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General Cricket => World Cricket => Topic started by: Buzz on March 06, 2012, 09:25:00 PM

Title: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 06, 2012, 09:25:00 PM: This is the first of what I hope will be a regular round up of circket news from around the world - Ideally I would love a couple of volunteers to help write these going forward (please PM me if you are interested)

However in the mean time - here is a brief round up from today

Headlines:Allen Stanford convicted of Ponzi fraud - The Texan financier has been found guilty of conspiracy and fraud charges by a federal jury for leading a $7bn Ponzi scheme from his offshore bank in Antigua. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2009/feb/18/allen-stanford-cricket

I am not a cheat, Chris Cairns tells court in Twitter libel trial - Cricket’s integrity was dragged through the courts for the third time in five months as allegations of match-fixing dominated the opening of a libel trial brought by former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/news/9124986/Former-New-Zealand-all-rounder-Chris-Cairns-says-Lalit-Modi-ruined-his-career-with-fixing-slur.html

Always worth reading Laurence Booth's weekly Spin Blog: this week we have: Stay awake! ICC's Twenty20 blueprint will shape the future of Test cricket
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2110417/ICC-Twenty20-meeting-sleep--The-Top-Spin.html#ixzz1oNFDsIUE
Matches: Three hundreds were scored in the match between Australia and Sri Lanka in the second of the Tri Series Finals - Warner scored his second successive ton, Michael Clarke scored his fastest ODI ton, but it was Dilshan who won the match with a wonderful timed ton
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/9125724/Sri-Lanka-duo-Tillakaratne-Dilshan-and-Mahela-Jayawardene-level-finals-series-as-Australia-thrashed.html

At the time of writing the NZ vs SA game is being delayed due to rain

oh and here is Virat Kohli - what an innings the other day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtG4xEjLiG0

Team news: So when is Sachin going to retire/score that elusive ton - kind of board with this personally but the indians are filling many column inches with this - too many links to include

Mind the Window's Tino is back: West Indies have picked uncapped batsman Johnson Charles and recalled fast bowler Tino Best to the squad for the first three home ODIs against Australia in St. Vincent in March. The 13-man squad does not include fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, who is ill, and batsmen Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath, who have finger injuries.
Dwayne Bravo also returned to the side after being sidelined by an ankle injury, but Fidel Edwards was missing, because he is not being considered for ODIs by the WICB.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/current/story/556473.html

Jesse Ryder has been dropped again for being out on the smash - not really news as it happens so often!

and finally - Mark Boucher will retire after the tour this Summer - see http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/555979.html he has been tremendous for SA during the last 15 years.

Have a good evening and please feel free to add anything I have missed (or not pinched from the Guardian World Cricket Blog! ;) )
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 07, 2012, 09:23:24 AM: Ok – any early one today...
News:
In Day two of the Cairnes vs Modi trial in the High Court - Chris Cairns, the retired New Zealand international, has been confronted with allegations of corruption made by former team-mates on the second day of his libel action against the former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. Cairns, who is suing Modi over a 2010 tweet that claimed the former allrounder was involved in match-fixing during his time in the rival Indian Cricket League (ICL), said that the accusations made him "angry" and "sad". In the times of india http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl-2012/news/Modis-Cairns-tweet-was-based-on-Mongias-claim/articleshow/12167740.cms they are also following the trial In the face of persistent questioning by Modi's barrister Ronald Thwaites, Cairns, seated in the witness box of Court No. 15 in the Queen's bench of England and Wales' ancient Royal Courts of Justice, rejected the allegations. He repeatedly said that such assertions came from "self-confessed cheats" (meaning Mongia and others); and reiterated he was not one of them.

John Major is taking on the leadership of the MCC in a slightly bazaar battle over the controversial Lords ground redevelopment plan: Now the genteel organisation, based at Lord’s, the home of cricket, is threatened with civil war after a letter of complaint from one its most high-profile members, Sir John Major.
The former prime minister has attacked the leadership of the MCC, founded in 1787, accusing it of “traducing” his reputation and damaging the club. His comments, which follow a dispute over a £400million redevelopment of Lord’s, could lead to calls for the resignation of the club’s president and chairman.
A huge cricket fan, Sir John was appointed to the MCC’s main committee in 2005 but resigned last December after it voted not to proceed with a redevelopment scheme.
Sir John had been a keen advocate of the plans, known as the Vision for Lord’s, but said his resignation was prompted by his concerns over how the decision was reached under the MCC’s chairman, Oliver Stocken.

Matches:
Chris Martin has ripped through the much vaunted SA TOP order over night in the NZ SA match – which has implications as to Eng’s world Number 1 status – although I dread to think what Morkal and Stein will do to the New Zealand batting when the roles are reversed
South Africa 191/7 v New Zealand
http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-v-south-africa-2012/engine/current/match/520603.html

Player News:
The Australia captain, Michael Clarke, is a major doubt for the deciding game of the Commonwealth Bank Series final against Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury. The 30-year-old is set to have a scan on the injury after pulling up during Sri Lanka's eight-wicket win in Adelaide on Tuesday. Clarke looked to be struggling with the problem while scoring a century in his side's total of 271 for six, which proved insufficient as Sri Lanka easily chased down their victory target to level the three-game series. Cricket Australia has called up the Twenty20 captain George Bailey as cover for Clarke, as well as the off-spinner, Nathan Lyon. The complaint continues a frustrating time for Clarke, who has been sidelined for long periods after originally straining his right hamstring against India in Adelaide on 12 February.
In the same game, Mahela Jayawardene has been fined 10 per cent of his match fee for arguing with the umpires.
Chaos in Bangladesh as a selector quits citing interference - Bangladesh's chief national selector Akram Khan resigned citing interference in the squad for the forthcoming Asia Cup by the country's cricket board.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/asia-cup-2012/top-stories/Bangladesh-chief-selector-quits-protesting-interference/articleshow/12172579.cms

And finally Chris Tremlett’s pr machine is in progress, talking about another comeback - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/9126804/England-fast-bowler-Chris-Tremlett-confident-back-surgery-will-extend-Test-career-for-another-six-years.html
England fast bowler Chris Tremlett confident back surgery will extend Test career for another six years - On the raw day Derik Pringle meet, at his old cricket club in Hampshire, Chris Tremlett, the colossal England and Surrey fast bowler recovering from a recent back operation, is on the outfield doing a series of TV interviews in a short-sleeved shirt.

Update - here is today's "Spin" always worth a read

Mark Boucher: an irritant, a provocator and as feisty a competitor as they come
It's not hard to understand the admiration felt by hard-nosed players for the feistiness Mark Boucher's behaviour symbolised

Rob Bagchi
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 7 March 2012 07.53 EST

Mark Boucher became as effective with the bat as he was behind the stumps. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
THE TWILIGHT SAGA

Introspection is not something one normally associates with Mark Boucher but this week the most-capped wicketkeeper in Test history has been unusually forthcoming about the anxiety he is suffering as his career draws to an end. After 144 Tests in which his demeanour has epitomised the South African Test cricketer – game, energetic, vociferous and uncharitable – he has seemed impervious to criticism.

Of course, he looked hopelessly deflated when he dropped Nasser Hussain on 23 in the second innings of the 1998 Trent Bridge Test during the great Mike Atherton-Allan Donald duel. When Donald screamed in frustration Boucher blanched in mortification, his expression more guilty than sheepish. Rarely has someone looked so crestfallen and, given England's perilous position, rarely has the Spin found something so hilarious.

To Donald's great credit, though, before he began his next over he walked up to the 22-year-old Boucher and patted him on the backside. England went on to win the Test and the series and soon enough South Africa's aggravation at the life Atherton was given by the umpire Steve Dunne, when Boucher had clinched the "catch" off the opener's glove, eclipsed any condemnation of the young wicketkeeper.

If criticism was muted for Boucher's drop at Nottingham, it has intensified over the past year. The retirement dilemma for any player who has enjoyed a career of such longevity is whether to jump before you're pushed or to persevere for as long as you can. When brashness and unsentimentality have been hallmarks of your approach then logic suggests you would recognise that you may one day become a victim of a similar philosophy. Yet the very quality that makes elite sportsmen consider themselves exceptional is their uncompromising capacity for confidence in their ability, sometimes akin to self-delusion.

Now, though, Boucher seems suddenly vulnerable and reflective. He scored only 20 in three innings during the two Tests against Australia in November and, although he made 65 against Sri Lanka at Centurion, his errors in the New Year Cape Town Test provided ammunition for his critics.

"I dropped two sitters that I should have taken, and I probably would take every day of the week, but that's what pressure and lack of confidence does to you," he told Cricinfo's Firdoose Moonda. "A couple of other things creep into your head that shouldn't really be there, like what people are saying about you. You've got to take that stuff and hide it as best as you can. It gets to you mentally and that drags on to you physically as well. You keep trying so hard and you find yourself almost sinking. The harder you try, the deeper you go down."

Such soul searching contradicts the public perception of Boucher but it mirrors the uncharacteristic uncertainty that other players with more than 100 caps felt besieged by as the end of their careers drew closer. In his autobiography Steve Waugh wrote about his reaction at being dropped from Australia's one-day team, saying: "I let all my pent-up emotions gush out and bawled like a baby." Emotional candour seems to be a coping mechanism when even the toughest feel their prestige and self-esteem threatened.

It is interesting that Boucher mentions "what people are saying about you" as a cause of his disquiet. It is obvious that he is not referring to the barbs thrown at him by opposition supporters but during three tours of England he probably got up the Spin's nose more than any other player. Being an irritant and a wicketkeeper can be a profitable combination, their incessant blather galvanising the fielding side and their pugnacious spirit signalling that the batsmen are in a fight.

Ian Healy was his model and at times Boucher's charmless chirping and sledging were disproportionately tasteless and repetitive, bordering on harassment of the batsman and based on the premise that mental interference led to mental disintegration. But it is not difficult to understand the admiration felt by hard-nosed players such as Nasser Hussain for the feistiness that Boucher's behaviour symbolised.

Relentless cheerleading and provocation, however, only take you so far and without the talent to back it up Boucher would not have played 144 Tests of a possible 147 since his debut. As well as his record number of caps, he is also the most prolific wicketkeeper in Test history with 544 dismissals. He became exceptionally sound behind the stumps and equally effective as a batsman. Twice when England supporters were willing him to get out – at Kingsmead in 1999 when he joined Gary Kirsten with South Africa four down in their second innings following on and only 34 ahead and at Edgbaston nine years later when his side were five wickets down needing 110 to win – his battling spirit, obduracy and sharp running broke their hearts. He was just as busy in one-day cricket but more fluent and his mettle saw South Africa home with a four to the long-on boundary when they chased down Australia's 434 at Johannesburg in 2006 with the last pair at the crease.

Boucher won his 145th cap on Wednesday and was run out for four in Dunedin. Two more in New Zealand then three on what he hopes will be his fourth and final tour of England this summer will take him to 150 when, he says, he will retire. He will never win a popularity contest but, as Hussain wrote, "he is a tough competitor, the sort of bloke you want on your side". The Spin will never warm to him but when he goes it would be churlish not to recognise that his record has been outstanding.

GUILTY

"It is a relief that 12 jurors saw it the way we did. We were scammed. The bottom line is still we've lost. But it is justice, and there's been no justice for the victims. We've been pretty much ignored, and now we aren't being ignored."

Cassie Wilkinson, a Houston investor who lost $500,000, on the jury's verdict in the Allen Stanford fraud trial after the financier was found guilty of conspiracy and 12 other criminal charges including obstruction, in relation to a $7bn Ponzi scheme. Stanford faces up to 20 years in prison.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

While Sir Vivian Richards is blowing out 60 candles on Wednesday, 7 March also marks another anniversary. Twenty-five years ago, on Richards's 35th birthday, Sunil Gavaskar became the first batsman in Test history to score 10,000 runs. He reached the milestone during the fourth Test in Ahmedabad against Pakistan in 1987, cutting Ejaz Fakhir for two. Thousands of spectators ran on to the field before he had even completed his second run and held up play for 20 minutes. He was garlanded with marigolds and at the end of play said: "It was a moment of sheer joy for me."

Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have subsequently gone beyond his career total of 10,122 runs and Mahela Jayawardene, the newest member of the 10,000 club, is only 36 behind. Of the four batsmen he identified as likely to emulate his achievement – Border, Richards, Javed Miandad and David Gower – only Border made it. "There is so much Test cricket these days," he said, "they have a good chance to overtake me. But then it is always nice to be the first to do so. After all, a lot of people climbed Everest but the ones I remember most are Hillary and Tenzing."

p.s. anyone who wants to help write a daily round up, please let me know!
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 07, 2012, 09:46:00 AM: oh and HAPPY 60th Birthday Sir Viv Richards
:D
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Nickauger on March 07, 2012, 09:58:13 AM: This is quality Buzz! I think if anything is worth being a sticky topic this is it. Can anyone add stories or does it have to be in that format?
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 07, 2012, 09:59:53 AM: Add as many stories as you like!

Glad you like it
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today - including Dravid retiring Exclusive...
Post by: Buzz on March 08, 2012, 08:59:01 AM: In the news
Massive CBF Exclusive - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Rahul-Dravid-to-quit-Test-cricket-after-dismal-show-Down-Under/articleshow/12184786.cms
Rahul Dravid to quit Test cricket after dismal show Down Under
Loving the Times of India’s commentary and writing style – but this is what they had to say:
DELHI: India's batting stalwart Rahul Dravid is likely to announce his retirment from Test cricket tomorrow, bringing the curtains down an illustrious career which made him the second highest run-getter in the longer format till now.

Although there hasn't been any official confirmation of the news but the BCCI today sent a media release about Dravid holding a joint press conference along with president N Srinivasan at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

"Mr. N. Srinivasan, President, BCCI, and Mr. Rahul Dravid will address the media at 12:30 pm on Friday, 9 March 2012, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru," the release stated.

The 39-year-old Dravid had a disastrous tour of Australia where he scored only 194 runs in eight innings at an average of 24.25. Even more disappointing was that Dravid popularly known as "The Wall" was bowled in six out of the eight innings as the Australian pacer Ben Hilfenhaus repeatedly breaching his defence with ease.

There has been intense speculation about Dravid's impending retirement ever since he failed with the bat during the Australian tour.

Dravid had already announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the away series against England when he was surprisingly recalled in the shorter format due to his stupendous performance in the Test series where he scored three centuries in four matches.

One of India's greatest ever Test players, Dravid had scored a whopping 13,288 runs in 164 Tests at an average of over 52 which made him second highest scorer behind Sachin Tendulkar. He has hit 36 centuries and 63 half centuries with 270 against Pakistan being his highest score.

He also has a very impressive ODI record where he had scored 10,889 runs at an average of shade less than 40. He has 12 centuries and 83 half centuries in the shorter format.

Under his capataincy, India won away Test series in the West Indies as well as England but had a disastrous 2007 World Cup where they were out in the first round.

Dravid also captained in 25 Tests, of which India won eight and lost six. He guided India to their first Test victory in South Africa.
Oh and Test cricket is too much for Indians according to Greg Chappell – well that will go down well – apparently it is all the Brits fault for teaching the Indians to be subservient and not teaching them leadership skills... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Test-cricket-too-much-for-Indians-Greg-Chappell/articleshow/12180183.cms

Matches
The game between NZ and SA seems pretty close with SA being skittled for 238 and NZ fairing only marginally better with 243-9 – this is what the New Zealand Herald had to say... “Black Caps limp to 5 run lead” – which I think is a harsh title given the relative status of the test teams: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10790621 South African seamer Vernon Philander enhanced his growing reputation with another big bag of wickets in action on the second day of the test against New Zealand in Dunedin. The right-armer arrived in the country with an impressive record. In four tests had claimed 30 wickets at a scarcely believable average of 13.23, including four five-wicket bags and 10 wickets in a match on one occasion. He bowled superbly again yesterday to take four for 50 to leave New Zealnd 243 for nine, a lead of just five runs.

Oh - it is the final of the TriSeries in Aus today - and aus posted 231 a below par total without Skipper Michael Clarke - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/9130391/Australia-v-Sri-Lanka-scoreboard.html
(oh and news of Dravid's retiring is crashing cricinfo - who knows what it will be like when Tendulkar retires/scores THAT hundred...)
Player news...
Other than the Dravid news above...
A bit quite today, so the guardian has recycled a piece on cricket idiosyncrasies, which is a fun read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/mar/07/idiosyncracies-cricket-sport
Big Jesse Ryder is to spend some time away from cricket http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10790765 Jesse Ryder has dropped out of Wellington's side to play Northern Districts tomorrow as he spends time away from cricket following his axing from the New Zeland side last week for disciplinary reasons. Ryder and Doug Bracewell broke team protocol when they went drinking after New Zealand's second one-day international despite the fact they were injured and were both handed a one-match ban. Injured players are not allowed to drink between games.

Clarke ruled out of ODI series against WI - Scans confirmed the extent of the hamstring strain which sidelined Michael Clarke for the series-deciding triseries final against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

More I love Viv in the guardian too: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/mar/08/classic-youtube-best-sport-clips

Have a great day
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 09, 2012, 10:11:35 AM: Sort one from me today as I have to work... sob.

This is from the Wall: (as exclusively revealed yesterday)

'I have never stopped trying'
ESPNcricinfo staff

March 9, 2012

Comments: 21 | Login via | Text size: A | A Here is the text of Rahul Dravid's statement at his farewell press conference in Bangalore on March 9.

'My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game' © AFP

Enlarge

Related LinksPlayers/Officials: Rahul Dravid
Teams: India

I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling.

No dream is ever chased alone. As I look back, I have many people to thank for teaching me and believing in me. My junior coaches in Bangalore and at various junior national camps inculcated in me a powerful love of the game, which has always stayed with me. My coaches at the international level have added to my craft and helped shape my personality. The physios and trainers worked hard to keep me fit - not an easy job - and allowed me to play late into my 30s.

The selectors, who rarely receive any credit in India, occasionally had more confidence in me than I had in myself and I am grateful for that. The various captains I played under offered me guidance and inspired me. Most of all I have to thank the teams I played with.

I was lucky in my early years to play for a Karnataka team that was trying to forge itself into a strong side and they were years of fun and learning. In the Indian team, I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful era when India played some of its finest cricket at home and abroad. Many of my teammates have become legends, not just in India but in the wider cricketing world. I admired them, learnt from them and I leave the game with wonderful memories and strong friendships. It is a great gift to have.

A career in sport is almost impossible to manage without the support, and guidance, and reassurance of family and friends. During tough times, and there always are, this is whom we go to. I found strength and encouragement from my parents and brother and they created around me a positive environment which was essential to my success.

My wife, Vijeeta, has been a remarkable partner in my journey. She has made sacrifices in her own career and has almost been a single parent as she brought up our children alone as I travelled abroad to play. Whenever challenges appeared, she was always there, as sounding board, as ally and as guide. Being away from my family became harder and harder through the years and I look forward now to spending time at home and doing the simple things, like just taking my sons to school.

Finally I would like to thank the Indian cricket fan, both here and across the world. The game is lucky to have you and I have been lucky to play before you. To represent India, and thus to represent you, has been a privilege and one which I have always taken seriously. My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride.

and in the NZ SA test match... the Kiwi's are in the mire: DUNEDIN: South Africa skipper Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis both scored centuries and combined for a 200-run partnership as the tourists virtually batted New Zealand out of the first Test by the close of play on the third day on Friday.

Smith (115) and Kallis (107 not out) had come together with their side on 47/2 and with just a 12-run lead after Doug Bracewell had taken two wickets in one over before lunch to give the hosts hopes of pushing for an upset victory.

The experienced duo, however, consolidated their innings before lunch then built on it afterwards to guide South Africa to 268/3 by the close of play at University Oval in Dunedin, an overall lead of 233.

EDIT: how could I forget 2020 worldcup winner Luke Wright has signed, with Steven Smith to play for the Pune Warriers... http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2012/content/current/story/556693.html
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Simmy on March 09, 2012, 10:15:53 AM: good read :) dont think he should retire tho he is still a very good player
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 10, 2012, 06:52:20 PM: Ok – a bit later than usual today, because I have been burning up the golf course ;)

News – lots of lovely eulogies around Dravid – google them yourselves!!
But Sachin has vowed to keep going, see http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160753300503
But apparently the Aussies has made a nice little memento for sachin... MELBOURNE: Sachin Tendulkar's much awaited ton-of-tons has not only left his fans world over in anticipation, but it has also made Cricket Australia to wait arduously, as it intended to present the Indian batsman with a memento on reaching the historic feat. CA planned to present the batting legend a nice little memento after he scored his 100th international hundred during the just concluded tour Down Under, the 'Australian' reported. Cushioned in a metal box, the trophy, featuring a golden Kookaburra ball on a plinth, criss-crossed Australia and followed Tendulkar at every venue only to fail to find the intended recipient.
Here is a team you might not want to sledge...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/picturegalleries/9130628/The-Maasai-Warriors-cricket-team-in-pictures.html
oh and funnily enough, Chris Cairns and Mr Modi still aren’t getting on... http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/556818.html
Chris Cairns had to be ushered from the courtroom by his lawyer after angrily trying to confront Lalit Modi on the fifth day of his libel action against the former IPL commissioner.
Cairns, the former New Zealand allrounder, became visibly agitated when it was revealed that Modi would not face cross-examination before a judge at London's High Court, after the defence decided not call him as a witness in the case.
Cairns, who is suing Modi for defamation over a 2010 tweet that alleged his involvement in match-fixing, appeared to try and catch the judge's eye and then left his seat near the front of the room. He made his way towards the back of the court, gesticulating in the direction of Modi, who was seated on the opposite end of the benches, before a member of his team intervened and motioned him outside.
In matches – the Kiwi’s need 264 more to keep England at the top of the world rankings (or at least not get bowled out!) the actual target is 401 and they are 137-2 http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-v-south-africa-2012/engine/current/match/520603.html

Player news – one to watch in Sri Lanka is Amilio Amila who has become only the third Sebastianite to capture one hundred wickets for a season when he dismissed the Cambrian opener Suchira Fernando and he brought his tally to 105 wickets when he claimed 6 for 54 in the 62nd Battle of the Golds between Prince of Wales and St Sebastians annual encounter worked off at Tyronne Fernando stadium, Moratuwa.
Other Sebastians to claim more than one hundred wickets are Ajith Cooray 111 in 1983, and Nimesh Perea twice in 1995 and 1996, 131 and 134 runs respecti- vely.
Sorry I haven’t heard of the other guys either...!!
Have a great weekend
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: johnnyw on March 10, 2012, 07:04:03 PM: Nice little plug for yourself there buzz :D
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 11, 2012, 08:16:34 AM: thanks Johnny, just 0.8 off my handicap ;)

NEWS:
ICC to investigate further match-fixing allegations in cricket
• Up to £750,000 for fixing county game, says investigation
• Bollywood actress alleged to have been used for entrapment
So what can this spineless organisation do stop this... oh not much but as the UK laws have a precedent then they will pick on Eng counties. Having said that if I was a single man, I would be delighted to have had some attention from a bollywood actress ;)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/mar/11/county-championship-match-fixing

The exclusive is in the Sunday times: THE International Cricket Council (ICC) has begun an inquiry into a network of corrupt bookmakers claiming to be able to fix the results of international fixtures and England county games.
The move follows an investigation into match fixing by The Sunday Times, including allegations that bookmakers on the Indian subcontinent have targeted international players, including several in England, using a Bollywood actress. The investigation shows the sophistication and scale of the corruption and reveals that, despite the recent jailing of three Pakistan international players and an English county bowler for cheating, the cricketing authorities are failing to control it.

By infiltrating the network of bookmakers and secretly filming meetings we have established that:
•   Tens of thousands of pounds are on offer to fix matches, typically £44,000 to batsmen for slow scoring; £50,000 for bowlers who concede runs; and as much as £750,000 to players or officials who can guarantee the outcome of a match.
•   Match fixers boast of recruiting players who come from England, New Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to throw part or all of international fixtures, including last year’s World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan.
•   The bookies are increasingly turning their attention to English county games because “nobody monitors them”.
•   Corruption has grown to the point where, according to Indian law enforcement officials, it has become endemic.

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article991579.ece (if you have a subscription

Matches... Rain does for SA and helps NZ (and Eng :))
South Africa 238 (Amla 62, Smith 53, Martin 4-56) and 435 for 5 dec (Smith 115, Kallis 113, Rudolph 105*) drew with New Zealand 273 (McCullum 48, Philander 4-72) and 137 for 2 (McCullum 58*, Taylor 48*)
http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-v-south-africa-2012/engine/match/520603.html

The final day of the first Test promised to be an intriguing one, with South Africa needing eight wickets to win and New Zealand 264 runs, but 14 hours of incessant rain in Dunedin made play impossible and the match was called a draw just after 2pm.
Brendon McCullum was unbeaten on 58, having had an 84-run partnership with Ross Taylor, that put New Zealand in the hunt for a series lead. Graeme Smith was named Man of the match for his 115 in the second innings.

Asia Cup
Pakistan are looking to bounce back from their drubbing by England in the Asia cup, they are batting first against Bangladesh in the first match of this vitally important ODI tournament (!!)

Player news

Aus internationals are going to have their contracts cut...
http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/contract-cuts-a-bouncer-for-state-teams-20120310-1urig.html
CRICKET Australia wants to cut so deep into its contract list that axed Test batsmen Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh are all in grave danger of losing their deals. And states are bracing for a fight to keep their stars as players who come off the list seek to cushion the impact on their bank balances.
The Sunday Age understands the model proposed by Cricket Australia slashes the number of contracts dispensed at the beginning of each contract period to a minimum of 15.
Although the amount of money in the overall player-payment pool will increase, with a portion carved aside to fund performance-based bonuses, CA does not intend to increase the proportion of the pool that is paid to state cricketers even though more players will be seeking domestic contracts, creating a knock-on effect.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 11, 2012, 06:07:45 PM: here is confirmation via the guardian... but remember where you heard it first!

m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/sZwZt2X5484tOI7nF8dg6uA/view.m?id=15&gid=sport/2012/mar/11/england-world-test-rankings-sotuh-africa&cat=cricket
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 13, 2012, 09:39:04 PM: Evening all - this is going to be less frequent as no one has volunteered to help :(

In the news today...
Nupur Mehta (http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Nupur+Mehta&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=648&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=tljNV0kt6GHbQM:&imgrefurl=http://www.trhits.com/nupur-mehta-denies-being-a-honey-trap-for-cricket-players/&docid=3O_pP1eYqe_KpM&imgurl=http://www.trhits.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/nupur-mehta.jpg&w=630&h=420&ei=UbxfT5E9p9XRBfngyZoH&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=958&vpy=153&dur=531&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=157&ty=69&sig=116498022565084270731&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=179&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0 ) is to sue the Sunday Times over false allegations that she was used as a honey trap for match fixing scandal (secretly I bet she is loving the publicity). Nupur Mehta, a Bollywood actress who has appeared in two films, said a picture used for the story, of a skimpily-clad woman with her faced blurred, was of her. "All I can say is that the journalist from the Sunday Times must be completely in love with me to make me famous in India and New Zealand, and even in London itself," Mehta told Reuters by telephone on Tuesday.
Matches
Loads and loads of matches going on at the moment, with the Asia Cup (India beat Sri Lanka today by 50 runs) and the 2020 qualifying tournament (Ireland lost today) – Cricinfo has all the details for you.
In the west indies, http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120313/sports/sports1.html Jamaica stretched their lead at the top of the West Indies Cricket Board Regional Four-Day Tournament standings after they crushed Trinidad and Tobago by 192 runs on the final day of their fifth-round match here yesterday.
Medium pacer David Bernard Jr captured seven for 23 as Trinidad and Tobago, set 305 to win at the start of the day, folded meekly for 112.
They seemed to be making a fight of it when they rushed to 59 without loss, but they lost 10 wickets for 53 runs to hand Jamaica victory at 1:40 p.m.
"We need to bat for long periods and this did not happen. We needed partnerships and we needed for the batsmen to apply themselves to the situation at hand," captain Reyad Emrit lamented afterwards.
That sounds like most skippers after a village game... :o
Player news
Delhi teammates Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir's partnership continues to flourish, with their easy chemistry in the middle making it a habit of delivering in crucial games. Be it the World Cup final or any other, they seem to be at their best when batting together. Three 200-plus partnerships in ODIs in two years is not a matter of joke and Kohli believes he feels comfortable when he is batting with his senior state pro. "We enjoy batting together. Both of us understand our game well and we have done it together on crucial occasions. It was good that we played so well together even today," Man of the Match Kohli said.
I can’t let this pass by ET Smith http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/557122.html on Mr Dravid - marvellous stuff.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on March 22, 2012, 05:43:29 PM: sorry, haven't been able to do one of these for a while.
however, the big news today is that afganistan will be at the 2020 world cup...
m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/sYrWU6xX95uPe3RtcOrYA_w/view.m?id=15&gid=sport/2012/mar/22/afghanistan-world-twenty20&cat=cricket

this is a truly magnificent achievement.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: tushar sehgal on March 22, 2012, 05:48:40 PM: Shame canada couldn't get through...i was rooting for them!!
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Cover_Drive on March 23, 2012, 02:46:58 AM: Quote from: Buzz on March 22, 2012, 05:43:29 PM
sorry, haven't been able to do one of these for a while.
however, the big news today is that afganistan will be at the 2020 world cup...
m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/sYrWU6xX95uPe3RtcOrYA_w/view.m?id=15&gid=sport/2012/mar/22/afghanistan-world-twenty20&cat=cricket

this is a truly magnificent achievement.

They were in last World Cup too if I remember correctly.

But still big achievement for them.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: charlie15 on March 23, 2012, 09:06:33 AM: That is brilliant news
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Nickauger on March 23, 2012, 09:30:43 AM: Quote from: Cover_Drive on March 23, 2012, 02:46:58 AM
They were in last World Cup too if I remember correctly.

But still big achievement for them.
I read that as the 2020 world cup ie. in 8 years time lol. They were at the last one, although they seem a much better unit than then.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Bruce on March 26, 2012, 12:07:03 PM: Galyle signs a new contract with the WICB.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-australia-2012/content/story/558784.html?CMP=OT

Still unsure when he will make his return...
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: charlie15 on March 30, 2012, 02:33:50 PM: Just come across this article about Essex bidding to become tenants for the Olympic Stadium, if they get it I see a third test venue in London not too far off!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/17562300
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: tim2000s on March 30, 2012, 02:57:58 PM: I saw that too, and thought "C'mon"
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Alvaro on March 30, 2012, 03:08:52 PM: Strauss must face up to the dog days
Despite the England captain's poor form with the bat his influence extends beyond the middle - when he goes it should be on his own terms

George Dobell

March 30, 2012
Just as the time comes when a much loved but ailing family dog must be taken to the vet, so the time has come to make difficult decisions about the future of Andrew Strauss. The signs can now longer be avoided: Strauss, metaphorically at least, is off is food. His tail has stopped wagging and he can no longer be bothered to chase the postman.

It is not beyond possibility that he could make a full recovery. His current form is a concern, certainly, but he has been down before. It pays not to write him off.

It is worth looking at the statistics. Strauss has not scored a Test century since November 2010 - 16 Tests ago - and has made only one in his last 48 innings stretching back to July 2009. In the last calendar year he has averaged only 25.50 and any suggestion he is surviving on his captaincy record is undermined by the fact that England have lost four Tests in a row. He has passed fifty50 only twice in 18 innings and England have recorded an opening stand above 31 only three times in the last 17 innings. Nine times they have failed to pass ten.

It looks grim. In a different era - an era of weak management and fickle selectors - you can bet that Strauss would have been axed already. But we live in more enlightened times. These days the selectors take a longer term view. They appreciate that even the best players suffer dips in form and they appreciate that continuity of selection is a key to coaxing the best out of players. The carrot tends to work much better than the stick.

But there is only so long even the most patient selectors can be expected to wait. Strauss' form is, unpalatable though it may be to some ears, compromising England's hopes of competing. Time is running out for him.

That is not to say he is about to be dropped. He will certainly captain at Colombo and, if he goes ahead of the West Indies series in England, it is likely to be his own decision. It may also be worth remembering that the last two permanently appointed England captains - Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan - were both casualties of South African home series. England entertain South Africa again this summer. Might lightning strike for a third time?

It would be wrong to judge Strauss purely by his batting statistics. While he may not be the best tactician, captaincy is about far more than that: it is about leadership, inspiration and unification. In those regards Strauss is exceptionally good and his role in the resurgence of England's cricket cannot be overstated. Besides, he has been in a similar position once before: on the tour to New Zealand in 2008 he had gone 15 Tests without a century and looked almost unrecognisable from the pleasing left-hand batsman who had scored a century on debut. He was probably within one innings of being dropped when he responded with a century in Napier that revitalised his career. If England persist with him, he may well repay their investment.

After all, his long-term record remains good. Unlike Mike Brearley, who failed to score a century in a 39-Test career, only five men (Wally Hammond, Colin Cowdrey, Geoffrey Boycott, Ken Barrington and Graham Gooch) have scored more than Strauss' 19 Test centuries. But Jack Hobbs' past record is excellent, too: it hardly guarantees his performance in the next Test. The concern is that Strauss' run of poor form has been so prolonged that it represents a terminal decline.

There is no obvious reason that should be the case. He is 35 and remains fit. It is not as if he is suffering abject failure, more that he is struggling to translate those good starts into meaningful contributions. And he is not the only man struggling: Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell have endured even more grisly Test tours.

England should not stick with Strauss simply because they are unsure of their alternatives, however. There are other options. Jonathan Trott could shuffle a place up the order - he has, in effect, been opening the innings anyway - allowing England to draft any one of several contenders into the middle order. Opening candidates are less obvious, but Hampshire's Michael Carberry, who is now restored to health and scoring runs by the bucket load, and Varun Chopra, who has scored three first-class double-centuries in the last calendar year, including one in Sri Lanka, are viable options.

Captaincy alternatives now exist, too. The way Alastair Cook grew into the role in the UAE was immensely encouraging and suggested that, when the transition comes, it need not be as painful as it might have seemed only a few months ago.

That is not to say that Cook will be vying for the role. The respect with which Strauss is held by his team borders on the reverential: personal ambition does not come into this.

Indeed, no-one wants to stick the knife into Strauss. No-one wants him to fail or depart the international game under a cloud. Not even his opponents, who recognise the dignity with which he has led and the control he has exerted over a team that can, at times, become somewhat excitable.

Andy Flower, England's coach, recognises the qualities of Strauss, but Flower did not reach the top through a surfeit of sentiment. He will not be afraid to take a tough decision if he thinks the time is right.

My view? I would stick with him and allow him to go on his own terms. He knows the situation. He knows his stats and he knows that the team need him to contribute more. He is a fellow abounding with positive qualities and is surely wise enough and selfless enough to recognise when the time comes to step down. I fear it may be soon, but I hope I'm wrong.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Alvaro on March 30, 2012, 03:09:46 PM: What a great sentence to open an article!
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on April 05, 2012, 09:21:44 AM: Nice article about how the current captains are doing by Mark Nicholas in Cricinfo today:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/559810.html

The captain makes the team
Each side is shaped in the image of the man who leads it. To undervalue the captain is to misunderstand the nature of team

It was the dance that did it. Like Laurence Olivier's acclaimed Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, whose little jig of delight - "I thank God! Is it true? Is it true?" - supremely illustrated the depth of his pleasure, Darren Sammy could not contain himself when the second T20 was won in Barbados last week. His body, slim as a girl's, moved to the rhythm of victory and around him young West Indian cricketers were showered with unconditional joy - "It is true!"

It has been a long time since Australia came and saw but failed to conquer the Caribbean. The T20s were locked at one apiece - why are there not more best-of-three series? - and the 50-over matches at two each with a crazy, memorable tie in St Vincent, another perfect illustration of the game's ability to bare humanity. Sammy cool at one end, Kemar Roach anything but at the other. With two balls still remaining, Roach put his head down and ran, all the way to Sammy, who stood rooted to his crease in shock, having pushed the ball gently and straight to the cover fielder. Enough said. So much so that he managed a smile and refused to lay blame at the post-match interview. He gives a good interview - honest, thoughtful, rather charming.

Sammy is the unlikeliest international captain of the moment and will lead West Indies against Australia in the Test series that begins this weekend. The first St Lucian to represent his islands, he has played 21 Test matches with four five-wicket bags to sustain his selection but not the merest hint of a hundred to cement it. He averages 17 with the bat and 30 with the ball. Neither is he Mike Brearley.

By trade, Sammy knits young men together, and the selectors have backed this skill against all others. He cares not a jot for what pundits and past players think, nor for the claim of those left out, some of whom make for dangerous foes. He was appointed almost two years ago now, and against the odds, to do a job for West Indian cricket at a time when nobody else could make the damndest thing of it. Like Brazilian football the legacy is impossible, so he simply tells it as it is. Young cricketers make mistakes but they have energy and desire. These are attributes that make up for talent and experience. He has some bowlers, fast and slow, with exciting ability, who further compromise his own place in the team. He desperately needs some batsmen who stay in, something he too finds fiendishly difficult. Somehow the proud St Lucian stands above all this and, instead, concerns himself with shaking off the past. The team is smiling again, trademark toothy West Indian smiles. It is a start and Sammy deserves respect for making it.

Contrast Andrew Strauss, who has played 93 Test matches with 19 hundreds at an average of 41. Strauss led England to be the best team in the world, and by the end of the last English summer added four consecutive wins over India to his portfolio (at the time such a performance wasn't considered a sinecure). Now, after a bad run in the Middle East and a silly batting effort in the first innings in Galle, he is under the cosh. Can the game really be this fickle? If Strauss was making more runs, would the knives be out? Would a right-minded selector hear the cries of the fourth estate and respond so irrationally?

Strauss may feel a little betrayed. His outward serenity makes it hard to be sure of anything but his equilibrium. Only cricket captains can know this forensic examination. Football managers don't have to play. There must have been days when Sammy has felt worthless - so often has his pedigree been slandered by those who have gone before him. Now Strauss is seeing the other side too, the side that puts a doubt in every step. It may have been a mistake to pull away from one-day cricket, which so often releases the mind. This doubt makes strokeplay unconvincing and tactics uncertain. England's team for the Galle Test lacked its usual clarity. Big Brother is watching and don't cricket captains know it. It explains the shelf life.

Mahela Jayawardene appears better second time round. Perhaps because of hindsight, a rare privilege. His natural batting has its freedom and beauty back. His leadership seems less intense and more experimental. In one-day cricket he has attacked at defining moments, while in Galle he defended when wise heads in media boxes thought he ought to have done otherwise. To what degree did England lose in Galle and/or Mahela win? He played a genuinely great innings and then plotted a few downfalls with a pretty ordinary attack. Rangana Herath is shaped a little like Bishan Bedi but it ends there. After 129 Test matches, 30 hundreds and an average of 50, the Sri Lankan captain has the job for as long as he can live with it.
So too Michael Clarke, at least if Australia continue their standard of backing a captain till he drops. Clarke is so perfect for the job it's not funny. After a decade of narrow eyes, bright eyes is at the helm and scoring as heavily as Bradman. Clarke rages against a game that drifts, and uses his sense of optimism to galvanise those around him. After an insular couple of years them Aussies are up and at it again, cock of the walk. One or two can still lighten up, mind you. At times in the Caribbean that unattractive snarl reared its head but Clarke was back home in Sydney regenerating. Doubtless he took note and will make his point.

And finally to the Test team of the Northern Hemisphere winter and to Misbah-ul-Haq. Not since Imran Khan has a group of Pakistani cricketers looked so comfortable with one another. Probably it was the winning but there was something quite patrician about Misbah's leadership - aloof and yet complicit. He never looks much of a batsman but averages 45 in 34 tests. He knows how to get it done and has passed this instinct to the others. How he loved it when they swarmed upon England, gloaters all. It was at Lord's that the storm clouds of spot-fixing had gathered and on supposedly neutral ground that the score was settled. How England must have suffered from this glaring portrayal of redemption. Misbah may not last, at least not like Clarke surely will, but he will not forget 3-0 against the colonial father in the Middle East. That was the Pakistan dream.

To undervalue the captain is to misunderstand the nature of team. Each side is shaped in the image of those who lead it - if the fish is rotten, look at its head. There are some gems around at present - we have not touched upon the immense contributions of Graeme Smith or MS Dhoni here - all of whom appear to understand their responsibility to the past without missing a beat in their quest to shape the future. It is not by coincidence that international cricket in all its formats continues to hold our attention.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Cover_Drive on April 05, 2012, 03:18:01 PM: Quite good bit on Misbah Ul Haq, I think him being educated sets him apart from others. He knows how to talk in the media and how to handle situation, our other captains just go and start lashing others lol.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on April 23, 2012, 08:51:50 AM: Kevin Pietersen’s electrifying show for Delhi Daredevils against Deccan Chargers was pure theatre
It all began innocuously enough with slide 40. In 2001, Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the England and Wales Cricket Board, was making a presentation to county chairmen at Lord’s, proposing the introduction of a new form of 20-over cricket.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/kevinpietersen/9219761/Kevin-Pietersens-electrifying-show-for-Delhi-Daredevils-against-Deccan-Chargers-was-pure-theatre.html
Many were unimpressed, or ambivalent to the idea. Then Robertson showed them slide 40 — his age-based market research. It revealed that the only age group significantly opposed to the new game was the over-55s.

Robertson’s proposals were narrowly approved.

American pop star Katy Perry has, in all likelihood, never heard of Robertson. But as Australian fast bowler Doug Bollinger awkwardly ground his robust frame against hers last month, she was unwittingly extrapolating Robertson’s vision. It was the launch of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League and Perry was the star performer.

There is an Indian word: tamasha. Often it is loosely translated into English as ‘entertainment’, but its meaning is far richer than that. It denotes fun in the most chaotic, all-encompassing sense. It implies singing and dancing, music and colour, west and east, old and new, hedonism and fulfilment, the meticulously-planned and the gloriously spontaneous.

Tamasha underpins the IPL. The annual outbreak of moneyed bish-bash-bosh is largely derided on these shores. “The Indian Pensioners’ League”, it has been dubbed, while the latest edition of Wisden was also critical.

Understandably too, for the IPL’s bewitching brew of pyjama cricket, cheap thrills and aggressive capitalism is an all too alien one to the mindset of conservative Englishmen. (When one-day cricket emerged in the 1960s, Neville Cardus wanted it called ‘snicket’ or ‘slogget’ — anything other than ‘cricket’.)

Yet to dismiss Twenty20 as cricket cheapened by entertainment is to approach it from the wrong angle. It is, instead, entertainment enriched by cricket.

Take Thursday’s game between Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers. Delhi had lost an early wicket in pursuit of their target of 158, but that merely brought a talented No 3 by the name of Kevin Pietersen to the crease.

Deccan, meanwhile, had a tearaway fast bowler called Dale Steyn. What followed was some of the most electrifying televised sport imaginable.

Steyn’s second delivery to Pietersen was near-perfect, pitching on middle stump, sharply seaming away. Pietersen blew out his cheeks, grateful to have missed it. Next, Steyn bowled a fuller delivery, searching for the edge. Instead, Pietersen shuffled across his stumps and with a wicked flick of the wrists turned the ball through square leg for four. Steyn’s nostrils flared a little.

The first ball of Steyn’s next over was short and quick. Pietersen got into position to pull, but not quickly enough. The ball skewed off the splice and flew to Bharat Chipli at midwicket. Dropped! To the banging of drums, the home fans roared in delight. This was the ultimate in cricketing tamasha.

Pietersen went on to score a century, but faced just 13 balls from Steyn in that innings. Therein, cry the purists, lies the deep flaw of Twenty20. It is a sugary snack rather than a nourishing meal, a clumsy fumble in a dark alley compared to the lifetime’s embrace of Test cricket.

Now imagine millions of young fans watching on television, craving more, desperate to see these two champion cricketers duelling again, this time for more than 13 balls. If only a handful of them are intrigued enough to find some way of tuning in to the first Test against South Africa at The Oval in July, then the seeds will have been sown. Slide 40 will have served its purpose.

Nobody — not the players pocketing their fat cheques, not the Indian administrators, nor even the television companies queuing for a slice of the pie — would argue that the IPL is the be-all and end-all of the game.

Nobody but the most devoted fans can remember whether Owais Shah now plays for Delhi or Kolkata or Kochi or Rajasthan.

What they will remember is moments like Thursday’s, or the names of rising stars like Ajinkya Rahane. Test players like Pragyan Ojha, Subramaniam Badrinath and Shaun Marsh came to prominence as a result of the IPL, not the other way around.

Declining crowds and television audiences are being held up as a defeat of the IPL’s appalling decadence. What they more correctly allude to is a deepening of appetites. The IPL has long been accused of killing Test cricket. Instead, it could well be its salvation.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Nickauger on April 23, 2012, 09:13:33 AM: What a cracking article! Completely agee with everything in that article!
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: PedalsMcgrew on April 23, 2012, 10:00:17 AM: I disagree! :D

Suggesting that the likes of Marsh, Badrinath etc came to prominence as a result of the IPL is like suggesting that an international footballer came to prominence as a result of the Auto Windscreens trophy! These things are all relative and the quality of the opposition does play a huge part....! Playing in the IPL made no difference to their talent at all, to suggest none of the selectors were aware of these players before the competition is crazy.

I watched a game the other night where the 'celebrity mascot' of one of the teams was in tears because Shaun Marsh had been given out....she had marched into the 'dugout' to discuss matters with Adam Gilchrist....it was, quite possibly, the most amusing yet pathetic scene I have witnessed in professional cricket! A once great international cricketer, a man hugely respected by fans around the world having to placate a jumped up indian princess on the boundary edge during a match...and apparently this is all part of the game in the IPL!

Stupid competition, corrupt to the core and the decent players are ONLY there for the money....

Rant over! :D :D
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Nickauger on April 23, 2012, 10:50:59 AM: I tried to delete my comment after writing that, after reading that it was written by Jonathan Lieuw and realised that it must all have been rubbish! I agree however, that if one 11/12 year old boy/girl sees the theatrical greatness of two players going at each other hammer and tong for a short period of time a la Steyn v Pietersen or Morkel v Gayle, and then tunes into watch it for longer in the test matches, then it has served the only purpose that I can see it has.

I also agree that it is only worth it for these 'clash of the titan' battles where it's international great v international great. That Steyn - Pietersen battle was one of the finest I have seen, just like Steyn's 3-12 spell earlier in the tournament and his over against Kallis yesterday (I feel a recurring theme, and reckon I'm developing a little man crush on Dale Steyn, but reckon he's the standout playerso far in this tournament); in any cricket.

The fact that average Indians like Patel, Kumar, Jadeja, Pathan, Uthappa, Tendulkar, Ganguly ;) etc are given huge wages for very little return however, just highlights the stupidity of the BCCI and is perhaps the reason why Indian cricket will eventually (in my opinion) focus solely on T20, if it doesn't already.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on May 06, 2012, 06:24:32 AM: All sorts of global visa issues going on at the moment – first we have MoYo in trouble with Bangladesh intelligence for allegedly submitting a fake clearance to play letter...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Yousuf-in-trouble-with-Bangladesh-intelligence/articleshow/13005642.cms

LAHORE: Pakistan's former captain Mohammad Yousuf is in trouble as he is being investigated by the Bangladesh intelligence agencies for allegedly submitting a fake clearance letter to play in the Dhaka league.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has handed over the matter to the intelligence agencies after participating clubs in the Dhaka Premier League which remains suspended refused to resume playing in the event until the Yousuf matter was resolved.

And now we have half the WI team not available as the WICB haven’t done their pre-tour admin... It has emerged that the touring West Indies squad, due to face England in a three-Test series starting in less than two weeks' time, currently comprises only 11 fit men, with three players still to arrive in the UK. Assad Fudadin, Narsingh Deonarine and Marlon Samuels have been delayed by visa issues while Fidel Edwards has a "back niggle" and will not play in their three-day match against Sussex, which was due to begin on Saturday but fell victim to the weather. http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-west-indies-2012/content/current/story/563863.html

Adam Hollioake has emerged from his first cage fight with a draw to his name... A cage-fighting England captainMost cricketers take to golf after retirement. Adam Hollioake chose mixed martial arts, and came out alive and with a respectable draw, in his first professional fight
The fight certainly wasn't a bore draw, and there was no doubt in Hollioake's fizzing mind over which result he now prefers. "The nine-minute one," he tells ESPNcricinfo. "I've got four and a half days to do what I want now. Five days - or four days - to get a draw, it's like, 'What was all that about?'"
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/563897.html

And finally we have a study on throwing/bowling in the Sunday Times
(http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac151/buzzrockport/spo06_9cricket_265828a.jpg)

CRICKET has moved a step closer to solving one of most contentious issues in the game — whether a bowler throws or not during a match.

MCC has been working with scientists at Imperial College, London, and Griffith University in Brisbane on a system using sensors attached to the bowling arm to establish precisely how much it bends, which in international matches must be no more than 15 degrees during delivery.

Earlier this year England were posed serious problems by Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, the legitimacy of whose doosra delivery has been frequently questioned, and in next week’s Test at Lord’s they will face West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford, only recently back to playing Test cricket after his action was officially deemed suspect.

This week the cricket committee of MCC, which acts as guardian of the laws, meets to review progress and is expected to endorse the funding of a second phase of research, which should see the system tried out in match situations some time in 2013.

“There’s no more controversial or emotive point of law,” said Fraser Stewart, the MCC’s laws manager. “It gets a lot of people hot under the collar and anything that can make the issue clearer and fairer will be a service to the game. If players can be monitored in match conditions it can only help the game’s credibility and integrity.”

The next phase is to refine a wireless system that will convey data from two sensors fitted either side of the elbow joint on the forearm and upper-arm. Cameras will be used to determine the points at which the arm goes above shoulder height and the ball is released, between which the limit of flex is applied.

The International Cricket Council, which is funding the project in conjunction with MCC, is keen for the system to be introduced because it accepts that bowlers who come under suspicion can bowl in a different way when asked to demonstrate their technique in nets or laboratories.

Muttiah Muralitharan failed to convince everybody of the legitimacy of his action even after putting himself through a range of scientific trials, including one in which he wore a splint, because he was not necessarily bowling the way he would in a match situation.

Researchers are confident that the sensors are too small to hinder bowlers in their performance, although if and when the system is brought in it would probably only be applied to bowlers about whom umpires have suspicions.

In-match testing would not only create a more realistic monitoring environment but also allow bowlers to continue playing until they have been categorically shown to have thrown. At present, bowlers are usually pulled out of competitive cricket to undergo remedial work, as happened with Shillingford.

The system is due to be tested on 24 of the world’s best young bowlers after the completion of the Under-19 World Cup in Brisbane in August.
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/sport/cricket/article1031834.ece
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Talisman on May 06, 2012, 07:19:11 AM: Good idea, far too many chuckers about...
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: roco on May 06, 2012, 07:24:34 AM: Fantastic idea as I've always thought bowlers under suspicion would just bowl differently in the net tests

Get it in now
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: PedalsMcgrew on May 06, 2012, 09:19:02 AM: I bet there are a number of bowlers around the world who are extremely worried about this............about time!
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Alvaro on May 06, 2012, 10:06:36 AM: Johan Botha is off to find some whisky, a revolver and a room he can lock from the inside...
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: tushar sehgal on May 06, 2012, 12:02:59 PM: I hope this works...hate chuckers..
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: BigBlueMachine on May 06, 2012, 01:05:56 PM: Just read what Ranatunga thinks of it all!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/quote/561779.html
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Bruce on May 15, 2012, 11:12:01 AM: http://www1.skysports.com/cricket/news/12344/7757096/BCCI-probe-fixing-claims

The BCCI have asked for footage from a television station alleging that spot fixing is occurring in the Indian Premier League.

News channel India TV claim to have carried out a sting operation on various players who have been caught on a hidden camera confessing to spot-fixing.

The channel went on to claim that not only was the cash-rich league tainted but first-class domestic matches were also fixed.

And the Indian cricket board have said that they will now review the tapes before deciding what further action to take.

BCCI president N Srinivasan said: "We will ensure that the integrity of the game is protected. BCCI believes in the integrity of the game.

"We will have to have the tapes and the moment we see it, whoever is the player, we will take very, very strict action.

"If there is any truth in it, it is a fact that we will take strictest action, even if it means suspending the player immediately.

Clean
"But [that has to be] based on some evidence and fact, for which I have asked the [chief operating officer] of IPL Sundar Raman to request for the tape."

However, he went on to add that special measures were taken to keep the IPL free of any such issues.

"IPL, we believe, is clean," he said. "We have got the anti-corruption unit covering it. They are in charge of the security.

"We have got Ravi Swami, who was heading BCCI's anti-corruption unit, to take it up for us.

"People can make allegations. But if there is any shred of evidence, we will take action."

BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale, in an official statement, said an urgent governing council meeting was being called to investigate the claims.

"The BCCI will not tolerate any violation of regulations and any act of corruption," he said.

"The complete footage of the 'sting operation' will be sought and examined thoroughly. The GC will meet on an emergent basis to review the footage and take appropriate strict action."
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on May 15, 2012, 11:21:15 AM: is this the end for Ramps?

surely the last player to score 100 first class hundreds?

Ramprakash dropped by Surrey

Mark Ramprakash has been dropped by Surrey for their next County Championship match against Somerset following a poor start to the season which cumulated in a pair against Worcestershire last week.

Ramprakash, 42, has scored 62 runs in eight Championship innings and his pair at New Road, completed when he was caught down the leg side off Richard Jones as he was out twice in a day, was just the third of his first-class career.

Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, said it was not a decision he took lightly. "We have not selected Mark Ramprakash for the game against Somerset which was a very difficult decision to make," he said. "Mark has had a tough start to the season and has not made the impact with the bat that he would have wanted to.

"But you do not score the amount of runs that Mark has without knowing your own game and I know he will work hard to find his form again. The challenge now for Mark is to push hard to regain his place for the remainder of the season."

The difficult start to this season followed a 2011 campaign that was also below Ramprakash's usual high standards. He was hindered by injury during the year and made 700 runs at 33.33 in 13 Championship matches with one hundred.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: PedalsMcgrew on May 15, 2012, 11:29:08 AM: He can't go on forever can he? The eyes go, the footwork slows...would be a shame if this was the end though....it would have been much better for it to be on his terms.

I can't imagine anyone else scoring a hundred hundreds....is there anyone currently playing the county game who might get close?
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Alvaro on May 15, 2012, 11:30:25 AM: No
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: ppccopener on May 15, 2012, 11:39:46 AM: dont think anyone will get close to 100 tons

ramps is coming to the end but i'd still back him to get back into the 4 day side

fantastic player you only really appreciate his technique and application when you see him bat

might be his last season thou
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: PedalsMcgrew on May 15, 2012, 11:41:15 AM: From a brief look, the closest to a hundred hundreds, still playing the game, is Murray Goodwin, I think, who's on 67! Can't think of anyone else who might have more?? Anyone??
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Manormanic on May 15, 2012, 11:54:57 AM: Hard to imagine anyone getting close now that there are so many fewer University games, tour matches etc. A player of that standard is pretty soon fast tracked into international cricket nd a twelve games of FC cricket a year schedule.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Cover_Drive on May 15, 2012, 01:55:39 PM: Doesn't Sir Jack Hobbs have like 200 or so centuries in First Class?
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Tumo on May 15, 2012, 02:09:55 PM: Quote from: Cover_Drive on May 15, 2012, 01:55:39 PM
Doesn't Sir Jack Hobbs have like 200 or so centuries in First Class?
199
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Cover_Drive on May 30, 2012, 06:34:24 AM: Saker rates attack as good as great Australians

David Saker, the England bowling coach, has said England's bowling attack is "as good as" the great Australian attack that dominated world cricket for more than a decade.

Saker, the 46-year-old Australian, was appointed to the England role in April 2010. Before that, however, he had played with and against some of Australia's finest cricketers as a fast bowler with Victoria and Tasmania. He was also assistant coach of the Victoria side that lifted two Sheffield Shield titles and of the Delhi Daredevils side that played in the 2009 Champions League. He is, therefore, well placed to offer informed views on the subject.

"We should be saying our group is as good as them," Saker said. "You can compare them. The Australians were stand-out bowlers, a great group for a long time and they also had a world-class spinner. Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in tandem were amazing, but I have seen some spells from Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Swann that have been just as good or better at times. It's important we don't forget the ability of Swanny when he comes in around the three quicks. That's really important.

"McGrath was the stand-out in that group but they had Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Andy Bichel, too: they were all fantastic bowlers. It's a bit like when Jimmy and Swann bowl together - it is not unlike McGrath and Warne at times. There is so much pressure on the batsmen.

Craig McDermott's departure from Australia's bowling coach role has created a vacancy back in Saker's home country, but there appears little chance of him being persuaded to leave the England job such is his admiration for their talent.

"In Sri Lanka, there were a couple of times, especially late on day four in the second Test, those two reminded me so much of McGrath and Warne. They put so much pressure on the Sri Lanka batting group and the wickets fell. They also have the back-up of some really good quicks as well, which is nice to have."

That 'back-up' may have an opportunity in the next Test. With England having secured a series-clinching victory over West Indies at Trent Bridge, England are considering resting James Anderson and, perhaps, Stuart Broad, and allowing Steven Finn and Graeme Onions an opportunity to adapt to Test cricket. While Saker understands that Anderson and Broad will be keen to play in Birmingham, he believes that England's strength in depth is such that even if they missed the Test, the quality of the attack would hardly be diminished.

"There's no doubt that the likes of Anderson and Broad will want to play as it gives them more chance of taking Test wickets. But if they have a Test off here and there, in my opinion, it probably gives them the chance to play longer. Those wickets can be picked up later because their careers will be longer. So there are two ways of looking at it.

"We have a lot of hard cricket ahead, Tests and one-dayers, and we need to make a decision for the good of English cricket. All our bowlers at Trent Bridge normally play in all three forms of the game so we have to be mindful of trying to give them a rest. But we also have to be mindful that nobody really wants to give up their place, which is fair enough, they are very proud of playing for their country. We have to assess that closely.

Two great attacks?
England
James Anderson: 267 Test wickets at 30.05
Stuart Broad: 161 at 30.42
Tim Bresnan: 52 at 25.46
Graeme Swann: 188 at 28.12
Australia
Glenn McGrath: 563 at 21.64
Brett Lee: 310 at 30.81
Jason Gillespie: 259 at 26.13
Shane Warne: 708 at 25.41
"If Finn and Onions were to play, I don't think we would lose too much. That's the beauty of it. Obviously, you would lose your top two bowlers, but the quality of the guys coming in is high. They will step up and do a great job. We showed that in Australia when we lost Broad and then Finn lost his spot. A lot of people were very dubious about whether we had the cover but we did. That proved the group of six or seven bowlers can all do a job if they get the opportunity.

Steven Finn has made no secret of his frustration at not being able to force his way back into the line-up and Saker appreciates that waiting on the sidelines can be tough when a bowler feels in good form.

"I'm sure Finn is very frustrated," he said. "The selectors pick the best team to try to win a game but I'm sure Finn will get his chance. He is still young. He is very exciting and his one-day form over the last 12-18 months has been outstanding. He will have a lot of cricket ahead of him. In an ideal world, we would love to get him in. But we have three fast bowlers doing a really good job."

Saker has been particularly impressed with the bowlers' ability to adapt to conditions as required. England were anticipating being able to utilise green wickets and conventional swing in the Test series against West Indies. Instead, however, they have been confronted with two slow, low wickets and conditions that have offered little assistance.

"The wickets have probably been flatter than we are used to in England," he said. "In that sense, it was really good that we took 20 wickets in each match. At times, it was really difficult because the batsmen dug in - particularly Chanderpaul and Samuels. We found it hard to dismiss them. I was really proud of the way the bowlers kept slogging away and got the breakthroughs. The reverse swing late on day three at Trent Bridge helped us out a bit as well. And the DRS helps as well with the lbws. The boys were outstanding. We applied a lot of pressure.

"This group is very skilful. What they do really well is assess conditions quickly. They will see if it is swinging and, if so, they will stick to our original plans. If it is not doing that, they will come up with some other plan. They are very good at talking out in the middle. Stuart and Jimmy are very good at that and they pass on that message to the rest of the group. To be able to bowl conventional swing and they say 'this is not going to work' and then switch to reverse and attack in different ways - that is a huge weapon to have."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-west-indies-2012/content/current/story/566645.html
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Alvaro on July 09, 2012, 04:09:41 PM: Kevin Pietersen has kept the door open for a return to limited-overs cricket for England and is still hoping for a late change of policy by the selectors to allow him to appear in the World Twenty20. Although, he admits that both scenarios still remain unlikely.

Pietersen quit international one-day cricket at the end of May citing England's heavy schedule and the way the ECB central contracts are written meant his decision made him ineligible for Twenty20 selection as players have to be available for both limited-overs formats. Pietersen, who returned to action with Surrey at the beginning of this month ahead of the Test series against South Africa, said the fixture demands would need to change for him to consider reversing his retirement but he still wishes he could play Twenty20.

"Never say never. I'm a lot older and more mature than a few years ago, so you never know," he told the Daily Mail about whether he would return to coloured clothes. "Anything can happen. I'll never say no, but the schedule would have to be a hell of a lot different for me to come back. Wait and see.

"I've had my wife, mother, dad, mother-in-law, brothers and my best mates all saying to me 'don't you wish you were out there batting against Australia?' And I've said to them I haven't missed it at all. But maybe all I needed was a break. Who knows? I've played a lot of cricket in the last seven years."

As for the World Twenty20, which takes place in Sri Lanka from late September, where England will be defending their title, Pietersen has always been clear that he wanted to play in that tournament.

"I still hope there might be a compromise for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka," he said. "The squad hasn't been announced. I would love to play in that and defend our title with England. If it happens, great, but I'm not holding my breath."

Pietersen's comments about the packed international schedule have not always gone down well because he continues to play in the IPL. However, he believes it is unfair that he is criticised for taking up that opportunity when so many of the game's leading players take part.

"Okay, the ECB may say me playing in the IPL makes it hard to rest me but what annoys me is that, with every other board the IPL is a matter of fact. It's not going away," he said. "It's going to be there and players want to play in it. Players want to go and earn their money and unless you let them decisions will have to be made.

"Big players want to play in front of big audiences. You want to hear your name chanted by 50,000 people. It's amazing. It makes you feel so good. The window for that has been created by the other boards but unfortunately not ours."

England have responded outstandingly well to the loss of Pietersen from both limited-overs formats. Ian Bell has slotted into the opening role with 364 runs in five innings while Alex Hales made 99 in the Twenty20 against West Indies and Pietersen has enjoyed watching the results.

"I'm a huge England fan and it's brilliant to be beating Australia at the moment," he said. "We've got an Ashes series next year and you want their guys to say 'we've got to play against these blokes next year. We can't score more than 250 against them in a one-day game'. It's the mental edge you want over them. We've thrown some big punches against them and that's fantastic."

I've defended him in the past but I give up. KP is a bellend. Throws his toys out of pram and now wants back in. There's something sociopathic about the tool. No one's bigger than the game, no matter how much brylcreem or an Indian motorbike company pay you...

I'd rather lose the World 2020 with the current England team than let this self-acclaimed hero strut about in Sri Lanka like he's the bee's knees.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on August 15, 2012, 01:01:50 PM: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/15/the-spin-england-west-indies-1991

Remembering England's fairytale victory over West Indies in 1991Two decades ago England went into the final Test needing a win to square the series. The result was a feelgood Test for the ages

"You don't go out looking for a job dressed like that do ya, on a weekday?"

"Is this a … what day is this?"

Jeffrey Lebowski didn't know what day it was. The Spin often knows the feeling. At the moment we're not sure what year it is. The state of English cricket leading up to Thursday's Test against South Africa is part 2012, part 1990s. If the Kevin Pietersen business is emphatically of its time, involving social networking and the confused entitlement of modern society, then the more important element of this week – England's need to win the final Test to square the series – feels like a throwback to the previous generation.

It actually didn't happen as often as you might think, yet it's still evocative of those late 20th century days. England in disarray going into the final Test, the selectors making multiple changes and being slaughtered for the aesthetic vandalism of omitting Jack Russell and/or the specialist spinner. The most obvious reference point is 1994, against South Africa, but we covered that a few weeks ago, and although we were tempted to reprint the whole thing and hope nobody noticed, we've always wanted to bask in the victory over West Indies in 1991, one of the most life-affirming Test matches of modern times. There were no tweets, no texts, no YouTube interviews and no parody accounts – even if Ian Botham did take the proverbial with his Beefy's Own comeback.

Happiness may be a cigar called Hamlet, finding a pencil or even a warm gun; it is also the memory of those five days at the Oval in 1991. This was a magical match played in gorgeous sunshine that almost had a fairytale quality. England beat West Indies, still the undisputed world champions, by five wickets to secure an heroic 2-2 series draw. Younger readers may wonder what the fuss is about (a draw against West Indies? Whatever) but a drawn series was as joyously improbable as victory in the 2005 Ashes. England had lost seven series in a row against West Indies, going back to 1974. In this paper, Mike Selvey wrote that "for England and English cricket … [the draw] represents quite possibly the most stirring of post-war deeds and arguably the grandest of them all". Like 2005, the series ended on an unforgettably crazy Monday (we did think about calling it a manic Monday but, y'know). In the Times, Alan Lee said that "one of the great games in Test cricket history climaxed in a rare and precious sporting day".

For England, a happy ending seemed utterly improbable a week earlier. After starting the series with an immense victory at Headingley, when Graham Gooch made his astonishing 154 not out, they had been slowly brought to heel by West Indies, who won the third and fourth Tests to take a 2-1 lead. Now the Windies were coming to the Oval, their favourite English ground and the one most suited to their phalanx of fast bowlers. The bookies made England 5-1 before the match. OK, there was two 00s missing from Headingley 1981, when England were 500-1, but it was still not exactly a vote of confidence. England went for their 007, the all-action hero Botham, who had once been pitched as the next James Bond. Botham had not played Test cricket for two years but was part of a dramatic reinvention of the team that even the chairman of selectors Ted Dexter said was "high-risk".

That was a generous description. The selectors basically went rogue, ripping up the existing XI and taking myriad gambles in a bespoke team that never played together before or after. Out went Graeme Hick – who had been persecuted by Curtly Ambrose – Allan Lamb, Richard Illingworth, Jack Russell and the injured Derek Pringle. In came Botham, the fit again Robin Smith, Alec Stewart, Phil Tufnell and David 'Syd' Lawrence. Four of the five were significant risks. Even though Botham had panelled 161 against West Indies for Worcestershire earlier in the summer, his Test record against them was poor and nobody knew whether, at 35, he could still cut it at international level. Stewart had not kept wicket in first-class cricket for Surrey all summer. Tufnell had been ostracised after the previous winter's tour of Australia because of his inability to fit in with the new professional ethos of Gooch and Micky Stewart; and Lawrence, though genuinely fast, was inexperienced and erratic. All four would play vital roles in the match.

The Stewart selection was particularly controversial. At that stage he was a batsman who kept only in limited-overs cricket, but England wanted five bowlers and that meant a keeper who could bat in the top six. A Guardian leader called it "crazy" and said he had "demonstrated before that he isn't up to the job". In his Times piece ahead of the squad selection, Lee said "surely the idea is not even worth discussing". Even Gooch, whose idea it was, said "I don't like the principle, and I wouldn't say for a minute it wasn't a gamble." Stewart said he was "very pleased but surprised." Russell kept his own counsel. "The outrage of almost everyone in the game speaks eloquently enough for the wicketkeeper England have discarded on entirely spurious grounds," wrote Lee in the Times. He and others were more than happy to praise Stewart after an almost flawless performance. "The selectors … are to be congratulated," wrote Lee nine days later. "Stewart did both jobs commendably well."

Most of the build-up, inevitably, was dominated by another all-rounder, the returning Botham. He celebrated his recall by taking seven for 54 against Warwickshire on the Monday before the game, the best figures of his long County Championship career. "MR INCREDIBLE" roared the back page of the Express. It was pitched as Both v Viv, one last time: Botham's comeback and Viv Richards's farewell. With West Indies having no Tests scheduled for the next 15 months (in the end they played the newly reintegrated South Africa in April 1992), it was widely and correctly assumed that this would be the Test match farewell of three West Indian greats: Richards, Malcolm Marshall and Jeffrey Dujon.

The cricket-loving philanthropist Patrick Whittingdale arranged a pre-match dinner at which Fleet Street's finest paid tribute to Richards. Perhaps the greatest of them all, John Woodcock, said: "If I were to choose two players to watch between lunch and tea, of all those I have ever seen, I would want to watch Denis [Compton] and you – and I hope he would not run you out." Viv said he was a "bit moved" – akin to most men admitting they'd gone a big rubbery one – although he was not in the mood mood to get too sentimental. "You'd think," he said, "that Viv was dead or something." His old mate Beefy was certainly back. With his first ball in the nets he sent Smith's stumps flying. "If one did not know better," wrote Selvey in this paper, "one would say it was a set-up."

Botham spent most of the first day struggling with a virus. If his sense of smell was compromised, then the England's batsmen's was more acute than ever. And the only thing they could smell was leather. Presented with the first fast pitch of the summer after a series of slow seamers, the quartet of Ambrose, Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Patrick Patterson enjoyed themselves. There was another reason to pummel the pitch halfway down: it would be the West Indies' last Test before the introduction of a regulation limiting bowlers to one bouncer per over. One last blast of chin music for the road – and on the road, for the Oval was like a concrete slab.

For England to close on 231 for four was an outstanding effort. "England survived relatively intact against the most torrid three sessions they have experienced since they were steamrollered in Antigua 18 months ago," said Selvey in this paper. In the series, their scores had been 198, 252, 354, 300, 211, 188 and 255. They had been taking on the West Indies' pace quartet with just two and a half batsmen. Gooch and Smith were simply magnificent – "It would hardly be an exaggeration," wrote Scyld Berry in Wisden, "to say they both batted virtually as well as humanly possible" – while the 21-year-old Mark Ramprakash, in his debut series, showed plenty of moxie even if he kept getting stuck in the twenties. But Hick, Lamb and Mike Atherton made 242 runs at 10.52, while Hugh Morris had failed twice on his debut in the previous Test at Edgbaston.

When England won the toss and batted, Gooch and particularly Morris were subjected to a brutal working over. They somehow got through to lunch at 82 for none, and were even applauded off by some of the West Indian team for their performance. Morris, only 5ft 8in, showed almighty courage. "By lunchtime," wrote Woodcock in the Times, "Gooch knew he had found a kindred spirit." As they walked off Gooch put a paternal arm round his new opening partner.

After lunch, Ambrose moved things up a notch. He smashed Morris on the jaw, breaking his helmet in the process. It was the first of five bouncers in seven balls to Morris, the last of which brought his wicket. Morris's 44, made in 189 minutes, was worth plenty more. It was, said Lee, "an ordeal he is unlikely ever to forget". His wicket sparked a collapse of three for eight in 21 balls. Atherton went for a duck, fending a beast from Courtney Walsh to slip. "It would have ripped out his throat had he not got a glove there first," said Selvey. Gooch went to the magnificent Ambrose.

In the Times, Lee described that afternoon session as "two hours of purgatory", with only 23 overs bowled and barely an idea where the next run was coming from. In the Express, Colin Bateman said "the batsmen's sole intention was to leave the middle on two feet as opposed to a stretcher". But Smith, promoted to No4, and Ramprakash, calmly rebuilt the innings. At that stage Smith was one of the world's best – third in the official rankings behind Gooch and Richie Richardson – while Ramprakash seemed undeniably to be made of the right stuff. If you had pencilled him in for 5000 Test runs, the only query would have been why you set the bar so low. His temperament and technique under the most extreme pressure were revelatory. He batted over 15 hours in the series, even though he never got beyond 29, and each of his innings lasted at least an hour. His scores in the series were 27, 27, 24, 13, 21, 29, 25, 25 and 19.

When he was hit early in his innings, Ramprakash did not rub his body and stared straight back at Ambrose. When a nastier blow on the wrist precipitated treatment, Richie Benaud observed on the BBC that Ramprakash had "a ton of courage". He made a calm 25 from 78 balls before, the hard work done, falling tamely to Carl Hooper. It was another immensely promising innings, and Selvey wrote that "he had established himself as a batsman of undoubted Test-match temperament". This is the true sadness of Ramprakash's career: many unfulfilled talents look out of place in Test cricket at the start, like Hick, yet he could barely have had a more impressive debut series.

Or a more impressive partner in this innings. After a traumatic winter in Australia, Smith was in the form of his life. He resumed on 54 for the second day, and went on to make his second century of the series; his 109 was an innings of monumental mental strength and physical bravery. He had a badly injured finger on the right hand and was also suffering with a virus, yet nothing was going to curb his almost masochistic enthusiasm for facing the West Indian quicks. He took his blows, one on the glove and two in the stomach, and landed them too. The speed-of-light square cut was in full evidence, with two in two balls off Ambrose, and he also drove handsomely on the rare occasions the opportunity presented itself.

Smith reached 2,000 Test runs in what was only his 27th Test, and his performance in this match took his average to 52.58 – outrageous for that era (Andrew Jones, Javed Miandad and Mark Taylor were the only contemporary players with a higher average), especially because 20 of his 27 Tests had been against the world's best, West Indies and Australia. It's often said that South African-born batsmen have to work 10 times as hard to win affection in England, yet Smith would walk into an XI of England's most-loved cricketers. His magnificent performances against West Indies are one of the main reasons for that. "If a Test of a batsman's rating is reckoned to be how he fares against a latter-day West Indian attack, Robin Smith is just about at the top of the tree," wrote Woodcock in the Times. "No one counter-punches against them with the same resilience and aggressiveness."

Smith's hundred helped England to the holy grail of 400 – a total they had not reached in an amazing 66 innings against the West Indies. They had to beg, steal and borrow every run. There were 54 in extras, 39 of them no-balls, and their 419 took more than 150 overs. Stewart and Botham each made 31 – Botham's was a responsible effort that took over two hours – and Chris Lewis punched a superb 47 not out from No8.

At that stage Lewis seemed to be maturing beautifully – on the fourth day of the match he would bowl an outstanding spell of 15 overs for 16 either side of lunch, including seven overs for one run at one stage – and was a potential successor to Botham. Not that anyone could deny Botham the spotlight. The end to his innings, when he tried to hook Ambrose and staggered towards his own wicket, dislodging the bails as he unsuccessfully tried to hurdle the stumps, was the moment of the day. Not least because of the impact it had on Test Match Special, where it prompted the legendary 'leg over' commentary from Brian Johnston and Jonathan Agnew. It's an appropriately abiding memory of such a feelgood match. Twenty one years on, it remains instant serotonin.

After reaching 419, England began their search for 20 wickets with almost manic desperation. At slip, Botham became the first Englishman to wear sunglasses in a Test (a big deal at the time, believe it or not). Phil Simmons went early, but West Indies ended the second day on 90 for one after England put down both Desmond Haynes (off Botham's fourth ball; so nearly another who-writes-your-scripts moment) and Richardson with the score on 85. An eventful day also included a 10-minute delay while he groundstaff cleared paper from around the ground, which had been thrown like ticker tape during a Mexican wave. "One of the more brainless things you could ever see at a cricket match," said Benaud on the BBC.

It was nowhere near as brainless as what we saw the following day, when West Indies ushered themselves towards defeat with an absurd display against Phil Tufnell. "Somewhere in the history of Test cricket," wrote the BBC commentator Jack Bannister, "a team may have tossed away a near-unassailable position in a five-match series with as abject a batting display … but I doubt it." They were 158 for three when Tufnell came on for his first bowl of the day; in the next 63 balls they lost seven for 18, most to ridiculous slogs. Tufnell finished with figures of 14.3-3-25-6. His figures for the day were 5.3-2-4-6. The last six batsmen scored four between them.

Tufnell was a genuine matchwinner around that time, a Cockney with craft who flighted the ball and outwitted good batsmen. He took five-fors in his next two Tests as well. He bowled impressively here, too, but the West Indian batting was at best lamentable, at worst disgraceful. It started when the debutant Clayton Lambert (covering for the injured Gus Logie, only because a young Brian Lara was injured) slogged his first ball miles in the air. Richards, down the order because of a migraine, sliced a wild on-the-run drive and was beautifully caught by Stewart, and the tail continued to die by the long handle. Haynes was alone as the others jumped off a deck that wasn't even burning. He carried his bat for 75 not out, an innings of serene authority that put the pitch in the context.

The upshot of all these upward shots was that West Indies followed on against England for the first time in 22 years. This time they batted properly, downgrading their approach against Tufnell from demented swishing to calculated aggression. (Having taken six for 25 in the first innings, Tufnell ended up a sixth of the wickets for six times as many runs: one for 150, even though he actually bowled pretty well.) Botham picked up a couple of important wickets, and then Lawrence dismissed Haynes, who left the field for the first time in the match. West Indies closed day three on 152 for three, a deficit of 91.

At that stage, Test cricket on a Sunday was still an unusual occurrence. We might have expected a quiet, respectful start. Some chance. Hooper, his genius in full flow, hit three sixes in the first six overs of the day, two of them off Tufnell. But Tufnell kept his nerve, kept flighting the ball, and had Hooper caught on the drive at short extra cover for a lustrous 54. It was one of only three wickets England took all day; any tentative hope that victory might come easily soon disappeared. Richardson – who before the series was disparaged as somebody who could not bat in English conditions – made his second century in a row, a high-class 121 from 312 balls. It was a masterful display of how to judge and sometimes dictate the mood of a tense day's play. At times he was becalmed, especially in excellent duels with Lewis and Tufnell in the afternoon session, at others freewheeling. He raced from 85 to 99 in four deliveries from Lawrence.

And then there was Viv. He walked to the crease for his final Test innings needing 20 for a career average of 50. The parallels with Don Bradman 43 years earlier were obvious; in this paper, Selvey joked that he might be bowled for nought by an Atherton googly. Richards reached 20 with one of the few all-run fours of his career and played with furious determination. "He played the innings of a batsman pouring every last drop of experience, technique and willpower into a final effort, taking no risks, playing exclusively on merit and punching boundaries only when presented with an unequivocal case for dispatching the ball," wrote Selvey. "It was classical batting against fine bowling."

Having reached 50, Viv's temperature was rasied by the hustle and bristle of Lawrence. He was, as Frank Keating put it, "beginning to get on the great man's wick". Two disdainful boundaries were followed with a drag to Morris at mid-on. One of the greatest batting careers was over. Richards walked off to a standing ovation, cap pulled down over his eyes, the window to his soul kept shut. We will never know if there were tears at that moment, and it is right that it should be that way. There were certainly tears around the ground. "Cricket provides its moving moments," wrote Selve, "and this stung the eyes more than most." A banner on the Harleyford Road flats said simply: 'Thanks Viv, we'll miss you'.

We would miss the brilliant Dujon too, even if by now he was a fading force. Two years before the debut of Glenn McGrath, he became the first Test batsman to lose his Test wicket to a pigeon. He was unsettled by its seed-gathering presence at silly point, and stopped play to shoo it away. After a delay of 93 seconds, Dujon wafted absent-mindedly at the next ball and was caught behind. That was 311 for six, but when the players came off at 4.55pm West Indies had moved on to 356 for six, a lead of 113, For England fans, The Fear was making its presence known, even if excitement remained the principal emotion. In the Express on Monday morning, the first line of Bateman's report captured the mood. "Take a day's holiday, get a sick note, fake amnesia – whatever it takes, forget work and don't miss the cricket in SE11 today." By lunchtime the ground was full, with shiny happy people basking in a rare sporting occasion.

Phil DeFreitas completed a wonderful series (22 wickets at 20.77) by dismissing Marshall and Ambrose in the first over, and then Lawrence completed his first five-for for England with the wickets of Walsh and Richardson. England's target was 143. Any suggestion it might be easy was dispelled when Patterson gave Morris the definitive snorter. Three for one. Wickets fell with troubling regularity, but England – running with the mood of the day – rattled along at a crazy run rate. Ambrose and Patterson ended with one-day figures of 8-0-48-0 and 9-0-63-2. At 80 for four, with Gooch and Smith gone, England were in a bit of trouble. But Ramprakash, indecently calm again, took 27 minutes to get off the mark while Stewart counter-punched at the other end to make a rapid 38 not out.

They took England to within one run of victory when Richards threw the ball to the part-timer Lambert to finish the game. Absurdly he dismissed Ramprakash, but that allowed the dream ending. Botham strode to the wicket and pulled his first ball for four to Compton's Corner. "Compton's famous sweep for the Ashes triumph of 1953 had finished in the same spot," said Wisden, "and in many ways this match was just as memorable in Oval Test history." Botham may not have got his leg over but he had got England's leg over the line: it was his first ever Test win in 20 attempts against West Indies, and he had hit the winning runs in his first Test for two years. Who wrote his scripts? He did, of course.

If Botham had inevitably stolen the show, nobody doubted that the biggest hero was the captain. "GOOCHIE'S FINEST HOUR!" was the Daily Mirror headline the next day. His unimaginable excellence had driven England to such rare heights. A couple of years earlier, the chairman of selectors Dexter said Gooch had "the charisma of a wet fish". Now he called him "a very special guy". Gooch looked shattered, having given his soul and body all summer. As champagne was sprayed all around him, he sat nursing a cup of tea. Forget the run orgy of 1990; this was Gooch's summer.

West Indies were not too sad, despite their defeat. They retained the Wisden Trophy and remained unbeaten in a series since 1979-80. A match and series full of decency of dignity left little scope for regrets. Two decades on, the memories have added poignancy because of the fate of some of the players. Marshall, the greatest of all fast bowlers, would die aged 41 in 1999; Lawrence's career would effectively be ended by an horrific knee injury during the tour of New Zealand that winter. (If you want to see, or rather hear, the injury – although it is truly horrible and we don't recommend it – you can click here) Lawrence was one of a number of the England team who did not or were not allowed to fulfil the considerable promise they showed in the match or the series: Ramprakash, Morris, Lewis, Tufnell, DeFreitas, maybe even Smith.

At the time the future was not ours to see, and there was only a warm, fuzzy feeling. "It has been a wonderful summer," said Richards. "We go back with our heads held high. The series was played in a wonderful spirit of keenness and generosity, and as it's level, the only outright winner is this wonderful game, which we all love dearly." The tour manager Lance Gibbs said it was "the happiest and most sporting of tours I can remember", a status that was even more striking because it followed a nasty series between West Indies and Australia earlier that year.

Wisden concurred that the series was "staged in the best of spirit", as did the Guardian. "Of all the good things to come out of this series," wrote Selvey, "perhaps the most significant was the manner in which the contests were conducted, proving conclusively that to compete fiercely – and there is no more ferocious contest than that between batsman and mega-fast bowlers on a surge – it is not necessary to drag the game into the gutter." Instead, for five days in August 1991, it was elevated to the stars.

Little adition from Ed Smith in Cricinfo today - the last line is especially poinient...
-
A fortnight ago I added a second, shorter item to my column to accommodate an instinct I had about Kevin Pietersen. It seemed to me, looking from the outside, that something big was about to happen. I had no evidence beyond a deep-seated hunch. Pietersen had been looking increasingly distant and hurt, and the England management seemed to be losing patience.

But I noticed years ago that Pietersen often plays at his scintillating best when he feels wronged. And he did just that once more. His 149 at Headingley was one of the great innings played for England in the modern era. When it is a case of "KP against the world", he is capable of almost anything.

Is there any way, I wonder, that Pietersen can access that strand of his personality - the resilient individualism and epic self-belief that defined his Headingley hundred - without actually orchestrating a situation where it really is "KP against the world"?

Can't he just imagine life is like that - that he has a giant score to settle with the world - while, in fact, behaving normally, just like everyone else?

I hope so. Because it seems a terrible curse if he must experience genuine turmoil to access his deepest talents.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Alvaro on October 02, 2012, 11:23:28 AM: http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/585181.html
Rehman tests positive, faces ban

Abdur Rehman could be facing a ban after testing positive

Abdur Rehman, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, is facing a ban after failing a drugs test during his stint with Somerset in the English domestic season. It is believed the drugs were recreational and not performance enhancing.

Reports first emerged in the Pakistan media and ESPNcricinfo understands that a formal announcement is due to be made within the next day.

Rehman, 32, played four Championship matches for Somerset and took 27 wickets, which included 9 for 65 Worcestershire, and flew straight back from Pakistan's one-day series against Australia in the UAE to play the match against Sussex.

Rehman has established himself as key player over the past year and caused England plenty of problems during the Test series in UAE, where he claimed 19 wickets in three matches. Overall he has 81 wickets in 17 Tests at 28.40 apiece.

Hmm
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: The_Bird on October 02, 2012, 11:35:21 AM: Recreational?

Could be Thatchers Gold.....
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Alvaro on October 02, 2012, 11:57:04 AM: Lemon sherbert
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: petehosk on October 02, 2012, 12:06:41 PM: Sherbert Dip-Dabs and Sherbert Fountains......MMMMMMMM! :D
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: tushar sehgal on October 11, 2012, 01:11:04 PM: Just read this, hopefully they do some good work for cricket.

Kumble to head ICC's cricket committee, Strauss is on it too, along with Mark Taylor.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/586376.html
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: tushar sehgal on October 28, 2012, 07:49:25 PM: Not news but wanted to share :) a write-up abt NSCA...guess the bat in pic ;)

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/588232.html
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: mad_abt_cricket on October 28, 2012, 08:54:44 PM: Quote from: tusharsehgal on October 28, 2012, 07:49:25 PM
Not news but wanted to share :) a write-up abt NSCA...guess the bat in pic ;)

[url]http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/588232.html[/url]

Nice Article Tushar.. Which one is you in the picture ?
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Blazer on October 28, 2012, 09:07:16 PM: Good read Tusharji , Was that a H4L excel bat ?
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: tushar sehgal on October 28, 2012, 11:55:17 PM: Quote from: Blazer on October 28, 2012, 09:07:16 PM
Good read Tusharji , Was that a H4L excel bat ?

Yup that's a H4L with excel stickers...it was a demo bat that i passed on to one of our top batsman :)...

Quote from: mad_abt_cricket on October 28, 2012, 08:54:44 PM
Nice Article Tushar.. Which one is you in the picture ?
Thanks, I didn't write off-course but I am the top row leftmost person in the pic
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on November 09, 2012, 08:14:05 PM: thanks for sending me this...

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?228998
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on November 10, 2012, 09:54:00 PM: worth a read. kallis = ponting+lee
or in statistical terms, Kallis = Sobers

mobile.news.com.au/top-stories/cricket-journalist-gideon-haigh-looks-at-legendary-career-of-south-african-all-rounder-jacques-kallis/story-e6frfkp9-1226513549339
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: PM7 on November 10, 2012, 10:25:42 PM: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2230682/Cricket-match-fixing-Was-World-Cup-semi-final-fixed.html

This could be an interesting read if true
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on February 12, 2013, 02:33:01 PM: Nice article and interview with Goochie here
http://www.lords.org/latest-news/news-archive/honours-board-legend-gooch,2671,NS.html (http://www.lords.org/latest-news/news-archive/honours-board-legend-gooch,2671,NS.html)

with his famous laminated bat!
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: procricket on February 12, 2013, 02:48:42 PM: i only ever been to lords twice it sad to say i do plan at some stage to go again a magical place and fitting home of cricket.

I missed out on a box last year by being on duty hopeful one day though
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on February 12, 2013, 03:00:26 PM: SKIP THIS BIT IF YOU'RE EATING, YEAH?
"I've been angry with the world all day."

So says the Queensland Bulls batsman Chris Lynn. And with good reason. Way back in November Lynn had the misfortune to be hit in, whats the euphemism?, his balls by a ball from Doug Bollinger. So far, so fnarr fnarr. The low blow though, led to long-term complications for Lynn, who admitted this week that his head coach, Darren Lehmann, had to sit him down and suggest that it might be wise to sit out the rest of the season on the grounds that "there's a lot more to life than cricket".

Those of a sensitive disposition may like to move on to the Still Want More? section at this point: "The swelling just kept on getting worse and worse. I had it drained with a needle and it went back to normal but then the swelling started again." Lynn, reports say, is typically one of the more jovial members of the team, but he has, of late, lost all his mirth. "I haven't been getting too many hours of sleep at night. I've been waking up in pain and that has had a domino effect. It has got to the stage that I can't do anything pain-free."

This is what the dark side of the old-man-gets-hit-groin-by-ball gag looks like. So next time you start to snigger when you see somebody get clattered in the box, think twice, for Chris Lynn's sake.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: fros23 on February 12, 2013, 04:16:51 PM: Quote from: Buzz on February 12, 2013, 03:00:26 PM
SKIP THIS BIT IF YOU'RE EATING, YEAH?
"I've been angry with the world all day."

So says the Queensland Bulls batsman Chris Lynn. And with good reason. Way back in November Lynn had the misfortune to be hit in, whats the euphemism?, his balls by a ball from Doug Bollinger. So far, so fnarr fnarr. The low blow though, led to long-term complications for Lynn, who admitted this week that his head coach, Darren Lehmann, had to sit him down and suggest that it might be wise to sit out the rest of the season on the grounds that "there's a lot more to life than cricket".

Those of a sensitive disposition may like to move on to the Still Want More? section at this point: "The swelling just kept on getting worse and worse. I had it drained with a needle and it went back to normal but then the swelling started again." Lynn, reports say, is typically one of the more jovial members of the team, but he has, of late, lost all his mirth. "I haven't been getting too many hours of sleep at night. I've been waking up in pain and that has had a domino effect. It has got to the stage that I can't do anything pain-free."

This is what the dark side of the old-man-gets-hit-groin-by-ball gag looks like. So next time you start to snigger when you see somebody get clattered in the box, think twice, for Chris Lynn's sake.

Not a pleasant experience!

The lads at Brighton and Hove have told me how Luke Wells was bowling in the nets at sussex against Chad Keegan. Keegan absolutely belted one back at Wellsy, it hit him in the nether region and he had to have one of them removed! They were netting in the indoor school and apparantly the guys on the other side of the ground could hear the screams. :(
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Ayrtek Cricket on February 12, 2013, 04:21:09 PM: on our little meeting with George and Iain the other week we got onto this subject and one of the Warwickshire boys wears 2 boxes when he bats as a result of being hit and pinched twice before by a split box!!!

its always a laugh when its not you being hit by the consequences can be pretty serious as a result of it.
Title: Re: Cricket in the news today
Post by: Buzz on February 13, 2013, 01:26:05 PM: http://www.lords.org/latest-news/news-archive/ycs-in-winter-adam-hose,2669,NS.html (http://www.lords.org/latest-news/news-archive/ycs-in-winter-adam-hose,2669,NS.html)
YCs in winter: Adam Hose
Date released: 13 February 2013

In our latest YC in winter profile, Lords.org talks to Adam Hose, 2012's IRK MacLaren Young Cricketer Award winner, who is spending two weeks at the Global Cricket School in Mumbai, India
Hose, a tall batsman from the Isle of Wight, had a strong first year at Lord's in 2012, despite a summer in which it was far more rewarding to ply one's trade as a bowler than with willow in hand.

His reward for topping the one-day batting averages and weighing in regularly in the other formats for Mark Alleyne's team was the IRK MacLaren Young Cricketer Award and with it a grant which he wisely invested in a trip to Pune's Global Cricket School.

A finishing school with seven centre's around the world (three in India, one each in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia and South Africa) the GCS has a high reputation among coaches as benefitting the development of teams such as Afghanistan and Scotland, as well as individuals such as Hose.

And for the 20-year-old, whose improving bowling was a feature of 2012, the trip serves a very simple purpose: "I came out to India focussed on two things," Hose told Lords.org. "Batting and bowling."

Drill down however, and there is more to it than that. Despite spending time at the Darren Lehman Cricket Academy in January 2012, Hose has no experience batting or bowling in sub-continental conditions.

"Batting wise I'm working on building game plans for how to approach the turning ball," he adds.

"And with my bowling I hope to gain a better understanding and approach to bowling when the ball and pitch is offering little movement for the seamer. Gaining exposure to different coaches and they're methods is always important as a young player.

"I am still working out my own individual 'game', and the knowledge and information I've gained out here can only help a young player like myself understand what works best for me."

Hose's India trip means he's had a mixed winter of preparation ahead of the 2013 season, spending his time largely at Lord's before travelling to the sub-continent.

The disruption of a woeful summer of weather in his first season left Hose, and many of his teammates, less fatigued than they might have been - leading to an increased appetite for getting back into the swing of things last Autumn.

Hose is one of a number of this current crop of YCs, including Stuart Poynter who spent time at Lord's either side of the Christmas break. As an ECB Level II Coach, Hose was also able to combine his training and supplement his income through paid coaching jobs at the MCC Academy:

Hose said: "After Christmas we've have had a set schedule for training led by (Head Coach) Mark Alleyne and (Assistant Head Coach) Alan Duncan, which has been fantastic, the lads are working very hard and looking in great shape for the up and coming season, which we are all very excited about."

"Working in the MCC Academy makes it a great combination for me as it allows me to complete all my training in the morning and afternoon, followed by work in the evening. Lord's is certainly my second home at the moment!"