All posts by n8rngtd.top

The former England fast bowler, Graham Dilley, has died aged 52 after a short illness

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2011The former England fast bowler, Graham Dilley, has died aged 52 after a short illness.One of the quickest bowlers of his generation, with a memorable surge to the crease, Dilley took 138 Test wickets at 29.78 for his country but his best-remembered contribution to the England cause came with the bat – he made 56 supporting Ian Botham in a 117-run partnership which helped England to a famous Ashes Test win over Australia at Headingley in 1981.In a ten-year international career, Dilley played in 41 Tests and 36 ODIs. Remarkably, he finished on the winning side in just two of those Test appearances, but in an era of limited success for the England team, those two victories were among the most loudly acclaimed of the decade – in addition to Headingley, he also played a key role in the first Test of the 1986-87 Ashes triumph, at Brisbane, where his first-innings figures of 5 for 68 condemned Australia to the follow-on.In the entirety of his first-class career, Dilley claimed 648 wickets at 26.84 for Kent, Worcestershire, England and Natal, although his highlight was arguably the role he played in spearheading Worcestershire’s back-to-back County Championship title-winning sides in 1987 and 1988.”I had a lot of great times with him,” Botham told Sky Sports News. “He had a good sense of humour and always wanted to be a part of the party. He was quiet and reserved until you got to know him. It’s a very sad day. We both joined Worcestershire at the same time together, almost within minutes. We had a great run of about six trophies in five years.”Dilley’s international career was curtailed in 1989 by his decision to join Mike Gatting’s rebel tour of South Africa, but by that stage his jolting delivery stride had already taken a heavy toil on his knees. In his later years, he was troubled by osteo-arthritis, and he retired in 1992.In the immediate aftermath of retirement, Dilley suffered financial problems, but found a new lease of life after moving into coaching. He enjoyed spells as an assistant coach with England and then bowling coach to the England women’s team, before taking up a position as head cricket coach at Loughborough University. One of his pupils there was Monty Panesar, “So sad to hear my Uni coach passed away,” Panesar tweeted. “Great man and top coach. [He] did a lot for me.”A delighted Dilley when he made it two out of two by claiming the wickets of Gordon Greenidge and Faoud Bacchus off successive balls at Old Trafford in 1980•PA Photos

ECB chief executive David Collier said: “Graham made a life-long contribution to the game of cricket at all levels and we are deeply saddened by the sad news this morning. He will be fondly remembered for his contributions both as a player and a coach.”Graham inspired many young cricketers through the University programme and was a highly respected coach to our representative teams. Few will forget his contribution during the historic Ashes win at Headingley in 1981 and the part he played in two Ashes series victories. Graham will be sadly missed by all his friends throughout cricket and ECB sends our deepest condolences to Graham’s family. ‘Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England team said: “This is very sad news for Graham’s many friends and colleagues in cricket both in this country and overseas. As well as being a bowler of the highest class, Graham made an immense contribution to our game as a coach and his ability to impart his knowledge and wisdom to future generations of young cricketers will be sorely missed. “

Shane Warne is expected to make a decision next week on which Big Bash League to play for, and Cricket Australia will contribute a marketing bonus to encourage him out of retirement

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2011Shane Warne is expected to make a decision next week on which Big Bash League to play for, and Cricket Australia will contribute a marketing bonus to encourage him out of retirement. Warne said last month that he was “definitely going to play a few games” but he had not yet decided for which team, with his hometown sides the Melbourne Stars and the Renegades the likely options.The reported that Cricket Australia was so keen to entice Warne, 42, to play that it would kick in a cash allowance on top of the salary cap, believed to be less than $50,000, to market the new eight-team BBL. Mike McKenna, CA’s Big Bash project owner, told the paper Warne would be considered a terrific asset for the new tournament.”We made that offer to all the teams of an amount of money in exchange for him doing things like making appearances for us,” McKenna said. “He is an asset, he will excite people across the league not just the team he plays for. Coming out of retirement would make it extra special.”If Warne is keen to return to the MCG, the Stars would be his best option, and the team’s CEO, Clint Cooper, said the organisation was doing everything it could to secure his services. The Docklands-based Renegades are Warne’s other Melbourne option, and while teams in other cities would be keen to sign Warne, it is expected he would choose to play in Melbourne, where his children live.Warne has not played elite cricket in Australia since he retired from Test cricket in January 2007, when Australia whitewashed Andrew Flintoff’s England side in a memorable Ashes series. However, he has continued to play Twenty20 and retired from the IPL earlier this year.

Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa and has been replaced in Australia’s squad by David Warner

Brydon Coverdale in Cape Town13-Nov-2011Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa and has been replaced in Australia’s squad by David Warner. Marsh struggled with a back injury during Australia’s humiliating loss in Cape Town, where he suffered the problem while running between the wickets during his first innings of 44.Warner will join the tour on Monday ahead of the Johannesburg Test, which starts on Thursday, but Usman Khawaja, who is already with the squad, is the likely candidate to replace Marsh at No.3. Cricket Australia confirmed Marsh would fly home after he showed only slow improvement from his back problem.The injury was so troubling for Marsh that on the second day in Cape Town he was at the team hotel and was not expected to take the field at all. But he refused to stay on the sidelines as Australia collapsed and he batted at No.10, although he was clearly hampered as he walked out to the crease.”He was in considerable pain and was obviously restricted while batting in the second innings,” Alex Kountouris, the team physio, said. He is slowly improving but will return to Australia for further investigation and treatment as he will not recover in time to play the second Test in Johannesburg.”The loss of Marsh is a significant one for Australia after their capitulation for 47 in the second innings at Newlands. Although he has played only three Tests, Marsh has been one of the team’s most in-form batsmen, scoring a century on debut in Sri Lanka followed by 81 in his second Test and a pair of half-centuries in Australia’s tour match in Potchefstroom.His absence will be felt, with senior players including Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson struggling for form. Warner scored 148 in last week’s Sheffield Shield match against South Australia and has been in irresistible form this year, but it would still take a brave selection panel to include him at the expense of one of the existing squad members.”David has been in tremendous form for New South Wales in all forms of the game including a recent century for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield competition,” Andrew Hilditch, the outgoing chairman of selectors, said. “We are certain that should the opportunity present itself he will be ready to perform at Test level.”Australia were due to train at Newlands on Sunday but rain in Cape Town was complicating their plans. The squad flies to Johannesburg on Monday.

The Division One final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s first-class tournament, will be played with a pink ball, under floodlights, the Pakistan Cricket Board has said

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2011The Division One final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s first-class tournament, will be played with a pink ball, under floodlights, the Pakistan Cricket Board has said. The final of last year’s tournament was also held under floodlights but was played with an orange ball.Last year, the two teams in the final, Habib Bank Limited and Pakistan International Airlines, practised with both an orange and pink ball before the match. The decision to play with the orange ball was made after receiving inputs from both teams.This year, however, the PCB has decided to use the pink ball in the final, which will be played from December 20-24 at the National Stadium in Karachi, after receiving advice from the ICC.The QEA final will become part of ongoing trials to determine whether Test match cricket can be played under lights, and what ball will be most suited to a day-night Test match. Earlier this year a County Championship match between Kent and Glamorgan at Canterbury was played with a pink ball. The MCC versus Champion County match, which has been staged in Abu Dhabi for the last two seasons, has also been played under floodlights with the pink ball and the 2012 edition will be played under the same conditions.

A round-up of the first day of the Faysal Bank Pentangular Cup 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2012Centuries from Aqeel Anjum and Faisal Iqbal put Sind on top against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province at the National Stadium in Karachi. The pair got together after Sind lost their openers early, having decided to bat, and added 184 for the third wicket. Anjum struck 15 boundaries in his unbeaten 126, his seventh first-class century. Iqbal, who’s played 26 Tests, scored his runs at a fair clip, making 100 off 146 balls and striking 12 fours. Though Iqbal fell with the score on 226, Anjum found further support from Fawad Alam, with whom he added an unbeaten 90 for the fourth wicket. At stumps, Sind were 316 for 3.The first day of the contest between Federal Areas and Punjab ended on even terms at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Seamers Mohammad Khalil and Bilawal Bhatti shared nine wickets between then, Khalil taking a five-for, to bowl out Federal Areas, who were asked to bat, for 223. Federal Areas were well positioned at 101 for 1 at one stage but soon slipped to 130 for 5. Opener Afaq Raheem made 92 and helped his side go past 200 in the company of Sohail Tanvir, who made 52 before being bowled by Khalil. From 213 for 5, the side slipped again to 223 all out. In their response, Punjab lost their openers in quick time, both dismissed by Tanvir. At stumps, they were 31 for 2, still 191 adrift.

Michael Clarke entered this Test with a whitewash on his mind. After two days, he could hardly have hoped for Australia to be in a stronger position to push for it

The Report by Brydon Coverdale25-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMichael Clarke made 210•Getty Images

Michael Clarke entered this Test with a whitewash on his mind. After two days, he could hardly have hoped for Australia to be in a stronger position to push for it. A day that started with Clarke and Ricky Ponting both bringing up double-centuries and producing the highest Test partnership ever recorded at the Adelaide Oval ended with India two wickets down, and still 543 runs in arrears.Of course, Australia lost three top-order men in the first session of the match and it didn’t hurt them, but after nearly 11 hours of roasting in the field, India’s batsmen must find some energy on the third day to match Australia. At stumps, Sachin Tendulkar was on 12 and Gautam Gambhir had reached 30, with India on 2 for 61, and on the best batting pitch of the tour India needed someone to bring up the team’s first century of the series.Already they had lost Virender Sehwag, who was brilliantly caught by Peter Siddle off his own bowling on 18. Flat-footed and stuck to the crease, Sehwag toe-edged a ball high to the right of Siddle, who thrust his hand up and pulled in one of the best catches of the summer, and nobody was happier than Ed Cowan, the man who dropped a regulation chance at midwicket when Sehwag had 5.India were 2 for 31 when Rahul Dravid (1) was bowled for the sixth time in the series, the victim of a strange occurrence when a Ben Hilfenhaus delivery ricocheted off his elbow and down on to the stumps. The Australians hadn’t found much swing in the hot Adelaide conditions, but the two breakthroughs gave them a strong start after the outstanding work of their own batsmen.By pushing the total to 7 for 604 before Clarke declared the innings closed, Australia gave themselves a chance of a third innings victory in the series, something they haven’t achieved in more than 60 years. India haven’t lost three Tests in a series by an innings in more than 50 years. There’s plenty of cricket to be played before such a scenario becomes a realistic possibility, but the groundwork had been laid.The 386-run partnership between Ponting and Clarke was the fourth-highest of all time for Australia in Test cricket, and all three of the stands above them on the list featured Don Bradman. Clarke became the third player in Test history, after Bradman and Wally Hammond, to score a triple-hundred and a double-century in the same series.For the sixth time in the series Australia batted through an entire session, this time the first of the day, without losing a wicket. The runs flowed freely as India wilted. Clarke and Ponting went to lunch already having compiled the highest partnership ever recorded in an Adelaide Test, beating the previous record of 341 set by South Africa’s Eddie Barlow and Graeme Pollock in 1963-64. By then, Clarke had his double-ton and Ponting was within touching distance of his.Clarke brought up his with a clip for two through midwicket off R Ashwin and celebrated another monstrous innings in the series: after his unbeaten 329 in Sydney, he finished this innings with 557 runs already in 2012. All through 2011, he managed 618. He didn’t add to his score after lunch; on 210, Clarke was bowled by Umesh Yadav, who kept at the batsmen, despite leaking runs.Ponting was on 199 when Clarke departed, and his sixth Test double-century came with a strong front-foot pull to the boundary off Yadav. For a while, it looked like Ponting would go on to register his highest Test score, which stood at 257, but eventually the pull brought him undone when he picked out the deep midwicket, Sachin Tendulkar, who took a well-judged catch jumping to his left.Already India had removed Michael Hussey for 25 with a very sharp piece of work from Gambhir at silly point. Hussey pushed the ball and took off anticipating a single, but Gambhir was good enough to collect the ball cleanly and aware enough to flick it onto the stumps, catching Hussey short.It was an example of how India needed to field; half-chances had to be grabbed. There weren’t always. Ponting was put down on 215 when VVS Laxman at midwicket grassed a chance off the bowling of Ashwin and Ishant Sharma had missed the chance for a return catch when Ponting had 186, the ball struck back at a catchable pace but the bowler not alert enough to get his hands to it.In the end, India picked up a few wickets, including one off a good carrom ball from Ashwin that kissed the edge of Peter Siddle’s bat and was taken by Wriddhiman Saha – his first Test catch. By that stage, India had taken 3 for 13, but Brad Haddin (42 not out) and Ryan Harris (35 not out) refused to make life easy for India and batted through until the declaration came after tea.For India, it was another dreadful day. The film critic Leonard Maltin’s entire review of was: “More of the same, only worse”. It could also have been said of India in the field, particularly in the morning. The bowling was too often insipid, and Sehwag’s captaincy uninspiring and conservative.At times, he did not appear to think taking a wicket was that important. Ashwin was given fields that encouraged him to bowl straight, and both Clarke and Ponting picked off the runs with ease. Ashwin finished with an unwanted record of his own, his 3 for 194 the most expensive bowling analysis ever recorded in an Adelaide Test, but he had his captain to thank – or blame – for much of that.By stumps, it was all down to India’s batsmen. The pitch had plenty of runs in it. India just needed their batsmen to find them.