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England might be drought-stricken yellow but the Trent Bridge pitch was green and Surrey loved it

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge22-Jul-20182:03

Clark’s stunning Roses hat-trick stuns Yorkshire

Surrey 223 for 1 (Burns 97*, Stoneman 93) lead Nottinghamshire 210 (Morkel 4-60) by 13 runs

ScorecardYour front lawn may be the colour of straw but the well-watered cricket fields of England remain a luxuriant green, even down to the pitch for the clash of first and second in the Championship.It was perhaps not what you would expect to see in the third week of July in a summer as scorching as this one but from Nottinghamshire’s standpoint there was logic behind their instructions to the groundsman. No team had accrued more bowling points in the first eight matches of the season and with Stuart Broad and Jake Ball available it was clear where they considered their best chance of winning lay.There were two or three flies in the ointment, however; bluebottle-sized ones, in fact. First of all, Steve Birks’s verdant strip is as close to the boundary on the Bridgford Road side of the ground as any of Trent Bridge’s Championship pitches, so close that a judiciously placed nudge brings four.Second, this Surrey side contains the two most prolific batsmen in the top division so far in Rory Burns and Ollie Pope.

We didn’t bowl well enough – Moores

Peter Moores, Nottinghamshire’s head coach, put the emphasis on the overhead conditions, as well as the green pitch. He said: “”It wasn’t easy to bat on, up front with the overcast conditions. Losing a wicket from the second ball was tough, especially when it’s your captain – but to be fair to Fraine and Libby I thought we got ourselves in and would be disappointed when they got out at the end of Morkel’s spell.
“Morkel got the ball to seam and if we could have got through that then we might have had a chance. Batting-wise we’ll be disappointed, the pitch seamed but people did get in on it.
“We had a flurry at the end and came off with 210 and hoped it would stay overcast and we could get the ball to do a bit but we didn’t bowl well enough by quite a long way.”

And third, with the kind of early cloud cover that has not been seen for several weeks, there was never much likelihood that Surrey would not bowl first, which meant that a Nottinghamshire batting line-up short on experience would be exposed to Jade Dernbach, Sam Curran, Morne Morkel and Rikki Clarke in the most testing atmospheric conditions, while Broad, back in action after recovering from a sore ankle, could only preen his new haircut in the dressing room. As calculated risks go, this one seemed to have a decent chance of backfiring spectacularly.And so it did. Steven Mullaney, the Nottinghamshire captain, was out to the second ball of the day, edging Dernbach into the wicketkeeper’s gloves, and even a solitary batting point would have eluded his side but for an unlikely partnership for the 10th wicket that saw Jake Ball smash Morkel over cover for six and Harry Gurney, a number eleven in cricket’s best traditions, carve out an inventive unbeaten 29, the second biggest score of his career.Surrey had 42 overs to negotiate themselves but by the time they began the clouds were clearing and the menace the Surrey quartet had been able to generate eluded Broad and company. The excellent Burns, now past 850 runs for the season, needs three more for a third century. Mark Stoneman, at last looking more like the player who scored almost 1,500 runs last summer, emerged from his troubles with a fine 86, taking him past 10,000 in his career. Unless something very different happens on day two, Surrey can already anticipate a handsome lead.Morne Morkel in action for Surrey•Getty Images

The first five Nottinghamshire wickets fell before lunch, the other five before tea as the ball jagged around. At times it was a struggle even to lay bat on ball, let alone take advantage of the short route to the fence. Of the first six wickets, three were caught at gully, one at slip and one by the wicketkeeper; the other was to an inswinger from Curran that trapped Samit Patel on the back foot.Surrey’s catching, for the most part, was outstanding. Rikki Clarke, apart from bowling superbly, took one over his head at slip that required an exceptional leap even for a man of his 6ft 4ins; Ryan Patel, on briefly as substitute fielder at gully with Pope needing attention after catching Will Fraine a couple of balls earlier, held a blinder, diving to his right, to dismiss Jake Libby, as Morkel claimed two of his four wickets in three deliveries. Fraine, the former Durham MCCU batsman, acquitted himself pretty well in the circumstances, thrown in for his Championship debut with Chris Nash still sidelined and Ross Taylor’s stint here finished.Some 22 points separated these sides at the start of play. Right now the gap feels wider than that and Surrey might well be about to put themselves out of reach.

Essex’s Tom Westley will make his Test debut at No.3 in the third Test against South Africa at The Kia Oval next week, after being named as a direct replacement for Gary Ballance in a 13-man squad

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-20170:50

Quick facts: Tom Westley’s first-class exploits

Essex’s Tom Westley will make his Test debut at No.3 in the third Test against South Africa at The Kia Oval next week, after being named as a direct replacement for Gary Ballance in a 13-man squad.Westley, whose name has often been mentioned in dispatches in recent seasons, has enjoyed a timely prolific run with three centuries in his last six first-class innings, the most recent being an unbeaten 106 for England Lions against the South Africans.That hundred continued a notable record of making runs against touring sides: last season he scored 108 against the Sri Lankans to follow a 99 against the same opposition in 2011, while in 2015 he scored 144 against an Australia attack including Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon.”I’m desperate to play for England, it would an absolute honour,” Westley told The Independent, prior to his call-up. “I’ve felt good the last few years at Essex. My first-class record has been very good. I’ve scored runs for the Lions and scored runs against the touring first-class teams – I’ve been in a good space for a number of years. So if there’s ever a time to play it would be now.Tom Westley has been in prolific form for Essex and England Lions•Getty Images

“I’d like to think facing international attacks brings the best out of me,” he added. “Getting the hundred against Australia and backing it up against Sri Lanka and then South Africa, I’d like to think it’s not just a fluke.”Whether I raise my game or whether my game is just suited to that I don’t know until I’m exposed to it at Test level. But I can just take a lot of confidence from the fact I’ve scored those runs against some good bowlers and good attacks. It puts me in quite a good place.”Westley has been named alongside another new name in the Test squad in Middlesex’s Dawid Malan, who could yet feature if England decide to included an extra batsman, probably at the expense of the spinner Liam Dawson, when they confirm their starting line-up next week.Malan made his England debut last month in the deciding T20 against South Africa in Cardiff, where he impressed with 78 off 44 balls. He has been a consistent performer with Middlesex in red-ball cricket, averaging 42.50 in the Specsavers County Championship this season with a highest score of 115.The notable omission from the squad is Surrey’s Mark Stoneman, who had been considered the frontrunner to replace Ballance following the diagnosis of a broken left index finger, sustained while batting in the second innings at Trent Bridge last week.Stoneman, who moved to Surrey from Durham over the winter, has been averaging 58.53 from eight Championship matches, including three centuries with a high score of 197. At 30, he has had time to groove a well-rounded game, but perhaps tellingly, the England coach Trevor Bayliss has never yet seen him bat in the flesh.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England could feature as many as three debutants at The Oval, which will be hosting its 100th Test, if they opt to give a maiden cap to the Middlesex seamer, Toby Roland-Jones, who has been retained in the squad after going unused in the first two Tests of the summer. He may be considered an option ahead of Durham’s Mark Wood, who sustained a bruised heel in a sub-par performance at Trent Bridge.England will report to The Oval on Tuesday, where they will train in the afternoon, having taken a few days off in the wake of their crushing 340-run defeat in the second Test.

KL Rahul batted through a chase of 169 and struck a century on debut, the first by an Indian batsman in ODI history, to lead a nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in Harare

The Report by Alagappan Muthu11-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:40

By the Numbers – Rahul, a centurion on debut

Second-string or not, an Indian team made up of three debutants beat a close-to-full-strength Zimbabwe comprehensively in Harare. KL Rahul introduced himself to ODIs with 100 not out off 115 balls at the top of the order; an ideal scenario for a team chasing only 169 and looking to expand their talent pool.It was the first time in history that an Indian batsman had struck a century on debut and he reached the landmark with a towering six over long-on when there were only two runs to get in the 43rd over. But until the lure of three figures, Rahul’s primary objective had been to occupy the crease for as long as possible and very few of the Zimbabwe bowlers seemed able to persuade him otherwise.As can be expected in seamer-friendly conditions, he had to get through a few anxious moments at the start of the innings. Most of them, though, were centered around whether or not a quick single was available after opening the face of his bat towards point. The key there was that he was looking for runs and that mentality often allows a batsman to settle quicker at the crease. The feet begin to move both ways. Gaps can be exploited better. And boundary balls can be capitalised on more often than not.Rahul finished with seven fours and a six and his strike-rate of 86.95 was comfortably the best for any batsman who had played more than one ball on the day. A resounding endorsement for India’s future and vindication for the selectors who chose a very new-look squad for the tour. Of the other debutants, Karun Nair fell for 7 and legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 1 for 27 in 10 overs.Inexperience being a weakness is among the few opinions that unite captains, cricket experts and the general public. But it isn’t like a player on debut is a readymade liability. That depends on the amount of pressure the opposition puts on him. Strangling his runs, or upsetting his bowling rhythm, and generally giving him a little more to think about than the basics. Take India’s bowling attack – Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah and Barinder Sran had 12 ODIs under their belt. They were outstanding on Saturday, but when Zimbabwe had to wait until No. 6 to find their top-scorer and their strongest partnership contributed only 38 runs, it is arguable that they also had it easy.India’s batsmen were also not put under pressure, with the required rate to win a 50-over match at about three an over. Tendai Chatara and Taurai Muzarabani were rather short with the new ball. A measure of how unthreatening that made them was the part-time medium pacer Chamu Chibhabha pitched it up and therefore made it swing it both ways to finish with 8-1-14-0. He beat Ambati Rayudu thrice in one over, but Zimbabwe could not maintain the intensity and Rayudu helped himself to a half-century simply by deciding to not get out. He needed 120 balls to make 62.All 16 members of the Indian squad have played the IPL. An overwhelming majority were involved in the 2016 edition, which captain MS Dhoni pointed to as one of the mitigating factors. He was leading an inexperienced side, but they were match-ready. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, were reliant on a two-week camp prior to the start of the series to dust off the rust. Their last domestic match of the year was in March.Having been put in, their batsmen did not move their feet quickly enough, which wasn’t ideal at 9 am. When it is that early in the day, especially in the Harare winter, the new ball tends to jag around.Sran, the left-arm quick, was eyeing a wicket off the first ball he bowled on Saturday. An inswinger, full of length and given every opportunity to move through the air, had Chibhabha falling over while he tried to flick it through midwicket. Umpire Russell Tiffin turned that lbw appeal down, but could not deny Sran later in the over when he pinned the other opener Peter Moor in front of the stumps.Bumrah posed a different threat. His powerful arm action and a tendency to hit the deck contributed to extra bounce, even off a good length. Besides that, as his dismissal of Chibhabha proved, the angle and pace he generates into the right-hander often puts the stumps at risk. He finished with 4 for 28 off 10 overs.As such, Zimbabwe’s decision to save wickets rather than scour for runs had merit. They consumed 46 dot balls in the Powerplay. But biding time in limited-overs cricket makes sense only if the batsmen to follow can execute their shots.Vusi Sibanda nicked a short and wide delivery from Bumrah in the 20th over. Craig Ervine picked out deep midwicket when he was presented with a long hop from left-arm spinner Axar Patel in the 24th. Even Sikandar Raza, one of only two batsmen to face more than 50 deliveries, ushered a ball that was there for the drive back onto his stumps.Zimbabwe limed past 100 and got to 168 through Elton Chigumbura’s 41 off 65 balls. His progress – and the final four wickets lingering on for nearly 15 overs – indicated the pitch had eased out in the afternoon and had Zimbabwe channeled better intent, they might have lived up to their interim coach Makhaya Ntini’s threat of putting second-string teams “under the carpet” a little better.

Lancashire retain an outside chance of a third successive victory at Wantage Road, after they took two Northamptonshire wickets before the close on the third day of their Championship match

Press Association05-May-2015
ScorecardPeter Siddle survived to make 89 as Lancashire took a valuable first-innings lead•Getty Images

Lancashire retain an outside chance of a third successive victory at Wantage Road, after they took two Northamptonshire wickets before the close on the third day of their Championship match. The Division Two leaders lead by nine runs, with the home side 42 for 2 in the second innings after Lancashire were dismissed for 436.Overnight rain saw play start two hours later than scheduled, with Lancashire resuming on 216 for 4. A swirling and unremitting gale necessitated the removal of the bails for virtually the whole day’s play; such was its power that, at one stage, the umpires had to make sure the uncovered stumps stayed in the ground.Rory Kleinveldt – who wore a beanie hat underneath his cap for extra warmth in the field – drew the short straw of bowling into the wind. But the powerful South African extracted bounce when Alex Davies chipped the catch to midwicket, after adding just four to his overnight score.Jordan Clark negotiated four balls before edging Kleinveldt behind to Adam Rossington without scoring and, after the first 15 minutes of play, Lancashire were 221 for 6 and still 164 behind.But Ashwell Prince, who was 104 not out overnight, found support from Peter Siddle, who batted sensibly while he and the 37-year-old added exactly 100 for the seventh wicket. The Australian, who had been ill 24 hours earlier, looked the picture of health at the crease, punishing anything loose from the Northamptonshire attack.Prince was also reassuring, with his off-side drives a constant source of anguish for the home seam attack, one such stroke off Steven Crook bringing up his 150 off 268 balls. Crook then induced Prince to pop up to substitute David Murphy and Alex Wakely’s side could be forgiven for relief after enduring Prince’s career-best 257 not out in last year’s innings defeat at Old Trafford.Siddle returns home after Lancashire’s next Championship game against Gloucestershire but he delivered for his employers here, reaching his 50 off 95 balls. But before visions of only a second first-class century became reality, he was lbw to Kleinveldt for 89, the fifth wicket for the South African and his first five-wicket haul in Northamptonshire colours.Trailing by 51, Northamptonshire were hampered with Richard Levi not batting due to a dislocated finger. Replacement opener Rob Newton lasted just one delivery, caught at midwicket off Kyle Jarvis. Wakely’s indeterminate waft outside off stump added more pressure when he edged Siddle for a catch behind to leave Northants wobbling on 13 for 2.Despite a brief pause for bad light, Stephen Peters and Rob Keogh saw the home side to close for no further loss. But Siddle believes his side can claim victory, despite the pitch remaining true.”It’s not too bad out there, one end is a lot worse than the other to bowl at, so it’s going to be hard work,” he said. “We’ve just got to be patient. The wicket’s not offering up much so we can just bowl in good areas and see what happens.”I didn’t expect to be out batting so soon today, but Ashwell Prince is a class player. He showed that again today. It was good fun. It was a bit windy and cold so I didn’t want to bowl. So I thought if I batted longer, it would reduce my overs.Northants Head Coach David Ripley is hopeful his side can see the final day out for the draw. “That was an important little partnership there between Stephen and Rob,” he said. “It was a difficult session where Lancashire could come and give it everything and it was important that they got through those overs unscathed. We’ve still got to have a good first hour, hour and a half to hopefully get us the draw.”

Yorkshire were presented with a homely welcome for their opening game of the Champions League T20 qualifier as they won the toss and chose to bowl first against Uva

The Report by Alex Winter09-Oct-2012Yorkshire 151 for 5 (Miller 39*, Rashid 36*) beat Uva 150 for 7 (Kandamby 29) by five wickets
ScorecardAdil Rashid made his best Twenty20 score as he guided Yorkshire’s chase•Getty Images

Yorkshire were presented with a homely welcome for their opening game of the Champions League T20 qualifier against Uva, the Sri Lankan champions. Cloudy skies, following rain earlier in the day, and a green pitch were as close to Headingley as they could have wished for in an overseas tournament.But it was Yorkshire’s South African overseas player, David Miller, who got them over the line in a chase that should have been more straightforward than it proved as Yorkshire stumbled against the spin of Dilshan Munaweera. Miller returned from a nasty blow to the face from Umar Gul to win the game with a blast of 17 runs in six balls to get Yorkshire home when 18 were needed from 10 balls.Munaweera bowled the second over outside the Powerplay, which yielded 57 runs. Phil Jaques, who played 11 Test for Australia but now plays English cricket under a British passport, had smashed 32 in 21 balls but backing away to drive Munaweera’s third ball down the ground, chipped a catch back to the bowler. Gary Ballance, who enjoyed his best season in 2012, was then bowled first ball backing to leg.Adil Rashid survived the hat-trick and held the innings together with his best Twenty20 score. It would have been a pleasing knock for Rashid who endured a difficult domestic season, being dropped from the County Championship team for the first time in his career.For a while it was Rashid or nothing for Yorkshire. Miller received a quick bouncer from Umar Gul that crashed into his face and forced him from the field with a bloodied nose. It was a delivery that demonstrated the pace of the wicket. It left Rashid and Dan Hodgson, the wicketkeeper who had previously played six list A matches for Yorkshire, to take up the chase. Hodgson could only work a run-a-ball supporting innings and it was Rashid that had to find the boundaries with 48 required from 30 balls.He lifted Jacob Oram, who went for 42 in four overs, for six before adding two fours off Gul to leave 18 from 12 with Hodgson on strike and Munaweera bowling the penultimate over. A dot ball forced Hodgson to charge the bowler. He missed, was stumped, and provided the opening Miller needed to add to his run-a-ball 22.First ball, he reached out to a full delivery and cracked it over point, almost for six. The next ball did carry over the ropes, taken from outside off over long on, before a third boundary – four past extra cover – left only three needed from the last over. Too few even for Gul to defend.The win was relief for Yorkshire who should have cruised home on a hard, fast wicket after restricting Uva to a below-par total. As a result of the green wicket and cloud cover, Andrew Gale decided to bowl first but Yorkshire were far from their best in the field or with the ball.Striking through the line appeared to be the best way to play with the ball coming onto the bat nicely but only two batsman utilised that advantage and both innings were too brief to help build a commanding total. Munaweera, one of three Uva players fresh from the World T20, opened the batting content to use his feet to the seamers and hit over the off side. He lifted Steven Patterson for six in his first over but after another three fours, tried to play the same lofted drive without moving his feet and found a diving David Miller at cover.The failure to trust the surface enabled spin to play a larger part than it should have. Azeem Rafiq in particular was economical, conceding 25 in his four overs, as the batsman resorted to nudging and deflecting. There was a lack of clean hitting with Andrew McDonald and Jacob Oram both failing.Shivnarine Chanderpaul is not big hitter but used his touch game to be the mainstay of the innings: shuffling, angling, flicking, sweeping, all a little ungainly but reliably effective for 27 at above a run-a-ball. He and McDonald added 38 in 31 balls but neither led the innings and Uva ended up 20 runs short.The should have made more against an attack that was at times wayward, seven wides were sent down, and often too short, particularly the seamers early on: Uva scored 41 in the first five overs. The pick of the bowlers was Moin Ashraf who found his line better than Ryan Sidebottom or Steven Patterson. But his figures were greyed by Thilina Kandamby finding his range in his final over, the 19th of the innings which went for 14. It was late progress that pushed Uva’s total to a useful score.The total was aided by several lapses in the field that Yorkshire could have lived to regret – a lift down the ground from McDonald landed between fielders, Patterson also spilled a caught and bowled chance and fumbled a ball over the third man rope after a long chase. But despite their shortcomings, Yorkshire held together for an opening win.

Video footage of the now infamous no-balls was shown to the jury before lunch on the third day of the alleged spot-fixing trial involving Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court06-Oct-2011The alleged spot-fixing trial, involving Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif at Southwark Crown Court, has entered another operative phase with the first witness, the ICC’s chief investigator Ravi Sawani, being called. Before this the jury was shown video footage of the now infamous no-balls during the Lord’s Test last year and also records of phone and text conversations.Aftab Jafferjee QC, for the prosecution, resumed his opening address from the previous afternoon and went on to detail an alleged corrupt relationship between then Test captain Butt and his agent Mazhar Majeed. He finished off details of meetings, phone conversations and text messages surrounding The Oval Test against England last year, before moving on to details of the Lord’s Test.The jury was shown a replay of Mohammad Amir’s no-ball from the first delivery of the third over before the proceedings were interrupted for lunch, and two more alleged pre-planned no-balls by Asif and Amir after the break. All sets of legal representatives had agreed previously that sound and commentary would not be played, presumably so as not to influence the jury’s conclusion of the footage.Butt and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following that Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage fast bowler Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.They were exposed by the now defunct British tabloid the in an undercover sting operation. Majeed was filmed revealing when no-balls would be delivered by the bowlers. That footage from secret cameras was also played to the jury on Thursday morning.After lunch the undercover journalist Mazhar Mahmood, otherwise known as ‘the fake Sheikh’ from the time he snared former England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, was to give his evidence. But because Jafferjee did not complete his opening until 15.28, there was no time for Mahmood and Ravi Sawani, the ICC’s senior consultant in anti-corruption and security matters, was last to appear. Mahmood is now expected to appear on Monday as the case is adjourned until then.Butt and Asif again sat through the proceedings in the dock, with Asif accompanied by Mr Khan from the national database of interpreters, while Butt sat two seats down from his former team-mate, wearing a brown velvet jacket, jeans and Adidas trainers.An interesting aspect of the morning’s account centred around conversations between Mahmood, referred to in court as ‘the journalist’ to avoid confusion with Majeed, and Majeed himself. Jafferjee told how Mahmood was expecting no-balls to be delivered that had been promised him as proof that would appease his fictitious backers in the Far East.But Majeed said they could not be delivered on the third day as coach Waqar Younis had held a team meeting and ordered his bowlers to cut down on the extras after 32 had been allowed on the second day – six wides and five no-balls. Instead, the prosecution went on to explain, an alternative plan was hatched whereby Butt would bat out a maiden. That did not happen in the event.Of further interest was the heavy phone and text traffic between Butt, Majeed and Amir leading up to the Lord’s Test – Asif less so. In fact, Majeed called Amir at 1.27am at his hotel while he was sleeping, the morning before the match was due to begin, after having collected £140,000 from Mahmood for the promise of three pre-determined no-balls and future fixing, the jury heard.All stories of phone and text traffic were substantiated with official records from phone companies that proved the dialogue between the various parties. Jafferjee then told how Amir messaged Majeed at 6.24am on the morning of the Lord’s Test and said ‘this is my friend’s number in Pakistan, when you’re done send them a message’.Amir then made repeated calls to a number in Pakistan. Majeed later that morning made a call to a regular Indian number he had often phoned. The prosecution had already told of how Majeed boasted his betting contacts were in India.But while the jury had been swamped with so much information and evidence of alleged corrupt dealings between the defendants, Jafferjee was clear in what he wanted them to remember the most. And that was the phone traffic between all four alleged conspirators on the evening before the third no-ball was delivered.The sequence in Jafferjee’s address that best supports this sentiment was the evening after a weather-affected first day at Lord’s. The bet was for three pre-determined no-balls but bad light ended play for the day before the third no-ball could be bowled, the jury heard.A series of “frenetic activity” on the phone between all four then takes place within a couple of hours of the match being called off for the day.”It is an irresistible inference, say the prosecution, that between these four men, what is being sorted out is that third no-ball,” Jafferjee told the court. “How will that now take place? The credibility staked – as well as money exchanged – is high. An arrangement for the next day is still not finalised.”Why do we say that? Because when the journalist calls Majeed, it is plain that things are not finalised. More texts have to follow between them. Furthermore, that triangulation of calls has to be repeated, involving the three players and Majeed,” which phone records in the hands of the jury apparently exhibit.The prosecution also detailed the monies found in the players’ rooms and on Majeed – whose wife had £500 of marked £50 notes from the found in her purse and a further £2,500 was found in his Aston Martin car.Butt had the most cash in his room at the Regents Park Marriott Hotel when it was raided by police on the Saturday night of the Test – after Mahmood had alerted the police of his investigation. That cash included various currencies and totalled more than double the amount of cash that could be explained for through daily expenses – players received £114 a day in England, while Butt pocked a £250 weekly bonus for being captain.Much of the money was found in a locked suitcase that Butt said belonged to his wife and for which he did not have the key. When it was opened they found a “large” amount of currency – some of which was in envelopes and some not. In total the stash included £14,003 in one spot, and £15,999 in various denominations in envelopes. There was also US$12,617, 24,300 of UAE dirhams, AUS$710, 26,015 Pakistani rupees, $350 Canadian, 440 South African rand – as well as four mobile phones.Meanwhile, Sawani was in front of the jury for just over half an hour. His responses, while not very specific as to the case itself, will have left the the jury more familiar with the vast sums of money involved in the illegal cricket betting industry.”One single legal betting company could generate £40 million for a one-day international,” Sawani told the court, “For an India-Pakistan one-day international in Mumbai, you can have as much as $200 million bet in the illegal betting market in Mumbai and then (additionally) there are the cities around India, the UK, the South East (Asia) and Dubai.”Sawani told of the sinister underworld that exists in the illegal betting industry and said that accounts are settled the day after a bet is made and that there are no defaulters because “mafias are the enforcers”.The trial continues.

Cricket South Africa turned its back on an independent committee review of its bonus payouts controversy

Firdose Moonda19-Oct-2010Cricket South Africa turned its back on an independent committee review of its bonus payouts controversy, because the decision to go for an external inquiry was not unanimous at the time and had been seen as “overreaction to the media storm”.A source close to CSA told ESPNcricinfo, that the setting up of an external review committee headed by Judge Pius Langa had “not been approved by all the relevant stakeholders” in South African cricket. The u-turn came about as CSA’s annual general meeting held on August 21 constituted a new board which overturned the decision on the Langa inquiry, but offered no explanation until today.The ‘media storm’ broke in early August after external auditors Deloitte announced irregularities in CSA’s report. On the same day, CSA issued a statement declaring that bonus payouts totalling R4.7m were given out to 40 employees without authorisation from the CSA remunerations committee (REMCO). The South African board added that the bonuses had been paid out after the 2009 Indian Premier League and Champions Trophy, and that Judge Langa been appointed as head of an independent committee to examine the auditing discrepancy pointed out by REMCO.The new board held a teleconference before the Langa commission was due to begin its work in mid-September, in which it was decided to move from an external to an internal inquiry. The board had unanimously agreed on the decision to disband the committee as “all the internal procedures had not been exhausted”. Only when that exercise had been completed, the source said, could the CSA decide on whether an external review into the matter was necessary.Andy O’Connor, a newly appointed CSA member told ESPNcricinfo he was “very comfortable with the decision taken”, believing that it was the right thing to do. “Because the Board comprises independent members, there are checks and balances in place,” O’Connor said.However, not all parties believed that the CSA’s turnaround was appropriate. A South African cricket insider said that CSA had “backpedalled” by disbanding an external commission and replacing it with an internal inquiry. “When that happens it affects transparency and credibility”, he said.The internal commission headed by CSA vice president AK Khan has completed most of its work and is in the process of compiling their report, hoping to have it ready in time for the next board meeting on November 19. The Khan commission report, the source said, would concentrate on two main issues which need clarification.”They will look into why the payments were not reported on initially by REMCO or the auditors, and whether the allocation of payments followed precedent or not.” The precedent being referred to here is the practice of paying bonuses to employees after staging major tournaments, which began after the 2003 World Cup.

Everything you need to know as England Men begin their third winter tour in the space of seven weeks

Alan Gardner22-Nov-20241:38

‘I hope Bethell doesn’t play in New Zealand’

The current international schedule is about as logical and rational as you would expect from a process run under the auspices of the ICC. Sri Lanka finished a home ODI series against New Zealand on Tuesday and will start a Test in Durban on Wednesday. Bangladesh went from facing Afghanistan in the UAE to a playing tour match in the West Indies inside a week (and then starting a Test four days later). India squeezed a four-match T20I series in South Africa into the scheduled 16-day gap between a Test against New Zealand in Mumbai and the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. And England, whose home international season ended on September 29, have already embarked on their third tour of the winter. Let’s stick with the last of those…So where are England now?
The men’s team rocked up in Queenstown, New Zealand earlier this week (the women and Lions are in South Africa, where they will also be joined by the Under-19s in the coming days). They will play a two-day tour match over the weekend, leading into the first Test, which starts at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday.Weren’t England only in the Caribbean a few days ago?
Yes, that’s right. Their white-ball tour concluded on Sunday, when the fifth T20I against West Indies in St Lucia was abandoned as a washout. That tour began with an ODI on October 31, just days after the end of the Rawalpindi Test in Pakistan, which meant several multi-format players – such as Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse – couldn’t be involved in the trip to the Caribbean.Related

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So it’s back to Test cricket and Bazball again?
Yes and, presumably, yes. England suffered a chastening 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan, despite racking up 823 for 7 in a crushing victory in the first Test. A switch of tactics from the home side saw England’s batters come thoroughly unstuck against the unlikely lags spin pairing of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. After his team lost the deciding third Test, Brendon McCullum referenced the quick turnaround to this tour, saying “it would be nice to bounce back in New Zealand”.As for Bazball, their method has been undergoing a process of refinement, but the prospect of flatter and pitches and more benign conditions might be just the tonic – albeit England haven’t won a Test series in New Zealand since 2007-08.Presumably they haven’t made wholesale changes after Pakistan?
Correct. The McCullum-Stokes axis is all about giving players backing – all the more so since their major goals are winning against India at home next summer, before trying to regain the Ashes in Australia. There was only one change to the squad for New Zealand, with Jacob Bethell called up as the spare batter due to Jamie Smith’s absence on paternity leave; they have kept the faith to the extent that the three frontline spinners who went to Pakistan – Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed – are all on this trip, too.But Baz back in NZ should be fun…
It was last time. England rattled along in the prescribed manner to win the day-night Test in Mount Maunganui before the less high-profile of Stokes’ unsuccessful declarations in 2023 saw them become only the second team in history to lose a Test by one run at Basin Reserve.And the Kiwis always present a tough challenge
Yep. Aside from England’s aforementioned drought in the land of the long white cloud, New Zealand will come in off the back of whitewashing India 3-0 in India, without the services of Kane Williamson. Which, as Brian Clough would probably put it, might not be the greatest Test series win of all time, but it’s in the top one.A result which must have reignited their World Test Championship final hopes?
It certainly has. While England have slipped well out of contention, New Zealand are hovering just outside the top two after picking up maximum points in India. If they can do the same at home to England, it would push their win percentage up to 64.29% and give them a decent chance of reaching the final for the second time in three cycles.Given England got whupped 4-1 in India earlier this year, perhaps they should be afraid…
New Zealand have been going through something of a transition period – they lost an unbeaten home record that stretched back to 2017 when Australia went there and won 2-0 earlier this year – but Tom Latham’s stint as permanent captain could not have got off to a better start. Williamson will be back for the England series, and while they have moved on from Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson is still sidelined by back problems, Matt Henry has had his most prolific year in Tests and Will O’Rourke looks a frighteningly good prospect.Thanks, I feel like I’m getting up to speed. Is there anything else I should know?
Yes! This will also be Tim Southee’s final Test series before retirement. Southee, who turns 36 between the second and third Tests, gave up the captaincy last month and has now decided to bow out on his own terms, against the same opposition as when he made his debut almost 17 years ago. He will finish as New Zealand’s second-leading wicket-taker in Tests, behind Richard Hadlee – and is probably just too far shy of catching McCullum’s six-hitting mark, too.At the other end of the career spectrum, with Smith awaiting the birth of his child, England are set to give Jordan Cox a Test debut as wicketkeeper. Hopefully Cox will have had time to get his bearings, having been involved in squads across all three formats in Pakistan and the West Indies over the last few weeks (and not kept wicket in first-class cricket since July last year).

Fast bowler joins fellow rookie John Turner on sidelines, will also miss Hundred Eliminator

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2023England have suffered another injury setback ahead of their T20I series against New Zealand next week, with Josh Tongue being withdrawn from the 15-man squad to be replaced by Chris Jordan.Tongue, who impressed in his two Test appearances against Ireland and Australia at Lord’s this summer, had been expected to make his white-ball debut in the course of the four-match series, with England’s selectors keen to expand their pool of fast-bowling options ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.However, ESPNcricinfo understands that Tongue has suffered a pectoral injury, meaning he will also miss the final stages of Manchester Originals’ Men’s Hundred campaign. Originals are due to play Southern Brave in the Eliminator at the Kia Oval on Saturday, and if successful, will face Oval Invincibles in the tournament final at Lord’s on Sunday.Tongue joins John Turner on the sidelines for the T20I series. Both men are capable of bowling in excess of 90mph, and alongside their fellow uncapped pace bowler, Gus Atkinson – who has also been named in the provisional squad for the 50-over World Cup – they had looked set to offer England a potent range of options in next week’s matches against New Zealand.Now, however, the selectors have reverted to the tried-and-tested. With 96 T20I wickets in 87 appearances, Jordan, 34, is England’s leading wicket-taker in the format, and has been in stellar form for Southern Brave in this year’s Men’s Hundred, claiming eight wickets at an economy of 6.88 in their run to the play-offs.Both Jordan and his Southern Brave team-mate Tymal Mills, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps, had been overlooked in the original squad in a deliberate attempt to broaden the squad’s bowling options, as Jos Buttler, the white-ball captain, reiterated on the eve of the Hundred Eliminator, prior to the news of Tongue’s injury.”The T20 squad has been picked with a view to having a look at a few other guys,” Buttler said. “That’s been communicated [to Mills and Jordan] as well. We want to try and broaden that talent pool and expose some people to international cricket to see where they’re at.”Death bowling is obviously a big focus in short-form cricket and we want to see where certain people are at, and give them a chance. Of course, no one’s ever ruled out, but in terms of needing extra motivation, every player should always be motivated in my eyes.”

Captain insists he will grow into new responsibilities after Pant reprieve proves crucial

Andrew Miller17-Jul-2022Jos Buttler conceded that his costly missed stumping off Rishabh Pant probably made the difference between victory and defeat in the series-deciding third ODI against India at Emirates Old Trafford. However, he denied that the lapse had anything to do with the extra mental load of taking on England’s white-ball captaincy.Pant’s unbeaten 125 from 113 balls – his first ODI hundred – came after a decisive stand of 133 with Hardik Pandya, one that allowed India to recover from a dicey 72 for 4 and chase down England’s sub-par total of 259 with five wickets and 47 balls to spare.However, Pant himself should have been the fourth Indian wicket to fall, for just 18, when Moeen Ali tempted him down the pitch in the 16th over, and beat him with sharp turn past the outside edge. Buttler, however, could not cling on, and when Hardik, on 6 at the time, steered a loose pull off Brydon Carse over the head of fine leg, who had wandered in from the rope, two big opportunities to access India’s lengthy tail had been gone.In the end, Pant never gave England another sniff in a magnificently composed performance, one which he sealed in style with a flurry of six fours from his final seven deliveries, after Hardik’s own Player-of-the-Series-sealing display had ended on 71 with a fine low catch from Ben Stokes at short midwicket.”Give good players a second chance, and there’s a good chance they’ll hurt you,” Buttler admitted, after England had suffered just their third ODI series loss at home since 2015, all of which have come down to a decider at Old Trafford. “Rishabh Pant is a fearless player, someone who is great to watch in all formats. It’s his mentality that sets him apart. He looks like he gets great backing.”If we took those chances, we would probably have had a good hold in the game with a long tail for India. But with the score we put up, we were going to need to take all our chances to have a chance of winning the game.Jos Buttler brought up his fifty off 65 balls•Getty Images

“We just need to be better,” Buttler added, having also overseen a 2-1 series loss in the T20Is against India. However, with a brand-new ODI series against South Africa looming in Chester-le-Street as soon as Tuesday, he also conceded: “We have to reflect quickly as there isn’t much time.”Buttler himself has endured a mixed time with the bat in this leg of the summer. He made an important 60 from 80 balls at Old Trafford, to shore up England’s innings after their own top-order wobble, but his returns have dipped since his stellar run of form at the recent IPL – not to mention his exploits in the Netherlands last month, where his unbeaten 162 from 70 balls underpinned England’s world-record total of 498 for 4.He has assumed the full-time captaincy from Eoin Morgan since that innings, and has been obliged to forge a new working relationship with the incoming head coach, Matthew Mott. But Buttler was adamant that he would get to grips with the new responsibilities as he grows into his expanded role.”At times, I’ve found absolutely fine, to be honest,” he said. “I missed a chance today, but I don’t think that’s got anything to do with captaincy, so I’m not worrying too much about that. I feel good, I’ve been in some of the best form of my life, and I still feel in great touch. Form isn’t just the score.”I’m learning lots, I found the first week busy but I feel more comfortable now,” Buttler added. “There have been lots of games in a short space of time, which has been a challenge, so it’ll be nice to have a day to reflect. I feel I’m an experienced cricketer but a young captain, with an opportunity to grow and learn about the role. It will take a bit of time, I need to walk before I can run.”More broadly, Buttler recognises that England’s batting has been off-colour this series – partly because of the sustained quality of India’s attack, but also because of a relative lack of familiarity with the 50-over format. It was England’s priority from 2015 to 2019, but with the cycle currently between back-to-back T20 World Cups, the longer white-ball format has been a scarcity of late. Indeed, the five batters in England’s ODI top six who were integral to that World Cup triumph three years ago hadn’t played together since until last week’s Oval defeat.”We haven’t played much ODI cricket recently and it’s about working out the rhythm,” he said. “We’ve played on great batting wickets [in the past] and the balls haven’t done much. Over a period of time, you need to be able to adapt. That’s our ambition.”We just haven’t got in and had long partnerships,” Buttler said. “Every time we have, we have started to score. I’m not concerned, but throughout the whole summer so far, in the T20s and the ODIs, we just haven’t batted our best and we just have to play better for longer.”Related

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• Pandya's all-round show and Pant's maiden ton seal series win for India

One undoubted positive for England was the performance of Reece Topley, who backed up an eye-catching display in the T20I series with nine wickets at 9.00 in the ODIs – all of which came in the space of 16.5 overs at Lord’s and Old Trafford.When Topley backed up his career-best 6 for 24 with three more scalps in his first 4.1 overs of the decider, it seemed England were on course for victory. And yet, he bowled just seven overs all told at Old Trafford – a decision that Buttler said was partly a tactical decision but also involved a degree of player management given Topley’s well-known injury history.”He’s been brilliant,” Buttler said. “He got his opportunity and took Man-of-the-Match at Lord’s and the T20s at Trent Bridge as well. We were trying to search for ways to create wickets and it’s been a tough schedule as well, and Reece is just creaking a bit, so we will just have to look after him a little bit, as we will all our players.”England’s intense schedule – partially caused by the need to shoehorn in the postponed fifth Test from India’s 2021 series – means there is just a 48-hour turnaround until they take on South Africa at Chester-le-Street. But with the need to look after England’s quick bowlers in particular, the chances are that Matthew Potts, one of England’s stars of the recent Test successes, may be given a chance for an ODI debut in front of his home fans.”We have to look after the players, the schedules are incredibly tough,” Buttler said. “The thought of a three-and-a-half hour bus to play on Tuesday… there’s risk with the bowlers. We’ll have to manage guys, and maybe rest a few.”Matthew Potts comes into the squad, there’s a guy who is exciting to see in ODI cricket if he gets his chance. Reece has been through a lot and has a great understanding with what he needs, and all the bowlers need. We don’t want to push guys too far.”