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Yet another of Australia’s bowlers, Moises Henriques, has been hit by injury and will return home early from the tour

Cricinfo staff04-Nov-2009Moises Henriques has become the latest Australian bowler to be hit by injury and take an early flight home. News of Henriques’ injury – a tweaked right hamstring picked up in the field during Monday’s victory in Mohali – came only a day after Peter Siddle was sent home due to stiffness in his left side, also picked up in Monday’s match.They will be replaced by Victoria all-rounder Andrew McDonald and New South Wales fast bowler Burt Cockley, who will join the squad in time for the sixth ODI in Guwahati on Sunday.The squad has already lost Brett Lee (elbow), James Hopes (hamstring) and Tim Paine (finger), and was without first-choice players Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Nathan Bracken and Callum Ferguson when the series began.Henriques himself was a replacement player who joined the group mid-tour when Hopes was ruled out. His departure could mean an ODI debut for either the spinner Jon Holland or the fast bowler Clint McKay, both from Victoria, with Ben Hilfenhaus set to return to the starting line-up for the fifth ODI on Thursday in Hyderabad.”Moises complained of some discomfort after the fourth ODI in Mohali,” team physiotherapist Kevin Sims said. “He had an MRI scan when we arrived in Hyderabad which showed signs of injury to the right hamstring. The medical staff believe the injury will not recover sufficiently for him to participate in the last week of the tour and therefore we have decided he will return to Australia where he will continue his treatment.”McDonald is one of the newcomers in the Australian squad in the last 12 months, having played four Tests. He was very impressive for Victoria in the Champions Twenty20 League in India, taking nine wickets, including a match-winning four-wicket haul against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Cockley is just a season old for New South Wales and in 2008-09, stormed to the top of the state’s Sheffield Shield wicket list.”Andrew played very well for Victoria in the recent Champions League in India, was in very good form in the first Sheffield Shield game, scoring a hundred and bowling impressively on a batsman friendly Adelaide wicket and backing that up with a dominant display in Wednesday night’s Ford Ranger Cup match
,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “We are sure that Andrew will grab his opportunity and perform well in the Australian one-day set up.”Burt is someone who the National Selection Panel has identified in the last 12 months as someone who could have an impact at international level. He performed well in the recent Ford Ranger Cup game against Western Australia (taking four wickets) and we think he will be well suited to Indian conditions.”The captain Ricky Ponting said he felt for the injured players. “It’s disappointing to see these guys go down, because you know how much they want to play and be a part of the series and do the best they can to win games and win series,” Ponting told AAP. “So it’s more disappointing for them moreso than anything. I’m sure everyone who’s returned back home would much rather be here with the series as it is at the moment, but we’ve got what we’ve got.”Coach Tim Nielsen applauded the depleted team for performing above expectations. “In the ideal team, we [first] had James Hopes and [then] Moises batting at No. 7 along the line,” Nielsen said. “We don’t have those players now. The bowling also needs to adjust to the conditions and then we would decide the batting line-up. It is not simple or easy. We have to ensure that we have five bowlers, plus a spare bowler, to ensure one guy doesn’t have an off day.”The most difficult (thing), I suppose, is players getting hurt (so frequently) which means there is a change in the team in every game we have played. Having said that I’m pleased with the way the players have fought hard. The young players have come up to take up different roles.”At least the long-term news for some of the key members of Australia’s side is good. The Cricket Australia physio Alex Kountouris said Lee and Clarke were not far away from playing cricket again, while Paine should be able to start training by the end of the month.”Brett has seen a specialist and CA medical staff in Melbourne,” Kountouris said. “He had a scan that confirmed the cause of the pain as being a long-standing bone spur near the elbow joint. It is felt there is no major problem with the joint and we are optimistic that he may be able to resume bowling fairly soon, possibly some time next week.”Tim Paine saw a hand specialist in Melbourne today and Tim doesn’t require surgery to the fractured ring finger of his left hand. He will recommence cricket training in approximately three weeks time. Michael [Clarke] is making good progress and it’s hoped he’ll play for New South Wales before the first Test against the West Indies.”

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza is set to make his return from injury after being named in the preliminary squad for the tri-series at home featuring Sri Lanka and India next month

Cricinfo staff12-Dec-2009Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza is set to make his return from injury after being named in a preliminary squad for next month’s home tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and India. Mortaza, who picked up the injury in the West Indies, missed the home ODIs against Zimbabwe in October and November after failing to recover in time from a knee surgery. Shakib Al Hasan led the team in his absence.Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal was also included, following fears
that he may be ruled out due a fractured hand. He had injured his left hand while batting against Zimbabwe in an ODI in Chittagong on November 5 but continued playing despite medical advice not to.The squad also featured players who severed ties with the unofficial Indian Cricket League – batsman Aftab Ahmed, opener Shahriar Nafees and Alok Kapali.The original squad featured 26 players, but was subsequently reduced to 18. The final squad will be named on 31 December.Junaid Siddique, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Enamul Haque jnr, Sahagir Hossain, Dolar Mahmud, Robiul Islam, Dhiman Ghosh and Mahbubul Alam were the players dropped from the original squad of 26.Preliminary squad: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan (vice-captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Tamim Iqbal, Syed Rasel, Raqibul Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Imrul Kayes, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Alok Kapali

Nine English players will feature in the IPL auction on January 19 after league officials said a dispute over NOCs had been resolved. This takes to 60 the number of players who will be involved in the auction

Cricinfo staff07-Jan-2010Nine English players will feature in the IPL auction on January 19 after league officials said a dispute over NOCs had been resolved. This takes to 60 the number of players who will be involved in the auction.On Wednesday, the IPL had released what it said was the “complete” list of players who would be part of the auction; it featured none of the eight England players who were on the long-list drawn up at the beginning of the month. Those eight were Tim Bresnan, Anthony McGrath, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar, Adil Rashid, Jonathan Trott, Usman Afzaal and James Foster; with Graeme Swann now added to the mix in light of his outstanding international form.The point of dispute was the availability of English players outside the IPL season, Sundar Raman, the IPL chief executive, told Cricinfo. “We wanted clarifications specifically related to the availability of players outside of the IPL season so we don’t need to keep going back for the NOCs,” he said. “Franchises then can plan friendlies and practice games outside of the IPL season. That was one of the things that needed to be ironed out.”He also said that only those players available for the full season would feature in the auction. “That is not a condition, that is a preliminary requirement,” he said, adding that the ECB had cleared it.Raman said the IPL would release the names on Friday once it received the NOCs from the ECB. The delay, he said, was because some of the English players like Jonathan Trott were busy with the Test series in South Africa. He implied that the final call on the NOCs rested with the English board. “The ECB might want some of the players to be rested or available on tour or they might want to keep a check on any player who has suffered an injury,” he said.There were reports that the IPL had introduced new changes to the terms and conditions in the NOCs; that is reported to have become a sticking point with the ECB, which wanted to sign an NOC related to the terms negotiated in February 2009. Raman said the NOCs signed in February 2009 applied to “that set of players” at that time. “But our player contracts are undergoing some changes and the new NOCs should reflect those changes in terms of his availability, payment terms and things like that,” he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has cancelled the no-objection certificates that it had given all its players for the third season of the IPL

Cricinfo staff29-Jan-2010The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has ruled out the participation of its players in IPL 2010 and has revoked the no-objection certificates (NOCs) granted to its players.”No Pakistani player will go to the IPL this time,” Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, told Cricinfo. “Why should we allow them to go? They didn’t pick any of the players and it was an insult to us. Why should we let one or two players go? We will not take this lying down.”Butt’s statement seems to have shut the door on the issue, though a PCB release issued minutes earlier held out some hope.”All NOCs issued to Pakistani players for their participation in IPL 3 stand revoked,” the PCB statement said. “In the future if any player receives an invitation for participation in IPL events, PCB will decide the matter on a case-to-case basis after consulting the relevant government authorities.”The decision came after Pakistani players were ignored at the player auction for the third edition held in Mumbai. Of the 11 players in the IPL’s final auction list of 66, none were bought by any franchise.That sparked outrage in Pakistan and led to statements on both sides – including one from India’s home minister – regretting the blackout of Pakistani players at the auction. There has also been a warning issued by a regional party in Mumbai warning against Pakistanis being hired by the franchises, but recent reports indicated that Pakistani players could play a role in the next IPL season.One player, allrounder Abdul Razzaq, has also been linked to two franchises though officials of both franchises deny any specific deal has been concluded.The participation of Pakistani players in the third IPL season has been a subject of much controversy for the past three months, with some element of confusion over rules and eligibility. It was thought, when their names were included on the auction shortlist earlier this month, that the issue had been resolved but events at the January 19 auction suggest they are taking a new turn.

Harbhajan Singh is likely to miss the first two ODIs against South Africa due to family commitments

Cricinfo staff15-Feb-2010Offspinner Harbhajan Singh is likely to miss the first two ODIs against South Africa due to family commitments. The three-match series begins on February 21 in Jaipur and Harbhajan has his sister’s wedding to attend on February 22.”He [Harbhajan] has sought permission from the BCCI to attend his sister’s wedding on February 22,” Harbhajan’s personal manager told .Yuvraj Singh, who is missing the Test series because of a hand injury sustained in Bangladesh, is also doubtful. The selection committee will meet in Kolkata on Tuesday and a few changes are expected to be made to the squad that lost the tri-series final against Sri Lanka in Dhaka.Yusuf Pathan, who recently guided West Zone to victory in a record chase of 536 against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final, could make his return to the national team. He last played in an ODI during the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Tamil Nadu spinner R Ashwin is believed to be in contention for a maiden call-up as well.

South Africa’s cricket structure is set for a major overhaul on Friday
at a meeting of the national board, called after the shock resignation of coach Mickey Arthur

Cricinfo staff19-Feb-2010South Africa’s cricket structure is set for a major overhaul on Friday
at a meeting of the national board, called after the shock resignation of coach Mickey Arthur and subsequent dissolution of the national selection
panel. A source close to Cricket South Africa (CSA) said that three major issues
will be discussed: the selection process, the issue of the national coach and
the lack of black players coming through.Gerald Majola, CSA’s chief executive officer, had dismissed the
Selection committee headed by Mike Procter days before the team set out for the
Indian tour, reportedly telling them their process had become “flawed.” Since
then, Majola has been the interim convenor of selectors, with interim coach
Corrie van Zyl and batting consultant Kepler Wessels comprising the rest of the
selection committee.The previous selection committee comprised Procter and three others, with the final playing eleven decided upon by Arthur and captain Graeme Smith depending on match conditions on the day. It is not clear whether coach and captain will continue to have those powers but it is likely a new convenor will be chosen at the meeting and that Majola will not stay on. It is also unlikely that the selection powers will be vested in one person.As far as the coach is concerned, there are indications van Zyl will be retained in the position until all the structural changes decided upon at the meeting have been put it into action. The administration, it is believed, is unlikely to appoint another head coach just yet, especially as van Zyl has completed a two-Test away series against the top-ranked side and come off with a draw.The biggest structural change is said to be the creation of a specialist committee to deal with development and particularly what is being described as “Africanisation.” This committee will reportedly seek to further the development of black, African players in the national side.There is no indication yet that the quota system will be reinstated, either at national or franchise level. Quotas were scrapped in July 2002 at both levels but remain in place at the amateur level, where at least half of every team has to be non-white. Since Makhaya Ntini’s exclusion from the national side, the lack of an African player has become a contentious issue.Lonwabo Tsotsobe was included in both the South African Test and one-day squad on their current tour to India. He did not feature in the Test series.Rumour is rife that one of the reasons Arthur resigned was because of a dispute with the board over selection issues. In particular, the lack of an African player after Ntini was dropped, reportedly forced Arthur’s hand.The former coach gave the sole reason for his resignation as being that his “vision differed from CSA’s,” at a press conference in East London on January 27.Majola stated, at that same conference, that he felt the structures of the country’s cricket governing body were in need of revamping. This comes after a tough summer in which South Africa lost a one-day series against England and drew a Test series, which they felt they should have won. The team won just one out of five Tests last year and crashed out of both the ICC World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy.

Members of Pakistan’s senate standing committee on sports believe that “one or more” players in the national side are involved in deliberately underperforming for money

Osman Samiuddin16-Mar-2010Members of Pakistan’s senate standing committee on sports believe, on the evidence of the inquiry committee report they have seen on Pakistan’s tour to Australia, that “one or more” players in the national side are involved in deliberately under-performing for money, though they admit concrete evidence is lacking. The Pakistan Cricket Board said that the conclusions and the comments were made by the senators on their own.The senate standing committee members – Tahir Mashadi, Abdul Ghaffar and Haroon Akhtar – met the PCB at Gaddafi Stadium on Monday afternoon and held a three-hour meeting in which they were given a presentation by board officials on the report. Last week the board acted on the report’s recommendations and punished seven leading players.”We were given a presentation today by the PCB, including video, audio evidence and the matter was discussed thoroughly with them,” Akhtar told Cricinfo. “The PCB has done the investigation well and has been thorough with it. One or more people, we believe, is directly involved in some form of match-fixing and others indirectly.”There is more than just one problem in the team. There is discipline, there are issues of grouping, there are instances of people deliberately under-performing to undermine captains and there are instances of people making lapses clearly where monetary interests are involved. If there is a lapse that nobody can explain or answer and there is no logical reason to it, then the assumption is that these are lapses where monetary interests are involved. There is no concrete evidence because you cannot track money changing hands.”Asked specifically whether the senators’ conclusions were shared by the board, Akhtar said, “Members of the PCB were involved in the investigation. We saw video clips where the investigation was done by the PCB. There were several experts involved in the making of this report and were there in the meeting today and the conclusion that we reached was also reached by some of the experts involved.”Cricinfo understands, however, from officials involved in the committee and the subsequent report that match-fixing wasn’t even within the terms of reference of their investigation. The committee never felt that there was any problem with match-fixing after their investigation, honing in instead on issues of discipline and friction within the side. It is also believed that after the meeting on Monday, board officials specifically and repeatedly requested senators not to go public with their beliefs and conclusions about match-fixing. The senators, however, held a press conference immediately after their meeting in which they made their conclusions public.The board officially refused to comment on the conclusions. “We have done our work, what decisions were made are public, the decisions were taken for the good of cricket and our job is now finished,” Wasim Bari, chief operating officer PCB, told Cricinfo.Bari was head of the six-man committee that compiled the report. “We gave them a presentation on all of this, including a video presentation, of the inquiry we carried out,” he said. “We always said that we’ll give you a frank and honest presentation and they were very pleased with that. What we did we have showed them. The conclusions and comments they have made are their own and we will not comment on that.”

Surrey have confirmed they are in talks with Brian Lara in a bid to lure him out of retirement to play Twenty20 for them this season

Cricinfo staff16-Apr-2010Surrey have confirmed they are in talks with Brian Lara in a bid to lure him out of retirement to play Twenty20 for them this season. Lara, who retired from international cricket after the 2007 World Cup, has not played competitively for two years.”We have been in discussion with Brian regarding his possible involvement with the club,” a Surrey spokesman told the BBC. “However we have no further comment to make at this stage.”Lara has already been in the nets at The Oval this week and has had talks with Surrey’s cricket manager Chris Adams and chief executive Paul Sheldon.The Indian press recently speculated Lara was planning a comeback there. A deal was said to be done with the Kochi franchise which joins the IPL next season, but nothing came of that.Retirement has not come easy to Lara, and he has hinted he could be lured back several times. Last year he said of Twenty20: “I believe that at some point in time people are going to understand that they are tactical ways of playing it and then you are going to see the true talent come out.”Lara had a stint with the unofficial ICL in 2007-08, where he had a forgettable tournament with the bat and as captain of Mumbai Champs.Surrey already have Andrew Symonds, the Australian all-rounder, registered for the domestic English Twenty20 competition, and – depending on his national commitments – Piyush Chawla, the Indian legspinner. The rules permit counties to enlist four overseas players in all for the tournament, with a maximum of two featuring in a single game.

Michael Clarke deserves a chance to change and there is no rush for an overhaul of the Australian side

Peter English17-May-2010Michael Clarke is the best batsman by far in Australia’s Test team and comfortably the least productive in Twenty20s. He is also the captain and has led the side in 15 matches, winning 12 times and losing once. It was a big defeat – the World Twenty20 final – but his leadership is not what is in doubt. He is still being groomed for the Test captaincy and his current troubles will develop his experience base for Ricky Ponting’s role when the incumbent steps down.It is two years until the next global Twenty20 event and Clarke is unlikely to be there unless he transforms his batting approach of slicing gaps into more bombing of balls into grandstands. As Clarke understands, subtlety is not necessary in this format. By sprinting singles and finding regular twos, he thought he was doing the right thing by his team. He wasn’t.”I certainly know they [my performances] haven’t been up to scratch through this whole tournament and probably in Twenty20 cricket in general,” Clarke said after the final defeat in Barbados. “I’m sure the selectors will sit down and have a look and if I’m not the right guy for No. 3 and the captaincy then they’ll make that decision.”Australia need more of Clarke’s Christchurch outlook – he blasted 67 off 45 balls there in February – and less of his jogging in the Caribbean. In seven games he managed 92 runs at an average of 15.33 and a strike-rate of 80.70, making him the side’s modern-day incarnation of Geoff Marsh, the batting anchor of the 1980s. The next lowest strike-rate, including the bowlers, was Brad Haddin’s 102.08.He deserves a chance to change and there is no rush for an overall. This is not like the 50-over World Cup, which signals a clear-out as teams re-focus for an event four years ahead. Before the next World Twenty20 there are oodles of opportunities for players to emerge through the various domestic leagues. Except for Clarke.By being a Test and one-day master Clarke won’t be able to practise raising his short game. International Twenty20 engagements over the rest of the year are rare and there will be only three on offer for Australia during the home summer. New South Wales, his state side, are not in the Champions League, he doesn’t play in the IPL, and he won’t get to turn out in Australia’s Big Bash.If he can’t morph into a batting hare, a smooth transition will be much easier to achieve next year. Ponting, 35, will probably retire from ODIs at the end of the World Cup in April, having attempted a fourth win in a row, and Clarke can take over in a format he is at one with. That will allow him to shed the Twenty20 demands and let the regeneration of the T20 set-up to occur with a new leader. Cameron White is the current vice-captain but the personnel in this squad can alter so rapidly that Tasmania’s George Bailey might also be a contender.Until then Clarke must remember the strokes of his youth when he bats in Twenty20s. The drives over cover, the hooks in the air and the freedom of belting the ball without worrying about the consequences. This was the attitude that blew him into Test cricket with a century on debut in Bangalore – he hit four sixes to Adam Gilchrist’s three – and another one in his first game at home against New Zealand. At the Gabba he reached three figures with two pulled fours and a three in the over before lunch.At the time he was the breathtaking wonder boy of Australian cricket. After he was cut from the Test side a year later he eliminated those riskier elements, growing into the country’s most professional batsman, and hasn’t been able to re-programme them.”That’s the thing, if I play like that, that’s probably why I got dropped,” Clarke said in November. “You have your day in the sun sometimes then miss out five times.” One awesome day every six matches in Twenty20 means there is no talk of you getting the sack.

English county teams will not play in the Champions League Twenty20 this year because the tournament dates clashes with the end of England’s domestic season

Cricinfo staff21-May-2010English county teams will not play in the Champions League Twenty20 this year because the tournament dates – September 10 to 26 – clashes with the end of England’s domestic season.The ECB conveyed its decision in a memo circulated to the counties, saying it was “with great regret” that the Friends Provident T20 finalists would be unable to participate in the lucrative tournament in South Africa, according to a report in the .The participation of teams from England had been put in doubt after it emerged that the schedule, announced in February, would clash with crucial fixtures at the end of the English season, which runs until September 16. England will be playing Pakistan in an ODI series at the time, the final two rounds of the County Championship will be on, as well as the semi-finals and final of the ECB40 competition.The ECB had already tweaked its domestic calendar to accommodate the Champions League, which was originally scheduled for October, but the tournament was brought forward to accommodate India’s home series against Australia. The board said that counties would be able to participate in the next two Champions Leagues which will not clash with the domestic season.