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Kevin Pietersen’s exile from the England side has ended with his addition to the squad for the tour of India

David Hopps18-Oct-2012Kevin Pietersen has been added to England’s squad for the forthcoming Test series in India, so bringing to an end one of the most extraordinary stand-offs in the history of the game between a star player and those appointed to rule.It has taken 73 days for England and Pietersen to patch up their differences since he followed up what should have been one of the most triumphant moments of his career – a stirring century in the Headingley Test against South Africa – by talking of deep and perhaps irreparable divisions with the ECB and some members of the England dressing room.Once the parties began to talk, the “reintegration process” of Pietersen into the England side took only a couple of days. It just took them an extremely long time to talk.Pietersen flew back to England from the Champions League in South Africa this week for a series of meetings in Oxford and London with Andy Flower, England’s director of cricket, the captain Alastair Cook and key England players with whom his relationship had become increasingly fractious. Even a delayed flight could not prevent the speedy patching up of their differences.Confirmation that the Cold War was coming to an end came in Colombo a fortnight ago when Giles Clarke, the chairman of the ECB, flanked by a nervous Pietersen, pronounced that it was time for “forgiveness” and a reintegration into “our society.”Hugh Morris, England cricket’s managing director, made what followed all sound eminently straightforward, saying: “We were keen that Kevin should hold a series of face-to-face meetings with team management and senior players before the Test squad departs for the UAE and India next week.”The meetings were constructive and cordial and all outstanding issues have been resolved. All the England players and management are now keen to draw a line under this matter and fully focus on the cricketing challenge that lies ahead in India.”In their desire to impress upon Pietersen that no player, however talented, was greater than the team, England lacked their most destructive batsman and arguably failed to qualify for the World Twenty20 semi-finals in Sri Lanka while he was employed instead as a pundit in a Colombo TV studio.Considering the political machinations that have gone on behind the scenes, the announcement by Geoff Miller, the chief selector, of Pietersen’s return to England’s fold could not have sounded more deadpan.”We are pleased to welcome a player of Kevin’s proven international calibre back into the Test squad for such an important Test series,” his statement read. “As we anticipate that Ian Bell will return home for the birth of his first child around the time of the second Test in Mumbai, the team will benefit from having an extra batsman in the squad and all players who were originally selected for the tour will fly out as planned next week.”The addition of Pietersen will give England more options at the top of the order, bringing the possibility that he cdould bat at No 3, so allowing Jonathan Trott to be considered as an opening batsman in preference to the two other batsmen originally earmarked for the role, Nick Compton or Joe Root.Pietersen has been given licence to fulfil his Champions League commitments with Delhi Daredevils before joining up with the squad. He gave his reaction on Twitter: “BOOOOOOOOM!! The happiest days of my career have been playing cricket for ENG. Long may that continue! Thanks everyone for your kind words.”Pietersen returns then, but he returns on very different terms. It could not have been made more apparent that Flower, as England’s director of cricket, must be entirely respected, whether in judging how hard he trains or what training top he should wear to do it.Flower, who had seen the last England coach, Peter Moores, lose his job after Pietersen, as captain, encouraged and then led a rebellion, will now expect unerring loyalty.The England hierarchy is convinced that their uncompromising stance has brought Pietersen to heel and that their assertion that the team ethic is more important than any glorious individual achievement has been pronounced from the rooftops. Pietersen now has what England see as a final chance to harness his abilities to the demands of the team.Clarke, in his announcement in Colombo, made it sound as if Pietersen had been released from imprisonment. In that case, we can presume that, in England’s mind, he is still tagged, his every move watched for evidence of regression.Pietersen is back, but who knows for how long? Relationships with several England players remain frosty, particularly with the Nottinghamshire pair of Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad, who captained England in the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.He has played his most exceptional innings when he has felt the adulation of the crowd and acceptance of his fellows. Exuberance, overstatement and an arrogant belief in his own ability are part of his DNA. He must now perform for England in India in an atmosphere, irrespective of the “success” of the integration process, which will not be healed overnight.It remains to be seen whether he will find inspiration from that or whether England, in taming their most unpredictable talent, may also have damaged him beyond measure.

ESPNcricinfo previews the fourth ODI between New Zealand and Pakistan in Napier

The Preview by Sriram Veera31-Jan-2011

Match Facts

February 1, Napier

Start time 14:00 (01:00 GMT)
Jesse Ryder returns to the top•Getty Images

Big Picture

Christchurch witnessed a quintessentially Pakistani style of play: start slow, build a base, retain wickets, and explode in the end. It used to be the norm in 1980s before Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail changed that in the 90’s, but once again, without a settled opening pair, Pakistan are returning to the roots. Not many teams can launch into a frenzied and mesmerising attack in the end overs like Pakistan can. Abdul Razzaq swinging like there is no tomorrow, Shahid Afridi swinging like there is no next moment, and the scarred opposition living on the boundary’s edge, waiting for the violence to end. As Luke Woodcock put it: “I’ve seen a bit of it on TV but to actually see it first hand, playing against him [Afridi] for the first time, it was a pretty special knock and he took the momentum away from us.”Mohammad Hafeez hit his maiden hundred in his 61st game, Ahmed Shehzad dazzled briefly in the second ODI, and Umar Akmal showed glimpses of the imperious flair he possesses. But what about Pakistan’s experienced middle order? For long, Younis Khan’s critics have said that he bats in ODIs like he is batting in a Test and vice versa. For long, Misbah-ul-Haq’s critics have said that he bats in all formats like he is batting in a Test. Their supporters will cite Christchurch as evidence of their effectiveness. Let Younis and Misbah play the middle overs, preventing a collapse, and set the base for the marauders to take over. The critics want the same thing but they wonder why the holding job can’t be performed with more purpose? Can’t Younis and Misbah take singles, keep the strike rotating, and score at a decent pace? Their career strike rates are just over 75, which is actually ideal for the job they do, but the criticism, especially against Misbah, is that he only makes up towards the end of his knock. The sedate approach at the start increases pressure on the others and triggers self-destructive ways or so the argument goes. It will be interesting to watch their approach in the next game.Their opposition, New Zealand, are experimenting, searching for the ideal line-up before the World Cup. The biggest puzzle is the position of Brendon McCullum. On the flat-beds of the subcontinent, considering that he is a regular Test opener, would it be better to play him at the top or keep him for later? Martin Guptill has been in great form, and Jesse Ryder is best while opening, so why not plug McCullum lower down to make use of the batting Powerplay? And what about Jamie How, who looks good in most innings but never carries on? He will get one more chance in the next game, this time in the middle order, and he needs to grab it.Tim Southee and Hamish Bennett are the two chosen ones for the fourth ODI. It was slightly strange to see New Zealand make Bennett bowl against the breeze in the last game. Will they give him a chance to go down wind and try and use his pace to unsettle the batsmen? Luke Woodcock, who had a good debut, lost out as Vettori and Nathan McCullum return. The pressure is on Nathan to put in a good performance to keep Woodcock behind in the pecking order.Napier, the venue of the fourth ODI, has been a burial ground for the bowlers and if the pitch remains flat and full of runs, Pakistan hold the edge over New Zealand.

Form guide

New Zealand: LWLLL
Pakistan: WLLWL

Players to watch out for …

Jesse Ryder has a great strike-rate (95.41) in ODIs but he has a better grasp of how to build an innings in Tests. If he can reprise that temperament in ODIs, his transformation into a world-class ODI player would be complete. The back-lift is minimal, the foot work precise, and the shot-selection is maturing rapidly. Ryder can be the backbone of this line-up in the World Cup.Umar Akmal has the shots, but does he have the temperament? There is a thin line between arrogance and confidence and he seems to be forever living on that edge. Pakistan would hope that Umar can fast track the transformation from boy to man and be more consistent.

Team news

Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, said there would only be one change: will the spinner Abdur Rehman get a chance, or will they try to bring in Asad Shafiq or Shoaib Akthar?Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Kamran Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Abdur Rehman/Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Shoaib Akhtar/Wahab Riaz.How and Kane Williamson will both play in the middle order. Bennett and Southee will be the seamers while Vettori and Nathan McCullum are the spinners in the XI.New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor , 4 Scott Styris, 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Jamie How, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.

Stats and trivia

• Seven of the last 10 ODIs in Napier have been won by the side batting first.
• Afridi’s five sixes in the third ODI took his tally to 285, the record for most sixes in one-dayers. Sanath Jayasuriya is second with 270. It was also the 16th time that Afridi hit five or more sixes in an innings. Jayasuriya did it 11 times.
• Younis Khan averages only 29.30 from 18 games against New Zealand. In New Zealand, he averages 18 from three games.

Quotes

“Both teams search for consistency, and both teams struggle to get it, so we know we can turn their confidence around pretty quickly and hopefully put it in our favour. I think we need to look at that”
.”If you look at the way we bowled to him [Afridi], we gave him a number of opportunities to clear the ropes. We missed a chance to catch him, you just can’t afford to do that, so the onus goes on the bowlers to hit their lines and lengths … You can accept if they get hit from those areas, but if you are bowling half-volleys and length balls in the Powerplays you are going to be in trouble.”
.

A century from Jacques Rudolph set Yorkshire on their way to an eight-run
victory over Derbyshire at Chesterfield to keep them top of Group B in the
Clydesdale Bank 40

08-Aug-2010

ScorecardA century from Jacques Rudolph set Yorkshire on their way to an eight-run
victory over Derbyshire at Chesterfield to keep them top of Group B in the
Clydesdale Bank 40.The South African scored 105, sharing a second-wicket stand of 144 in 22 overs
with Adam Lyth, who made 91, as Yorkshire made 276 for 6 from their 40
overs. Chesney Hughes hit 54 and Wayne Madsen 65 from 57 balls but, despite a late
charge from Graham Wagg (27) in his first game since late April, the Falcons
came up short on 268 for 8.Rudolph came into the game with an average of 99.25 in the 40-over competition
and the Falcons may have feared the worst when he was dropped on 16 at slip by
Chesney Hughes off Tim Groenewald. The South African did not give another chance until he had reached his century as he and Lyth plundered runs after Andrew Gale had become Wagg’s first victim in the 12th over.The Falcons had to wait another 22 overs for their next success and by then
Yorkshire were on course for their best 40-over total against Derbyshire. Rudolph reached his fourth 50 in Group B from 52 balls and lifted Garry Park for six over midwicket as he cruised to his second ton in this summer’s CB 40 league.Lyth drove Groenewald into the timber-framed pavilion to bring up the 200 in
the 32nd over, and although Rudolph went for 105 off 107 balls when he failed to
clear mid off and Jonathan Bairstow was bowled first ball by Groenewald, Anthony
McGrath accelerated the scoring in the closing overs.He drove the left-arm spin of Robin Peterson into the sightscreen at the Lake
End and sent a Wagg delivery into the spectators behind the ropes at extra cover
as Yorkshire passed the 248 for 5 they made at Chesterfield in 1979. Lyth was finally caught at deep midwicket going for his third six, but McGrath’s unbeaten 31 from 17 balls left Derbyshire with a tough chase and they made a dreadful start when Chris Rogers was run out by a direct hit from Lyth in the second over.But Hughes reeled off some silky strokes to keep his side in the hunt and also
pulled Ajmal Shahzad for six as he and Peterson took the Falcons past 50 before
Peterson was caught at slip driving at Tim Bresnan. Hughes was looking dangerous, but after completing a 43-ball fifty he drove Steve Patterson to cover.Madsen and Wes Durston added 74 in 11 overs to keep the game alive before
McGrath broke the stand with his second ball when Durston cut him low to point. The Falcons went into the last 10 overs needing 93 but accurate bowling backed up by sharp fielding built up pressure which forced Madsen into a switch hit into the hands of point.Derbyshire needed 56 off the last five overs and although Wagg smashed an
unbeaten 27 off 18 balls, Yorkshire held their nerve to clinch their seventh
victory and stay on course for a semi-final place.

Welsh Fire humbled for 87 in front of home crowd on Jonny Bairstow’s return

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2023Southern Brave romped to a comfortable nine-wicket win over Welsh Fire, the bowlers setting the tone with Tymal Mills taking only the second hat-trick in the Men’s Hundred.That came off the final three balls of the Welsh Fire innings as they fell to 87 all out, the pattern started with returning England star Jonny Bairstow falling early for a four-ball duck.Craig Overton took two early wickets for Brave, including Bairstow, while George Garton took 3 for 8 off 15 balls through the middle of the innings to block any momentum for the home side, Mills finishing with four wickets in all.Stephen Eskinazi’s 38 was the only bright spot in a total easily chased down by Southern Brave. Finn Allen scored a quick 31 before Devon Conway, 35 not out, and Leus du Plooy, 17 not out, saw them through to victory with 41 balls spare.Welsh Fire could not have got off to a much worse start, losing Ashes hero Bairstow cheaply in his first game for them since 2021. He tried to hit Overton over mid-off, but was caught off the mistimed shot without scoring, with Overton getting bounce and movement to also dismiss captain Tom Abell, caught behind by Devon Conway.Joe Clarke also went for a duck, caught Conway off the bowling of Garton, and when Mills dismissed Glenn Phillips with his first ball, giving Conway a third catch, Welsh Fire were in deep trouble at 34 for 4 after 41 balls.David Willey’s cameo of 16 was also ended by Overton, this time with a sliding catch in the deep off the bowling of Garton.While everyone else was losing their wicket, the player keeping his at the other end was opener Stephen Eskinazi who plotted his way to 38 off 34 balls. However, when he was also out skying the ball off Garton, Welsh Fire were running out of options.In the first game between these two sides, Brave had been in even deeper trouble before Chris Jordan played a match-winning innings, but Fire had no equivalent as the lower order slipped away. It fell to Mills to take a hat-trick with the last three balls of the innings as Fire were dismissed for 87 – the lowest total in a completed 100-ball innings – and left needing their bowlers to produce something remarkable to save the game.The player with the best chance of doing that was Pakistan opening bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and he delivered an effective first set that did everything other than pick up a wicket for Fire. Willey’s first two balls then went for 10 as Brave opener Finn Allen started to find his range before he was caught on the long-on boundary by Willey off the bowling of David Payne for 31.Welsh Fire tried seven bowlers, but there was little pressure on Conway and du Plooy as they knocked off the winning runs with great ease.

Zimbabwe rope in pacer Victor Nyauchi with the bulk of the squad remaining similar to the one that won the 2022 T20 World Cup Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2022Zimbabwe will miss the services of fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh at home. The rest of the squad, though, is similar to the one that won the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier earlier this month, in Bulawayo.Muzarabani sustained a tear in his thigh while Chatara suffered a collarbone fracture during the tournament that saw Zimbabwe book one of the last two spots for the T20 World Cup that will be held in Australia in October.Related

• Raza, Madhevere, bowlers give Zimbabwe 1-0 lead

• Raza takes 4 for 8 as Zimbabwe win T20 World Cup Qualifier

• ICC FTP: Bangladesh land Test and ODI jackpot in 2023-2027 cycle

• Sikandar Raza: 'Nightmare of not qualifying for 2019 World Cup never went away'

• Zimbabwe to host India, Bangladesh before a tour to Australia after 18 years

With their two spearheads ruled out, Zimbabwe have roped in pacer Victor Nyauchi in the 15-member squad. While Nyauchi has played only six Tests and a solitary T20I, he has a decent T20 record with 25 wickets in 20 matches at an average of 18.92. Allrounder Tony Munyonga and fast bowler Tanaka Chivanga, who had replaced Chatara and Muzarabani respectively in the squad during the qualifiers, have also been retained.Zimbabwe had an excellent time at the qualifying tournament, where they remained unbeaten through the group stages before knocking off PNG in the semi final to book their place in the marquee tournament. They then brushed aside Netherlands in the final by 37 runs to lift the trophy, with Sikandar Raza starring with the ball.Raza, the leading run-scorer and joint leading wicket-taker for Zimbabwe in the qualifiers will once again form the fulcrum of the unit alongside captain Craig Ervine and Sean Williams.The series against Bangladesh, which consists of three T20Is and three ODIs, sets off a busy couple of months for Zimbabwe, who will be hosting India in mid-August before travelling to Australia for three ODIs – their first visit to the country in 18 years.The three T20Is against Bangladesh will take place on July 30, 31 and August 2. All matches will be staged in Harare.Squad: Ryan Burl, Regis Chakabva (wk), Tanaka Chivanga, Craig Ervine (capt), Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Sean Williams

Lewis Gregory and Jack Wildermuth ensure Heat get home with more than an over to spare

Sreshth Shah02-Jan-2021A four-wicket haul from right-arm quick Mark Steketee and a 23-ball 40 from their opener Max Bryant helped the Brisbane Heat – who are missing Chris Lynn due to injury – beat the Sydney Sixers by four wickets in front of their home crowd. Although the Sixers earned a Bash Boost point for scoring more runs than the Heat at the respective halfway points of both teams’ innings, they could not extend their streak of consecutive wins to five, bring an end to a series of wins that started on December 13.The Heat’s chase briefly got tricky when they lost their sixth wicket still needing 45 runs in 28 balls, but an unbeaten partnership of 50 in 21 balls between Lewis Gregory (16-ball 31) and Jack Wildermuth (10-ball 22) saw them cruise to victory with more than an over to spare. Their second win of the season takes them to sixth on the points table with eight points, while the Sixers remain third on 17 points, only two behind league leaders, and the other Sydney team, the Thunder.Philippe, Vince take on the spinnersHaving chosen to bat, the Sixers openers Jack Edwards and Josh Philippe began aggressively, adding 30 after the four mandatory Powerplay overs. The fifth over began Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s spell, and he struck off the first ball, when Edwards was caught at backward point. Joe Burns, released from the Australia Test squad, pounced onto the catch as Edwards sliced an attempted drive.While Mujeeb’s first over went for only three, his second went for 17 as Philippe and the No. 3 James Vince struck two sixes off the first and last ball of the seventh over. The two batsmen pounced further in the eighth over when left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann conceded 16 on the back of a hat-trick of fours, of which one was down the leg side. Kuhnemann would later be subbed out at end of 10 overs, with batsman Sam Heazlett replacing him.Sixers slide after solid startVince was dismissed for 20 in the ninth over when he edged a shot to the keeper. He was trying to run it past Jimmy Pierson but ended up playing it too fine. The keeper Pierson was in the action in the 10th over, too, when Daniel Hughes was caught behind for two trying to drive a Steketee delivery that wasn’t full enough.Philippe and Jordan Silk looked to help the Sixers recover after the two quick wickets, and it looked like the duo were going to bring out the big shots with eight overs to go. But Philippe was out lbw for 48 off Xavier Bartlett, trying to slog-sweep after which the No. 6 Daniel Christian was trapped lbw in front of his stumps by Mujeeb. Carlos Brathwaite was then out for a duck, when he couldn’t get a square drive off Steketee over point. Silk, however, kept finding the occasional boundary as the death overs approached, and was finally dismissed by Steketee in the 19th over for a 27-ball 43. Steketee would take another wicket next ball, his fourth of the match. Eventually, the Sixers set a target of 166 for the Heat after an expensive 14-run final over.Sixers fight back after Bryant’s blastAfter his new opening partner Burns was out for 1, Bryant collected boundaries off Jackson Bird and Ben Dwarshuis in the first five overs of the chase. With No. 3 Joe Denly at the other end, he punished Christian’s first over – the chase’s seventh – with a six and a four to welcome the new bowler. But Bryant fell off the third ball when he looked to cutely nudge a short ball leg side, only for the leading edge to find Philippe. At the point of his dismissal, Bryant had scored 40 of the 57 runs made by the Heat.While Denly looked to get his eye in with singles and doubles together with the X-Factor Heazlett, the Bash Boost point was going out of the Heat’s grasps. Denly was out in the ninth over for a 17-ball 19, leaving the Heat needing 14 off the tenth over to collect the point. They could get only six as the Sixers earned it instead. Benjamin Manenti and Brathwaite kept things tidy, with the latter dismissing Heazlett for 17. The Heat struck only one boundary in the six overs between 8 and 14, and the required rate was now touching 11.Gregory, Wildermuth turn it aroundWith 63 needed off 36, the 15th over began with Pierson flicking Dwarshuis for six, only to be dismissed two balls later by a slower delivery that he dragged onto the stumps. Although Gregory struck another six off Dwarshuis to bookend a 15-run over to bring the required run-rate down to 9.60, he lost James Bazley at the other end in the 16th over.Gregory, though, had Wildermuth for company. Thanks to some wayward bowling from Brathwaite and a series of smart running between the wicket, they brought the equation down to 14 off 12. Gregory then hit Dwarshuis for a six and a four to make the game a mere formality. Wildermuth hit another maximum to bring the fifty stand and seal a Heat win with seven balls to spare.

The left-hander briefly threatened to haul down Scotland’s revised DLS target with a thrilling assault full of audacious sweeps and reverse-sweeps

Peter Della Penna at The Grange22-May-2019In a Scotland batting unit featuring the reigning ICC Associate Player of the Year, Calum MacLeod, and a captain who earlier in the month had became the fastest Associate cricketer to 2000 ODI runs, Kyle Coetzer (in 49 innings), the most menacing threat to opposition bowling attacks might actually sit a bit lower down the order. George Munsey’s destructive batting has had him firmly entrenched in the opening slot in T20 cricket for Scotland, but in ODIs he slots in lower down as a finisher.On Tuesday against Sri Lanka at the Grange, the scene was set for Munsey to showcase his rapidly growing reputation as a power-hitter. A flurry of sweeps and reverse sweeps had taken him to 23 off 24 balls before rain transformed Scotland’s equation from 191 off 138 balls (8.30 per over), to 103 off 42 (14.71). Yet, Munsey says the situation was well within Scotland’s grasp in a match that eventually ended in Sri Lanka winning by 35 runs.”I was really positive actually,” Munsey told ESPNcricinfo after the match, when asked about Scotland’s chances as he walked out for the resumption of the chase. “I think with our firepower at the back end, these totals are not un-gettable.”We’ve got quite a strong hitting line-up at the tail and the belief in the team was we really have a great chance of getting this, especially if we have a good start and really go hard from ball one. We almost did that. One more over early on with a good over would have really put us in a great place. We lost a few too many wickets in the end but we weren’t far off chasing it down.”Scotland got that good over straight after the restart. Munsey struck Thisara Perera’s first ball for six over the leg side before clipping two more boundaries in a 19-run 28th over to keep the equation in check. A six off Suranga Lakmal as part of an 18-run 31st over brought up a 37-ball half-century. Scotland needed 50 off 18 balls, gettable in 2019 as proven by the latter stages of T20 chases on flat wickets like the Grange.But Nuwan Pradeep, bowling a match-winning spell of death bowling, yorked Munsey for 61 off 42 balls in the 32nd over. Even though he had passed his previous ODI best of 55, made last summer against England, Munsey was left despondent. More than 90 minutes after the final wicket had been taken by Sri Lanka, he still hadn’t taken off his pads.”I’m pretty gutted, to be honest,” Munsey said. “I felt like it’s one of my strengths, targeting bowlers. I started well and I felt like I could have seen the team over the line. So it was pretty gutting to be walking off knowing that I still had more to give out there and I felt like I could have steadied the ship home.”Nuwan Pradeep celebrates after taking his second wicket of the day•Peter Della Penna

Munsey’s wicket was the first in a sequence of three in five balls taken by Sri Lanka as Pradeep and Thisara submarined Scotland’s chase. Munsey gave plaudits to Sri Lanka’s bowlers for maintaining their death-bowling accuracy in spite of challenging conditions with a wet ball that needed to be replaced at one stage.”When you lose a cluster of wickets, you’re gonna struggle no matter what the situation is,” Munsey said. “To be fair to the Sri Lankans, they bowled really well. They hit their wide yorkers, they hit the boot. They only bowled a few wides. That was real tough to put away. Any length they gave us, we put away. We didn’t miss many length opportunities. But credit where credit is due, they smashed their yorkers.”Sent in to bat, Sri Lanka made a below-par 322 for 8, a total Munsey believes Scotland did well to hold them down to, given that they had been 203 for 1 after 33 overs. Scotland uncharacteristically dropped three chances, including one each off Dimuth Karunaratne on 13 and Avishka Fernando on 22; they went on to make 77 and 74 respectively. Munsey believes the missed chances cost Scotland in the end.”We were a fair bit behind the rate as far as DL (Duckworth-Lewis) is concerned when we came off, but in the appearance of the game we were doing quite well,” Munsey said. “So I think had the game gone the distance, I truly believe it would have been a different outcome. It’s hard to play devil’s advocate with DL because there’s so many different aspects to it. We did a good job but we weren’t quite on top of our game fielding and that’s what cost us.”We have a very good fielding team and that was slightly out of character for us today to drop so many catches in one game. From overs 0-20, we weren’t that great as a unit in the field but then we turned it around and we stopped them getting a 350 score and brought them back closer to a 300-mark. That was down to the bowling and fielding, holding catches. We saw two different fairy-tales in one innings of fielding.”

The ICC’s anti-corruption unit will also brief cricketers playing in the forthcoming Sri Lanka v England series

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Oct-2018The ICC’s anti-corruption unit (ACU) has briefed Sri Lanka’s president, prime minister and sports minister about ongoing investigations into “serious allegations of corruption in cricket in the country”. The investigations began more than a year ago, with rumours about corruption circulating around Sri Lankan cricket for several weeks before that.The ACU’s general manager, Alex Marshall, has also seen it fit to plan to brief cricketers playing in the forthcoming Sri Lanka v England series, in order to “ensure they remain alert to the risks of would be corruptors”, even if the allegations do not relate to that tour.”We are currently in Sri Lanka as part of our ongoing investigations into serious allegations of corruption in cricket in the country,” Marshall said. “The enquiries are continuing so it would not be appropriate to comment further, but I can confirm that we have, at their request, provided a detailed briefing to the Sri Lankan President, Prime Minister and Sports Minister. We are receiving full support from the Competent Authority currently in place at Sri Lanka Cricket whilst elections for the SLC Board are pending.”Although it is unclear what the ACU’s work in Sri Lanka is exactly about, the body confirmed its investigation in September 2017, less than 48 hours after 40 top Sri Lankan cricketers petitioned SLC to launch an inquiry into corruption allegations, which were rife at the time.The players were primarily responding to an allegation presented by former cricketer and selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe who had made a public comment about “unnatural match patterns” in an international game. Wickramasinghe has since said he was merely giving voice to rumour that was already well known.Speaking at a press conference ahead of the ODI series between Sri Lanka and England, SLC CEO Ashley De Silva said the board had not been notified about the ACU’s presence in advance.”There are no concerns,” he said. “As we all know when the anti-corruption investigations are being carried out they won’t keep anybody notified. It’s done very secretively, so we were not even aware that anti-corruption officers were here. We only got to know about it through the ICC press release this morning.”

Sixty-six players were put through a full day of skills and fitness tests at Indianapolis World Sports Park in the initial evaluation process to compete for a spot in an ICC Americas Combined squad

Peter Della Penna20-Sep-20151:30

‘These kids want it so bad’ – Young

Sixty-six players were put through a full day of skills and fitness tests at Indianapolis World Sports Park in the initial evaluation process to compete for a spot in an ICC Americas Combined squad for January’s WICB Regional 50-over competition. ICC Americas High Performance Consultant Tom Evans was impressed by the way the candidates responded to some of the obstacles on the day.”I thought it was a really good day,” Evans told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a pretty long day. With a little bit of weather around, it made it extra challenging from a logistical standpoint but I thought the coaches and the players were able to adapt to that really well. To go to the indoor centre and do the fitness testing there and using St. Vincent Sport Performance (SVSP), who were excellent doing the testing, I think they showed that level of professionalism that we’re keen for these guys to strive towards.”The ICC brought four strength and conditioning coaches from SVSP, renowned for their training and testing methods to improve speed and agility in NFL, NBA and track athletes, to test all participants. Due to morning rain in Indianapolis, the players were brought to an indoor training facility and measured on a broad jump, a 20-metre sprint and a modified shuttle run to simulate three runs between the wickets.”When we look at this group today of cricket players, what impresses me is that when you challenge people to be athletic and they respond,” said Ralph Reiff, executive director of SVSP. “They were very attentive, they were ready to go, no one was an outlier on the backside of the bell curve so no one demonstrated that they don’t belong here so I was impressed by that. There was a very high level of athleticism within this group.”Rain cleared by the afternoon to allow the trial to shift back to the Indianapolis World Sports Park. The players were divided into seven groups, with one coach specifically assigned to track each group. Separately, the four specialist evaluators – Mike Young for fielding, Courtney Walsh for pace bowling, Venkatapathy Raju for spin bowling and Evans for batting – each ran a station checking on specific skills.”The love that these guys are showing in wanting to be here, the pride, it’s kind of blown me away a little bit,” Young said. “I didn’t know what to expect but they made me more excited as well. I was pumped up to start with but I’m like, man these kids want it so bad. Talking to Courtney and all the other coaches, they all agree. They’ve just been fantastic.”Though 83 players were invited to come to Indianapolis, 17 were absent from Saturday. Among those were four Canada players – Hiral Patel, Jeremy Gordon, Shaheed Keshvani and Srimantha Wijeratne – and two USA players, Japen Patel and Mrunal Patel, who were part of their country’s respective squads at July’s World T20 Qualifier. Evans said some withdrew due to injury and others might show up by Monday but may find it more difficult to make it into next weekend’s second phase.”There were a variety of issues why people didn’t come and we expected that when you ask people to get themselves here,” Evans said. “We really respect the fact that 66 did and even more wanted to but just couldn’t do it. But we were really pleased that people were willing to make that investment. In terms of the guys who might be late arrivals, they’ll be putting themselves under more pressure because they’re going to get seen less so they’ll probably have to do something outstanding when they get here.”Players will compete in trial matches on Sunday in the next step of the phase one evaluation process before more trial matches are scheduled for Monday.

Hashim Amla became the third South African to win the CSA Cricketer of the Year award on two separate occasions, and picked up four awards on the night

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2013

CSA Awards 2013

International Awards:
SA Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla
Sunfoil Test Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla
Momentum ODI Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers
KFC T20 International Cricketer of the Year: Dale Steyn
SA Players’ Player of the Year: AB de Villiers
SA Fans’ Player of the Year: Hashim Amla
KFC ‘So Good’ Award: Hashim Amla
RAM Delivery of the Year: Jacques Kallis
SA Newcomer of the Year: Kyle Abbott
Momentum women’s Cricketer of the Year: Marizanne Kapp
Domestic Awards
Sunfoil Series Cricketer of the Season: Johann Louw (Cobras)
Momentum One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Season: Richard Levi (Cobras)
RAM SLAMMER of the Season: Quinton de Kock (Lions)
Coach of the Year: Geoffrey Toyana (Lions)
Domestic Players’ Player of the Year: Kyle Abbott (Dolphins)
CSA Fair Play Award: Lions
SACA Most Valuable Player Award: Roelof van der Merwe (Titans)
Domestic Newcomer of the Year: Ayabulela Gqamane (Warriors)
Professional Awards: Operations
CSA Groundsman of the Year: Chris Scott (Wanderers)
CSA Scorers’ Association of the Year: Gauteng Cricket Board
CSA Umpires’ Umpire of the Year: Shaun George
CSA Umpire of the Year: Johan Cloete

Hashim Amla has become the third South African to be named as Cricket South Africa (CSA) Cricketer of the Year on two separate occasions, after previously winning the award in 2010. Amla joins Makhaya Ntini (2005 and 2006) and Jacques Kallis (2004 and 2011) as the only dual winners of the award.That was not all for Amla, as he picked up four awards on the night, including Sunfoil Test Cricketer of the Year, SA Fan’s Player of the Year and the KFC ‘So Good’ Award for his unbeaten 311 against England last year.The awards night, organised by CSA in Sandton on Monday, sought to hail international and domestic players who put in remarkable performances over the 2012-13 season. The period under consideration ended in June, so South Africa’s poor Champions Trophy campaign and series in Sri Lanka were excluded.Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, gave full praise to the team and Amla for their performances over the year. “This has been another amazing year for our top players,” Lorgat said. “It is not easy to keep finding special words to speak about Hashim. He has set South Africa record Test scores against both England and Australia, and he is the first player to score a Test treble century for our country. As if that is not remarkable enough, he is also the No. 1 rated player on the ICC rankings for Test and ODI batsmen.”The greatest quality he brings to the game is his attitude and humility, which aptly displays the true spirit of cricket. This transcends all his international statistics and we are indeed very lucky to have such a wonderful role model for our children to emulate.”AB de Villiers, the South Africa ODI captain, was also among the accolades as he was named Momentum ODI Cricketer of the Year and the SA Players’ Player of the Year. Dale Steyn was the KFC T20 International Cricketer of the Year, while Kyle Abbott, who picked up 7 for 29 on Test debut against Pakistan in February, was the SA Newcomer of the Year. Marizanne Kapp, who played for South Africa during the 2013 Women’s World Cup in India, rounded off the evening with the award for Momentum women’s Cricketer of the Year.On the domestic front, Cape Cobras’ Johann Louw was selected as Sunfoil Series Cricketer of the Season. Geoffrey Toyana, the Lions coach, who this season became the first black African coach in the domestic structure, was handed the distinction of Coach of the Year. Richard Levi, who also plays for Cobras, was awarded Momentum One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Year, while Lions’ Quinton de Kock picked up Ram Slammer of the Season.Kyle Abbott was hailed as the Domestic Player’s Player of the Year, while Lions were handed the CSA Fair Play Award. Roelof van der Merwe, playing for Titans, was awarded as SACA Most Valuable Player, while Warriors’ Ayabulela Gqamane was given the distinction of being Domestic Newcomer of the Year.