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.

South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell will begin his return from injury with the South Africa A side on its tour of Sri Lanka in August

Cricinfo staff10-Jun-2010South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell will begin his return from injury with the South Africa A side on its tour of Sri Lanka in August. Parnell tore his groin while warming up for an IPL match in March and was forced to miss the ICC World Twenty20 and South Africa’s tour of the West Indies as a result.”It is important that Wayne gets as much game time as possible before the Proteas resume their international season against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India,” Andrew Hudson, the CSA selection convener, said. “He has been out of cricket for a long time and needs quality time in the middle.”Thami Tsolekile has been retained as captain but will return to South Africa after the first two one-day matches to prepare for the Champions’ League in September. The selectors have stuck with the same group of players that beat Bangladesh A in two four-day matches earlier this year and won the triangular one-day tournament that included West Indies A.”We were very pleased with the way the young and inexperienced squad developed on that tour with one of them, David Miller, going on to represent the Proteas,” Hudson said. “Consistency and continuity is an important part of our selection policy.”Stephen Cook, who compiled a South African record score of 390 in the course of scoring over 1,000 runs during the summer first-class season, is the only newcomer in the four-day side.Four-day squad: Thami Tsolekile (capt), Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Quinton Friend, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Rusty Theron, Thandi Tshabalala, Jonathan Vandiar, Stiaan van Zyl.One-day squad: Thami Tsolekile (capt), Ryan Bailey, Dean Elgar, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ethy Mbhalati, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Rusty Theron, Thandi Tshabalala, Jonathan Vandiar, Morne van Wyk, Stiaan van Zyl.

The captains of Ireland, Canada and Netherlands admitted there is plenty at stake for their sides as the ICC World Cricket League gets underway in Netherlands on July 1

Cricinfo staff30-Jun-2010The captains of Ireland, Canada and Netherlands admitted there is plenty at stake for their sides as the ICC World Cricket League gets underway in Netherlands on July 1. Ireland launch their title defence on the opening day against former champions Kenya, while last year’s runners-up Canada face Afghanistan; the hosts clash with Scotland.Ireland captain Trent Johnston believed the tournament was a good opportunity to launch his side’s World Cup preparations. “I think Phil Simmons and the selectors are pretty happy with the side we have here. I think it is a good opportunity for the players to put themselves forward for a place in next year’s World Cup squad,” Johnston said.”We have probably got five or six of the regulars here and rest of the guys are trying to put themselves up for further selection. We are in sort of a rebuilding stage, I suppose, before the tournament in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”Johnston also saw the event as a stepping stone for the younger generation of cricketers in his squad. “We have a couple of guys who will be making their debuts, hopefully at some stage during the tournament. Craig Young, Andrew Bilbirnie, George Dockwell and Paul Stirling played in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year. They are now in the senior squad and it is a fantastic achievement for Irish cricket to see these guys developing and making into the senior ranks,” he said.Johnston was eager for Ireland to retain their status as the top Associate side and challenge the top teams. “I just want to keep Ireland at top of the Associate tree and keep knocking at the door of the big boys above us. We were close to beating Australia a couple of weeks ago and if we can take that sort of commitment and ability on the field and put three disciplines together, we have got a very good chance of lifting the trophy again,” he added.Canada captain Ashish Bagai said his side was brimming with confidence ahead of this year’s event. “The 2009 tournament was very important for us as the pressure was obviously higher. We did well and what we can take away from that tournament is the confidence which we can use in this tournament. All the six teams are evenly matched so it is going to be a tough tournament but we believe we have enough gas in our tanks to finish at the top,” Bagai said.Bagai believed the tournament would give him a good idea of his side’s progress in cricket’s pecking order. “This is a very important tournament for us. It’s a milestone and a good checkpoint which we can use to see where we stand and what we need to do in future. It gives us a good time to try out a few youngsters and identify our strengths and weaknesses seven months away from World Cup 2011,” he said.Peter Borren also had the World Cup lead-up in his sights, but nothing short of victory in the WCL Division One would do for the hosts. “It is a home tournament and obviously, at the back of our minds is the World Cup but at this stage the most important thing is to win the tournament,” Borren said.”We have to win games of cricket and let’s try to put 100 overs of quality cricket together. It’s always a challenge and it will be the same for all the teams here. I have no doubt that at times during this tournament we’ll see some fantastic innings played by the Netherlands top six or seven batsmen. I also have no doubts that at times our bowling will be sharp.”It’s very often in cricket that you bat very well but let yourself down a little bit with bowling or fielding or the other way round. It has been a challenge for all the Associate sides to put it together for the whole match and our challenge in this tournament will be to be competitive and consistent match after match,” Borren said.

Essex batting heroes Mark Pettini and Matthew Walker shared the Man-of-
the-Match honours after a stunning second-wicket partnership worth 147

Mark Pennell at Chelmsford27-Jul-2010
ScorecardJames Foster and Matt Walker embrace after the winning hit•Getty Images

Essex batting heroes Mark Pettini and Matthew Walker shared the Man-of-
the-Match honours after a stunning second-wicket partnership worth 147
off 92 balls secured their side’s eight-wicket win over Lancashire.In a tense atmosphere in Chelmsford in front of a 6,500 sell out crowd
for this last of the Friend’s Provident t20 quarter finals Walker, with
an unbeaten 74 from 49 balls, saw his side over the win line with five
balls to spare and take Essex to finals day for the third year.Chasing down Lancashire’s impressive total of 183 for 6, Essex lost
their star England allrounder Ravinder Bopara for 4 in only the
third over of the reply. Attempting to run a length ball from Glen
Chapple to third man he opened the face only to steer the ball to
wicketkeeper Gareth Cross.That brought Walker and Pettini, who only stood down from the Essex
captaincy on June 11 and only three games into the t20 campaign. He responded with a cracking season’s best innings of 81 from 56 balls as he and left-handed Walker – a t20 winner with Kent in 2007 – effectively batted Lancashire out of contention.Though Pettini fell with 20 still required, his leg stump was barely
grazed by Sajid Mahmood, Walker finally clinched it with a three to fine
leg to spark Essex celebrations just after 11.15pm.Despite a 30-minute break for rain only four overs into their innings
Lancashire maintained their composure well to post an impressive total built around a top-score of 44 from Paul Horton and a
lusty if unlikely 34 off 17 balls from former Mahmood.The visitors made a horrid start having being inserted under
the lights when Stephen Moore, who later dislocated his shoulder diving in the outfield, went leg before to the very first ball of
the night. Pushing hesitantly in defence he played outside the lien of
an in-ducker to be sent packing by umpire Nigel Llong.Soon after the resumption Steven Croft (27) clipped to deep midwicket
to be caught by Tim Phillips and give Chris Wright the first of his
excellent 4 for 25 return. Tom Smith (35) and Horton upped the tempo with a third-wicket stand of 51 in six overs, Smith riding his luck while the more convincing Horton
played decent cricket strokes to plunder three fours and a six.Smith’s demise to a stunning catch on the run at deep midwicket by
Grant Flower led to Lancashire shock move to promote Mahmood to No 5.
He responded with a clipped six off Maurice Chambers then the gangly
right-hander cleared the ropes again over long-off from a low full-toss
from Masters.Essex stemmed the flow of runs temporarily when Wright snared Horton
leg before then yorked Mahmood three balls later as the batsman
attempted an audacious steer to third man.Gareth Cross sacrificed his wicket in the thirst for last-gasp runs
when heaving a drive to deep midwicket but Chapple’s flurry of 28 from
14 balls simply left injury hit Essex with plenty to do.

Indian fast bowler Munaf Patel will join the one-day squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka

Cricinfo staff12-Aug-2010Indian fast bowler Munaf Patel will join the one-day squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka. Munaf was part of the Test squad, but wasn’t named in the original touring party. He joined the team in Sri Lanka when Sreesanth had to pull out before the Test series due to a knee injury. The debutant Karnataka seamer Abhimanyu Mithun was preferred over Munaf, who sat out all three Tests. Mithun bowled only four overs in the opening one-dayer before suffering a heat stroke.Munaf could get a look-in if Ishant Sharma fails to recover from his knee injury, which resulted in his absence from India’s opening game against New Zealand. Ishant – with an ankle brace on his left leg – bowled a long spell during India’s practice session on Thursday afternoon and felt fit enough to do a fielding drill.

Nottinghamshire’s chances of winning a Championship title that they were once indisputable frontrunners for took a further blow as the Manchester weather inspired to restrict play to just 27 overs on the second day at Old Trafford

The Bulletin by Sahil Dutta14-Sep-2010

ScorecardPaul Franks helped Nottinghamshire start well but they will struggle to force a result at Old Trafford•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire’s chances of winning a Championship title that they were once indisputable frontrunners for took a further blow as the Manchester weather inspired to restrict play to just 27 overs on the second day at Old Trafford.Having desperately hoped for sun to dry the pools of water that had developed on the outfield through the early part of the day, the Nottinghamshire batsmen were left cursing their good fortune as the bright sun that allowed play to start ended up forcing the players off again when it reflected off the media straight into the batmen’s eyes late in the afternoon.The setting sun has always been a problem at Old Trafford and the issue is being remedied next season by rotating the pitch 90 degrees, but after leaden skies and persistent rain had prevented play in a crucial game for 30 hours it was a farcical spectacle to see the players forced off for 25 minutes with the field bathed in perfect sunshine.Nottinghamshire may well feel that fate has conspired against them but they tried to make the most of the 27 overs of play possible. With Yorkshire making good progress against Kent and Somerset moving to top of the table after dismissing Durham for 286, Nottinghamshire needed to move quickly.Alex Hales and Paul Franks set an ideal tone by adding 31 off the first four overs of the day and the pair brought up the 50 stand off 49 deliveries with Hales in particular punishing some loose offerings from Sajid Mahmood.While the openers were enjoying themselves there was the lurking worry that conditions may be too benign for the bowlers to force a result later on. Gary Keedy managed to extract significant turn when he was introduced in the 10th over, but Nottinghamshire’s only spin option is Samit Patel.Keedy troubled both batsmen before removing Hales with a ball that spun sharply from around the wicket and took the edge as the batsman tried to defend. Franks was out three overs later, edging Tom Smith behind and with his dismissal Nottinghamshire shut-up shop. Just 10 runs were added in 9.2 overs either side of the sun stoppage as Mark Wagh and Adam Voges studiously blocked all that came their wayIt leaves Nottinghamshire with an almost impossible calculation of trying to race quickly to 300, to pick up three batting bonus points, before hoping Patel’s part-time left-arm spin can produce a miracle.

Corey Collymore, the former West Indies seamer, is to leave Sussex and move up to Middlesex at the end of the season to be closer to his family

Cricinfo staff13-Sep-2010Corey Collymore, the former West Indies seamer, is set to leave Sussex and move up to Middlesex at the end of the season to be closer to his family.Collymore, 32, joined Sussex as a Kolpak player in 2008 after his international career faded, and has been a pivotal part of their side since then. He has spearheaded Sussex’s drive to the the Division Two championship this summer as the club’s leading leading wicket taker with 57 scalps at 19.87. Despite his success, he wants to support his partner who is looking to complete her accountancy qualification in London.”I’m obviously disappointed to be leaving Sussex but I feel it is the best decision for me and my family,” he said. “I’m fortunate to have played for a very successful club over the last few years. The atmosphere has been great and I have many friends here at Hove. Everything has been tremendous, and I couldn’t have asked for any more from the club.”His arrival at Lord’s is a major boon for Middlesex who have struggled this year with Steven Finn on England duty and overseas signing Iain O’Brien missing large parts of the season through injury. Whether Collymore is supported by O’Brien next year is out of Middlesex’s hands as the club waits for the ECB to decide if he can be classed as a home player rather than an overseas. If not then O’Brien will be looking for a new county because Middlesex have secured the services of Australian opener Chris Rogers.Sussex, who will be in Division One next season, are now in need of another seamer but coach Mark Robinson bared no resentment for Collymore’s decision.”Corey has been an integral part of our attack for the last three years in four-day cricket, and at times he has carried our bowling unit this season and been a constant threat all year,” he said. “It is sad when anyone leaves the club but we respect Corey’s desire to be closer to his family.”

Ricky Ponting admitted that his team had been wary of VVS Laxman, fully fit or otherwise, going into day five

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2010Australia’s bowlers had been wary of VVS Laxman, despite his bad back, going into the fifth day at Mohali, Ricky Ponting has said. Laxman overcame his injury to play another nerveless innings against his favourite opposition and shepherd the tail to victory.”Just having some dinner last night with a few guys I was sitting with, I really felt that [we should beware] the wounded player [Laxman], and batting down the order I felt he would make a big contribution today,” Ponting said. “I was trying to make sure that we weren’t thinking they were going to be a batsman down again in the second innings and get too carried away.”Laxman batted at No. 10 in the first innings and sat out the fourth morning as Australia set India a target. He could not bat at his usual No. 6 position on the fourth evening as India’s chase ran into rough weather. The Indian team said he would bat on the last day if required, and he walked out at the fall of the nightwatchman Zaheer Khan. Laxman stood tall as India lost wickets and guided the tail to victory.”Even with that [bad back] today he showed what sort of class player he is,” Ponting said. “He has been a bit of a thorn in our side there’s no doubt about that, I guess him and Sachin [Tendulkar] would be the two who’ve done the most damage over the years, a couple of guys who’ve played a lot against us and have got good records against us. I hope his back’s pretty sore for next week as well and he can’t play.”Things went against Australia through the fifth day. Doug Bollinger, who had joined the team late after the Champions League, was forced off the field with an abdominal strain in the middle of a very good spell. Then, with India’s last pair requiring six runs to win the game, Pragyan Ojha survived a close lbw shout and Steven Smith missed a direct hit that could have ended the match, but ended up conceding four overthrows.”That’s what we expect from our guys, we expect that when there’s a half chance there that they’ll want to take it. There’s no blame at all towards Smith for having a shot at the stumps, if that was me I would have done exactly the same thing.”It probably doesn’t help,” Ponting said of Bollinger’s hurried preparation for the game after the Champions League. “But he had been bowling, and that was one positive for Doug, that he had been playing competitive cricket. He probably hasn’t been bowling the amount of overs in the Champions Leauge that some of the others have had coming over here, but he has been playing and arrived a couple of days before the game.”I thought his spell today was probably the best he’s bowled during the game, so disappointing for him to go down at the end there. I went to grab his hat off him for the start of his next over and he said he felt some pain in one of his abdominals, and being a fast bowler and having that sort of injury I just sent him off the ground straight away.”The match was marred by some questionable umpiring decisions. Michael Hussey and Gautam Gambhir got rough calls on the fourth day, while Ishant Sharma was sent on his way today with the game in the balance, before the lbw appeal against Ojha. After a match of such close margins, Ponting reaffirmed his faith in the UDRS, the use of which had been refused by India at the start of this series.”I’m a big supporter of the UDRS, I actually queried the ICC before the series started about the reason why we weren’t using the system,” Ponting said. “One thing I know about the system so far is that you definitely get more correct decisions in a game of cricket than you do without it, we understand how difficult a job it is for the umpires out there. There’s no doubt, take this Test match alone, with the use of the system here I think we would’ve have a lot more right decisions in the game.”