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April 29, 2008
Journalists get on their bike
Posted 1 week, 5 days ago in Miscellaneous
How do you get from the Brit Oval to Lord's without crossing the Thames? Six intrepid cyclists are about to prove it can be done and all in a good cause.
They are cycling from Kennington to St John's Wood the long way round, taking in all 18 first-class county headquarters - a trip of more than 1,000 miles over 16 days.
The tour has been devised by two cricket writers who spend most of their time pedalling opinions on the game: David Lloyd of the London Evening Standard and Colin Bateman of the Daily Express.
Continue reading "Journalists get on their bike"
March 7, 2008
Cancer Tests for England cricketers
Posted on 03/07/2008 in Miscellaneous
All first-class cricketers in England will be tested for skin cancer this season. In an initiative by the Professional Cricketers Association about 400 players will have checks for the disease.
September 19, 2007
Time for salary caps?
Posted on 09/19/2007 in
A fascinating report in The Guardian looks into how county cricket pays for itself… if it does… and whether or not salary capping is a good idea.
August 1, 2007
Sutcliffe heads to Northants on loan
Posted on 08/01/2007 in Northamptonshire
Iain Sutcliffe will head to Northamptonshire on loan for a month from August 8, to strengthen the top order.
Northants' overseas player Chris Rogers will leave the county to attend an Australia players training camp, with his last match in the Championship against Middlesex, which starts on August 14.
Continue reading "Sutcliffe heads to Northants on loan"
July 23, 2007
Three player sign Northants deals
Posted on 07/23/2007 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire have begun organising their squad for next season with Steven Crook and Riki Wessels agreeing contract extenstion while Alex Wakely, the Under-19 allrounder, has signed a two-year deal.
Crook, who came to Wantage Road from Lancashire in 2006 after a brief loan spell, has signed a two-year extenstion. He said: “I have enjoyed my time here so far and have found working with David Capel and the support staff; particularly Barry Goudriaan and Ross Dewar; a positive influence on my career and I look forward to continuing to develop here.”
Wessels, son of former Northamptonshire coach and South Africa captain Kepler, has also signed a new two-year contract. Wakley, who has been named in England’s Under-19 squad to face Pakistan, has signed his first full contract with the club. He has been a member of the academy since 2003.
Meanwhile, Paul Coverdale has been released by the club after not securing a first-team place but Mark Tagg, the chief executive, said: “Paul has shown excellent attitude throughout his time with the club and has been a role model for many of the younger players."
Some county players earn less than minimum wage
Posted on 07/23/2007 in Miscellaneous
In The Sunday Telegraph , Steve James highlights the disparity between the high earners in English cricket and those at the bottom of the food chain.
The Professional Cricketers' Association estimates that a cricketer works about 50 hours a week (including play, travel, training and time spent away from home). This means, in broad terms, that a player needs to earn more than £7,000 per season to be over the minimum wage. There are definitely players earning less than that; indeed there are players earning as little as £3,000 per season.
November 14, 2006
Northants sign van der Wath
Posted on 11/14/2006 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire have announced that Johannes van der Wath, the South Africa allrounder, has signed as the club's second overseas players for 2007. He is a versatile all-rounder, capable of lively pace bowling and powerful hitting in the middle order and is currently playing for the Eagles in South Africa.
van der Wath said: "I'm really looking forward to a full season in England. The time at Sussex last year whetted my appetite and I've heard really good things about Northamptonshire. Plans for the season sound exciting and I want to let the club fans know that I'll be doing my best to help make it a successful one."
The chief executive Mark Tagg added: “In the increasingly competitive four-day and one-day game we are determined to play attractive and exciting cricket and Johannes signature will ensure that our supporters will be able to enjoy top quality entertainment throughout the season.”
David Capel, the head coach, echoed those thoughts: “He offers us experienced seam bowling and hard hitting lower middle order options in all forms of the game. He is a well respected cricketer in South Africa and one that has a reputation for giving 100% at all times as well as being a quality performer.
October 17, 2006
Free from the iron grip of Wessels
Posted on 10/17/2006 in Northamptonshire
Kepler Wessels' autocratic style of management finally put paid to him, with the players calling in their union, the Professional Cricketers’ Association, to help end his tenure as director of cricket. Wessels had bust-ups with players in previous seasons but this time it was too much for the club’s management, especially after the PCA popped in to show them a three-page letter of all the players’ grievances. A new rumour of Wessels falling out with a staff member had become a weekly bore until he left at the end of July, halfway through the Championship draw with Essex. Player morale and team spirit picked up immediately and results – at least in the oneday matches – followed. They could not get much worse: Wessels had overseen eight defeats in nine C&G Trophy games. Second place in the one-day league bodes well for a strong push for a limited-overs trophy and showed that Wessels had at least assembled a good side. With him gone, most of them now want to stay. One who remains undecided, amid interest from other counties, is the Australian batsman Chris Rogers, who cracked 1,142 of his 1,360 first-class runs in the seven games after Wessels’ departure. Throughout the turmoil Lance Klusener remained calm and consistent and was deservedly player-of-the-year.
Ashley Potter The Wisden Cricketer
Free from the iron grip of Wessels
Posted on 10/17/2006 in Northamptonshire
Kepler Wessels' autocratic style of management finally put paid to him, with the players calling in their union, the Professional Cricketers’ Association, to help end his tenure as director of cricket. Wessels had bust-ups with players in previous seasons but this time it was too much for the club’s management, especially after the PCA popped in to show them a three-page letter of all the players’ grievances. A new rumour of Wessels falling out with a staff member had become a weekly bore until he left at the end of July, halfway through the Championship draw with Essex. Player morale and team spirit picked up immediately and results – at least in the oneday matches – followed. They could not get much worse: Wessels had overseen eight defeats in nine C&G Trophy games. Second place in the one-day league bodes well for a strong push for a limited-overs trophy and showed that Wessels had at least assembled a good side. With him gone, most of them now want to stay. One who remains undecided, amid interest from other counties, is the Australian batsman Chris Rogers, who cracked 1,142 of his 1,360 first-class runs in the seven games after Wessels’ departure. Throughout the turmoil Lance Klusener remained calm and consistent and was deservedly player-of-the-year.
Ashley Potter The Wisden Cricketer
October 6, 2006
Chris Rogers agrees new deal
Posted on 10/06/2006 in Northamptonshire
Chris Rogers has been signed a one-year contract with Northamptonshire as an overseas player for the 2007 season.
Rogers scored over 1300 runs in the County Championship during 2006 including four hundreds and five 50's with a current average of 72.50. He made the highest score of the season with 319 against Gloucestershire in August.
David Capel, the Northants coach, said: "Chris Rogers and Stephen Peters built up a strong opening partnership at the back end of the season and I am keen to see that continue into the 2007 season.
"Chris is particularly excited about returning to the club next season and is confident regarding attaining personal and team success. We all look forward to seeing him back in April."
October 4, 2006
Northants confirm contracts
Posted on 10/04/2006 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire have announced that Usman Afzaal, Rob White, Stephen Peters, Paul Coverdale, Graeme White and Mark Nelson have signed new contracts with the club.
Afzaal joined Northants three years ago and has scored over a 1,000 first class runs each season. He has signed a two-year deal after discussions with the club which emphasised the ambition and the important role for him as a senior player within the team.
Graeme White and Mark Nelson have both signed for Northants for the 2007 season. Both players have been key members with the England Under-19 squad as well as the Northants second XI and Academy.
Whitehas been offered a year extension to his current contract and Nelson has been offered a new one-year contract.
The head coach David Capel said: "We are looking to keep the continuity following on from the success at the end of the 2006 season. Our opening partnership will be joining forces once again and it is great news that Usman has committed to a two-year deal. It is also fantastic to see representation from the academy on our cricket staff for 2007."
September 26, 2006
One-day wondering
Posted on 09/26/2006 in Northamptonshire
The Northants coach David Capel sees a serious role for Monty Panesar in one-day cricket. Heralded as the best finger spinner in the world by England’s Duncan Fletcher, Panesar has played only seven one-day games, all for Northants.
“In time Monty has a lot of good things to offer as a specialist spinner in one-day cricket,” says Capel, who has taken over with the captain David Sales since the director of cricket Kepler Wessels’ departure. “It is the age-old argument of specialists playing in one-day cricket, whether they be fast bowlers or spinners. In my opinion they have a role to play.
“I understand the philosophy Duncan Fletcher has in making sure all our top bowlers can bat and field, and they’ve got to be very competent in those two departments. But recent history
has been littered with people like Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, who win one-day games with the way they bowl. “Monty still has to develop his skills further in one-day cricket but I believe he has the potential to do that. He’s confident and wants to have a go at not only one-day cricket with us but with England as well.”
Ashley Potter, The Wisden Cricketer
Capel confirmed coach
Posted on 09/26/2006 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire have confirmed that David Capel will be the club's head coach after a period in a caretaker role following Kepler Wessels's departure midway through the season.
The chief executive, Mark Tagg, told BBC Radio Northampton: "We put David in position and he had two months to show us what he could do,"
"It's been pretty tough for him and I think he's delivered. You can look at the tremendous performance in the Pro40 to show how he's turned things around."
September 23, 2006
Panesar extends contract
Posted on 09/23/2006 in Northamptonshire
Monty Panesar as signed with Northamptonshire until at least 2008. This week Panesar was granted an ECB central contract so the club are unlikely to see much of their left-arm spinner next summer.
Panesar said: "I am please to have signed a two-year contract with Northants. I am looking forward to continuing to work with David Capel, David Ripley and my team-mates. I would like to thank all the members and fans for their support.’
The chief executive, Mark Tagg added: “We are absolutely delighted that Monty has decided to continue his association with the club. Monty has been a shining example of our development work and we hope that he is the first of a number of young players who we currently have in our squad and our Academy who will become household names for England over future years.
"The club has had a successful end to the season and with the spirit and teamwork that we are now showing we have very high hopes for the next few years at the County Ground”.
September 22, 2006
Phillips leaves Northants
Posted on 09/22/2006 in Northamptonshire
Ben Phillips has announced that he will be leaving Northamptonshire at the end of the season after the county agreed to his request to be released from his contract. "My family have never settled here,” he explained, “and I have decided they must come first and so therefore I have had to make a change in my career plans."
September 21, 2006
Phillips leaves for personal reasons
Posted on 09/21/2006 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire announced that Ben Phillips will end his four year association with the club at the end of this season. The club have responded to his request to be released from his contract for 2007 due to personal and family reasons.
David Capel, the coach, said: ‘I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Ben; he has been a delight to work with and will be missed from the team’
Phillips added: ‘I would like to thank the club and supporters for the last four years, I have had a tremendous time here and would like to express my gratitude to everyone for their continued support of me.
"It is fair to say that my family have never settled here and I have decided that they must come first and so therefore I have had to make a change to my career plans."
September 2, 2006
Sales awarded benefit
Posted on 09/02/2006 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire have awarded David Sales a benefit for next season. He is the captain and the club's longest-serving player of the current staff. Sales, 28, joined in 1994 and has been captain since 2004.
"I am very grateful to the club for offering me a benefit next year," said Sales. "2006 has been a year of change and I am sure together we can help the club build on the foundations currently being laid".
So far in his first-class career he has amassed 8640 runs, at 39.81, with a highest score of 303 not out.
August 24, 2006
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
July 30, 2006
Players thrive on steep earning curve
Posted on 07/30/2006 in Derbyshire
Steve James, the former Glamorgan and England opener, has revealed that the average salary for a county player is around £40,000. Surrey top the pay league, with their players earning an average salary of £60,000, and that excludes the bumper earnings of their overseas recruits. Yorkshire are at the bottom of the pay league, with an average salary of £30,000.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, James's article has gone a long way to dispelling the belief that county cricketers are sports paupers. While they still might to be able to hold a candle to any footballers in the Premier League, their pay is not as bad as it once was.
Click here for the full story.
July 5, 2006
Northants on pitch warning
Posted on 07/05/2006 in Northamptonshire
Northants have gained a 'poor' rating for the pitch they used during the Twenty20 match against Somerset on June 29.
An ECB pitch panel comprising of pitch liaision officers, Tony Pigott and David Hughes, was convened following the umpires report. After considering the pitch reports and interviewing the captain and coach of both teams, and the Northamptonshire Head Groundsman, the pitch panel upheld the umpires’ decision that the pitch had demonstrated excessive turn and should therefore be rated “poor”.
As a consequence, Northamptonshire are on notice that any subsequent one-day pitch marked “poor” within 12-months of June 29 will be subject to the following penalty:
If the subsequent “poor” pitch is in the Trophy, the Pro40 League or the group stages of the Twenty20 Cup, then one point shall be deducted from Northamptonshire’s total in that season’s competition.
If the subsequent “poor” pitch is in a Twenty20 Cup quarter-final, then Northamptonshire will concede home advantage in the Twenty20 Cup quarter-final round of the subsequent season.
June 5, 2006
Ganguly excited by third county stint
Posted on 06/05/2006 in Northamptonshire
Sourav Ganguly is looking forward to his stint with Northamptonshire and hoping to get valuable match practice during his two-month period with the club.
"The standard of county cricket is good. I think I will get good match practice by turning out for Northamptonshire," Ganguly said. "I enjoy playing county cricket and my experience on the last two occasions was good,"
Ganguly has played for Lancashire in 2000 and Glamorgan last summer.
May 15, 2006
Fax and fitness
Posted on 05/15/2006 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire coach Kepler Wessels said he was not concerned that Usman Afzaal missed most of pre-season training and all friendlies. Afzaal has been the most consistent batsman in the past two years, averaging 52 in the Championship, but is a celebrity in India, being
engaged to the Bollywood actress Amrita Arora, and was commentating on England’s one-day series before arriving on April 12, a month after most of the squad.
Wessels, who commentates for South African TV, said: “We have been monitoring his fitness.” In other words Afzaal faxed over his results after taking the club’s fitness tests. With no practice in the middle he made 5 and 28 in the opening Championship draw with Essex.
Ashley Potter, The Wisden Cricketer
April 20, 2006
How very last season
Posted on 04/20/2006 in Northamptonshire
Who says county cricket can be a little bit amateur? Um … Well … There was a bit of a flap down at Northants when the new kit didn’t arrive on time, forcing the players to wear youth team shirts and last season’s jumpers.
"It's just very inconvenient and not a little bit embarrassing," explained the chief executive Mark Tagg as his side ran out against Essex in their makeshift get-up. "The players use their own trousers anyway and the jumpers are from last season."
Gosh, how very resourceful.
April 12, 2006
Victory for 2nd XI
Posted on 04/12/2006 in Northamptonshire
The 2nd XI started their season with success after winning a friendly game against Oxford University with seven balls to spare.
Oxford Uni 190 (48.3 overs)
Northants 191 for 6
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