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Notts need 162 fourth-day runs with 10 wickets in hand after Paterson, Pattinson strike

ECB Reporters Network21-May-2022Derbyshire defied Nottinghamshire’s push for a three-day victory with a final0session fightback in the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge.Trailing by 98 on first innings, Derbyshire slipped to 161 for 7, putting the home side within sight of the fourth win of the season that would take them back to the top of the Division Two table before attention turns to the Vitality Blast next week.But Alex Hughes, a late call-up to the Derbyshire XI after Anuj Dal was injured on Thursday morning, led a show of post-tea resistance, sharing an eighth-wicket stand of 90 – the highest of the match from either side – with fast bowler Liam Hurt before Derbyshire were all out for 262, leaving Nottinghamshire still with work to do on the final day chasing 165 to win.Hurt, making his Derbyshire debut on loan from Lancashire, posted a career-best 49 before he was caught behind off former Australian Test bowler James Pattinson. He hit six boundaries – four of them off England’s Stuart Broad. Hughes also missed out by one on a half-century when he was bowled by Pattinson, who took 3 for 59 with Dane Paterson finishing with 3 for 35.Nottinghamshire, who were three without loss after facing two overs at the close, are still clear favourites to win but Derbyshire – unbeaten so far – can at least take credit for putting up a fight.Related

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Earlier, 19-year-old seamer Nick Potts, in only his third first-class match, took 4 for 50, his best return so far, and 23-year-old Sam Conners 4 for 93 as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 358 in their first innings.Potts struck in the first full over of the morning as Liam Patterson-White was leg before trying to work one, falling on 39. Broad was bowled by Conners making room for himself before Pattinson, having sent the previous delivery soaring over deep backward square for six, was caught at deep midwicket as he tried to clear the ropes again, giving Potts his fourth wicket.Nottinghamshire’s first-innings lead looked still better when Broad then pinned Shan Masood in front for a third-ball duck, bringing an abrupt end to the Pakistan opener’s outside hope of completing 1,000 first-class runs in May. He remains on 844.Brooke Guest was leg-before to a ball from Paterson that kept low, after which Billy Godleman’s third-wicket partnership with Wayne Madsen was beginning to look durable when Godleman, whose 27 had taken him past 10,000 all-format runs for Derbyshire, fell into a trap set by Paterson and was caught on the hook.Madsen cut Steven Mullaney for three boundaries as Derbyshire wiped out the first-innings arrears yet two wickets in the space of seven deliveries saw them suddenly five down and only 26 in front.Du Plooy looked unlucky, given out leg before as Lyndon James celebrated his first wicket in four matches, but there were no doubts over the demise of Luis Reece – carrying a groin injury and belatedly joined by a runner – who was caught behind off a snorter from Pattinson.Madsen moved past fifty for the sixth time this season but then wafted at a ball from James to be caught behind, plunging Derbyshire into seemingly terminal decline at tea, effectively 40 for 6.Patterson-White had Alex Thomson lbw on the back foot as Derbyshire slipped into more trouble but, one low chance to Moores on 23 apart, Hurt stuck with Hughes impressively and their efforts kept Derbyshire in the game against the odds.

Australia are set to go nearly 10 months without a Test match between the two summers

Daniel Brettig10-Feb-2021Australia are set to make a belated trip to Bangladesh later this year for their first tour since 2017. Not for the Tests originally scheduled as part of the World Test Championship, but instead for T20Is intended as warm-ups for the T20 World Cup meant to be hosted by India soon afterwards.ESPNcricinfo has confirmed discussions around the brief tour, which are the result of India hosting the global T20I event in 2021 while the 2020 edition, originally to have been hosted by Australia last year, was pushed out to 2022. According to the Future Tours Program, Bangladesh are also to host England for white-ball games ahead of the T20 World Cup, meaning the matches may well be arrayed as a triangular series.However, it has also been established that any prospect of last year’s postponed Test tour of Bangladesh, one of the first scheduled assignments delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has been effectively washed away by the fact it could not be rescheduled during the remaining window for WTC series before the table is finalised in April. Australia are duly set to go nearly 10 months without a Test match between the India series this summer and a rescheduled home Test against Afghanistan next summer, ahead of the Ashes.Related

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Cricket Australia and the BCB have continued lengthy talks ever since the postponement of the series last April, but neither board was able to commit to a window for a Test match tour. CA’s protracted and ultimately fruitless negotiations with Cricket South Africa over their scheduled WTC series in March broke down irreparably last week, ironically leaving a 33-day gap in between the end of Bangladesh’s current home series against West Indies on February 15, and the start of their white-ball tour of New Zealand on March 20 where neither country will play at all.Australia’s Test team have lost control of their WTC destiny due to the decision not to tour South Africa, but could have regained it by playing and winning a Test series with Bangladesh at any stage between last June, when the tour was originally meant to be played, and the April cut-off point for the championship table. This was the case even after the ICC retabulated the WTC table to be ranked according to points won over matches played, accounting for the imbalances deepened by tour cancellations due to Covid-19.The deterioration of relations between CA and CSA around tour talks and biosecurity protocols has led to the South African board writing to the ICC by way of opening a conversation about financial recompense for countries who have their home series cancelled by touring teams unwilling to make the trip.Cricket’s global governing body is understood to be encouraging further, peacemaking dialogue between CA and CSA, while at the same time being wary of the possibility of a formal dispute resolution mechanism being triggered between the two boards.CA has fervently denied allegations of bad faith negotiating from CSA, arguing that the two boards had irreconcilably different attitudes to Covid-19 that made it impossible to find the common ground required for the tour to go ahead. The governing body has also argued that CA’s efforts to reschedule series is proven by the current tour of New Zealand, a makeup for last summer’s cancelled series, and the shift of the Afghanistan Test. A CA spokesman declined to comment on the Bangladesh tour plans.

All the transfer and pre-season buzz from the Indian domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2019PunjabFast bowler Barinder Sran has finalised his transfer to Chandigarh after being left out of his home state Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad. He obtained a no-objection certificate from Punjab on Thursday, saying he was not informed by the Punjab selectors why he was left out, and that he did not want to “waste the entire season” by not playing.”They didn’t even give me a valid reason [for dropping me],” Sran told the . “At least I deserved to know the reason why I was dropped. The selectors stopped taking my phone calls. I had no other option. I can’t waste my entire season. So, I decided to make a move and have no regrets.”The 26-year old, who has played six ODIs and two T20Is for India, made his debut for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in 2011. “I want to play for India again, but for that, I need to play. I am being let down by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). But it is a thing of the past. I am fit now and it’s time to look ahead.”In the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year, he bagged three wickets in as many games for Punjab despite going wicketless in two of them. He played in two Ranji Trophy before that, finishing with two wickets across three innings, and in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that followed, he got just three wickets in five matches, going wicketless in four of those games.This season, Punjab, led by Mandeep Singh, also have Shubman Gill in the squad. Being named in the India Test squad that will be taking on South Africa from October 2, Gill is unlikely to play more than three matches in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.Punjab are placed in Group B, alongside eight other teams, and will play their first match against Himachal Pradesh on September 25.Squad: Mandeep Singh (Captain), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Mayank Markande, Karan Kaila, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Akul Pandove, Anmol Malhotra, Abhijeet GargDelhiRishabh Pant and Navdeep Saini have been named in the 16-member Delhi squad, led by Dhruv Shorey, for the first four games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting on September 24. Shikhar Dhawan has opted out of the squad for now due to personal reasons, according to .Pant is a part of the Indian team that will be assembling in Visakhapatnam for the opening Test against South Africa on October 2.
“Pant is expected to play at least first two to three games for Delhi as he will then report for the national team. Rishabh himself said that he wanted to play,” Delhi senior team’s chairman of selectors Atul Wassan told .”Shikhar needs to go back to Australia to attend to some family matters. He has said that he will join the squad at a later date.”
Former India Under-19 India captain Anuj Rawat has been named Pant’s back-up in the squad. Delhi will be starting their campaign against Vidarbha on the opening day of the tournament.Squad: Dhruv Shorey (captain), Nitish Rana, Rishabh Pant, Himmat Singh, Hiten Dalal, Kunal Chandela, Lalit Yadav, Pawan Negi, Navdeep Saini, Subodh Bhati, Kulwant Khejrolia, Manan Sharma, Kunwar Bhiduri, Vikas Tokas, Tejas Baroka, Anuj Rawat.Mumbai Left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar, who played a key role in India’s Under-19 Asia Cup win, has been named in the 17-member Mumbai squad, led by Shreyas Iyer, for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sarfaraz Khan, who was on a one-year cooling off period following his return to Mumbai last year after three seasons with Uttar Pradesh, has also been named in the squad.Ankolekar took a match-winning five-for on Saturday against Bangladesh U-19s in a low-scoring thriller and helped India defend their Asia Cup title. Ankolekar’s team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his Mumbai debut in Ranji Trophy last year, has also been named in this squad.Ajinkya Rahane, who captained the team last year, will not be available this year due to international commitments. Prithvi Shaw, who is currently serving his suspension for a doping violation, also misses out.Defending champions Mumbai are in Group A and will be playing all their matches in Bengaluru.Squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Surya Kumar Yadav (vice captain), Jay Bista, Aditya Tare , Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Shubham Ranjane, Eknath Kerkar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Tushar Deshpande, Shams Mulani, Atharva Ankolekar, Shardul Thakur, Siddhesh Lad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kruthik Hanagawadi, Shashank AttardeVidarbhaWasim Jaffer has been appointed Vidarbha’s interim captain for this season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy after Faiz Fazal sustained a hand injury. It is understood that Fazal is likely to return during the course of the tournament and also retain his captaincy.The 15-member squad also includes India fast bowler Umesh Yadav.Fazal, one of Vidarbha’s batting mainstays in their consecutive Ranji Trophy wins in 2017-18 and 2018-19, suffered the injury while representing India Green in the recently-concluded Duleep Trophy.”Faiz is still undergoing treatment for the injury,” VCA president Anand Jaiswal told . “We are still looking into it. Once he is cleared, he will join the side. As of today, since he hasn’t recovered, we have announced Wasim as the captain. But the injury is a minor one, not very serious.”Vidarbha are in Elite Group B of the Vijay Hazare Trophy draw, alongside Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Baroda, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, and will begin their campaign against Delhi on September 24.Vidarbha Squad: Wasim Jaffer (captain), R. Sanjay, Atharva Taide, Ganesh Satish, Rushabh Rathod, Apoorva Wankhede, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Akshay Wadkar (wicketkeeper), Akshay Wakhare, Akshay Karnewar, Aditya Sarvate, Umesh Yadav, Yash Thakur, Darshan Nalkande, Shrikant Wagh.Tamil NaduOpening batsman C Hari Nishanth and left-arm spinner M Siddharth have been named in Tamil Nadu’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, which will be led by Dinesh Karthik. While R Ashwin, who was named in the probables squad, has been ruled out due to international commitments, M Vijay, who is currently playing in the county championships for Somerset, will join the team after the first two matches.Allrounder Vijay Shankar, who is recovering from a finger injury, has been included in the 16-member squad but a call on his selection will only be taken before the side’s opening game against Rajasthan on September 24. M Shahrukh Khan has been named M Vijay’s replacement for the first two matches.Hari Nishanth made his T20 debut for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year, and has represented the Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He finished among the top run scorers in the tournament this year with 322 runs in 10 matches. Siddharth played for champions Chennai Super Gillies this season, where he picked five wickets in eight games.Squad: Dinesh Karthik (capt), Vijay Shankar (vice-capt), Abhinav Mukund, M Vijay, Baba Aparajith, M Ashwin, Washington Sundar, R Sai Kishore, N Jagadeesan, T Natarajan, K Vignesh, M Mohammed, M Siddharth, Abhishek Tanwar, C Hari Nishaanth, J Kousik. Reserve: M Shahrukh KhanArunachal PradeshFormer India pace bowler Sanjeev Sharma has been appointed coach of the Arunachal Pradesh team for the upcoming domestic season. Sanjeev had been coach of the Sikkim team last season and has coached Delhi in the past.According to , the Arunachal Pradesh Cricket Association had initially decided to give an extension to Gursharan Singh, who coached them last season. However, Gursharan was recently named coach of Uttarakhand.”We apprised the BCCI about the issue and sought its help in getting a replacement. There is not much time in hand and we are glad to welcome Sharma on board,” ACA secretary, Kabak Geda, told .Arunachal will be hoping to improve on their performance from the debut season. They were winless in the Ranji Trophy, won two games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and one in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.Under Sanjeev’s tenure, Sikkim went winless in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but performed better in the Ranji Trophy, securing four wins in eight matches in the plate group.Uttar Pradesh
Former India spinner Sunil Joshi has been appointed coach of the Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy team for one year, according to . He is set to join the training camp on September 20 before the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on September 24Joshi, who served as Bangladesh’s spin-bowling coach till the World Cup, had applied for the position of India’s bowling coach but was not shortlisted.”We have appointed Sunil Joshi as coach of our team for one year. He will join the camp before the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association secretary Yudhvir Singh told .Former Karnataka fast bowler Mansur Ali Khan had coached the side last season. UP won their maiden, and only, Ranji Trophy title in 2005-06 and have been runners-up five times. They made the quarter-finals last season where they were beaten by Saurashtra.UttarakhandGursharan Singh has been named the coach of Uttarakhand for the upcoming domestic season, replacing KP Bhaskar, who has returned to take charge of the Delhi team.Gursharan, 56, who turned out for Delhi and Punjab in domestic cricket and played one Test and one ODI in 1990, is a prominent coach in Delhi, and has been involved with various state teams since 2007, when he coached Punjab. He has since worked with Assam and, more recently, Arunachal Pradesh.”I am excited to take my new job,” he was quoted as saying by the . “I know Uttarakhand has a lot of young talent and the team did well last year under Bhaskar’s guidance. The team has a wonderful captain in Unmukt [Chand, who shifted this year]. He has a good cricket brain and I am looking forward to work with him.”Last season, their maiden one in the domestic circuit, Uttarakhand topped the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy, but then lost by an innings and 115 runs to Vidarbha, the eventual champions, in the quarter-finals. They had some decent results in the Vijay Hazare (one-day) Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy too. In the 50-over tournament, they came second in the Plate Group with seven wins and a loss, while in the T20s, they had four wins in seven matches.Delhi
The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association has re-signed former Delhi batsman KP Bhaskar as head coach of the senior team for the 2019-20 season. Bhaskar, a veteran of 95 first-class matches, helmed debutants Uttarakhand to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals last season. Rajkumar Sharma, meanwhile, has been named the bowling coach. Sharma, an offspinning allrounder, played nine first-class matches for Delhi but is famously remembered for being Virat Kohli’s childhood coach.Bhaskar had left Delhi in controversial circumstances in 2018 after then captain Gautam Gambhir criticised him for “creating an atmosphere of uncertainty” in the dressing room. Incidentally, it was a season where they finished runners-up to Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy.With just one win in eight games, Delhi finished bottom of Group B in 2018-19 Ranji Trophy under Mithun Mahnas. They, however, finished runners-up to Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-overs competition. Atul Wassan, the former India bowler, has been named the selection committee chief of the senior team.ALSO READ: ‘Exceptional work ethic’ sets new Bengal captain Easwaran apartMumbai
Earlier in the week, after months of speculation, Mumbai named Vinayak Samant, the former wicketkeeper, as head coach under controversial circumstances after Sulakshan Kulkarni alleged he wasn’t given a fair contract. Under the initial agreement, the Mumbai Cricket Association was to pay Kulkarni a fee of INR 24 lakh for the season. This was later whittled to INR 14 lakh, which Kulkarni rejected.Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu have appointed former allrounder D Vasu as their head coach, with former captain R Prasanna as his assistant. Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has been appointed captain for the upcoming 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.Vasu replaced Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the former India allrounder who has moved on to a coaching role at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Vasu scored 3001 runs and picked up 240 wickets during the course of his 15-year first-class career.ALSO READ: New Kerala captain Robin Uthappa wants to give players ‘more security’Puducherry
Former Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar has ended his 15-year career with his home state and will instead turn out for Puducherry in a player-cum-mentor role in the 2019-20 season. Vinay will link up with his old friend J Arunkumar at Puducherry.Vinay and Arunkumar formed Karnataka’s leadership group when they won successive Ranji titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. They also led Karnataka to the Vijay Hazare and Irani titles, establishing the side as a domestic powerhouse.Having reportedly turned down an offer from his home state Tamil Nadu and moved from Kerala, wicketkeeper-batsman Arun Karthik will join Vinay at Puducherry.Former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand has parted ways with Delhi after making his first-class debut for them in November 2010. Chand has now signed with Uttarakhand and will captain them in the upcoming domestic season. Meanwhile, offspin-bowling allrounder Malolan Rangarajan, who helped Uttarakhand to the knockouts in the previous season, is set to move back to his home state Tamil Nadu.Assam
Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Ajay Ratra has been appointed Assam’s coach for the 2019-20 domestic season. Ratra has had coaching stints with Punjab, Assam Under-19s and NCA in the past.Ratra, who made his international debut in 2002, played six Tests and 12 ODIs for India. His maiden Test century against West Indies in Trinidad – an unbeaten 115 – made him the fifth-youngest Indian player and the youngest wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred. He played 99 first-class matches, scoring 4029 runs at an average of 30.29, which included eight hundreds and a double-century.Other movements
Allrounder Stuart Binny and wicketkeeper-batsman CM Gautam, who were part of Karnataka’s core along with Vinay when they secured the double-treble, have also opted to move out of their home state this season. Binny will join his former Karnataka team-mate Rongsen Jonathan at Nagaland, while Gautam has switched to Goa.Among prominent coaches, Sairaj Bahutule has ended his stint with Bengal, and will coach Gujarat, while Sanath Kumar moved from Meghalaya to Baroda.

He is likely to remain at home to tend to his wife’s illness, which means Shakib Al Hasan will take over captaincy duties

Mohammad Isam11-Jul-2018Mashrafe Mortaza is unlikely to travel to the West Indies for the ODI series that begins on July 22, since his wife is ill. Bangladesh’s selectors, however, will wait until Friday, the day before the ODI specialists’ departure from Dhaka, to name his replacement.”Mashrafe’s involvement in the ODI series is in doubt,” chief selector Minhajul Abedin told ESPNcricinfo. “I spoke to him last night. His wife is really sick. I don’t think he will be able to go to the West Indies.”If her condition improves, however, Mashrafe could fly out, especially given the length of time remaining before the series-opener. If he stays at home, Shakib Al Hasan will take over the ODI captaincy.Shafiul Islam, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury during Tuesday’s training session. The injury is likely to rule him out of the second Test, which begins on Thursday in Jamaica. Bangladesh’s squad only contains four fast bowlers in all, which means they will be unable to make any changes to the pace attack that featured in the innings defeat in Antigua, should they stick with three quicks.

The 36-year old former South Africa opener has relinquished captaincy of Glamorgan in four-day cricket, but will continue to lead them in T20s until his retirement

Firdose Moonda24-May-2017Former South African Test opener Jacques Rudolph will retire from all forms of cricket at the end of the 2017 English season. The 36-year old has stepped down as four-day captain for Glamorgan with immediate effect, but will continue leading the T20 side until his retirement.”The time feels right to call an end to my playing career,” Rudolph said. “I have been incredibly fortunate to have enjoyed playing the game I love for the last 20 years. But at the end of this summer it will be time to focus on a new venture away from cricket and spend more time with my young family.”Rudolph, a product of the famed Afrikaans Hoer Seunskool, made his first-class debut twenty seasons ago in the 1997-98 summer. He played 48 Tests in two stints – the first 35 came between 2003 and 2006 and the remaining 13 between 2011 and 2012 – because he had signed a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire in 2007.By scoring 1000 runs or more in his first four seasons with the county, Rudolph found his way back into the South African team. But his second coming yielded only one Test century and he was dropped in November 2012. Rudolph then turned his attention to playing franchise cricket for the Titans and eventually called time on his South Africa career after the 2015-16 season.Rudolph has been with Glamorgan since 2014 and has captained them for the last two seasons. In 2017, he scored 319 runs in five first-class matches at 35.44 and 305 runs in eight one-day matches at 38.12. The T20 competition he will lead Glamorgan in begins on July 7. While Rudolph has not detailed what life after cricket holds, he has interest in a game farm with fellow South African batsman Boeta Dippenaar.With Rudolph standing down, Glamorgan have given the Championship captaincy to their 35-year-old Australian seamer Michael Hogan until the end of the season.

Ben Stokes has spoken about the “complete devastation” he felt after the last over of the World T20 final

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2016Allrounder Ben Stokes has spoken about the “complete devastation” he felt after the last over of the World T20 final when Carlos Brathwaite had taken him for four consecutive sixes to snatch the title away from England.In the immediate aftermath of the conclusion to the final, Stokes admitted trying to block out the emotions and he said it is only since returning home that he has really reflected on what took place.The final over began with West Indies needing 19 to win and England favourites despite having struggled to 155 for 9 with the bat. But then Brathwaite swung Stokes’ first delivery over deep square leg, then connected sweetly against two full deliveries to suddenly level the scores and leave a distraught Stokes with his head in his hands.”I thought, ‘I’ve just lost the World Cup’. I couldn’t believe it,” he told the . “I didn’t know what to do. It took me so long to get back on my feet. I didn’t want to get back up. It was like the whole world had come down on me. There weren’t any good things going through my mind. It was just complete devastation.””It is probably only now really that all the emotions have started to come out about it. I couldn’t reflect on it at the time. There was just shock.”Stokes had developed his reputation as a death bowler during the tournament with important spells against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. He said he did not panic after the first ball of the last over had cleared the boundary and was still backing himself to defend 7 off 4 before being crushed by the third six.”It was not until they needed one off three that I knew the game was gone. When they needed seven I was still backing myself to get us over the line but I just couldn’t. It was amazing hitting. I just did not execute what I wanted to do.”A host of current and former players – not just from England – have come out in support of Stokes, praising his desire to be the man under pressure at the end, and he said he would not have a second thought about putting himself back in that position.”A hundred per cent. Definitely. It is something I work at a lot. Some days they go well. Some days they don’t. That was a bad day but I won’t be shying away from it. You almost want it to happen because if you nail it everyone forgets.”Stokes was at the centre of another spat with Marlon Samuels during the final – Samuels was fined 30% of his match fee for foul language – and Samuels was far from glowing about Stokes during his post-match press conference. Stokes has no issue with how events transpired and acknowledged Samuels played “a brilliant” innings.He also revealed that Brathwaite, who was fulsome in his praise of Stokes, had asked for a signed shirt.”We did not have a beer with them afterwards but Brathwaite came up to me and asked for a shirt. He is a brilliant lad. I wanted to make sure I spoke to them and say well done because I did not want people to think I was bitter. I wished them all the best. It is about respect to the opposition.”Stokes will return to action for Durham on April 24 in their County Championship match against Middlesex.

A strong batting display from Ireland, followed by an incisive spell of 4 for 32 from Max Sorensen left the hosts on the cusp of victory against Scotland in their Intercontinental Cup match in Dublin

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2013

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMax Sorensen bowled a 10-over first spell that yielded four wickets•ICC/John Boomer

A strong batting display from Ireland, followed by an incisive spell of 4 for 32 from right-arm seamer Max Sorensen left the hosts on the cusp of a comprehensive victory against Scotland in their Intercontinental Cup match in Dublin.Sorensen, who picked up three wickets against Scotland in a World Cricket League Championship game last Sunday, dismissed Hamish Gardiner and Freddie Coleman in the third over. Preston Mommsen and Calum MacLeod also fell victim to Sorensen’s first spell as Scotland slumped to 27 for 4 in the 11th over.It became 64 for 7 before No. 9 Safyaan Sharif manned a rearguard action for the second time in the match. He added 79 runs with Majid Haq during an eighth-wicket stand that lasted 26 overs. Sharif recorded his maiden first-class half-century but lost his wicket off what became the last ball of the day, leaving Scotland at 143 for 8, and needing another 69 runs to avoid an innings defeat.Despite rain wiping out most of day two, Ireland’s batsmen put up a solid performance as Paul Stirling composed a 101-ball 65 that included 11 fours, and together with John Anderson, added 92 for the second wicket to take Ireland beyond Scotland’s first-innings score of 139. Anderson played the ideal foil for Stirling, picking up a fifty himself, which included five fours.But Stirling threw his wicket away, pulling straight to deep mid wicket off seamer Alasdair Evans and Legspinner Moneeb Iqbal dismissed Anderson for 56 off just his second delivery.With two new batsmen at the crease, Scotland might have sensed the tide changing, but Andrew White and Kevin O’Brien put up a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket and then, when Iqbal and Haq removed the pair in quick succession, Andrew Balbirnie and Stuart Poynter contributed 62 runs for the sixth wicket to increase Ireland’s lead.Iqbal and Haq took four wickets each, but were unable to curtail the flow of runs from the Ireland batsmen, who together struck a total of 43 fours and four sixes in the innings to build a lead of 212.

Abdur Rehman finished with match figures of 14 for 101 as Somerset clinched runners-up spot in Division One

13-Sep-2012
ScorecardAbdur Rehman finished with match figures of 14 for 101 as Somerset clinched runners-up spot in Division One with victory over relegated Worcestershire by an innings and 148 runs at Taunton.Rehman took 5 for 36 as the visitors stumbled to 152 all out in their second innings, Alexei Kervezee top-scoring with 76 and Peter Trego claiming his 50th first-class wicket of the season.The hosts took 23 points to Worcestershire’s two as their players guaranteed themselves a share in a £162,000 cheque for finishing second behind champions Warwickshire.Somerset had batted on at the start of the day before declaring their first innings on 512 for 9, with a lead of 300. Nick Compton finished unbeaten on 155, just six short of 1,500 first-class runs. Compton, who faced 322 balls and hit 15 fours and a six, was left with a first-class average of 99.60 when the declaration came. Six more runs would have left him averaging 100.Moeen Ali returned figures of 4 for 143, but by far the best Worcestershire bowler was Alan Richardson, who claimed his 500th first-class victim when pinning Alfonso Thomas lbw for 17, and finished with 4 for 100 from 41 overs.A three-day finish always looked likely and Worcestershire lost two wickets in scoring 39 before lunch. Phil Hughes edged Trego to wicketkeeper Steve Snell and Daryl Mitchell was caught at slip off Rehman.The Hughes wicket sparked wild celebrations among the fielders as they all mobbed Trego for whom it was a notable milestone in his career. The 31-year-old all-rounder had never threatened to take 50 wickets before, but has bowled more overs than ever for Somerset because of injuries this season.After lunch there was a predictable procession of batsmen. Thomas trapped Neil Pinner leg before for 14 and Craig Overton struck in his first over as Marcus Trescothick took a sharp catch at second slip to send back Moeen for 24.Rehman then produced perfectly pitched turning deliveries to bowl Aneesh Kapil and Brett D’Olivera, both pushing forward defensively, before Ben Cox fell to a brilliant catch at mid-wicket by Arul Suppiah as he pulled a short ball from Steve Kirby.It was 129 for 8 when Chris Russell was snapped up at leg-slip by Trego off a Rehman arm-ball, having made only a single. Kervezee stood defiant, reaching his half-century off 64 balls with six fours, although he was steadily running out of partners as Nick Harrison played on to Thomas and departed for a duck.Kervezee was the last wicket to fall, pouched at slip by Trescothick off Man-of-the-Match Rehman.

Australian cricket’s reckoning for a disastrous Ashes series, and the decline from greatness to mediocrity that preceded it, is belatedly at hand

Daniel Brettig17-Aug-2011Australian cricket’s reckoning for a disastrous Ashes series, and the decline from greatness to mediocrity that preceded it, is belatedly at hand. The findings of the Australian team performance review will, as ESPNcricinfo reported in July, be tabled and discussed by the directors at the Cricket Australia board meeting to take place in Melbourne on Thursday and Friday, nearly eight months after the Ashes were lost in an innings defeat at the MCG.Upon the conclusion of the meeting CA’s chairman Jack Clarke will face the cameras and microphones to run over whatever findings the board chooses to make public. Based on the submissions of a litany of players, coaches, administrators and other well-placed observers, they are expected to be blunt and wide-ranging.The review panel, chaired by Don Argus and including the former captains Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh plus the former CA chief executive Malcolm Speed, is likely to direct its harshest critiques towards the selection policies of the out of contract chairman, Andrew Hilditch, whose term lapsed at the end of the World Cup.Hilditch’s tenure began in 2006, and after enjoying a 5-0 Ashes sweep on England in the following summer he was fated to negotiate the retirements of a succession of great players, including Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn.He and his panel have been heavily criticised for numerous decisions across that time, most pointedly the revolving door for spin bowlers since the selectors’ planning was thrown out of balance by the sudden retirement of Stuart MacGill in 2008.More recently the removal of Simon Katich from the list of CA contracted players provided a window into the players’ discontent about the ways of the panel, something also highlighted by a formal submission to the review regarding selection by the Australian Cricketers Association.Rod Marsh, the former Australian wicketkeeper and highly-respected academy coach, has expressed his interest in becoming chairman of selectors, discussing the possibility with CA’s head of cricket operations, Michael Brown.Other matters at issue for the review panel include the shape of the Australian team’s support staff, with the place of the head coach Tim Nielsen in some question. Since the World Cup Nielsen’s support staff has been bolstered by the additions of Craig McDermott (bowling coach) and Steve Rixon (fielding coach), as the players desired greater guidance from mentors with international experience.Rixon’s arrival in particular has been met with great enthusiasm, and as the former coach of New Zealand and NSW his credentials far outweigh those of Nielsen, who was a distinguished assistant for South Australia and Australia but had never been a head coach until he replaced John Buchanan in 2007, like Hilditch at the outset of a difficult period of transition.Australia’s players and support staff currently on tour in Sri Lanka are expected to be briefed about the review findings on Friday morning in Colombo, before Clarke presents a summary of the findings to the public.The Australian team’s contract system, scheduling and preparation have also been matters for discussion, with the former chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns noting that a sleeker and more flexible contract system should be devised.It has also been pointed out that Test cricket in Australia would benefit from being the clear financial pinnacle of the game, with sufficient incentives for young players to devote themselves to its pursuit.The evolving role of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane is considered a sore point in the development of players, as CA has sought to make it more of a finishing school for internationals rather than a bridge between junior cricket and the first-class arena.Further down the pathway, the standard of domestic cricket has been openly questioned by the likes of Ricky Ponting, who fervently believes that young cricketers need to be held to the same rigorous standards he had to reach before he was selected to play for Australia.Twenty20’s onset, and its attendant impact on the techniques and priorities of domestic players, is another factor, but CA are torn on this matter by competing desires to have the Test team successful while also growing the game’s revenue.There is little the review panel can do about the onset of the T20 Big Bash League and its heavy impact on the domestic schedule, meaning there will be plenty of hurdles ahead for the Australian team, whatever Argus and company recommend at the board meeting.

Nathan Hauritz and India go back a long way. It was here almost six years ago that his Test career started … and nearly ended

Sidharth Monga28-Sep-2010Nathan Hauritz and India go back a long way. It was here almost six years ago that his Test career started … and nearly ended. It was the Mumbai Test played on the raging turner where he took the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, but in his own words, “after they had taken me down pretty easily”. Those runs helped India erase the deficit and win the incredible Test. Hauritz was sent back to first-class cricket where he spent the next four years. He never really thought he would be Australia’s lead spinner again, leave alone coming back as one to the land where it all began.Hauritz remembers the debut and the circumstances around it well. “Warney got hit on the thumb in the training on the day before,” he says. “It looked innocuous, not too bad. I didn’t find out until the morning that his thumb was actually cracked and broken. The first day was washed out. I didn’t bowl until late in the next day. And the match was over very quick.”Hauritz remembers not being mentally ready. The instant memory of that match, in fact, is Michael Clarke’s 6 for 9 on a pitch that should have suited Hauritz immensely. “Training-wise I was ready,” he says. “Mentally I was still developing. I was only 23 years old. I was put into that tour because there weren’t too many offspinners around. I had been bowling well in one-day cricket too.”The wickets of Tendulkar and Laxman came at a price. “Sachin hit me for the biggest six of my life,” Hauritz says. “Pup remembers he hit me into the sightscreen, and the dirt in the sightscreen looked like an ant – it was that far away.”Look it was a great thrill to get those guys in my first Test. It was a long time ago, but those memories will stay with me. I still can’t forget the feeling of being in the huddle after getting Sachin out.”The next four years were spent outside the team. “During that period, Shane Warne was playing, there were some other good spinners around, and I never really looked at myself in that way [leading the spin attack in the future],” Hauritz says. He doesn’t blame that debut Test for a slow start to his career. “I was very fortunate to play that Test. There weren’t too many spinners around. And I got the opportunity. And it was great to play. At the end of the day, my bowling wasn’t up to standard in first-class cricket in Australia, and I had to go back and become a better bowler. It took me four years to get to that stage where I could play at the next level.”As it would happen with the great Australian team of that era, the comeback, too, started through injury, this time to Jason Krejza’s ankle. “I was fortunate to have played a Test again, through injury and all that, but since then the bowling is improving all the time,” Hauritz says. “And when your bowling is improving, the confidence grows. To be the spinner going into this Test series, I would never have thought. It is a great achievement, but at the end of the day it doesn’t mean too much if you don’t do well.”The Hauritz on this tour is six years older, smarter, a better bowler. Still, he hasn’t got off to a desirable start. Piyush Chawla, a legspinner and a useful batsman in the lower order, danced down to him and lofted him with ease in the tour game against the Board President’s XI. Ajinkya Rahane, the Mumbai batsman, repeated the dose in the second innings.It’s not that Hauritz wasn’t prepared for an assault. “I don’t think you can have a better place to bowl spin,” Hauritz says. “You are bowling against the best players of spin in the world, but also on wickets that will help spin. It will be a really tough challenge, but it is something that I have always wanted to be part of. It is going to be fun, but it’s going to be really tough too.”Spinners better than Hauritz have come to India and have failed to have fun. Numerous others have had their careers destroyed here. Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, considered two of the best spinners of all time, averaged in the mid-40s here. Hauritz is not likely to even be compared to those bowlers. He has neither the mystery nor the amazing confidence. Neither the dark tricks nor a reputation that could create some doubt in the batsmen’s mind.Hauritz is a straight-talking, simple offspinner, who relies on working hard. There is even a hint of awe when he talks about the Indian batting line-up, a sense of hoping for the batsmen’s human errors. In this self-confessed greatest test of his, Hauritz will have done well if he has some fun over the next two weeks in Mohali and Bangalore. It’s going to be tough, as he says. Really tough.