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Monty Panesar, the left-arm spinner who has endured a troubled season, has been released by Sussex and will join Essex for the rest of the summer

Andrew McGlashan19-Aug-2013Monty Panesar, the left-arm spinner who has endured a troubled season, has apologised for his recent behaviour after being released by Sussex and joining Essex for the remainder of the season. He was allowed on loan to a Division Two side and is still hoping to earn a place on the Ashes tour to Australia, while harbours hopes of being the “best spin bowler in the world.”Panesar was fined by police for being drunk and disorderly earlier this month after urinating on bouncers following a night out in Brighton and has not played for Sussex since. He was left out of England’s squad for the final Ashes Test at The Oval when, under normal circumstances, he would have been expected to be included with England naming two spinners.”I have endured a challenging time this year off the field and my frustrations have sometimes got the better of me professionally,” Panesar said in statement. “I apologise for letting the club, my colleagues and my fans down.”I am grateful to Sussex for allowing me to be released from my contract for 2014 and 2015 in order to explore other opportunities to further develop my cricket. I want to give myself the best chance of playing all forms of the game at the highest level.”I would like to thank Sussex for the opportunities, experiences and support I have enjoyed at the club since 2010, and my gratitude for the contribution Sussex have made in providing me with a platform to gain selection for England on three successive winter tours.”Essex is now the next stop in a career that began at Northamptonshire and has often flourished for club and country but is need of repair. Panesar said he would be working again with Neil Burns, his former mentor, to try and get his career back on track. Where his full-time future lies remains open to debate.”I have re-engaged with Neil Burns at London County Mentoring, to help to develop my cricket further and I feel that Neil, along with a trusted support structure in place around me will help me put my personal and professional problems behind me and enable me to put all my energies and focus into the game and a new club.”I am determined to do whatever it takes to gain selection for England this winter. I want to become the best I can be.”I believe that if I maintain the bowling progress I have made in recent weeks which enabled me to be selected for the Test squad at Old Trafford, I can fulfil my long-held ambition of becoming the best spin bowler in the world, over time.”Panesar is set to make his debut against Northamptonshire, his first county, on Tuesday and Paul Grayson, the Essex coach, said: “We are delighted to welcome Monty to the club for the remainder of the season. He is a world-class spinner and we are confident that he will have a positive impact on the team. He will join us from today and will hopefully be playing tomorrow at 11am against Northants.”Sussex’s investigation into the events in Brighton has concluded with the club saying “both parties have reached agreement.” Panesar will become a free agent on September 27.Zac Toumazi, the Sussex chief executive, said: “Clearly this season has been a very difficult time for Monty Panesar. Having reviewed the whole situation the club has agreed that Monty be released from his contract. This will give him every opportunity to put his personal and professional life back on track.”Sussex’s professional cricket manager Mark Robinson said: “Monty has been an integral part of the professional cricket team and has been a valuable contributor to the overall performance of the club during his time at Sussex. He is an outstanding bowler. I would like to thank Monty for his contribution and wish him well for the future. “Even before Panesar’s drinking incident it had been a difficult season for him. In 11 Championship matches he claimed 23 wickets at 40.39 and lost his place for a match. He had been included in the England squad for the Old Trafford Test against Australia and it was after his omission from that game that the latest problems occurred.His most recent Test was against New Zealand, in Auckland, during March when he was deputising for the injured Graeme Swann. Earlier in England’s winter campaign he had formed a key double-act with Swann during the historic series victory in India.

Sri Lanka umpire Piyadasa Vidanagamage, who officiated in the country’s maiden Test win over India at the P Sara Oval in 1985, died in England at the age of 79 on Saturday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq26-Aug-2013Sri Lanka umpire Piyadasa Vidanagamage, who officiated in the country’s maiden Test win, over India at the P Sara Oval in 1985, died in England at the age of 79 on Saturday. Vidanagamage’s partner in that Test, Selliah Ponnadurai, had passed away on August 15.Vidanagamage was the first Sri Lankan umpire to officiate in a World Cup, when he stood in four games in the 1987 edition. Overall, Vidanagamage officiated in four Tests and 23 ODIs between 1982 and 1991 in an umpiring career spanning 30 years.A qualified physiotherapist, he was director of the physiotherapy section of Sri Lanka’s department of health and represented his employers in cricket as a left-hand bat and slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He was also treasurer of the Association of Cricket Umpires Sri Lanka for a long period and a lecturer on the laws of cricket for the association.”One of the good qualities of Vida was that he never criticized a fellow umpire or an up and coming umpire,” said Saman Amarasinghe, a contemporary of Vidanagamage.”Vida was a straightforward person. He never bowed down to pressure from players or officials,” said MDDN Guneratne, another umpiring colleague.Vidanagamage decided to settle in England following his retirement from the health department in the early nineties.He is the third Sri Lanka Test umpire to pass away in the last three months, after Kandiah Francis, who died in June, and Ponnadurai.

Ryan ten Doeschate’s bruising 64 from 32 broke the back of a mediocre Kandurata Maroons total, and all but secured Otago Volts’ place in the Champions League proper

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando18-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRyan ten Doeschate smashed 64 off 32 balls•BCCI

Ryan ten Doeschate’s bruising 64 from 32 broke the back of a mediocre Kandurata Maroons total, and all but secured Otago Volts’ place in the Champions League proper, while very nearly damning their opponents to the opposite fate. The match had been set up again by the discipline of the Otago’s fast men, who kept Kandurata down to 154 for 9, despite the best efforts of Upul Tharanga, who hit 76 from 56.Ten Doeschate had not played the first match of the qualifiers, having not been released in time from Essex to come to India. The match was finely poised at 45 for 2, when he arrived at the crease, but within three overs, he had injected Volt’s innings with the adrenaline that would not abate until the finish.Kandurata’s spinners had prospered in the first ten overs, but legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi could extract little turn from the surface, and it was off his first three balls that the match pivoted. Ten Doeschate charged the first, striking it long and straight, before hanging back to wallop his second six, over mid-on this time. The third six was swept flatter and squarer, and after that 20-run over, Otago needed only play sensibly to achieve the target.A short period of consolidation followed that burst, but the boundaries began again in earnest in the 15th over, with James Neesham joining in. A square boundary off Nuwan Kulasekara’s third over gave ten Doeschate his fifty off 26 balls, and when he had departed after another lucrative over, Otago needed only 9 from 17 balls. Neesham needed only five of those.In Kandurata’s innings, Tharanga was starved of his early penchant for off-side boundaries by a shrewd Otago strategy that prevented the kind of start he had achieved in their first match. McCullum placed a cover sweeper almost from the outset, and had his pace bowlers pitch it full and wide. If Tharanga flashed at the ball, he brought the two slips and catching infielders into play. If he played it along the ground, he would not muster enough power into the stroke to earn more than two.Kandurata hit only 25 in the Powerplay as a result, and it wasn’t until Nathan McCullum’s offspin was introduced that Tharanga’s innings finally gained traction. Two balls disappeared long and straight during the eighth over, and Tharanga exacted as heavy a toll in McCullum’s next over, which also went for 15.While he propelled the innings though, Otago made regular gains at the other end. Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne had both hit fifties in the first match, but were dismissed cheaply here, as short spells from Nick Beard and ten Doeschate crimped the scoring rate.Having been 132 for 4 after 17 overs, Kandurata might have felt they should have surged beyond 160, but a fine 18th over from Ian Butler, from which three wickets were gleaned, left Kandurata at a sub-par total. Butler finished with the best figures for the Volts, earning 3 for 21, with James McMillan having taken 1 for 17 from his three overs.This was Otago’s 12th consecutive T20 win, the joint third longest streak in the format and, more importantly, leaves them on the verge of qualifying to the main tournament.

Pakistan last won a Test match in Sri Lanka in 2006, and with Kumar Sangakkara likely to play only the first two Tests, Misbah-ul-Haq might feel this is his best chance yet to win a game in Sri Lanka

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando and Umar Farooq16-Jun-2015

Match facts

June 17-21, 2015
Start time 1000 local (0430 GMT)4:12

Arnold: SL have never been short of talent

Big Picture

If familiarity breeds contempt, no one told Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The teams now embark on their seventh bilateral series in as many years, and as Ahmer Naqvi says, this relationship has the hallmarks of an arranged marriage and there is genuine warmth there too. Perhaps no two boards back each other quite as unequivocally at the ICC table. SLC chairman Sidath Wettimuny has made two trips to Pakistan in the last month alone.Yet for all the mutual back-scratching, Pakistan’s most successful Test captain is yet to win a match on the island. Pakistan’s last three Test series in Sri Lanka have brought results of 0-2 (2009), 0-1 (2012) and 0-2 (2014). With Sri Lanka in heavy transition, and Kumar Sangakkara likely to play only the first two Tests, Misbah-ul-Haq might feel this is his best chance yet to win a game here – maybe even a series.Pakistan are in something of a transition too, but having had more cricket in recent months, their side feels better meshed. Greater responsibility has settled well on Azhar Ali’s shoulders, and Yasir Shah is marching quickly towards a menacing Test record. Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan have tasted success in Sri Lanka as well.The hosts have plenty of batsmen pressing for a middle-order place. Kusal Perera’s four brisk centuries and two fifties against Pakistan A make him the likeliest option, but Kithuruwan Vithanage waits in the wings, and a reinvented Jehan Mubarak is back for another crack at the top level. Injuries to the two frontline quicks have opened up opportunities for seamers more often seen in away Tests, as well.Neither captain is renowned for attacking play, though Angelo Mathews has taken small steps away from the safety-first outlook that defined the early months of his captaincy. How he does in his first home series without Mahela Jayawardene’s support may give clues to his development as a strategist. As ever, the Galle Test should ease the hosts into the series, with several key batsmen and bowlers often at their peak at this venue.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)


Sri Lanka: LLWWD
Pakistan: WDLDW

In the spotlight

Lahiru Thirimanne has progressed nicely in ODI cricket, having had a good World Cup, but his Test average languishes at 26.70. It would be worse still if not for a 155 not out against Bangladesh on the flattest Galle track seen in recent years. His modest Test returns seem like an anomaly, because he has the temperament to flourish in the long format. Groomed for a while now to take up Sangakkara’s No. 3 spot, he will have to increase his output dramatically to be an adequate replacement.Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar have stepped up over the months to cover the absence of Saeed Ajmal. The left-arm spinner and wrist spinner combination will have an important contribution to make. Both of them had a decent practice match in Colombo, with Babar taking 6 for 31 while Shah picked up two at a decent economy rate.

Teams news

Kusal looks likeliest to bat at No. 6, with Dinesh Chandimal taking the gloves and batting at No. 7. Sri Lanka may also be tempted to play 22-year-old offspinner Tharindu Kaushal who, with his flight and variation, may be an effective foil for Rangana Herath.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kaushal Silva, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Kusal Perera, 7 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 8 Dhammika Prasad, 9 Tharindu Kaushal/ Dilruwan Perera, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Nuwan PradeepPakistan had thought about flying in Rahat Ali for this match, but opted not to strain him so soon after a hamstring injury. Their attack is likely to contain three left-arm bowlers.Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Junaid Khan, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Zulfiqar Babar

Pitch and conditions

There appeared to be a hint of live grass on the Galle track on the eve of the match, which may mean it plays flat for the first two days. Plenty happens in the back end of most Galle Tests though, so expect the sea breeze to dry the track up nicely for the second innings.Galle has been getting daily rains, but these have mostly been restricted to night-time hours. The occasional interruption can be expected, however.

Stats and trivia

• Kumar Sangakkara needs one more double-ton to equal Don Bradman’s record of 12. He already has three such scores against Pakistan.
• Rangana Herath needs 12 more scalps to become the first bowler to take 100 wickets against Pakistan, surpassing Kapil Dev’s 99 wickets.
• Younis Khan has seven hundreds against Sri Lanka – his highest against any opposition, although he has also played the most Tests against them.

Quotes

“Saeed Ajmal hasn’t been picked, but we know they’ve got some excellent bowlers, so it’s no different from your usual, strong Pakistan attack.”
“It’s very important for us to deal with the spin on this tour to get the best result.”

New Zealand Women captain Suzie Bates feels familiarity with the conditions has provided them with the required knowledge and knowhow to win the upcoming ODI series against India in Bangalore

Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore27-Jun-20155:24

‘We need to show positive intent as a batting unit’ – Bates

“If you’d given me a choice at the start of the series between taking the ICC Championship points game 2-1, or winning the overall ODI series without those four Championship points, I would have gone for the points, no question.”That’s what New Zealand Women captain Suzie Bates had said in February after her team lost the ODI series 3-2 to England, despite an initial 2-1 lead that helped them go up a place in the ICC Women’s Championship. Only points from the first three ODIs were counted for the ICC tournament, and even though they got those, New Zealand are still second from bottom, only ahead of India.Now in India for the third time, just like head coach Haidee Tiffen, Bates feels familiarity with the conditions has provided them with the required knowledge and knowhow to win the upcoming ODI series against India in Bangalore.”Our focus is not just three first three matches, but on the entire series,” Bates told ESPNcricinfo. “From playing point of view, spin is obviously going to play a much bigger part than it does at home. We’ve got some quicks in our team that we still think we can use out of them, but the best we can play their spinners and the best our spinners can bowl, I think that will be crucial.”As a group we’ve talked about how fast the outfields can be [in India] but you’ve got to give yourself time to adapt when you are out in the middle and you’ve got to have wickets in hand to make the most of scoring runs at the end of the innings. We’ve talked about making sure that we play nice and straight and not playing around our pads because with the ball turning and perhaps staying a little bit lower than we are used to is not coming on as well as it does at home, so we’ve got to be more tight with our technique.”With the ball we are not going to get the bounce we are used to so adjusting our lengths as quick as we can. We’ve toured here before and we’re so well looked after that challenges off the field seem to have disappeared.”Tiffen toured India in 2003 for a bilateral series and later in 2007 for a quadrangular series. She is now on her first assignment after taking over as head coach and feels acclimatising to the conditions and pitches will be the main challenge.”Conditions-wise I think learning to apply yourself in the heat that’s a challenge,” Tiffen said. “They’ve got some world-class players like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, and they’ve got some young spinners coming through and it is a tough place to tour. Obviously the pitches are slightly different as well, they perhaps take a little bit more turn.”The first three ODIs will be in focus again for the Women’s Championship and the teams that finish in top four will directly qualify for the 2017 World Cup in England. A 3-0 score at the start of the series will see New Zealand jump straight to joint-third with West Indies. And if they win 2-1, they will be placed fourth.However, they will be without Sara McGlashan, their most experienced player, who made herself unavailable for the series. While Tiffen said that would give an opportunity to the younger players, Bates said it was not something to worry about as there’s enough depth in the squad.”She’s got a personal [reason] and is looking at her career outside of cricket,” Tiffen said. “That will provide an opportunity for other people to step up and we are looking at a few players to perhaps fulfil that No. 4 role. I suppose it’s about trying to find out questions of those players and who can adapt quickly and pay a role for us there.””I know we haven’t been as consistent as we’d like as a group with the bat and we have relied on some of the top order but Amy Satterthwaite has had match-winning performances for us at No. 3 and she’s a class player,” Bates said. “Kate Broadmore has come on for us internationally at that No. 4 spot.”Look, I think there’s always pressure on the top order…that’s what they are there to do, score the runs, and we know Sophie [Devine] can whack the ball and we’ve got Rachel Priest as well who’s been outstanding over the last series against England and West Indies, she’s been really consistent. Sara’s a huge loss, especially in the field she leaves a bit of a hole there at cover that I might have to step up my game for.”Among the other youngsters to watch out for, Bates spoke highly of tall fast bowler Lea Tahuhu, one of their bowling stars from the 2013 World Cup in India, spinning allrounder Leigh Kasperek, who took 3 for 19 in a warm-up against India A on Friday, and 18-year-old pacer Hannah Rowe.”Lea Tahuhu, although she’s been in the side for a number of series, she’s an exciting fast bowler and can bowl the ball pretty quick and she’s become more and more consistent for us opening the bowling,” Bates said. “We’ve got a couple of exciting allrounders – Anna Peterson and Leigh Kasperek – they bat lower order and bowl a bit of spin and these conditions will be really useful. There’s lots of other young girls – Hannah Rowe is probably our youngest, who bowls reasonably quick and swings the ball. She’s a netball player from back home as well so she brings a lot of skills and she’ll just grow and learn from these conditions, she hasn’t played much outside of New Zealand.”And when asked to pick between a scoreline of 2-1 from the first three matches and winning the series 3-2, Bates happily said: “5-0.”

A new-look New Zealand side will have the Maori word “Aotearoa” emblazoned on their jerseys when they take on a Zimbabwe outfit struggling to translate performances into results

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Aug-2015

Match facts

Sunday, August 2, 2015, Harare
Start time 09.00 local (07.00 GMT)Zimbabwe’s impressive performances in 2015 have not always translated into the right results•Associated Press

Big Picture

After a break of just over a month, New Zealand are back. They will return in a new-look avatar, in two ways. On Sunday, in the first ODI against Zimbabwe, the word Aotearoa – the Maori word for New Zealand – will be emblazoned on their jerseys. They will be without a number of familiar faces, as Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee have been rested, and Trent Boult and Corey Anderson are nursing injuries.Their absences will offer chances for some well-known, but not entirely established names – such as James Neesham and Adam Milne – and some newer faces – such as Ben Wheeler and George Worker – to try and earn longer-term places in the side. They can expect to be tested by a sluggish Harare surface and a Zimbabwe side that has looked impressive in recent months without having the results to show for it.Last year, Zimbabwe were at a serious low following a winless tour of Bangladesh. This year, despite looking an entirely transformed side at various points, they have won only one of 11 ODIs. They have found themselves in promising situations against quality opposition – from South Africa at the World Cup to India during the recent ODI series at home – only to let them slip away time and again.Of all the factors that have contributed to this phenomenon, their death bowling has their biggest headache. In their last three ODIs, they bowled first each time and restricted India to scoring less than five runs an over in the first 40 overs. In the last 10 overs, they conceded 90, 77 and 106. Zimbabwe will have to show real, measurable improvement in this aspect of their game if they are to come away with any wins from this series.

Form guide

Zimbabwe: LLLLL
New Zealand: LLWWL

Players to watch

Chamu Chibhabha has been in superlative form of late, having scored 295 runs in his last five ODIs – against Pakistan and India – at an average of 73.75. He has provided Zimbabwe stability at the top of the order, and they will hope he continues giving them that against a New Zealand attack high on pace.Having sat out the World Cup and an enthralling ODI series against England, James Neesham is back in the New Zealand squad, and he will want to impose his all-round skills on Zimbabwe and make it hard for the selectors to leave him out even when all the senior players return. He has form going into this match, having struck a 29-ball 54 against North West in a warm-up T20 match in Pretoria.

Team news

A string of impressive domestic performances have earned the offspinner John Nyumbu a recall, and he could be vying with Prosper Utseya for a place in the Zimbabwe attack.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Sean Williams, 4 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Craig Ervine, 7 Regis Chakabva, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya/John Nyumbu, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 Neville MadzivaThe composition of New Zealand’s bowling attack could depend on conditions at the Harare Sports Club. They have two possible ways of including a second spinner in their side – either pick the batting allrounder George Worker, who bowls left-arm spin, or the legspinner Ish Sodhi. Neither has made his ODI debut yet.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 James Neesham/George Worker, 7 Luke Ronchi, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9
Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Adam Milne/Ish Sodhi

Stats and trivia

• In 2015, New Zealand have a 16-6 win-loss record in ODIs, which is better than all teams except Australia (11-1). Zimbabwe have a 1-10 record, which is the worst among all teams which have played at least ten matches this year.
• New Zealand’s run-rate in the last 10 overs in ODIs in 2015 is 9.40, next only to South Africa (11.57) and West Indies (10.01). Zimbabwe’s economy rate in the last 10 in 2015 is 10.18, which is worse than all teams except UAE (10.28).

Quotes

“Most of [our recent] games, we’ve been pretty competitive without having those last few ounces of effort to cross the line. That’s been good to a point, but we have to find a way to translate a few more of those efforts into victories.”
“To take on India the way [Zimbabwe] did was an extremely good effort, in conditions that India are probably quite suited to. We’re certainly expecting a tough challenge.”

England will play a Test in Sharjah for the first time after the schedule for their tour of UAE to face Pakistan in October and November was confirmed

Andrew McGlashan23-Jul-2015England will play a Test in Sharjah for the first time after the schedule for their tour of UAE to face Pakistan in October and November was confirmed. The team will fly out to the Middle East just two weeks after the one-day series against Australia concludes.The trip will include three Tests, which begins on October 13 in Abu Dhabi, followed by matches in Dubai and Sharjah. The Tests will be followed by four ODIs from November 11 to 20, before the tour concludes with a three-match T20 series held between November 26 and 30.The confirmation of the tour schedule had faced delay due to tensions created by the links between Ten Sports, the host broadcaster, and the Essel Group, which has threatened to form a breakaway international league. ESPNcricinfo understands that pressure had been applied by the BCCI on other cricket boards not to play any series in which Ten Sports are the host broadcaster after the PCB recently signed a five-year deal with them.On England’s previous visit to UAE to play Pakistan – during which Pakistan whitewashed the Test series 3-0 but lost both the ODI and T20 contests – the internationals were split between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but Sharjah returned as a Test venue in November 2011, nine years after it had previously hosted matches, and has since hosted matches involving Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

England tour of UAE

September 30, England depart
Oct 5-6, Pakistan A, Sharjah
Oct 8-9, Pakistan A, Sharjah
Oct 13-17, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
Oct 22-26, 2nd Test, Dubai
Nov 1-5, 3rd Test, Sharjah
Nov 8, one-day practice match, Abu Dhabi
Nov 11, 1st ODI, Abu Dhabi
Nov 13, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
Nov 17, 3rd ODI, Sharjah
Nov 20, 4th ODI, Dubai
Nov 23, T20 v UAE XI, Abu Dhabi
Nov 26, 1st T20, Dubai
Nov 27, 2nd T20, Dubai
Nov 30, 3rd T20, Sharjah

The last time England played an international at the venue was during a triangular series in 1999 which formed an odd build-up to that year’s World Cup, which was held in England. On this tour, they will also play an ODI and a T20 at the ground.The tour will be Trevor Bayliss’ first overseas assignment with England and one of his main challenges will be to try and ensure his team do not flounder against spin as they did on the previous trip in early 2012. England, who were the No. 1 ranked Test team at the time, were flummoxed by the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman as the pair shared 43 wickets across the three Tests.England may not face either on this trip – Ajmal has not played Test cricket since returning from remodelling his bowling action and is currently not involved in any format for Pakistan, while Rehman has not played internationals for a year – but the current spinners, legspinner Yasir Shah and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar, have enjoyed considerable success.The pair caused Australia significant problems in the series in the UAE last year. Yasir, in particular, has 61 wickets in 10 Tests after claiming 24 at 19.33 in the recent series in Sri Lanka.Following the conclusion of the tour, England will return home for a short period before leaving for South Africa – another full tour which includes four Tests, five ODIs and two T20s. That will be followed by the World Twenty20 in India during March.England’s red-ball and white-ball teams have now diverged to such a point that there are very few players that appear in all formats, but the likes of Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and perhaps Moeen Ali could be expected to be first choice for Tests, ODIs and T20s, and may require careful handling from the management.

Leicestershire have been deducted 16 points in the LV= County Championship and fined £5,000 for at a disciplinary panel hearing at Lord’s called to rule on the persistent misbehaviour of their players

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2015Leicestershire have been deducted 16 points in the LV= County Championship and fined £5,000 following a disciplinary panel hearing at Lord’s called to rule on the persistent misbehaviour of their players.The punishment severely undermines their attempts to avoid the wooden spoon for the third successive season and leaves them 32 points behind the second-bottom club, Kent, with only four matches remaining.Leicestershire’s chief executive, who attended the hearing with chairman Paul Haywood and head coach Andrew McDonald, called the sanction “severe”.The Disciplinary Panel, chaired by Gerard Elias QC and including the former players Mike Smith and Ronnie Irani, convened to hear a charge brought by the ECB against Leicestershire in respect of five or more separate occasions when their players committed fixed penalty offences in a 12-month period.The ECB statement read: “The points deduction is immediate but the fine will be suspended for a period of 12 months and will be imposed if Leicestershire players commit a further two fixed penalty breaches within that period. In addition Leicestershire were ordered to pay £500 towards the cost of the hearing.”The panel took into account the guilty plea and the changes that have taken place at the club within the past year as well as the club’s stated intention to improve their disciplinary situation. However they noted the overall seriousness of the five offences and felt that more substantial action should have been taken to address these issues at an earlier stage. “Khan, who has shown signs of revitalising Leicestershire since taking over last winter, said: “Andrew and I have worked hard, and continue to do so, to improve the expected standards and levels of discipline expected of Leicestershire cricketers. It is unfortunate that two of the highest level indiscretions happened last year that we had no control over and we believe that the latest low level incident reported was particularly harsh.”Unfortunately there is no platform for us as a club to appeal any of the reported incidents. We have already put in place procedures relating to player education and will be talking to the Professional Cricketers Association as to what further programmes we can put into place.”The players have a duty to behave on the field as well as off the field in a manner that the club expects and so this is simply not acceptable to us. Further discussions with regards to future behaviour and the repercussions will be outlined to players within the next 24 hours.”The conclusion to today’s hearing is bitterly disappointing to us considering the superb win earlier this week against Derbyshire and taking into account the significant strides we have made this season.”Clearly more needs to be done, but we will brush ourselves off and remain determined to do everything possible to improve every aspect of the club.”

Batsman Chris Lynn will make his captaincy debut for Queensland in next month’s Matador Cup one-day competition in the absence of skipper Usman Khawaja

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2015Batsman Chris Lynn will make his captaincy debut for Queensland in next month’s Matador Cup one-day competition in the absence of skipper Usman Khawaja.The Bulls have also named three uncapped one-day players who could make their debuts in the tournament: fast bowler Billy Stanlake, English-born batsman Charlie Hemphrey and opening batsman Marnus Labuschagne.Khawaja was named in August as the new captain of Queensland after James Hopes stepped down from the role at the end of last summer, but Khawaja will be absent for the one-day competition due to his call-up for the Test tour of Bangladesh. Lynn should enter the tournament in some form after smashing 209 in a one-day club match this month.The 204-centimetre Stanlake is viewed as an exciting prospect in Queensland and could make his state debut, while batsmen Hemphrey and Labuschagne made their first-class debuts in 2014-15.Queensland have named a 14-man squad for the Matador Cup, which begins on October 5. The three-week tournament will take place in Sydney and will this year feature seven teams after the introduction of a Cricket Australia XI, to be made up of fringe players who miss out on making the squads of the six states.Queensland squad Cameron Boyce, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Peter Forrest, Chris Hartley, Charlie Hemphrey, James Hopes, Marnus Labuschagne, Chris Lynn (capt), Simon Milenko, Michael Neser, Nathan Reardon, Billy Stanlake, Mark Steketee.

Offspinner Bilal Asif will join the Pakistan Test squad in the UAE after undergoing a test of his bowling action in Chennai, while Azhar Ali will return home following the death of his mother-in-law

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-20150:57

Bilal joins Pakistan squad as cover

Offspinner Bilal Asif will join the Pakistan Test squad in the UAE after undergoing a test of his bowling action in Chennai on Monday. Asif was reported for a suspect action following the third ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare earlier this month, but has been selected to provide spin cover for Pakistan, after legspinner Yasir Shah missed the first Test against England because of a back spasm.With Yasir unavailable, Pakistan were forced to field a three-man pace attack in Abu Dhabi. Zulfiqar Babar was the only specialist spinner and Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq had expressed his disappointment at the absence of adequate spin cover in the squad. Yasir is expected to be fit for the second Test in Dubai, but Asif’s presence will give Pakistan an additional all-round spin option. Asif is allowed to bowl until the result of his test is known, which is likely to take another couple of weeks, making him available for the second Test starting on October 22.Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager – cricket, said there was an effort being made to reduce the time between a bowler being reported and the results of the test on his action being released. “We are trying to get the turnaround times on reports a lot faster. We have shortened the time that the player has to be tested by and that the report has to be presented,” Allardice said. “Yes, it may mean they play a match in between – certainly at an ICC event we can be quick as the players are all in the same place – but it’s a trade-off of having the scientific validity verses the turnaround time. At this stage, in-match testing I don’t think it will happen in a hurry – our testing centres will deal with it in the short to medium term.”Meanwhile, Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali will miss the second Test after leaving the squad to return home because of the death of his mother-in-law. Azhar had missed the first Test after sustaining a toe injury on the Zimbabwe tour but Pakistan hope to have him back for the third match, in Sharjah.