Beyond the Test World
Namibia without in-form batsmen for UAE game
Namibia and UAE meet for their first Intercontinental Shield match this season
Tony Munro
25-Feb-2013
Tony Munro
Namibia will be without opener, Gerhard Randolph and middle-order batsman, Norbert Manyande, for its ICC Intercontinental Shield match against United Arab Emirates starting in Windhoek on Saturday.
Randolph, who has three scores in the 90s in the CSA Provincial 3-day Challenge, and Manyande (two half-centuries) are not residentially qualified to play in the ICC-run tournament and have been replaced by Willem Groenewald and Wian van Vuuren respectively for this match.
The match is the first for both teams in the tournament which is a de facto second division equivalent of the ICC Intercontinental Trophy, from which Namibia were controversially dumped by the ICC.
Full postAsian chief slams expat-reliant sides
The rumbling debate over the number of expats included in several leading Associate sides has resurfaced after comments from Syed Ashraful Haq, the chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council, that some of them should not enter next year’s Asian
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
The rumbling debate over the number of expats included in several leading Associate sides has resurfaced after comments from Syed Ashraful Haq, the chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council, that some of them should not enter next year’s Asian Games.
Haq’s remarks came because of a change of rules regarding eligibility for the Games which state only passport holders of the participating countries can take part. For some that would leave them fielding second or third XI teams. UAE, for example, only had two eligible players in their side at the recently-completed ACC Twenty20 tournament.
Asked if UAE should send a side to the Games, Haq said: “My conviction is that they should not … they should not undermine the tournament.
“They cannot send a team who cannot play the game. They cannot bowl out a team like India or Pakistan and then get bowled out for 10. It will undermine the whole game and also jeopardise our chances of taking the game forward. It takes out all the countries from the Middle East.”
Full postScotland seamer Asim Butt dies aged 42
Asim Butt , the Scotland left-arm seamer, has died in his sleep aged 42 in Lahore.
Sahil Dutta
25-Feb-2013
Asim Butt, the Scotland left-arm seamer, has died in his sleep aged 42 in Lahore.
He played five ODIs for Scotland in the 1999 World Cup, performing strongly against Australia, the eventual winners, taking 1 for 21 from 10 overs.
Butt was born in Pakistan in 1967 and played first-class cricket for Lahore before settling in Scotland in the 1990s. He soon won his first Scottish cap, against Yorkshire at Boghall in May 1998, taking 3 for 42 in the Benson & Hedges Cup, on his way to 106 wickets for Scotland at an average of 24.86.
He played in all of Scotland's World Cup games and remained a consistent performer, taking 6 for 42 in the first innings against MCC at Lord's in August 2000 and 5 for 47 in the second innings against Ireland four years later.
Full postAfghanistan win ACC Twenty20 Cup
Afghanistan have won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in emphatic style, beating the United Arab Emirates by 84 runs in the final in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Afghanistan have won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in emphatic style, beating the United Arab Emirates by 84 runs in the final in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Urged on by a 1000-strong throng of supporters, the Afghans were led out of early trouble when 63 for 4 by allrounder Mohammad Nabi, whose 73 from 38 balls propelled the score to 196 for 8. A fifth-wicket partnership of 61 with Raees Ahmadzai steadied things to provide Nabi with a launching pad for his Man-of-the-Match innings which included nine sixes and four fours. A cameo from Samiullah Shenwari (29 from 14 balls) further boosted the visitors to their final. The veteran UAE offspinner Mohamed Tauqir nabbed 3 for 29 for the locals.
Sometime Afghanistan opening bowler Shahpoor Zadran perhaps consolidated his place in the team to wreck the UAE reply with three early wickets as the home side stuttered to 23 for 3. The opener Muhammad Iqbal lasted one over in which he hit 10 runs, including a six. There was just one partnership (43) of any substance in the UAE innings, between the captain Khurram Khan (34 off 18 balls) and Naeemuddin Aslam (37 from 30). Nabi took the last four wickets in nine balls to add another trophy to Afghanistan's mantlepiece.
Both sides had marched into the final with easy semi-final wins on Saturday, Afghanistan sweeping aside Kuwait by eight wickets, while the UAE routed Oman for 50 to cruise home by six wickets with almost 13 overs to spare.
Full postCapitals storm back to thrash Dunes
Cloudy skies and intermittent drizzle failed to dampen an exciting day’s play at the Army Barracks Ground as Suva Capitals hosted Sigatoka Dunes in the Fijian Elite Player League’s Round 3 match on Saturday.
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
Cloudy skies and intermittent drizzle failed to dampen an exciting day’s play at the Army Barracks Ground as Suva Capitals hosted Sigatoka Dunes in the Fijian Elite Player League’s Round 3 match on Saturday.
Capitals had suffered at the hands of Western Bulldogs last week, but they managed a 148-run win against Dunes. Batting first, Capitals lost two early wickets as Lee Waqa struck twice in his first three overs to leave the home side tottering at 13 for 2. However, skipper Joe Dabea joined with Fiji Blues team-mate Kida Jikoivanualevu to steady the ship and build an 82-run partnership through confident strokeplay and excellent running between the wickets.
While Dabea was dismissed for 37, Kida continued to attack, closing in on a maiden EPL century. But as he lofted a Viliame Yabaki delivery to the long-on boundary, Waqa charged in and took a spectacular diving catch, leaving Kida seven short of three figures.
Some tidy lower-order batting from Greg Browne (20) and big hitting from Mesui Qalobula (18 not out) helped Capitals post 219 for 8 from their 50 overs. Yabaki was the most successful bowler for Dunes, taking 3 for 35, while Waqa claimed 2 for 40.
Full postChina crushed by 209 runs in Twenty20 tie
Three of the semi-finalists were decided on the fourth day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup, with the three unbeaten teams - Afghanistan, Oman and UAE - all progressing to the last four.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Three of the semi-finalists were decided on the fourth day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup, with the three unbeaten teams - Afghanistan, Oman and UAE - all progressing to the last four.
UAE grabbed the headlines with a 209-run rout of the hapless China side, the biggest margin in a representative Twenty20 match. UAE made 236 for 5 and then bundled out China for 27, 15 of which were extras. In a week Australia’s chief executive claimed the ICC would be better off promoting cricket in China than in some existing Associates, it again highlighted the yawning chasm between the hopes of those running the game and the reality of the side itself.
Afghanistan bowled out Saudi Arabia for 72 to win by nine wickets, but Oman were made to struggle more, even so they beat Malaysia by 35 runs after posting 197 for 5. Nepal’s stop-start tournament continued with a six-wicket win over Qatar.
The closest game was between Hong Kong and Singapore where Singapore scraped home by one wicket off the penultimate ball.
Full postKenya and Uganda to stage T20 tournament
Cricket Kenya is planning to run a four-team Twenty20 competition involving two teams from neighbours Uganda early in the New Year as part of the preparations for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in March.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Cricket Kenya is planning to run a four-team Twenty20 competition involving two teams from neighbours Uganda early in the New Year as part of the preparations for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in March.
Negotiations between the boards are “at an advanced stage” according to a source close to the Kenyan board, and high-profile sponsors are being courted to fund the event.
The intention is to field two Kenya teams – in effect an A and B XI – alongside similar sides from Uganda, a country considered to be one of the up-and-coming Associates.
If successful, the concept could be expanded into a 50-over competitions and ultimately a three-day tournament. It replaces the one-off Super League which was run in June 2008 and featured four teams made up of the leading Kenyan cricketers.
Full postAfghanistan, Oman and UAE lead the way
Afghanistan, Oman and UAE emerged as the frontrunners after the third day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Afghanistan, Oman and UAE emerged as the frontrunners after the third day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.
The match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong was expected to be one of the matches of the tournament, but Hong Kong, coming into the match on the back of successive defeats, again failed to impress. Afghanistan raced to 222 for 5 thanks to half centuries from Mohammed Shahzad (74 from 46 balls) and Mohammed Nabi (65 from 31) and Hong Kong almost gave up from the off as they meandered to 102 for 9.
Oman beat another disappointing side, Nepal, by 12 runs in a low-scoring game. Oman scraped 112 for 9 in their 20 overs, Dipendra Chaudhry turning in 4 for 19, but Nepal’s batsmen again failed as they were bowled out for 100.
Saudi Arabia and UAE went into their clash with 100% records, but Saudi Arabia struggled after a poor start and only managed 101 for 6, a score which never looked enough as UAE romped to a nine-wicket win in a little over half their overs. Mohammed Iqbal feasted on some average bowling to score 71 from 37 balls.
Full postNepal taken to the wire in ACC Twenty20 Cup
The highly-fancied Nepal were taken to a bowl-out before they squeezed past over 2007 semi-finalists Kuwait, while Afghanistan, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE also registered wins on the second day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
The highly-fancied Nepal were taken to a bowl-out before they squeezed past over 2007 semi-finalists Kuwait, while Afghanistan, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE also registered wins on the second day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.
Nepal dismissed Kuwait for 123 in 19.1 overs, Dependra Choudhari the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 11. Mahaboob Alam (32 from 33) appeared to have set Nepal on the way bit the middle order failed and it took a last-ball six from Binod Bhandari to send the game into a bowl-out. Nepal won that 3-2.
Oman were taken all the way by Qatar who scored an impressive 178 for 8, an innings built around a 38-ball 62 from Tamoor Sajjad. Oman lost early wickets but Adnan Ilyas (75 from 40) got the innings back on course and in the end they won by five wickets with nine balls in hand.
UAE managed 137 for 9 against Hong Kong but that proved too much, Hong Kong being restricted to 110 for 9 to slump to their second defeat in a row.
Full postSaudi Arabia clinch one-wicket win
Tony Munro
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Tony Munro
Saudi Arabia have caused the first surprise of the ACC Twenty20 Cup by beating Hong Kong by one wicket in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The veteran Roy Lamsam top scored for Hong Kong - who batted first - with 53, propelling the ACC Trophy Elite champions to 132 for 6 from their 20 overs. The Allrounder Shoaib Ali, who earlier had taken 2 for 29 in the Hong Kong innings, led the reply for Saudi Arabia with 29 to pick up the Man-of-the-Match award. Hussain Anwar (21) chipped in for Saudi Arabia as they got home with four balls to spare.
Malaysia cruised to victory against Nepal, overtaking a target of 113 with six wickets and 20 balls to spare. Only Mehboob Alam (31) and Gyendra Mulla (22) caused Malaysia any concern thanks to tight bowling from Muthuraman Sockalingham (2 for 17 from four overs) and Suresh Navaratnam (0 for 17 from four overs).
Full post