Cricket: Croft's 900th dismissal puts Derby in spin
ROBERT Croft achieved another personal milestone in his illustrious career as he helped Glamorgan to a strong position at the end of the opening day of their LV county championship clash against Derbyshire at Cardiff.
After celebrating his 1000th first-class wicket last summer, the former England spinner took four victims yesterday at the Swalec Stadium to become only the sixth Glamorgan bowler to take 900 wickets for his county, joining the likes of Don Shepherd, Jack Mercer, Johnnie Clay, Malcolm Nash and Frank Ryan.
On the same pitch used for the Friends Provident Trophy match last Friday night against Gloucestershire, the 37-year-old bowled unchanged from the Cathedral Road End for most of the day and his exploits helped Glamorgan bowl out Derbyshire for 289, while Gareth Rees (48 not out) guided the Welsh county to 87 for one by the close of play.
Croft dismissed Daniel Birch and Graham Wagg before Jake Needham became his 900th first-class victim for Glamorgan, going leg before wicket attempting a sweep.
For good measure Croft also took a catch as the visitors rather lost their way after making a promising start.
David Harrison and James Harris also took three wickets apiece, with the latter making an encouraging return on his championship debut this summer.
Harris, 18 tomorrow, missed the opening three weeks of the season because of an ankle injury which he picked up in the winter while on duty with the England Under-19s set-up.
After proving his fitness for this game and being included ahead of Ryan Watkins, Harris initially struggled in his opening three overs which cost 18 runs.
But after that he settled down and finished with figures of three for 40 off 12.2 overs claiming the wickets of Jon Sadler, Dominic Telo and Nayan Doshi.
But there were a couple of worrying signs for the home bowling attack with Australian seamer Jason Gillespie suffering a worrying hamstring niggle and Alex Wharf proving expensive in a disappointing display.
Gillespie only bowled nine overs yesterday and left the field in the afternoon session for treatment after trotting out for two overs after lunch.
He later returned to the field but was not risked in the closing overs, although he is hoping to bowl in Derbyshire's second innings.
Wharf finished wicketless with his 11 overs costing 77 runs and he along with Croft received some punishment towards the end of the innings.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Derbyshire had struggled to 216 for eight with only stand-in skipper Chris Rogers - a captaincy replacement for the injured Rikki Clarke - mastering conditions on the used pitch with an accomplished 69 before being caught behind by wicketkeeper Mark Wallace off the bowling of Harrison.
But a rapid ninth-wicket stand of 70 in just 34 balls from the bowling of Croft and Wharf between Jonathan Clare and Charl Langeveldt threatened Glamorgan's grip on the first day.
But Langeveldt, who clubbed 40 from 19 balls including two successive sixes off Croft, eventually holed out to Mike Powell at mid-wicket to become the off-spinner's fourth wicket and the visitors' innings was quickly wrapped up by Harris with the dismissal of Doshi, with Clare stranded on a career-best 70 not out.
Glamorgan had looked like they had handed Derbyshire a few more runs than they deserved, but the late batting exploits of Rees made up for any bowling indiscretions.
The Llanelli-born left-hander overcame the loss of his opening partner Matthew Wood, who was trapped lbw by Wagg, to post his highest championship score of the summer so far and help the Dragons race to 87 runs in only 19 overs.
This left the Welsh county trailing by 202 runs at the close, with nine first-innings wickets remaining.
(c) 2008 owned by or licensed to Media Wales Ltd.
Australia search for more support from women
Cricket Australia will push to increase the attractiveness of cricket to women following a survey showing only 36% of females watch the game "always or occasionally" on television. While cricket was the most popular sport for both sexes in the Roy Morgan poll - 50,000 Australians were surveyed - James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the state and national bodies had to increase their efforts.
"Drilling into the Morgan data shows that cricket, and indeed all sports, needs to do more work to win female support," Sutherland said. AFL was the next most popular with 34% watching it while 33% voted for tennis. The overall results showed 47% of the Australians surveyed enjoyed cricket on television, 41% chose AFL and 33% picked tennis.
While record numbers of people are playing the game formally in Australia, Sutherland wants to make it more accessible for women. He said Cricket Australia would look to develop Twenty20 with an eye to catching the attention of new female fans, review event presentation at venues and try to understand their specific needs. Ladies' days have been held during the MCG Tests over the past couple of years as a way to make more people feel welcome at the game.
Australia will defend the Women's World Cup when they host the tournament in March 2009. They won the 2005 event in South Africa under the leadership of Belinda Clark, who is now the manager of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.
(c) Cricinfo
Yellow card for sledgers
Sledging among amateur cricketers could soon be combated with a football-style yellow card system under proposals that are being seriously discussed by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Cricket officials are disturbed by a gradual deterioration in behaviour at club level and they blame many causes ranging from social changes, the influence of football, dissent in the international game and a more aggressive amateur culture introduced chiefly by Australian imports.
Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, warned yesterday that Test cricketers must be role models and he did not rule out yellow cards being intruduced in the club game. "The yellow card system is under debate as to whether it should be introduced for repeat offences of sledges," he declared yesterday.
(c) Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
Beneath the glitz, it's the game that counts
THE Indian Premier League was to be cricket as we had never seen it before but after the opening weekend, it is hard to avoid the impression it is just cricket.
Sure, there were imported cheerleaders, but in the case of the flexible Washington Redskins girls brought in by Indian beer baron and owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers Vijay Mallya, the party lasted only until the team was walloped in the first game by Kolkata, at which point he spat the dummy and called off the star-studded launch of his team's new music video.
Kolkata's Telegraph newspaper reported that such a celebration, on the back of a 140-run loss, would have been bad for the Royal Challenge brand, which after all was a beer and whisky label before it was a cricket team. It is possible Bangalore's own Cameron White didn't feel much like singing and dancing anyway after leaking 24 runs from his one and only over.
About 204,000 Australians switched on Channel Ten to witness the IPL's debut, a strange enough experience in itself for a country comforted by the Yoda-like presence of Richie Benaud on Nine screens for the past three decades.
So it was comforting to hear the familiar voice of experienced West Indian commentator Tony Cozier, a presence to lend the whole experience some badly needed - some would say, unwarranted - credibility. There is no shortage of movie stars willing to align themselves with the IPL, which in India may amount to the same thing. (A fan reportedly fell from the stands at Eden Gardens on Sunday night as he strained to catch a glimpse of Bollywood heart-throb Shah Rukh Khan, whose company Red Chillies Entertainment owns the Kolkata Knightriders.)
But in order for the IPL to be a long-term success, for it to generate big television audiences in India and around the world for six weeks and 59 games, it will have to tap into something beyond the initial curiosity of seeing Ricky Ponting launch himself into the arms of Ishant Sharma, the fast bowler who only a couple of months ago starred in the Australian captain's nightmares. Now, he is a fellow Knightrider.
It will have to surpass the initial intrigue of the Indian crowd's reaction when Andrew Symonds walks out to bat for Hyderabad, which was described by Cozier at Eden Gardens on Sunday night as "rather mixed".
It will have to create tribal allegiances, a concept Mahendra Singh Dhoni remarked before the tournament does not come naturally to local cricket fans. "Indians are used to supporting Indians and it will be a tricky situation for them to evoke city loyalties," said Dhoni, delivered by auction to Chennai. "I cannot imagine the Chepauk Stadium erupting in joy if (Mumbai captain) Sachin Tendulkar is dismissed by (Chennai's) Muralidaran. As a cricketer, it will be interesting to watch the crowds and their reactions to this new format."
More interesting still to see whether viewers in Australia stick with the IPL after they have figured out who is under the gold helmet and why on earth Ponting would be talking tactics with Sourav Ganguly. For in the end, it is only cricket, in which a batsman like David Hussey must roll up his sleeves and earn his $730,000 by grinding out a match-high 38 runs to win the game for his team (that's Kolkata, in case you were wondering) on a minefield of a pitch.
Copyright (c) 2008. The Age Company Ltd.
'Spirit of cricket pledge would not affect players'
Mohali (PTI): Yuvraj Singh is sure the "spirit of cricket" pledge, which all the IPL T20 captains are required to take in tournament, would not bar players from playing their natural game.
"It's a good thing to happen and I think it will affect our game in a good way. I don't think it will affect the way we play or conduct ourselves," Yuvraj, who would lead Kings XI Punjab, told reporters here on Wednesday.
He said the youngsters playing in the IPL will have a lot to learn from the international players.
"Our youngsters will learn various aspects of the game by playing along side international cricketers. They will certainly learn new things like how to cope with pressure situations. It will be good for future of our cricket," he felt.
The recent Indian team's tour of Australia was marred by controversies and Indian Test skipper Anil Kumble had even accused the Aussies for breaching spirit of the game.
Echoing Yuvraj's sentiments, Chennai Super Kings coach and former South African batsman Kepler Wessels says taking the pledge does not mean "the players have to lessen the aggression".
"I don't think it will take away spark and charm from the game," Wessels said.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Hindu.
South Africa set to flatten England - then oust Australia as world's best cricket nation
One has to look back to Sri Lanka in August 2006 for South Africa's last Test series defeat.
Since that tour, which was led by Ashwell Prince, the young Proteas team have matured and are now probably the most experienced and settled side in international cricket.
All sportsmen want to reach the top of their game and the focus is now to wrestle the ICC Test No.1 crown away from the Australians.
The Aussies have dominated Test cricket for decades and at times have mocked the Proteas as mere pretenders to the throne. But this year could be the one where the South Africans fight back.
South Africa walked away from their last drubbing by the Aussies at home and rebuilt from the bootstraps. As a result, they are now definite contenders for the number one slot.
I believe a change in mindset has been the major difference for South Africa, who seem to only be interested in challenging themselves and viewing Australia, not as an arch-enemy to overcome, but as a welcome opportunity to prove themselves.
Jacques Kallis sees the upcoming Australian tour as an opportunity to overcome another boundary in his personal development as a cricketer and as an important goal of his career.
After a successful sweep through Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, South Africa are No.2 in the world. And they will surely be too strong for an unimpressive England (even with South Africans in their squad). Normally, a victory in England would be a worthy goal, but in 2008, nothing less than Test top-dogs will do.
Without Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, I cherish the sight of Australia without their cricketing bragging rights - the rugby players have already lost theirs.
Never mind Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and Andre Nel, remember Graeme Smith bowling Michael Hussey? I can't wait for Smith to send down a couple cheeky overs of dolly spin to the likes of Ricky Ponting and Co!
(c) SportBuzz
Surrey boss urges county changes
Surrey manager Alan Butcher wants a major overhaul of the English game in response to the Indian Premier League.
The IPL is attracting stars from around the globe and it is feared England's top players will also be attracted.
Butcher told BBC London 94.9: "The franchise models that we're seeing may be an attractive proposition (here).
"The money that could be generated from that competition could finance a regional four-day competition for 60 or 70 of the best players in the country."
Butcher believes the gap between the County Championship and the Test game is too big and the introduction of a tournament similar to the IPL in England would help to raise the level of the domestic game across all competitions and raise funds for a new regional tournament.
He added: "The (IPL) model may be an attractive proposition for companies or businessman to buy an area franchise or city franchise possibly just to play Twenty20, because that is the sort of cricket that brings the crowds in and satisfies the sponsors.
"I've actually thought for the last 25 or 30 years that we need a bridge (to the Test side) and I've always felt that a good way of doing it would be to have a regional four-day competition between five or six teams.
"Therefore ensuring that 11 of your best players from the south-east etc play in what ought to be a very high quality competition and from there you pick the Test side.
"Underneath that I would still have the County Championship, so it wouldn't mean the counties would disappear and they could still be centrally funded by the ECB as they are now.
"They would be the development or breading ground for the regional sides, I think then you could have smaller squads fed by an extended academy programme."
BBC (c) MMVIII
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