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The West Indies women’s team is confident of beating England in the final ODI to clinch the series 2-1

Cricinfo staff07-Nov-2009West Indies women have fancied their chances of winning the final ODI against England in St Kitts and taking the series 2-1. Their coach, the former opener Sherwin Campbell, said the team was upbeat ahead of the final match at Warner Park and were confident of an upset.”We now have the final ODI on Saturday and I believe we have a realistic chance of beating England and winning the series,” he said. “There is self-belief in this team and a lot of confidence.”West Indies won the first ODI by 40 runs and narrowly lost the second by 13 runs. The loss on Thursday led England to level the series one all. Rainford-Brent made 72 opening the batting and had solid support from Jenny Gunn, who was promoted to No. 3 and scored 57, as England reached 232 for 5 having chosen to bat first. Stafanie Taylor proved a handful with the ball, collecting 3 for 29 from her ten overs, but she was unable to carry that momentum into the West Indies innings when she was the first out for 2.West Indies were unable to chase despite a cautious 57 from opener Pamela Lavine. Merissa Aguilleira kept the scorecard ticking with her 44 but was run out by Holly Colvin in the 46th over.Campbell was pleased with his team’s effort despite the loss. “On Thursday we could not complete the job but I thought we played well,” he said. “There was a bit of panic there at the end and I felt our inexperience at this level is what beat us.”

Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke has expressed his keenness to host day-night Tests in Australia, but has admitted there would be compromises

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke has expressed his keenness to host day-night Tests but says there will be compromises and it will not be within the ICC’s suggested time-frame. Clarke was responding to ICC president David Morgan, who had said he’d be “surprised and disappointed” if he didn’t see the concept of day-night Tests materialise within the next two years.”We are really keen for it to happen,” Clarke told the newspaper. “Why shouldn’t people be able to come after work and see four, five or six hours?”Without elaborating on what the compromises would be, Clarke said a fair share of fans might be resistant to change. “There’s always going to be people saying ‘why do you change anything’,” he said. “But if you don’t change anything you are going to go backwards at 100 miles per hour it seems to me. There’s going to be some compromises, let’s be honest about it.”The current format, Clarke said, had failed to draw in more fans and change was necessary to make the format more attractive. “We reckon we’ve missed a generation and we are going to make sure we don’t miss the next generation, but we need to have change . . . it has to be an event and not just a cricket match in some regards,” he said.The report quoted Clarke as saying that with the Ashes due next year they would struggle to conduct a day-night Test in the time frame mentioned by Morgan, but he hoped to be able experiment with Shield cricket in the next few years.Morgan, on December 16, had singled out Australian venues as ideal for the day-night Tests experiment. “If you look at a country like Australia with big stadia and very hot conditions, Australia is made for day-night Test cricket,” he said. “Eighteen months ago, I wouldn’t have been overly enthusiastic, thinking of the tradition and the records. But the way Test match cricket has changed over 130-odd years, I see [day-night Tests] as a very good reason for bringing the crowds out.

Phil Jaques and Usman Khawaja posted centuries before New South Wales’ bowlers gave the leaders Victoria a fright in the draw at Newcastle

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2009Victoria 311 & 5 for 144 (Rogers 94*) drew with New South Wales 8 for 390 dec & 3 for 306 dec (Jaques 131, Khawaja 107)

Scorecard
Usman Khawaja’s 107 was his second century in as many games•Getty Images

Phillip Hughes made the Test team but it was Phil Jaques and Usman Khawaja who posted centuries before New South Wales’ bowlers gave the leaders Victoria a fright in the draw at Newcastle. After Jaques and Khawaja pushed the Blues to the declaration at 3 for 306, the Bushrangers slipped after a comfortable start to be 5 for 119 after tea.They were chasing a nominal target of 386 for victory and were held together by Chris Rogers, another opener overlooked for the Test side, as they reached 5 for 144 when bad light ended the game. Rogers finished with an unbeaten 94 in a confident display after Nick Jewell, David Hussey, Cameron White and Andrew McDonald went for single figures. The medium pacer Grant Lambert was a handful for the middle order with 3 for 27 while Mitchell Starc had two wickets.Hughes, who is on standby for Ricky Ponting for Boxing Day, fell in the first over of the fourth morning to a bat-pad catch on 7 before Jaques and Khawaja raced forward. Jaques scored his first domestic century since returning from back surgery, rushing to 131 off 141 balls, while Khawaja reached his second in as many games, finishing with 107 after being stumped off David Hussey. David Warner stepped in for a typical cameo of 48 from 30 balls, with five fours and two sixes, before the declaration arrived.A result was unlikely as soon as the first day was washed out. Victoria have a six-point buffer at the top of the table while New South Wales dropped to last despite picking up first-innings points.

Gul Hameed Bhatti, a leading sports journalist, editor and cricket statistician, passed away late on February 4 after a prolonged illness at the age of 63

Cricinfo staff05-Feb-2010Gul Hameed Bhatti, a leading sports journalist, editor and cricket statistician, passed away late on February 4 after a prolonged illness at the age of 63.Bhatti was widely respected and acknowledged in Pakistan and outside as the leading cricket statistician in the country, though his writings and research extended into a number of other sports and fields. Alongside Abid Ali Kazi and the late Nauman Badar, Bhatti launched an association for cricket statisticians in Pakistan, which was responsible for a number of publications. He had built and was maintaining what is thought to be the most comprehensive database on domestic cricket and cricketers within Pakistan.Bhatti had a long, accomplished and fruitful career in sports journalism. It began with (Pakistan) in the early 70s, when the magazine had just come out. Bhatti was in charge initially of sending in reports from the Lahore club scene, but soon took over to oversee a number of editorial areas and eventually was the man responsible for bringing out the magazine every month.He became Sports Editor of the in 1990 and was one of the key founding members of the newspaper, the English voice of the influential Jang media group. At one point, in the mid-90s, he even became editor of the paper, but returned soon after to his first love of sports, and was Group sports editor, until his illness.

The Indian government has decided to do away with tax relief for the BCCI after tax officials labelled its activities a “gimmick” to make money

Cricinfo staff24-Feb-2010The Indian government has decided to do away with tax relief for the BCCI after tax officials labelled its activities a “gimmick” to make money. Junior finance minister SS Palanimanickam told the upper house of parliament that the board was a “primarily a commercial entity.””The [tax] exemption was disallowed for the year 2007-08 as it was held that the BCCI is no longer promoting cricket as a charitable activity and is now primarily a commercial entity,” Palanimanickam was quoted by AFP as saying.The income tax department also said there was “no element of charity” in the affairs of the BCCI. “Cricket is only incidental to its scheme of things,” it said in a statement. “It is more into prize money for every run or wicket, which is nothing short of a gimmick. The conduct of certain activities and receipt of income from these activities clearly show that these activities are totally commercial and there is no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI. It is evident that major income arises not from the game of cricket but from the business of cricket.”

Hashim Amla’s maiden double-century made sure South Africa’s dominance had a firm grip over the Indian bowling

N Hunter07-Feb-2010As they prepared to take their seats for the press conference, Jacques Kallis insisted that Hashim Amla sit in the middle, between him and the media manager. “The man who makes 250 deserves that,” he said with a grin.The other day, Graeme Smith had mentioned that the biggest loss to the Indian batting in the absence of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman would be their calming influence. It wouldn’t have sounded arrogant if the South African captain had gone on to heap similar praise on his own pair of Kallis and Amla. If not for their battle-hardened approach, South Africa might never have raised a 500-plus total having lost their openers with just six runs on the board.Kallis has been the architect of many successful back-to-the-wall efforts in the past, and, hence the cynosure of all eyes on the second morning. But a diffident approach and some smart bowling from the Indian spinners on a pitch increasingly taking sharp turn robbed him of a maiden double-century. Curiously, despite playing such a strong hand in laying a solid foundation, doubts were raised about whether Kallis had succumbed to nerves standing at the doorstep of maiden double. He rubbished such minute introspection by saying he was not going to “lose any sleep” over missing out another opportunity to reach the elusive milestone.But one man who is bound sleep soundly is the soft-spoken Amla, who carried forward the torch for the second successive day admirably. Even the loss of Kallis immediately into the second hour of the morning did not distract him as he took up the cudgels and assisted his partners, first AB de Villiers and then Mark Boucher, in making sure South Africa’s dominance had a firm grip over the Indian bowling.Obviously in an effort spanning more than 11 hours, bumps were meant to be encountered and Amla suffered them early today. In the hour leading up to lunch Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh found ample turn from the pitch, sometimes exaggerated. Amla tried to charge Harbhajan but was not convincing and was repeatedly beaten by Mishra’s legbreaks.A damning stat that highlights one of his struggles came against Mishra: Amla faced 139 balls from the leg spinner for just 34 runs. “There were a few tough parts: the reverse swing and facing the spinners,” said Amla later. “Mishra beat the bat many, many times but in a way you don’t look back and sigh.”The biggest challenge was to extend his vigil as long as possible. On his first tour to the country of his ancestors in 2004-05, Amla flattered to deceive with scores of 24 and 2 on debut, and in the next, in 2008, he had just started to fulfill his promise with 307 runs at 61.40. Back then he was still fighting doubts in his mind and at the same time clearing doubts of the outsiders about his presence in the squad. But now, with his place secure in the South African top order, and his name on the team list solely on merit and not his skin colour, Amla has emerged out the dressing room secure in mind and ability.He had played an influential hand in the drawn series against England at home last month which allowed South Africa to retain the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy. In the first Test in Centurion a rampant England South Africa on the mat at 46 for 4 in the second innings, but Amla stood strong to score a reassuring century and drive the opponents back. Though he failed to reach the three-figure mark again in the series, two handsome fifties made Amla one of he leading batsmen in the series.”He has certainly come in a long way from the last time he toured India,” said Kallis, pointing out how Amla’s presence gave the batting order a solid look. While Kallis spoke, Amla was still, head down – just like when he bats. The silent learner. But he surely would’ve felt satisfied with Kallis’ next compliment. “He is a fantastic guy to bat with. He is a very calming influence on all the players. The way he has developed his game has been fantastic. People wrote him off early on but the tough character he is, he has proved everyone wrong. He is going to score a lot of runs for South Africa in very important situations.”There were more bouquets on the way. One arrived from India’s coach Gary Kirsten, who at one time had been Amla’s coach at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. “I always knew the time was going to come when he would have the ability to get big hundreds for his country. That was evident way back,” said Kirsten, who has played some marathon innings for South Africa. “It was a superb innings, batting with Jacques and coming in at the time they did. He knows how to bat long periods of time. Full credit to him, and well done.”Amla was generous in the acceptance of all the praise but pointed out that his efforts had put his team in a strong position. “Scoring a maiden double-hundred on Indian soil is a momentous occasion. I am really grateful that I’d the opportunity but more important was to get the team in the best position. I’ve been more fortunate and it has been a good learning experience on both occasions, watching it [the triple-century stand with Kallis] from the non-striker’s end.”

Michael Clarke has spoken publicly for the first time since his sudden departure from Australia’s tour and his subsequent break-up

Brydon Coverdale in Wellington16-Mar-2010Michael Clarke has spoken publicly for the first time since his sudden departure from Australia’s tour and his subsequent break-up with Lara Bingle. Clarke fronted a packed media conference at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium, where he mentioned the support he had received from Shane Warne and insisted the media frenzy following him and his former fiancée would not affect the focus on his cricket.”I have spoken to Warney,” Clarke said. “I’ve spoken to a lot of my friends and my family. He’s been a wonderful friend of mine for a long time and he was excited to see me back in New Zealand and wished me all the best for Friday’s Test match.”Clarke made a hasty exit during Australia’s one-day series when he flew back to Sydney to deal with his relationship issues, which were followed intensely by the Australian tabloid press. About 30 members of the media, some of whom will return home before the Test begins, surrounded Clarke but he said he was solely concentrating on preparing for the game.”I made the decision firstly to go home but then to come back to New Zealand knowing that there was a big Test match starting on Friday,” he said. “I knew I’d be capable to get up for that. Preparation has been very important to me throughout my whole career and it’s no different now. Yesterday it was important to get back in the nets and have a good bat, see that red ball.”Being back in the team environment will no doubt be a welcome change for Clarke, who over the past week and a half has woken to see photographers and TV cameras trained in on his Sydney apartment, waiting for any glimpse of him or Bingle. Clarke said he never expected there would be so much interest in his personal life but accepted it was an inevitable part of being a high-profile sportsman.”It’s part of what we do,” Clarke said. “Being a professional athlete it’s not just about what you do on the field it’s what you do off the field as well. We have to accept that and for me it was important to do what I had to do in my personal life and it’s important for me now to be back with my team-mates and make sure I’m concentrating on playing a Test match for Australia.”[Going home] was obviously something that I thought was very important and needed to be done and I did that. My team-mates were fantastic and very supportive. Cricket Australia, the ACA, all my friends and family have been wonderful. That’s obviously why I’m back here now, trying to get out there on Friday and perform in Australia.”Clarke said he would “have to wait and see” if his opponents tried to distract him from the game with a few personal sledges come Friday. The New Zealand fast bowler Chris Martin said on Tuesday that he hoped the players would treat Clarke with respect, but Clarke expected at least the crowd at the Basin Reserve would get stuck in to him.”I’m sure I’ll get a little bit of stick [from the crowd] but I don’t mind that,” Clarke said. “No matter where you go around the world, every country wants their team to win and do well, so we’ll wait and see what happens on Friday but I don’t think that will affect me too much.”I’ve copped a fair bit of sledging in my time, whether it be about stuff on the field or off the field. We’ll just have to wait and see [if the players will sledge]. But I have the utmost respect for the New Zealand guys and I’m sure they’re the same so we’ll play it by ear, but I’m sure it won’t affect me.”

The Cape Cobras took the SuperSport Series title but struggled in one-day cricket, while the Warriors had a limited-overs season to remember

Firdose Moonda01-Apr-2010There’s a funny feeling that hits the southern tip of Africa around the end of March every year. It’s when the sunshine is being filtered through a watery lens and the air thins out like a ragged, old blanket. To some, it’s merely the onset of autumn, to others it’s the end of the cricket season, and to the Cape Cobras, it’s the end of the season in which they won the SuperSport series but failed to renew their tickets to the Champions League.The Cobras won 60% of their first-class games, with two of their most comprehensive results coming in the final two weeks of the season. They beat the Dolphins by 10 wickets in the penultimate match, after racking up 477 for 8 in the first innings. Centuries by Andrew Puttick (180) and Stiaan van Zyl (157) set up the win, and Vernon Philander took six wickets in the match as the Dolphins were bowled out for 276 and 225.The following week, the Cobras tore through the Warriors to win by an innings and 117 runs and cement their place at the top of the table. Philander was again among the wickets, claiming 5 for 40 as the Warriors were bundled out for 110 in the first innings. Stiann van Zyl smashed an unbeaten 167, the mainstay of the Cobras’ 369. Robin Peterson’s five-wicket haul helped the Cobras bowl the Warriors out a second time, for 142.The Cobras took the main prize through some fine individual performances over the course of the season. Philander led the bowling with 45 wickets at 14.73, while Peterson was the most successful spinner in the competition, finishing with 30 wickets at an average of 23.50, which put him fifth on the overall standings. Van Zyl was their best batsman, scoring 696 runs at 58, with two centuries. It was a satisfying season for the men from the Cape from a four-day point of view, but not so in the limited-overs formats. They lost to the Warriors in the MTN40 semi-final and in the last four of the Pro20.The same cannot be said for the Eagles, who also featured in last year’s Champions League. They had a disappointing season all round. They failed to make the semi-finals of the Pro20 or the MTN40 and finished fourth in the SuperSport Series. The Bloemfontein-based franchise was under a new coach, Sarel Cilliers, and this season could well have been their teething period.However, they did have two soaring stars to be proud of: Rilee Rossouw topped the first-class batting stakes with 1189 runs at 66.05, including the fastest triple-century by a South African with 319 off 291 balls against the Titans. However, the innings came in defeat as the Eagles squeezed home by two wickets on the final day. His team-mate Dean Elgar also scored 1060 runs at a marginally higher average of 66.25 and slotted in neatly at number two on the table.Number three on the first-class averages belonged to Stephen Cook, the Lions batsman who broke the South African first-class record with 390 against the Warriors. For his franchise, the season was a welcome change from their usual position at the bottom of the table. They finished third in the SuperSport Series, despite only wining two matches. In fact, they lost double the number of matches they won but racked up 100.44 points, to sit in the middle of the pack. The MTN40 was forgettable for them as they finished last, but they surprised everyone when they reached the final of the Pro20.The internal problems of the one of the Lions’ mother unions, the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) have been more in the spotlight than their cricket, and they will hope that the off season will be used to sort out those issues. One of them is the legitimacy of the board and unless this is clarified it could have an impact on the hosting of Champions League matches later in the year by the GCB should South Africa be confirmed as the venue.The Titians, like the Eagles, were under a new coach in Chris van Noordwyk and failed to replicate the success of previous seasons. They were the defending champions of the SuperSport Series, where they ended second, and the MTN40, where they were knocked out by the Dolphins.That bit of success is really all the Dolphins had to smile about this season. Also under new management, that of ex-national coach Graham Ford, they finished last in both the SuperSport Series and the Pro20. They underwent a mid-season overhaul, in which the contracts of five senior players including HD Ackerman, Johann Louw and Andrew Hall were terminated with immediate effect. The franchise said it hoped to increase development substantially and produce a younger, more vibrant side for next season. They will be bolstered by the inclusion of Imran Tahir, who left the Titans to move to Durban.All five of the above franchises will have rebuilding to do in the winter months, with a mixed bag of results not separating any of them from the others in terms of dominance. Even the Cobras, who were the most consistent of the five, performance wise, slipped a rung or two on the ladder of cricketing supremacy in the franchise system.There’s one franchise that the winter chill may not feel so severe to and that’s the Warriors. They picked up their first and second trophies since the franchise system started. The Eastern Cape side established themselves as the best limited-overs unit in the country as they won both the 40-over and 20-over competitions.Colin Ingram was the top scorer in both, scoring 600 runs in the MTN40 and 283 in the Pro20 and Rusty Theron became feared for his death bowling abilities which were enough to earn him South Africa and IPL call-ups. The Warriors were not so successful in the SuperSport Series and finished second last, making it clear that they have work to do on the longer version of the game.

Cricinfo staff05-May-2010Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has declared himself fit for India’s first Super Eights match in Barbados, after missing the previous game against South Africa due to a groin injury.”I am fit and feeling strong. I am looking forward to the big games,” Gambhir said after a nets session at the Three Ws Oval in Barbados. “These are really important matches and I am looking forward to playing a big role in that.”India failed to make the semi-finals in the World Twenty20 in England last year, where they were exposed by short-pitched bowling. However, Gambhir felt India were better prepared this time, despite expectations of a fast, bouncy surface at the Kensington Oval.”We haven’t played on this wicket so we don’t know how it will play. Obviously, we have heard from people that it has got a lot more bounce in it than at St Lucia,” Gambhir said. “You cannot go into the match with set ideas just because the wicket is sluggish or fast. Sometimes it works the other way when a guy goes and turns the match around in six overs.”India won both their group games convincingly and Gambhir credited the varied bowling attack for setting them up.”We cannot plan for what the opposition has strategised for us. We will go with our own strengths,” he said. “We have a good quality set of bowlers who can dismiss the opposition. We also have a set of spinners who are really good. I personally think that a quality spinner is an asset and the quality will show irrespective of what the surface is.”Our bowling unit has performed well. Zaheer (Khan), Harbhajan (Singh) and Ashish (Nehra) have done really well. They look to dismiss the opposition. That is the only way of how you can restrict the teams. By getting wickets it gives us the momentum and sets up the match for us.”India could be facing Australia in the Super Eights and Gambhir tipped them to play aggressively in order to reverse their poor record in the World Twenty20.”Australia haven’t done well in the T20s. The first time they lost in the semis and the next year they did not qualify,” he said. “So you can expect Australia to come back really strong. They have got some quality players in their side who can change the course of the match.”India play their first Super Eights match on May 7.

Essex’s bowlers ensured they held a commanding advantage over Lancashire after two days of their County Championship Division One match at Old Trafford

25-May-2010

ScorecardMaurice Chambers did the early damage to Lancashire’s innings•Getty Images

Essex’s bowlers ensured they held a commanding advantage over Lancashire after two days of their County Championship Division One match at Old Trafford. The home side’s batting order has rarely looked steady this campaign and they struggled again as five of the six bowlers used by Essex captain Mark Pettini got amongst the wickets.The scorecard was at its worst when the lacklustre hosts were reduced to 101 for 7 at the end of the 37th over in reply to Essex’s first-innings total of 307. But at least a fourth County Championship half-century of the summer for Sajid Mahmood helped his side avoid the follow-on and reach 184 all out.Mahmood finished with 58, off as many balls, while Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was the pick of the visiting attack with 3 for 42 from 13.1 overs. Maurice Chambers and Ryan ten Doeschate had claimed two each of the first seven but Lancashire were hampered by a bout of sickness for regular opener Stephen Moore. The ex-Worcestershire batsman only came in at No. 6 and made just 3.Essex opener Billy Godleman was the 15th wicket to fall in the day when he was caught behind by Luke Sutton off the bowling of Kyle Hogg in the visiting side’s second innings. They reached 26 for 1 from 13 overs at close and will begin day three with a lead of 149.The day could hardly have started better for the hosts after Essex could only add another 56 to their overnight total and left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan finished with a career-best of 6 for 74 from 38.3 overs. Kerrigan took all four wickets, including three in eight balls, to ensure his side claimed a third bowling point in the nick of time.He took two wickets in the 110th over, including Kaneria bowled off the last ball of it, to reduce Essex to 299 for 9 and prevent the visitors claiming another bonus point of their own. Kerrigan then knocked over last man Maurice Chambers, caught by Mark Chilton, to leave Lancashire felling better about themselves.Chambers soon changed that as he bowled Luke Sutton and Ashwell Prince, the latter with a beauty with the first ball of the afternoon session. ten Doeschate had Paul Horton and Moore caught in the gully by Ravi Bopara and behind by James Foster respectively.Chris Wright trapped Steven Croft lbw in between before David Masters had skipper Glen Chapple caught behind and Kaneria snared Mark Chilton lbw for 49. And when Hogg was run out by Bopara in the covers two overs into the evening session Lancashire were 123 for 8 in the 44th over.Kaneria then had Kerrigan caught by a diving Bopara at mid-wicket before Mahmood skied one to Walker to complete the innings.