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>> Sunday, January 17, 2010
January 18, 2010
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Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, believes the Pakistan board needs to organise specialist fielding training camps across Pakistan in order to improve standards in the national side.
Pakistan's fielding through tours to New Zealand and Australia has reached an all-time low and at a conservative estimate they have dropped at least 25 chances through the six Tests. Most of the chances here in Australia have been critical ones; both Shane Watson and Simon Katich were dropped in the first session of the series in Melbourne, both scored nineties; Michael Hussey was dropped thrice at Sydney on the way to a matchwinning hundred; Ricky Ponting was dropped on zero in Hobart and went on to score a double-hundred.
Intikhab and Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan's captain, have struggled to stem the rot, insisting there is no need for a specialist fielding coach but not offering any tangible solution otherwise. Intikhab has consistently - and justifiably - called it a grassroots problem, arguing that the lack of care for fielding at domestic level instills poor habits into players who make it to the national side.
"They should organise 10-20 days fielding camps for the players in which catching, throwing, fielding and all things are practiced," Intikhab said. "We have coaches at every level. Put these camps up in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Have 15-day camps and just get players from all levels to practice there every day."
Waqar Younis is currently appointed to the side as a bowling and fielding coach, but that is, for now, only till the end of this series. There has been talk of appointing a specialist fielding coach and Pakistan did benefit a little during the coaching stint of Geoff Lawson, when they had hired Mohtashim Rasheed as one. But his services haven't since been retained.
"These camps really need to be organised," Intikhab said. "Whenever a guy comes into the Pakistan side, then only they are taught how to field and the basics of fielding, like how to bend for a ball, how to attack a ball. We have to emphasise this and work on it otherwise it will not get better."
Pakistan stayed top of Group D with their second win, a comfortable six-wicket success over Papua New Guinea in Palmerston North. A very dominant bowling performance had PNG wrapped up for 99 in 37.3 overs and in reply Pakistan overcame a terrible start to win with 191 balls remaining.
PNG, after opting to bat, got off to a bad start. Fayyaz Butt's two wickets in the sixth over left them hurting at 17 for 2, and it only got worse as Usman Qadir spun a web with his variety of legspin. He immediately made inroads, having the opener Heni Siaka stumped for 17, and then picked off three more wickets in a teasing spell. Shahzaib Ahmed turned his arm over and netted great figures of 2 for 8 from 6.3 overs.
PNG put up a great start with the ball to give themselves some lift, but their total was never going to challenge a strong batting line-up. Raymond Haoda and Timothy Mou took out Pakistan's openers without a run on the board but couldn't strike early to dislodge the next pair. Babar Azam and the captain Azeem Ghumman rattled away a stand of 65 in quick time and when Ghumman departed for a 43-ball 40 there were only 33 needed to win. Azam finished the job with an unbeaten 40.
England also topped their group with a facile win over Afghanistan in Christchurch, their second in a row. It was another poor batting display from Afghanistan, bowled out for 126 in 47.2 overs. Nathan Buck struck thrice with the new ball to leave Afghanistan hemorrhaging at 10 for 3, after which the middle-order pair of Hashmatullah Shaidi (41 from 58 balls) and Khushal Rasooli (29 from 83) held up England for a while. But even their stand was not too last too threatening, as Azeem Rafiq and Danny Briggs, bowling a tidy right-and-left-arm spin combo, shared five wickets to check the lower middle order and the tail. Briggs was especially successful with 3 for 15 from his quota.
England's top order then went about their minimal target with confidence. Joe Root made 25 in an opening stand of 52 with Chris Dent, who stayed on to finish the game with an unbeaten 52. James Vince continued his form with 47 from 48 balls.
The day's theme of stronger sides usurping minnows continued in Queenstown, where South Africa beat USA by eight wickets. Josh Richards' decision to field proved the right one, as South Africa's bowlers dismissed USA for 163 in 49.5 overs and the chase was an easy one. Graham Hume and Dale Deeb were the main wreckers with three wickets each and the best personal score of the innings was 41 from the No. 3, Greg Sewdial. The middle order put up no fight and it needed the lower order to lift USA from 111 for 7.
The loss of two early wickets, including Richards for 8, was no hindrance for South Africa. Carried by the opener Dominic Hendricks, who made an unbeaten 75, they romped home with eight wickets in hand. The highly-rated Colin Ackermann made a cool unbeaten 64 from 71 balls, with eights four and a six.
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| Andrew Strauss and Graeme Smith in Johannesburg on Sunday |
Johannesburg: Fast bowler Morne Morkel took three wickets in seven balls Sunday to lead South Africa to victory over England by an innings and 74 runs and level the series at 1-1 in the fourth and final Test.
Morkel removed Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad in the first session on the fourth day at the Wanderers to run through the middle order as the Proteas dismissed England for 169 to retain the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy from the 2008 series win.
Morkel finished with four for 59 and had seven wickets in the match like Dale Steyn, who claimed five for 51 in the first innings as England were bowled out for 180.
“Morne has risen to the occasion,” Steyn said. “Without Makhaya Ntini here, he has stepped up to the plate and delivered.”
Paul Collingwood was the only England batsman to shine in the Test, making 71 Sunday to add to his 47 in the first innings. He totalled 344 runs in the series, the third best in the series behind South Africa’s Graeme Smith (427) and Hashim Amla (363).
England had held on for draws in the first Test in Pretoria and the third match in Cape Town with last-wicket stands, winning the second Test in Durban by an innings.
South Africa captain Smith, who scored 105 on Friday, praised the fortitude of the visitors.
“Credit to England and their captain Andrew Strauss for their resilient performances and for the way they played in Durban,” Smith said. (Agencies)
Shahadat and Shakib leave India struggling
India's Dinesh Karthik (3rd R) leaves the field as 's captain Shahadat Hossain (L) celebrates... Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan and paceman Shahadat Hossain took four wickets each as Bangladesh left India struggling on 213-8 before bad light brought an early end to the opening day of the first test on Sunday.
Sachin Tendulkar stood firm as wickets fell at the other end to remain unbeaten on 76, giving India some hope of recovery.
Tendulkar, who gladly accepted an offer of bad light from the umpires 38 minutes before the scheduled close, will resume batting on the second day with Ishant Sharma (one).
Tendulkar, dropped by Imrul Kayes at slip off debutant pacer Shafiul Islam on 16, reached the mark of 13,000 test runs with a mid-wicket boundary off spinner Mahmudullah.
India were comfortably placed at 63-0 at lunch after Bangladesh had opted to bowl first. Dense fog delayed the start by 90 minutes.
Opener Virender Sehwag, leading India in the absence of injured skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was the first batsman to be dismissed in the second over of the post-lunch session.
Tamim Iqbal took a simple catch at short extra cover to end Sehwag's brisk innings of 52 off 51 balls that included nine boundaries.
Gambhir followed Sehwag in the next over on 23, edging a catch to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim in a short-pitched, rising delivery off Shahadat.
Shahadat also bowled Rahul Dravid for four before Shakib had VVS Laxman stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim for seven.
Yuvraj Singh lofted a simple catch at mid-on to Rubel Hossain off Shakib to depart for 12 runs, while Shahadat returned for his third spell to present Dinesh Karthik with a third-ball duck.
Shahadat trapped Amit Mishra in front for 14 with a low full-toss ball and was unlucky not to complete his third five-wicket haul in test cricket when Shafiul dropped Zaheer Khan for six at point off his bowling.
Zaheer however failed to use his life and was dismissed for 11, giving Shakib his fourth wicket with Raqibul Hasan taking a catch at silly point.
Shahadat finished the day with 4-51 runs while Shakib claimed 4-52
Home umpires could be used for Ashes
January 18, 2010
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The ICC could allow Australian and English umpires to stand in the Ashes series later this year as its confidence with the umpire decision review system continues to grow. Despite the controversial video-official judgments in the Johannesburg Test over the past few days, David Morgan, the ICC president, said the UDRS was proving successful enough for the ICC to consider scrapping the neutral-umpire system.
"The decision review system is making good progress," Morgan told Cricinfo. "There have been problems at the Wanderers that I can't go into because that's being investigated by the International Cricket Council. But I think the progress with the DRS has been extremely good indeed, to the extent that I think we should be thinking about the best umpires being appointed to Test match cricket irrespective of whether they come from the participating teams or not."
That could mean the man judged as the world's best umpire for five of the past six years, the Australian Simon Taufel, being able to officiate in Ashes games. Apart from the Super Test of 2005, Taufel last stood in a home Test in 2001. Five of the 12 members of the ICC's elite panel of umpires are from Australia or England, leaving only seven neutrals to choose from when the two countries meet.
Morgan did not rule out abandoning the neutral system in time for the 2010-11 Ashes in Australia. "It's a possibility," Morgan said. "I wouldn't put it any higher than a possibility but I think that in the fullness of time it's more probable than possible."
Morgan's comments have come after a fractious England-South Africa Test at the Wanderers, where the Australian third umpire Daryl Harper was under fire for ruling Graeme Smith not out despite a loud noise from the stump microphone when the ball passed the bat. Smith went on to score a century and it prompted England, who are not in favour of the review system, to make an official complaint to the ICC.
Despite England's objections, Morgan was confident the ICC's member nations could be convinced to discard the notion that neutral umpires were necessary. "I haven't put that to the test," Morgan said. "But I know that certain countries are very supportive and certain countries were wishing that it should happen even before DRS was thought about."
Not since 2002 has the ICC appointed umpires from participating countries to Test matches. The small panel and ever-increasing schedule means that the elite officials travel more than ever, and it is a job that before his retirement last year Steve Bucknor described as a sometimes lonely profession.
Taufel, who has a young family, has previously stated that he was taking his future year by year and in the past 12 months has stood in international matches in seven nations. The English official Peter Willey declined an invitation to join the elite panel due to the amount of travel involved, and Morgan said he thought the ICC's umpires would be supportive of doing away with the neutral-umpire system.
"I imagine so," Morgan said. "If you think of the international cricket schedule, with the exception of Pakistan, all international cricketers play about half their cricket at home. International umpires stand in away games only. That makes it a much more difficult lifestyle for them, to the extent that some very good umpires have declined appointment to the elite panel simply because they don't want to be away throughout the working schedule."
Australia 8 for 519 dec and 5 for 219 dec beat Pakistan 301 and 206 (Manzoor 77, Siddle 3-25, Hauritz 3-30) by 231 runs
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| Related Links Bulletin : 4th day bulletin Matches: Australia v Pakistan at Hobart Series/Tournaments: Pakistan tour of Australia | ||
Australia wrapped up their 12th consecutive Test victory over Pakistan on the final afternoon in Hobart, where Khurram Manzoor's fighting half-century was not enough to salvage a draw for the visitors. Nathan Hauritz added to his growing reputation as Test bowler by picking up the key wicket of Manzoor and finished with three, while Peter Siddle also grabbed a trio of victims.
Despite showers being forecast, the only sprinkling of rain came during the lunch break and it wasn't enough to delay Australia's charge to a series clean-sweep and a fifth Test win of the summer. Australia have now equalled the record for the most consecutive Test wins by any country over any other nation, matching the 12-game streak currently held by Sri Lanka over Bangladesh.
The only slight concerns for Australia came during a 66-run seventh-wicket stand between Manzoor and Mohammad Aamer. Manzoor, who came in for this Test at No. 3, enhanced his chances of keeping his place in the side with a patient 77 from 239 deliveries that gave Pakistan, for the morning at least, a tiny sniff of saving the game.
Manzoor showed impressive resolve for most of his innings but it didn't hold, and soon after an injudicious swipe against Hauritz he slashed at a cut against the spinner and was caught behind. The rest of Pakistan's resistance fell away and Hauritz had Umar Gul brilliantly caught at slip by Michael Clarke for a duck, before Mohammad Asif (0) was bowled by Mitchell Johnson.
Hauritz finished with 3 for 30 and was comfortably the leading wicket-taker for the series, with 18 at 23.05. Siddle was also happy with his 3 for 25, which was his best return of a lean summer, and he wrapped up the victory with the second new ball when Danish Kaneria played on for 1.
Pakistan's victory target of 438 was not the issue for Australia, they simply needed to grab the remaining wickets while the weather held up. Showers had been tipped on the final day but the Tasmanian local Ricky Ponting, who was confident in his knowledge of the state's weather, had his decision not to enforce the follow-on vindicated.
Australia began the day impressively wth Shoaib Malik caught behind off Siddle for 19, after adding only one to his overnight score. That was the key breakthrough for Australia as it opened the way into Pakistan's lower order, and the wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed finished his debut Test with a disappointing batting return when he was caught at slip off Hauritz for 5.
Sarfraz departed in strange circumstances, when his edge clipped the gloves of Brad Haddin, went through the hands of Clarke and onto his boot before bouncing up for Clarke to complete the catch. If Pakistan had made their catches stick throughout the series it might have been a more enjoyable tour for them. Now they must wait until the two Tests in England in July to redeem themselves.
SCORECARD OF INDIA VERSES BANGLADESH
CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Scoreboard at the
close of the opening day of the first test between India and
Bangladesh at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on
Sunday.
India innings
G. Gambhir c Rahim b Shahadat 23
V. Sehwag c Tamim b Shakib 52
R. Dravid b Shahadat 4
S. Tendulkar not out 76
V. Laxman st Rahim b Shakib 7
Y. Singh c Rubel b Shakib 12
D. Karthik c Raqibul b Shahadat 0
A. Mishra lbw b Shahadat 14
Z. Khan c Raqibul b Shakib 11
I. Sharma not out 1
Extras (b-1 lb-6 w-1 nb-5) 13
Total (eight wickets, 63 overs) 213
To bat: S. Sreesanth
Fall of wickets: 1-79 2-79 3-85 4-107 5-149 6-150 7-182
8-209
Bowling: Shafiul 9-1-41-0, Shahadat 14-1-51-4 (w-1 nb-2),
Rubel 10-0-40-0 (nb-3), Shakib 26-9-52-4, Mahmudullah 3-0-17-0,
Ashraful 1-0-5-0
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