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ICC UNDER 19s WORLD CUP 2009/10 17-year-old Yannic Cariah declared man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 110
West indies take third Place
Dubai, 29 January 2010
West Indies finishes third after defeating Sri Lanka by four wickets in a high-scoring thriller
West Indies batsman Yannic Cariah scored a magnificent unbeaten century to guide his side to a thrilling four wickets victory over Sri Lanka in a high-scoring third/fourth position play-off match in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010 at Queen Elizabeth II Park, Christchurch on Friday.
The 17-year-old left-hander deservedly took the man-of-the-match award for his match-winning knock of 110 that came off 127 balls as the West Indies achieved the victory target of 292 runs for the loss of six wickets with nine balls to spare.
Cariah, who walked on to the pitch in the third over after the West Indies had lost both its openers with the scoreboard reading six runs, struck six four and three sixes in an intelligent and well-paced knock that kept his side constantly in touch with the run-rate.
The West Indies’ confident run-chase was all the more remarkable given the disastrous start it got when Sri Lanka captain and opening bowler Chathura Peiris sent back openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Trevon Griffith in a space of six balls to finish as the pick of the bowlers with 3-38.
Cariah settled in and featured in three crucial partnerships that led to a comfortable victory in the end.
Cariah first combined in a third wicket partnership of 120 runs off 111 balls with John Campbell who belted six fours and four sixes in a 70-ball 77.
After the departure of Campbell at the total of 127, Cariah was joined by Shane Dowrich (33) and the two added 49 runs for the fourth wicket to take the score 175 before Cariah and Jermaine Blackwood (41) put on 92 runs from 87 balls for the sixth wicket to put their side within 12 runs of victory.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had started the day magnificently after being put in to bat, as the opening pair of Udara Jayasundera and Denuwan Rajakaruna saw off the new ball and survived a belligerent spell of bowling from two metre-tall fast bowler Jason Holder.
The two openers featured in a 173-run first wicket partnership – highest of the tournament to date – from little over 35 overs.
Rajakaruna, the 19-year-old reserve wicketkeeper playing his first game of the tournament, was a revelation as he played a wide selection of shots and scored freely, only to fall six runs short of his century. His 94 came from 118 deliveries and included 10 fours while Jayasundera contributed a classy 77 off 106 balls with five fours.
The gifted left-hander Banuka Rajapaksa was amongst the runs once again when he finished unbeaten on 43 as Sri Lanka amassed 291 for six – a considerable total which, in the end, was not enough.
Tomorrow’s finale to the tournament sees Pakistan take on Australia in the Super League Final, in front of the ESPN Star Sports cameras at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln.
Score in brief Super League (third/fourth position play-off) West Indies v Sri Lanka at QEII Park, ChristchurchSri Lanka 291-6, 50 overs (Denuwan Rajakaruna 94, Udara Jayasundera 77, Banuka Rajapaksa 43 not out, Rumesh Buddika 34; Nelson Bolan 2-74) lost toWest Indies 294-6, 48.3 overs (Yannic Cariah 110 not out, John Campbell 77, Jermaine Blackwood 41, Shane Dowrich 33; Chatura Peiris 3-38, Saranga Rajaguru 2-41) by four wicketsMan of the Match: Yannic Cariah
Leading contenders book places in Super League stage
Dubai, 18 January 2010
Top teams in Groups A, B and C looking good for play-off places
Results went according to the form book today at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, with four major cricketing nations recording comfortable wins against Associate sides.
South Africa, England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all dispatched their opposition without difficulty in one-sided affairs which provided match practice and helped confirm some of the likely qualifiers for the Super League stage.
South Africa was untroubled in its Group B game against USA in Queenstown, chasing down 162 in 35 overs for the loss of just two wickets. Left-handed opener Dominic Hendricks carried his bat through the innings to steer the side to victory. Continuing his impressive form from last week’s match against Ireland, his deft footwork and shot-making earned him 75 not out off 103 balls, and the man-of-the-match title.
The tournament runner-up from 2008 started slowly, losing two early wickets, but an unbeaten 128-run third wicket partnership between Hendricks and Colin Ackerman, who hit a punishing 64, completed a clinical victory.
Earlier in the day USA had started confidently until South Africa’s impressive pace bowler Graham Hume knocked Steven Taylor’s stumps out of the ground with the score at 28. Left-arm spinner Dale Deeb then took up the challenge and had three of the USA batsmen trapped lbw in quick succession.
The USA were unable to get on top of the tight bowling attack but looked more disciplined than in earlier outings. Gregory Sewdial timed the ball well, cracking four fours and a majestic straight six to bring up the 100, and the side made full use of its 50 overs, all out for 163 on the second-last ball. For South Africa, Deeb finished with 3-23, Hume 3-29 and medium-pacer Stephan Smith 2-39.
South Africa captain Josh Richards said he was happy with bowling and batting but wanted his side to sharpen up a bit in the field for the Australian clash on Wednesday.
“I felt we did well to pull it back from the beginning – I thought the USA batted pretty well up front, and we just got our lengths a bit fuller than we would have liked, but we pulled it back quite nicely,” he said.
In Christchurch, England was ruthless in completing a nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan, controlling the game from the outset. Opening bowler Nathan Buck destroyed the top order with three early wickets, including that of skipper Noor-ul-Haq.
The bright spot in Afghanistan’s innings came from 15-year old Hashmat Shaidi who hit hard over the top and combined with Anwar Anwari for a fourth-wicket partnership of 41. But with off-spinner Azeem Rafiq and left-arm orthodox bowler Danny Briggs taking five wickets between them, Afghanistan was dismissed for 126.
Chasing 127, England’s opening pair Chris Dent and Joe Root put on 52 runs off nine overs before Root was out. The incoming James Vince then picked up where he left off after his unbeaten 76 against Hong Kong, catching up with Dent as the two dealt harshly with any poor deliveries. The pair overhauled the target within 26 overs, Dent finishing unbeaten on 53, while Vince was 47 not out.
Man of the match Briggs said the win was a combined effort. “It was just an all-round team display. We fielded really well, and we got off to a good start with the bat, and after the lunch break we came out and played pretty aggressively – the lads played well.”
Less than 56 overs were required to complete the Group D match in Palmerston North, where Pakistan overtook Papua New Guinea’s 99 in short order.
Pakistan stuttered slightly when they lost their first two wickets without a run on the board, but it was a straightforward chase after that – Pakistan taking the opportunity to score aggressively and boost their net run rate. Muhammad Babar Azam and captain Azeem Ghumman both scored 40, the skipper’s coming from a breezy 43 balls. The final runs came in just the 19th over.
Batting first, Papua New Guinea had struggled through to 99 all out within 38 overs. Two soft dismissals in the sixth over off Fayyaz Butt caused the top order to fail and the side never really recovered. For Pakistan Usman Qadir was almost unplayable on a spinning pitch, extracting turn and bounce to finish with four for 35 and take the man-of-the-match award.
Pakistan captain Azeem Ghumman said the match had gone pretty much according to plan, starting with an early dismissal of the opposition. “We could have done better if our openers had clicked,” he said “But from 0-2, then the way we achieved the total, in the 18th over, it wasn’t too bad.”
In Christchurch, Sri Lanka captain Chatura Peiris was the chief destroyer for Sri Lanka in their 134-run win over Canada, capturing five wickets for 25. Sri Lanka got valuable batting time in today’s match, making full use of their 50 overs to post 276-6, with Banuka Rajapaksa scoring a classy 68 and showing great footwork to the Canadian spinners. The total could have been much lower, however, with Canada spilling half a dozen chances.
Canada didn’t start well in response, as Peiris ripped through the batting top order in a great opening spell of seam bowling. Opening bat Hiral Patel dug in with a stoic innings of 69 from 110 balls which included two towering sixes, but Canada could not endure past the 40th over, dismissed for 142.
In tomorrow’s matches, Afghanistan plays Hong Kong in a Group A match at Christchurch, in Group B Ireland meets USA in Queenstown. In Group C, New Zealand and Zimbabwe square off at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, in front of the ESPN STAR Sports cameras. Group D sees Papua New Guinea up against West Indies at Palmerston North.
With three days of group play remaining, some teams are now assured of a place in the Super League play-offs, although final standings have yet to be finalised. In Group A India and England are unassailable at the top of their group, as are Australia and South Africa in Group B. Group C should be the same, with New Zealand and Sri Lanka going through, as long as the host nation wins against Zimbabwe. Group D is less clear-cut, with Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies still vying for the two qualifying spots.
Pakistan v Papua New Guinea at Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North
Papua New Guinea 99 all out in 37.3 overs (Tony Ura 23; Usman Qadir 4-35, Shahzaib Ahmed 2-8, Fayyaz Butt 2-12)
Pakistan 100 for 4 in 18.1 overs (Muhammad Babar 40 not out, Azeem Ghumman 40; Raymond Haoda 2-44)
Pakistan won by six wickets
Man of the match: Usman Qadir
England v Afghanistan at QEII Park, Christchurch
Afghanistan 126 all out in 47.2 overs (Hashmat Shaidi 41; Danny Briggs 3-15, Nathan Buck 3-18, Azeem Rafiq 2-29)
England 127 for 1 in 25.5 overs (Chris Dent 53 not out, James Vince 47 not out)
England won by nine wickets
Man of the match: Danny Briggs
South Africa v USA at Queenstown Events Centre, Queenstown
USA 163 all out in 49.5 overs (Gregory Sewdial 41; Dale Deeb 3-23, Graham Hume 3-29, Stephan Smith 2-39)
South Africa 166 for 2 in 35.1 overs (Dominic Hendricks 75 not out, Colin Ackermann 64 not out)
South Africa won by eight wickets
Man of the Match: Dominic Hendricks
Sri Lanka v Canada at Lincoln No.3, Lincoln
Sri Lanka 276 for 6 in 50 overs (Banuka Rajapaksa 68, Akshu Fernando 43 not out, Udara Jayasundera 43; Hiral Patel 3-45)
Canada 142 all out in 39.3 overs (Hiral Patel 69; Chatura Peiris 5-25, Udara Jayasundera 2-26)
ICC confirms receipt of complaint by England and Wales Cricket Board
Dubai January 16th
Technology issues during Johannesburg Test will be fully investigated
The Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council will ensure a full and comprehensive investigation is carried out of issues involving technology and the decision review system (DRS) as applied during the fourth Test between South Africa and England in Johannesburg following controversy and receipt of an official complaint from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
“We have received a letter of complaint from the ECB and we will launch a formal investigation into the exact circumstances surrounding the application of the decision review system after completion of the Johannesburg Test match,” said ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.
“There is a large amount of controversy, speculation and potentially unfair criticism circulating at present so it is important to establish the exact facts before reaching any final conclusions.
“This is early days for the DRS and so far we are pleased with its effectiveness and the value it can add to the game in support of umpires. However, we have always acknowledged there is room for further improvement in the available technology and this investigation will be conducted in that light so the system becomes even more reliable.”
ICC to investigate England complaint over Daryl Harper reports Geoffrey Dean Timesonline
Scorecard 4th Test at Johannesburg South Africa beat England by an innings & 74 runs cricinfo
ICC announces schedule for ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE
Dubai, 15 December 2009
World-class venues confirmed as Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sports City will play host
The ICC today announced the schedule for the eight-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010, which will be hosted by the Emirates Cricket Board in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 9 to 13 February 2010.
At stake will be a place in the ICC World Twenty20 2010 to be staged in the West Indies. Both finalists from this event will qualify for the big one which will take place at Barbados, Guyana and St Lucia from 30 April to 16 May.
The winner of the tournament will join South Africa and India in Group C while the losing finalist will join Group D which includes the West Indies and England.
The ICC WT20 Qualifier involves two groups of four teams with Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan and the USA making up Group A while Kenya, the Netherlands, Canada and the UAE will fight it out for supremacy of Group B.
Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Scotland have directly qualified for the qualifier on the basis of their ODI status while the UAE and the USA have been specially invited by the ICC to participate in the tournament.
A total of 17 matches will be played over five days with Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium hosting six group stage matches and Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City staging 11 matches, including six group stage matches, four Super Four matches and the final.
ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE
Groupings (In brackets are the seedings. The top five sides have been seeded on the basis of their final positions in the ICC WT20 Qualifier in Belfast in July 2008 while Afghanistan, the UAE and the USA have been seeded on the basis of their 50-over global rankings)
Group A Ireland (1) Scotland (3) Afghanistan (6) USA (8)
Group B Netherlands (2) Kenya (4) Canada (5) UAE (7)
Tournament schedule
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday 9 Feb 0930 Ireland v Afghanistan, Scotland v USA
1330 Netherlands v Canada, Kenya v UAE
Wednesday 10 Feb 0930 Canada v Kenya, Afghanistan v Scotland
1330 UAE v Netherlands, USA v Ireland
Thursday 11 Feb 0930 Afghanistan v USA, Canada v UAE
1330 Ireland v Scotland, Netherlands v Kenya
Friday 12 Feb 0930 Super Four A1 v B2
1330 Super Four B1 v A2
Saturday 13 Feb 0930 Super Four B1 v A1 1330 Super Four B2 v A2 1930 Final
No Harmison No Bopara No Monty
ECB announce Test and One-Day squads for tour of South Africa
ECB London 12 noon, Thursday, October 8th
The England selectors today announced 16-man Test and One-Day squads under the captaincy of Andrew Strauss for the tour of South Africa which begins next month.
The Test squad contains three uncapped players; Surrey wicketkeeper Steven Davies, Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid and the Sussex all-rounder Luke Wright. Durham pace bowler Liam Plunkett has also been recalled to the Test squad.
Essex opener Alastair Cook has been named as vice-captain of the Test squad and he has also been recalled to the One-Day squad together with Lancashire quick bowler Sajid Mahmood. Jonathan Trott, who made a century on his Test debut in England’s victory over Australia at The Brit Oval this summer, wins a place in both squads.
ECB National Selector Geoff Miller said: “Andrew Strauss has made an outstanding impact as England captain over the past nine months and he will again lead the side in both five day and one-day cricket in South Africa. Paul Collingwood led the side in the World T20 this summer and he will continue to captain in this form of the game as we go forward this winter.
“We are delighted to welcome Steven Davies and Luke Wright into the Test squad for the first time. Steven is a player of great potential who has been a consistent performer for his County and he will act as understudy to Matt Prior in South Africa.
“The retirement of Andrew Flintoff has created a vacancy for an all-rounder in the squad and while we do not see Luke Wright as a like for like replacement for Andrew, we are excited by the way in which his all-round game continues to develop and believe he can make an impact at Test level.
“Kevin Pietersen is making good progress with his recovery from surgery on his injured achilles. He will join up with the rest of the squad in South Africa following the first two T20 Internationals and his fitness will be reassessed ahead of the One-Day Series.
“Stephen Harmison has not been included in the Test squad because we feel his form has not been consistent enough over the past 12 months to justify a regular place in the side and we want to give an opportunity to other players to make a case for selection.
“Liam Plunkett has worked hard to improve all aspects of his game since he last played for England and his selection is reward for consistently putting in strong performances for Durham both with bat and ball. He will provide strong competition for a place in our pace attack this winter.
“Sajid Mahmood is another player who has had a taste of international cricket before and will be equally keen to make an impression in the One-Day arena after continuing to show good form with Lancashire.
“Alastair Cook has shown great determination to improve his One-day game this summer, made runs at domestic level in both 50 over and T20 cricket and the selectors believe now is the right time to re-introduce him to our One-Day side.
“Likewise, Jonathan Trott who has made an immediate impact in our Test side and has also shown through his performances at domestic level that he has the talent and temperament to succeed in the shorter forms of the game.
“Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah will, of course, be disappointed not to be included in either squad but they are both high class players and will remain in the selectors’ thoughts as we go forward. Monty Panesar has struggled to find his best form this summer but he will play domestic first class cricket in South Africa over the winter and we will continue to monitor his progress closely.”
The squads in full:
Test squad
Andrew Strauss (Middlesex) captain Alastair Cook (Essex) vice captain James Anderson (Lancashire) Ian Bell (Warwickshire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Paul Collingwood (Durham) Steven Davies (Surrey) Graham Onions (Durham) Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire) Liam Plunkett (Durham) Matt Prior (Sussex) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire) Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire) Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire) Luke Wright (Sussex)
One Day Squad
Andrew Strauss (Middlesex) captain James Anderson (Lancashire) Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Paul Collingwood (Durham) Alastair Cook (Essex) Joe Denly (Kent) Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire) Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Graham Onions (Durham) Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire) Matt Prior (Sussex) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire) Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire) Luke Wright (Sussex)
England’s tour of South Africa:
Nov 1: England squad arrive in SA
Nov 6: President's X1 - 50-over tour match, OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein Nov 8: President's X1 - 50-over tour match, De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley Nov 10: South Africa A - 20-over tour match, OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein (d/n) Nov 13: 1st Standard Bank Pro20 International, Wanderers, Johannesburg (d/n) Nov 15: 2nd Standard Bank Pro20 International, SuperSport Park, Centurion Nov 17: South Africa A - 50-over tour match, Senwes Park, Potchefstroom (d/n) Nov 20: 1st MTN one-day international, Wanderers, Johannesburg (d/n) Nov 22: 2nd MTN one-day international, SuperSport Park, Centurion Nov 27: 3rd MTN one-day international, Sahara Park, Newlands, Cape Town (d/n) Nov 29: 4th MTN one-day international, Sahara Oval, St. George’s, Port Elizabeth Dec 4: 5th MTN one-day international, Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban (d/n) Dec 9-10: SA Airways XI, tour match, Buffalo Park, East London Dec 11-12: SA Airways XI, tour match, Buffalo Park, East London Dec 16-20: 1st Castle Test, SuperSport Park, Centurion Dec 26-30: 2nd Castle Test, Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban Jan 3-7, 2010: 3rd Castle Test, Sahara Park, Newlands, Cape Town Jan 14-18: 4th Castle Test, Wanderers, Johannesburg
Jan 19: England squad depart
LV County Championship Neil Whitaker Reports
Yorks draw with Hants in final 2009 match
Yorkshire drew their final LV County Championship match of the season with Hampshire to finish seventh in the first division.
The result also means that for the first time since 1983 when the finished bottom of the County Championship that they have failed to win a home match in the championship.
Hampshire declared their second innings on 284 for three with Chris Benham 67 not out.They started the final day 44 ahead and with Yorkshire setting an attacking field, the openers put on 105 when Liam Dawson hooked Deon Kruis to Ajmal Shahzad at deep backward square leg for 35.Jimmy Adams followed up his 51 of the first innings with 72 and rarely looked in any trouble, but he was bowled playing no shot to David Wainwright.In the same a mix up in the running between Bonham and Michael Lumb almost resulted in Lumb being run out but Wainwright missed the ball.
Hampshire went into lunch 148 ahead with eight wickets left. From lunch to tea, the visitors added 103 runs without losing a wicket in 38 overs.After tea, Lumb was caught at slip by Gerard Brophy, while Jonathan Bairstow kept wicket, off Adam Lyth for 64.During his innings Lumb passed 1000 first class runs for the season.With Benham they added 120 for the third wicket in 51 overs.
Play didn’t start on the first day until after lunch because of bad light.Playing his last match for the Tykes, Kruis led the players out.Put into bat Hampshire put on 95 in 33 overs before they lost their first wicket.The openers didn’t look in any trouble until Dawson flicked Wainwright’s second ball of the match to gale at short mid wicket for 45.For much of the partnership he was the silent partner till he took a liking to Matthew Hoggard’s second spell in which he over took Adams.
Adams celebrated his 29th birthday by getting 50 but on 51 he played on to Kruis and the visitors were 110 for two.
Benham flashed hard at Shahzad and Anthony McGrath took a great catch at t hird slip going to his right for 16. After adding 67 with Lumb, Sean Ervine played a lose shot at a wide one from McGrath and under edged it to Brophy for 26.
On the second day Hampshire, added 104 to their overnight score before they losttheir first wicket of the day when Lumb was dismissed for 81.Dominic Cork was unbeaten with 42 but apart from Nic Pothas who scored 38 Hampshire fell well short of their expected score and were all out for 351.
When Yorkshire replied they looked odds to get a big score after Jacques Rudolph and Joe Sayers put on 162 before Rudolph was dismissed for 68.Sayers was bounced out by Cork five short of his century.Apart from Bairstow who was unbeaten on 50 the rest of the Yorkshire batting failed to make an impact.From 231 for two they collapsed to 348 all out, three behind the visitors.
After the match Yorkshire’s Director of Cricket Martyn Moxon reflected on the 2009 season.“It’s been a season of missed opportunities; we’ve played some good cricket at times with good individual performances.We need to take 20 wickets to win matches.Our one day cricket has been disappointing but we have plenty to work worth.I am comfortable that the young players on the staff are potentially high quality and we will have a decent team.We are looking to get an overseas bowler but with the amount of international cricket it’s hard to get boards to release players.”
LV County Championship 2009 Richard Campion Reports
Surrey draw with Glamorgan September
Surrey bat out day to save game at The Brit Oval-day 4
A fine innings by Jonathan Batty in what was almost certainly his last game for Surrey thwarted Glamorgan who had to settle for a draw when the players shook hands at 5.15 to conclude the county season.
The day started badly for Surrey as they soon lost night-watchman Richard Logan who was caught at the wicket off a lifting ball from Garnett Kruger. When Kruger uprooted Arun Harinath's leg stump Surrey were 63 for 3 and staring defeat in the face. Batty and skipper Stuart Walters then shared a partnership of 174 which lasted through the complete afternoon session. Batty was dropped at first slip when only 13 and again in the same position on 96. He reached his 100 with a drive through the covers for 3 and Walters was first to be dismissed when he hit a catch to cover point. Matt Spriegel was then caught at slip first ball to put Glamorgan back in the hunt.
Batty was finally dismissed when his middle stump was removed by Kruger for 120 which took 272 balls and contained 14 fours.When Chris Schofield was lbw for 21 Usman Afzaal put in a belated appearance nursing a pulled hamstring and accompanied by a runner. He joined Chris Jordan who was again batting well and the pair were unbeaten at the close with the total at 309 for 7 of which Jordan had contributed 37.
Overall this has been another disappointing season for Surrey and it will be interesting to see what changes of personnel occur during the winter. Cricket manager Chris Adams must have plans to restore Surrey to a first division status.His reputation suggests he is a man with the confidence to back his judgement.
Glamorgan amass huge total at The Brit Oval-day 3
The Brit Oval wicket has a reputation of being suited to batsman and this match has confirmed that view. Surrey suffered a record breaking day by their opponents and are now in a situation where they will struggle to save the game.
Glamorgan resumed on 271 for no wicket and it took a run out to give Surrey a breakthrough when Mark Cosgrove fell to a fine piece of fielding by Stuart Walters at square leg after he had scored 175 which contained 27 fours and one six. Mark Rees was caught at the wicket for a career best 154 which took 231 balls and included 23 fours.At lunch Glamorgan were 391 for 2 and the afternoon was to prove to be a continuation of the glut of runs.
Although three wickets fell comparatively cheaply Jim Allenby and Mark Wallace both proceeded to score centuries with Wallace scoring at around a run a ball. Allenby hit two sixes the first of which brought up the 500.A square drive for 4 by Allenby took his side past their record total against Surrey of 550.Wallace fell for a career bset of 139 and Allenby was last out for 139 for137 which brought the declaration at 702 for 8.
Surrey had an awkward 7 overs to survive and lost Michael Brown who was bowled without offering a shot. At the close Surrey were 24 for 1 and face a long day tomorrow asthey battle for a draw with the overnight defecit a daunting 248.
Glamorgan opening pair break record at Brit Oval-day 2
M
ark Cosgrove and Gareth Rees put on 271 for the first wicket and were still together at the close of play on day two of this game which is being dominated by left - handed batsmen. The pair broken the record for the 1st wicket against Surrey and made the home attack look very friendly on a typically good Brit Oval wicket.
Surrey resumed on 334 for 4 and lost Usman Afzaal quickly when he dragged a ball from Garnett Kruger onto his stumps without adding to his overnight 170 and this left Matt Spriegel with the task of steering Surrey to a sustantial total and he rose to the challenge and made his maiden first class century before being caught in the covers off Robert Croft for 100. Chris Jordan batted well for 42 and Surrey reached a total of 430.
After a slow start the Glamorgan openers dominated with Cosgrove the faster scoring of the two.Cosgrove brought up the hundred partnership with a 6 over long- on off Ranganna Herath and Surrey were soon regretting dropping him in the slips twice in the early stages of his innings. The 200 stand was reached with a leg glance for 4 by Rees off Chris Schofield and the next land mark was when the record of 233 was passed. Rees achieved his 1000 first class runs for the season and put up his century soon afterwards.
At the close Cosgrove was on 145 and Rees on 109 and if Glamorgan can build up a lead tomorrow it is still possible they can win the match. They have perhaps more motivation than Surrey who looked despondent in the field.
Surrey take control against Glamorgan at The Brit Oval-day 1
Glamorgan started this game with hopes of promotion to Division 1 of the Liverpool Victoria County Championship but had a dissappointing day as Surrey ran up a total of 334 for 4 when bad light stopped play with 8.4 overs still to be bowled.
Surrey started slowly after winning the toss with Michael Brown taking 26 minutes and 21 balls to score his first run. Brown dragged a ball from James Harris onto his stumps with score at 23 and with the first ball of the next over from Garnett Kruger Jonathan Batty was caught at the wicket by Mark Wallace.When Surrey captain Stuart Walters was lbw to Kruger with total at 51 Surrey were in trouble But Usman Afzaal and Arun Harinath survived to lunch when the score was 79 for 3.
After the interval Harinath reached his first championship 50 which contained eight 4's and the stand was worth 103 when he fell to a catch at leg slip by Jim Allenby off Robert Croft for 57. Afzaal was driving fluently and looked untroubled with perhaps his best shot a straight drive for 6 off Allenby. Spriegel supported him well with some pleasing strokes of his own and the pair were still together at tea with the total on 212 for 4 and Afzaal 99 not out.
Afzaal completed a fine century off the first ball of the evening session when he square drove a ball from Allenby for 4.Spriegel was dropped at the wicket off Mark Cosgrove at 44 and this was an error Glamorgan could not afford as the pair batted on to the premature close. At the end of play Afzaal was on 170 and Spreigel a career best 71.
Surrey will now look to post a really large total on day two and hope to push on for a win in what has been a disappointing season for them as thay go through a re - buiding stage. It must be encouraging that youngsters like Arunath and Spriegel have both shown an ability to make significant scores in the championship.
Late Beddis strikes seal 2009 npower Village Cup for Glynde and Beddingham
13 September 2009
It was the victory of south over north but in the end it was a Yorkshireman who won the 2009 npower Village Cup for Glynde and Beddingham Cricket Club. Under attack from two Streethouse batsmen who were evidently in the zone, Mark Beddis, the one Glynde player not heralding from Sussex, took both wickets in the penultimate over of the match and with them the Village Cup.
That the match would be tight at all seemed unlikely after Glynde had passed 200 in their 40 overs. Streethouse – from west Yorkshire – started well with the priceless wicket of Dominic Shepheard but his tall partner Joe Adams refused to budge. Callum Smith came and went quickly but managed to score a succesion of boundaries through a ring of close fielders. Adams, omniously quiet in the early overs, started striking the ball cleanly and breezed past a fifty off 68 balls.
The 100 was up in the 22nd over and Glynde were looking at a healthy total well above 200. But Streethouse captain Richard Vigars came on to take two wickets, the second of which was Adams, bowled when swishing to leg. A run-rate which was threatening to creep above five an over began to descend.
Then came a curious little innings by Glynde’s Dominic Harris, a man whose diminutive size is as striking as Adam’s towering stature. He needed two escapes, the first in the 32nd over when he was dropped at deep mid-on; then when Harris was given out stumped on 15 only for the square-leg umpire to reverse his decision after consultation with his colleague. Apparently the Streethouse wicketkeeper had not broken the wicket cleanly.
It proved critical. Harris went on to a quickfire 41 which brought the total above 200. Of note was an outstanding single spell of spin from Jonathan Hughes, who finished with 3-33. The Glynde innings played out to much amusement – the birthday boy Dale Tranter was happy-birthdayed all the way to the crease by the Glynde fans only to be happy-birthdayed all the way back to the pavilion by the Streethouse supporters after a first-ball duck.
The Streethouse innings seemed always on the verge of collapse despite Callum Geldart’s fluent 34. Tumbling wickets, helped by Shepheard’s excellent spell of medium pace, meant a long period of rebuilding. Only opener Paul Langley stood firm.
At 98-5 after 22.1 overs out walked Vigars, the man who had steered his side to the final with five wickets and a tail-guiding 30 as the Yorkshire team won by a single wicket. Vigars was needed to perform a similar role again at Lord’s today.
For a while it seemed a lost cause: boundaries were scarce and quick-run singles were as much as Streethouse could manage. Then came over number 31. Langley hit a six and everything changed. Ollie Bailey, who until then had bowled a very tidy spell of offspin, was hit for three more sixes in the next over as Vigars freed his harms. He was at it again in the next over, and Langley reached his fifty off 81 balls, a foundation if ever there was one. But, decided Beddis, a foundation to nothing.
More information on the npower Village Cup competition can be found online at www.thewisdencricketer.com, while full details of npower's range of cricket sponsorships can be viewed at www.npower.com/cricket
Full Scorecard
LV County Championship Neil Whitaker Reports
Yorks bat out for bore draw
YORKSHIRE batted out the final day of their LV county Championship match to force a bore draw with Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge as neither captain could set up terms for a result.
The result leaves Yorkshire in 6thposition on 136 points, eight points ahead of Sussex and nine ahead of Hampshire but they both have a game in hand of Yorkshire, while Nottinghamshire are second.
They started the final day 173 runs ahead with eight second innings wickets standing and it took them over three overs to score their first runs of a chilly autumn Sunday.They lost their first wicket of the day in the ninth over when Andrew Gale got an inside edge to Charlie Shreck and was bowled for nine.
Skipper Anthony McGrath played on to one that kept low from Paul Franks and was bowled for 40 from 98 balls in 138 minutes. In the morning session Yorkshire scored 68 runs in 31 overs that showed their intentions for the day.They lost just two wickets.
After lunch, Nottinghamshire skipper Chris Read took off the pads and Bilal Shafayat took his place behind the stumps. A lot of the Yorkshire fans thought this move would herald some joke bowling but Read kept plugging away with his frontline bowlers.In sunshine which was a stark contrast to when play began, Jonathan Bairstow and Gerard Brophy consolidated Yorkshire position as they added 80 at ease in 22 overs.Brophy swept Samit Patel and Ali Brown at slip took a steep ling catch for 29.
Bairstow looked odds to score his maiden championship century but on 82 he edged Alex Hales to Brown at slip.Bairstow’s 82 came from 155 balls in just over three hours and included 13 boundaries.
Against the part time bowling of Hales, Scott Newman, Read and Brown, Ajmal Shahzad and Richard Pyrah scored 77 runs in 23 overs before Shahzad tried to pull Hales and was bowled for 45.
When the match was called off as a draw at 4.20, Yorkshire had scored 5 19 for eight and take nine points from the game and Nottinghamshire11 points.
County Championship Neil Whitaker reports
Lancs save day and draw with Yorks
Lancashire survived on the final day of the Roses match to force a draw with Yorkshire after the Tykes started the final day as favourites to win their second championship match in a week.
Yorkshire’s man of the match was Adil Rashid who hit an unbeaten 157, from 240 balls in 339 minutes, his highest score of his career so far, to go with his five wickets.It was the second time in a week that he had scored a century and taken five wickets.He is the first Yorkshire player to do the feat in consecutive matches since George Hirst in 1911 and it was the third time that Rashid has scored a century and taken five wickets.
Deciding to bat Lancashire made 276 all out despite suffering from one of the most dramatic starts to a Roses match in front of 4732 spectators at Headingley Carnegie on the first day. They lost their first wicket to the fifth ball of the second over of the match.Steven Croft was caught behind brilliantly one handed by Gerard Brophy for a duck off Tim Bresnan.Two balls later Yorkshire got the bonus wicket of Paul Horton for only two.In the past two seasons at Headingley Carnegie, Horton has slaughtered the Yorkshire bowling for 152 and 149.He played Matthew Hoggard into the covers and was caught by Jon athan Bairstow for two.
VVS Laxman and Mal Loye added 63 patiently in 26 overs before Loye pulled Rashid to Bresnan who took the catch at square leg for 24.Three balls after reaching his fifty Laxman drove Rashid straight to Hoggard at mid on.His half century came in 151 minutes and included eight fours.
On 10 François Du Plessis had a life when he glanced Ajmal Shahzad but it just fell short of Jacques Rudolph at first slip.He progressed calmly and steadily and looked to get a big score but on 32 he swept the slow left armer David Wainwright and was trapped leg before.With Mark Chilton they added 52 for the fifth wicket 16 overs.
Lancashire skipper Luke Sutton batted for 10 overs for only four before he hung his bat out to Bresnan and was caught behind by Brophy. The visitors were now 159 for six.Chilton used soft hands to place the ball between Rudolph at first slip and Joe Sayers at second on 51 off Bresnan.In the next ov er Kyle Hogg was dropped by Brophy, a straight forward chance, off Hoggard on 19.
After blasting his way to the twenties Hogg got tied down by Rashid and took his frustration out by having a wild slog and pulling him to substitute AzeemRafiqat short mid wicket for 29, his highest score at Headingley Carnegie.
Play on the second day was delayed by 20 minutes because of morning rain. After only three overs, rain drove the players off the field until after lunch, after a couple of more overs they were driven off again.
Bresnan got one to lift off a length, all on-loan signing from Derbyshire,Lungley could do was to fend it straight to Bairstow in the gully for 10.Five overs later Oliver Newby was bowled round his legs by Rashid’s googly for two.
Gary Keedy was last man out pushing forward at Rashid and was caught at silly point by Sayers for four.Sheffield born Chilton was unbeaten on 111 from 241 balls in 221 minutes with 10 boundaries.It was his third Roses century and his 19th of his career.
Yorkshire made a worse start to their innings losing Jacques Rudolph to the first ball from Hogg.Rudolph tried to cut but it went straight to Du Plessis at point.
Skipper Anthony McGrath came in and hit three fours off Newby.In Newby’s next over he got one to cut back in at McGrath but he survived the appeal on 15.When he added another two he pulled Tom Lungley’s first ball in Roses cricket and Croft took a stunning running and diving catch at square leg.Two overs later Andrew Gale got a leading edge and gave a simple return catch to Lungley for six.
On 17 Sayers flashed at Lungley and was put down by Loye in the gully.The ball after Bairstow gracefully played Newby through the covers for a four, he tried to pull a short ball but it stopped on him and he top edged it. The ball ballooned up and Newby took a20simple return catch.
After a further five overs were lost to rain, Sayers was hit full on his boot by Lungley and was given out leg before for 17.The Tykes were 72 for five. Brophy and Bresnan saw the Tykes to close of play without further loss and taking the score to 131 for five.
Bresnan fell for the three card trick when he hooked a short one from Newby down Lungley’s throat at deep square leg on the boundary without adding to his overnight score of 46. Brophy was joined by Rashid and after a slow start they started to put pressure on the Lancashire fielders.They both rode their luck, Brophy was dropped at third man by Chilton on 41 and Rashid was dropped on 13 by Laxman at second slip.As the partnership blossomed, Brophy hit Keedy for a straight six and Rashid brought his fifty with a straight lofted four off Keedy.They broke the 7th wicket partnership for Yorkshire against Lancashire of 120 made by Lord Hawke and Robert Moorhouse in 1895 at Old Trafford in 1895.
On 98 Brophy hit a full toss straight back to Lungley but the bowler failed to hold on to it.But on 99 he edged Keedy and Sutton took the catch.His 99 came off 241 balls in 310 minutes and he hit a six and 11 fours.They put on 168, a Roses record in Championship matches from 49 overs.
On the final morning Yorkshire added another 43 runs in 13 overs to take their score to 429 all out.Shahzad made another eight and Rashid was unbeaten on 157.
Needing 153 to make the Tykes bat again Lancashire lost opener Croft in the 12th over caught behind by Brophy off Bresnan for 15. Yorkshire took their second wicket 21 overs later when Horton became another victim for Brophy this time off Rashid for 28.Loye and Laxman put on 131 in 44 overs before they decided to call the match off with 11 overs left
Bopara dropped Monty restored No Romance No Ramps
England selectors name a 14-man squad for 5th npower Test against
ECB Sunday August 16th
England today announced a 14-man squad for the 5th npower Ashes Test against Australia at The Brit Oval starting on Thursday.
The uncapped Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott has again been included and Monty Panesar returns to the squad after missing out at Headingley, but Ravi Bopara has been omitted.
ECB National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: "The final Test Match is an absolutely vital game for the team with so much at stake and we have had to make some difficult selection decisions in choosing our squad for The Brit Oval.
"Ravi Bopara has been going through a tough time with the bat in this series and we have decided to leave him out of the squad for this game. He will be extremely disappointed but remains very much part of our plans for the future and I am sure that he has the talent and temperament to regain his place in the side.
"Ravi's omission means Jonathan Trott will make his Test debut at The Brit Oval. Having been part of the squad at Headingley, he was the next batsman in line in our view and this rewards him for the excellent form he has shown in County cricket both this summer and with England Lions over the winter.
"Ian Bell will bat at three next week which is a position he has occupied for England before and we were delighted to see both him and Jonathan make centuries for Warwickshire this week.
"Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson's injuries are much improved with rest and treatment and we anticipate that both players will be fit and available for selection next Thursday. "
The full squad is:
Andrew Strauss (capt) Middlesex
James Anderson Lancashire
Ian Bell Warwickshire
Stuart Broad Nottinghamshire
Paul Collingwood Durham
Alastair Cook Essex
Andrew Flintoff Lancashire
Stephen Harmison Durham
Graham Onions Durham
Monty Panesar Northamptonshire
Matt Prior Sussex
Ryan Sidebottom Nottinghamshire
Graeme Swann Nottinghamshire
Jonathan Trott Warwickshire
LV County Championship Neil Whitaker Reorts
Notts v Warwickshire at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge Nottingham August 11,12,13,14
Chris Read ton takes the honours on day one
NOTTINGHAMSHIR skipper Chris Read turned in a captain’s performance to give Nottinghamshire the honours on the first day of this LV County Championship match against Warwickshire.
He scored 110, his third century of the season and he was eighth out after coming in with Notts struggling on 141 for five.He shared in three big stands with Samitt Patel, Mark Ealham and Andre Adams.
Read race to his fifty in 57 minutes from 45 balls with 10 fours.The ball after he had reached fifty Rikki Clarke got one to nip back at Patel and trapped leg before for 47 from 74 balls in 130 minutes.
In the first over after tea, Read was dropped on 83 by Jonathan Trott at first slip off Chris Woakes.Five overs later Warwickshire get a wicket when Ealham was caught at second slip off Sreesanth for 37.With Read they had added 64 in 24 overs.
Read squeezed a four off Sreesanth through third man to bring up his third century of the season.This one came in 160 minutes from 132 balls and he hit 16 fours.He died by his sword looking for another four he was bowled by Tahir, having a wild slog and lost his middle stump for 110.His knock included 14 fours, came in 189 minutes from 148 balls.
After been put into bat Nottinghamshire lost their first wicket in the fourth over when opener Scott Newman lunged forward at Naqaash Tahir and was adjudged leg before for five.Six overs later Matthew Wood cut Tahir straight to Ian Westwood at gully for 14.Warwickshire claimed their first bonus point when Mark Wagh missed a straight one from Tahir and was bowled for 10, Nottinghamshire were now 43 for three in the 14th over.
Despite being three wickets down Nottinghamshire went on the attack and in the next six overs they scored 45 runs with Adam Voges scoring 30 of those, including three consecutive fours of Sreesanth, who’s playing his first match for Warwickshire.Voges and Patel put 50 on in 54 balls.
In the second over after lunch Voges edged Sreesanth and was caught by Ian Bell at third slip.His 68 came from 78 balls in 87 minutes and include 10 fours.Four balls later Ali Brown was caught at second slip byClarke off Sreesanth for a duck.
Notts dominate day two
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE dominated the second day’s more than they had the first as they had Warwickshire struggling on 214 for nine, still 25 away from saving the follow on as bad light ended play.
More remarkable was the fact that play on the second day didn’t start until 1.30 because of morning rain.
Rickki Clarke top scored with 67 from 126 balls.His innings which lasted 160 minutes and included a six and seven fours ended when he played Ryan Sidebottom down to Andre Adams at third man but failed to beat the throw as he tried to get two.At this stage Warwickshire still needed another 37 to avoid the follow on.
Warwickshire made a slow start on the second day, it took them 10 overs to sc ore 11 runs and they lost their first wicket in the 18th over of the day when Ian Westwood steered Charlie Shreck to Adams at the finer of two gullies for 12, which took him 61 balls. In his next over Shreck got Ant Botha to repeat the shot and was out for 19.
Sidebottom got one to bounce and leave Ian Bell and stumper Chris Read took an easy catch, the first of Sidebottom’s three victims.It was the third time in three innings that Bell has been dismissed by a left arm seamer.Warwickshire had gone from 35 for none to 36 for three in nine balls.In his next over Sidebottom trapped Jim Troughton leg before for nine.
Three overs, later Adam Voges at second slip too k a catch off Shreck to dismiss Jonathan Trott for 15. Next to go was Tim Ambrose leg before to Sidebottom for one.
Clarke and Chris Woakes tried to stabilise the Warwickshire innings with a stand of 28 in 13 overs with Woakes scoring 22 of them.Woakes was the next to go in the 40th over when he saw Adams send his off stump cart wheeling out of the ground.
Naqaash Tahir looked in confident form and rarely looked out of touch but on 24 he spooned Mark Ealham to Adam Voges at second slip who took a chest high catch.With Clarke they had put on 69 for the eighth wicket in 16 overs.
Sreesanth launched a huge straight six off Ealham that landed in the Nottinghamshire committee room.He hit another straight six into the other end.
Finalists confirmed for 2009 npower Village Cup Village teams from Sussex and West Yorkshire meet in Lord’s final on 14 September
npower Village Championship Finalists
London 12 August 2009
Streethouse from West Yorkshire and Glynde & Beddingham of Sussex will meet in the final of the 2009 npowerVillage Cup at Lord’s.
Streethouse squeezed into the final with a nail-biting one wicket semi-final win against Stockton, while in complete contrast Glynde & Beddingham recorded a crushing 119-run victory against Welsh team Cresselly.
Streethouse captain Richard Vigars described his side’s win as an ‘absolute thriller’ after he scored the final two runs off the penultimate ball of the match at Stockton. “We were cruising home at 50-1 in the ninth over but then the batting wobbled and we ended up needing 12 off the last two overs with two wickets in hand. The ninth wicket fell off the fourth ball of the last over and our last man walked out in tears, but we managed to scrape home,” said Vigars, who finished with a match-winning 30 not out.
Glynde & Beddingham’s Steve Lawrence was so confident of a good npowerVillage Cup run that he booked the day of the final off work at the start of the season. “I just had a feeling that this could be our year and now it’s happened. We’ve entered the cup every year since 1972 and the best we’ve ever done before is get to the quarter finals in 2006. None of the team has ever played at Lord’s before so the final will be the biggest day in the club’s history,” he said.
Tim Percival from competition sponsor npower, congratulated both teams for reaching the final: “Beating 400 other clubs to reach Lord’s is a fantastic achievement so well done to Steethouse and Glynde & Beddingham. Neither team has ever played at Lord’s before so the occasion will be a huge highlight for all players and supporters.”
John Stern, editor of The Wisden Cricketer magazine, which organises and administers the competition, said: “It’s all set up for a classic north versus south final at Lord’s in September. Thanks to the generosity of the MCC and the sponsorship of npower these two teams will enjoy the greatest day of their cricketing lives.”
2009 npower Village Cup semi final results:
•Glynde & Beddingham, Sussex, 241-7 beat Cresselly, Dyfed, 122 all out
•Streethouse, Yorkshire, 138-9 beat Stockton, Northants, 137 all out, by one wicket
Supporters and media can follow the progress of the 2009 npowerVillage Cup online at www.thewisdencricketer.com, while full details of npower's range of cricket sponsorships can be viewed at www.npower.com/cricket
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County Cchampionship Richard Campion reports
Surrey draw with Leics at Whitgift School
Surrey establish strong position at Whitgift -Day1
Surrey won the toss in their Liverpool Victoria county game against Derbyshire at Whitgift school in Croydon and batted well to build the foundation of a really large score.
The opening pair of Jonathan Batty and Michael Brown were undefeated at lunch with Batty the more fortunate of the two. He was twice dropped at second slip by Wayne
Madsen and on both occasions the unlucky bowler was Graham Wagg who looked the best of the visiting bowlers as he worked up a good pace and obtained some movement off the pitch. At lunch Surrey were 105 for 0 off 30 overs.
After lunch Batty was well caught by Greg Smith who ran in and took a low catch at deep third man. Batty had made 48 and the pair had put on 113 which is the best stand for the first wicket for the county this season. Mark Ramprakash came in and soon passed his thousand runs for the season . He and Brown were together at tea and Wagg had shown some versatility by bowling several overs of spin.At tea Surrey were 208 for 1.
Brown moved to his century in the evening session and he and Ramprakash looked likely to see out the day but then both fell with the score on 275.Brown fell to a good catch in the covers by Madsen and Ramprakash was bowled by Hayward. Stuart Walters and Usman Afzaal were not out when Surrey closed on 308 for 3.
During the day it was announced that Mark Butcher had decided to retire due to persistent knee problems.He told the press how disappointed he was but after three operations and another due he felt it was the right decision. As he looked back on his career he picked out his 173 not out against Australia in 2001 at Headingley and the Surrey championship win in 1999 which was the start of a period of success for the club.
Surrey v Leicestershire game at Whitgift well poised after day 2.
After a delayed start a sparse crowd saw some interesting cricket and both sides must have hopes of victory as neither has established a clear advantage after two days of play. The wicket seems a good one and Surrey must be disappointed by their batting display and will want to make early inroads into the Leicestershire innings tomorrow.
Play did not commence until 1.40 after an early lunch and 24 overs were lost. Surrey resumed on 308 for 3 and soon lost Usman Afzaal for 24 to an excellent diving catch by Wavell Hinds on the mid -wicket boundary. That was the fourth wicket to fall and the score was 316 and bad light caused a stoppage of 4 overs before the Surrey innings went into sharp decline .Walters fell lbw for 28 and then a series of single figure scores left Surrey all out for 362. Tim Groenwald returned a career best of 24.1 -5- 50 - 6. Derbyshire batted briefly before tea and were soon in trouble with Wayne Madsen falling lbw for a single to Jade Dernbach.
The only other Derbyshire wicket to fall was that of Gary Park out for 15 to a sharp slip catch by Stuart Walters off Pedro Collins.Chris Rodgers and Greg Smith then batted through to the close in a stand of 122.Rodgers was hit on his left arm by Andre Nel but later hooked the same bowler for 6. Smith hooked Pedro Collins for 6 and both players also drove fluently and ran well between the wickets.
At the close Derbyshire were 169 for 2 so now trail Surrey by 193 and have the chance of building a lead on day 3. The weather forecast suggests there should be no further breaks in play and hopefully the weekend crowds will support this out ground game.
Game well poised at Whitgift after 3 days
As this contest enters its final day a draw still looks the most likely outcome but the first 3 days have provided good cricket and interest should be maintained until the finish. Once again the crowd was of disappointing size in spite of a sunny day and did nothing to encourage the use of this pleasant outground.
The day started with Derbyshire captain Chris Rogers being out caught behind the wicket for 80 and Wavell Hinds soon followed falling to a catch at cover for 5 of which four consisted of a boundary overthrow. Greg Smith reached an attractive 50 which contained 7 fours and one six and fell shortly afterwards to an excellent diving catch by Jonathan Batty behind the stumps.Derbyshire keeper Karl Krikken had his middle stump uprooted by a yorker from Jade Dernbach and a straight six from Graham Wagg rounded off an eventful morning with Derbyshire on 279 for 6.
Graham Wagg reached 71 and then skied a catch to mid - on whilst Dan Redfern was unbeaten on 55 when Derbyshire were all out for 334 giving Surrey a lead of 28. Andre Nel bowled with his usual fire and had figures of 4 for 83. Surrey were 61 for 0 at tea with the highlight of their innings at that stage being a six slashed over third man by Jonathan Batty. He fell for 30 and this brought Ramprakash to the crease and he proceeded to 76 not out at close of play. He struck a huge six over long on into a garden on the far side of Nottingham Road and only looked at all disturbed when Graham Wagg late in day bowled a good bouncer off his short run. Usman Afzaal also hit a six out of the ground and was 21 not out at the close.
Surrey were 195 for 3 at stumps and now have an overall lead of 223 with one day left to play and a possible declaration to be judged by Stuart Walters tomorrow. The wicket is still a good one so he may find it difficult to fix the right target.
Game at Whitgift ends in a draw despite fiery burst from Andre Nel -Day 4
A draw was always the most likely result to end the Whitgift festival but there was plenty of good cricket on the fourth and final day.
Surrey resumed on 195 for 3 in warm sunshine before another small gathering who were soon rewarded for their attendance by some splendid batting from Mark Ramprakash and Usman Afzaal who both scored rapidly and made the situation for a target to be set in the final innings of the game. Afzaal struck four fours in one over from Nante Hayward and eventually fell for 85 when he skied a catch to mid - on to be caught by Garry Park. Ramprakash moved to his 108th century and finished on 134 not out with three sixes and eleven fours.
Derbyshire were set a target of 349 off 77 overs and lost a wicket to the first ball of the innings when skipper Chris Rogers was caught down the legside by Jonathan Batty behind the Surrey stumps.Just before lunch Matt Spriegel took an excellent catch at backward short leg to dismiss Garry Park to spoil the meal for Derbyshire at 30 for 2.
The afternoon session saw 2 wickets fall with Greg Smith and Wavell Hinds being the victims with the later playing a strangely tame push to short leg. After tea was taken the proceedings hotted up with Andre Nel bowling a barrage of short balls and giving full vent to his feelings as Surrey strove for a win .Nel was rewarded with the wicket of Dan Redfern when Usman Afzaal took an excellent.The mainstay of the Derbyshire innings was opener Wayne Madsen who was undefeated at the close on the 108. He was on 99 for a long time as he padded up before finally pushing a single to reach his century. He finished on 108 not out and Klokker on 32 not out as the captains agreed to finish at 6pm with the score at 232 for 5.
The game on the final day illustrated the problems of timing a declaration on a small ground in good batting conditions but the match was a much more worthwhile excercise than the run glut at Brit Oval in the previous game against Leicestershire.
England selectors name a 14-man squad for 4th npower Test againt Australia
ECB August 4th
England today announced a 14-man squad for the 4th npower Ashes Test against Australia at Leeds starting on Friday.
The squad includes the eleven players who featured in the drawn 3rd Test at Edgbaston together with pace bowlers Stephen Harmison and Ryan Sidebottom, and the uncapped Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott.
ECB National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: "In choosing our squad for this Test Match, we decided to omit a second spinner as Headingley is not usually a ground where two spinners are required and therefore Monty Panesar misses out on selection this time.
"We will need to carefully assess the pitch and the overhead conditions at Headingley before finalising our eleven for this Test and the inclusion of Stephen Harmison and Ryan Sidebottom will give us different types of pace bowling options.
"Both players have been in good form for their Counties in recent weeks and as selectors we are delighted that competition for places in the side is so strong.
"Jonathan Trott has also performed really well for Warwickshire this season and his place in the squad is fully deserved. His inclusion will provide us with the option of playing six batsmen if we feel this is appropriate.
"We will continue to closely monitor Andrew Flintoff's fitness in the build-up-up to Headingley. His right knee will be reassessed by our medical staff over the next forty-eight hours and no final decision on his availability will be taken until closer to the start of the Test Match."
The full squad is:
Andrew Strauss (capt) Middlesex James Anderson Lancashire Ian Bell Warwickshire Ravi Bopara Essex Stuart Broad Nottinghamshire Paul Collingwood Durham Alastair Cook Essex Andrew Flintoff Lancashire Stephen Harmison Durham Graham Onions Durham Matt Prior Sussex Ryan Sidebottom Nottinghamshire Graeme Swann Nottinghamshire Jonathan Trott Warwickshire
Ed.On form alone veteran Mark Ramprakash and teenager James Taylor justify selection.
248th Roses Match Neil Whitaker Reports
Yorks manage draw after 1st innings flop
The 248th championship Roses match ended in a draw as rain drove the players off the field at 4.45 with Yorkshire 45 runs ahead with six wickets standing.
The real winner however, was the pitch as only seven wickets fell on the last two days.Yorkshire resumed on the final morning still needing another 237 with eight wickets standing to make Lancashire bat again.In the morning session Jacques Rudolph and Andrew Gale added another 132 in 34 overs.In the afternoon session Gale square cut Kyle Hogg to bring up his century.It was Gale’s second consecutive Roses century at Old Trafford.This one came from 141 balls with 10 fours and a six.
Rudolph brought up his century with a leg side slog off Keedy.His century came from 209 balls with nine fours.On 107, Rudolph turned Gary Keedy into Mal Loye at short leg but he failed to hold on to it.
On 257 the partnership was broken when Gale was leg before to Tom Smith for 121.With Rudolph they had put on 218 in 60 overs, a record third wicket partnership for Yorkshire at Old Trafford beating the 141 made in 1932 by Herbert Sutcliffe and Maurice Leyland. Rudolph’s dismissal was a soft one as he turned Keedy to Paul Horton at backward short leg for 127 from 280 balls with 11 fours.During the innings he passed 900 runs for the season.Yorkshire went into tea still one run behind Lancashire with five wickets standing.
Lancashire skipper Luke Sutton said: “It’s frustrating, we had the game, we were always in control of the game and played exceptionally well.Today the wicket died and we didn’t get any chances.To be fair, Rudolph and Gale batted well.We needed to get a couple of early wickets to create pressure.The longer the game went on the ball got softer. When we started today we had high hopes but the wicket slowed down.” Yorkshire Director of Cricket Martyn Moxon said: “Lancashire showed the determination to bat for a long time, which we showed in the second innings.Today I am really pleased with the way we went about our batting.After our first innings the captain had strong words for the team.I was disappointed with the way we lost our wickets on the first day.I thought today we were outstanding.It’s all to play for; we’ve still got six games left.We have character and desire in the dressing room.”
Deciding to bat after winning the toss Yorkshire were dismissed for 181 after 52.3 overs with Smith taking a career best six for 46 in 13 overs.
The Tykes lost their first wicket in the 13th over when Rudolph shouldered arms to Sajid Mahmood and was bowled for 14 with the score on 39.
Five overs later Anthony McGrath had a slash at a wide one from Smith and was caught behind by stand in Lancashire skipper Sutton for nine. VVS Laxman took a low catch at second slip off Smith to dismiss Joe Sayers for 34 who waited for the decision to be given.
Yorkshire went into lunch at 91 for three from 27 overs, in the afternoon session they lost seven wickets for 90 runs in 26 overs.First to go was Jonathan Bairstow who was caught at third slip by Mark Chilton off Smith for five from the first ball after lunch.
After hitting Smith for a boundary, Gerard Brophy pulled his next ball but miscued it and it went up in the air to Mahmood at mid on.Two balls later Tim Bresnan miscued a hook and Sutton took an easy running catch to give Smith his fifth wicket, the first time Smith had taken five wickets in a championship innings.
Three overs later Adil Rashid slashed at a wide from Hogg and Sutton took the catch. If Rashid had left the ball he would have been given a wide.In the next over Richard Pyrah fended of one that got big on him from Smith to give Sutton an easy catch as the Tykes slumped 122 for eight.
Ajmal Shahzad joined Gale and he gave valuable support to the left hander as they added 36 in nine overs.Gale top scored for the Tykes with 54 including one six when he pulled Oliver Newby over square leg before he steered Mahmood to Loye in the gully.Four overs later Mahmood wrapped the innings up when Matthew Hoggard gave Sutton his fifth catch of the innings.
Horton and Smith put on their highest opening partnership of the season with a stand of 107 in 37 overs.Smith survived an appeal for a catch at short leg by Gale off Rashid when on 39.
Only 33 overs were possible on the second day because of rain.They lost Smith to the last ball of the first over of the second day.He was caught behind by Brophy off Hoggard without adding to his overnight score of 40. Horton missed out on the chance to record his first Championship century of the season, and his third against Yorkshire in five innings. He would have been the club’s first player to reach 500 Championship runs for the season had he recorded three figures, but he was another Brophy victim, caught down the leg-side off Bresnan for 84. He had earlier been dropped at third slip by Rashid off the bowling of Bresnan whilst on 64, but Brophy made no mistake to end the opener’s 161-ball stay at the crease.
Loye then carried on where Horton left off by reaching his third 50 of the Championship season off 73 balls with eight fours and one top edged six off Shahzad. He ended the day 61 not out off 93 balls, having hit nine fours and his six, with Laxman on 23 not out. The pair shared an unbroken 63 for the third wicket, and Lancashire lead by 38 runs.
Loye the third ball of the third day from Rashid for a straight six into the Brian Statham end and two balls later he failed by six inches to repeat the feat. Loye said: “I told Tom Smith on Saturday that you have got to start all over again but the wind was in my favour and I played it as I saw it.”
In the next over Laxman on 25, drove Shahzad to Pyrah at backward point but it was a no ball.With Laxman they stroked the ball around Old Trafford with ease found the boundary.Loye square cut Bresnan to bring up his first century since April=2 02007 from 158 balls in 212 minutes and included two sixes and 13 fours.Laxman brought his fifty up with a straight driven four off Hoggard.His fifty included eight boundaries from 110 balls.
In the morning session they added 113 in 32 overs, without looking in trouble. As the pair pressed to get to 400 and five batting bonus points for the first time this season, Loye was bowled by Rashid trying to hit him out of the ground for 146.They had put on 225 in 65 overs for the third wicket.
Loye said: “It wasn’t the big score I wanted; we were a bit slow in running between the wickets.We made a meal of it at the end.It’s the best I’ve played for 10 years.It felt as good as it’s ever been.It was something that I have been searching for a number of years and hopefully I. will get a proper score.I didn’t have a good year last year but in the last couple of weeks I have been just getting on with it.”
When it looked like Lancashire had blown their chances of getting the fifth batting point the got 15 of the 120th over to take them to 400.Lye said: “I didn’t think he knew about the bonus points but I mentioned it to him and he was surprised.” It was the first time in 29 matches that Lancashire had reached 400; the last was against Yorkshire at Headingly in 2008. Two overs later Laxman drove at Rashid and was snapped up at slip by Rudolph for 109 from 207 balls in 275 minutes and included 13 fours.Loye said: “He’s a world class performer; he’s been struggling as well, looking for a hundred.”
Then just as Francois Du Plessis looked as he was turning the screw on Y orkshire, he drove Shahzad to Sayers in the covers for 18. Lancashire batted for five overs after tea taking their score to 489 for five before declaring with a lead of 308. Loye added: “Just to give us plenty of time to bowl them out.” In their second innings Yorkshire lost their first wicket in the fifth over when a length ball from Mahmood slanted across Sayers and Laxman took a waist height catch at second slip.They lost their second wicket in the 15th over when McGrath pushed forward at Smith and was given out leg before for 14.As he walked off a lone voice shouted resign.
County Championship Surrey v Leics Richard Campion reports
Runfest at the Oval
Leicestershire establish the advantage at the Brit Oval
The visitors ended day one of this Liverpool Victoria County Championship match in a strong position. On a typically good wicket the Surrey attack struggled to make much of an impact and Leicestershire look likely to finish with a large total.
Opener Matt Boyce was run out in the first over as aresult of fine fieding in the cvers by Paul Schofield. Greg smith and Boeta Dippenaar then added 139 for the second wicket with Dippenaar striking no less than 11 fours in his fifty.He reached his half century with a lovely drive through mid- off followed in the same over with clip off his legs for four.Smith posted the centry stand with a nicely steered our through gulley and at lunch Leicestershire were 107 for 1.
Dippenaar fell to a splendid diving catch at second slip by Stuart Walters and Smith was dismissed for 46 caught at the wicket. In all he batted some 3 and a half hours and was very slow after lunch. At tea the visitors were 196 for 3 with Hylton Ackerman and James Taylor well established at the crease.
The only wicket to fall in the final session was Ackerman who was dismissed by a sharp catch at first slip by Walters. Teenager Taylor reached his fifty with a single resulting from a dropped catch behind the wicket and this probably summed up Surrey's day.The score at the close was 291 for 4 and Surrey need quick wickets in the morning to have a chance of winning and keeping up their bid for promotion. At present Surrey are fourth in the table whilst Leicestshire occupy eighth position..
Ramprakash leads Surrey response at The Brit Oval
As is so often the case Surrey were thankful to Mark Ramprakash who led their effort in replying to the huge Leicestershire total of 593 for 5 declared. Surrey had a bad start to the day when John Batty was bowled for 0 in the first over and before lunch they also lost Michael Brown who fell for 48 with the sore at 75. Ramprakash had started slowly only scoring 9 in his first hour at the crease but at the interval he and Stuart Walters had taken the score to 99 for 2.
The pair continued solidly and a smart pushed single into the covers by Ramprakash put up the 100 stand. Shortly afterwards a swept single to fine leg took him to his 107th century taking him level with Colin Cowdrey. Walters reached his 50 with an on drive for 3 in the over before tea and at the break Surrey were 211 for 2.
Leicestershire toiled in vain for the entire evening session as the Surrey pair rarely looked troubled on a good batting track. Ramprakash reached 150 with a 2 through mid - wicket and finished on 174 with Walters on 84.Surrey closed on 311 for 2 with the target of 444 to avoid the follow - on now well within reach. A positive result now seems unlikely and only 7 wickets have fallen in he game so far.
Both these teams have had a high proportion of draws this season and the attacks on display in the match have looked all too friendly with batsman on both sides taking full advantage of the situation.
Game at Brit Oval drifts to a high scoring draw
The result of this match rarely looked like being anything other than a draw and this duly was the outcome. The final day proved to be a series of statistical milestones and only 2 wickets fell all day and only 9 in the entire match.
Mark Ramprakash and Stuart Walters resumed their partnership and and batted through the morning session and created a new record for any wicket by Surrey against Leicestershire passing the 282 by Alistair Brown and Ben Hollioake for the 5th wicket at The Oval in 2002. Ramprakash scored exactly 100 in the session and Stuart Walters passed his century having made his maiden first class hundred in the previous match. At lunch Surrey were 476 for 2.
It came as something of a surprise when Ramprakash dragged a ball onto his stumps soon after lunch with his score on 274. The pair had added 404 but Walters was not satisfied yet and went onto 180 when he was caught at first slip. Usman Afzaal was the next batsman to relish the conditions and he was unbeaten on 70 with Chris Murtagh on 18 when Surrey declared on 608 for 4. This move appeared to be no more than a ploy to improve their over rate and they bowled 9 overs in quick time before the game finished with Leicestershire on 23 for 1
England name 13-man squad for 3rd npower Ashes Test
ECB Lord's London July 26th
England named a 13-man squad for the 3rd npower Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston starting on Thursday.
Warwickshire batsmen Ian Bell comes into the squad for the injured Kevin Pietersen, who has been ruled out of the series due to Achilles surgery last Wednesday.Durham's Stephen Harmison and Northamptonshire's Monty Panesar have also been added to the squad that includes those players that featured in England's 115-run win over Australia at Lord's.
ECB National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: "The performance of the team at Lord's was outstanding and a convincing win was well deserved. We have obviously had to make a change to the side following Kevin Pietersen's unavailability and we wish Kevin the best with his rehabilitation and look forward to his return to the England team in due course.
"Kevin's injury has presented an opportunity for Ian Bell who we know is a top-class batsmen with an excellent international record for England. Ian will be looking to make the most of his return to the side during an Ashes series and while we have a strong idea of where he will bat we won't be disclosing the final line-up of the side until the toss on Thursday. Although we haven't named any extra batting cover in the squad we have several options should the need arise to call in another batsmen.
"Andrew Flintoff's performance at Lord's was truly memorable and we are hopeful he can take his place in the side for the 3rd npower Test as he continues to manage his knee injury. Andrew and the medical staff are quite bullish about his prospects of playing but we'll continue to monitor his progress in the days leading up to Thursday. Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar once again come in to the squad and both players provide us with cover and exciting options within the bowling attack."
England squad for 3rd npower Ashes Test Match
Andrew Strauss (c) (Middlesex)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Ravi Bopara(Essex)
Stuart Broad(Nottinghamshire)
Paul Collingwood(Durham)
Alastair Cook(Essex)
Andrew Flintoff(Lancashire)
Stephen Harmison(Durham)
Graham Onions(Durham)
Monty Panesar(Northamptonshire)
Matt Prior(Sussex)
Graeme Swann(Nottinghamshire)
Ian Bell will bat at No 4 for England in third Ashes Test, says Andrew Strauss Timesonline
County Championship Neil Whitaker reports
Yorks hang on to draw with Notts
Yorkshire are still seeking their first victory after 20 first class matches following this draw with Nottinghamshire at Scarborough.
Rain dominated this match and over a day’s play was lost to rain, on the first day alone, 61 overs were lost to bad light and rain but Nottinghamshire still managed to lose five wickets after winning the toss.
The Tykes got an early breakthrough when opener Matthew Wood was caught at third slip by Adil Rashid off Tim Bresnan in the eighth over. Three overs later his opening partner Bilal Shafayat was trapped leg before to Matthew Hoggard for seven.Stumper Gerard Brophy took a brilliant one handed catch to dismiss Mark Wagh for six off Bresnan.Samit Patel became Bresnan’s third victim when caught at second slip by Joe Sayers for eight.
David Hussey and Ali Brown added 41 in 10 overs for the fifth wicket.Brown was the silent partner and only scored five before Rashid caught him at third slip again off Bresnan.Hussey ended the first day on 59, with Nottinghamshire on 101 for. He brought up his fifty with a straight six off leg spinner Rashid.
On the second day Hussey found good support from the lower middle order, first with his captain Chris Read and then with all rounder Paul Franks.With Read they put on 41 in nine overs with Read scoring 20 of them before he was bowled by Hoggard.Even at this stage it looked the visitors would be dismissed for less than 200.
But Franks defended one end and allowed Hussey to attack the bowling at the other end which he did to devastating effect.The pair added 147 for the seventh wicket before Franks was deceived by Rashid and was bowled, two short of his half century.
Hussey concentrated on either scoring a four or a six.One run after Franks’ dismissal Luke Fletcher was trapped leg before to Deon Kruis for a duck.
Kiwi Andre Adams came in and took a leaf from H ussey’s book and just hit the Tykes bowling for either a four or a six.The pair only added 29 for the ninth wicket when Hussey was caught at slip by Sayers off Rashid for 189.The 189 was made up of 24 fours and seven sixes and came from 205 balls.It was his 35 first class century.
Adams then shared in a tenth wicket stand of 93 with former Tyke Ryan Sidebottom.Out of the 93, Sidebottom only scored 10.Adams was caught behind by Brophy off Kruis for 84 with Nottinghamshire five short of getting a fifth batting point.
The Tykes only had to face 11 overs at the end of the second but they managed to lose both opener Jacques Rudolph to the second ball from Sidebottom and Captain Anthony McGrath bowled driving at Adams for 15.
On the third day the Tykes slumped to 105 for eight with only night watchman David Wainwright of getting past 17 with 25, then Jonathan Bairstow was joined by Hoggard who put on 44 in 18 overs with Hoggard scoring 11.Yorkshire were still 97 short of saving the follow when in strode last man Kruis.His aim was to attack the Notts bowling but it should have been much different but Kruis was caught behind by Read off Franks but it was a no ball.Kruis was eventually caught at third slip by Adams off Sidebottom for 37.Bairstow hit an unbeaten 84 his highest score so far as Yorkshire made 231, 164 behind Notts.
For Nottinghamshire, Sidebottom took five wickets for 59 while Adams took four for 39 in 20 overs.
Yorkshire had only seven overs to face before the end of day but they still lost Rudolph for 12 when he was caught by Adams at third slip off Sidebottom.
The final morning was only four overs old when skipper McGrath was leg before to Adams for and the Tykes were only 31 for two and a victory for the visitors looked odds on.Andrew Gale joined Sayers and the pair took Yorkshire into lunch without any further loss.
They added 86 in 29 overs when the partnership was broken two overs after lunch when Sayers became another victim to the combination of Adams and Sidebottom for 36.Four overs later Bairstow suffered the same fate for four.
Gale looked a certainty for his century but he fell one short when he pulled Franks to Sidebottom, who raced round from mid on to mid wicket to take the catch.With Brophy they added 51 for the fifth wicket and used up valuable time.Brophy made an unbeaten 51 in his first match back for a month with a dislocated thumb.Bresnan was 16 not out and Yorkshire were 232 for 5 when Read decided there wasn’t enough time to get the remaining five wickets and knock off the runs to win.
As a result of the match Yorkshire dropped into the bottom two of the first division
ECB secures major investment programme for grassroots cricket
ECB London Lord's July 2009
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today agreed a four year whole sport funding plan with Sport England for the development of grassroots cricket. The grant award of £37.8million is for the period 2009 to 2013 and covers both capital and revenue expenditure plans. It will be invested in projects that grow participation; sustain involvement; increase the satisfaction levels of participants; and creates pathways for excellence from the playground to Test Arena.
The plan will also see the ECB continue its focus on improving opportunities for women, girls and disabled players to participate in cricket.
David Collier, Chief Executive of the ECB said: “This agreement is fantastic news for cricket and will enable us to continue our work to increase opportunities for people to take part in our sport. The ECB has been awarded the largest grant of any National Governing Bodywhich demonstrates the confidence that Sport England has in our ability to deliver grassroots programmes.
“I would like to thank everyone in cricket, from the thousands who volunteer at local clubs through to our development team, who have helped to helped us to build partnerships in community cricket. Sport England will also be bringing forward further lottery funding opportunities based on potential priority policy themes such as increasing participation by women and girls, improving school-club links and building sustainable community sports clubs. Cricket has a major contribution to make in this area and we will be working with Sport England to secure further funding for projects that not only increase participation in cricket but address wider policy objectives such as improving health and building social inclusion”.
“I can also announce that the ECB has determined that a significant portion of the Whole Sport Plan funding will be directed toward the Cricket Foundation’s Chance to Shine initiative. This award, alongside agreement we have reached with Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe about future funding arrangements, mean that Chance to Shine’s £20m four-year investment programme funded jointly by the private and public sector can move ahead.”
Wasim Khan, newly appointed Chief Executive of the Cricket Foundation said, “We’re delighted that the Government continues to acknowledge the positive effect Chance to Shine is having on communities nationwide. This year over 300,000 young people at primary and secondary schools across the country will benefit from our programme, which uses cricket to teach children key life skills.”
Sport England’s Chief Executive Jennie Price said “Sport England has worked hard to ensure that our half a billion pound investment in grassroots sport delivers value for money, and most importantly, results. We believe that our partnership approach will build the firm foundations of a world-leading community sport system”.
Steve Harmison added for Lord's
England selectors name their 14-man squad for 2nd npower Test againt Australia.
ECB Lord's London July 13th
England today announced a 14-man squad for the 2nd npower Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s starting on Thursday. Durham pace bowler Stephen Harmison has been added to the 13-man squad named for the 1st npower Test at Cardiff which ended in a draw yesterday.
ECB National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “It required a tremendous effort to save the 1st npower Test match and no praise can be high enough for the fighting qualities shown by Paul Collingwood together with our lower order batsmen. Their application at the crease and determination to get the job done was first-rate.
“We are well aware, however, that we did not perform well in Cardiff over the five days and will need to improve in all areas of our game if we are to overcome what is a strong Australian side.
“We have added Stephen Harmison to our squad for the next Test match as Andrew Flintoff injured his right knee at Cardiff and will undergo a precautionary scan later today.
“Andrew is experiencing soreness and swelling in the knee which he twisted while in the field and he will be reassessed by the medical staff over the next forty eight hours leading up to the Test Match on Thursday.
“In the event of Andrew being unfit, we see Stephen as a like for like replacement in terms of the type of bowler he is and his ability to unsettle the opposition batsmen with pace and bounce..
“But we will need to consider all our options carefully when we come to determine the make-up of our bowling attack at Lord’s and the final decision will depend on our assessment of the pitch and the likely overhead conditions. “
The full squad is:
Andrew Strauss (capt)Middlesex
James Anderson Lancashire
Ian BellWarwickshire
Ravi BoparaEssex
Stuart BroadNottinghamshire
Paul CollingwoodDurham
Alastair CookEssex
Andrew FlintoffLancashire
Stephen HarmisonDurham
Graham OnionsDurham
Monty Panesar ` Northamptonshire
Kevin PietersenHampshire
Matt PriorSussex
Graeme SwannNottinghamshire
Decision taken at ICC annual conference after recent on-field successes against Fiji
Vanuatu elevated to ICC Associate membership
Dubai, 6 July 2009
Impressive levels of junior participation among girls and boys; U/19s have reached ICC U/19 CWC Qualifier
ICC President David Morgan: “Vanuatu has clearly demonstrated cricket has made the leap from simply existing to becoming firmly established, organized and growing”
Vanuatu has been elevated to Associate membership of the International Cricket Council.
The decision was confirmed at the recent ICC annual conference at Lord’s following recommendations from the ICC’s Associate and Affiliate membership and the ICC Board.
The island nation from the ICC’s East-Asia Pacific (EAP) region had applied for Associate status in 2008 and was required then to meet the outstanding playing standard criterion for elevation.
That standard involved securing at least one victory and being highly competitive in another fixture against a top 20 Associate team and Vanuatu fulfilled that requirement by beating Fiji twice in a three-match series in May this year.
By becoming an Associate Member, Vanuatu will qualify for additional funding which will allow it to make a strong sport even stronger within its own constituency.
Despite having a limited land base, Vanuatu has 18 grounds that have been used in competition in the past 12 months and also boasts substantial under-age competition with 113 junior boys and 44 junior girls’ teams.
And last month the Vanuatu Under-19 men’s team beat its Associate equivalents from Fiji and Japan to reach the global qualifying event for next year’s ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup.
The elevation of Vanuatu lifts it to the second tier of ICC membership and it becomes the 35th Associate Member of the game’s global governing body. The ICC also has 10 Full Members and now 59 Affiliates.
ICC President David Morgan said: “I am delighted to welcome Vanuatu to Associate membership of the ICC.
“The hard work of those involved with Vanuatu Cricket has already borne fruit with significant levels of participation at junior level among girls and boys and impressive performances by the senior men’s team, illustrated by its victories over Fiji in May.
“Vanuatu’s elevation to Associate membership will provide it with the opportunity to benefit from increased funding and that will allow it expand its activities and develop the game still further.
“I know that with its ongoing strategic plan, continued development is something Vanuatu Cricket is keen to ensure happens, and I look forward to following the game’s continuing advancement there over the coming years.”
Vanuatu’s application for Associate membership was supported by the EAP’s two ICC Full Members, Australia and New Zealand, and it becomes the fourth Associate Member in the region alongside Fiji, Japan and Papua New Guinea.
Ashes heroes Tom Graveney, Peter May and Ian Chappell inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
Dubai, 9 July 2009
Three Ashes heroes Tom Graveney and Peter May of England and Ian Chappell of Australia were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the tea break of the first Test between England and Australia in Cardiff on Thursday.
Commemorative caps were presented to Graveney, Chappell and May’s widow Virginia by the International Cricket Council (ICC) President David Morgan, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman and ICC director Giles Clarke and former Australia captain and Cricket Australia (CA) director Allan Border in front of a large and appreciative crowd.
Graveney, May and Chappell are part of a group of 22 Englishmen and 13 Australians within the initial intake of 55 players in the Hall of Fame*, a joint venture between the ICC and the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).
In a career spanning 18 years, Graveney played 79 Tests for England, scoring 4,882 runs, including 11 centuries and finished with an average of 44.83.
Graveney played 22 Ashes Tests in which he scored 1,075 runs with one century and six half-centuries. He participated in six Ashes series and was a member of the England sides that won the 1953, 1954-55 and 1956 Ashes.
He is also one of 25 batsmen to have scored a century of centuries. In a 732-match first-class career for Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Queensland, Graveney stroked 122 centuries and 233 half-centuries while scoring 47,793 runs with an average of 44.91.
Reflecting on his induction into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, Graveney said: “My initial reaction was that I must have been the last of the 55 to have been picked.
“It is an enormous honour and I feel very fortunate. When you look at the list it is so special and to see some of the great players that I played with and against on that list makes me especially proud.”
May played 66 Tests for England in a career spanning 10 years, scoring 4,537 runs, including 13 centuries and finished with an average of 46.77. He also captained England in a then-record 41 Tests, winning 20 and losing only 10.
He played in 21 Tests against Australia between 1951 and 1961 in which he scored 1,566 runs, including three centuries, at an average of just over 46.
After finishing his playing career in 1961, May served on the England selection committee from 1965 to 1968 and returned as chairman of selectors from 1982 to 1988.
May was president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1981 and served as an ICC match referee for three Tests and seven ODIs in 1992.
He died at his home in Hampshire on December 27, 1994, four days short of his 65th birthday.
May’s widow, Virginia, received the cap on behalf of her husband. She said: “It’s a great honour and I am very proud to collect the cap on Peter’s behalf. I wish he was here to collect it himself as I know he would also have been very proud.
“It’s a long time since he played for England but it’s nice to know his contribution is still appreciated and to have his name revived, particularly during a high profile Ashes match like this one and alongside a lovely man like Tom Graveney.”
Ian Chappell, whose grandfather Vic Richardson played 19 Tests for Australia from 1924 to 1936 and younger brothers Greg and Trevor also represented Australia at the highest level, appeared in 75 Tests from 1964 to 1980, scoring 5,345 runs, including 14 centuries and finished with an average of 42.42.
Chappell appeared in 30 Ashes Tests in which he scored 2,138 runs, including four centuries and 14 half-centuries, at an average of 41.12. He also captained Australia in a then record 30 Tests, winning 15 and losing five.
The highlight of Chappell’s career was Australia’s 4-1 victory over England in 1974-75 that reclaimed the Ashes. Chappell’s side also retained the Ashes in 1975.
Chappell played in 16 ODIs, 11 as captain, scoring 674 runs at an average of 48. He was the Australia captain in the inaugural World Cup in 1975 where his side lost the final to the West Indies by 17 runs. Chappell was his side’s top scorer with 62.
Commenting on his induction, Chappell said: “One of the reasons I was attracted to play cricket, especially Test cricket, was because my father would take me to the Adelaide Oval to watch many of the greats – Australian players like Miller, Lindwall and Benaud but also some of the England players like Hutton, Compton and Peter May.
“Through my grandfather, who also played Test cricket, I heard stories of the earlier generation like Bill O’Reilly.
“To find yourself in a list that includes such great players is satisfying and humbling. Receiving recognition like this is not why you play the game in the first place – I just hoped one day to play at the Adelaide Oval - but it does make you feel proud.”
The cap presentation ceremony is a key part of the celebrations to mark the ICC’s centenary year as it acknowledges the greats of the game and the contributions they have made to ensure cricket is a great sport with a great spirit.
Other ICC Cricket Hall of Famers to have received their caps so far in 2009 are legendary New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee, ex-Australia wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, 12 former West Indies players or their family members or representatives – batting greats Clive Lloyd, Vivian Richards and Rohan Kanhai, champion all-rounder Garfield Sobers, the three Ws Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell, opener Gordon Greenidge, fast bowlers Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts, and star off-spinner Lance Gibbs – also ex-South Africa batsmen Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock, former Pakistan stalwarts Javed Miandad and Hanif Mohammad and England’s Alec Bedser and Colin Cowdrey.
Further cap presentations will be made during the course of the year and a limited number of new inductees, in addition to the 55 already chosen, will be named at this year’s LG ICC Awards.
*ICC Cricket Hall of Fame – initial inductees (55):
Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, George Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O’Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Woolley, Frank Worrell.
About the ICC centenary year
ICC President David Morgan and Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat officially launched the ICC centenary year in Sydney, Australia on 2 January by announcing the formation of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, in association with FICA.
The ICC’s centenary year of 2009 is a global celebration with events taking place around the world to reflect all that is great about the game.
On the field these events include the ICC Women’s World Cup (won by England), the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (won by Ireland), the ICC World Twenty20 event for men and women (won by Pakistan and England respectively) and the ICC Champions Trophy.
And off the field there will be the opening of the ICC Global Cricket Academy and the inauguration of the ICC’s new headquarters, both of which are in Dubai, and an ICC cricket history conference at St Antony’s College, Oxford in the United Kingdom in July.
The ICC will also be celebrating the contribution of volunteers across the world through the award of 1,000 centenary medals and will announce new developments to its social responsibility partnership on HIV/AIDS.
During the course of 2009, each of the ICC’s 104 Members will be hosting activities inspired by the special spirit of cricket as part of the global Catch the Spirit centenary celebration.
To promote this theme and the launch of the ICC’s centenary year website, www.catchthespirit.com, stars of the international game have named their “Catch the Spirit” moments which best encapsulate the spirit of cricket.
Among those stars that can be seen on the website, Yuvraj Singh of India speaks of his experiences in Pakistan – India matches and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis reflects on his side’s famous chase of 438 to beat Australia in an ODI in Johannesburg.
County Championship Richard Campion reports
Plenty of runs and wickets at The Brit Oval but rain means draw
The Oval London 2009
The match at The Brit Oval ends in a tame draw
A wicket which was still benign on the fourth day ensured that this game was always likely to finish in a draw and this proved to be the outcome. Kent captain Robert Key could have perhaps made an earlier declaration and given his side more time to bowl Kent out but he was handicapped by the abscence of opening bowler Wayne Parnell.
Justin Kemp and James Treadwell continued their partnership for Kent in the
morning and set a new record for a Kent total against Surrey passing the 579 for 8 declared at The Oval in 1935.Kemp was dismissed for 183 and Tredwell for 60 with both falling to excellent catches on the long on boundary by Stuart Walters.Key finally declared on 620 for 7 leaving his side with 72 overs to dismiss Surrey.
James Tredwell continued his good day by dismissing Michael Brown and Mark Ramprakash with the latter having a rare failure falling for 5 to a good catch at short leg by Key. Jonathan Batty was the other player to be dismissed before Mark Butcher and Usman Afzaal then played out time fairly comfortably with the called off at 5 pm with Key having bowled some of his very occasional off
breaks.
Kent are now top and Surrey third in the second division of the LVCC county championship as the competion reaches the half way stage. Surrey meet Essex at Guilford in their next game
whilst Kent visit Glamorgan at the Swalec stadium.
An eventful day of cricket saw the advantage pass from one side to the other and at the close the match was evenly poised with the prospect of more interesting cricket over the next three days. Surrey had much the better of the morning session and only lost their first wicket to the last ball before lunch when Jonathan Batty was caught at slip for 44. He and Michael Brown had put on 105 for the first wicket with both players driving and square cutting most fluently.After lunch Brown reached 55 and was then run out by Wayne Parnell who fielded brilliantly as the batsmen attempted a quick single off his bowling. Butcher fell cheaply but Ramprakash looked as impressive as ever scoring 86 before being caught low down by Martin Van Jaarsveld at first slip. Usman Afzaal was slow at first but then batted well for 46 and Chris Jordan continued his useful contributions in the lower middle order with 28. Chris Schofield finished unbeaten on 34 out of a Surrey total of 342 for 8. Kent are third and Surrey fourth in Division Two of the LVCC county championship with Kent having a game in hand. Both sides are therefore bound to view the result of this game as crucial.
Rain halts progress of Kent opening pair at The Brit Oval
Steady rain prevented any play after tea in the game between Surrey and Kent and halted a fine partnership for the first wicket for the visitors. Robert Key and Joe Denly had looked in complete command of the Surrey attack and must have been disappointed to have their stand interrupted. Surrey resumed on 342 for 8 and soon gained their fourth batting point . After a break for rain and bad light Paul Schofield reached his 50 and then the last two wickets fell quickly and Surrey were all out for 386. Kent skipper Robert Key had used no less than 8 bowlers during the Surrey innings. Key and Denly scored freely from the start with Key's scoring shots unusually including a 5 courtesy of a boundary overthrow from Chris Jordan. Both batsmen reached theirhalf centuries with excellent square drives and the tea interval arrived with Kent on 152 for 0 and Key and Denly on 71 and 79 respectively. There are now two days left in this match and a draw seems the most probable result with a collapse from one side or the other needed to create a positive result on what appears to be a true batting surface.
England selectors name their 13-man squad for 1st npower Test againt Australia.
ECB London July 5th
England today announced a 13-man squad for the 1st npower Ashes Test against Australia at Cardiff starting on Wednesday.
Ian Bell and Graham Onions have been added to the eleven that drew with Warwickshire in a three-day warm-up game at Edgbaston earlier this week.
The full squad is:
Andrew Strauss (capt)Middlesex
James Anderson Lancashire
Ian BellWarwickshire
Ravi BoparaEssex
Stuart BroadNottinghamshire
Paul CollingwoodDurham
Alastair CookEssex
Andrew FlintoffLancashire
Graham OnionsDurham
Monty PanesarNorthamptonshire
Kevin PietersenHampshire
Matt PriorSussex
Graeme SwannNottinghamshire
National Selector, Geoff Miller said: “We were delighted with the way in which the team performed in the warm-up match at Edgbaston and it was very encouraging to see Andrew Flintoff bowl so well on his return to the side.
“We were keen to show consistency in selection and retain the nucleus of the side that performed so well against West Indies in the npower Test series earlier this summer. Graham Onions has made an excellent start to his Test career and gives us a different option when we consider the make-up of our bowling attack and the type of conditions we will encounter.
“Ian Bell has performed well in County cricket this summer and he will act as cover batsman for this Test Match should any of our established batsmen be unavailable through injury.
“There is healthy competition for places in our starting line-up at present and the strong performance by the England Lions against Australia at Worcester demonstrated that we are starting to develop a larger squad of players who can compete effectively with international class players.”
ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 Exciting opening match
Scotland showed its character in thrilling win, says Drummond
Dubai, 5 July 2009
Gordon Drummond celebrated his first match as Scotland captain when he inspired his side to a see-saw 29-run victory over Canada in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 opener with a day to spare at Mannofield Park, Aberdeen on Saturday.
Drummond, who became the third Scottish captain this year after Ryan Watson and Gavin Hamilton, excelled more with the bat than with the ball when he was involved in crucial partnerships in both the innings that turned out to be the decisive factors in the context of a strange match that produced 739 runs with just two half-centuries in less than three days of play at the cost of 39 wickets in 256.2 overs.
Drummond, in association with wicketkeeper Simon Smith, added 83 runs for the ninth wicket to help his side recover from 102-8 to a first innings total of 185. He then put on 69 runs for the eighth wicket with debutant Jan Stander to carry Scotland from 99-7 to 199 in the second innings.
Drummond playing in only his fourth first-class match, showed no signs of his limited experience of the format when he smartly marshaled his troops by making calculated bowling changes and excellent field placing as Canada was bowled out for 142 runs in its first innings to concede a 43-run first innings lead and was then dismissed for 213 while chasing 243 for victory.
While Drummond scored 52 and 34 in the match, the bowling honours for Scotland were shared between fast bowlers Calum MacLeod, who recorded match figures of 32.4-7-102-6, and Stander, who finished with figures of 30-5-91-5 to support his second innings contribution of 64 runs which was the highest score of the match.
“It has been a dream start for me and I am delighted to have contributed to my team’s success in the first match of the tournament. It’s always important to start on a winning note and I am delighted to help my team have achieved it,” said Drummond.
“It was time for me to take more responsibility with the bat and build partnerships so that we could give something to our bowlers to defend. It was all about staying at the crease because we had a long batting line-up and we knew if we managed to hang in there, we would be able to post a respectable score on the board,” said the fast bowler, who also took 2-22 in the first innings.
Reflecting on the conditions, Drummond said: “I think the conditions were good for cricket. And if 39 wickets fell in three days, it was more due to a combination of lack of discipline by the batsmen and quality bowling by the bowlers than terrors on the wicket.
“It was an exciting game and I am proud of my team which showed character, stayed calm and stuck to basics. However, I do believe both the sides were a bit rusty and as all the teams in the tournament are almost of equal strength, it will be down to be how quickly the teams can adapt to the given conditions and deliver winning performances.
“Credit must be given to the Canadian boys who fought all the way. The first match of the tournament has set the trend of what I think will be an exciting and hard-fought event,” said the captain.
Despite losing the close match, Canada captain Umar Bhatti was upbeat and satisfied with his side’s performance. “I think we played reasonably good cricket. Yes, our batting let us down but overall we showed a good account of ourselves,” said the fast bowler who took 2-67 in the match.
“The batting was a bit rusty as we were playing our first four-day match after a long time and the batsmen found it hard to switch from the one-day mode to the longer version. The batsmen tried to play too many strokes when the need of the hour was to occupy the crease and stay in the middle as long as possible.
“Despite our batting failures, I think we can draw a lot of positives out of this match. The fielding was top class as we held everything that came our way except for one catch while the bowling of Khurram Chohan was outstanding.
“As far as I am concerned, Khurram was the player of the match. He was very unlucky to miss out on a 10-wicket haul. He used the new ball very intelligently and severely tested the batsmen all through the match by bowling in the corridor of uncertainty,” Bhatti said.
Chohan, the 29-year-old who has played first-class cricket in Pakistan and has also represented Pakistan at the U/19 level, followed up his 6-37 in the first innings with 3-50 in the second for match figures of 34.4-13-89-9.
Bhatti confirmed it was his team’s batting rather than the conditions that led to the defeat. “I agree that the conditions favoured the bowlers more than the batsmen but that doesn’t mean conditions were difficult for batting.
“I think some of the batsmen showed that runs could have been scored if they had applied themselves, showed a little more caution and selected the right balls to play their strokes.
“When lots of wickets fall in a match like this, a partnership is always waiting to happen. Scotland managed to put together two handy partnerships of 83 runs and 69 runs while our best partnership of the match was 64 (in the second innings). I think if we had managed to produce one more partnership of 50 odd runs, the result of the match might have been different,” said the 25-year-old Bhatti.
Canada and Scotland will now go head to head in a two-ODI series on Tuesday and Wednesday in Aberdeen after which Canada will travel to Rotterdam where it will take on the Netherlands from 15 July while Scotland will play traditional rival and defending champion Ireland from 17 August.
Scores in brief:
At AberdeenScotland 185 (Gordon Drummond 52, Ryan Watson 37, Simon Smith 29 not out, Fraser Watts 21; Khurram Chohan 6-37, Kenry Osinde 2-63) and 199 (Jan Stander 64, Gordon Drummond 34; Rizwan Cheema 3-39, Khurram Chohan 3-50, Shaheed Keshvani 2-20) beatCanada 142 (Rizwan Cheema 24, Khurram Chohan 23 not out; Calum MacLeod 4-66, Jan Stander 3-43, Drummond 2-22) and 213 (Sandeep Jyoti 47, Geoff Barnett 31, Khurram Chohan 28, Ashif Mulla 27, Shaheed Keshvani 34; Moneeb Iqbal 2-31, Calum MacLeod 2-36, Richie Berrington 2-20, Jan Stander 2-48) by 29 runs
Yorkshire's latest teenager Neil Whitaker Interviews
Azeem Rafiq Interview
BARNSLEY Cricket club, the club that produced Darren Gough, Geoffrey Boycott, Dickie Bird, Arnie Sidebottom, Graham Stevenson and Alex Morris has produced another player 18 year old all rounder Azeem Rafiq.
Last year Azeem made the headlines for the wrong reasons when the club fielded him in the Twenty20 competition without realising that he hadn’t been registered to play for them, as a result Yorkshire were thrown out of the competition.Now he is properly r egistered Azeem is making the headlines for all the right reasons.At the beginning of June on his championship debut Azeem took five wickets in the match including a wicket with his fourth ball.Two weeks later he scored his maiden championship century against Worcestershire at Worcester.
Azeem a former England under 18 captain told worldcricketcentre.com: “It was the first century I have ever scored in any type of cricket. Icannot describe how I felt, I just wanted to score a century.I wasn’t that nervous but as I got closer to the hundred I wanted to score a century because nobody remembers a ninety.”
After his early success with Yorkshire his family must think that First Class cricket is easy but Azeem said: “Everybody pleased but they know that there are going to be days when I struggle.”
He added: “It’s been really good here.I have been a good chance and it’s quite an experience to play in the first team. I just I want to thank Martyn and Anthony for giving me the chance.I just want to enjoy the opportunity I’ve been given.Everyone at the club wants to get behind everybody and get the club back to where it belongs.”
On his debut Azeem said: “I felt I had a chance of a game because I have done well for the second team.It was nice to get a chance and to get a wicket in my first over; it doesn’t get much better than that.
My priority at the start of the season was to do well in the second team and see where it took me.I take every game at a time and I just enjoy my cricket and we have to win.”
Scotland v Canada July 2-5 First Match at Aberdeen
ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 underway in July
ICC London, 26 June 2009
The International Cricket Council’s first-class tournament, the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, gets underway next month with many of the heavy-hitters from the competition in action.
The tournament begins in Scotland as the 2005 champion takes on the 2006-07 finalist Canada at Mannofield, Aberdeen from 2 to 5 July. When that match is over Scotland and Canada will play a two-ODI series at the same venue.
Canada will then head to the Netherlands for two ODIs on 11 and 12 July at VRA Amstelveen. Then Canada will face the Dutch in an ICC Intercontinental Cup match at VOC Rotterdam from 15 to 18 July.
Meanwhile, defending champion Ireland will host Kenya from 3 to 6 June at Eglinton in the island’s north-west. There will then be a three-ODI series at Clontarf, Dublin with those matches taking place on 9, 11 and 12 June.
Ireland will travel to Aberdeen to take on Scotland in an Intercontinental Cup (17-20 August) and ODI series (22 and 23 August), continuing a rivalry between the two teams that has flourished since 1888.
“The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception five years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule,” said ICC Global Development Manager Matthew Kennedy.
“This competition has played a crucial role in the leading Associates’ development as team units and in challenging and improving the skills of both established and emerging individual players at these national levels. It has surely contributed significantly to some of their successes in recent years against Full Members in the shorter forms of the game.
“Currently Ireland is top of the pile having won the title on the previous three occasions but I know the other teams will be keen to end that domination and so it won’t be easy for them to retain the trophy.
“The addition of prize money this year is another way in which the ICC Intercontinental Cup is being enhanced and is a sign of our commitment to our Associate and Affiliate Members,” said Mr Kennedy.
There will be a total of US$250,000 in prize money for the Associate and Affiliate teams taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup with US$100,000 for the winners and US$40,000 for the runners-up.
Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event then evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.
This year’s format will include seven teams (Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe XI), while a new competition, the ICC Intercontinental Shield will involve four teams below that, namely Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.
Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08.
Upcoming Associate team fixtures are:
2-5 Jul –Scotland v Canada (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Aberdeen
3-6 Jul – Ireland v Kenya (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Eglinton, Derry
7 Jul – Scotland v Canada (ODI), Aberdeen
8 Jul – Scotland v Canada (ODI), Aberdeen
9 Jul – Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin
11 Jul – Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin
11 Jul – Netherlands v Canada (ODI), VRA Amstelveen
12 Jul – Netherlands v Canada (ODI), VRA Amstelveen
Former champion Scotland faces Canada in ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 curtain-raiser in Aberdeen on Thursday
The International Cricket Council’s first-class tournament, the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, kicks off on Thursday when Scotland hosts Canada at Citylets Mannofield, Aberdeen in a repeat of the 2004 final which the former won by an innings and 84 runs in Sharjah.
In that inaugural final, Scotland opener Gavin Hamilton, who will not play in this year’s Intercontinental Cup, had scored a brilliant 115 in a low-scoring match in which Canada could manage only 110 and 93 in reply to Scotland’s 287-8 declared.
The two sides then met for the second and, until now, only other previous time in the four-day format at Maple-Leaf North East Ground, King City where Scotland again defeated Canada by an innings and 165 runs in the 2007-08 event. Douglas Lockhart stroked a classy 151 that propelled Scotland to 374, setting the stage for Dewald Nel (7-70) and Ross Lyons (7-42) to bowl out the Canadians for 79 and 130.
However, Canada secured an important and satisfying victory over Scotland earlier this April in an ODI in Benoni when it won its crucial ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier game by 148 runs. While Canada went on to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in the Asian subcontinent by finishing second in the 12-team contest, Scotland finished sixth, missing out on a place at the ICC’s flagship event, but retaining its ODI status until 2013 and earning automatic qualification for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10.
Scotland has made eight changes to the side that participated in the ICC World Twenty20 in England last month. Hamilton will only be available this year for Scotland’s ODIs and wicketkeeper Colin Smith has retired at the age of 36 after playing 27 ODIs, eight T20Is and 10 first-class matches.
Others to miss the Aberdeen action are Kyle Coetzer, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Glenn Rogers, Craig Wright and John Blain. They have been replaced in the 12-man squad by wicketkeeper Simon Smith, left-handed batsman Qasim Sheikh, wrist-spinner Moneeb Iqbal and an uncapped 19-year-old all-rounder Ewan Chalmers.
Scotland head coach Peter Steindl, reflecting on his new-look side, said: “With these selections, we are starting to look ahead over the next four years and, broadly speaking, we are seeking to give the younger generation as much experience as we can.
“We believe that some cricketers are more suited to the longer form of the game, while some flourish in the one-day variety. With more and more top-quality youngsters pushing for places in the national squads, those squads may show more differences as time goes on. It’s up to the players to make their case on the field.”
Fast bowler Gordon Drummond, who will be Scotland’s third captain this year after Ryan Watson and Gavin Hamilton, said: “This is an exciting time for Scottish cricket and I am delighted to have been asked to take responsibility for the ICC Intercontinental Cup squad, where we need players who are in for the long haul.
“The matches against Canada and Ireland will certainly be a test to be savoured. The players, I’m sure, will rise to the occasion.”
Drummond said his side was ready to put behind the disappointments of this year and move on. “The ICC Intercontinental Cup is a fresh tournament with a new format but some of our players have been playing for Scotland Lions and switching from Twenty20 mode to four-day cricket mode should not be a problem for them.
“We don’t need to do anything different except stick to basics and show discipline in our performance. We have a talented side and I think we should be able to do that.
“We are in a rebuilding phase and the absence of some key players, including Gavin (Hamilton), Kyle (Coetzer), Colin (Smith) and Dewald (Nel) will provide a good opportunity to the youngster to step in, take the responsibility and show their mettle.”
Drummond, who has played two first-class matches, said his side would be approaching the tournament with a positive approach. “We have not set any long term goals for ourselves. We will take every match as it comes and we would like to win as many matches as possible,” he said.
“I was part of the side that defeated Canada in 2007 and though it was slightly under-strength, we know how they play in the four-day format and what we need to do against them to collect maximum points.
“We want to make a positive and winning start to the tournament. This match will be special for me as well as it will be my first match as captain which is a huge honour. To take over from someone like Gavin Hamilton is an honour and I’ll try to carry on all his good work,” said Drummond.
Canada has made six changes to the side that reached the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in South Africa in April. Zameer Zahir, Trevin Bastiampillai, Shaheeb Keshvani, Abdool Samad and Ashif Mulla have replaced Balaji Dorakanti, Eion Katchay, Ian Billcliff, John Davison and Arvindan Kandappah while Umar Bhatti will lead the side in the absence of Ashish Bagai who is not available due to work commitments.
Canada has played 17 ICC Intercontinental Cup matches out of which it has won five, lost nine and drawn three. Besides being the losing finalist to Scotland in the inaugural event in 2004, it also reached the final of the 2006 tournament where it lost to Ireland by an innings and 115 runs at the Grace Road, Leicester.
The 2007-08 ICC Intercontinental Cup was not a event to remember for Canada as it lost five of the seven matches. Its only victory came against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when it won by an innings and 22 runs while it losses were against the Netherlands (45 runs), Scotland (by an innings and 165 runs), Kenya (nine wickets), Namibia (eight wickets) and Bermuda (106 runs).
The four-day match will be umpired by Brian Jerling and Enamul Hoque-Moni from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires.
Squads (to be selected from):
Scotland: Gordon Drummond (captain), Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts, Jan Stander, Neil McCallum, Simon Smith, Qasim Sheikh, Moneeb Iqbal, Majid Haq, Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Ewan Chalmers.
14 = for an outright win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
7 = for an outright tie
6 = first innings lead (retained irrespective of the outright result)
3each = for a first innings tie
10 each = if a match is abandoned without a ball being bowled
7 each = in a match with more than 10 hours lost due to interruptions, plus any points scored in the first innings
20 = for forfeiting match, plus additional penalty the Events Technical Committee may like to impose
About ICC Intercontinental Cup
The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception five years ago. The ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.
There will be a total of US$250,000 in prize money for the Associate and Affiliate teams taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 with US$100,000 for the winners and US$40,000 for the runners-up.
Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event then evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.
This year’s format will include seven teams (Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe XI), while a new competition, the ICC Intercontinental Shield will involve four teams below that, namely Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.
Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08.
Michael Vaughan announces his retirement from cricket
ECB London June 30th 2009
ECB today announced that the former England captain Michael Vaughan is to retire from all forms of professional cricket with immediate effect. The 34-year-old Yorkshire batsman departs the international scene as England’s most successful Test captain of all time – with 26 wins from his 51 matches in charge.
His achievements also include leading England to their first Ashes victory against Australia for 18 years in 2005; a first Test series win in South Africa for forty years – also in 2005 - and presiding over eight consecutive Test wins in 2004. As a batsman, he scored 18 Test hundreds for England following his debut in 1999 and was ranked the number one batsman in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes Series in Australia in which he made 633 runs including three centuries.
Michael Vaughan said: “After a great deal of consideration, I’ve decided that now is the right time to retire from cricket. It has been an enormous privilege to have played for and captained my country and this is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make. Having played almost non-stop for sixteen seasons, I feel that the time is right for the focus to shift to the next generation. We have some fantastic talent coming through the English counties and, with the next Ashes series upon us, now is the time for the younger players to rise to the challenge of building on the success achieved in English cricket in the last few years.
“I’d like to record my sincere thanks to the England fans and the ECB and the members and supporters of Yorkshire County Cricket Club for their unstinting backing throughout my career as well as my wife Nicola and the rest of my family who have been equally supportive. I’m also extremely grateful to all of the players, managers, coaches, media and administrators I’ve worked with, who have all contributed to making my career so enjoyable and fulfilling.
“I’d also like to wish Andrew Strauss and the current England team success in this Ashes series. I know they have the drive, ambition and abilities to repeat the success from 2005. Winning that series was most definitely the highpoint of my career”. Commenting on his decision, ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: “Everyone associated with cricket in England and Wales will be forever grateful to Michael Vaughan for his immense contribution to the England team’s success. His achievement in leading England to victory against the number one ranked team in the world, Australia in 2005, was arguably the finest by any England captain in the modern era.”
ECB Managing Director, England Cricket, Hugh Morris said: “As an international captain Michael ranks among the very best and the way in which he and Duncan Fletcher forged a team capable of winning six consecutive Test series stands as testament to his ability to inspire and motivate those around him.
“He was also a marvellous ambassador for England cricket off-the-field as well as on it and someone who genuinely appreciated the generous support he received from the thousands of England supporters who follow the team at home and abroad. No-one who saw his magnificent hundreds in Australia in 2002/3 will forget the contribution he made to the team as a batsman either – he will be rightly remembered as a player of the highest class.”
England captain Andrew Strauss said: “I count Michael as a good friend as well as a team-mate and I know what a tough decision this will have been for him as he took so much pleasure and pride in representing his country. I learned a great deal from watching him captain the side for five years at close hand and his ability to identify a new strategy for outwitting the opposition or bring the best out of his own players was a priceless asset. But more than anything we as players will miss the enormous sense of fun and enjoyment that Michael brought to the dressing room. He will be missed by everyone connected with the team and we wish him every success in his future career.”
Yorkshire CCC CEO Stewart Regan said: “Michael Vaughan is a class act and will be remembered by Yorkshire members and supporters around the world for his beautiful stroke play and of course his success in leading England to Ashes glory in 2005. It has been a pleasure and a privilege for me to get to know Michael over the past three years and his presence around the club has been hugely motivational, particularly the younger players. I wish him every success in the future and hope that he continues to take more than a passing interest in the fortunes of Yorkshire CCC. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to personally thank him for his magnificent contribution not only to Yorkshire but to the game of cricket as a whole.”
Twenty20 Cup Neil Whitaker Reports
Yorkshire lost to Debyshire by 37 runs
Yorkshire Carnegie lost their fourth Twenty20 match in a week as they crashed to Derbyshire Phantoms by 37 runs in front of a crowd of 8,000. The result means that Carnegie will be in the second division of the P20 next season.
Put into bat by the Carnegie, the Phantoms made 164 for five in their 20 overs. Wavell Hinds top scored with an unbeaten 49 from 44 balls with two fours and a six. He shared in a 57 run partnership for the fifth wicket in seven overs with Garry Park who made 42.
Phantoms’ skipper Chris Rogers was involved in two run outs on his way to 37. In the first run out he failed to respond to Stuart Law’s call after he pushed to Joe Sayers at mid wicket and was run out for five. Rogers was then run out as he failed to beat Sayers throw threw three overs later.
Hinds and Jamie Pipe who made 14 added 33 in three overs to take the Phantoms 164, the third innings in a row that they have made over 160.
The Phantoms’ innings was held up due to an injury to Carnegie wicket keeper Gerard Brophy who was unable to bat and was replaced behind the stumps by substitute Jonathan Bairstow.
The Carnegie chase got off to a blistering start with Andrew Gale and Jacques Rudolph putting on 42 in five overs before Gale lofted Tim Groenewald to Rogers at mid off for 26. In their powerplay the Carnegie scored 59 for one while the Phantoms scored 51 for the loss of two wickets. Rudolph was beaten in the flight by Jake Needham and was stumped by Pipe for 24. Next ball Adam Lyth drove Needham to cover where Rogers took a great diving catch.
In his next over Needham bowled Sayers for five. That was Needham’s third wicket in four balls without a run scored off him. His next victim was Richard Pyrah who whipped him to Rogers at wide mid on for four. Needham finished with four wickets for 21 in his four overs. Ajmal Shahzad was bowled by Graham Wagg by one that kept low and the Carnegie still needed another 73 runs with four wickets standing. In the next over Carnegie skipper Anthony McGrath blasted Greg Smith but was caught on the boundary by Needham for 29.
Law took the final two Carnegie wickets in the last over as they were dismissed for 127. After the match skipper McGrath said: “Things have to change and very quickly. To put in performances like those in the last week are disappointing. We have got ourselves in positions to win the games but we haven’t got over the line and it’s frustrating.”
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat today praised the behaviour of the players and the positive influence of the match officials during the ICC World Twenty20 2009, which concluded at Lord’s, London yesterday. Throughout the 17-day tournament, which for the first time included a women’s section running in conjunction with the men’s event, there was not a single formal code of conduct issue for any of the players of the 20 teams involved (12 men’s and eight women’s).
“The spirit of this tournament has been one of the great aspects of it,” said Mr Lorgat. “We talk a lot about the spirit of cricket and what it means to our sport but ultimately it is down to the players to conduct themselves in the best manner and I have been very impressed with their contributions in that regard.Sometimes when the heat is on and a tense battle is unfolding, there is a tendency for players to lose their cool but that just didn’t happen this time. It is great for the image of the game and how it is perceived by the wider public that this unique spirit is maintained,” he said.
Mr Lorgat also paid tribute to the role of the match officials in helping to foster this atmosphere of friendly rivalry.“I thought our umpires and match referees collectively had a great tournament. They can be very proud. The quality of decision-making was very high but also there are plenty of aspects of an umpire’s or referee’s job that are not so visible. How they interact with players on and off the field can affect how the game is played and I think our match officials generally have a good rapport with players. There is a genuine sense of mutual respect and, perhaps more importantly, a universal respect for the game.
“So I want to thank the players and the officials for their part in making the event such a great success. I also want to thank the England and Wales Cricket Board, particularly the tournament director Steve Elworthy, the four wonderful venues, the volunteers, our commercial partners and broadcasters, members of the media and the ICC staff for their vital contributions.”
President declares ICC World Twenty20 2009 “an overwhelming success”
Those crowds were treated to some fantastic cricket played with passion and skill in both the men’s and women’s sections
Looking forward to the ICC Champions Trophy later this year
ICC President David Morgan today hailed the ICC World Twenty20 2009 that has just concluded in England as “an overwhelming success” and has praised the efforts of the large number of people who made it possible. Speaking on the day after England’s women had defeated New Zealand and Pakistan had beaten Sri Lanka in front of a packed crowd at Lord’s, Mr Morgan said he felt proud that the world of cricket had come together to stage such a closely fought and top-quality event.
“For any event such as this to be successful it relies on the hard work of literally thousands of people but ultimately it will be judged by the quality of cricket that is presented to us by the players,” said Mr Morgan. And I think it’s fair to say that in that regard, we have been royally treated over the past 17 days or so in England. The players brought this tournament alive with their innovation, passion, talent and commitment. They entertained us, thrilled us and occasionally even challenged our view of the game itself as they introduced new and wonderful feats of skill and athleticism that I for one had previously scarcely thought possible.
“In that light I would like congratulate the men’s and women’s players of the tournament Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka and Claire Taylor of England for the major contribution they, in particular, have made to the tournament, which I consider to be an overwhelming success. Congratulations are also due to Pakistan and England as the two winners – it was a great performance by Younus Khan, Charlotte Edwards and their respective teams.
“The spirit in which the games were played was magnificent with no instances of players overstepping the mark of what is deemed acceptable behaviour in our great game. Ticket sales were very encouraging, reflecting the enduring popularity of cricket despite the global economic situation. There was a 96 per cent take-up of tickets for this event and certainly the atmosphere created by those large crowds formed part of why it was so successful.
“One of the most encouraging things about this tournament was the link between the men’s and women’s games. The increase in profile the women’s game received from television exposure and the fact the men’s and women’s semi-finals and finals were played as double-headers was a great boost for the women’s game and I believe will do wonders for growth in that area. I am glad to say the next ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies will continue that exciting policy.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board has been a great partner for the ICC in putting on this event. From the very start of this process it was clear that we were dealing with a committed group of people – led by our excellent tournament director Steve Elworthy – who were determined to put on the best possible event and they were clearly successful.
“I also want to thank the dedicated staff and management at the ICC who have been working hard on this event for a long time.
“On finals day at Lord’s, it was pleasing to see the parade of many of the thousands of volunteers who took part in the event. Some of these volunteers traveled great distances – even from as far away as Canada and India – to offer their services free of charge to the game. Their contribution was vital to the tournament’s success and it was fitting that their lap of honour was met with a standing ovation around that famous cricketing arena.
“Speaking of Lord’s, I want to congratulate the MCC and the other three venues at Taunton, Trent Bridge and the Oval for preparing what were excellent cricket pitches and pristine outfields which allowed the players to perform to their best out in the middle. Even when the rains came – and thankfully it was not too often – the grounds were able to cope with that and the players and spectators never had to wait very long after the clouds lifted before the action resumed.
Mr Morgan said the ICC World Twenty20 2009 had whetted the appetite for the next big ICC event on the horizon, namely the ICC Champions Trophy, which will take place in South Africa during September/October.
“We know from experience that South Africa is a great place to hold cricket events and I’m really looking forward to this elite event. Like the ICC World Twenty20, the Champions Trophy will be a short, sharp event that should capture the imagination of the cricketing public around the world.”
England Women honoured at Parliamentary reception
ECB London June 23 2009
England Women, who won ICC World Twenty20 at Lord's on Sunday, have been congratulated by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown on their historic victory.The Prime Minister congratulated the team on adding the ICC World Twenty20 trophy to the ICC Women's World Cup they won in March in Australia. The England team beat New Zealand by six wickets. The Prime Minister said the team will go down in history as England’s best ever, noting that as well as the two ICC global trophies they also hold the Ashes.
“I want to send my congratulations to captain Charlotte Edwards and the whole England Women’s cricket team for a famous victory in the ICC World Twenty20 final at Lords, I know that the whole country will want to join me in recognising and celebrating a remarkable achievement.”
Ben Bradshaw MP, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, told a Terrace reception held in the team's honour: “This is a terrific achievement for Charlotte Edwards and the team and they deserve huge praise for adding another trophy after their 50-over success in Australia in the spring. How many other teams can claim to have won two world cups in the space of three months?
"On home soil, this should be a big boost for the women’s game and women’s sport as a whole. We share the ECB’s determination to build on this to get more women and girls playing cricket.”
David Cameron, Leader of the Opposition, added in a statement: “I’d like to congratulate Charlotte Edwards and the rest of the England women’s cricket team on their tremendous victory in the Women’s World Twenty20 competition. Their success in this competition, ending in an emphatic win at Lord’s on Sunday, is well-deserved and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all those involved.
"Along with their triumph earlier this year in the Women’s World Cup, this victory shows that women’s English cricket is going from strength to strength and I am confident they can stay at the top of the world game for a long time to come.”
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe was also on the guest list for Tuesday night's House of Commons Terrace reception, which not only recognised the success of the England women’s team but also the England men’s blind team who won their Ashes tournament and the ECB's successful hosting of ICC World Twenty20.
ECB's Head of Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, said: "Today’s reception demonstrates the tremendous backing the women’s game has from politicians of all parties. The Minister for Sport attended our opening match in Taunton and we received many messages of support throughout the tournament.
"Today’s reception is a chance for the team to include our political friends in our celebrations and to discuss with them the further partnerships we need to build to continue to develop women’s sport. The messages from the Prime Minister and David Cameron demonstrate how this team have caught the nation’s attention and established themselves as the team of 2009.”
ECB chief executive David Collier added: "The last three months are the culmination of years of investment and hard work. In 2005 we embarked on an ambitious strategic plan called Building Partnerships which set the target of being in the top two in the world or reaching the final of a global event. They have surpassed that target and now have become the first team in history to hold the ICC World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 at the same time - and if that isn't enough they have also won their last two Ashes series as well. Today is the perfect opportunity for the members of Parliament to honour the women's team at a Terrace reception, and then in early July they will be feted at 10 Downing Street by the Prime Minister. It is no more than they deserve. The nation should be very proud of this team.”
Black Sheep Yorkshire Champion of Champions Neil Whitaker Reports
Elland crush Cullingworth by 238 runs
Elland beat Cullingworth by 238 runs to progress to the next round.Batting first Elland scored 358 for seven in their allotted overs R Whiteoak top scored with an unbeaten 107, R Fletcher made 60, L Baxter scored 57 and S Scott made 55.For Cullingworth G Marshall took three wickets for 50.In reply Cullingworth were dismissed for 125.P Poole was unbeaten 75 against the bowling of C Fletcher who took six wickets for 28 and he was supported by D Rhodes who took three wickets for 23.
The draw for the Quarter Finals is
Woodhouse Grange v. Birstall
Honley v. Elland
Woodlands v. Kirkstall Education
Girlington v. York
Matches should be played on or before 12th July
LV County Championship 2009 Neil Whitaker Reports
Somerset beat Yorkshire by 4 wickets
Somerset beat Yorkshire by four wickets for their first LV County Championship victory of the season. Guiding them home was Zander De Bruyn who hit an unbeaten 70 from 101 balls with five fours and a huge six off left arm spinner David Wainwright through long on, on to the balcony of the old pavilion.
Set 296 to win Somerset started the last day needing another 208 to win from 96 overs, with Marcus Trescothick on 58 and Justin Langer unbeaten on 10. It took the Tykes 65 minutes to get a breakthrough when Trescothick gloved Wainwright to Jonathan Bairstow (substituting for Gerard Brophy behind the stumps) for 78. Trescothick and Langer added 95 in 38 overs.
Two overs later Langer was dropped at mid on when he skied Wainwright to Ajmal Shahzad. Their next wicket fell three balls later when James Hildreth drove Wainwright to Jacques Rudolph at mid on for five. Wainwright’s two wickets came in five balls. On 14, De Bruyn edged Rana Neved through slips and Joe Sayers failed to hold on to the low chance and the ball raced away for a boundary. The pace of Rana proved too much for Langer and he was caught behind by Bairstow for 46.
Just before lunchtime Craig Kieswetter survived an appeal for leg before and set off for a quick single, Rana followed through and threw at the stumps from four yards and missed. At lunchtime Somerset had moved on to 189 for four. Kieswetter and De Bruyn settled the visitor’s nerves with a stand of 42 but the partnership was broken when Kieswetter flashed at Tim Bresnan and was caught behind by Bairstow at the second attempt for 25. They still needed 75 to win.
After hitting two consecutive fours off Shahzad, Peter Trego flashed at him and was caught behind for 23 for 41 balls in 45 minutes and included three fours and a six. His partnership with De Bruyn added 53 for the sixth wicket. Yorkshire took a lead of 47 into their second innings but were soon struggling at 47 for four then 133 for seven. They gave Somerset a reasonable target to chase thanks to 82 from Bairstow making his championship debut.
The result means that Yorkshire are still seeking their first championship victory since they beat Somerset at Taunton at the beginning of June 2008.
Yorkshire are still seeking their first win of the season in the LV County Championship after this draw with Sussex. Only 32 overs were possible on the first day due to rain and bad light, but in that time Yorkshire two wickets including Michael Vaughan for a duck. On the second day they lost skipper Anthony McGrath in the third over of the day without adding to their overnight score. Next to go was Andrew Gale who dragged the ball to Robin Martin-Jenkins at mid on for 11. After deciding to bat the Tykes were struggling at 75 for four.
Opener Joe Sayers’ three hour vigil for 29 from 134 balls ended when he was bowled round his legs by Martin-Jenkins. Tim Bresnan nicked Martin-Jenkins and was caught behind by Andrew Hood for seven. Just before lunch Rana Naved was trapped leg before to Martin-Jenkins for one.
In the 32 overs bowled before lunch on the second day the Tykes has scored just 54 runs and lost five wicket.
Gerard Brophy and David Wainwright looked in control in the afternoon session and in the first hour the pair scored at a run a minute. Brophy brought up his fifty with a straight four. His fifty came from 92 balls in 131 minutes and included six fours. The partnership was broken when Wainwright hooked Corey Collymore to Martin-Jenkins for 36. They had added 96 in 27 overs.
Azeem Rafiq became Ollie Rayner’s fourth victim at first slip off Dwayne Smith for13. Deon Kruis lasted two balls and the Yorkshire innings finished on 225. Brophy was unbeaten on 75. Martin-Jenkins took four wickets for 68 and Collymore took three for 38.
Yorkshire needed to get early wickets to get back into the match and they got a wicket in the fourth over of the Sussex innings when Kruis got opener and Sussex captain Mike Yardy lbw for eight. His fellow opener Mike Thornely batted for 56 balls before he suffered the same fate from Rana again for eight. McGrath brought himself on and Murrary Goodwin flashed at his fourth ball and Sayers took a spectacular catch above his head at first slip for a duck.
On the third day Sussex only added 11 to their overnight score when Matt Prior, playing in this match just as a batsman, flashed at Kruis and Sayers took a catch at waist height at first slip for 20. Three overs later Hood was leg before to Bresnan and the visitors now had half their side out for 90. Smith was the next to go two overs later when he tried to pull a long hop from Bresnan and top edged it and Kruis took the catch at mid on.
Debutant Rafiq took the next wicket with his fifth ball in first class cricket. Martin-Jenkins played back to one that didn’t get up and was bowled for 33. With Ed Joyce they had put on 56 for the seventh wicket in 15 overs. In Rafiq’s third over, Rayner pushed forward and was caught at short leg by Gale for four. Rafiq took his third wicket when he got one to turn back into Collymore and took a sharp catch to dismiss him for 11.
Jason Lewry hung about long enough for Joyce to score his 20th first class century, then he got bowled by a slow ball from Rana for 11 and Sussex were all out for 217, eight runs behind the Tykes. For Yorkshire Rafiq took three wickets for 34 in 11 overs. Rafiq said: “It was a great opportunity given to me by Mags (Anthony McGrath) and Martyn (Moxon) to give me a game. I felt I had a chance of a game because I have done well for the second team. It was nice to get a chance and to get a wicket in my first over; it doesn’t get much better than that.
I went out just to enjoy myself because I had nothing to lose at 18 to play my first championship game. I enjoyed it and did what I have done for the second team. I didn’t mind getting hit but the wicket calmed me down. It’s hard to get in the York shire team and I was prepared when I got the opportunity and to do as well as I could.”
In their second innings Yorkshire made a slow and steady start. Jacques Rudolph soon dominated the opening partner ship with Sayers. His fifty came off 78 balls in 80 minutes. Sussex broke the partnership when Collymore trapped Sayers leg before for 15 which came from 61 balls.
Vaughan hit two sixes in three balls off Lewry into the West Stand. On 27, Vaughan gave a sharp return catch to Rayner but the bowler couldn’t hold on to it. With Rudolph they put on 83 in 17 overs. Vaughan cut Smith to a sprawling Prior at backward point for 39 off 55 balls.
On the final morning Rudolph only added another three before his out for 89. McGrath and Gale put on 61 as they set the visitors a target. Yorkshire scored 120 in 23 overs before declaring on 272 for eight, leaving Sussex to get 281 to win in 71 overs. Yorkshire came across a stubborn Yardy who dominated the Sussex innings of 110. Yorkshire had a chance of victory when they took six wickets for 49 runs but the visitors settled for a draw 23 runs short of victory but with only two wickets standing.
For the Tykes Wainwright took three wickets for 46 in 10 overs, Rana took two for 45 and Rafiq picked up another two wickets. Both teams took eight points from the game.
Deutrom questions value of £200 million Associate member programme
Irish cricket chief blasts ICC for lack of pathway to progress
The Wisden Cricketer London, 3 June 2009
On the eve of the ICC World Twenty20 the chief executive of Cricket Ireland has delivered a withering attack on the world governing body by questioning the value and purpose of international cricket below Test level.
Interviewed in the July issue of The Wisden C ricketer magazine, Warren Deutrom, a former ECB and ICC executive, complains that there is no path for Ireland to progress beyond Associate standard cricket.
“What is the point of Associate cricket?” asks Deutrom. “Ireland has proved itself head and shoulders above the rest of the Associate nations, winning all the available titles in every form of the game – four-day, 50-over and Twenty20. Yet we are bumping up against a glass ceiling. What does the ICC want us to do? How do we get from high-performance programme to the higher echelons of the world game? There is no road map for us. The issue brings to question the whole mission statement of the ICC High Performance programme: what is it preparing teams for?”
Deutrom adds that there is little prospect of Ireland joining the ‘cosy club of full Test members’ in the foreseeable future, adding to the frustration of their limited prospects for advancement.
“The Future Tours programme for 2012 onwards is currently under discussion but there is little discussion about accommodating any more Full Members. So three or four years from now there will be no new entrants in to the cosy club of full Test members. That is a significant frustration. It shows that despite the massive investment in the Associate programme, costing over £200 million over seven years, there is no stepping stone from No.1 of the Associate countries, into the Test world,” argues Deutrom.
“Inclusion in the Future Tours programme gives guaranteed fixtures, which allows the CI board to put together a commercial package with some certainty. This makes it interesting for broadcasters, and then sponsors, ticketing and hospitality. Currently, we don’t know what next year’s fixtures are going to be. We are not saying that Ireland deserves to be a Test nation tomorrow but what steps do we need to take to get there?” he asks.
Ireland’s chief executive also questions the value of another ICC Development initiative. “What is the point”, he says, “of the Intercontinental Cup?” (the four-day, eight-team, round-robin competition). There is no prize money, no competitive incentive at the end of it, such as the chance to play a Test match or a multi-day match against a full member. We win a tin cup but nothing else.
“We have won it three years on the trot and it costs an extraordinary amount of money. But in terms of financial priority, it is difficult to argue that four-day cricket is high up there with qualifying for 50-over and 20-over World Cups by paying to host ODIs. If we thought it was leading somewhere I’m sure we would want to invest in it further,” adds Deutrom.
The July issue of The Wisden Cricketer, the world’s best-selling cricket monthly, is on sale at leading outlets from Thursday 4 June and includes a 21-page preview of the ICC World Twenty20. Visit www.thewisdencricketer.com for more details.
Yorkshire Carnegie got their Twenty20 campaign off to a winning start by beating the Leicestershire Foxes by three wickets with one ball left.
Chasing 149 to win got their innings off to a flying start with a partnership of 58 in seven overs from skipper Anthony McGrath and Andrew Gale. McGrath survived a run out on 13 when Gale pushed Simon Cliff to James Allenby at point and his throw hit the stumps direct but umpire Neil Mallender ruled in McGrath’s favour. The pair raced to 55 in six overs hitting 15 off Claude Henderson’s first over. With McGrath hitting 10 from two balls. In the next over McGrath tried to hit Allenby for a six through cover but holed out to Wayne White on the boundary for 35. In the next over Gale was back in the hutch for 27 caught by Allenby at backward point off Henderson.
Michael Vaughan was dropped on 19 by HD Ackerman at short fine leg off Alex Roberts. With Jacques Rudolph they added 46 for the third wicket before the partnership was broken by a spectacular catch by James Taylor diving at the long on boundary for 15. In the next over Taylor trapped Adam Lyth leg before for three, without adding to score Vaughan was leg before to Jigar Naik for 35. Four balls later Richard Pyrah was out for a duck. Next to go was Rana caught behind by Paul Nixon for nine and the Carnegie had lost five wickets for 25 runs.
With two over left the Carnegie needed 22 with three wickets left. From the 19th over they scored 16 thanks to big hitting from Ajmal Shahzad and Simon Guy. With six balls left they needed a run a ball. Guy slashed the second ball for a four through the vacant slip area. Off the fourth ball they got a single and from the fifth ball Shahzad managed to get the winning single.
The Foxes elected to bat after winning the toss the Foxes made 148 for three in their 20 overs with HD Ackerman top scoring with an unbeaten 66. Ackerman’s fifty came 44 balls with two fours and two sixes. They lost their first wicket in the fourth over when Allenby tried to smash Rana for six but was caught on the mid wicket boundary by David Wainwright for 10.
Taylor swept Pryrah over stumper’s Guy head for a four. At the halfway stage the Foxes were 63 for one. In the 14th the Foxes lost their second wicket when Taylor swept McGrath to square leg where Deon Kruis took a spectacular catch with his out stretched right hand for 31. With five overs remaining the Foxes were 102 for two. After hitting Rana for a six, Nixon yorked himself and was bowled for 31 after putting on 53 in five overs with Ackerman.
The Carneigie were boosted before the match when they received written confirmation that Rana had been released from his ICL contract.
Friends Provident Trophy Quarter Finals
ECB Lord's London May 20th
Following the conclusion of the group stages in this year's Friends Provident Trophy the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is delighted to confirm the quarter-finals which will take place on Saturday May 23. Reserve day is Sunday May 24. Hampshire Hawks topped Group A and thus secured the home draw in their tie against Middlesex Panthers. A tie for Kent Spitfires on Duckworth/Lewis in their match against Warwickshire Bears secured second-place for the Panthers in Group B as they won more games than Warwickshire Bears.
Somerset Sabres finished top of Group B to earn themselves a home draw against Sussex Sharks.
In Group C Gloucestershire Gladiators secured the top spot and a decision will be made as to the arrangements for their quarter-final against Nottinghamshire Outlaws tomorrow. The international match at Bristol on Sunday precludes the Gladiators from playing their quarter final there on Saturday. The Outlaws clinched second place in Group A after Worcestershire Royals were surprisingly beaten by Ireland in the final stage of the tournament.
Lancashire Lightning finished atop of the final group and so take home advantage as they play the current holders Essex Eagles on Saturday. The Eagles sealed second place in Group D after Glamorgan Dragons beat Derbyshire Phantoms to put the latter out of contention. The match will be a replay of the group stage matches which Essex Eagles won.
Fixtures:
Home Side Away side Venue
Gloucestershire Gladiators v Nottinghamshire Outlaws tbc
Hampshire Hawks v Middlesex Panthers The Rose Bowl
Lancashire Lightning v Essex Eagles Old Trafford
Somerset Sabres v Sussex Sharks Taunton
The ECB will confirm the arrangements for the quarter-final between Gloucestershire Gladiators and Nottinghamshire Outlaws tomorrow via press release. The Sky Sports televised fixture will also be announced tomorrow.
Friends Provident Trophy Richard Campion reports
Middlesex win thriller against
Middlesex won this Friend's Provident Trophy match by 4 wickets with just 3 balls to spare having looked unlikely to reach a victory target of 277. A splendid unbroken stand of 57 for the 7th wicket between Neil Dexter and Ben Scott clinched the win.
Warwickshire raced away at the start of their innings with Neil Carter scoring 68 off 44 balls in a first wicket stand of 88 with Jonathan Trott who held the innings together only finally falling to the last ball from Middlesex when he was caught for 120. When Middlesex batted Phil Hughes continued his remarkable form with 57 in his last innings before returning to Australia. Owais Shah stuck 63 before being caught at deep long off and this looked a fatal blow for his side. However Scott and Dexter had other ideas and a combination of bold stroke play and good running saw their side home.
Middlesex have now completed their group matches and must await the outcome of other games before they know if they have a place in the quarter finals.
ECB rule on Middx's protest over umpires' mistake
On-field umpires Peter Willey and Michael Gough yesterday acknowledged that they mis-calculated the number of powerplay overs available to Somerset in the above fixture on May 17,2009.
However, after consideration and following an approach from Middlesex CCC, the England and Wales Cricket Board have decided to uphold the precedent that umpire errors cannot form the basis to declare a match null and void .
ECB has great sympathy for the position in which Middlesex CCC has been placed but a replay cannot be ordered in these circumstances.
Black Sheep Yorkshire Champions of Champions Trophy Heil Whitaker reports
Black Sheep First Round Results
HONLEY and Woodhouse Grange are the latest teams through to the next round of the Black Sheep Champion of Champions trophy.
Honley beat North Ferriby by four wickets. Batting first North Ferriby were dismissed for 152 and Honley knocked of the runs for the loss of six wickets.
Woodhouse Grange beat Cawthorne by 86 runs.Woodhouse Grange scored 194 all out while Cawthorne were dismissed for 108.
In the first round of this year's Black Sheep Yorkshire Champions of Champions trophy, York beat Streethouse by 57 runs. York scored 305-3 in their allotted overs while Streethouse could only muster 248-8.
Yorkshire Carnegie bounced back after losing three Friends Provident Trophy matches in a row to beat Durham Dynamos by two wickets with four balls left.
Seeing the Carnegie home in a thrilling finish were Richard Pyrah and David Wainwright with a stand of 37 in six overs.Pyrah, who hit the winning boundary, was unbeaten on 42 to go with his three wickets winning the player of the match award and Wainwright was 13 not out.
With two overs remaining they needed 13 with two wickets left and from the last over they needed six, they got them in two balls with a couple and then a boundary.
Chasing 167 to win, Jacques Rudolph was caught behind by Phil Mustard off Liam Plunkett first ball for a golden duck.Carnegie skipper Anthony McGrath chopped on to Luke Evans for 15 after being dropped on eight.The Dynamos thought they had got a third wicket when Joe Sayers on 17 cut Luke Evans to Gareth Breeze at point but as his elbowhit the ground the ball bounced out of his hand.
The Dynamos’ spinners Breeze and Ian Blackwell put a squeeze on the Carnegie and Breeze bowled seven overs for just nine runs but his last three overs cost him 12 runs.His only wicket came when Adil Rashid became frustrated at not been able to push the score on danced down the wicket and was stumped for three.
Sayers tried to sweep Blackwell and was bowled for 51. His fifty came from 106 balls with four fours.Two overs later Rana Naved stepped back and was bowled by Blackwell for one.Blackwell finished with three for 26 in his ten overs.Deon Kruis tried to hit the Carnegie out of trouble but he pulled Plunkett to Breeze at mid wicket for seven.In the next over Simon Guy was bowled by Will Smith for a duck when the ball rebounded off his arm.
The Dynamos batted first after winning the toss and were soon in trouble, losing their first wicket in the eighth over.Four overs later skipper Smith became the first of Pyrah’s three victims when he was caught behind by Guy for three.
In the 20th over Pyrah got rid of Mustard for 20 caught at mid wicket by Wainwright and four balls later had Dale Benkenstein caught in the slips by Rudolph for a duck. Blackwell danced down the wicket to Rashid, was beaten and Guy easily stumped him for 13. The Dynamos were now 70 for five.
After hitting a huge six of Wainwright though long on, the spinner had his revenge the next ball when he trapped Gordon Muchall leg before for 31.After putting 28 for the seventh wicket Breeze was leg before to a ball that kept low from Rashid for 17.
Plunkett was run out in the first over of the Dynamos batting power play for 20.Will Gidman and former Carnegie player Mitch Claydon put on 35 to take the Dynamos to 166 all out.
Alec Stewart helps Newdigate Cricket Club to Victory
For local team Newdigate, the cricket season was in full swing on Sunday 3rd May, as they won their first prize of the year, a Scrumpy Jack & nPower Masterclass with England legend Alec Stewart OBE. With a little help from the 200+ supporters, Newdigate were victorious, scoring 250 runs in the 40 overs. The visitors, Wraysbury CC, clocked 211 runs before they were all bowled out in the 37th over.
The bank holiday weekend weather was glorious with the Scrumpy Jack & nPower Masterclass taking place at 1pm at the Newdigate CC pitch at The Brocus, Newdigate with the Match commencing at 2pm.
The competition had been open to all the teams that entered the nPower Village Cricket Cup and Newdigate’s successful entry made their opening game of the competition, against Wraysbury CC, on Sunday even more exciting.
Alec Stewart OBE, was there to warm up the Newdigate team and provide tips and advice taken from his illustrious career at the pinnacle of English cricket. Stewart remains the most test capped English cricketer of all time with 133 international Test caps.
Making the day even more special was Stewart’s passion for cricket and in particular for Surrey Cricket, as he remains an Ambassador for the County.
Alec Stewart OBE, commented; “It has been a wonderful day. I was delighted to be invited to play a small part in preparing the Newdigate team for their opening game. It’s always nice to be able to pass on some of the knowledge that I gained throughout my cricketing career, especially as the winners of The Scrumpy Jack & nPower Masterclass are a Surrey team. Not that I am biased of course! It’s great that Scrumpy Jack & nPower are supporting the grassroots of the game and in doing so are helping English cricket.”
As winners of the Scrumpy Jack & nPower Masterclass, Newdigate CC used the day to start fundraising to replace the ageing clubhouse with a new pavilion. On the day over £1,000 was raised for this much-needed project.
The day always promised to be an exiting family event for all those who attended and the nPower Village Cricket Cup girls were on hand to cheer on Newdigate, plus a BBQ and Scrumpy Jack bar satisfied any refreshment needed during the day!
John Edwards, Marketing Director, Jygsaw Brands who manage Scrumpy Jack commented; “The day was fantastic, and we were delighted that our first Scrumpy & nPower Jack Masterclass had been won by Newdigate and we hope that with our support, they are closer to reaching their target for a new clubhouse.”
The npower Village Cup was established in 1972 and is organised and run by The Wisden Cricketer, the UK’s biggest cricket magazine. The npower Village Cup champions the grassroots of the game and to give village teams the chance to compete in the annual final at, the “home of cricket”, Lord’s.
Morgan and Napier named for first time Foster and Key recalled by England
ECB names 20/20 World Cup Squads
ECB Lord's London May 2009
Essex wicketkeeper James Foster and Kent captain Rob Key have been named in the England 15 to play in the ICC World Twenty20 while England's women have chosen the same 14 strong squad which won the ICC Women's World Cup in Australia in March.
The England's Men’s Team will be led by Paul Collingwood, who captained the side in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September 2007. Charlotte Edwards captains the Women's Team.
Rob Key, 29, last played for England in 2005 while you have to go back to Melbourne in 2002 to find the last time that James Foster, 29, was involved in an England team.
There is a first full international call-up for Foster's Essex team mate Graham Napier. Previously the closest Napier, 29, came to an England selection was when he was named in the 30 man squad for the 2004 Champions' Trophy.
Eoin Morgan, the young Middlesex left-hander, has also been called up to the 15 man party after declaring his desire to represent England in the future. Andrew Flintoff is included in the squad but the selectors will continue to monitor his rehabilitation following recent knee surgery. National selector Geoff Miller said: 'We have picked Andrew but we will keep in constant touch with him and the medical team during his rehabilitation. He is passionate about playing in this event but he will only play in the ICC World Twenty20 if he is fully recovered. He will be doing all he can to get fit but he will not be risked if there is any doubt about his fitness.'
Paul Collingwood said: 'I am really excited about captaining this squad for the ICC World Twenty20 especially as it will be infront of our own fans here in England. At the end of the recent Caribbean tour it was well known that I wanted some time to think it over but now I am looking forward to the tournament. We have a talented squad with some new faces and there is the added incentive for everyone of a Lord's final.'
Charlotte Edwards, the England women's captain, added; 'This tournament gives a real chance for women's cricket to attract millions of new followers and players across the world. We enjoyed our World Cup success but now everyone is firmly focussed on this event and the prospect of appearing on the same stage as the men at the semi final and , hopefully, final stage.'
The men's event will be played at Lord's starting on June 5 with England taking on Netherlands, The Oval and Trent Bridge with the women's group stages at Taunton before they move to Trent Bridge and The Oval for the semi finals and then Lord's for the June 21 final.
Tickets are available from www.icc.cricket.com or 0844 847 2020
England squad
P Collingwood (capt) J Anderson R Bopara S Broad A Flintoff J Foster R Key D Mascarenhas E Morgan G Napier K Pietersen O Shah R Sidebottom G Swann L Wright
England Women's squad
C Edwards (capt) C Atkins K Brunt H Colvin I Guha J Gunn L Greenway B Morgan N Shaw A Shrubsole L Marsh E-J Rainford-Brent C Taylor S Taylor
Collingwood says players could opt for T20 rather than ‘mental torture’ of the Ashes
The Wisden Cricketer London, 5 May 2009
England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood believes that future generations of players could choose to play T20 cricket rather than go through the 'mental torture' of an Ashes series.
In a major feature interview in the June issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Collingwood says: "My generation saw Test cricket and playing in the Ashes as the ultimate. That was my dream. I gave up the one-day captaincy because it was affecting my Test game and I wanted to keep my Test place. Maybe in the future today’s young players will prioritise one-day and Twenty20. We have to be careful. If you can get 10 times the money for playing a few weeks of Twenty20 than for months of mental torture in the Ashes, then I’m afraid to say some people would take the first option."
"We have to make sure the pay and bonuses for Test cricket and Twenty20 are closer, otherwise players will concentrate on Twenty20 from an early age," he stresses. "If that’s the way we want to go as a world sport, then fine, keep it as it is. If Test cricket is the ultimate, then we are going to have to do something about remuneration.
"A select few get mega-deals through Test cricket. If you do well, things come along but, playing in the IPL, your profile shoots up. To me the IPL is a bonus and I really hope young players coming into the game will think the same way."
Collingwood also believes there needs to be more financial incentive for county players to seek England contracts. “At the moment some county cricketers have basic salaries not far off England contracts. Plenty of county players now earn more than 100,000 bucks and that’s for six months. Our contracts (England players) are for a year. I’m not having a go, because we do fantastically well, but shouldn’t the gap be a lot further apart so there is a real incentive to get one of those England contracts?"
Money aside, he praises the 'enormous skill levels' needed to succeed in T20. “I thought Twenty20 had something right away. People picked up on the crowds because they were obvious – they were there, you could see them. Now they are starting to appreciate the enorm ous skill levels. Test cricket is about the mental side. As a batsman you apply yourself to make a barrier in front of the wicket. I seriously think 20 overs is more skill-based. It’s a fantastic game with immense pressure. You couldn’t keep up that intensity for a whole day,” he tells the magazine.
The June issue of The Wisden Cricketer, the world’s best-selling cricket monthly, is on sale at leading outlets from Friday 8 May. Visit www.thewisdencricketer.com for more details.
Willey welcomes ECB move to raise the finger on light meters
The Wisden Cricketer London May 6th
Former Test umpire Peter Willey has welcomed the ECB’s decision to call time on the use of light meters in most county cricket.
Speaking in his role as chairman of the first-class umpires’ association, Willey tells the June issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine that the move is a step in the right direction.
“It has been decided that we go back to the way it was before meters, that the umpires decide if it is unfit, unsuitable or unsafe to continue playing, and I think it stops all the argument,” he says.
“We were just relying on numbers instead of common sense and experience. Now we just say we [the umpires] don’t feel it’s fit and I feel the majority of the umpires are comfortable and happy with that.”
Explaining the move, ECB umpires’ manager Chris Kelly says: “The use of light meters is superfluous now following the changes to the bad light playing condition. Light meters will only tell an umpire if the light has got worse or better, it won’t tell them whether it is safe or unsafe to play on. That is now for them alone to decide using their experience and judgement. It’s all about safety for players and officials.”
Light meters will, however, continue to be used in international fixtures and matches involving counties and the touring teams, as those games are played under ICC playing conditions.
The June issue of The Wisden Cricketer, the world’s best-selling cricket monthly, is on sale from Friday 8 May. Visit www.thewisdencricketer.com for more details.
STRAUSS AND TAYLOR ANNOUNCED VODAFONE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR AT ANNUAL
London May 4th
Vodafone, the official sponsor of the England Cricket Team, is proud to announce that Andrew Strauss and Claire Taylor have been named Vodafone Players of the Year 2008 / 09. The accolade is awarded to a member of both the Men's and Women's England cricket teams in recognition of their consistently outstanding performances over the last summer and winter series. Both Andrew Strauss and Clare Taylor are previous recipients of the award.
The winner of the Men's award is chosen by the cricket media and the Women's award by a panel of experts which this year included the BBC's Alison Mitchell and Sky Sports' Nick Knight. Previous winners have included Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Flintoff, Katherine Brunt and Charlotte Edwards. The awards were presented at the England Teams' Dinner, hosted by the ECB in association with Vodafone, in the Long Room at Lord's Cricket Ground on Monday 4 May.
Upon finding out he had won the award Andrew Strauss said:
"This is the second time that I have won this award and I regard it as a great honour to be named Vodafone England Player of the Year. The last time was in 2004 and I received the award in early 2005. Let's hope that this is an omen for this extremely exciting summer ahead. Last year was memorable for me - starting with a hundred in New Zealand and I was fortunate enough to end the 12 months with two centuries in the same game in Chennai against India. I would like to thank Vodafone for this award and all the awards for outstanding individual achievements. I know all the England players treasure these awards."
Strauss played an integral role in England's opening Test Series against New Zealand last summer. Consistent scoring and a second Test match century at Old Trafford took his series total to 266 at an average of 66.5 which was enough to help set up a 2 - 0 series win and for Strauss to be named England's Man of the Series. This form was replicated during the first leg of the winter tour against India making 123 and 108 in the 1st Test Match in Chennai and so becoming only the 10th Englishman to score two centuries in the same match. He then guided England through a challenging West Indies Tour securing victory in the One Day International Series after being appointed England Captain in early January of this year.
Taylor takes the Vodafone Player of the Year Award for a second consecutive year following a highly successful year for Women's Cricket which saw England emerge as champions of the 2009 ICC Women's World Cup. Ranked the leading women's ODI batsman going into the tournament, Taylor showed her class amassing a total of 324 runs throughout the tournament including a top score of 101. She was named the 2009 ICC Women's World Cup 'Player of the Tournament'. She was later nominated for the 2009 Wisden Cricketer of the Year, a historic achievement and testament to her exceptional performances over the past year.
Upon winning the award Claire Taylor said:
"I'm delighted to be named the Vodafone Player of Year for 2009. It's a huge honour to be named two years in a row when so many of the England girls have put in great performances this year. The last 12 months have been an amazing time to be involved in women's cricket with our unbeaten summer run and our World Cup triumph in Sydney. I'm looking forward to an exciting summer of cricket with the ICC Women's World Twenty20 competition in parallel with the men's and an npower Ashes and NatWest Women's one-day series against Australia."
In addition to the Player of the Year Awards, Vodafone also presented the 'Vodafone Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement' to England players who have scored 100 runs, taken five wickets or five catches in a single innings.
The annual awards have been running since 2001 and mark the 12th year of Vodafone's sponsorship of the England Cricket Team. Hosts Giles Clarke, ECB Chairman and David Collier, ECB Chief Executive were joined by Vodafone's Gavin Darby, Asia Pacific & Middle East Business Development Director, to start proceedings and the presentations were made to an audience of approximately 150 cricket dignitaries and media, gathered to recognise those players who have excelled over the past twelve months.
Friends Provident Trophy Neil Whitaker Reports
Yorkshire Carnegie lose Surrey Brown Caps by 63 runs D/L Method
Yorkshire Carnegie lost their second FPT match in 24 hours as they lost to the Surrey Brown Caps by 63 runs under Duckworth/Lewis.
Chasing 185 to win the Carnegie lost an early wicket when Andrew Gale was leg before to Jade Dernbach for four in the third over.Rana Naved was promoted in the order as a pinch hitter and soon raced to 33 from 35 balls with four fours. He hoiked, a huge six off Andre Nel, through long on.At this stage it looked odds an easy victory for the Carnegie but that changed with the departure of Jacques Rudolph.
Rudolph who was the silent partner in the partnership with Rana, danced down the wicket to Chris Schofield missed the ball and was stumped by Gary Wilson for 14. Michael Vaughan was in for 32 balls scoring only 10 before he snicked Grant Elliott to stumper Wilson.
Skipper Anthony McGrath faced a torrid over from Schofield which ended with the leg spinner trapping him leg before for one.Rana who faced only 15 balls in ten overs after the fall of Rudolph became Schofield’s third wicket caught at slip by Matthew Spriegel for 49.
Adil Rashid got a leading edge and was caught in the covers by Mark Ramprakash off Elliott for a duck.Next ball Simon Guy was caught behind by Wilson.The Carnegie had lost five wickets for five runs in 28 balls.Ajmal Shahzad survived the hat trick ball.Rain then stopped play.
The players were off the field for 65 minutes with the Carnegie on 86 for seven. When they returned they had lost 14 overs and needed another 82 from 4.5 overs to win.
Joe Sayers hit the first ball for a four. With the third ball Shahzad played on to Elliott for duck.After that the Carnegie lost their last three wickets for 18 runs in 13 balls as they were all out for 104 in 30.2 overs
Surrey Brown Caps decided to bat in over cast conditions in a match reduced to 47 overs because of early morning rain, after the Carnegie lost the toss for the sixth time this season.
The visitors lost their first wicket when Michael Brown was bowled by Rana for 16.Five runs later his fellow opener Scott Newman joined him in the hutch when Richard Pyrah got one to swing away from and Guy took a rolling to his left catch for 20.
Three runs later Ramprakash flashed at Shahzad’s third ball to give Guy another catch.His innings of five included a boundary in the 12th over, it then took the Brown Caps another 25 overs to hit their next boundary.
Pyrah got one to cut back in at Usman Afzal who got an inside edge and Guy took another going down the leg side.Rashid got one to turn past the bat of Elliott and Guy whipped the bails for six.The Brown Caps were now 82 for five after 30 overs.
Wilson and Spriegel put 67 on for the sixth wicket in 13 overs and 32 of those came in the batting power play.The partnership ended in an unfortunate way.Spriegal played Pyrah back to the bowler but the ball hit Wilson, who was backing up, the ball rebounded to Pyrah who had the simple task to run Wilson out for 34.
In their last over Schofield hit a full toss off Shahzad for a six over long on as the Brown Caps reached 184 for seven in their 47 overs.Spriegal top scored with an unbeaten 56 his highest one day score.
The victory was the Brown Caps first victory of the season and Schofield was named player of the match.
While the players were off the field for rain a Yorkshire member vented his disgust at their batting display to Director of Cricket Martyn Moxon. In a heated discussion with the member Moxon told the member not to judge him on two matches
Moxon said: “He wanted an explanation of what had happened and I gave it to him.He was unhappy with our attitude but what disappointed me the most was a bit of personal abuse.I can understand their disappointment but what disappointed me was the questioning of the players attitude and pointing the finger at me.At the end of the day he accepted what I had to say on the matter.We get disappointed about things just as much as spectators and he was giving his opinion”
He added: “I cannot fault our performance in the field but when we batted we were too tentative when we should have been positive.There are still a number of games left and we have got to bounce back.”
Friend Provident Trophy Neil Whitaker Reports
Yorkshire Carnegie lose to Glos Gladiators
Yorkshire Carnegie suffered their first defeat in this year’s Friends Provident Trophy as Gloucestershire Gladiators won this clash between the top two sides in group C by 38 runs.
Jacques Rudolph top scored for the Carnegie with 118 and was the eighth man out two balls before the end of the Carnegie innings.His knock came from 139 balls and included seven fours.
Chasing 270 to win, the Carnegie made a steady and sure start to their reply and were soon up with the required run rate but lost their first wicket in the 15th over when opener Andrew Gale was deceived and bowled by Jon Lewis for 33 with the score on 67.
After the departure of Gale, the Carnegie started to fall behind the rate and Michael Vaughan was the next to go when he pulled a full toss from left arm spinner Vikram Banerjee straight to Thomas Stayt at the mid wicket boundary for seven.
After making 22, Carnegie skipper Anthony McGrath was the next to go when Gladiators captain Alex Gidman trapped him leg before.Two balls later Joe Sayers survived a run out appeal when Kadeer Ali threw the stumps down at the bowlers end from short third man.
At the end of the 36th over the Carnegie hit their first boundary for 18 overs and immediately took their batting power play.Sayers and Rudolph started to accelerate but Sayers tried one big shot too many but was caught on the mid wicket boundary by Kadeer Ali off Lewis for 30.In the power play the Carnegie scored 42 runs and lost only one wicket and with eight overs left they needed 67 runs.
Ajmal Shahzad was the next to go when he smashed a full toss from Stayt straight to Hamish Marshall at the long on boundary. Rana Naved, making his first appearance of the season for the Carnegie, was another to smash a full toss from Stayt to a fielder this time it was to Will Porterfield running in from the mid wicket boundary.Adil Rashid became the fourth Carnegie player to smash a full toss straight to a fielder on the boundary.This time he hit Lewis to Marshall.
When the Gladiators batted they lost their first wicket when Marshall chipped Naved to Shahzad at mid on for 10.
After hitting two big sixes Porterfield danced down the wicket to Rashid and steered him to Rudolph on the point boundary for 37 with the Gladiators on 103 for two in the 21st over.With Kadeer they added 88 in 16 overs for the second wicket.
Craig Spearman joined Kadeer and the pair looked in no trouble at all and the partnership was broken by a run out.Spearman pulled Vaughan to Kruis at short fine leg and set off for a single, Kadeer at the non strikers end set off then stop and then carried on as Spearman ran towards him and was run out 63 from 92 balls with one six.
In the second over of their batting power play Chris Taylor skied Kruis to Rashid at the deep mid wicket boundary for 17.Nine runs later skipper Gidman flashed at Kruis and was caught behind for seven.
Stephen Adshead hit a big six through mid wicket off Rashid then two balls later he tried to hit another one but holed out to Rudolph on the boundary for 15. Lewis holed out to Rana at the long on boundary off Richard Pyrah for three; the Gladiators were now 247 for seven.Five runs later Stayt was stumped by Simon Guy, keeping wicket for the first time this season after suffering a cerebral abscess on his brain in February, off a wide by Pyrah.
Guy told Worldcricketcentre.com: “It was great to be back out on the pitch and running around.I enjoyed myself and want to thank everyone for their good wishes.”
Banerjee became Pyrah’s fourth victim when he was caught on the long on boundary again by Rana.The innings was wrapped up next ball when Spearman managed to find Rudolph on the mid wicket boundary for 92.His knock came from 92 balls and included five fours and two sixes as the Gladiators reached 269 all out a good 20 runs short of their expected total.
ENGLAND NAME SQUAD FOR NATWEST ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Lord's London May 1st
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced the squad to face West Indies in the forthcoming NatWest Series which starts on May 21 at Headingley Carnegie.
Eoin Morgan, 22, is called up to the England squad for the first time after impressing on the recent England Lions tour to New Zealand. He is joined by Tim Bresnan who returns to the ODI squad after making his debut against Sri Lanka in 2006.
Geoff Miller, National Selector, said: "This is a squad which we believe gives us the best chance of building on the success of the winter tour in the Caribbean".
The England Squad for the NatWest Series is
Andrew Strauss (Captain, Middlesex) James Anderson (Lancashire) Ravi Bopara (Essex) Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Ian Bell (Warwickshire) Dimi Mascarenhas (Hampshire) Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire) Paul Collingwood (Durham) Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Matt Prior (Sussex) Owais Shah (Middlesex) Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire) Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)
ECB announce test side to play West Indies
England name Bresnan and Onions
Lord's London April 29th 2009
Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan and Durham's Graham Onions have been named in the England 12 for the first npower Test match against the West Indies which starts at Lord's on Wednesday.
Bresnan, 24, has played in five One Day Internationals for England as well as a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka at Southampton in 2006 while Onions, 26, will be making his first appearance in an England Test squad. Both Bresnan and Onions have appeared for the England Lions.
Ravi Bopara, 24 on Monday, who scored an outstanding 104 against the West Indies in Bridgetown in the last of his four tests, is chosen in the batting line up.
Geoff Miller, National Selector, said: 'This is very exciting for the two young fast bowlers to be included in the squad for a Lord's Test match and sends a message to all county players that if they put in consistently good performances they will get recognised. Both have had good starts to this season and had been close to Test match selection on a number of occasions. They have earned their place in the party.
'The selectors also felt that Ravi Bopara deserved his chance after his performance in his single Test in the Caribbean this winter. There was a lot of competition for that batting position but Bopara now has the opportunity to stake a claim. He showed in Barbados that he has the ability to play at Test level.'
England squad for the 1st npower Test Match against West Indies - Lord's May 6-10
A Strauss (Middlesex, captain) J Anderson (Lancashire) R Bopara (Essex) T Bresnan (Yorkshire) S Broad (Nottinghamshire) P Collingwood (Durham) A Cook (Essex) G Onions (Durham) M Panesar (Northamptonshire) K Pietersen (Hampshire) M Prior (Sussex) G Swann (Nottinghamshire)
Fleming's MCC development mission in Afghanistan
Lord's London April 28th 2009
* Former England cricketer to open an MCC Spirit of Cricket camp in Jalalabad
* MCC build nine school pitches in Afghanistan to develop cricket at the grassroots
Former England all-rounder and army officer Matthew Fleming is travelling to Afghanistan this week to attend an MCC Spirit of Cricket camp and open two MCC-funded school cricket pitches.
Since 2006, when an MCC team led by Mike Gatting lost to Afghanistan in an inaugural match in Mumbai, the world's most famous cricket club has played an active part in trying to develop the game in a country great on promise but short on opportunity.
Fleming, who serves on MCC's Cricket Committee, went on a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan in 2007 and came back convinced that tapping into the substantial cricket-loving population in the country could play a part in aiding a return to normal life after years of war. He said: "MCC plays a significant role in helping to develop the game worldwide. As a former soldier, I also understand the importance of building trust and creating opportunities for local people. It is clear to us at MCC that we can do much to help the game in Afghanistan and help create these opportunities."
MCC is working with the charity Afghan Connection to encourage Afghan children to play cricket. Fleming will attend a two-day MCC Spirit of Cricket camp for more than 300 children at Jalalabad University on 4th May. He will also open two cricket pitches funded by MCC - seven more will be built in the next 18 months. This is to coincide with the start of the new cricket season in Afghanistan but also comes hot on the heels of the national team gaining One Day International status at the ICC World Cup qualifiers in South Africa.
Fleming said: "The more that MCC has forged links with Afghanistan and the more successful the national team have become, the more it's become apparent to us that it is the grass-roots level that would benefit most from our help. Without developing the skills of the next generation of cricket talent, the fantastic achievements of the current national side will not be replicated in the future."
Afghan cricket has undergone a meteoric rise in the past few years. After the resounding win against the MCC tourists in 2006, two players - Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi - were brought over to Lord's by MCC to play with the MCC Young Cricketers. Hassan was the first Afghan to play at the 'Home of Cricket', when he took 1 for 23 for MCC against a Europe XI in 2007.
Keith Bradshaw, Secretary & Chief Executive of MCC said: "MCC's worldwide remit to promote the game is central to our tours policy. While we leave a development grant to every country we visit, we are fortunate to be working with a fantastic charity to invest more substantially in Afghanistan. Afghan Connection has the local knowledge that is so important and a method of delivery - through the Swedish Committee - that is required to make our plans a reality.
"We know that part of the world is a hotbed of cricketing talent, and it would be a great shame if youngsters there were deprived of the opportunity to learn about the game."
Ed. This is brilliant. Well done MCC. Well done Matthew Fleming and Alex Fane What a contrast to the cash rich Asia Cricket Council and ICC itself who have both failed so far to create one ground in Afghanistan.
The Catch the Spirit flag lands in Spain to mark 100 years of international cricket ICC Europe celebrates a century of international cricket, catching the spirit from Finland to Italy
India legend Engineer to help Cricket España catch the spirit
Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer will help Cricket España and Madrid Cricket Club catch the spirit during ICC centenary year celebrations from 25 to 27 April.
The man who played 46 Tests for his country between 1961 and 1975 will run three one-hour coaching sessions over the three days. These sessions will coincide with the Madrid Cricket Club hosting its second Solidarity Twenty20 Tournament at La Manga Club, Murcia in southern Spain.
Eight teams from Spain (Madrid Cricket Club, La Manga Cricket Club, Mojacar Cricket Club), the United Kingdom (Bank of England Cricket Club, Belsize Cricket Club, Milton Keynes Cricket Club) and the Netherlands (Amsterdam Cricket Club and The Hague Cricket Club) will be taking part.
Proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, a Spanish non-governmental organisation working to improve the lives of the people of Anantapur, India. The foundation also plans to set up a cricket academy for more than 1,200 children with disabilities.
And proceeds from Farokh’s coaching sessions, which start at around 1100 each day and cost €20, will go towards his charity for homeless children in Mumbai and the tournament fund-raising effort.
The Catch the Spirit celebrations are aimed at promoting the ICC’s centenary, the great spirit of cricket and the wide appeal and diversity of the game. While the ICC’s Full Members including Australia, Bangladesh, the West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand have already celebrated their weeks, the spotlight will shine on Spain to showcase the spirit of the game and the collective commitment and values which are central to the sport.
The Catch the Spirit flag, an indicator of the ICC’s centenary year, will also be present at the tournament.
The Catch the Spirit celebrations will continue across the continent during the European summer. The events due to take place shortly include the Italian under-19 Championship from 1 to 3 May, women’s eight-a-side international tournament in Munich, Germany from 2 to 3 May, the inaugural under-13 national training camp in Finland from 10 to 14 July, the Limerick World Cup in Ireland from 12 to 24 July and the Maccabiah Games in Israel from 12 to 24 July.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat, looking ahead to the centenary celebrations in Europe, said: “ICC’s centenary is a chance to celebrate our great sport and great spirit across the world. It’s fantastic to see all of our Members commemorate a century of international cricket and share the fantastic spirit of the sport.
“The ICC has made significant steps in developing and promoting the game. As a governing body that ploughs all money earned back to its Members, we have just begun investing US$300 million into the development of the game among our second and third-tier Members, the biggest commitment to grow a sport outside of soccer.
“The ICC Global Cricket Academy will also open later this year which will be a great opportunity to develop talent and take the game to the next level.”
Cricket España Chairman Phil Beal said: “I’m really pleased that Cricket España is playing its part in celebrating the ICC’s centenary and demonstrate the spirit of cricket in Spain.
“There is a lot of cricket on offer in Spain and with 20 club teams, the sport continues to grow and develop. The ICC’s continued investment means we will be taking the game to new levels so more people have access to play cricket and the standard continues to improve.”
Richard Holdsworth, ICC Europe Regional Development Manager, said: “The Catch the Spirit events in Europe in 2009 are an excellent way to mark the development of the game across the region in the past 100 years.
“There is much more cricket in Europe than some people may think and the ICC centenary provides an opportunity to showcase the great work of our Members. With the ICC’s increased investment the game will continue to develop in Europe and I hope that in another 100 years there will be even more cricket to celebrate in the region.”
France and Malta have already played their role in the centenary celebrations. The inaugural Indoor Women’s Tournament took place in Dijon, France (7-8 March) at the same time as International Women’s Day. Meanwhile Malta organized a national school tournament to develop the youth game in the country.
About the ICC centenary year
ICC President David Morgan and Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat officially launched the ICC centenary year in Sydney, Australia on 2 January by announcing the formation of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, in association with FICA.
The ICC’s centenary year of 2009 will be a global celebration with events taking place around the world to reflect all that is great about the game.
On the field these events include the ICC Women’s World Cup (won by England in Sydney in March), the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (won by Ireland in South Africa in April), the ICC World Twenty20 event for men and women and the ICC Champions Trophy.
And off the field there will be the opening of the ICC Global Cricket Academy and the inauguration of the ICC’s new headquarters, both of which are in Dubai, and an ICC cricket history conference at St Antony’s College, Oxford in the United Kingdom in July.
The ICC will also be celebrating the contribution of volunteers across the world through the award of 1,000 centenary medals and will announce new developments to its social responsibility partnership on HIV/AIDS.
During the course of 2009, each of the ICC’s 104 Members will be hosting activities inspired by the special spirit of cricket as part of the global Catch the Spirit centenary celebration.
To promote this theme and the launch of the ICC’s centenary year website, www.catchthespirit.com, stars of the international game have named their “Catch the Spirit” moments which best encapsulate the spirit of cricket.
Among those stars that can be seen on the website, Yuvraj Singh of India speaks of his experiences of Pakistan v India matches and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis reflects on his side’s famous run-chase of 438 to beat Australia in an ODI in Johannesburg.
Friends Provident Trophy Richard Campion Reports From Lord's
Middlesex coast to easy win over Scotland at Lord's
Lord's Sunday April 26th
This was a rather one -sided contest at a sunny Lord's as the home side won the match by the very convincing margin of 162 runs. On this evidence Scotland will stuggle to make any impression on the Friends Provident Trophy competition this year. Middlesex won the toss and took advantage of good batting conditions with a first wicket stand of 147. Australian Phillip Hughes continued his good form with 74 with some splendid square drives and a pulled 6 into the crowd near the Tavern. Billy Godleman also batted well for 82 and useful contributions from the middle order saw Middlesex to an impressive 302 for 7 at the end of 50 overs.
Scotland never looked likely to reach the target and wickets fell steadily as the required run rate rose against a steady Middlesex attack which was backed up by some excellent catching.
Kyle Coetzer was top scorer with 45 and Gavin Hamilton contributed 30 but neither could play the big innings which was needed in face of such a large score and Scotland were all out after only 37.1 overs.
Scotland travel to Edgbaston to play Warwickshire for their next FPT match whilst Middlesex meet Somerset at Bath.
Yorkshire Carnegie won their second Friends Provident Trophy match of the season when they beat Sussex Sharks by 14 runs with eight balls left.
Put into bat the Carnegie were soon in trouble losing three wickets for 31 in 15 overs.Both openers Andrew Gale and Jacques Rudolph to played on to Aussie Damien Wright.Anthony McGrath made only four before he was caught behind by Matt Prior off Robin Martin-Jenkins.
The innings was steadied by a fourth wicket partnership of 117 in 26 overs by Michael Vaughan and Gerard Brophy.Vaughan made 82.His innings included ten in consecutive balls from Luke Wright.He managed to snick Luke Wright past Prior for a four, next ball Vaughan lofted him for a six over mid wicket.In the first over of the batting power play Vaughan hit Damian Wright straight back over his head for a six. Two balls later Brophy brought up the hundred partnership with a boundary through long on.The pair scored 17 in the first over of the batting power play.
Vaughan hit his third six through mid wicket off Martin-Jenkins.The next ball Vaughan backed away to himself so some room played under the ball and lost his off bail.The former England skipper didt think that he had been bowled.Two balls later Bresnan was trapped leg before to Martin-Jenkins for a duck.
A few lusty blows from Brophy and Ajmal Shahzad saw the Carnegie past the 200 mark.Shahzad brought up the 200 and the 50 partnership with a huge six back over James Kirtley’s head.He tried doing it again two balls later but Luke Wright caught it on the long on boundary but his momentum would have taken him over the boundary so the quick thinking fielder throw it back into play.
The Carnegie finished on 227 for five in their allotted overs which was a lot more than they looked like getting at one stage.Brophy was unbeaten on 68, while Shazad was 43 not out.
The Sharks lost their first wicket in the ninth over when Joe Gatting was caught behind by Brophy off Bresnan for three.Two overs later Ed Joyce fell to Bresnan in the same manner for 14.Next to go was England wicket keeper Prior stumped by Brophy off a wide for three.
Murray Goodwin and Luke Wright got the Sharks back on track and built a platform to launch an assault on the target.The partnership was broken when Goodwin became Brophy’s fourth victim for 45 after they had added 91 in 22 overs.
Two runs later Brophy claimed another victim when he caught Luke Wright for 46 standing up to Patterson.Rory Hamilton-Brown tried one big hit too many in the batting power play and holed out to Shahzad at long on off Bresnan for 18.The Sharks now needed 51 from seven overs.A run later, Martin-Jenkins was run out for a duck when Mike Yardy hit Bresnan straight back to the bowler and the ball was deflected on to the stumps.
Yardy was dropped at mid off by Shahzad off Patterson when on 25.Then he reversed slog Richard Pyrah and was caught by Deon Kruis at point for 27.Damien Wright had a wild swipe at Pyrah and was bowled for 13.William Beer was the last man out for seven.
Bresnan finished with four for 35 in his ten overs.Man of the match Brophy said: “I am pretty pleased with the way things are going, it feels like we’ve been going for some time.I am pleased with the way I am hitting the ball.
When I started my innings the surface was quite wet and there was some seam movement throughout the innings, there were testy conditions, we had the worst of the conditions”
“I went in at 31 for three and we decided to bat for 35 overs and keep wickets in hand and play championship cricket but we had no option but to do that.Michael, batted beautifully but he’s been unlucky with a couple of dismissals.”
He added: “I am playing well and doing a good job for the team.I have been doing a lot coaching with Bruce Freench particularly standing up to the seamers.I am pretty confident and I feel that I’ve established myself in the team and know my role in the team.”
Recreational Cricket Grows for Second Successive Year
ECB Lord'sTuesday, April 21, 2009
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today confirmed an increase in participation across the recreational game in 2008.
Overall, there was an increase of 24% in participation, with a 49% increase in the number of women and girls taking part in cricket; a 137% increase in disability cricket participation and a 30% increase in black and ethnic minority participation.
The ECB report, published for the second year using data collated from ECB Focus Clubs across England and Wales, also recorded a 48% increase in Years 5,6 and 7 school participation and a 33% increase in 5-16 year old participation across both schools and clubs.
Peter Ackerley, ECB Head of Development, said: “The ECB Development Team has worked tirelessly to increase opportunities for people to be involved in cricket across England and Wales; through schools and clubs and by providing quality community coaching courses through the SKY SPORTS Coach Education Programme. What is particularly pleasing is the significant growth of cricket in schools and amongst women and disability players. By creating a strategic development pathway between clubs and schools which includes the delivery of quality coaching, cricket is a key provider of community sport."
Clare Connor OBE, ECB Head of Women’s Cricket and the first woman to be appointed to the ICC Cricket Committee, said: “I am delighted by these latest figures, which come on the back of a 45% rise in participation in 2007. Thanks to huge efforts in the recreational game there is genuine depth to women's and girl's cricket with more girls playing in schools and progressing into clubs and junior County teams. With the national team recently crowned ICC World Champions it is pleasing to see that competition for places will be fierce in the short and the long term."
The ECB report also recorded a 26% increase in volunteers, a 14% increase in coaching sessions at clubs and a 13% increase in Level 1 and Level 2 qualified coaches.
Ed.The figures for girls and women would tend to agree with general perception of the recreational sector similarlt with diabled cricketers.Participation at Primary school is notorously unrelaible as it may mean an occasional flirtation with Kwik Cricket as much as regular organised games both soft and hard ball.
For these figures to be meaningful participation needs to be defined much more closely.
The general view of almost all those operating in the world of club cricket remains the exact opposite of the general optimistic gloss of this ECB pronouncement.
MCC and Michael Vaughan team up for the
Lord's London Tuesday 21st April 2009
MCC has teamed up with former England Captain, Michael Vaughan, to produce a new advertising campaign for the ICC World Twenty20 matches at Lord's in June.
The print, poster and online advertisements use paintings from Vaughan's new 'Artballing' project to publicise the availability of hospitality packages at Lord's throughout the ICC World Twenty20 2009, from just £175 + VAT per person.
Jon Robinson, MCC's Assistant Secretary (Marketing) said, 'The canvasses Michael has produced for 'Artballing' are fresh, stylish, and fun. MCC felt they would make the perfect backdrop to the ads as they reflect the vibrant nature of the ICC World Twenty20 and the unique hospitality packages MCC has to offer throughout the tournament. Hospitality guests will be given the opportunity to see four International teams across two matches at the 'home of cricket' on the same day on the same ticket - or on Friday 5 June, watch the opening ceremony and England's opening match. There will also be a selection of 'Artballing' canvases and limited edition prints on display at Lord's during the tournament for hospitality guests to view."
Michael Vaughan said, "When MCC approached me about using my art in this way I was keen to be involved. Other than being on the field of play, a hospitality box at Lord's is one of the best places in the world from where to watch the cricket."
*Lord's are offering private boxes (capacity up to 18 people) for the seven match-days of The ICC World Twenty20 at 'The Home of Cricket' *1st June: Warm-Up Matches: Ireland v Netherlands & New Zealand v India *3rd June: Warm-Up Matches: Sri Lanka v South Africa & England v West Indies * 5 June: Opening ceremony & England v Netherlands * 9 June: Pakistan v Netherlands & New Zealand v South Africa *12 June Super 8's: B1 v C2 & A1 v C1 *14 June Super 8's: A2 v C2 & A1 v B2 *21 June Women's & Men's World Twenty20 Finals
* The advertising campaign has been created by AMP Communications, a London based full-service, integrated agency.
* Michael Vaughan creates his 'Artballing' works by hitting, throwing and even bowling a paint covered cricket ball against a blank canvass.
* A percentage of all sales from 'Artballing' will be donated to The Professional Cricketers Association Benevolent Fund and the Prostate Cancer Charity.
Nine-wicket win over Canada cements place as top Associate team in the world ICC WORLD CUP QUALIFIER 2009
Johnston and Porterfield answer Ireland’s call
Centurion, 19 April 2009
Five wickets from Trent Johnston and a century from captain William Porterfield made sure of victory for Ireland in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier at Centurion Sunday.It is the first time the Irish have won this event in five attempts and, having won the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup three times as well as the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier (albeit joint with the Netherlands) they now have a compelling case for claiming to be the best Associate team in every format of the international game.
Barring a couple of hiccups against Afghanistan and, in a dead rubber for the Irish, Kenya, Ireland has been the most consistent team of the tournament and as it panned out it was a highly professional display in the final against Canada.
Firstly, man of the match Johnston became the only Ireland bowler to take five wickets in an ODI as Canada struggled to 185 all out. Indeed, after nine overs of his spell, the former captain had the amazing figures of 9-4-5-5 but nine runs off his final over took the gloss off it ever so slightly.
Then, Porterfield took control of the run-chase and compiled a typically elegant 104 not out to lead his side to victory before the enthusiastic Irish supporters. It was a knock of great maturity as he built partnerships, first with Gary Wilson (38) and then Niall O’Brien (38 not out), as Ireland eased to the finish line with nine wickets to spare.
“We came to South Africa to win this tournament, not just qualify for the World Cup,” said a delighted Porterfield afterwards.
“We were beaten in the final four years ago and so we always said we wanted to go one step further this time around. The way the guys have played over the past 19 days has been fantastic and I think we are now the Associate side that all the others want to beat,” he said.
“Today our opening bowlers didn’t get a great start as Canada got off to a flier but then Trent came on and was magnificent. He has been such a great performer for us, not just over the last couple of weeks but for years now, and he deserves all the plaudits he gets. He had a niggle coming into this match and was in pain after a couple of overs but the way he fought through that and bowled as well as he did was inspirational.
It’s not often a centurion fails to scoop the man-of-the-match award but as much as Porterfield agreed with the decision to give it to Johnston, he was also more than content with his own contribution.
“We have set great store during this tournament by starting well and the top four batsmen have really taken responsibility for scoring the runs so I am glad we finished strongly in that regard as well.
“Looking ahead we are now going to have to work even harder because we want to stay one step ahead of those behind us and really close the gap on those in front. We have a good bunch of players, and also some talented lads coming through the ranks so we are now looking to prepare well for the World Cup and maybe we can spring a few more surprises when that comes around.”
Defeated coach Pubudu Dassanayake was far from downhearted afterwards as Canada had the huge consolation of having qualified for another World Cup.
“I am very proud of the guys,” he said.
“They have performed really well here and they have plenty to be happy about. We knew this would be a tough tournament and so it proved but we were equal to the task and we did what we came here to do. Our preparation was excellent and I want to thank (former Sri Lanka captain) Marvan Atapattu for all his work with the team. We showed that we can achieve a lot in a short space of time and while I am disappointed today having lost the final, tomorrow I will wake up a happy man knowing we have qualified.”
Elsewhere, Edgar Schiferli further justified his man-of-the-tournament award by taking 4-23 against Kenya in the third/fourth-place play-off at Potchefstroom. Kenya was dismissed for 179 and the Dutchmen chased it for the loss of four wickets with Daan van Bunge top scoring on 80.
Afghanistan finished its tournament off on another high by beating Scotland for the second time in five days in the fifth/sixth-place play-off at Benoni. That is the first ODI ever played by Afghanistan and so it now has the only 100 per cent winning record of any ODI team in cricket.
In the other game of the day, Namibia went down by four wickets to the United Arab Emirates thanks chiefly to a classy hundred from UAE captain Khuram Khan at LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria.
The original 12 teams taking part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier were split into two groups of six teams. Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Oman, Namibia and Uganda made up Group A while Kenya, Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark and Afghanistan formed Group B. Each side played the other teams in its group once with the top four from the groups progressing to the Super Eight stage. Those teams each play four Super Eight matches against the sides they did not meet in the group stage. All points won in the groups were carried over to the Super Eight stage apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group.
The top two teams in the Super Eight stage (Ireland and Canada) contested the final which was played at Centurion today (19 April). The third and fourth-placed sides (Netherlands and Kenya) played off at Potchefstroom, the fifth and sixth-placed sides (Scotland and Afghanistan) played off at Willowmoore Park while the seventh and eighth-placed teams (UAE and Namibia) played off at LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria.
The top four sides at the event qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The top six teams secure ODI status until 2013 and also qualify automatically for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 as well as the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2009.
The bottom two teams from the CWCQ (Oman and Denmark), which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2 of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League, have now been relegated to Division 3.
C CWC 2011 matches and tournament secretariat to be moved out of Pakistan because of uncertainty over security situation Task team on Zimbabwe submits report, sets out pathway for sustainable return to Test cricket
ICC Meeting Dubai April 17 & 18 2009
Dubai, 17 April 2009
ICC President David Morgan: “It is a regrettable decision but our number one priority is to create certainty and allow us to press on with the work necessary to deliver a safe, secure and successful event”
Board asks Lord Condon to head a task team to review security arrangements for international cricket; ICC to approach other sports to seek information-sharing on security protocols
Ravi Shastri replaces Michael Holding on ICC Cricket Committee
Audio available at http://www.icc-cricket.yahoo.com; photos available through Getty Images, vision via SNTV
Friday saw the first day of the ICC Board meeting in Dubai, the second of the four scheduled meetings it holds in a year.
Among the items discussed during the day were:
ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
The Board resolved that, given the current uncertainty surrounding the security situation within Pakistan, the country should not host matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup (ICC CWC) 2011. This means the event will now be hosted in three countries, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. The tournament secretariat will move from Pakistan to a location to be determined by the tournament’s Central Organising Committee.
Explaining the decision to shift ICC CWC 2011 matches away from Pakistan, ICC President David Morgan said: “It is extremely regrettable that the Board has had to take this decision given the passion the people of Pakistan have for the game of cricket and for the ICC Cricket World Cup.
“However, our number one priority was and is to deliver a safe, secure and successful event and the uncertainty created by events within Pakistan created a huge question mark over our ability to do just that. That was something we saw all too clearly with the delay over the decision of whether or not Pakistan could host the ICC Champions Trophy last year. The event ended up being postponed and we cannot afford a repeat of that uncertainty or any form of postponement for this event. By making this decision now we hope we can put a great deal of any uncertainty to one side and press on with our preparations which, given this is cricket’s biggest and most high profile event within our range of tournaments, are substantial.”
Lahore incident
The Board received a report on the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team and match officials that took place in Lahore on 3 March, the scheduled third day of the second Test between Pakistan and the visiting side. It also heard from Emirates Elite Panel ICC match referee Chris Broad, who was on duty for the match, as well as Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jaywardena via telephone hook-up from South Africa. Pakistan captain Younus Khan was unable to attend.
Following discussions, the Board asked Lord Condon, the Chairman of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, to lead a task team to include ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and ICC directors Jack Clarke and Shashank Manohar which would conduct a comprehensive review of security arrangements for all international cricket.
Commenting on what it would involve, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “This review will include an assessment of whether current protocols employed by our Members are adequate and, if they are not, what can be done to improve them. The ultimate purpose of the review is to help create a safe and secure environment where international cricket can proceed wherever possible. It will be carried out as soon as possible.”
The Board also agreed that the ICC’s management should approach other sports to see if there was scope for information-sharing in the way security is conducted across major events around the world.
Mr Lorgat said: “Cricket does not exist in isolation and there are many other sports in the world that, because of the current political climate, may be experiencing similar challenges to the ones confronting our game. Those challenges are in ensuring the action continues while, at the same time, creating a safe and secure environment for all those who are involved, from players and officials, through to the media and the public.
“As part of Lord Condon’s review we will seek to make contact with a range of sports and see what we can learn and also whether we can share knowledge and experiences with them.”
The Board agreed that it would not be appropriate for international cricket to take place in Pakistan in the immediate future. However, it was agreed that Pakistan should maintain a full programme of matches for its senior and A teams and that Members would do all they could to help facilitate this.
Zimbabwe
The Board received a report on cricket in Zimbabwe from a task team headed by ICC director Dr Julian Hunte, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board. The report presented a series of recommendations on how best to assist Zimbabwe to improve its performances so as to allow its return to the Test arena as soon as appropriate.
The report stated that a sustainable return to that form of the game was possible when:
Zimbabwe’s national representative sides have satisfied reasonable performance criteria in first-class and other multi-day matches; Various structures and processes have been updated in line with recommendations of the task team; Domestic structures have been upgraded and a longer and more competitive first-class league is introduced; and There should be an ongoing partnership between Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) and the ICC Member Services department to track the former’s performance against its strategic plan.
Zimbabwe Cricket accepted the report’s recommendations and agreed to work with the ICC to ensure they are enacted. Reflecting on the work of the task team and its recommendations Mr Lorgat, also a task team member, said: “Led by Dr Hunte, we sat down and looked at the current structures and resources of Zimbabwe Cricket, spoke to stakeholders and assessed the current state of the game in the country.
“Our purpose was to create a pathway for a sustainable return for Zimbabwe to Test cricket as soon as practicably possible and we believe that, through this report, we have created the platform for that to happen. We are extremely grateful for the cooperation of Zimbabwe Cricket through this process and we look forward to the recommendations of this task team being taken forward as a partnership between the ICC and Zimbabwe Cricket. The ICC Board will continue to monitor the process.”
ZC Chairman Peter Chingoka said: “I’m very grateful to the task team and the ICC for their efforts in this matter. We will now work in partnership with the ICC’s member services department to help enact the task team’s recommendations. “We believe we have a talented group of youngsters that have the potential to play at the highest level with success and we look forward to ensuring that happens. We are also grateful to the other members of the ICC Board for their pledges of support. The task team was set up by the ICC Board at the request of ZC in July 2008 to ascertain details in relation to the state of cricket within Zimbabwe and to make recommendations to the Board.
In addition to Dr Hunte and Mr Lorgat, the task team also included former Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Arjuna Ranatunga. Its report was compiled following a visit to Zimbabwe by Dr Hunte and Mr Lorgat in November last year.
The full task team report is available at the ICC’s website, http://www.icc-cricket.yahoo.com
ICC Cricket Committee
The Board agreed that former India captain Ravi Shastri will replace Michael Holding as the media representative on the ICC Cricket Committee. Mr Holding resigned last year. Mr Lorgat said: “I am delighted that we have a person of the experience of Ravi joining us on the cricket committee.
“He was an outstanding player, is a highly-respected broadcaster and is also someone who is hugely respected by many, many people within the game. He will be a great asset to the committee.”
The next meeting of the ICC Cricket Committee, chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, will take place in London on 11 and 12 May. It will include an assessment of the recent trial of the Umpire Decision Review System with a view to making a recommendation to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee on its future employment or otherwise
Results of second day of ICC Board meeting
ICL application to be approved as unofficial cricket rejected; Ex-England captain Clare Connor invited to join ICC Cricket Committee
Audio available at http://www.icc-cricket.yahoo.com; photos available through Getty Images, vision via SNTV
Saturday saw the second and final day of the ICC Board meeting in Dubai, the second of the four scheduled meetings it holds in a year.
Among decisions reached were:
Indian Cricket League
The ICC Board considered an application for the ICL to be approved as unofficial cricket. The Board went through the application carefully, including assessing it against the criteria within the ICC regulations for approving such events.
Those criteria are as follows: * Where the event takes place in an ICC Member country, whether the home board has granted approval or not; * Safety and suitability of the venue, including anti-corruption considerations and the safety of players and officials; * Whether the event has any meaningful role in the development of the game or has a specific charitable or benevolent purpose; and * Whether the event causes any conflict or perceived conflict with ICC events.
After due consideration, the Board resolved that the application should be rejected.
In relation to the possibility of players returning to official cricket from the ICL, the Board reiterated to Members the importance of protecting the fabric of the game. A clear message needed to be sent that players could not swap between official and unofficial cricket at will.
However, it was confirmed that the nature and scope of any sanction would ultimately be a matter for each individual Member to determine, based on its own local conditions.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “The Board gave the matter careful consideration but, looking at the criteria set out in the regulations, felt the application for approval could not be granted.”
Clare Connor invited to join ICC Cricket Committee
The Board agreed that former England women’s captain Clare Connor is to be invited to join the ICC Cricket Committee as a representative of women’s cricket. Ms Connor is the head of the women’s game for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is also a non-executive director of Sussex County Cricket Club.
She was awarded an MBE in June 2004 for her services to cricket and, 18 months later, an OBE, after leading England to an Ashes victory over Australia in 2005. Between 1995 and 2005 Ms Connor played 16 Tests and 93 ODIs, including three women’s world cups.
Commenting on Clare Connor’s invitation to join the ICC Cricket Committee, ICC President David Morgan said: “I’m delighted the ICC Board has decided to appoint Clare to the ICC Cricket Committee.
“She has a wealth of experience in the game through her playing and administrative activities and has already been an active member of the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee. This is another reflection of the ICC’s commitment to the women’s game. We believe Clare will be a real asset to the group and I look forward to her taking her place at the table.”
The next meeting of the ICC Cricket Committee, chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, will take place in London on 11 and 12 May.
Promotion of Test cricket
The Board agreed to consider means of further promoting Test cricket, the pinnacle of the game, at its next meeting on the basis of recommendations from both ICC management and the ICC working group, made up of ICC Full Member representatives, that convenes every month by teleconference.
The ICC Board consists of the chairman or president from each of the 10 Full Members plus three Associate Member representatives. Also present at ICC Board meetings is the ICC President, who chairs proceedings, the ICC Chief Executive and the ICC Vice-President, as well as, by invitation of the President, the ICC Principal Advisor.
Those attending this meeting were:
David Morgan ICC President Haroon Lorgat ICC Chief Executive
Jack Clarke Australia Mahbubul Anam Bangladesh (alternate for Lt. Gen. Sina Ibn Jamali) Giles Clarke England Shashank Manohar India Justin Vaughan New Zealand(alternate for Alan Isaac) Ijaz Butt Pakistan DS de Silva Sri Lanka Brian Basson South Africa(alternate for Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka) Dr Julian Hunte West Indies Peter Chingoka Zimbabwe
Associate Member Representatives
Neil Speight Bermuda Samir Inamdar Kenya Imran Khwaja Singapore
In attendance Inderjit Bindra ICC Principal Advisor
ICC Vice-President Sharad Pawar was not in attendance because of the ongoing election campaign in India
Reports Richard Campion
Dernbach spell gives Surrey a lift at The Oval
Oval London April
Jade Dernbach , one of Surrey's younger players, kept up his side's spirits when it looked as though Gloucestershire were going to amass a vast total. The visitors had reached 247 for 2 but Derbach then struck three times and at one stage was on a hat trick. James Benning took two wickets which doubled his championship haul for last season. New signing Andre Nel took two wickets and looked as ever a hostile bowler and a good aquisition.
Ali 90, Marshall 76 and Gidman 69 were the main contributors for their side and Gloucestershire finished on 321 for 8 at the end of a fluctuating day which left the teams probably on a level footing. Surrey were relegated last year and will want to start with a win in their bid to return to the top flight of county cricket. Their most reliable batsman Mark Ramprakesh is missing the first two matches of the season and Mark Butcher is out with a a long term knee injury. Michael Brown who has only joined Surrey this season from Hampshire has been thrown in at the deep end as captain in this match.
Afghanistan’s dream of World Cup glory stays alive… but only just
ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier down to last eight
Johannesburg, 8 April 2009
Afghanistan join Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Namibia, Netherlands, Kenya and UAE in Super Eight
The make-up of the Super Eight stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was finalised today with Afghanistan continuing its incredible journey towards possible participation in the 2011 World Cup.It will, however, be very difficult for Norooz Mangal and his team to secure one of the four remaining spots at the event because the two matches it has won in this event so far have been against sides that didn’t make the last eight and so, as a result, they will not carry forward any points to the Super Eight stage.
As such, Afghanistan lies in seventh position, just ahead of Namibia on net run-rate, with four rounds of matches to go. But the words “impossible” or even “unlikely” do not seem to be in the Afghans’ vocabulary as, in the space of less than a year, they have managed to win through from Division 5 of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League all the way up to the last eight of the top Associate and Affiliate teams in the world.
“This is a great achievement for us,” said Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan.
“We came from Division 5 and now we have left behind us one team that played in the last World Cup (Bermuda) and two sides that were in Division 2 (Denmark and Oman) as well as Uganda which qualified with us from Division 3 so we are delighted with the progress we are making. It’s a great moment.
“Our first target was to get in the top eight. Now we have set our sights on the top six because that will bring ODI status for four years. My team is getting used to this now. We have learned lessons from mistakes we made against the other teams, especially the better sides like Kenya and the Netherlands and we will carry that experience into the Super Eight.
“Qualifying for the World Cup will be very difficult as we will have to win all four games probably but that dream is deep inside me. Anything can happen and we have not given up hope. We don’t know how to give up hope,” he said.
Afghanistan will be joined by defending champion Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Namibia, Netherlands, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates with matches in that stage of the event getting under way on Saturday.
As Namibia was beaten easily by Ireland at the WITS University ground, its fate was decided by a match taking place on another part of the South African highveld as Oman amazingly beat Uganda at LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria by just one wicket.
Uganda had batted well to reach 298-5 in 50 overs with Joel Olweny making 85. But the Oman batsmen played like they were late for an appointment and eventually got home after just 37.1 overs. Man of the match Farhan Khan was the destructor-in-chief bludgeoning 95 off just 49 balls, an innings that included 10 fours and seven sixes. That win for Oman could not lift it off the bottom of Group A but it did ensure Uganda’s World Cup dream was over for another four years as the fortunate Namibia progresses by virtue of having the best net run-rate of those three teams on two points.
Meanwhile, Ireland remains the only unbeaten team in the competition and it takes through six points to the Super Eight. In reply to Namibia’s 213, William Porterfield made 84 and there was a half-century too for Niall O’Brien as Ireland got home with seven wickets to spare.
Defending champion Scotland suffered a serious blow to its qualification hopes when it was humbled by a strong Canada performance in an ODI at Benoni. Set a competitive but not unrealistic target of 253 to win, Scotland slumped to 104 all out to give Canada two extra points to take into the Super Eight stage. That puts the Scots on just two points with plenty of ground to make up.
In Group B, Bermuda crashed out of the tournament by losing to the Netherlands in Potchefstroom. Irving Romaine’s team, which managed to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, had been off the pace for much of the tournament having lost to Kenya, UAE and Afghanistan before today’s latest disappointment.
Ryan ten Doeschate was the hero for the Netherlands, scoring a typically fluent 67 backed up with three wickets opening the bowling to ensure victory for his team by 63 runs.
Elsewhere, Kenya finished off its group stage campaign with a convincing win over Denmark at Potchefstroom University. After restricting the Danes to 173-8 off 50 overs, Kennedy Obuya (84 not out) and Seren Waters (61 not out) made sure of the points as the Africans strolled to victory for the loss of just one wicket.
Final group standings:
Teams P W NR L NRR PTS GROUP A Ireland 5 5 0 0 +1.491 10 Canada 5 4 0 1 +1.490 8 Scotland 5 3 0 2 -0.317 6 Namibia 5 1 0 4 -0.506 2 Uganda 5 1 0 4 -0.928 2 Oman 5 1 0 4 -1.144 2
GROUP B Kenya 5 4 0 1 +1.683 8 Netherlands 5 4 0 1 +0.557 8 United Arab Emirates 5 4 0 1 -0.131 8 Afghanistan 5 2 0 3 -0.277 4 Bermuda 5 1 0 4 -0.440 2 Denmark 5 0 0 5 -1.341 0
Uganda, Oman, Bermuda and Denmark go into the play-off matches for ninth-12th places while the other teams progress to the Super Eight stage. Super Eight Stage
ICC World Cup QualifierGroup A Uganda's batsmen finally fine form against Oman but their bowling goes awhol so they lose by 1 wicket and their place in the super eights Uganda 298-5,50 overs lost to Oman 301-9,37.1 overs by 1 wicketScorecard:Canada thrash Scots for whom McCallum finally fails Canada 252-7,50 overs beat Scotland 104,30.5 overs by 148 runsScorecard:Namibia recover from 66-6 tp post enough runs to gain Super Eights place on net run rate Namibia 213-9 lost toIreland 214-3,45 overs by 7 wickets Scorecard: Group B Danes slaughtered Denmark 173-8,50 overs lost toKenya 174-1,33.1 overs by 9 wicketsScorecard: Dutch make hay to set daunting target,8th wkt adds 66 Netherlands 304-9,50 overs beat Bermuda 241-9,50 overs by 63 runs Scorecard:Afghanis recover well to post challenging total then Amjad Javed bowled for duck Afghanistan 251-8,50 overs lost toUAE 257.5,47.2 overs by 5 wicketsScorecardPoints TableUganda & Oman on net run rate plus Bermuda & Denmark fail to make Super Eights!
ICC World Cup QualifierGroup AIreland beat Canada by 6 wickets from 42-4 Kevin O'Brien & Morgan add 181 for victory Scorecard:Namibia's batting fires hitting 291-6 and beat Oman by 119 runs to secure 1st win Scorecard:Magic McCallum hits another century while Kamyuke fails so Scots beat Uganda by 45 runs ScorecardGroup BKenya beat Bermuda in high scoring match in which David Hemp hits ton for Bermuda Scorecard:UAE run riot over Danes,Amjad Javed hits 164, beat Denmark by 112 runs Scorecard: Dutch beat Afghanistan by 5 wickets Scorecard4th day roundupPoints
Table
ICC World Cup Qualifier Dutch defeat by UAE throws Group B wide open.Canada and Ireland maintain unbeaten records and so qualify for Super Eights,Scots nearly lose to Oman Points TableThird Day roundup
ICC World Cup QualifierAfghanistan 239-9,50 overs(K Khan 83,N Mangal 71) beat Bermuda 179,49.3 overs by 60 runsScorecard:Despite a Ugandan playing for Canada Uganda 231-8,50 overs(Kamyuka 85) lost toCanada 232-5,47 overs(Barnett 102*) by 5 wicketsScorecard:Ireland 285-4,50 overs(K O'Brien 101*) beatOman 169,37.3 overs(Weat 5-26) by 116 runsScorecard:Gavin Hamilton retires hurt but McCllum score another ton Scotland 267-6,50 overs(McCallum 103) v Namibia 194,44.4 overs(Snyman 95*) Scorecard: Denmark 248-9,50 overs(M Pedersen 121) lost toNetherlands 246-3,43 overs(Kerveze 121*) by 7 wickets Scorecard: UAE 79,30.1 overs lost to Kenya 80-1, 12.2 overs by 9 wicketsScorecardPoints Table
ICC World Cup QualifierScots make disastrous start(24-4/68-5) but McCallam leads brilliant recovery then Porterfield thrashes Scots attack missing Blain Scotland 232-7,50 overs lost toIreland 233-3,37.3 overs(Porterfield 101,Morgan 60) by 7 wicketsScorecard: Uganda 234-7,50 overs(R Mukasa 51) beatNamibia 228-9,50 overs by 6 runsScorecard: Kenya lose Steve Tikolo early but recover but ten Doeschate flays Kenya's attack 247-8,50 overs lost toNetherlands 248-3,46.2 overs(ten Doeschate 106*) by 7 wickets Scorecard: Oman suffer top order rout (9-5)Canada 247,49.3 overs(Cheema 64,Dhaniram 100*) beatOman 144,40 overs by 103 runs Scorecard: Denmark 204-9,50 overs lose to Afghanistan 205-5,46.2 overs(M Shahzad 55*) Scorecard: Bermuda 187,46.3 overs lost toUAE 190-6 47.1 overs by 4 wicketsScorecardPoints TableRound one report
Gilchrist to deliver 2009 MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture
Lord's London Monday 30th March 2009
• Gilchrist follows in footsteps of Benaud, Gavaskar and Lloyd • Underwood delighted by speaker who 'epitomised the Spirit of Cricket'
The swashbuckling Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist will become the ninth MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecturer when he speaks to an audience of over 1,000 in the MCC Indoor Cricket School at Lord's on Wednesday 24th June.
Following in the footsteps of his compatriot Richie Benaud, as well as other greats from the sport and beyond - such as Sunil Gavaskar, Clive Lloyd and Archbishop Desmond Tutu - Gilchrist will become the youngest man to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. Of the former international cricketers to speak, he is one of the most successful, having won a staggering 73 of the 96 Tests he played and standing second on the all-time Tests dismissals list w
