All posts by csb10.top

Shane Watson has questioned whether the ICC really wants to eradicate match-fixing and spot-fixing from cricket due to fears the problem might run too deep. A day after confirming he had reported two approaches from bookmakers during last year’s tour of England, Watson blamed the ICC for allowing the issue to fester.Watson said the fact a newspaper was responsible for highlighting the irregularities involving Pakistan’s recent performances, which were revealed during the fourth Test in England, showed the ICC’s system was unsuccessful. “The ICC anti-corruption unit is not really working,” he said during a sponsor’s function in Sydney.”That’s totally to do with the ICC, so they really need to step in and really get to the bottom of it. Maybe they don’t want to get to the bottom of it because it might run too deep.”The ICC has defended its approach but Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive, did admit the anti-corruption and security unit had no power to arrest or go undercover. Lorgat has promised “prompt and decisive” action if any of the players are found guilty.Watson said the situation needed to be sorted out “as soon as possible” to maintain credibility and interest in the game. “People might turn away from cricket because they don’t know [whether] what they are seeing is actually the true facts of cricket,” he said.Meanwhile, Mark Taylor, the former Australia captain, said talk of banning Pakistan from world cricket was not justified. “I don’t agree with that, I think it’s too harsh a penalty for one nation,” Taylor, a Cricket Australia board member, said in Sydney.”If they have one person, two people, three people involved in match-fixing or fixing certain deliveries … to throw the whole nation? No, I’m not for that. I think it would not be a good thing for world cricket to have Pakistan not involved.”

Mohammad Yousuf’s rehabilitation back into the Pakistan fold is complete as the batsman was recalled to a 16-man squad to face England in a five-ODI series and two Twenty20 internationals in September. There was no recall, however, for Yousuf’s long time middle-order ally, Younis Khan, the selection committee and captain claiming he has not been “cleared” by the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt.In another significant move, Shoaib Malik, a limited-overs fixture in Pakistan sides for a number of years, has been dropped. Mohsin Khan, the chairman of selectors, was economical with his words when asked about the significance of Malik’s dropping. “Lack of form, lack of performance,” he told Cricinfo.Yousuf was retired from all cricket until recently in protest at an indefinite ban from selection the board had placed on him. After being cleared by the PCB, though, he answered an SOS to bolster an inexperienced and flimsy middle order in the England Test series and played a vital role in Pakistan’s third Test win at The Oval. Yousuf had led Pakistan in four ODIs in Australia at the turn of the year but missed their last ODI assignment, the Asia Cup in June, because of the punishment.Younis had also played in the ODIs in Australia, but with limited success. In the aftermath of the tour, he was also handed the same punishment as Yousuf but has not been able to reach a resolution with the board. A number of other players who were banned have reached a compromise with Butt and had their punishments overturned. “I asked the chairman PCB about the situation with Younis twice,” captain Shahid Afridi said. “But the clearance wasn’t given by the PCB. I did what I had to do.”The other major news is the axing of Malik, who also had a ban imposed and lifted in quick time after the Australia tour. Malik was in poor form during the ongoing Test series in England and was dropped from the side for the third Test. Over the last 12 months Malik averaged 30 with the bat in 11 ODIs, with only one fifty-plus score: a Champions Trophy hundred against India. Take that out and he averaged 20The squad is a significant one as the countdown begins to the 2011 World Cup, due to start in February. Afridi said he was looking to build a pool of 20-25 players between now and then; Pakistan are scheduled to take on England, South Africa, New Zealand and possibly Zimbabwe in ODIs in that time.In that light, two notable performers from the Tests against England have been called up. Azhar Ali, who played two innings of immense significance amid a sequence of low scores, had his first limited-overs call up. Wahab Riaz, who was a part of the ODI squad two years ago, also returned following an impressive Test debut at The Oval.”In a 50-over game, there is still a lot of batting to be done,” Mohsin said. “We’ve had problems batting the fulll quota of overs in the past so we felt the need for batsmen in this squad who can play long innings. Yousuf is one, and that is why he is in the side, and Azhar we feel is another.”Three others picks are significant. Fawad Alam, whose exclusion from the Asia Cup and the England Tests , was criticised, returned to beef up a lower middle-order in which he impressed in Australia. Mohammad Hafeez, in and out of the side, over the last two years came back in place of Imran Farhat, presumably as an opening option. And Shoaib Akhtar continued his remarkable return to the international scene, retaining his place from the Asia Cup and the Twenty20 internationals against Australia to complete a strong pace attack that includes Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and a fit-again Umar Gul, alongisde Riaz.Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Wahab Riaz.Reserves: Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Abdur Rehman.

Hosts Isle of Man registered their second win in as many games, with an authoritative 93-run win against Switzerland in Castletown. Openers Adam McAuley and Carl Wagstaffe were once again the architects for a good score, with a stand of 58 before the former was run out. Midhun Sandhya struck thrice in the middle overs, but had little impact on Ryan Burns who smashed 81 off 68 balls to take his side to 204 in the 40 overs. Captain Daniel Hawke then scuppered Switzerland’s hopes with a stifling spell of 3 for 9 in six overs. Harry Vines struck 41 as the innings meandered to 111 for 9.Italy’s bowlers set up an easy 60-run win against France in Castletown to take their side to the top of their group. Roshendra Abeywickrama kick-started Italy’s innings with 43 off 28 balls, but the rest of his side’s batsmen could not sustain the effort. Thomas Liddiard picked 4 for 46 in seven overs as Italy were bowled out for 155. Harpreet Singh then turned the tables on France with an incisive spell where he picked 4 for 15. France’s final score of 95 was an improvement of sorts, given they were 29 for 6 at one stage.Belgium brushed aside Greece’s challenge in quick time, racing to an eight-wicket win in a game that lasted under 40 overs in Tromode. Naman Parikh scythed through the Greek batting line-up with a six-wicket haul. Fraser McRae helped himself to three wickets as well, as Greece were shot out for 66. Things could have been much worse if not for Ioannis Vasilas and Georgio Kantas who scored 19 apiece. McRae followed it up with an unbeaten 45 as Belgium crossed the line in 16.1 overs.Germany ran Austria close in Crosby before losing by six runs in a tight encounter. Ciju Puthupally scored a patient 63 off 101 balls with only two boundaries as Austria laboured to 157 in their 40 overs. Jaskaran Singh and Tushar Marwaha picked three wickets each. Germany’s chase followed a similar template with opener Jaskaran scoring 55 off 83 balls, but without adequate support. Christoph Moslinger, Puthupally and Sohaib Farooq grabbed two wickets each as Germany lost one wicket too many, the last man departing off the penultimate ball with seven runs still required.

George Dockrell’s meteoric rise has reached a new height as he was offered a two-year contract by Somerset. Dockrell, the Ireland left-arm spinner who turns 18 this week, impressed at the World Twenty20 with flight, control and a nerveless temperament when he took 3 for 16 against West Indies and followed it up with another bright showing against England.His talents were noticed by Somerset, who invited him to train with the team and he is now looking forward to joining the club, though the details of the contract are not yet final.”Everyone has been very friendly and it looks like a great place to play cricket,” Dockrell told the Somerset website. “I’m looking forward to playing my first game for a Somerset XI at Bath tomorrow and hopefully the contract will be sorted out very soon.”He could yet follow in the footsteps of Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan and switch allegiances to England with a view to playing Test cricket but at the moment his sights are firmly set on Somerset.”My ambitions are to keep making progress with Ireland, but also to get into a county first team by developing all aspects of my game. I’ve been aware of Somerset’s interest since I was 15, but this is the first game I have watched at Taunton. I’m really impressed by the support and the players have been great to me.”Having become such a crucial part of Ireland’s team, Dockrell’s availability for Somerset this season is restricted with Ireland playing an Intercontinental Cup fixture and two ODIs against Netherlands in August before facing Canada at the beginning of September. Dockrell, however, is still keen to get a game in for Somerset before the season ends.”There are a lot of Ireland games coming up, but hopefully I will be able to get in at least one second XI match for Somerset before the end of the season.While spinners have a reputation for maturing late as cricketers, Dockrell’s exploits at the World Twenty20 showed how strong his game already is and he feels the tournament gave him plenty of belief.”Taking three wickets against West Indies gave me a huge boost in confidence,” he said. “I was very nervous before that game, but by the time we came to play England I was a lot calmer. I was really happy with how the tournament went for me overall. I was one of the youngest players there, but I tried not to think about that too much.”In the past Dockrell has spoken about his admiration for Australia’s Michael Clarke but a closer comparison is New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, who had barely played a first-class game before making his Test debut against England aged 18. Vettori has become one of the most skilful bowlers in the world and Dockrell sees him as the standard to follow.”We played against him in West Indies and he was incredibly skilful with his control of the ball so I look towards him as an example.”

The ICC and PCB have clarified speculation emerging from Tuesday’s Asia Cup opener between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Dambulla about a Pakistan player possibly using a cell phone in the dressing room.Pakistani TV channels picked up on footage from the game which showed Mohammad Aamer sitting in the dressing room balcony with a helmet on, with one hand to his right ear, speaking to someone while waiting to bat. The channels implied that he was talking on a cell phone, an act in contravention of existing ICC anti-corruption rules which don’t allow players to take phones into the dressing room.The PCB emphatically denied this was the case, saying that Aamer was talking generally to the team about the situation of the match. In a statement, the board said that the manager Yawar Saeed “has confirmed to us that the rumors…are totally false and unfounded. Cell phones are not allowed under ICC & PCB rules, and as such are always collected by the security manager from every member of the squad except the manager.”Aamer was next to go in for batting and he was sitting next to team manager along with the other members of the team in the viewing area. They were all talking about the match situation and Aamer had his hand on his helmet which has been interpreted out of context.”The ICC confirmed that the ACSU had investigated the incident and come to a similar conclusion. “The ACSU has thoroughly investigated the alleged breach…including speaking to the relevant people involved, and is satisfied that there is no evidence of Mohammad Aamer making use of a mobile phone while sitting in the dressing room yesterday (June 15) during the match against Sri Lanka at Dambulla,” the ICC said.”Although the very short video clips that are publicly available could mislead viewers into thinking he was holding on to a cell phone and speaking to someone, upon closer scrutiny the fact emerges that Mohammad was actually holding on to the front grill of his helmet, adjusting it, and at the same time making a comment to his team manager, Yawar Saeed, seated to his immediate left.”The ACSU, as a practice, collect the mobile phones of all the players and officials before a game starts. Only the team’s manager is allowed to have a phone inside the area.

Robin Martin-Jenkins, the Sussex allrounder, has announced that he will retire from first-class cricket this summer. The current County Championship match against Worcestershire will be his last four-day match at Hove, his home ground.Robin, 35, is set to embark on a new career as a Geography and RS teacher at Hurstpierpoint College, when the new term begins this September. He won’t be available for selection after July 19, when Sussex and Worcestershire meet at a Pro 40 match at Hove.The son of leading cricket journalist, author, and cricket correspondent Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Robin made his first-class debut in 1995 and has scored 7174 runs and taken 378 wickets. He had a better career as a bowler in limited-overs games, taking 234 wickets and scoring 1996 runs in 228 matches.”I could have carried on, but I didn’t want to get to the stage where I was holding on too long and not performing,” Robin said. “I’m still enjoying it and I’m going out in a period when I’m still playing well, but I’ve been given a fantastic opportunity outside of cricket now and I intend to grab it with both hands. It’s a good time for the club too as there are some excellent young players coming through.”It’s been amazing to play for the club in what has been probably their greatest decade ever, it’s been a great honour. Yes, there were some tough times when I first broke into the team but that made guys like me stronger cricketers, and we reaped the rewards with the countless trophies we went on to win”.Robin was talked of as a potential allrounder for England, but never made the grade. “I have no regrets. I have always given my all throughout my career and I’ve been very proud to play for Sussex,” Robin added.Sussex chairman Jim May said Robin was a fantastic servant to the county over 15 seasons. “He has played a vital role in our sustained success and has certainly been an unsung hero of our three County Championship winning sides,” May said. “Not only is he an excellent allrounder, but he is also one of the genuinely nicest guys in the game. All of us here at Sussex are disappointed that Robin is leaving us whilst he is in the form of his life, but at the same time we are delighted that he has planned the next phase of his career, and we wish him well”.

Ricky Ponting has given Michael Clarke his support after the Twenty20 captain questioned his own form following Australia’s loss to England in the World Twenty20 final in the Caribbean. Clarke’s future as the Twenty20 leader is likely to be decided over the next week as the selectors settle on squads to tour England, and Ponting hasn’t seen anything to suggest Clarke should not stay in charge.”I don’t know what he had to say about himself, but everything I’ve been reading is very positive about him and how he’s led the team,” Ponting told Fox Sports. “I notice the coach [Tim Nielsen] made some positive comments and every time I have seen Michael in a leadership role he has done exceptionally well. So there are some really good signs there for the future of Australian cricket.”However, it is not Clarke’s captaincy that has been a concern over the past couple of weeks – the defeat in the final was his first loss as T20 captain – but his struggles with the bat. Clarke finished the tournament with the fewest runs of any Australian specialist batsman, and his strike-rate of 80 was well below the levels expected in Twenty20.The selectors are expected to meet on the weekend to discuss the squads for the upcoming contests in the UK and Dublin, where Australia have five ODIs against England, one versus Ireland, and two Twenty20s and two Tests against Pakistan. The next World Twenty20 is scheduled for 2012, so the Australians have plenty of time to decide on the team’s leadership.One thing that is certain is that Ponting won’t be making a comeback to the shortest format. His focus is squarely on regaining the Ashes next summer at home and he is already training for the tour of England, but he was keeping an eye on the way his colleagues performed in the West Indies.”I was disappointed for the boys; no doubt they were the best team right through the tournament but they stumbled at the last hurdle,” Ponting said. “They should be proud of the way they conducted themselves. Of course you would like to be there, but I made the decision I made for all the right reasons. I was finding it increasingly difficult to play all three formats of the game the way I wanted to.”

Having narrowly missed out on winning a second world title for Sri Lanka in England last year, Kumar Sangakkara’s team left for the Caribbean with the hope of winning the trophy in the third World Twenty20.”This team has the potential to go all the way in the tournament,” Sangakkara said prior to the team’s departure on Saturday. “Even last year we had a very similar team with a couple of new faces as in this one.”Sri Lanka are in Group B with New Zealand whom Sangakkara described as ‘a very dangerous team as we have experienced in the T20 format before’ and Zimbabwe ‘who have proved giant killers when they beat West Indies in T20s and ODI’. “They are not teams you can take lightly in T20 cricket. We know how dangerous this format of the game is.”Sangakkara said Sri Lanka’s spinners are likely to be one of their strengths. “The last time we went to the West Indies most of the wickets were spin-friendly. In T20 cricket generally the spinners bring a lot to the game. They have become very crucial match winners,” Sangakkara said. “They can be used to take wickets, to control games, change the pace of the game and rush through the overs when the opposition is in trouble. Especially with the quality spinners we have we’ll be able to make an impact.”In their line up Sri Lanka have a coterie of spinners led by the Muttiah Muralitharan supported by Ajantha Mendis, Suraj Randiv, Sanath Jayasuriya and part-timer Tillakaratne Dilshan.The Sri Lankan batting line-up will see Dilshan having a new partner with former captain Mahela Jayawardene joining him to open the innings. With 439 runs (strike rate of 147.31) from 13 matches in the IPL tournament for Kings Punjab XI, Jayawardene once again showed that he can contribute a lot towards the team when he is sent in as an opener.”Mahela has been very good for us in the middle-order but this year in particular and most of the latter part of last year his mental conditioning has been more towards trying to bat out all the way,” Sangakkara said. “We have seen that in the times he’s opened in one-day cricket and provincial tournaments. Sometimes it is one way of getting the best out of him putting him at the top of the order. Right now that seems the most realistic option to have him at the top with Dilshan and for everyone to bat around them.”Explaining the role Jayasuriya, the oldest member of the tournament at 40 will play in the team, Sangakkara said: “I think to play him as an all-rounder depends on the tracks we get. If there is turn and slowness on the tracks he will have a great chance of playing. If we decide to change the opening combination at some point he can get back to his old position. It depends on the wickets, the opposition and finally on performance.”Sri Lanka play a warm-up T20 match against South Africa on April 28 at Barbados before taking on New Zealand in the tournament lung-opener on April 30 at Providence, Guyana.

X-rays have confirmed that Graeme Smith does not need surgery for his fractured finger, and the South Africa captain is confident of recovering in time for the World Twenty20 starting at the end of next month.Smith has had plenty of finger injuries over the past few years, and the latest one has ruled him out of the remainder of the IPL. He broke the middle finger of his right hand while taking a catch in Rajasthan Royals’ match against Delhi Daredevils earlier this week. “Just left the doc, good news don’t need surgery, 4 weeks in a splint,” he said on his Twitter page on Thursday.South Africa’s team manager Mohammed Moosajee confirmed Smith was expected to be back at full fitness in four weeks. “Graeme will have a further X-ray on Tuesday to make sure his recovery is on track,” he said.This is the second finger injury Smith has picked up in little more than a month. He had hurt his little finger on the left hand during the build-up to the Eden Gardens Test in February, which kept him out of the one-dayers against India.

Yuvraj Singh, the Indian batsman, will be off to Australia for treatment on the ligament tear he suffered on his left wrist during the tour of Bangladesh. Yuvraj sustained the injury during the second Test in Mirpur, and was subsequently ruled out of the Test and ODI series against South Africa.”The BCCI has asked Yuvraj to go to Melbourne for consultation. But I don’t know whether he has departed,” Ratnakar Shetty, the Indian board’s chief administrative officer, told . Yuvraj had informed on his Twitter page about the decision, after India’s thrilling one-run win over South Africa in the first ODI in Jaipur. “Great stuff India! Am off to Australia for treatment — bye guys,” he wrote in his Twitter page.