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A round up from the latest matches in the Faithwear Metbank One-Day Competition

Cricinfo staff08-Dec-2009Mountaineers made light work of the target set by Matabeleland Tuskers at Mutare Sports Club. Choosing to bat first Matabeleland could not last the 50 overs as they were bowled out for under 200. It could have been worse for the visiting side, who were struggling at 71 for 6 at the half-way stage of their innings. But a run-a-ball 53 from captain Greg Strydom and contributions Mbekezeli Mabuza (24) and Chris Mpofu (29 not out) lifted the total to 197. Though the wickets were shared around the bowlers,18 year-old legspinner Natsai Mushangwe was the star, collecting a career best 4 for 40 from his 10 overs.With plenty of time to reach their target, unbeaten fifties from Tino Mawoyo and captain Hamilton Masakadza alongside 47 from Timycen Maruma ensured no problems for the Mountaineers as they widened their lead over second-placed Mid West Rhinos to 16 points.Rain meant only 4.1 overs of play was possible in Southern Rocks game against Mashonaland Eagles at Masvingo Sports Club.

Australia remain confident that Peter Siddle will be fit for the third Test despite the selectors calling for the Tasmania fast bowler Brett Geeves as a backup

Brydon Coverdale in Perth14-Dec-2009Australia remain confident that Peter Siddle will be fit for the third Test despite the selectors calling for the Tasmania fast bowler Brett Geeves as a backup. Siddle bowled at full speed in the WACA nets on Monday and did not show any signs of the hamstring strain that troubled him in Adelaide, but much will depend on how he recovers after training.Following his bowling session, Siddle walked laps of the WACA with the team physio Alex Kountouris, who has spent much of the week working with Siddle in an effort to ensure he is fit for the Test starting on Wednesday. The wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said while Siddle was not yet a certain starter, the signs were positive.”There’s still a little bit of doubt around Peter,” Haddin said. “He bowled today, by all accounts he’s pulled up pretty well but with all these sort of injuries it’s not so much the first day, it’s how you pull up the next day. So he will have to be reassessed tomorrow but by all reports he pulled up pretty well after his spell today.”If Siddle does not prove his fitness before the Test, it would mean a likely debut for his Victorian team-mate Clint McKay, who was the 12th man in Adelaide and stayed with the squad for the Perth Test. The chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said that while Siddle was expected to be cleared, they were covering their bases by calling for Geeves, who was due to join the team in Perth on Monday night ahead of the series-deciding third game.”In order to ensure there is sufficient cover, a decision has been made to have Brett Geeves available as a standby player in Perth,” Hilditch said. “Brett gets his opportunity on the back of his recent strong performances in Sheffield Shield cricket and because the panel feels he will be well-suited to the conditions at the WACA should an opportunity present itself.”Geeves, a 27-year-old right armer, toured with the limited-overs team to South Africa earlier in the year, and has appeared in two ODIs and a Twenty20 international. However, his prospects seemed to suffer when he was not called up for the injury-hit visit to India in October and November.Five wickets in Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield win over Western Australia last week helped remind the selectors of his worth. In 39 first-class games he has taken 134 wickets at 34.41 and is well-known in Australian cricket circles for his lively blog. The country’s fast-bowling stocks are being tested with the contract holders Ben Hilfenhaus, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark on the injured list.

Stuart Clark will be joining Kent as an overseas player for the first half of next season. Clark, who has also enjoyed brief stints with Hampshire and Middlesex, had been set to fill the overseas role for Kent last summer before being recalled by Australi

Cricinfo staff06-Jan-2010Stuart Clark will be joining Kent as an overseas player for the first half of next season. Clark, who has also enjoyed brief stints with Hampshire and Middlesex, had been set to fill the overseas role for Kent last summer before being recalled by Australia during the Ashes.”Stuart is a tremendous character and has the ability and experience that we are looking for”, said Graham Johnson, Kent’s chairman of cricket. “He is a genuine wicket-taker and will bring a great amount to the side. He has a positive outlook and will prove a great addition.””We are delighted to finally sign Stuart,” added Paul Farbrace, the county’s team director. “He is an attractive signing for us because he is not playing in the Indian Premier League and will be available for the first half of the summer. He is an exceptional bowler and will offer a lot, both on and off the field.”Clark has represented his country 24 times in Test matches, taking 94 wickets at a miserly 23.86, but was discarded after Australia’s unsuccessful Ashes campaign. While conceding that his international career is in all likelihood over, the 34-year-old has identified a county stint as a new career objective.

An unbeaten hundred from Maurice Ouma kept Kenya afloat on the third day of their Intercontinental Cup game against Scotland at Nairobi Gymkhana. His 106, along with dogged contributions from Hiren Varaiya (44), Collins Obuya (38) and Steve Tikolo (34) ha

Cricinfo staff27-Jan-2010Close Kenya 91 (Obuya 40) and 288 for 7 (Ouma 106*, Varaiya 44, Nel 3-91) lead Scotland 306 (Sheikh 108, Berrington 80) by 73 runs

ScorecardAn unbeaten hundred from Maurice Ouma kept Kenya afloat on the third day of their Intercontinental Cup game against Scotland at Nairobi Gymkhana. His 106, along with dogged contributions from Hiren Varaiya (44), Collins Obuya (38) and Steve Tikolo (34) had stretched Kenya’s lead to 73 by stumps. Two late strikes by Kyle Coetzer gave Scotland the edge today, however, and Kenya closed at 288 for 7.After a dismal performance in their first innings, the pressure was on the Kenyan batsmen today. The inexperienced Rakep Patel added only 10 runs to his overnight score before he edged Dewald Nel through to Simon Smith to give Scotland their first breakthrough of the morning. Majid Haq found Obuya’s edge after he had flowed to 38 to bring Tikolo, Kenya’s most experienced batsman and a constant presence in the middle order for the last 15 years, to the crease.Kenya would have hoped for a long innings from Tikolo, and he stroked six boundaries in a fluent innings but fell to Haq’s offspin with Kenya still 67 runs short of making Scotland bat again. All the while, Varaiya held firm at the other end, grinding his way to 44 from an astounding 237 balls – his highest score in first-class cricket – before he became Nel’s third victim of the day.Jimmy Kamande showed some application to survive for 54 balls, but his dismissal by Coetzer nine overs before the close opened the door for Scotland and Nehemiah Odhiambo was bowled for a duck in Coetzer’s next over. Elijah Otieno’s unbeaten 10 – his personal best with the bat in any format – allowed Ouma to go to a well-deserved hundred, but with only three second-innings wickets still standing, Scotland will still be confident that they can restrict Kenya to a gettable total tomorrow.

Netherlands and Scotland will be playing a one-dayer against Bangladesh in June

Cricinfo staff26-Feb-2010Two further one-day games have been added to Bangladesh’s tour of England, Ireland and Scotland, with Netherlands and Scotland announcing that they will play a one-dayer each against the touring side in June. Scotland will play Bangladesh on July 19 in Glasgow, which will also serve as the neutral venue for the match against Netherlands the following day.Prior to these games, Bangladesh will be in Ireland, where they will play two ODIs at Stormont in Belfast on July 15 and 16.Richard Cox, the Netherlands board chief executive, believed the games would be an important benchmark for the sides. “This is an exciting opportunity to play an ICC Full Member in Scotland at the end of what will have been a long tour for the exciting Bangladesh squad,” he said.”This game will be a big test for our side and they will be relishing the opportunity to play Bangladesh whose footsteps we hope to follow in years to come. The game will come on the back of the ICC World Cricket League to be held in the Netherlands in June and we therefore hope to be well and truly ready for the challenge.”Roddy Smith, Cricket Scotland’s chief executive, said the team would be looking forward to the clash, scheduled after England’s visit on June 19. “These games are always a major test for our players and they will be relishing the opportunity to play Bangladesh on home soil,” he said.Richard Holsworth, the ICC Europe regional development manager, also welcomed the fixtures. “Bangladesh agreeing to play Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands in one-day internationals this summer is great news for Europe and these countries. Now that all three high performance countries have a number of professional contracted players it is a hugely important they have regular competition with the Full Member countries.”

The New Zealand allrounder has been ruled out of action for up to a month with a patella tendon tear

Cricinfo staff04-Mar-2010The New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram has been ruled out of action for up to a month with a patella tendon tear, meaning he will take no further part in the home ODIs against Australia and that he could miss a sizeable duration of the IPL. The Central Districts medium-pacer Michael Mason has been named as Oram’s replacement in the New Zealand squad.”Jacob Oram suffered a partial tear of the patella tendon,” New Zealand team manager Dave Currie said in a statement. “It is expected that Jacob will recover in three or four weeks, however he will be out for the balance of the Australian series.”Oram, 31, sustained a knee injury during the first match in Napier. Oram’s injury means he will miss a significant amount, if not the entire duration, of the upcoming IPL starting March 12. He represents the Chennai Super Kings in the league on a lucrative contract worth US$675,000 a year.Oram suffered a variety of injuries over the past year and a half. He returned home mid-way through the tour of Bangladesh in 2008 and missed the Test series in Australia because of a back injury. A calf strain kept him out of the home Test series against West Indies and an Achilles injury cut short his participation in the one-day series that followed and the home Tests against India. He announced his retirement from Test cricket last October after the latest in that long list of injuries.Mason, 35, has played 25 ODIs, three Twenty20s and a solitary Test for his country. New Zealand’s selectors have only named a squad for the first two matches. The next match is in Auckland on Saturday.New Zealand are also awaiting a fitness report on their captain Daniel Vettori, who missed the Napier game with a stiff neck. “He’s feeling a bit more comfortable and he’ll hopefully be fine tomorrow,” said Currie. “He’s not 100 per cent certain [to play]. The neck was a bit stiff. We’re certainly hopeful and he’s hopeful, but again we’ll get through today and get more treatment and see how he wakes up in the morning.”

Otago and Central Districts kept up the push for a spot in the finals by squeezing out tight wins in the seventh round

Cricinfo staff07-Mar-2010Otago and Central Districts kept up the push for a spot in the finals by squeezing out tight wins in the seventh round. Both sides are now tied on 26 points, ten behind leaders Northern Districts and six ahead of fourth-placed Canterbury.Central Districts’ wicketkeeper Bevan Griggs starred in their cliffhanger against Canterbury, slamming an unbeaten 51-ball 53 to power them to a one-wicket victory in New Plymouth with just two balls to spare. Adam Milne, the 17-year-old medium-pacer, had a debut to remember, holding his nerve to hit the winnings runs. The match looked to be heading for a draw after Mathew Sinclair fell for 76, leaving CD the big ask of 139 runs off the final 22 overs with six wickets in hand, but Griggs’ enterprising innings steered them to an improbable win.It had already been a topsy-turvy match, with Canterbury fighting back strongly from a first-innings deficit of 191 runs. They seemed to be hurtling to defeat when they slid to 94 for 4 in the second innings but a double-century from Shanan Stewart and 178 for Kruger van Wyk – the pair were involved in an unbroken 379-run sixth-wicket stand- propelled Canterbury to 551 for 5 dec, which ultimately didn’t prove enough to prevent defeat.Left-arm-spinner Nick Beard was Otago’s hero in their 24-run victory over Auckland at the University Oval, picking a career-best 6 for 107 to spark a late collapse – Auckland losing their final five wickets for 39 runs to stumble to defeat from a winning position. A 149-run opening stand between Jeet Raval and Tim McIntosh and a string of 30 from the middle-order took them to 294 for 5, only 66 away from victory, before Beard removed both set batsmen – Aaron Kitchen and Colin de Grandhomme – to snatch an unexpected win with five overs remaining.Otago had been in control for much of the match, after captain Craig Cummings’ 102 and an 86 from Sam Wells guided them to 387 in the first innings. McIntosh was among the runs in the first-innings as well, making 81, with Reece Young cracking an 80 before Auckland declared towards the end of the third day, despite being 149 behind. Otago motored along at nearly six an over in the second innings, Greg Todd’s 47-ball 66 being the highlight, before they declared on 208 to set Auckland a target of 358.

The New Zealand allrounder is determined to force his way back into the starting XI at the ICC World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff24-Apr-2010Scott Styris, the New Zealand allrounder, is determined to force his way back into the starting XI at the ICC World Twenty20. Styris is not a guaranteed starter despite having been part of the squad for the previous two tournaments, as well as after a successful return to the ODI squad against Australia in March, during which he averaged 49.00 with the bat.”I didn’t make it for the home season, so at no stage have I thought I’m in the playing XI,” he told the . “I have to go out and put good performances on the board, otherwise I’ll find myself sitting watching these games, which is not what I want.”Styris had a successful domestic season, during which his all-round skills proved central in Auckland making the HRV Cup final. He was deemed surplus to New Zealand’s requirements for the home ODIs against Bangladesh, but turned heads with an unbeaten 49 off 34 balls in the first ODI against Australia in Napier. New Zealand lost the series but Styris contributed further scores of 46, 41, 8 and 55. In a side for the World Twenty20 which features rookies and players on the comeback trail from injury, Styris’ experience is highly valuable and he was focused on making a statement.”The selectors, over the last 12 to 18 months, have shown in their view I’m not in the Twenty20 side, so I’ve got to change that, whether I think I should be or not. It’s up to me to go out and try and change their opinion,” he said. “I’ve had a wee bit of a break and now it’s up to me to make sure I hit the ground running.”New Zealand open the tournament on April 30 with a fixture against last year’s finalists Sri Lanka.

Javeria Khan, the Pakistan offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action, during the match against Sri Lanka at St Kitts in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 on Thursday

Cricinfo staff07-May-2010Javeria Khan, the Pakistan offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action, during the match against Sri Lanka at St Kitts in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 on Thursday. She was reported by the on-field umpires Rod Tucker and Marais Erasmus as well as third umpire Shahvir Tarapore.”We believe that Javeria Wadood straightens her arm during her delivery and appears to be more than the allowable 15 degrees,” the umpires stated in their official report. “It is in all deliveries not one specific delivery. We therefore request the necessary action be instituted to deal with this matter.”Javeria will be required to undergo an independent analysis of her action by a member of the ICC panel of human movement specialists, appointed in consultation with the PCB. This analysis and report must take place within seven days of the report being received by the board. If she is reported again during the independent analysis she will then be suspended from bowling until she undertakes remedial action and is reassessed.

James Tomlinson took three wickets as Hampshire seized the upper hand in their County Championship Division One clash with Essex at the Rose Bowl

05-Jun-2010

ScorecardJames Tomlinson took three wickets as Hampshire seized the upper hand in their County Championship Division One clash with Essex at the Rose Bowl. The hosts added only two runs to their overnight 298 for 7 as Maurice Chambers snared the last three wickets, including veteran Dominic Cork for 55, to finish with figures of 5 for 49. But Essex slipped to 209 for 7 in reply as Matt Walker was left to lead the resistance with an unbeaten 60.Cork made the initial breakthroughs, removing Jaik Mickleburgh for 21 with the help of wicketkeeper Nic Pothas to leave the visitors 51 for 1 at lunch. Tom Westley had been Mickleburgh’s partner in an opening stand of 48, but became Cork’s second victim via a sharp return catch at knee height.There followed a stand of 62 between Ravi Bopara and Walker, the latter taking the stand beyond 50 with a six off Danny Briggs. But Tomlinson then stepped up to make an impact, with Bopara cover-driving loosely to provide Pothas with his second routine catch of the innings.The in-form Ryan ten Doeschate quickly followed, trapped lbw for just six to leave his side 135 for 5 by tea. A rash swing by Walker off the bowling of Briggs sent the ball looping just out of Jimmy Adams’ reach, but the miss did not prove costly as Briggs soon got his reward with the wicket of keeper James Foster, clean bowled for a painstaking 14 by a ball that kept low.Mark Pettini lasted just two balls before tamely prodding into the hands of Neil McKenzie to help Briggs towards figures of 2 for 33. Walker reached his half-century from 126 balls but saw David Masters nick a second catch to McKenzie in the slips after making 15, leaving Tomlinson with 3 for 51.Graham Napier took his side to their first batting point with a cover drive for four but otherwise reined in his attacking inclinations to reach an unbeaten nine by the close. With only Chambers and Danish Kaneria to come, much depends on Napier and Walker as Essex look to cut the deficit tomorrow.