All posts by csb10.top

Somerset fast bowler Steffan Jones who missed part of the 2002 season through injury has just resumed his training in preparation for next season.Earlier this week the twenty eight year old paceman, who got married earlier in the autumn told me: "I’ve had a good break and now I have just started training ready for the new season. I am a bit later this year and have timed my programme to get me to my peak at the right time for the start of the 2003 season."He continued: "For the next few weeks I shall be working on my fitness levels, but after Christmas I’ll start to focus on my skills. I shall be working on my bowling with Kevin Shine and we are hoping to improve my momentum at the crease, and I will also be looking to develop my batting."After setting himself the target of taking more wickets and making his mark on the England one day scene, the 2002 season turned out to be rather disappointing for the Welshman.He injured himself during the first match of the season at Millfield School from which he never fully recovered, although he did play for Wales against England at Cardiff.Steffan Jones is already looking forward to next season, but is under no illusion that 2003 is going to be tough for him.During a break from his weight training he told me: "I need to work hard this winter. With Nixon Mc Lean having already joined us, and more new signings likely there is going to be a lot of competition to get into the side and I want to make sure that I am in the start line up for next season."

Gloucestershire are delighted that James Pearson has been picked to play for theEngland Under-19 squad in this winter’s tour of Australia and wishes himevery success.Stephen Pope having been very successful in the England Under-19 squad isnow regretably no longer eligible.

A degree of uncertainty surrounds a newspaper report that former South African captain Kepler Wessels has been appointed coach of Eastern Province.According to Monday’s Eastern Province Herald, news of Wessels’ appointment was leaked to the newspaper before an official announcement could be made by the EP Cricket Board. But in view of a court order granted to the United Cricket Board last Friday placing the EPCB under judicial management, it is not clear whether the EP board has the authority to make such an appointment.UCB chief executive Gerald Majola said on Monday that he was "surprised" by the announcement.In terms of the court order, a judicial manager has still to be appointed to look after the affairs of the crisis-torn province which has experience the resignation of several board members, including the president Ronnie Pillay, and the suspension of another in recent months.As things stand, the former board is no longer empowered to make new appointments and if the decision was taken before the UCB’s court application was granted, Majola is likely to request a copy of the minutes of the board at which Wessels was chosen for the job.Any objection to Wessels coaching EP is almost certain to be administrative. EP lost their previous coach, Adrian Birrell, towards the end of last season after Birrell was understood to have become exhausted by the in-fighting that has plagued that province and opted to take up a position in Ireland, and on the face of it, Wessels’ experience appears to give him excellent credentials as a replacement.He played both Test and one-day cricket for Australia and South Africa and although he has not held a formal coaching position before, he was at one stage thought to be a contender for the South African coaching post, a job that eventually went to Eric Simons.However, the UCB is likely to look closely at the process that led to Wessels’ appointment, if only to clearly establish its authority over Eastern Province until such stage that the union is felt to be capable of running its own affairs.The Herald also named an EP squad which, it reported, was leaked to it at the same time as Wessels’ appointment. The squad contains two new faces in Wade Wingfield from KwaZulu-Natal and Border’s Dumisa Makalima. Veteran Dave Callaghan has apparently not been offered a new contract and is set to join Boland.The full squad is: Umar Abrahams, Carl Bradfield, James Bryant, Johan Botha, Lazole Dipa, Bruce Federicks, Mornantau Hayward, Zwelibanzi Homani, Justin Kemp, Brent Kopps, Garnet Kruger, Dumisa Makalima, Lyall Meyer, Mfuneko Ngam, Robin Petersen, Michael Price, Mpumelelo Silwana and Wade Wingfield.

The 2002 Busta International Shield finals will now be contested from4 – 7 April, 2002 instead of the previously announced 22 – 25 March,2002. Yesterday the WICB confirmed that the finals of the region’spremier First Class 4-day competition has been postponed by two weeks.Although no official reason was given for the postponement of thefinals, CricInfo has been reliably informed that the finals – whichwill be televised by TWI Television – has been moved to accommodateease of travel for the television crew.This weekend will see the staging of the two semi finals. Guyana willplay host to the Leeward Islands at Albion in Berbice, while Busta Cupwinners Jamaica, will play host to Trinidad & Tobago at Sabina Park.Dethroned Busta Cup Champions Barbados, although finishing the leagueround of matches on similar points as Trinidad & Tobago, and even moreoutright wins, have been excluded from the semi final round. TheRules of the Competition clearly states “If there is an equality ofpoints (for any position), each team’s position will be decided by, inorder of priority: 1. Result of their head-to-head meeting.”In 2001, Guyana took the WICB to court over their interpretation ofthe Rules of the Competition after Guyana, and Barbados ended theleague round of matches on the same amount of points – 57.Meanwhile, the West Indies selectors are meeting in Barbados today toselect a training squad. The WICB will now utilize the two week breakbetween the Busta International Shield semi finals and the final tohold a one-week training camp in Trinidad.The training camp will be conducted from March 21 to 28 as West Indiesprepare to host India in a five Tests and five limited-oversinternationals series between April and June.Although the itinerary for the West Indies versus New Zealand has notbeen confirmed, Hall revealed that the series will include two Testsand five One Day Internationals.

As preparations get underway for South Africa to host the Cricket World Cup in February 2003, Bellingham is proud to have been appointed as the Wine Supplier to the United Cricket Board (UCB) for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003.Dr. Ali Bacher, Executive Director of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, commended Bellingham as one of the first Companies to have met the criteria set out by the World Cup Committee. This submission and selection process focused strongly on social upliftment and the development of cricket 12in previously disadvantaged communities. Cricket development will benefit from the sale of the Bellingham Souvenir Wines and Bellingham will fund a two-year bursary scheme for a young black cricket journalist.Social empowerment and involvement is a key issue for Dr. Bacher and his team, who see the World Cup as an “event for all South Africans”. The vision for the 2003 Tournament extends beyond traditional cricket authorities, to include local and national government working together with commercial sponsors, schools and cricket fans to make the game more accessible and appealing to the entire population.South African Wines in the international market are now a huge success story where last year 7 million cases of South African wine was sold (in the UK alone) and this year sales have grown by 28%. DGB, the owners of Bellingham, exported 1.2 million cases of wine last year and Bellingham is the flagship of their range.This brand has been listed in major UK retailers such as Sainsbury’s for over 20 years and Bellingham sees its involvement as an opportunity to extend its growing international volumes and to further promote South African wine in the world’s cricket playing countries.Tim Hutchinson, the CEO of DGB said “We have worked closely with the World Cup Committee – and will continue to do so – to maximize the role Bellingham plays in promoting South Africa, the tournament and the brand both locally and internationally"."As a company we have always worked closely with sporting codes in South Africa, we were the official wine for the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and for the previous two Olympics the Official Supplier to NOCSA. So it is fantastic news that we have linked with the Cricket World Cup for what we believe will be an outstanding event that will grow cricket in South Africa and showcase our country to the world."

BRISBANE, Dec 12 AAP – Controversial Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan insists he holds no grudges with Australian cricket officials and he doesn’t expect to be called for throwing again in the country.Muralitharan has returned to the scene of his darkest cricketing moments, convinced there should no longer be a question mark over his bowling action.The 30-year-old hasn’t played in Australia since he was called for throwing in 1995-96 and 1998-99, recovering from the setback to rush into third place on the list of Test cricket’s most successful bowlers.Muralitharan, who recently underwent hernia surgery, hopes to return against Australia at the SCG on January 9 and he doesn’t expect any trouble from local umpires.”It doesn’t matter as long as everything is done right for me,” Muralitharan said in Brisbane today.”They can’t question me anymore, in my mind, because it’s gone.”It’s all past. I never thought about not coming to Australia. I always wanted to play here.”Sri Lankan officials said they had no problem with Australian umpires, even Darrell Hair, who first called Muralitharan for throwing during the Boxing Day Test in 1995.”What has happened has happened and we want to focus on the games in hand and not think about what has happened in the past,” tour manager Ajit Jayasekera said.Coach Dav Whatmore predicted Muralitharan was becoming a more potent bowler and warned he was developing a new delivery which could make him even more successful.But Muralitharan played down talk of the new ball – roughly an off-spinner’s version of the flipper – because of his recent injury problems.”I’m working on that but I haven’t played for a long time so I don’t know what will happen. You’ve got to keep on trying and maybe for the future,” he said.”I’m trying hard to bowl new balls and it might work or it might not work. It’s too early (to use in February’s World Cup) – you have to perfect it or else you go for runs.”Australian spinner Shane Warne believes Muralitharan is capable of setting records which could take decades to break, even tipping the Sri Lankan was capable of taking 1000 Test wickets.But Muralitharan, whose 437 wickets places him behind only Warne (491) and Courtney Walsh (519), has not set his personal goals above 600 victims.”It’s possible as long as you’re fit and I would like to play for another five years,” he said.”If I can play another 40 Tests and average five a match – that’s 200 wickets. I would like to play until the next World Cup.”But Whatmore said Muralitharan’s future depended on his ability to stay free of the injuries which have dogged him this year.”He’s got no regard for his body sometimes the way he throws it around the field,” Whatmore said.”He will need to be a little bit careful from the fitness side of things but his skill level is getting better and better.”Years ago you wouldn’t say that anyone would fear an off-spinner. A lot of teams do now.”

If Indian cricketers can do nothing else, they can throw a spanner in theworks with a regularity that would confound the most diabolical of greasemonkeys. With the team struggling not a little to counter the conditions -and cricketers – on tour in England, selection has been a burning issuethroughout, and it is likely to remain so for the entirety of the tour. Butwith the middle order – favourite tinkering site for most team managements- as full and settled as it has been in recent years, the Indian think-tankhas turned attention to other departments.At a press conference at the end of the Trent Bridge Test, where India ekedout a face-saving draw to keep the series alive, skipper Sourav Gangulyadmitted that all was not well. At his candid best, Ganguly said, “At somepoint we will have to look at other options in the bowling department.”This was in response to a pointed question that inquired whether thecaptain thought the current bowling attack capable of taking 20 wickets towin a Test.With seamers Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan going for runs bythe bushel, and only the latter looking even remotely penetrative, it seemsmore and more likely that young Tinu Yohannan will get a game this series.That prospect appeared unlikely at best when this tour got under way. Butin this case, Yohannan might just sneak in on the back of his colleagues’performances. Nehra has just five wickets at an average of over 60 and astrike-rate of a wicket per 100 balls, so one suspects the Delhi left-armseamer, seldom fully fit, will be relegated to the sidelines for the thirdTest at Headingley.Agarkar and Zaheer Khan have admittedly fared a touch better than Nehra,but neither has managed to inspire much fear in the minds of the Englishbatsmen. Both average more than 40 and have proved expensive to boot.Zaheer Khan will hold his place in the side thanks largely to the few shortbursts of genuine pace and aggression he displayed both at Lord’s and TrentBridge, while Agarkar’s batting, which has finally bloomed, will be a majorplus when the management sit down to pick the team for the third Test.Putting the pace conundrum aside, there is the spinning riddle. ShouldIndia go with the raw yet promising Harbhajan Singh, or opt for theexperienced Anil Kumble? Neither has distinguished himself abroad, butIndia will certainly have to play one spinner. After all, at a time whenseamers are struggling, the captain must bank on his traditional strengthto tide over the rough spots. If nothing else, the presence of spinnersshould help curtail the flow of runs, keep one end tied downfor periods of time, and perhaps force the mistake. As a bonus, a spinnerwill also help the slow over-rate, which cost the Indians 40 percent oftheir match fee at Trent Bridge!But all said and done, the bowling is not the trickiest of puzzles for theteam management to solve. It is at the top of the batting order that theIndians traditionally struggle abroad. In the two Tests thus far, the bestbuffer Rahul Dravid has had at number three is 61 runs, and that was in thesecond innings of the Lord’s Test. The other three innings have yielded”partnerships” of 2, 6 and 0 – hardly the stuff of which sterling openingpairs are made.While Virender Sehwag has settled perfectly into his role, despiteconditions being less than conducive to his batting style, the other endhas proved to be shaky. Jaffer, with scores of 1, 53, 0 and 5, hasadmittedly been unlucky with more than one decision. Yet one struggles tosee him retain his place in the side. Before the Indians traveled to Essexfor their warm-up match, there was talk that Jaffer would get another go,given that he had made scores of 51 and 86 in the WestIndies just two Tests before the England tour. But Shiv Sunder Das seems tohave put paid to Jaffer’s hopes. Making 250 in the game against Essex, Dashas made it extremely difficult for even the most fickle of selectors tonot select him.Or so we speculate. Not long ago, Zimbabwe toured India, and the hosts wereyet again in search of an opening batsman to partner Das. Gautam Gambhir,Delhi’s stylish left-hander, slammed a double-hundred in a Ranji trophygame before the start of the series and followed it up with 218 for theBoard President’s XI against Zimbabwe. Consecutive double hundreds infirst-class matches, and yet the selectors looked right past him. What willthey do this time around? Your guess is as good as mine, but it seems safeto say that Das will probably sleep a tad better than Jaffer in the week tocome.

Western Australia bounced back late in the day after starting offstrongly then being under the pump during the middle session of their pre-season match with Victoria.Victoria were dismissed for 309 and with only one over to face before stumps Western Australia were seven without loss.Matthew Elliott and Jason Arnberger opened the Victorian innings after Victoria had won the toss. The plan was to bat all day if possible, but by thefirst drinks break (16 overs) they had compiled just 13 runs with theloss of one wicket.Arnberger fell in the fourth over, when Sean Cary had him caught atsecond slip by Chris Rogers for one (15 balls) and the score was 1/1.Both Cary and Western Warriors newcomer Paul Wilson (formerly withSouth Australia) bowled economicly in this period.Elliott (34 runs from 100 balls with six fours) struck Harvey to theboundary several times when the bowler over-pitched, but fell toMichael Clark driving to Shaun Marsh at mid-wicket, second wicket downwith the score on 41 in the 31st over.Brad Hogg bowled a solitary over immediately before lunch, duringwhich one run short was signaled by umpire Andy Craig from the lastball of that over. Otherwise Victoria would have gone to lunch on 50/2, but fell short by that run.Graeme Rummans seven (73) struggled through the first session and thenwas caught behind by Ryan Campbell to become Clark’s second wicket, thirdball after the lunch break with the score 49/3.Brad Hodge and Michael Klinger powered through the early part of the second session resisting the efforts of Clark, Cary and Wilson and passing 100 in the46th over and achieving a 50-run partnership.Then with the second session drinks break looming Klinger edged towicket-keeper Campbell during Wilson’s second spell of the day and wasout for 26 (38 balls) with the score 100/4.Cary chipped in for his second wicket in next over, striking thestumps at the very top when Hodge 28 (54) played around the balldriving toward the off side. The fifth wicket fell with 106 on theboard.At tea Victoria had bolted to 168/5 with White on 31 (48) and Jewell on 28 (31) and an unbroken 78-run partnership.The run out of Nick Jewell 37 (43) occurred when Cameron White calledthe striker through after Jewell had pushed a ball from Nicholson intoShawn Marsh at mid-wicket and the throw to the non-striker’s end foundhim short. Jewell half-turned toward his partner as he departed theground seemingly indicating a lack of communication as the main reasonfor his demise.At the third session drinks break White 64 (103) and Darren Berry 25 (49) hadmoved the score along to six wickets for 235 from 80 overs. The newball was taken then.Berry 34 (62) took the majority of the strike during a period of nineovers, including the drinks break. The new ball was also taken during this period but he frequently hitting fours either side of the wicket. Then, inthe third over after the final session’s drinks break, he played aball on which had seamed into the right-hander from Wilson to becomethe burly bowler’s second victim for the day.White 70 (127) also had a problem with the new ball, playing andmissing a few times, before he feathered an edge to Kade Harvey atfirst slip and became Wilson’s third victim.Harwood 15 (23) didn’t really settle. He played what, in the end couldhave been a slips practice catch to the second slip Chris Rogers off thebowling of Cary and became the veteran fast-medium pacer’s thirdscalp.Hewett 34 saw off Cary and his replacement Kade Harvey with regularcrossings of the boundary. Matthew Nicholson too took some stick butultimately prevailed with his only wicket for the day. Mathew Inness finishedthe innings unbeaten.

It is more than two weeks since the bomb blast in Karachi that resulted in the cancellation of the second Test and New Zealand’s early return home, but things still remain in a state of flux. Pakistan as a cricketing destination is still very much under threat of exclusion. Australia has not decided about the August tri-nation, nor has New Zealand. But there is every likelihood that the series, a quid-pro-quo for Pakistan visiting Australia in June for the second Super Challenge trophy and sacrificing the one-day series that was part of the Test rubber later in the year, would be a victim of security fears.That being the emerging scenario, Sharjah has jumped into the fray with an offer of providing the neutral venue once again. Pakistan’s frustration is an opportunity for the CBFS!The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has tried to duck the issue, at least for the moment. One can hardly find fault with this strategy, as forcing the hand of the Aussies, or the Black Caps, might have had negative consequences. Behind the scenes, efforts are being made to persuade the boards involved to come over. And to score a point or two over the doubters, the PCB approved the proposed itinerary of their visit to Zimbabwe earlier this week. Zimbabwe was the destination the Aussies declined to tour recently.As that trip is a long way off, in the first week of November, the alacrity in approving the itinerary is probably meant to imply that Pakistan would not opt out of a series on the pretext of security, whatever the situation. And the assurances of the host Board in this regard are good enough for them. Whether this display of conviction has any impact on Australia and others remains to be seen.Ideally, New Zealand and Australia should forget the blast, and show their commitment to cricket. Especially after Martin Snedden, Cheief Exececutive of New Zealand Cricket, acknowledged that the PCB and Pakistan government had done everything in their power to ensure the security of their players, and also that their team was not the target.There is precedence of far more high profile events taking place than a tri-nation series or a Test rubber in countries where there was serious threat of terrorist activity. England hosted three World Cups when the IRA was active; the ’92 Olympic games were hosted by Barcelona despite terrorist threats from Basque separatists; not a single event in the ’96 Games was interrupted after an explosion in the centre of Atlanta. There have been suicide bombings in other cricket playing countries and in one, an Indian ex-Prime Minister died while canvassing. Whatever the scale of tragedy, or the threat of one, life goes on. Has Manhattan been closed down after the September 11 tragedy?As things are, with the Australian Cricket Board keeping diplomatic silence, the PCB can only hope that it would give thumbs up to the only two activities that are to be held in this country in the next season. And if they keep Pakistan waiting for a long time, even if they come, the PCB would not be able to make the most of it, as it would be left with next to no time to market the limited-overs tournament.But what does the PCB do if Australia and New Zealand decline to tour? The threat of the Asian Cricket Council to boycott those who do not visit its members, which may have helped the Black Caps reschedule the series, even ignoring players fatigue, stands diluted. In the circumstances, a neutral venue remains the only option. And the PCB, while trying to convince the doubters, must not deprive its team of cricket and the revenue it could earn.This would not be very popular with those who follow cricket with a passion in Pakistan, but it is the only realistic alternative. However much we want to see Pakistan prevail over the Aussies with our own spectators exhorting Waqar Younis and his charges, if that is not possible there is no harm making the best of a bad situation.

An extraordinary final day saw West Indies A tie with Somerset at Taunton. Set 454 to win, Graham Rose was snapped up by Chris Gayle from the penultimate ball of an amazing match.Audacious cricket all day gave Somerset their victory chance. Peter Trego’s maiden first-class century was a wonderful affair. He was supported by Piran Holloway’s 88 and debutant Wesley Durston’s terrific 55. Rose then slashed 32 from 28 balls, only to fall at the last hurdle.Needing eight from the last over, Rose appeared to have sealed the match. Hehad added 22 with the gutsy Matthew Bulbeck before Sulieman Benn grabbed thefinal catch.Trego had hit 140 to set up an incredible chase. Promoted in the order, hebatted with freedom from the start, hitting 19 fours and two sixes in a brilliant knock. Adding 123 for the third wicket with Holloway, the youngster played the junior role before expanding even further later in his innings.Still, Trego went and victory for the tourists’ should have been assured.Durston had other ideas, reaching 50 from 40 balls in blistering style. He added 67 for the ninth wicket from Rose before he was clean bowled by Reon King. It was an innings which belied his 21 years and points to a bright future.The fact that Somerset had been allowed within arm’s length of such a hugetotal says much for their batting, but suggests that the West Indian fielding and bowling was not top class. King was the pick of the bowlers with three for 90, with Gayle and Darren Powell collecting two scalps each.After Matthew Wood and Neil Edwards had fallen early to excellent catches inthe gully and behind the stumps respectively, the West Indians looked likeprogressing to a regulation win. Holloway was dropped twice however, but didnot let his luck faze him.After a cracking knock with 13 fours and a six, Holloway played onto Powell.Keith Parsons edged to first slip just before tea and with Arul Suppiah andKeith Dutch going in quick succession, the game looked lost.After Carl Gazzard and Trego had made their way back to the pavilion, spectators could have been forgiven for heading to the exit. Unflustered batting from Durston and Rose, showed the confidence of both youth and experience and bought about a memorable finish.