All posts by csb10.top

There was once a man who said “cricket’s a funny game.” If indeed thatis true, and a truer statement you cannot hope to hear, then VVSLaxman was the master comedian at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on thefourth day of the second Test. Making a chanceless unbeaten 275,Laxman put smiles on the faces of thousands of spectators. RahulDravid, whose image took a bit of a beating in the press recently,emerged as a potent force making an unbeaten 155. No wickets were loston the day, 335 runs were scored, not a single catch given and ninebowlers were used. Tell Steve Waugh that cricket is a funny game. Oneis sure he won’t see the humour in the situation.To fully appreciate the magnitude of the day’s proceedings, one wouldhave to be one of 50,000 odd people crammed into the stands at theEden Gardens. But that is not a privilege everyone was blessed with. Alook at the records that fell will tell a story of it’s own. Laxman’s275 not out is the highest ever score by an Indian in the history ofTest cricket. When he surpassed Sunil Gavaskar’s mark of 236, whichthe little master made against the fearsome West Indies at Chennaimore than 17 years ago, there was a colossal roar in the stands. Inthe press box however, there was a hush in some sections, as many oldtimers were visibly saddened by the fact that Gavaskar’s record hadfallen.The partnership between Dravid and Laxman, an unbeaten 357 thus far,easily bettered the highest partnership for India for the fifthwicket. The previous best for the same wicket was 214, betweenMohammed Azharuddin and Ravi Shastri against England in 1984-85. Thepartnership is also the highest for any wicket by an Indian pairagainst Australia, beating the 298 (unbroken) for the sixth wicketthat Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri put together in the 1986-87series. Laxman’s score is also the highest score by any batsman at theEden Gardens, surpassing the 256 made by the great Rohan Kanhai in the1958-59 series.Phew.That is a lot of records to tumble in one day. And to be sure, this isnot the end of it. Tomorrow, when Laxman (275 not out, 438 balls, 44fours) and Dravid (155 not out, 318 balls, 18 fours) come back, morerecords will fall. John Edrich’s record of 52 boundaries in hisinnings of 310 against New Zealand in 1965 is under severe threat. Butenough said about statistics.Today was one of those days when every pressman in the Eden Gardensfelt like abandoning his seat and rushing out to the join thechanting, hooting, yelling crowds. With Tendulkar gone, it was timefor some of the other batsmen in the Indian team to stand up and becounted. The manner in which Laxman and Dravid destroyed the high ofthe 16 win on the trot Australians was a sight to be seen. The EdenGardens as a venue lends itself supremely well to the big occasion.The atmosphere is that of a bull ring rather than a quiet cricketground. There’s no Long Room, there are no WG Grace Gates and there isno Father Time on the weather vane looking down at a match inprogress. This is as different from Lord’s as you can possibly get.And yet, the place inspires a sense of history and draws on a greatwell of human emotions. Steve Waugh was the first to acknowledge thatwhen he made his century. Dravid today let go a great deal more onreaching his hundred than he normally does. If waving the bat at thedressing room and crowds was not enough, the Karnataka batsmanspecifically gestured to the press box. The young man was obviouslyupset by something written earlier. Today, he let his bat do thetalking.Spearheaded by Laxman, India have made one of the most dramaticrecoveries in Test cricket. From being down and nearly out, India arenow 589/4, leading by 315 with one day’s play left. With the pitchplaying more true than Robin Hood’s straightest arrow, India will beguarded against making a premature declaration. While Laxman marchestowards becoming the first Indian to see 300 against his name in aTest scorecard, Dravid will be asked to accelerate the scoring firstthing in the morning. Perhaps in the middle of the first session, theIndian captain might decide to let his bowlers have a go at theAussies. When he does so, anything can happen.However, Laxman will sleep soundly today, in the knowledge that he hasmade the number three slot his own for some time to come. What willinspire the soundest sleep however, is the fact that Laxman has, inone stroke, singlehandedly revived India’s sagging fortunes and gone along way in ending Australia’s long run of victories.

Retiring New Zealand wicket-keeper Adam Parore achieved the goal that he has always targeted, reaching 200 wicket-keeping dismissals when taking one of the key wickets for New Zealand in their 78-run win over England in Auckland today.Parore caught Graham Thorpe, double century maker in the first Test, for four runs off Daryl Tuffey’s bowling.It was an important milestone in terms of wicket-keeping and he had been stuttering his way towards it through the series.It had been nice to finally get the dismissal so that he could get on and enjoy the day.The people who are on the list ahead of him had always been his heroes since he had been a child.”I used to read about them in books and watch them on videos,” he said.Inevitably, he was asked about the appeal from Andrew Flintoff in the first innings when replays showed the ball was nowhere near the bat.”I heard a sound and appealed.”We’ve had nine caught behinds given not out that were definitely out this summer. You get some freebies and some go against you, that’s the game. If the umpire turns one down I don’t blame the batsman for not walking off the ground.”It’s got nothing to do with us, the umpires make the decision and you live by it. Some go your way, some don’t,” he said.On reflection, Parore said that starting young had been a good thing but it meant that he was not really a good Test player until about halfway through his career.Parore did explain a possible reason for the catching problems New Zealand experienced during the series, and which produced the unusual sight today of a reliable fieldsman like Chris Harris completely failing to see a ball coming at him at gully, while Brooke Walker also struggled to see a ball that flew past him at point to the boundary.He said it was the light at this time of the year, late in the season.”It is very milky, and a soft light, you have no idea where the ball is when it comes out of that sightscreen [southern end] at you,” he said.As regards his retirement he said there were other things he wanted to do.”For me the decision was made on a number of levels. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play cricket any more, it was just that I wanted to do other things more.”I would like to have a career in business, not tour, have a family and I’m 31 years of age and got no job, I’ve got no family and I’m not married.At the end of my life I always saw myself as people thinking of me as a cricketer.”It’s something I’ve thought about seriously for five years now,” he said, adding that he started to think seriously about last October, it hadn’t been a bolt out of the blue.He ends his career after 78 Tests in which he scored 2865 runs at 26.28 with 197 catches and seven stumpings.

Shaun Pollock left his best for last as he helped Warwickshire slip in the back door by beating Glamorgan and claiming a best third place finish to reach the Benson & Hedges Cup quarter-finals later this month.Pollock coming in at the fall of the first wicket scored 64 out of a total of 261 in the 50 over allocation. He then returned with a match winning bowling spell of 4/12 in nine overs helping to bowl Glamorgan out for 203. His efforts were rewarded with Man of the Match.Nottinghamshire were not as lucky and are out of the competition after being bowled out for 95 with Lance Klusener scoring four, Kevin Pieterson 20 and Greg Smith seven not out. Leicestershire reached the target in the 19 th over with none of the South Africans able to get a wicket. Klusener is now on his way back to South Africa and will be replaced by Nicky Boje.Middlesex needing six off the last ball of the match lost against Hampshire with Sven Koenig only managing to get two runs. For Hampshire Neil Johnson got a first baller while Nic Pothas scored 26 with the bat.Sussex beat Surrey by losing less wickets after both teams ended on 220. Mark Davis taking 2/47 and scoring 15 coming in at number nine. Davis, playing for Sussex, together with Pollock will be the only players with a South African connection going through to the quarter-finals.The eight South Africans playing in the Lancashire League seem to be enjoying a lot more success than the ones playing County cricket. After four matches most of the players have shown form in their various disciplines.Pierre Joubert is the leading batsman amongst the South Africans having scored a total of 216 runs which includes a 104 and a 71*. Joubert has also taken a total of 9 wickets with a best of 3/36.Martin van Jaarsveld with a 201 aggregate has a 107* and a 60* but it is his bowling that has caught they eye. 18 wickets with two six wicket hauls and a best of 6/46.Andre Seymore missing out on the first week of cricket in the league has 117 runs with a best of 68. He has also been in the wickets with seven to his name and a best of 5/39.Charl Langeveldt is the leading wicket taker with 20 and a best of 8/52 with the ball and 67 runs with a highest of 45 with the bat.Andrew Hall after scoring 49 in his first game has struggled since having scored a total of 62 runs in his four matches. Eight wickets and a best of 3/41 shows that he has so far not had a good start to the season.Likewise Jacques Rudolph has a high of 29 out of a total of 50 runs and 4 wickets with a best of 2/22.Con de Lange has 47 runs to his name with a best of 32 but has taken 13 wickets with his best being 8/20.Paul Adams has had no success with the bat scoring a total of 12 runs and a highest of 6 while he has taken 12 wickets with a best of 4/57 in his first match.

Hampshire Hawks suffered yet another defeat in the Norwich Union League Division II match this time against Lancashire Lightning, their sixth successive reverse in this league.There were perhaps a few more optimistic points to this performance than of late, in particular the batting of Jason Laney, and the bowling of the young James Tomlinson.Choosing to bat first, as is the norm in these floodlit matches, Hampshire struggled early on against the Lancashire seamers, the muggy conditions making the ball wobble about alarmingly.At 60 for 5, an early finish looked on the card, but this time the batting fought back, and posting 187 in the end was a testament to the grit that this team has at times. Jason Laney who has not been having the best of seasons scored a gritty 71, and he was helped in partnerships with Kendall, Mascarenhas and Tremlett.A partnership of 116 between Stuart Law and Mark Chilton gave Lancashire a platform that should have seen them coast to victory, not without controversy, when Law edged Tremlett to Johnson at slip, and was three parts back to the pavilion when he was called back, for the umpires to consult the third TV umpire, who was undecided by numerous replays, and had to give the benefit of the doubt to the batsman.On Law’s dismissal finally, Lancashire began to panic, and wickets fell at intervals, until with seven required off the last over skipper Warren Hegg drove Tomlinson for four to win it for the home side.Some questions however remained. Why was Law allowed to hang around when he had first accepted the catch from Johnson, why did Mullally and the economical Tremlett not bowl their full allocation of overs and why was Stuart Law awarded the Man of the Match award, an overpaid overseas star, when really Mark Chilton deserved the honour.

Two or three hours of unresolved discussion on the remuneration issue separating the parties in the New Zealand cricket pay dispute has resulted in a mediator being called in tomorrow.New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Martin Snedden said the terms of the player response to NZC’s offer were confidential but he said it was clear after discussions today that no progress was being made.It was mutually agreed that a mediator should be brought in tomorrow to assist in breaking the deadlock that has paralysed the upper echelons in the game for the month of October.Tomorrow is the last scheduled day of the players’ withdrawal from contact with NZC and the Major Associations.Snedden said a mediator had no power to make a decision in the dispute unless both parties agreed, and that was not the case at the moment, he said.The mediator will be from the Department of Labour.”We just want to try and find a resolution, we are so far apart and it is a difficult issue to resolve so we will go through the process tomorrow and see if we can reach a resolution finally,” he said.

Somerset cricketers will be spending the Jubilee Holiday on Tuesday in Cornwall playing cricket against Callington Cricket Club in a match in aid of Rob Turner’s Benefit.There may be a more relaxed match day atmosphere than usual for the Somerset team, but for Callington this is a very big occasion, and they will be looking to score the double over the Cidermen, having beaten them two years ago in a similar match.Jamie Hatch, from Callington Cricket Club told me: "This is a very special day for the club. Two seasons ago Peter Bowler brought a side down to play against us and we beat them so we will be looking to win again on Tuesday."Rob Turner is bringing a strong side down to Cornwall, and is expecting to include England stars Andy Caddick and Marcus Tescothick in the line up.Earlier today Rob told me: "This will be a most enjoyable way to spend the Jubilee Holiday, it’s always good to go down to Cornwall. Most of the first team will be playing and I’m expecting Marcus and Andy to play for me. I look forward to meeting everybody down at Callington and I hope that a lot of people will come along and support the event."The forty over match gets underway at 2 pm, and there will be a bar and barbeque serving refreshments

His job is to maintain the scorebook while a match is going on. The thing that is notable is that he is always found wearing black trousers in the stadium. Is it some special affection for the dark color that makes him do that? We, when got such rumor from a sports periodical, asked Mr. Habibullah who prefers to call himself Habibullah Scorer how far it is true. The jovial man burst into laughter and added," All because of playing a sometime double-role in the match." The thing is that our umpires at times become precarious on their duty days-becoming the victim of deep sleep syndrome. Such a weird day was left for the viewers fifteen days earlier in a Premier Division match between Abahani and Dhanmondi. One of the umpires could not be spotted anywhere when fielders and batsmen are on the field waiting for the game to start-it was already twenty minutes late. Now Habibullah Scorer stretched his hand to assist the other umpire who was seemed to be in dire straits-started the match with him without making further delay. Mr Habibullah was wearing his dark slacks like any day and he borrowed a white T-shirt from one of the players to become a square leg umpire. After ten overs the missing umpire was seen approaching hurriedly. Why late?-" Sleeping, I just got over-slept" he rattled off. However, a black slack saved the match from being doomed any way! Cheers for Habibullah!

Before a ball of the new first class cricket season has been bowled, Somerset County Cricket Club membership is looking in a healthy position, thanks to the large numbers who have signed up for 2002.Membership secretary Joanne Betsworth told me earlier today: "Membership numbers for the new season are looking very good indeed, and we are well ahead of where we were at the same stage last season, which is all very pleasing. We are especially pleased with the number of new members who have signed up and also the numbers of Junior Sabres, which is a category we have worked very hard to promote."Accounts manager John Fitzgerald confirmed the financial situation and told me: "At the present time we are 20% ahead of where we were at this time in April 2001, which is largely due to the increased membership numbers."With the first home game of the new season against Glamorgan in the Benson & Hedges Cup scheduled to take place at the County Ground a week tomorrow, anyone intending to join should do so now to make the maximum use of their membership.Joining the club could not be simpler, just click on to the membership section on the website and complete the required sections, or telephone 01823 272946 and talk to Jo Betsworth.The club is looking to recruit people to work in the catering department on match days at the County Ground. For a Somerset fan this is a unique opportunity to combine business and pleasure and anyone interested should contact Brian Lee or San Safe on 01823 272946.

Coach Phil Whitticase still believes Leicestershire can win the Frizzell County Championship title – despite the fact that Surrey have increased their lead at the top with a sensational victory over Kent.Surrey are now 24.75 points ahead of second placed Leicestershire with seven games to go.This week Leicesteshire take on Kent,who are fourth, and still have to meet Surrey twice before the end of the season. Whitticase feels it is those two games which could decide the outcome of the title.On the eve of the Grace Road clash with Kent he said:”It is getting very tight at the top with Sussex right in there as well, and I can see it being a very close finish.”It was a tremendous win by Surrey and full credit to them for successfuly chasing more than 400 for victory.But from our point of view it is still in our own hands. We are now one win behind Surrey, and we still have to play them twice.”Those two matches could be crucial. But this week’s game against Kent is now a massive one as well, and it is important that we get a good result to stay in touch with Surrey.”Leicestershire go into the game in confident mood after three successive wins in the Norwich Union League and improved performances in the last two Championship matches, both of which were rain affected.The return of captain Vince Wells after a neck injury is likely to be the only change from the side on duty against Hampshire in the last Championship game.The squad is: Wells (captain),Ward, Sutcliffe, Maddy, Bevan, Stevens, Burns(wicket-keeper), DeFreitas, Crowe, Malcolm, Whiley, Cunliffe.

On the heels of two successive victories over their formidable opponents, Carl Hooper is expecting South Africa to rebound with venom in the second Cable & Wireless One-Day International at the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) today.”They are definitely going to come back. There are no two ways about that,” the West Indies captain said yesterday.”They are going to come back, and come back hard in this game, and we have got to be prepared for that.”South Africa’s last-ball defeat in the opening match of the series at Sabina Park on Saturday was only their second loss in their last 12 One-Day Internationals and it followed a defeat against the West Indies in the final match of the Test series.Two wins in succession, in whatever form of the game, have not been commonplace for the West Indies during the last ten months, but they are not enough to make Hooper’s men feel they are on top of the world.”I don’t think we are in a position where we can even think about being complacent,” he said.”We’re only 1-0 up in a seven-match series, so there is still a lot of cricket to be played. If we had won four (games), we probably would be looking at it differently. We’ve got to try and win this one here and try and win four games as quickly as possible.”Hooper was speaking after the West Indies’ practice session at the Airport Ground and he pronounced himself fully fit after sustaining cramps in both legs while batting on Saturday.”Jamaica was just a bout of cramps caused by the loss of too much water but I am 100 per cent fit and ready to go,” he said.”I had a bat yesterday and today and I feel fine. I’m okay.”West Indies, however, suffered a casualty with the unavailability of the hard-hitting Ricardo Powell, who sustained a thigh strain while batting in Jamaica. In any case, there was a feeling that Shivnarine Chanderpaul would have challenged Powell for his place.There is another change to the side, with local boy Kerry Jeremy predictably making way for Nixon McLean. Jeremy bowled five expensive overs in Jamaica.The match is the West Indies’ first at the ARG since 1989 and only the sixth ever One-Day International in this country.West Indies have never lost here in their previous four appearances, but when they last played at the ground, Vivian Richards was still captain of a team that included the likes of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Jeffrey Dujon, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop.Interestingly enough, Haynes made a century when the ARG hosted its first One-Day International in 1978 and Greenidge had the pleasure of hitting the only other three-digit score when the ground staged its last match involving the West Indies.Hooper is the only survivor from those days.The recent wins would have boosted everyone, but the West Indies captain said it was important that the trend be maintained.”We struggled a little bit during the Test series and we finally managed to pull one back in Jamaica and then won the first One-Day game, which was good for our confidence,” he said.”Obviously, we want to continue the winning ways and hopefully build team-morale and confidence as we look towards the future.”What the experience of the last two weeks proved to the West Indies was that they have what it requires to overcome opponents who trounced them 5-0 in the 1998-99 Test series and 6-1 in the One-Day Internationals that followed.”We’ve won one and think we should have won that one by a wider margin,” Hooper said in reference to the Jamaica match in which the West Indies nearly slipped up in pursuit of a target of 201.”We’ve shown that we’ve got what it takes to beat them. I don’t see any reason why shouldn’t win again here and then hopefully take the same thing down to Grenada.”The match marks the debut One-Day International appearance of Antiguan umpire Clancy Mack.