SPORTS 15
Tuesday, 8 September, 2015
PakiStan doWnS india in icrc t20 DHAKA
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AGENCIES
N the fourth day of the ICRC T20 Cricket Tournament, Bangladesh lost to Afghanistan by three wickets while Pakistan beat arch rival India by 43 runs, Bengali media reported on Monday. At the Ground 3 of BKSP, hosts Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat first against Afghanistan. But the hosts failed to manage the best of start as they lost 2 early wickets inside the first 3 overs. They could post only 18 runs on the board within the first powerplay. But then as like the previous matches, middle order batsman Amin Uddin took the responsibility to get the Tigers over from this volatile situation. He added a good 26 runs to the team total. And then came Shaharia Shamim, who despite finding
himself at a difficult situation in the crease, took the attack to the Afghan bowlers. He not only became the first Bangladesh batsman to hit a half century in the tournament but also helped
his team post a challenging total of 119/6 in their stipulated 20 overs. However despite having a challenging total, Tigers bowlers needed to bowl excessively well to defend the
total. But they couldn’t bowl as per necessity. Afghanistan batsmen took took over the local bowlers from the beginning and eventually cruised to victory with 5 balls and 3 wickets still in hand. In the other match of the day at the Ground 4 of BKSP, arch rivals India and Pakistan squared off in a crunch match. India, who won the toss chose to field first only to find themselves in deep water as the Pakistanis, who lost to England yesterday looked more spirited than ever before against the Indians and posted a daunting total of 174 for 6, which is so far the highest total of the tournament. Chasing a mammoth total, India was initially looking good but had to lose way in the midway. Eventually they were dismissed in just 131 runs, thanks to Pakistan’s Fayaz Ahmed who took 4 wickets giving away only 14 runs. He also became the first player of the tournament to pick up a hat-trick.
Netherlands look to break Scotland duck SPORTS DESK The second round of the 2015-17 Intercontinental Cup begins on Tuesday in the Hague, where World T20 Qualifier co-champions Netherlands and Scotland square off. Netherlands might have more riding on the game considering their first-round defeat to Papua New Guinea, who had chased down a fourthinnings target of 305 to win on their first-class debut in June. A victory over Scotland would not only get the hosts’ 2015-17 campaign back on track, it would be somewhat historic: they have never beaten Scotland in five I-Cup matches, with three draws sandwiched around two losses. Scotland won by an innings and 59 runs in 2007 in Aberdeen. Three years later, despite captain Peter Borren’s century, Netherlands suffered a four-wicket loss at Deventer. Borren, though, is hoping to reverse his side’s fortunes starting tomorrow. “Our four-day cricket has been a disappointment to me for some time,” he said on the eve of the game. “Our white-ball cricket has been great, but we haven’t cracked the longer version. Four-day cricket is difficult, I would love to see an improvement in the mental application that the format requires. Other than the 20 points, I would really love to see our batters spend entire sessions at the crease and to see our bowlers come back hard in their third spells of the day.” Scotland come into the match looking to overtake joint leaders Ireland and Namibia, each of whom claimed a full 20 points with wins over UAE and Hong Kong in the first round. Scotland, though, had to settle for first-innings points against Afghanistan in a rain-marred draw at Stirling. Captain Preston Mommsen top-scored with 77 in the first innings and has been in solid form all summer. Mommsen stressed it was important to capitalise in the early rounds of the Intercontinental Cup to gain as many points as possible in the quest for Test status. “Indeed, this competition now creates a pathway to Test cricket, so every game we play, every point we can take, will be crucial to us moving closer to Test cricket,” Mommsen said. “We have to remain focused on playing solid and consistent cricket. There’s no point looking too far ahead, but, of course, that remains a bigger goal for this team.”
Scotland will receive a strong boost with several players, who were absent this summer, returning to the squad. Foremost among them is Matt Machan, with 892 runs at an average of 42.47 in the County Championship this season, including three centuries and a career-best 192 in July. On the bowling front, Josh Davey, whose 15 wickets at the World Cup was the best by a Scottish player, also comes back into the four-day squad. “We have some special talent coming through, especially with the ball, so we’re looking forward to seeing how our younger players develop over the next few years as they start to get more and more opportunities,” Mommsen said. “This is a team that definitely has the skills and ability to play a winning brand of cricket in the longer version of the game. It’s been very positive, and we’ve shown a lot of intent. There’s no reason why certain aspects of our whiteball game cannot be transferred into our four-day cricket. We have an exciting squad and we will continue to adopt that style of cricket.” While Mommsen’s side has been bolstered, Borren’s will be
depleted. Michael Swart will not be among Netherlands’ number and Ben Cooper takes his place. The elder Cooper, Tom, remains tied to Somerset till the end of the month. Timm van der Gugten, who has been on the fringes of the Tasmania state side in Australia, is a key withdrawal after taking 6 for 29 in the first innings of the loss to Papua New Guinea. So Paul van Meekeren will shoulder the extra responsibility, leading the seam-bowling unit alongside Mudassar Bukhari, while 20-year-old Vivian Kingma is a candidate to fill van der Gugten’s spot. Roelof van der Merwe, who became eligible shortly before the World Twenty20 Qualifier but did not play against PNG, has been included for this series. The forecast in The Hague is clear and sunny throughout the week, which means that the likelihood of a draw due to weather interruptions is unlikely. Netherlands (probable): 1 Stephan Myburgh, 2 Michael Rippon, 3 Ben Cooper, 4 Max O’Dowd, 5 Wesley Barresi (wk), 6 Peter Borren (capt.), 7 Roelof van der Merwe, 8 Mudassar Bukhari 9 Pieter Seelaar, 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Vivian Kingma Scotland (probable): 1 Kyle Coetzer, 2 Hamish Gardiner, 3 Preston Mommsen, 4 Matt Machan, 5 Richie Berrington, 6 Matthew Cross (wk), 7 Josh Davey, 8 Con de Lange, 9 Rob Taylor, 10 Safyaan Sharif, 11 Alasdair Evans
Bailey, finch re-emerge from shadows George Bailey has kept the orange bib. The signifier of drinks duty became a point of contention during the World Cup when ICC officials insisted that Bailey had to wear it in the same tournament he had started out as captain. On the morning after Australia’s victory at the MCG, Bailey raised a warm cheer when he walked onto the podium in Federation Square while wearing the bib over his polo - the source of irritation having become a badge of honour. The episode signified how Bailey had stood in such an awkward position for some time, as either the leader of the limited overs team or a fringe member of the squad. There was much admiration for how he handled himself, and the team made doubly sure he was included in the celebrations of an achievement he had done much to the set-up, whether it was leading whenever Michael Clarke was injured, or providing a strong middle-order presence with the bat. “I think it was quite clear what was going to occur, given the lead-up,” Bailey said of his World Cup cameo. “I’m not sure there was any score I could’ve got in that England game that would’ve changed that. I think the role Michael and I played in that team was the same role, and that was it. “In terms of overall experience, it was the only cricket goal I’ve really ever set myself, so I was just making sure I was going to enjoy the few weeks - whatever the role, whatever the situation. At the end of the day you can be a good bloke or you can be a rotten bloke, but if you’re scoring runs or taking wickets then you stay in the team. That’s as simple as it gets. It’s not a popularity contest. That’s the same in any business or in any sport. It’s about results.” Now, though, the ODI stage has been permanently cleared of Clarke, Shane Watson, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin, while David Warner’s brief reign as vice-captain has been interrupted by a cracked thumb. Where once Bailey was surplus, now he is very much needed. There may even be a case for taking him to Bangladesh as a batsman and source of support for Steven Smith - once more the selectors must deliberate on Bailey’s ODI form, as they did two years ago when choosing him for the Test team after his 50-over runs in India. “I’d love to play cricket for Australia in all three formats that’s my goal . . . I think that’s what everyone plays for but overriding that is just playing good cricket and being happy with the way I’m playing cricket,” Bailey said. “I feel like playing over here for the past few months has got me into that space. “Now it’s just about making sure I score the runs, and giving the selectors a headache or an option, whichever way they look at it. I’m loving playing and having a couple of young guys around and feel like I can contribute a lot to that. I’m hitting the ball really well.” Another man emerging from the shadows of others is Aaron Finch. While he did take part in the Cup triumph, Finch was a somewhat muted member of the squad, mixing innings of substance in the opener against England and the semi-final against India with a run of lowly numbers. In a way, Finch found himself running down at a time when the Cup campaign was revving up, and now he has returned to the team having had time to think about that. SPORTS DESK
I WAS JUST PROTECTING MYSELF, SAYS STOKES England allrounder Ben Stokes has insisted there was no wilful intent when he gloved away Mitchell Starc’s throw at the stumps at Lord’s and that he was purely thinking of protecting himself. Stokes’ reaction, as he spun away from the throw, came when he was out of his ground and led to him becoming the first England batsman - and sixth overall - to be given out obstructing the field in a one-day international. Law 37, which governs obstructing the field, states: Either batsman is out obstructing the field if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. “A guy was standing there five feet away from me and it was just a complete reaction,” Stokes told ESPNcricinfo. “I didn’t put my hand there wilfully, it was purely out of human reaction to protect myself. But the decision was made, there’s nothing I can do but it wasn’t wilful whatsoever.” Former England captains Michael Vaughan, Alec Stewart and Paul Collingwood were among those to
criticise the decision. Collingwood, who was involved in controversy against New Zealand in 2008 when he refused to recall Grant Elliott after he was run out following a collision with Ryan Sidebottom and later admitted he had made an error, tweeted that Steven Smith “will regret that decision in the future.” There were heated scenes in the middle as the decision was made by third umpire Joel Wilson after the on-field officials, Kumar Dharmasena and Tim Robinson, had indicated to England captain Eoin Morgan, who was at the crease alongside Stokes, that their initial reaction was that it was not out. Morgan later said he would have withdrawn the appeal in the same situation, but Smith was adamant the correct decision had been reached. It led to the remainder of the match being played out to the sound of significant booing around Lord’s and during the post-match presentation. Stokes, speaking at a Chance to Shine Street Cricket event in Birming-
ham, said the reaction may have got a little out of perspective. “The crowd maybe got a bit out of
CMYK
control, there was a lot of booing going on with the incident. It’s one of those decisions where you can’t look back and
have any regrets because it’s been made, you can’t change what’s happened it’s just a shame it came to the uproar it has. “It probably took away from the fact that we haven’t actually played very good cricket in the first couple of games which is the biggest thing for us so we just have to put it behind us.” Fast bowler Steven Finn had earlier said it was important that England do not dwell on the dismissal as the series heads to Old Trafford for the third match on Tuesday with them needing a win to stay in the contest. “I think we’d be foolish to let the Stokes dismissal nag away at us,” Finn said. “We have a young side - we have some quite emotional guys in that team. If we let that emotion come into our cricket, I don’t think that it will serve us well. “If we stick with the mantra of going out there and enjoying it, trying to show off and deliver our skills as best we can with a smile on our face, that will serve us far better than getting fired up and angry.” COURTESY CRICINFO