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International Scottish Open 2009

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The USACA National Championship, scheduled to take place from November 13 to 15, will be contested at both Brian Piccolo Park and Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. According to USACA Vice President of Operations Manaf Mohamed, natural turf wickets at each facility will be utilized to stage the event, with matches taking place simultaneously at the venues on the 13th and 14th. This is encouraging news for the teams participating in the event.

“One of the good things about the tournament really is that of the four teams that are participating, the regional teams, there are I think ten or eleven of the current national players on those teams,” said Mohamed. “Also, there are about four or five of the Under-19 players on those teams also. So they’ll get some good practice, actually some good game practice and good match practice, while the other guys will be doing some camps and training and stuff like that.”

A total of 40 players are on the initial list of probables for selection in the men’s team, with 17 of them coming to Florida not belonging to regional teams playing in the event. In addition to the camps mentioned, Mohamed said that USACA is planning to have four intra-squad Twenty20 games played on the 15th, with the intention to hold all of these games at the Broward facility. This will at least give an opportunity to those 17 to play in matches which they can be evaluated on.

While it was initially unclear whether or not the Under-19 team would get a chance to have a traning camp alongside the senior players before leaving for the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand, Mohamed said that 17 players, including those playing in the national championship, will be coming to Florida to participate in camps.

It’s a sign that selectors are keeping faith in the 14-man group that finished a respectable fifth in the U-19 World Cup Qualifier last month in Canada. The tournament champions, Ireland, suffered their only defeat at the hands of the US team, led by captain Shiva Vashishat and ICC Player of the Tournament Ryan Corns. However, there will be at least one change in the squad as a final group of 15 will be sent to New Zealand.

“The intent is that by the end of that tournament, we would at least have gotten done the U-19 [selection] which should be a no-brainer. We should pretty much have that under control,” said Mohamed. “Then we probably will also have short listed down to 18 or 20 for the seniors. The trick now is going to be able to get the seniors some matches, actual matches to play.”

Mohamed added USACA is hopeful it will be able to arrange some matches for them in January before the team leave at the start of February for Dubai to play in the World Twenty20 Qualifier which starts on February 9.

USA will have group games against Ireland, Scotland and Afghanistan. They will then continue on from Dubai to Nepal for the ICC World Cricket League Division Five taking place from February 20 to 27. In addition to the host team, USA will be there with Fiji, Jersey, Singapore and Bahrain.

Several sources affiliated with the U-19 team said that they are scheduled to play warm-up games against India and Papua New Guinea in Christchurch prior to the start of the Under-19 World Cup. A report that appeared three weeks ago on the Hong Kong Cricket Association web site, but has since been removed, stated that USA’s group matches will be played in Queenstown against Australia, South Africa and Ireland. However, no official announcement has been made yet by the ICC.

Mohamed said that USACA is hoping to fly the team to New Zealand on January 1 so they can get acclimatised to conditions, in addition to giving the team one more chance to train together before the event starts on the 16th.

“So the U-19s will be away for pretty much the entire January and the senior team will be away for the entire February and if a couple of the U-19s make the senior team, then they’ll be away for two months, which is gonna be real tough because as you know, the U-19 kids, a lot of them are going to college,” said Mohamed. “It’s gonna be a tough decision for them to make, some of them to make for two months.”

After two matches in the series, the Indian fast bowlers can breathe easier with the spotlight shifting to their Australian counterparts. If India’s fast men were the weak link going into the series, the death overs have indeed spelt doom for the Australian quicks now.

MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina took 108 in the last 10 overs in Nagpur – Australia’s worst showing since 1999 – and the 82 conceded in the last eight overs in the previous match in Vadodara was their sixth-worst.

The absence of Brett Lee (who didn’t bowl his quota in Vadodara and was injured in Nagpur) and Nathan Bracken has told. More than the figures, it is the manner in which runs have come that has been more incriminating. Fulltosses, leg-side wides, half-volleys, length deliveries, and misfields have all made the job easier for India.

Ricky Ponting was honest in assessing the problems he faces. “Since [Glenn] McGrath has moved on, we have mixed and matched with a lot of different guys over the last few years,” he said, speaking of the struggles in the slog overs. “The last ten overs – 108 off the last ten – is too many to give away. When you have got batsmen at the crease who can strike the ball as well as the Indians can, you only have to be a few centimetres or a few inches off your execution, and you are going to go.”

Since McGrath’s retirement, 18 bowlers have bowled in the last ten overs for Australia, and among those who have managed to put in 20 overs or more, only James Hopes, Lee and Mitchell Johnson have gone at under seven per over. Hopes has given away an impressive 222 off 239 balls bowled in the last ten overs of an innings. Hopes and Lee were out of the equation in Nagpur and Johnson a last-minute inclusion. Ponting made no bones about how much Lee was missed in the current line-up. “He is one of the leading fast bowlers in one-day cricket. His form over the last few weeks for us has been particularly good. To have that kind of strike power up your sleeve is quite nice.”

When India are playing at home with the momentum on their side, even the best of sides has found it hard to stop them. Many a touring side has found the crowds, the conditions, and the confidence of the hosts a bit too much for the opposition to take. Dhoni, who has had more than a few problems with the bowlers himself, empathised with Ponting. “Some of our batsmen who bat at No.s 5 and 6, and Yuvraj [Singh] at 4, they are the best hitters right now in the world, and the subcontinent conditions really favour them,” he said. “I won’t say Australian bowlers are not good enough. They bowled well. When it comes to pressure situation you commit errors, we do that too, some of the best bowling sides have done that.”

With the odds stacked against Australia, it was refreshing to see an aggressive attitude from Ponting and and his bowlers in Nagpur. For the major part of the first 35 overs, Ponting kept the fields up, with mid-on and mid-off in the circle to make singles and doubles harder to come by. He was not waiting for things to happen, he was trying to make them happen. “At every opportunity I brought as many fielders inside the circle as I could to try and put some pressure on,” Ponting said.

Apart from Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, the other batsmen were given a fair share of bouncers by Peter Siddle, Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus. It seemed like it would work, what with Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni both being put in uncomfortable positions as three wickets fell inside the first 15 overs. But the bowlers couldn’t extract anything out of the pitch or air, and once India went into the last 15 overs with six wickets in hand, the inexperience of the bowlers showed.

The good news for both the captains, though, was that the conditions might not help the big hitters in Delhi, if the Champions League Twent20 matches are any indication. Ponting has followed the Champions League matches in Delhi and could be one of the few visiting captains who won’t mind a low and turning pitch.

Indian batsmen Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik have been approached by New South Wales after the latter lost out on Kieron Pollard to South Australia for the Twenty20 Big Bash later this season. New South Wales coach Matthew Mott said he’d been impressed Rohit’s and Karthik’s IPL performances for Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils.

Mott added that they spoke to Adam Gilchrist (Deccan’s captain) and the Delhi camp to get feedback on the players.

“I’ve known Rohit since his Under-19 days,” Mott told Cricinfo. “I was involved with the Australia U-19 team that played a few games with the Indian team then. In my eyes, he is a world-class player. I spoke to Gilchrist who had nothing but good words for Rohit and forwarded my interest to Rohit through Gilly.”

Mott, who was the assistant coach with Kolkata Knight Riders, said that the NSW chief executive Dave Gilbert spoke to Karthik after getting good feedback from his sources in the Delhi team. NSW have a verbal agreement with Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara but feel he might not be available given Sri Lanka’s scheduled tri-nations series against Bangladesh and India coinciding with the Twenty20 tournament.

Karthik said he was excited about the opportunity of play for NSW but stressed that his availability would depend on any existing Indian domestic cricket or international commitments. “I am delighted as it presents a good opportunity to sharpen my skills under different conditions.” The quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic tournament, end on December 27, a day before the start of the Twenty20 Big Bash in Australia (NSW’s first game is on December 30). However, the dates of the two tournaments overlap from then on till the final of each.

The BCCI’s chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said: “As long as an Indian domestic tournament is going on, no player will be allowed to play in another domestic tournament.”

Apart from bureaucratic glitches, there is also the issue of Indian players playing in Australian conditions. Mott, though, said the top players shouldn’t have any problem in adapting. “If you are a top player, you can adapt to all conditions. It will be great for their development as well. Also, the wicket at home (Sydney) here is pretty similar to Indian conditions. It will be slightly slow and have some turn. I see it as a win-win situation for us and them.”

Mott said that Gilbert had spoken directly with Karthik, while they had approached Rohit through Gilchrist. “We will be stepping up our negotiations with both of them so that we settle our team as soon as possible.”

Bangladesh’s spinners struck big blows during two crucial periods – after Zimbabwe had made a sound start, and when they were poised to accelerate in the final overs – to restrict the visitors to 219 in the second ODI in Mirpur. Zimbabwe had reached 96 for 1 when they lost three wickets in the space of seven balls for no addition to the score. Malcolm Waller and Tatenda Taibu put the innings back on track but Abdur Razzak, who finished with 5 for 29, denied them an explosive finish.

Opting to bat on a grassless track at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Zimbabwe were given the perfect start by Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha, who put on 59 for the opening wicket. The seamers were taken apart early on as Masakadza set the tone with a flurry of boundaries off Nazmul Hossain and Dolar Mahmud. While Nazmul was smashed for two fours to third man and square leg, Dolar was carted for three boundaries in the next over.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan was forced to bring himself on as early as the fifth over to try put the brakes. And with more slow options in Naeem Islam and Razzak, the move paid off with the run-rate plunging from 7.25 to 5.3. Naeem provided the first breakthrough, removing the dangerous Masakadza with Bangladesh having taken the bowling Powerplay immediately after 10 overs.

The spinners kept the reins on Zimbabwe in the next passage of play, as the visitors managed just 37 in the next 10 overs. A frustrated Chibhabha was stumped off Mohammad Ashraful for 39 off 40 balls. A double blow followed in the very next over, as Razzak castled Brendan Taylor with his first ball, and had Charles Coventry caught at slip for a duck, four deliveries later.

The responsibility was on Taibu and Stuart Matsikenyeri to revive the visitors, and they put on 34 for the fifth wicket before Ashraful had Matsikenyeri caught behind for 14. New man Waller began cautiously, but two fours off Nazmul Hossain in the 37th over meant a late charge was on the cards. Zimbabwe needed Taibu to stay till the end but Nazmul had him holing out to Raqibul Hasan at deep midwicket with the batting Powerplay yet to be taken.

Waller ended on 40 – hitting four fours and a six off Ashraful – becoming Razzak’s third victim in the 44th over. There was to be no final thrust from the tail, with Shakib and Razzak completing formalities by the 48th over.

Allrounder Justin Kemp has said he is relieved to be back in the official fold with South Africa after his stint with the rebel Indian Cricket League. Kemp, who is now back in contention for Cape Cobras, will play his first match for his domestic franchise in the revamped 40-over competition next Friday, against the Lions at the Wanderers.

Kemp, along with several international and Indian domestic players, severed ties with the ICL after its third season, scheduled earlier this year, could not take place due to the global economic downturn. Kemp admitted that, in hindsight, it was a mistake joining the ICL but the players back then were hopeful the league would be given official status by the ICC and the cricket boards. Kemp was banned from playing domestic cricket in South Africa but was allowed to represent his county Kent.

“It’s lovely to be back. I’m looking forward to playing again,” Kemp told Cape Argus. “It was tough coming home last year and not being able to play.

“It was a mistake to go and play there but we thought things would get sorted out and the rebel league issue would disappear. I was not playing for South Africa at the time and the IPL hadn’t started yet.”

Kemp joined the ICL in 2007 and was part of the successful Hyderabad Heroes unit, which won the inaugural tournament and finished runners-up in the second season. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of the tournament and it’s players, Kemp said he enjoyed his experience.

“It was fantastic in the first season. There was a media blackout and people didn’t see the games,” Kemp said. “There were some really good Indian players. We won the first competition and lost the final of the second one in the third leg of the final.”

Kemp had an impressive 2009 season with Kent, scoring 780 runs at 43.33 in the County Championship and picking up eight wickets. He helped his county gain promotion to the top division and will take a call on returning for the 2010 season.

“I’m probably fitter than I was in my 20s, and I feel I have a lot of miles left in my body. I worked a lot with coach Graham Ford at Kent, and I often bowled first change. I played all the four-day games,” Kemp said. “There is so much scope at the Cobras for guys to kick on. The big challenge is four-day cricket, but there is so much talent in the Cape that, if we get a few things right, we can challenge in that competition.”

Kemp last played for South Africa during the ICC World Twenty20, which just preceded his entry into the ICL.

New South Wales will welcome back two key men, Brad Haddin and Phil Jaques, when the Blues take on Western Australia in an FR Cup match on Sunday. Haddin has been out of action since the end of the Ashes series, during which he picked up a finger injury that required surgery when he returned home to Australia.

While Graham Manou takes the gloves in India after Tim Paine broke a finger in Wednesday’s ODI, Australia’s No. 1 wicketkeeper Haddin will be testing his hands in a lower-pressure environment at North Sydney Oval. Haddin was due to play for the New South Wales Second XI this week, but the match was washed out.

There will also be plenty of interest in the form of Jaques, who suffered severe back problems last summer and returned to the Sheffield Shield side late in the season. He was overlooked for the Champions League Twenty20 squad but has been piling up runs in Sydney’s grade cricket over the past month.

Jaques is one of four potential openers in the 12-man squad, along with Phillip Hughes, David Warner and Simon Katich. The Blues will field a relatively inexperienced attack for their season-opening game, with Stuart Clark set to lead the bowling group, which features two spinners.

Western Australia have recalled the batsman Liam Davis for both the FR Cup game and the Sheffield Shield match between the two teams, starting on Tuesday at the SCG. Western Australia won and lost in the FR Cup and gave up first-innings points to Queensland in their opening Sheffield Shield encounter. The Warriors have named a 13-man squad for the four-day game with the legspinner Josh Mangan added to the outfit.

New South Wales FR Cup squad Phillip Hughes, Phil Jaques, David Warner, Simon Katich (capt), Dominic Thornely, Brad Haddin (wk), Ben Rohrer, Steven Smith, Steve O’Keefe, Stuart Clark, Mitch Starc, Burt Cockley.

Western Australia FR Cup squad Wes Robinson, Luke Towers, Marcus North (capt), David Bandy, Liam Davis, Theo Doropoulos, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ashley Noffke, Jake Fawcett, Brett Dorey, Michael Hogan, Brad Knowles.

Western Australia FR Cup squad Wes Robinson, Luke Towers, Marcus North (capt), David Bandy, Liam Davis, Theo Doropoulos, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ashley Noffke, Steve Magoffin, Josh Mangan, Brett Dorey, Brad Knowles, Michael Hogan.

West Indian fast bowler Daren Powell has been signed by Lancashire on a two-year contract subject to visa and registration.

“Daren is a strike bowler of international quality, who will add strength and depth to our bowling attack,” Lancashire’s cricket director Mike Watkinson said. “Last season, we were exposed when key bowlers sustained lengthy injuries all at the same time. And with Saj (Mahmood) pushing for England honours next season and Jimmy (Anderson) on a central contract, it was important we added experience to our bowling ranks during the winter.”

Peter Moores, the Lancashire coach, said Powell’s genuine pace would “complement our existing bowling unit”. “Next season we will be playing a lot of cricket, even more than this season, so we needed to strengthen our bowling options to ensure we remain not only competitive, but are challenging for silverware.”

Powell, 31, played 37 Tests for West Indies between 2002 and 2009 and represented Hampshire in 2007. “I’m very excited to be joining Lancashire; they are a big club and from what I hear, have big ambitions,” Powell said. “I did have other county opportunities but I’ve always enjoyed playing at Old Trafford and believe I can make a real contribution to the team over the next couple of years.”

New Zealand have arrived in Abu Dhabi for the limited-overs series against Pakistan and their captain, Daniel Vettori, is looking forward to the relative peace and quiet of the UAE following a turbulent week at home, which culminated in the resignation of coach Andy Moles.

“If anything it’s exciting to get out of New Zealand, get away from the scrutiny for a little bit, and come here and do what we do best,” Vettori was quoted as saying by Sportal. “It’s difficult from the perspective of having to front it all, I suppose, as captain and a selector as well. It means the focus has been on me for the explanation, so coming here takes a bit of heat off that.”

Having taken up the coaching job less than a year ago, Moles resigned after holding mediation talks with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), following reports that senior players were unhappy with the lack of technical and tactical support being provided by him. It was agreed Moles would step down, after a review of the team’s performance in Sri Lanka and at the Champions Trophy suggested that changes should be made.

The sudden developments left NZC with no time to appoint a new coach, or even an interim one, but they were confident Vettori’s leadership would hold the team in good stead against Pakistan. Partly fulfilling the role of coach is the latest addition to Vettori’s roster of responsibilities which includes the duties of captain, selector and key allrounder. Vettori, however, didn’t think it would be much of a burden.

“I don’t feel like I have to pick up any slack in terms of coaching the side or anything like that, but it’s about coming over here and getting the job done,” he said. Vettori also has no deputy after NZC relieved Brendon McCullum of the vice-captaincy in order for him to focus on his batting but did not name a replacement. New Zealand, however, still have their assistant coaches, Mark O’Donnell and Shane Jurgensen, and manager Dave Currie, who will have an enhanced role in the team set-up.

The Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam, however, said New Zealand “could find the going tough without a coach”. “From where I see it, it is very important for an international cricket team to have a full-time coach,” he told the News. “It could be tough for him [Vettori]. I mean, the whole idea of having a coach is to ensure that the captain is spared from any headaches and can focus on leading his players on the field in the best possible manner.”

New Zealand and Pakistan clashed in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, a contest that New Zealand won by five wickets. Vettori hoped to build on that success during the upcoming three-ODI and two-Twenty20 international series and wanted his team to display more consistency.

“I think you could say we’re mercurial sides,” Vettori said. “Inconsistency probably plagues both teams and you look at both teams and say there are some really talented players and guys who can win games but how often are we consistently doing that? We know we’re going to battle hard against Pakistan and we need those key players to step up to either win games or nullify Pakistan’s key players.

Several of New Zealand’s key players, though, are out with injuries or are recovering from injuries but Vettori said there was “a little bit of confidence in the side” despite that and they believed they were “good enough to win”.

Jesse Ryder, Daryl Tuffey and Grant Elliott did not travel to the UAE while, among those who did, Kyle Mills has a shoulder niggle and Vettori and Jacob Oram are recovering from hamstring problems. “I think New Zealand teams unfortunately have dealt with that on numerous occasions and they understand how to get up for them,” Vettori said. “I think we’ve shown ourselves to be a resilient side and it creates opportunities and also gives the likes of Scott Styris, who is an extremely experienced guy, to come back into the side and prove his worth.

“If those guys perform, it means we’ve got a strong squad to pick from. That’s been one of our biggest disadvantages that we don’t have a big pool of players who consistently compete on the world stage and, when injuries take over, we’ve struggled. Hopefully there’s a little bit of silver lining for us.”

Zone A

Shortly after their runner-up performance in the Champions League in India, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) carried the momentum into the President’s Cup with a convincing outing with the ball against Jamaica at the Providence Stadium. In a match reduced to 44 overs a side because of rain, T&T’s score of 201 turned out to be more than sufficient to overhaul a listless Jamaica, who could only manage 111. No batsman from either side managed a half-century, with Darren Bravo’s 43 being the highest. T&T were in need of a recovery at 129 for 6 before the lower order propped them up. Samuel Badree scored 22 but he made a far bigger impact with the ball, conceding just nine runs off as many overs, enough to win him the Player-of-the-Match award. Dwayne Bravo and Dave Mohammed were also economical and took three wickets apiece. Jamaica, without Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor (both withdrew due to illness), really struggled to get going and only four batsmen managed double figures.

It was a far closer affair at the Everest Cricket Club where Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) sneaked home by one run against Windward Islands. In another match shortened to 44 overs, CCC shrugged off a poor start to post 178 before shutting out Windwards in the final over of the match. Windwards’ Nelon Pascal opening burst reduced CCC to 17 for 3 before Nekoli Parris and Kjorn Ottley staged a recovery with a stand of 80. Floyd Reifer chipped with a valuable unbeaten 45 to lift CCC to what turned out to be a competitive total. Windwards didn’t get off to the greatest of starts as well with the bat. Kavesh Kantasingh left them wobbling at 10 for 3 and they were in further trouble at 41 for 4. Darren Sammy led the rescue efforts with 65 before CCC struck back. Shane Shillingford and Deighton Butler nearly took Windwards past the finish line but CCC prevailed.

Zone B

Narsingh Deonarine and Royston Crandon set up Guyana’s three-wicket win against Leeward Islands at Enmore. After being put into bat, Leewards managed 193 thanks to thirties by Keiron Powell, Steve Libburd and Jahmar Hamilton. Crandon, the offspinner, took 3 for 56. Guyana lost their openers early before Ramnaresh Sarwan, in need of match practice like the rest of the senior players in the West Indies team, put them on track with 43 off 74 balls. Deonarine scored a fifty before he was caught at cover off Lionel Baker. However, Leewards clawed back when Justin Athanaze struck with three wickets. Sarwan was one of his victims, out chopping the ball onto his stumps. However, the Crandon brothers – Esuan and Royston- then combined to steer their side home with nearly four overs to spare.

Barbados survived a real scare from West Indies Under-19, sneaking home by two wickets in a match reduced to 40 overs at Bourda. The U-19 side, after opting to bat first, posted 172 for 6, thanks to contributions from Kraigg Braithwaite and Evin Lewis. The pair added 73 for the second wicket, with Lewis top scoring with 53. Dwayne Smith, recently returned from the Champions League was the pick of the Barbados bowlers with 2 for 27. The U-19 bowlers, led by Akeem Dewar, stretched Barbados in their chase. They had a chance to record an upset after reducing Barbados to 141 for 8, but Sulieman Benn and Kemar Roach saw them through those tense moments.