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Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has recovered from the ankle sprain he suffered at practice and will resume training on the eve of the first Test

Cricinfo staff14-Nov-2009Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has recovered from the ankle sprain he suffered at practice and will resume training on the eve of the first Test against India in Ahmedabad starting on November 16. The captain Kumar Sangakkara also confirmed that one of Prasanna Jayawardene and Kaushal Silva will keep wicket, meaning that Dilshan will play as a specialist batsman.The Sri Lankans go into the Ahmedabad Test without match practice, after their only three-day warm-up game in Mumbai was washed out.”Dilshan has recovered from the minor injury he had due to accident at the warm-up,” Sangakkara said. “He is fine now and batting well. We will have to see how well he does tomorrow.”Prasanna has been doing great with the gloves. Kaushal is on a maiden Test tour but has been scoring a good amount of runs for the A side and in domestic cricket. One of them is going to get the first game.”Dilshan kept wicket and batted in the middle order in the three Tests against Pakistan at home during August, stepping in for the injured Jayawardene, which allowed Sri Lanka to accommodate allrounder Angelo Mathews, who chipped in as the third seamer. However, Jayawardene returned for the two Tests against New Zealand that followed and Dilshan was promoted to open the innings. Sri Lanka have four wicketkeepers in the squad, including the captain himself.That flexibility, Sangakkara said, was Sri Lanka’s strength and it extended to all departments of the game. “The guys are relaxed and enjoying themselves as the pressure is not on us. We do have a balanced side this time and have options of playing various combinations of fast bowlers and spinners giving us more flexibility.”We have got a mix of youth and experience, a good variation of pace and spin plus over seven or eight batsmen. And all of them have been doing well in their own disciplines. We are looking forward for them to go into the first Test and enjoy themselves, play good hard cricket and hopefully come out on top.”Sangakkara said he was pleased with the composition of the five-member pace attack, including Mathews. “We have fast bowlers like Dammika Prasad and Thilan Thushara who are bowling at the speed of 145-plus kph,” he said. “Then we have Nuwan Kulasekara at 130 and Chanaka Welegedara who can hit 140 as well. Speed does not really matter unless it is accompanied with accuracy.”

Half-centuries from Sarel Burger and Wian van Vuuren steadied Namibia’s innings after a shaky start against the United Arab Emirates in Windhoek

Cricinfo staff05-Dec-2009
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Sarel Burger and Wian van Vuuren steadied Namibia’s innings after a shaky start on the first day of their ICC Intercontinental Shield match against the United Arab Emirates in Windhoek.Namibia went into the game missing their regular opener Gerhard Randolph and were soon jolted, losing their first two wickets in the space of four runs after an opening stand of 43. Burger and van Vuuren, who was called up to replace middle-order batsman, Norbert Manyande, stabilised the innings with a 103-run partnership for the third wicket.Van Vuuren made 55 before he was caught by the wicketkeeper Abdul Rehman off Fayyaz Ahmed with the score on 150. Burger then added another 53 runs with captain Craig Williams and Namibia were looking solid, having passed 200 for the loss of only three wickets. However, both Burger and Williams were dismissed in the space of six balls with the score on 203 and UAE were right back in the game.Nicholaas Scholtz and Louis van der Westhuizen were both unbeaten on 22 when play ended. Medium-pacer Qasim Zubair, who dismissed the openers, was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 21 off 13 overs.

Fairlie Dalpathado, a successful allrounder for St Joseph’s College and Ceylon, as it was then known, has died at the age of 85 at his residence in Kirillapone

Sa'adi Thawfeeq09-Jan-2010Fairlie Dalpathado, a successful allrounder for St Joseph’s College and Ceylon, as it was then known, has died at the age of 85 at his residence in Kirillapone. He was buried according to his wishes within 24 hours by his family.As a player, Dalpathado excelled for his alma mater and later for Sinhalese Sports Club and then All-Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then known as). He dominated in a post-war era where cricketers of his caliber were hard to come by. Dalpathado is best remembered for leading the unbeaten St Joseph’s side against a Combined Schools team led by Vernon Prins of St Thomas’, which included eight captains and nine centurions, in 1943. In this historic encounter Dalpathado contributed 59 with the bat and then bundled out the strong Combined Schools side for a mere 35, capturing 6 for 17 with his right-arm fast-medium deliveries. However, the organizers refused permission for St Joseph’s to enforce the follow-on fearing an early finish to the match before the chief guest Governor of Ceylon Sir Jeffery Layton arrived.Dalpathado moved to SSC to display his all-round skills and in 1949 made his debut for Ceylon under the captaincy of Derrick de Saram against a West Indian side led by John Goddard. He also represented his country under the leadership of Malcolm Spittel against Freddie Brown’s Englishmen and toured Pakistan with the Ceylon team led by Sargo Jayawickrama in the 1950s. He was at the time regarded as the leading allrounder in Sri Lanka.Even at the age of 60 he showed that he had not lost any of his touch as a bowler when he took eight wickets for Chilaw Marians (he was born in Chilaw) against Wattala Antonians in a division III cricket match. Dalpathado turned to coaching to pass on his valuable experience to future St Joseph’s players. He coached his school on three different occasions – in 1949 for a year, from 1965-73 and from 1975-88. During his 20-year tenure as coach, Dalapathado produced four champion sides and five outstanding captains in Rohan Weerakkody, Ashley de Silva, Nirmalal Perera, Jeevaka Candappa and Jonathan Alles.Dalpathado also excelled at tennis taught him by his father. He worked at the Tea Control Department and retired at Tea Small Holdings as assistant manager. He is survived by his Indian-born wife Therese Abraham whom he met during one of his tennis tournaments to India and son and two daughters.

CA defended its security procedures and believed bigger fines would be a better deterrent than fencing off the crowd and banning alcohol

Brydon Coverdale02-Feb-2010Cricket Australia has called for fines of up to $20,000 for pitch invaders after being issued a please-explain from the ICC over the Perth incident in which Khalid Latif was tackled to the ground. CA defended its security procedures and believed bigger fines would be a better deterrent than fencing off the crowd and banning alcohol, as was suggested by the Pakistan sports minister.Although CA insists the incidence of pitch invasions has fallen since the maximum fines were increased in the eastern states several years ago, the problem remains at some venues. The man who ran on to the WACA and grabbed Latif was the second ground invader during Sunday’s match.During the second Test against West Indies in December, a man ran on to the Adelaide Oval and the security staff were so slow to react that he reached the middle and was casually chatting to Chris Gayle when he was finally caught. Gayle’s team is back in Australia for a one-day series and he said this week that “they could clamp down on those things more and look after the players a bit more”.”We don’t want to have to have a virtual ring of steel around the game, separating the game and the players from the public,” Cricket Australia’s spokesman Peter Young told Cricinfo. “We want the public to feel engaged with the game and to be looking out across the fence at an exciting cricket match, not looking out across the fence at mesh wire and shoulder-to-shoulder security personnel.”We already have quite a comprehensive alcohol programme. There are a small minority of people who let alcohol control them rather than vice-versa. In relation to them we have stringent responsible service of alcohol (RSA) programmes and processes. At the Hobart Test, a couple of staff were fined very heavily because they were found to be in breach of the state RSA requirements.”Cricket Australia was on Tuesday preparing its report on the WACA incident for the ICC, highlighting that it will lobby the Western Australian state government to increase the penalty for ground invaders. The man who tackled Latif has been charged with assault but for the separate offence of trespassing onto the WACA, the most he can be fined is $500 due to the state laws.In the eastern states those fines are higher – up to $7000 in Melbourne – but incidents still occur. A streaker who was shoulder-charged by Andrew Symonds at the Gabba in 2008 was not hit with the maximum penalty by the courts, a result that disappointed Cricket Australia, and Young said greater fines were a significant disincentive.”Since the fines went up, the problem has literally stopped in its tracks,” he said. “We do have isolated cases on the east coast but they are isolated. It’s usually some idiot who doesn’t realise he’s going to spend the next six months paying off a $7000 fine.”In our view a $20,000 fine would probably be even better. These are multi-million dollar events that have global exposure and people running on to the field … reinforces the stereotype in the minds of some international observers that Australia is nothing more than a nation of drunken oiks and that’s very damaging.”Ground invasions are handled differently around the world and methods vary from the authoritarian to the overly lax. In India and Pakistan, barriers are built to stop fans entering the field of play, whereas during Australia’s World Cup semi-final in St Lucia in 2007, drunken spectators who ran on the field were simply placed back in the crowd and allowed to keep watching the game.In Australia some grounds, including the MCG, are protected by police but at other venues the job is left to private security firms. Adelaide and Perth are monitored by security companies but even where the police are present ground invasions do occur, as in this summer’s Boxing Day Test when a fan ran almost the length of the MCG before being apprehended.”By and large, trained state police officers, particularly if they’re from the special offence squad, as they are in Melbourne, are really good,” Young said. “They’re highly trained, they’re fit, they’re appropriately equipped, and they’re well-rehearsed. They do a really, really good job. In Perth, the state police have got a particular policy so they’re not on the ground. The security sub-contractor has its own personnel who does that work.”We don’t want to ring the ground with a ring of security steel. The far more effective approach is to discourage them from thinking about doing it in the first place.”

The South Africa coach has expressed his “mixed feelings” about the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), and has called for standardising the use of the system across the world by using all the tools available

Cricinfo staff19-Jan-2010South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has expressed his “mixed feelings” about the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), and has called for standardising the use of the system across the world by using all the tools available.”I was always in favour of the UDRS but now that we have seen the system in operation for a decent period of time, I have mixed feelings,” Arthur told the magazine. “Incorrect umpiring decisions can affect the results of matches and also players’ careers so I felt that anything that could bring more correct decisions had to be good for the game.”The system is definitely more good than bad but I do have some misgivings. If Hot Spot and Snicko are used in one series but not another then the system is half-baked.”In fact, he said there were reservations about Hawk-Eye’s predictive element as well, indicating if the ball would go on to hit, or miss, the stumps. “I’m not 100% convinced about the predictive element of Hawk-Eye and I don’t think many players are either.”Another issue he drew his attention to was the amount of time taken to decide whether to call for a review. “I understand that in Australia it has been 10 seconds,” Arthur said. “In our series against England we were given 25. I think it’s fair to say that both South Africa and England did take longer than we should have done at times.”He also believed more lbws would be given under the UDRS in the subcontinent. “It will be interesting to see how the UDRS works in the subcontinent,” Arthur said. “I suspect there may be more lbws given out on review because height and bounce will rarely be an issue. In the past these decisions would have been given not out because of the turn and perhaps the batsman getting a long way forward.” South Africa will play two Tests in India next month, but a verification of Arthur’s statements might have to wait a little longer since the UDRS is unlikely to be used during that series.The recently-concluded Test series between South Africa and England had created an uproar regarding the UDRS, with umpire Daryl Harper at the centre of controversy. When Graeme Smith, on 15, flashed a cut at Ryan Sidebottom during the fourth Test in Johannesburg, England went up as one for the top-edge. However, Tony Hill, the on-field umpire, turned down the appeal and Andrew Strauss quickly asked for a review.There was no noticeable deflection on the replays so the noise from the stump microphone would have to be the decisive evidence. Except Harper couldn’t hear anything, so he simply upheld Hill’s decision. Smith went on to score 105 and South Africa went on to level the series 1-1 with the innings-and-74-run win. However, Arthur said that as far as the umpires’ perspectives went, he felt that they might have made “made their peace” with the system as long as correct decisions were reached in the end.”I get the impression that some umpires are in favour of it, others less so. [Dave] Richardson [the ICC’s general manager (cricket)] told us that the UDRS has improved the percentage of correct decisions from 93 to 98. And that really is what it comes down to. If the UDRS can eliminate the absolute shocker, then it is doing its job.”

Daniel Christian is in line to become the second player of Aboriginal heritage to play an international for Australia

Cricinfo staff17-Feb-2010Daniel Christian, the South Australia allrounder, is in line to become the second player of Aboriginal heritage to play an international for Australia after being selected in the Twenty20 squad to face West Indies. Christian will join Jason Gillespie, the former fast bowler, on the list if he appears in either of the games in Hobart on Sunday or Sydney on Tuesday.Michael Clarke leads the team that will also include the pace trio of Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes, which upset Pakistan during a tight victory last month. The selectors have been impressed by Christian’s power with the bat and effective medium pace in the domestic Twenty20 competition and picked him in a 14-man squad.”We continue to look at various options and the balance of the team leading into the World Twenty20,” the panel chairman Andrew Hilditch said. “We see Dan as an explosive allrounder who could have a good impact for us in Twenty20 internationals.”In three seasons of domestic Twenty20 action Christian has 230 runs at a strike-rate of 148.38 and taken 13 wickets in 16 games. He has also been in strong form for the Redbacks in the other competitions and last week took nine wickets and scored 71 in a Sheffield Shield win over Western Australia.Christian grew up in New South Wales and is a graduate of Cricket Australia’s indigenous cricket programme. He captained the national indigenous development squad during a tour of England last winter and is due to help them again later this year when they play Papua New Guinea.”I’m an Aboriginal man from the Wiradjuri tribe in New South Wales, that’s all through my Dad’s side of the family, and they’re all born and bred from down there,” he said in Adelaide. “I’ve grown up in that environment, and I’m an Aboriginal man … it is what it is.”Australia Twenty20 squad Shane Watson, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Travis Birt, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Daniel Christian, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has trimmed the initial squad of 30 for the World Twenty20 2010 to be played in the Caribbean next month to 18, with the final squad of 15 to be announced on March 30

Cricinfo staff16-Mar-2010Cricket South Africa (CSA) has trimmed the initial squad of 30 for the World Twenty20 2010 to be played in the Caribbean next month to 18, with the final squad of 15 to be announced on March 30.CSA also named the Test and ODI squads for the tour of West Indies in May and June which follows the World Twenty20 as well as the South Africa A one-day and four-day squads for the tour of Bangladesh in April.Juan Theron, who helped the Warriors to the domestic Pro20 title, is the only uncapped player in the reduced World Twenty20 squad, which also includes Justin Kemp and Vernon Philander.Kemp and Philander are part of the Cape Cobras side, and have not played internationally since the 2007 tour of Pakistan and the 2008 tour of England respectively. Kemp most recently featured for the Chennai Super Kings in their opening match of the IPL’s third season against Deccan Chargers.The Test squad for the tour of West Indies is unchanged from the 15-man team that drew the two-match series 1-1 in India.Herschelle Gibbs and Albie Morkel, though, were missing from the ODI squad that played in India. Graeme Smith, who broke his finger while playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and was ruled out of the tournament, has been named in the one-day squad along with Ryan McLaren who was called up as an allrounder.Players promoted to the A level for the first time include Colin Ingram, Stiaan van Zyl, David Miller, Rilee Rossouw and Jonathan Vandiar. Rossouw and Vandiar have stepped up from the under-19 ranks while Miller is only one year older. In fact, Rossouw and van Zyl both played for the emerging squad last winter, though Vandiar missed out due to injury.There is also a change in the captaincy of the South Africa A squad with Thami Tsolekile being recognised for his leadership that took the Lions to the final of the Pro20.”Our aim at the moment is to build formidable squads both for the approaching World Twenty20 as well as for the World Cup next year,” said coach Corrie van Zyl. “An important part of this is to achieve consistency on the field and an important contribution to that will be to be consistent in the selection process as well.”This may involve changing the starting XI as we play against different opponents under differing conditions.”The door is not closed on any individual as far as future selection is concerned,” he added. “But we believe that the combinations we have are the best to suit our purposes at the moment.”Squad for ICC World Twenty20: Graeme Smith (capt), Jacques Kallis (vice-capt), Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Ryan McLaren, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Juan Theron, Roelof van der MerweODI squad for West Indies: Graeme Smith (capt), Jacques Kallis (vice-capt), Hashim Amla, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Charl Langeveldt, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der MerweTest squad for West Indies: Graeme Smith (capt), Jacques Kallis (vice-capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary once again outshone a glittering batting line-up to give Mumbai Indians a big total, which their bowlers defended smartly and comprehensively

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga03-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outZaheer Khan dismissed Herschelle Gibbs and Adam Gilchrist to put pressure on Deccan Chargers early in their chase•Indian Premier League

Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary once again outshone a glittering batting line-up to give Mumbai Indians a big total, which their bowlers defended smartly and comprehensively. The two added 65 in 7.4 overs for the fourth wicket to resurrect an innings that threatened to come undone, Rayudu went on to register his second fifty of the tournament and provide Mumbai a big finish.In three overs, Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma had brought Mumbai down from 53 for 0 to 62 for 3, but Deccan Chargers’ fielders and death bowlers refused to play ball, dropping Tiwary twice, and going for 64 in the last five.By the time Ojha was introduced in the seventh over, Sachin Tendulkar, along with Shikhar Dhawan, had scored quick risk-free runs as if it was everyday business. On a pitch assisting spinners – even Andrew Symonds bowled offbreaks from a long run – the real test would come against spin.Dhawan stepped out to the first delivery from Ojha, found himself short of the pitch of the ball, and was stumped. In the next over, Rahul got Tendulkar with a slider, perhaps the first time he bowled to the batsman. In the next over, Ojha set Dwayne Bravo up with two big flighted offbreaks, both slow through the air, both teasing him, asking him to play the extravagant flick. The third ball was the quick arm ball, Bravo was slow, and the middle stump was no more.It seemed that finally Kieron Pollard, yet to announce himself in the IPL, would have to bat in a pressure situation. Tiwary and Rayudu, though, had other ideas. They started off consolidating, and Rayudu’s placement meant they didn’t stagnate, recovering to 90 in 13 overs.The 14th over proved to be crucial: Rahul came back for a return spell and should have had Tiwary twice. One of the chances went for a six, parried by Herschelle Gibbs, who was a few yards in from the boundary at long-on. The other, a low one to point, was dropped by Monish Mishra. Between those two deliveries came a hefty slog-sweep for another six. Insult and injury were having a round table.By then Rayudu was in enough to go for the big hits, seeing Symonds off with a slogged six off the last ball of his spell, moving to 25 off 17, and taking Mumbai to 125 in 16 overs.The next four overs were to be vital: Deccan, the worst of the teams at the death, needed a good finish to keep the match interesting. If Ojha tilted the endplay Deccan’s way by removing Tiwary, Rayudu responded by hitting immediate back-to-back boundaries to restore balance. It would all go downhill for Deccan.Ryan Harris managed to keep them quiet with a nine-run 18th over, but in the 19th Rayudu punished Jaskaran Singh. A full toss and a length delivery were dismissed for fours before the shot of the innings, an inside-out six that brought up his fifty. Twenty came off that over, and Pollard hustled through for three couples and two boundaries in Harris’ last over.Although Gibbs managed to hit Harbhajan Singh for two fours in the first over of the chase and Adam Gilchrist took only the second six of the tournament off Lasith Malinga’s bowling, Deccan’s chase never got going. Gibbs was unsettled by the changes of pace from Malinga, and it resulted in a wild shot to the first ball Zaheer Khan bowled. VVS Laxman failed again, stalling the momentum, and by the time Gilchrist was bowled when slogging Zaheer, Deccan were 40 for 3 in 6.1 overs.Symonds and Rohit Sharma were left with the unenviable task of bringing Deccan back against a varied and accomplished attack, but neither of them could break free. Thirty-five came in the next 5.4 overs that consumed both of them – Rohit to a smart return catch by Pollard and Symonds to an ambitious cut – and signalled an early end to any contest in the match.