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David Obuya hit an unbeaten 115, adding 203 with his brother Collins, to lead a strong Kenya batting effort after Ryan ten Doeschate moved to a double century which lifted Netherlands to 385

Cricinfo staff21-Feb-2010
ScorecardDavid Obuya hit an unbeaten 115, adding 203 with his brother Collins, to lead a strong Kenya batting effort after Ryan ten Doeschate moved to a double century which lifted Netherlands to 385.The combined efforts of the Obuya brothers propelled Kenya to 235 for 2 at the close and they will now sense the opportunity to build a first-innings lead. David Obuya’s second first-class hundred was the ideal response for Kenya and his hundred came from 148 deliveries shortly before Collins Obuya was bowled for 89 late in the day.Netherlands’ bowlers found it tough work after ten Doeshcate had provided an early breakthrough by having Rakep Patel caught behind. They had to wait another 46 overs before Mark Jonkman managed to break the second-wicket stand and the fact the attack managed just five maidens in 56 overs shows how they were dominated.Their batting effort had almost been a one-man display with ten Doeschate providing comfortably more than half the total. He resumed overnight on 129 and added 83 of the 109 runs Netherlands compiled before being bowled out. His double ton arrived off 267 balls during a final-wicket stand of 43 with Pieter Seelaar who didn’t contribute during his 23-ball occupation.Elijah Otieno eventually ended the innings to finish with impressive figures of 4 for 57 from 25.1 overs.

Siraj took three of the last four wickets on the fifth morning to seal an epic win at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-20255:30

‘Such moments make you feel that the journey is worth it’

India captain Shubman Gill has said his team was “pretty confident” of taking the remaining four wickets on the final morning at The Oval to square the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.Late rain on day four dragged the game into the fifth day, leaving England needing 35 runs and India four wickets. Mohammed Siraj picked up three of the four to seal a stunning win.”Yeah, we were pretty confident,” Gill said at the post-match presentation. “Even yesterday, we knew that they [England] are a little bit under pressure. We just wanted to make sure that they’re feeling the pressure throughout. Pressure makes everyone do things that they don’t want to, and we just wanted to make sure that they’re feeling the pressure throughout.Related

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“I think the way both the teams played in the entire series, every day coming on day four, day five, and never really knowing which team is going to win… it shows that both the teams came up with their A game and very happy to get over the line in this one.”Joe Root had said that the use of a heavy roller would benefit England on the fifth morning, but Siraj and Prasidh Krishna worked in tandem to give no respite to Jamie Smith and the tail.”When bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh are bowling like that then 35 runs is also too much,” Gill said at the post-match press conference. “As a batsman, you are under pressure as you feel the ball is doing something and it takes just one ball. And that is what we were reminding them about frequently. If the conditions are like this and the momentum is with you, then 30-35 runs is enough, then you know it is a matter of one or two balls falling in the right place and the game will get over there and then.”Gill said that India never thought about taking the second new ball, considering the movement both his strike bowlers had been getting since day four. “Also, we had the wicket-taking option on this wicket,” Gill said. “If they had to make the runs, they would need to score boundaries. We knew they were under pressure because in such a position the batting team is under pressure because it is matter of one ball.”Having been left heartbroken after he was the last man dismissed in the Lord’s Test last month, Siraj finished the game this time with the ball, when his pinpoint yorker uprooted Gus Atkinson’s off stump. Siraj put in a big shift, with his 30.1 overs in the fourth innings bringing him five wickets.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Yes, definitely, he’s a captain’s dream”, Gill said of Siraj. “Coming in five Test matches, every ball, every spell that he bowled gave his all out, and every captain, every team wants a player like him. We are very fortunate to have him in our team.”While Siraj won the Player-of-the-Match award, Gill was chosen as India’s Player of the Series by the opposition coach Brendon McCullum for his chart-topping 754 runs in ten innings at an average of 75.40. Gill’s series aggregate is the second-highest for a captain behind Don Bradman’s 810 against England in the 1936-37 Ashes. No other batter has scored more runs in a series between England and India, going past Graham Gooch’s 752 runs in 1990.”Feels very rewarding,” Gill said. “I worked pretty hard before the start of the series. There were certain things that I wanted to work on as a batsman, and it was my goal to be able to be the best batter of the series. And to be able to accomplish that goal feels very satisfying and very rewarding.”I think once you are sorted mentally, you would be in a good space. But you’re only sorted mentally when you’re feeling technically correct. So, I think they’re both kind of correlated. If you feel like you’re getting in good positions, you’re always mentally more stable.”3:49

Bangar: Series result proves India is growing in stature

‘We want to be looked as a gun team’

Having started the new WTC cycle with a series-levelling win, India are currently third on the table with 28 points in five matches. “This series was very important for us because the kind of maturity every player would feel [at] the end of the series would really help us in the long run in this WTC cycle,” Gill said.Asked if he would have felt the same had England chased the target, Gill admitted that his “feelings would definitely be slightly different”.”I think the scorecard of the series could not have really depicted what kind of cricket we played,” he said. “But this scorecard of the series that we have right now really shows how both teams played. This win was important for us to be able to get that morale high, especially after the kind of cricket that we have played over the course of two months.”When Gill’s India had landed in the United Kingdom in June, there were several questions asked – whether his team had the experience and the personnel to challenge Ben Stokes’ men. Two months later, India depart with the series shared. Gill credited head coach Gautam Gambhir for building the confidence of the team.”At the start of the series Gauti [Gambhir] said: ‘yes, we are a young team, but we don’t want to be looked as a young team; we want to be looked as a gun team’. And the way we played it today showed us that why we are a gun team, and we have gun players like him [Siraj] in our team and that’s what makes this team so special.”

He acknowledges the pressure that comes with leading the side but is also confident of putting up a fight in New Zealand

Firdose Moonda19-Jan-2024While South Africa were preparing for Dean Elgar’s final Test, his replacement – as both opening batter and captain – was being called up. Literally.”It was the morning of the first day of the Test in Cape Town that Shuks (Shukri Conrad, Test coach) called me and said, ‘You are in the team and you are also going to be captain’,” Neil Brand said in Johannesburg ahead of the squad’s departure to New Zealand. “Obviously going over to New Zealand, making your debut and captaining is quite interesting and probably quite rare. I am obviously delighted.”Brand finds himself in this unique position both because the majority of South Africa’s first-choice players are unavailable as they fulfil obligations at the SA20 and because Elgar retired after the Newlands Test. Had he not retired, Elgar, who does not have commitments with any T20 franchise, could have led the team he captained 18 times between 2017 and 2024 in New Zealand and added much-needed experience to their ranks.Related

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Instead, Brand, his opening partner at Titans in the domestic circuit, will lead a squad that includes eight uncapped players, in New Zealand and will have to front up against the new ball as well.”Initially you are like – ‘Wow, is this actually happening,’ and then you realise it’s going to become a thing,” Brand said, when asked to describe how he felt. “This tour has been spoken about a lot in the media. People have written us off but we are still wearing the Proteas badge. We are desperate to come back with something.”Inexperience aside, South Africa’s touring party will also be facing New Zealand who have not lost a home Test series since March 2017.”There’s always pressure, but there’s also a lot of pride that comes with wearing this shirt. We don’t want to let our country down. We want to perform.”He pointed to the experience at the level in his group at domestic level as an example. “This team has 96 games per player as an average. That’s a lot of first-class cricket in the group,” he said. “There’s a lot of experience in terms of domestic cricket and that has to count for something. There’s not a lot of Test matches but you’ve still got to see it as a positive. I don’t think anyone has any baggage.”Also included in South Africa’s squad are seamer Dane Paterson and spinner Dane Piedt, who have played 271 first-class games and taken 990 wickets between them and Keegan Petersen, a 12-Test capped batter, who has played 130 first-class games and is 112 first-class runs away from 8000. Those are not numbers to scoff at, albeit they are not numbers at the highest level. Brand himself has played 51 first-class games, has almost 3000 runs and averages a shade under 40. In the last two seasons, he has been among the top-ten run-scorers in the domestic first-class competition and has learnt to score in difficult home conditions.”Playing at the (Centurion-based) Titans makes you tough, especially opening the batting,” he said. “Over the last few years batting with Dean, I have learnt how to constantly score runs in tough situations.”He has also consulted with Elgar on captaincy, but, with 18 matches under his belt as a first-class leader, wants to establish his own identity. “I have spoken to Dean and Albie Morkel but I don’t want to speak to too many people and change the way I captain,” he said. “I am not really someone that will ask questions. I am someone that will visualise and see how people are doing things. I have been in the Titans for five years now with some amazing captains and I am a very deep thinker about the game so I am always analysing their decision making.”Brand was in charge of the South African A side that beat West Indies A 2-1 in an unofficial Test series late last year, where he got to know most of the squad that he will take to New Zealand. “I have to give Shuks [Conrad] a lot of credit for planning that A series. I am the only player from the Titans, so going into that series, I was captain and I didn’t know anyone personally,” he said. “After those three games, our team cohesion was awesome. We are going to go out there and give it our best shot. It’s good going to New Zealand as underdogs. We are just using that as motivation.”There is also some personal incentive for Brand in New Zealand. While it’s likely Temba Bavuma will be back to lead the side later in the year, Elgar’s retirement means there will be a vacancy at the top of the order and Brand could use this series to make a case to fill it. “Deep down I do see it like that but there are a lot of good openers around the country at the moment,” he said. “Eddie Moore will also be desperate to stake a claim for the Test side. But this is the ultimate for me. Test cricket is the ultimate.”South Africa are giving themselves over two weeks to acclimatise in New Zealand before the first Test on February 4.

The result ensured Ireland’s qualification for the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup

Shashank Kishore21-Oct-2022
In Hobart, where it was supposed to rain all day, Ireland celebrated one of their most crucial victories in T20 cricket, storming into the Super-12 round of the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup and dumping two-time champions West Indies out of the tournament.Legspinner Gareth Delany and opening batter Paul Stirling were the heroes of Ireland’s stirring performance, full of confidence and bristling energy. After restricting West Indies to 146 for 5, a potentially nervy chase in a knockout game turned into a cruise as Ireland sprinted to the target in the 18th over, not giving their opponents a whiff of a chance.When Lorcan Tucker stepped out to loft Obed McCoy inside-out over extra cover to score the winning runs, the Ireland fans who had turned up in large numbers broke into trademark song and dance as they waved the Irish flag proudly in blustery Bellerive. It was only the second time that Ireland had qualified for the second round of a T20 World Cup, after the 2009 tournament in England.West Indies’ early struggle
West Indies started poorly, losing Kyle Mayers and Johnson Charles to big shots inside the powerplay. It could have been worse had offspinner Simi Singh clung on to a sharp return chance to dismiss Brandon King for one in the fifth over.Brandon King dug in to consolidate West Indies’ innings•AFP/Getty Images

As the innings progressed it was increasingly clear that some deliveries, especially when dug in, held up a touch more than others and the batters had to recalibrate their approach. It wasn’t until the eight over that West Indies began to get going, when King crashed two boundaries square of the wicket as medium pacer Curtis Campher erred in length.After meandering at a run-a-ball, West Indies slowly regained a bit of momentum. Just as they were beginning to threaten, Delany broke a 44-run stand when he dismissed a struggling Ewin Lewis for the first of his three wickets. At 71 for 3 in the 11th over, Ireland were wresting control again.King fights, Delany strikes
King missed the Zimbabwe game due to an illness but he showed no signs of rust as he seamlessly switched into hitting mode. Right from the moment he lunged out to drill an extra-cover drive to the boundary off the first ball, he meant business.King played the field perfectly, targeting the short boundaries and nudging into gaps to keep turning the strike over, not allowing the bowlers to settle. For a while, with King and Nicholas Pooran around, there was a possibility of a West Indies recovery but Delany’s dismissal of the captain – Pooran reached out and hit one straight to sweeper cover – ended those hopes.Gareth Delany swerved the game away with skill and guile•AFP/Getty Images

In his third over, Delany deceived big-hitting Rovman Powell in the air and off the pitch. In trying to fetch a slog sweep from outside off, towards the longer boundary, he was out to deep midwicket in an over that went for just one. Delany finished with 3 for 16 off four overs, with West Indies struggling at 112 for 5 after 17 overs.King and Odean Smith eventually gave West Indies a late lift, even though there was a sense that they were at least 20 short of a competitive total.The Stirling-Balbirnie blitz
When Ireland came out to chase, their approach was evident. Stirling kept attacking the spin of Akeal Hosein with ferocious sweeps, while Andy Balbirnie took advantage of Pooran’s punt of bowling Odean Smith – and not Jason Holder – in the powerplay.Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling set up Ireland’s chase with a 73-run stand at the top•AFP/Getty Images

Smith’s record in this phase – an economy of 11.18 in 11 overs for just three wickets – was far from encouraging, and the Ireland captain hit him for 4,6,4 off his first three deliveries. McCoy’s slower variations proved expensive as well, and before West Indies knew what had hit them, Ireland had raced to 64 without loss in the first six overs.Farewell West Indies
When Hosein had Balbirnie caught at point for a 34-ball 37 in the eighth over, there was a ray of hope for West Indies. They didn’t concede a boundary between overs 7.5 and 10.2 – the only time when they appeared to have any semblance of control.Stirling broke free by carting Alzarri Joseph over the grass banks at deep midwicket and brought up his half-century off just 32 balls when he slashed Smith for four behind point in the 12th over. By now, West Indies were running on fumes.Smith had Lorcan Tucker caught and bowled in the same over, only to find out he had overstepped. It summed up West Indies’ day, as the prospect of an early departure from Australia became a reality.

Slender advantage turned into 81-run first-innings lead as tailenders get busy

Matt Roller28-May-2021Berg & Sanderson sound more like a high-end headphones manufacturer than a lethal new-ball partnership, and the very mention of their names has been enough to leave Sussex supporters’ ears ringing this month. After sharing 19 wickets in the reverse fixture at Wantage Road they have managed another nine between them in the Hove sunshine this week, but it was their 51-run stand for the last wicket that maintained Northamptonshire’s advantage on the second day.Saif Zaib had held their response to Sussex’s 175 together with a determined half-century, adding 53 with Adam Rossington after George Garton cleaned up Simon Kerrigan early on, but when he edged behind shortly after lunch the lead was only 30. Sussex hoped they would be comfortably in front by teatime, but hadn’t counted on Berg’s long-handled bludgeoning: he cut and pulled the seamers confidently, and dumped Jack Carson over the hospitality tents for a six that had sunbathers taking cover on the seafront.Still going strong at the age of 40 (and why shouldn’t he be, when Darren Stevens is around), Berg’s performances this season have made Middlesex’s decision to release him in 2014 – fearing he wouldn’t recover from a shoulder injury – look bafflingly premature. He now combines his playing duties with a player-coach role for Italy’s national team, and has aspirations to recruit Jade Dernbach after securing Grant Stewart’s services for the European leg of T20 World Cup qualifying this autumn; on days like this, he must surely reflect that .Berg was a spot lower than usual at No. 10 thanks to Kerrigan’s nightwatchman duties, but was a handy No. 7 for much of his first-class career and has clearly not lost the knack – though was dropped at second slip before he had got going. Sanderson, by contrast, has no pedigree with the bat but was happy to tuck in when Garton missed his length with the new ball. Their stand ended when his stumps were rearranged by the same bowler, but not before the lead had crept up to 81, securing a second batting bonus point that may yet prove vital in their bid for a top-two finish.Related

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In the absence of Ollie Robinson, who left the ground to a round of applause from the returning fans on Thursday before joining up with England’s Test squad, Garton is the senior citizen in Sussex’s attack at the wizened age of 24, some four years older than their three other frontline bowlers. He is still relatively raw in red-ball cricket, with a career economy rate above four an over, but it is an impressive sight when he lets rip and lands one where he wants, generally leaving stumps splattered.Sussex are considering resting Garton for next week’s fixture at Headingley with an eye on the T20 Blast, but Jamie Atkins and Henry Crocombe – both 19-year-olds – showed enough control to suggest they will cope in his absence: Atkins bowls brisk outswingers with a tennis-style grunt on release, while Crocombe has a more classical action and finds good bounce thanks to his height.Berg and Sanderson both made breakthroughs in Sussex’s second innings – Tom Clark’s hard-handed push nestling in Ben Curran’s hands at third slip, and Aaron Thomason nicking through to Ben Brown – but they were largely blunted by an impressive knock from Tom Haines, who passed 50 for the fifth time this season and is the leading run-scorer in Group Three.Haines is only 22, but is already the fourth-most experienced player in this side in terms of first-class appearances. His early promotion to the first team under Jason Gillespie means that his overall record – an average of 30.76 – is underwhelming, but he has been the standout batter in a top order featuring two Test players on overseas contracts.He was particularly strong when Northants’ seamers dropped short, and recognised that with the pitch only offering movement when the ball is new, playing his shots to take the shine off was the way to go. He raced to 41 off 42 balls and despite some dicey moments during a probing Sanderson spell after tea, survived until the close with Brown – who cut with characteristic disdain for the short ball – in an unbroken 44-run stand.Haines is one of six left-handers in Sussex’s top eight, and the presence of some footholes outside their off stump when spinners bowl from the Sea End may yet prove crucial. Kerrigan, who had struggled for rhythm in the first innings, used them to his benefit as some balls turned sharply while others skidded on in a tight spell after tea, with Northants applying the squeeze.He took wickets in successive overs when Stiaan van Zyl chipped back a half-volley and Travis Head’s tentative prod was well taken by Ricardo Vasconcelos at slip, and he should have had three in seven balls if Vasconcelos had clung on when Clark edged his first. That left Sussex two runs behind and three wickets down, and when Clark fell to Berg they were effectively 17 for 4. Their lead heading into the third day is slender; the usual pairing’s first spells in the morning will go a long way to determining the outcome.

Majority of staff to be stood down on 20% of pay until July; executives and a skeletal staff on 80% of their salaries

Daniel Brettig17-Apr-2020Savage 80% salary cuts and stand-down orders for all but a handful of Cricket Australia staff until the end of the financial year were forced partly by demands from banks, for the governing body to drastically scale back its costs in order to be considered for an A$200 million [US$126.5 million approx.] line of credit.Last October, at its AGM, CA reported cash reserves of A$26 million [US$ 16.4 million approx.] plus an additional A$90 million [US$56.9 million approx.] committed in equity investments, numbers that have been hit severely by market downturns and have served to hurt the board’s financial position as it deals with the banks.CA is also closely monitoring the health of its major broadcast partners and, by extension, cash providers Fox Sports and Seven, with daily discussions between the organisations about how to progress. At this point, Fox and Seven have maintained their regular payment instalments to CA, as part of a six-year, A$1.18 billion [US$ 746.1 million approx.] broadcast rights deal signed in 2018.CA has been seeking A$200 million in credit from the banks for some weeks, with these latest measures devised partially to help convince financial institutions that the board and its management have done all they can to pare the business down to critical functions out of season.There has been considerable dismay among some CA staff as they digested news of the stand downs and salary cuts over the past 24 hours, after chief executive Kevin Roberts had previously indicated that the organisation would largely be able to absorb the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated financial downturn “into the business”.”We’ve been assured we’ve just got to make sure we come up with some really constructive feedback on how we can save some money going forward, but the expectation at the moment is that CA as a business can absorb this,” national women’s team coach Matthew Mott had said last month. “Obviously the longer it goes on, it’s going to put more pressure on everyone.”I haven’t got a crystal ball, I don’t know how long this is going to last, nor does anyone, but in the short to medium term we’ve been assured that we’ve got enough equity and agility within the business to be able to absorb it, and we just need to be smart and pretty clinical about how we prepare and get our players ready.”ALSO READ: ‘It would be a strange feeling’ – Alex Carey on possibility of closed-door T20 World CupSome staff have been mystified as to how CA only have enough cash plus reserves to pay 20% of wages until end of June when they weren’t spending in that time, still getting broadcast instalments and have saved cash on cancelled tours to New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and a likely postponement of a tour of England.CA insists that staff have been kept in the loop about decisions and the potential need for stand downs even though the organisation was gifted the chance to tackle the virus at the very end of its home season, in contrast to Australia’s winter football codes and also the English and Indian boards facing delays to the northern summer and the IPL, respectively.Nevertheless, CA has a range of expenses that generally hinge on year-to-year revenue from the regular cricket programme, including annual distributions to state associations that in some cases are in wildly contrasting positions. The South Australian Cricket Association has been among the worst hit due to its Adelaide Oval lease agreement and reliance on football revenue, while other states such as New South Wales are believed to be better off.Roberts told staff via videoconference on Thursday that the vast majority of them would be stood down on 20% of pay until July, with executives and a skeletal staff retained on 80% of their regular salaries. Staff were informed late on Friday afternoon about who would stay and who would be stood down, with handovers to take place next week.It is believed that further discussion of CA’s likely scenarios to return to work in July will also be shared with the staff next week, with variations in the number of employees and contractors coming back on board to depend on how numerous issues related to coronavirus have progressed.At the same time, CA is in discussions with the Australian Cricketers’ Association about contracts and various measures inked into the MoU signed in 2017 that afford male and female players a fixed share of Australian Cricket Revenue.”It only happened yesterday, don’t think I’ve spoken to any of my team-mates about it. We know the ACA and CA are talking and they are obviously going to have the best outcome for the players and the partners as well,” allrounder Ashleigh Gardner said on Friday. “All we know is that CA have to announce the next contract list by April 30 which isn’t too far way. Once that happens we’ll probably know what’s happening for the next season but until then that’s the only details we’ve got.”

The opener remains unsure how comfortable fielding will be but has no concerns about his place in the Boxing Day Test

Daniel Brettig23-Dec-20182:12

‘Finger has improved a lot in the last few days’ – Finch

Australia’s opening batsman Aaron Finch has rarely felt more pain on the cricket field than in the moments after his battered right index finger was jammed by Mohammed Shami in Perth, to the point that it felt like the digit was “going to explode” from a blow that left bone visible from a deep cut.However, Finch is adamant he will be fit to play on Boxing Day for his first Test in front of an MCG home crowd, for what looms as the pivotal match of the entire Border-Gavaskar series.Given the captain Tim Paine’s lengthy history of breaks, surgeries and problems with his right index finger, Finch’s own saga of finger troubles seems minor, but is typical of the many issues that batsmen tend to have to manage over the course of summers and careers. He first broke it in Sri Lanka in 2016, and this summer had it twice struck by Mitchell Starc in the nets in Perth and Adelaide before Shami dealt the most painful blow during the second Test, forcing Finch to retire hurt.”It was a bit of a shock, just the initial pain was the thing that got me. It felt like it was going to explode, which was quite funny,” Finch said in Melbourne. “I think just being hit a few times in the last month, a couple times by Starcy at training then Shami out in the game, but it’s also an old break.”I broke the same finger in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago, so I’ve got to start either catching them or use my bat instead of my gloves. It was up there [as the most painful]. I think snapping my hamstring tendon [in April 2015] was probably the most over the last few years.”For all of Finch’s considerable discomfort and the disruption to Australia’s batting order, he was able to feel considerable improvement even within the Perth Test, though he did not really get much opportunity to assess his own batting after falling first ball, glancing down the leg side into Rishabh Pant’s gloves, when he resumed his second innings.”Even batting in the warm-up before the second innings in Perth I still felt pretty good. Catching might be a bit of a different issue, at training I always tape my finger up anyway, but this’ll just be a bit of extra padding,” Finch said. “With a Boxing Day Test and being from Victoria it’s going to have to be cut off I think.”I’m going to catch in slips at training and do my normal preparation. If anything changes in the next couple days I’m sure we’ll have to sit down and chat about that, but at this stage it’s still business as usual and I plan to field at slip and whatever else is needed. It feels like it’s improved 100% over the last couple of days.”Asked whether Paine had any advice in the area of managing a problematic finger, Finch remarked admiringly of the captain’s ability to withstand obvious discomfort. “He’s got about 15 screws and a couple metal plates in his so a little bit different, he’s carried that for a lot longer than what I have,” Finch said. “He’s got a high pain threshold.”At the end of a year in which he has gone from being a white ball-only cricketer for Australia to now having a critical role in the Test team and a vastly expanded international workload, Finch was happy to have spent several days at home after Perth – even if he and his wife Amy used the rare time in Melbourne to move house.”I do feel refreshed, but at the same time I had to move house during that period so my wife had to do a bit of extra heavy lifting which is unfortunate for her, but it’s just great to be home,” Finch said. “Whether going for a coffee at the local cafe or going out for breakfast or lunch or whatever it is, just a bit of familiarity with being home is always nice.”Nevertheless, Finch did find time to grip a cricket bat in between national team duties, giving him some sense of how the finger may feel on Boxing Day. “I got sent some new bats,” he said, “so I’ve been walking around the loungeroom waving them around and it feels okay.”

Recognition for Rhodes at England level comes after he guided Worcestershire to their fifth promotion in 11 years, an achievement with player development at its core

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2017Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes will take over as head coach of the Young Lions – the England developmental squad – on an interim basis until the end of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand early in 2018.Rhodes, who has been director of cricket at Worcestershire since 2006, stands in for Andy Hurry following his appointment as director of cricket at Somerset.Recognition for Rhodes at England level comes after he guided Worcestershire to their fifth promotion in 11 years, an achievement with player development at its core.David Parsons, the ECB’s performance director, said: “Losing Andy at the start of a busy and challenging winter left us needing to find a high-quality replacement, and we believe that appointing Steve Rhodes on an interim basis is an excellent solution.”Obviously he is a highly experienced and respected coach as a result of his success with Worcestershire. He has already made a significant contribution to our International Pathway through his work with the England Lions in their training camp in Dubai and white-ball series against Pakistan A in the winter of 2015-16.”He has also spent time with the senior England set-up over the last two summers. And Worcestershire have an outstanding record of contributing players to all levels of the Pathway in recent years, with five involved again this winter – including Adam Finch and Dillon Pennington in the Young Lions squad.”Rhodes will work alongside Hurry in the early stages of the Young Lions winter programme, before taking over ahead of the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand before returning to Worcestershire after the tournament in early February.The ECB will appoint a permanent successor to Hurry in early spring and it would be a surprise if Rhodes, who has been highly committed to the county game since he made his Yorkshire playing debut 36 years ago, became a candidate for a full-time post.Rhodes said: “It is an honour to be asked to work for your country at any level, and I’m really excited about this chance to work with the Young Lions this winter. I’m grateful to everyone at Worcestershire for allowing me to take this opportunity.”I really enjoyed my time with the Lions in Dubai, and learned a lot from working in an international environment which I’ve been able to take back to Worcester for the last couple of seasons.”I’m grateful to everyone at Worcestershire for allowing me to take this opportunity – and I’m lucky to have such high-quality staff who will relish the extra responsibility with me being away.”Rhodes will join the Young Lions at a warm-weather training camp at the Desert Springs Resort in southern Spain from November 11-14.He will then take charge when the squad head for South Africa from November 22 to December 11, for a tri-series which also includes Namibia, before departing for the World Cup in New Zealand on January 2. The first of three group games is against Namibia in Queenstown on January 15 and the final is in Tauranga on February 3.

Gary Wilson, the Ireland wicketkeeper-batsman, has agreed to join Derbyshire on a three-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2016Gary Wilson, the Ireland wicketkeeper-batsman, has agreed to join Derbyshire on a three-year contract. Wilson made his Surrey debut in 2008 and captained the club in 2014 but lost the gloves this season to Ben Foakes.Wilson, 30, was a regular in Surrey’s four-day side between 2013 and 2015, scoring more than 2000 runs and averaging 42.90. He took over as wicketkeeper in early 2014, with Steven Davies looking to focus on his batting, and was then handed the captaincy after Graeme Smith’s injury-enforced departure.He went on to lead Surrey to a mid-table finish in Division Two, scoring a career-best 160 not out against Leicestershire, but was replaced as captain by Gareth Batty ahead of the 2015 season. Ireland commitments impacted on his availability this season and Foakes became first-choice behind the stumps, with Davies moving to Somerset for 2017.”Gary is a very talented cricketer who has performed consistently with the bat and behind the stumps for Surrey and Ireland. He will bring real experience to the side,” Derbyshire’s head coach, John Sadler, said. “He has enjoyed success, securing promotion in 2015 and reaching the Royal London Cup final in the same season, and knows how to win games.”Derbyshire have endured a difficult season, with Graeme Welch stepping down as coach in June. They are winless in the Championship with one game of the season to go and guaranteed to finish bottom of Division Two. In the limited-overs competitions they twice finish sixth in the North Group.Wilson’s arrival will provide heft to the middle-order, as well as wicketkeeping back-up to Harvey Hosein after the retirement of Tom Poynton earlier this year.”I know Derbyshire captain Billy Godleman really well and I’ve heard plenty about what he wants to achieve,” Wilson said. “I can’t wait to get started. There’s a lot of talent at the club and they are learning and improving all the time. I’m keen to play a part as a senior player in ensuring that the squad’s potential is turned into success on the field.”

Cricket South Africa has extended Haroon Lorgat’s contract as chief executive officer by three years, until July 31, 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2015Cricket South Africa has extended Haroon Lorgat’s contract as chief executive officer by three years, until July 31, 2019. Lorgat, the former ICC CEO, was appointed CSA’s chief executive in July 2013 for a period of three years.The board said it had decided to extend his tenure after the “exceptional progress” made since his appointment. The extension was recommended by a panel of directors at a board meeting in Johannesburg on Friday.”Haroon has more than delivered on our expectations and even though his first term will only end in twelve months’ time, the board had no hesitation to confirm the services of Lorgat for a second three-year term,” Chris Nenzani, CSA president, said.”He took over at a time of great uncertainty and under very difficult circumstances, but his experience and astute leadership has stabilized our cricket and set us on the path of achieving our goal to be the best run sports federation on the continent.”Lorgat has extensive experience as a cricket administrator. He was previously a treasurer of CSA and convenor of selectors, and spent four years -between 2008 ad 2012 – as CEO of the ICC. His stint so far with CSA has not been without its share of controversy.In his stint with the ICC, he had clashed with the BCCI on a number of issues, such as the Future Tours Programme, the DRS and an ICC independent governance review, and the Indian board had expressed reservations over his appointment as CSA’s CEO.Shortly after Lorgat assumed the role, both boards clashed over India’s curtailed tour to South Africa in December 2013, which deviated from the schedule put down in ICC’s FTP.Lorgat faced further trouble when the ICC began investigating his role in the statement made by its former legal head, David Becker, who said that BCCI’s flouting of the future tours programme could have legal implications.CSA withdrew Lorgat from dealing with the BCCI or the ICC until he was cleared in March 2014.