All posts by csb10.top

	Ricky Ponting: “It would have been great to win one more, or ten more, but we haven’t been good enough. The run was always going to come to an end at some stage” © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting refuses to believe Australia’s global domination is over after their record-equalling winning streak was ended in Perth. While India’s 72-run victory gave the world hope that the gap between Australia and the rest was closing, Ponting was not convinced his team was “on the slide”.”I was reading stuff in the paper about it today, is the invincibility all over?,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought so. We’ll see. It’s up to us to see how we bounce back in Adelaide.”Australia started the fourth day chasing 413 to keep the winning run alive, but they were controlled by a well-rounded India attack and had no excuses for the defeat. Sixteen victories may be the new four-minute mile as Ponting’s side will always be level with Steve Waugh’s team of 1999-2001.”It’s disappointing, it’s been a pretty good run,” he said. “It would have been great to win one more, or ten more, but we haven’t been good enough. The run was always going to come to an end at some stage. We just weren’t good enough here, it’s as simple as it gets.”Talk of reaching 17 did not disrupt the preparations and Ponting also rejected suggestions that the controversy after the Sydney Test, which led to Australia adjusting their behavioural outlook, caused a drop in intensity. Ponting had seen the tourists hit back strongly in Kolkata in 2001 and Adelaide on the previous tour and was determined not to underestimate his opponents.”I stressed to the guys that I wanted us to play the same brand of cricket, a hard-nosed aggressive brand, which is the only way we know to play,” he said. “Our skills let us down more than anything this week.”The batting was the biggest problem for Australia, who missed the injured Matthew Hayden, and they were in danger of failing to pass 300 in both innings until Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark combined for an entertaining 73-run stand. At no stage did India worry that they would not win and they will head east over the next couple of days looking to repeat the performance of 2003-04 and level the series.Hayden is likely to return in Adelaide on Thursday and has been named in a 12-man squad while Chris Rogers has been dropped after scoring 4 and 15 on debut. Shaun Tait and Brad Hogg retain their places, with Hogg expected to replace Tait after his disappointing performance in a four-man pace attack.”We let ourselves down a little bit in this game, now it is up to us to bounce back,” Ponting said. “We’ll work harder than India in the next week to get ourselves right.”Australia squad for Adelaide
Matthew Hayden, Phil Jaques, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Brett Lee, Brad Hogg, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait.

Highlights of the day

Cheteshwar Pujara blasted his highest score in Twenty20 cricket, as Saurashtra thrashed Jammu & Kashmir by 73 runs in Kochi. Pujara slammed five fours and sixes each during a 55-ball 81, and shared a 70-run partnership with Chirag Jani, who stroked 38 off 19 balls. Their efforts lifted Sauarashtra to 157 for 7. J&K failed to string together a single meaningful stand in their chase, and folded for 84 inside 18 overs, with only two batsmen managing double-digit scores. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, ending with figures of 3.1-0-19-3.Gujarat nearly made a mess of a small chase against Hyderabad in Nagpur, but Parthiv Patel’s 70-run blitz ensured the team had enough gas in the tank to register a three-wicket win. Set 132 for victory, Parthiv drilled eight fours and three sixes during a 40-ball 70, and added 99 for the opening wicket with Priyank Kirit Panchal. Parthiv’s dismissal in the 12th over triggered a slide, as Gujarat lost seven wickets for just 30 runs, but held on to complete the chase with three balls to spare.Domestic heavyweights Karnataka suffered their second defeat of the season, going down to Uttar Pradesh by five wickets in Cuttack. Karnataka, opting to bat, compiled a total of 160 for 6, thanks to a 40-ball 45 from Mohammed Talha, and handy lower-order knocks from CM Gautam and Aniruddha Joshi. UP, though, gunned that total down with relative ease, as their top and middle order all got in among the runs. The opener Prashant Gupta top-scored with 48, while Suresh Raina carried forward the momentum by smoking a 15-ball 28 with three sixes.Biplab Samantray’s maiden T20 ton went in vain, as Odisha failed to defend 183 against Maharashtra. Samantray thumped a 59-ball 102, and put up 155 for the third wicket with Govinda Poddar, but important knocks of 44 and 49 from Prayag Bhati and Ankit Bawne respectively helped Maharashtra to a last-ball win.

Other brief scores

Frizzell County Championship Division One
Table
Lancashire 368 for 5 v Sussex at Old Trafford
Scorecard
The champagne in the Sussex dressing-room will have to wait for at least one more day as Lancashire and the rain further prolonged their wait for that elusive maiden Championship title. They did at least pick up three wickets, including the centurion Mal Loye, in the 42 overs possible. Loye eventually fell, caught off Robin Martin-Jenkins for 144, after a partnership of 241 with Stuart Law, who then added 56 with Carl Hooper (33). Law batted throughout the truncated day’s play and ended with 131 not out, having hit 20 fours. Lancashire closed on 368 for 5 with Mushtaq Ahmed still searching for his 100th wicket of the season, a feat not achieved since Andy Caddick and Courtney Walsh both did it in 1998.Leicestershire 295 v Kent 23 for 1 at Leicester
Scorecard
In an ominous sign for the England batsmen this autumn, Muttiah Muralitharan added a few more Englishmen to his bagful of wickets this season. Murali polished off Leicestershire’s last three wickets for 34 runs on the way to 6 for 51, and at the same time sealed their long-threatened relegation from Division One. Leicestershire’s fate was sealed when they failed to take maximum batting points. John Maunders was one of the few to escape Murali’s magic, and scored a century to boot. Resuming on 76, Maunders went on to make 129, his second hundred of the season. In Kent’s reply, Rob Key was bowled early on by Phillip DeFreitas for 11, leaving David Fulton (7*) and Ed Smith (0*) at the crease when the gloom forced an early finish.Nottinghamshire 361 v Middlesex 9 for 0 at Lord’s
Scorecard
Nottinghamshire’s problem all season has been that one good day is followed by a bad one, and it happened again today. Resuming on a strong 316 for 5, they lost their last five batsmen for 44 as Middlesex fought back at a murky Lord’s, on a day in which only 28 overs were possible. Jamie Dalrymple (2 for 5) took two of those wickets and Chad Keegan (2 for 105) took the big one of Russell Warren for 123. In their reply, had Middlesex reached 9 for no loss before bad light stopped play.Essex 249 for 9 v Warwickshire at Chelmsford (Day 1)
Scorecard
The steady old head of John Stephenson showed Essex how much they have missed him this season as he marked his Championship comeback with a rescuing 69 not out to pull his side out of the mire at 73 for 7. Stephenson, 38, put on 106 with Graham Napier, who showed signs of why he was selected for the academy with a sprightly 48 from 65 balls, with eight fours and two sixes. Andy Clarke then carried on the rescue act with 41 from 34 balls to bump Essex up to 249 for 9 before bad light brought an early close. Relief for Essex, but frustration for Warwickshire, who threw away their good early work in which Alan Richardson took 3 for 47 and Corey Collymore 2 for 60.Frizzell County Championship Division Two
Table
Somerset 409 v Derbyshire 326 for 6 at Taunton
Scorecard
Andrew Gait kept Derbyshire in touch with Somerset’s big first-innings score with 110, his fourth first-class century. Gait hammered 17 fours and a six, and put on 185 with Steve Stubbings, who scored 93 in Derbyshire’s 326 for 6. But it could have been even better, as Simon Francis hit back for Somerset late in the day. Francis grabbed four wickets for only 12 runs, three of which were catches for Rob Turner, the wicketkeeper, who pouched five in all. Francis finished with 4 for 74. Derbyshire now trail by 83, with four wickets in hand.Northants 319 and 80 for 2 v Glamorgan 203 at Cardiff
Scorecard
Graeme Swann sliced through the Glamorgan innings with 5 for 37 to put Northants into a strong position. Mark Wallace was out without adding to Glamorgan’s overnight total of 20, when he was trapped lbw by Mike Cawdron, who also nipped out the other opener, Jimmy Maher, for 29. Swann then dismissed the two top-scorers, Matthew Maynard (48) and Mike Powell (40), and polished off the tail after Jason Brown chipped in with two wickets. Northants had a lead of 116, but made a wobbly start when Tim Roberts and Phil Jaques were both out with only seven on the board. But Mike Hussey (22*) and David Sales (52*) steadied things up to give Northants a 196-run advantage.Gloucestershire 374 and 53 for 2 v Durham 218 at Bristol
Scorecard
Ian Fisher and Jonathan Lewis gave Gloucestershire the advantage as they helped to bowl out Durham for a below-par 218. Lewis (3 for 52) started things off by removing his namesake, Jonathan, and Gordon Muchall early on. And despite a stylish 98 from Martin Love, including 20 fours, the Durham batsmen were always on the rack as Fisher reeled in the last five wickets, including Love’s. Shoaib Akhtar struck back with the scalps of Craig Spearman (28) and Phil Weston (7), but Gloucestershire still ended the day with a 209-run lead, and with eight wickets left.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) today announced a twelve-man West End Redbacks squad to take on the Western Warriors in the first Pura Cup game of season 2003-04.Greg Blewett will captain the side, with new recruit Andy Flower making his debut for the South Australian team.West End Redbacks coach Wayne Phillips said he is looking forward to the first game of 2003-04 after an excellent pre-season."I am very happy with the effort and commitment shown by the players during the pre-season and am confident it will hold us in good stead for the first game.""The selectors have chosen a balanced side, with a mixture of experienced senior players and some of our up and coming talent.""I’m sure the boys, like me, are looking forward to getting the season underway this weekend."The Redbacks team is:

Greg Blewett (c)	Andy Flower
Mark Cleary	Mark Higgs
Chris Davies	Graham Manou
John Davison	Mick Miller
Shane Deitz	Paul Rofe
David Fitzgerald	Shaun Tait

The Pura Cup game runs from October 19 to 22 at the WACA Ground in Perth. The Redbacks remain in Perth to take on WA in an ING Cup game on October 24.

Virender Sehwag: the surprise element in the Indian team© Getty Images

Two days after the Karachi one-day international, the post-mortem continued into how India pulled off the win and why Pakistan lost despite an amazing run-chase. In his column for Gameplan, the syndication agency, Shoaib Akhtar explained his disappointing performance with the ball: “Right from the first ball, I was having problems with my run-up, and they persisted right through the Indian innings.” Meanwhile, just one match into the series, Shoaib was sure who posed the biggest threat to Pakistan’s bowlers: “Rahul Dravid will be the most crucial wicket if we are to dislodge the Indians cheaply.”Writing for the same syndication agency, Ravi Shastri opined that Virender Sehwag’s form could be the decisive factor in this series. “Pakistan’s bowlers have not seen too much of him, so he has that element of surprise. His ability to play unorthodox shots can unsettle any bowler or coach – even the irrepressible Javed Miandad.”For Youhana, the greatest difference between this Indian team and the ones of the past was the never-say-die attitude of this outfit. Writing for the syndication agency TCM, he said: “I have not known Indian teams to fight like this one did when under pressure. I have played a few Indian teams in Sharjah, Dhaka and even Australia. This one refused to give up, and fought till the end.”* * *The Nation reported that Miandad was busy trying to instil some discipline in his two main fast bowlers. According to the daily, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami had long bowling stints, with Miandad watching out for no-balls and wides. The team had a three-hour practice session at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi, the venue of the second ODI, with Shoaib and Sami bowling almost throughout. Between them, Shoaib and Sami sent down eight no-balls and nine wides in Saturday’s five-run defeat.* * *According to Dawn, around 3000 policemen have been deployed for the Rawalpindi match. Talking to the daily, Syed Moravet Ali Shah, senior superintendent of police, said: “We will have 1500 police in and around the stadium while as many are on duty at other points in the city. We have set up barricades at the road leading up to the stadium and only those with valid tickets or duty passes will be allowed to go through.”The scanning of spectators will start from the parking lot through vehicle search mirrors after which there will be the walk-through gates. A final scan will then be done through handy metal detectors.”* * *Rameez Raja, the chief executive of the Pakistan board, sought to play down fears that the five-match one-day series would be one continuous run-fest with nothing in it for the bowlers. Speaking to The Nation, he said: “Three of the four [remaining] one-dayers are day-and-night games, and at night conditions are more suited to the bowlers, and batsmen would be facing swing, so it won’t be easy to score runs.”* * *LK Advani, India’s deputy prime minister, welcomed the idea of a visit by Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister, to Lahore to watch one of the ODIs. He was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying: “If there is any such move, it will be a further step in improving ties between the two countries.”PTI also reported that the Indian team is scheduled to meet Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, on March 17. Confirming the news, Ratnakar Shetty, the manager of the Indian team, said: “The team has been told that there would be a meeting with the President on March 17. We believe it is a get-together over tea. The timing is yet to be confirmed.”* * *The Times of India stated that Rahul Dravid and Murali Kartik used their time off on Sunday to visit the ancient site of Taxila, around 30 km north of Rawalpindi. Known as the City of Stones, the ancient city is famous for housing many Buddhist monuments.

Muttiah Muralitharan wants to end his career on a high note© AFP

Muttiah Muralitharan, the world’s highest Test wicket-taker, has said that he wants to go out of the game on a high note, and cited the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean as his swan song.”I want to play till the next World Cup and try to win it and go off on ahigh note when I am retiring,” Muralitharan said after becoming the new record holder. “The world record means a lot to me and for Sri Lanka, but winning the World Cup in 1996, I would say, was the biggest achievement of my career. The World Cup was something different. You can’t forget that easily. It was tremendous. It is bigger than my individual performance in Harare.”At Harare, Muralitharan broke Courtney Walsh’s world record of 519 wickets from 132 Tests – which had stood for three years – when he took eight wickets in the first Test against Zimbabwe on Sunday. Sri Lanka won the Test by an innings and 240 runs inside three days to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series. But he was aware that his mark would be surpassed. “Records are meant to be broken. Somebody else may break my record. It won’t stay for a long time.”But for the present moment he can relish the ‘world champion’ title, despite the fact that his bowling action has always been clouded with uncertainty.Muralitharan’s doosra had been reported to the ICC by Chris Broad as beingillegal and not within the laws of the game. But since the incident flaredup at the end of the three-Test series against Australia in March, Muralitharan made perhaps his first public statement on it.”The doosra has always been at the back of my mind. People have questionedme about it. I have done all the tests that are required and the reportshave gone to the ICC. At the end of the day what matters is what the report,the expert, my cricket board and what the ICC says.”Curiously, Muralitharan’s action has evoked rabid criticism or fanatical support since the first time he was called for throwing in Australia in 1995, a few months before Sri Lanka, led by Arjuna Ranatunga, beat Australia in front of a packed house at Lahore to lift the World Cup. Although Sri Lanka undertook two unsuccessful World Cup campaigns after that, Muralitharan has been devastating in the shorter game, and is gradually catching up on the400-wicket mark. With 360 wickets in 232 matches, he lies third behind Wasim Akram (502 wickets from 356 matches) and Waqar Younis (416 wickets from 262 matches).But it’s in Tests that Muralitharan has caused more damage. With his present average of nearly six wickets a Test, cricket pundits and experts predict that by the time he retires, he will have gone past the 600-wicket mark. To put the matter into perspective, if he carries on at his current wicket-taking rate, in 132 Tests (the number Walsh took for his record), he will have claimed 772 wickets.And with Shane Warne right behind Muralitharan on 517 Test wickets, the battle is on between the two great turners of the ball to become the leading spinner of all time. Australia comes to Zimbabwe after Sri Lanka’s second Test to play two Tests, following which they play Sri Lanka in two further Tests at home in July.

Dark clouds loom over Headingley© Reuters

The ongoing dispute over the ownership of Headingley is set to rumble on, as neither side is willing to admit responsibility for the breakdown in negotiations.On Monday, Yorkshire released a statement in which they said at they were willing to talk. “The club confirms that it has not withdrawn from the negotiations, neither orally nor in writing.” The statement said, “It has no choice at present but to regard the negotiations as at an end, but it wishes to make clear that they have been ended by Leeds CF&A unilaterally.” Yorkshire stated that since they did not pull out, they would not have to pay a £500,000 fine. The statement went on to say that Yorkshire would like a further reduction in the asking price, which “might be less than the one which Leeds CF & A’s commercial standpoint has produced but, if a deal could be done, the benefits for Yorkshire would be beyond measure and enduring.”But the current owner of Headingley responded swiftly, presenting their version of events. reported that Leeds Cricket Football and Athletics has not withdrawn from the negotiations, and quoted them as saying: “Leeds CF&A has not withdrawn from the negotiations to settle the contracts,” they said. “It remains ready, willing and able to finalise them. However, a price reduction – on top of the discount already given – is not an option. It is wrong of Yorkshire CCC to criticise Leeds CF&A for not being willing to reduce the price further.”

John Gloster: ‘I will come over whenever the BCCI wants me to’© Getty Images

John Gloster is all set to take over as the new physiotherapist of the Indian team, and has indicated that he is ready to join the squad whenever required. Andrew Leipus, the former physio, had earlier resigned from the post to pursue a postgraduate course in Adelaide.Leipus first expressed his desire to stand down during the Mumbai Test against Australia last year, and had said that he planned to leave at the end of January. Gloster, who has earlier worked with Bangladesh and Surrey, told : “I am more than keen to take over and will come over whenever the BCCI wants me to. If it means flying out this week, I am ready for that as well.”SK Nair, the board secretary, said that Gloster was the “first choice”, and added, “We have made an offer to him. If he agrees to our terms and conditions he will take charge. We are hoping to get a response in the next couple of days.”The NKP Salve Challenger Trophy – the annual one-day tournament played between India, India A and India B – is scheduled to be held in Mumbai from February 7, and Gloster is expected to join the squad by then.

Scorecard
Railways extended their overnight lead of 113 to 211 before their bowlers ran through Jammu & Kashmir in just under 46 overs, completing a comprehensive win on day three in Delhi. J&K could only muster 123 in their second innings as Sanjay Bangar picked up the last four wickets in 8.5 overs.Resuming on 307 for 7, Railways reached 405 with No. 7 Karan Sharma, unbeaten overnight on 68, going on to score a century on first-class debut. Sharma was involved in a 103-run stand for the eighth wicket with Harvinder Singh (38). Sharma was the last to fall, but the 211-run deficit was too much for J&K, handing Railways a well-earned victory and six points.
ScorecardAfter having conceded a first-innings lead to Goa, Haryana were left with a chance for victory, needing another 241 runs with nine wickets in hand.Starting the third day 67 runs behind Goa’s first-innings 271, Haryana were bowled out for 246, Shadab Jakati finishing with 6 for 52 from 29.2 overs. Goa got off to a shaky start, losing three wickets with only 30 on the board as Joginder Sharma struck twice.Opener Sagun Kamat made 60, but it was a fighting 86 by Ajay Ratra, the former Indian wicketkeeper, that enabled the home team to reach 221. Ratra was involved in a 32-run last-wicket partnership with Harshad Gadekar as Amit Mishra, Haryana’s strike bowler, took 6 for 75. Haryana, set a target of 247 – one more than their first-innings total, lost a wicket before stumps, Jakati making the breakthrough.
ScorecardGujarat looked well-placed for a win in Ahmedabad, having reduced Assam to 15 to 2 after having set them a target 407.Nilesh Modi and Niraj Patel amassed 215 runs for the third wicket as Gujarat more than consolidated on the 39-run lead they had gained after bowling out Assam for 189. Niraj hit 15 boundaries in his 192-ball stint for his 124, while Modi was more circumspect, his unbeaten 152 coming at less than a run every two balls. Niraj fell with the score on 333, and his side declared once the lead was extended beyond 400. The hosts had the added bonus of two wickets in the 15 overs they bowled, with Siddharth Trivedi and Nehal Raval bagging one apiece.
ScorecardMadhya Pradesh skittled out Jharkhand for 139, gaining a first-innings lead of 84, and then scored 165 for the loss of five wickets at stumps on the third day in Jamshedpur.Jharkhand, resuming at 83 for 5, managed a further 56 as the last five wickets fell within the first 24 overs of the day. Anand Rajan bagged 4 for 51, adding two scalps to the couple he picked up on Sunday. MP lost wickets at regular intervals as they looked to build on their lead, but ended on 165 for 5, with a more than handy advantage of 249. Shankar Rao was the pick of the bowlers for Jharkhand, with three wickets in his 16 overs.
ScorecardServices, who conceded the first-innings lead against Tripura, looked poised to set the home team a challenging target on the final day of the match in Agartala. Yashpal Sharma scored an unbeaten 94 as Services, overnight on 112 for 2, reached 308 for 7, an overall lead of 222 runs. For Tripura, Vineet Jain took 3 for 66.

Callum Thorp will not count as an overseas player for Durham© Getty Images

Durham have signed Callum Thorp, a right-arm fast-medium bowler, on atwo-year contract.Thorp, 28, was born in Perth and has played 16 matches for WesternAustralia. But since both of his parents are British, he will not countas an overseas player, even though on England’s 2002-03 tour ofAustralia he took 4 for 58 against the tourists.”Callum comes to the club highly recommended by our new captain MikeHussey who is confident that he will be able to perform well in Britishconditions,” said Martyn Moxon, Durham’s coach. “It will be particularlyuseful to have another bowler in the squad to ensure that there isconstant competition within the team for places on the field.”David Harker, the county’s chief executive, was also enthusiastic: “Weare looking forward to having his experience within the squad,especially in our battle for promotion next year, and to offer guidanceto our developing players.”The last Australian fast bowler Durham signed was Shaun Tait, who,though highly regarded by Geoff Lawson, Damien Fleming and Wayne Clark,failed abysmally in two matches: figures of 18-0-176-0 tell one story, but not how he struggled with no-balls. There were 26 of them.