Address insecurity to save Kenyan cricket - Daily Nation

Cricket

By CLAY MUGANDA
Posted  Sunday, May 13  2012 at  18:20

Eventually, there is some good news for Pakistan and Associate and Affiliate countries from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the powerful Indian cricket board that reportedly engineered the sacking of Arjuna Ranatunga as the head of the Sri Lanka Cricket because of his opposition to Indian Premier League.

Sri Lanka’s English language daily, The Island, quoting SLC documents, said Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning captain Ranatunga was removed “after the BCCI applied pressure on the Sri Lankan government.”

His sin? He requested for Sri Lanka’s players to return early from the 2009 Indian Premier League to play against England in a Test series whose dates were clashing with those of the lucrative league.

As concerns Pakistan, the BCCI is ready to accommodate a team from Pakistan in the Champions League Twenty20 which is for India in October.

The BCCI is the biggest stakeholder in the Champions League Twenty20 which it co-owns with Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa.

During its working committee meeting last week, BCCI also decided to set up matches between IPL teams and Associate and Affiliate countries.

That should be good news for Kenya which has not been getting matches against experienced sides even though it has been on a losing streak and has been humbled even by a lowly Nepal.

It was not clear whether these matches will be played in India or in the respective Associate/ Affiliate member countries, but if a decision is to be made that they be played in the latter, there would still be a hitch for Kenya, which is being deemed as a security concern.

It is just the other day that Mike Hesson, the national team coach resigned over security reasons, and shortly afterwards, it emerged that matches between Kenya and Namibia have been postponed due to security reasons.

Even though Hesson’s resignation over insecurity was widely reported in the world media, more so in the countries whose nationals make the bulk of tourists visiting Kenya, no government functionary has come forward to clarify that Kenya is safe, or to deny that Kenya is unsafe.

Whether true or not, statements that Kenya is unsafe need to be addressed for the good of the game of cricket in particular, and sports in general.

But then, sports is not the only sector that will suffer as long as the relevant authorities continue to bury their heads in the sand.

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IPL 2012: Angelo Mathews praises Shane Watson's match-winning knock - Cricket Country

By CricketCountry Staff

Jaipur: May 14, 212

Pune Warriors India all-rounder Angelo Mathews on Sunday said not much can be done when a player like Shane Watson gets going. Rajasthan Royals’ Watson slammed 31-ball 58 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur to help his side post 170.

Mathews said, “Shane Watson batted brilliantly. You just can’t do anything when he bats like that. He just hits the ball out of the park. It’s not easy [to restrict him]. The bowlers could have done better. But when Shane Watson bats like that, we couldn’t have done anything.”

The Sri Lanka all-rounder said Pune would have liked to restrict Rajasthan around 160.

“They got about 10-15 runs more [...] We just couldn’t get a good start. If we had a good start in the first six overs, without falling [losing too many wickets], really strictly one or two wickets [less] at least [sic] we would have got a bit closer. Then in the end, it was a bit too much to expect from the lower order,” he said.

Mathews opined that his side started off on a fine note early in the season, but lost their way later on.

“The start of the season was very good for the Pune Warriors. Winning four out of seven matches [initially] was fantastic. But the latter part [wasn’t as great]. From the seventh match onwards, we were lacking. [...] Not easy to describe, but we played poor cricket.”

“The bowlers bowled pretty well in patches and the batsmen started off brilliantly. [...] We have been out of the tournament because of the last few games. Overall, the batsman had a good run and the bowlers have also done a pretty good job,” Mathews was quoted as saying by IPLT20.com.

Talking about his experience of playing under Sourav Ganguly, Mathews said, “He is fit and running. He is a very good captain. He is probably one of the best captains that India has produced ever, so it was a good experience playing under him.”

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Cricket scam bowler Mohammad Asif released from jail - The Independent

Asif, 29, the former world number two Test bowler, was freed from Canterbury Prison in Kent this morning, according to his lawyers, SJS Solicitors, based in Balham, south London.

He was one of three Pakistan cricketers who received custodial sentences at London's Southwark Crown Court in November over a scandal that rocked world sport.

Ex-Test captain Salman Butt, 27, was jailed for two and a half years for his role as the "orchestrator" of a plot to bowl deliberate no-balls in the 2010 Lord's Test against England.

Mohammad Amir, 19, who had been tipped to become one of the all-time great fast bowlers, was released from Portland Prison in Dorset in February after serving half of his six-month sentence.

Mazhar Majeed, 36, the corrupt London-based sports agent at the heart of the fixing scandal, was jailed for two years and eight months.

All three players are serving five-year bans from cricket imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The fixing scandal emerged after an undercover News of the World reporter approached Majeed in August 2010 pretending to be a wealthy Indian businessman seeking major international cricketers for a tournament.

The agent, from Croydon, south London, was secretly filmed accepting £150,000 in cash from the journalist as part of an arrangement to rig games.

Majeed promised the reporter that Asif and Amir would deliver three no-balls at specific points during the Test between Pakistan and England at Lord's from August 26 to 29, 2010.

He claimed he had been carrying out fixing for two and a half years and had seven players from Pakistan's national side working for him.

Explaining why he bowled a no-ball when Majeed said he would, Asif alleged that Butt told him, "run faster, f***er", moments before his delivery.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Cooke, said there was no evidence that Asif had taken part in fixing before the Lord's match but added: "It is hard to see how this could be an isolated occurrence for you."

Asif took his 100th Test wicket during Pakistan's 2010 series in England.

He had run into controversy before. He twice tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug nandrolone and was held in Dubai for 19 days in 2008 after opium was found in his wallet.

Amir and Butt failed in an attempt to have their sentences reduced at the Court of Appeal in November.

PA

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Cricket: Injury scare for James Anderson - WalesOnline

ENGLAND seamer James Anderson survived an injury scare in his first LV= County Championship appearance of the season while international team-mates Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann both risked dissent charges on an eventful first day between Division One rivals Lancashire and Nottinghamshire.

Lancashire paceman Anderson was taken to hospital for X-rays after sustaining two blows to his right thumb in the morning session, but got away with bruising instead of the feared fracture and was able to bowl again in the afternoon.

He spent two further periods off the field as the game progressed, however, receiving ice treatment and applying strapping to the affected hand at the start of the evening’s play.

Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire duo Broad and Swann, also making their first appearances of the season, both reacted less than magnanimously after being given out to Simon Kerrigan.

Broad, fit again after a calf injury, contested a bat-pad catch by Steven Croft after he was dismissed for a golden duck, while Swann lingered at the crease after being given lbw, suggesting he had the hit the ball.

A fourth England international, Samit Patel, had a more satisfactory day – pushing his case for the first Test against the West Indies on May 17 with 69 in his side’s 169 all out.

The hosts lost Paul Horton for 24 in the last over before stumps as they reached 48 for one.

In today’s other Division One meeting, Ian Bell made an unbeaten 59 as Warwickshire struggled to 116 for five in reply to Durham’s 163.

Bell shone in front of watching England batting coach Graham Thorpe where others – including Jonathan Trott who made just two – struggled on a day dominated by the bowlers.

Darren Maddy was the only other Warwickshire man in double figures with 35, matching Durham’s top-scorer Ben Stokes.

Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen’s first century in almost a year helped his side to a strong position against Gloucestershire as they reached the close on 362 for nine.

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Cricket: S African leading NZ candidate - New Zealand Herald

A low-profile South African is emerging as a leading contender to take over from John Wright, as significant changes to New Zealand's cricket coaching structure are brewing.

An increasingly hectic international programme and the need for expertise over three formats has compelled New Zealand Cricket to look at overhauling the brief of the head coach.

NZC was impressed by the way South Africa structured their coaching and management team during their ruthless dismantling of New Zealand this year.

One of the key planks of the Proteas' operations has been Paddy Upton.

The 43-year-old has been South African coach Gary Kirsten's right-hand man going back to their days in charge of the Indian team from 2008 until the end of last year's World Cup.

The pair are business partners and Upton joined the South African staff in June last year as mental conditioning coach.

Despite strong ties to Kirsten, Upton, who played two first-class games for Western Province and is currently trainer and mental skills coach at the Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League, is known to covet a head role in international cricket.

Despite his lack of credentials as an international player, he is regarded as a coach with the wide and necessary range of skills.

The Herald understands that while decisions on the replacement for Wright are some way off, the models used by both South Africa and England - where former Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower is the head of team operations - appeal to NZC.

At those teams, a head coach has several staff under him with specific roles in ODI, T20 or test cricket and an element of rotation applies, related to the type of cricket each tour involves.

One scenario might see the head coach delegate a short tour to his most relevant assistant while he remains at home preparing for the next assignment.

"Whilst the team is touring and playing one form of the game you must ensure other specialists are preparing [for other assignments] as well. South Africa do that; England do that and it is something we need to look at," said NZC chief executive David White.

White said the demanding nature of the Future Tours Programme, now inked in from this year until 2020, means it is prudent to consider how the national side is run.

With Wright still in charge until the end of the tour of the West Indies in July-August, NZC believes the time is right to investigate all options.

"It's tough enough for the players, but for the coaches and support staff it's tremendously challenging for them to be away from home, on the road that long, and to have just one role when you've got three distinct forms of the game," White said.

White spent time discussing the model with South African officials during their recent tour.

Another coach in the frame is Wellington's Australian, Jamie Siddons, who has completed his first season in charge, after working under NZC director of cricket John Buchanan as an Australian assistant coach, then doing three years with Bangladesh. He rates Buchanan's lateral thinking skills while his term with Bangladesh gave him an insight into the demands on coaches in the modern game.

"With the World Cup in 2015 you probably do need someone fully focused on one-day cricket, and that's really difficult if you're on tour trying to win tests and T20 competitions," Siddons said.

"From my experience in Bangladesh, that makes it really difficult to stay on top of it all. It does get big on you and you end up doing things half-paced."

With a young family, Siddons said he would need to consider all aspects if offered a part in a new NZC setup, but would be interested in a role.

"It's too exciting not to be interested."

By Dylan Cleaver and David Leggat | Email Dylan

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