New Zealand are determined to make a clean sweep of Bangladesh when the two sides meet for the third and final one-day international at the Queenstown Events Centre. Inclement summer weather disrupted practice on the eve of the game and more is forecast on game day, but the mood remained upbeat in the home camp.The hosts go into the clash having already clinched the series 2-0 courtesy a 102-run D/L method win in Napier but John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, hoped to build on two wins against Bangladesh after disappointing tours to South Africa and Australia.”Rhythm, momentum going into the Test series, the goal is to continue building confidence and lift of our performance from the other two games – setting the bar a little bit higher each time,” he told the . “For us, confidence and self-assessment is extremely important. It’s not necessarily important what the opposition is doing, it’s what we’re doing and I think we can still lift the bar.”After struggling in their last two series, New Zealand’s batsman put up runs – albeit expectedly – against Bangladesh, chasing 202 with six wickets left and posting 335 for 5. The bowlers were unable to dismiss an out-of-form Bangladesh batting line-up in Napier but Bracewell put faith in his opening pair, Kyle Mills and Chris Martin. Mills has seven wickets in two games, including 4 for 40 in Napier and Martin has conceded less than three runs an over despite not having taken a wicket.”I’ve been pleased with the heat with which Chris has bowled. Without Shane Bond, he’s our go-to player, and he’s still learning the skills [of one-day bowling],” said Bracewell. “He’s only played 11 or 12 one-day games [since his debut in 1999] so he’s still making the adjustment from that continual line and length at test-match level.”Mark Gillespie, the right-arm medium-pacer, remains a doubt after aggravating his left shoulder in Napier and will be assessed before the match. Michael Mason could get a game on a track that traditionally favours seam bowling. It is unlikely that offspinner Jeetan Patel will play.A loss to Bangladesh would send New Zealand from third to fourth place on the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings.Bracewell’s opposite number, Jamie Siddons, said his side had no pretensions about upstaging their opposition. “We don’t pretend that we’re going to compete with New Zealand on a regular basis at this point in time. We are learning, but it’s going to take time. They’re young players, some are only playing their first or second game of their lives at this level.”There’s a learning curve they have to go through and we’re going to suffer some pain. We’re suffering that pain now – there’s no way around it.”Only Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed and Tamim Iqbal have scored fifties in the series and the middle order has generally come a cropper against seam bowling. With two Tests looming, Bangladesh need to pick up their game.Teams (likely)New Zealand: 1 Jamie How, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Peter Fulton, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Mathew Sinclair, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Michael Mason, 11 Chris Martin.Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Junaid Siddique, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mehrab Hossain Jnr, 7 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shahadat Hossain.
Dwayne Smith has justified his selection for the World Cup with a match-winning performance in the opening game against Pakistan on Tuesday. When West Indies’ squad was announced in February, there was strong opposition to Smith’s inclusion.However, Smith repaid the faith when he was adjudged Man of the Match for hitting 32 off 15 balls and taking 3 for 36, including the crucial wickets of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq. “I’m always confident in myself and I don’t worry too much about what people say,” Smith told after the victory. “I just go out there and do my job, and do it to the best of my ability.”It was a great start for me personally, but I think it was a solid team performance and one that will give us plenty of confidence as we look towards the remainder of the tournament. Although I have been pushed lower and lower in the batting order, it has not really affected my confidence. It has just made me realise that I have to work harder and harder in the nets, and that is what I am prepared to do.”In 20 matches leading up to the World Cup, Smith had averaged 7.40 with the bat and 38.43 with the ball. Gordon Greenidge, the convenor of selectors, had said that he was not convinced about Smith’s selection.”Personally, I’m not convinced. I’m partly convinced. I feel that the guy has a lot going for him but he doesn’t show it as often as we would like him to,” Greenidge had told . “Unfortunately, in recent times, his bowling takes more precedence than his batting. I would like to see him develop more into a total player, an all-round player.”The coach Bennett King, however, backed Smith’s potential and said he was a matchwinner with the bat. Brian Lara also supported Smith and wanted him to go from strength to strength. “His performance was excellent, and he knows that, and from here what he wants to do is build on it, not just sit back and think I’ve started well and that’s it,” Lara said. “We’ve hopefully got ten more games in the tournament and he is looking for a performance like this every time.” West Indies face Zimbabwe in their second group match at Sabina Park on Monday.
Pakistan’s chances of staging a fightback in the one-day series against India took a knock with Shahid Afridi being ruled out of the remaining two matches.Afridi aggravated a rib injury that he sustained before Monday’s third match at Lahore and has been advised to take two weeks’ rest, Pakistan’s team management said. Afridi opened the batting in Monday’s game and felt considerable pain while bowling three overs in India’s innings.Pakistan are already missing Shoaib Akhtar, who was ruled out of the series on Sunday after missing the first two matches with an ankle injury. Mohammad Sami was included in the squad as a replacement for Akthar but no replacement was announced for Afridi. Afridi is a local hero in Pakistan and his dismissals in previous matches have frequently triggered mass exodus of spectators from the ground.India lead the five-match series 2-1 after they won the third match by five wickets. Pakistan won the first in Peshawar by seven runs and India claimed the second in Rawalpindi by seven wickets. The fourth match of the series will be played at Multan on Thursday while Karachi will host the fifth match on Sunday.
One of the most abused clichés in sport is the one about the game, ratherthan a team or individual, being the winner. For those on the losing side,especially after a contest decided by the length of a fingernail, such aglib phrase is no more than a slap in the face, another reminder of fallingagonisingly short. But sometimes, maybe once every decade or so, sport hasthe ability to transcend itself and render the result immaterial. So it waswith this one-day international at Karachi.Years from now, those present will still marvel at the vivid memories, whilethose who watch archival footage will stare in awe at the splendour of thesporting theatre on offer. For India, the victory erased bitter memoriesthat went back almost two decades, but ultimately the result mattered littlewhen compared to the atmosphere that enveloped the ground as the afternoonslid into night.It had been seven years since an Indian team played in Pakistan, and therehad been no full tour since 1989. With Karachi being denied a Test match,the opening one-day match carried additional resonance, and there was asecurity phalanx in place by the time the two captains walked out to toss.Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss to thunderous applause, and then befuddledeveryone by sending India in. The expected Sachin Tendulkar-Shoaib Akhtarsideshow didn¹t disappoint, but after the master had played some gloriousshots, it was Shoaib who wheeled away in celebration. By then though, withVirender Sehwag blazing away in all directions the run-rate had reachedastronomic proportions.By the time Sehwag was outfoxed by a slow yorker from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan tarred, feathered and hung out to dry by some scintillating shotmaking India were rattling along at ten an over, with the fielding restrictionsstill in place. Though Pakistan hauled it back in the second half of theinnings, a majestic 99 from Rahul Dravid gave India the impetus to reach349, leaving Pakistan to make 20 more than any team had ever done to win amatch batting second. And while the batting had been dazzling, it wasovershadowed by the effervescence and sense of fairness of a capacity crowdthat accorded a surprised Dravid a standing ovation.Pakistan¹s run chase, for the most part, seemed to consist of chasingshadows. The openers barely made a dent, and even though both Inzamam andYousuf Youhana batted with refreshing positivity and class, the requiredrun-rate refused to climb below eight. Youhana¹s was a coruscating hand, ajoyful amalgam of drives, cuts, languid flicks and outrageous hoicks thatappeared to give Inzamam heartburn. After he departed for a brilliant 73,the stage was all Inzamam¹s.He had eased into the cricketing consciousness with imperious shotmaking ina World Cup semi-final 12 years earlier, and faced with near-impossibleodds, he delved into his treasure chest of experience to unveil an inningsof intelligence and beauty. Paced to perfection, it had both bludgeon andcaress and strokes timed so magnificently that the fielders were made tolook clumsy and second-rate. With Younis Khan providing inventive support atthe other end, the 350-run oasis suddenly appeared to be more than achimera.It was Murali Kartik, playing only because both Harbhajan Singh and AnilKumble were out injured, who gave Ganguly respite, coaxing the faintest ofnicks from Inzamam¹s bat after he had stomped to 122 from just 104 balls.Suddenly, the equation 72 from 47 balls didn¹t seem as easily solvable.Younis and Abdul Razzaq though wouldn¹t entertain negative thoughts,thumping some fine boundaries as the target was whittled down. But Kartikthen bowled Younis, and Zaheer Khan pegged back Razzaq¹s off stump to leavethe burden to Moin Khan, an impudent and aggressive shotmaker in his heyday,and Shoaib Malik.With only 10 needed from eight balls came another defining moment in a matchthat was full of them. Malik¹s mighty heave had both Hemang Badani andMohammad Kaif running for it, and it required stunning concentration andspectacular agility from Kaif to prevent a sickening collision and hold onto a catch that gave the Indians fresh spring in weary stride.Nine were needed when Ganguly tossed the ball to Ashish Nehra, the mostinfuriatingly inconsistent element of India¹s pace attack. But Naved wasnervous, and Moin not quite the batsmen he was, as Nehra managed five ballsfor just three runs. After close to eight hours of compelling action, it hadcome to this a six off the last ball.Up on the players¹ balcony, Javed Miandad played out the stroke which woulddo it, desperately wishing to transmit the thought and action to Moin.Almost 18 years earlier, Miandad had picked up a legside full-toss fromChetan Sharma and slammed it over midwicket to stab a gaping hole in India¹scricket psyche, and he must have watched in amazement as Nehra came up witha waist-high offering.Moin, though, was no Miandad, and this full toss hastened on to his batbefore he could complete the cleaving motion that would send the ball intoorbit. As the ball looped up to Zaheer at midwicket, there were yells oftriumph from the Indian fielders. After a moment of stunned resignation, thecrowd responded with a chorus that no Indian present there will ever forget.In a rivalry characterised by mindless posturing and hatred on both sides,it was an epochal moment, that once-in-a-lifetime occasion when a tiredcliché about triumph and defeat being irrelevant made perfect sense.
Despite having a huge total to chase, the Indians made a fist of it till the last 10. At the 40-over stage, India were 250 for 4, compared to Australia’s 245 for 2. Where Australia took it away was in the last 10, when they scored 102 runs. A look at the Indian bowling during that stage of the innings indicates where Zaheer Khan and co. went wrong: there were plenty of attempts to bowl the yorker, but the results were either full tosses or half volleys. The Australians took full toll, creaming 23 such deliveries for 35 runs.
The length that the Indians bowled in the last 10 overs
Balls
Runs
Full
09
16
Yorker
00
00
Half volley
14
19
Good length
25
38
Just short
09
07
Short
03
14
There was little to cheer for the Indians in the field, but one bowler who did his reputation no harm was Murali Kartik. His battle with Ricky Ponting was especially fascinating: till his last over, Kartik had bowled 32 balls to Ponting, and conceded just 13 runs, a scoring rate of less than two-and-a-half an over, in a match where most other bowlers were disappearing for well over six. Two sixes in that last over spoiled Kartik’s figures somewhat, but it was still an effort to be proud of.The key to Kartik’s success was the length he bowled to Ponting: 34 out of 37 balls landed on a good length, with two more pitching just short. Of the 33 dot balls Kartik bowled, 25 were to Ponting, who struggled to read the variations in flight and pace – of the 37 balls he faced, Ponting was in control of just 27 (72.97%). Kartik didn’t have quite as much success against Adam Gilchrist, who picked off 23 from the 19 balls he faced off Kartik. Gilchrist’s in-control percent was much higher too.
Fitzroy R.S. de Mel, a highly respected umpire of the Board of Control forCricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) met with an ill-fated train accident whicheventually took his life on Wednesday evening.Initial reports indicate that de Mel who was returning home from work wasinvolved in a heated argument with another person, who is alleged to havepushed him from the Lunawa Railway Station platform when the train hadstarted to move. He was accompanied by his wife at the time of his death.De Mel (66) was employed as the assignment officer at the BCCSL, havingjoined the establishment in 1992 after he decided to retire from activeumpiring in the mid-eighties.He donned the white coat for 30 years and during that time, officiated infirst-class and representative matches and unoffical Tests.De Mel was highly respected in his field and played an active role evenafterwards being vice president of the Association of Cricket Umpires andScorers Sri Lanka (ACUSSL). He was made a life member of the association in1994 for his services to cricket and was also a member of the ACU ofEngland.During his time as an umpire, De Mel was employed in the Survey Departmentwhom he represented at cricket and later, in the Mahaweli Authority. De Melwas also a notable actor in dramas, the most famous of which was in HenryJayasena’s ‘Hunuwataye Kathawa’.His funeral took place on Saturday afternoon at the Anglican Church inLunawa, Moratuwa.
There was no joy for Tripura on Thursday as they slipped to 116 allout against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter at home.On winning the toss at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium inAgartala, Assam skipper SZ Suffri put the home side in to bat. It wasa decision that paid rich dividends at the close of play on the firstday. Left arm spinner Sukhbinder Singh was quite unplayable. Returningthe amazing figures of 15-7-15-5, Sukhbinder ran through the Tripurabatting lineup. Picking up wickets that spanned from the openingbatsman to the last man, Sukhbinder made sure that the highestindividual score was restricted to S Dasgupta’s 42. AlthoughSukhbinder’s performance was the one that stood out, left arm seamerGautam Dutta with 3/30 gave a good account of himself.In response, the Assam side encountered no problems. Although PJ Daswas run out after he had made 28 (57 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) the firstwicket partnership was already worth 52. When stumps was called, Assamwere motoring on at a healthy 79 for 1. Skipper Zufri, coming in atone drop was unbeaten on 21. The other opener, SB Saikia had helpedhimself to a slow but steady 25 (96 balls) and he too was unconquered.Assam are in a good position, and some steady batting from them on thesecond and third days should see them take the initiative.
West Brom managed to rescue a point in their latest Championship outing yesterday as Adam Reach scored with virtually the last kick of the game to snatch a 2-2 draw against Bristol City.
The home side went ahead after 29 minutes through Nahki Wells before a penalty goal from Karlan Grant put the Baggies level with 69 minutes on the clock.
Former Aston Villa figure Andreas Weimann put Bristol ahead once again in the 85th minute after he assisted Wells’ goal in the first half, only for Reach to save a point for Steve Bruce’s side right at the death, leaving them unbeaten in their past four league games.
Aside from Reach and his dramatic late goal, one other figure in a West Brom shirt that was rather crucial for them on the day was midfielder Alex Mowatt.
With the full 90 minutes under his belt, the Englishman had 84 touches of the ball in total and managed to complete 52 of the 62 passes he attempted, with one cross, two long balls and one key pass.
The midfielder also managed to complete the one dribble he attempted, showing how useful he was on the ball for his side.
Also, and arguably, more importantly, the 27-year-old was rather effective off the ball as well by winning 71% of the duels he was involved in and winning five tackles, which is more than any other Baggies player managed to make on the day.
Birmingham Live also picked up on the work that the midfielder did to help the team from a defensive point of view by saying that he “helped at the back, deep into his own half to try and recover play during Bristol’s attack.”
This display ultimately earned the former Barnsley star an overall match rating of 7.2, making him the highest-rated player that started the game for the Midlands club according to SofaScore.
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Having been labelled as a “massive” player for the Baggies earlier in the season by former West Brom and Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael, this is certainly what Mowatt was yesterday, especially when it came to making sure the home side didn’t score more goals than they did, making him a real hero for his current boss.
In other news: Sold for £16.5m, now worth 78% less: Dowling pulled a WBA blinder over £43k-p/w dud
Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has said it was tremendous beating South Africa on their home soil, especially so with a relatively young and inexperienced side. “It was really pleasing to see how we operated under pressure,” Gayle told the . “We just have to try and keep on improving and maintaining the discipline.”Gayle said West Indies now have to focus on improving on their performance in Port Elizabeth where they won their first away Test against a sizeable opposition since June 2000 when they beat England in Birmingham. “This is a different challenge. We usually win Test matches at the end of the series when it’s already lost. Now, we are one-up at the start of a series so we’ll see how we cope with it for the next couple of days. We know what we’re here for so we’re not going to be complacent.”Though he admitted that leadership was important, Gayle insisted that every player must be given the chance to prove himself. “Sometimes too much is expected of them too soon. You have to give them time to develop as persons and as cricketers as well.”Of his own style of captaincy, Gayle said he tells it like it is. “I’m not going to lie or anything like that. It’s not for you to take what I say personally, whatever the situation, but to understand and look into yourself to see where improvements can be made.”Looking forward to the second Test, Gayle said West Indies expected South Africa to come back strong and hard at them. “We’ll be prepared for it,” he countered. “We’re looking for the fight. Challenges are what we expect, so we’ll try to cope with it. Cape Town is always a good wicket so hopefully we can put up an even better performance there than we did in this game.”Graeme Smith, the South African captain, said South Africa were better individually and as a team than they had shown the four days in Port Elizabeth and promised they would rebound in the next Test. He said the three days of rain preceding the match had hampered South Africa’s preparations but refused to use it as an excuse for the defeat.The second Test will start on January 2, followed by the third and final one in Durban on January 10.
A century by Salman Butt, leading the Lahore Lions, was overshadowed as his side were pipped by the Islamabad Leopards in the opening match of the ABN-AMRO Cup National One-day Tournament Silver League at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.The Lions, put in to bat first, compiled a score of 236-9 in their allotted 50 overs, a target the Leopards reached with two balls and two wickets to spare. Butt, who has been placed among the five reserves for Pakistan’s World Cup 2007 campaign, remained unbeaten on 129, his ninth hundred in this form and his highest.It didn’t matter much as solid knocks from Bazid Khan (56), Bilal Asad and Raheel Majeed saw the visitors home. Majeed was particularly fluent, his 43 coming from just 30 balls. Asad’s innings comleted a fine all-round performance, complementing his 3 for 30 earlier with a 30-ball 34.The two teams shared the Silver League trophy last season, when the final was rained off in Islamabad without a single ball being bowled.Multan Tigers, with Usman Tariq and Saeed Anwar jnr unseparated, thrashed Quetta Bears by ten wickets in their opening round Silver League match at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.Tariq remained unbeaten on 51 and Anwar on 32 as the Tigers reached the target in 22 overs, in a match reduced by rain, to 25 overs a side. The win was set up Imranullah Aslam’s leg-spin, the 26-year-old from Bahawalpur picking up a career-best 4 for 12..Quetta opener Shoaib Khan made 39 and his second-wicket stand with Umar Javed brought 45 runs, but the Bears then lost nine wickets in just 11 overs as three batsmen were run out.Hyderabad Hawks also beat Abbottabad Rhinos with ease in their opening round silver league match at the Diamond Club Ground on Saturday.The match had been reduced to a 20-over affair due to wet conditions and after being put in, the Rhinos were bowled out for a paltry 105 in 17.5 overs.Hyderabad reached their target for the loss of only two wickets in 16.2 overs, captain Faisal Athar making an unbeaten 36 off 49 balls with five fours. Shahid Qambrani added 27 before being run out.Riaz Kail topscored for Abbottabad with 30 and wicketkeeper Ahmed Said hit 26 but it proved too little too late.