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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"
April 21, 2008
Hick out for a fortnight
Posted 2 weeks, 6 days ago in Worcestershire
Graeme Hick is to have an elbow operation that will keep him out of action for two weeks. He has some floating bone that needs to be cleared out of his elbow and a decision has been made to sort it now rather than later in the season.
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.
February 27, 2008
Worcestershire poised to sign Magoffin
Posted on 02/27/2008 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire are poised to sign Australian fast bowler Steve Magoffin as their second overseas player for the coming season. Magoffin, who had a brief spell at Surrey in 2007, will play for Worcestershire until Fidel Edwards becomes available in July.
February 7, 2008
Worcestershire interested in Bond?
Posted on 02/07/2008 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire are understood to be keen to secure Shane Bond's signature for next season now he's out of contract with New Zealand. The county failed in their bid for Ashley Noffke but it's believed that their chief executive Mark Newton will arrange a meeting in a month or so when he comes to New Zealand for the England tour.
January 23, 2008
Worcestershire fail in Noffke bid
Posted on 01/23/2008 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire have failed to attract Ashley Noffke, the Queensland allrounder, to New Road for the 2008 season.
"We believe we are no longer in the running for him," Worcestershire chief executive Mark Newton told The Press Association.
Noffke is enjoying a golden season for Queensland where he has 31 wickets from six Pura Cup matches and over 500 runs. He made his Australia debut in the Twenty20 international against New Zealand in Perth.
January 18, 2008
Davies extends Worcestershire contract
Posted on 01/18/2008 in Worcestershire
Steve Davies, the 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, has signed a one-year contract extension with Worcestershire.
"We are delighted that Steven has agreed to this contract extension. He is one of our most talented young players and we want to secure his future with us," Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire's director of cricket, said. "He is a born and bred Worcestershire lad and has secured a regular place in the first team and is pushing hard for full international honours."
September 27, 2007
Mitchell extends Worcestershire contract
Posted on 09/27/2007 in Worcestershire
Daryl Mitchell has extended his contract with Worcestershire. The one-year deal lasts until the end of the 2009 season.
Mitchell, an allrounder, averaged 43 in the Championship this season. "I am a Worcestershire lad and I want to play for the club for many years to come," he said. "I feel the way I performed in the last few games that I have established myself at the top of the order."
September 20, 2007
Andrew joins Worcestershire on two-year deal
Posted on 09/20/2007 in
Gareth Andrew has joined Worcestershire from Somerset on a two-year contract. Andrew, the 24-year-old medium fast bowler, found only limited first-team opportunities at Somerset – while he expects to have more chances at Worcestershire.
Continue reading "Andrew joins Worcestershire on two-year deal"
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.
July 23, 2007
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.
July 13, 2007
Worcestershire's weather woes continue with washout
Posted on 07/13/2007 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire’s weather woes continued, as they tried to play a match – this time in the Pro40.
Despite changing venue – after Derbyshire stepped in to allow them to play at the County Ground – they could not beat the rain, and their game with Hampshire was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The floodlit match was supposed to be this year’s curtain raiser of the Pro40 league. Instead it was yet another washout.
July 3, 2007
Get out your marigolds for Worcestershire
Posted on 07/03/2007 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire have taken up their members' offers to help prepare New Road for Sunday. The clean-up will take place this Friday and Saturday. Members and supporters are asked if they can spare anything from an hour to a couple of hours at 10am on either of these days to help with the final clean-up.
Continue reading "Get out your marigolds for Worcestershire"
June 27, 2007
Worcs Twenty20 switched to Kidderminster
Posted on 06/27/2007 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire match this Sunday against Gloucestershire has been switched from New Road to Kidderminster. Flooding at New Road means the game had to be moved, so it will now be played at the Chester Road ground in Kidderminster.
Play will start at 3pm.
Further information about ground admission and car parking for members and existing ticket holders will be published on the Worcestershire CCC website.
June 21, 2007
Jaques returns home
Posted on 06/21/2007 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire's Australian opening batsman Phil Jaques will miss the
first four games of the Twenty20 Cup after returning home for "family
reasons''.
Jaques, the New South Wales left-hander, is expected to be back at New Road on June
30. In the meantime, their on-loan allrounder, Kyle Hogg, has been recalled to Lancashire, who are struggling with injuries.
June 19, 2007
Worcestershire's Kervezee reprimanded
Posted on 06/19/2007 in Worcestershire
Alexei Kervezee, the Worcestershire and Netherlands batsman, has been reprimanded under the ECB's discipline code following an incident during Worcestershire’s Second Xl Championship match against Somerset.
Kervezee was reported David Millns and Mike Moran, the two umpires, for a Level One breach of the code (showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision by word or action).
The penalty remains on Kervezee’s record for a period of 2 years. Any further Level One breach during that period will result in an automatic imposition of three penalty points.
May 30, 2007
Hogg loaned to Worcestershire
Posted on 05/30/2007 in Worcestershire
Lancashire has agreed to loan Kyle Hogg, the allrounder, to Worcestershire. The four-week loan period will include four Friends Provident Trophy games, two Championship matches (against Surrey and Warwickshire) and some early matches in the Twenty 20 Cup.
Steven Rhodes, Worcestershire's director of cricket, said: "With the ongoing injury to Matt Mason and the latest injury to Roger Sillence, it seems a sensible and exciting move to loan a player of Kyle's undoubted ability to help us over the next month. He will be a natural replacement for Roger in our forthcoming Friends Provident Trophy matches against Durham and Warwickshire."
Continue reading "Hogg loaned to Worcestershire"
May 8, 2007
Dewald Nel bolsters Worcestershire
Posted on 05/08/2007 in Worcestershire
Scotland seamer Dewald Nel has joined Worcestershire for 10 days as cover for their injury-hit attack.
"Our seam bowling resources are severely stretched so we needed to find more cover," said director of cricket Steve Rhodes. "Dewald has played some 2nd XI cricket for us and has performed really well for Scotland this season."
Worcestershire's attack is down to the bare bones with Doug Bollinger (side and hip strain), Matt Mason (shoulder) and Nadeem Malik (shin problems) all out of action. Nel will be available for the Championship matches against Yorkshire and Lancashire.
May 4, 2007
Smokers banished from New Road
Posted on 05/04/2007 in Worcestershire
Smoking has been banned from all public areas of Worcestershire's county ground, New Road, in readiness for the nationwide ban in England this July. According to the BBC, "all buildings, walkways and seating areas at New Road are now smoke free, but smokers will still be accommodated in certain open areas".
May 1, 2007
Price reprimanded
Posted on 05/01/2007 in Worcestershire
Ray Price, the Worcestershire left-arm spinner, has received a reprimand under the ECB’s discipline code following an incident during Worcestershire’s second eleven Championship match against MCC Young Cricketers between April 24 and 26.
Price was reported by umpires John Holder and Roger Tolchard for a level one breach of the code, which relates to abuse of cricket ground, equipment or fixtures/fittings.
The penalty remains on Price’s record for a period of two years. Any further level one breach during that period will result in an automatic three penalty points.
April 12, 2007
Worcestershire hit by Mason injury
Posted on 04/12/2007 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire will be without paceman Matt Mason for the opening weeks of the season after he failed to recover from an off-season shoulder operation as quickly as expected. He will certainly miss the first Championship match, against Durham, on April 18 but is hopeful of being fit in early May.
October 17, 2006
Rhodes to recovery on and off the field
Posted on 10/17/2006 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire achieved their pre-season goals of winning double promotion and creating a happy dressing room. Steve Rhodes, the director of cricket, chose his overseas players wisely with Phil Jaques, Lou Vincent and Zaheer Khan all making significant contributions on the pitch and helping create a happy glow off it. Graeme Hick basked in the warmth. The decision to drop him to No.5 had seemed to signal the beginning of the end; instead he finished a good season by passing 1,000 first-class runs for the 20th time and rejecting an offer from Derbyshire. Worcestershire’s Championship promotion was all the more worthy because they were heavily beaten in their first two home games. The second promotion, in the one-day league, came after favourable results elsewhere and was so unexpected that Rhodes spent the day fishing rather than monitoring the scores. There also are signs of progress off the field, too. The club is in the process of securing £10m to redevelop New Road, which will include a new pavilion to replace the historic building currently rotting away after a century of flood damage.
Paul Bolton The Wisden Cricketer
Rhodes to recovery on and off the field
Posted on 10/17/2006 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire achieved their pre-season goals of winning double promotion and creating a happy dressing room. Steve Rhodes, the director of cricket, chose his overseas players wisely with Phil Jaques, Lou Vincent and Zaheer Khan all making significant contributions on the pitch and helping create a happy glow off it. Graeme Hick basked in the warmth. The decision to drop him to No.5 had seemed to signal the beginning of the end; instead he finished a good season by passing 1,000 first-class runs for the 20th time and rejecting an offer from Derbyshire. Worcestershire’s Championship promotion was all the more worthy because they were heavily beaten in their first two home games. The second promotion, in the one-day league, came after favourable results elsewhere and was so unexpected that Rhodes spent the day fishing rather than monitoring the scores. There also are signs of progress off the field, too. The club is in the process of securing £10m to redevelop New Road, which will include a new pavilion to replace the historic building currently rotting away after a century of flood damage.
Paul Bolton The Wisden Cricketer
September 27, 2006
Solanki extends contract
Posted on 09/27/2006 in Worcestershire
Vikram Solanki, the Worcestershire captain, has agreed to a two year extension of his contract taking him through to the end of the 2009 season. Solanki, who has just led the county to a double promotion, has already been awarded a benefit year in 2007.
Worcestershire have also confirmed the entire domestic playing squad will remain in contract for the 2007 season. The majority of senior players have existing contracts through to 2007 and 2008 whilst earlier in the season Graeme Hick confirmed a contract extension for 2007.
Daryl Mitchell has agreed a two year extension to his contract until the end of 2008, while left-arm pace bowler Stuart Wedge (20), wicketkeeper Josh Knappett (21), fast bowler Richard Jones (20) and off-spinner Shaftab Khalid (23) have all been retained on one year contracts for 2007.
Will Gifford and Ed Foster will remain on summer contracts whilst they complete their courses at University. The county’s Academy intake for 2006/7 is expected to be announced soon.
September 24, 2006
New plans for New Road
Posted on 09/24/2006 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire have announced plans for a redevelopment at New Road. A media release said that full planning application had been submitted and that it was hoped the outcome would be known within three to four months.
Click here to view the plans
September 21, 2006
Contract Hick-up
Posted on 09/21/2006 in Worcestershire
Graeme Hick playing for a county other than Worcestershire would be almost as unthinkable as New Road without a view of the cathedral. But it looked briefly possible when Derbyshire confirmed that they had made a formal approach for the 40-year-old former England batsman. That added urgency to Worcestershire’s contract talks with Hick, who scored his 100th first-class century for the county this summer. To their relief Hick signed a new one-year contract within days of Derbyshire’s interest being made public.
“It was flattering to hear another county was interested but my heart was always with Worcestershire,” Hick says. “I’ve played here all my career and didn’t want to go anywhere else. I had a chat with Derbyshire and listened to what they had to say but in the end I just couldn’t leave. It wouldn’t have felt right to play in any other colours.” Hick has yet to decide whether next season will be his last and has not ruled out the possibility of prolonging his career further.
“At this stage I’m going to take it a season at a time,” he says. “We’ll see how I feel this time next year.”
Paul Bolton, The Wisden Cricketer
September 5, 2006
Solanki awarded benefit for 2007
Posted on 09/05/2006 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire have awarded Vikram Solanki, the captain, a benefit year in 2007. Solanki, who has played 51 one-dayers for England, made his first-class debut in 1995 and has scored over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket. He recently passed 1000 runs this season. He took over the captaincy of the club in 2005.
“No one at the club deserves a benefit year more than Vikram," said Mark Newton, the Worcestershire chief executive. "He is Worcestershire through and through; he is proving to be a very good captain and is enjoying a terrific season."
September 3, 2006
Zaheer targets Worcester return
Posted on 09/03/2006 in Worcestershire
Zaheer Khan, the Indian left-arm seamer, has said that he would like to continue his association with Worcestershire after enjoying a successful stint with the county side this season.
Zaheer was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for Australian paceman Nathan Bracken, and is currently the leading wicket-taker of the second division of the County Championship with 69 wickets, a figure surpassed this season only by Mushtaq Ahmed, the Pakistan legspinner, now playing for Sussex. Though he was omitted from the Indian touring squad for Sri Lanka, he was later included among the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy in October.
"Worcester is definitely a place I'd like to come back to next year," he told Sky Sports. "I've really enjoyed this season. The dressing room has been great and I have made a lot of new friends.
August 23, 2006
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
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.
June 28, 2006
Pavilion set for the chop
Posted on 06/28/2006 in Worcestershire
The demolition of a cricket pavilion in Worcester has galvanised locals and stirred the BBC into running a campaign to leave it standing. The 130-year old pavilion is on the Cinderella Sports Ground and despite appeals from the local council, SJS Property Management, acting on behalf of owner Kays (Shop Direct), are going ahead with plans to tear it down, even though the pavilion was to be retained as part of the development.
June 20, 2006
Elton John not guilty
Posted on 06/20/2006 in Worcestershire
Worcestershire have refused to blame Elton John for the lack of runs at New Road this season. The stage arrangements for a concert forced the county to play on the pavilion side of the square, where pitches retain more moisture, earlier in the season than usual. New Road’s opening four first-class matches produced only one century and six wickets from 144 for spinners. “The pitches have helped the seamers,” says Mark Newton, the county’s chief executive, “but whatever pitch you prepare it’s the same for both teams.” The wickets for the first three first-class matches at New Road were all marked “above average” by the umpires.
Meanwhile Steve Rhodes, director of cricket, can celebrate or drown his sorrows in the pavilion bar with a beer named after him. ‘Bumpy’s Brew’ is produced by the Wolverhampton & Dudley Brewery. Having sampled a pint, TWC concurs with Rhodes’ view that it is “full of character and not too strong. A good beer to relax with.”
Paul Bolton, The Wisden Cricketer
April 12, 2006
Friendly abandoned
Posted on 04/12/2006 in Glamorgan
Continuous rain throughout the morning in Cardiff led to the abandonment of Glamorgan`s pre-season friendly against Worcestershire at Sophia Gardens on Wednesday, April 12.
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