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Vettori and McCullum broke free with a combination of intelligence and exhilarating strokeplay to seize control of the game

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera12-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Daniel Vettori’s fifth Test century gave New Zealand the advantage in the final Test•Getty Images

The Test was evenly balanced at tea. New Zealand were trailing by 57 runs with only five wickets in hand, Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori were yet to settle in, Danish Kaneria was in hot form having run through the middle order and the second new ball wasn’t far away. Either team could have grabbed the ascendancy. It was Vettori and McCullum who broke the shackles of the first two sessions with a combination of intelligence and exhilarating strokeplay, and seized control of the game.McCullum was explosive, improvising constantly, while Vettori combined inventiveness with solidity to rapidly change the character of the game. New Zealand’s nervous approach of the first two sessions – the defensive, perhaps over-cautious, batsmen struggling to survive Kaneria as several close catchers hovered around the bat – gave way to a thrilling evening. Runs came quickly and New Zealand swiftly took a sizeable first-innings lead.New Zealand’s jail-break was assisted by the Pakistan fast bowlers, who have caused batsmen the most problems this series with seam, swing and tight lines and lengths. Not today though. Umar Gul and the rest offered width with their short-of-a-length deliveries and Vettori kept picking boundaries with his favourite short-arm cuts and deflections. McCullum attacked Kaneria by playing the sweep and suddenly the floodgates were flung open.At times McCullum placed his bat outside off, with his back foot in line with off stump, and started to create his own angles. Even the skillful Mohammad Asif lost his poise and sprayed the ball around. The shot of the evening was an imperiously-pulled six from outside off stump against Asif. McCullum startled the bowler again when he charged out to crash a length delivery over cover.Pakistan seemed to have run out of ideas when, against the run of play, Gul got the ball to burst off the pitch towards the throat of McCullum, who fended it straight to gully. Pakistan also had an opportunity to get rid of Vettori, but Kaneria dropped a straightforward return catch off him on 97.Until Kaneria’s lapse, though, Vettori, who has marvellous self-awareness of the limitations of his game and thrives within them, had played a chanceless innings. He arched his back to cut short-of-a-length deliveries from the line of the stumps without making it appear risky, he walked across to work perfectly acceptable deliveries to fine leg and frustrated bowlers with his short-arm pulls and nudges. Once in a while, Vettori increased pressure on the bowlers with calculated big hits: he lifted Kaneria for a straight six, and swept him and pulled Asif for more fours.New Zealand’s 123-run lead at the end of day two, however, might not have been possible without the patience Tim McIntosh showed during the first session. The defining image of his half-century was not a shot but the military snap with which he shouldered arms. He left 59 balls alone and played 151 dot balls as he defended passionately. McIntosh’s batting has almost an anaesthetic air about it but today’s stone-walling effort wasn’t dull or boring. He laid the platform and allowed McCullum and Vettori to express themselves later on.McIntosh’s defiance was the primary feature of the morning session, but Kaneria eventually broke his resistance and that of several others after lunch. Kaneria was allowed to settle into a rhythm because of New Zealand’s defensive approach and it was his googly that caused batsmen the most trouble. Unlike in the past, when he has been guilty of overusing it at times, Kaneria was more prudent in deploying the wrong ‘un today. He concentrated on building pressure with his bouncing legbreaks and sliders, and bowled a variety of deliveries that slowly suffocated the batsmen.It was the wicket of Ross Taylor, who top-edged a slog sweep, that got Kaneria going. He bowled a few loopy deliveries on the leg side to McIntosh who suddenly began playing the sweep before top-edging one as well. Kaneria then turned his attention to Daniel Flynn, spinning a few legbreaks into the left-hand batsman before slipping in a googly that caught the edge. The appeal for caught-behind was turned down, but the decision was reversed after a review. It may have been the right decision, for Flynn seemed to walk as soon as the review was asked for, but video evidence wasn’t conclusive.New Zealand were 145 for 5 at that stage, having lost three wickets for 27 runs, and Vettori and McCullum had just come together for a partnership that would give New Zealand the upper hand in the deciding Test.

Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis have been voted into the South Africa all-time XI, alongside the likes of Barry Richards and Mike Procter

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis have been voted into South Africa’s all-time Test XI, along with Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, by a Cricinfo jury.Smith will open the innings with Barry Richards – one of cricket’s greatest what-might-have-beens, who played just four Tests before South Africa’s isolation in the 1970s. Kallis bats one-down, followed by Graeme Pollock, one of the finest left-hand batsmen in the game, who along with Richards was among the stars of the 1969-70 series against Australia in which South Africa whitewashed the visitors 4-0.Among the notable absentees in the XI are allrounders Trevor Goddard and Eddie Barlow, Gary Kirsten, and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, who has a record 475 Test dismissals. The gloves were instead given to Johnny Waite, who shares the South African record for most dismissals in a five-Test series, 26, with Boucher.The middle order features Dudley Nourse, who once batted nine hours with his broken right thumb pinned, to score a double-century in South Africa’s first Test win in 16 years, and the legendary early-20th-century batsman-cum-legspinner Aubrey Faulkner.South Africa have been blessed with a rich pool of allrounders, and Mike Procter (221 runs and 41 wickets in seven Tests) makes it into the side with Faulkner (1754 runs and 82 wickets in 25 Tests). While Shaun Pollock was picked as a fast bowler, he more than holds his own as an allrounder. Add Kallis and you have four world-class allrounders in the XI.Richards, unanimously voted into the XI, and Procter, with eight votes, were the only ones to make it despite having played fewer than 10 Tests each. Richards’ opening partner, however, just sneaked into the side, ahead of Barlow. Neil Manthorp, a broadcaster and journalist who was on the jury, said the idea of Smith opening with Richards in his prime was “too delectable to ignore”.”Graeme has shown throughout his career an ability to rise to the big occasion. Just because he still has so many years left of his career doesn’t mean to say we shouldn’t judge him on what he has already achieved, which is phenomenal. Most places in the XI can be considered contentious, but Smith as an opener, in my opinion, is a complete no-brainer,” Manthorp said.Graeme Pollock, Nourse and Donald were also unanimous picks, while Kallis and Hugh Tayfield, who took the lone spinner’s berth, got nine votes each.The jury included Ali Bacher, who led South Africa in the 1970 series against Australia before becoming the managing director of the board in the 1990s, Rudi Koertzen, and Colin Bryden, the editor of the .Cricinfo readers were asked to pick their all-time South Africa XI, and while their top four matches the jury’s, they overwhelmingly voted for Boucher as keeper (five times as many votes as second-placed Denis Lindsay). They also opted for AB de Villiers over Nourse, and gave Shaun Pollock allrounder duties to accommodate Steyn.Read the jury’s quotes on the XI here.The nominees
Openers: Barry Richards, Bruce Mitchell, Graeme Smith, Eddie Barlow, Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jackie McGlew.Middle order: Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Dudley Nourse, Graeme Pollock, Herbie Taylor, AB de Villiers.Allrounders: Aubrey Faulkner, Mike Procter, Brian MacMillan, Trevor Goddard, Jimmy Sinclair, Shaun Pollock.Wicketkeepers: Mark Boucher, Johnny Waite, Jock Cameron, Denis Lindsay, Dave Richardson.Spinners: Hugh Tayfield, Paul Adams, Cyril Vincent.Fast bowlers: Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Neil Adcock, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Peter Pollock, Fanie de Villiers.

Sky TV and the Waitangi Day crowds missed out on the game of the World Series of Women’s Cricket as two top innings, by England’s Charlotte Edwards and India’s Mithali Raj produced an stunning finish at Lincoln 3

Matthew Appleby25-Dec-2009Sky TV and the Waitangi Day crowds missed out on the game of the World Series of Women’s Cricket as two top innings, by England’s Charlotte Edwards and India’s Mithali Raj produced an stunning finish at Lincoln 3.In a tournament of few climaxes, India, rather than England, choked, losing the last six wickets for 23 runs, the key moment coming when one of England’s least natural fielders, lanky Lucy Pearson, swooped and threw from short fine leg to run out Raj for 98 off 124 balls.India needed eight off 13 balls as Raj trooped off, then five in the final over, with two wickets left. But Mamta Kanojia ran herself out going for a third and No 11 Jhulan Goswami was unable to score off four deliveries from the ramrod straight Sarah Collyer, getting bowled off a swing at the last ball with two needed to win.England captain Clare Connor was a relieved woman at the close as she headed for a mandatory drug test.”It was a little closer than we would have wanted ideally, but a win’s a win and it’s important psychologically going into the third/fourth place playoff tomorrow, knowing we can beat them.”At 92 for four in the 29th over chasing 209 to win, India looked out of it, but the diminutive Raj blasted boundaries all round the ground to reach 98, leaving her team eight to win off 13 balls.Instead of nudging the singles the Indian tail lost the plot, setting up a real third and fourth playoff for tomorrow.The pitch played true on a cloudless day and the small crowd saw a game that was in the balance throughout.Edwards hit her side’s first half century of the tournament to help England to 208 for four wickets off 50 overs.Edwards, who returned to form with 79 not out after a best of 23 in the series, came in at 66 in the 19th over and hit 10 boundaries in her 92-ball innings.Edwards’ eighth ODI fifty (she also has three centuries) came up with a straight driven four off Hemlata Kala off her 71st ball faced.England hit 62 off the last eight overs, and 81 off the last 12. Its second hundred came in 106 balls, compared to 185 for the first.England stalwart Clare Taylor said the side was lacking assurance. It had not beaten India in 10 games since 1999, and almost threw it away today. But, for the good of the immediate future of England women’s cricket, the team came through.Taylor played a minor part today, but her conviction spread through the team and now England is set to be spirited, at least, on its forthcoming tour of Australia. The team leaves on Monday for Brisbane.”If we come off the back of this tournament with two good wins under our belts (against India) it will lift the girls, especially the batters and make them feel that they can do it.”I think all we’re looking for is belief. The Kiwis have got it and the Aussies have got it in abundance and I think that’s all we’re lacking – we’re not lacking in talent, it’s turning that talent into runs out on the pitch in the big games, rather than just against lesser teams.”Edwards and Arran Thompson (38) had shown that missing confidence to break the field up and set a challenging total.They added 98 for the fourth wicket, England’s highest stand of the series. Raj and Kala compiled a similar stand for India, putting on 92 for the fifth wicket before Laura Newton ran out Kala with 25 needed off six overs.India will rue putting England in on a pitch that has kept true, after an improved England performance (with nothing at stake) compared to last week’s dismal 86 all out in the first fixture between the teams.

Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger will return to Australia’s one-day side to take on West Indies after resting from the final two matches against Pakistan

Cricinfo staff03-Feb-2010Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger will return to Australia’s one-day side to take on West Indies after resting from the final two matches against Pakistan. Adam Voges has been left out of the 13-man squad for the first two games against West Indies, while Peter Siddle faces a long lay-off due to a back injury.The rest of the group is largely unchanged for the two matches in Melbourne on Sunday and Adelaide on Tuesday. The chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said by choosing a similar squad the selectors were hoping Australia could carry on the form that helped them to a 5-0 series clean-sweep against Pakistan.”The squad performed extremely well against Pakistan and will look to continue this form against a very good West Indies one-day side,” Hilditch said. “Two changes have been made from Sunday’s match at the WACA, with Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger returning after having their workload managed for the final two matches against Pakistan.”Adam Voges is extremely unlucky to be omitted from the squad after having limited opportunities against Pakistan. However with the returning players and the need to get the right balance in the squad of 13, Adam has unfortunately missed out on this occasion.”James Hopes earned a place in the squad despite playing only the two dead-rubbers against Pakistan and missing selection for Friday’s Twenty20 at the MCG. Hopes knows that he is battling an in-form Watson for the allrounder’s spot in Australia’s 50-over team and that while Australia keep winning games with five bowling options, it won’t be easy for him to break into the side.”I wouldn’t expect to knock him [Watson] out of the one-day team,” Hopes told the . “I think my way into that team full-time again is to be playing in the team with him. I don’t think Pakistan gave us any reason to think that we needed a sixth bowling option at all, they didn’t play that well.”If the West Indies put up a good show well maybe there could be some thought to having another option because it does limit your options if you’ve only got five bowlers. If one or two of them get hit around you haven’t got the sixth one to call on.”Australia squad Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, James Hopes, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.

Afghanistan’s dream of a place at the World Twenty20 was placed on standby after their defeat to Netherlands at Dubai International stadium.

Cricinfo staff12-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Mark Jonkman picked up two wickets in his second over as Afghanistan were held to 128 for 9 against Netherlands•International Cricket Council

Afghanistan’s dream of a place at the World Twenty20 was placed on standby after their defeat to Netherlands at Dubai International stadium. Put in to bat in an electric atmosphere with a crowd of well over 2,500, Afghanistan were restricted to 128 for 9, with several batsmen making starts but none able to push on for a big score. Alexei Kervezee and Eric Szwarczynski got the chase off to a flier, and Netherlands weathered a late fightback from Mohammad Nabi and Hamid Hassan to register a tense four-wicket win.Afghanistan had to be on top of their game in the field after posting such a modest total, but they let themselves down with several fielding and bowling lapses to allow Netherlands to take control. Mohammad Shahzad, the wicketkeeper, put down a chance in the first over of Netherlands’ chase, and the 18 extras given away did nothing to help Afghanistan’s attempts to restrict the scoring. In the tense closing moments of the game, Shapoor Zadran’s casual attempt at a catch let Ryan ten Doeschate, the last recognised batsman at the crease, off the hook and he lofted Hassan over mid on three balls later to seal the win.Zadran’s economical opening spells have been one of the vital ingredients in Afghanistan’s success in this tournament so far. He leaked runs against Ireland, but gave away just 21 runs in eight overs against Scotland and USA. Admittedly, he would have been frustrated by the missed chance off his third ball today, but he was unforgivably wayward thereafter, giving away four boundaries in his opening spell.Kervezee provided most of the momentum as Netherlands raced to 64 in under nine overs, but when he was bowled around his legs sweeping at Nabi, Afghanistan sniffed a chance for an unlikely comeback. Nabi held on to a stinging return catch to get rid of Szwarczynski in his next over, and when Bas Zuiderent was trapped in front by Samiullah Shenwari for two, Netherlands had slipped to 74 for 3. Daan van Bunge eased the pressure with a towering six over long off, but when he was dismissed attempting to repeat the shot, the nerves set in.Hassan has been a talisman for Afghanistan bowling at the death in this format, but without the weight of runs to put pressure on the opposition’s batsmen, his effectiveness was limited in this game. As a proven wicket-taker he was also introduced a little too late, when only 39 runs were required off 48 balls. After Peter Borren’s senseless run out, Hassan rattled Atse Buurman’s stumps with a searing yorker second ball, but ten Doeschate drew on his experience – and took advantage of a dropped catch – to guide Netherlands home with seven balls to spare.ten Doeschate was named Man of the Match for his efforts, which included Nabi’s wicket when Afghanistan batted. That dismissal was the third of the innings, after a double strike by Mark Jonkman, as Afghanistan slipped from 30 without loss to 32 for 3. Jonkman has built up a reputation as one of the quickest bowlers outside the Test arena, but he also exhibited a well-disguised slower ball to bowl Nowroz Mangal for 10.Confused calling then led to Mohammad Shahzad’s run out to reduce Afghanistan to 51 for 4. Raees Ahmadzai collected two fours in his 23 – the highest score of the innings – but after his dismissal wickets fell at regular intervals as Afghanistan slipped to 92 for 7. Ashraf aimed two massive strikes over long on to lift the score in the closing overs, but it was probably 20 runs short of the total Afghanistan needed.Netherlands will be buoyed by this result, which gives them two valuable points ahead of their second encounter against Ireland tomorrow. Afghanistan carried two points into this round courtesy of their win over Ireland in the group stage, so after today’s loss have a winner-takes-all game against UAE, who lost to Ireland.

Cricinfo previews the 16th match of the IPL, between Chennai and Punjab at Chepauk

Siddarth Ravindran20-Mar-2010

Match facts

Chennai v Punjab in Chennai
Sunday, March 21
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Kings XI Punjab will be wary of Matthew Hayden and his Mongoose which wreaked havoc against Delhi•Indian Premier League

Kings XI Punjab’s horror start to the IPL, continued on Friday when they were defeated by a team they had never lost to before. Kumar Sangakkara would love to set the balance right on Sunday by winning against a team they have never beaten.Punjab may have lost all three matches so far, but none of them have been knock-outs. They will also take heart from the performance of fellow strugglers Rajasthan Royals, who shrugged off their long injury-list to get the better of Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on Saturday.Punjab’s opponents, Chennai Super Kings, are again going to miss their star player and regular captain, MS Dhoni, but are high on confidence after two impressive wins in a row. Their home fans will also be eager to see the Mongoose bat which Matthew Hayden used to such brutal effect in the victory over the fancied Delhi Daredevils. That win featured the first significant batting performances from Hayden and stand-in captain Suresh Raina, their two most important batsmen along with Dhoni.However, Chennai’s bowling, with the exception of the accurate Muttiah Muralitharan, remains a source of worry – they have conceded 185 or more twice in three matches.

Team talk

Chennai’s batting wears a settled look, and they are likely to go with the same top seven they played against Delhi. The only major selection headache for the Chennai think-tank is which of the Indian seamers should partner L Balaji – Sudeep Taygi, Manpreet Gony and Joginder Sharma have all got a game each without inspiring confidence.Punjab will have to decide whether they want to pick four overseas batsmen again, or whether to choose one of the South African fast bowling pair of Yusuf Abdulla and Rusty Theron, especially after Sreesanth’s two horror matches, where his seven overs have leaked 93 runs. If they stick with the four foreign batsmen policy, medium-pacer Love Ablish, who had a solid domestic season, is a potential starter.

Previously…

Chennai 5 Punjab 0
Chennai have won all five previous encounters between the two sides, including the semi-final of the first season in Mumbai. Most of Chennai’s batsmen have had at least one good game against Punjab: in the first game the two teams played in the IPL, Michael Hussey’s century overpowered Punjab, in the next it was 60s from Subramanian Badrinath and Dhoni, and Raina’s brisk half-century finished off the semi-finals early. Hayden bludgeoned 89 in the first encounter in 2009, and Parthiv Patel top-scored with 32 in a low-scoring skirmish the last time the teams met.

In the spotlight

Yuvraj Singh’s return from injury hasn’t quite gone to plan, failing to get into double-digits in each of his three innings so far. A return to form is vital for Punjab’s most imposing batsman.Chennai’s fielding was one of the factors in their win over Delhi Daredevils – Justin Kemp’s one-handed effort ended Virender Sehwag’s onslaught, and Raina held a couple of smart ones to send back two other dangerous batsmen – Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers.

Prime numbers

• Yuvraj may not have contributed with the bat, but he is Punjab’s most economical bowler this season, giving away only 5.55 runs each over
• Suresh Raina is third on the list of most sixes hit in the IPL, behind only Adam Gilchrist and Yusuf Pathan

Chatter

“I am surely happy on winning two games. But there are another eleven matches to go. We have experienced that one can go in superb form and suddenly lose the momentum.”

“We executed our plans on the field well but it was the first six overs that cost us the match… Hopefully we can turn around the results in the next games. The guys are working very hard.”

Victoria had their best day of the final as they amassed a 321-run lead that has effectively eliminated Queensland from the game

Cricinfo staff19-Mar-2010Victoria 305 & 2 for 273 (Quiney 73, Jewell 70, Hussey 63*, Finch 54*) lead Queensland 257 (Broad 82, McDonald 3-64) by 321 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRob Quiney led Victoria’s impressive reply with 73•Getty Images

Victoria had their best day of the final as they amassed a 321-run lead that has effectively eliminated Queensland from the game. The hosts collected an advantage of 48 after the Bulls were bowled out for 257 in the first session and then raced ahead to finish the third day at 2 for 273.Rob Quiney and Nick Jewell started the second innings in excellent shape as they combined in an opening stand of 154 at more than four an over. With each run they made Queensland’s task even harder – they were already without the bowling services of James Hopes – and it will take a freakish effort from the visitors to upset the competition leader now. The Bushrangers only need to draw the match to raise the Sheffield Shield so they can bat for as long as they like over the final two days.Cameron Boyce, the rookie slow bowler, broke through twice in nine balls to remove both openers but David Hussey and Aaron Finch made sure there were no more losses. A fine legspinner from around the wicket bowled Quiney for 73 after he had collected 10 fours and a six during his 112-ball display. Jewell was slightly more cautious and he departed to a strange shot that ended in a catch to Chris Simpson at first slip.Victoria were 2 for 155 but Hussey and Finch quickly regained the momentum in a brisk stand of 118 in 150 balls. Hussey enjoyed attacking Boyce (2 for 60) and finished unbeaten on 63 while Finch was 54, including three fours in a Ben Cutting over late in the day.The Bulls were dismissed after adding 58 in the morning thanks to Cutting’s aggressive 35. Simpson was lbw to Damien Wright (2 for 48) early before the bowler hobbled off with a hamstring strain. Chris Swan and Luke Feldman were knocked over by John Hastings before Andrew McDonald, who had 3 for 64, finished the innings by bowling Boyce.It hasn’t been a great match for the bowlers with Hopes unable to deliver any more overs after suffering a grade one calf injury. The problem means Hopes will be out for up to three weeks, which threatens his plans of appearing in both the World Twenty20 and the IPL.

Sussex launched the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition with a five-wicket victory
over Worcestershire in a successful return to New Road where they won the old
Pro40 League at the end of last season

25-Apr-2010
ScorecardSussex launched the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition with a five-wicket victory
over Worcestershire in a successful return to New Road where they won the old
Pro40 League at the end of last season.James Kirtley removed three top-order batsmen in an over as the home side
struggled to make 144 for 9 and Sussex edged home by five wickets despite a
similar burst by Chris Whelan.The Worcestershire paceman dismissed Matt Prior, Joe Gatting and Murray Goodwin
in the space of five balls but the in-form Robin Martin-Jenkins, unbeaten with
35, and Andy Hood (16 not out) finished the job with 16.5 overs to spare.New Road revisited actually delivered a better scoreline than last September
when Sussex lost by 49 runs and had to wait 35 minutes before they were declared
40-over champions following Somerset’s defeat by Durham. Two much-changed teams re-convened for the first weekend of county cricket’s newest sponsorship.With Michael Yardy and Luke Wright away with England, preparing for the ICC
World T20 in the Caribbean, acting captain Goodwin made the right call by giving
his seamers the chance to take control in helpful early-season conditions.It took a brilliant catch by Joe Gatting, low to his left at short mid-wicket,
to remove Vikram Solanki in Chad Keegan’s fourth over after Worcestershire’s
captain had hit three fours in a confident start.The real breakthrough for Sussex came with the more contentious of two
leg-before decisions by umpire Mark Benson. Television replays suggested that
Phil Jaques inside edged the ball on to his pad but the Australian was given out
for 22. One wicket for Kirtley led to two more in the next five balls. Alexei Kervezee
was trapped on the crease and Ben Smith carved a catch to Martin-Jenkins at
third man.From this point it was mostly toil for Worcestershire. Moeen Ali reined back
after hitting an early six off Martin-Jenkins and was badly dropped by Keegan at
mid-off in batting through 26 overs for 38. Ben Scott, with 22, was the main contributor as the tail scrambled what runs they could against Kirtley, who finished with four for 30, and Rana Naved. The entire innings included only 13 fours and a six.Sussex had 13 boundaries on the board in 14 overs but they were made to pay a
price. Having taken three fours in Jack Shantry’s opening over, Chris Nash (33)
eventually nicked the left-arm seamer to slip and Michael Thornely holed out to
mid-wicket off the Zimbabwean-born James Cameron.Prior (37) hit two sixes before a loose shot to mid-off set up Whelan’s clutch
of wickets, with Goodwin taken at backward point and Gatting at second slip.

Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach and Zimbabwe national team captain, arrived in Zimbabwe today

Cricinfo staff09-May-2010Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach and Zimbabwe national team captain, arrived in Zimbabwe today to conduct a week-long coaching clinic at the High Performance Centre in Harare.Fletcher, who linked up with the South Africa squad as a batting and tactical consultant during England’s winter tour to South Africa, will be working with selected national age-group players – as well as some of the senior national team players and local coaches – at the centre.”We have a full schedule with the Under-16s, Under-17s and Under19s throughout the week but we have also allocated time with some of the provincial coaches as well”, said Kevin Curran, director of the Centre. “Fletcher’s credentials as a world class coach are unquestionable and we are honoured to have him here. It is a fantastic opportunity for players and coaches alike.”Fletcher coached England for seven years up until 2007, and guided the team to unprecedented success in that time, including six series wins in a row leading into the 2005 Ashes. He also led England on two tours to South Africa, starting with his maiden series in charge in 1999-2000 and culminating in a memorable 2-1 triumph five years’ later.As Zimbabwe’s first ODI captain, Fletcher played a key role in Zimbabwe’s famous victory over Australia at the 1983 World Cup. After his retirement, he gradually moved into coaching, winning trophies with Western Province and then Glamorgan before he was selected as the first foreigner to coach England in 1999.Fletcher’s is the second high-profile visit by a respected coach to Zimbabwe this year, after legendary legspin coach Terry Jenner travelled to the country in January.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain, has said he is thrilled with the performances of youngsters like wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal and allrounder Jeewan Mendis

Cricinfo staff09-Jun-2010Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain, has said he is thrilled with the performances of youngsters like wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal and allrounder Jeewan Mendis, who were given an opportunity in the tri-series in Zimbabwe while senior players rested.Sri Lanka entered the tournament without four of their senior-most players – Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya – but that didn’t stop them from lifting the title with a nine-wicket thumping of Zimbabwe in the final. “The young players got good opportunities here and they responded well,” Dilshan said. “Dinesh Chandimal played well against India and Jeevan Mendis has bowled and batted well throughout the series.”Dilshan’s team was dominant in the finals, starting with the new-ball bowlers, who stifled the Zimbabwe top order and dismissed Man of the Series Brendan Taylor cheaply. “I am really happy with the boys’ performance today,” Dilshan said, “especially the fast bowlers who set the tone by bowling really well in the first ten overs.”After a magical 2009, Dilshan had a fallow spell over the past few months but he was back at his fluent best in this tournament, topping the charts with 328 runs, with three half-centuries and an unbeaten 108 in the final. “I’m happy with my form, last 1-1.5 months I’ve struggled but I got my form back and want it carry it to the World Cup.”It was a disappointing day for Zimbabwe, but three victories in the league stage made it a week to remember for the hosts. “It is very satisfying to get where we have, the guys have worked hard,” Taylor said. “It was unfortunate we didn’t back it up in the final.”