All posts by csb10.top

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has been summoned by Pakistan’s national assembly for a hearing on October 11 to explain the reasons for the controversy-ridden tour of England, as well as his allegations against Andrew Strauss’s team and their subsequent withdrawal. He will also be questioned regarding Younis Khan’s continued absence from the Pakistan side.Apart from Butt, the Assembly also summoned the board’s legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi, former team manager Yawar Saeed, coaches Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed and Ijaz Ahmed and chief selector Mohsin Khan to the hearing.”The hearing is being held to review the performance of the team in England, the controversies that took place in England and the way the Pakistan board has handled things so far,” Iqbal Muhammad Ali, chairman of the committee, told PTI. “The committee wants to know the reasons for the shoddy performances and also how the Pakistan team got entangled into such serious controversies. We also want to know the reason for Butt’s statement against the England board and his U-turn, and to review the selection process.”The PCB will also have to explain why Younis Khan was being ignored for selection when all the other players punished after the 2009-10 tour of Australia, with the exception of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, had been pardoned and brought back to the team. “We want to ask the chairman to explain what crime Younis has committed that he (Butt) is not willing to give clearance to the selectors to pick Younis,” Ali said.Former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas had recently urged the PCB to reappoint Younis as captain to lead the side out of its current crisis. Pakistan’s tour of England was riven by controversy, with a expose alleging that fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, and Test captain Salman Butt, had conspired to bowl no-balls on demand. The ICC provisionally suspended the trio, leaving Pakistan without a Test captain.

Kuwait‘s bowlers, led by Saud Qamar, crowned their consistent domination of opposition batsmen in emphatic style, skittling Germany out for 163 to set up a comfortable six-wicket victory in the final of the World Cricket League Division Eight. Both sides had already qualified for Division Seven by reaching the final.Opting to bat first, Germany achieved what no other side in the tournament had managed, playing out Kuwait’s prolific new-ball pair of Mohammad Murad and Saad Khalid without losing a wicket. Milan Fernando continued his good form, and was supported by Andre Leslie in an opening stand of 49.However, after having weathered the pacers, the introduction of spin proved to be Germany’s undoing as Fernando fell to slow left-arm bowler Azmatullah Nazeer for a brisk 32. That was the opening Kuwait needed, and Qamar capitalised with his offspinners, catching Germany captain Asif Khan and Leslie off his own bowling. From 76 for 1, Germany had slipped to 87 for 3.Qamar and Nazeer continued to strike, and Germany crawled to 120 for 7 after 40 overs. Rana-Javed Iqbal, the fast bowler, ensured Germany played out the remaining overs, adding 36 with Shakeel Hassan for the eighth wicket. His unbeaten 25 guided Germany to 163. Qamar finished with 5 for 28.Kuwait’s bowlers had hardly allowed their batting to be pushed in the tournament, and the highest they had chased was 76 against Suriname. Irfan Bhatti was in no mood to be pushed today though, hammering five fours and two sixes in his 39 off 25 deliveries. He fell soon to legspinner Kashif Haider, but by then Kuwait had raced to 58 in 6.4 overs.Qamar, coming in at No. 3, dropped anchor while opener Abid Chaudhry carried on from where Bhatti had left. Chaudhry’s dismissal with the score on 94 triggered a mini-collapse, as Haider accounted for Kuwait captain Hisham Mirza and wicketkeeper Mohammad Akhudzada cheaply. However, Qamar found an able ally in Saad, who made up for a rare wicketless display with a breezy knock. The duo added an unbroken 56 runs as Kuwait eased to victory with more than 100 balls to spare.

Super-sized Warney
It used to be that England’s batsmen saw Shane Warne in their sleep, and he continues to stalk Kevin Pietersen in retirement. Pietersen was facing up to Doug Bollinger when he looked at the sightscreen and saw a huge sponsorship picture of Warne with a chicken burger. The backdrop hadn’t been turned white in time and Pietersen pulled away just as Bollinger was in his delivery stride. Bollinger let the ball go slowly and Pietersen picked it up with his bat, patting the bowler on the back while pointing out one of the ground’s old burghers.Mine, yours … oops
The final embarrassment of Australia’s fielding came when Matt Prior top-edged a sweep off Xavier Doherty and it went towards Marcus North at deep square leg. Adelaide has small square boundaries so the ball was also close to Ricky Ponting at midwicket. Both men ran towards the catch but just as they were nearing the take they spotted each other and stopped. As they looked at each other the ball plopped in between them. It was North’s catch but he deferred to his captain, and the two were still discussing the miss as they walked off the field after the declaration.Doherty’s pyrrhic victory
Though no-one has quite admitted it in as many words, Doherty’s selection was almost entirely influenced by Pietersen’s woeful recent record against left-arm spin. And what do you know, in the fourth over of the fourth day, X only went and got his man, as Pietersen aimed a wild swipe across the line and toe-ended a simple chance to slip. Unfortunately, by that stage, KP had already larruped him through midwicket to go to his highest Test score of 227, and having scored 10 fours and a six from the 60 balls he received from Doherty, there was only one winner in that particular battle of wits.Bells on his toes
Ian Bell was England’s most fluent batsman on the opening day of the series at Brisbane, where his unrecognisably confident 76 was like a dose of Xanax for a previously jittery dressing-room. He’s had to wait for more than 1000 runs to get another chance in the middle, but when it arose, his fluency was once again something to behold. He went dancing out of his crease to spin and seam alike, and eased eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 68, including a sweetly timed loft down the ground that was as effortless as Pietersen’s earlier assaults had been violent. On the evidence of the series so far, he’s not going to get a whole lot of opportunities to bat. But neither is he in a mood to miss out when they come.

Harbhajan Singh has come in for criticism for his bowling over the last year, not unjustifiably, as his average of 40.69 suggests. However, when it comes down to a scrap, you want him in your corner. And whether he was batting or bowling today, it was a scrap all right. There was no use hanging around with the bat, for Dale Steyn would have surely got him with one of those amazing outswingers, and Harbhajan took the sensible approach, getting his body out of harm’s way and slogging.To the day three years ago in Sydney, in another scrap, he gave Sachin Tendulkar similar support in securing India a first-innings lead. Today, he set South Africa thinking with one four down the ground off Morne Morkel and another huge hook off Lonwabo Tsotosbe that nearly ended up in the Newlands Train Station. That 76-run partnership with Tendulkar, 40 of which Harbhajan scored, set India on the road to sharing control of the game.”I always enjoy my batting,” Harbhajan said at the end of the day’s play. “I don’t have the technique to bat like Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar or Jacques Kallis. This is the way I play my cricket, and I knew [if the ball was pitched in certain] areas, it was going to disappear. I did hit a couple of big sixes today, but I am happy about it. Would have been nice to get another 50-60. I am always greedy.”He spoke about that Sydney partnership too, and how it has been great for him to have batted with Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. “When I have batted with Sachin and Laxman, they have been helpful. In Sydney I batted with Sachin and again today. They have a lot of things to tell me. When I was batting, Sachin told me to play my natural game and counter-attack was the best option. With the kind of technique I have, I could have got hit on my ribs or somewhere else. He told me just to play my shots. I felt I should play my shots, and they would try to do something else. I think that worked, and they didn’t bowl the right line to me.”When India came out to bat, South Africa got off to a solid start, but Harbhajan emphasised his presence with two late wickets. Given the way the pitch has behaved, Harbhajan could be a crucial factor on day four. “There is a bit of bounce, and it’s not even. Some balls are going down and some are bouncing little bit more than you expect. It’s good if you keep on hitting the right areas, you still have a chance of getting good batsmen out, like [Jacques] Kallis and [Hashim] Amla. Those are the two key wickets we need to get, and then we will be in the driving seat.”Another scrap where Harbhajan has been influential is in keeping Sreesanth calm. Sreesanth has courted controversy with his sledging and been taunted by the crowd, but Harbhajan has made a conscious effort to keep him in check. When Sreesanth got Amla’s wicket in the first innings, he seemed to want to run towards the crowd. Harbhajan, though, held him back. Physically. And mock-clapped at the crowd from afar.”Crowd tried booing me in Australia, it doesn’t affect me,” Harbhajan said. “Let them enjoy. They have come to see the game. And obviously Sreesanth is getting more famous with this. I have enjoyed in Australia, let him enjoy here. It is not a bad thing.”Regarding the general heating up of tempers in the series, Harbhajan suggested he was enjoying it. “This is how the cricket is being played. When No.1 and No.2 sides play, there’s a lot of competitiveness, but I think everything is under control. Yes, you have to play with aggression. You can’t just be quiet there and waiting for things to happen. If you feel this is the way to play, why not go out and express yourself? This is Test cricket, not some match in the park. You have to have aggression, and you have to have that thing inside you to win games for your country. They are trying to win games for their country; we are trying for our country. Whatever trouble it takes we will go ahead and make sure we get the result we are looking for.”

Multan are in horrendous form in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy and that showed in their miserable capitulation against Rawalpindi at the Bahawal Stadium in Bahawalpur. However, it had seemed that they would be able to bounce back from their eight consecutive defeats when they bowled out Rawalpindi for 153 earlier in the day. Seamer Abdur Rauf took five wickets, new-ball partner Tahir Maqsood took four and had it not been for a half-century from Adnan Mufti’s half-century and his 67-run stand with Muzammil Nizam for the seventh wicket, Rawalpindi would have faced an embarrassment. But they were able to inflict one on Multan, whose batting simply couldn’t measure up to the pace of Rizwan Akbar, who took 6 for 50. They had been reduced to 57 for 7 at one stage and had to rely on Rauf again, this time with the bat, to take them past 100 with an unbeaten 28. The innings folded for 112, with a lead of 41 for Rawalpindi.Bowlers dominated the opening day of the contest between Faisalabad and Sialkot at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha, claiming 16 wickets. Sialkot had the advantage at stumps after skittling out Faisalabad for 88, thanks to a maiden haul of six wickets by seamer Prince Abbas. Only four Faisalabad batsmen managed to reach double-figures. Sialkot gained a lead but lost six wickets in the process in their response, as left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood took 4 for 36. Wicketkeeper Rizwan Sultan top scored with 30, while the others got starts, but was dismissed shortly before stumps, with Sialkot on 144 for 6, 56 ahead.Table-toppers Habib Bank Limited were on the back foot in their encounter against Pakistan International Airlines at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Seamer Aizaz Cheema cut through the HBL top and middle orders to take 6 for 69 and bowl them out for 211 in just 58 overs. Tottering at 49 for 6, HBL recovered thanks to an attacking 82 from wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat, who fought hard with the tail to lend some respectability to the HBL score. PIA began well in their reply, with openers Khurram Manzoor and Agha Sabir adding an unbeaten 52 before stumps.Islamabad had the advantage at the end of the opening day against Karachi Blues at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Seamers Nasrullah Khan, Rauf Akbar and Fakhar Hussain grabbed three wickets each to overcome starts by the Karachi top-order batsmen and a half-century from Atif Ali and bowl out the opposition for 237. Nasrullah took some stick, conceding 110 in 25 overs, but Karachi will rue the fact that they let it slip after being in a strong position at 118 for 2. In their reply, Islamabad lost opener Farrukh Hayat early and finished the day on 20 for 1.National Bank of Pakistan and Water and Power Development Authority ended on almost even terms at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Rafatullah Mohmand, unbeaten on 86, helped WAPDA, currently placed second in the table, fight through a middle-order wobble and finish the day on 256 for 8. Openers Ahmed Said and Jahangir Mirza had laid a solid foundation with a stand of 83 but a collapse ensued where seven wickets fell for 94. Seamer Mohammad Talha picked up four wickets but Mohmand found support in Umaid Asif, with whom he added 62 for the eighth wicket. The extras proved useful as well, contributing 28 to the score.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited held the edge against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Opener Yasir Hameed starred with 95, including ten fours, and Shahid Yousuf contributed 80 to set up ZTBL’s score of 294 for 5 at stumps. There was another significant contribution, of an unbeaten 51 by Haris Sohail, which helped consolidate the strong start provided by Hameed.

ScorecardCentral Zone staged a spirited fightback, after looking down and out, but ended up conceding what could turn out to be a crucial first-innings lead of 37 runs to East Zone on the third day of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Cuttack. It never looked like they would get that close after they slipped to 237 for 6, but a 71-run partnership between Madhya Pradesh batsman Devendra Bundela, who made 80, and former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who got 43, gave them some hope.As long as Bundela was at the wicket, there was a chance Central could go past East’s big total, but after he fell, with the score on 390, Bengal seamer Ashok Dinda wrapped the innings up in the next over and East had the lead. Mohammad Kaif had managed to complete his century, after resuming on 78, but when he was bowled by Dinda, East were well on top. Dinda finished with four wickets, as did Orissa seamer Basanth Mohanty, who took the crucial wickets of overnight half-centurion Naman Ojha and Bundela.East lost a wicket before the close of play, but should be able to see the match out for a draw, which would take them through to the semi-finals.

Everyone loves an underdog, especially one dressed in green. From Italia ’90 in football to West Indies 2007 in cricket, Ireland have long been the neutral’s favourite World Cup team, and four years on from their extraordinary Caribbean campaign, they are back in the mix and hungry to prove their credentials once again.Everyone loves an underdog – except, that is, the sport’s administrators. The magnificence of Ireland’s performance in Jamaica four years ago came at a price. By dumping Pakistan out of the competition with a gripping three-wicket victory in their group-stage encounter at Sabina Park, they eliminated one of the tournament’s major drawcards, just as Bangladesh were accounting for India over in Trinidad.The upshot of that remarkable day – St Patrick’s Day, no less – has been a rehashed competition, with more group stage games designed to safeguard against a repeat of Ireland’s heroics, a fact conceded by the tournament director, Prof Ratnakar Shetty. And if that seems harsh, then worse is to follow in 2015, when the format is set to eliminate all non-Test playing nations, even those like Ireland with some pedigree at this level.It means, therefore, that for Ireland, this time, it’s personal. They have six matches in Group B in which to make as big a splash as possible, and prove that the administrators have got their priorities badly wrong. The core of the contenders from 2007 are back for another go, and while the injured Eoin Morgan has long since thrown in his lot with England, their batting has been bolstered by the return of Ed Joyce.Ahead of the tournament four years ago, Ireland’s tally of official ODIs was a measly eight – seven of which had come against fellow minnows. Now they are relative veterans, with 58 official contests under their belts, and a wealth of reasons to give it their best shot. It is asking too much to expect a repeat of the Kingston miracle, but with six opportunities to make their presence known, they’ll be gunning for at least one sizeable scalp.World Cup pedigreeJust the one tournament, but what a tournament. Ireland showed their mettle with an agonisingly close-fought tie against Zimbabwe, then held their nerve in a fraught finale to eliminate Pakistan in that unforgettable three-wicket triumph. The Super Eights were a let-down on many fronts, as their lack of experience took its toll, but they at least managed to win their mini-World Cup, by downing Bangladesh in their penultimate appearance, at Bridgetown.Form guideA little patchy in recent months. A shared series in Canada was followed by a 2-1 defeat in Zimbabwe, and their warm-ups on the subcontinent haven’t gone entirely to plan either, with consecutive losses to Zimbabwe and Kenya in Dubai. They may be saving their best for when it matters, but they’ll need to raise their game soon.Where they’re likely to finishProgression to the quarter-finals would be a miracle given the format, but they’ve got a few teams in their group that they are sure to target – England, West Indies and Bangladesh, to name but three.WatchabilityMore doughty than flamboyant, Ireland at their best are a team with tenacity who refuse to accept when they are beaten. Their bowling attack relies on diligence above all else, with Trent Johnston setting the example and Boyd Rankin providing the height and a touch of class.Key playersGeorge Dockrell is just 18 years old, but already he’s a player with an immense future ahead of him. In the World Twenty20 back in May, he blended nous with audacity as his flighted twirlers saw off Netherlands in the qualifying tournament, before taking 3 for 16 against West Indies and choking England’s middle-order with four overs for 19 in the main event. His school exams ruled him out of an ODI against Australia, but a two-year deal with Somerset was ample consolation. Another mature performance, and it might even be England who come sniffing next …Ed Joyce has made more trips across the Irish Sea than your average RyanAir flight. Born in Dublin, he set about qualifying for England during his county stint with Middlesex, before eventually making his debut in June 2006 – against Ireland in Belfast, no less. Soon afterwards, he travelled to the 2007 World Cup on the back of an ODI century against Australia, but having been jettisoned by England in the wake of that disastrous tournament, he decided to requalify for his native land. At the age of 32, he is arguably in his prime, and his experience will be invaluable.

Left-arm fast bowler Neil Wagner’s record-breaking spell helped Otago rout Wellington by an innings and 138 runs in three days at the Queenstown Events Centre.Wellington, who ended the second day on 57 for 1, looked in relative comfort on 112 for 1 in pursuit of Otago’s first innings total of 441, before Harry Boam, Grant Elliott and Neal Parlane fell in quick succession. At 136 for 4 with opener Stewart Rhodes looking solid on 77, Wellington would still have hoped to put up a competitive total. However, they hadn’t bargained for South African born Wagner’s searing spell.Wagner, bowling the last over before lunch, had Rhodes caught by Neil Broom off the first ball of the over. He then bowled Justin Austin-Smellie and Jeetan Patel off the next two deliveries to register his hat-trick and followed up that with the wicket of Ili Tugaga to make it four in four. No. 10 Mark Gillespie survived the fifth ball, only to get bowled off the final ball off the over. Wagner’s performance eclipsed the previous best performance in an over by a bowler in New Zealand which was in 1929-30 when Englishman Maurice Allom took four wickets in five balls against New Zealand at Lancaster Park in Christchurch. Wagner returned after lunch to bowl the last batsman Andy McKay to end up with career-best figures of 6 for 36 as Wellington collapsed to 148 all out.Following on, Wellington’s batting stuttered yet again as they lost their first three wickets, including that of Rhodes, with just 16 runs on the board. Elliott resisted with 61, but failed to receive support from the other frontline batsmen. Gillespie and McKay added 39 runs for the last wicket, but that only delayed the inevitable as Wellington were bowled out for 155 to hand Otago a convincing win. Wagner was among the wickets again, accounting for Elliott, Patel and Tugaga to end up with match figures of 9 for 66.

ScorecardWarwickshire fought back strongly in the final 80 minutes against Durham at Chester-le-Street, helped by an injury to Michael Di Venuto. As the opener sped to his second 50 in 58 balls he tweaked a leg muscle in taking a single on 95 and had to send for a runner.He was severely restricted in his movement but soldiered on as wickets began to fall following his opening stand of 164 with Will Smith. Those runs were gathered at four an over, but the impressive Rikki Clarke applied the brake and had Di Venuto caught behind for 113 while conceding only 20 runs in 14 overs.Durham closed on 230 for 5 in reply to 429, with nightwatchman Graham Onions falling to Boyd Rankin after failing to shift the Irishman in the morning.Warwickshire had slumped from 328 for 4 to 349 for 9 when two wickets fell in the day’s first four overs, bringing in Rankin with a best score of 13 behind him. He contributed 28 to a stand of 80 with Chris Woakes, who remained unbeaten on 70 after successfully farming the strike against increasingly dispirited bowling.Even Ruel Brathwaite could not unsettle Rankin after bowling Andrew Miller to complete his second five-wicket haul in successive games. Championship debutant Paul Best had pulled Onions’ first ball of the day, a long hop, straight to square leg.But after his encouraging return at Headingley two weeks ago, the paceman struggled for rhythm in finishing with 2 for 106, while Brathwaite had 5 for 75.With Smith making 66, Durham’s opening stand was six more than their best for the first wicket in the championship last season. Smith was initially the dominant partner. Two successive balls from Miller were clipped to the square-leg boundary and he pulled the same bowler for six.The 50 came up in only the 11th over, but as Smith slowed down Di Venuto twice edged Rankin over the slips for four and began to forge ahead. He reached 50 off 71 balls, compared with 101 for Smith, who finally edged Woakes to Clarke at second slip.Woakes nipped one back to have Gordon Muchall lbw just after Di Venuto’s injury and the runs dried up as Ben Stokes struggled. He made only five in 35 balls before Miller skidded one through to gain another lbw verdict.Di Venuto departed six overs from the close before Rankin found steep bounce to force Onions to lob a catch to gully, leaving Ian Blackwell to survive the final three overs with Dale Benkenstein.

Match facts

Saturday, April 23, Delhi
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Will there be any miraculous turnaround for Irfan Pathan?•AFP

Big picture

‘Juice it up baby!’ is the new mantra for the battle-weary Delhi Daredevils, sitting glumly at the bottom of the cesspool. “We have prepared a green wicket unique to Twenty20 cricket. Never before will a Twenty20 be played on such a track with so much grass on it,” the Feroz Shah Kotla curator said. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Delhi is well and truly in the red zone. The light at the end of the tunnel is green. Or so they hope. It makes sense, though. They brought seven seamers (seven!) in the auction and have been slowly killing them on a dull sluggish track. So why not try out a green track and see what happens? Right at the end of the Delhi daredevils’ official team anthem video, there is this scene where Virender Sehwag gives the thumbs down to his team-mates’ efforts and shows them how to bat . It’s now time to start getting it right on the field.Meanwhile the story of Punjab is showing signs of being a blockbuster just as their Bollywood-inspired official site hoped it would. The site features Adam Gilchrist in a mega close-up, as the hero, and has the names of rest of the ‘supporting cast’. Gilchrist was their only star before the campaign but slowly new names are claiming their ticket to fame. Yet, if you check the batting and bowling records of the tournament, only two Punjab players check into the top ten. That once unknown Indian Paul-who? is right at the top of the batting chart and Praveen Kumar is at the No. 9 on the wicket-takers’ list. Punjab’s rise has been as a unit; someone or other has seized the big moments in a game and delivered. Will they continue to surprise or will there be a twist in the tale?

Team talk

The green, green grass means Delhi will pack its team with seamers though one will have to wait and see if the curator delivers on his promise of a devilish pitch. Will Punjab consider playing David Hussey or stick to the winning combination from the last game?Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Irfan Pathan’s past dogs him like a shadow. The questions from the fans are plenty: Oh where is that inswing? Oh where is that pace? What is this gentle dibbly-dobbly stuff? Will we ever get to see the old Irfan? The expectations of him are always huge and the young man has struggled to shoulder that burden. The bowling has been listless, the batting hasn’t come on and in many ways, he has reflected Delhi’s sad reality. Will there be a miraculous turnaround or will he just slither away into anonymity?Dinesh Karthik has had a quiet tournament so far as the top order has been doing the job. In the previous IPL editions, he was a strong performer for Delhi in the middle order and if the law of averages catches up with the top order, Karthik is well-equipped to step up to the plate. He has the shots and while he hasn’t always shown maturity in shot selection, he has the tenacity and the skill to do well on tough pitches.

Prime numbers

• Piyush Chawla has five ducks in all the editions of the IPL and is just one duck behind the record-holder, Shane Warne. His team-mate Praveen Kumar too is in the race, with four ducks.
• Shaun Marsh and Adam Gilchrist have nine IPL fifties though Jacques Kallis is at the top of the table with 13.

The chatter

“Three [wins] in a row after a poor start. It has been a bit of a stop-start tournament, seems like the tournament is just beginning. Paul backed himself, and Shaun was brilliant.”
“Sehwag brings a lot to the table. You learn a lot when you discuss batting with him. When he is around, there is a sense of positively around. He can encourage people when the chips are down.”