All posts by csb10.top

On the pressure of playing Test cricket after a long break
I don’t think that’s a problem. Its good that all the guys are in good form, having played domestic cricket. So it helps picking up an eleven that suits the conditions.On starting as favourites
Although we beat them in Pakistan 2004, that was a year back. This time around they will be a young competitive team and we’ll have to play to our potential to win the series.On whether his squad is a balanced one
It’s a very balanced side, having been together for quite some time. Almost all the cricketers in this squad are at the peak of their game, but at the same time this game is never played on paper; its how we turn into perfomances in the next three Test matches which would decide the outcome of the series.On the team for the Test
We have picked out twelve – Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra were left out – and tomorrow morning we will decide the final eleven.On not making a big score for a long time
I haven’t got a hundred from the last one in Brisbane on the 2003-04 Australian tour, but I still averaged over 50. But, yes, it’s a criteria to get a Test hundred; I was close a few times – the next time when I get near to a hundred, I will try and convert it into a big score.On the hype of an Indo-Pak series
India-Pakistan series is big and that was the case in the past and that will continue to be in the future. In terms of attention, in terms of people turning out and in term of people follwing the sries, its probably bigger than the Ashes contests between Australia and England.On Test matches becoming more result-oriented
Cricket has changed over the past four years with lot of results in Test matches which has got to do a lot with one-day cricket that is played a lot. The game is being played at a faster rate in the longer version, too, which helps in the decision-making. When the captains walk into a Test they know there’s going to be a result unless you play on an an absolute flat belter. There is no point playing for a draw.On the role of Bob Woolmer, with whom Pakistan have the last four one-dayers against India
That was one-day cricket. In the one-day series in Pakistan, when Javed Miandad was the coach, it was pretty close: we were 2-1 down and came back to win the series 3-2. Test cricket will be different. We do understand that Bob is a very capable coach, but it depends on the players what they do in the middle.On strategies lined up for the oppositon
I watched them in Australia and saw a few overs of the Dharamsala game. And having played them last year we have taken our points that we will work out during the game.On his captaincy after he had said last year that it was going through a difficult phase when India were losing the one-dayers
I said that during the one-day series as we were losing quite a few one-dayers. I have been in difficult situations in the past – the 2003 World Cup, the away tour to Australia series and the 2004 Pakistan tour. Those tours were much tougher. They will help in lifting our confidence. As for my status as the captain I’ve been appointed as skipper for the series, so I will take it as it comes.

Three countries have applied for ICC Affiliate membership and two more to be upgraded from Affiliate to Associate membership.Bulgaria, Estonia and Turkey’s applications for Affiliate membership will be considered by the ICC and its annual conference in Dubai at the end of June.Guernsey and Vanuatu have applied for an upgrade to Associate membership which, if successful, will mean a substantial increase in the funding available to their national associations.Consideration of Vanuatu’s application is subject to it meeting the playing standard criterion in its matches against existing Associates in the World Cricket League Division 5. An ICC team is inspecting the facilities in Guernsey this week.

Division One

Gloucestershire 178 for 9 (Windows 39, Fisher 39) v Kent at Maidstone
Scorecard
Gloucestershire’s lower-order salvaged some pride on a desperate first day at Maidstone, and rescued their innings from the depths of 92 for 7 to 178 for 9 at stumps. Ian Fisher and Matt Windows top-scored with 39, while the No. 10, Carl Greenidge, was 23 not out at the close. Gloucestershire’s total was far from being riches, but after the start that they endured it was as good as they could have hoped for. After being asked to bat first, they slumped to 54 for 5, in the face of good bowling from Amjad Khan, Andrew Hall and Simon Cook, who finished with three wickets.Surrey 214 for 4 (Clinton 84) v Warwickshire at Whitgift School in Croydon
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Richard Clinton top-scored with 84, his second half-century of the season, as Surrey prospered in the 58 overs available to them on a damp day in Croydon. After winning the toss and batting first, Surrey lost the in-form Scott Newman for 4 to Heath Streak, but Clinton and Mark Ramprakash added 112 for the second wicket to balance the books. Ramprakash was bowled by Neil Carter for 39 to trigger a slump of 3 for 34, but Jon Batty and Ali Brown were making serene progress by the close.Nottinghamshire v Hampshire at Trent Bridge
No play due to rain.Glamorgan v Sussex at Swansea
No play due to rain.

Division Two

Derbyshire 246 for 5 (Stubbings 92) Essex v at Chelmsford
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Stephen Stubbings was run out eight short of his first century of the season, as Derbyshire made Essex work hard for their wickets at Chelmsford. After winning the toss and bowling first, both Essex spearheads, Darren Gough and Dale Steyn, went wicketless and it was left to Ravinder Bopara to make the breakthrough, as Michael di Venuto fell for 23. Ben France, Derbyshire’s Brunei-born middle-order batsman, chipped in with 42.Lancashire v Northamptonshire at Old Trafford
No play due to rain.Leicestershire v Somerset at Oakham School
No play due to rain.Worcestershire v Durham at Worcester
No play due to rain.

Scorecard
Sohail Tanvir justified the Federal Areas’ stand-in captain Naved Ashraf’s decision to field first by taking five wickets to help bowl out Baluchistan for 253 at the National Stadium in Karachi. But Federal Areas conceded a bit of the advantage when they lost two quick wickets before the close of play to end the first day at 79 for 3.The Baluchistan openers Shoiab Khan and Usman Tariq walked out to bat in the three-hour first session and the duo added 41 runs before Shoiab was trapped by seamer Yasir Arafat for 25. Tanvir then took centre stage in a marathon 15-over opening spell, taking three wickets in succession to send Baluchistan crashing from 78 for 1 to 92 for 4. But Tariq scored a defiant half-century and added 73 runs for the fifth wicket with Nasim Khan (31) to stem the rot. But Baluchistan once again faltered, losing five wickets for the addition of 35 runs, with Tanvir claiming the vital wicket of Tariq for 68. Imranullah Aslam, the No. 10 batsman, then frustrated Federal Areas by striking an unbeaten 46-ball 51 which included nine fours, and adding 53 runs for the last wicket with Azharullah (20). Baluchistan’s innings came to a close when Azharullah was trapped by Saeed Anjwal, the only spinner to find any success on the first day.Federal Areas were in trouble just as they began their response when Kamran Hussain had Afaq Raheem caught behind for 2. Raheel Majeed and Fayaaz Ahmed pushed the score past fifty before Azharullah struck back with a double-strike: Ahmed was caught behind while Bazid Khan fell without scoring. But Majeed, who remained unbeaten on 42, and Usman Saeed, who struck a couple of fours on his way to 13, ensured there was no further damage.
Scorecard
Punjab’s star-studded batting line-up threatened to launch a run-fest, but none of their batsman, including Salman Butt, who top-scored with 72, were able to capitalise on their starts as they scored 295 for 7 on the first day against NWFP at the Gaddafi Stadium.Earlier NWFP found immediate success after choosing to bowl when Fazl-e-Akbar has Mohammad Hafeez caught behind by Zulfiqur Jan. But Butt turned things around by displaying the same sort of form that saw him make 290 against Federal Areas in the first round of the Pentangular Cup as he reached his half-century in a 60-run second-wicket stand with Nasir Jamshed (16). Akbar returned to remove Jamshed, but that brought Misbah-ul-Haq to the crease. But Misbah and Butt did not spend too much time together when the latter was run-out after a misunderstanding as Punjab stuttered to 112 for 3.Misbah then set about consolidating the innings as he scored 53 runs of 149 balls and adding 76 runs for the fourth wicket with Shoaib Malik (41). But once the duo were dismissed by Samiullah Khan and Shakell-ur-Rehman respectively, Kamran Akmal breezed his way to a 74-ball 40, striking six fours and a six to add some quick runs. Waqas Ahmed (12*) and Junaid Zia (10*) were then involved in an unbroken 25-run stand for the eighth wicket before stumps were drawn.

Central Zone
Points table
An unbeaten 122 from Jyoti P Yadav set up Uttar Pradesh’s 57-run win against Railways at the KL Saini Ground in Jaipur. Yadav’s innings spanned just 120 balls and included 12 fours and two sixes. He added 133 for the third wicket with Arvind Kapoor, who smashed 72 from 67 balls, and pushed the score to 283 for 5. Railways’ chase began to gather momentum before losing three wickets for 10 runs (86 for 4). Shreyas Khanolkar fought back with 57 but Avinash Yadav (4 for 56) ran through the middle order and restricted them to 226 for 9 in 50 overs. With this win, UP have topped the Central Zone in the league stage, and have entered the knock-out phase. Railways, who have come in the second place in the zone, follow UP into the next round.Vidarbha hung on by the skin of their teeth to clinch a thriller by one run against Madhya Pradesh at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Chasing 243 to win, MP were in dire straits at 28 for 4 before B Tomar (74) and S Masood (56) led the recovery with a 100-run stand after Abbas Ali chipped in with 45. But after Tomar and Masood fell, the chase lost steam and the tail only managed to push the score to an agonising 241 for 9, two runs short. Sandeep Singh collected figures of 3 for 38. Shalabh Shrivastava led the way for Vidarbha, after losing the loss, scoring 61. The only other significant contribution was Samir Khare’s 41 as Vidarbha were dismissed for 242.East Zone
Points table
Rajiv Kumar played a captain’s innings of 94 to see Jharkhand through tense moments and secured a one-wicket victory against Tripura at the Tata Digwadih Stadium in Dhanbad. Chasing a modest 228, Jharkhand kept losing wickets at one end while Rajiv held up the other. Rajiv’s was a patient knock that took 128 balls while including 10 fours and a six. Mihir Diwakar struck a crucial 25 in a 33-run stand for the eigth wicket with Rajiv that took them closer to the win. In their innings, a steady fall of wickets ensured that Tripura could not take advantage of winning the toss. Bappa Das top-scored with 57 but his was the only score above 30 in their eventual total of 227 for 9.Riding on a strong allround performance, Assam breezed to a five-wicket win against Orissa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Dhanbad. After winning the toss, Assam’s bowlers didn’t allow the batsmen to settle by picking up wickets regularly. S Tarafdar took 2 for 29 and Mrigen Talukdar claimed 3 for 44 as Orissa were held to 190 for 9. Assam’s openers, Chandan Rawat (57) and P Aziz (56), virtually sealed the win with a 132-run opening stand that set up the platform for them to finish on 194 for 5.

Scorecard