Category Uncategorized

All Today’s Yesterdays – May 26 down the years1947
Birth of one of New Zealand’s finest batsmen. Glenn Turner combined a hard-nosed mental toughness with a textbook technique and an increasingly extensive array of strokes to mould himself into a formidable opening batsman. He added 387 with Terry Jarvis in Guyana in 1971-72, the second-highest opening partnership in Test history. Turner went on to make a massive 259, one of four double-centuries he made on that tour, two in the Tests and two in tour matches. In all he averaged 65.77 in Tests against West Indies, more than even Sunil Gavaskar. He also became the first New Zealander to score two hundreds in a Test, at Christchurch in 1973-74, when the Kiwis beat Australia for the first time. Turner was an outstanding servant for Worcestershire, but his most famous achievement in England came as a New Zealand tourist: in 1973 he became the first person to score 1000 runs by the end of May for 35 years. He later managed New Zealand, and is now coach of Otago.1995
Everyone thought England had picked the wrong Lancastrian when Peter “Digger” Martin was called up for the one-day series against West Indies. Glenn Chapple had just had a barnstorming A tour of India; Martin had never been on an A tour, but he got the nod and he grasped the nettle by bowling England to victory on this day at The Oval. Martin had a sensational start, taking 3 for 6 off his first four overs, including Brian Lara bowled neck and crop. He ended with 4 for 44, the Man of the Match award, and a Test debut two weeks later.1948
Birth of the last white man to play for West Indies. The opener Geoff Greenidge, who like Gordon was born in Barbados, was the author of one of the most amazing debuts in cricket history. In only his fourth first-class match, for Barbados against Jamaica at Bridgetown in 1966-67, he cracked 205 and then took 7 for 124 in the first innings with his occasional legspinners. Both remained career bests: Greenidge only took six more wickets in 181 matches over the next ten years. His Test career was modest: he played only five times but never topped his debut 50, against New Zealand in Guyana in 1971-72. Greenidge also played for Sussex.1920
A South African captain is born. Jack Cheetham was in charge when South Africa, famously and totally unexpectedly, pulled off a surprise 2-2 draw in Australia in 1952-53. He was an assertive middle-order batsman who made five Test fifties without ever reaching three figures. He was also captain in England in 1955, when South Africa came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. Ironically, because of injury, Cheetham did not play in either victory, but he remained an inspiration to the side. He died in Johannesburg in 1980.1996
A great day for Graham Thorpe … with the ball. Thorpe took his only international wickets in the one-dayer against India at The Oval. Vikram Rathore was caught at long-on, and Sourav Ganguly was stumped off a wide. Thorpe looked like he couldn’t believe it, and with good reason: he’s only been brought on twice in 51 ODIs since.1999
Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid added a monstrous 318 for the second wicket at Taunton as India sounded the death knell for Sri Lanka’s defence of the World Cup. Ganguly creamed 183 off 147 balls, and Dravid 145 off 129. At the time it was a one-day record for any wicket, but it has since been broken … and amazingly, Dravid was again involved. He added 331 – for the second wicket again – with Sachin Tendulkar against New Zealand at Hyderabad the following winter.1921
Birth of the New Zealand wicketkeeper Frank Mooney, who was nicknamed “Starlight” because of his active social life and twinkling toes. That was in complete contrast to his on-field persona; Mooney was a crisp, undemonstrative keeper. He played 14 Tests but never managed more than the 46 he made in his first Test innings, at Headingley in 1949.Other birthdays
1868 Howard Francis (South Africa)
1884 Louis Stricker (South Africa)
1966 Grant Bradburn (New Zealand)
1977 Avishka Gunawardene (Sri Lanka)

Mike Burns returned career-best figures of 5-50 as Somerset enjoyed thebetter of the opening day at Taunton.By the close only 48.3 overs had been bowled because of several showers andLeicestershire were 200-8, having lost the toss.With the ball swinging around in overcast conditions, the visitors slumpedto 100-5 before Shahid Afridi came to the rescue with a half-century offjust 39 balls. He was unbeaten on 62 at the close, having hit 9 fours and a six in a cavalier innings, including some brilliant as well as some chancy strokes.Rain delayed the start until 12.15pm and only 13.2 overs were possibleduring the morning session, in which openers Iain Sutcliffe and Trevor Wardfell to Richard Johnson and Steffan Jones respectively.Johnson also removed Ben Smith in the afternoon to make the score 68-3 andfrom then on Burns did the damage, sending back Aftab Habib, Darren Maddy,Darren Stevens, Neil Burns and James Ormond.Habib had been dropped before he had scored by Keith Dutch at slip off Johnson and went on to make 24. Several other batsmen got starts and some poor shots contributed to Leicestershire’s modest score.The best batting came in a sixth-wicket stand of 69 in only ten oversbetween Afridi and Stevens, who looked in fine form until edging a Burnsoutswinger to Peter Bowler at slip, having made 29.With rain always threatening and interrupting play several times, it wasn’tan easy day for the batsmen. Johnson finished with 2-47, while Burns’ firstever five-wicket haul in first-class cricket came off 14 overs, with twomaidens.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBen Cooper smashed three sixes and eight fours in his quickfire 59•ICC/Donald MacLeod

Netherlands bowled Kenya out for 97, and needed to chase the target in under eight overs to claim the top spot in Group B and gain direct qualification to the World T20 in India. But their four-wicket victory took a few balls too many.After seven overs, Netherlands were 80 for 3 and needed 18 more runs. Ben Cooper went 6 4 6, but was stumped off the fourth ball for a belligerent 59 off 24. The new batsman Max O’Dowd bagged a golden duck and Michael Swart managed only a single off the last ball. Netherlands managed 17 runs off the over, one short of the requirement.That left Netherlands tied with Scotland and Afghanistan on eight points, but Scotland by virtue of a higher run-rate finish as league leaders and have confirmed their progress to the World T20.In a group of fine margins, Kenya would have qualified for the World T20 as well had they won. They would have then finished at the top with nine points, but instead their tournament was prematurely ended, after failing to qualify for next week’s playoffs. Although they were tied on seven points with Oman. The heavy margin of defeat ensured they finished fifth – below Oman due to a lower net run-rate.Kenya were asked to bat and struggled from the outset, losing three wickets in the first 15 balls. Collins Obuya did his best with 33 off 44 balls, but the innings never gained any momentum. His 45-run stand with Morris Ouma(16) was the only significant partnership.Obuya was sixth man out in the 16th over with the score on 82 and Netherlands shot through the tail 15 runs later. Timm van der Gugten picked up figures of 3 for 13 while Swart and Michael Rippon picked up two wickets each.The chase began a little unsteadily with Stephan Myburgh caught in the second over but Cooper and Wesley Barresi took charge of the chase – smashing 61 runs in 31 balls. It wasn’t enough to go through punch their World T20 ticket tonight, but they have qualified for the playoffs and still have a chance of making it.

David Hussey was in disbelief when he discovered he had earned his first Cricket Australia contract but the Victoria batsman knows there is still a long way to go before his dream of playing Test cricket is fulfilled. Hussey was one of 25 players to receive national deals, completing an exciting nine days after he was also named in the ODI squad to tour the West Indies in June.”It’s a stepping stone,” Hussey said of his new contract. “It’s one thing getting picked in the top 25 and another thing is playing. I desperately want an opportunity. It’s remarkable just one phone call gives you a lot of self-belief and self-confidence.”Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said Hussey had been “knocking on the contract door for the past few interstate seasons”, but it took his first thousand-run Pura Cup campaign in 2007-08 before he was finally included. However, with an established top six in the Test team and the record-breaking Simon Katich seemingly next in line, Hussey knows he must grab whatever one-day opportunities come his way.”There’s a lot of good batters floating around at the moment – Cam [White], Brad Hodge, Simon Katich, Shaun Marsh has been added,” he said. “For me it’s just basically making runs at the right time.”His Victoria team-mate White also held onto his contract despite not having played for Australia since February 2007. White considers himself primarily a batsman these days but he will be working hard on his legspin with no specialist one-day spinners in the squad.Stuart MacGill and Beau Casson, the only two frontline slow bowlers on the list, are not regular limited-overs players for New South Wales. White took a backseat to Victoria’s legspinner Bryce McGain in 2007-08, however he still averaged nearly eight overs a match in state one-dayers.”My bowling is probably going to be the avenue into more games for Australia, so that’s something I’ve got to do probably a little bit better,” White said. “I’ll probably get a bit more of an idea [of my role] when I get to the West Indies.”If White does find himself bowling more in ODIs – he averages only ten deliveries per game from his 16 appearances – he will be helping to fill the gap left by the newly retired Brad Hogg. Dan Cullen was one of the men Hogg tipped to take his one-day spot but the signs are not good for Cullen, who did not have his contract renewed despite a solid FR Cup season.”Of course it is a bit disappointing not to make the list this time round but I have great support at the Redbacks and there is still plenty of time left for me to play for Australia,” Cullen said. His South Australia team-mate, the legspinner Cullen Bailey, was also dropped from the national list after a disappointing year during which he was picked for only two Pura Cup games, taking one wicket.Bailey said: “2007-08 was a challenging season but I have learnt much across a range of fronts. My focus is now completely dedicated to what happens next. I am working hard to develop my game.”

Cathryn Fitzpatrick has been given her first permanent coaching position, taking the reins of Victoria Spirit for 2007-08. Fitzpatrick, who retired as a player after the quadrangular series in India in February and March, will become the first woman to coach the Victoria women’s team.Her appointment comes less than a fortnight after her former Australia team-mate, Lisa Keightley, also ended the male-dominated run of senior coaches for the Australia women’s squad. Fitzpatrick was briefly the national side’s stand-in coach until Keightley was given the job.Fitzpatrick, who quit the game after playing 13 Tests and 109 one-day internationals, has spent the last two years as a scholarship coach at Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. There, she worked with both the Australian men’s and women’s sides as well as several Victorian youth squads.”I feel that my time at the Centre of Excellence has given me the platform I need to coach at a senior level,” Fitzpatrick said. “I have received terrific mentoring from the likes of Tim Nielsen, Jamie Siddons and Brian McFadyen.”The loss of several senior players – including herself – from the Victoria Spirit lineup means Fitzpatrick will be guiding a young side next season. Victoria lost the 2006-07 WNCL finals to New South Wales. “We will have a relatively young squad but that is exciting as it will provide opportunity for players at the top level, not just in the one-day format but also the new Twenty20 fixtures,” Fitzpatrick said.Fitzpatrick was Victoria’s most-capped player with 103 appearances, took a record 198 state wickets and was the world’s most successful bowler in ODIs, with 180 victims. She takes over from Ken Davis, who coached Victoria Spirit from 2002-03 until last season.

Brian Lara comes out with startling revelations while speaking to the media after the Jamaica Test
Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”; 2.9 mb
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMA
Audio length: 6.49 minsThe events over the four Tests left Brian Lara dejected for more reasons than one and nothing stopped him from venting his true feelings. The team selection and pitches were hardly to his liking, prompting him to rethink his immediate future as captain. He revealed that he was indeed appointed as one of the selectors before the first Test, something he was aware of only before the series decider in Jamaica. However, he praised the commitment shown by his side, and also admired Rahul Dravid’s tremendous skills on a difficult wicket for batting. Cricinfo’s Siddhartha Vaidyanathan reports from Sabina Park.Listen on.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”; 2.9 mb
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMA
Audio length: 6.49 mins

The ECB will announce the name of its new chief executive at a press conference at Lord’s tomorrow morning (Oct 13). Although officials remained light-lipped about the identity of Tim Lamb’s successor, many of today’s newspapers tipped David Collier, who is currently Nottinghamshire’s chief executive.Collier, 48, is already a member of the ECB’s management board, and is the favourite of the three candidates on the short-list. The others are Richard Bevan, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers Association, and Matthew Wheeler, a former Northamptonshire player who has worked in sports marketing.Collier has considerable domestic experience, having worked at four counties – Essex, Gloucestershire and Leicestershire before moving to Trent Bridge. He also has worked in sports marketing, and the leisure industry for Sema, a Cheshire-based computer-systems company. He’s also a hockey referee, and in 2003 played an important part in organising a rescue package which bailed out the England Hockey Association.Wheeler’s stint with Northamptonshire was brief – he played just two matches for them as a fast-medium bowler in 1985 – but he made more of an impression with Octagon, the group currently advising the ECB on the new television contracts, and he has made a success of his two sports-marketing companies.Bevan’s was the surprising name on the short-list, given that he has often crossed swords with the ECB in the past in his dealings on behalf of the players.A firm of headhunters has been working on behalf of the ECB to find a replacement for Lamb, who resigned in May after six years in charge.

Washing dirty laundry in public is something which Yorkshire supporters have grown resigned to in the last two or three decades, but a concept altogether alien in the tranquil surroundings of the Sussex coast.But the publication of The Longest Journey, co-written by local cricket correspondent Bruce Talbot and The Guardian’s Paul Weaver, will do just that. It is a saga of alleged incompetence and betrayal, overshadowed until now by last season’s Championship success.The key figures are Tony Pigott, the former player who became chief executive after a coup by members, and Dave Gilbert, Sussex’s deputy chief executive and director of cricket. A relationship which started as a result of friendship ended in bitter acrimony.But within a year of the new management assuming control, the county was losing money hand over fist. Almost everything that the club tried seemed to end up costing them, and Gilbert and Piggott took less interest in the cricket and more in trying to turn the club around.”You can’t help but like Tony, he’s a lovable rogue,” Gilbert is quoted as saying. “But his spending was irrational and largely unaccountable and I was getting increasingly fed up clearing up the wreckage. It was very unfair on Tony to give him a job for which he was entirely unsuited.”He was always popular with the members and the committee because he always wore his heart on his sleeve as a player, giving absolutely everything, and then he was the catalyst for change when the club changed direction. But he was simply not up to the job.”In 1999 Pigott left, citing “personal reasons”, but the reality is that he had been sidelined as Gilbert took a greater role in the day-to-day running of the club. “As soon as I met up with the opposition club’s hierarchy, someone would button-hole me and ask exactly what was the difference between Tony’s and my roles at Sussex,” Gilbert explained. “It was all a bit embarrassing. The club’s financial position was still pretty precarious. We just seemed to be on a course that had no strategy.”I genuinely feared that because of the spending, the club would go bankrupt and I was never going to be part of that. My credibility and reputation are very important to me. In those last few weeks before he left, Tony and I hardly spoke. Our relationship had deteriorated quite badly.”Gilbert left Sussex in 2001, returning to Australia to take over as chief executive of the New South Wales Cricket Association.For his part, Pigott says that he felt that Gilbert was looking to undermine him from the off. “I think David felt guilty about what happened. Every time I came to the ground after that he would run a mile. Everything I did was for the good of Sussex cricket, but I’m not sure David did.”The Longest Journey (Sutton Publishing) is published next week. It is available from the bookshop at Hove from April 22.

Bangladesh go into the first Test against South Africa at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong with the spectre of Dav Whatmore looming large on the near horizon. Whatmore is expected to take charge of the team on June 1, and several team members will be casting more than the odd anxious glance over their shoulders ahead of his arrival.Bangladesh have lost all but one of their 17 Tests since gaining Test status in 2001, the lone exception being a rain-hit encounter against Zimbabwe. Their one-day form has been similarly dismal, and Khaled Mahmud, who took over from Khaled Masud as captain after the World Cup, has a job on his hands to buck the trend.”We are hoping to do better and aiming to at least salvage a draw,” said Mahmud. “It’s very disappointing to keep losing matches, many of them inside three days, but we are better prepared this time. We are banking on our spinners to do a good job, but it is more important that our batsmen apply themselves well. We can only hope for a draw if we bat for four or five sessions.”As far as South Africa – who head the ICC Test Championship table – are concerned, Graeme Smith couldn’t have hoped for a milder baptism as Test-match leader. When he walks out for the toss in Chittagong, he will be the third-youngest captain (22 years, 82 days) in Test history, after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (21 years, 77 days) and Waqar Younis (22 years, 15 days). Smith was a surprise appointment to the top job after Shaun Pollock was sacked for his failure to even guide the team into the World Cup Super Sixes.Smith started his reign by leading South Africa to the final of the TVS Cup triangular, winning three games on the trot after a hiding from India in their opening match.”I thought we improved as a team during the tournament and I myself learned from each game,” said Smith. “We hope to make full use of the matches here to gain more experience.” South Africa are likely to play just the one specialist spinner in Paul Adams, despite the slow nature of the wicket. Jacques Rudolph and Smith himself may chip in with some overs, but the selectors are expected to keep faith with a pace-oriented attack. Allan Dawson and Andrew Hall should both play, leaving Charl Willoughby to man the drinks cart.TeamsSouth Africa (from) Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher (wk), Hershelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Shaun Pollock, Neil McKenzie, Paul Adams, Allan Dawson, Andrew Hall, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Jacques Rudolph, Charl Willoughby.Bangladesh (from) Khaled Mahmud (capt), Mehrab Hossain, Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Habibul Bashar, Akram Khan, Sanwar Hossain, Mohammad Salim, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Rafique, Tapash Baisya, Manjural Islam, Mashrafi bin Murtaza, Enamul Haque.

A maiden Test century from Kumar Sangakkara and a dramatic secondinnings collapse by the India’s top order in the evening left SriLanka on the verge of an emphatic victory in the first Test at theGalle International Stadium on Thursday.India had come back briefly in the morning, when they took Sri Lanka’slast seven wickets for 68 runs, but they still conceded a 175-run leadand then folded up feebly in the second innings, losing seven wicketsfor 83 runs in an extended evening session. Sri Lanka requested thefinal half hour, but bad light stopped play with India on 130 foreight.Sri Lanka, then, have paved the way for only their second Test victoryagainst India in their 20-year Test history. The last time was in SriLanka’s inaugural Test triumph at the P.Saravanamuttu Stadium back in1985.More importantly, they have grabbed the initiative in a congestedseries and now have a good chance of winning their first Test seriesin 16 months. With just four days rest before the second Test inKandy, India face a huge mental and physical challenge if they aregoing to come back into the reckoning.Sadagoppan Ramesh (2) set the tone for India’s reply. His feet stuckto the crease like stone, he groped at a full-length outswinger fromRuchira Perera and lost his off stump. India went into tea on 26 forone.After the interval, the wheels came off. Shiv Sunder Das (23) flatbatted a catch to point, Mohammad Kaif (14) was caught at short legoff Muttiah Muralitharan, and captain Sourav Ganguly missed a straightdelivery from Dilhara Fernando. India were 64 for four.By now Muralitharan was going in for the kill and Sri Lanka’s closefielders converged around the bat in excited anticipation. His jobmade easier by the early wounds inflicted by the fast bowlers, hebowled a 17 over spell, picking up four wickets in the process.Hemang Badani (5) was adjudged to have been caught behind, thoughreplays suggested the ball had only brushed the pad; Sameer Dighe (3)was scooped up by a predatory Russel Arnold at silly point; andHarbhajan Singh was teased by his fellow artisan before being deceivedin the air to give a return catch.Sanath Jayasuriya nearly finished the game off before the 6.39 close.He had Zaheer Khan caught at silly point with the first ball he bowledand then narrowly failed to take the final wicket (Javagal Srinath isnot expected to bat because of a badly swollen left hand), when MahelaJayawardene flung himself to his left, but was unable to grasp a sharpchance.Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid batted defiantly for nearly three hours. Heremained unbeaten till the close on 37, but without support from hispartners, his efforts will prove futile, unless, of course, it rainsfor two consecutive days.The morning was dominated by Sangakkara. A law student who tries tocram in his studies in between international commitments, he startedthe day on 54. Whilst wickets fell around him he extended Sri Lanka’s77-run overnight lead and remained unbeaten to the end, batting for226 balls and six hours in searing temperatures for his 105.Sangakkara had scored four Test fifties already in his short Testcareer, including a rearguard 98 in South Africa and an exhilarating95 during a tense Test against England in March, but was under extremepressure in this game after a string of low scores in the one-day gameand a scratchy series against Pakistan A.He is a free flowing stroke maker by nature, but impressed in thisinnings with his adhesiveness and determination. During each break inplay, he practiced studiously, drilling balls into the sight screenbeside the dressing room. He looked diffident and circumspect lastafternoon and was dropped once when he had made eight, but he kept hiscomposure and gradually grew in confidence.By the end though his batting was imperious. It had to be too. When ChamindaVaas was seventh man out, Sangakkara was still 28 runs short of his hundredwith a fragile tail exposed. He went on to the attack, pulling and cuttinganything remotely short. He was strong off his legs too, slickly clippingthe ball off his pads.Then, Fernando drove straight to short cover like a coach giving fieldingpractice and Ruchira Perera only lasted two balls before he guided a shortball into the gloves of Sammer Dighe. Muralitharan strode to the crease,wielding his bat like an offensive weapon, with Sangakkara still eight runsshort.Muralitharan nobly refrained from playing his most unorthodox swipes, butSangakkara’s heart was in his mouth every delivery. Eventually he got hischance and lofted a good length ball from Srinath straight down the groundfor his hundred. Muralitharan could contain himself no longer and he waspromptly caught on the square leg fence to end the innings.