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Sreesanth, the India fast bowler, has said that he will continue to represent his home state, Kerala, in the Ranji Trophy

Cricinfo staff15-Jun-2010Sreesanth, the India fast bowler, has said that he will continue to represent his home state, Kerala, in the Ranji Trophy. He had earlier hinted at the possibility of switching states for the 2010-11 domestic season.”I always want to represent the Indian team as a Keralite and I will continue to play for Kerala”, he said in Thiruvananthapuram.Sreesanth had been included in Kerala’s 25-man preliminary squad but was not named captain. “Though I have not taken a final decision,I might opt for playing for another state in the coming season,” he had told PTI at the time. “Even if I play for some other state, it is because I want to play more cricket, so that I could do well and get into team India.”However, he said that he would stick with Kerala. “I only mentioned my opinion during an interview and nothing more to be attributed to it. Series and matches are coming and I am working hard to be part of the [Indian] team.”

Until the final lap of the chase, it was Leeward Islands who seemed ahead but Kieron Pollard killed the contest in his own inimitable style

Cricinfo staff25-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieron Pollard smashed seven sixes in a 20-ball 53•Nicholas Reid/West Indies Cricket Board

Until the final leg of the chase, Leeward Islands appeared to be ahead the contest but Kieron Pollard won the match in his own inimitable style, steering Trinidad & Tobago to their second successive victory of the tournament.When Pollard entered the scene, T&T needed 80 from 41 deliveries. Until then, they had struggled; the top order had collapsed and Dwayne Bravo was cautious as he tried to rebuild. Runs were at a premium but it was exactly the sort of situation that made Pollard the Twenty20 star that he is. And in a blink of an eye the chase was over. Most of his seven sixes either flew deep into the stands or clattered on the roof but Pollard still gave the impression that he was playing within himself.Pollard began his attack in the 15th over bowled by spinner Justin Athanaze. There is a theory that Pollard isn’t great against quality spin and Athanaze had conceded only 12 runs in three overs and had also picked the wicket of Darren Ganga. Pollard, however, pulled him to fine leg for four before dragging a six over midwicket and collecting another six with a dismissive waft over long off. He was just beginning to warm up. Bravo scored three boundaries off Wilden Cornwall in the next over before Pollard swung back into action in the 17th. It was a massacre: Tonito Willet was pummelled for four sixes – the ball ricocheted of the midwicket roof, the crowd at long on watched the ball fly over them twice and he finished off with a dragged six over square leg. Game over.Just before Pollard turned it on, Denesh Ramdin had revived the chase with a breezy innings. The plan was straightforward: Bravo would bat through, Ramdin would hit out and Pollard would take care of the rest. In the 13th over, Ramdin went after Gavin Tonge, who had picked two top-order wickets, by hitting a six over midwicket and two on-side boundaries. Ramdin fell in the next over but Pollard took over in style.Until the Pollard blitz, Leewards had had a fairly good day. Javier Liburd, the opener, had taken on T&T’s spinners and laid a fair foundation. He lifted Dave Mohammed to the long-off and midwicket boundary and cut Samuel Badree to point for more fours. Although he fell, playing all around a full delivery from Sherwin Ganga, Kerry Mentore took over and guided Leewards to a healthy total. Mentore crashed Sherwin Ganga to the roof on the straight boundary, mowed Pollard over midwicket and found support from the lower-middle order as Leewards raced to 161. For nearly 15 overs into the chase, it seemed a stiff target before Pollard stamped his presence on the game.

Sri Lanka’s attempt to compile a massive first-innings score and pressurize India were put on hold as the entire second day in Galle was washed out due to intermittent showers

Cricinfo staff19-Jul-2010Sri Lanka’s attempt to compile a massive first-innings score and pressurise India was put on hold as the entire second day in Galle was washed out due to intermittent showers. Overnight rain had ensured there was no play possible before lunch, and the conditions deteriorated further with bad light and sporadic downpours. There was a period when the covers came off after a dose of sunshine, but an inspection scheduled for 2.30pm never happened as the rain refused to relent.The hosts had reached a dominant position at the end of the first day, finishing on 256 for 2, with centuries from captain Kumar Sangakkara and opener Tharanga Paranavitana, who is still batting. With Mahela Jayawardene giving Paranavitana company, and Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews and Prasanna Jayawardene to follow, things look bleak for the Indian team. Spectators who had flocked to the Galle International Stadium on the first day in the hope of watching Muttiah Muralitharan bowl in his final Test were made to wait longer. Play is scheduled to resume at 9.30am on Tuesday, weather permitting.

Jacques Rudolph continued his phenomenal Clydesdale Bank 40 form as Yorkshire Carnegie extended their lead at the top of Group B with a five-run win over Middlesex Panthers at Scarborough

22-Aug-2010

ScorecardSouth African Jacques Rudolph continued his phenomenal Clydesdale Bank 40 form as Yorkshire Carnegie extended their lead at the top of Group B with a five-run win over Middlesex Panthers in front of a packed 6,500-strong crowd at Scarborough. The prolific left-handed opener went into the game as the competition’s leading scorer with 518 runs at an average of 85.50 and he completed his third century of the season with an unbeaten 124 off 108 balls.His highly-polished innings guided Yorkshire to 250 for 6 and put them on track for their ninth win in 10 games with just two group matches still to play, with Middlesex making a valiant attempt but finishing on 245 for 8.Yorkshire all-rounder Richard Pyrah was presented with his first-team cap by captain Andrew Gale shortly before the match began, but Ajmal Shahzad had to pull out because of a recurrence of the ankle injury which kept him out of the England squad. Tim Bresnan, who has been included in the England squad for the final Test against Pakistan, took his place in the side.Winning the toss, Yorkshire were given a good start by Gale, who made 36 out of 50 inside eight overs before Toby Roland-Jones claimed the first of his three wickets when the captain skied him to Tom Scollay on the square leg boundary. Adam Lyth did not last long on his home ground but Anthony McGrath then joined Rudolph – dropped by wicketkeeper John Simpson when on 10 – in a third-wicket partnership which contributed 138 in 23 overs.The stand was ended by Tim Murtagh, who also grabbed three wickets, McGrath falling to a catch on the rope by Dawid Malan after striking 68 off 75 balls with six fours. Middlesex checked the scoring for a while with three wickets going down in as many overs in the third powerplay but Rudolph glided to his century from 98 balls with nine boundaries and remained firmly in control until the overs expired.Opener Scott Newman kept Middlesex in the hunt with a powerful 77 from 70 balls with five fours and three sixes, and he and John Simpson had put on 47 for the first wicket in nine overs when Simpson fell lbw to Adil Rashid’s first ball. Newman and Owais Shah then added 54 together before McGrath too picked up a wicket with his first ball by knocking back Shah’s stumps and when Malan was bowled attempting to reverse sweep Rashid, Middlesex were 135 for 3.Two runs later, Bresnan yorked Newman and Middlesex stumbled until Neil Dexter was joined by Roland-Jones in a last-gasp ninth-wicket stand which added 51 from 37 balls, Dexter reaching his half-century from 39 deliveries with six boundaries. McGrath was recalled to bowl the last over with 13 required and Middlesex were unable to manage the boundaries they required to cross the line.

Warwickshire secured County Championship Division One safety on Thursday with a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Hampshire at the Rose Bowl

16-Sep-2010
ScorecardWarwickshire secured County Championship Division One safety on Thursday with a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Chris Woakes, with 5 for 34, caused the damage as Hampshire, resuming at the start of their second innings 85 runs behind, could only manage 132 all out.Jimmy Adams was the first to depart for the hosts, caught behind to give Woakes his first victim of the day. Fellow opener Michael Carberry lasted just a few more deliveries before snicking Keith Miller behind to leave Hants in trouble at 13 for 2.Worse was to follow as Australia’s Phil Hughes stay at the crease lasted a solitary boundary for four before he was trapped leg before by Woakes. The in-form seamer had his third wicket of the day soon after when Hampshire’s first-innings saviour Liam Dawson departed for just nine – the fourth of Hampshire’s top four to fail to reach double figures.Wicketkeeper Michael Bates maintained the Hampshire upper orders dreadful run of scores when he became another Woakes dismissal. The unenviable clean sweep of single-figure scores for the home side’s top six was soon complete – youngster James Vince was trapped lbw by Darren Maddy to leave Hants reeling at 44 for 6 – still 41 runs short of making Warwickshire bat again.The wicket brought Sean Ervine to the crease with fellow experienced campaigner Dominic Cork but even their wise heads could muster no more than a 10 run partnership before Maddy had Cork caught by Rikki Clarke.Ervine, aware that the responsibility for Hampshire reaching a respectable total lay solely with him, began to play with freedom, cutting and driving powerfully. In tandem with James Tomlinson, they added 22 before Imran Tahir tempted Tomlinson into snicking to give Clarke his second catch of the innings.Ervine was now swinging from the hip in his bid to make Warwickshire bat again and with the dogged Danny Briggs, raced to a quick-fire half century from just 44 balls, with six fours and two sixes.But after the pair had put on 56 for the ninth wicket, Briggs’ resistance was finally ended when he was trapped by a quicker Tahir delivery for 11. Ervine’s innings followed seconds later as he skied an attempted slog to give Woakes a simple return catch and his fifth wicket of the innings as Hants set Warwickshire a paltry 48-run victory target.Openers Varun Chopra and Ian Westwood knocked the runs off without alarm as Warwickshire ended a disappointing County Championship season in style.

A round-up of the action from the second day of the ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge where West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka all recorded victories

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2010
Scorecard
Helmien Rambaldo’s 67 for Netherlands women was in vain against Sri Lanka women•International Cricket Council

South Africa humbled Pakistan at the Witrand Cricket Field in Potchefstroom, winning by seven wickets with almost 20 overs to spare. Opting to field, they made steady inroads into the Pakistan batting. After top-scorer Nain Abidi was dismissed for 30 to leave Pakistan at 83 for 4, there was no stopping the slide. Offspinner Sunette Loubser grabbed three wickets and Pakistan wilted, bowled out for 123. Wicketkeeper-batsman Trisha Chetty anchored South Africa’s reply, making a steady, unbeaten 60 to see her team through to its second straight win in the competition.
Scorecard
West Indies eased to their second consecutive win of the competition, thrashing Ireland by 166 runs in Potchefstroom. West Indies had begun the tournament on a high, seeing off Netherlands women by 148 runs and bettered that effort on Thursday with Stafanie Taylor, yet again, emerging their star. Opening the batting, she struck 72, an innings laced with six fours, and was supported in a 95-run stand for the third wicket by captain Merissa Aguilleira (44). Both were dismissed off successive deliveries in the 33rd over but Deandra Dottin, the first woman to score a Twenty20 century, stepped up to smash 72 off 59 balls and propel the West Indies score to 275.The start to Ireland’s chase was encouraging, with the openers Clare Shillington and Cecelia Joyce adding 66. But then began the slide, as left-arm seamer Shanel Daley removed the opening pair and set about shutting Ireland out of the game. There was plenty of support from the rest of the bowlers; Anisa Mohammed and Taylor, with their offspin, made inroads, grabbing two wickets each to help West Indies surge to another comprehensive win. Ireland were bowled out for 110, no other batsman, after the departure of the openers, managed to score more than 10.
Scorecard
Sri Lanka opened their account in the tournament with a comfortable win over Netherlands at the North-West University No.1 Ground in Potchefstroom. Their decision to bat was justified by a solid start provided by opener Hiruka Fernando and an attacking innings by Suwini de Alwis, who top-scored with 73, striking nine fours. Sandamali Dolawatta steadied things when Sri Lanka had appeared to lose their way towards the end of their innings with an unbeaten 48. She struck just one four in her knock but kept scoring at a good pace during her 61-ball stay. Sri Lanka managed 245, which proved more than adequate.Netherlands tried to put up a fight, captain Helmien Rambaldo scoring 67, adding 65 for the second wicket with opener Violet Wattenberg and a further 71 for the third wicket with Annemarie Tanke. However, those runs took too much time to accumulate and Netherlands struggled to match the increasing run-rate. Sri Lanka captain Shashikala Siriwardene removed her counterpart to make it 153 for 4 and Netherlands eventually ended up short, finishing on 195 for 8.

Brad Hodge produced a belligerent century and Shane Harwood delivered a stinging performance as Victoria demolished Western Australia at the WACA

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2010Victoria 4 for 319 (Hodge 134*, Finch 81) beat Western Australia 206 (M Marsh 44, Harwood 6-46) by 113 runs

ScorecardBrad Hodge started another season in style with an unbeaten 134•Getty Images

Brad Hodge produced a belligerent century and Shane Harwood delivered a stinging performance as Victoria demolished Western Australia at the WACA. Hodge smashed 134 off 125 balls to rush the visitors to 4 for 319 before the Warriors fell for 206 to suffer a 113-run defeat in their first match under Mickey Arthur, the former South Africa coach.In between the two stages of Hodge’s brutal innings, Harwood ruined the home side’s top order with four wickets on the way to a career-best 6 for 46 off 7.4 overs. The performance was particularly satisfying for Harwood, 36, as he was returning from major shoulder surgery that threatened his career.There were no problems over his pace or bounce as his sharp lifting deliveries ended the stays of Wes Robinson (2), Shaun Marsh (18), Liam Davis (33) and Adam Voges (32). The brutal five-over spell left the hosts at 4 for 88, 53 runs behind their opponents after 20 overs, and the game was almost over.Hodge, who resumed on 58, and Aaron Finch, who was 54, quickly made sure of the result as they took advantage of Western Australia’s wayward bowling. Finch fell for 81 off 75 balls – he peaked with three fours from a Brett Dorey over – but Hodge kept going and showed that he remains a master at the age of 35.In his first innings he hit the debutant Michael Beer for a straight six before slog-sweeping another next over from Aaron Heal. His century came with a glide to third man – he celebrated with a couple of push-ups – and after crunching Ashley Noffke (0 for 82) for fours through cover and midwicket, he then showed more muscle by clearing the sightscreen in the final over of the innings. Andrew McDonald also beat the rope twice in his unbeaten 30 off 20 balls.Western Australia required an almost impossible 232 from the final 25 overs, but Luke Pomersbach and Luke Ronchi gave it a go during a 46-run stand off 31 balls. However, Ronchi fell on 28 to a miscue to midwicket and next ball John Hastings (3 for 50) had his second when Pomersbach (16) found mid-off.Mitchell Marsh showed flashes of brilliance in his 44, including hitting Harwood for six to long-on, but he gave him his fifth wicket aiming another big shot. Next ball Harwood picked up his sixth, ending the match with the lbw of Beer. Peter Siddle played his first game in Australia after over-coming back stress fractures and showed decent pace in his 0 for 53 off nine overs.

IPL 4 will have yet another new franchise within the next month, with this team likely to be from the north of the country

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2010IPL 4 will have yet another new franchise within the next month, with this team likely to be from the north of the country. The IPL governing council that meets on Wednesday in Mumbai will formally discuss marketing contracts, but all informal discussion will centre on the next step to be taken due to the inability of the consortium that bought the Kochi franchise to resolve their ownership dispute. An IPL governing council member told ESPNcricinfo that any settlement within the Kochi franchise looks unlikely before the November 27 deadline set for them by the board, and said that, “a tender for a new franchise would once again be open the next day, by November 28.”The moment the new tender is announced, we’ll give within ten or fifteen days time for people to make their bids,” he said. “The final announcement as to who wins the bid will be made after an open financial bid, so that there are no disputes later.”The earliest a player auction could then be held, he said, would be the first week of January, making it almost a two-month delay from the originally announced period of late November. The IPL governing council also seemed to be in agreement, he said over the location of the new franchise. “The next tender will be given to a group bidding for a city team from the north,” he said. The termination of both the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab meant that the geographical break-up of the IPL was unevenly distributed towards the west and the south of India. Of the eight teams, only Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils belong to “northern” India.The auction is not the only variable in the IPL calendar. There are two cases in the Bombay High Court, filed by the expelled Rajasthan and Punjab franchises, that could plausibly derail the league’s plans. Rajasthan and the BCCI have agreed to an arbitration proceeding to settle their dispute.Ironically the new IPL Player Regulations list sent out to the franchises earlier this week, specified the new catchment areas of the eight franchises, and included the two new franchises, Team Pune and Team Kochi. Within a month, this list may have to be reworked again. Given the environment of uncertainty, IPL executives have been travelling around the country in the meantime, meeting up with the franchises and assuring them of plans already in place for the fourth season, regardless of all the uncertainty that has plagued the league in the last six months.The uncertainty began with Kochi and the ‘sweat equity’ issue, which led to the resignation of an Indian cabinet minister linked with the new franchise, and was followed by the suspension of the IPL’s ‘commissioner-chairman’ Lalit Modi for alleged financial improprieties. And it continued with the surprising termination of two established franchises, Rajasthan and Punjab, and the continuing inability of the Kochi consortium to get its house in order.

Mitchell Johnson is currently so obsessed by the Ashes that when he is bowling at Australians in the nets he is seeing English batsmen

Peter English in Brisbane23-Nov-2010Mitchell Johnson is currently so obsessed by the Ashes that when he is bowling at Australians in the nets he is seeing English batsmen. “So when Shane Watson came in I was thinking of a Kevin Pietersen-type,” he said. “But I didn’t bounce him!”Johnson is desperate to move on from his awful Ashes campaign in 2009 and is altering his vision to turn his dreams into reality at the Gabba from Thursday. He had a strong work-out in Brisbane on Tuesday using an unconventional approach.”I was trying to bowl the length I want to bowl, particularly to their top order,” he said. “Every batter who came in I was thinking of English batters.”I’m thinking about [the series] all the time. I’ve come off a pretty good couple of weeks and I’m raring to get out there and bowl fast.”In this series he will not worry if he doesn’t swing the ball and will instead focus on speed. He has already said he will target Andrew Strauss with short deliveries, but he has almost given up on being the all-round bowler who dominated South Africa two summers ago. On that tour he moved the ball into the right handers, angled it away and roughed up Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Co with his bouncers as well.”I went through a stage where I thought I could try to work on swinging the ball,” he said. “I can do it on a short run in the nets. It’s different to come in off the long run. I’m happy with where I am with my bowling – running in, bowling fast.”In the Ashes contest four years ago Johnson was 12th man for the entire series, but having experienced the build-up and the pressure of the 2009 campaign he is feeling more settled this time. “It’s about harnessing that energy until Thursday,” he said. “I came out of South Africa [in 2009] bowling really well and I thought it was just going to happen throughout the last Ashes. This time I’ve really worked hard.”Like most of the Australians, he has played down the side’s recent losing streak of seven games in a row in all forms, and he thought there were good signs in the 2-0 defeat in India. He also believes that while the home team has been under scrutiny, it is England who will face more heat.”We talk about the pressure on us, but there’s a lot of pressure on them,” Johnson said. “Last time they were beaten 5-0, now they’re holding the urn, so there’s a lot of pressure of them to perform and eyes on them.”

Pakistan’s limited-overs captain, Shahid Afridi, has said he is ready to testify before the ICC tribunal hearing the case of the three Pakistan players

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2011Pakistan’s limited-overs captain, Shahid Afridi, has said he is ready to testify before the ICC tribunal hearing the case of the three Pakistan players who have been provisionally suspended by the ICC for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy. Afridi had already spoken to the ICC ahead of its decision against Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt.”I have already said what I had to say and what I saw,” Afridi told Pakistani daily . “I could not have lied before the ICC because they already had enough information about the case. I have a clean conscience … I was asked about Mazhar Majeed [the central figure in the controversy] and his brother Azhar so whatever I knew I told the ICC.”The ICC’s tribunal is set to hear the case in Doha from January 6-11, before delivering the final verdict on the trio’s future. They have been suspended from the game since the time the controversy first erupted, after the released a sting video in which Majeed allegedly claimed to have bribed the Pakistan trio to bowl pre-planned no-balls in the final Test against England at Lord’s.Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach during the England tour, is also set to testify along with Afridi in Doha.