All posts by csb10.top

Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, believes politics could rule out the possibility of having a managing director for the West Indies team.”Politics-wise, that might be a little difficult,” Lloyd told Stabroek News when asked whether West Indies might follow England’s lead of appointing Hugh Morris as the managing director.However, he did not completely rule out that possibility. “Probably they [West Indies board] might come to that if they could find somebody that could carry those duties,” Lloyd said.Lloyd believed the route to Test success lies in developing a better domestic cricket structure. “If our inter-island cricket is strong, our Test cricket will be strong. We have the academies coming on stream, we have the colleges fielding a team to play in our domestic cricket and the Under-19s are now playing in the one-day competition.”At the moment we have a very vibrant cricket committee, there are Deryck Murray, Andy Roberts, Ian Bishop, Courtney Walsh, Desmond Haynes. They are very experienced individuals of high repute. We are doing our best to do the right thing. It is important getting the players to understand their purpose,” he said pointing out that the committee can only make recommendations to the Board as the Board has the final say.”Lloyd also supported the presence of the non-cricketers in the board of directors that currently comprises 18 administrators. “I would not say they [administrators] don’t have any interest in the game. It can’t be all cricketers; business people have a place on the board as well to play. What we need to do is get the right blend and I think at the moment we have the right blend. The common goal is to bring West Indies further up the ladder.”Speaking about his decision to quit the Standford Legends board, which organised the successful Standford Twenty20 competition last year, he said it was done to avoid any possible conflict of interest with his position as a WICB board member.”I am quite happy with what I am trying to do and the most important thing is to get West Indies cricket back on track. I will do that as long as I have breath in my body.”

A leading player agent believes Australia could not sustain its own version of the Indian Premier League because the market is too small. The Australian Cricketers’ Association is dreaming of an Australian Premier League, but Neil Maxwell, who has Brett Lee in his management stable and is the chief executive of the Kings XI Punjab franchise, said only England and India were in a position to develop the big events.A smaller population combined with less opportunity for major broadcast and sponsorship deals limits the possibility of a stand-alone venture in Australia. “India and England are the only two markets that can sustain franchise tournaments,” Maxwell said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “[England has] the revenue, they have the pay TV and the population.”Let’s not beat around the bush, the major revenue is going to come from the television rights and then sponsorship helps too, but in Australia’s case the sponsorship is also weaker. You have to have consortiums who are prepared to invest in the tournament, and they will do it for the money, for the profit, and it’s going to be very different to India because of that lack of competition for the television rights.”Another idea that has emerged since the IPL began is having an Australian team in the league, which Cricket Australia will consider. However, Maxwell told the paper Australia would be better off benefiting from their players, which were their “biggest asset”. “Cricket Australia should probably try to set up a deal with the organisers to receive transfer fees,” he said. “So if someone ends up buying an Australian player they [Cricket Australia] are rewarded for producing that player.”

ScorecardArshad Ali took five wickets for UAE, but Netherland’s were indebted to fifties from Bas Zuiderent and Peter Borren in their 287 on the first day in Sharjah. At the close, the hosts had moved to 10 without loss.Netherlands, who were put in by Saqib Ali, began confidently with their opening batsmen, Alexei Kervezee and Zuiderent, putting on 79 for the first wicket. Kervezee struck eight fours in his 44 before he was trapped in front by Khurram Khan – and both Ryan ten Doeschate and Eric Szwarczynski fell cheaply before Zuiderent was joined by Borren.Zuiderent fell for 77, caught by Fahad Alhashmi off Mohammad Tauqir, but Borren found excellent support in Daan van Bunge who helped put on 59 for the fifth wicket. At 224 for 5, the match was hovering nicely in the balance, but Arshad Ali ran through the lower-order to pick up 5 for 43.

Rahul Dravid is pleased with the players the Bangalore franchise had procured in the IPL auction, and believes his side has individuals who can handle pressure.Dravid, the icon for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, played down the talk of his side not buying any big names. “This is an erroneous perception,” he told Cricinfo. “The quality of Indian and international players in our team speak for themselves. They may not be glamorous in the areas people typically judge them by, but in terms of cricket they are fantastic and at the end of the day this is a cricket tournament and cricket is what is important.”We are fortunate to have such great players in the side. With them in the squad, we will get so much more experience and ability.”Unlike the others, the Bangalore franchise preferred innings builders, like Jacques Kallis, Wasim Jaffer and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, to aggressors. “We have players who have played under pressure,” Dravid said, “and therefore are confident that under similar circumstances in the Twenty20 matches, they will perform exceedingly well.”Although the franchise bought Anil Kumble, they failed in their bid to purchase Robin Uthappa, another Bangalore-based player in the Indian team. Uthappa, who was bought by the Mumbai franchise for a whopping US$800,000, would have not only provided a balance to Bangalore’s batting line-up but his purchase would have also helped fill up one slot among the four catchment area players.”As a Bangalore player, I obviously would have liked to have had Robin, who is from our catchment area, in the team,” Dravid said. “However, in an auction where there are rules and restrictions, it is not always possible to get every player one wants.”In fact, none of the teams were able to get all the players they would have liked to. However, having said that I would like to add that I am excited with the team we have got.”On the potentially match-winning bowling attack that his team has lined up – Dale Steyn, Nathan Bracken, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble, Dravid said, “The idea was to have a good balance, which is very important for the tournament.”Dravid said Australian allrounder Cameron White, whomBangalore bought for US$500,000 at the auction, was an “exciting” addition.”I think people are getting a bit confused by the price aspect. It’s just reflective of the current situation in cricket and what people want. White is a very exciting Twenty20 player and his domestic record [with two Twenty20 hundreds] in Australia is phenomenal. He was always on our wishlist.”Asked whether he viewed the 44-day Twenty20 tournament starting in April 18 as a platform to stage a comeback into the Indian one-day team, Dravid said: “I am not looking at this that way. To be honest, this is something new for all of us. There are so many things you want to experience as a player. Personally, I have seen and experienced a lot over the last 12 years [in international cricket]. Now, I am just so glad that at this point of my career, I will be a part of this new experience.”Dravid didn’t want to divulge much about the strategies that his side were planning to adopt during the tournament, set to start on April 18. “It is still too early for me to comment on this. At the moment I am focused on getting fit after my finger injury [sustained during the Test series in Australia] and preparing for the Test matches against South Africa.”

The West Indies coach John Dyson is about to face his toughest assignment against the world champions, but he is confident of a strong performance against his former team. Dyson, who played 30 Tests for Australia in the 1970s and 80s, knows the series will be a huge examination for his men and has picked 17 of them for a five-day camp starting on Monday.While the big names of Chris Gayle, who has a groin injury, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo are missing from the list, the large collection includes many of the players who faced Sri Lanka in March and April. “We know it will be tough against Australia, but we are ready for that challenge,” Dyson said. “We are looking forward to getting all the players in the right frame of mind.”What I like about the group we have here is the consistency of selection. Those selected will know what is required. We are happy with the group that we have and we are confident as we prepare for the series.”Daren Powell, Darren Sammy and Jerome Taylor have been chosen while Kieron Pollard, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin and Marlon Samuels were also part of the 2-0 one-day win over Sri Lanka. “This is an opportunity to continue the work we did against Sri Lanka,” Dyson said. “Our last Test was a win and our last one-day series was also a win.”We believe the bulk of the team against Australia will come from the squad that played against Sri Lanka.” The first Test starts in Jamaica on May 22 before the contest moves to Antigua and Barbados.West Indies training squad Sulieman Benn, Patrick Browne, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Amit Jaggernauth, Runako Morton, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Brenton Parchment, William Perkins, Kieron Pollard, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor.

The momentum of the first Test, utterly, if unexpectedly, with the West Indies throughout the previous eight sessions, shifted rapidly in a final hour of crazy cricket of the third day at St George’s Park yesterday.A piece of carelessness set off a clatter of wickets that has become a frustratingly familiar sound for the West Indies and let South Africa back into a contest that was slowly, but surely, heading beyond their reach.Six tumbled for 46, the last four in the space of three runs and 3.1 overs, to reduce the West Indies to 146 for 8 in their second innings.As Dwayne Bravo’s probing medium-paced movement had converted South Africa’s 122 for 5 at the start to 195 all out and earned a first innings lead of 208, West Indies still enjoy a healthy advantage of 359.It is a total compiled only five times to win in Test cricket’s 130 years and none on this ground. Yet the team that had a spring in its step as the day ended in evening sunshine was South Africa for the first time in the match.The transformation was triggered by the game’s most unnecessary dismissal, a run-out. After an opening blitz by Chris Gayle, that included a hooked six and three fours in an over from Dale Steyn that cost 19, the captain and Runako Morton fell in quick succession.Daren Ganga and Marlon Samuels, entrenched and at ease against bland bowling on a still true pitch, were putting things right again with a partnership of 65, with West Indies 122 for 2 and 335 to the good, when they ignored the reputation of their opponents’ fielders.Samuels, the non-striker, called and Ganga responded for a sharp run on a push into the covers off left-arm spinner Paul Harris.As Ganga scampered for his ground, Herschelle Gibbs swooped on the ball and scattered the bowler’s stumps with his direct throw.The TV replay ended Ganga’s vigil of just over three hours for 45 and changed the course of the innings and, possibly, the match. Eight balls later, in the following over, Samuels, with 40 to follow his first innings 94, essayed a pull shot off the pacy Steyn. The stroke that presented a tough, dropped catch to Harris on the square-leg boundary only eight runs earlier was now diverted from the under edge into his stumps.The double breakthrough was like an injection of energy for Steyn and the South Africans. Confined to two wickets for 121 from 31 overs in the first innings and, until then, wicketless in the second, the vaunted South African spearhead charged in with pace and menace. There was a lot of bobbing and weaving, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy took blows to body and a wicket looked likely every ball. Steyn added two more and had an undeniable influence on Harris’ two. Bravo spent 26 minutes of torment which he ended himself, seeking release by punching Harris straight to mid-on as if providing catching practice.Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the one best equipped to stop the slide, lasted only 15 balls this time, 238 fewer than in his first innings 104.His edged catch to third slip off the rampant Steyn has always been the best way to break through his defence before he has settled. South African celebrations as he trudged off told a story.Steyn proved altogether too much for Sammy, even though his wicket went to Harris, lbw, and for Denesh Ramdin who could only fend a lifter to gully.The close, extended into the extra half-hour, came just in time to prevent an end to the innings. Whatever the fast bowlers can muster between them this morning would be welcome. At one stage, it appeared as if they would not be required to bat.Until the late meltdown, West Indies had continued the dominance enforced from the first day when they were sent in. They again bowled with thought and purpose and Daren Powell, who could hardly catch a cold in the previous series in England, even in a damp summer, pulled off two perfectly judged, running takes at long leg.The first accounted for the always dangerous Mark Boucher from a top-edged hook off Jerome Taylor after quarter-hour. The second ended the innings and gave Bravo his fourth successive wicket, reward from quality medium-paced swing and seam bowling.

It was best exemplified by the ball that defeated AB deVilliers who threatened much more than his impressive 59.It pitched middle, passed on the outside of de Villiers’ defensive bat and trimmed off- tump. Not many batsmen can cope with that. Harris, a right-hand blocker, stayed an hour and 40 minutes for nine and then hit his first aggressive stroke low to mid-off.Andre Nel and Steyn threw the bat with abandon, and some effect, but Bravo finished both off for figures of 4 for 24 from his 13.1 overs.In light of what happened later, he might remember Brian Lara’s admonition a few years ago in Australia that he is a batting, rather than bowling, all-rounder.For the moment, it is his bowling, and that of the others, that will be required to secure the victory that seemed so certain up to the last hour yesterday.

Paul ‘Sachin’ Harris
He’s tormented Pakistan enough with the ball, but it was now Paul Harris’ turn to do so with the bat. He arrived early this morning and took a crunching blow to the head to begin with. But the more he hung around, the better he got. Having survived a barrage of bouncers and frustrating Danish Kaneria with the sweep, he pulled out the day’s glory off Mohammad Asif: a drive on the up, straight enough past the stumps, elbow high, Sachin Tendulkar’s trademark stroke. It was, for Pakistan, the most dispiriting moment of the day.Are we in Johannesburg? – III
Perhaps learning from Pakistan’s mistakes earlier, Dale Steyn kept it full in his first over and Kamran Akmal duly played-and-missed on several occasions. However, reverting to the shorter length, Steyn was edged over the slips for a four, straight-driven for another, pulled past mid-on for a third, driven to cover for three and finally driven to the backward point boundary to end a 19-run over.Guard of honour
As Inzamam-ul-Haq strode out of ODIs in Jamaica, he was given a guard of honour by his team-mates. A repeat of that, with the South African team lining up near the pitch and welcoming the local hero as he ambled in at the fall of Akmal’s wicket, for what could very well be his last outing. As suggested by our very own Cricinfo journalist, it might well have been a tactic employed for a flow of emotions which, in turn, could lead to an early dismissal.Nel kneels to pray
Pakistan’s openers were tearing into South Africa’s attack, Andre Nel was tearing into Pakistan and something had to give. In the 14th over of the innings, Butt left a ball from Nel that angled in and missed the stumps by a few inches. Nel’s follow-through is one of cricket’s great sights; this time he curved round, off the pitch and knelt down cursing his luck. Anywhere else, that would’ve been that. In Pakistan, during Ramadan, and on a ground where Mohammad Yousuf first knelt down in a prayer of thanks (for his double century), the gesture was significant, as the crowd’s roars of approval proved.Rattled yet again
Younis Khan, with an aggressive century in his previous Test outing a few days ago, was welcomed by a loud Lahore crowd, hoping for a repeat of aggression right from the start. Clipping his second delivery to midwicket for three, Younis was on his way. Well, until a quick delivery, prompting a rash drive, sneaked in between bat and pad to peg back Younis’ off stump. A reckless shot to be dismissed cheaply again, this was the third time Younis had his stumps rattled in three consecutive innings.Marathon man
Pakistan are in the midst of a fitness makeover and Kamran Akmal appears to be one of the beneficiaries. He told David Dwyer, the new fitness trainer, that he felt the freshest he has ever been after keeping for 90 overs under the Karachi sun. He kept here for 125 overs before calmly trotting out to open Pakistan’s innings. A flurry of boundaries and a second half-century, off only 56 balls, suggests he wasn’t kidding about how fresh he feels. If only he could hold on to the catches.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has delayed announcing the national squad for the tour to Bangladesh, amid reports of a row over quotas between board president Norman Arendse and the five-man selection committee.The squad was to be finalised on Tuesday and Arendse attributed the delay to the fitness of Neil McKenzie and Andre Nel, who have injuries to the calf muscle and neck respectively and are to be assessed on Monday. “If two of the players [Neil McKenzie and Andre Nel] selected for Bangladesh are not fit and will undergo fitness tests on Monday, why don’t we wait until Monday before we announce the squad,” Arendse was quoted by .Arendse denied reports that he wanted Herschelle Gibbs and Monde Zondeki, both of whom are coloured, to be included in the squad. “At no stage did I say I’m insisting on Gibbs and Zondeki,” Arendse said. “I did not mention their names.”The reported a heated discussion between Arendse and the selectors after the squad chosen by them contained four coloured players against the seven required by CSA policy, after which Arendse refused to approve the squad.While not directly touching on that issue, Arendse said: “My role is not to rubber-stamp the squad. My role is to ensure that the CSA transformation policy is complied with. That may seem controversial to some people but it remains the policy of CSA.”However, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur, who is on the selection panel, said he wanted his strongest team on the field in Bangladesh given that it is followed by a three-Test tour of India. “As a coach and a selector I share Norman’s determination to push the transformation agenda,” Arthur told Reuters. “At the same time, I want to be able to look every player in the eye and tell him: ‘I believe you’re the best player for this position’.”

Sri Lanka’s media fear that Muttiah Muralitharan may break the world record for Test wickets without any coverage because of an ongoing media dispute. Muralitharan has the chance to take the seven wickets he needs to overtake Shane Warne’s 708 in the second Test against Australia in Hobart on Friday, but Cricket Australia’s restrictions have locked out global news agencies.The world’s top three global news agencies – Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press – have suspended all coverage of the 2007-08 cricket season, until a deal can be agreed with Cricket Australia.The blackout of photos, news reports, graphics and video has meant that many international cricket fans have been unable to see photos of their favourite team or read about the match’s progress.Sri Lankan newspaper editors are increasingly frustrated as Muralitharan’s chances of passing the milestone draws near. “It is very frustrating that we will not have any picture of Murali’s record breaking achievement if he manages that in Hobart,” said Daminda Wijesuriya, sports editor of the .Another paper, , demonstrated its frustration by publishing a completely black figure of a batsman in action. “This space is dedicated to a would-have-been action picture of the Test match in progress in Brisbane,” said the caption during the first Test. “The black figure is courtesy [of] Cricket Australia.”SLC Secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan said they were hoping for a response from CA chief executive James Sutherland after appealing for an end to the blackout. The three media agencies say the dispute centres on unprecedented demands by CA, including that they hand over rights to all photos taken at matches.The agencies say the conditions imposed on photographers and journalists applying for credentials to cover cricket raise grave concerns about press freedom.

It’s about time that the other side of one of cricket’s most puzzling stories was placed on record. February 13 next year will mark 60 years since Andy Ganteaume joined the select group of players to score a century in his very first Test innings.That in itself is worthy of the highest commendation, whatever the circumstances in which those 112 runs were compiled in the second Test of the four-match series in 1948 against England at the Queen’s Park Oval.But as anyone who knows anything about the history of the game around here would be aware, Ganteaume claims a unique niche in the annals of the game, for that knock was to be his only Test innings, for reasons that are best explained by the man himself in his autobiography, My Story: The Other Side of the Coin, which was launched last Monday at the Oval Pavilion.Just for the record, it should be noted that Rodney Redmond scored 107 and 56 in his one and only Test for New Zealand against Pakistan at Auckland in 1973. However, the left-hander would surely have added to that notable debut but for problems he experienced wearing contact lenses on the subsequent tour of England that resulted in a loss of form. He was then out of the game for an entire season and never managed to score enough runs at domestic level to seriously address the selectors again.Ganteaume’s case, of course, is very, very different, as his omission and complete discarding until the 1957 tour of England (when he was 36 years old and well past his best) have much more to do with the politics of the day and the considerable influence of the white hierarchy in the colonial British West Indies.Heading into his 87th year, the former Maple and Trinidad and Tobago right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper is known for his cheery disposition at any local gathering, cricketing or otherwise. Yet no-one reading the book is left in any doubt as to his utter contempt for “the Establishment”, as he refers to them regularly in a manner that would not be out of place were it Luke Skywalker or Han Solo commenting on Darth Vader’s evil “Empire”.However, unlike those two heroes of the original Star Wars movie trilogy, Ganteaume was no dashing hero wielding the willow in a cavalier spirit. Indeed, his overall first-class record (averaging 34.81 in 50 first-class matches spanning 1941 to 1958) is nothing more than ordinary.And with the incomparable trio of Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell making their Test debuts in the same series, it is understandable if the erstwhile employee of the Wartime Control Board suffered by comparison.Yet none of that justifies the treatment meted out to him by the decision-makers of the day. Imagine the outrage now, especially in the player’s home territory, should a batsman be dispensed with after scoring a hundred on his Test debut. Yet, in keeping with the entrenched social order of the time, barely a dissenting word was uttered in his defence, certainly not often and vociferous enough or from an influential enough source as to make any difference.And this really is the most revealing aspect of Ganteaume’s musings, for it paints a picture of an orderly, disciplined society in which people of the wrong colour, class, status or attitude could be shoved to one side, especially if they were not blessed with such exceptional ability as to embarrass the overlords into recognising them.While he goes to some lengths to rubbish the theory that he was dropped for slow scoring (112 runs in four-and-a-half hours), the reality is that only those who chose to be conveniently deaf, dumb and blind would have even entertained such a notion.Yet the fact that he devotes so much time to give his perspective on the most critical period of his sporting life suggests that behind the ever-present smile is a deep sense of hurt at not only the blinding injustice but also what he maintains is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts by the likes of “Establishment” heavyweights Jeffrey Stollmeyer and Gerry Gomez.Ganteaume doesn’t put water in his mouth to systematically dismantle the aura that, for many, still surrounds the memories of his two compatriots. The irony is that the Mapleite, who played most of his cricket in the Queen’s Park Savannah, got his Test chance in the “Establishment” bastion (the Oval) courtesy of an injury to Stollmeyer, while it was Gomez, the captain for the match, whose note to the two debutants (Ganteaume and Worrell) to press on with the scoring is used as evidence to support the claim that the opener’s apparently slow progress in the first innings cost the West Indies victory on a rain-affected final day.By waiting almost 60 years before deciding to give his side of the story, Ganteaume can be accused of besmirching the characters of those who are no longer around to defend themselves. Yet he takes in front by refuting that contention in his introduction, adding that he has actually restrained himself from spilling everything.In any event, he states that he has “no fear of successful contradiction”. No doubt, a few, upon reading a book that is more a documentary of life in colonial times than a literary masterpiece, will attempt to succeed where he expects them to fail.So long after his only Test innings, old Andy is still ready to face the music.