All posts by csb10.top

Brenton Parchment, West Indies’ debutant opener, has been charged with a Level 2 breach of the ICC’s Code of Conduct regulations for running into Dale Steyn while batting during the second day of the third Test in DurbanParchment, if found guilty, could face a 50% fine on his match fee and/or a one Test or two ODI ban for his offence, which falls under article 2.4 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct regulations which refers to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play.”The on-field umpires, Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar, third umpire Brian Jerling and reserve umpire Zed Ndamane, reported to match referee Roshan Mahanama that Parchment had run into Steyn in the eighth over of West Indies’ second innings.Mahanama has scheduled a hearing on the matter, which will take place at the end of the third day’s play.

Had Stephen Fleming’s final Test innings been scripted for a film about his life, it would have been deemed too boringly realistic to make the final cut. He entered with the stage set for heroism and sparkled briefly as New Zealand began their long and unlikely trek towards salvation. By tea he had achieved his first aim, the 54 runs required to nudge his career average past 40, but within minutes of the resumption, he was gone – not to a sublime piece of skill from the bowler, Monty Panesar, but to yet another wafty, half-conceived flash outside off stump.That’s been the story of his career for 14 eventful, eye-pleasing, but ultimately under-fulfilling years. “It was short and wide, and I was trying to run it down to point,” said Fleming, as he reflected on the delivery that ended his 189-innings, 111-Test career. “But it was the quicker one, and it seemed to skid through, out of the rough, and hit the bottom edge of the bat. Once again, it wasn’t flamboyant, it was just another mistake that I’d have liked to get away with. But not this time.”And so he trooped off the field, applauded all the way to the boundary’s edge by the England team who had broken off their celebrations to join his ovation. At Michael Vaughan’s instigation, the players had also got together a guard of honour to welcome him to the crease, a tribute that Fleming described as “humbling”, even if – as a fellow tactician – he recognised the underlying ploy in Vaughan’s actions.”I took three or four, maybe half-a-dozen, balls to get into my innings, which was probably very smart from Michael,” said Fleming. “I regard him as a very good captain and a nice guy, and the same goes for the English side, so it was humbling. I tried to think about everything that would go on, but it’s hard to keep a lid on the emotions when you walk through a thing like that.”Ever the professional, Fleming kept his feelings in check for 103 deliveries, right up until the moment a puff of the cheeks and a guilty glance at the umpire betrayed the error that sent him on his way. “I walked off frustrated, which has happened about 50 or 60 times in my career,” he said. “I did have a wry smile at myself, thinking that was a fitting way to go. If I’d scored a hundred it would have been an anomaly. Instead it was another fifty, and there we go.”Fleming’s pregnant wife, Kelly, was among those who stood to applaud him, as Fleming at first appeared lost in his own thoughts, then belatedly lifted his head, removed his helmet and saluted all corners of the ground. “I had a lot of things to cram into 55 metres, and it seemed to happen pretty fast,” he said. “Those first 30 paces, I was just annoyed to be walking off with another start to my name. Then it was about savouring who was here, and what it was about, and enjoying the ovation. It was all just mixed emotions, which is what I’ll have for the next two or three weeks, maybe longer.”Fleming’s international retirement has been a long drawn-out process, which began when he stepped down from one-day cricket in Jamaica last April, following New Zealand’s defeat in the World Cup semi-final. It continued through to Auckland earlier on this tour, when he announced that the current Test series against England would be his last, and finally culminated in today’s anticlimactic departure.It’s a fairly open secret that this is not how he would have envisaged his final days in the game – he had designs on a final tour of England before handing the Test captaincy over to Daniel Vettori, but events overtook him and now, at the age of 35, he’s walking away for good. “The selectors seem to have their ideas of what they want,” he said darkly, when asked who he believed could fill his shoes as a No. 3 batsman. “My ideas are a lot different to the selectors.

“I loved the captaincy and everything that went along with it,” he said. “The pressure, the emotions, the ability to control a game and a group of men. That’s something I do miss and have missed, so if the opportunity with other sides, I’ll look forward to it.” His next stop is the Indian Premier League, while Nottinghamshire and Wellington also beckon. His tactical nous, not his runs, are what he will be remembered for, and in that regard, he might not be quite finished yet.Regardless of the unspoken grievances, Fleming was asked if he would leave the game satisfied with his contribution. “Only just,” was his disarmingly honest answer. “I am satisfied with 40 on the chest. It sets you apart, in terms of New Zealand batters anyway, but as a batsman I’ll always feel I underachieved because I couldn’t convert my starts, and I’ll never know why. Sometimes I was the master of my own failings, other times it just wasn’t meant to be.”Even if I’d converted a quarter or a half [of my fifties] I’m up into the 20-25 centuries category which, as we know, is pretty good going,” he said. “I’ll always rue that fact and wonder why, but I guess there are bigger things out there so it won’t last too long. When I take time to reflect, I’ll be satisfied to have 4 in front of my average, but it would have been nice to chalk up ten hundreds, and have a crack at saving this game.”At 222 for 5 overnight, New Zealand are not completely beaten yet, but Fleming’s role in the match is finished, and he’s seen too much in his 14-year career to start believing in miracles at this late stage. “We’ve got some batting to come but we’ve got our backs against the wall,” he said. “But that’s the way it goes. In the first innings we were going pretty comfortably … and look at my career, things go comfortably until the mistake, and then we’re in trouble.”Unfortunately four wickets in a session is trouble,” he said. “If we’d lost one or two, we’d be going into a tight final day, but as it is, it’s going to take some pretty strong resistance in the morning, and then we’ll see how we go in the afternoon. The belief would be stronger if we hadn’t lost those wickets but unfortunately the tendency of this side is to lose five or six wickets, not one or two. We’ll make England work damn hard, but we only did that in patches today.” The same, to his eternal chagrin, will also be said of his batsmanship.

Surrey’s plans for a 170-bedroom hotel at The Oval have suffered a major blow after planning permission was turned down.The four-star property, in conjunction with Arora International Hotels, was to be part of a £35million upgrade of the ground – including the addition of 1,600 extra seats – ahead of the 2009 Ashes series.But, following opposition to the work from a small group of local residents, Lambeth Council has rejected the hotel plan after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warned that there would be a risk of a major incident because the planned area for development is close to the famous Kennington gas holder. Surrey are planning to appeal against the decision.

Dav Whatmore has expressed surprise and disappointment at reports that Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka captain, has advised the PCB against hiring him as their next coach.According to , Ranatunga had a chance encounter with Talat Ali, the Pakistan manager, in Scotland recently. When asked for his thoughts on Whatmore as an option, given that the two had worked together extensively and led Sri Lanka to their 1996 World Cup triumph, Ranatunga reportedly offered the advice that Whatmore should be avoided.”I don’t know what his motivations were but he is entitled to his own personal views and I have no desire to get dragged into a public argument with him,” Whatmore told Cricinfo.Whatmore was one of three Australians shortlisted by the Pakistan board for the coaching position, lying vacant since the death of Bob Woolmer in March. Geoff Lawson, the former Test fast bowler, and Richard Done, the ICC’s High performance manager, are the others.”The facts are that I have indicated my desire to coach Pakistan and, if appointed, I am confident of being able to do an extremely good job with a very talented group of players,” Whatmore said.Kumar Sangakkara, who made his debut while Whatmore was in charge, endorsed his credentials to be the Pakistan coach. “I have absolutely no doubt that Dav is exactly the kind of coach Pakistan needs right now,” Sangakkara told Cricinfo.”He has the expertise and the experience, including a World Cup win, the pinnacle of coaching success. I count myself as very fortunate to have broken into the national side with him as coach. It helped me to hone the right attitude towards hard work and getting out of my comfort zone that has stood me in good stead ever since,” he said.Ranatunga’s advice comes on the back of increasing chatter within Pakistan that Whatmore may not be the favourite he once was for the position. Some of the players, especially senior ones, are said to be more keen on Geoff Lawson, wary of Whatmore’s reputation as a no-nonsense taskmaster. According to the report, Talat Ali has also given Lawson his backing.The board, however, is refusing to say anything other than each candidate was impressive and that a final decision will be taken soon. Though Nasim Ashraf, the board chairman, has repeatedly said a decision would be made by July 1, it looks likely that one will be taken at the next meeting of the board’s ad-hoc committee, in the middle of the month.

Chandrakant Pandit, the former India wicketkeeper, has resigned as Maharashtra coach after three years in charge. Pandit sent a mail to Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president Ajay Shirke conveying his decision.”His [Pandit’s] contract was to expire at the end of the season anyway,” Shirke told the . “By resigning, he has effectively told us his unavailability for renewal of contract.”However, Pandit has agreed to be in charge till the conclusion of the current season, but it remains unclear whether he will do so for the Ranji Trophy one-dayers.”This assignment warrants him to be away from home 10 months a year and that seems to be a major reason behind the decision,” Shirke said. Interestingly, Pandit’s request that he be allowed to perform his duties as India A coach after he went on their tours to Kenya and Zimbabwe earlier this year, had be rejected by the MCA as they wanted him to focus on the state team instead.Pandit had a successful stint as coach, presiding over the team’s shock away win against Mumbai in the 2005-06 season as well as their Ramakant Desai Trophy triumph in 2006-07. Under him, Maharastra Under-19 had clinched the Cooch Behar Trophy for the first time last season.Maharashtra, who lost their way after having led the Group A table of the Ranji Trophy Super League for a while still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the Ranji Trophy semi-finals.

Allan Border believes Australia should overlook Phil Jaques and Chris Rogers for the first Test against Sri Lanka and promote Michael Hussey to open with Matthew Hayden. Border, a former national selector, said Hussey and Stuart MacGill should be given the first chance to replace Justin Langer and Shane Warne.”There’s an opportunity to open with Hussey, freeing up a middle-order spot for [Andrew] Symonds or [Michael] Clarke or [Brad] Hodge,” Border told the . “It gives a better balance to the side rather than having a new opener and one of those middle-order guys missing out.”Most of Hussey’s Tests have been at No. 4 or 5, but he loves opening and has spent most of his first-class career at the top of the order. However, Border said Jaques, who made 152, 82 and 136 for Australia A on the tour of Pakistan, and Rogers would come into the calculations. “Jaques and Rogers have got the numbers on the board,” he said, “and deserve to be talked about.”Border also warned Shane Watson and Hodge, who have expressed their interest in the opening role, not to expect success immediately if they bat at the top. “It’s one thing to say ‘I might try and open’ [but] it’s not as simple as that – there’s technique, temperament, a lot of different facets.”Coming off at 5pm after a hard day in the field, everyone puts their feet up and you see these blokes strapping up their pads for the ugly half hour – that’s a tough gig. Someone like Watson will have to almost serve an apprenticeship. They might go gangbusters straight away but it’s amazing against the new ball, you can get caught out pretty quick.”After the spin coach Terry Jenner dismissed Brad Hogg’s Test chances, Border agreed he preferred Stuart MacGill as Australia’s No. 1. “Hogg is an option but Stuey should be given the nod first up, he deserves it,” he said. “He’s a proven wicket taker, I think he likes the big stage.”If Border was still a selector he would seriously consider a fast bowling unit of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait for the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Gabba from November 8. “The way I’d be thinking would be the pace barrage,” he said in the Courier-Mail. “I would be tempted to unleash Tait and Johnson with Lee and Clark. You wouldn’t fancy facing that lot.”

The ICC has said that there are no plans to extend the number of Associate members who will gain ODI status.On a visit to Uganda, Cassim Suliman, the CEO of the African Cricket Association, was reported as saying that he would push for more countries to be added to the six Associates that currently have one-day status.”I will try to see that within 180 days, three more countries get one day international status,” Suliman said. “You [Uganda] have good facilities, development programmes and administration. I see no reason why we do not have more countries out there.””I’m currently working on ensuring that Uganda, Namibia and Kenya gain full ODI status in the next 18 months.”But an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo: “There is no intention at this stage to increase the number of teams playing ODIs. However, the six Associates currently enjoying ODI status may not be the same ones doing so after the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier [formerly the ICC Trophy] in 18 months’ time. Conceivably, Uganda could be playing ODIs after that, provided they qualify for the next ICC World Cup.”Uganda – along with Namibia, Argentina and Denmark – have been added to the ICC High Performance Program, making a total of ten teams. However, only six of those teams play ODIs and that is not about to change.”