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Australia’s wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has admitted he is feeling drained by a summer in which his name has seldom been far away from debate about the composition of the national team

Daniel Brettig19-Jan-2012Australia’s wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has admitted he is feeling drained by a summer in which his name has seldom been far away from debate over the composition of the national team.Haddin has endured a personally horrid series against India, struggling for runs while also missing chances, and his summer lurched into tragicomic territory on Wednesday with a second-ball duck and a dropped catch for the Sydney Sixers in the Twenty20 Big Bash League. It followed another zero with the bat in the third Test in Perth.He said he had felt down on his usual energy and pep when preparing to captain the Sixers, an indication of the effort expended over the Test summer with one match still remaining against India, at the Adelaide Oval from Tuesday.”I felt mentally and physically drained,” Haddin told Sky Sports Radio. “It didn’t feel right during the warm-up. How I felt, I just thought, ‘Oh no, this doesn’t look good’. I thought in Perth things were going well. I spent a lot of time catching leading into Perth, probably hit too many balls. You’ve just got to find that right balance.”Despite considerable public and media pressure on Haddin, he has retained the faith of the national selectors, who have not only kept him in the team but named him vice-captain to Michael Clarke in place of the injured Shane Watson, and also chosen him to captain the Prime Minister’s XI against the Sri Lankan tourists on February 3. As a gutsy, aggressive former captain of New South Wales, Haddin’s contribution to the dressing room is considered significant.Another significant factor in Haddin’s selection across the summer is the serious finger trouble afflicting his heir apparent Tim Paine, who played four Test matches in 2010 when the senior man was injured. Paine is recovering after another round of surgery on a badly fractured index finger, and his return to the game remains clouded.Matthew Wade, the Victorian gloveman, has performed strongly this summer and has won a place as Australia’s Twenty20 keeper, but it appears the injured Paine is still the preferred candidate to replace Haddin at Test level. Haddin has brushed off the effect of speculation about his place, saying he always felt he was in a fight for his spot irrespective of how he was performing.”What people underestimate is the pressures you’re under whether you’re doing well or not,” he said. “It’s a big effort to get yourself up for a four-Test series and I think [evidence of the drain of that effort] was the case last night.”The fast bowler Peter Siddle is an Australia team-mate of Haddin and a Victorian compatriot of Wade, and said he was still very much behind the Test incumbent.”I’ve played all my Test cricket with Brad and he’s been amazing contributor,” Siddle said. “He’s had some tough times at the moment but he’s a great player. He’s obviously got a good first-class record which shows he can perform at the big times.”I’m definitely backing him … I think Adelaide will be a good wicket for him to bat on and hopefully we can get a few more nicks through to him to give him some support.”As for Wade, Siddle described the 24-year-old as a most impressive character and cricketer.”Being a Victorian he’s kept behind the stumps a lot of times for me. He’s a great player and he’s shown in the last couple of years how much he’s matured,” Siddle said. “He’s a great leader for the team and his performances with the bat and the gloves have been outstanding.”When Brad’s time is up, whether that’s in a couple of weeks or hopefully I’ll get to play a few more years with him, Matthew is definitely a talented player.”

Bangladesh’s bowlers led them to an easy six-wicket win over Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy in the first game of the Bangladesh Cricket Board Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2011
ScorecardBangladesh romped to a six-wicket victory over an overmatched Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy (BCBA) at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Having put BCBA into bat, opening bowlers Rubel Hossein and Shafiul Islam struck early and often to reduce their opponents to 30 for 4 in just the seventh over. Left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo then got into the act, taking three wickets in four balls as the lower order offered no resistance whatsoever. Rubel then returned to claim the last two wickets to finish with figures of 4 for 22 while Shuvo ended up with figures of 3 for 10. The last four batsmen all made ducks. In total, there were eight scores of four or less, with five zeros. Tanveer Haider topscored for Academy with an unbeaten 24.Tamim Iqbal wasted no time chasing down the meagre target of 76, smashing five fours and a six in a quickfire 36 from 37 balls. There was a bit of a hiccup as Bangladesh lost three wickets with the score on 54. Tamim was bowled by Alauddin Babu before Shahriar Nafees was bowled by Sohag Gazi and Shuvagato Hom was runout for a duck, but Alok Kapali calmed any nerves with a run-a-ball 22 as Bangladesh wrapped up the game with 31 overs to spare.

The PCB has asked Danish Kaneria produce a ‘clearance certificate’ from Essex if the legspinner is to be cleared by the board’s integrity committee

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2011The PCB has asked Danish Kaneria to produce a ‘clearance certificate’ from Essex if the legspinner is to be cleared by the board’s integrity committee and allowed to resume his international career.Matters between Kaneria and the board’s integrity committee had come to a deadlock in recent days; the integrity committee wanted a transcript of the police interview Kaneria gave during investigations into spot-fixing in a limited-overs county game. Kaneria was arrested before being released on bail and eventually discharged as police didn’t file charges.Another player, Mervyn Westfield, is due to face a trial and should the judge deem it necessary, Kaneria can still be called to court as part of the case. Kaneria and his lawyers insisted that the police transcripts were not available as the player’s involvement in the case was over.”We had asked for police transcripts but were told by Kaneria’s lawyers that they weren’t available,” Tafazzul Rizvi, the PCB’s legal advisor, told ESPNcricinfo. “We need something to judge what is happening there and what happened in the case, however, so we’ve now asked for a clearance certificate from Essex who were his employers in the UK at the time, in a case which took place in the UK.”When asked what content such a certificate should include, Rizvi said, “We just want an idea of what Essex say about him and the case. They were his employers at the time. Will they consider him now?” Kaneria played for Essex for four seasons and picked up over 300 first-class wickets, but his contract was not renewed after last year.”This is an integrity issue for us,” Rizvi said. “The committee is not just made up of board members or cricketers, it has an ex-judge of the Supreme Court on it and in their opinion, Kaneria had not satisfied them so he has not been cleared. We can’t take a risk so we have asked for this clearance now.”Kaneria was unavailable for comment, though he did confirm that he had received the communication from the PCB. He hasn’t played a Test for Pakistan since last summer, even though he is the country’s leading wicket-taking spinner. The issue came to a head last October, when he was prevented from travelling to the UAE to take part in the Test series against South Africa at the last minute by the PCB. He had initially been picked for the series.

Simon Jones has returned to Glamorgan on a one-month loan deal after an agreement was reached between his former club and his current team Hampshire.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2011Simon Jones has returned to Glamorgan on a one-month loan deal after an agreement was reached between his former club and his current team Hampshire.Jones, whose career has been blighted by injury, hasn’t been able to secure a regular spot in the Hampshire team this season despite returning to fitness and recently spoke of his frustration at a lack of cricket. “It’s nice to be back in Wales and always nice to be home. Now I want to do my best for Glamorgan,” he said.There is a thought that Jones’ return could become permanent in the future, but before the loan deal was secured a Glamorgan statement said: ” Hampshire have made it clear that the former Glamorgan and England fast bowler remains a large part of their future plans.”Jones, who played 18 Tests for England, left Glamorgan in 2007 and moved to Worcestershire where he spent two years before joining Hampshire.

Dawid Malan scored a career-best 143 and his first Championship hundred ofthe summer to move Middlesex into the driving seat at Lord’s against DivisionTwo rivals Derbyshire

30-Jul-2011ScorecardDawid Malan scored a career-best 143 and his first Championship hundred ofthe summer to move Middlesex into the driving seat at Lord’s against DivisionTwo rivals Derbyshire.The left-hander batted just over five hours in helping thehost side reach 397 for 9 at the mid-point of the game for an overall lead of145, with one first-innings wicket remaining.Poor form and a niggling hamstring injury caused Malan to suffer an horrendousfirst half to the campaign in which he mustered only 234 runs in nine startswith a dismal season’s best of 45. But, in sultry conditions, Malan showed improved levels of patience and composure to crack 18 boundaries in a 262-ball stay which also helped his sidegarner four batting bonus points.Derbyshire used eight bowlers – with Greg Smith and Jonathan Clare the pickwith three wickets apiece – and toiled hard throughout to pick up nine wicketson the day, including that of Malan four overs from the close.Malan featured in a useful stands with Sam Robson, who contributed his thirdscore of 94 of the summer, and Tim Murtagh as the hosts successfully chased downa fourth batting bonus point with six balls to spare. All this came after a disappointing start for the home side who, having posted 119 for the first wicket, began to lose wickets at steady intervals.Opening batsman Scott Newman perished for 59 when his late decision to pad upto a Clare off-cutter saw him go lbw and, eight overs later, Chris Rogers wentfor 11 against his former side when chasing a wide drive – only to edge towicketkeeper Luke Sutton.Soon after lunch Robson, having looked in little or no trouble for 184 balls,went after another wide delivery from Ross Whiteley to slice a drive into thehands of gully. Home skipper Neil Dexter found a leading edge to give Smith a comfortablereturn catch and Jamie Dalrymple clipped a leg-stump half-volley straight tomidwicket to make it 262 for 5.Malan teamed up with John Simpson to post the Middlesex 300 before Simpsonfeathered a good ball from Mark Turner to Sutton, then Tom Smith was cleanbowled after pushing outside the line of namesake Greg’s arm-ball.Malan and Murtagh (19) regrouped but, late in the day, Murtagh chipped backanother return catch to Greg Smith and Malan, having beaten his career-best byone, flat-batted a Clare Long hop straight to Wayne Madsen at backward point anddeparted to a rousing reception.

Playing a single Twenty20 between a Test and ODI series makes it hard for the players to adjust to the format

Sidharth Monga in Durban08-Jan-2011is ironic that, from a cricketing point of view at least, the game that will draw the biggest crowd of the season is the least anticipated. Although, on second thought, it is perhaps unfair to ask a Twenty20 game to match up to what was a thrilling Test series, and that too, a Twenty20 game played in a football stadium, on a pitch expected to stay low, with short square boundaries.Still, 50,000 are expected to sell out the Moses Mabhida Stadium and they will have plenty to watch: Makhaya Ntini playing his last international match, Johan Botha continuing his audition as potentially South Africa’s next ODI captain, some flashy Indian youngsters trying to hit balls into the streets, and some song and dance from Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Anil Kapoor.For the players, though, it will be difficult to adjust. They first have to get over the hangover from the Test series, which should take some time, and then prepare for the ODI series, which will be the real deal going into the World Cup. “Of course it is a difficult one, because more often than not whenever there is a Twenty20 game, you play just one-off game,” MS Dhoni said. “It’s very difficult to get into that groove, and then come out of that groove and play ODIs. Of course we will give it our best shot. We have got players who are part of the ODI squad, but along with that there are T20 specialists also. That will help.”Forget the change of ball and change of kits, there is a change of stadium too. Both the teams seek to draw on their experience of playing cricket in New Zealand, where some of the grounds double up as rugby stadiums. At times in New Zealand, even as the post-match presentation is going on, the groundstaff start starts removing the drop-in pitch to get the ground ready for a rugby game to be played the same week.”You may say the experience we have of paying in New Zealand will come into effect,” Dhoni said. “Of course the sides will be pretty small compared to the long front boundaries. We haven’t seen the ground yet, but after the practice session that we are having right now, we are planning to go to the stadium. Before starting cricket, play a bit of football there. And then a fielding session. And exactly see what it looks like. It looks really different from the outside, but very similar to a football stadium.”Johan Botha, who will be captaining South Africa in Graeme Smith’s absence, concurred. “I haven’t been to the ground yet. We will be going after this to do a bit of fielding there, just see what the different dimensions of the ground are. But both teams have to bat and bowl on it. Hopefully, we can play well on the ground with the specific distances. It’s almost like a New Zealand ground.”The game feels like a transit airport in a long journey right now. You don’t know much about it, you don’t expect much out of it, you don’t have a proper sense of time and space either. It will pass in a blur, but both teams will look to find better bargains at duty-free shops.

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has said he used Graeme Swann as an example of how to bowl on wickets in South Africa during India’s recent drawn Test series there

Nagraj Gollapudi and Dustin Silgardo14-Feb-2011Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has said he used Graeme Swann as an example of how to bowl on wickets in South Africa during India’s recent drawn Test series there. Harbhajan took 15 wickets in the three Tests, and said a lot of his success had to do with bowling a wicket-to-wicket line on tracks that were not offering turn, something Swann, the England offspinner, did during England’s tour of South Africa in 2009-10, when he took 21 wickets in four Tests.”Swann bowled exactly the same throughout the series: wicket-to-wicket,” Harbhajan told ESPNcricinfo in an extended interview that will be published on February 15. “He gave himself the chance. I did the same in Durban and got four quick wickets [in the first innings].”Harbhajan said he watched videos of Swann bowling during that England tour as part of his own preparation for the South Africa series. “His strength is to vary the pace very well. He has a very nice action, gets a good loop. He is a very smart bowler whether it is Test or one-day cricket he bowls a tight line.”I like the way he bowls especially with the kind of line and length he bowls. I had watched the videos of him bowling in South Africa and what made him successful. I brought similar results and picked up wickets.”Swann has established himself as one of the top spinners in the modern game and, on Monday, won the ESPNcricinfo Statsguru Award for the best bowler of 2010. Harbhajan has not seen that much of Swann bowling himself, having only played two Tests against him back in 2008, and said it was his former Mumbai Indians team-mate Shaun Pollock who, during the IPL, pointed out Swann as an example of how to bowl a straighter line.Harbhajan had a poor start to the tour, picking up just two wickets and conceding 169 runs in India’s heavy defeat in Centurion, and said he made the adjustment because bowling outside off stump in South Africa allowed the batsmen to play through the covers and point.”In the first Test, I bowled a lot of balls in their areas, which made them comfortable. The line I was bowling was outside off stump but because the wicket was so true, the bounce was true, it was not spinning so much, so the South African batsmen played on the back foot towards cover and point. The same ball they were able to drive, they were also able to walk across to and take a single on the leg side. You can’t give runs on both sides of the wicket.”It was former India allrounder Ravi Shastri who first advised Harbhajan to pitch the ball within the line of the stumps. “His reasoning was if the batsman tried to go for the cover drive he would need to open the bat and he would avoid playing the cut shot as I am bowling on the stumps. They also can’t sweep or play a cross-batted stroke as there is a chance of lbw. The only option left to them is to be patient and score runs where you have set the field.”The idea was to make the batsman dare to play against the spin. It clicked. [Hashim] Amla played numerous sweep shots in the first innings at Centurion and it worked because I was pitching outside off. Later Shaun Pollock pointed out that I should bowl wicket-to-wicket otherwise batsmen will hit me through covers or between mid-on and midwicket . So, in Durban, where it does not spin, I kept it straight and Amla went for the sweep and was lbw.”Harbhajan’s six wickets were crucial in securing India’s win in Durban, and in the third Test in Cape Town, he took seven wickets in the second innings, on a track offering him some turn.

Zimbabwe betrayed the inexperience of a team that hasn’t played top-level opposition in over five years to leave Pakistan sniffing victory in Bulawayo

The Report by Nitin Sundar04-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez carved up the Zimbabwe lower-middle order•Associated PressZimbabwe betrayed their rustiness at the Test level, undoing ten sessions of hard-earned parity by frittering eight second-innings wickets in 27.3 overs to leave Pakistan sniffing victory in Bulawayo. Pakistan’s offspinners – Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez – were always going to be a factor on a strip dusting up after three days of inactivity, but Zimbabwe’s nervous shot-making contributed to their downfall.That the match did not end on the fourth day was down to a gutsy ninth-wicket stand worth 66, between Tatenda Taibu and Kyle Jarvis. Their effort highlighted just how poorly the top order had fared on a pitch that was not the minefield that their capitulation made it out to be. Zimbabwe finished the day effectively 81 for 8, and Pakistan will doubtless be reminded of their shambolic defeat in Sydney when Australia jail-broke from a similar situation in 2009. But against this inexperienced bunch, they are still well in control.The draw still seemed the likeliest outcome when the third innings got underway, though Ray Price had shown that the wicket had some life it in. Zimbabwe’s hopes would have been bolstered by the fact that they had somehow survived Ajmal’s doosra in the first innings, despite not picking too many of them. Today, however, the mere threat of the doosra proved their undoing.Vusi Sibanda exited even before Ajmal made an appearance, to his tendency to pull with little regard for length. It wasn’t a particularly short ball from Aizaz Cheema, but Sibanda hauled it meekly to mid-on. Ajmal then took over, removing two of the three batsmen most likely to resist. Tino Mawoyo had prodded several times inside the line in the first innings as the doosra left him. This time, he shuffled across in an attempt to cover the doosra, leaving his leg stump prone to the offbreak. Brendan Taylor tried to negate the variations by reaching well out and sweeping, but he was still beaten by the turn and trapped in front.Three balls later, Hamilton Masakadza inside-edged Cheema onto the stumps even as he looked to leave the ball. Hafeez then tormented the lower half with the minimally turning offbreak, a weapon that had worked well for him in the West Indies. He snuck a slider onto Crag Ervine’s pads to leave Zimbabwe reeling at 45 for 5. Taibu was firm, but Hafeez kept striking at the other end as the tail seemed to mistake him for Muttiah Muralitharan.Greg Lamb padded up to a regulation offbreak, Price played inside the line of a straight ball, and Brian Vitori heaved straight to midwicket. At 69 for 8, Zimbabwe were only 14 ahead and looking at an early finish, before Taibu and Jarvis showed resolve.Taibu survived a nervous moment when he lofted Ajmal just out of the slow-moving Sohail Khan’s reach at mid-off. After that he was solid, showing the virtues that easily make him the best player of spin in his side. His sure feet smothered the spin when the ball was full, while soft hands and the ability to cover the line helped him keep out the shorter ones. Gradually, Pakistan began to give Taibu the single, a move that played into his hands as he slog-swept Hafeez to bring up his fifty.Jarvis plugged his end after enjoying an early let-off when Aizaz Cheema grassed a tough return catch. He was not too certain against Ajmal, but ensured Zimbabwe lasted another day.Earlier in the day, Price was the only exception as Zimbabwe aided Pakistan’s quest for a lead with listless bowling and atrocious catching.Price homed in on the rough created at the Airport End, and began to rip the ball out of the footmarks past the right handers. Younis Khan, on 61 overnight, responded by charging out of the crease and launching him over long-on. After that, he reverted to stout defence. Unlike Younis, Adnan Akmal was constantly on the lookout for the extra run. He hurried Pakistan into the lead in the 136th over by glancing, driving and steering Jarvis for boundaries. Before long, though, his enthusiasm got the better of him and he ran himself out.After 44 overs of supreme discipline, 23 of them maidens, Price finally struck. He found a way past Younis on 88, getting him to edge an over-pitched ball into Taibu’s pad, for Taylor to take the rebound.Ajmal slashed Vitori through point, before summoning the skill to loft Price over long-on. Masakadza then fluffed a sitter at gully – the sixth drop of the innings – and Sohail celebrated by biffing the next ball for six. Chris Mpofu’s short balls, and Price’s persistence eventually bowled Pakistan out 54 ahead. In hindsight, Zimbabwe may have been better served by not hastening the end of that innings.

A round-up of the third day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2010S Badrinath’s unbeaten half-century gave Tamil Nadu a third consecutive win, as they comfortably beat Hyderabad by six wickets at the Gymkhana Ground.Medium-pacer C Ganapathy had started positively for Tamil Nadu by bowling Hyderabad captain Ravi Teja in the second over. Tamil Nadu kept striking regularly throughout the innings, reducing Hyderabad to 72 for 6 in the 15th over. Akshath Reddy – who was part of the India squad for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup – took Hyderabad past 100 before he was bowled by L Balaji for 34 in the 18th over. Rain intervened at that point and the target was revised to 101 from 17 overs.Hyderabad medium-pacers Pagadala Naidu and Ashish Reddy ran through the Tamil Nadu top order, leaving them struggling at 57 for 4. But Badrinath stood firm, hitting three sixes and as many fours in his unbeaten 51 off 40 deliveries as Tamil Nadu won in 15 overs.P Prasanth’s all-round performance took Kerala to a four-wicket victory against Karnataka, in another rain-hit match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.Karnataka’s spinners had Kerala in trouble at 76 for 6, chasing a rain-adjusted target of 110 from 14 overs. However, Prasanth came in at No. 8 and smashed four fours in his unbeaten 21 off 11 deliveries to take his side home with an over to spare.Prasanth’s left-arm spin had restricted Karnataka to 149, after Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa added 80 to take them to 110 for 1 in the 14th over. Pandey made 49 off 45 while Uthappa – who also had three dismissals behind the stumps later – was more aggressive in his 38 off 26. However, both fell to Prasanth who finished with 3 for 20.Goa won their first game of the tournament at the Gymkhana Ground, scraping home by three wickets to hand Andhra their third consecutive defeat.Fast bowler Saurabh Bandekar led a disciplined performance by Goa’s bowlers in a match shortened to 16 overs-a-side, as Andhra lost half their side for 44 runs. Hemal Watekar ensured Andhra would have a modest total to defend, top-scoring with 41 off 29 deliveries.Sagun Kamat, the Goa captain, led the chase with 37 off 28 after fast bowler Syed Sahabuddin had jolted Goa with two early wickets. Left-arm spinner Shankara Rao struck repeatedly to leave Goa reeling at 86 for 7. However, No. 8 Robin D’Souza hammered 19 off 10 to bring up victory with two balls to spare.

Glen Chapple, the Lancashire allrounder, has been reappointed the club captain at Old Trafford for a third season

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010Glen Chapple, the Lancashire allrounder, has been reappointed the club captain at Old Trafford for a third season. Chapple made his Lancashire debut in 1992 and replaced Stuart Law at the helm in 2009.During the 2010 campaign he took 52 Championship wickets at 19.10 and hit 403 runs to earn him the club’s Player of the Year title. Lancashire, though, are still trying to break a trophy drought which dates back to 2005 when they won the Division Two Championship crown, but their last major piece of silverware came in 1999 with the old CGU one-day league.”I have thoroughly enjoyed my two years as club captain and I am delighted to continue the responsibility into 2011,” Chapple said. “We have a great set of lads at the club and we will continue to work hard to achieve our goals.”The head coach, Peter Moores, added: “Over the past two seasons, Glen has grown into the role of captain and has shown that the demands of the job have enhanced his performances with both bat and ball.”He is highly respected by both players and coaches alike and his contributions, on and off the field, have been outstanding. His commitment and passion for the club and the game remain total and his performances on the pitch continue to inspire those around him.”