Chris Gayle’s expected return to the West Indies team has been delayed after no decision could be arrived at during Monday’s high-level meeting

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2012Chris Gayle’s expected return to the West Indies team has been delayed after no decision could be arrived at during Monday’s high-level meeting, which was expected to resolve the year-long dispute between the player and the West Indies Cricket Board. Chaired by Prime Minister of St Vincent, Ralph Gonsalves, the meeting was also attended by WICB chief executive, Ernest Hilaire and officials from CARICOM.A resolution would have seen the former captain available for West Indies team’s ongoing series against Australia, which continues till April 27. Gayle, however, is contracted to represent Bangalore Royal Challengers in this year’s IPL from April 4 to May 27 and county side Somerset, in the English Twenty20 tournament. The clash of dates between the West Indies team’s international commitments (the current series is followed by a tour of England between May 5 and June 24) and Gayle’s contractual obligations could be a possible reason for the delay in the talks.Before the meeting, the had reported that Gayle was likely to either submit an apology or retract his comments made against the board and the coach Ottis Gibson during a radio interview.In February, the WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire said he wanted Gayle to make his priorities clear, saying that Gayle could not ask for unconditional no-objection certificates (NOCs) to play domestic Twenty20 tournaments around the world and simultaneously make himself available for West Indies selection.Gayle attended Runako Morton’s funeral in St Kitts on Saturday and was spotted in the stands during West Indies’ second ODI against Australia, in St Vincent. He last played for West Indies in the 2011 World Cup, and has since taken part in Twenty20 leagues around the world, including the IPL, the Big Bash League in Australia and the BPL in Bangladesh. He has turned out for Jamaica in the domestic one-day and four-day competitions. He was left out of the WICB’s 30-man squad for a fitness and training camp ahead of the home series against Australia.

Junaid Zia, the Lahore Eagles fast bowler, has been reported for a suspect bowling action

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2012Junaid Zia, the Lahore Eagles fast bowler, has been reported for a suspect bowling action after the group match on Wednesday against Rawalpindi Rams in the Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 tournament in Rawalpindi.Zia was reported by the on-field umpires Islam Khan and Khalid Mahmood after the game, which the Eagles won by 34 runs. Zia bowled four overs, conceded 14 runs and took three wickets.”On-field umpires reported Junaid’s (Zia) action as suspect and we have reported it back to the PCB,” Arshad Pervez, the match referee, told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a routine report and the PCB will further scrutinize it at the National Cricket Academy.”Zia, the son of former PCB chairman Retd Gen Tauqir Zia, has played four ODIs for Pakistan, since his international debut in 2003-04. He first made an impression in Pakistan’s junior ranks, and was part of the Under-19 World Cup squad in 2002.In the same match, the Rams captain Sohail Tanvir was fined his full match fee for making comments on the umpires. Tanvir was found guilty under clause 2.2.3 of PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.

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.