Cricket

West Indies bowlers bowled their heart out and almost dominated the opening day of the first Test against India. In fact, if it was not for the valiant counter-attack worth 146 runs from Suresh Raina (84) and Harbhajan Singh (70), India would have ended the day on an extremely embarrassing note. Instead, the visitors managed to claim a wicket and keep Darren Sammy’s side 212 runs behind at close of play.

India did manage to win the toss but it was Ravi Rampaul who snared the openers early on to seize the early initiative. Murali Vijay (8) became his first victim while debutant Abhinav Mukund (11)was cleaned up soon after.  India’s top-order looked ill at ease as VVS Laxman (12) surrendered to Devendra Bishoo and Virat Kohli (4) edged one behind off Fidel Edwards. The break for lunch would not have left the Indians with much of an appetite with the score on 69 for 4.

Though Rahul Dravid did manage to add 40 runs to his Test statistics, it was ended abruptly by Bishoo with India now totering at 83 for 5. In walked skipper MS Dhoni and played all of a single delivery before he was sent back by Bishoo who now looked unforgiving.

It was now that Raina and Harbhajan got together and the duo looked edgy at first but soon settled in. Harbhajan raced to his half-century despite coming in after his partner and his eventual score of 70 came off just 74 deliveries.

Raina played the mature innings and helped himself to 82 runs off 115 deliveries but once Harbhajan departed, it was mayhem once again. India lost four of it’s remaining wickets for 16 runs as Edwards cleaned up the tail to finish with four wickets.

West Indies replied with a chase that would better be termed as painfully slow rather than watchful. Ishant Sharma  rose to the occasion with the ball and eventually got rid of a tentative Lendl Simmons (3). The other opener in Adrian Barath (26*) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (2*)  denied the Indian bowlers any further success and finished the day with the team score on 34, 212 still remaining before a lead can be mounted.

Cricket

A rampaging Pakistan go into the cricket World Cup quarterfinals against a struggling West Indies on Wednesday, hoping to continue their winning run and take a step closer to the coveted title.

Pakistan had a tumultuous build up to the World Cup with the team battling spot-fixing allegations but Shahid Afridi and his men have not allowed themselves to be distracted by the scandal as they topped group-A with five wins in six outings.

Hugely talented but highly unpredictable, Pakistan started off with a bang before running into New Zealand’s Ross Taylor who blew them away with a breath-taking century but Afridi’s men quickly regrouped and finished the league stage with a comfortable four-wicket win over Australia.

Pakistan’s clinical display in their last match not only earned them a victory but also broke four-time champions Australia’s unbeaten streak of 34 World Cup matches and Afridi will hope for an encore.

For Pakistan, former captain Younis Khan has been the cog of their wheel, while Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal also chipped in nicely, scoring 192 and 211 runs at an average of 48 and 52.75.

Youngster Asad Shafiq also has shone in the two games he played in the World Cup averaging 124. But Pakistan’s opening partnership has been a worry.

Both Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have failed to give Pakistan a start, which has put undue pressure on the middle-order.

Afridi too has failed with the bat scoring just 65 runs in six games and the captain will hope to strike form in Wednesday’s match.

The skipper, however, has been very effective with his leg-breaks and currently is the leading bowler in the tournament with 17 wickets. Swing bowler Umar Gul also has been among wickets taking 13 scalps.

The predicament for the 1992 champions would be Gul’s pace partner. While Shoaib Aktar has not been at his best, Wahab Riaz have been expensive against Australia giving away 39 runs in six overs taking a wicket.

Afridi said beating Australia has boosted their confidence and they are now focused on their quarterfinal match against West Indies.

“We knew that beating Australia would be very important for us and this win has enhanced our image, sending a good signal to the cricket world that we can win despite our difficult situation,” Afridi said.

“West Indies have qualified for the quarter-finals after some good play, so we have to do well in all three departments. Our focus is on the quarterfinals, we have a must-win match against a dangerous opponent,” Afridi added.

The West Indies, on the other hand, have been grappling with injuries. Key players – pacer Kemar Roach and former skipper Chris Gayle – didn’t play the crucial match against India because of illness and abdominal strain respectively.

The Caribbean team also have struggled with their form in both batting and bowling and have been inconsistent as after three consecutive wins they lost their last two games against England and India from being comfortably placed at 222-6 and 154-2 respectively at one stage.

However, the defeats didn’t spoil their quarterfinal dreams as they managed to make it to the knockout stage finishing fourth in Group B with better run-rate than Bangladesh, who also won three matches.

The two-time champions West Indies were ranked behind Bangladesh at 10th place in the ICC ranking in February and have lost 18 successive matches against the leading nations but Darren Sammy’s men would hope to raise their game in time.

“We reached our first objective of reaching the knockout stage and we have to tighten our games quickly and produce our A game to beat Pakistan in the quarterfinals,” Sammy said.

“Once we put our heads down and play each ball on its merit, we will come up with good shot. We will have good time to beat them. We have to beat Pakistan and then it will be sweet revenge to beat India at home,” he added.

The West Indies have good memories of Sher-e-Bangla stadium where they bundled out Bangladesh for their lowest one-day total of 58 in the league match and romped home by nine wickets.

“We did well against Bangladesh at Dhaka and hopefully we will have the same confidence going in there on Wednesday,” he said.

Teams (from):

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (c), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shahzad.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (c), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kieron Pollard, Devon Thomas, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, Kirk Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Devendra Bishoo.

Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZL) and Steve Davis (AUS) TV umpire: Daryl Harper (AUS) Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG) Match start: 2 pm (IST).

Half-centuries from Junaid Siddique and Mahmudullah led Bangladesh to a three-wicket victory, and a 3-0 cleansweep of the One-Day International series over West Indies on Friday.

Siddique struck six fours in 55 from 73 balls, and Mahmudullah, who was named man-of-the-match, hit two fours and one six in an unbeaten 51 from 70 balls to help Bangladesh overhaul a victory target of 249 in the third and final ODI at Warner Park.

Mahmudullah made sure of victory when he flicked a delivery from Kemar Roach through square leg.

Bangladesh won the opening match in Dominica last Sunday by 52 runs, and the second match at the same venue on Tuesday by three wickets.

Their ODI series victory followed a cleansweep of the preceding two-Test series against a home side decimated by a player boycott.

“After winning the Test series, we were looking forward to this ODI series,” said Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.

“It was a total team effort. Every time the team was under pressure, someone was able to put their hands up and do the job. This success in the Caribbean will help to take us to the next level.”

Bangladesh dismissed West Indies for 248 in 47.4 overs, after the home team decided to bat.

Siddique and fellow opener Tamim Iqbal set Bangladesh on their way with a stand of 54 for the first wicket.

But they slid to 133 for five in the 28th over before Mahmudullah joined Mushfiqur Rahim and added 50 for the sixth wicket.

It however, took a stand of 49 for the seventh wicket between Mahmudullah and Naeem Islam which virtually pushed the Tigers over the threshold.

Earlier, Mahmudullah, bowling his off-spin, along with fast-medium bowler Mahbubul Alam, and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak all captured two wickets.

The Bangladesh bowlers maintained the pressure throughout, and several West Indies batsmen got starts.

Andre Fletcher led the way with 52 from 42 balls, captain Floyd Reifer and his deputy Darren Sammy made 40 apiece.

“I think throughout the series we needed to build more and better partnerships when we were batting,” said Reifer.

“Whenever we seem to be building partnerships, the guys always seem to be getting out at the wrong time. They needed to carry on at crucial stages in the game.”

He added: “But we had a young, inexperienced team. We have got to continue to play hard, keep talking more about the game, and looking back at our mistakes.

“All the games were very close, and it was just that we kept making crucial mistakes at crucial times.”

Bangladesh restricted West Indies to 10 for two in the fourth over before Dowlin and Andre Fletcher put on 76 for the third wicket.

Fletcher reached his 50 from 40 balls, when he slogged Abdur Razzak over mid-wicket for his eighth four in the 14th over, after he had taken a four and a six off the third and fourth balls of the same over.

Bangladesh then made West Indies wobble on 124 for five in the 28th over, but were revived when Reifer and Sammy added 64 before they were among a cluster of wickets that fell in the last 15 overs.

The 3rd and final ODI in the series between West Indies and Bangladesh takes place in St. Kitts on Friday. Once again the West Indies will be fielding a weakened side as Bangladesh look to complete a whitewash.

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Shakib Al Hasan has admirably led Bangladesh to victory in the first 2 ODI’s which were held in Dominica. The West Indies batsmen showed signs of getting to grips with spin bowling in the 2nd ODI as they posted a competitive 274 (including a century from Travis Dowlin). Alas, it was not enough as Bangladesh built steady partnerships and despite one or two scares along the way, they clinched the series with an over to spare.

While the West Indies batsmen finally came to the party, their bowling was mediocre and was not helped by Kemar Roach being removed from the attack after a beamer and a high full toss. Darren Sammy looked to have pulled a hamstring and operated off a short run but retains his place in the squad.

On they go to St. Kitts with West Indies cricket at a real low point and only pride to play for.

The Venue: Warner Park, St Kitts

West Indies have played 3 ODI’s here and have beaten India (by 4 wickets) and Australia (by 1 run). There have been some big ODI totals though some matches were in the World Cup ad involved some of the cricketing minnows.

The Verdict:

Whatever the outcome, lets hope the shambles in West Indies cricket is brought to a halt. Try as they might, this reserve side will really struggle in the Champions Trophy if the WICB don’t budge on their stance concerning the participation of their leading players. The West Indies cricket loving public have suffered enough.

Bangladesh won their first One-day series against a current Test nation when they defeated West Indies by three wickets in the second match at Windsor Park on Tuesday.

Two days after beating West Indies in a One-dayer for the first time, Bangladesh chased down the home side’s 274-6 in 50 overs, including an unbeaten century by Travis Dowlin, by reaching 276-7 with an over to spare.

Bangladesh can go for the two-Test and three-ODI sweep on Friday at St. Kitts.

Bangladesh were led by captain Shakib-al-Hasan, who cracked 65 off 61 balls, and Mohammad Ashraful, who hit 64 off 77 deliveries.

They had solid support from the entire top order.

Left-handers Tamim Iqbal (29) and Junaid Siddique (23) shared an opening stand of 46, while Raqibul Hasan (20) and Mushfiqur Rahim (31) helped steel the middle order.

David Bernard was responsible for removing both openers as Bangladesh slipped to 64-2.

First, he claimed Siddique with the ball then pulled off a sensational one-handed catch at midwicket off pacer Kemar Roach to dispatch Tamim.

Ashraful then forged two half-century partnerships to tilt the balance back to the Tigers.

He and Raqibul added 52 for the third wicket, followed by an even more destructive stand of 74 off 64 balls with his skipper.

Bernard claimed Raqibul to a lofted drive to extra cover but that failed to halt Bangladesh’s momentum.

Ashraful and Shakib were cruising when Ashraful gifted his wicket as he lofted leg-spinner Rawl Lewis to long-off at 190-4 in the 37th over. Ashraful, who also hit a half century in the opening match victory, struck three fours and a six off 77 balls.

Shakib and Mushfiqur soon dulled the home crowd again in a stand of 48 for the fifth wicket.

But in a frantic finale, the tourists almost threw it away.

Darren Sammy grabbed the wicket of Shakib, who sliced a catch to short third man after hitting two fours and a six off 61 balls.

Wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, on debut, was called out from behind the stumps once Roach had been banned from the attack for two beamers and the 19-year-old grabbed two wickets to suggest a fairytale ending for the home team.

Mahmudullah clipped to square leg while Mushfiqur slapped a full toss to extra cover at 261-7.

But Naeem Islam and Abdur Razzak were levelheaded as they led their side home with an unbeaten stand of 15 off 18 balls.

Razzak hit the winning boundary with a sliced four over short third man off Bernard.

Earlier, Dowlin’s brilliant, unbeaten 100 off 117 balls gave West Indies hope. The 32-year-old, in only his second match, struck six fours and a six off 117 balls. He paced his innings superbly, with his first 50 occupying 88 deliveries before he exploded for 50 off his next 29 balls.

Before he appeared, West Indies received an encouraging start after winning the toss.

Dale Richards (20) and Andre Fletcher (22) added 33 off the first five overs but Bangladesh struck back once spin was introduced.

Fletcher perished to the first ball from skipper Shakib’s left-arm spin, slicing a catch to cover.

Richards fell at 52-2, run out as he ended up in the same crease as Smith after a mix-up.

Smith and Dowlin gradually rebuilt the innings in the face of a disciplined Bangladesh spin attack.

Just as they were beginning to blossom, Smith also departed to a run out. This time, it was Tamim’s brilliant direct hit from deep square leg that did the damage.

Smith struck one four and one six off 62 balls.

Captain Floyd Reifer’s tortured return to international cricket continued when he fell for 7 as he slapped a wide ball from Naeem to backward point at 134-4 in the 33rd over.

But Dowlin and the home team’s all-rounders rallied in the latter overs.

The last 10 overs realized 98 runs, including the batting powerplay of five overs that produced 50 runs.

Bernard struck two fours, Lewis launched two sixes and Sammy closed the innings with a flurry that included four fours.

Dowlin, who missed out on a maiden century when he fell for 95 in the second Test, endured one bit of luck when Syed Rasel just failed to cling onto a diving return catch with Dowlin on 97.

The Guyanese brought up his century of the second ball of the final over, with a nudge into the off side.

The 2nd ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh takes place at Roseau, Dominica on Tuesday. Bangladesh are 1-0 up in the 3 match series and will be looking to pile on the agony for their troubled hosts.

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This series has fallen under the radar somewhat with a second string West Indies given the chance to see what they can do in the ODI’s despite the end of the players strike. The dispute between the West Indies players and the WICB has rumbled on for weeks and the cricket loving West Indian public are the victims. Credit then to the people of Dominica who still produced a decent atmosphere in the 1st ODI played here at the weekend even though their side slipped to a 52 run defeat.

Bangladesh posted 246/9 on Sunday and soon took control in the West Indian chase. Opening the bowling with spin, they took early wickets and the home side came up well short. The West Indians just don’t seem to have an answer to spin bowling, the talk was of preparing wickets for the ODI’s which would nullify the Bangladesh spinners but once again they surrendered. Having lost the test series, they are now on the verge of losing the ODI’s.

West Indies cricket players returned to work on Tuesday under an agreement that saw former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal, appointed mediator in their bitter pay dispute.

One day after Bangladesh players completed a two-Test series sweep of the West Indies for their first overseas series triumph, West Indies players agreed to resume representing the region.

Players have been fighting the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over pay but returned after the appointment of Ramphal at a meeting convened by Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo, at the request of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).

Jagdeo is the current chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom).

“It was agreed that, in light of the mediation agreement the parties expect to lead to the resolution of outstanding issues, all the players will make themselves available for selection,” they said in a joint statement.

WIPA and WICB have also agreed to each nominate a facilitator to assist Ramphal in his work.

“The mediation team, with assistance from the Caricom secretariat, would begin work immediately,” they said in the statement.

“Both parties have taken this step, mindful of the interest of their respective organisations but conscious also of their wider responsibility to the people of the West Indies and the international sport of cricket,” the organisations added.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by WIPA President Dinanath Ramnarine and WICB President Dr. Julian Hunte in the presence of the Guyanese leader.

The latest dispute erupted two weeks ago, when 13 of the leading players made themselves unavailable for the first test against Bangladesh in St. Vincent, citing pay and contract issues.

Except for Haiti and Surinam, the remainder of Caricom member nations are former British colonies and international cricket-playing nations from which the West Indies team is drawn.

The crisis is West Indies cricket is getting deeper every day with the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) demanding an apology from the country’s board.

Thirteen leading West Indies players, including captain Chris Gayle, have gone on strike and boycotted the first Test against Bangladesh over pending contract issues. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) struggled to get a second string side that lost the match.

The WICB has asked the rebel players to apologies or face non-selection for the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September.

In retaliation, the WIPA has send a strongly worded letter to the WICB and demanded apology for mismanagement in the affairs of the board, reports the Trinidad Guardian.

The letter was laced with sarcasm and said: “We apologies for demanding that our members play with a contract clearly outlining the terms and conditions.

“For insisting that all contracts be negotiated by WIPA prior to their being offered to the players.

“For asking the WICB to honour the agreement and pay the medical treatment when players sustain injuries.

“For asking that the WICB honour the 2007-2008 agreement and compensate the players who have been injured.

“For asking the WICB to deposit funds it had deducted from the players’ salaries and which it failed to pay to the Players Provident Fund Account (Pension Plan) for almost a year.

“For asking the WICB to reimburse players who sometimes have to purchase their own airline tickets while on duty for the West Indies.

“For not having training camps and specialist camps for the preparation of the team.

“For accepting to play in a series against England at a time of year when no other team has ever played.

“For asking that the WICB not sell players’ intellectual property and image rights without permission.”

The Players, the association said, “would be willing to apologies if the players had:

“Lost Five (5) million US Dollars in the sanctioning of a one-off international 20/20.

“Lost three (3) million US Dollars as a result of breach of agreement.

“Spent one (1) million US Dollars in the courts in London unsuccessfully defending a legal action.

“Had to defend several other claims for breach of contract, including one where the estimated loss of revenue is $500,000.00 US Dollars per year.

“Lost almost US $10 million dollars in almost one year for breach of agreements with third parties.”

“A perusal of the above should indicate from where the apology should come,” it added.

WIPA chief executive Dinanath Ramnarine said the striking players are united in their stance.

“Although they want to play, they’re not going to back down under this pressure,” he said.

WICB vice-president Dave Cameron said he was not aware of the latest development, but made it clear that any player who wanted to make himself available for the second Test would be considered for selection in the Champions Trophy.

“I cannot say if any of the players changed their minds they would be back into the team for the second Test,, but I think that they should be given a look at,” Cameron said.

Bangladesh claimed just their second ever Test victory with a 95-run win over a makeshift West Indies side in the first Test on Monday.
 
Debutant off-spinner Mohammed Mahmudullah did the damage with figures of five for 50 as West Indies collapsed to 181 all out with just over 40 minutes of play remaining.

Bangladesh’s only previous victory came at home to Zimbabwe in 2005 and although this one was achieved against a West Indies side without any of their leading players, their first win overseas was a cause for celebration.

“It means a lot to us, we are very happy,” said opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, whose second-innings century laid the foundations for victory.

The Tigers’ second win came in their 60th Test since becoming a full Test-playing nation nine years ago.

West Indies fielded seven debutants in their hastily-assembled squad following the decision by the 13 selected players not to take part as a protest over contractual and payment issues.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has vowed to stick with the makeshift squad but the defeat will increase pressure for a settlement before the second Test starts in Grenada on Friday.

“You’ll have to ask the chairman about that one,” said Floyd Reifer, the 36-year-old stand-in skipper who was playing in his first Test in 10 years.

“It is disappointing to lose but I think the guys, brought here the night before a Test, fought well,” said Reifer.

West Indies started the day well, removing the last five Bangladesh batsmen for just 24 runs to set up a realistic target of 277 runs for victory.

But the Caribbean side were in trouble before lunch, losing both opening batsmen.

Dale Richards was dismissed in amateurish fashion, hit on the pads and waiting for an lbw appeal to be answered when he strolled out of his crease and was run out.

Omar Phillips, who made a debut century in his first innings, was trapped lbw by the left-arm spin of Shakib Al Hasan to leave West Indies at 33 for two.

Then came the twin spin attack of Mahmudullah and slow left-armer Shakib Al Hasan and West Indies simply could not cope with the turn.

Mahmudullah claimed the wickets of Travis Dowlin, Reifer, wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton and tailender Kemar Roach.

Al Hasan also caused problems and picked up the vital wicket of Darren Sammy when the all-rounder wildly slashed the ball to Shahadat Hossain at point.

Dave Bernard, the only player to have featured in the West Indies side in the recent ODI series against India, battled bravely for his second half-century of the match but he was left stranded on 52 when Al Hasan picked up his third wicket by trapping Tino Best lbw to clinch victory.

Bangladesh continued to struggle against a depleted West Indies on Friday when they reached 149 for seven in their first innings at tea in the opening Test.

At the interval, Mushfiqur Rahim was not out on 23 and Mashrafe Mortaza was not out on zero, after rain delayed the restart after lunch by almost two hours on the second day at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex.

The Tigers sunk a little deeper into trouble when Mahmudullah was caught at gully off Kemar Roach for nine in the final over before the break.

For West Indies, whose side has been weakened by a players’ strike over a pay difference with the West Indies Cricket Board, Roach has taken two wickets for 37 runs from 17 overs, Dave Bernard has captured two for 26 from nine overs, and Tino Best has two for 30 from 12 overs.

Before lunch, Bangladesh reached 121 for six, after they had continued from their overnight total of 42 without loss.

They suffered an early setback, when Tamim Iqbal was caught at first slip off Best for 14 in the first full over of the day.

There was another bump in the road, when Sri Lankan umpire Asoka de Silva dubiously adjudged Imrul Kayes lbw to Darren Sammy for 33 in the third over.

Video replays suggested that left-hander Kayes may have been a touch unfortunate having been struck just outside the line of off-stump with a delivery going across him.

Bangladesh were then 45 for two, and Raqibul Hasan joined Junaid Siddique. They spent close to an hour stemming the fall of wickets, and put on 34 for the third wicket.

But the tourists then lost three wickets for 21 runs in the space of 55 balls.

Raqibul was caught at gully for 14 slicing a drive to give Bernard his first Test wicket, Siddique was Bernard’s second scalp when he was caught at mid-wicket for 27 miscuing a hook at a short, rising ball, and Mohammad Ashraful was caught behind for six edging a loose drive off Best to leave Bangladesh 100 for five.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim then spent the next half-hour defying the West Indies attack before more misfortune hit the Tigers.

Shakib was dubiously adjudged caught at gully to give Roach his first Test wicket, but video replays showed that New Zealand
umpire Tony Hill’s decision was questionable, since the ball came off the forearm guard of the batsman.

Bangladesh play two Tests, three one-day internationals, and a Twenty20 international on their five-week tour of the Caribbean.