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Murali clone was useful in Kiwi preparations - NZ Manager |
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Aug 17, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
New Zealand seem to be leaving nothing to chance on their tour of Sri Lanka and leading up to the first Test match at Galle on Tuesday, the Kiwis have done everything possible as far as preparation goes.
First, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was flown into Colombo to provide the Kiwis useful tips on spin bowling and then little heard of teenage spinner Maurice Holmes, who bowls like Muttiah Muralitharan was flown in from England to help their preparations.
The Kiwis had first come across Holmes, a 19-year-old Kent spinner, during the T-20 World Cup in England where he was a net bowler and the New Zealand players had convinced the board that the youngster’s presence in Colombo could help the team in countering the huge threat posed by Muralitharan.
"Maurice was a net bowler in England during the T-20 World Cup. He bowls a number of balls that Murali bowls and as we don’t have a lot of experience in playing spin bowling, we thought of bringing him over ahead of the Test series," New Zealand Manager David Currie told ‘The Island’ yesterday.
"He was very useful in our preparations, but how useful that will be, we’ll find out when the Test begins," Currie added. |
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Spin king in Trinco in search of talent |
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Aug 17, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
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Ceylinco Life Coaching camp
The big question facing Sri Lankan cricket at the moment is what after world’s highest wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan retires from the game. The ace-spinner has indicated that he will be retiring from the game in November next year. Although Muralitharan hasn’t spoken on what he intends to do in post retirement, he gave an hint that coaching maybe an option when he conducted a coaching clinic in Trincomalee on Friday to young spinners of the area.
The arrival of country’s favourite cricket son to Ehambaram Stadium in Trincomalee attracted huge number of cricket enthusiasts who have been able to only follow him in television.
Muralitharan flanked by his childhood coach Sunil Fernando and team-mate at St. Anthony’s College, Piyal Wijetunga, the current spin bowling coach at Sri Lanka Cricket, mixed with the locals freely while speaking to the young bowlers on spin bowling and searching for talent.
Around 150 cricketers had come in for the session conducted by the bowler with the support of his sponsors Ceylinco Life.
Deputy Chairman of Ceylinco Life R. Renganathan, and Samitha Hemachandra, Deputy General Manager of Ceylinco Life were present at the occasion. "Trincomalee has talent but they have gone backwards due to the problems that we had during last few years. But if companies like Ceylinco can come forward for the development of the game, we can see more talents coming through," Muralitharan, who is a Brand Ambassador of Ceylinco Life told journalists.
Roshen Steelman reporting from Trincomalee |
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Bizarre move over spinner |
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Aug 16, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
You know there's far too much money sloshing around in cricket, not to mention some very weird thinking, when a 19-year-old from the Kent 2nd XI is flown by the New Zealand team halfway round the world to be a net bowler.
Apparently Maurice Holmes is such a good exponent of the doosra, the leg spinner bowled with the off-spinner's action, that he was worth bringing from England to Sri Lanka to bowl at New Zealand batsmen during practice at the start of the tour.
He's so good he hasn't even played first class cricket.
Considering England is not exactly a hot bed of spin bowling talent (don't they have anybody better than Graeme Swann?) you would think that, if this guy was the real deal, he might have played some county matches.
Holmes has played five matches for the Kent second XI this season, bowled in four of them and taken 10 wickets at 53 runs each. That's the level of player New Zealand Cricket flew 10,000km to get ready to face the greatest wicket taker in test history - Muttiah Muralitharan and his brilliant young successor Ajantha Mendis. |
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Kaneria being wasted by Pak team management: Saqlain |
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Aug 14, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
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Colombo, Aug.14 (ANI): Former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has criticized selectors for not picking leg-spinner Danish Kaneria for the one-day games, saying the bowler is being wasted by the team management by playing him only in Test matches. “Kaneria is a very experienced bowler and he has quality about him. I would like to see him playing in Tests and other forms of the game as well,” Mushtaq said. Mushtaq believed that Kaneria together with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal could form a lethal spin attack for Pakistan in the limited over games. “Pakistan should take advantage of the fact that they have a seasoned bowler like Danish; he and Saeed Ajmal can form a potent and effective spin pair for Pakistan in Test and ODI games,” The Dawn quoted Mushtaq, as saying. Kaneria, who was overlooked in the first two matches of the Sri Lanka series, has taken nearly 250 wickets in the longer version of the game. He was not considered for the one-day international series and the one-off Twenty20 match even after grabbing five wickets in the first innings of the third Test of the three match series. When asked about his new assignment as New Zealand’s spin bowling coach, Mushtaq said he accepted the offer as Pakistani cricket administration never contacted him for any coaching job. “I am a professional and I have to earn my living from somewhere,” he said. (ANI) |
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Aug 15, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
THE least surprising news item of the week was Shane Warne's imminent induction to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, now he meets the eligibility requirement of having been retired for two years. Or does he? Last time we looked, he was playing Twenty20 cricket and earning big money doing so. But let's not split hairs. His career, as most fans would understand it, was playing for Australia and that's not going to happen again. If the Ashes didn't tempt him to embark on a comeback, nothing will - and nor should it. He couldn't improve on what he's done. Not on the field anyway. But wait, there IS more. Warne is proving to be a major hit in the TV commentary box, where his strategic instincts, straight-shooting style, laconic humour and vast experience have outshone English veterans such as Ian Botham, David Gower and Michael Atherton and even the ever-popular West Indies champion Michael Holding. It has been suggested he might be the next Richie Benaud, but in a sense he is already. In his day, Benaud was the world's best leg-spinner and eventually held the Australian record for Test wickets. Ditto Warney. Now the commentary box has benefited from both. And if Benaud is the best example of a player turned broadcaster, then many of those old enough to remember would suggest the best print commentator among former players was the late, great Bill O'Reilly - another leg-spinner. Before him, Arthur Mailey was a highly entertaining writer -- his book 10-66 And All That is a classic - and cartoonist. Another recently retired leggie making a name on TV, not just as a cricket expert but a food and wine buff, is Stuart MacGill, while Kerry O'Keeffe's unique style of humour has made him a star on ABC radio. |
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Back in the day.. |
Brief but brutal Barry Richards' seven-week Test career....More |
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"Chirps" |
"He is essentially a bowling machine. He has had success by operating mechanically."
Vic Marks explains the workings of Monty Panesar, in the Guardian
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