All posts by csb10.top

Midlands-West-Wales Division

A brilliant 54 from Usman Afzaal, which included 32 from one over off Andy Caddick, led Northamptonshire to a 24-run win over Somerset at Taunton, abetted by Duckworth Lewis. Somerset had raced to 200 from their 20 overs courtesy of Marcus Trescothick’s brutal 76 from 35 balls (with five fours and seven sixes). James Hildreth (22 from 17) and Peter Trego (20 from 12) further bolstered a competitive total. But Afzaal, weary of the looming clouds, blasted the attack – Caddick in particular, who was cracked for four sixes and two fours off a single over. Northants sped to 92 for 1 off seven overs before the rain fell, awarding the game to the visitors who were well ahead on run-rate.A fine spell of 3 for 18 from Heath Streak prevented Glamorgan chasing down 173 to beat Warwickshire as the home side pulled off a three-run win at Edgbaston. Streak removed three of Glamorgan’s top six, reducing them to 117 for 5, but Mark Wallace gave the visitors some hope with a blistering 35 from 19 balls. However, when he fell to Streak, Glamorgan’s lower-order were left with too much to do. Warwickshire’s 173 was guided by another fine knock from Jonathan Trott, whose prolific form continued with a top score of 44 from 40 balls.

South Division

Surrey continued their promising start to the Twenty20 season with a thumping six-wicket win over Hampshire at The Oval. In a reduced game of 10 overs each, Hampshire were restricted to a disappointing 72 for 8, with Nayan Doshi ending with the superb figures of 3 for 6. Only Michael Carberry (20 from 17) and Michael Lumb (19 from 9) at the top of the order troubled Surrey, as Hampshire collapsed to the spin of Doshi and Chris Schofield (2 for 16). Alistair Brown cracked 31 from 20 balls to guide Surrey home.Sussex’s match against Middlesex at Hove was called off due to rain.

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’.”

Scorecard
Phil Jaques replicated his immaculate county form with a dominant and unbeaten 199 as Australia A’s batsmen pounded into India A at Cairns. Jaques, who played his first two Tests last summer, is targeting more top-level action during the Ashes series and after posting 921 runs at 102.33 in six County Championship appearances for Worcestershire, he enjoyed another prolific day that ended with his side in control at 2 for 361.With rain hitting the north Queensland city over the past couple of days, the India A side hoped for early movement from the Cazaly’s pitch after winning the toss in the four-day game, but Jaques and Chris Rogers defused any threat with an opening stand of 171 at more than four runs an over. Rogers collected 55 in a patient performance before the visitors threatened to hit back through Piyush Chawla and Shib Paul.Chawla removed Rogers when he misjudged a sweep and an over later Paul, who could not finish his 14th over due to injury, had Mark Cosgrove caught behind by Parthiv Patel to drop Australia A to 2 for 172. The double burst was India A’s only success of the day as Jaques was joined by Tasmania’s Travis Birt in a 189-run stand that completed a superb performance by the hosts.Jaques struck 19 fours in his 284-ball stay and needs only a single on day two to post his second double-century in two months following the 244 against Essex in the County Championship. Happy to pull and cut in the early stages, he reached three figures from 155 deliveries shortly after drinks in the second session and narrowly missed his second major milestone before stumps. Birt, who also played some crisp cross-bat shots, finished with 82 and will push to add a fourth first-class hundred for the Australian winter after picking up three with his county Derbyshire.

Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has called for a major review of the ICC in the wake of the murder of Bob Woolmer last Sunday.”When you have a terrible situation like we are now facing, one’s got to look at the whole of the operation: the directorship; the way it’s run; the calibre of people that are doing it,” he said. “We’ve got to have the very best people running world cricket, otherwise we will continue to have problems.”Although police do not, as yet, have any proof that corruption and match-fixing are the heartbeat of the whole investigation, the smoke signals are there. Rumours abound that Woolmer’s forthcoming book was to reveal the true extent of the game’s rotten core and have invited reactions from across cricket’s community, with Michael Vaughan, the England captain, conceding corruption is, in his “gut instinct,” still part of the game.”When you’ve got something like this happening, which has really besmirched this World Cup, we’ve got to look at absolutely everything in cricket and make sure no stone is left unturned to make sure we do the very, very best for cricket around the world,” MacLaurin said.It was during MacLaurin’s tenure as ECB chairman, in 2000, that the first thorough investigation into cricket’s match-fixing was undertaken. MacLaurin employed Sir Paul Condon, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who, although now retired, is on standby to assist. In his 2001 report Condon recommended a permanent Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) be installed which, since 2003, has been in West Indies preparing for the World Cup and identifying suspect gangs and syndicates.”The only way I can suggest you stop it – or try to stop it – is to make sure you have the finest people running world cricket that you can possibly have,” MacLaurin said. “But you will always have a problem, whether it be cricket or soccer or even in business.”

Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler, has expressed an interest in becoming Yorkshire’s new director of cricket, according to reports from South Africa.The club have suffered a calamitous winter with several administrative hiccups. The post was originally offered to Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, who accepted the role before pulling out at the eleventh hour. This effectively left the man he was to replace, David Byas, without a job; after mulling his options over Christmas, Byas retired earlier this week.Sources in South Africa, as revealed in this morning’s say Donald, 40, is interested in the position, although it is believed the club will still advertise the position in the national newspapers.”It’s flattering if someone like Allan Donald is interested in the job,” Stewart Regan, Yorkshire’s chief executive said, “and we are certainly interested in talking to as many people as possible, but we have not received an application from Allan and everything is still wide open in terms of the club filling this position.”The job is undeniably one of the most high-profile in cricket and it’s bound to attract some high-quality names” he said. “At the same time, I would stress to our supporters that we are still very much in the process of casting the net and that nothing whatsoever has yet been finalised.”Donald, who retired from cricket in 2002, has been linked to several managerial and coaching positions. He applied for the job of England’s bowling coach in 2006, when Troy Cooley returned to Australia, but withdrew his application when a development opportunity arose in his native South Africa. He now works for the country’s high performance department, as well as a commentator on South African television.Yorkshire will advertise the position in the national newspapers on Sunday.

Though the results of the B sample have yet to be confirmed, Shoaib Akhtarand Mohammad Asif testing positive for Nandrolone is just another peek atthe dirty subterranean world of professional sport. With cricket onlyrecently getting tough on drugs, you can rest assured that they won’t bethe last big names to be hauled up.What, though, is Nandrolone, and why have so many elite athletes testedpositive for it in recent years? According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) system of nomenclature, the anabolic steroid has the name17b-hydroxy-19-nor-4-andro-sten-3-one, and can occur naturally in thebody, albeit in minute quantities. Structurally, it’s very similar toTestosterone, the male hormone that was recently the buzz word in sportsbulletins after Floyd Landis, the Tour de France winner, tested positivefor excessive levels.Like Testosterone and Creatine, the amino acid that Juventus’s footballteam were alleged to use regularly in the 1990s, Nandrolone too increasesmuscle mass. It can also produce the same side-effects, like overly aggressive behaviour, as testosterone. Clinical experiments have been conducted in the past to see itsefficacy in the treatment of HIV-affected men and also for other diseasesthat cause muscle wastage.The tests for Nandrolone, which involve urine samples, are consideredpositive if the level exceeds 2 nano grams per ml, the limit set by theInternational Olympic Committee which is considered the maximum possiblein natural cases. Most positive tests have involved athletes with levelshundreds of times above normal.Those caught in the past have included Linford Christie, Olympic 100mchampion in 1996, and Petr Korda, the Czech tennis player. Football,though, has had to endure the most scandal, with Jaap Stam, Edgar Davids,Frank de Boer (The Netherlands), Fernando Couto (Portugal) and JosepGuardiola (Spain) all having served bans for nandrolone use.The testing procedures have not been without controversy though. Athleteswho have been caught have often cited the use of Creatine and theconsumption of protein shakes as the reason for positive tests. AnAberdeen University study suggests that they may have a point. Accordingto that, consumption of dietary supplements in conjunction with heavyphysical training can result in the athlete returning a positive test forNandrolone. As with many drugs, including THG that was involved in theinfamous BALCO case, our knowledge is far from comprehensive. And as longas that remains the case, the protestations of innocence from those caughtmay just have a ring of truth to them.

(D/L method)
Scorecard Lisa Sthalekar ended with 3 for 9 to halt the Hurricanes’ charge•Getty Images

Not even the rain could stop Sydney Sixers. Inspired by the bowling of veteran Lisa Sthalekar, they romped to their ninth consecutive victory to set up a Sydney derby in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League final.The rain had been forecast and, true to form, it would simply not stay away. Torrential, persistent drizzle in the early part of the day delayed the game’s start and reduced it to 14 overs per side. After Hobart Hurricanes won the toss, elected to bat and posted a subpar 8 for 86, the rain returned, with a misty vengeance, forcing ground staff to bring on the full covers.Hurricanes knew, having finished second in the ladder, that a no-result would see them advance to the final. The second innings of the match had been due to start at 4.37 pm, and could start no later than 5.12 pm, with Sixers set to bat just five overs. Fortunately for the Sixers, however, the showers eased, the covers were peeled back and, at 5pm, with eight overs to be bowled and a target of 55, the players returned to the field.When they did, the sun even dared to shine. The Sixers had just a two-over Powerplay, and Alyssa Healy was determined to take advantage of it, with a brutal drive off Julie Hunter, and twice pulling Pyke – for four then six – to take Sixers’ target below a run a ball. With 20 from the Powerplay and in a small chase with no margin for error for the Hurricanes, Healy was dropped at square-leg by Brooke Hepburn, and spared a stumping when dancing down the track by wicketkeeper Em Smith.Healy and Ellyse Perry were in no mood to let the Hurricanes off. They ran hard and picked off boundaries with ease, both strong in front and behind square on the legside. Despite Hunter’s best efforts – her second over, the sixth, included three dot balls – the Sixers strolled home with 10 balls to spare as Perry drove Knight through the offside. It had taken just 22 minutes.Earlier, Veronica Pyke looked to guide Marizanne Kapp’s second ball of the innings to third man, but only succeeded in edging behind, where Healy took a fine diving catch. Heather Knight found some rhythm, consecutively ramping and swinging Sarah Aley hard to leg for boundaries. With Erin Burns also looking at ease against Kapp, whose second over cost 15, the Hurricanes’ four-over Powerplay looked productive, with 30 runs scored for the loss of just Pyke.Enter Sthalekar. She tossed her first ball up, enticing Knight to drive down the ground, and the bowler dove to her right to take a fine catch. Her first two overs would cost just five runs to put the breaks on the Hurricanes, even if Amy Satterthwaite swiped twice to drive Lauren Smith for boundaries in the over between. Sthalekar was withdrawn from the attack and the batsmen settled again, with Burns late-cutting Perry beautifully. The Hurricanes looked well-placed on 68 for the loss of two wickets.Perry brought Sthalekar back to bowl her third and final over in the innings’ 11th, and the offspinner dismissed both set batsmen in three balls to derail the Hurricanes’ charge. First, Burns used her feet but slapped straight to cover. Then, off the last ball of her spell, Sthalekar gave a full ball plenty of flight and trapped Satterthwaite plumb in front.From there, Hurricanes’ innings never recovered, losing four more wickets, with Hayley Matthews inside edging Aley, Corinne Hall playing on to Kapp, and both Sasha Moloney and Julie Hunter run out going for the third in Perry’s final over. Indeed Sthalekar, surprisingly, provided the only blot on the Sixers’ superb finish, dropping Moloney at cover off Perry.Otherwise, this was a highly professional performance. Sixers were a team thrown together a matter of days before the tournament. They took time – six defeats – to find their feet. Now, however, they are within touching distance of completing a truly outstanding, unfathomable turnaround.

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.

ScorecardFile photo – Smriti Mandhana top-scored for India with 55•Getty Images

Fifties from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, followed by Poonam Yadav’s four-wicket haul shaped India Women’s 107-run rout of Sri Lanka Women in the first ODI in Ranchi.After being inserted, Mandhana anchored the first half of the innings with an 81-ball 55 that included eight fours. After she fell at the end of the 27th over, Harmanpreet took charge of the innings with her 61-ball 50. Captain Mithali Raj also chipped in with a handy 49 that helped lift India to 245 for 6.In response, the only form of resistance the India bowlers faced was from Prasadani Weerakkody, who made a slow 69. Sri Lanka were well-placed at 122 for 3, but the India bowlers, led by Poonam, cut through their middle and lower order, as the visitors suffered a collapse that saw their last seven wickets fall for just 16 runs.

Worcestershire’s abandoned County Championship fixture against Kent at New Road has been rescheduled for the end of July, and their floodlit Pro40 fixture against Hampshire on Friday will now be played at the County Ground in Derby, after the ECB exercised discretion in their enquiry into last week’s washout.Following the devastating floods that left Worcestershire’s ground under water for several days, the ECB recognised that “exceptional efforts” had been made by the club to get the match underway, including the recruitment of an army of volunteers to clean away the detritus. Kent had offered to host the game at Beckenham well in advance of the start of the match, but Worcestershire declined, and provided assurances that the ground would be fit for first-class cricket by July 8.The ECB concluded that Worcestershire’s decision to go ahead with the match had been made in “good faith” but was “highly optimistic”. “The board recognised the exceptional circumstances and the severe financial issues caused to Worcestershire CCC by the flooding, [but] the opinion of the match officials present at the ground was that there was serious doubt that the playing area would be fit in time for the NatWest Pro40 match scheduled for July 13.””The object was to try and get cricket played on Friday,” Mark Newton, Worcestershire’s chief executive, told Cricinfo. “The day/night game is one of the most important matches of the year for the club. Other than the financial considerations we have a contract to keep with Sky Sports. The bottom line is that we are a business and we have to ensure our financial future.””Despite all the best efforts of my colleagues and the members who volunteered to help last week, we cannot 100% guarantee that the outfield will be playable. This match is scheduled as the competition opener so it must be played and we feel, in consultation with the ECB, that this is the best way.”On July 3 it was decided that the ECB would allocate £75,000 to assist in the restoration of New Road, but Worcestershire face further losses if they cannot get the ground back to working order soon. The ECB have advised the county to prepare contingency plans for their next home Championship match against Lancashire which is scheduled to get underway on July 20.Worcestershire’s rematch with Kent will begin on July 30, but will involve a mid-match trip to Chelmsford on August 2, when Worcestershire are scheduled to take on Essex in a televised Pro40 match.