All posts by n8rngtd.top

Khulna Royal Bengals, playing in front of a packed Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, beat Rangpur Riders by nine runs and have turned around their flagging campaign with two wins in a row

Mohammad Isam25-Jan-2013
ScorecardKhulna Royal Bengals, playing in front of a packed Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, beat Rangpur Riders by nine runs. They have now turned around their flagging campaign with two wins in a row. Shahriar Nafees helped set up a competitive total on a pitch that was too slow for big hits before Shapoor Zadran rocked the top order of the opposition.The fightback made for excellent viewing too, as the Royal Bengals made 106 runs in the last 10 overs, after struggling for 44 for 4 in the first 10. The fielding display also helped stop the Riders, who had won their last two games quite handsomely, from clinching the tight game. Zadran, the Afghanistan left-arm fast bowler, bowled a mean spell to take three wickets in his first two overs, while Daniel Harris kept things tight with his medium pace.Riders’ Nasir Hossain continued his good form, but was the only batsman to put up a fight, hammering 70 off 49 balls with seven fours and two sixes. He found some support from Dimitri Mascarenhas, who was foxed by Sanjamul Islam to hand back the advantage to the Royal Bengals after their 33-run sixth wicket stand.Khulna’s Nafees batted like a captain should, taking responsibility of an innings that lacked direction. Lou Vincent fell early, and the Riders lost three further wickets, but Nafees assumed control. The emphatic pulled six he hit off Fidel Edwards, the same bowler who had struck his face two years ago, was symbolic of his confidence.Nafees scored 53 off 50 balls with five boundaries and two sixes, and added 70 runs for the fifth wicket with Harris, who stayed unbeaten on 48. Haris provided the final push to take his team to 150.

Former Test batsman Hashan Tillakaratne has replaced Hemantha Wickramaratne in Sri Lanka’s new selection panel

Andrew Fidel Fernando30-Jan-2013Former Test batsman Hashan Tillakaratne has replaced Hemantha Wickramaratne in Sri Lanka’s new selection panel, after Wickramaratne stepped down due to work commitments, new chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said.Tillakaratne had been among the nominees sent to the sports minister by Sri Lanka Cricket, but had not been appointed in the five-member panel on Monday. Tillakaratne is a member of provincial council for the United National Party, which is in opposition to the United People’s Freedom Alliance of which Jayasuriya and the sports minister are members.Wickramaratne had resigned because he was called upon to become one of the two full-time selectors on the panel, but was unable to relinquish his other commitments. “He can’t be a full time selector with us because of his work,” Jayasuriya said. “Because of that we’ve got Hashan Tillakaratne in our panel, who has played a lot of international cricket and brings that experience.”Tillakaratne will be a full time selector alongside former fast-bowling team-mate Pramodya Wickramasinghe, while Jayasuriya, Eric Upashantha and Chaminda Mendis will be employed part-time. Tillakaratne had been a critic of the current administration, and had even alleged political interference in the last SLC elections. He said he would continue to hold his post as a member of provincial council, while he worked as a full-time selector.”I took this job because I see it as a duty,” Tillakaratne said. “I played for a long time and benefited from the game, and I think if I can help take Sri Lanka cricket forward in any way, I have a duty to do that.”I do have the time to be both a member of provincial council and a full time selector, and it is after considering all that that I decided to accept this position. Sanath was one of the best cricketers in the world and I’m enthusiastic about working with him and the rest of the panel. I think we will be able to do something good.”SLC had said it would endeavour to cut its ties with politics after Haroon Lorgat issued his report recommending less political influence in the board, but with two politicians now on the selection panel and the with no moves having been taken to cut the sports minister out of the selection process, superficially, politics has become even more embedded in cricket administration.Jayasuriya was adamant however, that his panel’s sole focus would be on cricket, and that the selectors’ political affiliation would not affect their work for SLC. “We’re not concerned with the politics of either party on this panel. What we are concerned with is Sri Lanka’s cricket and that will be our top priority. We should thank the sports minister for choosing someone like Hashan, who has played for Sri Lanka and also been a good captain.”The sports minister has given us the freedom to act independently of political affiliations and it was encouraging to hear that. We will stay focused on improving Sri Lanka’s cricket.”Tillakaratne was a stylish left-handed batsman who played 83 Tests and 200 ODIs for Sri Lanka. He captained the side in 11 Tests between 1999 and 2004, and was a member of the World Cup winning side alongside Jayasuriya and Wickramasinghe in 1996.

Scotland ended day two battling to avoid an innings defeat after a second slump with the bat against Izatullah Dawlatzai.

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2013
ScorecardScotland ended day two battling to avoid an innings defeat after a second slump with the bat against Izatullah Dawlatzai. He added a second five-wicket haul to take Afghanistan to the verge of victory with Scotland still six runs away from forcing a fourth innings.Dawlatzai added 5 for 37 to his first-innings 6 for 57 to send Scotland spiralling towards defeat. His wicket of Kyle Coetzer late in the day raised the possibility of a two-day finish. Coetzer was the only batsman in the top order to have any kind of an innings but his half-century was a lone hand in a miserable batting display that saw Scotland 27 for 4 against the new ball.There was, at least, some response as wicketkeeper David Murphy survived 59 balls for 23 but his dismissal brought four wickets for just 14 runs – one them Coetzer – and it was left to Gordon Drummond and Safyaan Sharif to scrap Scotland into a third day.

B Aparajith’s maiden List A ton booked South Zone a semifinal spot against East Zone on March 12

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2013
ScorecardA maiden List A century from B Aparajith led South Zone to victory over East Zone by 11 runs in the Deodhar Trophy quarterfinal in Guwahati. Through this win they advanced to the semifinal against West Zone, to be played on March 12.National selectors Sandeep Patil and Roger Binny were in attendance, as South Zone chose to bat. They started poorly, with KL Rahul being dismissed for a golden duck, after his attempted flick carried to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha down the leg side. Opener Robin Uthappa and Aparajith revived the innings with a solid stand, before Uthappa was forced to retire hurt when he began suffering cramps, and could no longer walk. He was helped off the field by the team’s physio. Contributions from Dinesh Karthik (33) and Sachin Baby (33) helped push South Zone’s total to 284 for 5. Aparajith finished with 121 off 129 balls.Abhimanyu Mithun picked up the first East Zone wicket – that of Pallavkumar Das – with the score on 21. Ishank Jaggi came in next and combined with opener Sibsankar Roy to put on 56 for the second wicket. Saha struck a fluent 77, and along with Jaggi, who finished with 55, provided sizeable contributions. Mithun, along with some important run-outs, helped keep East Zone in check, as the required run-rate continued to climb. Gokul Sharma struck an unbeaten 40, and despite some late fireworks from Abu Nechim, East Zone fell short of the target by 11 runs. Mithun was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 40.

Zaheer Khan, the India fast bowler, has said he is eager to reclaim his spot in the Indian team and is looking to regain top form and fitness

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2013Zaheer Khan, the India fast bowler, has said he is eager to reclaim his spot in the Indian team and that he will utilise the time after the IPL to work on his fitness and form. Zaheer was out of action for four-and-a-half months before playing two matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this week.”I’m definitely feeling much better but I know I’ve still got a long way to go,” Zaheer told the IPL website. “Post IPL I have to put in some serious work into my fitness and form to reclaim my place in the Indian team. That’s what’s on my mind right now – I want to use that period after the IPL to get stronger, fitter and improve in all the areas.”India will play the Champions Trophy after the IPL but Zaheer was not included in the squad of 15 for the tournament. Before the IPL, he last played for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy last December in a league game against Gujarat but sustained a calf injury which forced him out of the knockout stages and the Irani Cup.”I was itching to get back on the field but I always take my time to come back whenever I am injured,” Zaheer said. “This time too, I could have played a couple of matches earlier but it’s always good to be a game late than coming back too early. That was the thinking between the trainer, physio and me.”On grounds of form and fitness, he had been dropped during the home Test series against England late last year and for the ODIs against Pakistan.

James Hildreth’s unbeaten century was ultimately in vain for Somerset as Middlesex snatched a four-wicket win in the last over at Lord’s.

04-Jun-2013
ScorecardDawid Malan fell one run short of a century but his innings was the mainstay of Middlesex’s chase•Getty Images

James Hildreth’s unbeaten century was ultimately in vain for Somerset as Middlesex snatched a four-wicket win in the last over at Lord’s. Dawid Malan fell a run short of a century in reply but, with a nerveless unbeaten 39 from 38 balls, Neil Dexter got the hosts got home under the lights at HQ.Bu they were made to sweat after Hildreth took 26 from the final over, bowled by James Harris, to reach 102 not out and set a defendable score of 247 for 7.Middlesex looked to be cruising at 159 for 1in the 24th over, after Malan had figured in stands of 71 and 88 with Paul Stirling and Joe Denly respectively, but a cool captain’s innings by Dexter was then required after the loss of four wickets for 26 runs in eight overs.Victory eventually arrived with five balls to spare as Dexter, Gareth Berg and Ollie Rayner, who ended a good match for him by pulling the winning boundary, dealt impressively with the pressure of having to score 55 from the last eight overs.Stirling had fallen for 27 when he speared his 24th ball straight to mid-off, but Denly included a six over long-on against Arul Suppiah in his 31 before he went for a rash big hit against Max Waller’s leg-spin and skied a catch to wicketkeeper Alex Barrow.Suddenly panic set in and Middlesex also lost Chris Rogers for 1, superbly caught low down by Marcus Trescothick diving to his right at first slip off Jamie Overton, who then trapped Adam Rossington leg before for 6 with a stunning yorker. When Malan drove wildly at Craig Meschede’s medium pace, and Barrow flung himself to his left to cling on to the edge, Somerset were right back in the game at 185 for 5 in the 31st over.But Dexter added 44 in combative fashion with Berg, until the latter skied a leading edge to long off to depart for 17, and Rayner also played well to finish on 12 not out. The win puts Middlesex into third place in Group C.Hildreth had earlier completed his hundred in spectacular style, hitting Harris for three successive sixes and two fours in the 40th over of the Somerset innings to boost the total.Before the explosive end to Hildreth’s superbly-paced 94-ball innings, which contained seven fours as well as those three sixes from the first three balls of the final over, it seemed that off-spinner Rayner’s fine eight-over spell of 3 for 31 had put Middlesex well on top.Somerset, who beat Middlesex by six wickets at Taunton a fortnight ago, were given a rollicking start by Trescothick and Peter Trego, who put on 73 before Rayner struck his first blow in the ninth over of their innings.Trescothick, having clubbed two sixes and four fours in 41 from 33 balls, was bowled middle stump as he propped forward defensively to one that straightened in Rayner’s opening over. Trego was well held for a 28-ball 35 by keeper Rossington, standing up to Harris’s fast-medium on a docile surface, and Rayner then had the out-of-form England Test batsman Nick Compton brilliantly held one-handed for six by a leaping Dexter at short midwicket.Dexter claimed a more straightforward catch when South Africa allrounder Dean Elgar chipped to short extra cover on 15, and only Hildreth stood firm as the Somerset slide continued as Barrow gave Stirling a simple return catch and Suppiah hit Tim Murtagh to extra cover.But from 187 for 6, Hildreth was joined by Meschede, who drove Toby Roland-Jones into the pavilion for six, in a resourceful stand of 32 before Hildreth’s own magnificent late assault on Harris.

Shane Watson has emphatically denied any part in calling David Warner to account for the night out in Birmingham with other Australian team-mates during the Champions Trophy that involved the punching of Joe Root and contributed to the sacking of the coac

Daniel Brettig in Taunton28-Jun-2013Shane Watson has emphatically denied any part in calling David Warner to account for the night out in Birmingham with other Australian team-mates during the Champions Trophy that involved the punching of Joe Root and contributed to the sacking of the coach Mickey Arthur.However Watson stated that the decision of Arthur and the captain Michael Clarke to suspend four players including himself for failing to follow team instructions in India earlier this year had set a “dangerous precedent”, and lauded the new coach Darren Lehmann for dissipating the tension that had built up in the team over the past six months, a period in which he admitted to “not having much fun”.Reports emerged in the aftermath of Warner’s suspension for the Root incident that it was only dealt with formally after Watson had referred to it in conversations with Arthur about disciplinary standards and their consistent application. At the time Watson did not comment publicly on the matter, but in the first days of Lehmann’s new coaching regime he spoke frankly, rejecting all notions he had forced the disciplinary process that had Warner suspended until the first Test against England at Trent Bridge.”Absolutely not,” Watson said when asked if he had informed Arthur of events at the Walkabout. “In the end the coaching staff and Mickey and the leadership group found out about Dave’s incident off their own bat. It had absolutely nothing to do with me in any way shape or form and I’m not sure why that was brought out in the media because it certainly wasn’t the truth.”They obviously found out, there were some people who were in and around the incident at the time who had relayed the information, so it certainly had nothing to do with me. The precedent that was set through Mohali was quite a dangerous precedent, there’s no doubt about that. But in the end this is now a new group, a new leadership group, new team dynamics obviously with Darren coming in, so I’m not looking back any more at the things that happened in the past.”This is a change for all of us which is a very good thing. I’m not looking back at what happened in the last few months, I’m just excited about what we’re doing now as a group and what Darren is going to bring to our team.”Watson’s happiness about Lehmann’s arrival is only partly explained by the decision to promote him to open the batting. Arthur’s close alliance with the captain Michael Clarke had marginalised Watson somewhat, as injuries and an inconsistent job description contributed to his decline from the personal heights he reached under Ricky Ponting. He was happy to admit that the team would now play more fearlessly under Lehmann, who had already encouraged the members of the Ashes squad to express themselves with the bat.”The way Darren operates is a more light-hearted way,” Watson said. “He played the game for the enjoyment and as a coach one of the big things he instils in the group is to make sure we are having fun. There were certainly times after Mohali that I wasn’t having that much fun, and that is something Darren has ensured, that things are little bit less tense and more about enjoying the absolute privilege of playing cricket for Australia.”It should be the time of our life, it’s a dream come true, and that is something Darren has instilled. Darren’s perspective on the game is to go out and back your talent and not worry about failing at all, that’s going to be part of the game of cricket. Things in that regard will change because that is how Darren played. He will make sure everyone does that with bat or ball, that people aren’t worried about failing, more so about showing how good they are.”

David Warner has paid a further price for his wayward behaviour earlier on the tour of England by being pulled out of the Ashes tour

Daniel Brettig at Trent Bridge10-Jul-2013David Warner has paid a further price for his wayward behaviour earlier on the tour of England by being pulled out of the Ashes tour. He will instead go to South Africa with Australia A in order to gain match practice, the national selector John Inverarity has said.Having decided not to play Warner in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge, the selectors have now added him to the A squad, though Inverarity suggested the left-hander may still return to England later in the series. But the decision flows on from Warner’s suspension for punching the England opener Joe Root, something described as “a despicable thing” by the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland.”David has trained hard and been very supportive of the team and his team-mates during the past few weeks, but his preparation for the first Test was not ideal,” Inverarity said. “He is in need of match practice and runs in the longer format and the Australia A games in Zimbabwe and South Africa will provide him with the best possible opportunity.”David remains a member of the Ashes Squad and will return to the England at an appropriate time once we’re happy he has had adequate preparation in match conditions.”Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann described Warner’s situation as a “hard luck story”. “While he has done everything right with training and preparation, his nets have been spectacular, he’s done everything right around the group since his suspension, we can’t pick him without any form in four-day cricket,” he said. “That makes it a hard and a disappointing one for him. He took it hard but understood the reasons behind it when Rod Marsh spoke to him.”We’re confident he’ll come back really well but for now, because he didn’t get the games under his belt, we just feel like it’s the best six [batsmen]. We want an in-form David Warner playing. Now the challenge is for him to keep working hard and get ready for the tour game, to play the right brand of cricket and get back in the Australian team. And the challenge for the top six is to perform well enough to keep him out.”The inclusion of Steve Smith and Ashton Agar in the team for Trent Bridge has also caused other changes to the Australia A squad. Aaron Finch has been promoted to captain the team, and Alex Doolan will be his deputy. Doolan, who has been playing in England, underwent fitness training at Trent Bridge on match eve by way of South Africa preparation.

There was no official confirmation from the ICC that Mohammad Ashraful was among the nine individuals they had charged for alleged violation of the BCB’s anti-corruption code during the 2013 BPL

Mohammad Isam13-Aug-2013Mohammad Ashraful was the elephant in the room when the ICC and BCB were making their announcements on match-fixing. Though he was not named, and there was no official confirmation from the ICC that he was among the nine individuals charged with alleged violation of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s anti-corruption code during the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League, he was present in every other way – and had met the officials earlier in the day.The player said he had received a letter from the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) officials when he met them early in the morning at the hotel where the ACSU are staying and where the ICC-BCB press conference was held in the afternoon.The ICC CEO Dave Richardson was pressed a number of times during the press conference to name the nine individuals but he didn’t budge. However, he said that the disciplinary tribunal could find Ashraful’s confession and cooperation as “mitigating factors”.”In any disciplinary proceedings where the accused show remorse, tell the truth or cooperate with the inquiry, [these] are mitigating factors which the disciplinary tribunal can take into account in determining an appropriate punishment,” Richardson said. “That would apply to Ashraful as all the other individuals who may be charged.”Ashraful, speaking to reporters at same hotel, said the ASCU had handed him papers detailing what he’d revealed to them earlier. “They have given us these papers,” Ashraful said, pointing to the envelope in his hand. “The same papers are supposed to be given to the BCB. The papers basically contain what I have said to them.”I have helped the ICC, and will try to help them in the future. I have spoken from my guilty conscience, so I told the ACSU I want to return to cricket as soon as possible. The next step requires me to have a lawyer. The board won’t help, because they need to stay in a safe position.”Ashraful had said earlier that the ICC respected his honesty and that he looked forward to see the other individuals charged to come out clean. “They did appreciate me, because not many come forward with the truth,” Ashraful said. “I do hope those guilty will come out with the truth.”However, Ashraful’s reported disclosure of his involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing in international games in 2004, 2010 and 2012 is yet to be investigated, after the BCB said last month that it would be.Richardson clarified that the current investigation applied only to the BPL. “This investigation will be specific to allegations of fixing and attempts to fix matches in BPL 2013,” Richardson said. “If other incidents do get unearthed, we will decide at a later stage whether those need to be prosecuted further.”