England short again as SA seal series

South Africa Under-19s 270 for 8 (Oldfield 82, Smith 49*, Shaw 3-45) beat England Under-19s 260 for 9 (Tattersall 83, Shaw 52, Valli 3-33) by 10 runs
Scorecard

South Africa Under-19s held their nerve in another close finish to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. England again fell marginally short in their chase, despite a 48-run partnership in less than five overs for the ninth wicket that threatened to snatch them an unlikely victory.

Josh Shaw, England's No. 9, hit a 46-ball 52 but England needed 18 to win off the final over and Shaw was run out trying to get back on strike. The 17-year-old, who also took three wickets during the South Africa innings, helped Jonathan Tattersall lift England from 154 for 7 in the 37th over and continued to carry the fight when Tattersall fell for 83.

Early strikes had left England floundering at 51 for 4 in pursuit of 270 and South Africa captain Yaseen Valli took 3 for 33 with his offspin to make further dents in the chase.

South Africa had recovered from a tricky position themselves, adding 115 from the last 12 overs, a burst which was to prove crucial. Both scorecards had a very similar shape to them, as Greg Oldfield's 82 from No. 5 provided the base after they had been 48 for 3 and Jason Smith made a run-a-ball 49 to help trampoline the hosts to an imposing total.

Read More..

West Indies want to win it for their people

"We have a strong belief in God. He works in mysterious ways. He performs wonders." Darren Sammy said that at an emotional press conference after West Indies had made an unbelievable comeback in the final to win the 2012 World Twenty20 in Colombo.

Four months later, these could easily have been the words of Merissa Aguilleira before West Indies' maiden Women's World Cup final appearance, made possible by an unbelievable win over Australia in their last Super Six match. "I think it was just God who saw us through in that game," Aguilleira said. West Indies had never beaten Australia before in any format, but Aguilleira now believed her team have the psychological advantage over a side seeking their sixth World Cup.

If they can beat Australia for the second time in five days, West Indies will have won two world titles in a matter of months. And like Sammy had that night in Colombo, Aguilleira spoke repeatedly of doing it for the people of the Caribbean.

"Every morning when I finish my prayers and look at the phone with all the messages and support … at the moment the Caribbean is in a total chaos concerning cricket. It would mean so much for them if we can bring home the trophy. It will mean everything to us.

"Cricket is the only thing that brings all the people of West Indies together. The more we go there and represent them the better it is for the people of the Caribbean."

Sammy's motto was, "One team, one people, one mission". The men's team may or may not actually follow that, but several players of Aguilleira's team have spoken of how united they are. Stafanie Taylor said the bonding has only increased over the years. Shanel Daley spoke of how some of her best friends in the team are from different island nations. Aguilleira concurred.

"This tournament has been a rollercoaster for us, full of ups and down and I guess that is where the true spirit lies where we can come back from … you feel you can see yourself through," Aguilleira said. "We had faith in God and we keep trusting him and he really carried us through this situation. I must say we stuck together as a team. We motivated each other."

West Indies managed one win in the group stage, sneaking into the Super Six by having a better net run rate than India. They went on to win all three of their Super Six games. Aguilleira pointed to her side's comeback in the South Africa series before the World Cup. "Heading back to the South Africa series in West Indies, we lost two matches and then went on to win the last four. So I guess this is definitely a rehearsal of sorts that has happened before."

West Indies have played Australia and New Zealand only in World Cups. Aguilleira hoped their maiden final appearance would lead to more fixtures against the top sides. "That's one of our concerns. We really need to be playing the top teams more often. We believe the ability we have and we know that we can compete against the biggest sides so it is all about giving the opportunity. The board [WICB] will have to take that perspective and eventually that will happen."

For now, West Indies had "nothing to lose" and had "gained everything". Aguilleira said she had mentioned earlier in the tournament that West Indies were here to compete, unlike in the 2009 edition where "we took part." "To know that we came from nowhere and to be in the finals, that shows the progress which is happening right now."

Read More..

Derbyshire announce 2012 profit

Derbyshire have announced a profit of £23,310 for 2012, a further sign that the club is in good health ahead of their return to Division One of the Championship. The club have generated a surplus for the second year running - and the sixth in seven - despite a wet summer that caused financial headaches for several counties.

Derbyshire recently revealed plans to redevelop their Derby ground, with a view to hosting games at the 2019 World Cup, as part of a six-point blueprint to develop and promote cricket in the county.

"After a very challenging summer for English cricket, in which we were competing with both the weather and sporting spectacles such as the London Olympics and Euro 2012, our financial results for the year are very pleasing indeed," the chief executive, Simon Storey, said. "The profit is testament to the hard work of everyone involved and it caps a special year for the county both on and off the field."

Derbyshire chairman, Chris Grant, added: "It has been a momentous year for Derbyshire County Cricket Club and - given the economic climate - posting a profit for the second successive year is an excellent achievement. Even more importantly we are embarking upon an exciting period both on and off the field with no debt and on a sound financial footing."

Read More..

New Zealand lifted by Bell's wicket

25 overs England 101 for 2 (Trott 27*, Root 5*) v New Zealand
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The latest example of one-day internationals going back in time a little was on display in Hamilton as England worked hard to lay a foundation in conditions that offered the New Zealand bowlers some help. Alastair Cook fell early, leaving Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott to live dangerously at times and try to play themselves back into middle mode after time on the sidelines.

Despite what happened in the Twenty20, when England's T20 captain Stuart Broad admitted making the wrong decision, Brendon McCullum decided to bowl first in Hamilton. Cook, who takes over the England captaincy from Broad, said he, too, would have bowled having looked at the ground statistics for ODIs which favour the side chasing.

Shortly before the midway mark the contest was evened up when Bell, advancing down the pitch, edged James Franklin to the wicketkeeper to end a well-constructed innings, but one that England could have done with being longer with Trott labouring at a strike-rate around 50.

England's top three are all fresh back to cricket; Cook and Bell have only had a few weeks of downtime but Trott has not played since the final Test against India in mid-December. It was hard to tell much about Cook's form before he was bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan, when the ball deflected off his back leg, but Trott batted like a man playing a little from memory despite flicking his first ball elegantly wide of mid-on.

Bell was the most fluent by far, driving nicely down the ground especially with the lofted six off Andrew Ellis that took him to fifty from 67 balls, and was starting to make New Zealand pay for dropping him on 26 when he top-edged a sweep off Nathan McCullum and was put down by BJ Watling running in from deep midwicket. It continued the theme of poor New Zealand catching from the Twenty20s. Bell could also have been run out, on 23, if Ross Taylor had not fumbled midwicket.

Trott had a more frustrating time at the crease. His first ball delivery was deceptive as after that the middle of the bat proved elusive. When he did time a shot it often found the fielders and after one such stroke he could be heard exclaiming his annoyance.

He was also involved in some interesting running incidents. There was nearly a mix-up with Bell which appeared to come from a lack of calling then, when stood a non-striker's end, was taken out by Nathan McCullum when the bowler dived across to field off his own delivery and knocked Trott down in a manner an All Black would be proud off. No fault at all, though, was attached to the bowler.

McCullum bowled with some nice flight and should have removed Bell. He also watched a top edge from Trott loop over short fine-leg. Of the other bowlers, Kyle Mills was tight with the new ball, McClenaghan continued to strike with the new ball and Ellis became tightly before Bell latched onto his sixth over.

New Zealand 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 6 Grant Elliott, 7 James Franklin, 8 Andrew Ellis, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn

Read More..

'This century can kick off my form' - Gayle

Chris Gayle's scorcher of a century in Mirpur took Dhaka Gladiators to their second BPL final, and gave the tournament the international leverage it required.

Having arrived in Bangladesh barely 12 hours before the match, he batted as a Twenty20 expert, despite a hectic travelling schedule. After the game, one could easily have forgotten that he had entertained a near full-house for 90 minutes, when one saw his composed self during the post-match press conference: it was typically Gayle, expressionless. He took the 51-ball innings as another step in his quest to return to form, which had deserted him late last year when West Indies toured Bangladesh.

"Things didn't go according to plan the last time I came to Bangladesh," Gayle said. "This century can kick off my form, and [hopefully] it can continue into the international scene in the next couple of weeks."

Gayle has now scored ten Twenty20 hundreds in 129 matches for 12 teams. The 12 sixes he struck took his count in this format to 349, a staggering 112 more than the next man, his Gladiators team-mate Kieron Pollard.

The innings was extraordinary because of the circumstances in which it was played: they had slipped to 64 for 5 in the ninth over. At the time, Gayle decided to allow Pollard to play himself in and wait for the Royals' fifth bowler to come on.

"It is never easy for the batsmen when wickets keep falling at the other end. I usually try to be calm in these situations, but I decided I would step up the run-rate. I batted out a few overs and tried to make sure the batsmen at the other end got a start. Eventually, I tried to build a partnership with Pollard.

"It was a situation when you have to back yourself. In the last few overs, I tried to gain momentum by picking off a few makeshift bowlers, and that was it."

Once the fifth bowler arrived, Gayle helped himself to 85 runs. Suharwadi Shuvo was struck for 24 and Nazmul Islam Milon for 29 in their respective overs. Gayle took 32 runs from two overs of part-timer Paul Stirling, as he neared to an unprecedented tenth T20 century.

Gayle and Pollard had taken a 17-hour flight, only arriving on Thursday evening, to join an already formidable Gladiators side. "It is a long flight. I came straight from Australia last night, so to get into a game is never easy. Eventually, Pollard and I pulled through. We gave the team what was required and put them into the final."

But all of this was nearly toppled by the efforts of Mushfiqur Rahim and Elton Chigumbura, who struck Mashrafe Mortaza for two sixes off the first two balls of the last over, when Royals needed 24 runs to win. The Gladiators, however, were able to hold their nerve, winning by four runs. For most of those few last balls, not even Gayle was sure as to what would transpire.

"It was a close call in the end. They needed 24 off the last over. The first two balls going for six will put any bowler under pressure. Eventually we came off [with the win]. It was a good game that went down to the wire, but we are glad to come out on top."

Gayle said he will be leaving Dhaka on Saturday morning, but Salim Chowdhury, owner of the Dhaka Gladiators, had other ideas. "He wants to leave, but we will do everything to keep him. Pollard is staying, so we will try to persuade him to stay."

Even without Gayle, the Gladiators have an enviable line-up, but they may not have the sufficient firepower to turn 64 for 5 into 197 for 9 in just 70 balls.

Read More..

Gambhir's chance to stake a claim

The presence of Gautam Gambhir in the three-day practice match between India A and the Australians is going to be a constant reminder of his absence from the team for the first Test in Chennai starting on February 22.

Over the past few days, Gambhir has received several endorsements but from the Australian side. On Friday, Michael Clarke said he had expected Gambhir to be in the Test team. A few days earlier, Matthew Hayden had told an Indian newspaper that he was surprised Gambhir had been dropped. On the Indian side though, there is no astonishment; a poor run of scores for Gambhir from the start of 2011, coupled with India's dipping results in Test cricket, has led to a situation where he must reestablish public faith in his ability.

The India A coach Lalchand Rajput said before the three-day game that it would be an important match for players like Gambhir. "They won't put pressure on themselves because they have been in this situation earlier as well … These are good players who have performed very well at that level. It's just a matter of getting there and spending more time in the middle and utilising the opportunity. Once he spends more time, everything will fall in place. Gautam knows this."

Of the quick bowlers Australia are most likely to field in the series, Gambhir will have a chance to illustrate his return to assurance against Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc. A solid performance against the quicks would mean much, particularly if the Indian openers have a wobbly start in the first two Tests.

Rajput said it depended on Gambhir being relaxed before the game rather than wound up with the possibilities it presented. It will require a move away from old habits, particularly the similarity in his recent dismissals, caught in the cordon trying what can only be called one-day dabs and steers. "He was playing one-day games the past few days, so he had to change his game a wee bit because you look for runs," Rajput said. "In the longer version, he knows he has been getting out in those areas and is definitely looking forward to curb those shots." As to what Gambhir needed to do in the longer version of the game, Rajput said it came down to playing close to his body.

Gambhir's efforts may not be the sole focus of the match. India-A's role, Rajput said, had to be larger. "It's very important that India A puts a lot of pressure on the Australians. We have done it earlier also, when we played against England in that one-day game. At that level, it's a matter of confidence. If you do well against them, they will have to do a wee bit of thinking. It's also up to the players to look into that aspect and put pressure on the Australians."

When the Australians lost to Mumbai in three days in 1998, Rajput said, "That put pressure on them and forced them to think about how they should plan for the Test series. So that's something we are looking at - to put pressure on them and make it easier for the Indian team." The team Rajput wants India A to help is, however, lined up against an Australian team far removed from the powerful squads that travelled to India for the last 15 years. So for Gambhir, a personal recovery wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Read More..

ICC admit error in Kallis dismissal

The ICC has admitted its Playing Control Team (PCT) made "an honest error" while applying the DRS to the Jacques Kallis review on the second day of the Newlands Test and that the batsman was erroneously given out.

Kallis was given out after an appeal that Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore confirmed was for a bat-pad catch off Saeed Ajmal's bowling. Umpire Steve Davis upheld the appeal but the batsman immediately asked for a review.

Hot Spot replays indicated there was no bat involved, so it couldn't be out caught, but the ball had both pitched and hit Kallis' pad well in line with the stumps and the ball-tracking indicated that it would have clipped leg stump, which was shown to be an umpire's call. As a result, Kallis was instead given out lbw, after input from the third umpire, Billy Bowden.

The playing conditions allow for the method of dismissal to be changed during a review but have specific terms under which that can be done.

Point 3.3 (f) in the playing conditions states: "The third umpire shall not withhold any factual information which may help in the decision making process, even if the information is not directly prompted by the on-field umpire's questions. In particular, in reviewing a dismissal, if the third umpire believes that the batsman may instead be out by any other mode of dismissal, he shall advise the on-field umpire accordingly. The process of consultation described in this paragraph in respect of such other mode of dismissal shall then be conducted as if the batsman has been given not out."

So when it was evident Kallis could not be out caught, because he had not hit the ball, the evidence for an lbw decision should have been considered from the point of view that the on-field umpire had ruled it not out. The projected path of the ball - clipping leg stump - was then an umpire's call, according to the DRS, and Kallis would have been not out.

"The PCT made an honest error in this extremely rare situation," the ICC said in a release. "The umpires followed usual umpiring principles in giving Kallis out lbw on umpire's call the review was for the batsman out caught. This is because the normal principle is that an appeal covers all forms of dismissal.

"However, the playing conditions state that when the third umpire observes that the batsman could be out by another mode of dismissal, the decision being reviewed using DRS should be as if the batsman had been originally given not out. Therefore, in this instance Kallis, as the point of impact was umpire's call, should not have been given out lbw."

South Africa's team management was "happy with the explanation" they were given, though Kallis had appeared confused about the mode of his dismissal at the time and had held a lengthy conversation with Davis before leaving the field. Team manager, Mohammed Moosajee confirmed South Africa had been involved in discussions with the umpires but said they would not take the matter further.

"There is a code of conduct which we need to abide by when it comes to DRS. We sought clarity from the umpire and we were happy with the explanation," Moosajee said. "We understand that if a batsman is given out for something and the technology shows something else, the third umpire is within his rights to make that decision."

Whatmore interpreted the dismissal in the same way. "My understanding is that when a decision is referred to the TV umpire, he can make his own decision," he said.

This is the second time in the series that DRS has come under discussion. At the Wanderers, Pakistan were unhappy with the use of Hotspot after four decisions went against them. They indicated they would write a report to the ICC and Whatmore said any grievances would be addressed through the channels provided, although nothing further was heard about the issue.

Whatmore remained a backer of DRS in spite of the recent incidents. "I have always been a supporter of technology assisting umpires to make the right decisions. We are very pleased to have DRS. We had a series a few months ago in which we didn't have DRS and it was very frustrating."

South Africa were also in favour of technology. Graeme Smith previously went on record advocating that DRS be used across the board. Kallis, however, had an outburst about ball-tracking technology on South Africa's tour of New Zealand last March in which he said "99% of cricketers," do not trust it.

Read More..

South Africa edge close game

South Africa Under-19s 241 (Coetzee 58) beat England Under-19s 229 for 9 (Overton 48, Dupavillion 3-47) by 12 runs
Scorecard

England Under-19s fell just short in their run chase to go 2-0 down in the five-match series against South Africa. Daryn Dupavillion claimed three wickets and another display of lower-order hitting from Jamie Overton was not enough to prevent South Africa closing out the game.

When Overton joined Ed Barnard at the crease with England on 122 for 6, the match was heading South Africa's way, as five different wicket-takers chipped in and only Callum Jackon (42) had made it past 18. Overton and Barnard put on 77 in 12.1 overs, with the former scoring 48 from 46 balls, but by the time he became Corbin Bosch's second wicket the run rate had risen to an onerous degree.

South Africa's 241 had been based on several solid contributions, Murray Coetzee top-scoring with 58. After a 68-run opening stand between Coetzee and Clyde Fortuin, wickets fell at regular intervals, Olly Stone taking 2 for 42 on his return, but a 49-run stand for the seventh wicket between Greg Oldfield (32) and Jason Smith came in good time and pushed South Africa to a defendable total.

Read More..

Mathews targets improved rankings

Sri Lanka's new Test and ODI captain, Angelo Mathews, has said he aims to arrest the team's slide in the ICC rankings, and hoped to count his side among the best in the world in both formats in the next few years

Mathews succeeded Mahela Jayawardene, who stepped down after the tour of Australia, after spending almost two years as vice captain in all formats. Dinesh Chandimal was named his deputy in Tests and ODIs and captain of the Twenty20 team. Sri Lanka have been the top-ranked Twenty20 side in the world since their run to the World Twenty20 final in September, but slipped down the Test and ODI rankings after having been second on both tables in 2009. They have also failed to win a Test series away from home since 2008, and have won only four Tests since Muttiah Muralitharan retired in 2010.

"My main ambition now is to see the Sri Lankan cricket team in the top three in the next few years," Mathews said. "We've dropped down to sixth place in Tests and fifth in ODIs. It won't be easy, and it will take some time. Myself, Chandimal and the selectors will have to work closely to achieve that."

Mathews had been Sri Lanka's Twenty20 captain since the end of the World Twenty20 in 2012, but the new selection panel, headed by Sanath Jayasuriya, opted to give that position to Chandimal instead. Chandimal has not showed great promise in the Twenty20 format, but Jayasuriya said the selectors split the captaincy in order to help build a young leadership core, as well as to ease Mathews' burden.

"We thought that it would be too much for Angelo to give him the Twenty20 captaincy as well, as we wanted to allow him to concentrate on the Tests and ODIs," Jayasuriya said. "We thought the best person for the Twenty20 captaincy was Dinesh Chandimal, who has a long future in the game. He will also get some experience of captaining Sri Lanka in case Angelo gets injured."

Mathews' first assignment as captain will be the two-Test home series against Bangladesh, for which the selectors named a 20-man preliminary squad. The selectors sought to create a break from the past by selecting a young squad for their new captain, but Mathews was grateful for the presence of some senior players, most notably Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan, who have all captained Sri Lanka in the past. 



"I think you need both experience and youth in a team, because you can't have XI new players in a match. I think the selectors had that balance in mind when they chose the team, and they've done a good job of that." 



Of the older players the selectors omitted, Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene were the most notable exclusions. Jayasuriya was non-committal on whether there was an avenue back into the side for these players, but focused instead on the opportunity to develop fresh talent. He also said the 20-man squad would be whittled down to 15 in the lead up to the first Test. 



"We need to start giving the youngsters an opportunity, and a series against Bangladesh is a good one to give one or two new players a place," he said. "Players like Kithuruwan Vithanage and Ashen Silva have been making runs in domestic cricket, and Jeevan Mendis has also scored well recently.



"We want to make sure these young cricketers to experience the atmosphere in the Sri Lankan team, and this is a good opportunity to allow that, because it's a home Test series. They can work with the Sri Lankan team until about 10 days prior to the Test, when we will name the 15-man squad.

Chandimal, 23, was impressive in Tests and ODIs, but failed to make himself a regular in either side throughout much of 2012. He acknowledged the added responsibility more leadership would bring, but suggested that his new roles would be a boon to his development, rather than a hindrance.

"There's pressure every time you play a match, but I think the captaincy is a boost for me personally, and a validation of my past performances," Chandimal said. "I've been a captain in Under-19 at school level as well. I didn't think I would be captain this early in my career, but that's a source of pride for me."

Read More..

Parvez Rasool set to join Pune Warriors

Parvez Rasool, the Jammu and Kashmir allrounder, is set to join Pune Warriors for IPL 2013. Rasool was in the spotlight earlier this week, when he bagged seven wickets against the touring Australians. He will be the first player from Jammu and Kashmir to play in the league.

The formalities are yet to be completed but the franchise is in the process of signing Rasool, a Warriors official confirmed.

Rasool said Warriors were not the only IPL team to contact him, but they had been in touch with him even before that tour match. "A few franchises approached me but it was Pune who approached me first. So it was an ethical decision to join them as they had shown interest much before the Australia match happened," Rasool told PTI. "I am very excited and it is an honour to play in the IPL and become the first cricketer from the valley to achieve this feat."

Twenty-four-year-old Rasool had an impressive 2012-13 Ranji season too, leading both the bowling and batting charts for Jammu and Kashmir; his 594 runs from seven games came at an average of 54, while his 33 wickets came at 18.09 apiece.

He is looking forward to drawing on the knowledge of the international players at the IPL, he said, to further lift his game. "It is a dream come true for me that I will be interacting with Michael Clarke. Also having Yuvi paaji [Yuvraj Singh] will be a bonus. I have just started my journey in top-flight cricket, and this stint with Pune will only help me grow. I hope that I will be able soak in all the information that I can get from our coach Allan Donald too."

Read More..