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West Indies thump reckless Bangladesh

2011-10-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh v West Indies, 2nd ODI, Mirpur

West Indies 221 for 2 (Samuels 88*, Simmons 80) beat Bangladesh 220 (Mushfiqur 69, Nasir 50, Roach 3-49, Rampaul 2-27) by eight wickets

Bangladesh became only the fourth ODI side to score 200 after having lost three wickets for under five, but that wasn't enough to avoid the series defeat to West Indies. Mushfiqur Rahim avoided an encore of 58 all out from the World Cup and Nassir Hossain gave them late runs to have something to bowl at, but the West Indies top order made short work of the short chase. Lendl Simmons registered his ninth fifty-plus score in 11 innings, anchoring the chase, as Danza Hyatt and Marlon Samuels provided the momentum from the other end.

That West Indies scored only two runs off the first 22 balls they faced suggested that they could afford to do so because of the small target but also clearer thinking, unlike the Bangladeshi batsmen. Bangladesh's has been a long struggle for middle ground against good attacks. Chasing big totals, they often tend to be too defensive once Tamim Iqbal gets out, as was the case two days ago. Their response to it was to bat first and go bang-bang. Nothing in between.

Playing recklessly on a track hardly offering any seam movement, Bangladesh wasted little time in registering their second-worst ODI start, 1 for 3. Imrul Kayes, usually guilty of getting stuck in chases, cut and edged the third delivery he faced, the fourth of the innings. Tamim sliced the second ball he faced to third man. Both had to make an effort to reach the ball. Mohammad Ashraful found an innovative way to apply for the assistant coach's position when he decided to give perfect catching practice to second slip off the fifth ball he faced. He did that almost stylishly, leaning back, opening the face late, guiding the ball straight to second slip, off the face. No batsman tried to get his eye in, none moved his feet closer to the line of the ball, but all tried to attack. With every edge you could hear the hush in the crowd.

Shakib Al Hasan counterattacked, as is his wont. His first two boundaries came square on the off side, off Kemar Roach's round-the-stumps angle. A touch carried away, Shakib now tried to go square off Ravi Rampaul's over-the-stumps bowling, with hardly any foot movement. The angle induced the edge, and the memories of March came back.

On his 27th birthday, Rampaul happily accepted two gifts at the top, and Roach benefitted like boy who usually benefits by just being beside the birthday boy. The two, though, followed the four early wickets with testing spells to Kapali and Mushfiqur. The first four wickets came without having to strive for them, but it took 14.3 overs and many accurate bouncers to dislodge the next man, Kapali. Perhaps it was because the batsmen grew less muddled in their approach.

Mushfiqur traded graft for flash, and found support from the other end. He added 40 with Kapali, who, it must be said, undid all his good work by top-edging Roach in what could have been last over. He and Rampaul had already bowled 12 out of the first 18 overs, and Darren Sammy surely couldn't have afforded to attack much longer.

Naeem Islam was dropped in the next over, when he refused to learn from an edge through vacant slip. He drove away at the following ball, but Sammy missed him. A soft return catch to Samuels ended a charmed but threatening 57-run stand, and at 115 for 6 it seemed Mushfiqur might be playing a lone hand.

In Nasir, though, he found a solid partner. Nasir batted just like Mushfiqur: keeping the good balls out, looking for the singles, and pushing for twos. Towards the end he exploded, scoring 24 off the last 14 balls he played. Add Abdur Razzak's 25 off 19, and Bangladesh still had a target that could be interesting if they were extraordinary with the ball, and if the pitch misbehaved.

Neither happened. Bangladesh were steady at best, the pitch true. Simmons and Hyatt took their time before Hyatt's block-or-tonk approach began eating into the target. He hit four sixes and two fours in his 39 before Rubel Hossain caught him low and diving forward at long-off off the bowling of Shakib, who had earlier dropped the same man off Rubel's bowling.

Simmons, though, played maturely, like a man determined to stay there till the end. All he needed was a punch here, a pull there, a nudge here, a deflection there. He hit only one four and one six in his first fifty runs. It helped that the target was low, and that Samuels batted smoothly, staying leg side of the ball, piercing the off-side fields with ease, even against the turn, even from outside leg.

Simmons accelerated after reaching fifty, raising the possibility of a hundred, but fell lbw to Shakib with 39 still required. Samuels, who had slowed down a touch to allow Simmons a best chance to go for the hundred, now opened up well and proper, scoring 36 off the next 17 balls to seal West Indies' first series win over a Test opponent since 2008, when they beat Sri Lanka at home.

Innings	Dot balls	4s	6s	PP1	PP2	PP3	Last 10 overs	NB/Wides

Bangladesh	166	17	3	26-4	22-1 (16-20)	23-1 (36-40)	68-3 (48.5)	0/6
West Indies	163	17	8	35-0	28-1 (16-20)	33-1 (36-40)	24-0 (42.4)	1/10

Ruthless Brendon McCullum seals easy win

2011-10-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

New Zealand 127 for no loss (Brendon McCullum 81*, Guptill 40*) beat Zimbabwe 123 for 8 (Taylor 50*, Mills 2-15) by 10 wickets

New Zealand were playing their first international fixture since the World Cup semi-final in March but were completely at ease at the Harare Sports Club. Their bowlers showed plenty of discipline and few signs of rust in restricting Zimbabwe to 123 on a good batting pitch, and the opening pair, led by Brendon McCullum, ensured it was all one-way traffic with a dominating chase.

Asked to bat, Brendan Taylor said he was hoping for a score in the range of 160 but the early loss of the openers prompted the rest of the line-up to approach the innings with caution. Kyle Mills bowled consistently in the channel outside off and despite being smacked for a couple of boundaries, dislodged Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha in quick time. He derived a bit of movement and was aided by the aggressive intent of the openers - Masakadza tried to loft him over mid-off but was caught while Chibhabha's blind swing produced an outside edge.

The responsibility fell on Taylor to anchor the innings and while he did that admirably, he didn't find the desired support at the other end. He rotated the strike and ran well between wickets once the field spread out but for the bulk of their innings, Zimbabwe could only maintain a run-rate of a little over six when they needed much more. Forster Mutizwa, Malcolm Waller and Charles Coventry all got starts but struggled to force the pace, and lost their wickets.

The New Zealand spinners, Luke Woodcock and Nathan McCullum, didn't find any assistance in the pitch but varied their flight, lengths and pace well to prevent Zimbabwe from stepping up. They did bowl the occasional bad balls that Taylor latched onto - he dispatched Woodcock through the covers when he pitched short and slog-swept Nathan McCullum, who was also smashed for six by Waller. But, while Taylor took them on, they found success at the other end. Mutizwa was trapped in front; Waller and Coventry fell going for the big shots.

It wasn't until Elton Chigumbura joined Taylor that one felt Zimbabwe could reach a competitive total, and the pair stepped up, running twos hard and going over the top but their efforts weren't enough. On a flat pitch, their muscle-power didn't take them far and the progress of the innings that was akin to an ODI game than a Twenty20 after they lost their openers gave them a below-par score.

Brendon McCullum made them pay with a hurricane innings, backed up well by Martin Guptill. Zimbabwe missed a run-out in the first over and let off Brendon McCullum twice during his blitz, and he set about making a mockery of what their batsmen had managed. The signs were evident as early as the third over, as he charged out to Kyle Jarvis and launched him for a massive six over long-off. He showed tremendous bat speed, clipping and pulling bowlers over square leg and was perfectly at ease, making room and lofting them inside out over the covers.

Brendon McCullum tore into Jarvis upon his return later in the innings and hastened the end by smashing Chibhabha for consecutive sixes in an over that fetched 20. Guptill wasn't far behind, swinging Masakadza into the stands and finishing on a fluent 40 but it was partner who ended the game in fitting fashion, dancing down to Ray Price and sending the ball over wide long-on to leave a relatively packed Harare crowd stunned by his merciless batting.

Innings	Dot balls	4s	6s	Powerplay	16-20 overs	NB/Wides

Zimbabwe	56	10	2	34/2	24/3	3/1
New Zealand	34	7	7	43/0	-	1/4

I would never ask Amir, Asif to cheat - Butt

2011-10-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Posted by Muneeb ur Rehman

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt denied ever asking Mohammad Asif or Mohammad Amir to cheat and bowl pre-planned no-balls, a court heard on Friday during the eighth day of the alleged spot-fixing trial in London.

"There's no way I could tell Amir or Asif (to cheat)," Butt said in a police interview played to the court. "They are the two players that most teams would want to have. When we pick our team those are the first two names that we have to write."

The jury at Southwark Crown Court heard a transcript of police interviews with Butt in September last year, shortly after the publication of an undercover investigation into alleged corruption by the Pakistan cricketers and Majeed, released in the News of the World.

The transcript was read out in role play format between policeman at the time Detective Constable John Massey and Sarah Whitehouse for the prosecution. Butt sat in the dock, wearing a dark grey jacket and royal blue shirt, following a printed transcript of the interview. He was sandwiched by Asif and a female interpreter.

In the first police interview, in which Butt attributed Majeed's predictions of the no-balls coming true as "a freak occurrence", he denied ever accepting money for corrupt purposes. Butt also said Majeed had no influence over him as the agent had boasted during the News of the World investigation.

"I don't think anybody could influence me to cheat my country," Butt said. "I play this game for the love of the game and for the love of my country."

He added: "I have played at all levels for Pakistan and in ten years of playing for Pakistan I have never had any charge against me. This is the first time I have had a charge (against me)." He also denied knowing of a culture of cheating in the Pakistan team.

Butt said he had been happy with Majeed as his agent because he brought him generous earnings from endorsements outside of his cricket duties. These included payments of £16,000 and £30,000 for endorsing Majeed companies Blue Sky and Capital Cricket.

Butt also was heard to say on the tapes that Majeed arranged a sportswear and cricket equipment deal for him with Adidas that earned him £800 per international match plus bonuses. "He brought me things like the Adidas contract," Butt said, "which was a big thing to me as no other Pakistani had that."

The opening batsman also revealed how Majeed had "talked about" a potential sponsorship agreement with Tag Heur watches, in which he would received a new £3,000 watched every three months, plus money after six months. A contract with a shoe company was also discussed that would see his name sewn into the shoes.

Butt and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord's Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage fast bowler Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.

The case continues.

2011-10-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

Mental toughness the key - Mohsin Khan

Posted by Muneeb Ur Rehman

Mohsin Khan, Pakistan's interim coach, has stressed the need for the Pakistan squad to focus on being mentally tough during their upcoming series against Sri Lanka in the UAE. He said while there was a lot of talent in the squad, the difference between winning and losing a match was often a team's mental resolve.

"We have a talented bunch of players who have performed well in recent times, have steadily improved and become consistent," Mohsin toldPakpassion.net on the eve of the team's departure for the UAE. "The results have been good, the team has gelled and look a very useful unit. The training camp held over the last few days in Lahore has gone well. While working on the usual facets of cricket, I have also tried to emphasise the need for the boys to focus on the mental aspects of cricket.

"Mental toughness is sometimes the difference between winning and losing in a tight match. Look at the great Australian teams of the past few years; they had a never-say-die attitude and that meant they managed, time and again, to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. They were mentally so strong and this is something that I have been speaking in detail about to the Pakistan squad at the camp. You can be the best bowler, batsman or fielder, but if you are not mentally strong then you will rarely succeed at the top level of cricket."

Khan mentioned young batsmen Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq as examples of players who could improve by becoming stronger mentally. Both batsmen have showed promise but have yet to play a long Test innings. Azhar, in fact, already has nine half-centuries in just 13 Tests, but has not been able to convert any into a hundred.

"I look at Azhar (Ali) and Asad (Shafiq) as two very talented young batsmen. With a greater emphasis on mental toughness these boys can become even more accomplished and tougher opponents for the bowlers they come up against," Mohsin said. "I don't want the boys like Azhar to focus on just making centuries, rather I would like to see double-centuries and I am sure that with some more focus on the mental aspects of the game that will happen in future."

The first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka begins on October 18 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi
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POSTED BY MUNEEB UR REHMAN