All posts by csb10.top

This time he is ready to hang on to the England gauntlets, writes Peter English in the July issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly

Chris Read’s hands look small and delicate. When he sits he rests them on the table, one protecting the other. He knows safe hands are mandatory and is aware of the dangers of waiting for a chance, whether it is a caught-behind or a call from David Graveney. “It’s possible you won’t get an [England] opportunity for three or four years, so when you get one you’ve got to take it,” he says.Read has a beaming smile and since the start of the season there has been a lot to be happy about. Alec Stewart challenged the selectors to choose a young keeper for England’s ODIs and Read was suddenly in a two-man tussle with James Foster. Then the ECB Academy director Rod Marsh, who rates Read as one of the best young players he has seen, was named as the fourth England selector. “It goes without saying that it was good news,” Read says. “But it’s up to me to prove I’m good enough to be given a chance and to prove I can play at that level.”At the end of May Read’s smile briefly disappeared when he broke a thumb playing for Nottinghamshire in a National League game against Sussex at Horsham. International wicketkeeping dreams begin and end with shattered bones. Ian Healy has Ian Botham to thank for launching his record-breaking 119-Test career. Botham broke the finger of the Queensland incumbent Peter Anderson in 1987-88 and four first-class games later Healy was playing for Australia.Standing up to the medium-pacer Gareth Clough, Read was struck on his right thumb and suffered a hairline fracture, potentially a three-week injury. The selectors stuck to their guns and picked him in the one-day squad, with Foster on standby.Read knows about big breaks. He was picked on an England A tour before playing a first-class game and when he moved from Gloucestershire, where he was stuck behind Jack Russell, to Nottinghamshire, Wayne Noon was injured early in the season. Read stepped up, was picked for a second England A tour and in 1999 made his Test debut at 20.It is difficult to talk to Read without looking back. He sits in the Horsham pavilion looking out at a portable practice net six days before suffering the injury. No one stops for autographs and only his county coach Mick Newell interrupts to leave a map to the hotel and a key to lock up the dressing room. He is not Alec Stewart.Read has been forgotten for a long time but is honest about the past and realistic about the future. “Looking at my record, three Tests and five innings, to score 38 runs is not really good enough,” he says.The three Tests were against New Zealand but his eight dismissals on debut at Edgbaston were swiftly overshadowed by the footage of his embarrassing misjudgement of a Chris Cairns slower ball that bowled him at Lord’s.He still went to South Africa as cover for Stewart and was pleased with his returns in nine ODIs. “But I probably had my worst season after that. Since then I’ve been making improvements and my game has been on the up.”A winter at the Academy under Marsh put more polish on his glovework and after a National League century in the opening match against Northamptonshire he was under most microscopes as ODI replacements were canvassed following World Cup retirements. “Second time round it’s a lot easier because I’m three or four years wiser,” he says of the pressure. “The first time it was a bit of a shock and I wasn’t quite prepared. Now I have experience and know what to expect.”Marsh and Read clicked in Adelaide. Read was impressed by Marsh’s positive attitude and his work ethic. The feeling was mutual. “Rod said in his last season he didn’t miss a chance and that’s my aspiration,” he says. “I remember missing two chances last season. There was a catch against Gloucestershire, diving low to my right and I couldn’t get my hand underneath it, and I missed a stumping off MacGill that spun a mile.”Read’s spin is that he does not want to be pigeon-holed as a limited-overs player and his wicketkeeping voice, slightly squeaky but very clear, would suit the longer game if only to annoy the batsmen with his constant chatter. He believes England’s transition towards the 2007 World Cup is natural and it will be up to the new players to “get on with it and make the best of it”. “Knight, Caddick, Stewart, Hussain, they are big names,” he says, as if suddenly realising that they are all missing. “It gives guys opportunities. There are young guys all over the country who are desperate for a chance to perform.” He now has a second one.Click here to subscribe to Wisden Cricket Monthly

The July 2003 edition of Wisden Cricket Monthly is on sale at all good newsagents in the UK and Ireland, priced £3.40.

After their bowlers did the trick on the first day, Karnataka’s batsmen continued to grind Kerala mercilessly into the dust in their Ranji Trophy Plate Final encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on Wednesday.Kerala could not make a breakthrough on the second morning until J Arunkumar and Barrington Rowland had added 68 more runs for the first wicket. Rowland was the first to fall, struggling to 22 off 94 balls and 153 minutes before becoming leggie KN Ananthapadmanabhan’s first scalp of the day.Karnataka then enjoyed a prosperous run, with Arunkumar and Sudhindra Shinde batting fluently at either end, putting together 55 runs for the second wicket. When Arunkumar fell as the second wicket after making 84 (174b, 12×4), Karnataka were 154 for two.Shinde also made 84, off just 136 balls with 12 fours and a six, before he was dismissed by Ananthapadmanabhan, the only Kerala bowler who looked dangerous on the day. He had little support, however, and only M Suresh Kumar could back him up by taking a wicket – that of Deepak Chougule.At stumps at the end of the second day, Karnataka were well-placed at 293 for five, with Sunil Joshi (0 not out) and Thilak Naidu (35 not out) at the crease. The hosts led by 103 runs with five wickets in hand, and for Kerala, Ananthapadmanabhan scalped four for 98 off 31 overs of leg-spin.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has opened the door to rescheduling New Zealand’s World Cup game in Nairobi outside Kenya.The ICC says New Zealand can seek a review of the ICC’s decision to reject its application for the game to be moved because of security concerns.The ICC made the announcement after New Zealand Cricket (NZC) today said it was considering taking its dispute with the ICC to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.It was revealed last night the Black Caps would forfeit their points by refusing to play Kenya in Nairobi on February 21, the tournament’s chief organiser Ali Bacher confirmed.NZC decided yesterday the safety of its players was at risk by playing and said the team would not play.NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said last night NZC believed the decision made by the ICC executive board hours earlier was unreasonable and that it would seek to have the dispute resolved and the match rescheduled outside Kenya.”We will be getting some legal advice over the next few days about what procedures can be used to have this issue resolved,” Mr Snedden told The Press newspaper.”Going to the CAS (based in Lusanne) is one avenue we might be able to go down.”Then this morning (Australian time), ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said he recognised New Zealand’s concerns and that he would be working to “see if there was any prospect of the match proceeding or being rescheduled”.”The issue of safety and security is clearly the main concern of both the ICC and New Zealand Cricket and, at present, NZC is not satisfied that it is safe to play in Kenya,” said Speed.”We will make available our intelligence and security advisers to provide a detailed briefing on the advice that we have received in relation to this game.”There are also independent processes available to the NZC through which it can seek a review of the ICC’s judgement and decision. NZC is entitled to seek this review.”The United States embassy in Nairobi said yesterday it gave a routine security briefing to New Zealand cricket officials before their decision not to play their Kenyan World Cup match but did not warn them to stay away.”At the request of the British High Commission in Nairobi an (US) embassy security officer gave New Zealand (officials) a standard security briefing,” embassy spokesman Peter Clausen said.Nairobi British High Commission spokesman Mark Norton said his mission had not advised the Kiwis to stay away.”Our position (on security in Kenya) is encapsulated in our travel advisory … We advise British nationals to exercise vigilance in public places. We do not advise, I repeat, we do not advise people not to come to Kenya,” Norton added.Kenya was urging the New Zealand cricket team to reconsider its decision.But Al-Qaeda stands accused of engineering two deadly terrorist attacks in Kenya, last year and in 1998.Meanwhile, it’s been revealed Zimbabwe was home to an active Al-Qaeda cell planning attacks on Westerners.Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph today said a US Government report detailed a plan by Tablik Ja’maat, an Al-Qaeda-linked group of militant extremists, to attack US targets in Zimbabwe if war is declared on Iraq.Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill announced today 450 members of the Royal Australian Air Force would be deployed to the Middle East within weeks to prepare for the potential war on Iraq.Earlier this month, HMAS Kanimbla, with about 350 personnel aboard, left Sydney for the Persian Gulf.Australia is set to play in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe on February 24.

Sri Lanka are looking to blood their reserve fast bowlers in their Saturday clash with West Indies, whose eyes are focused on their crucial game with Zimbabwe the following day that will decide the second qualifier for the LG Abans triangular series final.The result tomorrow is irrelevant for Sri Lanka and not crucial for West Indies, although a win would make them favourites to qualify for the final, as should they then lose to Zimbabwe, they would still be protected by a superior net run rate.For Sri Lanka, it’s a perfect chance to groom their inexperienced players. Chaminda Vaas have a few niggles so he will step down and off-spinner Kumar Dharmasena is also expected to be rested.Prabath Nissanka and Charitha Buddika Fernando, both of whom impressed in Sharjah, although Nissanka was wayward at times, will come into the side, which will weaken the lower order batting."We are thinking of giving a couple of the youngsters a chance. This is a good time to groom the youngsters for the future, like we did in Sharjah," said Jayasuriya after a light training session in the morning."But we also have to careful, we still want to win the game because we could be playing West Indies in the final, so we can’t make too many changes."West Indies, buoyed by their recent win against Sri Lanka, are hoping that they have turned the corner on a difficult tour."There is nothing like winning and we hadn’t won a game at all till then, so the win has helped a whole lot," said Hooper, who had peppered the boundary during an aggressive midday net. "But we also realise that match is history now and that tomorrow, we start afresh."But West Indies are concentrating on Sunday, raising the possibility of a couple of changes and the potential inclusion of the one-day specialists, who are yet to play a game."We haven’t won much against Sri Lanka this tour but we did last match and it would be great if we could do it again. However, although we would like to win both games, the most important game is against Zimbabwe on Sunday."Both matches will be played at the Asgiriya International Stadium in Kandy where the groundsman has prepared a brown flat wicket that promises plenty of runs.Indeed, the last time a one-day game was played here, Sri Lanka blasted a world record of 398 for five against Kenya in the 1996 world cup.Sri Lanka (likely):Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Avishka Gunawardene, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Chandana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Charitha Buddika Fernando, Prabath NissankaWest Indies (from):Carl Hooper (capt), Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Neil McGarrell, Corey Colleymore, Pedro Collins, Jermaine Lawson, Ricardo Powell, Daren Brown, Ryan Hinds

SYDNEY, Jan 3 AAP – A bout of chicken pox failed to prevent veteran Alec Stewart from pressing on with England’s strong start in the fifth Ashes Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.At lunch on the second day, the tourists were 7-341 on the back of Stewart’s impressive 71 from 86 deliveries after he was diagnosed with the illness yesterday.He took to the depleted Australian attack, hitting 11 fours today, giving him a total of 15 for the innings after he resumed on a score of 20.In contrast, John Crawley made slow progress, taking 40 minutes to move off his overnight score of six.He was 22 not out at lunch with Andy Caddick unbeaten on four.Andy Bichel made the break through for Australia when he bowled Stewart shortly before lunch.Ahead of the break, Bichel also squeezed in the wicket of Richard Dawson, caught behind by Adam Gilchrist for just two.Stewart’s knock drove him past Geoff Boycott as England’s third highest Test run scorer with 8,149 runs behind Graham Gooch (8,900) and David Gower (8,231).

We live in the visual age. So it comes as no surprise that the Doordarshan programming schedule for the month has put off VVS Laxman’s comeback to first-class cricket by a day.A fully-fit Laxman, the captain of the Rest of India side for the Irani Trophy clash against Ranji champions Baroda, will take the field on October 13 instead of October 12.BCCI executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar said in Mumbai that the match was postponed by a day to ensure that Doordarshan had no problems in showing the match live to the millions of cricket lovers in every nook and cranny of India.Heavy showers in Pune have also seen the match being relocated to Nagpur.The Irani Trophy is the domestic season opener. VK Ramaswamy of Hyderabad and Vijay Chopra of Delhi are the two umpires for the four-day match that will end on October 17. Bhagwandas Suthar of Madhya Pradesh will be the match-referee.Laxman has only recently recovered from a knee injury that he sustained during India’s tour of Sri Lanka. The Irani trophy match will be important for him as it will help him prepare for the upcoming Test series against South Africa.Rest Of India (from):VVS Laxman (Captain), Akash Chopra, Rahul Sanghvi, Vinayak Mane, Dinesh Mongia, Sarandeep Singh, Yere Gowda, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Debasish Mohanty, Ajay Ratra, Salab Srivastava, Tinnu Yohannan, Surindra SinghBaroda (from):Connor Williams (Captain), Satyajit Parab, Nayan Mongia (w.k.), Tushar Arothe,Himanshu Jadhav, Rakesh Solanki, Rakesh Patel, Irfan Pathan Jr., Irfan Pathan Sr., Umang Patel, Milap Mewada, Hrishikesh Parab, Harkid Parmar. Vinit Wadkar(Coach)

Largely thanks to Shafiq Khan’s gritty innings of 95, Haryana reacheda total of 275/8 by the close of play on the first day of their RanjiTrophy league match against Services at Faridabad.Winning the toss, Haryana’s captain Parender Sharma opted to bat.Three wickets fell for 59 before opener Chetan Sharma (73) and Shafiqstabilised the innings. Sharma departed with the score on 124, butShafiq put up solid stands with Ajay Ratra and S Vidyut, fallingfinally with the score on 270.At stumps, Haryana were 275/8, with Sumit Narwal and Amit Mishraunbeaten on three and one respectively.For Services, Sudhakar Ghag picked up four wickets for 72 runs,bowling a marathon 35 overs in the day. Hari Prasad took 3-101.

Andrew Caddick has announced that he will play no more one-day international cricket. The 34-year-old Somerset opening bowler, who led England’s attack in the World Cup, intends to concentrate on Test cricket this season.Caddick’s four-wicket haul against Australia enabled England to come closer than anyone else to beating the eventual champions, in a match that has turned out to be his swansong in limited-overs internationals.”It’s always difficult to make a decision like this, especially when you’ve had a long career,” Caddick said today. “I’m still involved in the Test side – but as far as one-day cricket is concerned it’s time to call it a day.”Playing for England in the World Cup in South Africa was a high point in my career, but I will not be around for the next one and my stepping down will create an opportunity for a younger bowler to cement his place in the one-day side.”I’ve had some great moments. Coming through to beat Pakistan at Cape Town was probably a highlight – but unfortunately the game against Australia didn’t go our way. But that’s one-day cricket – nothing is decided until the final ball is bowled.”Caddick has played in 54 one-day internationals in a career spanning almost exactly ten years. He ended with 69 wickets and an economy rate of a shade over four runs an over. His retirement will certainly be welcomed at Taunton, as Somerset’s chief executive Peter Anderson has already made clear.”Somerset will back any decision Andy makes,” Anderson said today. “He has been a fantastic cricketer for England and still has a lot to offer in Test Match cricket. Somerset will obviously benefit from his decision and I am sure that Andy would wish to add to his already impressive figures for Somerset before he retires from the game fully.”Caddick also offered his thoughts on the likely candidates to fill another vacancy in England’s one-day set-up.”There are players in the form of Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick – and there’s even talk of Adam Hollioake coming in. All three are capable of taking on the captaincy. I’m glad Nasser hasn’t thrown away the Test captaincy, because I think he’s one of the best to take on the job for England.”Caddick’s retirement comes at the end of an exhausting winter with England, whose World Cup campaign followed their defeat in the Ashes series in Australia.”It’s been solid for the last 12 months, he said. “International teams are playing a lot more cricket, and so winters will be a lot longer for the players. I’ve done nothing for three weeks – which is nice – but I start training again on Monday, so it’s back into the old grind and slogging away.”England will now go into their next one-day international against Pakistan in mid-June with a different lead fast bowler as well as a new captain.

Chris Cairns acknowledged before flying out to Australia to join the CLEAR Black Caps today that the prospect of taking on the world champions had hastened his recovery from knee surgery.Cairns did not fly to Australia with the team in order to complete his rehabilitation with matches in Christchurch for the New Zealand Academy team against Otago and the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy.”It is fair to say that if it wasn’t Australia my return may have taken a little longer.”But the challenge of taking on the best in the world is too great,” he said.”It’s always a battle over there. You cop so much, not only from their crowds but from the television. It is a real mental battle.”Cairns, whose last significant act in cricket was to score the match-winning century against India that saw New Zealand claim the ICC KnockOut in Nairobi a year ago this week, had surgery on his right knee after Christmas last year. It is the second time he has had knee surgery.The previous occasion in the mid-1990s was on his left knee and the advances in medical technology and rehabilitation techniques have been reflected in his recovery this time.”Last time it was almost a year to a year and a half before I was back to normal.”But this time it has been six to eight months. And that has to be a credit to the time and energy put in by Warren Frost [New Zealand’s fitness advisor]. I’ve been out to Lincoln three or four times a week and it has been great having someone to train with and to push me,” Cairns said.He was unable to quantify a figure on how close to peak fitness he was. But he felt ready for action, if a little underdone, something he hopes to put right before the first Test starts in Brisbane on November 8.Cairns’ ability as an all-rounder is a key asset for Stephen Fleming as New Zealand lines up against the toughest opposition in the game. He is the most experienced player in the side against the Australians since first playing them as an 18-year-old in Perth in 1989.It is a reflection of the injury problems he has endured in his career that his next Test appearance will be his 50th. He is already New Zealand’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests with 171 wickets while a productive summer with the bat could shoot him into the top 10 of New Zealand’s all-time Test run scorers.Cairns said the key aspect of playing the Australians was to have the mental side of your game in shape.”Persistence will be the big thing for us there. We have to try and stay with them. They won’t be beaten in three or four days, but if we are there on the fifth we could have a chance.”Telegraphing that intent to the Australians would result in pressure going on from the outset of Tests.”But we have to absorb that and frustrate them,” he said.While most attention has been on his bowling recovery, Cairns said he felt he was hitting the ball well.”Though I won’t get as many loose balls over there. The runs/ball ratio won’t be so good,” he said.Cairns did say that the warmer weather in Australia would be a boost for his bowling, and he had no qualms that New Zealand had not been given a Test match in the golden triangle, of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.The last time New Zealand played a Test on any of those grounds was in 1987.”It doesn’t worry me. Brisbane has the best wicket in Australia while at Perth it slides through nicely and Hobart is more like New Zealand conditions. Personally, I’m quite happy with where we are playing,” he said.

ARUNDEL, England – First Test certainties Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist,Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath have been omitted from theAustralian cricket team to play an MCC XI in a three-day match startingat Arundel, England, tomorrow.Michael Slater, Justin Langer, Simon Katich and Colin Miller will maketheir first appearances of the English summer after missing selectionfor the limited overs tri-series.Reserve wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe has also been given a run.Waugh, Gilchrist, Ponting, Lee and McGrath are certain to play againstEssex at Chelmsford in another three-day fixture, starting Friday.The first Test between Australia and England for the Ashes starts onJuly 5 at Edgbaston.The team is: Steve Waugh (c), Michael Slater, Matthew Hayden, JustinLanger, Damien Martyn, Simon Katich, Wade Seccombe, Shane Warne, ColinMiller, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie.