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Michael Clarke does not believe Pat Howard’s lack of cricket experience will be a problem after he was appointed as Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance

Brydon Coverdale14-Oct-2011Australia’s captain, Michael Clarke, does not believe Pat Howard’s lack of cricket experience will be a problem after he was appointed to one of Cricket Australia’s most senior positions. Howard, a former rugby international, was on Thursday unveiled as the general manager of team performance, a newly-created role in which Clarke and the head coach will report to him.A self-confessed “terrible legspinner” whose main cricket experience came at school, Howard will be responsible for installing Australia’s new coach and full-time selector, and faces the challenge of helping the team rise back up the Test rankings. Clarke said Howard’s off-field record, which included a high-performance position with the Australian Rugby Union, was impressive, and his new job was not a role that required someone with cricket expertise.”His job is not to be the head coach or the captain, he’s been very successful in this role and he’s done it before [in rugby],” Clarke told reporters in Sydney, before flying out for Australia’s tour of South Africa. “He’s played a lot of sport and he knows his cricket well enough, so I’m not concerned at all that he hasn’t played cricket at the highest level. Now it is about communication between the CEO, James Sutherland, the head coach, the chairman of selectors and the captain to work out what we need to do to continue going forward.”The most pressing issue now is the appointment of a coach, after Tim Nielsen stepped down following the tour of Sri Lanka. The expanded head coach position features much more responsibility, in line with recommendations from the Argus review, with the new mentor set to direct the coaching strategies throughout elite cricket in Australia as well as within the national side.The former South Africa coach, Mickey Arthur, and Australia’s fielding coach, Steve Rixon, are likely to be among the leading candidates, although it could take up to two months for an appointment to be made. On Thursday, Howard indicated the importance of ensuring Clarke and the new mentor could work well together, and Clarke confirmed he would have some input into the appointment.”I’ll probably have an impact in regards to the coach, and it is down to James [Sutherland] and the general manager to make these decisions, but I’m confident there will be communication as we try and get the best people for the job,” he said. “We all want to see Australian cricket get back to being number one in all forms of the game and whoever gets these selection roles will have that mindset.”

Darren Bravo has said West Indies decided to play their strokes and express themselves in the second innings at Eden Gardens

S Aga17-Nov-2011West Indies may have lost the Eden Gardens Test by an innings, but they restored a fair bit of pride with a second-innings display that combined grit and flamboyance. No-one exemplified that better than Darren Bravo, whose stylish 136 was the fulcrum of the resistance. But for his dismissal soon after lunch, West Indies might even have forced India to bat again, despite following on 478 behind.”In the second innings, we decided to come together as a team, play our strokes and express ourselves in the best possible way,” Bravo said. “The guys played pretty well. It was good to see Adrian [Barath] and Kirk [Edwards] bat well at the top of the order, and Marlon Samuels later. It’s good to know that it is not just [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul that we can depend on to get the big scores.”Bravo got his first Test century in Bangladesh last month, but satisfaction at following that with a century in conditions that have tested some illustrious batsmen was tinged with the disappointment of an innings defeat. “It’s obviously a sad feeling because it was not enough. Making India bat again was an uphill task, but we have our heads held high after our performance in the second innings.”After 12 Tests, Bravo has the same number of runs (941) at the same average (47.05) as Brian Charles Lara, his mother’s cousin, did after the same number of games. The similarities are obvious, especially in the way he caresses the ball through cover or thumps it over long-on with a flourish. Far from being irritated by the comparisons, Bravo said he was “honoured”. “He is definitely my role model. I play my natural game and look something like Lara but nevertheless I know that emulating him will be difficult – to achieve what he has achieved. Hopefully, I will finish with the sort of record that some of the great players have.”Darren Bravo said he made technical adjustments to his game after the Delhi Test•AFPBatting alongside Chanderpaul – they added 108 – gave him confidence, but the big difference came in the shape of technical adjustments he made after twin failures in Delhi. “Before this Test match, I played with my bat along the pad in the nets [to avoid the lbw],” he said. “I have been trying to get my bat in front of the pad as much as possible.”Two hundreds in less than a month also owed much, he said, to improved concentration. “I remembered something my brother [Dwayne Bravo] told me – that when you get the first century, the second and third will come much easier than the first. That is something that I kept very close to me.”The series may be gone, but according to Bravo, if West Indies could “eradicate” a tendency to lose wickets in clusters, they were capable of giving India a hard game in Mumbai. “I think it is difficult, but we will play with a lot of pride and passion. We know what went wrong with our performance in the first match and here, so our preparations will be better. If not a victory, it will be a great chance for us as a team to deliver.”

England were given a good workout in the field on the opening day of their first warm-up match of the tour as the tail wagged for the ICC Combined XI

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2012
Scorecard
Stuart Broad took three wickets in his first three overs but ICC XI fought back on day one in Dubai•Getty ImagesEngland were given a good workout in the field on the opening day of their first warm-up match of the tour as the tail wagged for a ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI. First-class best innings from Christi Viljoen and Boyd Rankin revived the innings after England made a rampant start.Stuart Broad claimed three wickets in his first three overs as England took command at lunch but Namibian allrounder Viljoen and Warwickshire bowler Rankin rallied in the lower order with a partnership of 96 to give England a testing final session.Viljoen’s 98 from 189 balls prevented the ICC XI from being blown away. Broad’s wickets were followed by two for Graeme Swann and a wicket for Steven Finn – playing because of Chris Tremlett’s eye infection and an elbow injury to Tim Bresnan.At 91 for 6 at lunch, it was a gentle introduction to the tour for England. But Viljoen added 32 with Afghanistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad, whose half century was the first resistance for the ICC XI. His counter-attacking innings came from 55 balls and included seven fours.The second act of resistance came through Viljoen after James Anderson had Shahzad caught behind after lunch. Viljoen struck 13 fours and a six to take his side to tea on 182 for 8. But Warwickshire’s Rankin also made a useful score after tea to provide another partnership for ICC XI.Broad returned to wrap up the innings by having Viljoen caught by James Anderson two short of a maiden first-class hundred. He finished with 4 for 46 before Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook safely negotiated four overs to close on 16 for 0.The day had begun with Strauss winning the toss after which England used the new ball to good effect. Broad enjoyed his return to an England shirt for the first time since September by removing the ICC XI top three. William Porterfield tried to flick a full ball to leg and edged behind for one before Paul Stirling played on trying to pull. Kyle Coetzer also fell for single figures as he tried to force off the back foot and edged to Steve Davies – keeping wicket in place of Matt Prior who injured a finger in training yesterday.Finn produced an edge from Majid Haq’s loose drive outside off stump, pouched by Swann low at second slip. Swann was introduced into the attack and was struck down the ground for six by Craig Williams before he pushed forward and edged behind to Davies. Swann then lured Mohammad Nabi out of his crease and he missed with a wild hack to be bowled for a second-ball duck.The fightback arrived before Anderson claimed his second wicket having Rankin caught by Finn at point to break the main stand of the innings. Broad then took his fourth as ICC XI were bowled out for a far higher score than might have been expected.

Chris Tremlett is facing a lengthy break from the game after specialists decided his back injury may require surgery. He will now miss England’s tour to Sri Lanka at the end of March.

George Dobell02-Feb-2012Chris Tremlett is facing a lengthy break from the game after specialists decided his back injury requires surgery. He will now miss England’s tour to Sri Lanka at the end of March.After experiencing a recurrence of back pain bowling in the first Test in Dubai, Tremlett flew home from England’s tour of the UAE last week. He had not played since July when he was forced out of the Test series against India with the same problem. He subsequently underwent a long period of rest and recuperation but the strain of bowling in a match situation appears to have exacerbated the injury.Tremlett will hope to regain his fitness with Surrey ahead of the start of England’s home season against West Indies in May.He said on Twitter that he had seen a specialist and may face three months on the sidelines: “Scans reveal a bulging disc and may require a little clean up. Hopefully back playing mid to end of April.”Until injury intervened, Tremlett had enjoyed a fine return to Test cricket. Recalled to the team ahead of the third Test of the 2010-11 Ashes, Tremlett took 36 wickets in his next seven Tests including 17 in three Tests against Australia.But now aged 30 this new setback will renew concerns over whether his 6ft 7in frame can withstand the rigours of fast bowling in Test cricket.England have decided against calling up a replacement for Tremlett to their Test squad in the UAE. He was the second bowler forced to return home after Tim Bresnan, who underwent elbow surgery at the start of December. Bresnan has subsequently started bowling again in Yorkshire.

Cricket Ireland has set out its strategy to bring full Test status by 2020

David Hopps24-Jan-2012Cricket Ireland has set out its strategy to bring full Test status by 2020. Targets include an increase in the number of people playing the game in Ireland to 50,000, reaching eighth in the world rankings and establishing a domestic first-class structure.A number of commercial deals have been secured, allowing Ireland to unveil their strategic plan to 2015 and target their ultimate ambition of securing Test status. As part of that process Cricket Ireland want to have three first-class teams in place by 2015.Warren Deutrom, Ireland’s chief executive, said: “We have set ourselves a very clear long-term ambition – to become a full Test nation by 2020, nothing less. This is not a dreamy aspiration but a real ambition founded on the playing talent being developed on this island, the growing passion and profile of the game here, a sustained and proven track record of achievement on and off the field and a clear roadmap set out by us for how to get there.”Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, has also agreed a two-year extension to his contract which will take him through to at least the end of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign late next year.Cricket Ireland has offered a record 23 professional contracts to players, in three categories, for 2012, a development Simmons says is vital for their continued improvement.”A key part of our success to date has been the move to professionalism,” Simmons said. “With so many players on full or part-time contracts we now have a structure supporting the senior squad to make sure we can maintain our competitiveness on the international stage.”Initiatives to swell participation numbers to 50,000 will include the establishment of regional academies; a Get Into Cricket scheme which will seek to attract six to 12-year-olds to take up the game in clubs and schools; a Better Clubs Initiative, which will encourage clubs to improve their facilities; and the Cricket Ireland national awards which will recognise contributions ranging from players to volunteers.”Our commitment to the game at grassroots level will hopefully make a real difference on the ground,” Deutrom said. “We want to give as much attention to the domestic game as we have to the international teams in the last four years.”Contract awardsCategory A Trent Johnston, Alex Cusack, Kevin O’Brien, John Mooney.Category B William Porterfield, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, George Dockrell, Gary Wilson, Boyd Rankin, Ed Joyce, Andrew White.Category C Albert van der Merwe, Nigel Jones, Max Sorensen, Shane Getkate, James Shannon, Stuart Thompson, Andrew Poynter, Andrew Balbirnie, Tom Fisher, Peter Connell, Rory McCann.

A round-up of the second days’ action of the One-Day National Cup Division Two matches

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Feb-2012Group ALahore Lions were routed for 81, owing to a combined bowling performanc, led by the right-arm seamer Asad Ali at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) finished the chase in just 11.1 overs to register their maiden win in the tournament. Early strikes by Asad and Imran Ali left the Lions tottering at 5 for 5. Farhan Asghar and Saad Nasim were the only players to pass 20. Asad finished with the best figures of 4 for 14, while the other three bowlers took two wickets apiece. The SNGPL openers Ali Waqas and Imran Ali (the opener) ensured they attained the target without any loss of wickets.A half-century by Musadiq Ahmed and a five-wicket haul by Mohammad Fayyaz set up Peshawar Panthers’ 28-run win over Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in Peshawar. Musadiq hit 66 off 96 balls with five fours to take the Panthers to 227. Mohammad Irfan took 3 for 35. KRL began their chase steadily, taking the score to 100 for 2. But the Panthers hit back, taking four wickets for 29 runs. Bazid Khan was the top scorer with 60 but was dismissed by Fayyaz, who ran through the middle and lower order to finish with 5 for 26 off six overs, his maiden five-for in domestic one-dayers.Group BA century by Bismilliah Khan set up Quetta Bears’ 140-run victory against Multan Tigers in Karachi. Bismilliah scored 142 off 141 balls and was supported by Abid Ali, who made 73, in an opening stand of 177. Quetta finished on 326 for 5 in 50 overs, the only wicket-taker for Multan being Haziq Habibullah, who claimed 4 for 64. Multan floundered in their chase, and collapsed from 109 for 2 to 186 all out in 39.5 overs. Mohibullah took 3 for 19 and Arun Lal 3 for 36 for Quetta. Moinuddin and Maqbool Ahmed top scored with 40 each for Multan, woefully inadequate contributions when chasing such a tall target.Lahore Eagles restricted Karachi Zebras to a below-par 199 for 9 and completed a five-wicket victory at the National Stadium. Lahore struck early and repeatedly after winning the toss, reducing Karachi to 69 for 5, before the lower-order batsmen rallied and prolonged the innings until the 50th over. The opener Behram Khan top scored with 71, the next best being Sohail Khan’s 39 at No. 9. Lahore stumbled from 50 for 0 to 63 for 3 in their chase but Rana Adnan cored 58 and Usman Salahuddin 42 to take their team towards victory. The target was achieved with nine overs to spare.

Graeme Smith says South Africa are better equipped to win in New Zealand now than in 2004

Firdose Moonda in Dunedin06-Mar-2012When Graeme Smith first toured New Zealand he was 23 years old. He had already been South Africa’s captain for nine months and 13 Test matches, won seven of them and had two double hundreds to his name. He hid his inexperience behind a veneer of bullishness, while displaying his obvious talent.Eight years have passed since then and Smith has captained South Africa in 74 more Tests, 34 of which have ended in victory. He has scored 17 more hundreds, not even a velvet curtain can hide his feelings now and he has collected battle scars from all around the world. His most recent one is the bruising on his forearm, sustained after being hit by Morne Morkel in the first net-practice of the current tour, but it will not stop him from leading South Africa in Dunedin.South Africa drew the 2004 Test series, Smith’s only previous one in New Zealand, 1-1. Smith says the side is better equipped to win this time because, like him, they are older and wiser. “We were a little wet behind the ears then,” Smith said at the University Oval. “We have a far more attacking mindset now. Before, we used to tour wanting to see how well we could do; now we tour thinking ‘we’ve come to here to win’. It’s a very different thought process.”Series wins abroad, most notably in Australia and England, have contributed to the Test side’s growing self-assuredness. Since winning a home series for the first time since 2008 – they beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in 2011-12 – South Africa have become known as the most consistent side in Test cricket, and can become the top-ranked Test team if they beat New Zealand 3-0. Also aiding South Africa is the fact that they dominated New Zealand in the Twenty20s and ODIs preceding the Tests, something Smith said would have dented the hosts’ confidence.”After losing the way they did, if we can perform well in this first Test match maybe we can dent that confidence even more; and New Zealand have a lot of players involved in both series, even though they do get three of four key players back. Maybe their confidence is not as thick and strong as it was a few months ago. Hopefully we can get into that and open it up a little bit.”Smith said the bowling attack South Africa have on this tour is more dynamic than the one that they had on their last trip to New Zealand, which featured Shaun Pollock, Andre Nel and Makhaya Ntini. This season has seen the emergence of fast bowler Vernon Philander, who stunned both Australia and Sri Lanka with little more than the ability to bowl almost no bad balls and enjoyed a return of 30 wickets from his first four Tests, and legspinner Imran Tahir, who gives South Africa another attacking option.”He’s had an unbelievable start to his Test career,” Smith said of Philander. “He has a very different style to the rest of our attack. He asks a lot of questions with the ball, he is in the right area more often than not and even on flat wickets gets the ball to talk a little bit. He brings a lot of consistency to our attack and I think he has been a real asset in addition to the pace of Dale [Steyn] and Morne [Morkel.”We’ve got a lot more pace now than we had eight years ago. We’ve also got a legspinner now.”Tahir has not had a massive impact on the five Tests he has played so far but will be in the starting XI in Dunedin, as part of coach Gary Kirsten’s plan to give players a sustained run.Kirsten is one of the reasons for South Africa’s changed approach. If there is a man who can introduce a philosophy to help South Africa achieve things they have previously been unable to, like spending time at the top of the Test rankings, Smith believes Kirsten is him. “More than anything, of all the coaches I have been under, Gary brings a much more relaxed, mature approach to the way he runs the team. We’ve grown a lot over the last few years and need someone to take us to the next level in terms of maturity, and the way we play and think about the game.”Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Paul Collingwood has admitted he wondered if he had the will to continue playing after England dropped him from their one-day teams last summer

Jon Culley04-Apr-2012Paul Collingwood has admitted he wondered if he had the will to continue playing after England effectively ended his international career when they dropped him from their one-day teams last summer, in the process stripping him of the Twenty20 captaincy.”It came right out of the blue,” Collingwood said. “There had been no inkling, so when Geoff Miller came to see me to tell me what had been decided I felt it was very, very harsh. It took me a while to get my head around it. You look at all the options and there was a point when I had to ask myself if I wanted to carry on.”Collingwood, under whose leadership England won their first international one-day trophy in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, retired from Test cricket in January last year after helping England win the Ashes in Australia.But after subsequently playing in the 50-over World Cup he believed he could continue his international career in one-day competitions and had not given much thought to what he might do if he was not given the chance.”When you are in the England bubble your concern is only with playing and giving your best and you don’t really focus much on the future. Suddenly I was out of that bubble and in the big wide world again.”But I thought it was important to give myself time and not make a rash decision. Cricket is my skill, the career I had been working towards since I was 14 or 15 years old and going down a different route is not something you can do immediately.”Instead, Collingwood – who will be 36 next month – gave himself until the end of the season to determine how he felt, and found his appetite for the game at county level remained keen enough to accept the offer of a new three-year contract with Durham.He has not given up hope yet of an England swansong, although he accepts that it would take “some miraculous performances” to force his way back into contention.”I’m not bitter about what happened,” he said. “I am a realistic man and accept that times move on and there comes a crossroads in everybody’s career where the hierarchy are going to make decisions about you.”I don’t bear any grudge towards the management or the selectors. If you put yourself in their position you understand that they have to make calls that they consider to be in the best interests of the England team in the long term. But I think I need to keep it as a goal, to get back in the England side. It is a big motivational factor. There are things about being in the England side that I really, really miss and it would be silly to say I’ve retired.”I realise I’m going to have to put in some miraculous performances but I still feel young, I still feel fit and I still feel I can contribute. You never know what might happen.”With that goal in mind, it has not helped that the planned third leg of his winter Twenty20 itinerary has effectively been cancelled after IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, to whom he was contracted for a second year, told him he had little chance of seeing any action.”Rajasthan called me up two or three weeks ago and said they had made four new signings, which gave them about nine or ten overseas players,” he said. “They said they would fly me out immediately if they had a couple of injuries but said rather than drag me round India for seven weeks I should stay at home and play some cricket.”They did not want to release me from the contract but I think it highly unlikely I will be going out, the way they were talking. I told them I would like to fight for my place but they were honest enough to say I was well down the pecking order. It is disappointing. If you are out there you can at least be in the nets and try to make an impact.”Collingwood had a more successful time in Australia, where he helped Perth Scorchers reach the final of the inaugural Big Bash League, and captained the newly-formed South African franchise Impi.

“It is the first April I’ve had in England for seven or eight years but it is exciting to be focusing on Durham”Paul Collingwood

“Perth was brilliant. Having the family out there was great and playing competitive cricket in front of big crowds was fantastic. Every game attracted about 20,000 spectators – and getting to the final means we will be in the Champions League.”South Africa was different. There weren’t the crowds and the team I captained consisted mainly of fringe players from other franchises and the challenge was to make them competitive. But I loved both competitions and hopefully there will be more opportunities next winter.”The change in his IPL plans makes Collingwood available for Durham for their opening County Championship match against Nottinghamshire next week, when he will reacquaint himself with playing cricket in England in April – his warm anticipation of which may have been cooling a little as snow fell at Chester-le-Street.”It is the first April I’ve had in England for seven or eight years but it is exciting to be focusing solely on Durham. There were a couple of other offers and Derbyshire was one of the places mentioned but coming from the north-east, where my family is, and being a Shotley Bridge lad, I want to play for Durham.”Durham are the people that gave me the opportunity to play international cricket. You want to give something back and hopefully I can pass on to the younger players some of the knowledge I have gained from playing around the world. But it isn’t just about that because obviously I want to continue playing, win games for Durham and win some silverware.”

Women cricketers have appealed for a one-time payment from the BCCI, inline with the board’s recent gesture where former Test and first-class male cricketers benefitted

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2012India’s women cricketers have appealed for a one-time payment from the BCCI, inline with the board’s recent gesture where former Test and first-class male cricketers benefitted from an approximately Rs 70 crore ($13 million) giveaway. Current and former women cricketers said that the benefits should be extended towards them too. Women’s cricket has been under the BCCI umbrella since 2006.”The BCCI runs women cricket now, and it should honour and reward the former women cricketers in whatever way it can,” India captain Mithali Raj told . “There was, after all, hardly any money in women’s cricket till sometime back, so any such move will certainly be a big help to many.”India’s women’s cricketer of the year and fast bowler Jhulan Goswami agreed. “The BCCI has changed the face of women’s cricket in the last few years,” she said. “I am sure they will look into it and reward former women players too, sooner rather than later.”Former India player Sandhya Agarwal said that although the women cricketers have benefitted from BCCI’s pension scheme, a one-time benefit should be considered as women cricketers have enriched the sport just as the male cricketers.Recently, former India cricketer Diana Edulji had raised the issue with IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla and the BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale and a decision on the issue is awaited.”It is good that the board is helping the former players and it would be great if they include women cricketers also in the benefit scheme,” Edulji said. “In fact, it is great that the widows of the former players are also part of it. It is a small amount for the board and a big boon for us women players.”

Only 14 overs were possible on the third day of West Indies’ tour game at Hove before the decision was made to abandon it once and for all

George Dobell at Hove07-May-2012
ScorecardFile photo: Kieran Powell was the one wicket to fall on the final day•Associated PressOnly 14 overs were possible on the third day of West Indies’ tour game at Hove before the decision was made to abandon it once and for all. If ever a game was crying out for euthanasia, this was it. After 34 overs across three bitterly cold and wet days, it was laid to rest shortly after lunch and will no doubt receive a burial at sea. It will go unmourned.It says much for the conditions that the greatest moment of excitement – and that is playing fairly free and easy with the word excitement – came when two sea gulls, understandably mistaking the damp Hove outfield for the sea, swooped towards Kieran Powell just as was about to receive a delivery from Amjad Khan. Powell, reacting like an ornithophobia sufferer in an aviary, leapt out of the way and swished his bat at the birds; one of the more aggressive strokes he played. Perhaps he has simply watched rather too many Hitchcock films?There were few moments of cheer for West Indies on the final day. Shivnarine Chanderpaul required treatment to a hand injury as a result of repetitive jarring – it is not thought to be serious – and Darren Bravo was struck high on the back as he attempted to duck a short ball from Amjad Khan. Bravo seemed fine, too, though the interview he gave at the close of play was so quiet that only lip readers and wolves could possibly have known he was even trying to communicate. The only wicket to fall was that of Powell, edging to the keeper after being caught in two minds whether to play or leave and doing a bit of both and a lot of neither.Sussex’s bowlers maintained a tight line and length in testing conditions and could feel quietly satisfied with their performance. The club continue to await news on Luke Wright’s health. The allrounder, who has been appearing in the IPL back is in the UK having attended a family funeral, recently underwent tests to ascertain whether he has dengue fever.Most pertinently, the West Indies are still missing three men. At present the team management confess they do not know where Marlon Samuels is, but they are expecting him to arrive on Tuesday. Assad Fudadin and Narsingh Deonarine, meanwhile, remain in Jamaica waiting for a visa. The UK Border Agency have recently tightened the work permit rules, but it is surely the job of someone at the West Indies Cricket Board to resolve these matters before such issues arise.The squad travel to Northampton on Tuesday and begin their final warm-up match – a four day game against England Lions – the following day. With the weather forecast remaining far from promising, it seems inevitable that some of the team will go into the first Test having had very little opportunity to adjust to English conditions.