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Fast bowlers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle have signed for Melbourne Renegades for the next two seasons of the BBL

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2013Fast bowlers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle have signed for Melbourne Renegades for the next two seasons of the BBL. The franchise also re-signed the former Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan for one year and confirmed two-year deals with legspinner Fawad Ahmed and batsman Alex Doolan.Both Pattinson and Siddle are expected to be on national duty for the 2013-14 Ashes and may only play for the franchise after the fifth Test ending January 7. The BBL, extended from this season, will run from December 20 to February 15.”I want to get back into playing short-form cricket,”Siddle said. “To have that opportunity again in four over bursts, having a crack and getting the pace up there. I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”The Pakistan-born Ahmed, was recently granted Australian citizenship, clearing the way for a possible call-up to the Test squad for the Ashes. Though originally part of the touring squad in England, he is currently with the Australia A squad in Zimbabwe. Ahmed played one game for the Renegades last season.”I worked really hard with the Renegades last season. It was a good six or seven weeks and they really helped me through BBL 2,” Ahmed said. “I [then] got an opportunity with the (Victoria) Bushrangers and it really clicked. For me, I was nervous at one stage but it was a good summer.”The Renegades have now signed 15 of 18 players for the forthcoming season, with the final three places to be filled by December 6.

Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh have been dropped from the India one-day squad for the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2013India squad for the Champions Trophy

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wk), M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Vinay Kumar
In: Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar
Out: Ashok Dinda, Gautam Gambhir, Shami Ahmed, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane

Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh have been dropped from the India one-day squad for the Champions Trophy. Dinesh Karthik earns a recall after a gap of almost three years, and Umesh Yadav returns from injury.Shikhar Dhawan, who grabbed the headlines during the home Tests against Australia and has done well in the IPL since recovering from a hand injury, has made the 15. Allrounder Irfan Pathan, seamer Vinay Kumar and batsman M Vijay also make a comeback.Apart from Gambhir and Yuvraj, four other players who were part of the squad for India’s previous one-day assignment, the home ODIs against England in January, miss out: batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara – who is injured – and Ajinkya Rahane, and fast bowlers Ashok Dinda and Shami Ahmed.That leaves the squad with Dhawan, Vijay, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma as specialist batsmen. Karthik will be the back-up keeper behind MS Dhoni – though he is capable of fitting into the XI as just a batsman as well – while the spin department has a mix in offspinner R Ashwin, left-armer Ravindra Jadeja and legspinner Amit Mishra. Given the conditions in England, India were expected to go in with a five-man pace attack, and that is what they have done: Irfan, Umesh, Vinay, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma complete the 15.Gambhir managed 127 runs in five ODIs against England, and 34 runs in three against Pakistan before that. Yuvraj has one half-century in eight one-dayers since returning to the side following the completion of his cancer treatment.Dinesh Karthik gets a chance in India colours after close to three years•AFPThere is, however, hope for Gambhir to be recalled for the tri-series in the West Indies, also featuring Sri Lanka, following the Champions Trophy. Gambhir has been included in the probables for the tour, along with Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Ambati Rayudu and Rahul Sharma. The selectors will pick from the 21 probables, which includes the 15 picked for the Champions Trophy.Seniors Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh have not been able to force their way back in. They, along with the injured and out of favour Zaheer Khan, were not even in the 30 probables announced for the Champions Trophy.Karthik has been the mainstay of the Mumbai Indians batting so far in the IPL, with 331 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 140. He had a solid first-class season before that, scoring 577 runs at 64.11 for Tamil Nadu.Dhawan has previously played five ODIs for India, the last of which was two years ago, but only generated widespread interest on hitting the fastest century by Test debutant in Mohali in March. Following that he missed the final Test of the Australia series, in Delhi, and the first couple of weeks of the IPL due to injury, but has scored two unbeaten half-centuries in three games on return.Umesh was ruled out with a stress reaction in his back during the home Tests against England last year, his last game for India being the Ahmedabad Test in November. Yadav resumed bowling in the first week of March, and then played the domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He has been Delhi Daredevils’ leading wicket-taker in the IPL so far, with 13 scalps at 20.92, and has particularly impressed with his tidy bowling at the death.Irfan last played for India at the World T20 in Sri Lanka last September-October, and then picked up a knee injury in the Ranji Trophy ahead of India’s home season. Vinay had not made the Indian team since a hamstring injury ruled him out of India’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July 2012.There had been speculation as to whether Mishra would miss out to a pace bowler for the tournament in England, but he has retained his place in the squad following a solid showing for Sunrisers Hyderabad – apart from being their leading wicket-taker so far with 16 in 10 games, he has produced handy cameos with the bat for the side.Dinda, on the other hand, has had a woeful IPL till date for Pune Warriors, being the tournament’s most expensive bowler at the death. So far, a fifth of IPL 2013’s sixes have been hit off Dinda.Rahane could not take advantage of the opportunities given to him in the one-day series’ against Pakistan and England, totalling 55 runs in four matches – of which 47 came in one innings against England in Rajkot.

Australia sealed a tight win over New Zealand on the third day at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2013
Scorecard
Australia sealed a tight win over New Zealand on the third day at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln. New Zealand began the day on 153 for 4, and would have hoped to save the game on what was the final day but were bowled out for 241. They slipped to 175 for 6 and then lost their captain Tim Seifert, who had held the innings together until then, making 97. Having collapsed to 196 for 9, New Zealand were helped by an unbeaten 33 from No.11 Harley Jenkins, who stretched the lead to 206.Australia had limited time to chase down 208 but did so successfully, with three wickets to spare. They were 38 for 3 at one stage but didn’t stray from their objective of winning the game. Opener Jaron Morgan made 72 in 89 balls and was ably supported by the middle and lower orders, with valuable contributions from each batsman. Tom Andrews made 31, Cameron Valente guided the chase after Morgan fell with an unbeaten 36, and there was assistance from Guy Walker, Matthew Short, and Jake Doran, who scored at better than a run a ball. The chase was completed in 44.5 overs.In the first innings, both teams declared after batting for 80 overs. New Zealand made 385 for 9, with the openers Rakitha Weerasundara and Henry Collier being among four batsmen to hit half-centuries. Australia responded strongly, scoring at better than five an over, making 420 for 4, thanks to hundreds from Short and Sean Willis.

Mark Ramprakash, Robert Croft and the former England captain Mike Denness have been recognised in the New Year Honours list

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2012Mark Ramprakash, Robert Croft and the former England captain Mike Denness have been recognised in the New Year Honours list.Ramprakash and Croft, who both retired from first-class cricket in 2012, have been awarded MBEs while Denness, who played 28 Tests for England, has gained an OBE for services to sport.Ramprakash ended a 25-year career at the age of 42 having amassed 114 first-class hundreds, to become one of 25 players with a hundred centuries, and finished with 35,659 first-class runs at an average of 53.14.That success was rarely translated to the Test arena where he averaged 27.32 across his 52 Tests, but on the domestic scene he was often without equal for Middlesex and Surrey. He has recently returned to Middlesex as batting coach.”I think this MBE eclipses all that I have achieved in the game,” he told . “It came straight out of the blue. I think for most players representing your country is the biggest moment in your life.”When you experience winning Test matches, there is little other feeling that comes close to that. I have been lucky to play for so long and achieve things throughout my career like the 100 first-class centuries. But this is an acknowledgment of your entire career.”I have been committed to cricket for 25 years. That is a very long time but I enjoyed every minute of it. To have that acknowledgment from someone outside of what you did is an immensely proud moment.”Like Ramprakash, Croft, the Glamorgan offspinner, called time on his career at the age of 42 after scoring more than 12,000 runs and claiming more than 1100 wickets at first-class level. He played 21 Tests and 50 ODIs for England, but one of his most famous moments came with the bat when he helped save the Old Trafford Test against South Africa in 1998. He retired from international cricket in 2004 and continued to be a key part of Glamorgan cricket.”It is a great honour and a privilege to receive an MBE,” Croft said. “It’s fantastic to receive recognition of years of hard work, and especially in a team sport it’s good when an individual receives an accolade.”It’s not something that you set out to get, but it is wonderful when it comes along. I don’t think it has sunk in properly. I’m still just a Carmarthenshire boy who did quite well in cricket.”I count myself lucky that I was able to play for as long as I did and I’m grateful for the support I have received over the years from team-mates, coaches and everyone at Glamorgan Cricket.”However I don’t think I could have achieved what I did without such supportive family and friends. I owe a lot to my parents, Susan and Malcolm, my grandparents, my wife Marie and children Callum and Kara Beth.”Denness, meanwhile, is the only Scotsman to have captained England and led the team in 19 of his 28 Tests although it was a controversial tenure, particularly during the 1974-75 tour of Australia. However, his 188 at the MCG was, at the time, the highest score by an England captain in Australia. In his first-class career, where he played for Kent and Essex, he scored more than 25,000 runs. He later became an ICC match referee and president of Kent.”I never expected this and it really is a great honour,” Denness said. “This completes a thrilling year, during which I have served as Kent Cricket president. It really has been outstanding, there has been so much commitment from everybody; I thoroughly enjoyed Canterbury Week and all that it involved, and I will treasure the memories for the rest of my life.”David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said: “The award to Mike Denness is a fitting recognition for a long and distinguished career in cricket which has seen him fulfil a variety of key roles.”Mark Ramprakash was among the most supremely gifted batsmen of his generation and can be justifiably proud of being one of an elite band of cricketers who have scored 100 first-class hundreds.”Very few cricketers achieve the feat of scoring more than 10,000 first-class runs and taking more than 1,000 first-class wickets as Robert Croft did for Glamorgan during a 23-year career. His honour is richly deserved.”

England bowler Tim Bresnan will travel to the USA shortly for a second operation on his troublesome elbow, which ruled him out of the tour to New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2013Tim Bresnan, the England bowler, will travel to the USA shortly for a second operation on his troublesome elbow, which ruled him out of the tour to New Zealand.When he was left out of the squads for New Zealand, the national selector, Geoff Miller, said that further surgery might be required. Bresnan underwent his first operation late in 2011 and has struggled to regain top form since, finishing 2012 with two wicketless Tests in India following a lean series against South Africa, and has often appeared down on pace.Andrew Gale, Bresnan’s captain at Yorkshire, confirmed the latest development: “He’s going out to America in the next week or so, and he’ll be there for a week or two to have an operation and then some rehab on his elbow,” he told the .Bresnan’s most recent appearance for England was successful, when he took 4 for 45 in the final ODI against India, and Gale was hopeful he would be back to full fitness early in the season. There is an outside chance of him featuring on Yorkshire’s pre-season tour of Barbados.Bresnan will have his eyes set on being available for the New Zealand series at home, which starts in late May, but a more realistic aim could be the Champions Trophy where England are keen for him to take the No. 7 slot in the one-day side to enable them to play five frontline bowlers in home conditions.In his absence, Chris Woakes has a chance to establish his credentials in New Zealand. Woakes is part of all three squads for the tour, but will have to move ahead of Stuart Broad and Graham Onions to earn a Test place.

New Zealand blasted through to the semi-finals and knocked West Indies out of the tournament in a dramatic finale to their quarter-final in Townsville

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt was joy unbridled for New Zealand, after they took the 18 they needed off the last over•ICC/GettyNew Zealand blasted through to the semi-finals and knocked West Indies out of the tournament in a dramatic finale to their quarter-final in Townsville, where New Zealand needed four runs from the last ball of their chase and Ish Sodhi struck the winning boundary. New Zealand had to find 18 runs from the 50th over and at seven wickets down, West Indies were clear favourites to progress.But Sodhi managed a boundary and a single from the medium pace of Justin Greaves, and his partner Jacob Duffy picked up a leg bye to leave 12 runs required from three balls. Sodhi struck a six, a two and a four to complete the dramatic win as New Zealand overhauled the West Indies total of 237 and moved into the final four of the competition, along with India, Australia and South Africa.The day had started reasonably well for West Indies, who were sent in, as their openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Sunil Ambris put on 48 for the opening wicket. Brathwaite (53) and Akeal Hosain (54) both contributed half-centuries and despite three wickets to Matthew Quinn, West Indies were able to bat out their overs and posted a challenging 237 when the last batsman was run out from the final ball of the 50th over.Ronsford Beaton picked up two early wickets in the chase but Ben Horne steadied New Zealand with 59, and Robert O’Donnell (42) and Cam Fletcher (49) kept them in the contest through the middle of the innings. But with ten overs remaining, New Zealand still needed 89 runs, and it was only through the striking of Sodhi at the very end that they triumphed.

Worcestershire’s lower-order batsmen made the most of a window in the weather late in the third day against relegation rivals Lancashire at New Road.

17-Aug-2012
ScorecardWorcestershire’s lower-order batsmen made the most of a window in the weather late in the third day against relegation rivals Lancashire at New Road. The match was at standstill for more than five hours before Gareth Andrew and Ben Scott came out to add 27 runs and lever their side up to 251 for 7.Scott (14 not out) twice drove Kyle Hogg for four and when Andrew (12 not out) clipped the same bowler backward of square to register a second bonus point, Daryl Mitchell called his side in. With 27 balls still available before the 110-over cut-off, his declaration denied Lancashire an opportunity to try for the two wickets they needed for a third bowling point but Paul Horton and his new opening partner, Luke Procter, negotiated seven overs to the close.Allrounder Procter, promoted to the top of the order after Stephen Moore was left out, nudged the only boundary off Chris Russell as they made 10 without loss. Where the game goes from here depends on whether the captains are prepared to strike a deal. Otherwise the last day is set to be a battle for bonus points.Only eight overs were squeezed in before lunch but that was enough to dash Worcestershire batsman Neil Pinner’s hopes of making a maiden century some 15 months after being dismissed for a duck in his only previous Championship innings.Resuming on 79, the 21-year-old, who has been playing for Kidderminster Victoria in the Birmingham League, confidently clipped Glen Chapple’s third ball for two but this was the only action before a shower stopped play after two overs. After a 35-minute delay, Pinner added a single in the first over but 21 dot balls were logged before Worcestershire added another run.For Pinner, that proved to be the end of the road after batting for nearly four hours. As on Saturday, when he was out for 98 in Kidderminster’s game at Himley, a three-figure score eluded him. Having played so well, hitting 11 boundaries from 190 balls, he was leg-before for 82 when moving across his stumps as he shaped to turn a delivery from Chapple off his pads.It was a well-deserved success for Chapple, Lancashire’s 38-year-old captain, who eventually got through 31 overs with a return 4 for 60. Like his new-ball partner, Hogg (2 for 63), he beat the bat often enough to merit even better figures.

The race for the semi-finals got tighter as Dhaka Gladiators became the fourth team to be tied on ten points after Saturday’s opening match in Mirpur.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2012
ScorecardThe race for the semi-finals got tighter as Dhaka Gladiators became the fourth team to be tied on ten points after Saturday’s opening match in Mirpur. It was a comfortable five-wicket win against Barisal Burners, led by contributions from Imran Nazir, Azhar Mahmood and Kieron Pollard.Barisal had a good platform set by the opener Ahmed Shehzad, who hit 51, off 39 balls. Naved-ul-Hasan bowled economically, taking 2 for 22 off four overs to restrict Barisal to 156. England’s Phil Mustard hit 33 off 23 balls before he was dismissed by the part-timer Mohammad Ashraful.Dhaka were in trouble at 11 for 2, but the Pakistan duo of Nazir and Mahmood put them firmly on course with a stand of 92 for the third wicket. Mahmood made 42 off 30 balls, while Nazir made 65 before he was dismissed by Suhrawadi Shuvo. There was a minor jitter at 112 for 5, but Pollard ensured Dhaka crossed the finish line without any further loss of wickets.The only sore point for Dhaka was that their captain Mashrafe Mortaza was fined BDT 25,000 for a slow over-rate in Friday’s game against Chittagong Kings.

Australia took a long time to manoeuvre their position with the bat in Port-of-Spain but far less with the ball

The Report by Andrew McGlashan16-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMichael Hussey’s half-century helped Australia beyond 300•AFPAustralia took a long time to manoeuvre their position with the bat in Port-of-Spain but far less with the ball. Their total of 311, engineered on the second day by Michael Hussey and James Pattinson, was soon shown in its true value as West Indies stumbled to 49 for 3 at the close with the top order floundering against pace and spin.Hussey and Pattinson added 89 for seventh wicket as Australia batted through to tea on rain-interrupted day. Their effort was put into greater context when the last four wickets fell for 14 and the swift fall of batsmen continued when West Indies started their reply. By stumps the home side were already facing a daunting task to stay in contention in the match and the series. It seemed, as ever, that their hopes lay largely with Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Michael Clarke continued to show the innovative side of his captaincy by handing the new ball to the left-arm spin of Michael Beer, who was playing just his second Test, and he was an immediate threat with deliveries gripping to beat the outside edge. It was Ben Hilfenhaus, though, who struck first with a testing spell of outswing when a delivery straightened on Kriagg Braithwaite and would have clipped leg stump.Adrian Barath took 26 balls to get off the mark and was soon simply, yet beautifully, set up by Beer. Barath had driven on the up through the covers and Beer responded with a delivery that ripped past a defensive push before sending down the arm ball which trapped Barath on the back foot.Barath was absolutely right not to review, but the same can’t be said of Kieran Powell. He had played a couple of pleasing drives before facing Pattinson’s first delivery which swung back into him. Ian Gould gave the decision but replays showed it had pitched outside leg stump. With Australia sensing further inroads Darren Bravo and Chanderpaul did well to prevent a terminal collapse.West Indies’ bowlers cannot be faulted for their endeavours but were not always supported in the field. Hussey passed fifty from 136 balls but should have been removed before the landmark. He was given his second life by Carlton Baugh on 47 when he advanced down the pitch to the probing Shane Shillingford, and was beaten by turn and bounce, only for Baugh to be unable to gather the take to complete the stumping. It was not easy, but should have been taken. On the first day Baugh dropped Hussey on 5 and he made West Indies’ job even tougher.Smart stats

Australia’s run-rate of 2.30 is their lowest for a 300-plus score in Tests since 1990. Their previous lowest against West Indies was 2.51 during the 306 made in Antigua in 1999.

Michael Hussey’s strike rate of 35.26 during his innings of 73 is the sixth-lowest for a fifty-plus score by an Australian batsman against West Indies in Tests since 1990. It is also the second-lowest strike rate for Hussey for a fifty-plus knock.

Four bowlers finished with an economy rate under 2.00 after bowling more than 15 overs. In the first innings of the Trinidad Test in 1999 against Australia, three West Indies bowlers had bowled 15-plus overs with an economy rate less than or equal to 2.00.

Shane Shiilingford’s economy rate of 1.87 is the lowest for a bowler against Australia in Tests played since 2000 (min 25 overs bowled).

Kemar Roach went past the 50-wicket mark in Tests during his five-wicket haul. This is Roach’s third five-for and his first against Australia.

The run-rate during the 89-run seventh-wicket stand between Hussey and James Pattinson (2.28) is the second-lowest for Australia since 2000 (for seventh-wicket fifty-plus stands).

Australia opened the bowling with a spinner for only the ninth time since 1970. It is also the first time since opening with Bill O’Reilly in 1938 that Australia have opened the bowling in the first innings with a spinner.

Narsingh Deonarine, who is developing the knack of breaking partnerships, eventually ended Hussey’s stay when he lured him into a drive. Soon afterwards Pattinson’s equally valuable contribution which spanned 119 deliveries was cut off when a leading edge looped high into the off side to give Shillingford a hard-earned third wicket.Australia had lost a wicket without adding to their overnight total when Matthew Wade edged Kemar Roach to first slip. Roach and Edwards then gave Pattinson a tough welcome to the crease with a series of deliveries that beat the outside edge while Edwards also struck him on the forearm with a short ball, something Roach repeated later on, but Pattinson stood his ground to provide priceless support for Hussey.Hussey pulled a rare short delivery from Shillingford through midwicket but the offspinner provided another tough examination for the batsmen. Hussey needed all his skill to survive; sometimes playing from deep in the crease then trying to stretch forward and also employing the sweep.Pattinson picked off a loose delivery from Darren Sammy with a cut and then slashed another boundary past a diving third slip as West Indies were, once again, frustrated by the batting of one of Australia’s bowlers. Although plenty of turn was on offer, the lack of pace in the wicket made it hard work for the bowlers and a couple of edges created by Shillingford did not carry to slip. Edwards, meanwhile, would have just been happy to find the edge as Pattinson continued to play and miss.Occasionally the dot balls and maidens were punctuated by a boundary, the most empathic of which was when Hussey swept Shillingford into the stands over midwicket. Pattinson did not lose much in comparison as he showed a very solid defensive technique and the footwork to attack rare loose deliveries.Roach made swift work of the remaining resistance when he bowled Hilfenhaus off his pads and two balls later pinned Beer lbw. To many people’s surprise Beer was the man to deliver the next ball of the Test. It was the turn of Australia’s spinners, but their quick bowlers were an equal threat.

Iain O’Brien, the former New Zealand bowler, has retired due to a chronic back injury. He hoped to resurrect his career in Wellington but decided his injury was too serious

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2012Iain O’Brien, the former New Zealand seamer, has retired due to a chronic back injury. He hoped to resurrect his career in Wellington but decided his injury was too serious.O’Brien, 35, made his international debut against Australia at Christchurch in March 2005 but after that series didn’t play another Test for two seasons. He returned in November 2007 against South Africa at Johannesburg and went on to play 22 Tests in all, taking 73 wickets at 33.27.Having been recommended to retire in 2003 after being told he had the back of a 60 year-old, O’Brien continued to play international cricket before retiring in 2009 after the World T20 in England. He wanted to settle in the UK and continue his career with Middlesex but employment problems prevented him from becoming a British-qualified player.O’Brien announced the news that his cricket “ride” was over in an emotional blog. “I’ve cried in changing rooms and hotels all around the world but how could I walk away,” he said of his experiences in coping with the injury. “I’ve got more out of my body than I should have. Time’s up.”He returned to Wellington and began rehabilitation with the hope of returning to international cricket. “I was doing everything I could to get back out for Wellington and if good enough, back into the New Zealand team,” O’Brien said. “That was the dream. That was the motivation.”I now know I’ll never play for New Zealand again. The motivation to keep going has dwindled. So, on that note I know it’s time to walk away.”