All posts by csb10.top

After making a mammoth 451 in their first innings, Australia managed to skittle out Board President’s XI for a mere 221 runs on the second day of their three day game at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Wednesday. The visitors continued to dominate in all departments. For the Aussies, the wickets were shared all around with Michael Kasprowicz with 3/68 being the pick of the bowlers.

The Australians began their day on 413/8 and managed to add 38 runs for the last two wickets. Pushing the score to 451, the Australians set the Board President’s a mammoth target. The first figure the Board President’s XI looked to overhaul was 301 – the follow on mark.The Board President’s XI had their task cut out. After they put on an uninspired display in the field, they had to come up with a spirited batting performance to avoid defeat. Unfortunately for the hosts, no such thing happened.Up against a mammoth score, the Board President’s XI skipper, Sourav Ganguly, decided to open the innings with the pairing of Sridharan Sriram and Vijay Dahiya. Although Dahiya may not have the tightest of techniques, he opens the innings for Delhi, his state side, and has met with reasonable success. Against the bowling of Kasprowicz and Damien Fleming however, the stumper did not last long. Trapped plumb in front by a ball from Fleming that held its line, Dahiya was back in the pavilion before he could trouble the scorers. With no runs on the board and the first wicket down off just the fifth ball of the innings, the Board President’s XI got off to the worst possible start.After that it was downhill all the way.A brief partnership between Mohammed Kaif (33) and Sriram (27) made it look like there was some chance of a fight back. However, both of them perished after making good starts and that set the tone for things that followed. Ganguly (40) looked nervous and edged more than one delivery through the slips before playing a wild heave at Mark Waugh and getting bowled.The only innings of character came from Dinesh Mongia. When the spinners gave the ball a bit of air, Mongia was quick to come down the wicket and play inside out through the off side. When Colin Miller dropped the ball short, Mongia was on the back foot in a flash. The pull he played over midwicket for six was as good a shot as any seen in this game. Moving quickly into top gear, Mongia clouted the ball to the fence nine times and cleared the ropes on three occasions before being dismissed for 66. His score, the highest of the BoardPresident’s XI team, helped boost the side’s total but was not enough to give the visitors a run for their money.After Mongia departed the Board President’s XI innings quickly folded up. None of the remaining batsmen put up any sort of fight. Hrishikesh Kanitkar batting at number seven made just two even as Jacob Martin (10), Rakesh Patel (13), Surendra Singh (7) and Sarandeep Singh (0) were dismissed cheaply. Board President’s XI were all out for 221, well short of the follow on mark.However, the Australians being the thorough professionals they are, did not enforce the follow on. Opting to gain some more batting practice in Indian conditions, Steve Waugh sent out Matthew Hayden and Michael Slater to bat. The righthanded New South Welshman was his usual flashy self, having a go at everything that was on offer. His counterpart Hayden was a bit more circumspect, but not luckier by any measure.After seeing off the mediumpacers Hayden flashed hard at a well-flighted delivery out side the off stump from Narendra Hirwani. The ball gripped the wicket and stopped a bit on the southpaw. The bat made contact with the ground and appeared to miss the bat. A loud shout for caught behind ensued and the umpire agreed with the fielders. Hayden (26) was the only casualty of the day for the Aussies.When stumps were drawn Slater had 24 to his name and Justin Langer was yet to open his account. Australia managed 53/1 off 13 overs for an overall lead of 283.

If George Bailey’s Australia have to displace India as the No 1 ODI side during their seven-match series, Shane Watson will have to play a big role. Not just with the leather and the willow that he is accustomed to, but more so in mentoring a squad that lacks experience at the highest level.If Australia’s final training session at the Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium before flying to Rajkot for Thursday’s solitary Twenty20 international was an indication, Watson was ready for the challenge. The allrounder, who joined the squad on Monday evening following Rajasthan Royals’ fruitful Champions League T20 campaign, appeared to be the sought-after senior during Australia’s extensive practice session.Almost everyone returning from his stint in the nets was seen seeking tips from Watson. And it was perfectly understandable since Watson’s wealth of experience of playing in India dates back to Australia’s triumphant Champions Trophy campaign in 2006. Adam Voges, who was among those who sought Watson’s advice, admitted the latter would indeed wear the mentor’s hat along with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin during the series.

Voges ‘fully fit’ after back niggle

Adam Voges, who had returned to Australia during Perth Scorchers’ Champions League T20 campaign, has said his lower back complaint has been taken care of and he is “fully fit” ahead of the ODI series in India.
“Briefly towards the end of the Champions League, made a quick trip home for treatment,” Voges said. “Fully fit now and ready to go. (It was) just a bit of tired back and tired hamstring so just a quick treatment. Back on the plane and ready to go.”
Voges’ return to Australia at the end of last month had raised question marks over his participation in the ODI series. However, he didn’t appear to be in pain at any point during Australia’s rigorous training session and was looking forward to Thursday’s lone T20 in Rajkot. “Every time I play for Australia is a huge opportunity for me. I never look any further than, umm… Thursday night,” he said. “I just love playing for Australia, so any opportunity I get to do that, I really look forward to.”

“Shane is a senior player along with Brad Haddin and these guys bring a wealth of experience, particularly here in India,” Voges said. “Shane has played a lot of cricket here and any tips that he can give to any of our guys, I am sure we all will be listening.”Having been on the road for a fortnight during Royals’ dream run in the CLT20, Watson expectedly took it easy, only doing fielding drills early on. Once he was done with that, the most experienced international cricketer in the Australia squad of 14 switched to the mentoring role for the rest of the session.First, he stood close to the fast bowlers’ nets and was seen constantly passing on tips. He had a prolonged discussion with Mitchell Johnson, the only other squad member besides Watson with more than a 100 ODI caps, who is looking to cement his place in the Australia side. The duo appeared to be discussing gripping the ball and wrist positions.Watson then walked across the outfield and stood behind the batsmen, observing whether his tips had had an impact on Johnson’s bowling. Soon, he was joined by his Royals teammate James Faulkner and the duo was involved in yet another extended chat. After finishing the discussion, Watson sat down on a chair. For the next half hour or so, it became a free-for-all information session for all his team-mates.If they follow Watson’s words of wisdom and he repeats his heroics in the last ODI against England, Australia may well pose a serious threat to India’s top ranking by the end of the series.

Sunil Narine, the West Indies offspinner who is currently ranked the world’s No. 1 Twenty20 bowler, has signed with the South African franchise, Cape Cobras, for the domestic Twenty20 competition.Narine will be the frontline spinner in an outfit that will be packed with international stars including Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander and Rory Kleinveldt, and is no doubt part of their plans to qualify for next year’s CLT20. The Cobras last played in the lucrative event two years ago in 2011 and finished at the bottom of the points table last season.They aim to turn that around this season, by making use of as many high-profile players as possible “Most of our internationals should be available for the twenty-over competition and we asked ourselves the question, who would best complement them? ” Paul Adams, Cobras coach said. “Sunil’s strength is that you can bring him on to bowl at pressure moments in the innings and he still strikes and keeps the run rate down.”South Africa’s domestic twenty-over competition is scheduled to take place between January 8 and February 9. It is a window period in which the national players will be available, especially since their series against India is likely to be curtailed.India were due to play in South Africa until January 19 but have scheduled a trip to New Zealand which starts on that day. Australia’s series in South Africa only begins on February 12 which will ensure the national players can appear in what CSA have promised will be a much higher-profile domestic T20 competition, which they hope will include some big signings.Graham Onions has been contracted to the Dolphins for the summer and Narine has become the second international name to join a South African side. Narine shot to fame in the 2011 Champions League and has enjoyed big success in two IPL seasons that followed, including a Player-of-the-season performance in in 2012. He was also an integral part of West Indies’ World Twenty20 title victory last year, taking nine wickets and conceding only 5.63 runs an over.Narine is currently playing in the CLT20 in India for his native Trinidad & Tobago, who are awaiting their final group match against Chennai Super Kings on October 2, in order to ascertain whether or not they will progress through to the semi-finals. “I look forward to working with Paul Adams and the guys in the new year. South Africa has one of the toughest leagues in the world, so it will be a big test for me. The Cobras look to have a serious squad of players and hopefully I can contribute,” he said.

ScorecardFile photo: Doug Bracewell troubled India A with both bat and ball•Getty Images

Doug Bracewell and Ish Sodhi, Nos 9 and 10, defied India A with a 162-run partnership that stretched the New Zealand A innings to 437 on the second day of the second and final unofficial Test in Visakhapatnam. The home team were tottering at 16 for 2 in reply, but recovered to end the day on 94 for 2, still needing another 194 runs to make the visitors bat again.Bracewell, who had seven first-class fifties prior to this game, was four runs short of his maiden hundred when he fell to the captain Abhishek Nayar for 96. By then, he had already clubbed 11 fours and one six during his 132-ball stay. Sodhi, the Ludhiana-born legspinner, played the ideal foil to Bracewell’s aggression, and faced 10 more deliveries than his partner did to make his highest first-class score of 57, also his fourth fifty in the format in 16 innings.Having kept the Indians at bay for about 12 overs on the first evening, the duo proved difficult to remove for more than 31 overs on the second morning, before Nayar bowled Bracewell. Four deliveries later, Sodhi was caught by Unmukt Chand off Dhawal Kulkarni to end the innings in the 122nd over. New Zealand A had added nearly 400 runs after having been reduced to 43 for 4 on the first morning.Chand had his second failure of the series when he was caught behind for 4 in the fifth over off Mark Gillespie. After tormenting them with the bat, Bracewell delivered another blow to India A with the ball when he had Vijay Zol caught by Tom Latham for 2. Opener VA Jagadeesh and Manprit Juneja stabilized the innings thereafter. Both progressed to unbeaten forties by stumps, but the hosts still have a lot of work to do on the third day.

ScorecardNain Abidi top-scored with 45•ICC/Ian Jacobs

The final of the Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will conclude on Thursday after heavy showers in Dublin meant only the first innings was completed amid persistent rain.Sri Lanka will require 113 runs to win when the sides return to the YMCA Ground on the reserve day but, with the forecast showing similar conditions for tomorrow, tournament organisers will be sweating about getting the showpiece final completed.Chandima Gunaratne continued her fine form with the ball as she took 2 for 7 off her four overs to restrict Pakistan to 112 for 5 during their rain-interrupted innings, despite well-constructed knocks from Nain Abidi and Bismah Maroof.However, after playing through light drizzle for the majority of the first innings, the umpires were forced to call a halt to proceedings as heavier rain left the Sandymount ground saturated.Sri Lanka’s captain Shashikala Siriwardene opted to bowl first in overcast conditions when she won the toss and her decision was quickly justified as the bowlers extracted movement both through the air and off the pitch.After breaking the shackles with a couple of boundaries, Javeria Khan departed for 11, giving Gunaratne her eighth wicket of the tournament.The wicket of Nahida Khan in the sixth over for 8 only brought Maroof to the crease as she scored a run-a-ball thirty-five to add some much needed impetus to the innings. But a brief, ten-minute interruption in the 17th over halted some of their momentum as three wickets were lost in the final over.Abidi was one of them. She had showed grit and determination to battle through difficult conditions early in her innings and revealed some deft strokeplay before she fell to Chamani Seneviratna as Sri Lanka completed the innings on a high.