ICC say Tests can go day/night if ball alright


London: International Cricket Council (ICC) chiefs believe floodlit, day/night Tests could take place in the next few years but insist more work needs to be done on the ball before they give the go-ahead.

A traditional red leather ball is difficult to see under floodlights, while the white ball used for day/night one-day internationals doesn`t wear at the same rate and so is considered unsuitable for longer formats.

Finding a suitable ball has so far proved the key stumbling block, with David Richardson, the ICC`s general manager for cricket, telling reporters at Lord`s on Wednesday: "We`ve spent a lot of time over the last 24 months trying to develop a ball.

"Now we`ve crystallised that there`s not much difference between the pink and orange balls and it was a question of finding a ball that could retain its colour throughout 50-80 overs."

Richardson was speaking after a two-day meeting of the ICC`s cricket committee at Lord`s, the self-styled `home of cricket` and the headquarters of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), who are still responsible for the sport`s rules or Laws.

Officials at MCC believe they have found a solution to the ball problem by developing a pink ball with a black seam.

This ball was used during their first-class match against England`s champion county, Nottinghamshire, in March -- the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season which for the second successive year took place in the non-traditional setting of Abu Dhabi rather than Lord`s itself.

MCC are convinced the ball can last in Tests and former South Africa wicketkeeper Richardson said: "In the Abu Dhabi match it did but the conditions were fairly benign, the outfield was a good one, there was no dew and the balls stood up well."

The dew factor was emphasised by ICC cricket committee chairman Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, who said: "We were worried by the dew factor. If one side bowls at night, it could be with a bar of soap."

Richardson said: "We decided we needed further trailing in multi-day competitions," adding he hoped the pink ball would be used in at least one round of first-class tournaments such as England`s County Championship or Australia`s Sheffield Shield during the next 12 months.

"If the reports coming back are that the ball keeps it’s condition and colour then I think we will be in a position this time next year to select a couple of venues and trial a day/night Test.”

"The venue still needs to have decent lights, somewhere like Lord’s, Sydney or Abu Dhabi. You also need to play it at a venue, and time of year, where dew isn’t going to come in. You can have the best ball in the world but it would be unfair in those conditions."

With audiences for Test cricket declining in recent years outside of traditional heartlands such as England, floodlit matches have been suggested as a way of bolstering crowds for the five-day game.

But Richardson said: "I`m not as pessimistic as some when it comes to needing to save Test cricket. I do think it (day/night Tests) affords boards the opportunity to play Test cricket when more people are available to watch and also commercially it can be more valuable to play at those times of the day -- the prime viewing time in the evening."

Asked if the first day/night Test would take place by 2014, Richardson replied: "I would hope before then."

Source & picture: cricket.zeenews.com
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Irish handed further World Cup boost after ICC meeting


Ireland's hopes of playing in the 2015 World Cup appear to have received a major boost.

Ex-Ireland captain Trent Johnston told BBC Sport on Wednesday that the ICC's Cricket Committee had "unanimously" recommended that there should be a qualifying process for the 2015 event.

Last month, the ICC announced a move to restrict the 2015 competition to the sport's 10 full members.

This led to a major outcry and the ICC later said it would revisit the issue.

Former Ireland captain Johnston was attending Wednesday's meeting as a players' representative of the associate nations.

Johnston wrote on his Twitter page: "Unanimous decision by ICC Cricket Committee to recommend to the Chief Exec Committee there be a qualifier for CWC 2015. A great result!"

A final decision on the issue is expected to be taken at the ICC's Annual Conference in Hong Kong in June.

Two weeks after the initial decision, ICC president Sharad Pawar responded to vociferous dissatisfaction among the associate and affiliate nations by requesting the executive board look again at the structure of the tournament.

Apart from Ireland, who beat England in 2011 and Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup, the other nations outside the ICC's full members to take part in the 2011 event were Kenya, Canada and the Netherlands.

Scotland, who were at the 1999 and 2007 tournaments, did not dispute the decision to limit the World Cup to 10 teams but argued there should be a qualification event.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan also called for a qualification tournament.

Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom has insisted that the associate and affiliate nations will "keep up the pressure" on the issue.

Source & Picture: news.bbc.co.uk
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Dilshan targets Test success with young attack


Tillakaratne Dilshan wants to become the first Sri Lanka captain to secure a Test series victory in England after leaving the IPL early to lead his team. Although they famously won the one-off clash at The Oval in 1998, when Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets, their best results in a series on English soil is the 1-1 in 2006 which was again secured thanks to a matchwinning effort by Muralitharan Trent Bridge.

This time there is no Muralitharan, but Dilshan has promised not to take a backward step over the next month. "Beating England in their own conditions in the early part of summer is not going to be easy, we have to play very good cricket to do that," he said. "But I am really confident with our boys. As a team we can give England a good run. It's a good challenge for everyone. Before the team leaves for England I will have a word with my players. We are going there with only one intention - to win the series. We are not going there just to draw or to survive in England we want to beat them. We are going to England with that mindset. I am seriously looking forward to the upcoming series."

How determined Dilshan is with his new responsibility can be gauged by the fact that he has made himself available to lead his team for the three-day tour opener, against Middlesex, starting on May 14 which meant cutting short his commitments with Royal Challengers BangaIore in the ongoing IPL tournament in India.

Unlike past captains Dilshan does not have the luxury of matchwinning bowlers of the calibre of Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga all of whom have retired from Test cricket. However, he is confident with his new look bowling line-up, headed by Dilhara Fernando whose experience stretches to only 35 Tests and 90 wickets from a career spanning ten years, and believes team can match England, if not defeat them.

"We have to give the chance to youngsters and this is a good opportunity for them to prove how good they are at international cricket," he said. "As a captain I have a lot of confidence in my young bowlers that they can do a good job. I know the England batting line-up is very strong but I have faith with my fast bowlers and spinners that they can handle this batting line-up. I am sure these young fast bowlers will put their hands up and give their best to the team.

"We have only one experienced bowler in Dilhara but the others have the ability to deliver what they've got. With the help of fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake, and all the senior players who have played in England before, they can share their experience on how to adjust to the conditions in the early summer. This is a good challenge for me going with a set of young fast bowlers. As captain I have the fullest confidence that they can do a good job for Sri Lanka."

The bowlers picked to support Fernando are left-armer Chanaka Welegedara (six Tests, 12 wickets), Suranga Lakmal (two Tests, three wickets) and the uncapped pair of Nuwan Pradeep and Thisara Perera. Considering the career figures Sri Lanka's fast bowling looks pretty short of experience in comparison to the spin department. In Muralitharan's absence it will be handled by left-armer Rangana Herath (24 Tests, 78 wickets), Ajantha Mendis (15 Tests, 61 wickets) and Suraj Randiv (three Tests, 14 wickets).

Dilshan admitted that batting will be Sri Lanka's forte. "We have the same strong batting line-up we've had for the past four or five years in Test cricket. The only thing is the bowling unit is new and inexperienced. Our strength is batting but overall I am really happy with the 16-member squad. I have allrounders, spinners, fast bowlers and good batsmen. This team can turn out to be a good one in the future."

Dilshan's way of looking at everything positively is certain to rub off on the team. "I don't want to change my approach or attitude towards the game because I am captain. With my positive batting I have been very successful. I am not going to change too much from what I have been doing in the last three or four years. I have to adjust and take decisions in the middle which is the only change I foresee from what I have been doing. I am a positive character and I enjoy playing the game. I may sometimes take decisions which others might be surprised with. I think I can do a good job."

Already the responsibility of captaincy has brought a change in Dilshan. He has discarded his earring and done away with the tint in his hair. "As a captain I have to set an example for the youngsters. I have to maintain discipline both on and off the field. As captain I want to set a high standard on the field all the time. We are ambassadors of our country.

"The last few years we have played very good cricket, we have been runners up twice in the 50-over World Cup and once in the World Twenty20. We are a very consistent cricket team and I want to carry that forward by adding a few small things of my own. I need to discuss it with the new coach and coaching staff."

Dilshan's appointment as captain to succeed Kumar Sangakkara who stood down after the World Cup final defeat against India did come in for universal approval, but Dilshan isn't worried about winning any popularity contests. "If you take five people you can get five different views. Everyone can say different things about me but the Cricket Board and the selectors had the confidence to appoint me as captain," he said.

"As a cricketer it's a great achievement to captain your country. I think I am capable of leading this team and at the same time enjoy my captaincy. I am going to get 100 percent out of the players. As captain I may take surprise decisions for that's the kind of player I am. I am going with a positive frame of mind. I might turn out to be a different captain for Sri Lanka," said Dilshan.

Dilshan has still not celebrated his appointment as Sri Lanka captain, but wants to keep it until the end of the England tour. "I was a little bit excited when I first heard of my new appointment when I got a call from the cricket board. I was in India at that time and I spoke to my family and everyone was happy. I want to first finish the tour of England before celebrating the occasion." If Sri Lanka beat England he will have every right for a huge party.

Source & picture: http://www.espncricinfo.com
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Bowlers set up victory for Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2011, Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders' bowlers made best use of a sluggish pitch after a rain-delayed start, keeping Chennai Super Kings to 114, and their batsmen did enough to be ahead of the par score when rain returned to cut the match short. Both captains thought the weather would have little impact on the pitch and identified it as a good batting strip, but were proved wrong.

On a slow, low wicket that didn't allow the ball to come on, Brett Lee and Iqbal Abdulla exploited the conditions perfectly. It was only S Badrinath's carefully crafted half-century that held the Chennai innings together. Both Lee and Abdulla bowled tight lines, with Lee using the slower ball well, and didn't give the batsmen room to break away.

Lee bowled a three-over spell up front, instead of the usual two, and while he pulled the noose at one end, another wicket fell at the other. Pressure built and M Vijay succumbed. Abdulla saw him charging down the track, dropped one short and was offered an easy caught-and-bowled.

Yusuf Pathan, who didn't allow any release, took the pace off the ball and had Suresh Raina caught at midwicket. Rajat Bhatia also permitted no let-up and after nine overs, Chennai had not scored a single boundary.

The first one came in the 10th over, off Yusuf, when Badrinath had had enough, and smacked it low and flat over long-on. Michael Hussey had stayed with Badrinath through the tough patch but his labour ended in the next over when he was offered a short ball by L Balaji and pulled it straight to Eoin Morgan at midwicket.

Albie Morkel was promoted to number five and gave himself some time to get in and the Kolkata bowlers maintained the stranglehold. After eight balls, he had the opportunity to sink his teeth into Jaidev Unadkat, who was only brought on in the 15th over. The pace bowler seemed to misread the pitch and bowled too quick, getting dispatched for consecutive fours before he pulled it back with some slower balls. Morkel was dropped in the same over by Lee, trying to launch Unadkat over the leg-side.

While Morkel was attempting to hit big shots and even appeared to get an edge in Lee's final over but was not given out, Badrinath was sculpting his half-century. He became more comfortable after he had got in and picked the balls to hit. Morkel had more of the strike in the last two overs but only one of his many swings got to the boundary.

It wasn't easy for Kolkata to chase, especially with R Ashwin making use of some turn. He bowled Eoin Morgan in the second over and also got the important wicket of Gautam Gambhir, although the fielder deserved more credit for the second. Gambhir had danced down the track and sliced the ball in the air towards extra cover. Suraj Randiv ran from point to take a tough diving catch.

Jacques Kallis was the immovable rock for Kolkata. He coped well, given the conditions and struck two classic boundaries. Along with Manoj Tiwary, Kallis looked comfortable enough to see Kolkata through and had the rain not come down, he probably would have. Nevertheless, he had done enough to put Kolkata firmly in front when play ended.

Source & picture: http://www.espncricinfo.com
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Warne leads Rajasthan to emphatic win

Rajasthan Royals 111 for 2 (Watson 49, Dravid 44) beat Kochi Tuskers Kerala 109 (Parthiv 32, Warne 3-16, Trivedi 3-19) by eight wickets


Cosmetic surgery? Moisturiser? Who cares? Shane Warne is still ripping them legbreaks. He is still getting vicious dip and drift. He is still producing key wickets - tonight those of Brad Hodge and the top-scorers Parthiv Patel and Ravindra Jadeja - to keep Rajasthan Royals alive in the tournament. On a pitch where the bounce varied from shoulder to shin-high off similar lengths, Kochi Tuskers Kerala threatened to convert their ordinary start into a decent total, but Warne came back to remove both Parthiv and Jadeja off successive deliveries to end the 48-run fourth-wicket partnership. The resultant target was sub-par even on the slightly two-paced pitch, and Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson ensured there were no hiccups in the chase, with a 71-run opening stand.

Rajasthan were right at home in conditions that their two spinners and predominantly slower-ball bowlers enjoy. They also had the injured Johan Botha back, who removed Mahela Jayawardene with the first ball he bowled. It all started inauspiciously for Kochi, with Brendon McCullum missing out because of a bad shoulder. His replacement, VVS Laxman, ran himself out. Botha came on and turned one across Jayawardene, and with some help from the protruding thigh pad, the ball found a way into the stumps. Warne did Brad Hodge in with one that kept low. As a consequence of those big wickets, once Kochi's run-rate fell below six in the fifth over, it never crossed that mark.

Rajasthan's international bowlers - Warne, Botha and Watson - went for 58 in 12 overs between them. Warne even found time to settle a personal score. He welcomed Ravindra Jadeja, who had tried to move away from his franchise last year and was banned in the process, with a bouncer at 110kph. Jadeja and Parthiv, though, kept their heads and put Kochi on their way to what could have been a defendable target. They picked their battles wisely, taking risks against the domestic bowlers, running hard, not looking for ambitious shots.

At 88 for 3 after 15 overs, though, they decided they needed to push for more runs, especially considering it was the expected dew that had made Rajasthan field first on this pitch. Jadeja came down to Warne, who bowled the straighter one and got a thick edge along the ground. Two balls later Jadeja tried the slog sweep, but this one bounced at him, taking the top edge. Back-pedalling, Warne completed the catch around mid-on. Parthiv lost his head next ball, trying the reverse-sweep, and was stumped off a slider.

After that Kochi lost their way with new batsman struggling to time the ball on the slow track. In all, seven wickets fell for 21 runs. The momentum continued into the second innings as Watson smashed the first ball to the cover boundary. Dravid took over from there, playing proper cricketing shots to counter the tricky pitch. He also hit the first six of the match shortly before running himself out, going for an ambitious second run. At 71 for 1, only formalities remained, but Watson pushed the rate up, ensuring the target was achieved with 5.5 overs to spare, giving Rajasthan's net run-rate a boost.

Source & picture: http://www.espncricinfo.com
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Sangakkara, Jayawardene support Malinga's decision


Former Sri Lankan captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have backed fast bowler Lasith Malinga's decision to quit Tests on account of a degenerative knee condition. Malinga announced his retirement last week, when the Sri Lankan board questioned his participation in the IPL after withdrawing from the upcoming England Tests citing fitness issues. Sangakkara pointed out that Malinga's decision was best for the team, while Jayawardene said it was the right call from a personal point of view.

"We were all well aware of the seriousness of his knee condition and while I was captain we tried to manage him as carefully and sensitively as possible during the past couple of years," Sangakkara wrote in his column in the Times of India. "We obviously wanted him to play Tests, but when we asked him to play the India tour it took him two months to physically recover from that."

Sangakkara revealed that Malinga's future was one of the issues he had discussed with the Sri Lankan board while stepping down from captaincy. "The truth is that Lasith is our best fast bowler in limited-overs cricket right now," Sangakkara wrote. "If we forced him to play Tests we would be running the risk of losing him completely. That would be a tragedy for Sri Lanka, undermining both the ODI and T20 teams."

Sangakkara dismissed suggestions that Malinga chose to quit Tests in order to extend his participation in the lucrative IPL. "Malinga has always given his best as a national cricketer. Had it not been for his knee problem he would definitely want to play Tests. I fully support his decision and hope that as a result of it we see him playing for a few more years."

Jayawardene, who was in charge of the Sri Lankan side before Sangakkara took over said it was unfair to criticise Malinga's decision. "Given the state of his knee condition, there is no point in him taking the risk of playing Test cricket," Jayawardene wrote in the same newspaper. "If he breaks down then it will be bad for Sri Lanka. We want him playing for us as long as possible. Some people have criticised the decision, arguing that he is being selfish. This short-sighted argument is very unfair given that he clearly has a chronic knee problem.

"Lasith is a human being and, while he is totally committed to Sri Lanka, he also has responsibilities as a husband and, one day hopefully, a father. If his career is ended by injury, who is going to look after him and his family? When he suffered the injury the first time he was stripped of his central contract within about six months and left with no income.

"Any individual in any profession has to consider their personal and family interests when they make big decisions in their life. Why should a professional cricketer be any different? We need to support him and protect him. He is a natural match-winner and a great asset for Sri Lanka. We should be grateful for his services and help him look after himself."

Source & picture: http://www.espncricinfo.com
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Pakistan's batsmen seal the job started by spinners

Pakistan 222 for 2 (Misbah 73*, Shafiq 61*, Hafeez 54, Bishoo 2-48) beat West Indies 221 for 6 (Bravo 67, Sammy 29*, Ajmal 1-24, Hafeez 1-36) by 8 wickets.


Pakistan strolled to victory in the first one-day international against West Indies at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq all contributing half-centuries as West Indies' score of 221 for 6 was overhauled with more than eight overs to spare.

It appeared West Indies had a fighting chance of continuing the success of the opening Twenty20 of the tour after Darren Bravo's 67 helped them to a workable total and legspinner Devendra Bishoo struck twice in quick succession to reduce Pakistan to 88 for 2. Bishoo had precious little support from the rest of the bowling attack, however, and Misbah and Shafiq put together an unbroken partnership of 134 for the third wicket to steer Pakistan home.

This match had been billed as a chance for West Indies to get revenge for their World Cup humiliation by Pakistan, but in the end it was more like a replay. Even the Man of the Match, Hafeez, was the same and West Indies' greatest errors stemmed from their misreading of the pitch for today's game - an unforgivable error as they should have known what to expect after the Twenty20, which was also played at Gros Islet.

It had been thought the pitch would be slow, and it was, but it also offered turn and bounce to the spinners. Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Hafeez bowled a combined 30 overs for just 100 runs, picking up two wickets, but Bishoo was the only slow bowler in an unbalanced seam-heavy attack as Devon Smith bowled two ineffectual overs of offspin and Marlon Samuel's respectable offerings weren't called upon.

West Indies were left chasing the game almost from the start as, reprising his World Cup role, Hafeez was brought on early and soon dealt with Smith while Ajmal toyed with Lendl Simmons before sending down a doosra that the batsman feathered through to the keeper to give a sluggish start an even more sombre tone.

Samuels maintained his trademark ice cool composure and exhibited his best poker face but fell to some indecisive running and it was left to Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards to get an increasingly rudderless innings back on track. They gritted out a fourth-wicket partnership worth 59, replete with snappy singles and dinks into the outfield, that carried West Indies to 135 before Edwards tried to break the shackles with a heave into the deep that could only get as far as Junaid Khan at deep midwicket.

That brought Darren's half-brother Dwayne to the crease, and it was in his company that he reached a boundary-free half-century from 97 balls. The brothers Bravo continued to push the ones and twos wherever possible, and when the Batting Powerplay was called for at the start of the 43rd over Darren took it as his cue to take the attack to Pakistan's seamers.

With much of the boundary unprotected, Dwayne Bravo attempted to follow Darren's lead but his charge came to a premature end when he chipped a Riaz full toss towards mid-off, where Afridi skipped to his right and bent low to hold the catch inches from the turf.

Sammy's walk to the crease was accompanied by a warm reception from a middling crowd - St Lucia being his home island - but they were soon hushed into silence by another piece of inept running. Bravo dug a free hit towards deep mid-off and Sammy cajoled him into a second run that was never there, the result being that the set batsman was run out for 67 just as he began to accelerate and West Indies faced the final five overs of the innings with two brand new batsmen at the crease.

While Ajmal continued to weave mysteries around the batsmen until the very end, Sammy took the dismissal in his stride and responded with a flurry of boundaries - including a memorably monstrous six that landed on the roof of the stands on the western side of the ground - and together with an energetic Carlton Baugh boosted West Indies' total at the death.

It was soon made to look nowhere near enough, however, as Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad put on an untroubled 68 for the first wicket at close to a-run-a-ball before Bishoo's intervention. Hafeez had set about Pakistan's chase with alacrity from the start, displacing a silken touch on both sides of the wicket as he raced to 20 from just 10 balls without a slog in sight and taking full advantage as a swirling top-edge evaded Kemar Roach, running in from long leg.

After a slow start his opening partner, Shehzad, started to catch up with three classy boundaries from one Roach over and with Pakistan soon racing along at better than a-run-a-ball West Indies began to wilt visibly in the field.

Bishoo's introduction quickly changed that, however, as he gave away just one run from his first nine deliveries and then lured Shehzad forward with a looping, dipping legbreak that fizzed past the outside edge for wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh to complete a smart stumping with the batsman's back foot in the air. Hafeez went to his fifty with a slog sweep over deep backward square off Bishoo, but was then undone by what appeared to be a wrong 'un as, cramped for room, he clipped straight to a diving short midwicket.

The wickets reduced Pakistan to 88 for 2 and brought West Indies back into the game, but with the seam attack unable to contain the batsmen and spin support for Bishoo unavailable Misbah and Shafiq soon settled. Both played with increasingly imperious confidence, Misbah raising a 63-ball fifty in the 35th over and Shafiq following suit four overs later. West Indies' demise thereafter was swift, and they will have to improve in all areas if they are to square the series in the second match at the same ground on Monday.

Source & picture: http://www.espncricinfo.com
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