Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opener, has said the home team respects India but are not in awe of them any more

Sriram Veera in Mirpur23-Jan-2010Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opener, has said the home team respects India but are not in awe of them any more. He also said that Bangladesh were slowly learning how to play Test cricket and their improvement would be evident the more quality opposition they played.”Previously, you used to feel you are playing Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and were in awe. Now, we just play each other as other players,” he said on the eve of the second Test. “That is one of the positives and an improvement. The main factor for this turnaround in attitude is the coach Jamie Siddons. We truly believe in him. He was the main guy in changing the attitude. And obviously the more the matches we play, [the] better our cricket gets.”Certain sections of the media have been playing up the sledging issue – Mushfiqur Rahim had said he was called a “school boy” by the Indians in Chittagong – but Tamim sought to clarify his stand on the issue. “Let me make it clear that it’s just part of the game,” he said. “Both teams have a great relationship with each other and we get along very well off the field.”Tamim said he was learning and enjoying the challenge of playing Test cricket. “In ODIs, you can survive but in Tests need you to be on top of the game. It’s a great challenge. I am a batsman who likes to bat less balls for more runs. And I am trying to change that for Tests. I am concentrating on batting long and I know if I stay there, runs will come.”Tamim got starts in both the innings of the first Test, but was done in by an incutter from Zaheer Khan in the first innings and edged an expansive drive in the second off Sehwag. “It was interesting. I always used to keep talking to myself just before I bat. It’s a routine,” he said on his learning curve. “The one ball I didn’t do that, I got out. It’s a matter of focus and concentration. I played 122 ball … one ball I didn’t say anything I got out. I like to attack the loose deliveries and its a matter of getting the balance right. I am learning and soon I will get it right. I really want to do well in Test cricket.”Tamim was also asked about the Bangladesh Cricket Board president’s views that the players lacked commitment, but he chose to remain silent on the issue. “No comments. I really wouldn’t want to say anything on that. Let’s talk about something else.”He also rallied behind Shariar Nafees and Mohammad Ashraful who have been struggling for runs. “Nafees is just coming back after a long time. Its always difficult to come back. He needs some time. Ashraful too is a very good player. He has hit five hundreds and he will score very soon.”Tamim felt that if Bangladesh did not commit the mistakes they did in the first Test, they can expect a positive result in the second. “We are an inexperienced Test side and we are learning,” he said. “Some days our batting clicks, some days our bowling clicks. We have to get more consistent.”

The former Pakistan batsman, has said Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik deserved to be “kicked out of the team” in the wake of their comments to the media

Cricinfo staff15-Feb-2010Mudassar Nazar, the former Pakistan batsman, has said Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik deserved to be “kicked out of the team” in the wake of their comments to the media following their forgettable tour of Australia. Nazar said the two senior players – who already have a fractious history – should never have gone public about the turbulent dressing-room atmosphere and suggest that that their own relationship had turned sour again.Yousuf, who took over as captain for the tours of New Zealand and Australia, told a television channel that one player was responsible for disrupting
the team unity on tour but stopped short of naming the player, preferring to reveal it to the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. Malik, the former captain, widely regarded as the target of Yousuf’s remarks, hit back
by questioning Yousuf’s leadership abilities. This occurred after the team was whitewashed in all matches against Australia.”The Yousuf and Malik feud has been simmering for a while” Nazar told in Dubai. “Yousuf was very active in the press and he has had a go at Malik and other players too quite a few times in the past. The slanging match that has now taken place before us all has, in my opinion, been started by Yousuf and now Malik has responded too.”Both of the players are under central contracts and should not have been allowed to behave in such a way in front of the whole world. Yousuf should not have been allowed to go on television and give such an interview and Malik should not have gone to the press like this in response to Yousuf’s comments”.Nazar said their behaviour will be a bad influence on the younger players and wanted them to be punished. “What sort of an example are Yousuf and Malik giving to the younger players with this sort of behaviour? We have already seen the likes of Umar Akmal misbehaving and if others see Malik and Yousuf carrying on like this, then they themselves will think it is fine to behave like this. Both Malik and Yousuf should be taken to task by the board, they should be made an example of and kicked out of the team”.The PCB, which has set up a six-member committee to look into the reasons behind the team’s failure in the two tours, had questioned both Yousuf and Malik on Saturday, besides coach Intikhab Alam, assistant coach Aaqib Javed and opener Salman Butt. It had began work on Friday by interviewing Shahid Afridi and the team manager Abdur Raqueeb.However, Nazar disapproved of the idea of setting up such committees. “The committee will achieve absolutely nothing. We have seen these committees set up before and there is a lot of talk, but nothing materialises from these”.Nazar also took a shot at Ijaz Butt, saying the PCB also didn’t handle the situation well. “What is really mystifying is that Ijaz Butt has given Shoaib Malik the nod of approval to respond in the press to Yousuf’s comments. Butt should not have done this and this has made the situation even worse”.Nazar, who played 76 Tests and 122 ODIs, has coached in Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy and is now with the ICC’s Global Cricket Academy in Dubai. He said he wasn’t interested in coaching Pakistan, if offered the chance.”The job is not for me, thank you very much. I would never do the job in future. I believe they are looking for a foreign coach and good luck to the person who takes on the role. In my opinion only a desperate man would take on the role”.

Northern Districts secured their place against Auckland in the finals of the one-day competition with an 83-run win over Central Districts

Cricinfo staff17-Feb-2010Powered by fifties to Kane Williamson and Daniel Flynn, defending champions Northern Districts secured their place against Auckland in the finals of the one-day competition with an 83-run win over Central Districts in Whangarei. Having suffered defeat to Auckland in a one-sided contest last week, ND got their act together and will hope to repeat this success over Auckland when they take on the hosts in the final on February 21.Jamie How’s decision to field did not go to plan. Flynn, out of favour with New Zealand’s selectors, got ND’s innings off to a 72-run start alongside Michael Parlane (27), and when joined by Williamson set about forging a match-winning partnership. The pair put on 112 with Williamson the dominant partner. Flynn’s dismissal for 81 from 101 balls at 172 for 2 was followed by a period where CD’s bowlers took three wickets for 56 runs, including dismissing Williamson for a 98-ball 84, but James Marshall and Peter McGlashan finished the innings strongly. The last two overs cost 25 as ND finished on 284 for 6.How came out blazing and helped CD reply with a 72-run stand of their own, with George Worker’s 53-ball 21 holding up one end. But the pair was separated within five runs of each other, How following Worker for 51 from 41 balls. Bradley Scott and Anton Devcich kept the pressure on the middle and lower orders – CD slipped from 103 for 3 in the 24th over to 136 for 6 by the 34th – and there was only further resistance from Mathew Sinclair; one he was bowled by Scott for 54 at 180 for 7 the rest of the innings folded for 201.

The IPL will unveil its two new franchises on Sunday in what is expected to be the latest indication of the league’s financial strength and marketing savvy

Nagraj Gollapudi06-Mar-2010The IPL will unveil its two new franchises on Sunday in what is expected to be the latest indication of the league’s financial strength and marketing savvy. The bidders’ identities have not been made public but Cricinfo understands there are between eight and 12 investors who have met the various conditions and are prepared to start bidding at $225 million, with the bids expected to touch $300 million.That base price is more than four times the value set in January 2008, when the original eight franchises were auctioned, and reflects the IPL’s appeal to business investors. Other terms and conditions are similarly stringent – all bidders have to stump up a returnable deposit of $100 million before the bid, as against the $5 million (approximately) stipulated in 2008.That is intended to keep out frivolous bidding, Lalit Modi, the IPL’s chairman, said. “We put a high-end clause for entry to people, asking them to give $100 million guarantee in advance because we need to get solid companies,” Modi told Cricinfo. “This business requires a long gestation period and that is the reason we want to secure ourselves. The BCCI always secures itself.”Less clear at this stage is the procedure once the bid is won. In 2008, the eight new franchise owners had to pay 10% of the winning bid amount up front; reports suggest those successful on Sunday will have to produce a bank guarantee for the entire bid amount within seven days. “That’s speculation,” Modi said. “That is not the case. There are numerous conditions and you can qualify under any conditions.”Another reported condition became the subject of controversy on Friday when Priyadarshan, an award-winning film director, claimed bidders had been asked to furnish a bank guarantee of $1 billion.The IPL has softened its stance a little by retaining the discretion to change the bank guarantee amount for the winning bidder. But people already in the IPL business back the organisers’ decision to set steep conditions. “It is a stiff condition and may be the intention is to get only a certain number of bids since only two franchises are up for stake,” an official of an existing franchise said.The willingness of investors to invest big money, especially in the current economic climate, is all the more surprising given that, as franchise owners, they get no fixed assets. The costs are high, as one cricket-related businessman explained. “On annual basis the winning bidder would have to spend to the tune of about 200 crore (US$44m), considering the base price is itself $225m for 10 years which works out to a minimum of $22.5m annually, which is about 100 crores. If the bid is won at a higher amount, say about $300m then the annual payment climbs up by 30-40 crores. You then add the various costs of running the team you will need to spend about 200 crores,” he said.Also, the franchises will almost certainly be based in relatively small markets – the metros and bigger cities already have teams. The favourites to be host cities for the two new franchises are Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Pune and Nagpur.Signs of the IPL’s growing net worth were evident in February 2009 when Rajasthan Royals, the then IPL champions, sold a 11.7% stake in their franchise for approximately US$15.4 million. That put the valuation of the franchise at around $140m, more than double the $67m paid for it a year previously.

Brett Lee, the Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, will miss the rest of the IPL and return to Australia after breaking his right thumb during the victory against Mumbai Indians on April 9

Cricinfo staff15-Apr-2010Brett Lee, the Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, will miss the rest of the IPL and return to Australia after breaking his right thumb during the victory against Mumbai Indians on April 9. The latest setback jeopardises Lee’s participation in the upcoming World Twenty20 tournament.”It is unfortunate that Brett Lee has to leave the tournament due to a fractured thumb,” said Kumar Sangakkara, the captain of Punjab, who said he hoped Lee would not miss the World Twenty20. “I hope not as we know he is a world-class performer and we would like him to be back fit soon.”Lee had just returned from elbow surgery in December and went wicketless in four IPL games, increasing the concerns over his ability to return to top-level action. Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, was hopeful Lee will be part of the squad for the side’s entry into the competition early next month.”All we can do is wait and see how it reacts over the next four or five days before we have our camp and head off to the West Indies,” Nielsen told the Age on Wednesday. “Hopefully it will heal, and the scans and things he’s having at the moment will show exactly the nature of the damage and what the likelihood of him playing is.”Lee’s agent, Neil Maxwell, however felt the fast bowler shouldn’t rush his comeback. ”While it would be wonderful for him to be able to play in it, I don’t think the Twenty20 World Cup is the be-all and end-all,” Maxwell told the same paper. “Brett has constantly rushed to get back into things because of timing, and whenever he has had a good break he’s come back firing on eight cylinders. I’d rather him be at 100% when he plays for his country.”

Middlesex enjoyed their first win of the County Championship Division Two campaign as an unbeaten century from Dawid Malan secured a three-wicket triumph over Sussex at Hove

08-May-2010
ScorecardMiddlesex enjoyed their first win of the County Championship Division Two campaign as an unbeaten century from Dawid Malan secured a three-wicket triumph over Sussex at Hove. Malan struck the winning runs in the fourth over after lunch to reach his second hundred of the season, the 22-year-old left-hander reaching his ton off 173 balls with 15 fours.Sussex stay on top of the division despite suffering their first defeat after four successive wins, and they will be disappointed not to have extended their winning run having had Middlesex on the ropes at 78 for 5 yesterday in pursuit of 243 for victory.The game was effectively won in the first hour today as Malan and Gareth Berg added 83 in 17 overs as they took full advantage of some wayward bowling. Both Rana Naved, who was also plagued by over-stepping as Sussex conceded 37 extras, and Corey Collymore struggled for rhythm and when skipper Murray Goodwin turned to left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, his four overs cost 30 runs.It included a horrible full toss which Malan pulled out of the ground and into an adjoining garden for six, forcing the umpires to change the ball.
The sixth-wicket pair had put on 127 in 31 overs when Robin Martin-Jenkins gave Sussex a glimmer of hope as he had Berg leg before playing across the line to claim his sixth wicket of the match and 22nd of the season, only one fewer than he managed throughout 2009.Malan and former Sussex player Tom Smith added a further 17 runs before Smith was athletically taken down the leg side by Matt Prior off James Anyon, who had just been brought back into the attack.Middlesex needed 21 runs at that stage and Sussex’s last hope of victory effectively went when Michael Thornely, diving to his left at extra cover, put down a difficult chance offered by Tim Murtagh when he was on six.Middlesex were unable to finish the game off before lunch, but Malan hit the first ball after the break from Panesar to the boundary to relieve the tension in the visitors’ dressing room before finding a gap on the leg side to win the game with a single and compete his century.

Kruger van Wyk, the Canterbury wicketkeeper and former captain, will represent Central Districts in the next domestic season

Cricinfo staff11-Jun-2010Kruger van Wyk, the Canterbury wicketkeeper and former captain, will represent Central Districts in the next domestic season. van Wyk, who captained Canterbury for almost three years, and led them to victory in the State Championship in 2008, is South African-born and represented the South African Board President’s XI in 2001-02.”I have enjoyed my time with Canterbury immensely and I am very grateful to Canterbury Cricket for providing me the initial opportunity to further my cricket career,” van Wyk, 30, said. “No longer being captain of Canterbury enables me to focus on my ambition to play international cricket and moving to Central Districts will provide me with a fresh start and the opportunity to pursue this goal. I am looking forward to new challenges with my new association.”In 83 first-class games van Wyk averages 35.02, with his highest score being an unbeaten 178. Behind the stumps, he’s grabbed 249 catches and 13 stumpings. His List A record with the bat is better, with an average of 43 in 102 games. He’s taken 111 catches and effected 14 stumpings in the same format.

Jamie Siddons has witnessed plenty of disappointing days in his three years as Bangladesh coach, so he was in a phlegmatic mood as he assessed the damage done to their prospects on the first day of the Lord’s Test

Andrew Miller at Lord's27-May-2010Jamie Siddons has witnessed plenty of disappointing days in his three years as Bangladesh coach, so he was in a phlegmatic mood as he assessed the damage done to their prospects on the first day of the Lord’s Test. A close score of 362 for 4 was not as grim as it had threatened to be at one stage when Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott were in full flow, but once again, he was left to rue the inexperience of his young attack.”We wanted to bowl in good areas, put some pressure on the batsmen, and make them make some mistakes. But I don’t think they had to take any risks today,” said Siddons. “We didn’t put enough balls in the right spot. We probably bowled eight maidens for the day and in Test cricket that’s nowhere near good enough. I think our fast bowlers really let the side down today.”Bangladesh’s hopes of competing had been given an early boost when Shakib Al Hasan won the toss under heavy cloud cover, and chose to bowl – a decision that not only gave his team a chance to push for early breakthroughs but also spared his batsmen the prospect of facing James Anderson and Steven Finn on a zippy surface. But by mid-afternoon, all such help from the heavens had gone, and all that remained was a long hot day of toil.”I guess looking out at the ground half an hour into the game, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for batting,” said Siddons. “The ball didn’t swing as much as we thought, or maybe the bowlers didn’t stand the ball up on the seam as much as they should have, and it went downhill from there pretty much.”The skill to put the ball in the right areas often enough, under the pressure of a Test match at Lord’s or just a Test match against England over here, it was very difficult for them. A couple of their batsmen made mistakes and gave us a few wickets, and you end with four for a lot of runs at the end of the day.”Of the three-man pace attack, only Shadahat Hossain had played at Lord’s before, having toured as a rookie back in 2005, while Robiul Islam was making his Test debut. “I’m sure they weren’t trying to bowl half-volleys and short balls outside off-stump but they certainly bowled a lot of them,” said Siddons. “Look, two wickets in a hurry tomorrow, work hard for the rest, bat well in the first innings, and you never know. But we are a long way back.”Siddons was impressed, however, with the discipline shown by Trott, who had endured a tough tour of Bangladesh, where accidents and anxieties curtailed most of his innings before they had been fully formed. “He was really patient, but the bowling was quite poor today,” he said. “He didn’t try to step up the pace at all but he’s still ended up with 175 at the end of the day.”Good on him for persevering, sticking at it and making sure he was still there at the end of the day. I thought he batted really well.”Bangladesh’s main threat, once again, came from their captain, Shakib Al Hasan, who has been suffering from chicken pox and only resumed full training earlier this week. “He’s a bit tired, he’s still recovering and trying to get his energy back from his illness,” said Siddons. “But he’ll be right tomorrow to go again.”

Shahid Afridi felt the big plus from the matches so far was the united dressing room, unlike on some of Pakistan’s recent tours

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla20-Jun-2010For the second time in this Asia Cup, Pakistan went down after running the
opposition close. Defeat against India eliminated them from the competition and
stretched their losing streak to nine, just one short of their worst run,
which came in 1987-88.Their captain, Shahid Afridi, remained optimistic that the team would soon
turn the corner. Pakistan came into the competition after a fresh round of
churning in their set-up, with recalls for hard-to-manage players like
Shoaib Malik and Shoaib Akhtar. Afridi felt the big plus from the matches
so far was the united dressing room, unlike on some of Pakistan’s recent
tours.”The state from which we are emerging, a new captain, some new players,
keeping that in mind, this is a good improvement,” Afridi said after the
match, praising his players for their effort. “Hopefully the results will
also start to improve. Consistency is not there in our performance, we
showed a fighting spirit as a team, there was a unity on display, these
are good signs.”Another bonus for Pakistan was the fitness of Shoaib, who looked
less haggard than in the tournament opener, and delivered a testing spell
to the Indian openers. Afridi felt Shoaib’s workload needed to be
carefully monitored to extend his career. “Shoaib bowled well in the first
spell with the new ball,” he said. “I think he can prolong his career till
the 2011 World Cup, because we are playing a lot of Test cricket before
that and I’m not giving him a chance against every team; like the game
against Bangladesh day after tomorrow, he is resting.”Pakistan’s tried out yet another opening combination against India,
bringing in Imran Farhat for youngster Shahzaib Hasan, to partner
vice-captain Salman Butt. The pair saw off the new ball, adding 71 in the
process, and with No. 3 Shoaib Malik picking off the singles with ease,
Pakistan looked set for a bigger score than the 267 they ended up with.”The sort of start we got, we should have scored somewhere between 280 and
290,”Afridi said. “But they bowled well, especially their fast bowlers.”Afridi explained the rationale for bringing back Farhat after giving Shahzaib
only one chance. “Early on it’s not easy to attack on this wicket, Shahzaib
is an aggressive player and has to change his game a lot here. I thought
Farhat is more of a straight-bat player who takes his time, so we went
with him.”After the dead rubber against Bangladesh on Monday, Pakistan embark on a
taxing assignment in England, where they have full series against the hosts
and Australia. “There is some tough cricket coming up, we will be playing
Test cricket after a while, the problems of the past are not there
anymore, and we are playing as a unit, let’s see how it goes.”

Ajmal Shahzad marked his selection in the England Test squad with a four-wicket haul as Yorkshire Carnegie maintained their 100% winning record in the Clydesdale Bank 40 League with an eight-wicket win over Middlesex Panthers

25-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Ajmal Shahzad celebrated his inclusion in the England Test squad with four wickets•PA Photos

Ajmal Shahzad marked his selection in the England Test squad with a four-wicket haul as Yorkshire Carnegie maintained their 100% winning record in the Clydesdale Bank 40 League with an eight-wicket win over Middlesex Panthers.The 24-year-old, selected in the 12-man Test squad to face Pakistan on Thursday, took 4 for 34 as Yorkshire coasted to a comfortable victory. Shahzad’s efforts together with a fine unbeaten innings of 86 by Jacques Rudolph means Yorkshire top Group B with five wins from as many games.Middlesex, who won the toss and elected to bat, were never really in the game after losing three wickets in the opening nine overs. The initial breakthrough came from only the eighth ball of the afternoon when Shahzad enticed Scott Newman to edge an attempted drive and Jonathan Bairstow claimed a simple catch.Neil Dexter was the next to go when, after hitting five boundaries in a promising 25, he tried to lift Tim Bresnan over the top but only managed the find Steve Patterson at mid-on. Bresnan, a surprise omission from the England Test squad when it was announced earlier today, then claimed his second wicket after Owais Shah had made an ill-fated attempt at hooking a short delivery for Bairstow to again take the catch behind the stumps.With Middlesex struggling on 38 for three, Dawid Malan and Gareth Berg stabilised the innings by adding 61 runs in 15.4 overs before Malan was dismissed for 28 when the left-hander flicked a flighted delivery from David Wainwright to Richard Pyrah.After that, wickets fell on a regular basis with Bairstow collecting his third catch as John Simpson edged an Adil Rashid delivery. A poorly-executed sweep from Gareth Berg saw the South African top-edge Wainwright to Andrew Gale before Tom Scollay, after hitting a useful 32 from 18 deliveries, was bowled by Shahzad.The 24-year-old then claimed the wickets of Tom Smith and Shaun Udal in the final over as Middlesex finished on 183 for 9. Yorkshire enjoyed a fine start with Gale and Rudolph helping the visitors reach 50 in 10.4 overs.The century stand duly followed 10 overs later before Middlesex finally made a breakthrough when Gale was stumped by Simpson to give Australian Scollay his first wicket in English domestic cricket. Adam Lyth then offered a return catch to Pedro Collins on 34 but Yorkshire would not be denied as Rudolph pushed on to finish unbeaten on 86 and ensure the visitors won with 18 balls to spare.