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Sean Dickson, Heino Kuhn shine with the bat as task proves too great for Surrey’s bowlers

Daniel Norcross at Beckenham23-May-2019By the end of this fluctuating, frequently fascinating match, 22 players and a couple of physios will quite definitely have earned their sleep. Whether Surrey’s bowlers, who threw everything they had at a Kent side that showed exceptional character to survive a turbulent fourth day and force a draw, will be able to achieve the sanctuary of somnolence, is an altogether different matter.Kent began the day needing an additional, and highly improbable 380 runs to pull off victory with nine wickets in hand. Had they succeeded it would have been the 12th-highest successful run chase in County Championship history. The fact that scribes were rushing around, consulting scorers and
archivists in search of this arcane statistic tells you how well Kent’s middle order negotiated the bulk of a terrific day.Adam Riley, the nightwatchman, survived what in retrospect was a crucial 35 minutes before Sam Curran uprooted his leg stump with a yorker speared in from round the wicket. But in what proved perhaps the pivotal moment of the match shortly after, Curran was forced from the field, clutching
his hamstring. Surrey have had wretched luck with injuries this season, and being a bowler down on an unresponsive track under glorious blue skies put an ultimately impossible burden on the pace bowling trio of Morne Morkel, Rikki Clarke and Conor McKerr. Throughout this match the new ball has been a disproportionately powerful weapon. To be deprived of their chief exponent of swing was a cruel blow so early in the day.What followed was the day’s first flashpoint. Clarke, twice in two balls was convinced he had Daniel Bell-Drummond. The first was a superb piece of umpiring by Graham Lloyd who adjudged that the noise everyone heard was in fact the ball brushing the back of the batsman’s leg. The second decision was perhaps a little tighter. Bell-Drummond looked to be trapped bang in front on the knee roll. He might just about have jammed the ball into his pad. If he hadn’t, he was stone dead.Clarke took the latter view and expressed his displeasure. The umpires convened. Words were spoken. We will find out soon enough if there are ramifications. Surrey have been reprimanded before, and rather too often for their comfort. They really don’t need an appearance before the Cricket
Disciplinary Commission. The sound and fury was soon forgotten as Bell-Drummond was adjudged lbw in Clarke’s next over.Three down at lunch and the game was still very much Surrey’s for the winning. By tea, thoughts had flipped to an improbable and spectacular Kent run chase as Surrey’s bowlers laboured with the older ball. Once again Sean Dickson defied the attack with a compact and organised display. He fell nine runs short of what would have been his second century of the match, edging Clarke behind.Between now and late July many eyes will be on potential England openers for the Ashes. Dickson might just be one to keep an eye on. His wicket was the only one to fall in that middle session and Kent went to tea requiring a further 193 to win from 35 overs with six wickets in hand. Six and a half really given Riley’s nightwatchman status.Morkel inevitably was entrusted with the new ball as soon as it became available. Immediately he picked up Ollie Robinson, caught at midwicket to end a stand of 70 with Kent’s captain Heino Kuhn, who was threatening to reach the parts that other diminutive South African-born middle-order batsmen can’t reach.Robinson’s departure was followed soon after, though, by Kuhn, who was at the very least dismayed, incandescent with fury perhaps, when Lloyd decided that a ball that leaped from Morkel and seemed to take his shoulder was judged to have grazed his bat en route.At 263 for 6 and with another 26 overs to be bowled, fleeting thoughts of Kent’s highest fourth-innings run chase were abandoned. It was all about the draw now. Had Clarke, who bowled magnificently throughout this game, not overstepped when enticing an edge from Wiaan Mulder (again umpire Lloyd the adjudicator) into the momentarily gleeful hands of Dean Elgar at slip, that draw would most likely never have come. Instead Mulder hung on to the end to register an unbeaten half-century on his Kent debut to go with his five wickets.Alex Blake and Darren Stevens negotiated 70 balls between them and Harry Podmore managed to see out the last four overs to bring home ten points for the home side.Promoted teams often struggle in Division One. This year only one side will be relegated. In the last ten years, an average of eight points per match has been enough every year but one to guarantee finishing above the bottom club. Kent have so far managed 43 points in four matches. More importantly, they have stood toe to toe with the champions and despite a poor session at the end of day two, have come out with honours even.Their fans needn’t fear relegation. After a performance like this, they can entertain loftier ambitions.

Cricket Australia has made a written complaint to Cricket South Africa about taunts largely directed at the partners and families of Steven Smith’s team

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town23-Mar-2018Personal abuse directed by Newlands spectators at the Australian side during the third Test has been labelled “disgraceful” by the coach Darren Lehmann, as Cricket South Africa responded to a written complaint from Cricket Australia following taunts about the partners and families of Steven Smith’s team.David Warner’s post-dismissal exchange with a spectator on day two was the visible tip of an iceberg’s worth of abuse over the first two days of the match, with nine spectators ejected on day two, after three had been blocked from entry on day one for wearing offensive t-shirts on the opening day. None of the ejected spectators have been banned from returning later in the match.Lehmann said the abuse, typically directed at the nearest Australian fielder to the boundary when the South African side was batting on days one and two, was the worst his team had witnessed anywhere in the world. “We accept it all around the world, but as soon as they cross the line and they talk about players’ families the whole time and getting abused like that, it’s just not on,” Lehmann said. “There’s been various incidents throughout the Test series but this one has taken the cake.”I think it’s been disgraceful. You’re talking about abuse of various players and their families and personal abuse, it’s not on at a cricket ground anywhere around the world, not just here, it shouldn’t happen. You can have the banter, that’s fine, banter is good-natured, fun by crowds but they’ve gone too far here. We’ve written to Cricket South Africa, Cricket Australia have done that, we’ll see their response, but it’s been poor. We’ll see what happens, hopefully something.”In response, South Africa’s acting chief executive, Thabang Moroe, said fans on both sides needed to behave. “Cricket South Africa and the players appreciate the fans’ passionate support displayed at all our games,” he said. “However the events that transpired today were not tolerable and something that we don’t want to see at any of our Test matches.”We have since taken it upon ourselves to beef up our security personnel to ensure that players from both sides don’t have to endure such unfortunate behavior. Both CSA and the players encourage supporters to continue rooting for their teams and also to behave in a decorous manner that will allow this Test series to be played in true spirit of the game.”Australian touring teams have long acknowledged that they receive some of their harshest treatment from spectators in South Africa, although up to this point Warner’s tour had involved more exchanges with opponents than fans. In Durban he was captured on CCTV cameras exchanging words with Quinton de Kock, then responding angrily to the response from the South African wicketkeeper and needing to be physically restrained by team-mates as he climbed the stairwell at Kingsmead.That incident saw Warner fined and handed three demerit points under the ICC code of conduct, meaning he is one further disciplinary infraction away from a ban. De Kock was also fined over the episode, albeit on a lesser charge. Warner had alleged that his aggression was sparked by de Kock making personal remarks about his wife Candice.Between Test matches, offensive masks were distributed by fans in reference to her brief bathroom encounter with the rugby league player Sonny Bill Williams years before she and Warner became a couple. Two Cricket South Africa officials, Clive Eksteen and Altaaf Kazi, were suspended by the home board after allowing fans wearing the masks to be admitted to St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth and then posing with them for a photograph. In Cape Town, the t-shirt fans were barred from wearing into the ground stated “Warner where’s your wife? She’s just gone to the toilet for a minute”, while abuse of other players and their partners ramped up.”Yep it was personal and it was poor and he wasn’t the only one,” Lehmann said of the taunts at Warner. “There’s always going to be banter, as long as it doesn’t get personal, but it has gone too far with the crowd here and they’ve got to be better than that when they’re coming to international arenas to watch a game of two quality sides playing against each other. They go hard on the ground, there’s no doubt about that, but off the ground you don’t expect that when you’re leaving the ground or you’re having a go at someone’s family. It’s just disgraceful.”David Warner’s stump goes cartwheeling•AFP

Morne Morkel, who took his 300th Test wicket on day two, stopped short of criticising the Newlands crowd, and stated he had been on the receiving end of abuse from crowds in Australia.”We can’t control that. Unfortunately, there is a bit of alcohol and there’s hot sun and we expect that,” Morkel said. “When we play in Australia, I have played in Melbourne, I have copped the same sort of abuse. It’s part of the game but there is a line and its important not to cross that.”The crowd here is always amazing. They come out and support us all the time. Tomorrow is going to be even louder being a Saturday. It’s always special playing here at Newlands. It’s the marquee event and the way they get behind the boys and lift us up when we are out in the field is special.”South African teams playing in Australia have a history of facing verbal abuse or worse, dating back to the spin bowler Pat Symcox having a cooked chicken thrown at him on the SCG outfield during a limited-overs match in 1997. On more recent tours, other members of the South African side, including Hashim Amla, have been subjected to racial taunts. In 2005-06, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince, Garnett Kruger and Shaun Pollock were among players racially abused.”None of the team minds any form of abuse because it happens in any country, the home side really gets behind it,” South Africa’s then coach Mickey Arthur said at the time. “But we feel once it becomes a racist taunt then the boundaries are being overstepped and the South African team categorically deplores that type of behaviour. I don’t think we can do too much more other than just make our point that we categorically deplore it and we do feel that boundaries are being crossed when that sort of thing transpires out there.”The events of that summer brought a fiercer focus from CA on crowd behaviour at grounds, including a “zero tolerance” policy for racial abuse, which could attract a life ban from venues. Advertising campaigns were also devised to educate spectators as to what was appropriate and what was not.Asked about crowd behaviour in Australia, Lehmann said improvement was needed across the board. “That’s not good enough from an Australian crowd point of view either,” he said. “We’ve just got to get better at watching the game of cricket, actually supporting both teams generally, and that’s something that both boards have got to get around.”

The Supreme Court, in a significant reprieve to BCCI and state office-bearers, has allowed them to serve separate nine-year terms at central and state level

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Jan-20171:58

Ugra: Attorney general’s intervention a sign of government backing BCCI

The Supreme Court, in a significant reprieve to BCCI and state office-bearers, has allowed them to serve separate nine-year terms at central and state level, permitting a total of 18 years in cricket administration. The clarification on Friday contradicted the Lodha Committee’s interpretation of the court’s order on January 2, when the committee said an office-bearer would be ineligible to continue if he had served nine years in total, whether at BCCI or state level or combined.The confusion over tenure arose after the court modified its January 2 order, which had originally said: “A person shall be disqualified from being an Office-Bearer if he or she has been an Office-Bearer of the BCCI for a cumulative period of 9 years.” On January 3, the court modified that to: “Has been an Office-Bearer of the BCCI or a State Association for a cumulative period of 9 years.”The original Lodha Committee recommendation regarding eligibility, which was passed by the Supreme Court on July 18 last year, had made it possible for an individual to serve nine years each at both BCCI and state level. A BCCI office-bearer’s cooling-off period could have been a three-year term at their state association, after which they could once again contest an election for a BCCI position. And if they won the BCCI post, the ensuing three-year term would serve as their cooling-off period from holding office at state level. An individual could therefore have spent 18 years in Indian cricket administration between the BCCI and his state association.Such a scenario was possible once again after the Supreme Court clarified the uncertainty that arose following the order on January 2 and 3, and reverted the terms of tenure to the original recommendation of the Lodha Committee.The purge of the existing BCCI and state leadership may not be as severe as previously thought•PTI

The Supreme Court also put off finalising the committee of administrators (COA) to supervise the BCCI to January 24. The court had asked amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium and senior legal counsel Anil Divan to nominate people for the COA, which they did by submitting nine names in a sealed envelope on Friday. The court asked the parties not to disclose the names, and pointed out a nine-member panel was “too big”.Upon studying the names, the court asked Subramanium if any of the candidates were over the age of 70, because the Lodha Committee had recommended that BCCI and state office-bearers should be under 70. Subramanium said a few names were over 70 and that the reasons for their inclusion were also listed.On January 2, the court had dismantled the existing power structure of the BCCI by removing the board’s president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke for impeding the implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations. The court said the board would be supervised by a committee of administrators until new office-bearers were elected once the BCCI implemented the recommendations. The court had directed the COA to supervise the administration of the BCCI through its chief executive Rahul Johri.The COA’s other key function was to ensure that the Lodha Committee’s recommendations passed by the court order on July 18, 2016, were implemented by the BCCI and state associations.Last week RM Lodha, the former chief justice of India and chairman of the Lodha Committee, said the COA would issue a fresh set of guidelines for the BCCI and state associations to adopt the new constitution in accordance with the recommendations. “There has to be [fresh timelines], but that will be done by the administrators. We said we don’t have that much of time, and that there has to be layers of administrators,” Lodha said. “The changes will happen. We will be there to supervise and guide the administrators.”The Lodha Committee was formed in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for some of the officials involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, and also to propose changes to streamline the BCCI, reform its functioning, prevent sporting fraud and conflict of interest.In January 2016, the committee released its report, which recommended an exhaustive overhaul of the BCCI’s governance and administrative structures. On July 18, the Supreme Court of India approved the majority of the recommendations and directed the Lodha Committee to supervise the BCCI’s implementations of the same. However, despite the Lodha Committee laying out timelines and other directives, the board did not cooperate because it said that its state associations objected to the recommendations. This impasse eventually led to the Supreme Court removing Thakur and Shirke from office on January 2, 2017.

While the bowlers have been central to Zimbabwe’s plans, Afghanistan have relied heavily on Mohammad Shahzad so far. Having come back from a 2-0 deficit, Zimbabwe start off as marginal favourites

The preview by Shashank Kishore05-Jan-2016

Match facts

Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Start time 1500 local (1100GMT)Zimbabwe’s bowling attack has shown better adaptability on slow Sharjah decks, with Nevill Madziva and Graeme Cremer central to their plans•Chris Whiteoak

Big picture

The series was nearly dead and buried when Afghanistan, cruising high and happy on a 2-0 lead, reduced Zimbabwe to 45 for 7 a short distance into the third ODI. Then Afghanistan took their foot off the pedal and slipped into their comfort zone in anticipation of a second successive series win. Half an hour’s indiscretion followed, and before they realised it, Zimbabwe had put up 175. Then they came out playing to the gallery, only to be brutally exposed against the swinging ball to give Zimbabwe an opening, which they tore into on Monday courtesy Chamu Chibhabha’s allround show. As a result, Afghanistan, who slipped at the first sign of turbulence, find themselves vulnerable, with plenty of doubt lingering over the temperament of the batsmen heading into the series decider.Cricket is often a confidence game, and there is little doubt as to which is the happier camp at the moment. For every step taken, Zimbabwe have often found ways to go back two steps. One such instance was their series loss to Afghanistan at home in October. Having started 2016 with two successive wins, the onus is on them to ride the momentum and make amends for that loss, for a slip-up here could also mean they will be edged out of the top 10 in the ICC ODI rankings.Afghanistan have relied heavily on Mohammad Shahzad with the bat and their plethora of spin options with the ball. The lean patch of Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi hasn’t helped, and has put more pressure on Shahzad to alter his natural style of play and transform from an attacking batsman to an accumulator. Zimbabwe have been a little more rounded. Chibhabha aside, Graeme Cremer’s loopy legspin and Nevill Madziva’s late swing have accounted for a bulk of the batsmen in the middle overs. Hamilton Masakadza’s form has somewhat covered up for the inability of Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller to notch up scores of substance. Wednesday will be another chance to correct that.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan LLWWW
Zimbabwe WWLLLL

In the spotlight

In the fourth ODI, Chamu Chibhabha became only the sixth Zimbabwean after Prosper Utseya, Andy Blignaut, Neil Johnson, Gary Crocker and Duncan Fletcher to achieve the double of a half-century and four wickets. He showed all the virtues of a good opener – left well, played late, held his composure initially, put away the loose deliveries. The disappointment of not carrying on was writ large on his face when he mistimed a pull to midwicket. He later admitted his batting was still a work in progress, particularly when it came to pacing his innings. He will have another opportunity to make amends in a crunch clash.Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan’s highest run-getter in ODIs, has scores of 17, 33, 0 and 11 in his four innings so far. He has been unusually subdued and hasn’t been able to express himself in the manner that has brought him a bulk of his 1443 runs. With Samiullah Shenwari also being left out, Nabi’s return to form is vital for a predominantly top-heavy batting line-up. While Mohammad Shahzad’s belligerence is capable of ensuring they don’t miss their most accomplished batter, Afghanistan could be found wanting if law of averages catch up with their wicketkeeper-batsman.

Team news

The move to send Malcolm Waller in at No. 3 in the fourth ODI didn’t pay off. More importantly, it disturbed Masakadza’s rhythm. Zimbabwe’s most accomplished batsman could slot back in at his preferred slot, especially if Zimbabwe bat first on what is expected to be another slow Sharjah deck. With the team winning two games on the bounce, the only change they could possibly ponder is the return of Craig Ervine, who has fully recovered from a flu that kept him out of the third ODI, in place of Waller. That would mean somewhat countering Afghanistan’s spin threat by having a left-hander in the middle order.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Peter Moor, Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Richmond Mutumbami(wk), 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Graeme Creamer, 10 Neville Madziva, 11 Tendai ChisoroWith Stanikzai and Nabi not in the best of nick, there is a case to push Karim Sadiq, a regular opener till not too long ago, up the order. But two successive batting meltdowns would have invited a fair amount of soul-searching. If they want some experience in a crunch clash, they could go back to Nawroz Mangal, the former captain.Afghanistan (probable) : 1 Noor Ali Zadran, 2 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 3 Mohammad Nabi, 4 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 5 Rashid Khan, 6 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 7 Najibullah Zadran/Nawroz Mangal, 8 Mirwais Ashraf, 9 Dawlat Zadran, 10 Amir Hamza, 11 Shafiqullah

Pitch and conditions

Captains winning the toss have had no hesitation in batting first so far. The trend is unlikely to be disturbed, considering both sides will not want to fall back on the pressure of having to chase in a must-win game. The ball has nipped around under lights too, and cooler weather conditions at this time of the year should help the fielding side in the second session.

Stats and trivia

• A win in the fifth ODI will give Afghanistan only their second series win against a Full Member and strengthen their position at No. 10 in the ICC ODI rankings
• Peter Moor and Chamu Chibhabha’s 92-run opening stand is the highest of the series from both sides.

England’s bowlers again kept Pakistan in a vice-like grip, after attacking innings from Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor, to secure another comprehensive victory

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2013
ScorecardSarah Taylor held England’s innings together with her ninth T20 half-century•Getty Images

England’s bowlers again kept Pakistan in a vice-like grip, after attacking innings from Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor, to secure another comprehensive victory. Danielle Wyatt claimed 3 for 16 and debutant Tash Farrant took two wickets in her second over as Pakistan were restricted to 75 for 6 from their 20 overs, well short of the 146 required for victory.Edwards opted to open with the spin of Wyatt and she claimed the wicket of Javeria Rauf with her sixth delivery. Wyatt picked up a second wicket in her second over and Farrant’s double-strike left Pakistan on 14 for 4. By the middle of the seventh over it was 23 for 5 before a 22-run stand between top-scorer Nahida Khan and Nida Dar.Wyatt removed Dar for 12 but, with 101 required from less than seven overs, the game was already up. Nahida finished on 28 from 48 balls, putting on 30 with captain Sana Mir.England’s captain, Edwards, had scored half-centuries in the two ODI wins over Pakistan earlier in the week and she set the tone again, with a 33-ball 46. Edwards and Taylor put on 57 for the second wicket and although Pakistan made regular incisions thereafter, Bismah Maroof picking up two wickets in the 16th over, Taylor held the innings together with ninth T20 half-century.

Simon Jones, the former England fast bowler, took four wickets as Glamorgan claimed their first win of the season by beating Durham by 15 runs in a low-scoring CB40 match at Colwyn Bay.

10-Jun-2012ScorecardSimon Jones, the former England fast bowler, took four wickets as Glamorgan claimed their first win of the season by beating Durham by 15 runs in a low-scoring CB40 match at Colwyn Bay.Glamorgan, without a win in the second division of the Championship, had looked unlikely to get off the mark in Group B after being bowled out for 163 in 34.3 overs on a slow pitch, only for Durham, who had won three of their previous four CB40 matches, struggled as well and slumped to 148 all out in reply.Jones began Durham’s slide to defeat by claiming the wickets of Phil Mustard and Ben Stokes in the space of two overs. Mustard gave a sharp catch to Martin van Jaarsveld at slip and Stokes was lbw as the visitors reached 28 for 2 in the eighth over.Glamorgan then struck twice more in the next two overs. James Harris trapped Gordon Muchall in front before Jones had Mark Stoneman caught behind.Jones, who had figures of 3 for 18 off six overs at that stage, was replaced at the Penrhyn Avenue end by Jim Allenby who broke through to remove Dale Benkenstein via a sharp catch at backward point by Stewart Walters. Will Smith and Michael Richardson rebuilt before the former was run out at the non-striker’s end via the hand of the bowler Will Owen. Scott Borthwick lasted only three overs before he was bowled by Dean Cosker.Jones then returned and claimed the wicket of Richardson, who went lbw for 45, and in the next over Allenby bowled Liam Plunkett as Durham slumped to 122 for nine. Mitchell Claydon and Chris Rushworth threatened to pull off a grand recovery but with 13 balls remaining Owen bowled Rushworth to seal the home side’s maiden win.Earlier, Glamorgan had made an encouraging start after winning the toss but lost three wickets in the space of four overs as they went from 41 without loss to 48 for three. Both openers were out in quick succession. Captain Mark Wallace was caught behind and Gareth Rees, who made 28 off 20 balls, was caught on the mid-wicket boundary before Marcus North became Rushworth’s second victim.Stokes struck twice in as many overs as Glamorgan struggled to 100 for five. Allenby looked settled until he edged behind for 26 before Van Jaarsveld was bowled for 25. When Glamorgan lost two wickets in consecutive deliveries to Smith’s offspin, few would have given much for their chances.

James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, doubts any action will be taken against Simon Katich.

Daniel Brettig and Brydon Coverdale10-Jun-2011James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, doubts any action will be taken against Simon Katich for his tirade against CA and the national selectors.However Sutherland has taken issue with Katich’s contention that the naming of a 17-man squad prior to the first Ashes Test in Brisbane last year, in order to appease the demands of the CA marketing department, had destabilised the team.CA were sent scurrying for a response by Katich’s bold address at the SCG on Friday morning, and Sutherland emerged from a concurrent board meeting to say it was unlikely that Katich would be penalised before his central contract expired on June 30.”I understand that Simon’s disappointed and that he’s made comments along those lines today but I don’t see that CA will be taking action for those comments,” Sutherland said. “My view and the Cricket Australia board’s view is that it is right for people to be able to make their subjective judgements but it crosses the line when there are any suggestions about the integrity of individual members of the selection panel, the panel as a group, or the processes they engage in to make these selections.”I am not necessarily saying Simon has entirely called them into question in that fashion but Cricket Australia stands by them in terms of their integrity and the process they go through.”Sutherland said he was “not happy” with Katich’s public pronouncements but would seek him out personally to discuss them rather than charging him with bringing the game into disrepute over public comments, an area usually within the remit of the head of cricket operations, Michael Brown.”The simple answer is yes, Simon could have expressed his views more privately. But he chose to do that in the manner that he did,” Sutherland said. “I’m not making a complaint about that. I know Simon did have some discussions with the Australian Cricketers’ Association to explore that. If that’s not some sort of avenue to at least understand what his rights might be then I’m not sure what is.”More divisive was Katich’s view that the Ashes campaign had been damaged by the selection of a 17-man squad that could be announced via a public event at Sydney’s Circular Quay. The announcement was a fizzer, attracting few spectators or television viewers, and things would only get worse from there.”It’s fair to say that has come up from time to time in discussions, certainly something in the review. My personal view on that is that as professional sportsman you live in a world of competition,” Sutherland said. “You compete against other teams, you compete against other people for spots in teams, and if the process of selection means you have a squad of 13 or 14 or whatever it might be before a Test match, or even 17, well so be it.”People live in that competitive world, and if anyone can cope with that, it is elite athletes, elite cricketers. I don’t see how someone who has the mental toughness and strength to compete in Test cricket at the highest level how that should affect them too much. At the same time I acknowledge that it wasn’t an ideal situation, and perhaps looking back on it we would’ve done it slightly differently.”As for the growing tide of opinion that the selectors should be full-time employees, Sutherland said there were “no immediate plans” to change the current system, but hinted that may change after the Argus review had concluded.”At the moment we have a selection panel of three, Greg Chappell is a full-time employee, there are no immediate plans for that, but there is a review under way and it is quite obvious that one of the topics of discussion within the review process has been about selection,” he said.

A round-up of the fourth day’s action of the ICC World Cricket League Americas Region Division One in Bermuda

Cricinfo staff02-Jun-2010An all-round performance by Gary Savage helped Argentina beat Cayman Islands by 13 runs at the Sea Breeze Oval and secure their first win in the tournament. Batting first, Argentina were in trouble initially at 33 for 3 before Savage walked in and set about building important partnerships with the middle order. He added 81 with Grant Dugmore for the fourth wicket and 82 for the sixth with Alec Ferguson. Ferguson went ballistic, smashing five sixes and six fours in his unbeaten 62 off only 22 balls. Savage also made the same score, but he focused on dropping anchor and faced 123 balls. He was dismissed by Marlon Bryan, who took four wickets. Cayman Islands were off to a terrible start, losing four wickets for 21 as Lucas Parterlini and Savage made early inroads. The lower order started showing some resistance when Kevin Bazil and Ronald Ebanks added 60 for the seventh wicket. A last-ditch effort by Conroy Wright wasn’t enough as Argentina sneaked through by 13 runs. Wright scored 58 while Savage rounded off a good day with 3 for 28.Continuing with all-round performances, Bahamas had no answer to Hiral Patel and Rizwan Cheema, who starred for Canada at the St George’s Cricket Club. Hiral Patel took 3 for 15 to bundle out Bahamas for a paltry 98, and Cheema smashed a 43-ball 85 to seal the game in nine overs. Only three Bahamas batsmen went past double figures, with Narendra Ekanayake top scoring with 31. A combined effort helped Canada end the innings within 37 overs. The chase lasted just 47 minutes as Cheema pounded eight sixes and eight fours to seal the game by ten wickets.The hosts Bermuda suffered their first loss of the tournament, going down by six wickets to their neighbours United States of America at the National Stadium. Lennox Cush and captain Steve Massiah set up the victory, sharing six wickets between them to restrict Bermuda to 188. Bermuda had set the foundation for a bigger score when Steven Outerbridge and Jekon Edness added 76 for the second wicket but lost their way after that. Massiah started the collapse before Cush took four wickets to restrict them to a score under 200. Sushil Nadkarni led the chase with 57, which included four sixes, before Massiah took over. His 67 came off 103 balls with seven fours.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Asia Cup match between India and Sri Lanka

The Preview by Sidharth Monga27-Feb-2014Match factsFriday, February 28
Start time 1400 local (0800 GMT)Lasith Malinga will want to better his stats against India•AFPBig pictureIndia and Sri Lanka have been guilty of indulging each other in the past, they are the most frequently paired-up opponents in ODI cricket, but this one promises to be different. For starters it has been seven months since they played against each other. More importantly they are playing in a tournament whose every match is crucial by the way of a difficult qualification for the final. Only two teams out of five progress, and there is no way any game can be taken lightly.These two are young, fresh-looking teams. So gone out should be the contemptuous familiarity that used to fill up the air around an India-Sri Lanka contest. For the first time in a long time, each team has established players whose main body of work hasn’t come against the other. Shikhar Dhawan has played only four matches against Sri Lanka. Dinesh Chandimal has played 14 out of 78 against India. There are new players coming through such as Chaturanga de Silva and Ambati Rayudu. In the likes, however, of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga, this is a mere renewal of vows. In a new setting, under new captains, just to add a little spice to the relationship.A familiar script should run through this coming back: both the teams will be eager to chase. India love chasing, and dew is never too far in the evenings. Sri Lanka, who won their first match batting first against Pakistan, know India are different. They will want Indian bowlers, their weaker suit, to be in the middle when the key parts of the match are being played out.Form guide(last five matches, most recent first)
IndiaWLLTL
Sri Lanka WWWWWIn the spotlightNews that R Ashwin has made significant changes to his action is hardly news at all. People can read through such sentences without pausing to even think because Ashwin keeps playing around with it so often; it could be a sign of either excessive confidence in his basic skill or excessive fidgetiness, but it fails to make people wait with bated breath to see what is in store. In India’s first match of this Asia Cup, though, Ashwin stunned even the most jaded of Aswhin observers. For arguably the first time in his career, he was photographed wearing full sleeves on a cricket field. And he hadn’t just made significant changes to his action, he had got himself a completely new one. Wonder what is coming next.
One man who doesn’t need to change or fiddle with things is Lasith Malinga, who took five wickets in 14 balls to derail what looked like a routine chase. That, though, was Pakistan, who are known to make routine difficult. Against India his career average of 27 inflates to 42, and economy rate jumps from 5.15 to 5.95. The last time he played India he went for a comfortable 58 runs in a match that required a last over for 202 to be chased down. His Hobart harassment is still the most stunning of all. Malinga will want to correct this poor record against India.Team newsIndia don’t like to play around with their combination, but Varun Aaron’s poor control in the first match might make way for Ishwar Pandey.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Varun Aaron/Ishwar PandeySri Lanka will want to keep the winning combination going.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Chaturanga de Silva, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga LakmalPitch and conditionsThese are fairly good batting conditions and a lightning quick outfield so a huge total can’t be too far away.Stats and trivia R Ashwin needs two strikes to reach 100 ODI wickets. If he does this in this match, his 77th, he will be the seventh-fastest Indian there. Irfan Pathan, at 59 matches, is the fastest Indian to the mark. Harbhajan Singh, the sixth-fastest, took his 100th in his 76th match. This is the 144th ODI between India and Sri Lanka. No two teams have played each other this often. Pakistan-Sri Lanka is second at 138, and Australia-West Indies third at 135.Quotes”We always bank on him in pressure situations. He’s been our best bowler for so many years, and we always throw the ball to him, and he knows exactly what he has to do.”

“Joey [Dawes, the bowling coach] is really working hard with the bowlers in the nets, and that is really crucial. On this wicket, I think the bowlers did really well. Bhuvi and Shami later on bowled wicket to wicket, and it was not easy to hit that length.” “

أعلن الجهاز الفني لفريق الكرة الأول بالنادي الأهلي عن اللاعبين البدلاء أمام المصري البورسعيدي في كأس مصر.

ويستعد الأهلي لمواجهة المصري في إطار منافسات الدور ربع النهائي دور الـ8 بالبطولة المحلية.

باللوائح.. بطولات يوضح موقف كهربا من مباراة الأهلي والمصري بعد إيقافه

وتأهل الأهلي لهذا الدور بعد عبور فريق الداخلية في دور الـ16، فيما صعد المصري على حساب حرس الحدود.

ومن المنتظر أن يواجه الفائز من مباراة اليوم، فريق إنبي في دور نصف النهائي من كأس مصر.

ويطمح فريق المصري في مصالحة جماهيره بعد خسارة لقب كأس رابطة الأندية من مباراة النهائي على يد سيراميكا كليوباترا. بدلاء الأهلي أمام المصري في كأس مصر

مصطفى مخلوف – أحمد عبد القادر – محمد كريستو – أحمد قندوسي – طاهر محمد طاهر – رأفت خليل – محمد فخري – أحمد نبيل كوكا.