All posts by csb10.top

Mark Boucher, the South Africa wicketkeeper, has recovered from a shoulder injury and is set to continue his bid to return to the national limited-overs sides. Boucher is presently part of only the Test team, while AB de Villiers is keeping wicket in the one-day and Twenty20 formats.Boucher recently returned from a six-week injury layoff and took four catches and effected a stumping for the Warriors during their 128-run defeat to the Knights in Port Elizabeth. He is desperate to regain his place in the ODI squad after he was dropped for the five-match series in the West Indies in May. He was not selected for the ongoing series against Pakistan in the UAE either.”For as long as I can go, and as long as I can keep learning and keep becoming a better cricketer, I will keep going,” Boucher said.South Africa’s coach Corrie van Zyl had said Boucher needed to work on his limited-overs game and, although he did not mention anything specific, it was widely believed that Boucher was dropped because of his batting. He averaged 21.00 in his last 10 ODIs and his lower-order match-winning skills were thought to have waned.The door is still open for Boucher, though, as South Africa build towards the 2011 World Cup. “We have not finalised the World Cup squad yet, therefore all South African first-class cricketers are eligible and will be considered, taking into account form and results of domestic cricket,” Andrew Hudson, the convenor of selectors, told ESPNcricinfo.Boucher will join the Test team in the UAE for the first Test against Pakistan, which begins on November 12 at the Dubai International Stadium. Before that, he will have one more MTN40 match for the Warriors against the Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg. The Warriors have played two matches in the competition so far, winning their first game against the Titans by two wickets before their loss to the Knights.

In Mohali, the width of a stump – the one Steven Smith had a shy at and missed – separated Australia from a famous victory. In Bangalore, in front of a passionate crowd that was worth at least half a man to the home side, there was no Heartbreak Hotel room to check into. This was a comprehensive defeat, the manner of it all the more galling after Australia had matched India for three days and more.”It’s probably a little bit harsh, isn’t it?” said Ricky Ponting, when asked about the 2-0 scoreline. “We played very well for the majority of the first Test, and pretty well for the majority of this one. It just goes to show that unless you play five good days of Test cricket – and that’s five, not four or four-and-a-half – you don’t win games.”The first Test was a great example of that. Even this Test here … our inability to break the M Vijay-Sachin Tendulkar partnership on day three was crucial to the outcome of this game. There was also our inability to bat for three sessions in the second innings of a Test match. We needed to bat for one hour longer to put India under some pressure. Then it would have been a really good game of cricket.”Ponting, who has now lost two series as captain in both India and England, fought valiantly for the series-levelling win on the fourth evening, but a classy innings of 72 was cut short when Zaheer Khan once again exhibited his mastery of reverse-swing. “I was really disappointed and down last night to get out when I did,” said Ponting. “I probably played as well yesterday as I ever have in Indian conditions. I did it for three quarters of the day but didn’t get across the line. When you get those starts, you have to capitalise.”Little went right for him when India batted. Virender Sehwag’s poor run in the fourth innings of matches continued, but India found a new hero in Cheteshwar Pujara, who stroked the ball with tremendous fluency and showed great poise on his way to 72 on debut.”I was hoping we’d take some early wickets and I was hoping we’d get Sehwag out early, which we did,” said Ponting. “We knew Sachin was going to be a big wicket for us. I guess the Pujara-Vijay partnership put us a bit behind the eight-ball. They scored at nearly a run a ball and had the momentum going their way. That’s what I spoke to the boys about at lunch. It was about stemming the momentum and slowing the scoreboard down. We got one wicket, but we weren’t good enough to maintain it through the course of the day.”He admitted that Australia were a little surprised to see Pujara stride out in the No. 3 position that Dravid has occupied for so long. “I’m not sure what the reasoning was behind it,” he said. “I’m sure you’ll hear from MS [Dhoni] later on. I imagine it was something to do with him being fresh and not doing much batting in the first innings. I also had a look at Dravid’s record in Bangalore, and it’s not great. Maybe they were trying to be pro-active and send someone out that was willing to keep the scoreboard ticking over at a faster rate, rather than someone who was under a little bit of pressure.”Having nearly made a hash of a similar run-chase in Mohali, India went about things rather differently on this fifth-day pitch, with Pujara’s belligerence the best example of a refusal to get even slightly bogged down. “They seemed to have a bit more intent,” said Ponting. “We were able to get four wickets late that night [in Mohali]. It was a tough little period for them to bat.”That’s the sort of start we needed to have today. It seemed their approach was a bit different. Even Pujara, playing the way he did, showed great intent. He showed he was willing to take a few risks to try and get the momentum going India’s way, and it paid off for him today.”And while there was a lot of criticism of his own tactics, especially the fields set when Nathan Hauritz came on, Ponting admitted that any dreams of parity pretty much disappeared with his frontline spinner conceding 76 in just 12 overs. “Nathan’s disappointed with the way he’s bowled this game,” he said. “Saying that, I thought even our guys yesterday handled the Indian spinners well. It was the reverse-swinging ball late in the day that got them two wickets. There’s no doubt that we have some work to do, on how we bat against reverse-swing bowling and also how we deliver it when we’ve got the ball. Zaheer and Sreesanth, again today, have done that a lot better than us this series.”India now haven’t lost a Test series since Sri Lanka in 2008, but Ponting suggested that any ambitions of replicating the sort of dominance that West Indies and Australia enjoyed for so long would depend entirely on how well they dealt with the changing of the guard. “What I know about the Indian team at the moment is that all their batsmen are very experienced, bar Suresh Raina. When VVS Laxman comes back in, one of Vijay or Pujara’s going to have to go back out.”The greatest challenge they’ll have is how they maintain the standards they’ve set over the last couple of years when some of those guys start to move on. That’s been the biggest challenge for Australian cricket over the last three or four years. When those very experienced and very good players move on, how long does it take for the next crop of young guys to stand up and start playing the way those players did in winning games for their country? It’ll be interesting to see how India cope with that.”

India are not going to wait for the Board President’s XI game before selecting the squad for the first Test of the two-match series against Australia, beginning on October 1 in Mohali. The selectors will meet on Monday, 11 days before the first Test, and five days before the BP XI game.The tour game against the Australians features Sreesanth and Cheteshwar Pujara, who would like to press claims for their selection, and Gautam Gambhir, who will be playing his first first-class game since a knee injury ended his Sri Lanka tour after the first Test, in July. The squad also includes Abhimanyu Mithun, who impressed the team management in Sri Lanka in the absence of Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth. Legspinner Piyush Chawla, too, would believe he is not too far from being in the frame, after Amit Mishra’s dismal show in Sri Lanka. However, anything these players do in this game is going to influence selection only for the second Test.The Test squad itself shouldn’t pose too many problems. Yuvraj Singh, who lost his No. 6 slot to Suresh Raina during the Sri Lanka tour, should keep his place in the squad. Before his illness made way for Raina in the second Test, Yuvraj had done decently with a hundred in the tour game and a fifty in the first Test. M Vjay should be the other back-up batsman apart from the main six.Zaheer Khan, fit now, should replace Munaf Patel from the squad that travelled to Sri Lanka. Harbhajan Singh should come back too after missing the third Test in Sri Lanka with fitness issues. If the selectors feel the need for a back-up wicketkeeper, Wriddhiman Saha, who was part of the touring party to Sri Lanka, should retain his place.Likely India squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun and Amit Mishra

Ireland batsman Paul Stirling is hopeful that his side can defend their Intercontinental Cup title ahead of the game against Canada in Toronto starting on August 31 and believes success in their final two games of the tournament would give Ireland an important boost ahead of the World Cup next year.”Winning the ICC Intercontinental Cup again would definitely increase the confidence even more. It’s going to be tricky to get there but we are going to give it our best shot and hopefully we can go and win,” said Stirling. “It is something I definitely want to do as I missed out on the last one and would love to be able to go and win it in Dubai.”Scotland won the first Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08. Ireland are currently fifth on the competition’s points table, 45 points behind frontrunners Afghanistan, but could still make the final in Dubai if they take maximum points from their final two games against Canada and Zimbabwe XI.”It is a big match and hopefully we will go out there and perform and get the points that we need,” added Stirling. “We go out in every game and play the same way, whether that extra pressure is on or not. We don’t put that pressure on ourselves and we know if we go and perform on each of the four days to the best of our abilities then we will win.”We have a very strong squad and very strong depth in our squad. We have players who can step up and perform at first-class level. If rain hadn’t come and scuppered our chances in a couple of the games then we would have had a better chance of qualifying and it would have been an easier route to the final.”Ireland will be missing Alex Cusack through injury, while William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin and Gary Wilson are all on county duty in England. However, the team will be led by the experienced Trent Johnston, a veteran of 146 games for Ireland, and is bolstered by the return of Andre Botha, who has recovered from a stress fracture, and Phil Eaglestone, who is back to fitness following a side strain.Beaten finalists in 2004 and 2007, it is a different story for Canada this time round as they are languishing at the bottom of the table after four defeats and have little other than pride to play for. The return of captain and leading batsman Ashish Bagai is still good news for them, however, as is middle-order batsman Zubin Surkari’s recovery from a hamstring injury.Although Canada stands no chance of making the final for a third time, opening bowler Umar Bhatti explained that there is still plenty to be gained from playing first-class cricket and is determined that his side returns to winning ways after a disappointing World Cricket League Division One campaign in July which included just two victories against a lacklustre Kenyan side.”I love playing in the Intercontinental Cup as I love playing four-day games,” said Bhatti. “It has certainly made me a stronger player. If you are a bowler you have to bowl 25 to 30 overs in an innings and if you are a batsman you have to bat for a session. It takes your game to a whole new level in terms of the mental aspect of the game.”It has been a disappointing campaign so far, especially as we have been in the finals in the past. We are determined to win this game. In terms of standings we still want to finish as high as we can so that when we start the next campaign we have something to build on. It is a huge game for us and it’s the same for Ireland. They are trying to make the final so we want to make sure they don’t get there.”Canada squad Ashish Bagai (capt), Rizwan Cheema, Umar Bhatti, Hemnarine Chattergoon, Khurram Chohan, Abzal Dean, Parth Desai, Ruvindu Gunasekara, Jimmy Hansra, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Zubin Surkari, Hamza Tariq
Ireland squad Trent Johnston (capt), Andre Botha, George Dockrell, Phil Eaglestone, Allan Eastwood, Nigel Jones, Rory McCann, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White

Iqbal Mohammad Ali, a leading Pakistan parliamentarian, has appealed to the country’s president and patron PCB, Asif Ali Zardari, to remove chairman of the cricket board Ijaz Butt, who he felt was responsible for the continued deterioration of the national side.” In a scathing two-page letter written to the President, Ali argues that Butt’s administration has seen the team reduced to the status of “minnows.”The last year has been a particularly torrid one for Pakistan, their win in the ICC World Twenty20 last year followed by a disastrous tour of Australia. Several senior players were either fined or banned by the PCB in the aftermath of that tour, though most of the punishments were overturned soon after. Currently, after beating Australia in the Headingley Test in their ongoing tour of England, they capitulated to scores of 80 and 72 in their two Tests against England which they lost comprehensively.”The chairman and his close aides have shoddily let down your confidence in them by making a mockery of management ethics at the board,” wrote Ali, who also heads the national assembly’s standing committee on sports. The standing committees of the upper and lower houses cannot take direct action against any organization, but they can pass on suggestions to the government.”It is therefore recommended that a very dynamic and energetic administrator be made the chairman of the board so that the affairs of cricket in Pakistan are run professionally. (The) incompetence of Mr. Ijaz Butt has already brought enough shame for our country at international level.”Former players like Aamer Sohail, Abdul Qadir and Iqbal Qasim held senior positions in the PCB but resigned and Ali blamed Butt for their departure. He said they quit “due to egocentric and autocratic attitude of Mr. Ijaz Butt.”The board has also seen through five different Test captains in just over a year – Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Salman Butt – and Ali said Butt and the management were responsible for such a “comedy of errors.”Ali also alleged that the present team manager Yawar Saeed, whom he said was close to Butt, was supporting certain “groups of players in the team which is destroying the unity.” However, he didn’t elaborate on the players involved.Butt took over as chairman from Nasim Ashraf in October 2008.

The Bombay High Court has reserved its judgement on the petition filed by suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi against the BCCI until Thursday, a day before Modi is supposed to appear before the board’s disciplinary committee. Modi had asked the court to quash the BCCI’s proceedings against him.The court heard arguments from both sides today. According to the , Modi’s lawyer Virag Tulzhapurkar argued that his client cannot expect an “impartial and honest” decision from the disciplinary committee. “[The] decision of this committee is a foregone conclusion,” Tulzhapurkar said.Modi wants the court to appoint a mutually acceptable and independent person, or panel, to judge his case. He has already demanded the removal of interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin from the committee, claiming Amin holds a grudge against him for revealing that he was part of a failed bid for one of the two new IPL franchises.The other two members of the committee are board vice-presidents Arun Jaitley and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who replaced Manohar. At the hearing, Tulzhapurkar said Jaitley should not be on the panel either because he had voted to ratify the charges against Modi at the board’s special general body meeting on July 3.Modi moved the High Court against the BCCI last week following the board’s vote to ratify the charges against him and refer them to its disciplinary committee.Modi was suspended immediately following the conclusion of IPL 3 and charged with financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England. Modi had repeatedly accused Manohar and Srinivasan of harbouring personal grudges against him, and insisted neither of them should be involved in deciding his case.

ScorecardZander de Bruyn produced a magnificent 95 not out to guide Somerset to asix-wicket win over arch-rivals Gloucestershire in the Friends Provident t20match at Taunton.The Gladiators won the toss and set an imposing total of 199 for 8, withSteve Snell scoring 50 and Hamish Marshall 45. There were three wickets each forBen Phillips and Alfonso Thomas.Somerset looked in trouble until Kieron Pollard (54) joined de Bruyn in acentury stand for the fourth wicket in only seven overs. The West Indian hitfive towering sixes to help turn the match. But no one hit harder than de Bruyn, who faced just 49 balls and smashed five sixes and eight fours to lead his team to victory with seven balls to spare.It was a superb innings by a player more noted for textbook shots thanmurderous hitting and the partnership with Pollard will be long remembered forclean striking of the ball.Vikram Banerjee suffered more than most. The left-arm spinner went for 54 offhis four overs, while Anthony Ireland conceded the same figure off one ballfewer.Earlier, Gloucestershire had batted positively and well from the start of theirinnings and reached 61 for 2 by the end of their six overs of Powerplay.There was a moment of controversy when Thomas dived to claim a caught andbowled offered by Will Porterfield on 18. The opener refused to walk and wasgiven not out, adding six more to his score before being caught behind off MarkTurner.Chris Taylor played well for his 29 and Marshall hit five fours and a six infacing 26 balls. However, the best innings came from Snell, who smacked four sixes and threefours in reaching his half-century off just 25 deliveries. Kadeer Ali added 17 off just seven balls at the end of the innings and Somerset’s bowlers could reflect on an off-night.Their one moment of brilliance in the field came in the last over when PeterTrego dived full length to his left to hold a stunning catch at short third manto dismiss Snell. By then the Gladiators had posted a very challenging total.

The ICC is set to hold its annual conference week in Singapore, which will commence on Sunday with a meeting of the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) and conclude with the inauguration of Sharad Pawar as the seventh ICC president. Pawar will succeed David Morgan who finishes his two-year term next week. The ICC executive board is also set to discuss the nomination of John Howard for the role of vice-president, which has been marred by controversy with a number of boards opposing his candidature.Since his days as Australia’s prime minister, Howard has endured a torrid relationship with Zimbabwe cricket, often being a vocal critic of Robert Mugabe’s regime. South Africa and Zimbabwe initially expressed their opposition to Howard’s nomination, and they were later joined by Sri Lanka, leaving him vulnerable to being disqualified. Howard recently met with ZC chairman Peter Chingoka and managing director Ozias Bvute in a “friendly, constructive and frank” exchange of ideas, following which there are indications that Zimbabwe may change their stand on the issue.”A section of the international media has erroneously created the impression that we have been at the forefront of a motion to block Mr Howard’s nomination. This is not only maliciously incorrect but also ignores the fact that our structures dictate that such a decision can only be taken by the ZC Board which is in fact still to meet and state a position on the matter,” Bvute said.Bvute also indicated that past tensions are unlikely to influence Zimbabwe’s final decision. “We are not vindictive people regardless of how badly we have been portrayed and treated in the past. Our concern has and always will be the welfare of the game. Our final decision and vote will be guided by what is in the best interest of cricket in this country.”Chingoka however, was non-commital on the issue. “I don’t have much to say, we had a friendly discussion, it was very constructive, we were very honest and frank with each other. The matter will be discussed by the ICC, so I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to say any more,” he was quoted in the .Another pressing issue that will be addressed at the CEC meeting is to do with the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the period of 2012-20, in particular the introduction of greater context and content for international cricket. The subject has already been under consideration by a working group consisting David Collier (England and Wales), Nishantha Ranatunga (Sri Lanka), N Srinivasan (India), James Sutherland (Australia) and Dave Richardson (ICC general manager – cricket). An ICC event covering both the Test and ODI formats is likely to be discussed.The ICC executive board will also receive a recommendation from the CEC on the implementation of the decision review system across the board in Test cricket, as well as in the 2011 World Cup. Additionally, the CEC will consider and recommend to the board the eligibility rules and the stand-out period for moving from Associate to Full Member status.The executive board will receive updates on the formulation of the ICC strategy for the period 2011-2015, and the design of mandatory safety and security regulations drawn up by Security Task Force, chaired by Lord Paul Condon, set-up following the Lahore attack last year.The board will also consider Seychelles’ application for Affiliate Membership of ICC. If successful, Seychelles will become the 105th Member of the ICC. Meanwhile, the ICC Associate and Affiliate Members will nominate their ICC executive board director representatives, who serve a two-year term, at their meeting on 28 June 2010.The schedule of meetings is as follows:Chief Executives’ Committee: June 27 and 28
Associate Members: June 28
ICC Executive Board: June 29 and 30
IDI Board: June 30
Annual Conference: July 1
The ICC board meetings will be attended by the the ICC president, vice-president and chief executive, in addition to representatives from the ten Full Members and three Associate Member representatives. The full list of attendees is as follows:David Morgan (ICC president), Sharad Pawar (ICC vice-president), Haroon Lorgat (ICC chief executive), Ijaz Butt (Pakistan), Julian Hunte (West Indies), Peter Chingoka (Zimbabwe), Giles Clarke (England and Wales), Jack Clarke (Australia), Alan Isaac (New Zealand), Mustapha Kemal (Bangladesh), Shashank Manohar (India), Mtutuzeli Nyoka (South Africa), DS de Silva (Sri Lanka) and three Associate Member representatives (TBD on June 28)

New Zealand 180 for 5 (McGlashan 84, Devine 27, Selman 2-27) beat West Indies 124 for 8 (Taylor 40, Watkins 3-26) by 56 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sara McGlashan delivered a magnificent performance with 84•AFP

New Zealand will resume their long-term rivalry with Australia in Sunday’s Women’s World Twenty20 final after Sara McGlashan’s stunning half-century earned a 56-run win over West Indies. McGlashan crunched a magnificent 84 from 55 balls as New Zealand raced to 180 for 5 and the bowlers backed up by restricting their opponents to 124 for 8.Australia beat India by seven wickets on Thursday to reach the decider for the first time, but New Zealand will start as favourites following their dominant form in the format. They have also beaten Australia six times in a row and are the only team Alex Blackwell’s side fears in Twenty20.McGlashan showed why during her powerful performance and she gained excellent help from Sophie Devine as they delivered the highest score of the tournament. After being 49 for 2, McGlashan and Devine put on a speedy 93 at almost 11 an over to eliminate West Indies’ chances.Showing power and poise, McGlashan blasted two sixes down the ground and six fours, while Devine chipped in with 27 from 22. McGlashan fired a brutal boundary clearance to long-on from the offspinner Anisa Mohammad and in the same over Devine launched her into the stand at backward square leg. Those six balls cost 19 and New Zealand quickly went further ahead.McGlashan brought up her half-century with a force for four through mid-on and followed next ball with a boundary to fine-leg. She also cleared the rope straight off Shemaine Campbelle before Devine produced a clever late cut for four.West Indies had no answers despite trying spinners and medium pacers to stop the flood of runs. Devine fell in the 17th over, giving Shakera Selman (2 for 27) her second wicket, but McGlashan continued to plunder until she was beaten by Selman’s direct hit from short third man. Nicola Browne thrashed a six to midwicket in the last over to finish unbeaten on 15 and provide a late surge.The start of the match was disrupted by a heavy shower, which sent the players off after 10 deliveries, and Suzie Bates (7) was the first casualty on the resumption. The visitors suffered another early loss when their captain Aimee Watkins (20) tried to lift the rate and miscued.West Indies’ chase started brightly against two spinners operating with the new ball, but Watkins soon forced a legside edge from Pamela Lavine. With her side needing to score at nine an over, Stafanie Taylor provided some muscle as she targeted the legspin of Erin Bermingham. Taylor collected two sixes and Cordel Jack brought up the team’s fifty in the sixth over with another clearance off the slow bowler, who gave up 28 in three overs.Jack departed on 18 with a soft pull off Browne to midwicket and Taylor went in the following over when run-out for 40 off 33 by McGlashan. Deandra Dottin then managed a single before swiping at Browne and edging behind to Rachel Priest, leaving the hosts in serious trouble at 76 for 4.West Indies tried to hit their way out of trouble but the assignment was too difficult and their flame went out. Watkins benefitted from the late thrashing to collect 3 for 26 while Browne and Lucy Doolan both finished with 2 for 20 off four overs.New Zealand reached the final at last year’s event but were beaten by England at Lord’s, so the players are desperate to go one better this time. Only Australia stand in their way.

ScorecardJim Allenby added 111 alongside Mark Wallace to boost Glamorgan•PA Photos

Glamorgan’s batsmen rode their luck to hit three half-centuries and share the opening-day honours in their County Championship clash with Middlesex at Lord’s. Wicketkeeper Mark Wallace top-scored for the visitors with an unbeaten 73 as Glamorgan somehow survived a torrid opening session and fought back either side of lunch to post 309 for 9 after losing three late wickets to the second new ball.Batting first on a testing, seamer-friendly pitch, Glamorgan were soon in trouble when in-form England paceman Steven Finn struck with only his second ball of the day from the Pavilion End. Moving too far across his stumps when aiming to leg, opening bat Mark Cosgrove left leg stump exposed to Finn and went for a second-ball duck.Though they played and missed on numerous occasions, second-wicket partners Gareth Rees and Mike Powell managed to fight their way through to lunch at 71 for 1 and took the total on to 84 before Middlesex finally ended the stand.Powell twice inside-edged attempted drives just past his stumps for boundaries to fine leg on his way to a chancy, 74-ball 50 with nine fours, while left-handed Rees spent 37 minutes becalmed on seven before both players fell in the space of six overs in the mid-session. Powell (55) followed a Tim Murtagh out-swinger to edge behind, then Rees went for 38 when his slashed drive off debutant Iain O’Brien flew to Adam London at the wider of two gullies.Ben Wright (11) made a late decision to shoulder arms against Gareth Berg only to see the ball glance off the face of the bat and onto the base of the stumps, then former Middlesex allrounder Jamie Dalrymple (24) played across the line to go lbw to the same bowler.At 147 for 5, Glamorgan were seemingly in deep trouble and Middlesex cock-a-hoop, but the visitors rallied through a sixth-wicket stand worth 111 in 20 overs between Australian Jim Allenby and Wallace. Allenby looked in complete control in posting an 80-ball 50 with four fours and two sixes, while Wallace reached the landmark even more quickly from only 49 balls, and with eight fours and a six, as the pair cantered along at 5.55 an over.In a bid to hasten the arrival of the new ball, Middlesex skipper Shaun Udal introduced the occasional spin of Dawid Malan – who fortuitously broke the partnership by trapping Allenby leg before. Aiming for a third six into the grandstand, Allenby heaved across the line at a long-hop and inexplicably missed it to go for 57.With the new ball secured, Middlesex made further inroads when Tim Murtagh claimed a second scalp, that of James Harris to a sharp slip catch by Andrew Strauss, O’Brien had Dean Cosker lbw for 11 and David Harrison miscued Berg to mid-on.Berg, with 3 for 51, proved the pick of the Middlesex attack while the luckless Murtagh deserved better than his return of 2 for 51. Offspinner Udal finished wicketless after 10 overs, which perhaps goes some way to explaining Glamorgan’s decision to drop veteran Robert Croft from their starting XI. It is the first time since 1994 that the former England offspinner has been dropped when available.