All posts by csb10.top

Yasir Hameed, the Pakistan batsman, has lodged a formal complaint with the UK Press Complaint Commission against the tabloid . Hameed, who last played for Pakistan on the 2010 tour to England, was the subject of a video sting operation by the tabloid, in which he was seen discussing the fall-out of the Lord’s spot-fixing controversy and, among other things, an approach by a bookie during the 2004 Champions Trophy in England.Hameed says he was duped by the investigative reporter who came to him in a hotel in Nottingham claiming to be a representative of a global airline who wanted to talk about possible sponsorship deals, days after the end of the four-Test series, and is now seeking a formal apology and retraction from the tabloid.The complaint centres on four points, of inaccurate reporting, a breach of privacy, misrepresentation of character and harassment. Hameed opted to wait till the end of the spot-fixing hearings and a definitive verdict before he filed the complaint.Soon after the video came to light, Hameed was called to the Pakistan High Commission in London to explain his utterances in the video. He issued a statement later that day saying that the man, an Abid Khan, sent him intimidating SMSs after the meeting when Hameed denied what had been attributed to him.Hameed was also asked to explain the incident to the PCB’s integrity committee earlier this year, and he apologised to the board about the conversation. “I was trapped into it but I should not have said all that before a stranger and I apologise to all the players who were hurt because of that,” Hameed had told . It is believed the board has held back on his payments from the tour, though it isn’t clear whether it is because of this incident.

Daniel Vettori confirmed he would be stepping down from the captaincy after the World Cup, making the second Test at the Basin Reserve his last at the helm. Vettori has captained the side in 32 Tests since he took over from Stephen Fleming in 2007, and sits third on the list of most Tests captained for New Zealand, behind Fleming (80) and John Reid (34).Vettori said that the plan had always been to step down after the World Cup and that nothing had occurred to convince him to extend his tenure as skipper. “I made that decision three and a half years ago,” Vettori said. “So that’s it. My timing was always to finish after the World Cup and that stays the same.”Vettori’s stint has been a disappointing one for New Zealand, as his captaincy coincided with a significant dip in form for the Test team. Under him, New Zealand have won only six Tests in three years, with four of those wins coming against Bangladesh. They have lost eighteen Tests and drawn thirteen, with nine series losses out of thirteen.Throughout his captaincy, Vettori has been New Zealand’s most consistent performer with the ball, taking 116 wickets at an average of 33.38, ahead of Chris Martin’s 93 scalps at 35.08. He has also been routinely called upon to provide stability to New Zealand’s batting from the lower order. He’s hit four centuries and nine fifties as captain and his aggregate since taking over – 1917 runs – stands behind only Ross Taylor’s and Brendon McCullum’s during the same period. For much of his captaincy, Vettori has been New Zealand’s talisman. A tireless workhorse with the ball, and a courageous fighter with bat in hand.”There are always regrets, you always want to perform better,” Vettori said. “But I can walk away from the captaincy thinking that I gave it everything, particularly with my performance.”The captaincy hasn’t been entirely joyless though for Vettori as he singled out victories that brought him satisfaction during his tenure as leader. “The Test win against England and the Test win against Pakistan last year were highlights. Just seeing a group of young guys come into the team [has also been a highlight]. It’s a vastly different outfit from the one I started captaining and I think there are some really talented players there.”Vettori also sees a bright future ahead as long as New Zealand’s young squad can capitalise on their talent, but claims the team lacks genuine strike power. “If we can get the most out of the likes Taylor, Ryder, McCullum, Guptill and Williamson in the years to come, I think there’s an exciting team there. We still need to find fast bowlers coming in. You always want to find guys who can penetrate, so if they come along, that would be great.”Despite stepping down from the captaincy, Vettori confirmed he would continue to play Test cricket and has no plans for retirement as yet. “Test cricket is the part of the game I love. I want to play for as long as I can. There are still a lot of things I want to achieve, so there’s no way I’m stepping away from Test cricket.”He will captain the side in the upcoming one-day series against Pakistan, before leading the team to the World Cup. “We’ve got six one-dayers and then the big World Cup, so there’s still a lot of captaincy to come. So that last game-hopefully the World Cup final, that’s when the weight [of the captaincy] will be lifted.”

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have cancelled Herschelle Gibbs’ national contract “by mutual agreement”, the association announced on Friday. Gibbs was one of 23 players contracted to CSA for one-year ending in April 2011.”He violated his contract on various grounds,” a source with knowledge of the decision told ESPNcricinfo. “Most employment contracts have a clause that the employee may not criticise the employer and there are many occasions where he did that.”However, Gibbs’ lawyer, Peter Whelan, suggested that the decision was not by mutual consent, saying he was still waiting “for CSA’s lawyer to call me back so we can have a discussion”.Gibbs released a tell-all autobiography, , on November 1, which sold out its first print run of 15,000 copies in five days. His book disclosed details of sexual debauchery, particularly on the tour to Australia in 1997-98, allegations that the team was run by a clique of senior players that included Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers and that former national coach Mickey Arthur was controlled by this inner circle.CSA asked their legal counsel to look into the allegations made in the book shortly after its release. They refused to comment at the time whether they thought Gibbs had breached his contract. Smith expressed his disappointment at Gibbs claims and Darryl Cullinan hit out at the assertion that he had blown the whistle on a group of team members who had smoked marijuana on the 2001 tour of the Caribbean. Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive said that he had not read the book before the association asked for legal advice.CSA would not be drawn on whether the content of Gibbs book has led to the cancellation of his contract. “Because of the sensitivity of the matter as well as the confidentiality agreements signed between the parties, the matter is now closed and there will be no further comments from the parties concerned,” Majola said in a statement.”It’s actually a blessing in disguise for him [Gibbs] because he wants to go and play in the Australian Big Bash and the New Zealand Twenty-Over competition and he can make a lot of money there,” the source said. “He will lose about R300,000 (US$ 42,857) from the cancellation of his contract but he willl make up twice that playing in leagues around the world.”Gibbs recently quit first-class cricket but plays in the limited-overs forms of the game He had expressed the desire to play in next year’s World Cup, although he said that he didn’t realistically see himself being selected.

Officialdom in Pakistan has finally made contact with Zulqarnain Haider in a continuing bid to find out the exact nature of events prior to the wicketkeeper’s sudden fleeing of Dubai for London. The PCB chairman Ijaz Butt spoke with Haider on Thursday and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK, also met with the 24-year-old.Though Haider told a local news channel that support and assistance had been offered by Ijaz Butt, a board spokesman said the purpose of the communication had been solely “to find out what made him do what he did.” The PCB’s three-man fact-finding committee – comprised team manager Intikhab Alam, the security manager Major Najam Javed and a senior board official Subhan Ahmed – has also been trying to establish contact, without success so far.Questions, however, are still being asked about Haider’s actions five days after the event. He insists he fled because of threats he received after turning down the approaches of an unidentified man who wanted him to be involved in fixing the last two ODIs against South Africa.In an interview with the fourth ODI, in which his unbeaten 19 helped Pakistan home in a nail-biter. Taffazul Rizvi, the board’s legal advisor, asked why Haider waited until Monday before deciding to leave; the latest the approach could have occurred was Thursday (the fourth ODI was on Friday), which means he waited four days before leaving.”In our culture, when are you worried about your family’s safety, you run to their side,” Rizvi told the . “Whereas he has run to a different country.”Reports have also emerged indicating Haider was on the verge of being dropped from the one-day line-up. The influential Urdu daily claimed in a front page report, citing team sources, that Haider was not inked in to be a part of either the fourth or fifth ODI. Instead, in a bid to find a better balance to the side, the team management was keen on doubling up Umar Akmal as a batsman-wicketkeeper in his place.But an ankle injury prevented Umar Akmal from playing the fourth ODI and though he fulfilled that role after Haider’s departure in the last ODI, claims he would have done so regardless of Haider’s status. The report suggests that Haider had been told of his ‘resting’ the evening before the last ODI.Haider, who has sought asylum in the UK and retired from international cricket, also said that he handed over two letters he received in his Dubai hotel room to the ICC’s anti-corruption unit. ESPNcricinfo understands, however, that the ICC at least has not received any documents yet from the player.

The ICC World Cricket League Division 8 tournament began in Kuwait on Saturday and here is a round-up of the action from the first set of matches.And another: Bhutan collapsed for 55 after Vanuatu posted a massive total•International Cricket Council

Vanuatu inflicted an embarrassing 282-run defeat on Bhutan who crumbled for 55 in the face of Vanuatu’s huge 337 for 9. Captain Andrew Mansale led the with 87 off 81 balls, adding 154 alongside Jonathon Dunn (75), but it was the closing stages of the innings that provided the real fireworks. Patrick Matautaava swung his way to 79 from 43 deliveries including seven fours and four sixes and he wasn’t finished there as he then claimed 4 for 11 in Bhutan’s reply. None of the batsmen could muster double figures in an innings that lasted 23.1 overs.”It feels great to have been able to help the team to our first win of the tournament and to get my Man of the Match award from Tony Hill was pretty cool,” said Matautaava. “But this is only the first game of a long tournament.”In another clash that was the definition of one-sided, hosts Kuwait hammered Suriname by nine wickets and the entire contest lasted 36 overs. Kuwait were only chasing a paltry 77 and knocked off their target in 7.1 overs. The trouncing was set up by their opening bowlers, Mohammad Murad and Saad Khalid, who shared eight wickets. At 27 for 7 Suriname were also threatening not to have anyone reach double figures, but Terbhawan Ranjit (19) and Anthony Seeraj (12 not out) managed to edge the total to 76 which was boosted by 19 wides.”It was a dream start for us to begin the tournament with a victory but we can’t be complacent,” said captain Hisham Mirza. “Vanuatu are in our group and after their big win today, we need to make sure we’re prepared to face them tomorrow in Hubara. I couldn’t have hoped for a better start for us today and it was good to finish so early so we had time to relax ahead of tomorrow’s game where we hope we can also do well.”Germany produced an impressive comeback to beat Zambia by 11 runs after only posting 128. In reply, Zambia were well placed on 58 for 2 but Shakeel Hassan turned the match on its with an incisive spell where he took out the middle order and revived Germany’s hopes. Ehsan Latif then returned for a second burst, and carried on where Hassan left off with three scalps, to wrap up the innings as Zambia’s lower order couldn’t absorb the pressure despite the required rate never being an issue. Germany had struggled to form any sort of platform with the bat as they fell to 20 for 3, but Rishi Pillai made a vital 39 before Hassan contributed 20. Hassan’s key role was still to come.Bahamas put in an efficient display to ease past Gibraltar by seven wickets. Their captain Gregory Taylor led the chase with 74 and received solid support from the rest of the top order. Gibraltar had also put in a solid attempt with the bat but couldn’t take advantage of having wickets in hand at the death. Kieron Ferrary top-scored with 52 however, the strike-rates of the middle order were low.

Scorecard
Hamid Hassan starred with 11 wickets•International Cricket Council

Medium-pacer Hamid Hassan single-handedly ended Kenya’s resistance on the fourth and final day to give Afghanistan a 167-win and take them to the top of the Intercontinental Cup table. Just 8.1 overs were needed as Hassan bowled Nehemiah Odhiambo and James Ngoche, and trapped Ragheb Aga and Elijah Otieno lbw, to finish with match figures of 11 for 157.Kenya’s lower-order collapse followed a string of determined starts from the top order that enabled them to make a decent fist of chasing 512. Opener David Obuya made a patient 79 while his top-order colleagues, Collins Obuya and Steve Tikolo, played around him. Both scored fifties, adding 90 and 99 respectively with David. Unfortunately for Kenya, none of them were able to kick on and make the big score that was needed if they were to have any chance of victory.Afghanistan took control of the match after making 464 in the their first innings, built around captain Nawroz Mangal’s maiden first-class century, before bowling Kenya out for 160. The 23-year-old Hassan, who was the first Afghanistan cricketer ever to play at Lord’s when he represented the MCC against a select Europe XI in June, 2007, did the damage early, taking five of the first six wickets to leave Kenya reeling at 90 for 6.Kenya’s bowlers had rallied on the third day to bowl Afghanistan out for 207, with offspinner James Ngoche picking up his first five-wicket haul, but the result was never in doubt.Afghanistan will take on Scotland in the final next month, having won five of their six matches in the league phase. Scotland’s only loss in the league came against Afghanistan, who beat them by 229 runs. Hassan was the bowling star in that match as well, with almost identical figures of 11 for 154. He is the leading wicket-taker in the Intercontinental Cup with 35 wickets at an average of 21.17 and a strike-rate of 33.8. His teammate, Mohammad Shahzad, is the top run-scorer, having made 736 runs at an average of 81.77.

Match facts

Saturday, September 11
Start time 17.30 (15.30 GMT)Matthew Hayden had a poor IPL and will need to lift his game in the Champions League•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

This is just the second Champions League Twenty20 but it’s already built a strong perception: that the IPL teams are at a disadvantage because they are just mercenaries, ronins who assemble for two months a year. The real “teams” like Warriors or South Australia know each other better and gel with each other so well that they hold the edge. This second edition could make or break that cliché.Stephen Fleming, Chennai Super Kings’ coach, is slightly nervous, since he too believes in that perception. Or so he says. “It’s a big challenge for the IPL teams. They [teams like Central Districts] hold the advantage. They play a lot of cricket together. We just come together for two months in a year. We have used this week [of preparation] to get up to the speed. The best catalyst for that will be a win tomorrow. If things don’t go well we have to work very hard to get back into the competition. Tomorrow is a very important day.”It certainly is as Chennai have been slow starters in the last two editions of the IPL. Fleming says he is desperate to change that bad habit. In a short competition like this, and especially against a relatively weaker team like Central Districts, you can’t get off to a bad start.There are a few other concerns. Some haven’t played much competitive cricket. “Some players like Matthew Hayden are coming out of the cold,” Fleming said. “So you work harder with them but they are experienced. If you push too hard you are making too much of an issue of it. On one hand we are trying to be relaxed about what we need to do but as a coaching group you are bit nervous as you want to do a bit more.”Not that their opponent Central Districts are riding a wave of confidence. Inclement weather hampered their preparations back home. They just have managed a week of proper practice, according to their new coach Alan Hunt. The injuries to Jacob Oram and Graham Napier, and the loss of Ross Taylor to Bangalore Royal Challengers have been huge setbacks.Their strength is their mystery, their unknown quality. Even Fleming, a New Zealander, hasn’t seen many of their youngsters. Not that Hunt is expecting any miracles from his young team. He sees this tournament as an opportunity for his boys get used to playing at this level, learn from the exposure, and go back home as a better team and better professionals. “If we can do that, I would be happy.” Not many expect much from them. It puts them in perfect position to hurt a bigger team by an upset win.

Pitch and conditions

The pitches in the practice games have done quite a bit. The ball has swung and seamed around. Fleming called it “tricky”. The locals reckon 150 should be a good score. It has been drizzling in the late evenings for the past few days though the sun came out strongly today to revive batsmen’s hopes. Only time will tell how the pitch will behave.

Watch out for…

Michael Hussey is not the first name that springs to mind when you think of Twenty20. The Durban pitch could well put his talents at a premium. The ball is expected to seam and swing around. Hussey’s compact batsmanship could help hold Chennai together. If he stays in for a few overs he can prove to be a terrific finisher.Adam Milne, the 18-year-old lanky medium-fast bowler, grabbed four wickets in his debut first-class game last season after received a surprise call-up the night before. He has just played three first-class games. He doesn’t have any Twenty20 or any List A experience at the domestic level. His coach Hunt, though, reckons he could be the most potent young talent in this team.

Key contests

Matthew Hayden v Milne Hayden is known for his ruthlessness. He is known for taking apart colts and Milne is definitely the new kid in the block. Hayden sees such inexperience as an invitation to impose himself, to showcase his imperious nature. The contest could reveal Milne’s character.

Stats and trivia

• Matthew Hayden didn’t shine in the last IPL. Despite a score of 93 in one game, he only averaged 21. Six other Chennai players had better averages than him. That innings of 93, though, came in just 43 balls with seven sixes and nine fours.

Quotes

“They [Central Districts] have some youngsters even I don’t know about. They ware bit of unknown quantity but they have a great attitude and fight for everything. It will be a tricky start for us to the competition.”
Stephen Fleming is wary of his countrymen
“We are used to not having Jacob Oram around. We might not have the big stars but we have couple of young guys people don’t know much. Some might call us underdogs; I expect the crowds to get behind us”

ScorecardBen Phillips put Essex under pressure with two wickets in his opening spell•Getty Images

Ravi Bopara missed a golden opportunity to press his claims for a place on theAshes tour this winter when he failed to perform in front of national selectorGeoff Miller at Colchester.He made just a single as Essex replied to Somerset’s 215 all out, falling lbwto Charles Willoughby. It signalled the continuation of a disappointing sequence for Bopara. Since scoring a century in each innings of the match against Yorkshire, he has scored just 41 runs in his last five trips to the middle in the County Championship.On an absorbing opening day Essex reached the close on 126 for 6, to leavethe contest intriguingly poised going into the second day. While Bopara’s struggles continue, Miller must have been impressed with the efforts of James Hildreth who maintained his season’s fine form.He came into this match with an average well over 50 and made 84 to keepSomerset afloat after Marcus Trescothick had been caught at slip from the thirdball of the match, without a run on the board, to provide David Masters with oneof his five wickets.Coming in with the total on 32 for 3, Hildreth batted with fluency togather a dozen boundaries before he chipped Masters to short mid-wicket. Next highest score was Zander de Bruyn with 34, but not before he was called back to resume his innings.When he had made 16 he was given out lbw by umpire Peter Willey, but followinga consultation between Willey and his colleague John Steele he returned tocontinue with his innings which was eventually ended by Danish Kaneria, thanksto a fine diving catch by Mark Pettini at first slip.Masters went on to finish with 5 for 43 from 21.1 overs, his best figures ofthe summer. Tony Palladino and Chris Wright weighed in with two wickets each. Somerset, who are nursing realistic hopes of being county champions, will have been disappointed with their efforts with the bat against opponents looking favourites to drop into the second division.However they fought back strongly. Either side of Bopara’s departure BenPhillips struck to remove Jaik Mickleburgh and Matt Walker before pacemanAlfonso Thomas raced in to make further inroads into the innings.First he trapped Billy Godleman lbw for 32 before cutting short the promisinginnings of Pettini who had reached 34 when he was caught behind. Then in the final over of the day Willoughby had Foster caught in the gulley for 16 to end a partnership of 47 with Ryan ten Doeschate, who will resume on 36.In all, 16 wickets fell on the day for 341 but pitches liaison officer JackBirkenshaw announced himself “reasonably satisfied” with the pitch. However, Birkenshaw revealed he will again be in attendance tomorrow to see if there is any marked deterioration.

The paint has barely dried on the neutral honour board at Lord’s, but already Ricky Ponting is hoping to get more from his bowlers in the second Test at Headingley. Shane Watson and Marcus North were the first two entries on the new bowling board under the headline “other”, to represent neutral Tests, and it’s also a fair description of their place in Australia’s attack.In swinging and seaming conditions, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger collected six of the 20 wickets and with the potential for overcast weather again, there should be further assistance in Leeds. Johnson bowled well in the first innings but lost his radar in the second, while Bollinger struggled to find any movement.It was the only area in which Ponting was less than fully satisfied during the 150-run victory, which extended Australia’s winning streak against Pakistan to 13 Tests. There were no centuries from the batsmen but in trying circumstances, they still performed much better than their Pakistani counterparts.”If you want to be critical you can probably look at the fact that we got 11 wickets out of Watson and North in the game,” Ponting said. “Our fast bowlers probably tried a little bit too hard I think in conditions that were suiting the quicker bowlers. I think they probably tried to get a bit too much out of the wicket.”That can happen here [in Leeds] as well because you know that this place is a place that can nip about a bit for the seamers – we’ve spoken about that a bit. Otherwise I was pretty happy, our fielding was pretty sharp, I don’t think we put any chances down. It’s just more about getting your head back around playing good solid Test match cricket again.”On a Headingley pitch likely to be tough work for the batsmen, the Australian pacemen will be licking their lips at the prospect of attacking Pakistan’s middle order. Umar Amin and Azhar Ali both showed glimpses of promise at Lord’s but will be in only their second Test, while Umar Akmal is talented but also lacks experience.Kamran Akmal is the only member of the batting group who has played a Leeds Test, four years ago, and he fell twice to Sajid Mahmood for 20 and 0. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan both made big hundreds in that game and although there is the possibility they will be called upon for the series against England, Pakistan will have to make do with their fresh-looking line-up this week.”Their batters are not that used to batting in conditions like that,” Ponting said. “When you are brought up in Pakistan you don’t generally see the ball seam around and swing around like it did last week. With the inexperience they have got in their batting, their No. 3 and No. 4 spots, guys making their debut last week, we feel we can get the Akmals pretty early as well when they come in if we expose them at the right time.”The one man that will worry the Australians slightly is the new Pakistan captain Salman Butt, who made 63 and 92 at Lord’s, where Ponting said Butt batted as well as he had ever seen from him. With the added pressure of captaincy, Butt will be key for Pakistan with the bat and marshalling his troops in the field and Ponting said the best way of bruising his confidence was to get him out cheaply.”If any pressure needs to be put on him this week it’s going to be with what we do with the ball,” Ponting said. “I think we were a little bit off the mark with what we did with the ball to him last week and he hit a lot of boundaries. I think his first 50 in the second innings he hit 10 or 11 boundaries, so we’ve got to stop that.”

Wicketkeeper Reece Young has switched to Canterbury for the next New Zealand domestic season after having spent more than a decade with Auckland. Young has had to fight for the wicketkeeping spot at Auckland with Gareth Hopkins since 2008, though a rich run of batting form earned him a place in New Zealand’s Test squad which toured Sri Lanka last year.With Canterbury’s Kruger van Wyk having moved to Central Districts, Young will get a chance to show his prowess behind the stumps and strengthen his case for international cricket, particularly after Brendon McCullum’s decision to give up keeping in Tests. “There has come a time where I need to further my career and push for my dream of playing international cricket for New Zealand,” Young said. “Canterbury Cricket has given me an opportunity and fresh environment to do this.”I looked at the spot open in Canterbury and with Brendon McCullum’s recent news to stand down from Test keeping, it seemed like a logical choice. My ultimate goal is to play for New Zealand and at the end of the day the decision I’ve made is to help achieve that goal,” Reece said.Though he was competing with Hopkins for a spot in the Auckland set-up, Young insisted that he maintained a professional relationship with him. “Gareth and I had a strong professional relationship in Auckland. We managed the issue of having two top-class keepers and we shared the duties well,” he said. “But to keep full time was a big carrot. I didn’t want to finish my career with any regrets. I want to do my upmost to achieve higher honours and at the end of the day I’ve made the right move and I’m happy with that although it was hard leaving Auckland.”Young hoped to further his claims for a national call-up during the upcoming Emerging Players Tournament in Australia, where he will represent New Zealand A. “It’s a good opportunity to showcase my one-day and Twenty20 talent. I’m looking forward to getting out there and producing consistent, solid performances, and Gareth will be away in Sri Lanka. It’s a good chance for the selectors to look at us and see who is in form.”To be honest, it’s an exciting time. Obviously the door’s ajar for that spot and I’m just going to do what I can and play to my potential. I’ll leave it in the hands of the selectors,” Young said.Bob Carter, the Canterbury coach, welcomed the arrival of the 30-year-old Young. “I am delighted to have Reece coming to play for the Wizards,” Carter said. “He will bring with him his specialist wicket-keeping skills which will support the team’s performances along with his specialist batting skills at all levels of the game.”Young has played 96 first-class matches averaging nearly 30, and has taken 261 catches. Last season, he was Auckland’s second highest run-getter, raking in 574 runs at 52.18.