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The Sri Lankan captain is unfazed by the fact that his seam attack is inexperienced and expects them to make a mark

Nagraj Gollapudi in Ahmedabad15-Nov-2009Sri Lanka are the world’s second-best Test side yet their fast-bowling line-up is unlikely to send shivers down a batsman’s spine. Their five-member pace contingent for the India tour, comprising Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Dammika Prasad, Angelo Mathews and Chanaka Welegedara, have played 27 Tests among them, sharing 68 wickets with only one five-for (Thushara). Yet, Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain, is not edgy about his inexperienced pace attack.Smart, ambitious and spirited leader that he is, Sangakkara knows the only way he can get the best out of his young bowlers is to encourage and challenge them. Sangakkara is well aware that the young blood understands no defeat. “Reputations are there to be made (on the Indian tour),” Sangakkara said after a long practice session at Motera on a hot Sunday afternoon.”When you bring in a lot of fresh guys who have perspective and fire in them, they have the great opportunity to pick up wickets of big names in Test cricket. And if they do that, they’ll have a reputation going into another series.”The Sri Lankans landed in India exactly a week ago and their stay so far has been a mixed experience. Cyclone Phyan skipped Mumbai but washed out the visitors’ only warm-up game ahead of the series, the three-day affair against Board President’s XI. It did not help matters when the SuperSopper at the venue (MCA Recreation ground) was moved to the DY Patil Cricket Stadium, which was hosting the final ODI of the India-Australia series. When it was brought back on the final day of the tour game, it started leaking oil. The visitors had to make do with nets, the fast bowlers hardly getting any freedom to charge in with a full run-up. Sangakkara admitted that it was a bit disappointing.Despite that, he remains confident of his team’s prospects of making history and winning their maiden Test in India in 27 years. “We have a much-improved pace attack. We have a good balance where we can play two or three specialist spinners and still have two fast bowlers playing in the side. That probably is the difference from the sides that came here in the past.”A major shot in the arm for the tourists is Tillakaratne Dilshan’s return to peak fitness after he suffered an ankle injury during practice in Mumbai. But today, Dilshan enjoyed a warm-up game of football and Sangakkara confirmed that he [Dilshan] would open the batting with Tharanga Paranavitana. Dilshan, who recently scored the fastest fifty (off 31 balls) by a Sri Lankan in Tests, in Galle against New Zealand, is a valuable addition at the top of the order. Sri Lanka would hope he can rein in his aggression to consolidate later on on a flat pitch, which both Sangakkara and his counterpart MS Dhoni, agreed would steadily get slower.One area where the Sri Lankans are spoilt for choice is the spin department, with three quality spinners in Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath. The visitors have a difficult task on their hands, considering Sangakkara had earlier pointed out that the chief yardstick to pick a player would be his form.Murali walks into the team by default, but Sangakkara said he would think hard before picking the second (or even third) spinner. “It is an interesting choice. But if Herath misses out, and if I were him, I would be very, very disappointed because he has outbowled both Murali and Mendis in the previous two Test series [New Zealand and Pakistan] so he has got a very, very good chance.”

Plays of the day for the fourth day of the Australia-West Indies Test in Adelaide

Alex Brown and Brydon Coverdale07-Dec-2009The Chris Gayle shuffle
Proof that Chris Gayle is cooler than Mawson’s Hut was evident in his celebration of his maiden Test century against Australia. Triumphant waves of the bat bookended a short dance sequence that featured the kind of rhythmic sashaying that would have proven a hit in the nightclubs of Kingston. Gayle looked decidedly less graceful several overs later when he was struck by cramp. Gayle’s nickname among team-mates is “crampy”, a Jamaican expression for slow movement, and his seizing muscles served to decelerate his scoring rate for a time, but he picked it up at the end of the day.Brother, can you spare a wicket?
Australia’s inability to take 20 wickets proved a curse in recent losing campaigns against India, South Africa and England, and the lack of an enforcer returned to haunt them on Monday. Without the services of the incapacitated Peter Siddle, who has a hamstring problem, for much of the day, Australia struggled for impact against a resolute West Indies batting unit on a benign Adelaide surface. Nathan Hauritz could not replicate the bounce or bite of Sulieman Benn the previous day, while Mitchell Johnson lit up the start and the end, but not in the middle. It was a tough time at the office.Tall tales of Big Benn
Sulieman Benn said it wasn’t until he was about 14 that he began getting taller than most of his friends, but at 28 it seems he’s still enjoying a growth spurt. The story of his success on the third day in Adelaide turned into a tall tale – but just how tall depended on whose story you read. His profile page on Cricinfo lists him as 6ft 7in, which equates to 200cm, but in the he had grown to 204cm and in the he had shot up to 207cm.Save the umps
The Gould League is an Australian organisation that, among other things, aims to protect the environment. Umpire Ian Gould might just need his own group if he keeps getting in the way of Gayle drives. Gayle crunched a straight one that clipped the fingers of the bowler Marcus North, but that didn’t take much of the pace off the ball. It promptly ricocheted into Gould’s ankle, sending the umpire hobbling in pain and denying Gayle a boundary.

The New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori will make his Australian domestic debut on Wednesday when he lines up for Queensland in their Twenty20 game against New South Wales at Stadium Australia in Sydney

Cricinfo staff11-Jan-2010The New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori will make his Australian domestic debut on Wednesday when he lines up for Queensland in their Twenty20 game against New South Wales at Stadium Australia in Sydney. Vettori was named in a 13-man squad for what is a must-win match for both teams, each of whom have one victory from three games.It could be a one-off appearance for Vettori, who is available only for this match and the preliminary final on January 19, should the Bulls qualify. Vettori will play for Northern Districts in New Zealand’s Twenty20 tournament, the HRV Cup, on Tuesday and will fly in to Sydney on the day of the Big Bash match to link up with the Queensland side.He must then head straight back to New Zealand for another HRV Cup fixture on Friday. Vettori has replaced the batsman Nathan Reardon in the squad, in the only change from the group that defeated Tasmania at the Gabba on Friday.Queensland squad James Hopes, Ben Dunk (wk), Lee Carseldine, Andrew Symonds, Glen Batticciotto, Chris Simpson (capt), Chris Lynn, Craig Philipson, Daniel Vettori, Ryan Harris, Ben Cutting, Nathan Rimmington, Scott Walter.

Ricky Ponting’s fifth Test double-century and Michael Clarke’s highest Test score have left Pakistan facing a mountainous task to avoid defeat over the next three days in Hobart

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale at Bellerive Oval15-Jan-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIsland dream: Ricky Ponting posted his third-highest Test score during a marathon performance on his home ground•Getty Images

Ricky Ponting’s fifth Test double-century and Michael Clarke’s highest Test score have left Pakistan facing a mountainous task to avoid defeat over the next three days in Hobart. Their already fragile confidence took another hit when Peter Siddle struck twice in one over and Salman Butt ran out two partners to leave them 425 runs adrift. With six wickets in hand, avoiding the follow-on looked as far away as the Australian mainland.There is every chance that, given the opportunity, Ponting will enforce the follow-on for the second time this summer as there are showers forecast over the next three days and the fast men are on the verge of a two-month break from Tests. He’ll also be buoyed by Pakistan’s ongoing self-implosion, which continued with the two run-outs.The captain Mohammad Yousuf went hard for a third, which was refused by an overly casual Butt, and turned back to be caught short for 7. Yousuf stood by the pitch glowering at Butt before walking off and Pakistan’s frustrations continued when Butt and Umar Akmal took off for a single, Butt stopped far too late, and Umar was run-out after his about-face. It was all the more disappointing after Butt and Imran Farhat reached 63 without loss.Farhat (38) drove away from his body off Siddle and was caught behind and four balls later Khurram Manzoor, the No. 3 brought in for this match, played an ill-advised cut that on the slower pitches in Pakistan might have worked, but here resulted in an ugly edge to second slip. The wickets were a timely boost for Siddle, who had only six in his previous four Tests this summer and has been by far the least potent member of the attack.But there was no doubt that the second day belonged to Ponting and Clarke, as had the first. Their 352-run partnership, which lasted 437 minutes and 626 balls, was Australia’s sixth-highest for any wicket in Test history. The stand ended when Clarke tried to pad up to the legspinner Danish Kaneria coming around the wicket but saw it take his off stump on 166.Ponting’s innings of 209 came to a close when he attacked in spite of Pakistan’s defensive wide-outside-off line and skied a catch to cover off Mohammad Aamer. The captain Yousuf took the chance, showing Aamer how it should be done after he put Ponting down at deep square-leg before he had scored on the first day. It wasn’t the most expensive miss in Test history – in 1938 Ben Barnett missed a stumping off Len Hutton on 40 and he went on to score 364 – but it was depressingly costly for Pakistan.When Ponting finally departed, fans stood all around the ground to cheer off their local Tasmanian hero, who made his third-highest Test score and his first double-ton since January 2005, the first Test double-century by any player at Bellerive Oval, and the highest Test score by an Australian since Justin Langer’s 215 in Adelaide against New Zealand five years ago. He picked up an even hundred runs in boundaries – 25 fours – in a near nine-hour stay at the crease.Ponting was given another life today on 167 when he drove Kaneria and the ball flew through the hands of Farhat at cover. But by that stage Australia were going for their shots and in truth, Clarke and Ponting were rarely troubled by a defensive Pakistan group that seemed simply to be waiting for a declaration.That didn’t come until the stroke of tea, by which time Brad Haddin had added a quick 41, Marcus North had scratched out 21, and Australia had climbed to 8 for 519. Ponting called an early end to Australia’s innings in Melbourne but here seemed intent on grinding Pakistan into the Bellerive turf, both with his own batting and his declaration. Australia have never lost a Test in Hobart and they won’t start now.

Bangladesh and Shakib Al Hasan turned in their best performance of the tour, but is was still not enough to prevent New Zealand from sweeping the series

The Bulletin by Andrew Fernando11-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Imrul Kayes made his first ODI century to boost Bangladesh to their first 200-plus total of the series•Getty Images

A determined maiden century from Imrul Kayes and a wonderful spell of slow bowling by Shakib Al Hasan was not enough to deny New Zealand a 3-0 clean sweep after the hosts clinched the final ODI in Christchurch by three wickets. Man of the Match Martin Guptill powered New Zealand towards Bangladesh’s modest 241 and, despite a mini collapse towards the end, they reached the target comfortably in the 45th over.Earlier, Kayes batted for the majority of Bangladesh’s innings, building productive partnerships with the middle order to guide his team to 198 for 4 after 40 overs. Mohammed Ashraful and Shakib both posted 30s after a disappointing showing in each of the previous ODIs, but were unable to kick on to put the New Zealand attack under pressure in the final overs.Kayes, however, paced his innings intelligently, driving aerially through covers early in the innings before settling in for a long knock during the middle overs. Playing second fiddle to the likes of Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed, Kayes rotated strike effectively and hit the occasional boundary to keep the scoreboard ticking over at a healthy rate, even as wickets fell at regular intervals around him. He was slightly fortuitous at times, repeatedly beating McCullum with edges to the third-man boundary, but was the glue that held the Bangladesh innings together. He was eventually dismissed for 101, looking for quick runs in the 48th over.Despite runs coming from the top order, Bangladesh were once again unable to put in a complete batting performance, and failed to accelerate effectively in the batting Powerplay and the death overs. While the visitors did well to reach 198 for 4 after the 40th, the final ten overs yielded only 43 runs for the loss of five wickets and left the score at 241 for 9, when at one stage at total in excess of 260 looked likely.The visitors’ failure at the end was also largely due to an excellent spell from Daniel Vettori, who was wicketless until the 44th over before picking up three scalps in consecutive overs to end with 3 for 42 from his ten. Tim Southee also picked up three wickets, and was the pick of the New Zealand attack, conceding just 37 runs from his full quota.Brendon McCullum began the New Zealand run chase in belligerent fashion, pulling Shafiul Islam over square leg for six in consecutive overs, but fell attempting an ugly slog, dragging a fuller Rubel Hossain delivery onto his off stump. Martin Guptill came to the crease and was in supreme touch from ball one, timing it superbly to the straight boundary, both along the ground and over the infield. The running between the wickets was especially impressive while Guptill was in the middle, stealing lightning-fast singles to men in the infield.Shakib then came into the attack dismiss Peter Ingram in his first over, playing inside the line of a well-pitched drifter that hit off stump. Ross Taylor too was stumped off Shakib after a flighted delivery beat the bat and left him well short of his crease.Guptill, however, batted beautifully to string the New Zealand innings together, punishing the bad deliveries down the ground and through point, while rotating the strike with incredible efficiency to keep the run-rate well above what was required. When he holed out to long off for a run-a-ball 91, New Zealand were well placed to win the match, requiring 47 from 15 overs with five wickets in hand.The departure of Neil Broom and Jacob Oram in quick succession, however, put some pressure back on the hosts, but Ian Butler and James Franklin had plenty of overs to play with. Despite the tension, they negotiated the remainder of the run chase without much drama. Franklin hit the winning runs in the 45th over, leaving Bangladesh to rue the missed opportunity to score 25-30 more runs, which might have made for a much tighter finish.

Ryan ten Doeschate again showed why he is so important to Netherlands as his unbeaten 129, his 15th first-class century, led them out of a tough situation on the opening day against Kenya

Cricinfo staff20-Feb-2010
ScorecardRyan ten Doeschate’s 15th first-class hundred helped Netherlands reach 276 for 6 on the first day•ICC

Ryan ten Doeschate again showed why he is so important to Netherlands as his unbeaten 129, his 15th first-class century, led them out of a tough situation on the opening day against Kenya. The visitors stumbled to 75 for 4, but ten Doeschate turned the innings around alongside useful contributions from captain Peter Borren and wicketkeeper Atse Buurman.Play didn’t start until after lunch due to overnight rain and Kenya’s seamers made use of some early movement to trouble Netherlands’ top order. Elijah Otieno removed Eric Szwarczynski with his second ball and Bas Zuiderent was caught behind for 3 off Nehemiah Odhiambo. Alexei Kervezee played positively for his 42 but when he and Nick Statham fell in quick succession Kenya were in control.However, ten Doeschate changed the complexion of the day as he added 113 for the fifth wicket with Borren (44). ten Doeschate found the boundary regularly and also cleared the ropes four times. Kenya struck two quick blows to leave Netherlands on 193 for 6, but ten Doeschate found valuable support from Buurman.The pair added an unbroken 83 for the seventh wicket to guide Netherlands through o the close as ten Doeschate reached his hundred from 141 balls with a tight contest shaping up between two teams currently in mid-table and needing a victory to make a push for the top.

A round-up of the action from the semi-finals of the 2009-10 Sri Lanka Cricket Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Tournament

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-Mar-2010The much-awaited semi-finals of the Inter-provincial Twenty20 tournament at the De Soysa Stadium in Moratuwa proved to be one-sided contests, as defending champions Wayamba and Ruhuna made it to the summit clash.The Moratuwa wicket has a history of breaking up and the captains winning the toss put in the opposition on both occassions. As it turned out, the team batting first made little impression and surrendered meekly.Wayamba captain Jehan Mubarak’s decision to invite Basnahira South to bat first in the first semi-final proved a successful gamble as they bundled out the opposition for 117. Fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa, promoted as a pinch-hitter, top scored for Basnahira with a well-struck 41 off 29 balls, comprising eight fours. The rest of the batting succumbed to the pace of Chanaka Welegedara and Thissara Perera, who shared six wickets between them.Mahela Jayawardene, opening for Wayamba, raced to his third half-century of the tournament as they knocked off the required runs by the 14th over to win by nine wickets and qualify for their third consecutive final. Jayawardene, who scored 58 off 32 balls, also contributed while fielding with three good catches.The second semi-final almost followed the same pattern, as Ruhuna captain Upul Tharanga put in Kandurata and dismissed them for just 102. Ruhuna, powered by Sanath Jayasuriya’s rapid 35 off 19 balls, then raced to their target inside 10 overs to win by seven wickets. Jayasuriya was supported well by Dinesh Chandimal, who also finished on 35. Muttiah Muralitharan dismissed both batsmen, but Kandurata always found themselves short by at least 50 runs to make a contest of it.

This match will be of more interest to Mumbai Indians, though, who will want to enter knockouts on a winning note

The Preview by Sidharth Monga18-Apr-2010

Match facts

Kolkata v Mumbai, Kolkata

Monday, April 19
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Will Monday’s clash be Sourav Ganguly’s last for Kolkata?•Indian Premier League

Big picture

At long last, we have a dead rubber in IPL 3.0. Unless, of course, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians, and by a margin so huge that they move from their current net run-rate of -0.456 to higher than Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 0.219. This match will be of more interest to Mumbai, though, who will want to enter knockouts on a winning note.

Form guide

Kolkata WLLWL
Mumbai WWWLL

Team talk

Mumbai made an interesting move by opening with Ryan McLaren against Bangalore. McLaren scored a 42-ball 40 and took 1 for 21 in a Man-of-the-Match performance. They could give that opening combination another chance.Dilhara Fernando, given two chances after Lasith Malinga was rested, has created a headache too: his split-finger slower ball hasn’t been picked at all, and his eight overs have gone for 56 runs and four wickets.The third team issue for Mumbai is the wicketkeeper: neither of Aditya Tare, Ambati Rayudu or Chandan Madan has been good with the big gloves. For the Bangalore match, Tare came back, and wasn’t great. In the same game, Abhishek Nayar returned to fitness and played ahead of Ali Murtaza and R Sathish. Monday’s match will be one final opportunity for Mumbai to sort out the combinations before the knockout stage.Kolkata could decide to draft in those who haven’t had many opportunities this year.

Previously

Mumbai 5 Kolkata 0In their first match this season, Mumbai managed to subdue Kolkata with yorkers and low full tosses: Chris Gayle scored 75 off 60, and Kolkata 155 with only three wickets down. Mumbai chased it down with ease.

In the spotlight

Who knows where Sourav Ganguly will be in next year’s IPL. Will Kolkata want to retain him? On paper there is no reason why they shouldn’t: Ganguly has been their most consistent, and perhaps the best, batsman this year. That their best batsman has struck at 118 per 100 balls tells the season’s story. If Kolkata don’t, who will buy him at the next draft? And will Ganguly, who turns 38 in July, want to play anyway? Given all these considerations, it might just be Ganguly’s last effort for Kolkata.The last time Sachin Tendulkar played at the Eden Gardens, he scored a Test century against South Africa in a famous series-levelling, No.1-retaining win for India. The Eden crowds have been the most partisan in the IPL: when Virender Sehwag scored a half-century for Delhi Daredevils, he met with a hush from the same crowd he had sent into delirium in that Test match. If Tendulkar gets going, though, it will be the biggest test of how partisan the crowd can be.

Prime numbers and trivia

• Of the 20 bowlers who have taken 10 wickets or more, none comes from Kolkata. Four Mumbai bowlers, including Kieron Pollard, feature on that list.
• Kolkata haven’t had regular specialist bowlers: neither of them has played more than nine matches.
• If Mumbai win, they will have won 11 matches; in the last two seasons put together they won 12.

The chatter

“A lot of people are also surprised by my fielding. I am not, because it is just a reflection of the hard work put in throughout the year. That’s what makes it more frustrating. We were not that bad a team to have to depend on others to know our fate.”

Wickets and boundaries were hard to come by on day three of a fluctuating County Championship Division One encounter in Canterbury

06-May-2010

ScorecardWickets and boundaries were hard to come by on day three of a fluctuating County Championship Division One encounter in Canterbury where Warwickshire batted their way out of a hole to go into the final day against Kent with an overall lead of 131.At stumps the visitors, who faced a first-innings deficit of 127, had reached 258 for 4 courtesy of three stoic knocks by captain Ian Westwood (68), England Test batsmen Ian Bell (94) and Jonathan Trott (65 not out). Though they lost Darren Maddy to the 15th ball of their reply Warwickshire batted with far more resolve second time around and, on an easing pitch, the Kent attack appeared somewhat toothless.Having scored three from four balls Maddy shouldered arms to an Amjad Khan off cutter that held its line up the St Lawrence slope to go leg before and make it 3 for 1. That brought together Westwood and Bell for a gritty second-wicket stand of 157 in 55 overs that overhauled the deficit and took their side into a slight lead before Kent finally broke through three overs from tea through occasional offspinner Martin van Jaarsveld.Having batted almost three hours for his 68 with seven fours, Westwood was pinned on the crease by a quick arm ball to go leg before and make it 160 for 2. Bell’s painstaking 182-ball stay with 10 boundaries ended two overs after the break when he moved back and across in defence to a shooting off cutter from Amjad Khan to also fall lbw.For much of the day Warwickshire’s batsmen appeared hell bent on making amends for their first-innings misdemeanours. Content to work the ball around into the gaps, they went 41.4 overs without scoring a boundary and needed 32.1 overs to score the 50 runs that took them to 200.Trott took almost two hours to post his dogged half-century, finally reaching the milestone with four boundaries four overs from stumps, but he lost fourth-wicket partner Jim Troughton (24) to the last ball of the day when the left-hander sparred at a Darren Stevens bouncer to be caught behind.Kent resumed at the start of the day on 374 for 9 but added only three runs
before Rikki Clarke removed Darren Stevens without addition to his overnight score of 57. Heaving across the line, Stevens went leg before to give Clarke career-best figures of 6 for 63.

Suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi will file his replies to the BCCI’s chargesheet by May 15, his lawyer Mehmood Abdi confirmed on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff11-May-2010Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chairman, will file his replies to the BCCI’s chargesheet by May 15, his lawyer Mehmood Abdi confirmed on Tuesday. Abdi and the legal team are framing Modi’s defence from the documents given by the BCCI.He said only four of the ten charges against Modi in the show-cause notice carried documentary proof – the rest were verbal in nature.”Let’s go through the documents we have right now and then we will decide. As of now, yes, we are ready to file by May 15,” Abdi said in Mumbai. “We had asked for some documents from the board. We needed documentary support for at least 10 references made in the show-cause notice out of which four have been provided to us today.”The board secretary (N Srinivasan) has written in an email to Mr Modi that other references made in the show cause notice for which we wanted documentary support were oral transactions or verbal communications and there is no documentary proof for those.”Modi was suspended by BCCI on April 26, soon after the conclusion of the IPL, which sent him a show-cause notice asking him to reply to a slew of charges relating to the conduct of the high-profile Twenty20 league. Modi was alleged to have indulged in financial deals without the knowledge of the IPL Governing Council, bid-rigging and of behavioural pattern which was not acceptable.Modi was previously expected to appear at the BCCI headquarters on Monday to respond in person to the charges. But the BCCI agreed, on his request, to extend the deadline by another five days as he wanted some more documents from the board that would help in preparing his defence.Abdi said the four documents handed over to him included an agreement, two letters, one email and a copy of shareholding pattern of an IPL franchisee. It is reported that the emails and letters are related to Nimbus Communications, which holds the television rights to Indian cricket, domestic and international.Abdi had already handed over all documents, from Modi’s side, to the board. “So far they have not asked for anything more. In fact only last evening I had given them the second lot of documents which, from our side, is full and final. Still, if the BCCI want anything more from us we are ready to give.”