All posts by csb10.top

Three of Bermuda’s squad members who should have appeared in their side’s Stanford 20/20 campaign are facing lengthy bans after failing a drugs test.”If any athlete has tested positive with us we then send a portion of the specimen to the government lab for confirmation,” Cathy Belvedere, a spokesman for the Bermuda Council for Drug Free Sports, told newspaper. “And if it is confirmed positive they then get a one year infraction.”They can apply for the domestic application whereas they won’t be able to represent Bermuda during that year but can go back to playing gymnastics, football, cricket or whatever sport they are involved in,” Belvedere added. “They would also have to agree to some counselling, but that’s only if there’s a positive find.”Although the identity of the players is not yet known, it was confirmed that two of the trio represented Somerset – one of Bermuda’s domestic teams – while the other is “a prominent member” of St George’s, the domestic champions.”All of the players [in the national team] were tested, but unfortunately not everyone cleared the process which has policies in place that all national bodies must adhere to,” Reggie Pearman, president of the Bermuda Cricket Board, said. “All of the players knew what was required of them and what the consequences were.”

Sourav Ganguly picks up a single during his 239 © AFP

Keeping the customer satisfied
A spectator in the crowd to the left of the press box was presumably tired of watching Sourav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan hit four after four and began to chat “We want a sixer”. Soon several hundred joined in and chanted in unison and it’s possible that Pathan heard them for he stepped out and lofted Danish Kaneria cleanly over the midwicket boundary the very next ball. The fans celebrated feverishly before chanting “We want another” as Kaneria ran in again.Entering uncharted waters
Ganguly’s celebration when he got to his century on the first day was subdued compared to Yuvraj Singh’s, after all he’d just scored one – his first in front of his home crowd – in Kolkata and celebrated with enthusiasm. However, on the second day, the Bangalore crowd witnessed another Ganguly first – his maiden double hundred – and as he sprinted through for the second run to reach the landmark, he raised his arms in celebration. There was no fist-punching or jumping but Ganguly savoured the moment just that little bit longer. Incidentally he went on to beat Vinod Kambli’s 227 for the highest score by an Indian left-hander.Doing it in style
Pathan was approaching his maiden Test century with confidence when there was a blip at the other end. After Ganguly was bowled, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were dismissed in quick succession leaving Pathan four runs away from the hundred with No 11 Ishant Sharma at the crease. Sharma survived four deliveries from Yasir Arafat but evidently didn’t fill Pathan with confidence. Off the next delivery he got to face, Pathan stepped out and lofted Kaneria into the stands at deep midwicket and broke into celebration.Desperate times
Giving a part-timer a bowl shortly before the end of a session is a common practice. The batsmen are looking forward to the break and a relatively easier bowler could cause a lapse in concentration. However, when Younis Khan turned to Salman Butt for the last over before lunch on the second day, it was more due to lack of options than anything else. Arafat, Mohammad Sami and Kaneria had toiled through the first session because of Shoaib Akhtar’s forced absence and the other options were Yasir Hameed and Younis himself.Kaneria goes down
Ganguly was timing most of his shots impeccably but the straight drive in the 111th over against Kaneria was especially well struck. It would have certainly sped towards the straight boundary had Kaneria not attempted to stop it. The ball hit him hard on his foot and he hobbled away to the side. The physio came out to check and several of the other Pakistan players gathered around. With the injury to Shoaib on the first day, Pakistan could not afford another bowler in the medical ward.Akmal’s greasy gloves
The value of his match-saving hundred in Kolkata may have distracted attention from Kamran Akmal’s drop off Sachin Tendulkar and his general poor form behind the stumps. His bout of butterfingers continued in Bangalore when he grassed an edge off Pathan off the bowling of Kaneria. He’s also conceded 13 byes in the first innings. It’s time for another valiant hundred, Kamran.Shoaib’s forced absence
Shoaib’s fitness has been an issue throughout the series and he’s often gone off the field to recuperate after bowling short spells. Today, he had to spend 205 minutes on it before he would be allowed a bowl. The forced absence was because Shoaib went off the field after the 32nd over on the first day because of back pain and did not return. As it turned out, Shoaib did not bowl even after tea on the second day as India amassed a massive total.

ScorecardSteve Tikolo drew on all his experience with a masterful 89, remaining unbeaten at the end, to take Kenya to a tense one-wicket win over Bermuda in the final one-dayer in Nairobi. In doing so, Kenya swept the series 3-0.Tikolo won the match with an emphatic six off Rodney Trott over long-off, but Bermuda’s bowlers were well on top for much of Kenya’s innings. Tikolo eventually found good support in Jimmy Kamande (22) until Trott, the pick of the bowlers, bowled him around his legs. And 131 for 5 quickly became 134 for 7 when Nehemiah Odhiambo was bowled through the gate by Dwayne Leverock’s sharply turning offbreak, leaving Kenya struggling.Tikolo was fast in danger of being stranded once Hiren Varaiya’s careless slog handed Trott his fourth wicket. But with 14 required, and one wicket remaining, Tikolo finally took command and picked off nine runs off a wayward over from Malachi Jones. A huge six over long-off ended the match and the series.Bermuda’s bowling performance was encouraging, and certainly an improvement on the previous two ODIs, but again their batsmen let them down. Four registered ducks (including three of their top five) and five batsman were bowled, either shuffling across their stumps in the case of Stephen Outerbridge, or misreading the turn ala Janeiro Tucker. Only Jekon Edness, the young wicketkeeper, seemed prepared to battle with a fine 72.Kenya and Bermuda’s Intercontinental Cup clash begins on November 1 at the Gymkhana.

Victoria 113 and 2 for 73 trail Queensland 341 (Noffke 82, Nye 57, Wise 3-63, Denton 3-65) by 155 runs
Scorecard

Ashley Noffke was celebrating following his six wickets © Getty Images

Ashley Noffke continued his incredible all-round season with 82 but during the innings was struck down with a hamstring injury that left him unable to bowl in Victoria’s reply. Noffke had top scored in Queensland’s 341 and by the close the Bushrangers had reduced their deficit to 155, reaching 2 for 73 with Nick Jewell on 40 and Brad Hodge yet to score.The extent of the problem with Noffke’s right hamstring is still unclear but his batting bonanza virtually assured him of the Man-of-the-Match award after only two days, following his first-innings 6 for 33 as Victoria crumbled to 113. Noffke is now in the remarkable position of sitting second on this year’s Pura Cup wicket tally and fourth on the batting list, where only Simon Katich, Luke Pomersbach and Michael Di Venuto are ahead of him.He built an important 98-run partnership with Aaron Nye, who made 57, and then Chris Hartley (33) and the rest of the Queensland lower order continued to frustrate Victoria. Noffke missed the chance for his second century of the season when he was removed by Allan Wise, who had the best of the bowling figures for Victoria with 3 for 63.Jewell and Rob Quiney made a much more promising start than in the Bushrangers’ first innings, adding 73 for the first wicket. But Nye showed Noffke was not the only allrounder capable of hurting the visitors, removing Quiney (32) and the nightwatchman Gerard Denton from consecutive balls in the final over. Hodge survived the hat-trick delivery but there was not much else to celebrate for Victoria on another day of Noffke domination.

Stephen Fleming had been looking forward to winning in Benoni on Sunday, hesaid, “to give the wicket some”. Grumbling about the pitch after losing, hesuggested, always sounded a bit like sour grapes. But he went on and had amoan anyway.The New Zealand captain had good cause for complaint anyway in spite oflosing the second Standard Bank one-day international at Willowmoore Park inBenoni on Sunday by six wickets to South Africa and because of the defeat.By any reasonable standards, it was not a pitch suitable for internationalcricket. “It looked like a wicket that was going to deteriorate,” saidFleming. “We didn’t think it was going to deteriorate after the secondball.”Winning captain Shaun Pollock was slightly less damning. “I don’t think itplayed as bad as it might have looked,” he offered, and then immediatelyseemed to contradict himself. “The odd ball kept a bit low and sort of heldback and came through a bit slow,” noted Pollock, before adding that Benonicould be a good ODI venue “once they get a wicket that’s more conducive tostrokeplay.”Allowing for the vagaries of the pitch, then, it has to be said that theSouth Africans picked the better-suited team for the conditions and thenexploited them more capably than New Zealand.The tourists sprung something of a surprise by resting Geoff Allott andleaving out Shayne O’Connor and choosing spinners Paul Wiseman and BrookeWalker instead. The South Africans had a five-man seam-up attack at Pollock’s disposal and they all bowled straight, just short of a length and allowedthe pitch to do the work.New Zealand never really got going in making 194 for eight. Nathan Astlelaboured away for nearly 40 overs for his 58, but no one managed to staywith him as wickets fell at regular intervals. The first six wickets to fallall went either bowled or leg before and with Roger Telemachus, back in theside after a one-game suspension, near impossible to get away (10-5-16-1),the New Zealand innings failed to gather momentum at any stage.Still, they had them. South Africa had to get them and the home team neededa decent start. They got it from their second-wicket pair, Gary Kirsten andNicky Boje. Kirsten has a wealth of experience and his 57 was his 34thone-day fifty, but it is Boje who is in the best form of his life.On Friday he hammered out an unbeaten 105 at better than a run-a-ball, andon Sunday he simply picked up where he left off in Friday’s washout.As in Potchefstroom, Boje was a little scratchy to start with, but he’sfinding the gaps unerringly at the moment and he rode his luck until he cameto terms with the wicket.”I’m probably a bit like a cat with nine lives at the moment,” he grinnedafterwards.Together Kirsten and Boje put on 111 for the second wicket and althoughneither was able to see it through, they had batted New Zealand out of thematch. Boje went a little tamely in the end, chipping Chris Harris to mid onfor 64, and although Daryll Cullinan could manage no more than a 14-ballduck, Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes took South Africa home at a canter.The series moves on to SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday and to apitch that usually throws up scores of around 280 as par. Not just NewZealand will be hoping for a better pitch than Benoni.”On the whole we were disappointed with the quality of (the pitch),” saidFleming. “All concerned were disappointed. It wasn’t conducive to sportsentertainment which is what one-day cricket is all about.”Most people will agree with him.

An unbeaten fourth wicket partnership of 126 between skipper John Crawley and John Francis lifted Hampshire Hawks into second place in the National Cricket League Division Two table, bypassing the Scottish Saltires by seven wickets at the Rose Bowl.Crawley, showing a distinct return to form hit an excellent 83 (88 balls) while Francis kept him in good company to the tune of 62 from 75 balls, which included one immaculate straight six and five boundaries as they led the Hawks to victory with an over to spare.Hampshire won the toss and, noting their chasing exploits the previous day in beating bottom-of-the-table Sussex Sharks, asked the Saltires to bat first and the captain saw instant results as debutante Chaminda Vaas trapped Dougie Lockhart lbw for 2 while Gregg Williamson followed him for the same tally nine runs later.Ryan Watson and Rahul Dravid rebuilt the innings after the early setbacks but it was the partnership between the Indian batsman and South African all-rounder Jon Kent which was the main focus of the visitors’ eventual 225-5.Dravid scored 81 while Kent followed his century at Hove with an unbeaten 78 as they added 103 for the fourth wicket.Shaun Udal picked up two wickets, but Vaas was the pick, showing all his experience in taking 1-31 from his nine overs of left-arm seam.As seems to be the way in Hampshire’s innings, James Hamblin and Simon Katich made a good start in the reply, posting 55 on the board but two wickets in successive balls to Saltires skipper Craig Wright set the Hawks back a step.Hamblin was bowled attempting a straight drive and Derek Kenway shuffled across to his first delivery and was lbw. Much relied on Katich but he also fell to Wright for a 66-ball 45.However, the day was set for Crawley, who is timing the ball as sweetly as he has for some time and his left-handed accomplice Francis, recording his highest league score of the season to take the Hawks home.

	The IPL is set to be well-covered by the media after several restrictions in the media guidelines were toned down © Hampshire County Cricket Club

The standoff between the Indian Premier League and the media over controversial guidelines for covering the inaugural tournament looks set to ease after a meeting between officials of both sides on Monday. The IPL has toned down some of its earlier restrictions, especially benefiting the print media, though it has not relaxed its ban on websites covering matches from the ground, nor its ban on news agencies supplying websites with images.It was also disclosed that the date for submitting accreditation forms would be extended beyond the original April 8 deadline.”We have successfully concluded with them [media representatives] the way forward and there are no issues on the table,” Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said after the meeting in Mumbai. “New media guidelines are being issued this evening, and will be published [on the IPL website].””It was two-way traffic at our discussions and it was a happy ending,” Pradeep Vijayakar, vice-president of the Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI), said.Barry Parker, South-East Asia bureau chief of Agence France Presse (AFP), told Cricinfo that he and the international media coalition that also includes AP and Getty Images are waiting for the written version of the new guidelines before they decide on their next step. Parker had earlier said the terms and conditions as existed “don’t allow us to cover the event.”The day’s bad news was reserved for websites, whose representatives will be granted accreditation for the tournament but not match tickets, enabling them to report on pre- and post-match activity but barring them from the press box during play. This, IPL officials said, is because the league wishes to protect the portal rights it has sold to an American firm.The other contentious clause that remains is preventing news agencies from selling their pictures to websites, who will have to source images from the IPL database. Modi said the IPL’s planned photo database would integrate resources that can take about 10,000 photographs on a single day at various venues.”That makes things difficult,” Parker commented. “There’s more than one issue as far as the AFP is concerned.”However, there was resolution on other major contentious issues, largely surrounding use of images. Contrary to the earlier guidelines, the IPL will not have the rights, free and without restrictions, to all photographs taken at the matches; and news organisations will not have to upload on the IPL site, within 24 hours, all images taken at the ground. The IPL has also allowed newspapers with their own web publication to upload six different pictures on their online photo galleries in addition to the pictures published in print.

	The other contentious clause that remains is preventing news agencies from selling their pictures to websites, who will have to source images from the IPL database

The IPL also relaxed its limit of accreditations for each organisation – there will now be two accreditations each for reporters and photographers from any media house.”There has been a misunderstanding to a certain extent as far as the guidelines and there was no clarity on the guidelines,” Modi said.The original guidelines, published last week, had provoked widespread outrage in the media. The influential Editors’ Guild of India criticised the “prohibitive conditions” that it said were “unprecedented and unacceptable to the Indian media.”The SJFI had also issued a statement expressing “alarm and concern” over the IPL’s conditions and asked that the “unfair and unethical restrictions being placed on the media be withdrawn unconditionally”.

The Tasmanian Selectors have today announced a squad of fouteen to travel to Maroochydore on a pre-season trip to prepare for the 2003/04 season.

CASCADE TASMANIAN TIGERS
Daniel MARSH (Captain)
Sean CLINGELEFFER
Michael DIGHTON
Michael DiVENUTO
Xavier DOHERTY
Andrew DOWNTON
Adam GRIFFITH
Jamie COX
Shane WATSON
Scott MASON
Scott KREMERSKOTHEN
George BAILEY
Damien WRIGHT
Brett GEEVES

The Cascade Tasmanian Tigers will play three matches against Victoria at the Maroochydore Cricket Club consisting of:19th October – 20 over match20th & 21st October – 2 day match23rd October – One Day matchThe Team departs on Sunday 19th October from Hobart and will be accompanied by Brian McFadyen (Coach), Dene Hills (Assistant Coach), Laurie McGee (Physio) and Ricky Langford (Fitness Advisor).The Tigers will play their first ING Cup match of the season against the Queensland Bulls at the Gabba on Saturday 25th October. It is expected that the twelve to represent Tasmania in that match will be announced by the 22nd October, 2003.

The Victorian Bushrangers have taken an early lead in the domestic standings of the state Spirit of Cricket award combining the Pura Cup and ING Cup, Cricket Australia announced today.The Bushrangers, who have played two Pura Cup and three ING Cup games, lead the table on 18 points, five points ahead of closest rival the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers, who have 13 points from four matches.The West End Redbacks sit in third place on 12 points, followed by the SpeedBlitz Blues and XXXX Queensland Bulls on nine points, while the Retravision Warriors trail the field on two points.The officiating umpires issue points on a 3,2,1,0,-1 basis at the end of each game, with teams rewarded for displaying the true spirit, traditions, and values of cricket.If a player is reported and found guilty under Cricket Australia’s Code of Conduct during a match, their team is automatically given a score of minus one point.Western Australia’s Paul Wilson and Ryan Campbell have both been reported under the Code for separate incidents earlier this season, while Queensland’s Stuart Law was reported following his side’s recent Pura Cup match against Victoria.Voting in ING Cup games is weighted at a ratio of 1:1, while Pura Cup voting adopts a 3:1 weighting. The state Spirit of Cricket points table, including all Pura Cup and ING Cup fixtures up until Monday 17 November follows:

TEAM	TOTAL POINTS	MATCHES
VIC	18	5 (2 Pura; 3 ING)
TAS	13	4 (2 Pura; 2 ING)
SA	12	5 (2 Pura; 3 ING)
NSW	9	4 (2 Pura; 3 ING)
QLD	9	5 (2 Pura; 3 ING)
WA	2	5 (2 Pura; 3 ING)

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said the state Spirit of Cricket award served to acknowledge the efforts of the states in upholding the laws and traditions of the game."Cricket Australia strongly believes that cricket’s appeal to fans and participants is closely related to the values that are firmly entrenched in the game," Mr Sutherland said."Strengthening and protecting the spirit of cricket was one of four Cricket Australia strategic priorities identified in 2002, and we see this award as an important vehicle in helping promote the value of fair play through the states."Earlier this season Victoria, through its Pura Cup captain Darren Berry, publicly pledged to improve the side’s on-field behaviour so it’s encouraging to see them leading the points table at this stage of the season."The state Spirit of Cricket award is part of a broader Cricket Australia Spirit of Cricket project designed to ensure Australian cricketers at all levels understand their obligations to fair play.Announced ahead of the First 3 Test match against Zimbabwe in Perth last month, the project incorporates a national Spirit of Cricket award for grade and local club sides around Australia.It also includes an elite Australian player pledge, defining a set of standards of behaviour and values by which they intend to play the game.The state Spirit of Cricket award will be updated at the end of every second Pura Cup round, and announced on the following dates:

• Tuesday, 16 December, Pura Cup rounds 3 and 4, plus all ING Cup games since last update;
• Friday, 16 January, Pura Cup rounds 5 and 6, plus all ING Cup games since last update;
• Wednesday, 11 February, Pura Cup rounds 7 and 8, plus all ING Cup games since last update;
• Wednesday, 10 March, Pura Cup rounds 9 and 10, plus all ING Cup games since last update. Overall winner announced.

All the latest news and updates concerning the spirit of cricket is available online at www.baggygreen.com.au/spirit

Andrew Leipus: a professional course in sports physiotherapy beckons© Cricinfo

Andrew Leipus, India’s physiotherapist, has confirmed today that he will be standing down from his role after the forthcoming tour of Bangladesh. Leipus’s intentions were made public by Cricinfo at the beginning of November, but he has chosen not to confirm his decision until now. He now wishes to spend more time with his family, as well as pursue a professional course in sports physiotherapy.”I had asked the board to relieve me after India’s tour to Bangladesh,” Leipus told Cricinfo. “I want to take six months off for personal reasons. As for the future, we plan to sit down after six months and consider all options.”Leipus, who has been with the Indian team since late 1999, has become a hugely respected figure within the national set-up, and is widely credited for bringing the team’s levels of fitness up to the standards now expected of all international sportsmen. Both he and his sidekick, the fitness trainer Greg King, had been awarded contracts until 2007 – a period of time that was indicative of the respect they have earned – but Leipus now intends bowing out ahead of the visit of Pakistan in March.”After the Bangladesh tour, there is a decent break in play before Pakistan tours India,” Leipus told The Times of India. “The time is enough for the BCCI to finalise on another candidate.” In February, shortly before Pakistan arrive for their Test and one-day series, Leipus will begin a Masters course in sports physiotherapy at the University of Adelaide.In a letter to the Indian Board, Leipus suggested that John Gloster, the former Bangladesh physio, should be considered as a his replacement. Gloster, who has also worked with Surrey in the past, spent about two years as the physio of the Bangladesh team, but left them in October when his contract ran out.