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Players will be able to challenge umpiring decisions in one-day cricket for the first time this Sunday, as Australia and England trial the decision review system in the lead-up to the World Cup

Brydon Coverdale14-Jan-2011Players will be able to challenge umpiring decisions in one-day cricket for the first time this Sunday, as Australia and England trial the decision review system in the lead-up to the World Cup. Despite the BCCI’s continued opposition to the UDRS, it will be used for the duration of the World Cup, which starts on the subcontinent on February 19.Hot Spot is likely to only be available for the final stages, as there are not enough Hot Spot cameras to be sent to all the pool matches. Until now, the UDRS has only been used in Test cricket, but it relies on the boards of both countries agreeing, and only four of the past ten Test series have featured umpire reviews.However, the ICC is keen to see the system implemented in as many series as possible, and has encouraged countries to test it in bilateral ODI series before the World Cup. The Australia-England matches will be the first one-day games to include reviews, with teams expected to be allowed two incorrect referrals per innings as in Test matches.The third-umpire duties for the seven-match series will be shared between Billy Bowden, Tony Hill, Asad Rauf and Marais Erasmus – all members of the ICC’s elite panel who will then go on to the World Cup. The UDRS has been used in Tests since 2008, and the ICC cricket committee will evaluate its long-term viability after the World Cup.The UDRS was introduced in an effort to remove umpiring howlers from the game, and it has taken players some time to work out how best to use the system without wasting their chances. During the recent Ashes series, Australia and England each asked for 20 referrals, with England having eight decisions overturned and Australia seven.By the end of the series, the players were much less hasty with their reviews, and the Sydney Test featured only one referral by each team. At the Gabba and the Adelaide Oval, the teams requested a combined 11 reviews, and the number peaked at 12 during Australia’s victory in the third Test at the WACA.However, the use of the system was not without incident. Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting was fined for a prolonged debate with the umpires at the MCG, where he felt that Hot Spot had showed Kevin Pietersen edged the ball, but the third official did not interpret the vision the same way.

The BCCI has sent a letter to the IPL franchises asking them if they have any objections to teams signing Indian players who went unsold in the auction

Tariq Engineer31-Jan-2011Sourav Ganguly might find himself back on the field for the 2011 IPL after all, even though he failed to attract any bids from franchises during the auction on January 8 and 9. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the BCCI has sent a letter to the franchises asking if they have any objections to teams signing Indian players who were unsold in the auction. The letter specifically mentions Ganguly as one of the players the franchises are interested in, along with Wasim Jaffer and VRV Singh, who were the other two Indian players that weren’t bought. IPL rules presently do not permit unsold players to be signed after the auction.The Kochi franchise is reported to have shown interest in signing Ganguly, and had apparently contacted the BCCI, leading to the sending of the letter. However, Mehul Shah, one of the co-owners of the franchise, told ESPNcricinfo that was not the case and they had not asked the board for permission to sign Ganguly.The franchises have until February 3 to respond to the letter, with the BCCI expected to decide on the matter during the IPL governing council meeting on February 4. “There are two conditions to the proposal,” a franchise official said. Teams will have to pay the minimum base price set for the player in the auction and the cost of the player will come out of the team’s salary cap.Ganguly had raised eyebrows when he doubled his base price to $400,000 just before the auction, and officials from a number of franchises were sceptical that he would find any takers. At the time Ganguly expressed incredulity at finding no buyers. “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “It’s up to the teams to decide on the players but I didn’t expect to go unsold. It’s hard to believe that I don’t figure among the 100-odd cricketers.”Subsequently, Ganguly’s original franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, said that it would be open to having him on board in some capacity.

New Zealand’s physiotherapist Dayle Shackel and trainer Bryan Stronach have had to rush home to Christchurch after the earthquake there affected their homes and families

Nagraj Gollapudi in Nagpur23-Feb-2011An embattled New Zealand will go into the needle clash against world champions Australia on Friday sans two crucial members of their support staff. Dayle Shackel (physiotherapist) and Bryan Stronach (trainer) rushed back home to attend their affected families in Christchurch, which was ripped apart by a devastating earthquake in the early hours of Tuesday.A frazzled looking New Zealand squad arrived in Nagpur late Wednesday afternoon after having spent hours in front of the television to get fresh updates, with many players tweeting their sentiments frequently. But one such tweet by a senior player, Scott Styris, earlier today, created an unnecessary flutter when he remarked that the BCCI had refused to entertain New Zealand’s request to borrow Paul Close, the physio at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. Both John Wright and Dave Currie, New Zealand’s coach and manager respectively, denied any such development, saying the BCCI did respond to their request to use Close, but could not release him as he had prior obligations.”Does anyone know of a physio here in India? Unfortunately the bcci won’t let us borrow their kiwi born academy physio whilst ours heads Back to chch to take care of his demolished house? Would only be for a week or so till he comes back,” read one of the Styris’ posts in the morning. His next tweet indicated that the Australians were happy to lend a helping hand instead. “still hopeful we’ll get him, but the aussies will help us out tomo and management have a plan B if nece.so we’re all good help is on the way,” Styris posted.Currie said that both Wright and he had been busy all day trying to work out a Plan B to make sure the team had the right support staff in place before both Shackel and Stronach returned in the first days of March. “We think we are fine. If there is a need they [Australia] would provide the support,” Currie said. Currie also explained the reasons were serious and compelling for the pair to dash back. “Our physio Dayle had to get back as his property was probably damaged and his family was upset so he went to back to provide some support. Similarly, Bryan’s wife is four months pregnant and his house has half come down, so he has gone back to take care of his wife.” He made it clear that both are expected back with Shackel likely to return on March 2, two days before New Zealand’s third match of the tournament, against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad.Immediately after their departure was announced, Wright called BCCI top brass and checked if New Zealand could borrow the services of Paul Close, who comes from Auckland. According to Wright the BCCI did check up on his request but explained that it would be virtually impossible to release Close from his duties at the NCA especially because the Indian squad is parked in Bangalore over the next two weeks where they are lined up to play England on February 27 and Ireland on March 6.”Paul Close was not available because he is still doing some work for the BCCI at the academy,” Currie said. “It would’ve been nice; he is a New Zealander, he would’ve been fantastic. But he has some responsibilities. We chatted with them [BCCI] about whether that would be possible and they came back saying they would’ve liked to help but he had obligations and can’t be in two places at once. It is not a rejection. Not at all. We understand that.”Wright, instead of drawing up gameplans for Friday’s match, had been making desperate calls to get cover for the missing support cast. It is understood that New Zealand have a Plan B with assurance from the Australians to pitch in if need be. In the interim, Wright has already had a word with John Gloster, who was the physio when he was the India coach. Gloster, who is now with the Rajasthan Royals, informed Wright that his plate was full but he would help out with a couple of suggestions of physios in India. Vaibhav Daga, who has toured with many India A teams, is one of the candidates.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura is planning to establish a cricket academy in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2011Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura is planning to establish a cricket academy in Harare. Chigumbura hopes the project, named ‘Aspired Cricket Academy’, will be up and running by August this year and will target primary school children from schools that do not currently have cricket programmes.”I have gained so much from playing the game, so I thought I should give back in a big way,” Chigumbura told . “I love cricket so much that even when I stop playing I will still be a big fan so I am contributing in my own way to make sure that the future of the sport in the country is bright.”We have the Interfin Bank Cricket Academy catering for secondary and high school students and I thought we should have something for the primary schools so that we generate interest at an earlier stage.”Chigumbura is in negotiations to secure land in Borrowdale, in Harare’s northern suburbs, for the academy. He has decided to take on a lot of the expense himself, but is also hoping to secure corporate sponsorship, particularly for the purchase of cricket equipment. He estimates that the academy needs about US$50,000 to get off the ground, which will go towards securing land, equipment, and appropriate playing and practice facilities.”It’s an expensive project which will require that I get sponsorship but the important thing is to get it running first then I am sure we can generate corporate interest once in motion.”Chigumbura plans for the academy to be operational throughout the year with permanent coaches to run it when he is committed with the national team or his domestic franchise. He’s also hoping some of his team-mates will be interested in helping out.He has already teamed up with fellow Zimbabwe cricketers Prosper Utesya, Tinashe Panyangara, Craig Ervine, Graeme Cremer and Hamilton Masakadza to conduct holiday cricket sessions at Prince Edward School in Harare from April 18 to 30. The players are hoping the sessions, which are free and open to children between seven to 12 years old, will become a yearly event and have sent out invitations to schools.

MS Dhoni, the India captain, identified Zaheer Khan’s dismissal of Devon Smith in the first over of his second spell as the turning point of the match between India and West Indies in Chennai

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2011MS Dhoni, the India captain, identified Zaheer Khan’s dismissal of Devon Smith in the first over of his second spell as the turning point of the match at Chepauk. Zaheer had only bowled two overs in his first spell and was, presumably, being saved for when the ball got a bit older and reverse-swing came into play. He struck with the older ball, in the 31st over, with a slower ball that bowled Smith, who had anchored West Indies’ chase with a well-compiled 81.”The game really changed once Zaheer gave us the breakthrough; until then Devon was batting really well,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation. “After that we could apply pressure from both ends, and eventually we got more wickets than we needed and we seized the game in the end.”Prior to Zaheer’s strike, West Indies had eased their way to 154 for 2 with first Darren Bravo and then Ramnaresh Sarwan building fifty partnerships with Smith. The game seemed to be slipping away from India, but the fall of Smith’s wicket allowed Dhoni to attack – at one point he had three close-in fielders for Harbhajan Singh – and West Indies crumbled under the pressure.India’s performance with the bat had been reminiscent of the performance against South Africa in Nagpur. This time it was Yuvraj Singh’s turn to score a century, only to see the position he had brought India to squandered by a late collapse. India lost their last seven wickets for 50 runs, with four falling for just 28 after Yuvraj’s dismissal in the 45th over.Against South Africa, the collapse had been 9 for 29, and Dhoni recognised that losing wickets in a flurry at the end of the innings was becoming a problem for India, particularly because it wasn’t allowing them to take advantage of the batting Powerplay.”It [losing wickets] is a concern. But there is a gradual improvement and I am sure we will be at our best in the quarters. That’s the positive I will take out of this.”India’s 80-run win set up a quarter-final with Australia, to be played in Ahmedabad on March 24. They have lost to Australia in nine out of 15 matches played in India during the last five years, and Dhoni was aware of the challenge ahead of his team.”Australia are a very strong side and very expressive on the field. But it’s about how we prepare. Preparation is very important and we are just thinking about that particular day and match rather than thinking about the result. Being in the present is a better option than thinking of the past or worrying about the future.”

Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider is reportedly reconsidering his decision to return to Pakistan after receiving threatening phone calls

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2011Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider is reportedly reconsidering his decision to return to Pakistan after receiving threatening phone calls.Haider told on Thursday that an anonymous caller from Pakistan threatened him, saying: “you are coming back despite being told not to come, you are responsible for the consequences.” Haider reportedly informed Scotland Yard about the calls. However, later in the day, it appeared – not for the first time – that the situation had changed as he left an update on his Facebook page confirming that he would be returning as planned. “Coming with same plan on 24 on Sunday. Going Pakistan on 24th on Sunday,” his page read.Haider had gone missing from the Pakistan team’s hotel in Dubai on the morning of the fifth and final ODI against South Africa on November 8, saying he had received death threats from unidentified people seeking to draw him into match-fixing. He fled to the UK to seek protection and placed an application for asylum that hinged on the nature of the information he was able to divulge, as the extraordinary nature of his case appeared to fall outside the usual conditions required of a person seeking refugee status.The application was still being processed when Haider announced, earlier this week, that he would be returning to Pakistan after he had been reassured of his safety as well as that of his family’s after a meeting with Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik in London.

Andy Flower has admitted Kevin Pietersen has had problems against left-arm spinners but says he is “very excited” by what he is seeing of Pietersen in the nets

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2011Andy Flower, the England coach, has admitted Kevin Pietersen has had problems against left-arm spinners but says he is “very excited” by what he is seeing of the talismanic batsmen in the nets. The one blemish on England’s astonishing victory over Sri Lanka in Cardiff was Pietersen’s failure, falling to a left-arm spinner for the 19th time in his last 61 Test dismissals, Rangana Herath being the latest beneficiary. Flower, however, didn’t see that coming in the way of what he predicts will be a “great summer” for Pietersen.”It is obvious he has had his issues,” Flower said. “I will be perfectly honest with you, I am very excited by what I see from KP at the moment. I think he’s on the verge of being a very heavy scorer again. I love the way he’s training and I know when he transfers that to the middle he’s going to be a very heavy scorer. I envisage him having a great summer for England.”Meanwhile, the reported Pietersen had an extra net session on Tuesday, where he worked on facing left-arm spin, while his England team-mates had the day off. Pietersen has so far been defiant when questioned about whether he has a weakness against left-arm spinners.Flower pointed to Pietersen’s 99 against Bangladesh in March last year as an example that Pietersen was capable of handling left-arm spinners. “He’s had his obvious battles playing left-arm spin but he is aware of them and is working hard at them. When he was out in Bangladesh he scored a fine Test century [99] against at least two left-arm spinners. He worked hard in the nets there on his method against left-arm spin and he played them very comfortably. Since then he has had a few ups and downs, but I don’t envisage this problem continuing.”Pietersen had to face the left-arm spin of Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak during that innings. He scored a half-century against Bangladesh during England’s home series before a poor run against Pakistan drew criticism in the lead-up to the Ashes. Pietersen answered his doubters with a double-century in Adelaide, but that remains his only Test hundred in the last two years. That run has coincided with a lean patch in domestic cricket too.While Pietersen may have issues to work through, England’s rise in Tests continued in Cardiff where they bowled Sri Lanka out for 82 in 24.4 overs to pull off an improbable win. Flower said he didn’t have much hope of winning when England declared on the fifth day.”We thought there was just a 3 or 4% chance of us winning if we took a few early wickets with the new ball. But it was definitely the way to go, rather than let the game peter out to a boring draw.”James Anderson was injured during the Test and Jade Dernbach has been called up to the squad for the second Test, at Lord’s. Flower, however, said Steven Finn, 12th man in Cardiff, was likely to play.”Finn looks good to me. He looks like he’s got his rhythm back, which he lost in Australia. He has done some really good work with Richard Johnson at Middlesex and Angus Fraser. Physically, he looks big and strong now, less like a boy and more like a man. I caught a few balls with the mitt, and he is bowling quick. We will have a decision to make on which bowler to leave out, and it won’t be an easy one. But he’s got a very good chance of playing at Lord’s.”

Kumar Sangakkara’s speech at Lord’s slamming the way the game is run in Sri Lanka has brought him the first repercussion with the country’s sports minister ordering a probe into his scathing comments

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2011Kumar Sangakkara’s speech at Lord’s slamming the way the game is run in Sri Lanka has brought its first repercussion with the country’s sports minister ordering a probe into his scathing comments against administrators and political meddling. The minister also said that being a contracted player, Sangakkara shouldn’t have made a public statement criticising the board.”He has to get permission. He can’t talk about the cricket administration or cricket,” sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told . “I have written to the chairman of the cricket board to go into this and get me a report immediately.”Sri Lanka Cricket’s only official response so far has been to state that it is unable to comment given that the team is currently on tour in England.In an hour-long MCC Spirit of Cricket speech that earned him a standing ovation, Sangakkara called on SLC to root out its corrupt practices and recognise the huge role the sport now needs to play in promoting reconciliation at the end of a 30-year civil war. He voiced his concern at the direction in which cricket in Sri Lanka was heading, saying that “accountability and transparency in administration and credibility of conduct were lost in a mad power struggle that would leave Sri Lankan cricket with no consistent and clear administration.”The ICC has taken a strong stand against political interference in cricket administration at its recent annual conference, giving member boards two years to become democratised in a bid to improve governance. SLC is one of the boards most affected by the ICC decision as it effectively answers to the sports ministry, which recently dissolved the board’s interim committee and appointed a new panel.

Keith Barker hit a career-best 118 as Warwickshire piled up 521 against Sussex
on day two of their County Championship clash at Edgbaston

21-Jul-2011
ScorecardKeith Barker hit a career-best 118 as Warwickshire piled up 521 against Sussex
on day two of their County Championship clash at Edgbaston. The former Blackburn Rovers trainee completed his second successive first-class hundred on the ground – eight weeks after making 101 against Durham in his previous innings here – and featured in two milestones for this fixture.Warwickshire’s total is their highest in home matches with Sussex, surpassing 517 for 9 at Leamington Spa in 1910, while Barker’s partnership of 155 with Jeetan Patel set a new ninth-wicket record in meetings with the south coast county.Chris Woakes helped set up the run spree with an attractive half-century and the England seam bowler tightened Warwickshire’s grip by dismissing Ed Joyce and Luke Wells as the visitors closed on 103 for 3 in reply. Chris Nash provided some welcome respite for Sussex with 52 until he was bowled by Patel’s third delivery, but they are still 418 behind, needing a further 269
to avoid the follow-on.The mauling may not have come as a surprise to a Sussex team who have been enveloped by a Birmingham jinx after registering only one championship victory at Edgbaston in 50 years. Michael Yardy was not helped by Amjad Khan’s absence from the match because of a heel injury, which effectively left the captain with a front-line attack of three bowlers who shared three-quarters of the workload.James Anyon emerged from the turmoil with a fifth wicket for 136, when Barker was last out angling a catch to Yardy at slip, and Monty Panesar shouldered the heaviest burden with 49 overs, although he did not add to his three wickets on the opening day.The game was still finely balanced when Warwickshire, having benefited from a number of dropped chances, resumed on 261 for 6 after an hour’s delay because of rain. The overnight partnership of Woakes and Tim Ambrose reached 127 before the former went for 74, cutting a ball from Anyon to Will Adkin at point.But Ambrose carried on until the afternoon before he was run out by a deflection from the bowler, Olly Rayner. While Woakes went for his shots in another innings confirming his allrounder status, Ambrose wore Sussex down, content with seven boundaries in more than
four hours as he batted through 73 overs for 73.Barker’s innings was altogether different, a whirlwind of strokes with a six and 17 fours from 137 balls, and Patel was no less effective as he drove Panesar and Rayner for sixes before he was caught and bowled by Nash for 65.

Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, will join his former captain Chris Gayle at the Sydney Thunder during this summer’s Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2011Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, will join his former captain Chris Gayle at the Sydney Thunder during this summer’s Big Bash League. The Thunder have confirmed Edwards and Doug Bollinger as their newest two signings as they put together a squad based around the star opening duo of Gayle and David Warner.Edwards, 29, recently made his return to the West Indies side after two years out following back surgery. The Thunder general manager John Dyson said Edwards and Bollinger would be a potent new-ball combination.”They are going to create plenty of headaches for batsmen in the KFC T20 Big Bash League,” Dyson said. “Fidel has proven to be a consistent wicket taker, especially in the last series against India, while Doug is one of the premier fast bowlers in Australia and is coming off an excellent IPL series.”The Thunder, who are based at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, will be coached by Shane Duff, a former Sydney club cricketer who has also been Sri Lanka’s strength and conditioning coach. Daniel Smith, the wicketkeeper who recently lost his New South Wales contract, will be both assistant coach and a player.Meanwhile, the Melbourne Stars have secured another player from interstate, the Tasmania allrounder James Faulkner. The Stars scored a coup last week by locking in three current and former captains from other states, including the Tasmania leader George Bailey. The MCG-based Stars have also signed the young Victorian allrounder Alex Keath and the Bushrangers’ left-arm spinner Jon Holland.The Adelaide Strikers have given a new lease of life to Adam Crosthwaite, the former Victoria wicketkeeper, who hasn’t played at the elite level since early 2009. Crosthwaite moved to Sydney when the Bushrangers made it clear Matthew Wade was their No.1 gloveman, but he has not managed to find a way into the New South Wales squad.Crosthwaite will join his former mentor Darren Berry, who was an assistant coach at Victoria and is now in charge of the Strikers and South Australia. The Strikers have also signed Lee Carseldine, the Queensland batsman who lost his state contract this year, and the Tasmania fast bowler Brendan Drew.The South Australia-contracted players Theo Doropoulos and Gary Putland have also become Strikers. Meanwhile, Peter Forrest, the former New South Wales batsman who has signed with Queensland for this summer, will remain north of the border after being named in the Brisbane Heat squad.The squads so far
Adelaide Strikers Aiden Blizzard, Cameron Borgas, Lee Carseldine, Tom Cooper, Adam Crosthwaite, Theo Doropoulos, Brendan Drew, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Harris, Michael Klinger, Nathan Lyon, Aaron O’Brien, Gary Putland, Kane Richardson. Overseas players: Kieron Pollard.
Brisbane Heat Nick Buchanan, Daniel Christian, Ben Cutting, Peter Forrest, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Chris Lynn, Michael Neser.
Hobart Hurricanes Travis Birt, Mark Cosgrove, Xavier Doherty, Luke Feldman, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Hogan, Phil Jaques, Matt Johnston, Jason Krejza, Nick Kruger, Ben Laughlin, Rhett Lockyear, Tim Paine, RIcky Ponting. Overseas players: Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Owais Shah.
Melbourne Renegades Ryan Carters, Aaron Finch, Shane Harwood, Aaron Heal, Jayde Herrick, Michael Hill, Brad Hodge, Glenn Maxwell, Andrew McDonald, Brenton McDonald, Dirk Nannes, Nathan Reardon, Will Sheridan, Shaun Tait. Overseas players: Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi.
Melbourne Stars George Bailey, James Faulkner, Jon Holland, David Hussey, Alex Keath, Chris Simpson, Adam Voges, Cameron White.
Perth Scorchers Tom Beaton, Michael Beer, Mark Cameron, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Nathan Rimmington, Luke Ronchi. Overseas players: Paul Collingwood, Herschelle Gibbs.
Sydney Sixers Ed Cowan, Moises Henriques, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Ben Rohrer, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc.
Sydney Thunder Doug Bollinger, Tim Cruickshank, Jason Floros, Usman Khawaja, Daniel Smith, David Warner. Overseas players: Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle.