Kyle Hogg continued his one-man domination of the Hampshire batting as Lancashire eased to their fifth win of the season

26-May-2011
Scorecard
Kyle Hogg continued his one-man domination of the Hampshire batting as Lancashire eased to their fifth win of the season and strengthened their grip at the top of the County Championship. Medium-pacer Hogg took four more Hampshire wickets on the third morning as the red rose county completed a 10-wicket victory before lunch.Hogg finished with a second-innings analysis of 4 for 31 and exceptional match figures of 11 for 59, comfortably the best of his 10-year career. Hampshire , who are still without a Championship win, were already deep in trouble when the third day began at 163 for 5, still needing another 32 to make rampant Lancashire bat a second time.They only just succeeded, adding a further 38 and requiring Lancashire opener Paul Horton to knock off the seven runs needed to win from the three balls he faced from Dominic Cork.Hampshire never looked capable of extending the match into a contest once Nic Pothas had gone to the fifth ball of the day from Hogg, caught at first slip by Horton with only a run added to the overnight total.Opener Benny Howell, making his championship debut, went three runs later at 167, dragging a delivery from Hogg into his stumps. At least Howell had the consolation of finishing as his team’s top scorer with a defiant 71 from 177 balls, hitting seven fours and a six in a losing cause.The rest was a procession, Hogg trapping Dimitri Mascarenhas for two at 188 and then having Cork caught by Gary Keedy for 20 at 195 for 9. Keedy accounted for last man David Griffiths at 201 but it was Hogg, who found pace and movement bowling to the Pavilion End, for whom his team-mates reserved special applause as Lancashire left the pitch.Hampshire had lost their last five wickets in 80 minutes and 15 overs with Kabir Ali marooned on eight not out. Lancashire picked up a precious 22 points for their double demolition of the Hampshire batting – taking all 20 wickets in 108 overs – while the home side, second from bottom, collected three.Horton made short work of the target as Lancashire temporarily moved 19 points clear of nearest rivals Durham at the top of the table in pursuit of their first championship title in more than 70 years.

Worcestershire registered their second Friends Life t20 victory of the week as they squeezed past local rivals Warwickshire by one wicket in near darkness at Edgbaston

17-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Worcestershire registered their second Friends Life t20 victory of the week as they squeezed past local rivals Warwickshire by one wicket in near darkness at Edgbaston.The Bears’ highest Twenty20 total of the season – an imposing 184 for 6 – still proved inadequate as the ever-dangerous Gareth Andrew led the Royals home with five balls to spare. The big-hitting all-rounder smashed an unbeaten 65 with four fours and four sixes from 32 deliveries as Worcestershire’s lower order successfully chased 51 from the last five overs.With steady drizzle falling at the start of the innings, Vikram Solanki kept them up with the Duckworth-Lewis rate with a rapid 33 but when Chris Woakes knocked out his leg stump, wickets fell at frequent intervals, three of them to Steffan Piolet.However, the medium pacer’s last over then cost 21 runs and Warwickshire fell apart under a withering assault from Andrew in his second Twenty20 half-century of the season. With four wanted from the last over, he finished the match by pulling Neil Carter for six.For the first time in seven matches Warwickshire batted first. William Porterfield got them under way with a brisk half-century and Tim Ambrose gave the innings a final flourish with an unbeaten 44 from 23 balls.Umpires Mark Benson and Peter Hartley kept the game going despite steady rain and it was Worcestershire’s bowlers who suffered first as they struggled with a wet ball.The pressure got to them at the death when Ambrose and Woakes (17 not out) stretched an unbroken partnership to 65 after plundering 36 from the last two overs by Jack Shantry and Andrew.Warwickshire lost two early wickets to full tosses and Porterfield’s destructive performance could have ended prematurely as a steepling shot off Chris Whelan only just cleared Shakib Al Hasan in front of the fence at midwicket.The Ireland captain was finally caught at deep point for 54 as Worcestershire adopted their regular formula by getting their spinners into play at an early stage but Shakib and Moeen Ali became a shade more expensive than usual.Their three wickets cost 57 in seven overs against a strong bating line-up. Rikki Clarke chipped in with a useful 22 and Ambrose scooted away at the end, scoring 33 runs from the last 12 balls he faced and reaching his highest Twenty20 score in four years.

A round up of the first day of matches of the European Championship Division One Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-2011Group AAustria beat Gibraltar by six runs in Port Soif, on the first day of the European Championship Division One Twenty20. Having been asked to bat, Austria put up n 141 in 19.1 overs, mainly due to handy cameos from the lower order. Gibraltar fell just short of the target, finishing on 135 for 8, despite an unbeaten knock of 66 from 60 balls by Mark Bacarese.Italy chased down 90 in a tight game against Croatia in St Peter Port, winning by one wicket. Choosing to bat, Croatia’s innings lacked momentum, as they limped to 89 despite having four wickets in hand at the end of their 20 overs. Italy were not convincing in the chase, but sneaked home on the back of a knock of 26 not out from middle-order batsman Damian Crowley. Croatia’s fast bowlers John Vujnovich and Vivek Sharma were impressive, claiming three wickets each in tidy spells.Guernsey registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win against Norway at Castel. Choosing to bowl they shot out Norway for 57, before openers Tim Ravenscroft and Ross Kneller chased down the target in 7.1 overs. James Nussbaumer was the pick of their bowlers, knocking over three top-order Norway batsmen and conceding only seven runs in a 3.2-over spell.In their second game of the day Italy turned out an improved performance, easing past Austria by seven wickets in Castel. Batting first, Austria were bowled out for 105 in 19th over, as none of their top order were able to build on double-digit starts. Peter Petricola did most of the damage with the ball, claiming 4 for 20. Steady batting from Italy in the chase saw them through without much drama.Norway recovered well from their one-sided defeat against Guernsey to beat Gibraltar by a comfortable eight-wicket margin in Port Soif. Batting first, Gibraltar managed only 77 for 8 in their 20. Legspinner Muhammad Butt produced the best figures of the game, 3 for 13, before Norway’s batsmen clicked. Driven by an innings of 35 from 20 balls by Zaheer Ashiq, they knocked off the runs 62 balls to spare.Guernsey remained unbeaten on day one, beating Croatia by three wickets with an over to spare in St Peter Port. Chasing 98, the Guernsey top order was shaky and wickets fell at regular intervals, but a steady 34 from Stuart Le Prevost and a couple of timely lower-order cameos saw them home.Group BBelgium beat France by five wickets with two balls to spare in St Clement. Choosing to bat, France’s innings was hampered as both openers were run out. There were no sizeable contributions from the rest of the order, as they folded for 114 in exactly 20 overs. In the chase, four of Belgium’s top five batsmen got into double figures, ensuring their side began with a win.Denmark eased past Israel by eight wickets in St Martin, chasing down a target of 95 with five overs to spare. Denmark’s ploy of bowling first worked, as their bowlers shared the wickets around in tidy spells to restrict Israel to 94 for 9. The chase was steered by a fluent, unbeaten 44 from opener Freddie Klokker.A solid all-round performance helped Jersey beat Germany by six wickets in St Brelade. Choosing to field, Jersey kept Germany to 99 for 7. Only middle-order batsman Imran Chaudhry was able to launch an attack, scoring 36 off 25, before being bowled by Anthony Hawkins-Kay who claimed 3 for 13. Jersey were solid in the chase. Their top order produced steady cameos, which carried them to a win in the 17th over.Belgium won a nail-biter against Denmark by one run when last man Sair Anjum was caught off the bowling of Faisal Khaliq with two to get and three balls remaining in St Clement. Having chosen to bat, Belgium were bowled out for a modest 104. Bobby Chawla was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 13. Denmark got off to horrendous start, losing half their side with only 19 runs on the board. However, a lower-order resurgence saw them fight back to within touching distance of victory, but Belgium, and Khaliq, eventually had the final say to remain unbeaten after two games.Tony Carlyon starred with the ball and Dean Martin with the bat as Jersey routed Israel by eight wickets in St. Martin. Put in to bat by Jersey, Israel crawled to 87 all out from their 20 overs, with Carlyon taking 4 for 9 in four overs. He was ably backed up Anthony Hawkins-Kay, who took 3 for 16. Martin then made sure there would be no jitters chasing the small total with a brutal, unbeaten 64 from 44 balls, laced with three fours and five sixes, to see Jersey home with eight overs to spare.An allround bowling performance helped France beat Germany by 34 runs in St Brelade. Put into bat, France managed 126 for 7, with Usman Khan top scoring with 36. Germany struggled from the start, losing wickets at regular intervals, and were bundled out for 92 in 18.3 overs. Zika Ali picked up 3 for 17, while Usman chipped in with the ball as well, taking 2 for 22.

Marcus North, the Western Australia captain, will take his tally of English counties that he has represented to six after signing a two-year deal as Glamorgan’s overseas player

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2011Marcus North, the Western Australia captain, will take his tally of English counties that he has represented to six after signing a two-year deal as Glamorgan’s overseas player.North will bring with him more than 11,000 first-class runs and replaces Alviro Petersen, the South Africa opener, who has captained Glamorgan this season. He won’t be called away on international duty having lost his Test place during the 2010-11 Ashes series.”Glamorgan are in a similar position to WA in that they are chasing success after a period without any silverware and I am really keen to take up the challenge,” North said. “My 100% priority is to WA cricket. It always has been and that will never change. The decision to take up a county contract is not one I took lightly and I would not have committed to Glamorgan unless I knew it was going to be beneficial to my role within WA cricket.”At this point in my career I want to be playing as much cricket as I can,” he added. “I have had five previous stints in English county cricket but this will be a fresh start in Cardiff under Matthew Mott and it is very exciting.”North, who scored a century on his Test debut against South Africa, has previously had spells with Derbyshire, Durham, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Lancashire.

Kent won their second successive County Championship match in Canterbury and dented the promotion push of second-placed Middlesex by claiming a battling 69-run victory on the final afternoon at St Lawrence

20-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Kent won their second successive County Championship match in Canterbury and dented the promotion push of second-placed Middlesex by claiming a battling 69-run victory on the final afternoon at St Lawrence.The hosts wrapped up their fourth win of the Division Two campaign three overs into the final hour of the game to bank 20 points, while Middlesex went home with six after suffering only their second defeat of the summer.Having taken Kent’s four remaining second-innings wickets at the start of the day to dismiss the hosts for 332 – their second highest championship total at Canterbury this season – Middlesex were left with 80 overs to chase a victory target of 272 at an asking rate of 3.38 an over. Yet survival quickly became a more realistic ambition for the visitors after they slumped to 30 for four shortly after lunch.Matt Coles, taking the new ball for the first time in a year, started the rout with one that cut back off the seam to graze Scott Newman’s inside edge before plucking out off stump. Then, four scheduled deliveries before the lunch break, Stevens swung one away from Sam Robson to have the right-hander caught at second slip for 12.With his first delivery after the interval Stevens feathered the outside edge of Dawid Malan’s bat to give wicket-keeper Geraint Jones a regulation catch. Then, two balls later, Neil Dexter’s dire run of form continued with a third successive championship duck when he edged to second slip.Only 21 runs on, Chris Rogers – in aiming to work to leg – played all around a Stevens’ in-swinger to go for 26, and with 100 on the board, John Simpson (19) fenced at the second delivery of the innings from Wahab Riaz to be caught behind.Jamie Dalrymple and Tom Smith (seven) dug in to add 48 in 20 overs for the seventh wicket, but soon after tea, and with 124 runs required, Adam Ball broke through and emulated Stevens by taking two wickets in as many balls.Smith followed one outside off to edge low to third slip, then Tim Murtagh had his off stump pegged back by a first-ball yorker. Dalrymple farmed the strike intelligently to reach a 150-ball century – the first of the match – with 10 fours and two sixes.Steven Finn departed two overs later after allowing one from James Tredwell to squeeze through bat and pad and roll onto the stumps, then the off-spinner rushed one through Corey Colleymore’s back-foot defensive push to wrap up the win shortly after 5.30pm.The fourth day began with a high-class exhibition of new ball bowling by Finn who, after being released from the England squad on duty at the Oval, joined the game on day two to claim an eventual haul of five for 113. The willowy paceman accounted for James Tredwell with his fourth ball of the day, and with the first delivery of his next over sent Ball packing to another catch at the wicket.Murtagh then extracted extra bounce to graze the edge of Matthew Coles’ bat and give keeper Simpson his third catch of the session and sixth of the game. Eight runs short of a deserved hundred, Azhar Mahmood lost his 10th wicket partner and countryman, Wahab Riaz, pinned leg before by a shooting off-cutter by Murtagh to leave Mahmood unbeaten on 92 from 140 balls. He hit eight fours and two sixes.

Bangladesh have announced three squads to represent the national team, Bangladesh A and the BCB academy side in the BCB Cup 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2011Bangladesh have announced three squads to represent the national team, Bangladesh A and the BCB academy side in the BCB Cup 2011-12, and they have not named a captain for the national team. Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, who were removed from their positions as captain and vice-captain respectively following the ODI series loss in Zimbabwe, are both part of the national squad for the local tournament, which will be held from September 12-21, as is Mushfiqur Rahim, who is tipped to replace Shakib.All the players named in the national side were part of the squad that toured Zimbabwe, with the exception of Alok Kapali, who was recalled to the ODI team for the home one-dayers against Australia in April after three years out of the national side. Junaid Siddique, Mahmudullah and Robiul Islam, who all went to Zimbabwe, are in the A side, which also includes Naeem Islam and Raqibul Hasan, who were part of Bangladesh’s World Cup squad. Elias Sunny, Farhad Reza and Nadif Chowdhury, who all impressed on Bangladesh A’s tour of South Africa in April will get the opportunity to play against national team members.The three teams play each other twice in the tournament, before the top teams play the final. All the games will be at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.Bangladesh: Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Shuvagoto Hom, Alok Kapali, Nasir Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Ashraful, Shafiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel HossainBangladesh A: Junaid Siddique, Jahurul Islam, Nadif Chowdhury, Raqibul Hassan, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Saghir Hossain, Elias Sunny, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Saqlain Sajib, Shamsur Rahman, Robiul Islam, Syed RaselGP-BCB National Cricket Academy: Fazle Mahmud, Myshekur Rahman, Abdul Majid, Mahmudul Hasan (captain), Mominul Haque, Tasamul Haque, Anamul Haq (wicketkeeper), Sabbir Rahman, Alauddin Babu (vice-captain), Kazi Kamrul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Sohag Gazi, Tanvir Ahmed, Sanjamul Islam

Craig McDermott says the fact that he started out young helps him coach bowlers like Pat Cummins and James Pattinson

Daniel Brettig18-Oct-2011Craig McDermott, Australia’s bowling coach, will hark back to his teenage tearaway past to guide Pat Cummins as he presses for a place in the Test team on the tour of South Africa. McDermott made his debut for Australia in the 1984 Boxing Day Test against the West Indies at the age of 19, entering the team at a time when confidence was low and results poor. He made a strong start against Clive Lloyd’s tourists and followed it up on the 1985 Ashes tour, before enduring a few spells out of the team. Those good and bad days are now McDermott’s resource as he helps Cummins and the rest of the Australian attack plan for the three ODIs and two Tests in South Africa.”It’ll be interesting to see how he [Cummins] develops in the one-day series in South Africa after bowling well in the T20s,” McDermott told ESPNcricinfo. “It’ll be up to the selectors who they pick for our Test attack, but when we’ve got three or four blokes who can now bowl 140kph plus, it’s a big plus for us, and we’ve still got James Pattinson sitting at home in Australia who has bowled well as well.”McDermott said the empathy he felt for young fast bowlers had been useful, and noted the example of the work he had done with Pattinson as well as Cummins. In Sri Lanka, Pattinson spent a great deal of time honing his skills despite never being quite close enough to selection in the Test XI.”I think it’s been very helpful, particularly with young guys like James Pattinson,” McDermott said. “Throughout the Sri Lanka tour he trained his backside off day in, day out and didn’t really play much cricket. He’s come to South Africa and bowled very well in the T20s and is unlucky to not stay on for the Tests.”Pat Cummins has come in as an 18-year-old, so there are a lot of emotions he’s going through. He’s had some good experiences through the Champions League T20, and now we’ve just got to make sure that we bring these guys through and nurture them while getting them hard for Test and one-day cricket.”Simon Katich was the first captain to enjoy having Cummins at his disposal in first-class cricket, in three Sheffield Shield matches at the end of last summer. Katich described Cummins as “an absolute dream” for any captain, as a young bowler with rich gifts and a level head to know how to use them.”For a kid who is only 18 years of age, he has an amazing brain on him already,” Katich said. “Control-wise he knows what he’s trying to do, so from a captaincy point of view it wasn’t hard to captain him.”He can bowl good pace, he can swing it both ways, and he’s just a good young kid, so he’s got a lot going for him. We are going to miss having him around, but we knew that once he hit his straps and got opportunities we probably weren’t going to see him too much.”Cummins is blessed with the ideal, wiry physique for bowling at high speed, and Katich felt he did not need to put on much more size at all in order to be fully developed.”I don’t think he has to get much bigger. You only need to look at someone like Brett Lee; he was never huge over his career, he was strong but he didn’t have to get that bulky,” Katich said. “Pat’s the same, he’s quite lean and wiry but he’s still able to bowl at 150kph. He’s obviously got a young body but he’s done a reasonable pre-season with us, so hopefully that’ll hold him in good stead.”He’s still got a long way to go and no doubt he will admit that, but he’s a quick learner, he’s got a lot of natural skill, and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s very mature for his age and he’s a smart lad, so I think he’ll be more than capable when he gets his opportunity, if he keeps learning the way he has.”

Sarel Burger, who was Namibia’s interim captain for most of the recent T20 series against Kenya, has been made the full-time captain

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2011Sarel Burger, who was Namibia’s interim captain for most of the recent T20 series against Kenya, has been made the full-time captain. Burger led his team to a 6-2 victory in the eight-game series and topped the batting averages with 146 runs at 48.66 and a strike-rate of 97.98. He replaces Craig Williams.”We are in the middle of the preparation process for the ICC Global T20 qualifiers in March next year,” Graham McMillan, chief executive of Cricket Namibia, said in a statement. “We felt that it is important to make a change early if one was going to be made. I am sure that Sarel will step up to the new role. He has already done six matches against Kenya, he proved himself to be a very capable man-manager. “Raymond van Schoor, who captained in the other two games against Kenya, was named the vice-captain.McMillan also paid tribute to Williams, the former captain. “I would also like to recognize the role that former captain Craig Williams played in the development of Namibia’s cricket. Craig made a very valuable contribution in the way he approached the game.”I am looking forward to seeing him playing without the pressure of captaincy over his head.”

The Bangladesh top order graced the first day of the Chittagong Test with a display of brazen carelessness, to make a masterstroke out of Misbah-ul-Haq’s strange call to bowl first on a flat pitch

The Report by Nitin Sundar09-Dec-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez opened the bowling in the morning, and later underlined Pakistan’s dominance with the bat•AFP

The Bangladesh top order graced the first day of the Chittagong Test with a display of carelessness, to make a masterstroke of Misbah-ul-Haq’s strange decision to bowl on a flat pitch. The senior batsmen – Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan – led the way, succumbing to three of the more atrocious shots of the morning, and the lower order followed suit in the afternoon. Bangladesh were eventually dismissed for 135 in less than two sessions, proving additional strength to the growing criticism of their Test status.The situation would have been worse had Nazimuddin not batted with more grit on debut than some of his colleagues have shown in the entire year. His 31 and Nasir Hossain’s free-spirited 41 contributed more than half the total. The Pakistan openers – Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar – put Bangladesh’s performance and the pitch in perspective with an unbeaten 132-run stand.Obduracy is not beyond Bangladesh – they routinely give up stiff ODI chases and bat out time, as they did in the second ODI – but they refuse to show that characteristic in the format where it is a pre-requisite. Bangladesh underlined why they hadn’t managed even a draw against a full-strength top-flight side in over 10 years, without assistance from the weather.Misbah undermined his decision to bowl by handing the new ball to Mohammad Hafeez – the first time a Pakistan spinner was bowling the first over of a Test. The experiment was quickly shelved after Hafeez’s bunny, Tamim, survived his first three overs. Aizaz Cheema replaced Hafeez, and angled his fourth ball across Tamim, who responded with a loose drive away from his body and edged behind. In Cheema’s next over, Shahriar Nafees fell for a duck while defending in front of his body without decisive footwork.While Cheema specialised in big inswingers bowled from wide of the crease, Umar Gul settled into his usual mix of legcutters, indippers, and tempting half-volleys. Mohammad Ashraful’s comeback lasted 11 balls, before he produced a mirror-image of Tamim’s dismissal. The away-going delivery was not quite there for the drive, but he threw his hands at it and nicked behind.Mushfiqur Rahim started with a promising off-drive for four, but Saeed Ajmal trapped him in his first over with a sharp offbreak. Shakib produced the illusion of stability by hanging around for eight overs, before the rash-stroke epidemic got to him. With ten minutes to go for lunch, and men around the bat, he swept Abdur Rehman straight to square leg.Nazimuddin battled through it all, showing exemplary judgement against short balls and swing. He repeatedly dropped his wrists and swayed out of line when tested by bounce, and covered the line of length deliveries. A series of rasping drives showed that he belonged, before he betrayed his inexperience with two needless flirts outside the off stump. The first edge landed short of the slips, but the second carried to Hafeez.By now Ajmal had settled into his nagging lines from round the wicket, tossing up doosras, sliders and offbreaks from similar trajectories. Mahmudullah was lbw playing back to a slider, while Elias Sunny nicked another to slip. Nasir did the right thing in the circumstances, chancing his arm while he still had partners. The best of his shots came against Cheema, whom he pulled, glanced, hooked and drove for boundaries. He also heaved Ajmal for a six down the ground, and eased him through the covers for four as Bangladesh nursed hopes of getting to 150. They were denied by another hare-brained shot, when Nasir paddled Rehman onto his jaw en route to silly point.After tea, Hafeez began an afternoon of accumulation by flicking his first ball for three. As always Hafeez’s driving was top-class, but Bangladesh’s indiscipline also allowed him to cut and glance for early boundaries. Shahadat Hossain and Rubel Hossain bowled six listless overs that yielded 33 runs before Mushfiqur brought on his crew of spinners.Whenever the spinners over-pitched, Taufeeq was completely at ease, driving and flicking with a strong bottom hand. That prompted a change in approach from Bangladesh’s spinners – the one department in which they can claim to be world class. They shortened the length, and Taufeeq repeatedly pushed in hope with an opened face as the ball spun away. The edge inevitably followed, but Mushfiqur could not hold on. Mahmudullah got Taufeeq edging three more times – on either side of Nafees at slip, and once on the bounce.Hafeez had no such worries, though, and strolled past fifty with a cover-driven four. Shahadat then dropped Taufeeq in the final over, denying Bangladesh the sliver they could have taken out of the day.

Michael Clarke has called for consistency on the ICC’s Decision Review System (DRS) after the BCCI refused to allow its use in the upcoming Test series in Australia

Brydon Coverdale21-Dec-2011Michael Clarke has called for consistency on the ICC’s Decision Review System (DRS) after the BCCI refused to allow its use in the upcoming Test series in Australia. Earlier this year, the ICC made the use of the DRS mandatory in Tests and ODIs, but three months later reversed its decision and went back to the rule that the boards of both countries must agree for it to be used in a series.The Indian board’s strong opposition to the DRS meant the four-Test series, which begins in Melbourne on Boxing Day, was never likely to feature umpire reviews. It will be Australia’s first Test series played without referrals since Ricky Ponting’s men toured India last October, and Clarke said while he was neutral on the system, consistency was required.”I’m not bothered either way,” Clarke said. “I’d just like to see a broader decision made for every team. I would like to see it either in Test cricket and one-day cricket or in one or the other, or not used at all. I find it a little bit inconsistent if we’re having it in one series and not having it in the other. I don’t mind what the decision is; I’d just like to see it consistent the whole time.”As a result of the BCCI’s stance, all decisions in this series will remain in the hands of the on-field umpires, Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould for the first two Tests, and Aleem Dar and Kumar Dharmasena for the final two matches. However, Channel Nine’s coverage will still feature technology such as Eagle Eye and Hot Spot for the viewers at home.That has the potential to create further drama; obvious umpiring errors will be visible to TV viewers, players in the change rooms and media at the ground, but not to the players and officials on field. Channel Nine’s executive producer of sport, Brad McNamara, said he could not understand the BCCI’s objections to the DRS.”We put a lot of time, effort and money into making it as accurate as possible,” McNamara told the . “We are fairly certain we are using the best technology available. If India get a couple of rough ones through the summer, they might all of a sudden become a fan of the DRS. It is a bit confusing.”However, Clarke said it would not be too difficult to adjust back to playing under the old conditions. He said his players would be happy to take the umpire’s decision, despite having become accustomed to being allowed to ask for a review over the past couple of years.”We’ve only had DRS for a few years so it’s no different to how it’s been throughout my whole career,” Clarke said. “At the end of the day, the umpires will do their best to make the right decision. Like us players, I’d love to make a hundred every time I walk out on to the field but it doesn’t happen, we make mistakes, we make errors.”The positive thing is it’s going to be consistent for both teams throughout the series. I think that’s a real positive thing. Both teams will live with whatever decisions are made throughout the series.”