Ten Sports signs deal with Zimbabwe Cricket

Peter Chingoka: ‘This will allow us to continue the development of the game in the country’© Getty Images

Ten Sports, the Dubai-based sports channel, has entered into a sponsorship deal with the Zimbabwe board. This new agreement, which includes sale of title sponsorship and advertising boards, would also cover India’s tour of Zimbabwe in October 2005.This deal guarantees a substantial increase in the income of the board. In April this year, the Zimbabwe government had deported the Sky News TV crew out of the country citing breach of media laws. However, Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, was pleased with the current deal and said, “This will allow us to continue with our development of the game in the country.”Peter Hutton, the vice-president of Ten Sports, was delighted at this latest development and added: “We have enjoyed a strong relationship with the board for many years now and are happy to assist in the development of cricket in the country.”

Simon Katich 143* is highlight of another Hampshire recovery.


Katich sets off for his 100

<Simon Katich recorded his highest Hampshire score so far when he batted quite brilliantly for 143 not out whilst carnage was abound around him. Losing their first three wickets for 7 runs (all extras) his team was in danger of being skittled at Scarborough.Resuming at 326 for 5, Yorkshire struggled against some tight bowling to reach the 400 mark and the maximum batting points. Simon Guy was superbly taken by Iain Brunnschweiler off Chris Tremlett in the first over of the day, then Shaun Udal had Yuvraj Singh caught at deep mid wicket, trapped Gray lbw and had Steve Kirby well caught by Jimmy Adams. In the meantime James Bruce dismissed Ryan Sidebottom forcing him early on the drive. Four wicket tumbled for just 4 runs.In the first over Derek Kenway was bowled when the ball trickled off his pads onto his stumps (2-1), James Adams followed when he edged Chris Silverwood to slip (4-2), the John Crawley not enjoying the best form of late then edged the swift Steve Kirby to the wicket-keeper (7-3).John Francis joined Simon Katich in a an 89 run stand dominated by the Aussie and the help of an abundance of no balls from the Yorkshire bowlers, Francis went for a patient nine, and James Hamblin first ball fell to Chris Silverwood, Dimitri Mascarenhas edged Sidebotton to slip and suddenly at 107-6 the visitors were looking at another follow on.What was needed at one end was support for Simon Katich, and the lower order batsmen responded magnificently. First Shaun Udal scoring 26 put on 52 for the seventh wicket, Iain Brunnschweiler playing in his first Championship match put on 73 taking Hamppshire to with three runs of saving the follow on. Chris Tremlett then joined his team mate in another half-century stand, and Yorkshire's first innings lead of 95 was far less than the seaside spectators had been envisaging earlier in the day. A return of 52 extras conceded by Yorkshire also helped Hampshire's cause, 43 of them in no-balls.Simon Katich played some magnificent shots around the ground, his 142 not out took him 194 balls in which he struck 20 fours and a hugh straight six, his second first-class century of the season and his seventeenth overall.There was time for just 10 overs as Yorkshire started their second innings.Incessant rain throughout the 3rd day curtailed any possibility of play.

Zimbabwe to spend election on the beach

The Zimbabweans are due to arrive tomorrow night and open their Sri Lanka tour with two one-day practice matches on December 1 and 3 in Colombo before departing to the beach during the Sri Lankan elections.For the next three days they will be at Taj Exotica in Bentota before returning to Colombo for the commencement of the one-day triangular series with Sri Lanka and West Indies on December 8.The West Indies will remain in Colombo after the Test having net practice at the SSC on December 4 and 6. On the advice of the police, the Cricket Board has kept the dates from December 3-7 free of any cricket due to the December 5 parliamentary elections.Sri Lanka’s one-day squad is expected to be announced soon after the third Test ends on December 3.

Yasir 'fit again' but Pakistan ponder cover

Yasir Shah is expected to be fit for the second Test against England in Dubai after recovering from the back spasm which ruled him out of the opening contest. However, team manager Intikhab Alam hinted there could be a surprise addition to the squad after Pakistan’s attempts to call up Zafar Gohar for this match were thwarted by visa issues.Responding to criticism from Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, over the lack of spin cover in the initial 16-man squad, Alam told ESPNcricinfo. “We don’t want to reveal anything at the moment but we have some plans.”That could throw an intriguing couple of names into the frame. A long shot would be Saeed Ajmal, who tormented England here in 2012, but has had to remodel his action and was not effective for Worcestershire in the County Championship this year, while another option may be offspinner Bilal Asif even though his action is under scrutiny after the one-day series in Zimbabwe.Bilal was reported after taking 5 for 25 in Harare, but the reporting and assessment process laid down by the ICC allows him to continuing bowling until the results of the tests are known. The testing has to take place within 14 days of the report and he is due to travel via Dubai to Chennai, one of the ICC’s approved testing centres, on October 18 and be tested the following day. He would be available for selection until the results come through, a process that takes a further 14 days and means, in theory, he would at least be available for the Dubai Test starting on October 22.Ajmal, meanwhile, who on Friday was traveling from Faisalabad to Lahore, told ESPNcricinfo he was not expecting to be called-up. “Of course everyone might be thinking about me right now but I can confirm that they haven’t asked about my passport,” Ajmal said. “But I am sure in the present scenario they are definitely thinking about me.”At the toss Misbah expressed his frustration at the lack of an extra spinner in the squad, thoughts echoed by the head coach Waqar Younis when he spoke to TV on Friday. Pakistan’s plan was to play two fast bowlers and at least two specialist spinners but they were forced to bring in Imran Khan as part of a three-man seam attack after Yasir and Gohar didn’t make it.Over the last two days Yasir has been seen jogging around the ground during intervals and having a bowl in the nets. “He is fit and will be match fit by the second Test,” Alam said. “We no more require Zafar as he was only named replacement for the first Test but he didn’t make it, so we have plenty of time ahead of the next game to decide.”With Yasir set to be available it would appear unlikely that Pakistan would alter their first-choice spin pairing even though Zulfiqar Babar, by lunch on the fourth day, had bowled 48 wicketless overs. The first Test was still awaiting its first wicket for a spinner.

Emrit stars in Trinidad's comprehensive win

Scorecard
Seamer Rayad Emrit starred with a four-wicket haul to help Trinidad and Tobago comprehensively beat Guyana at Providence. Guyana fought back after a poor start but their total of 208 wasn’t enough as Kieron Pollard helped his side ease to the target.Guyana were weakened when captain Ramnaresh Sarwan pulled out before the start of play after sustaining an ankle injury during training. Sent into bat on a pitch which tested the batsmen with variable bounce, the Guyana openers added 36. However, they lost their way as Mervyn Dillon dismissed Sewnarine Chattergoon with a good delivery that moved away from him and Emrit proceeded to take three wickets in quick succession.At 77 for 5, with Guyana in danger of folding up early, Neil McGarrell and Leon Johnson counter-attacked with half-centuries. Johnson added 43 for the sixth-wicket with Derwin Christian that pushed the total to 120. McGarrell continued the rebuilding process as he supported Johnson in a quick-fire stand of 47 for the seventh wicket. Johnson’s 50 came off 72 balls with four fours and two sixes while McGarrell’s 51 was more aggressive, coming off 39 balls with three fours and a six. Guyana added 42 off the last five overs to finish on 208 for 8 at the end of 50 overs.The target wasn’t enough for the Guyana bowlers to defend as Mario Belcon and Daren Ganga led a steady reply. Dwayne Bravo chipped in with 28 but the finishing touches were added by Pollard who helped himself to an unbeaten half-century. His 52 came off 62 balls with three fours and a six as T&T reached the target with four overs to spare. T&T now head the Zone B table with 12 points and the win has given the defending champions a boost ahead of the semi-finals.
ScorecardAn impressive performance by the spinners helped Windward Islands ease to a five-wicket win over Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in Berbice. After wrapping up CCC cheaply for 131, Darren Sammy and Under-19 batsman Donwell Hector reached the target in the 34th over. It was a consolation win for Windwards who were already eliminated from the tournament after losing their two opening games.After being put into bat by Rawl Lewis, the openers Shirley Clarke and Omar Phillips began steadily, adding 45. However, spinners Shane Shillingford and Gary Mathurin struck quickly to peg CCC back at 54 for 3. The spinners continued to make life difficult for the batsmen as Lewis and Liam Sebastien ran through the middle and lower order, sharing six wickets between them. CCC lost their last six wickets for 20 runs and were left to defend a rather modest score.On a pitch with variable bounce, the CCC bowlers had their moments, picking up three quick wickets after the Windwards openers added 43. Sammy and Hector then added 43 for the fourth wicket to push their side closer to victory.

Former Test player charged with arson

The burnt-out remains of the Academy © Cricinfo

Mark Vermeulen has been charged by the police in connection with two arson attacks earlier this week which destroyed buildings at the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy and damaged an office at the headquarters of Zimbabwe Cricket. He is expected to appear in court in the next few days.A source said that Vermeulen, who played eight Tests between 2002 and 2004, had been due to fly to Johannesburg on Wednesday.”He’s been detained since yesterday on charges of arson,” Vermeulen’s father Roland said. “We don’t know at the moment where they are holding him … but we are trying our best to get him out and sort matters while he is outside.”He flew back to Zimbabwe in September ostensibly to try to win back his place in the national side. But he was not picked in the provisional squad for the forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe and his chances of a recall appeared almost non existent.His summer in England ended in controversy when he was banned – initially for ten years but that was reduced on appeal – following an altercation during a Lancashire League match.

van Wyk holds up Lions victory charge

A career-best 158 from Morne van Wyk kept the Eagles in with an outside chance of pulling off a comeback against the Lions although a target of 173 should not provide too many problems on the final day. van Wyk added 143 for the eighth-wicket with Ryan McLaren to help guide the Eagles from 213 for 7 to 381 all out. Garnet Kruger was the pick of the attack with a hard-earned 5 for 114.The third day at Paarl was low on excitement as an attritional performance from the Cape Cobras produced 192 runs in 96 overs. An unbroken eighth wicket stand of 49 between Vernon Philander and Paul Adams edged them past the follow on after Dale Benkenstein produced a surprising performance with the ball for the Dolphins. The Cape Cobra’s early progress was steady as Gerhard Strydom reached 82 before Benkenstein burst through with three quick wickets with his medium pace. Ian Harvey struck a valuable half-century, but Ugasen Govender’s three wickets kept the Dolphins in control.Alviro Petersen and Zander de Bruyn cracked impressive centuries to take the Titans into a first-innings lead against the Warriors at East London. Petersen faced 289 balls before falling to Tyron Henderson but then de Bruyn and Albie Morkel added an unbeaten 110 for the sixth wicket. A draw is the favourite result on a pitch that has been a batsman’s paradise.

ICC to return to Kenya in January

The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit will return to Kenya in January to interview a further 10 players as part of its ongoing investigation into allegations of match-fixing resulting from the recent hearing which banned Maurice Odumbe.Martin Hawkins and Alan Peacock, the two ICC officials who have been in Nairobi since Tuesday, had rather a wasted trip. Most of the players they had hoped to speak to were either out of the country or refused to meet with them. Allan Kosgey, who represents the players, explained that his clients had been given insufficient notice of the visit.”I am discussing with my clients which dates would suit them,” Kosgey told Reuters. “We agreed that they will return in January to interview my clients [who] are happy to be interviewed at a future date which is convenient to them.”It is understood that Hawkins and Peacock did speak to Ravindu Shah, Brijal Patel, Lamech Onyango and Alpesh Vadher.

Traffic warning – clubs going to South Wilts

South Wilts Cricket Club wish to pass on the following message to all visiting teams in the month of August.The A36 at Skew Bridge (just before the ground on way out of Salisbury) will be closed from Friday 10pm to Monday 6am on at least the first two weekends in August and possibly other weekends.Alternative routes…..From South (Southampton, Bournemouth roads), follow diversion signs. About 300 yards short of traffic lights where road rejoins A36 at Wilton, turn right through Quidhampton. At the end of the village fork left and then right onto A36 to approach the ground from the West.From South (Southampton, Bournemouth roads), take usual route but when on Wilton Road turn left after the Shell garage into Cherry Orchard Lane. Under the railway bridge and turn right at the end of the road. Follow the narrow road round and turn sharp right at the small church up Church Lane. At top of hill turn left and ground is almost immediately on left.From East/North, head towards Wilton and join A36 at roundabout in Wilton. Heading towards Salisbury the ground is on your right.Please inform your players, umpires and officials. Any problems/questions, please call Brian White or any other club official.Matches that are likely to be affected:Saturday 2nd August – South Wilts II v Flamingo (Southern Premier League)Saturday 2nd August – South Wilts II v Hook & Newnham II (Hampshire League)Saturday 9th August – South Wilts v Andover (Southern Premier League)Saturday 9th August – South Wilts IV v Wherwell (Hampshire League)Saturday 16th August – South Wilts II v Leckford (Southern Premier League)Saturday 23rd August – South Wilts v Bashley (Rydal) (Southern Premier League)Saturday 30th August – South Wilts II v New Milton (Southern Premier League)Saturday 30th August – South Wilts IV v Donnington (Hampshire League)Sunday matches in the Cross Solent League include South Wilts v Hursley Park and South Wilts v Portsmouth.

MacGill fined $1500 for dissent

NSW leg spinner Stuart MacGill tonight was fined $1,500 after being found guilty of breaching two clauses of the Australian Cricket Board’s code of behaviour.A NSW Cricket spokesman said that MacGill was fined $750 for each of the charges, which related to showing dissent and crude and abusive behaviour during the second day’s play of the Pura Cup match between the Blues and Tasmania at the SCG today.MacGill was placed on report after he vented his anger at umpire David Brandon, who had turned down an lbw appeal from the former Test spinner.Code of Behaviour commissioner Terry Buddin SC found MacGill guilty of the charges but dismissed a charge of unbecoming behaviour.The NSW Cricket spokesman could not provide any more details on the incident.

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