Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, will receive an award from the PCB following the World Twenty20, for being the ‘No. 1 bowler in the world’, board chief Zaka Ashraf has said

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-2012Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, will receive an award from the PCB following the World Twenty20, for being the ‘No. 1 bowler in the world’, board chief Zaka Ashraf has said. The announcement comes in the wake of Ajmal not being on ICC’s shortlist for Test Player of the Year.”Saeed Ajmal, we still say you’re the No. 1 bowler in the world and the PCB recognises you, and whether someone gives you the prize, that is immaterial, we don’t care,” Ashraf said. “We congratulate you and when you come back home [after the World T20] we will give you a prize for being the No. 1 bowler in the world. The PCB is with you.”Ajmal was on the longlist for the ICC award, which will be announced at a function in Colombo on September 15, but did not make the shortlist that included South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, Australia’s Michael Clarke and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara. Subsequently, the PCB had lodged a protest with the ICC regarding his omission, but the ICC had said it could not revise the list as it had been put together by an independent jury. That prompted talk of a possible boycott of the awards function by Pakistan.While the boycott wasn’t a certainty, Ashraf said, he was hoping for a last-minute revision. “There is some error, I think the ICC should try to rectify it. At least his name should have been on the shortlist,” Ashraf said. “I’m still hopeful the ICC will make a positive move by trying to rectify it.”The PCB hasn’t decided as yet to boycott [the awards ceremony], that will be an extreme step. But we are under extreme pressure. There have been demonstrations in Pakistan, people have come out in support of Saeed Ajmal; there was a big demonstration held in front of the PCB office. We’ve conveyed that to the ICC. It has [even] been taken up in the parliament in Pakistan, there’s a big debate going on.”Ajmal had taken 72 Test wickets between August 4, 2011, and August 6, 2012, (the qualifying period for the award). He climbed to No. 3 in the Test bowlers’ rankings and, last week, took the No. 1 spot in the ODI rankings.

Rod Bransgrove is to stand down as chief executive of Hampshire as
well as the plc and events operations at West End, from December 1.

Ivo Tennant29-Oct-2012Rod Bransgrove is to stand down as chief executive of Hampshire as
well as the plc and events operations at West End, from December 1.Although he intends to spend more time out of the country in winter,
he will continue as chairman of the Rose Bowl group and is looking to fulfil his final ambition at the ground in 2019, the staging of an Ashes Test match. He has slain the financial obstacles. Now for the ECB.As Bransgrove points out, West End is the one Test ground in the country yet to be awarded an Ashes Test. Lobbying has already begun. By 2019, this resilient and articulate businessman will be almost 70 – but not as old, he is quick to add, as the members of the Rolling Stones, whom he would like to see perform on the ground he has financed heavily ever since Hampshire’s move from run-down Northlands Road in 2001.Last year, when the inaugural Test was staged at West End,
Bransgrove’s personal investment was thought to be £6.5m. Now, this
sum is “well in excess of £10m”. He does not anticipate a return in
the near future and has not drawn a salary in his 12 years as chief
executive. “It has been said that I am in this for the money,” he said. “Maybe that has now been retracted.”The business has been very much a part of me and it will be very
difficult to wrestle me away from it entirely. I’ll always have an
opinion, which I hope my successor, David Mann, will listen to, but I
don’t expect to have to work as hard as I have done over the past 12
years. I am not an old 62, but it is an ambition of mine not to have
to work full-time.”My energy levels have not deteriorated and I am hungry for more
success, but it has never been a secret that the company needed more
funding and we can move forward with confidence now that Eastleigh
Borough Council has provided that. It is great to look out of the
window and see the hotel being constructed on the ground.” The Council’s investment is £45m.Fund-raising, as opposed to the staging of international cricket, has
been Bransgrove’s biggest achievement, he reckons. He could have added
that – but for his own personal investment, drawn from the capital he
acquired through the flotation of Shire Pharmaceuticals which
specialised in hormone replacement therapy – Hampshire would never have
moved grounds. The spin-off for him, other than the development of a
significant and attractive international venue, has been the
friendships of cricketers such as Sir Ian Botham, Shane Warne, Robin
Smith and the journeymen. Even, he might add in his sardonic way, the
journalists.The downside has been differences of opinion with the ECB. “I have
felt once or twice we have been overlooked in the international arena,
but then there have been the trophies we have won. Our policy of
mixing talented young players with experienced old ones definitely
works well and what I want to do now is to watch them perform
throughout the day without my having other concerns.”A typical day, he revealed, starts off “when I am at my grumpiest”
with personal correspondence at home (he is a non-executive director
of other companies) followed by the 16-mile drive to the ground from
his home on the edge of the Test Valley. He will remain there until 7p.m. and will often be involved in a business function in the evening,
drinking, by preference, Montrachet rather than Chablis. “Probably my
life has been dedicated to my business interests.”As he prepares to build a house for himself and his family in the
Caribbean – “not Mustique” – he will hand over to Mann, who is no
relation to the former England captain, George Mann, or indeed his
buccaneering son Simon, but a 48 year-old village cricketer and
finance director who lives in Southampton. The idea now is that West
End will become a hub for the local community as well as a venue for
cricket, concerts and other sports.Whatever is taking place, you can bet that Bransgrove, even in his
dotage, will be keeping a paternal eye on events. “Combining the roles
of chairman and chief executive is not great governance, but the
company is now on a reasonably stable footing. I don’t want to take on
any other position in the game. This has been a massive passion – but
a bit of a pain at times.”

A nation keen to spend Saturday on the couch had to find other things to do as day two of the first Test between Australia and South Africa was washed out in Brisbane

The Report by Daniel Brettig10-Nov-2012South Africa 2 for 255 v Australia
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe rain did not allow any play at the Gabba•Getty Images

A nation keen to spend Saturday on the couch had to find other things to do as day two of the first Test between Australia and South Africa was washed out in Brisbane.Play was formally called off at 4pm local time after a final inspection by the umpires Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf took place with drizzle still falling at the Gabba.Having lost the services of JP Duminy due to a freak Achilles injury during a warm-down exercise on the first evening, South Africa have now lost a day on which they had hoped to press home the advantage won by reaching 2 for 255 on the opening day.It is the first time a full day’s play has been lost to rain in a Brisbane Test since the final day of the 1983 Test between Australia and Pakistan was washed out. The last day’s play in a Test match to be completely washed out in Australia was Boxing Day in 1998, when Australia and England met at the MCG.The rain arrived on Friday evening and barely abated throughout Saturday, leaving the Australian players to sign autographs for those fans who still ventured to the ground.South Africa’s squad returned to their hotel soon after an early lunch was taken, and were ultimately to remain there.

India’s injury problems continue with the seamer R Vinay Kumar ruled out of the Twenty20s against England due to a strained right calf muscle

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2012India’s injury problems continue with the seamer Vinay Kumar being ruled out of the Twenty20s against England due to a strained right calf muscle. He has been replaced by fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun, his Karnataka team-mate.Vinay is the third India player to pull out of the two-match series, starting on Thursday, due to injury. The middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary was withdrawn due to a side strain, before the seamer L Balaji was ruled unfit due to a stress injury to his right big toe. Vinay, who was brought in as Balaji’s replacement, will be out of action for two weeks.Mithun has played four Tests and five ODIs for India, his most recent appearance coming against West Indies in an ODI in Chennai late last year. He has taken eight wickets in four Ranji Trophy matches this season.

Luke Pomersbach’s brutal assault fired Brisbane Heat to the semi-final of the BBL as they dished out an eight-wicket mauling to Hobart Hurricanes at the Bellerive Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2013
ScorecardLuke Pomersbach’s brutal assault at the top of the order fired Brisbane Heat to the semi-final of the BBL as they dished out an eight-wicket mauling to Hobart Hurricanes at the Bellerive Oval. Pomersbach smashed 82 off just 42 balls as Heat overhauled the 151-run target in the 15th over to get the much-needed win which put them on equal points with Hurricanes and Adelaide strikers, but their superior run rate helped them set up a semi-final clash with Melbourne Renegades.Pomersbach set about the chase at a frenetic pace on a sticky Hobart pitch and was particularly severe on Doug Bollinger and Jason Krejza. While Bollinger was taken for 27 off his first two overs, Krejza leaked 31 from his two.Pomersbach brought up his half-century off 24 balls, the fastest fifty of this year’s competition, and hit 13 fours and two sixes. Bollinger removed the other opener, Peter Forrest, early, but a 107-run stand in less than 10 overs between Pomerbach and Joe Burns ended Hurricanes’ tournament.”We’re the underdogs now,” Pomersbach said on the team’s entry to the knockouts. “We’re going in there, we’re going to give it everything and I’ve got a really good feeling about it.””We probably misjudged the wicket a little bit although I think it probably suited their bowlers, that sort of slow medium pace,” Hurricanes captain Tim Paine said.Hurricanes chose to bat first and made a steady start with a 47-run opening partnership, but the scoring rate stayed below seven for almost three-quarters of the innings. Only some late aggression by Jonathan Wells – 40 off 24- and Owais Shah, 32 off 28, helped the team to get to 150. James Hopes was miserly in his bowling, giving away 18 off four overs, while Dan Christian picked up two wickets.

While South Africa’s squad dispersed hours after completing their innings victory at Newlands, New Zealand are not taking any breaks before for the second Test

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town05-Jan-2013While South Africa’s squad dispersed hours after completing their innings victory at Newlands and will enjoy three days off, New Zealand are not taking any breaks before for the second Test. They have practices planned for both days of the weekend which would have spent playing Test cricket had the match not ended before tea on Friday.”It’s important to feel the pulse of the group and find out what’s required in terms of training because quite a mental toll gets taken on you when you play a Test match,” Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, said after defeat. “There are times when you need to get straight back on the horse and other times when you need to have a little bit of reflection.”Team management decided to put the emotion aside and concentrate on the former, despite a feeling of embarrassment and shock still running deep in their squad. McCullum used the word “hurt,” at least four times when discussing how his players felt. That is unsurprising given that they lost the match in an hour and 40 minutes on the first morning when they were bowled out for 45.New Zealand had seven sessions after that to digest what they had done and claw back respect. They managed to do a bit of both. McCullum is adamant that they cannot forget about being dismissed in less than 20 overs in a Test because the memory of that will help them avoid repeating it. But he also recognises that the team has to move on quickly because another challenge awaits.For them to do that, they have focus on how they improved as the match went on and how they can continue to perform at the level they did on days two and three. “The way we responded with the ball on the second day and then to get to 169 for 4 was a remarkable improvement from the previous day,” McCullum said. “We’ve seen some ways where we can be successful against South Africa if we do those hard yards upfront.”It helped that New Zealand’s bowlers were able to exploit the movement on offer on the second morning. They also adjusted their lengths accordingly after they were guilty of inconsistency as they chased the game on the first afternoon. McCullum hinted that there will be some changes to the attack.Chris Martin’s three-wicket return may not justify replacing him but the suggestion is that Neil Wagner, another left-arm quick, will play in Port Elizabeth. Only if New Zealand are feeling particularly brave will they gamble on the rookie left-armer, Mitchell McClenaghan. Their spinner is also a cause for concern. Jeetan Patel was ineffective with the ball and comically bad with the bat. Bruce Martin, a left-arm spinner, has been taking wickets domestically and could come into contention for that spot.One thing McCullum confirmed is that the batting, albeit the main problem, will not be tinkered with. That is partly because New Zealand do not have too many options. Colin Munro is the only reserve batsman on tour so the same top six will front up in the second Test. “They deserve an opportunity again especially since we can see some improvements,” McCullum said.In the second innings, New Zealand’s line-up, bar Martin Guptill, moved their feet better, chose their shots more selectively and showed better temperament which included more patience and less hot-headed, ill-thought out aggression. By doing that, they bored South Africa’s bowlers somewhat.The evening session on day two saw the South Africa quicks drift. They expected New Zealand to struggle against the short ball but they didn’t get the length exactly right and when they tried to go fuller and induce an edge, they gave away runs. According to McCullum that was how New Zealand transferred some of the pressure back to South Africa.”We were able to implement a better defensive strategy against them which helped us absorb the pressure a little better. Once we were able to do that, we were also able to put some pressure back on to them. There are some encouraging signs,” he said. “Those are some areas where we can walk away saying that if we continue to nail them that will give us a far better performance but we have to do that across the entire game rather than only the second innings.”New Zealand’s focus over the next two days will be on how to improve their consistency and play more like they did in the second innings more often. That may take longer than two days to perfect, but they have to start somewhere.Monday will be reserved for playing in a Jacques Kallis charity golf tournament, where the proceeds will go to his scholarship foundation. However, do not be surprised if New Zealand sneak in a net session too. They will travel to Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, as will the South African squad, who will meet up a day earlier than scheduled.

The legspinner Cameron Boyce, the batsman Joe Burns and the fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile are the three uncapped players named in the Australia A squad to take on the England Lions in a one-day series this month

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2013The legspinner Cameron Boyce, the batsman Joe Burns and the fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile are the three uncapped players named in the Australia A squad to take on the England Lions in a one-day series this month. Aaron Finch will captain the side with Tim Paine as his deputy in a group that Australia’s selectors have chosen with development for the 2015 World Cup firmly in mind.Batsmen Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges, who have played Twenty20 cricket for Australia this summer, are in the squad along with the South Australian Callum Ferguson, who last played for his country in April 2011. The attack will include Ben Cutting, John Hastings and Kane Richardson, all of whom have played international cricket this season, along with Josh Hazlewood.”In selecting this 12 man squad for the five-match series against the England Lions the National Selection Panel had the development of players for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup very much in mind,” John Inverarity, the national selector, said.”Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Joe Burns, Callum Ferguson and Adam Voges are all talented batsmen. With the Test Squad being in India, these 12 players will have a chance to push for higher honours by doing well against a strong England Lions outfit.”Burns is the only batsman in the group who has not played for Australia but his class has been apparent in his performances for Queensland over the past two years, which led to him being named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year this week.The presence of his Queensland team-mate Boyce is an indication of how the selectors rate the young legspinner, who has shown plenty of promise in his four seasons of state cricket. Coulter-Nile also has a chance to push for inclusion in Australia’s growing list of international fast men.Australia A will play five one-day games against the England Lions in Hobart and Sydney from February 16 to March 1.Australia A squad Aaron Finch (capt), Tim Paine (vice-capt, wk), Shaun Marsh, Joe Burns, Callum Ferguson, Adam Voges, Ben Cutting, Nathan Coulter-Nile, John Hastings, Kane Richardson, Cameron Boyce, Josh Hazlewood.

Alastair Cook has revealed there is some worry over Kevin Pietersen’s right knee after he was forced to spend time off the field during the first Test

Andrew McGlashan in Dunedin10-Mar-2013Alastair Cook has revealed there is some worry over Kevin Pietersen’s right knee after he was forced to spend time off the field during the first Test.Pietersen, who made 0 and 12, did not field between lunch and tea on the third day. He returned for the final session that was shortened by rain and also fielded when New Zealand batted for a further nine overs on Saturday, although that could have been to ensure he could bat in his usual No. 4 spot if required as the injury was not an external blow.Cook said: “There has been a bit of concern about his right knee in this Test match but he should be fit to play in Wellington.”After Pietersen was dismissed on the final afternoon he was spotted by TV cameras sat in the dressing room with a black X marking a spot on his knee. Pietersen has only been part of the Test leg of this trip having been rested for the Twenty20s and ODIs. He was dismissed by Neil Wagner in both innings at University Oval.Should an injury rule out any of England’s specialist batsmen during the series Jonny Bairstow is the reserve player in the squad.Graeme Swann’s tour ended on the opening day of the Dunedin Test when it was decided he needed surgery on his right elbow. He has returned the UK before flying to the United States for the operation. James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner, has now arrived in New Zealand to bolster the squad.

Loosened up, aggressive, focused and familiar enough with the conditions, Australia are ready to give India a fright at home, but the fight came too late in the series

The Report by Daniel Brettig23-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNathan Lyon was in better rhythm than he was all series•BCCI

Loosened up, aggressive, focused and familiar enough with the conditions, Australia are ready to give India a fright at home. The only trouble for the tourists is that the strongest demonstration of their readiness for the task has arrived with the Test series in its death throes. The captain, Michael Clarke, has already flown home.Defending a middling 262 on a Delhi pitch that was always less than trustworthy, the stand-in leader Shane Watson marshalled his men handily as India slipped to 266 for 8 by the close. He benefited from a fine display by Nathan Lyon, who spun the ball sharply and landed it with greater consistency than he had managed all series. Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson also contributed useful spells, while in the field the tourists were generally alert and often combative.Fired initially by the refusal of a very adjacent lbw appeal by Lyon against Sachin Tendulkar, the Australians became decidedly feisty during MS Dhoni’s evening stay. Having earlier given Virat Kohli a send-off from the team huddle, David Warner took exception when Dhoni ran down the middle of the pitch while taking a run, moving the umpires to ask Watson to calm his opening batsman down.All this had the hollow ring of a team fighting back well after the final bell had been rung, but there was consolation to be had for Lyon and Watson, both having endured particularly difficult tours. Certainly the decision to leave Lyon out of the Hyderabad match now appears to be the single most baffling piece of selection for the tour. Australia’s least effective portfolio was the over rate, which slinked along at little more than 12 overs an hour.India stuttered mainly because their batsmen did not go on from starts for the first time all series. Cheteshwar Pujara, M Vijay, Tendulkar, Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja all made starts but none went any further than 58, which was the sort of problem much more familiar to Australia over the preceding three Tests.

Smart stats

• Nathan Lyon’s 5 for 94 is his third five-wicket haul in Tests and his first against India. His previous two five-fors came against Sri Lanka (on debut) and West Indies.

• Lyon’s bowling performance is the joint-sixth best by a visiting spinner in Delhi and the third-best by an Australian spinner at the venue after Ashley Mallett and Richie Benaud.

• The 108-run stand between M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara is the fifth century partnership of the series for India, It is also the second century stand between the two batsmen after the 370 they added in Hyderabad.

• Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed leg before for the 61st time in Tests. Graham Gooch is a distant second on the list of batsmen with most lbw dismissals (50).

• Pragyan Ojha became the 18th Indian bowler to pass the 100-wicket mark in Tests. Among the five left-arm spinners who have 100-plus wickets, Ojha has the best strike rate but the third-best average.

• R Ashwin’s 5 for 57 is his ninth five-wicket haul in just 16 Tests. It is also his second-best bowling performance against Australia after the 7 for 103 in Chennai earlier in the series.

Australia had commenced with the unfortunate news that Maxwell was still at the team hotel due to stomach trouble, but harboured hopes of stretching the total beyond 300. Siddle’s half-century was a just reward for his defiance, but he was not to venture much further, playing inside the line to R Ashwin and losing off stump. Pattinson was last out, a thin edge granting Pragyan Ojha his 100th wicket in Tests.The Australians had their fourth different new ball pairing of the series, Johnson and Pattinson charging in at the hosts, and after a few promising early deliveries Watson was witness to the familiar sight of Indian batsmen collecting facile runs. Pujara was beaten between bat and pad by one Pattinson delivery that pranced back at him while disturbing the surface, but his response to the next ball, a serene back foot drive, typified the confidence with which the openers played.If Johnson’s off cutter appeared likely to be the cause of some discomfort on the dry, turning pitch, his early use of it was characterised by runs given up via the gloves of Matthew Wade rather than any wickets. It was somewhat surprising that Lyon’s entry was delayed until 19 overs had been bowled, more so when he immediately had the ball turning and bouncing while finding his best rhythm of the tour.The century stand arrived soon after Lyon’s introduction, via the unedifying sight of Johnson throwing airily beyond Wade for four overthrows. Having fended off several off breaks that spun back dangerously, Pujara played for turn to a ball tossed up with more over spin and had his off stump tilted back. Lyon went around the wicket to Kohli and celebrated raucously when he pinned the batsman in front with a ball very similar to that with which he could easily have also dismissed Tendulkar.On resumption after tea Siddle gave up 10 runs to suggest India might zip clear, but he made amends with a swift bouncer that surprised Vijay and resulted in a simple chance to Wade off the glove. Ajinkya Rahane’s first Test innings was nervy and brief, ending with a Lyon off break gloved straight to leg slip, and Dhoni had barely begun his customary counterattack when Tendulkar was again pinned in front by Lyon, and this time given out.Dhoni’s stay did not extend far beyond his exchange with Warner, a half-hearted pull shot picking out Watson at a square midwicket, and Jadeja failed to offer a shot to a delivery that appeared bound to flick off stump. It had been bowled by Maxwell, recovered from his bout of gastro.India inched ahead, but Watson remained eager for wickets. Following a brief rest, Watson swung Lyon around to the other end for the final over, and he completed the day’s Australian rehabilitation by pinning Ashwin for his deserved fifth. If only it wasn’t the fourth Test.

David Warner will face a Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour hearing on Wednesday after being reported following his Twitter outburst in the earlier hours of Saturday morning

Brydon Coverdale20-May-2013David Warner will face a Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour hearing on Wednesday after being reported following his Twitter outburst in the earlier hours of Saturday morning. CA has announced that the hearing will be held via teleconference at 5.45pm on Wednesday and will be presided over by CA’s senior Code of Behaviour commissioner, Gordon Lewis.Warner was reported on Sunday under CA’s Code of Behaviour and he is alleged to have breached rule 6, regarding “unbecoming behaviour”. The rule stipulates that “players and officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming to a representative player or official that could (a) bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the interests of cricket…this rule applies at all times where the unbecoming behaviour involves the player being involved in public comment or comment to or in the media.”On Saturday, Warner used his Twitter account to direct a tirade of tweets to the News Ltd journalist Robert Craddock, regarding a story on the negative aspects of the IPL Craddock had written for the organisation’s Saturday newspapers. Craddock did not reply on Twitter but his News Ltd colleague Malcolm Conn did, and Warner and Conn then engaged in a vigorous exchange of tweets.It has since emerged that Warner was mostly annoyed that a photo of him had been used to illustrate Craddock’s article, which referred to “notorious IPL parties” and discussed alleged corruption in the league. In the on Monday, Conn wrote that Warner had made contact with him on Saturday night and said he had not intended to get personal.”I replied there were no hard feelings, I was a great believer in free speech and he was entitled to his opinion,” Conn wrote. “I have also told three of Cricket Australia’s senior managers that I had taken no offence. This was all part of the cut and thrust of working in the media.”