Glamorgan have announced an unchanged team for their secondTwenty20 match against the Somerset Sabres at Sophia Gardens,Cardiff on 18th June, starting at 5.30pm:
RDB Croft *IJ ThomasMJ PowellMP MaynardDL HempA DaleMA Wallace +MS KasprowiczSD ThomasDS HarrisonDA Cosker
There will be live ball-by-ball commentary of the game available via the BBC RadioWales website. To listen in click on the link at the top of theGlamorgan homepage.
The West Indies must seek maximum points in the preliminaries to win the World Cup. This, says their coach Roger Harper, could be the difference between success and defeat.Noting that teams will carry forward points won in the preliminaries against other teams also advancing to the Super Six stage of competition, he stressed it was crucial therefore to treat each match with utmost seriousness – even if the West Indies earn a berth to the next phase with four early victories."It’s very important to win every match. I think victories in the preliminary round against teams that go through can help you to secure a place in the semifinals and just make it a touch easier," noted Harper, speaking from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the West Indies face New Zealand today.The Caribbean team have four points from beating South Africa on Sunday and another win would put them in good stead as the Kiwis have already lost to Sri Lanka. These four sides are expected to battle for the three qualifying spots in Group B.Should the West Indies advance, and triumph against the other teams in their pool who also qualify, they would begin the Super Sixes with eight points."It (the points system) ensures that you take every game seriously and you try to see if you can win as many games as possible. They all count," declared Harper.Despite New Zealand’s dismal performance versus Sri Lanka, the coach warned that the West Indies could not afford complacency."Everyone knows New Zealand is a very competitive team; one that really works hard and plays well as a unit."We are not reading anything into that performance against Sri Lanka.`They came back very well towards the end of that game and we expect them to play tough cricket and we have to ensure we are ready," he said."We see this as a big opportunity for us to press even further ahead and try and cement a place in the Super Six stage."Harper described his players as being "in very good spirits" following their magnificent, three-run upset of the hosts.Reflecting on the positives of that huge team effort, he praised the batsmen, who withstood a poor start to post 278 for five in 50 overs."I thought that, from a batting perspective, our patience was really our strength."South Africa bowled very well in the first 20 overs of that game. We lost two early wickets but we stayed calm, showed tremendous composure and our patience saw us through in the end."We managed to put together a big partnership with Brian (Lara) and Shiv (Chanderpaul) and then capitalise on it," he said.Harper is optimistic that the West Indies can give an even better showing today."We are fully aware of what needs to be done. When we look at our game-plan for New Zealand we will discuss some of the errors we made against South Africa and we know we have to tighten up," he said.Having suffered through a stage where the team was searching for the right mix of batsmen, Harper acknowledged it was "comforting" to have so many of the top order firing on all cylinders now.
Shane Warne is set to announce his retirement from one-day cricket thisafternoon.Warne is expected to make the announcement when he arrives in Sydney aspart of the Australian team for tomorrow’s first final of the tri seriesagainst England at the SCG.Warne will play in the cricket World Cup in southern Africa startingnext month and then quit the one-day arena.Warne is on the comeback trail after dislocating his shoulder last monthbut has said recently that would give up one-day cricket in order tofurther his Test career.The 32-year-old has taken 288 wickets from 191 one-day internationals.
Sachin Tendulkar to serve a suspended sentence? Can it be true? Sachin Tendulkar and ball tampering? Can the two go together? Such are the disbelieving reactions from Indian cricket fans who have, for years, accepted the 28-year-old as the epitome of fair play on the field and impeccable behaviour off it. Predictably enough, the action taken against six Indian players, including Tendulkar, by match referee Mike Denness has stirred a hornets’ nest in this country. And not without good reason.Tendulkar attended a hearing with Denness following allegations of ball tampering during the ongoing second Test between South Africa and India in Port Elizabeth. Four other players – Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Shiv Sunder Das and Deep Dasgupta – also appeared before Denness on charges of showing dissent and excessive appealing, while captain Sourav Ganguly was charged with failing to control his players. Tendulkar was summoned after television broadcasts of the third day’s play showed him allegedly using his fingernails to tamper with the seam of the ball. Denness requested videotaped copies of the incident from television producers. Significantly, the matter was not reported by the umpires.Cleaning dirt from the ball and tampering with it are two very different things. Television footage – including a couple of close-ups - would seem to indicate that Tendulkar is cleaning the seam of the ball. As is well known, dirt is bound to accumulate on the ball, especially in the damp weather conditions prevalent during the Port Elizabeth Test. It is common practice, then, for fielders and bowlers to remove the dirt with the nails. Of course, they also have the habit of shining one side of the ball in an attempt to swing it by making it dirt-free. There is certainly nothing in the television images to indicate that Tendulkar is trying to lift the seam or tamper with it, which of course is against the law. There was no bottle-cap or any of the sharp instruments that were alleged to have been used by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis on the Pakistan tour of England in 1992.In 1994 came the infamous incident involving England captain Michael Atherton, who attempted to rub dirt taken from his pocket on to the ball. Match Referee Peter Burge pulled up Atherton, who was fined 2000 pounds by England’s chairman of selectors. Atherton weathered the subsequent media storm, resisting immense pressure to resign. Interestingly, even on that occasion, the umpires had not reported any malpractice.”After having played international cricket for 12 years, I do know what is right and what is wrong,” said Tendulkar. That is a strong argument in his favour; another is his reputation. So well has he carried himself on the field that he has never even been reprimanded. The available evidence too is favourable to Tendulkar. The sooner justice prevails, the better.This unhappy episode, however, brings us to the larger perspective of world cricket and the following all-important question. If umpires and match referees can pull up players, who can pull up the umpires and match referees?The increasingly boorish behaviour of players led to the International Cricket Council appointing match referees and giving greater powers to umpires. But then again, the officials too can be guilty of mistakes or poor and biased judgement. What happens then? Should they be allowed to get away scot-free? Should not the ICC take action against such incompetent officials? After all, their decisions, sometimes even blatantly wrong, can affect a player’s future and reputation. Have the officials got the right to tinker so casually with a player’s career?Of late, these queries have become more vociferous. Television replays have shown the umpires in poor light, and some of the penalties announced by match referees have been so inconsistent that they have been difficult to digest. One increasingly comes to the conclusion that there are ulterior motives behind such decisions. It is very difficult to accept some of the judgments made by match referees like Cammie Smith and Mike Denness, and Monday’s ruling by the latter is one such case.How are ICC match referees selected? What are their qualifications and credentials? Do they receive a proper brief regarding the job? The last question is asked because there is so much inconsistency in their approach. There is no penalty for one particular player, but there is a severe penalty for another player who is similarly errant. Where is the justice, one may well ask. Is there no single yardstick? The ICC should tackle this issue head-on, sooner rather than later, before it becomes a problem that gets outrageously out of hand.
With the announcement of the final squad of 15 who will represent South Africa at the 2003 ICC World Cup, captain Shaun Pollock will carry the hopes of the hosting nation on his shoulders when the opening game against West Indies starts at Newlands on 9 February.Pollock, together with vice-captain Mark Boucher, will hope to repeat the winning form shown by their rugby counterparts during the 1996 Rugby World Cup in holding the trophy aloft in their own backyard after the final at the Wanderers on 23 March.Pollock believes that with the fanatical local support, the tournament taking place on home soil and the players commitment to giving 150 percent, that South Africa will be rejoicing come the end of the tournament.Pollock has been given a squad mixed with experience and youth. Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Boucher, Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald and Makhaya Ntini are all capable of winning performances, while the youth of Robin Peterson, Monde Zondeki and Boeta Dippenaar will be needed for the team to win all 11 matches to be victorious.A lot will depend on Lance Klusener’s ability to emulate his 1999 World Cup form. Klusener who has struggled to reach the same level of consistency that he showed in England will be under tremendous pressure to repeat his match winning ability.In the bowling department, the experience of Donald, the vast improvement made by Ntini and the world-class performances from Pollock and Kallis will stand the hosts in good stead. Added to that the proven ability of Boje, Peterson and Klusener then South Africa has a bowling attack second to none in the competition.Charl Langeveldt, who last played for South Africa against Australia in Brisbane during the 2001-02 season, might find that he will be called on to add variation to the attack with his right arm away swingers, while Andrew Hall is a more than capable all rounder able to keep wicket, bowl and bat anywhere in the order.South Africa has always been one of the teams to set the fielding standards in international cricket. Rhodes considered by many to be the greatest close-in fielder will be bolstered by the athleticism of Gibbs, Dippenaar, Peterson, Boje and Hall, assisted by the catching ability of Kallis, Pollock and Boucher.The pressure will be on the team from well before the first match. Never has a hosting nation won the World Cup at home, but if ever the conditions were ripe then this is it.The full squad is:Shaun Pollock – Captain
Mark Boucher – Vice Captain
Nicky Boje
Boeta Dippenaar
Allan Donald
Herschelle Gibbs
Andrew Hall
Jacques Kallis
Gary Kirsten
Lance Klusener
Charl Langeveldt
Makhaya Ntini
Robin Peterson
Jonty Rhodes
Monde Zondeki
Celebrations ran long into the night after BAT Sports clinched the Southern Electric ECB Premier League championship with a 15-run victory over near neighbours Calmore Sports at Loperwood Park.It was BAT’s 11th successive win – their victorious sequence began in early June – and one that ensured they finished 16 points ahead of Havant, last year’s winners, who were runners-up.”It’s a marvellous feeling to win the league,” enthused BAT skipper Dave Banks, desperately dodging a champagne soaking on the clubhouse patio.”What is so impressive about our success is that we lost two of the opening five games – and then put together 11 wins in a row, seven of them in the all-day cricket, where it can be much harder to win.”We’ve played some pretty good cricket throughout the side for the past three months and, quite honestly, we’ve so well we’ve not really been pushed that hard.”BAT, needing four points at the start of play to be certain of edging Havant out of the contest, had the title neatly buttoned up by the tea break.Conscious that Havant had rattled up a mammoth 288-3 – they eventually beat Burridge by 138 runs – BAT got the batting bonus points they needed by scoring 222-5 in the afternoon session.They subsequently pegged a gallant Calmore response to 207-8 to complete their 15-run win.BAT’s victory owed much to Richard Kenway (99) and Banks (78) himself – the pair sharing a second-wicket stand of 134 – and some quite unbelievable Calmore fielding howlers.The game might have taken a different course had Australian Glen Motchall not dropped a ‘dolly’ return catch off Damian Shirazi.And Banks not survived two almost equally astonishing dropped catches by Clive Surry and the South Wilts bound Paul Draper.Motchall’s gaff – he allowed a simple fifth-over playground catch to slip through his fingers – was relatively inexpensive, with Shirazi (21) bowled at 60-1.But, by then, BAT had got a start and though Dave Carson (3) was neatly stumped by Stu Bailey trying to charge John Shepherd’s left-arm spin, Calmore looked set for a long afternoon in the sun.Watched by an admiring younger brother Derek, the Hampshire opening batsman, Kenway batted beautifully, punishing anything loose but being equally respectful to the good delivery.He got to 50 as BAT reached 100-2, but then allowed Banks to take centre stage.The BAT skipper rode his luck but struck some glorious shots, burying Shepherd into the foliage overhanging Cooks Lane and thumping Motchall for a crisp straight six.Banks eventually departed at 203-3, leaving Kenway the task of scoring 11 runs off James Hibberd’s final over to bring up a richly deserved century.An exhausted Kenway got to 99, but drove Hibberd’s penultimate ball to extra-cover and was run out at 222-5 by Tom Pegler.”My century was immaterial. I was looking to get 225 on the board and get us another batting point,” confessed the unselfish Kenway.It took Calmore a while before they got any realistic challenge underway – Mark Page (2-43) removing the openersLeft-hander Jez Goode (54) piloted the reply to 104-2, but when Pegler (31) departed at 135-5, it appeared as though the Calmore challnge might peter out.Not so – Motchall, eager to redeem himself, applied the long handle, striking four sixes in a free-scoring 38 which, with the support of Hibberd (32 not out) lifted Calmore’s spirits.But the ultimate challenge of scoring 40 runs off the last four overs and 27 from the final two disappeared when Motchall holed out in the deep.Calmore closed 15 runs adrift at a commendable 207-8 … leaving themselves to rue those dropped catches earlier in the day.Those slips possibly cost Calmore third place in the final table – a position taken by Bashley (Rydal), who won by six wickets at Liphook & Ripsley.Former Ventnor off-spinner Chris Sketchley (4-24) bowled well and Andy Neal (2-30) produced tidy figures as Liphook reached 192-9 – youngster Michael Smyth (51) scoring a well-constructed half-century.But with only one wicket, Matt King missed out on beating BAT’s 38-victim Dan Goldstraw to the Premier League bowling award.Bashley lost four wickets in securing third spot – Neil Thurgood (57) and Richard Knowles (46 not out) producing the key partnership before Neal completed a six-wicket win with an unbeaten 28.Western Australian import Shawn Gillies hit a maiden century for Havant, who ran up a massive 281-3 before dismissing dogged Burridge for 143.Gillies, who hopes to return to Havant next summer, hit an unbeaten 102 after Andy Perry (52) and Richard Hindley had put on 83 for the second wicket.Hindley went on to make 96 – he was caught trying to bring up his century with a straight boundary – and share a third-wicket stand of 138 with Gillies, the Melville man reaching his hundred after a frantic run burst leading up to tea.Havant experienced some difficulty in digging Burridge out – skipper Paul Ancell (38), in particular – but eventually did so for 143 (Phil Loat 3-20) after the ex-champions had used eight bowlers.Bournemouth recovered from an uncertain 31-3 to reach a winning 276-8 against relegated Hungerford at Chapel Gate.When Michael Spence (3-52) hurried Tom Webley, Matt Swarbrick and Martin Miller back to the pavilion in quick succession, Bournemouth were in some disarray.But Northants hopeful Chris Park (46) added a crucial 89 with Julian Cassell (77) before Geoff Warrington (54) and Peter Waite (25) hit out to send the Bournemouth total rocketing to 276-8.Hungerford, who expect some ex-players to return for next year’s 50-over tussles in Premier Division 2, lurched to 8-2 and later 60-5 against Joe Wilson (3-22) and David Kidner (2-24).Spence (37) gave their reply some substance before the left-arm spin of Webley (3-43) closed the Hungerford innings at 128.South Wilts beat Andover by five wickets after pegging the North Hampshire side to 175-9.
Defending champions Pakistan Customs face KRL in a crucialeighth round encounter of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-INational Cricket Championship from Friday at Niaz Stadium inHyderabad.After two successive draws against PWD and PIA on the docilestrip at UBL Sports Complex despite forcing both theirrivals to follow-on, Customs must win against KRL withmaximum points to keep alive their slim hopes of retainingthe title.National Bank, six points clear of second-placed Customs,meanwhile, are praying for better weather in Sheikhupura fortheir clash against a resurgent WAPDA side. Last season’srunners-up had to settle for just three points against HabibBank in a match which saw more than 175 overs being lost tobad light.WAPDA, in third spot, scored a miraculous six-run victoryover winless Sui Gas in the previous round to put themselvesin contention for first major honours.Even if the Sheikhupura tie fails to produce an outrightresult in National Bank’s favour, the bankers have probablythe easiest final round fixture – against minnows Sui Gas inFaisalabad. – that could see them become champions.ADBP, in fourth spot, meet PIA on a result-oriented pitch atNational Stadium. This could be an interesting tusslebetween two evenly-matched sides on paper. Team winning thetoss will definitely opt to field first.ADBP go into this encounter with psychological advantage ofa two-day win over PWD based on young opener Inam-ul-Haq’sflawless maiden first-class century.PIA, on the other hand, were fortunate to escape defeatagainst an injury-hit Customs bowling attack. However, theform of young Faisal Iqbal was a huge plus point for theformer champions.Seven-time champions Habib Bank have an ideal opportunity tomove up the ladder against the luckless Sui Gas, who havelost all but one of their seven fixtures so far. They meetat Pindi Cricket Stadium.The draw is the most likely result in the Allied Bank-PWDtie at UBL Sports Complex.Eighth round schedule (Nov 2-5):Allied Bank v PWD at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Umpires:Afzaal Ahmed and Masroor Ali. Match referee: Sajid Abbasi).PIA v ADBP at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Mian Aslamand Sadiq Mohammad. Match referee: Ghafoor Butt).Pakistan Customs v KRL at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad (Umpires:Shakeel Khan and Feroz Butt. Match referee: Naeem Ahmed).National Bank v WAPDA at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Z.I.Pasha and Iqbal Butt. Match referee: Ehteshamuddin).Habib Bank v Sui Gas at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi(Umpires: Iftikhar Malik and Aleem Dar. Match referee:Musaddeq Rasool).
In a two day pre season friendly match against Sussex at Hove, Worcestershire’s batsmen showed good form in reaching 342 for 6 off 85 overs. On a cold day interrupted by one shower, all the frontline batsmen reached double figures on a good batting track.Captain Ben Smith top scored with 76 off 89 balls, closely followed by Vikram Solanki with 74 off 93 balls. Other scorers were Stephen Peters with 55, David Leatherdale with 54n/o, Anuarg Singh with 31, Graeme Hick with 17 and Kadeer Ali with 15.The Sussex frontline bowlers all struggled except for Robin Martin-Jenkins who took 3 for 69 off 15 overs. Kirtley, Davis and Innes each took a wicket.The County’s bowlers will take centre stage today including new overseas signing Nantie Hayward together with Mark Harrity and Chris Liptrot. Hayward arrived in the Country on Tuesday morning for his first season in County Cricket.Worcestershire’s photocall will take place at New Road this Friday at 9-30am.The inter-squad match scheduled for Saturday at New Road has been cancelled. The inter squad match scheduled for Wednesday 16th April at Ombersley CC will go ahead.
Tickets for the VB Series One Day Internationals matches at the Gabba will go on sale tomorrow.The One Day International weekend in January is one of Queensland’s big ticket sporting events, with sell-out crowds at the past two day/night matches involving Australia at the Gabba.The world champion Australian team will meet South Africa on Sunday January 20, with New Zealand taking on South Africa in the other day/night VB Series match on Saturday January 19.Australia ‘A’ will also be in action again, playing New Zealand in a day/night tour match on January 8 at the Gabba.Ticket holders for all international matches at the Gabba this season will be eligible for free public transport to and from the venue on match days this season as part of an agreement between Queensland Cricket and CityTrans.Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster7 outlets in Queensland from 9am tomorrow, or by calling the Ticketmaster7 sportscharge line on 13 61 22. Tickets may also be purchased through Ticketmaster7’s website on www.ticketmaster.com.au.The first 1500 tickets purchased online through Ticketmaster7 will also attract a bonus of a free double pass to the XXXX Queensland Bulls opening ING Cup match against the Western Warriors at the Gabba on October 21. This offer is only available for online purchases.
Groundstaff at Sabina Park in Jamaica and Kensington Oval in Barbados have won the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) prizes for preparing the best pitch and grounds in the Cable & Wireless Test and One-Day International series respectively.For their outstanding efforts in preparing the best pitch and grounds for the Test series between the West Indies and South Africa, the groundstaff at Sabina Park will receive US$10,000 while their Kensington Oval counterparts will receive US$5,000 as the One-Day International prize.In the Test series, Sabina Park was adjudged as having the best pitch and grounds with 76 points. Kensington Oval was second (73 points); the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG), third (71); Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, fourth (64) and Bourda in Guyana, fifth (60).Kensington Oval topped the One-Day International pitches and grounds with 97 points while the Saturday pitch and grounds at Queen’s Park in Grenada took second place with 92 points. Third was the ARG and Queen’s Park in Grenada (Sunday) on 87 points, fifth was Sabina Park on 79 points, sixth was Queen’s Park Oval on 73 points and seventh was Arnos Vale in St Vincent on 66 points.”It was an extremely keen competition throughout the series. There was a lot of enthusiasm by groundstaff and we are pleased with the overall response from groundstaff at all the venues.”We wish to congratulate all those persons who worked hard to producehigh-standard conditions at Sabina Park and Kensington Oval,” said theWICB’s Chief Executive Officer, Gregory Shillingford.Both West Indies captain, Carl Hooper, and South African captain, ShaunPollock, as well as the Match Referee (Mike Denness in the Test series and John Reid in the One-Day International series) were asked to judge this competition – a new incentive by the WICB to encourage groundstaff to produce their best for the 2001 home series.Each venue was judged in the following categories: pitch bounce, pitchcompetitiveness, pitch appearance, pitch management, outfield evenness,outfield appearance and outfield management.