All posts by h716a5.icu

Harmeet Singh, a member of India Under-19’s 2012 World Cup-winning squad, appeared before BCCI’s anti-corruption and security unit chief, Ravi Sawani in a spot-fixing probe in Mumbai

Amol Karhadkar06-Jul-2013Harmeet Singh, a member of India Under-19’s 2012 World Cup-winning squad, appeared before BCCI’s anti-corruption and security unit chief, Ravi Sawani in a spot-fixing probe in Mumbai. Sawani is currently investigating the alleged involvement of Rajasthan Royals players, Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, in spot-fixing during IPL 2013.Harmeet, who played one game for Rajasthan Royals in this season, shared all the information he had about the fixing episode with Sawani. The 20-year-old left-arm spinner was summoned by Sawani after he recorded a statement, which is admissible in court, before a magistrate in Delhi on Wednesday.According to news reports, Jitender Singh, alias Jeetu, a bookie who was arrested in connection with the IPL corruption scandal last week, alleged that he had tried to get Harmeet involved but didn’t strike a deal as the player was too young.The BCCI has no intention of suspending Harmeet pending enquiry. The board did consider taking such action against Harmeet’s Rajasthan Royals team-mate, Siddharth Trivedi for an alleged breach of the IPL code of conduct; Trivedi had recorded a statement before a magistrate in a Delhi court, sharing information related to the spot-fixing case. The BCCI decided that it would be unfair to suspend Trivedi, given that he was co-operating with the ACSU as well as the authorities. A BCCI insider confirmed the same position would apply to Harmeet: “The question of Harmeet’s suspension does not arise till he is found to have been involved in mischievous activities.”Even though he has not been suspended, Harmeet’s quest of resurrecting his first-class career, that had virtually stalled with Mumbai, hangs in balance for now. The left-arm spinner had acquired a no-objection certificate from the Mumbai Cricket Association after being approached by officials from the Vidarbha Cricket Association. His move to Vidarbha was almost completed and he had been invited to represent the VCA XI in the Dorairajan Trophy in Nagpur.However, following news reports allegedly linking him to a few bookies, the VCA put its plans on hold and dropped Harmeet from VCA XI side last week. The association hasn’t signed a contract with the bowler and has decided to ensure that the player comes out clean before bringing him on board.

A half-century and three wickets for Mark Wood, from Ashington, put Durham on course for their second win of the season at Trent Bridge

George Dobell at Trent Bridge01-May-2013
ScorecardMark Wood has played all his Championship matches at Trent Bridge•Getty ImagesThere was a time when a match-turning contribution from an Ashington fast bowler was commonplace at Durham. Though with Steve Harmison’s decline, such days have been had been consigned to the past.But here Mark Wood, playing only his third Championship match – coincidentally, all have been at Trent Bridge – followed a career-best performance with the bat with a spell of 3 for 11 in 22, with all of his scalps a Test batsman. Describing himself as “a family friend” of Harmison and a product of the same Ashington club, Wood has the rare gift of pace that earmark him as a cricketer of rich potential.He can bat, too. He defines himself as a bowling allrounder but, earlier in the day, reached his maiden Championship 50 with a pulled six and dominated a last-wicket stand of 71 in only 12.2 overs with Graham Onions. It was a partnership that not only extended Durham’s lead to 151 but may well have had a deflating effect on Nottinghamshire’s morale.But on a wicket that has, at times, appeared painfully flat – the return of the heavy roller is far from universally popular among county spectators – it was Wood’s incisive bowling that may have had the greatest impact. Wood, by some distance the sharpest bowler on display in this match, belied the easy-paced surface to persuade Ed Cowan to nibble one angled across him, trap James Taylor attempting to play a straight one through square leg, and then, most impressively, have Samit Patel caught off the glove as he tried to deal with a bouncer. It was a spell that cut through the Nottinghamshire top order and provided Durham with an excellent opportunity to claim their second win of the season. Nottinghamshire resume on the final day with half their second-innings batting dismissed and still trailing by six runs.Such was Wood’s contribution, he could well be forgiven for questioning why he has not played more regularly. On his last appearance, here last August, he claimed 5 for 78 to help his team to a 16-run victory, but then found himself dropped for the next game.”I’m pleased to be here,” Wood said afterwards with a smile. “It seems to be the only place a get a game. Of course I was disappointed to be dropped last year. But I understood the reasons. We have a good attack who had done really well so when Ben Stokes came back I missed out. Hopefully this time, if I get a couple more wickets, I can make my case even stronger.”Wood was quick to admit he was building on foundations laid by Will Smith. Smith, who batted for 505 minutes for his 153, blunted the attack at their freshest and the pitch at its most helpful to establish a platform from which the lower-order could build. It paid a higher dividend than even he can have hoped, though, when the last five Durham wickets added 323 runs to the total. He finally fell, caught at mid-on, after he attempted to whip Patel’s left-arm spin through midwicket.”Smith has been the difference between the sides,” Wood said. “And he’s the reason we’re the favourites in this game. He showed great concentration and the work he did made it much easier for me.”While Wood led the way in the last-wicket stand, punching Patel for one lovely four through mid-on and carving Graeme Swann over extra cover for another, Onions also played his part. He thumped one back past Stuart Broad and drove Swann square as Durham kept Nottinghamshire in the field for 157.3 energy-sapping overs.But it is Wood’s bowling that may, in time, be of interest to the national selectors. He is not particularly tall or strong-looking but, from a short, straight run with an unusual start – a pronounced push off his back leg which, he says, is a technique learned from sprinters – he generates impressive, skiddy pace. He can reverse swing the ball, too, and showed an encouraging cricketing brain when talking about his wickets.”We had just got the ball reversing when Cowan edged that one that left him,” he explained. “With Taylor, we put the man behind square for the pull and, when we had him expecting the short ball, I pitched it up. And then with Samit, I hid the ball so he couldn’t tell which way it was going to swing and then surprised him by bowling a bouncer.”Gareth Breese, who had already contributed a useful 44, followed up with the wicket of Steven Mullaney – surely the only cricketer with Hooters as a bat sponsor – sharply caught off a fine arm ball, while earlier Alex Hales, back when he should have been forward, lost his middle stump.Michael Lumb, timing his drives sweetly on either side of the wicket, remains and looks in good touch, but he has a great deal of work ahead of him if Nottinghamshire are to salvage a draw from this game.At least Nottinghamshire had encouraging news of their England players. Broad bowled with increased pace and purpose on the third day. He finished with his third successive four-wicket haul in successive innings and would not have been flattered by a fifth. Just as importantly, he reported no adverse reaction to his 31 overs and confirmed that he would take a full part, with bat, with ball and in the field, in the remainder of the game.Swann came through unscathed, too. While he finished without a wicket, he did see two chances go down off his bowling – he was the guilty party on one occasion – and was the most economical of the Nottinghamshire bowlers. Perhaps there were a couple more full tosses than we are used to but, bearing in mind it was his first bowl in competitive cricket since the elbow operation, this was a pleasing return.

Shane Shillingford ran through a clueless line-up to take his best Test figures as Zimbabwe continued to bat like the Test irregulars they are

The Report by Abhishek Purohit14-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRay Price’s was one of the three Zimbabwe wickets not to fall to Shane Shillingford on the third day•WICB Media Photo/Nicholas ReidShane Shillingford, on his international comeback, ran through a clueless line-up to take his best Test figures as Zimbabwe batted like the Test irregulars they are. West Indies needed just under two hours on the third morning to end the Zimbabwe second innings, although their win was delayed by the farce of a lunch break taken after three overs of their tiny chase.There would have been no need for West Indies to bat again, had Craig Ervine not been put down twice after a wicket each had gone down in the day’s first two overs. There was nothing in the Kensington Oval pitch or in the West Indies attack to justify Zimbabwe lasting only 41.4 overs. There was bounce and some turn for Shillingford alright, but only one of his six wickets, that of Graeme Cremer, was off a delivery that came close to being called unplayable.It was Zimbabwe’s inability to keep down testing, but pretty regular, deliveries that led to their downfall. But for a side that kept itself out of the Test arena for six years and was playing only its fifth Test since ending the exile in August 2011, ability to survive Test-quality bowling is hard to develop without exposure.Smart stats

Shane Shillingford’s 6 for 49 is the best performance by a West Indies bowler against Zimbabwe. It is also the third best performance by a spinner in Barbados.

Shillingford’s match haul of 9 for 107 is his second best in Tests. It is also the second best match figures by a West Indies spinner since 1990. The best also belongs to Shillingford.

West Indies’ nine-wicket win is their fifth in seven Tests against Zimbabwe. They have won each of the three home matches.

Zimbabwe’s total of 107 is their fourth lowest against West Indies. Three of the top four lowest totals have come in Tests played in West Indies.

West Indies have now won five Tests in a row. The last time they managed this was in 1988, when they won seven consecutive Tests.

That inability was evident in the number of batsmen, three in each innings, who fell to offspin in the leg trap. Few Test specialist batsmen would have fallen so easily. Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwe captain, summed it up when he stepped out to Shillingford in the day’s first over, suddenly stopped and jabbed a length offbreak to forward short leg. It continued a horror tour for Taylor with scores of 8, 0 & 39 in the ODIs, 0 & 4 in the Twenty20s, 20 & 20 in the three-day tour match, and 26 & 6 in this Test.A few overs later, Malcolm Waller again exposed another area of weakness against spin. He waited deep in the crease as a Shillingford offbreak spun into his thigh pad, but failed to keep the bat out of the way, and got an inside edge to forward short leg.The next two wickets were earned by Shillingford. He bowled Regis Chakabva with a flighted straighter one as the batsman pushed forward expecting turn. Cremer got a brute that kicked and straightened from a good length to take the edge to the wicketkeeper. Shillingford was accurate throughout the match, and got considerable lift and, at times, sharp turn.Zimbabwe’s spineless showing with the bat, apart from the first session of the game, hid a few West Indies shortcomings. They were under danger of conceding the first-innings lead on day two, before their captain Darren Sammy bailed them out with a match-turning knock from No. 8. They dropped a few catches, including Ervine twice this morning, once by Chris Gayle off Shillingford at slip and once by Darren Bravo at third slip off Tino Best.Shannon Gabriel ended the innings with two wickets in three balls, leaving Ervine stranded. Kieran Powell had his second failure of the match as he stabbed a Tendai Chatara lifter to gully. When Chris Gayle scored the winning runs, it was the first time since 1988 that West Indies had won five successive Tests. The opposition back then during a seven-match streak were England and Australia; three of the current five wins have come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Like a scientist who has decided his analysis has run its course, Gary Kirsten declared the exploratory phase for South Africa’s one-day squad over as they begin preparations for their series against Pakistan

Firdose Moonda07-Mar-2013Like a scientist who has decided his analysis has run its course, Gary Kirsten declared the exploratory phase for South Africa’s one-day squad over as they begin preparations for their series against Pakistan.The five-match rubber is the last outing the team will have before they travel to England for the Champions Trophy in June. From the outside it seems South Africa have much work to do if they hope to bring back ICC silverware but Kirsten is convinced they have the base from which to build and the time for trials is over.”The players that are in this squad are the best players in the country. That’s why they’re selected. We’re not experimenting. We’re playing the best players,” he said in Bloemfontein, ahead of the first ODI. “We’re looking at the best 17 or 18 players knowing that we need to be able to shift and move around a bit.”The squad has three changes from the one that lost to New Zealand in January with Quinton de Kock and Dean Elgar out and Kyle Abbott in. While that hints at settling, what underlines it is the substantial difference from the Twenty20 squad that lost to Pakistan last week.Crucially, South Africa have senior players back in the group with Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn bringing their 320 caps with them. That proved to be the biggest difference between the teams at Centurion, where Pakistan’s seasoned bowling attack outclassed South Africa.Getting the balance between old and new, especially in an era where cricket schedules are more cluttered than said scientist’s work bench, is tricky. But with no Tests to think about before October, South Africa have an opportunity to do it properly.Their selections will be questioned as selections always are but at least they have settled on something. Some will argue they should have included Richard Levi, Stephen Cook or Henry Davids, the top-three leading run-scorers in this season’s one-day competition, but an opening partnership of Smith and Amla is more formidable.Likewise, Andrew Birch, Roelof van der Merwe and Hardus Viljoen – the domestic tournament’s leading wicket-takers – have had to miss out to an attack that will include Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Ryan McLaren, Robin Peterson and Aaron Phangiso. Morkel remains an injury concern having not recovered fully from the left hamstring strain that kept him out of the third Test. Kirsten envisages that he will play “at some point” but, in keeping with the way he has been managed in previous one-day games, he may be rotated.Where question marks remain is around the middle-order but a quick scan of the statistics hint that the selectors could not have done that much better. Vaughn van Jaarsveld scored 28 more runs than Farhaan Behardien in the Momentum Cup but no-one put up their hand up high enough.

“It’s nice to have a focus on ODI cricket so we can upgrade our skills and make sure we spend as much time as we can knowing what we need to do to close games out in tight moments”Gary Kirsten

What the likes of Berhardien, David Miller and Colin Ingram need to do is harden up – particularly mentally – before players such as Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma and Yaseen Vallie and Cody Chetty start challenging for their places. That could be as early as next season. For now, the incumbents have to do the job and Kirsten has accepted that, knowing they failed in that regard two months ago.Against New Zealand, South Africa’s middle order was its usual wobbly marshmallow, incapable of toasting no matter how much it was held over the fire. It melted in the face of pressure, where aspects such as the death bowling also struggled. “All our preparation and our debriefing has been on the New Zealand series,” Kirsten said, confining the retrospection to the shelf. “We’ve spoken about what went wrong there and what we could have done better. We try not cross pollinate too much. That keeps us all sane. We’re spending a huge amount of focus over the next three days on making sure we get our game in order. Then we know we can put opposition teams under pressure.”We’ve played a lot of Test cricket over the last while, so it’s nice to have a focus on ODI cricket so we can upgrade our skills and make sure we spend as much time as we can knowing what we need to do in that version of the game to close games out in tight moments. We know we can create some momentum, and we know that with the players we’ve got we are able to win games in difficult situations.”That is exactly where South Africa have fallen short. They have not put the opposition under pressure often enough and they have not closed out squeaky-bum situations, never mind done so with conviction. They have floated somewhere between uncertain and unable, mostly mirroring their tactics.Now Kirsten has said that should change. Stability will return to South Africa’s one-day squad. AB de Villiers has been reinstalled as wicketkeeper and will have to find a way to manage that, his captaincy and his role in the batting line-up without feeling rushed, as he once claimed to. He will have plenty to lean on with Faf du Plessis having emerged as a competent leader himself.The batting and bowling roles of individual players will not yo-yo from game to game and the focus has supposedly been defined and lies centrally in everyone’s minds. South Africa only have five matches to show whether all those things have actually happened.Although Kirsten remarked that they have 15-20 ODIs before their next Test (five against Pakistan; one against Holland; potentially five at the Champions Trophy if they go all the way; five against Sri Lanka; plus a few more against Pakistan in the UAE), it is not as simple as those numbers. There is an ICC tournament in between and a demanding public will want to see how far South Africa have progressed.

Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, and Kent quick bowler Matt Coles have been sent home from England Lions’ tour of Australia for unprofessional conduct.

Alex Winter20-Feb-2013Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, and Kent quick bowler Matt Coles have been sent home from England Lions’ tour of Australia for unprofessional conduct.Both players had previously been issued with written warnings for “contravening their conduct obligations” on the tour and a second incident has seen them dropped from the tour party with three matches remaining.David Parsons, ECB performance director said both players had ignored directives given to them for match preparation and recovery. “On a very challenging tour to Australia, both Matt and Ben have ignored the instructions and, following previous warnings, it is regrettable that it has been necessary to terminate their involvement in the tour.”Both are very talented individuals and it is hoped that, with the support of the ECB and their respective counties, they will take positive steps to give themselves the very best chance of fulfilling their potential. There will be no replacement players called up to the squad as a result of this matter.”Stokes, 21, is seen as one of England’s brightest prospects with the potential to eventually fulfil the allrounder role that hasn’t been filled since Andrew Flintoff retired. He made his full ODI debut aged 20 against Ireland in August 2011 and has played five ODIs.He played the opening four matches of the Australia tour, scoring 41 off just 15 balls in the second warm-up and took 1 for 40 in the first unofficial ODI with his right-arm medium pace.It is not the first time he has been reprimanded for his behaviour. In Decemeber 2011 he was arrested for obstructing a policeman in his duty, in what was believed to be a drink-related incident.Coles, 22, was rewarded for his excellent season at Kent in 2012, taking 59 first-class wickets at 22.35. He took 2 for 58 in the second warm-up and played the both of the opening matches against Australia A.But a lack of discipline has denied both players the opportunity to further impress the England management and created a most embarrassing situation. ESPNcricinfo understands that England team director Andy Flower has stopped in Australia to observe the Lions squad en route to New Zealand.”I would like to apologise for the way in which I acted,” Ben Stokes said. “I am determined to bounce back from this situation and I regret my actions off the field. I look forward to getting back to my county to start pre-season preparations.”Matt Coles was equally apologetic: “I am very sorry about what has happened in Australia,” he said. “I believe I have learnt my lesson. I have apologised to the players and coaches involved, so would now like to move forward from this by looking ahead to the start of the county season at Kent.”England are winless on the tour having lost all three warm-up matches and the opening two unofficial ODIs against Australia A. All but one of the defeats was comprehensive. Three more matches remain in the series against Australia A on February 22 in Hobart and 25 February and March 1 in Sydney.

Durham’s Phil Mustard blasted 143 from just 91 balls as Durham crushed Surrey by 142 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Chester-le-Street

12-Aug-2012
ScorecardDurham’s Phil Mustard blasted 143 from just 91 balls as Durham crushed Surrey by 142 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Chester-le-Street.After being overtaken by Hampshire at the top of Group B the previous evening, Surrey’s hopes of a quick return to the summit were snuffed out. Durham were on course to beat their record 40-over total of 325, set against the same opponents at the Oval last year, until Mustard was out with the total on 271.The remaining six overs brought only 27 runs for the loss of five more wickets and Durham finished on 298 for 9. If Surrey thought they had clawed their way back into the game they quickly shot themselves in the foot as both openers departed carelessly with the score on 10.Jason Roy revived them with 43 off 24 balls, but the visitors were all out for 156 in 29.1 overs, completing an unhappy week in the north-east following their innings defeat in the LV= County Championship.Mustard led a charmed life early in his innings. On 1 he went down the pitch to Matthew Spriegel and edged the ball just out of Steve Davies’ reach and on two he survived a very confident lbw appeal from Jade Dernbach.The same bowler put down a simple return catch with Mustard on 16 and the left-hander went on to hit seven sixes. When Durham chose to bat Mark Stoneman initially dominated the strike, cutting, driving and pulling Dernbach for three fours in the fourth over on his way to 50 off 50 balls with seven fours.The stand was worth 87 when he skied a return catch to Zander de Bruyn, who cleaned up at the end of the innings to finish with five for 46. Mustard’s first six, over long-on off Gareth Batty, took him to 49 and he reached 50 off 45 balls before accelerating to 100 off 74.He put on 118 in 14 overs for the second wicket with Ben Stokes, who made 45 before he was stumped off a leg-side wide by Murali Kartik. Mustard, whose previous one-day best was 139 not out at Northampton last year, hit three sixes on his way from 121 to 142 before he was out in the 34th over, skying a catch to point.At the start of Surrey’s reply Rory Hamilton-Brown slashed at a short ball from Mitch Claydon and edged to slip then Davies shaped to pull Chris Rushworth and lobbed a catch to mid-on.Roy and Gary Wilson put on 68 but after Roy hit three successive fours in Mark Wood’s first over the young seamer picked up three wickets. When Roy went for a big hit and skied a catch to Mustard it effectively signalled the end of Surrey’s challenge.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Test between England and South Africa at Headingley

The Preview by Alan Gardner01-Aug-2012Match factsThursday, August 2
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Will England’s bowlers be tripped up again by South Africa in the second Test?•Getty ImagesBig pictureThe equation for England going into the second Test is simple: if they’re going to beat South Africa, they will need to play at least ten times better than they did at The Oval. An average of 31.25 runs per wicket might not look too bad during a wet English summer but it was dwarfed by South Africa scoring 637 for 2 in their one innings on a dry, sun-baked track. Turning two wickets into 20 against such obduracy is a trick that will take some pulling off.It is almost a year since England ascended to the top of the rankings with an innings victory over India in the second week of August but, despite talk of establishing a dynasty, the crown has never been far from slipping. Many would say that South Africa have not needed the ICC’s imprimatur to be recognised as Test cricket’s best side but victory at Headingley will seal the series and confirm their rise to No. 1 anyway.While Graeme Smith has again revelled in his role as England’s tormentor, Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower have faced fresh questions about tactics, skill levels and the balance of the side. It may be that England had one on day and four off days but that is not a switch that can just be flicked. The much-vaunted attack’s plan of “bowling dry” was enough to send many watchers to the bottle, as South Africa showed how to resist temptation; while on a flat track, the batsmen arguably performed worse. They’re accustomed to brickbats but for the bowlers this represents a fresh challenge.South Africa have not won consecutive Tests since early 2010 but they look to be in a comfortable place, the team happy to lark about in fancy dress on their first night in Leeds. Having crushed England on the same weekend that Ernie Els won The Open, South Africa’s Olympians currently lead Great Britain on the medals table, after Chad le Clos pipped no less a swimmer than Michael Phelps to gold in the pool on Tuesday. Perhaps they are unbeatable?Form guideEngland LDWWW (Most recent first)
South Africa WDWDWWatch out for…The fifth man to occupy No. 6 in the batting order, James Taylor is undoubtedly the smallest (he’s 5ft 4in). After the middling efforts of Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Jonny Bairstow and Ravi Bopara, the weight of expectation might not be great but Taylor has long been marked out for international cricket and his every stroke will be closely studied. An unbeaten 163 in his last first-class innings suggests a slow start to life at Nottinghamshire is behind him.Alviro Petersen is the South Africa player under most scrutiny after a lean tour in which he has scored 42 runs. He also averaged just 21 from 11 first-class innings for Essex earlier in the season. Nevertheless, Petersen has produced under pressure before, having already scored two Test centuries this year to defy his critics and in opening partner Graeme Smith he has the perfect example of how to succeed in England.Pitch and conditionsAfter England were severely burned by preparing a dry, dusty pitch at The Oval, there is a definite green tinge to the second track of the series. The forecast for Leeds over the next five days is patchy, with rain and overhead cloud likely to feature, though whether that will benefit England or South Africa more is open to debate.Team newsEngland have a rightly praised record of stability in selection so the presence of Taylor, confirmed as Bopara’s replacement, may well be the only change. Rotating in one of Steven Finn or Graham Onions – probably for Tim Bresnan – or playing an all-pace attack are other options, though it was against South Africa at Headingley in 2008 that England broke a record, six-Test run of picking the same XI by including Darren Pattinson, so don’t rule out a surprise.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 James Taylor, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven FinnVice-captain AB de Villiers doesn’t believe South Africa should make any changes to the team that bent England so severely out of shape at The Oval and, with Smith back after completing a round trip home to attend the birth of his daughter, a familiar line-up is expected for the second Test. JP Duminy and Jacques Rudolph, like Petersen, have not spent a great deal of time in the middle but confidence in their ability remains.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran TahirStats and trivia England’s most recent Test win in Leeds came against West Indies in 2007. South Africa have only lost once in four Tests at Headingley since readmission, winning on their last two visits by 191 runs and 10 wickets. Dale Steyn’s seven wickets in the first Test took him past Jacques Kallis to fourth in South Africa’s standings, with 279. Kallis’ best bowling figures in Tests (6 for 54) came at Headingley in 2003. August 1 is Yorkshire Day, though even that may not be enough to keep Bresnan in the England side.Quotes”There is a steely determination among the troops to show we are better than we were last week. It’s going to take a lot of guts but I am confident we have that.”
“It’s important that we don’t get too far ahead. They have the capabilities of beating us and we are trying not to get too caught up in what is going on across the fence.”

Northamptonshire head coach David Capel has left his role with immediate effect after six years in the job

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2012Northamptonshire head coach David Capel has been sacked with immediate effect after six years in the job. David Ripley, the second XI coach and academy director, will take charge on an interim basisThe county reached the midway point in the Championship season handily placed at fourth in Division Two but have suffered a miserable time in one-day and Twenty20 cricket. They only recently managed their first limited-overs win of the season, against Glamorgan in the FLt20, and remain bottom of the Midlands/West/Wales group. They are also bottom of Group C in the CB40. With Ripley moving up, Phil Rowe will take charge of the academy.Capel said: “I am naturally very disappointed at this decision, but can look back with pride at my achievements at Northamptonshire, and am looking forward to moving on and continuing my career in first class cricket at another County.”I would like to take this opportunity to wish David Ripley, Phil Rowe and all the players the very best for the rest of the season and thank the supporters and colleagues for their help, and for all the years of enjoyment I’ve had at the club.”In a brief statement the club chairman Martin Lawrence said: “On behalf of the board of directors and all at the club we sincerely thank David for his good work over the past six years in his current role and his 33 years of great service to the club as player and coach.”David has done an outstanding job with limited resources, but we need to try a new direction as results have not gone with us through the first half of the season. We wish David all the very best in his future in cricket and he remains, of course, most welcome at the County Ground at any time.”

Will Smith became Durham’s first County Championship centurion of the season as the visitors enjoyed a productive against Somerset at Taunton

22-May-2012
ScorecardWill Smith became Durham’s first County Championship centurion of the season as the visitors enjoyed a productive start to the match with Somerset at Taunton.The opener made exactly 100 in a total of 353 for 8, Michael Di Venuto contributing 96 to an opening stand of 158, while Ben Stokes hit an attractive 60 off 79 balls.Somerset stuck to their task in energy-sapping heat after losing the toss and fought back hard in the final session from a tea score of 264 for 2. Peter Trego and Jamie Overton claimed two wickets each..With Vernon Philander having been recalled by South Africa, the home side’s pace attack lacked a cutting edge and they looked likely to be up against it on a good batting pitch under cloudless skies.Smith and Di Venuto set the tone. On 38, Di Venuto was dropped by Trego in the slips off Alfonso Thomas, back in Somerset’s team after playing in the IPL. But it was a rare moment of alarm for the openers as they took the score to 128 off 32 overs by lunch, Di Venuto outscoring his partner to be unbeaten on 81 at the interval.The left-hander looked on course for a certain century when edging an attempted cut shot off Thomas through to wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter. He had faced 119 balls and hit 18 fours and a six. Smith made only 46 before lunch and continued on his steady way to reach a chanceless hundred shortly before tea. It came off 192 deliveries and included 12 fours and two sixes.The only wicket to fall during the afternoon session was that of Mark Stoneman (27), who called for a quick single to cover and failed to beat Jos Buttler’s throw to Kieswetter after being sent back.But after tea Somerset rallied. Smith miscued an attempted pull off Jamie Overton and fell to a tumbling catch by Thomas at mid-on. Paul Collingwood’s poor season continued when he drove a catch to cover off left-arm spinner George Dockrell, having made 12, and Ian Blackwell could score only seven against his old club before pulling a catch to square leg off Overton.When the aggressive Stokes was run out by Craig Overton, fielding smartly off his own bowling Durham were 326 for 6 and in danger of failing to cash in fully on their fine start.Somerset took the new ball at 342 for 6 and eight runs later Phil Mustard joined the list of careless dismissals, pulling a catch to square leg off Trego. In the same over Callum Thorp edged to Alex Barrow in the slips and departed for a duck.

Richard Levi’s half-century gave a powerful start to the South Africans’ batting before Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s early hat-trick helped set up a 20-run win

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
By the end of Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s spell, Canterbury were 24 for 4•Getty ImagesRichard Levi’s half-century gave a powerful start to the South Africans’ batting, before Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s early hat-trick helped set up a 20-run win against Canterbury in Christchurch. The South Africans’ tour opener wasn’t all one-sided though, as their middle order stumbled and their bowlers were given a scare by a late cameo by Matt Henry.After Canterbury chose to field, Levi gave the visitors a blazing start. He outscored Hashim Amla in an explosive opening stand as the South Africans raced to 80 for 0 in eight overs. The most productive over of the match was the fifth – 21 runs came off it as Levi started by slamming medium-pacer Logan van Beek for fours fours. He reached his fifty in the next over with a big six over midwicket but Levi’s dismissal in the ninth over led to the visitors losing their way.The next six overs yielded only 27 runs for the loss of Amla, Colin Ingram and captain AB de Villiers. The South Africans had looked set for at least 180 when Levi was in the middle, but they ended up with a relatively modest 150.If Canterbury were buoyed by their efforts in the second half of the visitors’ batting, their hopes were punctured by Tsotsobe’s hat-trick. He ended the second over of the chase by dismissing the openers George Worker and Peter Fulton before returning to trap Shanan Stewart lbw with an incutter. In his third over, he took out highly rated youngster Tom Latham and by the end of his spell, Canterbury were at 24 for 4.The match meandered along and the South Africans seemed headed for a huge victory before the No. 9, Henry, swung five sixes in a 17-ball 42 to briefly raise Canterbury’s spirits. The fight was virtually over in the 18th over, though, as he edged a Morne Morkel yorker through to the keeper and Canterbury were bowled out with an over to spare.de Villiers was thrilled with the successful start to the tour. “This was exactly what we needed,” he said. “We needed a competitive challenge and all the credit to Canterbury’s batsmen for fighting the way they did towards the end.”He was also pleased with the form of Levi and Tsotsobe. “Richard is a phenomenal batsman, he is an impact player and it is very exciting for us to have a player of his calibre at the top of the order.”Lopsy has just been outstanding. I don’t know how he does it so consistently, he just keeps taking wickets.”