Ollie Rayner, the Sussex offspinner, has joined the Zimbabwe domestic side Mid West Rhinos for their Twenty20 competition

Cricinfo staff08-Feb-2010Ollie Rayner, the Sussex offspinner, has joined the Zimbabwe domestic side Mid West Rhinos for their Twenty20 competition.Rayner didn’t feature in the Sussex side as they won the 2009 English Twenty20 Cup which secured them a place in the Champions League, but with Rory Hamilton-Brown’s departure to Surrey there will be an opening for a spin-bowling allrounder in the line-up for this coming season.”It’s a great opportunity for me and this is a part of my game that I really want to develop,” Rayner said. “Branching out into all forms of cricket is where I want to go and I think that I have the potential to make a name for myself in Twenty20 cricket. It’s a chance that I want to take up and hopefully I’ll come back and hit the season running.”Mark Robinson, the Sussex cricket manager, added: “We are eager to encourage this opportunity for Ollie, as we’ve asked him to work on all aspects of his game. He’s now got an early opportunity to put the work that he has done into match situations. I’m sure this will benefit him.”

The longer version of Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) three provincial tournaments – the four-day matches – commences on Thursday but will feature none of the key national players, who are unavailable due to the IPL

Sa'adi Thawfeeq17-Mar-2010The longer version of Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) three provincial tournaments – the four-day matches – commences on Thursday but will feature none of the key national players, who are doing duty in the ongoing IPL. The first-class tournament will not only be missing some glamour but will be without a sixth team – the SLC Combined XI, comprising mainly schoolboy cricketers who got good exposure playing along with the established stars in the Provincial Twenty20 and limited-overs tournaments.Chandima Mapatuna, the manager for the SLC tournaments, said the junior cricketers were given the due exposure at the concluded provincial limited-overs and Twenty20 tournaments and that there was no necessity to expose them further in the longer game.”This decision was made clear even before the commencement of the 2009-10 Inter-Provincial tournament,” said Mapatuna. “We allowed the juniors to play in the shorter versions of the game and there is no reason to continue them in the four-day tournament as schoolboys are not playing anything beyond two-day cricket.”There are cases like the Royal-Thomian three-day encounter. Even tournaments conducted by SLC such as the Sara Trophy, Donovan Andree Trophy and the Under-23 Premier are two-day encounters. For the four-day game the youngsters are still not mature enough.”We advised the team officials of SLC Combined XI to note down potential players who can be useful in the four-day format. They identified five players whom they think will fit into the longer version of the game.”The five players were Chathura Peiris, the Sri Lanka Under-19 World Cup and St Peter’s College captain, Rumesh Buddhika, the Mahinda College allrounder, Ananda College batsman Geshan Wimaladharma, who will turn out for Wayamba, Hans Fernando who led the SLC Combined XI for Ruhuna, Royal College captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa for Kandurata and DS Senanayake College captain Charith Jayampathi for Basnahira South.The five teams will play each other in a league format with the top two teams qualifying for the final to be played from May 13-16 at the Pallekelle Stadium in Kandy. Kandurata won the limited-overs tournament and Wayamba retained their Twenty20 crown in the recently-concluded tournaments this year.The five provinces competing are Wayamba, Ruhuna, Basnahira Sourth, Basnahira North and Kandurata.

David Warner, the Australian batsmen, will join Adam Gilchrist at Middlesex for this season’s Twenty20 Cup

Cricinfo staff07-Apr-2010David Warner, the Australian batsman, will join Adam Gilchrist at Middlesex for this season’s Twenty20 Cup.Warner, 23, is currently with Delhi Daredevils in the IPL where his explosive batting has been one of the highlights of the tournament. He has made an unbeaten 107 from 69 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in Delhi and averaged close to 50 during his first six outings in the event.Despite having played only four first-class games he is one of the world’s most sought-after Twenty20 cricketers and was included in Australia’s squad for the Twenty20 World Cup.He is looking forward to joining Middlesex, who won the tournament in 2008 but disappointed last year. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to play at Lord’s. Hopefully, I can help Middlesex win,” he said.His signing gives the Middlesex line-up a glamorous shine with Warner and Gilchrist being followed by fellow IPL players Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan. No other county can boast such glut of stars and the MCC hope they will attract big crowds to Lord’s for this summer’s competition.

Brendon McCullum has said he will take a decision on his playing role with the New Zealand team over the next few months, as he looks to preserve himself for all three formats of the game

Cricinfo staff17-May-2010Brendon McCullum has said he will take a decision on his playing role with the New Zealand team over the next few months, as he looks to preserve himself for all three formats of the game. McCullum, one of the country’s best-ever wicketkeepers, gave up the gloves during the recent ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies and played as a specialist batsman.McCullum first contemplated giving up keeping in limited-overs games back in March, deciding to focus on being a top-order batsman. New Zealand are currently in the USA for two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka and their next major tour is in August when they play a tri-series in Sri Lanka, also involving India. He will skip that tournament to be with his wife for the birth of their child and also get some rest ahead of future tours.”There are a couple of issues in terms of my body, and my back in particular. I don’t want to miss out on playing any games for New Zealand and I have to work out the best way to have longevity in the game,” McCullum told . “That’s something to be decided over the next week in terms of what’s right for the balance of the team and what’s right for my career.”There are three months coming up when I will look at making a decision along with the relevant people at New Zealand Cricket and the selectors.”McCullum has been a destructive opener in limited-overs games. In the last two years, he has scored two centuries and five fifties in one-dayers but his returns in T20s are relatively better, with one century and six fifties. New Zealand’s top order has struggled for consistency, and McCullum intends to focus on adding more stability to it.”The way I see it is that we have a glaringly obvious issue at the top of the order and it would be great to make an impact and try to rectify that,” he said. “If it was to be the case that I wasn’t able to play as a wicketkeeper, it would mean I could spend the required time on my batting.”I know it’d be a challenge. I’m not saying I’d be instantly successful at it but I do enjoy a challenge. I’d be hopeful of being successful.”He also stressed that his commitment to New Zealand is still very strong. “I know my motives are sound, my desire is sound. I have played six years for New Zealand cricket without missing a game now and in terms (of being self serving) I think that’s a little off the mark.”In McCullum’s absence, New Zealand have tried out Peter McGlashan, Reece Young and Gareth Hopkins, who kept during the World Twenty20.

The team will play three four-day games against Glamorgan and India A between June 5 and 20 before two limited-overs matches against Ireland in Stormont

Cricinfo staff22-May-2010Devon Smith has been named captain of the West Indies A team for the tour of England and Ireland this summer.The team will play three four-day games against Glamorgan and India A between June 5 and 20 before two limited-overs matches against Ireland in Stormont. West Indies A will then take part in a tri-series involving England Lions and India A.Clyde Butts, West Indies’ chairman of selectors, had said that scheduling of regular matches for the A team was a step in the right direction for the development of the region’s cricket. The team had a recent home series against Zimbabwe and also toured Bangladesh.West Indies A: Devon Smith (capt), David Bernard (vc), Omar Phillips, Lionel Baker, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Odean Brown, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Justin Guillen, Imran Khan, Nelon Pascal, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton.Kieron Pollard and Nikita Miller will replace Justin Guillen and Odean Brown for the one-day section of the tour.

The ICC is determined the World Cup will still be a 50-over competition in 2015, despite Cricket Australia considering a new two-innings one-day format

Brydon Coverdale10-Jun-2010The ICC is confident the World Cup will still be a 50-over competition in 2015, despite Cricket Australia considering a new two-innings one-day format. The CA board will discuss the concept, which could involve two innings of either 20 of 25 overs, at a meeting this week with the view to testing it in state cricket this summer.The former coach of Australia, John Buchanan, has for many years been spruiking the idea of one-dayers split into two innings per side. He believes the future of the game lies in shorter formats, with Test cricket also retained, and 50-over matches fall into a no-man’s land between the two versions.”If Cricket Australia are contemplating making changes to it, I think congratulations to them for looking at that,” Buchanan told Cricinfo. “I’d support any changes that make it look more like the 20-over form. It has been in need of an overhaul for some time … and has been and will continue to lose popularity unless something is done with it.”Games won’t finish by the end of 10 overs into the second innings of a normal 50-over game, where one side has either dominated with the bat or been completely dominated by the ball and the game has really lost interest. By being able to quarterise the game it should enable the game to have longer life from a spectators’ point of view.”England and South Africa have already dropped 50-over cricket from their domestic schedule in favour of 40 overs, but Cricket Australia’s two-innings idea takes that concept even further. It could also mean that many players around the world will have limited exposure to the 50-over format, which in some countries will be played only at international level.That raises questions over the 2015 World Cup, to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand. But the ICC is confident the event will remain in its current 50-over format by the time that tournament rolls around.”The ICC is committed to the three forms of the game, being Test cricket, 50-over cricket and Twenty20 cricket,” an ICC spokesman told the . “We have a working party of eminent chief executives set up to look at the context and content of international cricket.”However, the ICC’s general manager of cricket, Dave Richardson, last year said he “quite liked” the idea of two-innings one-day games. “If it has been trialled successfully at domestic level, it may give the trial to give it the go-ahead at international level,” Richardson said last September.Part of the appeal of a split-innings one-day game is that the home team is guaranteed to bat during the more popular second session. There is often less interest in matches in Australia when Ricky Ponting’s men have batted first, with fans less likely to turn up to the game after work or watch it on television.”There’s no doubt in the world there’s time for some change,” Steve Crawley, the head of sport at Channel Nine, said in the . “There’s no doubt they [Cricket Australia] are up for it. You’ve got to hope they can lead the world.”The idea has also won support from some former players including Ian Chappell and Dean Jones. Chappell said the game would become more tactical when split into two innings per team, while Jones called it “a fantastic idea”.

Tom Smith blasted an unbeaten 92 and claimed three wickets as Lancashire Lightning moved up to third in the Friends Provident t20 North Group with a convincing 46-run win over Worcestershire Royals at Old Trafford

Cricinfo staff05-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Tom Smith cracked 92 and then picked up three wickets in a superb allround performance•Getty Images

Tom Smith blasted an unbeaten 92 and claimed three wickets as Lancashire Lightning moved up to third in the Friends Provident t20 North Group with a convincing 46-run win over Worcestershire Royals at Old Trafford. The allrounder smashed six sixes and shared half-century partnerships with Paul Horton and Mark Chilton as Lancashire made 170 for 5 at Old Trafford.He then took 3 for 12 as the visitors were bowled out for 124, having at one stage been 104 for 2 and in with a good chance of recording their third straight win.A blistering 54 off just 29 balls from Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya gave the Royals a great start, but Glen Chapple claimed three wickets in four balls and Stephen Parry took 3 for 19 as they lost seven wickets for just 20 runs.Having slumped to 22 for 5 in the five-wicket defeat by Derbyshire just 24 hours earlier, Lancashire fans feared the worst when Stephen Moore and Steven Croft both fell in the opening four balls from Jack Shantry without a run on the board. But Smith and Horton steadied the ship with a 69-run partnership before Horton was caught on the boundary by Phil Jaques off the bowling of James Cameron for 22.Chilton picked up the baton and raced to 34 off just 24 balls, while Smith went past fifty for the third time in the competition this season, following sixes off Moeen Ali and Jayasuriya with two more in successive overs off Daryl Mitchell and Cameron.The pair put on 80 in just 44 balls before Chilton was run out backing up after Smith’s straight drive was deflected onto the stumps by Shantry off his own bowling. But Smith went on to post his career best in Twenty20 cricket, with his 92 coming in 60 balls.Jayasuriya, who had a short spell at Old Trafford in 2007, hit four of the first 13 balls he faced for six and was dropped by Simon Kerrigan, who failed to hold onto an easy chance off Daren Powell’s bowling as Worcestershire started their reply well.At one point the Sri Lankan was 30 off ten balls but Kerrigan made amends in the ninth over as he claimed the catch to dismiss the opener off the bowling of Parry.The Royals were still ahead of the rate at the halfway stage, but then fell foul of some devastating Lightning bowling as Chapple – who accounted for Daryl Mitchell, Jack Manuel and Ben Cox in a four-ball spell – Smith and Parry blasted through the Worcestershire middle and lower order.Lancashire will look to continue their march to the last eight when they host Roses rivals Yorkshire on Friday night.

Muttiah Muralitharan collected his 67th five-for to help Sri Lanka enforce the follow-on before Lasith Malinga knocked the fight out of India by removing both Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid near the end of the day

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera21-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Muttiah Muralitharan picked up a five-for in his final Test•AFP

In the last series in 2008, M&M maimed India. Today, another M&M combination, Murali and Malinga, have sucker-punched India. Muttiah Muralitharan collected his 67th five-for to help Sri Lanka enforce the follow-on before Lasith Malinga knocked the fight out of India by removing both Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid near the end of the day. India, never great in batting out draws, were left with an uphill task if they are to get out of jail at Galle.Muralitharan broke the back of India’s resistance in the first innings by taking out MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, after Virender Sehwag’s soft dismissal, and forced India to bat again. Malinga took over the demolition job in the second. India had seemingly recovered from their tea-time score of 68 for 2 as Dravid and Tendulkar settled the nerves with a fine, risk-free 119-run partnership. Tendulkar, especially, showcased delicious timing but both were ambushed by Malinga.Dravid fell, flicking a full delivery on his legs from Malinga straight to leg gully – he couldn’t believe what he had done – and Tendulkar was trapped in front by a Malinga special. Malinga released a full delivery with his round-arm action from around the middle and leg stump line. The ball rushed through almost straight towards the leg stump. The shiny side was outside but it didn’t reverse to the on side. Neither did it swing out. It kept going straight and Tendulkar tried a flick but ended up pushing across the line. The ball went past the waft and struck him full on the pad in front of leg stump. Gone!Things turned dire for India when Murali lured Yuvraj to edge a flighted off break from round the stumps low to first slip at the stroke of stumps.It was Malinga who had struck the first early blow in the second innings. He reminded Gautam Gambhir of the first-innings dismissal with two inswingers before slanting one away and catching the edge. And things turned grim for India when Chanaka Welegedara induced Sehwag to slash to left of backward point where Mahela Jayawardene reached out to take a superb catch.The story of the morning was Murali, who was puzzlingly introduced rather late in the first session but didn’t miss the opportunity to stamp his presence. Dhoni and Yuvraj had shared a 74-run partnership when Murali showcased his class. First up, he swallowed Dhoni with his signature offbreak: Dhoni stumbled forward, saw the ball not only drift away from him but also dip rapidly on him and desperately lunged out in the end to defend. The ball broke back in sharply to find the fatal bat-pad gap. Murali then removed Yuvraj much in the same way as he did in the second innings and went on to wrap up the tail without much fuss.The turning point in India’s first innings had been the dismissal of Sehwag. It had taken Sehwag just ten deliveries to move from his overnight 85 to this 20th Test ton. However, he fell chasing a short and wide delivery from Welegedara. If Sehwag’s dismissal was lame, Laxman’s appeared tame as he fell top-edging a half-hearted pull shot of Malinga. However, it was a well-worked out dismissal. Right through his stay Sri Lanka peppered him with bouncers. Laxman initially stayed out of trouble but the bouncers kept coming and his resolve was finally broken. It was a short delivery around chest-high just outside off and Laxman ended up playing a weak swat-pull.This is where Sri Lanka loosened the grip a little as Yuvraj stepped up and took control. Sangakkara chose to keep on Welegedara, who was in the midst of an ordinary spell, for a long time and delayed the entry of Muralitharan. In fact he had started the day with Welegedara and Angelo Mathews. A combo of Murali and Malinga could have been more useful not only at the start of the day but definitely against Yuvraj, new to the crease, rather than the combination of Welegedara and part-timer Dilshan.In the meantime, Yuvraj played himself in with a few delightful hits. The stand-out shot was a nonchalant lofted drive over long-off against Rangana Herath: Yuvraj sashayed down the track and just wafted it up and over. He donned a positive outlook today and was constantly on the look-out for runs. He chipped Herath over mid-on, cut him through cover point and unfurled quite a few sweep shots. Things were looking good for India until Murali was brought on. And then he showed who was the boss in Galle.

Kent recorded their third win of the Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign in emphatic style with an eight-wicket drubbing of Leicestershire with more than 13 overs in hand

08-Aug-2010

ScorecardKent recorded their third win of the Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign in emphatic style with an eight-wicket drubbing of Leicestershire with more than 13 overs in hand.Having won the toss and elected to bat, Leicestershire made a stunning start to reach 41 without loss after four overs, only to be dismissed for 148 in 30.1 overs. Opener and top-scorer James Benning (37) and Jacques du Toit ensured the Foxes did well against Kent’s makeshift new-ball pairing of Darren Stevens and Amjad Khan.Matt Coles, back in the side in place of Azhar Mahmood, accounted for du Toit (13) lbw but it was the introduction of spin at both ends that turned the game in Kent’s favour. Sri Lankan leg-spinner Malinga Bandara did the early damage with 5 for 35 – his best figures since joining the county – two of them to sharp stumpings by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones.Off-spinner James Tredwell turned one through the gate to bowl Danny Masters as he played back, then occasional off-spinner Martin van Jaarsveld chipped in with 3 for 23.Having been set a modest target at a rate of 3.8 an over, Kent had 50 up on the board through openers Rob Key (26) and Joe Denly (39) in nine overs before Key clipped a return catch to Denning. Having hit five boundaries in his 51-ball stay, Denly followed seven overs later when he was bowled by James Taylor, but it was to prove Kent’s last slip up in an otherwise ruthless display.Vice-captain Martin van Jaarsveld, with an unbeaten 56 scored at a run-a-minute, and Geraint Jones – with a cameo 25 from 24 balls – duly eased Kent home to victory to inflict a fifth defeat of the campaign of Leicestershire.

Former England batsman Owais Shah marked his final one-day appearance for Middlesex with an unbeaten half-century that helped steer the Panthers to a comfortable seven-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 win over Derbyshire at Lord’s

04-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Former England batsman Owais Shah marked his final one-day appearance for Middlesex with an unbeaten half-century that helped steer the Panthers to a comfortable seven-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 win over Derbyshire at Lord’s.The 31-year-old, who learned on Tuesday that he would not be offered a new contract, showed Middlesex supporters what they will be missing next year by playing a watchful knock that sealed his side’s third win of a disappointing campaign with 11 balls to spare.After the early loss of England Test captain Andrew Strauss for seven, the left-hander had his off stump pegged back after playing back to a Graham Wagg off-cutter, Middlesex marched toward victory with a second-wicket stand of 127 in 20 overs between Scott Newman and Shah.Newman, dropped on 38 when Wes Durston downed a stinging overhead catch at mid-wicket off a rasping pull shot, was just 10 short of his second century in this season’s competition when his 89-ball stay ended. Aiming to drive through the covers against off-spinner Jake Needham, the left-hander mistimed his back-foot force to give Wayne Madsen a comfortable catch to short cover and make it 139 for two.Having been content to play second fiddle hitherto, Shah upped his tempo after Newman’s departure to reach his second CB40 half-century of the campaign from 85 balls and after two hours at the crease.Needham struck again to have Dawid Malan (8) well held at slip by Jonathan Clare off an edged late cut but Shah, who is being linked with a move to Essex, stood firm to finish on 58 not out as Gareth Berg (21 not out) hit the winning boundary.After crumbling to 32 for 3 inside seven overs, the Derbyshire innings was underpinned by 19-year-old Chesney Hughes with a top- scoring 64 from 59 balls. Returning to the scene of his first-class debut here at Lord’s in May, Hughes batted with poise and power beyond his years to hit six fours and a six, pulled into the Mound Stand of Tim Murtagh, during his entertaining stay.Having been invited to bat first, the visitors lost Dan Redfern (9) to the 13th delivery of the match when he drove on the up against Murtagh only to pick out Berg at backward point.England paceman Steve Finn, having been named as the Cricket Writers’ Club young player of the season in London last night showed his class with two wickets in the space of four balls – Greg Smith (5) and Durston (0) both caught behind – on his way to figures of 2 for 40.Derbyshire fought back with a fourth-wicket stand worth 82 in 15.5 overs between Hughes and Madsen, the latter contributing 39 in an hour-and-a-half and with only one boundary. The departure of Hughes, who drove straight to mid-on against left-arm spinner Tom Smith, sparked a secondary collapse with Smith to the forefront with three for 26 from his eight, tight overs.He bowled Steven Adshead and then ended Madsen’s stay by enticing his down the pitch and turning one past the bat to give John Simpson a simple stumping. Wagg’s unbeaten 48 from 53 deliveries just about ensured the Falcons batted through their overs but Middlesex found the asking rate of 4.9 an over for victory well within their compass.