All posts by csb10.top

Match facts

June 18-22, 2010
Start time 10.00am (14.00GMT)

Big Picture

Will Darren Bravo make his Test debut and make a difference to an under-performing middle order?•AFP

Seven games into the tour and West Indies still don’t know how to beat South Africa, irrespective of the format. This West Indies team is a pale shadow of the one that fought bravely in Australia just a few months ago. Injuries to key players like Ramnaresh Sarwan and Fidel Edwards may have pegged their fortunes back a bit, but unfortunately, the other senior players look a deflated bunch. The intimidation from Chris Gayle is missing, so is the stodgy resistance from Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Their capitulation for 102 in the first Test at Trinidad was a sorry sight, after their bowlers did a decent job to restrict South Africa to 352. Nelon Pascal is not a batsman, but his dismissal in both innings – attempting a one-legged Caribbean style hoick – was a comical, yet depressing sight if you were a West Indies supporter. Besides him, the specialists at the top were out bowled shouldering arms, Narsingh Deonarine’s first-innings dismissal a case in point. Such shots don’t give confidence that the team is out there to fight it out.Despite that abject display, an unchanged team was named for the second Test. With the A team away in England, there wouldn’t have been a large pool of players to pick from. The best they can do is to slot batsmen in positions they’re more familiar with. Given their poor form, a draw at St Kitts will be as good as a victory. For inspiration, they need to run tapes of the Adelaide Test late last year when Chris Gayle carried his bat in the second innings to put his team in front.South Africa on the hand have fewer worries and credit should go to the way Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel have forged such a deadly combination with the new ball. The slow pitches in the Caribbean haven’t made them any less lethal. They showed what the home side lacked – bowlers with raw pace. The visitors, apart from catching up with the World Cup action at home, also celebrated their national youth day by coaching youngsters at a clinic at Warner Park.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

West Indies LLDLL
South Africa WLWWD

Watch out for…

Chris Gayle: The West Indies captain was talked about at length during the one-dayers on how his performances have a direct influence on the way the team plays. If he fires, the side’s uplifted, but if he doesn’t, the rest throw in the towel. Ideally, at least one among the others in the middle order will have to put his hand up and cover the slack. If Gayle has to show more responsibility, he can adopt a change in approach and shed his attacking instincts a bit. If he minimises the risks, he can bat longer and drop anchor, allowing the rest to bat around him. The Adelaide Test is an example of the recent past. Gayle has done it before and now it’s his chance to lead by example.Paul Harris: His role in Trinidad was made redundant with Steyn and Morkel hogging most of the wickets. He was preferred to Johan Botha for the Test, despite not being in sparkling form in the last few Tests. If the pitch takes turn, Harris could play an important role. Coach Corrie van Zyl identified some technical problems in Harris’ action and said he would work on it to help him get more turn.

Team news

Kemar Roach, probably the fastest bowler in the region, was retained after missing the first game and the assumption is he has recovered from an ankle injury. If he’s fit, he should walk in, replacing either Pascal or Ravi Rampaul. The under-performing middle order will worry West Indies, so there’s a chance for Darren Bravo to come in place of probably Deonarine. Brendan Nash could be pushed down the order to No.5, where he’s more comfortable.West Indies (likely) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Travis Dowlin, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Darren Bravo/Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Brendan Nash, 6 Dwayne Bravo (vice-capt), 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Sulieman Benn, 9 Shane Shillingford, 10 and 11 two among Ravi Rampaul/Kemar Roach/Nelon PascalSouth Africa are likely to play the same team. van Zyl said Harris will not be replaced by any other spinner.South Africa (likely) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Hashim Amla, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Paul Harris, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Pitch and conditions

The short boundaries at Warner Park could lead to a high-scoring Test, if the pitch is conducive enough. Rain intervened in Trinidad and showers are forecast for St Kitts too.

Stats and Trivia

• This venue has hosted only one Test so far, between West Indies and India in 2006. Centuries by Daren Ganga and Sarwan took West Indies to 581 and the bowlers put India under pressure, restricting India to below the follow-on target. West Indies opted to bat on and the game drifted towards a draw.
• West Indies last beat South Africa in an international match in 2007, the Port Elizabeth Test. Since then, the losing streak stands at 17, across all formats.
• There are milestones to be achieved – Jacques Kallis needs another 89 for 11,000 Test runs, Graeme Smith another 88 for 7000 runs and Gayle another 73 for 6000 runs.

Quotes

“Before the first Test, we spoke about the fact that we were going to be tested, not having played Test cricket for quite a while. In a three-Test series the next match is just as crucial. We can’t afford to take our foot off the gas at all.”
Graeme Smith“The batsmen can improve and a few of those 50s and 60s should have been centuries. I was impressed, however, with the manner in which we fought back after losing three wickets late on the first afternoon.”
“We have to believe in ourselves and play good, hard cricket.We have to try and make the necessary adjustments for the next Test match.”

ScorecardStephen Peters fell one run short of what would have been the firstdouble-century of his career after batting for just over nine hours to putNorthamptonshire in a commanding position against Middlesex at Lord’s.He had faced 391 balls and hit 20 fours in the County Championship DivisionTwo match when he chipped a return catch to Shaun Udal, sprawling to his right. Peters looked crestfallen but he had done a great job for his side in sharing stands of 182 with Alex Wakely, 70 with Nicky Boje and 144 with his captain Andrew Hall.Hall went on to make 133 off 192 balls with 17 fours and when he declared at581 for 7, Northamptonshire’s highest score against Middlesex, they were 234ahead. Middlesex closed on 48 for the loss of Scott Newman.Northamptonshire had resumed at 280 for 4 in reply to Middlesex’s first innings347 and Peters and Boje added 50 in 14 overs before Boje pulled Pedro Collinsstraight to square leg. Peters, 115 overnight, was never in trouble as he went past his previoushighest score of 183 not out – scored in leading Northamptonshire to asix-wicket victory over Middlesex at Northampton in April – but he becameincreasingly tentative as he neared his milestone.In the end he could not get there but he had still made the highest score by aNorthamptonshire batsman against Middlesex and given Hall the perfect platformto build his first century of the season.David Murphy, a wicketkeeper-batsman from Loughborough University who isdeputising for the injured Niall O’Brien, joined him in a seventh-wicket standof 107. Murphy made an unbeaten 50, his highest score in the championship, off 87 ballsand by the time Hall was bowled driving at Pedro Collins Middlesex were indisarray.Udal, their captain, had his left hand strapped after splitting the webbingbetween his thumb and forefinger, and Gareth Berg, their newly-cappedall-rounder, was off the field with back trouble.No fewer than nine bowlers were used with only Udal himself and Collinsemerging with any credit and the fielding was so poor that there were jeers froma section of the small crowd. Their mood did not improve when Newman edged his third ball from Jack Brooks to first slip but at least Sam Robson and Owais Shah held out until the close.

Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka’s former captain and newly-appointed chairman of selectors, has singled out winning the World Cup in 2011 as his “primary responsibility” in his latest role. de Silva, who scored an unbeaten century to take Sri Lanka to their only World Cup win, in 1996 against Australia in Lahore, said the national team had to win some major tournaments in its preparation for the ultimate prize, admitted it needed improvement at the top of the order and defended the 40-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya, who had a forgettable World Twenty20.”My primary aim is to help Sri Lanka win another World Cup,” de Silva told reporters in Colombo. “I’ve wanted another team to win a World Cup so that the people of Sri Lanka have something to talk about.”The other members of the committee are Ranjit Fernando, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgerally. All four members have served in the capacity as selectors in previous committees.While acknowledging the need for the selectors to get the right combination ready for the World Cup, de Silva said a significant share of the responsibility had to come from the players. “A player must have the experience of having played in at least a minimum of 50 ODIs to be able to handle difficult situations when it comes to a World Cup,” he said. “We’ve got only nine months and to give a new player that amount of exposure is not adequate. We need to have some players with a mixture of experience and youth who can handle difficult situations. That’s our plan going forward to build up that combination.”For me this bunch of cricketers has talent and ability, we just need to put a few things right and win some major tournaments. To do that, a big part of the commitment and responsibility must come from the players.”While spelling out the areas Sri Lanka need to improve ahead of the World Cup, de Silva said: “The top of the batting order is a matter of concern. What we’ve realized is if the two openers fail we need someone to come and consolidate the innings. In a situation like that when we are looking around for options and if you can’t find suitable replacements then we are not prepared.”There has been plenty of criticism surrounding Jayasuriya’s performances in the recent past, with many calling on him to quit. de Silva, however, said Sri Lanka had to consider all options for the World Cup. “We know what Jayasuriya is capable of. We must have a proper replacement for every position. We have nine months to prepare for the World Cup and we have not discarded anyone so far and decided on the positions they should play.”You have to be fair to Sanath. He’s shown what he is capable of and he has performed over the years and done so much for the country. We should respect that. It’s fair that we look at every player the same way whether it is the youngest player or the most senior player. Anyone who gets out of hand which will affect the team, that is where when we will step in.”de Silva added the sports minister had given the selection committee an assurance that there won’t be any interference. “If he has any queries and if the people are questioning I am quite willing to listen to that and give them an opportunity and explain for what reasons we have taken certain decisions,” de Silva said.

Shoaib Akhtar, the controversial and injury-prone Pakistan fast bowler, has not given up hope of making an international comeback, assuring that his form and fitness in the ongoing RBS Pentangular one-day tournament in Karachi has been up to the mark. Shoaib was speaking after taking a match-winning 6 for 52 to guide Federal Areas Leopards to a convincing win against Khyber-Pakthunkhwa Panthers.Shoaib last played for Pakistan during the limited-overs series against Australia in the UAE last year. He was omitted for the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies later this month and got in trouble with the PCB for violating the terms of his central contract.”I am fit and bowling in rhythm,” Shoaib said. “I don’t want to live in the past. Now I am fit and playing and have proved my fitness. My performance has never been in doubt, so it’s now up to the selectors when they give me a chance.”Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s chief selector, said Shoaib could be considered for the trip to England if he continues to perform. “If he continues to play well regularly at the domestic and club level, and proves his fitness and form, he could be considered for the English tour,” Mohsin said. “We have not written him off completely. He should be grateful to the Pakistan Cricket Board that it has given him a chance to win back his place in the national team.”Shoaib attributed the below-par performances in his past few series to a persistent knee problem, which has been corrected through surgery. Also, the rise of Mohammad Aamer and the return of Mohammad Asif have pushed him further out of national reckoning. He has not played a Test for Pakistan since December 2007.”I have experience which is precious and my competition is only with myself,” Akhtar said. “I know I have suffered fitness problems but all fast bowlers suffer with that. I am still focused and want to play for Pakistan and finish on a high.”His first target is to get selected for the “home” series against Australia in England this summer, but his ultimate goal is to make it to the World Cup next year and hopefully play a big role in seeing his team go all the way.”I know the problems I have faced in my career, but the dream to feature in the final of the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai is still alive and I want to help Pakistan win the World Cup in a year’s time.”

Doug Bollinger, the Australian fast bowler, has been drafted in by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for the injured Jacob Oram, who was ruled out of the 2010 season of the IPL. Bollinger will join the team on April 5.Sundar Raman, the IPL’s chief executive, had confirmed the news on his Twitter page: “Doug Bollinger to debut for CSK, replaces injured Jacob Oram who is out for the entire series.” Bollinger’s inclusion will bolster Chennai’s bowling attack, which sorely lacked a genuine strike bowler during a disappointing start to their campaign.Oram suffered a patella tendon tear shortly after New Zealand’s home series against Australia began and was advised rest for up to a month. His participation in the IPL was in doubt, but the franchise chose to wait before taking a final call on his replacement.Bollinger, who came in to the Australian Test side in January 2009, has emerged as one of the team’s best strike bowlers in the last year. He had an outstanding 2009-10 home season, taking 25 wickets in five Tests, against West Indies and Pakistan. He also took 15 wickets in eight ODIs against the two teams and began the Test series in New Zealand with a five-for in Wellington.

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, is disappointed after his side’s embarrassing 26-run defeat against Zimbabwe in the Twenty20 game in Trinidad, but insisted that his side had not taken the opposition lightly.Zimbabwe were bowled out for 105, with Sulieman Benn taking 4 for 6 and Darren Sammy 5 for 26, but West Indies batsmen struggled to chase that modest target and were kept to 79 for 7. The loss was a poor beginning to Gibson’s tenure as West Indies coach.”I told them [the West Indies side], if you take the team for granted, you’ll get beat. I stand here before you to say we didn’t take them for granted, we planned for them,” Gibson told the .Gibson stressed on the strong bowling and fielding performance that preceded the batting failure that cost his side the match. “Sulieman Benn, Darren Sammy, Kemar Roach, they all bowled well. We fielded sharply, we dropped only one catch. We just didn’t bat well. The first thing is to realise what has gone wrong, and then deal with it.”Gibson was full of praise for Zimbabwe, who recovered from 0 for 3 after 2.4 overs to go on and win the game. “You have got to give credit to Zimbabwe. They played the conditions far better than we did. The wicket was pretty ordinary, not necessarily conducive to stroke-making,” Gibson said.While the visitors recovered to post a three-figure score on a turning wicket, West Indies frittered away a solid start to crumble to 79 for 7 in their 20 overs, a collapse that Gibson attributed to pressure. “That’s what pressure does, whether you’re experienced or a young player, pressure does that. I am bitterly disappointed with the way we lost, but I’m also looking forward to the future.”

Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, has said his country’s ongoing tour of India is not an indicator that the players who are scheduled to feature in the IPL in March are comfortable with security arrangements for the tournament.Smith returned to South Africa after the second Test in Kolkata because of a finger injury and missed the three-ODI series, which began in Jaipur amid a reported terrorist threat in the city. “The guys were nervous before the game but we need to trust the process we have always used with CSA and the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA),” Smith told . “We would prefer to play in a more peaceful environment but that’s the nature of the world we live in at the moment.”Players remain concerned about the security issues for IPL. This is a big event with lots of different players, stadia, hotels and travel arrangements. The help and assistance we get for this event from our players association will be very important to us. Everyone is monitoring the situation very closely at the moment.”Tony Irish, the SACA chief executive, said, “The Jaipur threat was investigated by CSA’s security consultants, Nicholls Steyn and Associates. We will rely on their advice as to its legitimacy, what level of risk it presents to the team and what security measures are necessary.”He also agreed that the IPL represented a very different set of circumstances to a national tour where security was more easily controlled. “The IPL is an Indian domestic tournament and the players go there as individuals playing for eight different franchise teams,” Irish said. “The boards of the different countries can’t really be expected to review the security plans so it falls to the players associations in each country to do this for players. We take that responsibility very seriously. I can’t think of anything more important than player safety and we won’t compromise in any way on that.”Meanwhile, the Australian Cricketers’ Association said it would help formulate a list of security demands following a meeting attended by the majority of Australian cricketers due to play in next month’s tournament.Security fears regarding the upcoming IPL have intensified after the 313 Brigade, Al-Qaeda’s operational arm in Pakistan, issued a warning to “the international community” not to send its representatives to major sports events being staged in India.Tim May, the chief executive of FICA, warned of a spate of player withdrawals from the tournament due to security concerns, and the England team’s security adviser Reg Dickason said the threat from the 313 Brigade was credible and that security could not be guaranteed in India.

Australia’s chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch has defended Michael Clarke’s position in the Twenty20 team and said he brings plenty to the side despite a disappointing record in internationals. Clarke will captain Australia at the ICC World Twenty20 in May and until then has five games to lift his output.He has played more Twenty20 internationals than any other Australian batsman, yet in 19 games he is yet to pass fifty and averages 19.63 at a strike-rate of 102. By comparison, David Warner averages 34 at a strike-rate of 139, Cameron White 41 at 150, and even Michael Hussey averages 25 at 134.Clarke is Australia’s full-time Twenty20 captain since Ricky Ponting retired from the format and he will be charged with taking the side further than the first-round exit inflicted on them at last year’s World Twenty20. His preparation for the tournament in the Caribbean begins with Friday’s game against Pakistan in Melbourne and Hilditch said he was confident Clarke was the right man for the job.”It’s going to be a very big tournament for Michael and he’s really looking forward to it,” Hilditch told AAP. “He’s one of the best players in world cricket at the moment in Tests and one-day internationals and we hope he can transfer that form into Twenty20.”He’s going to captain the side, he’s a brilliant fielder and he bowls left-arm orthodox as well, so it’s an exceedingly good all-round package he brings. Everybody is going to need to perform at their best, but the fact is players haven’t played a lot of international Twenty20s. But I am sure Michael is going to have an impact in the next Twenty20 World Cup.”In the West Indies, Clarke is likely to be heading a squad featuring several new faces after the selectors decided to give some of the better domestic Twenty20 performers opportunities this week. His vice-captain is White, who is just starting to find his niche in the ODI team but is considered one of the most dangerous Twenty20 batsmen in the world.

Coach Andy Flower hailed Paul Collingwood’s “bulldog spirit” after his role in England’s latest great escape at Newlands, saying that it typified the fight of the team. Collingwood added 112 in 57 overs with Ian Bell for the sixth wicket, but England still needed Graham Onions to block out the final over – in a repeat of his heroics from Centurion – to secure the thrilling draw.For Bell, his five-hour 78 was a breakthrough innings after he responded to a pressure-cooker situation with a composure not previously seen at the highest level, but Collingwood’s innings was his third match-saving contribution in the last seven months following his efforts at Cardiff and Centurion. He was given a serious working-over from Dale Steyn in a gripping hour after lunch, but resisted everything the paceman could throw at him during an electric spell.”He’s a typical British bulldog,” Flower said. “He’s a great fighter, great to have in the changing room, lots of energy and what we have seen is he’s been using some of the experience gained over the years to help him through these situations.”When you talk about consistency of selection, that is one result of it – you get hardened cricketers from this exposure to playing the best sides in the world. We want to go on to greater things with this England side, so we’re happy to have fight as a characteristic in our dressing room. But it’s also something I think English cricketers will inherently have, because they’re playing for their country.”Flower was also impressed by Bell’s contribution, which followed his 140 in the second Test at Durban, and his career appears to have turned a corner. “His big hundred in Durban, that contributed to getting us into a winning position, and then a match-saving innings yesterday certainly will make him feel personally more confident,” he said. “It was good for us to see that he can perform like that under pressure again.”However, as the team began a few days off in Cape Town, Flower remained a realist and knows England avoided defeat despite other periods of sloppy batting. In the first innings, the top six all contributed to their own downfall while Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss also played weak shots second-time around. With a series to win in Johannesburg next week, he knows those mistakes can’t be repeated.”One of the most obvious areas where we can improve is losing some of those soft dismissals that we had in the first innings,” Flower said. “If we’d got a proper first-innings score, we would have been able to put them under more pressure in their second innings.”Of England’s batsmen it is Kevin Pietersen who is struggling the most after a barren Test at Newlands in which he followed his second-ball duck in the first innings with a sketchy 6 on the fourth day. Despite his81 at Centurion, which played a key role in that draw, there is still something missing from Pietersen’s game and his footwork appears out of sync. It is a sign of England’s collective resolve that his shortcomings haven’t proved costly, but Pietersen’s form is now a cause for concern.”All players have dips occasionally, and he’s no different,” Flower said. “He’s got a superb record. He’s had a dip just very recently and this last Test wasn’t a good one for him personally.”What we’re looking for is for him to get back into his normal, confident form and I’m pretty confident he’ll do that. We always tweak things in our techniques, all through your career. Even the real greats like Tendulkar will be doing that. But I’m pretty sure he’ll be back at his confident best very soon.”Flower also backed his bowlers after the ball-tampering row that emerged on the third day following TV pictures of Stuart Broad standing on the ball. “If they wanted to raise it, they should have done it formally,” he said of South Africa’s approach. “But relations are fine. They are two competitive units battling it out, so you expect a little bit of toing and froing.””Our bowlers have shown a lot of skill with reverse-swing. The abrasive pitches here have helped get the ball into condition to do it. We’ll be going about things in exactly the same way.”