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Guyana coach Esuan Crandon still “cannot believe” his side lost by two runs on Monday against Barbados chasing a tiny target of 69 runs in the Professional Cricket League.

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Dec-2014Guyana coach Esuan Crandon still “cannot believe” his side lost by two runs on Monday against Barbados chasing a tiny target of 69 runs in the Professional Cricket League. In a dramatic sequence of events in the third-round match played at Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana forced Barbados to follow-on but failed to last the first session on the fourth and final day as Dwayne Smith picked up his maiden five-for.”It was very, very disappointing to take the loss. We played three excellent days of cricket and then we lost the game in one session,” Crandon told ESPNcricinfo. “The Barbados bowlers utilised the conditions well as the ball was moving around. A couple of careless, irresponsible shots from our batsmen cost us the game as well.”Crandon said the players were aware of the historic significance of the victory: Guyana have not defeated Barbados in Guyana since 1984 and missed out on a chance to snap the 30-year losing streak. “We knew that. I cannot believe what happened yesterday.”Speaking to Guyana captain Vishaul Singh admitted complacency was a factor while chasing the small target. Crandon agreed, too. “Probably a little bit of complacency crept in at the moment. Not only that, there was a bit of nerves too. We had wanted to chase down the total in a positive manner but we did not get the start we wanted. We lost four wickets for 10 runs on the board.”Crandon also cited the weary and breaking pitch as a crucial factor. “It was a difficult fourth-day wicket to bat on. There was wear and tear in the wicket, uneven bounce, ball keeping low, very low. Dwayne Smith was getting the ball to move, too. I am not making any excuses. Dwayne bowled well. But the pitch really helped him as well.”However Reon King, the former Guyana and West Indies fast bowler, who was the match referee, said he could not find any fault in the pitch. The nature of defeat raised a lot of eyebrows, but both the WICB and King said the only untoward thing was the poor batting by the Guyanese batsmen. “The pitch is fine. It was a normal four-day pitch. In my opinion it was just a collapse in batting,” King said.Despite the defeat Guyana have 39 points, enough to top the tournament table after three matches. They travel to Trinidad to play their next match starting Friday before the tournament takes a break. The final six matches will be played from February. “We also recognize the miss. Yesterday was a big miss for us because if we had won that game we could have been about 15 points clear of the second-place team,” Crandon said.

A stuttering top order and a lame effort with the ball saw Delhi Daredevils succumb for the ninth time in 12 matches, while Rajasthan Royals sounded out a warning with a nine-wicket thumping

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando07-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
–>A stuttering top order and a lame effort with the ball consigned Delhi Daredevils to their ninth loss in 12 matches, while Rajasthan Royals sounded a warning with a nine-wicket thumping that embellished their unbeaten home record, and propelled them to second place on the table.Royals’ seventh straight victory in Jaipur was founded first on robust bowling, as Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny and 41-year-old debutant Pravin Tambe struck upon a collective consistency that erased the damage done in Shaun Tait’s early, wayward overs. Their openers then flew to an unbeaten century stand in staggeringly orthodox fashion, and ensured Daredevils’ modest total would not challenge them.Ajinkya Rahane, who opened alongside Rahul Dravid, was dropped on 4, but did hardly a misdeed thereafter, as he finished not out on 63 from 45 balls, after he hit the winning run in the 18th over. Dravid had more of the strike in the early overs, and though he was the slower scorer, reached his fifty first, before departing for 53, with the match almost secure, at 108 for 1.It was Royals’ bowling, however, that had the bigger impact on the match, as they muzzled a seasoned Delhi Daredevils top order, despite their strike bowler’s indiscretions. Tait began the match with an 11-run over, three wides among those runs, and his second cost 17, later in the Powerplay. But James Faulkner and Watson had struck once each in between those Tait overs, and that was enough to scare Mahela Jayawardene and David Warner into relative reticence.On a pitch so full of runs, Daredevils did not hesitate to bat first, but the visitors were barely scoring at six an over inside the Powerplay, and when Warner departed in the eighth over to leave his side at 47 for 3, the run rate dipped further still. Jayawardene attempted a measured rescue, but fell too, before he could make any meaningful impact, and were it not for a well-paced 64 not out from Ben Rohrer, whose recent nuptials had evidently done him good, Daredevils may not have reached 154 for 4 on a pitch on which they should have made 180.Royals’ openers exploited Daredevils bowling, and the pair went about playing orthodox cricket, with just the level of aggression required for such a chase. Daredevils’ seam bowlers strayed towards the pads too often, and Dravid laced the first four of the innings through the leg side, and continued to prosper there, throughout his innings. Rahane began with more nerves – an inside edge past the stumps in the eighth over in addition to the early life – but he found the going simple enough in the end, thanks largely to the largesse of the bowlers. Watson arrived after Dravid’s fall in the 14th over and struck two powerful fours off Umesh Yadav almost immediately, as Rahane coasted beyond 50 at the other end. The pair blasted one six apiece in the 17th over to take their side to the brink.

Mumbai Police has seized “what appear to be” the belongings of Sreesanth and Jiju Janardhan – both arrested by Delhi police on spot-fixing allegations – from hotel rooms booked in their names at a five-star hotel in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2013Mumbai Police has seized “what appear to be” the belongings of Sreesanth and Jiju Janardhan – both arrested by Delhi Police on spot-fixing allegations – from hotel rooms booked in their names at a five-star hotel in Mumbai. The police has received legal permission to take mirror images of the laptop and also CCTV footage from the hotel to further investigate into the whole scandal.Items seized include laptops, iPads, mobile phones, diaries written in English and “what appears to be” Malayalam, and cricket kits. Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime) in Mumbai, said they had reason to believe the items belonged to Sreesanth and Janardhan, and that they will be important clues in the ongoing investigations.Sreesanth’s room was not in the hotel where the Rajasthan Royals team stayed for their match against Mumbai Indians. Sreesanth was reportedly told in Jaipur that he was not playing the match, and only a compact group of 13 or 14 players was to travel. “Yesterday we received information that Sreesanth had independently booked himself into a five-star hotel,” Roy said. “I say independent because this is not where his team stayed.”We worked out that information. Yesterday we searched two rooms, which were issued in the names of Sreesanth and Jiju Janardhan. The search of Sreesanth’s room shows that it was lived in, it was inhabited. We have recovered a laptop, which is here before you, an iPad, a mobile phone, cash, a data card, some diaries which appear to be in the handwriting of Sreesanth – some [in] English, some [in] what appears to be Malayalam. We have also recovered some cricket kit, clothing etc.”The search of the other room shows it was lived in. We have recovered an iPad, a mobile phone and some personal belongings.” Roy didn’t rule out asking for the custody of Sreesanth and Janardhan depending on what their investigations further reveal.Roy said the hotel rooms were booked by Tamarind Tours and Travels. “We have tried to recreate events that led to the booking of this room,” Roy said. “We have reason to believe Sreeanth and Jiju checked into the hotel late in the night on the 13th of this month. We are recreating their movements on the 14th and the 15th.”We are also in the process of obtaining CCTV feed to understand who are the visitors, if any, who visited him when he was staying there. What were his movements? We have obtained the permission to take a mirror image of the laptops and phones, so that we can begin the process of analysing these gadgets to further aid our investigation. We believe seizure is important given the direction in which the spot-fixing investigations are headed.”On May 14 – more than a day before the three cricketers were arrested – police also arrested an alleged bookmaker called Ramesh Vyas from Mumbai’s Kalbadevi area. The items seized there, Roy said, led them to names of bookies who are also being investigated by Delhi Police.Roy said 13 of the 92 mobile phones seized from Vyas’ premises “were used by him to facilitate connecting Indian bookies with bookies in Pakistan via conference call”. Roy said the police has arrested two more bookies – named Praveen Bera and Pankaj Shah (alias Lotus, alias Pappu) – subsequent to that first arrest.”The interrogation of Ramesh Vyas revealed that he was in touch with certain bookies whose names had figured in the current IPL fixing issue,” Roy said. “We followed this lead, and we also found that the same bookies not only figure in calls made by Ramesh Vyas, but his account books also have transactions in them that lead to common bookies.”After we arrested Ramesh Vyas, we recovered his accounts book, which showed names of bookies that the Delhi Police is also investigating. Some of those bookies, it is reported, have been in touch with these players.”Cases have been registered under the Gambling Act and Indian Penal Code sections that pertain to cheating and forgery. All charges are non-bailable, Roy said.

Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting has said he is excited to be back for the IPL after a gap of five years and that with his retirement from international cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2013Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting has said he is excited to be back for the IPL after a gap of five years. His retirement from international cricket, he said, has allowed him to focus on domestic leagues such as the IPL and the ones that follow.”I am very excited to be back in IPL,” Ponting said. “The way things have worked out – with my retirement from international cricket and finishing off the domestic season for Tasmania and playing well – they have given me the opportunity to be back here.”The reason I did not come back for IPL 2 and 3 was because I had too much international cricket on at that time. And now that I don’t have international cricket, the opportunities for me to play in these domestic tournaments are really opening up.”After the IPL ends in May, Ponting will head to England for two months to play for Surrey and then to the West Indies for nearly five weeks to play in the Caribbean Premier League which begins on July 29.Ponting said his experience of leading Australia will play a crucial role in captaining Mumbai that already has some big names, such as Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, with whom he has had “great battles” over the years.”I have got a really good idea of what makes good teams successful,” Ponting said. “And they are all the things I will be bringing to the table in Mumbai. To think that I will be playing alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, some of the guys I have had great battles over the years, and some of the young local Indian talent I have come across in the last couple of days is great.”With Mumbai now, we have John Wright, a successful ex-India coach, and Anil Kumble, a successful Indian captain and a very very good Indian player and leader. Obviously me coming into the set-up, we have put together a really strong leadership group.”Mumbai finished third in the points table last season and lost to Chennai Super Kings in the elimination final by 38 runs. The closest they came to winning the title was in 2010 when they lost to Super Kings again in the final.”Mumbai Indians have a pretty proud tradition in IPL of finishing up the top and being in the semi-finals,” Ponting said. “We obviously haven’t won the tournament yet but hopefully this year is our year.”

Delhi Daredevils fought in the field after a meek showing with the bat, but Sunrisers Hyderabad prevailed in a low-scorer at the Feroz Shah Kotla, as Dale Steyn hit the winning runs with four balls to spare

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAmit Mishra made an impact with bat and ball for Sunrisers•BCCIDelhi Daredevils fought in the field after a meek showing with the bat, but Sunrisers Hyderabad prevailed in a low-scorer at the Feroz Shah Kotla, as Dale Steyn hit the winning runs with four balls to spare, after having been the Daredevils’ chief antagonist during their innings. The hosts’ spinners brought their side into the game by making regular breakthroughs in a tight middle spell, but in the end Daredevils’ 114 proved to be too few, despite the pitch having slowed considerably since their time in the middle.Steyn’s outstanding opening spell was the catalyst for Daredevils’ collapse, even if Ishant Sharma finished with more wickets from the early overs. Steyn cramped David Warner for space with three fast, swinging, good length balls in the first over, before Warner attempted to break the shackles by going over mid-on, only to mistime the ball and offer a simple catch to the fielder there. While Steyn proved difficult to get away at one end, Mahela Jayawardene and Virender Sehwag targeted Sharma’s overs in order to establish some impetus, and they perished in consecutive balls in the fifth over, both attempting expansive strokes.The three big, early wickets worked to slow Daredevils’ progress, and the middle order batted tentatively, though often not safely. When Johan Botha cut one straight to point at the end of the 9th over, Daredevils were crawling at less than five an over, and they could not surge far beyond five an over at any stage in their innings.Amit Mishra bowled his four overs for 15 runs and took one wicket, and Thisara Perera broke the longest partnership of the innings – a 30-run stand between Irfan Pathan and Kedar Jadhav – before it could do his side much harm, but it was Steyn who returned to sting Daredevils at the death, and he finished with deserved figures of 2 for 11 from his full quota.Sunrisers had a solid enough base at the top of the chase, and the 44-run second-wicket stand between Parthiv Patel and Kumar Sangakkara proved invaluable, given the wobble that followed. Reasoning that only an aggressive approach would see him defend such a paltry score, Jayawardene maintained a slip throughout the innings, and brought men into the circles in the middle overs to cut off the singles as well as function as catching fielders. The ploy worked through the middle overs, as they claimed four wickets for 25 runs, in 40 deliveries. Parthiv first offered a simple leading edge to bowler Shahbaz Nadeem, misjudging one that stopped on the pitch, before Sangakkara, who had played some sublime strokes in the early overs, edged to slip attempting a late cut. Cameron White then charged Nadeem in the 14th over, and missed the ball by a distance, to find himself stumped, before Hanuma Vihari stroked Morne Morkel to mid-off, attempting to clear the tight infield.But their target was so low, Sunrisers only needed busy mini-partnerships to near it, and they kept their heads above water with runs that came in spurts. Ashish Reddy hit 16 from 9, and Mishra remained unbeaten on 16, to guide the chase home, with three wickets remaining. The Daredevils slid to their fourth-straight defeat, still waiting to open their account in the tournament.

On a day when Brendon McCullum shattered New Zealand batting records, coach Craig McMillan has described him as the most destructive batsman to have played for his country

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Hagley Oval26-Dec-2014On a day when Brendon McCullum shattered New Zealand batting records, coach Craig McMillan has described him as the most destructive batsman to have played for his country.McCullum’s hundred off 74 balls bettered his own record from the last Test match he played, in Sharjah. His innings strike rate of 145.52 was the highest for any innings greater than 150, in matches for which the number of balls have been recorded. He also scored 26 off one Suranga Lakmal over, equaling the New Zealand record that McMillan had himself set, in 2001.”The man is an x-factor player,” McMillan said of McCullum. “He has the ability to dominate and dismantle bowlers and change the tempo and the way an innings is heading very quickly. I think he’s the most destructive and domineering player to play for New Zealand, certainly that I’ve seen.”I don’t think I’ve got enough superlatives to describe that innings today. I thought it would be hard to beat what he did in Sharjah, which was a pretty special innings as well.”McCullum has had a prolific 2014, in which he has now hit a triple-ton, two double-hundreds and this 195, to amass 1164 runs in the year, at an average of 72.75. Those runs have also come quickly, at a strike rate of over 72, but McMillan suggested it was improved judgement that has seen him transform a Test batting record that had him averaging 35.21 before the start of this year.”One of the keys to his performance in Test match cricket over the last 12-18 months is the work he’s done on his defence. That might sound a little bit crazy when he’s belting the ball around the park as he has, but I think he’s tightened up in certain areas of his game, and kept the good balls out. When he gets any chance to score – and for McCullum the margins are so small for the bowlers – he really punishes you and makes you pay. We know he plays all around the wicket and has all the shots, but his option-taking, based around a sound defence, has taken his game to another level.”McMillan also reserved praise for James Neesham, who was involved in a 153-run fifth-wicket stand with McCullum, which came from just 117 balls. Neesham went on to make 85 from 80, but had been helped along by McCullum’s marathon assault, McMillan said.”James has been short of runs in that last tour, and today was a really important knock for him, just to see the confidence seeping back into his system. Batting with Brendon almost dragged him along and gave him the confidence to perhaps be a little more expressive.”It was probably the perfect situation for him to come to the crease and see McCullum at the other end. That just gives you confidence, regardless of how you’re playing, when you see someone at the other end make it look so easy, and playing the shots that Brendon was playing. I’m sure in their chat between overs, Brendon would have been relaying confidence to James, just to be nice and proactive, and to show good intent. And I think we saw that from him today. It was a really good innings and one that we needed from him.”New Zealand’s 429 for 7 – the fourth highest aggregate amassed on a single day in New Zealand – was lapped up by an 8000 strong Christchurch crowd. McMillan described it as the perfect way to reintroduce the city to Test cricket after an 11-year hiatus, during which the city has been through the trauma of two major earthquakes.”I think it has to sit right at the top, to be honest. It was a special day. A day of highlights. I think it was the kind of day that this venue and this city deserved, with what they’ve gone through over the last five years. Even in your wildest dreams you wouldn’t have picked a day of Test cricket like that, especially when the pitch is a little on the green side, and you lose the toss early on.”He also expected the surface to retain plenty of spice for when Sri Lanka bat, most likely on the second day. “We saw in that last over from Angelo Mathews that the ball is still seaming. The onus will go on our bowlers to hit the right lengths and attack the stumps. I think right throughout this game, there will be something there for the bowlers. There’s going to be pace and carry. The ball didn’t swing a lot today, but there’s certainly seam movement.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the Group D match between Bangladesh and New Zealand

The Preview by Mohammad Isam20-Sep-2012Match factsSeptember 21, 2012
Start time 1530 local (1000 GMT)An explosive start by Brendon McCullum could fire up New Zealand in the Group of Death•Associated PressBig PictureNew Zealand, considered underdogs for the tournament, will open their World Twenty20 campaign against a team that is also considered this year’s dark horses and actually hold a mental edge over them – Bangladesh crushed the visiting New Zealand side 4-0 in a one-day series, and though that was two years ago, the memory is fresh for the eight members of the current squad who rejoiced with the cricket-crazy nation at the time. But Bangladesh have to quickly realise New Zealand will be eager to take the lead in a group that also contains Pakistan.Ross Taylor will lead a side that has traditionally done well in multi-team tournaments, where they gel as a unit to reduce the gap between them and more talented or experienced sides. But this hasn’t been a very positive year for New Zealand. They did start the 2011-12 season with home and away wins over Zimbabwe on either side of a drawn Test series in Australia – which included win in Hobart – but it has been downhill ever since, losing at home to South Africa and away to West Indies in all three formats. There was a spark of hope coming into this tournament, as they recovered from a Test-series loss in India to take the rain-hit Twenty20 series 1-0 with a win in Chennai. Subsequently, in a way, this is a great stage for New Zealand – they get a global tournament in which to impress and make up for a poor year.The main issue for them is fitness: Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee and Rob Nicol went to Kandy a day later than the rest of the team, too sick to travel on the stipulated day. The trio suffered gastro problems in Colombo, but have since recovered and are likely to be fit for selection. Also, Kyle Mills, who was recovering from his collision with Brendon McCullum during the India T20, had a bout of laryngitis. He too is expected to be fit.Still, whether they are tested would entirely depend on how much fight Bangladesh can provide. Bangladesh, as opposed to New Zealand, come into this competition confident and well-prepared: after their rousing Asia Cup performance, they have devoted the Bangladesh off-season to exclusively playing Twenty20s.The recent history between the two sides, the talent within them and their strong reasons for needing to reach the Super Eights could produce a tremendous encounter.Form guideBangladesh LWLWW (completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WLLLL
Watch out forBrendon McCullum, the man who has played some of the most memorable Twenty20 innings since the format’s inception. It is not really a surprise that he is the leading run-scorer in Twenty20 internationals. His most recent chartbuster came from No. 3 against India and he could continue in that role.Bangladesh would expect Tamim Iqbal, their most destructive batsman, to be the fire-starter. Like McCullum, he can carve up an attack if things go to plan. But that’s where the similarities end. Tamim hasn’t fulfilled expectations in Twenty20 cricket, but the recent series in Europe and, especially, the Sri Lanka Premier League have helped him understand the format’s demands.Team newsFor once Bangladesh have a settled line-up in Twenty20 cricket. The modified top-order would mean persistence with Mohammad Ashraful as Tamim’s opening partner and Shakib Al Hasan at No. 3. Shakib’s promotion would leave the middle-order with the task of finishing games, with Mushfiqur Rahim leading the way, and Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah for company. Ziaur Rahman and Mashrafe Mortaza will provide the big-hitting down the order. The only change, mainly due to conditions in Pallekele that are not too conducive to spin bowling, could be that Abul Hasan’s pace is preferred to the left-arm spin of Elias Sunny. Jahurul Islam, Farhad Reza and Junaid Siddique will only get a look-in if there’s an injury.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Mohammad Ashraful, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Nasir Hossain, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Ziaur Rahman, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Elias Sunny/Abul HasanNew Zealand possess some prominent T20 cricketers; the key for Taylor would be to put together a line-up that balances attack and defence. He would be mindful of keeping the Bangladesh top-order quiet – Nathan McCullum could take the new ball to counter left-hander Tamim, but the difficulty would be to pick between four specialist pace bowlers who offer something different. Southee, if he has recovered sufficiently, would be picked on form, but Doug Bracewell and Adam Milne have pace, while Mills has guile.New Zealand (probable) 1 Rob Nicol, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Brendon McCullum (wk), 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Ross Taylor (capt), 6 Jacob Oram, 7 James Franklin, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee/Doug Bracewell, 11 Kyle Mills/Adam MilnePitch and conditionsThe batsmen would be happy to know that the Pallekele pitches offer a better run-rate than the other two venues at the World Twenty20 and New Zealand have some idea of this venue’s profligate nature: they racked up a 300-plus score against Pakistan in the World Cup here last year and won by 110 runs. The weather, however, could ruin the contest, as there is forecast of rain in the area at noon on Friday.Stats and trivia Bangladesh have played one-fourth of all their T20Is in July this year.New Zealand have been involved in three tied games so far, the most by any team.Quotes”If we had played some of our build-up matches against top teams, preparations would have been a little better. Still, with us playing together for quite some time now, I believe this is our best Twenty20 team.”
“It’s a very tough group and it’s going to be a tough game. We can’t take them for granted, they have got some world-class players in their side and we know that. We have respect for them and we can only control how we play.”

India’s batting is still in need of improvement, their coach Bharat Arun has said

George Binoy in Townsville16-Aug-2012India are in the quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup but their progress has not been smooth. After one hot and one cold performance in each of the warm-ups in Brisbane, their batsmen have been unable to find collective fluency in Townsville and had three underwhelming innings. They now face Pakistan, who topped Group B emphatically in Brisbane.”There have been a few hiccups, but we’ve come good,” said India’s coach Bharat Arun after the victory against Papua New Guinea at Endeavour Park. “More or less as planned, but we’d rather face these hiccups early in the tournament than in crucial games in the future.”India’s batsmen struggled against the pace and accuracy of West Indies’ quicks in their first game, making 166 for 8 at Tony Ireland Stadium. A day later, they made a solid start against Zimbabwe but lost ground significantly before a last-over cameo lifted the score to 261. The most surprising performance, however, came against Endeavour Park, after India had won the toss.”The idea of batting first [against PNG] was because we may get to face fresh wickets in future matches,” said Arun. “Some of the batsmen, who haven’t been in the runs, this was a wonderful opportunity for them to have a hit. But I guess this is something we did not make use of. So from the batting point of view it was quite disappointing.”India had only one partnership of more than 50 – between Vijay Zol and Smit Patel for the sixth wicket – and then lost five wickets for 24 runs to be dismissed for 204. They left 29 balls unused. The most striking sound on the day was the heightened whooping of 11 Papua New Guinea cricketers as wickets fell.”The same problem, losing wickets at regular intervals, just as a partnership begins to blossom, we lose a wicket,” Arun said when asked what the problem had been today. “Except for Smit and Zol, who put up a good partnership. But, if you look at it, a rather rash shot by Smit at that stage.”In a way it’s okay that they are not peaking too early. If they can realise the mistakes they’ve done today and in one or two other games, it’s a good lesson for us.”India’s captain Unmukt Chand said the batting would get stronger in the knockout stages because this team had taken time to adjust in previous tournaments as well but came good eventually. When India played the quadrangular series in Townsville earlier this year, they lost three league matches before winning the semi-final and the final.India have a three-day break before the quarter-final and their coach said they would use the time to get some “positive practice”. “It’s too short a time to work on anything. Maybe just about the mind. Make them feel good about themselves.”

Like last year, there is only a three-day break between the Adelaide and Perth Tests, but Siddle is hopeful he will be able to walk out with the team at the WACA this time around

Brydon Coverdale29-Nov-20130:00

Siddle: We don’t need a rest

If there was one image that signified Australia’s disappointment against South Africa last summer, it was the sight of Peter Siddle on his haunches at the end of the Adelaide Test. Depleted, dejected and, he later admitted, “a little bit delirious”, Siddle had delivered 63.5 overs in the match, the most by any Australia fast bowler this century. Australia fell two wickets short of a win, Siddle’s body couldn’t handle another Test four days later, and South Africa took the series with victory in Perth.Twelve months later, Siddle is preparing to return to the venue of his most exhausting Test experience, but in happier circumstances. Australia are 1-0 up in an Ashes series and Siddle’s workload in the first Test – 26.4 overs – is a vast improvement on the 53 he sent down at the Gabba last year. A four-day win in Brisbane also allowed an extra day of rest ahead of Adelaide, and all the Test fast men have sat out of the ongoing round of Sheffield Shield matches.There is always the chance of a fast bowler breaking down in Adelaide, as James Pattinson did early in last year’s match, but Siddle has his fingers crossed for a slightly easier time. Like last year, there is only a three-day break between the Adelaide and Perth Tests, but Siddle is hopeful he will be able to walk out with the team at the WACA this time around.”Going over to Adelaide you never expect a light workload,” Siddle said in Melbourne on Friday. “It’s always going to be hard work. Hopefully this year everyone’s fit. We’ve come off a lighter workload as a bowling unit so hopefully everyone gets through and there’s no hiccups at the start of the game [which would mean] a couple of us have to have big outings.”It’s about how you’re feeling, and I think we’re the biggest judge of that … We judge it in the end, like I did in Perth last year and said I wasn’t up to it. That’s the same thing that will happen around now no doubt. The selectors will pick the best team that’s 100% fit for that Test match … I couldn’t [back up] last time but we’d had a big workload earlier on. This time, it’s obviously been a lot lighter. We’ve just got to play it by ear.”Peter Siddle delivered 63.5 overs in Adelaide last year and missed the following Test•Getty ImagesThe one unknown this time is the new Adelaide Oval surface: for the first time in the venue’s 128-year Test history, a drop-in pitch will be used. Two Sheffield Shield matches have been played on the drop-ins this summer and the initial signs are not encouraging for fast bowlers. Across the two matches, spin bowlers have collectively taken 28 wickets at 41.39, while fast bowlers have tallied only 23 victims at 57.08. No fast bowler has taken more than three in an innings.Two matches is a small sample size, of course, and the second of those games – both draws – was getting close to a result when time ran out on the fourth afternoon. Johan Botha, the South Australia captain, said the pitch was “getting towards a result wicket, but you would still probably want a little more out of it on day one and two instead of losing only three or four wickets”. Siddle and his colleagues can expect plenty of hard work.”It doesn’t matter who you’re playing or what game it is over there, whether it’s a one-dayer or a Test match, it’s always tight,” Siddle said. “It is a tough ground to play at; the wicket can get pretty flat to bat on. But sometimes it can get a bit of turn, so the spinner will play a part. We don’t know what’s going to happen with these drop-ins, but hopefully it’s a good cricket wicket all round, the bowlers get a bit out of it and the batters can have a bit of fun out there.”We all saw Mitch bowl over in India on flatter wickets than we’re probably going to get in Adelaide and the pace and bounce he had on those wickets. We don’t know what’s going to be prepared for us. We’ll get over there, we’ll assess the wicket and see what plans we’ll go with.”Australia are expected to use the same attack in Adelaide as they did at the Gabba, although there is the chance of bringing in the allrounder James Faulkner for George Bailey as an extra bowling option. While Faulkner has a strong chance of playing some part in this Ashes series, Pattinson appears unlikely to take on England, despite the news that he will make his return from injury this weekend in club cricket in Melbourne.Pattinson is on the comeback trail from a back stress fracture and will turn out for Dandenong this weekend, though it will be as a batsman only. Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance, Pat Howard, said on Friday that Pattinson had a carefully planned programme for the coming month, after which his fitness would be reassessed, and he was not expected to play any Sheffield Shield cricket until the new year.

Aakash Chopra’s paper on measures to improve Indian domestic cricket will be presented at the BCCI technical committee’s meeting on Friday, chaired by former India captain Sourav Ganguly

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Feb-2012The BCCI’s technical committee is set to meet on Friday to discuss a number of issues surrounding the domestic game in India, including the merit of playing the Ranji Trophy quarter- and semi-finals over four days, and hosting all Ranji games at neutral venues.In what could been seen as another positive step, the board asked the veteran domestic cricketer and former India opener Aakash Chopra to send in a paper with his suggestions and recommendations to improve domestic cricket. The paper will be presented at Friday’s meeting in Mumbai, chaired by former India captain Sourav Ganguly.The idea to pick Chopra’s mind came from Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI chief administrative officer. An avid reader, Shetty was impressed by Chopra’s writings over the years in various media outlets, including ESPNcricinfo. But last November, when Rajasthan (the team Chopra represents as a professional) came to play in Mumbai during the Ranji Trophy league phase, Shetty suggested to him that a better forum would be to write directly to the board’s technical committee. “Because the decisions are taken by them,” Shetty explained, while speaking to ESPNcricinfo. “I told him since he was still playing his points would prove useful.” Chopra finally sent in his paper earlier this week.Chopra’s paper is exhaustive with elaborate recommendations. Shetty said the points have been passed to the technical committee. “My paper is all about whatever is plaguing domestic cricket and it is quite comprehensive,” Chopra told ESPNcricinfo.The key issues Chopra has raised are the points system currently points in place, the quality of pitches, and the role and relevance of tournaments like the Duleep Trophy. Chopra, who has always been blunt in his opinion pieces on domestic cricket, said that his paper stressed upon the solutions, too, without just harping about what ails the game.”If we can correct these things, the rest would take care of itself,” Chopra said. “If you talk about pitches, everyone knows that we must produce lively and sporting tracks.”Consequently, in a radical move, the board’s working committee recommended that the league matches during the Ranji Trophy be played at neutral venues, drawing a mixed response from the players. Shetty said the technical committee would deliberate on the matter tomorrow.Chopra said that this scenario had been created only because the state associations refused to pay heed to the board’s grounds and pitches committee’s brief. “Unfortunately it is always about what suits their (individual states’) players and what their position is during the league phase.”A prime example of a bad pitch was January’s Ranji final played in Chennai between Tamil Nadu and defending champions Rajasthan. Though Rajasthan won the title, Chopra agreed that the dead and slow pitch was a bad exhibition of the current state of affairs with regards to playing surfaces. “We had the head of the pitch committee and the south zone member on the pitch committee [present], and we were playing at a Test centre. All of them could do absolutely nothing.”As a solution, Chopra has a better approach than playing at neutral venues: the grounds and pitches committee must be made accountable for each and every first-class ground in the country. “If you cannot monitor it successfully, the state association should be slapped with financial penalties for making highways.”Chopra felt the current points system – that gives teams three points for securing the first-innings lead in drawn games – made for boring cricket and rewarded mediocrity. “We have to do away with the first-innings lead points. If it is retained the points accrued should be minuscule. It should not have a huge impact towards the end of the season.”As a counter measure, Chopra felt it would be good to introduce points for batting and bowling as is the case in England. “Then there should be a huge bonus for an outright victory, both in terms of points as well as money.”The monetary reward, Chopra stressed, would come into play during the knockouts where teams can’t have the points system and they would rely on the first innings lead. “I am 100% certain that teams would go that extra yard because every cricketer likes to have his kitty full.”Chopra was also concerned about the domestic calendar which kicks off in October and is choc-a-bloc with players participating in various tournaments till March before the IPL begins in early April. “The calendar is crowded and something needs to be done about it,” he said.Several cricket watchers including Harsha Bhogle have suggested that the Ranji Trophy should abolish the Elite and Plate group format, and the number of teams should be brought down from the existing 27 to 12. “There is a radical thought that fewer teams would mean better competition,” Chopra said. “That is true. But is it is possible within our system?” Chopra has said that since that is not “plausible” he has some suggestions where the BCCI could make the most of the 27 teams and how the competition would be a level-playing field.Chopra also endorsed the idea that knockout games should be played over five days. “My issue is that, in knockouts, a lead of one run cannot be a substantial differentiator between the quality of two sides,” he explained.According to Chopra, in a four-day game there is no time to bounce back if the opponent takes a lead, no matter how marginal. “If you eliminate that by having a five-day game there is more time if you have the intent. And in knockouts teams definitely would like to make a match out of it but there needs to be a realistic chance in terms of time.”