The India squad seemingly had a fairly satisfactory five hours of practice on day two of their three-day preparatory camp in Mumbai ahead of the England Test series

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai10-Nov-2012Zaheer Khan exuded purpose and found his rhythm, Sachin Tendulkar’s back-foot punch made regular appearances and the India squad seemingly had a fairly satisfactory five hours of practice on day two of their three-day preparatory camp in Mumbai ahead of the England Test series. While the players had practised for a little more than an hour on Friday, today was their first proper workout as a Test side in the nine weeks since the New Zealand series.Again, like on day one of the camp, all eyes were on Zaheer. Whatever he does on the field is closely scrutinised, such has been his tendency to break down, combined with his importance to India’s Test side. Over the years, Zaheer has missed or pulled out during several big series due to injury. He had pulled up sore during Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener against Railways last week. On Friday, Zaheer had spent the majority of his time on the massage table. He eventually did bowl for a while but was clearly not extending himself.These days, it takes him an eternity to warm up. There is a pronounced cautiousness to his stretches and squats as if he is worried when something might snap somewhere in his body. Today, though, with the ball in hand he looked a different man. He started with a few gentle ones before increasing the speed of both his run-up and his deliveries. His focus seemed to be on targeting the angle across the right-hand batsmen. Though he was not unplayable, he tested the batsmen. What was good to see was that he remained intense throughout his spell – and it wasn’t a short one. Zaheer bowled for about forty minutes in the first session, and again for a similar period of time after the lunch interval.Another key player who had been tentative on Friday, Tendulkar, also looked a different man today. He faced the three India fast bowlers – Zaheer, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav – with control, and without too many problems. The leaves were confident, the straight pushes were firm and, soon, the trademark back-foot punches appeared. He stood on his toes to send a rising Ishant delivery through extra cover. He pressed far forward to drive him down the ground. When Ishant moved one in close to off stump, Tendulkar left it safely and nodded towards the bowler in appreciation.Unlike yesterday when they had batted in the nets, the batsmen played today against proper fields. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir started off, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara and Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh, and Ajinkya Rahane and MS Dhoni. M Vijay, the reserve opener, batted along with the bowlers, who were out in full strength today with Harbhajan Singh joining the squad. Harbhajan came out in the second session, and after a lengthy fielding drill that included slip catching, and bowled to his fellow bowlers.

Chanaka Welegedara will not bowl again in the Boxing Day Test and is unlikely to recover in time for the third Test, after initial scans revealed a tear in his right hamstring

Andrew Fernando at the MCG27-Dec-2012Chanaka Welegedara will not bowl again in the Boxing Day Test and is unlikely to recover in time for the third Test, after initial scans revealed a tear in his right hamstring. Wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene is unable to keep wickets for the remainder of the Test, having fractured his right thumb while batting the previous day, but the Sri Lanka management are hopeful he will bat in the second innings. Kumar Sangakkara has taken the gloves in his stead.In addition, scans on Thursday revealed Nuwan Kulasekara was suffering from a hairline fracture to a rib, which was originally thought to be nothing more than bruising. He suffered the injury when he took a blow to the ribs on the final day in Hobart, and was left out of the second Test when he was unable to bowl comfortably in the nets, in the lead-up to the match. Sri Lanka are hopeful that both Kulasekara and Jayawardene will be available for the Sydney Test which begins on January 3rd, but their condition will be reassessed closer to the start of that Test.Having opened the bowling for Sri Lanka on the second morning, Welegedara was halfway through his fourth over, when he pulled up during his approach to the crease. He bent down to stretch his right hamstring, and appeared to be in discomfort as he left the field. Shaminda Eranga completed his over. Welegedara will undergo another scan on Friday to confirm the extent of the damage, but the situation does not look promising, batting coach Marvan Atapattu said after play on day two.Welegedara has had an injury-plagued year, having missed eight months of Test cricket with two separate injuries. He strained his groin in March during the home series against England and though he had recovered from that by June, he tore a shoulder muscle as Sri Lanka prepared to play Pakistan later in the month. The Hobart Test against Australia was his first taste of competitive cricket since March, as his recovery period did not coincide with Sri Lanka’s domestic season.He is regarded as the leader of Sri Lanka’s pace attack, and his presence was missed on day two, when Australia amassed a lead nearing 300, with two wickets still intact. Welegedara had been the leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in the first Test in Hobart.The loss of Jayawardene may have also hurt Sri Lanka, with two clear-cut chances having been missed by Sangakkara behind the stumps. Shane Watson was spilled late on day one as Sangakkara dived to his right, and a difficult stumping chance off Michael Clarke also went begging in the first session on day two. Clarke and Watson made 106 and 83 respectively, and were involved in a 196-run partnership that took Australia to a commanding position from 117 for 3.

A round-up of the last round of National Cricket League matches

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2012Khulna Division became National Cricket League champions by beating Rajshahi Division by 33 runs in a low-scoring game in Bogra. The win put them on 40 points, ten ahead of Dhaka Division, who can’t catch up even though they are poised to thrash Barisal Division in Rajshahi. It is Khulna’s third NCL triumph after winning the tournament in 2002-03 and 2007-08.Rajshahi had a shot at victory after they bowled out Khulna for 180 in the second innings; they needed to chase only 187. However the pace and spin combination of Robiul Islam and Nizamuddin took eight wickets and Rajshahi were bowled out for 153.In the first innings, Khulna had made 228 after being put into bat. Imrul Kayes’ 60 was the only major contribution as the Rajshahi bowlers Farhad Reza and Saqlain Sajib took control, picking up three wickets each.Rajshahi, however, batted poorly in their first innings and conceded a six-run lead. Maisuqur Rahman made 64 but the rest failed to support him. Robiul and left-arm spinner Murad Khan took three wickets each for Khulna.Dhaka Division finished as runners-up in this season’s National Cricket League after crushing Barisal Division by an innings and 105 runs in Rajshahi. The win gave them eight points taking them to 38, two short of Khulna Division’s 40 points at the top of the table.Batting first, Barisal scored 256 runs with only Iftekhar Nayem and Zakaria Masud making half-centuries. Mohammad Sharif and Shuvagata Hom took three wickets each for Dhaka.They replied with 474 runs at a run rate of 3.48, with Raqibul Hasan finally getting some runs with a solid 160. Rony Talukder, Hom and Sharif also got half-centuries as they took a 218-run lead.Barisal surrendered meekly on the final day, getting bowled out for 113 runs. Left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain took five wickets while pace bowler Shahadat Hossain took three.Dhaka Metropolis finished third in the competition with a nine-wicket win over Sylhet Division in Rangpur. They banked on centuries from Marshall Ayub and Mehrab Hossain jnr to make 345 runs after the top-order fell cheaply. Marshall made 116 while the left-handed Mehrab struck 110.Mohammad Ashraful’s five-wicket haul helped Dhaka Metro bowl out Sylhet for just 155 runs in the first innings, and following on, they made 265 runs. Offspinner Sharifullah took five wickets for Dhaka Metro in the second innings.Set 76 to win, Dhaka Metro completed the chase in the fourth morning, taking only 11 overs to complete the win.Rangpur Division and Chittagong Division drew their last match of this season in Sylhet. Heavy fog disrupted the game on all four days.Batting first, Chittagong made 350 runs with Aftab Ahmed narrowly missing out on a first-class hundred. He was dismissed for 97 runs while Yasir Ali and Sadid Hossain also scored half centuries. Hundreds from Litton Das and Tanveer Haider led Rangpur’s reply as they made 487 runs.Chittagong batted out 52 overs to make 187 for 6 before stumps were drawn.

Quinton de Kock and Justin Ontong will appear in front of a disciplinary commissioner after an altercation between de Kock and bowler Alistair Gray during their first-class match last week.

Firdose Moonda15-Jan-2013Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s limited-overs wicketkeeper batsman, could miss some of the one-day series against New Zealand pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.De Kock, 20, and Cobras captain Justin Ontong will appear in front of a disciplinary commissioner “as soon as possible” according to Cricket South Africa after an altercation between de Kock and Alistair Gray, when the Cobras were fielding during their first-class match last week.Allegedly, de Kock pushed Gray after the umpires, Brian Jerling and Shaun George, changed the ball because they believed “the conditions of the ball had been altered” by the Cobras after 20 overs in the Lions second innings. De Kock was batting at the time and in accordance with protocol was asked to choose a replacement ball.The Cobras were reportedly unhappy with his choice because he selected a ball which was much older than the original one. Words were exchanged, following which there was a slight scuffle. The Lions won the match by eight wickets and lie third in the table while the Cobras remain at the top, despite the defeat.De Kock will appear in front of the commissioner on charges over his role in pushing an opposition player, while Ontong will face charges of ball tampering which the Cobras have denied. The ball itself will be sent away for tests to determine whether it was damaged in any way.If found guilty, de Kock will be banned for two matches which could rule him out of the first two ODIs in the series which starts in Paarl on Saturday. The second fixture takes place in Kimberley on Tuesday with the last match to be played in Potchefstroom on January 25. Should de Kock be ruled out, AB de Villiers will have to don the wicketkeeping gloves despite his plea to rest his chronically bad back.

Rest of India tightened their hold over the Irani Cup, a trophy they’ve won for seven straight seasons, by consolidating the dominant position they had reached after gaining a 117-run lead in the first innings

The Report by Siddhartha Talya in Mumbai10-Feb-2013
Rest of India take the Irani Cup on first-innings lead
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo: Wasim Jaffer topped his first innings half-century with an unbeaten hundred•Fotocorp

Rest of India won the Irani Cup for the eighth consecutive time, based on a first-innings lead after any hopes of an outright result were erased when their two overnight batsmen came out to bat on the final morning. Suresh Raina struck a half-century to follow up on his ton in the first innings, Ambati Rayudu was unbeaten on 156 before Rest of India declared, and Wasim Jaffer completed his prolific first-class season on a high. Neither featured in India’s squad for the first two Tests against Australia, which was picked today.However, Harbhajan Singh returned to the India squad and picked up two wickets, including Ajinkya Rahane, who has been retained. Mumbai were given 63 overs to chase 507, and Rest of India would have been crying for them to self-destruct if they seriously hoped of winning outright. Both Aditya Tare and Ajinkya Rahane were caught at short leg off Harbhajan, but Jaffer was calm and comfortable at the other end, smoothly moving to another century, his 48th in first-class cricket, and going past 1000 runs in the Irani Cup. Jaffer was a strong contender for an opening role in the Indian squad after averaging 76 in the Ranji Trophy but Murali Vijay and a surprise pick, Shikhar Dhawan, were preferred over him.Sreesanth, Ishwar Pandey, and Abhimanyu Mithun, aspirants for a place in India’s attack, bowled just 11 overs between them without any success, but they didn’t have a game as disappointing as another Test hopeful, Rohit Sharma. He had thrown his wicket away in the first innings, top-edging a slog-sweep when on zero, and fell for 1 today, going after India’s spin regular Pragyan Ojha but only getting as far as long-off to offer an easy catch. Neither of his dismissals in the game would have sat well with selectors.The captains called off the game with nine mandatory overs remaining. It was only the second time in the last 14 years that the winner of the Irani Cup has been decided by a first-innings lead.

Justin Langer, the former Australia batsman and Western Australia coach, will do “everything he can” to stop Michael Hogan joining Glamorgan this summer.

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2013Justin Langer, the Western Australia coach, will do “everything he can” to stop Michael Hogan joining Glamorgan for the English season.Hogan, a 31-year-old fast bowler, is set for a move to Glamorgan on a two-year deal as a British passport holder. The contract requires him to forego playing as a domestic cricketer in Australia.But Langer is desperate to keep him in Perth, describing him as a cornerstone of the Western Australian attack who could also help mentor the state’s youngsters. “He’s our best bowler,” Langer said. “I am doing everything I can to talk him into staying.”Hogan has taken 117 first-class wickets at 28.57 in his career and has 17 wickets at 27.61 in this season’s Sheffield Shield, where Western Australia sit bottom of the table.Should he make a u-turn it would replicate the decision of Alviro Petersen, the South Africa batsman, who had signed a similar deal with Glamorgan only to decide he would remain as a South African-based player after all.Such recruitment decisions will be analysed by former Somerset director of cricket Brian Rose, who has been appointed to conduct an independent review of Glamorgan.Rose, who left his post at Somerset at the end of last season, will review, among other things, the coaching structure and player development pathway. He will meet key figures from the county and his initial findings are expected by the start of April.”Brian has extensive cricket experience and is widely respected,” Glamorgan chief executive Alan Hamer said. “We are delighted that he has agreed to help with this review, which underpins our respective strategic plans.”Cricket Wales chief executive Peter Hybart added: “We welcome Brian’s involvement and are committed to increasing the numbers of talented young cricketers capable of playing professional cricket for Glamorgan.”

Yorkshire’s bid for another successful T20 campaign looks set to be hampered by visa rules with their chance to sign South African batsman David Miller disrupted by the regulations.

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2013Yorkshire’s bid for another successful Friends Life t20 campaign looks set to be hampered by visa rules with their chance to sign South African batsman David Miller disrupted by the regulations.A deal to sign Miller, a powerful left-hander, has already been agreed but he currently does not meet the visa criteria for an overseas player.Without an EU passport, overseas players need to have played a minimum of one Test match or 15 one-day internationals and/or Twenty20 internationals in the two years prior to the visa application. But Miller, yet to make his Test debut, has played only 13 times for South Africa in the past two years.South Africa’s next fixtures are not until the Champions Trophy in June, with a warm-up ODI against Netherlands before three matches in the group stage of the tournament.Two appearances in those four matches – and potentially two more if South Africa reach the final – would make Miller eligible to play for Yorkshire. But he could then travel to Sri Lanka on South Africa’s ODI tour, which is scheduled for July and clashes with the Flt20.Miller is Yorkshire’s premier target having scored 390 runs at 48.75 for them in last year’s tournament, including 72 in the final against Hampshire. They are likely to only make one overseas signing all season due to financial constraints.Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire director of professional cricket, said at the club’s AGM that they would hold out to try and sign Miller after admitting there was very little chance of Australian fast-bowler Mitchell Starc being available.”With an Ashes tour, the Champions Trophy and an ODI series, Starc’s just not going to be available,” Moxon said. “David Miller’s is not a straightforward situation. He’s agreed to come back and we want him back. But he’s two matches short.”If he plays in the Champions Trophy, he could conceivably fulfil those two games to make him available. But we’ve recently been told that there’s a South Africa tour in July now.”If he doesn’t play for South Africa in the Champions Trophy, he can’t play for us because he has not played enough games. If he does play in the Champions Trophy, he’s likely to be picked for Sri Lanka. Having said that, there is still a chance that the tour could be cancelled.”

Kevin Pietersen’s knee injury is not as serious as his earlier prognosis had predicted, as he won’t require knee surgery

Andrew McGlashan27-Mar-2013
Kevin Pietersen will not require surgery for the knee injury that forced him to leave the tour of New Zealand early, plus withdraw from the IPL, and is on course to be available for the start of England’s home international season.Pietersen, who underwent scans in London on Tuesday, was diagnosed with bruising on the bone around his right knee, rather than cartilage damage that may have required an operation and a longer recovery time.He will now wear a brace for two weeks, followed by another fortnight of rest, before undergoing further evaluation. The initial prognosis, when Pietersen flew home, was up to eight weeks before he would return to action.England’s opening Test against New Zealand is on May 16 and Pietersen will require some first-class matches before then to prove his fitness, but Andy Flower, the team director, was confident of him being ready.”He is being put in a brace for two weeks. He will be off exercise, or any impact exercise, after that for another couple of weeks. Then he’ll start his rehab. We anticipate him playing a full part in the summer. He’s been in some pain, but we hope he’ll be ready to go by the start of the summer.”Pietersen was discomforted throughout his time in New Zealand, but made 73 in the second Test in Wellington before the problem worsened to a degree where he was unable to play in the decider at Eden Park.He will be one of three England players whose recovery from injury will be closely monitored in the early weeks of the season. Graeme Swann, who underwent elbow surgery three weeks ago, is also trying to be fit for the New Zealand series, although the selectors may give him more time depending on his progress.Tim Bresnan, another who had an operation to try and solve an elbow problem, is due to return to action for Yorkshire in their second County Championship match of the season against Durham at Chester-le-Street.

Gordon Drummond has stepped down as Scotland captain after deciding he was not able to commit enough of his time to the job and because he needs to justify his place in the side

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2013Gordon Drummond has stepped down as Scotland captain after deciding he was not able to commit enough of his time to the job. He said he wants to continue his playing career but needed to justify his place in the side.Drummond, who has played 28 one-day internationals and 15 Twenty20s, took over the captaincy from Gavin Hamilton in 2010. He was the only non-full-time professional cricketer in the squad for the recent tour to the UAE to play Afghanistan.Drummond said: “It’s been an unbelievable experience having had the opportunity to captain Scotland and the Saltires. I have given it my all and feel I have done my best to keep the squad moving forward.”However my professional life and playing situation mean that I feel it’s time to pass the leadership on to someone else. I want to continue to play as long as I can and will be working hard to maintain my place in the team and achieve the goals set out by this current squad.”Scotland’s head coach, Peter Steindl, added: “Gordon has led his country with distinction on every occasion he has captained Scotland. He has been a fantastic role model and excellent leader, working tirelessly to create an effective environment during a time of change.”Much of this work has been done selflessly and behind the scenes in a manner that has always matched his philosophy that the team always comes first. I am pleased that Gordon has decided to play on as he will continue to have a positive influence in the dressing room.”Scotland will play their final season of YB40 cricket this year and also have a run of internationals against Pakistan, Kenya and Australia. The matches against Kenya are particularly important as they are part of World Cricket League tournament that will provide two teams for the 2015 World Cup. Scotland are currently third behind Ireland and Netherlands.

Steven Crook starred with bat and ball as Northamptonshire claimed their first home win in one-day cricket for two years with victory over the Warwickshire in the Yorkshire Bank 40.

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2013
ScorecardSteven Crook followed up his 40 with his best List A bowling figures•Getty Images

Steven Crook starred with bat and ball as Northamptonshire claimed their first home win in one-day cricket for two years with victory over the Warwickshire in the Yorkshire Bank 40.It was a result that may well have ended any hopes that Warwickshire, the trophy winners in 2011 and finalists in 2012, had of progressing in the competition but one that sustains Northants’ aspirations. The club are also currently top of the Division Two Championship table.Northants posted 229 for 9 from their 40 overs, Crook top-scoring with 40 off 29 balls with Chris Wright taking 3 for 47 for the visitors. The Bears then collapsed to 193 all out with Rikki Clarke’s 65 from 76 balls providing the most resistance as Crook took a career-best 5 for 36.This was Northants’ second consecutive win in the competition and their first with the white ball at Wantage Road since they beat Scotland in May 2011.Northants won the toss and chose to bat only for Rob Newton to blast Wright to Jeetan Patel at cover in the second over. David Sales perished on 26 when he played Boyd Rankin’s delivery on to his stumps before Kyle Coetzer edged Ateeq Javid to Warwickshire wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose on 35.Northants lost captain Alex Wakely after he too plundered 35 when Patel’s delivery clipped his off stump and Matthew Spriegel then went for the same score when he was run out by William Porterfield at long-off. Wright then bowled Andrew Hall before James Middlebrook was taken at point by Porterfield off the same bowler.Steffan Piolet claimed two wickets from the penultimate over when Crook was taken at cover by Bears captain Jim Troughton before he castled Trent Copeland.Chasing 230, Warwickshire lost two wickets in five balls in the second over when Crook trapped Varun Chopra lbw for 2 before Troughton, on 4, slashed the same man to substitute Rob Keogh at point. Ambrose was then run out by Wakely from mid-off after trying to run a quick single off Crook from the second ball he faced.Clarke was to reach 50 off 54 balls but Porterfield perished for a patient 47 when he was taken at point by Newton off Copeland to break a fourth-wicket stand of 101.Darren Maddy nudged Spriegel to Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy before the the hosts got the wicket they really wanted when Murphy stumped Clarke to give Hall his first wicket.Crook was brought back into the attack in the 32nd over and soon bowled Piolet for a four-ball duck before pinning Patel lbw for 1. He then completed his first-ever five-wicket haul in one-day cricket by taking out Wright’s off stump before Hall rounded off proceedings by bowling Javid for a bright 31.