All posts by csb10.top

On the resilience of India’s tail this morning
I wasn’t particularly surprised that it took a while. If you’d said to me at the start of day one, that we’d wrap the game up after lunch on day five, I’d have taken that. Four wickets is four wickets in India. You’ve got to work hard no matter what, and today we reaped the benefits of some great work last night, and in the first innings when we batted. It’s no surprise, we knew it would be a challenge.On the margin of victory
I wouldn’t say it’s an easy Test win. It’s a convincing win for sure, 200-plus runs, but in these conditions, those sort of margins of victory can come around more easier than elsewhere. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a huge gap between the teams, and it was certainly not a crushing win. I expect India to come back strongly. We’ve been here before, three years ago, but we’ve a different sort of confidence this time. I certainly didn’t know what it was like to lose a Test back then [in 2001]. I know now. I know what it means to lose and I know what it means to win, and I think that personifies what the team thinks.On the completeness of Australia’s performance
That was a very, very complete game of cricket for us. It went as close to our match plan as we could have hoped. I’m sure we’ll analyse our plans before Chennai, but I’m thrilled at how the guys went about their business. Our gameplan has certainly changed since 2001. There’s no need to delve into match plans or theories, but we’re a different team now, a bit more versatile.On the importance of the toss
In my experience, you do not just win the toss and win the Test. Whatever you do first, whether it’s bat or bowl, you must do it well. We won the toss here and batted well, and India will probably admit they didn’t bowl quite as well first up, although Harbhajan turned it around in the second innings. We fully expected that, and next time, it will be helpful for gameplan. But whether you bat first or second, that’s the crucial innings. You’ve got to set up your runs while the wicket is in a good state.On Shane Warne’s lack of penetration this morning
Let’s face it, in reality, India did not have a lot to lose this morning, other than a Test match [chuckles] … if that makes sense. I thought [Irfan] Pathan played Warne very well indeed. He’s an intelligent cricketer with experience beyond his years. The others rode their luck and took him on. They were not expected to perform heroics, so their approach was relaxed.Shane’s figures are sure to be analysed and scrutinised, and people will claim he was ineffective. I beg to differ. I thought he played a fantastic role. We have an attack based around fast bowlers, so if people want to call him a support bowler then so be it. I wouldn’t call him that. He got the most dangerous batsman that we’ve met in world cricket twice in two innings. If hetakes just eight wickets in the series and they are all VVS Laxman, I’ll take that.On the umpiring
There have been a great deal of words written about the umpires, and lots of airtime on TV, but it goes without saying that some decisions will go against batsmen at some time, and on this occasion, India were on the receiving end more often than not. It’s easy to say get on with it, take the good with the bad, but I don’t remember reading on day two in Kolkata, that the crucial wicket of Harbhajan’s hat-trick [Gilchrist himself] was a certain fairly dubious lbw decision. You’ve got to move on.And what’s more, there aren’t many people in this room who’ve played in front of a crowd like that. The noise is extraordinary. When I went into bat, I had to say to Billy Bowden: “Mate, I wouldn’t do your job for quids”. You have no ideaif a batsman has bat-padded, or got an inside-edge, or whatever. It’s a very, very difficult job, made more difficult in these conditions. You have to accept it and move on, and not get too critical.I understand the frustrations of the Indians in this game. But then, apart from two umpires, no-one’s ever congratulated me for walking. And yet today, I was made to feel bad for appealing for Virender Sehwag’s dismissal. As far as I knew, it was out. I’ve since seen there was some bat involved, but why should we be made to feel bad? Let’s be consistent.On the lessons learned from Australia’s various matches against India
We’ve focussed a lot on three years ago, but let’s not forget how India played in Australia last year. That Adelaide victory was a real shock, and it wasn’t that we didn’t rate India, but we scored 500 in the first innings and no team should lose from there. Somehow we did, and we’ve learnt a great deal from the Indians. There’s a wonderful aura around these series, whether it’s one-day cricket or Tests. This was another great battle, we’re thrilled to have won and we’ll celebrate tonight. But tomorrow it’ll be all hands on deck for Chennai.

Inzamam-ul-Haq has warned that England will find it tough to replicate their Ashes success when they tour Pakistan later this year for three Tests and five one-day internationals. England achieved a famous 2-1 series win against Australia, wresting back the Ashes after eight consecutive unsuccessful tries, but Inzamam insisted that the result wouldn’t count for much in Pakistan.”They have played very well to beat the Australians but they are not unbeatable and the conditions in Pakistan will not suit them,” he told Reuters. “They will face totally different conditions and it will be a hard series and tour for them, particularly their bowlers.”We are already preparing hard for England. Because we know they have a good combination but are not invincible and we have to work hard to beat them,” he said. “If our fast bowlers are not 100% fit, then attacking them with spin is an option because our conditions favour slow bowlers.” He also added that Mushtaq Ahmed, the 35-year-old legspinner, could be recalled to bolster the spin attack. Mushtaq has taken 185 wickets in 52 Tests, but the last time he played one was against South Africa in 2003.England’s bowling attack is currently built around their four fast bowlers, and while that might be a handicap in conditions not favourable to pace, in Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones they have two bowlers who can reverse swing the ball, a skill which should be invaluable in Pakistan. The lack of a world-class spinner, though, has raised question-marks about whether they can beat Pakistan, a concern expressed most recently by Imran Khan.England have played seven three-Test series in Pakistan, and in those 21 matches, only four have produced results, with both teams sharing two wins each. England’s last win there came in near darkness in 2000-01, when Graham Thorpe starred in a victory which won them the series.

Gloucestershire have appointed Mark Alleyne as their coach on a four-year contract. He was player/coach in 2004 when they won the C&G Trophy for the fourth time in six years.Alleyne, 36, retired at the end of the summer after an 18-year playing career with the county, during which time he also represented England in 10 one-day internationals. “I am glad to have the opportunity to try to maintain the recent momentum,” he said, “I look forward to developing the club yet further.”Tom Richardson, Gloucestershire’s chief executive, was also happy with the deal: “It is important for our longer-term aspirations that we have key people in place and we are delighted that Mark Alleyne has committed himself to the club in this way. A number of senior players have made longer-term commitments to the club and it is excellent news that we will have someone of Mark’s quality leading them.”

ScorecardDay 5Bulletin – Warne and Gillespie seal series
Verdict – Sri Lanka not quite there
Quotes – ‘I couldn’t have bowled better’ – Warne
Quotes – ‘Batting and fielding let us down’ – Tillakaratne
Day 4Bulletin – Jayasuriya’s 131 sets up a classic
Roving Reporter – Percy’s spirit and Kandy’s spiritualism
Quotes – ‘We can still win’ – Jayasuriya
Day 3Bulletin – Martyn brightens a wet day
Quotes – ‘The toughest innings of all’
Day 2Bulletin – Gilchrist seizes the initiative
Verdict – Australia’s fourth-innings dilemma
Quotes – Gilchrist – ‘I was pleased to make an impact’
News – Ponting injury not serious
Day 1Bulletin – Seventeen wickets tumble on low-scoring day
Roving Reporter – A study in sepia
Quotes – Murali: ‘I’m aiming for 650’

After weeks of speculation, it has been confirmed that Darrell Hair will not stand in the Champions Trophy in India next month.”Darrell Hair will not umpire the ICC Champions Trophy on the basis of safety and security concerns,” Brian Murgatroyd, the ICC’s media manager, said. “An announcement on the appointment of officials for that tournament will be made in due course.”Asked if this was nothing more than a convenient get-out, Muragtroyd replied: “Not as far as I am aware”.Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, issued a press statement in which he said: “A decision has been made in consultation with the ICC president Percy Sonn, the ICC general manager of cricket David Richardson and myself that he will not umpire at the Champions Trophy amid concerns over his safety and security and also the safety and security of those around him during the tournament.”

Wellington beat Central Districts with more than a day to spare at Napier, while Northern Districts and Otago have the upper hand in today’s other State Championship matches.Wellington 181 and 310 beat Central Districts 63 and 197 (Taylor 66, Gillespie 4-71) by 231 runs
ScorecardWellington made the most of some indifferent Central Districts batting to take an outright win in less than three days at Napier, to increase their prospects of a place in the State Championship final. CD, after their miserable first-innings batting effort of 63, faced what would have been a record victory target of 429, but they could do little to boost their own cause after losing all bar Ross Taylor of their best batsmen in reaching 57 for 4. Taylor scored a typically aggressive 66 off 57 balls, but it was only a holding action before the accurate Wellington attack had the final say. Mark Gillespie ended with 4 for 71, while James Franklin and Iain O’Brien took two wickets apiece.3rd day close Otago 336 and 143 (Hopkins 50, Wisneski 4-45) lead Canterbury 219 (Harris 63) and 78 for 4 by 182 runs
ScorecardCanterbury, the competition front-runners, are under pressure from a resurgent Otago team at Alexandra. Otago had the benefit of a substantial first-innings lead to assist them, even though they slumped to 143 all out in their second. Warren Wisneski (4 for 45), Chris Martin (3 for 32) and Stephen Cunis (3 for 42) shared the wickets for Canterbury. Chasing 261 to win, the Cantabs ended the third day at 78 for 4, with Gary Stead 30 not out and their captain Chris Harris on 2. They represent Canterbury’s last realistic hope of securing another victory.3rd day close Auckland 283 and 123 for 4 (Horne 53*) lead Northern Districts 388 (Marshall 78, Orchard 97) by 18 runs
ScorecardNorthern Districts’ best batting effort of the summer could also be sufficient to upset Auckland’s chance of a finals berth. Auckland, with only six wickets in hand, have only an 18-run lead. Mark Orchard led the ND batting effort with 97 before he was bowled by Kerry Walmsley. Previously, ND have failed to provide support for batsmen who were in, but this time Matt Hart scored 46, Joseph Yovich 40 and Robbie Hart 32. At one stage in their reply, Auckland were 34 for 4, but the first-innings centurion Matt Horne was still there with 53 at stumps, after an 89-run stand with Aaron Barnes, who had 36 not out.

Concerned at the manner in which Australia lost the last three one-day internationals in the West Indies, Ricky Ponting has indicated that he won’t take anything for granted in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh.”That hurt a little bit,” Ponting said of the losses in the West Indies. “I was particularly disappointed with the way we played those last three games and that was one thing we addressed this morning in the team meeting.”We made mistakes in those three games that you haven’t seen this team make for a long time. We didn’t respect the basics of the game and if you don’t do that in one-day cricket it’s going to come back and bite you every time.”We dropped a lot of catches we didn’t have batting partnerships, therewere a lot of misfields, those sort of things. Looking back we felt we’d let ourselves down big time.”Ponting indicated that Bangladesh’s batsmen would find the going difficult in the ODIs. Hannan Sarkar’s half-centuries in both innings of the Cairns Test didn’t go unnoticed, but Ponting reckoned that Sarkar would have to change his style of batting to score runs in the one-dayers.”He played Brett Lee as well as any top-class batsman in the past couple of years. He left anything that was short and if it was fuller he drove it through the covers.”But it won’t be easy to take that into the one-dayers. He played at his own pace in the Test and left a lot of balls – in the shorter version of the game he’ll have to come at us a bit more … if our bowlers can be patient and make them come at us I think we’ll get enough chances through the day."Australia have comprehensively won all three one-day internationals between the two teams, always bowling first and never needing more than 26 overs to overhaul Bangladesh’s total.

Ian Ward has been offered the chance to captain Somerset in 2004, after announcing his intention to part company with Surrey at the end of the season.Ward has scored nearly 7000 first-class runs in his career, as well as representing England in five Tests in 2001. During his time at The Oval, he helped Surrey to win three County Championship titles in four seasons from 1999 to 2002, and was a key member of the team that won this year’s Twenty20 Cup and National League.Somerset, who endured a frustrating season and at once stage threatened a large portion of their playing staff with the sack, are keen to mount a stronger challenge next season, and a player of Ward’s calibre is central to their plans. “We have offered the captaincy [to a new signing] before,” said chief executive Peter Anderson. “Chris Tavare, Peter Bowler and Andy Hayhurst being examples.”Anderson acknowleged that Somerset faced competition for a number of other counties for Ward’s signature. “To get someone of his seniority to move counties there has to be an objective for him, and if his ambition is to captain then it seems he has to leave Surrey.”Anderson also confirmed that Australia’s one-day captain Ricky Ponting is being lined up as a possible signing. “He can’t give us an answer either way,” said Anderson. “He wants to come to England at some stage in his career but he has to have the permission of the Australian cricket board.”

Close West Indies 178 for 1 (Gayle 112*) trail South Africa 532 (Boucher 122*) by 354 runs
Scorecard

A whirlwind century from Chris Gayle, the ninth-fastest in Tests, led West Indies’ fight back against South Africa on the second day of the third Test at Cape Town. After Mark Boucher had guided his side to a dominating 532 with an unbeaten 122*, Gayle blitzed 112 not out from 105 balls as West Indies closed on 178 for 1, but still 354 behind.It wasn’t a day for the bowlers. In all, 402 runs were plundered on a beautiful batting track for the loss only five wickets. The first batsman to shine was Boucher, who scored his fourth Test century to give South Africa the early advantage. However, some of that supremacy was then taken away by Gayle, who’s dynamic innings took the polish off what was otherwise a good day for Graeme Smith and his team.Whatever plans the South African bowlers had of taking early wickets, Gayle blew them out the window with an astonishing assault. Still feeling the effects of his sore hamstring, Gayle simply decided to cut down the running and hit the boundaries – and he did just that in devastating style. He smashed 20 fours and a six in all, laying into anything slightly off line – he was a man on a mission.He gave a taster of what was to come with a flick for six over square leg in Makhaya Ntini’s first over. He then crunched Shaun Pollock off the back-foot through the covers, but he saved most of the treatment for Andre Nel. Gayle bludgeoned two consecutive pulls and the next ball he cut Nel to race to his half-century off only 37 balls. Nel then disappeared over mid-off twice in a row and before anyone had noticed, the West Indies hundred was up – and Gayle had scored 77 of them. It was a case of blink and you missed another booming boundary. It was pure carnage.Jacques Kallis couldn’t keep him quiet either. Gayle cut him to the boundary, and then drove him through the covers on one knee. He had already rocketed into the nineties, and, by his standards, he took a while to get to three figures – about ten minutes. He pushed Kallis into the leg side to record a memorable century off only 79 balls Oh, and he passed 2000 Test runs at the same time.It was easy to forget that Daren Ganga was at the other end. He was his usual studied self and while he wasn’t watching and admiring Gayle’s fireworks, he gave his partner good support until he lost his patience and edged Nel onto the stumps (126 for 1). While Gayle then calmed down, Ramnaresh Sarwan took over the wheel, belting eight boundaries in his 39 not out, as West Indies put their poor bowling performance earlier in the day behind them.After their late fightback yesterday evening, West Indies began the day in a competitive position, but Boucher, along with Kallis, quickly dampened their spirits with an excellent display of attacking, aggressive batting. Boucher added an authoritative and, at times, effortless stand of 146 with Kallis before putting his foot down after the lunch break. Boucher smashed 21 boundaries in all and gave the innings its impetus.Fidel Edwards started brightly, and he made an early breakthrough with the wicket of Pollock, who edged Edwards behind to Ridley Jacobs for 9 (315 for 7). After that, though, it was a horror show for the bowlers, who completely wasted the new ball.

Boucher was in his element. Initially letting Kallis take the majority of the strike, he rolled up his sleeves and kept up the run rate with ones and twos on both sides of the wicket, as well the odd boundary. He did, however, have two strokes of fortune. He was bowled off a no ball by Edwards on 15, and was dropped on 59 by Carlton Baugh, but Boucher deserved his luck as he continued to tuck in to the frequent loose balls.Adam Sanford gave the fielders some cheer when he rather fortunately trapped Kallis lbw for a classy 73 (461 for 8). Boucher, meanwhile, continued unfazed and he soon brought up a well-deserved century. The packed crowd at Newlands rose to applaud his first hundred in 47 Tests, his last was against England at Durban in 1999. And he wasn’t finished there. He carried on the fun, smacking anything wide or short, including three eye-catching pulls off Edwards.Ntini got in the act too when he twice walloped Dave Mohammed high down the ground for a four and a six. Mohammed got his revenge, though, when Ntini tickled him behind to Jacobs (513 for 9), and Nel gave Jacobs his fourth catch of the innings when he nicked Sanford behind. South Africa’s total represented an impressive effort from their overnight 308 for 6, and it was mainly thanks to Boucher. Even though his sparkling innings was later overshadowed by Gayle’s knock, South Africa are still in a strong position.

Carl Hooper, the former West Indian captain, is expected to sign forLancashire next week, as a replacement for the injured Harbhajan Singh.Hooper, 36, had been expected to play against the Australians in the currentTest series in the Caribbean, but he retired abruptly after being replacedas captain by Brian Lara. It was not the first time Hooper had left theinternational stage – he emigrated to Australia in 1999, only to return ascaptain in 2001.Jimmy Adams, the man whom Hooper replaced as captain, defended his decisionto play county cricket ahead of Tests. “Test cricket is highest level of the game,” said Adams, “and if for whatever reason you don’t feel up to it, then leave it alone.” Adams also speculated that the way the captaincy issue had beenhandled was a significant factor in the decision.In all, Hooper played 102 matches for West Indies in a 15-year career,scoring 5762 runs at 36.46, with 13 centuries and 27 fifties. He also took114 wickets with his offbreaks, which are sure to come in handy on thespin-friendly Old Trafford wickets.