Tag Futebol

The MCG pitch for the Boxing Day Ashes Test between Australia and England, which ended inside two days, has earned itself an “unsatisfactory” rating from the ICC match referee for the game, Jeff Crowe. As a result, the MCG will get one demerit point.Under the ICC’s four-tier pitch-rating system, ”unsatisfactory” is the third ranking and characterises a pitch that “does not allow an even contest between bat and ball… by favouring the bowlers too much, with too many wicket-taking opportunities for either seam or spin”. The MCG pitch had received the highest “very good” rating for the past three Boxing Day Tests.”The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers,” Crowe said. “With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point.”Related

• SCG curator 'really happy' with pitch for final Ashes Test

• MCG curator in 'state of shock' after costly two-day finish

• The three millimetres which created a firestorm

It was the second two-day Test at the ongoing Ashes, following the opening match in Perth where the surface was rated “very good”. Australia won that and the next two Test matches before losing at MCG.”We were disappointed for the fans holding tickets for days three and four, and also the millions of fans excited to watch the action in Australia and around the world, that the pitch did not provide the MCG’s customary balance between bat and ball,” James Allsopp, Cricket Australia (CA) chief of cricket, said in a statement.”We appreciate the outstanding work the MCC staff have done over recent years producing excellent Test match pitches. We’re confident they will deliver first-rate surfaces for next year’s Boxing Day Test against New Zealand and the hugely anticipated 150th Anniversary Test against England in March 2027.”A day after the Test ended, MCG curator Matt Page said he was in “a state of shock”, having watched 20 wickets fall on the opening day and 16 more the next in a total of 142 overs.Page’s decision to leave 10mm of grass on the surface – informed by a hot forecast for the final three days of the match – had come under significant scrutiny after 7mm was left on against India last season which produced a Test that ended late on the fifth day.The two-day finish is expected to cost CA up to AUD10 million on top of the significant loss from the opening Test.0:52

Finch: To happen twice in four Tests is very disappointing

Having two such finishes in a series – the first time it has happened in 129 years – prompted CA chief executive Todd Greenberg to float the possibility of the governing body having more of a say to curators who, traditionally in Australia, have been able to work independently.Australia coach Andrew McDonald hoped that would remain the way and offered his support to Page, who started in Melbourne when McDonald was still Victoria coach, having been brought in from the WACA after the MCG received a “poor” rating (under a previous ICC system) for the 2017-18 Ashes Test.”I don’t want to get to a situation … where we are asking for specific surfaces and tailor-made,” McDonald said on Monday. “I don’t think Australia will ever go there, and I don’t think they’ve ever been there, to my knowledge.”Sometimes these things can happen, but we support him in what he’s done and really proud of the evolution of the MCG. We don’t want to scare him off and get back to where we were. He’s found a nice balance for a long period of time. We believe we’re a better batting group than that, but what we did there says otherwise.”

England’s two most senior bowlers, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard, have paid the price for their poor performances in last week’s 189-run defeat against New Zealand at Hamilton. Both men have both been dropped for Thursday’s second Test at Wellington, with Stuart Broad and James Anderson coming into the side at their expense.The decision marks the end of an era for England. With 460 wickets between them in 124 appearances, Harmison and Hoggard have formed the backbone of their Test attack for the best part of five years, including the seminal Ashes victory in 2005. But the pair were badly off the pace in Hamilton, where they took the combined figures of 2 for 278, and in the opinion of their captain, Michael Vaughan, the time is right for a revamping of the attack.”It was a very tough call,” said Vaughan, “but we had a gut feeling that we needed to make a change. The attack needed a bit of a shake-up and it’s a great opportunity for Jimmy and Broady to establish themselves at this level, and stamp their authority on Test cricket. I also hope that Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison really fight and try to take their places back because that will create a healthy environment.”Though Harmison’s axing had been on the cards ever since his lacklustre display in Hamilton, the decision on Hoggard was more of a surprise. He has had an unlucky year with injuries, in which he completed only two of England’s 11 Tests in 2007, but in his last-but-one outing in Galle in December, he claimed four first-morning wickets to give his side the brief ascendancy. This is the first time that he has been dropped since the corresponding tour to Sri Lanka in December 2003, and in that time he at one stage appeared in 40 consecutive matches.”He’s been and hopefully will be a tremendous bowler for England again,” said Vaughan. “He’s always been a dream to captain and I expect to captain Matthew Hoggard again in the not-too-distant future, because that’s the kind of character he is. I hope they both bounce back. It’s not a nice thing for me to do, to tell two players I’ve played basically all my Test cricket with that they are not in the team.”But we all know how both of them can bowl and at the minute not bowling to the standards they set themselves,” said Vaughan. “I really hope they react in a positive fashion. If they don’t play next week, I hope they go back to their counties, start the season well and fight back into the Test team.”In the meantime, it is all about the new incumbents. Anderson has been around the England Test team ever since 2003, but has failed to claim a regular berth, although at the age of 25, his best years should be ahead of him. Broad meanwhile played a solitary Test at Colombo in December, in which he performed admirably on a lifeless track, taking 1 for 95.Both men have cemented themselves as regulars in the one-day side, although New Zealand’s batsmen dented their confidence during the recent 3-1 series defeat, especially Anderson, who was dispatched for 86 runs in ten overs in the tied match in Napier. He has since found some form in a solitary outing for Auckland against Wellington, taking 2 for 95 from 38 overs in an innings defeat, and Vaughan was happy that the time had come for him to be unleashed.”We have seen Jimmy for a while now, and he’s got a hell of a lot of talent,” said Vaughan, who recalled his Man of the Series performance against India last summer, in which Anderson took 14 wickets in three Tests. “He then played one game in Sri Lanka and got dropped, so he deserves his chance. When you’re in positions like we are, you have to make that gut feeling. He’ll be looking to establish himself for the distant future, and that’s the opportunity for all the players.”England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 Andrew Strauss, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Tim Ambrose (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Ryan Sidebottom, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.

Tickets for the Test and one-day series between England and West Indies can be bought directly from the grounds or from the ECB via its ticket hotline (+44 (0)8705 338833 – calls charged at national rate).All information is correct as at April 23, 2007. For the latest position please contact the grounds directly.It is worth noting that the following statement has been made by the ECB regarding the purchase of tickets on auction sites: “If people buy tickets on Ebay etc and they are in breach of ground regulations (as are those selling them on) then they can be ejected.”

Tests

<!–Lord’s – 1st Test May 17-21
Ticket office Tel 020 7432 1000
Online Lord’s website
Currently available for the fourth day only–>Headingley – 2nd Test May 25-29
Ticket office Tel 0871 222 0994
Online Yorkshire website
Days one and two sold out, limited availability for third day and reasonable availability for the fourthOld Trafford – 3rd Test June 7-11
Ticket office Tel 0161 282 4040
Online Lancashire website
Tickets still available for first day and fourth day via the website.Chester-le-Street – 4th Test June 15-19
Ticket office Tel 0870 243 0291
Online Durham website
Tickets still available for first four days

Twenty20

The Oval – June 28 and 29
Ticket office Tel 020 7582 7764
Online Surrey website
Limited availability for first match (only pairs and singles available)

ODIsLord’s – 1st ODI July 1
Ticket office Tel 020 7432 1000
Online Lord’s website
Sold outEdgbaston – 2nd ODI July 4
Ticket office Tel 0870 062 1902
Online Warwickshire website
Sold out but more public tickets may be releasedTrent Bridge – 3rd ODI July 7
Ticket office Tel 0115 982 3000
Online Trent Bridge website
Tickets still available

Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan opener, has announced that he will retire from Test cricket following the current series against Pakistan. However, he will continue his one-day international career and is available for the World Cup next year.Jayasuriya, 36, has been one of the stars of Sri Lanka’s batting for over a decade. His decision means he won’t tour England this summer, the scene of arguably his finest hour when he made 219 at The Oval in 1998. He is Sri Lanka’s most prolific batsman in both forms of the game.Following the announcement he said: “I thought about it long and hard and decided that’s it. It’s a very emotional moment, but I guess every good thing has to come to an end.”Jayasuriya has been plagued by injury problems in recent times and only made the first Test against Pakistan after a late fitness test. However, he made just six and 13 in Colombo and that performance, along with the development of young batsmen such as Upul Tharanga, probably played a part in his decision.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Chris Martin wreaked havoc on a juicy Basin Reserve pitch to leave NewZealand in firm control before Thilan Samaraweera’s half-century lent the Sri Lankan total some degree of respectability. Martin’s 6 for 54 was thebest ever figures for a New Zealander against Sri Lanka and restricted them to 211. New Zealand’s openers then strengthened their team’s hand with a solid start, closing on 52 without loss after bad light stopped play 11 overs before the scheduled close.Martin quickly justified Stephen Fleming’s decision to bowl first afterwinning what proved to be a crucial toss. Swinging the ball back sharplyinto the right-handers and extracting steep lift, especially with the newball, he ripped through Sri Lanka’s top order in the first hour, takingthree wickets in nine balls to leave them reeling at 41 for 4, aposition from which they were never able to full recover despite a fighting 73 from Samaraweera.Martin, an unlikely looking sportsman with his stiff, pumping run-up andscientist’s face, was a class act and head and shoulders above the mainsupport bowlers, including James Franklin, who lacked penetration. New Zealand relied heavily on Martin during the first two sessions, but as he ran out of steam after tea, Nathan Astle stepped up with his accurate dibbly-dobblers, taking 3 for 35 to polish off the tail.Chaminda Vaas bent the ball around like a banana in his first couple ofovers and might easily have accounted for Craig Cumming with one vociferouslbw appeal. But Cumming, who started to leave the ball with brave skill, andJames Marshall battled through the key threat of the new ball and thenstarted to capitalise on a few loose offerings from Lasith Malinga andFarveez Maharoof.Malinga, the first Test hero, beat the bat on a couple of occasions and bothopeners appeared uncomfortable with his low-arm trajectory, which hasstirred up controversy in New Zealand, not because of suspicions over itslegality but because umpire Darrell Hair’s point-blank refusal to take offhis trousers off to help New Zealand’s batsmen pick up the deliveries. Hair,somewhat farcically, has insisted that the colour of his trousers is an ICCissue.Sri Lanka will hope that Hair’s trousers provide a constant source ofirritation for New Zealand on the second day too because they were hanging on the brink. The morning spice in the pitch appeared to have mellowed and the pitch should now behave far more sensibly than it did the first couple of hours.The first session, though, may have a large bearing on the outcome of this game. Marvan Atapattu started the procession as he followed his sublime Testhundred in the first Test with his 22nd duck in Test cricket when he slicedto third slip in the first over. Kumar Sangakkara, after a couple of stylishshots, then cut short the brightest partnership of the morning, a brisk34-run stand with Sanath Jayasuriya, and precipated the innings’ freefall byflashing a catch into the gully off a short and wide delivery.

Sangakkara’s departure was quickly followed by the loss of two more wicketsas Sri Lanka slumped from 34 for 1 to 41 for 4. Mahela Jayawardene’s regalhundred in the first game was long forgotten as he lost his balance and wastrapped lbw by a curving full-length inswinger. Jayasuriya, who swished hisway to 22, was neatly pouched by Astle high to his right after a edging anexcellent outswinger.Samaraweera and Tillakaratne Dilshan attempted a rescue operation butprogress was painfully slow as Martin probed away menacingly. Kyle Mills,meanwhile, was less threatening but gun-barrel tight and difficult to scoreoff. Finally, after adding 19 runs in 11.5 overs, Dilshan, who was exposedagainst the short ball on several occasions, gloved a nasty Martin deliverythat cut-back and climbed too sharply for him to take evasive action. The breakthrough brought the uncapped Shantha Kalavitgoda to the crease. Included as an insurance policy in the morning instead of Rangana Herath, the second spinner, Kalavitgoda, 27, couldn’t cash in and as he edged to the slips.Franklin cleaned up Vaas a few minutes after and Sri Lanka were in dire straits on 86 for 7. That was when Samaraweera and Upul Chandana (41) mounted a rescue operation. Samaraweera had been tortuously slow in the morning, scoring 11 from 57 balls, but after lunch he was more fluent. He was helped by some butter-fingered catching throughout the day. Cumming missed a bat-padcatch on 7 and then Fleming spilled slip catches on 9 and 28, the second ofwhich cracked him on the inside of the knee and sent him back to thephysiotherapists’s couch for the rest of the day.With Samaraweera steadily growing in stature, playing one lordly extra cover-drive off Astle, Chandana also settled, successfully flicking awayboundaries to third man and fine leg. New Zealand grew increasinglyfrustrated at having let the Sri Lankans off the hook and the eighth-wicketpair added 89 priceless runs. In the end it took a marginal lbw call toseparate them as Chandana was hit on the front pad by an Astle inswinger. Sri Lanka had fought back from a perilous situation but the odds were still heavily stacked against them at the end of the day.How they were out
Fell to sharp catch at third slip.
Flashed at wide delivery and caught in slips.
Beaten by movement back into his pads.
Edged off-stump delivery low into slips.
Gloved while taking evasive action.Shantha Kalavitigoda c Vincent b Martin 7 (80 for 6)
Edged a good-length ball to second slip.
Squared up by a full-length outswinger.
Marginal lbw call on front foot
Sliced into gully where brilliantly pouched
Unluckily adjudged lbw after nicking straight outswinger

Bengal 280 for 6 (Arindam 63, Subhomoy 84, Tiwari 68*) beat Tamil Nadu 260 (Suresh 65, Ganeshkumar 64, Bose 6-35) by 20 runs
ScorecardBengal needed not only a victory over Tamil Nadu, but a bonus point as well, if they were to challenge Mumbai for the Ranji one-day trophy. They came out on top by a margin of 20 runs, but without the extra point, found victory a bittersweet pill.Bengal racked up 280 for 6, as Arindam Das, Subhomoy Das, and Manoj Tewari notched up contrasting half-centuries, and Tamil Nadu’s bowlers could do little to contain them. Arindam scored an 84-ball 63 and put on 51 for the second wicket with Debang Gandhi. But three wickets fell in quick succession, and Bengal found itself at 144 for 4. Das and Tewari then scored 96 runs together, until Thiru Kumaran dismissed Das for 84, with nine hits to the fence. That was Tewari’s cue to turn on the heat, as he smashed 68 runs in 56 balls, aided by 6 fours and two sixes. His late battering enabled Bengal to score 40 runs off the last 20 balls of the innings. Among the bowlers, only Ramakrishnan Ramkumar was shown respect with his 10 overs costing 25 runs. To put matters into perspective, the other 40 overs went for 255 runs.Tamil Nadu scored 260, with S Suresh and S Ganeshkumar scoring 65 and 64, but the undoubted star of the day was Ranadeb Bose, who struck down six batsmen for 35 runs.

A few minutes into the tea interval at the North West Stadium on Sunday, just as the clouds above Potchefstroom started to look really threatening, a chirpy public address announcer declared that there was no need to worry, she’d phoned the weather bureau and it wasn’t going to rain. Talk about tempting fate.Within 10 minutes the covers were on and that was it for the day with Australia 218 for three in their first innings on the first day of their three-day game against South Africa `A’. Usually a bit of rain wouldn’t arouse a great deal of alarm, but this has not been a good summer for touring teams. India had the two first-class games outside the Test matches entirely washed out earlier in the season, and while the Indians’ lacklustre tour could not be entirely blamed on this, lack of preparation certainly didn’t help their cause.In this light, the Australians might already be ahead of the game. They had 60 overs at the crease and while the `A’ attack managed something their elders and betters had failed at in Australia – dismissing Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden cheaply – there was also time enough for Mark Waugh to find some sort of form with an attractive 62 while, weather permitting, new captain Ricky Ponting is poised to score the first century of their tour.When bad light forced the players off the field five minutes before the scheduled tea break, Ponting was not out on 93. It was not an entirely unblemished innings – he enjoyed a couple of slices of good fortune just after lunch – but it was the performance of a man wholly at ease with his game.He said afterwards that he had relaxed after the understandable excitement of his elevation to the one-day captaincy, and had slept well on Saturday night. It looked like it on a pitch that offered few favours to the batting team.Steve Waugh’s decision to bat first almost certainly had less to do with the conditions than to give his batsmen a feel of South African soil. By any standards the pitch is underprepared (through no fault of the North West authorities – the groundsman has been able to work on it for only one-and-a-half days out of the last 10 because of rain) and the Australians had to work for every run during the morning session as they ground out 74 for two.Well almost every run. Ponting announced himself with three successive boundaries off Charl Langeveldt, a passage of play all the more remarkable for what had come before.This South African `A’ attack is an oddly shaped beast with two frontline quicks and a third seamer, Andrew Hall, who has played one-day cricket for South Africa mainly as a batsman (he has bowled fewer than 40 overs in 18 ODIs). These three are backed by two spinners, Claude Henderson and Gulam Bodi and to suggest that, given the conditions, the whole is rather less than the sum of its parts, is to understate the case.Still, while Andre Nel, Langeveldt and Hall were all fresh, life was not easy for the Australian openers on a pitch that offered some movement off the surface, some swing through the air and uneven bounce on the first morning. Hayden made 18 before Hall straightened one down the line at him to trap him lbw and six balls from Hall later Langer dragged an attempted pull down onto his stumps for 12.In between the two wickets Ponting had clobbered his three boundaries off Langeveldt, but at lunch Australia would have felt they had been made to work for it. After the break, however, it was a different game. Ponting and Waugh smashed Hall out of the attack, 35 coming off four overs, and Dale Benkenstein’s gentle medium-pacers served only to allow the batsmen to adjust their timing.The chief spinner, Henderson, persisted in dropping one short an over, usually allowing a free hit through the off, and the Australian pair put on 125 in 122 minutes for the third wicket before Waugh contrived to chop another short one from Henderson straight to backward point.Ponting produced a pair of classic on drives off Henderson and Steve Waugh had one or two decent hits before the light went and although the captains agreed to turn on the floodlights during tea, rain had the final say.

Until it receives an official response from its equivalent body inIndia, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) has no plans to look for anew opponent for the series of three one-day international matches tobe staged in the country in September.Following a decision late last week from India to play in Asian TestChampionship matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh instead, it nowseems that the ACB’s first-choice guest will be unable to commit tothe series unless its proposed dates are the subject of significantrevision.Originally, the ACB had been seeking India’s participation in matcheson 14, 16 and 18 September. But, after the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI)’s move to accept a request to play againstPakistan – from 13 to 17 September – as part of the Asian TestChampionship series, hopes that such a contest would proceed nowappear to have been scuttled. Following that Test – which will betheir first in Pakistan since December 1989 – the Indians are alsocommitted to playing a home Test against Bangladesh from 21 to 25September.Reports emanating from India today have quoted BCCI spokesmen asconfirming that a decision to decline the Australian invitation hasbeen taken.An ACB spokesman said on Monday, however, that no official responsefrom the BCCI has been received at this stage and that no contingencyplans necessarily exist at this point in time.If it were to be received, a negative reply from India would likelyforce the ACB to quickly direct its efforts to seeking a positiveresponse from another team. Sri Lanka, to which strong attentionreportedly turned in original discussions. Sri Lanka would shape asone strong contender to be invited to play in the match at the ‘Gabbaground in Brisbane and the two matches at Colonial Stadium inMelbourne that are expected to form the core of the series.South Africa, the Australians’ opponent in the corresponding serieslast year, is not likely to receive a return invite as it will beinvolved in Test and one-day international cricket in neighbouringZimbabwe throughout September.

Scorecard

Sri Lankan opening batsman Malinda Warnapura and captain Mahela Jayawardene struck form against an inexperienced Guyana President’s Select XI (GPS) bowling attack and steered the visitors to 343 for 5 on the opening day of the tour match at the Providence Stadium.Warnapura struck 14 fours and a six before retiring on 132 off 184 balls, while Jayawardene was dismissed for 99 off only 110 deliveries with 12 fours. None of GPS’s bowlers impressed and the attack which contained three Under-19 bowlers – Jason Dawes, Steven Jacobs and Sharmarh Brooks – struggled to contain an experienced Sri Lankan batting like up after choosing to bowl.GPS’s captain Patrick Browne was the most experienced player since choices for the team were restricted because players were participating in the sixth round of Carib Beer Series matches.Warnapura took advantage of an inexperienced new-ball attack – Kemar Roach and Dawes – and added 115 for the first wicket with Michael Vandort. Dawes’ time in the middle was brief, as he pulled up after bowling 2.1 overs and was forced to leave the field. Vandort fell soon after lunch, bowled by legspinner Davendra Bishoo for 29. Kumar Sangakkara added 59 for the second wicket with Warnapura before Brooks bowled him for 22.Jayawardene had a stroke of luck early on when he was dropped on 6 by Roach on the midwicket boundary. At tea, Sri Lanka were 253 for 2 and Warnapura retired during the break to allow Thilan Samaraweera some batting practice. They continued to dominate and put 68 for the third wicket before Jacobs bowled Jayawardene and Samaraweera was run out just before the close.In addition to dropping four catches, the President’s XI were handicapped early in the day when the genuinely quick Jamaican teenage pacer Jason Dawespulled up’ and was forced to leave the field after bowling 2.1 overs.

ScorecardA captain’s knock of 86 from Charlotte Edwards and a brisk 56 from Claire Taylor couldn’t prevent New Zealand sweeping to their second win in the 4th match of the Women’s Women’s Quadrangular Series in Chennai.Chasing a sizeable 292, England lost Caroline Atkins with the first ball of their reply – and Laura Newton didn’t last much longer either. But the two Taylors – Sarah and Claire – put on 82 for the third wicket to stage a recovery. Though they fell in quick succession, Edwards took the attack to New Zealand’s bowlers, smacking 13 fours in her 93-ball innings. Once she fell to Louise Milliken, England slumped to Suzie Bates and Sarah Burke.”New Zealand batted really well,” Edwards said, “but then we were going really well too and I thought we’d be able to chase 291. We lost wickets at vital times – losing Sarah [Taylor] and Claire Taylor very close together. That’s when we lost the game though me and Beth Morgan had a good partnership too. It was a good game of cricket and its disappointing to be at the losing end of it.”In contrast to England’s stuttering effort, New Zealand’s innings contained four half-centurions with Sarah Tsukigawa contributing a violent 78 from just 56 balls. Whereas England’s lower order rather petered away, New Zealand’s fizzed with aggression as Aimee Mason (19 from 23) and Nicola Browne (36 from 23) pushed their side up to a large, winning total.”We got off to a good platform and Browne and I had a good partnership,” Tsukigawa said. “In this ground when you bat first you need at least 300 because the outfield is lighting quick. While bowling it wasn’t easy. I think me and a few other bowlers got two bad balls an over and [let] them off the hook for a while. But we managed to pull them back in.”