| Glamorgan suffer the agony of just missing out on promotion • James Dalrymple's gamble fails to pay off• Bottom club Derbyshire survive in CardiffGlamorgan missed out on promotion to the First Division after failing to beat the bottom club Derbyshire in Cardiff while Worcestershire successfully chased a target of 301 to defeat champions Sussex.When Glamorgan beat Worcestershire at Colwyn Bay last month they were chasing the title, not just second place, but in a limp finish they drew three and lost one of their final four matches while Worcestershire enjoyed three victories. When Glamorgan heard that Sussex had set Worcestershire a target of 301 in 70 overs, they hurriedly contrived a finish to their game with Derbyshire, who agreed to chase 160 in what turned out to be 43 overs.Glamorgan took five wickets in the first 22 overs and had an hour to capture the final five, but Dan Redfern and Robin Peterson, who both offered sharp chances and survived loud leg before appeals, survived and the Welsh county's captain, Jamie Dalrymple, reluctantly called play to a halt with Derbyshire on 123 for five. "I feel terrible," said Dalrymple. "I felt that we deserved promotion. We defeated Worcestershire twice, once inside two days, but we can point to the game against Middlesex here a few weeks ago when we lost. They chased down a target of 250 but later at Lord's were bowled out for 66 by a couple of part-time spinners [against Worcestershire]. To be sat in our position is horrific."I cannot comment on the declaration in Worcester because I was not there and do not know the exact details of what went on. It is best that I do not say anything about that. People who know cricket can make their own judgments."We work on scant resources and we punched above our weight this year. We are devastated that we did not close the deal. We are no longer interested in moral victories: we want success."Glamorgan had started the day more likely to lose the match than win it after five sessions had been lost to rain. Derbyshire extended their first innings lead to 110 and felt confident of making early inroads into the Glamorgan top order.Mark Cosgrove and Gareth Rees thought differently and put on 92 before the two sides agreed on a run chase. Buffet bowling was then provided and Rees reached his century while watching three partners get out to a series of long hops and full tosses.James Harris reduced Derbyshire to eight for two and at 63 for five, the time Worcestershire reached their target, Derbyshire looked vulnerable. Glamorgan rotated their spinners but none could make the breakthrough."It was a great effort by the players today and they showed how this side has changed its character in the last three years," said the Glamorgan director of cricket, Matthew Maynard. "The fact Worcestershire reached their target easily suggests it was a generous declaration, but you do not know what Sussex wanted to do. It is up to them to justify it." County Championship Division TwoGlamorganDerbyshireWorcestershireSussexCricketPaul Reesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
M&T Bank Stadium awarded 2014 NCAA lacrosse championships M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore will play host to the 2014 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Laxman shines brightest as India prevail The batsman played through a bad back to inspire India to a dramatic first Test win over the men in baggy greenIn the Indian dressing room, VVS Laxman is Very, Very Special. In Australia's they probably think of him in very different terms – Very, Very Sickening. In crisis situations that paralyse others, Laxman manages to bat with a composure and elegance that must be soul-destroying for the opposition. Others cramp up with nervous excitement. He strokes the ball into the gaps. As Zaheer Khan, an odd choice as man of the match following India's single-wicket win over Australia, said afterwards Laxman brings calm to the dressing room.He and Australia have history. In January 2000, Laxman was a makeshift opener when he scored his first century, a galloping 167 in a losing cause at the SCG. None of his team-mates made more than 25. A year later, now batting in the middle order, his 281, which gets a mention each time you discuss the greatest innings ever played, thwarted Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz at Eden Gardens. In the next Test, with the series on the line, he eased the tension from a final-day run chase with a stroke-filled 66.He's seldom look back since when confronted by those in baggy green. Six of his 16 centuries have come against them and he averages nearly 60. "Even with a bad back, he showed what sort of class player he is," said a rueful Ricky Ponting after this game. "He played very well, got the tailenders to stick in there with him, and he had a knack of finding the boundary late in the innings. He has been a bit of a thorn in our side, there's no doubt about that."The chances are that this unbeaten 73 from 79 balls, having come in at No7 after back spasms kept him off the field for most of the match, will be cherished as much as any of those feted hundreds. Make no mistake, Australia had this game won. That they lost with India on the mat and gasping for breath will rankle for a long time. "I think I was a bit delirious by the end of the Kolkata game, so I can't remember too much about that," said Ponting when asked to compare this defeat to that of 2001. "This one probably hurts more. I'm captain of the side. I wasn't then. Eight down today with 80 to get, it was a game we should've won."India's overnight position (55 for four) was precarious enough, but when Sachin Tendulkar fell, trying to bunt the ball over gully a first defeat at Mohali since 1994 appeared a near certainty. MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh could do nothing to halt the slide and when the beanpole figure of Ishant Sharma marked his guard, the scoreboard showed a forlorn 124 for eight.Fate, though, had more twists in store. Doug Bollinger, who had dismissed both Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, went off with an abdominal strain and Ponting's frustration was palpable. He had been unhappy about the fast bowler's late arrival from South Africa, where he had been part of the Chennai Super Kings' Champions League-winning side, and when he didn't emerge after lunch, the burden was squarely on the shoulders of Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson. Hilfenhaus got Australia back into the game on the fourth evening, but his strength is beautifully controlled outswing with the new ball. Johnson, despite a five-wicket haul in the first innings, has an action so erratic that he's prone to inconsistency. Nathan Hauritz, anointed as Australia's frontline spinner in the build-up to the Ashes, was so ineffectual that Ponting couldn't trust him, and it was left to Marcus North, after another wretched game with the bat, to give the ball a tweak.Sharma may have bowled poorly of late, and will miss the Bangalore Test, starting on Saturday, with a knee injury, but he showed diligence with the bat, making an important 31 runs from 92 balls. By the time he was out the ninth-wicket partnership was worth 81. His back may have been stiff and his footwork severely restricted, but Laxman kept giving the fielders the runaround.Inevitably in a series being played without the Umpiring Decision Review System, the pivotal moment came with a decision that would had been referred had the technology been made available.From where I sat, right behind the umpire, Pragyan Ojha appeared to be struck in front by Johnson. But Billy Bowden, who had earlier given Gautam Gambhir leg-before despite a thick inside edge, ruled that the batsman hit it. As Ojha and Suresh Raina, running for Laxman, scampered the single, Steven Smith picked up and had a shy at the stumps. He was close, but with no one backing up, the ball went for four overthrows. Two balls and two leg byes later, the game was over. The Indians embraced Laxman, Ojha and Raina, while the Australians looked shattered, like kids who had seen Father Christmas turn into the Wicked Witch.Ponting put on a brave face afterwards, stressing the positives, but admitted that the defeat was one of the most painful of his 147-Test career. At Edgbaston in 2005, it was Australia that nearly pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win. Here, with roles reversed, they again fell just short."This is a tough loss for us", said Ponting, who answered a slew of questions with great dignity. "It's no good hiding from it, this hurts all of us. I'm sure it's hurt a lot of people at home who've been watching as well."There's no doubt we're bitterly disappointed with the result going the way it did. The dressing room is very, very quiet at the moment, but we have to bounce back from this." How they do or don't could well decide Australian cricket's immediate future.India Cricket TeamAustralia cricket teamCricketDileep Premachandranguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Mesa wants what Scottsdale gets: Cubs fans Boosters of a $99 million outlay by the city of Mesa for a spring training ballpark for the Chicago Cubs hope the new stadium and accompanying development will help the city capture more hotel and entertainment spending. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Celts beat Heat 88-80 despite 31 from James By HOWARD ULMAN 2010-10-27T04:38:39ZBOSTON (AP) -- LeBron James and the Miami Heat were showered with chants of "overrated!" They sure looked that way in their debut as a team formed to win a championship.... hosted.ap.org |