Leicestershire finally broke Worcestershire’s Gareth Andrew-inspired resistance to claim their fourth County Championship win of the season by seven wickets with a day to spare at New Road

30-Jun-2010
ScorecardLeicestershire finally broke Worcestershire’s Gareth Andrew-inspired resistance to claim their fourth County Championship win of the season by seven wickets with a day to spare at New Road. Al-rounder Andrew made 79 – the highest score of the match – as the home side reached 315 in their second innings and then took 2 for 24 before Leicestershire cruised to their target of 182.The closing phase was the most comfortable as Paul Nixon completed his fifth half-century of the Division Two season and gave his county a significant boost in a competitive promotion race.At the start of the third day Leicestershire’s first objective was to break a century stand by Daryl Mitchell and James Cameron. The fifth-wicket pair eventually put on 138 before falling in quick succession to Nadeem Malik. Mitchell (77) stepped in front when the former Worcestershire seamer cut one into his pads and Cameron was half-forward when he tickled a catch behind the wicket after posting a career-best 75.Frustratingly for Leicestershire, this was not a passport to an early wrap-up. Andrew saw to that with another example of how his batting has improved since moving to Worcestershire in 2008. At the start of this season the former Somerset player had scored three half-centuries in his career. Now he has doubled the tally – and all at the expense of Leicestershire.At Grace Road in May he made 53 in a comfortable victory and in this match he was top scorer in both innings, starting with an undefeated 53 when Worcestershire collapsed for 175 on the opening day.An uncomplicated left hander who knows how to dispatch a loose ball, he saw his side to the highest total of the game with two sixes off Malik before he was last out. In an error of judgment, he offered no stroke when a ball from Jigar Naik clipped the off bail.Andrew made three-quarters of the 106 runs added in his time in the middle. James Benning dismissed Ben Cox and Richard Jones within three overs but Matt Mason – eventually caught in the deep off Claude Henderson – and last man Jack Shantry faced 42 balls between them.Having worked so hard to get back into contention, Worcestershire let things slip again as Leicestershire’s openers, Will Jefferson and Paul Nixon, punished some erratic new-ball bowling in a stand of 61. Jefferson (32) looked in good form until Phil Jaques held a diving catch in the gully. Jacques du Toit, who did not field in the morning because of a damaged finger, was next to go, lbw for 11 as Andrew claimed his second success.Nixon, dropped twice off Mason in making 55, was caught behind off Shantry after hitting 10 boundaries but James Taylor, unbeaten with 43, and Benning saw the job through.

Former Pakistan players were hailing the birth of a new era after the side’s first Test win over Australia in 15 years

Cricinfo staff24-Jul-2010Former Pakistan players were hailing the birth of a new era after the side’s first Test win over Australia in 15 years. Salman Butt’s men claimed a nervous, three-wicket triumph at Headingley to level the two-match series and provide hope for the future.”I can see the dawn of a new era in Pakistan cricket with this victory,” the former Test captain Moin Khan told The Associated Press. “Young players showed they can perform in the tough conditions of Headingley where the ball swung and seamed. The way the team has gelled under the new captain, it shows that we are now on the right track.”The win earned the players a US$6000 bonus and there were people dancing in the streets in Lahore and Peshawar to celebrate the success. Abdul Qadir, the former legspinner and chief selector, said the team should learn from the victory. “The chapter of Yousuf and Younis should be closed and even the rest of the senior players should be warned to either perform or be left out,” he said.Rashid Latif, another former captain, compared the bowling performances of Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif in the match with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. “It is only after Wasim and Waqar that I have seen such a lethal bowling attack of Pakistan,” Latif said. “Aamer has injected a new life in the attack with his pace, while Asif’s line and length could tie down any world-class batsman.”There were words of caution, however, from Javed Miandad, who warned that the team should not get “carried away” by this success. “I congratulate the Pakistan team for their memorable victory. I also congratulate Salman Butt as he led the side to equalise the series. However, I would advise them that they should not get carried away and instead concentrate on the upcoming series against hosts England,” Miandad told PPI. “They [the batsmen] need to learn how to respond to different situations and learn from this match.”

Mervyn Westfield, the Essex pace bowler who was questioned by police over spot-fixing allegations along with Danish Kaneria, has been released by the county

Cricinfo staff20-Aug-2010Mervyn Westfield, the Essex pace bowler who was questioned by police over spot-fixing allegations along with Danish Kaneria, has been released by the county.Westfield, 22, made his debut in 2005 but has played just seven first-class games and taken 11 wickets alongside eight one-day appearances.”It is a huge disappointment that it has come to this; for the past few years we had high hopes for Merv to become a big name in cricket,” said Paul Grayson, the Essex head coach. “He has received a lot of guidance from our players and coaches and he has not progressed as we would have hoped. Mervyn is keen to stay in the game and we wish him every success in finding another county to play for.”John Maunders, the left handed batsman, has also been let go after failing to secure a regular first-team place and is unlikely to gain another county.”It has come to that time of year once again, it is always a tough time of year,” Grayson said. “John has nearly reached the age of 30, he has unfortunately been injury prone this season and has been limited to a few County Championship appearances.”He needed to be scoring runs, and that has not been the case so it is time for us both to move on. John is currently looking at other avenues of employment.”

England Under-19s prevailed over Sri Lanka Under-19s in the rain-affected fifth game in Canterbury as the visitors succumbed for 125 chasing 177 in 41 overs

Cricinfo staff13-Aug-2010
ScorecardEngland Under-19s prevailed over Sri Lanka Under-19s in the rain-affected fifth game in Canterbury as the visitors succumbed for 125, chasing 177 in 41 overs. England had struggled batting first and only managed 184 before being bowled out in 48.2 overs, but it proved sufficient to level the five-match series two-all. The teams share the spoils with the third game having been abandoned due to rain.The hosts elected to bat and got off to a confident start, the openers adding 40 in 7.2 overs before Bhanuka Rajapaksa dismissed Joe Root. Lewis Gregory supported the set opener Jack Manuel, taking the score to 74 in 14.2 overs before wickets began to tumble.Lahiru Jayaratne was the main tormentor, dismissing Gregory and Luke Wells within the space of three balls. Ateeq Javid did not last long and was run out for 9 as the innings began to lose steam. When Manuel fell for a fluent 63 off 74 balls with the score on 117, Sri Lanka sensed a chance to skittle out the opposition under 150. However, captain Paul Best, coming in at eight, put paid to those hopes with a responsible unbeaten 28. The rest of the tail held on to lift England to 184.Sri Lanka’s top order found the pair of Matt Dunn and David Payne too hot to handle. Ramith Rambukwella scored 16 runs as the opening batsmen added 21 in the first five overs. Things changed quickly after that, and 21 for 0 soon became 28 for 4. When Dhanushka Gunathilleke was dismissed for 5, Sri Lanka had lost half their side for 43. Rain intervened at this juncture and having lost five top-order wickets Sri Lanka came back facing a steeper target. Though three lower-order batsmen managed 20s, it was a task too steep for them and they were bowled out in the 35th over, Dunn and Payne sharing seven wickets in all.Best was delighted with the result, saying after the match: “It was great to win the final match and level the one day series. The result was a fair reflection of the strength of the two teams and it was fantastic for England players ending their U19s career to finish on a high.”

Facing criticism about an inadequate anti-corruption protocol, the ICC has denied any laxity in the work of its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU)

Sharda Ugra and Osman Samiuddin31-Aug-2010Facing criticism about an inadequate anti-corruption protocol, the ICC has denied any laxity in the work of its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and pointed out that the body lacks the powers available to conventional law enforcement agencies.Three days after what could be the sport’s biggest scandal came to light, ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat told Cricinfo he was not worried about the fact that it was broken following a tabloid sting operation.”The ACSU’s working is not that of a policing agency or a newspaper,” Lorgat said. “They have no power to arrest or seize, or carry out a sting operation.”Criticism of the ACSU began shortly after the arrest of Mazhar Majeed on Saturday, on charges of ‘conspiracy to defraud bookmakers’. Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, was quoted as saying, “We’ve had an anti-corruption unit for how long? Why does it take an English newspaper to bring this out?”The ICC spent $640,000, excluding staff costs, on the ACSU last year. That’s less than 1% of the ICC’s profit of $84.7 million.Defending the ACSU, Lorgat said it had played its own part in assisting the Majeed case, to which the names of at least three Pakistani cricketers have been linked. “There is a lot of evidence we have given to the police in this investigation so we are not worried about how it is working at all”, he said.The ACSU was set up in 2001, in response to the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal, as a means of establishing and publicising very specific anti-corruption and security measures for players, support staff and administrators.The game has changed since then, with the advent of Twenty20 cricket, and so has technology but Lorgat indicated the ACSU didn’t need to change to stay in sync. “In the context of what is going on, I think its work is going fine,” he said.The onset of the World Cup, less than six months away, was not, Lorgat said, a special cause for concern for the ICC. “Never mind the World Cup, there is never a good time of the year for something like this to happen. This kind of bad news is not acceptable and cricket can do without it at any point of time.”The ACSU’s functioning is limited primarily to ICC events and begins with seminars about the anti-corruption code, which takes place in the under-19 World Cup, the women’s world cup and the three main events in the men’s game: the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the World T20. The seminar is followed by a technical briefing for support staff to discuss anti-corruption issues among others. The players are advised on how to deal with approaches by unknown individuals – they must report it immediately to the manager, much in the manner of Shane Watson and Brad Haddin. Every dressing room has a sign on the wall with the numbers of the ACSU’s hotline. The approach room or corridor leading to the dressing room is watched over by CCTV cameras, whose footage is removed by the ICC’s security police after each day’s play and stored for inspection and reviews when needed.The mugshots of those allowed access to the dressing room – team and support staff – are posted outside the doors and only the manager is allowed to use a mobile phone inside the room; all the cellphones and ‘communication devices’ during the match are banned. While wi-fi access is password restricted, only the manager is given the password to supply to the team’s data analyst. At an ICC event the only other person allowed to enter a dressing room is the event manager – “even the CEO doesn’t have access to the dressing room,” an ICC official said.National boards are supposed to follow identical anti-corruption rules in much the same manner and for the most part seem to be doing so. On the evening before a big international game, the security team inspects the venue. According to a regular ground-operations expert in India, the daily visitor pass to the dressing room has a stamp that fades to prevent it from being re-cycled the next day. In newer stadia – Nagpur, for example – no one else is allowed access even into the separate corridors that take the player from bus to changing room.Yet the rules stop at the ground at the end of the game. The rest, says the ICC staffer, rests on national boards and the player’s own sense of self. “We can’t tap phones or shadow players because that is an invasion of privacy. We can’t control the hotel and we can’t control the individual beyond what he does on the field.” An ICC security man said that the shift from ‘fans’ approaching players to several claiming to be ‘agents’ and ‘managers’ for the players had made the ICC’s vigilance all the more complicated. The fan can be hustled away, the legitimate business partner of a cricketer just won’t budge.The ICC’s anti corruption code has been updated and amended as of October 6, 2009, but the official says there is a chance that the ICC’s chief executives meeting in Cape Town on September 14-15 will discuss the issue of allowances made for the age of cricketers found guilty of colluding with bookies.

Mickey Arthur, former South Africa coach, has accused former South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini of stabbing him in the back, in his autobiography

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2010Mickey Arthur, the former South Africa coach, has accused former South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini of stabbing him in the back in his autobiography, but says he still has a lot of respect for him. The book, which will be released on Monday and is titled , claims that Ntini betrayed Arthur by complaining to senior administrators after he was dropped from the team, according to .Arthur alleges that Ntini did not handle being dropped well and took the issue to some of the country’s senior cricket administrators, including Cricket South Africa President Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka and former president Ray Mali, which Arthur considered a big letdown. “It was disappointing at the back end of my time that he let us down by running to administrators, but I suppose he was insecure,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo.Ntini was dropped from the one-day international side at the start of the 2008/9 season. In the book, Arthur says the incident caused him to see a side of Ntini he didn’t know, and as a consequence he, “lost a bit of respect for him.” He has since added to that comment, saying, “I still have the utmost respect for him and that is reflected in my book. He still is a huge role model in SA cricket, and there are passages in the book where I am very positive about him.”Arthur’s memoir is far more critical of Nyoka, whom he called a “gutless interferer.” According to Arthur, he had a breakfast meeting with Nyoka, Mali and Ntini in 2008, where Nyoka apologised to Ntini for his absence from the one-day side and apparently guaranteed him a place in place in the national team for the following series against Australia. So that was it,” Arthur writes. “Makhaya would be selected for the one-day squad for Australia, no matter what the coach or the selectors felt was appropriate.”Nyoka and another former CSA president Norman Arendse were vocal about the need for a black African player in the national team and almost caused a player boycott in 2008. Nyoka also criticised Arthur’s team selection in January, when there were no black, African players chosen to play the third Test against England. Ntini was dropped for that Test, and South African news services reported that he had accused Arthur and captain Graeme Smith of not wanting black players in the national team. Both insisted that Ntini was not included in the squad to face England in Cape Town because of poor form.Ntini would not play for South Africa again and announced his retirement earlier this week. He will be given a farewell during the Twenty20 international between South Africa and India at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on January 9, when he will make his final appearance for South Africa.Arthur resigned after the England series, saying that that he had a different vision to that of the administrators, but it was widely speculated that he was quitting because of interference in team selection.Arthur was a surprise choice for coach of the national team in 2004. Under him, South Africa won away Test series in England and Australia for the first time since readmission, and were ranked number one in both Tests and ODIs, although they did not win an ICC trophy. Arthur has since moved to Perth, where he coaches Western Australia.

A round-up of the latest matches from the Metbank Pro40 in Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2010Nick Compton’s powerful form continued with an unbeaten 90 to set up a 36-run victory for Mashonaland Eagles against Southern Rocks. He hit seven fours and two sixes in his 80-ball innings, adding 93 for the third wicket with Forster Mutizwa who clubbed 62. Their stand formed the backbone for a strong total of 257 for 6 and they made the perfect start in the field when Chad Keegan trapped Steve Marillier lbw first ball. Keegan added two more wickets and Rocks slid to 53 for 5 in the 13th over to leave them a mountain to climb. Steve Tikolo threatened to turn the innings around with 68 off 55 balls, but Rocks were well behind the D/L target when rain ended the contest in the 30th over.Mountaineers put in an impressive bowling display to earn a 78-run victory against Matabeleland Tuskers which was enough to gain a bonus point and move them ahead of their opponents on run rate. Donald Tiripano was the star with 4 for 16 to remove Tuskers middle order after Tinashe Panyangara had claimed two important wickets despite being expensive. The Mountaineers top order also struggled, but the difference was Timycen Maruma who hit a brisk 67 off 48 balls to lift them to 205 for 9 which proved more than enough.

Darren Sammy, currently leading the West Indies in their Test series against Sri Lanka, has been appointed captain of the squad for the limited-overs leg of the tour

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2010Darren Sammy, currently leading the West Indies in their Test series against Sri Lanka, has been appointed captain of the squad for the limited-overs leg of the tour. The 15-member contingent sees the return of Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh and Devon Smith to the one-day side, and also includes uncapped batsman Kirk Edwards. The selectors have not appointed a vice-captain.Ramnaresh Sarwan has been ignored for what is West Indies’ last ODI engagement before the World Cup, after having not been selected for the Tests as well.Edwards, Kieron Pollard, Nikita Miller and Ravi Rampaul will replace Brendan Nash, Devon Thomas, Nelon Pascal and Shane Shillingford, who are currently in Sri Lanka for the Tests. Fast bowler Andre Russell, who made his debut in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle and is yet to play an ODI, has also been included.While Baugh’s return as first-choice wicketkeeper in place of Denesh Ramdin now extends to the one-day sphere, Smith – the top-order batsman who last played an ODI for West Indies in September 2009 – has also made a comeback. The selectors have also included Barath, who made his one-day debut against Zimbabwe in March before being ignored for the South Africa series.Courtney Browne, the West Indies selector on tour said that this was an important series for them ahead of the upcoming World Cup in the sub-continent. “These are the last ODIs before the World Cup, so we expect the players to make the most of the opportunities.”Edwards, the Barbados batsman, was part of the West Indies A side that played Pakistan A on their just-concluded Caribbean tour.West Indies play five ODIs and one Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. The series begins on December 9 with the first one-dayer at Hambantota.West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh (wk), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kirk Edwards, Chris Gayle, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Devon Smith

Opener Aftab Alam anchored Habib Bank Limited’s chase of 235 on the final day with a patient century, amid support from captain Hasan Raza and Fahad Masood, to set up their first title win since 1977-78

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Hasan Raza’s run-a-ball 54 shut PIA out of contention•Getty Images

Opener Aftab Alam anchored Habib Bank Limited’s chase of 235 on the final day with a patient century, amid support from captain Hasan Raza and Fahad Masood, to set up their first title win since 1977-78. Pakistan International Airlines required seven wickets on the final day but Alam’s determined innings helped tilt the scales from a precarious 56 for 3 on the third day to inflict on the opposition their first defeat in the competition in a game that mattered the most.Alam and Masood, the two overnight batsmen, consolidated the advantage their team had enjoyed at stumps the previous day, working the ball around comfortably for singles and finding the occasional boundary. In the morning session, Alam collected fours through fine leg, and then drove Shoaib Malik to the deep-cover fence. Masood was less fluent, but the steady flow of ones and twos thwarted PIA’s hopes of putting HBL’s batsmen under pressure. Their only hope was to pick up wickets, and urgently given HBL were progressing smoothly. They got a lucky break when Masood, aiming for a single to mid-off, was caught short of his crease by a direct hit that made it 146 for 4. The elation, though, was short lived.The scoring rate actually picked up with the arrival of Raza to the crease, and Alam continued to be ruthless when an opportunity was on offer. Raza kicked off his innings in streaky fashion, with an edge to the third-man boundary, but got into his groove soon after, punching Anwar Ali through the covers. Alam eventually ceded floor to Raza, giving him most of the strike and reaching his fifth first-class century in the process. He had batted in the middle order in the first innings and his promotion to the top in the second proved decisive.Raza, meanwhile, stepped up by targeting the seamer Aizaz Cheema, striking him for two fours and then tore into him with victory in sight, reaching his half-century with three boundaries in four balls. Though Alam had been dismissed by then, Raza’s attack hastened PIA’s downfall. Kamran Hussain finished the game off in the 79th over, driving Kamran Sajid to score the winning runs.The day-night game was an unprecedented event in Pakistan first-class cricket and was not without controversy. The match was hotly-contested with lots of chatter between the players and even accusations of ball-tampering; the trigger for the uneasy atmosphere on the field, though, appeared to have been poor umpiring for a major part of the game.

South Australia Redbacks spun their way to victory over the Victoria Bushrangers at the MCG – guaranteeing them the top spot and a home final on February 5

The Bulletin by Andrew Fuss28-Jan-2011
ScorecardMatthew Wade’s half-century was in vain for Victoria•Getty Images

South Australia Redbacks spun their way to victory over the Victoria Bushrangers at the MCG – guaranteeing them the top spot and a home final on February 5. The Redbacks spinners Adil Rashid, Nathan Lyon and Aaron O’Brien restricted the hosts to a seemingly below-par score of 4 for 144, on a somewhat slow deck, and their batsmen knocked off the runs with five wickets to spare.It could have been much worse for the Bushrangers, but big-hitting wicketkeeper Matthew Wade (52 off 31 balls) saved their blushes, smashing 41 of the 43 runs scored in the final three overs.Michael Klinger started positively for the Redbacks but was run out thanks to some brilliant outfielding from Evan Gulbis. Aiden Blizzard looked sharp in the time he was at the crease, but was dismissed by a Brad Hodge full toss – caught at deep midwicket when he would have normally put it into the stands.Callum Ferguson fell cheaply before Daniel Harris and Cameron Borgas steadied the innings, leaving room for a cameo from Daniel Christian (28 off 17) to seal the match. Young spinner Jon Holland was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, finishing with 2 for 23.The reigning champions have now been condemned to a bottom-place finish while the Redbacks have eight days off before they play the final at home on February 5. New South Wales play Queensland on Saturday night to decide where the Preliminary Final will be played against Tasmania.