The BCCI’s various working committees and their members as decided during the annual general meeting

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-201081st ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF BCCI
COMPOSITION OF WORKING COMMITTEE FOR 2010-11
1. SHASHANK MANOHAR PRESIDENT2. N SRINIVASAN HONORARY SECRETARY, PRESIDENT ELECT3. SANJAY JAGDALE HONORARY JOINT SECRETARY4. M P PANDOVE HONORARY TREASURER5. ARUN JAITLEY VICE PRESIDENT (NORTH)6 SHIVLAL YADAV VICE PRESIDENT (SOUTH)7. ARINDAM GANGULY VICE PRESIDENT (EAST)8. NIRANJAN SHAH VICE PRESIDENT (WEST)9. RAJEEV SHUKLA VICE PRESIDENT (CENTRAL)10. DELHI & DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION, 11. TAMIL NADU CRICKET ASSOCIATION, 12. CRICKET ASSOCIATION OF BENGAL, 13. MUMBAI CRICKET ASSOCIATION,14. UTTAR PRADESH CRICKET ASSOCIATION (All Permanent Test Centres)
15. JAMMU &KASHMIR CRICKET ASSOCIATION (NORTH)
16. GOA CRICKET ASSOCIATION (SOUTH)
17. ORISSA CRICKET ASSOCIATION (EAST )
18. BARODA CRICKET ASSOCIATION (WEST )
19. RAILWAY SPORTS PROMOTION BOARD (CENTRAL)
20.. KARNATAKA STATE CRICKET ASSOCIATION, 21.. PUNJAB CRICKET ASSOCIATION, 22.. GUJARAT CRICKET ASSOCIATION, 23.. VIDARBHA CRICKET ASSOCIATION (All Staged Test Matches)
SENIOR TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE
1. MR.SHIVLAL YADAV CHAIRMAN/VICE PRESIDENT2. HARYANA CRICKET ASSOCIATION3. TAMIL NADU CRICKET ASSOCIATION4. ORISSA CRICKET ASSOCIATION5. BARODA CRICKET ASSOCIATION6. U P CRICKET ASSOCIATION7. MR. N SRINIVASAN HON. SECRETARY/CONVENORTECHNICAL COMMITTEE
1. MR.SUNIL GAVASKAR CHAIRMAN2. PREM THAKUR (NORTH)3. P R ASHOK ANAND (SOUTH)4. GOUTAM DASGUPTA (EAST )5 MADHAV RANADE (WEST )6 VIJAY NAIDU (CENTRAL)7 K SRIKKANTH (CHAIRMAN SENIOR SELECTION COMM)8. SOURAV GANGULY (FORMER TEST CRICKETER)9. V K RAMASWAMY (FORMER TEST UMPIRE)10. N SRINIVASAN HON. SECRETARY/CONVENORTOUR, PROGRAMME & FIXTURE COMMITTEE
1 ARUN JAITLEY CHAIRMAN2.. MD. ASLAM GONI (NORTH)3.. VINOD PHADKE (SOUTH)4.. BIKAS BARUAH (EAST)5 PARIMAL NATWANI (WEST )6.. PRAKASH DIXIT (CENTRAL)7 N SRINIVASAN HON. SECRETARY/CONVENORFINANCE COMMITTEE
1 JYOTIRADITYA M SCINDIA CHAIRMAN2.. ANURAG THAKUR (NORTH)3.. E VENKATRAM REDDY (SOUTH)4.. AMITABH CHOUDHARY (EAST)5.. SANJAY PATEL (WEST )6 SANJAY DIXIT (CENTRAL)7 M.P. PANDOVE HON. TREASURER/CONVENORJUNIOR CRICKET COMMITTEE
1. RAJEEV SHUKLA CHAIRMAN2. CAPTAIN (IN) U K THAPA – NORTH3. T R BALAKRISHNAN – SOUTH4. RAJIV SINGH – EAST5. DHIRAJ JOGANI – WEST6. ASHOK KUMAT – CENTRAL7. SANJAY JAGDALE – HON. JT. SECRETARY/CONVENORUMPIRES SUB-COMMITTEE
1. NIRANJAN SHAH – CHAIRMAN2.. ANIRUDH CHAUDHARY – (NORTH)3.. MONCHO FERRA – (SOUTH)4.. BISWARUP DEY – (EAST)5.. HEMANT WAINGANKAR – (WEST )6 SHUAIB AHMED – (CENTRAL)7.. S VENKATARAGHAVAN – DIRECTOR8. A V JAYAPRAKASH – RETD. TEST UMPIRE9.. SANJAY JAGDALE – HON. JT. SECRETARY/CONVENORVIZZY TROPHY COMMITTEE
1. ARINDAM GANGULY – CHAIRMAN / VICE PRESIDENT2.. APPAL RAJU – SOUTH3.. BABUL HORE – EAST4.. GURDEEP SINGH – (A.I.U.)5.. PROF. BEENA SHAH – (A.I.U.) / JOINT CONVENOR6.. SANJAY JAGDALE – HON. JT. SECRETARY/JOINT CONVENORWOMEN’S COMMITTEE
1 SHASHANK MANOHAR – CHAIRMAN2 SHASHI GUPTA – NORTH3 VIDYA YADAV – SOUTH4 ANURADHA MISRA – EAST5 SANGITA DABIR – CENTRAL6 SHUBHANGI KULKARNI – WEST7. N SRINIVASAN – HON.SECRETARY/CONVENORALL INDIA SENIOR SELECTION COMMITTEE
1 K SRIKKANTH – SOUTH -CHAIRMAN2. YASHPAL SHARMA – NORTH3 C R VENKATRAMAN – EAST4 SURENDRA BHAVE – WEST5 NARENDRA HIRWANI – CENTRAL6 N SRINIVASAN – HON. SECRETARY / CONVENORALL INDIA JUNIOR SELECTION COMMITTEE
1 ABEY KURUVILLA – WEST -CHAIRMAN2 ARUN SHARMA – NORTH3 VENKA PRATAP – SOUTH4 RAJIB DEBBARMAN – EAST5 PREETAM GANDHE – CENTRAL6 SANJAY JAGDALE – HON. JT. SECRETARY / CONVENORALL INDIA WOMEN’S SELECTION COMMITTEE
1 VRINDA BHAGAT – WEST -CHAIRPERSON2. RESHMA GANDHI – NORTH3. SAVITHA NIRALA – SOUTH4 GARGI BANERJEE – EAST5 REETA DEY – CENTRAL6. N SRINIVASAN – HON. SECRETARY / CONVENORIPL GOVERNING COUNCIL COMMITTEE
CHIRAYU AMIN – CHAIRMANRAJEEV SHUKLA – UPCAARUN JAITLEY – DDCAANURAG THAKUR – HIMACHALRANJIB BISWAL – ORISSAAJAY SHIRKE – MAHARASTRATWO CRICKETERS – TO BE NOMINATED BY PRESIDENTALL OFFICE BEARERS OF BCCISPECIAL COMMITTEES DURING THE YEAR – 2010-11
LEGAL COMMITTEE
SHASHANK MANOHAR – CHAIRMANARUN JAITLEY – DDCANILLAY DUTTA – ASSAMANIRUDH CHAUDHARY – HARYANAD V SUBBARAO – ANDHRAPRATAP SATPATI – ORISSANATIONAL CRICKET ACADEMY BOARD
ANIL KUMBLE – CHAIRMANAJAY SHIRKE – VICE CHAIRMAN – MAHARASHTASANDEEP PATIL – DIRECTOR- NCARAKESH PARIKH – MEMBER – BARODASUNIL DEV – MEMBER -DDCAGROUP CAPT. D D DESHPANDE – MEMBER -VCAT C MATHEW – MEMBER -KERALACHIRARAJNA PAUL – MEMBER -TRIPURAALL OFFICE BEARERS OF BCCINCA CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
AJAY SHIRKE – CHAIRMANC R LAXMINARAYAN – KSCAANSARI MIRZA -PRADEEP DESHMUKHSANJAY JAGDALE – HON.JT SECRETARY/ CONVENORCONSTITUTION REVIEW COMMITTEE
SHASHANK MANOHAR – CHAIRMANANIRUDH CHOUDHARY – HARYANAARUN JAITLEY – DDCAPROF. R S SHETTY – CAO -BCCIN SRINIVASAN – HONORARY SECRETARY/CONVENORMUSEUM COMMITTEE
ANIRUDH CHOUDHARY – CHAIRMANP D PATHAK – UTTAR PRADESHSANJIB KUMAR DUTTA – ORISSAANURAG THAKUR – HPCAM PRABHAKAR RAO – ANDHRAM R KRISHNA – KARNATAKAS.P. BANSAL – DDCAS VENKATESWARAN – HYDERABADK P KAJARIA – NCCSALEEM KHAN – JAMMU & KASHMIRPROF. R S SHETTY – CONVENORMEDIA COMMITTEE
RAJEEV SHUKLA – CHAIRMANG S WALIA – NORTH (PUNJAB)R N BABA – SOUTH (TNCA)PABITRA GAGOI – EAST (ASSAM)VINOD DESHPANDE – WEST (MUMBAI)RAJAN NAIR – CENTRAL (VIDARBHA)N SRINIVASAN – HONORARY SECRETARY /CONVENORMARKETING SUB-COMMITTEE
DR. FAROOQ ABHULLAH – CHAIRMANC P JOSHI – RAJASTHANGOUTAM ROY – ASSAMCHIRAYU AMIN – BARODADR. G GANGA RAJU – ANDHRAANIRUDH CHAUDHRY – HARYANADILIP CHUDGAR – MPCASAMARJIT GAIKWAD – BARODAANURAG THAKUR – HPCAS N WADIYAR – KSCAM M MISRA – UPCADAYANAND NARVEKAR – GOAARVIND CHOUDHARY – HARYANAC K KHANNA – DDCAD S CHALAPATHI – HYDERABADCHITRAK MITRA – CABBHARAT SHAH – SAURASHTRAALL OFFICE BEARERS OF BCCIGROUND & PITCHES COMMITTEE
VENKAT SUNDARAM – NORTH -CHAIRMANP R VISHWANATHAN – SOUTHRATUL DAS – EASTSUDHIR NAIK – WESTRAJIV GOKHALE – CENTRALN SRINIVASAN – HONORARY SECRETARY/CONVENORAFFILIATION COMMITTEE
ARUN JAITLEY – CHAIRMANASLAM GONI – JAMMU & KASHMIRSANJAY JAGDALE – HONORARY JT SECRETARYCRICKET DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
DILIP VENGSARKAR – CHAIRMANCHETAN CHAUHAN – NORTHARSHAD AYUB – SOUTHPRANOB ROY – EASTPRASHANT VAIDHYA – CENTRALN SRINIVASAN – HONORARY SECRETARY/ CONVENOR

Shahid Afridi has criticised his batsmen, himself included, following Pakistan’s 0-2 defeat in the Twenty20 series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2010Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has criticised his batsmen and himself, following Pakistan’s 0-2 defeat in the Twenty20 series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan only managed 119 and 120 in their two innings, scores that were overhauled with little difficulty by South Africa. Afridi made 25 and 3 while the others, with the exception of Misbah-ul-Haq who is making a comeback in international cricket, struggled.”Our batting was a major let down. None of them did well,” Afridi said after the second game, which South Africa won by six wickets. “My performance was crucial for the team and I also failed to deliver.”But I am sure we can do far better in the ODIs, since I believe that we have players who have good temperament and can play the 50 overs comfortably.”There were encouraging signs in the bowling department, with the spinners proving economical. Mohammad Hafeez and Afridi conceded just 32 runs between them in eight overs in the second game while offspinner Saeed Ajmal conceded 18 in his four-over spell in the first. “Our bowlers really bowled well. The conditions suited the batsmen, but despite that, our bowlers stuck to a good line and bowled brilliantly,” Afridi said.Pakistan cricket, in the aftermath of the spot-fixing controversy, is going through troubled times and Afridi admitted there was pressure on players. “Yes the players are under pressure, but we have to put that aside and concentrate and keep ourselves focused,” he said.Johan Botha, South Africa’s Twenty20 captain, was hoping the team would continue its winning run in the ODI series that begins on Friday. “Pakistan is a very good team and they can bounce back in the ODIs. We will keep the momentum going and ensure that we keep working hard and try to win as many as matches possible.”

A round-up of the first day of the first round of matches in the Super League of the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2010L Balaji’s 12th first-class four-wicket haul helped Tamil Nadu bowl Assam out for 184 on the opening day at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Assam began cautiously after TN chose to field on a pitch that had plenty of carry, and the openers had seen off 13.3 overs, adding 24 before debutant seamer Sunil Sam made the first breakthrough. Dheeraj Jadhav, Assam’s top-scorer last season, slashed and edged to the wicketkeeper. Sridharan Sriram, the left-hand batsman who hails from TN, could not make an impact against his old team-mates, and became Balaji’s first victim when he cut to gully. Parvez Aziz played offspinner R Ashwin with confidence and had moved to 36 with six boundaries. He also fought through a stream of bouncers before offering S Badrinath a catch off Balaji’s bowling. Badrinath had to dive low and to his left at second slip to take the chance. When star import Amol Muzumdar departed for a duck, nicking Balaji behind, TN sensed an opportunity to shoot Assam out for a low score. The spinners Aushik Srinivas and R Ashwin nipped three wickets between them, while a couple of run-outs added to Assam’s woes as they stumbled to a score under 200. TN’s openers Abhinav Mukund and Srikkanth Anirudha then batted with determination to take their side to 21 without loss by the close.Wasim Jaffer purred along to his 40th first-class century, while Rohit Sharma missed his ninth by seven runs as Mumbai launched their title defence by scoring 340 for 7 on the opening day at the Bandra Kurla Complex against Saurashtra. On a day that would have left both sides reasonably satisfied, there were several important individual performances that stood out. Dropping himself to No. 3 in the absence of the injured middle-order bulwark Ajinkya Rahane, Jaffer carried on his penchant for plundering domestic hundreds, after Jayesh Odedra’s double-strike. At the other end, with the selectors’ eye on his fitness and temperament, Rohit launched himself into the Saurashtra attack with typical elegance. His 93 came off 86 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes, leading Mumbai to 252 for 2 and in sight of a towering score. Then came the third most significant performance of the day, from another India hopeful. Ravindra Jadeja has had his place in the Indian questioned by all and sundry, and he responded with an incisive spell with the game threatening to run away. He dismissed Sharma, Abhishek Nayar and Ramesh Powar, leading Saurashtra’s resurgence in the evening session and left them with an opportunity to finish Mumbai’s innings early on the second day.For more on this match, click here.Opener Arindam Das’ seventh first-class century was the highlight of the opening day at the Feroz Shah Kotla as Bengal posted a dominant 313 for 2 against a Delhi attack that struggled for incisiveness. Ten months after the abandonment of an ODI due to an underprepared pitch, the Kotla track was at its benign best as Das settled down for a big innings, in Shreevats Goswami’s company. The pair raised 133 in 37.2 overs, giving the hosts a taste of what was to come before Goswami fell for 68, the first of Mithun Manhas’ two wickets. Abhishek Chowdhury was more cautious, but it did not affect Bengal’s speed of scoring as Das shifted gears upwards. Manoj Tiwary who came in at Chowdhury’s exit kept the momentum going with an unbeaten 47 off 80 balls. At the other end, Das, kicked on after reaching his ton and finished the day unbeaten on 150. His knock included 19 fours, and he looked good for more when stumps were drawn.For more on this match, click here.Yuvraj Singh managed a half-century but, like the rest of his top-order mates, was guilty of throwing away a start, as Uttar Pradesh held Punjab to 279 for 6 on the opening day at the Bhamashah Stadium in Meerut. Sarul Kanwar began in aggressive fashion after Punjab chose to bat, striking eight fours in his run-a-ball 42. However, after an opening stand worth 56, Praveen Kumar removed Kanwar and Ravi Inder Singh off successive overs, exposing Punjab’s middle order. Uday Kaul rebuilt in Yuvraj’s company, the pair raising 61 for the third wicket before a mini-collapse reduced Punjab to 143 for 5. Karan Goel rose to the occasion, and along with Vishwas Bhalla, lifted his side to respectability with a 72-run alliance. Piyush Chawla prised out Bhalla, but Harmeet Singh counterattacked with four fours and a six in his 29, taking Punjab to stumps along with Goel, who was unbeaten on 56.Gujarat‘s top order gave a good account of themselves without managing to dominate the Railways attack, leaving both sides on par at stumps on an attritional opening day at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Every Gujarat batsman got a start in a score of 234 for 4, but only one managed to reach fifty, while most bowlers gained respect without making enough entries in the wickets column. Jay Desai and Priyank Kirit Panchal ground out an opening stand of 58 in 28 overs before exiting on the same score. Niraj Patel and Parthiv Patel showed more urgency in a stand of 74, but both failed to kick on, as Gujarat found themselves unable to reap the rewards of solidity. That partnership, however, eased the pressure on the remaining batsmen. Bhavik Thaker, coming in at No. 5, did better than the top four, ensuring he crossed his half-century and remained unbeaten at stumps. His innings included two fours and a six off consecutive deliveries from Faiz Fazal. Debutant Pratharesh Parmar held up the other end with an undefeated 28 and the pair will want to push ahead on the second day. Parthiv praised his batsmen for their effort. “The wicket was green and two-paced,” he told the . “So, it was a challenge to play the first 30 overs and we did it.”Opening bowler Basanth Mohanty completed his sixth first-class five-wicket haul as Orissa bullied Baroda, reducing them to 99 for 9 on a curtailed day at the Barabati Stadium. After overnight rains delayed the start by half an hour, Orissa captain Shiv Sundar Das had no hesitation in bowling after winning the toss in damp, seamer-friendly conditions. Baroda’s batsmen, star players Yusuf Pathan and Ambati Rayudu included, had no answers against Basanth in an innings where only three batsmen managed to enter double-figures. Things could have been far worse for Baroda if not for Rakesh Solanki’s unbeaten 44. Debasis Mohanty, Alok Chandra Sahoo and Dhiraj Singh complemented Basanth’s efforts with a wicket apiece as Baroda derailed in shocking fashion.Himachal Pradesh‘s bowlers contained Haryana on the opening day, as the visitors crawled to 204 for 4 in Dharmasala. After choosing to field, the hosts started well, with seamer Jitendra Mehta removing Nitin Saini for five, but wickets were hard to come by after that. Rahul Dewan held vigil for 40 watchful overs, his 46 pushing the score to 88, before he perished against Ashok Thakur. Manav Sharma and Hemang Badani carried on in the same vein, their partnership of 74 spanning nearly 30 overs before Manav fell four short of his half-century. Badani brought up his 37th first-class fifty, and the first for Haryana, but more importantly, ensured he was unbeaten till the end.

Cricket Canada has secured a high-profile sponsorship deal with Reebok which means the company will be the “official apparel supplier” for Canadian cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2010Cricket Canada has secured a high-profile sponsorship deal with Reebok which means the company will be the “official apparel supplier” for Canadian cricket.The deal is reported to be a “multi-year” arrangement but no details have been given by Cricket Canada regarding its length or value.It includes of all Canada’s teams including the 2011 World Cup side, the Canada A Development Squad, the women’s program, the Under-19 and Under-15 sides, and Canada’s national championships.

The day before arguably India’s biggest Test of 2010, Ms Dhoni said India treats every Test the same, and is focused on taking care of the small things

Sidharth Monga in Durban25-Dec-2010Christmas is in the air in Durban. If you haven’t been to a Boxing Day Test – and this correspondent hadn’t – you might find it almost surreal. Test cricket brings its own vibe with it; an anticipation and intensity that appears to be missing, at least on the surface. There is Christmas, there are “The Holidays”, and then there is the New Year. It is a time to relax, a time to enjoy, a time to take stock, and a time to look forward.Make no mistake about it, though: in less than 24 hours India’s biggest Test of the year will start, and perhaps this particular unit’s biggest too. It has been a year of success where they have held on to their No.1 ranking for 360 days, but they will know how seriously that tag will be taken if they find themselves 2-0 down on seaming tracks in a country that has forever been their nemesis.It was only yesterday, on a hot, humid, sapping day that MS Dhoni said – while walking out of the nets – that he was reminded of Chennai. However, just one look at the pitch is enough to tell you that the difference in playing conditions in Chennai and Durban is as wide as the Indian Ocean that separates the two cities. The pitch here is lush green – Gary Kirsten said that from the change room it looked the same colour as the outfield, and the overhead conditions – forecast to be cloudy for the duration of this Test – are sure to help swing and seam. For a city full of people of Indian origin, Kingsmead is a foreign island. Forget the six sixes that Yuvraj Singh hit here in an over in the World Twenty20. In Test cricket, India don’t even average half as much per wicket as Yuvraj managed in one T20 over. In five all-out innings here, they have managed 862 runs.Even in isolation, the conditions are going to present a supreme challenge to the batsmen who lasted 38.4 overs on a damp pitch in Centurion; in the context of the series, the challenge becomes huge. That said, there is nothing to suggest they can’t pass this test. Everyone knows these are better batsmen than a score of 136 all out on a testing pitch suggests. Coach Kirsten has said they needed, and still need, to apply themselves better on these kinds of surfaces. Preparation might have suffered for the first Test because of the absence of a warm-up game, but they have worked hard for this one.Out has gone the policy of having light training sessions on the eve of the game. On Christmas day, the Indian team was the group of hardest-working people in Durban. Zaheer Khan, a huge addition to the side, was the only man to opt out of the session, and this team has – with good results – let Zaheer prepare on his own for big matches. However, as if a reminder was needed that they are up against it, Gautam Gambhir’s injured left hand has worsened and M Vijay might well have to pad up on short notice once again.On the surface, though, keeping in with the festive spirit, India are not making this sound like it is their time of reckoning. It is understandable, too, for they don’t want to put any undue pressure on themselves. “Every game is big for us,” Dhoni said on the eve of the game. “As I always say, being No.1 or when you are on course to becoming No.1, every game is important. Irrespective of where you are playing in a particular series. Whether you are playing in the subcontinent or outside. We don’t consider one Test match more important than the others. By doing that, you can put additional pressure on yourself. We believe in taking care of small things, so we respect every Test.”When Dhoni was asked to look back at the last year, he again chose to focus on the details – the tailenders contributing more runs than they used to; the part-time bowlers chipping in with wickets. It all points to an admirable fighting spirit that this team prides itself on. Saving matches after a poor first innings, coming back from behind to win Tests, coming back from behind to level series, managing without a few key players.It is that spirit that they will collectively be dialling for, but the rest of the world will also be questioning their skills to do well in all conditions. Not that they have proven otherwise in the past, but this – before the series started – seemed their best chance to do so. If they can’t summon up the spirit and the skills over the next five days, the last three weeks of the year will have more to say about the team than the first 49.

The final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier domestic first-class tournament, will be played under lights with the use of coloured balls, an unprecedented event for the format in Pakistan cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2011The final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier domestic first-class tournament, will be played under lights with the use of coloured balls, an unprecedented event in Pakistan first-class cricket.Dave Richardson, ICC’s general manager, cricket, expressed his support for the experiment. “This concept has been trialed in other countries and it is part of our wider policy of investigating the possibility of introducing day-night Test matches,” Richardson said. “Just like we need to find ways to promote and protect Test cricket, this initiative shows the intentions of the PCB to promote the longer form of the game in Pakistan and try to make cricket even more popular than it already is. We are very pleased with how this trial is to be implemented and we will be very interested in the results.”Pakistan International Airlines and Habib Bank Limited, will clash at the National Stadium in Karachi from January 13 for the five-day final after jointly topping the Division One table, tied on 57 points.First-class cricket has been played under lights in India before while the start of the English domestic season, in Abu Dhabi, featured pink balls. “This innovation is in line with the initiatives that the PCB has been taking to improve the standard of the domestic game in Pakistan,” Ijaz Butt, the board’s chairman, said in a release.”The success of this event will bode well for our domestic structure as it could have positive implications for holding matches during the summers in Pakistan,” Javed Miandad, former Pakistan captain and current director general of the PCB, said.The total prize money for the final is Rs.1.75 million, with the winner taking home Rs.1 million.

Jharkhand’s Ishank Jaggi and Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary got centuries for East Zone on the first day of their Duleep Trophy quarter-final against Central Zone in Cuttack

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2011
ScorecardJharkhand’s Ishank Jaggi and Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary got centuries for East Zone on the first day of their Duleep Trophy quarter-final against Central Zone in Cuttack. East finished the day well placed at 328 for 5 as they battled with Central for a chance to play South Zone in the semi-final.After being put in to bat, East lost opener Natraj Behera early to Rajasthan seamer Pankaj Singh, who finished with three wickets in the day. Jaggi and Tiwary then put East in the driver’s seat with a 208-run partnership, but Central got a foot back in to the match with three wickets in the last twelve overs of play.

The World Cup finally reached Eden Gardens, and the sparse crowd that turned up on an overcast day were treated to a JP Duminy special that lifted South Africa from the dumps, and set up a facile win

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar15-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShot selection and selflessness epitomised JP Duminy’s fine innings•Getty Images

The World Cup finally reached Eden Gardens, and the sparse crowd that turned up on an overcast day were treated to a JP Duminy special that lifted South Africa from the dumps, and set up a facile win. Ireland’s effort began like a dream and ended like a nightmare as they showcased the inconsistency that holds back upwardly-mobile Associate teams. There was disciplined, if somewhat limited, bowling; there were breath-taking fielding efforts to go with grassed sitters; and there was the glaring inability to land the knockout punch, as they let things drift after hustling their opponents into a corner. Duminy was ready when they ran out of steam, and made them pay with a well-paced innings.If Dale Steyn doesn’t get you, Morne Morkel will, and Ireland found this out the hard way, chasing a tall score on a wicket with true bounce. Morkel removed the openers with his menacing lengths and the back-up bowlers, led by Robin Peterson, ensured there was no escape route for the middle order. Under lights, the game petered out into a mismatch, Ireland’s first in a spirited World Cup campaign, and confirmed South Africa’s entry into the quarters, while the jostling continues for the remaining spots from Group B.The one-sided finish seemed unlikely when Ireland’s trademark enthusiasm had reduced South Africa to 117 for 5 by the 27th over. Ireland’s initial brilliance was epitomised by two outstanding efforts on the field – first, George Dockrell moved rapidly to his left from a widish third man, tumbled, yet held on to a fierce upper cut from Hashim Amla. Then, John Mooney caught a struggling Graeme Smith short with a fierce pick up and throw from midwicket. Smith’s exit in the tenth over exposed South Africa’s middle order and they continued to wobble as Jacques Kallis was run out for the second successive innings, and Faf du Plessis guided tamely into the slips. Ironically, AB de Villiers’ replacement helped South Africa stem the rot that might have never set in if he had been playing. de Villiers’ absence allowed Morne van Wyk to bat at No. 3 and Colin Ingram at No. 7, and both batsmen played crucial hands to propel South Africa.

Smart Stats

• The win is South Africa’s seventh by a margin of hundred or more runs in World Cups. The 131-run margin of defeat is Ireland’s biggest in World Cups, surpassing their 129-run loss to New Zealand in 2007.

• Eden Gardens hosted its 23rd ODI, the most for any ground in India. It has hosted 14 day-night games, which is the third highest among all Indian grounds.

• JP Duminy’s became the second batsman after Adam Gilchrist to be dismissed for 99 in a World Cup match. Overall, there have been 36 occasions when a player has been dismissed in the nineties in World Cups.

• The 87-run stand between Duminy and Colin Ingram is the highest for the sixth wicket for South Africa in World Cups. The highest sixth-wicket stand for South Africa in ODIs is the 137 between Hansie Cronje and Shaun Pollock against Zimbabwe in 1997.

• The 76 runs conceded by Trent Johnston in his ten overs is the highest by an Irish bowler in a World Cup (completed spell of ten overs). The highest number of runs conceded by an Irish bowler in ODIs is 95 in nine overs by Peter Connell against New Zealand in 2008.

• Robin Peterson’s 3 for 32 is his third three-wicket haul and his second-best bowling performance in ODIs after his 3 for 22 against England in Chennai.

By his own admission, van Wyk’s batting is not “poetry in motion”, and his cameo at No. 3 justified that evaluation. His loose on-the-up drives without much foot movement left him prone to edges and soft dismissals, and he was lucky to escape twice, with Kevin O’Brien and Paul Stirling spilling straightforward chances. The reprieves had no impact on van Wyk, who kept backing himself to clear the infield, until George Dockrell slipped a perceptive arm-ball past him in the 16th over. van Wyk had by then provided the early momentum, that allowed Duminy and Ingram the time to settle in before turning things around.Duminy initially chose caution against Dockrell’s attacking line outside off, one that spinners have used to torment in him the past. He kept deflecting and nudging, lapping and steering for ones and twos, and his inventiveness inevitably led to the Irish dropping their guard. Ingram cashed in when they delivered loose deliveries, targeting the square fields with a series of powerful horizontal-bat shots. Johnston castled him in the 40th over, but by then South Africa had wrested control.In the meantime, Duminy had seamlessly shifted gears from nurdle to attack mode, and was on the verge of hitting overdrive. After 46 boundary-less balls, his first four came through the most audacious of reverse-sweeps. By the time he brought up his half-century, caressing Johnston into the covers, his strike-rate was nudging the 80s. Ingram’s dismissal forced him to reassess the situation, and he chose to delay the Powerplay to the absolute end.He had chugged along to 68 when the Powerplay came on by default in the 46th over. A couple of quiet overs from Mooney and Boyd Rankin suggested a whimpering finish. Duminy, however, lined up Trent Johnston for special treatment in the 49th over, dumping him for four and six over the leg side, before forcing another boundary to third man. With three balls to go, and 99 against his name, Duminy did not push the single. He instead looked for the straight six and perished in the outfield. In a sense, it was a fitting end to an innings that was all about shot selection and selflessness.

Match Timeline

Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, said his side fell 15-20 runs short with the bat and then did not build enough pressure with the ball in their loss to India in Ahmedabad

Brydon Coverdale at Motera24-Mar-2011Ricky Ponting arrived in India in early February, confident that his team could win a fourth consecutive World Cup. Less than a week ago, Australia remained the only undefeated team in the tournament, and his hopes remained high. He will fly home a bitterly disappointed man, after Australia were knocked out in the quarter-finals by India in Ahmedabad.”I’m devastated,” Ponting said after the five-wicket defeat. “We came here with high expectations; we had a well organised group that had come off a good series of one-day cricket against England. We found it difficult at times getting a bit of momentum and continuity with the way our programme was set out, but that was no excuse.”We had plenty of time to train and we got to a stage where we thought we could win a game today [Thursday]. We weren’t far off, but just little critical moments are what cost us the game. We didn’t have enough high-quality partnerships and not enough pressure with the ball. It only takes a couple of those little moments for things to change.”Ponting certainly did his part with a captain’s hundred, but wickets kept falling throughout the Australian innings. There were only two half-century stands in the innings, between Ponting and Brad Haddin and later Ponting and David Hussey, and the visitors never quite got on top of the Indian attack. R Ashwin opened the bowling and immediately found some sharp spin, and the Australians knew they were in for a tough day.Ricky Ponting was “devastated” his team had failed to live up to his high expectations at the World Cup•AFP

“I thought we were 15 or 20 runs short with the bat,” Ponting said. “After we saw the first over Ashwin bowled and how much it spun, we said to ourselves than 250 or 260 looked like it would be a good total out there. As it turned out, we got that, but we probably could have got more. We couldn’t get a partnership going, we’d lose a wicket at a really bad time; we probably were one or two wickets too many down to be able to accelerate when we wanted to at about the 35-over mark.”They played well as a team today. You’ve just got to look through their batting card. [Gautam] Gambhir, [Sachin] Tendulkar, Yuvraj [Singh] all got fifties, and got them at a reasonable rate. Their bowling was steady. Zaheer [Khan] was good again today, especially right at the end of the innings in the Powerplay overs. I thought we played their spin pretty well today. It was a good combined effort by the Indian team and I think they’re going to be pretty hard to beat as this tournament wears on.”India head to Mohali to take on Pakistan in a semi-final, a match that Ponting believes the hosts will win, while the Australians will fly home. They will spend some time with their families before returning to the subcontinent in early April for their three-match one-day series against Bangladesh.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab in Kolkata

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran29-Apr-2011

Match facts

Saturday, April 30, Kolkata
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Shaun Marsh has been one of the most consistent batsmen in IPLs•AFP

Big picture

Kolkata Knight Riders are the only team of the original eight to have not made the IPL semi-finals but seem to have assembled a squad capable of making it this time. The latest evidence of that came on Thursday against Delhi Daredevils. When their formidable batting stuttered, their bowlers stepped up to pull off a victory that brought their campaign back on track after two successive losses had brought back memories of dismal previous seasons. A win over Kings XI Punjab on Saturday could send them to the top of the table.Punjab’s bowlers have had a week’s rest since the pasting they received at Feroz Shah Kotla and now face another tough test as they come up against one of the strongest batting units in the tournament. Adam Gilchrist’s side were widely reckoned to be among the weakest before the start of the tournament but they have done surprisingly well so far, partly due to Paul Valthaty’s heroics.The reason Punjab aren’t in the top half of the table is that they have only played five matches, while everyone else have played at least seven. “We have to deal with what we are presented with in the schedule,” Gilchrist said. “We are very keen to play though it’s a little odd to have a full week break and then have nine games in the next 21 days.”

Form guide (most recent first)

Kolkata WLLWW (second in points table)
Punjab LWWWL (seventh in points table)

Team talk

Kolkata are still searching for a reliable wicketkeeper-batsman to partner Jacques Kallis at the top of the order. Their pool of candidates was reduced when Brad Haddin was ruled out of the tournament with a broken finger. Shreevats Goswami made some runs against Delhi but is yet to cement his spot. Kolkata also need to decide whether to retain the misfiring Eoin Morgan.Punjab have to sort out their bowling combination. They need to decide which Indian medium-pacer to pick along with Praveen Kumar. Shalabh Srivastava didn’t impress in his previous match, which could open the door for either Love Ablish or Vikramjeet Malik.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Shaun Marsh can make a credible case for being the most consistent batsman in IPLs – he has an astonishing ten 50-plus scores in 19 innings. His 95 was the outstanding innings in the runfest against Delhi, giving them a fright even after they posted the biggest total of the season.Kolkata brought back left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla for the game against Delhi, which proved a canny decision. With eight wickets, Abdulla is their joint top wicket-taker and his three strikes were instrumental in changing the course of the Kotla match on Thursday.

Prime numbers

• Manoj Tiwary is averaging 97 after six innings this season
• Paul Valthaty needs one more six to equal Yuvraj Singh for most sixes in the season

The chatter

“I think a lot of people get caught up in results. I don’t come into this game getting petrified that Kolkata won the last game.”