A day after Ricky Ponting called for a controversy-free tour, he was ironically involved in the first real incident of the series

Sidharth Monga in Mohali01-Oct-2010A day after Ricky Ponting called for a controversy-free tour, he was ironically involved in the first real incident of the series. After he was run out by a superb direct hit from Suresh Raina, Ponting was seen exchanging words and gestures with Zaheer Khan. Ponting was walking off, and it seemed Zaheer had something to say to him from the team huddle. Ponting turned back and was seen pointing his bat towards Zaheer.Both sides, though, played down the incident, and no charges had been pressed last checked. “When two top teams are playing, you expect some competition and that’s what it was,” Pragyan Ojha said after a tough old-fashioned day of Test cricket. “When you play hard, you obviously exchange some words. Nothing more than that.”Watson sought to play with the similar straight bat as was the hallmark of his unbeaten, restrained century, but cheekily opened the face at the last moment. “The umpires didn’t get involved, did they?” he said. “Wasn’t too bad. Something that does happen on a cricket field when people are competitive. As you did see, on the footage – everyone really knows how Ricky is, he is not going to go looking for a fight unless someone steps out of the line, out of the huddle, and has a bit to say. It was there for all to see.”The good thing, though, is that neither team seems to be bothering too much about it. And in what was a welcome sight, at stumps, the Indian players, including Zaheer and Harbhajan Singh, almost queued up to congratulate Watson on his effort. All’s well that ends well. At least until the next incident.

Round-up of the opening day’s action in the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2010Imranullah Aslam’s whirlwind 57 off 27 deliveries took Multan Tigers to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Peshawar Panthers in Lahore.Aslam smashed four sixes and six fours, and by the time he got out, Multan needed 44 off 67 with eight wickets in hand. Left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan’s 2 for 25 was in vain as Multan reached the target of 125 with 19 balls to spare.Aslam had earlier helped restrict Peshawar to 124, taking 2 for 13 with his legspinners, including the wicket of former Pakistan captain Younis Khan. Peshawar had got off to a good start, reaching 75 for 1 in the eleventh over. However, they lost too many wickets after that, four of them to run-outs.Lahore Lions held their nerve to prevail over Abbottabad Falcons by three runs in Lahore, after Abdul Razzaq had smashed a quick half-century to boost them to 165.Razzaq came in when Lahore were in trouble at 37 for 3, having lost the big wickets of captain Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal. He first steadied the innings with Ahmed Shehzad, and then dominated an 80-run partnership with Raza Ali Dar that came in 44 balls. Razzaq hammered four sixes and five fours in his 60 off 30 deliveries. Left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan – who has played for Pakistan A – took 2 for 11.Lahore’s bowlers struck regularly at the start of the chase to reduce Abbottabad to 48 for 4 in the eighth over. Ahmed Said and Wajid Ali brought their team back into the game with an 82-run stand in 55 deliveries. With 36 needed off 22, fast bowler Aizaz Cheema dismissed Ali for 39, to finish with 3 for 27. Said remained unbeaten on 54 off 43, as Abbottabad finished on 162 for 7.A disciplined bowling performance from Sialkot Stallions gave them an easy seven-wicket win over Karachi Zebras in Lahore. Karachi were restricted to a mere 99, which Sialkot knocked off without fuss, courtesy Imran Nazir’s unbeaten 64.It was a struggle for the Karachi batsmen as five of the top six did not reach double figures. Only opener Ali Asad resisted with 33. Three run-outs only added to Karachi’s woes. Legspinner Adeel Malik, Pakistan allrounder Shoaib Malik’s younger brother, finished with 2 for 15.Despite the loss of two early wickets, Nazir almost single-handedly led the chase, hitting eight fours and two sixes on his way to 64 off 42 deliveries, as Sialkot won with more than seven overs to spare.

Alastair Cook, the England vice-captain who has a modest record against Australia, has said the experience gained since his first visit Down Under should help him do better on the current tour

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010Alastair Cook, the England vice-captain who has a modest record against Australia, has said the experience gained since his first visit Down Under will help him do better during the 2010-11 Ashes. Cook averages 26.21 in 10 Tests against Australia, and could manage only one significant score when England were blanked 5-0 in 2006-07, a second-innings 116 in Perth, but was confident of better returns this time.”The one side I haven’t played as well as against than the other sides has been Australia,” Cook told . “I have got that point to prove over the next three months. Last time [in Australia] I was obviously 21-years old; to come here as an opening batter, as a youngster, was a very tough learning curve. It was my first year in international cricket as well. So to have 50-odd more games under my belt, seen a lot more, I think that experience will help.”Cook, who will open with Strauss, was mindful of the importance of good starts to compete in Australia, something England struggled to do in recent visits. “Obviously Straussy and I have been at the top of the order for a while now, we’ve done reasonably well and there’s always the pressure as an opener to set the tone,” Cook said. “We’ve got that job, we’ve had that job for a while and we’ve done it well. It’s an area we appreciate we’ve got a lot of responsibility. Obviously as captain and vice-captain as well, we like to set the tone for the rest of the team.”Cook also backed his under-fire team-mate Kevin Pietersen to shrug off his indifferent form and be a force during the Ashes. Pietersen has struggled in the longer formats, and has not hit an international century in nearly two years. Despite his effectiveness in the 2010 World Twenty20, the England selectors dropped him from the limited-overs side against Pakistan, leading to a Twitter outburst that resulted in him being fined by the ECB.”He has obviously had a difficult 12 months with his form, but his work ethic over those 12 months has been the hardest I’ve seen him work at his game,” Cook said. “Talent like that and the stats he’s got behind him show what a great player he is. Great players might lose their form for a little bit, but they come back and a big series like this, I think it’s just about the right time to come back. I know he’s desperate to prove to people he’s still a great player.”Pietersen has been at the centre of most of the banter between the sides in the lead-up to the Ashes. John Buchanan said Pietersen could be a ‘major problem’ for England, to which he retaliated by calling the former Australia coach ‘a nobody’. Michael Clarke was wary of Pietersen’s ability to turn things on in big matches, while Andrew Strauss rubbished suggestions that he had a divisive influence on the squad. On Friday, Australia fast bowler Doug Bollinger talked about his plan to keep quiet while bowling to Pietersen since “I think that’s what he likes”.

Steven Finn marked his first Ashes Test by claiming a career-best 6 for 125, which – as a 21-year-old with just eight months of international experience to his name – is no mean feat whatsoever

Andrew Miller at the Gabba27-Nov-2010Regardless of the toil that preceded his rewards, Steven Finn marked his first Ashes Test by claiming a career-best 6 for 125, which – as a 21-year-old with just eight months of international experience to his name – is no mean feat whatsoever. In so doing he emulated Bill Voce and John Snow as the only other Englishmen to collect such a haul at the Gabba, but afterwards he remained reassuringly downbeat about his achievement.As a man who models himself on Glenn McGrath and who has, in Angus Fraser, the perfect role-model for parsimonious seam bowling, Finn was well aware that his economy rate of 3.71 was England’s most expensive of the day, and at times during the 307-run stand between Brad Haddin and Michael Hussey he was powerless to restrict the run-flow. Nevertheless, having finally persuaded Hussey to hook to square leg for 195, he ran through the tail with an effectiveness that augurs well for future challenges, as Australia lost their last five wickets for 31 runs.”I picked up the wickets but I was the least consistent bowler and I’m aware of that,” he said. “Jimmy and Broady and Swanny at times bowled fantastically well, and when we work together as a unit that’s when we get our wickets. These wickets are for the unit, but personally, there are still a lot of areas I need to improve on and I’m well aware of that. I want to go for less runs, take more wickets and I’ve got a lot of work to do.”England’s day could well have gone a whole lot better, however, had Anderson been rewarded for a fine new-ball spell, in which Hussey survived two lbw appeals on 82 and 85, the first of which was overturned by the Umpire Decision Review System, before the second was left hanging as a plain not-out, after England had unsuccessfully used up their own appeals on day two.Finn admitted that the situation had been frustrating, especially after believing they had made such a key breakthrough in the third over of the day. But, he added, they had refused to let it derail them, despite how it might have appeared as they ended up going wicketless throughout the first two sessions.”It was a frustration that wasn’t going to affect our performance,” he said. “We realised we didn’t have any reviews left and so there was nothing we could do about it. We had to keep putting the ball in the right areas. When you’re in the huddle there and you think you’ve got the wicket, you’re over the moon and then it gets taken away. But if it gets you emotional then it takes you away from what you want to do and how you want to play the game.”It’s easy to look at things in retrospect, but we have to push forward,” he added. “We can only play what’s put in front of us. If those decisions had gone our way we’d be in a different position but it’s something we can’t look at. Those two guys played really well, they didn’t give us a chance, they rode their luck and survived the tough times, and that’s what it takes to score hundreds like that in Test cricket. That’s all we can look at.”Another distraction for England in the past three days has been the health of their coach, Andy Flower, who spent the day in hospital recovering from an operation to remove a cancerous melanoma from under his right eye. Finn, however, insisted that for the squad it had been business as usual, with Richard Halsall, the fielding coach, taking temporary charge.”I wouldn’t say it’s an upset,” he said. “Obviously we’re concerned about Andy, but he’s fine, he’s pulling through, but it hasn’t drawn anything away from what we’ve been doing as a team. We’ve got highly capable back-room staff who are filling in, and we’ve gelled together as a unit, and that helps us through times like this.”Despite the team’s predicament, Finn was sure that the two sides were far more evenly matched than the state of the game would suggest. “I think Test cricket ebbs and flows,” he said. “That’s the nature of the game and to say there is a gulf in class is grossly wrong because I think we’ve played some good, hard cricket these past few days. Australia are on top at the moment but the nature of the way we’ve played our cricket over the past 18 months will stand us in good stead in that dogfight.”

Pakistan’s four-wicket win at The Oval against England last summer has been part of the ICC’s investigation into spot-fixing allegations against three Pakistan players, it emerged in the Doha hearing

Osman Samiuddin in Doha11-Jan-2011Pakistan’s four-wicket win at The Oval against England last summer has been part of the ICC’s investigation into spot-fixing allegations against three Pakistan players, it emerged on Tuesday after the Doha hearing.The hearing, looking into allegations against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, was widely thought to have revolved only around the final Test of that series, held at Lord’s. But a statement by Michael Beloff QC, the head of the anti-corruption tribunal hearing the case, revealed that the previous Test at The Oval was also under investigation.The very opening of Beloff’s statement caught most off-guard; “The tribunal has been constituted to determine charges against Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif brought under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in relation to two Test matches played during August 2010 in the series between Pakistan and England, The Oval Test and the Lord’s Test.”But Beloff added that Amir and Asif have been acquitted of all charges relating to The Oval. One charge still stood, against Butt who was captain at the time. “The ICC has withdrawn all charges against the three players in relation to The Oval Test except for one against Mr Butt. The tribunal has formally acquitted the players in respect of the charges which have been withdrawn.”Neither the three-man tribunal nor the ICC gave details about the charges or incidents that were under investigation in the Oval Test. Until a report on the yesterday, in fact, it wasn’t public knowledge that The Oval Test was even under investigation.The , the tabloid that broke the story after an undercover sting operation, had, in fact, referred in its original report to a plan to bowl deliberate no-balls in The Oval Test which was eventually cancelled. There was another reference to a maiden over Butt was allegedly supposed to play out on one of the days. It is believed that it is the charges related to those incidents that have been under investigation.But it is believed that, in a bid to expedite a verdict against the three players, all the charges save one around The Oval Test, were dropped by the ICC’s lawyers during the hearing. The ICC was keen for the tribunal to announce verdicts against the three on Tuesday, the last day of the hearing, and believed that dropping charges, for which evidence is known to be insufficient, might achieve that.The news is a further blow for Butt, who as captain of the side was under particular scrutiny during the hearing. He spent a day and a half answering questions first from his lawyer, then the ICC’s lawyers as well as Asif’s lawyer – more than either Amir or Asif. In addition, the questioning of one witness by his own lawyer is thought to have hurt his case considerably. And differences between him and Asif are thought to have further worsened his case.The decision on the one charge against Butt relating to The Oval Test will also be announced on February 5, the date on which decisions concerning the Lord’s Test against all three are expected to finally be announced.Asif’s London-based lawyers released a statement expressing his delight at having been acquitted of all charges brought against him in relation to The Oval Test.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry of India has issued a show-cause notice to the Ten Cricket channel for violating advertising norms during the coverage of India’s tour of South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2011Ten Cricket has been asked to explain the violation of the Indian government’s advertising codes during its coverage of the recently concluded series between India and South Africa. Acting on complaints received by consumers, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of India sent a show-cause notice to the channel regarding the intrusive advertisements during live telecast.The channel, according to the government, has breached the advertising code which stipulates that the advertisement should be easily distinguishable from, and not interfere with, the programme.”A show-cause notice has been sent to Ten Cricket channel regarding the violation of Rule 7 (10) of the Advertising Code as prescribed in the Cable Television Networks Rules 1994 which provides ‘all advertisement should be clearly distinguishable from the programme and should not in any manner interfere with the programme viz, use of lower part of screen to carry captions, static or moving alongside the programme,'” Raghu Menon, the secretary of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which formulates rules for broadcasting and advertising in the country, told ESPNcricinfo. “The ministry has received complaints about the advertisements interfering with the live telecast by using the sides, central and lower parts of the screen to carry the advertisements, thus reducing the visual frame of the main live telecast.”The channel has been asked to show cause within seven days of the notice as to why action in accordance with the provision of the Uplinking Guidelines and Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 should not be taken against it.”Ten Cricket – a 24-hour cricket channel – is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and was launched in August 2010. Among its recent cricket telecasts was Pakistan’s Test and limited-overs series in the UAE against South Africa and India’s full tour there which concluded earlier this month.When asked by Harsha Bhogle, during ESPNcricinfo’s fortnightly audio show , if the high prices of broadcasting rights were driving broadcasters to resort to intrusive advertising, Menon said: “Nobody’s really stopping a channel from advertising at the end of an over. When you have advertising exploding out of the ground in the middle of an over, that is terribly intrusive and I don’t think any viewer will appreciate that. That’s really carrying it a bit too far.”When a license is given to a broadcaster, for downlinking or uplinking or showing any programme, they are required to sign an agreement with the government and part of the agreement is that they will follow the program and advertising codes,” Menon said. “To that extent, they are walking into the business with their eyes open and they are required to follow it, otherwise it amounts to a violation of the laws of the land.”When contacted by ESPNcricinfo, Atul Pande, the CEO of Sports Business, ZEEL, said he would respond once he’d received the show-cause notice, but added there was a lot of pressure on TV channels to generate revenue through ad sales due to the high cost of broadcasting rights as well as low subscription prices paid by consumers.

A round-up of the matches from the second match-day of the Faysal Bank One Day National Cup Division One

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2011

Group A

Imran Farhat blasted 150, his highest List A score•AFP

Karachi Dolphins‘ lower order held their nerve in a thrilling one-wicket win over Rawalpindi Rams at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium as Naved Malik’s unbeaten century was in vain. When Karachi slid to 208 for 8 chasing Rawalpindi’s 260, it seemed all over for the visitors. But No 9 Misbah Khan had no intentions of giving up, and his unbeaten 37 took Karachi home with seven deliveries remaining. He was well supported by Rumman Raees, and the duo had taken their side to 245 when Raees was dismissed for 19. But last man Tabish Khan survived four deliveries, and together with Misbah, saw Karachi through. Naved’s maiden List A century had earlier rescued Rawalpindi from 132 for 5 along with wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar, who made an unbeaten 65 off 45 balls. Karachi were tottering at 134 for 6 in reply despite opener Adnan Baig’s half-century, but the lower order rose to the occasion.Imran Farhat slammed 150, his highest List A score, as Habib Bank surged to a 130-run victory against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in Islamabad. Farhat and Taufeeq Umar put on 74 runs for the opening stand, and the middle order built on the solid platform. Shan Masood added 147 for the third wicket with Imran who fell with Habib Bank eight short of 300. Humayun Farhat, Imran’s brother, ensured Habib Bank finished on a high, cracking seven boundaries in his unbeaten 36 off 13. The target of 339 was always going to prove tough, but when medium-pacer Fahad Masood reduced SNGPL to 70 for 5, they surrendered any remaining chance they had. Saleem Mughal (70) was the only batsman to cross 30, as SNGPL caved in for 208.Sheharyar Ghani led Pakistan International Airlines to an eight-wicket win over Islamabad Leopards at the Diamond Club Ground as PIA chased down 250 comfortably. Ghani came in after the opening partnership had yielded 48, and remained unbeaten on 105, his maiden List A century. Faisal Iqbal cantered to an unbeaten half-century as well, as PIA eased to victory with 40 deliveries to spare. PIA’s bowlers led by Anwar Ali (3 for 51) had earlier dismissed Islamabad for 250 despite Zeeshan Mushtaq’s 75. Mazhar Abbasi (39) and Imad Wasim (45) could not carry on after getting starts and Islamabad fell short of a competitive total.

Group B

Multan Tigers notched up their second win, thumping Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited by 166 runs at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. It was a one-sided affair from the start: Multan were put in to bat and their openers put together an opening stand of 118; contributions from the middle-order and some late hitting took them to 325; and ZTBL’s chase never got going as they were bowled out for 159 in 34.1 overs. Zain Abbas played the anchor role for Multan, scoring 96, while Imranullah Aslam and Kashif Naved hit quick half-centuries. Imran Nazir and Shahid Yousuf scored half-centuries for ZTBL, but only one other batsman got into double figures as they were bowled out well inside the 50 overs.It was another one-sided affair at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, where Faisalabad Wolves chased down Sialkot Stallions’ 207 for the loss of just two wickets, with 39 balls to spare. Sialkot chose to bat but were greeted by a devastating spell from Naseer Akram, playing in only his second List A match. Naseer took four wickets and Sialkot were soon 61 for 5. Mohammad Ayub and Shehzad Malik staged a recovery with a 104-run partnership, but legspinner Zaheer Maqsood wiped out Sialkot’s tail and they couldn’t last the 50 overs. Faisalabad were always comfortable in their chase. The openers put together 75, and then Shahid Siddiq and Hasan Mahmood scored half-centuries to take Faisalabad home.National Bank of Pakistan also completed their chase with time to spare, beating Water and Power Development Authority by six wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. NBP bowled WAPDA out for 213 and then got to the total in 40.3 overs thanks to Fawad Alam’s 78 off 60 balls and Hammad Azam’s 58 off 61. NBP had lost two early wickets in their chase, but once Alam and Azam got going, they were in control of the match. WAPDA had needed a recovery from the lower order to get past 200. Their top order had been toppled by seamers Mohammad Talha and Uzair-ul-Haq, and they slumped to 80 for 6. Wicketkeeper Ahmed Said and Nawaz Sardar put together 101 for the seventh wicket to add some respectability to WAPDA’s score. Talha finished with figures of 6 for 38, while Uzair took 4 for 52.

The comprehensive thumping of Kenya is likely to have pleased the Pakistan team management more than they will let on

Osman Samiuddin in Hambantota23-Feb-2011An entirely different proposition awaits Pakistan on Saturday but given how poorly they often start big tournaments, the comprehensive thumping of Kenya is likely to have pleased the team management more than they will let on.The only slip was the stilted start to their innings, on a pitch which did a little more than expected. But four middle-order fifties, a successful implementation of their trademark ODI batting plan (build first, blast later), the captain’s five-fer and some lively fielding made for an unexpectedly smooth start. The selection of Abdur Rehman over Saeed Ajmal, or even Wahab Riaz seemed puzzlingly defensive – Ajmal and Riaz are wicket-takers and they will need them in this campaign – but Pakistan maintained the intensity in the field they had shown in a quite electric practice session on Monday.Then the younger men in particular had thrown themselves into fielding practice, yapping away, diving and leaping around, hitting stumps, taking good catches. Keeping things at that pitch was Waqar Younis, the coach himself, screaming for catches to be taken as if they were off his own bowling, throwing gloves down in disgust at misfields, not putting up with slackers, taking time out for fresh faces and generally making sure things ran precisely to plan.It is what Pakistan’s demanding followers say they always want, even if in defeat: spirit, fight, passion and energy. “The way we practiced, we were very focused and positive and what we do there, we deliver in the games as well,” Shahid Afridi said. “We try to focus on practice sessions and don’t waste our time. The coaches are doing a great job with the fast bowlers and the senior players are helping the young batsmen.”So, despite having 300-plus to defend, Afridi insisted the team go out and defend much less. “We wanted to make a big total and when we went in, I told the team that we are defending 120, we need to fight like we are defending 120, because tough matches lie ahead.”In those tough matches the middle order will not be allowed to rebuild as freely as they did here if the start is squandered. The concern over Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez’s contributions were not so much with the score as the tentative manner in which they came: the former made a single from 18 balls.The pair has been in good form recently, scoring fluently so the sudden, sharp dip and the nature of it concerned Afridi as well. “Whether in batting or bowling you need a positive start always,” he said. “The ball was sticking to the pitch a little, so it wasn’t so easy but we need to stick to our strengths and play positively. The start is always important and I’m confident our openers will not repeat these mistakes. Shehzad and Hafeez are positive players so hopefully they will change their style in the next game.”Good starts guarantee nothing of course and nobody forgets that Pakistan’s two world titles have come when campaigns have stuttered at the beginning. Nevertheless in a week in which several big sides have made statements against associate nations, Pakistan have put in their own. “Definitely it emphasises that we are a dangerous team. It’s a good start but we shouldn’t be 100% satisfied because there is a lot of work ahead of us still.”

Wayne Madsen was the scourge of Leicestershire again to give dominant Derbyshire a great chance of celebrating their first victory of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Wayne Madsen was the scourge of Leicestershire again to give dominant Derbyshire a great chance of celebrating their first victory of the season.The South African opener scored a century against Leicestershire at Derby last year and he completed another hundred on a day the visitors will want to forget. Madsen made 106 and Greg Smith 99 before Luke Sutton declared on 439 for 9 – a lead of 209 – leaving the visitors a tricky three overs which they survived to close on four without loss.But the odds are heavily stacked against Leicestershire saving the match, with Will Jefferson unable to open after he had to leave the field in the morning with a thigh strain. The contest had been in the balance when play began but an opening maiden proved a false dawn as Leicestershire delivered a shocking performance in the field.Madsen and Smith batted well but they were helped in no small measure by wayward bowling and shabby ground fielding which allowed Derbyshire to seize the initiative. But the day might have taken a different course if the visitors had taken a chance to break the fifth-wicket stand in the first hour.Madsen was on 54 and Derbyshire were 160 for 4, still 70 behind, when he was beaten by Claude Henderson but Tom New missed the stumping and the ball went away to add to the total of 20 byes, half of the total extras.The visitors became increasingly ragged, prompting skipper Matthew Hoggard to take the unusual step of calling his team together between overs to try and lift them. It did not achieve the breakthrough as Madsen, who reached his century off 189 balls just before lunch, and Smith batted through the first session, adding 152 runs in 32 overs.The pair stayed together for another 11 overs to take their stand to 189, beating the previous Derbyshire fifth-wicket record against Leicestershire of 170 set in 1895, before Hoggard’s men finally celebrated a wicket.Madsen had made 106 when he swept Henderson to square leg and was caught by James Taylor, but Smith missed his second century of the season when he played across the line at Nadeem Malik and was lbw.Derbyshire’s lead was only 60 at that stage but Leicestershire could make only one more breakthrough before tea, with Jon Clare caught behind off a rising ball from Hoggard.Luke Sutton drove back a return catch to Henderson as he tried to accelerate but Tim Groenewald followed his first-day five-wicket haul with a half-century that included two sixes and six fours before Sutton called a halt.With Jefferson unable to take his place at the top of the order, Paul Nixon opened with Greg Smith to negotiate an awkward 10 minutes but Leicestershire have it all to do on the last two days, with little prospect of any help from the weather.

Warwickshire quickly took a first step towards making up for a points deduction imposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board when they beat Worcestershire by 218 runs in the County Championship at Edgbaston

George Dobell at Edgbaston14-May-2011
Scorecard
Vikram Solanki was struck on the back of the head after ducking into a bouncer from Boyd Rankin•PA Photos

Perhaps it was fitting that, as Steve Rhodes put it, there should be a “farcical end to quite a farcical game”?Worcestershire, with two batsmen retired hurt and another ‘absent injured’, were forced to accept defeat by Warwickshire by a margin 218 runs even though they had lost only seven second-innings wickets. Memories of India’s defeat at the hands of the West Indies at Sabina Park in 1976 spring to mind.In truth, there was an element of protest in Worcestershire’s decision not to send their remaining batsmen into the line of fire. Had the team had even a chance of victory, both Vikram Solanki and Alan Richardson would have batted. As it was, they decided it was better not to risk them.It was a sensible decision. With the pitch every more unpredictable, the batsmen were taking blow after blow and Ben Scott, after sustaining a third hit on the gloves in a gutsy innings, was forced to retire hurt. There was no hope of resisting for long. The game was up.Some might rebuke Worcestershire for a lack of fight. They will point to examples such as Brian Close and suggest players from the past might have battled a little harder. Maybe.Generally, however, such criticism is facile. It is easy to sit the other side of the boundary and chastise players for a lack of fight. But spectators would do well to remember that these players are expected to play many more games in the coming days, weeks and months and that any injury sustained here could have damaging effects on their team’s season and, perhaps, even their own careers. This pitch, by the end, was simply dangerous and it is a blessing that no-one has been seriously hurt during the game. It is, by some distance, the worst pitch I’ve seen for a Championship match.Certainly Rhodes was scathing in his criticism at the end of the game. Reacting to news that Warwickshire had been penalised eight points for a track deemed ‘poor’ by the pitch panel, Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, suggested a 24-point penalty for an ‘unfit’ wicket would have been more appropriate.”I can safely say that is probably the worst pitch I’ve seen in professional cricket in England,” Rhodes said. “I would have voted it as unfit.”If you ask the question: is that fit for first-class cricket?’ then the answer has to be ‘no.’ It had extravagant bounce. I don’t feel it was fit for first-class cricket.”Rhodes has a point, of course. But he and Worcestershire supporters baying for blood may do well to remember the sympathetic response Worcestershire received when they unsuccessfully tried to host a Championship game against Kent at a recently-flooded New Road in 2007. Groundsmen, like chief executive, players and journalists, sometimes make mistakes. The ECB judgement in this game, the result of three highly-experienced individuals’ lengthy analysis, looks about right.Despite all this, however, Warwickshire have decided to appeal the Pitch Panel’s decision to dock them eight points for a track deemed to be ‘poor.’Warwickshire continue to play their cards quite close to their chest on the issue, but it seems their appeal will focus on the procedure used by the ECB to come to the decision. That is because the ECB were not alerted to concerns about the pitch by the match umpires, but by a member of the media. Oddly, the phone call made by the newspaper journalist to the ECB was not even answered or returned.That having been said, Warwickshire are not claiming that the pitch was acceptable. They just feel there were extenuating circumstances relating to the new stands, outfield and drainage system and that the ECB’s own procedure was not followed. On that basis, they may have a point, though it seems a shame they couldn’t have accepted the penalty with some grace and moved on.ECB rules on the issue are not absolutely clear, but it does not appear as if Warwickshire’s points penalty can be increased. Instead, however, it seems that the ECB can charge them £5,000 (to be deducted from their next fee payment) should the appeal be unsuccessful. A new pitch panel will be convened within the week and they will review video footage of the match and interview relevant officials as required.The ‘pitch battle’ should not disguise the fact that this was Worcestershire’s fifth loss in five Championship games. Whatever the challenges, they were second best in every department in this match. Their support bowling was poor and their support batting flimsy. They’ve played some decent cricket without reward this season, but here they looked second best from the start.At least Scott showed some fight in this game. The Middlesex keeper, with Worcestershire on loan, showed excellent skills with the gloves and bravery with the bat. He’s a fine addition. Matt Pardoe and Moeen Ali batted nicely, too. And, if one or two of their colleagues are playing as if relegation is inevitable, they will find their coach will intolerant of such a view.”We have to learn to fight a little harder,” Rhodes admitted. “We’ve given too many wickets away to spin. We had a chance to win the game if we had we played better. Both teams played on the same wicket, after all.”Worcestershire lost three wickets in 14 balls on the final day. After Shaaiq Choudhry, surely batting too high at six in the order, missed one that may have kept a little low, Gareth Andrew edged one that took off from a length and Moeen Ali clipped to square-leg. Damien Wright then helped Scott add 44 for the seventh-wicket, before the former slogged to mid-off. Shortly afterwards, Scott was struck on the hand by a lifter from Boyd Rankin and the match was over.The big difference between the sides was simply the batting of Mohammad Yousuf. Warwickshire supporters have taken some time to warm to the Pakistani and, in his early matches, there have been times, in the field in particular, when he hadn’t appeared overly anxious about the match situation.Such reservations have evaporated now. Yousuf played two magnificent, match-shaping innings in this game and the chances of him winning a longer-term contract at the club have increased significantly. Ashley Giles also admitted some interest in Dale Steyn, who is available in July. Tim Ambrose, back to his best with bat and gloves and Rikki Clarke also enjoyed good games, while Ian Bell, who sustained a very minor muscle strain, will now miss the CB40 match against Leicestershire having initially asked the ECB for special permission to play.Giles, meanwhile, insisted that the poor wicket was purely accidental. “We want to play on the best possible wickets,” Giles said. “I think we were the stronger side and providing a wicket like that usually just brings the weaker side into the game more. No-one wants to see anyone get hurt and none of us have said it was a great wicket.”But the guys were brilliant as a collective. They didn’t moan if they got an unplayable ball. They just got on with it.”[Hosting] International cricket is very important to us, so the groundstaff have to learn very quickly. It [the redeveloped ground and re-laid outfield] is a bit of an unknown quality for everyone.”It may also be worth noting that the umpires rated the behaviour of both sets of players as exemplary. Despite the treacherous conditions, there was no moaning, no arguing and no dissent. Indeed, they showed considerable bravery. Whatever other issues there may have been with this match, the players of both sides have emerged with great credit.