All posts by h716a5.icu

AB de Villiers, the South Africa limited-overs captain, has said the team has started to respond to his style of captaincy, as was evident from South Africa’s 3-0 trouncing of New Zealand in the one-day series

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2012AB de Villiers, the South Africa limited-overs captain, has said the team has started to respond to his style of captaincy, as was evident from South Africa’s 3-0 trouncing of New Zealand in the one-day series. de Villiers took over the ODI captaincy from Graeme Smith, who is still the Test captain, after the 2011 World Cup, and has led the side to six victories in eight games.”I like to think that I have my own style of captaincy that’s a bit different to Biff’s [Smith’s],” de Villiers said after South Africa won the third ODI, in Auckland. “I still believe he is an unbelievable captain, but hopefully my style is taking off a bit and the team is getting used to how I do things.”de Villiers also said he believed the ODI team was as good as the Test side despite being less experienced. “I wouldn’t say our best format is Tests. Our limited-overs side is less experienced but it’s got good energy and is improving quickly. The Test side is a settled side with street-smart cricketers. Both sides are strong in different areas but both try to play a similar brand and quality of cricket.”South Africa now play three Tests against New Zealand, with the first starting on March 7, and de Villiers said that Smith and Jacques Kallis, who both missed the third ODI due to niggles, would be ready for the Tests. Kallis pulled out on the morning of the third ODI, forcing South Africa to make three changes to their XI and open the batting with fast bowler Wayne Parnell; but de Villiers joked that Kallis was just getting on in years and would recover for the Tests.”It was a little all over this place this morning when Jacquesy pulled out,” de Villiers said. “He had a very stiff back and could hardly move. So we were caught offside a bit. But the younger guys – like Marchant and Wayne Parnell, who hasn’t played a lot on this tour – came in and performed impressively.”Jacque should be fine for the Test. He’s just getting a bit older. The mattress he slept on probably wasn’t to his liking and gave him a stiff back. I, like Jacques, suffer from back spasms, so I know that the mattress can play a big role. Sometimes I can hardly get up.”Jacques has always had a bit of an issue with his back. He bowled a lot in the first two games, probably more than I had originally planned, so it’s not such a bad thing to rest him and keep him fresh for the Tests.”Smith suffered a blow on the arm before the first ODI and though he played in that game, he sat out the next two. de Villiers said it was just a precautionary move to leave him out. “Graeme will be ready for the Tests, I’m 100% sure of that. His arm is still sore. We waited till this morning and it wasn’t feeling so good, so we decided that him being captain for the Tests, and with this series already won, he would be better off resting for the Tests.”New Zealand’s batsmen have been troubled by the bounce some of South Africa’s tall bowlers have got. The 6’5” Morne Morkel took a five-wicket haul in the second ODI, and his replacement for the third game, the 6’3” Marchant de Lange, bagged four wickets on ODI debut. de Villiers said there was no specific plan to bounce out New Zealand’s batsmen.”I don’t think we are really focussed on using bounce as a weapon. Some of our bowlers are naturally tall, like Marchant and Morne, so they do get a bit of extra bounce. I personally have trouble facing our bowlers in the nets sometimes, so it’s a natural skill they have. We will just be focussed on the basics and hitting the right areas with good pace. We’ve got variety in our bowling attack so I’m sure the wickets will come.”

Robin Bist remained unbeaten on 82 to help Rajasthan to 530, and leaving Mumbai with plenty to do to salvage points from the game

The Reoprt by Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai11-Nov-2011
Scorecard
Rohit Sharma needs to score big if Mumbai are to match Rajasthan’s big first-innings score•ESPNcricinfo LtdMumbai’s script for this match was bat first, bat once, pile a massive total and dominate the opposition to try and register an outright victory. Except, in a role reversal, defending champions Rajasthan did exactly what heavyweights Mumbai had in mind. If Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the Rajasthan captain, had laid the platform with a serene century on the first day, young Robin Bist played an equally stoic innings, to remain unbeaten on 82 and help the visitors to 530.In reply a shaky Mumbai lost both openers including Wasim Jaffer, their captain and the most senior batsman. Still 426 runs in deficit, Mumbai’s survival is now dependent on the unbeaten pair of Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar, the only two experienced specialist batsmen left in the line-up.In contrast to their difficult state at the end, Mumbai had started the day on a positive note, when both Kanitkar and Bist were watchful. The Brabourne pitch did not betray its flat nature. Neither did the Mumbai fast men: Dhawal Kulkarni and Kshemal Waingankar refrained from bowling fuller lengths, only allowing the batsmen to settle down quickly. Yet only 23 runs came in the first hour off 11 overs.Surprisingly Kanitkar’s shots lacked the conviction of the previous day. He added only 12 runs to his overnight 129 before wafting at a wide delivery outside the off stump from Murtaza Hussain, giving an easy edge to wicketkeeper Onkar Gurav. Mumbai felt they could now snatch the momentum, but Bist put them on the slow drip for more than three hours. His batting might have lacked aggression but it didn’t contain any desperation.He started his innings clipping Kulkarni past midwicket for his first four. When Waingankar, who looked listless through the morning, pitched short, Bist pulled for an easy four. Thereafter he slowed down and focused on rotating strike as far as possible.Rohit Jhalani, the Rajasthan wicketkeeper, though was more keen on hitting hard and eventually threw away his wicket. Jhalani had lofted Iqbal Abdulla, the left-arm spinner, over long-on for a six and four off consecutive deliveries 15 minutes before lunch. But Abdulla bounced back in his next over: giving the perfect loop to a delivery that spun across Jhalani’s bat to knock over the off stump. And when Kulkarni trapped Vivek Yadav in the first over after lunch, the onus was on Bist to carry forward the momentum with the tail to come in.Bist did not relent as he maintained his steady tempo while allowing the trio of Deepak Chahar, Gajendra Singh and Pankaj Singh to play their shots with freedom. He got to his half-century with a square cut that zipped past the point fielder who could only sit on his haunches and watch Bist celebrate his fifty. Valuable partnerships of 49 and 45 for the ninth and the tenth wickets pushed Rajasthan past 500.Pankaj carried the confidence of his 34 into his bowling, removing Mumbai opener Kaustubh Pawar early. Pawar, playing only his second Ranji match, attempted to cut a short delivery which was wide outside off only to offer a simple catch to Jhalani behind the stumps. The Mumbai dressing room was probably calm thinking it was not Jaffer who played that erroneous stroke. Little did they know.Having clipped two on-driven fours off fuller-length deliveries on his legs from Pankaj, Jaffer went for a pull against a short ball off the last delivery of the over. The ball climbed on him fast, and Jaffer could not time it as well as he would have wished and ended up giving an easy catch to mid-on. Pankaj’s roar of delight reverberated through the empty stadium.Mumbai’s troubles were far from over. Rohit Sharma, on 2 (Mumbai were 29 for 2), played an uppish drive straight into the hands of substitute Vaibhav Deshpande at short extra cover but was fortunate as the fielder spilled the chance. The bowler deprived was Chahar. Rohit had only played six deliveries. He brushed aside the early nerves with two brilliant fours in the next three balls.But more drama was in store off the last delivery of the over. Rohit softly tapped towards Ashok Menaria and took off for a single. Nayar responded positively but suddenly stopped and both players were stranded mid-pitch staring at each other embarrassingly. Fortunately for them, Menaria failed to pick up the ball cleanly. Frustration doubled for Rajasthan when Jhalani, who had come in front of the stumps to collect the delayed throw, fumbled, giving Nayar enough time to scamper home safely. Rohit was disgusted and waved his bat in the air to express his dissatisfaction at the confusion.However Rohit moved on swiftly from the incident and even collected four boundaries in Chahar’s eighth over. Those 16 runs took him to within eight runs of the half-century. He reached the mini-landmark by pulling legspinner Yadav over midwicket for an easy four. The job has only started for him and Mumbai.

A round-up of the first day of the first round of matches in the Ranji Trophy Elite 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2011Group BSourav Ganguly scored 34 on his return to first-class cricket, and an unbeaten century from Manoj Tiwary helped carry Bengal to 261 for 4 against Gujarat at Eden Gardens. Choosing to bat, Bengal lost their openers early – Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee was caught off Priyank Panchal, while Arindam Das was run out for a duck. Captain Tiwary, batting at No. 4, built two half-century stands with Arindam Ghosh and Ganguly. The best partnership of the day, however, came from Tiwary and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. The pair put together an unbroken 105-run stand at over four runs an over and went to stumps on 120 and 41 respectively. Medium-pacer Panchal was the pick of the bowlers for Gujarat – who are without Siddharth Trivedi this season – claiming 2 for 22 in a miserly 13-over spell.Bengal coach Manabendra Ghosh said Tiwary ought to be given a longer run in the national side. “It’s a mental issue for Manoj. It’s not easy to score when one is looking over the shoulder all the time,” Ghosh told the . “Basically, he is a confidence player. He needs to given a longer stint in the Indian team to succeed. Besides, he also needs to tighten his defence.”Delhi struck regular blows against Haryana, to keep them to 256 for 7 at the Roshanara Club Ground. Delhi chose to bowl and left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra drew first blood, removing Nitin Saini for 14. Rajat Bhatia and Parvinder Awana were the next to strike, Awana cutting short a promising innings from Sunny Singh as Haryana slipped to 115 for 3. Abhimanyu Khod and Sachin Rana thwarted any chance of a collapse, though, with half-centuries in a 126-run stand. The pair fell to fast bowler Pradeep Sangwan late in the day, as Delhi picked up four wickets in seven overs to finish with the edge.Heavy rain washed out the first day of the Tamil Nadu v Baroda at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, without a ball being bowled.Group ADriven by Ravindra Jadeja’s 141 not out, Saurashtra piled up 305 for 5 against Orissa at the Barabati Stadium. Orissa’s Basant Mohanty justified his captain’s decision to bowl, trapping Chirag Pathak lbw off the second ball of the day. However, a string of steady stands followed, to carry Saurashtra into their position of strength. Bhushan Chauhan steered a 50-run stand for the second wicket, and then put on 142 with Ravindra Jadeja. Chauhan fell to Mohanty for 83, but yet another half-century stand followed between Jadeja and Sagar Jogiyani. Jadeja’s hundred is his fifth in first-class cricket and was studded with 17 fours and a six.Karnataka made 273 for 3 against Rajasthan at the Field Club Ground, courtesy a knock of 121 not out from opener KB Pawan. Rajasthan chose to bowl and were rewarded with the early wicket of Robin Uthappa, who was trapped lbw by Pankaj Singh for a duck. An 88-run partnership between Pawan and Manish Pandey, though, got Karnataka back on track. This was followed by an unbroken century stand between Pawan and Amit Verma, which put them on top.It was another run fest at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, with Punjab getting to 329 for 5 against Uttar Pradesh on the back of a century from Mandeep Singh. Partnerships between Karan Goel, Mandeep and Mayank Sidhana formed the backbone of the innings. The openers fell early to RP Singh, leaving Punjab 51 for 2 when Goel and Mandeep came together. The pair added 167 before Goel was caught on 68. Sidhana then put on 97 with Mandeep in quick time, before becoming RP Singh’s fourth victim. Mandeep got to stumps unbeaten on 158, which is his highest first-class score.The trend of a player hitting an unbeaten century on day one to guide their team to a position of strength extended to the Mumbai v Railways match at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Here, Rohit Sharma hit 133 not out after Mumbai decided to bat, to carry them to 338 for 5. He was well supported by Suryakumar Yadav, who made 88 in a fourth-wicket partnership of 180. Kaustub Pawar, Wasim Jaffer and Iqbal Abdulla also got starts but could not kick on, falling for scores between 25 and 33. The Railways bowlers shared the wickets around, but could not adequately control the scoring-rate: four of the six who bowled went at over four runs an over.”It’s nice to score runs at the start of the season especially since it was my comeback match and also because the conditions were extremely hard,” Rohit was quoted as saying in after the game. “The ball kept low and the pitch was extremely slow.”

Leicestershire surged to a clear advantage over Sri Lanka A on the second day at Grace Road, Wayne White picking up four wickets and Greg Smith reach an unbeaten fifty to secure a 258-run lead

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Leicestershire surged to a clear advantage over Sri Lanka A on the second day at Grace Road, Wayne White picking up four wickets and Greg Smith reach an unbeaten fifty to secure a 258-run lead.The Sri Lankans took the final two Leicestershire wickets early leaving James Taylor, whose century lit up the first day, unbeaten but were soon in deep trouble and were eventually bowled out for 176 in the 50th over.White found most reward from the Sri Lankan batsmen, and Leicestershire continued their dominance in their second innings. Matthew Boyce was out for a nine-ball duck but Smith rushed to a fluent fifty and Taylor added a further unbeaten 32 to his tally before stumps.Taylor had shared in several significant partnerships in the first innings but he and Nadeem Malik could extend their overnight partnership by only four runs before Malik was bowled to give Kosala Kulasekara his fifth wicket at the start of the morning session. Alex Wyatt lasted all of four deliveries before he was dismissed by Shaminda Eranga, leaving Taylor unbeaten on 168.Lahiru Thirimanne, who made his Test debut against England at the Rose Bowl a month ago, then edged his second ball through to wicketkeeper Tom New as Sri Lanka A made a disastrous start. Neither all-out defence nor attack seemed to work for them, and when captain Kaushal Silva was caught behind off White they were 84 for 6 and sinking fast.Kulasekara was the only batsman to turn time at the crease into significant runs, and he shared in a fighting 35-run stand for the ninth wicket with his new-ball partner, Eranga. After Eranga had been removed by Jigar Naik, White ended the innings by trapping Tharanga Lakshitha in front of his stumps for his fourth wicket.Leicestershire weathered the early loss of Boyce and were soon adding to their hefty lead. Smith, who cracked nine fours and a six, brought up his fifty from just 52 deliveries and after playing himself in Taylor also began to pick up the tempo. They had put their team 258 ahead at the close, and Sri Lanka A could well be batted out of the match on the third day.

Whangarei’s Cobham Oval has been handed its first international fixture, a Waitangi Day ODI against Zimbabwe next summer

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011Whangarei’s Cobham Oval has been handed its first international fixture, a Waitangi Day ODI against Zimbabwe next summer. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has released its home schedule for 2011-12, and the four Tests against Zimbabwe and South Africa have been allocated to Napier, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington, while Christchurch was ruled out due to AMI Stadium’s earthquake damage.”Unfortunately we have not been able to allocate any matches to AMI Stadium, in Christchurch,” Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of NZC, said. “Following damage to AMI Stadium from the February earthquakes and subsequent uncertainty about timelines for remediation due to ongoing aftershocks, Vbase advised New Zealand Cricket that it could not absolutely guarantee that the venue would be available to host international cricket in the coming season.”In the latest start to an international summer in New Zealand for 17 years, the opening clash is the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Napier’s McLean Park, beginning on January 26. The window between the final Test against Australia in Hobart from December 9-13 and the Napier match could allow New Zealand’s international players to play almost all of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, which is likely to run in December and January.The Zimbabwe Test is followed by ODIs in Dunedin, Whangarei and Napier, and two Twenty20s in Auckland and Hamilton. Justin Vaughan, the chief executive officer of NZC, said it was good to see Cobham Oval win its first New Zealand match after being approved as an international venue by the ICC earlier this week.”It is pleasing to be able to reward Northland Cricket by allocating an ODI to Cobham Oval,” Vaughan said. “It is a credit to their hard work and I know they are thrilled to host Zimbabwe in February.”The schedule is also good news for fans in Dunedin, with University Oval back on the international circuit following improvement works last summer. The venue will host an ODI against Zimbabwe and the first Test against South Africa, beginning on March 11, before the series moves on to Seddon Park from March 15-19 and the Basin Reserve from March 23-27.Ross Taylor, the new captain of New Zealand, said the summer would be a tough one for his team, with nine matches against the strong South African outfit. “It will be a very challenging summer of international cricket and we are looking forward to taking on South Africa and Zimbabwe at home in front of our fans,” Taylor said. “South Africa is currently ranked second in world Test rankings so the three-Test series against them will be an excellent gauge of our progress.”New Zealand v ZimbabweJanuary 26-30: Only Test, McLean Park, NapierFebruary 3: 1st ODI, University Oval, DunedinFebruary 6: 2nd ODI, Cobham Oval, WhangareiFebruary 9: 3rd ODI, McLean Park, NapierFebruary 12: 1st Twenty20, Eden Park, AucklandFebruary 14: 2nd Twenty20, Seddon Park, HamiltonNew Zealand v South AfricaFebruary 17: 1st Twenty20, Westpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 19: 2nd Twenty20, Seddon Park, HamiltonFebruary 22: 3rd Twenty20, Eden Park, AucklandFebruary 25: 1st ODI, Westpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 29, 2nd ODI: McLean Park, NapierMarch 3: 3rd ODI, Eden Park, AucklandMarch 7-11: 1st Test, University Oval, DunedinMarch 15-19: 2nd Test, Seddon Park, HamiltonMarch 23-27: 3rd Test, Basin Reserve, Wellington

Runs could be doubled in a designated “super-over” and spectators may be allowed to take home balls hit into the crowd as part of Australia’s new Big Bash League next summer.

Brydon Coverdale26-May-2011Runs would be doubled in a designated “super-over” and spectators allowed to take home balls hit into the crowd under proposed rules for Australia’s new Big Bash League next summer.Cricket fans have been asked to comment on a range of possible tweaks to the rules governing Twenty20, many of which are designed to boost scoring rates in the eight-team competition, which is expected to kick off in December.Mike McKenna, Cricket Australia’s head of marketing and the BBL project owner, has made no secret of his desire to spice up the T20 tournament, which will feature city-based sides such as the Brisbane Heat, and two each in Melbourne and Sydney. One of the most unusual suggestions is for each team to be given one super-over, which would likely be nominated by the batting side before the start of the over.Cricket Australia’s survey states the idea, in which the runs from that over alone would be doubled, was intended “to provide both teams an opportunity to get back into the game”. The cricket statistician Ric Finlay, who runs the Tastats website, said introducing such a rule would cause some distortion in the record-books, but it was likely the games could still be designated official Twenty20 matches.”It is true to say that other interventions have distorted outcomes, including fielding restrictions and powerplays and penalties for no balls,” Finlay told , “but this innovation seems on the face of it to be departing more radically from what we know as traditional cricket than anything else that has gone on before. The factor that may allow these matches to be included in records of all T20 matches is the generally-accepted status of all T20 cricket to be a gimmicky form of the game where almost anything goes.”The advantages for the batsmen might not end there. “Based on increasing scoring and making the game more exciting”, as the survey says, the 12th man could be allowed to enter the batting order as a kind of pinch hitter, in a similar setup to the super-sub rule that was used in one-day internationals several years ago.There is also a proposal to allow only one fielder outside the circle in the first five overs of an innings, leaving bowlers little room for error. Two men could be used outside the circle from overs 6 to 10, three fielders from overs 11 to 15, and four men during the final five overs of an innings.And if those ideas don’t create enough of a challenge for bowlers, they may also need to get used to several changed balls throughout an innings. A baseball-style rule is being considered whereby fans would be able to keep a ball that clears the fence, meaning that with many sixes – and the Big Bash record is 14 in an innings – a new ball would be given to the bowler.However, it’s not all bad news for bowlers – allowing two bouncers per over is also a possibility, to allow bowlers a little extra room to attack. The Big Bash League is slowly taking shape, but several key steps remain to be resolved, including the recruitment of players to the eight sides and the part private ownership of two of the Melbourne and Sydney teams.To take the survey and comment on the proposed rules, click here.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore lower order scraped 22 runs from 15 deliveries to steer their side past Delhi Daredevils’ 160 – a target that had looked small while Virat Kohli was in the middle

The Bulletin by Abhishek Purohit26-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirat Kohli took just 38 balls for his 56•AFPThe Royal Challengers Bangalore lower order scraped 22 runs from 15 deliveries to steer their side past Delhi Daredevils’ 160 – a target that had looked small when Virat Kohli was at the crease, and stiff after his dismissal. But Daniel Vettori and J Syed Mohammad found the boundaries when they were needed, and got Bangalore home with three deliveries to spare.It had looked like a cakewalk when Kohli was finding the boundaries at will in a breezy half-century that stunned Delhi. But David Warner provided the inspiration Delhi needed with a direct hit from the deep that ran out AB de Villiers. After Morne Morkel bowled Kohli two deliveries later, 65 needed from 66 deliveries quickly became 44 required from 30, and the Feroz Shah Kotla crowd started buzzing with the hope of a home victory.But Syed flicked and steered Umesh Yadav for successive boundaries to bring the equation down to 12 required off two overs, and Bangalore didn’t allow Delhi back again.The way Kohli had begun in a blaze of boundaries, Delhi hadn’t looked like getting a look-in. Coming in after Tillakaratne Dilshan had been dismissed off the second ball of the chase, Kohli launched six fours off his first ten deliveries. He started with successive boundaries on either side of point off Ashok Dinda, and then laid in to Irfan Pathan, dismissing him for four fours in an over.Irfan is trying to make a comeback to the Indian team, but looked helpless against Kohli, becoming too predictable with his attempt to bend the ball back in at gentle pace. Kohli took full toll, flicking, driving and glancing him for 16 runs as Delhi surrendered the advantage of the early breakthrough.To add to Delhi’s troubles, they had to contend with Chris Gayle at the other end. The Jamaican carved Morne Morkel over cover and then hammered him over long-on. Kohli and Gayle took another 17 runs off Dinda as Bangalore raced to 62 for 1 in five overs. Though James Hopes got Gayle with a surprise bouncer to end an 82-run stand off 43 deliveries, Kohli casually flicked the next delivery for four to bring up his fifty in 31 balls.Then came the moment that got Delhi back in the game. AB de Villiers took on Warner’s throw from deep midwicket for a second run, and found himself nowhere close when the ball shattered the stumps. Two balls later, Morne Morkel got Kohli to play on, and suddenly Bangalore were 96 for 4.Bangalore had hardly recovered from the twin blows when Cheteshwar Pujara found deep midwicket with a pull. They still needed 54 from 45, and Saurabh Tiwary was the only specialist batsman left.But Vettori has scrapped on countless occasions for New Zealand, and wasn’t going to give in anytime soon. He and Tiwary brought it down to 32 from 24. Tiwary then clubbed Morkel for six over midwicket to almost snatch the game away from Delhi but the match turned again. Morkel had Tiwary steering a full delivery to the keeper. Abhimanyu Mithun tried to swing his way out of pressure off the next two balls, and found extra cover with the second attempt.Syed joined Vettori and they shut the door on Delhi with some nerveless batting; Vettori’s sliced boundary over backward point off Hopes decisively swung the game in Bangalore’s favour in the penultimate over.Hopes had earlier led a Delhi recovery after Zaheer Khan and S Aravind made the dangerous pair of Virender Sehwag and David Warner feel for the new ball that zipped around on a helpful surface. Hopes added 47 off 33 deliveries for the fifth wicket with Venugopal Rao and played the percentages excellently, targeting the three Bangalore spinners for six of his seven boundaries.Warner had found the initial movement too hot to handle, and was cleaned up by a perfectly pitched delivery from Zaheer that came back into him. Sehwag got off to his usual carefree start, slamming his first delivery for four and twice edging Aravind just short of the men behind the wicket. His luck eventually ran out when he was caught inches short of his crease by a Mithun throw.At 115 for 3 with five overs to go, however, Delhi had managed to set the base for the final onslaught, but Rao’s blind charge to Vettori made him lose his stumps. Some late sixes from Irfan Pathan and Naman Ojha lifted Delhi to 160, a score that proved inadequate ultimately.

The answer most people want is whether or not Shoaib Akhtar will get a chance to play another game in this tournament, and whether he will play against Australia

Osman Samiuddin in Colombo18-Mar-2011Even in his departure – perhaps especially in it – Shoaib Akhtar can’t help but be the centre of attention. Before Thursday, Pakistan’s game against Australia was all about Pakistan’s game against Australia: who will top the group, will Pakistan change their opening partnership, will they be able to handle Australia’s pace, will history play a role in Pakistan breaking Australia’s unbeaten streak, given that they remain the last side to beat them in a World Cup match (at Headingley in the previous century, 1999)?All this remains relevant but also irrelevant because the answer most people want is whether or not Shoaib will get a chance to play another game in this tournament. He was dropped – not rested – for the game against Zimbabwe and the concerns about his fitness, retirement or not, remain. Shahid Afridi rarely reveals his hand publicly and he seemed in a particular hurry today, so the question remained, essentially, unanswered.On fitness, on a guarantee of ten overs and younger legs in the field, Wahab Riaz retains his place in the XI from the last game. On emotion – and the management is not particularly keen to let that get in the way – and the believable prospect of a game-changing over or two, Shoaib might sneak in. If Afridi was leaning anywhere between ruling him in and ruling him out, it appeared to be towards the latter. Maybe: “As for future games, let’s look at the combination. If he is needed we will definitely use him,” was all he would say.The announcement dominated proceedings. Was this the right time for him to go? “I don’t think it is bad timing. Maybe he could have decided after the World Cup but it’s up to him,” Afridi replied, still non-committal. Was there any friction behind the decision? “I don’t think so. He never saidanything about being upset or anything. I think he is enjoying himself if he is playing or even if he isn’t playing.” Was it a good decision? “I think he took the right decision. It was his own decision. Because of his bowling Pakistan won quite a few matches. He has set a good example because in Pakistan normally the selector kicks you out, you don’t leave yourself.”In truth, Afridi is right to be blasé about the matter. He, and Pakistan’s campaign, cannot be distracted by this, though chances are he is not anyway. He is not a man to dwell on matters too much. And there are other issues of personnel to be resolved, prime among them Ahmed Shehzad. He has been backed unconditionally through five games, which have fetched 51 runs, and worse, some careless dismissals. Do they give him one more game, in the hope he might do something, or should they show some ruthlessness and dump him now?”Maybe we’ll do some changing in the opening,” was Afridi’s typically concise response. They at least have options now. Asad Shafiq’s assured World Cup debut against Zimbabwe – “He did well so he should be in shouldn’t he? Definitely he will play next game” – means he remains in the XI. Kamran Akmal can thus resume a promising opening partnership with Mohammad Hafeez – “We can [use Kamran as opener], definitely we can do it” – and Umar Akmal is fit and available for selection again.Without changing the bent or balance of the XI, Pakistan can make a key personnel change, which is precisely the situation they want to be in. And it leaves them with three spinning options as well. They don’t want, as Afridi said, to be experimenting right now.All that leaves the minor matter of Australia, a team untested and not as ominous as it once was, but a team nonetheless calibrated simply and clearly to win matches. Beat them and maybe top the group, potentially drawing a less difficult quarter-final. Lose and face the top teams from the other group. Ultimately, the best sides will have to be beaten at some stage or another.”They are a very professional side and they know how to use these conditions as well. They are very strong mentally and physically,” Afridi said. “But we know our strength as well, we know how to tackle and deal with these guys, so we are well-prepared. We’ve made some plans against them and you will see tomorrow in the game we will do something new.”

A round-up of the final of the World Cricket League Division 8 tournament in Kuwait

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010Kuwait’s bowlers, led by Saud Qamar, crowned their consistent domination of opposition batsmen in emphatic style, skittling Germany out for 163 to set up a comfortable six-wicket victory in the final of the World Cricket League Division Eight. Both sides had already qualified for Division Seven by reaching the final.Opting to bat first, Germany achieved what no other side in the tournament had managed, playing out Kuwait’s prolific new-ball pair of Mohammad Murad and Saad Khalid without losing a wicket. Milan Fernando continued his good form, and was supported by Andre Leslie in an opening stand of 49.However, after having weathered the pacers, the introduction of spin proved to be Germany’s undoing as Fernando fell to slow left-arm bowler Azmatullah Nazeer for a brisk 32. That was the opening Kuwait needed, and Qamar capitalised with his offspinners, catching Germany captain Asif Khan and Leslie off his own bowling. From 76 for 1, Germany had slipped to 87 for 3.Qamar and Nazeer continued to strike, and Germany crawled to 120 for 7 after 40 overs. Rana-Javed Iqbal, the fast bowler, ensured Germany played out the remaining overs, adding 36 with Shakeel Hassan for the eighth wicket. His unbeaten 25 guided Germany to 163. Qamar finished with 5 for 28.Kuwait’s bowlers had hardly allowed their batting to be pushed in the tournament, and the highest they had chased was 76 against Suriname. Irfan Bhatti was in no mood to be pushed today though, hammering five fours and two sixes in his 39 off 25 deliveries. He fell soon to legspinner Kashif Haider, but by then Kuwait had raced to 58 in 6.4 overs.Qamar, coming in at No. 3, dropped anchor while opener Abid Chaudhry carried on from where Bhatti had left. Chaudhry’s dismissal with the score on 94 triggered a mini-collapse, as Haider accounted for Kuwait captain Hisham Mirza and wicketkeeper Mohammad Akhudzada cheaply. However, Qamar found an able ally in Saad, who made up for a rare wicketless display with a breezy knock. The duo added an unbroken 56 runs as Kuwait eased to victory with more than 100 balls to spare.

West Ham United will face an Arsenal side with forward Bukayo Saka in the Premier League this afternoon after the 20-year-old was declared fit by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

What’s the latest?

As quoted by Football London, the Spaniard said: “Hopefully he [Saka] will be fine. He had some issues in the final part of the game but he’s recovered well and we expect him to be available.”

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The Englishman had Arsenal fans worried last weekend when the winger was taken off the pitch in the north London outfit’s 3-1 win over Manchester United and was seen limping post-match.

However, it seems as though it was just a scare and David Moyes’ side will be facing a Gunners side with Saka in it.

Bad news for Moyes

The Hammers are very likely to make wholesale changes once again this afternoon after Moyes juggled around his squad last weekend in the narrow defeat to Chelsea with Europa League commitments the priority.

It was a solid display at Stamford Bridge with the Scotsman deploying a 3-4-2-1 formation in west London, with the Irons steely until the final minutes when Craig Dawson saw a straight red card and Christian Pulisic scored the winning goal in the final minute of normal time.

The 59-year-old will want to see the same sort of solidity today, particularly given the fact that it’s a home match.

After Arsenal, West Ham will look to sensationally overturn a 2-1 aggregate deficit against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany to reach the Europa League final.

However, a victory today would see the Irons climb up to sixth place and leapfrog Manchester United on goal difference.

That will be a tall task though against an Arsenal side looking to consolidate their place in the top four with a third consecutive league win.

Moreover, Saka’s presence will certainly prove a handful for the east London outfit, with the 20-year-old scoring 12 goals and registering five assists in 38 appearances across all competitions.

Two of those goals have come in the last two matches as well, albeit from the penalty spot.

Furthermore, the Englishman has been Arsenal’s best player this season, with an average match rating of 7.08/10. 

With the forward potent in front of goal, his availability today certainly isn’t good news for Moyes and co.

AND in other news: Moyes axes “stupid” £69k-p/w gem, “unplayable” star starts: West Ham Predicted XI