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Martin Guptill and Wes Durston led a spirited Derbyshire fightback in their Division Two match against Essex at Chelmsford

25-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Martin Guptill and Wes Durston led a spirited Derbyshire fightback in their Division Two match against Essex at Chelmsford. Both hit half-centuries as the visitors closed on 187 for 4 in their second innings, a lead of 112.Guptill made 86 before he was bowled by Ryan ten Doeschate, but Durston goes into the final day unbeaten on 62 having completed 1,000 Championship runs for the season.Derbyshire had gone in again 75 runs behind and lost two wickets before the arrears were cleared. Matt Lineker was caught behind off Maurice Chambers for 16 while Chesney Hughes was still seeking to open his account when yorked by Graham Napier.That led to the arrival of Durston, and he and Guptill were to lead a recovery with some fine attacking strokes. Guptill never wasted an opportunity to attack, although he was helped by some
indifferent bowling at times.He certainly caught the eye with some powerful driving, even though in the latter part of his innings he had to operate with a runner after suffering a hamstring injury whilst fielding. Even so, it came as something of a surprise when he played a ten Doeschate ball into his stumps when seeking to add 16 to his boundaries.Guptill’s departure brought an end to a stand of 95, by far the best of the match so far, but did not disturb the concentration and resolution of Durston. He arrived at the 1,000 runs milestone when reaching 50 by steering David Masters to the vacant third man boundary. By then, however, he had lost Dan Redfern, an lbw victim of Masters.Earlier, after rain had delayed the start until 2.30pm and cut 37 overs off the day’s allocation, Essex soon lost their remaining wickets after resuming on 173 for 7. Their hopes of stretching their lead into three figures disappeared after ten Doeschate added just a single to his overnight 54 before he edged Tim Groenewald to Redfern at fourth slip and four runs later, the paceman struck again.This time, Chambers paid the penalty for failing to offer a stroke to a delivery that cut back and was given out lbw. But Masters struck a few lusty blows in his undefeated 20 as he and Reece
Topley carried Essex to their solitary batting bonus point as they were bowled out for 207.Former Essex paceman Tony Palladino brought the innings to a close when he removed Topley to finish with 3 for 70, but Groenewald finished as the visitors most successful bowler with 4 for 78.

Mark Chilton, the former Lancashire captain, has announced his retirement from county cricket after a 14-year career spent entirely at Old Trafford

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2011Mark Chilton, the former Lancashire captain, has announced his retirement from county cricket after a 14-year career spent entirely at Old Trafford. Chilton drifted out of the first-team as Lancashire secured the Championship title after a 77-year wait this season but still spent considerable time on the field at Taunton as a substitute fielder while the title was claimed.”It has been an honour and a privilege to have represented my county for 14 years,” he said. “It has been a tough decision to retire from the game I love so much but I believe the time is right for me to begin a new chapter in my life. I have many great memories from my time in cricket, but being involved in the County Championship winning side this year was without doubt the greatest experience of my professional career.”Chilton, 34, joined Lancashire in 1997 when the top order still included the likes of Mike Atherton, John Crawley, Graham Lloyd and Neil Fairbrother so he had to bide his time for regular opportunities. As those players either moved to new counties or retired Chilton’s chance arrived and by 2002 he had earned his county cap.In 2005 he replaced Warren Hegg as county captain following the club’s Championship relegation the previous season and immediately led Lancashire to the Division Two title and a return to the top flight. Having relinquished the captaincy in 2007 he remained a key figure in the team and in 2009 was Player of the Year.”Mark has been a great servant to the club – a hard-working professional who never shirked his duties as player or captain,” Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire chief executive, said. “His loyalty and commitment has been immense since he joined us as a youngster. He also carried the responsibility of captaincy for three years. I’m sure he will have other things to offer to the game in his retirement and I wish him the very best of luck.”Mike Watkinson, the club’s director of cricket, added: “Mark has made a significant contribution to the county since making his debut in 1997. As well as the volume of runs he scored, he captained the side excellently for three seasons and was a major influence on the spirit and fight in the squad. To be a major part of the championship winning squad is a fitting end to an outstanding career.”Chilton, who is currently completing a benefit year, finishes with 9556 first-class runs from 196 matches, including 21 centuries, along with 4505 runs in List A cricket.

Zimbabwe will be missing the services of Tatenda Taibu and left-arm seamer Brian Vitori in the only Test against New Zealand in Bulawayo starting November 1

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2011Zimbabwe will be missing the services of Tatenda Taibu and left-arm seamer Brian Vitori in the only Test against New Zealand in Bulawayo starting November 1. Taibu, who played the three-match ODI series against New Zealand as a frontline batsman, is nursing a finger injury while Vitori, who hasn’t played first-class cricket or List A cricket in more than a month due to a shin niggle, did not recover in time.Allrounder Malcolm Waller, whose unbeaten 99 helped Zimbabwe chase down 329 in the third ODI, was picked in the 15-man squad on the back of a half-century in the tour game. Among the players picked for the squad for the only Test against Pakistan last month, Craig Ervine, Greg Lamb and Chamu Chibhabha miss out against New Zealand. Seamers Njabulo Ncube and Keegan Meth and legspinner Natsai M’Shangwe, each of whom were part of the squad for the ODI series, have been selected.Zimbabwe squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Regis Chakabva, Elton Chigumbura, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Tino Mawoyo, Keegan Meth, Chris Mpofu, Natsai M’Shangwe, Forster Mutizwa, Njabulo Ncube, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya, Malcolm Waller.

A round-up of the first day of the ninth round of Division Two in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2011An allround bowling performance coupled with an unbeaten century stand between captain Khurram Shehzad and Ali Waqas gave Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) control of their game against United Bank Limited (UBL) at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Asad Ali and Bilawal Bhatti took three wickets each as UBL capitulated for 127, with Saad Sukhail the only batsmen to pass 20. SNGP struggled early, stumbling to 63 for 4, before Shehzad and Waqas began to dominate proceedings. Shehzad counter-attacked in brutal fashion, racing to 84 from 75 balls and smashing 17 fours. Waqas was more restrained, needing 68 balls to get to 45, as the pair took their team to 189 for 4, already a lead of 62.Behram Khan and Mohammad Hasan made unbeaten hundreds to take Karachi Whites to a position of strength against Lahore Shalimar at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex in Karachi. The pair were a study in contrasts, with Behram inching his way to 105 from 253 balls, having batted for six hours and 31 minutes. Hasan was much more fluid, stroking 16 fours in his 122, having faced 170 deliveries. Together they added 201, taking Karachi to 287 after they had stuttered to 86 for 4.Khan Research Laboratories (KBL) held the upper hand over Lahore Ravi at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground, after bowling Lahore out for 180. Yasir Ali was the destroyer-in-chief, taking 4 for 40, with the other wickets shared among four bowlers. Mohammad Irfan and Asif Ashfaq made 41 each, adding 59 for the sixth wicket after Lahore had slipped to 62 for 5. only two other batsmen went past 20, with six scores in single figures. The KRL openers negotiated the 12.2 overs they had to face while adding 38 to leave themselves in a good position going into the second day.Lal Kumar’s third first-class hundred helped lift Hyderbad to 251 for 3 against Multan at the Bahawal Stadium in Bahawalpur. Multan chose to field and the decison appeared to pay off when Bilal Irshad was caught behind for 1. After a steady partnership of 44 between Jamshed Baig and Taj Wasan, Multan struck twice in quick succession to bring Kumar and Rizwan Ahmed to the crease. The pair proceeded to add 194 for the fourth wicket, to give their side the better of the day’s play, and will reusme tomorrow with Ahmed on 77 and Kumar on 105.Israrullah starred with the bat but honour’s were shared between Peshawar and Quetta at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. The opener was unlucky to miss out on his hundred, smashing 98 from 110 balls, with 14 fours. He received little support from the rest of the top order though, and it was left to No.7 Mohammad Rizwan, who made 45, to take them past 200. A late cameo by Sajjad Ahmed, who made 23 from 24 balls, lifted Peshawar to 239. 20-year-old legspinner, Shahzaib Ahmed, took 4 for 54 to lead the Quetta bowlers. However, Riaz Afridi struck twice to leave Quetta 26 for 2 at the close.

Michael Clarke has conceded that Phillip Hughes may need to go back to state cricket to regain his form after another failure in the second innings of Australia’s loss to New Zealand in Hobart

Brydon Coverdale at the Bellerive Oval12-Dec-2011Michael Clarke has conceded that Phillip Hughes may need to go back to state cricket to regain his form after another failure in the second innings of Australia’s loss to New Zealand in Hobart. However, Clarke said it was unfortunate that there was no Sheffield Shield cricket scheduled until after the Test series against India ends in February, meaning Hughes will have nothing but Twenty20 in which to regain his touch.Hughes walked off the field a defeated man, his weakness outside off stump having almost certainly ended this phase of his Test career, with Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson expected to return to the side on Boxing Day against India. Hughes was caught by Martin Guptill in the cordon off the bowling of Chris Martin for the fourth time in the series. Clarke said the lack of runs for Hughes – he has scored 9, 9, 88, 11, 10, 7, 4 and 20 in his past eight Test innings – was a concern.”He’s obviously really disappointed like all the batters are, the way we played today,” Clarke said. “But Hughesy is probably the most disappointed. He’s been getting out the same way. I know he’s been working hard in the nets trying to improve that deficiency in his technique and he’ll continue to work on that. But he needs to find some runs, it’s as simple as that. If he’s not making them for Australia he’s going to have to go back and score some for New South Wales.”Besides the Big Bash League and club cricket, the only other opportunity for Hughes to score runs before the end of the Test summer will be in next week’s Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI match against the touring Indians in Canberra. In that three-day encounter, Hughes will be competing with other top-order men such as Marsh and Usman Khawaja, who are also in the side. David Warner is also set to play at Manuka Oval, but he has already pencilled in his name for the Boxing Day Test by carrying his bat for 123 not out in Hobart, almost conjuring victory for Australia from a dire position.”There is no four-day cricket now for New South Wales, unfortunately,” Clarke said. We go back and play Twenty20 cricket so, yeah, if that’s the case for somebody, people who get dropped from this team, they’re going to have to go back to Twenty20 and score some runs. I’m not sure how it’s going to work but you’re going to have to be picked back into the Australian team from the Big Bash. We’ll wait and see what happens.”The lack of first-class cricket in Australia from early December to the start of February – covering the majority of the Australian summer – was deemed necessary by Cricket Australia to allow the new eight-team BBL to flourish. When asked if he would have preferred Shield cricket during the period, Clarke was careful not to directly criticise the scheduling, but his discontent was evident.”Well, we’ve got what we’ve got,” he said. “At the end of the day let’s deal with it. My opinion is not going to change anything. It’s about scoring runs in any form of the game you play. If it’s Twenty20, score runs. If it’s one-dayers, score runs and just continue to get your name, push your name up in front of the selectors’ eyes to get selected for any form of the game. It’s what we’ve got.”Australia play four Tests against India, beginning on December 26 at the MCG, and finishing in Adelaide on January 28. The Shield season has a major hiatus from December 9 until February 2.

Two former Sri Lanka Cricket presidents, Upali Dharmadasa and Thilanga Sumathipala, have both announced that they will run for president in the upcoming board elections

Tariq Engineer05-Dec-2011Two former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) presidents, Upali Dharmadasa and Thilanga Sumathipala, have announced that they will run for president in the upcoming board elections. Last month Sri Lanka’s sports minister had dissolved the interim board that had been running SLC, and elections were scheduled to be held on January 3.If the election is held it will be the first to take place since April 2004. The government took over the running of the board in 2004, and since then SLC has been run by a series of interim boards – nine in all – that served at the behest of the government.Dharmadasa was president of SLC from 1996 to 1998 and also headed the last interim board before it was dissolved. Sumathipala, now a member of parliament, is a three-time president of the board, having served in 1997-1998, 2000-2001 and 2003-2004. His board was forced to stand down in the wake of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in 2001. In 2004, he had to pull out of the elections as he was in jail at the time.The biggest challenge the new board will face is rebuilding SLC’s finances. SLC was bankrupted revamping the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and building two new grounds in Pallekele and Hambantota for the 2011 World Cup. These stadiums are now being maintained by the government, with the army, navy and air force each looking after one stadium. The players have also not been paid since the 2011 World Cup, though the sports minister recently said that they would be paid at least part of their dues soon.Dharmadasa said it would take a lot of hard work for the board to become financially solvent again and that they would need some help. “I am very hopeful that the Sri Lanka government, with the infrastructure development where grounds are concerned, will come to our assistance,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “As well as other boards, especially India, who are our closest neighbours and friends. I am hopeful they will also come and help us with the financial side.”We have always been lucky with India. They have been in the forefront of assisting Sri Lanka Cricket for a long time and [hopefully] that will continue.”When asked about his contesting the SLC elections, Sumathipala said at a press conference that he was determined to work for the betterment of Sri Lanka cricket.

R Ashwin has said India’s batsmen will have to stand up and deliver in the third innings

Sidharth Monga at the SCG04-Jan-2012It is not often that India players get affected by what is being said in the media, the conventional one or the social variety. There is just too much around, and the players prefer to spend as little mental energy as possible on the media, which is understandable too. They usually go through their motions in press conferences, choosing to not say much. Like Duncan Fletcher did yesterday, after yet another failure of the batting line-up. R Ashwin, though, has said that all the talk of a possible whitewash, a repeat of what happened in England, is the “biggest detriment” for them.After India conceded 366 runs on the second day for just one wicket, Ashwin was asked when and how he thought things might turn around. “Someone will have to stand up and ask themselves to be counted,” Ashwin said. “It has to come from within. It’s all fine when you sit together and give all those speeches. Those speeches are very good to watch on TV. It has to come from within. You have to deliver out there.”It has happened before, and I know, I understand, where you are trying to get at. We lost 4-0 on an overseas tour before this. It really has to come from within. For all you know, people telling it’s going to be another 4-0, another 2-0… For starters I don’t know how it works with you guys. For us to just hear that repetitively, that itself is the biggest detriment for us. So I don’t know. It has to come from someone. Maybe it will come from everyone in the next innings. Probably [Nos] 1 to 11 will get a fifty.”It was a slightly strange admission to make in the middle of a Test match. Ashwin was feistier when asked about the haste in going on to the defensive when in the field. “What else do you do with 190 in the pocket?” he asked back when the question was put forward. “You’ll have to save every run possible. Supposing you get two or three wickets later on, and someone is having a good spell, we have those runs to play with later. That has got to be the only idea. It’s common sense. Nothing else.”India’s batsmen will have to “stand up and be counted”, R Ashwin has said•Getty Images

It was a fair call, in that there were only 191 runs to play with. India’s batting has now gone past 300 only once in their last 17 away Test innings. Ashwin was left hoping the batting will come good in the second innings. “It’s going to be a catch-up game from now on,” Ashwin said. “We’ll have to dig deep and bat long. One or two persons will have to stand up and really show how it is going to turn around from now on. If you need it to turn around, you need someone to stand up and make themselves counted.”Ashwin, who has been part of a pretty successful Indian ODI side, was asked if he didn’t see the same kind in this beleaguered Test side. “It’s easier to believe for 50 overs than for a lot of overs,” he said. “Ninety [overs] into [times] five days. It’s tougher to believe over that period of time. You will have to see everyone scale it up to then. Honestly nobody wants to come out and go down losing every time. Everybody wants to be there and do something.”We haven’t – the biggest thing is our catching has been quite good. Whatever has gone we have been picking up the catches so far. This is what the batsmen can contribute when they are standing on the field. Very frankly the wicket has flattened out today, and there was nothing on offer. People were going really hard today and bending their backs.”As I said, you can’t fault the efforts of the bowlers. They ran in hard. Ishant [Sharma] was clocking 140 in the final spell. That’s all you can expect from the fast bowlers as of now.”About his own effort, Ashwin said, “I haven’t landed anything short, I haven’t delivered anything full. I haven’t really bowled many bad balls. I have been bowling really well. The wicket column has to really reflect, [but] I am not someone who is going to read into that. Keep going on. There will be a spell where I can turn it around. Sure about that.”However, it is clear now that, for Ashwin to make a real impact, the batsmen will have to perform a miracle. “I am someone who is going to stay positive,” Ashwin said. “If we can bat really well in the third innings and put something on the board on the final day, we will be good enough to work around and fight with that.”

Stafanie Taylor’s half-century ensured that West Indies Women began the home series against India Women with a commanding eight-wicket victory

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
ScorecardStafanie Taylor’s half-century ensured that West Indies Women began the home series against India Women with a commanding eight-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 in North Sound.Chasing only 102, Taylor scored 54 off 52 balls and remained unbeaten as the target was achieved with four overs to spare. Deandra Dottin made 29 off 18 balls. Jhulan Goswami and Archana Das were the wicket-takers for India.The victory had been set up by West Indies’ bowlers, who restricted India to 101 for 9. Anisa Mohammed was the most successful, taking 3 for 20 in four overs, but Taylor’s spell of 4-0-10-1 stifled India. No one apart from Harmanpreet Kaur got past 20 and India’s innings also suffered from three run-outs.

The PCA, the English player’s body, has significant worries about the organisation of the recently completed Bangladesh Premier League

Andrew McGlashan29-Feb-2012The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), the English player’s body, has significant worries about the organisation of the recently completed Bangladesh Premier League, including anti-corruption measures taken, and is also concerned whether county cricketers who have appeared in the tournament will be fully paid following a competition dogged by controversy.The final of BPL was played on Tuesday with Dhaka Gladiators crowned champions against Barisal Burners. Phil Mustard, the Durham wicketkeeper, and Hampshire’s Kabir Ali were involved for Barisal while other county players, including Gary Keedy, Jason Roy, Niall O’Brien and Darren Stevens, have been involved during the tournament for various franchises. Jos Buttler, the Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman, was due to take part but was selected for England’s one-day and T20 squads to face Pakistan.There is no suggestion that any English players have been caught up in controversy during the event, but Sajid Khan, a Pakistani citizen, was arrested earlier this week following a game between Chittagong Kings and Barisal Burners in Mirpur in relation to match-fixing claims. Before the tournament started Mashrafe Mortaza, the former Bangladesh captain who led Dhaka Gladiators, reported he had been approached over spot-fixing. There was also a huge confusion over which teams had reached the semi-finals.”We had concerns about the competition from the outset,” Angus Porter, the PCA chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “We’re not comfortable with what has happened from an anti-corruption point of view although we had done as good a job as we could to ensure our players, and other players from FICA [Federation of International Cricketers’ Association] countries, had briefings and were aware of lines of communication if they had anything to report.”Now that the BPL has been completed the PCA’s main priority will be to ensure the players who took part are fully paid before starting to learn lessons from the tournament. “The major question remaining is whether players will get paid what they’re owed,” Porter said. “We briefed them very clearly on what the contract was that had been agreed between FICA and the organisers.”It included a schedule of payments, including money before they went, another chunk during and the final payment afterwards. As I understand some players are still waiting for their mid-tournament payment. It’s early to press the panic button but I am concerned whether players will get paid what they are due.”FICA, led by former Australia offspinner Tim May, of which the PCA is part of alongside the player bodies from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies, insisted on being involved in the player contracts but it was the only element that the representatives were able to control and Porter said consideration was given to advising players not to join.”We did think about whether recommending people shouldn’t go but in the end thought it should be a matter for individual judgement and we gave people a fairly clear briefing that they needed to go in with their eyes open and a few things to watch out for.”The PCA will undertake extensive debriefs with the county-based players who have been involved and expects the same from FICA before their recommendations are put to the ICC. “It’s highly likely that FICA will do some kind of structured feedback from all the players with a particular focus on minimum standards and lessons to be learned,” Porter said. “I think we will make a representation to the ICC about the establishment of basic standards for this kind.”

Sreevats Goswami, the wicketkeeper who plays for Rajasthan Royals, has claimed that the pitch for their match on Wednesday against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium was switched at the last minute without their knowledge, upsetting their plans for th

Nagraj Gollapudi and Tariq Engineer13-Apr-2012Sreevats Goswami, the wicketkeeper who plays for Rajasthan Royals, has claimed that the pitch for their match on Wednesday against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium was switched at the last minute without their knowledge, upsetting their plans for the match and resulting in their defeat. No formal complaint is known to have been lodged, however, and IPL officials say the pitch is handled by the curator and not the franchises.Rahul Dravid had decided to field first after winning the toss, but that’s because he thought another surface was to be used, Sreevats told reporters on Thursday. “We expected some turn but it turned out to be a different wicket. They were rolling another track when we were practising… We got to know that they had changed the wicket later on, without informing us.”Kieron Pollard blasted 64 from 33 balls to help Mumbai Indians post 197. Royals were then bowled out for 170, resulting in their first loss of the season.A report in the said Mumbai Indians asked curator Sudhir Naik to prepare a different pitch for the match. However, IPL chief executive Sundar Raman told ESPNcricinfo in an email that “no franchise has a say on the wickets. It is the decision of the curator”.Another BCCI official explained that the curator prepares three tracks for every game and that only he has the right to choose which pitch will be used. “Rajasthan had come to practice a couple of hours before the toss. So they already knew which pitch they were playing on,” the official said. “For them to now say that ‘we picked the team based on the pitched we were told we would play on’ is ridiculous.”According to a franchise official, the IPL made it clear at the start of the season that only the curator and the relevant state association has a say in the preparation and use of the pitches. Franchises will have no right to influence the nature and preparation of the playing surfaces.Last season, the then Royals captain Shane Warne was fined US$50,000 by the BCCI for a public spat with the then Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) secretary Sanjay Dixit over the changing of pitches in Jaipur during the IPL. At the time, the BCCI said in a statement that “neither of the playing teams has a choice of the wicket on which to play the game. It is the curator, in consultation with the [pitch] committee chairman, who prepares the wickets.”Subsequently, Ray Jennings, the Royal Challengers Bangalore coach, said that the home teams should be able to prepare pitches to their liking but there should be limits to how far they can go.