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England have named Graham Thorpe as batting coach for the one-day international and Twenty20 series in New Zealand in a decision which moves further towards separate coaching set-ups for the Test and one-day sides.

David Hopps26-Jan-2013England have named Graham Thorpe as batting coach for the one-day international and Twenty20 series in New Zealand in a decision which moves closer towards separate coaching set-ups for the Test and one-day sides.Thorpe replaces Graham Gooch, whose role as Test batting coach for next summer’s Ashes series remains assured.The reshuffle follows the appointment of Ashley Giles as England’s new coach in the shorter formats of the game to reduce the touring workload on England’s director of cricket, Andy Flower, whose day-to-day coaching involvement is now restricted to the Test arena.England’s managing director Hugh Morris has stressed the appointment of Thorpe, who has cut his teeth as batting coach for England Lions, will be reviewed at the end of the New Zealand tour, although his fulltime appointment seems inevitable.Morris said: “Graham Gooch’s work in India made a real step change to the way we played spin bowling and was a factor in us winning that Test series. We’ve got an enormous amount of very high-profile Test cricket and we want Graham to focus his attention on working one-on-one with our Test players.”Graham Thorpe, who has been working alongside the Lions as one of our coaches for the last 12 months or so, will be going to New Zealand as one-day batting coach. He’s made a good impression as a batting coach and he is looking forward to the opportunity to go there.”England entered the final one-day international against India in Dharamsala on Sunday 3-1 down with one to play, and with the series already lost, but suggestions that Gooch has been removed from the one-day set-up at Giles’ behest because of another failure in an Indian ODI series are an overstatement of the case.England are committed to developing distinct coaching set-ups in Test and one-day cricket and Thorpe’s introduction, which has been built towards for some time, is a natural consequence of that .Nevertheless, Giles might welcome a more energising figure in the dressing room in the limited-overs formats. Gooch’s lugubrious commonsense has had a positive effect on England’s Test side, exemplified by the last Test they played as they had the mental strength to bat for for nearly 10 hours to draw the Test in Nagpur and win the series. Thorpe, though, might quicken the progress of young plyers such as Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, who have built a strong rel;ationship with him in Lions cricket and who are instrumental to England’s one-day future.Gooch, like Flower, has always had mixed feelings about the lengthy amount of time spent away from home in England’s crowded international schedule. David Saker, England’s bowling coach, was also briefly tempted by the Warwickshire director of cricket role for identical reasons before the lure of back-to-back Ashes series persuaded him that he had “unfinished business” with the England side. It would be no surprise if he was next.Challenges will come thick and fast for Thorpe if, as everybody expects, he passes his probationary period. Following the ICC Champions Trophy in England this summer England face a World T20 in Bangladesh in March 2014 and a World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.

Denesh Ramdin, the West Indies wicketkeeper, said that he is mentally and physically ready for the ODI series against Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2013Denesh Ramdin, the West Indies wicketkeeper, said he is mentally and physically ready for the ODI series against Zimbabwe. Ramdin, who was left out of the ODI team for the Bangladesh and Australia tours, replaced Devon Thomas in the squad.”My form is ‘there’ and I am feeling confident with the bat and I have been working twice as hard to make sure I get runs when I’m out in the middle,” Ramdin said. “Behind the stumps I worked overtime to make sure that I was fit and ready when the selectors called on me.”Ramdin was part of the team that won the World Twenty20 title and travelled to Bangladesh for the Test series, but Thomas replaced him in the ODI series that followed. Thomas managed 48 runs in five innings in Australia forcing the selectors to recall Ramdin.Ramdin, who has played 94 ODIs since making his debut in 2005, said he was clear on his role within the team.”While I was out I did a lot of work on all areas of my game. I think my role with the bat is mainly to hit the ball in the gaps, run really hard between the wickets and accumulate good scores for the team.”There are other guys in the team, like Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, who have the power to clear the boundaries and other guys who can come and hit the ball down at the bottom. So basically, I see myself as someone to keep things ticking and look to bat through the end once I get that chance.”The first ODI of the three-match series will be played at St. George’s on February 22.

A preview of game seven of IPL 2013, between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad

The Preview by Rachna Shetty06-Apr-2013

Match facts

Sunday, April 7, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Heading into their first away match of IPL 2013, Royal Challengers Bangalore may start favourites but Sunrisers Hyderabad, with a victory as well in their opening game, showed they can be tough and determined opponents.How formidable the Sunrisers’ challenge will be depends largely on their batting order. With the exception of Thisara Perera, nobody really managed to take charge of the innings after getting a start. Against Royal Challengers, they will be tested against a stronger bowling attack.Chris Gayle is fit for Royal Challengers after limping through a good part of his match-winning innings in their first game. Gayle, again, had a huge influence on his team’s fortunes, but he could have done with more support during his unbeaten 92. He and Virat Kohli added 25 before Royal Challengers slipped to 80 for 5. Only KB Arun Karthik gave him company of any significance. Getting Gayle early offers Sunrisers’ bowlers a strong chance of containing Royal Challengers.On Sunday, Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan will be up against Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma on a track that could likely play the way it did in the low-scorer between Sunrisers and Pune Warriors. Royal Challengers would have noted Steyn’s dominance in his first spell but playing Perera and Amit Mishra could prove just as challenging.

Players to watch

Amit Mishra, the second-highest wicket-taker in the IPL, has bowled fairly consistently through the IPLs. Against Warriors, he brought out his variations to stifle the batsmen. Royal Challengers have good players of spin in Dilshan and Virat Kohli and as the lead spinner in the side, Mishra will have to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the opposition in check.
Tillakaratne Dilshan took the IPL by storm in 2009, scoring 418 runs for Delhi Daredevils. Since his shift to Royal Challengers, he’s been an important member of the line-up, scoring more than 500 runs in 20 games. He would no doubt have rued the shot that got him out against Mumbai Indians, but with two centuries and a half-century in his last five innings, Dilshan will be eager to put that start behind him and get going in IPL 2013.

Stats and trivia

• Royal Challengers have won just one out of their last four matches in Hyderabad. Their last victory in Hyderabad was in 2008.
• With three wickets in the last match against Mumbai Indians, R Vinay Kumar became the first Royal Challengers bowler to get to 50 wickets. He now has 52 wickets from 49 matches at an average of 26.07 for his side. His overall tally in the IPL is 64 wickets in 62 matches, which puts him among the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament.

Quotes

“It was probably a more bowler-friendly wicket. It was not a free-flowing wicket. You could not just go there and play your shots. The ball was not quite coming onto the bat.”

Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen made a defiant half-century but late wickets put Sussex in charge after Shivnarine Chanderpaul went cheaply on his 300th first-class appearance.

15-May-2013
ScorecardWayne Madsen made a valuable half-century•Getty Images

Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen made a defiant half-century but late wickets put Sussex in charge after Shivnarine Chanderpaul went cheaply on his 300th first-class appearance.Chanderpaul struggled for 87 minutes for 20 before he fell to Australian paceman Steve Magoffin, who took 2 for 37, and with Madsen falling for 63 just before stumps, Derbyshire were 158 for 6 at the end of a day when 40 overs were lost to the weather.After so much rain overnight and during the morning, it was no surprise when Sussex captain Ed Joyce put Derbyshire in on a green pitch after Madsen lost the toss for the sixth time this season. There was bad news for the home side before a ball had been bowled, with key batsman Wes Durston ruled out with a back injury, while Magoffin returned to the Sussex side after missing the previous game with a sore knee.The overcast conditions and the appearance of the pitch suggested it was a good toss to win but Sussex tended to bowl too short against a team that had lost three of their previous four Championship matches and were bottom of Division One.Billy Godleman twice drove Anyon straight and through the covers for four and Chesney Hughes hooked him over square leg and into a communal garden but both openers also left the ball well until Hughes tried to drive Magoffin and edged high to third slip, where Joyce took a sharp catch above his head.Madsen joined Godleman and they took the total to 71 before Godleman lost patience and chased a wide ball from Chris Jordan and Luke Wells at second slip made no mistake.With Durston missing, even more rested on Chanderpaul who joined Madsen to take Derbyshire to 94 for 2 at tea but it was hard work against an attack which had found a more consistent line. After a brief stoppage for rain, Anyon had a loud appeal for a catch behind against Chanderpaul turned down and he star also played and missed several times at Magoffin.But it was Magoffin who got the wicket Sussex most wanted when Chanderpaul drove tamely to substitute fielder Andy Miller at short extra-cover.Dan Redfern took a painful blow in the box from Anyon and two balls later he was lbw playing across the line to leave his team in trouble on 128 for 4. It was important for Derbyshire that Madsen remained but he got a vicious lifter from Jordan and was caught behind after 196 minutes at the crease. Monty Panesar then trapped nightwatchman Ally Evans lbw with what was the last ball of a day that had swung Sussex’s way.

With the very structure of the BCCI in danger, the board’s working committee will meet in Chennai at 2.30 pm on Sunday, the second such emergency meeting in a fortnight

Amol Karhadkar01-Jun-2013With the very structure of the BCCI in danger, the board’s working committee will meet in Chennai at 2.30 pm on Sunday, the second such emergency meeting in a fortnight, to discuss issues of the fallout of the corruption scandal in the IPL.One of the major points of interest in Sunday’s meeting is whether BCCI president N Srinivasan resigns, or steps aside temporarily until the commission appointed to look into his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, the top Chennai Super Kings official arrested on charges of betting, the Super Kings owners India Cements, and the owners of Rajasthan Royals, completes its inquiry.At the moment, it is more likely that Srinivasan will step aside temporarily, and if that is the case the working committee will have to nominate an acting president. “If the president steps aside for a limited period, the constitution doesn’t prohibit the working committee from nominating any BCCI member, irrespective of the zone he represents,” a BCCI source told ESPNcricinfo. Former board president Shashank Manohar and current vice-president Arun Jaitley are frontrunners for the post of acting president.There is a remote possibility of the working committee being presented with a request to convene a Special General Body or Extraordinary General Meeting of the BCCI, to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president. Even though ten members may present their letters seeking impeachment procedure to be initiated, Srinivasan might not resign, and they will find it difficult to get the 3/4th majority required to remove the president. Perhaps considering such a possibility, most of the five vice-presidents who were considering resignation on Saturday morning, decided to delay their decision at least until the meeting on Sunday.There is also the possibility of the meeting being declared illegal, if any of the members object to the legality of the meeting, because as per regulations the working committee requires three days’ notice before it is convened.However, before Srinivasan’s future is decided, the working committee will have to reconstitute the commission that was going to probe Gurunath, India Cements and the owners of the Royals. On Friday night, BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale resigned his post because he was hurt by the developments in Indian cricket and also said he would not serve on the three-member commission, which included two High Court judges.With Justice T Jayaram Chouta, one of the two independent members on the commission, saying the inquiry could not be held because of Jagdale’s resignation, the working committee will have to name a replacement.Apart from Jagdale, the BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke also resigned on Friday, leaving two of the top three offices in the board vacant. It will be up to Srinivasan to name their successors, since the BCCI constitution only gives the president the power to fill vacancies.The previous working committee meeting was held in Chennai on May 19, in the wake of spot-fixing allegations against the three arrested Rajasthan Royals players, and between then and now Gurunath was arrested on charges of betting and links with bookies. That created a misunderstanding between BCCI members, given Srinivasan’s close links to Gurunath in terms of franchise official and family member. However, instead of calling for a meeting and taking members into confidence, like he did when the Royals players were arrested, Srinivasan refused to resign his post and remained defiant despite outrage in the media and among the public. The deterioration of the situation culminated in Jagdale and Shirke’s resignations on Friday evening.The meeting in Chennai is an opportunity for Srinivasan to gauge the situation. While some representatives of BCCI’s affiliated units have asked for Srinivasan’s resignation while speaking to the media in personal capacity, no state board has made its official stance clear. Srinivasan is likely to appeal to the members to keep the “board games” aside, with the credibility of Indian cricket at stake because of the corruption issues in the IPL.

Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar and Ben Stokes joined up with England’s squad for practice at Lord’s ahead of the second Test

George Dobell16-Jul-2013If Steven Finn required any reminder that his place in the England side was in jeopardy, he received it with the sight of Chris Tremlett joining the England squad for training at Lord’s on Tuesday.While Tremlett has not been called into the England squad, his appearance did underline his continuing interest to the selectors and was another step towards a potential return. Tremlett last played for England in the UAE in January 2012 but was forced home from that tour through injury. Since then he has twice undergone surgery and, after a modest start to the season with Surrey, has just started to bowl at something approaching his best form.Finn endured a chastening final day of the Trent Bridge Test. Trusted to bowl only 10 overs in Australia’s second innings – that is three fewer than James Anderson bowled in one spell on the final day – Finn was hit out of the attack in two overs on Sunday and missed a tricky, but potentially crucial, chance in the field.Monty Panesar, the Sussex left-arm spinner, and Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, also trained with the England squad on Tuesday, with Tremlett bowling Jonathan Trott in the nets. The nephew of Bermuda’s Dwayne Leverock, Kamau, who is currently playing with Horsham, was also involved.It might be wrong to read too much into the appearance of any of the three players. None of them are currently required by their county sides while others jostling for England places, the likes of Warwickshire’s Boyd Rankin and Kent’s James Tredwell, are currently involved in games. It was also an optional net, with only Finn, of the England bowlers utilised at Trent Bridge, opting to bowl.

United Arab Emirates kept their unbeaten record on their tour to Canada intact, defeating the hosts by 72 runs in the first Twenty20 in Toronto

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2013
ScorecardUnited Arab Emirates kept their unbeaten record on their tour to Canada intact, defeating the hosts by 72 runs in the first Twenty20 in Toronto.Choosing to bat, UAE piled up 157 for 7, a total built around opener Mohammad Azam’s 51-ball 70. Azam and Abdul Shakoor gave UAE a strong start, sharing a stand of 42. However, regular wickets in the latter half of the innings weakened UAE’s chances of posting a bigger score. Swapnil Patil and Shaiman Anwar, who had been in good form coming into the match, fell for 11 and 13. UAE had another setback when Azam and Amjad Javed were out in consecutive deliveries to pacer Harvir Baidwan in the 17th over. Azam’s 70 included nine fours and one six. Nasir Aziz and Ahmed Raza hit some quick runs towards the end to take the score past 150.In reply, openers Rizwan Cheema and Ruvindu Gunasekera gave Canada a start of 34 in 6.3 overs but the innings simply wilted after Cheema fell for 20. Gunasekera tried to keep the innings together, but watched helplessly as Hiral Patel, Usman Limbada, Raza-ur-Rehman and debutant Damodar Daesrath went for single-figure scores. Gunasekera soon fell for 33 to make it 69 for 6 and Canada managed just 16 more before folding for 85. Shadeep Silva missed a hat-trick in the 16th over to end with 2 for 15. Left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza was the most successful bowler for UAE, finishing for 3 for 11 off 3.2 overs.

Ruhuna Reds defeated Uthura Yellows by 21 runs in the Super 4’s Twenty20 in Colombo, and ended Uthura’s chances of making it to the final

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013
ScorecardA silken 18-ball 36 from Mahela Jayawardene and a half-century from Dinesh Chandimal was not enough to keep Uthura Yellows in the hunt for a final spot, as Ruhuna Reds defended an impressive total to win by 21 runs. No team has yet won batting second in the tournament, and chasing Ruhuna’s 162 for 6 on a wearing pitch was always going to be a difficult task.Uthura, however, were well placed after ten overs at 85 for 1, but Mahela Udawatte’s dismissal for 34 in the 12th triggered a collapse as Uthura lost the remaining eight wickets for just 50 runs. Chandimal fought on with a 40-ball 50 – the highest of the tournament, but none of the other batsmen could manage more than five runs, as Uthura were eventually bowled out for 141.Ruhuna’s batting had no obvious heroes, but four batsmen breached 20 striking at more than a run-a-ball, as they maintained a fine run rate throughout. Tillakaratne Dilshan kick-started the innings by hitting four consecutive fours off Thisara Perera’s first over, and although he was dismissed soon after, Kusal Perera chimed in with three boundaries and a six, on his way to 28. Seekkuge Prasanna then added 26 off just 17 deliveries, as Ruhuna seemed poised for a big total.Uthura’s spinners, spearheaded by Akila Dananjaya, restricted the flow of runs in the middle overs, but there was enough pace around for Ruhuna’s total to keep moving at a lively pace. Jehan Mubarak added a late onslaught with an unbeaten 22-ball 31, and put up 53 for the sixth wicket with Angelo Perera to take Ruhuna to 162 in 20 overs.Jayawardene was in supreme touch in Uthura’s response, with opening partner Mahela Udawatte also finding the boundary with ease, but Jayawardene departed for 36 from 18, nicking a wide delivery to the keeper. Udawatte
and Chandimal built on the quick start, but Udawatte’s demise brought a string of quick wickets for Ruhuna’s pacers, and the chase went quickly astray after the 12th over. Ishan Jayaratne was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 4 for 23.Chandimal had been in poor form in internationals and will take some solace in his personal score, but having lost both matches so far, he and Uthura Yellows will be playing for a little more than just pride when they face off against Basnahira Greens on Wednesday.

For all the talk of youth development and home-grown talent, sometimes there is much to be said for a fresh start.

George Dobell at Edgbaston29-Aug-2013
ScorecardLaurie Evans is in a rich vein of form•PA Photos

For all the talk of youth development and home-grown talent, sometimes there is much to be said for a fresh start.So it has proved for Laurie Evans. The 25-year-old came into this campaign having never registered a Championship century or a prolonged run in the first team. He was at that age where people were starting to whisper that it was time to get a proper job.But he had never had much opportunity. Despite a first-class century for Durham UCCE against Lancashire in 2007 and a stack of runs for Surrey Second XI – he scored five centuries for them in the summer they released him, 2010 – the first seven years of his career brought only 13 first-class matches. His career was in danger of passing him by.But now, finally given a run in the first team, he has responded in fine style. He has scored three centuries in three successive Championship matches at Edgbaston, in the process taking his career average above 40 and his season average above 60. He looks a fine player who could yet graduate to the highest level.There was nothing straightforward about this innings. He came to the crease with Warwickshire 0 for 2 and both Steve Magoffin and Chris Jordan bowling very well.But the difference between Evans and his top-order colleagues was his judgement about which balls to leave and which to play. While Magoffin had Varun Chopra and Ateeq Javid caught in the slips from successive deliveries just outside off stump, Evans left with a certainty that bodes well for his future. Having seen off the hat-trick ball, he concentrated on survival and took 102 deliveries over his first 50 runs.As he gained in confidence, saw the shine off the ball and forced the bowlers into second and third spells, he unveiled some flowing cover drives, some delightful late cuts and, against the gentle legspin of Will Beer, in particular, some savage pulls. Suffice it to say, on a wicket as slow as this, Beer is no substitute for Monty Panesar. Evans’s second 50 took 79 balls and his final 37, containing a delightful lofted six off Beer, only 34 balls.There were some moments of fortune. Evans might have been run-out on 38 had Luke Wells, at mid-on, hit the stumps with his throw and, on 45, he really should have been caught by Jimmy Anyon, also at mid-on, after mistiming a pull off Beer. An edge off the immaculate Magoffin, who passed 50 wickets in the campaign, might also have gone to hand but instead flew between second slip and gully.Warwickshire were grateful for Evans’s intervention. After Ian Westwood tried to cut one too close to him and William Porterfield, enduring a run of form so grim that, in Victorian times, it might have featured in a travelling circus, had become the third duck in the top five, Warwickshire were wobbling on 47 for 4. The squeamish may want to look away now, but Porterfield has not passed 25 in his last 10 Championship innings, not passed 36 this season and is averaging just 14.68.But with Tim Ambrose, who produced a series of straight drives, Evans added 137 for Warwickshire’s fifth-wicket. While Magoffin, later dubbed “county cricket’s Glenn McGrath” by Evans and Jordan, continued to bowl admirably, the absence of Panesar leaves a large hole in the Sussex attack. While Warwickshire have Jeetan Patel, whose extra pace may yet gain some joy from a dry but slow surface, Sussex’s spinners look a bit innocuous to trouble even in the fourth innings. Sussex have only won here once since 1961. And that was in 1982.Ambrose was eventually the victim of a super bouncer, one that reared at him and hit the glove, and a fine catch as Rory Hamilton-Brown dived in from gully to cling on to the ball, while Evans, in attempting to capitalise on his hard work, fell trying to punish the spinners before the return of the new ball. “I should be not out,” he said ruefully afterwards. “I have lots of areas in which I can improve.”Evans is not the only man benefitting from a fresh start at Edgbaston. Earlier in the day, Maurice Chambers became the 17th player to claim a five-wicket haul on his Warwickshire first-class debut as Sussex lost their last three wickets for 19 runs.Jordan’s fine innings, and his 97-run stand with Beer for the eighth-wicket, was ended with an inswinging yorker, before Beer played around a straight one and Magoffin was beaten for pace. Evans later suggested that, though Liam Plunkett’s short ball may be quicker, and Boyd Rankin remained the quickest bowler in county cricket, Chambers and Jordan were as quick as anyone else he had seen this season.Coincidentally, the 16th man to take a five-wicket haul on Warwickshire debut was also a fast bowler on loan from Essex. Like Chambers, Chris Wright found himself unwanted at Chelmsford at the end of 2011 but soon proved his worth elsewhere.Chambers only signed for Warwickshire on the morning of the game after receiving a call from Chopra on Tuesday. He was summoned purely to help the side through an availability crisis but, having bowled at a sharp pace with good control, he can only have impressed. Interestingly, he also gained some swing in both directions. While he has long taken the ball away from the bat, an ability to move it back into the batsman at pace could render him an unusually dangerous bowler.Essex have told him he is free to talk to other counties and Hampshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Northants have all been in touch.”I need to get away,” Chambers said of Essex. “I need a change of scenery. I’ve taken three five-fors for the seconds this season, but I can’t get in the side.”If he can bowl like this regularly – and no-one doubts he can do it occasionally – he will have no problem demanding a spot in most sides.