All posts by h716a5.icu

Rory Hamilton-Brown has announced that he will stand down as Surrey captain to focus on his own game

George Dobell10-Aug-2012Rory Hamilton-Brown has resigned as captain of Surrey having struggled to regain equilibrium following the death of close friend and team-mate Tom Maynard. Although Hamilton-Brown has reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing a playing career, he has accepted it will take time to regain the mental and physical fitness required to fulfil one of the more demanding jobs in cricket.Gareth Batty will continue as Surrey captain until the end of the season, with the club making a decision about a longer-term solution in the off-season. Batty and new signing Vikram Solanki will be among the candidates for the role, though Chris Adams, Surrey’s director of cricket, has made no secret of his desire to bring in new faces.Hamilton-Brown’s resignation brings to an end an experiment that was beginning to bear fruit. Just 22 at the time of his appointment in 2010 – the youngest Surrey captain in more than a century – Hamilton-Brown assumed leadership of a team struggling in all formats of the game. While progress was not always smooth, Surrey won the CB40 competition and Championship promotion in 2011 and, with a squad boasting several highly talented young players, looked set for a period of sustained success.Then came the tragic incident in June that claimed the life of Maynard – a young batsman in whom club and country had high hopes – and Hamilton-Brown was given indefinite compassionate leave to come to terms with his grief. While he has taken the first tentative steps towards a first-team return, he has decided that the responsibilities of captaincy are a burden he can do without at this stage of his rehabilitation. Surrey have not won a Championship game in his absence and endured a poor T20 campaign.”I am honoured to have captained Surrey, the county I have played for since I was nine years old,” Hamilton-Brown said. “It has been a privilege to have been in charge of a fantastic group of players and what we achieved together is a great source of pride to me, particularly our unprecedented record of only one defeat in 20 Clydesdale Bank matches.”I am only 24 and would now like to concentrate on my own game and try to achieve ambitions I have in the game by continuing to play well for Surrey.”Adams said: “I would like to thank Rory for everything he has achieved during his three years as captain. Having taken on the captaincy in 2010, winning a Lord’s final and securing promotion to Division One in 2011 were both fantastic achievements. He has undoubted talent and a desire to take his game to the next level. I hope he achieves all his ambitions within the game in the years to come.”Surrey remain in contention to retain the CB40 trophy – they are top of Group B having lost just one of their eight games – but have slipped into relegation trouble in the Championship, losing their most recent match against Durham by an innings.

Bangladesh coach Richard Pybus doesn’t expect any major changes to the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka next month

Mohammad Isam12-Aug-2012Bangladesh coach Richard Pybus doesn’t expect any major changes to the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka next month. He was also pleased that some of the players had improved their Twenty20 skills after the tours to Zimbabwe and Europe over the last two months.Barring three players who are participating in the ongoing Sri Lanka Premier League, the rest began training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, though they were forced indoors due to the Dhaka rain. This camp will be the final preparation at home before the World Twenty20, as their next destination is Trinidad and Tobago, where they will play a four-nation Twenty20 tournament as part of the island’s 50th independence day celebrations.”It is important for us that we have a core group of people to work with, as the side is quite settled now and I don’t see any major changes in the team when we go forward to Trinidad and the World Cup,” Pybus said. “A lot of these players would transfer over to the one-day squad. I have been able to see the attitude and skills of the guys. Now I need to underline it with very specific formats with specific skill-sets.”I think we have reasonably settled on that, though that doesn’t mean we are where we need to be. We have certainly grown. After two months, I have understood what we need to do not just for the [Twenty20] World Cup but even after that. The World Cup is a benchmark which will let you know where you are.”During their tour of Europe, Bangladesh made a clean sweep of Ireland, but in the Netherlands, they were beaten by Scotland and the hosts, ending with four wins out of six.”We didn’t play the way we would have liked to in the three games in Holland. But it was important for us to get that experience and get to the ground after the high of winning the Ireland series and have our focus brought back to the fact that we are still a growing, emerging cricket nation,” Pybus said.Despite the results, Pybus was also happy with the players’ accommodating outlook after encountering difficult weather and ordinary facilities.”I am very happy with their attitude, especially in Ireland where it was not that easy for the touring side as there was rain and the wicket was damp,” Pybus said. “There were limited tour facilities but the guys got into it, they did a lot of fielding work and conditioning.”We even had to go to a school to train but the guys took it as an opportunity and that showed that they wanted to learn and get better. In Ireland and Holland you won’t get all the facilities but there was no complaining, they just went about being busy. This was a really positive mindset and we will build a good team.”He also said that Shakib-Al-Hasan was “reasonably happy” with his recovery progress from a knee injury. “We are just going to build him up gradually before bringing him back to play cricket. I chatted with him in the morning and he was confident,” Pybus said.

If cricket was science fiction, contests between Sri Lanka and South Africa might be characterised as tussles between Ewoks and Vulcans.

Andrew Fernando in Hambantota21-Sep-2012If cricket was science fiction, contests between Sri Lanka and South Africa might be characterised as tussles between Ewoks and Vulcans.One side is almost cute. Their emphasis on the “Sri Lankan brand of cricket” is fuzzy, and their insistence on allowing bowlers to be themselves no matter how strange, is charmingly different. South Africa meanwhile are efficiency personified. There is little room for sentiment in their outfit and it is all the more formidable because of it. They have developed some of the best players in the world, and know the science of getting everything out of them.This difference in philosophies is made all the more stark by the teams’ varying strengths. Sri Lanka’s attack is dripping with x-factor, but there is also brittleness about it. South Africa’s bowlers however, are precise and consistent. Sri Lanka revel in spin, whether producing it or playing it, but South Africa are masters of pace, seam and bounce; a brutal art for a dauntless team.Saturday’s encounter between two of the tournament favourites might be a case of who can exploit the other’s weakness better. Ajantha Mendis and Jeevan Mendis shared nine Zimbabwe wickets between them, in Sri Lanka’s 84-run drubbing of Zimbabwe, then South Africa’s pace quartet reaped eight scalps from the same team two nights later. Mahela Jayawardene alluded to South Africa’s perceived weakness against spin when he cited their “inexperienced middle order” ahead of the match, and Sri Lanka’s troubles against quality pace bowling are well known – even if they have improved in that regard lately.South Africa are aware they will have to play Ajantha Mendis on the same surface he took a world record 6 for 8 only four days ago, but captain AB de Villiers said his side know plenty about him and are far from intimidated.”A guy like Mendis is a world class bowler and when he’s going well he will always pick up wickets,” he said. “But we’ve seen him perform under pressure and seen him break down under pressure as well. So hopefully, we can get the upper hand against him and not let him bowl to us.”The pitch will play a significant role. The surface on which South Africa demolished Zimbabwe was perhaps the liveliest of the tournament so far, but the strip that will be used on Saturday also had plenty in it for the seamers.”I was expecting the pitch to bounce a bit, but not as much as it did against Zimbabwe. I was surprised that pitch didn’t really take turn. I’m certainly expecting it to turn a bit more when we play Sri Lanka.”Both teams are through to Super Eights, which means the result of this game only becomes relevant in the event of a tie at the end of the next phase. Each captain conceded they will be tempted to test out their bench strength for the effective dead rubber, but de Villiers stressed that it was more than just a warm up for the matches to come.”I don’t think there will be any drop in intensity for the Sri Lanka game,” de Villiers said. “We’re in the beginning stages of a very, very big event, a tournament that we really want to win. You have to play well in every game and improve in every game. Sri Lanka are the home team and we’re probably underdogs. We’ll try and gain some momentum out of the game.”Sri Lanka may also like to give Akila Dananjaya a chance to prove his talent at international level. If he plays alongside Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s attack will be a showcase of the weird. The Ewoks will hope to hoodwink their opponents into crashing their hovercraft into trees, but if the Vulcans have their way, the script will be clean and predictable but no less impressive.

As far as Graham Gooch is concerned, the best of Alastair Cook is yet to come

George Dobell10-Dec-2012As if the last couple of weeks have not contained enough bad news for India, Graham Gooch had a little more for them: as far as Gooch is concerned, the best of Alastair Cook is yet to come.Cook’s batting has been one of the major differences between the teams this series. In three Tests, he has contributed three centuries and his tally of runs – 548 at an average of 109.60 – is more than Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh combined.But Gooch feels Cook, who will be 28 on Christmas Day, has not yet reached his peak and will inevitably break Gooch’s own record as England’s top run-scorer in Test cricket. Gooch scored 8,900 Test runs, while Cook currently has 7,103. Only Kevin Pietersen, of current England players, has more with 7,335.”In my opinion,” Gooch said, “the years between 27 to 35 are the best years for a batsman because you have honed your knowledge and you know your game. I think he’s got his best years in front of him. He’s got to stay fit and motivated but nothing at the moment would suggest to me that that won’t happen. I hope to hang on in this job until he goes past my record.”Few know Cook as a cricketer as well as Gooch. Not only do the pair of them, as Essex and England opening batsmen and captain, have much in common, but Gooch was the batting coach at Essex as Cook was developing and now performs the same role with England. He has watched Cook at close quarters throughout his career and, while Gooch admits Cook has never been the most eye-catching player, the skills that have served him so well at the top level were apparent very early.”Alastair was on the Essex Academy and it was pretty obvious he was going to be a good player,” Gooch said. “I can’t remember the first time I saw him but I do remember him keeping wicket and batting for our Board XI against Essex in a proper match.”That match was a Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy game from 2003. Cook, opening the batting and keeping wicket for Essex Cricket Board against Essex, only scored 27 in the match, but his maturity stuck in Gooch’s mind.

“He tends to get on the front foot now a bit more later in his innings and he plays a very resolute game outside off stump. He’s worked very hard over the years.”Graham Gooch on how Cook’s technique has developed

“My early memories of him as a person were that he was very mature for his age and very balanced and considered. He went about his cricket in a methodical sort of way and you can still see that now. The priceless ability he had when he was young, and again you can see this now, is that he knows exactly what he can and can’t do. He puts that in place and into practice and doesn’t step outside that.”You know the old saying? It’s not how, it’s how many. He knows the way to play. Often young players coming up have talent and ability to strike the ball but they don’t quite know how to manage their ability. Sometimes it dawns on them later in life and sometimes it doesn’t dawn on them at all but this lad had it from the beginning. He knew how he could operate.”He applies a certain type of game in Test cricket that works. When he came into the one-day side a lot of people said he didn’t have the game for it but smart players find a way. And he plays a different sort of game in one-day cricket. He’s not a power player but he keeps it moving and his runs-per-balls ratio is very good. That shows the skill of the man in being able to adapt.”He tends to get on the front foot now a bit more later in his innings and he plays a very resolute game outside off stump. He’s worked very hard over the years. He practices the sweep and hitting the ball over the top and it’s good to see him showing confidence in selective sweeping against the turning ball. He’s had success with that and also has the confidence to use his feet and come down the wicket. He’s starting to enhance his game.”Maybe he’s thinking back to the Pakistan series in 2010 when he had a bit of a nightmare and thinking ‘I’m going to get every run I can now because it’s working for me’. I’m in good form and I’ll cash in.”Gooch is also impressed by Cook’s leadership since being appointed Test captain. Not only has Cook set a record – centuries in each of his first five Tests as captain – but has led England to a 2-1 series lead in conditions in which many expected them to struggle.”Captaincy has enhanced his run scoring already,” Gooch said. “It’s difficult to look into a crystal ball and say whether it will affect him down the line but all the opportunities are there for him. He’s mentally strong, that’s his greatest asset, and he could achieve a lot of things. There’s a lot of cricket in front of him and that can affect you but I’d like to think he will go all the way. He’ll certainly go past my record in the not too distant future the way it’s going and good on him because he’ll deserve that. He’s mastered his art to a degree and is always looking to improve. If he delivers, England win matches.”I think we’ve seen already in the dressing room that he’s prepared to make his own decisions. He doesn’t always take the coaches advice in that he wants to do it his own way. He’ll make mistakes and he won’t get it right every time. You have to grow into that job, the way you get the best out of people, counsel them, and make tactical decisions. All those things come into it. He’s in his infancy but I don’t see any reason why he won’t be a good captain and leader of men.”

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford admits he was surprised by the lack of fight his team showed in Melbourne and that it felt worse than any game he has ever been involved in

Andrew Fernando29-Dec-2012Graham Ford was coach of South Africa when his team subjected Sri Lanka to their worst Test defeat ever, in Cape Town, vanquishing the visitors by an innings and 229 runs. He now finds himself with the team he helped demolish at Newlands on the other end of a one-sided result. The disappointment feels worse than any game he has ever been involved in, he said.Sri Lanka avoided beating their own worst loss at the MCG, but did not manage much better in their biggest Test of the year, losing inside eight sessions, by an innings and 201 runs. It was a loss characterised by their lack of resolve, particularly with the bat, as they fell for 156 in the first innings, before losing three for three, then 13 for four in the second innings, as they attempted to save the Test, having conceded a 304-run first innings deficit.There were few redeeming aspects of Sri Lanka’s performance, save a silken58 from Kumar Sangakkara in the first innings which took him over the10,000 run threshold in the same number of innings in which Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar also achieved the milestone. Sangakkara will take no part in the remainder of Sri Lanka’s tour in Australia however, having fractured his hand when he was hit by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer in the second innings.”It’s not a good feeling at the moment,” Ford, the Sri Lanka coach, said after the match. “Right now it feels like it’s the worst Test match I’ve been involved in. I don’t think I’ve been involved in a defeat inside of three days. It’s been quite difficult to find that many positives out of this one apart from Kumar’s wonderful milestone.”I was surprised at the lack of fight. I have often spoken about the fight that Sri Lankan cricketers have. What I’ve become accustomed to is a lot of fight. Admittedly a lot of that fight has been more in the one-day format than in the Test match format, but we have shown some good fight in Tests. Australia got some really good momentum going and we didn’t get the start that we wanted.”Sri Lanka’s bowlers also performed creditably in patches, creating an avenue back into the match when they removed the Australia openers and Phillip Hughes in quick succession on the first evening, but poor catching thwarted their efforts. Shane Watson and Michael Clarke’s 194-run partnership put Australia in command of the match, and set up theirmammoth first-innings lead.”Maybe if we held those catches – I know they were spoken about a lot on that first afternoon – that might have halted some of their momentum. But they got to the point where the momentum just became too much for us. Unfortunately with a few things going against us with injuries, we weren’t up to it.”The injury to Sangakkara means reserve batsman Dinesh Chandimal is almostcertain to play in the third Test in Sydney. Chandimal may also take thegloves at the SCG, with Prasanna Jayawardene also under an injury cloud,having sustained a fractured thumb as a result of another Johnson bouncer. Either fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep or offspinner Suraj Randiv is also likely to start, with Nuwan Kulasekara’s cracked rib likely to rule him out of contention. Chanaka Welegedara has also been ruled out for the Test, after tearing his hamstring on day two in Melbourne.”Chandimal is very, very keen to get on to the Test match stage. He’s worked extremely hard throughout the tour. So for him if he does get on and play, it will be a great opportunity for him.”The injuries are a challenge. At the moment, we are still discussing andassessing the damage. That’s something we’re going to have to talk about.We have got back-up in the squad and I know that the back-up has beenworking extremely hard. And sometimes out of injury, careers are made.People get opportunities and they can grab them. One of our young guys willget to play in a New Year’s Test in Sydney and if they can play well, theycan establish themselves as Test players and gain great confidence fromit.”Ford also said he would like to have the services of Lasith Malinga for thefinal Test, but believed it to be impossible for the fast bowler to make a Testcomeback in time for Sydney. Malinga is in Australia playing in the BigBash League at present.”We certainly need him, but that’s a contractual issue that I’m notinvolved in at the moment. He’s contracted to the Big Bash at the moment,and not available to us.”

MS Dhoni led the way with the bat and in the field as India condemned England to a 127-run defeat to make it 1-1 in the five-match series

The Report by David Hopps15-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMS Dhoni fired India to a total that proved far too good for England•BCCIKochi, in tourist terms at least, is the gateway to the backwaters but India, 1-0 down in the ODI series with four to play, were in no mood to take that journey. MS Dhoni, impassioned not just with the bat but just as strikingly in every aspect of his captaincy, made that abundantly clear with every muscle flexed and every order barked and it was England who were sunk without trace in a 127-run defeat.England’s pursuit of 286 always looked a daunting task and it became an improbable one from the moment that Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan in the space of three balls in an outstanding new-ball spell. There is nothing like a humid evening in Kochi to perk up a swing bowler and Bhuvneshwar, a 22-year-old from Uttar Pradesh playing in only his fifth ODI, also summoned impressive stamina as Dhoni ran his 10-over spell through without interruption and was rewarded with his best international figures of 3 for 29.But the match had swung India’s way much earlier than that – and it was Dhoni, a captain deemed to be under pressure, and Ravindra Jadeja who were at the heart of it. England had sensed they held an element of control, at the very least, for much of India’s innings but 108 runs from the last 10 overs, 68 from the last five, shook that notion to the core.As so often, Dhoni was left to plot a route to victory, wresting control from England’s attack with 72 from 66 balls. He creates his own virtuous circle, creating a febrile atmosphere and then feeding off it, in turn causing a crowd of around 70,000 to roar with even greater intensity. He fell four balls from the end of the innings when he sliced Dernbach to Joe Root at deep cover – a suitable end because Dernbach’s unwavering policy of bowling wide to him outside off stump had been England’s most effective counter.India approached the last 10 overs in unconvincing shape, at 177 for 5, having been confounded in the batting Powerplay by the variations of Dernbach and Steven Finn, which conceded only 21 runs in five overs and dismissed their batting mainstay, Suresh Raina, in the process.Dhoni had failed to manage India’s run chase in Rajkot, holing out at long-off against Dernbach’s slower ball. He received a near-replica in the closing overs but this time his hands were fast and his brain quicksilver and he muscled it well beyond the boundary rope. It was a statement about how things would be different this time.What Dhoni stirred, Jadeja delivered, rounding things off by taking 14 from Dernbach’s last three deliveries to finish with an unbeaten 61 from 37 balls. They were impressive statistics for a batsman who had been overshadowed until the last. As for Dernbach, for all his relative success against Dhoni, he still spilled 73 from nine overs.Smart stats

The margin of victory – 127 runs – is the second-highest for India in ODIs against England.

England’s score of 158 is their third-lowest all-out total in ODIs against India.

India’s Nos. 5, 6 and 7 all scored half-centuries, only the fifth time this has ever happened in ODIs, and the first such instance for India.

The 96-run stand between MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja came at a run-rate of 9.60 per over, the fourth-best rate for a 50-plus stand for India against England. The top three such stands for the sixth wicket for India versus England all involve Dhoni and Jadeja.

Jadeja’s strike rate of 164.86 (61 off 37 balls) is the fourth-highest for a 50-plus score by an Indian against England.

Since the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni has averaged 83.28 at a strike rate of 92.39, with 11 fifty-plus scores in 27 innings.

Dhoni averages 57.78 in 118 ODI innings as captain. His average is the highest among captains who’ve batted at least 15 innings.

For Chris Woakes, who was playing his first ODI in India after his late inclusion for the injured Tim Bresnan, it was an examination far beyond anything he had ever experienced. He thought he had Dhoni caught at the wicket when he had made 6 from nine balls but it was impossible for the umpire Vineet Kulkarni to hear a nick in such a din and normal-speed TV replays, which were all that were shown, made things no clearer.Raina had made 55 from 78 balls before he dragged on a pull at Finn and departed bashing the peak of his helmet with his bat in frustration, just as Virat Kohil had done earlier when he flayed Woakes to the cover boundary. Raina prospered primarily against the offspin of James Tredwell, two slog sweeps for six representing the highlight of his innings, and ensured that Tredwell, who took four wickets in the opening ODI in Rajkot, did not repeat the mayhem. As for England’s bonus allrounder in the opening match, Joe Root, who bowled nine overs relatively unscathed, there was no encore.India’s opening pair did not survive long, Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane both departing by the fifth over. Finn and Dernbach, also impressive with the new ball, had clamoured for several lbw appeals before they prospered by hitting the stumps.Dernbach’s nip-backer to bowl Gambhir through the gate was a delivery made to order. There are few more productive, or less convincing, shots in ODIs than Gambhir’s dab through gully for four, bat hanging away from his body and he had played it the previous ball much to the bowler’s frustration. The ball that cut back was the classic retort. Finn also brought a delivery back in his next over, late inswing accounting for Rahane as he shuffled across his crease.India’s frustration grew when Yuvraj Singh fell to an erroneous lbw decision by Steve Davis, who did not see – and, like Kulkarni in the case of Dhoni, certainly could not hear in such a deafening atmosphere – a deflection off the glove as he swept at Tredwell. With no DRS in use, Yuvraj had to take his punishment, although he did not do so without a stray comment or two.So, for that matter, did Alastair Cook in England’s reply, with Bhuvneshwar fortunate to win an lbw decision with a delivery that pitched outside leg stump. Cook should have been run out on 17 when Jadeja failed to pick up cleanly at midwicket to take advantage of complete confusion between Pietersen and Cook over a leg-side single. Dhoni’s annoyance was clear, but Bhuvneshwar’s eighth over had an impact on the course of the match and the captain’s mood.First Pietersen (42 from 44 balls) was bowled by one that jagged back as he sought to run into the off side and two balls later Bhuvneshwar found movement away from the left-handed Morgan from a good length and Dhoni dived to claim one his finest catches against England this winter, in what has been a somewhat troubled wicketkeeping sequence.England, four down for 74 by the 17th over, had much rebuilding to do. But the ball turned for India’s spinners and it was jerry-built stuff. Craig Kieswetter and Joe Root assessed a while then both got out, Kieswetter unimpressively as he pushed a short ball from R Ashwin to midwicket, Root sliced apart by Jadeja’s arm ball. Woakes’ managed a second-ball duck – another Jadeja arm ball to enhance his excellent match -and England’s tail quickly subsided, in no doubt about the extent of the challenge ahead.

The Pakistan Super League, the country’s franchise-based Twenty20 tournament, has been postponed from its planned March-April schedule

Umar Farooq08-Feb-2013Pakistan board’s PSL press release

The PCB and PSL Management after thoughtful deliberations with stakeholders and considering the desire expressed by them to give more time to prepare to invest in the League, arrived at the following conclusions:
1. The concerns expressed by the stakeholders on tight timelines for submission of bids and leveraging of assets, hold merit.
2. Several requests are coming from other parties keen on picking up bid documents to become part of this extravaganza and hence more time given will benefit the League and all stakeholders.
3. While a lot of progress has already been made in getting tax exemption for PSL (broadcasters, franchise, players, investors) from the government, it seems that finalization of this approval would take some more time due to procedures involved at relevant authorities,and the bid process would already be concluded by the time tax exemptions are granted. This could impact upon the valuations done by various bidders.
4. Over 80 foreign players (and growing) have already signed to participate in PSL auction but the process of NOCs from the relevant boards is still underway and would require some time.
5. Some scheduling conflicts that arose after PSL dates were announced could result in potential star players missing out on the opportunity of participating in PSL.

The Pakistan Super League, the country’s franchise-based Twenty20 tournament, has been indefinitely postponed for the organisers to sort out logistical issues. The PSL, which is run by the Pakistan board, was supposed to be held between March 26 and April 7 in Pakistan but a PCB statement said the delay was to give investors more time to submit bids and also to avoid scheduling conflicts with other cricket tournaments.The decision was taken on Friday after PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf met the Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik in Islamabad. The postponement wasn’t revealed in the press conference that followed the meeting but in a detailed press release that was subsequently issued. The PCB has formed a committee to look for a slot more feasible to the investors to reschedule the tournament.”The decision to move away from the planned dates of the PSL is an extremely difficult one but for the benefit of all stakeholders and the league,” PSL managing director Salman Sarwar Butt said. “The PCB management has decided to reschedule the event and move it to a period where there are fewer scheduling conflicts, and the stakeholders get enough time to develop their business plans.”The PSL business model – unveiled on January 10 – was expected to fetch the PCB “in excess of $100 million over the years.” It was to feature five teams and 23 matches, to be played at a single, as yet undisclosed, venue. The PCB had also announced the base prices of players at a proposed auction though they didn’t reveal the pool of players who had signed up for the tournament. The board also invited bids for the broadcasters and had been confident of lining up investors for the franchises within a month.”Over 15 potential franchise buyers, around 10 top broadcasters and various potential sponsors from large business houses have collected the bid documents and shown extremely keen interest in acquiring respective rights,” Butt said. “However, there are several other investors who would like us to give them more time for our various rights.”Launching the PSL wasn’t a straightforward business for the PCB as no international cricket has been played in Pakistan since a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus during a Test in Lahore in 2009, and the country is still struggling with its law and order situation. The PCB itself has been hosting home series away from home, mostly in the United Arab Emirates, and no country is ready to provide No Objection Certificates (NOC) to its players for featuring in the PSL.The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) had also raised concerns over the security situation in Pakistan and warned players against taking part in the PSL, calling it an unmanageable risk. The original schedule would have also clashed with the pre-poll campaigns ahead of general elections expected to be held in May.ESPNcricinfo understands that there were suggestions to stage the PSL outside Pakistan but the PCB decided to keep it in the country, in line with the league’s stated objective of “improving the image of the country and revival of international cricket”.”There is no way we are backing down from our major objective,” Ashraf said. “We are extremely encouraged by various stakeholders including the broadcasters and financiers from across the world and looking at the response it gives us a lot of confidence that our league is a success. We envisage that as suggested, the shift in our timelines will drive more interested stakeholders towards PSL and make this one of the most sought after league in the cricketing world.”

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.

Lancashire have announced a fourth consecutive year of heavy losses, £1.5 million for 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-2013Lancashire have announced a fourth consecutive year of heavy losses, £1.5 million for 2012, as the impact of their ground redevelopment problems, which included lengthy legal battles, continues to be felt.However, the club are confident that with the Ashes returning to Old Trafford this year, work on the ground nearing the end of the latest stage, and the recent naming agreement with Emirates, that the financial results will show an improvement from next year.Lee Morgan, the club’s finance director, said: “When we embarked on this journey back in 2007 with the creation of our detailed business plan, we knew we had many obstacles to overcome; however, nobody could have foreseen how high, and how many there were going to be, much of which is well documented.”Rebuilding nearly an entire stadium on an existing site whilst still trading throughout is fraught with risk and stacked with difficulty, but was absolutely necessary to protect the history, the heritage and most importantly the future of this great venue.”Lancashire’s figures for 2012 were hit by one of the wettest summers on record, which impacted many counties, with key Friends Life t20 fixtures at Old Trafford being washed out, while the Twenty20 against South Africa was also struck. In comparison to 2011 when they won the County Championship, there was also a shortfall of more than half a million in prize money.”The loss is again substantial,” chairman Michael Cairns told the Manchester Evening News. “However, as forecasted last year, it is broadly in line with our expectations.”Over the past four years we have suffered more than our fair share of unanticipated hurdles and costly interruptions to our development project. While this is often the case with multi-faceted construction programmes, it’s reasonable to say that some of our challenges have been far from the norm.”In addition, the serious fall off in paid attendances in all forms of domestic cricket, and most recently the T20 international, has all impacted significantly on the club’s finances.”Although Old Trafford will host an Ashes clash this year, Cairns warned that any season when they are not awarded a Test – such as 2015 – will be difficult for the club which has tried to diversify its sources of income with a profitable events business built around The Point development next to the pavilion.”Any year in which we are not allocated one of the major Tests will be a tight financial year, with 2015 being our next challenge in this respect,” Cairns said. “My belief is that an unhealthy number of clubs will be facing extremely difficult financial times, especially if the level of ECB distributions were to be significantly reduced.”

Graham Napier gave Essex a first-innings lead with a lower-order half-century to put his side on top at Chelmsford

David Hopps at Chelmsford30-Apr-2013
ScorecardGraham Napier made an invaluable 74 from No. 9•Getty ImagesSuch is the professionalism of the England team these days that there has never been a higher expectation that when England players return to their county sides in the Championship, they will deliver. That was certainly the case for Joe Root in Yorkshire’s victory at Durham and here, Essex need Alastair Cook to bring some stability to their season.Cook’s status, as England’s captain, could hardly be more proven. He strolls around Chelmsford with an easy charm which tells of achievements already secured and challenges to come. Essex value his presence all the same as they seek to arrest a disturbing start to the season.Halfway through this match, Hampshire, strongly fancied for promotion, have edged to a lead of 20 runs, their second innings creeping along at two-an-over. They lost Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams to David Masters’ new-ball spell, Carberry falling to a fast catch by Ben Foakes off the meat of the bat at forward short leg.It would be understandable if Essex, an innings defeat against Northamptonshire still fresh in the mind, are already hankering after Cook to produce a matchwinning response in the fourth innings. He will be back with England in a flash, but at the moment temporary assistance is welcome.Cook batted in an orderly fashion as if intent upon gently attuning his mind to the approaching demands of two back-to-back Ashes series. He proceeded without much ado for more than four hours – 176 balls for 59 – before James Tomlinson found a little swing around leg stump and had him lbw.”It’s been Alastair at his most restrained,” observed one Essex member as she gazed over the sunlit River Cam at lunchtime. The observation came with a wistful sigh as if she would like to mother him. She sounded like a proud parent, recognising that her offspring had grown up and gone on to better things, but half wishing she could have held back the clock.At 73 for 6, Essex were in a pickle, the score doing little for the well-being of Paul Grayson, the coach, who was unwell. But Cook stayed on long enough to add a few appealing condiments. The bracing ingredients came, though, from Graham Napier, who struck 74 from 105 balls to give Essex a useful first-innings lead of 57. Their last four wickets added 181.Napier lost his T20 world record for six-hitting last week when Chris Gayle struck 17 in one knock in his IPL rampage for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Napier had hit 16 for Essex against Sussex Sharks in 2008 and Essex actually delayed a practice session at Northampton to watch Gayle take his record.Napier felt obliged to pronounce himself “a bit gutted”, which is presumably even worse than gutted, on the grounds that some of the bones are left in, but he is an easy-going, uncomplicated sort who will not fret that he has lost part of his place in cricket history – he still jointly holds the first-class record for most sixes in an innings. He found the going strikingly easier than anybody (at least until Tim Phillips hit with gusto for 40 from at No. 10), although there was only one six, a pick-up over midwicket off the left-arm spinner Danny Briggs.Over lunch the first sun warning of the summer was given on the Chelmsford public address. These are routinely made on county grounds whenever the temperature creeps above about 14 degrees. No sooner was the announcement made than the sun went in and a chill wind took hold again. Such warnings are probably just as well when Cook bats because famously he never sweats and could presumably create a misleading impression. It is a wonder Health & Safety have not banned him because of it.