All posts by csb10.top

The tributes paid to him when he passed away three years agotoday (July 6) were notable for their warmth and sincerity. “Hehad style, elegance and grace not only as a batsman but also as aman,” said the then president of the Board of Control for Cricketin India Raj Singh Dungarpur. Former Indian captain Lala Amarnathcalled him “a gem of a person.” Throughout the length and breadthof India, the tributes poured in from those whose lives he hadinfluenced. And Motganhalli Laxminarasu Jaisimha did touchnumerous lives in India and abroad even though he was only 60when he breathed his last following a long fight against lungcancer.

As a batsman, Jaisimha provided a lot of entertainment to thespectators and that was why he was a surefire draw. Even in anera chock-full with colourful personalities -­ his contemporariesincluded the likes of Salim Durrani, Nawab of Pataudi Jnr,Farookh Engineer, Abbas Ali Baig and Budhi Kunderan ­- Jaisimhawas instantly recognisable. Silken elegance was the phrasegenerally used to describe Jaisimha’s batting style and I wouldnot want to change it. For, that is indeed the best way hisapproach could be described.On and off the field, Jaisimha was the personification ofelegance and charm. He could not do a mean thing or play a meanstroke even if he tried. Grace came naturally to him. There wassomething about him that made Jaisimha the darling of the masses.His slim figure, which he maintained till his last day, theboyish good looks, the inimitable gait, the trademark silk shirtand scarf, the sleeves buttoned at the wrist or the collar turnedup ­- all these attracted immediate attention. Indeed, he madecricket seem chic and his style and approach had a tremendousimpact on the teenage cricketers of his era, among them the youngSunil Gavaskar, for whom `Jai’ was a boyhood idol.When Jaisimha reached the crease, the attention then turned tohis wristy strokes, the manner in which he caressed the ball tothe boundary and the way he leapt out to play the lofted drive orpull. Off the field, he was an extrovert. Gregarious by nature,he was the life and soul of any party and enlivened theproceedings with in-jokes or naughty stories, always told withinthe realms of decency and in his impeccable English andinimitable style, complete with a good laugh at himself, if itwas a merry-Andrew situation.He brought all these extrovert qualities into his cricket andthus there was never a dull moment when he was around.Conservative thinking officials and selectors considered him tobe `flashy’ and he was frequently dropped down the order. But heachieved success at both positions and it is worth recalling thattwo of his three centuries in Tests were made as an openingbatsman.In truth, Jaisimha would have made good at the top or in themiddle-order for inside that extrovert lay a shrewd cricketingbrain. Tactically he was considered the best captain of his timein the country and it is well known that Pataudi and Ajit Wadekarconsulted him on matters of strategy while leading the country.As a batsman and captain, Jaisimha occupies an honoured place inIndian cricket. In 39 Tests from 1959 to 1971, he scored 2056runs at an average of 30.69. His name is associated with suchstorybook feats like being the first to bat on all five days of aTest match -­ while scoring 74 in 390 minutes in a famousrearguard action against Australia at Calcutta in 1959-60 -­ andhitting 74 and 101 in a Brisbane Test eight years later afterarriving two days before in Australia as a replacement.As a leader, he captained Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy for 16consecutive seasons and South Zone in the Duleep Trophy foralmost a decade. His profound knowledge of pitches and the mannerin which he out-thought the opposing skipper made him theconnoisseur’s delight.After his playing days were over, Jaisimha kept in close touchwith the game he had adorned for so long. From 1977-78 to1980-81, he served four terms on the national selectioncommittee. He was a popular TV commentator who regaled audienceswith succinct comments and analyses. He managed the Indian teamto Sri Lanka in 1985. He was prominent among those whoencouraged the game at the schools level and was the cricketingambassador of many leading companies who sponsored suchprogrammes. A couple of years before he died he became the statecoach and handled the job with the same shrewdness and enthusiasmthat he showed during his playing career.Above all, Jaisimha will be remembered fondly for his qualitiesas a person. When he died, there was a sense of shock and a pallof gloom not only in Hyderabad but also among the cricketingfraternity all around the country. For many, it was a personalloss, for `Jai’, as he was popularly known, had touched numerouslives with his warmth and sincerity. This was reflected in thetributes that said it all on behalf of those who came in touchwith Jaisimha.

Only 44 overs were possible on the first day of this three-day Minor CountiesChampionship game at Lamphey, Pembrokeshire, as the rains came in mid-afternoon and ended play for the day with Wales on 185-5 wickets.David Lovell and Owen Hopkins added 92 for the third wicket, but Berkshire did not help their cause by dropping three catches and conceding 27 extras, mainly through some wayward bowling. Nick Denning with 4-48 from 16 overs was the pick of the bowlers.

Group 2:Ashford:
Kent 228-6 (LN Morgan 82)
Channel Islands 173 (M Hague 52, R Minter 4-40).
Kent won by 55 runsGroup 3:Chelmsford: Essex 221 (A Akram 62).
Cambridgeshire 159.
Essex won by 62 runs.Group 6:Alvaston & Boulton:
Staffordshire 378-4 (Archer 134, Dean 79, Franklin 55).
Derbyshire 241 (Smit 57)Kimbolton: Huntingdonshire 268-9 (50 overs) (R Rollins 98).
Leicestershire 261 (49.2 overs) (I Sutcliffe 54)
Huntingdonshire win by 7 runs.Chester Road:Hereford 269-8 (P Lazenbury 87, C Boroughs 88, G Williams 2-46, N Round 2-61)
Worcestershire 270-2 (N Round NO 113, G Kandola NO 88).
Worcestershire won by 8 wickets.

Wellington’s cricket feats of the summer were acknowledged in the region’s annual sports awards last night.State Firebirds coach Vaughn Johnson was named the coach of the year. He headed off the legendary Wellington golf coach Mal Tongue for the award.And the Firebirds’ success in winning the State Shield in such convincing fashion was acknowledged with the winning of the team’s award ahead of the Titahi Bay surf-lifesaving team and the Wellington men’s pair who won the national title.Mountain runner Melissa Moon took out the overall title of Wellington Sportsperson of the Year.

Eight members of a proposed 10-member interim committee, appointed to runthe affairs of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) earlierthis month, have formally accepted letters of appointment from SportsMinister Johnston Fernando.Roshan Mahanama, former Sri Lanka Test batsman and Sri Lanka A coach untilstanding down recently, is among those to have confirmed his participationin the committee despite being reported to having a strained relationshipwith Sidath Wettimuny and Michael Tissera.But although the interim committee have now held two meetings, and wereapparently appointed in the first week of April, there has still been noofficial confirmation from the Sports Ministry or the Chief Executive’soffice that a new interim has been appointed after the previous VijayaMalalsekera led committee stood down on March 31.The two members to not accept their letters of appointment are TrevorRajaratnam and Mohan de Silva, both former BCCSL Executive Committeemembers, who have legal cases pending against the BCCSL and are believed toseeking advice before deciding whether to accept Fernando’s invitation.The interim committee is headed by Hemaka Amarasuriya and has been asked toserve until the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. A press conference with thenew members is expected to be held in early May at the BCCSL headquarters.Full 10-member committee:Hemaka Amarasuriya (chairman), Nalin Ladduwahetty, Michael Tissera, SidatWettimuny, Mohan de Silva, Lawrance Amarasena, Trevor Rajaratnam, KushilGunasekera, Triphone Mirando, Roshan Mahanama.

Two balls remaining, 10 runs to get. This was Chennai Super Kings’ equation, on Saturday night at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, to get into the IPL 2024 playoffs by keeping their net run rate above that of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Ten off two had been CSK’s equation during last year’s final too, and Ravindra Jadeja had pulled it off to lead them to their fifth IPL title. Jadeja was on strike again on Saturday. Could history repeat itself?Related

• How du Plessis-Kohli masterclass revived RCB after rain break

• Yash Dayal's year – stung by Rinku to stinging CSK

• Stats – RCB do six in a row, and Kohli does it in sixes

• Ball-by-ball – Ferguson and Dayal deny Dhoni and Jadeja

• CSK knocked out as RCB win six in a row to make playoffs

It didn’t on this occasion. It was RCB who qualified, completing one of the greatest comebacks in T20 league history with their sixth win on the bounce, and it was Yash Dayal who denied Jadeja, producing back-to-back swings and misses with a pair of nerveless slower balls.RCB captain Faf du Plessis was adjudged Player of the Match for scoring 54 and taking a breathtaking one-handed catch at mid-off to send back Mitchell Santner at a crucial moment in the chase. Du Plessis, however, felt the award should have gone to Dayal for his execution with a wet ball in the climactic moments of the match.Yash Dayal sealed RCB’s playoffs spot with a superb final over•BCCI

“Obviously it got a bit close there… at one stage with MS [Dhoni] there, it felt like ‘oh dear, no! Don’t let it go his way.’ He’s done it so many times. I thought the way we bowled with the wet ball… we tried to get the ball changed a few times, but it was tough for the bowlers. For me, I dedicate the Man of the Match to Yash Dayal. The way he bowled tonight was unbelievable. That pressure at the back end for a guy who is pretty new to the role, he deserves the MoM.”Du Plessis said he had asked Dayal to have faith in his slower ball during the final over, since he felt bowlers had struggled for control while attempting the yorker on the night. CSK’s fast bowlers sent down 13 full-tosses and their RCB counterparts six.”I said pace off on this wicket is the best option,” du Plessis said. “Trust your skills, you’ve been really good, and enjoy this. This is supposed to be what you train for. So he tried to bowl the first one as a yorker, but the whole night the yorker wasn’t working, so told him to go back to his pace-off and he did that unbelievably well.”‘It felt like a day-five Test match in Ranchi’
A spell of rain three overs into RCB’s innings made conditions tricky in various ways through the night. First, it left a layer of moisture on the pitch, helping CSK’s spinners turn the ball alarmingly for around half an hour after the match resumed. Du Plessis batted through this period alongside Virat Kohli, who scored a crucial 49 off 27 balls, and he later felt the conditions during that phase were among the toughest he had batted in.”I thought that was the hardest pitch I’ve ever played on after that rain,” he said. “Myself and Virat were talking about a score of 140-150, that’s how hard it felt.”Look, at that stage, the communication to the umpires was that there was a lot of rain falling on the pitch and you don’t want that moisture. So from their [CSK’s] side, they probably wanted to push the game as well, which makes sense, but when we came back, my goodness, it felt like a day-five Test match in Ranchi. I’ve never played in something like that. For me and Virat to just get through it and find a way somehow…. and then in the back end to get a 200-score was unbelievable.”Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli batted through a difficult period where the ball turned square on a damp pitch•AFP/Getty Images

Conditions eventually eased out, and RCB finished 218 for 5 with their middle-order quartet of Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell contributing 109 off 51 balls between them. Du Plessis felt the middle order had been a key part of RCB’s revival through the back half of their league campaign.”That’s been our last six games, hasn’t it? Contributions from many batters with good intensity and good strike-rates,” du Plessis said. “Really proud of [the batters]. At the beginning of the season, we felt like we were a little slow and we wanted a bit more intent in our batting innings. And to have done that again is awesome.”‘Even when we weren’t winning, we had the fans here’
Du Plessis had a word of thanks for RCB’s fervent home support too, noting that the fans had kept thronging the Chinnaswamy and kept chanting the team’s name even when they were bottom of the table with just one win in their first eight games.”It was crazy,” du Plessis said. “Even when we weren’t winning, we had the fans here. So we felt in the changing room that it was something that was important for us to get right. Coming in here today, and seeing [the support], obviously it was set up perfectly, wasn’t it? CSK vs RCB, in a match where you go through to the knockout stages. Unbelievable atmosphere but incredibly grateful for the support we’ve had all season. As a team, we’ll do a lap of honour just to thank everyone for their support.”

An unbeaten 88 from Gareth Delany followed by a combined bowling effort helped Ireland stun Bangladesh in the warm-up match in Abu Dhabi with a 33-run win. Quicks Craig Young, Josh Little and Mark Adair combined to take seven wickets as Bangladesh were skittled out for 144.Opting to bat first, Ireland were off to a good start before Nasum Ahmed struck to remove Paul Stirling, following which Delany joined captain Andy Balbirmie at the crease. Taskin Ahmed removed Balbirnie in the eighth over and George Dockrell was caught two overs later, but Delany kept going, bringing up his fifty off 33 balls. Ireland did not lose another wicket as Delany and Harry Tector put up a 99-run stand to take them to 177 for 3. Delany hit eight sixes and three fours in his 50-ball stay, while Tector brought up a run-a-ball 23.Bangladesh lost three batters – Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, and Mushfiqur Rahim – within the first ten balls of the chase for single-digit scores. Soumya Sarkar and Nurul Hasan tried to resurrect the innings with contributions of 37 and 38 respectively, but they found no support at the other end during their stay. Bangladesh slumped from 82 for 4 to 144 all out as Adair and Little cleaned up the tail, leaving Taskin unbeaten on 14.Ben Cooper struck three fours and as many sixes in his 28-ball 40•ICC/Getty Images

Aqib Ilyas’ 78 went in vain as Oman suffered a four-run defeat against Netherlands in the warm-up game in Dubai. Colin Ackermann’s unbeaten 21-ball 37, and 43 and 40 from Stephan Myburgh and Ben Cooper respectively set up Netherlands’ 165 for 4 before Timm van der Gugten defended ten in the final over.After winning the toss, Oman sent in Netherlands but struggled to make early inroads. Myburgh and Max O’Dowd added 43 for the first wicket and after Zeeshan Maqsood bowled O’Dowd for a run-a-ball 21, Myburgh put on 45 with Cooper for the second wicket. After Myburgh was run out, Ackermann’s three sixes and as many fours in his blitz at No. 4 took Netherlands to a formidable total.In response, Oman lost Jatinder Singh for 1 in the second over. His opening partner, Ilyas, however, got them going with a counter-attacking knock that saw him score 60 of his 78 runs in boundaries, with the help of six sixes and as many fours. He strung a 99-run stand for the third wicket with Mohammad Nadeem, who was one of the three run-out victims for Oman.A 35-run seventh-wicket partnership between Sandeep Goud (19 off 9) and Naseem Khushi (14* off 17) put Oman in sight of victory, with Goud clobbering two sixes off van der Gugten in the 17th over to bring the equation down to 20 required from 18 balls. But a four-run 18th over from Logan van Beek, followed by Goud’s dismissal early in the 19th, ended Oman’s fight.

Sri Lanka’s new mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana has made the men’s T20 World Cup squad, as did top order batters Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Kamindu Mendis.Left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama also makes the squad, as does veteran seamer Nuwan Pradeep. There were no major omissions, aside from the likes of Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, and Danushka Gunathilaka, who were banned for a year for breaking Covid protocols on the recent tour of England. Minod Bhanuka, who has kept wicket in Kusal Perera’s injury and illness forced absences, has not made the squad either.Although the ICC deadline for the naming of the World Cup squads was September 10, Sri Lanka Cricket officially named its squad two days later* because it was waiting on the sports minister’s approval. Sri Lanka teams must be signed off by the minister, by law.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Theekshana’s inclusion follows his sparkling ODI debut, in which he took a Sri Lanka record of four wickets, as his team comfortably defeated South Africa. Theekshana, who bowls a well-disguised carrom ball and googly in addition to his offbreak, had also performed well in the recent domestic T20 invitational league, organised by SLC.Rajapaksa’s inclusion, however, is down more to perceived reputation. A star batter on the school circuit over a decade ago, Rajapaksa has an unremarkable domestic record. In seven T20 international innings so far, he has 140 runs at a strike rate of 130, though he did play one match-winning 77 off 45 against Pakistan in 2019. His ODI returns have also been modest.Kamindu, meanwhile, makes the team on the back of an excellent T20 invitational tournament, as well as for his all-round ability. Though batting is his primary skill, Kamindu is also known for his fielding, and can bowl finger spin with either arm.Left-arm spinner Jayawickrama is the only uncapped member of the squad. He had had an outstanding Test debut against Bangladesh, in which he claimed 11 wickets, earlier in the year. Since then, he’s played five ODIs and taken five wickets at 35.50. He is an inexperienced T20 player at even domestic level though – he’s bowled in only 13 domestic innings, although he has been effective across those games, taking 12 wickets and going at only 5.13 an over. He will be part of a spin contingent that features Wanindu Hasaranga and Theekshana. Akila Dananjaya and legspinner Pulina Tharanga, who impressed in SLC’s invitational T20 tournament, are among the reserves.On the seam-bowling front, Sri Lanka are led by Dushmantha Chameera, with Pradeep, Lahiru Madushanka (who has played only two T20Is) and allrounder Chamika Karunaratne also there. Binura Fernando, along with Lahiru Kumara, are in reserve.Sri Lanka must play the qualifiers, where they will face Namibia, Ireland, and the Netherlands. They will also play two T20 internationals against Oman in the approach to the World Cup, on October 7 and 9.*

The Caribbean Premier League is in the process of making plans to play another round of matches at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida for the 2017 season. A Broward County Parks official has told ESPNcricinfo that CPL officials have requested two sets of week-long time frames to be blocked off for possible use by the CPL in the month of August.The CPL made its Florida debut in 2016, playing six matches to end the league phase from July 28 to 31. The games were the first revenue-generating cricket to come to the Lauderhill ground in four years, sparking renewed interest in utilising the venue as India and West Indies played a pair of T20Is there just one month later. Though the hurricane season in Florida runs from July through November, not a single over was lost across the four days of play, with the only interruption being a 50-minute lightning delay that pushed back the start of the final match of the weekend, between St Lucia Zouks and Jamaica Tallawahs.Tropical weather did make an appearance four weeks later though in August when India played West Indies at the same venue. The first match between the two sides finished without any problems but the second ended with no result after a brief thunderstorm exposed poor drainage at the facility.CPL organizers have been bullish about bringing more games to the USA, with talks of holding games at other venues outside of Florida. However, the Central Broward Regional Park remains the only ICC-certified ODI- and T20I-approved facility in the country.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:38

McGlashan: NZ batting beginning to look a little flaky

AB de Villiers had called on his batsmen to take responsibility for an innings and he showed the way in Wellington as South Africa surged to a crushing 159-run victory. De Villiers’ controlled 85, during which he became the fastest player to 9000 ODI runs, turned the tables after a middle-order slide, then the pace bowlers combined with unnerving accuracy to dismantle New Zealand for 112 in the 33rd over.

Another Latham duck

6 Number of lower scores at home for New Zealand than the 112 they made against South Africa. This was also New Zealand’s lowest score against South Africa in ODIs. The previous lowest was 134 at Newlands in 1994.
3 Ducks scored by Tom Latham in his last four innings. Latham has scored 13 runs in this period.
5 Consecutive fifties for Quinton de Kock in ODIs. He equaled the record for most consecutive fifties for South Africa joining Jonty Rhodes. The overall record for most consecutive fifties is held by Javed Miandad who made nine such scores in 1987.

On a slower-than-normal pitch that offered assistance for seamers, especially in the evening, South Africa’s 271 for 8 – bolstered by a seventh-wicket stand of 84 in 10.4 overs between de Villiers and Wayne Parnell – had the makings of a demanding chase and it soon proved that way.Kagiso Rabada, back in the side after missing Christchurch, set the tone with an exemplary new-ball spell. He was followed by Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius who removed the cream of New Zealand’s batting by nabbing Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor in the space of five deliveries. The pair bowled nine overs between them in their first spells, returning figures of 4 for 16, in the sort of seam-friendly conditions that could be on show in the Champions Trophy. Pretorius finished with 3 for 5 from 5.2 overs.New Zealand had entered this match buoyed by their batting performance at Hagley Oval, but this display will raise a few concerns as they fell in a heap in a manner not often seen. Tom Latham collected his third duck in four ODI innings and there was another failure for Neil Broom.They had made one change, replacing legspinner Ish Sodhi with the pace of Lockie Ferguson and may ponder if that was correct after he went for 71 in his 10 overs – the most expensive bowling performance of the day.Quinton de Kock, with his fifth 50-plus ODI score in a row, and Faf du Plessis led South Africa to 114 for 1 in the 23rd over but then followed a collapse of 5 for 66. Colin de Grandhomme gave New Zealand the control they strived for, claiming two wickets in four deliveries and bowling his 10 overs straight through, while Mitchell Santner produced another impressive performance of left-arm spin.De Grandhomme removed du Plessis who riffled a drive low to mid-off, then in what is becoming a habit on this tour, de Kock picked out the leg-side field having set himself for a century. He hung his head and could barely drag himself off.De Villiers was greeted by a hostile delivery from Ferguson which rammed into his gloves but quickly ticked off the five runs he needed to jump past Sourav Ganguly to top the 9000 list. However, senior batsmen came and went. JP Duminy, who had struggled for fluency, was run out by a direct hit from Tim Southee at backward point and David Miller chipped a low catch to midwicket which was upheld by the third umpire.AB de Villiers scored his 51st ODI half-century•AFP

In each of the three matches in this series, someone from the lower order has stepped forward for South Africa. It wasn’t Pretorius this time – he was bowled by Ferguson – but Parnell helped de Villiers stop New Zealand in their tracks.De Villiers had been above a run-a-ball early in his innings, but bided his time as he lost partners for the closing overs. Back-to-back boundaries off Ferguson, rasping shots through midwicket and cover, hustled him through the 40s and the half-century came from 59 deliveries. He went from 39 off 51 balls to 85 off 80; it was not one of de Villiers’ more explosive innings, but it was a masterclass in repairing damage, judging conditions and not overreaching.And his efforts were soon put into context. Latham middled a square drive but picked out point. Dean Brownlie then feathered to the keeper off Rabada who found considered seam movement and proceeded to work over Williamson.Williamson was dropped at slip on 4 by Hashim Amla off Parnell and alongside Taylor weathered the new balls for a period although scoring was always hard work and the pressure did not relent.Phehlukwayo had conceded just four runs into his third over when Williamson, trying to dab the ball to third man, played into his stumps and in the next over, Taylor fell across a full, straight delivery from Pretorius. He was not far off walking for the lbw decision. The stuffing had been knocked out of New Zealand’s innings and there was precious little else on offer. Broom’s poke outside off against Phehlukwayo was a poor shot and Pretorius’ miserly spell, as he nipped the ball around off the seam under the lights, also accounted for Mitchell Santner.New Zealand’s total was their lowest completed innings at home since being bowled out for 73 by Sri Lanka, in Auckland in 2007, and the result their heaviest runs defeat to South Africa.