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A summary of the fourth day’s play of the tenth round of games in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Cricinfo staff12-Dec-2009

Group A

A heroic effort from Zeeshan Nadir couldn’t quite seal a win for Pakistan Customs on the final day in Islamabad. Water and Power Development Authority had to sweat a bit but eventually completed victory by four wickets. Customs came into the day leading by 25 with five wickets in hand and extended that to 127, with Hassan Adnan making 84. Chasing 128, WAPDA were given a major scare by Zeeshan who backed up five in the first innings with 6 for 63. The one man he failed to dislodge, Aamer Sajjad, held his nerve to score an unbeaten 39 from 31 balls to finish the chase.Karachi Whites wasted little time in wrapping up an innings win over National Bank of Pakistan on the fourth morning in Karachi. They needed just two wickets when play began and they took them quickly, dismissing Mansoor Amjad for 85 to achieve the win.Sui Southern Gas Corporation batted patiently on the final day in Rawalpindi to ensure a draw against Khan Research Laboratories. They took in sessions, first erasing a deficit of 119 and then batting long enough to negate chances of a loss. The opener Asif Zaqir was the man of the moment, scoring 109 from 224 balls out of a total of 315, with assistance from Rizwan Ahmed (64). Shakeel-ur-Rehman took two wickets as KRL hit 32 in five overs before close.A tame draw played out at the Jinnah Stadium. Zohaib Khan, the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited opener, had batted the entire third day and carried his bat for an unbeaten 114 out of a total of 270. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited then played out 65 overs and made 283 for 6, owed largely to Saleem Mughal’s 102 not out from 132 balls, with 14 fours and three sixes. Mohammad Hafeez started the second innings with a 44-ball 50 and three other batsmen got starts.Five wickets from the slow left-arm bowler Nauman Alavi helped set up a nine-wicket win for Pakistan International Airlines over Lahore Shalimar at the Gaddafi Stadium. From 76 for 3 overnight, Lahore Shalimar were dismissed for 225, with Alavi taking a career-best 5 for 42. Yasir Hameed slammed an unbeaten 51 from 42 balls to help PIA chase down 100 in 14. 1 overs.

Group B

Peshawar, spearheaded by new-ball bowler Imran Khan, pulled off a superb victory over Lahore Ravi in Lahore. Lahore Ravi went into the final day needing what seemed an achievable 229 to win, but Imran’s five wickets put a major spanner in the works. Lahore Ravi were unable to get a solid footing, losing Asif Khan to Imran and two more via run-outs, and Mohammad Asim (53) was cut off before he could really do some damage. At 158 for 5 it was still anyone’s game, but Asim’s dismissal was followed by a major collapse at Imran’s hands. Lahore Ravi lost their last five wickets for 19 runs and Peshawar got their second win of the season.Sialkot duly achieved their victory over Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium, their fifth of the season. The medium-pacer Faisal Rasheed completed a five-wicket haul early in the day as Hyderabad lost their last three wickets for the addition of 18 runs. Sialkot knocked off a target of 27 with just one wicket down.Set a monumental 495 to win, and resuming the final day on 93 for 2, Quetta denied Karachi Blues and batted out a draw by reaching 407 for 6 at the National Stadium. Karachi Blues would have really fancied their chances, especially after taking three middle-order wickets in the space of 12 runs, but a stubborn 224-run alliance between Arun Lal (98) and Shoaib Khan jnr, who hit an unbeaten century, denied them. That stand totally flustered Karachi Blues. Shoaib’s 111 took just 138 deliveries, studded with 15 fours and a six, and proved crucial in holding the opposition at bay.A day after Zulfiqar Babar put his name into the record books, Islamabad and Multan batted out a predictable draw at the Multan Cricket Ground. Rameez Alam’s unbeaten 119 proved the bulk of Multan’s total of 333 for 5 declared, after which Islamabad – set an improbable 267 – played out 16 overs before the captains agreed to call it off. Babar added two more wickets for a match haul of 12 for 168. Islamabad took three points from the game by virtue of a first-innings lead.What carried the possibility of being an intriguing final day ended with Rawalpindi – who had already taken three points from a first-innings lead – opting to bat out time against Abbottabad in Islamabad. Naved Malik carried on to an unbeaten 116 and added 125 for the seventh wicket with Fawad Hussain (66) as Rawalpindi made 238 for 7. Junaid Khan, taking the new ball, picked up 5 for 100 in that effort. Abbottabad were never going to chase 250 in the minimum overs left in the day, and after a top-order collapse they reached 52 for 4 when the match was called off.

While Virender Sehwag & Co. were going berserk at the Brabourne, Mumbai’s batsmen went on a rampage of their own to leave Hyderabad facing defeat at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium

Siddarth Ravindran in Hyderabad03-Dec-2009
Scorecard
While Virender Sehwag & Co. were going berserk at the Brabourne, Mumbai’s batsmen went on a rampage of their own to leave Hyderabad facing defeat at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Mumbai’s utter domination of the day was shown by the inflation in the number of fielders patrolling the boundary: two at the start to six by an hour after lunch, as a double-century from Ajinkya Rahane and yet another Wasim Jaffer hundred dismantled the bowling.The overnight batsmen, Rahane and Sahil Kukreja, blunted the second new ball and moved unfussily to their centuries early in the day; their 258-run association was the largest-ever at the ground. Soon after Mumbai eased into the lead, and off the first ball after morning-session drinks Kukreja edged to slip, giving Hyderabad their sole moment to shout about in the day.The Hyderabad fielders were thrilled at breaking that stand, but things only got worse when Jaffer walked in. The Mumbai captain has been terrifying domestic attacks since his axing from the national team last year, and today was just another day in the office for him. Unlike all the other batsmen in this match, he didn’t need any time to start stroking the ball around; his first four was a lofted cover drive, followed by a stylish punch to the long-on boundary. His arrival put the Mumbai innings into overdrive – 39 runs coming off five overs, with Jaffer racing to 25
off 21.His aggression encouraged Rahane also to open up. On Wednesday, it had been a controlled effort from Rahane, but today he started to take more risks. Wide deliveries that he was happy to leave on Wednesday were crunched to the point region today. Full deliveries outside off were
flicked to square leg, and he jumped down the track to the fast bowlers to punch them down the ground. A six over cover off the front foot, just after Mumbai reached 450, was perhaps the highlight of his innings.Hyderabad tried everything to slow the pair down on a track which still had nothing to interest the bowlers. Bouncers were easily evaded; offspinner Amol Shinde’s leg stump line from around the wicket with a 3-6 on-side field was negated by Jaffer’s reverse-sweeps. The third-man area proved very productive for Jaffer, playing several controlled steers past the slips on his way to a second century of the season. With no bowler with serious pace, and spinners of only middling ability, Hyderabad could do little to stop Mumbai’s batsmen.The 24 overs Mumbai batted after lunch were the most manic; Hyderabad had virtually given up – no chirping at the batsmen, most fielders giving the teapot as they waited for a declaration – as Rahane and Jaffer smashed 141 runs. Rahane, in particular, was having a blast, and was stampeding towards a triple-century when Mumbai decided to declare with 35 minutes to go for lunch. The Rahane-Jaffer show had added 236 runs in 251 deliveries.The docile pitch, on which prising out a batsman is difficult once he’s set, prompted the early declaration, leaving Mumbai 117 overs to collect five (or six) points and move ahead of Punjab into second place.The Hyderabad openers survived a probing spell with the new ball. Both of them, Rushi Raj and Shashank Nag, needed a solid performance, as one of them is likely to be sidelined when VVS Laxman returns for the remaining two Ranji matches. Both their auditions nearly ended almost as soon as it began: substitute Prashant Naik spilled a chance at slip off Raj, and Mumbai were sure they had Nag caught behind on the final ball before tea but the umpire didn’t.They gritted it out against a buoyant Mumbai pace attack, but the introduction of spin ended their 90-minute resistance. Raj charged down the track thrice in offspinner Ramesh Powar’s first over, the third time he slapped the ball back to the bowler.Hyderabad’s batting has been abysmal this season. Not only has there been no centurion so far, there hasn’t even been a hundred partnership. Friday is when they need to change that statistic, and salvage a point that could prove vital in the relegation battle.

Plays of the day for the second day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the MCG

Osman Samiuddin and Brydon Coverdale27-Dec-2009Umpires receive mixed reviews
The umpire decision review system contributed to Australia’s continued
failure to find a Test centurion this summer. Michael Hussey was given lbw
for 82 when he tried to sweep Saeed Ajmal and although it was a close
call, Billy Doctrove’s decision was upheld when Hussey asked for a review.
The ball struck him marginally in line with off stump and Hawkeye
suggested it was just clipping the stump, so the out verdict stood. Later,
a less-than-enthusiastic Mohammad Yousuf requested a review of a not-out
lbw decision against Nathan Hauritz, who was on 75. Abdur Rauf picked up
his first wicket of the innings when Asoka de Silva viewed the footage and
saw an appeal that couldn’t have been much more plumb, and duly overturned
Rudi Koertzen’s call.Fail of the century continues
Australia remain the carry-over champions in this show and the
million-dollar question is how many half-centuries they will post before
someone finally registers a hundred. The efforts of Hussey and Hauritz
took Australia’s remarkable record to 20
half-centuries this home summer without a single person reaching
triple-figures. The last time an Australian made a Test hundred was when
Hussey struck a career-saving 121 in the final Ashes Test at The Oval.Six and out…or not
Pakistan’s catching has been as poor as their luck so far at the MCG and
thus it was entirely appropriate that the best catch they took wouldn’t
actually get them a wicket. Hauritz was just beginning to cut loose
after lunch when he smacked Saeed Ajmal high back over his head towards
the sightscreen. Mohammad Aamer came running round from long-on and took
an extremely well-judged catch, only for the momentum to carry him
comfortably across the boundary.PM puts the heat on Warne
Australia’s prime minister Kevin Rudd enjoyed a stint in the Channel Nine
commentary box and told Shane Warne it was his national responsibility to
make a comeback. The prime minister cited the example of Colin Cowdrey,
inflating his yarn a little by having Cowdrey make his comeback at 43
rather than 41. That gave Warne his out clause: I’ve got three years to
think about it then?Dry spell
The MCG is a big ground and boundaries aren’t always easily to come by,
but 36.2 overs without one was stretching it. Pakistan’s batsmen were solid
after Australia’s early declaration, but never spectacular. There were
three threes and 12 doubles in their 50 – brought up in the 28th over –
but no boundaries, though there was a rare all-run four. Finally, in the
innings’ 32nd over, it took a typically elegant dance down the pitch from
Mohammad Yousuf to break the rot with a maximum. And to think we live in
the age of Twenty20.

Three Tasmanians collected half-centuries but they were in danger of giving Victoria a first-innings advantage at Bellerive Oval

Cricinfo staff30-Jan-2010Tasmania 7 for 249 (Paine 64, Marsh 60, Cowan 53) trail Victoria 297 (Hastings 93, Hussey 72) by 48 runs

ScorecardTim Paine made a useful contribution of 64•Getty Images

Three Tasmanians collected half-centuries but they were in danger of giving Victoria a first-innings advantage at Bellerive Oval. After being dismissed early in the day for 297, the Bushrangers struck regularly and finished with the upper hand as the hosts reached 7 for 249.Tim Paine’s bright 64, Dan Marsh’s 60 and 53 to Ed Cowan put Tasmania on track for two points, but they were set back late in the day when Marsh and Luke Butterworth departed to leave Brett Geeves and Jason Krejza with a tough task in the morning. There were also some difficulties early in the innings as the Tigers slipped to 4 for 88 when Cowan exited, but the middle order was able to overcome the initial problems. Paine collected seven fours and a six in his 83-ball innings while Marsh, the former captain, was more considered in his 157-ball stay.At the start of the day John Hastings resumed on 82 and was annoyed to miss his maiden century when bowled by Butterworth on 93. He deserved to be satisfied with his effort and went on to add two wickets, as did James Pattinson and Damien Wright.

Younis Khan, the former Pakistan captain, has pulled out of the domestic RBS Twenty20 Cup that is underway in Karachi, due to unknown reasons.

Cricinfo staff02-Mar-2010Younis Khan, the former Pakistan captain, has pulled out of the domestic RBS Twenty20 Cup that is underway in Karachi, due to unknown reasons.Younis was slated to lead the Abbottabad Rhinos, but did not play in the team’s opening match, a defeat against Faisalabad Wolves on March 1, before deciding to withdraw from the tournament, which features Pakistan’s leading cricketers.The decision was confirmed on Monday by Taimur Khan Afridi, the manager of Abbottabad Rhinos. Afridi said that he was unaware of Younis’s reasons to pull out of the event.Younis, had earlier retired from Twenty20 internationals after leading Pakistan to victory in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009. He normally plays for Peshawar Panthers in domestic events but joined the Rhinos’ set-up for the Twenty20 Cup.

The plays of the day from the second day between Bangladesh and England in Dhaka

Andrew Miller in Dhaka21-Mar-2010Partnership of the dayAfter whittling away eight wickets to atone for their morning mauling, England believed they had snatched the ascendancy by the close of the first day. But if Alastair Cook thought his work in the field was done, he was sorely mistaken. By employing a peculiar split field that invited the batsmen to make their own mistakes, he allowed Naeem and Shafiul Islam to cruise along at the tempo of their choosing. In Naeem’s case, he opted for slow and steady, nudging along to 59 not out from 172 balls, while the young gun Shafiul blazed with impunity at the other end. Of his 11 fours, two were edges through an under-manned slip cordon, and most of the rest were belted through the covers to bring up his maiden Test fifty from just 47 balls.Shot of the dayIn six Tests and 11 previous innings, Rubel Hossain had mustered 13 runs at 2.16, with a top-score of 4 not out and no boundaries to his name. His arrival at the crease at 388 for 9 prompted England to believe, finally, that the end of Bangladesh’s innings was nigh. Not so fast. Having opened his account with a thick edge through the slips, Rubel decided that his eye was now in, and followed that up with an exquisite full-faced cover-drive off Steven Finn, to double his career-best and bring up the 400. As if to prove the stroke was no fluke, he repeated it in Finn’s next over, en route to an invaluable 17.Stodge of the dayJonathan Trott is not the most free-flowing batsman in world cricket, least of all when he’s stuck in one of his introspective moods. That was the case when he came out to open the innings for the first time in Test cricket, with 20 minutes to go until lunch. He duly poked his way to 0 not out from 13 balls, but then found that, upon the resumption, his mindset had already been established. It wasn’t until his 33rd delivery that he finally got off the mark, with a frantic scrambled single that rivalled one of Kevin Pietersen’s Red Bull runs. By the close, he was the glue that was both holding England’s innings together, and arguably preventing them from making much headway.Stat of the dayKevin Pietersen’s travails on this trip have been well documented, but at least today he reached a landmark of note. On 45, he became the quickest batsman in terms of days to reach 5000 Test runs, and at 29 years and 267 days, he became the fourth-youngest Englishman after David Gower, Michael Atherton and Colin Cowdrey to reach the mark. (Although, in a testament to the number of matches that England churn through these days, he was only the 16th quickest in terms of matches). Sadly, he didn’t have long to enjoy the moment. Before he could notch up his 5001st run, he had fallen to a left-arm spinner – Shakib Al Hasan on this occasion – for the sixth consecutive international innings.Show-off of the dayTowards the end of the second session, the eardrums of everyone in Mirpur Stadium were shattered as a low-flying MIG zipped across the neighbourhood, and began performing dramatic high-velocity handstands against the city skyline. It’s not the sort of thing that tends to take place in a built-up area, let alone an area populated by 14 million people, but it’s fair to say it was one of the more eye-catching spectacles of a sluggish afternoon. With Bangladesh’s Liberation Day Parade set to take place on March 26, there might be more such aerial gymnastics to come.

In the final analysis, Alastair Cook’s tenure as England captain has been a job well done

Andrew Miller in Dhaka24-Mar-2010In the final analysis, Alastair Cook’s tenure as England captain has been a job well done. With due respect to a Bangladesh opposition that, he admitted, “surprised us all”, the weightiest burden coming into this series was the fear of failure. After four Test wins out of four dating back to October 2003, and eight ODI victories without reply, anything less than a England clean sweep was destined to attract opprobrium.But now, despite more than a few scares along the way – and notwithstanding a sizeable umpiring rumpus – Cook can proudly present a 100% record in his debut series as skipper. Come the return series in May, he will slip quietly back into the role of Andrew Strauss’s sidekick, and feel that little bit older, wiser, and better prepared for whatever challenges are put his way in the future.”The captaincy had its moments,” said Cook. “I now know how I need to get better as a captain, especially my leadership in the dressing-room, and other areas like that. But I couldn’t ask for anything more. We were expected to win 3-0 and 2-0, and it’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of credit goes to Bangladesh for the way they’ve made us work, especially in the last 10 days. But it’s a very satisfying feeling.”There were times in his debut series when Cook looked horribly out of his depth, not least on the first two mornings of the Dhaka Test, firstly when Tamim Iqbal was smashing his way to 85 from 71 balls, and then during that grizzly hour on day two, when the tail belted Bangladesh past 400 against a field that resembled a series of flapping stable doors. But to his immense credit, Cook kept his composure when it came to his day-job – and two centuries in four innings was the reward for his focus.”One aspect that’s really pleased me is how I’ve dealt with batting. When I’ve batted, I’ve been able to concentrate on that,” said Cook. “But in that first hour [at Dhaka], I’ve never experienced anything like it. Full credit to the way Tamim batted – we didn’t have much option there – but thankfully he got out and everything calmed down. But bowling them out for 400 on that wicket was actually a really good effort. We knew that, however long it took, we had to get up past them. Once we did that, we knew we were in with a shout in the game.”Bangladesh have got some very talented players, and they showed that,” he added. “What surprised us most was how flat the pitches were. We knew there wouldn’t be much for the seamers, but there was not much spin at all, the wickets stayed together very well and it was hard in the field. We deserve a lot of credit for the way we stuck at it. We couldn’t roll sides out on that wicket, any sides, so a lot of patience was required, and we got our rewards at the end of it.”England’s Man of the Series was their star spinner, Graeme Swann. His 16-wicket haul included a career-best 10 for 217 at Chittagong, with which he was elevated to the No. 2 bowler in the world, and though he was critical of the surfaces on which the Test matches were played, he was more than content with the results he had extracted from them.”For Test cricket to survive it needs pitches that deteriorate as they go on,” said Swann, “but you can only bowl on the pitches you are given, and it’s been a source of pride for me that I’ve managed to take wickets out here. And the seam bowlers [should be proud] as well. Apart from a brief glimpse in the 2005 Ashes, we’ve not been great at reverse swing, but the young seamers really bought into it on this tour and worked on the ball, and that stands us in good stead.”I think Cookie’s done an exceptional job,” he added. “Coming here to Bangladesh, there is a pressure to win every match, and win convincingly. I think that’s something that goes back over the last decade, from playing against teams that were weaker in the past. They are not a pushover anymore. You have to play good hard cricket, you have to have a strong leader, and you have to have a cohesive unit. I think Cookie has been an exceptional leader under those circumstances.”The team now fly to England for a month-long break, and then it’s straight into home series against Bangladesh and Pakistan. But already the side’s focus is shifting towards next winter, when Australia await with the Ashes at stake once again. The contrast between Mirpur and the Gabba could hardly be more stark, but Cook is confident that important lessons have been gleaned from this trip.”I think it’s done us a world of good,” he said. “We’ve had to work for results here, and while bowling on the subcontinent will be different to bowling in Australia, for this side to come here, under expectation to win, and deliver when it matters in hard conditions in terms of the heat and flat wickets, can only bode well when it comes to playing in Australia.”Cook’s final comment was perhaps the best compliment that Bangladesh could have been offered at the end of a tour in which their margins of defeat in the two Tests – 181 runs and nine wickets – gave no indication whatsoever of the challenge they were able to pose, particularly in the middle five days of the series, from their fightback in Chittagong to their flyer at Mirpur.After all, when England routed Bangladesh in the build-up to the 2005 Ashes, Michael Vaughan declared that it had all been “too easy”. Nothing about this trip has been remotely simple, regardless of the scoreline.

The IPL’s third season continues to be dominated by events off the field, with income-tax officials conducting an eight-hour operation – ending at 3 a.m. – in the league’s offices and the residence of Lalit Modi, its commissioner

Cricinfo staff16-Apr-2010The IPL’s third season continues to be dominated by events off the field, with income-tax officials conducting an eight-hour operation – ending at 3 a.m. on Friday – in the league’s offices and the residence of Lalit Modi, its commissioner, and a team also visiting the office of the Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. In the Indian Parliament, Shashi Tharoor, the junior foreign affairs minister, made a statement – it was tabled after Opposition members prevented him from speaking – defending his role in the Kochi franchise auction bid and denying any conflict of interest.Later on Friday, the IPL top brass – which includes most top BCCI officials – gathered in the northern town of Dharamsala for a league match and is reported to have held informal discussions on the situation. There has been speculation over Modi’s future role in the IPL, with some reports suggesting a senior board official could be made co-chairman of the league, but there was no official word on this.Ironically, while the Kings XI Punjab was playing host in Dharamshala, its offices at the Punjab Cricket Association – of which Modi is a vice-president – in Mohali were paid a visit by income-tax officials.It appeared a continuation of Thursday’s exercise, which began simultaneously at the IPL office in the BCCI headquarters, Modi’s own office in another part of town – where he was – and his suite of rooms at a luxury hotel.Modi emerged in the early hours of Friday and spoke briefly to reporters. “They have taken documentation in regard to the bidding, I am sure they will be satisfied with the documents they have got,” Modi said. “If they are not satisfied, we will provide them with more information. We are a public body, we have nothing to hide.”They were given documentation details, they verified the documents and went through the entire process of bidding. The questioning was over in a few minutes, but it took them longer as they had to go through the documents.”Modi said the officials saw the documents related to bidding by the new franchisees, owned by Sahara and the Kochi consortium, as well as those related to other IPL franchises.In his statement to the Lok Sabha, Tharoor repeated his stand – that he had acted in good faith as an MP from Kerala and that he had not gained financially from the deal.”I have neither benefited nor received a single rupee from my association with the consortium,” Tharoor said, reading out his statement to reporters in front of Parliament House. “”This allegation is particularly wounding because I’ve had a three-decade career in public service and those who know me are aware that money has never been a motivating factor.”My role in mentoring was within the bounds of appropriate conduct of an MP and a minister….there was no misuse of my official position or ministry…my official position gave me no advantage. It was irrelevant to the bid.”The allegations involving Tharoor point to his close relationship with Sunanda Pushkar, a marketing professional who has been given a 4.7 per cent stake in the consortium as sweat equity. The allegation is that she is a front for Tharoor, a charge the minister has consistently denied. “Whatever money that accrues by way of sweat equity is for their work in the future and is not connected to me,” he said, adding that he perceived a gender bias to be against this allegation.

Less than a year ago Cameron White wasn’t considered among the best 15 Twenty20 cricketers in Australia. Now he can quite comfortably stand among the best 15 in the world

Andrew McGlashan at Kensington Oval10-May-2010Less than a year ago Cameron White wasn’t considered among the best 15 Twenty20 cricketers in Australia. Now he can quite comfortably stand among the best 15 in the world. His career-best, unbeaten 85 against Sri Lanka was easily the highest score by a No. 6 in this format of the game and transformed a match that threatened to go wrong for his team into as comfortable a Twenty20 win as there is.Looking from the outside it is strange that White hasn’t always been one of the first picks in the Twenty20 outfit, however a closer look shows his average for Victoria is a modest 22.36. His two hundreds came while playing for Somerset (and he will return there for the English Twenty20 Cup this summer) so he wasn’t always picking his moments to impress. Few players, though, hit the ball as hard and a recall was only a matter of time.White did eventually earn a place at the World Twenty20 in England, but only after Andrew Symonds’ final indiscretion led to him being jettisoned from the trip in a move that ended his international career. This time White is here by rights, and is so well entrenched that he is the team’s vice-captain. Symonds’ departure may just have eased the path slightly.He returned to the side in the post-Ashes Twenty20 series against England began with 55 at Old Trafford while continuing to establish himself in the 50-over team. Then, in February, he produced a brutal 26-ball 64 as Australia tied a run chase of 214 against New Zealand before losing on the Super Over. This innings, though, was in a world tournament and the pressure doesn’t come much greater.Nothing better sums up the depth in this Twenty20 outfit than having White and Michael Hussey coming in at six and seven and their stand of 101 was a record for the sixth wicket. Few teams would recover from 67 for 5, but Australia did it with ease having produced a similar fightback against Bangladesh when they were 65 for 6.”With the strength of our squad we believe whatever position we get into we can win,” Michael Clarke said. “It didn’t matter how many runs we got today we were confident in those conditions that if we bowled well and held out catches that we would definitely win the game.”On one hand two similar collapses in the space of three matches might cause concern in a tournament where the games come thick and fast, but on the other it allows different players to produce match-winning roles. White often has to come in and swing from ball one in the closing overs but this time he walked in during the fifth over and, in terms of Twenty20, had time to build an innings. Shane Watson and David Warner had their moment against India, but they won’t always come off. For this Australia team that isn’t a problem.”One of the benefits of losing a few wickets early from my point of view is that you have time to get yourself in,” White said. “It was nice to contribute the win and I’m glad we got to a good score and were able to put them under pressure. Our bowlers did a great job after that and it was a good all-round result.”Ajantha Mendis joined the list if players to drop costly chances in recent days as he missed White at short fine-leg on 23 and although he removed Clarke in the same over Sri Lanka’s grip on the match was loosened from that moment. After 28 deliveries he’d made 39, an impressive rate considering the trouble he faced at 30 for 4, then in the next 21 he added another 46.”Even under pressure the guys have still played their natural games,” Clarke said. “Whitey has come out and backed himself and when he’s in good nick there’s no one better in the game.”A word, too, for Hussey, who has bailed Australia out of many Test and ODI holes and is now doing the same in Twenty20. When he was left out of the squad for the matches in New Zealand before this tournament it looked like the end for him in this format but he was given a reprieve, and how grateful Australia have been.”It’s the side we thought would do best in this tournament and it gives players above Mike Hussey freedom to play,” Clarke said. “He doesn’t bat seven every game but I think it’s the strength of our team that we have a lot of part-timers who can bat and bowl which allows us to have a specialist batsman at seven and we’ve seen how important that is.”However, this was White’s day and just to prove it he flung himself low and left at backward point to take a stunner that removed Tillakaratne Dilshan. He was never going to drop it.

The BCCI has announced that it will not send a cricket team from India, both men and women, for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2010The BCCI has announced that it will not send a cricket team from India, in both men and women categories, for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The board said the teams will not be available for the global event between November 12 and 27 because of the international schedule.”We would not be able to send our team, both men and women, for the Asian Games in China because of international commitments,” the BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said in Mumbai. “We have communicated the same to the Indian Olympic Association.”Twenty20 cricket was formally approved for the Asian Games at the Olympic Council of Asia’s General Assembly in Kuwait recently. India will be busy hosting New Zealand for a Test and ODI series in November. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are expected to send teams for the Asian games.The contentious ‘whereabouts’ clause in the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) had also threatened to affect India’s participation in major events like the Asian Games. The Indian players are yet to fall in line with the code because the BCCI sees the clause as an infringement on privacy. When asked if India’s participation in the Asian Games was in jeopardy, David Howman, the WADA director general, said it would be up to the Olympic Council of Asia to take a call.