Category Uncategorized

The ongoing dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its players boils down to concerns about possible clashes between contracts signed by individual players which may conflict with the board’s new major sponsor.The WICB had also been slow in paying the players’ salaries and bonuses from as far back as the England tour in August. Although the board is known to be short of cash and waiting for a bank loan to come through, the revelation that administration and back-room employees had been paid on time hardly helped the situation. A statement from the board revealed that non-payment of outstanding monies had occurred before.The Barbados-based newspaper reported that the dispute arose after there were concerns that the contracts from the WICB, which has responsibilities to their new sponsor, would conflict with some players’ own agreements. Digicel, the new sponsors of West Indies’ home series, replaced Cable & Wireless, one of their main rivals, who did the job from 1986 and gave over US$50million to the WICB in that time. But some players, Brian Lara among them, who became free agents after the Champions Trophy in England, have made their own deals with Cable & Wireless.Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of the West Indies Players Association, saidin a media release that “some of the conditions [for playing] have nothing to do with cricket but represent an attempt to exploit the players for commercial purposes”.Although the board has agreed to start making the payments, representatives from the players association and the WICB will meet on Thursday to discuss the tour contracts for the forthcoming series in Australia.

Geoffrey Boycott has announced that he is on the road to recovery from his throat cancer ordeal. Boycott attended a charity match near Leeds to honour cancer fund-raiser Jane Tomlinson, and he revealed that his recuperation is making good progress.Since he was diagnosed last September, Boycott has undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy and has lost almost 12 kilograms, but with that now behind him, he is looking forward to a healthy future.Talking to the , he said: “So far so good. It looks as though it [the treatment] has worked. I have check-ups every month to see if it has."He added, "The treatment is finished. I’m not saying anything more because I don’t want to tempt providence. It comes as a big shock to everybody. Most of us know very little about it until we actually get it and then we start reading up.”He plans to resume his career as a cricket broadcaster, but is still awaiting clearance from his doctor.

Portsmouth will be playing in the top flight of the Southern Electric Premier League next season after having their St Helen’s ground on Southsea seafront accepted for Division 1 cricket.This year’s Division 2 champions Portsmouth have announced plans to provide wheel-on covers and practice nets next season.Autumnal works to upgrade the outfield have already been undertaken by the city council.Portsmouth, captained by former Hampshire left-arm spinner Raj Maru, replace relegated Hungerford in the top flight.Winchester KS and Rowledge are promoted into Division 2, with Hambledon relegated alongside Old Basing who, at their own request, have dropped back into the Hampshire League.The demise of the Basingstoke club, having been much weakened by player losses, means an unexpected promotion into SPL3 for Redlynch & Hale, who finished third behind Ventnor and Hartley Wintney in HL County Division 1 this summer.Ventnor, who lost only one match in four seasons of total domination in the County Leagues, will be the first Isle of Wight club ever to play in the SEPL.The Southern Electric Premier League make up for the 2002 season is :ECB Premier Division 1:
Andover, Bashley (Rydal), BAT Sports, Bournemouth, Burridge, Calmore Sports, Havant, Liphook & Ripsley, Portsmouth, South Wilts.Premier Division 2:
Easton & Martyr Worthy, Hampshire Academy, Hungerford, Lymington, Old Tauntonians & Romsey, Rowledge, Sparsholt, Trojans, United Services, Winchester KS.Premier Division 3:
Alton, Bashley (Rydal) II, Flamingo, Gosport Borough, Hambledon, Hartley Wintney, Havant, Hook & Newnham Basics, Hursley Park, Leckford, New Milton, Paultons, Portsmouth II, Purbrook, Redlynch & Hale, St Cross Symondians, Ventnor, Waterlooville.*** All-day `time’ matches in Premier Division 1 next season will start at 11 o’clock, 30 minutes earlier than previously.

ScorecardJonny Bairstow was the biggest beneficiary on the opening day of England’s first warm-up match against Pakistan A, as he scored an unbeaten 66 to press his claims for retaining a spot in the middle order for the Test series.Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Adil Rashid also began with half-centuries, but Moeen Ali fell for 22 after being given the first chance to open. Jos Buttler also failed in his first innings since a lean finish to the English season.Bairstow was given the opportunity at No. 5 ahead of James Taylor, who had been tipped for a spot after his successful one-day series against Australia and prowess against spin. But Bairstow, who returned to the Test side against Australia at Edgbaston, took his chance after a sticky start where he reached 11 off 46 balls before hitting his first boundary. He ended with 66 off 112 deliveries.

Root enjoys being back in the hot seat

Joe Root is eager to get back into the thick of the action after his post-Ashes break and the time away appeared to have done little to disrupt his 2015 run-scoring form as he eased to 59 before retiring against Pakistan A.
“I definitely feel like I benefited from it,” Root said “It’s very important that you don’t drop off … lose performance through tiredness or over-playing. I feel really fresh now, and raring to go for this series. I’ll crack on now and make sure I’m absolutely ready for whatever Pakistan throw at us in that first game.”
England have been sweating it on the early days of the tour with temperatures in the 40s and Root said that to spend time in the middle in such conditions was priceless ahead of the Test series which begins in Abu Dhabi next week.
“Personally, it was great … very valuable – to get used to the surroundings, the heat, the surface and facing lots of overs of spin which, after an English summer, is not something you’re necessarily accustomed to.
“It’s going to be hard work. But there’s no point moaning about it – ‘poor me’ is not for our team. We’ve just got to get on with it. It was a pitch that did spin, from pretty much the start and I think we played it really well.”

The most fluent batting of the day came during the unbroken 103-run stand in 24 overs between Bairstow and Rashid, the latter skipping to a 78-ball fifty, while the pair opened up in the closing overs with a six apiece.Pakistan A, who were boosted by the late inclusion of national captain Misbah-ul-Haq as he sought some practice ahead of the Test series, gave England a taste of what is to come by sending down a large quantity of spin – 50 overs in all – with left-armer Zafar Gohar finding the most success. Gohar claimed 3 for 72, which included the wickets of Bell, who had been given a life on 5 by Adnan Akmal, Buttler and Cook.The first breakthrough of the day, though, went to pace when Moeen hooked Zia-ul-Haq to long leg where Ehsan Adil took a fine diving catch. Moeen had not always looked certain during his stay of just over an hour, but being given the first chance during the warm-up matches reinforces the view that he is the favoured route for the first Test.Bell was scratchy during his stay either side of lunch and eventually fell lbw sweeping at Gohar, although he clearly thought he had hit the ball. Cook then tickled the same bowler to leg slip having reached his fifty off 126 balls, the sort of anchor role England will need on this trip.Root had not batted in the middle since the final Ashes Test but soon found his groove. His fifty came off 84 balls and a short while afterwards he trotted off to allow others a chance before England’s batting time ran out at the end of the day.Ben Stokes could only manage 6 before he fell cutting at the offspin of Iftikhar Ahmed and Buttler was lbw to Gohar third ball. Buttler had problems against Nathan Lyon during the Ashes, a series where he made just 122 runs at 15.25, and it is not beyond the realms that his position as keeper in Tests becomes threatened by Bairstow if his returns do not improve on this tour.

Kookaburra diplomacyBefore the game began, as the Australians walked out to the boundary ropes for a stretch the boisterous crowd began its sickening chant of “Aussies Suck”. It’s a Mumbai speciality, and though you hardly expect respect from the crowds for some of the best performers in the game, you don’t want to see this kind of thing either. Mike Young, Australia’s fielding coach, did his bit to win the crowd over, walking around the outfield and tossing a ball into each of the stands for a lucky spectator to catch. Handy souvenir from someone you’re booing.BlackoutAfter its initial reluctance to warm to the idea the Board of Control for Cricket in India has now embraced Twenty20 as fully as possible. But the organisation, or at least some parts of it, were a shambles when play began. For nearly ten overs there was no electricity in two stands and the tower housing the broadcasters and the media. The BCCI are quite good at keeping the media in the dark when they want, but this surely was the first time they did so literally.

Twelve and outBrett Lee used to be part of a band that called itself . On the day it was 12 and out for Adam Gilchrist. Off the very first over, in a supercharged atmosphere, Gilchrist carted the second, third and fourth deliveries from RP Singh for boundaries. A streaky edge between slip and keeper, a slash over point, a whip to fine-leg and middle stump uprooted next ball by a superb yorker. In all his innings consumed just three minutes. Not even enough time to cook instant noodles.Bounce ‘imWith the DJ pumping music that was geeing the crowd up – as if they needed any help – it was perhaps not surprising that Sreesanth, never one to keep his calm at the best of times, chose to bounce Matthew Hayden. The ball was pacy and climbed sharply on Hayden, but he was up to it, pulling off the front foot, with such monstrous power that the ball didn’t merely go high, it went far as well, clearing first the ropes and then the stands on the leg side, sailing out of the ground. Hitting sixes is one thing, but clearing the stands? That takes some doing.End of the road?Brad Hodge, for all the long rope he has been given, has failed to come up with one meaningful score in this Indian sojourn. His latest knock, perhaps his last in green and gold, lasted all of six balls and produced two runs, before Irfan Pathan got a straight one to slide through. Hodge, attempting to biff the ball over midwicket, was nowhere near the ball and the middle stump landed in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s gloves.First sighting of HilfyBen Hilfenhaus has travelled to Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Vadodara, Nagpur and Mumbai without bowling a single ball. When the swing bowler from Tasmania got his first go, it should have produced a wicket. Gautam Gambhir sliced one high and wide towards mid-off, and it was safely pouched by Stuart Clark. Just as the Australians began to celebrate Suresh Shastri, the umpire, signalled the no-ball with a smile on his face. The free-hit cost nothing but one wasn’t too sure if Hilfenhaus saw the funny side of it.

Two former Australia spinners who saw Shane Warne bowl earlier this week said his flippers looked dangerous in the lead-up to the Ashes series beginning on November 23. Warne’s shoulder injuries have made him reluctant to bowl his signature ball in recent years.But Warne sent down a series of flippers for Victoria against South Australia at Adelaide Oval last weekend, including one that trapped the tail-ender Paul Rofe lbw. The Victoria selector Ray Bright, the former Australia left-arm orthodox spinner, said in he believed Warne was bowling from his full repertoire for the first time in years.”Obviously his shoulder must be a lot better because I think that’s what has restricted him in recent times – that his shoulder just hasn’t been able to produce the flipper at a speed that’s going to be workable for him at the top level,” he said. “He tried a few others as well, but certainly the one that got Rofe out was the best one that landed. It’s great for him, and great for Australia with the Ashes coming. I’m sure he gives them enough to worry about without the flipper, as we saw last year.”Terry Jenner, who spent time working with Warne before the South Australia game, said Warne’s confidence must be high in the lead-up to the Ashes. “If the flipper’s coming out, it’s a huge bonus because he hasn’t been that confident with it in recent years,” he said. “He’s made it quite clear he has no shoulder problems.”It’s just such a difficult delivery to bowl and when he was young and carefree, it just came in. Then he had a couple of operations and that sort of stuff and he didn’t have the same confidence in the delivery. He’s got confidence in his wrong’un, as well.” Jenner said the flipper would be in the back of the England batsmen’s minds. “If England knows it’s there, they will be looking for it. If you want to play him off the back foot, you can at your peril.”

Former Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle has joined the long list of those driven into retirement by infighting inside the country’s cricket community.”I have now officially retired from the game,” he told reporters in Harare. “I was fed up by what is happening and I just walked away. I’m tired of the politics. I’d rather be away from them.”Phil Simmons is dead right. We can’t be having people who do not know which side of the bat is up at the helm of cricket. As for the players, it’s not their fault. You cannot expect them to perform when all this is happening around them. I feel sorry for the younger players, they have nothing else to do outside cricket. They’ll rather stay put under the prevailing condition and still have their cars and fuel coupons.”We have just lost to Kenya and there is a danger of losing our Test status if we keep on losing.” His retirement follows that of Craig Wishart last month.Carlisle, 33, played the last of his 33 Tests against New Zealand in August, exactly a decade after his ODI and Test debuts against Pakistan. He scored 1615 runs at 26.91, including two hundreds, and also played 111 ODIs, making 2740 runs at 27.67.He said he will look back on his career with mainly happy memories. “We definitely had some good times, as an individual and with the team. I’m proud to be the only Zimbabwean to score an ODI and Test hundred against Australia, and my three ODI hundreds have been very special.”Carlisle has gone into business, but says he feel he still have something to contribute to cricket. “There are senior guys like me around. We do not have to play. We can coach and do other stuff. A lot of guys want to do that. But we can’t do that under the present set-up.”

Australia’s coach, John Buchanan, has scotched suggestions that today’s match between Australia and England would give an insight into the teams’ prospects for next summer’s Ashes series. There has been a familiar sense of optimism surging through England’s ranks, thanks to their recent successes in Tests and one-dayers, but Buchanan is not getting caught up in the hype, saying that this match was only a fleeting moment.”I’m not convinced about that,” Buchanan told AAP, when asked if the match was an indication of the future. “It’s a snapshot in time. It makes a statement about this particular match. Nothing else. There’s a lot of time before the Ashes series, a lot of change will happen to both teams between now and then. I don’t think this game will have any bearing.”But Duncan Fletcher looked at it differently. He believed English cricket was changing, and that the team had a pretty good chance of putting one over Australia. “This is probably the best opportunity we’ve had in a long time to topple the Aussies,” Fletcher said to the . “Winning the World Cup and the Ashes would be the ultimate dream. Any decent coach would tell you the same thing.”But something special is happening in English cricket. We really do want to become the best side in the world.”It was a thought mirrored by Darren Gough, who added that neither victory nor defeat could hide the fact tht England had improved. “I don’t think we have to beat them to know that England have progressed in both forms of the game. We have a good one-day side and the Test side is playing some excellent cricket, but we’ll only get a true test of how close the sides are when they play against each other in a five-Test series.”Even when I’m not playing I want England to beat them. It’s always going to be that way,” said Gough. “There will come a time when England beat Australia all the time and the Aussies will be thinking the same.”

Frizzell County Championship Division One

Surrey 245 for 3 v Kent at The Oval
Scorecard
Mark Butcher led from the front with an unbeaten century as Surrey ended a stop-start day against Kent in a commanding position. Butcher, leading the side in the absence of Adam Holliaoke who withdrew when his father was taken ill, made an unbeaten 117 from in 191 balls. Graham Thorpe, pressing for an England recall, made 68 as the defending champions raced along at almost four an over until bad light ended play early.Essex 6 for 2 v Lancashire 218 at Chelmsford
Scorecard
Essex’s Zimbabwe-born Australian Scott Brant (4 for 39) bowled them into a good position against Lancashire at Chelmsford. Lancashire won the toss and were soon regretting their decision to bat as they slumped to 34 for 4, Brant taking three of the wickets. Stuart Law, who left Essex in acrimonious circumstances two years ago, hit back with 80 but received scant support as Lancashire were dismissed for 218. It wasn’t over, however, as Peter Martin struck twice to reduce Essex to 6 for 2 when bad light stopped play. Paul Grayson was bowled first ball shouldering arms and then James Foster fell to a good catch by Jamie Haynes at short leg three balls later.Leicestershire 72 for 1 v Warwickshire 253 at Leicester
Scorecard
Poor catching from Leicestershire and a maiden championship fifty from Waqar Younis helped Warwickshire to fight back at Grace Road, but bottom side Leicestershire still ended the day in a good position. Only Nick Knight (66) made any real progress as Warwickshire collapsed to 193 for 9 after winning the toss, David Masters claiming 5 for 53. Darren Stevens at slip put down Waqar before he had scored, and it was the most costly of several misses as Waqar went on to score 52, adding 60 with Alan Richardson for the last wicket. When Leicestershire replied Virender Sehwag started with a bang, smacking 30 off 21 balls before being bowled by Melvyn Betts.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire v Yorkshire 314 for 7 at Derby
Scorecard
An unbeaten 102 from Craig White, playing only his second Championship match of the summer, spearheaded Yorkshire’s recovery at Derby after they had been struggling on 78 for 4. With Michael Lumb (93), who was yesterday named in the provisional Academy squad for the winter, he added 195 for the fifth wicket before Graeme Welch (5 for 74), who had done the early damage, returned to grab another two wickets.Northamptonshire 20 for 3 v Hampshire 125 at Northampton
Scorecard
Hampshire were swept away in 53.1 overs in a day of showers and cold winds at Northampton, with only Robin Smith (41) showing any kind of application. Smith and John Crawley (21) took Hampshire to 83 for 2 before eight wickets fell for 42 runs. Northamptonshire’s celebrations were short-lived as Michael Hussey, Mark Powell and Jeff Cook all fell in the first five overs of their reply to leave Hampshire with a good chance of battling back.Somerset 100 for 2 v Gloucestershire 228 at Taunton
Scorecard
Somerset took the honours on a pulsating first day of the west-country derby, bowling Gloucestershire out for 228 and then reaching 100 for 2 at the close. Somerset’s decision to field looked to have backfired as Gloucestershire reached 173 for 3, but their last seven wickets added only 56 as Nixon McLean, Aaron Laraman and Mike Burns finished with three scalps each. Somerset fared little better as they slumped to 12 for 2, and it should have been worse but Craig Spearman dropped James Bryant (29*) before he had scored. Bryant went on to add an unbeaten 88 for the third wicket with Jamie Cox (56*).Worcestershire 218 v Durham 100 for 8 at Worcester
Scorecard
A day of 18 wickets at Worcester is bound to have pitch inspectors dashing up the motorway from Lord’s. Worcestershire paid for England’s decision to release Steve Harmison from the one-day squad – he took 4 for 50 as Worcestershire were bowled out for 218, only Ben Smith (73) offering any resistance. But Durham were brought back down to earth as Mark Harrity (3 for 35) and Matt Mason (2 for 42) ripped through their top order to put Worcestershire back in control.Varsity Match
Oxford 162 for 1 beat Cambridge 190 by 73 runs at Lord’s
Scorecard
Jamie Dalrymple must wish he could play against Cambridge all the time. Less than a week after his double-hundred and six wickets in Oxford’s Varsity match victory, Dalrymple smacked an unbeaten 105 as Oxford romped to a 73-run win in the one-day match at Lord’s. Neil Millar grabbed 5 for 23, including two wickets in the final over, as Cambridge were dismissed for 190. Oxford were strolling home on 162 for 1 when bad light ended play. Oxford’s ladies completed a 1-2 for the dark blues, bowling out Cambridge for 56 in front of a good crowd on the Nursery ground and passing the score without losing a wicket.

It’s been a long wait, but at last New Zealand’s summer gets underway today in Brisbane.Circumstances have meant that it is not the start New Zealand expected to be making in Pakistan.But there is no doubt that it is the prospect of the Australian tour that has been whetting the appetites of Kiwis.The return of injured players, Daniel Vettori, Dion Nash and Shayne O’Connor, all of whom are playing in today’s opening game against the Queensland Academy of Sport, has been keenly awaited.Vettori is the key factor. He is clearly the best spinner New Zealand has, by the length of Auckland’s Queen Street.He offers skipper Stephen Fleming so much in terms of attacking options and, while still young by international spinning standards, his cricketing intelligence makes him a prime asset for the side.This four-day game is the first occasion since Zimbabwe last year that he has played anything other than limited overs cricket and it is an important test of the rehabilitation work he has done to get back into Test mode.Nash is a less clear case. His back has been an ongoing concern and while he has done so much impressive work in recovery, it is still to be put to the test, and there is more of a feeling of fragility over his return. New Zealanders are hoping for the very best for Nash because he has so much to his competitive nature, and backs that with performance, that he is an important part of the side.O’Connor too, is a big plus. He was just starting to settle into the role of front-line bowler last summer when he suffered a knee injury. He had increased his pace and was utilising more consistent swing to be a more complete bowler.His recovery has not been so daunting but his progress will also be watched closely as he is shaping as an important factor in New Zealand’s Test attack equation.Chris Cairns’ advance from knee surgery is being measured back at home in a match for the New Zealand Academy against their Australian counterparts, but if weather in Christchurch this morning is anything to go by, it may be another day of reduced opportunities for him.He is to join the New Zealand team in Canberra for its second game.CLEAR Black caps coach Denis Aberhart said: “The benefits of this tour opener not being a first-class match is that we can agree to play 12. This will allow us to give as many players as possible competitive cricket.”We have decided to play an extra seam bowler rather than an extra spin bowler or batsman because we expect hot weather and we can more easily manage the bowlers’ workload in what will be the players’ first outing on grass.”After a couple of days practice the players are really looking forward to getting the tour underway,” Aberhart said.