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Zimbabwe selector Givemore Makoni cannot be reappointed to his job because of a new directive from the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission

Firdose Moonda16-Jan-2013Zimbabwe’s most recent convenor of selectors Givemore Makoni cannot be reappointed to his job because of a new directive from the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). The directive, which comes into effect on February 1, states that only former national players can become selectors.”Good performance of national teams in international matches is a matter of national interest. It has been noted that in some circumstances, this national interest has been compromised by the calibre of national team selectors who lack the requisite experience and skills to play their role effectively,” the SRC said in a statement. “This directive therefore seeks to correct this anomaly so as to improve the competitiveness of our national teams.”Continual underperformance of teams across sports prompted the SRC to take this step. The minister of education, sports, arts and culture, David Coltart, explained that it was a decision taken after in-depth consultation with the country’s sportsmen and women.”A wide cross section of Zimbabwean sportspersons have told me that playing at international level involves a considerable leap in physical and mental expertise, which is best understood and appreciated by sportspersons who have experienced that themselves,” Coltart said. “The same sportspersons have advised me that national players are far more likely to respect and accept hard selection decisions made by people who have achieved themselves at the highest level.”Although the directive comes into effect in two weeks’ time, it was first mooted in October last year. In the same month, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) changed their policy following the death of Kevin Curran, one of the members of their selection committee. Curran, who was also the coach of the Mashonaland Eagles, was part of a three-person panel that also included former Test player Wayne James and Makoni. Alan Butcher, the national coach, was only used in an advisory capacity.The directive and Curran’s death took place within weeks of each other, and resulted in ZC shaking up their panel. James and Butcher sat on a two-person committee but Makoni had a casting vote. The main difference between the rejigged panel and the previous one was that the coach had more of a say. Historically, according to Coltart, Zimbabwean cricket coaches have not been selectors but ZC has now changed this.Once the SRC ruling comes into effect, Makoni will not be able to play any part in selection and it also means that if ZC appoints a coach who is not a former national player, he cannot be a selector. Butcher is not reapplying for his job, which will end after the tour to West Indies in March, and Steven Mangongo, the assistant coach, is one of the people in the running to take over. Mangongo did not play for Zimbabwe.Mangongo, batting coach Grant Flower and bowling coach Heath Streak are believed to be in the running for the coaching positions. Mangongo will be ruled out if ZC want to continue having their coach act as a selector, which has led Makoni to tell local papers the directive was “utter rubbish and racist.” He believes it will deny black officials opportunity to advance.Coltart denied the new policy was racially targeted. “Regarding Mangongo, it is ZC who have recently changed the rules on coaches,” he said. “If they want to hire Mangongo they can easily revert to the status quo and have the coach in an advisory capacity.”Coltart also said he could alter portions of the directive to ensure coaches were not excluded entirely from selection, irrespective of their level of playing. “This was never designed to exclude coaches from the decision making process and so I may well refine the directive to make sure that that is the case – and do say as the Australians do. The chair is always an ex-player and there are a majority of ex-players but the coach is on the panel and he doesn’t have to be an ex player.”Zimbabwe had long standing racial divisions that exposed themselves in cricket with the white player walk-out in 2004. Players including Heath Streak, the Flower brothers and Alistair Campbell walked away from cricket in the country because of ZC’s aggressive transformation program. Matters were thought to have eased when they returned to the fold and Zimbabwe fielded teams that now represent the country’s population.Makoni, who will remain manager of the Southern Rocks, is still fearful the directive could divide Zimbabwe cricket again and angry that he will not be considered for the selection panel because of the new rules.”Not playing for Zimbabwe during our time did not mean that you were not good enough to play for the national team. Doors were closed for us,” he said. “We fought that system and although we didn’t benefit from it, in terms of playing for the national team, it opened the doors for a lot of black players.”Now, we have black cricket players all over the country, cricket is spreading into a truly mass sporting discipline. We can’t allow people to come and try and reverse all that,” he said. Coltart denied any plot to exclude black Zimbabweans and said Makoni’s remarks were “abusive and unnecessary.”

VVS Laxman, in his 16-year Test career, established himself as one of the best players of spin bowling in the world but, by his own admission, it wasn’t a talent he had acquired when he first picked up the bat

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Hyderabad01-Mar-2013VVS Laxman, in his 16-year Test career, established himself as one of the best players of spin bowling in the world but, by his own admission, it wasn’t a talent he had acquired when he first picked up the bat. Failures early in his career taught him to respect spin bowling more and after hours of practice his batting had evolved to the point where he could master any attack.Laxman was speaking at the launch of , a compilation of the best Q&A long-form interviews published by ESPNcricinfo and Walt Disney. The book features 22 interviews with current and former players speaking on specific topics such as captaincy, swing bowling, commentary, batting etc. Those interviewed include Sachin Tendulkar, Ian Chappell, Mahela Jayawardene, Barry Richards, and Laxman himself.”I never got to play quality spin bowling when I was growing up,” Laxman said in a discussion with Harsha Bhogle and ESPNcricinfo editor Sambit Bal, responding to an extract from an earlier interview. “As a kid I always enjoyed playing fast bowling. I neglected playing spinners. At the end of the practice session I got extra throw-downs, asking the coaches to throw from ten yards so I could play quicker bowling. I used to practice on cement wickets using a plastic ball or a wet tennis ball.”When I started playing the Ranji Trophy, there were some quality spinners in domestic cricket and I remember I would invariably get out to Sairaj Bahutule (former Mumbai legspinner), playing against the spin and getting caught at midwicket. That’s when I came back to the nets and luckily Hyderabad had some quality spinners like Arshad Ayub, Venkatapathy Raju, Kanwaljit Singh. I practiced hard at the nets against them and I always felt that the hard work you put in the nets will reap results. Within a span of six months to one year I became an excellent player of spin. In domestic cricket we used to get tough wickets, like the one in Chennai for the Test (against Australia), and my confidence grew.”Laxman’s admissions could be a lesson for the touring Australian team, whose batsmen struggled against spin in Chennai. “You react to the ball that is coming at you,” he said. “If you focus on the guy holding the ball, your thought process changes. You should remove things like the state of the pitch from your thought process and only react to the ball. If you think too much about the wicket, you’re only expecting a certain kind of delivery and in the bargain you lose out on the shot you could have played.”Laxman also spoke at length about how it’s a bigger challenge for youngsters today to strike the balance between their game and their personality, compared to the scenario at the time he was growing up. He felt it is a challenge for the modern cricketer to manage distractions better, given that players nowadays have plenty on their plate to deal with.”It’s not just about distractions. It’s the amount of options available to you. For example, when I chose not to become a doctor and chose cricket as my career path, there was nothing in my life except cricket. When my friends went to movies etc, I used to go home, so I could be fresh in the morning for practice. Now, there are so many options. If you are not successful as a cricketer you could be successful in any other field. That is why now it is very important how you communicate with the youngsters. You cannot be negative with them. You have to be positive so that their interest in the game always remains.”There is so much of fame, adulation, scrutiny, and money [these days]. It is very important for any young cricketer to be as balanced as possible. It is very difficult to do so and I feel for them.”While he agreed that mentorship is important to a player’s growth, he insisted that a youngster should be educated on what his priorities should be at an early age.”What was the one thing that kept me going? It was the pride of playing for your country,” Laxman said. “That can be ingrained at a young age. [Money] is a danger. For young cricketers, their priorities should be emphasised. They should know that money is a by-product of what you’re trying to achieve. Pride and passion should be the first priority. I have noticed in the same coaching camps I used to attend as a kid, the parents now say ‘I don’t care if my son plays for India or not but I want him to get into one of the IPL franchises.’ There has to be a balance. That will happen in the ages of 16-19. The coaches at camps like at the NCA have to address the issue.”Coaching youngsters, he says, also needs to be handled with caution. “After my retirement my son suddenly became interested in the game, I don’t know why,” Laxman said, which was followed by laughter. “I just tell him to hit the ball. My nephew goes to a coaching camp and one day I was playing with the two of them. It was strange. My son was only hitting the ball without bothering about his head position etc, but my nephew would come to me as ask, ‘uncle, how is my elbow position?’ They are just aged 6 and 7. What structured coaching sometimes does is it removes the natural instincts of a player. Till a cricketer is mature, one should not load too much information on him. I notice spinners are at their best till they are 15, but they vanish. The coaches try to correct them and the player gets confused.”

Andy Flower has said that he will look into his side’s problems with starting overseas Tests poorly and suggested that he will implement changes for future series

Andrew McGlashan in Dunedin11-Mar-2013

England overseas: shall we skip the first Test?

• 2004-05 – Port Elizabeth: won by seven wickets

• 2005-06 – Multan: lost by 22 runs; Nagpur: draw

• 2006-07 – Brisbane: lost by 277 runs

• 2007-08 – Kandy: lost by 88 runs; Hamilton: lost by 189 runs

• 2008-09 – Chennai: lost by six wickets; Jamaica: lost by an innings and 23 runs

• 2009-10 – Centurion: draw; Chittagong: won by 181 runs

• 2010-11 – Brisbane: draw

• 2011-12 – Dubai: lost by 10 wickets; Galle: lost by 75 runs

• 2012-13 – Ahmedabad: lost by 9 wickets; Dunedin: draw

Andy Flower, the England Test coach, has said he will take a look at his role in the side’s continued problems with starting overseas Test series poorly and suggested that he will implement changes for future tours.England fought back to save the opening match against New Zealand, in Dunedin, but the performance on the second day – being bowled out for 167 and watching the home side reach 131 without loss – was probably their worst start to a Test under Flower.”If you are asking about a trend, that is certainly something that I should be addressing myself,” he said before the team travelled to Wellington. “I have some ideas on rejigging a couple of things in our preparation, in our management team firstly, and we’ll see if we can do something about it.”We always encourage our players to be honest with themselves, and each other. So then we’ve got to do the same. The coaches have to do that, and I’m the first guy that has to do it.”Since 2004-05, England have only beaten Bangladesh in an opening Test in 2010. Of the away 14 series since they won at Port Elizabeth under Michael Vaughan’s captaincy (incidentally having prepared by being hammered by South Africa A), nine have started with a defeat and only in one, against India in Nagpur in 2006, did England take control of a match for any considerable time.The lack of a sustained warm-up period is often cited as a key reason. Flower has gone to great lengths to ensure the team have high-quality preparation leading into a series, but on this tour that was restricted to one four-day game – albeit against a strong New Zealand XI side. For the Ashes later this year, England will repeat the 2010-11 schedule of three first-class warm-ups before Brisbane.Flower, obviously, has no control over the strength of opposition for warm-ups and some of the matches during the early stages of the India were of debatable quality, although India’s plan to hide top-class spin did not stop them from losing the series. However, he does not believe the poor start in Dunedin can be purely put down to not having more games before the series.”The way we started this tour, principally in that first innings, has nothing to do with people not having enough cricket,” he said. “We’ve had a reasonable amount of preparation time, and enough to get ready for that first Test. So that is not the reason why we under-performed.”Am I happy with the preparation for this series? Well, I’m not happy in that we lost the four-day game – we go into those games trying to win them,” Flower said. “So that is not a habit we want to keep. We transferred some of the sloppiness that we showed in that four-day game into the Test match.”England finally kicked into gear on the fourth day as they faced a deficit of 293. Alastair Cook and Nick Compton added 231 before further half-centuries from Steven Finn, on his first occasion as the nightwatchman, and Jonathan Trott helped keep New Zealand at bay, although a wobble either side of tea kept the day alive. “We had a long time to bat and, even on flat pitches when you are batting under that type of pressure where a mistake might cost the match, I thought they did an outstanding job,” Flower said.For Compton, though, it was still too early for any assurances over the Ashes with Flower taking a similarly guarded tone to his views on Joe Root. “It was great to see him get the big score he’s been after. There are no guarantees about the future for any of us, and the Ashes is still a little way away. So let’s just take it one step at a time.”He also gave a strong hint that he does not want Cook to always be the man to have set the tone at the top of the order after the captain scored his 24th Test hundred. “He’s handled the captaincy very well, and has also led from the front with the bat. We need some of our other top-order batsmen to do the same.”

Craig Ervine, Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer across all three formats on their recent tour of West Indies, has refused a winter contract, opting instead to play club cricket in the UK

Firdose Moonda09-Apr-2013

Players and their contract situation

Centrally contracted players who are part of the current squad:
Brendan Taylor (capt), Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Malcolm Waller, Kyle Jarvis, Brian Vitori, Elton Chigumbura, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Ray Price
Players with winter contracts in the current squad:
Tendai Chatara, Michael Chinouya, Keegan Meth, Natsai M’shangwe, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Timycen Maruma, Shingirai Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami
Not contracted:
Craig Ervine, Charles Coventry, Edward Rainsford, Tawanda Mupariwa, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chamu Chibhabha
Not considered because of injury:
Chris Mpofu, Tino Mawoyo

Craig Ervine, Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer across all three formats on their recent tour of West Indies, has refused a winter contract and will not be part of the series against Bangladesh. Ervine has instead opted to play club cricket in the UK. Meanwhile, the threatened player boycott has been averted after eight players signed winter contracts.He is one of three players who decided not to take up Zimbabwe Cricket’s offer. The other two, Sean Williams and uncapped Pakistan-born Sikandar Raza, are still in discussions with the board.All-rounder Keegan Meth and bowlers Shingi Masakadza and Tendai Chatara, who were a part of the squad that toured Caribbean, are among the players who have signed the winter contracts. The team has resumed training, after only the centrally contracted players took to the field while negotiations were on-going.Ervine, who has played four Tests since Zimbabwe made their Test comeback in 2011, has not made the reason for his decision public, but a source close to the players told ESPNcricinfo that the money offered by ZC amounted to only US$100 a week. He is likely to earn at least double that overseas. His brother, Sean, walked away from Zimbabwe Cricket, seeking stability in the UK, and there are fears more players could do the same in the future.Though Zimbabwe’s preparations for the Bangladesh series, which begins in nine days, are back on track, the financial situation in ZC is still unresolved. An insider revealed that although the centrally contracted players “don’t have many complaints” over what they earn, the situation among franchise players is dire.Franchise cricketers are contracted for seven months of the year on low salaries, which according to one player only “pays for the rent”. They are left to fend for themselves for the other five months and most of them try to play overseas in that time. However, since ZC tries to schedule international fixtures during the winter, they often have to choose between higher income from club cricket and playing for their country, where they only earn match fees.A player, who did not want to named, said monies are often paid late or not at all. “Every single cricketer in Zimbabwe is owed money of some sort,” he said. “We are due to be paid from our franchise contracts on the last day of the month. Sometimes by the 10th of the next month, we still don’t have our money. Some people may say we are greedy, but we have bills to pay. It’s sad that it pays more to play club cricket abroad than it does for the country, but that’s the way it is.”With that in mind, those who have accepted winter contracts will be aware that they have signed up for some uncertainty. Their contracts will cover four tours, including the Bangladesh series, the three ODIs against India and series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Franchise cricketers will be given fresh contracts from September 1, while new central contracts will be announced in August.

Saqlain Mushtaq has said the contribution of left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak’s in Friday’s 121-run over Zimbabwe has not gone unnoticed

Mohammad Isam04-May-2013Saqlain Mushtaq has said the contribution of left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak’s in Friday’s 121-run over Zimbabwe has not gone unnoticed. Saqlain is now with Bangladesh was their spin bowling consultant, as part of his deal with the BCB to be in the role for 100 days in 2013.He has been credited for guiding offspinner Sohag Gazi since his debut and has offering his advice to Razzak as well. Saqlain said that one wicket, that of Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor, was a vital contribution from a bowler who also had to adjust to the conditions.”When someone comes back to the international arena, he needs some time to adjust to that climate,” Saqlain said. “But I’m happy, because he got the wicket of the key man, Taylor. The captain was in very good form, he got hundreds in each innings of the first Test and I think he is their main player, and he took his wicket.”I don’t care about if he bowled flat. I just care about wickets, figures and how much a bowler contributes. He did a good job for us, took the main man out.”Saqlain revealed his conversation with Razzak in the dressing-room ahead of the Zimbabwe innings. “When he went inside I told him, ‘we have done our preparations in the nets and we talked a lot about strategies. But now you are going on the field. You adjust according to the pitch, conditions and the situation. Try to play your game’.”Razzak’s wicket of Taylor was the only one picked up by a spinner in the opening match of the series with the other eight being shared by the seamers Ziaur Rahman, Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam. The pace bowlers also took 21 wickets in the Test series, while the spinners picked up 15. Saqlain sees the domination of the pace bowlers in the wicket-taking stakes as a welcome addition to the team’s strength.”We are improving not just in the spin department, but the fast bowling department as well. In the future hopefully we won’t rely on just one department. We will play together and we will perform in all the areas; fast bowling, spin, batting and also in the field.”We shouldn’t say that we depend on the spinners. We play as a team, and the team plays together and they perform in all the departments. You can’t win depending on just one department. The seamers are performing really well, in the Test matches and the ODIs as well. This is a good sign.”

Preview of the fourth match of the Champions Trophy, between New Zealand and Sri Lanka

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit08-Jun-2013

Match facts

Sunday, June 9, Cardiff
Start time 9.30am GMTTime is running out for Sri Lanka’s greats to script a happy ending at a world tournament•Getty Images

Big Picture

New Zealand are the David Ferrer of cricket. They are the good, friendly triers. They try to make up for lesser talent compared to the big boys with honest effort. Of course, plain honest effort does not get you the big titles. But more often than not, it gets you towards the closing stages of the big tournaments: the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the extremely occasional final. Once there, they are widely expected to make way for the Nadals or the Australias. Both have no qualms about that; they know reaching where they do using what they posses, in relation to what the big boys have, is no mean achievement.On Sunday, Ferrer, at age 31, will play his maiden Grand Slam final in Paris in a career that has seen about ten Slam campaigns fail at the quarter-final and semi-final hurdles. Across the Channel, New Zealand – admittedly with slightly more experience of making big-tournament finals, courtesy the Champions Trophy – will begin their campaign in the tournament that has given them their lone ICC trophy till date.Very rarely do you not count a New Zealand side as one of the underdogs, but a team that has beaten South Africa and England on their home soils in one-day series recently has to be treated with some respect. The Champions Trophy might just be to New Zealand’s liking. The crunched format means they don’t have to sustain their run of form for too long.And unlike in Ferrer’s case, their opponent on Sunday will not be that impenetrable returning wall that goes by the name of Rafael Nadal. It is a side whose lot might be compared with that of Andy Murray before he finally, to Britain’s relief, won a Grand Slam.All the quality of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga has not been able to deliver a world title for Sri Lanka in over a decade. More than being told by the outside world that they have it in them, they know they are too good a side to have finished on the wrong end of four successive final appearances in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. In the last one, at the World Twenty20 final at home, they had West Indies 32 for 2 after ten overs and still blew it. Age was on Murray’s side; it is not on the side of these four Sri Lankan greats. On Sunday, they will begin one of their last attempts to not go down in history as one of the best collections of men to not have won a world title.

Form guide

New Zealand: LWWLL (completed games, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWWLL

Watch out for…

Two new balls? Helpful conditions for the fast bowlers? MS Dhoni defeated South Africa primarily through the stranglehold of his spinners in the opening match of the tournament in Cardiff. New Zealand could possibly face the combination of Sachithra Senanayake, Jeevan Mendis and Dilshan at the same ground. Tackling the lone English spinner in the one-dayers was one thing; even Suresh Raina bowled as many as six overs in Cardiff a couple of days ago. How the New Zealand batsmen go against the Sri Lanka spinners will be crucial to the outcome.There may not have been too much swing in Cardiff when India played South Africa, but there was lots of bounce, and a couple of India batsmen copped blows to their helmets. While New Zealand may not have someone with extreme pace, they would have had a look at how South Africa overdid the short ball against India, and will come with a better strategy against another side from the subcontinent. How well will the Sri Lanka batsmen deal with the bounce?

Team news

New Zealand are still sweating on the fitness of Daniel Vettori and to add to that, Grant Elliott has a calf injury. Brendon McCullum said he was waiting on both before finalising the team on the morning of the game.New Zealand (possible) 1 Luke Ronchi (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Eliott/Colin Munro, 6 Brendon McCullum (capt), 7 James Franklin, 8 Daniel Vettori/Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghanSri Lanka have not spent much time together as a squad after the IPL, compared to New Zealand who have been in England for over a month. But they do not seem to have as many injury worries, last-minute flare-ups notwithstanding.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Mahela Jayawardene, 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt), 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Jeevan Mendis/Dilhara Lokuhettige, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Sachithra Senanayake, 11 Lasith Malinga

Pitch and conditions

When AB de Villiers won the toss against India, the skies were heavy enough to make it a straightforward decision to bowl on a cold morning. Soon after India started their innings, the sun came out and Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma prospered. There was little swing, some seam, and bounce was the only testing thing to handle for the batsmen.Cardiff had terrific, clear weather on the eve of the match, and more of it is expected on Sunday, with a high of 21 degrees.

Stats

• The last ODI Daniel Vettori played was the 2011 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka in Colombo. The last international match he played, in September 2012, was also in Sri Lanka, during the World Twenty20
• Sri Lanka and New Zealand have met three times in the Champions Trophy. Sri Lanka won in 1998 and 2006, New Zealand in 2009
• Seven of the eight completed ODIs at Cardiff have been won by the chasing side. Only India have won batting first

Quotes

“I don’t know what it is that makes us do well in big tournaments. We give ourselves every chance and we seem to be thereabouts semi-final or finals stage. Whether it’s the nature of being able to bounce between different opposition and making sure that we’re well prepared, I’m not sure.”
“To me Lasith hasn’t put on that much weight. He’s very professional the way he goes about things and he knows exactly what to do and how to do it. He’s our premier bowler and he tries to give the maximum each time he walks into the middle.”

England failed by five runs to pull off what would have been their record T20 run chase against New Zealand in front of a packed crowd at The Oval

The Report by Alan Gardner at The Oval25-Jun-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHamish Rutherford’s ferocious assault set the tone for a run-strewn night in south London and won him the man-of-the-match award•PA Photos

For a supposedly pointless fixture squeezed rudely into the calendar, this game produced enough wattage to light up a fair proportion of south London. New Zealand were the victors in a match that aggregated 397 runs as a full house at The Oval lapped up a classically rambunctious T20 international.Hamish Rutherford and Brendon McCullum tore up some mediocre bowling on a good pitch as New Zealand posted 201 for 4 and, although Luke Wright muscled a typically busy half-century, England’s middle-order was left with too much to do after Ian Butler and Mitchell McClenaghan struck in successive overs.Butler’s dismissal of Eoin Morgan, via a brilliant, one-handed Ross Taylor catch, leaping high to his right at slip, was as concussive a blow as any. For the captain, McCullum, to insert a slip at that stage was another strikingly aggressive gambit.Although the ground thrummed to the beat of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”, as the crowd chanted in support of their new cult hero, Ravi Bopara, his 30 off 18 balls was not quite enough to complete England’s highest successful chase in T20 internationals.This is what T20 in England is supposed to be about – warm summer evenings, turbo-charged batting and a well-lubricated crowd ready to cheer on whichever team hits the hardest. The T20 series with New Zealand has overshadowed the launch of the Friends Life t20 but there may be hope that the domestic competition can plug in to a similar power source for the next couple of months.The weather will play a big role in that and, after the enforced 20-over affair during a soggy Champions Trophy final on Sunday, for once the sun shone and the skies remained clear for a genuine T20 contest.A side featuring four players in Morgan, Bopara, Jos Buttler and James Tredwell who took on India, as well as several of England’s T20 specialists, may have missed a handful of regulars being protected for the Ashes but they pushed a more experienced New Zealand all the way. The five-run loss had a familiar ring but the circumstances couldn’t have been more different to the cagey affair at Edgbaston.At the end of the Powerplay, England were 67 for 1, which offered a perky comparison with New Zealand’s 54 for 1. Although Michael Lumb was bowled, playing the ball on to his stumps via a boot in the fourth over, he had set the tempo with two crunching leg-side blows for six.His Nottinghamshire partner, Hales, who last made more than 21 six weeks ago and was coming off a run of 11 single-figures score in 13 innings, was afforded the slice of luck he required when a top edge flew high to fine leg and the chasing Rutherford dropped the ball, which then rolled for four.The delivery was also called a no-ball – though McClenaghan may have pointed to Stuart Broad’s crucial dismissal of Kane Williamson in these teams’ Champions Trophy encounter by way of defence – and the over went for 25.A partnership worth 55 with Wright followed before Hales picked out deep midwicket with a mishit slog. Wright reached 50 off 29 balls but after his dismissal the requirement rose to 63 from 30, which for all Bopara’s now-familiar swash and buckle proved beyond England. With 16 needed, Ben Stokes hit the first ball of the final over for six but the bowler, Corey Anderson, held his nerve.The tone for the evening had been set by New Zealand’s second-wicket partnership, worth 114 runs in 67 balls, between Rutherford and McCullum, with the former scoring his first half-century in a limited-overs international. McCullum, unusually, was not quite as belligerent as his partner but he top-scored with 68 from 48 balls in a manner reminiscent of his form against England when these two teams began their 16-round, bi-continental tussle back in February.England inserted New Zealand after Morgan had won the toss and the stand-in captain’s evening was further buoyed by Boyd Rankin, the former Ireland bowler, taking a wicket with his fourth delivery in an England shirt. But the next hour and a half went almost as rapidly downhill as the ball seemed to go forever skyward, Rutherford and McCullum batting with giddy abandon on a true surface as England were forced into using seven bowlers.The pair had evidently not been told this was a glorified exhibition match, albeit a crowd-pulling one, and set about giving England’s reservists a thorough caning. Rankin and Wright apart, the bowlers queued up like naughty schoolboys to be disciplined: Chris Woakes’ only over cost 19, including a lazy flick over deep square leg from Rutherford; Tredwell was sized up for 15 in his first, as Rutherford clubbed him for consecutive, imperious sixes.Tredwell was again smashed into the crowd at long-on in his second over, after Rutherford passed 50 off his 28th delivery. England had reason to rue Bopara’s drop off Jade Dernbach in the fourth over. Rutherford sliced the ball towards point at just above head height, but Bopara seemed to have too much spring in his heels and a straightforward chance deflected away off his wrist.Bopara later conceded 22 from an over and he and Tredwell, who had provided crucial spells with the ball in the Champions Trophy final, bowled four overs at a cost of 64 runs here.Rankin may find it a little harder to get served in The Greyhound, the nearby Irish pub in Kennington, after his inclusion confirmed an anticipated switch to England but there were plenty in the ground who would have willingly bought him a drink after he struck in his first over.His pace and back-of-a-length hostility around off stump made him appear like an imported Steven Finn knock-off and he soon exposed James Franklin, in for the hamstrung Martin Guptill, for the imitation opener that he is – at least at international level – with one that nipped back. With New Zealand 1 for 1 after four balls, England may have felt they had the luck of Irish but they had run out of it by the end.

Keaton Jennings’ Championship-best 93 was followed by a Durham collapse against the First Division’s bottom club as Mark Footitt finished with 6-53 for Derbyshire

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2013
ScorecardMark Footitt’s career-best 6 for 53 gave Derbyshire a lift at Chester-le-Street•Getty Images

A career-best haul from left-arm seamer Mark Footitt ensured Derbyshire enjoyed a productive opening day of their LV= County Championship clash against title-chasing Durham at Chester-le-Street.Footitt finished with figures of 6 for 53, which included three wickets in five deliveries in the second over with the new ball, as Durham collapsed from 222 for 4 to 253 all out – a disappointing end after Keaton Jennings’ championship-best 93.Durham struck back before the close when Chris Rushworth trapped Chesney Hughes in front as Derbyshire closed on 15 for 1 – and they will be hoping that they can draft in their leading strike bowler, Graham Onions, by tea on the third day if he is not required by England in the Trent Bridge Test.Derbyshire’s decision to bat last was made particularly strange by Onions’ potential availability late in the match and, although Footitt swung the ball in the early haze, the decision was hardly vindicated by a lunchtime score of 97 for two.Footitt persuaded Durham’s acting captain Mark Stoneman to chip to mid-on in the third over and Scott Borthwick fell to a yorker.Tim Groenewald bowled a good spell in the afternoon to have Will Smith caught at
second slip for 43 and Michael Richardson caught behind.Jennings, who has struggled to progress in his first full season, was on 46 at lunch and added only 36 in the afternoon session as he passed his previous championship best of 70, made against Lancashire last September.But after reaching 90 with a four driven through extra cover nerves took hold and he was half forward when he fell lbw against the off spin of Wes Durston.He had faced 222 balls and put on 90 for the fifth wicket with Phil Mustard, who made 52 after being promoted to No 6 because Ben Stokes was feeling unwell.Stokes went in at the fall of Jennings’ wicket but lasted only five balls before driving Durston to mid-off, then Mustard and Gareth Breese quickly put on 18 before Footitt accounted for both as extra bounce produced catches at third slip for Jon Clare.Mustard had looked very comfortable, including two reverse-swept fours in his eight boundaries in a 105-ball half-century. But he was undone by an excellent ball, before in-swing defeated Callum Thorp, who was lbw first ball, and Rushworth.

James Taylor has been given the perfect platform to stake his case for selection in the second Investec Test after he was included in the Sussex side to play a three-day match against Australia.

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2013James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman, has been given the perfect platform to stake his case for selection in the third Investec Test after he was included in the Sussex side to play a three-day match against Australia.England may have to call on a middle-order batsman for Old Trafford if Kevin Pietersen does not recover from a calf strain that ruled him out of the final two days of the Lord’s Test. The third Test begins on August 1.Taylor’s county, Nottinghamshire, have no County Championship fixtures before the third Test so an agreement was reached between the England management and Nottinghamshire to allow Taylor to play for Sussex in the tour match starting on Friday.”This will provide James with a valuable opportunity to play in a longer format of the game while we consider our options ahead of the third Test next week,” England team director Andy Flower said. “Kevin Pietersen is continuing his recovery from a calf strain and a decision about his availability for the Test will be made nearer the time.”Pietersen is likely to recover from his injury but the decision to provide an opportunity for Taylor to face Australia indicates he is England’s preferred option should they need a replacement. It also indicates they are not certain Pietersen will be available.Taylor, a diminutive right-hander who began his career at Leicestershire, was handed a Test debut against South Africa at Headingley last season and made 34 in the first innings, sharing a partnership of 147 with Pietersen that got England back into the match. But after 10 and 4 in the third Test at Lord’s he was left out of the tour party for India.His work over the winter, when he toured Australia with England Lions, did not produce immediate dividends on tour, but it has produced results this season with 824 runs in the County Championship at 58.85 including 204 not out against Sussex. He has also made 456 runs in seven Yorkshire Bank 40 matches.His guest appearance for Sussex rules Taylor out of Nottinghamshire’s final two Friends Life t20 group matches against Yorkshire on Friday and Lancashire on Sunday. Notts currently sit top of the North group but are yet to secure a quarter-final berth.”I’m hopeful that KP will be fit to play and, as it stands, I’m preparing to play in the three-day game for Sussex and nothing more,” he said.”I’m disappointed to have to miss two big Notts matches but the Sussex fixture will give me an opportunity to get some red ball practice and then I’ll wait and see.”I’m not back in the Test side yet but I’m pleased to be a step closer to it and I’ve always dealt with situations like this by concentrating on the game in hand and refusing to look too far ahead.”Taylor has scored 196 runs in the competition but his director of cricket, Mick Newell is fully supportive of his England ambitions. “We want to provide James the best possible opportunity to be prepared to play in the third Test should he be required,” Newell said. “While clearly he is an important player for us and will be missed on Friday and Sunday we have a proud record of producing players for England.”We remain in close contact with James and the ECB regarding the situation and hope that he can make a contribution and be selected.”England have previously inserted players into different teams for match practise. Earlier this summer Nick Compton was allowed to play for Worcestershire against Australia, although it didn’t help his quest for selection for the first Test against Australia, and in 2011 Andrew Strauss played for Somerset against India to try and regain form.

Zimbabwe’s bowlers did a superb job to reduce Pakistan to 172 for 8 before Saeed Ajmal battled to lift the total towards 250

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran03-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tinashe Panyangara took three wickets as Zimbabwe’s bowlers posed plenty of questions to Pakistan•AFP

Even 24 hours before the toss, there had been uncertainty over whether this match would take place as Zimbabwe’s players were again threatening a boycott over delayed payments. The Test started on schedule but Zimbabwe were hamstrung as Sean Williams decided he wouldn’t play till he was paid, and their regular captain Brendan Taylor was away on paternity leave after his son was born late on Monday.Few teams have had such major distractions to deal with, and there had been concerns about whether Zimbabwe’s players would be able to focus on the challenges of Test cricket. The home side’s bowlers, though, responded superbly to reduce Pakistan to 182 for 8, before some of the gloss was taken off by a battling ninth-wicket partnership between Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan.The first hour was near perfect for Zimbabwe. The trio of Tendai Chatara, Tinashe Panyangara and Shingi Masakadza may have little Test experience and only moderate pace, but their accuracy and movement left Pakistan hobbling at 27 for 3 by drinks.Once again, Misbah-ul-Haq walked out with his team having lost early wickets, and began more adventurously than you’d expect from him in the first session of a Test. Along with Azhar Ali, Misbah extricated Pakistan from the hole caused by the top-order’s failure. After lunch, the pitch had settled down a bit, and both Misbah and Azhar reached their half-centuries. The stand had grown to 93, and the pair was looking comfortable in the middle.This was supposed to be the big challenge for Zimbabwe – could their bowlers keep the pressure on when the conditions eased out? They didn’t have to, as Misbah attempted one of those occasional, unpredictable big hits over the leg side and miscued to short midwicket. Prosper Utseya had even more to celebrate soon after, as Asad Shafiq also tried a wild slog and ended up inside-edging it to leg slip for 4.Zimbabwe’s bowlers could take more credit for the wickets in the morning session. The basis of their early success was a steady line and length, constantly questioning the batsmen around off stump and getting the odd delivery to swerve around or bounce awkwardly. They posed enough of a threat to give the stand-in captain, Hamilton Masakadza, the confidence to put three slips in place for much of the first hour. Panyangara and Chatara had the ball snaking both ways, and the batsmen guessing.Mohammad Hafeez had racked up the runs in the recent limited-overs matches, but his Test form has been suspect this year. The South Africa Tests had been a humbling experience for Hafeez, and there weren’t many runs today either as he again poked outside off, handing second slip an easy catch.His opening partner, Khurram Manzoor, had even more at stake as he was playing his first Test in three-and-a-half years. He was cautious early on, not attempting anything flashy, and had seen off 11 overs when a big incutter from Panyangara struck him on the pads. The ball looked like it would sail over the stumps, but the umpire disagreed and Manzoor had to trudge off.Younis Khan began his innings looking for quick singles, and he was dismissed when the ball spun back onto the stumps after an attempted forward defence. Younis had taken a couple of steps down the track after playing the delivery and could only watch the ball roll back towards the base of middle stump.Zimbabwe were cock-a-hoop at that stage, but Misbah and Azhar slowly deflated them over the next couple of hours. The frontline trio kept testing the batsmen but the odd loose ball crept in, which Misbah profited off. He didn’t bat in a manner that has earned him the nickname , but went for his strokes and he was rewarded especially towards the end of the morning session as Elton Chigumbura and Utseya offered some easy runs.Pakistan began in a similarly confident mode after lunch and Zimbabwe’s limited attack seemed set for a struggle. Azhar had a bit of a battle through the forties, taking his time to complete the final steps of his half-century but Pakistan were slowly levelling the game. The responsibility on Azhar grew after the ordinary strokes from Misbah and Shafiq left Pakistan at 132 for 5, and he continued to bat sensibly.Zimbabwe’s bowlers built on the advantage soon after tea, getting three quick wickets, and the innings seemed set for an early finish when Azhar nicked to the slips. Pakistan were still some way away from their previous lowest total against Zimbabwe (231), but Zimbabwe just couldn’t deliver the final blows.Though Ajmal may not have the most orthodox technique, his merry swinging of the bat proved extremely effective late in the day. He signalled how he was going to play with a murderous straight hit over Utseya’s head early in his innings. With Junaid flailing at everything but somehow staying in the middle, the partnership began to swell. Zimbabwe turned to the new ball in search of the breakthrough but that only quickened the run-flow with Ajmal’s hook for six off Chatara among the highlights.The home team’s frustration continued as the pair resisted for more than an hour, and it wasn’t till the final over of the day that Junaid finally edged to the keeper, after countless misses. Ajmal was still unbeaten on 49, and the stand of 67 had lent some respectability to Pakistan’s innings.