Auckland officials have asked the ICC for permission to include Colin de Grandhomme as one of their contracted players for the 2007-08 season.de Grandhomme represented Zimbabwe at Under-19 level but left the country and is now based in New Zealand. He played four State Championship matches and two one-dayers for Auckland last season.”He’s making New Zealand his home, has declared he wants to play for New Zealand,” Mark O’Donnell, Auckland’s coach, told the New Zealand Herald. “It’s just a question of how representing Zimbabwe affects him.”If the ICC rules against de Grandhomme he will be ineligible for the contract as he will have to be considered an overseas player and his place will go to someone else.
The Essex fast bowler, Ashley Cowan, has retired from first-class cricket due to a persistent knee injury. Cowan, 31, toured the Caribbean with the England squad in 1997-98, but never played a Test.Born in Hitchin, Cowan appeared in 102 first-class matches following his debut against Derbyshire at Chelmsford in August 1995. After a decade as the spearhead of the Essex attack he made his last first-class appearance in May 2005 against Worcestershire.”I am retiring due to a chronic knee injury,” Cowan told the Essex CCC website. “I would love to continue my first-class playing career but sadly it is just not possible for me to perform anymore.”After a major operation in 2003, Cowan had a year out in rehabilitation and returned to action during the second half of the 2004 season. He struggled, however, in the 2005 season and spent the first half of 2006 attempting to see out his contract.”I have had a fantastic 12 years in the game but now is the time to give the youngsters a chance,” added Cowan. “Unfortunately every cricketer’s career comes to an end but for some it’s earlier than others. I’ve had some fun along the way but my body has told me enough is enough.””It is very disappointing that Ashley has had to announce his retirement,” added Essex’s chief executive, David East. “We all knew that the radical and experimental surgery that he undertook in 2003 was never guaranteed to be a success and despite giving himself every opportunity to make a full recovery it is evident this is not possible.”Cowan was awarded a benefit for this year, and his fundraising chairman, Mike Smith, said: “Ashley’s popularity on and off the pitch has been evident by the support we have seen in his benefit year. I thank all Essex supporters for showing their appreciation to date and encourage anyone still wishing to do so to check the benefit website at www.ashleycowan.org.”
The Bangladesh selectors have included two new faces in a 13-man squad for the first Test against England, which starts on October 21 at Dhaka. Aftab Ahmed, a 19-year-old middle-order batsman, and Enamul Haq, a left-arm spinner, were the only new inclusions as the selectors decided – not surprisingly – to stick to the line-up which performed so impressively on the tour to Pakistan. Both Aftab and Enamul played for the Bangladesh Board President’s team in the tour match against the England XI. Aftab made 45 in the second innings, while Haq took four wickets in England’s first innings, and finished with five in the match.The selectors, however, ignored the claims of Nafis Iqbal, the opener who scored an impressive 118 for the A team against England in the second warm-up match.Squad Hannan Sarker, Javed Omar, Habibul Bashar, Rajin Saleh, Alok Kapali, Khaled Mashud (wk), Khaled Mahmud (capt), Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafee Bin Murtaza, Tapash Baisya, Mushfiqur Rahman, Aftab Ahmed, Enamul Haq.
Venugopal Rao led South Zone to a remarkable victory on the final day of their Duleep Trophy match against England A at Gurgaon. He scored a sparkling 228 and added 226 with Sridharam Sriram (117), and then put on an unbeaten stand of 212 with Subramaniam Badrinath (100*) as South Zone reached their colossal target of 501 runs with six wickets to spare – the fourth-highest last-innings total to win a first-class match.Rao, who was a member of India’s victorious U-19 World Cup squad in Sri Lanka in 1999-2000, added another 140 runs to his overnight 88. He guided South Zone to their incredible win, made even more remarkable considering they were 1 for 2 on the third day. The highest fourth-innings total was achieved earlier this year, when Central Province amassed 513 for 9 against Southern Province in Sri Lankan domestic cricket.South Zone resumed at 171 for 2, still needing 330 to win, and made steady progress with Sriram, 78 not out overnight, reaching his hundred in a flurry of boundaries. But Sajid Mahmood checked the progress, having Sriram caught behind by Matt Prior for 117 (227 for 3) before Rao and Sridharan Sharath (28) added a breezy 64 for the fourth wicket.Again England A struck – Sharath caught by Kevin Pietersen off Graham Napier – but again South Zone’s victory charge was not stalled as Rao gained momentum in his impressive innings. Badrinath did more than just keep Rao company as he raced to an unbeaten century as the England bowling figures piled up. Worryingly for Duncan Fletcher, Simon Jones, who is to join the full squad in the Caribbean, went for 89 from 13.5 overs, while James Tredwell conceded 122 from 36 overs.Rod Marsh, England A’s coach, was scathing in his criticism after the match. “We had no-one to blame but ourselves,” he told the BBC. “I don’t know whether it’s arrogance or what, but it’s pretty dumb. When you bowl with so little discipline, miss easy opportunities in the field, you don’t expect to win cricket matches at this level.””If they’ve got any pride, some of them will take a lot of heartache away,” he added. “Others will have forgotten about it already. That doesn’t upset me, but it’s going to upset their cricket careers, I think.”
Karnataka are sitting pretty at the end of the fourth day of their five-day Ranji Trophy Plate semi-final against Vidarbha at Nagpur. The visitors, who had gained a 128-run first-innings lead on the third day, managed to extend it to a massive 735 runs with one second innings wicket in hand.In the morning, Karnataka, who resumed their second essay at 181/5, were well-served by overnight not out pair of Deepak Chougule and Sunil Joshi. With Joshi donning the role of the aggressor and Chougule dropping anchor, the duo went on to add 181 runs for the sixth wicket before Joshi suffered the misfortune of being dismissed for 99.Vidarbha must have fancied their chances of bowling Karnataka out quickly when they dismissed next man C Raghu for no score, two runs later. But Dodda Ganesh, who came in place of Raghu, had other ideas.The lanky medium-pacer went on to forge another massive partnership in the company of Chougule, batting Vidarbha out of the game in the process. The two men put on 204 runs for the eighth wicket before Chougule was unfortunately run out. The 18-year-old made 166, his maiden hundred, off 282 balls with the aid of 22 fours.Ganesh, for his part, also went on to complete his maiden ton, making 119 off 157 balls inclusive of 10 fours and five sixes. At stumps, Venkatesh Prasad (29*) and Udit Patel (5*) were holding fort for the visitors, who ended the day on 607/9.
There was nothing but surprise today for the late-arriving spectator who came to Maple Leaf Cricket Club, asked the CricInfo scorer when the match would be starting, and was then told that it had already finished. But it was easy to understand his bemusement, given just how quickly first-seed Scotland completed its six-wicket victory over Fiji.For many of the Fijians, it was a day when they gained their first experience of batting on turf wickets. Sadly for them, they had to do so against probably the best pace attack in the competition – an attack which was able to brilliantly exploit favourable conditions.It was the first match played on the new turf wicket on the north-west of Maple Leaf’s five grounds, and neither side knew quite what to expect.Neil Maxwell is Fiji’s only player with extensive experience of turf pitches and he read it as likely playing fairly slowly with low bounce, offering early help to the seamers because of the overnight dew.Scotland captain George Salmond called correctly, and duly put the Fijians into bat. It soon became clear that this was by no means an easy wicket on which to bat, with considerable bounce, some pace, and much movement off the seam.Although Durham pace bowler James Brinkley was rested for this match, the Scots opening attack of John Blain (1/11) and Asim Butt (5/11) relished the conditions. Blain generated considerable pace bowling up the hill and Butt (although of a much more moderate pace) was a real handful, combining late inswing with movement off the seam.The Fiji cause was not helped when Maxwell (2) – who, earlier in the same over, had already experienced trouble in avoiding a short pitched ball from Blain – called for a sharp single, only to be sent back by his partner. A sharp pick up and direct hit from Salmond left him well out of his ground.The Fijian lower order showed some enterprise, and after Craig Wright (3/16) had bowled Iniasi Cakacaka (12) with his first ball, only to have it called no-ball, he was struck for a couple of excellent fours. Cakacaka became the only Fijian to reach double figures before falling to the same bowler.Butt finished with an impressive 5/11, conceding only six runs off the bat, and at one point taking three wickets in the space of four balls. It was Fiji’s lowest total ever in an ICC Trophy match, erasing their tally of 69 (made against Bermuda in 1986) from that part of the record books.Fiji nonetheless refused to meekly accept defeat. Taione Batina (2/13) and Atunaisa Tawatatau (0/14) both troubled the Scots openers. Bruce Patterson (3) sought to play his shots, but had trouble with the high bounce. A poorly judged hook led to a top edge and an easy catch at gully, and Colin Smith (0), having survived a confident appeal from his first ball, was less fortunate with his second, being adjudged lbw as he prodded forward.Douglas Lockhart (14) played with patience and steadied the innings, taking few risks until he hooked left armer Jone Seuvou (1/9) straight to square leg. Although by now the Scots were nearly level, the Fijians had one last fling and, with Maxwell generating good pace, Salmond (2) had some difficulty with one short pitched delivery and then snicked an easy catch to slip. With the scores level, Greig Williamson (4) advanced down the wicket to his first ball and smashed it over mid off for the winning runs.After the match, Maxwell, whilst not offering excuses, explained how hard it was for the Fijians to adjust to the conditions, given that they have experienced no opportunity to practice on turf wickets, either at home or in the warm-up matches to the competition.Scotland coach Jim Love felt that, whilst the high bounce would favour his strong pace attack, batting will be very hard on this pitch, particularly early in the day when the effects of dew are still evident.
According to a recent report from CaughtOffside, there is a whole host of Premier League interest in the services of Leicester City defender Harry Maguire. The 25-year-old is currently excelling for England at this summer’s World Cup to continue raising his stock, and alongside an impressive debut campaign at the King Power Stadium, it’s absolutely imperative that manager Claude Puel retains the centre back beyond the August 9 transfer deadline.
The Breakdown
Ultimately, Maguire made the move to the Foxes 12 months ago after suffering relegation at Hull City, although he certainly couldn’t be blamed for the Tigers’ demise after a fine season at the KCOM Stadium, hence he earned a £17 million move to Leicester last summer.
And the 25-year-old has since gone from strength to strength at the Midlands outfit in starting all 38 of their Premier League matches last season to help them to a ninth place finish in the top-flight, with his endeavours recognised by the club’s supporters given that he won their Player of the Season award.
And they weren’t the only ones hugely impressed by Maguire’s performances, so was England manager Gareth Southgate, who has since made the 25-year-old a vital part of his Three Lions team in starting three of their four World Cup games this summer, and is likely to start in their quarter-final clash with Sweden on Saturday.
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Thus, it’s pretty evident that Maguire is a huge asset to Puel and his Leicester team, and given they did somewhat struggle defensively last season in shipping 60 goals in their 38 league games, it’s vital they retain him over the summer – imagine how much worse it could have been without the 25-year-old.
Yes, the arrival of Jonny Evans will go some way to further bolstering the backline, but take Maguire out of that defensive unit, and it is not half as strong and solid, and thus could spell problems for Leicester this season.
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Thus, amid interest from some of the Premier League’s biggest sides, it is absolutely essential that Leicester retain the services of the £22.5 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) beyond the early August deadline – it’s the most important job Puel has at the King Power Stadium during the close season.
Amidst the euphoric scenes which greeted the Scottish Saltires’ heart-stopping victory over Lancashire at Old Trafford on Monday, it was easy to forget that, once again, as on so many occasions during the last five years, the bowlers had stepped up to the mark, where the batsmen had previously failed. In three Friends Provident Trophy outings this, ahem, spring, the Saltires have managed totals of 73, 169 and 155; one doesn’t exactly have to be Stephen Hawking to deduce that these kind of scores are never going to win you more than perhaps one match in every ten, which begs the question of why there exists such a glaring discrepancy between the practitioners of the two disciplines.The statistics simply serve to reinforce the dearth of truly first-class batsmen in these parts. Fraser Watts has amassed more than 125 appearances for Scotland, and averages less than 23. Gavin Hamilton, an allrounder who no longer bowls, accumulates less than 30 an innings as well. Ditto the rest of the Saltires line-up with not one single person higher than 28 and 29, whilst, in England, only one Scottish player – Durham’s Kyle Coetzer – is currently performing regularly on the 1st XI stage. By contrast, Ireland are exporting an increasingly rich seam of ability to the counties: Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce are at Middlesex, Niall O’Brien at Northants and Boyd Rankin at Derbyshire, and the Irish boast an exceptional future star in 17-year-old Paul Stirling, who struck a massively assured 70 in the FPT last weekend. There has to be a reason why the Saltires have deep bowling resources, yet struggle to post competitive targets with the bat. What is it?Craig Wright, the former Scotland captain, has no doubt that the pitches in his homeland offer a compelling answer. “It is far easier for us to produce bowlers than batsmen up here, purely due to the conditions which young players grow up experiencing. Indeed, it will always be difficult for us to produce confident, technically assured batsmen when they grow up playing on soft, seaming wickets, on which they cannot trust the bounce of the ball,” said Wright. “In addition, our wickets up here do not bounce, so our batsmen never learn to play off the back foot. Therefore, when our lads have to go and bat against professional bowlers who are operating at 85-90mph, on surfaces which bounce waist high and above, we tend to be found out.”This is why we need to ensure that our youngsters train in facilities which have even bounce, an also that they play enough cricket at a young enough age against good opposition. That’s why we have arranged the tours [to South Africa] and put in place two-day games for the under-17s against English opposition.”On the other hand, it is much easier for us to produce bowlers because the conditions have much less influence on how a bowler goes about his business. Whereas, when one of our batsmen faces a Scottish club bowling attack on a poor wicket, he is virtually playing a different sport from the one facing Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson & co in Manchester.”Wright makes several valid points, but that still doesn’t properly explain how somebody such as Watts can look so stylish for short spells and then depart in anti-climax so frequently. One might also wonder why the Scots should seem to rise to the occasion on their away journeys without being able to replicate the same standards at the Grange.”It’s a mystery,” says Wright. “Conventional wisdom would say we should do better in home conditions where the ball seams around more, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I can’t speak for the other guys, but I’m not sure there is anything in the theory that they are inspired more by the surroundings down south, I don’t buy that. But maybe some of them feel under less pressure than when in front of an expectant home crowd.”Wright and his confreres will strive to maintain the momentum established by the defeat of Lancashire. But until the foundations are laid more adequately by their top order, the majority of supporters will forever be fearful a collapse is just around the corner.
Bangladesh have sounded out Dave Houghton as a possibility to fill their national coach vacancy, though the Zimbabwean would be a reluctant candidate.Houghton, Derbyshire’s coach, admitted this week an informal approach had been made, but said he would have to think hard about working abroad after relocating his family, including his parents, in England. The Bangladesh board have also spoken to Richard McInnes, Australia’s team performance analyst, who coached Bangladesh development teams for two years until 2005.The resignation of Dav Whatmore has left Bangladesh with a sizeable gap to fill, though their cricket infrastructure has improved dramatically under Shaun Williams, the Australian director of cricket acting as temporary coach during the current tour to Sri Lanka.Houghton would be an ideal national coach for Bangladesh, because he is a gifted individual well accustomed to backs-to-the-wall life with Zimbabwe and now Derbyshire. In fact he did a remarkable job coaching my club Radlett in Hertfordshire for two years, especially in 2003 when they won the London 50-overs knockout competition – the Evening Standard Trophy — as rank outsiders. Radlett’s path to the Oval final included away victories at Teddington and Wimbledon, the champions respectively of Middlesex and Surrey. Houghton’s knack as a coach to maximize the ability of every player could hardly be better illustrated.Houghton captained Zimbabwe in their early days as a Test nation and later during his time as their coach he achieved a better record in the World Cup than England’s.After the World Cup finished in April all four Asian countries lost their coaches. Sri Lanka were first to make an appointment, hiring the Australian Trevor Bayliss. That leaves India, Pakistan and Bangladesh still looking.
Identifying the increasing workload on cricketers as one of the biggest challenges for cricket administrators, Ehsan Mani, the outgoing ICC president, has pointed to a lack communication between boards eager to fill gaps in the Future Tours Programmes (FTP) and their players as a major problem.In an exclusive interview with Cricinfo, due to be published tomorrow, Mani said that the real worry from the increase in matches in offshore venues was the demands they were making on players. “The real worry from this development is player workload. We’ve got to make sure boards balance the amount of cricket players are playing with the money they are making. That is going to be the bigger challenge from this development.””When captains and senior players – and this has happened in India, Australia, England and Pakistan – are saying we need balance, we need more space between tours, that tells me there is a lack of communication between players and their boards. That is a worry.”When we talk to boards, they tell us they do not fix tours without consulting their players. That happened recently in Pakistan where they pulled out of a possible triangular in India after the England tour – and quite sensibly too because they are going to the Champions Trophy in October. So boards are taking player wishes into account but it remains a concern so long as players complain. Countries try to fill gaps to generate money, but they’ve got to take into account the workload they are putting on their players.”In a wide-ranging interview as his tenure draws to a close, Mani also spoke about an achievement he has often said he is most proud of – bringing India and Pakistan back onto the cricket field. “Security concerns about Pakistan were a big issue. Within weeks of taking over, South Africa almost pulled out of a tour and I had to get them back. That was a huge challenge and the turning point of it was the South Africa tour.”Once that was back on track, it also gave the Indians the confidence to tour Pakistan. I think Pakistan had always been willing to play but there were huge reservations in India, huge perceptions about what they would find if they came to Pakistan. Fortunately, as I always expected, once the crowds turned up they would find that reality was totally different to what they were led to believe. That has done a huge amount, far beyond the game, in putting the relationship between the two countries back on track.”Having taken over with the reputation of a keen expansionist – he once said he would like to see the USA participating in the 2007 World Cup – much of Mani’s time was also spent dealing with crises in various existing members, foremost among them Zimbabwe and Kenya.While he praised the Kenya has handled its administrative crisis, he warned that there would be no fast-track for Zimbabwe back into Test cricket. “They lost 15-20 of their top cricketers. No country can sustain a loss like that. These things go in cycles and yes, obviously Zimbabwe needs a lot of time before they return to Tests. That is going to be the challenge in coming years.”But he reiterated that, despite the criticism the ICC received for their handling of the situation in Zimbabwe, there was little else they could have done. “We are governed very much by our constitution. We have the responsibility to manage affairs at international level. It is only when things start impacting the international game that we move in. This is what we have done each time.”The ICC will move and I didn’t hesitate to move when I thought the integrity of Test cricket was at stake. I’m sure that is what will happen in the future. Whether I could have done anything differently, I don’t think constitutionally I could have.”Mani also bemoaned the failure of players today to walk at decisions and cited this as one of the reasons why the role of umpires with regards to technology is constantly questioned. “I don¹t believe umpires will ever become redundant if you look at the use of technology as a way of assisting umpires rather than working against or undermining them. It would help a great deal, for me personally, if players walk when they know they are out. That doesn’t happen anymore which is sad. I would urge any player around the world to walk, if they know they are out. They don¹t do that and it creates a lot of pressure on the umpire.”Mani is due to step down from his post on July 7 and give way to South African Percy Sonn.