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August 31, 2006
Mascarenhas reprimanded
Posted on 08/31/2006 in Hampshire
Dimitri Mascarenhas has been reprimanded under the ECB's discipline code following an incident during Hampshire's County Championship match with Warwickshire earlier this month.
He was reported by the match umpires for breaching the ECB's code, and his was a Level One offence which relates to abuse of the ground, equipment or fixtures and fittings.
The penalty will remain on his record for two years.
August 24, 2006
Wharf out for the season
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Glamorgan
Glamorgan have suffered another injury blow with the news that Alex Wharf is set to be ruled out for the rest of the season with a hip problem.
"It looks like I will be out for some time now and I'm gutted about that," he told the South Wales Echo. "I've struggled with a groin problem all season and I'm wondering now if that is due to this hip problem.
Mick Lewis reprimanded for outburst
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Durham
Mick Lewis, the Australia fast bowler playing for Durham, has been reprimanded for an outburst during their Championship match against Sussex last week.
He was found guilty of using obscene, offensive or insulting language and the penalty will remain on the seamer's record for a further two years.
Anderson comeback
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Lancashire
James Anderson will return to Lancashire colours at Old Trafford, when he lines up against an England XI for Andrew Flintoff's benefit match, on Thursday evening. It will be Anderson's first bowl in match conditions since the end of England's tour of India where he sustained a stress fracture of his back.
Anderson will not be expected to come out all guns blazing, the outing will be viewed as an opportunity to help Anderson return to full fitness by the end of the current season.
"He will bowl a few overs, but he won..t be flat out and he will be very much under control to build that bowling workload up," explained Mike Watkinson, the Lancashire cricket manager. "He is at about 70 or 80 percent intensity at the moment and we will bowl him with a view to getting him up to 90 or 100 percent intensity towards the end of the season."
The match is expected to attract more than 10,000 spectators with a host of both England and Lancashire starts on show. Captained by Andrew Strauss the England team will include the likes of Steve Harmison, Ian Bell and Matthew Hoggard. Warren Hegg, the former Lancashire wicketkeeper who played two Tests, is also in the team.
Lewis reprimand
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Durham
The ECB have confirmed that Mick Lewis, the Durham seamer, has received a reprimand following an incident during Durham..s County Championship match against Sussex.
Lewis was reported by the umpires Nigel Llong and Neil Bainton for a level one breach of the code (using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting).
The penalty remains on Lewis..s record for a period of two years. Any further level one breach during that period will result in an automatic imposition of three penalty points.
Peters prospers
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Northamptonshire
From the rubbish heap of Northamptonshire..s season .. losing their disciplinarian director of cricket Kepler Wessels as well as almost half their 10 Championship games by early August .. Stephen Peters has bloomed. During July two big hundreds in three innings recalled less careworn days, when he hit a century as a 17-year-old first-class debutant and a match-winning hundred in the final of the 1998 Under-19 World Cup. Six years on he averages 30, with a fitful career and three clubs behind him. The cockney tones are not quite so bright as they once were.
..It was just a couple of decent games really. It was nice to go on .. 140 and 180 rather than just 100. But I..m playing catch-up really because I had a poor start. Consistency has been a problem for a long time..
As regards Wessels .. who left ..by mutual consent. after rumours of a players.. vote of no confidence (presumably Wessels got at least one vote from his son Riki) .. Peters presents a straight bat. ..It was just a bit of a difficult time for the club in general, players and committee alike. We..re determined to put that part of the season behind us..
The Wisden Cricketer, Paul Coupar
Newell for renewal
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire..s director of cricket Mick Newell has promised to bring in three or four new signings in an attempt to freshen up his squad after a failed defence of the Championship title.
Newell showed touching faith in the squad that won the Championship 12 months ago when he made no new signings last winter. With hindsight he may have shown too much loyalty to ageing players who have struggled to rediscover the winning formula.
..There will be a lot of changes with some senior guys who have done a lot of good service for the club moving on,. Newell says. ..There will be at least three, possibly four, signings; batsmen and bowlers..
One of the signings will be an opening batsman to replace Darren Bicknell, who has timed his retirement announcement to coincide with that of his younger brother Martin, the Surrey and former England seamer. Nottinghamshire..s policy of playing a more youthful side in one-day cricket helped them to qualify for the Twenty20 Cup finals day. But Samit Patel..s limited-overs success has not been sufficient to secure a place in Nottinghamshire..s Championship side. A change of county may be on the cards for the former England Under-19 allrounder who is out of contract at the end of the season.
The Wisden Cricketer, Paul Bolton
Pitch problems
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Somerset
Brian Rose, director of cricket, has responded to mounting criticism of the Taunton square by promising to even things up.
..We want the pitches to be fair to bat and ball. In recent years, overall, they..ve been heavily loaded in favour of the bat. I..m thinking of the club..s future and developing our own bowlers. I..d like to skim the top off .. the surface has become a bit bowed over the years, so this would make it flatter .. re-dress it and put on an even cover of grass..
But what does the oft-decorated groundsman Phil Frost feel about all this? ..I..ve worked closely with him, we..ve both met the consultants who..ve taken core samples and there haven..t been any problems.. So, is South Australian Dan Cullen the next Tim May? His services were not re-sought after he left for Australia A duty. ..Hard to judge,. says Rose. ..He played two Championship games on seamers.. pitches before leaving. Jackie Birkenshaw said he had a nice loop and could go far. But it..s tough being an offie these days..
The Wisden Cricketer, Rob Steen
August 23, 2006
Lucky Jim
Posted on 08/23/2006 in Surrey
Brian Scovell, author of 19-90 Jim Laker, recently drew a revealing memory from long-time Grace Road guv..nor Mike Turner. ..I invited Jim to speak at my benefit dinner when I retired as chief executive from Leicestershire and he was held up by a pile-up on the M1. He and his wife Lilly arrived in time for pudding and Jim insisted on going ahead and making his speech. I asked him about some expenses and he said he wouldn..t dream of it. When Jim arrived home he found his house was ransacked by burglars, who took most of his memorabilia, and one of Lilly..s parents had died that same night. He was a good friend and a great guy..
Less flattering to Jim..s memory was the theft last year of his photograph from The Oval pavilion. The thieves have not been traced; worse, the photo has not been replaced.
The Wisden Cricketer, Rob Steen
The other Monty
Posted on 08/23/2006 in Sussex
Perhaps the summer..s most refreshing and least predictable rebirth has been that of The Other Monty, Richard Montgomerie. The habitually sedate opener..s return to biff-bang duty saw him emerge as the club..s second-top scorer in the C&G group phase and even play in the Twenty20.
..You can be an old 24 or a young 35,. says cricket manager Mark Robinson. ..He..s been more improvisational and expressed himself well.. In the last year of his contract but playing well enough to crave another, Montgomerie is hoping for third time lucky against Lancashire at Lord..s: he lost there with Northants in 1995 and 1996. ..It was still 60 overs then,. he says. ..I always hoped I..d get another chance, so I tried to expand my game, particularly against the spinners. The difference now, I suppose, is I have a bit more belief and because, as Peter Moores said, I know you need match-winning scores not pretty fifties..
The Wisden Cricketer, Rob Steen
Mason handshake
Posted on 08/23/2006 in Worcestershire
There was a danger of Worcestershire..s seam attack becoming a oneman show until Matt Mason produced two consecutive matchwinning performances in the Championship. While Mason struggled with an early-season shoulder injury and was then granted compassionate leave following the death of his mother-in-law, Zaheer Khan led Worcestershire..s attack, taking 55 wickets in his first nine games.
But Mason put himself firmly on course to take 50 wickets for the fourth consecutive season by completing an emphatic victory over Northamptonshire followed by a career-best 8 for 45 to seal a tense win over Gloucestershire.
..It hasn..t been an easy season for Matt for various reasons,. says Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire..s director of cricket. ..We..ve done a bit of work with him trying to get him to bowl a bit straighter. He..s always been tight but he..d got a bit wide. He..s bowling wicket-to-wicket again and he..s got his rewards.. Rhodes may be pleased with his seam attack but he is looking to add depth to his batting and Worcestershire have made a formal request to speak to Warwickshire..s highly rated but out-of-contract England Under-19 batsman Moeen Ali.
The Wisden Cricketer, Paul Bolton
Harris lands on feet
Posted on 08/23/2006 in Warwickshire
Warwickshire were quick to capitalise on Paul Harris.. disappointment at being overlooked for South Africa..s tour to Sri Lanka. The 27-year-old slow left-armer took 49 wickets for Titans last winter but, to the surprise of many South African observers, did not make the cut for the tour.
His decision to spend the summer playing club cricket for Fleetwood in the Northern League proved blessed. Warwickshire needed to sign an experienced slow bowler to fill the gap left by Daniel Vettori and Harris was signed on an 18-month contract after impressing during trials at Edgbaston. ..It was the biggest decision that I have had to make,. Harris says. ..I needed a bit of time to think it through and make absolutely sure that I was making the right decision. I was disappointed with not being picked by South Africa but coming to play county cricket has nothing to do with proving anything to South Africa. I have signed for Warwickshire because I want to do well for them.. Harris was the only player for the county to emerge with credit from an innings defeat by Yorkshire at Scarborough where he took 5 for 134 and made 32 in a last-wicket stand of 79 with Heath Streak.
The Wisden Cricketer, Paul Bolton
Double dilemma
Posted on 08/23/2006 in Yorkshire
Who says Yorkshiremen have an ingrained suspicion of legspin? No sooner had the England Under-19 allrounder Adil Rashid announced himself with debut figures of 6 for 67 against Warwickshire than Mark Lawson was firing in a career-best 6 for 150 against Hampshire. The two Yorkshire Academy products, both England Under-19 players, are the first authentic leggies to play for the White Rose since Eddie Leadbeater left for Warwickshire in 1956. Yet it would seem their emergence presages a selection dilemma in the not too distant future unless the director of cricket David Byas opts to play them in tandem. Ian Dews who, as manager of the academy, has nurtured the pair..s precocious talents, does not rule out the idea.
..If you have two bowlers capable of taking six wickets, why not play them both? And these two are different animals anyway. Mark is confident, in-your-face with a lot of variation. He looks to make things happen whereas Adil will sit in there and bowl all day.
..And, of course, Adil is a top-class batsman. Remember, he was brought into the side at Scarborough to replace Darren Lehmann as the batter who could bowl a bit of spin..
The Wisden Cricketer, Andrew Collomosse
Climbing Kilimanjaro for a good cause
Posted on 08/23/2006 in
Giles White, Hampshire..s assistant coach and former player, will attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro this October for the Home Farm Trust, a charity close to his and his family..s heart as it has helped his brother Adrian.
Its aim is to provide funds to help those with learning difficulties to engage in as near a normal life as possible. ..You can spot the mid-life crisis element of this challenge,. jokes White, ..but please do not let this put you off contributing, as much as you feel able, to a worthy cause. Visit Comments (0) |
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August 21, 2006
Hampshire lose points
Posted on 08/21/2006 in Hampshire
If Hampshire's defeat against Warwickshire wasn't bad enough - leaving them adrift of the Championship leaders - they were also docked two points for a slow over-rate.
August 19, 2006
Cork a Warwickshire target
Posted on 08/19/2006 in Lancashire
Dominic Cork could be joining his third county during the winter if news filtering out of Old Trafford is anything to go by. A move to Warwickshire is being discussed, and the idea has been floating around for a few months, but Cricinfo sources at both clubs were unsure about how likely it would be. Cork has been impressive since joining Lancashire from Derbyshire and will be appearing in the C&G Final, against Sussex, on Saturday.
August 18, 2006
Spearman to Middlesex?
Posted on 08/18/2006 in Middlesex
There are rumours that Craig Spearman could be heading to Middlesex next season. He has had a successful four years at Gloucestershire but may now be looking for a change. Middlesex are currently struggling to avoid relegation from Division One of the County Championship.
August 17, 2006
Montgomerie awarded benefit
Posted on 08/17/2006 in Sussex
Richard Montgomerie has been awarded a benefit by Sussex for 2007 after sixteen years' service to first-class cricket.
Montgomerie made his debut for Northamptonshire in 1991 and was awarded his county cap in 1995. He then moved to Sussex in the winter of 1998 and was awarded his Sussex cap a year later
Montgomerie said he was delighted with the decision: "I feel very privileged to have been awarded a benefit by Sussex. I am extremely lucky to have played 16 years in professional cricket and particularly the last eight in this thriving Sussex side.
"I look forward to an enjoyable year where Sussex continue to be successful and where supporters will also be able to enjoy the events in my benefit calendar. "
Hugh Griffiths, the chief executive, added: "Richard's batting has been a major influence as a first XI player over the seasons since he joined us in 1999. He has contributed generally to the improvements on the field of play in that time, and specifically to our Championship success in 2003. Off the field he has won many friends amongst members, sponsors, supporters, and staff, and I know they will all join me in wishing him a successful 2007 benefit season."
August 16, 2006
Dimitri Mascarenhas awarded benefit
Posted on 08/16/2006 in Hampshire
Dimitri Mascarenhas, the Hampshire allrounder, has been awarded a benefit for next season.
"It is a great honour to be awarded a Benefit for 2007,. he said. ..I'm very excited about it and looking forward to a great year on and off the field. I feel very lucky. I never thought that I would be in this position. A huge thank you must be expressed to all at the club, especially to all my team-mates and the members' committee who have awarded me this benefit..
August 12, 2006
Lancashire hopeful over Cork
Posted on 08/12/2006 in Lancashire
Dominic Cork, who missed Lancashire's Roses clash against Yorkshire, is on course to be fit for their next Championship match, against Middlesex at Old Trafford on August 17. Cork injured his finger while taking a catch at slip against Sussex. He is unlikely to be risked in either of Lancashire's next two Pro40 matches, against Durham on Sunday and Middlesex on Wednesday.
August 9, 2006
Headingley to host 2nd XI final
Posted on 08/09/2006 in Yorkshire
Headingley will host the 2nd XI Trophy final between Yorkshire and Warwickshire on Monday September 4. Yorkshire secured their place with a nine-wicket win over Nottinghamshire.
August 7, 2006
Fulton ponders future
Posted on 08/07/2006 in Kent
David Fulton has hinted that this might be his last season with Kent. After scoring a century in the draw against Hampshire during Canterbury Cricket Week he told BBC Radio Kent: "This could well be my last cricket week. It might well be the case, no further comment on that, but if it is my last it's a good one to go out on."
Warne's frustration
Posted on 08/07/2006 in Hampshire
Shane Warne got so frustrated at Hampshire's inability to take any Kent wickets on the final day of their Championship match at Canterbury that he told Nic Pothas, the wicketkeeper, to bowl with his pads on. Pothas did so for two overs, before removing his keeping equipment, during a six-over spell. Warne used 10 bowlers as David Fulton and Robert Key both struck unbeaten centuries and it would have been 11 if Chris Tremlett hadn't been off the field. At one point Warne left the field and was seen having a cigarette on the balcony. It was one of those days.
August 4, 2006
Schofield still looking for a way back
Posted on 08/04/2006 in Surrey
Chris Schofield, the former England and Lancashire legspinner, is playing for Surrey in their 2nd XI match against Durham at Guildford. He was released by Lancashire at the end of 2004 and since then has been playing for Suffolk in the Minor Counties Championship, as well as turning out for Durham and Surrey second teams.
"It's a bit of a reality check and frustrating because I've played at a very high level but I'm just relieved that counties are still giving me the opportunity to get a contract," Schofield, who is now 27, told the BBC. "The last two years I've been bowling a hell of a lot of overs, 30 to 40 a week - the last two years at Lancashire I bowled 50 to 100 overs a season.
"The first step at the moment is to try to get a county contract, bowl the way I have been doing the last couple of months and take it from there."
August 1, 2006
Steven bowls in
Posted on 08/01/2006 in Kent
David Fulton has taken special delight in the effervescent all-round contributions of Darren Stevens, who had bowled more first-class overs by the end of June than in eight summers at Grace Road.
..I was instrumental in getting him here,. the former captain says, with no trace of false modesty, of a player whose talent had plainly been going to seed. ..Leicestershire had released him but the people I spoke to there .. Paul Nixon, Neil Burns and others .. all said he had ability. Being released focuses the mind.
..He..s a very talented guy coming of age. He..d like to have scored a few more runs early on [this season] but he..s made up for it to an extent with his bowling. He..s a handful in the right conditions, the way he swings and nibbles. He..s been working on making off-spin a third string to his bow and at Old Trafford he asked if he could try it out. Martin van Jaarsveld, who was acting captain, gave him a shot .. and he got Stuart Law, which isn..t shabby.
Rob Steen, The Wisden Cricketer
Law handed Lancashire testimonial
Posted on 08/01/2006 in Lancashire
Stuart Law has been granted a testimonial by Lancashire for 2007. The 37-year-old joined Lancashire in 2002 after a prolific six years spell with Essex and, while at Old Trafford, has underlined his reputation as one of the most consistent batsmen in county cricket.
He has scored over 5300 runs for Lancashire in 68 first-class matches with 18 centuries and is the club..s vice-captain. Lancashire..s Chairman Jack Simmons said: ..I introduced Stuart to English cricket when he came over as Littleborough..s professional at the age of 19 and I have always admired the way he plays the game.
..He was superb for Queensland and Essex and when he became available we moved very quickly to bring him to Lancashire. And he has proved great value. His statistics show what he has achieved on the field, but he has also played a big part in the tremendous dressing-room spirit we have at the Club..
Law said: ..I am delighted to get a testimonial, and I am proud that it is Lancashire who have granted it. I enjoy life in this part of the world, and I love playing for the Club. It is where I want to finish my playing career..
Born in Brisbane, Stuart played for Queensland from 1988 to 2004 and captained them to a series of successes. He joined Essex in 1996 and is in his 11tth season in county cricket.
Creeping statistics
Posted on 08/01/2006 in Hampshire
Maybe expecting Test cricket at the Rose Bowl by 2009 was asking too much when cows, not cricketers, were enjoying it little more than seven years ago. But its much-criticised
playing surface is improving, if statistics are a reliable guide. Over the first five torrid
summers at the Rose Bowl only two Hampshire players attained the modest target of 1,000 runs: Simon Katich (1,143 in 2003) and John Crawley (1,246 in 2005). Though runs are still not flowing, by the mid-point in the Championship as many as five look on course for 1,000 this year. Crawley had 748 and four others .. James Adams, Dominic Thornely, Michael Carberry and Nic Pothas .. had 462 or more. Is it too late for Crawley to be considered as an England player again? Not since he left Lancashire so controversially has ..Creepy.. looked so free and confident. He is still only 34 and his England record (average 34.61 from 37 Tests) is not bad either. Shane Warne and Paul Terry reckon he is worth another look.
Pat Symes, The Wisden Cricketer
Runs in the family
Posted on 08/01/2006 in Gloucestershire
Reasonably satisfied about his side ..winning without playing brilliantly., coach Mark Alleyne was reluctant to join the chorus of disapproval for the new C&G format, mainly because it allowed him to tinker after elimination. Enter Burnley-born Durham University graduate David Brown, younger brother of the Hampshire opener Michael, for an exotic debut. Five singles came off his first 10 balls against Surrey but the next 16 deliveries yielded 58, including five sixes.
..An amazing innings and he..s played with maturity since,. says Alleyne. ..He came here last year and played a good innings for the seconds on a quick wicket against a Lancashire attack featuring Sajid Mahmood and Oliver Newby, which showed lots of character.. Even more pleasing to Alleyne was Kadeer Ali..s consistency on his return to four-day duty, notably a
match-winning stand with Alex Gidman against Leicestershire. ..He..s played two games with a
lowest score of 42. He had some technical issues but I guess he reacts a bit more sensitively than most. We..ve talked about the need to get ugly runs sometimes and he..s absorbed that..
Rob Steen, The Wisden Cricketer
Smith pitches in
Posted on 08/01/2006 in Glamorgan
Sophia Gardens.. head groundsman Len Smith believes his pitch for the forthcoming England v Pakistan one-day international will finally shake off Cardiff..s reputation for
hopelessly benign surfaces. ..People like Jonathan Agnew on Test Match Special still talk about ..slow and low Cardiff..,. Smith says, ..but the Test pitch produces very good carry.. He is talking about his beloved Pitch No. 9, earmarked for both the August 30 one-dayer and Cardiff..s first Test match, during the 2009 Ashes. ..The negative comments about Cardiff hosting a Test have quite upset me. If the square is good enough, which it is, why shouldn..t it have a Test match?. Ultimately money talked when the ECB awarded Cardiff the Ashes game but Smith believes he played a part. ..I just piped up and told them: ..I..d absolutely love to produce a Test match pitch at Sophia Gardens... It wasn..t meant as a crawling remark. I meant it from the heart. Afterwards I did regret sounding off but I..d like to think it made an impression..
Robert Thomas, The Wisden Cricketer
Cheltenham's annual ritual of colour and conviviality
Posted on 08/01/2006 in Gloucestershire
David Hopps in The Guardian takes a look at the long-established Cheltenham cricket festival, which has seen some remarkable matches in its long history.
But, as Hopps points out, it's no longer the domain of colonels and clergymen as it once was:
"Those long flowery dresses of officers' wives have given way to bare midriffs of nubile wine-bar girls not long out of one of the local young ladies' colleges. In early evening, too, throaty male decibels increase - belonging more to Kingsholm than this ground's Gothic chapel."
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