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Chris Martin believes New Zealand’s wicket-filled final session was well deserved after they bowled with discipline for much of the third day at the Basin Reserve

Andrew Fernando17-Jan-2011Chris Martin believes New Zealand’s wicket-filled final session was well deserved after they bowled with discipline for much of the third day at the Basin Reserve. The New Zealand attack reaped the rewards for relentlessly plugging away outside the off stump, as they picked up six Pakistan wickets for 82 runs in the evening session.The visitors had been cruising to a handy first innings total at 286 for 3, before Younis Khan’s dismissal on the stroke of tea began the slide for Pakistan, and they eventually limped past New Zealand’s first innings total, to finish on 376.”The way we felt we’d bowled, we maybe deserved a session like that,” Martin said. “We kept our focus, kept our lines and kept our discipline. Sometimes you feel like it’s gonna come and it’s gonna come quickly and it definitely did in that last session.”Three of Martin’s four wickets came in the third session, as he struck first to remove Abdur Rehman, then Misbah-ul-Haq for 99, before shaking up the lower order with a hostile barrage of short bowling and finishing the innings with Umar Gul’s scalp.”That spell at the end made me feel better about the day,” he said. “We were trying pretty hard there for a while and things weren’t really happening, so to be in the wickets in that stage of the day made the legs feel a bit better.”Martin and Tim Southee displayed plenty of aggression as they exchanged words with Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq during their 142-run stand. The New Zealand bowlers toiled for a wicket during fifty-one fruitless overs, but some early morning reverse-swing aside, there was little assistance for the fast men on the third day pitch.”I had a go at Younis. I think it builds a certain attitude out there, and the guys feed off it. I know it only comes out of having a certain discipline with the ball, where the guys feel like they can step out and get stuck into the opposition. It’s something New Zealand teams aren’t really renowned for and perhaps we need to be at some point. We can’t be nice guys all the time, especially on the park.”It wasn’t so much a ploy, but it just shows everyone that we are fully committed and fully in the fight. In the past we’ve been lacking that. It’s not something we are going to be doing the whole time, but we definitely needed to be doing it on that pitch today.”Martin claimed the first session of day four would be crucial to New Zealand’s ambitions of levelling the series. “All the clichés will ring true in the morning about batting that first session and seeing where we’re at. They bowled quite a few overs to us in that first innings, and it’s just a case of wearing them down and seeing where we’re at later in the day.”The wearing pitch too will play a major role in the final two days as New Zealand look to exploit the turn on offer in the fourth innings through Daniel Vettori. “The amount of turn that’s happening at the moment is a good thing and it’s definitely going to end up with some uncomfortable moments later in the game. I’m glad we’re not batting last on it and it’s going to be something we need to think about tomorrow and get some good runs on the board. There will be an opportunity for Dan to come into the game quite strongly in that last afternoon.”Martin also said he was delighted at having been able to see Vettori to his sixth Test century, having survived four nervous deliveries on the second afternoon to allow his skipper to reach the landmark. “I pride myself on getting the guys from the nineties to the hundreds. If I can be remembered for anything with the bat, I hope that’ll be it. I remember getting Jesse through in India last year as well. It’s something that adds a little bit of spice and a little bit of intensity.”

John Wright has hinted at splitting the one-day opening combination of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder for the series against Pakistan as his side desperately seeks to end a 11-match losing streak

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011New Zealand coach John Wright has hinted at splitting the one-day opening combination of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder for the series against Pakistan, as his side seeks to end a 11-match losing streak in the format. Wright hopes to use the six games against Pakistan to zero in on the right line-up for the World Cup, which begins on February 19.”They [McCullum and Ryder] may not be at the top of the order,” Wright told . “There may be only one of them at the top of the order. We really need to look at the way we have been playing and to consider where we have our firepower, particularly our impact batsmen. There is the opportunity to start with the Powerplay, and then who plays where when we get to the next Powerplay. We will have a look at that and make the decisions.”It’s something we just have to consider carefully. Dan [Daniel Vettori] will have some strong views on it and you look at the batting line-up, and if we can get players in form, and get our order right, then we should be able to do the job.”McCullum and Ryder formed one of New Zealand’s most successful opening pairs, and Wright said the decision to move one of them lower down would be to beef up a misfiring middle order. “The one thing about New Zealand one-day sides is that they always appear to be at their strongest when you had great batting depth around Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8,” Wright said. “When you played against New Zealand they were just a hard side to break down. We will be looking to bat as deep and with as much quality as we can around those areas.”Martin Guptill, who opened in the second Test in Wellington when Tim McIntosh was dropped, is likely to take the role in the one-dayers, if New Zealand decide to make the change. “Obviously the development of Martin Guptill has been a huge plus for us,” Wright said. “He has played incredibly well in the Twenty20 series and he worked ever so hard in the Test series, and he looks ever so promising.”Despite the 1-0 defeat in the Test series, Wright was encouraged by New Zealand’s show in the second Test when they stretched Pakistan for a hard-fought draw. “I was pleased with the improvement and quality of our play in Wellington. It was disappointing not to get a win, if we had broken that partnership [between Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan] we probably would have. I suppose we have got to learn to play sessions and we had a terrible session in Hamilton that cost us the series.”

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka vice-captain, said he was pleased with Sri Lanka’s start to the World Cup but there was still a lot of hard work ahead of his team in the tournament

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Hambantota20-Feb-2011Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka vice-captain, said he was pleased with Sri Lanka’s start to the World Cup but there was still a lot of hard work ahead of his team in the tournament. Jayawardene scored the fastest century by a Sri Lanka player in any World Cup, when he got to the landmark off 80 balls in their first game of the tournament, against Canada in Hambantota on Sunday. The previous fastest hundred was off 85 balls by Sanath Jayasuriya, against Bangladesh in 2007.”We had a few nerves before the game started, just to get on with the World Cup in front of our own crowd,” Jayawardene said. “It’s not easy to play a team like Canada. You’ve got to make sure that you come in prepared. It’s a good start but we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us with other teams.”After electing to bat, Sri Lanka had got off to a relatively sluggish start, with the scoring rate having dipped below five runs an over by the time Jayawardene came in. He credited Canada’s bowlers for that, but said it was always the plan to keep wickets in hand.”To be fair on the Canadian side they bowled really well. They bowled in good areas to start off with, and [Tillakaratne] Dilshan couldn’t get away and neither did Upul [Tharanga], but it was important for us to keep wickets in hand. We had a good partnership between Kumar [Sangakkara] and me. We needed to change that rhythm a bit in the middle overs and we managed to do that and took control of the game.”After Jayawardene was dismissed to a tired shot just after he got his century, Sri Lanka lost some quick wickets in the end overs, sparking further doubts over their inexperienced middle order, which is considered one of the few weaknesses they have in their side. Jayawardene, however, praised the middle order for doing what he described as “dirty work” in going after the bowlers rather than trying to preserve their wickets.”We can’t blame those guys because they went on to accelerate and obviously we will lose a few wickets in that situation. There was another case where we could have taken a run a ball and probably got 300 and would have been happy. But the guys are doing some dirty work for us so and we need to appreciate that.”When the right time comes, as we saw in the warm-up game against West Indies , the middle order clicked, and in the other warm-up against Holland too, we batted very well. Everyone’s got a role to play in our team and according to the situations they will come up and play those roles. There is no point just going out there and blocking the ball and not getting out. It’s all about doing the job for the team.”Sri Lanka are one of the hosts of the tournament but have not had a chance to play an ODI at two of their new stadiums – the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota and the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium – but Jayawardene said they were happy with the time they got to practice in Hambantota. “The first couple of practice sessions we had [in Hambantota], we realised the wickets were really good. Everything went smoothly for us. From the players point of view there are no complaints. We knew we could score 250 to 300 on this wicket.”Sri Lanka’s strong batting performance on Sunday was backed up by an equally impressive showing by the bowlers, even in the absence of Lasith Malinga. Jayawardene confirmed Malinga’s absence was just precautionary and said he would play in their next game, against Pakistan on February 26.”Lasith had a bit of a back strain. He played in the West Indies game as well so we didn’t want to risk him. He bowled yesterday and he was okay but given the fact that we have got a couple of crucial games coming up we thought that he should get a break. He’ll get into his stride in the next few days and should be okay for the Pakistan game.”

None of Pakistan’s batsmen has a century yet in the World Cup, but Misbah-ul-Haq said scoring runs that are vital to victories is more important

Sharda Ugra in Mohali27-Mar-2011Misbah-ul-Haq is not impressed by statistics and he doesn’t care about history either. That helps, particularly with an India-Pakistan match due to break out at the World Cup within three days.One of the anchors of Pakistan’s batting and the man with the team’s top score in the World Cup so far – 83 not out against Sri Lanka – Misbah said numbers could be meaningless if they did not agree with the results column. Pakistan’s certainly don’t.Umar Akmal is their heaviest run-scorer in this World Cup, but he is placed as low as 28th in the list of top run-getters. Never mind the batsmen from Test-playing nations, Umar follows players from Netherlands, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Canada in the table.Umar has scored 211 runs from five innings, with a single half-century. Among his team-mates, he is followed by Misbah (192), Kamran Akmal (188), Younis Khan (172), Mohmmed Hafeez (172), Asad Shafiq (124 from two innings) and Abdul Razzaq (101). Of the batsmen, only Misbah and Younis have scored more than one fifty in the tournament, and the team have managed nine overall. When compared to India, those are paltry figures: India have five centuries, ten fifties and five India batsmen have scored more runs than Umar.Yet Pakistan finished at the top of their group and, regardless of the weakness of some of its Associate opposition, had the more emphatic first four weeks of the tournament between the two teams. In Mohali, after a lengthy round of football, fielding and then the conventional nets, Misbah deconstructed the numbers down to their bare basics. “According to me, the most important thing for any team is winning. If we don’t score a hundred and win the World Cup, then that is very good for us. If we score centuries and get knocked out of the tournament, then it’s no use.”Misbah-ul-Haq has Pakistan’s highest score of this World Cup, while Shahid Afridi has struggled for runs•AFP

In India, Misbah’s public persona is built on the image of the man who tried the scoop shot and failed, handing India the World Twenty20 title in 2007. In person, he carries himself with gravitas; he speaks slowly but certainly. He will be beaten in any words-per-minute contest by his captain Shahid Afridi or Younis. But should it last longer than fifteen minutes, Misbah would probably still be holding his own. Like he has done through his career, this is the man for the long haul. He has been central to Pakistan’s progress in the World Cup, where their batting may not look like a flashy suit, but its main thread holds strong.”It’s really a plus for teams whose batsmen are in form, are scoring centuries and are in the top 20 run-scorers, but winning is important,” Misbah said. “If you score a fifty or even a timely twenty or thirty that is vital for a victory, then that’s good enough for the team.” This under-the-radar cricketing approach has worked for Pakistan, particularly after the horrors of the England tour now called the ‘spot-fixing series.’ Pakistan have won 14 of their 31 ODIs since the 2010 Asia Cup, their batsmen have managed totals of more than 250 the same number of times, with Pakistan winning nine of those games.The Pakistan batsmen could find the best batting conditions they have encountered so far in the tournament in Mohali, after spending five weeks grinding it out on slow, low tracks in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The lack of pace off the pitches has been, Misbah said, a “struggle”. In some parts of the subcontinent, contrary to the stereotype, “runs don’t come easy,” Misbah said. “The ball is turning, the bounce is low, so just like when we go outside these conditions and struggle against bounce and pace, scoring runs here on these wickets is an art too. And those who know how to play on low-bouncing wickets, they can do well and score runs. But batting can be a struggle.” It is why this has been far from a batsman’s World Cup.In Sri Lanka, Misbah said, batsmen required a “tightness” of play. “The new ball seams, the spinners get help later and you have to work as a batsman, because the tracks help bowlers of both types.” In Bangladesh, he said, batsmen needed to be patient, to adjust. “Because of both low bounce and turn, batting requires you to really spend time and build an innings.”Pakistan’s players have watched several of the World Cup matches held in India, and Misbah said the variety he saw across venues meant there never really was one defined ‘type’ of Indian pitch.Once upon a time Mohali had a ‘type’: quick, bouncy and friendly for the fast men. That legend has faded and it is what India, in particular, will be pleased about, as batsman for batsman and numbers for numbers, they will believe they are better than their semi-final opponents.Pakistan need not have bothered to haul over a slab of black stone to be put to use in the nets. The throwdowns given to every batsman on one of the practice pitches were made to pitch on the stone, Misbah explained, to generate bounce that the practice wickets did not quite contain. The real wicket probably won’t contain it either.Of the World Twenty20 final which he had all but snatched away from India before that last-over shot, Misbah said: “You can’t just stick to the past. Every game is a new game, it’s not like this game is important because of that match. To us every game is special. This one especially; this is the World Cup, it is a semi-final. I really want to do well.”Memory is a meaningless ghost for a cricketer like Misbah, who has had an up-and-down career, at one stage dropped from the Test and one-day squads only to return as Test captain.
There was speculation that he may have been handed the role of one-day captain as well for the World Cup, but the selectors stuck with Afridi, who is never under the radar, but in this World Cup has not come through as the destructive batsman the world knows he can be. He has only 65 runs at 10.83 in the tournament, but the strike-rate monster that lurks within him may just light up at the sight of the handkerchief-sized ground in Mohali.From being under the radar for over five weeks, Misbah and his team will now face the floodlights in a World Cup semi-final at a stadium which may have a low capacity, but will have a heavy-duty crowd.

Sri Lanka Cricket will ask fast bowler Lasith Malinga to return from the IPL and undergo a rehabilitation programme after he made himself unavailable for the upcoming Test series in England

Sa'adi Thawfeeq20-Apr-2011Sri Lanka Cricket will ask fast bowler Lasith Malinga to return from the IPL and undergo a rehabilitation programme after he made himself unavailable for the upcoming Test series in England. Malinga had stated that he is suffering from an injury, but continues to play for Mumbai Indians in the Twenty20 tournament. Malinga did not figure in the Sri Lanka squad of 16 players named for the three-Test series against England starting on May 26 in Cardiff.”It looks a bit awkward when someone says he is injured and continues to play cricket,” Sri Lanka’s new chairman of selectors Duleep Mendis said. “That is the reason why we have decided to write to Malinga and ask him to return home and undergo a rehabilitation programme. Malinga has specifically mentioned in a letter that he is not available for Test matches right now because he has a nagging knee problem.”When the player says that he is injured and he has to undergo a rehab programme what we can do is to tell him to undergo it immediately without continuing to play cricket in the IPL, and then get ready for cricket in Sri Lanka if he is interested in playing for his country.”Mendis said they would have to wait and see what Malinga’s response was before deciding on the next course of action.Nishantha Ranatunga, the SLC secretary, also expressed concerns over Malinga’s absence from the Test team. “We are very much concerned about Malinga because he is an important product in the team,” Ranatunga said. “He should be up and running to play in all three formats of the game. In that sense getting him fit and ready to play at full strength is very important.”Malinga has shown a reluctance to play Test cricket since he sustained a long-term knee injury more than two years ago. Since December 2007, he has played only two Tests – against India at home last year – and has confined himself to playing in limited overs and Twenty20 cricket, where he has been very successful. He has, however, not officially stated that he is unavailable to play Test cricket for Sri Lanka.

Captain Andrew Hall took five wickets and wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien smashed 94 not out as Northamptonshire began their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign with a seven-wicket demolition of Leicestershire

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Captain Andrew Hall took five wickets and wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien smashed 94 not out as Northamptonshire began their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign with a seven-wicket demolition of Leicestershire at Wantage Road. Hall turned in figures of 5 for 22 as the Foxes were bowled out for 162 in just over 35 overs, with only James Taylor’s explosive 69 off 61 balls providing
any resistance.Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien then smashed an unbeaten 94 off 63 balls, including 14 fours and four sixes, as the Steelbacks comfortably reached their target with 59 deliveries to spare.Leicestershire won the toss and chose to bat but they got off to an awful start as they lost Paul Nixon in the first over when he edged Hall to O’Brien for a five-ball duck. Hall struck again four overs later when he pinned Jacques Du Toit lbw for 15 and Josh Cobb went for the same total when Lee Daggett clipped his off stump.Wayne White added just a single when he was trapped leg before by Daggett to leave the Foxes struggling on 61 for 4. Taylor then crashed his way to his half-century off just 40 balls but
17-year-old Shiv Thakor, making his limited-overs debut, made just 13 before pulling David Lucas to Mal Loye at deep fine-leg.Having batted well in reaching 69, Taylor then went softly when he launched Hall high into the air and was easily caught by Alex Wakely at square leg. Claude Henderson went for one when he was bowled by Hall’s yorker before wicketkeeper Tom New (20) was snared by his opposite number O’Brien off David Willey.Nadeem Malik was then bowled by Willey and Hall wrapped up his five-for by skittling Nathan Buck to wrap up the innings.Chasing 163, the Steelbacks lost Loye in the ninth over for 11 when he was trapped lbw by Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard. But a 50-run partnership between Stephen Peters and O’Brien put the hosts back in control with O’Brien completing a brilliant half-century off 44 balls.Peters made it to 34 before he was out caught and bowled by Henderson to break a second-wicket stand of 75 and Wakely (15) went when he smashed Hoggard straight to White at point.
Eventually, the winning runs came in the 31st over and inevitably it was O’Brien who had the last word when he hammered Henderson for six over midwicket.

Shaun Tait has been forced to pull out of his Twenty20 deal with Surrey after suffering another elbow injury during the IPL with Rajasthan Royals

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2011Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, has been forced to pull out of his Twenty20 deal with Surrey after suffering another elbow injury during the IPL with Rajasthan Royals.Tait was due to be Surrey’s second overseas player alongside Yasir Arafat for the Friends Life t20 which starts next month but the club will now search for a replacement recruit.”On behalf of Surrey I would like to thank Shaun Tait for the integrity he has shown in personally contacting us about his current situation,” Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, said. “A player having concerns about his ability to physically withstand a competition is never a good starting point, particularly with an overseas player.”We will now take the chance to assess our other options for filling this role and we are confident we will have a replacement on board before we start the competition.”Tait now only plays Twenty20 cricket due to a string of injuries that have meant he’s unable to stand the strains of first-class or even 50-over matches. He was part of Australia’s World Cup squad but announced his retirement from ODIs after the tournament.

Theo Doropoulos, the former Western Australia allrounder, has emerged as the big winner early in Darren Berry’s tenure at South Australia after earning a state contract with the Redbacks

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-2011Theo Doropoulos, the former Western Australia allrounder, has emerged as the big winner early in Darren Berry’s tenure at South Australia after earning a state contract with the Redbacks. Doropoulos, fellow allrounder Chadd Sayers and the offspinner Nathan Lyon were among the additions to South Australia’s contract list, while last year’s imports Rob Cassell and Tim Lang have been axed.There was also no room for the fast bowler Chris Duval, who didn’t have his contract renewed, while Graham Manou and Ben Edmondson were also gone from the list after they retired following the 2010-11 season. The fast bowler Shaun Tait will not have a state contract either, with his retirement from first-class and 50-over cricket meaning he can focus solely on the Big Bash League.The inclusion of Doropoulos, 26, was a surprise after Berry said last month that he was keen to work mainly with the talent pool already in South Australia during his first season at the helm. But Berry said the decision to import Doropoulos, who was a fringe player with the Warriors before heading to Melbourne last summer, was in line with his view that men who star in grade cricket should be rewarded.”He adds balance to our squad,” Berry said of Doropoulos. “He is a batting allrounder and Chadd Sayers comes in as a bowling allrounder. Chadd Sayers was the Bradman medallist [in Adelaide’s grade cricket] with outstanding performances and Theo Doropoulos was the Ryder medallist in Melbourne, by the length of the Flemington straight. You know my beliefs in the grade system, [and they] have dominated the grade system and deserve an opportunity.”[Doropoulos] can bat anywhere from four, five-six is probably his strong area, and he bowls more than handy medium pace. It just gives us some depth and balance. If you look at our squad, we’ve got an outstanding allrounder there already in Daniel Christian, but not too many other genuine allrounders.”Sayers, 23, has been a strong performer in Adelaide’s club cricket for several seasons and made his first-class debut late last season. The inclusion of Lyon was no surprise, after he starred in the Big Bash last summer and earned an Australia A call-up for the tour of Zimbabwe; he took four wickets in the opening match against the hosts in Harare on Wednesday.The Redbacks have also upgraded the fast bowlers Kane Richardson and Michael Delaney from the rookie list to full contracts. Four new rookies have been added to the squad: Joe Mennie, a fast bowler who has moved from New South Wales, the batsmen Ben Dougall and Tom Thornton, and the fast man Elliot Opie.South Australia squad Cullen Bailey, Aiden Blizzard, Cameron Borgas, Daniel Christian, Tom Cooper, Michael Delaney, Theo Doropoulos, Callum Ferguson (Cricket Australia contract), Peter George, Jake Haberfield, Daniel Harris, Michael Klinger, Tim Ludeman, Nathan Lyon, Aaron O’Brien, Gary Putland, Kane Richardson, Chadd Sayers, James Smith.Rookies Ben Dougall, Joe Mennie, Elliot Opie, Tom Thornton.

Iain O’Brien, the New Zealand seamer, has joined a growing list of cricketers who have admitted to suffering from depression

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2011Iain O’Brien, the New Zealand seamer, has joined a growing list of cricketers who have admitted to suffering from depression. O’Brien chose his 35th birthday to tell the how depression has plagued him his entire career. He said he had hidden the illness, despite being aware of it, until earlier this year, when listening to a BBC radio programme hosted by former England captain Michael Vaughan, dealing with the topic of depression in cricket, convinced him to seek help.”Listening to that show was when I realised that it was probably time to go and get it sorted,” he said. “How have I got through to now without doing anything about it? It’s different for everyone. But I think I bullied myself into doing things and trying to live ‘normally’.”O’Brien, who has also maintained a popular cricket blog through most of his career, said he first suspected he suffered from depression when he was in university but chose not to tell his team-mates about it, when he later experienced lows while playing for New Zealand. The 2007 tour of South Africa, when he had been recalled to the national side after two years, O’Brien said, was a particularly bad time.”I’d just got back into the Test team after two-and-a-half years out of the mix, but for the first two weeks of our tour to South Africa, I didn’t really leave my room. I was just too scared. I went and played cricket, went to training and did a bit of shopping. But most nights I’d eat by myself and order room service.”The rest of the time I’d either hang out in my room or sit by the pool. Wrapped up in it is how you value and see yourself. I didn’t feel as though the guys I was on tour with were equals by any means. I didn’t want to bother them so I looked after myself. That’s still how I deal with it sometimes even now. If I’m having a few bad days, I’ll try to get away from people. I can still go and play cricket and have good days on the park, but the rest of it can be quite hard work.”I probably should have piped up about it earlier on, just around the team and that sort of thing. But it’s not easy an easy thing to talk about.”Earlier this year, England’s Michael Yardy pulled out of the World Cup because of depression, once again bringing the issue into focus. O’Brien said he was not sure whether it was the nature of cricket that made players depressed or whether it was just that the sport attracted people who were prone to having psychological issues.”Go back to the very start and you have to ask the question: is it cricket that acts as a catalyst for mental illnesses or is it the people who are drawn to it? I’m serious here because the sport does kick your arse very quickly. You can have a great day and then be a nobody the next. If you went around the dressing room, you could pick someone who was suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, you could pick someone with Asperger’s Syndrome and then there’s those affected by depression. There would be a small minority who would actually be quite normal.”O’Brien’s career has meandered since he retired from international cricket in 2009. He moved to England to live with his British wife, and played for Middlesex in 2010. However, in 2011 he was denied classification as a domestic player in England, causing him to lose his county contract. In June, he decided to move back to Wellington to play domestic cricket in New Zealand, and is hoping to make a comeback to the national team.He is determined not to let his issues with depression get in the way of his future, and wants to deal with the problem before it gets worse. “A couple of cricketers over here, once they’d finished playing county cricket, didn’t know what to do with themselves so they committed suicide. I don’t want to be one of those statistics. I don’t want this to fester away either. I’ve never been quite that low but I’ve certainly been on the way to being that low. I don’t want to deal with that. I don’t want my wife and my daughter to deal with me like that.”

Time for Zimbabwe to build on gains and Bangladesh to effect change, say coaches

Mohammad Isam in Bulawayo21-Aug-2011The Bulawayo defeats were not the finale that Alan Butcher and Brendan Taylor would have wanted to mark Zimbabwe’s second-coming to international cricket, though the overall 3-2 victory no doubt pleased both players and fans. Zimbabwe may have secured the series even before the teams made the five-hour trip south from Harare, but the two losses at the Queens Sports Club would have stung.While the biggest crowd of the series built up through the morning, Shakib Al Hasan was busy building a competitive total for Bangladesh. Naturally, there was some discontent later in the day as the home side was rolled over for 160.No, Zimbabwe weren’t complacent, coach Butcher made clear up front. “We weren’t on holiday,” he said. “Bangladesh came back and played well in the third match in Harare. We knew from playing against them in the past that they had more to offer than they showed in the first two games.”Man-of-the-Series Brian Vitori’s absence due to injury, Butcher said, made quite a difference. “Brian Vitori bowled magnificently in the first two games and tore their batting apart. He wasn’t very successful in the third game and missed the last two with a niggle.”Butcher also said Bangladesh may have underestimated the hosts early on in the series. “They may have been complacent, thinking they would roll us over and then before they knew it, they lost the series. I am disappointed to lose the last two games [though], it has taken a bit of the gloss off.”With Zimbabwe set to host Pakistan for one Test, three ODIs and two Twenty20s in September, Butcher said the side needed to look at what’s worked for them in this series and use that knowledge to improve further. “There are still things we need to work on to keep moving forward. We played as a collective unit. There have been a few outstanding performances, of course Brian Vitori and the experienced players contributing in most games.”Stuart Law, Bangladesh’s newly-appointed coach, said it was time to review the way things worked in Bangladesh cricket. “I understand Bangladesh are very passionate about their cricket. They do things differently and I think sometimes it might not be to the benefit of the cricket team,” he said. “What’s happened over the years obviously hasn’t worked, because Bangladesh hasn’t lifted off the bottom [of the rankings].”I know I’m going to upset a lot of people when I mention these things, but if we really think hard about it, a lot of things have got to change. Not just from the players’ side, but from all walks of life relating to Bangladesh cricket. It’s not a negative or harsh thing to try something different to make the boys better and start climbing that ladder.”