England’s spinner Graeme Swann is confident that his team-mate James Anderson will be passed fit in time to face India in the fourth and final Test

Andrew Miller at The Oval16-Aug-2011James Anderson appears to winning his battle for fitness ahead of the fourth and final Test against India at The Oval on Thursday, after taking a significant part in Wednesday’s practice session. England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, said he was “very optimistic” that Anderson would be available for selection, but said that a final decision on his right quadriceps strain would be taken on the morning of the game.Anderson, who tore through India’s top order with each of the first four wickets to fall in their second innings at Edgbaston, has 18 wickets in the series to date and has risen to No. 2 in the world rankings. However, he complained of stiffness in his thigh after the Edgbaston match, and the Durham paceman, Graham Onions, was called into the squad as cover.Given how valuable Anderson has become as their attack leader, England have already demonstrated a desire to treat him cautiously this summer. He missed the second Test against Sri Lanka earlier in the season as a precaution, having sustained a side strain midway through the opening Test of the summer at Cardiff.This time, however, Strauss seems happier that his star bowler is ready for action. “We are very optimistic he’s fit to play,” he said. “He had a good bowl today, but like all these things we have to check how he comes up tomorrow morning. It just seems nothing more than a little niggle at this stage.”We’ve set a precedent of resting players in the past and I think it’s sensible at times to be able to do that, because of the hectic nature of the international schedule and you don’t want bowlers breaking down for important series,” he added. “But we will only be resting players if we’re absolutely sure they need a rest.”Anderson’s team-mate, Graeme Swann, took a similarly optimistic view when the squad reconvened for practice on Tuesday morning. “I honestly didn’t know he was injured until he told me this morning that he’s not going to play,” said Swann.
“I’m sure once he gets running around, he’ll want to play because I know how well he’s bowling at the minute. I know Jimmy. When he’s doing well, he’s hungry for the ball and he just wants to keep going. It’s when he’s not doing so well, he’s more than happy for a week off.”If Anderson is not passed fit, England will have to choose between Onions and Steven Finn, after Chris Tremlett was once again ruled out by the back injury he sustained prior to the second Test at Trent Bridge. It was notable that England’s bowlers were below-par in the one match that Anderson missed, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, and Strauss admitted that, even with their current fast-bowling resources, he is one player they would rather not do without.”He’s been very much the leader of our attack for the last couple of years and he’s been outstanding in that role,” said Strauss. “But we’ve had to deal with Stuart Broad being injured, Chris Tremlett being injured and people have come in and done well and that’s always the challenge for you as a side – to make sure you’ve got the strength in depth to be able to mitigate against any sort of injury. If and when we have to deal with that, we’ll deal with it.”He’s very important, not just for the tone he sets but for his relationship with the other bowlers,” Strauss added. “But you can’t rely on one person. That’s one of the things that we’ve been good at: we’ve not relied on one or two people to win us a Test match. We’ve had performances from all 11 and when we’re missing a player it’s important the guy coming in can fill that role.””I think [Jimmy] would be a huge loss, like any of the seamers, but we thought that with Tremlett when he couldn’t play at Trent Bridge,” said Swann. “Up stepped Bressie [Tim Bresnan] and he’s been unbelievable in the two games he’s played. We have got vast stocks of fast bowlers at the minute. I’m not sure where they’ve all come from, but it’s nice for us they have all arrived at the same time, because you can never have enough big fast bowlers.”

Worcestershire gave themselves a chance of claiming their third Championship win of the season after they set Sussex 337 to win at Horsham

12-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Worcestershire gave themselves a chance of claiming their third Championship win of the season after they set Sussex 337 to win at Horsham. It looks a tall order on a dry pitch offering assistance to the spinners and if Worcestershire do get the victory – which would improve their chances of avoiding relegation – they will be indebted to last-wicket pair Ben Scott and Alan Richardson.Wicketkeeper Scott made an unbeaten 36 but the revelation was last man Richardson, who drove the Sussex attack to distraction. Having only made one first-class 50 in a career which began in 1995, the 36-year-old seamer has no pretensions as a batsman but he cut and carved his way to 41 from 31 balls with six fours and two sixes in a stand of 56 from 46 deliveries.Sussex had seven overs to negotiate before stumps and they lost Joe Gatting, whose leg stump was knocked back by a delivery from Ajmal which turned sharply. They closed on 17 for 1 and will need 320 to win on the last day.Sussex plugged away throughout the day and their two most consistent bowlers this season, James Anyon and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, always offered the biggest threat. Anyon struck in the first over when Daryl Mitchell played on but Sussex had just one more success before lunch when Vikram Solanki misjudged the line of a delivery from Panesar which drifted into his pads and was leg before for 31.After lunch opener Matt Pardoe wasted 45 overs of watchful batting by driving Panesar loosely to mid-on and Worcestershire lost their fifth wicket three overs later when debutant Aneesh Kapil, who was dropped first ball, cut to point in Kirk Wernars’ first over.Gareth Andrew was taken at slip in the last over before tea as offspinner Luke Wells struck before Moeen Ali, who had top scored in Worcestershire’s first innings, became Wells’ second victim when he top-edged having made 68 in two and a half hours off 137 balls. Ali again drove the ball fluently, particularly through the off side, and struck six fours and two sixes.When Anyon took the new ball he immediately had Ajmal lbw to a nip-backer while Jack Shantry became Panesar’s fourth victim and 54th of the season. At that stage the lead was 280 but Richardson and Scott’s counter-attacking partnership for the last wicket gave their side the edge with a day to go.

A round-up of the fifth match-day of the Quadrangular Under-19 series in India

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2011Offspinner Baba Aparajith took 5 for 35 and opener Unmukt Chand smashed 122 to lead India Under-19 to a comfortable victory against Sri Lanka Under-19 in Visakhapatnam. Sri Lanka’s top order had made a steady start after winning the toss, reaching 87 for 1 in the 19th over, but then lost three batsmen in successive overs for the addition of one run. Aparajith took two of those wickets, including that of Niroshan Dickwella, who top-scored with 57. Aparajith took three middle-order wickets to complete his five for and reduced Sri Lanka to 140 for 7. The last three wickets fell in the space of two runs as the visitors were dismissed for 196.India’s openers, Chand and Akhil Herwadkar, got the chase off to an ideal start by adding 141 in quick time. Herwadkar fell for 51 off 61 balls. Chand, however, went on to score a century and steer India to victory in 31 overs. His 122 off 91 balls contained 14 fours and five sixes and led India to 202 for 3.West Indies Under-19 opener Kraigg Brathwaite scored a century to steer his side to an eight-wicket victory against Australia Under-19. Brathwaite scored an unbeaten 104 off 127 balls and his opening partner John Campbell contributed 56 to a first-wicket partnership of 105. Kyle Mayers, who came in at No. 4, made 33 off 20 balls to help chase down the target of 233 in the 47th over.Australia’s innings had suffered because none of their batsmen converted their starts into substantial innings. All of their top eight batsmen made it to double figures but no one went past 50. Kurtis Patterson’s 49 was the top score. William Bosisto smacked 42 off 31 balls at No. 7 to lead Australia to 233 for 6.

Sreesanth has been named in Kerala’s squad for this year’s Ranji Trophy season after missing out last year following a disagreement with the Kerala Cricket Association

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2011Sreesanth has been named in Kerala’s squad for this year’s Ranji Trophy season after missing out last year following a disagreement with the Kerala Cricket Association. Sreesanth had criticised the KCA and suggested he wanted to shift to a different team before pledging his loyalty to his home state. The KCA sought an explanation from him and ended up not picking him in the squad for the 2010-11 season. This year Sreesanth returns to the XV but not in the captaincy role which he held in the 2009-10 season.VA Jagadeesh will be the captain for the 2011-12 season in which Kerala will continue to compete in the Plate League, the second tier of the Ranji Trophy. There are a total of five changes in their squad from last season. One of the additions to this year’s XV is Sachin Baby, the 21-year-old left-hand batsman, who has also been named vice-captain. Allrounder Raiphi Gomez and batsman Robert Fernandez, who were captain and vice-captain respectively last season, remain in the squad but not in leadership roles.The three other new players in the squad for this year are 22-year-old offspinner Mohammad Sanuth, who has only played one first-class match, and wicketkeepers Sunil Thomas and Sanju Samson, who have only represented Kerala in Twenty20s so far.Perumparambath Anthaf, Sreekumar Nair, Chinnan Ramesh, CP Rizwan and Chandra Tejas are the players from last year’s squad not included this year.Kerala’s first match of the Ranji season is again Vidarbha in Nagpur from November 3.Kerala squad: VA Jagadeesh (captain), Sachin Baby (vice captain, Sreesanth, Sunil thomas(wicketkeeper), Robert Fernandez, Raiphi Gomez, Rohan Prem, Abhishek Hegde, KJ Rakesh, KR Sreejith, P Prasanth, Sanju Samson, Mohammad Sanuth. Sony Cheruvathur, Prasanth Parameswaran

Namibia continued their domination over Kenya in the Twenty20 series, making it three wins in a row, at Windhoek High School

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2011Namibia continued their domination over Kenya in the Twenty20 series, making it three wins in a row, at Windhoek High School. Chasing a modest 109, Kenya managed just two double-digit scores as they collapsed to 63. Namibia’s opening bowlers, Hendrik Geldenhuys and Gerrie Snyman took three wickets apiece to ensure that the visitors had no chance from the start of the chase. Only Nehemiah Odhiambo and Alex Obanda managed double figures.Earlier, Namibia too got off to a poor start with the bat, losing three wickets to seamer Lucas Oluoch. Criag Williams then led a middle-order recovery with a 16-ball 27.

South Africa’s fast bowlers will aim to make things awkward for Sri Lanka’s batsmen by hitting the bat higher than the visitors are used to, Dale Steyn, South Africa’s spearhead, has said

Firdose Moonda in Centurion 13-Dec-2011South Africa’s fast bowlers will aim to make things awkward for Sri Lanka’s batsmen by hitting the bat higher than the visitors are used to, Dale Steyn, South Africa’s spearhead, has said. Steyn said he hoped to exploit the South African pitches, known for their pace and bounce, as much as possible against a side who have not toured the country for nine years.”In the subcontinent, where these guys grow up, the ball hits the bat from the stickers down,” Steyn said. “We want to hit the bat on areas that are unfamiliar for them and make them feel uncomfortable, like maybe a little higher up.”With the threat of balls buzzing around their ears or having to be fended off at chest height, Sri Lanka would have liked to get more batting time during their warm-up match against the South African Invitation XI from December 9-11. The first day was washed out after downpours in Benoni and the Invitation XI opted to bat on the second, leaving the Sri Lankans with less than two sessions of batting time on the third day. Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana both enjoyed fruitful innings but the rest of the line-up are without significant game time on South African pitches.”It was pretty unfortunate that we couldn’t get a full day of batting,” Angelo Matthews, the Sri Lanka allrounder, said. “But we are very pleased that the top order is in form. [The rest of us] need to adapt to the conditions very quickly if we are to perform well. The main thing we need to do is adjust to the bounce and the pace.”Kumar Sangakkara, who is expected to recover from a torn webbing in his right hand in time for the first Test, said Sri Lanka are up for the challenge of facing South Africa’s pace attack, which has been touted as one of the team’s finest ever ones. Steyn and Morne Morkel have been joined by Vernon Philander, who took 14 wickets in his debut series against Australia last month. Philander maintains a nagging line with the new ball and attacks in a different way to Steyn, who relies on swing. Steyn said the contrast between Philander’s and his styles had worked for South Africa so far. “Vernon is the kind of bowler who is fantastic to share the new ball with. We call him Vern McGrath now because he just nibbles it around all the time.”Using Philander to open the bowling is a change from the usual Steyn and Morkel pairing, but it is a move that Steyn said gives South Africa an added advantage. “The next guy to step up is Morne Morkel who bowls thunderbolts from 10 foot up. And then we have Jacques Kallis who has shown in domestic matches this year that he can still rev it up to 140. It’s nice to have guys who follow up the new ball with pace.”Legspinner Imran Tahir is expected to complete the line-up although Hashim Amla said “there would be a temptation” to go into the first Test in Centurion with an all-pace attack. That would mean either handing a debut to 21-year-old fast bowler Marchant de Lange, who has played just 14 first-class matches, or playing an extra batsman.Whatever combination South Africa choose, they will go into the match with an attack that is significantly more dynamic than the one they had when they last played against Sri Lanka, in 2006. Then, South Africa’s bowlers were made to toil as Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene put on a record partnership of 624 in Colombo. Steyn shuddered when asked what he remembered about that tour and said he is certain there will not be a repeat. “I have moved on with my life, I don’t really want to talk about that. But what I can say is that it’s going to be a lot harder to score world-record partnerships in South Africa.”

Australia have intimidated India’s batsmen with the quality of their bowling, capitalising on the visitors’ haste to get started with a relentless line and full length, James Pattinson has said

Daniel Brettig at the SCG03-Jan-2012Australia have intimidated India’s batsmen with the quality of their bowling, capitalising on the visitors’ haste to get started with a relentless line and full length, James Pattinson has said. Pattinson, the fast bowler, maintained a compelling start to his Test career with 4 for 43, including four of the top five, on day one of the second Test in Sydney.Each of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar were defeated by full deliveries moving away from them, the first three edging into the cordon before Tendulkar dragged an attempted drive onto the stumps. Pattinson said he, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus had hounded India into error with their discipline.”I think they’re probably intimidated about the way we’re bowling, the areas we’re bowling, we’re not giving them any loose balls,” Pattinson said. “For them they’ve probably got it in their mind ‘where are we going to score’, because they’re not getting any loose balls at the moment. Intimidation comes with us bowling really well.”Laxman has been the chief example of Australia’s intelligent and hostile bowling, having made only five runs in three innings. This from the man who has tormented Australian teams for more than a decade with a string of sparkling and match-turning displays. This success had been discussed in the team room, Pattinson said.”He’s had great success against Australia in the past and that’s something we’ve looked at, but if you bowl good balls it doesn’t matter how good they are,” he said. “On your day you can get them out, and I think early on they’re coming pretty hard at us, looks like they want to score.”That’s even better from a bowlers’ point of view to have them trying to score early on, try to drive you through the covers to a ball that probably wasn’t quite there today. So it is great for us to see them wanting to do that, and if we can keep doing the right thing we’ll keep going with success.”The bubble around our bowling attack is amazing for the fact we’re playing against such high-class opposition. We’re just up for the challenge even more. If you come out on the day and don’t bowl so well they can put you right on the back foot, therefore the day travels away from you a little bit.”Short stuff from Australia’s seamers has given India’s lower order a tough time•Getty Images

In contrast to the full deliveries aimed at the batsmen, India’s tail-enders have been peppered around the head with short stuff. It is not a pretty method, but has so far been quite effective.”If you bowl a good enough short ball I think most tail-enders are pretty suspect. To be honest I don’t like the short ball at my head,” Pattinson said. “But it’s just a credit to our bowlers, we’re bowling really well. If you pitch the ball up [or short], you’ve still got to bowl in the right areas, you’ve got to bowl nice and straight. It is something the bowlers have done really well over the last month or two months that we’ve been playing.”Reflecting on his remarkable first three Tests and one innings, Pattinson said he had surpassed all his own expectations, and gave credit for that to his grounding with Australia’s bowling coach Craig McDermott over the preceding six months.”I don’t think anyone would have thought [I’d have such a good start],” he said. “You hope for it, but saying that, if you do all the right things, you bowl well, then you never know what might come your way. It has been a credit to Craig McDermott over the last six months that I’ve worked with him day in, day out, it is great I can work hard with him and see the results.”My expectations were just to perform well. If I could go out there and take wickets, that’s what I was trying to do, and try to get a regular spot in the Australian cricket team.”

MS Dhoni has said that the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia will not be used as glorified nets for the bigger triangular ODI series that follows

Sidharth Monga in Sydney31-Jan-2012Twenty20 internationals often go through an identity crisis. They are neither World Twenty20, nor leagues like IPL and BBL where every game takes you towards a larger goal. On international tours, Twenty20s – often one or two in number – run the risk of being seen as just exhibition games.Not for India this time. MS Dhoni has said that the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia will not be used as glorified nets for the bigger triangular ODI series that follows. He said the presence of youngsters will make the team more energetic on the field.These might be India’s last two Twenty20 internationals before they split up to play for their respective IPL teams and go into September’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, an event where they have been knocked out in the first round in their last two attempts.”We don’t get to play too many T20 international games,” Dhoni said. “Usually it’s one match on a tour. It’s good we have two games. We’ll try to make the most out of it. We’ll look to play the XI best suited for that particular occasion, not thinking about the ODIs.”The first occasion for India will be at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, a multi-purpose venue originally built for the Olympics. India have no clue what to expect from the ground. They practised there yesterday, but could only do fielding drills because the practice pitches – in a corner, almost under the roof – were damp. Today India, like Australia, shifted base to the more traditional SCG. Dhoni said that shouldn’t be much of a handicap because Australia too haven’t played much at the venue.”I don’t think there are many who have played there,” Dhoni said. “It remains quite the same for the home team as well as the touring team. That’s something pretty even. Of course we would like to spend a bit of time there. We had to shift the practice session because the wickets were damp there, and we weren’t able to practise. We will see exactly how it is. The outfield will be important. It is not a cricket ground, which means the sand content is more. Hopefully it goes out well.”Dhoni, though, is looking forward to what the fresh faces will bring to the team. “Our one-day side looks very different from our Test side,” Dhoni said. “The new boys who have come in are a lot more noisy, which really helps lift the dressing-room atmosphere. They love to pull each other’s leg, which means it gets more and more lively. I don’t think it’s very difficult [to stay positive despite a disastrous tour so far].” He likened the difference they brought to shifting from Kishore Kumar to Sean Paul.When asked who he would rather work with, the Bollywood legend of the old or the new-age Jamaican rapper, Dhoni picked the middle path. “I am someone who keeps adjusting. That’s one good thing. A mix of everything is good. From classical to rap music. Good to have these boys around.”However, Dhoni spoke of the importance of having young legs in the side. “We have really improved as a fielding side, especially in the ODIs where we have seen a mix of players who are experienced and the youngsters coming in. So on an average out of four fielders three of them can really stop the batsmen from taking a quick single. And the opportunity of getting a batsman run out is very critical in an ODI or a T20.”When it’s needed at the slog overs, they can field at the boundary without much hassle. It really helps me in the sense that I don’t have to be too worried about placing the right fielders at the right position. They do it amongst themselves. They are very good. They know where they need to be at the right time. It helps me think on the right things, where I can put emphasis.”Dhoni said it wasn’t going to be easy to forget how the first half of the tour has gone down. “It’s not easy,” he said. “We play with a lot of emotion. Indians are known to be emotional people. But it’s not something we haven’t done in the past. We have been able to do this. In England when we went into the ODIs I felt the boys performed really well apart from the rain that affected our bowling performance because of the wet ball. Apart from that the fight was good over there. Not really worried. Hopefully it will go our way.”

Though Barisal have under-achieved as a division, their BPL franchise could surprise because the coach Sarwar Imran and the team consultant, national selector Akram Khan, have put together a balanced team

Mohammad Isam07-Feb-2012

Big Picture

Barisal are not the most glamorous side in Bangladesh’s domestic circuit. Alif Group bought the team for $1.01 million, a fraction above the base price for a Bangladesh Premier League franchise. Though Barisal have under-achieved as a division, their BPL franchise could surprise because the coach Sarwar Imran and the team consultant, national selector Akram Khan, have put together a balanced team, which includes icon cricketer Shahriar Nafees.The 18-man squad costs a little over $1.4 million and it has seven batsmen. Brad Hodge is the most experienced of them and will have the responsibility of guiding the likes of Mominul Haque and Farhad Hossain. The expectations from Chris Gayle, who will be available for the first four matches, will be sky-high. The Burners also have two wicketkeeper batsmen: the in-form Mohammad Mithun and Phil Mustard.The pace attack has international firepower, with Pakistan’s Yasir Arafat and Australia’s Shane Harwood, but the spin attack comprises locals – Suhrawadi Shuvo, Sohag Gazi and Nazmul Islam.

Star Attraction

The fact that Chris Gayle was playing the BPL raised the profile of the tournament, and when his name came up for auction at the Radisson Blu Water Hotel, the bidding for him was intense. The Burners eventually bought him for $551,000 after they and Duronto Rajshahi had both bid the maximum price. Gayle will be leaving after four matches to play for Dolphins in the South African domestic T20s so his performances could be critical in helping the Burners stay afloat, when the league gets tight later on.

Top player

For a young team like Barisal Burners, Brad Hodge, who has 132 matches worth of Twenty20 experience, will be invaluable. His role will be to keep the innings steady after the initial burst from Gayle or Ahmed Shehzad, and to push for the 150-plus mark in the final five overs. Hodge’s IPL experience with Kolkata Knight Riders and Kochi Tuskers Kerala will give him an edge in the BPL because of the similar nature of pitches in both tournaments.

Under the radar

The Burners made some smart choices while signing up local players. Mohammad Mithun is in the form of his life in domestic cricket while batsman Mominul Haque, allrounder Alauddin Babu and fast bowler Al-Amin Hossain are developing into good cricketers. But the bowler who has impressed with a discipline that is rare in Bangladesh is offspinner Sohag Gazi. His rapid rise to the Bangladesh A side hasn’t had much effect on his bowling, which can be quite hard to score off in Twenty20 matches. Sohag is as Barisal as a Burner can get, so local pride will be running high.

The ECB has bowed to pressure within the county game by deferring a decision on the Morgan Review and instead deciding to will conduct further research throughout the summer into the future structure of the county game.

George Dobell08-Mar-2012The ECB has bowed to pressure within the county game by deferring a decision on the Morgan Review and instead has decided to conduct further research throughout the 2012 season into the future of professional cricket in England.Growing opposition to Morgan’s recommendations, which included a reduction in championship matches from 16 to 14, a return to 50-over cricket and 14 Twenty20 matches, left the ECB Board unable to adopt a report that had been months in the making.County chief executives, coaches and the Professional Cricketers’ Association had all lobbied the ECB in the belief that in his urge for compromise Morgan, a former chairman of ECB and ICC, had failed to provide an inspirational blueprint for the game.Morgan did receive more support for his conclusion that a more concerted approach must be developed among the ECB and the 18 counties towards the future financing of the game. Central marketing strategies will be strengthened.Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said: “Cricket has a unique opportunity to capitalise on its enviable financial strength from recently secured long term commercial partnerships.”Whilst many of the recommendations will be implemented immediately, it is important that thorough consumer research and financial analysis is carried out on the detailed strategy to ensure that we have a balanced domestic playing programme which suits the lifestyles of the modern consumer and allows for the production of outstanding players with international potential participating in vibrant domestic competitions.”Morgan achieved that rarest of things in county cricket: unanimity of sorts. The PCA, the vast majority of the county chief executives, coaches and chairmen, the ECB’s cricket committee and, according to unofficial on-line polls, the majority of spectators, all expressed their reservations over Morgan’s recommendations. The recurring theme of their issue with the report is the reduction in the championship programme and the subsequent compromise to the integrity of the competition.That left the board with few options. While they were loathe to be seen to U-turn on such a key issue, they were also reluctant to so blatantly ignore the views of all the parties. The solution — to defer a final decision pending more consultation – could almost be an ECB catchphrase.But the ECB board, which had already approved the report in principle and had vowed not to tinker around the edges, had to retreat or run the risk of unrest around the counties.
Scrapping the report at this stage will be an embarrassment for Morgan, one of cricket’s leading administrators, who claimed to have spoken to 300 people before drawing up his findings.David Collier, the ECB’s chief executive, and the newly-appointed managing director of the professional game, Gordon Hollins, have now been charged by the Board with producing “a robust financial plan to ensure the long term sustainability of the game and its stakeholders from grassroots cricket to the Test match arena.”Edited by David Hopps