All posts by csb10.top

Neil McKenzie scored his second century in five weeks for the Northerns Titans, guiding his team to a first innings total of 306 for seven in their Supersport Series match against the Highveld Strikers at the Wanderers on Friday.The 24-year-old rescued Northerns from a dismal start of 28 for two, scoring 123 runs of his own and starring in a crucial third-wicket partnership with Martin van Jaarsveld.McKenzie’s early-season form has been nothing short of brilliant. This performance comes on the back of his scores of 70 and 75 against the Griqua Diamonds at Supersport Park last week.It is also his second century in five weeks following the one he scored against Western Province in their Standard Bank Cup game.Northerns captain Gerald Dros won the toss and elected to bat first on Friday. But the Strikers’ attack hardly had to break a sweat in claiming the first two wickets, with Jacques Rudolph dismissed for only three and Rudolph Steyn doing only slightly better before departing on a modest score of 22.Van Jaarsveld brought some stability to the innings with his 59, laying the platform for McKenzie to turn a dismal innings into something decent by the end of the day. And it was largely at the expense of a mediocre bowling performance by the Strikers.McKenzie entered the fray just under two hours before lunch, and together with Van Jaarsveld guided Northerns to 96 for two by the end of the first session. The duo put on 124 runs for the third wicket before Van Jaarsveld was caught behind off the bowling of Zander de Bruyn.Northerns went into the tea break at 160 for three, with McKenzie on 70. In exactly the 10th over after the break, McKenzie unleashed his bat on the bowling of De Bruyn. McKenzie hit four boundaries in the over to bring up his century, coming in 247 minutes, off 188 balls and including 18 fours.With Gerald Dros as his partner, the duo put on 99 runs for the fourth wicket, with the Strikers desperately trying to contain their opponents.Walter Masimula eventually made the vital breakthrough for the Strikers when he had McKenzie caught at mid-on by Andre Seymore, with the batsman eventually making 123, scoring hitting fours in his 282 minutes at the crease.But with this kind of form, McKenzie can surely count on building on his three Test appearances for South Africa.

Shandong, the second-most populous province in China, has become the seventh region after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Liaoning, Chongqing and Tianjin to officially take up cricket, according to a media release from the Asian Cricket Council.”The Shandong people are well known for their good physical condition in China … the majority of rugby players are from Shandong,” Aminul Islam, the ACC’s development officer for China, said. With cricket being aligned with rugby in the multi-ball games administrative centre in China, the Chinese Cricket Association (CCA) felt a partnership between both bodies to make use of athletes all-year round would be ideal.”The local education bureau has said that they would organize the local junior students to learn cricket for promotion and then build for high performance,” said CCA secretary-general Liu Rongyao.The appeal of taking the game to China is not hard to see. “The potential benefits and commercial revenues from [China’s] presence in the cricket world are enormous,” said Syed A shraful Huq, the ACC’s chief executive. “As soon as China breaks though, I foresee the total global revenues for cricket increasing by 30% to 40%.”

A 33-ball partnership of 64 runs for the eighth wicket between Josh Clarkson and Seth Rance led Central Districts to a two-wicket win over Northern Districts after five rain interruptions at Hamilton’s Seddon Park. Central Districts faced a revised target of 200 runs in 33 overs after Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten knock of 93 took Northern Districts to 266 for 6 in their 50 overs.Clarkson struck three fours and three sixes in his 24-ball 48 and was ably supported by Rance, who hit a 19-ball stay of 32. This after some tight bowling from Ish Sodhi and Scott Kuggeleijn – both of whom picked up two wickets each – had Central Districts struggling at 123 for 7. Once Rance fell with Central Districts needing another 13 runs to win, Clarkson took over and finished the match with five balls to spare.Earlier in the day, Mitchell struck seven fours and four sixes in his 93. Dean Brownlie struck 47 and Nick Kelly hit 57 runs, but that proved to be not enough for Northern Districts. The win was Central Districts’ first of the season in three games.Inclement weather in Dunedin and Wellington meant the fixtures between Otago and Canterbury, and Wellington and Auckland respectively were washed out without a ball being bowled.

ScorecardDaniel Bell-Drummond was to the fore as Kent’s wonderful T20 season continued•Getty Images

This season’s NatWest T20 Blast has shown, quite clearly, that it is a myth that England’s T20 tournament needs to be played in a block to attract high-quality overseas talent. Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Shahid Afridi, the list of star players who have appeared this season is long, illustrious, and that is only a snapshot.What this season’s tournament has also shown, as did last season’s Big Bash League, is that a team and a tournament does not necessarily need high-quality overseas talent to be popular and successful. No team embodies this more than Kent.Kent, to much derision, did not sign a single overseas player for this season’s T20 Blast, and yet, following another typically clinical and well-rounded victory over Somerset in front of a large crowd are top of the South Group with 16 points and are well on track for sealing a home quarter-final.This was a match, like much of Kent’s season, that was not won by one man, or by one performance but by multiple, complementary performances, contributing more broadly to a tried and tested strategy.

Insights

This season should serve as something of a wake-up call for a Somerset squad who are not as good as they used to be. Marcus Trescothick’s days in the format appear over, Peter Trego is certainly not the destructive presence he used to be, Alfonso Thomas is another ageing force, James Hildreth, not a ferocious T20 player at the best of times, also seems past his peak while Jos Buttler is no longer available. Somerset have arguably lived too long on their three consecutive finals appearances between 2009 and 2011. The time to change and regenerate has come.

Nothing represented Kent’s confidence in their own method more than the innings of Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly as the opening pair put on 112. It would have been very easy for either of these two men, emboldened by their starts to look too big, to aim too high, to perhaps, be selfish and look for a century of their own. Instead both men played at a pace appropriate according to conditions, the opposition and the batsmen they had below.Denly was the first man to fall. Looking to push on with Kent 112 without loss after 13.4 overs he was caught deep on the leg side attempting to clear the boundary-rider. He was, naturally, annoyed to have got out, but there was no anger or worry in his face as he left the middle. He trusted what was to come.So confident were Kent, they promoted Alex Blake, who had hammered a fifty against Hampshire earlier in the season, to No.3. Blake came and very quickly went. Experiment failed. Move on.This was again when Bell-Drummond’s restraint was key. He recognised that as the settled batsman his wicket was almost worth double. But crucially he did not hold back, rather he just did not do anything reckless. Not scoring and not getting out is probably worse than just getting out. Bell-Drummond was proactive and positive. He struck consecutive fours in the over that Blake was dismissed, and two more in the following over.Northeast, Kent’s standout player this season, managed just 7 from 13 balls, but with Sam Billings next in, there was, again, a sense of calm to Kent’s batting, even with them a few short of what they would have wanted with two overs to go, at 166 for 3.Billings played three remarkable shots in the penultimate over, scoring three leg-side boundaries, all off balls that pitched well outside off stump. Such brilliance epitomised Kent’s supremely confident innings. Just seven runs and three wickets came from the final over, including the dismissal of Bell-Drummond for 77, but his innings went beyond numbers. An opener batting through a T20 innings brings a calming presence that the scoreboard does not do justice to.Somerset captain Alfonso Thomas felt a target of 173 was “a few too many” but it was not one that was beyond a powerful Somerset batting line-up. However given Kent’s form and Somerset’s comparative struggles, Kent were always favourites.Indeed not at any point in the chase did Somerset ever seem to be threatening Kent’s score. Eleven came from the first over, but with the third going for two and the fourth going for just one Somerset were behind the rate. The pressure of the scoreboard told when they lost Johan Myburgh in the Powerplay before Jim Allenby fell in the eighth and Peter Trego and James Hildreth went in the ninth to leave Somerset reeling at 57 for 4.It was then that Kent deployed their spinners, James Tredwell and Fabian Cowdrey, and they squeezed the remaining life from Somerset to ensure Kent’s victory well before the end of the match. The final over bowled by Matt Coles was, rather anti-climactically and almost comically, slugged for 34 including three no-balls. But it was a mere stain an otherwise superb victory for Kent.Somerset, who have had Gayle and Luke Ronchi this season – along with Corey Anderson due to play before he was injured – remain in eighth and even if they win all three of their remaining fixtures are unlikely to make it to their quarter-finals.

New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has suffered a hairline fracture just above his left eye, during the first ODI against Pakistan in Wellington. He picked up the injury when a bouncer burst through the gap in his helmet in the final over of New Zealand’s innings on Monday. It rules him out of the second ODI in Napier, and puts him in doubt for the final match on Sunday, as he is scheduled to undergo minor cosmetic surgery on Friday in Auckland.McClenaghan was batting on 31 from 17 deliveries when the penultimate ball of the innings – from Anwar Ali – squeezed between the peak of his helmet, and its grille to strike him flush on the left eye. Slow-motion replays showed the ball had hit him with considerable force. McClenaghan immediately fell to the ground as the umpires, the Pakistan players and non-striker Matt Henry moved towards him. He eventually rose to his feet to cheers from the crowd, after attention from the team physio. The area around his eye was swollen as he walked off the field.He did not bowl in Pakistan’s innings, spending most of it in hospital instead. He received stitches on his left eyebrow, but was well enough to tweet an update on his condition and congratulations to his team-mates after the victory. “Thanks for all the concerns. Everything is as good as it can be just a few broken bones. Great win for the boys!” he tweeted.McClenaghan is the fourth New Zealand player to be unavailable for Thursday’s game, with Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee also out through injury.

Scorecard

April is meant to be a month of swing bowlers, green seamers and low scores, but Surrey went on an early-season run-spree at The Oval as they racked up 537 for 5 with centuries from Mark Butcher and Usman Afzaal to follow Mark Ramprakash’s 118. And their short stint in the field paid dividends when Iain Sutcliffe was brilliantly held by Ali Brown at third slip to give Pedro Collins his first county wicket.It was remorseless accumulation from Surrey throughout a sunny but bitterly cold day until Butcher called time on the feasting to leave Lancashire an hour to bat. Brown was within sight of becoming the fourth century-maker of the innings but had to settle for an unbeaten 74 in an unbroken stand of 160 for the seventh wicket.”As a batting unit last year, apart from Ramprakash, we had a pretty hit-and-miss time so it was important that we put a score on the board,” said Butcher. “There were quite a few nerves around before the first day, the first game of the season against a top team like Lancashire. We weren’t quite sure about the balance of our side, but with Matt Nicholson pulling out [with flu] it made things a little easier so we went with the extra batsman. It may have been slightly defensive but with the weather around and points at a premium, we were very happy with how it has turned out.”The notable batting came from Butcher and Afzaal, two further members of the former England batsman club that have dominated this game. Afzaal, in his first Championship innings for Surrey since his winter move from Northamptonshire, was positive from the outset after Ramprakash edged Oliver Newby, armed with the second new ball, to end a stand of 218 with Butcher. It was the same combination that should have accounted for him on 0 yesterday.With the cushion provided by Ramprakash’s masterclass, Afzaal greeted Gary Keedy’s first ball with a handsome straight six and appeared at ease throughout his innings. This was the venue of his third and final Test appearance, against Australia in 2001, when he celebrated a half-century with over-egged gusto that didn’t impress the visitors.He didn’t make much of an impression on the England management, either, and although he toured India and New Zealand that winter he didn’t find his way back into the line-up after concerns over his attitude and fitness. However, he remained a consistent county run-scorer until a poor 2007 at Northants – 570 runs at 35 – prompted another move. Division One action was an attraction and his move into the middle order has added further solidity to an impressive Surrey line-up.He went to tea on 99 and reached his century from 165 balls in the first over after the break. The celebration was much more restrained than those in 2001 when he’d made half the score. With the hundred tucked away Afzaal began to express himself and twice pulled Sajid Mahmood over midwicket for six.Butcher, starting the day on 80, wasn’t quite at his fluent best but the concentration remained firm and he brought up his hundred off 188 balls. However he, too, was given a life when he top-edged a pull on 89 only for Glen Chapple to misjudge the catch at mid-on. Chapple quickly left the field having felt a twinge in his back but returned to the field during the afternoon session, striking to remove Butcher with his first ball via a thin edge to the keeper. Lancashire, though, continued to strike after the horse had bolted into the neighbouring paddock.As Surrey marched on and the 130-over mark was passed – the cut-off for collecting bonus points – Lancashire waited for the declaration. Brown, who turned down an IPL offer to fulfil his Surrey deal, milked the bowling without unleashing his full power but still enjoyed a dart at Keedy.Lancashire’s bowlers struggled to make an impression although Mahmood produced a lively, and unlucky, spell in the morning when he had Ramprakash in some trouble. The one positive, perhaps more for the future than the present, was the continued performance of Andrew Flintoff. He showed no ill-effects from yesterday’s workload and sent down another 17 overs at good pace. Flintoff’s 28 overs were the most he’d bowled in one innings since the opening Ashes Test at Brisbane in November 2006. His next role will be batting, something Lancashire have to do for a long time before they save this game.

Ashar Zaidi, the former Sussex allrounder, has joined Essex on a one-year deal, and will be available in all three formats after impressing in the recent Bangladesh Premier League.Zaidi, 34, a left-handed batsmand and a slow left-arm bowler, was named as Player of the Tournament after scoring 215 runs at 53.75 and taking 17 wickets at 10.41. His first-class averages of 36.89 with the bat, and 30.32 with the ball, also augur well for his new team.”We’re pleased to be able to bring Ashar in for 2016 as we look to strengthen the bowling attack,” said Chris Silverwood, Essex’s head coach. “When you consider his batting abilities, this really makes sense at this moment in time.”We have a number of young players coming through, so someone with Ashar’s experience will be invaluable to the group. We believe he can make an impact across all three competitions this coming season.”Zaidi was enthusiastic about the move: “I am delighted to have agreed terms with Essex for the 2016 season. I look forward to continuing my county career following two enjoyable years with Sussex.”I hope to be able to continue my good form from this winter into the new season. Having spoken to a few of the players at Essex, I know they are all excited for the new season under Chris Silverwood and I look forward to linking up with everyone over the next few weeks.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:35

Sammy pleased with ‘professional’ effort

West Indies’ bowlers delivered tight lines and intelligent variations of pace on a slow Khettarama surface to force a Sri Lanka collapse and prise a 23-run victory to end an otherwise barren tour. Dwayne Bravo collected four wickets, and Ravi Rampaul three, in the visitors’ defence of 162 for 6 which, like their bowling, had also been a collective effort.The victory gives West Indies a share of the series, though Sri Lanka keep the top T20 rank. Bravo, who hit a run-a-ball 31 in addition to his 4 for 28 with the ball, was named Man of the Match.Tillakaratne Dilshan struck his second fifty of the series but – although his own strike-rate was nearly 137 – his 70-run stand with Shehan Jayasuriya drew some of the momentum from Sri Lanka’s innings. Jayasuriya was out for 30 off 32 balls. His wicket set in motion a capitulation that cost nine wickets for 46 runs. Incoming batsmen attempted to hit out immediately, mindful of a climbing required rate, but managed only to find secure pairs of hands in the outfield.Jayasuriya was scoreless off his first seven balls and, although he struck successive fours off Jerome Taylor, he slipped into a pattern of finding fielders with his big shots. Dilshan also misread the pace of the ball off the pitch on occasion, and West Indies continued to squeeze in cheap overs through the first half of the chase. When Jayasuriya was dismissed – thanks to an outstanding running catch from Andre Russell at the long-on boundary – Sri Lanka’s required rate was nearing 10.Dinesh Chandimal was almost caught at the leg-side boundary first ball, but was securely held immediately after. Dilshan was out switch-hitting Rampaul in the same over, and Angelo Mathews was caught trying to clear the backward square leg boundary not long after that. From then on, Sri Lanka lost at least one wicket per over. Chamara Kapugedara was caught at cover. Milinda Siriwardana was stumped running at Sunil Narine. The hosts had unraveled definitively by the middle of the 18th over.This was after their own bowlers had withstood brief charges from Johnson Charles and Denesh Ramdin, who both hit 34 at either end of West Indies’ batting effort. The visitors had warmed up slowly, hitting only 17 from the first 26 balls, until Charles ignited the innings with a four-ball sequence that brought 22 runs. Charles ran at Sachithra Senanayake twice to lift him into the leg-side stands, and swept him twice as well, collecting a six and a four. The next over from Dushmantha Chameera was equally expensive. Andre Fletcher struck three fours as Chameera erred down the legside – though he also had Fletcher dropped off a slower ball, on 16.With 44 runs having come off the last two Powerplay overs, West Indies appeared to be surging. Siriwardana’s left-arm spin quickly brought the hosts some control. He trapped Fletcher in front with a slider, saw Marlon Samuels run-out later in that over, then struck again with his arm ball to have the visitors 75 for 3 after nine overs.West Indies attacked intermittently after that, but had their salvos briskly shut down. Andre Russell was dismissed in the 12th over after two sixes had come in the previous five balls. Ramdin cracked two sixes and a four in the 14th and 15th overs, but was soon forced to contend with a stream of good yorkers – particularly from Nuwan Kulasekara – which he could only dig out for singles or twos.Sri Lanka’s seamers were pinpoint at the finish. Although opposition hitters were at the crease, Malinga conceded only five runs in each of his last two overs, and Kulasekara no more than seven from his. Ramdin remained unbeaten at the end of the innings.

Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu has confirmed he will play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) next month. As he is centrally contracted to Zimbabwe Cricket, Taibu must have sought and obtained their permission to take part.Taibu will join the Kolkata franchise on April 11 having played some matches in Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 which gets underway next week. However, because the Logan Cup, the country’s first-class competition, has been rescheduled to start on April 17, Taibu will miss all the matches.It will be Taibu’s second stint in domestic cricket in the subcontinent. He previously played in Bangladesh during his international exile following a row with Zimbabwe Cricket.Two other former Zimbabwe internationals, Heath Streak and Murray Goodwin, have signed with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League, although neither was expected to feature in domestic games.

In early February the Somerset website carried an article about the changes that will be taking place to the scoreboards at the County Ground in Taunton this season.Chris Bass, who last season operated the electronic scoreboards has contacted the site and provided the following information regarding the changes.”The installation of electronics in both scoreboards before the start of the 2001 season has been generally considered a success, matched of course by the players’ performance on the field! Comments by members are always welcomed and the consensus has been to further improve the information coming from what has become known as the No.2 Board above the Executive Business Club.Traditionally and by virtue of where they sit, a sizeable proportion of spectators prefer the No.2 Board for information in preference to the Main Board at the Priory Bridge side of the ground. With this in mind, the following changes will greet spectators from the start of the 2002 season:1. The Moving Message Board will be re-located to above the No.2 Scoreboard. This facility will continue to be used to give the crowd virtually any information.
2. The No.2 Board will also carry the following additional items on a newly constructed adjoining panel: Overs Left and Runs to Win. During Limited Overs matches, the number of overs bowled by any respective bowlers will also be displayed, together with the relevant Duckworth/Lewis revised targets whenever applicable
3. Those viewing the Main Board will also see enlarged digits for total and wickets.
4. Spectators will enjoy the additional facility of lights on both scoreboards indicating which of the two batsmen is on strike at every stage of the game.As part of the new technology in 2001, the main board has the wiring capability to display the individual batsmens’ names, but it was considered unnecessary to make this upgrade at this stage with the advent of players’names being shown on the players’ backs during all matches in the forthcoming season.The neccesary work to upgrade the scoreboards will be carried out during the week beginning March 18th. All the new facilities will continue to be operated by Chris Bass from a single control point in the Media Centre.”Thanks Chris for putting us all in the picture regarding the scoreboard. I’m sure that everybody will appreciate the detail you have given in your update.