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Stuart Broad credits England’s selectors for their part in the side’s recent successes

George Dobell20-Aug-2013Administrators rarely receive credit for success. While they may be the first to blame after defeat, it tends to be the players who gain the plaudits after success. Administrators are usually the first to blame and the last to be praised.So it was notable that Stuart Broad, one of the heroes of England’s series-clinching victory in Durham, should credit England’s selectors for their part in the side’s recent successes.Broad, who rated his performance at Durham as “probably the best I have bowled in a Test”, credited England’s continuity of selection policy as vital to developing the spirit that has enabled the side to cope with the inevitable setbacks they will encounter and engendering a resilience and toughness he described as “unpleasant” to play against and “un-English.”While there was a time when England discarded players like other teams discarded socks – 29 men represented England in the 1989 Ashes – Broad felt that the shared experiences of recent times – the failures as well as the wins – had created a level of support and confidence in one another that helped cope with any challenges that arise.”When you have played a lot of cricket together and you are 30 for 3, which we have been a few times in this series, there is no panic in the changing room,” Broad said. “We know someone is going to step up.”That comes from awful experiences like in Jamaica when we got bowled out for 50. Those journeys along the way help grow a belief because you have the experience of when you are in trouble of getting out of it.”We had a great moment after the Durham game. We sat around having a beer in the changing room in a circle chatting about everything that had happened in the series. On Sky they were showing highlights of the 2009 series and a lot of the guys involved had played 16 Tests or so. The same group is still here and now we have played 60 or 70 Tests.”We have some good experience in the changing room. Anyone who has an idea will stand up and speak their mind, which is a strong place to be.”The changing room expects a lot all the time. If we have had a bad two hours we are honest, and say let’s sharpen our game.”When guys have played more cricket together, you can take honest feedback a lot better. When you have played two or three Tests and someone says ‘that is not what is expected of you,’ you go into your shell a bit. Now you can say, ‘sorry, I am better than that,’ and bowl better. We are honest. There are times when there might be disagreements, but it is international sport and sometimes that is what you need.

“I certainly think we are an unpleasant team to play against at the minute. Teams will not come and play against us and enjoy the experience, which is what we want”

“We are lucky we play in a time when selectors back players. It would have been different if we had this group of players in the 1990s. If they had two bad Tests they would be gone.”But now, because the selectors have backed a group of players, we have a collective experience and belief in each other.”It is that belief in one another that has, in part, created the resilience which has helped England go unbeaten for 12 successive Tests despite times – notably in Nagpur and Auckland – when they have had to fight hard for the draw.And while some sections of the media have found some aspects of England’s play – such as Broad’s decision not to ‘walk’ at Trent Bridge or the side’s delaying tactics there and at Old Trafford – unpalatable, Broad feels they are a characteristic of which to be proud. He feels they are symptomatic of a ruthlessness that has played a huge part in England’s improved form and believes that the supporters appreciate that quality.”One thing about this England team is we are tough,” Broad said. “We come through tricky times and we stand up and want to be counted. It is quite an un-English thing what this team has got. We want that to continue.”There is no doubt the country is proud of this team and what we have achieved because fans like winning teams. We are proud of that. We do have a win-at-all-costs mentality. We want to win, we want to make the fans happy.”Of course we always have a responsibility to the fans and youngsters growing up because you are role models. But you have to play hard and play fair. That is the spirit of the game and how it is defined. The whole ‘walking’ debacle I thought was pretty poor journalism because it was just one player who was picked up. I have named seven or eight Australians and four Englishmen where that has not happened in this series.”Certainly, the furore over Broad not walking at Trent Bridge was hard to fathom. While players on both sides have admitted not walking when they knew they had edged the ball this series – Brad Haddin admitted as much in the same game – some aspects of the media seemed to latch on to the Broad incident in a disproportionately strong way. One British tabloid even compared him to cycling’s drugs cheat Lance Armstrong.”We have been accused of all sorts,” Broad said. “Those sorts of things are not remembered. It is winning the series that will be remembered. All this [silicon] tape trollop that got talked about was irrelevant to us as a team. It does not affect whether we put the ball in the right place.”That stuff I hear is just embarrassing. The English public love winning especially against Australia. They know they are going to watch us fighting and trying to win this game because it is a huge game in the series. 4-0 is on our minds. We need to keep the cricket we have been playing going.”That cricket remains hard, uncompromising and, in Broad’s words, “unpleasant.” But it is fuelled by the experience of losing and wanting to avoid that pain in the future. And Broad hopes that the manner of Australia’s defeat in Durham – losing nine wickets in the final session of day four having earned a potentially match-winning position – may prove particularly damaging.”Any time you lose as a side it is damaging,” he said. “Australia will have felt they could have won that game. Looking at our point of view that gives us huge encouragement knowing we can win from positions when everyone thought we were in trouble. For us to turn it around in the way we did shows the character we have.”They are the moments that, the further we go in our careers, we can draw on. There might be moments in Australia when we are really behind the game, but we can remember coming back to win. We certainly talk about that sort of thing when we are out there and remember the sort of fight we need to show.”I certainly think we are an unpleasant team to play against at the minute. Teams will not come and play against us and enjoy the experience, which is what we want.”That Champions Trophy final was one of worst experiences I have had. Watching the Indians win a game we should have won. It is a feeling that sends you into a complete low as a player.”There is a huge hunger within this side to keep putting in strong performances. There is no bigger carrot this week than being first side to beat Australia 4-0. We met up as a team last night to discuss that. There could be a danger that we could just go and enjoy the week but no, we have got Twenty20 games, ODIs and another Test series against these boys.”We need to keep throwing punches and damaging these players. There is a lot of cricket against these guys and if we give them momentum they are a dangerous enough side to hurt us.”

Shakib Al Hasan has been fined 75% of his match fee after pleading guilty to showing serious dissent at the umpire’s decision

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2013Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, has been fined 75% of his match fee after pleading guilty to showing serious dissent at the umpire’s decision in the second ODI against Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe team was also fined, for maintaining a slow over rate.Shakib had been adjudged lbw for 34 though the ball seemed heading down the leg side, and there was a hint of an inside-edge as well. Shakib reacted by violently slamming the bat on his pads, accidentally brushing the Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor’s pad as he ran in to celebrate the wicket. Shakib immediately apologised to Taylor. He later agreed that he had shown dissent at the umpire’s decision.The match referee Chris Broad deemed it to be a Level 2 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. “This type of a reaction from a senior player and a former captain is unacceptable,” Broad said. “When the umpire’s finger goes up, the batsman must leave the crease without showing his emotions regardless of what he thinks of the decision.”The other fine levied in the match was for Zimbabwe’s slow over rate, deemed to have been one over short in their allotted time. Taylor, the captain, was fined 20% of his match fee, and the rest of the side was penalised 10%.The one-day series is tied 1-1, and will be decided by the final match on May 8.

Lasith Malinga took the 22 yards out of the equation in low-scoring thriller, but New Zealand survived him to register their first win over Sri Lanka in four years

The Report by Sidharth Monga09-Jun-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan smiled the last smiles•AFPLasith Malinga took the 22 yards out of the equation in a low-scoring thriller, but New Zealand survived him to register their first win over Sri Lanka in four years. The pitch has hardly ever mattered less. It was flat, the sun was out, the ball was not swinging, but Malinga’s dipping slower full tosses had New Zealand batsmen hopping and hoping in what was expected to be an afternoon stroll. Nathan McCullum, first, and then Tim Southee batted with just the maturity New Zealand desperately needed to see them through with one wicket in hand.The chase swung dramatically. From coasting at 48 for 1 New Zealand stumbled to 49 for 4. From 70 for 4 they fell to 80 for 6, but then, crucially, they were allowed to get away with a relatively quieter phase when Malinga was taken off and brought back only after brothers McCullum had taken off 31 off the requirement. Malinga came back and seemed like he could strike with every ball, but Sri Lanka will be left asking themselves – especially because Malinga brought them so close – if they had kept Malinga’s four overs back for too long.DRS, or the way it was used by the sides, made its presence felt too. Kane Williamson wasted New Zealand’s review by asking for a replay when he was caught dead plumb by a thigh-high dipping full toss. Daniel Vettori later copped a rough one when he had hit another similar full toss into his pad. Sri Lanka had exhausted theirs early in the innings, and had to do with two not-outs towards the end that they could have got overturned on replay.Amid loud unending appeals almost every ball, it was supreme drama with the balls remaining taken out of the equation: New Zealand still won with 13.3 overs to spare and took a bigger net-run-rate boost than England did in their facile win over Australia.Going by how they went either side of the lunch break – their chase began early because they had bowled Sri Lanka out in 2 hours and 55 minutes – New Zealand should have finished it much earlier. It was all going swimmingly for them until Malinga got Williamson in the eighth over. In the next couple of overs, Rangana Herath and Shaminda Eranga – preferred to Sachithra Senanayake and Nuwan Kulasekara – struck. Herath trapped Ross Taylor with one that went on with the arm, and Eranga got one to bounce from short of a length outside off, taking the edge from Martin Guptill, who had raced away to 25 from 24.Still it should have been easy for New Zealand, but they fumbled further to spin. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Herath almost cut out all singles, and Dilshan got James Franklin with the right-arm spinner’s version of the earlier Taylor dismissal. Sri Lanka were now sensing room for a miracle here, and brought Malinga back for his sixth over. On cue he struck, but Vettori could not get the obvious howler overturned because his team-mate had earlier challenged a call he was merely not sure about.Strangely, though, Malinga was taken off immediately after he took Vettori’s wicket. When he was brought back, New Zealand had reached 111 for 6, needing only a further 28. Both Brendon McCullum and Nathan McCullum had been allowed to take the singles, and they did so. The period did involve a thin edge from N McCullum in the 28th over when the score read 100, but only the keeper heard it. Even the bowler Eranga hardly appealed. Did the excessive appealing leading up to that – Sri Lanka had been spoken to at the end of the 21st over – have any part to play in that decision? We will never know.It is credit to Malinga’s genius, though, that he came back and immediately took B McCullum out with another one of his loopy, alarmingly dipping full tosses. B McCullum played all across it, and the ball reached the off stump on a half-volley. New Zealand now needed 24 runs with three wickets in hand. Quite clearly, it was Malinga v New Zealand, and you wonder if it would have been different if it had been 44 runs to play with, and not 24.Malinga, however, kept producing the magic. In his next over, he took out the other McCullum, who had wizened up to the slower ball, with a quick inswinging yorker. New Zealand still had 17 to get, and Malinga had 2.4 overs to go. The next four balls were a slower yorker, a quick yorker, a slower length ball, and another slower yorker, all on target. This was insanely good bowling, and Tim Southee and Kyle Mills somehow survived. As they did the next over, from Herath.Malinga now had 12 balls to bowl, and 11 runs to defend. He began the 34th over with a quick inswinging length ball, which was only clipping leg, and the umpire Bruce Oxenford ruled not out. He had ruled N McCullum out on a similar delivery, and under DRS both decisions stand. However, the next one would have been changed by DRS. It hit Southee on the toe plumb in front, went to the third-man boundary for four, but Tucker called it runs. It was a huge moment in the game. Not only did New Zealand not lose Southee, the target was now down to eight.Much chatter went on. The players had to be separated at the end of the over. Southee was not losing his cool, though. The same couldn’t be said of Mills. Southee dug one out towards mid-on in the next over, and took the fielder on. Thisara Perera missed the stumps at the non-striker’s end narrowly, but he was lucky the ball went to hit the other set of stumps. Mills, though, was not desperate to make it, and was caught short. New Zealand still needed five, and Malinga had one over to go.For once, Malinga made a mistake. He began his final over with an attempted yorker that went down the leg side. Southee cautiously played out the rest of the over. Don’t bother about whether the No. 11 will be on strike for the next over. Just see Malinga off.Sri Lanka now made another interesting choice. Dilshan was given the ball. You could see why. Mitchell McClenaghan, a left-hand batsman, was on strike. He could get the lbw with the straighter one, or a bat-pad catch. But forget short leg for the inside edge, there was no man catching for Southee. And New Zealand needed only four. They were granted two easy singles, followed by a wide down the leg side, which also went for a bye. McLenaghan was nearly run out taking the second because they were not sure of the wide, but the end finally was a little insipid.There was nothing insipid about New Zealand’s effort in the field. Sri Lanka had gone with just three strike bowlers, but New Zealand replaced the injured allrounder, Gran Elliot, with a bowler, Vettori. You can imagine a few captains sitting back and allowing easy singles once the early wickets were taken, but there were no soft partnerships here. If you wanted to score runs, you either played exceptional shots or took risks. The risks brought New Zealand timely wickets.It all began when B McCullum went parallel to the ground at second slip to send back Kusal Perera with the first ball of the match. All other New Zealand signs were there. Mills struck his usual early blows, Vettori – the first spinner to bowl inside the mandatory Powerplay in this tournament – took a wicket in his first ODI over since the 2011 World Cup, and McClenaghan kept cutting partnerships short. McCullum chipped in too, there was a run-out, and Sri Lanka were bowled out in the 38th over.Kumar Sangakkara was one of three batsmen to reach double figures, but the only one to go past 20. He looked a cut above every other batsman on the day, but looking for quick runs he sliced an N McCullum offbreak to backward point. Sangakkara knew knocking around wouldn’t help, and had been taking risks for a while now. This one didn’t come off, though. As didn’t the move to bowl Dilshan without wicket-taking intent in what proved to be the final over of the match.

Alastair Cook heaped praise on bowlers James Anderson and Steve Finn after his side won the third ODI against New Zealand in Auckland by five wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2013England captain Alastair Cook heaped praise on fast bowlers James Anderson and Steven Finn after his side won the third ODI against New Zealand in Auckland by five wickets, and with it the series 2-1.”They have been magnificent, these two games,” he said after the match. “Finny’s pace, I think, has been up around the 90mph mark pretty much all the time, and Jimmy’s world class and he showed it again here.”Finn and Anderson left the hosts reeling at 11 for 3 by the eighth over and Cook said it gave the team a definite advantage. “I think they were 20 for 2 in the game before, and today they were 20 for 3 after 10 or 15 overs. From a captain’s point of view it’s pretty easy after that. When McCullum gets going, it’s a little frustrating, but 180 wasn’t enough and we handled the pressure of chasing pretty well.”Finn said it was great to form a partnership Anderson, whom he called one of the best fast bowlers in the world. “To be able to bowl at the other end and to feed off him and learn off him is brilliant,” he said on Sky Sports 1. “We felt we didn’t quite get it right in the first game – maybe we were a little bit rusty but playing these last few games we felt really good. We’ve set the tone early and the batsmen have been brilliant as well, so it’s been great.”Cook also praised England’s comeback in the series after they lost the first ODI by three wickets. “We showed a lot of character in these last two must-win games and that can only bode well for us in the future.” He wanted England to maintain their level of focus as they prepared for three-Test series.”We’re going to have to do it again in the Test series because they’re very dangerous players, and if we’re off our game they’re going to punish us. There’s absolutely no complacency.”

It has been a long tour for Zimbabwe, beaten in all six matches against West Indies so far, but on the second day of the Roseau Test they fell under the wheel of Shivnarine Chanderpaul

The Report by Alan Gardner21-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDenesh Ramdin’s half-century was also instrumental in giving West Indies a firm grip on the Test•WICB Media Photo/Randy BrooksIt has been a long tour for Zimbabwe, beaten in all six matches against West Indies so far, but on the second day of the Roseau Test they were presented with a new experience, when they finally fell under the wheel of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. His 28th Test century took him to within one of Bradman – albeit from almost three times as many matches – and, coming after Chris Gayle’s more belligerent effort, left Zimbabwe facing a 206-run deficit and the prospect of another probing from the spin-quisition on Friday.Chanderpaul’s 173-run stand with Denesh Ramdin, who added his second half-century of the series, all but snuffed out Zimbabwean hopes of making a contest of the match. There were numerous half-chances and missed opportunities, and on 88 he was hit on the helmet, but it looked as if Chanderpaul would be there at the close, if not this time next week, until Sean Williams claimed a dubious catch in the covers off Prosper Utseya. Recourse to the third umpire would surely have seen Chanderpaul reprieved – but perhaps even the officials felt that he’d had a long enough go by then.Zimbabwe will have to put up a much stiffer display with the bat if they are going to make West Indies utilise their second innings, but if they absorbed anything other than sweat and dirt during Chanderpaul’s near six-hour stay at the crease then it would be the lessons of self-denial and discipline that are so important for success in Test cricket.Smart stats

Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s century is his 28th in Tests. Among West Indies batsmen, only Brian Lara (34 centuries) has more hundreds.

The century is Chanderpaul’s first against Zimbabwe. In eight Tests, he has scored 393 runs at an average of 35.72.

Among the 22 batsmen with 2000-plus runs after the age of 35, Chanderpaul has the highest average (64.46).

Gayle’s century is his 15th in Tests and second against Zimbabwe. He has scored 6836 runs at an average of 42.45.

Ramdin’s 86 is his fourth-highest score and highest against Zimbabwe. He has scored three centuries and ten fifties at an average of 26.30.

The 173-run stand between Chanderpaul and Ramdin is the second-highest fifth-wicket stand against Zimbabwe. It is also the highest partnership in Tests played in Dominica.

It is easy to caricature Chanderpaul as seemingly the only man alive still playing timeless Tests. Crabbing and shuffling around the crease, he sometimes appears to be shot-less but he is a master accumulator and his occasional glides through the covers and flicks to leg steadily wore the edge off the Zimbabwe bowling. He no longer plays limited-overs cricket and only made 26 in Barbados but here he set his mind to reaching a first Test hundred against Zimbabwe – he only needs Sri Lanka to complete the set – going back above Mahela Jayawardene on the leading run-scorers’ list in the process. Chanderpaul now lies eighth, with Steve Waugh in his ambit.He faced 284 balls for his 108 runs, twice escaping chances to leg slip off Graeme Cremer, who toiled long and hard for his 2 for 102. Zimbabwe’s application could not be faulted, the plodding run rate attesting to their dogged approach in the field, and four wickets fell in the final hour as Cremer and Utseya finally garnered some reward. The spin that had manifested itself so extravagantly on the first day was largely absent for the Zimbabwe bowlers but Shane Shillingford has already proved himself adept on this surface and he will have a chance to assess conditions at the wicket in the morning, should West Indies decide to continue batting.Zimbabwe had started the second day in the best possible fashion, with a wicket from the first delivery – inevitably, it could only go downhill from there. Gayle roused himself after an unusually tentative performance on the previous evening to record his 15th century in Tests – his first significant innings since making 150 and 64 on his comeback last year – but added only 40 to his overnight score before a brilliant catch from Kyle Jarvis removed him for 101.Having collapsed in a tangle of limbs against spin in their first innings, Zimbabwe needed early wickets to prevent the hosts careering away from them. With Gayle and Marlon Samuels at the crease, and a deficit of only 61, there was every prospect of West Indies cracking on but Tendai Chatara threw a sleeper under the train with his opening delivery, full and wickedly swinging from leg stump to hit off as Samuels played around the ball.The unexpected breakthrough ended a 79-run partnership and allowed the bowlers to create some pressure. Chatara, in particular, extracted seam movement from the pitch but after Gayle’s dismissal with the score on 181 – and the lead just 6 – the bowlers were to send down more than 50 wicketless overs in succession as the fourth-wicket pairing of Chanderpaul and Ramdin ground on, inch by unforgiving inch.Chanderpaul may be among the most difficult batsmen in Test cricket to dislodge but he required a bit of luck as he was starting out, edging Chatara short of the slips and nearly playing on to Jarvis. There was also a sharp chance to leg slip against Cremer but Hamilton Masakadza was unable to get his hands under the ball; a review was wasted when an Utseya delivery was shown to be pitching outside leg and missing off.After scoring a couple of early boundaries, Chanderpaul battened down the hatches. Gayle, too, seemed becalmed, as 44 came from the first 17 overs of the day. Even in Test cricket, Gayle is hard to tie down, however, and he moved from 81 to 100 in five deliveries, three of them swatted lazily over the ropes. One run after reaching his century, Gayle miscued taking the attack to Utseya again but it took a terrific catch from Jarvis, running in circles under a swirling ball at wide long-off, to remove him. Gayle had been sent to Room 101 and, late in the day, Sibanda failed to grasp a catch with Chanderpaul on the same score. It may not be difficult to work out which player the Zimbabweans would have chosen to consign for all eternity.

It might be a case of stating the bleeding obvious, but the New Zealand allrounder Nathan McCullum knows there is one simple way his side can get back into the series against West Indies. Get Chris Gayle out cheaply

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2012It might be a case of stating the bleeding obvious, but the New Zealand allrounder Nathan McCullum knows there is one simple way his side can get back into the series against West Indies. Get Chris Gayle out cheaply. Perhaps “simple” is the wrong word, for Gayle has demolished New Zealand in all four matches on this tour so far, scoring 85 not out and 53 in the two Twenty20s, and 63 not out and 125 in the one-day internationals.Gayle has had support from Dwayne Smith, Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard, but none of them have terrorised New Zealand with the same consistency as Gayle. In the third ODI in St Kitts on Wednesday, Gayle has the chance to score his fifth consecutive fifty-plus score for West Indies across all formats, something he has never before achieved, and if he manages it West Indies will be well on the way to taking an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the one-day internationals.”At the end of the day we’ve just got to get him out. We’ve got some plans in place that we’re pretty sure are going to work,” McCullum told reporters in St Kitts. “Let’s hope they do, but we’re determined to take his wicket and get them under pressure at the top of the order.”We’ve just got to win. We’ve got to be determined to win and find any way possible. We’ve got to take more wickets, burn through their top order and see what their bottom order has got under pressure, and if we bat first we’ve got to score hundreds and put big partnerships and big runs on the board.”That part of the equation will become a little easier if Brendon McCullum, who was initially rested for the limited-overs games but is being flown in early due to injuries in the squad, joins the side for the third ODI. However, the New Zealand coach John Wright said it remained to be seen whether McCullum, who arrives in St Kitts less than 24 hours before the start of Wednesday’s game, would be considered.”We’ll see how he feels,” Wright told New Zealand reporters. “It’s a long journey, but that may be a little bit tight.”The left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult could come into contention to make his ODI debut on Wednesday as New Zealand search for a way to bolster an attack that has taken only six wickets in the first two matches. The West Indies captain Darren Sammy said his focus was simply to secure the series win as soon as possible, which would end a four-year drought in which West Indies have not won an ODI series against anyone but Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and the ICC associates.”Since we started off the series in Florida we’ve been playing some really good cricket,” Sammy said. “It’s good to see that we’ve been consistently good in whatever we’ve been doing. We’re just looking to continue again. Wednesday will be a chance to clinch the series, so we’re looking to do that.”

Tim Bresnan will be available for Yorkshire on Twenty20 Finals Day after the England management reversed their decision to make him unavailable

David Hopps at Cardiff24-Aug-2012Tim Bresnan will be available for Yorkshire on Twenty20 Finals Day in Cardiff on Saturday after the England management reversed their decision to make him unavailable because of concerns about his workload.Bresnan had an inactive day watching the rain that wrecked the opening ODI between England and South Africa at the Swalec Stadium and, with Finals Day scheduled for the same ground, a few miles to the hotel and back again were not about to risk travel exhaustion.Bresnan’s involvement if the FLt20 Finals Day stretches into Sunday’s reserve day – a forecast of sunshine and showers makes that a possible outcome – would not be determined by England until Saturday evening, as they insist that preparation for the next ODI, at West End on Tuesday, takes precedence.Fatigue should not be an issue for Bresnan. He missed the final Test at Lords and has bowled only 387 overs since the start of April. He would also only bowl a maximum of eight overs for Yorkshire on Finals Day.England’s initial refusal to make Bresnan available stunned Yorkshire, who had assumed that availability would not be an issue on a day that has become the highlight of the domestic season and that the availability of all international players would be treated equally.If Bresnan is withdrawn at any stage over the weekend on England’s orders, Rich Pyrah would be likely to deputise. All other England players involved in the ODI series would be automatically available if Finals Day extended into Sunday.The Cardiff washout, meanwhile, has led to Ravi Bopara being made available for Essex’s CB40 match against Middlesex on Monday. Bopara has been in need of match practice after time off for personal reasons and made a guest appearance for Gloucestershire against the South Africans on Wednesday.For the likes of Craig Kieswetter, considering an England ODI one minute, a domestic finals day the next, adjustment has to come almost instantly. While IPL surfs along on permanent hype, England’s T20 Finals Day is crammed into an England-dominated programme.”It’s probably not ideal,” Kieswetter said. “I think a lot of the counties would prefer to see Twenty20 in a block and then move on with the rest of the season. It is no hidden fact that our schedule is pretty hectic. It would probably the most ideal set-up to have it as a block and get it done and finished with.”Somerset have lost in the last three finals, but their achievement in getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League last year has helped to dispel the feeling of perennial bridesmaids.”I think it has gotten past the stage of being an issue for us,” Kieswetter said. “It is just another finals day. Hopefully we can get over that finals hurdle.”

Jason Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler, has been named as Yorkshire’s new coach

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2011Jason Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler, has been named as Yorkshire’s new coach as the county undertake a major restructuring following their poor 2011 season which saw them relegated in the County Championship.Gillespie played for Yorkshire from 2006 to 2007 and has been appointed on a two-year term alongside Paul Farbrace, the former Kent coach, who will take charge of the second XI. Phil Jaques, the Australia left-hander, has rejoined as overseas player having previously played for Yorkshire in 2004 and 2005.The new coaching structure will work under Martyn Moxon, the director of professional cricket, after the club opted for a clear-out. Craig White, who was the previous second XI coach, has moved into a career as an umpire while Steve Oldham, Kevin Sharp and John Blain, who all held various coaching position, were not retained having been invited to reapply for their positions.Gillespie, 36, only has previous main coaching experience with the Zimbabwe domestic team MidWest Rhinos, but he also spent time as a bowling coach with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL and Australia A. He played 71 Tests for Australia, taking 259 wickets and also scored an unbeaten 201 in his final match against Bangladesh in 2006.”To be able to go back there in a coaching capacity is a fantastic opportunity,” Gillespie said in a statement issued from Zimbabwe where he is seeing out his current contract. “When opportunities like being first team coach at Yorkshire come up you don’t turn them down.”The one thing I’ll be bringing to Yorkshire is a bit of fun and enjoyment, but making sure our preparation is spot on and leaving no stone unturned.”Jaques, meanwhile, will add strength to a top-order that struggled last season and will build on an already handsome record for Yorkshire which measures 2477 runs in 24 matches at 61.92. He has also had prolific county spells with Northamptonshire and Worcestershire but his international career was limited to 11 Tests and six ODIs. He has more than 13,000 first-class runs.

Peter Siddle has flown home from Australia’s tour of the West Indies and James Pattinson will follow him at the conclusion of the second Test

Daniel Brettig in Port-of-Spain19-Apr-2012Peter Siddle has flown home from Australia’s tour of the West Indies and James Pattinson will follow him at the conclusion of the second Test in Trinidad after both were ruled out of the third Test, due to begin in Dominica on Monday.Pattinson and Siddle, team-mates for club, state and country, have both complained of back trouble in the past week. Siddle’s was at first described as “back stiffness” and emerged as he played in the first Test in Barbados, quickly ruling him out of the second.He and the rested Ryan Harris were replaced as fast bowlers for the second match by Pattinson, who was playing his first Test since he suffered a foot stress injury during the second Test against India at the SCG in January. However Pattinson struggled for rhythm and left the field on the third afternoon following a throw from the outfield.Siddle was not considered for Australia’s ODI team following his Test match success against India as the national selectors wished to retain his full and aggressive style for the game’s longest form, while also keeping him fresher physically. Australia’s captain Michael Clarke said the loss of Siddle and Pattinson would be difficult to cover, but was glad Harris had been left in reserve alongside Mitchell Starc.”Disappointing we lose two very good bowlers,” Clarke said. “But Mitchell Starc comes into contention now as one of our fast bowlers or we have the option to play two spinners again. Ryan Harris freshens up, doesn’t play this Test and he’s fresh and ready to go for the next Test. We’ve still got some options, it’s just about looking at conditions when we get there and see what our best attack is.”Clarke said Pattinson had shown no signs of discomfort until he threw while off balance in the field and immediately complained of back stiffness. “No back issues until he did that,” Clarke said. “I walked up to him and asked how you going and he said ‘I’m a little bit stiff’, told him to go and see the physio and it didn’t get much better from there. He was still stiff the next morning, had a scan and we didn’t get the results until late last night.”Got those results and the decision was made this morning on what his plans were because it’s more positive than negative. Obviously it’s disappointing that he’s not going to be available for the third Test but the reality is, if he’s not going to be fit for the third Test, our best option for both him and Peter is to put them on a plane and get them home and get them stuck into treatment ASAP so they’re fit for our next tour.”Australia’s physio on tour, Kevin Sims, said Siddle’s scans had shown a “low back bone stress injury” while Pattinson’s “acute low back pain” will require further diagnosis on his return to Australia.”Peter Siddle developed some back soreness late in the first Test against the West Indies and scans conducted in Trinidad showed the early signs of a low back bone stress injury,” Sims said. “He was subsequently ruled out of the second Test.”After further consultation we feel that to prevent this injury developing any further it is in Peter’s best interest for him to return to Australia to rest and for appropriate physiotherapy to ensure he is fully fit when next selected for Australian duties.”James Pattinson had an episode of acute low back pain after fielding and throwing awkwardly late on day three of the second Test. We have since monitored his condition over the last couple of days and the initial investigations suggest that while the injury is not serious there is insufficient time for him to recover to play in the third Test match.”As such, we have today made the decision for James to return to Australia to prevent this injury developing any further and for him to receive the appropriate medical and physiotherapy management.”Neither bowler will be replaced on tour, leaving Ben Hilfenhaus, Harris and Starc as Australia’s only available pacemen for the third Test.

Aggressive and accurate bowling helped Tamil Nadu flatten Mumbai on the second day at the Wankhede Stadium after the visitors’ lower order had taken their total to 359

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Wankhede Stadium11-Jan-2012
ScorecardL Balaji took three wickets in six balls to rattle Mumbai•ESPNcricinfo LtdAggressive and accurate bowling helped Tamil Nadu flatten Mumbai on the second day at the Wankhede Stadium. Six of the hosts’ batsmen were back in the dressing-room before the total could cross the three-figure mark. This after Tamil Nadu’s lower order had added 220 runs for the last four wickets to frustrate Mumbai and take the visitors to 359 in their first innings. With two days to go Mumbai have only four wickets remaining and are still trailing by 238 runs.Tamil Nadu had watched closely the mistakes their opponents had committed in the field over the first four-and-a-quarter sessions, and learned from them. Their captain L Balaji set the tone by deploying attacking fields for Mumbai’s new opening pair of Kaustubh Pawar and Onkar Gurav. It was the seventh combination Mumbai had fielded this season due to injury and other constraints, and it did not work.Pawar was nicely set up by Balaji, who had three slips and a gully for him initially, and then also brought in a short leg. Pawar grew defensive and poked at an outswinger away from his body to edge and give Dinesh Karthik an easy catch behind the stumps. The wicket came off the last ball of Balaji’s third over. Off the first ball of his fourth, Balaji induced another edge, this time from Onkar Gurav, who was forced to play at a length ball that shaped away late and took the outside edge on its way to M Vijay at first slip.Balaji made full use of the new ball, making the batsman play at every delivery. Wasim Jaffer, the Mumbai captain, survived the hat-trick delivery but three balls later was a victim of umpire K Hariharan’s second poor lbw decision in two days. Jaffer moved in line with his off stump to defend a delivery that was fuller in length and straightened after pitching. An inside edge trickled onto the pad, just above the knee roll, and the ball went towards gully. Balaji appealed for an lbw but there were clearly two noises and the height was questionable too. What made the decision look even worse was the fact that K Vasudevadas, the gully fielder, who obviously knew there was an edge, had charged in and thrown himself forward in an attempt to take the catch. Jaffer was astonished and immediately showed his bat to the umpire, but the decision had been made and he was dismissed for a duck. Mumbai had lost three wickets in the space of six deliveries.Earlier in the season Abhishek Nayar and Suryakumar Yadav had shown the patience and ability to stabilise innings after the top order had faltered. Both had scored double-centuries during the league stages, so Mumbai would have been hopeful of a comeback. Nayar brought up Mumbai’s fifty with a push past point for four of J Kaushik, who shared the new ball with Balaji. In the next over, though, Nayar, who was returning after a two-match absence due to a finger injury, flirted with an unconventional stroke against the left-arm spin of Aushik Srinivas. Nayar tried to scoop Srinivas to the leg side but got a leading edge that went straight to Vasudevadas, who had moved from slip to leg slip before the delivery.Yadav, too, fell to a loose shot. Having marched to a confident half-century, his fifth of the season, he let himself get distracted by a change in angle from Yo Mahesh, Tamil Nadu’s third medium-pacer. Mahesh changed to bowling from over the wicket mid-over, and got the last ball of his over to move away off a length. Yadav tried to push hard without moving his feet and gave Karthik his second catch behind the stumps. Ankeet Chavan, who had scored his maiden first-class century in the quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh, lasted just 15 balls before edging to Vijay off Kaushik.Mumbai were in an embarrassing situation at 98 for 6, and they had no-one but themselves to blame. A combination of defensive fields, the failure of Mumbai’s bowlers to maintain probing lengths and bad luck allowed Tamil Nadu’s overnight pair of Ramaswamy Prasanna and Mahesh to extend their match-turning partnership to 152 runs. The stand, along with a couple more contributions from the tail, helped the visitors leap from the depths of 139 for 6 at one stage on the first day to 359.Prasanna started the day on 81 not out, and galloped to his third first-class century with four boundaries on the second morning. He was aided by Mumbai’s medium-pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Balwinder Sandhu who pitched on lengths that made it easy for him to score. What was baffling was Jaffer’s decision to spread the field within the first hour when he could have crowded the batsmen with a ring of fielders.The only saving grace for Mumbai was the performance of Kshemal Waingankar, their third medium-pacer, who bowled tireless spells of reverse-swing. Waingankar only picked up one wicket in the day but it was the pressure he exerted that finally broke the Prasanna-Mahesh partnership. Waingankar bowled his fourth delivery of the morning from close to the stumps. The ball started on middle and Prasanna, who thought the ball would swing into him, moved towards off. The ball, though, suddenly shaped away towards the shiny side, leaving Prasanna flummoxed.Waingankar swung the ball in, bowled short and had the centurion Prasanna rattled. In the next over, Prasanna was tentative against the part-time medium-pace of Nayar, was beaten by reverse-swing once again and lost his off stump.Mahesh added another 42 runs with Balaji for the eighth-wicket. He was the ninth batsman to be dismissed, giving Waingankar his first wicket when he was beaten by reverse and trapped lbw. It brought to an end a six-hour vigil at the wicket. Mumbai lost more than half their batting in half that time.