Venkatapathy Raju to work with UAE spinners

Venkatapathy Raju, the former India left-arm spinner, is currently on a 10-day visit to the UAE to help in the development of spinners in the country. Raju, now the Asian Cricket Council's (ACC) development officer for UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Thailand, is working with spinners at the Under-19 and senior level.

"It is always a nice feeling to work with the younger cricketers," Raju told the National. "I am available whenever any of the four countries are in need of my services. Most of the spinners know what they do at this level and my task is fine-tune them and work on the variations."

The U-19 side's next major assignment is the World Cup in the UAE in February 2014. The country will also host the upcoming World T20 Qualifiers in November, and Raju will be involved in training spinners for both events.

"The U-19 concept is the best thing to happen for the development of cricket at the grassroots level," Raju said. "It provides the young cricketers with the opportunity to play against different countries at an early age."

Raju, 44, played 28 Tests and 53 ODIs for India, taking 93 and 63 wickets respectively. Following his retirement from first-class cricket in 2004, he has coached Orissa and Hyderabad and also served as a national selector.

Read More..

South Africa win 2-0 after rain abandons third ODI

Match abandoned Sri Lanka Women 164 (Atapattu 58, Kapp 3-38) v South Africa Women 2 for 0 in 1 over
Scorecard

South Africa women won the three-match ODI series 2-0 as rain washed out the third match in Potchefstroom after the hosts's pacers reduced Sri Lanka to 164.

Sri Lanka were asked to bat and got off to a slow and precarious start as they lost Yasoda Mendis for a duck in the second over to Marizanne Kapp and two more wickets, of Sripali Weerakkody and captain Shashikala Siriwardene, before reaching 50 in the 18th over. Opener Chamari Atapattu kept going at the other end and scored her sixth ODI fifty.

Once she fell in the 35th over for 58 at the score of 105, Sri Lanka could add only 59 more runs. No. 5 Chamani Seneviratna scored a patient 32 off 71 and Dilani Manodara and Maduri Samuddika also scored in double figures before they were all out on the last ball of the 50th over. Kapp picked up two more wickets to finish with 3 for 38 and Shabnim Ismal ended with figures of 2 for 20.

South Africa batted for only one over before lightening in the surrounding area halted play and rain soon interrupted to not allow further play.

The two teams will now play three T20s in the same city starting October 31.

Read More..

No Glamorgan T20 deal for Jones

Simon Jones's prospects of extending his career in Twenty20 have been dealt a blow after he was not offered a contract for next season's NatWest T20 by Glamorgan.

Jones, the 34-year-old former England fast bowler, retired from first-class and List A cricket at the end of last season but hoped to play on in the shortest format. But in domestic cricket, his future will not be in Cardiff as new chief executive Hugh Morris revealed Jones would not be offered a deal for 2014.

Jones has now played his final game for his home county, which was the Yorkshire Bank 40 final in September, where Glamorgan lost to Nottinghamshire.

"I am bitterly disappointed that nothing has been offered," Jones said. "I am a local boy and I thought when I came back from Hampshire I would finish my career here. I felt I could have offered a lot more but it was not to be."

His cause was not helped by missing most of the 2013 T20 campaign with a shoulder injury but Jones hoped his form in the YB40, plus his potential in an ambassadorial or mentor role, would work in his favour.

"I have to take it on the chin and get on with my life and look to play over the Bridge," Jones said. "I am a strong character and wherever I go I will do my best.

"We have had quite a lot of interest and we will just have to see what offers come in and where that takes me. I still feel as if I have a couple of years left in me so wherever that might be I am willing to travel and relocate to continue playing the game I love.

"I just want to play because I have spent too many years rehabbing and being off the park. I still feel as if the body is ready for a couple of years and if I didn't I would hang up my boots. But compared to other 34-year-olds on the circuit my body is relatively young."

Jones, who has taken 43 T20 wickets at 21.46 with an economy rate of 7.43, also hopes to explore opportunities in global T20 leagues. Jones said he was "desperate" to be involved in the auction for the Bangladesh Premier League in December.

Read More..

Khawaja, Marsh, Doolan in Australia A squad

Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Alex Doolan will contend for Australia's Ashes No. 6 spot among the batsmen given an early sight of England through selection for Australia A in the tour match against the visitors at Bellerive Oval from November 6.

The trio are part of a team that mixes potential Test aspirants with cricketers further back in the queue, after the selectors weighed up the merit of their playing against the Englishmen or for their own states in the concurrent Sheffield Shield round.

Marsh and Khawaja will be particularly keen to show their worth following strong form in the domestic limited overs competition, while Doolan and Callum Ferguson are among others who have the opportunity to push themselves up a changeable batting order of preference by making runs against the tourists.

"We have struck a balance in what we think is the appropriate Australia A team to face England, while ensuring individuals have a solid preparation and chance to impress," the national selector John Inverarity said.

"There were clearly a number of players under consideration to play for Australia A in this match, however we have long been aware that 77 cricketers would be playing across these four days and due to various circumstances we have balanced our interests with what we feel is in the best interests for each player, their preparation and chance to push for higher honours.

"While these next couple of rounds of Shield cricket are important, the NSP is well advanced in its planning around the squad for the first Test.

"Players returning from one-day duties in India and not named for Australia A may play in the Bupa Sheffield Shield fixtures played concurrently with the Australia A fixture if it is considered that it is in their interests and the interest of their States' to be included."

As was the case against South Africa a year ago, the team is stronger on batting than bowling, the Queenslander Ben Cutting and the Victoria left-arm spinner Jon Holland providing the greatest threat to England's batsmen in an attack that also features Trent Copeland and the captain Moises Henriques.

Australia A squad Moises Henriques (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Trent Copeland, Ben Cutting, Alex Doolan, Callum Ferguson, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine.

More to come...

Read More..

Mohnish Mishra returns in style after suspension

As the Madhya Pradesh team was going through its warm-up drills at Holkar Stadium on Sunday morning, ahead of its Ranji Trophy season-opener against Railways, MP coach Mukesh Sahani noticed that Mohnish Mishra, the vice-captain, was stiffer than usual. Sahani wasn't surprised, since Mishra was marking a return to top-flight cricket after serving a one-year suspension imposed by the BCCI for having indulged in "loose talk" and brought disrepute to Indian cricket, following a sting operation into alleged corruption in domestic cricket by India TV in May 2012.

"He just walked up to me and told me, 'You are thinking much more than what you should be,'" Mishra told ESPNcricinfo. "He asked me to set all other thoughts aside and concentrate only on the ball that would be coming at me. That is precisely what I did, and I am kind of relieved it worked."

The result was a near-perfect return to domestic cricket for Mishra, who threw his wicket away just three runs shy of what would have been his sixth first-class century. Still, his knock of 97, played in his trademark attacking style and helping MP cruise to 282 for 3 at stumps on day one, could be enough to silence those who raised eyebrows over his appointment as captain Devendra Bundela's deputy. And it was enough to reassure Mishra that he still belonged at this level.

"When you cannot play at this level for one full season, somewhere down the line you start asking yourself whether you belong here. Once I survived the initial anxiety, I knew that I was back to where I belonged and was keen to justify it," Mishra said. "Besides, the competition is so fierce nowadays that despite the MP Cricket Association, coaches, captain and selectors giving me full assurance, I knew I had to make their confidence count at the earliest."

Sahani agreed that it was crucial from both Mishra's and the team's perspective for him to come good at the earliest. "Having known him well since his Under-19 days, I knew that the sooner he got a decent score the better it would for everyone, to get the monkey off his back. And I am glad that he has managed to deliver in the first innings."

For more than half a decade before his suspension, Mishra was a vital cog in MP's line-up. In fact, in the 2011-12 season, he had led MP in the domestic one-day and Twenty20 competitions. As a result, for Sahani and the selectors, led by Narendra Hirwani, it was a "no-brainer" for him to be appointed vice-captain once he was available.

Even though Mishra couldn't play competitive cricket last year, he didn't give up training "even for a single day" all through the year. He was practising hard at his club in Bhopal and keeping in touch with his MP coaches and team-mates. "Not once did anyone make me feel I was unwanted, because they knew I hadn't done anything that would have shamed anyone. That helped me keep myself on my toes."

Mishra said the biggest change the forced one-year break brought was "maturity". "I started to know myself better - both as a person and a cricketer," Mishra said. "I had so much time to think about myself and my cricket that would help me in revitalising my dream of playing for India. That's why I am as disappointed with myself as I am happy today. Delighted, obviously, for coming good on my return. And disappointed for having missed out on a century and remaining unbeaten at the end of the day's play by playing a rash shot."

Read More..

Sylhet wins, Cox's Bazaar misses out

The ICC has retained Sylhet as one of the venues for next year's World Twenty20, after being convinced by the BCB that the stadium will be ready in time. There is still some development work left at the stadium, but the extended deadline of November 30 is being seen as adequate time to complete the work.

Sylhet has been given 28 matches, the most for one venue in this tournament, which includes 22 women's matches and six from the men's first round, which were to be played in Cox's Bazaar. But the coastal town was shelved as a venue as its playing surface is brand new and untested.

With 16 men's and 10 women's teams, this is the biggest tournament in its history. But the dropping of the Cox's Bazaar venue means that the 60 matches of both the tournaments will be crammed into just three grounds, one of which is still incomplete.

But there has been significant progress at the Sylhet venue since work started belatedly in June. The main pavilion building and the media centre on opposite sides of the ground have been completed structurally, but there is interior work still to be done. The floodlights have been installed while the green gallery, a small hill on the east of the pavilion, needs its seating arrangement to be made more spectator-friendly.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan said he is confident that they can complete the pending work well before time, but cautioned that the board cannot prevent the ICC from deciding on alternative venues if the work isn't completed on time.

"The basic structures [in Sylhet] are completed," BCB president Nazmul Hassan said. "The finishing touches are going on. We still have lot of work to do. It is a huge stadium and we also have some landscaping left to do. We are confident of doing it in time.

"[But] there is always a possibility to move matches from one country to another or from one stadium to another. Everything depends on whether we can get the stadiums prepared by the time we committed to. If we don't do it, it will go to the alternate venues. Our advantage is that we have alternate venues. But I won't negotiate for this with the ICC anymore. I have promised them that we will finish it by November 20 [the official deadline is November 30], I can assure you we can do it by November 10."

Hassan said that work in Sylhet should have begun long time ago but it was stalled because the National Sports Council (NSC) took extra time to complete the tendering process. "The Sylhet stadium was not directly done by the BCB but by the NSC. The tender should have started at least nine months back.

"You can't ask us to finish a nine-month task in two months, and we couldn't. So we asked the ICC for another one month. A lot of work has been done. The entire process started too late."

The ICC will use all three venues - Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet - for the 35 men's matches, including the first round that will be held from March 16 to 21. Dhaka's Shere Bangla National Stadium will host 17 matches in all, and the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong will host 14 games.

But what should have been one of the tournament's biggest attractions, the Cox's Bazaar Stadium by the world's longest beach, will now only host practice matches. The land was acquired quite late and only happened after the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina intervened earlier this year. There was never going to be enough time to build a stadium from scratch in such a short timeframe, and although it was almost achieved, there was not enough time to test the pitches.

Hassan, though, said the warm-up games needed venues too. "It is not only the World Twenty20 matches but there will be a lot of practice matches for both tournaments. We cannot [overuse] the three [main] venues, so these practice matches will be spread around.

"We initially thought that the women's matches will be held in Cox's Bazaar. It is fully ready but the pitches have not been tested. There has never been a cricket match played on those wickets. To start a World Cup on completely unused pitches is a big risk."

Read More..

Ontong blitz leads Cobras to victory

Cape Cobras 286 for 6 (Ontong 97) beat Titans 285 for 7 (Behardien 89, Davids 80, Williams 3-41) by four wickets
Scorecard

Titans pushed past a wobbly start to set up a competitive target, but Justin Ontong proved the difference, as his whirlwind 97 took Cape Cobras to a thrilling victory, their third in the Momentum One Day Cup.

Set 286 to win, Cobras began solidly with Andrew Puttick and Dave Vilas putting on 75 runs, but Titans regained the advantage when both players fell in successive overs. Stiaan van Zyl continued to resist but, with the required rate on an upward trend, things were getting dicey.

Titans would have hoped Ontong, coming off a stretch of poor form in domestic limited-overs matches, would succumb to the pressure, but the Cobras captain was unfazed. A century partnership for the fifth wicket between him and Justin Kemp helped overhaul the required 95 in the final 10 overs. Ontong himself scored 55 off 33 balls in that period, capping it off by smashing 19 runs off the penultimate over. He was dismissed three short of a century, but by then, Cobras already had sneaked ahead.

Earlier, Titans were nursing a poor start - 67 for 3 in the 19th over - when Henry Davids, with 80 and Farhaan Behardien, who top-scored with 89, pulled off a rescue act. The duo added 96 runs, but it was the fifth wicket partnership that took Titans into a commanding position. Behardien and Mangaliso Mosehle looted 108 runs in 71 balls hoisting their side to 286 by the end of 50 overs. Mosehle was the driving force of the stand, scoring 62 off 43 balls, with 10 fours. Cobras' 20-year-old seamer Lizaad Williams, with 3 for 41, was the pick of the bowlers.

Dolphins 227 for 7 (Van Wyk 61, Delport 56, Morris 3-59) v Lions
No result
Scorecard

Only 43.3 overs were possible in Pietermaritzburg, as the match between Dolphins and Lions was abandoned due to rain.

Dolphins were losing momentum after a 119-run stand for the second wicket between Morne van Wyk and Cameron Delport when rain put paid to any further play. Van Wyk top-scored with 61 off just 38 balls, slamming seven fours and three sixes while Delport hit eight fours and a six as he made 56.

After their departure, seamer Chris Morris and legspinner Eddie Leie picked up four wickets between them to slow the scoring but it was to no avail with weather having final say.

Prospects were even worse at East London where the match between Warriors and Knights was called off without a ball bowled.

Read More..

Cricketer dies after blow to head

A 32-year-old former South African first-class cricketer has been killed after being struck on the side of the head during a Border Cricket Board Premier League match at Alice in the Eastern Cape.

Darryn Randall was taking part in a match between Old Selbornians and Fore Hare University when he took the blow while attempting a pull shot and collapsed at the crease. He was rushed to Alice Hospital but medical staff were unable to revive him. A Cricket South Africa spokesman confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he had been wearing a helmet as all players are required to do.

Mark Boucher, the former South Africa wicketkeeper, tweeted: "Thoughts and prayers go out to the Randalls! Such sad news! Darren was a special boy! Life is short guys! Live it like there's no tomorrow!"

Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, said: "This is a very sad day, indeed. I would like to convey CSA's deepest condolences on behalf of the South African cricketing family not just to his family and friends but also to all the players, umpires, clubs and everybody else who was present at this match. CSA will be offering counselling to all those involved."

Randall represented Border, as a wicketkeeper-batsman, in four first-class matches and four List A games during 2009 as well as the various provincial youth teams while a pupil at Stirling Primary and Selborne College in East London. He had established himself as a coach where he was running a highly regarded cricket academy at Stirling Primary School. He is survived by his mother and his fiancée.

In 1998 the former India Test player Raman Lamba died after being struck on the head while fielding at short leg during a domestic match in Bangladesh.

Read More..

Du Preez, Ismail seal series for South Africa

South Africa Women 274 for 3 (Du Preez 79*, Kapp 72) beat Sri Lanka Women 207 for 8 (Siriwardene 68, Ismail 3-34)
Scorecard

South Africa Women took an unassailable 2-0 lead courtesy of three top-order half-centuries, as they beat Sri Lanka Women by 67 runs in the second ODI in Potchefstroom.

Sri Lanka elected to field, but early breakthroughs were a difficult commodity as 21-year old Lizelle Lee and Trisha Chetty strung together an opening partnership of 72 runs. Chetty was the more dominant partner and departed first, caught in front by Shashikala Siriwardene. Lee held firm, reaching her third ODI half-century and when she fell in the 29th over, South Africa had already built a strong foundation at 141 for 2. Captain Mignon du Preez, with an unbeaten 79 and allrounder Marizanne Kapp, with 72, constructed an excellent charge, with the final 10 overs yielding 82 runs.

Sri Lanka's chase was hampered early when seamer Shabnim Ismail had the openers bowled inside the first five overs. Siriwardene offered resistance, with good support from No. 6 Chamani Seneviratna. Their 95-run partnership ensured Sri Lanka remained in the hunt, but when Ismail returned and had Siriwardene out for 68 in the 37th over, the chase began to slip away. An equation that read 120 runs off 78, proved enough cushion for offspinner Sunette Loubser to run through the lower order and limit the visitors well below their target.

"The top order did really well to get us to a good position so I'm happy with the first innings," said du Preez. "There were a few extra runs that we didn't need to give away but I'm happy with the way the bowlers recovered. It was definitely a team effort today."

Du Preez wanted to take the momentum from this win into the third and final ODI on Monday and whitewash Sri Lanka. "It would be really good to finish with a three-nil series victory, we look forward to going out there and giving it our all."

Read More..

Ranji pitches and points system in focus

With another Ranji Trophy season set to begin, the familiar complaints about the quality of pitches and the points system are in the spotlight again. Too many sides are happy to roll out flat tracks and convert matches into first-innings batting shootouts. There were a few exceptions like Rohtak and Mohali, where bowlers enjoyed themselves last season, but in many other venues centuries came easily.

At the start of the 2012-13 season, under the supervision of Sanjay Jagdale, the former BCCI secretary, the board had asked the pitch and grounds committee to prepare true pitches. At the BCCI's captains and coaches meeting held at the end of the previous season, Jagdale had pointed out that the percentage of outright victories had actually increased overall across the country, though only marginally. Last year, in 115 Ranji matches, there were 45 outright results (39.1%), while in 2011-12 there were 34 outright results in 88 matches (38.6%).

Still, the bland nature of the surfaces has forced teams to target the three points on offer for taking a first-innings lead in a draw. "The standard of the wickets has to be improved a lot," Mumbai's coach, Sulakshan Kulkarni, said. Mumbai, traditionally the powerhouses of Indian domestic cricket, had only one outright victory in the league phase last season, but still accumulated enough points to sneak into the quarter-finals.

Tamil Nadu coach, WV Raman, remains positive that pitches will improve with time. "The directive to not have the tracks that were really flat or facilitate a run-fest has changed the dynamics somewhat," he said. "Teams will have to be patient before every venue implements the right measures."

More than the pitches, Raman said the grey area is the awarding of points to teams. Last year, the number of points awarded for a victory was increased from five to six, while the points for taking the first-innings lead in a draw was retained at three.

Raman felt teams needed to be given even more motivation to not settle for draws. "I still stick to my guns that the points system has to be changed," he said. "You still need to give some incentive to force the issue and go for outright victory, then it becomes a habit. We should also help teams learn to play under pressure and play to win."

One change both Kulkarni and Raman are happy with is the BCCI technical committee's move to give an additional day's break between group matches starting from the fourth round. The coaches felt the extra rest would help keep the best players fit throughout the campaign.

"The main reason is to give a break to fast bowlers," Kulkarni said. "Because injuries to them has become the biggest worry not only for the domestic teams but also for players who are on the fringes of selection into the Indian team."

Plenty of quick bowlers including Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Varun Aaron and Zaheer Khan have spent lot of time recovering from injuries at the NCA in recent years. A coach of a prominent team chirps that the NCA was becoming renowned as a National Rehabilitation Centre, instead of an academy that grooms and readies a pool of match-fit players. The extra day's break will hopefully help the quicks maintain their fitness and make more of an impact on India's premier first-class tournament.

Read More..