Archive for October, 2007
Everyone has responded - Dhoni
Sunday, October 21st, 2007Gambhir and Uthappa have matured - Dhoni
Cricinfo staff
October 20, 2007
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the Twenty20 victory over Australia would give his team momentum as they prepare to take on Pakistan in a one-day and Test series starting next month.
“This victory, as well as the last ODI victory, will give us a lot of confidence. International cricket is more about confidence than technique,” Dhoni said after India beat Australia in the one-off Twenty20 International at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
“Gautam (Gambhir) and Robin (Uthappa) have matured and played aggressively,” he said while praising his side for coming out with a fearless outlook. “They are aggressive but at times they may fail trying for shots and they may be criticised for playing rash shots but that’s how it is.”
The virgin pitch used for the game helped the spinners; Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik did not disappoint despite having to bowl in tough situations. “Kartik was preferred over Joginder because of conditions,” Dhoni said. “In India, we have to generally sacrifice the fourth seamer for second spinner. Today we batted well and bowled well but fielding was not good because of the bumpy ground. Everyone responded well to responsibilities given to them and that is why we won.”
Dhoni’s counterpart, Ricky Ponting, felt his team did not get enough runs on the board. “We fell short by 15 runs. We gave away too many extras - 23 extras means four extra overs. We did it the other night also and we need to buck up,” he said. “Harabhan and Kartik bowled well. Gambhir batted well. We would like to play more matches against the new generation Indian players.”
© Cricinfo
Osama Samiuddin - Pak wins the 2nd game to level the series
Sunday, October 21st, 2007Pakistan triumph despite imperfect performance
October 20, 2007
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In years to come, trying to explain how Pakistan won this match will take some serious doing. It says much about cricket, indeed sport, that South Africa won the first match with as close to the perfect game as possible and Pakistan won two days later with a game far closer to imperfect than perfect.
Cast a glance if you please at the mess. The common contention after their innings was that they fell a fair few runs short of setting a decent target. Shoaib Malik, the captain, thought 265 was not a winning total, but a defendable one. The openers contributed nothing and three batsmen got out just when they shouldn’t have.
Even Mohammad Yousuf’s hundred was a mixed affair: necessary as it was, it wasn’t quite cut from the same, elegant cloth you might expect. Having reached fifty, under pressure, with barely a bead of sweat wasted, he became a different beast thereafter. Only two boundaries came in his next fifty and his timing deserted him. More importantly, as partners fell around him, the situation demanded Yousuf yanking it; he couldn’t though to be fair, he wasn’t allowed to.
“The wicket was slow and the old ball was difficult to hit,” Yousuf said later. “It wasn’t difficult to hit on this pitch, but just to find gaps.” Yet, ultimately he was the difference and his return to Pakistan’s middle order after a longish break, part enforced, part voluntary, has been as soothing a balm to the departure of Inzamam-ul-Haq as Pakistan could want.
Though Yousuf disagreed with his captain on what was a winning total - he thought 240 - both would agree that Pakistan went about defending it in the worst possible manner. Umar Gul set the pattern in the very first over, bowling Graeme Smith off a second-ball no-ball.
That extra was the first of 20, which included 14 wides and, with the new regulations now, an unforgivable four no-balls. They fluffed a couple of run-outs but went to the greatest lengths to discredit the dictum that catches win matches: they dropped five and still won. Smith, including his non-dismissal, became 4/9th of a cat, offering three further chances in a real struggle of an innings.
Malik downplayed the significance of these blips. “Anyone can drop catches. We are working hard on our fielding and will continue to do so.” The truth is, however, that not every side does drop them or certainly not as many as Pakistan did today. And the problem is that it happens to Pakistan more often than other sides.
 In fact, Shoaib Malik might even afford himself a smile: if you can win when playing like this, imagine what you can do when you play well  |
Given all this, Pakistan still got some key things right. Gul shed hisTwenty20 role and opened the bowling, becoming an attacking threat as opposed to a first-change run-saver. Rao Iftikhar Anjum with a softer ball felt much better than with the new ball; mixing off-cutters with good, honest fast-medium fare, he bowled wonderfully well for career-best figures. They also brought in another specialist bowler and Abdur Rehman’s tight ten-over spell, spanning the middle and end of the innings, was crucial. Rightly, Malik credited the win to his bowlers. “Even despite the catches, they kept going and did so well.”
Serendipity also got involved. In the absence of an official vice-captain - Salman Butt being a non-playing one - Younis Khan stood in as captain for 31 overs after Malik went off with cramps. And as he made a habit of doing when Inzamam was captain, he immediately made the incumbent look inactive and positively ponderous as soon as he took over, directing, cheering and hustling away.
Mischievously, Malik was asked what he thought of Younis’ leadership. “We don’t worry about who is captain. We are like a family where everyone is captain. He was very good and I made sure I thanked him for it.” Many will still wonder, though, just what could have been.
There was, in the end, a strange symmetry with the first match. The margin of defeat was similar. There was also a late rally from South Africa though they were never really in the chase after their start. But the win was achieved in entirely different fashion and Pakistan won’t mind how they come. In fact, Malik might even afford himself a smile: if you can win when playing like this, imagine what you can do when you play well.
Osman Samiuddin is the Pakistan editor of Cricinfo
John Dyson named West Indies coach
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
Former Sri Lanka mentor replaces David Moore
John Dyson named West Indies coach
October 21, 2007
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John Dyson, the former Australian batsman and coach of Sri Lanka, has been put in charge of West Indies and will succeed his countryman David Moore. Moore had assisted the head coach Bennett King, who departed after the World Cup, and was in charge on a temporary basis.
The West Indies Cricket Board did not reveal when Dyson would start the role but the West Indies are due to begin a tour of South Africa in December. A board spokesman said “the rest of the team management would be identified and appointed subsequently”.
Dyson, who was also interested in the India and Bangladesh vacancies, edged out another Australian, Dav Whatmore, for the post and faces a tough task to make West Indies an international force. Dyson took over from Whatmore as Sri Lanka’s coach in 2003 and remained in the role for two years. An opening batsman, he played 30 Tests in the late 1970s and early 80s, scoring two centuries and averaging 26.64.
© Cricinfo
