A round-up of the second day’s action of the World Cricket League Division One in Netherlands

Cricinfo staff03-Jul-2010Kenya were no match for Netherlands as the hosts stormed to a 117-run win in Voorburg . A century stand between Alexie Kervezee and Tom Cooper set Netherlands to 229 before a combined effort from the bowlers sunk Kenya to 112 within 30 overs.Kervezee and Cooper came together after Thomas Odoyo struck in the fifth over, and the pair added 123 for the second wicket. Kervezee progressed at more than a run-a-ball, hitting 11 fours and a six before he was trapped in front by a delivery from James Ngoche which turned in sharply. Kervezee, unfortunately, fell eight short of his century. Ngoche struck again soon after when he sent back the captain Peter Borren. Cooper and Wesley Barresi then added 53 to lift the hosts but the lower order failed to put together partnerships as Kenya struck quickly. Jimmy Kamande ran through the lower order to finish with 4 for 36.The chase got off to a rocky start as Kenya lost their top three for 32. The fourth wicket pair of Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel added 48, but that was the best stand Kenya could manage. Obuya’s dismissal in the 20th over, bowled by Cooper, sparked a collapse as Kenya lost their last six wickets for 23 runs. Netherlands recorded their first win after losing narrowly to Scotland on Thursday.Rain in Rotterdam forced the game between Afghanistan and Ireland to be pushed to the reserve day after Ireland completed their 50 overs. Andrew Poynter top scored with 78, supported by useful contributions by Kevin O’Brien and Trent Johnston to push the score to 237 before rain intervened.Afghanistan held the initiative initially as their seamers, Khaliq Dad and Shapoor Zadran, made early inroads to reduce Ireland to 27 for 3. But Ireland recovered via two seventy-plus stands spearheaded by Poynter. Kevin O’Brien departed for 44 before Andrew White joined Poynter to add a quick 73 in 12 overs. Johnston then made a cameo unbeaten 42 off 28 balls to lift the score to 237. Hamid Hassan, who claimed the wicket of Poynter for 78, took 3 for 53.Scotland and rain were the victors in Amstelveen as Canada fell short by 69 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis Method. Chasing 237, the Canada batsmen weren’t quite up to the mark, losing wickets at regular intervals and by the time rain forced a long interruption, they were well behind the par score.The win was set up by half-centuries by Richie Berrington and Neil McCallum, who became Scotland’s most-capped player. Umar Bhatti bowled a tight spell of 2 for 29 in ten overs to keep the top order in check before Berrington and McCallum took the initiative away. The pair added 124 for the third wicket before Rizwan Cheema bowled Berrington for 67. McCallum remained unbeaten on 89, hitting seven fours and four sixes.Early strikes by the Scotland seamers put Canada on the back foot when they began their chase. Rain intervened after ten overs with Canada 49 for 2. They stumbled further on resumption as the seamer Gordon Goudie removed Hiral Patel and Geoff Barnett in one over. When rain intervened for the second time, after 21 overs, Canada were in deep trouble at 79 for 6. They were already 80 behind the par score and Scotland had all but sealed the game. Just when it seemed as if the umpires would call it off and award the victory to Scotland, the rain stopped and the covers were off. The match was reduced to a 26-over contest and the target revised to 196. Canada had just five overs in which to get an improbable 117 and the lower order, led by Calvert Hooper did the best they could to narrow the deficit.On his record, McCallum said: “I don’t play for records and I wasn’t aware of it until I was told after I batted. If you play for any length of time then those things will follow and it’s gratifying. But the main thing is that the team is playing well.”On the match, he added: “We knew Canada would be a difficult game and by deciding to bat first we knew we had to give ourselves a chance by getting a total to defend. Myself and Richie Berrington managed to put a partnership together. In the dressing room we always talk about getting 100-plus stands and it was good that we did just that.”It was a totally different surface from the one we played against the Dutch on Thursday. We knew it wouldn’t be easy up front but we still opted to try and put a total on the board and all the batsmen did well in tough conditions. The top order had to work so hard to take the shine off the ball and keep wickets intact and Richie and I took advantage when the hardness went off the ball.”Scotland take on Ireland on Monday. “We’re very pleased with the way things are going at the moment. We took a lot of confidence from the way we played against India A last week and although the Dutch game on Thursday could have gone either way we’ll take that win, and this performance against Canada sets us up nicely for our match with Ireland,” McCallum said. “It’s a cliche but we’ve not looked beyond this match at this stage. We’ll just take each game as it comes, do the basics well if we can, and if we can do that then the rest should take care of itself.”

Essex batsman Ravi Bopara gave a timely reminder to the England selectors by scoring a fine century against leaders Yorkshire at Chelmsford

20-Jul-2010
ScorecardRavi Bopara was in fine touch during his 142 against Yorkshire•PA Photos

Essex batsman Ravi Bopara gave a timely reminder to the England selectors by scoring a fine century against leaders Yorkshire on the opening day of the County Championship clash at Chelmsford. With the opening Test against Pakistan just over a week away, the 25-year-old right-hander posted 142 to press his claims for a recall now that Ian Bell is sidelined through injury.Bopara took full advantage of a friendly pitch to stamp his authority on the opening day’s play as Essex reached the close on 353 for 6. He never looked in the slightest trouble in completing his first Championship hundred of the season, having struck half-centuries in his previous two outings.It contained 13 fours and he went on to collect another six before a mistimed hook against paceman Tino Best ended up in the hands of Adil Rashid at square leg. While Bopara was enjoying himself, Alastair Cook failed to capitalise on the conditions.After looking at ease whilst collecting five fours in moving to 44, the England opener was the architect of his own downfall when he slashed a wide delivery from Steve Patterson to provide wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy with an easy catch. Cook’s dismissal came in the over following the departure of Jaik Mickleburgh, who contributed 38 out of an opening stand of 97 before he was bowled by leg-spinner Rashid.When Tom Westley fell leg before to Patterson it meant Essex had lost three wickets in seven overs while moving to 120 at lunch. But Bopara and Matt Walker were to retrieve the situation by adding 80 in 29 overs before the latter was well caught low down at deep mid-wicket by Jonathan Bairstow for 26 to give Rashid another success.But Walker’s exit only signalled the arrival of James Foster to join Bopara in the most lucrative partnership of the day. They warmed to their task by adding 124 in 26 overs, of which Foster made 61, before Oliver Hannon-Dalby had him caught at deep square-leg by Patterson with the second new ball.Bopara was to depart soon afterwards, a few minutes before the close, leaving Grant Flower and Tim Phillips to drop anchor and survive to carry their partnership into the second day. Yorkshire used six bowlers in their toiling attempts to make progress, the most successful being Rashid and Patterson who have so far picked up two wickets each for 74 and 72 respectfully.

Kenya allrounder Collins Obuya has called on his team to step up after a series of losses in their preparation for the 2011 World Cup

Cricinfo staff20-Aug-2010Kenya allrounder Collins Obuya has called on his team to step up after a series of losses in their preparation for the 2011 World Cup. Kenya have lost their previous seven ODIs and finished last in the World Cricket League Division One in the Netherlands. They were also beaten in each game they played against Indian domestic sides Gujarat Cricket Association XI and Baroda Cricket Association XI in Nairobi.Obuya, however, has been one of Kenya’s more consistent performers in this lean phase. “We need to work harder and if it all goes well and if we keep doing the right things and in the best way possible, we should be alright. However, I am so happy that I am managing to get runs on the board and my confidence has come back.”Obuya won a memorable game for Kenya in the 2003 World Cup against Sri Lanka, where he grabbed a five-for with his leg-spin. Getting a win under their belt to break the losing trend, he said, was crucial to restoring the team’s confidence.”We need to start winning matches as that will give us confidence,” said Obuya. “We need to see batsmen getting runs and staying at the wicket for longer while the bowlers need to bowl much better. If this can be achieved, then I have no doubt we will do well.”There’s so much talent and potential in the team but a lot needs to be done on an individual level. We need to continuously strive to get better as well. The team needs to get cohesion and the young players need to be encouraged. We also miss experience which is important for the team in those kinds of matches.”Kenya will, however, have the experience of Steve Tikolo for the World Cup after the former captain made himself available for selection months after walking out on the team.

Ricky Ponting believes it is “absolutely possible” that Australia can trounce England with a 5-0 Ashes clean-sweep this summer

Cricinfo staff16-Aug-2010Ricky Ponting believes it is “absolutely possible” that Australia can trounce England with a 5-0 Ashes clean-sweep this summer. Although Ponting didn’t quite match Glenn McGrath’s 5-0 prediction from four years ago – which turned out to be correct – he was confident that Australia had learnt from their mistakes and such an outcome was “all in our hands”.The Australians gave up the urn in England last year with a 2-1 defeat and while they have performed strongly since then, a 1-1 draw against Pakistan last month raised a few questions. The Headingley loss was Australia’s first Test defeat since the Ashes, and back home they won’t have as much reason to fear the swinging ball.By the first Test at the Gabba, Australia should have regained their No. 1 wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and the offspinner Nathan Hauritz, while they hope Peter Siddle will also be available after battling back stress fractures. Ponting met Cricket Australia officials in Melbourne on Monday to plan for the Ashes and said there was no reason to rule out a 5-0 win.”It’s absolutely possible,” Ponting told reporters. “There’s no reason why not. It’s all in our hands. It’s how well we play and how well we take charge of different situations. We’ve learnt from a lot of the mistakes that we’ve made. There’s no doubt we made some mistakes in the last Ashes series in England that probably at the end of the day cost us the series.”We know now that we’re a more experienced and probably a better team now than we were then. We put that together plus we’re playing in our conditions, we hope to win this series and win it well. Batting collapses probably were the reason we lost the series last time around and our inability to bowl them out on the last day in Cardiff. I’ve got confidence in the squad of players that we’ve got that they are going to be good enough to win an Ashes series.”Following Australia’s 1-1 series with Pakistan, England have started their series against the same opponents with two powerful victories, winning inside four days at both Trent Bridge and Edgbaston. They play two more Tests against Pakistan, their only five-day outings before the Ashes, while Australia will fine-tune their preparations with two Tests in India in October.”[James] Anderson and [Stuart] Broad and those guys have really stepped up,” Ponting said of England.” They are coming together well as a team. We have to make sure at the end of the Indian tour that we have got everything in place to make sure that we’re ultra-competitive against them.”They [England] certainly have bowled well and they’ve had great conditions to bowl in as well, the English. We’ll have a different set of conditions and a different ball when they come out here and I’m sure our guys will equip themselves really well. We know where we have to bowl to all of their batsmen. They’ve got no one there who’s going to surprise us at all.”Jonathan Trott, the England batsman who scored a century on debut at The Oval last August, offered a wry response to Ponting’s assessment. “I’ve only played one game against them, and they wanted to win that game but it turned out pretty good for us,” he said. “That’s all I can say, I don’t know the guy and his character, but I’d find if I’d said something like that I’d have put more pressure on myself and the team, more than if I go about my business the way I know.”

Chennai have relied heavily on spinners thus far but the performance of their seamers, and how their batsmen face up to Dale Steyn, could decide the game

Sriram Veera in Durban23-Sep-2010You get a sense of what to expect on Friday. Royal Challengers Bangalore will most likely hit Chennai Super Kings with bouncers. Even the Central Districts bowlers did it to Chennai on the same Durban pitch a few days back. And it had nearly worked. Even without any fiercely fast bowlers. Bangalore have Dale Steyn and it will be interesting to see how the Indian batsmen in the Chennai line-up handle him.S Badrinath has the upper-cut over the slips as his main option against bouncers, Suresh Raina is yet to develop a proper defensive or attacking option against the same delivery and S Anirudha is an unknown quantity. M Vijay has shown a tendency to land in trouble, trying to pull deliveries from well outside off when it’s banged in short. It’s still not clear whether it’s due to an eagerness to show he can pull, or a sign of nerves that clouds his decision-making ability. You sense that the middle order can quickly disintegrate under pressure. And so, Steyn’s little spell in the middle overs will be crucial. If he can get his radar right, it can get really interesting. He has, at times, got it wrong as well. In this short format, the plans can boomerang and go awry awfully quickly.Anil Kumble knows it. When asked whether he would be deploying the bouncer-strategy, he preferred to play his cards close to his chest. “We have our plans. You will see tomorrow. But it all depends how we execute the plans. We have been successful in the past at times and we have not been successful also on a couple of occasions. It will depend on the pitch and conditions. Your plans have to be very fluid in this format.” Bangalore will miss Jacques Kallis the bowler. In this year’s IPL, Steyn and Kallis had waylaid visiting batsmen with bouncers on their home track in Bangalore.Bangalore lost both the games they played in Durban in this tournament but Kumble chose to remember the contest from last year when they beat Chennai at the same venue in the IPL semi-final. “We need to take confidence that we really did well against Mumbai and it was a narrow loss. Last time we played Chennai here in Durban we won; that’s what we would take rather than think we haven’t won a game here this time.”Chennai didn’t practice on Friday. They just came in from Port Elizabeth. At the end of last league game against the Warriors, Dhoni was asked about the clash with Bangalore and he shared his concerns about his fast bowlers. “I think our fast bowlers will have to pull up their socks. They will have to do definitely well in the coming game. There have been weak links where we need to improve. The spinners have done the job for us so far. Hopefully, on the Durban pitch, the fast bowlers will do well for the team.”Dhoni also said he might use Justin Kemp slightly higher up the order on the Durban pitch. “In the last couple of games, the tracks have been quite slow and low which means [they act] more like a sub-continental pitch. So, players like Anirudha could really contribute.”Dhoni added he wasn’t too concerned about the fact that Bangalore have played couple of games in Durban. “I believe that a Twenty20 game is about that particular day. What the situation is like and what the condition is like. I think they have played a couple of games. And including the warm-up games we too have played the same amount of games in Durban. I don’t think that it will make much of a difference.”

Tasmania survived an unexpected scare from the No.11 Nathan Rimmington to hold off a fast-finishing Queensland and win the inaugural split-innings fixture

Peter English06-Oct-2010Tasmania 9 for 252 (Cosgrove 69, Lockyear 64, Rimmington 4-60, Feldman 4-64) beat Queensland 247 (Broad 83, Drew 4-70) by 5 runs

ScorecardNathan Rimmington’s lusty hitting gave the Bulls a chance but Tasmania’s total remained out of reach•Warren Keir – SMP Images

Tasmania, the nominal defending champion, survived an unexpected scare from the No.11 Nathan Rimmington to hold off a fast-finishing Queensland and win the inaugural split-innings fixture. Half-centuries to Mark Cosgrove and Rhett Lockyear pushed the Tigers to 9 for 252 at the Gabba and the Bulls were in big trouble – even with Ryan Broad’s 83 – until Rimmington arrived.Rimmington blasted 42 off 24 balls and Chris Hartley chipped in with 27 in a breathtaking stand of 61 in 6.1 overs. The pair needed 17 from the last over and Rimmington cover-drove a four from Brendan Drew’s second ball before top-edging a boundary from the next delivery. He couldn’t pull off the miracle and was bowled from the final ball needing a six to win.The Tigers claimed the 50-over competition in February, but since then the format has undergone a significant renovation to become a 45-over contest decided through four innings. Once Cosgrove, an off-season recruit from South Australia, opened with a half-century the Tigers had the advantage and cruised to 3 for 105 after their first 20 overs.Even though the visitors struggled at the start of their second innings they were able to recover through a smart 64 off 57 from Lockyear and Brett Geeves’ 22 off eight balls to post 9 for 252. Rimmington varied his pace well – a clever slower one bowled Lockyear – to collect 4 for 60 off 12 overs while Luke Feldman’s 4 for 64 on debut would have been so much better if his final over hadn’t gone for 17.Queensland lost Lee Carseldine (6) and Jason Floros (6) chasing the point for a first-innings lead late in their opening innings and were 14 runs behind at the main interval. They also struggled early in their second bat when they needed 162 off their final 25 overs. The quick departures of Chris Lynn, who turned on a short ball and was caught at first slip, and James Hopes were big setbacks and ultimately left too much work to do.Broad was steady at the top until he swiped two sixes to long-on off Brett Geeves in the same over – and was also hit in the neck by a short ball. Broad was taken low down by Ed Cowan in the deep in the 39th over, leaving Hartley and Rimmington to ensure an exciting finish to match with a slow build-up.

Australia have named their squad for next week’s first Ashes Test, but their starting line-up is no clearer. Xavier Doherty and Callum Ferguson were the major surprises in a bloated 17-man group that also included Usman Khawaja, Ryan Harris and Peter Sidd

Brydon Coverdale15-Nov-2010Australia have named their squad for next week’s first Ashes Test, but their starting line-up is no clearer. Xavier Doherty and Callum Ferguson were the major surprises in a bloated 17-man group that also included Usman Khawaja, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle, but there was no place for the backup opener Phillip Hughes, who was the only unexpected omission.The squad, which is bigger than England’s touring party for the entire series, will be trimmed to 12 or 13 after this week’s round of Sheffield Shield matches before the first Test begins at the Gabba next Thursday. The selectors are also keen to see how some of the contenders perform for Australia A in their match against England starting on Wednesday in Hobart.The four-day game between New South Wales and Tasmania shapes as a particularly fascinating contest, with the spinners Hauritz and Doherty to go head to head on an SCG pitch that should offer assistance. The inclusion of the left-armer Doherty, who made a promising ODI debut this month but was viewed as a limited-overs specialist, has placed extra pressure on the incumbent Hauritz, who has struggled over the past month.”Nathan Hauritz has performed exceptionally well over the past 12 months for Australia,” the chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, said. “One of the biggest decisions we will need to make is whether we go into the first Test in Brisbane with a right-arm offspinner or with the variation of a left-arm orthodox bowler.”Xavier Doherty has been very impressive in both limited-overs and first-class cricket, in particular last season and the start of this season, and it will be a great opportunity for us to observe both of the spinning options in the Sheffield Shield clash between New South Wales and Tasmania at the SCG this week.”Hilditch’s comments suggest the selectors are not considering an all-pace attack at the Gabba, where the seam-friendly conditions sometimes encourage sides to risk leaving out their frontline spinner. That means the most likely pace attack is Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger, who made a promising return in club cricket on the weekend.Bollinger has been out with an abdominal strain since the first Test in India last month, and he collected 1 for 30 in ten overs for Fairfield on Saturday. He will continue his return in the Sheffield Shield game and providing he comes through unscathed, will be a certain starter on a Brisbane surface that should offer him some assistance.His recovery also reduces the chance of Siddle being included for his first Test since January, while the in-form Harris would need to also shake off a knee problem if he was to make the side. Harris bowled himself into contention with a match haul of 9 for 140 for Queensland at Bellerive last week but after the match had a swollen knee – he had surgery on the joint during the off-season – and his availability won’t be known for several days.”Ryan Harris has a chronic knee injury that requires ongoing management,” the team physio Alex Kountouris said. “As such he will not play in the next round of Sheffield Shield games or for Australia A starting 17 November to allow his knee to fully recover. His availability for the first Ashes Test will determined later this week.”There are unlikely to be any surprises in Australia’s batting line-up, although they are waiting to confirm the fitness of Michael Clarke, who suffered a recurrence of the disc problem in his back while playing for New South Wales on the weekend. Clarke will sit out of this week’s Sheffield Shield match but he is hopeful he will take his place at the Gabba.”I’m not going to play against Tasmania on Wednesday,” Clarke said. “I’m going to give myself another few days off to get my back right. But I’m confident that if I do all the right things over the next week I’ll be 100% ready to go come Brisbane.”Unless Clarke succumbs to the problem, there shouldn’t be any changes to Australia’s established top six, meaning Khawaja and Ferguson will have to wait to receive their baggy greens. Their selection is a strong indication that they will be vying for a position in the middle order should the selectors lose faith with Michael Hussey or Marcus North during the summer.The exclusion of the opener Hughes is a sign that Simon Katich will be fit for the Test, having been out of action due to a broken thumb. Katich made his comeback in grade cricket on the weekend, making 94 for Randwick-Petersham, and will line up for New South Wales in their four-day match this week.Australia squad Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Xavier Doherty, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger.

Round-up of the third day of the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy Super League

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2010

Group A

Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary got his team back into their match against Saurashtra with an unbeaten century•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Two fast bowlers set up what could be a potentially exciting final day between Delhi and Railways at the Roshanara Club. The first two sessions on the third day belonged to Delhi right-arm seamer Sumit Narwal, who ran through the Railways batting line-up to pick up seven wickets, as Railways were dismissed for 166, leaving Delhi 136 runs to get for victory. New-ball bowler Anureet Singh stole the limelight in the final session as he picked up three crucial top-order wickets, to leave Delhi precariously placed on 48 for 4. With the match between Tamil Nadu and Mumbai heading for a draw, a win for Delhi will get them closer to Mumbai at the top of the table and also build a gap between them and Tamil Nadu, who are in third poistion.Railways second innings began disastrously as Narwal struck to dismiss openers Faiz Fazal and first-innings centurion Shreyas Khanolkar for ducks. He then picked up the wickets of Rakesh Mishra and Harshad Rawle in an incisive seven-over spell as Railways looked in deep trouble at 34 for 4. But Sanjay Bangar and Mahesh Rawat stemmed the rot adding 90 runs for the fifth wicket. The partnership was looking threatening for Delhi, until Narwal had Rawat caught behind soon after he reached his half-century. He followed this up with the crucial wicket of Bangar – who was dropped thrice in the slips – to leave Rajasthan at 133 for 6 and Delhi back in control. Rajasthan lost their last four wickets for 33 runs, Narwal finishing with match figures of 9 for 101.Delhi captain Shikhar Dhawan was the first to fall, for 14, after he miscued a pull shot off Anureet Singh. Aditya Jain was the next to go, trapped plumb in front by JP Yadav. Mayank Tehlan fished at an away-going delivery from Anureet to give Railways captain Murli Kartik a simple catch in the slips. Anureet struck again towards the end of the day’s play to pick up the crucial wicket of Unmukt Chand, who had defied the Railways bowlers in the first innings with a century. With the ball doing a fair bit, the pressure will be on Delhi’s middle and lower order on the final day.Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary led from the front as he hit an unbeaten 116 to guide his team to 295 for 5 at the end of the third day’s play against Saurashtra in Rajkot.Resuming the day on 33 for 1, overnight batsman Shreevats Goswami and Dibyendu Chakravarty looked solid as they carried Bengal past 100. The partnership was finally broken when Shitanshu Kotak dismissed Goswami just one short of his half-century. That brought Tiwary to the crease and he and Chakravarty dashed any hope that Saurashtra might have had of picking up another quick wicket. The duo added 127 runs for the third wicket with both batsmen finding the boundary with ease.Rajasthan had some relief when Chakravarty was out for 80, edging a delivery from Saurya Sanandiya to the wicketkeeper. Sanandiya then struck in his next over to removed Anustup Majumdar. But Tiwary held one end firm, as he and No. 6 Writam Porel put on 44 runs before Sanandiya picked up his third wicket of the day, getting Porel caught behind. Tiwary was joined by Laxmi Ratan Shukla and the duo held firm till stumps. Bengal still trail Saurashtra by 128 runs and will be looking towards Tiwary and Shukla to gain the crucial first-innings lead on the final day.The game between Tamil Nadu and Mumbai in Chennai was interestingly poised as Tamil Nadu reached 149 for 4 at the end of the third day, still trailing Mumbai’s first-innings total by 89 runs.Tamil Nadu did well to restrict Mumbai to 238 all out, after the visitors ended the second day on 180 for 4. Lakshmipathy Balaji struck early to pick up the crucial wicket of Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer, who could only add one run to his overnight score of 66. None of the remaining Mumbai batsmen could get going as Balaji and offspinner Suresh Kumar ran through the lower-order to share four wickets apiece, as Mumbai lost their last five wickets for 56 runs.Tamil Nadu started steadily before Iqbal Abdulla removed openers Srikkanth Anirudha and Abhinav Mukund. S Badrinath and Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik steadied the innings as they carried their team past 100, before Karthik was dismissed. Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh then swung the momentum in Mumbai’s favour, picking up the crucial wicket of the in-form Badrinath soon after the batsman reached a half-century. K Vasudevadas and R Sathish survived close to 10 overs, adding 32 runs and Tamil Nadu’s hopes of picking up the first innings lead rests on this pair.Gujarat ended the third day in control against Assam in Guwahati. The visitors posted a commanding first innings total of 387 all out, propelled by Sunny Patel’s century. Patel made 108 as the Assam bowlers struggled to make inroads in the Gujarat batting line-up. Assam ended the day struggling on 108 for 3, and look in grave danger of conceding the first-innings lead and points to Gujarat.

Group B

Karnataka finished the third day in a commanding position against Baroda at the Gangothri Glades Cricket Ground in Mysore. The hosts are 390 runs ahead with six wickets in hand and have a chance to declare and push for a win on Saturday. A win would make their place in the semi-final almost certain, while a loss for Baroda will mean they will still be one point behind Uttar Pradesh, with both teams having played five games. Karnataka, though, didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get some quick runs and put pressure on Baroda on Friday. They scored at 2.9 runs an over and finished the day at 302 for 4. Allrounder Stuart Binny, who scored a century in Karnataka’s last match, scored 60, while Amit Verma and Ganesh Satish also got half-centuries.Sachin Rana’s century helped Haryana avoid the follow-on, but Punjab ended day three still in command in Rohtak. Haryana ended the second day more than 100 runs adrift of the follow-on target with just three wickets in hand but Rana defied the Punjab bowlers on the third day. He added a crucial 83 runs with Dhruv Singh, who made 30, before he was dismissed for 102. Dhruv and Sanjay Budhwar then helped Haryana sneak past the follow-on target before Haryana were dismissed for 270.Punjab’s second innings started badly when they lost Inder Singh and Karan Goel cheaply, but Mandeep Singh made 73 and Uday Kaul scored 31, and carried Punjab to 144 for 3 at stumps, with an overall lead of 289.Rain continued to interrupt the match between Orissa and Himachal Pradesh at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, but the 27.4 overs that were played on the third day was enough for the hosts to bowl out Himachal for 163. Starting the day at 85 for 6, Himachal captain Paras Dogra and seamer Rishi Dhawan continued their overnight partnership and extended it to 72 runs. Dogra got his half-century, but Himachal lost their last four wickets for 13 runs as seamer Basanth Mohanty completed his four-wicket haul.

Round-up of the third day of the sixth round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2010On a day when he was once again ignored by the Pakistan selectors, Shoaib Malik served a reminder of his skills with a match-winning five-wicket haul for Pakistan International Airlines as Multan slumped to a nine-wicket defeat at the Gymkhana Ground in Okara. Resuming their second innings at a nervy 27 for 3, Multan collapsed in a heap against Malik who picked up 5 for 14 in 6.5 overs. Ahmed Raza’s 20 was the highest score as they surrendered for 72. PIA lost only one wicket as they knocked off the 35 runs required for victory.Water and Power Development Authority and Rawalpindi were neck and neck at the end of the third day’s play at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Chasing 248 for victory, WAPDA had progressed to a dodgy 106 for 4, leaving both sides in the hunt going into the final day. Resuming their second innings at 77 for 4, the hosts quickly fell behind the eight ball with seamer Umaid Asif rattling the lower order with his second first-class five-for. Rawalpindi found their saviour in No. 8 Muzammil Nizam who defied WAPDA with an unbeaten 51. His tenth-wicket partnership of 61 with Rizwan Akbar could eventually prove to be the difference between the sides.Akbar-ur-Rehman’s second first-class ton steered Karachi Blues’ quest to avert an innings defeat against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited at the National Stadium in Karachi, but the visitors remained favourites going into the final day. Despite Akbar’s unbeaten 145, Karachi Blues still trail by 58 runs with only four second-innings wickets in hand. Resuming at 54 for 0, they were quickly pegged back by the quick loss of the top three batsmen before Akbar settled in. He struck 20 fours in his effort, and steadied the ship along with captain Saeed Bin Nasir who made 66. The innings stuttered again after their 174-run stand, with ZTBL prising out three more wickets. They will look to complete the formalities on the final day, but Akbar’s presence won’t make their effort any easier.Faisalabad‘s Mohammad Salman hit a counterattacking century that arrested a major top-order collapse and set up an exciting finish to their match against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at the Iqbal Stadium. Having conceded a 41-run first-innings lead, Faisalabad slumped to 32 for 5 and later 98 for 7, before Salman resurrected the innings. He found a willing ally in Rauf Nazir, and their unbroken 94-run stand will keep SNGPL worried. Earlier Khurram Shehzad added 34 vital unbeaten runs to his overnight 26, pushing SNGPL to a handy lead.A sparkling 110-run stand between the overnight pair of Aftab Alam and Fahad Masood set up Habib Bank Limited for victory against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground. Aftab remained unbeaten after completing his fifth first-class ton while No. 10 Fahad Masood slammed 65 off 70 balls. HBL ended 300 runs ahead in the first innings and Islamabad finished the day still 104 behind with six wickets remaining. Half-centuries from Umair Mir and Zeeshan Mushtaq were the highlights of their second innings but only a big effort can avert a reversal on the final day.Sialkot dawdled along at a questionable pace, consuming 31.4 overs to add 52 runs, but could not get the first-innings lead against National Bank of Pakistan at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. In-form seamer Mohammad Talha eventually broke their resistance, finishing with a six-wicket haul, giving his side a 61-run advantage, which they bolstered by moving to 149 for 1 by stumps. Opener Nasir Jamshed led their progress with an unbeaten 65 and will look to step on the gas if they seek to declare and push for a win on the final day.

Cricket Kenya chief executive Tom Sears has told ESPNcricinfo that plans are progressing to introduce a new national tournament in the country

Martin Williamson10-Jan-2011Cricket Kenya chief executive Tom Sears has told ESPNcricinfo that plans are progressing to introduce a new national tournament in the country with the aim of improving the domestic structure and helping bridge the current gulf between the local and international game.At present, the Nairobi Provincial Cricket League is the country’s main competition, but standards are widely regarded as being poor and not conducive to bringing on young players. An attempt by CK to start a provincial event in 2009 failed for a variety of reasons, but Sears believes now is the time to try again.”That was a senior men’s competition, this is a junior competition and is different,” he explained. “This proposal will be put forward to the board and discussed at our next meeting.”We are looking at basing it around a club structure primarily in Nairobi. The plan is to have eight teams in two pools of four. Six would be Nairobi-based clubs and we would probably invite the top six teams from the Nairobi league and a combination side from the Rift and a combination side from the Coast … but this is just a proposal at the moment and has yet to be ratified. If it is, we would put the Coast and the Rift in opposite pools to limit the amount of travelling and the top two in each pool would go through in semi-finals and a final.”It’ll create an opportunity for our national players, best club players, and also we have a good clutch of Under-19s and Under-17s and it will give them the chance to play in good, hard cricket because the standard of league cricket here is just not good enough at the moment.”Sears wants this to start in 2010, and unlike other attempts, this will spread right down through the age groups and into the vital area of schools cricket.”It’s about development all the way up, particularly at schools level. At the moment you can have a 12 year-old kid in Nairobi playing a completely different format of the game to a 12 year-old in Nakuru, Mombasa or anywhere else. So what we are trying to do is standardise the format of cricket we are playing at various age groups and have a regional competition that feeds into regional teams that compete in a national competition. This will create opportunities for kids to play locally and the best of those will be creamed off into regional teams at all the age groups up until 17.”And then four regions, which will possibly be a Coast, Rift and two Nairobi sides who will compete in a national competition. We are making sure the kids can play and then we are looking at the best of those kids with a view to selecting those national sides. And once we have selected those national sides, making sure they are playing meaningful fixtures.”Funding remains a major obstacle, but Sears says CK is “in discussions with broadcasters who have verbally committed to televising some of it” as well as speaking to a variety of commercial partners.”We’ve got the ICCC, who provide the majority of our funding, onside and they are supportive of what we are trying to implement. If the ICC stipulate that this is a kind of structure they want to have in place, it adds a lot of weight to it. If we can’t do all of it, certainly the senior men’s league and some more structured junior competitions and that is what we have budgeted for.”Another issue historically has been the reluctance of clubs to agree to anything which dilutes their stranglehold on domestic cricket. “The provinces have their own leagues and place a lot of importance on them and that is fair enough,” Sears said. “But any board member who sits on the board of a governing body has to look at the good of the game nationally as opposed to their own locality. I am sure there will be some interesting discussions but we are looking to implement something from the middle of the year onwards.”