Sports: 2009

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Rooney & Ronaldo : The Best pair in the World

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Sri Lanka win despite late drama

After Angelo Mathews and Muttiah Muralitharan had combined to devastating effect with the bat, Sri Lanka's pace bowlers scythed through Pakistan's top order to lead them to a 36-run victory on a blustery day in Dambulla. Sri Lanka seemingly had the game in the bag at 134 for 8, but a gritty and stroke-filled 62-run stand between Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer so nearly spoilt their day. Pakistan had bossed the opening exchanges after electing to field on a green-tinged pitch, but they never quite recovered from a batting Powerplay in which 54 runs were conceded. With none of the frontline batsmen able to build on starts, it was left to the tail to try and pull off a miracle.

Sri Lanka had scripted a stirring revival of their own in the morning. After 44 overs, they were an underwhelming 169 for 6. But once Nuwan Kulasekara fell, having added 42 with Mathews, Murali whirled his bat like a dervish. Gul was top-edged for four and then straight-driven for six in an over that cost 15, and Shahid Afridi then clobbered through the off side for fours before Aamer put the sheen on a superb debut display by bowling him for 32. It had taken just 15 balls though, and by then, on a surface where run-making was not easy, Sri Lanka had enough of a total to defend.

Pakistan appeared deflated by that revival, and their batting effort never left the ground. Kulasekara started things off, tormenting Shoaib Malik outside his off stump. The odd ball would move away, while others would nip back and force him into the most awkward contortions. The scoreboard was moving thanks to a couple of lovely drives from Kamran Akmal but there was an air of inevitability about Malik's dismissal, bowled playing down the wrong line to a straighter one.

After Lasith Malinga's slingshot pace and slower balls had failed to provide a breakthrough, Kumar Sangakkara turned to Thilan Thushara, and he struck with his very first delivery. Akmal also played down the wrong line to one that deviated little, and saw his stumps pegged back. When Mohammad Yousuf then chased a wide one from Kulasekara, Pakistan had slumped to 48 for 3.

Afridi injected some energy into proceedings, clubbing Malinga over midwicket for six, but there was nothing distinguished about the lazy slice to Thushara that ended his innings at 27. Once Younis Khan flayed Thushara down to Mathews at third man, and Misbah-ul-Haq popped one back to Murali off the leading edge, the cause was hopelessly lost.

Fawad Alam and Abdul Razzaq delayed the inevitable while making no dent on the asking-rate, but it was left to Gul and Mohammad Aamer to send some frissons of worry through the Lankan camp with some cavalier hitting in their own Powerplay. Some sloppy bowling from Malinga helped their cause and it was left to Mahela Jayawardene to seal the deal late on with a direct hit from point to run out Aamer. With Malinga yorking Gul next ball, it was all over.

It could have been so very different for Pakistan, who had seen Razzaq and Aamer bowl really well with the new ball in the morning. The initial breakthrough was delayed only because of indifferent fielding. Akmal put down a sharp chance off Sanath Jayasuriya down the leg side, denying Razzaq a fairytale return after two years in the wilderness. And Razzaq himself could have had Jayasuriya a couple of overs later, but a miscue straight back down the pitch was embarrassingly dropped right in front of the batsman's face.

At the other end, Upul Tharanga was in poor touch, beaten repeatedly outside his off stump with feet scarcely moving. It was Jayasuriya who went first though, slashing the second ball he faced from Gul down to Aamer at third man. Aamer had impressed with the new ball, bowling with pace and beating the bat often. And after Tharanga was put out of his misery, nicking one behind, it needed a 48-run stand between Sangakkara and Jayawardene to resurrect the innings.

As in the Test series, Sangakkara seldom failed to cash in on the bad ball, stroking Gul through mid-on and cover, and clipping Younis' part-time medium-pace through midwicket for fours. But just as it seemed that the time was ripe to accelerate, he was undone by a Saeed Ajmal delivery that dipped and turned, and the attempt to cut merely looped to point.

Then came an almighty stutter. Chamara Kapugedera edged Afridi behind, and the onus was on Jayawardene to up the ante. Thilan Samaraweera couldn't do much on his return to the side, miscuing a pull to mid-on, and when Jayawardene was caught short going for a non-existent second run by Younis' flat throw from midwicket, the wheels were off and the axle nearly broken.

But Mathews and Kulasekara didn't panic, scoring in singles and twos before the Powerplay was taken. The final flourish did the rest, as the previously economical Afridi and Gul were taken apart. Gul tried to return the favour when Pakistan took their own Powerplay late in the game, but by then, it was far too late to be anything more than a consolation.

source : www.cricinfo.com

Australia bat after calling up Watson and Manou

Australia's batsmen refused to suffer further from the team's Edgbaston curse, which robbed them of the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin after the toss, as they raced to 126 for 1 on a first day significantly curtailed by rain. Shane Watson, who had come in for the discarded opener Phillip Hughes, quickly eliminated any doubt over his unorthodox promotion to add his second Test half-century in his ninth match, an innings which helped justify Ricky Ponting's decision to bat despite the potential for swing and seam.

England's bowlers were treated like Australia's on the first day at Lord's, giving up 85 in 19 overs before they picked up Simon Katich. By then they knew they would not be receiving any significant support from a placid pitch, although they had already benefited from the visitors' misfortune. Following a long delay when nothing happened quickly, Australia were suddenly thrust into frantic behind-the-scenes action while Ponting was at the toss.

All the team discussions over how Australia would recover from a 1-0 deficit required an instant re-think when Haddin suffered a suspected broken finger in the warm-up. With the team sheet already handed in, they had to ask permission to replace Haddin with Graham Manou, the South Australia gloveman, who received an unthinkable debut. The tourists were floored in similar circumstances here four years ago when Glenn McGrath hurt his ankle on the morning of the game, an event which started Australia's fall to a 2-1 loss.

None of this bothered Watson, who knew of his promotion on the eve of the match, and he took guard for the first ball and was soon sending it through cover, point, midwicket and square leg during the 30 available overs. Entering the game with a Test average of 19.76, Watson played like he had been part of the team for years as he drove and pulled with freedom and power. He had failed as an opener with Queensland a couple of seasons ago but gained confidence from his stints there in the limited-overs sides.

By stumps there were no immediate regrets over his elevation after he pumped 10 boundaries, including a drive off Graham Onions that was so straight it bounced over the umpire, during an assured 62 off 105 deliveries. His only moment of serious discomfort came in the same over Graeme Swann removed Katich, with Watson missing a sweep and surviving a loud lbw appeal on 37.

Moving on quickly, his 89-ball half-century arrived with a clipped two to the legside. It was just what Watson, an allrounder who has fought a series of untimely injuries, needed and his fast-bowling will also provide cover for Mitchell Johnson, the out-of-sorts attack leader.

With 11 overs remaining Watson was joined by Ponting, who held firm to finish on 17, eight short of Allan Border's Australia record of 11,174 runs. Ponting was required when Katich grew too confident and aimed a hefty pull to his first offering from Swann, falling lbw when struck on the front leg. He was unhappy to exit in such ugly fashion for 46 from 48 balls after such a smooth start.

James Anderson took the new ball with Andrew Flintoff but both bowled too short before Onions and Stuart Broad experienced some harsh treatment in front of a subdued sell-out crowd. Watson unfurled a crisp off-drive for four from Onions' second ball and then pulled another to midwicket in the same over. Broad also gave away two early boundaries when he aimed at Katich's legs and was twice caressed through square leg.

Play eventually started at 5pm after rain fell in Birmingham on Wednesday and Thursday morning, but the skies cleared after lunch and the match began in beautiful summer sunshine. The umpires Rudi Koertzen and Aleem Dar were particularly concerned by the soggy run-ups and the damp outfield and called Ponting and Andrew Strauss on to the field during two inspections before they agreed the conditions were suitable.

England's only change from the outfit that won at Lord's last week was Ian Bell coming in at No. 4 for the injured Kevin Pietersen, but the unaltered bowling attack must re-focus in the morning if they are to trouble their opponents. Both sides need to make an early impact if they are to pursue a positive result as further weather disruptions are expected on Saturday and Monday.

source :www.cricinfo.com

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Kevin Pietersen's 158

kevin peitersen

Monday, July 27, 2009

Luke Wright crashes through the off side, Sussex v Warwickshire, Twenty20 quarter-finals, Hove, July 27, 2009

Robert Key goes inside out during his 30, Kent v Durham, Twenty20 quarter-finals, Canterbury

The anonymous Mr Hauritz

Reports of a painful injury to Australia's leading wicket-taker could have expected the back-page treatment in past Ashes campaigns; particularly if the bowler in question was a spinner and his ailment a finger dislocation. But Nathan Hauritz's career has seldom been one for the headlines.

Yes, Nathan Hauritz. The player who has taken nine wickets in the series - four more than the combined haul of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar - without creating so much as a ripple. The man whose courage in returning to the field barely an hour after his spinning finger was contorted at right angles has attracted only scant mention. The only Australian bowler, along with Ben Hilfenhaus, considered a certainty for Edgbaston.

Had any of the aforementioned scenarios concerned, say, Shane Warne, tales of success and derring-do would presumably have dominated television bulletins, newspaper columns and a good chunk of cyberspace. As it stands, Hauritz will head to Birmingham only slightly less anonymous than he was in the period leading in to Cardiff, but with an importance to the team growing by the match.

The final month of the Ashes series promises to be a painful affair for Australia's frontline spinner. The finger dislocated by a thunderous Andrew Strauss drive on the first morning at Lord's is still causing him discomfort, particularly early in his spells. But, cognisant of his place in Ricky Ponting's plans, Hauritz is not entertaining notions of a break or a back-seat role. His lot is to grip it and grit it.

"The finger was extremely painful at first," Hauritz told Cricinfo. "I was pretty concerned for a while that I wouldn't be able to grip or spin the ball. But I had a few things to numb the pain, and then getting two wickets pretty quickly after I came back on to bowl helped me forget about it a bit.

"It probably needs four weeks' rest to be fully right, but that's obviously not going to happen in this series. It's pretty painful for the first few overs of a day, and it will probably be like that for a while until I'm warmed up. I'm not all that concerned, though. I can still grip the ball okay. It's just going to be a case of plenty of ice when I can and sucking it up."

A nominee for cricket's equivalent of the Purple Heart he may be, but Hauritz isn't expecting his deeds to win over England's fans and media anytime soon. Upon arrival in the UK, the 27-year-old found himself thrust into an unusual position - headlines - but with the Sun's "No-Hoper Hauritz" setting the tone, it was notoriety he could have lived without.

"I read a fair bit of what was being said about me early on in the tour, and I obviously heard a bit in the crowd," he noted with self-deprecating resignation, not bitterness. "It just got to a point where I was sick of seeing bad stuff, so I stopped reading after the game in Hove and just focused on what it was I had to do. I had copped an absolute hiding to that point, and because I hadn't bowled all that well, a lot of it was probably the truth. But I didn't need to read that. I knew that that wasn't my best game, but on the whole I was bowling okay and just had to get used to the conditions."

And the fans? "At Lord's you seem to get more respect from the crowd, but in Cardiff I got slagged off a fair bit," he continued. "That said, probably the funniest one I've got so far was when I was going out to bat at Lord's [in the second innings] and one of the old MCC members leaned over and said, 'I'll see you soon, youngster.' I was out five balls later and as I walked back he just said, 'I told you so.'"

That Hauritz can laugh in the face of failure says much for the quiet confidence he now possesses. It was not always thus. Barely two years ago, with his first-class career in freefall at Queensland, a desperate and despondent Hauritz opted to leave home and head south to the spin-friendly climes of Sydney. He did so with no state offer on the table - indeed, NSW had just completed a successful swoop for the West Australian, Beau Casson, and were not in search of another slow bowler - but a humility and willingness to allow some of the best spinning minds in the country to recalibrate him.

Success came slowly. Ranked behind the centrally contracted Casson, Hauritz first found his mark in the Blues' one-day side and later the NSW second XI. Infrequent first-class appearances followed, gradually increasing as Casson's confidence and form tapered.

"When I made the decision to move down to NSW, there was no Australia for me, I guess," he recalled. "I was in a rut and at a stage where the opportunities weren't coming for Queensland, but deep down I still felt I was good enough to play for Australia. So I came down to NSW, really wanting to learn about spin. Just working with guys like Greg Matthews, Murray Bennett and David Freedman helped me learn what it was to be a spinner. Being used as an attacking option for NSW really opened my eyes and changed my mind to what spin bowling could be. It was fantastic to have that backing, and not just be brought into the attack for a few overs here and there around the 65th over of a match."

Then came the most stunning development of all. Despite modest state form, Hauritz was called into the Australian squad for the Adelaide Test against New Zealand after Jason Krejza, the nation's senior spinner at that point, rolled his ankle at training. While surprised at the recall, Hauritz was also quietly confident that, both mentally and mechanically, he was a bowler far improved from the one who had sparkled and faded at Wankhede Stadium four years prior.



	"When I was going out to bat at Lord's, one of the old MCC members leaned over and said, 'I'll see you soon, youngster.' I was out five balls later and as I walked back he just said, 'I told you so' "

"The last time I played for Australia, I was definitely overawed when someone came at me and tried to whack me around," he said. "I didn't really know how to respond. Now I see a situation like that as a challenge, and I have plans and experience to draw on. I was extremely lucky that the Australian selectors were really keen to play a finger-spinner back then.

"Really, I didn't know anything. I didn't know my action, I didn't know what to do under pressure. I am still learning - especially about how to bowl to individual batsmen and which field setting to use. But I know 300 times more now than I did then."

Benched for all three Tests of Australia's triumphant tour of South Africa, Hauritz arrived in England unsure as to what his Ashes objectives should be. A few Tests? A wickets target? Or something altogether loftier? Answers were elusive as the Australian brains trust sought to strike the right balance for its youthful attack.

There is no such mystery now. Rounding the bend for Birmingham, Hauritz finds himself in the decidedly Warne-esque position of leading the series wicket-takers' list, along with Hilfenhaus, and in a position to chart a course ahead. He has done so without the prodigious turn, prolific bursts and all-round melodrama of his spin-bowling predecessor, but with stealth and consistency, insidiously working his way through the England batting line-up. More, he hopes, is to come.

"A lot of people on the scene have criticised me for being too defensive, but it's pleasing to know that things might be changing," he said. "My first wicket, Kevin Pietersen, was really satisfying. I had copped an absolute hiding in the press over here, everyone saying I was no good, and to get a batsman like him on a wicket not doing a lot was fantastic. I enjoyed the Matt Prior one too, just with the spin and bounce.

"I feel I am much more consistent these days. I guess I always had the belief that I was good enough to play at the top level, but it was a matter of finding that consistency and learning how to bowl that same ball over and over. I wasn't patient or consistent enough before I came to NSW. Now I really do back myself when I have the ball in my hand."

Source : www.cricinfo.com

Devon Smith raises the bat after reaching a half-century, West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st ODI, Dominica,

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Selectors stick to weakened squad

West Indies selectors have put faith in the inexperienced squad named on July 21 despite the senior players calling off their strike. The seniors had made themselves available for international duty following the appointment of an arbitrator to settle their dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board but the selectors have stuck with a weakened unit.
The strike forced the selectors to pick a second-string side which lost both Tests, handing Bangladesh their first overseas series victory. Floyd Reifer will continue to lead the side.
"They [are[ not picking us for the first two games; so I guess that sums up the situation," Chris Gayle posted on his Twitter feed. "They are the boss playing hard ball."
The WICB and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA), which is negotiating on the cricketers' behalf, agreed to resolve the impasse by mediation on Tuesday, after meeting with Guyana president Bharat Jagdeo, who is also chairman of the 15-nation trading bloc Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). Both sides agreed to the appointment of former Commonwealth secretary general Shridath Ramphal as arbitrator.
The first two ODIs will be staged at Windsor Park in Dominica on July 26 and 28. St Kitts will host the third and final match on July 31, as well as the only Twenty20 international two days later.
Squad: Floyd Reifer (capt), Darren Sammy, David Bernard, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher (wk), Rawl Lewis, Nikita Miller, Nelon Pascal, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge

source:www.cricinfo.com