All posts by h716a5.icu

Ricky Ponting was at the forefront as Tasmania made up for a washed out day one by clambering all over South Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2012
ScorecardRicky Ponting was at the forefront as Tasmania made up for a washed out day one by clambering all over South Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Having bowled the Redbacks out for 126, the visitors strode to 3 for 199 by the close, Ponting unbeaten on 91 after his captain George Bailey had collected 65 only to be dismissed shortly before stumps by Nathan Lyon.Needing outright points to give themselves the best chance of qualifying for the Shield final, the Tigers orchestrated a dramatic tumble after SA had reached 1 for 83 via a solid half century from the young top order batsman Tom Stray. From that point the Redbacks lost 9 for 43 either side of lunch, as James Faulkner and Jackson Bird sliced through the hosts.When the Tigers batted, Ed Cowan was out early, dragging Joe Mennie onto the stumps, and Mark Cosgrove retired hurt after he was struck a heavy blow on the hand by a ball from Gary Putland. However Ponting and Bailey were fluent in taking Tasmania to a dominant position.

Essex have applied for the right to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium after London 2012. The club, based in Chelmsford, have made a joint bid with the University of East London.

George Dobell30-Mar-2012Essex have applied for the right to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium after London 2012. The club, based in Chelmsford, have made a joint bid with the University of East London to use what will become a 60,000 seater venue after the games.While the club would rarely utilise the venue for first-class games – it is most unlikely a division two championship clash with Derbyshire would attract 60,000 – Essex do have an excellent record of generating T20 audiences and regularly sell-out their Chelmsford ground, which has a capacity of 6,500. The Olympic Stadium’s situation in heavily populated east London therefore makes it an attractive proposition.A statement from Essex read: “We can confirm that the University of East London and Essex County Cricket Club have jointly put in a bid to the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) to utilise space in the Olympic Stadium.”We cannot provide any further detail at this stage, as we are bound by a legal confidentiality agreement. We see this as a fantastic opportunity and are committed to supporting the achievement of the best possible outcomes from the legacy operation of the Olympic Stadium.”Essex have confirmed, however, that they have no intentions of moving from their home at the Ford County Ground in Chelmsford.”It is very important we make it clear to people that we have no intention of moving from Chelmsford,” Essex’s chief executive, David East told ESPNcricinfo. “This is our home and we are actively pursuing the redevelopment of the ground.”We also have a responsibility to develop the game in east London. We look after five boroughs – including Newham, the location of the stadium – and we have coaching and scouting programmes in place there already. Strategically this would be a very good move for us.”West Ham United were awarded the stadium in a partnership with Newham Council in October, but the deal collapsed after complaints from rival football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient.As a result, OPLC decided the venue would remain in public ownership and retain its athletic capabilities. They subsequently opened a new bidding process to find a tenant – or tenants – which closed on March 23. It is understood that there were four bids.West Ham, should they win the bid, are not thought to be hostile to any application from Essex to use the stadium for a limited number of cricket fixtures.

USA Cricket Association board member Shelton Glasgow has declared that all regional elections that have taken place in advance of October’s USACA general election are null and void

Peter Della Penna25-Aug-2011In a manoeuvre that has stirred up tension among cricket administrators across America, USA Cricket Association board member Shelton Glasgow has declared null and void all regional elections that have taken place in advance of October’s USACA general election. Glasgow, the board representative from the Atlantic Region acting as USACA’s elections compliance officer, communicated the decision to board members and constituents in an email on July 28.The email was sent out only days after the Atlantic Region held its election, the results of which have not been released. Sheldon Ellis, the outgoing regional chairman who was also serving as the returning officer for the election, tallied the results but was instructed by USACA President Gladstone Dainty not to release them.At the request of five member leagues of the region, Ellis sent the results to the transitional secretary, Sheldon Mollineau but at an emergency meeting on August 4 organized by several league representatives from the region, Mollineau said he would not release the results because of instructions received in an email from Dainty.Dainty’s email, sent to all USACA constituents, stated that Glasgow’s work has “produced a body of evidence which is clearly demonstrating that the USACA honor system of compliance has been abused by several leagues and officials.” It went on to say that “an independent accounting or law firm will be engaged with the expectation that all USACA leagues and officials will cooperate to the fullest, including a stay of all elections until this process is completed.” If this is upheld it would possibly have a major effect on not just each region but the national election, due for October 15.Glasgow’s role as the compliance officer monitoring elections across all regions is seen as a conflict of interest with his own region. The Atlantic Region was one of five regions to hold their elections ahead of the October national elections. Sources have indicated Glasgow would have lost his seat on the USACA board had the results been officially released. Only days later, his email was issued declaring all regional elections null and void with Dainty’s follow up email supporting his actions.The decision to void the elections has not gone unopposed. USACA secretary John Aaron is one of several board members questioning the authority of both Glasgow and Dainty to enact these decisions. Aaron had been appointed the USACA compliance officer initially to monitor the North West and South West elections earlier in the year, but resigned from the position after Dainty refused to acknowledge evidence that Aaron and his two committee members, Glasgow and Lisa Brulport, presented to show that three leagues were ineligible to vote. According to Aaron, Dainty said that the leagues – Greater Los Angeles Cricket Association, Orange County Cricket Association and California Cricket League – could still vote in their regional elections and therefore the national election as well on the basis that the leagues had already paid their annual dues and at the time the payment was received no one had told them they were ineligible.”Officially, I was only informed that [Glasgow] was the compliance officer from a letter that the president wrote in support of Mr. Glasgow’s actions,” Aaron told ESPNcricinfo. “The board never met and appointed him, nor did the president advise the board in writing or any other manner as far as I know that Mr. Glasgow is the compliance officer.”In Glasgow’s email, he states that USACA is “moving very meticulously towards building a pristine organization, a world class sporting body.” The basis of the email was to request the submission of data surveys from each league by August 2 to verify which leagues are still active and subsequently which ones are eligible to vote in the USACA general election.

“Why is it on the eve of the results from the Atlantic Region being released, the returning officer Mr. Sheldon Ellis is asked by the president, ‘No. Do not release those results.’ Why? One has got to ask the question. What is he afraid of?”

“New York had fair and square elections that were held,” said Aaron. “California had fair and square elections that were held. Nobody sought to stop those elections before. Where was this data survey sheet when those elections were being conducted in California? Why is it on the eve of the results from the Atlantic Region being released, the returning officer Mr. Sheldon Ellis is asked by the president, ‘No. Do not release those results.’ Why? One has got to ask the question. What is he afraid of?”Aaron says that the actions of Glasgow and Dainty are the latest in a recent string of abuses of power by the president, with whom Glasgow has been closely aligned politically, and that Glasgow is acting in concert with Dainty to manipulate the voting process around the country.USACA has not had an in-person board meeting since November and as a result Aaron claims that Dainty has made numerous decisions without consulting the board. The voting and compliance issue is the latest incident to divide the board with the appointments of the Cricket Holdings America LLC board members and the two interim vice presidents to the USACA board also failing to meet what Aaron considers due process.”It is so obvious that the process that’s being employed by the president of USACA is nothing short of corruption. I’m ashamed to be a member of this board and I just hope that other members of this USACA board will come out and stand on the side of fairness, protocol and process. I know there are members of this board who agree with me – Krish Prasad, Tony Gilkes and Ahmed Jeddy – who have reached out to the president to resolve these and other issues in an amicable way so that this association can move forward as a united association. Those efforts have been rebuffed by the president, rebuffed and not even considered.”Attempts to reach both Glasgow and Dainty for a response to this story were unsuccessful.

Saeed Ajmal took 6 for 124 to bowl Worcestershire to their third County Championship victory of the season at Horsham, despite a brilliant 122 by Murray Goodwin for home side Sussex

13-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Saeed Ajmal took 6 for 124 to bowl Worcestershire to their third County Championship victory of the season at Horsham, despite a brilliant 122 by Murray Goodwin for home side Sussex. Offspinner Ajmal and seamer Alan Richardson held their nerve to dismiss Sussex for 302 just inside the final hour.Worcestershire’s 34-run win lifted them out of the Division One relegation zone and up to seventh place, their 21-point win taking them to 102 points – four above Yorkshire with a game still in hand. Sussex remained sixth on 123 points.Ajmal, in his last Championship appearance as Worcestershire’s overseas player this season, shared the second new ball with Richardson, with Sussex at 265 for 6 and looking like emerging as winners themselves following a superb 151-run stand for the fifth wicket between Goodwin and Mike Yardy.But Richardson struck the vital blow with his second delivery with the second new ball, Goodwin finally being beaten by an off-cutter to be lbw after hitting the 66th first-class century of his career.Goodwin had faced 193 balls, hitting 14 fours, and it was his fourth century in 16 first-class innings at Horsham, where he now averages almost 75.Richardson then ended a stubborn eighth-wicket partnership of 27 between Kirk Wernars and Wayne Parnell – in which South African fast bowler Parnell had driven Ajmal straight for six – by having Wernars well held by a diving Ben Scott as he snicked behind for 24.Monty Panesar edged a wild drive at Ajmal to go for 1, leaving Sussex 299 for 9, and the end soon came when Richardson, who finished with figures of 4 for 54, angled one across left-hander James Anyon to have Sussex’s last man caught at first slip by Vikram Solanki.Worcestershire made the better start to the final day, which began with Sussex on 17 for 1 and needing another 320 runs for victory, by taking three wickets inside the first hour. Ed Joyce was caught off bat and pad for 14, off Ajmal, and the spinner also ended a plucky innings of 17 by nightwatchman Will Adkin, who fell lbw missing a sweep at a quicker ball with the total at 52.In between, Richardson was rewarded for a typically wholehearted spell from the Railway End as he swung one away just enough from left-hander Luke Wells to have him superbly caught for 9 by Worcestershire skipper Daryl Mitchell, diving to his right at second slip.Goodwin and Yardy, however, then took Sussex to 125 for 4 at lunch, with Goodwin plundering three fours from one over by Gareth Andrew, who had replaced Richardson in the attack while Ajmal kept wheeling away from the Church End.The pair continued to flourish after the interval, too, with Goodwin going to 50 from 72 balls and Yardy completing his own half-century with a swept four off Ajmal, from 89 balls. Both batsmen had hit six boundaries in their fifties, and runs began to flow as Ajmal was at last rested.At 199, though, Ajmal was recalled and although Yardy almost immediately slog-swept him for his eighth four it proved to be his last shot in anger. On 63, having faced 120 balls, he was undone later in the same over by a ball from Ajmal which bounced and turned to take the inside edge of the bat and loop up to short leg off his pad where Alexei Kervezee leapt to hold a well-judged catch.Ben Brown had only made 10 when he went back to a quicker ball from Ajmal and was lbw, leaving Sussex at 231 for 6 just before the tea interval.

Sachin Tendulkar is likely to return India’s ODI set-up for the tri-series in Australia, which begins on February 5 and also involves Sri Lanka

N Hunter14-Jan-2012Sachin Tendulkar is likely to return India’s ODI set-up for the tri-series in Australia, which begins on February 5 and also involves Sri Lanka. The selectors will meet in Chennai on Sunday to pick the squad for the series and, reportedly, Tendulkar has made himself available for selection.India won the tri-series on their last trip to Australia in 2007-08 and Tendulkar had been India’s best batsman then, scoring a vital century in the first of the three finals in Sydney. He last played an ODI on April 2, the World Cup final in Mumbai that India won. He is currently India’s top run-getter in the ongoing Test series against Australia.Tendulkar’s comeback would offset the absence of Yuvraj Singh, who is still convalescing from a non-malignat lung tumour.Seamer Praveen Kumar, who was originally picked for the Test-leg of the Australia tour but was later withdrawn after he picked up a rib injury, is another player on the way back into the national squad. Praveen was India’s leading wicket-taker during the Tests in England last year, but an ankle injury ruled him out of the one-dayers. Praveen had played two limited-overs practice matches in Bangalore on Thursday and Friday, to prove his fitness.Irfan Pathan, who was picked for the final two matches of the home ODI series against West Indies in December, could find a berth in the squad as a second allrounder. Ishant Sharma, in all probability will not play the series. While he has been an integral part of India’s Test set-up, he only played two ODIs – when India fielded a young team during the tour of the West Indies – in 2011. Previous to that, he had last played international 50-overs cricket in August 2010, and has more often than not struggled in the format. Zaheer Khan is likely to stay on for the ODIs, with R Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav completing the pace department.In the spin department, the selectors are happy with the pair of offspinner R Ashwin and legspinner Rahul Sharma. Harbhajan Singh, who is recovering from shin injury owing to which he could only play three Ranji Trophy matches for Punjab this season, is once again likely to be ignored.Parthiv Patel, has been India’s preferred reserve wicketkeeper in ODIs for a while, but his batting has been questioned after he has repeatedly failed to convert starts. In the series against West Indies, he managed only 56 runs from five matches. The selectors could be tempted to try Wriddhiman Saha, who has usually been preferred for the Test legs of tours, in place of Parthiv.Saha’s Bengal team-mate Manoj Tiwary, who scored his maiden ODI century in the final match of the West Indies series and had a strong Ranji season, could be involved in a tussle with Ajinkya Rahane, if the selectors opt for an extra batsman.In addition to picking the tri-series squad, the selectors will also decide on names for the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia, which will be played ahead of the one-dayers.Squad (likely): MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary/Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Rahul Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha/Parthiv Patel (reserve wk), Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma/Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav

Northamptonshire have appointed former Warwickshire batsman David Smith as their new chief executive

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2011Northamptonshire have appointed former Warwickshire batsman David Smith as their new chief executive. He will take up his role at Wantage Road in the new year having held the same position at Leicestershire.Smith scored 8,743 runs for Warwickshire between 1973 and 1985 and replaces Mark Tagg, who left at the end of October after eight years in the role.”I’m delighted to have been appointed,” said Smith. “The club has made real progress both on and off the field over the past few years. The ground development has improved the facilities on offer to all visitors to the County Ground.”Northamptonshire led Division Two of the County Championship for large parts of last season before missing out on promotion on the final day. They also appeared at T20 finals day in 2009. “This indicates a good quality playing staff,” said Smith. “I am looking forward to working with the coach David Capel and the board of directors to bring future success to the club.”After retiring, Smith spent nine years on the committee at Warwickshire before becoming chief executive at Leicestershire in January 2008. He also has other experience in the UK leisure industry, most notably with Blackpool Winter Gardens.Northamptonshire chairman Martin Lawrence believes Smith is the man to take the club forward. “We are delighted to have David on board,” said Lawrence. “His appointment ensures Northants have a bright future ahead and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome him to the club.”

Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, is not concerned that the side is becoming a one-man team

Siddarth Ravindran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium03-Oct-2011How closely are Royal Challengers Bangalore’s fortunes tied to those of Chris Gayle? Since he joined them midway through the IPL and revitalised a moribund campaign, he has made 25 or less in five matches – Royal Challengers have lost all five. His other ten games have been Royal Challengers wins and he has been Man of the Match in seven of them, and a plausible candidate for the award in one other match as well.Aren’t those numbers pointing to a one-man team? Royal Challengers’ captain Daniel Vettori wasn’t too concerned about the side’s reliance on the West Indian after yet another Gayle-inspired demolition job at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. “At least not as long as he’s scoring runs,” Vettori said with a chuckle, before striking a more serious note. “We’ve got a batting order that complements Chris and his ability to strike the ball so well. We saw guys come in today, [Tillakaratne] Dilshan took some pressure off Chris, Virat [Kohli] played very well, [Saurabh] Tiwary is starting to come into form, Mayank [Agarwal] came out and played his natural game, he looks like a sensational player.”Despite their captain’s nonchalance, Royal Challengers have reasons to worry. With AB de Villiers injured and out of the tournament, only Kohli remains as a reliable batting performer to support Gayle. Dilshan, bought for $650,000, has a couple of half-centuries though he is yet to put in a match-turning contribution after a dozen outings.Gayle’s extraordinary success has starved Tiwary of time in the middle but in the chances he has had, Tiwary hasn’t been able to replicate the form of IPL 2010, which bumped up his price tag to an astronomical $1.6m. Agarwal, 20, has sparkled briefly on several occasions but a headlining effort has eluded him while Mohammad Kaif hasn’t convinced too many people he can cut it in the Twenty20 format.Chris Gayle starred in another victory for the Royal Challengers•Associated PressThose thoughts won’t be occupying the minds of the Royal Challengers fans who turned up on Monday, expecting more fireworks from Gayle. They were treated to a typical Gayle innings, as Somerset were flattened, in that it was a combination of vigorous hitting and lackadaisical running – his 86 has eight sixes and only two twos.It wasn’t the usual blast-from-the-start Gayle innings though. He began with a carve over cover for four but tempered his approach after a reprieve off his third ball and nearly being run out soon after. By the end of the Powerplay he was on a sedate 15 off 14 balls. “The wicket was a bit damp, the ball was doing a bit, you want to try and get set on this sort of wicket,” he said after the match. Unusual words from Gayle, especially in a Twenty20 match.Regular programming swiftly returned though as Gayle unleashed a barrage of sixes, most of them in arc from the sightscreen to long-on, propelling the Royal Challengers to the first 200-plus total of the tournament. Somerset’s armada of left-arm spinners were clueless against the onslaught, with 19-year-old George Dockrell pummelled for three sixes in an over.Somerset’s captain Alfonso Thomas said they were thrown off by Gayle’s watchfulness at the start. “Usually in the first six overs he goes all guns blazing but he kept himself back, which was not part of our our game-plan,” Thomas said after the match. “We thought he will come hard at us in the first six overs and that one of our seamers will knock him over before our spinners could come in. When he starts going, he will make sure that he is hitting all over. Well done, that’s what he is paid to do.”The latest Gayle tour de force has lifted Royal Challengers’ net run-rate so much that a win over South Australia on Wednesday is likely to be enough to take them to the semi-finals. Vettori said in preparation there would be an optional training session on Tuesday. “Some guys will train, some guys will have a pool session,” he began to explain, only to be interjected by Gayle, who said “and some guys will sleep”. If Gayle is caught napping against the Redbacks, the Royal Challengers need their other batsmen to take up the slack.

Nathan Reardon and Chris Hartley saved Queensland from embarrassment on the first day against New South Wales in Canberra, where the Bulls stumbled to 4 for 18 after choosing to bat

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Nathan Reardon and Chris Hartley saved Queensland from embarrassment on the first day against New South Wales in Canberra, where the Bulls stumbled to 4 for 18 after choosing to bat. At stumps, Queensland had recovered to 7 for 198, with Ben Cutting on 23 and Cameron Gannon on 4, after the loss of Reardon for 71 late in the day.Doug Bollinger picked up two wickets from the first three balls of the match, trapping Wade Townsend lbw for a golden duck and Usman Khawaja lbw for a second-ball duck. Bollinger’s fellow left-armer Josh Lalor then got rid of Joe Burns for 1 from 30 deliveries and Peter Forrest for 17 to leave the Bulls in serious trouble, before Reardon and Hartley staged a recovery.Their 117-run partnership put the match back on a slightly more even keel, although both men had lives early – both dropped by Steven Smith. Reardon was put down on 2 and Hartley on 8 off the bowling of Bollinger, and the misses proved costly for New South Wales.Eventually it was the debutant legspinner Adam Zampa who removed both batsmen, before the captain Steve O’Keefe chipped in with the wicket of Nathan Hauritz.

Aston Villa correspondent Ashley Preece has relayed injury news regarding Bertrand Traore ahead of the club’s trip to Brighton this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Hope of a return

The winger has started just one Premier League game all season due to injury and recently returned to the Midlands from the Africa Cup of Nations with a fresh problem.

The 26-year-old helped Burkina Faso to the semi-finals of the tournament, playing 437 minutes of action in five fixtures.

However, he is yet to feature for Villa after returning from international duty due to a hamstring problem, with reports last week suggesting that there was hope he would be available for Steven Gerrard against the Seagulls today as his injury wasn’t as bad as first feared.

The Latest: Traore still out…

However, Preece relayed news to the contrary from Gerrard’s pre-match press conference via Twitter on Friday morning.

He confirmed that Traore, who was hailed as a ‘great player’ by Villa YouTuber Max Stokes, is ‘still out’ with a muscle issue.

The Verdict: Not ideal

You’d expect that Gerrard may decide to ring the changes this afternoon after disappointing displays against Newcastle and Watford in recent weeks.

Villa have failed to score in their last two games against the relegation-threatened pair and lost both times, so on that basis, Traore may have been in Gerrard’s thinking if he were fit.

Instead, he will have to watch on once again and won’t travel with the squad to the south coast, leaving Gerrard short of one attacking wide option, which isn’t ideal after allowing Anwar El Ghazi and Trezeguet to leave on loan last month.

In other news: AVFC and Gerrard now likely to move for ‘sensational’ ace with ‘outstanding speed’

Andrew Strauss has said he knew Michael Yardy was struggling with depression before Yardy took the decision to withdraw from the World Cup and fly home

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2011Andrew Strauss has said he knew Michael Yardy was struggling with depression before Yardy took the decision to withdraw from the World Cup and fly home.Yardy became the fifth member of England’s original squad to head home early and his departure inevitably drew comparison to Strauss’s old opening partner Marcus Trescothick, who retired from international cricket five years ago after suffering stress-related illnesses. Since then England have had structures put in place to help players but they couldn’t prevent Yardy from needing to leave the tournament early.”It’s a horrible thing for him to have to go through,” Strauss said. “It’s something he has been managing for a while and there have been systems in place to help him manage it but over the last week or so, it’s got too much for him and he has had to go home.”Geoff Boycott sparked controversy shortly after the news of Yardy’s departure surfaced when he suggested the depression had come from disappointing results on the field. “He must have been reading my comments about his bowling – it must have upset him,” Boycott told BBC Radio Five Live. “Obviously it was too much for him at this level. If any blame is attached it’s partly to the selectors because I’m sorry, he’s not good enough at this level.”Strauss waved aside Boycott’s remarks and said the squad were ‘disappointed’ when they heard them. “I think they showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue. I don’t think your cricketing ability or what you have achieved has anything to do with it whatsoever.”There are significant pressures, and as you get older a lot of us have kids and what not, which makes touring harder. It’s important to draw attention to the fact that it’s different having a hard time being away from home and actually suffering from depression. They are two very different things.”The schedule confronting England players has been a major talking point of their erratic campaign. Following their shock defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh in the group stages many suggested the team looked fatigued. Strauss, however, emphasised throughout that tiredness could not be blamed and said Yardy’s condition was separate from the general demands of touring.”Obviously if you are in a hotel room for five or six months one end, you’re going to have days when you feel down,” Strauss said. “I think that’s very different from suffering from depression. International cricket is challenging in terms of how you are temperamentally equipped with spending long periods away from home. That’s something we all go through. Depression is something completely different.”Despite the setback Strauss was confident Yardy’s departure wouldn’t distract the side ahead of their knockout match against Sri Lanka. “It’s not difficult to focus our minds on this game of cricket. It’s a must-win game of cricket. If we lose we are on the plane home. If we win we are in the World Cup semi-final. I think as players you get quite used to switching on and off when the situation demands it.”