oCricket Links

England bat first in the final Ashest Test

googly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:00:09 +0000

Oval: England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat in the fifth and final Test at Oval on Thursday.
Scorecard
As expected Flintoff is fit to play in England side, It’s Onions who makes way for the all-rounder.
South Africa-born Jonathan Trott is the new face in England Team. England dropped Ravi Bopara after making just 107 runs in the first four Tests of this series.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/20/england-bat-first-in-the-final-ashes-tes.htmlAustralia have fielded an unchanged side.
Key facts, figures for the fifth Ashes Test
Teams
England (Playing XI): Andrew Strauss©, Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Jonathan Trott, Matthew Prior(w), Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Stephen Harmison

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

McIntosh leads New Zealand fight back

googly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:00:08 +0000

Galle: Tim McIntosh scored a fighting half-century to frustrate Sri Lanka during another rain-affected session in the first Test on Thursday.
Scorecard
The left-handed opener survived two blows on his helmet and shoulder by rising deliveries from Thilan Thushara while batting through the 90-minute morning session on the third day.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/20/mcintosh-leads-new-zealand-fight-back.htmlMcIntosh was unbeaten on 53 as New Zealand, replying to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 452, took their overnight score of 87/2 to 137/3 by lunch at the Galle International Stadium.
The 29-year-old Auckland batsman, who has a century to his credit in five previous Tests but has never played an international match outside New Zealand, has so far hit six boundaries.
thatscricket

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

'Vivian Richards used to dope'

googly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:00:08 +0000

Karachi: Former West Indies captain Vivian Richards used to take performance enhancement drugs before anti-doping regulations were enforced by the ICC, says former Pakistan cricketer Qasim Umar.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/21/vivian-richards-used-to-dope.htmlParticipating in a TV show, Umar a controversial figure in the Pakistan cricket, revealed that Richards had himself confessed to him that he use to take drugs to release tension and improve his stamina and endurance levels.
“Use of drugs was common among many players and they used to transport these drugs in their kit bags,” Umar, who represented Pakistan in 26 Tests and 31 ODIs said.
Qasim Umar, who is known to make wild allegations, also blamed former Pakistan captain Imran Khan and other players of using their kit bags to transport drugs to the United Kingdom and was subsequently banned for life by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Umar’s charge had led to the customs authorities at the Heathrow airport unleash sniffer dogs on the Pakistan team when they landed for a Test tour in 1987.
“I spoke the truth and I was penalised for it and my career was destroyed. But I stand by what I said. Players did use drugs and they transported them frequently in their kit bags,” he said.
I know of players who used and carried drugs. This was common until anti-doping laws became more stringent in international cricket and drugs cheats were caught,” he added.

Umar recalled that on the 1993 tour to the West Indies, four Pakistani players only escaped a criminal trial in Grenada after they were arrested for smoking marijuana only because the cricket authorities back home told their West Indies counterparts that they would call back the team if the players were prosecuted.
thatscricket

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Dhoni and Sehwag unite in Kerala

googly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:30:13 +0000

Alapuzha: Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Delhi dasher Virender Sehwag were spotted in the famous Punnamada backwaters in Alapuzha.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/20/dhoni-and-sehwag-unite-in-kerala.htmlThe players were in Alapuzha for a shooting a commercial advertisement of a multinational soft drink company.
Incidentally, this is the first time Dhoni and Sehwag met after the injury row that created a big controversy during India’s T20 campaign.
Sehwag is in the centre of another controversy now as he threatened to quit the Delhi Ranji team after alleging DDCA for manipulation in selection process.
Besides Dhoni and Sehwag, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Robin Uthappa are also taking part in the shoot.
The cricketers would be in Kerala for the next two days, sources said.
Alapuzha is the most beautiful place in Kerala and its known to be the ‘Venice of east’. The annual Nehru Trophy boat race, the country’s biggest such event, is held here.
thatscricket

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Siddle shines as Aussies dominate

googly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:30:11 +0000

London: England wasted an opportunity to convert good start into a big score as they reduced to 307 for eight in the fifth and final Test at the oval on Thursday.
Scorecard
Peter Siddle grabbed four crucial England wickets as Australia moved closer towards retaining the Ashes.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/21/siddle-shines-as-aussies-dominate.htmlDespite the early loss of Cook, England got off to a good start as captain Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell shared a partnership of 102 runs to take their score to 114/1 at one stage.
Ian Bell batted hard for 72 but failed to claim a maiden Ashes hundred in his 13th Test against Australia. England captain Strauss completed an 89-ball fifty featuring 10 fours although replays suggested he too had been dismissed off a no-ball.
Jonathan Trott, who made his Test debut, looked good in compiling 41 before he was spectacularly run out by Simon Katich while Strauss fell for 55.
Sadly for England fans, Andrew Flintoff – in his last Test before an injury-induced retirement – barely got going before he was caught behind off left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson for seven.
Siddle, who took a trio of top-order wickets, ended play for the day when he had Graeme Swann caught behind, the fast bowler finish with figures of four for 63 in 18.3 overs.
Bell fell to his first ball after tea when he played on to Siddle with a large gap between bat and pad.
His innings spanned 137 balls with 10 fours in nearly four hours but his exit left England wobbling at 181 for four after Strauss, England’s only century-maker this series with 161 in their second Test win at Lord’s, had chosen to bat first on a typically good Oval pitch.
thatscricket

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

IPL loses its global viewership

googly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:30:08 +0000

Mumbai: IPL 2 held in South Africa was a huge commercial success, but the television viewership of the event had dropped compared to the inaugural year, a report indicates.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/20/ipl-loses-its-global-viewership.html”; Apart from South Africa, there was an average 20% fall in viewership across four other major cricket playing nations – India, Australia, New Zealand and Britain,” the Viewertrack report published by Futures Sport+Entertainment said.
“In South Africa the audiences grew by more than 80 per cent on account of the country hosting the tournament.
“Major opportunities existed in markets outside India to tap into Twenty20 television audiences, with the implicit suggestion that if the IPL did not move in, there are other potential rivals waiting in the wings,” it said.
Four reasons are mainly cited decline in viewership: hosting the event outside India, the Australian market switching from free-to-air Network Ten channel in 2008 to the One HD channel in 2009, potential audience fatigue after the novelty of the first season and the difficulty in sustaining interest in all 59 matches.
The report said the IPL managed to make inroads into the British market with the help of factors such as the choice of a better TV channel, creating awareness among fans, giving fans reasons to support a franchise and highlighting local l heroes – Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.
thatscricket

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

McIntosh fifty props up New Zealand

googly — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:30:11 +0000

Heavy morning rain again cut into playing time, but when action resumed
under overcast skies, New Zealand fought doggedly to stave off Sri Lanka’s
bowlers. Tim McIntosh, troubled periodically by the short ball, gritted
his way to a half-century, and with Jeetan Patel providing stout
resistance in the nightwatchman’s role, New Zealand made it through a
90-minute session losing just one wicket.
Sri Lanka’s pace bowlers toiled hard without reward, and it was left to Muttiah Muralitharan to get the breakthrough, trapping Patel in front for 26, a steady innings which lasted 57 deliveries.
The session took a while to warm up. Murali bowled one over and was then
taken off, and it was Thilan Thushara who asked all the initial
questions. Patel was sound and confident in defence, nudging the odd
single, while McIntosh left the ball alone more often than not. Against
the short ball though, he was in all sorts of strife, getting hit first on
the shoulder and then flush on the helmet.
Patel’s innings was part grit and part good fortune. There was one lovely
drive through the covers off Thushara, but it was followed by an awkward
shot that flew past the slips as he sought to duck under a bouncer.
McIntosh survived a huge shout from Ajantha Mendis, with the umpire
perhaps thinking there was an inside edge, and it looked like it was going
to be New Zealand’s morning as a rare full toss was pummelled away to take
McIntosh to his half-century.
But then Murali struck, leaving Ross Taylor
to survive an anxious passage just before lunch. He unveiled one fluent
drive through the covers to suggest that the afternoon might not be all
about defence after all.

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Arinaitwe sets up historic Uganda win

googly — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:30:08 +0000

Bermuda’s batsmen wilted for the second time in the match to hand Uganda a seven-wicket win in Hamilton, their maiden victory in a four-day international match. The hosts lost their last six wickets for 42 runs, crashing to 138 before Uganda knocked off the winning runs for the loss of just three wickets.
Bermuda’s overnight batsmen David Hemp and Kevon Fubler looked to stretch their lead and made steady progress at the start. But the introduction of the offspinner Davis Arinaitwe jolted them. He dismissed Hemp, caught behind for 38 with a delivery that bounced awkwardly off a fullish length, and then took a sharp return catch to get rid of Jekon Edness. Akbar Baig, the offspinner, took two wickets to run through the tail. The pair shared seven wickets between them to set up the victory, which was achieved 40 minutes after tea.
Arinaitwe rounded off a good day with an unbeaten 30 to see his team through. Uganda lost an early wicket, that of Roger Mukasa, before Lawrence Sematimba put them on course to the target of 111 with a steady 39.

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Chohan sets up crushing win

googly — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:30:08 +0000

It was a no-contest at the Maple Leaf North-West Ground as Kenya were dismissed by the hosts for 113 and lost by nine wickets in a match which lasted just 49.3 overs. Khurram Chohan, the right-arm seamer, took four early wickets to reduce the visitors to 37 for 5, a position from which they never recovered. Rizwan Cheema then hit a blazing 76 off 38 balls to seal the win in 16.2 overs.
Chohan got into the act in the sixth over of the Kenya innings when he sent back Alex Obanda and Steve Tikolo in the space of three balls. He then dismissed Seren Waters and Collins Obuya to reduce the visitors to 37 for 5 in the 12th over. Maurice Ouma resisted with an unbeaten 43 but it turned out to be a solo act as he ran out of partners in the 34th over.
Canada lost the early wicket of Hiral Patel, before Cheema and Abdool Samad batted in fifth gear. Samad finished with an unbeaten 30 while Cheema, who smashed ten fours, sealed the win with his fourth six.

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Dhoni, Yuvraj top ICC ODI rankings

googly — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:00:10 +0000

Dubai: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni maintained his numero uno position in the ICC one-day batsmen chart with his deputy Yuvraj Singh retaining the second position in the rankings.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/20/dhoni-yuvraj-top-icc-odi-rankings.htmlSehwag at the seventh spot, is the only other Indian batsman to feature in the top 10 batsmen list.
Former Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir are at the 14th and 17th spot respectively in the chart.
However, no Indian features among top 10 ODI bowlers with left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan languishing at the 17th spot in the list which is being headed by Sri Lankan Nuwan Kulasekara, followed by Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan continued to top the ODI all-rounders table, followed by England’s Andrew Flintoff in the second spot and Kiwi Jacob Oram at the third position.
India also managed to hold on to their second best ODI team status with 126 rating points.
South Africa tops the table with a point lead over India, while World Champions Australia is lying third with 119 points.
thatscricket

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Delhi rebels boycott camp on day 2

googly — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:30:10 +0000

New Delhi: DDCA face players mutiny as nine players of the Delhi Ranji squad boycotted the conditioning camp on the second day.
oneindiain121:http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/08/20/delhi-rebels-boycott-camp-on-day-2.htmlAshish Nehra who took part in the first day’s camp was also missing on Thursday.
The boycott comes a day after Sehwag along with other members threatened to walk out of the Delhi Ranji side alleging the DDCA for manipulation in selection process.
Sehwag may say goodbye to Delhi
However, DDCA Vice-President and Selection Committee chairman Chetan Chauhan stated that the players opted out of the camp because of other engagements.
Apart from Sehwag, Ishant, Gambhir and Nehra, others missing from the camp were Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas and Chaitanya Anand, Aditya Jain and Sunny Sherawat.
Sehwag had earlier threatened to quit the Delhi team for Haryana. Senior players in the team had supported Sehwag on this issue.
thatscricket

---
For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.