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Cricket Australia’s board will select its replacement for John Howard as the candidate for the ICC’s vice-presidency on Friday

Peter English08-Jul-2010Cricket Australia’s board will select its replacement for John Howard as the candidate for the ICC’s vice-presidency on Friday afternoon – but don’t expect a quick resolution. The already protracted negotiations are complicated by the fact the ultimate decision must be made with New Zealand Cricket, whose board will not meet for another two weeks.While the passionate attachment to Howard has decreased and the likelihood of a repeat recommendation is slim, Cricket Australia’s senior figures remain angry that their preferred nomination was denied without a vote by the ICC board in Singapore last week. Australia and New Zealand were given until August 31 to find another candidate and Cricket Australia’s special meeting is the first formal step.Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke was “gutted” by Howard’s veto in Singapore following opposition from a group of six Asian, African and West Indian officials. Clarke, who is in London, will lead the teleconference and is the most likely Australian nomination for the post, which includes an automatic promotion to ICC president in 2012.”Technically John Howard is still the candidate and it’s up to Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket to work out if they want to continue to support him,” a Cricket Australia spokesman told Cricinfo. “Technically there is a chance he could still be the candidate until New Zealand Cricket’s board meeting.” Howard will stand by Cricket Australia’s decision, which could involve giving New Zealand its choice.The New Zealand board will discuss the issue on July 23 and a spokesman said the situation had not changed since the meetings in Singapore. Originally, New Zealand pushed for its former chairman Sir John Anderson to fill the position, but an independent panel eventually ruled in favour of the 70-year-old Howard. Last week’s setback, which included six board members signing a letter opposing Howard’s appointment, further complicated an already difficult process.Cricket Australia’s spokesman said he did not expect a public announcement from Friday’s meeting at least until after Clarke had talked to his New Zealand counterpart Alan Isaac. Clarke, an Adelaide solicitor, did not seek the role the first time and would find juggling the extra commitments as difficult as being the diplomat required for such a delicate post.If Clarke agrees to take on the job he would also have to make peace with the men who denied his preferred candidate. “You hope it doesn’t affect your relationship but it obviously puts a block there for a while and makes you wary, I suppose,” Clarke said after the Singapore meeting. “But we have to deal with all the member countries of the ICC.”Other Australian contenders include Mark Taylor, the former captain, while the deputy chairman is Wally Edwards, a batsman who played three Tests against England in 1974-75. Taylor would be reluctant given his expansive commentary and commercial duties and he also has long-standing links to Howard, who presented him with the Australian of the Year award in 1999.It was Howard who called Taylor before he declared on 334 in Pakistan in 1998, the same score as Don Bradman’s Australian record, and the then prime minister delayed a cabinet meeting so he could meet the players on their return home. South Australia’s Ian McLachlan is another senior figure on the board with close ties to Howard after being his defence minister for two years in the mid-1990s.Geoff Tamblyn, from Victoria, and the India-born Harry Harinath, the New South Wales squad doctor since 1990, also have significant experience but were overlooked the first time around. Six of the 13 members have been appointed since 2007, including Matthew Hayden.The ICC position did not receive a batch of enthusiastic candidates in the first place and there is a general feeling that the job has become even less attractive over the past week. There have even been calls from Australians, including the former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, to pass the selection on to Pakistan and Bangladesh and then refuse to vote.

Harry Tector could be a doubtful starter after injuring his thumb against India

Ashish Pant06-Jun-20248:17

O’Brien: Ireland want to right some wrongs

Match details

Canada vs Ireland
June 7, New York, 10.30am local, 2.30pm GMT, 8.00pm IST

Big picture – All eyes on New York pitch

It’s been a rough start for cricket in New York with more focus on the pitches than the cricket that has been played on them. No team has gone past 100 at this venue in four innings, with uneven bounce and prodigious movement up front bringing about plenty of criticism.The fast bowlers have so far held sway here, having picked up 18 of the 26 wickets to fall while going at an economy rate of 5.46. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77 here on June 3 and South Africa took 16.2 overs to chase that down. On Wednesday, India rolled out Ireland for 96 and while their chase was slightly more comfortable, Rohit Sharma retired hurt after being struck on the upper arm, while Rishabh Pant was also hit on his elbow and required some attention.Just two days later, as Ireland gear up to play another fixture in New York against Canada, the build-up has entirely centred around the pitch.Related

• Undercooked pitch could undermine India-Pakistan spectacle

• Klaasen on New York pitch: Batters need to suck it up

“It’s tough to adjust when you don’t know what you have to adjust to,” Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan said after their eight-wicket loss against India. “You’ve got to take into account that when you play the game you need a really good surface or as good as surfaces you can get and unfortunately what we’ve seen over the last couple of games just doesn’t necessarily live up to that. So hopefully, over the next day or so it can hopefully flatten out a little bit and we can see some good cricket come Friday.”It is an important game for both Canada and Ireland, who have suffered losses in their opening games. Another loss here and the road to Super Eights becomes challenging. Canada, who played their opening fixture in Dallas where they went down to USA in a high-scoring clash, haven’t been in great T20I form. They have lost each of their last five T20Is, and all the pitch talk here might not bode well for their confidence.”This wicket is a bit, kind of, what you can say, a tricky one. So you cannot play some of the T20 shots. So you have to play conventional cricket. And what I see, it’s playing on the up, it’s a little bit difficult than Dallas,” Canada batter Navneet Dhaliwal, who scored a 44-ball 61 against USA, said. “It’s a lot of lateral movement so there’s a lot of swing comparatively to Dallas so if you kind of want to basically hit the good-length balls it’s a bit difficult.”The Canada-Ireland fixture will likely take place on pitch no. 4, the same one that hosted the India-Ireland clash and the warm-up game between India and Bangladesh. In addition to the surface, the slow, sand-based outfield has also not helped the batters in any way. Which will be the first team to cross the 100-mark in New York?

Form guide

Canada LLLLL
Ireland LWWWL

In the spotlight – Dilon Heyliger and Mark Adair

Dilon Heyliger’s all-round abilities could be useful for Canada. He has been in good bowling form this year, having picked up five wickets in as many games while going at a tick over eight an over. His medium-pace and wicket-to-wicket lines might be perfect on this New York surface. So can his lower-order ball-striking. No other Canada batter has a higher strike rate than Heyliger in T20Is since the start of 2023 – 243.75. He’s hammered 117 runs off just 48 balls, with most of them coming in the death overs.Mark Adair picked up the key wicket of Virat Kohli on Wednesday•Getty Images

Mark Adair has been in excellent form this year. He is comfortably Ireland’s highest wicket-taker in 2024 with 18 scalps in 10 T20Is and an economy rate of 8.16. Moreover, he knows the kind of lengths to bowl on this surface having bowled four overs for just 27 runs on Wednesday while also picking up the key wicket of Virat Kohli.

Team news

Both teams might want to go pace-heavy on this surface. Offspinner Nikhil Dutta went for 41 runs in 2.4 overs in Canada’s opening game, so there is a chance they could bring in left-arm fast bowler Rishiv Joshi to boost their pace-bowling resources.Canada (probable XI): 1 Aaron Johnson, 2 Navneet Dhaliwal, 3 Pargat Singh, 4 Nicholas Kirton, 5 Shreyas Movva (wk), 6 Dilpreet Bajwa, 7 Saad Bin Zafar (capt), 8 Dilon Heyliger, 9 Nikhil Dutta/Rishiv Joshi, 10 Kaleem Sana, 11 Jeremy Gordon.There was visible bruising on Harry Tector’s right thumb after he was struck by a rip-roaring Jasprit Bumrah bouncer. Ireland batting coach Gary Wilson said Tector seemed fine after an initial inspection, but a call on his availability for the Canada clash would be taken a bit later. If he does not recover in time, Ireland might bring Ross Adair into the mix.Ireland (probable XI): 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andy Balbirnie, 3 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 4 Harry Tector/Ross Adair, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Gareth Delany, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Josh Little, 11 Ben White.

Pitch and conditions

It’s another early-morning start in New York and the weather looks good for a game of cricket. The temperature is likely to hover around the 29-degree (Celsius) mark. Expect it to be a little humid as well.

Stats and trivia

• Canada and Ireland have a 2-2 head-to-head record in T20Is, but haven’t met since 2019. Their last T20I was back in 2013.
• Canada captain Saad Bin Zafar has an economy rate of 6.14 against right-hand batters in T20 cricket. Ireland’s line-up is entirely composed of right-handers.
• Mark Adair is sixth on the wicket-taker’s list in T20Is this year, with 18 in 10 games.

• Quotes

  “We were probably a little bit off with our lengths with the ball, but it was going to be very difficult to defend 96. I think very rarely do you see a team get rolled and then the next innings is also very low. Speaking to [India head coach] Rahul Dravid after the game, he said that they were able to manage that so well because they knew they only had to get 96, but he also said if the shoe was in the other foot, it could have been a different story.”
  “Drop-in wickets take time to settle down. I think normally it takes around a year or so. It’s not ideal – I think it’s a bit early, but still, it’s a challenge. Like the par for Dallas is what, 180-190, and par for here is 120-130. It’s a different wicket and a different kind of competition, you can say. It’s exciting, basically.”

Turner made his first Shield century in more than five years and shared in a century stand with Paris who later took three wickets as Victoria’s top order crumbled

Tristan Lavalette25-Mar-2023Ashton Turner struck a memorable drought-breaking century before inspired bowling from Joel Paris and Matthew Kelly tore through Victoria late on day three to put Western Australia on the brink of defending their Sheffield Shield title.Victoria reached stumps in a forlorn position at 6 for 122 in their second innings with a lead of just two runs. Their fading hopes rest with Will Sutherland and Mitchell Perry who combined for an unbeaten 48-run stand before the close. Sutherland finished 40 not out having come in at No.8 due to back soreness after claiming his second five-wicket haul in consecutive Shield finals.WA’s first innings of 315 was dominated by Turner’s career-best 128, his first Shield century in over five years. He rescued WA out of trouble after they slumped to 4 for 53 in his second match since returning from a near three-year Shield exile.”We feel like we’ve got ourselves into a really nice position,” Turner said after play. “It’s our responsibility to play well tomorrow and try and finish the game.”Victoria needs to win the match outright to claim the title having lost out on the bonus points after the first 100 overs of each innings.”I think anything over 100 (run lead) at least gives us something to bowl to. But we would need everything to go our way,” Victoria coach Chris Rogers said.With Victoria trailing by 120 runs, all eyes were on 21-year-old Ashley Chandrasinghe after his remarkable stonewall in their first innings where he made 46 off 280 balls to carry his bat.He started quickly in comparison with a single off his fourth ball before edging through the slips for a boundary to somewhat speed to seven off 14 deliveries.But former Test opener Marcus Harris looked out of sorts and played an uncharacteristically rash shot to hit a rare loose Paris delivery straight to point. It capped a disappointing match for Harris, who made just 19 in the first innings having struck three tons in four previous finals. He was hoping to finish the season strong after missing out on Australia’s Test tour of India ahead of the mid-year Ashes.Joel Paris removed both openers•Getty Images

Left-arm quick Paris was rewarded amid a superb spell by finally breaching the stout defence of Chandrasinghe, who had a rare lapse to be bowled after shouldering arms. He finished with 54 runs off 304 balls overall in his first Shield final.Paris thought he had a third wicket when he hit Campbell Kellaway on the pads but was left frustrated when his confident shout was turned down.Victoria captain Peter Handscomb defied WA’s attack with a slew of boundaries in a contrast to his rusty first innings, where he seemingly struggled to adjust to the pace-friendly wicket in his first match since the tour of India.But he lacked support with Kelly dismissing Kellaway and in-form Matthew Short to leave Victoria reeling at 4 for 70. Handscomb on 49 survived a confident appeal from Paris, who was again aggrieved with a tight lbw call.But Paris finally had a decision go his way when he trapped Sam Harper for a duck before Handscomb holed out to deep point off speedster Lance Morris for 52.WA have gained a stranglehold over the contest after starting day three at 5 for 175, trailing by 20 runs.Turner had started his innings briskly with cavalier batting but struggled on resumption, stuck on his overnight score of 49 in gloomy conditions. Turner finally scored after 40 minutes to register his first Shield half-century since December 2018.Seamers Sutherland, who claimed four wickets on day two, and Scott Boland generated bounce and carry as they tried to fire up Victoria whose momentum had been derailed by rain on day two.The tireless Boland dismissed wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe, brilliantly caught by Sutherland at midwicket with WA still 17 runs behind. But Turner found willing support from Paris, who produced a couple of rearguard knocks during last year’s final, as WA powered into the lead.Turner rediscovered his rhythm as sunshine descended on the ground and the surface appeared to be flattening. He had little difficulty against Victoria’s attack which struggled to probe outside of Boland and Sutherland.Test offspinner Todd Murphy, selected ahead of veteran left-armer Jon Holland, had little impact in his debut appearance at the WACA. Turner treated Murphy with disdain, attempting a reverse sweep first up and then just before lunch nudged a single to reach his century amid rapturous applause.With Murphy ineffective, Handscomb turned to Short’s handy offspin and he promptly dismissed Paris for 31 to end the 105-run partnership.Turner shortly after succumbed to a pumped-up Sutherland snaring a deserved fifth wicket, but there was little to celebrate for Victoria after that.

South Africa will be missing Kagiso Rabada, who has been withdrawn from the ODI squad to manage his workload

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-20220:50

Sanjay Manjrekar: ‘Put pressure on the opposition, open with Venkatesh Iyer’

Big picture

Unlike most of the ODI cricket played at the moment, the three-match series between South Africa and India does not form part of the World Cup Super League, with those fixtures said to be slotted in at a later date. The 50-over format takes a bit of a backseat for much 2022, but this series will give both teams a chance to try out combinations. For South Africa, those combinations will include seeing how the attack holds up in the absence of Kagiso Rabada, who has been released by Cricket South Africa “due to high workloads over a sustained period of time”. CSA is giving Rabada time to rest and recover ahead of South Africa’s trip to New Zealand next month.With a T20 World Cup 10 months away, you may be wondering why these matches have been tacked onto the Tests, instead of T20Is for example, when they actually don’t count for much? Well, remember that this series was originally also supposed to include four T20Is, but concerns over the Omicron variant, which delayed India’s arrival in the country, chopped those off the schedule. The ODIs have stayed, not least because they bring CSA millions of rands through broadcast rights – more than they would get for a shorter format.But there may end up being some method to this madness as both sides have plenty to work on in this format.South Africa remain out of the automatic qualification zone for the 2023 World Cup after dropping points in Ireland and Sri Lanka. Given the volume of cricket and restrictions of bio-bubbles, this is a rare occasion when they have something close to a full strength squad at their disposal. Anrich Nortje is out with a hip injury, but captain Temba Bavuma is back, after breaking his thumb in Sri Lanka, as well as several senior players who were rested for the Netherlands series. Headlining that group is Quinton de Kock, who announced his retirement from Tests after the Boxing Day match, but has returned from paternity leave.India are also as close to their first choice group of players as possible. They are without their new permanent captain Rohit Sharma, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury, but do have their new permanent coach, Rahul Dravid, at the helm for the first time in an ODI series since being given the job on a full-time basis. Dravid took a second-string side to Sri Lanka in July, and won, and will want to start building for the outfit that will compete at the 2023 World Cup.

Form guide

South Africa LWLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

India LWWWL

In the spotlight

After struggling for runs in the Tests,Aiden Markram will look to the ODIs to redeem himself and also improve his numbers in this format. In 34 matches, Markram averages 28.10 and has yet to bring up three-figures, but came close with 96 in Sri Lanka. The return of specialist openers to the ODI squad and Markam’s recent success in T20s at No. 4 suggests that he should be batting in the middle-order in this series, which may give him the opportunity to play himself back into form ahead of a trip to New Zealand and a home series against Bangaldesh.It’s that man again Virat Kohli. While it comes across as though viewers of this series simply shouldn’t take their eyes off him, he has given us all plenty to look at. From revealing a different version of events to the BCCI about his stepping away from white-ball captaincy to giving up the Test leadership, and shouting at the stump microphone in between, Kohli has been under the microscope for reasons other than his form. But let’s talk about that. He was not able to break his century drought in Tests but will hope he can do so in ODIs. He last scored an ODI hundred in West Indies in August 2019, but has made eight fifties in 15 innings since.Temba Bavuma will have Quinton de Kock back in the squad•ICC via Getty

Team news

South Africa have a bottleneck at the top of the line-up, which could leave Rassie van der Dussen coming in lower than he is used to. They have room for two allrounders and may have to choose between seam and spin in that role, two out-and-out quicks and a specialist spinner. Rabada won’t be there to choose from, but they have added some cover in the form of left-arm spin-bowling allrounder George Linde, retained in the ODI unit after being part of the Test squad. Rabada’s absence could open a door for the young Marco Jansen make an ODI debut, following a highly successful Test outing.South Africa: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Temba Bavuma, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Rassie van der Dussen 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius/George Linde, 8 Andile Phehlulwayo, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiCaptain KL Rahul confirmed on the eve of the game that he would open in Rohit Sharma’s absence. He also hinted that India could play two spinners.India: (possible) 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Venkatesh Iyer, 7 Deepak Chahar, 8 Shardul Thakur/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch and conditions

Known for being slow and flat, Boland Park has thrown up some surprises over the years, most notably Sri Lanka being skittled out for 43 a decade ago. But first-innings scores tend to be high here and South Africa have topped 350 once in the last five years and come close on another occasion. Expect big runs on a ground with small boundaries, if the teams manage to not wilt in the weather. The Western Cape is experiencing a heatwave and temperatures in Paarl are set to top 45C this week.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have not won an ODI series since sweeping Australia 3-nil in February 2020. They’ve since drawn with Ireland and lost to Sri Lanka.
• Yuzvendra Chahal needs three wickets to become the 23rd Indian player to take 100 wickets in ODIs.

Quotes

“I think he’s fine. He’s practising with us. So I don’t see any discomfort. Hopefully everything stays that way. Nothing that I am aware of right now but everyone seems to be okay. And hopefully it stays that way.”
“The batting preparation from a slow bowling point of view has been happening for the past year and you would have seen the positive results that the guys displayed when we played in Sri Lanka. At the World Cup as well, we made positive strides in terms of how we are playing slow bowling. Coming up against India, spin bowling is a strength of theirs. That’s something we are aware of. We’ll prepare as well as we can to mitigate against that.”

Last-wicket pair hang tight after Selman’s 73 establishes defiant rearguard

ECB Reporters Network09-Sep-2020Glamorgan battled bravely to a draw in their final Bob Willis Trophy match of the campaign, as Warwickshire’s Ian Bell brought down the curtain on his 20-year first-class career at Sophia Gardens.Their valiance in the closing overs notwithstanding, the result ends a disappointing four-day campaign for Glamorgan, whose batsmen have failed to get going throughout the competition, despite a rotation policy which has seen a number of fringe players being handed opportunities in the top order.Bell’s final contributions yielded 140 runs for the county he’s served so well, and he was given an ovation by both teams, umpires and coaching staff as he left the field for the final time.Resuming their pursuit of 331 on 9 for 0 on the final morning, Glamorgan were 69 for 2 at lunch and much credit goes to Nick Selman in the afternoon for his defiant innings of 73 as he battled hard to save the match.The final’s day play would also prove to be a big test of character for Glamorgan’s Joe Cooke, in only his second first-class county red-ball match, as it quickly became evident that Glamorgan would employ a rear-guard action.Alongside Selman, the 23 year-old left-hander took control to successfully see off Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Liam Norwell in the opening exchanges, with the best shot of the morning coming from an off-drive to the boundary.However, having batted defensively and patiently in the first hour, Glamorgan lost two wickets from successive Ryan Sidebottom deliveries, when Cooke edged tentatively to the keeper before Owen Morgan was bowled by an in-swinging full-toss.The Welsh county’s defensive approach, having effectively given up the pursuit of 331, backfired after lunch as captain Chris Cooke, attempting a back-foot drive through the off-side, feathered to the keeper off Hannon-Dalby.It looked like being a decisive six overs in the match, as the momentum swung in the visitors’ favour, despite Selman battling hard to a half-century in 146 deliveries.As Billy Root played the waiting game early in his innings, getting off the mark from his eleventh delivery and glancing his first boundary off his legs two deliveries later, the fourteenth he faced beat him all ends up, flying off the edge into the hands of Sam Hain at second slip.Selman, unbeaten on 62, and Callum Taylor, 14 not out, saw the Welsh county through to tea, and they needed a further 187 in the final session, with the visitors requiring a further six wickets.They moved at a pedestrian pace in the final session, offering little in the way of chances before Taylor fended an uppish delivery from Sidebottom to short-leg after 29 overs at the crease and a partnership of 67.The visitors had their biggest breakthrough when Hannon-Dalby struck Selman leg-before for 73, the batsman’s valiant effort ended after 215 deliveries when he was struck suspiciously high on the leg, and Glamorgan’s lower order still had 18.5 overs to bat out.There was little doubt about Cullen’s dismissal, though, as he was dismissed in similar fashion by spinner Alex Thomson for his first wicket of the match. Douthwaite followed soon after, edging a rising delivery from Sidebottom to the keeper.The visitors edged closer to a victory when Lukas Carey edged Hannon-Dalby to slip, but Michael Hogan and Timm van der Gugten survived the final three overs.Warwickshire finish the campaign in third place in the group, while Glamorgan are rooted firmly to the bottom. The visitors’ attention now turns to the Vitality Blast where they host Glamorgan at Edgbaston on Friday night.

Spinner can answer a glaring need on loan at Yorkshire as Essex trail by 372 runs

David Hopps04-Jun-2019Dom Bess’ short professional career has not been short of incident. As a teenager, he was a Somerset debutant thrown spectacularly into a Championship challenge which only failed on the last day of the season. At 20, he became the first hunch of the national selector, Ed Smith, when he was given a Test debut last season against Pakistan only to be stood down after two Tests.He now finds himself on a month’s loan at Yorkshire where his effervescent manner and all-round talent can again create a good impression. Just to confirm, however, that life for Bess is rarely straightforward, his chances of registering a second first-class hundred departed against Essex when he ran out of partners on 91.Bess, though, might still have a role to play with the ball, answering Yorkshire’s glaring need, if only briefly, for a Championship spinner of quality in the third game of an envisaged four-game loan spell. They will imagine that the heavy rain on the second afternoon, which restricted play to 36.3 overs, will leave enough unsettled weather around for their seamers to prosper on the third day when Essex resume on 18 for 1, so setting up Bess to play a central role in the later stages.Somerset’s coaching team of Andy Hurry and Jason Kerr deserve considerable credit for sanctioning Bess’ loan spell at a potential Championship rival, recognising that his career development, at 21, should be the priority. As the spin-bowling understudy to the excellent Jack Leach, his opportunities are limited, especially when the ECB takes a dim view of the sort of sharply turning pitches on which they almost pipped Middlesex to the title in 2016. He has 89 first-class wickets at a touch under 30 and needs to add to them.England will be grateful, too, because understudies to Moeen Ali, whose form remains unpredictable, are not exactly jostling for attention. Bess’ positive attitude sits well with England. In his days as the head of ECB’s development programme, Hurry would have been anxious for Bess to be playing regular county cricket and it is admirable that those values have survived more pressing responsibilities at Somerset.Yorkshire would be foolish not to hope that Bess’ involvement might be more long lasting. As an Exeter lad, his loyalties to the south-west are strong, but it will have its limits. Few seriously imagine that Adil Rashid will suddenly discover a renewed fondness for Championship cricket and, Rashid apart, Yorkshire have long struggled to produce spinners of quality. Headingley, too, for all its maverick ways when the clouds roll over, now regularly produces surfaces on which spin can play a part.Bess has shown a liking for this Essex attack. His only other first-class century came for the MCC against the champion county in 2018, following their title win the previous September. At 289 for 6 overnight, Bess’ share was only 30, but he played tidily against some lacklustre Essex bowling, shrewdly picking off 15 boundaries when the opportunities presented themselves. “I think everybody was expecting it to rain,” said Anthony McGrath, Essex’s coach.Bess said: “I never felt in. It was still doing a bit, and I nicked a couple. You have to ride your luck sometimes. I’d have loved to have got my first hundred in the Championship, but it was just nice to be in there facing a lot of balls and just playing cricket. There is certainly a lot there for our bowlers. I think we’re in a great position.”Jonny Tattersall offered sound support as they extended their seventh-wicket stand to 90, but Tattersall was caught at the wicket, attempting an improvised guide against Ravi Bopara, Jamie Porter removed Steve Patterson and Ben Coad with the new ball as Essex finally perked up and last man Duanne Olivier lasted only four balls as he edged Sam Cook to second slip.Yorkshire had time to take one wicket before rain ended play at 2.15pm when Sir Alastair Cook fell for two at first slip – pushing at a full-length ball from Ben Coad that left him and gave a 25th catch of the season for Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Pomp and ceremony might have been the order of the day in London as Donald Trump continued his State visit, but there was no grace and favour for Sir Alastair in the county that knows only too well that Geoffrey Boycott has never been knighted.Neither Labour nor Tory Governments have quite dared take the plunge when it comes to ennobling Boycott. Perhaps they should put it to a referendum. It would be something to divide the country again once Brexit is settled.

Batsman bows out ahead of Pakistan leg of PSL, to bring end to colourful and controversial playing career

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2018Kevin Pietersen, one of the most brilliant and divisive cricketers of his generation, appears to have called time on his playing career with a four-word update to his 3.65 million Twitter followers.Pietersen, who had declared in February that this season’s Pakistan Super League would be his last tournament, tweeted “BOOTS UP! Thank you!” to his fans in the wake of what seems to have been his final appearance for Quetta Gladiators on Thursday night.Pietersen’s returns in the tournament were underwhelming as Quetta finished fourth in the table to earn themselves a play-off berth – he made 7 from six balls against Islamabad United in that final innings, and managed just one half-century in eight innings all told – albeit an explosive 52 from 34 balls against Karachi Kings.But now, with the tournament shifting to Pakistan for two Eliminator matches in Lahore before the final in Karachi on March 25, Pietersen has joined his fellow England cricketers, Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Jason Roy, in opting out of travelling to the country for security reasons.At the age of 37, Pietersen’s enthusiasm for the hard graft of competitive cricket has been visibly waning in recent months. He warned that he was “nearly done and dusted” during his stint with Melbourne Stars during the Big Bash, and prior to his departure for the PSL, he posted an emotional farewell to his family on Instagram, adding that “this evening is the last one I’ll ever have to do.”Pietersen added a further update on his Twitter feed on Saturday morning, which appeared to cement his decision. “Just been told that I scored 30000+ runs which included 152 fifty’s & 68 hundreds in my professional career,” he wrote. “Time to move on!”Though he has shown glimpses of his enduring class in his recent engagements, it is plain that the passion has ebbed away from Pietersen’s game – and flowed increasingly into his new love of rhino conservation, for which he is an increasingly committed spokesman. He is having a house built near Kruger national park in South Africa, and used two of his final appearances, for Surrey in last season’s NatWest Blast and Melbourne Stars in the BBL, to promote the cause with fund-raising “Rhino Days”.Pietersen leaves the sport as England’s second highest run-scorer across all forms of the game combined, including 8181 runs in 104 Tests between 2005 and 2013-14, until he was sacked in a dispute over team ethics in the wake of a disastrous 5-0 drubbing in that winter’s Ashes.The acrimony of Pietersen’s split with England clouded the final years of his career – not least because the ECB’s selectors have, arguably, never yet found an adequate replacement for him in their Test middle order.But Pietersen’s greatest hits will endure long after the bitterness of the latter years has faded. Foremost among the memories will be his unforgettable maiden Test hundred at The Oval in 2005, with which England secured the most absorbing Ashes contest of all time; his Man of the Tournament display in the Caribbean in 2010, when England won the World T20, their first and, to date, only ICC global trophy; and his central role in England’s series wins in Australia in 2010-11 and India in 2012-13.Michael Vaughan, Pietersen’s captain during that 2005 Ashes, led the tributes on Twitter. “Well done @KP24 on an fantastic career,” he wrote. “Not everyone’s Cup of Tea but you will do for me … Best Batsman I had the pleasure to play with … 1st England batsman that put fear into the Aussies .. #WellDone”

The 21-year-old South Africa fast bowler has emphasised he is the main person when it comes to judging his fitness and he will be honest about doing so

Andrew McGlashan in Hamilton28-Feb-20171:43

The longer that I’ve played the more I’ve learnt to manage myself – Rabada

Kagiso Rabada has said he will always be honest about his fitness amid concerns over the workload the fast bowler is facing in the coming months.So far on the South Africa tour, he has played two matches and missed two, skipping the T20 and second ODI in Christchurch, but is expected to line up in Hamilton as South Africa aim to wrap up the series. Doing so would allow them to rest Rabada for the final match in Auckland ahead of the three-Test series, which begins on March 8 in Dunedin. That is followed by the IPL, the Champions Trophy and a full tour of England.A left knee niggle led to him sitting out the Christchurch match and he has bowled with it strapped during the tour. On his return in Wellington, he set the tone for South Africa with an immaculate new-ball spell and he insisted he is able to judge how his body is feeling.”I feel like I’m the main person when it comes to judging how I feel, and truthfully as well,” he said. “Sometimes you play with niggles, sometimes you feel fresh, sometimes niggles come and then they go away, sometimes they stay for a bit longer.”The longer that I’ve played the more I’ve learnt to manage myself, with the help of the medical team who give me advice, and I take it accordingly.”He added that he understood the reasoning behind rotating quick bowlers. “Sometimes you have to put your ego aside,” he said.After the match in Wellington, South Africa coach Russell Domingo admitted it was an ongoing challenge juggling the workload of all bowlers, not just Rabada.”A lot of our bowlers need to be managed because of the number of games that get played,” he said. “It’s a fine line between resting players and trying to win series. Particularly for a young player like KG. He’s only 21, Andile is only 20 so those are two young bowlers who need a lot of management.”But it’s hard to leave KG out of the next match, he’s a seriously good bowler and it’s no coincidence that when he’s back in the mix we look a different side. I’ll need to speak to the sport scientists, but we need to manage him carefully.”In words that will be pleasing for Domingo to hear Paddy Upton, the former performance director for South Africa who is now coach at Rabada’s IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils, has said he has no intention of running the paceman into the ground.”We try and help them not only to have a good IPL but to enhance and further their career,” he told South Africa’s . “The IPL is part of the 11-month season. We understand that.”There are teams who try and get every cent and every moment of every day out of the players. If players aren’t managed well and cognisance isn’t taken of the whole year you end up with a burnt out player at the end of an IPL. So it doesn’t serve anyone.”

In a frank post-mortem, Grant Flower said Pakistan “didn’t use [their] brains” towards the end of New Zealand’s innings, in which 85 runs were plundered off the final 31 balls

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jan-2016In a frank post-mortem after the 70-run loss, Pakistan’s batting coach Grant Flower has said the visitors “didn’t use [their] brains” towards the end of New Zealand’s innings, in which 71 runs were plundered off the final five overs. Those runs had largely come from New Zealand’s No. 9 and 10 batsmen, Mithcell McClenaghan and Matt Henry, who put on 73 together, before No. 11 Trent Boult edged the final ball of the innings through the vacant slip region.Pakistan had used the short ball well, to have New Zealand 99 for 6 by the 23rd over, but Flower said the death overs required a different approach.”We didn’t use our brains at all towards the end,” he said. “Bowling yorkers is skill execution, and we didn’t do that. They played well at the end. The short ball worked to a certain extent, but we overdid it, and we didn’t learn and we just didn’t bowl enough yorkers.”If we’re going to be honest we should have got them out for 200-odd, seeing the start we had.”

Santner’s positivity helped me drop anchor – Nicholls

Henry Nicholls has said Mitchell Santner’s positivity at the crease helped him bind the innings together with his 111-ball 82. The pair lifted New Zealand from 99 for 6 with a 79-run stand.
“It was great the way Mitchell came out and was positive, which allowed me to play more of an anchor role and keep wickets in hand from that position. Credit needs to go to Pakistan the way they got those early wickets, but we had to play positive. The wind and one short boundary made us realise 250 probably wasn’t going to be enough.”
Henry’s dismissal in the 45th over brought together ninth-wicket pair Mitchell McClenaghan and Matt Henry, who provided an explosive finish to the innings, hitting seven fours and six sixes between them.
“I was dirty on myself getting out when I did – didn’t want to miss out on some overs,” Nicholls said. “But it was probably a blessing the way they had that partnership. Matt got hit a couple of times but way he came back was massive to us, in being able to get a score on the board.”

Pakistan’s seamers were guilty of bowling lengths that allowed New Zealand’s tailenders get under the ball. Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan struck six sixes and seven fours in what was a record 73-run ninth-wicket stand for New Zealand against Pakistan.”You can get as many messages as you want out to the players, but it’s got to come from within,” Flower said. “It’s also executing your skills. If there’s a yorker to be bowled, you have to bowl it as a yorker, not a half volley.”Flower didn’t confine his stern words to the bowling attack’s performance. Pakistan’s batsmen had made a slow start to the chase of 281, making just 33 runs from the first 10 overs, at the end of which the required rate had climbed to 6.2. Flower felt they could have been more aggressive.”Even though we should have got them out for a lot less, I still backed the guys to get the target. We lacked a bit of intent at the start and then we had quite a few soft wickets. We didn’t take advantage of a good batting track in the afternoon.”New Zealand have now won 9 out of 11 completed limited-overs matches in their home summer. Pakistan, meanwhile, have lost three consecutive matches on tour, having begun with a comfortable T20 victory in Auckland.”It doesn’t seem like we’re learning from our mistakes – that’s the disappointing part,” Flower said. “It’s one thing losing, but you’re paid to do a job and if you keep making the same mistakes, there are going to be questions asked.”Flower praised New Zealand’s “resilience” for defending 280 despite losing McClenaghan’s overs through injury, and described Henry Nicholls’ 82 as “mature”.

Ben Rohrer, Ahmed Shehzad and Davy Jacobs have been drafted in to the CPL as replacements for Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2013Ben Rohrer, Ahmed Shehzad and Davy Jacobs have been drafted in to the Caribbean Premier League as replacements for Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch, after the Australian trio was unable to get no-objection certificates from Cricket Australia.Rohrer will replace his countryman Smith for Antigua Hawksbills, Pakistan opener Shehzad will step in for Marsh for Jamaica Tallawahs, and South African wicketkeeper Jacobs will be coming in for Finch for Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel.Rohrer, who scored 295 runs at a strike-rate of 152.09 in the 2012-13 edition of the Big Bash League, said that he was relishing the prospect of working with Hawksbills coach Viv Richards and Ricky Ponting, who is part of the squad.Shehzad was part of the Pakistan squad that won the 2009 World Twenty20 and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup. He has scored two domestic T20 centuries and has a strike-rate of 134.23.”Losing Shaun is a shame but we have got a like-for-like replacement with Ahmed Shehzad who is perfect for the team’s balance,” Paul Nixon, the Tallawahs coach, said. Nixon also praised Shehzad’s “special ability” as a top-order batsman.”Chris (Gayle) knows him well and we believe that he will be a match-winner who can really make his mark on the world stage. He is a very gifted and classy player and we feel he is the last piece in our jigsaw.”Jacobs, like Shehzad and Rohrer, initially missed out on a spot with one of the six franchises in the draft in June. He captained South African franchise Warriors to their first ever Twenty20 title in 2010-11.”Davy Jacobs is a proven performer in Twenty20 cricket,” Gordon Greenidge, coach of the Red Steel, said. “The fact he can bat anywhere in the top order is great as it provides us with real flexibility and I like the balance of our squad.”He will add steel to the Red Steel dressing room and bring a winning mentality and vast experience to the squad.”The inaugural Caribbean Premier League starts on July 30 in Barbados and concludes on August 24 in Trinidad.