Jason Holder’s West Indians are staring humiliating defeat in the face after three days of their opening tour match against a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2015
ScorecardJason Holder’s batting is the only thing preventing the West Indians from an innings defeat to a Cricket Australia XI•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Jason Holder’s West Indians are staring humiliating defeat in the face after three days of their opening tour match against a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane.The visitors are 7 for 125, still needing another 76 runs to make the modest CA XI bat again, six of whose members are making their first-class debuts, while only Jordan Silk (his 22nd match) and Cameron Boyce (45th) have played more than 10 fixtures apiece.After resuming at 4 for 245, the CA XI progressed to 444 thanks to solid contributions by Jimmy Peirson (64), Matthew Short (76), and James Bazley (50), before the tail wagged via the blades of Tom Andrews (33) and Boyce (32).In addition to claiming four wickets, Holder was the only West Indian to concede fewer than four runs an over on the smallish Allan Border Field. Then, and not for the first time, he was as his side’s only prospect of forcing the hosts to bat again on the final day.Holder was stranded on an unbeaten 26 after the top order melted away in disconcerting fashion. Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels could manage just 26 runs between them.

Stuart Broad has been fined 30% of his match fee for telling umpire Aleem Dar to “just get on with the game” during the fourth day of the Newlands Test

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2016Stuart Broad has been fined 30% of his match fee for telling umpire Aleem Dar to “just get on with the game” during the fourth day of the Newlands Test.The incident happened the 195th over of South Africa’s innings after Dar had warned England captain Alastair Cook about Broad damaging the pitch when he kicked at it in frustration following a dropped catch by Jonny Bairstow which reprieved Temba Bavuma.Broad was charged with a Level 1 offence under the ICC code of conduct. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charge which meant Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee, conducted a hearing where he found Broad guilty.For all first offences, Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee.

David Leatherdale, the former Worcestershire allrounder who has served the county as its chief executive for the last five years, is to succeed Angus Porter at the helm of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA)

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2016David Leatherdale, the former Worcestershire allrounder who has served the county as its chief executive for the last five years, is to succeed Angus Porter at the helm of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA).Porter had been expected to step down after six eventful years as chief executive of the players’ union. He will continue in the role until March, working alongside Leatherdale, who will take on full responsibility from April.Leatherdale has done a much-admired job during his time at Worcestershire, one of the smallest first-class counties. The club has consistently been in profit, despite redeveloping its New Road ground, while at the same time remaining competitive on the field, with three of the last five seasons spent in Division One of the Championship.”I am delighted to be joining the PCA at what is an exciting time for professional cricket on both a domestic and international level and as a member of the PCA for some 30 years, an association which has supported me personally over that time, I look forward to working with and representing our past, present and future professional cricketers as cricket moves forward into a new era,” Leatherdale said.Leatherdale’s departure will leave a significant hole at Worcestershire, where he became commercial director after retiring in 2005. He spent his entire playing career at New Road, scoring more than 15,000 runs to go with 330 wickets across the formats.He has also served on the ECB’s cricket committee, alongside Porter, as representative of the chief executives of the 18 first-class counties.Glamorgan wicketkeeper Mark Wallace, the current PCA chairman, said: “I am delighted that David is joining us as CEO. I am pleased that we have been able to appoint a PCA member to succeed Angus and am confident David will enjoy the same success with the PCA as he has at Worcestershire.”

Parthiv Patel will join India’s squad at the Asia Cup as a back-up for their captain MS Dhoni, who suffered a back spasm during a training session on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2016Parthiv Patel will join India’s squad at the Asia Cup as a back-up for their captain MS Dhoni. According to a BCCI release, Dhoni suffered a muscle spasm in his back during a training session in Dhaka on Monday. Parthiv, the 30-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, last played for India during the ODI triangular series in Australia in February 2012.Parthiv has featured in just two T20Is, both in 2011, but has been in decent touch in domestic cricket; he was Gujarat’s second-highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 295 runs, including a century and a fifty, which helped the team clinch the title. He also stroked a century in the Deodhar Trophy last month, against India A in Kanpur.

Bangladesh’s batting in the Powerplay is the aspect of their game that requires most urgent improvement, Shakib Al Hasan has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Bangalore22-Mar-20162:46

Shakib Al Hasan has indicated his willingness to bat at no. 3

Bangladesh’s batting in the Powerplay is the aspect of their game that requires most urgent improvement, allrounder Shakib Al Hasan had said on the eve of the match against Australia.Missing star opener Tamim Iqbal through injury, Bangladesh made only 33 in their first six overs against Australia, on a Bangalore surface that had been expected to be good for batting. That slow start, and the frequent loss of wickets through the middle overs, put the team on course for the relatively modest total of 156 for 5.”I think we can improve in the first six overs, with our batting,” Shakib said. “We scored only 30-odd runs in our six overs. Here in India most of the teams are scoring 45-50 runs in the first six overs because that’s the best time to bat, I feel. I think that’s the part where we lost the game. If we had scored 15-20 runs more, that would have been a different ball game altogether. Batsmen who are getting runs need to contribute a bit more and finish the game. We need to get 170-180 runs, since that’s what the average score is on this ground.”Shakib said he would relish the chance to be part of that top-order push. He has been batting at no. 4 in this tournament, but has put his hand up for a promotion. Shakib has batted at no. 3 on 16 occasions, and has hit 519 runs at an average of 37.07, which represents much better returns than he has had from other positions. His career average in T20 internationals is 24.52.”It depends on what the team wants from me,” he said. “I would bat at no. 3 if given the option. I had done well in that position. The team’s situation and demands requires me to bat at no. 4. My personal opinion is that I prefer batting at no. 3, but I don’t mind batting anywhere.”Bangladesh had also dropped two catches in the match against Ausralia, including a crucial one in the first six overs of the chase. Shakib, though, felt it was important not to read too much into those errors.”We would like to take all the catches. We’d love to save runs in ground fielding. We couldn’t do it yesterday. It was disappointing because we have some young players and we have some outstanding fielders. If you look at our side, most of the matches we have been doing really well in fielding. These things might happen in one or two games. Anyone can miss a catch. I don’t want to make that an excuse for the loss.”Captain Mashrafe Mortaza had been emotional in his defence of suspended fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, who, he felt, did not have a faulty action. Shakib said Bangladesh had been affected by the suspensions, but was keen to shift the focus to the coming matches.”Taskin was bowling well for us for the last six months or so – so yes, he was an important part of the team. But it’s not like everything has ended because he can’t play for the next few games or so. I believe we still have a team that can do well in tomorrow’s game against India.”Bangladesh have recently had considerable success in ODIs, but are yet to beat India in T20Is, in four attempts. India had defeated them at home twice already this month, during the group stage and final of the Asia Cup, but Shakib said Bangladesh remained a confident side.”The mindset has certainly changed a lot in the last three or four years. Now we know how we can win games. We have some very good players. They can win games for the team. We have more contributors in the side now. Previously it was two or three guys, now it’s four or five who contribute regularly. These are the big changes that have happened. When we play at home we have been doing so well, so that confidence gives us a chance to show that in different conditions, we can still do well.”

Lingering hopes of a positive outcome to Derbyshire’s match against Glamorgan at Derby were not so much put on ice as frozen out by a spectacular storm midway through the final afternoon

ECB Reporters Network27-Apr-2016
ScorecardJacques Rudolph said he had never played in colder conditions than at Derby•Getty Images

Lingering hopes of a positive outcome to Derbyshire’s match against Glamorgan at Derby were not so much put on ice as frozen out by a spectacular storm midway through the final afternoon.A violent hailstorm broke over the ground shortly after 2.25pm and turned the outfield white, leaving conditions too wet for the match to resume.By that stage, there was little chance of anything other than a draw with Glamorgan 87 for 2 in their second innings, a lead of 119, with Jacques Rudolph and Chris Cooke making sure there was no late panic in the visiting dressing room.Even before the start of the fourth day, both teams were struggling to get into a position from which they could have exerted enough pressure to force victory with Derbyshire 46 behind with one wicket intact.Tom Poynton and Andy Carter extended their partnership to 56 in nine overs and Derbyshire were only five away from a fourth batting point when Carter got a steepling leading edge off Michael Hogan.Carter’s career-best 39 had helped reduce the deficit to 32 so Derbyshire still entertained slim hopes if they could strike early.The lead had increased by 26 when James Kettleborough made his second misjudgment of the match with the same result, off stump knocked back offering no shot, and Will Bragg followed his first-day century with another lbw dismissal to Wes Durston’s off-spin.At lunch, Glamorgan were 79 ahead and Rudolph and Cooke quietly eased the game towards the draw that was confirmed when hailstones the size of marbles descended on the ground.In all, 138 overs were lost to weather of varying shades of winter and spoiled what Derbyshire’s elite performance director Graeme Welch believes could have been a very good game.”It’s not very often you see snow nearly at the start of May and Jacques Rudolph said it was the coldest he’s ever played in.”I think they probably got 50 or 60 runs too many in the first innings but we did well to get what we did with Andy Carter smacking it around and I think if the weather hadn’t intervened, it would have been a very good game on a very good cricket pitch.”For Hogan, who finished with four wickets, it was a case of what might have been. “It’s a shame because the weather ruined a good game of cricket.”If we had a full four days of play, it would have been a really nice game. Given our performance last week, we had some things to take care of and prove that was just a mishap and they probably thought they might be able to knock us over.”So we took it as a way to exorcise some demons.”

Dominic Sibley starred with bat and ball as Surrey moved to the top of the NatWest T20 Blast South Group by thrashing Hampshire by 80 runs at a packed Kia Oval

ECB Reporters Network09-Jun-2016
ScorecardDominic Sibley starred with bat and ball on his T20 debut•Getty Images

Dominic Sibley starred with bat and ball as Surrey moved to the top of the NatWest T20 Blast South Group by thrashing Hampshire by 80 runs at a packed Kia Oval.Sibley, a 20-year-old making his T20 debut, took 2 for 33 after scoring a fine 67 in a second-wicket stand of 114 in 10 overs with Kumar Sangakkara, whose 72 off only 35 balls featured two sixes, nine fours and a balmy evening’s most memorable strokeplay.Surrey’s 188 for 5 proved too much for Hampshire, who were already struggling at 38 for 4 after the initial six-over powerplay and eventually subsided to 108 all out. Zafar Ansari hastened Hampshire’s demise by dismissing Will Smith and Darren Sammy in successive balls at the end of the ninth over.There was no Shahid Afridi for Hampshire, either, with the Pakistan T20 specialist pulling out of the game through illness. Surrey, though, hardly needed any contribution from their own second overseas player, West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who was making his debut for the club and only delivered four balls right at the end of the game – one of them a no-ball bouncer.It was Surrey’s third win in four group games but, for Hampshire, it was a fourth defeat from five matches and quarter-final qualification already looks a difficult task for them as they bid for a record seventh successive appearance at Finals Day.Despite this match starting soon after the opening day’s play between England and Sri Lanka ended at Lord’s, six miles to the north across the Thames, a crowd of almost 17,000 turned up – with a few spectators no doubt managing to attend the two matches. Either way, the fact that around 45,000 people watched international and county cricket in London on the same day proves the continuing popularity of the game at both levels.Jimmy Adams uppercut the third ball of Hampshire’s reply for six over backward point but dragged Sam Curran’s next ball on to his stumps and Adam Wheater departed for 8 when he was bowled trying to make room to hit a leg break from Sibley square on the offside.Sibley had figures of 2-0-9-1 after bowling the second and fourth overs, and both the fifth and sixth overs brought further Hampshire wickets as Sean Ervine edged a drive behind off Ravi Rampaul and Liam Dawson was also out for 1, bowled as he heaved at Tom Curran.Ansari reduced Hampshire to 52 for 6 by having Smith held in the deep and Sammy caught by keeper Ben Foakes for a first ball duck, and when Sibley returned to the attack he had Lewis McManus caught at deep square leg for 41 one ball after being struck for six.After that, there were some defiant blows from Gareth Andrew in a 22-ball 31, ended by an athletic leaping boundary catch by Bravo, celebrated by an impromptu jig facing that section of the crowd, before Bravo followed that up by having Ryan Stevenson caught behind with his second ball and last man Tino Best held at mid off from his fourth ball.Jason Roy fell for 9 in the fourth over of the game, caught at mid-off from a leading edge as he aimed something violent at Sammy’s medium pace.Surrey’s innings was soon galloping along, however, as Sangakkara and Sibley matched each other stroke for stroke until the great Sri Lankan surged ahead to reach his half-century first from a mere 24 balls.Sibley soon followed his partner to the landmark, from 35 balls, and his fifty included sixes flicked over mid-wicket off an Andrew over costing 16 and lofted straight against Dawson’s left-arm spin.Sangakkara, who earlier clubbed Smith’s off-breaks for six, slog-swept Sammy for his second maximum before, later in the same 14th over, mis-hitting to long on.Bravo edged Stevenson to the keeper after making only 3, and Sibley’s fine innings ended in the 17th over when he was held on the ropes attempting to swing fast bowler Best beyond the mid-wicket boundary.Tom Curran fell cheaply to Stevenson, but the seamer – also making his T20 debut – conceded two legside sixes in the 20th over with Ansari clearing long on and Rory Burns producing a superb pick-up over mid-wicket as 16 runs came from the final six balls of the innings.Hampshire’s players wore black armbands in memory of Hamza Ali, who made a first-class appearance for the county earlier this season and who has tragically drowned at the age of 20.

Joe Root has credited “the pain of defeat” for spurring him on over recent months as he was named England’s player of the year in both Test and limited-overs cricket

George Dobell16-May-2016Joe Root has credited “the pain of defeat” for spurring him on over recent months as he was named England’s player of the year in both Test and limited-overs cricket.Root, whose awards were announced at the England team awards dinner in Leeds on Monday night, highlighted the World Cup debacle in New Zealand and Australia in early 2015 and England’s Ashes humbling in 2013-14 as the turning points of a career that has reached impressive heights over recent months. Root, who was also named as the fan’s choice player of the year in the men’s game, was rated the world’s No. 1 Test batsman for a while during the year and has been heralded by some as the finest player England have yet produced over the three international formats. He won the overall award in 2015.But it was, Root said, the pain of failure that inspired him to improve his game. Dropped from the Test team at the end of an Ashes series that England lost 5-0, Root resolved to work harder than ever to succeed in international cricket. And, realising how far England had slipped behind the field after the early elimination from the World Cup, he resolved to push himself.”Coming out of the Ashes in 2013-14 and the World Cup in 2015 I realised how much I wanted to be a force in international cricket,” Root said as he reflected on a year of progress both personally and for the England team. “I knew then how much work I was going to have to put in if that was going to be the case. And I have worked very hard.”The World Cup was probably the lowest point. It was tough to take; an incredibly frustrating tour. The thing was, we had everything there: it was all starting to come together. But it was probably a year too soon.

Other award winners

Anya Shrubsole won the England Women’s player of the year award after she claimed 32 international wickets across all formats. The highlights included a spell of 4 for 11 in a T20I against Australia in Cardiff and a haul of 4 for 29 against South Africa in Benoni.
Charlotte Edwards, who last week announced her retirement as a player after 20 years in international cricket, won the fan’s player of the year award.
Dan Lawrence, of Essex, won the England Development Programme Cricketer of the Year award for amassing 712 runs for England U19s and becoming, aged just 19, the youngest man to make a first-class century for Essex.
Callum Flynn was recognised as the Disability Cricketer of the Year after helping England to victory in the inaugural Physical Disabilities World Cup in Bangladesh last autumn. A talented schoolboy cricketer who was previously in Lancashire’s county-age-group squads, Flynn needed a titanium knee replacement to continue his cricket career after being diagnosed with bone-cancer when he was 14 years old.
Sky Sports commentator David Lloyd was presented with the ECB’s Special Achievement Award in honour of a cricket career which has spanned more than 50 years and included spells as an England Test player, England coach, Lancashire captain and coach, a first-class umpire and as a summariser for BBC Radio’s Test Match Special.

“The pain of those defeats helped spur me on. You need that desire and that hunger. You learn from the mistakes you make. You learn from the bad games and the bad tours.”And, when things are going well, you think about that and you make the most of it. You don’t get lazy; you don’t rest on your laurels. You make it count. This game can be brutal. As soon as you get comfortable, it bites you. You have to stay on it all the time.”Root reached 50 13 times in 27 Test innings (three centuries and 10 half-centuries at an average of 54.83) in the last 12 months. He added four centuries and four half-centuries in 14 ODIs (at an average of 59.23 and a strike-rate of 95.53) and three half-centuries in 11 T20I innings (at an average of 41.10 and a strike-rate of 145.22). Two of those Test centuries came as England regained the Ashes, while he finished the World T20 in India as England’s leading run-scorer.His excellence helped England improve in all formats. After starting 2015 with the World Cup disappointment and a drawn Test series against West Indies, they won the Ashes at home and beat South Africa, at the time the No. 1-ranked Test side, away before reaching the final of the World T20. They also enjoyed some improved performances in ODI cricket, including a memorable series success over World Cup finalists New Zealand who had thrashed them a few months previously.”It’s hard to look past winning the Ashes as a highlight,” Root said. “To have had such a strong Ashes series was really pleasing as Australia were the one side who I’d not really scored big runs against. I was very keen to put that right.”Then going to South Africa and coming away with a Test series win was a fantastic effort from all the players and it gives us a lot of confidence going into this summer. If we win these two series, I believe we hold every [bilateral series Test] trophy across world cricket.”For Root, though, the real satisfaction in these awards comes from what they signify: his contribution to an improving team.”The reason you play is to contribute to England winning,” he said. “During the last 12 months or so, we’ve come a long way and kept improving. To be able to say I’ve contributed makes me really pleased and proud.”You can’t win these personal awards without great people – and great team players – around you. These personal awards are great, but they don’t mean as much as the ones you win together.”He admitted he was surprised by how quickly he reached the No. 1 Test ranking and remains adamant that he has much to learn from his rivals for the position.”It surprised me to reach that target, to be honest,” Root said. “I know that my cricket can develop so much more. There are so many areas that I have to keep working on and keep improving. I don’t think you’re ever happy as a batter: there as always more runs you can get and more tweaks you can make to improve. There’s plenty on the horizon for me to work at.”The rankings look after themselves. If you’re playing well for England – and scoring runs for England – it takes care of itself. It’s not really a target. When it comes to Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, I try and look and learn from them all the time. They are the best in the world and I know I can learn from what they do and how they go about things.”There are, of course, still bridges to cross for Root. He has, to date, played just one Test in India and he is yet to enjoy red-ball success in Australia. Perhaps his most significant adversary, though, will come from closer to home. England’s schedule is so demanding that it threatens to burn out its best players – either mentally or physically – long before their time.For Root the danger are particularly obvious. Not only is he a key part of the side in all formats, but he has a history of back trouble and is earmarked as England’s next Test captain which could yet come sooner than the 2017-18 Ashes that Alastair Cook is targeting. While he is, by instinct, keen to play as much as possible – for Yorkshire as well as England – he accepts it will be something that needs monitoring.”The management and backroom staff have been very good with knowing when to pull me out of games and giving me time to rest and recover,” he said. “Mentally, more than anything, it can be quite draining sometimes. You do need some time away from cricket. It’s about making sure it doesn’t affect your performances on the field. At the minute they have the balance exactly right. I’m really pleased with where my game is and where my head is.”My back is fine. I batted for a decent amount of time against Surrey last week and it held together pretty well. Fingers crossed, that’s something that shouldn’t be too much of an issue over the summer.”For an England side that have come to rely on him, that will come as a relief.