Arman Jaffer cracks 473 to break Harris Shield record

February 15, 2013

Arman

Mumbai, Feb 15: Seven and half hours of concentration, 359 deliveries, 65 boundaries, 16 sixes and loads of determination culminated into a record-breaking 473 for Rizvi Springfield's 14-year-old superbat Arman Jaffer.

The non-descript Matunga Gymkhana, venue of the Harris Shield final between Rizvi and IES VN Sule, buzzed with excitement on Thursday as Arman sailed from one century to the next, towards the big one. While being out-of-favour India opener Wasim Jaffer's nephew is a good enough reason to make him famous, he has carved out a name for himself as a batsman of immense hunger.

Arman walked in to bat on Day Two of Rizvi's innings in this boys' under-16 tournament, and returned after spending 437 minutes at the crease to a rapturous ovation by his teammates. He notched up 473 to become the highest run-scorer in Harris Shield history. All the hard work and determination, though, were done in by a cross-batted sweep shot which ballooned in the air after taking a top edge.

The 500-run mark seemed his for the taking ... for the second time in three years. In 2010, he missed it by two runs as he amassed 498 against Raja Shivaji school in a Giles Shield match.

The previous Harris record, incidentally, was held by Sarfaraz Khan (439), also from the same school in Bandra.

As Arman approached the landmark, his well-wishers couldn't stop talking about the knock he had played three years ago.

"Is baar toh bana dega 500 (This time he will get to the 500-run mark )," said one spectator with lot of optimism, backed by an equal measure of confidence in the batsman.

But that was not to be. An erroneous sweep shot ended his stay at the wicket. Once back in the dressing room, Arman headed straight for his mother, who was watching him bat from the sidelines. But as he was walking up to her, he exchanged a look with coach Raju Pathak and grinned sheepishly. He knew he had done a lot for the team, but had missed out another great opportunity too.

"I was very tired ," said Arman succinctly. Between the 498 and the 473 he scored on Thursday, Arman has to his credit several knocks ... most of them big hundreds. This season playing for Mumbai's under-16 squad, he became the first boy in the history of Vijay Merchant cricket to score over 1000 runs in a year. One question which was waiting to be answered was how does he manage all this? How can a boy, who is only 14, be so focused?

"The best part about my batting is that I don't have any preconceived notions. I don't think much. The only thing that matters is the attack. I have my methods of dealing with each bowling attack. Once I have sorted that out, runs begin to flow," he says.

Rizvi Springfield finished the day on 823/5 and are looking good to go on and reach the 1000-run mark.

Jaffer, Singh miss Sachin-Kambli record

Arman could have gone into history books with partner Siddharth Singh and become holders of the highest partnership record had Siddharth not been trapped in front of the wickets for 177. The duo put on 631 runs before Siddharth was out. The duo was inching towards the record set by Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli's record partnership of 664 runs but, unfortunately, they missed it by 33 runs. Another record eluded the Bandra outfit on an eventful day.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

New Delhi, Jun 7: Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Sunday said that Sourav Ganguly would be fit to lead the International Cricket Council (ICC), and added there is no reason for respective cricket boards to not support Ganguly if he wants to hold the post.

In an interaction with media, the former spinner said Ganguly has all the qualities of leading the ICC as he has been a reputed cricketer and knows what a player goes through in his life.

"I also think that it would be really helpful if Sourav Ganguly goes on to lead ICC, it will help cricket and the players as a reputed cricketer will hold such a big post, he has played professional cricket, he has led the Indian side and he has also held an administrative post in the Cricket Association of Bengal," Kaneria told media.

"It depends on all of the boards whether they want to support Ganguly or not, if other boards support Ganguly and PCB doesn't, then also Ganguly would have the maximum number of votes, as a cricketer Ganguly is fit to lead the ICC, he had led the Indian side so well and he has earned a name for himself, so I don't see any reason for boards not supporting Ganguly," he added.

Ganguly had become the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year, but speculation continued to rise over the former skipper heading the ICC.

"He is currently the president of the BCCI, he knows in and out of everything, he knows what players have to deal with and he is aware of what cricket needs, he knows what support needs to be given to associate nations, players would be able to put forward their point in front of Ganguly," Kaneria said.

In May this year, Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith had backed Ganguly to lead the ICC looking at the current scenario.

"Now it is even more important to have someone in a role who can provide leadership who understands and can navigate the challenges in the game today. I think post-COVID with the things that are going to come our way, to have strong leadership is important. I feel that someone like Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment," sport24.co.za had quoted Smith as saying.

"I know him well, I played against him a number of times and worked with him as an administrator and in television. I feel that he has got the credibility, the leadership skills, and is someone that can really take the game forward and I think that, more than anything, that is needed right now at an ICC level," he added.

ICC's elections are slated to be held in July this year and current chairperson Shashank Manohar has already clarified that he is not seeking a tenure extension.

Ganguly was exceptional in making India play its first day-night Test last year.

India had played its inaugural day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens last year.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Hamilton, Jan 30: Caught unaware about the Super Over scenario, Rohit Sharma took five minutes to “find” his abdomen guard after the third T20 International against New Zealand had ended in a tie on Wednesday.

The India vice-captain said the team had almost given up with New Zealand going great guns at one point.

“Everything was packed. All my stuff was inside my bag. I had to get it out. It literally took me five minutes to find my abdomen guard because I didn’t know where it was,” Rohit said.

“I mean we never thought it would go to the Super Over, the way they were batting at one point. It looked like they could easily win the game,” he added.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Karachi, May 11: Pakistan might play more Test matches during their tour of England if it goes ahead as scheduled in July after the West Indies pulled out of an assignment there in June owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pakistan Cricket Board and the England and Wales Cricket Board officials are due to have a video conference on May 18 to discuss how they should proceed with the tour given the situation because of the pandemic.

"At present we have to play three Tests and three T20 internationals but the number of Tests could be increased and the tour could start a bit early in July," a PCB source said.

The source said that the ECB could offer to organise a four or five Test series against Pakistan if the West Indies tour didn’t go ahead.

Issues that are likely to be discussed in the May 18 meet are a quarantine period for Pakistani players when they arrive in England in July and limiting the venues for the matches and playing before empty stadiums.

PCB CEO Wasim Khan confirmed the video conference but said so far, the ECB has not spoken to them on increasing the number of matches on the tour which is scheduled between July and September.

"Things will be clear after the meeting but whatever decision we take we will consult our captains and head coaches before giving any confirmation," Khan said.

The PCB has so far kept mum on the chances of the series taking place in England because of the COVID-19 situation.

But with the British government due to announce measures to ease the lockdown in the country, it appears Pakistan could be touring on schedule.

Some former players have, however, asked the PCB to tread on the side of caution.

"If the West Indies have decided to postpone their series in June because of safety reasons and because of the situation then the PCB should also be very careful before taking up any offer from the ECB," a former captain said.

The West Indies Cricket Board said its players have to be convinced of their safety for it to commit to the assignment, which "is not possible in June."

"...we will continue our discussions with the ECB and other Internationals Boards on trying to find new dates," it said in a recent press release.

"We will only travel to England to play the series if our players can be assured that it is safe to do so," it added.

Pakistan is also scheduled to play an ODI series against Ireland while in UK but that series could be rescheduled and also be held in England.

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