Tamim Iqbal is expecting to take his place at the top of the Bangladesh batting order when the first Test at Lord’s despite struggling during the tour of England with an injury to his left wrist that may yet require surgery

Andrew Miller at Lord's25-May-2010Tamim Iqbal is expecting to take his place at the top of the Bangladesh batting order when the first Test at Lord’s gets underway on Thursday, despite struggling during the tour of England with an injury to his left wrist that may yet require surgery at some stage this year.Tamim first sustained the injury while fielding during Bangladesh’s domestic Twenty20 competition in 2009, but the problem flared up again ahead of the recent World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, in which he played only a minor role during their 21-run defeat against Pakistan in St Lucia and missed the defeat to Australia in Barbados.Upon arrival in England, Tamim sat out Bangladesh’s first two fixtures against Surrey and Essex, but showed glimpses of form with scores of 36 and 19 in the team’s nine-wicket defeat against England Lions at Derby last week, and the lure of a Lord’s Test is likely to persuade him to push through the pain barrier.”I’ve pushed myself five percent more than maybe I would have done on other grounds,” Tamim told Cricinfo. “I’m really excited to play at Lord’s in a Test match. It will be a dream come true and I really want to play, because I don’t know when I’ll get another chance.”Tamim conceded that the prospect of surgery had not been entirely ruled out, but given Bangladesh’s hectic schedule, which includes the Asia Cup straight after the Test series, followed by the one-day leg of the England tour in July, finding a three-month window that will allow him sufficient time to recuperate ahead of the World Cup next February is a tricky balancing act.”I went to a specialist yesterday, and he said you’ve got two choices,” Tamim said. “Either you play with taping and hope there won’t be any harm, or you can have surgery that will take three months. We have a very busy schedule so the team management told me to decide, so I am seeing another doctor today [Tuesday], and if he gives me the green signal, then I’ll play the first match, and think about surgery when I am free.Tamim was the stand-out performer for Bangladesh during England’s tour of the country in March, in which he scored a brilliant century in the first ODI in Dhaka, followed by three free-flowing half-centuries in four innings during the Tests. Whether fully fit or otherwise, his presence at the top of the order will provide his side with vital experience in alien bowler-friendly conditions.”Test cricket is most important, so I don’t want to take any chances, but I’m batting okay in the nets and the pain is getting better day by day,” he said. “This is my third tour to England, and last time I played okay. I scored some runs against South Africa and the county teams, so there won’t be any problem adjusting to the wickets. I am an international cricket player, so I need to adjust to every ground and every wicket.”Bangladesh’s preparations for the first Test have been blighted by illness as well as injury, with their captain, Shakib Al Hasan, being forced into quarantine after contracting chicken pox early in the tour. He took a full part in training on Monday and is sure to lead his team out on Thursday morning, but the disruption is not what Bangladesh needed ahead of such a tough assignment.”I think he’s fully recovered now, he’s running around, batting and bowling, and he’ll be there in the first Test to captain our side,” said Tamim. “We were not allowed to go anywhere near him [last week], he was staying alone, and only the guys who’d had chicken pox before were allowed to go and see him. I asked my mother if I’d ever had chicken pox and she said I hadn’t, but then I did a test and it said that I had had, which was funny.”Assuming Bangladesh can overcome their setbacks to field a full-strength side, Tamim hopes that they can build on the encouraging displays that they showed against England earlier in the year. “We know that we are an improving side, we are doing okay in international games, but we are just not winning games,” he said. “We’ve got to prove to the world that we can play in any conditions.”

Ricky Ponting has brushed off Paul Collingwood’s comments that England will “go hard” in the first ODI in Southampton on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff21-Jun-2010Ricky Ponting has brushed off Paul Collingwood’s comments that England will “go hard” in the first ODI in Southampton on Tuesday. Collingwood emphasised the importance of getting on top of Australia early in the tour, as they did in 2005 when England thumped Ponting’s men at the Rose Bowl in a Twenty20 and went on to claim the Ashes.”You’ve got to go hard at them,” Collingwood said. “We’ve learnt that over the last five or six years. If you go hard at them and it comes off, it puts them under a lot of pressure. The 2005 series was a prime example.”But Ponting dismissed the talk and said the game at the Rose Bowl would be no different to any other international fixture.”Isn’t that what international cricket is all about?” Ponting said. “I would expect that they would come out aggressive in every match that they play. I can’t see why they would want to come out aggressive in one match and not another game.”So that is just words, it does not mean anything. It is about level of cricket that you bring to the table when it matters under pressure. We’ll be ready for that.”However, Australia will be without Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin from their first-choice line-up, while the fringe ODI fast men Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle are also missing due to injury. The ongoing absence of the injured Brett Lee from the attack leaves the bowling group lacking experience.Doug Bollinger, Ryan Harris and Clint McKay will be Australia’s frontline seamers and between them they have 45 one-day internationals to their names. Despite Australia’s strong recent record – they have won their past six ODI series as well as the Champions Trophy – Ponting said it would be tough to beat England at home.”You would probably think that we have got our work cut out for us to win this series but we are looking forward to the challenge,” Ponting said. “I have great belief in this group and great belief in what they have inside themselves.”

Inzamam-ul-Haq, former captain and Pakistan’s second highest run-scorer in Tests, has offered his services as a full-time batting coach to the national team

Cricinfo staff01-Aug-2010Inzamam-ul-Haq, former captain and Pakistan’s second highest run-scorer in Tests, has offered his services as a full-time batting coach to the national team. Pakistan’s batsmen are struggling on a tour of England, where they were dismissed for 182 in the first innings at Trent Bridge and are 15 for 3 in the second.”The team definitely needs a full-time batting coach and, if any offer is made to me for this position, I will definitely give it serious consideration,” Inzamam told. “They need a batting coach to guide them and it is a responsibility I would look at accepting because Pakistan cricket has given me a lot,” Inzamam told . Pakistan already have in their coaching staff former batsman Ijaz Ahmed, who doubles up as a batting and fielding coach.The Pakistan batsmen also struggled in the two Tests against Australia in England. They lost heavily at Lord’s but managed to draw the series by winning at Headingley after their bowlers dismissed Australia for 88 in the first innings. Their batsmen, however, were unconvincing during the chase of a small target.”The batsmen are not playing with the required technique and temperament,” Inzamam said. “They lack patience and get out after scoring 20 to 30 runs, which is not good enough for Test matches.”Inzamam said the selectors should also consider the retired Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, who is out of favour at the moment, for the Test side. “Even a good batsman requires a year or so in Test cricket to settle down and play long innings. I would advise the selectors to try out a combination of senior and young players. And they should use Younis and Yousuf.”

Derbyshire allrounder Greg Smith took a career-best five-wicket haul as Northamptonshire were shot out for 201 on an opening day at Chesterfield dominated by the ball

09-Aug-2010

ScorecardGreg Smith took a career first-class best of 5 for 54 as ball dominated bat at Chesterfield•PA Photos

Derbyshire allrounder Greg Smith took a career-best five-wicket haul as Northamptonshire were shot out for 201 on an opening day at Chesterfield dominated by the ball. Smith claimed 5 for 54 and Jon Clare bagged 4 for 42 on his first County Championship appearance of the season to put the hosts in control. But the promotion contenders hit back through Elton Chigumbura who took 4 for 48 to leave Derbyshire on 124 for 5 at the close with Chesney Hughes unbeaten on 61.The home side lost fast bowler Mark Footitt with an ankle injury in the pre-match warm up but skipper Chris Rogers elected to put Northants in on a well grassed pitch which proved a shrewd decision. Mal Loye was undone by some late movement from Tim Groenewald to be caught at first slip for three in the sixth over and after Alex Wakely and Ben Howgego had taken the score past 50, three wickets fell in four overs.Howgego had played some neat shots off his legs and looked set at 35 but he then left a ball from Smith which took the top of his off stump and Northants suffered a double setback when Clare struck with successive balls. Wakely drove away from his body to be caught at gully by Wes Durston who then took a diving catch to send back Rob Newton for a duck on his second Championship appearance.Andrew Hall dispatched the hat-trick ball to the cover boundary and with David Sales, who survived a confident appeal for a catch behind before he had scored, added 68 in 19 overs.
Sales had moved to 36 when Clare got one to lift to have him caught at slip and in the next over, Hall drove Smith to cover and David Murphy was bowled first ball.At 127 for 7, Northants were in a big hole but Chigumbura and James Middlebrook dug in for 13 overs before Smith removed them both but the visitors at least claimed a batting point before Clare polished off the innings.Derbyshire were soon in trouble when Rogers, who was dropped on five, was unlucky to be run out backing up when Chigumbura deflected a drive into the stumps and the Zimbabwean then trapped Wayne Madsen lbw for a duck.Durston edged low to first slip before Smith played back to a good length ball and was bowled for four to leave the home side in trouble at 40 for 4, but Hughes responded to the crisis with some punishing drives and reached his 50 by driving Middlebrook out of the ground. Chigumbura returned to have Dan Redfern caught behind for 21 but Hughes and Robin Peterson stood firm in fading light.

Pakistan’s kit suppliers, BoomBoom, have suspended their relationship with Mohammad Amir and could also choose to sever ties with the team entirely

Cricinfo staff01-Sep-2010Pakistan’s kit suppliers, BoomBoom, have suspended their relationship with Mohammad Amir and could also choose to sever ties with the team entirely in the wake of the matchfixing allegations that surfaced in the News of the World last week.BoomBoom are less than halfway through a two-year deal as the official kit supplier to Pakistan cricket, while Amir is one of the highest-profile members of the squad to hold an individual deal. However, a statement from the managing director of the company put the relationship in jeopardy.”Like everyone else in the cricket world, we are truly saddened and shocked by these allegations,” said the managing director, Ali Ehsan. “I sincerely hope they are not true. However, we are huge cricket lovers: pure and simple. We believe in, and encourage players to have, the freedom to play, fairly.”The company were keen to stress that their decision was not intended as a prejudicial judgment on the guilt, or otherwise, of Amir, whose image has yet to be removed from the company website, where he appears alongside one-day captain Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam and Abdul Razzaq.”We cannot allow our brand to be associated with any whiff of corruption or suspicion of foul play. While the suspension of our commercial involvement with Mohammad Amir is not a step we take lightly, we nevertheless feel that it is the right thing to do while a judicial process unfolds and innocence or guilt is established.”BoomBoom is also reviewing its position as official kit supplier to the Pakistan Cricket Board.”

Following the Ijaz Butt’s outburst on Sunday afternoon where he accused England of taking money to lose the third one-day international against Pakistan, the ECB released a statement as did Andrew Strauss

20-Sep-2010The ECB and the England team today announced that they were committed to continuing with the current NatWest Series against Pakistan. This decision was unanimously taken by the ECB Board following a meeting between the ECB chairman Giles Clarke, CEO David Collier, ECB managing director – England Cricket, Hugh Morris, and the England captain and coach, Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flower and a subsequent meeting with all of the England team.The ECB and the England players completely reject the remarks made by the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt yesterday about the England team’s conduct in the 3rd NatWest ODI at The Brit Insurance Oval. Mr Butt’s comments were wholly irresponsible and completely without foundation.The ECB expresses its gratitude for the outstanding conduct of the England team this summer and will take all legal and disciplinary action which may result from Mr Butt’s comments.The Board and the team, however, are of a view that it remains in the best interests of world cricket , the players and in particular of cricket supporters that the tour should continue and it would set a dangerous precedent to call off a tour based on the misguided and inaccurate remarks made by one individual.ECB will continue to offer ICC its full support in taking the strongest possible action against all areas of corruption and is pledged to offering the ACSU its full support at all times.Given the current sensitivities surrounding this issue, ECB believes it is imperative that any serious allegations made against another team or player should be presented through the proper channels to the ACSU. Both ECB and Team England view the comments made by Mr Butt as defamatory and not based in fact.Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: “I welcome the decision by England to play the last two games of this tour. It is a pragmatic decision that is in the best interests of world cricket.”Media Statement issued on behalf of the England Cricket TeamThe England Cricket team has this morning issued a statement in conjunction with the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA), following allegations made yesterday by the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.The team deplores and rejects unreservedly the suggestion that any England cricketer was involved in manipulating the outcome, or any individual element, of the 3rd NatWest Series ODI at the Brit Insurance Oval between England and Pakistan last week. The players fully understand their responsibilities as representatives of their country, and would not countenance giving less than 100% in any match they play.Andrew Strauss, England captain, speaking on behalf of the team, said:”We would like to express our surprise, dismay and outrage at the comments made by Mr Butt yesterday. We are deeply concerned and disappointed that our integrity as cricketers has been brought into question. We refute these allegations completely and will be working closely with the ECB to explore all legal options open to us.”Under the circumstances, we have strong misgivings about continuing to play the last two games of the current series and urge the Pakistani team and management to distance themselves from Mr Butt’s allegations. We do, however, recognise our responsibilities to the game of cricket, and in particular to the cricket-loving public in this country, and will therefore endeavour to fulfil these fixtures to the best of our ability.”Angus Porter, chief executive of the PCA, added:”The players appreciate the difficult position the ECB finds itself in, and is fully supportive of the actions taken by the Board, along with the ICC, to ensure all allegations of wrong-doing are properly investigated and acted upon. We will continue to cooperate closely with the ECB, with the aim of ensuring that the work to root out corruption is not derailed by mischievous attempts to detract attention from the real issues.”

The ejection of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals from the IPL has sparked reactions from consternation to bafflement

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2010

Lalit Modi

End of the road for Shane Warne and the Rajasthan Royals?•AFP

“The Teams is what makes the IPL. With what Bcci has done today – is something that will only harm the image of the IPL and Bcci””They are hell bent on destroying something that we as Indians are proud of – The IPL. So as to satisfy there personal Agendas.””The status of all teams is the same. They were all approved. There is no ambiguity as far as that is concerned.The action it totally illegal.”

Preity Zinta

“Still absorbing the News! After working so hard in the IPL & putting my everything building this team dis is not what I expected! Shocked !”

Shane Warne

“What now for the youngsters, I hope bcci come to there senses , fingers crossed !””The royals gave young unknown Indian players a chance and I as captain backed them, and our coaching staff supported them we were a team.””3 seasons ago royals won the first ever ipl, underdogs come good what a story, it helped give credibility to the competition !!! Now look..”@TheShilpaShetty hey Shilpa, please keep me posted if you hear anything , such sad news for us and our loyal fans, shattering to all !!!

Shilpa Shetty

“This is 4 all those who want my reaction”Honestly too shocked to react,just disheartened..cause its more than just a team 4 us!Still hav …””Still havnt recd the termination will react after.Need to kno the basis of this decision”In London nowabout 2 hours ago.”

Vijay Mallya

“I wonder if IPL franchisees r serious stakeholders whose investments n participation r respected or r they slaves who only come n play ?””@TheShilpaShetty this is down right ridiculous and raises serious questions on the attitude of the BCCI towards IPL franchisees.”

Graeme Smith

Guys thx for all messages re:ipl and royals!playing for the PROTEAS today so will comment later!have a good one…….

Kevin Pietersen

“Just heard news on Kings XI and Royals.. What’s happened and what’s reasons for their expulsion from IPL 4?”

On the first morning of the 77th Ranji Trophy, Rajasthan bowled Hyderabad out for 21 in Jaipur, breaking the record for the lowest team total, set in the first edition of the tournament in 1934-35

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2010On the first morning of the 77th Ranji Trophy, Rajasthan bowled Hyderabad out for 21 in 78 minutes of mayhem in Jaipur, breaking the tournament record for the lowest team total and equalling the Indian first-class record. Debutant Deepak Chahar, Rajasthan’s 18-year-old medium-pacer, did the damage with a spell that read 7.3-2-10-8.The previous Ranji record was set in the first season (1934-35), when Southern Punjab were bowled out for 22 chasing 114 against Northern India in Amritsar.Chahar – son of an Air Force employee who gave up his job to facilitate his son’s cricket career – extracted prodigious swing both ways, an attribute that set Praveen Kumar apart in 2005-06, his debut season. In his third over of the day, Chahar got Akshath Reddy to edge one that swung away late. By now he had the Hyderabad batsmen expecting big outswingers, and that set captain DB Ravi Teja up for a dismissal that made him look silly. Teja saw the ball start wide, was prepared to leave it alone, and had no response to the big inswinger that caught him dead in front.Anoop Pai followed with a not so remarkable shot, getting an edge even as he looked to leave a ball away from his body. Syed Quadri, though, got a jaffa that started on middle and off, then swung away to take the edge. Chahar completed his five-for when that big inswinger found its way through the high back lift of Hyderabad vice-captain Ibrahim Khaleel. Chahar then went on a celebratory run, having completed a debut five-for even before the first drinks break of the match. There was no letting up either: he removed the last three with inswingers, for a matter of two runs.”If you haven’t played Chahar before, there is a chance you will get fooled by the inswinger,” team-mate Aakash Chopra wrote of the debutant. “His stock ball is the one that goes away, and swings appreciably, and the inswinger comes in like a banana.”That nobody had seen him before helped, as did his ability to swing the ball both ways. I won’t say he is rapid, and you don’t expect a swing bowler to be rapid. If you had to draw a parallel with somebody, he would be like a Praveen Kumar or a Manoj Prabhakar, who had good control over the swing, and a really good wrist position that got them the swing.”Chahar was on a hat-trick once, removing MP Arjun and Alfred Absolem with the last ball of his seventh over and the first of his eighth. Pagadala Naidu, the No. 11, kept the hat-trick ball out but got out to the next one. He was not close to getting a perfect 10, though: Pankaj Singh claimed the second and fourth Hyderabad wickets.His figures fell just short of the record effort on debut. Maharashtra’s Vasant Ranjane took 9 for 56 on first-class debut in 1956-57, bowling Saurashtra out for 83 in Khadakvasla and setting up an easy innings win.Not one of Hyderabad’s batsmen got to double figures, and Reddy’s six was the highest individual score. Incredibly, there were only three ducks, and no extras. The whole innings lasted 15.3 overs.Hyderabad’s effort equalled the record for the lowest total in all first-class cricket in India, a mark that has stayed for 95 seasons. During the Bombay Quadrangular in 1915-16, the Europeans bundled the Muslims out for 21.

India may have sealed the series 3-0, but stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir is keen to win the last two inconsequential matches against New Zealand, which will maintain India’s spotless home season

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2010India may have sealed the series 3-0, but stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir is keen to win the last two inconsequential matches against New Zealand to maintain India’s unbeaten home season.”Our target is to win all five games,” Gambhir said ahead of Tuesday’s match in Bangalore. “The team that plays better cricket for 100 overs will win. We are looking forward to performing well and hopefully we will keep the momentum going. We need to maintain the same intensity with which we played the first three matches.”Gambhir, along with Virat Kohli, has led India’s charge with the bat in the series but he was full of praise for his bowlers, who have kept the pressure on New Zealand’s batsmen. “The bowlers have done well in all the matches, even in conditions that varied,” he said. “Whether the flat tracks in Jaipur or the seaming wicket in Vadodara, they have done well for us. Bowlers deserve the maximum credit for us winning the series.”The series may be in the bag but Gambhir said he was not too keen on tinkering with the line-up just to give the reserves a game. “It is an international game and we need to field the best team,” he said. “It is not like that we have won the series and we will be taking things lightly. In the due course, if youngsters get an opportunity, I think they need to grab it. Right now, we would like to field the best available team for the match.”India’s dominant performances with the bat have denied the middle-order the chance to make an impression. Gambhir appeared mindful of this and hinted at promoting players in the batting order.”They have done it in the past and I think they should get enough opportunity to express themselves in international cricket,” Gambhir said. “For example, Ravindra Jadeja or Yusuf Pathan have not got enough opportunities with the bat. Pathan has only batted in the last 10 overs…I may just ensure that Yusuf gets to bat with the top-order so that he can play enough deliveries and use his destructive batsmanship to good effect. If the situation arises, we might promote him to number five.”Gambhir reiterated that his run of success in his first assignment as India captain was down to the level of experience of the players he had at his disposal. “I have got such quality in the side that I don’t need to do much. Bowlers like Zaheer, Ashish and Munaf have played enough international matches and Yuvraj has been of great help to me in the middle. If I need to take any suggestions, I know that there is someone to whom I can turn.”It’s not the captain alone who wins you a game,but the team effort is the main reason. I have enjoyed captaincy. It is a responsibility and to live to the best of my ability and hopefully I can continue in the next two games.”

While there is yet to be any official word from Zimbabwe Cricket, it would appear that there might be a few surprises in Zimbabwe’s squad for the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2011While there is yet to be any official word from Zimbabwe Cricket, it would appear that there might be a few surprises in Zimbabwe’s squad for the World Cup. Opening batsman Hamilton Masakadza has paid a heavy price for his poor form in 2010 and is apparently not included in a preliminary 20-man squad, while Sean Ervine may well be in line for an international comeback after his name was included in press reports about the potential team.Masakadza, 27, is one of the country’s most experienced batsmen and has been a dominant force in domestic cricket for the last few years. After a prolific run in 2009, when he scored 1,087 runs in ODIs – the fourth best returns in world cricket that year – Masakadza’s form slumped alarmingly in 2010 and he averaged just 19.00 in ODIs for the national side.After making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2001, Masakadza missed out on selection for the tournament in both 2003 and 2007 – the first time because he was at university in South Africa and the second because of a dip in form and a perceived lack of fluency in limited-overs cricket. He struggled in Zimbabwe’s three most recent series, against Ireland, South Africa and Bangladesh, managing just 52 runs in seven innings.Uncertainty still reigns over Ervine’s inclusion. His younger brother, Craig, is a certainty after a productive first year with the national side, but the older Ervine is still under contract with Hampshire as a local player until the end of the 2011 season. He would have to revert to overseas status if he wanted to resume his international career with Zimbabwe, but Hampshire already have legspinner Imran Tahir on their books in that role.”I’ll speak with Sean and get to the bottom of this but I expect him to be with us next year,” Hampshire manager Giles White told in December. “We’ve offered him a new deal and he’s said he’d like to take that up. I will be interested to find out more about it because he is under contract with Hampshire. I will try to contact Sean but it’s difficult as he’s on a farm in Zimbabwe, but we will get him on the phone and sort things out so we can move things forward and hopefully get some clarity.”Ervine played the last of 42 ODIs for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club in March 2004 before becoming embroiled in the ‘rebel’ crisis and falling out with the board. He has since forged a successful career in County cricket with Hampshire, and remains part of their squad for the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which starts on Monday.Zimbabwe’s poor batting was the biggest let-down of their recent Bangladesh tour, and Ervine’s form and experience would certainly be a valuable asset to the national side. Zimbabwe’s batsmen will also be undergoing an intensive training programme ahead of the World Cup, with enhanced solidity at the beginning of the innings and an ability to play spin in the middle overs being the main objectives.”We have come up with an intensive training structure so that we can try and help the guys improve their technique going into the World Cup,” assistant coach Steven Mangongo told in Zimbabwe. “The Bangladesh series served as an eye-opener because we observed some worrying frailties in our batting department.”We want them to improve so that there is a bit more stability especially during the first 15 overs of an innings. We are currently working with the batsmen together with batting coach Grant Flower and we will be joined by the national coach Alan Butcher and we also expect to get some help from Brian Lara at some point later.”Zimbabwe open their World Cup campaign against Australia in Ahmedabad on February 21 before they face Canada in Nagpur on February 28.20-man squad: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Regis Chakabva, Chamu Chibhabha, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Terry Duffin, Craig Ervine, Sean Ervine, Greg Lamb, Tino Mawoyo, Shingirai Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Tinashe Panyangara, Ray Price, Ed Rainsford, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams.