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An inexperienced South African Invitational XI will take on England in two two-day fixtures at East London ahead of the Test series next month

Cricinfo staff24-Nov-2009An inexperienced South African Invitational XI will take on England in two two-day fixtures at East London ahead of the Test series next month. Wendell Bossenger, the Griqualand West and Eagles wicketkeeper-batsman who was named one of South Africa’s five cricketers of the year, will lead the squad that includes seven Under-19 players.”Cricket South Africa (CSA) once again presents an ideal opportunity to aspiring young talented players to experience some of the intensity of cricket at the highest level,” Max Jordaan, CSA’s senior amateur cricket manager, said. “The chance to play against England on the crest of their cricket after their recent success in the Ashes series, should be a dream occasion for any young player. Chances are that some of them could impress favourably on this occasion.””This is a young inexperienced but talented team, most of them fresh from the academy and U-19 talent acceleration programme. The very nature of cricket is its unpredictability. The talent of the eager young men and youthful exuberance could present some excitement in East London.”With two separate matches being played it means England will be able to give all their squad a run-out before the Test series begins at Centurion on December 16. Ian Bell, Ryan Sidebottom and Steven Davies have recently flown out to South Africa and will join up with the squad after the one-day series. The two fixtures at East London will be especially important for Bell and Sidebottom as they push for a Test place.SA Invitational Squad Wendell Bossenger (capt), Andrea Agathagelou, Roy Adams, Temba Bavuma, Keegan Eccles, Pumelela Matshikwe, Mangaliso Mosehle, Ayavuya Myoli, Siyamthanda Ntshona, Blake Snijman, Yaseen Vallie, Piet van Niekerk, Divan van Wyk, David Wiese

Shane Warne doubts Australia’s Test future includes Michael Hussey

Cricinfo staff12-Dec-2009Shane Warne doubts Australia’s Test future includes Michael Hussey and believes the batsman should have asked for a move last month to help out the team. The side is under intense scrutiny after they were outplayed by West Indies in the draw in Adelaide and Hussey has looked scratchy even though he has scored 66, 41 and 29 in the series.”He should have put his hand up to open, so Shane Watson could bat in the middle order where he belongs,” Warne said in the Herald Sun. “He’s on his last legs, and it might be time to inject some youth into his spot.”Watson has done well at the top of the order since replacing Phillip Hughes during the Ashes but the selectors want him eventually to slot in at five or six. Hussey is currently at No. 4 and has scored 619 Test runs at 34.38 for the year, even though his one-day form is strong.John Benaud, the former selector, said he would have dropped Hussey for next week’s third Test in Perth. “It’s time for Hussey to go,” Benaud said. “His footwork is terrible. He is totally out of touch. It is not his average that matters when you analyse his form, it’s the direction of his form graph. It has been going down for some time.”

New South Wales’ title defences of both the Big Bash and the Champions League are over

Alex Malcolm13-Jan-2010
Scorecard
Andrew Symonds top scored with an unbeaten 38 as the Bulls roared in Sydney•Getty Images

New South Wales’ title defences of both the Big Bash and the Champions League are over after Queensland routed them in a rain-reduced nine-over a side clash at ANZ Stadium. The Blues’ pursuit of 111 was made impossible by a wonderful spell from Man-of-the-Match Nathan Rimmington (3 for 13) before the star import Daniel Vettori added to his three outfield catches with a wicket in two overs that cost just seven runs to break local hearts.The defending champions failed dismally in their first game, finishing at 7 for 56 in front of a record crowd of 29,743 that had to wait 90 minutes for the rain to subside. When it finally did Queensland batted first in a nine-over slog-fest that began shrouded in smoke from an ill-thought-out pyrotechnics display.Bulls captain Chris Simpson elevated himself to open and provided some fireworks of his own as he walloped 34 from 14 balls to get the innings off to a quick start. Andrew Symonds (38) and Lee Carseldine (25) struggled with their timing early on a very slow surface, but both cleared the rope in the eighth over before Dwayne Smith (2 for 18) bowled a crafty ninth to rattle Carseldine’s and Craig Philipson’s stumps as the visitors were restricted to 110.In the reply David Warner started brightly by taking nine off the first four deliveries, including a mammoth six. But Rimmington removed Phillip Hughes with the fifth ball of the first over, skying a catch to Vettori, before striking gold with Warner pulling the next ball straight to Philipson at short fine leg. Rimmington’s second over was his coup de grace, with him beating Moises Henriques twice with two outswingers before scratching his outside edge with a third.New South Wales’ night was best summed up by the run-out of Phil Jaques, who dived for his crease only to bury his bat short of safe ground in the rain-softened turf, allowing the bails to be removed with his outstretched glove still short. The Bulls then removed Ben Rohrer and Steven Smith in the next five scoreless deliveries to embarrass the hosts.Queensland joined Western Australia and Victoria with two wins each. Victoria’s net run-rate is the inferior of the three and they must beat Tasmania at the MCG on Friday, while the winner of Saturday’s crucial clash between the Bulls and Western Australia should decide who will host the preliminary final.

The IPL has released its final list of 66 overseas players who will be involved in the IPL auction on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff16-Jan-2010The IPL has released its final list of 66 overseas players who will be involved in the IPL auction on Tuesday. The list is a mix of rising stars such as Kieron Pollard and Eoin Morgan, and ICL returnees like Shane Bond and Damien Martyn in addition to Pakistan players returning to the IPL-fold. The list includes players from all eight Test-playing nations other than India, with 11 players from Pakistan, Australia and South Africa; nine from Sri Lanka; eight from England and West Indies; four from New Zealand and one each from Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Canada and Holland.Initially, 97 players had registered for the IPL auction and once the franchises had gone through the names, the list was pruned to 66.Brad Haddin, Phillip Hughes and Doug Bollinger are prominent Australia players in the list along with Damien Martyn. Haddin’s reputation as an attacking wicket-keeper batsman, and Bollinger’s impressive performance with the ball in both ODIs and Tests, make them strong contenders. Hughes could go high in the auction, given his average of 51.22 in Twenty20 cricket.Bangladesh’s flag-bearer is allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who, despite being ranked the No.1 allrounder during last year’s auction, wasn’t picked. Eoin Morgan’s aggression in the ODI series against South Africa will have some franchises interested – England’s players were named in the list only after the IPL organisers received a guarantee that they would be available for the full season. From New Zealand, Shane Bond’s admirable show after returning from the ICL, in the Champions Trophy, as well as in his short-lived Test comeback, makes him a bankable buy.The list also includes Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi, who had played for Deccan Chargers in the first season, and Sohail Tanvir, who struck the winning runs for Rajasthan Royals in the final of the inaugural edition. Pakistan’s finds of 2009, Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal, are also in the list, as are ICL-returnees Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq and Naved-ul-Hasan. Pakistan’s players did not participate in the IPL in 2009 following a deterioration in diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.West Indies boast an impressive group of contenders; chief among them is Trinidad and Tobago’s Pollard, whose clean, ruthless hitting in the Champions League Twenty20 could merit a lucrative IPL contract. Ramnaresh Sarwan comes back on the auction list while, for South Africa, left-arm fast bowler Wayne Parnell is in the fray for a deal.Here is the complete list:Australia: Brad Haddin, Philip Hughes, Doug Bollinger, Ashley Noffke, Adam Voges, Luke Pomersbach, Clint McKay, Graham Manou, Ben Laughlin, Jason Krejza, Damien MartynEngland: Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan, Robert Key, Anthony McGrath, Monty Panesar, Mark Ramprakash, Graeme Swann, Jonathon TrottPakistan: Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Imran Nazir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Aamer, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail TanvirSouth Africa: Zander de Bruyn, Wayne Parnell, Tyron Henderson, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Rory Kleinveldt, Yusuf Abdulla, Vernon Philander, Johan van der Wath, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Morne van Vyk, Justin KempSri Lanka: Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Zoysa, Upul Tharanga, Thissara Perera, Thilina Kandamby, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Chanaka Welegedara, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Chamara SilvaWest Indies: Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Daren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Wavell Hinds, Kemar Roach, Sulieman BennNew Zealand: Grant Elliott, Lou Vincent, Shane Bond, Nathan McCullumZimbabwe: Murray GoodwinBangladesh: Shakib Al HasanCanada: Rizwan CheemaNetherlands: Ryan ten Doeschate

A round-up of the fourth day of matches from the sixth round of the Regional Four Day Competition

Cricinfo staff23-Feb-2010Shivnarine Chanderpaul was at the forefront during Guyana‘s first win of the season, and for three years in the WICB regional first-class championship, as they beat Leeward Islands by five wickets at the National Cricket Centre in Couva. Chanderpaul followed up his first-innings century with 32 not out, as Guyana, chasing a modest 98 for victory, reached their target before lunch. The result never appeared to be in doubt, although they lost Assad Fudadin and wicketkeeper Derwin Christian continuing from their overnight score of 49 for 3. But Chanderpaul was there to provide the final touch.”It is always good to win, and it will be a big boost to the team’s confidence going into the final round,” said Chanderpaul. “You needed to apply yourself and be patient which is a problem for most of our batsmen.”Apart from spending time in the middle, Chanderpaul was also pleased that his thumb injury, sustained during West Indies’ tour of Australia in December, hadn’t played up. “I’m feeling okay with my injury,” he said. “Victory against Zimbabwe in the coming series will be a psychological boost to the team and the fans in the Caribbean. We have to lift our game and play more intelligent cricket.”Offspinner Amit Jaggernauth starred with the ball to hand Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) a 155-run victory over Windward Islands in Port of Spain. Jaggernauth picked up 5 for 47 as Windwards, chasing 373 for victory, were cleaned up before the lunch interval. T&T had early success after the Windwards resumed from their overnight 129 for 5, with Imran Khan trapping Shane Shillingford leg before for 1. But from then on it was the Jaggernauth show as the Windwards lower order found the mixture of offspinners and googlies too hot to handle. The result helped T&T climb to third on the points table, whereas Windwards hit rock bottom.

Peter English15-Mar-2010Victoria are hoping their captain Cameron White will be able to switch into first-class mode when they chase consecutive Sheffield Shield wins this week. White has spent most of the year with Australia’s limited-overs sides and has returned from New Zealand to lead his state against Queensland at the MCG from Wednesday.Instead of aiming for a boundary or more an over he will have to operate much more cautiously over five days with his tactics and strokeplay. While players shift formats regularly during a season, White’s jump will be a significant shock as he hasn’t appeared in a first-class match since before Christmas.”Cameron White coming back to turn his head from white-ball cricket into red ball is a big ask,” Victoria’s coach Greg Shipperd said. “It’s a huge challenge in terms of your psychology.”It’s a five-day game and you need to make good decisions for long periods of time, it’s something we managed to juggle particularly well this season. Hopefully he’s able to switch on, on Wednesday. As a captain he played a terrific final for us last year and will be keen to do it again.”White scored a century in the rain-affected draw against the Bulls at the Junction Oval in 2008-09, which secured the trophy for Victoria. The venue this week is the MCG, where the hosts are unbeaten in their past 13 first-class matches.The Bushrangers are also in their ninth consecutive domestic final in all three formats, making them strong favourites against a developing and inconsistent Queensland side. Victoria’s line-up has also changed, with Brad Hodge and Dirk Nannes retiring from first-class cricket, and Shipperd wants the duties shared.”Everyone in the side has got a responsibility to do their job, from the opener pairing in Nick Jewell and Chris Rogers, to David Hussey, to the emerging boy Aaron Finch,” he said. “Andrew McDonald is still wanting to show the cricket world he’s one of the best allrounders in the business, and our aging pace bowling attack, they’ve got a job to do.”Shipperd and the Victorians are aware of Queensland’s desire to win back the trophy after last year and he is most worried by their bowling attack. “Ben Cutting had a terrific season and Chris Swan and Luke Feldman move the ball,” he said. “Our batting has to be on guard.” Rogers has been cleared to play despite a broken hand while the legspinner Bryce McGain has held on to his spot.If the Victorians click, they should have the power to grind down Queensland, although they have had some slips at the last stage. “Our hunger for competition speaks for itself in that we’ve been in 13 of the last 15 finals,” Shipperd said. In the eight previous deciders they have won twice, with those victories coming in the Twenty20 competition.Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Nick Jewell, Rob Quiney, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Aaron Finch, Michael Hill, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Damien Wright, Bryce McGain, Darren Pattinson.

It went down to the last ball at the National Stadium as Hasan Raza kept his cool under pressure to guide Sind Dolphins home by three wickets in a high-scorer against Baluchistan Bears

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2010
ScorecardIt went down to the last ball at the National Stadium as Hasan Raza kept his cool under pressure to guide Sind Dolphins home by three wickets in a high-scorer against Baluchistan Bears. Chasing 304, the Dolphins were boosted by a strong opening stand, then lost their way, recovered again through a fifty-run stand between Raza and Sarfraz Ahmed and then fought against the asking rate. Raza however ensured he stayed right till the end with 78 to finish the job.The match had the makings of a high-scorer when the Bears duo of Taufeeq Umer and Abid Ali added a massive 147 for Baluchistan’s second wicket. Taufeeq hit five fours in his 74 but Abid was the more aggressive of the pair, hitting 11 fours in his 94. The Dolphins hit back to take three wickets for 11 runs, with Danish Kaneria picking up two of those. The lower order then rallied around Rameez Alam, who scored a quick 52 off 35 balls to take the score past 300. Anwar Ali took three wickets but was hammered for 72 off his ten overs.The Dolphins were given a boost by their openers, Shahzaib Hasan and Khurram Manzoor, who added 110 in just under 19 overs. Much like in the first innings, a century stand was followed by a wicket burst as the Dolphins lost three wickets for five runs. Sarfraz and Raza came together in the 26th over and added 71 to put them back on track. Lal Kumar eased the pressure off Raza with a breezy 27 off 14 balls after Sarfraz departed. But Dolphins were left to play catch-up in the final stages and when the last over began, they needed more than a run a ball. Raza levelled the scores off the penultimate ball and sealed the win with a boundary.

AB de Villiers will keep wicket for South Africa during the limited-overs leg of their tour of West Indies instead of Mark Boucher

Cricinfo staff19-May-2010AB de Villiers will keep wicket for South Africa during the limited-overs leg of their tour of West Indies instead of Mark Boucher, whose place in the team is now uncertain. Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, said the new selection panel led by Andrew Hudson was trying out new ideas ahead of the 2011 World Cup, and having de Villiers keep gave him more options.”AB will be starting with the gloves in the limited-overs matches,” Smith said ahead of the first Twenty20 international in Antigua. “There is a new selection committee and a few new ideas. We only have something like 15 ODIs before we get to India for the World Cup, so we have to make every one of them count.”Boucher, 33, has been a near permanent fixture in South Africa’s XI across formats since he made his debut in 1997 and has played 131 Tests, 291 ODIs and 25 Twenty20s. Smith said the absence of Boucher’s experience in the line-up would have to be made up by the rest of the players.”When a guy [like Boucher] has played over 300 ODIs you are always going to miss that experience. He has been a talisman of the side for a long period of time now. He has been part of a core group of senior players who have performed regularly,” Smith said. “The selectors have taken the decision now to look ahead at some new options, and certainly having AB keep allows you one or two extra options in the line-up. Andrew Hudson has arrived here today and we will sit down together and select the team for the game.”Smith also reflected on a “disappointing” World Twenty20 campaign – South Africa exited in the Super Eights – and said they would be “trying a few new things” to “examine the structure” of the team in Twenty20 and one-day internationals.”The team has taken a lot of flak back home and rightly so. We have got to take responsibility for that,” Smith said. “The team has really worked hard in the last few days we have had here in Antigua, and it is up to the team to perform well here and regain face with the public back home. We have got a few new players who have arrived here and they will provide fresh impetus and momentum. Confidence is an important thing and we need to start the West Indies tour strongly.”South Africa play back-to-back Twenty20 internationals against West Indies on May 19 and 20 before the five-ODI series begins on May 22.

Craig Kieswetter has been preferred as England’s wicketkeeper-batsman ahead of Matt Prior for the one-day internationals against Australia

Cricinfo staff10-Jun-2010Ian Bell has earned a one-day international recall while, as expected, Craig Kieswetter has been preferred as England’s wicketkeeper-batsman ahead of Matt Prior for the one-day internationals against Australia and the match against Scotland. There is also a surprising place for Tim Bresnan after he recently suffered a foot injury.Bresnan was ruled out of the second Test against Bangladesh, at Old Trafford, with a stress fracture but has clearly recovered quicker than expected. The 13-man squad includes Michael Yardy, a key part of the Twenty20 success in the Caribbean, as the selectors begin to make their final plans for next year’s World Cup.Bresnan’s fitness means there is no place for Ajmal Shahzad, the Yorkshire allrounder, who impressed on his Test debut in Manchester with his reverse-swing skills. However, both Shahzad and Prior, along with Ravi Bopara who didn’t make this squad, can expect to be included in the England Lions for their triangular series with India A and West Indies A which runs concurrently to the ODIs against Australia.”We are very pleased with the progress our one-day squad has made under the leadership of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower over the past 18 months,” said Geoff Miller, the national selector. “The challenge facing the squad now is to maintain the form they showed over the winter against the world’s number one side in 50-over cricket.”We have named a slightly smaller squad for this summer’s NatWest Series than in previous years as our own programme closely mirrors the England Lions’ schedule for their triangular series against India A and West Indies A.”We will draw on additional players from the Lions squad if required and will also consider using the Lions programme to give non playing members of the one-day squad match practice where appropriate.”England have 21 ODIs between now and the beginning of the World Cup, starting with the June 19 fixture against Scotland, to formulate a squad that can amend the team’s disastrous recent form in 50-over tournaments. Following the Twenty20 triumph there were calls for that model to be immediately replicated in the longer format but Michael Lumb, who opened with Kieswetter, has been omitted.Kieswetter made his ODI debut against Bangladesh earlier this year having been drafted into the squad at the last minute following impressive performances for England Lions in the UAE. He responded with 107 in his third match at Chittagong, a game where he was also given the gloves, as the management hinted at the direction they would follow. The clincher, though, was Kieswetter’s form in the World Twenty20, where he was explosive at the top of the order and hit 63 off 49 balls in the final against Australia.”Craig Kieswetter made a century in only his third one-day International on the tour of Bangladesh and continued to impress during the World T20 tournament in the Caribbean,” said Miller. “He has been earmarked for a role at the top of the order and I am sure he will be relishing the opportunity to test himself against high quality opposition.”We are also pleased to welcome back Ian Bell to the one-day squad. He has performed well for Warwickshire this season in limited overs cricket and worked hard to add a more positive, attacking approach to his game.”Michael Yardy’s inclusion is a reward for performing consistently to a high level in the World T20 in the Caribbean and also reflects our longer term planning for a World Cup in the Indian sub-continent next year in which spin bowling will be a major feature.”Prior will feel hard done by once again as his ODI career is brought to another halt. After being tried at the top of the order, he went back to No. 6 during the Champions Trophy and the tour of South Africa where England won the one-day series 2-1. However, despite a couple of important innings, the emergence of Kieswetter has led to another change and there remains a feeling Prior’s batting is too orthodox for a middle-order role.Following England’s victory against Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Sunday there was some doubt over Andrew Strauss’s place in the squad after comments by Geoff Miller, the national selector, didn’t appear to offer complete support for the captain. But that was cleared up when Andy Flower confirmed Strauss would be in charge although he will need a productive one-day summer to ensure against calls for a change.England squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Craig Kieswetter, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy, Luke Wright, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Ian Bell

The appeals lodged by former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan against their one-year bans by the Pakistan Cricket Board have been adjourned to a later date

Cricinfo staff22-May-2010The appeals lodged by former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan against their one-year bans by the Pakistan Cricket Board have been adjourned to a later date. The one-man tribunal, chaired by Irfan Qadir, announced that Malik’s hearing will now take place on May 29, while Naved’s is scheduled for June 19.”Malik’s lawyer completed his arguments and the lawyer for the Pakistan Cricket Board wanted time for some legal matters so the appeal has been adjourned for May 29,” Qadir told . He added that Naved’s appeal was adjourned until June 19 after his lawyer filed two more appeals and wanted to know constitutional points about the inquiry.Seven Pakistan players were penalised, for various reasons, by the PCB in the aftermath of a winless tour of Australia. Younis and Mohammad Yousuf, who has retired from international cricket, were banned indefinitely. Malik and Naved were banned for a year while the Akmal brothers and Shahid Afridi were fined and placed on a six-month probation. Each of the players, with the exception of Yousuf, have appealed against the punishments. Younis and Yousuf were accused of “infighting” and having a “negative influence” on the team.Younis’ appeal has been adjourned to Saturday May 29. Pakistan cricket is already under crisis with revelations of the infighting and discord within the team, after a video of the PCB’s inquiry committee was leaked to a television channel. Qadir said the hearings with the players were also being recorded in the interest of the players and PCB.”In my personal opinion the proceedings should be open but on the request of players and the PCB we have not made it open,” Qadir said. “For transparency we are keeping video recordings of the proceedings.”