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Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler, will be joining New Zealand as a bowling consultant for the ODI series against Pakistan and World Cup that follows

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2011Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler, will join New Zealand as a bowling coach for the ODI series against Pakistan and World Cup that follows.Donald was formerly coach of Zimbabwe’s domestic team Mountaineers and was released from his contract, enabling him to take up the job with the New Zealand team under John Wright. Donald had also briefly served as England’s bowling coach in 2007.”I’m extremely grateful to Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) and the Mountaineers for agreeing to release me and I’m equally excited about the possibility of joining New Zealand Cricket on a more permanent basis,” Donald told on Monday. “Even though I was only in Zimbabwe for three months I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and learned a lot about being head coach.”Zimbabwe Cricket is undoubtedly heading in the right direction and I was looking forward to being a part of their return to Test cricket. But the opportunity to return to international cricket was irresistible and to work with somebody of the stature of John Wright is something which doesn’t come along every day and I can’t wait to get started.”New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan was pleased to secure Donald’s appointment, having tried first in 2008 to get him involved. “Allan’s appointment is an exciting one. His extensive coaching and playing experience should make a really positive impact,” he said.”We talked to Allan back in 2008 when an assistant coaching role was available and although he seriously considered coming on board he decided to stay on with Warwickshire. It is great he is now willing to commit and I know he is really looking forward to the challenge of returning to international cricket.”New Zealand are trailing 0-1 in the ongoing Test series against Pakistan and will play six ODIs in the lead-up to the World Cup next month. Donald joins the squad in Wellington on Thursday, ahead of the opening ODI of the series.

Lancashire’s bid to redevelop their crumbling Old Trafford ground could turn into a race to save the county’s future, according to their chief executive, Jim Cumbes

Andrew Miller27-Jan-2011Lancashire’s bid to redevelop their crumbling Old Trafford ground could turn into a race to save the county’s future, according to their chief executive, Jim Cumbes, as the club prepares to post a loss of around £2million for 2010, the worst ever recorded by a county cricket club.The figures, which have yet to be audited but will shortly be revealed to the club’s members, follow on from a loss of £546,000 in 2009, and have been exacerbated by a costly judicial review into the ground’s planning approval which has delayed the £30 million makeover, and the hearing for which been set for February 28 and March 1.The supermarket giant, Tesco, put forward £21 million of the money for the redevelopment, which was approved by Trafford Council in 2010, with a further £5.2 million from the North West Development Agency contingent on work starting before April. However, a rival development, Derwent, who own the nearby White City Retail Park, has attempted to block Tesco’s plans, trapping Lancashire right in the middle of the dispute.”It’s a critical decision for us, because although we aren’t the party being judicially reviewed, clearly we are the ones with the most to lose,” Cumbes told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve paid out £1.5 million in fees for all the advice on the planning, and the delay by a rival wanting to build another supermarket in the area has delayed all the funding coming down to us. We expected to see that money back in October, but we haven’t yet seen a penny, and that’s hit us pretty hard.”Lancashire’s problems could be exacerbated if they miss their April deadline for redevelopment, because that would effectively end their hopes of securing an Ashes Test for 2013, which as Cumbes conceded, has already been factored into their revenue forecasts for future seasons. “That has been our target from the word go,” he said. “We drew up a business plan on the basis that, having missed an Ashes Test in 2009, we’d be in a stronger position to get one in 2013, because Old Trafford has never missed two Australia matches in its history.”Instead, Old Trafford has been living on scraps in recent seasons, with last summer’s three-day Test against Bangladesh being their only such match since the visit of New Zealand in 2008. “We’ve undertaken our development because we know we weren’t up to scratch,” said Cumbes. “But we’ve not had as many matches as we are used to, and that is critical because a large ground such as this requires maintenance irrespective of whether we get Test matches or not.”A further short-term dent in Lancashire’s balance sheet has been created by The Point, the controversial £12 million conference centre overlooking the ground which was officially opened during the Bangladesh Test in June, and is capable of catering for up to 800 people at a time. Cumbes, however, is confident that the benefits of that particular investment will be reaped in 2011 and beyond.”We wanted to send a message out to people that we were serious about development, and in that respect it is part of our business plan for the future,” he said. “Bookings for the venue have only really got going in the last three or four months, and it’s certainly been very encouraging, but of course when people book events of that size, they book months in advance, not a week ahead. We always knew that the benefits of that investment would come later rather than sooner.”However, the club knows it cannot afford to rest easy for the coming months. “We are not ringing alarm bells yet, but with the amount of debt that all category A grounds are getting at the moment, someone somewhere is going to run into trouble before long,” said Cumbes. “At the moment the club isn’t going under, but if we didn’t get the go-ahead for redevelopment, didn’t get Tests and weren’t recognised as a category A ground, then clearly the club would be in some sort of trouble. Whether that trouble is just remaining as a small county club or not existing at all is open to debate.”

Hashim Amla, South Africa’s opening batsman, said that the pressure is on India ahead of their marquee clash with South Africa in Nagpur on Saturday. “Being at home comes with a lot of expectation,” he said. “I don’t think the pressure is on us as much as

Firdose Moonda in Nagpur10-Mar-2011Hashim Amla, South Africa’s opening batsman, said that the pressure is on India ahead of their marquee clash with South Africa in Nagpur on Saturday. “Being at home comes with a lot of expectation,” he said. “I don’t think the pressure is on us as much as it is on India.”South Africa and India’s match is one of the most eagerly anticipated of the group stage, the juicy steak everyone has been looking forward to after three weeks of appetisers and the occasional chicken dish, still a main, but not the red-meat one. England have served up most of the white-meat, advertising fifty-over cricket with three delicious roasts so far, one where they got burnt by Ireland, one where they returned the favour to South Africa, and that tie with India – cooked just right.Now it’s time to sample one of the dishes that is considered a speciality in this tournament, two of the favourites, blended in one stadium. The teams have been on this menu before, little more than a month ago, when South Africa beat India 3-2 in a closely fought ODI series in South Africa. The ingredients were completely different, with pitches that favoured the local seamers being the biggest change. “We do take confidence from knowing that we’ve beaten India on our home ground but we are not naïve to think this will be the same,” Amla said.Nagpur’s kitchen caters to other tastes entirely, with a pancake of a track that promises runs that will drip like an overflowing pot of honey. South Africa have sipped from those fountains before. Dale Steyn helped himself to 7 for 51 in the Test match and Amla scored his career-best 253 not out in February last year. “The last time I was here I had a good time,” Amla said, holding himself back from licking his fingers or lips, which is what he may have needed to do given the aftertaste this venue must have left in this mouth. “We know the scores are generally quite high here, if I can score the same amount of runs I will be very happy.”Hashim Amla hopes he can feast on the flat Nagpur pitch•AFP

The same amount may be too much to ask in a quick meal like a one-day international, but the substance of what Amla is saying is there. He hopes to spend as much time at the crease as possible, in keeping with South Africa’s philosophy that at least one of their top six chefs must remain in the kitchen to marshal the rest. “You hope somebody in the top six bats a long time so others can bat around him. It is a considered effort. We want the batsmen to score the runs rather than have the tail-enders have to bat.”With the batsmen the ones that are being promised the best of the meal on offer in Nagpur, it leaves little to whet the appetite of the bowlers. India’s attack has come under fierce criticism for being undercooked but Amla predicts that they will still bring their fair share of spice for the South Africans to deal with. “We rate their bowlers,” he said. “Even though we won 3-2 they bowled very well in that series at home.”Although Amla referenced it himself, the snacks shared between India and South Africa a few weeks ago are still thought to have little bearing on this match. Even the way Yusuf Pathan proved himself, with a commanding innings in Centurion against short pitched bowling, is not something South Africa have pondered to any great detail. “We’re not placing too much importance on individuals,” Amla said, while explaining that South Africa is enjoying every meal to the fullest, tasting each dish before going on to the next.They still know that on Saturday, the VCA will be a pressure cooker but Amla thinks that South Africa are not the ones who need to be worried about getting cooked to pulp. “We’ve played in front of big crowd before, it may take five or six overs to get used to the noise factor but it will be a lovely atmosphere.” The dessert, for many, will be if these two meet in the final in three weeks time. It may make all the finger food in between worth it, particularly if they dish out a tasty course this time around.

Carlton Baugh has replaced Devon Thomas as the wicketkeeper in the West Indies squad for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2011Carlton Baugh has replaced Devon Thomas as the wicketkeeper in the West Indies squad for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan in St Lucia. Thomas has been diagnosed with chicken pox. Baugh will join the squad in Barbados for the ongoing pre-series camp.Baugh’s call-up is another setback to Denesh Ramdin’s hopes of mounting a comeback. Baugh was part of West Indies’ World Cup 2011 squad but had to pull out of the tournament with a hamstring injury sustained during the warm-up game against Sri Lanka. His place was taken by Thomas who played all of West Indies’ seven games in the tournament. Thomas was also part of the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka last year as second-choice wicketkeeper behind Baugh.West Indies meet Pakistan in the first two games of the five-match ODI series at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on April 23 and April 25.

A superb century by Durham’s Ben Stokes denied Somerset victory in their County Championship match at Chester-le-Street

13-May-2011
Scorecard
A superb century by Durham’s Ben Stokes denied Somerset victory in their County Championship match at Chester-le-Street. The 19-year-old left-hander contributed 120 to a stand of 170 with Dale Benkenstein, who resisted for 207 minutes to make 66.When Steve Kirby removed both Benkenstein and Ian Blackwell in mid-afternoon a Somerset win was still possible, but after two-and-a-half days in the field without a recognised spinner they were a spent force. Phil Mustard and Scott Borthwick shared an unbroken stand of 73 and with Durham on 489 for 6, 116 ahead after being asked to follow on, hands were shaken on a draw at the start of what would have been the final hour.Only three wickets fell on the final day – and only 22 in total over the four days – on a placid pitch on which Somerset made 610 for 6 declared batting first. Durham needed a further 146 runs to avoid an innings defeat at the start of the day, but Stokes raced from 6 to 86 in the morning session.When the new ball was taken in the day’s second over he drove Gemaal Hussain’s opening delivery to the cover boundary and a straight-driven four followed in the same over. When Somerset turned to the slow left-arm of Arul Suppiah he was driven for two huge sixes in the space of three balls.Stokes hit 10 fours in his 59-ball half-century and a back-foot four through the covers off Suppiah took him to his century. Durham were 11 runs in front when he drove outside off stump at Charl
Willoughby and got an inside edge into his stumps.Benkenstein was on 52 at the time – his sixth half-century in nine innings – and on 58 he survived a confident appeal for caught behind off Kirby. He finally edged the same bowler to first slip, then Blackwell, again batting with a runner, survived a chance to Willoughby at mid-on off a miscued pull.But later in the same Kirby over he sliced a drive to gully to depart for 18. Durham led by only 43 at the time, but with his senior bowlers on their knees, Marcus Trescothick had to turn to youngsters Lewis Gregory and Alex Barrow in the final session. They were unable to make a breakthrough as Mustard made his way comfortably to 43, with Borthwick on 28 at the close.

Sussex youngster Luke Wells took the opportunity of an County Championship match heading nowhere to score his second century of the season

07-May-2011Sussex 438 and 254 for 6 dec drew with Hampshire 480
ScorecardSussex youngster Luke Wells took the opportunity of an County Championship
match heading nowhere to score his second century of the season at the Rose Bowl
where another easy-paced pitch led to a dramaless last day against Hampshire.Sussex predictably batted through before declaring their second innings 212
ahead at 254 for 6, leaving Hampshire no time to respond. The visitors began the day 42 behind after each side had completed their first innings over the first three days and a draw seemed inevitable.Ed Joyce and Chris Nash put on 32 for the first wicket before slow left-armer
Danny Briggs took the first of his four wickets. Joyce mistimed a sweep and top edged Briggs to square leg where Friedel de Wet clutched the opportunity.Wells signalled his intentions on arrival with a straight six off Briggs and it
became clear the match was petering out when Sussex went in at lunch with a lead
of 66 at 108 for 1. Briggs, who got through another marathon spell of 30 overs spread across the innings, struck again at 124 when Nash, who had hit six fours in his 56, chopped
the ball onto his stumps.Nash and Wells had put on 92 for the second wicket to make sure there were no
alarms and the afternoon session brought little respite for the Hampshire
bowlers. Murray Goodwin, the Sussex captain, was the third to go at 157, curiously
offering no shot to a delivery from Briggs and being bowled via the top of his pad.Five balls later De Wet struck for the first time when he had Ben Brown caught
at the wicket with the score 158 but there was still no real hope for
Hampshire. Wells, who made 103 earlier in the season, reached his century off 169 balls,
hitting 11 fours in addition to his six.But Wells failed to go on and beat his previous best score because at 248 and
having faced only another seven balls, Wells drove Sean Ervine to James Vince
for exactly 100.Wells and Luke Wright had put on 90 for the fifth wicket to make the game safe
and by then the few spectators were already heading home. Wright perished soon afterwards, edging Briggs to Jimmy Adams after making 39 soon afterwards Goodwin decided to call a halt.Briggs was rewarded with figures of 4 for 99 as the match fell away. Hampshire, still looking for their first Division One win of the season in four attempts, finished with nine points and Sussex took seven back home along the south coast.

Middlesex moved to the top of the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A table by cantering to a six-wicket victory against a youthful Worcestershire side at Lord’s

17-May-2011
ScorecardMiddlesex moved to the top of the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A table by cantering to a six-wicket victory against a youthful Worcestershire side at Lord’s.Dawid Malan, Paul Stirling and Chris Rogers were the stars of a successful floodlit run chase as Worcestershire’s 40-over total of 217 for 6 proved inadequate. Malan led the way with a classy, controlled 75 made off 77 balls and included with 12 fours.Malan was joined in stands of 62 with Paul Stirling, who hit a punchy 41 from only 33 balls, and 85 with the experienced Rogers was on 51 not out at the end after finishing matters off in the company of Gareth Berg.Scott Newman, after hitting the second ball of the reply through the covers for four, went in the seventh over to a very well-judged catch at deep square leg by Matt Pardoe, off Chris Whelan, but Middlesex never looked in any bother as they swept to victory with a comfortable 26 balls to spare.Middlesex have now won four of their six group games, while Worcestershire remain at the bottom of the table with three defeats from the four matches they have so far played.The Worcestershire innings was stuttering badly at 125 for 5 in the 28th over, when Pardoe missed a pull at Tom Smith’s left-arm spin and was lbw for 11. But Andrew joined Cameron in a rollicking sixth-wicket stand of 87 in just 11 overs, and Worcestershire’s eventual total was at least a competitive one.Andrew, wielding his cut-off Mongoose bat like a cudgel, hit sixes off Berg and Tim Murtagh before producing perhaps the best blow of the match – a magnificent lofted drive over long on into the MCC members’ seats off the lively fast-medium of Anthony Ireland, who was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers.Cameron remained unbeaten on 60, off 66 balls with a six and three fours, after losing Andrew when the left-hander eventually holed out to deep midwicket for a highly entertaining 35-ball 48, with two fours to go with his three big sixes.Moeen Ali and Alexei Kervezee had both earlier threatened to play significant innings, as Worcestershire initially reached 64 for following the early loss of Adrian Shankar, who was bowled by Murtagh.But Moeen, having stroked five fours and a six in 36 from just 31 balls, rashly slashed a swirling but straightforward catch to deep cover off Berg, and Kervezee’s 66-ball 47 ended when he gave Corey Collymore a return catch off a leading edge.Neil Pinner went cheaply, caught at the wicket to give Berg his second success, and the Worcestershire innings was beginning to lose all momentum before Andrew and Cameron revived it.

Kris Srikkanth, chairman of the Indian selection committee, has backed Yuvraj Singh to come good in Test cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2011Kris Srikkanth, chairman of the Indian selection committee, has backed Yuvraj Singh to come good in Test cricket. Despite being a fixture in India’s limited-overs plans for many years, Yuvraj has not managed to seal a permanent Test spot, but has forced his way back into the squad for England on the back of his starring role in the World Cup.”We all know that Yuvraj has quality,” Srikkanth told the . “Yes, I agree that he has so far failed to carry forward his ODI form into Test cricket. But he still has many years of cricket left in him. If he can cement his place in the Test squad, then that will surely augur well for Indian cricket.”In the absence of several senior players, the ongoing West Indies series would have provided Yuvraj the perfect opportunity to revive his Test career, but a lung infection forced him out of the series. The vacancies in the middle order gave India’s next generation of batsmen a rare Test look-in. Suresh Raina made good use of the opportunity, overcoming his weakness against short-pitched bowling to score two half-centuries, while Virat Kohli failed to build on his strong one-day performances.”We never had any doubt about Raina’s talent,” Srikkanth said. “He started off [his Test career] very well but then had a quiet period. But a player with such talent was bound to return to form. Like all good players he has worked on his weaknesses. This Indian team has a great dressing room atmosphere and the juniors always get the right advice from the seniors. But the bottom line is that you have to solve your own problem.”Raina worked hard and approached the task without any confusion. It’s not easy for a youngster, who grows up on placid Indian wickets, to be a naturally good player of pace bowling. Raina has shown the requisite grit. He was ready to fight it out which was very heartening.”While Srikkanth had words of praise for Raina, he refused to write off Kohli based on the failures in his first two Tests, in which he scored only 46 runs.”Virat should be allowed more time, he has just had his first brush with Tests,” Srikkanth said. “These youngsters will learn from experience. Test cricket is different from ODIs and it’s not easy to get used to the conditions. These days they barely play any side matches and by the time they get acclimatised to the conditions the tour is over. Kohli has performed in the ODIs and now it’s all about taking that form into Test cricket. I’m sure he will work on his game and will improve. He has a bright future ahead.”

Johan Botha showed his international pedigree at Derby to give Northamptonshire a rare Friends Life t20 victory

09-Jul-2011
ScorecardSouth African allrounder Johan Botha showed his international pedigree at Derby to give Northamptonshire a rare Friends Life t20 victory and end Derbyshire’s faint hopes of reaching the last eight.Botha conceded only 14 runs from his four overs of off-spin and than scored an unbeaten 54 from 48 balls as the Steelbacks cruised past the Falcons’ 133 for 5 to seal a seven-wicket win – only their second in the North Group.Derbyshire needed an unbroken stand of 82 in eight overs from Garry Park (50) and Ross Whiteley, who hit 39 from 26 balls, to give them a respectable total. However, Botha and Rob White, who weighed in with 51, ended the home side’s chances of victory.The Falcons had been struggling to reach three figures after thoughtful tight bowling restricted them to 66 for 5 after 15 overs. Martin Guptill drove the first ball to the boundary but that proved deceptive as the Steelbacks bowled straight and full to frustrate the batsmen.After Wes Durston was caught behind and Greg Smith was leg before wicket padding up, Wayne Madsen was run out backing up before Guptill failed to clear long-off. t the halfway mark, Derbyshire were 46 for 4 and when Chesney Hughes was caught behind in the 12th over, Northamptonshire were firmly in control.Derbyshire did not hit a boundary for 12 overs until Park drove Rob Keogh for six but that broke the shackles as Whiteley swept the spinner high over the midwicket boundary. Whiteley drove Jack Brooks for another six as 67 came off the last five overs, although Andrew Hall strangely ignored strike bowler David Lucas – who had conceded only eight runs from two overs.Northamptonshire were still only chasing a modest total and although they quickly lost David Murphy to a brilliant leaping catch at cover by Guptill, White and Botha steadily chipped away at the target.It might have been different if White had not been dropped by Hughes at slip before he had scored but Derbyshire were never able to exert any pressure on the second wicket pair – who added 109 to take the Steelbacks to the brink of victory.White drove and pulled Jon Clare for three consecutive fours to reach his half-century from 43 balls and Botha reached the milestone in style by pulling Whiteley over the midwicket boundary. White was caught behind cutting at Mark Turner, who then bowled Alex Wakeley. However, the fast bowler then sent down a wide to give the visitors victory with 10 balls to spare.

Michael Hussey, the Australia batsman, expects Sri Lanka to bounce back strongly from their opening ODI loss to the visitors

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2011Michael Hussey, the Australia batsman, expects Sri Lanka to bounce back strongly from their opening ODI loss to the visitors. Sri Lanka had won the two Twenty20 games but were at the wrong end of a seven-wicket defeat at Pallekele on August 10.”It was very important to get off to a good start, particularly after losing both Twenty20s,” Hussey told . ”I think the Sri Lankan confidence was sky high, so it was important for us to start the series well. We’ve got to make sure that we are right on our game again because I’m sure the Sri Lankans will be coming back at us very hard.”The second game will be played at Hambantota on Sunday and Sri Lanka could be boosted by the return of fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who missed the first ODI and both T20s with a back injury.”He’s [Malinga] an outstanding bowler,” Hussey said. ”I think the reasons why he’s so good is that he can take wickets up front with the new ball. His action does take a little bit of getting used to, so that makes him dangerous as well. He’s got a very good slower ball, very good bouncer, and he also bowls very well with the old ball. One-day cricket is pretty much made for him and he’d be a vital part of their team.”Complementing him with their very good spinners gives them a very well-rounded team and we’re expecting them to really bounce back hard, so we’ve got to be ready for that and [get] right on top.”Hussey missed the T20s and was unbeaten on two when Michael Clarke hit the winning runs in the first game, so he is raring to get into the action. ”I’m champing at the bit really. It was a bit tough to watch the Twenty20s. I would have loved to have been involved in that. [But] it was good to come over while those games were on just to get a bit of an idea of what their bowlers were doing and how the wickets were going to play. Things like that.”