All posts by n8rngtd.top

On the verge of becoming the first batsman in history to score three triple centuries, Virender Sehwag was the star of India’s class act with the bat on the second day at the Brabourne Stadium

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2009Virender Sehwag is on the verge of becoming the first person ever to score three triple-centuries in Test cricket but he said after the day’s play, which he ended on 284, that the 200-mark was the first thing on his mind, having got out on 131 in the previous Test in Kanpur. “I missed a big one in the last Test, so I didn’t want to miss out this time,” Sehwag said.Sehwag made light work of the bounce and turn on the second day, as he reached his double-century with four boundaries in one over from seamer Nuwan Kulasekara after tea. “I play each ball on its merit and try to hit only the bad balls,” he said. “That’s the key to my batting.”He asserted India’s supermacy by notching up two double-century partnerships during the run-feast but said the track might offer turn later, offering India a chance to win the series 2-0 and top the ICC Test rankings.”The wicket played much easier today than it did yesterday,” Sehwag said. “The pitch was damp on the first day and so it was seaming and spinning. But it played quite well today. There will again be spin for the bowlers to exploit on the last two days.”Offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan, might not have been at his best this series, with five wickets at 103.00 in the three matches so far, and Sehwag clearly outfoxed the world’s leading Test wicket-taker today. “Murali is always a big challenge to face, so rather than wait for him to dominate, I wanted to dominate him,” said Sehwag. “That’s what I tried to do today.”His fellow opener M Vijay, with whom Sehwag added 221 for the opening wicket, said it was a delight to watch his partner. “It was an amazing innings and it was great watching from the other end,” Vijay said.”I’ve learnt a lot batting with him in just this one innings and I enjoyed it thoroughly. With him around, you really don’t have to bother about the scoring rate.”

It would be easy to bill the hosts as favourites to win the two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka. It would also be presumptuous

The Preview by George Binoy08-Dec-2009

Match facts

Wednesday, December 9
Start time 17.30 (12:00 GMT)Lasith Malinga will add firepower to Sri Lanka’s bruised bowling attack•Getty Images

Big picture

It would be easy, in the immediate aftermath of India’s comprehensive Test series victory, to bill the hosts as favourites to win the two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka. It would also be presumptuous because there are significant changes in personnel and the format is one in which India have struggled since the delirious high of World Twenty20 glory in 2007.The Indian players are stars in their respective IPL teams but their results have been ordinary when playing together as an international side: in nine Twenty20 internationals since 2008, they have lost six and won three. The first victory was a remarkable come-from-behind effort inspired by the Pathan brothers in Sri Lanka, the other two were against Bangladesh and Ireland during a woeful World Twenty20 campaign in England this year.The two significant problems India had in England, however, will be missing from these two games. Virender Sehwag, who had an injured shoulder during the World Twenty20, is back and in frightening form, and the other batsmen’s weaknesses against the rising delivery are unlikely to be exposed on the flat and true pitches in India.Gary Kirsten, the India coach, had said after they were eliminated from the World Twenty20 that there were holes in the Twenty20 set-up and teams had worked out strategies to effectively negate India’s strengths. The next World Twenty20 is in May 2010 and the opportunities to formulate, fine-tune and effect plans are limited.Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had a terrific World Twenty20 and were unbeaten until the final, which they lost to Pakistan. They were the tournament’s most vibrant team: the evergreen Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan’s daring improvisations gave them fast starts, while the combination of Murali, Mendis and Malinga was simply too much for most opponents to handle. Since then, however, Sri Lanka have lost three matches on the trot – one to Pakistan and two to New Zealand, that too at home.Their Test bowlers were battered by the Indian batsmen and Sri Lanka will welcome the addition of Lasith Malinga’s pace and yorker-bowling skills to their attack. Jayasuriya will join Dilshan to form a destructive, match-winning opening combination. The question, though, is whether Ajantha Mendis will be able to exercise any control over a batting line-up that treated him with disdain over the last month.

Form guide

(most recent first)India – LLLWW
Sri Lanka – LLLLW

Watch out for

Lasith Malinga: When he’s bowling well, Malinga can unleash yorkers at will and his low point of release makes it extremely hard for batsmen to get under his deliveries. In the World Twenty20, he developed a slower full-toss and, while the delivery sounds rather harmless, it foxed several batsmen and left stumps flattened.India’s middle-order: The middle-order was shuffled frequently during the World Twenty20 and their performances were disappointing. Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan struggled against the short ball.

Team news

India have rested Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh from the Twenty20 internationals which means the bowling line-up is likely to be Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha. There’s is a doubt over Sreesanth, though, because the bowler has an upset stomach. If he is unfit one of the rookies – Sudeep Tyagi, R Ashwin and Ashok Dinda – could get a look in.India (possible): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Sreesanth, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.Murali injured ligaments in a couple of fingers while training during the third Test and is likely to be rested from the Twenty20 matches.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Kaushalya Weeraratne, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Chanaka Welegedara.

Pitch and conditions

There’s no rain forecast in Nagpur but the difference between day and night temperatures are significant which means dew could be a factor in the evening. The pitch is the same as the one on which India scored 354 in an ODI against Australia in October so expect more runs.”It’s a late evening start. We may see dew come into effect,” MS Dhoni said. “But by the time dew comes in the game may be over. It won’t be that big a factor. Overall it [pitch] will be good for batting, but in Twenty20 its very tough to predict. All of a sudden you look to go aggressive and lose quite a few wickets at quick intervals and you are not able to get big runs.”

Stats and Trivia

• Both teams will be coming into this game on losing streaks – Sri Lanka have lost their last four (before which they had won six in a row) while India have lost their last three. Overall, Sri Lanka have a slightly better win-loss record, 14-9 in 23 games, compared to India’s 9-7 in 18 matches.
• India have played only once at home and once against Sri Lanka, and have won both games – they beat Australia by seven wickets at the Brabourne Stadium in 2007, and Sri Lanka by three wickets in Colombo earlier this year.
• Sri Lanka have preferred batting first in Twenty20 games, winning nine and losing five. When batting second, they’ve won five and lost four. For India the numbers are almost the same – 5-4 when batting first, and 4-3 when chasing.
• Tillakaratne Dilshan is the leading run-scorer in Twenty20 internationals among batsmen from these two teams, with Sanath Jayasuriya in second place.

Quotes

“We have to try and put the Test series behind us. We have a lot of hard work to do all around to keep improving and we have a good opportunity in these two Twenty20 games. The motivation is always there, but we need to start from scratch.”
“Considering we are playing in India, it would be a bit different for the bowlers, as the batsmen would go after them from the very first ball. It looks to be a small game, just four overs, but the amount of effort that’s needed, that’s what it is all about.”
.

A round-up of the second day’s action in first round of the Regional Four Day Competition 2009-10

Cricinfo staff10-Jan-2010A dramatic batting collapse by Barbados handed Leeward Islands first-innings points in Kingston. Chasing Leewards’ first-innings total of 236, the Barbados openers put on 103 before a spectacular capitulation to 229 all out. The spin duo of Anthony Martin (3 for 38) and Omari Banks (2 for 41) helped themselves to the spoils, bowling well especially in the afternoon session. Opener Dale Richards and top-order batsman Kirk Edwards both scored 60 but were the only ones to show any real enterprise. Edwards struck seven fours and was instrumental in keeping the Barbados innings together. The match was still going the way of Barbados, who were 146 for 3 at lunch. But with Martin accounting for Kyle Hope and Kevin Stoute off successive deliveries, and Gavin Tonge getting Shamarh Brooks caught behind in the next over for a duck, three wickets tumbled for two runs. There was even lesser joy after tea, barring a valuable 33-run ninth-wicket stand between Edwards and Nekolai Charles, as they succumbed in the 77th over of the day. Leewards then safely navigated 15 overs to take stumps at 20 for no loss.Career-best figures from Kavesh Kantasingh spun the Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) into a formidable position against Trinidad & Tobago in Montego Bay. The 23-year-old left-arm spinner captured 6 for 29, as T&T were dismissed for 105 just over an hour after lunch, replying to CCC’s first-innings total of 234. Jason Bennett provided the early breakthrough, when he had Justin Guillen lbw for 10. But just when T&T seemed to be making headway, Kantasingh claimed three scalps in the final half-hour before lunch to
leave T&T on 65 for 4. T&T captain Daren Ganga manged the highest score of 44, before the all-spin attack of Kantasingh and Ryan Austin hastened the end. CCC were left wobbling at 97 for 4 in their second essay, but opener Omar Phillips held firm with an unbeaten 51 to carry CCC to 105, before bad light and rain conspired to prompt an early close.Wavell Hinds and Donovan Pagon put in solid batting performances to hand defending champions Jamaica a healthy first-innings lead against Windward Islands in Spanish Town. Hinds top scored with 95 and Pagon managed 56, as Jamaica were dismissed for 335. The Windwards bowlers were made to toil long and hard and sloppy fielding did not help. Pagon, who began the day on 9, kept the Jamaica innings together, in the early stages. He played the anchor role in partnerships with captain Tamar Lambert and Brendan Nash, hitting eight fours during his 115-ball stay. Jamaica had slipped to 151 for 5, when Pagon was stumped on the second attempt by wicketkeeper Lyndon James off Rawl Lewis, but Hinds and Dave Bernard jnr consolidated with a 78-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Hinds though, missed out on three figures after he was bowled by Keon Peters. Andrew Richardson then strengthened the Jamaica’s grip on the match, when he removed Devon Smith for a duck, as Windwards reached 19 for 1 at stumps.

Joe Denly, the England and Kent batsman, has been cleared of any serious damage after undergoing exploratory operations on both knees.

Cricinfo staff14-Jan-2010Joe Denly, the England and Kent batsman, has been cleared of any serious damage after undergoing exploratory operations on both knees. Denly originally hurt his left knee in a collision with Owais Shah during a practice-session football match before the second ODI against Australia at the Oval last summer.At the time, scans revealed a small sprain but no major damage, and Denly took part in the England Performance Programme’s tour to South Africa in December last year, cracking a double hundred against the Titans. He still had some discomfort in his knee, however, and so decided on the operations.”The England physio and Nimmo Reid at Kent both felt there was nothing major structurally wrong but I had felt a bit of pain and was a bit worried so wanted peace of mind and to feel comfortable myself,” Denly told KentOnline. “I was happy when the surgeon Andy Williams told me nothing was wrong. I was told to rest for three weeks but I hope to get back hitting balls in the nets soon.”With the squad for England’s second tour of the winter – a trip to Bangladesh in February and March for three ODIs and two Tests – yet to be announced, the good news will be especially heartening to Denly, who lost his spot in England’s one-day team to Jonathan Trott at the top of the order.

Ireland completed a 37-run win to ensure their progress to the Super Fours stage after Scotland collapsed on either side of a threatening partnership between Kyle Coetzer and Gordon Drummond.

Cricinfo staff11-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Trent Johnston ripped through the top order as Scotland collapsed to 99 all out in Dubai•International Cricket Council

Ireland completed a 37-run win to ensure their progress to the Super Fours stage after Scotland collapsed on either side of a threatening partnership between Kyle Coetzer and Gordon Drummond. A team performance with both bat and ball was behind Ireland’s victory, as no batsman made more than 19 and the wickets were shared around by the bowlers.Despite their defeats to USA and Afghanistan, Scotland still had an outside chance of sneaking through to the next stage of the tournament coming in to this game. Had they won today, they would have drawn level on two points with Ireland and USA. With Ireland scoring 136 for 7, Scotland had to chase down the runs in 14.5 overs or less in order to overtake Ireland’s net run rate.Their innings lay in tatters within the first two overs, however, as Peter Connell and Trent Johnston ripped through the top order to reduce Scotland to 6 for 4. After Connell got rid of Fraser Watts and Gavin Hamilton in consecutive balls, Andre Botha held onto two chances at a well-positioned short third man off Johnston as Richie Berrington and Neil McCallum slashed wildly at deliveries outside off stump. Two overs later Jan Stander mistimed an attempted heave over midwicket and Scotland had collapsed to 12 for 5.Then came the fightback, as Coetzer and Drummond saw off the opening bowlers and began to accumulate runs steadily. With a win in under 15 overs firmly out of the question after the top order crumbled, the pair had only pride to play for, and their partnership was just beginning to look ominous when Coetzer popped a low full toss to a backtracking William Porterfield at cover to depart for 43.Simon Smith’s run out in the 17th over broke Scotland’s resistance. George Dockrell dismissed Ross Lyons and Drummond in his second over, and Kevin O’Brien wrapped up the match with a well-directed yorker to disturb Dewald Nel’s stumps.Apart from Alex Cusack, who was trapped lbw by Majid Haq for two, every one of Ireland’s top nine made a start with the bat to contribute to what turned out to be a match-winning total. Johnston, O’Brien and John Mooney all chipped in with 10, while Andrew White, Gary Wilson, Niall O’Brien, Porterfield and Botha all made it into the teens. Haq and Coetzer were Scotland’s most successful bowlers, with two wickets apiece.Ireland had to win this game to be sure of a spot in the Super Fours, and will take some confidence in the way they rallied as a team in this game as they progress to the next round.

Sussex, the defending Twenty20 champions, have signed Tillakaratne Dilshan for the 2010 tournament

Cricinfo staff10-Mar-2010Sussex, the defending Twenty20 champions, have signed Tillakaratne Dilshan for the 2010 tournament. Dilshan, who was the Player of the Tournament at the 2009 World Twenty20, will join Yasir Arafat and Dwayne Smith as the county’s overseas players.The club expect Dilshan to be available for the start of the Twenty20 tournament in early June and Mark Robinson, the Sussex cricket manager, said it was a major boost to be able to secure Dilshan at a time when top-quality overseas players are in short supply due to a packed international calendar.”The recruitment of overseas players is becoming more complex as the international fixture list grows, including the possibility of staging major matches at neutral venues such as the UAE and USA,” said Robinson. “With Yasir Arafat likely to have Pakistan commitments and Dwayne Smith with the West Indies, the signing of one of the world’s leading batsman gives us some exciting options.”We want our main players to have genuine match winning ability and we believe we have that with Dilshan, Yasir and Dwayne. With that bit of luck always required, I feel our 2010 squad can emulate our 2009 success.”Counties are allowed to sign up to four overseas players for the Twenty20 but only two can play in a match. A number of teams have dipped into the international market to secure big-name signings for the tournament with Shahid Afridi heading to Hampshire along with Abdul Razzaq, Adam Gilchrist joining Middlesex and Cameron White going to Somerset.However, it now seems unlikely that the winners and runners-up from the competition will qualify for the Champions League Twenty20 in India as the dates for that event clash with the final two weeks of the domestic season. Last year, Sussex and Somerset were the English representatives at the inaugural Champions League. Sussex begin the defence of their domestic title at home against Somerset on June 1.

Craig Young, who represented Ireland in the Under-19 World Cup, confirmed today that he has signed a one-year deal with the English county Sussex

Cricinfo staff03-Mar-2010Craig Young, who represented Ireland at the Under-19 World Cup, has signed a one-year deal with Sussex. The offer was made following his performance in a bowling camp conducted by the county in Dubai.”I got news that I was being offered a contract following my time with them [Sussex] in Dubai. I’m delighted, and hopefully it’ll work out for me,” Young said. “I’ll be going over shortly for pre-season, and they’ll be in touch with Ireland to see what my likely commitments will be during the summer. After they speak with them, a plan will be drawn up which will hopefully work for everybody.”A new-ball bowler, Young, who plays his cricket for Bready in the NW league, came to the attention of the club’s scouts when he took 5 for 22 against Guernsey in the European Under-19 Championships in Jersey last summer.He travelled over to Sussex for a trial and was invited to the Dubai camp after the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in January. Young took nine wickets at an average of 18.44 in the tournament, including a match-winning 4 for 14 in Ireland’s seven-wicket win against Zimbabwe.

Luke Wright underlined his potential as a future England all-rounder with three
key wickets as Sussex closed in on victory over Surrey in their Division Two clash at Hove

17-Apr-2010
ScorecardRana Naved scored an unbeaten 68 from 65 balls•Getty Images

Luke Wright underlined his potential as a future England all-rounder with three
key wickets as Sussex closed in on victory over Surrey in their Division Two clash at Hove.Wright removed Mark Ramprakash, who has scored 10 of his 109 first-class
hundreds against Sussex, for 14 and then returned later on the third day to pick
up the wickets of Steve Davies and Usman Afzaal in successive overs.The pair were threatening to drag Surrey back into contention during a stand of
138 for the fourth wicket after the visitors, who began their second innings 211
runs behind, had staggered to 35 for 3.But Wright had Davies, who had twice been dropped, smartly taken at slip by
Sussex captain Mike Yardy at slip for 37 and then Afzaal was brilliantly caught
by Murray Goodwin diving to his left at point after making 87, including 14
fours. When he had reached 54, Afzaal passed 13,500 first-class runs.That opened the door for Sussex and Rana Naved returned to the attack and
produced an exceptional spell of reverse-swing bowling to pick up three wickets
in eight balls. Gareth Batty drove loosely and lost his middle and off stumps,
captain Rory Hamilton-Brown was spectacularly yorked before Andre Nel drove
tamely to cover.Sussex claimed the extra half-hour in an effort to finish Surrey off inside
three days and Monty Panesar picked up Chris Schofield leg before to reward an
excellent spell by the left-arm spinner after Schofield and Rao Iftikhar had
survived for eight overs.Surrey closed on 243 for 9, a lead of just 32, and Sussex should wrap up
their second successive Championship victory at some stage tomorrow. Sussex had made the perfect start when Corey Collymore trapped Matthew Spriegel
in front with the 10th ball of the match for a duck.Arun Harinath shouldered arms and lost his off stump when Collymore switched to
round the wicket to the left-hander and Wright nipped in with the big wicket of
Ramprakash, lbw only half-forward in a mirror image of his first-innings
dismissal.Earlier, Sussex had extended their overnight first-innings lead of 73 to 211
thanks to a rollicking ninth-wicket stand between Rana and Robin
Martin-Jenkins. Nightwatchman Panesar fell for his second successive duck to Jade Dernbach but Rana was soon taking the fight to an increasingly dispirited Surrey attack. The Pakistan all-rounder raced to his 50 off 54 balls and Martin-Jenkins lost little in comparison as he lodged his second half-century of the season.They added 124 in 21 overs before Martin-Jenkins, whose 64 included nine
boundaries, was caught at deep mid-wicket to give the persevering Dernbach his
fourth wicket. Collymore was caught at slip for a duck, leaving Rana 68 not out from just 65
balls including five fours and three sixes, the pick of them a huge hit over
long-on off Batty which sailed out of the ground.

Surrey’s hopes of recording only their second championship victory in three seasons were thwarted by Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali at Whitgift School

24-Apr-2010
ScorecardSurrey’s hopes of recording only their second championship victory in three seasons were thwarted by Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali at Whitgift School. The hosts looked good as they reduced Worcestershire to 168 for 8 – as they pursued a victory target of 268 runs in a minimum of 51 overs.However, Moeen added an unbeaten 70 to his first innings century to salvage a draw in a tense finish. It was a bold challenge by Rory Hamilton-Brown, considering that they had lost their first two matches, and it almost paid off after Andre Nel’s second ball bounced and left Phil Jaques to have the Australian opener caught at second slip by the Surrey captain himself for the first pair of his career.Jade Dernbach bowled Daryl Mitchell soon afterwards and Surrey’s hopes were high when former England offspinner Gareth Batty broke a third-wicket stand of 54 between Moeen and Vikram Solanki and went on to remove Alexei Kervezee and Ben Smith in quick succession.Batty, who has returned to Surrey after eight seasons with Worcestershire, pinned Solanki and Smith lbw and bowled Kervezee as he tried to sweep. He should also have had Moeen caught at silly mid-off for 16 but the chance went down and Surrey paid a heavy price.Moeen found some support from Ben Scott until he was lbw to Chris Schofield and although Richard Jones and Jack Shantry fell cheaply to Usman Afzaal and Schofield respectively Alan Richardson survived the final over from Dernbach. Moeen had defied Surrey for 50 overs in scoring his 70 off 147 balls with 10 fours and a six when they shook hands on a draw with Worcestershire 170 for 8.Surrey had started the day 85 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand and looked like running into trouble when Afzaal was run out by Shantry’s direct hit from backward point, then Hamilton-Brown was stumped heaving at Moeen..Not for the first time, they were held together by Mark Ramprakash who passed 1,000 Championship runs in his eighth match on the school ground and was on course for his 110th first-class century when he slashed uncharacteristically at Imran Arif and was caught behind. He had scored 82 off 170 balls, including 11 fours and a six.Batty perished in the next over but Steven Davies added an unbeaten 69 off 88 balls with six fours and a six to his first innings century and enabled Hamilton-Brown to make his declaration at 239 for 8.

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has come out in support of Shahid Afridi, saying he should be given a long run as captain to avoid the destabilising effect of frequent changes at the top

Cricinfo staff28-May-2010Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has come out in support of Shahid Afridi, saying the allrounder should be given a long run as captain to avoid the destabilising effect of frequent changes at the top.”Since I retired in 1992, Australia has had only three captains while Pakistan has had more than two dozen and that is why there is a big difference between Pakistan and Australia,” Imran told AFP.According to Imran, Afridi was the logical choice to lead Pakistan as he is already the Twenty20 captain. “Who else if not Afridi?” Imran said. “I think if they had made anyone else captain, problems would surely have persisted, so I think Afridi was the best choice available.”Imran said Afridi has to be given time if he is to develop into a good leader. “Afridi has been leading the team well in the Twenty20 format. A good captain should be brave, can handle pressure and should have the respect of the team, so let us give Afridi some time to settle and then judge him.”You can never predict about him as a Test player and a captain until you give him a chance. If he was not playing Tests and now he intends to play, then maybe with responsibility he performs better.”Pakistan’s current captaincy crisis was precipitated by Younis Khan’s resignation and the sacking of Mohammad Yousuf. The PCB then appointed Afridi to lead the team during the World Twenty20 and earlier this week made him captain for the Asia Cup next month and the subsequent tour to England.Khan also said he is in favour of having having one captain for all formats of the game. “Cricket is the only sport where you need able leadership and if a captain is successful in one format he could be successful in all three.”