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Patel and Obanda seal Kenya win

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Scorecard
Rakep Patel’s 92 downed Netherlands•Thota Sreenivas

Kenya sealed an easy six-wicket victory in the first one-day international at the Nairobi Gymkhana after Netherlands struggled to 219 for 9 in the alien conditions, their score thanks largely to an unbeaten 109 from Ryan ten Doeschate. After the loss of both openers within the first eight overs, ten Doeschate held the innings together, with no other batsman making more than Bas Zuiderent’s 21 and only the top four reaching double figures. Rakep Patel and Alex Obanda powered Kenya’s chase, adding 126 for the second wicket to seal a cathartic victory for the Kenyans after their poor showing at the World Twenty20 Qualifiers.After Netherlands were put in to bat, Alexei Kervezee and Eric Szwarczynski both fell in Elijah Otieno’s impressive opening spell. Zuiderent added a cautious 43 in just over 15 overs with ten Doeschate before he was run out 21 by Jimmy Kamande, and Kenya’s spinners then strangled the middle order. Hiren Varaiya and Shem Obodo conceded just 62 in a combined 19 overs, as well as picking up the wickets of Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren.Tim Gruijters, an 18-year-old in his first match in the senior side, was run out by Collins Obuya before Otieno returned to pick up his third wicket – that of Mudassar Bukhari for 6 as Netherlands slipped to 142 for 7. Then followed the highest partnership of the match, with ten Doeschate adding a rapid 46 in under five overs in Atse Buurman’s company.The only Dutch batsman to come to terms with the conditions, ten Doeschate’s 37 runs dominated his partnership with Buurman in the closing overs. Nelson and Nehemiah Odhiambo picked up a wicket apiece before he reached a well-deserved hundred and set up a score that, in a Kenyan side lacking the experienced pair of Thomas Odoyo and Steve Tikolo – who is playing domestic cricket in Zimbabwe – appeared defendable.In the event, it proved woefully under-par as Kenya romped to victory with more than 15 overs to spare. Patel and Obanda, two young batsmen who will have an important role to play in Kenya’s cricketing future, were the chief architects of the run chase. Patel started slowly, the lesser partner in a 52-run opening stand with David Obuya, but grew in confidence as the innings progressed and Obanda’s dashing strokeplay took the pressure off him while Netherlands’ bowlers wilted in the heat.Obanda – who smashed 79 in Kenya’s recent win over Canada at the Qualifiers – took a couple of overs to play himself in before launching a brutal assault on the bowling. He reached his half-century from only 51 balls, with five boundaries, and smashed another six and a four before he was bowled by ten Doeschate for 61.Patel continued in the company of captain Maurice Ouma, taking the score past 200 in the 33rd over as Kenya closed in on the win. But with a maiden century in sight, Patel advanced down the wicket to Peter Seelaar’s left-arm spin and was stumped by Buurman for 92. Collins Obuya was also out soon after, caught behind off Mark Jonkman, but Kamande sealed the game with a six in the same over to give Kenya a one-nil lead in the two-match series.

Pakistan dominate with 204-run lead

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Salman Butt gave Pakistan a strong start with 71•Getty Images

An attritional first two sessions gave way to an explosive finale as first Mohammad Yousuf and later Umar Akmal helped propel Pakistan to an imposing 204-run first innings lead. Their frenetic efforts capitalised on the 109-run opening stand of Imran Farhat and Salman Butt as Pakistan advanced to 9 for 331 at stumps, having displayed greater discipline and match-awareness than their Australian counterparts the previous day.The tourists endured a testing opening to the second day in gloomy, seaming conditions, but brightened in line with the weather over the course of the afternoon. Yousuf provided an immediate lift to procedings by adding 27 runs in the space of 28 deliveries in the period leading to tea, while Akmal made his skipper look relatively pedestrian by striking five boundaries from his first seven deliveries faced en route to a 48-ball innings of 49.That Yousuf and Akmal fell short of half-centuries was due partly to Pakistan’s penchant for attacking strokeplay in the final session and partly to the persistence of the Australian bowlers. Having been provided little to work with by their batsmen, Australia’s attack stuck to their task admirably and were rewarded with seven final-session wickets, many caught in the deep as Pakistan sought quick runs.Pakistan could be accused of taking their foot from the throats of the Australians in the lead-up to stumps, having at one stage thrust to 205 for the loss of two wickets on a surface drying by the hour. That may be so, but the tourists nonetheless outplayed their rivals in four of the five sessions through Monday, and are ideally positioned to break their ten-game losing streak to the Australians at the very venue where they last tasted victory.The hosts made amends for an indifferent morning in the field with a series of excellent catches, none better than Haddin’s spectacular diving effort to remove the dangerous Yousuf. The veteran batsman had, to that point, threatened to take the game completely away from the Australians, and Haddin’s interception restored a semblance of competitive edge to the match. That notion was reinforced when the television umpire, Rudi Koertzen, overturned Billy Doctrove’s decision to rule Akmal not out to a full, straight Doug Bollinger delivery, denying the Pakistanis further use of their potent middle-order weapon.

Australia’s uphill task

In the entire history of Test cricket only five times has a team won after trailing by more than 200 in the first innings. Australia have achieved this feat twice – against Sri Lanka in 1992, when they overcame a deficit of 291, and South Africa in 1950. England have done it twice as well, including the famous Headingley Test in 1981, while India overcame a 274-run deficit against Australia in Kolkata in 2001. Click here and here for the full list. (The five instances excludes England’s wins against South Africa in 2000, when both teams forfeited an innings each, and Pakistan in 2006, when the visitors refused to play.)

Pakistan are also only three runs away from equalling their highest first-innings lead in a Test in Australia – they’d led by 207 at the MCG in 1981, a match they won by an innings and 82 runs.

Pakistan’s lower order failed to replicate the heroics of their more established batsmen, but still cobbled together enough cameos to take their lead beyond 200. Australia’s batsmen will feel confident of a better showing amid drier pitch conditions when next they mark centre, however the hectares of ground they conceded on Sunday may yet prove irretrievable.The hosts would do well to analyse the manner in which Farhat and Butt set about their respective innings on the second day. The Australian top-order, minus Watson, fell to forceful strokes on a seaming wicket in their ill-fated first innings; a direct contrast to the cautious and patient approach of the Pakistani openers. Content to accumulate rather than dominate, Farhat and Butt shelved their cross-bat strokes and successfully repelled threatening spells from Bollinger, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Watson to post their third career century stand and first against Australia.Farhat and Butt have emerged as a dependable solution to Pakistan’s problematic opening slot. Their stand of 109, which took their first-wicket partnership average to a robust 47.43, built upon the foundation laid by Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sami the preceding day to deliver the tourists to a position of dominance in the match. The union was not without its anxious moments, most notably when Farhat was dropped by Marcus North to a regulation slips chance off the bowling of Siddle on 11, but both stood firm on an improving pitch.Farhat went on to raise his 13th half-century before skying an attempted sweep off the bowling of Nathan Hauritz shortly after the lunch break. Butt also fell in the second session, edging a full-length delivery from a deserving Johnson, however Faisal Iqbal and Yousuf ensured there were no further setbacks with an unbroken 46-run third-wicket partnership heading into tea. Iqbal was first to fall after the break to an athletic, back-pedalling catch from Watson at backward point off the bowling of Siddle. That prompted a mad flurry of runs and dismissals that saw Bollinger and Watson combine for five wickets and Pakistan attempt to blaze the second new ball to all corners of the SCG.

Lillee questions Australia's pace core

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Australia’s fast-bowling great Dennis Lillee has questioned whether the current batch of fast men are more interested in looking good than looking after themselves properly, as Australia’s injury list keeps growing. Peter Siddle was the latest member of the pace attack to be sidelined by injury when a hamstring problem ruled him out of the Perth Test.Siddle has joined Ben Hilfenhaus (knee tendonitis), Brett Lee (elbow), Stuart Clark (back) and Nathan Bracken (knee) on the casualty list, which has left Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson as the only Cricket Australia fast bowlers fit and available for Test cricket. Lillee, who was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame at the WACA on Thursday, said his observations led him to wonder if the bowlers were training appropriately.”I think there’s more soft-tissue injuries now,” Lillee said. “You’re getting groins and elbows and I think a lot of it is the amount of cricket that’s played, and I’m not sure that fast bowlers in particular do enough training distance-running and real heavy sprinting work. I’m not sure they do enough of that.”That’s only a gut feel – I’m not that involved in the game and I’m not a scientist and I’m not a doctor. My gut feel is that maybe a lot of the training is more about maybe looking good rather than looking after the core, which is more essential than having a nice beach look.”For the older members of the attack like Lee and Clark, the injuries have raised the serious possibility that they may not play Test cricket again. There have been questions over whether Lee could still be an effective weapon if he cut back his speed in an effort to prolong his career and Lillee, who did that himself in his later years, gave Lee hope that it might be an option.”As you get a bit older you can’t actually bowl it as quick,” Lillee said. “If you’re going to cut your speed you’ve got to have other tricks, and the other tricks are learning about the trade of fast bowling. It is an art-form.”Anyone can do that, as long as they’re prepared to work on the trade itself. You can have an extended career and not just be an outright fast bowler by moving into the next phase.”

PCB withdraws cases against ICC

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially withdrawn all legal proceedings against the ICC and the 2011 World Cup’s organising committee for stripping the country of hosting rights. Tafazzul Rizvi, the PCB’s legal advisor, said that all cases the PCB had filed against the two parties after the dispute over the tournament had been resolved via an out-of-court settlement.”Since there is no dispute now with the ICC we immediately took measures to drop our legal proceedings including those to be initiated by our lawyers in the United Kingdom,” Rizvi said, adding that a notification had been sent to the ICC and the World Cup organisers.As a result of the agreement between the two parties in Dubai earlier this year, where it was decided that the PCB would retain its hosting fee of US$10.5 million and receive payment as compensation for the loss of hosting rights, the board decided to withdraw its legal cases against the ICC.The PCB had sent a legal notice to the ICC after it was stripped of its rights to host the tournament in the aftermath of the attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore in March. A case had also been filed against the move of the World Cup Secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai.

Bravo hundred cheers West Indies up

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDwayne Bravo enjoyed scoring his first Test century for four years•Getty Images

Dwayne Bravo’s third Test century ensured a healthy total for West Indies but their fighting efforts were overshadowed by a controversial umpiring review that ended Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s push for a hundred. West Indies must win to keep the series alive and Bravo’s 104 gave them hope, although on a good batting surface six opening-day wickets wasn’t a bad result for Australia.At stumps, West Indies had moved to 6 for 336, which augured well for a better contest than in Brisbane. Darren Sammy provided some late-afternoon highlights with a pair of sixes down the ground off Nathan Hauritz and he was 44 not out at the close, with Brendan Nash also on 44, having earlier retired hurt.Bravo rode his luck to reach triple figures after being dropped three times but Chanderpaul’s fortune ran out when he was on 62. Chanderpaul was given out caught-behind off Shane Watson and was the victim of a successful review for Australia after Mark Benson initially denied Australia’s appeal.Hot Spot did not carry the right angle to show an edge but a camera view from the long-on region seemed to show a slight deflection as the ball passed the bat. It was far from conclusive evidence and nor was the decision a blatant shocker – those are the calls the review system is designed to eradicate – but the third umpire Asad Rauf was convinced and sent Chanderpaul on his way.Chanderpaul had earlier survived a similar review off Doug Bollinger on 38, when again the evidence was inconclusive despite the Australians being utterly convinced that he had edged the ball. The eventual dismissal was a major blow for West Indies and things went from bad to worse when in the same over Denesh Ramdin played on to give Watson his second wicket.Watson was pleased to redeem himself after his comical mishap gave Bravo a reprieve on 59. Bravo hooked Peter Siddle and Watson tried to snare the catch at deep square leg but stumbled back and lobbed the ball up as he realised he would step over the boundary. He tried to reclaim the catch after jumping back into the field of play but stumbled and parried the ball over for six.Bravo had already been dropped twice on 46, though both were tough chances – a caught-and-bowled that rocketed back to Siddle and an edge off Hauritz that ricocheted off Brad Haddin and was missed by Michael Clarke at slip. Bravo wasn’t about to be discouraged from playing his shots and brought up both his half-century and his hundred with drives that sailed over the bowler’s head and away to the boundary.But Bravo was being far from irresponsible in his strokeplay; he was patient and waited for his opportunities, and a crunching, classic cover-driven boundary off Watson was especially attractive. It was his first Test century in four years, since he made 113 in Hobart in 2005-06, and though he eventually missed a straight ball from Hauritz and was bowled, it was just the sort of innings that West Indies needed to lift their spirits after their innings loss at the Gabba.He had the perfect ally in Chanderpaul, who had looked out of sorts in Brisbane but here compiled his first half-century in his past eight Test innings. As expected, Chanderpaul scored the majority of his 54 runs behind the wicket but also drove well and enjoyed a lovely clip off his toes for four through midwicket off Mitchell Johnson.The 116-run stand was comfortably West Indies’ best partnership of the series, which made it all the more frustrating for them that it was ended in such debatable style. The pair had come together after Nash retired hurt on 20 during the lunch break, having been struck on the arm by his former flat-mate Johnson in the final over before the interval.It left West Indies in a spot of bother after they lost three wickets in the opening session, including Ramnaresh Sarwan, whose return from a back injury ended on 28 when he drove Johnson on the up to Clarke at point. The early damage came from Bollinger, who had been waiting 11 months for his second Test and picked up two wickets in his first five overs.Bollinger’s first two went for 18 as Chris Gayle, who had chosen to bat, launched an early assault. The bowler’s confidence improved when Adrian Barath (3) pushed a catch to gully and the major prize followed when Gayle tried to cut too close to his body and was surprised by extra bounce, which was unusual for an Adelaide pitch, and was caught behind for 26.There was no doubt about that decision. If only the same could have been said later in the day.

Scott Styris hoping to secure his spot

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New Zealand allrounder Scott Styris is aiming to re-cement his place in the team during the ODI and Twenty20 series against Pakistan in the UAE, since he’s been in and out of the national set-up during the last few months.”I feel like I’ve been away forever, even though I’ve had short stints with the team over the last 12 months,” Styris told blackcaps.co.nz. “It’s good to catch up with everybody again and get back into some work over here.”I feel like I’ve been hitting the ball really well. At the Twenty20 World Cup I was relatively happy with the way that went, and since then – without playing a lot of cricket – I feel like I’ve been going ok. I’d just like to get out there and play some consistent cricket, as it’s been a bit stop-start over the last few months.”Styris was not part of New Zealand’s ICC Champions Trophy squad but was later called in as cover after injuries depleted the team in South Africa. He was included on this tour because of injuries to Jesse Ryder, Grant Elliott and Daryl Tuffey. New Zealand arrived in the UAE this week and spent their time training and getting acclimatized to the conditions.”I remember watching the Australia-Pakistan series over here, and they were extremely slow wickets – they turned quite a bit and scoring was difficult,” Styris said. “I remember the batsmen’s strike-rate being very low, and a score of 200 or 220 being a good score.””We had our first nets session yesterday and the wickets had a little bit of pace, a little bit of grass on them, and were good for batting. If they play like that there should be some high scores.”New Zealand’s first ODI against Pakistan is in Abu Dhabi on November 3.

Bracken out of Champions Trophy

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Australia have suffered a major blow before their first Champions Trophy match with Nathan Bracken ruled out of the tournament with a chronic knee injury. Cricket Australia confirmed Bracken would be sent home on Thursday. Doug Bollinger, who last represented Australia during the one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE, was named as his replacement.”The nature of Nathan’s right knee problem has meant that he has had some ongoing manageable pain, but this has now reached a point where he is unable to continue playing in the ICC Champions Trophy,” Australia’s physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. “He will return to Australia to consult a knee specialist for an opinion on the best course of action. His return to cricket will be determined after consulting the specialist.”The loss of Bracken will hurt Australia’s attack as he is the team’s highest-ranked one-day international bowler, sitting sixth on the ICC ODI rankings, ahead of the next Australian Mitchell Johnson in equal ninth. Bracken, who played in the recent one-day series in England, will also be in doubt for the Champions League Twenty20, where he was expected to represent New South Wales in early October.Australia’s first match of the Champions Trophy is against West Indies on Saturday.

Wright passed fit for Champions Trophy

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Luke Wright, the England allrounder, has been passed fit for the Champions Trophy following a toe injury that ruled him out of the last three ODIs against Australia.Wright was struck on the toe while facing the bowling machine at Loughborough ahead of the fifth match at Trent Bridge. He required stitches and was subsequently unavailable for the rest of the series with Dimitri Mascarenhas taking his place, but will now be on the plane to South Africa on Monday.Wright is viewed a key member of England’s one-day unit, providing hard-hitting batting in the middle order and lively pace bowling at various stages of the innings.England have already needed to draft a replacement into their 15-man squad with Graham Onions being called up in place of Andrew Flintoff.The tournament starts on September 22 with England’s first match, against Sri Lanka, on Friday.

Sehwag to 'wait and watch' on his fitness

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Indian batsman Virender Sehwag was non-committal about his participation in the ICC Champions Trophy in September, despite making good progress in his recovery from a shoulder injury. He was operated on June 11, and was expected to be ruled out for 12 to 16 weeks.”My shoulder is better than before. It takes time to recover from any surgery,” Sehwag said in New Delhi. “But if it takes time, I can’t help it. I can just wait and watch.”Sehwag picked up the injury during the semi-final of the IPL in South Africa and subsequently missed the World Twenty20 in June. He was at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore as part of his rehabilitation last month.He said last week that he was hopeful of playing the Champions Trophy, but had yet to start his cricket skills training. He has already been ruled out of India’s short tri-series in Sri Lanka next month.His captain MS Dhoni was also keeping a close watch on his fitness. “He might be available for the Champions Trophy,” he said. “From now to the tri-series, the time is too short. Sehwag is improving every day. He is working hard to get fit for the Champions Trophy.”The Champions Trophy runs between September 22 and October 5. India then play a seven-match ODI series at home against Australia.

Butcher dismisses Ramprakash 'madness'

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Mark Butcher, the recently retired former captain of Surrey, has dismissed as “madness” the speculation surrounding a possible recall for his county team-mate Mark Ramprakash, and believes there is no way that England will resort to a one-off call-up for a 39-year-old batsman who has not featured in Test cricket since 2002.Speaking to Cricinfo at an MCC Chance to Shine event in East London, Butcher believed that Ramprakash would undoubtedly rise to the occasion if named on Sunday morning in England’s squad for the decisive fifth Test at The Oval, but added that the whole issue had been drummed up by a “panicking” media, following England’s humiliating two-and-a-half day defeat at Headingley that left the Ashes all-square with just next Thursday’s Oval Test to come.”Of course he could do a job for England, he’s a fabulous player. I just don’t think he will,” said Butcher. “If he’s so highly regarded, why hasn’t he been playing for the past four years? However good a player you are, it’s an enormous call to be pulled out of the wilderness after seven years, and told: ‘Right, go and win us the Ashes … oh, and by the way, we’re not going to pick you for this winter’s tour.'”Ramprakash himself spoke briefly on Wednesday, telling Surrey’s website that he would be “thrilled” to be given another chance to impress at Test level, having previously managed just two centuries in 52 matches dating back to 1991. “You wouldn’t expect him to say anything less,” said Butcher. “Should he get picked he’ll do a great job because he’s a good player. But they won’t pick him, so it’s almost pointless talking about it.”In Butcher’s opinion, one man who will undoubtedly feature at The Oval is Andrew Flintoff, in what will be his final appearance before his retirement from Test cricket. Earlier this week, a bulletin from Flintoff’s specialist, Andy Williams, revealed that the swelling in his right knee had “eased considerably”, and given how abjectly England performed in his absence at Headingley, that ought to be sufficient to usher him straight back into the starting line-up.”There’s no way he won’t play,” said Butcher. “They’d have to restrain him not to play. With one of [Kevin] Pietersen or Flintoff playing, you notice the difference in the confidence of our side, and more importantly in the confidence of the opposition, because they know they are up against individuals who can hurt them. KP was to all intents and purposes knackered at Lord’s and yet England still won there, and they did well at Edgbaston too. It’s just without either that they have struggled.”Butcher, like Flintoff, has suffered from chronic knee problems in recent seasons, and last week’s retirement, at the age of 37, came in the wake of his third operation. He appreciates the reasons why Flintoff has seen fit to call time on his Test career, but warned that England should not expect miracles in his valedictory appearance, regardless of claims made through his agent, Chubby Chandler, that adrenaline alone could have carried Flintoff through last week’s Headingley Test.”There comes a point where, physically, any amount of adrenaline isn’t going to help,” said Butcher, who had watched with concern as Flintoff laboured through 30 wicketless overs in the drawn third Test at Edgbaston. “It was obvious to me in that match that he was operating at 70% of what he can do, and even for someone like Fred, that’s not enough.”Butcher’s latest knee operation took place in mid-July, and the demands of yet another bout of rehab persuaded him that it was not worth battling on. “Right now I’m struggling to walk, and I’m not even a bowler, so of course, I can fully understand the decision Fred’s made,” he said. “He’s got a young family, and he’s potentially got another ten years of playing the Twenty20 stuff, so it’s the kind of trade-off he’s got to make. It’s a shame for England, but it’s the right thing to do.”Personally, I know I’ve made the right decision as well,” said Butcher, whose professional career has spanned 19 years. “The reason you start playing cricket is to bat, bowl and field. It’s not to spend every God-given hour in the gym, trying to make your knee work. It wears you down after a while, and any sportsman in any sport will know what that’s like. You get a serious injury, you have an operation, and then there are all the hours that you have to do in the gym, behind the scenes, just to get back out on the park again.”I’m 37 this week, and time is short enough anyway, without spending most of your life in a gym sat on a bike trying to walk back down the stairs again. It was a painful decision to have to make, but the club need a captain who’s going to be on the park, and that wasn’t going to be me. The time was right to do it.”Mark Butcher is a Chance to Shine ambassador and was appearing at an MCC Spirit of Cricket summer camp where children learned the ‘play hard, play fair’ messages endorsed by Marylebone Cricket Club. For further details visit www.lords.org.