Category Uncategorized

Division One

Harbhajan Singh took 4 for 64 to bowl Worcestershire out for 217 on the third day against Surrey at Guildford, forcing them to follow on. Surrey’s last two only added a further 22 to their overnight 347, but their bowlers quickly tore into Worcestershire’s top-order; Matt Nicholson removed his compatriot Phil Jaques and Vikram Solanki before Harbhajan took over. Steven Moore, the Worcestershire wicketkeeper, stood in Surrey way with a combative 58, but his wicket prompted an inevitable slide from the lower-order who collapsed to 217 all out. Following on Worcestershire moved to 46 without loss, still trailing by 106.Read John Ward’s full report of Yorkshire’s third day against Kent at Scarborough.Hampshire continued to rule the rod over title-chasers Sussex, who barely recovered from their overnight 65 for 6 to make 145 at The Rose Bowl. Luke Wright’s 46 added a touch of respectability. Hampshire’s reply was by no means flawless, at 83 for 3, but John Crawley’s unbeaten fifty took them to 113 without further loss. They will aim to quickly erase the deficit on Saturday morning and march on to a steady lead.

Division Two

Justin Langer and Simon Katich, former Australia team-mates, set up an enthralling finish to Derbyshire and Somerset’s match on the third day at Derby. Katich declared Derbyshire’s first innings on 94 for 2, 246 behind Somerset who increased their lead by 84 before setting the home side 331 to win in 98 overs. Somerset’s last five smashed 160 runs before lunch with Craig Kieswetter stroking an impressive 52 from 43 balls. Derbyshire then added 94 in 31 overs – Katich declaring after a brisk 29 – before Somerset, batting for the second time in the day, cracked 84 in 20 overs. Bad light forced the players off early, but an intriguing final day is in prospect with Derbyshire requiring a further 329 runs on a wearing pitch.Northamptonshire made steady progress against Nottinghamshire at Northampton after rain washed out the first day. Three fifties from the top four helped them past the 200-mark, but Notts struck back in the evening session to restrict them to 264 for 7. Stephen Peters, David Sales and Alex Wakely struck the half-centuries, while Robert White fell just short, with 46. Last week may have been one for the old-timers – but Mark Ealham added his own contribution today, with four wickets.A wet outfield meant there was no play between Glamorgan and Leicestershire at Abergavenny, nor at Bristol for Gloucestershire’s match against Essex.

Rahul Dravid pronounced himself satisfied after the Indian team’s three-day stint at the Pegasus Institute of Learning in Doddaballapur, about 60km away from Bangalore. The facility, which stresses on the Outward Bound Learning experience, is often used by executives of various companies, and Dravid said that the team had benefited from the experience.”From our perspective, it was a chance to go out and do some physical activity but more importantly the activities we did over the last three days challenged us mentally as well,” he said. “You had to use your mental capabilities to complete tasks and it also involved a lot of team work to get the job done. It gave us a chance to get away from it all. Not many boys have the opportunity to train and be on their own without a lot of people around them, without having the press constantly photographing them.”Dravid suggested that the gains from such an exercise would be seen more in the long run. “Every camp has that element which is directed towards the short-term, in this case the triangular series [in Sri Lanka]. We have used this camp to give people some new experiences and new opportunities.”The challenge for us is not only about helping them grow as cricketers but also to help them grow as people with some of these opportunities that we give them. Let’s be honest, nothing we do in one day or two days, like yoga or going out and doing something, will change anything overnight but it gives you something new to think about, it gives you an opportunity to experience something that you wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.”The team lived in tents, with mobile phones switched off from 8am to 8:30pm, and did several exercises that the armed forces use as part of their training. Dravid said that the focus had been on strengthened team bonds, despite criticism from former greats that such endeavours were merely superficial. “I think sometimes in a cricket set-up, there are certain experienced players and certain less experienced players but when we go out in a group like this and do these activities, you know everyone is equal,” he said. “I mean, I have no more or no less experience than a Sreesanth and Tendulkar has no more or no less experience than a Munaf Patel when it comes to the things we did there. Everyone starts on a equal footing and hopefully the boys will gain something out of this.”Most of the activities we did there were something which none of the guys had done before. I have seen some reports that we did rock-climbing and rafting and all that but we didn’t do any of that. Maybe if we had stayed for a week, we might have been climbing Everest with the way things get exaggerated. It’s a set-up which has army drills and the physical aspect of it is something that we as athletes can do, but it also challenges you mentally to finish the task.”When asked if Sachin Tendulkar, on the comeback trail after surgery on a torn shoulder muscle, had struggled with any aspects of the camp, Dravid said: “Sachin responded well and he did everything that was asked of him. Obviously we had our physio to advise us in case anything we did had a risky element in it but he participated in every single thing we did there. He was very keen and looks in very good shape. More importantly, he looks in a very good state of mind and that is most important to me.”With yoga, tai-chi, a swim and gym work scheduled for later in the day, Dravid stressed that none of these could be see as a magic formula. “If you did one session of yoga, you are not going to change the world or your body,” he said. “But it is just a new experience. The NCA has been using tai-chi and they have had some good reports about it so we wanted to experience it. I have had no prior experience and I am looking forward to the session today. Everything benefits but you have to do it continuously. It is up to individuals.”All the talk had been of team bonding, but according to Dravid, that was hardly dependent on climbing exercises or life in the great outdoors. “It was a nice experience to stay in tents and do new things but team bonding does happen when we are playing, when we are at the camp, when we are at the nets. It did happen here too but that was not the primary thing. I think we are pretty confident about the way the team is shaping up. We didn’t go there just to bond but we went there to give the guys something new.”Dravid emphasised that there was more to fitness than an experiment like this, and added that the cricket-skills camp which starts on August 6 would be just as vital in the build-up to Sri Lanka. “Going away for three days will not improve our fitness amazingly. All these things are experiences which you have to do constantly. It takes hours and years for athletes to reach the level that they want to reach. Cricket skills start on the 6th and we will have more match simulated situations, centre-wicket practices and there will be five days in Sri Lanka as well. There will be a practice match and four practice sessions. The boys really respond well to centre-wicket practice because they are used to the nets all the time.”When asked if he would recommend that such camps be used again in future, Dravid’s response was cautious. “It depends on situations and what we are trying to achieve. It did help us in the last three days and in the future if we come across a situation in which something like this might help us then we might do it again. For all you know it could also be something different.”People should understand that these are just tools to help people think differently. For instance, you can go out and study and get a B.Com degree but can you quantify how it helped you. It is not easy to quantify. I can tell you honestly that with more experience I have become a more confident player but I can’t tell you honestly that it helped me score 1000 more runs or helped me win one more series.”You cannot say that they have done tai-chi, so now they will win the Sri Lankan series.”

Cameron White, who led Victoria to fourth in the Pura Cup last season, has been reappointed as Bushrangers captain for 2005-06. Brad Hodge, who considered leaving for New South Wales during the off-season, was confirmed as vice-captain by Cricket Victoria’s board today.White said he learned more last year, when the Bushrangers finished third in the ING Cup, than he had in his career. “It’s always a great challenge and I’m looking forward to working with Brad,” White said. “He’s a great tactician and has a really good feel for the game and will bring back plenty of experience from the Ashes.”Greg Shipperd, the coach, said the appointments were another piece in the puzzle. “Having lost some experienced players in the off-season, it was important that we maintained some stability at the top and I’m confident that Cameron and Brad’s fantastic leadership qualities and passion will pave the way,” he said. “We have enormous faith in their ability to lead from the front and we look forward to their leadership having a positive effect on the rest of the group”.

ScorecardDinesh Mongia made a superb start to his short-term county stint with Lancashire, scoring 89 in a championship game against Warwickshire. Coming in to bat at No. 5, Mongia put together 171 runs with Mal Loye, who top-scored with a monumental 184. Loye and Mongia helped Lancashire to a first-innings lead after Warwickshire had amassed 499. At the close of a rain-restricted third day, Lancashire were 505 for 8.Mongia, drafted in as Lancashire’s overseas player after Carl Hooper was sidelined for at least three weeks with a fractured thumb, played an impressive innings which finally ended when he was trapped lbw by Ian Bell. Had Mongia scored 11 more, he would have become only the fifth player to score a hundred on debut for Lancashire.

In an exclusive interview with London’s Guardian newspaper, Shoaib Akhtar talked in detail about the controversy surrounding his bowling action, and the medical problems resulting from the much-publicised hyperextension to his joints which is at the heart of doubts over his action.In April 2002, Shoaib’s action was scrutinised by the human-performance department at the University of Western Australia in Perth. Angered by a ban slapped on him by the International Cricket Council for throwing, Shoaib went to Australia to try to clear his name, a decision that was vindicated when the experts confirmed that his arm was straight at the point of delivery.”In a way they [the Perth doctors] were so pissed off with me,” he told Jim White. “They freaked out. ‘How can you be the fastest bowler in the world? You are just pathetically abnormal.’ They measured each single thing about me. They discovered that, where a normal person’s joints move about 20%, maximum, my elbow can move 42%. Same with all my joints. It’s not nice to have all this, it is why I have had so many injuries. I have hyper-tension in my wrists, my knees, everywhere.”As if his resemblance to a bendy toy wasn’t enough of a handicap, Shoaib went on to explain that he also suffers from flat feet. “Flat, completely,” he explained.. “Every time I’m in England I go to Birmingham to get special boots made. I always see a couple of doctors when I buy them and get everything measured properly. Have to. See, I’m not normal. I couldn’t walk when I was five. My mum will tell you.”Given his physical defects it was amazing that he played cricket at all. He was a late starter, not even taking part in a game until he was 15. “My brother was captain of the local club,” he said. “I went to watch him play and they were a guy short. I said: ‘I’ll play.’ My brother laughed: ‘You?’ But the others persuaded him. I think everyone was quite impressed when I came on to bowl.”And he added that had he been born Australian, then his career record would have been even more impressive. “With [Glenn] McGrath and [Jason] Gillespie softening them up, then I come on, I’d have got more wickets than anyone ever. Because when I play for Pakistan, with Wasim [Akram] and Waqar [Younis] they are in decline. They were great but they’re not matchwinning bowlers any more. So I have to make it all happen on my own. There is so much expectation on my shoulders.”

After seeing Division One strugglers end the day with nearly four hundred runs on the board after being put into bat, Somerset Coach Kevin Shine told me, “It’s been a hard slog out there today for the boys. We need to try to get points on the board.”I asked him if the intention was always going to be to ask Northants to bat if Somerset won the toss. He told me “The conditions just before the captains tossed up became very overcast, in fact it looked like the end of the world, and that changed the decision and we put them in.”He went on “We’ve bowled and fielded better, but it hasn’t been a bad display out there by the team. It’s been a slog on an excellent wicket with pace but no swing. Now we have to work hard and get as many points on the board as we can before the 130 overs.”When he heard that the weather forecast was’nt looking all that good for the next few days the coach said,”If the game is called off because of the weather we will get five points which is what we need. However we didn’t go into this game thinking that we only needed five points we went into this one to win it to make sure of the runner’s up spot.”

The Bombay High Court has dismissed Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah’s petition challenging his suspension by the BCCI for having made a corrupt approach. The two-judge bench dismissed the petition on the grounds that it did not want to interfere in the BCCI’s processes, but said Shah can reapply to the court if the board doesn’t complete its investigation within six months.The board had suspended Shah with immediate effect in mid-July after he was found guilty of having approached a Mumbai team-mate. Shah’s petition was based on the fact that he was suspended without the BCCI providing any details in writing about his alleged breaches.After hearing both the parties, Justice VM Kanade and Justice BP Colabawalla noted they wouldn’t like to interfere with the BCCI’s rules and regulations. As Shah was found guilty of breaching the board’s anti-corruption code, the BCCI’s disciplinary committee will now consider the anti-corruption unit’s report and the player’s version of events, and then decide on a course of action.”Since my client hasn’t even been given a copy of the complaint, we decided to seek court’s intervention. The good thing is the court has asked for a time-bound inquiry,” Som Sinha, Shah’s counsel, told ESPNcricinfo. “Since the court said it wouldn’t like to intervene in the BCCI’s procedure, we were told that we can come back to the court if the BCCI doesn’t take a decision in six months. We will decide future course of action depending on the BCCI’s decision.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

After a torrid run through the first seven matches of the IPL, Sourav Ganguly the batsman finally made his presence felt in stunning style, carving a 57-ball 91 to fashion a convincing 23-run win for the Kolkata Knight Riders, their fourth of the tournament. Ganguly’s knock, coupled with a blinder from David Hussey, lifted Kolkata to an imposing 204, which was far too much for the hapless Deccan Chargers, who collapsed to their seventh defeat in nine games and are all but out of the competition.Kolkata’s batting display was the perfect example in pacing a 20-over innings. Through the first half, Ganguly and Aakash Chopra batted steadily and built a platform: after ten overs, only 73 were on the board, but with nine wickets in hand, there was plenty of ammunition left. That was put to outstanding use later in the innings, as Hussey blitzed 57 off 29 balls in a 102-run partnership that came off a mere eight overs to set up a target which ensured Deccan have lost all four games at home.Ganguly had shone with the ball in Kolkata’s previous match, but he had struggled with the bat, unable to find the balance between defence and attack, often pottering around the crease and ultimately choosing the wrong ball to attack. All that changed completely here – the shot-selection was exemplary in the early part, and once he found his groove, he cut loose with such ferocity that none of the bowlers had any answers.The key for him, though, was to survive the early exchanges and get a start. There was plenty of careful defending through the early part, but importantly, there were no half measures on the attack, as he gave himself room, moved his front foot out of the way, and smeared lofted hits over mid-on and cover. Chaminda Vaas and P Vijaykumar, the new-ball bowlers, were at the receiving end early, and when they shifted the line to leg stump, Ganguly cleverly shuffled across and pulled or flicked to the fine-leg boundary. In between these improvisations was one classical square drive, all timing and grace, when RP Singh strayed in line.Having done the hard work, Ganguly then turned it on in style. Throughout his international career, he hasn’t had much regard for left-arm spin, and here Pragyan Ojha was the chosen one, as Ganguly smacked two sixes and a four down the ground in the 14th over to signal the beginning of the onslaught. By now he was in supreme form, and it hardly mattered who the bowler was: Styris was pulled and lofted for successive sixes, while the listless Vaas – who struggled with his length and served up a series of full tosses – was carved over midwicket.

Hussey joined in on the fun too, gauging the pace of the pitch immediately and striking it cleanly from the get-go. After spanking Vaas for ten off two deliveries, he turned his attention to RP, whose attempts at yorkers were either too short or too full. Twenty came off the 18th over, all courtesy Hussey, who bludgeoned a couple of leg-side sixes as the last seven overs leaked 115.Deccan didn’t help their cause in the field either: apart from Herschelle Gibbs, the rest put in a woeful display. There were misfields galore, Vaas muffed a sitter late in the innings to reprieve Tatenda Taibu, while the last ball of the innings encapsulated the day’s performance, as RP’s attempt to throw down the stumps missed the mark and resulted in four overthrows.After such a battering in the field, Deccan’s only hope was for Adam Gilchrist to fire – especially since Shahid Afridi wasn’t in the line-up – but he only managed 24 before miscuing a pull off the impressive Ashok Dinda. The out-of-sorts Gibbs, who has now scored 45 in five innings, had already fallen in Dinda’s second over, leaving the rest of the batsmen with far too much to do.Ganguly, who took the catch to dismiss Gilchrist, was in the thick of things in the field as well, bowling four economical overs, and taking two wickets, including that of Styris, another big name who has done little. Rohit Sharma offered a glimmer of hope with a couple of typically classy sixes off Ganguly, but, quite fittingly, Ganguly had the last laugh, snaffling him at midwicket.Venugopal Rao played a brave hand with a 42-ball 71 and spoilt the figures of Murali Kartik by smashing three sixes in an over, but that only ensured the margin of defeat wasn’t an embarrassing one. With four wins from eight games, Kolkata are back in the reckoning for a semi-final berth. Deccan still have a mathematical chance of making the top four, but given their form so far, that will be a miracle.