A summary of the first round of matches in New Zealand’s domestic one-day competition

Cricinfo staff08-Dec-2009Northern Districts held their nerve during a tense chase and secured a two-wicket victory with four balls to spare against Auckland at Colin Maiden Park. Chasing 265, Northern Districts got off to a solid start but the inability of their top order to play long innings resulted in a collapse from 136 for 1 to 196 for 6. Joseph Yovich scored a brisk 38, sharing small but valuable partnerships with the lower order, and eventually took his side to victory in the final obver. Earlier, Reece Young and Gareth Hopkins had scored half-centuries to lead Auckland’s innings but contributions from the others were meagre and they managed 264 for 8.Central Districts hung on for a 15-run victory at Rangiora despite Michael Papps scoring a terrific 150, which kept Canterbury in the hunt until the very end. Papps’ innings, which came of 149 balls, included 13 fours and three sixes but it was a lone hand. He got no support from the top order – Canterbury were 88 for 5 chasing 302 – and it wasn’t until Papps’ 97-run partnership with Chris Harris that the chase got back on track. He then added another 77 runs with Kruger van Wyk. Just when Canterbury were within striking distance, though, Papps was bowled by Brendon Diamanti off the last ball of the 49th over. He was the ninth wicket to fall and the last man fell two balls later, with Canterbury on 286. A trio of half-centuries had earlier led Central Districts to 301 for 9. Peter Ingram made 53, George Worker 84, and Matthew Sinclair scored 67. Carl Frauenstein took 4 for 48 for Canterbury.An unbeaten half-century from Neil Broom led Otago to a six-wicket victory against Wellington in a shortened contest in Queenstown. Wellington, after getting sent in, made 153 for 7 in 22 overs. Stewart Rhodes top-scored with 33 and there were useful contributions from Chris Nevin, BJ Cook and Matthew Bell. Otago’s start was shaky, with the openers falling cheaply, but Broom was steady during his 61 off 58 balls. He had an aggressive partner in Craig Cumming, who made 34 off 24, and Otago eventually won with six balls to spare.

A round up from the latest matches in the Faithwear Metbank One-Day Competition

Cricinfo staff30-Nov-2009Mid West Rhinos captain Vusi Sibanda anchored a tense run chase over the bottom-of-the-table Matabeleland Tuskers to give his side victory at the Queens Sports Club.In a low-scoring contest his 82 from 83 balls proved the difference and secured Rhinos’ second position in the table. Chasing a modest 193 the Rhinos lost regular wickets, and when Sibanda departed in the 37th over 40 was still needed with only three wickets remaining. It was left for the final pair, Michael Chinouya and John Nyumbu to take them over the finish line. Earlier Malcolm Waller was the star with the ball, finishing with 3 for 35 from his ten overs. It leaves the Tuskers with a solitary win from their five games.The game between Moutaineers and Mashonaland Eagles was washed out after 21.5 overs of the Eagles’ innings at the Mutare Sports Club. The visitors were going well against the current top-of-the-table side, reaching 111 for two at a rate above five an over.

Two individual innings by New Zealand’s Rebecca Rolls and India’s Mithali Raj dominated the World Series of Women’s Cricket match won by New Zealand at Bert Sutcliffe Oval by 53 runs today

Lynn McConnell25-Dec-2009Two individual innings by New Zealand’s Rebecca Rolls and India’s Mithali Raj dominated the World Series of Women’s Cricket match won by New Zealand at Bert Sutcliffe Oval by 53 runs today.Of the pair, Raj’s was of the most significance. As long as she was at the crease there was an outstanding chance for India to record their first win over New Zealand since 1994/95.Employing the wristy elegance so often seen from batsmen from the subcontinent, Raj scored 82 runs off 98 balls and while at the wicket with Hemlata Kala the team score advanced by 82 runs in 54 minutes, again off 98 balls.She hit 10 fours in her innings and made life miserable for opening bowler Nicola Browne whose first four overs cost 21 runs.New Zealand captain Emily Drumm tried everything with her attack and it wasn’t until she came in herself that the breakthrough was achieved.A reluctant bowler at the best of times, Drumm took three for 26 from seven overs before, having done the damage, handing the ball back to her less experienced bowlers to finish off the innings.”I have been trying to avoid bowling. I don’t want to rescue the side all the time,” she said.There were five bowlers selected to do the job and only two and a half of them had been doing that and she had to pick up the slack, she said.”We are struggling to get our bowlers bowling in tandem and in the line and length that the Indian batsmen have to hit to our sweepers. It is hard trying to create pressure as a bowling side when you can’t contain their batting. That sort of thing has to come from the bowlers,” Drumm said.At the moment, New Zealand was getting by because they were scoring enough runs, but against a better side like Australia the cost of bowling badly would see the Australians get the runs that the Indians couldn’t today.”This whole tournament is about getting our side to play at international level with quality and at the moment we are not doing that. We are not up to the Australian standard yet,” she said.New Zealand’s later batting flattered to deceive.Given a rollicking start by Rolls who scored what is believed to be the fastest half century in a women’s One-Day International, off 30 balls, and on 82 in the 11th over, the side ended on 239 for nine wickets.Rolls’ superb innings of outright attack which included 12 boundaries, ended when she was given out caught by wicket-keeper Sulakshana Naik for 59 off 37 balls. There appeared some doubt about the decision and it took a nod from square leg umpire Jeremy Busby for fellow umpire Dave Quested to send Rolls on her way.Just what might have happened had she been able to continue doesn’t bear thinking about which is probably why the Indians were so pleased to see the back of her.But in the time she was at the wicket, Rolls revealed enough firepower to suggest that when she gets her balance right between outright aggression and unnecessary risk, she is going to cause some teams some fearful problems.Drumm said the innings was one of the best 50s she had seen Rolls get and it was all the more memorable beccause of the beautiful cricket it involved. Drumm was equally complimentary about Raj’s batting and described her as “a lovely cricket player” and her wicket had been crucial to New Zealand’s success.The loss of Michelle Lynch soon after Rolls’ dismissal resulted in a loss of rhythm in scoring and it took solid attention to duty by the experienced pair of Drumm and Maia Lewis to regain the initiative. But it was largely through their placement of the ball and running between the wickets that they got the score moving again.They added 94 runs and were especially effective in dealing with the Indian spinners by getting down to the pitch of the ball and not allowing them to dominate. Neetu David was severely dealt to with 50 coming from her 10 overs. However, Nooshin Al Khadeer came on late and had the benefit of the lesser batting skills of New Zealand’s lower order and took four for 38 off nine overs.The New Zealand pair each scored half centuries, Drumm off 76 balls and Lewis off 80 balls. For Lewis it was especially significant as she has not played for New Zealand since the 1997 World Cup in India and in 46 matches for the country it was only her second half-century, although she also had a century to her name.Having achieved the milestone she gave the Indians two chances for her wicket, the second of which was taken.Drumm said she was delighted with the way she and Lewis batted, especially against a class spinner like David.”She is a class bowler and wouldn’t have gone for 50 runs possibly ever before. I was really pleased with how we dealt with her. We were able to pick her off and that was all to do with the start we had,” she said.New Zealand having been 179 for three in the 36th over then battled their way to 239 for nine which was not the sort of response that might have been expected.The problem with tournament play of this type is that if teams are not fully tested, not all the players get a chance to bat, and that looked to be sadly the case with New Zealand here.India’s problem is that while its lower-order has been getting the opportunities to bat, they have too often been under pressure to maintain scoring rates that they have not been able to play their natural games for long enough to have an effect.

The IPL is set to become the first sporting event to be broadcast live on the internet video-sharing platform, Youtube, thanks to a partnership with Google

Cricinfo staff20-Jan-2010The IPL’s 2010 season will be broadcast live on YouTube, following an arrangement between the league and Google, owners of the internet channel. The deal – under which all 60 games will be shown live or on a short delay on a dedicated YouTube channel – will apply across the world, except in the USA, which will have re-broadcast options.The agreement gives Google exclusive online rights for IPL content for two years, with both parties sharing revenues from sponsorships and advertising. The press release does not specify whether the service will be on a subscription basis – content on YouTube is largely free to watch – but Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, indicated in a media interview that it would be free.The most significant aspect of the deal is the amount of control it gives the viewers, who will be able to customise their viewing experience by choosing between different camera angles. Additionally they will be able to freeze, fast-forward and rewind the feed, as well as watch replays at any time during the day, a choice that is unavailable to television viewers who are bound by broadcast schedules.The move is expected to give the IPL access to global markets, especially those where it does not have arrangements for live telecast. That includes the UK, where the rights were originally sold to the now-defunct Setanta and have not been re-sold – and where the internet will now be the sole medium for fans to watch the IPL.This will be the first such deal in the cricket world, though in 2008 the International Olympic Committee had hosted highlights of the Beijing Games in countries that didn’t receive any telecast.”This changes the world of sports broadcasting. The internet has changed the lives of everyone and this will do the same for sport,” Modi told the . “We are now taking our event truly global for the first time. Google gives us access to 500 million pairs of eyes every single moment of the day. There are a few countries where the feed will be near as live which means there will be a delay of only a few minutes, but most places will be able to see live streaming of the action.”We do not have a live feed in the UK. People in the UK keep asking me why they can’t see it. Now if they have a broadband connection they can get it for free. It is about broadening the fan base, after that everything follows,” Modi said.”We are thrilled to have the IPL as our global partner,” said Shailesh Rao, a senior manager of Google India. “YouTube offers an open platform for sports and entertainment companies to take their content to a global audience and a great opportunity for advertisers.”

Sharad Pawar has met with Bal Thackeray asking him to stand down on his earlier remarks about the safety of Australian players

Cricinfo staff07-Feb-2010The ICC president-in-waiting Sharad Pawar has met with Bal Thackeray, leader of the right-wing political party Shiv Sena, asking him to stand down on his earlier remarks about the safety of Australian players during the third season of the IPL. This follows a warning issued by the Mumbai-based regional party that Australians will be barred from playing matches in Mumbai in response to the recent attacks on Indians living in Australia.Pawar, also president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, was accompanied by current Indian board president Shashank Manohar to Mumbai to meet with Thackeray and his son Uddhav, and the four sat behind closed doors for an estimated two hours. “We presented our viewpoint before Thackeray on this critical issue,” Manohar told reporters. “We tried to convince him that only one or two Australian players will participate in the IPL matches and by not allowing all IPL matches it is the state players [Marathi players] who will lose ultimately.”We also explained to them the format of the IPL teams and matches and how there were one or two Australian players in each team. Thackeray has asked for a detailed presentation on the issue which we will be providing in couple of days and thereafter he would consider our request.”Thackeray recently declared that “kangaroo cricketers” would not be welcome in the state of Maharashtra in retaliation for a series of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne. Leaders of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have also come out strongly in their criticism of attacks on Indian students in Australia, and said they would protest against the participation of Australian players in the IPL.Indian home minister P Chidambaram has since guaranteed visiting players security, while the Australian Cricketers Association has said it is close to receiving a security report being prepared by the IPL authorities.The two Australian players who are part of the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians are Dominic Thornely and Luke Ronchi.

Bangladesh had the better of the second day at Mirpur, posting 419 with half centuries for Naeem Islam and Shafiul Islam before reducing England to 107 for 3 during the evening session

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill21-Mar-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rubel Hossain removed Paul Collingwood for a duck as England were put under pressure•PA Photos

Bangladesh had the better of the second day at Mirpur, posting 419 with half centuries for Naeem Islam and Shafiul Islam before reducing England to 107 for 3 during the evening session. However, Jonathan Trott provided an exhibition of patient and determined batting to guide England to 171 for 3 at the close, finishing unbeaten on 64 after more than four hours of obdurate occupation of the crease.He added 76 with Kevin Pietersen to steady England after Alastair Cook departed early for 21, and a further 64 in an unbeaten stand with Ian Bell to chip away at Bangladesh’s first innings after the hosts’ positive batting performance in the morning.Trott started his vigil very slowly as Shakib al Hasan opted for the choking application of spin to cut down scoring opportunities after lunch. Shakib’s tactics drew early dividends when Cook attempted to break the shackles with his favoured slog-sweep, but managed only to loft a catch to a perfectly-positioned Imrul Kayes at deep midwicket.His dismissal left England wobbling slightly at 29 for 1, and with Pietersen’s arrival the Bangladesh captain opted to keep left-arm spin on from both ends, with three fielders in close and Mushfiqur Rahim geeing up his side with a constant stream of encouragement from behind the stumps.The pressure mounted with each successive maiden, and Bangladesh should have had another wicket when Trott pressed half forward to Shakib and the ball ricocheted off the bat and pad towards Jahurul Islam at short leg. But the debutant missed the chance, then Pietersen seized the opportunity to grab the momentum by skipping down the track to launch Abdur Razzak over mid off, and the runs began to flow once more.All the while Trott continued in an ultra-defensive vein, cutting out all risk from his batting and waiting for the bowlers’ concentration to waver. He collected all of his seven boundaries in the arch between deep square-leg and wide mid on, as he was more than happy to simply occupy the crease and wait for the bad balls – whether full tosses or long hops on the pads – to arrive. Razzak was the main culprit in that regard, and though he was used for 19 overs in the day and picked up Cook’s wicket, very rarely was he able to sustain any sort of pressure.Pietersen was more enterprising, although Rubel Hossain should have had his wicket when he beat him with reverse swing to rap the batsman on the pads, but umpire Rod Tucker decided there was enough doubt to turn the appeal down. Pietersen continued to find the boundary with regularity to reach 5,000 runs in Test cricket but Four balls later he charged down the pitch to Shakib and succeeded only in giving Kayes an easy catch at short cover from a leading edge.England were in more trouble when Paul Collingwood was pinned on the crease playing across his front pad to his third ball, but Bangladesh could not maintain their intensity on a long, hot day of bowling on a placid pitch. Trott and Bell took advantage of the flagging attack, taking their partnership past fifty with minimum risk.Bangladesh looked tired and a touch deflated at the close of play, but there had been a definite buzz in their camp after their productive batting in the first session, when Shafiul and Naeem Islam took advantage of a muddled plan of attack and a lack of communication between Cook and his bowlers to add 74 runs for the ninth wicket.Shafiul rode his luck in his 53, while Naeem, as the senior batsman, was far more circumspect, being content to wait for the bad ball. With very little movement through the air or off the pitch Bangladesh’s lower order continually eased any pressure which had been built up by getting the ball down to third man – either off the edge or the face of the bat.It was a scenario that played out with grinding regularity as the day wore on, with Cook opting to protect both sides of the wicket – presumably as part of a plan to bowl at the stumps. But if that was Cook’s plan then he was either badly let down by his bowlers or had failed to communicate it to them, as they repeatedly fired the ball at or outside off stump.Shafiul was dismissed shortly after registering his maiden half century from 47 balls, but Naeem batted on, bringing up his own milestone and taking Bangladesh past 400 in the midst of a 31-run partnership for the tenth wicket with Rubel.Bangladesh will have been pleased by their effort in making England toil so hard in the first session, but for the rest of the day it was their turn to face the trial of trying to take wickets on what remains a flat, true pitch. However, there is still much work for Trott and Bell to put England in a safe position and should the hosts strike early on the third morning they could still put the visitors under a real pressure in this Test.

Raqibul Hasan, the Bangladesh batsman who retired on the eve of the Test series against England before subsequently overturning the decision a week later, has had his contract terminated by the Bangladesh Cricket Board

Cricinfo staff19-Mar-2010Raqibul Hasan, the Bangladesh batsman who retired on the eve of the Test series against England before subsequently overturning the decision a week later, has had his contract terminated by the Bangladesh Cricket Board and won’t be considered for selection for three months.Raqibul threw Bangladesh’s plans into disarray the day before the opening Test in Chittagong when he announced his retirement plans on the team bus. However, on March 17 he sent another letter to the board reversing his decision.”The board considers Raqibul’s conduct in the whole affair as disruptive to the preparation of the Bangladesh team ahead of a highly important Test match,” a statement said. “It was a serious breach of discipline on part of a contracted player and unbecoming of an international cricketer.”As such the board has terminated his contract with immediate effect and he will not be considered for selection in the national team for three months effective from 19 March to 19 June 2010. However he will be allowed to participate in domestic cricket competitions.”That decision rules him out the World Twenty20, although he hadn’t been named in the preliminary squad for that event, and more significantly Bangladesh’s tour of England which starts at the end of May. However, he will be eligible for selection by the time the one-day series in England takes place in July.Raqibul’s move was in response to being omitted from the one-day series against England and also the preliminary World Twenty20 squad, although there were also reports of disagreement between board and selectors over his place in the Test squad. He had been earmarked for a Test recall after an impressive warm-up match for Bangladesh A against England where he made 107 and 51.”The board believes that timely punitive measures would discourage other players from taking similar path in future and has decided that very strict actions will be taken against cricketers who break discipline and BCB’s code of conduct,” the statement added.Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, had earlier indicated that he hoped to have Raqibul available for the Tests in England. “We’ve spoken to him, but it is still up to a board decision to release him back to play,” he said.”That’s not happening yet so he’s left his run a little bit late. I would have had him back no problem but there’s a few little delays happening. Hopefully we’ll have him back for the England tour and the Asia Cup.”

A combined batting effort from South Africa Academy took them to 371 on the first day against Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy in Chittagong

Cricinfo staff22-Apr-2010
Scorecard
A combined batting effort from South Africa Academy took them to 371 on the first day against Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy in Chittagong. Captain Wiann van Zyl top scored with 84, and the last two wickets added 123 runs.SA Academy, however, will rue the fact that their batsmen, despite getting starts, didn’t go on to get a substantial score. Of the seven batsmen who scored above 30, only one, van Zyl, went past a half-century. Van Zyl was well supported by Keshav Maharaj, batting at No.10. For Bangladesh Academy, Mahmudul Hasan bagged three wickets, and Tanveer Haider and Saqlain Sajib chipped in with a couple each.Zyl’s innings was an aggressive one, as he struck eight fours and five sixes in his 53-ball knock. Maharaj, too, scored briskly, smacking eight fours in his 47.

Western Australia have handed out four new contracts to develop their squad while cutting five players who failed to convince in 2009-10

Cricinfo staff06-May-2010Western Australia have handed out four new contracts to develop their squad while cutting five players who failed to convince in 2009-10. All the faces will be new to Mickey Arthur, who has replaced Tom Moody as coach, but Michael Beer, the Victoria spinner, and Martin Paskal, the New South Wales fast bowler, have also joined the batch of imports.The local allrounder Matt Johnston and batsman Michael Swart have been elevated to the contract list while Justin Coetzee, Theo Doropoulos, Drew Porter, Ben Edmondson and Josh Mangan were dropped. Nathan Coulter-Nile and Mitchell Marsh have been upgraded from rookie status to full deals.Beer, 25, is a left-arm orthodox spinner from St Kilda who was the leading wicket taker in Victorian Premier Cricket last season. Paskal, 24, was a rookie contracted player with New South Wales and has impressed with his Sydney University club side.”We have secured arguably the leading spinner outside of the state system in Australia and one of the most promising quicks in grade cricket, and have given a great opportunity to two promising local batsmen to show their wares at interstate level,” Arthur said. “The Warriors have been in a period of rebuilding over the past couple of summers, having lost a number of senior players, but we are very confident that we have a good balance of youth and experience in this squad.”Western Australia squad David Bandy, Michael Beer, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Davis, Brett Dorey, Chris Gayle (Twenty20), Aaron Heal, Michael Hogan, Matt Johnston, Brad Knowles, Steve Magoffin, Mitchell Marsh, Ashley Noffke, Martin Paskal, Luke Pomersbach, Kemar Roach (Twenty20) Wes Robinson, Luke Ronchi, Michael Swart, Luke Towers.

Rookie contracts Tom Beaton, Jason Behrendorff, Ryan Duffield, Jake Fawcett, Marcus Harris, Michael Johnson.

Cricket Australia contracts Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Adam Voges.

Tim Bresnan has been ruled out of the second Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Friday, after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot during England’s eight-wicket win in the first Test at Lord’s

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2010Tim Bresnan has been ruled out of the second Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Friday, after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot during England’s eight-wicket win in the first Test at Lord’s. Ryan Sidebottom has been drafted in as a replacement to an otherwise unchanged England squad.Bresnan was one of England’s star performers during the recent World Twenty20 triumph in the Caribbean, but his effectiveness was reduced during the first Bangladesh Test, with Andy Flower hinting midway through the match that he might benefit from a return to county cricket to reacquaint himself with red-ball bowling.That will not now happen in the immediate future, and a further assessment on Bresnan’s injury is scheduled for this week before a recovery timeframe is established. Ajmal Shahzad, who was omitted from the final XI at Lord’s, could stand to make his Test debut at Old Trafford this week, although Sidebottom’s impressive form for Nottinghamshire, coupled with his role in the World Twenty20, could tip the scales in favour of his left-arm offerings.”It’s very unfortunate that Tim Bresnan will miss the second Test through injury,” said England’s national selector, Geoff Miller. “His bowling benefitted from five days of Test cricket during the Lord’s Test and he would have been looking forward to getting more overs under his belt at Old Trafford.”It does, however, provide Ryan Sidebottom with an opportunity to push for Test selection following his outstanding performances in the World Twenty20. The entire bowling unit will be better for the overs bowled during the first Test and looking to further build on this in Manchester.””We can be very pleased with a number of aspects from the first Test at Lord’s,” added Miller, “resulting in a comprehensive win against Bangladesh.”England squad Andrew Strauss, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.