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Mushtaq Ahmed is to join Surrey as ‘coach and mentor’ on a month-long contract

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2012Mushtaq Ahmed is to join Surrey as ‘coach and mentor’ on a month-long contract. Mushtaq, the former Pakistan legspinner and current England spin bowling coach, will link up with Surrey on June 20 and depart on July 20.The deal will reunite Mushtaq with his former captain at Sussex, Chris Adams, who is now team director at Surrey. The pair combined to take Sussex to the club’s first County Championship title in 2003. They won it again in 2006 and 2007.”He will be a magic guy to have around in terms of the environment in the dressing room and is one of the best people I’ve ever come across in terms of assessing the mood of a side and having a positive influence on tactics both before and during a game,” Adams said.”We have a few young spinners at the club at the moment so there is also plenty of work to be done there as well – and I also want to use him with the Second XI and PG Academy, as well as setting up some sessions with batsmen from throughout the club on how to play spin.”We’ve got him here for a month and we’ll make sure we’ll work him hard – I’ve told him it’s going to be the same as when I captained him, he’ll be getting through 45-50 overs a day.”

Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings coach, has said Manvinder Bisla’s assault in Kolkata Knight Riders’ successful chase of 191 was unexpected

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2012Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings coach, has said Manvinder Bisla’s assault in Kolkata Knight Riders’ successful chase of 191 in the IPL final was unexpected. Super Kings, two-time IPL champions, failed to make it three in a row as Knight Riders beat them by five wickets in a last-over finish at Chepauk.”I don’t know if we can over-analyse how wrong we got it, but admire what they did. Bisla, I thought, was outstanding, they needed someone to stand up,” Fleming said. “We got a great early wicket of [Gautam] Gambhir, which we had targeted, but we didn’t expect the onslaught from Bisla, maybe a quick 30, 40 would have been fine, but he took it quite deep.”Bisla smashed 89 in 48 balls and was involved in a 136-run stand for the second wicket with Jacques Kallis, who also scored a half-century. “That partnership gave them belief,” Fleming said.With 20 needed to win off the last two overs for Knight Riders, Super Kings still stood a chance and the pressure on the visitors grew when Kallis fell in the penultimate over, off Ben Hilfenhaus. However, Hilfenhaus bowled an above waist-high full toss the next ball, yielding three runs and an extra delivery that was hit for four by Shakib Al Hasan. “In the 19th over, there was a big turning point with the no-ball, going into the last over with 14 or 15 to win is a different story,” Fleming said. Nine were needed off the final over and Manoj Tiwary finished the game with two successive fours.Fleming, however, praised his team for its performance through the season, and for fighting hard in the final. “When you get beaten like that, it’s a lot easier to take than when you’ve played below par. A little disappointed that our campaign has been termed as ‘lucky’, we still got the points to qualify for the semis. The challenge next year is to be one of the most consistent sides.”

The resumption of bilateral ties between India and Pakistan remains in the balance after inconclusive discussions between the heads of the two boards in Kuala Lumpur

Umar Farooq29-Jun-2012The resumption of bilateral ties between India and Pakistan remains in the balance after inconclusive discussions between the heads of the two boards in Kuala Lumpur. The BCCI president N Srinivasan and the PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf met on the sidelines of the ICC annual conference and agreed on a series in principle, but not on any specific details.”We’d already agreed [in May] to playing each other, which he [Srinivasan] reconfirmed,” Ashraf told ESPNcricinfo. “We will play, that’s for sure, but dates and revenue matters are yet to be finalised.”Ashraf said Pakistan were ready for progress on the series but Srinivasan had said he would only be able to commit after checking with Indian authorities. It is Pakistan’s turn to host a bilateral series, though Ashraf said the BCCI had the prerogative to decide on the dates. It’s understood the BCCI is not keen to play at a neutral venue, and Pakistan are ready to play in India. However, the PCB would want the BCCI to share revenue because it has apparently not yet recovered from the loss suffered when India pulled out their planned tour in 2009.The PCB is currently facing a shortfall of approximately $75 million in its annual budget and is looking at the India series to make up the deficit.Pakistan and India have not played each other in a bilateral series since December 2007, and ties have been frozen since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist strike. Pakistan did, however, travel to India to play the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup.Talks of reviving Pakistan-India cricketing ties began when Ashraf requested Pakistan President Asif Zardari to take up the issue with the Indian government. A meeting between the head of states in Delhi in April indicated that the Indian government had no objections to the resumption of cricket between the two countries. Last month, Ashraf visited India for the IPL final and it emerged that one window for the series could be during the gap in England’s split tour to India at the end of the year.

Peter McGlashan, the New Zealand and Northern Districts wicketkeeper, has retired from all cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2012Peter McGlashan, the New Zealand and Northern Districts wicketkeeper, has retired from all cricket. McGlashan was named in New Zealand’s 30-man preliminary squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in September, but he has chosen a career outside of cricket with the Glenn Family Foundation, an initiative geared towards eliminating domestic violence.”It’s an incredible chance to make a difference to people’s lives, through Owen’s [Owen Glenn, the foundation’s founder] remarkable vision,” McGlashan said. “I’m going to be assisting in the community in an area in which I know I would love to be working for the next 35 to 40 years.”Having seen how excited people in Otara [a South Auckland suburb] are about this project, and knowing the difference it will make, I realised I would not feel comfortable standing out there catching balls while that work waited. I wish the Black Caps well and I will miss being part of the Northern Knights, something that I’m sure will really hit me in summer. But I’m already comfortable that it’s the right decision to retire at this point and I feel very fortunate to be exiting the game for an exciting role about which I am truly passionate.”McGlashan, 33, played four ODIs, scoring one half-century, and 11 T20 internationals for New Zealand. He made his first-class debut in 2000-01, and went on to lay 71 games, averaging 29.57 with the bat and finishing with 195 catches and 13 stumpings. In 2009, he set a New Zealand first-class wicketkeeping record for the most dismissals in a match – 12. He took six catches in each innings of that Plunket Shield game against Central Districts and, incidentally, it was also a world record for the most catches taken by an individual in a first-class match.Northern Districts coach Grant Bradburn said McGlashan’s innovative ability stood out. “Pete is a hugely experienced and skilful player, particularly in the shorter forms of the game – and that calibre of skills you just don’t develop overnight,” he said. “His amazing ability to innovate and look at things from a different angle, whether it’s been through introducing new gear and equipment or using fresh approaches in the middle, have helped the game in New Zealand.”An example is a one-day match we played against the Otago Volts two seasons ago in which he changed bats between overs, depending on which bowler he would be facing plus the direction of the wind. He’d use the shorter Mongoose bat for the downwind bowling and the long-handle into the wind.”I’d never seen an innovation like that before, but he was the master of putting pressure on bowlers at the death in one-dayers or Twenty20s, as well as being the master of the reverse-sweep. And, of course, one of our most accomplished wicketkeepers, to boot. We will miss him, but I’m stoked for Pete as we’re losing him to a very fine cause.”Northern Districts CEO David Cooper added: “The New Zealand Cricket Players Association takes a lead role in ensuring players have the skills and networks to manage their post-cricket future and I think Pete is a shining example to all players of someone who has taken those opportunities and developed his personal and professional abilities whilst still a player.”There is no question Pete would have featured in our plans for the coming season, however he now has another tremendous opportunity with the Glenn Family Foundation and, knowing the man he is, we are certain that Pete will add real value there and continue making a significant and positive difference to our society. He leaves with our very best wishes.”Prior to joining Northern Districts in 2004, McGlashan represented Central Districts in 2000-01 and 2000-02 and Otago in 2002-03.

This time, the rain was kind to Yorkshire, rescuing them from a position which by no means had them staring at a defeat but was not likely to lead them into anything but an anxious final afternoon

Jon Culley at Northampton04-Aug-2012
ScorecardThis time, the rain was kind to Yorkshire, rescuing them from a position which by no means had them staring at a defeat but was not likely to lead them into anything but an anxious final afternoon. Three down in their second innings and still 29 behind when a forecast thunderstorm arrived just after lunch, they were less than downcast at the sight of groundstaff fighting a losing battle to cover the square.It is the 10th draw of their soggy season, of which only four matches remain. The next three are at home, including one at Scarborough, with their pursuit of a top-two finish and an immediate return to Division One concluding against Essex at Chelmsford. Jason Gillespie, their ever-optimistic Australian coach, reckons Yorkshire need to win three of those matches, which would be asking a lot if it did not rain again between now and the middle of next month. In reality, they will probably need some help.Gillespie’s first season has seen Yorkshire advance on one front, reaching their first finals day in Twenty20, but 2013 marks the club’s 150th anniversary and there is a sense of pride to be satisfied. A gallant near-miss in this year’s promotion race may not go down well in the committee room.”Look, everyone is in no doubt that promotion is our big goal for the season,” Gillespie said. “We are confident that we have the game to succeed on that front but we need the weather to allow us to play.”We were outplayed by Northamptonshire here, there’s no doubt about that. Although the weather played a part, we did not play the cricket we know we can play. But I would like to win three of the four remaining games – or all four, preferably – and I think we are good enough to do it.”Yorkshire are where they want to finish as the table stands, in second place, ahead of Kent and Hampshire, but have played a match more than all of their rivals and are obliged to sit out the next round. By the time they take on Derbyshire, the leaders, at Headingley on August 15, the table will give a more realistic picture of their chances.By then, in their favour, they should have Ryan Sidebottom back, provided a run-out with the Second XI confirms his recovery from a calf injury. His return would restore some confidence in the Yorkshire attack’s potency as a wicket-taking force, as would a little more of the promise shown by Adil Rashid in this match.Rashid’s first five-wicket return since the beginning of last season suggested the leg-spinner’s omission from the side since the middle of May, in Championship cricket at least, has had the effect it was hoped it might.”Adil bowled really well,” Gillespie said. “He was disappointed to be left out but his attitude had been spot on and the way he has responded has been brilliant.”He could have gone the other way and been quite negative but he has been positive, gone out and played some second team games and shown a good attitude to training and preparation. He has tinkered with his action a bit and has come back, bowled 31 overs and taken five wickets. We are delighted he has done so well.”Rashid found some encouragement in the pitch here, which was one reason why the final two sessions, had they gone ahead, could have been an ordeal for Yorkshire. James Middlebrook, too, was beginning to enjoy himself.The offspinner had claimed one wicket and was bowling with four fielders around the bat until play was called off. He had dismissed Phil Jaques and there was pressure at the other end, too, mostly exerted by David Willey, who conceded only 10 runs in as many overs from the Wantage Road end following a similarly disciplined spell by Oliver Stone, the 18-year-old, who picked up his second wicket in the match when Adam Lyth sliced him to point. Willey had Joe Root caught at second slip during a sequence of seven consecutive maidens.

Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has said that his left knee requires surgery but he hasn’t decided when to perform the operation

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2012Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has said that his left knee requires surgery but he hasn’t decided when to perform the operation. Earlier this month, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had declined him permission to play in the Sri Lanka Premier League as a precautionary measure.”The problem (in my left knee) won’t be fixed without an operation. But I haven’t decided when it will be,” Shakib told Bangla daily . “It may be after the World Cup (T20) but if it means that I will miss the West Indies series, I will do it afterwards.”Shakib is part of the Twenty20 squad for three matches in Trinidad & Tobago next month, before heading to Sri Lanka to play the ICC World Twenty20. He is also set to appear for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Champions League T20 from October 13 before the home series against West Indies in mid-November. Further in the 2012-13 season, Shakib will be playing in domestic leagues, including the Bangladesh Premier League as well as tours with Bangladesh to Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the IPL to round things off.Dr Debashish Chowdhury, the BCB doctor, said that Shakib has been diagnosed with degenerated meniscus, but it won’t put him out of action very soon. “The latest MRI suggests that he is suffering degenerated meniscus. Usually it is caused due to impact, but in Shakib’s case it is due to overuse. He’s a spinner so the knee has to twist that way,” Dr Chowdhury said.

The fast bowler Ryan Harris has all but ruled himself out of Australia’s Test series against South Africa this summer as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery

Brydon Coverdale24-Sep-2012The fast bowler Ryan Harris has all but ruled himself out of Australia’s Test series against South Africa this summer as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery. Harris had an operation two months ago and he believes it is “pretty unrealistic” for him to return for the South African series, which starts at the Gabba on November 9, and is instead hoping to be available for the Test series against Sri Lanka, beginning in Hobart on December 14.Harris played two of the three Tests during Australia’s tour of the Caribbean in April and was Man of the Match in Barbados for his five wickets and unbeaten half-century. Since he made his Test debut in early 2010 only Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, who have played far fewer matches, have had better Test bowling averages for Australia than Harris, who has collected 47 wickets at 23.63 in 12 appearances.However, his workload has taken a physical toll and the Australian team management is reluctant to overuse Harris, who turns 33 next month. The only time Harris has played all the Tests in a series was during his debut series in New Zealand, and he knows that it does not make sense to take any risks in an attempt to rush himself back into contention for the South Africa matches.”I would love to be able to be back against South Africa but at this stage it is pretty unrealistic. It is one of those things I can’t control,” Harris told News Limited newspapers. “I will get back for Queensland and let the rest take care of itself before any Australian stuff. In theory I will be up and going in six weeks but it is an injury we will not rush. The pain is going, I just have to build confidence now but believe I can get back well.”Although the absence of Harris is a blow for Australia, the depth in their fast-bowling stocks should allow the attack to remain strong against South Africa. If Pattinson and Cummins remain fit they will be in contention for the Gabba Test having both impressed in their initial Tests last summer, while Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle will shoulder much of the workload. The left-armer Mitchell Starc is another candidate.The Australians will be battling for the No.1 spot on the ICC’s Test rankings when they take on South Africa, having not lost a Test series since Michael Clarke took over as captain. South Africa are on top of the rankings table and have not been defeated in a series since Australia beat them 2-1 in early 2009, but in their past 20 Tests South Africa have not won any two consecutive matches.

England’s county championship will benefit from Sunday starts after the ECB Board agreed a new domestic schedule for a four-year period from 2014

David Hopps18-Oct-2012England’s county championship will benefit from Sunday starts after the ECB Board agreed to a new domestic schedule for a four-year period from 2014.A new-look county programme will also include Twenty20 cricket played weekly over much of the season, predominantly on Friday evenings, and the scrapping of 40-over cricket which will be replaced by the 50-over format, replicating the international game. The proposals will be formally adopted next month.The desperate need to create space in an overcrowded fixture list is made by slimming down the Clydesdale Bank 50 to eight group matches per county – four fewer days than the 40-over equivalent.Counties will either be split into two groups of nine, which would leave no place for Scotland, Netherlands or the Unicorns, an invitation side made up of some of the best non first-class players, or into four groups of five in which case only Scotland, who have already indicated their wish not to continue after 2013, would be omitted.The decision follows the failure of the Morgan Review, chaired by David Morgan, the former Board chairman, to find unanimity and a subsequent polling online of more than 25,000 county supporters in the biggest customer survey ever undertaken by English cricket.Morgan’s proposals that the Championship should be reduced have finally been defeated after strong opposition from players, coaches and supporters.His preference for T20 cricket to be spread over the season has, though, found more favour. A rain-wrecked FLt20 last summer subdued calls for the competition to be played over a short, intense period in mid-summer, as did an increasing recognition that the counties are no longer able to attract the best overseas talent, especially with a USA professional T20 tournament lurking on the horizon.An ECB statement said: “The ECB Board noted the strong desire from counties and spectators to create an ‘appointment to view’ for T20 cricket spread over a longer period of the season. There was no compelling preference from spectators for 40-over cricket rather than 50-over cricket and therefore the format from 2014 will replicate the 50-over format played by the national team.”The FLt20 will consist of 14 matches per County, mostly played on Friday evenings – although counties such as Surrey are expected to win the freedom to play on Thursday because of too many rival attractions in London at the weekend. The top eight counties will progress to a quarter-final round and the retention of the popular FLt20 Finals Day format.A desire to preserve the primacy of Championship cricket is likely to see England’s first-class counties opting out of the Champions League unless the tournament is put back at least a week to dovetail with the climax to the England domestic season. Counties have already decided not to participate in 2013.In 2013, in order to avoid a repeat of the earliest starts in history in 2011 and 2012, the county season is likely to commence on April 9 and finish in the third week of September. The Champions League, which has a window in the Future Tours Programme, starts in the second week of September.

A wrap of the opening day of the second round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Hrishikesh Kanitkar scored his third centuries in the last three matches against Mumbai•Rajasthan Cricket Association

Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Vineet Saxena continued their domination of the most successful Ranji side, Mumbai, with centuries that took the defending champions Rajasthan to 269 for 2. Along the way Kanitkar also crossed 10,000 first-class runs, while Saxena went past his 5000th.Mumbai managed to get captain Kanitkar out before stumps, but their 220-run partnership made the Mumbai attack look weak, especially in the absence of Ajit Agarkar. With these centuries, the records of Kanitkar and Saxena in the last three matches against Mumbai became all the more daunting. As a Rajasthan player, Kanitkar has played three matches against Mumbai, and scored 113, 141 and 119 in this match. In the same matches, Saxena has piled on 143, 53 and 4, and 114 not out in this game.Mumbai tried seven bowlers, but only Kshemal Waingankar and Ankeet Chavan managed a wicket each.
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The resilient lower middle order of Bengal bailed them out against a Punjab attack that looked like pushing towards a second straight position of dominance. Led by Manpreet Gony and Sandeep Sharma, they had reduced Bengal to 118 for 5, but ran into Wriddhiman Saha and Laxmi Shukla, who added 124 for the sixth wicket.This was a third half-century in three innings this season for Saha, who finished unbeaten on 75. Shukla, who played his part with both bat and ball in the previous game, provided him able support, and Punjab had to wait for 36.2 overs for the sixth wicket. Debutant Arnab Nandi then added 33 with Saha to further frustrate, but parity was restored with Nandi’s wicket with the last ball of the 87th over.
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They were three bad-light interruptions in Hyderabad, the third one ending the day with only 54 overs bowled, but there was time enough for Hyderabad to get off to a usual ordinary start, and VVS Laxman to find a partner and put up a usual rearguard.Hyderabad lost their openers with only 22 runs on the board, but Laxman and the 19-year-old Hanuma Vihari then kept the MP attack at bay. Vihari finished the day five short of his personal best, and Laxman’s 70 even inculded a six. He hit only five sixes in Tests.
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In the Gujarat derby, Gujarat gained the upper hand against Saurashtra on a day in which the balance of power shifted more than once. Saurashtra took two early wickets to make it 62 for 2, but the Patels, Smit and Parthiv, both wicketkeepers too, scored aggressive fifties only for Ravindra Jadeja to dismiss them within three overs to put the game in balance again at 148 for 4.From there on then, youngsters Manprit Juneja and Bhargav Merai put Gujarat in ascendency with a partnership of 82. Merai, playing his second game, missed out on a maiden first-class fifty, but Juneja seemed on the way to what could be his second century in only his fourth match. Juneja also found support from No. 7 Rujul Bhatt, with whom he added an unbeaten 48 before stumps.

Believe it or not, Ricky Ponting appears already to have mellowed. Little more than a week into his retirement from international duty, Ponting admitted he quite enjoyed getting to a Test match right on the appointed 10.30am start time rather than two hou

Daniel Brettig at Bellerive Oval14-Dec-2012A week into his retirement, Ricky Ponting is already developing a taste for life after cricket.Ponting admitted he quite enjoyed getting to a Test match right on the appointed 10.30am start time rather than two hours before, and that he was not exactly sorry to be missing training for the Hobart Hurricanes in Melbourne. This was in order to be conveyed around Bellerive Oval in the back of a ute as a way of saying thankyou to the Tasmanian cricket faithful, who numbered 6,221 on the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.The question of Ponting’s life after Test matches has been pondered by many in the wake of his emotional exit at the conclusion of the South Africa series, and the man himself is wondering aloud at how the pull of participating in the game will be diminished by the lack of Australian duty to sustain him.”I’ll see how I feel about cricket at the end of this season,” Ponting told Channel Nine. “It might be a little harder for me I reckon, playing those last few games out, knowing there’s not the bigger picture in mind as there’s always been for me when I’ve played state cricket, which is to play for Australia.”While Cricket Australia and the national captain Michael Clarke are equally keen to have Ponting still involved with the team in a coaching or mentoring capacity, the attraction of a lucrative and far less stressful role as a television commentator has its appeal.”I’d like to work in the media at some stage, at some time, in some way, shape or form,” Ponting said. “Just being around cricket for as long as I have and being part of successful teams, I think I’ve got a pretty good knowledge of the game and I’m pretty insightful on the game I think. So we’ll wait and see what happens.”Ponting was memorably granted a guard of honour by South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith at the WACA ground as he commenced his final innings, and in Hobart he and his family were flanked by the ranks of cricketers from his home club of Mowbray in Launceston before starting on his valedictory lap of the oval.”As we all know things came to an end for me last week, so to be here in a different capacity today is good fun,” Ponting said. “I’m excited about this next little phase of my life, all my family here and a lot of my club-mates have even made it down for the game – they probably bought all their tickets weeks ago thinking I was going to be playing, but unfortunately I’m here as a spectator with them today.”I generally get a little bit embarrassed when people start talking about me, and even having a whole lunch break in a Test match dedicated to me today is a little bit more than what I would have expected as well. But the reason it’s here is for me to come and say goodbye to the Hobart fans and people of Tasmania who have looked after me so well over a long period of time.”As for those final moments in Perth, particularly his opponents’ spontaneous gestures of thanks for a career spanning 17 years and innumerable achievements, Ponting said they would not soon be forgotten. “That is something I’ll never, ever forget,” he said. “When I pulled Graeme Smith out of the line and shook his hand I said ‘I really appreciate this’ and he said ‘no, you deserve it, but just make sure you don’t get too many against us today’.”I thought all the running around that was happening after I got out was just them celebrating the wicket, but they were actually running over to try to shake my hand and say congratulations on my career. Robin Peterson got me out and actually apologised, he said ‘I’m sorry about that’.”So there were a couple of things that took me by surprise, the guard of honour and then all of them running to me on the way off. I got 10 metres from the gate and realised I hadn’t said goodbye to the crowd either, so I had to take my helmet off, and do all that stuff, and make sure that I acknowledged my family, and everyone there as well. A lot of those are memories I’ll never forget.”Before Ponting thinks about whether he might play another season, he has the BBL to negotiate, flying to join the Hurricanes ahead of their date with Shane Warne’s Melbourne Stars on Saturday. But the enthusiasm that has always been there for any game of cricket is quickly being tested by the more leisurely life. “I’m actually missing a training session so it’s not that bad,” Ponting said. “The boys are over in Melbourne training at the moment, so I’d rather be here I think.”