Scotland have included four English county regulars in their fifteen-man squad to play in South Africa next month

Firdose Moonda26-Sep-2012Scotland have included four English county regulars in their fifteen-man squad to play in South Africa next month. The players are eligible for Scotland because of a change in ICC regulations which allows cricketers with British passports and Scottish parentage, instead of only those who were born or live in Scotland as was the case before, to play for the country.The quartet are Matt Machan who plays for Sussex as a top order batsman, Robert Taylor, the 22-year-old Leicestershire allrounder and wicketkeepers David Murphy of Northamptonshire and Richard Coughtrie from Gloucestershire. Integrating the players into the squad is part of Scotland’s long-term plan to build a side that will be able to qualify for the 2014 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.”Cricket Scotland has always taken great pride in its teams having a majority of home grown cricketers, who are products of our excellent age group and academy system,” Andy Tennant, the head of performance said. “This will always be our aim. However where we can supplement our squad with eligible Scots who have been developed elsewhere, we will.”One other uncapped player has been included in the squad, allrounder Michael Leask, while the rest of the party includes familiar faces such as Richie Berrington and Gordon Goudie. They are missing two regulars with regular captain Gordon Drummond having work commitments and Kyle Coetzer on honeymoon.The squad will spend a month in South Africa from October 6. They will be based in Potchefstroom, considered one of the best facilities for training purposes given its proximity to the university and equipment available there. It was used by England for a bowling camp late last year, is the venue of choice for Australia during ICC tournaments in South Africa and it was the base of Spanish football team ahead of the 2010 World Cup.They will play matches under first-class conditions, plus 50-over and 20-over fixtures mostly against South African amateur sides, Highveld Strikers and North-West Dragons. The camp begins with a marquee match day on October 9, when Scotland play IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and South African franchise Highveld Lions on the same day. Both KKR and the Lions will be preparing for the CLT20, which will be hosted in South Africa.Squad Richie Berrington, Richard Coughtrie, Josh Davey, Alistair Evans, Ryan Flannigan, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Preston Mommsen (capt), David Murphy, Safyaan Sharif and Rob Taylor

Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja must seek to emulate Ricky Ponting’s energy in the field and his running between the wickets in order to improve, says Australia’s chief selector

Daniel Brettig16-Oct-2012Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja must seek to emulate the energy and drive of the seemingly ageless Ricky Ponting before they can be considered ready for a return to Australia’s Test team, national selector John Inverarity has said.Watching Ponting race around the field for Tasmania at Adelaide Oval last week, Inverarity’s fellow selector Rod Marsh remarked on the 37-year-old’s buzzing countenance, undimmed by a career that has lasted 20 years. It is an example Inverarity said Hughes and Khawaja had to follow on their path back to international cricket. Neither are considered strong fielders.”Rod Marsh and I were watching in Adelaide and Rod said ‘just look at him’, of course he was pointing to Ricky Ponting,” Inverarity said. “He was running around and throwing left hand and right hand. Khawaja and Hughes need to learn that.”Since being dropped from the national team following last year’s Hobart Test defeat to New Zealand, Hughes and Khawaja have spent the northern summer in England undertaking county stints of varying productivity. They have also each moved states in search of better returns as batsmen, Hughes to South Australia, Khawaja to Queensland.However Inverarity indicated that it was not merely runs the selection panel were seeking from the two left-hand batsmen. Apart from fielding, the issue of running between the wickets is another. Inverarity contrasted Khawaja’s approach to that of Ponting and Michael Hussey, who seek runs for their batting partners as aggressively as they crash loose balls to the boundary.”What we’ll have to see from Usman is dynamism in the field and his running between the wickets, demonstrating that energy and vitality,” Inverarity said. “You take Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting, when they’re at the non-striker’s end they present themselves every ball to the batsman. They’re there and they’re down the wicket and their level of alertness [is high].”I think Usman needs to learn that. If you’re batting, you can be enhanced by the presence of the player at the other end, it’s a team. A lot of players would all say batting with Hussey and Ponting, they would enhance their batting, they’re just terrific. Usman’s got to give in that sense too. He’s a beautiful timer of the ball, but there’s body language and presence as well.”Hughes has offered signs of developing his game so far this season, impressing Inverarity by unfurling a range of strokes through the leg side during a brief domestic limited-overs innings against the Tigers. Inverarity said the panel wanted to take a patient approach with Hughes, waiting until he had shown he was entirely ready and settled rather than throwing him into the Test side without runs behind him, as happened during the 2010-11 Ashes summer.”My personal view was that we wouldn’t rush him back until he was in a good groove and playing well,” Inverarity said. “He played very well in Brisbane, and when South Australia played Tasmania in the one-dayer there was a period of about 20 minutes where he hit two spanking straight drives slightly to the offside, then he pulled two balls.”He wasn’t doing that before, but they were two terrific shots, and one off his toes for three or four. They were different areas to where he was scoring before. There are signs there that he’s moving to the next level, and we’d like to see that consolidated. We’re counting on him coming through. He has a lot of centuries for a 23-year-old.”If he’s almost ready and he’s still getting his game sorted, to bring him back to me is the wrong decision. His platform needs to be solid and he knows where he’s at. That’s in his long-term interests and Australia’s.”Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s team performance manager, said one of many studies conducted by his department was an analysis of how players responded to being dropped from the national team early in their careers. “We’ve gone and done a study of the last 50 or so years, and the reality is pretty much everybody’s got dropped. And it’s part of their journey,” he said. “There’s been a couple of blokes who’ve been in, seen what it’s like, stretched a little bit, come back. Nobody’s written off.”

A wrap of the opening day of the third round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Rituraj Singh took four wickets to give Rajasthan the advantage in Jaipur•K Sivaraman

The Singhs of Rajasthan, Pankaj and Rajasthan, took eight wickets between them to give the defending champions an ideal start to their third match after just two points from the first two. Devendra Bundela and Rameez Khan, though, made sure Rajasthan, who are missing Hrishikesh Kanitkar, will have to work for points in this match.Rituraj inflicted the early damage, taking three wickets inside the first hour. Aniket Choudhary’s strike made it 31 for 4. Wickets kept felling but Bundela remained firm. However, Pankaj returned to take the wickets of both the half-centurions, and also Anand Rajan, who scored 45. With the four wickets, Pankaj reached 14 wickets for the season, level with Manpreet Gony and behind behind only Shahbaz Nadeem and Arlen Konwar.
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Thanks to a strong pace attack of Gony, Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul, Punjab had picked up seven points in each of their first two games at home. Playing away, too, their quicks took two wickets each to leave Railways struggling at 193 for 7 in Bhubaneswar.Bad light allowed only 74 overs on the first day, but they were enough for Punjab to grab advantage. It began with Gony getting Amit Paunikar in the first over, and Sandeep soon made it 16 for 2. Nitin Bhille and Sanjay Bangar got a partnership going, but a further middle-order collapse left the hosts at 83 for 5.PM Madkaikar, Ashish Yadav, Murali Kartik and Krishnakant Upadhyay slowed down Punjab’s charge. Kartik and Upadhyay were unbeaten at stumps.
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The Patels, Smit and Parthiv, scored fifties once again, but they couldn’t turn it into a big advantage as the hosts came back through medium-pacer Sourav Sarkar’s three wickets. Both teams were coming off bitter disappointments: Bengal lost their last match by an innings, and Gujarat conceded a lead after scoring 600 in theirs.Early honours belonged to Bengal as Gujarat lost their first two wickets for 21. The Patels brought them back with a brisk 95-run partnership in 22.3 overs. Parthiv’s wicket to left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena started a collapse of four wickets for 48 runs.However, Manprit Juneja, who scored a hundred in the last match, steadied them through an unbeaten 56-run stand with Rakesh Dhurv.
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Hyderabad, missing captain VVS Laxman due to a bad back, made a good start to their third Ranji game with debutant medium-pacer Ashish Reddy taking four wickets. Saurashtra, who overhauled 600 in their previous match, made a comeback through Sheldon Jackson’s 67 after they had been 145 for 6.Reddy got rid of both openers, and then Jaydev Shah and Shitanshu Kotak in the middle. Last match’s heroes Sagar Jogiyani and Ravindra Jadeja couldn’t add much either. Wicketkeeeper-batsman Jackson, though, proved stubborn and added 63 for the seventh wicket with Kamlesh Makvana, who was unbeaten at stumps.

Fast bowler Stuart Broad has been sent for scan on his left heel and is a doubt for England’s two T20 matches against India

George Dobell 11-Dec-2012Fast bowler Stuart Broad has been sent for scan on his left heel and is a doubt for England’s two T20 matches against India.Broad suffered a recurrence of the heel injury that threatened his involvement in the first Test of the series during training at the VCA Stadium on Tuesday, ahead of the fourth and final Test of the series that starts on Thursday.While Broad is unlikely to win a recall to the side for that game, he remains a key player in England’s T20 side. His absence would also necessitate England naming a new captain for the two games. Eoin Morgan would appear to be the likely replacement.It may be an inexperienced looking England squad assembled for the T20 games. Not only have experienced players such as Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen been rested, but senior coaches Andy Flower, Graham Gooch and the team manager Phil Neale are also going home immediately after the Test. Richard Halsall, the assistant coach, will take charge.The training session also afforded England their first look at the Nagpur pitch. While it has not been used recently, unlike the tracks used in Mumbai and Kolkata, it looks white and dry. The curator has been asked by the BCCI not to talk to the media, but those close to him suggest the groundstaff stopped watering the pitch a couple of days ago and expect it to start assisting spinners on the second day. The outfield, however, is lush and green which may not aid the seamers on either side as they search for reverse swing.There have only been three Tests at this ground and none of them have ended in a draw. On all three occasions, the side winning the toss has batted first – as they surely will again – and on two of those occasions they have gone on to win the game.

Elias Sunny remained the most sought-after Bangladesh player the day after their 3-2 series win.

Mohammad Isam09-Dec-2012Elias Sunny remained the most sought-after Bangladesh player the day after their 3-2 series win.Everyone wanted to know why he didn’t complete the run that would have sealed Bangladesh’s win off the fifth ball of the 44th over. Nasir Hossain had to reconfirm the win with another shot over the covers the next ball, sparing Sunny the ire of millions.His teammates, though, gave him an earful later in the dressing room. “Mushfiqur, Riyad, Mashrafe, they all started shouting at me,” Sunny said, relieved that he can still see the funny side of his carelessness. “It was sweet because we had won but I can’t tell you what they said.”The confusion, according to Sunny, began when Nasir started to celebrate in earnest after hitting the fifth ball of the 44th over. The ball sailed into the deep field but didn’t reach the boundary and Sunny appeared to be have been taken in by his teammates who had rushed to the middle to celebrate.”The way Nasir hit that ball and started celebrating, I thought the ball went to the boundary,” Sunny said. “He thought I had completed the run so he started to celebrate. I returned from very near the popping crease.”I would have completed the run if I knew it wasn’t a boundary. It was due to excitement. The ball was dead when the team had entered the field. If I had walked towards the striker’s end, I the ball would have been live and that could have been risky.”West Indies captain Darren Sammy was also laughing when asked about the incident right after the match. “That was actually funny. I thought the two guys crossed and one didn’t touch the popping crease.”Apparently one guy didn’t reach the crease at all. I would probably take a look at it in the replay and have a laugh about it again,” Sunny said. “They did what they had to do and congratulations to them.”Sunny said he followed the next ball quite carefully. Nasir cut it away to the boundary. “I really focused on the ball crossing the rope.”

Accurate bowling from both sides, combined with ordinary batting and an awkward fourth-day pitch ensured that the final day’s play of the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Saurashtra and Punjab will be interesting

The Report by Amol Karhadkar in Rajkot19-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh led his side’s comeback, taking four wickets for 60 runs•Fotocorp

Accurate bowling from both sides, combined with ordinary batting and an awkward fourth-day pitch ensured that the final day’s play of the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Saurashtra and Punjab will be interesting; both teams have a chance of qualifying for the final.Although Punjab conceded a huge 178-run lead in the first innings, they made a comeback with impressive spells from captain Harbhajan Singh and new-ball bowler Siddarth Kaul, in the post-lunch session, to restrict the home team to 170 in their second innings.Saurashtra left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat then took two key wickets, including that of the season’s highest run-getter Jiwanjot Singh, to give his team a slender advantage going into the final day at the Khandheri stadium. Saurashtra almost bagged a third wicket but Shitanshu Kotak at first slip failed to hold on to a catch offered by Mandeep Singh off left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja’s bowling in the last over.The dropped catch aside, Kotak had a good day, scoring a fifty that took Saurashtra closer to what could be their maiden Ranji final. With two decades of experience on the domestic circuit, the southpaw has earned a reputation based more on the time he has spent at the crease, rather than the runs he has scored. But once Sagar Jogiyani was dismissed, with Saurashtra leading by 228 runs, Kotak launched. He stepped out frequently to Harbhajan and legspinner Sarabjit Ladda in order to negate the turn and bounce. This gave confidence to rookie Rahul Dave, who also started rotating the strike freely.As a result, when Saurashtra went into lunch at 90 for 1, with a lead of 268, all they had to do was bat out the next session without much damage. Punjab, on the other hand, had to effect a batting collapse to bring themselves back into the game. And they did just that.Despite dropping a regulation catch in the slips of Kotak off Kaul’s bowling, it was Harbhajan who triggered Saurashtra’s collapse, albeit with a slice of luck: Dave was stuck on the pads by a flat ball from the offspinner and umpire Rob Bailey raised his finger, but replays suggested that the ball was sliding down the legside. Jaydev Shah was dismissed soon after, slashing a ball off Kaul’s bowling to Amitoze Singh in the slips.Harbhajan is a dangerous bowler whenever he picks up a wicket early on in his spell. Having succeeded in the third over of his third spell after going wicketless for his first 12 overs, he quickly took three wickets in nine balls. He first dismissed Kotak, who offered a simple return-catch. At the start of the 48th over, Aarpit Vasavada nicked a ball to the wicketkeeper. Five balls later, Kamlesh Makvana was caught by Mandeep at first slip. In his third spell, Harbhajan bowled 14 overs unchanged from one end, beginning in the second session and extending into the final session of play.Kaul, too, pitched in and for the second time in four overs, Punjab managed to claim two wickets in an over: in the 51st over, he dismissed Vishal Joshi (caught at second slip) and Jaydev Unadkat, who was bowled.Having taken seven wickets for just 29 runs, Punjab were right back in the game. However, with a total lead of 308 and two wickets in hand, Saurashtra just needed one of their tailenders to hang around with Sheldon Jackson. And Jadeja proved to be a trustworthy ally for Jackson, batting for 45 minutes as the duo put on 39 runs for the tenth wicket. Although Bipul Sharma dismissed Siddharth Trivedi in the next over, Saurashtra had, by then, already amassed a lead of 349.Punjab didn’t get off to the best of starts in their chase. Despite the pitch assisting spinners, Unadkat impressed with the new ball yet again. He first angled one away from Jiwanjot to force an edge to the slip cordon. After being hit for two boundaries by Taruwar Kohli on the on-side in his fifth over, Unadkat changed the angle and came around the wicket. Kohli went for an extravagant drive only to edge it to Kotak in the slips.Opener Ravi Inder Singh then curbed his instincts to see the day off along with Mandeep, who was fortunate to have been dropped in the last over. Still 304 runs adrift of their target, Punjab have their backs to the wall. Can they do the unthinkable and live up to the tag of the ‘team of the year’ of this domestic season? Or will they join the ranks of Uttar Pradesh, who topped Group B but were surprised by Services in the quarters?

Virat Kohli has replaced Daniel Vettori as captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore for this year’s IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2013Virat Kohli has replaced Daniel Vettori as captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for this year’s IPL. Vettori was the captain of the team in 2011 and 2012.Kohli has previously led the side on a number of occasions on an ad hoc basis, specially in 2012, in matches where Vettori was replaced by Muttiah Muralitharan as the overseas spinner. He has led the RCB on ten occasions so far, during which the team won six games and lost three.Kohli has scored 1,639 runs in 77 matches for RCB in the IPL at an average of 28.25. He was pleased at being handed the captaincy. “Being drafted as an under-19 in 2008 and now to be considered to lead the side of great Players, is a big honour,” he said.Vettori had a good season at the helm in 2011, after RCB finished second, losing to Chennai Super Kings in the final. In 2012, however, RCB finished fifth, winning eight of their 16 games.

Kings XI sign Aniket Choudhary

Kings XI Punjab have signed on Rajasthan’s left-arm medium pacer Aniket Choudhary. Choudhary, who made his first-class debut in 2011, has played 12 first-class matches and taken 30 wickets. Choudhary was Rajasthan’s third most successful bowler, picking up 24 wickets in eight matches. This will be his first IPL season.

After scoring a match-winning century for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, Unmukt Chand has said the domestic season has been a learning experience

George Binoy03-Mar-2013Since his return from a victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign in Australia, Unmukt Chand has been busy. He toured New Zealand with India A, toured South Africa with Delhi Daredevils, played a tour game against an England XI, played the BCCI’s Corporate Trophy for ONGC, and represented Delhi in the domestic season. He’s had to deal with a lot more attention and has appeared in his first TV commercial. Amid all this, Chand hasn’t lost the knack of scoring a hundred in a tournament final.After making hundreds in several Under-19 tournament finals, a run that culminated in a World Cup-winning century against Australia in Townsville, Chand did it again, for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare final in Visakhapatman. His 116 off 133 balls led Delhi to 290 for 9, 75 runs too many for Assam.All the knockout matches of the tournament were played in two venues in Visakhapatnam and most of the totals were low. In the quarter-finals and the semis, teams had passed 200 only in two innings. But Chand said the pitch for the final was better than previous ones.”We would have definitely elected to bowl if we had won the toss,” Chand said. “But the conditions were slightly different, it was not a sort of a weird track, not a treacherous track you can say, like we had in the previous games. The ball was coming a bit slow but I think it was a good batting wicket …”The century was Chand’s first in List A cricket since his debut in 2010, coming in his 23rd innings and it lifted his average to 32.60. “I hope to continue scoring hundreds and more importantly winning matches for my team,” he said. “I haven’t scored hundreds but I have been doing this [scoring runs] in the league matches as well. I realise I have the ability and just need to play my own game.”Chand’s Vijay Hazare hundred came after a poor Ranji Trophy season. Much was expected of him following his Under-19 success but he averaged 37, making 445 runs with one century in eight matches. He was Delhi’s third highest run-scorer but eighth on the list of their top averages. Having placed a premium on the Ranji Trophy, calling it a “cherished” tournament, Chand said it had been a learning experience.”All I can say is, I would have definitely wanted to score more runs in the Ranji. Though it happens you know, things don’t always go according to plan,” he said. “I learned a lot in this Ranji season. Failure teaches you a lot. Really happy that I was able to face such rough things as well, when I was not able to score. I hope to learn from the mistakes I made, become a better player.”Chand said he had learned to be more patient through the Ranji season and the one-day matches had taught him new aspects of temperament that needed looking after. His next challenge is the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 tournament. And after that it’s the IPL, when the world will be watching.

Delhi Daredevils have signed the New South Wales captain and left-hand batsman Ben Rohrer for this IPL season

Daniel Brettig02-Apr-2013Delhi Daredevils have signed the New South Wales captain and left-hand batsman Ben Rohrer for this IPL season.The Daredevils’ spokesperson confirmed Rohrer’s inclusion, saying he was a replacement for Indian seamer Varun Aaron, who isn’t available due to a stress fracture he suffered last year. Rohrer, though, could also compensate for the absence of Jesse Ryder this season. Ryder was at the receiving end of a vicious attack in Christchurch last week.A capable and versatile middle-order batsman as well as a calm operator, the 32-year-old Rohrer was a stand-out performer for the Melbourne Renegades in the 2012-13 BBL in Australia, compiling 295 runs at an average of 49.16 as his side led the preliminary standings before falling in the semi-finals.As impressive as Rohrer’s runs was the manner in which he made them, combining busy running with strong hitting like Michael Hussey. Those displays earned Rohrer a Twenty20 international debut against the West Indies at the Gabba, where he did not look out of place while hustling to 16.Rohrer’s first-class career for NSW has been sturdy, returning him 1901 runs at 39.60 in 34 matches, including a century on debut for the Blues against Tasmania in 2006.He has been in and out of the side due to the state’s raft of international players for several summers since, but his reliability as a batsman and a character was recognised by his appointment to the state captaincy this summer after Steve O’Keefe resigned his commission.Rohrer will join his fellow New South Welshman David Warner in Delhi. He tweeted the news of his inclusion in the squad.

Zimbabwe will begin the series against Bangladesh without their new coach Andy Waller, who has yet to be announced as he makes arrangements to leave the UK

Firdose Moonda03-Apr-2013Zimbabwe will begin the home series against Bangladesh this month without their new coach Andy Waller, who has yet to be officially announced as he makes arrangements to leave the UK. Stephen Mangogo, who was previous coach Alan Butcher’s assistant, will stand-in for Waller until he arrives.Waller has been working at a private school in Sussex, Eastbourne College, where he was the head cricket coach, and has just returned from a 12-day tour of Sri Lanka with the school’s first team. A source close to both Waller and Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed that Waller had accepted the job and needed time to tie up loose ends before relocating to the country of his birth.The delay has given Mangongo, who was also interviewed for the head coach’s position, an opportunity to take charge for the first time. He served as Butcher’s assistant for two years and has been intricately involved in the fabric of Zimbabwe cricket as chairman of Takashinga Cricket Club, which has produced many internationals, including Hamilton Masakadza, Tatenda Taibu and Elton Chigumbura.Mangongo promised a turnaround after Zimbabwe slumped to seven straight defeats across all formats on the tour of West Indies, which was marked by a failure to play spin adequately, something they will face in abundance against Bangladesh.”I believe a change of tactics is required here and it’s the route I intend to take during the training sessions,” Mangongo said. “I intend to find and weed out those players who are not doing their job. I have already presented my findings to the selectors and recommended a few new players I wish to take on board, so you can expect some changes during the Bangladesh visit.”Zimbabwe dropped Elton Chigumbura and left-arm seamer Brian Vitori for their Caribbean tour after both lost form, but Mangongo’s changes may result in their return. Others who could come into the reckoning are Logan Cup top-scorer Richmond Mutumbami, and bowlers Ed Rainsford and Glen Querl.Bangladesh will play two Tests in Zimbabwe – the first time the hosts are playing more than a one-off Test at home since their comeback in August 2011 – three ODIs and two Twenty20s. The tour begins on April 17. Waller’s arrival date has not been confirmed and it is possible he will only take over for Zimbabwe’s next challenge in the FTP, against India for three ODIs in July.