Mid West Rhinos beat Mashonaland Eagles convincingly to go second in the table while Matabeleland Tuskers drew with Southern Rocks

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2011Mid West Rhinos put in a dominating performance to beat Mashonaland Eagles by an innings and 70 runs at the Harare Sports Club. It was a complete performance by Rhinos. Their seamers skittled Eagles out for 97 on the first day, their top order came good giving them a 268-run first-innings lead and the spinners came into play on the third day, ensuring an early finish.Ian Nicolson and Neville Madziva did the damage on the first morning, finishing with four and three wickets respectively as Eagles crashed to a low score. Opener Gary Balance led the reply with a century. He was supported by Malcolm Waller who scored 91. Rhinos lost their last seven wickets for 65 runs but they were still in complete control of the game. Eagles started their second innings as poorly as they did their first, slumping to 31 for 4 with Nicolson again among the wickets. The middle order was then tormented by the offspin of Simon Mugava and they were soon 104 for 8. No. 10 Douglas Hondo smashed an unbeaten 60 off 41 balls, but it was not enough to make Rhinos bat again. The win takes Rhinos to second place in the table while Eagles are still languishing in fourth.

Matabeleland Tuskers lost the second spot to Rhinos after only getting a point from their match against bottom-placed Southern Rocks at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. A century by Adam Wheater gave Tuskers a 104-run first-innings lead, but opener Roy Kaia replied with a century of his own for Rocks to ensure the game ended in a draw.Kaia had failed in Rocks’ first innings, but a shaky start was rescued by Chamu Chibhabha whose 105 was the main reason Rocks got to 261. Tuskers’ innings started with an 85-run opening stand, and Gavin Ewing kicked on to get 80. His knock and Wheater’s 126 put Tuskers in a strong position but the lower order collapsed and their last six wickets fell for 43 runs. That left them with a lead of 104 with around 120 overs left to play. Kaia ensured it was not enough for Tuskers to get a victory as his 112 off 269 balls took Rocks to 292 for 4.

John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, is in the running to be New Zealand Cricket’s first director of cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2011John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, is in the running to be New Zealand Cricket’s first director of cricket. NZC chief Justin Vaughan confirmed that the board met with Buchanan regarding the role, but said there were other candidates and a final decision will be made on Friday.”I can certainly confirm we’ve met with John,” Vaughan told the . “He’s got great credentials for the role, but we’ve spoken to a few candidates and ultimately there will be a recommendation made to the board on Friday.”While Buchanan is said to be a front-runner for the post, other names in the fray include ex-England coach Duncan Fletcher and Gary Kirsten. The director’s role would include overseeing NZC’s high-performance programme, and he will play a role in picking the national side’s new captain and selection panel – the current selectors’ contracts expire this month.Buchanan is also understood to be on the six-man shortlist for the South Africa coaching job and was initially on the shortlist for the vacant Sri Lanka post. Buchanan coached Australia between October 1999 and April 2007 – stepping down after Australia had won their second World Cup under him – and has worked as a cricket consultant since.

Former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala and former SLC Interim Committee Chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa have welcome the Supreme Court announcement that could pave the way for SLC board elections and said they would contest for the pos

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2011Former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala and former Interim Committee Chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa have welcomed the Supreme Court announcement that could pave the way for SLC board elections and said they would stand for president if elections are held.On Tuesday, the Supreme Court – hearing a case on the status of SLC’s interim committee – suggested the parties come to a settlement on the issue and report back to it within two months, possibly with a view to holding elections.Sumathipala who has served three terms as president, told the he couldn’t confirm whether he would contest the election but said he would form a team and have discussions with SLC member clubs. “If they want me to come forward, then I will not disappoint them.”I was jubilant to learn the Supreme Court verdict. Now I have expectations that SLC will have a democratically elected set of officials, which is great for the game in this country,” he said.Dharmadasa, a businessman who had been SLC Interim committee chief from 2004 to 2007, said several member clubs of the SLC had already requested him to contest the elections. “I have accepted this and am ready to face any challenge for the sake of the game that I love.””I feel it augurs well for the future of cricket in Sri Lanka to have democratically elected officials. I hope to resurrect the game which has fallen into so many controversies in the recent past and is in a bad way now.”Another candidate likely to be in the fray is Badureliya Cricket Club president Sumith Perera. “I am certainly going to contest for presidency if there is an election,” Perera said. “That has already been decided by our club and the district”United Southern Cricket Club president Asoka Mendis had filed a fundamental rights petition against Sri Lanka Cricket last year, on the grounds that the interim committee – first instituted in 2005 – had been had been appointed by the Sports Minister without the prior approval of the member clubs, bypassing the democratic process of elections. The club wanted the Supreme Court to prevent the interim committee members from holding office and functioning until the hearing is over. SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said that the Supreme Court had suggested “that both parties come to a settlement on the issue and report back to them within two months, possibly with a view to holding elections.”

Alastair Cook, the England vice-captain, has played down fears that England players would consider strike action to reduce their heavy fixture list

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2011Alastair Cook, the England vice-captain, has played down fears that England players would consider strike action to reduce their heavy fixture list.Cook caused a stir over the weekend when quotes appeared in a Sunday newspaper saying England players could ‘go on strike’ but he told the on Tuesday that this was a misunderstanding.”I didn’t mean to use the word ‘strike’,” he said. “It’s not what I meant. It was a misunderstanding and it’s been blown out of proportion. In fact, there’s nothing further from our minds as a team.”Cook, who is widely tipped to take over from Andrew Strauss as England one-day captain, did nevertheless reiterate his view that England play too much cricket. “We always talk about playing too much cricket – just look at this winter in Australia and then the World Cup, it’s a problem. There is talk among us as a team that something needs to be done to reduce the amount of cricket we play but we have never ever mentioned striking, it’s just not on the agenda.”The players who featured in both the Test and ODI sides spent just three nights at home from the start of the successful Ashes tour in November to last month’s World Cup exit and over the weekend Cook, who isn’t part of the ODI side, said he felt for the players.”I feel sorry for the lads. I’ve been pretty much the only one who’s been able to play and to enjoy the experience of winning because of the schedule.”It has to change before it all becomes meaningless. As players we don’t have much power. We keep on saying that we play too much cricket. I’ve been saying this since I was 18 and I’m now 26, but we cram more and more games in.”

Nottinghamshire Outlaws kept alive their faint hopes of qualification from Group C of the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a 41-run victory over Gloucestershire Gladiators

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-2011
ScorecardNottinghamshire Outlaws kept alive their faint hopes of qualification from Group C of the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a 41-run victory over Gloucestershire Gladiators.After Adam Voges (74) and Riki Wessels (51) had led the hosts to 270 for 9 from their 40 overs, Paul Franks picked up five for 43 as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 229. The visitors were in contention until the 35th over, bowled by Franks, who yorked both Gloucestershire’s top scorer Ed Young (50) and Jon Batty to swing the game Nottinghamshire’s way.It was Franks’ best domestic one-day figures since May 2000 and the third five-wicket haul of his career, helping Nottinghamshire move up to fourth in their group having played five matches.The home side’s total of 270 always looked competitive with Gloucestershire batting second under the Trent Bridge floodlights. Wessels made an impressive home debut as he added 88 for the second wicket with Samit Patel before both were caught in the deep in consecutive overs from Alex Gidman.Patel’s cause was helped by being dropped three times, while the Gladiators also gave away 32 extras in a sloppy display in the field. The dismissal of Steven Mullaney in the next over appeared to check the Nottinghamshire’s momentum, but Voges consolidated in partnership with Chris Read (39) before the pair took the batting powerplay in the 32nd over and wreaked havoc.With 59 runs scored in the powerplay and 100 in the final 10 overs, the pair’s combination of quick running between the wickets and strong hitting put Nottinghamshire firmly in charge, despite a late flurry of wickets at the death. Voges in particular excelled with seven boundaries in his 60-ball innings before he became one of three wickets for Jon Lewis.Needing close to seven runs an over to win from the start, Gloucestershire came out swinging, with Alex Gidman hitting seven fours off 38 balls before he feathered a thin edge off Andre Adams to Read behind the stumps.Franks’ arrival proved crucial as he removed Chris Taylor lbw for 34 and Kane Williamson, caught at midwicket for 35, in consecutive overs. Ireland’s World Cup hero and former Nottinghamshire player Kevin O’Brien ran himself out before Young displayed a strong bottom hand to keep Gloucestershire hopes alive with a 37-ball 50.But when Franks bowled Young and Batty the game was all but finished, with Ian Saxelby miscuing to cover and Franks having Lewis caught at point to close out the match, with Will Gidman absent hurt.

Leicestershire’s Friends Life t20 north group match against Warwickshire at Grace Road was abandoned without a ball being bowled

12-Jun-2011
Leicestershire’s Friends Life t20 north group match against Warwickshire at Grace Road was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Umpires Nigel Llong and Steve Garratt made the inevitable decision at 3.15pm with heavy rain, that had started early in the morning, still falling.It was the second successive home game the Foxes have had abandoned. Their match against Nottinghamshire Outlaws on Friday had to be called off after the hosts had batted just 2.4 overs of their reply.Both sides took one point each.

Centuries from Chris Nash and Lou Vincent set Sussex up for a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A win over Holland at Amstelveen

30-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Centuries from Chris Nash and Lou Vincent set Sussex up for a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A win over Holland at Amstelveen. Nash hit an unbeaten 116 and Vincent scored 102 out of the visitors’ 271 for 2 and then Chris Liddle claimed an impressive five wickets for just 18 runs as the home side were bowled out for 123. Only four of the Holland batsmen reached double figures as they were defeated by 148 runs with nearly five overs remaining.Nash and Ed Joyce put on 41 before the latter fell for 21 but then Nash and Vincent got to work, both reaching half-centuries in pretty much even time. Both went on to reach their centuries before Vincent fell with the score on 235 with three overs to go.Nash was then joined by Rana Naved (19 not out) and together they took the total to 271 without further loss. Nash’s knock came from 135 balls and included five fours and two sixes, Vincent making his 102 from 91 balls with five fours and a six.Liddle quickly got to work with the home side’s batsmen and wickets fell at regular intervals, opener Wesley Barresi the first to go with the total on 5 when he was caught by wicketkeeper Ben Brown off Liddle. The left-arm medium pacer went on to claim four more victims as the home side struggled to make runs, finding themselves at 32 for 5 when Tim Gruijters (23) was joined by Tom de Grooth.They put on 47 for the sixth wicket but when De Grooth, the top scorer with 30, was trapped leg before by Luke Wells the fight was taken out of the home side’s reply. Wells claimed 3 for 19 from his eight overs as the visitors claimed an easy win which leaves them in top spot in Group A with their opponents in fourth.

If Yorkshire go on to suffer relegation this year, they may well come to rue the opening day of this match

George Dobell at Edgbaston23-Aug-2011
Scorecard
If Yorkshire go on to suffer relegation this year, they may well come to rue the opening day of this match.This was a day of missed opportunities for the hosts. Despite winning first use of a blameless pitch and despite facing an attack decimated by injury and international calls, Yorkshire squandered their opportunity to set-up a match-defining position. It sums up their performance that they were dismissed just three runs short of gaining a third batting bonus point. Such profligacy may come back to haunt them.The frustration, from a Yorkshire perspective, was that they did the hard work. Several of their batsmen made decent starts, but none of them could provide the imposing total their side required and nearly all of them played a role in their own dismissal. From a platform of 120 for1, it was a disappointing effort.By contrast, Warwickshire could feel well satisfied with their day’s work. The visitors were missing their three leading Championship wicket-takers – Chris Woakes and Boyd Rankin are absent on international duty and Rikki Clarke has a back injury – convincing them to take-on Essex’s Chris Wright, who has signed until the end on season on loan, and utilise their director of cricket, Ashley Giles, as 12th man until reinforcements arrived from Birmingham.Yet, somehow, the makeshift side combined the dismiss Yorkshire for a score that may well turn out to be at least 100 under par. Defying their lack of experience, they turned in a professional performance that did much to explain the differing positions of these two sides in the Championship table. In terms of talent, Yorkshire surely have the edge. In terms of application, they could learn much from Warwickshire.As Giles put it: “We’re four down from the side that played last week – six if you include Trott and Bell – but we found different guys to get the job done today. That’s what good squads do.”While Andrew Miller was not selected as Warwickshire felt he’d had insufficient bowling after coming back from a recent knee injury, Giles’ decision to select Wright surely bodes ill for Naqaash Tahir. Naqaash, a highly skilled swing bowler, is out of contract in a month and has already made his last appearance for Warwickshire. The 27-year-old played a valuable role in the 2004 Championship success and remains a dangerous bowler when the conditions – or perhaps more pertinently his mood – allow. But the suspicion remains that he has promised a little more than he has delivered and that he has not always embrace the training regime that Giles requires. He may yet forge a decent career elsewhere.If Naqaash is Warwickshire’s past, Keith Barker may well play a significant part in the future. It was 24-year-old Barker who produced the key performance of the day, claiming 4 for 73 from 23 impressive overs.Barker is an interesting cricketer. Having pursued a career in football, he played almost no cricket between the age of 16 and 21. He is fast making up for lost time, however, and with an ability to swing the ball at pace and score Championship centuries, it is far from impossible that he’ll be interesting the England selectors before too long.Perhaps, had fate taken a slightly different course, he might have done so already. Barker, the God son of former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, was a highly promising young cricketer who some at Lancashire wanted to sign at 14. Alas, officialdom intervened and a decision was made that the club shouldn’t offer him a contract until he was 16. By the time they did make him a firm offer – two years later – it was too late. He had signed for Blackburn Rovers two days earlier.He bowled very well here. Swinging the ball consistently, he also generated more pace than any of his colleagues from this gentle surface. More importantly, he claimed four good wickets. Jacques Rudolph was punished for playing across one which straightened, Joe Sayers was bowled off the inside edge as he pushed at one that left him, Gerard Brophy edged a quicker ball that surprised him for pace and Richard Pyrah was bowled by one that nipped back between bat and pad. On a surface offering little assistance, that represented high quality bowling.Wright also impressed. Maintaining a tight line and length, he bowled at a decent pace and probed around on off-stump waiting for mistakes. There will be days when he has to wait far longer, but against a Yorkshire side who appear to have lost their traditional ability to graft for runs, he was soon rewarded when Joe Root, who clearly oozes ability, spoiled his pleasing innings by playing horribly across a straight one and Anthony McGrath felt for one outside off stump and edged to slip. It will have done Wright’s claim for a longer-term contract no harm at all.Chris Metters, the left-arm spinner who was playing for Devon this time last year, also claimed three wickets, though he would probably accept he was a little flattered by that haul. Adil Rashid cut a long-hop to point, Gary Ballance turned an innocuous delivery straight into the hands of short-leg before David Wainwright, out of contract in a few weeks and keen to secure more first team cricket, ended his impressive innings by missing a horrid swing to leg. All three batsmen had played very nicely up to that point, but all three would have been immensely disappointed at the soft nature of their dismissals.And that was the story of the day. Yorkshire surrendered their opportunities a bit too easily and Warwickshire accepted them with delight. The hosts’ batting – weakened as it is – suggests this game is far from over, but Yorkshire will have to toughen up substantially if they are to avoid relegation.

Australia’s two debutants, Nathan Lyon and Trent Copeland, are old friends and enjoyed each other’s success on debut

Daniel Brettig in Galle01-Sep-2011One morning during their first week in Sri Lanka, Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon quietly ate breakfast together in the opposite wing of the hotel from which the Australian team was staying. As the rest of the squad had a communal start to the day in the other breakfast room, Copeland and Lyon kept each other company, reflecting their station as first-time tourists. Neither have a Cricket Australia contract, and neither had taken part in Australia’s training camps in Brisbane ahead of this tour. At breakfast in Colombo they did not look Australia’s 420th and 421st Test cricketers quite so much as students sitting mistakenly in the wrong classroom.Lyon and Copeland stood apart once more on the second day of the first Test in Galle, though for entirely different reasons. Each took a wicket in their first over in Test cricket, heralding Sri Lanka’s disintegration for 105. Copeland’s second-ball dismissal of Tillakaratne Dilshan arrived courtesy of a rasping catch at short cover by Ricky Ponting. The moment was perhaps outstripped for drama when Kumar Sangakkara prodded at Lyon’s sharply spinning first delivery and was snaffled low by Michael Clarke’s left hand.Copeland’s start provided a lift for Lyon, who went on to claim the startling figures of 5 for 34. They have a friendship dating back more than a decade to their shared origins in regional New South Wales. Lyon’s words when faced by cameras and microphones are few, but he saved his warmest for Copeland and the help it had been for both to have a familiar face on a tour where so many others are not.”For Trent Copeland to get his first wicket too was fantastic to see. Someone I grew up with playing country cricket in NSW, debuted with him and seeing him get his first wicket was something pretty special as well,” Lyon said. “I’m 100% stoked for Trent, just to be here with him, spent the time with him for Australia A, but to make my debut with someone you watched play cricket when you were younger and come from the same zone in NSW cricket was something pretty special.”[It helped] loads. We both spoke about it, I’ve known Trent since I’ve been around 13-14, so I’m always a good mate of Trent’s and it is pretty special to have him there.”Reflecting on his day, Lyon said none of the wickets outshone the feeling of walking onto the field as an Australian cricketer for the first time. To receive his cap from Greg Chappell, who actively sought Lyon’s inclusion for the tour after watching him with Australia A in Zimbabwe in July, also sat prominently in the memory.”It’s been one of the best days of my life, best couple of days, receiving the baggy green off Greg Chappell and to be able to take five wickets on debut is something pretty special and something I’m going to hold pretty close to my heart,” Lyon said. “I couldn’t breathe in the huddle [after dismissing Sangakkara]. I was so full of excitement. I wouldn’t say it was the perfect ball, I thought it was a bit wide, but I was quite happy with it in the end.”I was pretty nervous, I don’t really know how to explain it but the nerves were going pretty hot. I was still pretty nervous when the fourth wicket fell and I had to walk out to Ryan Harris at mid off and ask him a few different things, but I was pretty stoked with everything.”[Michael Clarke, the captain, said] just be confident and back my own skill-set pretty much. I’ve got here pretty quickly, and what’s worked for me at South Australia and back in the ACT, he just said stick to your strengths, so I’m not going to come out and do anything different.”Every game, no matter if it’s a Test match or a grade club, I always want to achieve different goals I’ve set for myself, and always looking to play better.”As for the Galle pitch, which offered so much spin and bounce to the slow bowlers, Lyon offered an understandable sentiment both as a spinner and a career groundsman taking time off work to play for Australia.”It’s fantastic, I want to take it [the pitch] everywhere,” he said. “But in saying that it’s the same for both teams so I’ve got no dramas with it. I’m worrying about cricket, I’m not worried about [curating] work right now.”Lyon relies on subtle variations in pace, length and spin rather than any visible changes in his action to deliver a doosra, and said he was quite content to keep that going. A similarly simple method served Lyon’s friend Copeland so well.”I’ve only got one stock ball,” Lyon said. “I’m pretty happy with the stock ball at the moment. If I can keep up the loop and the drop and the drift, I’ll be quite happy with myself.”

A round-up from the latest action at World Cricket League Division Six in Kuala Lumpur

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2011Guernsey turned in a disciplined performance to beat hosts Malaysia by five wickets at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur in the World Cricket League Division Six, ensuring their promotion to Division Five. Malaysia, second on the tournament’s points-table after five games, also move up to Division Five. Apart from captain Suhan Alagaratnam, none of Malaysia’s line-up could get going after they chose to bat, and they managed only 170 for 9 in their 50. Alagaratnam made a patient, unbeaten 68. The Guernsey bowlers shared the wickets around, but left-arm spinner Jeremy Frith was the pick, claiming 3 for 16 in his 10 overs. Four of Guernsey’s top five batsmen then produced solid cameos – opener Lee Savident top-scored with 40 – to ensure the side got home without much drama and 26 balls in hand. The two teams will now meet in the finals of the tournament on September 24.Guernsey’s captain Stuart Le Prevost said the side had put in a fine all-round show in the tournament. “I think we’ve had a really good all-round week with both our batting and our bowling – Jeremy Frith has been great as usual, plus Lee Savident and Ben Ferbrache have also shown great stuff out in the field.” Malaysia’s Alagaratnam said the side needed to work on their batting. “We’ve played well this week but our batting has let us down in the last few games. Hopefully we can continue to improve and win promotion in February [during the Division Five tournament] too.”Kuwait eased to a five-wicket win against Nigeria at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur but were behind Malaysia on net run-rate, meaning they lost out on promotion. Kuwait’s chase was propelled by a solid opening stand from Irfan Bhatti and Abid Mushtaq. Choosing to bat, Nigeria’s total of 182 for 8 was built almost single-handedly through a 96-run partnership between Sean Philips and Olajide Bejide. Opening bowler Mohammed Naseer finished with the best figures for Kuwait – 3 for 20 with six maidens. Bhatti and Mushtaq then steered the chase, putting on 99 in 15 overs. While Bhatti was solid with 73 off 85, Mushtaq attacked, smacking 66 off 46 with ten fours and two sixes. A half-century partnership followed between Bhatti and Sibtain Raza, putting the game beyond Nigeria despite a flurry of late wickets.Jersey beat Fiji by 28 runs at the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur but it wasn’t enough to take their net run-rate ahead of Malaysia’s. Jersey put up 247 for 6 after being asked to bat, driven by half-centuries from captain Peter Gough and Samuel de la Haye. The pair came together at a wobbly 102 for 4 and put on a century partnership to carry Jersey to a competitive total. Fiji’s top order all got starts, but none of them went on to play a long innings. The middle order failed to build on a steady platform, and Ben Stevens and Charles Perchard made inroads with three apiece to give their side a comfortable win.