Middlesex have beaten off significant competition from strong rivals to complete the signing of James Harris from Glamorgan

George Dobell24-Sep-2012Middlesex have beaten off significant competition from strong rivals to complete the signing of James Harris on a three-year contract from Glamorgan.Harris, a 22-year-old seamer of considerable potential and a more than useful lower-order batsman, had been the target of several other Test-hosting clubs in Division One of the Championship. Nottinghamshire described him as their No. 1 target, while Yorkshire were also keen to persuade him to join them. Glamorgan also say they made Harris a “substantial contract offer to retain his services”.His arrival underlines Middlesex’s ambition. They finished third in the top division in 2012 and, with a largely young and close-knit squad, must be considered title contenders for the next few seasons.”I’m thrilled to be joining Middlesex and being part of such a young, talented squad,” Harris said. “I’m really looking forward to playing my part in bringing team success and trophies back to Lord’s. The major factor in my decision to choose Middlesex was the coaching set-up and in particular the chance to learn as much as I can from people such as Angus Fraser, Richard Scott and Richard Johnson”Injury limited Harris to only four Championship games in 2012, but he claimed six wickets in an innings when he represented England Lions against Australia A at Edgbaston in August and won a place in the England Performance Programme Squad that will travel to India in November.His loss is a grave disappointment to Glamorgan. Harris developed through the club’s youth system and became the youngest man to represent the club’s second XI in 2005, when he was aged just 14 years and 353 days, going on to make his first-class debut aged just 16 in 2007. He remains the youngest man to claim a seven-wicket haul in the Championship, at 17, and became the quickest player to reach 100 and 200 first-class wickets for Glamorgan.Harris feels, however, that his best chance of fulfilling his ambition required him to move. Glamorgan finished sixth in Division Two of the Championship in 2012 while history would suggest that players at the club struggle to win recognition from England selectors.Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said: “Everyone at Middlesex is absolutely thrilled that James has chosen to join the club. There were many other counties trying to secure his services and the fact he has chosen Middlesex highlights the progress we are making as a club.”James will add skill and quality to our attack. His record to date is excellent and he will only get better. I am sure the pitches at Lord’s will suit his bowling more than those in Cardiff. He can bat too, which is extremely useful. We are all looking forward to working with James and we hope his presence will help Middlesex push even harder for domestic trophies over the coming years.”

The ICC has approved the newly constructed HEC International Stadium in Ranchi, which will host its first ever international match on January 19

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2012The ICC has approved the newly constructed HEC International Stadium in Ranchi, which will host its first international match on January 19 – the third ODI between India and England. The ICC inspection team, headed by David Boon, inspected the stadium a fortnight ago and was satisfied with the facilities, security and location. A three-member ECB team also visited the venue on Thursday and gave it a green signal.Ranchi is the hometown of MS Dhoni, the India captain. The ground is yet to host a first-class or List A game.”The ICC had given the green signal to hold the ODI four days ago. The last time Jharkhand had hosted an ODI was in 2006 against England (in Jamshedpur),” Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) president Amitabh Choudhary said. “And there is every possibility of Dhoni leading India on his home soil for the first time.”

Mitchell Johnson has returned to Australia’s Test squad for the first time in a year and has been joined by the uncapped Josh Hazlewood and John Hastings as Australia consider their bowling options for the third Test in Perth

Daniel Brettig and Brydon Coverdale26-Nov-2012Mitchell Johnson has returned to Australia’s Test squad for the first time in a year and has been joined by the uncapped Josh Hazlewood and John Hastings as Australia consider their bowling options for the third Test in Perth. Mitchell Starc is also part of a 14-man group that does not feature the injured James Pattinson, nor the batsman Rob Quiney, who has been dropped after scoring a pair in Adelaide.Shane Watson is expected to play in what should be a direct swap for Quiney, but the major questions for the selectors will surround the make-up of the attack. Four fast men could be an option at the WACA and the heavy workload experienced by Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus in the draw at Adelaide Oval, combined with the absence of Pattinson, might lead to multiple changes.”He’s no doubt fatigued, he’s bowled his heart out that’s for sure, but he’s got three days to recover and get himself right, give himself every opportunity to get out on the park in Perth,” the captain Michael Clarke said of Siddle. “He was outstanding today, but no doubt he’s fatigued, he’s bowled his heart out.”I think [the large squad is] for options, as you’ve just seen Hilfy and Sidds have had a really heavy workload, bowled a hell of a lot in the last couple of weeks and Test matches, I think we need options for Perth to see how the boys follow-up. We’ve got to fly and a couple days of training. As a selection panel we’re giving ourselves every option to work out what the best attack is for those conditions once we see them up in Perth.”Johnson, who has not played a Test for Australia since the Johannesburg victory last November, will be a serious contender given his record at the WACA. He took 11 wickets against South Africa in Perth four years ago and nine in the 2010-11 Ashes Test there, and Clarke said he was impressed by Johnson’s Sheffield Shield form.”He’s been bowling really well in Shield cricket, he’s bowling fast and he’s swinging the ball as well which is nice to see,” Clarke said. “In conditions he loves in Perth and has had a lot of success, he’ll be doing everything in his power to try to get an opportunity. If you look at Starc, Hazlewood, Hastings, Johnson, they’re a very handy four fast bowlers to be taking to Perth with Siddle and Hilfenhaus. We’re very lucky in Australia to have some good quicks performing well, yes they’re talented, but they’ve been performing as well.”The selectors can also pencil in the vice-captain Watson, who missed the first two matches due to a calf injury. The national selector John Inverarity said Watson was expected to return to the side when the third Test starts on Friday, and Clarke said he could see no reason Watson would be hampered in either batting or bowling.”Shane Watson is in our squad of 14,” Clarke said, “and with our not taking Rob to Perth I’m really confident Watto will be fine to take full part with both bat and ball in the Test match.”Inverarity said the uncapped bowlers, Hastings and Hazlewood, deserved their opportunities through strong domestic displays.”John Hastings, who has played 11 ODIs and three T20s in Australian colours, deserves his inclusion in the squad following his excellent recent form,” Inverarity said. “In Sheffield Shield cricket he has taken 22 wickets at 18.3 and consistently scored valuable lower order runs.”Josh Hazlewood is a very exciting 21 year old pace bowler. He debuted for New South Wales when he was 17 and played an ODI game for Australia at 19. He has been improving steadily this season after an injury interrupted 2011-12 season.”There is a possibility that the final XI could include four pace bowlers. The extra bowlers have been included as back-up and in recognition of the demanding workloads shouldered by Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus in the first two Vodafone Tests against South Africa.”Squad David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

New Zealand’s outgoing captain, Ross Taylor, has said the coach Mike Hesson told him before the first Test against Sri Lanka that he did not want Taylor to lead the side after the tour

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2012New Zealand’s outgoing captain, Ross Taylor, has said the coach Mike Hesson told him before the first Test against Sri Lanka that he did not want Taylor to lead the side after the tour. Taylor was this week offered the reins of the Test side in a joint captaincy scenario in which Brendon McCullum would lead in the short formats, but he declined the offer and made himself unavailable for the upcoming tour of South Africa, declaring his intention to return to the national side when the time was right.Taylor, 28, has not indicated how long he will spend away from the game, and he wished McCullum every success as captain. Taylor’s final act as the country’s skipper was to score match-winning innings of 142 and 74 in Colombo, providing New Zealand with their first Test victory in Sri Lanka since 1998, but neither that nor his strong batting record as captain – he averaged 49.85 as Test leader – was enough to convince NZC to leave him in charge across all formats.On Friday, Taylor released a statement in which he said he had met with NZC on Thursday and “accepted their apology for the way in which matters have been handled”.”I was told of the decision by NZ Cricket to change the captaincy on Tuesday of this week,” Taylor said in the statement. “It was sad and disappointing from a personal perspective but it did not come as a great surprise. [Coach] Mike Hesson, [team manager] Mike Sandle and [assistant coach] Bob Carter met with me just prior to the first Test in Sri Lanka and raised concerns about my captaincy. The following day Mike Hesson said he did not want me to captain the team after the tour.”Obviously the news and the timing was distressing but I was very focused on leading the team and putting everything I had into what was happening on the field, not off the field. It has been a very challenging and pressured time and I don’t believe I can give 100% to the game at this time. I have decided that it is best for everyone if I decline the Test captaincy offer which could be confusing in terms of leadership for the team.”Cricket is my life and my passion. I love the game and I love playing for my country. But taking a break is the right thing for me right now. My family and friends support my decisions that I have made after very serious thought and consideration.”However I want people to know that I am determined to contribute to the Black Caps team in the future and help whoever is in charge to win games of cricket for New Zealand. That is my passion and it will continue to be so. We all need to show leadership in our own way, at all times, regardless of who is in charge.”Brendon McCullum has been named captain and I wish him every success.Taylor also said he appreciated the support of his fans in recent times and said the backing he had received from the public had been “very humbling and has meant a great deal to me”

Ian Bell has returned to India determined to put right what he believes is the one glaring omission in his record as an international batsman.

George Dobell02-Dec-2012Ian Bell has returned to India determined to put right what he believes is the one glaring omission in his record as an international batsman.Bell, who missed the second Test on paternity leave, feels that personal success in India represents the final frontier in an international career that has encompassed significant highs in every other Test-playing nation.But, after six Tests in India, Bell’s record is distinctly modest. He averages 18.36 with a top score of 57, made on his first senior tour in 2006. It is a disappointing return for one so richly talented and stands in stark contrast to his overall career record of 5,549 Test runs at an average of 46.24. His ODI record in the country – 237 runs from nine matches with an average of 26.33 – is also markedly lower than his overall record.”India is the one place,” Bell said. “My first tour to Pakistan went really well. I played nice cricket in Sri Lanka. But here has not gone so well. And it’s been the same in one-day cricket. It’s the one place left around the world for me.”Bell admitted his anxiety to prove himself in India had resulted in his first innings dismissal in Ahmedabad – caught at mid-off as he charged down the pitch and attempted to loft his first delivery over the infield. The example of Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen had reminded him that occupying the crease offered a more sensible long-term tactic than trying to dominate from the start.”Maybe sometimes I have tried a bit too hard,” he said. “That shot in Ahmedabad was a sign of me saying, ‘Right, I’m coming at you, I’m not going to sit here and just get out’. I’ve got off the mark a lot with that shot over the last few years. It’s a big shot for me. My attempt was to be positive. At times, I have been reactive rather than positive. When it doesn’t come off, it doesn’t look particularly great but that’s probably the first one I’ve hit straight up in the air in an England shirt. I’m not going to put that shot away but I’ll probably have to pick a better time to play it. I take full responsibility: it was a poor way to get out in that situation.”Watching the way Cook and Pietersen played in the last game, there are runs out here if you occupy the crease long enough. Cook has led by example. It will get easier but you have to do the work early in your innings.”While Bell arrived back in England just too late to support his wife through the birth of their first child, he still described fatherhood as “the best thing that has ever happened to me” and felt the added perspective the experience had given him would only help him as a cricketer. “From what’s happened in the last week, my thoughts have changed,” he said. “Maybe I’ve built a bit too much on myself in the past and now I just want to go out and trust my ability and spend time in the middle and score runs.”I’ve got better over time but, certainly in my early days, I’d beat myself up a lot. You want to score runs every time but the realism is that you’re not going to. There will be times when you are in really good form and times when runs are hard to come by. But certainly now it gives me more of a balance and I can enjoy every day and every time I am with the England team. That’s what I want to do – not worry about things and go out and enjoy my cricket.”Bell also welcomed the appointment of Ashley Giles as England’s limited-overs coach. Bell played with Giles for Warwickshire and England and, more recently, has watched Giles at close quarters in his role as director of cricket at Edgbaston. “It is exciting for him,” Bell said. “He has been fantastic at Warwickshire. When he took over we were in a tricky position and it took him a couple of years to sort it out. In the last couple of years, with a couple of good signings as well, he’s been able to turn the team into a really good side. He’s created an environment where players can learn to do things for themselves. Hopefully, with Andy Flower, he can do that with England, too.”I see no reason why having two coaches won’t work. Look at the fixtures: people talk about the players, but the backroom staff have to do every game as well. It’s just as important to rotate those guys and keep them fresh as it is for the players. Hopefully, this will have a great impact for Andy and the whole back-room staff. To keep that intensity all year round is hard, so to bring in fresh energy will be great.”While Bell is likely to win his place back in the team, it is no certainty. Jonny Bairstow, who made such a fine impression in the final Test of the series against South Africa, making 95 and 54, could count himself most unfortunate to miss out on selection in Ahmedabad and had little luck when being given out in Mumbai, caught by a ball that had bounced off Gautam Gambhir’s helmet at silly point.”It was obviously desperately disappointing,” Bairstow said of being dropped for Ahmedabad. “But I’ll be delighted if I do get selected this time and I’m working hard in training and in the nets. That’s the situation in professional sport. You learn to deal with it, growing up when you come through playing for your county and then for the Lions, then one-dayers and up to the Tests.”It is possible that both men could play. The experiment with using Samit Patel as an allrounder could well be abandoned – he delivered just four overs in the Mumbai Test – leaving him to fight for selection on the merit of his batting alone. And, averaging just 12.66 with the bat after four Tests, he has not made the strongest case for his retention.

The in-form Nasir Jamshed showed his promise as the touring Pakistanis had their first run on South African surfaces ahead of the three-Test series that starts next Friday

Firdose Moonda25-Jan-2013Pakistanis 178 for 6 (Jamshed 68, Hafeez 55, Hendricks 2-39) v SA Invitation XI
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Nasir Jamshed led the Pakistani batting, constructing a century stand with Mohammad Hafeez•AFP

The in-form Nasir Jamshed showed his promise as the touring Pakistanis had their first run on South African surfaces ahead of the three-Test series that starts next Friday. Jamshed opened the batting with Mohammad Hafeez and they were the only two batsmen to profit on a day interrupted by rain and bad light.South Africa’s backup bowling talent impressed with Kyle Abbott, Beuran Hendricks and Simon Harmer taking two wickets each, while Wayne Parnell made a return from his wrist injury with an economical outing. The South African Invitation XI benched Ayabulela Gqamane despite his consistently good showings this summer.With adjustment to South African conditions being the major challenge facing touring batsmen, Pakistan’s top two seemed to have few problems. Hafeez and Jamshed, playing in place of regular opener Taufeeq Umar, put on a century stand and seemed to handle the pace and Harmer’s offspin with ease.When Hafeez was caught off Abbott’s bowling, the slide began and none of Pakistan’s middle order was able to stop it. Azhar Ali managed only two singles off the 29 balls he faced before falling to Harmer. Younis Khan also showed patience but his 25-ball 5 ended when he was caught behind off Hendricks.Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq followed in the next four overs. Each only scored four and dealt with the pace far more awkwardly than the batsmen who preceded them. Jamshed stood firm through the collapse but, after a rain delay, he too fell.The Pakistanis’ six wickets fell for 40 runs, which will be of some concern to them ahead of the main event. With only the tail to follow Sarfraz Ahmed, their focus will be on bowling on the second day. Mastering the slightly shorter length that will lead to success in South Africa will no doubt be on the agenda.

Dennis Lillee has joined Cricket Australia’s high performance team as a fast bowling advisor and will provide his services to emerging players as well as the national squad

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2013Dennis Lillee has joined Cricket Australia’s high performance team as a fast bowling advisor and will provide his services to emerging players as well as the national squad.Lillee will work with Australia’s bowling coach Ali de Winter ahead of the tour to India and back-to-back Ashes series later this year. After his retirement, Lillee had been associated with the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai for 25 years until 2012. He’s also been president of the Western Australian Cricket Association since 2004.During a 13-year international career between 1971 and 1984, Lillee played 70 Tests and took 355 wickets at an average of 23.92. During the 1990s Lillee worked with what was then known as the Australian Cricket Board under the Pace Australia banner, mentoring numerous young fast men including Brett Lee.He was also known to have helped aid Mitchell Johnson’s rapid emergence from obscurity in Queensland when he saw the teenaged left-armer at a coaching clinic, famously labelling him a “once in a generation bowler”.In more recent times Lillee had kept a certain distance from CA, though he did continue to help young fast bowlers on an individual basis, notably offering advice to Johnson before his blistering performance during the 2010 Perth Ashes match.Lillee has maintained strong relationships with the national selectors John Inverarity and Rod Marsh, both former state and national teammates. His views on the need to rotate fast bowlers where possible, given the increasing demands of the international schedule have been known for some time.They were recently presented by CA as evidence contrary to the run of negative publicity the national team has received in recent weeks for spreading the workload among its players.While Lillee is unlikely to travel overseas extensively with the team, he will be “available face-to-face and on mobile to the squad”.

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches played on March 12, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLions successfully chased Knights’ 143 by four wickets to extend their lead at the top of the table. Knights elected to bat, with the openers starting promisingly with a 44-run stand. Once Loots Bosman was dismissed, Dean Elgar came in to continue building on their efforts, but was also dismissed at the halfway stage with the score on 72. Once Rilee Rossouw was out with an attacking 76 off 47 balls, the innings began to lose momentum, with the final seven wickets falling for the addition of 31 runs. Knights eventually reached a defendable 143 for 8 at the completion of their quota of overs.Lions failed to establish a platform from which to launch as Gulam Bodi and Chris Morris fell cheaply. Opener Quinton de Kock and Alviro Petersen combined for 32 runs for the third wicket, before de Kock was bowled by Elgar. Contributions from Petersen (36), Sohail Tanvir (18), and a decisive 31 off 17 balls from Jean Symes, though,led Lions to a four-wicket victory over the Knights with five balls to spare.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Titans won a nail-biter against Cape Cobras to move up to third place on the table. Titans were put in to bat, and the openers started strongly, posting 40 after 4.2 overs, before Jacques Rudolph fell for 35. Titans lost two further wickets quickly to be 64 for 3, but Henry Davids and Farhaan Behardien put up a 92-run stand that ensured they finished at a competitive 178 for 4 after their 20 overs. Behardien top-scored with an unbeaten 68, with Davids scoring 55. Azhar Mahmood had the best figures of 3 for 34.Cape Cobras suffered an early blow, with Richard Levi being bowled by Roelof van der Merwe with the score on 24. Contributions from Dane Vilas (32) and Azhar Mahmood (27) helped steady the innings, and once both were dismissed, Owais Shah and Justin Ontong took over to navigate the chase. They kept the prospects of victory alive with their attacking innings of 61 and 31 respectively, but fell seven short of the target at the completion of 20.

Combined Campuses and Colleges’ bowlers ensured their team’s place in the final of the Regional Super50, comfortably defending a modest to beat Trinidad & Tobago by 140 runs in a big upset in Bridgetown

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCombined Campuses and Colleges’ bowlers ensured their team’s place in the final of the Regional Super50, comfortably defending a modest to beat Trinidad & Tobago by 140 runs in a big upset in Bridgetown. CCC batted first, with the openers putting together 45 runs for the first wicket. After Chadwick Walton was dismissed, Anthony Alleyne took over the anchoring role, building a 37-run partnership for the third wicket with captain Kyle Corbin, before putting on an 83-run stand with Nekoli Parris. The T&T bowlers did a good job in restricting the scoring after a belligerent start from the openers. Alleyne ultimately fell in the 48th over, just one run short of a deserved century, after he was given leg before to Yannick Ottley. CCC posted 232 for 7 at the end of their fifty overs, with Ottley picking up best figures of 3 for 37.T&T had a horror start in their reply, being reduced to 19 for 3 by Keswick Williams, before continually losing wickets at regular intervals. Only three batsman were able to get into double digits as the innings was controlled through effective bowling and fielding from CCC. There were a total of three run outs affected in the innings, with Williams picking up fine figures of 3 for 16, and was ably supported by Raymon Reifer (2 for 11) and Akeem Dewar (2 for 14). They were dismissed for 92 in the 32nd over, giving CCC a resounding 140-run victory, and propelling them into the final on Sunday, where they will play the winner between Jamaica and Windward Islands.

Preview of the match between Pune Warriors and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pune

The Preview by Nikita Bastian16-Apr-2013

Match facts

April 17, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Pune Warriors will hope for another Steven Smith special•BCCI

Big Picture

Pune Warriors against Sunrisers Hyderabad might not be one of the most high-profile matches of the IPL, but both teams have played better than expected already in this competition. While Sunrisers have already recorded wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore (holding their own in a Super Over) and (a much-fancied but underperforming) Delhi Daredevils, Warriors pulled off a huge upset on Monday, beating Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk.The biggest plus for Warriors is that, ever since they broke their 11-game losing streak with a seven-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals on April 11, their batting has managed to put together moderate totals at least. After being bowled out for 104 and 99, they’ve scored over 140 in their next three games. There is still a lot of work to do though; against Super Kings, they looked on target for a lot more than the 159 they ended with, but the middle order, bar Steven Smith, could not build on Aaron Finch’s blitz at the top. Sunrisers will draw confidence from the fact that one of Warriors’ batting flops came against them: when the teams met three days into the tournament, Sunrisers managed to defend 126 at Uppal, with Amit Mishra causing trouble with turn and loop, and Dale Steyn making short work of the lower order.Both teams have decisions to make about their playing XIs. Warriors’ Yuvraj Singh had to sit out of the Super Kings match due to a recurrence of a back problem, and will not be fit in time for Wednesday’s match either. Full-time captain Angelo Mathews – who had to sit out in Chennai due to the ban on Sri Lankan players there – should return, but with Finch, Smith and Mitchell Marsh all doing well, it could be at the expense of stand-in leader Ross Taylor. Warriors must be mulling whether they want to disturb their winning combination at all. Sunrisers have the option of playing the West Indies captain, allrounder Darren Sammy, who arrived from the Caribbean a couple of days ago after the birth of his daughter. However, with Kumar Sangakkara and Dale Steyn being sure starters, they would have to pick between Thisara Perera and Cameron White if they want to play him.

Players to watch

Apart from taking that spectacular boundary catch against Kolkata Knight Riders last season, Steven Smith was one of Warriors’ few bright sparks, scoring 362 runs at 40.22 in an otherwise forgetful 2012. After being made to sit out Warriors’ first four games this season, he produced what turned out to be the match-winning innings against Super Kings. After Warriors had inexplicably slowed down after Finch’s assault, Smith provided the final surge: his unbeaten 39 came off 16, going after Dirk Nannes and Dwayne Bravo. The shot of the game was a reverse-flick for six over third man. If Warriors are to improve on their record this season, Smith will have to play another central role in their campaign.Compared to some other teams in the tournament, Sunrisers have quite a solid bowling line-up: Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra … The same cannot be said of their batting. There’s Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White, with Parthiv Patel playing the supporting role, but not much else – at least on paper. Hanuma Vihari, Akshath Reddy, Ravi Teja and the other local batsmen, while they have had their moments, are yet to contribute defining innings. At some point, Sunrisers will need them to play a winning hand and it is left to be seen whether they can step up.

Stats and Trivia

• Parthiv Patel needs one more run to get to a 1000 IPL runs. His runs have been spread across stints with Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers, Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• In Warriors’ previous game, against Mumbai Indians, Ashok Dinda went at 15.75 runs an over – that equaled the record for the most expensive spell in IPL cricket, alongside Varun Aaron’s in the second qualifier in 2012

Quotes

“They can make the last four. They have some big hitters in Uthappa, Finch, Taylor, Smith and Marsh, who can win on their own.”
“Yuvraj is not going to be playing in the next game but hopefully he is ready for the game after that. Obviously he is a big part of our team and it affects the balance of our team when Yuvi doesn’t play.”