Australia may depart from nearly a century of tradition – and global cricket custom – to play Sheffield Shield matches over five days

Daniel Brettig27-Jul-2013Australia may depart from nearly a century of tradition – and global cricket custom – to play Sheffield Shield matches over five days in order to more closely mirror Test match playing conditions, under a proposal placed before Cricket Australia by the national team performance manager Pat Howard.Among numerous ideas floated by Howard as a way of revitalising the Shield and ensuring it provides a better grounding for international aspirants in the wake of Australia’s grim Test match results so far in 2013, the concept of five-day first-class combat down under has been costed and will be discussed by CA for possible introduction in future summers beyond 2013-14.Howard’s proposal underlines the CA high performance regime’s concern about the drift of Shield matches towards three-day results and “sporting” pitches, a trend that has been reflected in the breakdown of Australia’s batting production line in recent years. In the wake of the Lord’s Test, the Ashes tourists Usman Khawaja and Matthew Wade both expressed a desire for domestic pitches to return to their more traditionally contrasting characteristics, from Sydney’s spin to Perth’s bounce.”We want as much of what is happening at international level to be mirrored at domestic level,” Howard told ESPNcricinfo. “The goal here in the shorter term is get far more domestic cricket to go in to the fourth day at the moment. If there was five days of cricket available we would be confident of matches having results, but also both batsman and bowlers having to deal with different conditions.”Other concepts designed to ensure Shield matches are played over a more considerable duration include closer monitoring of the standard of first-class pitches with possible penalties for days in which more than 14 wickets fall. Next summer’s domestic limited overs competition has been shifted to an early season slot in the forthcoming summer, allowing six Shield matches to be played in the lead-up to the final two Tests of 2013-14 without any change in format for players to negotiate.The lengthening of Shield matches to five days is not without precedent, as the competition final has always been played over that length of time. In the competition’s earliest years between 1892 and 1927, every match was played to a finish, often stretching into a fifth day. Between 1927-28 and 1930 the Shield was contested over five days. But in every season since 1930-31 each fixture excluding the decider has been fought over four.A move to five-day matches would also take after the universal introduction of four-day County Championship fixtures for the 1993 English season, after more than 120 years of three-day cricket. This change has been cited often as one of the turning points in the English game, and was encouraged in part by the status of Australia’s domestic system as that which best grounded players for Test match duty.Twenty years on and CA may be about to venture even further into recreating the conditions and rhythms of a Test.

Freddie Coleman, the Warwickshire and Scotland batsman, has pleaded guilty to ball tampering but has escaped an immediate suspension

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2013Freddie Coleman, the Warwickshire and Scotland batsman, has pleaded guilty to ball tampering during a 2nd XI Championship match against Glamorgan earlier this month but has escaped an immediate suspension.Warwickshire have been fined £5000 and the disciplinary panel said “the club did not provide sufficient discouragement regarding ball tampering.” They were also critical of the captain for the game in question, Paul Best, who they said allowed the tampering to continue with his knowledge.Coleman’s guilty plea and his age, 21, were noted by the panel although they stressed that this was not setting a precedent for any future ball-tampering cases. He was handed a two-match suspension but that was suspended for two years and will come into force if he breaks any further ECB regulations in that period.The panel’s statement said: “Frederick Coleman pleaded guilty to a charge that during a Second XI Championship match between Warwickshire CCC and Glamorgan CCC at Cardiff CC on 7th – 9th August, he knowingly and deliberately changed the condition of the ball in contravention of Law 42.3(b).”Warwickshire pleaded guilty to a charge that a player registered to and playing for them knowingly and deliberately changed the condition of the ball in contravention of Law 42.3(b).”The panel took into account that Mr Coleman pleaded guilty, that he is a young player and that he was allowed to act in this way with the knowledge of his captain. In light of these circumstances, the panel imposed a two match suspension on him. However, this penalty is suspended for a period of 24 months.”The panel wished to make it clear that the personal circumstances of Mr Coleman were taken into account and that the sanction is not to be seen as setting a precedent in any future cases of this kind.”The panel has imposed a fine of £5000 on Warwickshire CCC and the deduction of the points gained in this match. In the panel’s view, the club did not provide sufficient discouragement regarding ball tampering, all types of which are clearly inappropriate and in contravention of the Laws of the game.”Coleman has yet to make a first-class appearance for Warwickshire but has played in their Twenty20 side. He has played two ODIs and a Twenty20 for Scotland alongside two matches in the Intercontinental Cup and has been part of the YB40 campaign. His highest first-class score of 110 came for Oxford MCCU against Worcestershire in 2012.

Dominic Sibley provided a pleasant footnote to Surrey’s torturous season by becoming the youngest player to score a double century in the County Championship

Alex Winter at The Oval26-Sep-2013
Scorecard’Doing it here at The Oval is great. I had my parents here and my dad came back from Singapore last night’•PA Photos

Dominic Sibley provided a pleasant footnote to Surrey’s torturous season by becoming the youngest player to score a double century in the County Championship. It was an extraordinary achievement for an 18-year-old who has to go back to school on Monday.He batted for nine-and-a-half hours and faced 484 balls for his double hundred – concentration not often associated with the current generation of young players weaned on one-day cricket. Of Englishmen, only WG Grace has achieved the feat at a younger age in first-class cricket.Supporters at The Oval have been demoralised this season by an unsuccessful side, the makeup of which has not reflected well on such a famous and wealthy county, but here they could rejoice in a fine young player who has been developed by the club’s academy.Sibley is the latest in a string of home-grown players to appear for Surrey. Their challenge is to ensure they are selected regularly and can develop into established first XI players at the club. Addressing the leakage of talent from The Oval should be high on the agenda of the new head coach.Whoever is appointed will have a very talented young batsman to work with in Sibley, who will surely sign professional terms soon, having only been on a summer contract this season. When he was 15, he made a double-century for his club, Ashtead, and appeared for Surrey 2nd XI, pushed forward by Surrey academy director Gareth Townsend. Last winter he played for England Under-19s in South Africa and scored a century in the second Youth Test.Sibley should have returned to Whitgift School to begin his final year studying Geography, English and PE but was given time off to play the final three fixtures of the season. How he would have cursed missing an innings on a wicket this flat.A-levels will be no trouble for Sibley if he can knuckle down for his exams as he did batting in the morning session. During the first hour he patted back six maidens and found the “Yorkshire Wall” of six men catching in front of the bat impossible to impregnate – inspiration or desperation, it was certainly innovative from Andrew Gale.After 70 minutes Sibley was finally able to play a shot in anger as Ryan Sidebottom took the second new ball and Sibley punched him off the back foot for three through cover. Fifteen minutes later his second aggressive stroke came with a cover drive off Jack Brooks. In total he needed 98 deliveries to take his overnight 81 to three figures, which arrived via a swept four off Adil Rashid.

Dominic Sibley: recordbreaker

• Youngest player to score a double century in the County Championship

• Second-youngest Englishman after WG Grace to score a first-class double hundred

• 13th youngest player to ever score a double century in first-class cricket

• Returns to Whitgift School on Monday to study Geography, English and PE

“It was more relief this morning to get to a hundred,” Sibley said. “I didn’t get much of a chance to score, they bowled well at me and when I did get there I was quite emotional.”I try to keep a familiarity with the way I bat; I always take my guard before each delivery. I keep everything the same and that keeps my tempo going.”I felt good at Somerset and I was disappointed that I didn’t get a big score but I’m pleased that I’ve got a big one before the end of the season. Doing it here at The Oval is great. I had my parents here and my dad came back from Singapore last night.”He loosened up in the afternoon and enjoyed his time with Hashim Amla, having told his mum he wanted to bat with Amla before he returned to South Africa. The pair added the highest third-wicket partnership for Surrey against Yorkshire which helped Surrey make their highest total against Yorkshire in a first-class match.It was too easy for Amla. It was too easy for Vikram Solanki who made 51 in 54 balls. And it may never be easier for Sibley. However, his epic nearly didn’t happen. He was dropped on just 8 on the second day and should have been held on 159 by Jonny Bairstow: a very simple chance from a thin edge. It was a bad lapse in concentration by the reserve wicketkeeper in England’s Ashes squad.Bairstow did not have a great birthday as he also suffered a nervous moment when he slipped near the pavilion boundary having chased a lost cause to fine leg. He fell awkwardly and Jason Gillespie came tearing down from the dressing room with a worried brow but after a few overs of gingerly movement, Bairstow could go back to worrying about his wicketkeeping.

He has been dropped and has struggled to be as effective as he once was, but Saeed Ajmal says it is all part of a plan and that he needs more time to rediscover his old form

Umar Farooq in Mirpur04-May-2015Saeed Ajmal ran through four batsmen in one hour during a training session under the scorching heat at Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. But he appeared to be bowling for the sake of it and helping the batsmen practice. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed was busy looking after Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar.Ajmal has struggled on his return to international cricket with a remodelled action. He has played only two ODIs and a T20, produced only one wicket in 22.3 overs and conceded runs at 6.57 per over. He was dropped for the final ODI of the three-match series against Bangladesh, and subsequently sat out of the Khulna Test as well. Ajmal, however, said there was a plan in place and he needed time to regain his confidence as a bowler.”For me it’s been a tough last eight months and I knew it will be tough moving forward also,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I’d said prior to coming here that I need time and I am disappointed that I am not able to fulfil the expectations of the nation. But I spoke to the captain and the coach and they have a plan for me. I need time to regain my confidence. It doesn’t come in overnight.”Ajmal has been an important wicket-taker in the past and Pakistan may have banked on that reputation while picking him on the tour. That he was then dropped indicates the management may have lost some faith in him and he is eager to set that right.”I don’t want to play cricket on the basis of reputation,” he said. “I want to play with my head held high and with the same confidence level I had in the past. Things are not going well presently, but you will see in coming days that I have improved. If I am benched, that is the plan and the players playing in place of me are the best and performing well.”It’s true that you can go from bad to good and it’s also true that you can go from good to bad,” he added. “I don’t think I have changed my action significantly, only minor tweaks. I know my doosra is not being effective which is reflecting in my performance. But I am doing my best to get myself back on track as soon as possible. I am bowling with different angles from top and from side and things are improving and I am optimistic that I will be same Ajmal as I was.”Ajmal has been a vital part of Pakistan’s success. Since 2011, he has taken a third of the team’s wickets – 145 off 570. In his absence, however, Zulfiqar and Yasir have picked up the slack. They had contributed 14 wickets apiece during the team’s series win over Australia in the UAE and were again trusted to lead the slow-bowling threat in the drawn Khulna Test.”I think it’s their right to play ahead of me,” Ajmal said. “They have done great without me and spare a thought about Khulna Test where pitch was slow enough to kill the spin, otherwise they are good and have proved their ability.”Yasir, though, said he could have used the kind of help Ajmal can offer. “Sometimes you miss having an experienced partner in the field with whom you discuss [tactics] and seek advice from,” he said. “Like it was tough taking wickets on flat tracks in Khulna where the pitch was unresponsive and we all were struggling to take wickets. So having a player like Ajmal around gives you confidence.”Pakistan are yet to win a game against Bangladesh on this tour and were blindsided by Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes’ world-record 312-run opening stand in the second innings in Khulna. But Ajmal conceded the hosts’ form was so powerful that “any team would have struggled”.”They are at the top of their form,” Ajmal said. “There is no weakness in their combination; their batting, bowling and fielding is clicking at the moment.”They are a developing team and at the moment they can give any team a tough time. We underestimated them. We never thought they will play like that and that’s the reason we are shocked. Yes, in Test cricket we could have done better but the pitch was the main difference. I hardly saw the ball spin on the track but Pakistan is a better side in Tests and we have a plan this time and I don’t see any reason why we can’t beat them.”

Former India batsman Rahul Dravid has agreed in principle to become the coach of the India Under-19 and A teams, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed during a board advisory meeting on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-20151:40

Kalra: Dravid fits perfectly into the role

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has agreed in principle to become the coach of the India Under-19 and A teams, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed during a board advisory meeting on Saturday.”The good news is that Rahul Dravid has agreed to coach India A and India Under-19 in the future,” Thakur said. Dravid’s first assignment will be preparing India A for a home series against Australia A and South Africa A in July and August. India A will play two four-day matches against both the visiting teams, and will also compete in a tri-series, to be played in Chennai and Wayanad. He will also accompany the Under-19 team to next year’s World Cup in Bangladesh.Dravid had been widely tipped for the post since Tuesday, when ESPNcricinfo reported that the BCCI had a “role in mind” for him, with Thakur himself mentioning that “for any cricketer of that stature, the BCCI would like to have their services.” Dravid was even approached to join the cricket advisory committee with former batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, but he declined the offer as he was keener on a more hands-on role.Since 2014, Dravid has been serving as mentor of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, grooming several young players such as Sanju Samson, Karun Nair and Deepak Hooda. He also had a short stint as batting consultant of the Indian team ahead of their tour of England last year, and several players spoke highly of their interactions with the former captain.There had been talk among top BCCI officials of offering Dravid the position of head coach, but he was reluctant to take up a full-time role since he has a young family and did not prefer a job that required incessant travel.

Iain Wardlaw, the Scotland fast bowler, has retired from international cricket with immediate effect to focus on a career in design

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Iain Wardlaw, the Scotland fast bowler, has retired from international cricket with immediate effect to focus on a career in design. He made his debut in 2013 and played in 22 ODIs and 4 T20 internationals, picking up a combined tally of 45 wickets. He also played five matches in the 2015 World Cup, where he took six wickets.”I would like to thank all the players, staff and fans of Scotland cricket for their passion and support throughout my time with the national team,” Wardlaw said. “I couldn’t have wished to have played with a better group of lads who I wish all the success in the future.”Wardlaw, 29, said he wanted to resume his designing career. “For me I’m looking forward to a career path in the design industry, where I started before cricket so there’s plenty of exciting challenges ahead.”Cricket Scotland praised Wardlaw for his commitment and dedication throughout his career. “His total commitment to his country was never in doubt by those who saw him train and play in the Scotland jersey. Throughout his Scotland career he was an attacking pace bowler who never took a step backwards and never shirked a tough challenge.”Grant Bradburn, Scotland head coach, also hailed Wardlaw for his contributions to Scotland cricket. “Iain can be proud that he has made a big contribution to Scotland Cricket and the team,” Bradburn said. “Iain is highly respected within the side and his contributions both on and off the park will be missed.”

Kieron Pollard’s all-round brilliance was the centrepiece in Barbados Tridents’ crushing win against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the opening game of the Caribbean Premier League, in Bridgetown

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieron Pollard’s all-round brilliance was the centrepiece in Barbados Tridents’ crushing win against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the opening game of the Caribbean Premier League, in Bridgetown. Pollard smashed 48 off 26 deliveries to inject momentum into a flagging innings and helped his team raise a challenging total of 158. He then rotated his bowlers well, himself striking twice, to bowl Amazon Warriors out in 18 overs.The match-up, a repeat of the controversial final last season, promised much with both sides loaded with experienced T20 campaigners from around the world, but turned out to be rather one-sided, with Tridents, again, the winners.Opting to bat first, Tridents lost their openers within the first five overs and would have struggled further had it not been for Jonathan Carter’s three sixes. Carter was dismissed in the 11th over, caught in the deep off Sunil Narine, with Tridents on 67. Pollard walked in at that stage to join Shoaib Malik, took a couple of overs to settle down, before hitting a six and a four off the first two balls of the 14th over. Ronsford Beaton was then carted away for 15 runs in the 16th over.By the time the partnership between Pollard and Malik ended, 56 runs had been added in six overs. Pollard was dismissed two short of his half-century but Navin Steward, who hit consecutive sixes in the 19th over, ensured the team had a big finish.Amazon Warriors needed just that at the start of the innings but ended up losing three wickets – Lendl Simmons, Shiv Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin – in the first four overs. Pollard ensured there was no fightback by dismissing Tillakaratne Dilshan in his first over. When Robin Peterson dismissed Brad Hodge in the next, Amazon Warriors had lost half their side. There were no surprises thereafter.

England fast bowler Mark Wood has said he does not wanted to be rested during the Ashes despite concerns about how his body will cope with the demands of a five-Test series

Alan Gardner25-Jul-20151:39

‘Bayliss allows captain, players to take charge’ – Wood

England fast bowler Mark Wood has said he does not want to be rested during the Investec Ashes despite concerns about how his body will cope with the demands of a five-Test series. Wood has made a good impression as England’s third seamer in his four Test appearances but picked up 1 for 131 at Lord’s amid worries that he struggles with back-to-back matches.Wood has had to deal with side and ankle injuries in recent times and has rarely played consecutive first-class fixtures for Durham. He admitted his pace was down during the second Test against Australia and said that was “something I’m going to have to address” but, after a rest period back home in the North East, he was bullish about being involved at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, when there will again be a three-day turnaround.”I definitely don’t want to miss games for England,” he said. “We’ve had a little bit of rest time going into Edgbaston, then we’ve got Trent Bridge where famously I have played more first-class games than anywhere else, and done well there. I wouldn’t want to miss either of these two games.

England will bounce Rogers

Mark Wood said that England’s attack would continue to use the short ball against Chris Rogers if the Australia opener was passed fit to play in the third Test, starting at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
Rogers was hit on the head by James Anderson at Lord’s and has continued to receive treatment after suffering a dizzy spell during the second innings, which required him to retire hurt. Australia said he had suffered “damage to the vestibular apparatus” near his right ear, rather than a concussion.
While there was concern among the England players when Rogers went down on the fourth morning, Wood said that aggressive bowling was “part and parcel of the game”.
“It’s never great when you see someone get hit or go down,” he said. “You might have the intent or aggression to hit people but when they do get hit it’s not really that nice, especially when he had a dizzy spell.
“If he declares himself fit for the next game, that will not deter me from bowling a bouncer though. I’m sure the rest of our lads will be the same – if he declares himself fit then he’s fit. You don’t want to see someone have a dizzy spell, I wish him all the best, hope he’s all right. But if he’s fit then he’s fit, so it’ll be just the same as normal.”

“We have got some good fast-bowling stocks and say the next fast bowler was to come in and take five wickets then I am out of the team and can’t get back in, then being rested looks pretty stupid. I don’t want to miss games.”Wood has to ice his ankle at the end of a day in the field and also uses heat patches for muscular pain relief – as well as the usual physio rub downs – but said that the coach, Trevor Bayliss, had not yet suggested the option of sitting out a Test.”They have asked me how my body is and how I feel, without saying you’re going to be rested,” Wood said. “They’ve mentioned that my pace was down. At times when it is a flat pitch and people get in, you don’t want to concede runs so you might bowl within yourself. I wasn’t consciously down on pace, maybe it was tough on my body. There is only one way I am going to get better and that is by playing back-to-back Tests. I wouldn’t want to give anyone else an opportunity – I want to cement that spot.”At the age of 25, Wood has only played 28 first-class games – three of which have been at Trent Bridge, second only to his home ground at Chester-le-Street – and never more than eight out of 16 in a Championship season for Durham. He has had a good run in 2015, however, playing in all but one fixture on the Lions trip to South Africa at the start of the year, before touring the Caribbean with England and then making his international debuts in all three formats at the start of the summer.His ability to bowl consistently above 90mph risks being compromised by the demanding workload of international cricket, something England appeared to acknowledge when resting Wood for the first two ODIs against New Zealand following the Test series. Steven Finn is also in the 13-man squad for Edgbaston, where England could also consider playing Adil Rashid as a second spinner, but Wood is relishing the prospect of another Ashes double-header.”It’s tough. The intensity of things is different but it’s something I feel I can handle,” he said. “The New Zealand Tests were the same, back-to-back. I’ve been on Lions tours as well where there have been back-to-back games and I never missed a game. It’s obviously different to Ashes cricket but I did it.”My pace was down, which is something I’m going to have to address. But I’ve only played four Tests now and I’d say the more I play the better I’ll get. I’m still relatively new and will take time to get used to back-to-back Tests. For me the positive at the minute is I’ve managed to come from the end of last season when I needed an operation and it was doom and gloom body wise to now having been available for selection throughout the summer and before in the West Indies.”The 405-run defeat at Lord’s, which levelled the series at 1-1, left England with more issues to ponder than whether to rest a fast bowler. Wood said Bayliss wanted England’s players to focus on their own game, rather than what Australia might do to them, as they attempt to regroup and win the third Test of an Ashes series for the first time since Headingley 1981.”It was quiet,” Wood said of the atmosphere in the dressing room. “There was disappointment after the game and then Trevor spoke well – he is very clear-cut in what he says. He spends more time in the background, in the shadows, and then when he speaks everyone listens. At the end of the game he said that basically it wasn’t good enough, we’ve got to show more fight and forget about what’s gone.”We knew Australia were going to come back hard at us and he said maybe we thought about Australia too much in that second game. Whereas the first game in Cardiff we concentrated on ourselves more and I think that’s what we’ve got to do against them in Birmingham.”

As was England’s mantra against New Zealand earlier this summer, when they responded to back-to-back defeats to take the series, there will be no backing away from an aggressive mindset

Andrew McGlashan04-Sep-2015As was England’s mantra against New Zealand earlier this summer, when they responded to back-to-back defeats to take the five-match ODI series, there will be no backing away from an aggressive mindset after the loss to Australia at the Ageas Bowl regardless of the ramifications.That much was clear when James Taylor, who made 49 on his return to the side at No. 3, said he was willing to take the chance that he could “look silly” when it goes wrong rather than change the outlook which has been at the core of reshaping England’s one-day side since the World Cup.Taylor was almost hyperactive on Thursday, skipping around his crease, coming down the pitch at the bowlers and generally trying to put the opposition off. Early on, he launched Mitchell Marsh for a straight six and he had helped give England the platform to chase down a target of 306 whey were 152 for 2 in the 27th over.However, one shuffle and swipe too many ended with him missing a straight delivery from Shane Watson – for which he was given a forceful stare by the bowler, who had been one of Taylor’s main targets – and from that moment England lost their way to be bowled out for 246.”When I bat, and especially against a specific bowler who is bowling into my strengths, I go for it. It was in my arc, but it was just the execution,” Taylor said of his downfall.”It is a shot I have played for a number of years now – and people watching international cricket will have seen that when I go big, that’s a shot I have played. It brings me runs.””When you miss you look silly. But that is the way it is,” he added. “When I bat I try and take hindsight out of the equation. If I want to take a bowler down, I will go into it wholeheartedly rather than pussy-foot around.”You saw that when I hit Mitch Marsh over his head on 2. I’m confident with the shot, and I don’t do it half-heartedly.”Marsh, for his part in the contest, not just with Taylor but with the whole of the England batting, sees plenty of gain for Australia from England’s method with the bat. Marsh conceded more than eight-an-over, and was only used for four overs, but removed Alex Hales when the opener pulled a long hop to midwicket.”We know they’re going to come hard at me, Watto and Maxi. We said in our team meeting that it gives us an opportunity to take wickets. If they’re going to come hard at us then so be it … the only way to stop their team scoring runs is by taking wickets. Our attack allows us to do that.”It would be easy to forget that England’s first ODI after the World Cup debacle was captained by Taylor, when they faced Ireland in Dublin, although the match was abandoned after 18 overs. The day was quickly overtaken by the news emerging of Peter Moores’ sacking as coach, and when England next took the field for an ODI, against New Zealand at Edgbaston when they crossed 400 for the first time, Taylor was carrying drinks.That followed a period around the World Cup where he was shuffled up and down the order. In the triangular series which preceded the tournament he batted at No. 3 and made two half-centuries against India but failed against Australia. That prompted a seemingly panicked 11th-hour change from the selectors as Gary Ballance was recalled at No. 3 and Taylor moved to six.To his credit, Taylor was one of the few players to emerge from the opening-game mauling by Australia at the MCG with any credit as he made an unbeaten 98 – only denied a maiden hundred when James Anderson was controversially run out when the ball should have been dead. Although Taylor did not pass fifty again in the tournament, he conceded that getting the axe just one game after being captain had tested his resolve.”When I got whispers of the team, I was bitterly disappointed,” he said. “But you cannot dwell on that. I got over it quickly. I have been knocked down before and got up stronger, and that’s the way I try and look at it.”I try to look at the positives – if I take one step back by not getting selected, I will take a few forward in the future. It makes you tougher as a player.”And now he wants to keep taking it to the Australians.

Brian Close, the former captain of England, Yorkshire and Somerset and one of cricket’s most admired characters, has died at the age of 84

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-20153:31

Holding: Close was never one to back down

Brian Close, the former captain of England, Yorkshire and Somerset and one of cricket’s most admired characters, has died at the age of 84. He passed away at his home near Bradford on Sunday, Yorkshire said.Allrounder Close, known for his courage and tenacity at the crease and on the field, first played for England in 1949 at the age of 18 years and 149 days – making him still England’s youngest debutant. Such was his reputation for bravery that he was famously recalled as a 45-year-old to face down West Indies’ fearsome attack in 1976.Close also relished fielding in close, particularly at forward short-leg, and was not worried about being hit. “How can the ball hurt you? It’s only on you for a second,” he said.His England career encompassed 22 Tests, seven as captain. He also led Yorkshire to four Championship titles, including their hat-trick of victories from 1966-68.A falling out with Yorkshire led to his sacking and he saw out the remainder of his playing career with Somerset, where he was a strong influence on the young Ian Botham – he called Close “the bravest man I ever played with” – and along with the likes of Viv Richards and Joel Garner helped lift the club’s fortunes.His links with Yorkshire remained strong, however, and he served as the club’s president between 2008 and 2010. He was a life member and even in his 80s could be spotted in the stands – usually chatting to Dickie Bird and Geoffrey Boycott – when England played at Headingley.Bird, speaking at the Ageas Bowl where Yorkshire were taking on Hampshire in the Championship, said that Close had been unwell but his death had come as a shock. Yorkshire’s players took the field wearing black armbands.”I was completely stunned when Jason Gillespie and Anthony McGrath came out this morning to tell me the sad news that Brian had passed away,” he said. “I felt very stunned and very numb. I had a lump in my throat and there were a few tears because I have lost a damn good friend.”He was a great captain. He led from the front and was never beat. He would come back from all odds. He was a brilliant bloke to play for. He was as straight as a gun barrel.”He was a really good all-round cricketer. A good batsman, a good bowler and, of course, brilliant in the field.”He was a character in many ways. He used to call me ‘lad’. He would have a cigarette on him and I’d say ‘would you like a Whiskey Brian?’ He said ‘yes, I would. Make it a double!’ He will be sadly missed.”Speaking at the toss, Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale, whose team clinched the Championship for the second year running last week, said Close had been an inspiration.”Brian Close was a legend,” he said. “It’s a sad day to see him pass away. He’s been around at Headingley throughout my career, and he always spoke to the lads and has been an inspiration. We’re proud to win back-to-back Championships, but it’s a sad day for Yorkshire cricket.”Brian Close was recalled by England at the age of 45 to face West Indies•PA Photos

Former England captain and Yorkshire batsman Michael Vaughan also tweeted his condolences: “Such a sad day.. He was a true inspiration to all of us .. Thanks Brian for helping me as a kid growing up at Yorkshire… #RIPClosey.”As a run-scorer, England never saw the best of Close, but his relish for playing fast bowling – before the advent of helmets and much of the protection batsmen have come to rely on – was legendary. He was unafraid of being hit and was left with bruises all over his body after his final Test at Old Trafford in 1976.”Michael Holding and Andy Roberts peppered him with short-pitched bowling,” Bird said. “If I’d have been there as an umpire, I’d have stepped in and stopped it straightaway. But Closey was chesting them away, they tell me. He was a tough guy.”He led from the front, and I thought he was a magnificent captain. We have lost a true legend of the game.”Close scored almost 35,000 runs in his first-class career, with 52 hundreds, as well as taking 1171 wickets bowling medium pace and offspin. He held more than 800 catches, making him one of the most prolific outfielders in history.Captain of Yorkshire from 1963 until 1970, he oversaw two Gillette Cup victories in addition to his Championship success. It was during this period that he was handed the England captaincy but, despite winning six Tests out of seven, he lost the job a year later, in 1967, after a controversial Championship match between Yorkshire and Warwickshire in which Close was accused of timewasting.Close was awarded a CBE for services to cricket in 1972 but it was nine years before he was selected again by England, when his unflinching response to a West Indian bombardment cemented his reputation as one of cricket’s toughest guys. The title of his autobiography, , summed up his approach to the game and life.