Sports Updates

Sunday, 21 July 2013

Sangakarra century leads Sri Lanka to stunning win

innings was the third-highest by a Sri Lankan in 50-over cricket. -Photo by AP

Published 2013-07-20 22:05:38

COLOMBO: Kumar Sangakarra celebrated his 350th one day international appearance with a career-best 169 on Saturday as Sri Lanka crushed South Africa by 180 runs at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

His innings was the third-highest by a Sri Lankan in 50-over cricket and came off 137 balls, with 18 fours and six sixes.

It carried the home side to 320 for five, a total South Africa never threatened as they were bowled out for 140 inside 32 overs.

The Proteas, missing leading batsman Hashim Amla, won the toss and chose to bowl, but only Morne Morkel (2-34 in 10 overs) found line and length.

Sangakarra started cautiously. He scored his first 66 runs off 91 balls, but the next 103 came off just 46 deliveries.

He shared a 123-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne, who scored 17 of those as Sangakarra dominated.

“It was a bit two-paced,” said Sangakarra afterwards in a television interview. “It was about facing enough deliveries...I took 34 overs to get going, but I stuck in there. Morkel bowled good spells -- it was about absorbing that and targetting the others.”

South Africa lost Colin Ingram for a first-over duck and never looked as if they could threaten the home total, Alviro Petersen and Robyn Peterson top-scoring with 29 apiece.

Spinner Rangana Herath was the pick of the bowlers with three for 25, while Thisara Perara grabbed three for 31.

“It's not the end of the series, I know my boys will fight back,” Proteas captain AB de Villiers said.

“Not a lot of positives, but we can only improve. It is mentally hard to accept, but we will fight back.

“We were way below par, but I know what the players are capable of...”

The result represents Sri Lanka's biggest margin of victory over South Africa, in terms of runs.

The second one day international will be on Tuesday at the same venue.

Pakistan vs West Indies: A history of nail-biters

HASSAN CHEEMA

Would Lloyd’s team have been as self-confident if they hadn’t been World Champions?

Updated 2013-07-21 05:29:23

It was the best of cricket; it was the worst of cricket.

Pakistan and West Indies played out a match that will be described as an exciting tie but was considered painfully boring for the first 90 overs of it. Misbah-ul-Haq’s men, who could very possibly have been 3-0 up in this series (or 3-0 down for that matter), will go into the fourth ODI down on morale but equal on the scoring table and perhaps also with Jason Holder’s name etched in their minds.

The events of the third ODI all called to mind two things.

The first was the matter of belief. The same questions that are asked as Chris Froome rides up Mont Ventoux, or when LeBron James rides the elevator to deny Tiago Splitter, were asked. That same question was asked after MS Dhoni did for India versus Sri Lanka as Holder did for the West Indies. That question, of course, is: how do we know this is all clean? It’s a matter of concern that the greatest attribute of sport – the emotional roller coaster that it provides – is seen as too good to be true. Personally, I believe that this was as clean as a whistle. Just looking at those final three overs, each of Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Umar Akmal and Misbah would have needed to have been in on the plot for it to have worked. In fact, going through each and every mistake over the previous 97 overs and you can easily conclude that everyone, including the umpires, needed to be in on the action. And even with everyone involved it would have been nigh on impossible to deliver a tie in that fashion. Just look at the last ball: if Holder connects Windies win, if he misses then its Pakistan’s game, just because he edged it the match turned out the way it did. The fact is that Pakistan eased up as the 8th wicket went down, and as the Windies refused to self-destruct, Pakistan panicked in trying to get back into the zone.

The other, more relevant, aspect was that on the same day as Samir Chopra wrote his ode to Mushtaq Mohammad’s team that went to the West Indies, it was somehow appropriate that the last wicket pair did what they did. Many of us grew up on the stories of nail-biters between these two sides. It goes back to the 1975 World Cup, when a 64- run last wicket partnership between Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts denied Pakistan a victory by scoring the winning runs off Wasim Raja in the final over of the game. IF Pakistan had won that match, they would have just needed to score big and beat Sri Lanka in their last group match to go through to the semi-finals (which they did, beating SL by 192 runs), and West Indies and Australia would have been a playoff for the second berth. Instead the other two went through, met each other in the final, and started a decade long rivalry at the top of the cricket tree. Would Lloyd’s team have been as self-confident if they hadn’t been World Champions? Would Australia, after the World cup final loss, have been as ticked off as they were at the end of the year when they beat the Windies 5-1 in a home Test series; a series which led to Lloyd’s team adopting the ruthlessness of Australia and begin a 20-year domination? How would Pakistan’s history have been if they had won a World Cup even before Imran Khan became a regular in the team? On such fine threads as that Roberts-Murray partnership does the history of world cricket hang.

DRS still the right way forward despite recent controversy

QAMAR AHMED

Captain Cook asks for a review in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. -Photo by AFP

Published 2013-07-21 14:54:31

The first Ashes Test at Trent-Bridge which England eventually won by a close margin of 14 runs attracted a lot of criticism for the way Decision Review System (DRS) was implemented which led to some glaringly controversial decisions from the on-field umpires Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena and the TV umpire Marais Ersamus of South Africa.

The ICC who introduced this system first in 2009 during a Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at the University Oval in Dunedin, for once, had to apologise for the failure of Hot-Spot feature which failed to pick up the ball’s contact with the bat when Jonathan Trott was given not out by Aleem Dar, a decision which was reversed by Erasmus and sent the unamused batsman back to the dressing room.

The decision by Aleem Dar to give Stuart Broad not out when he seemed to have been caught at the wicket was much debatable as was the decision of Ashton Agar given not out when he was stumped.

The ICC Chief Executive, however, came up immediately with a statement supporting the system and stressed that that the ICC will support and continue to work on the development of the technology.

"The trio did a good job under difficult conditions that reflects the calibre of Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus who have consistently performed at a high level,” said Richardson.

According to ICC assessment the umpires made seven errors during the first Test of which three were uncorrected decisions and four were corrected through DRS. The correct decisions percentage before review stood 90.3% but climbed to 95.8% as a result of the use of DRS — an increase of 5.5% correct decisions which was an average increase from DRS Test matches in 2012-13.

In support came out the MCC World Cricket Committee which only few days ago had met with men of the class of Mike Brearley, Majid Khan, Rodney Marsh, Barry Richards, Kumara Sangakkara, Steve Waugh and Michael Vaughan in attendance. Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble had abstained understandably because of India’s refusal to use the DRS.

The committee supporting the system proposed to the ICC to own and implement the system universally — India included.

The DRS, the MCC committee restated, improves the quality of decision making. The consensus was that it is the poor implementation of the use of the system which is a worry and not the umpires.

The recent controversy in the series was well reviewed by the Times of India which in its columns wrote, “The argument put forth against the use of DRS in cricket was unwarranted. True the DRS did muck up one particular decision from the Test match but this was due to human operational error and not the technology itself. Hence to say that DRS should be scrapped altogether would be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

The purpose of introducing neutral umpires during the eighties and later the ICC elite panel followed by the use of technology in the game had come about because of constant complaints and bickering which marred Test matches and in which home bias was always mentioned by the losing teams.

Take away the facilities available now for decision making in the game and then you go back to zero and that could be a bigger worry than arguing about the disputed decisions through DRS.

The 'batting' all-rounder delusion

SHAAN AGHA

In recent times, Pakistan has essentially been fielding four specialist batsmen, a keeper and six specialist bowlers. -Photo by AFP

Updated 2013-07-20 17:32:39

The Chinese have a single solution for everything; Yin and Yang. It is not good versus evil or right versus wrong, it is the cycle of dualities where physical or nonphysical manifestations appearing to contradict each other are actually compliments in an environment where one cannot exist without the other. Every single element present in the universe can be categorized into Yin or Yang and their optimal utility is at the point of equilibrium where they find themselves in complete harmony; balance.

This philosophy extends to govern the laws of society, economics, medicine, martial arts and almost everything else under the moon (yin) or the sun (yang).

The game of bat and ball is no different and the Pakistan team, when viewed from this lens, quite clearly presents a picture of imbalance.

The quandary of the current XI is a deficient batting order with an efficient bowling attack. You don’t need a Taoist to identify the apparent; any cricket follower could diagnose this ailment. But the stakeholders of cricket in Pakistan have failed to see this or work on its remedy.

The balance of an ODI team is usually this: six batsmen, one wicket keeper batsman and four bowlers. India, Australia, England, South Africa and Sri Lanka are the top five teams in the world and it is no coincidence that all these teams consist of six specialist batsmen, one wicket keeper, who can bat, and four specialist bowlers.

Some batsmen are required to turn their arm and bowl a few overs, some a full quota of ten, but their primary job is to make runs; they are the batting all-rounders. Some bowlers are expected to use the willow and score valuable runs but their primary job is to take wickets and maintain the economy rate; they are the bowling all-rounders. However, the golden ODI combination remains a 6-1- 4, where a couple of them are multi-skilled, the batting or bowling all-rounders.

Pakistan too uses a similar combination but has long been a victim of ‘the batting all-rounder delusion’. In other words, they have looked for runs where the probability of getting them has been either low or on the decline.

Amongst the top six specialist batsmen is vice-captain Mohammad Hafeez. He opens the innings or bats at number three, spots reserved for the best; Virat Kohli, Kumar Sangakara, Hashim Amla and Jonathan Trott play the role for their respective countries. Hafeez averages 27.21 with the bat and has never been ranked in the top thirty batsmen in his career. However, in 2012 he was ranked as the number one ODI bowler in the world. He is also currently ranked as the second best all-rounder in the game. But, he is not a batting all-rounder, he is a bowling one. Hafeez is indispensable for Pakistan as long as he is maintaining his bowling

Barca coach Vilanova steps down due to illness

REUTERS

Vilanova, 44, has been battling throat cancer since shortly after he was promoted from assistant coach to succeed Pep Guardiola. -Photo by Reuters

Published 2013-07-21 13:00:22

BARCELONA: Barcelona's preparations for next season were thrown off course on Friday when the Spanish champions unexpectedly announced coach Tito Vilanova was stepping down due to ill health.

At a hastily-arranged news conference attended by shell-shocked members of the first team squad, including World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Barca president Sandro Rosell said Vilanova would be having treatment that meant he will be unable to continue in his current role.

“We are here to give you some news that I would have liked never to have had to give,” said a grim-faced Rosell, adding that the club had decided to cancel Saturday's friendly against Polish side Lechia Gdansk.

“Life goes on, this is a very severe blow but Barca always comes through and this time it will be no different,” Rosell said.

Vilanova, 44, has been battling throat cancer since shortly after he was promoted from assistant coach to succeed Pep Guardiola at the end of the 2011-12 season.

He had a tumour removed from his saliva glands in November 2011 before a second round of surgery a year later and his number two Jordi Roura later took charge while he relocated to New York for two months for a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, returning at the end of March.

Only on Tuesday, in his first news conference since the players returned from holiday, he spoke of his excitement about the new season and the prospect of seeing new signing Neymar playing alongside World Player of the Year Lionel Messi.

As messages of support flowed in on Twitter from both within and beyond the sporting world, including from Barca's arch rivals Real Madrid, speculation began about who the club would target for one of the most sought-after jobs in world soccer.

Barcelona-based newspaper Sport and other media reported that Joan Francesc Ferrer, known as “Rubi”, may be in line to take over.

Ferrer led Girona to the second division playoffs last season and was appointed Vilanova's assistant for the coming campaign to help with technical analysis of Barca's rivals.

Other names mentioned, all former Barca players, included Swansea manager Michael Laudrup, Celta Vigo's Luis Enrique and Ajax's Frank de Boer. Andre Villas-Boas, manager of Tottenham Hotspur, was also considered a possible candidate.

Vilanova and Guardiola, now coach of Bayern Munich, were at Barca's academy together and coached the B side for a year together before stepping up to the first team in 2008.

They led the club on a spectacular four-year run including two Champions League crowns and three La Liga titles.

Last season, Vilanova helped Barca to a fourth La Liga success in five years as they equalled Real Madrid's record points haul from the previous term of 100.

His record in 44 official matches as coach was 32 wins, seven draws and five defeats.

West Indies need a better strategy: Bravo

AFP

Dwayne Bravo. -File photo

Published 2013-07-20 22:36:43

GROS ISLET: Regret more than relief characterises the mood of both the West Indies and Pakistan squads heading into the fourth One-Day International at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Sunday following the pulsating tie in the third fixture.

With the series still level at 1-1 after the home side's last-wicket pair of Jason Holder and Kemar Roach took 14 runs off the final over of the match on Friday to level the scores, the feeling in both camps is that the top-order batsman contributed to the pressure and haste at the end of each innings by failing to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

“At this level it's unacceptable. I didn't see any devil in the wicket,” was West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo's frank assessment after the match.

“Yes, they've got some very good bowlers, but given the talent that we've got in our batting line-up we need to get our heads together and work out a better strategy in the middle overs.”

On a pitch much more conducive to batting, both teams went scoreless for more than 50 percent of deliveries faced, so forcing the lower-order players into frenetic hitting in the final overs of both innings.

Probably influenced by the fact that his topscore of 75 occupied 112 deliveries, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was more sympathetic.

“The pitch was a little bit challenging. The ball wasn't coming onto the bat,” he observed. “But we were about 30 runs short. Getting to 260 would have been a good total on this pitch.”

Similar surfaces are expected for the final two matches on Sunday and Wednesday, and while the Pakistanis may be looking at other bowling options at the end of the innings, especially after left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz delivered that decisive final over on the way to conceding 63 runs off his ten overs, the Caribbean side will be concerned about the lack of productivity from two key big-hitters who are expected to dominate in this form of the game.

Since scoring 109 against Sri Lanka in Kingston at the start of the Tri-Nation Series on June 28, opening batsman Chris Gayle has only managed to accumulate another 45 runs from the next six innings. Middle-order player Kieron Pollard has fared even worse, four ducks contributing to a meagre tally of 37 runs from his last seven innings. With the series still on the line, it's the right time for someone on either side to stand and deliver.

Root the hero as England grind Australia into dust

REUTERS

Joe Root celebrates his 150. -Photo by Reuters

Published 2013-07-20 22:31:39

LONDON: Opener Joe Root was the individual hero on Saturday as England ground Australia into the dust with batting that was first attritional then ruthlessly aggressive on the third day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's.

After taking a first innings lead of 233 on Friday before conceding three quick wickets, England batted throughout the day to reach 333 for five at the close with Root unbeaten on 178, his second Test hundred.

England, who won the first Test at Trent Bridge last Sunday by 14 runs, now lead Australia by 566 with six sessions still to play and fine weather forecast for the final two days.

Root, promoted to opener for the Ashes series after batting in the middle order against India and New Zealand, confirmed the class he has shown since scoring 73 on his Test debut last December.

His technique, poise and clean fluent driving on both sides of the wicket was of the highest order and marked him out as a worthy successor to his great Yorkshire predecessors Herbert Sutcliffe, Len Hutton, Geoff Boycott and Michael Vaughan.

Root reached his hundred with a cut to the point boundary and accelerated to pass 150 from 311 balls with 18 fours. He then struck two sixes over mid-wicket in leg-spinner Steve Smith's final over the day.

Ian Bell, who was reprieved on three after an umpire review when he appeared to have edged Ryan Harris straight to Smith at gully, added 74 to his first innings 109 in quick time against a flagging attack.

Peter Siddle, who took all three wickets to fall on Friday evening, bustled in with his customary energy from the Pavilion end at the start of play but neither he nor the other Australian paceman were able to extract anything from the pitch.

Tim Bresnan, sent in as nightwatchman on Friday, took 30 balls to get off the mark but was in no trouble thereafter, staying on the front foot and reaching 38 before he was caught at mid-wicket by Chris Rogers attempting a hook off James Pattinson.

Only 83 runs were scored in the opening session and 57 in the second before England cut loose after tea against spinners Smith and Ashton Agar.

Bell played all the shots in his locker, bringing up the 150 partnership with Root with a reverse sweep for four.

He seemed set for his second hundred of the match and the fourth in his last three Ashes Tests when he pulled a long-hop from Smith straight to Rogers at mid-wicket.