen in the world, it just made their taska lot harder.”Bichel was a revelation at the Cup, moving from the team’s fringes toliving out a fantasy that seemed impossible until first-string fastbowler Jason Gillespie was forced to fly home with strained heelligaments.”No doubt I enjoyed the World Cup,” said Bichel, who averaged 12.31 withthe ball and 117 with the bat.”It’s something I really wanted to play in and I enjoyed every moment ifit, from all the games to things outside of that.”It’s all a bit of a blur at the moment, obviously, to win a World Cup,but with everything happening back home with the war and stuffhappening, hopefully this sort of gees everyone on a bit.”It’s nice to be out there enjoying yourself playing cricket, it’ssomething that we love to do, but with things going on and guys goingaway to war, I really feel for them.”Hopefully it’s a bit a gee-up for everyone and we can put a smile oneveryone’s face.”Lee’s two wickets in the final gave him 22 for the tournament and secondplace on the bowling list, just one shy of Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas.In terms of raw speed, blinding spells and entertainment value, Lee wasmiles ahead.”It’s definitely up there as the most brilliant thing that’s everhappened to me as a cricketer and an athlete,” said Lee.”The way that the guys all hugged each other … it just meant so muchto us, we’ve just worked so hard for it.”Words can’t explain how we felt at that exact time, so it was a prettyterrific moment.”Lehmann hit the winning runs four years ago.Today he took the winning catch.The ball was nestled in his left pocket.”I’ll keep that,” he said.

Ricky Ponting may have been named Man of the Series after Tuesday’s thrilling fourth Test in Antigua, but his absence from that match has enabled Matthew Hayden to reclaim second place in the PwC batting ratings. After a lean series (by his recent standards) Hayden burst back to form with 177 in Australia’s second innings. England’s Michael Vaughan, however, holds on to the No. 1 position after his heroics in the Ashes series.It was a less successful match for Glenn McGrath. He picked up three wickets, but his contribution was overshadowed by an ugly row with Ramnaresh Sarwan. McGrath missed the first two Tests due to his wife’s illness, and after a wicketless Test in Barbados, he has slipped below Shaun Pollock in the bowling ratings.West Indies are on the up, however. Brian Lara has returned to the world’s top five, while both their century-makers Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, as well as Jermaine Lawson, who took 7 for 78 in Australia’s first innings, have also enjoyed significant gains.

Resumption of normal cricketing relations between all members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has to be the governing body’s aim, according to Malcolm Gray, the retiring ICC president.There was no simple answer to the issue of safety and security, a factor which had been a major problem over the past 12 months, Gray said in the ICC annual report.”Our members are drawn from a diverse range of cultures and we have seen that increased political tensions around the world create real and perceived security risks in some of the places where cricket is played.”Pakistan have been especially hard hit, with New Zealand’s tour last year cancelled midway due to a bomb blast outside the team’s hotel, while a tour by Australia was moved to Sri Lanka and Sharjah and a visit by India was cancelled.”These concerns also affected the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 with Kenya and Zimbabwe suffering following decisions by New Zealand and England respectively not to fulfil the fixtures scheduled in these countries.”As a result of the impact of these problems, the ICC would play an increasingly central role in addressing concerns by looking to work with the boards affected.”The ICC role – in conjunction with the boards – is to explore every possible option to ensure the continuation of scheduled matches while ensuring that any risk to players and officials is properly identified and addressed. Despite international tensions I am confident the ICC will be able to lead cricket through this difficult time.”Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC, said that the security problems had tested the ICC’s authority and while the times were challenging the ICC would seek pragmatic solutions to the issues by working with the boards.”The debate about the role of politics in sport will always be heated, divisive and impossible to resolve but the ICC’s view is clear and has the force of logic.”If the ICC took into account political consideration in deciding where matches should be played, few member countries would be immune from the risk that one or other country would refuse to play against it.”The ICC has been required to make many hard decisions in order to implement the board’s decisions. At times these have proved unpopular in some quarters but they have always been made without fear or favour.”

When Dave Richardson joined the ICC as general manager he wanted to be involved with the game on a much broader scale than he had done previously as wicketkeeper for South Africa. Now more than a year into his job, Richardson refuses to be caught offguard and – like his safe pair of hands – cautiously deals with thorny matters like greater use of technology in the game, umpiring errors, chucking and sledging. He presents his views on all those and more issues in this exclusive e-mail interview to Wisden CricInfo. Here are the excerpts:You have been with the ICC for more than a year now. At the outset you had said that unity among the member countries was the most pressing issue. Is that still a concern?
This is an issue recently echoed by Ehsan Mani in his first speech as ICC president, where he said: “Over the past year there have been issues in the game and decisions taken that have tested the unity of the ICC and its members. Over the coming months, one of the key roles for me will be to ensure that cricket is able to resolve these issues and move on from the disputes that have arisen. The ICC will continue to act fairly and impartially in addressing any issue.”It is often felt that the ICC is a body which is reluctant to take a tough stand on critical issues. What kind of problems is the ICC facing?
This is an outdated and inaccurate view of the role and remit of the ICC. Over recent years, the ICC has grown as an organisation and will continue to grow with the support of its members, acting as the driving force in international cricket. Over the course of my time at the ICC, the organisation has been faced with a number of cricketing challenges but through the recruitment of specialised and experienced staff, it is better equipped than ever to deal with these issues. The ICC has proved itself capable of tackling the often complex and difficult cricketing issues in an impartial and rigorous manner.In the Cricket Operations area alone we have introduced the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC umpires. This is the starting point for improving the standard of umpiring. Methods for the proper assessment and training of umpires have been introduced for the first time ever in world cricket. Other problem areas such as illegal deliveries, technology, safety and security have not been swept under the carpet but are being addressed. We are constantly reviewing policies and regulations and then putting in place measures to enforce these regulations.The recent verbal brawl between McGrath and Sarwan raised serious questions about how effective the ICC’s Code of Conduct actually is. What has the ICC done to ensure that the errant players are punished for their misdemeanour?
The Code of Conduct sets the expected standards of behaviour and has recently been strengthened to provide more powers for umpires and the ICC chief executive to lay charges after an incident has occurred. With the standards in place, the focus must now be on ensuring match officials apply the code where necessary.Why has the ICC opted against greater use of technology in the game?
Cricket is a game. Human error in the decision-making process of officials is part of all games. Why should cricket be any different? It is important to the fabric of cricket that the sport is umpired by humans, not robots, and the ICC has no interest in our umpires becoming glorified coat hangers. We will look at any technology on its merits but it will not be introduced at the expense of the umpire’s status as the key decision-maker in relation to the rules and regulations.The Champions Trophy was a successful experiment in terms of use of technology. Why wasn’t it continued?
The trial in Sri Lanka achieved exactly what we wanted it to: it gave us an insight into the use of certain technology under match conditions. What it did highlight was that there was no compelling case at this time to rush into introducing greater technology into the sport. Particularly as a number of practical problems emerged such as the consistency and reliability of some technology.Doesn’t technology take away from the authority of the umpire? Also, the ICC had recently claimed that more than 90% of decisions made by umpires are correct. Doesn’t that seem an exaggerated claim?
Technology alone does not make a mockery of umpires. In many cases it highlights just how difficult a job the umpires have and how well they perform this task. The figure of 90% is based on the analysis of all games we review and of all decisions umpires are required to make in a game.The referral of catches to the third umpire provides a good example of the dangers of rushing to introduce new technology. When it was brought in, people thought it would solve a particular problem. Instead it made it worse. The technology proved fallible and we’ve now moved away from this and given the power back to the on-field umpires. The lesson here is that we need to be cautious about technology. There are other steps that we are trialling to assist umpires such as pitch lines that should be closely examined before charging blindly down the `more technology’ path.Why can’t HawkEye be used as a tool to assist the umpires?
Hawkeye is a broadcaster’s tool designed and used to enhance television coverage and plays no role in the umpire’s work. It is a decision of the broadcasters if they want to use it. The use of this tool also gets back to the basic matter of principle – do you want human umpires or robots?At the ICC’s recent conclave in London, there was a proposal to introduce a third on-field umpire to spot no-balls. Why can’t the TV umpire be entrusted with the job?
This proposal was a side reference and has not been subject to any scrutiny. The point of raising it was to highlight that there are other, more human, alternatives that should be looked at as well as those proposed by people that think technology is the answer to every question.Prominent cricketers like Bob Simpson and Michael Holding have pointed out that chucking is prevalent in the game today. Why can’t the ICC take a firm stand on the issue. Is it afraid of legal action being taken by the individual boards or the accused player? Or does it think that charging prominent players who are the brand ambassadors of the game might result in a loss of revenue?
All of the above. The issue of illegal bowling actions is clearly a highly emotive one and no-one should lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with people when we deal with this issue. When I started at the ICC there was a three-stage process, it’s currently two-stage and there is a review underway to see if it can be more effective by becoming a single stage process.In the ideal world it wouldn’t be an issue at the international level because any concerns would be addressed before players reached this stage and there is work to be done in all countries to detect and address any problems well before a player makes it to the international level. As it stands, there are clearly defined steps in place to deal with this issue and umpires and referees are instructed to apply the laws of the game and ICC Playing Conditions evenly and without fear or favour.Moving forward we are working with the national boards to ensure that they are able to implement policies and strategies that effectively deal with this matter domestically as well as internationally.Some umpires have reportedly stated that the ICC has instructed them not to call players who have illegal bowling actions. Is there any truth to the statement?
I am unaware of any such instructions from the ICC or indeed the comments from these umpires about such ICC instructions and I would be pleased if you could give me some sense of where these comments have been made. As I have already said, the only instruction given to our umpires is to apply the rules fairly, without fear or favour and to the best of their ability.If a bowler has a congenital deformity in the bowling arm and his action is not in conformation with the laws of bowling, shouldn’t (a) it be called illegal or (b) the law be amended to accommodate these bowlers?
All international umpires are aware of the Laws of Cricket and the process for the review of bowlers reported with suspect bowling actions that supplements Law 24. The match officials are entrusted by the ICC to apply these provisions where appropriate. It is important to recognise that it is far harder for an on-field umpire to be sure that an action is suspect with the naked eye than it is with the benefit of a slow-motion replay. It is therefore unsurprising that recent incidents have tended to be reported after the close of play when umpires have had an opportunity to analyse match footage.The actions of bowlers with suspect actions need to be analysed on a case-by-case basis. If there is a physiological reason that explains the action then this needs to be taken into consideration.

The Tasmanian Cricket Association (TCA) announced the Tasmanian Institute squad for the State and Territory Institute of Sport Challenge, to be held in Mackay and Townsville from August 23-30.The Institute Challenge was developed to involve young players in various State Institute programs in competitive cricket, as well as to put on trial new scientific initiatives and rules.This year’s Challenge will see a number of different formats – 20-, 40-, and 50-over matches – as per Cricket Australia’s “obligation to the ongoing development of the game,” said a TCA press release.Two pools of four will comprise this year’s Challenge. Pool A includes the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), South Australia, the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) and the Northern Territory, while Pool B includes the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), the Tasmanian Institute of Sport (TIS), the Australian Capital Territory and an Indigenous X1.The Tasmanian squad will train on August 19 and 20 at Hobart.Squad: Travis Birt, Tim Paine, Shane Watson, David Dawson, Dane Anderson, Scott Kremerskothen, Matthew Wade, Luke Butterworth, Xavier Doherty, Gordon Kerr, Brett Burgess, Ben Hilfenhaus, Adam GriffithCoach: Tim CoyleAssistant coach: Daniel Marsh

International charity cricket comes to New Milton’s impressive Fernhill complex on Sunday when a Southern Electric Premier League President’s team takes on an Australian XI containing several State players.It’s a 50-overs per side contest, starting at 12 noon, with both teams wearing coloured clothing.Proceeds from the match will be to raise funds for the New Milton based Oakhaven Hospice.There will be a Twenty20 theme throughout the contest with music greeting every four and six and the fall of each wicket."Each player has chosen his own particular piece of music to greet him when he walks to the wicket," said New Milton’s Australian coach Grant Hebbard, who has put a powerful Aussie team together.With Western Australian State players Chris Rogers and Adam Voges in the line up, Hebbard predicts a comfortable Aussie win.Voges has spent the summer playing for Bournemouth, but Rogers is an unfamiliar face to the Premier League locals."He’s a terrific player who normally opens for WA with Justin Langer," Voges confirmed."He went close to scoring a double-century in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales and was selected for Australia A earlier this year. That’s how good he is."The bulk of the Australian team has been picked from the Premier League, with Bashley’s Brad Thompson and New Milton wicketkeeper Ben Clarke included.President’s XI: Paul Gover, Matt King, Kevin Nash, Neil Taylor, Neil Thurgood, Glyn Treagus, Ben Craft, Tom Pegler, Damian Shirazi, Lee Beck, Richard Wilson, Matt Freeman.Australia XI : Chris Rogers, Hugh Brown, Ben Clarke, Brett Gardiner, Chris Lagana, Justin Larrescy, Matt Latham, Robertson Campbell, Brad Thompson, Adam Voges, Andrew Watkin.

Pakistan today announced an 18-man squad for their second Test against South Africa, which starts at Faisalabad on Friday (Oct 24). Yousuf Youhana, who led Pakistan to an eight-wicket victory in the first Test, has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, but Inzamam-ul-Haq has recovered from his own hamstring problem and returns as captain.There was a recall for Abdul Razzaq, and a first call for Mansoor Amjad, a wrist-spinner, who is only 17 years old and yet to play a first-class match. He has represented Pakistan at junior level, including the Under-15 World Cup in England and the recent Emerging Teams Trophy.Meanwhile, Shoaib Akhtar has been retained even though he has an ICC-imposed ban hanging over him after being found guilty of using abusive language against Paul Adams on the first day of the opening Test. There is also a slight doubt over his fitness after he limped from the field yesterday with a hamstring strain. Shoaib’s appeal against his ban will be heard by Richie Benaud, the former Australian Test captain, and if it is successful he will be available for selection.Squad
Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Asim Kamal, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan (wk), Kamran Akmal (wk), Shoaib Malik, Mushtaq Ahmed, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Mansoor Amjad, Shabbir Ahmed, Salman Butt.