All posts by csb10.top

MTN Domestic Championship

The big news this week was the final of the MTN Championship where Andrew Puttick’s half-century helped the Cobras beat the Warriors by 19 runs at Newlands on Friday.

SAA Provincial Challenge

Craig Knox and Friedel de Wet produced top-class all-round performances as North West demolished Free State, recording a ten-wicket victory at Potchefstroom. Batting at number 7, Knox scored 142 as North West recovered from 33 for 4 to score 335 in their first innings. His was pretty much a lone hand although he received some assistance from the tail-ender de Wet whose 37 was the next highest score, as the two bailed out their misfiring top-order. de Wet had earlier taken 6 for 41 as Free State were bundled out for 123, and he followed this up with 5 for 57 as Free State were bowled out for 217 in their second innings, with Knox taking 3 for 24. North West had no problems with the six-run deficit to record a convincing victory.Gauteng made short work of Namibia, beating them by eight wickets at Windhoek, with Heinrich le Roux scoring 117 to help set up the win. Ahmed Nawab had taken four wickets to help dismiss Namibia for 259 in their first innings, and le Roux’s innings, together with half-centuries from Stephen Cook, Jean Symes and Dumisa Makalima lifted Gauteng to 414 and a big first-innings lead. Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu hit 79 in the Namibia second-innings, but their 250 was not enough to put serious pressure on Gauteng, and the captain Blake Snijmann scored an undefeated 68 from 61 balls as they reached the target of 96 for the loss of two wickets.

SAA Provincial Cup

A battling 77 from Cliff Deacon wasn’t enough to save Free State as they lost their last five wickets for 18 runs to slump to a 31-run defeat at the hands of North West at Potchefstroom on Sunday. Half-centuries from Driaan Steyn and Niel Bredenkamp had earlier helped North West to rack up 278. It was a fine team effort while Deacon took 5 for 24 for Free State. Deacon’s then took his team to within sight of the North West total, but his dismissal proved the beginning of the end for Free State.Tatenda Taibu scored an undefeated 95 as Namibia won a nail-biting encounter with Gauteng off the last ball of the match at Windhoek on Sunday. Despite needing just 208 for victory, Namibia made hard work of the chase but Taibu’s innings and 69 from captain Louis Burger saw them home.

“It’ll be pretty hard to replace 15 or 16 seasons of your life on top of the world. How am I going to replace that? I’m a pretty competitive person, so playing poker will be up there with pool, snooker or golf. I will have the odd wager on the golf course, but nothing can replace the opportunity to play for Australia.” Shane Warne
“We’ve actually played some of the best cricket I’ve ever been involved in. I don’t think I’ve been involved in a side that’s played relentless and tough cricket like we’ve played this summer. That’s what led to the collapses with England, the mistakes. The constant pressure in both batting and bowling was just outstanding.”Warne
“There will be no comebacks. It’s time for the young guys to step forward now. Australia’s in a very healthy position so there won’t be any calls next year for us to come back.” Glenn McGrath
“Since Brisbane it’s been an amazing team performance. There’s been no standout player. When we’ve bowled there have been no easy runs and when we’ve batted they’ve had to work really hard for their wickets. In the first Test there was a bit leftover from the Ashes in 2005 and we just haven’t let up the whole time.” McGrath
“The first morning was a bit emotional for me. It was business as usual after that. There’s no denying when the national anthem was on and I saw my family up in the box and looked around for the last time before we went out to field, I knew that I was pretty upset. It probably affected the way I played the first day, I dropped three catches. That’s good. I’d be upset if I wasn’t a bit upset about it.” Justin Langer

Cameron White is set to make his one-day international return this month but after a disappointing 2006, the nature of his place in the side does not worry him. White, who played all five of his ODIs in 2005, has developed his batting so much that he is likely to fill an Andrew Symonds-type role as a hard-hitting middle-order striker and handy slow bowler.Like Matthew Hayden, who has also been recalled for the Commonwealth Bank Series against England and New Zealand, White will be keen to impress ahead of the World Cup. After losing his Cricket Australia contract and being overlooked for the Australia A Top End games last year, the Victoria captain worked hard on his batting in county cricket for Somerset and this season averages 52.33 in the Ford Ranger Cup.”I don’t really care if I get picked as a batting allrounder or a bowling allrounder, or just as a bat or bowler, as long as I get picked,” White told . “It doesn’t really matter what label you put on it as long as you are playing.””If anyone asks me what I am I just say I am happy to do whatever anyone asks. Batting or bowling – it doesn’t really matter what you call someone. But I think I have bowled fairly well in the last month, so I wouldn’t say I am a batsman who bowls yet.”Although he has been useful with the ball, his figures are not as attractive as his run-scoring in 2006-07. In eight domestic limited-overs games he has eight wickets at 32 and has conceded nearly five runs an over. His Pura Cup statistics – seven dismissals at 49.42 – are less convincing.”I bowl no differently in the one-day game to four-day,” White said. “I just think the conditions tend to suit me more in one-day cricket. The wickets can be a bit slower and that probably suits my game more, and I have to learn to bowl better on faster wickets. I try to change my pace around a lot.”White said the disappointment of missing the Top End tour was eased by the fantastic experience he had at Somerset. Batting mostly at No. 5, White made five centuries and averaged 59.50 in his 12 first-class matches. He was even more impressive in the Twenty20 competition, where his 67.16 was the highest average from all counties and his two centuries included one in 55 balls, breaking the record for the fastest Twenty20 hundred.”I had a good summer over there and my batting improved, so I am not overly disappointed by it,” White said. “One of the things I wanted to work on in county cricket was my batting, and my one-day batting in particular. I batted up the order at Somerset and that seemed to work. It was a really good experience.”With the departure of Damien Martyn from Australia’s one-day middle-order and the World Cup just two months away, the timing of White’s return to form could not be better.

England’s coach, Duncan Fletcher, believes that Andrew Flintoff is a transformed character now that the burden of captaincy has been lifted from his shoulders.With Michael Vaughan restored to the team, Flintoff produced a brilliant, match-changing spell of bowling during England’s thrilling victory over New Zealand at Brisbane on Tuesday, and Fletcher admitted that his key allrounder seemed much happier to be back in the ranks.”We feel when he’s not captain he feels a little bit freer, his bowling is a lot more confident and there’s a weight off his shoulders,” said Fletcher. “He seems a lot more relaxed. Anyone who’s not captain of the side would be a little bit more relaxed. I don’t think there’s a captain who goes in there and feels very relaxed when he’s leading his country.”All the same, Vaughan has been struggling with a hamstring injury during the triangular one-day series and is doubtful for the first of the best-of-three finals at Melbourne on Sunday. “He’s captaining England successfully and is a very important factor for us,” said Fletcher. “You always worry with Michael because that experience is immense.”

Shane Warne believes Shaun Tait will be a useful addition to Australia’s World Cup defence, but he was surprised by the omissions of Stuart Clark and Cameron White from the 15-man squad. Warne told AAP Tait was an excellent choice because of his “explosive pace and versatility”.”He can bowl the powerplays or he can take the new rock and bowl at 160kph and take early wickets,” Warne, who retired at the Sydney Test, said. “The key to one-day cricket is taking wickets, and when you’ve got someone who can bowl that express pace, he can take wickets at any stage of the game.”However, Warne felt Clark and White, who is the leading candidate to replace Andrew Symonds if he is not fit, were unlucky. “I thought Cameron White, in that No. 7 sort of spot, is a finisher who can clear the fence, [but also] knock it around, so I was a little bit surprised. But I suppose you can’t fit everybody in and hopefully the guys who were picked in the squad will do the job.”In his column in The Times this week Warne said England were an outsider to win the World Cup, but he told AAP the CB Series victory did not make up for the tourists losing the Ashes. “It shows that in one-day cricket anyone can win and the way they fought back shows a bit of character,” he said. “But England will be very, very disappointed with their tour, to lose 5-0. It took them a couple of months to win their first game.”

Iain Robertson struck his maiden first-class century to boost Canterbury to a strong first-innings total of 469 for 8 on the second day against Otago at Christchurch. Michael Papps, overnight on 143, added 26 to his score before falling to seamer Matthew Harvey. Robertson led the lower-order resistance, adding 85 with Michael Davidson for the eighth wicket and another 44 for the tenth wicket with Willie Lonsdale. Robertson dominated both stands, bringing up his century before Chris Harris declared the innings. He brisk unbeaten 102 included eight fours and four sixes. Jordan Sheed led Otago’s reply with 46 as his side ended the day at 96 for 2 when bad light curtailed play.Wellington replied strongly after conceding a first-innings lead of 74 to Auckland at the Basin Reserve, ending the second day at 243 for 3. Following the batting failure on the opening day in which 17 wickets fell, the script took a different turn today as Luke Woodcock, Michael Parlane and Neal Parlane struck half centuries. Neal Parlane remained unbeaten on 87, giving his side a lead of 169 at stumps with seven wickets in hand. Earlier, seamer Iain O’Brien bagged his best figures in first-class cricket with 8 for 55, wrapping up the Auckland innings for 174.An impressive showing by the Northern Districts top order gave them a first-innings lead of 25 on the second day against Central Districts at Gisborne. Chasing Central’s first-innings score of 305, openers Bradley Watling and Brad Wilson put together a stand of 118. Wilson departed for a patient 56 while Watling carried on, adding a quick 57 for the second wicket with Hamish Marshall. Watling though was unfortunate to miss his ton, falling nine short when he was bowled by legspinner Robbie Schaw. James Marshall strengthened Northern’s position with an unbeaten 86, taking the side past Central’s score in the company of Grant Robinson who was seven short of a fifty at stumps.

As you might expect from members of an old-boys network, Graeme Smith and Ryan Watson – opposing captains in St Kitts and former pupils of King Edward’s school in Johannesburg – talked up the prospects of the other team. Scotland and South Africa now prepare for the grand finale of a group phase that until now has been as predictably one-sided as the world rankings suggest.”Scotland are a better unit [than The Netherlands],” Smith said after South Africa’s seven-wicket win. “They’ve got a few better bowling options and a few decent batters in the top six.”Watson fancied his former countrymen to put one over the Australians in their seismic tussle on Saturday. “I like the way South Africa are playing at the moment,” he said, “but I worry they don’t have a spinner in the side because these wickets are quite flat.”Today such weighty matters had to be put on hold, as Scotland took their turn to feel the wrath of the South African blades. There was no shame in the defeat, only weary resignation. Scotland leaked four-balls galore to succumb with more than half of their overs to spare. “We’ve improved a lot in terms of scorelines,” Watson said after posting their highest World Cup total of 186 for 8, “but we’re slightly disappointed with how we bowled up front. We bowled a lot better against Australia.”As has been the case throughout the past week’s mismatches, there wasn’t a lot that could be read into the result. For the fourth match running, the better side was professional to the core. Watson conceded that – regardless of what has been happening in Ireland’s group – against such focused opponents, the Associate teams don’t really have a prayer.”If any of the Test nations brings their A-game to an Associate nation they are always going to do well,” Watson said. “The problem with South Africa and Australia is they are never complacent – they are definitely always up for the game. I’ve played against Pakistan in the past, and whether it’s complacency or whether they take their foot off the gas, I don’t know. But they have the tendency to do that against smaller teams and that gives you half a chance.””As a team you cannot afford to take teams for granted,” Smith said. “You have to be ready for each day, because if you’re slightly off the mark, any team can beat you. But now the first two games are out of the way, and that’s a good thing because Australia is the game that everyone’s been looking forward to. The World Cup is really starting for us now, and the first part of that is Saturday.”

Scotland did provide moments of troubling resistance that Smith was both grateful to have been alerted to, and eager to rectify before the Australia clash. In particular, he took on board the flurry of runs that Scotland’s tail had provided in the closing stages of their innings, as John Blain and Paul Hoffmann helped Dougie Brown to add 55 in five overs.”At the death on this ground you’re going to go for a few boundaries,” Smith said, “so you’ve got to come up with a few different strategies. I’m glad that we bowled first, because we were able to learn that and see what it’s like out there. It allows us to think about that now and plan for the Australia game. The winds were blowing strongly and that changed a bit of death-bowling tactics, but we bowled solidly and it was a good work-out.”It was Watson’s Scots, however, who were taught the most from this match-up. “We learnt how to field today,” Watson, who was run out while taking on AB de Villiers’ exocet arm in the covers, said. “South Africa were simply magnificent and those are the standards we need if we are going to compete. Also our batting up front needs some work. These guys come at us and hit us over the top – we need to apply the same pressure on them.”Smith, who thrashed 91 from 65 balls, was relaxed and content with his form after a low-key build-up to the Australia match, and he intended to keep things that way. As the hype prepares to be cranked up a notch for Saturday’s showdown, Smith revealed the squad’s intentions were to take things easy.”The guys have found a good balance since we’ve been in St Kitts,” Smith said. “It’s easy to find. Tomorrow I’m going to get a lesson on how to fish – a couple of our farm boys are taking me fishing tomorrow. It’s definitely a full day off and we won’t even plan any training sessions tomorrow night. We’ll take the two days and make sure those two days before Australia are real training sessions. I just hope I don’t get seasick.”

Daren Ganga, the newly-appointed West Indies vice-captain, believes the team can turn around its form after a disappointing World Cup but filling the hole left by Brian Lara would be a huge challenge. Ganga said the players would need to adjust quickly to the different conditions in England.”We’re looking forward to playing better cricket as a team in the longer version of the game especially with the backdrop of the team’s performance in the World Cup,” Ganga said. “Also given the fact that one of our senior players in Brian Lara has left a big void with regards to experience in our side.”It’s going to be important for us to rally around each other and to ensure that we play together as a team knowing conditions in England are very challenging. It will require a big effort on the part of everyone to ensure that we remain competitive and focused on our objectives.”Ganga, who was not part of the World Cup squad, said leading the side along with Ramnaresh Sarwan, the new captain, would be a huge honour. “I’m looking forward to supporting Sarwan in every possible way to ensure that the team comes first and we represent our West Indian people with pride and honour,” Ganga said.”We have a very nice blend of young inexperienced players with players who have been around international cricket for a long time. This is going to ensure that we remain enthusiastic whilst we plan and execute efficiently against our opposition.”

Four years ago Avril Fahey, the WA and Australia player, thought her career was over when she was diagnosed with diabetes. She missed three state games for WA, her first for nine years. “That was pretty devastating,” she recalls. “What made it worse was the team won those games, having been on a very long losing streak at the time.”At this point she feared she would never play again – yet five weeks later she was back on the pitch, although this time with a glucometer and sugar at the ready. Luckily, she didn’t have to change too much of what was already a healthy diet, but any sweet snacks have gone. Now the occasional luxury is permissible only after exercising or after a medication adjustment has been made.A change to the way she trains was needed to, mainly because she can’t push herself too hard with fitness as it upsets her blood glucose control. However, she has had better fitness results since her diagnosis. “I now train smarter, not necessarily harder.”But despite the trials of living with the disease, her biggest challenge is yet to come. She and her team-mate Angele Gray are undertaking a 4000km bike ride over 41 days to raise funds for diabetes research. During the event the pair will ride five or six consecutive days of 100km or more before a rest day.The gruelling ride, from Perth to Melbourne, starts at the end of June. Gray, her WA team-mate, was more than willing to undergo the challenge, too. “Until Avril was diagnosed my knowledge and understanding of diabetes was fairly limited. As teammates and friends I have observed Avril manage her diabetes on a regular basis.”This has also meant seeing some of her highs and lows and in doing so, assisting her with her management during training and matches. I, along with a number of her teammates, have had to run out her glucometer and sugar during matches.We have all gained a greater insight into the condition.”They were not cyclists before they embarked upon training. “Overcoming the discomfort of sitting in the saddle for six-to-eight hour periods has been a big challenge,” says Gray. “Mentally, the comprehension of what we are about to do has been quite challenging -I would never previously have imagined that I could ride 180km [a day].”Yet the hardest part for Fahey has not been the training itself. Rather it has been finding the time to fit her work as an occupational therapist, study, the end of the cricket season, ride-planning and cycling training into a daily routine. “My time management skills have never been tested so much!”After the ride, it will be back to the pitch. “I have enjoyed the challenge,” says Fahey, “but will definitely be looking forward to getting back to cricket training when we have finished.”

Ravi Shastri, India’s cricket manager for the tour to Bangladesh, made it clear that there was no way he would be continuing with the job as he had other professional commitments, even though this tour had been like, to quote a journalist, a “honeymoon”.”I like honeymoons. The more the merrier,” Shastri said. “But I was very clear right from the outset that I would do this job because it was a tough time for India. I was free, but I had made my stand clear with the establishment that I was under a contract with ESPN-Star who are my employers. I am a professional, I believe in work ethics, I believe in contracts.”Had he asked ESPN-Star to release him for the India job? “It’s against my nature. When I have a contract in hand, I respect it,” Shastri said. He may have finished with the Indian team for now, but would like to see Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh continue in their capacities of bowling coach and fielding coach respectively. “If I am asked, they should stay in place,” Shastri said. “Venky and Robin did a fabulous job. They were dedicated cricketers; this job too they did with dedication and pride.”Shastri again rubbished the talks of a divide among the team. Before departing on the tour he claimed India weren’t enjoying their cricket, but after a period time with the players has had a change of heart. “I didn’t go to the World Cup… but I kept reading a lot,” he said, “but what I saw was a brilliant bunch… I had thought that was nonsense. I know now that it is absolute nonsense.”So what had been done to bring a smile back? “That’s dressing-room stuff. We have discussed a lot, we have gone one-on-one with each individual.”Shastri had taken charge of the team during precarious times after a poor World Cup and Greg Chappell’s departure. He said his way of tackling that was to shut the past out completely. “I focus on the present. The present were these boys given to me by the selection committee.”Shastri may have completely negated the past, but he is on the committee that selects the future coach in a week’s time. However, being the true professional that he is he kept his cards close to his chest. He would not even discuss what kind of coach India needed.