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Darren Maddy stole the show with a thunderous display to take Warwickshire home in a tough run chase

12-Jul-2013
ScorecardDarren Maddy needed just 42 balls for his unbeaten, matchwinning 84•Getty ImagesVarun Chopra completed a match-winning double for the week as Warwickshire finally registered their first Friends Life t20 victory of the summer as they beat Worcestershire by seven wickets at New Road.Captaining the side in the absence of the injured Jim Troughton, Chopra made 65 from 52 balls in an impressive follow-up to his double century in overcoming Middlesex in the LV= County Championship at Uxbridge.Facing a Worcestershire total of 188 for 5 – built around by Moeen Ali’s 85 against his former county – Warwickshire got home with an over to spare as veteran Darren Maddy managed to outshine Chopra.The 39-year-old all-rounder, who retires at the end of the season, turned the clock back to his early career with Leicestershire in racing to an unbeaten 84 from 42 balls. He hit nine fours and three sixes, one of which hit a woman spectator on the head.Yet it could have been different but for a let-off when Chopra was on 10, wicketkeeper Ben Cox missing a clear opportunity to run him out when failing to knock off the bails. The cost mounted as the third pair put on 119 in 12 overs, a Warwickshire record for any wicket in the competition, before Chopra was caught at backward squad leg.The result was tough on Moeen after a superb knock, including nine fours and four sixes in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,200. He faced 42 balls in scooting to a competition-best score and was denied another six only when Laurie Evans pulled down an overhead chance at long-off.Even with Moeen gone, Worcestershire took 59 from the final five overs, largely the work of Andre Russell, the big-hitting West Indian dashing to an unbeaten 47 from 21 deliveries.Russell crashed five fours and three sixes in his best innings since joining the county for the tournament and in the field he gave his side an early boost when holding a superb running catch from William Porterfield.But Worcestershire could not contain the irrepressible Maddy and Chris Woakes finished the job with six fours in an unbeaten 28 from nine balls. The last 20 runs were cleared off in an over from Jack Shantry.

Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, has defended himself against accusations of remaining ‘silent’ during the ongoing crisis in Indian cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2013Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, has defended himself against accusations of remaining ‘silent’ during the ongoing crisis in Indian cricket following the spot-fixing and betting controversies. Gavaskar said he has made his views known and that it was not up to him to advise N Srinivasan, the current president of the BCCI, on what’s to be done to deal with the crisis.”Ever since the three Rajasthan Royals players were taken into custody, I have been on the TV channel that I am contracted to, and have given my views on the episode as it has unfolded,” Gavaskar, who is a cricket expert on the channel , wrote in his Sunday column published in various newspapers. “So to say that I have been silent is totally erroneous and downright mischievous.”Two top BCCI officials, Ajay Shirke and Sanjay Jagdale, resigned from their posts as treasurer and board secretary respectively, followed by Rajiv Shukla, who stepped down as IPL chairman. There have been calls for Srinivasan to resign, until the BCCI’s inquiry into his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals’ owners is complete. But Gavaskar isn’t among those asking Srinivasan to step aside.”What maybe immoral to one may not be immoral to another, and as long as it is within the framework of the laws that govern our country, nobody should be forced to say or do anything against their will is what I believe in,” he said. “So whether Mr. Srinivasan should stay or step aside while the probe committee does its job is a moral issue, and it is for him to take a call on that. That has been my stand, and since it is not one that resonates with most TV channels and the print media, I am accused of being silent.Gavaskar said it was “for the BCCI and Mr. Srinivasan” to take a call on what was a “moral issue” facing Indian cricket. “It is not for me to advise them what to do as everybody else seems to be doing, and if that is taken as being bought then good luck to democracy in our country.”Gavaskar is also contracted with the BCCI. “The reason why such contracts are done is to obtain exclusivity from the contracted entity so that he/ she does not appear on a rival channel and that is why good money is paid to the former players. That is also why I have not appeared on another TV channel excepting the news channel that has a contract with me.”

Allrounder James Faulkner could find himself shouldering extra batting responsibility in his first Test series

Brydon Coverdale26-Apr-2013First and foremost, James Faulkner is a bowler: 111 Sheffield Shield wickets in the past three summers attest to that. But depending on the balance Australia’s selectors want from the side during the Ashes, and contingent also on the form of the senior allrounder Shane Watson, Faulkner could find himself shouldering extra batting responsibility in his first Test series. There is even the possibility that at some point during the tour he could be used as a fifth bowler batting as high as No.7.That might seem a stretch, but based on his first-class batting for Tasmania in the past summer it is not an absurd scenario. As well as collecting 39 Shield wickets at 20.33 on his way to a third consecutive Ricky Ponting Medal as his state’s best player, Faulkner also finished the Shield season 15th on the competition run tally, having scored 444 runs at 34.15, including 89 in the final against Queensland.Consider the list of batsmen who could have been vying for Test selection, yet scored fewer runs at a lower average: George Bailey (256 at 18.28), Rob Quiney (295 at 26.81), Michael Klinger (330 at 19.41), David Hussey (358 at 23.86), Adam Voges (388 at 25.86) and Peter Forrest (395 at 19.75). That might say more about the parlous state of batting in Australia’s domestic competition than about Faulkner, who it must be said is yet to score a first-class hundred, but all the same his was a fine summer with bat and ball.”I’d definitely be comfortable to bat at No.7,” Faulkner said. “Whenever you can slot into an Australian team I think you’re pretty happy to play wherever you can. It was a reasonably successful year last year with the bat for Tasmania. Hopefully I can make a few big scores, that’s what I’m aiming to do at the moment.”Wickets, though, are Faulkner’s stock in trade. He has been consistent enough over the past three seasons to collect Shield wicket tallies of 36, 36 and 39, and although he might not have the express pace of some Australian fast bowlers, his movement of the ball and accuracy have made him a dangerous prospect, and not just at Bellerive Oval – his average is below 22 at five different first-class venues around Australia.”All the wickets around Australia are quite different,” Faulkner said. “I’m based at Bellerive and people say you’re bowling at Bellerive and there’s a bit more grass there and so you’ll take more wickets. But in fact if you look at all of our bowlers back home, I think all of us have been averaging the same at Bellerive as away from Bellerive.”I just sum up the conditions as they are and just be consistent. I have a lot more confidence in my body. I’m [nearly] 23 now and I have more confidence in my body and can get through longer spells.”The Australian selectors like not only Faulkner’s figures, but his attitude. The national selector John Inverarity this week referred to Faulkner as “a very competitive cricketer who gets things done”. Over the past few months that included not only giving Chris Gayle a send-off during an ODI in Canberra, which cost him 10% of his match fee, but also steering Tasmania to the Shield title with a Man of the Match performance.”I like to think I’m a pretty strong competitor on the field and off the field I’m a pretty relaxed sort of character,” Faulkner said. “Definitely when the game is on the line or the game is in full flight I like to think I’m pretty aggressive in the way I play and get on the front foot instead of being dictated to.”Although the Ashes tour will be Faulkner’s first trip to England, he has already gained some overseas experience thanks to his IPL duties for three different teams. A talented limited-overs player who has played T20 and one-day cricket for his country, Faulkner sold for $400,000 to the Rajasthan Royals this year but has not let the shortest format seduce him at the expense of first-class cricket.”I’ve always tried to be as consistent as I can in Twenty20, one-day cricket and four-day cricket and not specifically have a focus on any of the three,” he said. “I look at [the IPL] as a bit of an opportunity to progress my cricket on different grounds, different wickets, and in India it doesn’t get any harder. There’s lots of positives you can take away from playing in different countries. You gain experience pretty fast.”

Allrounder Marlon Samuels returns to the West Indies squad after a two-month injury break, having been picked for the first Test against Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2013WI squad for the first Test v Zimbabwe

Darren Sammy (capt), Denesh Ramdin (wk & vice-capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieron Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels and Shane Shillingford
In: Shannon Gabriel, Shane Shillingford
Out: Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Kirk Edwards, Fidel Edwards, Assad Fudadin

Allrounder Marlon Samuels returns to the West Indies squad after a two-month injury break, having been picked for the first Test against Zimbabwe that begins on March 12. Offspinner Sunil Narine did not feature in the 13-man squad, and in his place Shane Shillingford came in.Samuels had missed the limited-overs leg of the Zimbabwe series after picking up a facial injury during the Big Bash League, Australia’s T20 competition, in January.Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who debuted in the Lord’s Test last year but was then sidelined by a stress reaction in his back, made a comeback. Two exclusions of note on the fast-bowling front included Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards. Rampaul had returned to the domestic circuit in February after two months out due to knee trouble and had said at the time that he was “100% fit”. Edwards had taken a match-haul of seven in his previous Test match – against Bangladesh in November. His last competitive match was on February 14, in the Bangladesh Premier League.The other players to miss out from the squad that played the Bangladesh series, which was West Indies’ previous Test assignment, include batsmen Kirk Edwards and Assad Fudadin.Narine had had a poor run in that series, taking three wickets in two Tests at an average of 114.33. Twenty-three-year-old left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who had a relatively better series with eight wickets at 31.62, retained his place.Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin kept his role as Test vice-captain, while Chris Gayle returned after asking to skip the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe. Experienced batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, who returned for West Indies on last month’s limited-overs tour of Australia after a contentious 18-month break, was not handed a Test comeback.West Indies and Zimbabwe will play two Tests in all, and the hosts’ squad for the second Test will be named at a later date.

Chittagong Kings captain Brendan Taylor blamed a key misfield in the final over for his side’s narrow loss against Rangpur Riders

Mohammad Isam10-Feb-2013Chittagong Kings captain Brendan Taylor blamed a key misfield in the final over for his side’s narrow loss against Rangpur Riders, but defended hisdecision to use Rubel Hossain to bowl the over. Riders won the game by five wickets off the final ball in the BPL’s most exciting finish this season.With 16 runs needed off the last over, Kevin O’Brien blasted the first ball from Rubel down the ground towards long-off where Naeem Islam bungled up a straightforward stop by rushing towards the ball and pushing it past the boundary rope on his right.O’Brien carved the next ball past point for another boundary. After the next two balls yielded just one run, Danza Hyatt struck a straight six and took a leg-bye off the final ball to complete the victory.”No one means to misfield but we are all professional cricketers and weall understand that it is not good enough,” Taylor said. “At theend of the day we didn’t deserve to win that [game]. We were poor in thefield so the team that holds the nerves are the best and show characterwill get over the line.”Taylor’s decision to use Rubel in the final over also came undercriticism, especially given the bowler’s poor record inthe final overs. During this tournament, Rubel failed to defend nine runsagainst Sylhet Royals. But Taylordefended his decision saying that if the boundary was not conceded offthe first ball, it would have been a different story.”Yes it was [the right decision to let him bowl the last over] if we hadfielded properly. We had our chances earlier and in the over before.Misfields in the boundary should have been one run and it went for fourruns.”We backed Rubel the whole way and you can’t pinpoint that on him. If wehad supported him properly in the field, we wouldn’t be in this position,”he said.In the ODI series against West Indies in December last year, Rubel gaveaway 24 runs when the match was poised for a close finish. Instead, Marlon Samuels walked it home with 18 balls to spare. In another instance, Rubel had been hit for 32 runs in his last two overs in a tri-nation final against Sri Lanka.Rubel has had several international and local games where there was a big difference in the economy of his first and last spell. Taylor thinks he has to handle the pressure better to be successful in these situations in the future.”It’s not Rubel’s fault, we let him down on the field; maybe a bit ofnerves, pressure, can’t put my thumb on it yet. He is a guy who works hardand gives you everything that’s a guy you want in the team.”

Javed Miandad, PCB’s director general, has been given the responsibility of supervising Pakistan’s domestic and international cricket operations

Umar Farooq08-Aug-2012Javed Miandad, PCB’s director general, has been given the responsibility of supervising Pakistan’s domestic and international cricket operations. Miandad was appointed DG in Ejaz Butt-era, but his position lacked clarity and this is the first time PCB has given him a formal administrative role. He will now precede Intikhab Alam and Zakir Khan over international and domestic cricket operations in PCB and will also oversee the selection of the teams.”The post of director general has been empowered to oversee the cricket operations,” a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “Under the new protocol the director general will oversee the operations of the international, domestic and game development and Academies.”Miandad will precede the entire cricket operations leaving Alam – director international cricket operations and games development and Khan – director domestic cricket operations, to work under him. With the move, Miandad has gained more influence on the selection of the teams and game’s development in the country. He will be based in Karachi but will operate from PCB headquarters in Lahore and will report directly to the chairman and chief operating officer of the PCB.In the past, Miandad has been in contention for the coaching role, which he ended up refusing, eyeing a more extensive role in cricket administration. His third and last stint as Pakistan coach ended in 2004 after a home series loss to India. In 2008, he was appointed the director general by Butt, a job he quit after two months amid growing differences with the board over the scope of his role.Both Butt and Miandad were at loggerheads over Miandad’s demands. Butt, the then chairman, had alleged that Miandad demanded more money, interfered with matters concerning selection, and was an incapable administrator. Miandad, however, returned in the role a month later but has been anonymous throughout Butt’s three-year term, though occasionally turning up as batting consultant during national conditioning camps apart from being a member of governing board.

The West Indies captain Darren Sammy is quietly confident his side can continue their good showing against New Zealand when the series wraps up with the final Test in Jamaica, starting on Thursday

Subash Jayaraman in Jamaica02-Aug-2012The West Indies captain Darren Sammy is quietly confident his side can continue their good showing against New Zealand when the series wraps up with the final Test in Jamaica, starting on Thursday. West Indies have struggled immensely in the past couple of years to put together consistent performances – it is ten years since they have won two consecutive Tests – and although a draw would be enough to clinch the series, Sammy wants to ensure the winning habit continues.”It’s a good feeling when you are winning,” Sammy said. “We will remember the feeling we had in the T20s and the one-day series and we are 1-0 in the Test series. It’s a feeling we want to keep in the dressing room. We are going to go out there the next five days and look to win this Test match.”Winning is important for any team. For us, it [doesn’t] come around too often. We’ve gotten ourselves in good positions over the last year and to win this Test series would mean a lot to the guys, especially with performances coming from young [Kieran] Powell, [Kemar] Roach and [Assad] Fudadin. These guys coming in to the dressing room are quite young, and [winning] makes the dressing room a little more cheerful.”Although West Indies have won all but one encounter during this New Zealand tour, Sammy isn’t willing to look too far ahead or take a victory in Kingston for granted. West Indies will move ahead of New Zealand on the ICC Test rankings if they win or draw in Jamaica, but Sammy knows New Zealand are capable of fighting back.”We have only half the job done in this series,” he said. “We are playing an international team and we don’t take them for granted. The way the team is playing, we’re doing some good things, have to be positive and look to continue that.”West Indies need to decide on the make-up of their attack after Ravi Rampaul was ruled out due to a groin injury. Fidel Edwards, who has joined the squad, has a good record at Sabina Park, but Tino Best was part of the squad for the first Test and Sammy indicated that Best, who also provides useful batting down the order, could have the edge over Edwards on a pitch expected to offer more pace and bounce.But the key for West Indies remains Sunil Narine. He bowled more than a third of the overs for the hosts in the first Test and since then has been mostly towards resting those sore fingers. “Narine is pulling [through] all right,” Sammy said. “When I see him bowl all these many overs, I am tempted to take him off but he insists he wants to bowl. I’ll be constantly talking to him and see how he feels and if he wants to keep bowling, then it is all good for the team.”Narine picked up eight wickets in Antigua but the New Zealand captain Ross Taylor believes his batsmen played Narine “pretty well”, except for the “couple of unplayable balls” in the first Test. He said they had done all the preparation they could for facing Narine and his success wasn’t down to being an unknown element.”There was a lot of hype about him before the series and he had a very good IPL as well,” Taylor said. “With a lot of the video analysis going on these days, you do get to see a lot of international cricket. There is only so much analysis you can do. Best thing is to get a look at it in person. You have to get confidence from facing him. The more you face him, the better you get at playing [him].”Though the lone specialist spinner from the side that lost by nine wickets, Daniel Vettori, has been declared unfit, it is not a given that the legspinner Tarun Nethula will make his Test debut, considering his stock ball will be coming in to the left-handers, of which West Indies have five in their top six. Taylor said playing four fast men “is an option”, similar to their memorable victory against Australia in Hobart in December, when Vettori didn’t play due to injury.It has been a tough tour for New Zealand, but it has given them the “nothing-to-lose” attitude going in to this Test. “We should have been able to draw the last Test match,” Taylor said. “We have been outplayed but we are not too far from where we want to be.”That seems to be the mantra in the New Zealand side that gives them the belief that theycan go on to win the Test match. It will also be John Wright’s last outing with New Zealand as their coach, which adds to the occasion for New Zealand.”John has been a good servant of NZC over the years, not only as a player but as a coach,” Taylor said. “Obviously, I have a learnt a lot off him. He has had a lot to do with these youngsters. They will be up for this game and hopefully, give him a good send-off.”Wright’s departure and the desire to stay ahead of West Indies in the rankings are extra motivation, but New Zealand’s main goal is simply to turn around the form that has resulted in them winning only one match on the trip so far.”Rankings play a big part, but winning a Test match is the ultimate,” Taylor said. “We don’t win a lot of games away from home in the recent times. That’s the motivation factor for the team. We bat well, continue with the top three scoring the runs, and the middle order helps them out, we give ourselves a good chance.”

Bangladesh have named Shane Jurgensen – their bowling coach – as their interim head coach

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2012Bangladesh have named Shane Jurgensen – their bowling coach – as their interim head coach. The decision was made at the board’s cricket operations committee meeting during which the national team’s proposed tours of Zimbabwe and Europe in the next two months and playing a Twenty20 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago later in the year were also discussed.”Our bowling coach Shane Jurgensen will look after the national team as interim head coach until we appoint our next head coach,” Enayet Hossain Siraj, chairman of the cricket operations committee, said.Jurgensen, 36, a former Queensland fast bowler, joined Bangladesh as their bowling coach in October last year. The Bangladesh Cricket Board, though, hopes Richard Pybus joins the team as the full-time head coach; Pybus returned to Cape Town on Friday after a short visit to Bangladesh. “Now we will wait for his (Richard Pybus) confirmation. We will invite the other candidates in the shortlist, if only we ultimately fail to sign the agreement with Pybus,” the BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunis said.Pybus said his visit was a “fact-finding” mission and that he will make his final decision after speaking with his family.The board has also organised a training camp from May 20 to prepare for a tri-series against Zimbabwe and South Africa starting in Harare in late June. At the end of July, Bangladesh are likely to travel to Ireland and Scotland to play some limited-overs matches before to the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September.”We have also decided to give our proposal regarding the Zimbabwe and Ireland trips to the board for their approval,” Siraj said. “We are desperately trying to arrange some international matches for our national team.”

Phil Hughes marked his return to county cricket after a two-year break by blasting a century in Worcestershire’s CB40 win over Middlesex

27-May-2012
ScorecardPhillip Hughes marked his return to county cricket after a two-year break by blasting a century on his Clydesdale Bank 40 debut for Worcestershire against former club Middlesex. Three days after flying into England, the Australian batsman led the Royals’ late dash to 235 for 5 and left-arm paceman Jack Shantry sealed a 56-run victory with three wickets in an over as Middlesex folded for 179.Hughes first played in England with Middlesex prior to a disappointing Ashes series in 2009 and he returned to England in the following season for a short spell with Hampshire. However his international career – which took off spectacularly with two centuries in a Test against South Africa – progressed fitfully up to his last appearance in December against New Zealand.Originally signed by Worcestershire for the full season, he had to delay his arrival when called into a Cricket Australia training camp in Brisbane, where he benefited from working in the nets against international bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Pat Cummins.There were understandable timing problems as he adjusted to English conditions and he also developed a noticeable limp in his running between the wickets but once he had found his range, seven of his 11 fours came in a second 50 from 35 balls. This was in line with Worcestershire’s overall tempo. They hit seven fours in the first 30 overs but then added 14 boundaries – including two sixes in Gareth Andrew’s 26 from 12 balls – while taking 104 runs from the last 10.Having kept wickets in hand, they were ready to accelerate as Hughes followed a stand of 52 with Vikram Solanki by putting on 116 in 18 overs with Daryl Mitchell. While Mitchell lost his leg stump, attempting to sweep Ollie Rayner after making a run-a-ball 48, Hughes went on to 111 before he was caught at deep mid-wicket off Steven Crook.In the reply, Joe Denly and Paul Stirling kept Middlesex up with the rate until spin pair Moeen Ali, who took 3 for 34, and Shaaiq Choudhry knocked them back to 93 for 5. Offspinner Moeen’s clutch of three wickets in his first four overs included Eoin Morgan for 2 when the England batsman was well caught by Andrew, running round the long-leg boundary in front of the pavilion.Chris Rogers (44) and Gareth Berg (28) launched a revival but with 84 wanted from the last 10 overs, Middlesex’s challenge evaporated as Shantry made a dramatic intervention for a return of 4 for 32, his best in one-day cricket.

A strong all-round performance from England Women led them to their second consecutive win in New Zealand, beating the hosts by 48 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAnya Shrubsole celebrates bowling Frances Mackay•Getty ImagesA strong all-round performance from England Women led them to their second consecutive win in New Zealand, beating the hosts by 48 runs to go up 2-0 in the five-match series.England were sent in at Seddon Park and their openers laid a strong platform, adding 82 in 8.4 overs. Charlotte Edwards made 33 off 26 balls and the innings’ top-scorer, Laura Marsh, scored 48 off 29 with 11 boundaries. Both of those batsmen fell in quick succession but, from 86 for 2, Sarah Taylor held the rest of the innings together by scoring 45. She was dismissed only in the 20th over and England finished with 166 for 7.Lucy Doolan, who replaced Sian Ruck, took 2 for 30 for New Zealand. Ruck had broken her hand during training in the lead-up to the game and was ruled out of the remainder of the series.Anya Shrubsole continued her strong performance on tour, striking early by dismissing New Zealand opener Frances Mackay in the chase. Suzie Bates and Sarah McGlashan rebuilt the innings from 2 for 1 with a 56-run partnership, but New Zealand began to collapse after they fell to Danni Wyatt and Marsh.Amy Satterthwaite and Bates, who made 37, were out with the score on 89, and New Zealand were dismissed for 118. The last eight wickets had fallen for 29 runs. Wyatt was England’s most successful bowler, taking 3 for 24 in four overs.”It’s been a great start to the series and to go two-nil up is fantastic,” the Player of the Match, Laura Marsh, said. “It was a great track to bat on and I enjoyed being able to put runs on the board with Charlotte. The outfield was quick and the pitch was good, so it was important that we bowled to the right areas to defend our total. It was another great team performance today and we’ll be looking to continue this up in Auckland.”