All posts by h716a5.icu

If the Lord’s groundsman, Mick Hunt, had his way, there would be no championship cricket at all in April, so ending a run of low scores in cold, unsettled weather.

Jon Culley at Lord's19-Apr-2012
ScorecardThe start of Andrew Strauss’ season was delayed by another day•Getty ImagesAfter the stink kicked up by Surrey over the Lord’s pitch on which they were narrowly beaten last week, Andrew Strauss might have been permitted a grimace or two as he assessed the colour of the sky and felt the squelch under his boots. It is not the best time of year for a batsman intent on playing himself back into form.Mick Hunt, the MCC’s head groundsman, took the comments made by Chris Adams, Surrey’s team director, in the immediate aftermath of Middlesex’s thrilling victory, with a sizeable pinch of salt. Adams declared the pitch for that game to be the worst he had seen at Lord’s. After more than 40 years tending to the square here, the last 27 as the man in charge, Hunt can correctly claim to be in a somewhat better position to judge.Not that he could be blamed anyway for the problems that so upset Surrey. When captains have no recourse to the heavy roller between innings to take the fear out of a lively pitch, the indentations inevitably left by the ball in a naturally moist surface simply stay there.If Hunt had his way, there would be no Championship cricket at this time of year. The unusually warm Aprils of the last two seasons have made the early starts a relatively painless experience but this year’s damp picture is more typical.”We’ve had good weather the last two years but one swallow doesn’t make a summer,” he said. “If you look back over the last 20 years, say, this is probably more like the norm.”It makes pitch preparation difficult. It doesn’t matter that it was such a dry March – it is the weather while you’re preparing the pitch that counts. And if there is moisture about the sun just isn’t hot enough.”And yet, undeniably, early summer cricket is exciting. The first two rounds of championship matches produced only one draw. Suggest to Hunt that ‘result pitches’ are what the ECB and the counties want to see and you invite another wry smile.”They grumble if you give them flat pitches and if you give them sporty ones they squawk,” he said. Groundsmen up and down will nod their heads as one.However well or badly it behaves, depending on your point of view, one thing can be guaranteed about the pitch on which Strauss will hope to take guard at some time on the second day following the washout on the first: it will certainly not be flat.

Kongonis gave the local support something to celebrate with victory over Uganda’s Nile Knights in the final of the inaugural East Africa Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2012Kongonis 280 for 7 (Patel 92, Allen 65) beat Nile Knights 196 for 9 (Arinaitwe 68*, Rehman 4-32) by 84 runs
ScorecardKongonis players celebrate their victory over Nile Knights in the East Africa Cup final•ESPNcricinfo LtdKongonis gave the local support something to celebrate with victory over Uganda’s Nile Knights in the final of the inaugural East Africa Cup. Originally scheduled for November, heavy rain had twice caused the game’s postponement.The Ugandans sides had dominated the two East Africa competitions, and the Twenty20 final the previous day had been between the two of them. Nile Knights, who defeated Rwenzori Warriors in that game, came back to the Gymkhana ground looking for a weekend double, but Kongonis, who had won the league stage of the event and boasted several internationals in the starting XI, held firm.The Knights won the toss and chose to field, a tactic which worked well a day earlier, but their spinners, who had been stingy then proved far more expensive in the longer format. Duncan Allan, whose form in the past few months has been superb, led the Kongonis charge with an 84-ball 65, adding 100 for the third wicket with Rakep Patel who went on the make 92 off 79 balls. Even though wickets regularly fell once the pair had been separated, the run-rate did not and the Kongonis total of 280 for 7 always looked enough.Kononis opened with an offspinner, Abdul Rehman, and the tactic worked as he took 4 for 32 to leave the Knights almost beaten on 78 for 5. A captain’s innings of 68 not out from Davis Arinaitwe kept the match going the full distance but it came far too late to change the outcome.

Michael Carberry and Neil McKenzie wrote themselves into the record books witha partnership of 523 as Hampshire’s clash with fellow relegation candidatesYorkshire at the Rose Bowl ended in a draw

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Michael Carberry made a triple-hundred nine months after recovering from a career-threatening injury•Getty ImagesMichael Carberry and Neil McKenzie wrote themselves into the record books with a partnership of 523 as Hampshire’s clash with fellow relegation candidates Yorkshire at the Rose Bowl ended in a draw. Carberry was playing his third match since returning from a serious illness that kept him out of the game for nine months.Carberry and McKenzie came together with Hampshire on 59 for two in response toYorkshire’s first innings total of 532. The pair then thwarted the visitors for the little matter of eight hours and 135 overs with Carberry going on to make an unbeaten 300 and McKenzie scoring an equally valuable 237.Hampshire, who remain winless and at the foot of the County Championship first division table, eventually declared at 599 for 3 when Carberry reached his triple-century.That left only time for Yorkshire to score 40 without loss before both sides agreed on the draw. But it was the giant partnership of Carberry and McKenzie that will be remembered in a high-scoring contest.Carberry’s monster innings came off 427 balls and included 43 fours and two sixes. South African McKenzie, who also made the best score of his career, faced 412 balls, hitting 25 fours and two sixes.Yorkshire’s nine-man attack had no answer to Carberry and McKenzie whose partnership was the highest for the third wicket in the history of the County Championship. It beat the previous best in 1997 by Worcestershire’s Graeme Hick and Tom Moody, ironically against Hampshire.The stand was the third highest in the history of the Championship and the ninth highest in all first-class cricket. At one stage, it looked as if they would threaten the all-time best partnership of 555 between Yorkshire’s Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe against Essex at Leyton.Carberry, who been sidelined by illness for long periods since making his only England Test appearance in Bangladesh last year, said: “This was only my third match back in the team and I cannot believe it has gone so well. The pitch was perfect to bat on and Neil and I kept each other going.”It has been well documented that I had blood clots on the lung and it has taken nine months out of my life. I am lucky just to be playing again so to get 300 exceeded all my expectations.”The partnership came to an end at 523 in the 151st over when McKenzie lifted a gentle catch to mid-on where Gary Ballance held on to give left-arm spinner David Wainwright a wicket his perseverance had warranted.Among the other records to go was Hampshire’s highest stand for any wicket, overtaking the 411 put together by Robert Poore and Teddy Wynyard against Somerset at Taunton way back in 1899.Carberry’s previous best was 205 against Warwickshire two years ago and the only chance offered during the mammoth partnership came from McKenzie soon after surpassing his previous best of 225, a return catch which Wainwright failed to hold.

Sussex batsman Murray Goodwin has been handed a one-match ban by an England and Wales Cricket Board disciplinary hearing despite already being reprimanded through his county’s internal disciplinary process

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2011Sussex batsman Murray Goodwin has been handed a one-match ban by an England and Wales Cricket Board disciplinary hearing despite already being reprimanded through his county’s internal disciplinary process. Goodwin’s charge was in relation to his conduct in three matches between April and July, where he was alleged to have shown dissent at umpiring decisions.Goodwin, 38, pleaded guilty to a breach of the ECB’s codes on conduct and behaviour and will now miss Sussex’s Friends Life t20 clash against Kent at Canterbury. In addition, he was ordered to pay £500 towards the costs of the hearing.He had initially been warned for his behaviour during the game against Essex at Hove last month and then reprimanded for hitting the ball to the boundary in frustration after being given out lbw in the Championship clash with Warwickshire at Arundel last week. Sussex warned Goodwin about his future conduct and also issued a fine, although this was suspended for two years as recognition of his service to the county and, until this season, his unblemished personal record.”I regret my actions on both occasions and accept that there can be no circumstances where such a reaction is acceptable,” Goodwin said, after being reproached by his club. “I have apologised to the umpires concerned, and the club, and accept the ruling handed down by the club. As players, we recognise our responsibility as role models for players at all levels and of all ages.”The matter was subsequently taken up by an ECB Cricket Discipline Commission Panel comprising Mike Smith, David Smith and Alan Moss, resulting in Goodwin’s ban. Sussex have made clear their unhappiness with this development, but admitted that it sent a strong message about the need to take on-field behaviour seriously.”As a club, we are disappointed by the outcome as we felt – in our own internal disciplinary process – that Murray’s previously good personal record, his apology to all umpires concerned, and his clear feeling of contrition merited a measure of leniency,” Sussex chief executive Dave Brooks said.”However, this ruling sends out a clear message to all the Counties and professional cricketers that such behaviour will be dealt with severely, and in a manner over and above the fixed penalty system. The consistent implementation of this policy should have the desired effect of arresting a slide in on field discipline, which Sussex CCC supports.”Sussex are still in the running for a place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 competition, and Goodwin’s enforced absence comes at a time when Rana Naved, Luke Wright, Wayne Parnell, Luke Wells and Kirk Wernars are also missing through injury.

ESPNcricinfo previews the one-off Twenty20 international between India and England in Kolkata

The Preview by Dustin Silgardo28-Oct-2011Match FactsIndia v England, October 29, Kolkata
Start time 1830 (1300 GMT)Graeme Swann takes over as England captain for the Twenty20 game•AFPBig PictureEngland have not won a match against India in India since 2006, and this Twenty20, strangely scheduled after the one-day series, is probably their best opportunity. The India players would have enjoyed the festivities over the three-day Diwali break. MS Dhoni visited his home in Jharkhand for the first time in four months after the fifth ODI, and his tweet on arriving at Eden Gardens on Thursday – “Kolkata, back on national duty” – did not reveal a great deal of enthusiasm at the prospect of this one-off game.England’s biggest weakness over the five one-dayers was that their batsmen struggled against India’s spinners, and will hope that the reduced number of overs will make R Ashwin and co less effective. They will also have a new captain, and will need Graeme Swann’s famed wit to lighten the spirits of some visibly frustrated players. Swann reckons England should just enjoy the match, after a testing series so far, and that may be their best bet against an India side that may struggle to find meaning in the match after having already battered England over the one-dayers.The big test during this Twenty20 could well be for neither team, but for the Bengal Cricket Association. The sparse crowds that marred the ODI series were typified by the half-empty Eden Gardens stadium for the final one-dayer. The Diwali season may have been an excuse for that poor turnout, but with the festival now over, the number of people the organisers can bring through the gates on Saturday could be an indicator of where cricket in India is headed.One thing that will not work in their favour is the odd scheduling of the match. The significance of a one-off Twenty20 games is debatable in any case, but at least when scheduled before an ODI series they may act as something of a preview to the series. Now, with India fans already high on the euphoria of the 5-0 drubbing and Diwali, it is questionable how many people remember England are even still here.There are a few points of interest in the match, though. This is the first Twenty20 international since the ICC announced the official Twenty20 rankings. England are currently ranked first, but a loss will take them down to third, while India will want to improve their No. 5 ranking.Form guideIndia: LWWWW (completed games, most recent first)
England: LWWLLSpotlight Robin Uthappa has not played for India since 2008 but has been dominating domestic attacks in recent times. Innings of 92 off 36 balls and 64 off 20 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy suggest he belongs at a higher level. Parthiv Patel’s failures in the one-day series mean this is a good time for Uthappa to make a case for himself as a reserve opener in the limited-over formats.Less than a year ago, Yusuf Pathan hit a couple of one-day centuries that seemed like they would cement his place in the India side for some time to come. A mediocre World Cup and a poor West Indies tour later, Yusuf found himself out of not just the playing XI but the squad. He too has been bludgeoning attacks in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and will have a real point to prove if he plays in Kolkata.Since bursting onto the scene with 41 off 21 balls against India in Cardiff, Jonny Bairstow has had a poor run in internationals, and managed just 49 runs in four innings in the one-dayers in India. With a few other young dynamic batsmen coming into contention for the Twenty20s, Bairstow will want to ensure he is still head of the pack.Team newsBoth Yusuf and Uthappa should make it to the XI, in place of Ravindra Jadeja and Parthiv Patel, who is not in the Twenty20 squad. Gautam Gambhir is also missing the game to get married, and Manoj Tiwary should play in his place. Rahul Sharma was included in the squad on the back of his performances in the IPL so it would make sense to try him out in the Twenty20 format.India (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 R Ashwin/ Rahul Sharma, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 R Vinay Kumar, 11 Varun AaronAlex Hales and Jos Buttler are in India specifically for the Twenty20 and should play. Jade Dernbach was replaced by Stuart Meaker for the final ODI, but has a decent Twenty20 record and could return to the side. If Kevin Pietersen doesn’t recover from his thumb injury Ian Bell could slot in having previously been dropped for Twenty20 cricket.England (probable): 1 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Ian Bell/Kevin Pietersen, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Tim Bresnan, 10 Jade Dernbach, 11 Steven FinnPitch and conditionsThe pitch at Eden Gardens for the fifth one-dayer was slow and started to offer considerable turn as the match wore on. There will not be as much deterioration over 40 overs, but if the matches here during the IPL were any indication, the Twenty20 may not be as high-scoring as some might hope.Stats and trivia This will be the first Twenty20 international England will play on Indian soil. The two have played each other three times in T20s, with England leading the head-to-head 2-1 This will be the first Twenty20 international played in India since 2009. There have been just three completed T20Is in India before, and the home side have a 2-1 record With 1011 runs, Kevin Pietersen has the second-most runs in Twenty20 internationals among all batsmen. Only Brendon McCullum has moreQuotes”We don’t play enough Twenty20 internationals in a tour. I would look forward to the time when every tour would have at least a three-match Twenty20 series.”
Graeme Swann is not pleased that England will play just one Twenty20