All posts by n8rngtd.top

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has denied reports of a rift with Twenty20 leader Mohammad Hafeez ahead of the five-match ODI series against South Africa

Firdose Moonda09-Mar-2013Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has denied reports of a rift with Twenty20 leader Mohammad Hafeez ahead of the five-match ODI series against South Africa.The Pakistan media alleged the pair had been involved in a verbal altercation during the warm-up match against the South African Invitation XI in Kimberley on Wednesday. Hafeez was not part of the playing XI in that game, which the tourists won in the last over, by just one wicket. Some publications claimed the main event was not the victory but a disagreement between the two players.The main issue of contention was apparently Hafeez’s position in the batting order. According to reports, Misbah wants Hafeez to bat at No. 3 while Hafeez wants to open, and Misbah is in favour of playing two allrounders – Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik – while Hafeez wants more bowlers.Misbah refuted all those claims. He called it “irresponsible and baseless” reporting, and said the team had laughed at the suggestions of infighting. “People who are putting out those stories should be ashamed of that. The team is like a family, we are playing here like a family, we all support each other and there is nothing wrong.”He also said such allegations tend to emerge “whenever we lose a few games”, as was the case in the Test series, and performances like their Twenty20 one would quell the chorus. “That [the T20 win] was really good for us and brought back a lot of confidence for the batsmen,” Misbah said.Pakistan’s management also moved swiftly to dismiss the assertions. Team manager Naved Cheema said the reports were part of a conspiracy to destabilise the team: “It has become a common practice to launch a propaganda campaign against the team by targeting players ahead of an important event, but the team management is fully aware of the situation and is determined to defy all such moves in the larger interest of the Pakistan team and cricket. Our aim is to take Pakistan cricket higher with our team playing quality cricket and producing positive results.”The PCB issued a statement rubbishing the claims as well yesterday. The statement said: “[In view of] reports in a few media outlets that there was supposedly a disagreement amongst the think tank of Team Pakistan, in particular between skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez, with regards to the selection of the ODI XI, the PCB high-ups launched a thorough inquiry. The team management was contacted in South Africa and it was discovered that no such disagreement whatsoever existed amongst the think tank, or between Misbah and Hafeez. It is therefore stated for record that all such isolated reports in the media are baseless … and an attempt to demoralise the team.”Meanwhile, Misbah was upbeat about his team’s chances in the one-day series and said they would rely on their spinners to keep South Africa tied down. “Our spinners are world-class and can really bowl well in any sort of conditions, especially in ODI games where we have to restrict the opposition by bowling dot balls,” he said. “In the one-day format, we can always put up a good show. South Africa are a good side, but they will find it a little difficult in this format.”

Yorkshire have been forced to deny a rift with their legspinner Adil Rashid, with the start of the Championship season only a few hours away

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2013Yorkshire have been forced to deny a rift with their legspinner Adil Rashid, with the start of the Championship season only a few hours away.Rashid was quoted in the on Tuesday as saying that if his season did not go well he would insist on going to another county on loan – the same route followed by Ajmal Shahzad, whose disenchantment with Yorkshire led him to play out last season with Lancashire before joining Nottinghamshire on a three-year deal.A statement from Yorkshire said that the interview had taken place on January 24 and that Rashid had apologised to the captain, Andrew Gale, for the embarrassment caused.Rashid only took 16 wickets at 41 runs each in 10 Championship matches last season and his batting fared equally badly – 129 runs at 16.12. His reputation as an exciting England legspinner in the making has collapsed, as he has even fallen out of recent Lions squads.”Now is the time to draw the line, and if it happens again I’ll say: ‘OK, I’ll go out on loan somewhere else to play’,” he said in the original interview. “I hope it doesn’t come down to that. I’ve been playing here seven years and I want to stay. But I have a career and I can’t waste another year.”It’s hard to come straight on and hit your length and line with every delivery if you’re hardly bowling and the coaches and people around you don’t give you the backing.”Rashid said that he accepted some of the blame, but it had to be shared with the captains and the coaches. “If a player’s not performing, don’t just all of a sudden disrespect him, or think: ‘Oh, he’s nothing now’ then as soon as he starts playing well: ‘OK, I’ll respect him again now’.”The captain knows what I can do because I’ve got 200-plus first-class wickets. He should have thought: ‘OK, he’s done this in the past, I need to back him.’ If I don’t get that from the captain obviously my confidence is going to go down.”In response, Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, said: “It is disappointing and frustrating that this article has been used on the eve of the season. Although an interview was conducted in January, the way Adil has worked and behaved throughout the winter would not suggest to me that we have a problem.”Adil has worked extremely hard and has been a vibrant member of the squad. He is someone who is valued at the club and all the staff here are committed to helping him become a consistent performer and fulfil his obvious potential.”There was also the sound of backtracking from Rashid. “It was an error of judgement to make those comments to the media back in January,” he said. “Yorkshire is a great club and there is a very positive atmosphere within the squad. I just want to concentrate on my game and work hard to be part of Yorkshire’s aim for success in 2013.”

A preview of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2013

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya03-Apr-2013

Big Picture

The IPL is a two-month long exercise but the controversies and issues it has thrown up in recent years have kept it in the news long after the last ball of each season has been bowled. The financial woes of Deccan Chargers was one such matter and it led to the franchise’s termination by the BCCI, followed by its acquisition for US$79.4 million by the Chennai-based Sun TV network. The new owners of what is now the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise retained 20 players from the original squad, but there have been some changes since.The team had a forgettable season in 2012, finishing second from the bottom. Among the attempts made by its new owners to reverse those fortunes is introducing changes to the support staff. Tom Moody has been appointed coach, Waqar Younis has been roped in as a bowling consultant, Simon Helmot was named Moody’s deputy, and Kris Srikkanth and VVS Laxman drafted in as team mentors.Kumar Sangakkara has been retained as captain, though he won’t play the team’s match(es) in Chennai. There are few specialist batsmen in the squad, which relies primarily on allrounders – those of the bowling variety. Sunrisers, at the auction this year, bought Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera, and Nathan McCullum. They also strengthened their attack with the purchase of medium-pacer Clint McKay and have replaced Darren Bravo with South Africa opener Quinton de Kock.Chargers managed to save face last year by winning their last two league games after beginning the season horribly, losing five in a row. Theirs was an all-round failure, with bowlers failing to defend sizeable targets when their batsmen clicked, and the batsmen not helping matters with their inconsistency when the bowling did better. Some of their overseas signings this time should boost the middle order and add more depth to the bowling attack.

Key players

Shikhar Dhawan was the team’s highest run-getter last year and remains a crucial player in the XI, though he’ll miss the first two weeks of the tournament due to a hand injury he suffered during the Test series against Australia. Dhawan has de Kock, Parthiv Patel, and Sangakkara as potential opening partners, and has plenty of confidence coming in to this IPL after a successful domestic season and a whirlwind century on Test debut in Mohali.Dale Steyn is the Sunrisers’ biggest bowling asset, but equally important will be Sangakkara‘s leadership. He’s playing under a new group of owners, though with a familiar face in coach Moody, who formerly coached Sri Lanka. Sangakkara had a poor IPL last year, averaging 18.18 in 12 games but has had an excellent run this year with a productive series against Bangladesh. If his own form was a contributing factor to the batting failures last year, he has a team with a group of players – Sammy, Steyn, Dhawan and himself – with recent successes that should be able to drive them to prevent the kind of beginning they had last season.

Big names in

Thisara Perera: Sunrisers spent US$675,000 on Perera, a reliable seamer with good variations and big-hitting batsman in the middle order. Perera has a strong reputation for the skills he brings, and his team might be faced with a tough choice between picking him and Sammy in the playing XI given the overseas quota, and Sangakkara and Steyn as likely starters.

Big names out

Dan Christian was bought for a whopping US$900,000 by Chargers in 2011, but that didn’t seem to have paid dividends last year. Christian played less than half of his team’s matchers and proved expensive with the ball. He was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for this season, for US$100,000.

Below the radar

Amit Mishra, the legspinner, has not played for India since August 2011 but has been doing well for Haryana of late. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament, he picked up 10 wickets in five games at 10.80, conceding just six an over. Together with McCullum, he is one of two specialist spinners likely to get a full spell and has warmed up well for the IPL this season.

Availability

Sangakkara and Perera will miss the Sunrisers’ game in Chennai on April 25. Should Sunrisers qualify for the knockouts, it remains to be seen if the current Tamil Nadu government makes an exception for those matches vis-à-vis the participation of Sri Lankan players. There is a possibility McCullum might miss the latter stages of the tournament, as New Zealand are scheduled to tour England then, with the first Test beginning on May 16.

Pakistan’s six-day conditioning camp in Abbottabad concluded on Wednesday, ahead of the Champions Trophy in England

Umar Farooq in Abbottabad08-May-2013Pakistan’s cricketers focused primarily on fitness and batting skills during the six-day training camp in Abbottabad, which concluded on Wednesday, ahead of the Champions Trophy in England. The players returned to their hometowns and will reassemble on Monday in Lahore before departing for Scotland.The weather in Abbottabad, at an altitude of 1260m, remained pleasant throughout the camp and the players took part in some practice matches. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said the players had ample time to gel.”The purpose of coming here was that the team should train without any distractions,” Misbah said. “It’s a bit cooler here and the pitches had offered some movement for the batsmen to cope with.”Misbah also said the players needed to pay more attention to fitness. “We are seeking improvement in fitness, at least close to the requirements of international cricket. We are not there yet but we are trying to hit the benchmark.”During the camp, you must have seen that fielding is directly associated with your level of fitness and we are working on both,” Misbah said. “We understand that if your fitness and fielding does not improve you will suffer in international cricket, especially in T20 and one-day cricket.”Misbah said the team’s defeats in South Africa had made his players mentally stronger. “In South Africa we played some tough cricket in tough conditions and the boys will benefit from it mentally. You get ready to face difficulties and I think our performance will be good in the Champions Trophy.”Opening batsman and T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez had rigorous net sessions, mainly working on his technique against seam bowling. Hafeez had a poor tour of South Africa, where he scored only 43 runs in the Tests and 118 in the ODIs, and was dismissed by Dale Styen on six occasions.Pakistan’s coach Dav Whatmore said it was more of a skills camp. “Obviously this is not the northern hemisphere, but it’s a destination where we can achieve a few things,” he said. “This is not a conditioning camp, this is skills camp because we are close to the competition. We are pretty happy with what we got, we had some bad (rainy) weather on Sunday but we managed to get 70 overs for ample match practice.”Pakistan had lost the Test series in South Africa 3-0 but fared better in the one-dayers, losing 3-2. “In the last series we were one game from winning the series,” Whatmore said. “We are okay, we just needed to improve on a couple of areas and we would have been a series winner.”Chances in the Champions Trophy is difficult to predict accurately, but I tell you what this team has got the ability. If we play to our potential we can put pressure on any team. Our goal is obviously to win it.”Pakistan will play two ODIs each against Scotland and Ireland later this month before taking on West Indies, South Africa and India in its Champions Trophy Group B matches.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI at Trent Bridge as New Zealand aim for rare whitewash

The Preview by Alex Winter04-Jun-2013

Match Facts

June 5, 2013, Trent Bridge
Start time 2pm (1300 GMT)Martin Guptill was pumeller-in-chief at the Ageas Bowl•Getty Images

The Big Picture

We knew New Zealand were a more competitive side in one-day cricket than in Tests but few would have gambled on the tourists having the series wrapped up with a match to play. The net result is New Zealand’s stock has risen significantly and England’s odds for the Champions Trophy are lengthening.Alastair Cook is facing his first crisis as one-day captain, largely caused by injuries to Steven Finn and Stuart Broad. To call Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes suitable replacements is generous. Dernbach has surely proved his isn’t currently an international bowler and Woakes has failed to perform as many thought he might.England are now at a crossroads with their bowling attack. They can stick with their seam-bowling plan and bring Boyd Rankin in and hope they have either Broad or Finn fit, or they change tack and utilise James Tredwell as a second spinner and Ravi Bopara to take pace off the ball. They must be mindful of likely conditions for the Champions Trophy when picking their side for the third ODI.Their batting line-up was a little keen at the Ageas Bowl and England lost too many wickets that stymied partnerships which could have hurt New Zealand. A trend of batsman getting attractive 20s and 30s needs to be bucked. Jonathan Trott showed the way but England failed to bat around him.New Zealand by contrast are in excellent shape with batsmen and bowlers in form and their side settled. Both efforts with the bat in this series have been textbook. Martin Guptill played two wonderfully controlled innings that allowed freedom for the dashing players down the order. However, an attack which takes pace off the ball would test the other skills of their boundary-hitters.The New Zealand bowling has proved successful, too. Kyle Mills, Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan have performed well with the new ball, Nathan McCullum has done a fine job as the spin option and once again Brendon McCullum has produced an innovative captain, his genius moment at the Ageas Bowl was the introduction of Grant Elliott. McCullum also sets a high standard in the field that his team have followed, out-fielding England at both Lord’s and Southampton.A dead rubber before a tournament gives both sides a chance to rest players – although McCullum has said his main thought is 3-0 – but England will be more concerned with rediscovering a winning formula after their Plan A was found to have a few flaws.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
England LLWWL
New Zealand WWLLW

Watch out for…

Alastair Cook has enjoyed an untroubled reign so far as England one-day captain as the side steadily improved and touched No. 1 in the world. But he has arrived at the first mini-crisis. Cook is cast as operating only within tried-and-trusted methods but now team selection and tactics may need to become a little more inventive to shake England out of the malaise shown in the first two ODIs.Tall, broad-shouldered and left-armed, Mitchell McClenaghan has enjoyed a tremendous start to his international career with 15 wickets at 18.73. He is a pacey, bouncy bowler who has taken to life in the New Zealand one-day side. He must have wondered what all the fuss was about having made his debut against South Africa in Paarl with the side at their lowest ebb of recent times. Since then, McClenaghan has been part of series wins in South Africa and now England and can look forward to a solid Champions Trophy campaign.

Team news

England have to make changes. There is no possible case to persist with Dernbach – the most expensive bowler in ODI history who has delivered 1000 balls. Rankin was drafted into the squad and, in a dead rubber, is worth handing a debut to. There is also a strong case to replace Woakes, who has failed to live up to his billing in 13 ODIs. Bopara could replace him in the allrounder’s slot or Tredwell could play as a second spinner. England could also choose to rest Graeme Swann and James Anderson, especially if they have one or both of Broad and Finn available again.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Boyd RankinNew Zealand, rather unexpectedly, have the luxury of a dead rubber but have already said that rotation for rotation sake won’t happen. Tim Southee should return after being rested at the Ageas Bowl and workloads of others will be noted. Daniel Vettori is unlikely to be risked ahead of the Champions Trophy. The likes of Colin Munro and Ian Butler may have to wait.New Zealand (probable) 1 Luke Ronchi (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Brendon McCullum (capt), 7 James Franklin, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Pitch and conditions

Trent Bridge is traditionally a swing-bowler’s ground and England will be hoping that proves the case if they maintain their Plan A. But the good weather could produce a wicket with plenty of runs in it again.

Stats and trivia

• The last time England were whitewashed in an ODI series at home was in 2006 when Sri Lanka triumphed 5-0
• New Zealand’s last ODI series sweep was in 2007 when they beat Australia 3-0 (excluding series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh).
• All five of New Zealand’s previous ODIs at Trent Bridge came during World Cups. They have won two and lost three, including defeat to England in 1975

Quotes

“What was impressive is that he always managed to find the right option at the right time.”
“It’s massively important to us to win this series 3-0. We don’t want to go to the Champions Trophy after having lost a game. We want to keep the momentum going. Any winning team is a confident team and we want to carry that forward into the Champions Trophy.”
Mitchell McClenaghan does want to lose intensity

Four wickets in nine balls for Jack Brooks were to no avail for Yorkshire as
they lost their opening Friends Life t20 match with Derbyshire by two wickets
with three balls to spare.

28-Jun-2013
ScorecardChesney Hughes set up Derbyshire’s chase but it nearly went badly wrong•Getty Images

Four wickets in nine balls for Jack Brooks were to no avail for Yorkshire as
they lost their opening Friends Life t20 match with Derbyshire by two wickets
with three balls to spare.Having been restricted to 119 for 8 after losing the toss at Headingley,
Yorkshire seemed to have pulled the game their way as Derbyshire slumped to 70
for 7 inside 13 overs after being 56 for 1. But Jon Clare, partnered by Tim Groenewald, slammed an unbeaten 35 from 29 balls in a ninth-wicket stand of 28 to see the visitors home in front of 3,700.Chesney Hughes and Wes Durston gave Derbyshire just the start they needed with
an opening stand of 40 in seven overs, Hughes blasting Brooks for two fours and
a six off the second over of the innings. But Richard Pyrah, who began with a maiden, then had Durston well caught by
Azeem Rafiq at gully and Shivnarine Chanderpaul held by wicketkeeper Jonny
Bairstow attempting to cut.Yet it was the return of Brooks that did the real damage by grabbing two
wickets in each of two consecutive overs to return career-best figures in the
competition of 4 for 21.Hughes chopped into his stumps and Wayne Madsen edged a catch to Bairstow
before Dan Redfern slashed and was brilliantly caught above his head at gully by
Rafiq and Tom Poynton holed out to Dan Hodgson on the midwicket boundary. It got even better for Yorkshire as Rafiq’s first ball was driven by Albie
Morkel low to Adam Lyth at long-on and the offspinner later trapped David
Wainwright lbw.But Clare had already thumped Rafiq over long-off for six and two fours
in the 18th over from Liam Plunkett added further impetus to the Derbyshire
fightback, which was nearing completion when 12 came off the penultimate over.Apart from Gary Ballance, who scored 44 from 45 balls with three fours and a
six, Yorkshire’s innings never really got into gear and the highest partnership
they could muster was only 28 for the sixth wicket between Ballance and Pyrah.Hodgson had threatened to break loose by smacking Groenewald for two fours and
a six off four deliveries but he was run out for 17 when Bairstow, in what will
be his only Twenty20 appearance for his county this season, played his second
ball to point and sent back his partner who could not beat Redfern’s direct
hit.

Middlesex needed just 80 minutes to wrap up a ten-wicket win and condemn Sussex to their first defeat of the season in the County Championship.

20-Jul-2013
ScorecardIt was fitting that Sam Robson was not out as Middlesex claimed victory•Getty Images

Middlesex needed just 80 minutes to wrap up a ten-wicket win and condemn Sussex to their first defeat of the season in the County Championship. Luke Wright was last out for 161 as Sussex were dismissed for 310 in their second innings and the Middlesex openers knocked off their target of 44 in nine overs at Hove.Sussex led by just 21 runs overnight with Wright on 151 but Middlesex made inroads as soon as they took the second new ball. Tim Murtagh’s first delivery with it made the breakthrough when Chris Jordan edged a lifter to wicketkeeper John Simpson.Sussex lost their eighth wicket in the next over when Steve Magoffin wafted outside off stump on nought and Simpson again did the honours to reward Corey Collymore’s excellent line.James Anyon briefly gave Wright some support as the ninth wicket pair added a further 15 but Murtagh struck again with the score on 308 when Anyon was caught behind off another ball which lifted sharply off a length to give Simpson his eighth catch of the game.With only last man Monty Panesar for company, Wright tried to hit out but only succeeded in finding Neil Dexter on the long off boundary, having added ten runs to his overnight score. Wright’s 161 came off 185 balls with 24 boundaries and a six.Murtagh and Collymore both picked up three wickets while Steve Finn, deemed surplus to requirements by England at Lord’s, was not required to bowl today.Middlesex needed 44 to seal their fourth win of the season and Dawid Malan finished unbeaten on 19 and Sam Robson, whose first-innings 166 had done so much to set up their victory, was 18 not out.

The ECB has demanded an “explanation and apology” from Australian TV station Channel Nine following claims that players have been using silicone tape on the edges of their bats to fool Hot Spot during the current Ashes series

Brydon Coverdale07-Aug-20130:00

Kevin Pietersen angered by links to Hot Spot crisis

The ECB will demand an “explanation and apology” from Australian TV station Channel Nine following claims that players have been using silicone tape on the edges of their bats to fool Hot Spot during the current Ashes series.The ICC has dismissed the reports that the ICC’s general manager of cricket operations, Geoff Allardice, would discuss the issue ahead of the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street as “totally incorrect.” During the series, several edges have failed to show up on Hot Spot, and the Channel Nine report made particular reference to Kevin Pietersen’s second innings dismissal at Old Trafford, which appears to have been the main driving force behind the ECB’s complaint.”These media reports are totally incorrect,” David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said. “Geoff Allardice is meeting with both teams and umpires to see how we can best use the DRS and the available technology going forward in the next two Test matches. It has nothing to do with any players.”Pietersen himself reacted angrily on Twitter after his name was linked to using tape. “My name brought up in Hot Spot crisis suggesting I use silicon to prevent nicks showing! Such hurtful lies. I am never afraid of getting out! If I nick it, I’ll walk. To suggest I cheat by covering my bat with silicon infuriates me. How stupid would I be to try and hide a nick when it could save me on an lbw appeal, like in the first innings where Hot Spot showed I nicked it.”Both teams have been frustrated by decision reviews during the series, especially regarding edges behind. Batsmen sometimes use fibreglass tape to help with the longevity of their bats, but the Australia captain Michael Clarke said he did not know of any Australian batsman using silicone-tape or any other method of attempting to reduce the effect of Hot Spot.”It’s hard for me to talk for other players, but I’ve never heard any type of conversation like that in the Australian change room,” Clarke said. “I didn’t know there was such a thing you could do to hide nicking the ball on Hot Spot. I wouldn’t have thought that a bit of tape would have made any difference anyway.”I think I would know. I’m a bat nuffy, I pick up everyone’s bats. I go through everyone’s cricket bats. I find the accusation quite funny, to be honest. I can’t talk for everyone but if that’s the case and we’re talking about cheating, I can guarantee you there’s not one person in the Australian change room who will cheat. It’s not the way we play cricket.”During this series, several edges have failed to appear on Hot Spot, but have shown up on the Snickometer, which is not part of the technology used by the third umpire.Graham Onions, the England seamer, was equalling damning about the claims. “It’s a huge accusation, and it’s outrageous really,” he said. “It seems completely blown out of proportion really; it doesn’t seem right.”I know the England players would never put anything on their bats. Tape has been used to mend cracks or to get our favourite bats to last as long as possible, but it sounds completely silly to even think that people are putting things on their bat to try and help them to cover up decisions.”I can say that we don’t put anything on our bats. We play the game as fair as you can, as I’m sure the Australians do as well.”