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Nathan Hauritz’s World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after it was confirmed he would undergo surgery after dislocating his right shoulder at Hobart

Andrew McGlashan in Sydney22-Jan-2011Nathan Hauritz’s World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread with it confirmed he would undergo surgery after dislocating his right shoulder at Hobart. He now faces a nervous few weeks before finding out whether he’ll make the global one-day tournament. However, there was better news for Shaun Tait who has been cleared of serious injury but Mitchell Johnson won’t be available for the third ODI against England at the SCG.Hauritz was helped off the field in severe pain and underwent further scans on Saturday. They revealed ‘moderate disruption’ to his shoulder and it has been decided surgery is required although the medical staff remain hopeful over his World Cup chances.”Nathan Hauritz will have arthroscopic surgery of his shoulder joint in Melbourne,” Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. “This is a small procedure that we hope will give him the best opportunity to be available for the World Cup.”He will then have a period of intense rehabilitation and attempt to return to training in the coming weeks if we feel this is appropriate. His availability for the World Cup will depend on his progress through this rehabilitation.”Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner, had already been called up to Australia’s squad for the next two matches against England and would replace Hauritz at the World Cup. At least the hosts have had good news regarding Tait after he left the field five balls into his sixth over at Hobart with pain in his thigh. He hasn’t yet been ruled out of Sunday’s match at the SCG although it would be a major risk to play him.”Shaun complained of some left upper thigh pain,” Kountouris said. “As a precaution he was advised to stop bowling and leave the field. He had scans this afternoon which have cleared him of any new and significant damage. He will be assessed over the next 12 hours to determine his management and availability for tomorrow’s match and the remainder of this series.”Johnson, meanwhile, has recovered from the throat infection which kept him out of the Hobart match but the medical staff don’t feel he has had enough time to prepare for Sunday’s clash. Peter Siddle, overlooked for the World Cup, has been added to the squad and will link up after playing Saturday’s Big Bash match against New South Wales at the MCG.

A commanding performance by South Africa’s spin bowlers, bounce from Morne Morkel and a clinical showing with the bat gave them a convincing victory over Zimbabwe in their first warm-up match in Chennai

Firdose Moonda in Chennai12-Feb-2011
ScorecardA commanding performance by South Africa’s spin bowlers, bounce from Morne Morkel and a clinical showing with the bat gave them a convincing victory over Zimbabwe in their first warm-up match in Chennai.South Africa had what Zimbabwean coach Alan Butcher called an “inadequate total” to chase and went about it in authoritative fashion. They reached the target of 153 inside 24 overs and only lost two wickets in the process. Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith laid the platform with a first wicket partnership of 69.Amla reverted back to the wild side of himself that he displayed in the first few ODIs against India in January, even though he previously indicated that he would steer away from such extravagant play. His first boundary came off the first ball, a flashy shot that Brendan Taylor should have caught at first slip but let through. That served only to spur Amla on and he played some flashy shots to complement a few beautiful boundaries in his 45. He became South African’s first wicket, falling to Ray Price.Smith was far more controlled and made particularly good use of the cut shot in his 41. South Africa’s standout batsman was Jacques Kallis, who looked in dangerous form in his first innings since returning from injury. Kallis has been out of action for six weeks but returned looking as good as ever. “It was a nice knock for him and will be good for his confidence,” Smith said. “Now we will look to build him up to the next stage, which will be bowling.” Kallis played no part with the ball, although he did field.Zimbabwe’s bowlers were taken apart but Butcher was satisfied that they “did an okay job.” They used three spinners, including Prosper Utseya, who they opened with, and Butcher said that the strategy of opening with a spinner is one they will in all likelihood continue with. “Our spinners have been out best bowlers over the last year or so and in these conditions it will suit us to open with a spinner, as we have been doing. I’ll be surprised if other sides don’t do the same at some stage in the World Cup.”Zimbabwe’s woes were more about their batting than their bowling and they were bundled out for 152 by a rampant South African outfit. Their opening partnership puzzle looks to be solved with Taylor and Charles Coventry putting on a solid 49 for the first wicket. Captain Elton Chigumbura was disappointed that the team could not build on that “good start.”Morne Morkel removed Coventry and Tatenda Taibu with successive balls to start the Zimbabwean collapse. Morkel was the only South African seamer to take wickets and Smith was particularly impressed with his performance. “Even on a slow, dead wicket, he was still hitting us pretty hard in the slips. He has some good performances back home and it’s nice to see him being consistent.”Dale Steyn was unconvincing in his first spell, bowling slower than usual while not receiving any assistance from the track. Lonwabo Tsotsobe was injured after bowling just two overs. He suffered a mild sprain to his right knee while fielding at fine leg. Team manager, Dr Mohammed Moosajee said they “didn’t want to risk using him” in the rest of that match and he will be reassessed on Sunday morning.South Africa’s spinners did the rest of the damage, with Imran Tahir and Robin Peterson introduced in successive overs. Tahir’s appearance on the international stage was widely anticipated and when he came on in the 14th over, he was met by a loud cheer from the local crowd. He went wicketless for four overs, while Robin Peterson was the man succeeding at the other end.Petersen removed Greg Lamb and Elton Chigumbura with the second and fifth balls of his second over while Brendan Taylor weathered the storm with confidence. He became the first of Tahir’s three victims. Butcher said believes Tahir will “have an impact” in the tournament and Chigumbura praised his “good lines and good areas.”With Zimbabwe at 95 for 6, South Africa should have wrapped up the tail quickly but Sean Williams and Regis Chakabva resisted for a while. Morne Morkel broke their partnership while Tahir mopped up the bottom order. “He was a little bit excitable upfront, but then he calmed down and got some wickets,” Smith said.Both captains were surprised by the pitch, with Chigumbura saying his batsmen “expected it to turn more and played the wrong lines.” Smith said “it was not a great wicket and a bit underprepared” but he expects it to be ready for the main tournament.Chennai’s first match of the tournament is in eight days time but it will play host to a warm-up game between India and New Zealand on Wednesday. South Africa’s play their second warm-up game in Bangalore on Tuesday and Zimbabwe take on Ireland in Nagpur on the same day.

It’s eight years since the black armband protest carried out by Henry Olonga and Andy Flower at the 2003 World Cup, and Zimbabwean cricket hasn’t been the same since

Brydon Coverdale in Ahmedabad19-Feb-2011It’s eight years since the black armband protest carried out by Henry Olonga and Andy Flower at the 2003 World Cup, and Zimbabwean cricket hasn’t been the same since. The following year, Heath Streak’s captaincy ended amid disharmony with Zimbabwe Cricket and an exodus of leading players began, and the country’s self-imposed exile from Test cricket came in 2005.But slowly, things have started to improve in the nation’s cricketing ranks. The grassroots scene has benefited from the arrival of some international stars, with Jason Gillespie coaching the Mid West Rhinos and Allan Donald having worked with the Mountaineers, while Streak is back as the national team’s bowling coach and Grant Flower has returned to be the batting coach.”I think it’s come on a lot,” Grant Flower said in the lead-up to Zimbabwe’s first match at the World Cup, against Australia on Monday. “We’ve had our troubles with some of us leaving the country. We left under not the greatest circumstances but hopefully that is all in the past. Both parties probably made some mistakes but that’s life, nothing’s perfect. Things are moving in the right direction.”We’ve got a good franchise system in place now, we’ve had some good overseas pros who have come and helped raise the standard, we’ve had some good overseas coaches who have been working with the franchise system and I think a lot of good things are in place. We’ve got Alastair Campbell as convener of selectors, he’s done a lot of hard work behind the scenes.”We’ve got some good people there, and the players are playing some decent cricket. Quite a few of the guys have played quite a few one-day internationals now, so there’s quite a bit of experience. We’re expecting some good things at the World Cup.”But while Zimbabwe are heading in an encouraging direction, there remains plenty of work ahead of them if they are to force their way past the group stage at this tournament. One of Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand would need to stumble for Zimbabwe to make it through, although they have gained some insights from their 3-1 loss to Bangladesh in December.”Hopefully we’ve learnt from our mistakes,” Flower said. “They’re a very well organised side now and they’re hard to beat in their home conditions. We got some things wrong there. We didn’t play the left-arm spin that well. But the guys have gone back and worked hard at their games. They’re more aware of what’s needed on the subcontinent, so hopefully it can go from strength to strength.”The guys have done well against Australia in other tournaments. We’ll just have to see on the day. It’s a huge thing to have that self-belief, and hopefully that will continue.”The Zimbabweans will have been encouraged by what they saw in the warm-up games, where Australia’s batsmen struggled against spin. The slow-bowling of Prosper Utseya, Ray Price and Graeme Cremer could be a key if Zimbabwe are to cause an upset, but Utseya is not getting ahead of himself.”It’s one of our strengths and we’d like to play to our strength,” Utseya said. “They’re a good side, I know they have struggled against spin, but we still have a lot of work to do and we need to make sure we’re on top of our game for us to be able to restrict them to a low score.”Zimbabwe won the last time these two teams played, although the format was 20 overs and it was three years ago. It would be a brave person to predict two in a row, but at least Zimbabwe are heading in the right direction.

The Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach has been named as the surprise replacement in England’s World Cup squad, after Ajmal Shahzad was forced out of contention for the knock-out stages of the tournament after sustaining a hamstring strain

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2011The Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach has been named as the surprise replacement in England’s World Cup squad, after Ajmal Shahzad sustained a hamstring strain that ruled him out of contention for the knock-out stages of the tournament.Dernbach, who is currently in the West Indies with the England Lions, has received approval from the ICC Event Technical Committee, and is expected to be released from his current fixture against Windward Islands, and will arrive in the subcontinent in time for the quarter-finals, which get underway on March 23.Dernbach, 24, began the winter on the England Performance Programme in Australia before going on to make his England Lions debut last month, playing in the WICB regional four-day competition where he is currently the side’s leading wicket-taker. The Surrey player has spent the previous two winters on the ECB Fast Bowling Programme in Florida and Chennai and is a graduate of the Surrey Academy.Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, believes the call-up is due reward for hard work. “From what we’ve seen for the last two years with Jade, as a cricketer and a person, he’s matured in an accelerated way,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Partly because the situation at Surrey meant from an early age he was being asked to lead attacks which was good exposure and a steep learning curve.”As a bowler has come on immensely in the last two years, but as a person he has also really matured into an outstanding individual. There are perceptions that people may have had in past that haven’t always been that favourable, but take it from me he’s an outstanding individual. He’ll run through brick walls for his team-mates and loves winning.”One of the aspects of Dernbach’s game that has caught the eye on the domestic circuit and kept the selectors interested is his accurate slower ball which has proved very effective in one-day cricket. He has taken 95 wickets in 60 List A fixtures with a career-best of 5 for 31, although his economy rate is high at 6.33, and on the current Lions tour has taken 19 wickets at 15.63 in the Caribbean four-day competition.”He’s developed a slower ball, a very special variance, which is dynamite and is unusual. It’s bowled very well and has great deception,” Adams said. “All those aspects coming together and this x-factor delivery is good reason for the selectors to have called him up. If you have a slower ball that gets purchase or grip, anything off the pitch, you’ll be in the game so long as you can disguise it well which Jade is exceptional at.”National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “We have been following the progress of Jade for some time and he has impressed throughout his two years on the fast bowling programme in 2008-09 in Florida and Chennai and the England Performance Programme in Australia late last year and during the domestic season with Surrey.”He is a talented athlete and has performed very well with the Lions on the current tour of the West Indies and we feel his variations will be extremely useful on the surfaces we will be playing on should we progress to the knock out stages of the World Cup.”Dernbach was picked ahead of the Warwickshire allrounder, Chris Woakes, who impressed in his maiden England series in Australia recently. Liam Plunkett, who played the last of those seven ODIs against Australia, is currently injured.The England team is currently waiting for confirmation that the side has reached the quarter-final stages of the ICC World Cup which is dependent on the remaining matches in the group stages. A victory for South Africa over Bangladesh, or India over West Indies, would be enough to guarantee a place in the last eight.Dernbach, who was named in England’s 30-man preliminary squad, becomes the fourth replacement in England’s World Cup 15, although Eoin Morgan – who was replaced by Ravi Bopara – subsequently returned as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen. Chris Tremlett was called up in place of Stuart Broad, who suffered a side strain during the victory over South Africa.

Four wickets for Monty Panesar undermined Durham as they subsided from 173 for 1 to 292 all out against Sussex in their County Championship Division One encounter at Chester-le-Street today

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2011Stumps
Scorecard
Four wickets for Monty Panesar undermined Durham as they subsided from 173 for 1 to 292 all out against Sussex in their County Championship Division One encounter at Chester-le-Street today. The visitors replied with 30 for 1, Ed Joyce falling to a brilliant right-handed diving catch by Gordon Muchall at first slip off Mitch Claydon.Durham rested Graham Onions after his excellent comeback in the win at Headingley, and with Liam Plunkett out with a thigh muscle injury they brought in Claydon and West Indian Ruel Brathwaite. On as early as the 17th over after Durham won the toss for the third successive
game, Panesar commanded respect without threatening to take wickets until he
suddenly captured his first two in his 19th and 21st overs.Ben Stokes had been tied down but two balls after advancing to drive a six over long-on he sat back to force a back-foot shot through the off-side and got an inside edge into his stumps.
Dale Benkenstein popped up a catch to short leg and Panesar had bowled 25 overs for 55 runs when Scott Borthwick set about him.Crisp strokes on both sides of the wicket produced six fours off the spinner, including four off successive balls, and the young allrounder succeeded in having Panesar briefly removed from the attack. Borthwick’s knock of 35 ended when he edged to wicketkeeper Ben Brown to give
Amjad Khan a third wicket, and Panesar returned to claim two lbw verdicts and finish with 4 for 88.Durham’s slide started when Muchall miscued an attempted pull off James Anyon, skying a catch to mid-on. Muchall had taken up where Michael Di Venuto left off, the opener having scored
30 off 33 balls before falling lbw to the first ball when Anyon came on for the ninth over. The left-hander was looking to work the ball to leg.Muchall raced past anchor man Will Smith and dominated a stand of 129, hitting 13 fours in making 74 off 119 balls. Smith made 59 before edging a drive at Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to first slip and wicketkeeper Michael Richardson, again deputising for the injured Phil Mustard,
perished in similar fashion to give Khan his first wicket. This time the ball flew to second slip, where Joyce held a good catch.Khan’s second wicket swiftly followed when Ian Blackwell drove loosely wide of off stump and played on for 19, leaving Borthwick to harvest what runs he could accompanied by a tail lengthened by Plunkett’s absence.

A brilliant, belligerent century by Paul Stirling wasn’t enough to take Ireland to victory over Pakistan in the second ODI

The Bulletin by Gerard Siggins30-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Paul Stirling’s ton came off 94 balls•Associated Press

A brilliant, belligerent century by Paul Stirling wasn’t enough to take Ireland to victory over Pakistan in the second ODI. A solid innings of 64 by Younis Khan ensured the visitors were not embarrassed and took the two match RSA Series in Belfast 2-0.Stirling played an innings that alternated between control and raw aggression as he racked up his third ODI century, his first against a Full Member. It helped set Pakistan a target of 239, which they achieved with eight balls to spare, but not before their most experienced batsmen rescued them from a tricky situation as Ireland’s celebrated fielders tightened the screws.Stirling’s innings showed great maturity for a man who has his critics in Irish cricket. He has too often been a player who raced to thrilling thirties and forites, but rarely went on. His previous highest score against a Full Member was just 52.But an Irish record one-day score of 177 against Canada in September showed what could be achieved and he round off the recent World Cup with a blistering ton against Netherlands. That innings was the third-fastest century in the competition’s history, behind only Kevin O’Brien and Matthew Hayden.He thrashed three sixes and seven fours in his innings of 109, which backboned Ireland’s total of 238 for eight.On the pitch used for Saturday’s rain affected game – and after a day of warm sun in between – William Porterfield opted to take first use.Ireland persevered with their decision to promote Ed Joyce to open, although the Sussex batsman was rarely fluent as Junaid Khan and Umar Gul made use of the overcast conditions.Stirling, meanwhile, played in his usual manner and was 38 when Ireland passed fifty.
Misbah turned to the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammed Hafeez to slow things down, and was immediately rewarded with the wicket of Joyce. Ajmal extracted some extra bounce and Joyce edged to Mohammed Salman with the total on 65.Porterfield joined Stirling and was at the other end as he reached his fifty off 43 balls. The pair hoisted the hundred in the 22nd over when Stirling hoicked the ball over wide mid-on for six.Pakistan preferred Hammad Azam to Tanvir Ahmed and the Rawalpindi bowler’s gentle medium proved useful in the conditions. But it was Mohammed Hafeez who dismissed Porterfield, bowled for 15.Stirling was watchful to the spinners and the rate slowed as Ajmal extracted turn on his way to 4 for 35. Stirling raced into the nineties with a sumptuous cover drive but took six more overs to reach 100, which he did with a straight drive past the bowler Azam. He passed the century mark in 94 balls.Rain – which threatened several times – eventually forced the players off for 15 minutes, but no overs were lost.Alex Cusack played a typical innings as second foil to a more aggressive batsman, and took the total to 174 before he fell charging Ajmal. He fell in the second over of the Powerplay, which Ireland struggled to exploit.Stirling was dropped by Junaid who made an awful hash of a gentle hook to fine leg off Saeed. But Junaid made amends next ball when he bowled Stirling for 109. Gary Wilson came out to cheers in his 100th appearance for Ireland, but although he hit the last two balls of the Powerplay for four, the five-over period yielded a miserable 23 for 2.Wilson hit a breezy 33 off 25 balls, but Ireland’s total was probably 30-40 short of expectations as Pakistan prevented them accelerating at the death.Mohammed Hafeez fell in the second over as he mistimed a drive off Trent Johnston, but ODI debutant Azhar Ali and Taufeeq Umar steadied the ship in the face of accurate bowling from Boyd Rankin. The big Warwickshire man extracted bounce and pace in his nine overs, claiming Azhar to a sharp slip catch.At 80 for 3 Pakistan needed steady hands and were able to turn to Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. The pair have played 300 ODIs between them – more than the whole Irish team – and were able to dictate the pace from there.The partnership consolidated, scoring one boundary and 30 runs off the first ten overs, but as the clouds loomed they put in a mini-charge to ensure they went ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis calculation.With the score on 148 John Mooney induced the thinnest of nicks off Misbah, who seemed reluctant to depart, but his wicket gave Ireland renewed hope. The feisty Umar Akmal came in and took the game by the scruff though, smashing three sixes in an innings of 60 off 48 balls.All the while Younis Khan was accumulating while Ireland fought for every run. Porterfield at cover saved a dozen runs as Stirling, Joyce and Mooney ensured the ring was hard to pierce.Having hit just two boundaries getting to 48, Younis dragged the ball into the crowd at midwicket to complete his fifty. He perished chipping to Kevin O’Brien off Cusack trying to hit the winning runs.Stirling was named as Man of the Match, but it was Pakistan’s day.