Beyond the Test World
'I am not a freaking cricket match'
A 22-year-old woman in the US has made headlines after complaining about cricket messages sent to her Twitter account, which is named @theashes.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
A 22-year-old woman in the US has made headlines after complaining about cricket messages sent to her Twitter account, which is named @theashes.
Massachusetts-based Ashley Kerekes says she knows nothing about cricket, complaining she was "not a freaking cricket match". The number of her followers has risen from 300 to 6,100 and an airline has offered her a free flight to Australia.
She tweeted: "This is not the account of the cricket match. Check profiles before you send mentions, it's incredibly annoying and rude".
However, while initially moaning about the number of posts, she told the Brisbane Times that becoming a Twitter celebrity was "amazing". She is also selling T-shirts with the slogan "I am not a freaking cricket match".
Full postCanada learn Caribbean Twenty20 fate
Canada have drawn into Zone B at the upcoming Caribbean Twenty20 tournament that gets underway on January 8 in Barbados and Antigua
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Canada have drawn into Zone B at the upcoming Caribbean Twenty20 tournament that gets underway on January 8 in Barbados and Antigua. Canada have been placed into a group with Barbados, Trinidad, Leeward Islands and Hampshire.
Full postAfghanistan fall short in final
Bangladesh 119 for 5 (Naeem 34*, Rahman 33*) beat Afghanistan 118 (Stanikzai 38*) by five wickets Scorecard
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Bangladesh 119 for 5 (Naeem 34*, Rahman 33*) beat Afghanistan 118 (Stanikzai 38*) by five wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Bangladesh's cricketers won their country its first-ever gold medal in the Asian Games by beating Afghanistan in a thrilling final in Guangzhou. In a see-saw match that attracted a crowd of 2000, 19-year-old Shabbir Rahman smashed two sixes in the penultimate over to decisively swing the match Bangladesh's way and dash Afghan hopes of a gold.
A day after upsetting fancied Pakistan in the semi-finals, Afghanistan looked set for a hammering when they slid to 66 for 6 in the 13th over on choosing to bat. Youngsters Asghar Stanikzai (38*) and Shabir Noori (25) then gave Afghanistan's chances a boost with a stabilising stand that left Bangladesh needing 120 for victory.
Full postIntercontinental Cup live video online
Online video coverage of the Intercontinental Cup final between Afghanistan and Scotland in Dubai is to be streamed live in a joint initiative between the ICC and Cricket Scotland
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Online video coverage of the Intercontinental Cup final between Afghanistan and Scotland in Dubai is to be streamed live in a joint initiative between the ICC and Cricket Scotland. The match, being staged at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai Sports City from December 2, is a five-day game and the culmination of the premier two-year first class competition among the leading ICC Associate and Affiliate nations.
The coverage, which will be presented in an informal manner, is being produced through the Livestream website using a channel set up by Cricket Scotland and can be viewed here. Highlights of each day's play will also be available on the official ICC website.
"Even with basic resources, it is quite remarkable what can be achieved through the internet these days," said Scotland-based producer Mike Stanger. "Our three-camera live coverage will not constitute a fully fledged outdoor broadcast of professional origin, but our production team includes cricket fans with professional broadcasting experience.
"We will be working hard to convey the progress of the match in a manner that can be appreciated by the many thousands of followers of both Scotland and Afghanistan cricket who cannot be there in the flesh."
Full postOut of the frying pan ...
Reports leaking from the weekend’s USACA board meeting in Florida suggest a return to the grim past when US cricket was synonymous with infighting, factionalism and as much transparency as a brick wall.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Reports leaking from the weekend’s USACA board meeting in Florida suggest a return to the grim past when US cricket was synonymous with infighting, factionalism and as much transparency as a brick wall.
Rumours the façade of respectability Don Lockerbie had managed to erect was crumbling had been circulating for a while, but few expected him to be dispensed with so soon. In true USACA fashion, instead of senior executives fronting up to explain what was happening, they headed for the hills and resorted to the tactic of old – silence.
We will comment more when the reasons for Lockerbie’s hasty removal become clearer. Ostensibly, he has paid for not delivery on some eye-popping promises made in his first few months in office, and because the finances are causing concerns. But given the shambolic nature of US cricket in the years before he was appointed CEO, that would be a little harsh.
Full postLockerbie ousted as USA boss
Don Lockerbie has been relieved of his position as chief executive of the USA Cricket Association with immediate effect hours before a board meeting in Florida, according to sources inside US cricket.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Don Lockerbie has been relieved of his position as chief executive of the USA Cricket Association with immediate effect hours before a board meeting in Florida, according to sources inside US cricket.
The news comes a little over a week after the resignation of Nabeel Ahmed, the first vice-president of USACA.
While nobody was prepared to confirm the report, it follows several months of increasing concern that Lockerbie's bullish promises about changes he was going to make to the game in the USA had come to nothing.
The board's finances remain a concern, and despite official denials it is widely believed the ill-fated tournament in Florida in May featuring New Zealand and Sri Lanka landed USACA with considerable losses.
Full postVanuatu finish on a high
Trevor Langa, Vanuatu's wicketkeeper, writes about the World Cricket League Division 8
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Trevor Langa, Vanuatu's wicketkeeper, writes about the World Cricket League Division 8
Well my wish came true and we beat Zambia to make sure we remain in ICC WCL Div. 8 and that there are four East-Asia Pacific sides in the World Cricket League!
Today’s game was by no means easy for us – Zambia set us a decent total and their opening batsman Allan Nsensha really smashed the ball about the park to the disappointment of our bowling attack that had been strong all week.
We always knew when we went out to bat that we could make the total and even when we lost some batsmen we knew how well we could run between the wickets and that we still had some big hitters in the side, including myself and Patrick Matautaava and as it turns out Freddie Timakata too. He totally supported our captain Andrew Mansale out there today to help us win the game. Andrew’s century was awesome and it was definitely key to us winning today.
Full postMixed feeling for runners-up Germany
Germany's Andre Leslie writes about the ICC WCL Division Eight.
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Germany's Andre Leslie writes about the ICC WCL Division Eight.
Well, all good things have to come to an end. Our wonderful Kuwait experience is now over and - unfortunately - so is our winning streak. Kuwait were worthy winners of this tournament, no doubt about it, but I would be lying if I said that we were satisfied with our performance today.
After a good start, our top order - including yours truly - failed to capitalise. Losing wickets regularly always makes scoring a big total difficult. We still thought we had a chance though with 163 on the board, but we knew we would have to bowl well from the start. Kuwait were always going to come out guns blazing ... and this time their plan worked.
Still, I was really impressed by how the team fought their way back into the game and put the Kuwait batsmen under pressure despite the low total. Our spinners once again bowled well. In the end though our hosts played it sensibly to the end and got the runs comfortably. It was a disappointing end for our DCB side, even though we have managed our main goal of qualifying for Division 7 - of that we can be really proud.
Full postA disappointing day but tomorrow is crucial
Trevor Langa, Vanuatu's wicketkeeper, writes about the World Cricket League Division 8
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Trevor Langa, Vanuatu's wicketkeeper, writes about the World Cricket League Division 8
I think today our batting let us down, we really didn’t play the way we all know we can and on behalf of all the boys we’re really disappointed that we couldn’t take Vanuatu to the next level.
We had a good start against Germany – with both Patricks (Matautaava and Haines) bowling well and restricting the Germans from scoring and we were confident that we would be able to make the runs. But perhaps we were overconfident and that led us to play silly shots and not bat to our true ability.
All the team is pretty down this evening, we just had a team meal and now its about reflecting before tomorrow’s big game against Zambia. That match is really important as the winner gets to stay up in the tournament, and the second team gets relegated with Bahamas, Bhutan, Gibraltar and Suriname. We really don’t want to be relegated – I would really like Vanuatu to stay up in Division 8 as that would mean there are four teams from the East-Asia Pacific region in the World Cricket League – the others are Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Japan in case you didn’t know.
Full postHistory beckons German cricket
Germany's Andre Leslie writes about the ICC WCL Division Eight.
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Germany's Andre Leslie writes about the ICC WCL Division Eight.
What a feeling! As you can imagine, the mood in the German camp is tough to beat this evening. We have worked hard for a long time to get ourselves back and ready for the World Cricket League - it all started at a successful European Championships in Guernsey in July - and that just makes victory all the sweeter today. Still, we knew we would have to play well against Vanuatu to get the victory. They have played consistently all tournament and have been turning heads with their positive attitude and non-stop music!
Even though we did not manage a big total like in some of our other games, we were quietly confident with our total of 185. The ground at Sulabiya has been a tough place to bat all tournament. Personally, I was obviously pretty disappointed not to be in the starting line-up today. But, that is sometimes what happens when your team is performing well - there are only 11 spots after all. It sounds clichéd, but the success of the team was the most important thing and it was great to be part of that. I also want to send my condolences, via this route, to Trevor and his team.
The game today was very important for both sides. We wish Vanuatu all the best on Friday in their final game - their team has certainly played in the right spirit and still has plenty to play for. We did not go too wild with celebrations this evening - just a quick swim followed by a round of pizza. The final against Kuwait will be a big game and a good challenge. Ending this tournament on top would really be a great event for German cricket.
Full post