Tag Futebol

Danish Kaneria has turned down the chance to play in the Indian Cricket League. Kaneria, who is currently playing for Essex, said that he rejected the approach as his priority was to Pakistan and that “money is not everything”. He also called on the selectors to give him a place in the one-day side.In an interview which will appear on the Essex CCC website, he said: “There was an offer to me to play in the Indian Cricket League but my country always comes first to me. I always want to give 110% to my country so don’t want to be playing in another league.”There are three teams I want to play for – firstly my country, then Essex and my department, Habib Bank. They are three major teams who look after me so I try my level best to give to them.”International cricket is something different to domestic cricket so I want to stick with that. Money is not everything. I want to get my name where Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne is. I want to achieve something in my life.”I would love to be in the one-day team and I don’t know why the selectors and captain don’t have confidence in me. They should do because I’ve bowled well in the county game [with Essex] which has a high level in the one-day cricket.”Leg-spinners play a vital role in any one-day team such as India who have been putting Piyush Chawla up against the England batting line-up. I would love to play but it depends on the management, the selectors and captain. They should have faith in me in all forms of cricket.”Kaneria’s next international commitments are in October, with the Test series against South Africa in Pakistan. In the meantime, he has been confirmed by Essex as their one overseas player next year.

Michael Hussey insists he is not trying to gain Ricky Ponting’s job despite his rapid elevation to the side’s vice-captaincy for the short tour of Malaysia. Hussey started playing Test cricket barely a year ago and has been outstanding in both forms of the game while displaying impeccable leadership skills.While Hussey enjoys skippering teams, he has no plans to take Ponting’s position. “I want to make it clear I am not trying to become Australian captain or anything like that,” Hussey said in the as the squad began its preparations for the tournament with India and West Indies. “I am 100% behind Ricky and Adam [Gilchrist] and I am not trying to promote myself as a leader.”The role will end when the Champions Trophy starts in India in October and Gilchrist, who is training at home while the team goes to Kuala Lumpur, rejoins the squad. “I’m just filling in but I am really honoured and will try and give Ricky as much support as I possibly can, and try and take some of the weight off his shoulders,” he said. Australia’s first game of the series is against West Indies on Tuesday.

Gautam Gambhir has been named the captain of the Rest of India squad to take on Railways, the Ranji champions, in the Irani Trophy to be played from October 1 to October 5 at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Gambhir is currently playing the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.Despite India not having any international assignments at that time, the selectors decided to not include the big stars and go for untested talent instead. Ramesh Powar, the offspinner from Mumbai, and Ramakrishnan Ramkumar, the left-arm spinner from Tamil Nadu, were the two spinners included. VRV Singh, the fast bowler from Punjab who had an impressive debut season, will get an opportunity to showcase his skill.A surprise omission from the squad is Dinesh Mongia, who had led the side last year. Parthiv Patel will get another chance to prove himself with the gloves while Venugopal Rao returns to the team as the vice-captain, after a disastrous one-day series in Zimbabwe.Rest of India squad:Gautam Gambhir (capt), Dheeraj Jadhav, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Y Venugopal Rao (vice-capt), Suresh Raina, Niraj Patel, Parthiv Patel(wkt), Ramesh Powar, Ramakrishnan Ramkumar, RP Singh, Sreeshanth, Ranadeb Bose, Amit Bhandari, VRV Singh

Bangladeshis 136 for 7 (Habibul Bashar 47) beat WICB XI 135 (R Hinds 48, Manjural 4-9) by 3 wickets
ScorecardThe Bangladeshis began their tour of the West Indies with a morale-boosting three-wicket win against the West Indies Cricket Board XI. In a low-scoring match in St Vincent, the Board XI, with six international players in their ranks, won the toss and chose to bat on an easy-paced pitch, but were soon undone by the Bangladesh attack and were bowled out for just 135 in 45.3 overs. Bangladesh themselves stumbled in their run-chase, but Habibul Bashar, their captain, scored 47, while the lower order chipped in with some useful runs to ensure a victory with nine overs to spare.Batting at his customary No. 3 position, Bashar consolidated the innings after Bangladesh had lost an early wicket. However, there was little support from the rest of the top order, and at 82 for 6, the Board XI had an opportunity to sneak a win. Mushfiqur Rahman and Khaled Mashud scotched those hopes with a 50-run stand that took the Bangladeshis to the brink of victory. Mashud was dismissed for 17, but Mushfiqur remained unbeaten on 25 to take his side home.Earlier, Manjural Islam Rana, the left-arm spinner, and the former captain Khaled Mahmud combined to bundle the Board XI out cheaply. Mahmud (3 for 33) did the early damage, dismissing three of the top four batsmen, while Manjural wrapped up the tail to finish with the remarkable figures of 4 for 9 from 9.3 overs. Ryan Hinds was the only batsman to offer any resistance, making 48, the highest score of the match.This was Bangladesh’s only warm-up game before the one-day series, which starts with back-to-back matches here in St Vincent over the weekend.

Mohammed Sami of Pakistan clocked 156.4km/h in Thursday’s game against Zimbabwe to become the third fastest bowler in recent times.In the absence of enduring stars like Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, and the hundred-miles-per-hour man Shoaib Akhtar, Sami seems to have grabbed the bull by the horns and decided that he wants the mantle not only as the spearhead of Pakistan’s pace battery but also perhaps as the world’s fastest bowler.Sami’s 156.4km/h leapfrogs him into third place in the pace race and signals intent to both Lee and Shoaib of his impending presence.Mohammed Sami’s career has previously been one of unfulfilled promise, as he has threatened to ignite for some time but has failed to live up to expectation.Before his debut, Sami had been described as “Very fast and very hostile.” In 2000, about the then 18-years-old, Wasim Akram said that he was at least as fast as Shoaib and that he was happy for him to play Test cricket.It was almost two years ago to the day that Sami, a skinny 20-year-old fired up the guns with a 147.5km/h thunderbolt against Sri Lanka. Sami had previously clocked 143km/h on his debut against New Zealand but it was this 90mph plus delivery which signalled to many that he had arrived as a genuine speedster and would soon be in the express category.The past two years have seen Sami’s speeds all but stall as he has hovered around the mid-140s (km/h) with a top speed confirmed at 149.7km/h. The 150km/h-plus deliveries have proved elusive as he has sat on the edge of the ‘express paceman’s’ club watching other emerging speed demons pass him by.Some have proposed that the 22-year-old has been living in the shadow of established stalwarts for too long and that his potential speed would only come to fruition with the confidence which results from being handed the reigns as a leader of the attack. Others have stated that his slight frame would physically not allow him to bowl above the 150km/h mark.Sami has now blasted the latter train of thought out of the water whilst the former looks to be more on the money.In his first five-over spell, Sami bowled nine balls exceeding the 150km/h benchmark. Five of them went well beyond it at 152km/h or above, culminating with the 156.4km/h delivery, the first ball of his fifth over. This speed has been verified by the second radar which captured the ball’s velocity slightly later in its flight path at 155.7km/h. Thanks once again goes to Warren Brennan and the crew at BBG for their continued support and professionalism with regards the confirmation of bowling speeds.The magnitude of Mohammed Sami’s new found pace can only be comprehended when it is realized that he is the only bowler ever to be recorded initially breaking the 150km/h barrier and then pushing past 155km/h within the same match. That kind of jump is unheralded.Sami followed up his Herculean performance with 10 balls registering above 149km/h against Sri Lanka. A remarkable effort considering the high temperature in Sharjah and the unusual strain that his body underwent the previous day.To try and put one’s finger on the physical modifications which have given birth to Sami’s fresh pace would be to analyse Sami’s bodily metamorphosis and his action adjustments. He has no doubt added a bit of meat to his light bones and a few yards of pace to his diminutive run-up. Add to this a demeanour bristling with confidence and the result is an explosive burst which propels the ball at breakneck speeds.Pakistan’s cricket fans the world over are left wondering what might have been, had the kid from Karachi been given the opportunity to partner Shoaib in a twin pace assault at the recently completed World Cup. In an event where only four of the world’s pacers bettered 150km/h, it would have been a sight to behold having the fast men charging in and giving the batsmen no respite.The temptation for the Pakistan selectors now would be to rush back Shoaib and see just what this pairing are capable of. If it is anything even remotely close to what Waqar and Wasim were accomplishing back in their halcyon days, then the world’s batsmen may be in for a few sleepless nights as they scramble to send off order forms for the finest in new-fangled body armour.

Sharjah cricket chiefs will limit players’ use of mobile phones and increase security near dressing rooms as part of a campaign to combat corruption in the sport.The Cricketers Benefit Fund Series, which organizes the twice-yearly tournaments in Sharjah, wants to prevent the desert venue – host of a record 174 One-Day Internationals – becoming a potential haven for match-fixers. The CBFS had sought guidance from cricket’s Anti-Corruption Unit on how to implement recommendations from ACU Director Lord Condon.Condon, a former police commissioner in London, submitted a report in April on how best to eradicate match-fixing and other forms of corruption from cricket. The International Cricket Council ruled that his advice be adopted.”We have embraced Lord Condon’s recommendations, especially security around the players’ dressing rooms,” said Zahid Noorani, CBFS chief executive. “There’ll be one mobile phone allowed and that is with the manager.”Five players, including former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje, have received life bans in the past two years as a result of investigations into match-fixing. Cronje was found out when police listened to his cellular-phone conversations with bookmakers.The ACU’s Bob Smalley and Jeff Rees, who visited Sharjah during the Aprilevent, accepted an invitation from the CBFS last month to advise on security.They will fly out again for the next tournament comprising Pakistan, Sri Lankaand Zimbabwe from Oct. 26 to Nov. 4th.”The action is for the players’ benefit,” Noorani said. “The only purpose behind this exercise is to protect them from untoward approaches from bookmakers.”The Emirates Cricket Board, independent of the CBFS, last year commissioned a three-man party – headed by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd – to investigate claims of cricket corruption in the U.A.E. It hasn’t yet submitteda report.

Sridharan Sriram stroked his way to an unbeaten 92 as Tamil Nadu madea confident start, scoring 153 for one wicket off 47 overs at close ofplay on the first day of their South Zone Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Andhra at the Guru Nanak college ground in Chennai onWednesday.Morning showers delayed the start of play but good work by the groundstaff saw the game start at 1.15 pm after a delay of 185 minutes.Winning the toss, Tamil Nadu were served well by openers Sriram andRajat Bhatia (21) who put on 62 runs off 20 overs. Bhatia was thencaught by Madhukar at mid off off Ranganath. His fall brought two lefthanders and India players Sriram and Hemang Badani together and thetwo proceeded to accelerate the scoring rate. Off 27 overs, the twoadded 91 runs for the unbroken second wicket when stumps were drawn.Play was extended by 60 minutes and 58 overs were to be bowled on thetruncated day. But bad light lopped off 11 overs towards the end.Sriram was the more aggressive of the two batsmen. He had announcedhis intentions early when he hit medium pacer Shahbuddin over squareleg for a rousing six. His purple patch came when he clouted offspinner H Vatekar for 17 runs off five successive balls (42461). Byclose, he had faced 154 balls and hit six fours and two sixes. Badani,who was composed during his innings of 33, faced 80 balls and hit twoof them to the ropes.

ScorecardIt wasn’t a happy day for Jerome Taylor (file photo)•AFP

After their heavy loss in the first Test in Hobart, West Indies needed to go back to basics in their two-day match against a second-string Victoria XI this weekend. So a rookie fielding error from Jerome Taylor will not have pleased the captain and coach as the game cruised to a predictable draw, with local opening batsman Jake Hancock finishing unbeaten on 80 when rain arrived.Hancock was on 22, in the 14th over of the Victoria innings, when he hooked captain Jason Holder towards Taylor at fine leg. However, Taylor had his back to play and was looking into the grandstands while the ball flew his way. Only after his team-mates called out to him did Taylor turn around, but by then it was too late to get into position for the catch, or even stop the boundary.West Indies coach Phil Simmons said after the match that he had not seen the incident himself but he conceded that it was not a good look for a team aiming to lift their morale ahead of Boxing Day. “It can’t be a good look,” Simmons said. “It’s a team trying to gain that sort of respect. Things like that, we have to make sure we cut them out.”It was hardly the kind of attitude West Indies needed after their embarrassing performance in Hobart, where Taylor had leaked 108 runs for no wickets from his 17 overs. In Geelong, he was tighter and bowled nine overs for 14 runs, but West Indies managed just three wickets in 58 overs against a Victoria XI boasting only two players with first-class experience.One of those men, opener Travis Dean, was caught for 3 when he fended Kemar Roach to point, and at 1 for 13 in the fourth over it was a good start for West Indies. However, Hancock and Tom Donnell put on 73 for the second wicket as West Indies struggled in the field, also missing a run-out chance when Hancock was on 36, and it was not until Devendra Bishoo bowled Donnell for 34 that the stand was broken.Bishoo finished with 2 for 60 after he also had the Victoria captain Ian Holland stumped for 29 by Shai Hope, with regular gloveman Denesh Ramdin having been rested on Sunday. The Victorians moved along to 3 for 169 when the rain arrived, with Hancock on 80 and Aaron Ayre on 17.