Kyle Mills, the New Zealand fast bowler, has said West Indies opener Chris Gayle will test New Zealand’s bowlers on the upcoming tour of the USA and the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2012Kyle Mills, the New Zealand seamer, has said West Indies opener Chris Gayle will test New Zealand’s bowlers on the upcoming tour of the USA and the Caribbean, which starts with two Twenty20s in Florida on June 30.The New Zealand squad left for the tour on Sunday to play two Twenty20s, five ODIs and two Tests. Mills said that though West Indies lost their last two series against Australia and England, the inclusion of Gayle will give them a huge boost. “(Gayle is) the hottest batsman in the world at the moment,” Mills told . “He’s going to have his moments where he’s on top of you. It’s how you respond to that. It’s a test of character and a test of you as an international cricketer. Personally I’m really looking forward to it.”Mills, 33, said that his side will rely on the experience of its bowling attack to make early inroads. “We need to be ready from ball one. The quicker the bowlers find their rhythm the better off we’ll be. People like Jacob (Oram), Tim (Southee) and myself have been around the circuit a wee while so we’ve got a really good understanding of our own game and what needs to be done.”Mills added that while New Zealand had a fair idea about what kind of conditions to expect in the West Indies, they were less prepared for the two T20 matches in Florida. “The wicket wasn’t the best (in 2010). It was a slow wicket and it wasn’t a very high scoring game.”They think it’s going to be a bouncier wicket this time, which I’m sure will bode well for the batsmen. But it’s a great opportunity for New Zealand to showcase the game of cricket in a foreign country where there’s massive potential for the game to grow.”Mills said he used the three-month gap in the international calendar to work on his bowling variations. “In the off season I’ve been doing a lot of rehab, a lot of work on my game and the last four weeks have come around pretty quickly, but I’ve really been looking forward to it.”I’ve really concentrated on a few slower balls, because from my understanding over in the West Indies they’re going to be low slow wickets.”Edited by Carlyle Laurie

Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq put up a solid resistance against the Sri Lankan seamers but the hosts retained the edge at tea, having broken that partnership after inflicting significant damage in the pre-lunch session

The Report by Siddhartha Talya08-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Junaid Khan’s double-wicket spell boosted Pakistan in the last session•Getty Images

The SSC and Pallekele could well be on two different continents, such was the contrast in the nature of their pitches. After the highway at the SSC last week, the moisture in the Pallekele pitch – increased by the rain before the Test – and a hint of grass gave Sri Lanka’s attack early encouragement that lasted into the final session, justifying the home team’s decision to bowl first. The new ball was a powerful weapon, employed expertly by Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara, who also stood out for their stamina and helped their team have the better of most of the first day.But it was used even more menacingly by Pakistan’s fast bowlers, whose extra pace and difficult angles produced wickets and plenty of nervous moments for the batsmen. Pakistan’s 226 may be below-par, but an incisive spell in the final hour led by Junaid Khan revived their spirits and boosted hopes of a strong comeback.Sri Lanka are without their centurion from the first two Tests, Tillakaratne Dilshan, on leave to be with his unwell children. The openers Dinesh Chandimal and Tharanga Paranavitana were given a working over by Junaid and Umar Gul, who moved it both ways, beat the edge and struck them repeatedly on the pads. Junaid was more lethal when he went round the wicket in the sixth over, angling it in and then nipping it away from the right-hander. Chandimal was fooled when he was trapped in front with one that held its line.Kumar Sangakkara, fresh from missing two double-centuries in a row, was consigned to a duck the same over – done in by movement inward off the pitch, beaten through the gate twice, one an lbw not given and the other pegging back off stump. Gul should have had Paranavitana lbw, a close call that was turned down, but when Mahela Jayawardene failed to get his bat down to a Mohammad Sami yorker in the day’s last over – after the batsmen’s delaying tactics failed to meet their desired objective – Pakistan were back in it.Among their batsmen, only Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq put up any significant resistance; the others were out-thought by Sri Lanka’s bowlers, armed with movement, swing and discipline. Perera and Kulasekara bowling spells of nine and 10 overs respectively in the first session, in which the bulk of the damage was inflicted.The first sign of hope for the seamers appeared on the first ball, when Kulasekara swung one prodigiously and moved it further towards the batsman off the pitch. Perera mostly moved the ball the other way, and bowled fuller, creating more chances. It helped that the Pakistan openers also batted positively, though were edgy against deliveries bowled in the channel outside off.Taufeeq Umar was the luckier of the two. Kulasekara attacked with three slips, a gully and a short leg, and removed the option of Taufeeq walking down the track to counter the swing as he had done at the SSC, by having the keeper standing up to the stumps. As he moved it away, Taufeeq was dropped at first slip, and then had an edge fly past gully.In the eighth over, Perera beat Mohammad Hafeez with one that held its line before inducing a leading edge when he tried to work it square. Perera had his reward shortly after, as he slipped in a fuller delivery, had Hafeez playing forward and slightly away from his body, not expecting the ball to swing and then dart back in to clean him up through the gate. In his next over, Perera targeted Azhar Ali, unsettling him with an inswinger, then beating him completely with the away-going delivery and having him driving straight to gully off the next ball.Kulasekara dislodged Younis Khan in similar fashion, following up an indipper with one in the corridor that prompted Younis to feather a low catch to the keeper. When Taufeeq played down the wrong line, trying to force Perera through midwicket to be trapped in front, an ardous task lay ahead for Misbah and the middle order to rebuild.Misbah and Shafiq were reasonably adept against the spin of Rangana Herath and a shorter length bowled by the other two seamers – Dilhara Fernando, on his 17th comeback to the Test side, and Angelo Mathews. Under a good spell of sunshine, the Pakistan pair batted determinedly, leaving several deliveries outside off while at the same time capitalising on width as the swing disappeared and movement receded.Shafiq drove well but was more confident against the short balls, with Fernando providing a healthy supply. Both batsmen used their feet to Herath, Misbah charging down the wicket twice to dispatch him through midwicket, and Shafiq pinching the singles while also collecting boundaries through point. When Perera returned for a new spell, they opened the face and played the ball down past the slips and gully. Misbah, though,hung his bat out to a much wider delivery that left him, edging a catch to Prasanna Jayawardene after an 85-run stand, giving Perera his best Test figures.Harsh on width and elegant with balls pitched on the pads, Shafiq scored heavily square of the wicket, the flick and the cut – despite a deep point – producing the bulk of his boundaries. Support was lacking at the other end, however. Adnan Akmal was struck on the ring finger of his left hand by Fernando after warming up with a couple of fours, had to retire hurt and the pain would have been playing on his mind when he returned. He threw his wicket away, bowled trying an audacious sweep against Herath, who also got the ball to bite off the track. One such delivery accounted for Shafiq, who edged behind, and stopped Pakistan’s recovery short of what they had hoped. That’s before Junaid, yet again, reinforced the impact of Pakistan’s biggest strength, fast bowling – never in short supply from his country.

Despite a push that took the game into the last hour, Somerset couldn’t force a win over Nottinghamshire

Alex Winter at Taunton10-Aug-2012
ScorecardJames Taylor made 46 as Nottinghamshire made sure of a draw at Taunton•Getty Images

Despite a push that took the game into the last hour, Somerset couldn’t force a win over Nottinghamshire. The game was hindered badly by the weather and, with the ECB launching more consumer research into the domestic game, attention among members turned to the makeup of the fixture list in the future.A healthy crowd was in to enjoy the sunshine, highlighting Somerset’s good membership and the support for Championship cricket. The county also boast a big following for Twenty20 and the balance between all the competitions gives the chief executive, Guy Lavender, plenty to ponder for his wishes of the schedule.”We’re lucky here; we’re extremely well attended for County Championship cricket,” Lavender told ESPNcricinfo as Notts batted out for a draw on the final afternoon. “We’ve got a very strong membership base and we attach importance to the Championship as the premier competition. But there are different views about it around the country so there are certain things we have to do to make the structure more sustainable.”Number one: the fixture list has to be easy to understand; number two, it has to be interesting; and number three, it has to be at a time where people can come and watch the games. If we just descend into ‘how many matches’ or ‘how many counties’, it misses the point. You don’t need detailed debates, we’ve got to say, ‘What works? What type of structure is attractive to the customer?’ That is what drives the game.”When the counties decided more T20 would drive the game there was a general downward trend in overall profit. Somerset were one of few that thrived. They can make more matches work and saw takings fall back this season with the reduction in games.”We’d like to see the number of T20 games increase,” said Lavender, who wasn’t pleased to see the Morgan Report rejected. “As a club we have the capacity to increase the number of fixtures and not only make them pay but make them good experiences for the supporters. We would have a preference for matches to be spread out across the course of the season because it provides the best opportunity for more people to come and watch. If you schedule T20 at the right time – as with CB40 – then people will turn up. It’s not rocket science.”But finding regularity in the calendar is hampered by broadcasting demands, with Sky keen to screen a match every night of the week – reducing the capacity for T20 to be staged on a regular evening and the scope for matches to be spread out.”Of course there are broadcast demands but I don’t think that drives all of the decision-making about the schedule,” Lavender said. “If we want cricket to thrive then we have to give people the best opportunity to come and watch and I think there is recognition from the ECB and Sky that that needs to happen.”With the Gloucestershire T20, because of the rivalry and locality, that match will sell out whenever it is played but others won’t. So we need to provide something that, perhaps as a not-as-keen follower of Somerset, you can go to every other Friday. It creates regularity and it fits into the way people live their lives and I think that’s really important. And that holds true for other formats of the game.”The problem is every county is looking at the structure of the game through their own lens and it’s the responsibility of the ECB to work for the greater good of the game.”That greater good is being worked out through further consumer research. What it should find – given the backlash the proposed cuts received from players and supporters – is that the County Championship is just fine; and at Taunton both teams lost ground to Warwickshire in the title race that has four more rounds to produce another thrilling climax.Nottinghamshire will be the happier of the teams from this draw. They keep Somerset at arm’s length and survived what could have been a tricky afternoon on a pitch that began to show signs of invariable bounce and some turn. Pete Trego was also getting some deliveries to tail into the right-hander – it was an inswinger that ended James Taylor’s attractive 46. He also had Michael Lumb superbly caught one-handed by Jos Buttler – keeping wicket in place of Craig Kieswetter and suggesting Somerset have enough depth to stay the distance in search of a first County Championship success.They have hung on to the title race despite a host of injuries, their squad so depleted they had to cancel a second-XI match earlier this season. But they now have the chance to make another run for a maiden title and three of their remaining four matches are at Taunton, against Sussex, Surrey and Worcestershire.

A defiant century from Phil Hughes helped Worcestershire stay in contention on the first day of their Championship match against local rivals Warwickshire.

George Dobell at Edgbaston08-Aug-2012
ScorecardChris Russell took a late wicket on his Championship debut•Getty Images

A defiant century from Phil Hughes helped Worcestershire stay in contention on the first day of their Championship match against local rivals Warwickshire. Hughes became the first Worcestershire batsman to carry his bat since Stephen Moore did so on the same ground in 2008 and was one of only two men to pass 20 during a day in which 13 wickets fell.Perhaps Hughes felt he had unfinished business at Edgbaston. It was here ahead of the Edgbaston Test of 2009 that Hughes was dropped from the Australian Test team. Having had his weakness against the short ball mercilessly exposed by Andrew Flintoff, Hughes announced his omission on twitter, and has never fully nailed down a spot. In 23 subsequent Test innings he has passed 50 just three times.He had, until now, struggled to excel for Worcestershire, too. He had impressed in limited-overs cricket, but seven previous Championship innings had brought just two half centuries. Here he looked every inch a Test player. On a dry pitch that had been used for the previous night’s limited-overs game, Hughes dealt with a strong attack with impressive flair and composure.There was just one moment that hinted at his previous troubles against the short ball. In Boyd Rankin’s first over Hughes, on 40, edged a brute of a delivery that demanded a stroke but reared sharply only to see Tim Ambrose, the Warwickshire keeper, equally surprised by the pace and the ball elude him on its way to the boundary.Rankin lacked the consistency to exploit any weakness, however, and Hughes dealt with Jeetan Patel’s turn – and there was surprising turn for a day one pitch – Keith Barker’s swing – no easy task – and Chris Wright’s tight lines, pace and gradual movement with apparent ease. It was his first century since September last year.”It’s nice to get to three figures,” Hughes said afterwards. “I’ve not done it for a while. I didn’t play in the Big Bash as I had some technical things I wanted to work on and I didn’t make it on the Aussie A tour. But Worcestershire is a fantastic club to play for and I’m really enjoying playing in all three formats of the game.”The last couple of weeks have seen us playing on the quickest wickets I’ve seen this season and I’ve been tested by a few flying around my ears. But I feel I’m a better player now. I’ve had some ups and downs, but I’m only 23 so I have age on my side.”Worcestershire were grateful for his contribution. Having dropped Jack Shantry, Richard Jones and James Cameron from the team that were thrashed by Sussex, they brought in Chris Russell, Joe Leach and Brett D’Oliveria for their Championship debuts. They made 22 between them and Worcestershire lost their last five wickets for the addition of just seven runs in 46 balls. Hughes, unable to keep the strike, faced only eight of them.There was a time, when Vikram Solanki and Hughes were adding 124 together for the fourth wicket, when it appeared Worcestershire might set a far more challenging first innings total. Solanki, timing the ball as few can, produced some outrageously fine strokes: he got off the mark with a crunching pull off Rankin, before later driving the same bowler over extra-cover, slog-sweeping Patel and forcing Wright off the back foot. Batting looked almost too easy for him until he obligingly swung a slog-sweep directly to the man on the square leg boundary..None of their colleagues lingered for long. Daryl Mitchell, set up by away swing, was beaten by natural variation and missed a straight one; Matt Pardoe was drawn into wafting at one well outside off; Moeen Ali was surprised by Rankin’s pace and both Leach and D’Oliveria paid the price for feeling for deliveries outside off stump. Patel, after bowling poorly to start, cleaned up the tail, but was slightly flattered by his figures.Patel, the spinner recalled to the New Zealand squad for their tour of India, hopes to return to Championship duty ahead of Warwickshire’s penultimate match of the season against Worcestershire at New Road. It may be more realistic, however, to expect him back for the final game against Nottinghamshire.Worcestershire hit back in the dying minutes of the day. Russell, who impressed in the two-day match against South Africa and whose slingy action bears some resemblance to Graham Dilley and Chris Silverwood, worked up decent pace and bowled admirably straight in trapping Ian Westwood, stuck in the crease and playing across a straight one, leg before. At the other end Alan Richardson nipped one back into a half-forward Varun Chopra before William Porterfield was very well held at slip at tentatively prodding at one angled across him.Warwickshire have made a habit of rebuilding through their lower order this season, but are without Chris Woakes, who is on England Lions duty, while Jim Troughton was off the pitch for much of the day due to flu-like symptoms.

An all-round performance by the captain Salma Khatun helped Bangladesh win a rain-shortened Twenty20 against South Africa by seven wickets in Mirpur

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2012
ScorecardAn all-round performance by the captain Salma Khatun helped Bangladesh Women win a rain shortened Twenty20 international against South Africa Women by seven wickets in Mirpur. Chasing 106, opener Lata Mondal, the highest run-getter in the ODI series, departed with two runs on the board. However, Bangladesh recovered through a brief stand between Rumana Ahmed and Farzana Haque before rain interrupted the game in the fifth over.Set a revised target of 73 in 13 overs on resumption, Bangladesh stuttered briefly with two run-outs off successive deliveries in the eighth over, but Khatun and Shukhtara Rahman put on 42 runs to guide their side home in the 13th over. Seamer Susan Benade was economical: she gave away five runs in her three overs and took a wicket.South Africa’s innings was built on a stand of 44 for the second wicket between Benade and Shandre Fritz, but they lost wickets regularly before and after that partnership. At 69 for 4 in the 17th over, captain Mignon du Preez, Sunette Loubser and Marizanne Kapp accelerated to push them past 100. Khatun took two wickets in her four overs and South Africa were limited to 105 for 6.Bangladesh lead the three-match series 1-0. The second Twenty20 will be played on September 12 at the same venue.

Australia have retained the Women’s World T20 trophy with a 4-run win over England in Colombo

The Report by George Dobell07-Oct-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentaryJess Cameron’s score of 45 from 34 deliveries was Australia’s highest of the tournament•Associated Press

Australia have retained the Women’s World T20 trophy with a 4-run win over England in Colombo. Australia, who won the 2010 tournament in the Caribbean, impressed with the bat, with the ball and in the field to inflict just England’s second defeat in their previous 25 completed T20 internationals.While England’s record over the last 18 months or so has been excellent, they looked nervous in this game. Australia were on top throughout. Having set a challenging total, they bowled with discipline and just about held their nerve as England, as their run chase became increasingly desperate, fell to a series of catches in the deep.Perhaps England might still have stolen a win in the end. Australia, with their nerves becoming more apparent by the moment, put down four catches of varying difficulty in the final few overs – Blackwell’s dropping of Arran Brindle the most memorable of them – and with Erin Osborne donating a head-high full-toss for a no-ball in the final over – England could have won had Danielle Hazel hit the final ball for six. She could only mis-time it to midwicket, however, allowing Australia’s women to clinch the trophy.In truth, England had done well to go so close. They had been behind the rate throughout their innings and, but for some bucolic hitting from Jenny Gunn in the dying overs, the margin would have been much greater. Gunn, thumping a four and a six off Julie Hunter, had reduced the equation from 35 required from three to 16 from the final over and, despite Osborne’s no-ball and Jess Jonassen dropping a simple catch, England had always left themselves too much to do.England may also reflect that their decision to insert Australia after winning the toss backfired. While England have an excellent record batting second, by giving Australia first use of a fine batting surface, they allowed them to build a commanding total and then succumbed to the pressure of chasing against a disciplined attack and tight fielding unit. Only three times in their 63 match T20 history had they successfully chased more than 142 to win and, on the biggest stage, it proved beyond them. England will surely also rue the eight wides and no-ball they sent down. Bearing in mind the eventual margin of victory, those extra were to prove costly.

Smart stats

• Australia won their second consecutive Women’s World Twenty20. In the previous final in 2010, Australia defeated New Zealand by three runs.

• The margin of victory (4 runs) is the second-lowest for Australia (in terms of runs) in the Women’s World Twenty20. It is also their narrowest margin of victory against England in Women’s Twenty20 internationals.

• Australia’s total of 142 is their third-highest against England in the Women’s World Twenty20. In their group game earlier in the tournament, Australia had scored 144 and lost by seven wickets.

• Jess Cameron’s strike rate of 132.35 during her 45 is the highest strike rate for Australia in a Women’s World Twenty20 game against England and the fifth-highest for Australia in the competition (40-plus scores).

• The 51-run stand between Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy is the third-highest opening partnership for Australia in the Women’s World Twenty20 and their second-best in this year’s tournament.

• Anya Shrubsole’s economy rate of 10.33 is the highest for an England bowler in a Women’s World Twenty20 game (min 3 overs bowled).

Australia’s opening batsmen set the tone with a partnership of 51 in 41 deliveries. Meg Lanning, taking advantage of some uncharacteristic loose bowling from Katherine Brunt, took 16 from the third over of the innings. Twice she drove Brunt – who also donated a front foot no-ball during the over – through the cover for boundaries, while Alyssa Healy pulled another boundary though square leg. With England’s spinners unable to stem the flow of runs, Australia reached 47 for 0 after their six Powerplay overs.The introduction of Holly Colvin’s left-arm spin brought the breakthrough. Lanning, attempting to hit over the top, could only clip a return catch to the bowler while Laura Marsh, the fourth spinner introduced into the attack by the eighth over of the innings, might have had Healey caught at deep-square leg but the pull dropped just short of Shurbsole. At the halfway stage of their innings, Australia were 68 for 1.Jess Cameron was soon into her stride. Having swept Marsh to the boundary, she then skipped down the pitch to drive her for another. While Healey was bowled after missing an attempted pull, Cameron, whose innings of 45 from 34 deliveries was Australia’s highest of the tournament, brought up the 100 with a very well executed reverse sweep for four off Marsh, before slog-sweeping Shurbsole for six, then ramping and pulling her for fours in an over that cost 17.While Colvin, the pick of the bowlers, had Cameron taken at long-on, Alex Blackwell swept another four off Wyatt and, in partnership with Lisa Sthalekar, picked up the ones and twos as Australia set a challenging total of 142.England were always behind the rate in their chase. While they picked up a boundary in each of the first four overs, they were unable to accumulate any singles and Marsh, frustrated by the escalating required run rate, perished when she mis-timed a drive and gave a return catch to the bowler.Charlotte Edwards looked in fine form, though. Having hit the first ball of the innings for four, she clipped another over midwicket when Perry drifted on to her legs and greeted the introduction of the offspin of Osborne by taking two steps down the pitch and lofting the bowler over long-on for six. Two balls later, she lofted four more over the head of the same bowler and, after their six Powerplay overs, England were 34 for 1.The end of the Powerplay resulted in the field spreading, however, and Edwards’ attempt to hit Sthalekar’s teasing off-breaks over the top resulted in a catch to long-on. Ellyse Perry produced an outswinger to account for the dangerous Sarah Taylor, edging an attempted drive, and with Lydia Greenway also falling to a catch in the deep and Danny Wyatt brilliantly caught at cover by a diving Blackwell, England were always behind the game.

A fiery spell from Dale Steyn, described by Jacques Rudolph as the “quickest I have seen in six or seven years,” was the final act of the drawn tour match at the SCG. After the South African top eight had all batted, they chose to give their quicks a last

The Report by Firdose Moonda at the SCG04-Nov-2012
Scorecard Hashim Amla retired after reaching his half-century•AFP

A fiery spell from Dale Steyn, described by Jacques Rudolph as the “quickest I have seen in six or seven years,” was the final act of the drawn tour match at the SCG. After the South African top eight had all batted, they chose to give their quicks a last run before the first Test in Brisbane next week and Steyn held nothing back.Of the batting line-up, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla scored half-centuries and retired out while the rest all had starts. Steyn and Vernon Philander were the only bowlers in action for the 10 overs South Africa spent in the field. Steyn bowled a particularly fierce and quick spell which resulted in the wicket of Liam Davis and a serious test for Phillip Hughes, who is pushing for a recall to the Australia squad.Amla, who yesterday said the he preferred a match situation no matter how insignificant the game to nets, and JP Duminy resumed the in the morning and had one nervous moment. John Hastings drew a thick edge from Duminy which flew at a catchable height to the left of gully. He settled soon after and played more conservatively after that. His 31 runs came from 82 balls as he looked to spend time at the crease, instead of score runs.The going was a little more free-flowing for Amla, who timed his shots particularly well through mid-wicket. He brought up his half-century with one such stroke and then retired to allow AB de Villiers to bat.Like all the batsmen, de Villiers took some time to find his rhythm and the partnership between him and Duminy seemed to trudge along although it only lasted two overs and four balls. Andrew McDonald managed to extract some awkward bounce, Duminy chopped one and it was the first genuine wicket of the day.De Villiers and Rudolph scratched around for a while and just as de Villiers was finding the middle of the bat he was given out in strange fashion. A massive appeal for lbw from Hastings was initially thought to be reason he was given out, although it looked too high and was certain to go down leg. The third umpire then confirmed that de Villiers was caught off the inside edge.Rudolph also spent a long time at the crease. He scored 39 runs but batted for 108 balls and started of particularly defensively. He tucked into Steve Smith and hit the only six off the South African innings of him, over mid-wicket. His other impressive strokes off Smith were a stunning drive to long-on off the front foot and a replica which went wider through long-off off the next ball.He didn’t find the going as good against the other spinner, Glenn Maxwell, who he tried to drive. A thick edge was the result and Rudolph was caught at slip. Faf du Plessis, who is unlikely to play in the Test XI, batted for more than 10 overs while Philander also had some time in the middle. Once Smith was satisfied that all his batsmen had shown their mettle, he declared the South African innings and seemed to have given his bowlers instruction to have a quick burst.Philander maintained control but Steyn let loose and sent down fireballs. He took the wicket of Liam Davis in his second over when the opener played a pull too early and was caught behind. But Steyn tested his own wicketkeeper as well with one of his bouncers. De Villiers had to leap to catch it and it was just out of reach. The ball hit his fingers which left him wringing his hand in pain after removing the glove although he was able to continue and team management confirmed no damage had been done.Hughes faced a barrage of quick deliveries but held his own to score what Australia A captain McDonald called, “the best 1 not out I have ever seen.”

Ramnaresh Sarwan will take over Leicestershire’s four-day captaincy from Matthew Hoggard for next season

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2012The career of Matthew Hoggard, the former England bowler, would appear to be drawing to a close after Leicestershire announced Ramnaresh Sarwan would take over the four-day captaincy for next season.Hoggard, who joined Leicestershire in 2010, will enter the final year of his contract in 2013. He has now relinquished the captaincy in all three formats and, at the age of 35, his playing days could be numbered after a 16-year career. He described the change as the “right time to be handing over the reins”.Hoggard led Leicestershire to a third T20 title in 2011 but only took 24 first-class wickets at 28.79 in 2012 – the second-lowest haul since his first full season in 1998 – and stood down from the one-day captaincy in July, with Josh Cobb taking up the role.Cobb will now be vice-captain of the Championship side, which will be led by Sarwan, who committed himself to Leicestershire by extending his one-year deal to a three-year arrangement.Chief executive, Mike Siddall, said it was an opportunity to “put a succession plan in place for the future”, with head coach Phil Whitticase adding: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Matthew over the past three years, especially during our successful T20 campaign. It is important for everyone to get behind Ronnie as we look to take the club forward.”

David Warner and Ed Cowan must contemplate leading Australia after Michael Hussey’s retirement added further to the leadership conundrum

Daniel Brettig30-Dec-2012David Warner and Ed Cowan must contemplate leading Australia after Michael Hussey’s retirement added further to the leadership conundrum created by Michael Clarke’s tender hamstring and Shane Watson’s uncertain international future. The loss of Hussey and Ponting in the space of three Test matches means Australia are not only without two of their most seasoned batsmen but also the likely candidates to lead the Test team in the event of Clarke and Watson being unavailable.Watson has already been ruled out of the New Year’s Test in Sydney due to a calf problem that may well sound the final knell for his attempts to maintain fitness as a Test match allrounder, and Clarke is again in some doubt with a strained hamstring. Hussey’s decision to retire shocked Clarke and Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur, leaving them short not only of their most complete batsman but also a safe candidate for short-term leadership duty.Arthur had been digesting Watson’s confession that he may no longer be an allrounder in the future in the hours following the Boxing Day Test when he felt a tap on the shoulder. Hussey requested an audience with Arthur and Clarke, whereupon the 37-year-old confirmed his intention to retire at summer’s end. The instant response of Clarke and Arthur was to leave Hussey room to reconsider.”We’d done our selection meetings, we’d got everything out of the way, and Watto and I had a chat to see where he was with his injury and Watto hinted that he might just consider being used as a batsman from now on, so that was a little bit of a shock,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “And then I thought I’d just have a beer now and enjoy the win and Mike Hussey tapped me on the shoulder.”So my first reaction was ‘wow’, it was myself and Michael Clarke and Huss together, Clarkey and I looked at each other and it was just ‘wow, what do we do’. We congratulated him on a fantastic career and said ‘are you sure?’ but Huss had made his mind up and like a true champion he’s done it very well.”Warner and Cowan have both been mentioned as potential captains, after leading various teams in the past 12 months. Warner led the Sydney Thunder and a CA Chairman’s XI last summer, while Cowan guided Australia A on their winter tour of England and showed his batting could benefit from the extra responsibility by comfortably topping the tour aggregates.Australia’s plans for the tours of India and England in 2013 had been drawn up with Hussey as a central part, especially after Ponting’s loss of form had hastened his exit from the national team. Arthur said a swift change of tack was now required, and he placed onus on the likes of Warner, Cowan and Watson when he returned to fitness to step into the breach.”We were certainly building a top six around that,” Arthur said. “We always knew Clarke was there, and once Ponting went we knew we had Hussey. We had all our plans in place, so with no warning it was a shock, but I totally understand his reasoning and respect his decision. He deserves to go out the way he is. But for us now it’s about moulding a top six that’s going to win us a Test series in India and win us an Ashes – an enormous task.”In our Test team you’ve got to hope that David Warner and Shane Watson really step up now. I’m pretty confident they’ll do that. In Ed Cowan you’ve got a very wise head, a very good, calming leader around the group. So they need to stand up. I said to the group when Ricky left I wanted everyone to stand up and give us 5% more, now we’re going to have to ask everyone to stand up and give 15% more, because we need to fill that void now that we’ve lost, and we need to fill it very quickly.”That void was painfully evident on last year’s ODI tour of England, when a team minus Ponting and Hussey – who missed the trip for family reasons – was battered 4-0. Arthur said that while excesses of rain and inadequate preparation factored into that result, he acknowledged the team dynamic was changing enormously without the guidance and example offered by Hussey.”We were outplayed in that one-day series, but there were so many mitigating factors,” Arthur said. “We couldn’t train with rain, we’d come basically out of an off-season, whereas now we wouldn’t have, our planning is in place and is spot on in terms of giving guys enough cricket and preparation leading into that first Ashes Test match. That won’t be a problem, but what we are looking for is some guys to really stand up and take the opportunity because there are opportunities out there for somebody to make it his own.”The team dynamic’s definitely changed a massive amount when you consider you’ve lost Ponting and Hussey in a couple of Test matches. Mike Hussey’s a phenomenal player and I was gutted when he told me because he’s been such a reliable batsman. But you’ve got to look to the future, you’ve got to look to who’s going to step up. We’ve got so many options available and I’m so excited to see who steps up and who takes on what is a really demanding year for us.”

Sylhet Royals bludgeoned their way to a fifth consecutive win, beating Chittagong Kings by three wickets

Mohammad Isam at the MA Aziz Stadium28-Jan-2013
ScorecardSylhet Royals bludgeoned their way to a fifth consecutive win, beating Chittagong Kings by three wickets, to increase their lead at the top of the table.Paul Stirling, Mohammad Nabi and finally Elton Chigumbura, with 31 off 17 balls, batted aggressively to take the Royals to victory with three balls to spare. The win silenced a sell-out crowd at the MA Aziz Stadium, but part from disappointing the home support it is the sort of cricket that the BPL requires to bring in more crowds.Stirling started the chase by going across the line a number of times in his 25-ball 38 before getting run out after a mix-up with Nabi. Stirling had earlier survived a chance off a top edge that was dropped after Ravi Bopara and Naeem Islam collided at mid-on.Nabi made up for his error by hitting consecutive sixes soon after in a vital 43 off 26 balls. But the chase came down to Chigumbura and the Zimbabwean made the difference with his three sixes, shepherding the finish with Suhrawadi Shuvo who crunched a boundary to complete the victory.Earlier, Naeem anchored the Kings innings to make a career-best 72 off 52 balls with nine boundaries showing he could adapt after remodelling his game to suit longer versions. Naeem and Ravi Bopara added 78 for the first wicket before the Kings started to lose regular wickets. Ryan ten Doeschate made 21 off 10 balls towards the end to prop up the total, which seemed to be enough on a slow wicket.But the wickedly fast outfield, with barren patches around the rope, played a role as the Royals used their power to good effect. For the Kings it continued their problems at home and this was their third loss in four matches.