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Gloucestershire completed an emphatic 10-wicket win over rock-bottom Leicestershire to keep alive their hopes of promotion from Division Two of the County Championship

10-Sep-2011
ScorecardGloucestershire completed an emphatic 10-wicket win over rock-bottom Leicestershire to keep alive their hopes of promotion from Division Two of the County Championship. In overcast conditions, the Gloucestershire bowlers were always on top despite a fighting 63 from Ned Eckersley, as David Payne added a further three wickets to his first-innings six to finish with match figures of 9 for 96. He received good support from Ian Saxelby as Leicestershire lost their last five wickets for 34 runs.The home side then wasted little time in knocking off the 53 runs required for a timely victory, as the rain threatened to derail their progress. Gloucestershire remain in fourth place and play at second-placed Northamptonshire in their final match next week.Resuming on 255 for 4 after a delayed start, overnight batsmen Eckersley and Wayne White both added driven boundaries early on to take their fifth-wicket partnership to 51 before Eckersley lost his off stump to Saxelby attempting an extravagant drive against the new ball.
That left Leicestershire on 277 for 5, only 18 runs in front, but White continued to keep the Gloucestershire bowlers at bay and found support from Rob Taylor as the bowlers looked for another breakthrough.The home side were further frustrated when bad light and drizzle forced the players off and an early lunch was taken but on the resumption, Saxelby and Payne struck as the Leicestershire innings subsided. The rot set in when White departed after making 31, run out by a direct hit
from Will Gidman as the batsman attempted a second run.With Will Jefferson still feeling the effects of the hand injury that forced him to retire hurt on Friday, White’s dismissal was the crucial breakthrough for Gloucestershire, and the tail departed quickly as Payne snapped up two more wickets to take his match tally to nine.First he had Taylor edging to wicketkeeper Richard Coughtrie, and in his next over trapped Jigar Naik lbw not offering a shot. The left-arm seamer was denied the first 10-wicket haul of his career when Kane Williamson dropped Nathan Buck at second slip, but the Leicestershire innings soon came to an end as Matthew Hoggard, attempting to hook Saxelby, toe-ended
the ball to Jon Lewis at mid-on where the veteran, in his last home match for the county, took a low catch.Leicestershire were all out for 311, leaving Gloucestershire needing just 53 to win, and openers Chris Dent and Coughtrie hit seven boundaries as the home side reached 54 without loss in just nine overs to secure the victory that ensures that their hopes of promotion go to the wire.

On a sluggish track built to suck all skill out of cricket, Moises Henqirues found plenty of it to help New South Wales first to an improbable tie and then a win through the Super Over

The Report by Sidharth Monga28-Sep-2011
Super Over
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outHis four-over spell of 2 for 27 was only the start of Moises Henriques’ contribution to New South Wales’ win•Associated Press

On a sluggish track built to suck all skill out of cricket, Moises Henriques found plenty of it to help New South Wales first to an improbable tie and then a win through the Super Over. For the second match in a row, Trinidad & Tobago lost the script after having defended spiritedly for most of the match. Henriques manoeuvred the field – something that was arguably easier than it should have been – in the last over to help NSW get the 16 runs they needed for the tie, and then played around with the same bowler, Ravi Rampaul, some more to score 18 in the Super Over. Lendl Simmons hit a six and a four in the chase, but with four required off the last ball, drilled Steve O’Keefe straight down long-off’s throat.The tournament is fast resembling different actors acting out the same play with a little improvisation here and there, but to their credit the actors today made it very dramatic. The story for most of the Hyderabad and Chennai games has been: sizzle at the start, struggle with the slowness and lowness in the middle and scramble in the end. Both the teams sizzled to begin with (T&T score 40 in first 5.3, NSW 43 in the first six), both struggled once the ball became soft (T&T managed 21 in the next 5.3 overs, going six overs without a boundary; NSW’s next six overs brought 30, and they didn’t score a boundary for 8.5 overs). It was the scramble that would decide that match, and T&T’s 61 off the last six matched NSW’s 50 off their last five to produce the third tie in Champions League history.Like all sluggish tracks do, this one in Chennai too took a lot skill out of the equation for about 39 overs. The bowlers couldn’t bowl wicket-taking deliveries, but they could stifle the batsmen by bowling slow, stump to stump, and short of a length. The batsmen found it incredibly hard to time the ball. Simmons and Warner didn’t face those problems at the top, although Warner did play out a maiden from Samuel Badree. Simmons hit through the line, and Warner punished width as they got their respective sides to good starts.O’Keefe’s non-spinning delivery in the seventh over started the first-innings turnaround, dismissing Adrian Barath. Sunil Narine’s flicked legbreak induced the top edge from Shane Watson in the seventh over of the chase. Mud-wrestling followed in both innings as frustrated batsmen played intemperate shots to lose their wickets. Henriques got Simmons and Darren Bravo, Sherwin Ganga accounted for Warner and Daniel Smith. T&T: 69 for 3 after 11.5, NSW: 72 for 3 after 11.5.T&T’s scramble began in the 15th over when Steven Smith offered them two long hops, which were hit for fours by Denesh Ramdin. In the same over, Billy Bowden, the third umpire, reprieved Darren Ganga, who went onto add a further 11 off 7. The real game-breaking scramble came through a two-over association between Ravi Rampaul and Kevin Cooper, which brought them 25 runs. It wasn’t all skill: two of their boundaries came through pulls through long-on and long-off. Rampaul finished with an unbeaten 15 off 7.Rampaul wasn’t done with the scramble, though. He would bowl two out of NSW’s last three overs, with 36 to defend. He began with a no-ball, a call he contested heatedly. The replays showed his front foot well in, and no replays of the back foot was available. Be that as it may Rampaul came back with a smashing yorker on the free-hit, and followed it up with Simon Katich’s wicket in the same over.With 16 to defend, Rampaul began the last over with his trusted practice of going round the stumps and bowling yorkers on off and outside off. Henriques wreaked havoc with his head by walking across and flicking the first two past short fine leg. These were two incredible shots: they were not length balls but near yorkers, and he whipped them late in order to miss the fielder. He could only manage a single off the third ball, but trusted Pat Cummins enough to take a couple off the fourth.Selected earlier today for the Australian national side to tour South Africa, Cummins made room, got a length ball, and somehow squeezed it between mid-on and midwicket for four. Cruelly it came down to two required off the last ball. Would T&T still offer the tie on the platter? They bowled the last ball with just four fielders inside the circle, but one of them- midwicket – wasn’t quite at the edge of the circle. Cummins found that man, and we were going into the Super Over.NSW sent the form-man, Henriques, to bat ahead of Shane Watson. T&T persisted with Rampaul, who persisted with bowling round the stumps. He began with a dot, but a poor throw from their worst fielder – Bravo – allowed Henriques a second off the second ball. The way the game panned out, T&T would have taken any other man than Henriques on strike. Henriques hit fours off the next four balls: through such varied areas as midwicket, point, mid-on and fine leg.More drama followed just before T&T could bat their Super Over. T&T saw the ball being tossed up to O’Keefe, and wanted to promote Bravo, originally slated to bat at 3. Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee, was alert and wouldn’t have any of it. With Bravo still kicking the ground, O’Keefe began to bowl left-arm spin to two right-hand batsmen. With 15 required off last three, Simmons managed to clear a leaping long-on. O’keefe followed it up with a wide. Cummins followed it up with a misfield at square leg to allow a four. Simmons timed the last ball perfectly, but it was pitched just too close to him to allow the elevation. It was a matter of inches in the end.

Nathan Coulter-Nile has been squeezed out of the Western Australia XI for the Sheffield Shield opener because Mitchell Johnson cannot be relied upon to bowl in an economical fashion

Daniel Brettig11-Oct-2011One of the more promising young fast bowlers in Australia, Nathan Coulter-Nile, has been squeezed out of the Western Australia XI for the opening round of the Sheffield Shield because Mitchell Johnson cannot be relied upon to bowl in an economical fashion.Coulter-Nile, widely expected to push for higher honours in coming seasons, has been handed drinks duties for Western Australia in the match against Tasmania at the WACA ground, as Cricket Australia encourages its international players to take part in as much state cricket as possible.He was not chosen primarily because Johnson, playing at home for his state for the first time since moving from Queensland three years ago, is considered an attacking bowler too likely to concede runs in the search for wickets, despite his international pedigree and considerable experience.This is understood to have ruled a line through Coulter-Nile’s name because his own bowling is also geared towards aggression, and WA team management considered the risk of leaking runs was too great. Another factor was the absence of the young allrounder Mitchell Marsh on Australia duty, meaning the Warriors picked only four bowlers in the team to face the Tigers.Michael Hogan, Matt Dixon and the left-arm spinner Michael Beer were considered better options to support Johnson at the WACA ground, in an episode that recalled numerous selection dilemmas in the Australian team over the past four years.The inconsistencies of Johnson’s bowling have influenced Australia’s team balance for quite some time, forcing the selection of steadier pace bowlers around him and also piling pressure on a succession of spinners to be parsimonious in their methods despite lacking international experience.Johnson was available for the fixture because he has been dropped from the Australian Twenty20 team, having conceded too many runs during his most recent T20 appearances in Sri Lanka. He will depart for the ODI leg of the South Africa tour at the conclusion of the Shield match.At the age of 24, Coulter-Nile has played seven first-class matches for his state, claiming 32 wickets at 23.71 and also showing potential with the bat.He has been described by Mickey Arthur, the WA coach, as “the one player in this group who will definitely go on and play higher”, and bears more than a passing resemblance in method and physique to Ryan Harris, Australia’s outstanding bowler on the recently completed tour of Sri Lanka.

South Africa A have played their part in softening Australia up ahead of the two-Test series against the senior side next week

Firdose Moonda in Potchefstroom03-Nov-2011South Africa A have played their part in softening Australia up ahead of the two-Test series against the senior side next week. Although Australia won the four-day tour match in Potchefstroom with more than a day to spare, their batsmen did not have maximum time in the middle on a lively pitch, which offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers.”We don’t want a red carpet rolled out with a white wicket and teams come and bat for three days,” Vincent Barnes, South Africa High Performance and A team coach, said. “That’s why we batted first. The wicket looked a bit sporty but we felt we wanted to bat twice and give them [Australia] as little time as possible in the middle so they leave here a bit undercooked.”Australia’s quicks, particularly Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle, enjoyed the seamer-friendly pitch, which saw them bowl South Africa A out for 183 before tea on the first day. In a low-scoring match, Australia were then dismissed for 236 and no team was able to score more than 264 in an innings.Thirteen wickets fell on both the first and second day before the pitch flattened and dried on the third, with Australia getting the easier batting conditions as they neared victory. South Africa A were not too disappointed by their defeat, saying the manner in which it was achieved will probably give the country a headstart in the psychological battle.”We didn’t want them to take as much as they could out of the game,” Barnes said. “One or two of them are still walking around thinking ‘I haven’t really had good preparation in this game,’ especially a guy like Ponting.” Ponting scored 31 runs in the match and did not have enough time to play himself in or enjoy a decent knock.Far from being hospitable hosts, the South Africa A side were openly hostile in the field. The South African fielders were not short of a word throughout Australia’s chase and made it clear that the battle lines had been drawn, even though the series is a shortened, two-match one.”That’s our responsibility; to make sure these guys go into the Test series feeling a bit underdone,” Alviro Petersen, South Africa A captain, said, “We wanted to make sure that they know playing in South Africa is going to be hard work.”Petersen, who was dropped from the Test squad to make room for Jacques Rudolph, grafted out 103 in tough conditions and had some advice to pass on to the national batsmen. “Their bowlers, when they get a bit tired, it’s easier to score off them,” he said. “They also don’t have a world class spinner, although the spinner that they do have, there’s something there.”Barnes was more bullish about South Africa’s ability to handle the Australian attack. “We are in a better position against their bowlers,” he said, adding that the key match-up in the Test series will be between both team’s pace bowlers and that South Africa have the edge. “Our bowlers are better in our conditions and I believe our batters can handle their attack.”Mitchell Johnson, who finished the match with nine-wickets and resumed a profitable relationship with South African pitches, was identified as the biggest threat. “He can change a game in one session, he showed it here this morning” Petersen said. Johnson ripped through South Africa’s tail with three wickets in five overs in the first hour and Petersen felt he was probably the leading bowler for Australia at this stage.While South Africa A saw their main task as sizing up the opposition ahead of an important Test series, Barnes described their role a “two-fold,” with their second component to analyse the resources in the country. “It showed us that the cupboards are not bare,” Barnes said.He was particularly heartened by the bowling options he saw, with 21-year-old Marchant de Lange stealing the headlines with his five-for in Australia’s first innings. “Marchant has come and bowled unbelievably well. He’s got a long way to go and a lot to learn but he showed us that there is something there,” Barnes said. “He just pulled Wayne Parnell with him. That’s the best I’ve seen Wayne bowl in first-class cricket.” Parnell was aggressive and used the bouncer to good effect. He has been seen as an outside contender for the Test squad, having never completed a full season of first-class cricket in South Africa, because of his international commitments.Vernon Philander, who has been included in the Test squad, is, according to Barnes “ready to play.” Philander will compete with Lonwabo Tsotsobe for the third seamers’ spot and Barnes expects it to be tough for the selectors to choose between them, especially since Philander has taken 80 wickets in the previous two seasons of first-class cricket.”Vern is a highly skillful bowler. If there’s anything in the wicket, he is going to exploit it. He also has added advantage of batting,” Barnes said. With the first Test at Newlands, Philander’s hunting ground, Barnes said he won’t be surprised to see Philander get his first cap. “You might want to use somebody who has played there for most of his career.”Barnes also had a compliment for Petersen, who has handled his rejection with classy composure. “That’s one of the better 100s I’ve seen in a while under the conditions and the bowling,” he said. Petersen, on the other hand, chose not to dwell on being dropped. “I think Jacques Rudolph played really well in the last year or two and I think he deserves his call up,” he said. “I was just the unfortunate one to be left out.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Durban

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran25-Dec-2011

Match facts

December 26-30, Durban
Start time 10:00 (08:00GMT)Vernon Philander’s knee injury was a major worry for South Africa ahead of the Durban Test•Getty Images

The Big Picture

For a team that has almost always been near the summit of the Test rankings, South Africa’s recent home record is surprisingly ordinary – no series wins in more than three years. Their performances at Kingsmead in that period are similarly bleak – losing to each of the other major contenders for the title of world’s best Test team. Graeme Smith and his side get the chance to erase both those blots this week as they take on a disjointed Sri Lanka.After subsiding for below 200 in both innings of the first Test, the Sri Lanka batsmen won’t be overly thrilled at the sight of a green-tinged track. In a bid to bolster the batting, Sri Lanka are mulling bringing in highly rated wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal in place of Kaushal Silva, who hasn’t had the best of times in his three matches as replacement for regular gloveman Prasanna Jayawardene.The number that is becoming synonymous with discussions about the decline of Sri Lankan cricket is the number of Tests they have gone without a victory since the retirement of their greatest player, Muttiah Muralitharan, last year. That now stands at 15, but almost as worrying is that in only two of those matches have Sri Lanka managed to bowl out the opposition twice.Adding to the troubles on the field, are the many problems off it. A bankrupt board which is struggling to pay player salaries, and has indefinitely postponed its domestic matches. To top it off was the confusion in communication – their captain Tillakaratne Dilshan’s announcement that fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara will join the squad was over-ruled a few days later by the sports ministry. All of which means Sri Lanka will need a Christmas miracle to pull off a victory in Durban.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
South Africa WLWDL
Sri Lanka LDLDD

Watch out for…

Thilan Samaraweera boasts a career average of 52.20 after playing as many as 69 Tests. But he doesn’t get the respect that others with similar figures do because of his average record overseas, particularly against top teams like England, Australia and India. A big contribution on a tough Kingsmead track against a world-class South Africa attack will be a fitting riposte to his detractors.Jacques Rudolph revived a seemingly dead South Africa career with a wagon-load of domestic runs this year, but he hasn’t been able to carry that form to the Test level. With no half-century in three Tests, the selectors could be tempted to bring back Alviro Petersen if there are more failures. Petersen himself was axed after a relatively short fallow period, and his recall to the squad for the series sends a message to Rudolph.

Team news

South Africa will be waiting on Vernon Philander’s fitness after he injured his knee during training, but it seems likely he will play. If he doesn’t, Lonwabo Tsotsobe is the likely replacement, provided he has recovered fully from a side strain which has sidelined him since early November. If not, South Africa will have to call on a reserve – Marchant de Lange could make his debut. Smith has said that “ideally the team will stay the same.”South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Rudolph, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran TahirDilshan has hinted that Chandimal will play in place of Kaushal Silva and it’s expected that Thisara Perera will sit out for Dhammika Prasad.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Dhammika Prasad, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Chanaka Welegedara

Pitch and conditions

Durban has usually been a fast bowler’s delight, and it is expected to have plenty of swing this time round as well, so don’t count on a high-scoring draw. The bowlers will relish the green pitch and overcast conditions and the only downer is the mid-week rain that is predicted.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka are the only team against which Jacques Kallis hasn’t scored a Test century
• If Chandimal is picked, he will be Sri Lanka’s eighth Test debutant this year, the most since 1999
• In Tests between the two countries, Muttiah Muralitharan has 104 wickets – that’s more than twice the next highest, Shaun Pollock with 48

For a full stats analysis, click here.

Quotes

“The wicket looks like it should go more than three days, unless one team puts up their hand and plays unbelievable cricket. It will be a good Test wicket with something for both bat and ball and something to play for over five days for a change.”
“I remember facing Mfuneko Ngam, who was the quickest bowler I had faced. It was a Test match that we fought hard to draw.”

Look at the team rosters and you will be inclined to call Tamil Nadu the favourites ahead of Mumbai on the eve of the Ranji Trophy semi-final which starts at Wankhede Stadium from Tuesday

Nagraj Gollapudi09-Jan-2012Look at the team rosters and you will be inclined to call Tamil Nadu the favourites ahead of Mumbai on the eve of the Ranji Trophy semi-final which starts at Wankhede Stadium from Tuesday. In L Balaji, S Badrinath, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund, Tamil Nadu have five players who have played for India, and are still in the reckoning. In contrast, Mumbai have only Abhishek Nayar and the pair of Wasim Jaffer and Ramesh Powar, two marathoners who run as if there is no finish tape, but with little hope of returning to the India squad.Yet Mumbai retain that bonding, that ability to pull together as a team, regardless of how strong or meagre the resources at hand, a quality that has seen them emerge domestic champions on five occasions from the turn of the millennium.In the corresponding period, Tamil Nadu entered the finals only twice, in 2002-02 and 2003-04, faced Mumbai on both occasions, and came out second. Badrinath played in both those defeats while Balaji, Tamil Nadu’s current captain, was part of the 2003 side. If you do not win a Ranji Trophy when you have played for more than ten years, it hurts, as Balaji admitted.It is this pain of the absence of the crown which is bound to be the driving force for Tamil Nadu over the next four days. But Balaji’s biggest challenge would be to keep his inexperienced bowling attack focussed, accurate and patient. Yo Mahesh and Jagannathan Kaushik, his fast-bowling partners, need Balaji to prompt them from mid-off and mid-on all the time.Aushik Srinivas is Tamil Nadu’s leading spinner at 18. The slow left-arm bowler will have fond memories of this city, as it was against Mumbai that he had got his career-best figures of 7 for 107 at the Bandra Kurla Complex ground in 2009. But Aushik tends to get distracted and bowls wrong lines; he needs constant guidance from Balaji and J Gokulakrishnan, the Tamil Nadu bowling coach.Not only does he have to play the mentor, Balaji also has to give the right start with the new ball for his young attack to stay calm. He has declared himself fit for the match after sitting out on the third day of the quarter-final against Maharashtra due to back spasms. It was an old injury, Balaji said, which he now knows how to handle. If anything, Balaji, an intense man, and an aggressive bowler, will only be hungry to accept the challenge.Luckily for them, the visitors’ batting is full of experience and talent. Vijay, Abhinav, Badrinath and Karthik will be itching to perform and impress the selectors who will assemble in Chennai on January 15 to pick the ODI squad for the tri-series in Australia.With 825 runs, Abhinav is only 16 behind Rajasthan’s Robin Bist, the highest run-getter this season. But he has never played at Wankhede and importantly, never made a Ranji century against Mumbai. Vijay has been inconsistent this season; the absence of any century highlights that fact.Badrinath was ruled out for part of the season with an injury. He returned for the previous four matches and made a hundred against Gujarat. It was his 250 that had forced Mumbai to concede the first-innings lead in 2009. The batting form of the wicketkeeper Karthik, for whom Wankhede will soon be the home ground in the IPL after he was bought by Mumbai Indians, allows his team to field five bowlers.Mumbai will be wary of all these men, once they sort their own issues. Despite the absence of Ajit Agarkar, Mumbai have managed to get this far, and credit goes to Ramesh Powar, the joint-highest wicket-taker among the four semi-finalists. His success only exposes the limitations of Mumbai’s fast bowlers.Though Dhawal Kulkarni got a five-for in the first innings against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-final, he failed to get a wicket the second time around and sat out the final day with a shin niggle. Balwinder Sandhu – who claimed a five-for on debut against Punjab – bowled gamely against MP, but lacks the pace to breach the formidable Tamil Nadu batting order. Kshemal Waingankar can bowl honest spells but needs support from his captain as well as from the opposite end.The return of Nayar, who was forced to miss the previous two matches due to a swollen thumb, could provide Mumbai some respite. Though Suryakumar Yadav has been the highest run-getter for Mumbai, Nayar has been their best batsman, playing with a maturity that comes with years and the willingness to accept the responsibility of being a senior batsman. Along with his batting, Nayar has also proved handy with the ball, bowling nagging lines, at times wide outside the off stump, to distract batsman into playing a false stroke.”Most of their batsmen have played for India and have been scoring runs. Even in their bowling you have to guard against Balaji who is always a threat. So you have to guard against everything,” Wasim Jaffer, the Mumbai captain, said. Accoding to Balaji, it would be a tough game, like always. “Whenever Tamil Nadu and Mumbai play, both teams play hard,” Balaji said.In the end it would be a game of patience, as WV Raman, the former India batsman and Tamil Nadu coach, said on , ESPNcricinfo’s audio show.

Southern Rocks collapsed twice in two days to give the Matabeleland Tuskers a ten-wicket win in a low-scoring match at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2012Southern Rocks collapsed twice in two days to give the Matabeleland Tuskers a ten-wicket win in a low-scoring match at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Glen Querl picked up 5 for 28 in the first innings and Njabulo Ncube got 7 for 35 in the second, but, in a match dominated by the medium-pacers, half-centuries from Gavin Ewing and Richard Jones were as vital to the Tuskers’ win.Seventeen wickets fell on the first day. Querl rattled the Rocks top order and three run-outs in the innings also contributed to their slump to 83 all out. The Rocks raged back, and their medium-pacers reduced the Tuskers to 58 for 6. Ewing survived the early collapse and scored 53. Jones’ 62, and his 48-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Bradley Staddon, ensured the Tuskers had a lead of 94 runs.The Rocks had no answer to Ncube in the second innings, and only five batsmen reached double figures as they were bowled out for 125. That left the Tuskers just 32 runs to win, and their openers completed the job.

Alvrio Petersen, the South Africa batsman, has confirmed he will be joining Essex for the opening months of the 2012 English season

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2012Alvrio Petersen, the South Africa batsman, has confirmed he will be joining Essex for the opening months of the 2012 English season ahead of the Test series against England which starts in July.Petersen revealed his latest county stint on Twitter. “Delighted to have signed a short term contract with Essex CCC from the start of the season until mid June 2012.”Last season Petersen was Glamorgan’s overseas player and captain, where he scored 2039 runs in all cricket, and had been lined up for a Kolpak deal for 2012 but his international recall against Sri Lanka put paid to that plan.There had been suggestions that his relationship with Glamorgan didn’t end well but Petersen denied that. “Just 2 put the record straight, I enjoyed my time with Glamorgan, and yes, would have wanted it to continue,” he tweeted. “My agent gave Glamorgan a proposal which they didn’t accept. Would have loved to join Glam!”Petersen finished as the leading run-scorer in the SuperSport series, South Africa’s domestic first-class competition, with 816 runs at 62.76 and will be expected to open the batting in the Test series against England having regained his place for the deciding match against Sri Lanka, in January, when he made 109 at Newlands.

One of the most embarrassing misjudgments in the history of English cricket has ended with Allen Stanford, the disgraced Texan financier, being found guilty of a multi-billion dollar fraud

David Hopps06-Mar-2012One of the most embarrassing misjudgments in the history of English cricket has ended with Allen Stanford, the disgraced Texan financier, being found guilty of a multi-billion dollar fraud.Stanford, who has been found guilty in a Houston court on 13 out of 14 charges, including conspiracy to defraud, was once fondly viewed by the ECB as the great benefactor of English cricket, a tycoon who would single-handedly counter India’s growing domination since the launch of IPL.Sentencing is not expected for several months and Ali Fazel, Stanford’s attorney, indicated that his client could yet appeal. Stanford, 61, could face up to 20 years in prison.The ECB have made no immediate comment on the Stanford verdict, having been painfully aware for several years that they unwittingly benefited from the proceeds of a fraudulent operation that has left an estimated 20,000 investors, primarily from the Caribbean and USA, facing heavy losses.Stanford – Sir Allen no longer after Antigua stripped him of his knighthood – was found guilty of running a Ponzi scheme over the past two decades, a fraudulent investment scheme that provides returns to investors from their own money and from deposits provided by subsequent investors, rather than profits earned by the company.The proceeds were used to fund Stanford’s garish lifestyle: a 112-foot yacht, Sea Eagle Bikini; a mansion complete with moat in Miami; a private jet and, famously in the case of English cricket, a helicopter that landed on the outfield at Lord’s in June 2008, whereupon Stanford emerged with a perspex case holding $20m in banknotes to promote a winner-takes-all game between the Stanford Superstars and an England X1.The stunt was widely condemned by many as one of the tackiest moments that English cricket had ever seen, even before details of Stanford’s business dealings began to emerge.The ECB regarded him a perfect ally as they envisaged a Caribbean Twenty20 tournament that would build a strong new alliance with West Indies cricket. There were plans, too, for Stanford to become a major sponsor in a relaunched county T20 competition, so protecting the first-class circuit against the possibility of collapse at a time when IPL was threatening to change the face of professional cricket.Senior ECB officials, led by the chief executive David Collier and chairman Giles Clarke, proclaimed Stanford’s involvement as a coup, proof that England need not be overly reliant upon an Indian financial engine that was producing more than two-thirds of world cricket’s revenue, but the scheme began to unravel almost as soon as the deal had been drawn up.England lost the solitary contest heavily. It was intended to be the first in a five-year deal which would not only bolster English cricket’s coffers but help to rejuvenate cricket in the Caribbean, but the match itself was most notable for Stanford’s flirtatious public behaviour with wives and girlfriends of England players and his assumption that he was free to wander into dressing-rooms as much as he pleased. Lord MacLaurin, a former ECB chairman, labelled the contest “a pantomime” and “obscene.”Stanford’s wealth was widely assumed to be more than $2bn in 2008. He was the most powerful businessman in Antigua, one of the biggest private employers and landowners on the island, a bullish personality who won friends throughout the Caribbean by the flexing of his considerable financial muscle.The chief prosecution witness against Stanford was James Davis, the chief financial officer of Stanford Financial Group and a former University friend, who struck a plea bargain and described Stanford as “the chief faker”. Defence lawyers maintained that his company was legitimate.The ECB insisted that it carried out due diligence on Stanford’s financial operation, but even as the first – and only – Twenty20 took place, doubts were beginning to surface about his financial operations. US diplomats were allegedly warned not to be seen in Stanford’s company more than a year earlier, but the ECB was oblivious to the danger.The deal was finally suspended in February 2009 when Stanford was charged with fraud. Clarke, on behalf of the ECB, spoke at the time of “the best of intentions,” saying: “We did what we did because we believed we were doing the right thing to raise funds for West Indies cricket and, indeed, our own game.”The ECB was not the only body to be embarrassed by Stanford’s largesse. In the USA, both Republican and Democrat politicians accepted donations.Stanford’s lawyers claimed that he was unfit to stand trial after he was assaulted in a detention centre close to Houston, an episode that they contended had left his memory severely impaired. On this entire episode, English cricket would also welcome an attack of amnesia.

Toby Radford, the West Indies assistant coach, has denied that the confidence levels of the hosts’ young batsmen are taking a battering ahead of a tour of England, in the wake of the top order struggling once again on day two in Dominica

Daniel Brettig at Windsor Park25-Apr-2012Toby Radford, the West Indies assistant coach, has denied that the confidence levels of the hosts’ young batsmen are taking a battering ahead of a tour of England, in the wake of the top order struggling once again on day two in Dominica. Chief among several areas of concern for West Indies is 19-year-old opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who after starting the series with a fighting half-century in Barbados has since made three consecutive ducks.Following Brathwaite’s dismissal at Windsor Park, Adrian Barath and Kieran Powell formed the foundations of a useful stand, but once Barath went the rest fell away alarmingly, leaving Shivnarine Cahnderpaul to mount the best salvage operation he could against an Australia attack that has slowly gained a measure over their opponents across three Tests. Radford, however, argued that the series had been a difficult one for batsmen of both teams.”I think it [this series] is difficult for both sides. I was happy with how we dealt with the new ball today. I thought Barath was good, I thought Powell was good,” he said. “Having got a really good start against the new ball, suddenly spin did the damage. We’ve had other games where we’ve struggled against the new ball, we’ve talked a lot about it.”How to play [Ben] Hilfenhaus, the fact he sets you up bowling away and then there’s the big inswinger… We’ve looked at that, thought we played that really well today and then on comes an offspinner, lots of turn and bounce, and he does the damage. These are young guys, talented guys, who I think will have good careers and we’ve got to be patient with them. They’re learning and they’ll learn around people like Shiv at the other end. It’s not suicide for us. You learn, you come back and are stronger. Hopefully we can go to England and then perform there.”As for Brathwaite, Radford said he and head coach Ottis Gibson would seek to remind the teenager of the character and ability he had shown in his first innings of the series. Brathwaite’s ability to hang in there at the crease is a critical element of the batting line-up West Indies are seeking to build, as they sorely need batsmen capable of soaking up time and overs in the manner of the 37-year-old Chanderpaul.”You chat with him [Brathwaite]. You talk with him. You practice with him whenever you can and you remind him how good a player he is,” Radford said. “He played very well in Barbados in that first innings. Today he got out in a similar fashion to how he got out in the second innings in Barbados, just hanging the bat a little bit, but again you back him. He’s a good player. He’s a young player. Our job as coaches is to keep his confidence high and work on any little issues as they come along. You’ve got to back your young players.”Of greater concern to Radford is the way in which Australia’s tail has repeatedly wagged. While the captain Darren Sammy had pointed to Michael Hussey as the major source of these rear-guards, in Dominica it was Matthew Wade shepherding the lower order, though Mitchell Starc and Ben Hilfenhaus also played a few handsome strokes of their own in building a final tally of 328.”We’ve regularly got out top quality players. [Shane] Watson, [Ricky] Ponting, [Michael] Clarke. Hussey’s been fantastic all the way through, didn’t get any in this game, but they bat very deep,” Radford said. “Guys come in at No. 9, 10 or 11 and can hold an end up. Last week it was Pattinson, today others take on that mantle. Starc played really well, he got 35 as a guy coming in lower down.”I think if we can take anything away [from this match], it’s important that we bat in the same way with the same brains, the same technique. We’re always looking to develop, we’re always looking to analyse and learn – that’s always my message when we have bad days, that you come in tomorrow and say ‘right, how we going to have a better one’. We must keep learning. I think we’re a side who’ve done well over the last few weeks, we’ve fought well. This happens to be a bad day and we’ve got to come back with a better one tomorrow, simple as that.”Radford said the West Indies bowlers had been reminded of the importance of bowling at the tail in the same manner they had stalked Australia’s top order, but admitted that fatigue after day one in the field under Roseau’s sapping tropical sun may have been a factor in a flat display on the second morning.”The message was we must bowl at those guys – Starc and Wade – as if they were Hussey and top order batters. We’ve got to bowl the same way. We can’t think they’re just going to fall over because we know Australians don’t just fall over,” he said. “Don’t think because they’re No. 9, 10 and 11 they’re just going to give their wickets away, it just doesn’t happen like that. I certainly think fatigue [played a part]. We had a long day in the field yesterday.”Six hours in that heat, I think, took a bit out of the seamers and it’s the physical toll [that affected them]. Someone like Kemar Roach, who has been absolutely magnificent and is a world class bowler, he’s starting to get a bit fatigued. He’s bowled all summer in this series and I think it was hard for him this morning to just dig that bit deeper again. You’re expecting a lot [of a bowler], to do it day in and day out in these temperatures.”