ScorecardThe first day of South Australia’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Adelaide was washed out without a ball being bowled. The match is especially important for the Tigers, who sit third on the points table and need to gain ground on Western Australia and Queensland in order to make the final.
A batting line-up that boasts Kieron Pollard, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed and has the likelihood of adding Shahid Afridi in the tournament’s latter stages promises plenty of big hits and a genuine flutter in the hearts of a bowling attack, let alone a single bowler.Ashraful and Aftab are perhaps the cleanest hitters of cricket balls in the country while the lively Nazir can bring down the house with his strokes; there’s hardly anything left to say for Pollard and Afridi.But fans of the country’s largest division must be realists too. Ashraful hasn’t been among runs for years while Aftab hasn’t been the force since returning from the rebel Indian Cricket League. Nazir’s international career is also stalled, which means that Nazimuddin, Darren Stevens and Alexei Kervezee will have to bear the responsibilities when the big-hitters fall early.The bowling attack looks like a strong unit with Naved-Ul-Hasan leading the way. The injury-prone Mashrafe Mortaza is now good enough for a four-over spell and could surprise a batsman or two with his odd burst of pace while the spinners Stuart MacGill, Elias Sunny and Mosharraf Hossain are more than capable of keeping things quiet.Dhaka Gladiators will also be smart behind the stumps with Dhiman Ghosh expected to pip Anamul Haque in the wicketkeeping position though the latter is a talented top-order batsman.
For Dhaka to have Shahid Afridi play for them, the rest of the players have to get the franchise into the last four which is quite possible. Afridi’s presence, despite all the conflicting reports, could take the franchise and the tournament itself to a different level. The Pakistan all-rounder’s popularity is tremendous in these parts and if he plays in a semi-final or a final, it could be the biggest boost for the BPL.
But before Afridi though, it has to be Kieron Pollard who would be have to do all the running for Dhaka. A robust all-rounder with the ability to turn a Twenty20 game on its head, Pollard has had some success in Bangladesh in the past. His change of pace would come in hand on the low and slow wickets of Chittagong but it would ultimately be his big-hitting ability that would make all the difference.
Aftab Ahmed has T20 skills all over his batting. He has all the shots in the book and some more. But he has been out of the national squad for two years and past his best days for a longer time. Some late form in the domestic one-day competition could bring the best out of Aftab once more.
Ricky Ponting remains vital to the development of Australia’s Test side but cannot keep earning a place in the team based on his reputation, according to the coach Mickey Arthur. As Australia’s batsmen began their batting camp in Melbourne on Tuesday ahead of the Boxing Day Test against India, the selectors were faced with some tough decisions over the make-up of the squad.The batting order was especially fluid, with questions over whether Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh would return from injury, whether Daniel Christian would be squeezed in as an allrounder, and whether the irresistible form of the opener Ed Cowan could be ignored. And while Ponting is expected to play at the MCG, Arthur said nobody was a certainty to take on the Indians.”I don’t think anybody is guaranteed a start,” Arthur said. “Ricky Ponting is really vital to where we want to take this team so we’re really hoping he finds his form and hopefully his form is just around the corner. We’ll discuss that again tonight and make sure we’ve got all our bases covered in terms of selection.”Following Australia’s loss in Hobart, their first defeat at the hands of New Zealand in 18 years, Arthur said he viewed Ponting and Michael Hussey, who are struggling for runs, as important men in the future of the side due to their middle-order experience. And while Arthur still believed they have roles to play, he said both men would need Test runs to continue justifying their selection.”I have backed Ricky Ponting like I’ve backed Mike Hussey for a period of time because I think they’re crucial for the development of the side,” Arthur said. “For our young guys to bat with guys like that is fantastic, but again they need to keep giving us ammunition.”They need to keep giving us performances. Nobody has got a privilege to play in the Australian cricket team. They are the type of characters that we want in our side, most definitely.”Ponting, who turned 37 on Monday, showed glimpses of his previous form when he made 62 in Johannesburg and 78 at the Gabba over the past month, but his dismissals in both innings at Bellerive Oval were clumsy. He walked across his stumps in the first innings and was lbw as he was caught in two minds, and in the second his attempted punch through the off side resulted in a loopy lob to cover.In his past 16 Tests, Ponting has averaged 27.48 and has not scored a century. Arthur said over the next two days at the batting camp in Melbourne, the plan for Ponting was to “free him up” ahead of a series against an Indian attack that could feature Ishant Sharma, the fast bowler who has dismissed Ponting six times from eight Tests.Arthur said while the batsmen would work against the moving ball at the batting camp – a weakness that was again exposed against New Zealand in Hobart – and would face bowling machines designed to replicate Ishant and Zaheer Khan, major technical overhauls were not on the agenda.”This is giving us the best opportunity for us to be in the best possible space for Boxing Day. That’s it,” he said. “We’re not reinventing the wheel in any way, we’re giving our batters the maximum opportunity to get themselves ready to play a Test match starting on Boxing Day. We feel there are one or two things we need to discuss.”We’re also going to have a look at India, we’re going to talk about their attack, talk about what we can expect from them and practice accordingly. It’s certainly no boot camp. It’s giving our batters an opportunity to get themselves into the best possible frame of mind for the 26th.”
Rapid half-centuries from Azhar Mahmood and Martin Guptill, backed up by a tidy, incisive spell from Ronnie Hira, helped hosts Auckland to a 30-run win against Otago that keeps them safely at the top of the HRV Cup points table. Otago chose to bowl and while Nathan McCullum and Dimitri Mascarenhas produced disciplined spells, the rest of their bowlers were very expensive – Auckland finished with 187 for 2, with Guptill making 65 off 45 and Mahmood providing the late thrust with an unbeaten 79 off49.The Otago batsmen just could not get the required momentum going in the chase. Barring Michael Bates the Auckland bowlers were tight and Hira finished with the pick of the figures: he took 3 for 17 in four, including a double-strike in the eighth over. McCullum and Mascarenhas completed fine all-round showings with rapid cameos towards the end, but the lethargic start meant that was not enough to propel their side home.Rob Nicol picked up four wickets to carve up Wellington‘s middle order and help Canterbury to a 61-run win at the Basin Reserve. Wellington chose to field and after solid second-wicket stand between George Worker and Peter Fulton – both players made scores in the 40s – they struck with regularity to keep Canterbury to 151 for 8. Spinner Jeetan Patel, with 3 for 18, was their most effective bowler.However, they fumbled badly in the chase – no batsman other than James Franklin managed to get into double figures, as they folded for 90 in the 17th over. Nicol, the destroyer-in-chief, ran through the middle order and Wellington could not recover, conceding an easy win to Canterbury.
Vinay Kumar, the India seamer, has said he is confident of adapting to playing conditions in Australia and believes he is good enough to play Test cricket. A regular in the ODI squad over the last couple of years, Vinay was included in India’s Test squad for the first time when he was named as a last minute replacement for the injured Varun Aaron for the tour of Australia.”I have been to Australia earlier on three occasions with the Karnataka team, and once with India A,” Vinay told the . “So the place is not new to me and I know the conditions. I don’t think adapting will be a problem for me.”I know I am good enough to play in the longer formats. In 2007, I was the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy and repeated the feat two years later. I really enjoy bowling long spells. I will have to adjust my line and length in Australia. Hopefully, I will get to play in the practice games and I will bank on my previous experience in Australia.He is not taking anything for granted though, and plans to speak to former India players about what it takes to succeed at the highest level of the game. “I will speak to former medium-pacers like Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad who know what it takes to excel at the international level. The India team bowling coach Eric Simons has been of great help and the same goes for coach Duncan Fletcher. Fletcher has told me in the past that I have the game for Test cricket.”Asked about this potential as an allrounder, Vinay said it was important for everyone down to No.11 to be able to bat. “I started my career as a batsman. Today, even the No. 11 needs to be a decent bat. Last year, Ishant [Sharma] had a partnership with VVS Laxman in the Mohali Test against Australia, which helped us win the game. It was a wake-up call for every bowler, with regard to how valuable a contribution with the bat can be.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRahul Dravid scored his fifth century of the year•AFP
If it is Eden gardens, it must be Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Add bits of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, and you know the opposition has had a bad day. All the specialists who got out would have been kicking themselves even as Dravid made his way to his fifth century after his 38th birthday, behind only four men on that count, all of whom finished before he started. India won the toss on an easy-paced track, and all their batsmen looked good before three of them found fielders with their attacking shots. Dravid and Laxman, though, didn’t seem in any mood to let this opportunity pass, and added 140 for the fourth wicket at a rate of four per over, which matched up to the rest of the innings.A lot about this day didn’t seem right. The Eden Gardens stands were empty on the Monday morning, West Indies were bowling and the keeper came up to the stumps in the fourth over, and the deep point went back at the same time. However, the defensive fields failed to exercise much control: the 47th over was the first maiden of the innings.The bowlers’ failure to match those defensive fields with accuracy, the batsmen’s willingness to take risks, and a lightning quick outfield worked as a team. From the moment they lost the toss West Indies seemed resigned to what Darren Sammy called “a disciplined” effort. It showed in how Kemar Roach, replacing the sick Ravi Rampaul, wasn’t even given the new ball. Not that Sammy made any difference to the kind of start that was expected. Sehwag drove and pushed his first over for fours after Gambhir had driven Fidel Edwards for four in his first.In his next over Sammy asked Carlton Baugh to call for his helmet and sent the point fieldsman to the boundary. Still Sehwag and Gambhir hit a boundary each. The two added 66 in 12 overs before Sehwag got too adventurous. With the mid-on back he tried to drag Sammy over midwicket, but couldn’t find the elevation. After that wicket, Gambhir settled down a bit. He respected the spinners a bit before taking the risks. One of the risks was when he drove in the air and wide of mid-off, the other a loft off Devendra Bishoo over midwicket. The second of those took him to 48 off 76, and his first half-century against West Indies duly arrived.
Rahul Dravid scored his 36th Test century and his fifth of the calendar year. Only Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar are above Dravid on the list of highest Test centurions.
Dravid scored five hundreds in a year for the second time in his career. The previous year when he scored five centuries was 2002, He went past Ian Bell to become the highest run-getter in 2011. Bell, however took eight innings fewer than Dravid.
Dravid’s hundred is also his fourth at Eden Gardens bringing him joint-second with VVS Laxman on the list of highest century-getters at the venue. Mohammad Azharuddin is on top with five centuries in seven matches.
In the Indian innings, there were fifty-plus stands for each of the first four wickets. This was only the fourth such instance for India in Tests against West Indies.
With their 12th century stand, Laxman and Dravid moved joint-second on the list of Indian batting pairs with the most century partnerships. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are on top with 19 hundred stands.
After lunch, coinciding with the control on run flow, Gambhir drove in front of his body and picked out short cover. Seventeen runs had come in the previous six overs. Tendulkar got off with trademark boundaries, a flick through square leg, and a drive between mid-off and extra cover. Two more hit-me deliveries arrived, and he was 20 off 28. As he slowed down to take breath, West Indies created two chances against him: Bishoo didn’t get an lbw call his way, and a bat-pad off Sammy fell between the desperate keeper and bowler.Soon, though, Tendulkar toe-ended a long hop, and the crowd, which had grown to a slightly more impressive number since the morning, lost its voice. That brought out the most prolific batsman at Eden to start a partnership with the man just behind him. Dravid was already in the middle of a well-paced innings. The sight of Dravid usually brings respite to the bowling sides when he is following a rampant Sehwag, but here he began with a couple and a four in the first over he faced. Soon he was 18 off 16, having hit four fours, one of which was a punch against the turn of Marlon Samuels, deliberately in front of square to beat deep point.At 37 off 53, he had hit seven boundaries. Then followed that tighter session – 80 runs as opposed to 132 in the first – and two wickets at the other end. He didn’t hit another boundary for the next 100 balls he faced. Still, those 100 balls brought him 41 runs and involved the 15 minutes before tea when he and Laxman remained cautious. In the 68th over of the innings, Dravid lofted Bishoo over mid-off for the 20th six of his career.By then Laxman too had moved on from his 1 off 15 to 30 off 47 through some Laxman shots. The milestones came up without fuss. Dravid reached his fifth century of the year, level with his best year in terms of centuries, 2002, with a flick past square leg. Laxman brought up his eighth score of 50 or more in his 10th Eden Test with a well-placed couple deep on the on side. That shot was also indicative of his innings, of how he kept finding gaps through the defensive fields. Dravid went on to celebrate with the 21st six of his career, this time a slog-sweep off Samuels.Just before stumps, though, he gifted youngster Kraigg Brathwaite with a wicket when he went back to a cut a fullish delivery. Not yet sated, he went back with disgust on his face. Inexplicably India sent out a nightwatchman. Ishant Sharma lasted only one ball, but in pure technical terms he did his job as bad light made sure there was no further play.
Zimbabwe v New Zealand, October 20, Harare
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT)Kyle Jarvis claimed the two wickets that went to Zimbabwe bowlers in the Twenty20 series•AFP
Can a wicket-taking bowler from Zimbabwe please stand up? New Zealand have so far faced a little over 31 overs on tour and clattered 314 for three wickets, one of which came courtesy a run-out. The Zimbabwean attack has been the epitome of toothlessness, at the risk of sounding insensitive to Keegan Meth fans. With the competition shifting to the 50-overs format, the tourists can afford to slacken the pace of their accumulation. However, there will be no let-up in their appetite for runs, unless Zimbabwe can conjure some incisiveness.It isn’t surprising that these teams have clashed only 29 times in ODIs. While both sides frequently figured in the glut of meaningless tri-series in the late 90s, organisers seldom found space to accommodate both in the same tournament. It has been more than ten years since their last bilateral series as well, a period in which they have clashed a mere four times. The last of those games was in the World Cup, when New Zealand emerged easy victors. Ominously for Zimbabwe supporters, the margin of victory in that game was ten wickets.Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill were in pristine form in that match, as they have been in the Twenty20s here. McCullum in particular has shown a propensity to launch sixes into the stands and trees surrounding the Harare Sports Club. Given Zimbabwe’s bowling woes, the ODI series should help him further his reputation for minnow-bashing.
(most recent first)
Zimbabwe: LLLLL
New Zealand: LWLWW
A dose of Ray Price‘s aggression will go a long way towards lifting Zimbabwe on the field. Armed with the mind of a fast bowler, Price trots in and lets the ball grip and rip, before breaking into the most exaggerated follow-through for a spinner since Brad Hogg’s retirement. Given the carnage his team-mates endured, Price escaped relatively unhurt in the Twenty20s, but he will have wickets on his mind when the ODIs begin.Jacob Oram‘s fairytale return from knee surgery in August 2010 has lasted longer than even he would have imagined. Oram initially expected to sign off with the World Cup, a tournament where he gave his all, most famously in the quarter-final shocking of South Africa. He hasn’t batted so far in Zimbabwe, but expect him to unleash his trademark swings to midwicket when he gets in. Zimbabwe will find his wobblers from ten paces tough to get away as well.
Zimbabwe will be anxious to have Tatenda Taibu back after injury kept him out of the Twenty20s. Vusi Sibanda, too, missed the Twenty20-leg, bereaved by his mother’s death, but is expected to return at the top. Zimbabwe juggled the batting line-up around in an attempt to find stability, but the lower order misfired in both games. A lack of options, though, might prevent them from making too many changes. Meth could come in for Charles Coventry, who isn’t in the ODI squad.Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt), 4 Chamu Chibhabha, 5 Tatenda Taibu/Regis Chakabva (wk), 6 Forster Mutizwa, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Keegan Meth, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Ray Price, 11 Kyle JarvisKyle Mills is likely to reclaim his spot in the XI from Graeme Aldridge, who went for 45 runs in four overs on debut. The No. 5 slot will be a toss-up between Rob Nicol and Kane Williamson who both played a Twenty20 each, but were denied the chance to bat by the top order.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jesse Ryder 4, Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson/Rob Nicol, 6 James Franklin, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Luke Woodcock
“To get over 100 two games in a row sets a benchmark. Brendon and Guppy [Guptill] batted sensibly and complemented each other very well.”
Experimentation was the order of the day in Ireland, but England are likely to have a far more familiar squad for the one-day internationals against India and there’s the possibility that none of the new faces tried in Clontarf will find a place. With Alastair Cook having won his first series as the full-time ODI captain against Sri Lanka it is unlikely that the selectors will make many changes for the 50-over format, although Stuart Broad’s Twenty20 side could see some of the new players feature.There will be no debate about James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann forming the core of the bowling attack. Broad was dropped for England’s last one-dayer against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford but has since stormed back to form with a Man-of-the-Series display in the Test series against India. Those four bowlers, along with Jade Dernbach, will comprise the first-choice attack unless conditions require two spinners, when Samit Patel will need to be accommodated.The bigger question marks surround the batting line-up. The recent form of Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell suggests they will walk into the side but for both Test success and one-day runs don’t always correlate. Pietersen’s 50-over record since losing the captaincy is poor with an average of 22.86, while Bell struggled to adapt to the No. 6 role against Sri Lanka. Pietersen was dropped this time last year for the Pakistan series and, although such drastic action is unlikely this time, he really needs to prove he has the hunger for the 50-over game.Bell, meanwhile, remains a conundrum because No. 6 is an unnatural fit for him but there is no room higher up the order. Ideally, given his wonderful form, he would be given a run at No. 3 but his Warwickshire team-mate Jonathan Trott has bedded into that position. Trott’s role remains highly debated, and his 69 off 104 balls against Ireland fuelled the fire. All the same, it’s hard to imagine England being World Cup contenders in Australia and New Zealand with him and Cook in the top three.”He’s an invaluable player to our team and has been for the couple of years he’s been involved,” Eoin Morgan said after the 11-run victory against Ireland. “Today he was crucial to our success and the majority of time he scores runs we win.”There is a clamour to get the likes of James Taylor and Ben Stokes involved in the side, but Geoff Miller and Andy Flower are not in the habit of shaking things up too much. Morgan and Richard Halsall, who stood in as coach for Flower against Ireland, will give feedback to the selectors about the match but it’s also hard to change a winning squad, even if it means fitting a few square pegs into round holes. However, if Stokes was fit to bowl he would challenge Ravi Bopara for a place in the squad.More room is available for something different in the Twenty20 side because the performance against Sri Lanka, at Bristol, was so poor and a couple of the players from that match – Michael Lumb and Luke Wright – are injured. Bell was a controversial omission in that game and now would be a good chance to give him a go in the opener’s slot, where he has a strike-rate of 127.27 and 140 runs from four innings, if the selectors don’t feel Alex Hales is ready. Taylor, although he only made 1 against Ireland, could also earn a chance to fight for a battling slot and Stokes’ hitting ability is worth investing in.Possible one-day squad: Alastair Cook (capt), Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ian Bell, Samit Patel, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Jade Dernbach, Steven FinnPossible Twenty20 squad: Stuart Broad (capt), Craig Kieswetter, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, James Taylor, Ben Stokes, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Jade Dernbach, Chris Woakes
Whatever the result of the one-off Test in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor feels his men have achieved something significant.”A lot of people probably would have written us off in three days against Pakistan, so to get deep into the fourth day and now to be going into a fifth day is a positive,” Taylor said. “Especially in these conditions which probably suit them more and are a little more sub-continental. So, we’ll be pretty satisfied whatever happens.”On a pitch that has provided assistance to the spinners, Zimbabwe batted well in the first innings, but poorly in the second, to leave them on the backfoot as the match enters its final day. Despite their setback Taylor was mostly pleased that the team stuck to their strategies, particularly early on the fourth day when they took the last five Pakistan wickets for 51 runs. “Everything went pretty much to plan, the bowlers stuck it out and eventually found some reward,” he said, “The seamers went for under three an over and Ray Price bowled really well in his 50 overs, it was very good.”Taylor, in turn, set attacking fields throughout the innings, rarely venturing onto the same defensive path his opposite number Misbah-ul-Haq is renowned for. “I’m a positive captain,” Taylor said. “On a wearing wicket with Ray Price and Greg Lamb bowling into the rough, I had to back your bowlers and set good fields. That was always my thinking.”Taylor’s main frustration came from the dropped catches – six of them in total – which went against the grain for a side that are usually exceptional in the field. “It was probably a concentration thing,” he said. “It’s really disappointing because fielding is one part of the game that we work very hard on. If we held onto some of them they could have been 300 all out and that could have been the difference.”Instead, Zimbabwe allowed Pakistan to overtake their first innings score and then “all the hard work done by the bowlers was undone by the batsmen.” Still, Taylor feels that with a sizeable enough lead, they are in with a chance if they can score quickly on the final morning. “We’ll always believe; we know Pakistan could capitulate,” he said. “We are still a long way off, we probably still need to bat another two hours, at least, and give our bowlers a good total to bowl at.”
Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, has signed up with Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise, for the Pro20 competition for the 2011-12 season. Tait retired from Tests and ODIs following Australia’s exit in the quarter-final stage of the 2011 World Cup, but represented Rajasthan Royals in the IPL this year, grabbing six wickets in four games.”Having played last year in Durban during the Champions Trophy, I know that I am really looking forward to getting back and bowling at a ground that definitely suits me,” Tait said. “I am genuinely excited to be given this opportunity and am looking forward to playing my part with the Dolphins in seeing them taste success.”The CEO of KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union and Dolphins Cricket, Jesse Chellan, was thrilled that Tait had signed on. “He is a world class, match-winning fast bowler and will add much needed pace to our attack,” he said. “We are serious about ‘crossing the finishing line’ this season and we have no doubt that Shaun will help deliver on this to our fans.”Graham Ford, the Dolphins coach, added: “Our young players have progressed extremely well over the past 12 months and for them to now play alongside the fastest bowler in world cricket will be a wonderful learning opportunity and a massive experience.”The Dolphins topped the table in the league phase of the Pro20 competition last year but were beaten in the semi-final by the Warriors. Their first Pro20 match this season is next February.Besides the IPL and the Dolphins, Tait also has a T20 contract with the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League. He was forced to turn down a deal with Surrey earlier this year due to an elbow injury sustained during the IPL.