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Pakistan began their two-week conditioning camp in Lahore

Umar Farooq16-May-2012Dav Whatmore, Pakistan’s head coach, has said that his team will be sternly tested during their tour of Sri Lanka which begins on June 1.The Pakistan players began a two-week conditioning camp in Lahore on Wednesday to prepare for the upcoming tour. They started with a fitness session in the morning at the National Academy and a net session at noon in Gaddafi Stadium.With temperatures in Lahore touching 40C, Whatmore said he hoped his players would find it easy to acclimatise themselves to similar conditions in Sri Lanka. “It’s pretty warm out here as well but it will be easy for us to acclimatise (to Sri Lankan conditions),” Whatmore said. “We’re lucky to do a bit of work in the heat in the morning and a little bit in the afternoon.”Some of the bowlers and batsmen have been working out in the heat to ensure we are prepared. I think we have to prepare properly for a series against a strong opposition.”Pakistan announced separate teams for each format for the upcoming tour and Whatmore said he was satisfied with the selection process.”I am happy to see that players are being selected based on their suitability to a format. As far as leadership is concerned, it’s not up to me and I will support what the PCB decides.”He also backed the inexperienced players selected for the tour. “There are one or two changes in the squad and that’s a good thing as by keeping exactly the same squad we would be marching on the same spot, but we must move forward all the time.”Whatmore, who has had two stints as Sri Lanka’s coach in the past, said he was expecting batting-friendly pitches in Sri Lanka. “We are not expecting anything different. The limited-overs pitches [in Sri Lanka] are good for batting.”

The full transcript of the sanctions handed out to Danish Kaneria and Mervyn Westfield by the ECB

22-Jun-2012Danish Kaneria & Mervyn Westfield Sanctions Hearing1. An ECB Cricket Discipline Commission Panel comprising Gerard Elias QC (Chairman), David Gabbitass and Jamie Dalrymple convened at the offices of Sport Resolutions UK on Friday 22nd June 2012 to consider the appropriate sanction applicable to 2 charges found proved in relation to Danish Kaneria and one charge admitted by Mervyn Westfield.GENERAL1. Self evidently, corruption, specifically spot fixing, in cricket or any other sport for that matter, is a cancer that eats at the health and very existence of the game. For the general public, supporting the game and their team within it, there is no merit or motivation to expend time, money or effort to watch a match whose integrity may be in doubt. The consequences of the public’s disengagement from cricket would be catastrophic.2. Furthermore, the game of cricket simply cannot afford to have its reputation tarnished in the eyes of commercial partners. These partners could not and would not link their brand to a sport whose integrity had been so undermined.3. For players who have devoted their entire careers to the pursuit of hard fought and properly competitive sport, to have those genuine achievements called into question by the corrupt actions of a tiny minority, may tend to devalue their worth.4. Accordingly, we have no doubt that this is a cancer which must be rooted out of the game of cricket.5. As a result of this in relation to domestic cricket the ECB and the PCA have introduced programmes of training and education such that in 2012 there are in place for all county cricketers appropriate safeguards in the area of match fixing and corruption. These were not in place in 2009.6. In reaching our conclusions, we have had regard to the authorities placed before us in relation to sanctions imposed for corrupt activity in sport.Danish Kaneria7. We sentence for 2 offences. As we have found, they involve the deliberate corruption of a young and vulnerable player and, we are satisfied, various attempts to involve others in the net of corruption. As a senior international player of repute he plainly betrayed the trust reposed in him in his dealings with fellow team mates and we regard his persistent efforts to recruit spot fixers as being a seriously aggravating factor in his case.8. Significant sums of money doubtless flow from corrupt activities such as those which we have examined this week, and we have no doubt that those involved in making such corrupt financial gains spare no thought either for those they corrupt or for the integrity of the game.9. Kaneria has made no admission, has shown no remorse and sought to cast blame on other plainly innocent persons.10. In all these circumstances, we regard Danish Kaneria as a grave danger to the game of cricket and we must take every appropriate step to protect our game from his corrupt activities. Accordingly, we are unanimously of the view that the only appropriate sanction in relation to both charges is one of suspension for life and that is the sanction we impose. This means from today Danish Kaneria is suspended from any involvement in the playing, organisation or administration of any cricket under the jurisdiction of the ECB.Mervyn Westfield11. For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to indicate that were Westfield to have committed the offence to which he pleaded guilty, in 2012 – when the education and training programmes were in place – on a fully contested basis, we would have imposed a suspension of 9 years. Let no one underestimate the seriousness of failing to perform – or agreeing so to do – on ones merits.12. We bear in mind the fact that his conduct occurred in 2009, that he was targeted and pressurised by a senior team mate. To the ECB’s charge he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and is entitled to significant credit for that.13. His evidence to this Panel was the core evidence which has exposed and led to the conviction of Kaneria and we accept that this has taken some courage.14. We bear in mind also all the matters urged upon us by Mark Milliken-Smith QC with regard to his character and we note his stated willingness to assist PCA in any future anti corruption education programme.15. Accordingly, we conclude that the appropriate sanction is:Suspension from involvement in all cricket under the auspices of the ECB for 5 years but we shall, exceptionally, mitigate that penalty by permitting him to participate in club cricket on terms which will be set out in detail in our written ruling* for the last 2 years of that suspension period.This suspension in relation to Westfield is effective from 17th February 2012.*In relation to Mervyn Westfield, the Panel have imposed a suspension of 5 years. For the first 3 years, this suspension applies to any involvement in cricket under ECB jurisdiction at any level including playing, coaching and administration. For the final 2 years, the suspension applies only to cricket in any Team England and First-Class County cricket environment including First-Class County Second Xl, Unicorns or any other team participating in ECB First Xl or Second Xl competitions, Minor County cricket and any involvement in First-Class County Academy or age-group cricket.Gerard Elias QC
David Gabitass
Jamie Dalrymple 22 06 2012

The Bangladesh left-arm spinner, has become the first player to be named Man of the Match on debut in two formats

Mohammad Isam19-Jul-2012Elias Sunny, the Bangladesh left-arm spinner, has become the first player to be named Man of the Match on debut in two formats, after winning the award in the first Twenty20 against Ireland on Wednesday. Sunny was also the Man of the Match in his first Test, against West Indies last October.Defending a total of 190 in the first T20 international in Belfast, Sunny picked up a career best haul of 5 for 13 – the third-best figures in T20 internationals – and became the first Bangladesh bowler to take a five-wicket haul in T20 internationals and only the seventh bowler overall.Sunny’s haul included a double-wicket maiden in his first over. He had Ed Joyce caught at the square-leg boundary and off the next ball, Niall O’Brien was stumped by captain Mushfiqur Rahim. After picking up the wickets of John Mooney and Alex Cusack, Sunny completed the five-for with the wicket of Trent Johnston.Sunny is also the third bowler to take five or more wickets on debut in two different formats. Former Australia fast bowler Tony Dodemaide and West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards had done so in Tests and ODIs. (The list also includes former Australian swing bowler Bob Massie and former Indian legspinner Narendra Hirwani who took two five-wicket hauls on Test debut.)Sunny has so far only played a total of six international games including three Tests and two ODIs, though his debut in one-day cricket wasn’t as auspicious – 1 for 46 against Pakistan.Sunny made his Test debut after picking up 203 wickets in seven years of first-class cricket – the most for a Bangladesh bowler before a Test debut.

Ravi Bopara is back in the England Test side for the first match against South Africa at The Oval next week after being included in a 13-man squad

Andrew McGlashan15-Jul-2012Ravi Bopara is back in the England Test squad for the first match against South Africa at The Oval next week. There are five fast bowlers in the 13-man group, with Graham Onions, Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan competing to form the pace trio with James Anderson and Stuart Broad.Bopara’s form in the ODI series against Australia – 182 runs and four useful wickets – confirmed he is primed for a return to the Test side, after a frustrating period during which his opportunities were curtailed by injuries. He was set to make a comeback in Sri Lanka after Eoin Morgan was dropped but picked up a side strain that prevented him from bowling, and so Samit Patel was preferred. Then, at the start of this season, Bopara injured his thigh and was ruled out of the series against West Indies.That opened the door for Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow, who struggled in the three Tests against West Indies, making 38 runs, and has not had a huge amount of batting since. Bairstow returned to Championship action this week and made a first-ball duck against Hampshire.The only other debate is who will be the third fast bowler behind Anderson and Broad. England’s regular new-ball pair was rested for the last Test against West Indies but Anderson and Broad will return to spearhead the attack for the main event of the season.In the first two Tests against West Indies, they were accompanied by Bresnan, who was Man of the Match at Trent Bridge after a destructive spell of reverse swing on the third evening sealed the series for England. He currently has a Test bowling average of 26.09 and a batting average of 40.22 and will be tough to dislodge. Finn, however, made a very strong case for himself with his performances in the Australia ODIs.In four completed matches, Finn took eight wickets at 19.37, including 4 for 37 at Chester-le-Street. He played the final Test against West Indies, when Broad and Anderson were rested, but was out-bowled on that occasion by Onions, who was playing his first Test since January 2010.Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “Ravi Bopara has worked hard to regain his place in the Test squad following some injury concerns earlier in the season and is the only player included who is yet to play a Test match this summer.”We have played some very good cricket over the last couple of months in all formats to win series against West Indies and Australia and after a month of limited overs cricket, preparations are now underway for what is sure to be a very competitive Test series against South Africa,” Miller said. “We know we will need to play excellent cricket to win this three-match series and the squad will be determined to start with a strong performance this week during the first Investec Test and set the tone for the rest of the series.”On Saturday, the ICC’s annual refresh of the rankings pushed South Africa to third but if they beat England they will replace them at the top of the table. England will retain their spot with a won or drawn series over the three Tests at The Oval, Headingley and Lord’s.Squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wk), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.

Another rainy day in a wet summer hasn’t stunted the growth of Yorkshire opening batsman Joe Root

Paul Edwards at Edgbaston15-Aug-2012
ScorecardJoe Root has been tipped as one of England’s next opening batsmen•Getty Images

Curiously for someone whose name suggests a secure, grounded quality, Joe Root was at a loose end on Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rain had ruled out any possibility of play on the second day of the England Lions match against Australia A and soon only the groundsmen and some security staff would be left at Edgbaston.”I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” the young Yorkshireman said. “I can’t play golf because it’s too wet and windy, and I’ll spend too much money if I go shopping, so I might have to spend the rest of the day in the hotel.”Frowsting in the dressing-room watching the rain tipple down has a limited appeal too. “We sit there and we wonder what time might we get out and we all pretend we’re really good weathermen,” Root said. “But at the end of it we’re in the changing room talking rubbish to each other, and today I’ve ended up doing an hour’s session in the gym.”As with all cricketers of whatever stamp, there have been too many such afternoons in 2012. Yet this summer has also seen Root emerge as perhaps the most likely candidate to fill an England opener’s spot should either Andrew Strauss or Alastair Cook break a finger. And in a season when James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow have both been summoned from the cab rank of English batsmen, it would suddenly not be too surprising if Root was the next to be called upon.Such impressions are only strengthened by innings such as that Root played in the second innings of the first unofficial Test against Australia A at Old Trafford. In a golden final session on the third day he stroked 13 boundaries in making 70 off 104 balls, adding 128 for the second wicket with Bairstow. One imagines that batting must be a very simple exercise when it is made to look so easeful.”Yes, but that is sometimes when it’s trickiest because you get lulled into a false sense of security and you’ve got to keep telling yourself to stay alert,” said Root, who remains keenly analytical in his approach and acutely self-critical. “Balls keep coming into your areas and you’re scoring quite freely and then suddenly you can get a good delivery out of nowhere and it can sort of surprise you. You have to keep yourself switched on. Jonny and I kept coming up to each other to make sure that was the case.”All of which made it the more disappointing that Root was caught when carelessly cutting left-arm spinner Jon Holland to backward point. “It was a poor execution of the shot and I was bitterly disappointed,” he said. “Unfortunately I just didn’t keep myself switched on, but as I keep saying, it’s a learning process and I hope I can go on from that and take the lesson on board.”There was also a rather painful masterclass for Root in the first innings, when he gloved a lifting delivery from Mitchell Johnson to the wicketkeeper, Tim Paine. If the 21-year-old opener had read any of the reports about Johnson’s inaccuracy, he insists that he paid little attention to them.”It was the first time I’ve ever faced him and he bowled exceptionally well in that first innings,” he said, of Johnson’s 4 for 47. “What was it – 20 overs, four for 40-odd? It was a great spell of bowling on what was a tough wicket and it just goes to show how well the lads handled him and how well they did to get us into the position they did. I got a good delivery and sometimes you have to give the credit to the bowler. It was another one that I’ll learn from. Johnson was number one bowler in the world at one time and if you come up against someone like that you don’t take them lightly. I can tell you now that none of the lads in the changing room were thinking he’d spray it around.”It has been a good season for Root in Division Two of the County Championship, although one strongly suspects that there will be better ones to come. He has scored 644 runs for Yorkshire in 13 innings, with two fifties and two centuries. His unbeaten 222 against Hampshire may eventually be viewed as something a breakthrough innings: it won plaudits from the press box and from both dressing rooms, where experienced Test players were amazed by the composure and maturity of the young batsman.Predictably, perhaps, Root is courteous in accepting the praise but he lets all the talk about England wash over him, insisting that he “doesn’t really think about it”. He prefers to focus on the achievement of Bairstow, his fellow Yorkshireman, whose 139 at Old Trafford helped win him a place in the England side for the final Test against South Africa. “Jonny played a fantastic knock and look where he is now,” Root said. “He got an opportunity in that second innings and he took it and well done to him. I’m really pleased for him.”Yet while Root concentrates on “staying in the moment” and enjoying the company of his colleagues, those who watched him bat at Manchester last week or at Southampton last month will still speculate as to the young man’s future and how he will cope should he eventually receive his first Test cap. It will take much more than a wet summer to blight the development of Joe Root.

Driven by an unbeaten half-century by Kycia Knight, West Indies Women chased down 99 by a relatively comfortable margin against Pakistan Women, to take the one-off Twenty20 in Loughborough

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2012
ScorecardDriven by an unbeaten half-century by Kycia Knight, West Indies Women chased down 99 by a relatively comfortable margin against Pakistan Women, to take the one-off Twenty20 in Loughborough. West Indies won with only one ball to spare, but had eight wickets in hand.Pakistan chose to bat, but none of their batsmen bar Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan could make any contribution of note. Mahroof and Javeria were the only two to get into double digits, making 36 and 37 out of Pakistan’s 98. Medium-pacer Shemaine Campbelle produced the best figures for West Indies, her 3 for 20 including the wickets of Mahroof and Javeria and preventing Pakistan from getting a final surge.The West Indies top order batted around Knight in the chase. She made 50 off 67 with five boundaries, while Deandra Dottin knocked off a four and a six in a 12-ball cameo at the end to help push West Indies across the line in the nick of time.

England’s Holly Colvin has said that women’s cricket in Kenya will only improve if their cricketers are allowed to play alongside men in club cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2012England’s Holly Colvin has said that women’s cricket in Kenya will only improve if their cricketers are allowed to play alongside men in club cricket.Speaking on a visit to Kenya with the Cricket Without Boundaries (CWB) charity, Colvin told the Nairobi-based Star there were not enough female cricketers in the country to enable them to play enough and at a sufficient standard to build their game.”It’s very difficult to improve if you not playing someone stronger than you,” she said. “The players will have to play alongside men either in the same team or against them. If this happens, then Kenya should expect to do well in their matches.”Colvin helped hone her game by playing alongside men in Sussex. “The boys don’t treat me any different,” she said. “I know how it feels to play against men but when you work hard and take it as a challenge, then things become easier for you and improvement is almost automatic.”Kenya’s women have struggled on the international stage and they face another tough challenge in December when they take part in the 2014 T20 World Cup Qualifiers. “It’s always a dream of any cricketer to play at a World Cup and I am sure this is what every member of the Kenyan team is looking forward to,” Colvin said. “But they will have to realise that this can only come through hard work.”

The PCB has granted Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal permission to play a few games at this season’s Big Bash League, on the request of Cricket Australia

Umar Farooq19-Nov-2012Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has said he will not play for Sydney Thunder despite being given permission by the PCB to take part in Australia’s Big Bash League. Afridi said he wanted to play in Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 tournament instead and that clashes with Australia’s Twenty20 competition.”I have ended my contract in the Big Bash League, because I want to play in the national event to improve my form and justify my selection in the team,” Afridi told AFP.The Pakistan board had earlier granted Saeed Ajmal, Umar Akmal and Afridi permission to play a few games at this season’s Big Bash, on the request of Cricket Australia. Ajmal and Akmal will miss the last round of Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 tournament and will return in time for the conditioning camp in Lahore ahead of the India tour.The PCB had earlier denied the players permission to play this BBL, to ensure their participation in the local tournament. Akmal is signed with Sydney Sixers and Ajmal with Adelaide Strikers for the season, while Afridi was set to play for Sydney Thunder, having transferred from Melbourne Renegades.”We have reconsidered our decision, on the request of Cricket Australia, as the players had already signed their contract,” a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “They will now leave at the tail end of [Pakistan’s] T20 tournament, which runs from December 2 to 10, and will return when our conditioning camp starts.”As per the arrangement, the players will leave for the BBL at the end of the group stages of Pakistan’s T20 competition; these end on December 7, and the camp for which they must return begins on December 12. The BBL begins on December 7, and each of the three concerned franchises have one game scheduled between the 7th and 12th.1200 GMT This story has been updated after Shahid Afridi said he would not play in the BBL

Shane Watson’s only faint hope of playing against South Africa at the Gabba is as a batsman alone – and the team performance manager Pat Howard has revealed the national selectors are considering the possibility

Daniel Brettig04-Nov-2012Shane Watson’s only faint hope of playing against South Africa at the Gabba is as a batsman alone – and the team performance manager Pat Howard has revealed the national selectors are considering the possibility.While Ricky Ponting is almost certain to be fit in time for day one at the Gabba, Watson is in severe doubt for the first Test of the summer due to what the team physio Alex Kountouris called a “minor grade” left calf strain. The possibility of Watson being fit to bowl in the match is negligible, but John Inverarity’s selection panel have discussed Watson’s value purely as a top six batsman.”It has been discussed but there’s no firm decision on that,” Howard told ESPNcricinfo. “Those considerations have been brought up in the past, so right now without speaking on behalf of the selection panel, it is being considered. Everything’s possible.”Shane and Ricky are in doubt, but they’re both reasonably new injuries and we’ll know more soon, they’re most certainly both in contention for the Test to differing degrees, and we’ll have standby players ready over the next couple of days in and around the squad.”We have some very initial scans on Shane, but our physio and chief medical officer, one has arrived in Brisbane and the other is arriving this afternoon, the selection panel will be arriving in from different parts of the country this afternoon as well. When they all get the big picture, not only on Shane but other players, then they can make some decisions over the next couple of days leading up to the Test.”The floating of Watson as a batsman is a departure from the team’s previous view, which had stressed the importance of having him fit as both a bowler and a batsman. Last summer Watson himself floated the possibility of playing as a batsman during the home Tests as he recovered from a hamstring strain, but that was ruled out.Watson said in Brisbane on Sunday that he was feeling some stiffness in the muscle and while he had not been ruled out of the Test, past experience had made him aware of the risks of rushing back too soon.”It’s still a little bit stiff, I’m just hoping it settles down over the next couple of days,” Watson said. “Alex [Kountouris, the team physio] had a little look at it, we’re just seeing how it sort of pans out over the next couple of days … see whether I’m a chance to be able to play in the first Test.”It’s not as bad [as it’s been], it’s only pretty minor but I know how things can go if you don’t really look after it and get it right the first time. I’ll be certainly making sure I get it right the first time.”The selectors are set to name shadow players for both Watson and Ponting, though the latter is expected to be recovered from a hamstring niggle in time to play. Should Watson be ruled unfit for the Test, the Australia A captain Andrew McDonald’s allround virtues are likely to be considered, though his presence would necessitate a shuffle in the batting order.While the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the Champions League in South Africa have seriously undercut the preparation of both Australia and South Africa for the forthcoming Tests, Howard said he took some consolation from the fact that the Shield round had allowed players to be tested.”I think we’re fortunate we have this round of games to start dealing with these guys coming in, if it happened next week that would be more of an issue,” Howard said. “We really want the Test players to go back and play in the Shield and contribute to the competition and get themselves ready, and I think that process has been well dealt with in the last couple of days.”

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

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2012
ScorecardSreesanth took 4 for 28 (file photo)•PA Photos

Playing his second match on comeback from injury, Sreesanth took 4 for 28 to bowl Jharkhand out for 120 in Mallapuram. Robert Fernandez and VA Jagadeesh then drove home the advantage by reaching 165 for 1 despite the loss of a wicket first ball.The day began with Sreesanth dismissing Akash Verma in the first over. He then took the big wickets of Ramiz Nemat and Ishank Jaggi in his fourth and sixth overs. When Sandeep Warrier took out Saurabh Tiwary, Jharkhand had been reduced to 62 for 5. Sp Gautam and Sunny Gupta added 28 for the sixth wicket, but the next five well within 30 runs.Jaskaran Singh gave Jharkhand a dream start with the ball, but that was the only success they would enjoy on a horror day.
ScorecardVikramjeet Malik took the only five-for in all 11 matches on day one, helping Himachal Pradesh bowl Jammu & Kashmir out for 175. This was his 14th five-wicket haul in 65 first-class games.It was allrounder Rishi Dhawan who provided the first breakthrough, getting Ian Dev Singh out for 2 in the sixth over. Malik ran through the rest of the top order, including the big wicket of Parvez Rassol. Obaid Haroon and Owais Shah added 47 for the fifth wicket, but Malik returned to remove Shah and make it 103 for 5. The sixth-wicket stand, between Haroon and Ram Dayal, added 53, but after that J7K just subsided.The Himachal openers saw through the rest of the day without incident.
ScorecardAsked to bat first in the early start in Guwahati, Andhra got off to a poor start before B Sumanth and veteran Amol Muzumdar lent their score some respectability. Arup Das rattled them with three wickets in the first spell, but from 26 for 3 Andhra did well to end the day at 214 for 8.Sumanth and Muzumdar added 80 fir the fourth wicket before another slide began. At 136 for 6, though, Muzumdar found a fighting partner in Rajesh Pawar, formerly of Baroda. They added 65 for the seventh wicket before Assam struck twice just before stumps. Muzumdar was 18 short of a century at stumps, with only two wickets standing.In Agartala, no play was possible between Tripura and Goa because of fog and bad light.