Tag Futebol

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim is confident that his team can beat South Africa in Mirpur following the hosts’ impressive performance in the Chittagong Test.South Africa have never lost a Test match or series to Bangladesh in the sub-continent since 2006. It is a record that South Africa would not like to taint but Bangladesh have given them food for thought after dominating the visitors for much of the first Test, which had the last two days washed out by rain.Still, the gulf of class between the two sides is immense, and not just in their ICC Test rankings, where they are separated by eight places. Tests between Bangladesh and South Africa have mostly been one-sided, but Mushfiqur believes times have changed, and that Bangladesh have a big opportunity to reverse the tables.”We have to play good cricket over five days,” Mushfiqur said. “We cannot win on the first day. This is a five-day game. This is a big challenge and also an opportunity. We are playing against the No. 1 team in the world so it is an opportunity. It will be a huge deal to beat them.”We played with dominance in each sense of the first Test. So from that sense, the target is to play well. Our bowling unit has the ability to take their 20 wickets and you know what a good result will be – Bangladesh winning by a 1-0 margin.”Mushfiqur said bowling South Africa out for 248 runs was a big boost to their bowlers, and he is hopeful that his team will stick to a performance which is similar to their current form.”It is possible, definitely. But the truth is, we are not very consistent in Tests. But considering current form, Bangladesh are doing quite well in both Tests and ODIs. From this we are getting a lot of confidence. The bowlers now believe that if they are bowling properly, even a team like South Africa can be bowled out for a low total.”Mushfiqur, though, is still wary of South Africa’s threat in their preparation and how they will go about their business on the field. “This confidence runs throughout the Bangladesh team and I hope we see the influence of this confidence in the next match. We have to play our best cricket in Dhaka since this is the last match.”South Africa know how to play in this situation. They are the No. 1 Test team. Their bowling usually goes to plan. If we can apply ourselves well, the result could go our way. Even the series,” he said.Despite Bangladesh’s success over the last two months, Mushfiqur has not had a great time on the field as a batsman. His last Test fifty was back in October, against Zimbabwe in Dhaka, and he has been without a 50-plus score for 10 innings.”Every batsman and bowler has a personal target, which is to have the most contribution for the team. I think the last few Tests have not gone like I had wanted. Definitely it is quite disappointing for me. But my team is doing well so in a way this is relief for me. I hope to give 100% for the team and I want to contribute in a big way.”Mushfiqur also confirmed he will not be keeping wickets for the third match in a row as his ring finger, which he injured in April during the first Test against Pakistan, had not healed fully. He, however, quickly quashed suggestions that he will quit the gloves completely, saying he enjoyed wicketkeeping more than batting.”For the time being, I am not keeping in tomorrow’s match,” Mushfiqur said. “I will try to make a return to keeping. My primary job is to keep wickets but my finger isn’t 100% healed. I hope to recover quickly. I hope to do both my jobs properly.”Can anyone leave everything so easily? There’s no question about it as far as I am concerned. It will be a different issue if it is a matter of team combination. I enjoy keeping more than batting. It is not something I want to leave.”

ScorecardKenya cruised to an eight-wicket win in the opening one-day international against Bermuda in Nairobi. Peter Ongondo led the way with the ball as his three wickets knocked the stuffing out of Bermuda’s weak batting line-up then Alex Obanda, the impressive 19-year-old, made short work of the target.However, anything less than this emphatic result would have been a disappointment for Kenya against a Bermuda side which is struggling to justify its status as a leading Associate. On Tuesday they lost to Uganda by 43 runs and the top-order woes, which had them on 18 for 5, returned again in this match after they’d been put in.Ongondo began the rout with his seventh ball when Steve Outerbridge edged a rising delivery to second slip and thereafter Bermuda were unable to cope. Irvine Romaine chased a wide one and edged to the keeper and when David Hemp drove a half volley into the covers they were 51 for 5 and sinking rapidly.Some respectability was ensured with a sixth-wicket stand of 61 between Lionel Cann and Janeiro Tucker as Cann crunched 52 off 32 balls before missing a drive at Jimmy Kamande. Bermuda’s lower order showed more fight than their earlier colleagues with Rodney Trott (22) and Malachi Jones (21) adding 35 for the ninth wicket as the total edged to 174.Kenya, though, were barely troubled in the run-chase despite David Obuya’s golden duck when he padded up to Kevin Hurdle. Maurice Ouma eased along at a run a ball, adding 105 with Obanda who again showed his range of strokes. Captain Steve Tikolo dominated the unbroken third-wicket stand of 70 as he and Obanda completed a professional display with more than 21 overs to spare.

Scorecard
Michael Di Venuto has steered Tasmania to a comfortable victory over South Australia after the Redbacks posted a tame 8 for 185 from their 50 overs. The Tigers were in control all day and reached the target with only two wickets down in the 40th over thanks largely to Di Venuto’s 97.He hit 12 fours and one six in his 103-ball innings but fell to the part-time medium pace of Cameron Borgas with 13 runs still required. Dane Anderson helped get the Tigers across the line with 40 not out after Tim Paine made 36 in a 107-run opening stand with Di Venuto.South Australia were unable to build any partnerships of substance as the Tasmania bowlers made scoring very difficult. Luke Butterworth set the tone for the Tigers and claimed three of the most important wickets. Butterworth had Matthew Elliott caught and bowled for 32, Graham Manou caught for 15 and Darren Lehmann caught behind for 27, to finish with his best one-day figures of 3 for 32.Borgas and Dan Cullen each made an unbeaten 27 as they put together South Australia’s most productive partnership of 42 but the Tigers had already done enough to put themselves on top. The win gave Tasmania a vital bonus point as they earned their third win from six one-day matches this season. South Australia remain on the bottom of the table with only one win from their first three games.

With the Indian board still dilly-dallying over telecast rights for cricket played in India over the next four years, Nimbus Communications Ltd, a noted production house, has come forward with an interim solution and offered to produce and market the forthcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka and South Africa.The marketing committee of the board, which met in Mumbai on October 16, couldn’t come to a final decision regarding awarding of rights as a few “legal issues” were still pending. Harish Thawani, the chief executive producer of Nimbus, confirmed this while speaking to : “Our board of directors met recently to discuss the issue and we all felt the matter should not be allowed to drag unnecessarily.” Nimbus, who have earlier been part of big events like the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, recently produced the Challenger Series, India’s premier domestic one-day competition, which was televised by Zee Sports.It is reliably learnt that Nimbus have offered an amount “much higher” than the other channels and that Rs 25million (US$558,000) was a fair estimate. The marketing committee of the board, according to sources, discussed the issue at their meeting yesterday.Thawani added that if the board allows them to produce the series – an unlikely prospect since Nimbus haven’t bid for the television rights – they would look for TV channels to come forward and support them. “We don’t want any legal hassles,” he said, “If at all we are permitted by the BCCI to produce the series, we want the television channels to [bidders] to come forward to support the cause.”

Craig McMillan has been named in the New Zealand team to play the first Test against Australia at Brisbane on Thursday. Hamish Marshall, who scored a half-century against Bangladesh recently, missed out. Also out of the XI was James Franklin, who was laid low by a groin strain.”There were a couple of tough ones, mostly based around balance, the sort of strategy we want to take into the game, and experience,” said John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach. “Craig McMillan’s selection gives us greater experience and someone who is battle hardened for a Test match of such magnitude. Hamish had just one Test innings in Bangladesh and, while he scored 50, was a bit out of touch in the one-day series. But what it really came down to was the small mental things – the fact that Craig has been there and done that. And the added bonus of a few overs may help.”Bracewell also expressed disappointment at losing Franklin, and explained that the need for swing influenced selection. “We want to have at least one swing bowler in the match as Brisbane is one of the few places in Australia where you get the opportunity to swing the ball. It will be about taking the small windows the new ball gives us – the opportunity to pick up a couple of wickets with a swinging ball against a team that goes hard at the bowling.”Bracewell expected conditions to suit the quicker bowlers. “We are expecting the ball to swing and after our initial look at the wicket it looks dry and is already showing cracks along the length of the pitch which indicates that it might take turn towards the end of the match. The ground staff have rolled a lot of grass clippings into the wicket trying to keep the moisture levels up.”New Zealand 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Mark Richardson, 3 Mathew Sinclair, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Craig McMillan, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Brendon McCullum (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Chris Martin

The England & Wales Cricket Board is trying to persuade Australia to play three ODIs in England next summer as it attempts to recoup the financial losses stemming from the decision to boycott Zimbabwe during the World Cup.The ECB is facing a shortfall of around £2.5million as a result of the stay-away, and three matches against the Aussies could generate up to £1million. The aim would be to play them ahead of the ICC Champions’ Trophy, which is being held in England in September 2004, and the hope is that Australia will see them as a good way of warming up for that tournament, which will involve all the Test-playing nations.While the accountants will be delighted with the plan, England’s cricketers might be less enthusiastic. They are already due to play seven Tests and a ten-match triangular series against New Zealand and West Indies, as well as the ICC Champions’ Trophy. Another three games crammed in to the schedule will place further strain on them at a time when the burdens of nonstop cricket are a major concern among players.The other question is whether the public will continue to flock to matches, or whether the sheer quantity of games will lead to a decline in interest. The appetite for cricket isn’t infinite, and the ECB has a delicate balancing act to perform.

Ajit Agarkar blasted India to an unlikely three-wicket victory over SouthAfrica A at Willowmoore Park in Benoni last night, hauling the tourists outof deep trouble with uninhibited display of clean hitting.Agarkar, in harness with Yuvraj Singh, carried the attack to the SouthAfricans after the Indians had stumbled and scratched their way to 156 forsix in the 37th over in reply to the home team’s total of 241 for six.The cause seemed all but lost when Agarkar joined Yuvraj, but the pair upsetthe South African rhythm and with HD Ackerman finding himself a bowler shortat one point, India capitalised. In the end, they won with five balls tospare.Less than an hour before, however, victory had looked only a remotepossibility for the Indians. Captain for the night Rahul Dravid and JacobMartin had put together 91 for the third wicket, but when Martin went for54, splendidly run out by Boeta Dippenaar’s direct hit, the innings startedto fall apart.Just a few overs previously Dippenaar had made a dreadful hash of a simplecatch to give Dravid a life on 31, but Dravid failed to take full advantageof this reprieve, hoiking wildly across the line against Roger Telemachus tobe bowled for 35.Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Deep Dasgupta came and went quickly and themomentum appeared to have drained away from the Indians, but Agarkar andYuvraj clearly had different ideas. Together they crunched 78 off just 69deliveries and although Agarkar fell for 49 off 43 balls, caught in the deepin the penultimate over, he had already done enough to win the match forIndia.The turning point, perhaps, came when Ackerman turned to Martin vanJaarsveldt’s occasional offspinners as he tried to protect Jon Kent who hadtaken punishment during his first six over spell. The ploy was hardly anunqualified success, Agarkar and Yuvraj hammered 20 off Van Jaarsfeld’s twoovers and the tide of the game had turned.Yuvraj hit the winning runs off the first ball of the final over to endunbeaten on 46 and the end might have come even earlier, but for a curiousincident. In Charl Langeveldt’s last over, Yuvraj crashed a straight driveback down the wicket at the bowler. The ball glanced off the bowler’s headand had been hit with such force that it carried on down to the boundaryropes.The umpires, however, had already signalled dead ball on the grounds thatthey believed Langeveldt might have been seriously hurt and the runs did notcount. Fortunately, he was able to walk off the field with an ice pack heldto his head and a rueful grin on his face.Earlier, the SA A innings had been built around a fine 117-run partnershipfor fourth wicket between Van Jaarsveld and Gerald Dros. The home side hadbeen given a useful start by Dippenaar and Jacques Rudolph who put on 62 forthe first wicket, but with Ajit Agarkar claiming the wickets of Dippenaar(34) and Ackerman (1) and Anil Kumble getting rid of Rudolph for 25, the Ateam were suddenly 75 for three after 19 overs.Van Jaarsveld and Dros, however, put the castle back together again, playingcalmly, picking up the ones and twos and taking advantage of shoddy Indianground fielding. Together they took the score along to 192 with seven oversremaining before Van Jaarsveld picked out Dravid at midwicket off HarvinderSingh to depart for 69.Dros picked up the pace in the closing overs, picking up Agarkar sweetlyover square leg for six and benifiting from a life on 80 when SS Das put himdown at deep backward square. He eventually went at the start of the lastover of the innings, but with the score eventually sneaking into the 240s,India would have known they had been set no simple task.The pick of the bowlers, by a distance, was the legspinner Anil Kumble,whose comeback after an absence of nearly a year because of injury continuesapace. Kumble’s first spell of seven overs yielded only five runs forRudolph’s wicket and he finished the innings with figures of 10-4-15-1. Itwas a masterly demonstration of control and economy and it augurs well forhis tour. He, and his fellow bowlers no doubt, might all appreciate a littlemore assistance from the fielders.

The first day of the four-day Supersport Series match between Boland and theHighveld Strikers in Paarl was washed out due to heavy rain.Play is scheduled to resume earlier on Saturday, but it is unlikely that itwill happen as the outfield was heavily soaked by thunderstorms in the earlyhours of the morning and persistent rain throughout the day.The suspension of play is to the detriment of the Strikers, the defendingchampions in the competition. They have won only one match in their fouroutings this season and require a win to progress in the tournament.Boland have only played once this season and scored a comfortable winagainst Free State at the same venue. The inclement weather is of far lessconcern to them than their opponents.The previous match against Free State was wrapped up within three days and it ispossible that this one could go the same way.With the atmospheric conditions and a pitch that will be lively and moist, winning the toss may prove to be vital.Boland have selected an all-seam attack, led by South Africa A player CharlLangeveldt and new Warwickshire signing Neil Carter.Highveld are a mixed bag and have included the spin of Clive Eksteen, sothey will possibly be looking bowl first and get the best out of the pitch.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has offered central contracts to 33 players, with top-grade cricketers being offered a whopping Rs 60 lakhs. The retainership for various categories was hiked and the BCCI announced that it would offer contracts to a record number of players. All top players have received A-grade contracts, while an extra category, the D-grade, has been created to include promising cricketers.The A-grade contract, which comes with a retainer of Rs 60 lakh, was offered to Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. Of this lot, Zaheer is the biggest gainer as he was on a C-grade contract last year.Grade B comes with a retainer of Rs 40 lakh, Grade C 25 lakh and finally grade D Rs 15 lakh. In the final category the BCCI has included people like Subramaniam Badrinath and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have done well for India A but not yet made it to higher honours.Any player from outside this list who played for India would automatically fall into the D grade, and when a player from the D grade notches up five Tests or 15 ODIs in the year he would automatically be upgraded to the C category.Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors was part of the gradation committee that decided on which player would get what contract, along with Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, and Niranjan Shah, the secretary. Soon after the contracts were announced Vengsarkar said, “This is very good for the players. They are being rewarded for their performances. This will create a wider pool of players.”Full listGrade A
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer KhanGrade B
VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer, S Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthik, RP Singh, Virender Sehwag.Grade C
Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Munaf Patel, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina.Grade D
Rohit Sharma, Joginder Sharma, Manoj Tiwari, Ishant Sharma, Ranadeb Bose, Mohammad Kaif, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Aakash Chopra, Yusuf Pathan.

The Indian board (BCCI) has given its players the go-ahead to give a percentage of their prize money to the Federation of International Cricketers (FICA) after Rahul Dravid reportedly wrote to the board last week seeking its permission to do the same.”We have told the ICC that we will distribute the entire prize money among the players,” Prof Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s Chief Administrative Officer, told the . “After that, it is up to the players to do as they wish with that money. All we are concerned about is that we cannot transfer the money to FICA on players’ behalf.”Shetty said that the board would not act as an intermediary since it was not affiliated to the FICA. “The players will have to do it themselves,” he said. “We have our players’ association which tackles players’ issues. So I am not sure whether this initiative will really take the players’ movement forward.”