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DARYL'S DIARY...now in India for The Champions League ...October 2009 [Most recent entry first]shed
TEST CRICKET RETURNS TO BRABOURNE Wednesday, 2nd December 2009 MUMBAI, INDIA In 1973 I married my current wife. Actually Maureen remains my only wife. But only one month after our ceremony, India was host to England in the fifth Test of a series at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. After almost 37 years of wedded bliss, and no Test cricket at The Cricket Club of India...it's back! Wankhede Stadium is being reinvented as preparations are underway for it to host the 2011 ICC World Cup Final. It resembles a building site and is therefore unavailable for this series. Brabourne Stadium is a very attractive arena and carries within its premises a great history of cricket in India. The walls are decorated with hundreds of photographs, many from a bygone era, when cricket was truly a gentleman's game...and hawk eye was an attribute that an umpire needed, rather than a replay system. In fact, it's almost impossible to walk the corridors without pausing at every step to admire photographs of the likes of Gundappa Vishwanath, Sunil Gavaskar and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan...and I typed that one without using spell-check! The club has many active members and caters for a number of sports including tennis, squash, swimming, table tennis and billiards. On a tour of the clubrooms, I was fascinated to see a large number of members enjoying card games in the beautifully appointed card room. I hope to get an opportunity to visit the extensive library that has a wonderful collection of titles. I will be looking for as book entitled " The Burning Finger." It was written by Madhav Gothoskar, one of the two officiating umpires in that Test match that was played just after my honeymoon. Mr. Gothoskar is eighty years old and I have been informed is still a resident of Mumbai. I'd love to get the opportunity to meet him. His partner in crime for that game was Judah Reuben who passed away in 2006 at the age of 84 years. I use the term "partner in crime" rather loosely but Judah Reuben was apparently a finger print expert in the Mumbai police at that time...so he really was Gothoskar's partner in crime... India won comfortably in Kanpur last week so Sri Lanka will be desperate to break through for their first Test victory on Indian soil. Since their first meeting in 1982, India has won nine Tests and drawn seven. The teams have never before been opposed at Brabourne Stadium. Cheers Daryl
BLUES OVERCOME BUSHRANGERS Thursday, 22nd October 2009 HYDERABAD, INDIA New South Wales last night repeated the dose from their recent domestic clashes at home with the Victorian Bushrangers. The powerful Bushrangers were sent packing by The Blues who delivered some knockout blows. Firstly they batted aggressively early through David Warner and Phillip Hughes, then took two crucial early wickets in the second over to scuttle the chances for the Bushrangers who never recovered. Twenty20 cricket doesn't allow time for steadying and building an innings after a setback. The Blues have an impressive attack, with an abundance with internationals. Brett Lee and Doug Bollinger usually lead the way. However Nathan Hauritz took the early wickets of Rob Quiney and Brad Hodge in only the second over of the innings to send the Bushrangers reeling. Follow that up with the evergreen and unflappable Stuart Clark, supported by the youngsters in Moises Henriques and Steven Smith and they are a hard side to overcome. The recovery never came, but the end did rather quickly. Tonight the Trinidad and Tobago outfit will meet the Cape Cobras from South Africa in the second semi final here in Hyderabad. The victors will meet the Blues here tomorrow night in the final clash of this inaugural Champions League. There have been many individual highlights so far but the blazing bat of Trinnie and Tobago's Kieran Pollard against the Blues when he hammered an unbeaten 54 runs from only 18 deliveries is the standout for me. Who knows? There might be someone who can go one better tonight or in the final tomorrow. Between games my daughter and I have enjoyed roaming about the old city of Hyderabad. Whether exploring Golkonda Fort or the markets of Charminar, there's always plenty to see...like the Charminar Dental Hospital and its array of replacement dentures...
I found some cricket fans at the Charminar Dental Clinic.
I just couldn't find any dentures that were a comfortable fit!
Dary CHARGERS ATTACK REPELLED Thursday, 15th October 2009 HYDERABAD, INDIA Adam Gilchrist couldn't do it alone. His mighty Deccan Chargers couldn't do enough to support him and qualify for the second round in the inaugural Champions League. Incredibly...the reigning Indian Premier League champion has never won a match on home soil...here in The Pearl City. And they've made nine failed attempts to take the points at home and to give their fans something to cheer about. It does seem strange but the team struggled near the bottom of the table in IPL 2008, losing all seven home games. It was in South Africa this year where the Chargers gelled into a powerful unit...and where they took their title. I'll never forget the opening over from Dirk Nannes in the semi final at Centurion when Adam Gilchrist pierced the field five times. None of the strokes were wild slogs. All boundaries were sweetly timed cricket strokes out of the manual...and out of the centre of the blade. I recall that he was out for 85 runs before the ten over strategic break had been taken and the team's score was only 102 at the time. Last night was always going to be an impossible dream. The Somerset Sabres had opened their account with a win over the Deccan Chargers but had gone on to suffer at the hands on the athletic and energized Trinidad and Tobago outfit. A win was never going to be enough for The Chargers. Due to an inferior run rate the chase needed to be completed in less than nine overs and chasing 150 runs in quick time is rarely going to have a happy ending. The contest did go down to the wire but a boundary was needed from the final delivery to force a super over eliminator. The Eagles had rolled the Sharks in Delhi on the previous night in the only eliminator over seen in the Champions League. It would have been further excitement in a good evening's entertainment. My colleague, Rudi Koertzen and I decided in the final over that both eliminator overs would be bowled at my end if required. It was a responsibility for the umpires to determine which end would be used so we planned ahead. Sadly it was not to be. Only a single run down the ground was scored from the final delivery...so Hyderabad had retained their form at home! Here in Hyderabad, we now have four teams in residence at The Kakatiya Hotel...Blues,
CHAMPIONS TROPHY or CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Thursday, 15th October 2009 HYDERABAD, INDIA I can understand if there is confusion in the cricket world. We are about to see champions everywhere. I am in Johannesburg for The ICC Champions Trophy. This is 50 over cricket...ODI cricket...one day cricket as we have known it for over thirty years. Australia and England are playing a series of warm up games in England at the moment, fine tuning their games for the real thing coming up next week. This event will be contested by the eight highest ranking ODI national teams in the world. This is a replacement for the event that was to be held in Pakistan last year but was postponed for a number of reasons. Australia will defend its title won in India in 2006. But South Africa currently heads the ranking table with India, Sri Lanka and Australia in hot pursuit. Pakistan, New Zealand, England and the West Indies complete the participating countries. Every team plays the other three teams in their group before two teams are eliminated and two move forward to the semi finals. Now this is not to be confused with The Champions League. That series will commence immediately after the Champions Trophy and it will be held in three Indian cities...Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad. I will be based in The Pearl City...Hyderabad, home of IPL 2009 champions, Adam Gilchrist's Deccan Chargers. The League will feature many top domestic teams who reached the final of their own Twenty 20 competitions. Victoria and New South Wales represent Australia, while Somerset and Kent will compete from England. Other teams from Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa and even a team from Trinidad and Tobago will be amongst the action. It is a twelve team series with every team assured of two games before anyone is eliminated. Eight umpires have been selected for this prestigious tournament and everyone has arrived from their previous appointment or from home. I enjoyed mixed emotions in the days before I departed from home. Our son was married in a beautiful garden setting and the reception that followed was full of good cheer and optimism. It was a day to remember and was enjoyed by all.
I reckon we all scrubbed up quite well for the biggest event in our family for years. Conversely, my Adelaide Crows bit the dust in the second round of AFL finals and were eliminated by Collingwood, a club with an impressive history in our sport. Looks like it's back to the drawing board for the Crows as the season's best four teams compete for the big prize.
BOYS WILL BE BOYS... Monday, 17th August 2009 GALLE, SRI LANKA A lot has happened in the last week. I seemed to live in airports and in the air. But I am not complaining. It was all my own choosing. I enjoyed three wins in Boston where the Redsox held sway over the Detroit Tigers and now I am in Sri Lanka about to commence the first of two Tests with the touring Kiwis. I estimate that I travelled over 35,000 kilometres on six flights and spent just over fifty hours airborne. It was just short of a circuit of the world by less than five thousand kilometres but all for a good cause. I really enjoy a night out at a baseball game. There are so many similarities between baseball and Twenty 20 cricket with batting, fielding and throwing the ball. A team's fate in a baseball game really revolves heavily around the starting pitcher, more so than a cricket team that relies on having several top flight bowlers. One aspect that fascinates me in baseball is the aggression on display between teams. In Boston last Tuesday, a batter was struck in the back by a pitch. He had also been struck on the arm on the previous night. Although he gets a free pass to first base, this batter was incensed by the blow and charged towards the pitcher in a rage. He threw his helmet at the pitcher and wrestled him to the ground. That is the signal for both teams to clear their benches and to join in the jostling on the diamond. Every player and coach charged to the action and flexed his muscles without throwing a punch. The umpires waited for the players to disperse and immediately ejected the batter from the game. After some discussion, the pitcher was also sent to the showers. My baseball friends tell me this this is just a regular part of the game. It has always happened and indeed it is mandatory for team mates to support their colleague. Judging by the spectators around me, it is an aspect of baseball that the people love...that show of emotion and the ability to express one's feelings. I'm just so glad it isn't acceptable behaviour in a cricket match.
All quiet on the diamond at Fenway Park as the Redsox host the Tigers... A Redsox batter is struck on the back and everyone joins the push and shove... Back here in the real world, I am in Galle for my sixth Test at this historic venue. Strangely I was here only a month ago when Sri Lanka had a surprise win against Pakistan. Needing less than a hundred runs on the third morning, Pakistan managed to implode and lose 8/47 to lose the first Test in a series of three. As in July, there has been rain during pitch preparation time, so the nature of the pitch is a matter of conjecture. Daniel Vettori's Kiwis have enjoyed some good conditions and excellent match day conditioning in two warm-up games in this testing environment.
PLAY BALL... Monday, 10th August 2009 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. I'm changing codes...but only for the week. I've made my way to Boston to see three games of baseball. It might sound a little bizarre to travel so far but I've been a baseball follower since my high school days. So when an opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance. It's actually 37 hours from home to the first pitch on Monday night at Fenway Park... All I'm hoping to do is to stay awake until the first game is over. Even if you haven't heard much about baseball, I'm sure you have almost certainly heard of the rivalry between the Boston Redsox and the New York Yankees. The tension between the teams...and the cities, dates back to 1918 and the sale of Babe Ruth from Boston to New York. The Yankees were immediately transformed into a formidable opponent, winning 26 championships while Boston endured an 86 year drought without a single title until 2004. It was often referred to as "The Curse of The Bambino" and it survived for generations. Countless baseball fans of Boston must have passed away without enjoying a single World Series victory. The teams play each other in 19 games in the 2009 regular season and Boston jumped out to an 8-0 lead until last weekend's series in The Bronx. The Yankees won all four contests and have taken a comfortable lead in their division. My three games will be between the Boston Redsox and the Detroit Tigers, another team that is currently leading its division. Part of the attraction for me is the similarity between baseball and cricket. With our most recent Twenty 20 format, we now have a form of our game that is more closely related to baseball than ever before. Both games can last for two to three hours and each team has approximately 120 deliveries to score from. There are exceptions in baseball like last Friday's contest in New York. The teams battled for more than six hours without either team being able to score a single run. It was a pitching duel between two outstanding athletes. The regular nine innings' contest stretched to 15 innings before the Yankees prevailed to break the deadlock.
AND NOW FOR THE BIG ONE... Friday, 19th June, 2009 Regent's Park, ENGLAND And so there are only two teams remaining in the hunt for the second ICC T20 title. Pakistan and Sri Lanka... In the women's final, England earned their place in the Lord's finale on Sunday with a powerful win over Australia. They will play host to New Zealand who qualified with their commanding semi final win over India in Nottingham on Thursday. In the late game Pakistan will meet Sri Lanka...and who will win is anyone's guess. Both teams have qualified by playing exciting and unpredictable cricket. All the noise from the media about teams being surprisingly eliminated and favourites not reaching the final is just nonsense. How can any team be a hot favourite in a form of the sport that is so dynamic. On any day, any team can beat any opponent. We are not talking rocket science here. A Test victory requires several players to carry their team home. A one day international victory requires two batsmen to have a partnership and a bowler to perform brilliantly. But this T20 cricket requires one person to do the unexpected...and the game is won. Tonight the game was done when Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews took three wickets in the opening over of the Windies' innings....game over. Earlier it had been Tillekeratne Dilshan's sparkling unbeaten 96 from 90 balls that set up his side for victory. The target was always going to be tough...but a 57 run victory was still surprising. Now we look forward to a unique double-header on Sunday at Lord's. The forecast is for fine weather so the spectacle should be memorable. Cheers Daryl
WOMEN FIRST... Friday, 12th June, 2009 Taunton, ENGLAND After three games in the preliminary round of the ICC 2009 Twenty20 World Championship Series, we have now moved on to Taunton, in the county of Somerset. It's time for the women to begin their T20 World Cup and all preliminary games are to be held here at The Taunton Cricket Ground. The West Indies won the opening game against South Africa with a run chase falling short in the final over. In the evening match, hosts England restricted India to 8/112 runs before Sarah Taylor and captain Charlotte Edwards both notched unbeaten half centuries in a ten wicket victory. Back in Nottingham, New Zealand had a powerful victory over Ireland in the first of the Men's Super Eight Stage matches. England lost early wickets against an impressive South African attack and never recovered to post an inadequate total. The Proteas were never really stretched as they successfully accumulated their runs without needing to take Twenty20 type risks. More excitement is planned for today, but it's a chance for a breather here in Taunton. Cheers Daryl
UMPCAM ... My view of the IPL so far Wednesday, 20th May, 2009 Jo'burg, SOUTH AFRICA
UMP CAM…An Umpire’s View of The IPL
Welcome to UMPCAM…an insight into an umpire’s life during the Indian Premier League. I have been here in South Africa since the opening day in Cape Town when a glittering ceremony launched the second edition of this cricket extravaganza. I was appointed to officiate in the inaugural competition in India last year when the concept of cricket franchises was first introduced to the world. I loved the experience as we crossed the nation from Mumbai to Kolkata and from Chandigarh to Chennai.
As we move into the final week of this 2009 series, I have chosen to look back at some of the highlights of the first month for me as an umpire…and forward to some vital moments that await us. Twenty20 cricket has seen the introduction of many innovations to the newest version of cricket. Teams now have a squad of coaching staff, each charged with a different responsibility. The players sit in dugouts waiting for their turn to bat. A strategic time out punctuates the middle of each innings. And every innings must begin with a team huddle. Even the umpires have been seen in a huddle to generate a sense of bonding and team unity…
This series has seen twenty different umpires take to the field…five from the I.C.C. Elite Panel, nine from the I.C.C. International Panel and six more from the domestic panel of umpires in India. Performing in front of big crowds and vast television audiences is great experience, especially so for the latter group who are striving to be recognized for their skills, and eventually to achieve promotion within their system. You can’t buy umpiring experience like this so these opportunities are to be grasped and enjoyed and savoured. This may appear to be an international tournament by the team lists and auction valuations, but is in fact a domestic series. Our next generation of umpires must be exposed to such tough competition if they are to make the grade. It has been pleasing to observe their development, however short the series.
Twenty20 cricket appears to many outsiders to be easy to umpire…and they are right…to a degree. A Test match remains the ultimate challenge for an umpire. In the last year, I averaged seven or eight tough appeals/day throughout my nine Test appearances. In One Day cricket that average dropped to around four or five appeals. In Twenty20 cricket, we probably answer two or three challenging appeals/game. But is it easy to umpire? Granted it is easier than a Test, but being prepared to answer any number of obscure questions is the secret. In game no.48 between Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders, the umpires were faced with three challenging moments that I observed from the comfort and luxury of The Wanderers President’s Box. 1. A fast bowler delivered a second fast full toss above waist height in the innings and had to be immediately given his cap and his marching orders…banished to the outfield. Another bowler was summoned to complete the over. 2. Only three fieldsmen were within the fielding restriction circle on the first delivery of the final over of the match. Not a popular call of no ball when only a handful of runs are required for victory. 3. A batsman in running between the wickets appeared to deflect the ball away from the general vicinity of his body with his hand not holding the bat, depriving the fielders of an opportunity to run him out. The umpire would have been placing himself in the best position to view the popping crease at the time. The batsman probably claimed that he was rightly protecting himself from injury but opinions are varied on that moment. These were three challenging moments that could have determined the outcome of the game. Umpires can be faced with such moments at any time in the match. The secret for success is not to be able to quote the Law like a parrot. The secret is to apply the Law appropriately and efficiently and fairly to every player and to both teams whenever the moment arises. But what do we umpires do between fixtures? We certainly don’t umpire every day of the week. Many people have the stereotypical view of an umpire as being middle aged, extremely serious in nature, devoid of humour and obsessed with statistics. Being in my late fifties, I have concluded from various published studies that approximately 87% of umpires can be categorized in this group… but not me… I enjoy extreme sports away from the demands of high tension cricket. I’m sure you would be surprised if I told you that I enjoy bungee jumping, rock climbing and white water rafting. Actually…I would also be surprised. I prefer to watch them all from a safe distance…with the remote control held firmly in my right hand. The only extreme sport I’ve participated in lately is Dodge Ball. When Matthew Hayden starts to walk towards the approaching bowler, he not only intimidates that bowler, but I brace myself for an attack. Chris Gayle and David Warner have the same effect on me. I admire their skills but I’d like to see them play square of the wicket more often. Mark my words; we umpires will soon be donning protective gear, similar to a baseball umpire, for the survival of the species. Here in South Africa most of my colleagues have taken the opportunity to see some wildlife…Lion King style.
This brings me to some vital moments that are approaching as the series moves towards its climactic finish. I will be involved in a semi final and the concluding game of the series. I am already mentally preparing myself for my role in each game. Before then, I will spend some quality time with my daughter in Kruger Park. I can’t think of better preparation for the finals than to get out and to breathe the jungle air. I only hope I can cope without the internet for two days. Cheers Daryl
IT'S TOUGH AT THE TOP Tuesday, 5th May, 2009 JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA After just cruising past the half way mark in this series, we have a very closely contested battle for places in the final. The Knight Riders are the only players who can't target a place in the semi finals. Realistically with one win from eight games, they would need the magic of Bollywood to get through. And apparently their leading man, Shah Rukh Khan has returned to India for commitments. End of script! The remaining seven teams are only separated by a single win with most teams still having six or seven games to complete the preliminary round. It's impossible to confidently name a certainty for the final game so that's good for the crowds attending and those watching at home. This is a great learning experience for some of the umpires with almost half our number coming from the Indian panels of umpires. It's a tough call to perform in front of a healthy crowd at the ground, knowing that there are tens of millions of critics in their homes. Most of the officials have performed well in foreign conditions. And each team must have at least seven Indian players so some youngsters are being exposed to the intensity of an international flavour of cricket. I don't have a game today so will definitely head to Pretoria to watch the Deccan Chargers take on the Mumbai Indians. Adam Gilchrist has been leading the team from Hyderabad by example and he will be opposed to Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. In the opposite innings, Mumbai's captain Sachin 6+4dulkar will be up against regular national team mate R.P.Singh. Whatever the result, I'll enjoy the spectacle and support my colleagues in action. Cheers Daryl
The Wanderers by night for a Twenty 20 game. MATURE AGE ENTERTAINMENT Wednesday, 29th April, 2009 JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA With Twenty20 cricket being played at such a frenetic pace, it is surprising to see that most of the match winning performances in IPL 2009 are coming from the older players. Adam Gilchrist at 37 years of age seems to be blasting quick runs every time he bats. And his Deccan Chargers who only won two matches in 2008, are currently the trend setters being unbeaten after four games. Another oldie supporting Gilchrist is Herschelle Gibbs who is enjoying a purple patch of form and has made some worthwhile contributions in partnership with his captain already. And Herschelle is in his thirty sixth year. Mark Boucher was man of the match in Bangalore's victory today over Kolkata...but he's a youngster at only 32 compared with Gibbs and Gilchrist! Anil Kumble opened the series with the remarkable figures of 5/5 for Bangalore...at the ripe old age 38 years. Last year's champion team, Rajasthan Royals are again contenders, with Shane Warne leading by example with bat, ball and in the field. The excitement of the first super over playoff against Kolkata in Cape Town last week was really absorbing with Warne, almost forty years of age being the senior statesman of the series. Still waiting in the wings for his 2009 debut for Delhi is Glen McGrath who is also heading for his fortieth birthday anniversary. With all of these old blokes in action, I don't feel as old as I should! Enough about age. My double-header last Tuesday was ruined by the weather in Durban. The early game was looking interesting when we were forced from the field in the tenth over of the second innings...and Duckworth/Lewis decided that The Knight Riders had done enough to win the contest from The Punjab King's XI. I almost retired hurt earlier in the innings when Chris Gayle used me as a target for one of his straight drives. I have no idea how I picked up the trajectory of that missile but miraculously I hit the ground at the right moment. After time expired and that game was declared over, we were forced to abandon our second game of the day. Last night in Pretoria, I was third umpire on the TV when Rajasthan upset the previously unbeaten Delhi Daredevils. Next Saturday I'll take the field here in Jo'burg when Chennai meets Delhi in the first IPL 2009 game at The Wanderers. Cheers Daryl
WHO TOOK THE 'I' OUT OF I.P.L? Monday, 20th April, 2009 DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA Hey...who did take the 'I' out of IPL? Just when I was looking forward to another Indian escapade, the Indian Premier League has been relocated to South Africa. What an incredible exercise to reorganise 59 games of cricket, along with the eight franchises, television crews and equipment, broadcasting arrangements, advertising and a bundle of umpires. We know that security was the issue with elections in Indian states consuming most available security forces so I have the answer to my question. I have been asked if IPL 2009 will be as good as IPL 2008. All I can say is that the inaugural series was my first encounter in cricket with the franchise system and the player auctions. It produced a closely contested series of games, with the final decided on the last ball of the 59th match. It will be hard to reproduce the frenzy that was experienced at the Indian venues. How do so many people generate so much noise for such a long time...and without requiring any alcoholic stimulation? We umpires were constantly struggling to hear any edges off the bat, let alone any messages via the walkie-talkies. The noise factor was significant for us. Conditions should be considerably better in that department, although the benefits may be offset by the marked increase in swing and seam movement of the ball, compared with Indian conditions. After four games of this tournament, the two top sides from last year have been beaten, Delhi looks again to be a powerful combination and last year's struggler Deccan Chargers has opened it's campaign with a strong effort over The Kolkata Knight Riders. In today's clash, Kevin Pietersen's Bangalore Royal Challengers take on M.S.Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings. That could mean Pietersen v Flintoff and Kumble v Dhoni, while Kallis and Steyn may clash with team mates Ntini and Alby Morkel. That could spell fireworks in Port Elizabeth. Meanwhile I'll enter the fray here in Durban tomorrow where we will stage a double header. Cheers Daryl
MY MOST MEMORABLE TEST...AGAIN Monday, 15th February, 2009 ST.JOHNS, ANTIGUA All right...I know I recently wrote that the Chennai Test in December was the most memorable clash in my umpiring career. But here in Antigua on Friday, I found another Test that was even more remarkable. I was privileged to be part of history. Well...privileged might be a stretch...but I was part of history. The second Test at The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium had everything. Play started on time at 10am but after only 1.2 overs we were forced from the ground when a shower of rain brought the ground staff into play as they covered the pitch. After a brief delay we were back into action, trying to ensure that the paying public didn't miss out on any action. Two legal deliveries, and several aborted attempts to bowl later, my colleague Tony Hill and I realised that we had trouble on our hands. Fidel Edwards could not run to the crease with his usual aggression because the ground beneath him was giving way to his weight. The surface of the ground was covered with a light grass but the sandy base was all too visible. Walking across the ground wasn't a problem but when elite athletes attempted to ply their trade, their efforts broke through the sand crust. It was like walking gingerly into a bunker on a golf course for the first time in a morning round. Once that crust is penetrated, you are in a sand pit...and it's very hard to make sand turn hard! The game was abandoned after ten deliveries. It is the shortest Test match ever...out of 1,907 Tests over 132 years. The best news of course from a selfish point of view, is that I emerged with a perfect performance. 100% accurate. I answered one appeal for a catch down the leg side...and answered correctly. I don't have to tell you that percentages like that don't come along every day. I had to work hard to achieve that...lol... Also from a personal point of view, my 78th Test equalled the record of Darrell Hair who had officiated in more Test matches than any other Australian umpire. I'm sure my 78th Test was over quicker than Darrell's 78th Test. The authorities hurriedly readied the old Antiguan Recreation Ground for a hastily planned Test that commenced yesterday...two days later. Thousands of English supporters who came only for the Antiguan Test, were faced with the prospect of only seeing ten deliveries for their efforts. I felt for them as some explained their dilemma after play was abandoned. Thanks to the workforce who transformed the old favourite ground into a respectable state, we now have a real Test match under way. After two complete days without sand, the West Indies are 1/55 chasing England's 9/566 declared. It's now my 79th Test! How about that? I've just enjoyed a gathering tonight of members of several Gulliver's Travel Groups. They had organised several high profile cricket identities to answer questions so my colleague, third umpire Norman Malcolm and I decided to attend. My favourite West Indian bowler was always Courtney Walsh who retired with a then record 519 Test wickets, and an enduring Test record of 43 ducks. Courtney fielded a number of questions, even managing an answer when a certain wag asked him which was his best duck?...Guess who that was? Cheers Daryl
CARIBBEAN COLLAPSE Wednesday, 11th February, 2009 ST.JOHNS, ANTIGUA Last Saturday in Jamaica, we witnessed an incredible collapse when England was bowled out in only 33.2 overs. Arriving at the ground on the fourth day, the last thing on our minds was a free day to follow. The West Indies was to continue its first innings and with a slender lead and three wickets in hand, the game was expected to go the full distance. No one could anticipate the mayhem that followed the end of the West Indian innings. Two quick wickets before lunch left England wobbling at 2/11 but worse was to follow. An hour after lunch when drinks were taken, England had slumped to 7/27. Jerome Taylor left the field with a foot injury but he had done the bulk of the damage with figures of 5/11 from nine overs of quick and accurate bowling. The innings concluded before the scheduled tea interval when Steve Harmison was bowled by Suleiman Benn, wrapping up the innings with a total of only 51 runs. By a coincidence, I had been standing at Steve Harmison's end at Sabina Park in 2004 when he destroyed the second innings for the West Indies by snaring 7/12 when the team was bowled out for only 47 runs. Both teams and match officials have now moved on to Antigua where we are located in an 'interesting' resort complex. The hotel reopened on the weekend after being closed for most of the previous year. The staff are working overtime to get the place operating successfully and tomorrow I hope to have hot water available... Cheers Daryl
NOT AUSTRALIA'S DAY Thursday, 29th January, 2009 MUMBAI, INDIA Last Monday was 26th January but it was definitely not Australia's Day. South Africa sealed their outstanding summer tour of Australia by taking a 3-1 lead with one game to play in Perth on Friday. Indeed if this was a baseball series, that last game would not be contested since there has been a result that won't be changed, whatever happens in Perth. I believe that The Proteas are the first team in 16 years to leave Australia with the honours in both the Test and one day series. That is an impressive record and confirms that Australia, India and South Africa are all deserving of their status as the best three cricket nations in the world. From my point of view, I was delighted to officiate in a match in my home town. I had previously umpired earlier this month in a domestic Twenty 20 game between The Redbacks and The Blues. That game happened to clash with our wedding anniversary but cricket appointments usually take priority over personal events. That won't be the case in September of this year when our son walks down the aisle. I won't be officiating anywhere on that day...I'll be enjoying the celebrations with family and friends. On Australia Day, the home team looked on target for a healthy score but frittered away their position, a tale repeated several times over this summer. Their total only reached 222, a score that reminded many of us of David Shepherd, a colleague who was universally loved by cricket followers around the world. 'Shep' isn't in the best of health currently so our thoughts are with him and his lovely wife. The Proteas were hardly troubled to score the winning runs, losing four wickets and having more than eleven overs to spare. I appreciated the early finish to allow me to pack and depart on time on Tuesday for the Caribbean tour by England. I have only made it as far as Mumbai so far...and I'm about to enjoy a night at the movies. The Bollywood spectacular "Victory" will be premiered tonight and I get to enjoy the glamour and buzz of the moment. Of course I still don't know if I'll be sighted for milliseconds or multiseconds...I'll let you know. I must admit that I didn't have any dialogue in the movie...I only play the part of a cricket umpire! Time to get myself tidied up and head to the Cinema Complex in Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai. Cheers Daryl NAMASTE 2009 Sunday, 18th January, 2009 ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Happy New Year and compliments of the season to you....the cricket season, that is. After two of the more challenging Test matches in my career in Chennai and Mohali, I returned home to Australia to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with family and friends. I have only officiated in one match since India when I had the pleasure of sighting a new talent for Australia. Playing for the New South Wales Blues against the South Australian Redbacks in the Australian domestic Twenty 20 League was David Warner. I had read about his revolutionary bat with a flat back that would allow him to play a reverse sweep without altering his grip. On this occasion, he found himself facing Shaun Tait and commented early on that he didn't fancy 'wearing one' so all thoughts of that shot were put aside. Although he missed out with an early departure today in his first ODI in Hobart, David certainly showed enough in his international T20 debut to suggest he could be seen more often in the months ahead. I wonder when he will make his debut for New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield game? My next appointment is here in Adelaide in game 4 of this Commonwealth Bank Series on Australia Day. With South Africa winning the recent Test series and beginning so confidently in the ODI series, a close tussle is almost guaranteed...and the series will still be alive after Australia bounced back to win today's game. Following that game, I'm off to Mumbai to go to the pictures...Bollywood style. I can't wait to get to PVR Cinemas in Mumbai for the premiere of "Victory." I still don't know if I'll be sighted in the movie but I'm answering the invitation to attend. It also happens to be on my way to Jamaica for England's first Test with the West Indies. Cheers Daryl
CHENNAI......MY MOST MEMORABLE TEST Thursday, 18th December, 2008 CHANDIGARH, PUNJAB What an incredible script. The Chennai Test had all the hallmarks of a brilliant Bollywood movie. After the savagery and sadness of the Mumbai attacks, who could have imagined the drama that would unfold before our very eyes? Speaking of Bollywood, check out the electronic signage spotted at the Chennai Test and featured above this report. In the preparations leading up to Chennai, we were confronted with an incredible assortment of security measures designed to ensure the smooth operation of the Indian Test cricket machine. Police and commandos were in attendance at every turn. To be honest, I felt as comfortable and secure as I have always experienced here in India. And what a wonderful spectacle was witnessed, complete with a fairytale finish. There were so many moments of brilliance and bravado during this match that one could only wonder how the future of Test cricket could ever be challenged. How many batsmen have scored centuries in both innings, only to finish on the losing side? Andrew Strauss was a picture of composure as he nudged and deflected his way to both hundreds. Graeme Swann captured two key wickets in his opening over in Test cricket, a feat only ever completed once before in 131 years of history. Virender Sehwag's blistering onslaught to kick start India's fourth innings run chase was simply outrageous. And Sachin Tendulkar's boundary to complete his 41st century and his nation's victory was enough to have one holding back tears of joy and excitement. I know how appreciative was the Chepauk Stadium faithful, but surely that victory must have been uplifting for a nation rocked to the core by the loss of innocent life only a week earlier. I confess it was an exhilarating experience for me. I have never before felt under so much pressure and under such scrutiny in any cricket match. It was a marvellous example of why we love Test cricket. England dominated for all but the fourth innings. But India was not to be denied. Their application and concentration was superb. Tendulkar and Yuvraj guided the team to a six wicket victory...yes...Victory. That's the name of the movie, to be released later in January. Look out for Brett Lee getting hammered by a brash young unknown Indian batsman...and watch to see who is signalling the boundaries. Watch closely...I may yet be only found on the cutting room floor. Cheers Daryl
NORMAL SERVICE RESUMES IN CHENNAI
After last month's disastrous events in Mumbai, the English cricket team has returned to India to complete the tour that came to an abrupt halt after the violent assaults. During the 5th ODI encounter in Cuttack, just two weeks ago, we discovered the shocking news of the attacks. It was a disturbing night as we watched the events unfold before our eyes on the uninterrupted T.V. coverage. I must admit that when I departed after the Cuttack match, I certainly didn't expect to be returning so soon for cricket action. Credit must go to the tourists for deciding to return so quickly. And more credit must go to the tourists for offering to donate half of their match fees to the families of the victims from the disaster. Preparations at the ground have been hasty after the venue was switched from Ahmedabad to Chennai only last week. We are experiencing the edge of a depression in The Bay of Bengal so there is a chance of some disruptions to play during this match. Several local officials have already recalled that I officiated in a rain interrupted ODI here in Chennai three years again when South Africa was on tour. And two weeks later, a Test with Sri Lanka was hampered by rain when we only started proceedings late on the fourth afternoon. All right...I accept that I do appear to be a rainbird. My colleague on field for the First Test is to be Billy Bowden who is filling in after Asad Rauf was unable to organise his visa. It must be tough applying for city specific visas that allow for interaction only between the umpire and a particular city. Down at the stadium, security is tight as one would expect after recent events. I'm sure there will be a huge police presence when we arrive at the ground...and that guarantees one absolute certainty....several times each day, play will be halted as policemen wander about in front of the sight screens behind the bowler's arm. This is a subcontinent specialty that just happens without fail. As annoying as this distraction becomes, it is reassuring to know that the police will be on duty if the need for their services arises. I'm looking forward to officiating a game that is highly competitive between two skilled teams...and vital for the region to have cricket back on the agenda. Cheers Daryl
ENGLAND REACHES EMIRATES Saturday, 6th December, 2008 ADELAIDE Back to action. The English cricket team has enjoyed a very brief visit of about five days at home and has now travelled back to The United Arab Emirates. Practice facilities have been utilised in Abu Dhabi in readiness for a probable return to India in the next few days. I was more fortunate. I have enjoyed a week in an unplanned visit home and the cases are now repacked. I even have the Christmas cards under control. My colleague for the Tests was to be Asad Rauf but he has experienced passport difficulties and will now miss at least the First Test in Chennai, starting on Thursday. I have discovered that a Pakistan resident must apply for city-specific visas and we certainly didn't plan to visit Chennai and Mohali. In Australia we take visas for granted and we are rarely inconvenienced. I recently acquired a five year multi entry visa for India so that will allow me access any time at all and way beyond my use by date as an umpire... I heard that! All those who said that my use by date has already passed, take one step forward. Looking forward to returning to Incredible India. That means I must brush up on my Hindi. If you have any simple conversational Hindi for me to use, please let me have it via ASK A QUESTION above. Cheers Daryl
A magnificent wall mural at the entry to Cuttack's Barabati Stadium, scene of India's 5th victory of the series. SEHWAG CONTINUES HIS RICH VEIN Thursday, 27th November, 2008 BHUBANESWAR INDIA Virender Sewag just can't do a thing wrong. He continued to bat in his rich vein of form to ensure a victory for India in the fifth ODI in nearby Cuttack. With captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni winning another toss, India was always going to bat last, knowing that the extent of the evening dew would render his spinners ineffective. England opened steadily enough and its innings featured two powerful partnerships. Captain Pietersen and Paul Collingwood joined forces at 2/68 with the fall of Ravi Bopara's wicket at in only the 10th over. Progress was very controlled as 89 runs were added in the following 20 overs. Harbhajan claimed Collingwood when he tried to hit out, bringing Freddie Flintoff to the crease. Always a powerful threat to any bowling attack, Dhoni brought back Ishant Sharma who claimed Flintoff before he could score. Owais Shah continued his good form from Bangalore to add 112 runs with his captain in the final 19.2 overs. Shah finished unbeaten with 66 from only 57 deliveries. Kevin Pietersen completed the first ODI century by an England captain away from home as he cruised to his century from 119 balls. The runs were flowing but the pace rarely quickened enough post an imposing score. Enter Sehwag...and 6+4dulkar. Their partnership kept pace with the England innings for the opening power play but accelerated thereafter, when England had been consolidating. The clean strike power of Sehwag is eye opening. He smashed 66 of his 91 runs in boundaries and consumed only 73 deliveries. When Tendulkar was bowled in the 20th over, the pair had already added more than half of the target score. The pressure was eased on Dhoni and Raina who were never required to score more than four runs/over. That trio all scored half centuries but none of them compiled their runs at better than a run per ball. With the early onslaught as a cushion, the target was achieved in the 44th over with a six wicket margin. TOUR OVER It's hard to comprehend what motivates the people who completed the assault on Mumbai last night. Whatever their warped thinking, more than 125 lives have been wasted. It was no surprise when England announced that the remaining two one day games were to be abandoned. An England cricket tour of India is closely observed and a home team advantage of 5-0 confirms that India is a powerful force in the world of cricket. They are clearly challenging Australia for top spot on the rankings tables. There are two Tests against England scheduled for December so we will await news on the alternate venue for Mumbai. It will be a tough assignment for anyone to return to India in another week after departing in the current atmosphere. Condolences are extended to the families who have lost loved ones during this unnatural disaster. Cheers Daryl
A familiar sight at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday night when India beat England to win the series. IT'S DUCKWORTH/LEWIS TO THE RESCUE! Tuesday, 25th November, 2008 BHUBANESWAR INDIA A one day international match that started at 2.30pm and concluded with a win to India at 11.53pm! This must have been one of the longest one day games of my career...almost a day night day game! It was packed with powerful hitting, some tight bowling, several heavy showers of rain and lots of mathematical calculations. We were forced from the field at 6.07pm and I didn't believe that there was any chance that we would return to complete a match. The surface water simply looked too plentiful to expect the ground staff to return the field to a playable state. But their efforts were appreciated by the huge crowd that patiently sat through the second delay of more than three hours. India's innings was interrupted twice...after 14 and 17 overs. When the batsmen returned to the field for the third time, suddenly they knew that their innings could only continue for five overs. After 17 overs, 1/106 looked a good enough start, especially with Sehwag blazing and Gambhir in support. But five overs doesn't provide much time for a change of tactics and an assault on the bowlers. That didn't matter to Sehwag (69 runs, 48 balls), Yuvraj and Gambhir who all struck boundaries on a regular basis. As if that wasn't enough, M.S.Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan both dispatched the first delivery they saw into the stands of appreciative fans. India finished with 4/166 so the trusty and much maligned Duckworth/Lewis system produced a target of 198 for England to win. Much maligned maybe...but only by those who are disposed to grumbling as a natural part of life. India had commenced its innings expecting to receive 50 overs. Twice they had found their allocation of overs reduced, the second time most significantly...from 44 overs down to 22. When England's turn came to bat, they expected to receive 22 overs...and they received their full quota, without interruption. India had batted for 17 overs with fielding restrictions while England faced only eight overs with the field up. A valuable resource for India was the fact that only four wickets had been lost in achieving their score. If further wickets had fallen during India's truncated innings, then England's target score would have been much closer to the score that they achieved. The D/L system has been assisting us in rain affected games for years. It factors in such statistics as wickets lost and power play overs faced, and is updated regularly to reflect recent completed matches and average total scores. As an umpire, you might be surprised to discover that I don't calculate the target score. An accredited D/L operator provides the grid as soon as possible after the first innings is completed...and again after any further interruptions. While there is a break in play, we umpires resort to paper, pens and calculators to establish how many overs can be bowled in the remaining time. We don't just sit about and sip on cups of tea...well...we do that as well. I was asked in Bangalore why we resumed at 9.13pm and not 9.10 or 9.15pm. Once the ground manager predicted when his staff would complete their work, and my colleague Amish and I were satisfied that the conditions were fit for play, we provided the teams with adequate warm up time and calculated the nearest precise time that would allow for the maximum play for the day...and most of the night as well! The second innings was again full of highlights and spectacular cricket. I had never umpired Owais Shah before but had to be impressed by his powerful innings of 72 runs from 48 deliveries. While Flintoff was at the crease anything was possible but the last 20 runs proved elusive after the six power play overs only produced 21 runs. This was as close to a Twenty 20 game as it could get. No wonder the crowds love this sort of entertainment. Cheers Daryl
With Steve Davis before the second ODI at Abu Dhabi, later won by Pakistan over the Windies. NAMASTE INDIA Thursday, 20th November, 2008 BANGALORE INDIA I have returned to India today for a very busy calendar of cricket, including three forms of this great game. On my agenda, I have four ODIs, six Champions' League games and two Tests. Wow...that will keep me busy. Although England lost their third game in a row today in Kanpur, I am sure they will be very intent on keeping the series alive when the fourth game is played here on Sunday. Today's game was decided by The Duckworth/Lewis Method which provides a result in shortened matches. I have read on some blogs that the game should have been shortened to a lesser number of overs for both teams. Unfortunately umpires are human and even they can't anticipate at what hour the light may deteriorate. If we were that good, we would never make a poor l.b.w. decision! I last visited Bangalore to watch a match during this year's inaugural Indian Premier League. That was an exciting time as I also officiated in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Chennai. On this appointment I will officiate in the final four ODIs with England. I have never visited Cuttack or Guwahati before so I am looking forward to seeing some new sights and two more cricket stadiums. I'll return to Bangalore for the six games in The Champions' League before ending my visit with the two Tests in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. I have just completed the three game series in Abu Dhabi where Pakistan defeated the West Indies in all games. My colleagues there were Mark Benson and Steve Davis who like me, hails from Adelaide, South Australia. Cheers Daryl TWO DAY TEST ENDS IN DRAW Thursday, 30th October, 2008 DHAKA BANGLADESH After the first three days were totally lost due to rain, the second and final Test between the Bangladeshi Tigers and New Zealand's Kiwis ended in a tame draw yesterday at Mirpur here in Dhaka. Md. Ashraful won a belated toss on the fourth morning and invited the tourists to bat first. The Kiwis managed to lose some early wickets and looked cautious at 3/49 but a partnership of 137 runs between Jesse Ryder (91)and Brendan McCullum (66)steadied the ship. A declaration was imminent as the afternoon progressed when Daniel Vettori declared at 6/262 after 75 overs. The Kiwi captain then removed the heart of the tiger when he captured three wickets in his opening over. Going to stumps at 3/13, Bangladesh needed to avoid the follow on score of 162 on the final day. At 6/44 all sorts of scenarios were still possible, until Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza played the team to a position of safety. Shakib (49) and Mortaza (48) added 78 runs to ensure the Bangladeshis were able to avoid the follow on. New Zealand then meandered through 31 overs to reach 1/79 and to complete the final day of my 75th Test. Jesse Ryder added an unbeaten 39 runs to his 91 run effort on the fourth day. At the end of series presentation ceremony I was delighted to receive a memento to celebrate my 75th Test. Only Steve Bucknor, David Shepherd, Rudi Koertzen and Darrell Hair have completed more Tests. I must be getting old. Cheers Daryl
TIGERS OPEN ACCOUNTCCOUNT Thursday, 9th October, 2008 DHAKA BANGLADESH After a lean patch without ODI success, the Bangladesh Tigers pulled off an upset victory by seven wickets over the touring Kiwis. In the first of three ODIs, Md. Ashraful sent the tourists in to bat and a tight struggle commenced. Openers Jesse Ryder and Brendan McCullum found that the runs just didn't flow with a stand of 47 runs coming to an end in the ninth over. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza kept the brakes on, bowling eight tight overs in his opening spell, capturing three vital wickets. With Razzak applying the squeeze to the middle order, New Zealand slumped from 0/47 to 6/79 after 21 overs. Some batsmen appeared a little rusty after several months away from the game, and after their only warm up game was washed out. Jacob Oram and captain Daniel Vettori then rescued the team with a face saving partnership of 70 runs from 19.1 overs before the tail nudged the total past two hundred. Zunaed Siddiqui entered the game under huge pressure with only 62 runs coming from his first eight international ODIs. But cricket turns up many surprises and the resolute opener held his nerve until the 44th over with victory in sight. His 85 runs (137 balls) included eight boundaries and displayed plenty of patience. He added 109 runs with his captain, Ashraful who remained unbeaten with 60 runs at the celebrations. The new playing condition regarding power plays provided added interest to the contest. The fielding team opted to use their power play immediately after the compulsory innings opening stanza which has become totally predictable. But the batting team can now nominate a block of five overs when only three fielders are allowed outside the fielding circle. When runs started to be more difficult to find, Bangladesh forced the field into the circle after 38 overs, easing the pressure on its batsmen. It will be entertaining to see how the use of this power play opens up opportunities in the latter overs. The big challenge comes on Saturday when the teams meet for the second encounter. Bangladesh will need to excel in the same basics while the Kiwis will be desperate to bounce back from the surprise result. Cheers Daryl
Last weekend the most inexpensive team in the inaugural Indian Premier League won the trophy with a single run from the final ball of the final over. It was as if the ending was scripted with scores tied after 19.5 overs and a bowl out a distinct possibility. The best bowler in the series, Sohail Tanvir then slapped the final ball through midwicket and joyfully completed the winning single with his captain-coach Shane Warne. Earlier, Partiv Patel with 38 runs from 33 deliveries and Suresh Raina with 43 from 30 balls, had given Chennai Super Kings a moderate total that eventually proved challenging to chase. Captain M.S.Dhoni added a swift and unbeaten 29 runs from 17 deliveries but one sensed it was a reachable total. Yusuf Pathan continued his fine series by collecting 3/22. When the chase began, Asnodkar and Shane Watson both contributed 28 runs apiece, but Pathan smacked 56 runs from only 39 balls to take a shaky start (3/42) into grasping distance of the victory. As third umpire, I had a busy night. That's not quite true. I wasn't required for any referred decisions...not one. But I was asked about two boundaries! Sadly we discovered that the walkie talkies were next to useless so I conveyed my answers by standing up and using sign language. On the previous night, I had been on duty in the centre, back at Wankhede Stadium, when Chennai had a huge nine wicket victory over the King's XI Punjab. It was the third occasion when Chennai had beaten their more highly fancied opponents. Early wickets to Ntini and Gony left Punjab reeling at 4/34 and 5/40 when Irfan Pathan lost his wicket in a run out. We have all realized that losing early wickets is almost certainly fatal and this was no different. When Mahela Jayawardene edged to keeper Partiv Patel from a delivery by Alby Morkel, there was no way back into the game from 6/45.The run machine named Shaun Marsh failed on a rare occasion and it became impossible for the tail to kick on. Umpires in this series have been required to officiate without any sense of hearing...and that takes considerable adjustment. A key man with the bat for Punjab was Kumar Sangakkara. He is a player with wonderful skills, but his greatest strength is his respect for the game and for his opponents. I have seen him 'walk' on many occasions and in this vital semi final, it happened again. Gony bowled to him early and he edged the ball to Patel. On this rare moment, I actually heard the edge but didn't really detect any significant deflection. I was weighing up the evidence and considering why the keeper hadn't shown the slightest interest when the batsman took his first step towards the change room. I was aware that we all struggled on field to hear anything but I was preparing to raise my finger when Sangakkara took off. He hesitated momentarily but continued on his way after I nodded to him that I had detected the nick. It may not sound much to anyone not involved at this level, but that was a magical moment for me. I really enjoy seeing professionals at work and Sangakkara qualifies for that team. My next match will be a Test match at Lord's in July...and they don't come along every year. Until that time comes around, I'll be supporting my two Australian Rules Football teams...The Adelaide Crows in the national competition and the Norwood Redlegs in the local grass roots competition. Cheers Daryl
These fans at D.Y.Patil Stadium are hoping their team will squeeze into the semi finals. MUMBAI OR CHENNAI? Tuesday, 27th May, 2008 PUNJAB INDIA Game 53…Jaipur v Mumbai…Monday, 26th May 2008 A win by Chennai tonight will confirm their third placing and a semi final confrontation with The King's XI Punjab. That would ensure that The Royals meet The Delhi Daredevils who completed their preliminary games back on Saturday, in the other semi final. Since then, they have been biding their time while other results have fallen their way. Last night Jaipur was wobbling at 5/77 before Patel and Jadeja added 69 runs to achieve the win with two runs from the final delivery of the game. Had a run out chance been taken by Jayasuriya at the bowler's end, the game would have been decided by the first bowl out of the series. That was my preferred finish but it didn't eventuate. So Mumbai will now be in Bangalore today, needing Adam Gilchrist to fire in Hyderabad tonight. The Deccan Chargers have lost all six home games to this point, and only a win to The Chargers will provide Mumbai with an opportunity to progress tomorrow in Bangalore. I am in Chandigarh, ready for the final qualifying game on Wednesday night. It could be an interesting tussle between the top two teams...with only bragging rights available on the result. The Royals will finish in top spot and the local King's XI will finish in second place...regardless of the outcome. Maybe a key player or two will be rested to keep an unknown factor should these two combinations reach the final on Sunday in Mumbai. The Royals won the only previous encounter at home in Jaipur on the back of an unbeaten 76 runs from Shane Watson. But that is history and was so long ago that Shaun Marsh had not even played a match for The King's XI at that stage. Since then, he has been the most exciting batting factor in the whole IPL. Cheers Daryl
Dale Steyn shares a joke before the Bangalore Royal Challengers defeated the Chennai Super Kings. THE BATTLE FOR THE WOODEN SPOON Sunday, 25th May, 2008 HYDERABAD INDIA Game 51…Hyderabad v Bangalore…Sunday, 25th May 2008 Last night in Chennai, we witnessed a run-fest as both the Super Kings and the Royals racked up over two hundred runs. The visiting Warnie's Rajasthan Royals bolted away with a century opening partnership and set up an imposing challenge for the local Chennai Super Kings. Graeme Smith was powerful in compiling 91(51balls) with 13 boundaries and in partnership with the diminutive Swapnil Asnodkar, added 127 for the first wicket before the little bloke was run out in a tight finish. In a bold attempt to chase down a target of 212 runs, Alby Morkel carried the challenge until the last over with an entertaining 71 runs from only 40 balls. The Chennai Super Kings only fell short by ten runs and it was anyone's game until the last over. Today I reached Hyderabad and enjoyed watching the battle for the wooden spoon...avoiding the wooden spoon that is. The Bangalore Royal Challengers contained Hyderabad to 165, dismissing them from the final delivery. Gilchrist made a subdued 46 from 37 balls to lead the home team in search of a first home ground victory. It wasn't to be as Bangalore chased down the target with five wickets down and six deliveries to spare. Several players contributed but Akhil completed the steady work with an unbeaten 27 coming from only seven balls.
Tonight, The Kolkata Knight Riders led by Saurav Ganguly's unbeaten 86 (53), chased 175 to beat The King's XI Punjab in a second game today that had no bearing on which teams make the final. Rajasthan and Punjab are safely ensconced in the finals calculations with Rajasthan having a strong grip on the top spot. Just who will challenge these two in the semis at the end of this week is still to be determined. Mumbai needs wins on the road on Monday and Wednesday, Chennai must beat Hyderabad on Tuesday, while Delhi has completed its games and now awaits the results of other games to determine its immediate future. Three teams are in a struggle for two places and the match ups for the finals may not be resolved until the 56th and final preliminary game is decided in Mohali on Wednesday night. Cheers Daryl
DELHI IN THE SPOTLIGHT Saturday, 24th May, 2008 CHENNAI TAMIL NADU INDIA
After a promising start to the inaugural Indian Premier League Series, Delhi now find themselves in a knockout match to reach the semi final stage. Delhi's final preliminary match is at home tonight against their arch rival for fourth position...the Mumbai Indians. Victory would mean that Mumbai would need to beat Jaipur and Bangalore away from home to claim the berth. A loss to Mumbai would confirm that Rajasthan, Punjab, Chennai and Mumbai would contest the finals series with the match-ups to be determined by results of the final six games. The most recent game at The Ferozeshah Kotla was the first wash out of the series when the points were shared with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Another washout tonight would mean that the Mumbai Indians would need to win only one of their two final matches...since their net run rate is superior to that of Delhi. The potential clashes between Sehwag, Gambhir, Maharoof and McGrath taking on 6+4dulkar, Jayasuriya, Uthappa and Pollock are exciting. Meanwhile I'll be involved in the early game with third placed Chennai hosting top dog Rajasthan. Both teams will move through to the semis but it should be another big encounter. The world's greatest Test wicket takers in Muralitharan v Warne is worth the entrance money alone...although I won't be paying to get in! Meanwhile Dhoni , Fleming and Morkel will be opposed to Graeme Smith, Watson and Irfan Pathan. These ingredients should provide a spectacle or three. For the players and umpires, the afternoon heat will provide a further test.
Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag led from the front in Bangalore on Monday night. CAPTAIN LEADS FROM FRONT Monday, 19th May, 2008 BANGALORE INDIA Game 43…Bangalore v Delhi…Monday, 19th May 2008 Captain Virender Sehwag led from the front when his Delhi Daredevils ventured to Bangalore to take on the Royal Challengers. The Daredevils lost their first wicket and icon captain at the end of the seventh over, but already had 90 runs on the board. The task was almost done with a required run rate of only five runs per over...a task that would be comfortable in a fifty over game...let alone a Twenty 20 match. Sehwag made his 47 runs from only 19 deliveries with ten boundaries. Leading run scorer, Gautum Gambhir chipped in with 39 runs to get the innings fired up. Earlier, Maharoof had chipped in with 24 runs from the final over of the Bangalore innings to give their modest score an unexpected boost. It was too little, too late as the target was chased down with five wickets and ten deliveries to spare. The Challengers were well served by wicketkeeper batsman S.P.Goswami who compiled a bright half century from only 42 deliveries. His efforts were rewarded with man of the match recognition. It was a hollow success for the diminutive S.P. as Bangalore has now lost its fifth game in a row. McGrath and Maharoof opened the evening with a tight line and length, both grabbing two wickets apiece. After Sehwag and Gambhir departed, the Daredevils faltered for a moment but steadied to win comfortably. I had previously anticipated a mammoth contest in Mumbai several days earlier when Kolkata came to town, but it was all over in an instant. The Knight Riders collapsed to be all out for a miserable 67 runs. There was no chance of Mumbai stumbling in chase of that inadequate tally and the game was done within six overs as Jayasuriya went for everything. I had been expected to travel from Hyderabad to Chennai today but the chance of another game as a spectator was too much to ignore. I detoured here to Bangalore, watched the contest and will be on another flight in the morning to Chennai. Cheers Daryl
Daryl with host R.K on Neo Sports 10pm slot...Dial C For Cricket WHAT DID YOU WATCH AT 10p.m. LAST NIGHT? Friday, 16th May, 2008 MUMBAI INDIA Game 37…Delhi v Hyderabad…Thursday, 15th April I can’t tell you much about last night’s clash between Delhi and Hyderabad…apart from the fact that the Daredevils enjoyed a 12 run victory over the Deccan Chargers. Chasing 15 runs from the final over proved to be mission impossible as Amit Mishra snared a hat-trick and the Delhi franchise banked the points. I was otherwise engaged at the time, fielding all sorts of challenging questions about technology in cricket and whether or not the umpires are the fall guys. Competition for television viewers is intense here in India where I can daily browse the channels like a menu in a restaurant. The most popular choice is a starter of cricket followed by a main of cricket curry, topped off with a tasty dessert like gulab jamun or the other popular choice…more cricket. On this occasion, I was enjoying the heat in the kitchen as the main ingredient. Who better to grill about these issues than an umpire? Callers from across the country posed a mix of questions that had me throwing in anecdotes and experiences like a chef adds spices…I hope I wasn’t too heavy handed. My dish of choice is a ‘not so spicy’ butter chicken and I was treated to a home cooked delicacy in a friend's home this week. I tried to perform like an umpire and make my decisions impartially, answering with honesty and providing the viewers with my viewpoint from behind the stumps. It was as challenging as umpiring an international game of cricket and I loved the experience to let my hair down! Thoughts now turn to tonight’s huge clash…Mumbai v Kolkata…Indians v Knight Riders…Reliance v S.R.K….6+4dulkar & Jayasuriya v Shoaib Akhtar & Ishant Sharma. Surely this menu is worth the price of a ticket…whatever the price. This is a huge clash with two teams competing to edge closer to a finals berth. May the best team win… Cheers Daryl
Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Stephen Fleming, watched by coach Keppler Wessels, contemplate Chennai's innings at Wankhede Stadium before Jayasuriya exploded to blow the contest apart. HERE COME THE INDIANS Thursday, 15th May, 2008 MUMBAI INDIA Game 36…Mumbai v Chennai…Wednesday, 15th May Sachin 6+4dulkar may have only scored a dozen but when he fell, the Mumbai Indians were a comfortable 1/82 chasing 157 to win. It was all downhill from there. This was Sachin's first on field appearance and unquestionably fired up the capacity crowd at Wankhede Stadium . Stealing the limelight at the other end was Sanath Jayasuriya with a little gem of an innings. When he is hot, he can't be stopped. Unbeaten with 114 at the ceremony, Sanath belted eleven sixes and nine other boundaries from a paltry 48 balls. There was nothing that could be done to stop him in such a mood. I recall him scoring 189 in a Sharjah final in 2000 against India when he also seemed invincible. Eight years on and the ageing warrior still has the power, timing and class to entertain. Chennai had earlier struggled to get moving but Badrinath with a half century, Stephen Fleming with 26 at the start and captain M.S.Dhoni unbeaten with 43 runs had together concocted a modest 6/156. Another old stager in Shaun Pollock had strangled the innings with only nine runs coming from his four over quota. Meanwhile youngster Kulkarni, a 19 year old presented well enough to grab 3/33. The damage was done and after the break, the blitz began. Last night I enjoyed the spectacle from the hospitality area. When not appointed to officiate, my preference is to attend the game, support my colleagues and soak up the atmosphere. There was plenty to absorb on this occasion. Tomorrow when the Kolkata Knight Riders clash here with the Mumbai Indians, I'll have my work cut out for me. Imagine Shoaib Ahktar charging in at Tendulkar and Jayasuriya. It's never happened before so what a thrill to be a witness to this clash of the titans. The noise level will be deafening and communication difficult. My Hindi is slowly improving with regular advice and instruction from hotel staff, but sign language will be as good as it gets in the middle tomorrow night. Shabash, shabash... Cheers Daryl
PUNJAB LOOKS PREITY GOOD Monday, 12th May, 2008 CHANDIGARH PUNJAB, INDIA Game 34…Punjab v Bangalore…Monday, 12th May With apologies to part owner, Bollywood’s own Preity Zinta for the headline, the team from the north easily accounted for the originally highly fancied Bangalore Royal Challengers by nine wickets and with more than four overs to spare, here in Mohali tonight. I was hoping to give you my view of the game from my position behind the stumps; however a stomach complaint prevented me from taking my place. It takes something serious to keep me away from a game so I’ll spare you the sordid details. I’ll just say that I haven’t eaten for 36 hours and you may understand my dilemma. Tonight’s win for the King’s XI Punjab takes them to second position, only percentage ahead of the Chennai Super Kings and one victory behind the Rajasthan Royals. These three teams look starters for the semi finals at the end of the month. Just which team takes the last available position is anyone’s guess. Early disappointment, the Mumbai Indians is about to introduce a new player to the series. When it is Sachin 6+4dulkar, anything is possible. When he appears on the replay screen at any ground, even the opposition supporters go wild with delight. He is universally admired and a cult figure wherever cricket is played. The Kolkata Knight Riders have beaten the two cellar dwellers in their last two starts and next meet fellow contenders Delhi for the first time. Along with Mumbai, this looks a three way battle for a semi final berth. There are still four head to head clashes between this trio of teams so results may be critical for survival. The outstanding performer tonight was Shaun Marsh. After watching the opening games from the bench, he grabbed his chance with the departure of Simon Katich, and his contributions have been stunning. National representation must be a matter of “for how long” and not “I wonder if.” With four locals under 22 years of age, there are great opportunities for Indian players as well as overseas lads to gain exposure. There have been some outstanding efforts from players that are totally unknown to me. In a short space of time, we will all know certain new names as they progress through to the national team. Tomorrow I return to Mumbai in better shape than I was yesterday. My next game is one of those crucial head to heads…Mumbai v Kolkata on Friday. Before then, I’ll be watching Mumbai host Chennai…another potential cracker of a game. Cheers Daryl
ACTION IN THE FLESH Tuesday, 29th April, 2008 DELHI INDIA Here in India, two stories have been dominating the media this week… Harbhajan Singh and the IPL team cheerleaders. Both have suffered from overexposure. From cricket writers to members of the public, both have endured the extremes of opinion….from outrage to admiration. Harbhajan has now been suspended for the duration of this IPL series and also required to pay a fine. The cheerleaders will display less flesh for the duration of the IPL series and most people agree that they are fine! If you are not here in India, you can only imagine the passion that these two subjects have evoked. The incidents in Australia during the ill tempered tour are now being reconsidered by the man in the street…certainly by the man on the train. Sitting next to me on The Shatabdi Express, Satinder admitted that he is now reconsidering events when it was assumed that only one team was at fault in the second Test in Sydney. As for the cheerleaders…the criticism appears to be predominantly from politicians, looking to garner support from voters who might be impressed by a stance against a western tradition challenging Indian culture. Popular opinion is that the cheerleaders, who apparently are mainly Australian and American, are adding to the international spectacle that is Twenty 20 cricket. Their skimpy outfits and gyrations have created some opposition and protests, but in games I have attended, the crowds have shown their approval. On both issues, it is refreshing to see that most people have an opinion and the opportunity to express themselves. Cheers Daryl
HERE COMES THE IPL Monday, 21st April, 2008 CHENNAI TAMIL NADU, INDIA Game 5…Mumbai v Bangalore…Sunday, 20th April At last…my first experience in the biggest innovation during my umpiring career…and we are talking about a quarter of a century! The Indian Premier League had started with a bang in Bangalore on Friday night when the hosts were thumped by Brendan McCullum and the Kolkata Night Riders. The opening ceremony was a typical Indian extravaganza…colour, music, fireworks, passion, noise…you name it…they had it. Immediately it was followed by McCullum’s fireworks. His unbeaten 158 was as good an innings as you could see with 13 huge hits into the opposition’s appreciative crowd. I watched him bat in two Tests in March against England and admired his aggressive approach, quick hands and accelerated scoring rate. This innings was more cavalier and will be a benchmark for this series. In fact, it’s going to be a huge effort for anyone to even match this knock. Instead of a benchmark, perhaps it will be a high-water mark! Other games had been played in Delhi, Kolkata and Mohali before the Mumbai Indians entered the fray against the Bangalore Royal Challengers on Sunday night at Wankhede Stadium. Someone decided at the eleventh hour that fireworks should precede the first ball…so presto…it happened. Hey…this is India! My colleague was fellow Adelaide man Steve Davis, and as we stepped onto the ground, we noticed the smoke drifting away into the night air…and the debris on the field! There were hundreds of pieces of shredded plastic and paper littering the field…some were still smouldering! After a scramble to get ground staff into action, we started after ten minutes of hurried housekeeping. Domenic Thornley was surprised by the early bounce and was floored by a short ball from Zaheer Khan that slipped through his helmet protection. His wound just gushed with blood, and took 15 stitches to close up. His right eye appeared totally closed this morning so he will surely be a spectator for several games. Robin Uthappa’s 48 was followed by Shaun Pollock’s quick fire 28 from 12 balls to give the home team a respectable 165 runs to defend. But it was a South African partnership of 55 between Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher that sealed the win for Bangalore by five wickets with two balls to spare. Steve and I have moved on to Chennai today where M.S.Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings are preparing for Sachin and Harbhajan’s Mumbai Indians on Wednesday. With a forecast of 39 degrees, this may be a rehydration day. I wonder whether I can find a decent Australian chardonnay here in Madras. Cheers Daryl KIWIS SCORE FIRST Sunday, 16th March, 2008 ADELAIDE SOUTH AUSTRALIA New Zealand enjoyed one of their most memorable Test victories over England in Hamilton last weekend. The margin…189 runs After officiating in One Day Series in South Africa and Australia, I was looking forward to a keen contest and not just a quick flurry of runs to win a game. Test cricket is all about competing for five days…and Daniel Vettori’s Kiwis certainly achieved that in Hamilton. Winning the toss, the Kiwi captain chose to bat first on a very dry, flat barren pitch. It certainly bore no resemblance to the surface provided there in 2004 when moisture and grass combined to create one of my more bizarre days in Test cricket. On the second day, we experienced part of all four innings on the same day. India lost its final two wickets to be all out for 99. New Zealand replied with a total of 92 all out. India came back to be dismissed for 160 before the home side went to stumps at 0/24 in the fourth and final innings of the game. Last week, Ross Taylor made his maiden Test century in his third Test. I’ve umpired all three games but he’ll have to go it alone in Wellington for the second Test. Jamie How and Daniel Vettori pushed the total to an impressive 470 runs. England initially responded brightly enough with Vaughan and Cook adding 84 runs for the first wicket. After Vaughan (63) and Strauss (43) perished in quick succession, it became a battle for survival with the normally irrepressible Kevin Pietersen restraining his urges to attack. The second day was played at snail’s pace with England adding 4/199 runs from 93 overs. Runs were hard to score with Vettori as tight as a bank manager, conceding only one run/over. When England was bowled out 122 runs in arrears on the third day, only some Kiwi urgency with the bat appeared capable of providing some excitement. Stephen Fleming, in his final Test series entertained with some sparkling strokes before being brilliantly caught in the gully by ball magnet Alastair Cook. Ryan Sidebottom enticed Matt Sinclair to flash at a wide delivery and he was brilliantly snaffled by Cook for two catches in two balls. Enter Jacob Oram…on a hat trick…and he generously obliged by not moving his feet and therefore by making my task simple. Sidebottom completed his hat trick…my fourth of the last eight in Test history…and I’ve been present for the last three. The Kiwis declared seven overs into the final day, giving England 300 runs to chase from a minimum of 81 overs. It was only to take 55 overs as England was bowled out for only 110 runs to lose the Test by 189 runs. Kyle Mills bowled a magnificent spell before lunch, capturing four scalps and sending the tourists to the long break at 4/36. There wasn’t to be any spectacular recovery with Bell unbeaten on 64 and Mills finishing with 4/16 from 13 overs. Chris Martin chipped in later with 3/33. I headed for home and the teams moved on to Wellington for the second Test. Cheers Daryl
MARCHING FORWARD Wednesday, 5th March, 2008 Hamilton NEW ZEALAND What a busy couple of weeks. I’ve been on the move since I umpired the preliminary clash between Australia and India in Sydney on 24th February. Australia was successful on that occasion when India made 299 and lost by only 18 runs with a big effort to get so close. Last Sunday, India went one better when they held Australia to a modest total and then chased successfully to win the first final by six wickets. It was a special day for me as it was my 150th One Day International appointment. I am the first Australian to reach that mark so it’s nice to record that achievement. In recognition, I received an on-field presentation before the game from the ICC which was greatly appreciated. Following that ceremony, the first final featured Sachin Tendulkar’s first and almost certainly, his only one day international century in Australia. It was a magnificent innings and featured a couple of vintage boundaries that were flicked effortlessly over the head of first slip. India has since moved on to Brisbane and won the second game by 9 runs, giving them the series and the trophy. That was a big effort to beat the current World Cup holders in two straight games, and thoroughly deserved by the young and impressive Indian team. Since then, I have moved on to Hamilton, New Zealand where I am officiating in my 70th Test. I obviously like round numbers. England is the touring team and spent the day in the field when Daniel Vettori opted to bat first. With Jamie How, Brendan McCullum and Ross Taylor all scoring half centuries, the game is delicately poised with the Kiwis to resume on the second day at 6/282. Cheers Daryl
HAPPY LEAP YEAR Friday, 29th February, 2008 Melbourne VICTORIA We are getting close to the business end of the season with the final preliminary round game between Australia and Sri Lanka here in Melbourne this afternoon. Sri Lanka has been eliminated from the finals series but will be playing for pride today, knowing they are about to fly home within hours. Australia has qualified for the finals series with India and will be playing to build momentum. It may appear that nothing is resting on this game but in reality there is plenty to play for. I returned from South Africa and Dubai after this series had commenced, so I made a late start. In Perth, I witnessed an emotional farewell for Adam Gilchrist from his adopted state. Today he will play at ‘The Gee’ for the last time and on Sunday it will be goodbye to Sydney. I officiated in Sydney last weekend when India made a great effort in their quest for 318 runs, batting second. That they achieved 299 runs is testament to their fighting qualities. It was a very high scoring game for Sydney where batting second has usually been tough as conditions deteriorate in the night session. I’ll be back in action on Sunday where I’ll achieve a personal milestone. It will be my 150th ODI, becoming the fourth to reach that mark, behind Steve Bucknor, David Shepherd and my colleague on the day, Rudi Koertzen. I was asked this week if I would aim for 200 or even 300. Unfortunately, at this rate, I’d be 71 by the time I reached 300, so I’m currently reviewing my goals! Let’s hope we get to see some great cricket played in the best spirit over the weekend. I’ve read quotes in the media that ‘it can’t be friendly’ out there in the middle. What nonsense. Every team has personalities…and personalities have egos. All we need is a little self discipline and let’s see the games decided on cricket merit. Cheers Daryl
AS THE CROW FLIES Wednesday, 13th February, 2008 Perth WESTERN AUSTRALIA What a week in football! Actually there was only one game, the opening game for the NAB Cup and it was played at The Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club. Not a regular venue but a spectacular one nonetheless. Leaving our hotel for the game on Saturday morning, I gave the taxi driver our destination. He had no idea where Ghantoot might be found. “Take Sheikh Zayed Road and head towards Abu Dhabi,” I directed him. I had done my homework and didn’t want to miss out. After driving past Jebel Ali which currently marks the end of the amazing development of Dubai, we travelled through desert to the border where one Emirate becomes another. We were sharing the trip with Dale, another Aussie in town for the footy…all the way from Broken Hill. Actually he shared the taxi with us. Thanks for the ride, Dale. The Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club did itself proud. A football ground had been created in the desert, complete with temporary grandstands to accommodate about four thousand spectators. The green swathe just looked totally artificial in the barren desert but it appeared to be in perfect condition for the game. I’ve read that if the desalination plants crashed for four days, all the greenery in Dubai would be lost, including several magnificent championship golf courses. February seems to be ideal for such a game in this environment. It is the coolest month of the year, this time it was too cool to even hit the waves of the Arabian Gulf. In the curtain raiser, Dubai Heat held off a slow finishing Dubai Dingoes. The poor Dingoes finished goal-less. These are the top two local sides…actually these are the only two local sides. I wonder if they play home and away before the finals each year? No need for the McIntyre Finals System here. The crowd exceeded six thousand by the start of the main game with a direct telecast beamed home to Australia. I know it is only February…and I know it is only a pre-season competition… and not for premiership points…but our young players showed enough promising signs for me to look optimistically ahead to 2008 and beyond. The game was won in the second term when Adelaide kicked with a breeze…and the result was determined early. All I can say is that our club president did not take the first flight out of the city in disappointment. But we Australians are passionate about our sport. There’s nothing wrong with that. I have now reached Perth in readiness for Friday’s Commonwealth Bank Series game between Australia and Sri Lanka. With all teams, including India registering one victory, this should be great entertainment. It must also mark the final appearance at the WACA for Adam Gilchrist. I’m sure it will be an emotional farewell for one of the game’s most exciting entertainers of the modern era. Cheers Daryl
AN INDIAN SUMMER? Saturday, 19th January, 2008 Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA There have been dramas galore in the first few weeks of 2008 with India bouncing back to claim a spectacular victory in the Perth Test. After the troubled Sydney encounter, it was a remarkable comeback on a surface where most experts predicted India could not possibly win. I didn’t think it very likely either. Now the teams move to Adelaide where the deciding game is due to start on Thursday. I’ve always thought that the Adelaide Oval provides the ideal playing surface for Test cricket so this could be another epic match. There’s always a little life for the quick bowlers on the opening morning, before the pitch provides perfect batting conditions into the third and fourth days. Cracks appear and widen as the surface dries out, allowing the spinners to come into their own on the final two days. We will probably see India will bring back Harbhajan Singh and Australia bring back Brad Hogg. I was in attendance in Sydney for three action packed days of the Test before moving on to Dubai for a holiday. In a very rare week, we saw persistent rain for four consecutive days, ruling out any visits to the swimming pool or onto the sandy beach. Last night was a rare chance to enjoy the hospitality afforded to the privileged few. My wife and I were guests of Cricket South Africa in The Long Room at The Wanderers Stadium, here in Johannesburg. The West Indies went down to South Africa in the final over of their Twenty 20 clash. Now it’s time for me to go back to work. Tomorrow the two sides meet in a 50 over clash at Centurion, Pretoria, about forty minutes by car from our base here in Sandton, a leafy suburb of the big city. On Monday, we all move on to Cape Town for game two…and another scenic attraction…beautiful Table Mountain. Cheers Daryl
HAPPY NEW YEAR Sunday, 30th December, 2007 Adelaide SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Almost time to turn the calendar…again. Hard to believe that 2007 is almost history and we move into 2008. However that’s reality. I am enjoying some time at home where I watched some of the Boxing Day Test from an armchair and loved it. I was surprised at the ease with which Australia demolished India twice but certainly hope India can find some of their better form and strike back in Sydney next week. I’ll be enjoying a few days at the Test in the crowd for a rare change. Sydney will be on my way to South Africa for an ODI series with the West Indies. In Port Elizabeth last night, the West Indies had their first Test win on South African soil ever. I think it might have been their first Test win anywhere since 2005 so that’s a great moment for them. There are two more Tests before my first ODI in Pretoria in mid January so the Proteas will be desperate to keep that series alive when the next Test begins in Cape Town on Wednesday. I’ve officiated in Cape Town for the last three New Year Tests so this will be a pleasant change to start the New Year. On Christmas Day morning I arrived home from two Tests in Sri Lanka where England lost the series 0-1. The final Test was held in Galle…and marked a return for Test cricket after a three year break forced upon the local league by the disastrous tsunami of 2004. The ground had been restored beyond its former glory and stand facilities had been remarkably completed inside three months with construction continuing around the clock, right up to the opening delivery. Congratulations to all those who worked tirelessly to get the game underway. The facilities were superior to the original and the game was contested on a good quality pitch that was slow but true. After the Sri Lankans declared at 8/499, it was remarkable to see England bowled out for 81. After that, it was a question of whether or not England could hang on for a draw. With assistance from the rain and a fine century by Alastair Cook, England did hang on and Sri Lanka moved into third position on the ICC Test Championship table. Cheers Daryl
NORMAL SERVICE RESUMES Friday, 12th October, 2007 Adelaide SOUTH AUSTRALIA
After a most successful inaugural Twenty 20 series in South Africa, it’s back to One Day and Test cricket. South Africa has won the first Test in Karachi and in the one day stakes, the tourists lead in India and Sri Lanka. Australia leads India 3-1 with two to play while England leads Sri Lanka 3-1 with only one to play. I am currently enjoying a month at home which has been well timed to allow me to watch the major league play offs from the United States. My team is Boston and they are about to play the Cleveland Indians for the American League Championship. I had the trip of a lifetime in July and August when I visited Boston and home field Fenway Park for the first time, watching a three game homestand against the Baltimore Orioles. Looking back to the Twenty 20 series, I must admit that I was quickly converted and became a fan of the format. I officiated in the opening game of the series when Chris Gayle smashed 117 runs from only 57 balls, including ten big hits into the crowd. Herschelle Gibbs with an unbeaten 90 runs carried South Africa through to victory and 36 hours later, the West Indies were eliminated when they lost to Bangladesh. At the end of the series, I was third umpire for the big final and I always enjoy sitting back to watch the best cricketers go about their business. Spectators were provided with hard hats for protection from the big hitting in an ingenious promotion and there were thousands worn at each game. Dancers performed some lively routines at the fall of a wicket or the scoring of a boundary. In the night games, fireworks lit up the skies on a regular basis. For the spectators, there was plenty to enjoy about T20 cricket and I could understand the good attendance figures. Here in Adelaide, I have two grade cricket matches to umpire this month before returning to Johannesburg for two Tests with New Zealand. Daryl
SUB CONTINENTAL FLAVOUR Monday, 24th September, 2007 Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA
So…the semi finals are done and now it’s down to India and Pakistan to contest the final of the first Twenty 20 World Cup. How interesting after both teams departed prematurely from the World Cup in March. In their previous meeting in this series, the scores were tied and the match was decided by a bowl out when India emerged successfully. India through Yuvraj Singh’s explosive batting eliminated Australia in Durban on Saturday while I was on field in Cape Town to see Pakistan bundle the Kiwis out of the tournament. In that game, Pakistan’s bowlers contained the Kiwis to only 8/143 with Ross Taylor scoring an unbeaten 37 runs from 23 deliveries. Umer Gul again bowled his four overs late in the innings and 3/15 is a remarkable return in this form of cricket. He removed Styris, Fulton and Oram to crush any surge that may have come from the middle order. As a result, Pakistan was able to bat with the knowledge that their innings was more of a one day fifty over run chase. Imran Nazir and Mohammed Hafeez motored along adding 60 runs in 7.1 overs leaving a winning score only requiring a run/ball. Nazir wasn’t the most popular opponent when he batted with a runner following a groin strain. That’s not usually a problem but when he danced down the pitch to loft some of his five big hits into the crowd, there were some concerns from his opponents about his rate of recovery from injury. Nazir’s 59 from 41 balls, and Hafeez with 32 from 21 deliveries, provided the start and the partnership required for the Pakistan chase. In this format, it appears that one partnership or one individual performance can decide a game. I wonder who it will be today in the final. I’ll certainly be watching closely from the comfort of the third umpire’s box. India versus Pakistan in a final? A home team in the final must have been the outcome that the promoters would have liked but this must be a dream come true for the television network. Just how many millions of people will be watching? Daryl
FIREWORKS GALORE Tuesday, 18th September, 2007 Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA
After a week of preliminary games, we are now into the Super Eights and the entertainment continues daily. The Windies, Scotland, Zimbabwe and Kenyan teams have been eliminated and it’s left to the big guns for the shootout. Last night here in Jo’burg, Pakistan surprised one of the favourites in Sri Lanka with a powerful 33 run victory. Choosing to field first, Sri Lanka took early wickets but we are now becoming accustomed to finding that one decent partnership can turn a game of Twenty 20 cricket. Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan added 101 runs in quick time to help Pakistan reach 6/189. After ten overs the Sri Lankans were on top, holding Pakistan to only 3/69 but veteran Sanath Jayasuriya was pummeled to all parts of the stadium seats, finishing with 0/64 from his four overs. Younis faced 32 balls for his half century but his captain only needed 27 balls for his fifty runs. Sri Lanka was on the ropes early when the openers were gone after only seven deliveries. Jayasuriya was the big loss after being the mainstay in earlier innings. With Afridi grabbing three wickets for only 18 runs and Umer Gul closing the innings with 2/14 from his four overs, Sri Lanka just didn’t have the firepower to achieve their target. This afternoon we have a double header in Jo’burg when Australia meets Pakistan in the afternoon game, followed by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh under lights. One thing is certain. There will be plenty of big hitting and thrills for the crowd. In the late game, big hits and wickets will be celebrated with fireworks. Twenty 20 is certainly here to stay. Daryl
NOW THIS IS DIFFERENT …Twenty 20 Cricket Wednesday, 12th September, 2007 Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA
Chris Gayle smashed 11 sixes last night on his way to a brilliant century from only 52 balls…and the West Indies lost the match! Yes…I’m back on the internet after a long break from international cricket. After a hectic twelve months mostly on the road, I enjoyed what I decided was a well deserved break. The highlight of my vacation was visiting Fenway Park in Boston to see three major league baseball games in three days. The Boston Redsox has been my team since the mid-sixties…yes…I know that’s forty years. It is a long time ago but I’ve always been a loyal supporter of my favourite sporting teams. Back to the present, I am now in Johannesburg where the first Twenty 20 Cricket World Cup is being contested. Each game is all over in three hours and the entertainment package has been amazing on the first two days. With such an abbreviated game, upsets are on the cards with any team capable of turning on the power at any time. Umpiring this cricket is a new challenge. For me, there’s very limited opportunity to have a chat with anyone so that’s disappointing. The game moves quickly as the fielding team has only 80 minutes to bowl 20 overs. Of course there are unexpected delays that need to be measured and over rates need to be calculated on a regular basis. Last night Gibbs strained a hamstring and required a runner for most of the innings. The extra man on the field complicates the game but such issues must be dealt with as in regulation games of cricket. Last night South Africa chased an imposing target of 206 and cruised home with 14 balls to spare on the back of an unbeaten 90 runs from Herschelle Gibbs. It must have been a relief to have turned the tables on the Windies after I officiated in the opening game of the 2003 World Cup at Newlands in beautiful Cape Town. On that occasion, the locals faced one over less in their innings due to a slow over rate…and lost the match by 3 runs. It was a tough series for South Africa as they later ran into Duckworth/Lewis problems and missed out on the Super Eight stage. Tonight it was Zimbabwe to celebrate after bowling out Australia and successfully chasing the target with a single ball to spare. It was a huge moment for the Zimbabweans who have struggled to overcome all sorts of problems in recent years, just to field a competitive unit. And even more importantly, the win injects huge interest in the remaining games, especially when Australia struggles to stay alive. Here in Jo’burg tomorrow, we have the early game at The Wanderers when the West Indies regroup after yesterday’s opening loss. Bangladesh has some exciting youngsters so any result is possible. Watching tonight’s game on television, I was hoping for a tie. In that eventuality, the game is decided by a bowl out…and that would be great drama. Daryl
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO …UMPIRES Friday, 27th April, 2007 Bridgetown BARBADOS After fifty games of Cricket World Cup 2007, cricket followers around the globe are eagerly awaiting the final on Saturday. In the subcontinent, there may be less interest than usual after the early demise of India and Pakistan. Surprise eliminations like that took the wind out of many sails. Bangladesh and Ireland made the best of their opportunities but have since been eliminated. Most interest here in Barbados is centred on the two teams with Sri Lanka and Australia fine tuning their plans for the big event. For the umpires, it is now possibly time for the most important day in a career. Sixteen umpires left home in February and now it is almost May. Seven umpires returned to their homes after the initial round of games and Billy Doctrove departed for his home in Dominique before the semi finals. With Australia participating in the final, Simon Taufel and I are eliminated from participating. That was understood long before the series began so there is no disappointment from my point of view. There is no doubt that Simon would have officiated had Australia not reached the big game. Friends have suggested that it is an unfair situation but I don’t subscribe to that thinking for a moment. Imagine that an umpire was officiating in the World Cup Final with his nation in the field. Imagine that he makes a poor judgement with an lbw decision and the opposition captain does not receive the benefit of some doubt. There would be a media frenzy and cricket barrackers would be outraged. His outstanding record and brilliant performances up until that moment would be set aside. Only one fact would be highlighted…his country of birth. The same decision by an umpire from a neutral country would be frowned upon and reluctantly accepted. Sad, but true. It is human nature. So the principle of the neutral umpire seems to be working effectively in the modern game where we are placed under incredible scrutiny. Let’s hope it continues. My colleagues who will take the field tomorrow have contrasting experiences as umpires. Steve Bucknor will officiate in his fifth consecutive World Cup Final…an absolutely brilliant record that should stand for many years. It must…at least for twenty years anyway! Steve was my partner in my second Test, an Ashes Test in Melbourne…before the turn of the century. He is meticulous in his preparation and highly focused on his goals. To officiate in the biggest game in the Caribbean is just reward for his efforts and his accuracy as an umpire. I recall meeting Aleem Dar in Lahore in March 2002 when he was fourth umpire for the Asian Test Championship Final. He was fresh faced and bubbling with enthusiasm. As a matter of fact....he still is! Aleem has had a remarkable rise in our ranks and has an outstanding record. He is very committed and deserves this opportunity. Congratulations and best wishes go to my colleagues on the field. Supporting them from the third umpire’s box will be Rudi Koertzen who sets a new world record every time he officiates, since surpassing the previous record of ODIs umpired by everyone’s favourite, the eccentric and lovable David Shepherd. Rudi has also been in excellent form over a long period and must have been close to earning a position on the field. We are all hoping for a tight contest and a fine spectacle to end this marathon event. As umpires we know that the focus will correctly be on the players as I know of no person who pays to enter the ground to watch the umpires perform. Daryl
Tuesday, 17th April, 2007 St.George’s GRENADA Here in Grenada, it is a day off between games and sadly, a travel day for my wife who has departed for Australia after a seven week holiday. The pleasure ships are also on the move, one departing Grenada last night with fans heading for Barbados today for the big clash between South Africa and England. They missed out on a titanic struggle when South Africa secured a semi final clash with Australia by thrashing England by nine wickets. A miserly bowling effort from the Proteas restricted England, bowling them out for only 154 in 48 overs. The ever reliable all rounder Andrew Hall ripped through the middle order finishing with a South African best ever World Cup return of 5/18. Captain Graeme Smith didn’t waste any time in sealing England’s fate when he hammered an unbeaten 89 runs from only 58 deliveries. He was at his powerful and brutal best as he took on all bowlers and smashed 13 sparkling boundaries. Yesterday, Australia had a comfortable win over an under strength Sri Lanka. It was an interesting contest with Sri Lanka not selecting its three key bowlers in Muralitharan, Vass and Malinga. One was left to wonder if any victory over the defending champion might be preferred to occur in the final rather than a dead encounter. After all, Sri Lanka had qualified for a semi final berth and almost certainly will play against New Zealand in Jamaica. Of course, those three bowlers must have simply been unfit to play…….. Tomorrow I return to television duties as third umpire when Ireland takes on Sri Lanka who will be keen to prepare for next Tuesday’s clash with the Kiwis in Jamaica. The Irish are on top of the world and not just geographically. I am told that wins against South Africa and Bangladesh in the same year apparently assures them of ICC One Day status, similar to Kenya. It means that Ireland should be given more exposure by competing against the major powers more often. That’s a wonderful achievement for a team that arrived in the Caribbean as one of the five minnows and a team not expected to leave much of a mark on this event. Daryl PROTEAS TOSSED ASIDE Saturday, 14th April, 2007 St.George’s GRENADA If ever a game was decided by the toss of the coin, this was that game. Local showers ensured that the pitch was covered until just before the coin was flicked into the air. As a result, sufficient moisture was retained in the surface to ensure that the Kiwi bowlers were generously assisted in the first hour of play after Stephen Fleming won the toss. Smith, DeVilliers and Kallis were all gone with only 52 runs on the board within twenty overs and the rest of the innings was spent trying to recover from the early damage. Herschelle Gibbs with 60 runs from 100 deliveries and Ashwell Prince with 37 runs from 57 balls were the main contributors to gathering 7/193 from 50 overs but it never looked to be enough. Shane Bond with 2/26 was his usual speedy self but Craig McMillan surprised with 3/23 from five steady overs to really prevent South Africa from gaining momentum. At 2/42, the Kiwis looked a trifle wobbly but half centuries to Fleming and Scott Styris put the result out of doubt. Craig McMillan claimed the Man of the Match Award when he chipped in with an unbeaten 38 from 55 deliveries to cap off a satisfying day for someone who was considering getting a real job a few months ago. Daryl
BANGLADESH IN A SPIN Sunday, 8th April, 2007 St.George’s GRENADA In Guyana yesterday, Bangladesh pulled off another shock win when they easily accounted for South Africa by 67 runs. In the first round of games, Bangladesh had a memorable win against India in Trinidad, when Rahul Dravid’s team was dispatched for home. On this occasion, Graeme Smith invited the boys from Dhaka to bat first and they struggled to 4/84 before Mohammed Ashraful began the rescue operation. The runs flowed freely in the latter stages as ‘Ash’ fell in the final over for a sparkling 87 from only 83 deliveries with 12 boundaries. Mashrafe Mortaza smacked 25 runs from 16 balls at the death to push the score to 8/251. Big Andre Nel bowled well and celebrated with passion, finishing with 5/45. Most experts considered that Bangladesh was probably a few runs short against such a powerful batting line-up. But the slow bowlers extracted significant turn and put the squeeze on South Africa in the afternoon session. Smith was bowled early by Rasel (1/18) before DeVilliers and Kallis added 45 runs for the second wicket. Then the game fell apart for the Proteas as they lost 3/4 in four overs…Kallis, DeVilliers and Prince. If that wasn’t tough enough, two more wickets in two balls on the dangerous score of 87 to Saqibul Hasan, and the match was over.
For the West Indies and England, this loss opens up an opportunity for a semi final berth. Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand all appear to be moving towards the final stages of this long event, but the last finalist is far from decided. England failed today against Australia but meets Bangladesh on Wednesday in Barbados in a key clash. We have moved on today to beautiful Grenada. On Tuesday, the Windies will confront South Africa here in a pivotal clash. Daryl
PROTEAS SHAKE OFF IRISH Wednesday, 4th April, 2007 Georgetown GUYANA Jacques Kallis steered South Africa home to a comfortable victory against a persistent Ireland in a rain affected match here in Guyana yesterday. After several interruptions, Ireland’s innings was reduced to 35 overs and they scrambled to a respectable 8/152 in their truncated innings. Bowlers were restricted to only seven overs with Shaun Pollock taking 2/17 and Charl Langeveldt claiming 3/41. Several batsmen made starts but only Andrew White reached 30 with five boundaries. The Proteas were set a target of 160 runs from their 35 overs, with the Duckworth/Lewis system adjusting the target accordingly. A.B. DeVilliers continued his patchy form when he directed a ball from the huge Irish opener Boyd Rankin into the hands of Kyle McCallan in the gully without a run on his board. Graeme Smith played some powerful strokes adding 41 runs from 45 deliveries with six boundaries before his opposite number in Trent Johnson snaffled a brilliant one handed return catch from his own bowling. The Irish hopes were on the rise when Herschelle Gibbs chipped up a simple catch from the toe of the bat and South Africa has slipped to 3/85. But Kallis with an unbeaten 66 runs and Ashwell Prince with a towering six from the third ball of the 32nd over carried the Proteas home with 21 balls to spare. What was unusual was the poor light prevailing in the latter stages of the match. If the batsmen had been offered the light and it had been accepted, the players would have walked off the field and the finish would have been an anti-climax. South Africa was always in advance of the Duckworth/Lewis requirement so from the end of the 20th over, any light intervention would have produced a South African win. It was pleasing to note that neither Kallis nor Prince were overly concerned about the poor light conditions and played the game out to a finish. We have several days without cricket now so my wife and I are planning to visit The Kaieteur Falls, a brilliant spectacle with water falling 741 feet. Daryl HATS OFF FOR MALINGA Thursday, 28th March, 2007 Georgetown GUYANA What an incredible finish to a cricket match! South Africa crept home by one wicket against Sri Lanka at the newly completed Providence Stadium here in Guyana on Wednesday in the most exciting finish I can remember. The Proteas were cruising with five wickets in hand and needing only four runs to win with six overs remaining. The game was all but over. South African legend Barry Richards left the commentary box and moved into position for the post match presentations. The man of the match was to be Charl Langeveldt who captured 5/39 earlier in the day when Sri Lanka struggled to a modest total of 209 runs. Enter Lasith Malinga for the 45th over at my end. He proceeded to deliver his deadly thunderbolts to snatch an incredible four wickets in four balls. With the last two deliveries of the over, Shaun Pollock was deceived by a superb slower ball and Andrew Hall chipped his first delivery into the air for a simple catch at cover. Chaminda Vass beat the bat several times at the other end in the 46th over. One run was scrambled and only three runs were needed. Jacques Kallis with 86 runs from 109 deliveries had kept the strike when Malinga moved in to begin the 47th over. Driving forcefully outside the off stump, Kallis edged to keeper Sangakkara and the situation was so desperate he decided to stand his ground and hope that I erred. Fortunately I didn’t and the hat trick was complete. The Sri Lankans knew they were back in the game with Makhaya Ntini striding to the wicket. The next delivery totally beat Ntini’s efforts and clattered into the stumps. In Australia we call that a double hat trick….four wickets in four balls. Whatever the name for it, Langeveldt survived the next delivery and so did I. This was drama of the highest order. Three more runs were still needed and Peterson and Langeveldt were all that stood between Sri Lanka and a brilliant comeback. After another eleven dot balls including one from Malinga that ‘shaved’ Peterson’s off stump, a thick edge flew through a vacant second slip and rocketed to the boundary. The Proteas were home. The most interesting aspect of this excitement is the fact that neither my colleague Steve Bucknor nor I realised the enormity of Malinga’s feat. It wasn’t until I was scanning through internet reports later that night that I discovered what had actually happened. I knew he had snatched four quick wickets but didn’t realise that they had come consecutively. In a strange moment earlier in the innings, Kallis had requested that I remove my umpiring hat because he had difficulty sighting the ball as it left the slinging bowler’s hand. I naturally obliged, although after one delivery the batsman then complained about the glare from my ample forehead. It pays to have a sense of humour in my job. Malinga and Langeveldt eventually shared the honours for their outstanding efforts with the ball. My next game on field will be on Sunday when the West Indies meets Sri Lanka. Both are coming back from a loss will be desperate for two points to keep them in contention for the finals. Daryl
TIME FOR BIG BOYS TO PLAY Tuesday, 27th March, 2007 Georgetown GUYANA After 24 games of cricket, India and Pakistan have been eliminated from Cricket World Cup 2007. It’s still difficult for millions of fans around the world to accept. No one could have predicted a competition without those two nations. They join the more predictable ‘evictees’ in Bermuda, Canada, Kenya, The Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe. Of course there is much discussion in the media about whether a team should be eliminated after just two poor performances. In some previous World Cup formats, teams have played more round robin matches in the early stages and two losses wouldn’t result in early elimination. But that was in previous World Cups. The Super 8 stage begins today in Antigua with Australia meeting a host nation on the rise. Last week in Port of Spain, my wife and I attended a cricket concert where noted Calypsonian David Rudder performed his emotionally charged hit, ‘Rally ‘round the West Indies.’ He was brilliant and it was impossible not to be affected by the rhythm and the feeling of unity in the cricket loving atmosphere. The Caribbean population has high hopes for their team in this tournament and today against the powerful Aussies will be a test. At least the loser won’t be eliminated for some time…… I am now in Guyana where the weather has been poor and preparations have been hampered. Tomorrow’s match is between Sri Lanka and South Africa, two teams who could be expected to reach the semi final stage. Sri Lanka comes into the Super 8 stage with the points from their win over Bangladesh. South Africa lost to Australia in a high scoring shoot out last Saturday so they begin here without any points. Hey there…..it’s time to listen to more ‘Cricket Chronicles’ by David Rudder. I’ll turn up the volume and just ‘chill mon.’ Daryl
Bangladeshi players look towards the Super 8s. BEATING THE DRUM IN TRINIDAD Saturday, 24th March, 2007 Port of Spain TRINIDAD Seven teams are through to the super 8 stage of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Tomorrow here in Trinidad, the last contender will be known when Bangladesh takes on Bermuda. It would be another major upset if the Bermudans could beat Bangladesh but we have already been surprised by several results. A win by any margin for Bangladesh would see them move on to Antigua for a clash with Australia next Saturday. It would also consign India to follow neighbour Pakistan and return home for a hostile reception. I can only feel great disappointment when I read and hear about the reaction of alleged cricket fans to the fate of their nation teams. Yesterday the Indian players tried their utmost but it just didn’t happen for them. Taking the field first, the Indian bowlers beat the bat on numerous occasions without finding an edge. The three big guns, Jayasuriya, Sangakkara and captain Jayawardene were dismissed cheaply for a combined total of only 28 runs. When opener Tharanga was trapped in front by Tendulkar for 64 from 90 deliveries, Sri Lanka looked unsteady at 4/133 from 32.2 overs. Even when the emerging middle order regular Chamara Silva was taken behind by M.S.Dhoni from the bowling of Zaheer Khan for a business-like 59 (68 balls), Sri Lanka had only edged to 6/216 with just 23 balls left in the innings. India was still very much in the game at that moment but old timers Vass and Arnold then rattled on 38 runs to achieve a respectable 6/254. Robin Uthappa and Sourav Ganguly began the chase carefully enough until Uthappa smashed a delivery from Vass straight back at the bowler who gleefully accepted the hot chance. (1/25) Ganguly struggled to find gaps in the field, gathering 7 runs from 23 balls before Muralitharan snatched an outfield catch at full stretch on the run in the 11th over. (2/43) Disaster struck four balls later when Dilhara Fernando found the inside edge of Sachin Tendulkar’s bat before he could get a run on the board. (3/44) At this stage, the Sri Lankan players were firing on all cylinders in the field and their body language reflected their confidence. They were taking every chance offered. In contrast, India just couldn’t find a partnership of substance to put itself into the game with a chance. Dravid and Sehwag did add 54 runs for the fourth wicket in 11.2 overs before disaster again struck in the form of Murali. Jayawardene snatched a brilliant sharp chance at slip from Sehwag and then Dhoni was bamboozled before scoring. It’s unusual to see a batsman ‘walk’ before an umpire can give him out l.b.w. but my partner Aleem Dar had this experience. Between these dismissals, Yuvraj was caught short at the bowler’s end. At 6/112, there was to be no miracle. Rahul Dravid struggled with cramp before being caught in the deep by that man Murali again for a top scoring 60 from 82 balls. The end came quickly when India was bowled out for 185 from only 43.3 overs. Sri Lanka again looked a complete unit winning all three first round matches, this one by 69 runs. Only one game remains in the first round. I get the job of fourthie tomorrow while Steve Davis and Ian Howell do the hard work in the middle. Aleem Dar is on T.V. duty. On Monday, we’ll be moving onward. Some will return home while others will move into the Super 8 round. Daryl
WORLD CUP SHOCKS Tuesday, 20th March, 2007 Port of Spain TRINIDAD The last few days have certainly provided some startling moments in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Pakistan’s loss to Ireland created a media frenzy as the major nations were expected to go through the motions to reach the Super 8 stage next week. With the West Indies achieving a victory yesterday against Zimbabwe, Pakistan will now return home after its third game against Zimbabwe in Jamaica tomorrow, regardless of the result. It will be an emotional day following the sudden death of Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer. The reaction at home in Pakistan to all these events has been dramatic with resignations and sackings and retirements. It is an amazing reaction when you realize that we are talking about a sporting competition. For as long as I have been involved in sport, when two teams meet in a competition, invariably one wins and the other loses. There are no guaranteed winners. Have we lost our perspective on life when such a reaction is observed? Here in Trinidad, we have also seen a surprise when Bangladesh held India to a low score and then successfully chased their target, losing five wickets along the way. It was a low scoring and absorbing tussle with the better team on the day taking the points. Tomorrow in Group B, here in Port of Spain, Sri Lanka competes against the enthusiastic Bangladesh, another team coming to terms with the loss of a close friend. Manjural Islam, who played six Tests and 25 ODIs, tragically lost his life in a road accident in Bangladesh last Friday at the young age of only 22 years. On Friday India will confront Sri Lanka and on Sunday, Bermuda will meet Bangladesh. At this moment, only Bermuda cannot proceed to the next round. Daryl BERMUDA SHORT BY 243 RUNS Friday, 16th March, 2007 Port of Spain TRINIDAD Sri Lanka started the World Cup in powerful fashion when they crushed debutants Bermuda by a massive 243 runs here at the newly redeveloped Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad yesterday. In the field, Bermuda ‘held’ Sri Lanka to 6/321 when a higher score looked probable. But responding to be dismissed for only 78 in 24.4 overs was disappointing for the newcomers. It was the accuracy of Vass and the sheer pace of Malinga that did the early damage. Smith and Mukuddem failed to score, departing with 2/2 on the board in the fourth over. Then Malinga had Hemp caught at slip by captain Jayawardene with his first ball of his fourth over. (3/20) Bermuda’s captain Irving Romaine looked shattered when he missed the next delivery that thumped into his pad and he was gone for a golden duck on debut at the World Cup. I had to think carefully about the next ball to Janeiro Tucker as Malinga also found his pad…but a hat trick was not to be. Of course, that wonderfully imaginative innovation, Hawk-eye showed that the ball might have clipped the leg stump but I won’t be giving the benefit of the doubt to the bowler. That’s just not cricket. After choosing to bat first, Sri Lanka had earlier made a brisk start with 62 runs from the first 8.3 overs. Most of the top order made starts with Jayawardene and Sangakkara adding 150 runs in 106 minutes from 165 balls for the third wicket. Sangakkara scored his 76 from 86 balls while his captain made 85 runs from 97 balls. Chamara Silva then kept the heat on the Bermudans with an unbeaten 55 runs coming in a rush at the end from only 42 balls. This was my first experience with Bermuda and I certainly appreciated their enthusiasm and spirit…despite them coming up short. They simply enjoyed the experience of playing one of the best outfits in the world. They will be anticipating their next daunting clash on Monday against India, before tackling Bangladesh in their third clash here on 25th March. Today is a day off here in Trinidad but I am watching the Kiwis on T.V. as they get on top of England in St.Lucia. At the same time I know Herschelle Gibbs smashed 36 from a single over against Holland in St.Kitts. It looks like even the days off will be full of cricket action. Daryl
LET THE CRICKET BEGIN Monday, 12th March, 2007 Montego Bay JAMAICA Last night in the beautiful Trelawney Stadium just outside Montego Bay, the 2007 Cricket World Cup was opened with a glittering and pulsating ceremony. Sixteen national teams and a seventeenth team of umpires and referees paraded into the stadium where two Caribbean icons read the pledges on behalf of their colleagues. Brian Lara and Steve Bucknor must have been full of emotion as they spoke to a world-wide audience and promised that we would strive to perform to the best of our abilities in 51 matches over 47 days. The ceremony also featured plenty of Caribbean dance and music styles along with glittering costumes and a myriad of colour and sparkling fireworks. Today all participants are moving to their bases for the first round of matches where each team is guaranteed to play against three opponents. I return with Aleem Dar to Trinidad where we were based last week for some warm up games. Steve Davis, also from Adelaide, and Ian Howell from South Africa will join us on the flight with referees Jeff Crowe and Alan Hurst. No doubt we will all be glued to our televisions tomorrow when Pakistan meets our host, the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. In Trinidad, we will wait until Thursday for our opening fixture when Sri Lanka meets Bermuda at Queen’s Park in Port of Spain. Daryl ENGLAND BACK IN BUSINESS Wednesday, 7thFebruary, 2007 Brisbane AUSTRALIA Last week it was yours truly back in business when I returned to Australia and once again managed to access my website after my laptop crash in Pakistan. Last night, it was England back in business when New Zealand failed to chase down the 271 runs needed to propel themselves into the finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series. It was an exciting contest with the Kiwis needing 20 runs from the final over but their batting firepower had already had their chances and they came up short after a series when they had given Australia more than one scare. Stephen Fleming made a welcome return to the runs with 106 from 149 deliveries. It was his seventh ODI hundred and first for three years, but Andrew Flintoff’s bowling was the difference and his efforts ensured England’s victory. His ten overs only cost 37 runs and include the unusual statistic of three maidens. When New Zealand needed to press onward, Flintoff bowled a tight line and choked the run rate, finally capturing Fleming’s wicket for good measure when he edged to keeper Paul Nixon. Earlier in the afternoon, Paul Collingwood had also found some lost form when he compiled 106 runs, taking only 118 balls to reach his century. He was well supported by Andrew Strauss who had also been searching for a score to brighten the last moments of his bleak summer in Australia. Together they added 103 runs for the fourth wicket and were largely responsible for setting a target that could be defended. Although Michael Vaughan on comeback was bowled by Shane Bond without scoring, he had managed to win the toss and opted to bat first. His use of the powerplays was also impressive as he delayed using the tactic until Lou Vincent was caught slogging at a Panesar delivery in the fourteenth over. The Kiwis now turn for home while England will move on to Melbourne for the first final with Australia on Friday. I’ll join them in the first of possibly three matches. Daryl
I’M BACK IN BUSINESS Sunday, 4thFebruary, 2007 Brisbane AUSTRALIA In Multan, Pakistan last November, my laptop starting making very unpleasant noises before grinding to an abrupt halt. That appointment took me from Pakistan to South Africa to Dubai and back to South Africa. It’s not easy surviving without the internet, especially when away from home. After eight weeks on the road, I finally reached home in Adelaide. I am now back in business and able to access this site. Please accept my apologies to anyone who has been looking for any news of my travels. I will ensure that the site returns to normal as soon as possible. I am now in Brisbane, ahead of Tuesday’s big clash between England and New Zealand. The winner will almost certainly move on to Melbourne to contest the finals series with Australia, starting on Friday. Friday’s upset win to England over Australia in Sydney certainly breathed some life into what had become a very one sided series until that moment. Daryl
AUSSIES LAND FIRST PUNCH Thursday, 2nd November, 2006 Jaipur… ‘The Pink City’ INDIA Australia finally disposed of New Zealand in Mohali last night, the city where the Champion’s Trophy commenced more than three weeks ago. After 19 games of cricket and numerous games of politics, Australia has qualified for Sunday’s final in Mumbai. Here in The Pink City of Jaipur, South Africa and the West Indies will meet today to determine Australia’ opponent. The West Indies has reached the semi final after successfully negotiating the qualifying games and by beating Australia and India. The Proteas lost their first game to the Kiwis but then accounted for Sri Lanka and Pakistan. So both teams have had impressive victories to get this far. The West Indies are the current holders of the title after their success in England in 2004. With Australia qualifying for the final, Simon Taufel and I are immediately ruled out of the equation to be involved in the last game of the series. After today’s result is known, either Rudi Koertzen or Steve Bucknor will also be ineligible. Either way, four umpires will remain in contention. The five games here in Jaipur to date have all been rather low scoring affairs with the three pitches used offering less bounce than normal, even by standards here in India. Dew has been a major factor in captains choosing to field first rather than try to bowl with a damp ball. I am in the third umpire’s seat for this match after six games on field and another as third. I also took my turn as fourth on two occasions so this will be our tenth contest in 27 days. Throw in five internal flights after arriving from Adelaide via Melbourne and Dubai, and you can understand how tiring this role has become. I’m not complaining. Most of my friends still have real jobs. Daryl KICKING OFF THE TROPHY Saturday, 7th October, 2006 Chandigarh, INDIA The Champion’s Trophy kicks off today here in Chandigarh, or nearby Mohali, with two challengers meeting in a preliminary round match. It’s Sri Lanka v Bangladesh to start proceedings at 2.30p.m. Indian time. Tomorrow in Ahmedabad, the other two challengers, West Indies and Zimbabwe meet. After a round robin of six matches, two of these teams move into the main competition while the other two teams pack their bags. I’m working with Steve Bucknor, Billy Bowden and Simon Taufel in the early matches as we rotate about taking turns to be on field, third umpire and on waiter duties. Our match referee here is Mike Procter. Over in Mumbai, Aleem Dar, Asad Rauf, Mark Benson and Rudi Koertzen are similarly preparing for their first match, along with Jeff ‘The Ref’ Crowe. After 18 matches, four teams will reach the semis before the big game in Mumbai on 5th November. Our arrival here on Thursday followed an interesting seminar in Dubai where ICC is now based. We all have busy schedules as we criss cross the globe on appointments, so any get together is an enjoyable chance to compare experiences. I hadn’t sighted Steve Bucknor for twelve months so we had plenty to chat about. There’s always a memorable moment to recall from any journey and this time it occurred in the baggage area at the Delhi airport. One of our group, who shall remain nameless…at this time anyway…reported to airport staff that his suitcase had not appeared on the baggage carousel. He gave a description of the case and noted that it was very similar in shape, size and colour to a suitcase on the floor nearby. The staff scampered about for half an hour in vain, most apologetic about not being able to locate the ‘missing’ case. As a last resort, the similar case was more closely examined…and you guessed it…it was more than just similar in shape, size and colour. It was the lost case. The rest of us had enjoyed a pleasant half hour, standing about waiting patiently and chatting. If we had a system of fines operating, that misdemeanour would have provided a serious donation to the fund. On this occasion, the offender only received a reprimand. Thanks to those people who communicated with me after my elder sister passed away suddenly in August. I appreciated your kind thoughts and I will respond to you individually in the near future. Sadly, we had another bereavement in the family only two weeks ago when my dear mum suffered a heart attack. I was preparing to officiate in South Africa at the time and it is so difficult to cope with such news when so far away from home. On a bright note, the conditions look good here in Mohali so we anticipate a close encounter. Daryl
RETURN TO THE COALFACE Thursday, 7th September, 2006 Nottingham, ENGLAND Thank you to all those friends who provided support and good wishes to my family after the tragic death of my sister in Adelaide last month. It is comforting to have that kind of support when such an unexpected event occurs.
Today I find myself in Nottingham, preparing to umpire tomorrow’s fourth ODI in the NatWest Series between England and Pakistan. After a washout and two wins to the tourists, England will be desperate to enjoy some success before the Champion’s Trophy begins in India next month. Wins in the final two games would mean that the series was drawn. The third game was a close tussle with Pakistan getting home by only two wickets so maybe the ball will swing in England’s favour this time. Pakistan successfully chased England’s 9/271, getting home with seven deliveries to spare. The England squad has plenty of new fresh talent so anything is possible. There were four faces at the bowling crease on Tuesday that I haven’t seen before so some time for me today in the nets is vital. My last cricket was in Toronto in August when Kenya easily accounted for Canada in two ODIs. Daryl
DARYL WITH CHAD & MO AT YANKEE STADIUM
These guys googled my name on their phones in Yankee Stadium while we watched the Yankees win 6-1. Thanks Chad for the message left in my website Guestbook.
KENYA OVERPOWERS CANADA Monday, 7th August, 2006 Mississauga, TORONTO, CANADA Kenya easily accounted for Canada in both ODIs over the weekend. On Saturday, Kenya compiled an impressive 9/239 from 50 overs and then bowled Canada out for a miserable 129 in only 38.2 overs. Yesterday, Canada started steadily and after losing captain Jon Davison early, pushed along to 65 runs for the loss of one wicket. Disaster struck in the form of youngster Hiren Varaiya, and Canada was skittled for only 94 runs from 32.2 overs. Varaiya captured 4/25 and the Kenyan legend, captain Steve Tikolo chipped in with 3/14 from nine very tidy overs. It was going to be an inadequate total to defend, and an opening partnership of 46 runs looked as if the game was over. But Kennedy Otieno neglected to play a shot with his bat and Sunil Dhaniran claimed his wicket. Four wickets for the addition of one run turned the event into a match, with Kenya losing a fifth wicket for only 69 runs. Steve Tikolo is rarely out of the action, and he steadied the innings with an unbeaten 29 runs, nursing the team home for its second victory in two days. Kenya now departs for home and a series of ODIs with Bangladesh. Canada is due to meet Bermuda here in Toronto in a four day Intercontinental Cup game commencing on Saturday, 12th August. That game will be umpired by two umpires from the Americas region, one from Jamaica and the other from The Cayman Islands. I’ll act as an assistant to the match manager, providing encouragement and supervision for the umpires. Daryl
YANKEES WHIP BLUE JAYS Friday, 4th August, 2006 Mississauga, TORONTO, CANADA My night at Yankee Stadium was as good as I had imagined. The Brown Bombers moved to the top of the table when they easily accounted for the Blue Jays 5-1. That was on Tuesday night and they have since repeated the dose on Wednesday and Thursday. A sell out crowd of more than 52,000 ensured that my first visit to a baseball game in New York was one to remember. I loved the barracking, the food vendors and the colour of the spectacle. Just listening to the accents around me was fascinating. My own accent was noticed by two baseball fans sitting behind me. Before the night was out, Chad and Mo had ‘googled’ my name on their very classy mobile phones, asked me trivia questions on Aussie Rules football and cricket, and signed the guest book on my website. The Blue Jays have returned home to Toronto for six games in six days, and I have joined them in their city for a series of ODIs involving Canada, Kenya and Bermuda. Canada will meet Kenya on both days of this weekend at The Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. It’s a magnificent facility with tennis, squash and swimming facilities to complement the original sports that were available more than a century and a half ago. With several thousand members, it is an impressive venue. I’m off to my second baseball game tonight to see the Blue Jays and the defending World Series champions, Chicago White Sox. Daryl
BRING ON THE YANKEES Sunday, 29th July, 2006 Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES My winter hibernation is over. Actually it ended at the start of July when I left the cold weather in Adelaide and moved to Darwin for The Top End Series. Eighteen matches were played between four A teams, from India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia. After a fortnight in beautiful weather in Darwin, we all moved on to Cairns in far north Queensland for the remainder of the series. With that much cricket played, I didn’t manage to umpire for a single delivery. It wasn’t a problem…I was appointed by Cricket Australia to act as Series Referee, while the next generation of umpires took the opportunity to perform. I witnessed some great individual efforts by the likes of Phil Jaques and Shane Watson for Australia, although the home team struggled to win matches. The series was all about development and opportunity, as no points were gained nor finals played. There was a mixture of four day, one day and Twenty 20 games with some tight finishes to excite the modest crowds. Mohammed Hafeez looked impressive with the bat for Pakistan, scoring heavily and hoping to earn a place for the ODIs in England in late August. I’ve already earned my place in that series, appointed to officiate in the final two games in the series at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston. Gautam Gambhir was consistent for India while the Kiwis brought two teams to provide experience to a greater number of potential international representatives. After a quick change of gear and one night at home, I departed yesterday for Perth, hoping to see a comfortable win at Subiaco where my Adelaide Crows were due to face the challenge from second placed West Coast Eagles. It’s hard to beat an exciting game of Australian Rules Football. I did see a comfortable win…but not the one I was expecting. There’s another five rounds to go before finals football, so I’m expecting to see us bounce back next weekend against Collingwood. Now…about that headline. Bring on the Yankees. From here in Dubai, I’ll fly into New York on Monday on my way to Toronto. A friend in New York knows of my love of the game of baseball and has been offering me a visit to Yankee Stadium for the past couple of years. My chance has come, so on Tuesday night, I’ll enjoy a tussle between the Yankees and Toronto’s Blue Jays. I have previously seen Toronto play in their Skydome on a cricket appointment seven years ago, but a game in Yankee Stadium will be something very special for me. I did mention Toronto and this is a cricket appointment. Canada, Kenya and Bermuda will be playing matches in preparation for their participation in next year’s Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean. If time permits, a little baseball in my time off is a bonus. Daryl
HELLO EDWARD Wednesday, 24th May, 2006 Home in Torrens Park, Adelaide, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Good morning Edward. Where has Daryl been for the past month, you have been asking. I must apologise for the lack of action here at the website. I concluded the Test at Centurion with the Kiwis when Makhaya Ntini dominated and I immediately started some holidays. I made the journey from Johannesburg to Perth in about thirty hours as I had to pass through Dubai as part of our sponsorship arrangement. I still managed to reach Perth on the last flight that would allow me to watch my football team play on the following afternoon. My wife and several other couples had also made the trip to Perth from Adelaide to see the footy so if you didn’t understand the Australian passion for sport, you may now be starting to appreciate how many of us think when it comes to a game of ball. The good news was that the Adelaide Crows defeated the Fremantle Dockers from Perth and the season is looking very promising…but it is still May and the final is decided in September. On a funny note, I had a phone call this week from a journalist, somewhere in India. He had heard that in a forthcoming celebrity divorce in Australia, the woman had announced her intention to revert to her maiden name. Now India is a big country with a population of over one billion people. In Australia we have only passed the twenty million mark. The journalist asked me to provide him with the woman’s phone number so he could follow up the story himself. I explained that I lived more than 500 miles from Melbourne and didn’t know the woman or her phone number. He took some convincing, apparently believing that Australian men have access to a wide number of women’s mobile phone numbers. Where did he get that idea? Daryl
PROTEAS SET THE PACE Wednesday, 19th April, 2006 Super Sport Park, Centurion, Pretoria, South Africa South Africa’s advantage in the pace bowling department proved the difference at Centurion today when the first Test was concluded in thirty minutes. Hamish Marshall and Daniel Vettori showed that they were never going to go down without a fight but on this pitch, it was only a matter of time before the unplayable ball arrived. Marshall’s 25 run, 85 ball defiance ended with another steepling ball from Ntini that took an edge to Boucher. (8/119) Ntini had taken 5/51 and ten wickets for the match, continuing his outstanding summer of success. Dale Steyn liked the look of the tail and Vettori slashed at a wide ball, giving Boucher his fourth catch of the innings. Chris Martin was beaten all ends up without being removed first up. But Steyn rattled the stumps next ball to end the match and to claim his first five wicket haul in Test cricket. Victory by 128 runs was decisive but without the efforts of Kallis and DeVilliers on the third day, the Proteas may have been struggling to give New Zealand much of a challenging target at all. I would expect the remaining two Tests to be equally tight struggles, especially on pitches that have never been used before in late April and May. I’ll leave the umpiring duties to Mark Benson, Asoka de Silva and the other Darrell. My first port of call on the path home will be Perth where the Adelaide Crows will face the challenge of the Fremantle Dockers at Subiaco on Saturday. For the uninitiated, that’s Australian Rules football. If my English colleague Mark Benson reminds me once more that Australia is the World Champion in that game, I may be forced to get angry! The combination of Johnny Wilkinson and the last Ashes result have made my life quite difficult of late. If England should surprise and win the Football World Cup in Germany this year, I wonder if everyone connected with the squad will get a knighthood…or better. Daryl
NTINI DESTROYS KIWIS Tuesday, 18th April, 2006 Super Sport Park, Centurion, Pretoria, South Africa Makhaya Ntini bowled a hostile spell here in Centurion that all but completed this first Test on the fourth afternoon. With plenty of encouragement from the lively pitch, support from Dale Steyn at the other end and with the new ball still rock hard, Ntini reduced the Kiwis to 6/28 and a world away from the victory target of 249 runs. At lunch, the Kiwis were 6/34 and searching the skies for rain or heavy cloud cover. Play was eventually shortened by bad light but by then South Africa had moved in for the kill and the Kiwis were 7/98 and still needing 151 runs for a most unlikely win. The day began with South Africa searching for extra runs for insurance, with Ntini and Steyn adding 18 of them in a frustrating half hour. After removing their pads, the same pair then went about demolishing the Kiwi top order. It was more of the same on a pitch surprisingly used for the first time. Once again the new ball proved decisive. Ntini removed two metre Peter Fulton with a ball that just kept climbing until it took an outside edge. The innovative Kiwis then sent Kyle Mills to the crease in the hope that he would just take up space while the ball was at its most dangerous. He did…very briefly…but edged Ntini to Dippenaar second ball! Not all plans work out, but it was imaginative. Steyn then removed Fleming and Styris who both edged behind the wicket. To really stun the Kiwis, Ntini then bowled first innings centurion Jacob Oram with a nasty delivery that kept low, beating a desperate lunge by the batsman. After lunch Hamish Marshall continued a big hearted effort by tucking himself in behind the ball and wearing the consequences of the variable bounce. He was battered and bruised but added 45 runs with the determined Brendon McCullum. The light began to deteriorate and the batsmen were giving my partner and I none too subtle suggestions about the fitness of the conditions. Wouldn’t anyone in the circumstances? We had recorded a benchmark for suitable light and I was monitoring that reading regularly. Before the magical number was reached, McCullum edged Steyn to Boucher and he gave me a glance that lacked warmth as he left the crease. Vettori looked to be aggressive while the plucky Marshall just fought for his survival until the final light interruption became an overnight affair, the Kiwis finishing with 7/98. There is a chance of poor weather tomorrow so the rearguard action may yet prove invaluable. Daryl
Monday, 17th April, 2006 Super Sport Park, Centurion, Pretoria, South Africa
Daryl
ORAM CONTROLS DAMAGE Sunday, 16th April, 2006 Super Sport Park, Centurion, Pretoria, South Africa Jacob Oram returned to Test cricket after seventeen months of recovery time, with a vengeance when he became a centurion at Centurion. He grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck when the Proteas slumped to 5/45 and 6/89, trailing the Proteas who finished with 276 runs. The tourists suffered when Ntini produced uncertain life from the track, removing Marshall with a shooter and Styris with a ball that spat off a length. In between the Kiwi skipper had his 100th Test spoiled when he departed without scoring to a caught and bowled chance, also to Ntini. Well, that’s what I thought….. Combating the uncertain bounce with his huge reach, Oram played some crashing strokes and looked like a man in form rather than a guy returning from injury. McCullum stood tall…if that is possible…as he stood up to the attack with his typical pugnacious style. He seems to have developed as a batsman at a great pace in the past year or two and must be one of the premier wicketkeeper-batsmen currently in world cricket. After he drove Ntini back over that bowler’s head for a spanking boundary, Oram quipped that he would love to be able to play with that confidence and fluency. But Oram persisted after McCullum perished, driving Kallis in the air to Boje in the gully. (6/89) If McCullum had been a good ally for Oram, Vettori was brilliant. He wasn’t going to be contained and hit through the ball with power. The seventh wicket brought the Kiwis back into the match with 183 runs in good time. Before Vettori parted for a fine 81 from 117 balls with 11 boundaries, he celebrated his mate’s century which came from 145 balls. Having missed so much cricket with injury, I could understand the emotions on show when the century was completed. Oram and Vettori embraced and the moment no doubt will be recalled many times in years to come. As his partners departed, Oram pushed on past his previous best Test score, chancing his arm, being last out when caught by Pollock trying to force the pace off Steyn. Rather than the likely first innings deficit, the Kiwis now held a lead of 51 runs. With overs running out, South Africa was forced to bat for one over which was negotiated without drama. Daryl
MILLS IS A BOON FOR KIWIS Saturday, 15th April, 2006 Super Sport Park, Centurion, Pretoria, South Africa In a tight struggle for early series supremacy, neither side could claim the honours after South Africa reached 8/268 at the end of the first day of the first Test. Graeme Smith opted to bat and Herschelle Gibbs was the only casualty in the first session when he dragged a ball from Kyle Mills back onto his stumps. (1/21) Smith and Dippenaar looked comfortable enough when they resumed after lunch at 1/85 until the skipper once again shuffled across his stumps and was lbw for 45 runs to James Franklin. It wasn’t without a warning either as the fielders had reminded him numerous times of his most frequent form of dismissal in recent months. (2/95) Dippenaar was joined by Kallis in his 100th Test and soon celebrated his half century from 96 deliveries with ten boundaries. Mills soon encouraged Dippenaar to pull a shorter ball to Peter Fulton at short midwicket and Ashwell Prince fended a rising ball to Styris at second slip. From 1/95, the score had quickly slipped to 4/130 and a difficult summer looked like continuing. Kallis and DeVilliers settled in to add 47 runs before Franklin produced an unplayable yorker to remove the champion Kallis. An interesting trivia question is to name the three cricketers who have scored 5,000 runs, taken 100 wickets and held 100 catches in Test matches. When he takes four more catches after the completion of this game, Jacques Kallis will join this exclusive club. He will be in mighty impressive company but has earned his place with some wonderful all round performances for his country. I’ve been lucky to witness some of these efforts at close quarters and I appreciate his attitude and manner of going about his business. If you are struggling with the first three members of the club, think West Indies and look at the end of this day’s notes. The new ball was taken at 6/229 and in the space of seven deliveries; the old stagers in Boucher and Pollock were gone. (8/233) Nicky Boje somehow survived until stumps along with Dale Steyn and the match is evenly poised at 8/268 after the first day. It was great to see an underrated bowler like Kyle Mills achieve a personal best in Test cricket with 4/43. He always gives everything for the team and would possibly have not played had Shane Bond shaken off a knee problem. He’s not the quickest bowler around and he’s always pressing on the popping crease, making life tough for the umps, but he appears to me to be a great team man. (Kallis should soon join Ian Botham, Sir Garfield Sobers and…Carl Hooper in the big all-rounders club.) Daryl
AS IF…HE MADE A GOOD IMPRESSION Wednesday, 5th April, 2006 Asgiriya Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka As exciting as Tuesday had been, Wednesday was a disappointment. Murali skied the first ball of the morning from Razzaq into the safe hands of Umer Gul and Pakistan was set 183 runs for a series win. Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat began proceedings in a flurry, adding 38 runs in only 36 minutes, playing and missing often enough to frustrate the local bowlers but to also give them some false hope. It took the catch of the match by Sangakkara to remove Akmal who thick edged Malinga, the low flying slinger. The ball was snatched acrobatically almost from behind first slip, and was simply brilliant. (1/38) Younis Khan arrived at the crease with everyone realising that Murali would need to repeat his first innings performance for the hosts to snatch the game and the series. Younis wasn’t about to let that happen. The pitch that had offered so much to the bowlers on the first two days had now dried out under the baking sun and any assistance was gone. Murali found that the pitch was now too slow to assist even him, but he still tested me with several full blooded appeals for l.b.w. Pakistan resumed after lunch at 1/90 and raced to victory as the runs flowed more freely after a good feed. Farhat held on for 65 runs from 109 balls with 11 fours, before Jayawardene snapped up a catch at first slip from the bowling of the steady Kulasekera. Mohammed Yousuf resumed a discussion with Murali when he joined Younis but it was Khan who looked the most competent batsman in the game when he finished unbeaten with 73 runs from only 98 balls with 12 boundaries. The eight wicket victory before tea on the third day confirmed the series for Pakistan and ensured that a twenty year unbeaten run in Sri Lanka is continued. Referee Alan Hurst also noted that this was the sixth Test where we had officiated together...and the sixth Test that had been decided on the third scheduled day. Now that is an unusual record. I look forward to working with Alan really soon. Mohammed Asif was the standout performer, being adjudged Man of the Match and of the Series. I recalled his brilliance in Karachi in February when he was largely responsible for destroying the Indian upper order in the deciding Test, dominated by Pakistan. Aged only 23 years and coached by former great Waqar Younis, he has the potential to impose his presence for years to come. With an early finish, I’ll now head to Dubai for a long weekend before flying into Johannesburg for the first Test in South Africa. The Aussies have already handed the baton to the Kiwis and moved on to Bangladesh. Steve Davis and I thoroughly enjoyed our first experience of umpiring a Test together after first officiating with each other in Adelaide more than twenty years ago. There’s more to umpiring than just looking after one end, and we combined to ensure that the Test was a true contest between two teams. Daryl
BOWLERS ENJOY KANDY Tuesday, 4th April, 2006 Asgiriya Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka What a day of Test cricket! The bowlers certainly did enjoy Kandy when twenty wickets tumbled on the second day of this Test, virtually ensuring that tomorrow will bring a result. After Sri Lanka lost its final two wickets for only another 12 runs, it was Pakistan’s turn to bat in unfriendly conditions. There was still plenty of movement from the seamers but Farhat and Akmal looked comfortable enough as they added 57 runs for the opening wicket. Once Murali got his hand on the ball, he caused mayhem spinning the ball sharply and troubling most batsmen. Akmal soon squeezed a bat-pad chance to Jayawardene at slip, while Yousuf and Razzaq both perished trying to cut Murali, only to see their woodwork disturbed. (6/149) Big Inzy was probably preparing for the tea interval when Rao called him through for a quick single which he couldn’t complete. (7/162) After the break, the final three wickets fell for only eight more runs and the Pakistanis were bowled out in only 52.4 overs. Kaneria’s edge to Sangakkara gave Murali his fifty first bag of five wickets or more…a stunning statistic in itself. Sri Lanka led by 109 runs and had a further 30 overs on the second afternoon to build onto that lead. But of course cricket is an unpredictable game. Things don’t always follow the team plan. Sangakkara stood in as an opener for Jayasuriya who had damaged a thumb earlier in the day when he successfully caught Farhat to begin Pakistan’s batting demise. With Tharanga, he added 22 runs before Mohammed Asif intervened again. Having taken his first haul of five wickets in an innings on the previous day, Asif promptly repeated the dose for the Sri Lankan batsmen on this, the second day. Eight wickets then fell for only 61 runs with Asif leading the carnage. It was an amazing spell of seam bowling as he regularly beat the bat, bowling his first three victims. Razzaq chipped in to bowl Jayawardene himself, before removing Kulasekera and Bandara to finish the day with 3/20 himself. But the hero was Asif, his 5/27 giving Pakistan the distinct chance of wrapping up the series sometime on the third day. Twenty wickets for 255 runs…not a bad day’s play in a low scoring one day match maybe. But this is a deciding Test and only a possible 12 wickets remain in hand for the final two days. The injured Jayasuriya is unlikely to bat, although when his ambulance left the ground for the journey to the hospital with siren screaming, I imagined that his injury must be life threatening. Then again, he must be one of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated batsmen, so the royal treatment was expected. Daryl
HONOURS EVEN IN KANDY Monday, 3rd April, 2006 Asgiriya Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka Mahela Jayawardene lost his ninth consecutive toss this morning but Sri Lanka battled its way back into the Test in difficult conditions on the opening day. Sent in to bat by Inzamam ul-Haq, Sri Lanka was forced to counter the seam of Mohammed Asif and later the accurate leg spin of Danish Kaneria. Asif was miserly in every spell, removing both openers and captain Jayawardene before lunch. Tharanga and Jayawardene both edged to slip while man of the moment Jayasuriya was beaten for pace and bowled for only 14 runs. It was a major disappointment after a cake cutting ceremony to acknowledge his final Test match. A fourth wicket liaison between Sangakkara and Samaraweera realised 81 runs and was the most productive partnership of the opening day. Sangakkara batted with authority, scoring 79 runs from only 98 deliveries with 15 boundaries. When he drove forcefully at Kaneria, he managed to thick edge the ball onto his pad and Faisal Iqbal accepted the chance. Here’s where the local cricket writers show their ineptitude when it comes to presenting an honest report to their passionate cricket-loving public. One alleged cricket writer…alleged, because he deals more in fiction than cricket…wrote that his innings “came to an inglorious end” when my colleague ruled him out. Blind Freddy could have given him out; such was the magnitude of the deflection. It is such a blight on cricket in Sri Lanka that such reports are written, let alone published. I’ve been reading this drivel in the local rags here since my first visit in 2000 for a series with South Africa. Do the locals need to be provided with a series of fabricated excuses in anticipation of a possible loss? Is there a remote chance that an opponent could actually deserve to win a match? Having read cricket columns in all ten Test playing nations, I can assure you that the quality and standard of cricket journalism in Sri Lanka is in tenth position and is currently not challenged for that wooden spoon. The people here deserve better. Kaneria made inroads into the Sri Lankan middle order removing Maharoof and Dilshan, before Asif returned with the new ball and another productive spell. Samaraweera (65) was bowled neck and crop by Asif before Bandara edged to keeper Akmal slashing at a wide delivery. At least he went down swinging, scoring an entertaining 43 runs from 61 balls with six boundaries. When a half hour overtime had been played, stumps were drawn with the locals hanging on at 8/267. It was a creditable effort considering that Asif had extracted life from the pitch throughout the day, finishing with his first Test five wicket haul. His 5/41 was best supported by Kaneria’s 3/44 with both bowlers completing more than twenty overs for their day’s work. With Pakistan almost certainly batting tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if Sri Lanka’s attack can also profit from the lively pitch. Daryl HEADING FOR THE HILLS Sunday, 2nd April, 2006 The Citadel Hotel, Kandy, Sri Lanka After a rain affected first Test in Colombo last week, we are now in residence in the hill country of Kandy, preparing for the second and deciding Test which is due to begin tomorrow. Rain has fallen on the past five afternoons as the monsoonal season may be arriving several weeks ahead of schedule, but preparations haven’t been hampered by the showers, only delayed. Sanath Jayasuriya has announced his impending retirement from Test cricket will take effect following this match which will be his 102nd Test. He is planning to focus on one day cricket with a view to looking ahead to the World Cup in the Caribbean in another twelve months. The end to his celebrated Test career will ensure plenty of emotion in this game for the local sentimental hero. I have joined fellow Adelaide umpire Steve Davis here in Sri Lanka for this Test. Steve officiated in the Youth World Cup here in February before returning in March for all three ODIs and the first Test. Apparently he is soon to be granted citizenship! Steve and I first umpired together about twenty years ago but we have never officiated together in a Test match. My debut came in 1998 in Perth in an Ashes Test, a year after Steve began his Test career in Hobart when the Kiwis were touring. After all these years, we are both eagerly anticipating this opportunity. On a further personal note, this will be my fourth Kandy Test, being the only ground where I have umpired four times. I have been lucky enough to have officiated three times at The Gabba in Brisbane, The Basin in Wellington and at Lord’s in London. Daryl
KIWIS SECURE SERIES Monday, 20th March, 2006 The Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand New Zealand celebrated a series win on the fourth afternoon at Wellington with a comprehensive ten wicket victory. Despite the loss of another hour of play following overnight and morning showers, the Kiwis regularly gathered the remaining six wickets. Bravo soon lost patience and mistimed a pull shot from Martin, finding Astle for a comfortable catch. (5/129) Ramdin and Chanderpaul then decided on defence and pushed through almost until lunch, adding 38 runs in 90 minutes. Vettori maintained a tight line and finally found his way through when he managed to flick Ramdin’s off bail. (6/156) Kyle Mills entered into the action after lunch when Chanderpaul drove at a wide delivery to provide Stephen Fleming with his sixth chance in the match at slip. He accepted it and the inevitable end moved a step closer. (7/163) Rawl Lewis provided some late aggression to push the score past 190 and ensure that the Kiwis would need to bat a second time. He was the last man to fall, making 40 entertaining runs from 65 deliveries with 7 boundaries. New Zealand’s attack shared the spoils with Martin, Franklin and Vettori all capturing two wickets while Mills tidied up the tail to finish with 3/29 from 9.5 overs. Hamish Marshall and Jamie Howe then scored 36 runs from 8.2 overs to clinch the victory on the fourth afternoon. The final Test in the series is to be played at Napier with some rough weather forecast there in the next week. I’m on my way home after this enjoyable visit to New Zealand for a break of a week. That’s enough time to do the washing and re-pack the case before moving on to Sri Lanka for the second Test in Kandy with Pakistan. Daryl
KIWIS GRAB KEY SCALPS Sunday, 19th March, 2006 The Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand New Zealand could only add a further 35 runs this morning before being dismissed, but seized the initiative when they claimed the wickets of Brian Lara and Chris Gayle. With the end of daylight saving overnight and overcast skies in the afternoon, most of the final session was lost to the weather. At the end of play on this third day, the West Indies still trails by 62 runs with six wickets in hand and Chanderpaul and Bravo at the crease. Darren Powell had Astle edging to Ramdin in the first over before he had even settled in for the morning. (8/335) Then Mills and Franklin added a valuable 37 runs for the ninth wicket before Fidel Edwards claimed the last two wickets in two balls, leaving him on a hat trick when he delivers in the second innings. Edwards took 5/65 and was well supported by Darren ‘Reptile’ Powell with 4/83. The Kiwis had a lead by 192 runs and a stranglehold on the match. Chris Martin opened to Chris Gayle and bowled an excellent line and length, drawing Gayle towards the ball without finding an edge. The action continued to follow me and I was soon faced with a huge appeal for a catch behind by McCullum. It was an excellent appeal with everyone in the air, preparing to celebrate the departure of the dangerous Gayle. I managed to spoil the fun when I failed to uphold the appeal. Many replays later and utilising the Snickometer, apparently it was finally agreed that Gayle had not hit the ball. I had to complete the session more than an hour later before it was confirmed to me as a correct decision by the third umpire Tony Hill. I can tell you that I replayed that delivery in my mind countless times between action on the field. Sadly, I still didn’t have a definitive answer all that time later until after I reached the change rooms. The body language of most of the Kiwis told me that I had made a big mistake, but life went on. Such is this crazy job, that only another umpire could imagine my experience, or appreciate the result. One spectator, also a friend from windy Wellington congratulated me after the close of play. It’s nice to think that some people appreciate the territory that goes with this job. The players seem to want all the close decisions to go their way and none to go against them. That’s a tough request to complete. Gayle batted with a purpose and brought up his half century from 96 balls with nine boundaries. When he connects, the ball races away with great speed. He’s an exciting player who has become a key man in recent times with his gentle and economical off spin to supplement his powerful stroke play. He fell shortly before tea when he attempted to flick a Vettori arm ball behind square leg, missed and was trapped in front. (4/113) The healthy crowd had hoped all day to see Lara bat for the last time in Wellington…he did…and they did…but for only six deliveries. He drove hard at Astle and found the safe hands of Hamish Marshall at point. Large portions of the crowd headed straight for the gates. Lara was gone. Daryl
BOND CLEANS UP WINDIES Monday, 13th March, 2006 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Shane Bond tidied up proceedings at Eden Park when he bowled Jerome Taylor to secure the first Test victory against the West Indies. New Zealand took just over half an hour to capture the two wickets for the win. The Windies started the day requiring 45 runs but could only find 17 runs before their fate was sealed by Bond. Daniel Vettori drove home the first nail when the gritty Ian Bradshaw was snapped up bat-pad by a jubilant Stephen Fleming. Bond finished with 5/69 and was the most impressive bowler in the match. On the fourth day he had forced Sarwan to retire after felling him with a bouncer. He immediately followed that with Lara’s wicket and later removed the Dwaynes…Bravo and Smith. He was selected as Man of the Match for his dominating performance in a rare home appearance after being sidelined with injuries. The Kiwi win came fifty years after the nation had celebrated its first ever Test victory over the West Indies when former ICC Referee John Reid led the team off the field and into local cricket immortality. The Windies was left to wonder what might have been, after openers Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga added 148 runs, more than half of the required target. When Sarwan edged Bond to Styris, six wickets had tumbled for only 70 runs. It’s now time to move on to Wellington for the second of three Tests. After that is resolved, I have a few sleeps at home before a quick trip to Kandy where I’ll be officiating with an Australian making his Sri Lankan debut… Daryl
HATS OFF TO BLACK CAPS Sunday, 12th March, 2006 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand There was no first session on the fourth day when overnight showers were reduced to morning drizzle. The light rain persisted, forcing the umpires to drink copious quantities of tea and reminisce about ancient lbw dramas. There’s never any shortage of material for any umpire. That’s a great thing about cricket. Whether umpiring at a suburban ground in Adelaide or in a Test match at Eden Park, batsmen still wander across their stumps and get rattled on the pads. The match recommenced after lunch and the Windies’ openers just continued to march towards what seemed like a probable victory. Chris Gayle crushed a ball from Vettori onto the roof of a grand stand and I was forced to roughen up a good ball to create an appropriate replacement. The runs continued to mount until Stephen Fleming called on Nathan Astle for some variety. Gayle hit the first delivery to the cover point boundary and tried to repeat the dose with Astle’s second ball. He slashed hard, thick edging to Fleming who accepted the chance with relief after missing a simple bat-pad chance much earlier. Gayle was gone for 82 from 141 balls but left a great foundation for his side. Sarwan was welcomed by Bond in a new spell with some testing deliveries before one crashed heavily into the back of his helmet. He looked poorly and was soon assisted from the ground. Brian Lara arrived to a generous ovation to play his final innings at Eden Park. Shane Bond was the spoil sport, repeating his first innings success by claiming the champion with his first ball. A flamboyant shuffle across his stumps left his leg bail exposed and it was promptly removed. Bond had bowled two deliveries to Lara in the match and claimed his wicket both times. That’s quite a feat against the greatest run scorer in 128 years of Test cricket. (2/157) Chanderpaul lost patience when it was vital and advanced at Vettori but only slapped the ball to Peter Fulton, the tallest man in the game who accepted the chance leaping skywards like an Aussie Rules player. (3/182) Astle returned for another spell and Ganga followed a swinging ball to edge to How in the gully. He made his sixth Test half-century and was only five runs short of a much deserved century. (95 runs, 231 balls) Bond returned to wreak havoc as the visitors lost 4/10 to slump to 7/221. Ramdin and Bradshaw gathered rare runs before Ramdin holed out to Franklin trying to sweep the wily Vettori. (8/246) At stumps the Windies still required 45 runs for a victory that had been theirs for the taking. A middle order collapse generated by Shane Bond was all that stood in the way of victory. Daryl
KEEPER GRABS INITIATIVE Saturday, 11th March, 2006 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Brendan McCullum went from zero to hero at Eden Park, ensuring that his team moved into a competitive position on the third day of this first Test. Zero, when he made a poor call that cost Nathan Astle his wicket…and hero when he dug in, restrained his naturally aggressive style and applied himself to the task in hand. Daren Ganga dived to stop the ball in the covers, recovered his balance and from a kneeling position, threw down the stumps to find Astle “not even in the frame.” Astle was himself knuckling down at the time, adding 13 runs in 84 patient minutes. A loyal Kiwi supporter in the crowd demanded a big effort from the keeper with his booming voice clearly identifying McCullum as the culprit. He responded with a mature innings, adding 64 runs with Daniel Vettori in almost 24 overs of patience. Vettori eventually edged an easy catch to substitute Devon Smith for 33 valuable runs from 80 deliveries. (8/210) Shane Bond replaced Vettori and played with just as much confidence as he ignored the temptation to smash the ball out of the park. McCullum was later smartly picked up by Bravo at slip after the pair had added 62 runs in 22 overs, equalling the ninth wicket record against the Windies, held by Vic Pollard and the man with the name that was neither one nor the other, Bob Cunis. Stand in slow bowler, Chris Gayle, the “coolest” man on the park finished with the excellent return of 4/71 from 30.1 overs. The White Caps scratched out a lead of 290 with more than two days remaining on a pitch that looked as if it could survive for seven days. Gayle and Ganga negotiated an important 18 overs to stumps, reducing the target by 48 handy runs. The game seems to be very evenly poised. Daryl "THE GAME IS PROGRESSING" Friday, 10th March, 2006 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand “The game is progressing,” declared everyone’s favourite umpire David Shepherd, when wickets began to tumble. Every dismissal is a celebration for the fielding side and if the umpires weren’t required to make a decision, all the better. That was one less batsman that we couldn’t make an error with. The much anticipated confrontation between Brian Lara and Shane Bond came and went in the blink of an eye on the second morning in Auckland. With his first delivery to the leading Test run scorer, Bond’s short introduction was pulled gently to square leg…and Lara was gone for five runs. (4/60) Ramnaresh Sarwan played his natural aggressive style, even after his captain edged Franklin down the leg side to keeper McCullum. (5/90) He and Dwayne Bravo added 89 for the sixth wicket before Sarwan top edged a shorter ball from Bond into the safe hands of Franklin moving in at fine leg. (6/179) Dwayne Smith likes to hit the ball hard as I recall from his century on Test debut in Cape Town at better than a run per ball. Today his innings was one day cricket, dying overs batting, as he was swinging better than a rusty gate. “Don’t be so reckless,” sang Australian Crawl decades ago, and I’m sure Dwayne Bravo was echoing those lyrics when the pair chatted after most swashbuckling swings of the blade. Rather ironically, Smith perished when he edged Martin to McCullum as he attempted to withdraw from another slash at the ball. Discretion wasn’t the better half of valour after all. (7/237) The West Indies looked capable of taking a lead on the first innings with Bravo at the wicket but he drove to Bond at mid on and Vettori entered the game to grab the last two wickets for seven runs. Bravo’s 59 runs from 129 balls and Sarwan’s 62 from 108 were promising starts that were both cut short with rash strokes. The advantage to the Kiwis was only 18 when the final session began after an early tea interval. New openers Marshall and How both fell to the steady Bradshaw (2/66) before Fidel Edwards changed ends to remove Fulton and Styris before the close. (4/88) With New Zealand holding a lead of 116 and six wickets in hand, the third day could be decisive, and the fifth day recreational. Daryl
STYRIS TO THE RESCUE Thursday, 9th March, 2006 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Scott Styris had a day out when he scored an unbeaten century and then grabbed two West Indian wickets before stumps to give New Zealand the initiative, here in Auckland on the first day of the first Test. Shivnarine Chanderpaul won the toss and decided to field first on another Eden Park drop in pitch. It was well grassed and provided some assistance early with Hamish Marshall and Jamie How struggling to get runs on the board. On debut, How was ‘accidentally’ run out after a drive from Marshall deflected off the hand of Ian Bradshaw, the bowler, also on debut. (1/23) When Marshall directed a full toss straight into the hands of Fidel Edwards at short mid wicket, both batsmen had been dismissed cheaply and fortuitously. (2/31) Peter Fulton, also on debut was Bradshaw’s first Test scalp when he squirted a leading edge to Ganga in the gully. (3/54) With lunch about to be served, Stephen Fleming edged Bradshaw to Denesh Ramdin and the Kiwis were wobbling at 4/70 at the break. Nathan Astle and Scott Styris steadied the ship in the middle session, adding 71 for the fifth wicket before Dwayne Smith chipped in to remove Astle, McCullum and Vettori in a four over spell. (7/199) Scott Styris handled the conditions best of all, eventually nudging his way to his century with number eleven batsman, Chris Martin, defending stoutly with a straight bat. The century came from only 118 balls and included 15 fours and two big hits over the rope. The innings took less than 70 overs and in parts resembled the helter skelter of one day cricket. The West Indies was faced with 18 overs to complete the day, chasing a total of 275 runs. Ganga and Gayle negotiated some early scares as Bond and Franklin also found some bounce and lateral movement. Ganga survived three appeals for l.b.w. in Franklin’s first over alone, one of them being perilously close to leg stump. Chris Gayle was rather fortunate when he gloved a ball into the air from Shane Bond but received the benefit of the doubt, possibly created when he grasped his forearm for some inexplicable reason. Then as stumps approached, Chris Martin found some extra bounce to snare Ganga when he fended a ball to How in the gully. (1/47) With a Midas touch, Styris then removed night watchman Bradshaw and Gayle within three balls to leave the visitors at 3/51 with big guns Sarwan and Lara at the crease, ready for action on the second morning. Daryl WINDIES SCRAPE HOME Sunday, 4th March, 2006 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Trailing 0-4 with a game to play, the Windies salvaged some pride when they scraped home yesterday by three wickets with two balls to spare. The Kiwis rested Vettori while the Windies did the same with Ramnaresh Sarwan with the first Test looming and the ODI series already decided. It could have been just another game but conditions ensured a more competitive match. Stephen Fleming won the toss and batted on a pitch reportedly held together with glue. My first experience here in Auckland was in 1999 when I arrived to find a surface held together with wood glue, grass clippings and sawdust. It produced a rather boring draw when South Africa’s attack failed to chisel out tail ender Geoff Allott who held on for a remarkable world record 77 ball, 101 minute duck when New Zealand was struggling to avoid the follow on. On this occasion, scoring was laborious on the slow surface where the ball never came on as quickly as expected. Vincent and Astle played aggressive shots early and perished immediately. (2/8) Fleming and Ross Taylor looked comfortable with the latter hitting the ball as hard as anyone in international cricket at the moment. Dwayne Smith entered the game with instant success, removing Fleming to a great catch behind by Denesh Ramdin. Styris accumulated runs while Smith regularly removed his partners at the other end. The Kiwis were unable to really accelerate in the late overs and Styris fell to Smith in the penultimate over for an unremarkable 90 runs from 119 balls but with only four boundaries. Smith completed his ten overs, capturing 5/45 and ensuring that New Zealand was unable to put the game out of reach. The ‘Gayle warning’ for the Auckland area never eventuated with the big guy bowled neck and crop by Shane Bond for two runs after struggling for 22 deliveries. Daren Ganga, Runako Morton and Dwayne Bravo all made cautious starts as they attempted to survive against Bond and look for runs at the other end. Kyle Mills was too economical early and the required run rate blew out to more than a run/ball with thirty overs still to play. The runs came more freely from Patel who was super subbed into the game for Peter Fulton as Chanderpaul and Wavell Hinds added 50 runs from 9.2 overs. It wasn’t until Ramdin arrived at the crease that victory for the Windies seemed more than a remote chance. He found the boundary more than any of his counterparts, falling for a quick fire 38 from only 26 balls. Ramdin and Hinds added 50 runs in only 32 balls before Ramdin was caught soon after by Styris looking to smash the winning run from the bowling of Bond. It was a low scoring affair but at least it wasn’t decided until the final over of the match. Dwayne Smith took the award for his bowling that contributed to restricting the Kiwi batsmen to a mediocre tally. In four days’ time, the first Test of three commences here in Auckland. That means I may have time for some sightseeing, a round of golf and some revision before the resumption of Test cricket. Daryl
FURTHER DOWN UNDER Tuesday, 28th February, 2006 Tullamarine, Melbourne, Victoria After last Sunday’s exciting climax to the ING Cup season, I’m going even further down under as I head to Auckland and a series between New Zealand and the West Indies. I’ll be there by Wednesday afternoon to prepare for the fifth and final ODI to be played on Saturday at Eden Park. The Kiwis currently lead the series 3-0 with the fourth match due to be played today in Napier. On the following Thursday, the first Test commences at the same ground, a stadium where I umpired my third Test and my first overseas Test in March 1999 when the Proteas were touring the Land of the Long White Cloud. On the following weekend, we move proceedings to Wellington for the second in a three Test series. Daryl DILSHAN RUNS AUSSIES OUT Saturday, 11th February, 2006 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, South Australia He who hesitates is lost. It’s an old line but a good line. I can’t remember five of the top seven batsmen in a team ever being run out before in a game that I have umpired. In fact, I can’t remember more than three batsmen being run out in an innings. No doubt it has happened somewhere, but if you add the stumping dismissal of Andrew Symonds to that carnage, it is an amazing scorecard. Sri Lanka won the match by 22 runs and inflicted the first ODI Finals loss for Australia in nine years. Sri Lanka struggled to get firing with the bat and never looked as if a defendable score was likely, reaching only 3/186 after 40 overs. Then Russell Arnold hit a full toss straight to Andrew Symonds and he was gone for 24 runs in the 42nd over. (4/200) Kumar Sangakkara held the innings together with an attractive 83 runs from 106 balls before Symonds held a smart return catch from his own bowling. (5/212) Just as a modest total looked likely, Dilshan and Kapugedera lashed out and 58 runs came from only 5.1 overs. At least Australia would need to work hard to achieve 275 for victory after a score of approximately 240 looked on the cards. Gilchrist and Katich brought up the fifty in 9.3 overs before Dilshan stepped in to totally dominate the match. He was responsible for four run outs and later took a catch to remove James Hopes. He ran the length of the pitch with the ball to remove Ponting who hadn’t faced a ball, and then threw down the stumps to send Martyn back. Australia slipped to 3/64 before Katich, Symonds and Michael Clarke steadied the ship. Enter Dilshan again. Moving brilliantly, he combined with keeper Sangakkara to remove Katich (56) and Michael Hussey. (6/156) All run outs had been so slick that a third umpire referral wasn’t required on any occasion. He had chipped in with an unbeaten 26 runs from 20 balls earlier in the night. If ever a ‘non specialist’ deserved to be man of the match, it was Dilshan. He was involved in removing five of the top eight batsmen. However….I wasn’t judging the award. Sangakkara had made a composed 83 runs so he was rewarded instead. For the home team, Michael Clarke kept the match alive with 80 runs from 83 balls but he ran out of partners before he ran himself out in the final over, still 22 runs in arrears. Sri Lanka naturally celebrated a great win but can expect Australia to bite back in Sydney on Sunday. Five run outs and a stumping was like an epidemic had struck. Most teams are tougher after a loss. I don’t think this team will be an exception. I swap roles on Sunday and move to the third umpire’s seat. It’s a task I enjoy for a change. A win in Sydney for the hosts would mean another game on Tuesday, this time in Brisbane. Let’s just hope for a great spectacle to finish a series that Australia was expected to dominate. Daryl PAKISTAN PASSES THE TEST Wednesday, 1st February, 2006 Somewhere above the Southern Ocean, South of the Australian continent Pakistan took all the glory that comes with a victory over India when this deciding Test was wrapped up on the fourth day in Karachi with a victory by 341 runs. Resuming today with a lead of 518 runs with five wickets in hand, there was a feeling of inevitability in the air. After all, in 129 years of Test cricket, that was already a hundred more runs than any team had scored in the fourth innings for victory. Increasing that target was simply delaying the finish, increasing the agony, and that’s what Younis Khan opted to do. Faisal Iqbal and Abdul Razzaq went into one day mode as they pasted the bowlers to all parts of the ground. Rahul Dravid went into damage control with fielders patrolling the boundaries, but the damage was not to be controlled. Another 88 runs came from 13.1 overs and the declaration only came when Razzaq holed out in the deep as he was allowed the luxury of chasing a century. The challenge would require records to be smashed. India required 607 runs for victory or survival for a minimum of 164 overs. The latter was a remote flicker of a chance, but it was soon snuffed out. Shoaib Akhtar pushed off from his bowling mark, somewhere in the next suburb, and charged in from my end. A no ball was clipped away for a boundary to Sehwag and the innings began. Five balls later, Dravid pushed firmly at a ball just outside off stump and feathered it through to Akmal. The passionate crowd erupted and the noise was deafening. Laxman negotiated the next ball before first innings surprise Mohammed Asif began from the Pavilion End. His third ball jagged back and found the substantial gap between bat and pad. Sehwag’s middle stump cart wheeled through the air and excitement turned to delirium. The huge replay screen showed that stump in Ultra Motion time after time to the delight of every Pakistani present. Tendulkar and Laxman safely negotiated their way to lunch, going to the break with 2/48 on the board. Asif changed ends after the break and he almost decided the match single-handedly. He rattled Laxman’s stumps, as he had done in the first innings, and then removed the biggest threat in the same fashion. Tendulkar is not a tall man but Asif slipped a ball under his guard and the Pakistanis considered the option of finishing on the fourth day. (4/74) How unlikely that had been at 3/0 and 6/39 on the first morning. But Sourav Ganguly had a point to prove. He was fighting for his place in the side and played with great discipline in an attempt to save himself and his country. Yuvraj Singh was possibly playing for the same place in the side and his positive approach was to be admired. The two went to tea at 4/177, with Yuvraj bringing up his half century from only 45 balls. Attacking field placings ensured value for strokes. Runs meant nothing to Pakistan. They still had 429 reasons to be aggressive. Like an umpire, the batsman must be sharp from the first ball after a break in play. Razzaq, bowling close to the stumps at my end slipped one past Ganguly with his first ball after tea. The ball avoided the blade and thudded into pad. As I considered where the ball had pitched, Ganguly appeared to know his fate. By the time I began to give my signal, he had turned his back to me and departed. I wondered if it might have been his final Test innings. (5/177) Dhoni offered some brief resistance with four boundaries but soon departed when he slashed at Razzaq and was comfortably held by Imran Farhat at second slip. (6/208) The only unanswered question was whether Yuvraj would post his second Test century. He didn’t disappoint, scoring the century from 126 balls. Danish Kaneria finally entered the game as a bowler like a super-sub in the 24th over and disposed of Kumble and Zaheer Khan. Then after an epic struggle, it was Razzaq who removed Yuvraj for 122 runs and the innings was over…265 runs all out from only 58.4 overs. India suffered its second biggest Test loss, falling desperately short by 341 runs. Australia had prevailed by 342 runs in Nagpur in 2004. Kamran Akmal was the Man of the Match for his brilliant innings on the first day. He was not out without scoring from one delivery in the second innings, prompting me to inform him that he was the only batting failure. In another Test record statistic, the first seven batsmen all passed the half century mark. Why was the win so emphatic? The bowling of Asif and Razzaq was the major factor for me. They both took seven wickets for the match and managed to “do” something with the ball throughout the game. Irfan Pathan opened with that hat trick and took six wickets in total but was less effective after the lively opening spell when there was a tinge of green grass and overcast skies to assist him. The media wrote of “a green seaming pitch” but by Australian standards, it wasn’t unusual. Before play on the final morning, Simon Taufel and I were collared again by Dean Jones for a brief interview for television. Maybe it was my stubborn streak but I delighted in totally disagreeing with every comment offered by Deano. He likened the pitch to an Adelaide Oval track but it honestly had no similarity…I hope it made for good television. For Simon and myself, there was no real celebration at the conclusion but there was a sense of quiet satisfying achievement. This t.v. coverage utilised hawk-eye, snickometer, the mat, ultra vision at 3,000 frames per second, stump microphones and slow motion replays…all technological aids that were unavailable to us. Very few decisions were shown to be in doubt in a match watched by possibly half a billion viewers around the universe. We left the ground with the knowledge that this match had been decided on merit. Flying above the Southern Ocean en route to Melbourne only 24 hours after the fall of the final wicket, I am reminded of the huge interest in this series. The captain of flight EK 406 is from Pakistan and flight attendants from India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia have all been pampering me since we left Dubai. Yes, even Vinay from Chennai who has already gracefully accepted defeat. I have happily obliged to be in photos with most of that crew because anyone who talks cricket is worth taking time for a chat. At times like this I pause to take a breath and remind myself how fortunate I have been with this life in cricket. Most of my old friends have to work for a living. Daryl
THIS TEST IS HISTORY Tuesday, 31st January, 2006 National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan Starting the third day of a Test match with a lead of 180 runs with eight wickets in hand is a commanding position. By adding 338 runs for the loss of only three wickets, Pakistan today ensured that they could not lose this deciding match…and only divine intervention would save India. Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf had added more than 600 runs when batting together in the first two Tests. This time they combined to add 158 runs for the third wicket before Anil Kumble trapped them both in front. The captain made 77 runs from 122 balls (3/280) while Yousuf fell for 97 runs from 161 balls. (4/318) Faisal Iqbal then took over the reins and was ably supported by a cameo innings from Shahid Afridi who smashed 60 runs from 46 balls. He was caught in the deep off R.P.Singh and replaced by Razzaq who continued the onslaught. By stumps the pair had added 109 runs with Faisal bringing up his maiden Test century in the final over of the day. I recall seeing him on debut in New Zealand several years ago when as a teenager he scored his first Test fifty. It’s always satisfying to see a young player develop and this batsman entered the game under plenty of pressure, replacing Inzamam-ul-Haq. Daryl added 115 runs from 164 balls and carried the score to 7/154. Replacing Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar supported leg stump delvery that he edged onto his pad and into the Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh moved slowly towards HISTORY IN PAKISTAN Sunday, 29th January, 2006 National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan Irfan Pathan took a stunning hat trick in the opening over of this deciding third Test, yet incredibly by stumps, Pakistan was back on even terms with India. Salman Butt, captain Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were all back in the rooms without a run on the board by the end of the opening over. It was the first time in 1,783 Tests that such a feat had been achieved. Using the overcast conditions and a little moisture in the gently grassy pitch, Pathan was able to swing the ball into the right handers with devastating results. More carnage followed when Faisal Iqbal failed to offer a shot and Shahid Afridi was guilty of offering too big a shot to Zaheer Khan. When surviving opener Imran Farhat edged R.P.Singh to M.S.Dhoni, Pakistan had slumped to 6/39 from only 10.3 overs, their chances of competing in this crucial game seemed remote. Kamran Akmal joined Abdul Razzaq in a tough situation and the pair set about restoring some pride for their team. The tiny wicket-keeper showed no nerves as he attacked the loose deliveries, driving and hooking with confidence. Razzaq played a more cautious hand, content to support Akmal but was eventually trapped in front by R.P.Singh. (45 runs, 79 balls) The seventh wicket partnership added 115 runs from 164 balls and carried the score to 7/154. Replacing Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar supported Akmal who charged onward to his fourth Test century, scoring 113 runs from 148 balls with 18 boundaries. After he edged Pathan to Dhoni (8/236), Shoaib eyed his first Test half century, gathering nine boundaries to reach 45 runs and close within one big hit of the magic number. It was a big hit, but Yuvraj patrolling the boundary took a comfortable catch to end Shoaib’s quest. Pakistan had stumbled from 3/0 to 6/39 to be dismissed for a respectable 245 runs. Pathan took the bowling honours with 5/61 from 17.1 overs while Singh (3/66) and Zaheer (2/75) chipped in to clean up the hosts. Shoaib Akhtar provided the intimidation factor while relative newcomer Mohammad Asif made the early breakthrough when India began its innings after tea. Dravid edged Asif to the Pakistan centurion and Shoaib forced Sehwag to repeat the result. (2/14) Laxman and Tendulkar steadied the innings for a while until Asif moved one back into V.V.S. off the seam and through the gate. (3/56) As if that wasn’t enough for the opening day, Razzaq enticed Tendulkar to drive at a leg stump delivery that he edged onto his pad and into the woodwork. (4/56) Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh moved slowly towards stumps, finishing with 4/74 and trailing Pakistan by 171 runs. What an incredible day of Test cricket. I felt honoured to be in attendance. Daryl
BATTING PRACTICE IN PAKISTAN Thursday, 26th January, 2006 Sheraton Hotel, Karachi, Pakistan Twenty four hours after leaving home in Adelaide, I am now settled into a hotel room in Karachi. At Adelaide Oval, against Sri Lanka, Australia has managed to chase a modest tally but lost five wickets to win by that margin. Flying from Dubai to Karachi took less than two hours, but it was a flight with a difference. Glancing to my right, I was fascinated to watch two peregrine falcons perched near the feet of their Arab handlers. They had the traditional mask covering their eyes and were almost motionless as they clutched a miniature wooden perch, close to the floor of the cabin. (I had thoughts of a Monty Python routine involving a parrot but these were definitely not deceased.) Here in Pakistan, the second Test in Faisalabad with India has ended in the same way as the first Test last week in Lahore. Hundreds and hundreds of runs have been scored but wicket taking has become a scarce commodity. Both games were always destined for draws. The teams and officials arrived in Karachi this afternoon to prepare for Sunday’s beginning to the finale. I am sure we will all be keen to inspect the pitch tomorrow to gauge whether or not a result is a possibility. The weather is predicted to be on the warm side and I am assured that light will not be a consideration towards the end of each day’s play at this time of the year. The Pakistan captain, Inzamam –ul-Haq is reported to be a doubtful starter after struggling with a back injury in the second Test. Opening batsman Shoaib Malik is unavailable for this Test following the passing of his father on the weekend. It’s a reminder that as important as cricket is to us, family ties are a greater priority. All things considered, there could be an epic encounter about to begin. Daryl
SRI LANKANS STUMBLE Wednesday, 25th January, 2006 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, South Australia If ever a team had a victory for the taking, it was Sri Lanka in Adelaide on Tuesday. Chasing the Proteas’ modest total of 5/263, Sri Lanka had the measure of that number for all but the final over. Murali just couldn’t lay bat on ball and only managed to scramble a leg bye in the final over, delivered by the under-rated all rounder Andrew Hall. Earlier, it had been Murali who informed me before he delivered his first ball that he needed two scalps to pass 400 ODI wickets. Within three deliveries, the off spinner was celebrating his achievement. Smith leaned out of his ground and was smartly stumped by Sangakkara, while Van der Wath squeezed a catch to Arnold first ball. The bowling during the middle overs was economical while the batting was cautious. The Proteas reached 3/102 from 26 overs and a defendable total seemed unlikely. Herschelle Gibbs came to the rescue and smashed three balls into the crowd to lift the tempo. Fifty runs from five overs later and the South Africans were in motion. Gibbs was bowled by Perera for an exciting 68 runs from 65 balls. Dippenaar continued to anchor the innings, scoring only three boundaries in his century. He was undefeated with 125 runs from 145 balls at the finish, when South Africa closed with 5/263 from 50 overs. It was a fair score on a sound batting track, but Sri Lanka must have fancied their chances after a huge effort with the bat in Sydney only two days earlier. After Mubarak fell early to Pollock (1/11), Jayasuriya and Sangakkara opened with a flourish, adding 57 runs in quick time. Andrew Hall resumed at my end, the scoreboard end and immediately fired a ball across the body of Jayasuriya. Before I could begin to call or signal the wide, Mark Boucher had the bails off in a flash and Aleem Dar called Steve Davis into action. After the deliberations, the Sri Lankan blaster was found to be out of his ground and duly given his marching orders. So after possibly two minutes had elapsed since the ball was delivered, I signalled to the scorer that the ball was a wide. This must be one of my slowest responses on record, but I was waiting for the dust to settle. (2/68) Sri Lanka steadied after Van der Wath deceived the in-form Sangakkara with a slower ball (3/68) but Marvin Atapattu soon fell in strange circumstances. Sweeping against Johan Botha, he watched Boucher catch a ball that ballooned up on the leg side. Surviving the keeper’s appeal for a catch, the Sri Lankan skipper took half a step forward and left his ground. There wasn’t any chance of a run so it was a bizarre moment, completed when Boucher threw down the stumps without really glancing back before releasing the ball. At square leg, I was “surprised” by the turn of events and decided that the third umpire was best placed to review the moment. Atapattu was run out for 23 runs from 40 balls. The bowler was extremely optimistic when he asked me to confirm that Atapattu had been stumped. But the scoreboard corrected displayed the mode of dismissal as run out with the bowler not gaining credit for the wicket. Dilshan and Jayawardene then used all their experience to add 107 runs for the fifth wicket before the latter was bowled by the highly impressive Van der Wath for 52 runs from 52 balls. (A personal challenge of mine is to be the first Australian to correctly pronounce that bowler’s full name. Tony Greig is excluded from that demographic on the grounds of prior knowledge.) Despite needing only a run/ball for the final five overs with wickets in hand, Sri Lanka managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Even with Murali on strike and eleven runs needed from the final over, victory was still on offer. But Andrew Hall who always plays with plenty of heart and emotion, managed to bowl a maiden final over, unheard of in modern limited overs cricket…and the Proteas snatched the win. At the half way mark of this series, all teams have beaten their two opponents and also lost to them as well. For me, it’s time to briefly pack away the blue ODI shirts and grab the Test kit. I’ll be in Karachi in 24 hours, preparing for a Test with India and Pakistan, due to commence on Sunday. Daryl
PROTEAS RUN OUT OF IDEAS Thursday, 19th January, 2006 Melbourne Tennis Centre, Melbourne, Victoria On Tuesday in Brisbane, the Proteas just didn’t have the spark about their game that they displayed on Sunday in the victory over Australia. It’s a quality that’s difficult to measure but it was in short supply when Graeme Smith won the toss and chose to field on a beautiful batting track. Perhaps they were hamstrung by a long injury list because Jacques Rudolph as super-sub indicated that they thought that they would bat second in any circumstances. Sri Lanka was immediately off to a flyer with Mubarak and Sangakkara adding 112 for the second wicket at a run/ball. Garnett Kruger had radar problems and Monde Zondeki struggled to make an impact. With Nel, Ntini and Kallis all injured, it was going to be a test of South Africa’s bowling depth. Towards the end of the innings, at least the run rate declined as wickets were taken and loose deliveries were not as frequent. Sangakkara (88 runs, 109 balls) and Mubarak (61 runs, 69 balls) did most of the damage with Atapattu scoring 33 runs from 43 balls before sacrificing his wicket going for a non-existent run. A final score of 6/282 was going to be tough to chase down, especially after the Proteas had lacked spark in the field. Pollock, as usual made it difficult for the batsmen from his end, but he could only bowl ten overs in the innings. Graeme Smith was in brilliant form in India in November but has struggled to go on after making a number of false starts. This time there was only a false start as he fell across his stumps to a straight delivery from Chaminda Vass. (1/8) Dippenaar was beaten by a ball that moved back into him from Kulasekara (2/30) but disaster really struck when Rudolph was joined at his end by Kallis who wanted a second run. (3/57) Obviously feeling the added pressure of the run out, Rudolph himself perished in the same fashion as Gibbs and trudged off in disappointment. (4/93) At least he had scored 53 runs from 63 balls but the required run rate was then more than 6.5 and growing. Prince and Kemp both fell to super-sub Bandara as they tried to lash out in desperation. The leg spinner also captured the final wicket of Mark Boucher who top scored with 62 runs from 71 opportunities. In between, Murali slowed proceedings when he bowled Andrew Hall and trapped his opposite number, Johan Botha plumb in front and playing back. That’s the sort of l.b.w. appeal that is easy to answer. But none of the fielders ever seek out an umpire to talk about such a delivery. They prefer to look totally puzzled and in disbelief at almost every unsuccessful appeal. Dismissing South Africa for only 188 from 44.2 overs ensured that Sri Lanka earned a bonus point and second position on the VB table, behind the hosts. After the first round of games, all teams have a victory. My next game is in Melbourne on Friday when Australia meets South Africa. Who could visit Melbourne at this time of the year without spending a few hours roaming around the Tennis Centre, watching the champs in action? Not me. Daryl
CHALLENGERS BEAT CHAMPS Monday, 16th January, 2006 The ‘Gabba, Brisbane, Queensland My Christmas New Year holiday has finally come to an end and it’s time for me to return to active duty. Last night I had a warm up when I was third umpire here in Brisbane when South Africa scored a surprise and rare victory over Australia. The hosts had a huge win against Sri Lanka in the opening game in Melbourne on Friday by 116 runs, and looked the no.1 team in the world. But here in Brisbane, they were soon in trouble, losing both opening batsmen without scoring. (2/4) Shaun Pollock caused the damage, bowling an immaculate length, also bowling Damien Martyn who has been in fine form. (3/29) Ponting, Symonds and Michael Clarke fell in quick succession (6/71) before Brett Lee and the amazing Michael Hussey added 123 runs for a record Australian seventh wicket partnership, dragging the team to a respectable total of 228. Hussey has been doing the finishing role with regularity since his debut. But Brett Lee has also contributed with the bat in recent months. (57 runs, 69 balls) South Africa began steadily until Graeme Smith mistimed a shorter ball from Glenn McGrath and chipped a gentle catch to Katich at square leg. (1/27) Four balls later, Kallis responded to a call from Dippenaar but was beaten by a brilliant throw from Andrew Symonds. Gibbs skied Bracken to Martyn and Prince was brilliantly caught by Hussey when he pulled a shorter ball from McGrath. (4/125) The innings looked a little wobbly when 100 runs was required from the last 80 balls, but Dippenaar (74 runs, 115 balls) was well supported by Mark Boucher (63 runs, 62 balls) in reducing the target. His was the last wicket to fall at 5/162 when Stuart Clarke threw the stumps down after retrieving the ball on his follow through. Justin Kemp added a quick-fire 29 runs from 21 balls to remain unbeaten at the end with Boucher. South Africa was forced to wait for the victory when a shower of rain forced the players from the field with only a handful of runs needed for the win. The five wicket result was achieved with seven balls to spare, while Shaun Pollock was instrumental in the result, with 3/30 from ten overs earning him the award for the night. As third umpire, I was called upon for a couple of very close appeals that would have been given the benefit of the doubt before the advent of technology. Not today, with batsmen being given out by the skin of their teeth. Tomorrow I’ll join my colleague Aleem Dar on the field when South Africa will front up to Sri Lanka in the third game of the series. Daryl
AUSTRALIA ON THE BRINK Monday, 19th December, 2005 W.A.C.A. Perth, WESTERN AUSTRALIA After a tight tussle over the first two days, Australia steadied on the third day and took almost complete control on the fourth day of this first Test in Perth. The third day began with the scores level with only Matthew Hayden’s wicket lost. Even when Ricky Ponting edged Ntini to Boucher and fell for a half century, the game was still in the balance. (4/184) But relative newcomers Mike Hussey and Brad Hodge used their considerable first class experience to steady the ship. Adding 132 runs for the fifth wicket, the partnership carried into the first session of the fourth day. These two batsmen must qualify as two of the most experienced players to ever enjoy a Test debut. They seem to have been scoring heavily in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup cricket for years, with Hodge scoring a century in his third Test after 12 years of representing Victoria in 167 first class matches. Hussey eventually gave Mark Boucher a simple chance as he attempted to guide Pollock backward of point. His half century (58 runs, 121 balls) continued a brilliant run of performances since his recent debut against the Windies. Brad Hodge just kept on gathering runs, playing second fiddle to Adam Gilchrist in a partnership of 67 for the seventh wicket. Gilchrist found touch, reaching 44 runs from only 58 deliveries. Finally it was Nathan Bracken who played straight to support Hodge as his double century approached. Ricky Ponting looked to be considering the maths as Hodge reacted to the imminent declaration by stepping up a gear or two. A square cut brought up the double hundred, allowing Australia to declare with a lead of a mammoth 490 runs. Tea was taken early as the light roller prepared the track for South Africa’s second innings. Survival for a minimum of 132 overs was always going to be a huge challenge, especially with the potent Shane Warne warming up in the wings. The daylight dimmed as the floodlights were activated to extend play into the evening. Warne was introduced into the attack after thirteen overs and struck in only his third over. A.B. de Villiers had top scored in the first innings but popped up a simple bat pad chance to Hodge for only a dozen. (1/35) Five overs later Graeme Smith played across a ball from Nathan Bracken and was trapped in front for 30 runs. (2/55) Herschelle Gibbs then found a new form of defence against Warne when the ball rattled around inside his helmet grille on two occasions. He was joined by Jacques Rudolph for the final thirteen overs of the day when they added 30 runs before my West Indian mates offered them the light. The final day will begin with South Africa short by 406 runs and Australia in need of eight wickets. Daryl
HONOURS ARE EVEN IN THE WEST Saturday, 17th December, 2005 W.A.C.A. Perth, WESTERN AUSTRALIA Makhaya Ntini took 5/64 on the first day of this Test while Brett Lee took his turn today with 5/93 to leave this match in the balance. South Africa took a first innings lead of 38 runs, but Australia had squared the ledger by the end of the day, losing Matthew Hayden shortly before the close of play. Batsmen again threatened to control proceedings early in the day with A.B. DeVilliers finding touch to reach 68 runs before being bowled by a quicker ball from Shane Warne. (3/135) Smith had looked safe enough in reaching 34 before slashing at a wide ball from Bracken that Ricky Ponting intercepted acrobatically at second slip. (1/83) When Ashwell Prince was trapped in front by Warne, the bowler made history by taking his 86th Test wicket for the year, one more than Dennis Lillee took in a calendar year last century and more than any other bowler in the history of cricket. South Africa had slumped to 6/187 and looked in real danger of ending with a first innings deficit. Two old campaigners in Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock then wrestled control back again by going on the attack, adding 77 runs for the seventh wicket. Brett Lee returned for another spell and he rattled Pollock’s stumps with a quicker delivery. (7/264) Pollock had scored 34 from only 35 balls with six boundaries. Boucher was next to depart when Hayden stretched to snatch a one handed catch at slip from Warne’s bowling. His 62 runs included seven boundaries and came from 77 deliveries. The Proteas had a narrow lead but couldn’t extend the margin to any significant figure when Brett Lee trapped Charl Langeveldt first ball on the batsman’s birthday. This wouldn't rate as one of my more difficult days of umpiring. I didn't have even one referral from the two West Indian umpires during the entire second day's play...but that's cricket. Tomorrow could be frenetic. So the third day will begin with scores level and Matthew Hayden as the only batsman who can’t have another innings in this contest. Andre Nel will surely bowl in the morning session and will be on a hat trick when he charges in for his first delivery. Daryl
PROTEAS FIRE UP IN PERTH Friday, 16th December, 2005 W.A.C.A. Perth, WESTERN AUSTRALIA After all the media hype leading up to the first day of this top of the table series, it was South Africa who took the honours by stumps. Australia elected to bat but lost Hayden after only eight deliveries. Makhaya Ntini rattled the Australian captain’s helmet with a nasty short pitched delivery before he had scored, but Ponting bounced back in style, dispatching numerous similar deliveries to the fence. He added 111 with Justin Langer before Nelson struck, with Langer chipping the simplest of catches to Graeme Smith at mid off. With 3/175 at the tea interval, Australia had eased back into control, with Brad Hodge and Michael Hussey looking well set. Ponting had been trapped in front by the persistent Sean Pollock for an entertaining 71 runs. (3/117) But Ntini continued to charge in, restricting the runs and strangling the middle order. Hussey followed Hayden and Langer, mistiming a pull shot only to offer a catch, with Langeveldt snaring a spectacular one handed snatch. (4/180) Adam Gilchrist was dropped at slip by Justin Kemp but couldn’t take advantage of his luck and continued his lean run with the bat when Herschelle Gibbs held a sharp chance above his head. (6/199) This was Ntini’s fifth wicket and the tenth occasion when he had captured five victims in a Test innings. Wickets continued to tumble with Andre Nel enticing Andrew Symonds to drag a ball on to his stumps. He cleaned up the tail when Bracken and McGrath edged to Boucher from consecutive deliveries, leaving him on a hat trick when he enters the action in Australia’s second innings. A total of 258 runs looked inadequate, especially when Smith and DeVilliers rattled on 38 runs without loss in seven overs before stumps. A good tussle seems inevitable as we look forward to a competitive series. Daryl
MADRAS WARM UP Wednesday, 7th December, 2005 Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, INDIA Most of us thought that the final day of the Test match was going to be a dreary affair with India resuming at 2/90 in the very first innings of the match. After almost four days had been lost watching rain fall or grass dry, Chaminda Vass managed to quell the excitement for the local, vocal crowd who love action. Seven consecutive maidens was brilliant stuff in a Test match but Tamil Nadu was enduring its fourth straight rain affected international match. Finally he encouraged Rahul Dravid to chase a ball early in proceedings and Sangakkara accepted the chance. Tendulkar offered a similar opportunity from Muralitharan but that chance went to ground. He was chasing a record breaking 35th Test century but it didn’t arrive. Maybe it will be more appropriate to celebrate such an event at a more important moment, in a match that is going somewhere. Murali trapped 6+4dulkar with a ball that slid through for 22 runs and the crowd moaned in disappointment. V.V.S.Laxman failed to complete a mid-pitch U-turn and he was run out by a substitute fieldsman but there was no complaint on this occasion. Most recent captain Saurav Ganguly opened cautiously but cut Fernando in the air to Dilshan who held a fine catch, low to the turf. Bandara took eight years to capture his maiden Test wicket when Dhoni holed out to the long on boundary and the tail failed to wag. In fact India lost 8/70 to be dismissed for only 167 runs. It was their lowest ever total against Sri Lanka but the pitch had been difficult for stroke makers. Only 55 overs remained for the Test so both teams had the opportunity for a hit and a workout in the field. Vass finished with an impressive 4/20 from 21 overs, fourteen of them being maidens. Murali always looked dangerous with 2/60 from 25 overs but felt that the pitch was too slow to assist him. Sri Lanka lost Gunawardena early when he slashed at Pathan to provide M.S.Dhoni with Test dismissal number one. (1/5) Jayawardene joined Kumar Sangakkara and they added 57 runs before Anil Kumble got a quicker ball past the keeper and I agreed that it would have hit the woodwork. Mahela Jayawardene played the best innings of the truncated contest, looking confident for his 71 runs. Sri Lanka claimed first innings points which means nought in a Test. After starting late, the game ended early when the captains agreed to conclude the contest during the last scheduled hour. The teams now move to Delhi for the second match in a three game series while the umpires head home. One disappointment for me is to miss my daughter graduating from university in Queensland where she has completed a Degree in Veterinary Science. At least Madam reached there in time to represent the family. I will reach Brisbane in time to make the 2,400 kilometre trip home by car with the doctor. Next week I’ll be in Perth to officiate as third umpire when Australia faces a challenge from South Africa. For now, it’s time to hit the road again. Daryl TESTING PATIENCE Monday, 5th December, 2005 Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, INDIA After three and half days of precipitation and evaporation, Chaminda Vass finally measured his run and bowled the first ball of the first Test here in Chepauk, Chennai. It was a major disappointment as the ball scooted through at ankle height and almost trapped Gautam Gambhir in front of leg stump. After sitting under covers for more than two days, the pitch seemed devoid of life, but we all knew how that felt after being forced to wait patiently since sometime last week. With the first ball of his second over, Vass slid one past Gambhir and the little opener was bowled without scoring. (1/13) At the other end, Sehwag was about as cautious as the auto taxi drivers in this country and he rattled along like it was an ODI. A quick-fire 36 from 28 balls was his contribution to fire up the cricket starved fans before he drove at Vass and found Marvan Atapattu waiting for the lofted drive. (2/45) Only 32.3 overs were possible before the floodlights took over and the batsmen accepted an offer of bad light. Interest on the final day will centre on Sachin Tendulkar who could achieve more history with his 35th Test century, one more than his countryman Sunil Gavaskar. But runs may be hard to gather on a lifeless surface, even if it doesn’t offer much assistance for the bowlers. Time will tell. Daryl
DOES M.R.F. MEAN MADRAS RAIN FACTORY? Saturday, 3rd December, 2005 Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, INDIA The first two days of the first Test here in Chennai have been washed away after heavy rains began to fall early on Friday morning. Weather gurus believe this monsoonal action is directly linked to Cyclone Baaz, gathering off the coast in the Bay of Bengal. There was no respite yesterday when play was abandoned at 11.15a.m. Parts of the outfield were saturated, rendering the ground unfit to commence. After steady overnight downpours, my colleague Mark Benson and I inspected the ground at 8a.m. and at 1p.m. today. The decisions on both occasions were easy to make…unlike most other judgements that we are required to consider in the course of a match. Tomorrow is Sunday, the third scheduled day and with rain falling steadily tonight, another gloomy morning is approaching. A common question posed by the media relates to the appropriate moment to abandon the match completely. The easy answer is at the scheduled close of play on the fifth day. Let’s cross that bridge when it happens. With the frequency of the showers, a bridge is exactly what may be needed. My personal trainer, alias my wife Maureen, also referred to here in India as ‘The Madam,’ heads towards home tonight after enjoying three weeks of travel, countless packing and unpacking, exciting cricket and her first real taste of Indian culture and tradition. Not surprisingly, she has enjoyed every moment, none more so than her first glimpse of the majestic Taj Mahal. Daryl
PROTEAS HIT “THE WALL” Monday, 29th November, 2005 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, INDIA South Africa failed in their bid to win an ODI series for the first time in India last night when they encountered “The Wall.” In front of a very vocal, bigger than capacity crowd of 55,000, Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to field, mindful that the team batting second had won all three matches in this series. “The Wall” is of course new Indian captain Rahul Dravid’s local nickname and it was appropriate that he was at the wicket when the match was won and the series finally dead-locked at 2-2. The third match in Chennai was washed away without a ball being delivered. A police report quoted in a daily paper estimated that at least 10,000 people entered the ground with fake tickets, causing a degree of overcrowding. Some fans not able to enter the ground climbed a light tower in the neighbouring Bombay Hockey Stadium where they watched the action, clinging to the steel structure. I know cricket is a passion here but many would risk life and limb to see local hero Sachin Tendulkar. He didn’t let them down either when his opportunity arrived later in the night. Hall and Smith opened proceedings cautiously because Irfan Pathan rediscovered the length and swing that eluded him in Kolkata. He bowled Hall (1/6) and then removed the powerful South African leader when Smith misread a slower ball and spooned an easy catch to Harbhajan at mid-wicket. (2/36) Ashwell Prince grew impatient and top-edged a sweep off Harbhajan straight to Yuvraj at short fine-leg…caught Singh bowled Singh! (3/77) Mark Boucher tried to hurry things along but couldn’t get any real momentum into the innings. He added 81 runs with the patient Kallis who accepted that he had to hold the side together, but the partnership consumed twenty valuable overs. He struck a ball from Sehwag straight and low to Harbhajan at mid-wicket who moved forward and snatched the ball from just above the grass tips. It was the best catch of the series and was one of many moments of brilliance from the Indian fieldsmen. It was the most athletic effort from an Indian team that I have witnessed from my position on the field behind the stumps. Pollock smacked a couple of boundaries at the finish (30 runs, 17 balls) but it wasn’t to be enough. Kallis perished when he couldn’t clear Kaif at long-on and the Proteas closed at 6/221. His 91 runs came from 146 balls and contained only five boundaries. Pathan with 3/20 from eight overs created the early damage, while Harbhajan with 2/32 from ten overs supervised the containment. The evening dew never really eventuated so it wasn’t a factor for South Africa in the field. Super-sub Gambhir found a leading edge to Ntini and skied the ball high to Kemp in the gully. (1/1) Sehwag joined Tendulkar and the crowd was treated to some brilliant ball striking. Both threatened to put the game out of the visitor’s reach, until lady bad-luck struck and I sent Sehwag on his way. (2/46) That happens in cricket and tests the character of player and umpire. Both are still believed to be intact. Tendulkar had his home crowd firing with five boundaries before he drove hard at the energetic Andre Nel and Prince probably held the second best catch of the series in the gully. The crowd was silenced…momentarily anyhow. This was a crowd that was doing the Mexican wave 75 minutes before the first ball was delivered so any silence was just a pause for a breath. (3/83) It was then time for joint Player of the Series, Yuvraj Singh to join his captain and to guide the team into a strong position. They added a steady 79 runs in 19 overs before Yuvraj edged Nel to Boucher, finishing with 49 runs from 64 balls. (5/201) It was yet another mature innings when the team needed it from the talented youngster. Dhoni edged his way to 12 runs but looked very streaky. Mohammed Kaif brought up the winning runs with a boundary while Dravid looked on from the bowler’s end, undefeated on 78 runs. India had squared the series with 15 deliveries and five wickets to spare. South Africa had just fallen short in its bid to win the series. The Proteas now prepare for a challenging tour to Australia while India will host Sri Lanka in a three Test series starting in Chennai on Friday. For my wife and me, tomorrow should be Delhi, Agra and the magnificent Taj Mahal.
SMITH PLAYS WINNING HAND Saturday, 26th November, 2005 Eden Gardens, Kolkata, INDIA Graeme Smith had all the right cards at Eden Gardens in Kolkata last night and he played them to perfection, guiding his Proteas home to a massive ten wicket victory. Winning the toss and electing to bowl first on a pitch that looked more like a track from home than on the subcontinent was a big opening play. From that moment he had all the trumps beginning with Shaun Pollock’s opening spell. Extracting extra bounce, Pollock was on target early as the newest opening batsman in Irfan Pathan dragged a ball on to his stumps from the third ball of the game. Sachin Tendulkar arrived in need of a score this series but Pollock found the thinnest of edges and the batsman departed only after being given out. When runs are hard to find, any batsman hopes for a close call in his favour. To be quite honest, I never ‘walked’ in my life because runs were always hard to find and I needed every bit of good fortune that fell my way. Gambhir managed to edge a seaming ball to Captain Smith at slip who showed that he had two safe hands. (3/23) Pollock completed his first spell of eight overs with 3/18 and India never really recovered. Sehwag threatened for a while before edging Hall to Boucher (4/49) and Rahul Dravid was beaten neck and crop by Langeveldt who sent the off stump cart-wheeling backwards. (5/71) Yuvraj (53) and Kaif (46) added 81 for the sixth wicket before India wilted losing 4/21 from 6.3 overs, failing to bat out their 50 overs by 25 balls. Pollock was brilliant with 3/25 from his 10 overs while Andrew Hall, who was a trifle expensive, removed Sehwag, the dangerous Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh to finish with 3/36 from 6.5 overs. If the pitch had extra bounce, it didn’t worry Graeme Smith or Andrew Hall who were the only two Proteas to get a bat. Smith was brutal, scoring runs in every direction with great power and authority. I’ve seen some of his best innings at close quarters but this was the best I’ve witnessed from the South African captain. He attacked from the outset and the team’s half century came in the twelfth over. Anything short of a length or with any width was stroked away as the bowling attack lacked any real venom. The damage could not be slowed as Smith passed his century and motored onwards. Hall was positive throughout and finished unbeaten with 48 from 94 deliveries. After his three wickets, it was a great performance but not enough to win the award, nor a place in the Test party to tour Australia next month. His services will no doubt be required for the VB series in the New Year. Graeme Smith took the Man of the Match award…after making all the right moves. He finished unbeaten with 134 runs from only 120 balls with 21 boundaries. The Kolkata faithful turned out in great numbers (more than 90,000) but many of them supported the visitors after India lost the initiative. Faithful to local icon and former captain Saurav Ganguly, many fans gave the Indians and coach Greg Chappell a rough reception. I noted how generously Shaun Pollock was greeted at fine leg after he completed his final over, perhaps mistakenly thinking that the crowd were sportingly appreciative of his skills. But India was 6/166 after 39 overs at that stage and the game was sliding away. By then, feeling was high and loyalty to a local was to the fore. The final match in this series will be played in Mumbai on Monday, 28th November. South Africa is looking for a first series win in India. Meanwhile India will be glad to get back to a home ground and home crowd. Daryl
RAIN RUINS RUBBER IN MADRAS Wednesday, 23rd November, 2005 M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, INDIA No...not rubber from the famous Madras Rubber Factory. I'm talking about the great rubber...or series of ODIs that are being contested between India and South Africa. Chennai was drenched on Monday night with some extremely heavy downpours coming in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The ground staff made a valiant attempt to mop up throughout the morning, but their efforts were thwarted by nature. My partner for this game was Hariharan Krishna who was eager to officiate in the Chepauk Stadium in front of family and friends. I was also anticipating this match, enjoying my first visit to Madras, mindful of some epic contests in Tamil Nadu over the years. This city has another attraction for me being the home town of Indian umpiring legend Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. 'Venky' was my colleague in my debut Test match, an Ashes tussle in Perth in November 1998. I have fond memories of that experience and can recall many great moments shared with Venkat in the five years that followed. But this match was not to be. Arriving at the ground in the early afternoon, it was apparent that the covers had protected the pitch and immediate surrounds admirably. But the exposed outfield resembled a rice paddy in patches and we carefully negotiated every step. The ground crew continued to mop up as the clock ticked past starting time at 2.30p.m. Our deadline for commencing an abbreviated match of twenty overs per side was 8.17p.m. We needed to allow the players time to warm up before a game could be attempted so we nominated 7.40p.m. as the latest that this preparation should start. The ground crew believed that four hours would be required as a minimum to prepare the ground...in bright sunshine and strong breeze. We had neither sunshine nor breeze, so when the heavens opened again soon after 3p.m., our hopes were dashed. The decision to abandon a game is never taken lightly. I can recall only five occasions in 109 matches where I have been involved in abandoning a game without a ball being bowled. The other games were scheduled for my home town of Adelaide (N.Z. v Sth. Africa), Manchester (Eng. v N.Z.) and twice in Colombo (Sri Lanka v Eng.) I have heard many positive references to the Chennai crowds and their sense of fair play and appreciation of skills...skills of their own players and opponents alike. I look forward to returning to Chennai for the opening Test against Sri Lanka next week. But now it is time to move on to Kolkata and Eden Gardens. There are changes afoot in Indian cricket after Rahul Dravid was named to succeed Saurav Ganguly as national captain. But Saurav is recognised as 'The Prince of Kolkata.' Bengal is his state and home to a huge support base. I am fascinated to observe how the public responds to the winds of change sweeping through Indian cricket. I suspect that the cricketing public will rise to the occasion and support their heroes, be they from Maharashtra or Karnataka, Baroda or Bengal. After all, it is the national team, and for India to be powerful and successful, cool heads must prevail. Daryl
INDIA SQUARES SERIES Sunday, 20th November, 2005 M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, INDIA India bounced back by comprehensively winning the second ODI in this five game series yesterday in Bangalore. Most experts and I expected a high scoring encounter but it just wasn’t possible. The toss proved to again be crucial as South Africa struggled on a very slow pitch. Irfan Pathan was again in the limelight as he struck early to remove DeVilliers, Smith and Kallis with only a handful of runs on the board. DeVilliers turned a ball straight to Harbhajan at square leg in the first over, Smith shuffled across and was caught in front in his third over, and Kallis edged behind in his fourth over. At 3/20 the Proteas, were in similar trouble to India in Hyderabad…and they didn’t recover either. India took the pace off the ball and South Africa’s progress was stifled. Andrew Hall (32) and Ashwell Prince (30) battled to do any more than survive but the introduction of spin ensured that runs became even more scarce. Harbhajan Singh (2/33) and Murali Kartik (0/16) strangled the batsmen, allowing only 49 runs from 20 overs. Shaun Pollock (29) and Justin Kemp (28) scrambled a few singles towards the finish, but 9/169 was to prove impossible to defend. I had been told that the Bangalore crowd was the loudest in the country and after the first half hour I could believe it. We think we are passionate about our sport in Australia but the reactions in the two countries just don’t compare. I really enjoy the involvement of the spectators here in India, but that’s while I’m making the right calls. After the break, India lost Tendulkar early as he tried to hit Pollock over the in-field but only managed to find Petersen at mid on. (1/13) Andre Nel exchanged a few words with Gambhir but the batsman took the points before Ontong’s throw caught him short by a whisker. (38 runs, 54 balls) For India, two bright lights carried them on to a six wicket victory. Pathan added 37 runs (58 balls) to compliment his three wickets, while Virender Sehwag turned a good start into a major contribution. Facing only 62 balls for an unbeaten 77 runs, he smashed 11 boundaries…and this came after he had captured the wickets of Prince and Boucher. A tied score line means we move on to Chennai with a very interesting series in prospect. I won’t be making any observations about possible outcomes after my poor assessment of the pitch in Bangalore. I think I’ll just stick to the umpiring. Daryl
PROTEAS TAKE ROUND ONE Thursday, 17th November, 2005 Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Hyderabad, INDIA Batting at 9 a.m. was never going to be easy; especially in Hyderabad in November. The heavy dew was just evaporating in the warmth of the morning sun as Shaun Pollock strode in to bowl the first ball of this five match series. Makaya Ntini struck with his first ball when Prince took an acrobatic catch in the gully to remove the dangerous Sehwag. Pollock slipped into his usual economical mode and removed Tendulkar and Kaif before the crowd had time to settle into their seats. (3/5) When Dravid dragged Nel onto his stumps at 4/34, India sacrificed a bowler by replacing Murali Kartik with Super sub Gautam Gambhir. He perished immediately, edging Ntini to Boucher and at 5/35 the game appeared over. Yuvraj Singh then played a gem of an innings to give India the chance to at least defend a reasonable total. He added 75 runs with Irfan Pathan who looks to be growing more competent with the bat with every series. The all-rounder eventually dragged a ball from debutant Johan Botha onto his stumps to give the newcomer his first international wicket. (46 runs, 63 balls) Yuvraj was aided by later contributions from M.S.Dhoni (17) Ajit Agarkar (21) and Harbhajan Singh who slapped an unbeaten 37 runs from only 17 balls. If the crowd had been disappointed with the early collapse, they were ecstatic near the end when Harbhajan smashed Ntini back over his head and into the seats. The locals had been silenced when India slid to 5/35, but the late flurry created a stir. Signalling a wide in the late stages of the innings drew a huge response from the population. The roar from the crowd was greater than twice as many Adelaide fans celebrating a goal against Port in an Australian Rules football match…and that is always a major landmark. The Proteas managed to run down the moderate Indian total with only seven spare deliveries and five wickets in hand but no one outplayed the innings of Yuvraj. (103 runs, 122 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) Amid the chaos of early wickets he gathered the ones and twos through the middle overs, celebrating his half century before I realised that he was even close to that mark. He opened up near the finish, smashing Kallis over my head beyond the long on boundary rope. But defending 249 runs was always going to be tough. Smith and Prince both looked solid, but fell nearing half centuries. Kallis and Prince added 89 for the fourth wicket, before Kallis and Kemp carried the team to victory with an unbeaten partnership of 84 runs for the sixth wicket. The required run rate rarely reached six per over but there was little that India could do to break through on a very sound batting track. The result had been determined by the toss of the coin. My first experience in Hyderabad had come to an end. I had not been disappointed. The hospitality and warm reception from the locals was just as I had predicted. Travelling with me for the first time in India, my wife Maureen was even more impressed. After all, fronting up to a t.v. camera and responding to impromptu questions is a daunting task for an old campaigner like me. Maureen had no notice that anyone would be seeking her opinions about the tour, but she had earlier passed her first test on ESPN in the hotel foyer. During the afternoon, an attractive spectator caught my eye when she was featured on the huge replay screen. I asked an Indian fielder if it could be Karina Kapoor, but he informed me that she would probably be shooting a movie in Bollywood. So there you are. Even an Australian is learning about the Hindi movie industry. Our next stop is Bangalore, an hour’s flight to the south. That means the home of umpire A.V.Jayaprakash who was my first on-field colleague on Indian soil in Kanpur, late in the last century. Another admired resident of Bangalore who I hope to meet again is former Indian captain and ICC Match Referee Gundappa Viswanath, a wizard with the bat and a magical identity…just an all round great bloke. Daryl
PROTEAS REACH HYDERABAD Tuesday, 15th November, 2005 Hyderabad, INDIA In Hyderabad today, South Africa is preparing to meet India in the first of five one day matches. Both teams are fresh from successful home series, the Proteas defeating the Kiwis 4-0, while India convincingly defeated Sri Lanka by 6-1. The media frenzy has to be seen to be believed as both teams reached their hotel to be met by a flash of photography and a desperate squad of interviewers. Both teams will train today with umpires taking the opportunity to stand in the nets to acclimatise to local conditions. The Stadium will be used for the first time as an international venue and the local authorities are sparing no expense to provide a most impressive facility. On first inspection yesterday, the pitch had a healthy grass covering and should provide a high scoring clash. The outfield is in outstanding condition and completes a great picture. With two powerful squads preparing for this match, a keen tussle is assured. Daryl
Adelaide
, The Indians have been playing some very exciting
cricket, successfully experimenting with Irfan Pathan and M. S. Dhoni as pinch hitters. It will be interesting to see
how Graeme Smith and Rahul Dravid continue to be creative with their use of the
super-sub and the power play overs. For me, it’s time to get packing. FORE...NOT
FOUR Holiday Inn, Yesterday, I took a local taxi to
Hillside Golf Club where I didn’t have any trouble getting a game. Maybe
Thursdays are quiet because I saw three ladies tee off in the afternoon…and
that was it. Not a sausage more. The place was deserted. Green fees were
$150,000 and a caddy fee started at $50,000.
My man was Bernard and he was very patient with me. My golf is always
very wayward but I told him as early warning that despite a loss of radar, I
usually managed to register at least one par for each round. Imagine how I felt as I reached
the 17th tee, still without peer…or rather par. To cut a good story short,
everything clicked as I went level with the card for those final two holes.
Bernard stepped out my drive on eighteen to be 270 metres.
I should add that the course was parched and there was a little run on
most fairways…similar to an airport runway! Come on Holiday Inn, We had a stalemate until my next
liaison officer named Shepherd arrived and sorted out the incident. I withdrew
the bonus forty thousand dollars and accepted the receipt. I wasn’t
impressed with Life but thanked the good Shepherd. In Mutare, a hotel duty manager
was named Innocent and on it goes. “I’m sorry. Who did you say
you are?” he enquired after answering his mobile phone. “It’s me, Again,” was the
reply. “Did you ring me earlier?”
Arrie asked. “No,” he was told. “Then why did you tell me that
you were ringing again?” replied the confused manager. You can guess the rest of that
yarn.
KIWIS WIN MILLIONS Tuesday, 6th September, 2005 Harare Sports Club, Harare, ZIMBABWE New Zealand today consigned India to be runners up again, for the twelfth time in sixteen finals when it convincingly won the Videocon Trophy final by four wickets. It must be said that the Kiwis entered the final as favourites after their pool matches, especially when Shane Bond had ripped through the Indian batting to take a career best 6/19 at Bulawayo a week earlier. Daniel Vettori and Bond both returned to the team after being rested in their previous encounter, with the spinner playing a pivotal role in the victory. Saurav Ganguly decided to face his demons head-on after winning the toss and opting to bat first on a featureless pitch. Bond couldn’t find his range and failed to exploit the Indian skipper’s dislike for the short ball. Virender Sehwag broke his drought after failing to pass fifty in sixteen innings. He finally found the devastating form that had won him selection in the Super Series in Australia in October. Ganguly found runs easier from Mills while Sehwag treated Bond with disdain. The fifty came up after 10.1 overs before Ganguly found Marshall in the gully when Oram came into the attack. He had scored 31 from 44 balls and the pair had added 72 for the first wicket. Kaif supported Sehwag immediately, with 100 runs coming in 17.3 overs and 150 registered from only another 5.5 overs. The Kiwis were thinking 350 until Vettori bowled his fourth over. Sehwag tried to guide a ball into the covers but lobbed it gently to Vincent. An out of sorts Dravid came to the crease, having been bowled out cheaply several times in the series. With his second delivery to Dravid, Vettori, coming around the wicket, bowled a quicker arm ball that pitched on middle and leg and just straightened enough for the umpire to believe it would have hit the leg stump had the pad not intervened. I know this for a fact because I was the umpire. Two key men were gone in three balls…quite a feat. It was the turning point in a high scoring game. India’s fourth fifty came painfully from 13 overs as Kaif held the tail together until the final over, finishing undefeated on 93 runs from 110 deliveries. A potential mammoth total of around 350 had not materialised. The Kiwis were set 278 to win and they soon slipped into gear. Stephen Fleming began proceedings by facing a maiden from Irfan Pathan, but then exploded. After five overs, the Kiwis were 0/50 and the first hundred came in only the thirteenth over. Fleming spanked Pathan for five boundaries in one over and after 15 were bowled, New Zealand had 112 runs without loss. Sehwag came into the attack and immediately lured Fleming into a return catch. (1/121) Four balls later and Marshall neatly played back and across, apart from missing the ball and I decided that he should go. (2/125) Styris, McMillan and Vincent all supported Nathan Astle in small partnerships as the runs just kept ticking along. Astle carried his bat and his unbeaten 115 runs came from 131 deliveries. The Indian pace men could only look on for most of the innings because they were all removed from the attack after taking a pasting. Yuvraj who had hardly been sighted with the ball in previous games acquitted himself well with 1/39 from his ten overs. Sehwag returned the best figures with 3/44, but it wasn’t to be after the early battering from Fleming and Astle. The Kiwis achieved the title with 11 balls and four wickets in hand. Daryl YUVRAJ CARRIES INDIA WITH HIS PERSONAL CENTURY... Sunday, 4th September, 2005 Harare Sports Club, Harare, ZIMBABWE Yuvraj Singh saved India from embarrassment with his fourth ODI century, following soon after his third in Sri Lanka last month. India looked decidedly wobbly at 4/36 in their response to Zimbabwe’s spirited 250. The Indian victory by four wickets was achieved with eleven balls to spare, taking the team into Tuesday’s final on a winning note. New Zealand will provide tougher opposition with a more potent attack, especially the pace of Shane Bond. Yuvraj entered the contest after the top order had again stumbled at 3/34. He immediately saw Kaif trapped in front by Blignaut (4/36) before super-sub Venugopal Rau settled in. The pair added 55 runs in 15 overs before Rao was brilliantly caught short of his ground by his opposition super-sub Keith Dabengwa. (5/91) India’s relatively new keeper, Mahendra Dhoni has made useful contributions to every game, and this was no exception. With Yuvraj, he added 158 runs for the sixth wicket, to steer the team home with 67 runs from only 63 balls. During this series, his glove work has been very tidy and his batting has been like a seasoned veteran. I saw Yuvraj score a hundred against the West Indies at Premadasa last month, and this innings was just as impressive. Facing only 124 deliveries, Yuvraj rarely looked in trouble, stroking 13 boundaries in his innings of 120 runs. Runs were scored all around the wicket in a most impressive performance. He fell to a leading edge with only two runs required for victory, two runs that Dhoni scored when he dispatched a ball from Blessing Mahwire over the rope at long on. The hosts had earlier posted a highly respectable total of 250, thanks to a fourth wicket stand of 116 between captain Tatenda Taibu and youngster Charles Coventry. The skipper made 71 from 97 balls before he misjudged the length of a delivery from the steady Yadav, and was bowled. (4/166) Coventry with 74 from 99 deliveries impressed with some big hitting before he holed out to Murali Kartik from the bowling of Ajit Agarkar, the best of the bowlers with 3/34 from ten well controlled overs. After losing the toss, Taibu had nominated a score of 250 runs to be competitive, and that is exactly how many his team did muster. Another thirty runs would have stretched the Indian reserves, but if the Zimbabwean skipper had removed the bails of Dhoni when he was on 22 from the bowling of Williams, who knows what the result may have been. I now look forward to a great tussle for the Videocon Trophy on Tuesday when I will officiate in the final with local International Panel umpire, Kevan Barbour. Daryl as Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw shared a record ninth wicket partnership, MY PERSONAL CENTURY Wednesday, 31st August, 2005 Harare Sports Club, Harare, ZIMBABWE It might be one of the slowest centuries in cricket history but I finally achieved a hundred of my own today. I enjoyed officiating in my hundredth one day international when New Zealand had a sound win over Zimbabwe by 27 runs. My first game also featured New Zealand but they lost on that occasion to South Africa in Perth, sometime last century in January 1994. Stephen Fleming won the toss and elected to make first use of the pitch, remembering that his side had won their previous encounter in Bulawayo by a huge margin of 192 runs. This time, the Zimbabwe attack was much better directed and when combined with a slow pitch, easy runs were hard to come by. Only Fleming (23) and Astle (61) fired early before Scott Styris joined Astle for a 62 run partnership for the fifth wicket. After Astle was well caught at the wicket by Taibu (5/127) off the bowling of Ewing, it was Styris who steered the Kiwis through to a respectable total. He was eventually bowled by Blignaut in the 48th over, trying to manufacture some quick runs. His 63 runs came from 81 deliveries. Two balls earlier, Daniel Vettori fell to the same bowler when he was brilliantly caught on the cover point boundary by Brendan Taylor for 47 runs from 47 balls. Andy Blignaut also picked up the wicket of Bond to finish with 4/46 but it was the spinners in Gavin Ewing (3/31) and Prosper Utseya (0/43) who completed their twenty overs in tandem, restricting the run rate to 3.7 when the Kiwis were looking to build the momentum. The total of 238 wasn’t out of reach for Zimbabwe but they needed a couple of batsmen to build an innings if they were to achieve an unlikely victory. Bond and Mills both captured an early wicket (2/5) but the real damage came with their economy. Taylor managed a single run from 20 balls while Stuart Carlisle was dismissed in the 34th over for only 30 runs from 81 deliveries. Andy Blignaut joined Charles Coventry at the fall of Heath Streak’s wicket (6/93) and the small crowd enjoyed some action from their locals. Coventry hit consecutive sixes from Patel who still enjoyed an excellent debut, finishing with 1/47 from his nine overs. Andy Blignaut scored an entertaining half century but could easily have been out cheaply in unusual circumstances. After being struck outside off stump by a ball from Vettori, he attempted to push the ball forward with his body as it bounced between his legs. Standing out of his crease, he found the keeper and fielders moving in to snatch the ball. Possibly without thinking clearly, he kicked the ball away with great vigour, leading several Kiwis to immediately appeal. I couldn’t imagine that Stephen Fleming would have wanted to gain a wicket for a batsman hitting the ball twice, so I made a bee line to him and asked if he wished to withdraw the appeal. I recalled that New Zealand was the inaugural winner of the I.C.C. Spirit of Cricket Award. This was a great chance to score more votes. The appeal was withdrawn and Blignaut continued. The votes will soon be cast and counted. Zimbabwe was finally dismissed for 211 runs when Shane Bond returned to claim the final three wickets. This was the closest result in the four matches of the series, so the hosts can take some heart from at least giving the Kiwis something to think about. Like every other ODI, I enjoyed the challenge and the experience of being part of another international cricket match. When asked in a television interview about my aims for the future, I nominated officiating in game no.101 as my next aim. It sounds corny but in this era, it is an honest answer. Daryl THE NAME IS BOND, SHANE BOND Friday, 26th August, 2005 Queen’s Club, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE What a game of cricket! How did the Kiwis collapse to 5/36 and still record a 51 run victory over India? How did the Indians hold such a good position, only to let New Zealand off the hook and then collapse to 8/44 in their own innings? In the second match of this tri-series in Zimbabwe, New Zealand entered the game knowing they had scored 5/397 on the same pitch only 48 hours earlier against their hosts. But India’s attack was far more potent as Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra zeroed in on the pads to quickly remove Astle, Marshall and Vincent, all caught in front for single digits. Stephen Fleming edged Nehra to Dhoni and after Styris tried to hit Pathan over the infield, India was on top with the Kiwis at 5/36 after only 12.1 overs. As often happens after a collapse, later batsmen steady the ship in an attempt to at least achieve a competitive total. This time, it was the two Macs…Craig McMillan and Brendan McCullum who took the initiative away from India. Craig absolutely hammered some drives in scoring 54 at a run/ball, while Brendan was the last wicket to fall with a quick-fire 49 runs from 39 balls. He must be the best keeper-batsman to ever bat at number nine. Pathan with 3/34 and Nehra with 2/22, both from eight overs, gave India a great start to the innings before the Kiwis steadied to reach 215 runs from 43.1 overs. It seemed a very 'gettable' tally for the powerful looking batting line-up from India. That was until Shane Bond entered the game as the super-sub. He bowled the first over of the innings from my end and it was hostile. Saurav Ganguly was on the receiving end as he danced about to avoid an over of short lifting deliveries. With the second ball of Bond’s second over, Ganguly gloved one down leg-side where McCullum was poised for the catch. Venugopal Rao was subbed into the game for Ashish Nehra to bolster the batting order…but Nehra couldn’t have done any worse. Bond crashed through his defences with his next delivery. Rahul Dravid survived the hat trick ball, but dragged another Bond delivery onto his stumps in the fifth over. (3/17) Yuvraj Singh edged Andre Adams to Fleming in the slips (4/19) before Kaif slashed another Bond ball to McMillan at third man in the ninth over. (5/34) The mayhem continued when Hamish Marshall brilliantly caught a drive from Sehwag, and he was soon followed back to the shed by Dhoni and Agarkar. (8/44) At this moment, I was recalling an ODI in Sharjah, back in the year 2000 when India was dismissed for a miserable total of 53 or 54 against Sri Lanka. Fortunately Shane Bond took a break after seven overs and 5/13, whereupon Irfan Pathan and J.P.Yadav promptly took control. They added 118 runs for the ninth wicket, making batting look easy, and for a few moments I sensed some anxiety in the field. It took that man Bond to return for Pathan’s wicket for an even half century before Yadav holed out to McMillan at mid-off from the bowling of Jacob Oram. His innings of a game high 69 runs from 92 deliveries, included 12 boundaries and at least gave India some respectability. Shane Bond finished with 6/19 and was well supported by the energetic Andre Adams with 3/38. The performance of Bond was quite devastating after his batsmen had failed to register an imposing score. India will be need to counter his speed and hostility when the teams meet again next Friday. Daryl THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED A TEST! Sunday, 21st August, 2005 Home in Adelaide, SOUTH AUSTRALIA What an incredible Ashes Series! Three Tests and we aren't any closer to resolving who will hold the Ashes for the next few years. This has been the most gripping series that I can remember. After Australia had dominated competition for the past two decades, all of a sudden it has found a fierce competitor. The pace of the cricket has been absolutely full throttle and this series has promoted so much discussion here in Australia alone, which probably pales into insignificance compared to England. It comes with the territory that umpiring such a series will bring with it an unrivalled amount of pressure and scrutiny. I was only fortunate to officiate in two Ashes Tests before the advent of the Elite Umpires Panel which prevented my further participation. Those were the first two Test matches of my career and I still have vivid memories of those occasions. Australia walloped England on the third day in Perth in November 1998, and then England bowled Australia out cheaply in one elongated session in the second innings to take the Boxing Day Test. If you really appreciate cricket, you must have sympathised with the umpires in this series. The scrutiny has been unrelenting, and we all expect that. But who can't make the correct decisions sitting in the commentary box or at home with a series of replays and magnified images and sounds? Do the experts really think that umpires aren't giving their best when millions of viewers are on the edges of their seats and the umpires' jobs are on the line? Those guys should get a life...or let the umpire have one. Give me baseball commentary any day of the week. I love watching major league baseball where respect is always shown for the players who make the game, and for the officials who also have a tough role. This is a game involving players who are paid in millions of dollars, and the sport must generate incredible dollars in a season where teams play a minimum of 162 regular season games. Replays are not available to resolve decisions nor disputes. The decision of the umpire is final. I've heard that adage before. The commentators have such respect for their game that they describe what they see, and move forward. When there is a contentious decision and there are such calls every game, there is usually one replay and the game moves forward. We live in hope. It's time for another appointment for me, so I am on my way to Zimbabwe for a tri-series of ODIs with India and New Zealand. After that series, during which I should bring up my own century with 100 ODIs, I will stay on for two Tests with India and Zimbabwe. Back home in Australia, the mighty Adelaide Crows will move into the finals with a big chance of taking a third title in nine years. I will be relying on the internet for updates for five weeks. Daryl
THE GREAT ESCAPE Thursday, 4th August, 2005 Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium, Dambulla, SRI LANKA Chasing India’s total of 220, Sri Lanka achieved the great escape when they recovered from 6/95 to record a famous victory by four wickets on Wednesday night at Dambulla. Standing on the field, I imagined that it was just a matter of how many overs Sri Lanka would survive before the tail-enders were dismissed to conclude a one-sided game. But it just wasn’t to be. India had welcomed back its captain in Saurav Ganguly after an enforced holiday and he celebrated with a patient half century that saw him join Sachin Tendulkar and Inzaman ul-Haq as the only trio of batsmen to score 10,000 ODI runs. Sri Lanka’s pace attack was steady enough but it was the off spinning Dilshan who slowed proceedings with 4/29 from his ten overs. Murali was rested for this game but the all-rounder Dilshan capably filled his place at the crease, snaring the key wickets of Laxman, Dhoni and Dravid. Mohammed Kaif (34) and Irfan Pathan (36 n.o.) added valuable runs in the late overs to push the score past two hundred, including 17 runs from the final over from Dilhara Fernando. Dilshan was the stand out performer with the ball but Sri Lanka still had to bat under barely adequate lighting. Tharanga and Sangakkara fell cheaply (2/36) before Atapattu and Jayawardene steadied the ship, adding 42 runs for the third wicket. Some ambitious running between the wickets saw the captain run out brilliantly by newcomer Suresh Raina, sparking a collapse of 4/17 from 38 balls. With 26 overs done, at 6/95, Sri Lanka was all but gone. I have often admired the stroke play of Mahela Jayawardene, and I had seen the fighting qualities of Upul Chandana many times, but I believed that victory was then out of sight for the hosts. After the match, I couldn’t see where India had gone wrong, but the Lankans bolted home with a record seventh wicket partnership. The pair added 126 runs from 134 balls to cruise home with two overs to spare. Jayawardene finished unbeaten with 94 runs from 115 balls with nine fours and one hit that cleared the ropes. Chandana made 45 not out from 62 balls with four boundaries. I can’t recall either batsman offering a chance and the bowlers persisted with a steady attack. The batsmen simply kept their heads, working many balls behind the wicket on the off side. The asking rate was always less than a run/ball, and both batsmen played impressive innings for their country. The victory ensures a place in next Tuesday’s final, probably against India who will meet the Windies in the final preliminary game on Sunday. If Sri Lanka can beat the Windies on Saturday, then India will be assured of its position in the big game. Daryl
SRI LANKANS FIRST TO STRIKE INDIAN OIL Monday, 1st August, 2005 Dambulla Cricket Stadium, Dambulla, SRI LANKA It was Sri Lanka who struck oil on the opening night of the Indian Oil Cup, here in Dambulla, located in the central area of the island. Batting first, India managed to score 9/205 on a ground where that has always proven to be a winning score. Captain Rahul Dravid was the stabilizing force as India slumped to 5/64, looking a trifle rusty after a period without international cricket. Greg Chappell had been installed as coach and was ‘enjoying’ his first competitive outing. Dravid (54 runs, 96 balls) and debutant Venugopal Rao (38, 74 balls) added 58 runs for the sixth wicket before Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan each contributed twenty valuable runs to push the score past the double hundred mark. Mr. Reliable, Muttiah Muralitharan captured 3/33 and kept India under control. Sri Lanka shuffled the batting order after Sanath Jayasuriya dislocated his right shoulder in the field…and it may have won them the game. After Atapattu was smartly run out by Raina for 29 runs, Harbhajan struck twice to remove the dangerous Dilshan and Arnold. (5/112) Raina’s effort must have been a relief on debut after falling to a first ball doosra from Murali. Jayasuriya, in great discomfort, then guided the team home with capable support from a third debutant in L. H. D. Dilhara (21 runs, 20 balls) and Maharoof who was there at the end with 23 unbeaten runs. After copping a pasting in his opening over earlier in the night, Dilhara bounced back with 2/31, including the scalps of Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. He gives the ball a thump, as demonstrated by a huge six to open his international account from the third ball he faced. Sri Lanka took the opening honours with ten balls to spare and by three wickets. On Sunday night, the West Indies entered the fray with a match against India which was now very keen to open its account. Choosing to bat first, and losing steady wickets to slide from 3/32 to 5/85 to 6/109, the Windies could only muster 178 runs. It was a matter of survival for most of the innings and Narsingh Deonarine on debut, managed better than most. He compiled an innings of 41 runs from 91 balls before Virender Sehwag slipped one past his bat as it honed in on leg stump. (7/140) The captain, Shivnarine Chanderpaul added a half century partnership for the fourth wicket with Deonarine, but fell trying to force the pace after it had slowed to a walk. Harbhajan, Nehra and Sehwag each took two wickets as the innings concluded in the 48th over. India’s run chase was more impressive than their innings on the previous night, with good starts from Kaif, Raina and Yuvraj. Once again, Rahul Dravid just waited patiently for the bowlers to stray in line and he was given plenty of opportunities to pounce on the loose ball. He made a second half century on consecutive nights and was unbeaten with 52 runs when victory and a bonus point were achieved after 36 overs. This is a very inexperienced West Indian attack but they will learn from every opportunity and could cause a surprise or two before the series is over. After the weekend, today is a rest day in Habarana where two of the teams and the match officials are accommodated. There’s a magnificent swimming pool for relief from the heat and I am claiming the credit for this magnificent facility. It’s a long story but on my last visit to Habarana, I slashed open a toe on a broken tile on the floor of the pool. After my departure, the pool was almost immediately drained, and eventually fully retiled. It is now a first class attraction. Renaming it The Harper Memorial Pool was suggested but my modesty couldn’t really allow that to happen. Elephant hunting, armed with loaded cameras is also on this evening’s agenda. Daryl
ASHES IN THE AIR Wednesday, 27th July, 2005 The Taj Hotel, Colombo, SRI LANKA
There’s something special about an Ashes Series and it’s on again. After England completed 2004 without losing a Test, hopes were high that they finally had the team to give Australia some tough competition. After all, England had recently moved into second place on the ICC Test Championship Table and surely they were closing the gap on the number one performing country. Australia had not lost a Test at Lord’s since 1934…and they have now kept that record intact. When England bowled Australia out for only 190 runs midway through the first day, most cricket followers thought that the underdog for so long was now about to become top dog. Enter Glenn McGrath and from that point, the match deteriorated from an English viewpoint. Any Test victory by a margin of 239 runs is resounding, but to achieve a win by that margin after being bowled out for 190 runs in the first innings is remarkable. We now look forward to Birmingham on Thursday, 4th August for the second tussle when England will aim to renew its battle for the Ashes.
Meanwhile, I have today arrived in Colombo for my next assignment. Sri Lanka has just wrapped up the second and final Test against the West Indies in Kandy. India has joined those teams in Dambulla where a tri-series will begin on Saturday. Surely this is the first tri-series where all three coaches are Aussies. That must be a first! Tom Moody has just enjoyed success with the host country in his first series. Bennet King has a depleted side from the Caribbean following contractual difficulties, and now Greg Chappell is about to debut as an international coach.
I’m really looking forward to getting on the road in the morning. The traffic and skill of the drivers here in Sri Lanka has to be seen to be believed. The overpowering idea here is to overtake the vehicle in front. It doesn’t matter if there’s no room or if the crest of a hill is fast approaching. Just get your nose in front and the battle has been won.
Daryl
Tuesday, 12th July 2005 EVERYONE LOVES SHEP It’s not often that a true legend of the game retires, so I am taking this opportunity to offer my sincere congratulations to Shep as his wonderful career nears an end. As a younger umpire in the nineties, I admired Shep’s wonderful skills as an umpire, as he appeared to enjoy his role in the game, while players and spectators alike appreciated his contribution to cricket. When I joined the National Grid Panel of Umpires in 1998, I hoped that I would have the opportunity to officiate with Shep on a regular basis. Sadly, we were only appointed to umpire together on three occasions. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of those three Test matches and I would like to recall my favourite memories from those games.
Shep sings for his supper in Sri Lanka in August 2004. In August 2000 at The Oval, Courtney Walsh walked out to bat for the final time in a Test match on English soil. He was greeted with a guard of honour from his opponents as he entered the ground in his customary batting position at number eleven. As I stood with Shep and applauded the champion, David recalled that Don Bradman had been given a similar send-off on the same ground, 52 years earlier in his final Test match. As I returned to my position at the bowler’s end, I passed the big West Indian whose eyes were flowing with tears of emotion. I quickly mentioned the Bradman link as Shep had recalled, adding that the Don had made a second ball duck! Courtney threw his head back and vowed to do better than that. The first ball from Domenic Cork passed outside off stump and Walsh flashed at it without getting close. The second delivery was pitched on off stump and Walsh pushed forward with his bat. The ball eluded the wood and cannoned into the front pad, somewhere near the knee roll. It wasn’t a tough decision for me…..Courtney Walsh had emulated Bradman in his final Test innings in England.
At the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2002 with Australia hosting South Africa, Shep and I walked on to the ground after lunch on the second day. To our surprise we found the public address system was playing that great tune…‘Zorba the Greek.’ We found it impossible to reach the centre in our usual sedate manner, as we ‘walked’ in time with the music. Approaching the pitch, I recall asking Shep how we were to finish our impromptu performance.” I don’t know, I don’t know,” he replied in that wonderful Devonian accent that I can now interpret quite easily. We immediately locked our left arms and facing in opposite directions, we completed a jig that Anthony Quinn would have been proud to see.
Celebrating after South Africa held on for a tie against Sri Lanka at Galle in August 2004.
My final anecdote comes from the Galle Stadium in the final Test held there before it was devastated by last year’s tsunami. Sri Lanka was batting when Shep turned down an extremely confident bat/pad appeal from the bowling of South African Nicky Boje. There was a moment of stunned silence as the South Africans, to a man, thought that the ball had been edged. Even the umpire at square leg thought that the ball had come from an inside edge. After a deep breath and no hint of dissent, the fieldsmen resumed their positions and the game continued. As is the custom, Shep and I inspected the pitch prior to play on the following morning. Upon sighting us, Nicky Boje broke away from the team warm up routine and quickly jogged in our direction. When he was within about twenty metres of us, he stopped and called to Shep in an excited voice. “Shep, he didn’t hit it!...You were right.” There was an apologetic tone in his voice as he acknowledged that Shep had made the correct decision without the benefit of the replays that he himself had studied overnight. He was virtually apologizing for doubting Shep’s judgement.
Nicky Boje’s gesture is a wonderful example of the respect that cricketers from all over the world, have for Shep. It is this high regard that any umpire should aspire to achieve as a personal goal. Of course, not all goals can be achieved. After all, there is only one Shep. Best wishes to you Shep for a happy and exciting retirement. Daryl Harper
ENGLAND COMPLETES ENTRÉE Sunday, 5th June, 2005 Chester-le-Street, Durham, ENGLAND Imagine my thoughts when opening the curtains on Sunday, revealed a showery night, overcast skies and a light mist in the air. With Bangladesh needing a further 47 runs to make England bat again, and only two wickets in hand, the odds were that the Test would finish in the first session…whenever one was possible. At the Riverside ground, we discovered the covers were still in place with ground staff waiting for consultation about the weather. Several members of the batting side and coach Dav Whatmore optimistically asked at what time we would be commencing, obviously hoping that the predicted miserable weather would ‘chuck it down.’ No one seemed amused when I assured them that we wouldn’t be starting before eleven. (11a.m. was the scheduled starting time.) The covers were subsequently removed and the pitch was cut and rolled as required. Play commenced on time and concluded seventeen minutes later. Matthew Hoggard removed Tapash Baisya with his seventh ball of the day with a feathered edge for a ninth catch for Jones for the Test. Four balls later, it was all over when Trescothick juggled an edge from Mortaza at second slip. Young Aftab Ahmed continued to play his strokes and must have impressed some of the harsher critics….well maybe not the harsher ones who thrive on negativity, but certainly those of us who are passionate about the game and gain pleasure from witnessing raw young talent challenging the might of England. Aftab finished unbeaten with 82 runs from 82 balls, including 13 boundaries and one hooked six that brought up his half century. This time, it was Matthew Hoggard who walked off with another ‘five for’ but it wasn’t one of his better hauls. (5/73 from 15.5 overs but with eight no balls) He didn’t capture a wicket until Bangladesh had 235 runs on the board. As the regular first over of the innings bowler, he must have been disappointed not to have been successful against the top order batsmen. No doubt he will want to be at his best when he bowls his next ball in anger in a Test match at the Australians at Lord’s in July. Trescothick was England’s man of the series, while Javed Omar took the honours for the tourists. He begged me to capture a stump for him when the Test finished, and I was successful. If that wasn’t enough, he also asked to souvenir my umpiring hat for an official at home! What next? Being a soft touch, I obliged, so an umpire in Dhaka should have a new look next season. A local Durham umpire had earlier asked me for one of my umpiring shirts for a fund raiser for the local umpiring fraternity, so I discarded a shirt that had seen better days. So…before lunch on this third day, it was game over for the second Test in a row. Always aware of saving money for our employers, my partner Tony Hill and I took a train south to King’s Cross and departed for home on the same day. Daryl
ENGLAND CELEBRATES AT LORDS Saturday, 28th May, 2005 Lord’s, London, ENGLAND Bangladesh today crashed to defeat by an innings and 261 runs at Lord’s in the first of two Tests against England. The long awaited first appearance at the home of cricket turned into a disaster as England dominated this game from the outset. Bangladesh resumed at 5/90 on this third morning, surely only hoping to prolong the game for as long as possible. Matthew Hoggard bowled a beautiful inswinger in the first over to trap the promising Aftab Ahmed in front for a quick-fire 32 runs from 33 deliveries. (6/96) Mohammad Rafique chased his first delivery, and edged Steve Harmison to Geraint Jones. (7/97) Pace man Mashrafe Mortaza tried to dig out the next delivery, a nasty yorker, but only managed to deflect the ball back on to his stumps when a single bail was dislodged. (8/97) Three wickets had fallen in only four balls when Anwar survived a confident appeal for a Steve Harmison hat trick. He managed to defend while former captain Khaled Mashud played straight and allowed some deliveries through to the keeper. Anwar stuck around for more than an hour while the ninth wicket partnership grew to 58 runs before he edged Simon Jones to Trescothick in the slips. At the other end, Andrew Flintoff decided to drop the ball short of a length and it paid dividends. Mashud gloved the ball away to Graham Thorpe who completed the proceedings. The Bangladeshi wicketkeeper had top scored with 44 runs from 85 balls in 117 minutes of spirited resistance. Bangladesh could only survive for 39.5 overs after only batting for 38.2 overs in the first innings. All wickets had been shared between the four pace bowlers with Gareth Batty not being required to bat or bowl at any time in the match. It is interesting to note that the ninth wicket partnership between Mashud and Anwar was valued at £186,000. Now that seems a trifle exaggerated but if there had been less than ten overs bowled on the third morning, the paying public would have been due for a full refund of the cost of their tickets. By surviving for 17.2 overs today, only 50% refunds were necessary. Marcus Trescothick took the Man of the Match honours with his innings of 194 runs in six hours with 23 boundaries. During the week, we will move northwards to Durham for the second encounter. Dav Whatmore and his men will be desperate to be more competitive next Friday when play commences. Daryl
HUMAN SIGHTSCREENS Friday, 15th April, 2005 Adelaide, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
An unusual cricket question has recently been asked following an incident in the series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. |
EEveryone wants to get their hands on the big prize....The 2007 Cricket World Cup
