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The first priority of the umpire review system is to eliminate obvious mistakes but the man in charge of implementing the technology hopes it will also lead to a new generation of walkers

Peter English24-Nov-2009The first priority of the umpire review system is to eliminate obvious mistakes but the man in charge of implementing the technology hopes it will also lead to a new generation of walkers. Dave Richardson, the ICC’s cricket operations manager, believes an indirect benefit of the two-appeals-per-innings innovation, which was implemented full-time in New Zealand on Tuesday and Australia from Thursday, will be more batsmen not hanging around when they’ve edged behind.In the 11-Test trial Richardson said not only did the percentage of correct decisions improve by 6%, but they noticed the players, the only ones who can call for a review under this part of the system, were adhering more closely to the spirit of cricket. “I quite like the idea of putting a bit of responsibility on them, they are very quick to shake their heads and wave their bat around when they get an inside edge,” he said at the Gabba. “Let’s see how brave they are when it comes to actually taking that responsibility.”Initially when we spoke we thought a possible indirect benefit might be that batsmen, when they do edge a ball, won’t hang around and will walk anyway because they will be inevitably given out in the long run and they might be shown up as, not cheats, but certainly not playing within the spirit.”Richardson said there were fewer issues of dissent from the players and there was also less pressure being placed on the on-field officials by the bowling side. “We’ve found in the trials that the vociferous appealing, and appealing when you know it’s not out, just to try to convince the umpire has seemed to go out of the game.”What’s worse for the game, Steve Bucknor’s effigy getting burnt in India from a bad decision or the opportunity to rectify his mistake and hopefully improving the spirit by saying to the players: it’s your game, your responsibility. You hit it, you walk, if you don’t think it’s out, don’t appeal.”Nine out of the ten ICC members voted for the adoption of the system in internationals – England were not in favour because it is the players who generate the review – but it still relies on the host broadcaster having the technology, which can include Hawk-eye, pitch maps, hot spot and super slo-mo. Hot spot will not be available to the umpires during the Australia-West Indies series, but the third official will always have the same replays as the fans in their lounge rooms.”Unfortunately in this day and age the guy’s not out when the umpire raises his finger, he’s out when Ian Chappell or Mark Nicholas says he’s the out,” Richardson said. “The modern view is we need to use technology.”Simon Katich, Australia’s opening batsman, said the system worked well for the team in South Africa at the start of the year. “We tended to use it at the right time,” he said. “We certainly had no dramas on it.”David Williams, the West Indies coach, said it was good to know the decisions would be well-made. “If the technology is there and used properly then I have absolutely no problem with it,” he said.Richardson wants to make one thing clear: it won’t be perfect. While the human element is being downgraded, there is still scope for doubt. “It’s so important for the person at home watching on television to understand that we are still not going to get 100% of the decisions right, because there are going to be some decisions that aren’t conclusive from the technology point of view. The obvious ones we’ll eradicate.”

The first-class game in the West Indies is set to welcome radical innovations such as day-night matches and the use of pink balls to boost spectator interest

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009The first-class game in the West Indies is set to welcome radical innovations such as day-night matches and the use of pink balls to boost spectator interest. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will trial these innovations in its four-day tournament, which gets underway on January 8. Another feature is the hosting of an entire round in one territory to ease the logistical challenges in travelling arrangements.”Spectator interest in regional matches has been declining in recent years and we are looking at different ways to organise our tournaments and ensure greater value for all our stakeholders, including players and spectators,” Ernest Hilaire, the WICB’s CEO, said.”We at the WICB aim to bring the game back to the fans and we believe the new format of having day-night cricket in the four-day tournament will help to generate public interest and also be a winner with the players and officials.”Hilaire added that each of the seven teams will get to play at least one match under lights. He said data will be collected on the impact on players, spectators, match officials and spectators before the format comes under review.”We will also be looking to utilise some of the wonderful facilities we have in the region as we seek to develop players who will be able to represent the people of the Caribbean at the highest level,” Hilaire said.The first round will begin in Jamaica from January 8-11 while the final round will be played at Windwards between February 26 and March 1.

Plays of the day for the third day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the MCG

Osman Samiuddin at the MCG28-Dec-2009First impressions
First impressions last, especially on Australian crowds, and there are few
better ways to do it than what Umar Akmal pulled off. Pakistan’s big batting
hope came here with a big reputation and he had been quietly solid towards
the close of play yesterday. He started off cautiously this morning, but a
brutal wake-up call from Peter Siddle, who pinged him square on the
helmet, brought about an audacious response. A couple of Siddle overs
later, he drove and pulled him for 19 runs, including a monstrous
six over long-on. Impetuosity got him soon after a fourth half-century, but the
announcement had been made.Practice makes perfect?

Pakistan’s catching has been poor in this Test, though it doesn’t seem to
be for want of trying. Intikhab Alam said they are trying to resolve the
problem at the grassroots level and they held a catching session during the
tea interval on the third afternoon. Salman Butt dropped three catches in
a row during practice, which clearly helped him take the one at deep square leg
to send back Ricky Ponting a little while later.The day of the night(watchmen)
What Australian nightwatchmen can do, Pakistan’s can do better? Maybe not.
Nathan Hauritz frustrated Pakistan yesterday morning for an entire
session, having come in before the end of the first day. Mohammad
Aamer came in to face the last ball of day two and lasted the entire first
session this morning as well. Hauritz, of course, helped himself to an
unusually free-spirited half century in that time, while Aamer did a fair
latter-day impersonation of Hanif Mohammad, grinding out ten runs in two
hours. Both innings say something about the pitch though.Not the season’s greetings Hauritz wanted
Pakistan have felt Hauritz could be vulnerable to aggressive
batting and Misbah-ul-Haq wasted no time doing just that. Hauritz’s first
ball on the third day was slogged mercilessly over midwicket before the
following delivery was smashed to the same region for four. The assault
was all the more memorable because Pakistan looked like they’d fallen
asleep for the previous ten overs, which had brought 13 runs. The captain
Mohammad Yousuf had set the precedent on the second day, when he came to
the crease and within three balls launched Hauritz high over his head for
six.Hussey’s review deja vu
Michael Hussey asked for a review when he was adjudged lbw to
Aamer and Hawkeye showed the impact in line with off
stump and indicated the ball would clip the bails. The line-ball nature
meant that Billy Doctrove’s on-field decision of out remained, and there
was a distinct sense of deja vu for Hussey. In the first innings he had
also questioned Doctrove’s lbw decision when he was out sweeping Saeed
Ajmal, and, on that occasion, too, Hawkeye showed the ball striking him marginally in line and probably clipping the bails. But on neither occasion was Doctrove’s decision shown to be wrong, implying the system had worked.Kiss of the day

Aamer bowled a fiery spell to a sturdy Shane Watson to liven up
the final session. He peppered him with bouncers from round the wicket,
clocking over 150kmph on a couple of occasions. Still he found time to
show Watson some love, following a particularly brutal short-pitched
delivery with a delicate air kiss in his follow-through. Much to
everyone’s disappointment, Watson didn’t return the favour, though it would’ve made for a nice PR gesture given his antics against West Indies.

Victoria gained the early advantage in their age-old rivalry with New South Wales after breezing to the inaugural women’s domestic Twenty20 title

Cricinfo staff23-Jan-2010Victoria 5 for 127 (Villani 29) beat New South Wales 75 (Andrews 15, Hunter 2-7) by 52 runs

Scorecard
Elyse Villani top scored with 29 off 27 balls for Victoria•Getty Images

Victoria gained the early advantage in their age-old rivalry with New South Wales after breezing to the inaugural women’s domestic Twenty20 title in Adelaide. After winning the toss, Victoria finished with 5 for 127 before dismissing their opponents for 75 in 16 overs for a comprehensive success.New South Wales’ reply started terribly when they were 4 for 8 – Alex Blackwell, Sarah Aley and Alyssa Healy all failed to score – and they couldn’t stop the fall of wickets. Julie Hunter and Clea Smith, the opening bowlers, collected two victims each while Briana Binch grabbed the key wickets of Lisa Sthalekar (9) and Kate Blackwell (7) to eliminate any chance of a recovery.The opener Elyse Villani gave Victoria a strong start with 29 off 27 balls while Jess Cameron’s 27 and Kelly Applebee’s 21 off 15 kept the rate up. Next Saturday the teams have a re-match of sorts as they contest the 50-over-a-side Women’s National Cricket League final at the MCG, where Victoria will look to end New South Wales’ streak of four consecutive titles.”Today was very disappointing,” the captain Sthalekar said. “We were out-played by the Victorians, but we have to move on. The WNCL Final is seven days away and now that becomes our focus.”

Mithali Raj, who nearly took the game away from England with her unbeaten 91, gave credit to the visitors for holding their nerve during the final overs of the chase

Nishi Narayanan21-Feb-2010Mithali Raj, who nearly took the second ODI away from England with her unbeaten 91 in Bangalore, gave credit to the visitors for holding their nerve during the final overs of the chase.Raj had added 106 with Amita Sharma for the fifth wicket and at one stage India needed 11 off 19 balls with four wickets in hand. Fast bowler Jenny Gunn struck twice in her penultimate over; with her first ball she broke the 45-run stand between Raj and Jhulan Goswami and then with the sixth she had Nooshin Al Khadeer caught at mid-off.”At one point I thought it would be difficult but during this partnership and the one with Jhulan, I felt we were in the game,” Raj said. “But hers and Amita’s wicket fell at the wrong time. Even if one of them had been there, we could have pulled off the win.”Raj said her decision to let the tailenders take strike had been forced by England bowlers who managed to keep her to just taking singles. “I must give them credit for holding their nerves when it could have been anybody’s match. One mistake or a boundary would have cost them the match but they fielded really well.”England captain Charlotte Edwards said she had been worried as Raj and Sharma whittled down the target but held on to the hope that breaking the stand would expose the Indian tail. “Everybody put their bodies on the line and there was some great bowling from all the bowlers,” Edwards said.”It was a fantastic win for us. I think we’ve done really well today having lost senior players Sarah Taylor and Nicky Shaw in the morning, and Claire Taylor and Holly Colvin at home. So to win the game in India with a lot of young players in the side is a great effort and something we’re really proud of. But we know it’s the start of a big series and hopefully we’ll nick the next couple and it will be a great series win for us.”Indian left-arm spinners Gouher Sultana and Preeti Dimri took six of the eight wickets to fall but England coach Mark Lane said he was happy with the way the team played against the spinners. “We batted well against the spinners in the first game but didn’t finish things off. You have to remember playing Indian spinners on a third-day pitch is a big challenge for anyone. We’re not used to conditions quite as dramatic as that. Our girls have adapted well and we’re looking forward to the next leg of the tour and performing well down there.”The teams will now head to Visakhapatnam for the next two games – on February 24 and 26 – before heading to Mumbai for the final leg of the tour.

While West Indies will expect to kick start a season of favourable results after a winless tour of Australia, Zimbabwe will have their eyes set on a goal far more significant

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya27-Feb-2010

Match Facts

Sunday, February 28, Port of Spain
Start time 1400 (1800 GMT)
Hamilton Masakadza had a prolific 2009•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Big Picture

West Indies and Zimbabwe begin a fresh phase in international cricket under newly-appointed coaches, though the mood is more upbeat in the tourists’ camp. While West Indies will expect to kick start a season of favourable results after a winless tour of Australia, Zimbabwe will have their eyes set on a goal far more significant – a return to Test cricket after their self-imposed exile in 2006.Alan Butcher is expected to join his team midway through the tour but Zimbabwe will be, in the interim, under the supervision of current coach Walter Chawaguta and former captain Dave Houghton, who has targeted a return to the five-day format before the end of this year. Heath Streak will be supporting him as bowling coach, and Grant Flower begins his duty as batting coach in October.The return of distinguished former players in coaching roles to boost the team, a refurbished domestic structure based on five regional franchises to better administer first-class cricket, the organisation of a domestic Twenty20 league and the participation of a Zimbabwe XI in the Intercontinental Cup – these are all measures indicating a committed plan to facilitate Zimbabwe’s transition to the cricketing mainstream.However, Zimbabwe’s exposure to limited-overs cricket in the recent past has been largely confined to playing Bangladesh – they’ve won four and lost ten ODIs against them since 2009 – and Kenya. They haven’t played a Twenty20 international since October 2008. To realise their goal, they need to challenge superior teams and a demoralised West Indies, who, among other disappointments, were also beaten comprehensively in the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia, are a good place to start.

Form Guide

Zimbabwe: WLTLL (All before 2009)

West Indies: LLWLW

Watch out for

Adrian Barath is back in the West Indies squad and will look to build on the bright start he’s had to his international career as an explosive opener. In the absence of Chris Gayle for Sunday’s game, he’ll take the lead at the top of the order.Barath’s counterpart in the opening slot, Hamilton Masakadza enjoyed a prolific 2009 with 1087 runs at 43.48, including three centuries. He was also the highest run-getter in the Stanbic Cup, Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 tournament. Along with Tatenda Taibu, who launched his tour of West Indies with a match-winning century against UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI, Masakadza is Zimbabwe’s most relied-on batsman.

Team news

West Indies are boosted by the return of several injured players: Barath (hamstring), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (thumb), Sulieman Benn (knee) and Darren Bravo (shoulder). Allrounder Dave Bernard jnr and batsman Andre Fletcher have also been recalled.West Indies (probable) – 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Denesh Ramdin (capt and wk), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Dwayne Smith, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Nikita MillerZimbabwe prevailed by five runs in their 50-over tour match, thanks to Taibu and a combined bowling effort, with the trio of Chris Mpofu, Kyle Jarvis and Elton Chigumbura bagged two wickets each.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Charles Coventry, 4 Tatenda Taibu, 5 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 6 Greg Lamb, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Timycen Maruma, 9 Shingirai Masakadza, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Chris Mpofu.

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have never beaten West Indies in a bilateral ODI series. They’ve never played West Indies in a Twenty20 international and have won just two out of seven games.
• Hamilton Masakadza was the fourth-highest run-getter in 2009 in ODIs, behind MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.

Quotes

“We have got to start winning matches and our goal is to get back into Test cricket in a year-and-a-half. The guys are working very hard at this, and this tour is very important in this regard.”
“That series is gone. We are looking to the future. We have a new coach who is looking to great things from us.”

A round-up of the first set of matches in the SLC Inter-Provincial Tournament 2009-10

Sa'adi Thawfeeq22-Mar-2010Jeevantha Kulatunga continued his good run of form with the bat, hitting an unbeaten century off 101 balls to guide Wayamba to a convincing seven-wicket win over Basnahira South in the opening weekend of the Inter-provincial four-day tournament. Wayamba’s victory was achieved inside three days as Basnahira South failed to counter the wily left-arm spin of Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath who finished with match figures of 8 for 141.Basnahira South never recovered from their poor first innings total of 120 after choosing to bat first. Their batting was wrecked by Chanaka Welagedera (4 for 37) and Herath (3 for 12). Even though they put up a better display in the second innings to score 352, Wayamba were left to chase 224 to win with plenty of time to spare. Although they lost openers Michael Vandort and Mahela Udawatte cheaply, Kulatunga took control of the bowling from there onwards and figured in two century partnerships with his captain Jehan Mubarak who made 61 and Damitha Hunukumbura, who was unbeaten on 55 to ensure victory.In a high-scoring match at Moors SC grounds, Kandurata established a new domestic record by piling up the highest total – 727 all out – against Basnahira North. The previous highest total was 683 by Colombo Colts CC against Galle CC at the NCC grounds in 2003-04. Sri Lanka middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera, leading Kandurata in the absence of Kumar Sangakkara who is away for the IPL, led the way with a superb double century as his team took up the challenge of overhauling Basnahira North’s first innings total of 530. Samaraweera scored 214 off 355 balls and was involved in a double century partnership of 274 for the fifth wicket with Jeevan Mendis who made 150.Kandurata passed Basnahira North’s total losing only half the side and further frustration followed when Sri Lanka spinner Suraj Randiv added to his four-wicket haul by bolstering the lower order with an entertaining innings of 74 off 89 balls, helping his captain put on 91 runs for the seven th wicket. He picked up a further three wickets in the second innings for matches figures of 7/230. The Kandurata run chase was launched by openers Nadeera Nawala (113) and Kanchana Gunawardena (64) who put on 122. Five half-centuries featured in the Basnahira North first innings.

Shane Warne, the Rajasthan captain, singled out the dropped catch of Sachin Tendulkar as the turning point in his team’s 37-run defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians in Jaipur, their first at the venue in nine games

Cricinfo staff12-Apr-2010Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain, singled out the dropped catch of Sachin Tendulkar as the turning point in his team’s 37-run defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians in Jaipur, their first at the venue in nine games. Tendulkar was on 45 when he top-edged a pull off Siddharth Trivedi and was put down by Aditya Dole at fine leg. He went on to score an unbeaten 89, including 20 off the final over, to boost Mumbai to a challenging score that they managed to defend, to ensure their qualification for the semi-final.”Dropping Sachin’s catch hurt us because he went on to score the runs. We also responded poorly in the bowling and fielding department after the missed chance,” Warne said after the match.Rajasthan began their chase poorly, losing four wickets inside the first seven overs, two of them to run-outs. “The first six overs were a bit of a mess and panic,” Warne said. “We conceded 60 runs in the last four overs. I know these things happen but we had a bad start to our run chase. A few run outs also hurt us. But we batted deep with Aditya Dole and (Abhishek) Raut adding few crucial runs in the end.”Some late hitting helped reduce Rajasthan’s margin of defeat, but they are currently at fourth place with a net run-rate of -0.288, and two games left to play. They are tied on 12 points with two other teams, but, along with Kings XI Punjab, have played one game more than the rest. “It was not at all a good time to lose a match,” Warne said.Tendulkar was involved in two important partnerships, with JP Duminy and Kieron Pollard. Rajasthan had begun well with three wickets in the Powerplay, but Tendulkar and Duminy rebuilt the innings while Pollard accelerated in the death overs. “We needed a solid performance, and I thought 170-plus was a competitive total on this track,” Tendulkar said. “The target was to stay there till the end, because we had lost lot of wickets early on. So that added some responsibility on me and JP.”I knew it was a matter of a couple of big overs, and they had to come at some stage.”Tendulkar also singled out Zaheer Khan for praise, as he bowled an excellent first spell, nipping the ball away and earning the wicket of Naman Ojha. “Full marks to the way our fast bowlers bowled up front. Zaheer, especially; his first spell was terrific,” he said. “The fielding was very sharp and overall good. There were some very important run-outs and catches; when all these things gel together, it’s obviously a special performance.”

Derbyshire pair Chris Rogers and Wayne Madsen notched a new club record opening
partnership against Northamptonshire as the visitors took complete control on
day two at Wantage Road

28-Apr-2010
Scorecard
Chris Rogers continued his prolific start to the season•Getty Images

Derbyshire pair Chris Rogers and Wayne Madsen notched a new club record opening
partnership against Northamptonshire as the visitors took complete control on
day two at Wantage Road.Skipper Rogers returned to haunt his former employers by notching an impressive
141 while South African right-hander Madsen ended the day unbeaten on 163. Rogers spent two seasons in Northamptonshire colours in 2006-07 but old
friendships were put out of the window as he and Madsen passed the previous
Derbyshire best against Northants, 216, set by Alan Hill and John Wright back in
1979.Nicky Boje and James Middlebrook threatened a Northants revival with a wicket
apiece in quick succession just before the tea interval but Madsen and Paul
Borrington (41 not out) easily saw Derbyshire through to a commanding position
at the close.Derbyshire began the day 163 runs behind Northants on 57-0 with Australian
one-Test-wonder Rogers resuming on 31 and Madsen on 17. The opening pair were untroubled in reaching their first hundred partnership of the season in the 30th over and Rogers was the first to pass 50 with a four through mid-wicket from his 84th ball.Madsen brought up his patient half-century in near-identical fashion four overs
later in 123 balls. With the hosts’ attack toiling, the only half chance came when wicketkeeper Paul Harrison could not quite hold on to a sharp catch from Rogers off
Middlebrook and the partnership had grown to 163 by lunch.Rogers then coasted to his century from 170 balls and he brought up the 200
partnership with the following ball. Middlebrook then thought he had snared Madsen with a sharp catch at short leg from Vishal Tripathi but his appeals fell on death ears.And Madsen compounded Middlebrook’s misery when he had the honour of setting
the new record with a four through extra cover before hitting a single in the
63rd over to put Derbyshire ahead.The former KwaZulu-Natal man went on to make his ton in 213 balls, including
one six smashed straight down the ground off Boje. Middlebrook was the man to finally break up the partnership in the 74th over, trapping Rogers lbw to bring his superb innings to an end.Northants claimed a second wicket in the next over when Garry Park, who faced
seven balls without scoring, edged Boje to Andrew Hall at slip. But any thoughts of a home side fightback were quickly extinguished by Paul Borrington and Madsen whose partnership of 103 ensured Derbyshire ended the day with an innings victory in their sights, 157 runs ahead going into day three.

Worcestershire’s recovery from relegation to Division Two of the County Championship – and a subsequent £300,000 cut in their playing budget – continued at New Road as they overcame Derbyshire by eight wickets to register their third win of the season

20-May-2010
Scorecard
Worcestershire’s recovery from relegation to Division Two of the County Championship – and a subsequent £300,000 cut in their playing budget – continued at New Road as they overcame Derbyshire by eight wickets to register their third win of the season.A revamped side finally dismissed the visitors for 389 and then cantered to a target of 126 with 14.1 overs to spare as Phil Jaques narrowly missed the fastest championship century of the season.The Australian left-hander romped to 94 from 57 balls with two sixes and 17 fours, but with only four needed for victory, he was caught on the deep square-leg boundary off Robin Peterson.Jaques got the run-chase under way with four fours in succession off Tim Groenewald and a game that Derbyshire fought so hard to save was snatched away from them as he reached 50 from 35 balls. Vikram Solanki and Jaques both cleared the fence in the same over from Peterson as the home side moved up to third place in the table.An extensive and fascinating last day was available to anyone walking in off the street after Worcestershire officials – possibly anticipating a much earlier finish – offered free admission. Athough Derbyshire mustered resilience after being made to follow on 264 behind, Garry Park’s fourth career century – all of them not out – merely delayed another defeat after their mauling by Middlesex last week.The South African-born batsman gradually found some form, moving from 34 overnight to an unbeaten 116 from 288 balls, but Worcestershire’s seam quartet persevered until they had shared all 20 wickets in the match.Greg Smith added only 13 before he was caught down the leg-side off Richard Jones for 64 and Chesney Hughes, the left-handed teenager from Anguilla, fell for 20, pushing a bat-pad chance to short leg off Jack Shantry.Derbyshire, still 81 behind on starting the last day at 183 for 3, had reduced the deficit to only four when Worcestershire made their final push on taking the new ball. It worked initially with wickets in quick succession for Alan Richardson and Jones, but Park’s craft and determination gave the lower order an incentive to hang around.They did this so well that the last three held up Worcestershire for more than two hours. Park reached his hundred with a pick-up for six and the number 11, Steffan Jones, followed up his 86 in the first innings with 21 before Richardson claimed his sixth wicket of the game in his 58th over.