A gallant unbeaten 91 by Ahmed Quadri helped Hyderabad to salvage threepoints from their South Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match against TamilNadu at the Gymkhana ground in Hyderabad on Monday.In arrears by 168 runs on the first innings, Hyderabad were in dangerof losing when they were five down for 77, despite a second wicketpartnership of 69 runs between Shashang Nag (37) and Abhinav Kumar(28). It was at this critical juncture that Qadri entered. First withAT Rayudu (13) he added 39 runs for the sixth wicket. This wasfollowed by a seventh wicket stand of 41 runs with Varun (11). Finallyafter eight wickets had gone for 167 runs, Qadri and Nadeemuddin (9)shared an unbroken ninth wicket association of 43 runs off just 6.2overs to steer Hyderabad to safety. P Satish, who had caused themiddle order collapse, was the most successful bowler with four for73. Qadri faced 114 balls and hit 14 fours in his match saving knockas Hyderabad ended at 210 for eight.Earlier, Tamil Nadu resuming at 313 for six, declared at 384 foreight. Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan (36) and G Vignesh (59) added 88 runsfor the seventh wicket off 24.4 overs. Vignesh faced 84 balls and hitten fours and a six. Tamil Nadu got five points from the match. TamilNadu finished their engagements with 18 points and Hyderabad with 25points.
The idea of reverting the County Championship to a three-day format with 120-over days, as proposed by Jack Simmons, has received a lukewarm response from three chief executives contacted by Cricinfo. The consensus from them is that four-day cricket is working by providing a solid platform for young players to develop the skills needed for the international level and, if space is needed in the season, a one-day tournament needs to give away.Simmons, the former Lancashire chairman and current chairman of the ECB cricket committee, is proposing the change as a way of creating more run in the calendar for an expanded Twenty20 tournament. But the feeling from around the counties is that it would be a backward step for the game.”There are all sorts of things being discussed at the moment but from a personal point of view, and I’m not speaking for the club, three-day cricket brought a lot more contrived finishes and declaration bowling which I don’t think is what we want for the game,” said Tom Sears, the Derbyshire chief executive. “I don’t think it’s any coincidence that since we have gone to four-day cricket our young players – the likes of Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar – are equipping themselves at the top level far earlier.”Sears admits that it’s a tough job trying to create a fixture list that serves the best cricketing and commercial interests, but the major issue he sees is the prospect of 120-over days. “It’s a balancing act, from a commercial point of view about what is viable and also creating the best environment for our players to flourish,” he said. “And for 120 overs there would have to be a massive change in the over-rates for that to happen.”Gus Mackay, chief executive of defending county champions Sussex, says he hasn’t seen any documents relating to a move back to three-day cricket, but is of a similar view to Sears. “I haven’t seen any papers so can’t really comment, but what I would say is that four-day cricket is closest thing you will get to Tests,” he said. “It’s the breeding ground for the next generation of players. Two-divisional cricket is thriving, 120 overs would be a lot for a day, and I think if you want to create a window you need to look at some of the other competitions.”Instead of touching the Championship, the more favoured idea appears to be a change to the one-day structure of the domestic game. Currently there are three tournaments – the Friends Provident Trophy (50 overs), Pro40 and Twenty20 Cup – with the Pro40 not a favourite among players who don’t see its worth when 40-over matches aren’t played anywhere else.”I would do everything I could to preserve four-day cricket, I’m very happy with the current structure,” said Mark Newton, the Worcestershire chief executive. “It’s the other tournaments that need to be looked at, but in doing so we mustn’t alter the game too much. Twenty20 has been popular because it retains the basics of cricket.””It’s the first I have heard of it [the idea of three-day cricket], but my initial view would be that it would be a backward step,” he added. “I can see some merit in the idea in terms of creating more space, but the aim has always to be to replicate Test cricket. You hear the older former players saying it used to 20 overs an hour, but the game has changed and I’m not sure the players would want it either.”There was a note of support, however, from Essex chairman Nigel Hilliard even though he’d not heard anything about the proposal. “It’s news to us at Essex – I’ve not had it mentioned to me by anyone on any ECB board. Having said that, three-day cricket has always been something we’ve been in favour of at Essex.”There are all sorts of ideas being mooted at the moment but it won’t be until May 29th – the next ECB board meeting – that we will come together to discuss the future of the game in this country.”
The change to the shorter game has sparked such a sudden transformation on the field as to make the West Indies unrecognisable as the indisciplined team beaten 3-0 in the preceding Test series.It is an extreme makeover in the two Twenty20 internationals at The Oval and the first ODI at Lord’s that all but eradicated missed catches, fumbled errors, wayward throwing, excessive no-balls and general carelessness but it has been counter-balanced by confused selection and the customary inability to exploit strong positions.The energy and enthusiasm were in conspicuous contrast to the lacklustre embarrassment of the four Tests. Animated aggression replaced passive resignation. Instead of mediocrity there was excellence.There was a dynamism to Chris Gayle that contradicted his image as the game’s Mr Cool, a nomination made in the official series magazine by 13 members of the team, including himself, as well three Englishmen and so precisely verified in the Tests.Perhaps it had something to do with his contentious elevation to the captaincy. Whatever, this is Chris Gayle, Mr Hot, not Chris Gayle Mr Cool.Marlon Samuels even moved more like an athlete than a fashion model, soiling his trousers with diving saves and leaping like a flying fish to snare a brilliant catch at point.In the 90 overs of the first three matches, there were two no-balls – one by Dwayne Smith and the other a bouncer from Fidel Edwards judged on height. In the four Tests, there were 74. The long hops and half-volleys that proliferated from the main bowlers in the Tests were all but gone.If it took Daren Powell one apathetic match to catch the mood, he opened with a spell in the second as fast and as threatening as any for the season.That is until Edwards, in his first appearance, turned up the heat in Sunday’s ODI at Lord’s with his 5 for 45. According to Derek Pringle, the former England Test allrounder, writing in , his second spell, in which he blasted out four wickets, “comprised a blistering mix of bouncers and reverse swing with pace and aggression that were reminiscent of the late Malcolm Marshall in his pomp”.This was high praise but it was not misplaced. It was, indeed, awesome – and the only no-ball was from one of those bouncers.Factor in Ravi Rampaul’s impressive return to international cricket after the injuries that have kept him out for almost three years and it is clear the three matches have yielded a lot of “positives”, to use the favourite word of contemporary captains and coaches.What was not so positive were the decisions of, presumably, captain Gayle and coach David Moore over the batting order in the second Twenty20 and the Lord’s ODI.The absence, through injury, of Devon Smith and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were decisive setbacks in the former.Lendl Simmons and Austin Richards, two fledglings, one with a handful of ODIs, the other on international debut, were the only options to take their place in the XI – but surely not so literally that Simmons had to open and Richards to follow at No.3.They were both clearly perplexed by the peculiar requirements of this novel form of the game and served only to stall the start. Surely they should have been separated with Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels at Nos.3 and 4.
Yet when Chanderpaul, the best batsman and the one in the best form (not always necessarily the same), returned to the XI on Sunday, he was placed at No.5 with Runako Morton at No.3.The need for Chanderpaul’s approach and experience should have been clear from England’s approach throughout their 50 overs.The ball moved off a Lord’s pitch that had been under covers throughout the previous day and batting required just the type of graft of which Chanderpaul is so adept, and Morton and Samuels, who went above him, are not.A couple of West Indians on the opposite side of the ground to the West Indies’ team room in the pavilion immediately and accurately nominated a par score. Sir Viv Richards put it at 230, Michael Holding at 240. It seemed Gayle and Moore saw it much higher.By the time Chanderpaul got in, the innings was already in shambles with Gayle, Morton, and Samuels gone for 12 and Devon Smith thoughtlessly ran himself out one run later.The match was already over and there was nothing that Chanderpaul could do about it, inspite of another innings that once again confirmed the qualities that were so evident in the Tests.It also established that, in this team, he must bat higher – as he should have in the Tests as well.
Ashwell Prince, the South African captain, reckons that they have a competitive score to put Sri Lanka under pressure after being dismissed for 361 at the end of the first day of the second Test in Colombo.”We’ve got something competitive and it’s still a long way to go,” Prince told reporters after the day’s play. “The guys know it’s going to be tough. The outfield is quick and the scoring will be quick. It’s going to be important for us to start well with the new ball.”Prince scored 86 and added 161 for the fifth wicket with AB de Villiers, who scored 95. The pair managed to tackle Muttiah Muralitharan, who took his 55th five-wicket haul, by playing attacking cricket. “If you just stand in the crease and get yourself bogged down, it allows Murali to put more fielders around and he puts you under pressure,” said Prince. “It was part of our game plan to put that pressure back onto him and he has bowled a few looser balls than at the start. But he is still dangerous and still picks up wickets. The more we see of him the more we are playing him better.”The way AB [de Villiers] plays he puts the bowlers under pressure. Him being a fast runner and me, we were able to turn the strike around with intensity. It is something we have to discuss in the dressing-room with other team members. We had a good partnership and it was unfortunate that one of us had to get out.”de Villiers had spoken with confidence of playing Murali aggressively at the start of the series. “I find playing against Murali a good challenge. I feel that I am playing him more comfortably and I am working him around. When he bowls bad balls it goes for four, but he is still one of the best bowlers in the world. He can get you out any time.”South Africa’s 361 was a tremendous improvement from their 169 in the first innings of the previous Test but Tom Moody, Sri Lanka’s coach, was pleased with his team’s performance. “We are very happy with the outcome today. Losing the toss and managing to take ten wickets. It’s a good day for Sri Lanka.”He added that the injury to Dilhara Fernando, who suffered from a stiff thigh, had taken them by surprise. “We weren’t expecting it. But it opened the door for someone else to have an opportunity. Farveez Maharoof who was expected to be left out for Chaminda Vaas got the nod again. It’s a shame to lose a strike bowler who can bowl 90 mph. The positive is that Maharoof is an allrounder and it has given us depth in our batting. It highlights how important it was to take ten wickets in the day without a genuine strike bowler.”
Zimbabwe all-rounder Sean Ervine put up a resounding performance with the bat as he led a resilient Midlands fightback on the second day of their Logan Cup match against Matabeleland at Queens Sports Club on Saturday.Ervine reached his maiden first-class century as Midlands, in reply to Matabeleland’s first innings score of 462, closed on 271 for five off 70 overs. Douglas Marillier also scored a half-century.Matabeleland had earlier added 89 runs to their overnight score with some meaningful contributions from the tail-enders. Travis Friend grabbed his third wicket when he had Mpumelelo Mbangwa caught at silly mid-off by Terrence Duffin for eight runs.Wisdom Siziba and Keith Dabengwa then put 82 for the ninth wicket. Siziba fell three runs short of a half-century when he was dismissed by left-arm spinner Raymond Price, caught by Friend for 47 runs, which came off 97 balls and included five fours. Dabengwa was unbeaten on 28 runs while Donald Campbell ran out last man Jordane Nicolle before he opened his account.Midlands suffered a severe blow in their bid to restrict their opponents when pace bowler Campbell Macmillan pulled out off the attack owing to an injury to his left big toe.Friend was the pick of the visitor’s bowlers with three wickets off his 21 overs, giving away 86 runs in the process. Macmillan and Price took two wickets each, while Ervine and Marillier claimed one each.In reply, Midlands got off to a poor start when their opening partnership of Vusumuzi Sibanda and Duffin produced only 18 runs. Sibanda departed for eight when he was trapped leg before wicket by Mluleki Nkala.Duffin was joined by Marillier and the two put on 92 for the second wicket. The hard-hitting left-handed Duffin played an unusual anchor role and let Marillier go for the runs.Marillier played some beautiful reverse shots and went on to reach his 50 off 58 balls. He seemed on course for a high score before he played straight to Nicolle, who claimed a return catch to send him back to the pavilion for 69 off 78 balls. Nkala took his second wicket when he had Duffin caught by Charles Coventry for 30 runs, which came off 97 balls.Ervine and Dirk Viljoen put on 111 runs for the fourth wicket with Ervine the more aggressive of the two. The 19-year-old Ervine brought up his century off 114 balls with 20 fours. Off-spinner Gavin Ewing took his first wicket when he had Viljoen caught by Mbangwa for 37.Ervine could only add a four and a single to his century before he became the last Midlands wicket of the day to fall, handing Mbangwa his first wicket when he nicked a delivery from the pace bowler to be caught by wicketkeeper Siziba, to leave the field for 105 which came off 117 balls. Friend was unbeaten at the close, while Alester Maregwede was still to open his account.Nkala was the highest wicket-taker for the home side, taking two wickets from 15 overs and giving away 78 runs in the process. Nicolle and Mbangwa claimed one wicket each.
English cricket has endured a tough year, and things might get worse if a report in today’s Times that Vodafone is considering ending its sponsorship when its current deal ends in 2005 is accurate.There are thought to be three reasons behind Vodafone’s thinking. One is that Chris Gent, its high-profile – and cricket-mad – chief executive has now left. The second is that the company is now far more of a global player, and that raises questions about the relevance of cricket to its profile. The third is that the company’s board are believed to be concerned about the effect that the controversy surrounding England’s tour of Zimbabwe might have on the brand.Although former ECB chief Lord MacLaurin is now chairman of Vodafone, he would not be responsible for making a decision of this kind. Gent’s successor, Arun Sarin, has, the Times claims, privately questioned the sponsorship.Last September, MacLaurin hinted that the association might be thrown into doubt because of the ongoing Zimbabwe issue. “We don’t want to support a side that goes and plays in a country with the sort of regime that is reviled not just by this company but by many in the country,” he said. “To do so would be abhorrent and would be good for the brand image neither of Vodafone nor England cricket.”A spokesman for the ECB said: “We have an excellent relationship with Vodafone as does the England team and to date it has been a very productive business partnership for both sides. Discussions about renewal are not scheduled until the autumn and we will continue to work closely with Vodafone to help maximize exposure of their brand.”And Vodafone denied that the sponsorship was being reviewed. “We are not having any sort of discussion with the ECB regarding our sponsorship,” a spokeswoman explained. “It is incorrect and misleading to speculate on the likelihood or otherwise of our sponsorship of English cricket continuing. This has been a very successful sponsorship and we look forward to a continuing beneficial and positive relationship in the future.”
Glamorgan ended another rain-affected day on 288-3, thanks to half-centuries by DavidHemp, Mike Powell, and Matthew Maynard, with the latter hitting fifty from just42 balls in yet another glorious exhibition of strokeplay in the evening sunshine.Together with Mike Powell, Maynard added 129 in just 21 overs as Glamorgan rapidlyreduced their first innings deficit to 243 runs, and the Welsh county need just 94 runs tomorrowto avoid the follow-on.Heavy morning rain and afternoon drizzle prevented play from starting until 4.30pm,and in the third over of the day, David Hemp reached his half-century with animmaculate cover drive – his 9th boundary. But after sharing a fifty run partnershipwith Mike Powell, Hemp chopped a short delivery from Mullally onto his stumps.Powell reached his half century with a pair of sumptious drives – the first struckfiercely past mid on, and the second punched through the offside. Maynard, aftera watchful start, then launched into Chris Tremlett striking the young bowler for fiveconsecutive boundaries, before contemptuously pulling Tremlett for six high onto the roofof the Sophia Gardens pavilion, as the Hampshire paceman conceeded 44 runs in two overs.Glamorgan supporters will be hoping for fine weather on Saturday morning, and furthermajestic batting from Maynard who currently is in the form of his life.
* Selectors to pick Test squad on August 2The Indian cricket selectors would meet in Mumbai on August 2 to pickthe Test squad for the three Test matches against Sri Lanka fromAugust 14.The executive secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in IndiaSharad Diwadkar, told PTI in Mumbai on Thursday that four to fivechanges are likely from the squad which is playing in the on-goingtriangular series with New Zealand as the third team.The three Test matches would be played at Galle (from August 14 to18), Kandy (from August 22-26) and at the SSC in Colombo (from August29 to September 2).* BCCI’s advisory committee to meet in Mumbai on August 1The Indian Cricket Board’s (BCCI) advisory committee, chaired byformer Indian team skipper Sunil Gavaskar, would meet at the CricketClub of India (CCI) in Mumbai on August 1.BCCI executive secretary, Sharad Diwadkar, told PTI in Mumbai onFriday on Friday that the main agenda would be to discuss the domesticcalendar and the new formats for the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophyfor the new season."The selection committee will meet the following day to pick the Testsquad for the three-match series in Sri Lanka," Diwadkar added.* CBI team in Monaco to probe award of telecast rightsA CBI team has reached Monaco to probe the alleged bungling in theaward of telecast rights of the 1999 World Cup played in England,agency sources said in New Delhi on Thursday. The Deputy InspectorGeneral of the Anti-Corrpution Unit of the CBI SP Singh reachedMonaco, an island located at the south-eastern Mediterranean coast ofFrance, earlier this week to probe the alleged bungling.CBI sources said that the television deal between the InternationalCricket Council, officials of Doordarshan and Worldtel took place inthis island and the sleuths are hopeful of “picking up some threadsabout the deal.”Singh earlier visited London and held extensive discussions with ICC’sAnti-Corruption unit officials in connection with investigation intothe controversial television rights deal for the ICC knock outtournament in Dhaka three years ago.
Saturday the 14th April 2012 won’t be remembered by Cardiff City supporters for their hard fought away victory against a resolute Barnsley side but it will always be remembered as the date a true Cardiff City legend passed away.
Former manager Eddie May passed away in his sleep leaving a massive gap in his family and a hole in the heart of Cardiff City’s recent history.
Edwin Charles May was born on the 19th of May 1943 in Epping Essex and started his footballing career as a defender with Dagenham in 1965. He then moved to Southend United where he scored three goals for them before finally making the move over the bridge to Wrexham where he made 334 appearances and scored some 35 goals. In the eight years spell he spent a summer on loan in the National American Soccer league with the Chicago Sting scoring an impressive 7 goals.
Under his captaincy, Wrexham reached an FA cup semi final and the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. He left in August of 1976 to join arch rivals Swansea City for whom he made 90 appearances, netting 8 goals before retiring from football in 1978.
A spell in coaching followed took him to Saudi Arabia. Kenya, Iceland, Norway and the Midlands! In July 1991 he was appointed manager of Cardiff City; who at the time were languishing in the old division four [which became the third division in 1992 due to the creation on the Premier league while remaining the fourth tier of English football.]
Cardiff supporters were weary of being in the lower leagues and a multiplicity of mangers who just about settled before they were through the door again. May made an immediate impact with City fans, he was a gentleman with a great sense of humour who thanks to spells at Wrexham, Newport County and Swansea City not only understood the Welsh sense of humour but shared it too. He quickly became a favourite and well respected by fans, his players and Cardiff City background staff alike. He was given the nickname “The Ayatollah” – City fans had found their leader and what was even better was that his coaching skills lifted the team into another level winning the Welsh Cup in 1992 and retaining it the following year; 1993 also saw Cardiff City being taken out of Division Three as Champions.
May possessed a silver tongue which enabled him to bring in players of the class of Kevin Ratclife who at the time was a regular in the Everton squad; he also helped to make terrace heroes of unlikely players like Phil Stant.
The crowning moment in the Eddie May term as manager of the Bluebirds came on January 29th 1994 at Ninian Park with the fourth round FA Cup victory over the Premiership’s Manchester City, Cardiff out played their lofty opposition in every department. Gary Thompson and Nathan Blake caused all sorts of problems, Thompson rattling the woodwork twice before Blake scored what’s since been voted the greatest Cardiff City goal ever and its one that should grace any list of greatest ever goals.
Blake received the ball with his back to the goal he turned beating his marker before jinking past two others and chipping goalkeeper Tony Coton high into the corner at the far post. Ninian Park; already at a fever pitch; exploded with the joyous chant of “Bluebirds Bluebirds – Eddie Mays Barmy Army.”
However, a change in ownership brought about May’s sacking in 1995 but his place as a Bluebird legend was secure, it didn’t matter that he had played for arch rivals Swansea City because the man had taken the club and everyone connected to it to his heart and in turn him to theirs. So much so, did May take to the people and way of life that he returned to Cardiff in 2005 to run a bed and breakfast in the town centre.
May remained in Bluebirds hearts and minds, a regular at end of season dinners and The Supporters Trust annual meetings, he became popular even with a generation that had never seen him manage their team.
When Cardiff City relocated to newly built Cardiff City Stadium in 2009 from Ninian Park, May was delighted to take up the invitation to manage one of the teams in the legends game that marked the official opening on Saturday July 4th. May took charge of a Cardiff City side for the last time, the Eddie May all-star 11.
Eddie May was a gentleman of the old school, a giant of a man that on first impression could easily have been perceived as scary. The cockney accent and red face adding to the assumption, but that assumption couldn’t have been further from the truth. May was a man of the people who would take time to purposely go out of his way to talk to City supporters, he would always ask your name, he seemed to have an almost photographic memory because if you bumped into him a few weeks later amazingly, he would know your name and greet you like an old friend. When out socially even during his tentureship of Cardiff he would join groups of fans and buy a round of drinks, he always had a witty quip should anyone dare to heckle him.
Eddie May epitomised the saying Once a Bluebird always a Bluebird and showed It doesn’t matter where you were born it’s a state of mind!
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My thoughts and condolences go out to the family of Eddie May at this terrible time…I would like to thank them for sharing him with us all and to Eddie himself I’d like to say thank you for all the great times Goodnight and God bless Eddie…Fly High Bluebird.
Following discussions with his family on Sunday 15th April and in full accordance with family wishes, an official tribute to Eddie will take place on Saturday April 21st for the visit of Leeds United where members of Eddie’s family will attend the fixture as guests. At that time Cardiff City Stadium will hold a minute’s applause as a mark of respect, along with full notices in the match-programme.
The fast bowler Brett Geeves has been named Tasmania’s Player of the Year while Shaun Marsh picked up the equivalent prize at Western Australia’s awards on Friday night. Geeves, who was presented with the Ricky Ponting Medal in Hobart, was the Man of the Match in the side’s FR Cup final victory and also captured the state’s Twenty20 gong.He led the attack throughout the campaign with 37 first-class wickets, 15 in the one-day tournament and eight in Twenty20. Michael Di Venuto, who signed off on his Australian domestic career with a return on 947 Pura Cup runs, collected the tournament prize while Xavier Doherty and Michael Dighton shared the recognition in the FR Cup. Doherty also left with the Scott Mason Memorial Captain’s Award and Dighton was given the TCA Chairman’s Award.Marsh, the son of the former Australia batsman Geoff, polled 33 votes in Perth, seven more than Steve Magoffin and Justin Langer, to win the Laurie Sawle Medal. Marsh, who batted mostly at No. 3, scored 663 runs at 60.27 in the Pura Cup and topped the state’s run lists in the FR Cup and Twenty20.For the third year in a row Michael Hussey gained the Gold Cup for being Western Australia’s most outstanding representative across all levels of the game. He picked up 41 votes to beat Adam Gilchrist (39) and Brad Hogg (26). The retirees Hogg and Gilchrist were recognised along with Langer, Mathew Inness and Darren Wates for their contributions to the team.Magoffin was handed the Players’ Choice award for his 35 Pura Cup wickets and 14 FR Cup victims while Inness was recognised as the player who upheld the “spirit of the Warriors”. Lauren Ebsary was the women’s winner after her 236 runs and eight wickets in the Women’s National Cricket League.