All posts by n8rngtd.top

Two senior members of USA’s senior team have threatened to stay home over non-payment of a bonus that was promised to them by the USA Cricket Association

Peter Della Penna09-Jan-2011USA’s senior team has been hit by controversy less than a week before it is supposed to leave for Hong Kong to take part in the ICC World Cricket League Division Three, with two of its senior members threatening to stay home over non-payment of a bonus that was promised to them by the USA Cricket Association for winning ICC World Cricket League Division Four.USACA President Gladstone Dainty confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Friday that a bonus payment was promised, and said the players will receive the money in due time, but that financing tournaments and selection camps took precedence ahead of paying out any bonuses to individual players.”We don’t deal kindly with those kind of threats,” Dainty said when informed of the players intentions. “Tell them that I say if it’s the case that they’re not going to go to Hong Kong, we’ll send another team because this is about the growth of US cricket. It’s about everybody. It’s not about them. The money that we spend is for everybody. If they think we’re going to give them money and not have a national championship or not prepare the Under-19 teams, they got something else coming, not under my watch. They can stay home.”With this amount of cricket being played, we’re spending a lot of money and we’ve got to prioritize it. We’re not going to not have a national championship because we’re giving players a bonus. They’re going to have to wait.”The two players, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claim that Dainty promised the team a $1000 bonus for winning Division Four in Italy. Dainty, however, would not confirm that figure. “I don’t know how much they were promised. I told them we’ll give them a bonus based on the money that we have, but generally we don’t give them less than $500. What we’re not going to do, the ladies team won also, we’re not going to give them more than we give the ladies. It’s going to be all of them, and the ladies, so we’ve got to look at the money but it’s not going to be less than $500.”The USA women’s team swept a three-match 50-over series against Canada in July to win the ICC Americas Women’s championship, clinching a spot in this year’s Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh.”They were promised a bonus,” Dainty said. “We didn’t tell them when they’d get it and the reason why we didn’t tell them when they’d get it… for the national tournament we were broke. So to give those players a bonus and not have the national tournament, which one is the priority?”Dainty said that he hoped USACA would receive its quarterly ICC development grant as early as Monday. “We’re getting funding in, including the ICC money. Even today I had a discussion with the treasurer about as soon as that money comes in, not only they’re gonna get their bonus, we promised the ladies some money and those ladies, they’ve been very nice and gracious. So we’ll pay them and pay the ladies when the money comes in.”In addition to the delayed bonus payment, the two players are unhappy that their stipend for the upcoming tour to Hong Kong has not been increased from the tour of Italy. According to the players, they received $200 per day on tour in August for a total of $3000 but have been told that they will receive the same amount for Hong Kong. Team sources have also said that first time tour members receive either $125 or $150 per day. The anonymous players feel that because they advanced to play in a more competitive tournament, they deserve an increase in pay.”It’s not all about the money,” the second anonymous player said. “It’s about respect. If you make a promise, we expect it to be fulfilled.”The USA squad is due to meet in New York on Friday before leaving on Saturday January 15 for Hong Kong with the tournament starting on the 22nd. “This tour is a make or break tour for USACA and if they don’t get things right by next Friday, there may be a few senior players who won’t be going to New York to get on the plane to Hong Kong,” the first anonymous player said. “It’s about time USACA thinks about the players instead of themselves because it’s us going on the field representing USA, and not them.”Another issue bothering both players is that they claim they do not receive any portion of the tour stipend until they get to the airport to go on tour. As a result, they say they have a hard time depositing the money or sending it back to their families to be able to use while they are gone and that the tour stipend does not adequately cover the money they are forgoing in lost wages by taking time off work.”They’re giving us $750 at the airport and then the balance while we’re gone,” the first player said. “Can you take care of your family from the airport? These people are not treating us even halfway how we’re supposed to be treated.””We’ve got a situation, they’re getting ready to go on tour and we always give them money before they leave,” Dainty said in response to the complaint about the delivery of tour payments. “So they’ll be getting that money and hopefully they can get the bonus. It’s not that we had it. We have to prioritize. Although we signed this big deal, we haven’t drawn down all the money yet, a lot of the money, because a lot of paperwork is still going on. We’re not trying to run away, they’ll get the money, but as the money comes in, we’re trying to prioritize.”With USACA due to receive $5 million in 2011 for its share in the newly formed Cricket Holdings America, the players say they’ve been underpaid for a long time and now they want their share of the spoils.”We need to form a players association,” the second player said. “USACA doesn’t negotiate with anyone. They just give us whatever and expect us to take it. For cricket to move forward, the players need to feel comfortable. Nothing has been improved for the players so I don’t understand how the cricket is going to get better. Cricket is not about those [administrators]. It’s about the players. It’s just a bunch of jokers controlling the cricket.”

Zimbabwe’s players say cricket in their country has turned a corner: the team has belief, and interest in the game has been reignited

Firdose Moonda in Chennai11-Feb-2011It’s a classic clash of little brother versus big brother when South Africa play Zimbabwe in their warm-up match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday. It usually is when these two sides play each other and the predictable usually happens. Usually.There have been two exceptions, both more than a decade ago, one of them in the 1999 World Cup. But, Prosper Utseya, the Zimbabwe offspinner, believes there’s no reason his team can’t win on Saturday, even though the result in a warm-up match is usually secondary to individual performances. “The attitude towards playing big teams has changed,” he said. “We are now paying with the belief that we can beat those guys.”Zimbabwe know they are coming to this World Cup with not much expectation, but sneaking in under the radar may be good for what they hope to achieve in the subcontinent. After many false starts to a better Zimbabwean cricket landscape, things finally seem to be changing for the better, with the introduction of the franchise system leading to the professionalisation of players on the domestic circuit. Now, that needs to translate into success on the international stage. “To justify what’s been happening, we need to do things on the field,” Utseya said.That has started to happen in the last couple of years, with Zimbabwe winning seven out of 20 matches since January 2010, and people’s interest in the national cricket side is reigniting, something Graeme Cremer, the Zimbabwe legspinner, has noticed. “I think about 70% more people have become interested in us over the last year or so,” Cremer said. “Before we left for the World Cup, people were very excited and wanted us to do well.”Prior to coming to the subcontinent, Zimbabwe spent some time training in Dubai, where they played two warm-up matches, against the Netherlands and Kenya, and won both. Those victories were important for the team, because as left-arm spinner Ray Price explained, it gives them a platform on which to build. “In the past, we’ve won a few games on the trot and then we’ve lost some, so there was never a period where we won consistently,” Price said. “We will use these warm-up games to be more consistent.”Although the result is important to Zimbabwe, they, like other teams, want to use the games to “find the right combinations,” according to Utseya. “We are trying different things in terms of our opening batting and bowling partnerships.” Zimbabwe’s batting conundrum, in particular, is going to be tricky because they lost experienced batsman Sean Ervine, who decided to retain his British citizenship rather than represent Zimbabwe, as well as his replacement Tino Mawoyo through injury.It would take a supreme effort to carry on the winning streak because South Africa are a powerful side, but, if Jacques Kallis is rested as Graeme Smith indicated he might be, then Zimbabwe may sense a real chance to expose the fragility South Africa’s middle and lower order showed in the recent series against India.The No. 6 and 7 batting spots will be the ones under the most scrutiny from South African critics. Colin Ingram is expected to bat at No. 7, and if Kallis does not play, then Morne van Wyk could find himself in the No. 3 position. Because there will be thirteen players allowed to participate in the warm-up match, it is likely that Faf du Plessis will get to bat in the lower order as well.What will be particularly interesting to watch will be South Africa’s spin selection. Will they finally unleash Imran Tahir? The Pakistan-born legspinner was included in South Africa’s squad to play India in January but was held back as a secret weapon for the World Cup. He has not had any match time and, since South Africa are in a different group from Zimbabwe, it may the perfect opportunity to give him a run. It looks likely that Wayne Parnell will be the man to sit out, which means all the spinners (frontline and part-time) will play, as well as Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.Zimbabwe have no such seam trio to speak of, but they will call on their clutch of spinners. Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu cites Zimbabwe’s spinners as their biggest asset, calling Price and Utseya “world-class.” That may well be the element that will give the little brothers a chance as the countdown to the World Cup reaches its last few days.

Anyone still out there who thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera26-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMisbah-ul-Haq steered Pakistan through the middle overs and surged at the end•AFP

Anyone out there who still thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? With tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 277, before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced bits of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist with a flurry of boundaries, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over. Umar Gul, however, held his nerve to steer Pakistan home and end a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket in ColomboPakistan’s innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs, fabulous end-over bowling from Muttiah Muralitharan, who gave only five runs from two batting Powerplay overs, and finally a Misbah blitz, with 32 runs flowing from the final three overs, which eventually made the difference.The chase too nearly had it all: two inspired moments bursting with imagination and skill from Shoaib and Afridi, two failed stumpings, a dropped catch and a late surge from Silva, who woke up too late after a painstaking start.In the 21st over, Shoaib produced a crafty offcutter, slightly slower and darting in from outside off, to breach the defences of Mahela Jayawardene and leave Sri Lanka stuttering at 95 for 3. In the next, Afridi, who had earlier removed Tillakaratne Dilshan with a skidding delivery, ripped a loopy leg break that dipped rapidly on Thilan Samaraweera, who was sucked out of his crease and left stranded as Kamran Akmal effected a smart stumping. Akmal later missed two leg-side stumping chances to let off Kumar Sangakkara, on 22 and 33, off Abdur Rehman. The first one kicked more than Akmal anticipated and he had no excuse for the second. Rehman, himself, dropped a sitter to reprieve Silva. However, the twin blows had left Sangakkara with too much to do, especially with Silva struggling to get started, and he fell by holing out to long-on. Silva then stirred from his slumber to reduce the equation from 88 from 47 balls to 46 from 24. He slog swept Rehman for two fours and pulled Gul and Shoaib for more boundaries before he was stumped. Kulasekara took over the baton, whipping a 14-ball 24 but the task proved beyond him.It was the batting that set up the game for Pakistan, as the Premadasa has always been cruel to the team batting second. Pakistan’s innings stood out for its handling of the middle overs. Serenity blew across the ground after the fall of Kamran. Mohammad Hafeez had run himself out after a moment of madness and Kamran, who inexplicably withdrew into his shell after that mix-up, soon combusted, going for an ugly slog against Pakistan’s bogeyman Rangana Herath. It wasn’t quite a crisis but it definitely needed calm heads. Luckily for Pakistan, you can’t find better men than Misbah and Younis to handle these moments. What followed was a perfect advertisement for the much-abused middle overs in an ODI.Two of the oldest members of the side ran beautifully, worked the angles intelligently, pinged the gaps frequently with the nudge-drive-and-sweep routine, and breathed life into an innings that could have, perhaps otherwise, succumbed to adrenalin rushes. If Misbah pressed back to play Murali, Younis leaned forward to tackle him; if Misbah backed to leg to create room, Younis shuffled to off to work to the leg; if Misbah tapped wide of midwicket for the quick single, Younis nudged just wide of backward point; if Misbah deployed the reverse-sweep, Younis stayed conventional. They always ran well. The runs kept ticking over, the opposition grew increasingly restless, and Pakistan secured ownership of the innings.What further spiced up this partnership was the knowledge that the powerful lower order was waiting in the dressing room. When Younis fell in the 41st over, with Pakistan on 213 for 4, it even seemed like good news for Pakistan – Afridi and co to follow, unleash violence and 300 would be a formality. Or so it seemed. Here is where Sri Lanka sparkled. Here is when that man Murali and Kulasekara stepped in to do damage control.While Pakistan’s handling of middle overs was a treat to watch, Sri Lanka’s skill in the end overs was awe-inspiring. Murali ripped his offbreaks, altering the trajectory, pace, and the extent of turn. Kulasekara punctuated his yorkers with slower cutters to keep Pakistan in check. Murali gave only two runs in the 44th over, the first of the batting Powerplay, and only three in the 46th, which included the wicket of Umar Akmal. Kulasekera gave away just five in the 47th, keeping Afridi quiet with a series of yorkers.Misbah responded to Murali’s magic by growing more innovative. He shuffled to the off and whipped Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews for boundaries as Pakistan collected 32 runs in the last three overs to post a match-winning total. Misbah and Younis’ presence in the middle overs had raised a few murmurs before this World Cup but there would be only voices of appreciation after tonight.

Match Timeline

The 14-man squads for all six teams competing in the World Cricket League Division Seven tournament have been named

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Apr-2011The 14-man squads for all six teams competing in the World Cricket League Division Seven tournament have been named. Nigeria, Japan, Norway, Germany, Kuwait and Botswana will take part in the competition, which is being hosted in Botswana in May.The competition, which runs from May 1 to 8, will be played on three grounds in Gaborone – the two Botswana Cricket Association Ovals and Lobatse Cricket Ground. Three matches will be held per day, one at each ground, with rest days on May 3 and 6. The top two sides from the Division Seven tournament will be promoted to Division Six.Botswana: Akrum Chand (capt), Karabo Modise, Omar Ali, Tshepo Mhozya, Mosa Gaolekwe, Segolame Ramatu, Karabo Motlhanka, Waseem Tajbhay, Aslam Chand, Denzil Sequeira, James Moses, Faisal Rana Rasheed, Abdul Patel, Noor AhmadGermany: Asif Khan (capt), Rana Javed Iqbal, Rajeev Vohra, Ehsaan Latif, Farooq Ahmed, Srinivas Satyanarayana, Milan Fernando, Kashif Halder, Rishi Pillal, Shakeel Hassan, Tarun Rawat, Andre Leslie, Ashwin Prakash, Khalid ButtJapan: Masaomi Kobayashi (capt), Munir Ahmed, Gavin Beath, Tatsuro Chino, Patrick Giles-Jones, Takuro Hagihara, Ko Irie, Prashant Kale, Raheel Kano, Naoki Miyaji, Naotsune Miyaji, Satoshi Nakano, Kazuyuki Ogawa, Tomoki OtaKuwait: Hisham Mirza (capt), Saud Qamar, Azmatullah Nazeer, Abdullah Akhudzada, Mohammad Murad, Muhammad Akhudzada, Haroon Shahid, Mohammed Naseer, Saad Khalid, Irfan Bhatti, Sabtain Raza, Jagath Rosantha, Midhun Varma Pakalapati, Abid MushtaqNorway: Damien Shortis (capt), Iram Dawood, Suhail Iftikhar, Sheraz Khalid, Babar Shahzad, Usman M.Saeed, Ehtsam Ul Haq, Shahid Ahmad, Muhammad Shabbaz Butt, Shahid Mahmood, Muhammad Waseem Gill, Adeel Ibrar, Gulfam Butt, Umran ShahzaNigeria: Endurance Ofem (capt), Adenkule Adegbola, Ademola Onikoyi, Saheed Akolade, Olalekan Awolowo, Olajide Bejide, Joshua Ogunlola, Akabogu Okwudili, Segun Olayinka, Temitope Olayinka, Oluseye Olympio, Femi Oduyebo, Ramit Gill, Sean Philips

West Indies did fight as best they could but by the end of a long, attritional day on an uneven surface, at 209 for 9, it wasn’t looking like the fight would be enough against a Pakistan side heavily reliant on spin

The Bulletin by Osman Samiuddin12-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOnce again, West Indies had no answers against Saeed Ajmal•Associated Press

It’s not often Pakistan rely so heavily on spin reap the benefits though not so often will they come across a batting side so ill-equipped to face it on so helpful a track. In truth, West Indies did fight as best they could but by the end of a long, attritional day on an uneven surface, at 209 for 9, it wasn’t looking like the fight would be enough.Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez did the bulk of the work and damage, 68 of the day’s overs bringing them eight wickets. Throughout they were at it, tightening a noose around West Indies from which they never broke free.The key spell that wrenched open the day came from Ajmal and Rehman almost two-thirds into the day. It had been a tight, ungiving contest till then, hosts battling after winning the toss and tourists committed.Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan had put on 46 runs to steady a brief wobble and had done so with considerable class. The over before tea, however, as so often before, Sarwan got careless, a loose cut well-caught by debutant wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman.Ajmal was disappointing in the morning but as he switched round the wicket after lunch, he strung together some magic. He settled in first against Chanderpaul and Sarwan, bowling a few maidens but once Sarwan went and exposed the lower middle-order, he really stuck in.He’s never been shy with his doosras, though if bowled as well as he does there is no reason to be. Liberally he hurled them at batsmen as comfortable reading them as most of us are with Braille. He mixed them up so well that Brendan Nash and Carlton Baugh were looking for the ones that never came, and both were caught plumb in front. The pick was the doosra that sucked in Chanderpaul, like a leg-break Shane Warne might have delivered from round the wicket.There was wholeness about his bowling with plenty of well-pitched, turning offbreaks, good changes of angle as well as use of uneven bounce. The West Indies crash came from 127 for 2, Ajmal bowling unchanged from midway through the day.Rehman , as he does so well, played a willing second fiddle. There was nothing fancy about his contribution, just straightforward containment at one end. In the morning he helped Hafeez keep a leash on things, and through the afternoon supported Ajmal with key breakthroughs.In hindsight, Hafeez’s morning spell set the day, the first Pakistani spinner to open the bowling in the very first innings of a Test. Post-spot-fixing, he has been a key player and as they had done in the World Cup quarter-final in Dhaka, the West Indies top order froze, allowing him to attack without fear. No batsman dreads Hafeez more than Devon Smith and soon enough he fell, the fifth time in seven internationals. His first spell – 10-5-14-1 – was remarkably similar to the quarter-final 10-3-16-2, statistically and spiritually.That West Indies remained in it till tea was down to two partnerships, first between Darren Bravo and Lendl Simmons. Early in the day, the pair had begun with caution, treating each ball as gingerly as a hand grenade. In particular, Simmons in whites appeared a different species to Simmons in colours, with none of the gusto or fluidity of his ODI displays. But once the stylish Bravo got things moving, Simmons moved up a gear driving and cutting Ajmal before lunch. Slowly, surely, by then the pair had put on fifty.But an energetic burst from Wahab Riaz after lunch ended it, dismissing Bravo and forcing Simmons to retire hurt. That brought together Sarwan and Chanderpaul, batting giants among pygmies. Rebuilding is well and good, but you can’t reproduce this kind of nous and experience and immediately they looked a class above.They milked singles when needed, but more importantly, didn’t get restless when unable to. Boundaries came when they came, few of them ugly. Sarwan cut one, Chanderpaul pinged a fantastic drive off Umar Gul as well as gliding Riaz in his unique way through point. But once Sarwan went, the unraveling began; nine men in double figures but none higher than 49 tells a tale.It was deserved reward for Pakistan who held a threat at one end through the day and had it not been for plenty of missed chances, the total could have been lower. With Devendra Bishoo to negotiate on this pitch, who knows what the chances Salman, Azhar Ali and Misbah-ul-Haq fluffed may cost.

A fractured finger has put Mumbai Indians’ wicketkeeper-batsman Davy Jacobs out of action for at least two weeks

Firdose Moonda04-May-2011A fractured finger has put Mumbai Indians’ wicketkeeper-batsman Davy Jacobs out of action for at least two weeks. Jacobs said he was not sure for how long the injury would keep him out, but he hoped to be back for Mumbai’s final group match on May 22.”I won’t be out for too long, as it’s not a ligament or muscle, just bone,” Jacobs told ESPNcricinfo. “It won’t restrict me when I come back.”Jacobs picked up the injury while standing up to Munaf Patel in Mumbai’s match against Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai on May 2. Having often stood up to the fast bowlers in the tournament, Jacobs was struck on his thumb off Patel’s first delivery which is when he is likely to have suffered the fracture, but went on to keep for the rest of the match.Mumbai, for whom he has regularly opened the batting, had signed up Jacobs for this IPL season on the back of his solid performance in the Champions League 2010 for South Africa domestic side Warriors. Jacobs put together a series of attacking cameos without going on to make a big score, and he has been steady behind the stumps, drawing praise from former India gloveman and Mumbai’s wicketkeeping coach Kiran More.

The MA Chidambaram Stadium continued to be a fortress that couldn’t be breached, as Chennai sealed a seventh straight win at home to end Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s maiden IPL campaign on a disappointing note

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya18-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWriddhiman Saha was an unlikely top-scorer for Chennai Super Kings•AFP

The MA Chidambaram Stadium continued to be a fortress that couldn’t be breached, as Chennai sealed a seventh straight win at home to end Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s maiden IPL campaign on a disappointing note. The win for the hosts was the only constant on an otherwise unusual day in Chennai. To begin with, it was not oppressively hot on a summer’s day; the pitch played slow and low and Kochi bowled with discipline to limit a power-packed batting line-up to a gettable total. The home side found an unlikely hero in Wriddhiman Saha, who seized on a promotion and an early let-off to play a decisive cameo. Lapses by Parthiv Patel, the replacement captain, with the gloves, and Kochi’s struggles to step it up in the chase, meant Chennai’s score of 152 was more than adequate.For those who witnessed Adam Gilchrist’s ruthless onslaught against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday, this was a slightly laborious affair. The Kochi bowlers varied their lengths well and did not offer too many scoring opportunities; the seamers refrained from doling out length deliveries, while Muttiah Muralitharan prompted caution. Each time the hosts tried to improvise and go on the attack, they were pegged back by a wicket, earned by Kochi rather than handed out.M Vijay smashed RP Singh for three boundaries in the third over, but was cleaned up by a perfectly-aimed yorker off the final ball. Suresh Raina was dropped by Parthiv first ball, and Sreesanth, the frustrated party, was made to rue that lapse with two huge sixes over long-on. But the bowler hit back in the same over, when Raina miscued a full toss. S Badrinath smashed a six over midwicket, but was caught brilliantly off the next ball when RP dived full length in the deep to pluck a catch inches from the ground. Saha, though, bucked the trend.In a contrast to his senior partner Michael Hussey, who was tied down by the steady fall of wickets and his own struggle to push on, Saha infused some urgency in the Chennai innings after surviving a missed stumping by Parthiv. In a clear sign of intent following the second time-out at the end of the 13th over – the scoring rate was fractionally over six at that stage – Saha swept Ravindra Jadeja for six over square leg. In addition to aggressive running between the wickets and an adeptness in rotating the strike, Saha, picked for the Indian tour of West Indies, also indulged in some powerplay. He charged out to Muralitharan to loft him out of the ground and pulled RP into the stands behind deep midwicket to end the Chennai innings on a high.Kochi needed a big win to keep themselves mathematically alive in this competition, but even the usually dominating Brendon McCullum was forced to exercise restraint against some determined bowling. R Ashwin kept one end locked up with his variations in turn, flight and pace, and sent back Parthiv in his second over. McCullum and Gnaneswara Rao picked up a couple of boundaries each but the innings appeared to stagnate soon after Rao’s dismissal. McCullum and Brad Hodge could do little during their stand to get on par with the climbing required-rate. Chennai didn’t concede a single boundary in the three overs that followed McCullum’s exit at 85 in the 14th over.Kochi did manage a belated surge with Jadeja and Hodge trying to salvage what they could out of an impending defeat, reducing the margin of the loss to 11 runs – incidentally, the difference in Parthiv’s expected target at the toss.

Scott Newman top scored with 61 from 57 balls on his return to his old ground, but still finished on the losing side as Surrey beat Middlesex by 21 runs

23-Jun-2011
ScorecardScott Newman top scored with 61 from 57 balls on his return to his old ground, but still finished on the losing side as Surrey beat Middlesex by 21 runs in the Friends Life t20 London derby at The Oval.Having single-handedly kept the Panthers’ run-chase afloat, Newman was eventually dismissed in the final over as Surrey clinched their third win and inflicted a seventh defeat in eight starts on Middlesex.Middlesex made a solid if unspectacular start chasing the Surrey total of 163 for 5 through skipper Neil Dexter and Irish opener Paul Stirling, who added 29 before Dexter edged a Stuart Meaker leg-cutter to the wicketkeeper.Having conceded only a single from his opening over from the Vauxhall End, offspinner Gareth Batty switched to the Pavilion End to snare Stirling lbw for 34 after he missed a reverse sweep.Needing 95 from the last nine overs, Newman moved up a gear against his former side to flay 12 off Meaker’s next over, but Batty restricted Dawid Malan and Newman to six from the 13th over and Rory Hamilton-Brown did even better to keep them down to two from his next over of offspin.The asking rate had escalated to 12.4 with five overs remaining, but the Panthers’ pairing clubbed 17 off Yasir Arafat’s next over with Newman reaching a 46-ball 50. Hamilton-Brown conceded only two from the 18th over and Dirk Nannes leaked only five in the penultimate over to leave Middlesex with too much to do. Newman fell to a Yasir Arafat yorker with two balls remaining.After electing to bat first, Surrey lost opener Steve Davis after 13 balls when he was caught behind to a top-edged pull off Steven Crook, but otherwise it was a roaring start for the Lions.Captain Hamilton-Brown clattered six boundaries in his cameo 20-ball knock for 30, while Jason Roy clubbed the first six of the night off Crook on his way to 32 as Surrey raced to 50 for 1 after five overs.The introduction of Dexter’s military medium pacers and the left-arm spin of Tom Smith sparked the loss of four wickets in a shade more than eight overs. Hamilton-Brown chopped onto his stumps against Dexter, Jason Roy missed a slog sweep to have his stumps rearranged by the same bowler, and Zander de Bruyn nicked to the wicketkeeper to give Dexter 3 for 18.After a tenacious four-over spell that cost only 20, Smith gave way to Tim Murtagh who bowled Gary Wilson to bring together Tom Maynard and Yasir Arafat for an unbroken sixth-wicket stand worth 55 in 4.3 overs.Maynard cantered to a half-century from 37 balls and Arafat added 28 from 17 deliveries, plundering 20 from the last over of the innings from Crook.

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have grown accustomed to playing each other in limited-overs cricket in recent years, but have not met in a Test for more than five years

The Preview by Firdose Moonda in Harare03-Aug-2011

Match facts

Brendan Taylor leads Zimbabwe back into the Test fold•Zimbabwe Cricket

August 4 – 8, Harare Sports Club
Start time 10:00 (08:00GMT)

Big Picture

This fixture usually does not jump out as the most eye-catching on the international calendar but this time it does. Both teams are making a comeback to the longest version of the game – Bangladesh haven’t played a Test since June last year – but the return will be more special for Zimbabwe.Seventy-one months have passed since Zimbabwe last played a Test match, when they lost to India by 10 wickets in September 2005. Their cricket has spluttered, drowned and been revived in the time since then and if most of the stories coming out of the country are to be believed, Zimbabwe is ready to be welcomed back. The first-class game is attracting interest from players and supporters, better coaching structures are in place and the game has grown and developed. The team of young hopefuls that formed out of crisis in 2004 is now a group of mature men, ready to play international cricket in whites.There is no ranking at stake here, no places to be gained on the points table but there is pride to uphold and progression to show off. It’s just a one-off Test, something Zimbabwe are set to stage more frequently in the coming months, as they make a measured return to Test cricket. They will want to show that they are capable of more and that longer series can be introduced in the future.For Bangladesh, winning is still a concern, especially away from home. Their only away wins came against a second-string West Indies side, so victory in Harare would be their first in Zimbabwe.

Form guide

Zimbabwe LLLLL
Bangladesh LLLLL

In the spotlight

It’s the first time Brendan Taylor will captain Zimbabwe and both, his batting and his leadership tactics will come under scrutiny. His 85 in the tour match against Australia A showed that he is in good form. With a first-class batting average of close to 40, Taylor is expected to be the rock of the middle order as well as the man marshalling a Zimbabwean side that will have to adjust to the unique pressures of Test cricket. He is one of only three survivors from the last time Zimbabwe played a Test match. Back then he was only 20 years old, so this is an opportunity for him to show how much he has matured.Mohammad Ashraful returns to the Bangladesh national side after being left out of the ODI series against Australia. Since then, he has captained the A side and scored a century against South Africa A in a one-day game. Despite his inconsistency, he is one of the most talented players in the Bangladesh set-up and has been given another chance to stake a claim for a regular place. Ashraful has faced Zimbabwe many times, being the only man in the current squad to have visited this country in 2004, and the familiarity of the conditions and the opposition should work to his advantage.

Team news

Zimbabwe are likely to have four Test debutants in their line-up, opening batsman Tino Mawoyo, middle-order man Craig Ervine and bowlers Kyle Jarvis and Brian Vitori. With conditions unlikely to favour spinners, Ray Price could be used as a containing option.Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Tinotenda Mawoyo, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Hamilton Maskadzaa, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Craig Ervine, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Kyle Jarvis, 9 Ray Price, 10 Chris Mpofu, 11 Brian VitoriMahmudullah was the only Bangladesh regular who was in doubt for this match after hurting his hand in the tour game, but was given the all-clear on Wednesday. Uncapped Nasir Hossain may have to watch from the sidelines as Bangladesh are likely field an experienced XI.Bangladesh: (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Shahriar Nafees, 5 Mohammad Ashraful, 6 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 7 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Shafiul Islam, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Robiul Islam

Pitch and conditions

Winter brings with it dryness and it is understood that the ground staff have been putting effort into making the pitch lively. It has a fair covering of grass on it and is expected to assist the seamers early on. With the weather set to remain sunny and cool, the pitch will flatten and become good for batting.

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe is the first place Bangladesh played a Test away from home, in Bulawayo, in 2001. They are also the country first team Bangladesh beat in Test cricket, by 226 runs, in Chittagong in 2005
• Collectively, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have won 11 Tests and lost 108
• Tamim Iqbal has scored in a century in each of Bangladesh’s last two Test matches, in England last year
• Only three members in Zimbabwe’s current squad played in their last Test, against India in September 2005 – Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor and Tatenda Taibu

Quotes

“Recently people in the country have become inspired by cricket and it’s exciting to have Zimbabwe coming back and to be a part of it.”

“We expect it to dry up and start spinning from the third day. Obviously we didn’t bat well in the practice match and we’re going to improve on that.”