Trent Copeland produced a stunning debut with seven wickets, but Queensland were boosted by Lee Carseldine’s century as they reached 9 for 335

Cricinfo staff29-Jan-2010Queensland 9 for 335 (Carseldine 109, Swan 55*, Copeland 7-92) v New South Wales

ScorecardTrent Copeland was in outstanding form on debut as he knocked over seven Queenslanders•Getty Images

Trent Copeland produced a stunning debut with seven wickets, but Queensland were boosted by Lee Carseldine’s century as they reached 9 for 335 on the first day. Copeland, a 23-year-old fast bowler, got his chance due to the state’s injury-hit stocks – and Josh Hazlewood being at the Under-19 World Cup – and he showed the same form that he displays for his grade side St George.He struck in batches, taking two wickets early in the day and another two shortly before tea, and came back in the third session to add three more. Copeland walked off with 7 for 92 in 28 overs, currently the third best return for the Blues on debut, and was the first to grab a five-wicket haul in his opening game since Glenn McGrath in 1992-93.Carseldine, the No. 4, was the main problem for the Blues as he registered his third first-class hundred, moving to 109 with 15 fours when he was Copeland’s sixth victim. The seventh came with Luke Feldman’s exit shortly before the end and he will chase an eighth on the second morning. He will have Chris Swan, who is unbeaten on 55, and Scott Walter (0) to aim at.Carseldine and Chris Hartley revived Queensland from 4 for 89 with a 108-run stand before Copeland intervened. He picked up Hartley for 38 and followed up with Chris Simpson before tea and Ben Cutting after the interval.Queensland started well after being sent in on a green surface, with Nick Kruger (32) and Ryan Broad (28) taking the score to 69 before they went in consecutive balls. Broad gave Copeland his first wicket when he was lbw and Kruger was taken at second slip off Grant Lambert, who quickly backed up by having Wade Townsend caught behind. The Bulls had lost 4 for 20 when Glen Batticciotto was taken by the wicketkeeper Daniel Smith, one of four catches to him, as Copeland continued his outstanding entry.

West Indies Players’ Association has become the first players’ organisation to give the green signal to their cricketers to take part in the IPL

Cricinfo staff25-Feb-2010The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements being made for the IPL, becoming the first players’ organisation to give the green signal to their cricketers to feature in the Twenty20 tournament.Player safety has become a major issue after an independent report, commissioned by the players’ unions in England, South Africa and Australia, had said there was a credible security threat to the IPL, and suggested moving the tournament out of India.WIPA’s comments backing the Caribbean players’ participation in the 2010 edition comes a day after Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, had insisted the tournament would be held in India and strongly criticised those who had expressed security concerns.”Apart from being in contact with a number of key IPL personnel, WIPA has also sought independent advice from organisations which have conducted similar security tests,” WIPA said in a press release.”WIPA is convinced that the organisers and the government are sparing no effort to ensure that players’ welfare and security are not in any way compromised. WIPA will therefore support its players’ participation in the IPL tournament.”Among those who have been most concerned over safety are Australian cricketers, whose players’ association helped formulate a list of security demands for IPL organisers earlier this week following a meeting attended by a majority of Australian cricketers due to play in next month’s tournament.Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, had also warned earlier this week of a spate of player withdrawals from the IPL after the England team’s security adviser Reg Dickason said the threat from the 313 Brigade was credible and that security could not be guaranteed in India.

Andy Flower, the England coach, has singled out Tim Bresnan as one of the major successes of the tour of Bangladesh

Cricinfo staff25-Mar-2010Andy Flower, the England coach, has singled out Tim Bresnan as one of the major successes from the tour of Bangladesh which finished on Wednesday with the visitors securing a 2-0 victory in the Test series to follow their one-day whitewash.However, the Tests were much tougher than the final margins of 181 runs and nine wickets suggest with England having to toil hard for their rewards on two very docile surfaces at Chittagong and Dhaka. They also had a weakened attack without James Anderson, Graham Onions and Ryan Sidebottom but Bresnan, who wasn’t in the original Test squad, took his chance, emerging as the leading paceman and also contributed a vital 91 at Dhaka.”Tim Bresnan wasn’t originally selected in the Test party but with the opportunity given to him by the injury to Ryan Sidebottom, and after his performances in the one-day series, he sort of leapfrogged his way into the side,” Flower told reporters before the team left Dhaka. “He performed superbly and I think he was the standout seamer in the Test series and probably the one-dayers too.”The most impressive aspect of his display with the ball was the reverse swing he obtained and he also produced the ball of the series to remove Tamim Iqbal in the first Test.”He reverse swung the ball both ways, he was controlled and accurate, bowled a heavy bouncer and was strong enough to keep going for long periods of time,” Flower said. “I thought our players held strong in some trying conditions weather-wise and on some very flat pitches.”But while Bresnan took much of Flower’s praise he also commended his attack at managing to dismiss Bangladesh twice – not the simple task it used to be. With Steven Finn making his debut in the first Test and Stuart Broad the senior man it was one of most inexperienced England attacks of recent times.”To get 40 wickets in the series was a very good effort and we’ve seen some good cricket as well as excellent individual performances,” Flower said. “Our guys needed a lot of discipline on these surfaces.””Both the grounds had very flat pitches and it was hard to accelerate the game. But there was some hard, disciplined work with ball in hand. The experience gained from having to bowl reverse swing and learning about the different fields that are necessary when you are doing that will be very valuable in the future.”We had a very young bowling attack, a young captain and a young side and this experience will be invaluable.”The bowling attack was marshalled by Alastair Cook on his first tour as captain. Flower was impressed with how he responded to the challenge and developed during the series while maintaining his batting form with scores of 173 and an unbeaten 109.”Alastair has handled himself very well on this tour,” Flower said. “He’s grown every day and his batting has thrived with the extra responsibility. Some captains seem to respond to that. I think he feels a little more comfortable in the role now too. He’s loved the experience, loved the challenge and it was a great opportunity to see him in that role.”Cook, though, won’t be part of England’s next assignment which is the World Twenty20 in West Indies having been left out of the preliminary 30-man squad. The final 15 will be named next Tuesday and the tournament starts on April 30 with England’s opening match, against West Indies, on May 3.

A disciplined performance by the Delhi Daredevils bowlers and a blistering innings from Virender Sehwag inflicted a dispiriting defeat on Rajasthan Royals, their second in as many games, in Ahmedabad

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya15-Mar-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outVirender Sehwag bludgeoned his way to 75, sealing a second consecutive win for Delhi Daredevils (file photo)•AFP

A disciplined performance by the Delhi Daredevils bowlers and a blistering innings from Virender Sehwag inflicted on Rajasthan Royals their second defeat in as many games. A battling half-century from Abhishek Jhunjhunwala lent Rajasthan’s total some respectability but it was a woefully inadequate one to defend given Sehwag’s onslaught.Rajasthan were made to regret their poor batting in the first over of the chase, as Sehwag blazed away, swinging Dimitri Mascarehnas over square leg and mid-on for two boundaries. The seamers bowled either too full or offered him the desired width to break free – Shaun Tait was cut fiercely through point, and Munaf Patel was dispatched over long-off for a six and past mid-on for a boundary in the third over.There were a couple of moments of hope for Rajasthan. Mascarenhas returned in the fourth over to snare Gautam Gambhir, who mistimed a slower one to mid-on, and got one to move away to produce an outside edge from Tillakaratne Dilshan the next ball. The wickets made no difference to Sehwag’s approach – nor, ultimately, to Rajasthan’s fortunes – as he skied Mascarenhas when on 41 only to be dropped by Tait while running back from short fine leg – another low on what’s so far been a poor IPL for the Australian.Having smote Mascarenhas for 10 runs off two deliveries, Sehwag proceeded to target Amit Uniyal’s medium-pacers, walloping him for six over long-off, upper-cutting him wide of third man to reach his half-century and striking through the line of a length delivery to dispatch it over long-on. The parting shot before being caught brilliantly by Graeme Smith at mid-on was a thunderous six over the bowler’s head; Delhi were 99 for 3 when he fell in the 10th over, and Dinesh Karthik, with the luxury of a set platform, saw his team through.Rajasthan, who wore black arm-bands in memory of the victims of a bus accident in Sawai Madhopur district, had begun positively after Gambhir had put them in. But they were dented by a testing first spell from Dirk Nannes and the early introduction of Amit Mishra, leaving an inexperienced middle order to contend with a determined display from the rest of Delhi’s bowlers who gave little opportunity to open up.The conditions in Ahmedabad were hardly favourable with the dust from the parking lots surrounding the stadium kicking in, and adding to the haze from the floodlights. The surge of moths, flying across the pitch as well as the outfield, proved another irritant.Swapnil Asnodkar and Smith, cashing in on some overpitched bowling from Farveez Maharoof, smacked two boundaries off the first three balls of the match. Nannes, like against Kings XI Punjab, continued to trouble the batsmen with his ability to generate bounce, even from bowling on a good length. He got rid of Asnodkar with his second delivery, which was sliced towards Dilshan who took a good low catch, and followed up with two snorters to Naman Ojha, one striking him on the shoulder.Ojha, who had some success while opening the batting for Rajasthan in the previous IPL, resumed the attack after a momentary lull, thrashing Maharoof over mid-on and edging him over the slips. He reserved special treatment for Mishra, brought on in the fourth over, cutting and sweeping him for two boundaries and launching him into the stands over long-on. But Mishra undid him with his first variation of the over, slipping in the googly to bowl him through the gate as he tried to loft him over the covers.With Yusuf Pathan lasting just five deliveries, failing to pick a slower delivery and holing out to long-on, and the experienced Smith following soon after to make it 50 for 4, Rajasthan were starting at a bleak prospect.Paras Dogra, who had partnered Yusuf during his ruthless ton against Mumbai, and Jhunjhunwala, returning from the ICL, saw off a quiet phase during a nagging couple of overs from Pradeep Sangwan and Sarabjit Ladda; Rajasthan, at one stage, had played out 38 deliveries without a boundary. Replacing Yo Mahesh, Ladda varied his pace well, often surprising the batsmen with the quicker delivery but had his figures disturbed when the pair had stepped up, both hammering him for two sixes in a 17-run over.Delhi saw to it they didn’t give too much away, with the run-outs of Dogra and Mascarenhas in successive overs. Jhunjhunwala, though, struck two boundaries off Nannes in the final over, reaching his fifty, to give his bowler’s more than an outside chance. Sehwag, however, ensured it was washed away.

Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain, has filed an appeal against the sanctions imposed on him by the PCB, in the aftermath of Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia

Cricinfo staff14-Apr-2010Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain, has filed an appeal against the sanctions imposed on him by the PCB, in the aftermath of Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia. This means that six of the seven punished players have now lodged official appeals, the only exception being Mohammad Yousuf, who has retired from the game.”Malik’s counsel Ahmed Hussain has sent his appeal against the fine and ban, and now an independent arbitrator will deal with the case,” PCB’s legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi told AFP.Malik, who was in India recently for his marriage with Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, was banned for a year and fined Rs. 2 million ($24,000) for his role in inciting player unrest within the team. His appeal comes a day after Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi filed their formal appeals. The Akmal brothers and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan lodged their appeals last week.Rizvi had earlier clarified that the appeal process does not employ an appellate tribunal, but that under the PCB constitution, they will be sent first to the governing board and through them to one of a list of PCB-appointed independent arbitrators. In this case the arbitrators are two retired Supreme court judges – Muneer Sheikh and Jamshed Ali Shah – and a former high court judge, Irfan Qadir.Commenting on a demand by Younis’ lawyer that the appeal process be held in public, Rizvi said that was a decision for the arbitrator to make. “Usually, in-house tribunal proceedings are never held in public, but it will be up to the arbitrator to regulate the procedure, which will be decided after the deadline of the appeal [April 16].”Afridi is the captain of the Pakistan team, for the upcoming World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies, which also includes the Akmal brothers.

Nathan McCullum was the hero for New Zealand, with an all-round performance that helped seal victory with one delivery to spare

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran30-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Mahela Jayawardene’s 81 went in vain•Getty Images

New Zealand edged Sri Lanka in just the sort of cliffhanger the organisers would have wanted to kick off the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. If McCullum is talked of as a match-winner, it is probably Brendon that one thinks of, but it was his brother Nathan who was the hero with an all-round performance, topped off by a six over long-off to seal a tense victory with one delivery to go.On a track that lived up to it’s pre-match billing of being sluggish, basic line-and-length bowling from New Zealand’s slow bowlers was enough to curtail Sri Lanka to 135, despite Mahela Jayawardene’s polished 81, his highest score in Twenty20s.The balance swung from one side to the other through the chase: New Zealand looked in control after Jesse Ryder’s power-hitting at the top, but tight spells from the two oldest players in the tournament, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan, seemingly shut New Zealand out of the game.When Ajantha Mendis nipped out Scott Styris in the 17th over, the asking rate was over 10 and half the New Zealand side was dismissed. Jacob Oram, though, kept the game alive with two consecutive hits over long-on for six to round off the over. Lasith Malinga sent down an over of patented hard-to-hit full deliveries in the 18th, and two wickets – of Oram and Gareth Hopkins – fell in the first two deliveries of the penultimate over to again put Sri Lanka in charge.With 18 needed off nine, Daniel Vettori shuffled across and swung Chanaka Welegedara for four in front of deep square leg, and McCullum mishit a low full toss over mid-on to scramble three off the final delivery.Ten off the final over, from Malinga, was still a tough ask. The first delivery was squeezed to mid-on for a single and they comically stole a bye after Vettori missed a full delivery – with McCullum charging down the track, both batsmen were at the keeper’s end, Sangakkara lobbed the ball to Malinga who missed the stumps from a few yards even though he could have walked and taken the bails off.McCullum then swiped a full delivery to long leg for four to reduce it to 4 off 3, making New Zealand fans believe again. A hard drive to long-on resulted in Vettori’s run-out as he attempted a non-existent second, but McCullum’s glorious hit over long-off for six off the penultimate delivery confirmed New Zealand’s victory.Such a close finish didn’t look likely at the halfway stage after Ryder and Martin Guptill piled on 62 in eight mostly trouble-free overs. Ryder feasted on some leg-side gifts, and also threw in some muscular hits over midwicket to race to 42 off 25 before being bowled by a quicker one from Murali.Jayasuriya didn’t get to bat, but showed his value with the ball, knocking out Guptill’s middle stump with a quick yorker, before Murali got rid of danger-man Ross Taylor in the 15th over. Only sixteen runs came in the six overs after Ryder’s dismissal, to propel the required-rate and ask for some late heroics.McCullum had been superb at the start of the match as well, when handed the new ball, stifling the most explosive batsman of the previous World Twenty20, Tillakaratne Dilshan.The big guns at the top of Sri Lanka’s batting order carried on their form from the IPL: Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, who had forgettable campaigns in India, scratched around looking uncomfortable, while Jayawardene, who was close to his best towards the end of the tournament, was rarely troubled in his first outing as an international Twenty20 opener.Jayawardene made virtually all of Sri Lanka’s runs during the early stages of their innings. He started off with a powerful swat over square leg for six off Shane Bond, then finessed McCullum through covers for four. On a pitch where pace was a disadvantage, Bond was expensive: Jayawardene taking him for two fours in the fourth over.The best phase of Sri Lanka’s innings was a fluent 59-run partnership between debutant Dinesh Chandimal and Jayawardene. The pair began cautiously, with an over of singles off Vettori, before Chandimal boosted the innings with a big six over long-on off Styris in the 11th over – the first boundary for 35 deliveries. Jayawardene then took charge again, picking off the bad deliveries on offer to hit a boundary an over. A stunning parried, overhead catch from Taylor ended Chandimal’s stay, and series of yorkers from Tim Southee kept the runs down, before a raft of outfield catches restricted Sri Lanka to what still proved a competitive total.Sri Lanka now need to win on Monday against Zimbabwe, who have surprised Australia and Pakistan in the warm-ups, if they are to avoid early elimination.