All posts by csb10.top

Seamer Rusty Theron has been added to South Africa’s squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe that starts on Friday.Theron, 25, is yet to play ODI cricket for South Africa but made his international debut in the Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe last week, impressing with his composed performances during the death overs.His call-up the the 50-over squad is partly a reward for his consistent domestic limited-overs form but also because of the injury that Morne Morkel picked up in the first Twenty20 against Zimbabwe.Alongside Morkel, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis are both resting and Andrew Hudson, the South Africa convener of selectors, felt the squad needed someone to bolster the seam attack.”With Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis both out of the series and Morne Morkel still recovering from injury we thought it prudent to add an extra seamer to the squad,” he said.Hudson also announced that Steyn and Kallis would be added to the South Africa squad for the two Twenty20 matches against Pakistan at the start of the tour.”We had originally decided to rest them from that section of the tour to the United Arab Emirates but we feel that they will benefit from the extra match time now that they have been ruled out of the Zimbabwe series.”

Bijapur Bulls overcame a few nervous moments and overhauled the revised target of 75, with three balls to spare, after Bangalore Provident (Rural) posted 123 for 4 off 17 overs in Bangalore. Opener Maniunath Manjunath set the platform for BP with 47 off 42 balls, and Rahul Bhatkal increased the pace towards the end with two sixes and three fours in his 28-ball 39. Bulls had to score 75 in nine overs and their reply was kick-started by a 41-run opening stand between Gaurav Dhiman and Mithun Beerala. Devraj Patil who came in at one-drop hustled 23 off 10 balls to put the Bulls in charge before four wickets fell in four balls to set up a tight finish. NC Aiyappa removed Dhiman, Patil and Sudhindra Shinde off successive balls, and Nithin Mulky was run-out off the next, leaving Bulls needing seven off the last over. Stuart Binny, however, held his nerve and sealed the deal in their favour.Suraj Sampath struck an unbeaten 60 off 55 balls as Belagavi Panthers overcame Malnad Gladiators’ modest total of 110 in Bangalore. Malnad’s bowlers set up the win, with seamer Ronit More standing out with a spell of 2 for 23 in four overs. Belgavi’s chase was off to a poor start, with Jagadeesh Arunkumar perishing in the first over. Shyam Ponnappa struggled to force the pace and when he fell, at 57 for 2 in the 13th over, Gladiators scented an opening. Sampath, however, shut the door on them and finished things in Suresh Vinod’s company, with eight balls to spare.

Nottinghamshire have confirmed that England fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom will leave Trent Bridge at the end of the season, having failed to reach agreement over a new contract to extend his stay after seven seasons with the county.Despite stating publicly that he wanted to end his career with Nottinghamshire, the 32-year-old left-armer – whose current contract is about to expire – has rejected two offers from Nottinghamshire and will consider what the county described as “multiple offers” from other counties.Lancashire, Hampshire, Somerset and Surrey are expected to be among the front-runners to land his signature. Sussex were linked with a move for him several weeks ago, although it is understood they have made no firm offer.Sidebottom, who is not expecting his England central contract to be renewed after making only one Test appearance in the last 18 months, wanted the security of a three-year term for what he says will be his final county placement.However, Nottinghamshire’s policy with players of Sidebottom’s age is to offer no more than two years and although they were prepared to make an exception in his case, offering him a performance-related three-year contract in addition to an unconditional two years, it still was not enough to keep the player from moving on after seven years at Trent Bridge.”I didn’t want to leave the club but this is the last contract I will sign as a professional cricketer and I wanted the security of a three year deal,” Sidebottom said. “There was a two-year deal on the table for me and a three-year deal with certain stipulations but they didn’t suit me and so I have to move on.”Sidebottom reignited his international career during his time at Trent Bridge, whom he joined in 2004 after leaving Yorkshire. His 22 Tests brought him 79 wickets and he was a key member of the England team that won the ICC World Twenty20.”Ryan has made an exceptional contribution during his time here and I’m disappointed to be losing him,” Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, Mick Newell, said. “The stumbling block wasn’t money but the length of the contract on offer. There is no doubt in my mind that he will make a big contribution at his next club and I’m grateful that he has given us exceptional service throughout the best years of his career.”Sidebottom has underlined his commitment to the remainder of Nottinghamshire’s season as they pursue success in the Clydesdale Bank 40 as well as the County Championship, in which they led the First Division table going into this round.”Winning the Championship would be the perfect way to sign off and that’s what I’m focussed on,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of great friends in the dressing room and the supporters have been great to me and I am happy to be departing on good terms.”I’m an uncomplicated cricketer in that I give my all in every game and hopefully my team mates and the Nottinghamshire members and supporters have appreciated that. I never planned to leave but I have to protect the best interests of my family and that is ultimately why I have made this decision.”As for Sidebottom’s next port of call, there had been strong speculation that Sussex were at the head of the queue and it was reported last month that they had given Nottinghamshire the required 28 days’ notice of an approach. It is understood now, however, that they have not made an offer.However, there will be no shortage of alternative destinations. Lancashire – mindful that Glen Chapple will be 37 by the time next season begins – and Somerset are both believed to be interested, while lack of financial muscle would not rule out Durham and Hampshire, who will host their first Test match next summer.Sidebottom, who took 79 Test wickets in 22 matches at 28.24, has 212 first-class wickets at 25.17 in seven seasons at Trent Bridge, where he won a Championship medal in 2005. Nonetheless, they clearly felt the depth of their seam bowling resources enabled them to stick to their guns in the contract discussions, even without taking the occasional availability of Stuart Broad into account.In addition to Andre Adams, Darren Pattinson and Paul Franks in the current first-team line-up, they can also call on Charlie Shreck, while 21-year-old Luke Fletcher is held in high regard and Andy Carter, also 21, has been gaining experience on loan with Essex. They do not have another left-armer, however, and Mick Newell might want to recruit in that department, with Derbyshire’s Graham Wagg a possible target.Meanwhile, it will almost certainly need a deal to be struck between Lancashire and Nottinghamshire to force a positive result in this match after the whole of the third day was lost to rain.However, Nottinghamshire are in much less need of a win than Lancashire, whose outside chance in the title race would be effectively ended by anything less. Expect Nottinghamshire, then, to set their sights on batting bonus points.

ScorecardDurham made a solid start to their pursuit of 171 to beat Lancashire at Old Trafford today. Michael Di Venuto played a crucial and steadying hand with 34 not out off 40 balls as his side reached 58 for 2 from 21 overs at close on day three of this County Championship match. Gary Keedy’s left-arm spin had removed both Mark Stoneman and Gordon Muchall but Durham require another 113 runs to clinch their fourth championship win of the season.Lancashire had been able to muster a second-innings score of only 226 all out thanks in the main to half-centuries for Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mark Chilton, announced as the club’s 2011 beneficiary earlier in the day. Although the pitch is still tough to bat on it did not seem anywhere near as treacherous as it had done on day two when 18 wickets fell.Durham left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell took his time to settle, perhaps due to the cold and damp conditions. But, having taken five wickets in the first innings, he still finished as the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 102 from 33 overs. Leg-spinner Scott Borthwick also finished with 2 for 33 from 11 while Steve Harmison, Mitch Claydon and Liam Plunkett also struck.Despite the fact that the Red Rose, who started this match fourth in Division One, had given themselves something to bowl at they would have been disappointed to lose their last five wickets for 32 runs. They were also hamstrung by an injury to Sajid Mahmood, which was later revealed to be a back spasm, which meant that he could not take the new ball.Chilton, who scored 50 off 129 balls, had earlier shared a third-wicket partnership of 56 with nightwatchman Keedy (24) to get Lancashire going. He also shared 41 for the fourth wicket with Chanderpaul before the latter added 57 with Steven Croft (28) for the fifth.Chanderpaul hit sixes over midwicket and long-on off Blackwell. But, when he was bowled trying to cut Blackwell for 67 off 136 balls with the last ball of the afternoon session, it started the home collapse. Gareth Cross was trapped lbw by Blackwell, Luke Sutton lbw by Plunkett, Mahmood- batting with Paul Horton as his runner – caught behind by Phil Mustard off Blackwell for a duck and Glen Chapple run out by Borthwick.Durham had reached 22 for none after five overs of their chase when Keedy was brought into the attack and he bowled Stoneman off an inside edge in the 10th over with only another five runs added to the total. He later had Muchall caught at first slip by Horton for three to leave thescore at 43 for 2 in the 16th.Whether a first defeat in 21 Championship matches – dating back to last June – would signal an end to Lancashire’s title chances is questionable. But Durham, who were second bottom before the match, will leapfrog them in the standings with a win.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has rallied his players to carry forward their consistency in the Twenty20s against Australia to the two-Test series that begins at Lord’s on July 13. After getting hammered by Australia in all formats of the game earlier this year and in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, Pakistan hit back by winning both the Twenty20s at Edgbaston to get their England tour off to a resounding start.”I think now that we have regained our winning habit we must work harder to maintain it and make winning a habit,” Afridi told a Pakistani sports channel. “I knew sooner or later we will win back-to-back matches because we have been performing well since the Twenty20 World Cup but missed out in close matches.”Twenty20 cricket has suited Pakistan both technically and temperamentally and their crowning moment was the World Twenty20 title win in 2009 in England. However, their form in Tests hasn’t been up to the mark, having been beaten 3-0 by Australia away, and drawing a three-Test series in New Zealand 1-1 before that. Afridi, whose leadership has won himself admirers, is determined to reverse that trend in the longer format.”There is a difference and we have to be aware of this,” Afridi said. “But the good thing is that a win is a win in any form of the game and this series win should serve a confidence booster for us ahead of the Tests.”The coach Waqar Younis agreed that the team can take a lot of confidence into the Test series. “I think these two wins are really going to help us to get into the momentum,” Waqar said. “Test matches are a different ball game fair enough, but with victory behind you it always helps.”With senior players Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan missing the tour despite their bans being lifted by the PCB, Afridi threw his weight behind the younger players to fill the gap. Yousuf hasn’t yet come out of retirement while Younis was left out due to disciplinary reasons.”Obviously we will miss their experience. I wanted them in the team for this tour and I tried my best to see they were in the team but for different reasons this couldn’t happen and it is unfortunate,” Afridi said. “But one has to manage with the available resources so right now I am focusing completely on the team I have, on the new players because they are the ones who will fight for Pakistan in the Test matches and I retain confidence they can do this.”

Scotland’s selectors have named a 15-man squad for the ICC World Cricket League Division 1, to be held in the Netherlands from June 30 to July 10. The emphasis is on youth, as the squad has nine players aged 25 or under, but Fraser Watts’s excellent recent form in the domestic leagues has also earned him a place.Gavin Hamilton and Ryan Watson are both unavailable due to work commitments, while Freddie Coleman is taking time off in the lead-up to the event to concentrate on finishing his school term. This gives opportunities to young batsmen Ewan Chalmers, Preston Mommsen and Josh Davey, who have also been included in the squad to take on the hosts in a four-day Intercontinental Cup and one-day international match prior to the tournanment.”The World Cricket League will be a highly-competitive event, and it gives our players an excellent opportunity to test themselves against the other leading Associates,” said Peter Steindl, Scotland’s head coach. “We have picked the squad with the future as well as the present in mind, so I am looking forward to seeing how the players cope with the tournament environment.”Scotland squad: Gordon Drummond (capt), Richie Berrington, Josh Davey, Ewan Chalmers, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Omer Hussain, Neil Laidlaw, Dougie Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Gregor Maiden, Neil McCallum, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Fraser Watts

Pakistan opening batsman Imran Nazir, who was omitted for the ICC World Twenty20 and the ongoing Asia Cup, has said his early initiation into international cricket, at the age of 17, has done more harm to his career than good.Nazir made his Pakistan debut in 1999 as a dashing opening batsman and an electric fielder, but over the years he wasn’t able to cement his position in the Test and ODI side. Nazir was regarded more as a one-day specialist, but in his 79 ODIs so far has averaged only 24.61. He played the last of his eight Tests back in 2002.”The truth is I was not ready for international cricket at that time, my technique was faulty and I didn’t have the mental strength or understanding of the game,” Nazir told . “Now that I have began to understand how international cricket needs to be played I have been dropped from the national team.”Nazir’s international career came to a standstill in 2008 when he joined the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League along with several Pakistan players. He was among the leading performers for the Lahore Badshahs but his stint lasted just one season after he and the league’s players returned to the official fold.He made a comeback to the one-day squad during the tour of Sri Lanka last year, but in five ODIs since his return , he has scored only 111 runs, with no fifty. He scored a half-century in a Twenty20 against New Zealand in Dubai, but in the two-match Twenty20 series against England in the UAE, he scored just 2 and 4 and was dropped for the World Twenty20.His aggressive approach has often cost him his wicket, and Nazir has admitted that he needs to reassess his style of play.”I am a more mature batsman now and if I get a chance to play again for Pakistan I will play in sensible fashion and cement my place in the team,” Nazir said. “I am ready to curb my natural instincts to play again for Pakistan.”But now after a lot of ups and downs in 11 years of international cricket I realise a batsman with limited range of shots cannot survive. Plus your shot selection has to be sensible, you must have the patience to wait for the bad ball to hit, not try a slog every ball as I used to do previously.”The Pakistan selectors have, traditionally, blooded several young players in their teens, including Hasan Raza, who at 14 was the world’s youngest Test cricketer. Nazir feels it’s always beneficial to give a player a decent run in domestic cricket before rushing him.”I would say a player must be given time in domestic cricket before he is blooded in international cricket. Give him time to adjust and understand the game.”

Mark Cosgrove insists he is over the surprise and frustration at being sacked by South Australia and is ready for the next phase of his career in Tasmania. Cosgrove was shocked to be axed by the Redbacks after a season in which he was second only to Michael Klinger in their Sheffield Shield averages, with 511 runs at 42.58.While he searched for a new state, he had a UK passport to fall back on if the need arose to switch allegiances. The lifeline from Tasmania came in the second round of state contract offers and Cosgrove said he was hoping to emulate his former South Australia team-mate Ryan Harris in lifting after changing states and going on to play for Australia.”It was a surprise when I got told and it was frustrating to have to go through the process of finding a new home,” Cosgrove told Cricinfo this week. “Now I’m pretty excited. It will be a really good move for me and my girlfriend. I look at someone like Ryan Harris, I played a lot of cricket with Ryan, and the change has done him good. I’m only 25, so I have time.”Cosgrove has already played for Australia – three one-day internationals in Bangladesh and Malaysia in 2006 – but has struggled over the years to keep his weight down. South Australia’s officials often became frustrated with his fitness levels, and he was suspended at the start of 2005-06 for turning up unfit after a season in England and in February 2008 he was also dropped for being out of shape.He said Jamie Cox, the SACA high performance manager, had not elaborated on the reasons for him losing his contract last month. However, Cosgrove has always been a believer that runs and wickets should speak for themselves, and provided he is able to play his part for the team his weigh should not be an issue.”If you’re doing your job properly then you shouldn’t have any added pressure,” Cosgrove said. “With the SACA I was under a lot of pressure all through my career at Adelaide Oval. As long as I’m making runs and being able to field and being able to bowl, I don’t think there’s a problem.”It did sometimes become a distraction, Adelaide being a one-paper city and with people at the SACA saying stuff, it was hard at some stages. I think I did pretty well concentrating on my cricket and letting my bat do the talking.”Over the past five years, Cosgrove has been the leading Sheffield Shield run scorer at South Australia with 2593 at 42.50, and his figures are based more on consistency than any one stand-out summer. Cosgrove was speaking from the UK, where he had just made a first-class 85 for Glamorgan in the County Championship.At Tasmania, he is likely to slot into the role vacated by the retired Daniel Marsh, another solid batsman who made the move from Adelaide. The Tigers have plenty of room for four-day improvement, having finished second-last in the Sheffield Shield last summer, but they are the reigning FR Cup holders and Cosgrove is especially keen to prove a point when they first take on the Redbacks.”I haven’t seen the fixtures of when we play them,” he said, “but I’ll be very determined to get some big runs.”

Scorecard
A fine innings from the teenage opener Stafanie Taylor aided West Indies wrap up the three-game Twenty20 series over Sri Lanka at St Mary’s Park. Taylor’s unbeaten 54 from 45 deliveries was just the reply West Indies needed in their nervous pursuit of a target of 121 and she sealed the affair with three wickets remaining. This was West Indies’ second successive win after they took the first Twenty20 and they now have an unassailable lead in the series which is a build-up to next week’s ICC World Twenty20.It wasn’t all that rosy, especially after the home side slipped to a disastrous 25 for 5, but Taylor, 18, forged two successful partnerships to get West Indies home. She put on 4 for the sixth wicket with Shanel Daley (19 off 21 balls) and 51 from 41 balls with her captain Merissa Aguilleira, a partnership which sealed the match. Aguilleira made 26 from 23 balls. Taylor’s unbeaten innings earned her a second Man-of-the-Match award after she hit 50 in the first game.Earlier, Sri Lanka had been kept to 120 for 9 after they won the toss and batted, with the offspinner Anisa Mohammed netting 4 for 26. She accounted for the middle and lower orders after Dedunu DaSilva (36) and Chamari Attapttu (17) added 58 for the first wicket.

Hosts Jamaica recovered from their defeat to Ireland on Saturday to overpower Canada by 63 runs to extend the winless streak for the North Americans in the Jamaica Cricket Festival.The Jamaicans were propped up by their top-order batsmen Brenton Parchment, Danza Hyatt, Donovan Pagon and John Ross Campbell, who all chipped in with significant scores to lay the foundation for a strong score.Parchment went after Rizwan Cheema, smashing 17 runs off the sixth over to push the Jamaicans to 51 without loss at that point.Hyatt, who topscored with 48, struck ten off the next over, from Hiral Patel, and there was no let-up for the tourists. Cheema eventually got Hyatt, after an explosive 33-ball 48, and Parchment departed soon after.Campbell and Pagon then took up the mantle towards the middle of the innings, posting 52 runs for the third wicket.Andre Russell and Carlton Baugh pushed up the scoring during the closing stages to finish with an imposing 175 for 4. Parth Desai bowled well to finish with 3 for 21.Canada’s reply was wrecked by Krishmar Santokie’s spell of 3 for 7 in three overs. Bevon Brown and Tamar Lambert picked two wickets each, to push Canada out of the game, and it was left to captain Ashish Bagai to strike an unbeaten 51, and taken them into three figures.Jamaica’s coach Junior Bennett was happy with the team’s improved performance and expressed satisfaction with the contribution of the young players in the squad such as Campbell and Kemar Marshall. “We are pleased with our performance throughout the festival. We are happy with the performances of the youngsters that we introduced this year and we were much better with the bat today,” said Bennett.”The openers gave us a good start and the batsmen did well to put them on the back foot and put away the poor deliveries.”Canada’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake was disappointed with the performance of his team. “We didn’t do too well at all when they made 175 it was pretty much unreachable for us but it’s good to see Ashish (Bagai) still getting some runs. That’s the only positive about this. We are now hoping to have a better time at Sabina Park,” he said.