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The England allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas will replace Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga for Tasmania’s Twenty20 campaign this season

Cricinfo staff16-Nov-2009The England allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas will replace Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga for Tasmania’s Twenty20 campaign this season. The Tigers announced in July that they had signed Malinga but Sri Lanka’s international commitments in January have forced the state to change their plans.”When Malinga was first signed we knew this was a possibility,” David Boon, Cricket Tasmania’s cricket operations general manager, said. “Although it is disappointing, we have a suitable back-up player in Dimitri Mascarenhas who will arrive in Hobart during December.”Mascarenhas, 32, was raised in Australia and has played club cricket in Melbourne and Perth, but this will be his first taste of state cricket in Australia. A regular member of England’s Twenty20 international side, Mascarenhas will offer Tasmania powerful striking and medium-pace bowling.Malinga is not the first Sri Lankan star to sign for the Big Bash only to later become unavailable – South Australia have already gained and then lost Ajantha Mendis, who was replaced by Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi. Victoria are yet to make an announcement on Muttiah Muralitharan, who had agreed to play for the Bushrangers.Each state is allowed to sign two international players for the Big Bash, which runs from late December to January. Chris Gayle has signed with Western Australia, Dwayne Bravo with Victoria, while Kieron Pollard and Afridi will play for South Australia.

ICC president David Morgan feels the possibility is very real and close to fruition.

Cricinfo staff16-Dec-2009ICC president David Morgan has given a clear endorsement of day-night Tests, saying he would be “surprised and disappointed” if it didn’t happen in the next two years. He did not, however, commit on the other current Test-related issue, that of a championship in the format.Morgan, who earlier this year had hinted that Test cricket may be reduced to four days, feels the possibility of the five-day game being played under lights is close to fruition.”I’d be surprised if we don’t see day-night Test cricket within the next two years, surprised and disappointed,” Morgan said at a meeting of the Indian Journalists’ Association at The Oval.”If you look at a country like Australia with big stadia and very hot conditions, Australia is made for day-night Test cricket,” he said. “Eighteen months ago, I wouldn’t have been overly enthusiastic, thinking of the tradition and the records. But the way Test match cricket has changed over 130-odd years, I see [day-night Tests] as a very good reason for bringing the crowds out.”Day/night cricket is less important in England and Wales because the grounds, which are relatively small sell-out. It’s more important in countries with large stadia and hot conditions.”The ICC is also looking into creating a World Test Championship, though Morgan shied away from the term and stressed the need for Tests to have context.”In terms of each Test match having a context beyond bilateral series, real progress could be made soon,” he said, adding there might be a “climax” although he didn’t say how this would be achieved.”We want to ensure Test match cricket is as popular around world as it is in this country [England]. The ECB have little trouble in selling out the first four days of a Test.”Attendances for Test cricket in England is healthy as opposed to other countries where it has been on the wane for some years, and the ICC has been in talks about ways to protect and enrich the game’s oldest format in the face of lucrative Twenty20 leagues like the IPL.Other radical changes, such as a two-tier format, had been mooted for the next Future Tours Programme. “At ICC, we regard Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game. It’s the form of the game cricketers seek to play,” he added. “It is interesting Test cricket has endured and I am sure it is going to continue to thrive. The ICC has recognised that in some countries Test-match cricket is not that popular in terms of people paying at the gate. It needs to be a competitive event and it needs pitches that provide a good balance between bat and ball.”Morgan’s comments came a day after it was announced that the first-class game in the West Indies will include radical innovations such as day-night matches and the use of pink balls to boost spectator interest.

In the first practice match on their tour to New Zealand, England’s women have lost to New Zealand state side, Otago, having fielded four England players in the Otago line up

ECB Media Release25-Dec-2009

England: 193-9 (50 overs)
Otago: 195-8 (41 overs)

In the first practice match on their tour to New Zealand, England’s women have lost to New Zealand state side, Otago, having fielded four England players in the Otago line up.Coach, John Harmer, was keen for the whole squad to play in the one-day match and Otago retained their overseas player Clare Taylor (Yorkshire), who was joined by Claire Taylor (Berkshire), Arran Thompson (Lancashire) and Lucy Pearson (Staffordshire). Claire Taylor also kept wicket for the New Zealand side.England’s young bowlers Nicky Shaw (Notts) and Laura Spragg (Yorkshire) finished with the figures of 3-30 and 3-31 respectively, and Sarah Collyer (Somerset) top-scored for England with 44, followed closely by Captain, Clare Connor, who made 40.A second wicket partnership for Otago ensured they reached the England total with Clare Taylor and New Zealand’s leading all-rounder Rachel Pullar reaching 43 and 69 respectively.Pullar has confirmed that she will not take part in the first women’s quadrangular tournament due to family commitments.England Assistant Coach, Jane Powell said: The quadrangular series between hosts New Zealand, England, Australia and India begins on 27th January and sees England take on India at Lincoln University, Christchurch.

Clint Perren, who has not played a game for Queensland since last summer, has announced his retirement from representative cricket

Cricinfo staff22-Dec-2009Clint Perren, who has not played a game for Queensland since last summer, has announced his retirement from representative cricket. Perren, a 34-year-old right-hander with 82 first-class appearances, will move with his family to live in England in March.Perren first appeared with the Bulls in 1998-99 and was only the second Queenslander to play 100 one-day matches, bringing up his century last season. In his first-class career he scored 4737 runs at 35.35 with 10 centuries, including a career highest score of 224.He headed the run-scoring aggregate for the Bulls across the Pura Cup, FR Cup and Twenty20 competitions in 2006-07 and was a member of successful Shield campaigns in 2000-01 and 2005-06. “I gave myself the chance to break back into the team at the start of the season but quickly realised that there were other things in my life that were of greater priority,” he said. “I made the decision a little while ago and I’ve got no regrets about calling it a day.”

Tamim Iqbal’s brilliant 151 on the second day in Mirpur revealed a lot about his character – his aggressive streak as well as his efforts to temper it with patience

Sriram Veera in Mirpur26-Jan-2010Until very recently, if Tamim Iqbal had to be described by a punctuation mark, you would have picked a nice big bold exclamation mark. You would have also been tempted to colour it red. It wasn’t a difficult stereotype to arrive at. His batting was a scream of adrenalin and his life zoomed on the fast lane given that he races around in a BMW. The crimson ‘!’ was the easiest symbol to settle upon. Things are changing, though. Maturity hasn’t moved in yet but it is a frequent visitor these days.Today, all the typical Tamim strokes – the audacious slog-sweeps, the thrilling hits over mid-on, and the numerous sweep shots – were there, but what symbolised this knock was the uncharacteristic military snap with which he shouldered arms to a series of balls, well outside off stump from Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag. It was aimed at his past reputation, at the Tamim stereotype. One could understand the bowlers’ plan – surely, Tamim will go after them and throw his wicket away? But it didn’t work, as he kept leaving those deliveries. Ball after ball, over after over. It has to be a landmark event in Tamim’s brief batting career.There was a solitary moment of intrusion from the old Tamim which reminded us that no hasty conclusion can be drawn yet, that Tamim’s battle is still on but the journey to self-awareness has started. He lunged across, fetched a ball from outside off and top-edged a slog sweep but it fell clear of a desperate Sachin Tendulkar at mid-on. It wasn’t a brain freeze. It was just a relapse to his older self. The way he looked at that incident at the end of the day said much about him. “I knew Sehwag would try to bowl outside off to trap me and make me play a stupid shot. And I did it once. Just once.”A lovely smile lit up his face. There was no seriousness involved; just the naughty smile of a youngster talking about petty misdemeanours committed in adolescence. It conveyed that batting will essentially remain an activity of fun for Tamim and that he will continue to express himself; just that he is trying hard to add a slice of wisdom to it.Tamim’s new-found resolve could possibly be the influence of his coach and the youngster acknowledged his role. “Jamie Siddons was throwing his cap away in the dressing room! I knew my mistake and after that I played really well.” More smiles all around. “Siddons has been the best coach we have ever had. He has really worked hard with me.”There was another thing that Tamim said, and did, that epitomised his spirit perfectly. During the tea-break, when he was still 21 runs short of hundred, he was involved in an earnest conversation with Siddons, just beyond the boundary. “He said ‘no need to rush, just play your game and play as straight as possible’,” Tamim explained. As it transpired, he moved to his ton in just 14 balls post tea. He looted 14 runs – a charged four, a lashed boundary, and a slog-swept six – from three consecutive Pragyan Ojha deliveries, didn’t connect with couple of pulls and even charged out at a Zaheer Khan delivery. It was the very definition of rush. What was he thinking? “Oh it wasn’t like that. I thought the ball was there to be hit, so I hit it.” It brought laughter all around and confirmed his essential thirst for adventure.Barring Zaheer, nearly all the Indian bowlers bowled at that characteristic attribute of Tamim. However he didn’t oblige today. Only Zaheer, especially with the old ball which he got to reverse, attacked him with a sense of purpose. He got the ball to move in, took it out, and punctuated his spell with bouncers. This is where Tamim really sparkled. He picked the trajectory of nearly every ball; only once was he squared-up, by a beauty that left him. A screeching yorker was muffled out, the front foot was carefully taken out of the way of late inswingers, a purposeful forward stride met ones that left him and importantly, he played the moving ball late. It showed the innings wasn’t just a matter of tempering his attitude but a show of skill as well.There was another piece of evidence that showcased his desire for improvement. He scored 66 runs in the arc from fine-leg to midwicket, a majority of it coming from sweep shots. It is something that he has been working hard on in the recent times with Mohammad Salahuddin, former assistant coach of the national team. “For hours and hours, he bowled at me and helped me practice the sweep shot. I wasn’t that comfortable against spin before. Even during this series, I have been working with him.” Last evening, there was an SMS from Salahuddin: “If the ball turns just a little, sweep.” And Tamim did exactly that.There was a poignant moment when Tamim shared a lovely little story. “I dedicate this hundred to my father (Iqbal Khan); he did everything possible for me to play cricket and it was his dream that I should play for Bangladesh.” Tamim’s elder brother Nafees has also played for Bangladesh and hit a Test hundred, a match-saving effort against Zimbabwe. Iqbal Khan died before his sons made their debuts. This son has not only played for the country, scoring the fastest hundred by a Bangladeshi in the process, but also promises to play for a long time. “So far, this is my best knock but there are many more to come. I am very new to Test cricket but I am beginning to understand myself better now.”The journey towards maturity has started. From reining in his aggression with the bat, to sending his BMW back to Chittagong for fears that it might get damaged on Dhaka’s roads, the 20-year old Tamim is threatening to grow up quickly. And it can’t hurt Bangladesh. In the here and now, it has given Bangladesh a rare hope, which looked unlikely as of last evening, of getting out safe, and perhaps even getting something beyond mere safety, from this Test.

New Zealand achieved a clean sweep of the Twenty20s against Australia with a seven-run victory in the third match in Hobart

Cricinfo staff23-Feb-2010New Zealand 7 for 141 (Fahey 42) beat Australia 7 for 134 (Nitschke 56) by 7 runs
ScorecardNew Zealand achieved a clean sweep of the Twenty20s against Australia with a seven-run victory in the third match in Hobart. After losing all five ODIs, the tourists hit back strongly in the shorter game and completed the Rose Bowl series on a high after Maria Fahey’s 42 took them to 7 for 141.Aimee Watkins made a useful 33 while Sophie Devine provided a rocket with 17 off six balls, including two sixes, before she was run out. It was the highest score of the three games and was just out of Australia’s reach.Shelley Nitschke gave the hosts a chance when she opened with 56 off 45, but the side struggled after she departed at 3 for 99 in the 15th over. Four more wickets fell in the scramble for runs as valuable momentum was stolen from the chase.

MCC have departed for their seven-match tour of the USA.

Cricinfo staff15-Mar-2010MCC have departed for their seven-match tour of the USA. The tour starts in California on March 17 before heading east to Florida, culminating in two matches at Central Broward – the new national cricket stadium – against USA and a West Indies XI.The 16-man squad is captained by Michael Foster, the former Australia Under-19 batsman, and includes Matthew Friedlander, who has played for both Northamptonshire in England and Boland in South Africa, and actor Torquil Deacon.MCC’s first match is against the Southern Californian Cricket Association (SCCA) at Woodley CC in Los Angeles. They play two more games at Woodley – against the South West Region of the SCCA, and the Hollywood All-Stars on March 19 and 20 – before moving on to San Jose to play the North West Region and North West Region Under-19s. They then travel to Cupertino, just outside San Jose, to run a coaching session, before flying east to Miami.”North America has great cricket history – USA and Canada played the first ever international match back in the 1840s – and we hope it’s got a bright future too,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket. “MCC believes the USA is a massive potential growth area for the game and we’re delighted to do our part to encourage interest in California and Florida.”MCC teams have been regular visitors to the USA, having toured five times in the past twenty years, most recently in 2004.

Warwickshire bounced back well from defeat to Yorkshire in the opening round of the season to dominate the opening day of their County Championship match against Lancashire at Old Trafford

15-Apr-2010
ScorecardAshwell Prince led Lancashire’s fightback for 14 for 4 in the morning session•Getty Images

Warwickshire bounced back well from defeat to Yorkshire in the opening round of the season to dominate the opening day of their County Championship match against Lancashire at Old Trafford. Ian Westwood’s men reduced the home side to 14 for 4 within the first seven overs of this Division One clash thanks to three wickets from England Lions seamer Chris Woakes.The 21-year-old took advantage of early movement to dismiss Tom Smith, Paul Horton and Stephen Moore cheaply on the way to three for 44 from 20 overs. But the hosts mounted a recovery with a fifth-wicket partnership of 133 between overseas player Ashwell Prince and all-rounder Steven Croft.Lancashire, who were lifted by seeing all-rounder Andrew Flintoff bat in the nets at lunch for the first time since his knee operation in August, were finally bowled out for 253 inside 86 overs. James Anderson then boosted the hosts with the ball when he bowled Varun Chopra in his second over. Warwickshire closed on 13 for 1 from eight overs in reply.South African left-hander Prince top-scored for Lancashire with 82 off 153 balls, including eight fours and a straight six off Imran Tahir, while Croft added a useful 64 and Glen Chapple 54 not out.After Westwood won the toss and elected to bowl, the four quickfire wickets were all caught in the slips by either Ian Bell or Jonathan Trott – Bell clinging on three times. Smith fell from the third ball of the match to Woakes, who soon undid both Horton and Moore with extra bounce. Chilton fell to Carter’s first ball courtesy of a loose waft outside off-stump.The experienced right-hander was Carter’s first of three victims and Prince was the second after lunch, also with the first ball of a new spell. Prince and Croft made batting seem a lot easier either side of the break. Croft, who had survived three strong lbw shouts from Carter early in his innings, brought up his half-century two overs after lunch and Prince’s came shortly afterwards.But both fell within the space of ten overs to halt their side’s recovery. Croft slapped a friendly Naqaash Tahir delivery to Chopra at point to leave the score at 147 for 5 in the 45th over. Prince then pulled a Carter short ball straight down the throat of Naqaash at deep square-leg in the 55th with only another 21 runs added.Luke Sutton (33) and Chapple navigated their side beyond 200 in the midst of a seventh-wicket partnership of 59 before the wicketkeeper was caught by Jim Troughton at backward point off the medium pace of Trott in the 78th.Anderson was bowled for a duck in Trott’s next over and Lancashire were back in bother at 227 for 8. Tahir snared Simon Kerrigan before Carter had Sajid Mahmood caught in the slips by Rikki Clarke to complete the innings and finish with figures of three for 64 from 19.4 overs.Chopra fell early with Warwickshire’s total on 8, but Westwood reached nine not out and nightwatchman Naqaash played out 17 scoreless deliveries as they reached the close without further loss.

Pakistan allrounder Yasir Arafat has been ruled out of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies later this month due to a calf injury, the captain Shahid Afridi has confirmed

Cricinfo staff14-Apr-2010Pakistan allrounder Yasir Arafat has been ruled out of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies later this month due to a calf injury, the captain Shahid Afridi has confirmed. Arafat, the world’s most successful Twenty20 bowler with 90 wickets, was anyway in doubt when the training camp began in Lahore last week.”Yasir Arafat is out because of the calf injury,” Afridi told the . “He told us that he was not fit, after which we had to take a decision.”Though a replacement hasn’t been named yet, Afridi suggested that they may draft in a batsman, Shahzaib Hasan. The 20-year-old right-hander appeared in last year’s World Twenty20 in England and provided the team with good starts.”Shahzaib is very much in the picture for us,” Afridi said. “He is a good pinch-hitter and could be useful for us in the West Indies.”Pakistan are also waiting on the fitness of their strike bowler Umar Gul, who hurt his shoulder last week during a fielding drill. He resumed bowling in the nets and he said his shoulder was showing signs of improvement.”We don’t have that much time which is why there is going to be a fitness test for him on the 18th,” Afridi said. “Gul himself is very keen and confident which is why I’m hoping that he would get fully fit.”Pakistan play their first match against Bangladesh on May 1 in St Lucia.

Sri Lanka won on the Duckworth-Lewis method as Zimbabwe only reached 29 for 1 in five overs instead of the required 43 for 1.

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera03-May-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-EyeMahela Jayawardene converted the tournament’s fastest fifty into a hundred•AFP

Batting was expected to be difficult on a slow and low pitch in Providence but the touch artist Mahela Jayawardene sparkled with a delightful ton, only the fourth batsman to hit a Twenty20 hundred, to charge Sri Lanka to 173. A heavy downpour after one over into the chase left Zimbabwe needing 104 from 11 initially, but it rained again to terminate the match after five overs were completed. Sri Lanka won on the D\L method as Zimbabwe only reached 29 for 1 when the par score was 43.The rains stayed away, however, until Jayawardene treated the sparse crowd to a charming knock. Only one other batsman in Sri Lanka’s top six touched double digits; it said much about the pitch and the form of the other batsmen but most importantly it highlighted Jayawardene’s mastery.There wasn’t a single shot in violence from Jayawardene. Not one looked ugly. Not for a moment did he look hurried. And yet, his strike-rate was over 150. It was such a graceful knock that it stood out amid the violence that this format usually brings in batsmen. Perhaps it’s his economy of movement and the languid flow of his bat that catches the eye. The experts reckoned the pitch would make hitting on the up a difficult task, that the ball would stop on the batsmen, that timing would be difficult to find. And it appeared so when the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and the rest batted. Not when Jayawardene took strike.There was a delicious six hit on the up over extra cover that was a perfect advertisement for Jayawardene’s skill. He was walking down the track to the medium pace of Elton Chigumbura but kept his head still and balance perfect. Chigumbura shortened his length to try and upset the balance but Jayawardene wafted his wand through the line and the ball soared over the extra-cover boundary.Jayawardene flowed right from the start today, collecting three boundaries in the first over from Chris Mpofu: A cut, a gorgeous on-the-up six over long off and a whiplash on-drive. He repeatedly drove the seamers through the off side and there was even a deft upper cut to a slow bouncer from Chigumbura, but he treated the spinners with more respect. He looked for opportunities to unfurl his cuts and sweeps against the slow men and rotated the strike with wristy nudges. In between, he slog-swept and pulled Price for boundaries, slog swept Graeme Cremer for a six, late cut and swatted Greg Lamb to the boundary.Zimbabwe perhaps erred by not starting with two spinners. Prosper Utseya, who has often bowled with Price in the Powerplays, chose to give Mpofu and Chigumbura three overs with the new ball. Those three overs leaked 35 runs and allowed Jayawardene to cut loose. And he went on to play an innings of style and substance.