All posts by csb10.top

Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), has confirmed Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, cannot be axed from the national selection panel as he is under a contract. The board’s general council, which reaffirmed its stand on the transformation policy, had “removed” Arthur from the panel on Saturday. However, only the board’s professional arm, headed by Majola, had the power to remove him.”Mickey Arthur is contracted by Cricket South Africa (Pty) Ltd, and his contracted duties include being a national selector,” Majola said in a statement. “Only the board of directors of CSA (Pty) Ltd can change this, and therefore the resolution taken at General Council’s teleconference on Saturday to remove Mr Arthur from the selection process is unconstitutional.”I have been in contact today (Sunday) with the convenor of selectors, Joubert Strydom, and have informed him that the same selection panel will finalise the team to tour Bangladesh. The panel comprises Joubert Strydom (convener), Mickey Arthur (national coach), Vincent Barnes (assistant national coach), Graeme Smith (captain), Mustapha Khan (selector) and Shafiek Abrahams (selector). The team will be announced tomorrow (Monday) after three players have undergone fitness tests, namely Hashim Amla, Andre Nel, and Neil McKenzie.”With any luck, Arthur and Norman Arendse, the CSA president with whom he has been having a running battle, will bump into each other in a deserted parking lot sometime soon. Maybe then, with no one watching and nothing more lethal than a pair of jabbing index fingers, we might get to the bottom of this week of Monty Python mayhem. Until then, let’s try and make sense of what has happened.On Tuesday Arendse rejected the squad selected for South Africa’s imminent tour to Bangladesh. He did so, we believe, on the grounds that only four black players were included in the squad and not seven as called for in terms of CSA’s plan for the ongoing racial transformation the game. It doesn’t matter if we euphemise that bit of legislation as a policy or a target: what matters is the number. And that number is seven. Four isn’t even close.Where was Herschelle Gibbs in the wake of his spectacular century in the last one-day international against West Indies, Arendse wondered. And didn’t Monde Zondeki deserve some recognition for the 54 wickets he took in 10 SuperSport Series matches this season? Both are black, which would leave us just one short of the required number.Arthur countered with a similarly sharp perspective. The South Africans return home briefly from Bangladesh before returning to the subcontinent for what is sure to be a challenging series against India. Arthur wanted his best team on the field in Bangladesh to ensure they hit the ground running when they encountered the big brothers next door.Arendse countered that, with a lengthy tour of England looming after the Indian venture, South Africa needed to find out whether players like Zondeki – and other bowlers – were up to international standard.At this point, non-South African readers might wonder what all the fuss has been about. Even allowing for what in other countries would be the novelty of a racially based selection policy, this is the stuff of the average committee meeting, surely. Why all the acrimony?The upshot was that Arendse laid disciplinary charges against Arthur, who duly fired back a salvo of charges of his own against the president. Except that Arendse, as an elected official, was not subject to the same set of rules and regulations as CSA employees like Arthur. So the coach’s charges are unlikely to stick. Instead, Arthur is likely to find himself on the carpet on charges of bringing the game into disrepute in the next day or so, and he might well find himself out of a job shortly after that.

Ricky Ponting believes he can overcome the persistent threat of Harbhajan Singh despite falling early to the offspinner in the second innings in Melbourne. Harbhajan has dismissed Ponting six times in seven Tests and will play a crucial role alongside Anil Kumble as India attempt to level the series in Sydney.Harbhajan joked at the MCG he hadn’t seen enough of Ponting to have a plan for him on this tour, but it is a serious matter for Australia’s captain. “He’s got a great record in Tests against me,” Ponting said of Harbhajan. “He got me first ball last week.”The 2001 contest, when Ponting scored 17 runs and slipped five times against Harbhajan in three Tests, is one of his few international scars, but he is not bothered by the problems against offspin. “It’s a long time from that series in India six years ago, where he had the measure of me,” Ponting said. “But it could be my turn here. It’s just a matter of time before I get some runs.”Ponting picked up two half-centuries against Sri Lanka in November, but was the only Australian batsman to miss out in Melbourne, scoring 4 and 3. “I have got a good record here, I’ve made five hundreds on this ground,” he said. “Hopefully that can be the case this week. It was lean last week, I had almost as many catches as runs. But I had a good net, I’m coming off a couple of hundreds in the ODIs [against New Zealand] and I’m feeling good to go.”The slow start has not convinced India to downgrade the Ponting threat and Kumble remains wary. Kumble knows how potent Harbhajan is against Ponting, but will wait to decide whether to bring him on as soon as the captain enters.”It all depends on what’s happening at that stage,” Kumble said. “We understand that Ricky is the key and it’s important we get him early.”Harbhajan also has a strong record against Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, who have been dismissed seven times in eight Tests, but he had less impact in Melbourne, taking three wickets to Kumble’s seven. The visiting spinners will have a huge say in whether Australia can equal the world record of 16 consecutive wins, which was set by Steve Waugh and ended by India in 2001.”The only thing wrong with discussing it is that it takes the focus away from the game,” Ponting, who has tried to avoid talk of the achievement, said. “When you’re facing a ball, or starting to bowl, you need a nice clear mind. I don’t mind a bit of talk about it, but if it gets too much, I would like to put it down.”

A Test-match trial of Muttiah Muralitharan’s action, as suggested by Shane Warne, seems unlikely with the news the ICC will not have the technology for such tests for at least two years. Warne said it would give Muralitharan and the cricketing world “peace of mind” to have Muralitharan’s bowling style assessed in match conditions.However, Muralitharan was unconvinced that further analysis was necessary. “I don’t know about that,” Muralitharan said in the . “I have done a lot of testing.”The paper reported that the ICC was working with biomechanics experts to develop a system where trials could occur during matches, but the technology was still some way from completion. Daryl Foster, the former Western Australia coach who helped analyse Muralitharan’s action at the University of Western Australia in 2004, said laboratory trials were the best measure for the time being.”With the technology we have available at the moment, and the margin of error that exists, it’s far better for the time being that this is done in a controlled laboratory environment,” Foster said. Muralitharan’s action has been repeatedly cleared by the ICC since he was first no-balled for throwing during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 1995-96.

Michael Clarke will not necessarily succeed Ricky Ponting as Australia’s captain despite his promotion to the top job for next week’s Twenty20 game against New Zealand, according to Adam Gilchrist. Ponting is being rested for Tuesday’s match and Clarke was named captain of a squad that included Gilchrist and Michael Hussey, both of whom have filled in for Ponting in the past.The move was seen as an indication that Clarke would be groomed to eventually take over from Ponting on a full-time basis. However, Gilchrist said that was not a done deal, although he supported the decision to give Clarke a taste of leadership in the Twenty20 match.”It’s not just Pup [Clarke],” Gilchrist told the . “Mike Hussey was captain in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy earlier this year and is obviously a candidate. It’s a matter of the selectors exploring all the options as they plan for the future.”They should certainly keep Huss in the loop and any other guys they think will be worthy of higher honours down the track. I’m reluctant to assume that [Clarke] has automatically got the job and I don’t think he assumes that either.”Clarke, 26, has age in his favour as Hussey, 32, is only five months younger than Ponting, who is expected to play for several more years. A handful of younger batsmen have gained captaincy experience at state level including Adam Voges, Marcus North, Cameron White and George Bailey, but whether any of them will reach Test level remains unknown.Gilchrist said it was a good move to give Clarke some extra responsibility. “It makes sense starting to invest in a few guys for the future,” he said. “He has shown a real eagerness to learn all about leadership and enjoyed it in his younger days. He has a thirst to learn about the role and is quite an astute tactical thinker.”This is a good step in his development. He will learn over time that captaincy involves great responsibilities off the field as well as on it. But he is a smart kid and he looks after himself so he should grow into that.”Ponting’s predecessor Steve Waugh also said if Clarke had been earmarked for future leadership then it made sense to hand him the reins for a one-off match. “It gives him a bit of a taste in Twenty20 where the stakes aren’t so high, you don’t have to make so many crucial decisions,” Waugh told the .”It gives you a feel for the job so I think it’s a pretty good move. It doesn’t guarantee you are going to be the next leader but he certainly is the favourite.”

Haryana were in a position of considerable strength at stumps on thesecond day of their North Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match against Jammu& Kashmir at the MA stadium in Jammu on Monday. After being in arrearsby 218 runs on the first innings, J&K were 31 for two in their secondinnings at close.Resuming at 61 for no loss, Haryana declared at 346 for seven.Manvinder Bisla (45) left early but the other opener Bhuvnesh Sharmaand captain Ishan Ganda added 114 runs for the second wicket off 31overs. Sharma was then out for 78. He faced 137 balls and hit 12fours. Sumeet Sharma (13) did not last very long but Ganda and DeepakJoon compounded J&K’s agony by some fine strokeplay. Ganda reached hiscentury but retired hurt when his score was 101. He faced 186 ballsand hit 12 of them to the ropes. Joon’s 40 was compiled off 70 ballsand Amit Mishra contributed a valuable 28 inclusive of two fours and asix.In J&K’s second innings, opening bowler Nitin Aggarwal dismissedMudassar Ashraf and Vimarash Kaw in the space of three deliveries forducks, leaving the home team an uphill task to stave off defeat on thefinal day.

Hampshire Under-16 opener Jack Lovett is set for his senior St Cross Symondians debut at Lymington tomorrow (1pm) as the Winchester club seeks to retrieve lost ground at the top of Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2.Lovett has been in sparkling form for St Cross 2nd XI, who are pressing hard for Hampshire League promotion.He gets his big chance as St Cross bid to claw back the three-point lead Old Tauntonians & Romsey gained at the top last weekend.Dan Peacock (broken finger) could return to bolster a Lymington side that has lost six of its last seven matches and dropped into the bottom half of the table.OT’s, meanwhile, travel to enigmatic Hursley Park, who are capable of beating the best on their day.Knocked out of the National Village Championship at Findon last weekend, Easton & Martyr Worthy must beat lowly Gosport Borough if they are to keep their championship prospects alive.But they have a substantial 19-point gap to make up on St Cross, whom they beat by five wickets last week.On-song Burridge bid to make it five wins out of six at Purbrook, who broke their duck at the ninth attempt last week but remain bottom.Sparsholt have slipped back on to the lip of the relegation zone, but a win over United Services at Burnaby Road will ease their worries.

Wellington will host the State Championship final against Canterbury after they used their severely rain-affected match against Auckland as nothing more than batting practice. Grant Elliott, fresh from his Test debut, compiled a career-best 196 not out and Neal Parlane continued his prolific campaign with 110 as Wellington reached 444 at the Basin Reserve. Auckland needed a victory to have any chance of overtaking Canterbury on the points table but there was little they could do as bad weather meant no play was possible until well into the third day. Auckland barely had time to have a bat, fizzling out to 23 for 1 when bad light ended their season.Canterbury were pleased with the rain in Wellington as they conceded first-innings points in their last preliminary match against Otago in Dunedin. They struggled against the all-round efforts of Warren McSkimming, who collected 5 for 56 as Canterbury stumbled to 247 having been sent in. McSkimming then helped rescued Otago from a precarious 134 for 6, scoring 71 and putting together valuable partnerships with Derek de Boorder and Bradley Scott to secure the lead. Todd Astle made an unbeaten 79 in Canterbury’s second-innings 215 for 3 as the match petered out to a draw.At McLean Park, the defending champions Northern Districts managed to avoid finishing on the bottom despite giving up first-innings points to Central Districts, who were left propping up the table. Brent Arnel finished with ten wickets for the match, his first such haul in first-class cricket, but the star was Ross Taylor. His 152 from 111 balls – he reached triple-figures from 85 – brightened up a game that was always heading for a draw. Taylor’s effort came as Central Districts piled on 392 for 9 in their second innings, having scored 390 in the first, when Peter Ingram made 112. Arnel grabbed 6 for 82 in the first innings and four in the second, however his batting colleagues could not quite push in front of Central Districts and finished their only innings at 365, led by Daniel Flynn’s 109. Arnel finished the preliminary rounds as the competition’s leading wicket taker, with 33 at 20.93.

ScorecardSri Lanka A began their tour of South Africa on a sour note, losing to Pretoria University, the Club Championship winners, by five wickets at Willowmoore Park in Benoni.After winning the toss, Sri Lanka chose to bat and made a reasonable start until Avishka Gunawardena was trapped lbw by Tiens Lange for 17 (42 for 1).Jehan Mubarak and Michael Vandort then flayed the attack, adding a second-wicket stand of 192 before Vandort was dismissed for 108. Mubarak then followed him shortly to the pavilion for 104 as Sri Lanka ended on a healthy 276 for 4.Pretoria, not fazed by the daunting task ahead of them, opened with Jacques Rudolph and AB de Villiers, who put on 67 for the opening wicket before Rudolph departed for 24. De Villiers made 67.But the big partnership came between Kruger van Wyk, the captain, and Hein Malan. They added 121 and took Pretoria to a memorable win. Malan was out for 81 and Van Wyk finished unbeaten on 56 as they reached their target with eight balls to spare.Sri Lanka face South Africa A in a day-night match at The Potchefstroom Oval on Friday.

Cricket Australia has defended Kevin Mitchell, the Gabba curator, after John Bracewell questioned his decision to switch pitches for the final match of the Chappell-Hadlee Series because of heavy rain.Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, said yesterday they were unsure what the wicket would do because it had “been changed two or three times depending on the results of the last two games”. Bracewell also said a pitch switch could negate Daniel Vettori’s impact.James Sutherland, Cricket Australia chief executive, said a “month’s worth of rain in two days” forced Mitchell to abandon his original choice of pitch because of insufficient preparation time. Mitchell instead decided to re-use the one from Queensland’s ING Cup victory over Tasmania last Saturday.”Australian curators are among the best in the world, and Kevin Mitchell junior is right up there at the top,” Sutherland said. “We have utmost faith that his decision is the right one, and is made in the best interests of cricket.”Sutherland, who complained to the ICC this week about the condition of the Test pitch at Mumbai last month, said Cricket Australia did not give orders to curators and they worked on the principle of preparing the best possible wickets.

Day four of fourCounty Championship Division OneMiddlesex v Lancashire, Lord’s
Scorecard
Middlesex maintained their unbeaten record this season on another rainy day at Lord’s. Only 27 overs were possible, in which time Andy Strauss and Sven Koenig continued to rebuild Middlesex’s road to recovery against Lancashire. Strauss doubled his overnight score to reach 100 not out, while Koenig also stood firm to reach 71 not out. Middlesex added 87 runs during the day, and were 85 behind Lancashire when the match was abandoned at tea.It was Lancashire’s third consecutive rain-affected draw.Warwickshire v Sussex, Edgbaston
Scorecard
Melvyn Betts and Dougie Brown bowled Warwickshire to an unexpected and exciting win against Sussex at Edgbaston, which sent them top of Division One. Most people would have banked on the draw when Sussex started their second innings after lunch, but Warwickshire skittled them for 106 in the two sessions. Only three batsmen reached double-figures while Betts (5 for 43) and Brown (4 for 17) ripped through the innings as Sussex were routed by 234 runs. Earlier, England hopefuls Ian Bell and Jamie Troughton set up Warwickshire’s win with a century apiece, as Warwickshire declared their second innings on 285 for 7. It was Bell’s first championship hundred in two years and Troughton’s fifth of his first-class career.Division TwoGlamorgan v Gloucestershire, Cardiff
Scorecard
Gloucestershire secured their second victory of the season with a six-wicket win over Glamorgan at Cardiff – despite some batting heroics from David Harrison and Michael Kasprowicz. After Jonathan Lewis and Ian Butler had reduced Glamorgan to 203 for 8, Harrison (66) and Kasprowicz (78) smashed a ninth-wicket stand of 140 which gave the sparse crowd some entertainment, and also ensured Gloucestershire batted again, needing a target of 95 from 25 overs. And Craig Spearman made sure they weren’t caught out by the time with a rapid 39 from 38 balls as Jonty Rhodes and Mark Alleyne carried Gloucestershire to victory with 10 overs to spare.Yorkshire v Derbyshire, Headingley
Scorecard
Graeme Welch (4 for 74) and Mohammad Ali (3 for 26) led Derbyshire to their first win of the season with a 166-run victory over Yorkshire at Headingley – and justified Dominic Cork’s decision not to enforce the follow-on yesterday. A target of 407 was never going to be an option for Yorkshire, who tried to bat out the day for a draw. Resuming the day on 12 for 0, Welch started the path to victory when he bowled Michael Vaughan for 38, and then soon removed Anthony McGrath for 4. Wickets continued to tumble, and only Michael Lumb stood between Derbyshire and a well-deserved victory. But when he fell at the ninth wicket for a dogged 86 to Mohammad Ali, the work was done for Derbyshire, who moved up to second in the table, one place above Yorkshire.Worcestershire v Zimbabweans, Worcester
Scorecard
Match report