Thread: Cricket news and inside stories 21/02/2012

Proud Levi joins the big-hitting elite

Richard Levi remained bashful when compared to the biggest hitters in world cricket after clubbing a record-breaking feat in Sunday’s second Twenty20 International against New Zealand in Hamilton.

The talented right-hander, playing in only his second T-20, clubbed a quickfire century as the Proteas successfully achieved their 174-run target with just two wickets down and four overs to spare.

Levi was lethal across Seddon Park, fetching only the sixth ton in the shortest form of the international game en route to 117 not out from just 51 deliveries. He smashed 13 sixes - the most by anyone in a single T20I innings - and took a mere 45 balls to reach three figures, beating West Indian Chris Gayle and New Zealander Brendon McCullum’s 50-delivery efforts of 2007 and 2010 respectively.

With McCullum’s 116 not out, Sri Lankan Tilkakartne Dilshan’s 104 not out, Indian Suresh Raina’s 101 and Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene’s 100 left in the wake of his blitz, Levi rose to the top of the highest T20I scores ever alongside Gayle, who got out for 117 against the Proteas at the Wanderers five years ago.

"I think if Chris Gayle and Brendon were opening here they might have got the ton in nine overs," joked Levi. "They are special players. They have been doing it for years. I have done it just once. Maybe, if I do it more often, only then can I be considered one of them."

Happy to shrug off an inadequate debut in the series opener in Wellington, where Levi fell for 13, the 24-year-old was pleased to have his captain along for the ride for most of the pursuit in Hamilton. AB de Villiers, whose 39 not out from 36 balls paled in comparison to the rookie’s romp, and Levi added 133 runs for the third wicket - a South African record.

"I think you always want to prove yourself to your new team-mates, so I was a little bit nervous and it didn’t really go my way on debut," he added. "This time, though, it all came off and having AB there was really good. All I remember from the innings is AB coming across to me every over and telling me to keep calm and that we should finish it."

The Black Caps called on seven bowlers in an unsuccessful attempt to stave off Levi’s onslaught. Not one succeeded. Four of them fetched expensive economy rates above 10 runs per over. James Franklin’s ended with the most respectable figures after conceding seven runs from his sole over of the match.

Fellow seamer Tim Southee, meanwhile, was left to lament four overs for 40. The right-armer insisted on bowling short to Levi. The right-hander was happy to cash in and ultimately triumph over Southee’s sledging.

"As a youngster coming into the side, it is expected that you are going to get verbal shtick. Southee did say some things, but it is expected that the opposition will come at you. If you can’t handle it, then you should go back and find a way to do so," concluded Levi, who bagged the Man of the Match award.

Locked at one win apiece ahead of the third and final T20I, the teams will contest the third and final T20I in Auckland on Wednesday.

Skipper Dhoni mirrors the crisis in cricket

MS Dhoni, the quintessential one-day cricketer and its supreme leader, is also in many ways symptomatic of the crisis the game is facing today.

It is a crisis which threatens Test cricket’s appeal and popularity in the face of a massive invasion by the shorter version of the game.

It may be no coincidence that the player, who possesses all the outstanding qualities that stand out in the shorter version of the game, lacks the skills and perhaps even motivation, to leave a lasting imprint on its five-day format.

It is not my case here to belittle or deride the man, whose intuitive mastery of the shorter format allows him to balance perfectly the staid and explosive spurts in his batting for the team’s good.

Nor am I in any way detracting anything from his assertive, firm yet calm leadership skills that speaks of a man in complete control of himself and his surroundings. It is a phenomenal achievement, something Dhoni, his admirers and the country should be proud of.

Take the same man away from the one-day context and visualise him in the Test format and one finds a personality transformation beyond recognition. Gone are those sure steps, those subtle movements on the field and gestures that command respect of the opposition and loyalty from his own men.

A man lost

The "captain cool" for his legion of admirers, is a man lost in a desert storm, not sure of where he stands and in which direction to move. One could put this loss of control to the collective and abject failure of his team, but what is a leader worth if he can’t inspire his men when in retreat. In similar situations in a one-day game, Dhoni is a match-winner, single-handedly fashioning a victory, where a defeat looks impending.

What could be the reason Are the skills required for the longer version of the game so different and demanding that they are difficult to surmount even for a man like Dhoni, who epitomises a superhuman fighting spirit and self-confidence when the time-span of the contest gets shrunk

Or is it that the man has no appetite for a long-drawn battle, where the final duel is won or lost on the strength of your staying power, sound technique and the ability to think ahead, not in terms of an hour but even days.

Whatever the reasons may be, and there are better experts to dwell on that, the moot point is that Dhoni, the Test cricketer is not even a wounded shadow of the tiger he is of one-day cricket.

Over to the BCCI

He has himself given hints that he would like to preserve himself for two of the three formats of the game, otherwise he could burn out with sheer exhaustion and suddenly vanish from the radar. The suggestion has come from him and it is for the administrators and the selectors to respond now.

Do we need Dhoni, the bumbling, unsure Test cricketer or the Man who is the undisputed king of one-day cricket The answer I guess is simple, without letting emotions, semantics and sentimentality creep into this debate.

Double recall for Ryder


There were two reasons to celebrate Monday for Jesse Ryder when he was recalled to both the Black Caps’ Twenty20 and ODI squads.

Ryder replaces Andrew Ellis in the Twenty20 squad for the third and final match at Eden Park on Wednesday after Ellis asked to return to Christchurch to be with family for the anniversary of the Canterbury earthquake.

Ryder was then named in the ODI squad for the three match series starting Saturday, earning a recall alongside James Franklin and Andy McKay. As expected, captain Ross Taylor will miss the series as he continues to nurse a calf injury he suffered in the one-off test against Zimbabwe last month.

The Wellington batsman, who has played 19 Twenty20 internationals for New Zealand, missed out on the recent Zimbabwe tour after he damaged a calf muscle just after Christmas in an HRV Cup game.

He returned to action with a bang in their final Ford Trophy round on February 1, belting 97 off 67 balls against Otago, and is playing in the Plunket Shield game against Canterbury where he scored 74 in the first innings from just 50 balls including five sixes.

National Selection Manager Kim Littlejohn said: "We are pleased with the progress Jesse has made since returning from injury and with Andrew not available for the final match we felt it was a good opportunity to bring him back into the mix."

From the ODI squad that played Zimbabwe Dean Brownlie and Jacob Oram miss out through injury while Tom Latham was not selected.

"The squad has a talented mix of experienced internationals and proven performers from domestic cricket," Littlejohn said.

"We decided to leave Tom out of the side. We are a pleased with his first stint at international level but in terms of his overall development felt it was best for him to return to domestic cricket. He remains in our thinking for the future.

"James has been in good touch during the current Twenty20 series while Jesse has been shown that he is ready for a return to top level cricket.

"Andy McKay bolsters the bowling attack and deserves his spot after putting in consistent performances across the summer.

Black Caps T20 squad:

Brendon McCullum (c), Michael Bates, Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson

Black Caps ODI squad:

Brendon McCullum (c), Michael Bates, Doug Bracewell, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Nathan McCullum, Andrew McKay, Kyle Mills, Tarun Nethula, Rob Nicol, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson.

PCB to examine Kaneria evidence

Pakistan cricket bosses will ask British authorities for the full judgment and evidence in a spot-fixing case that implicated leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, officials said Saturday.

Kaneria’s Essex teammate in England, Mervyn Westfield, was sentenced to four months in prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to taking money to bowl badly in a 2009 match between Essex and Durham.

At the Old Bailey, Westfield admitted receiving £6,000 ($9,200) to bowl so that 12 runs would be scored in the first over of the contest, although in the event only 10 were conceded.

Prosecutors said the player had been lured into the fix after an approach by Kaneria, who was arrested in connection with the case in 2010, but later released without charge.

On Saturday Kaneria was captaining Sindh province against Punjab in the Pakistani domestic Pentangular Cup final, in Lahore.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said the organisation had to seek evidence or material before it could act against the leg-spinner.

"Since Kaneria is a Pakistan player we are obviously looking into the matter with a lot of concern," Rizvi was quoted as having told AFP.

"Since the match was an England domestic match, it’s in the England board’s jurisdiction and we will seek evidence from the concerned authorities.

"Once it comes we can only then summon him before the Integrity Committee of the PCB where his case is still pending."

Kaneria, meanwhile, maintained that he is innocent and has nothing to fear.

"I am completely innocent from day one," Kaneria said after the opening day’s play of the Pentangular Cup final at Lahore.

"The Essex police cleared me and I have clearance certificates from both the ECB and ICC, so I am not feeling any pressure. I am just enjoying my cricket."

Kaneria was selected for Pakistan’s series against South Africa in October 2010 but was withdrawn at the last moment when the Integrity Committee did not clear him.

He challenged the decision in court but his case was dismissed in November last year.

"The stance of the PCB is one of zero tolerance towards any player with questionable integrity. The judgment of Westfield raised a lot of questions but in law everybody is innocent until proven guilty," said Rizvi.

The case implicating Kaneria is the latest blow to Pakistani cricket after a spot-fixing scandal on the team’s tour of England in 2010 ended in lengthy bans and jail terms for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

That prompted International Cricket Council to force Pakistan to form an Integrity Committee to check players’ assets and suspicions against them.

India look to bounce back against SL

India seek to get their momentum back in the ongoing tri-series when they clash with a resurgent Sri Lanka at the Gabba here on Tuesday.
In the absence of in-form skipper MS Dhoni, who will miss the eighth match of the CB Series due to a one-match ban for slow over rate, Virender Sehwag will lead the team, who is fighting a poor batting form.

Dhoni's ban will only add to India's batting woes as the skipper, along with Gautam Gambhir, has been the only batsmen in form for the visitors. Where Dhoni's 191 runs put him at the third place in highest scorers in the CB series so far, Gambhir has got 193. Sachin Tendulkar's availability also remains doubtful after he was hit on the helmet by a Brett Lee bouncer in Sunday's loss, forcing him to undergo a precautionary MRI scan.
After being down and out in the Test series against Australia, India looked to have clawed back in the one-day series with two wins and a tie, but their batsmen have let them down. At the top of the order, they have to deal with the experimental rotation policy to which Gautam Gambhir has only responded well. The inexperienced middle-order of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina has been disappointing so far. Rohit has 79 runs from five matches, while Raina has 102 from as many knocks. In Dhoni's absence, reserve wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel will get a game but is unlikely to match the heroics of his skipper.
From the last match, it is quite evident that the Gabba track has a lot in it for the pacers, and most likely India will go in with an unchanged bowling attack. However, they might be tempted to bring in R Ashwin to add a bit more balance to their attack.
Sri Lanka on the other hand is a charged up team under Mahela Jayawardene. The team lifted itself after initial setbacks in the series to beat Australia with a bonus point in their last game.
Jayawardene, after taking charge of the Lankan team, found his touch in the win against Australia in Sydney where he opened the innings with Tillakaratne Dilshan. As a captain, he is not afraid to experiment and more importantly he is willing to lead from the front.
On paper Sri Lanka look more balanced with youngsters such as Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews, who can be dangerous when the chips are down. Former captain Kumar Sangakkara has been a downer so far but is just a knock away from getting back among the runs.
India are right now three points clear of Sri Lanka, which means a win for Sri Lanka will only make things interesting as the CB Series moves towards its business end.

We're not taking India lightly: Mahela

Though keen to take advantage of India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's absence from the team due to slow over-rate ban, Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene said his side would not take the opposition lightly in the triangular series match here on Tuesday.
"Dhoni is in good form and he is a match winner. But they have also got some really big players. We can't be complacent.

"We will focus on the entire Indian team and try and execute a good game plan. I think we didn't have a good start but we have improved as a team in every game," said Jayawardene.
"Our guys have been bowling pretty well. They are hitting good areas and adjusting to different surfaces so I feel they will give their best on this wicket as well," he added.
Jayawardene also said that the Lankans would be looking to capitalise on the fact that India suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Australia Sunday night.
"It's a great opportunity for us and like I said, our goal is to get into the fianls...there are four games left and rather than waiting for the results, if we can control our destiny (then) that's what we need to do," he said on the eve of the one-dayer here.
In the last game against Australia, Jayawardene opted to open the innings and it worked well in favour of Sri Lanka.
"We try to make tactical changes to see what fits for us.
"We made a move to make sure we got a good start, which we never had in the first few games. That seems to work but you never know. I will see how it goes," said Jayawardene.
"We have got good 14-15 players who we can pick depending on what combinations we are playing and against the opponent.
"We come up with a game plan and try and execute it so everyone is ready to play and everyone understands that policy.
"I have asked all the batsmen to be flexible, batting at different positions. I think with the two new balls and given the powerplays and all, everyone has to do that. Trying to create a situation where everyone is very comfortable batting at different positions."