All posts by csb10.top

Cricket Australia has denied charges of complacency after the first Test of the summer attracted disappointing crowds and TV viewing figures.Although last year’s comparable Test was the opening one in the Ashes, the drop of 40.7% in viewers was more than expected. An average audience of 625,000 watched the Sri Lanka Test compared to more than a million for the England match. The aggregate Gabba crowd of 55,953 was also down 66% on last year’s record of 164,727. Only 7629 turned up on Sunday and 1285 for the final day.Graham Dixon, the chief executive of Queensland, criticised CA for “sitting on its laurels”, a reference to a limited TV promotional campaign. “Was the Test promoted properly? I don’t think so,” he said. “Did Cricket Australia rest on its laurels? Yes. I think that is a fair criticism.”[Shane] Warne and [Glenn] McGrath would always market a match in their own right because they were such big names. But this Test was never going to sell itself. The marketing people had plenty of notice to come up with a good campaign, probably since last March, but all we have really seen is Nathan Bracken bowling at a coin on a wicket.”The charges were denied by Peter Young, the board’s spokesman. “We are not taking our foot off the pedal, in the same way as Ricky Ponting is not taking his foot off the pedal,” Young said. “No one can afford to rest on their laurels … it doesn’t matter what market you are in.”And he pointed out that the crowd at the Gabba was the third biggest since the 1970s. “It’s a serious discussion but let’s not forget that the crowd figures speak for themselves.”However, Dixon’s view was partially backed by David Johnston, the CEO of Tasmania who host the second Test which starts this Friday. Around 7000 tickets have been pre-sold and Johnston said that he had had to increase local advertising to promote the game.”We’ve done a lot of local promotions with radio stations and hopefully that is working well,” he said. “There are things I would have liked done differently but Cricket Australia get their advice from their advertising agency and sometimes people on the ground in the state associations have a different view on things.”

Boeta Dippenaar has been elected as the president of the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) at its annual general meeting in Johannesburg.”I feel privileged that the players have elected me as the president of our players association” Dippenaar said. “The player voice is very important in the game and we feel that SACA plays a big part in this. Our involvement in shaping things now can only make it better for those players who will follow us in the future.”Ahmed Amla, who was elected vice-president, said: “We are hoping to build on the good work already done by SACA and to do this by working within the spirit of the game. To be elected by fellow players is an honour and I will do my best to make a contribution.”Justin Ontong and Gerald Dros were also elected as members of the executive committee. Gerald Dros, who retired as a professional cricketer at the beginning of last season, was re-elected having already served on the committee for a number of years.”It’s good to see the players elect such a strong executive committee” said Tony Irish, Chief Executive Officer of SACA. “The re-election of Dros gives the executive committee some continuity while Boeta, Ahmed and Justin are among the most respected cricketers in the country. I’m looking forward to working with these players. SACA plays a vital role in collectively representing the players in the Proteas and in each of the franchise teams. We intend to continue to take the players association from strength to strength”.

Chris Schofield returned to form in a superb Lancashire win over Kent at OldTrafford today which kept them firmly in the hunt for their first outrighttitle since 1934.John Crawley’s side completed a 154 runs victory after claiming the extrahalf hour of the third day, bowling out relegation haunted Kent for 125.It earned Lancashire 16 points, putting behind them their recent troublesin one-day cricket, and Schofield celebrated his best all-round performancefor the club.The 21 years-old Schofield first took his overnight 22 to an unbeaten 70as Lancashire battled their way from 110-7 to 198 all out. He put on preciousruns with Gary Keedy and Mike Smethurst but broke Kent’s hearts in a lastwicket stand of 51 with Peter Martin.There is no doubt that Schofield has batting talent. This season he hadalready notched up two half-centuries for Lancashire and one for Englandagainst Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.But he also made a big contribution with the ball after Martin and Keedyhad made early inroads into Kent’s forlorn bid to reach a victory target of280.Lancashire captain John Crawley held him back until the score reached 70-4but his introduction into the attack paid immediate dividends with threewickets in four balls – the last delivery of one over and the second andthird of the next.Min Patel foiled him of a hat-trick and resisted Lancashire for a further70 balls. But Schofield had the final say when Patel miscued him to mid offto be last man out for 35, giving the leg-spinner 4-25.

Chris Gayle’s management have retained the services of a “leading Australian media lawyer” with the intention of “immediately” launching defamation action against Fairfax Media over allegations that he indecently exposed himself to a woman in Sydney during the World Cup last year.The allegation arose following Gayle’s widely decried actions in an interview with the Ten Network sports presenter Mel McLaughlin while playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.The Renegades fined Gayle $10,000 for the incident, and the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland declared the West Indian opening batsman would be facing far more severe consequences if he transgressed further.It is believed a substantiation of Fairfax Media’s indecent exposure allegation against Gayle, which it claimed had taken place during a training session at the SCG before the start of the tournament, would be viewed by CA as sufficient cause to tear up his existing contract with the Renegades.Gayle would also be banished from playing for any club in the BBL – a competition designed in part to be a welcoming tournament for females – in the future.”Chris Gayle has strongly denied allegations first published by Fairfax Media that he indecently exposed himself to a woman during last year’s World Cup in Sydney,” Gayle’s manager Simon Auteri said in a statement.”Despite such denials Fairfax Media continues to publish the false and defamatory allegations which have received widespread re-publication in media throughout the world.”As a result Chris Gayle has retained Mark O’Brien, a leading Australian media lawyer to immediately commence defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media.”

Pubudu Dassanayake, Canada’s coach, has announced a new coaching team who will take charge across the various levels of the game.Shaun Miller who played minor counties cricket in England will be the deputy national coach and he will be responsible for Western Canada which includes the areas of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. He holds an ECB Level 3 qualification.Anderson Cummins, the former West Indies and Canada opening bowler, will look after the Under-19s, who have not qualified for the World Cup in Malaysia this month but will definitely take part in the 2012 event as hosts. Farooq Kirmani who represented Canada in the ’80s, will be undertaking the future of the juniors, in looking after the Under-15s. George Codrington, who represented Canada at last year’s World Cup in the West Indies, will undertake the women’s program.The trio do not, as yet, have formal coaching qualifications, but do have extensive experience of developing players’ skills over many years. “All three have played a considerable amount of international cricket – in Anderson’s case, at Test level,” a Canada spokesperson told Cricinfo. “It is important for Canadian cricket that we maximize this type of expertise which exists within the country.”Geoffrey Crosse will resume his role as technical analyst, team with specific skills in video analysis. “He has formal, college-level qualifications in that area,” said the spokesman, “which is becoming increasingly important for us.”There has been a change in the selectors’ panel too, as Errol Townshend has tendered his resignation as national selector. Richard Hawes, Chris James, Bhan Deonarine and Arvind Patel will soon be joined on the panel by a replacement Ontario representative. The Ontario Cricket Association will recommend a replacement to the CCA. The CCA will then appoint a replacement who will be formally elected to the position at the next AGM.Their big job this year will be to select the side they believe will help Canada win the Twenty20 World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland in August. This will be Canada’s singular focus for the foreseeable future, with two teams from six going through to the World Cup. Project Stingray, as it has been called, will be led by Dassananayake and moves into high gear immediately.The efforts will include the following: an expansion of indoor winter training, with indoor nets and indoor games being played three times a week; specific Twenty20 training; much usage of DVD footage; input from qualified sports psychologists; and the inclusion of promising Canadian Under-19s in the process.

ScorecardFile photo – William Porterfield provided the early momentum with a 15-ball 30•Getty Images

Ireland sealed the T20 series with a nine-run D/L win against Papua New Guinea in Townsville, after rain reduced the match to a 11-overs-a-side contest. After a delayed start, Ireland were inserted to bat and were 4 without loss after one ball before rain intervened again. Three balls after the resumption, Ireland lost Andy Balbirnie.However, brisk camoes from William Porterfield (30 off 15) and Stuart Poynter (35 off 24) lifted Ireland to a score of 96 for 5. Pipi Raho brought PNG back into the game with figures of 3 for 11 from two overs.PNG managed to stay abreast with the required rate through Assad Vala’s 15-ball 25. A clump of wickets fell from the other end, though, and they were soon reduced to 63 for 9 in the ninth over. Norman Vanua provided a glimmer of hope with a quick 26 but it wasn’t enough as PNG fell seven runs short.

India received a further jolt at the end of the Old Trafford one-day international with news that Zaheer Khan had twisted his ankle while batting. It was a potential knockout blow for India after the three-wicket loss left them trailing the seven-match series 3-1.Zaheer, India’s bowling spearhead throughout the tour, suffered the injury to his left ankle during his cameo of 20 from 19 balls. He pushed the final ball of the 47th over to the off side but pulled up as he reached the other end. He did not show any signs of discomfort during his first bowling spell but struggled when he returned for his final three overs.”He came through fine and got through the game,” Rahul Dravid said about the injury. “Now it’s a question of waiting and watching, seeing how it is in the morning and putting some ice on it. We have got a couple of days [before the next match] and it’s a good sign for us that he went through the game and bowled. It might be a bit sore after the game.”Zaheer has put in the most number of overs (228.2) among the Indian bowlers so far on this tour. He had suffered a groin strain before the start of the tour but came through the Tests, ending it as the Man of the Series. He missed the second ODI at Bristol due to a bout of flu but recovered to take part in the next two games.There was also a minor concern over Yuvraj Singh, who top-scored with 71 and bowled two overs. He appeared in pain towards the end of the game and was well below his athletic best. He seemed to have recovered the next morning, with Rajeev Shukla, the administrative manager, saying, “He’s absolutely fine. There is no problem.”India are set to leave for Leeds on Friday afternoon. The fifth ODI is to be held at Headingley on Sunday, a match that they need to win to stay alive in the series.

Hamilton Masakadza rued the number of dropped chances, which he blamed forhis side’s defeat against Pakistan in the second ODI at Niaz Stadium inHyderabad.Zimbabwe dropped five catches in all, including two tough chances – Nasir Jamshed and Shahid Afridi benefitting twice each. Had they taken their chances and furtheredPakistan’s mini stutter during the middle overs, the result just mighthave been different.Each of the drops was crucial. Jamshed, dropped on 6 and 72, scored 74, his second successive half-century. Afridi scored an attacking,unbeaten 43 to take Pakistan through but he was able to do so only afterbeing dropped on 30 and 32.”I thought we played well to reach that total [of 238] and it could have been agood total had we taken our chances,” Masakadza said. “We spilled those opportunities at crucial junctures and we might have takenit a bit closer had we held on.”Masakadza was leading the team on the field after Prosper Utseya injuredhis foot while batting, and had earlier top scored with an aggressive 87 after Zimbabwe opted to bat. An early start provided plenty of seam movement and Vusi Sibanda and Chamu Chibhabha both edged behind off Sohail Tanvir.”The movement was there but it only lasted about five to six overs,”Masakadza said. “After that, the pitch eased up and it was a good battingwicket.”Masakadza proved his point ably, hitting ten fours altogether and sharinga 137-run third-wicket partnership with Tatenda Taibu (81). However, abatting collapse after Zimbabwe went past the 200-mark – in which fivewickets went for only nine runs – meant Zimbabwe fell at least 50 runsshort of posting a competitive total.

Lalman Kowlessar, an executive member of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), has called the recent strike by the West Indies Umpires’ Association (WICUA) during the sixth round of the Carib Beer Series a “total failure”.Kowlessar also praised the six umpires belonging to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Umpires and Scorers Council (TTCUSC), which was not a part of the strike, and who were drafted in to fill in the void created by the WICUA’s boycott. “The games went on and the umpires did a great job,” he said.The WICUA had withdrawn its services for the last two rounds of the 2007-08 Carib Beer Series to protest against the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) decision to remove Trinidadian umpires Hayden Bruce and Kaso Dowlath from the list of officials for the tournament’s sixth round. The duo are linked to the newly-formed Association of Cricket Umpires of Trinidad and Tobago, a body which is not aligned with the Trinidad board.But Kowlessar said Bruce and Dowlath were not on the list of umpires recommended by the TTCUSC to the Trinidad board, though their names appeared on the list approved by the West Indies board’s sub-committee for umpires. “This was noticed by the TTCB, which informed the WICB, pointing out the perceived error. The WICB then removed those two names.”

Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s new coach, believes that his teams attacking style of cricket would suit them in the upcoming Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.”Sri Lanka hasn’t played a lot of Twenty20 cricket. But the style of cricket they play can be suited to the Twenty20 game. Sri Lanka is a team that plays an attacking style of the game. With a bit of experience and playing a few practice games, I am hoping the players can learn fairly quickly. I’m confident that we can give a good showing.”Bayliss who coached New South Wales before taking up the Sri Lanka job, had his first session with the national team today.”They are a bright bunch of guys and very friendly people. Before we came here everyone was telling us how good these guys were, lovely people, hard trainers and hard workers. Certainly that’s what we got this morning. I am looking forward to working with them.””The opportunity to coach an international team and also a very successful one at that, was no contest. It’s a dream, I suppose, where you can reach the top in whatever endeavours that you try. I am very happy and honoured that I’ve been given the opportunity to coach the Sri Lankan cricket team,” Bayliss said.Bayliss admitted that he had spoken to Tom Moody, whom he succeeded as coach, on several occasions. “We have got a fairly similar views on the way cricket should be played and the way it should be taken forward. Not a lot will change in the process. Sri Lanka has been very successful in their last 18 months. I don’t want to change too much but continue along those lines. If one or two small things come up we will make the appropriate changes”.”Tom’s opinion of the team was that they were a bunch of guys, very talented, easy to work with and easy to talk to. They play an attacking style of cricket similar to Australia. From that point of view and coming from Australia, there won’t be a big change in the way we are going,” Bayliss said, adding that he would be quite happy for the selectors to select the team and for him to coach it.”Before the match starts, Mahela (Jayawardene) and I will be able to give our views. The attitude I had in New South Wales when I was coaching was the same thing. I didn’t actually have a vote on the selections, but the one rule we put in place for the players was that there should be no whinging. Whatever you have been dealt, just get on with it.”Along with Bayliss, assistant coach Paul Farbrace and trainer Jade Roberts also had an interaction with the media.Bayliss, who had a hand in the appointment of Farbrace, said: “Paul is a coach who knows his stuff and is a very hard worker. He is also a guy whom I will be able to get on with. He’s probably got a similar personality and similar views on the way the game should be played. I think it is important that the two of us should work together.”Farbrace, who was the coaching director at Kent before joining the Sri Lanka team, was upbeat about his new job. “To work with Trevor and the other guys here, it really wasn’t a contest. It’s an exciting opportunity. You don’t very often get the chance to work with exciting teams who are playing good cricket.””Normally in sport you go with things like ‘perhaps I am doing well’ but that’s when things change. This time it is an opportunity to handle a side and an excellent set up. I really want to get into and get stuck in.”Roberts, who is also a dietician, said he would rely on the players to be professional. “I’ve talked to the guys and my opinion is they are a very professional outfit. It’s really upto them.”The three newcomers will join physio Tommy Simsek in the support staff. Simsek is the only remaining member of the Sri Lanka coaching staff from the 2007 World Cup.