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Peter John Parnell Burge was born 17th May 1932 in Queensland Australia and died at the age of 69 in Brisbane. His cricketing career spanned 11 years and included 42 test matches. The highlight of his successful career was scoring of four centuries against England in successive Test series: 181 at the Oval in 1961, 103 at Sydney in 1962-63, 160 at Headingley in 1964 and 120 in his last series at Melbourne in 1965-66.A class attacking batsman
Burge was an attacking batsman of the highest calibre and displayed a tremendous ability for nonchalant ease in cutting and hooking, a rarity against such top-class fast bowlers like Statham and Trueman in those days. He had earlier started his career for Queensland in 1952-53 and had captained the state side until he retired in 1968. In fact he was a strong candidate for Australian captaincy, when Bobby Simpson was absent for two tests against England in 1965-66 series, which was ultimately awarded to Brian Booth. His highest score of 283 versus New South Wales at Brisbane in 1963-64 is still the highest individual score for Queensland.Centuries in four successive series helped Australia retain Ashes in the 1960’s:
Peter Burge scored a masterly 181 in the fifth and final test at the Oval in 1961 series to ensure Australia retained the Ashes. In the next series against England in Australia 1962-63, once again he contributed with significant scores of 103 & 52 not out in the fifth and final drawn test at Sydney to again deny England snatching the Ashes. Still more memorable was his knock of 160 at Headingley, Leeds in 1964 that earned Australia victory in the only decisive test of this hard fought series. This performance earned him inclusion in Wisden’s five cricketers of the year in 1965.Visits to India and Pakistan:
Burge had visited Pakistan and India thrice (1956-57, 1959-60, and 1964). His notable scores during these visits were 83 at Bombay and 58 at Calcutta in 1956-57, 60 at Calcutta in 1959-60, and again 60 at Madras and 54 at Karachi in 1964.Contribution in the final Test against West Indies, 1960-61:
He was also instrumental in bringing victory to Australia over the West Indies in the fifth and final test at Melbourne in the famous 1960-61 series by scoring 68 and 53 in the two innings. Two seasons later, he scored 91 at Adelaide and 56 at Sydney in one of the most competitive test series of that era between Australia and South Africa in 1963-64.Victim of unusual dismissal:
Peter Burge was the third casualty in Australian First Class cricket history of being out handling the ball while playing in a match for Queensland versus New South Wales at Sydney in 1958-59. It was the first such event since the last in 1894-95.There is no doubt amongst cricket lovers he was a tremendous player and a respected match referee, the world of cricket will certainly miss him.Career Record: 1954 – 1966

Matches	Runs	Avg	Highest	100’s	50’s	Catches
42	2295	38.16	181	4	12	23

The four-team Asia Cup T20 Qualifier will be held in Bangladesh from February 19 to 22. Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman and UAE will play each other to decide the one Associate who will advance to the main draw involving the region’s four Full Member teams.ESPNcricinfo understands the format for the qualifier will feature a single round-robin stage with each team playing three matches and the team that finishes on top will advance to the main event. In case two teams finish with the same points, their net run rates will be used as tiebreaker.Sources had earlier indicated that the qualifier might be played in November in the UAE due to the fact that Hong Kong are touring to play UAE for a four-day Intercontinental Cup match and two WCL Championship ODIs while Afghanistan are hosting Papua New Guinea at Sharjah in the I-Cup a few days later.Oman’s geographical proximity to the UAE was also a factor, but the four Asian teams will be playing a series of bilateral T20Is against each other from November 25 to 30. They will be the first T20Is for each country since the World T20 Qualifier in June. Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman have all qualified for the World T20 next March in India.

Newcastle United’s Jonjo Shelvey ‘feels that he could hit new heights’ under Eddie Howe amid contract talks with the club, Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

The midfielder, who turned 30 on Sunday, is now into the final 18 months of his existing deal at St James’ Park. He joined from Swansea City in a £12m deal in 2016 and penned fresh £70,000-per-week terms in 2020.

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards recently wrote that Newcastle are intent upon tying down Shelvey as reward for his ‘increased prominence and performances’ in the past few months.

He has started all but one game since Howe replaced Steve Bruce, and even on that occasion it was injury which kept him out of the side. The former Liverpool man has also donned the captain’s armband for the Magpies’ last two matches.

The latest

Transfer insider Jones has said that it was entirely predictable that Newcastle would offer Shelvey a contract extension, with the 30-year-old apparently believing that Howe’s style of play can bring out the very best in him.

Jones told GiveMeSport about the proposed new deal for the midfielder: “Jonjo Shelvey, I’m not surprised at all, because I know he’s somebody they value, and in the playing style that Howe has, I think he feels that he could hit new heights.”

The verdict

It will be interesting to see just how many extra years Newcastle are willing to offer Shelvey. According to research conducted by The Athletic, central midfielders typically peak around age 25, although there’s a ‘large spread’ of players who play consistently between the ages of 24 and 30.

Shelvey has reached the upper limit on that scale, and perhaps that could be a consideration for Newcastle in terms of the length of contract to be offered to him.

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Another factor is Bruno Guimaraes, the £40m January signing from Lyon. He is on the bench behind Shelvey for now, but for how much longer will that be the case?

In other news, Newcastle are keen on signing one player who featured in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday

Steve Elworthy wants the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 to be better than the 2007 event © Getty Images

Steve Elworthy, the former South Africa fast bowler, has been appointed as the tournament director for 2009’s ICC World Twenty20, to be held in England and Wales.Elworthy, who oversaw the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September, will join the ECB in January 2008. “The 2007 event was a festival of world-class cricket which captured the imagination of the world,” he said. “My goal is to ensure that the 2009 event is even more successful.”David Collier, the ECB chief executive, welcomed Elworthy on board and said: “His experience of managing an ICC World Twenty20 tournament coupled with his international playing experience, commercial background and knowledge of our grounds in the UK provide the all-round skills required to run a world class event. He is the ideal candidate to lead the event in England and Wales in 2009.”Elworthy said he was looking forward to the challenge of running the event. “The opportunity to join the ECB and run the 2009 event during an amazing summer of cricket in England and Wales with the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament, ICC Centenary and the Ashes is an honour and a challenge which I am relishing.”Elworthy played four Tests and 39 ODIs for South Africa between 1998 and 2002 and had county stints with Lancashire and Nottinghamshire.

“I don’t like the way he stands on his heels while waiting for the ball to be delivered,’ says Kirmani about Dhoni © AFP

As if Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s batting woes were not disheartening enough, his wicketkeeping abilities are now being questioned by Syed Kirmani, the former Indian wicketkeeper.”I don’t like the way he stands on his heels while waiting for the ball to be delivered. A wicketkeeper should always be on his toes,” said Kirmani, who was arguably India’s greatest wicketkeeper as his record of Tests and victims testify.Dhoni’s batting slump, especially his vulnerability against the rising ball, has been a point of discussion of late but his wicketkeeping will need some analysis as well. Kirmani observed that Dhoni was not completely down when a ball was just about to be delivered, making him too committed to his movements and diminishing his reflexes.”But that is hardly strange,” Kirmani said. “Nobody in world is worried about the quality of wicketkeeping. You would look for bowling, batting and fielding coaches but no coach, I am sorry to say, knows a thing about wicketkeeping. You would have specialists in all areas including diet, training, cardio-vascular and what not, but a man who is central to the team’s strategy in the middle is completely ignored.”Kirmani advised Dhoni not to be burdened by the added responsibility as a frontline batsman. “It is not a burden, he shouldn’t take it as a burden because then he would only chart the route to his failure. He should take it up with enthusiasm. History has many examples where wicketkeepers have taken up the dual responsibility of shoring up the team’s batting so it is not something unusual.”That’s been the trend worldwide and Dhoni is no exception. It’s been [happening] for a long time now. I would even say that in nearly two decades since I have been out, I have hardly seen any natural wicketkeeper to catch my eye.”Kirmani picked out chinks in even Adam Gilchrist’s wicketkeeping. “I am particularly shocked when wicketkeepers, even Gilchrist, collect balls swinging their arms sideways. Why don’t they get behind the line of the ball. That’s the surest way to ensure that the ball, if it misses your hands, could still bounce off your body.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Virender Sehwag got two crucial South African wickets and went on to make a fine 77 later in the day© AFP

A resurgent Indian side made most use of a slow, turning pitch at Bangalore and levelled the five-match series at 1-1 with a hard-fought six-wicket win. South Africa, who were thwarted in their bid to stay undefeated in a record 21 successive games, refused to surrender without a scrap but their spirited effort on the field wasn’t enough to defend a modest target.Choosing to bowl first on a surface where the ball often stopped on the batsmen, India capitalised on some injudicious strokeplay by South Africa’s top order before the spinners suffocated the rest of the batsmen with guile and rip. The chase to 170 didn’t begin too auspiciously, with the openers tied down by some immaculate seam bowling, but a spirited half-century from Virender Sehwag, who batted in the middle order, ensured an emphatic finish.After being pleasantly surprised by the seamer-friendly surroundings at Hyderabad, South Africa encountered diametrically opposite conditions here. But the capitulation of the top three, all to Irfan Pathan, was largely responsible for their downfall. AB de Villiers spooned a delicious leg-stump half-volley to square leg; Graeme Smith walked right across his stumps and missed a straight one; while Jacques Kallis flashed at one that moved away after pitching short. The trio managed just nine runs between them, and the underbelly of the batting line-up were left to negotiate crafty spin on a pitch fast turning into a flaky dustbowl.Harbhajan Singh was introduced in the 14th over and the problems he caused with his zip set the tone for the rest of the innings. Ashwell Prince and Andrew Hall, included in the side for the injured Charl Langeveldt, were tied up in all sorts of tangles as every run became a struggle. South Africa soon found themselves in a Test-match situation with close-in fielders lurking and survival, not run-scoring, became imperative. Murali Kartik continued the suffocation act superbly, conceding just 16 runs in his ten overs, while Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh also extracted disconcerting bite from the wicket. Kartik was particularly impressive: summing up the situation perfectly, he hardly bowled a loose delivery, managed four maidens in his spell and was unlucky to see several deliveries comprehensively beat the groping batsmen and go past the edge.Even the characteristically aggressive Justin Kemp wasn’t allowed to free his arms as he and Shaun Pollock settled on rotating the strike and stretching the total. The duo grafted 47 painstaking runs in 16 overs but fell at a time when South Africa needed the critical boost to go from a modest total to a competitive one.

Irfan Pathan was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award for his allround effort© AFP

India too found the going tough in the early stages with some disciplined bowling from the faster bowlers, who didn’t allow a single run in the first 19 balls, prevented them from getting off to a flier. Pollock led the squeeze operation with an immaculate spell up front, when he induced Sachin Tendulkar into indiscretion, and India were allowed to score only 9 in the first seven overs. Pollock was rewarded for his accuracy when Tendulkar danced down the track and failed to time his loft over mid-on, but Gambhir unclasped the handcuffs.He backed himself and rode his luck and wasn’t afraid to hook and pull. He got away with a top-edged four off Andre Nel early in on and Nel, as his wont, indulged in a few bantering duels. But Gambhir took him on, crashed some superb cover-drives and unleashed a few verbal volleys himself. Along with Pathan, who was promoted to No.3, he ensured that the bowlers weren’t allowed to re-establish their stranglehold. Pathan produced a more solid innings, the highlight being the clean straight six off Nel, and there were also some sweetly struck strokes that peppered the square boundaries.Smith was forced to set some attacking fields and there was nothing he could do when Sehwag entered his crisp striking zone. He stated his intent early on with a slashed four off Johan Botha, the offspinner, and found the sweet spot of the bat on a regular basis. He continued his assault on Botha right till the finish, clattering him for five fours, and was mainly responsible for Justin Ontong being dismissed for 28 in his 2.4 overs. Sehwag helped India race to the finish line with a flurry of fours and displayed the kind of power and timing that had brought him to the limelight on this very ground, nearly four-and-a-half years ago.

AB de Villiers c Harbhajan b Pathan 4 (4 for 1)
Graeme Smith lbw b Pathan 3 (14 for 2)
Jacques Kallis c Dhoni b Pathan 2 (20 for 3)
Andrew Hall c Kaif b Harbhajan 32 (57 for 4)
Mark Boucher lbw b Sehwag 14 (85 for 5)
Ashwell Prince c Harbhajan b Sehwag 30 (96 for 6)
Justin Kemp c RP Singh b Harbhajan 28 (143 for 7)
Shaun Pollock b Yuvraj 29 (158 for 8)
Makhaya Ntini b Agarkar 1 (169 for 9)
IndiaSachin Tendulkar c sub (Peterson) b Pollock 2 (13 for 1)
Gautam Gambhir run-out (Ontong) 38 (52 for 2)
Irfan Pathan run-out (Ontong) 37 (105 for 3)
Rahul Dravid c and b Ontong 10 (155 for 3)

The annual general meeting of the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) has re-elected Ramesh Jagoo as a vice-president, a little over a year after he was booted off the executive committee.Jagoo was one of three VPs elected – Howard Petrook and Cliff Cox were the others – at the CCA’s annual general meeting in Mississauga. “It’s certainly good to be back and be able to serve Canadian cricket,” Jagoo told share.com. “I like the direction in which this board is heading and I believe I could use my knowledge and experience to assist them in moving forward with their vision.”Traddie Simpson was officially appointed as the new treasurer, a role he has been filling informally since Charles Pais’s departure in January. "Nobody wanted the treasurer position, so I chose to accept it because I felt I could make a contribution there,” Simpson told share.com. “It was a lot easier to get a VP than a treasurer.””When we assessed our financial state earlier this year, we realized that we were in dire financial straits,” explained Ben Sennik, the CCA’s president. “Within a matter of days in the position, Traddie was able to incorporate excellent accounting systems, thus providing the basis for the board to receive monthly financial statements and virtually day to day monitoring of the finances.”

A disciplined batting and bowling performance saw Glamorgan return to winning ways at Cardiff with a7 wicket victory over a lacklustreWarwickshire side who were without both of their overseas players. Glamorgan`s victory wastheir first since July 13th and their first over Warwickshire in a League match inWales since 1997.The Glamorgan bowlers dismissed the visitors for 196 in 43.5 overs after the Warwickshire captain,Micahel Powell had won the toss and elected to bat first. Apart from Trevor Penney who made anunbeaten 64, none of his batsmencould master an accurate Glamorgan attack who included Andrew Davies for the first time for 8 weeksfollowing a hand injury.It was Davies who made the early breakthorugh, dismissing Neil Carter in his second over, whilstMichael Kasprowicz bowled Ian Bell for just 5. Alex Wharf,who had received a mauling from the Essex batsmen in midweek, came on as first change and delivereda controlled five over spell, conceeding just 14 runs and picking up the valuable wicket of the prolific Nick Knightthanks to a fine diving catch by Mark Wallace.The wicket-keeper also took another good catch later in the innings as the Glamorgan spinners – RobertCroft and Dean Cosker contained the visiting batsmen, with Cosker taking 2-3 in 10 balls, beforeAdrian Dale returned to finish off the innings, taking two wickets in his fourth over. Dale finished with figuresof 3/16, whilst Cosker had the fine figures of 3/44, and Croft only conceeded 38 runs in his accurate9 over spell.Needing to score at 4.3 an over, Glamorgan made a poor start, losing Jimmy Maher in the opening over,but Robert Croft and Michael Powell then shared a stand of 76 in 14 overs, before Powell chipped a ballto mid-wicket. But Croft was in a determined mood, and he duly went on to score 70 from as many balls, hitting11 boundaries and recorded his fourth half-century of the season, all of which have been at Cardiff.Croft was eventually bowled by Bell, but a watchful 47 from Matthew Maynard and a sublime 41 from David Hemp sawGlamorgan to their victory target without any further alarms and maintain Glamorgan`s quest of retaining theirDivision One title. The victory, achieved with 4.1 overs to spare puts them just two points behind leaders Gloucestershire and Surrey.

Mark Garaway Somerset’s new assistant coach and Director of the ECB Reginal Academy recently started his new job at The County Ground.Mark, who is twenty eight years old is no stranger to Somerset since he sent several years of his childhood living in West Somerset.His family then moved to Ventnor in the Isle of Wight where Mark played for the age group teams.Whilst playing for the Under 16’s he was spotted by Hampshire County cricket Club, and made several appearences for the county Under 19’s and Second Eleven in the same season.Mark, who was a wicket-keeper batsman, made his first team debut for Hampshire in 1996, but because of the presence of Adie Aymes his first team appearences were limited so he started to develop his interest in “coaching and managing players” he told me.He played his last game for the county in 1999, and in January 2000 took up the post of Cricket Development Officer with Hampshire. Somerset Coach Kevin Shine rates his new assistant very highly.”Mark is a skilled developer of young players, a good communicator and a talented coach in his own right. He will fit in very well with the environment that we have created here at Somerset” the coach told me.

Keith Mitchell, the chairman of the CARICOM sub-committee on cricket governance, has expressed “grave concern” over the comments of West Indies coach Phil Simmons about outside influences robbing him of the best possible ODI squad for next month’s tour of Sri Lanka.Mitchell recommended it was time for “Project West Indies cricket”, which would encourage unity, openness and co-operation from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) administrators to ensure Simmons and the selectors were given the autonomy to do their jobs.”The head coach’s comments about the selection of the West Indies one-day team to tour Sri Lanka are highly disturbing,” Mitchell wrote in an open letter to the WICB on Sunday.Earlier this week Simmons had revealed that he and Clive Lloyd, the chairman of selectors, were outvoted 3-2 in the selection meeting on September 23 on the inclusion of allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard. The pair have been out of the ODI side since the series in South Africa this January. At the time Lloyd had said he had spoken to the two players and explained to them that the selection panel wanted to move on and give youngsters more chances.But Simmons said Lloyd and Jason Holder, the West Indies Test and ODI captain, wanted Bravo and Pollard in the squad.”The disappointing fact is that you can lose 3-2 in a vote-off but there is too much interference from outside in the selection of the ODI squad and it’s disappointing for me to know that in any aspect of life … [people would use] their position to get people into a squad; or in this case, get people left out of a squad. It is wrong and I don’t like it and that is my beef with the selection of the ODI team.”According to Mitchell, all the leaders involved – captain, coach, selectors – needed the support of the WICB and no intrusion, if West Indies cricket had to regain its lost glory.”The team is now at an important crossroads, and it will require wisdom and good leadership to chart and follow the right path. It will therefore take the skill, motivation and priorities of the men who lead and the players who follow, to restore the team to world prominence.To that end, the leadership unit must receive the full and unequivocal support and cooperation of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), and the backing of an independent selection panel, that is free of interference, fear, or favour.”Mitchell said one reason his political party was elected to power in Grenada in 2013 was because it placed the interests of the country before any personal agendas. That was part of the manifesto called Project Grenada that Mitchell said had proved successful.”We need a similar “Project West Indies cricket” approach if the team is to be successful. The entire cricketing organization should be fighting battles on the field against opposing teams, and not with each other in boardrooms and offices,” Mitchell said. “I believe that if Simmons is given the right tools to do his job, the liberty to make critical cricket decisions, the autonomy to create learning environments in which young players can grow and prosper, and the freedom to field the best teams, West Indies cricket will flourish.”Mitchell also highlighted that Simmons, in the short time he has been coach – he took over after the World Cup in March – had already managed to sit with national players across the Caribbean and help them understand and buy into his vision.”Already the head coach and his coaching team have taken a great step forward by gaining the trust, respect and loyalty of the West Indies players. These are things that administrators and other West Indies coaches struggled with and failed to achieve during the last fifteen years.”A disgruntled players’ fraternity up in arms against a divided WICB and a revolving door of coaches and captains have been some of the factors responsible for West Indies cricket not only sliding down the rankings table but also losing face and respect in world cricket. Dave Cameron, the WICB president, who was elected for a second term recently, has tried hard to gain the players’ confidence and win over his opponents within the board, but has been severely criticised throughout his tenure. Nothing signified this more clearly than West Indies’ aborted tour of India last October.Bravo, who was the ODI captain on that tour, led the pullout with one ODI, one T20 and three Tests pending, due to a protracted disagreement between the players, the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association over the payment structure specified by the players’ revised contracts. Calling the episode a “monumental disaster”, the BCCI demanded $41.97m as damages from the WICB. Since then Cameron has received a lot of flak with critics, former players and CARICOM officials blaming him for the embarrassment caused to West Indies cricket due to the pullout.Ralph Gonsalaves, the St Vincents and the Grenadines Prime Minister and Mitchell’s associate on the CARICOM committee, accused Cameron of “dishonouring” his word after Bravo and Pollard were first dropped from the ODI squad. Gonsalves said Cameron had assured him at an earlier meeting that none of the India 14 would be “victimised” and the squads for South Africa tour would be picked on merit.Mitchell’s remedy for the WICB is to be more inclusive. “A sports organization needs good management and administration to function at its best, but it cannot win battles on the field without sensible, coordinated and innovative leadership at every level throughout its ranks. The organisation must not be divided unto itself.”Mitchell even quoted Pope Francis, who, in his speech at the United Nations earlier this week, “reminded the world about the dangers of polarisation, anger, hatred, resentment, exclusion and adversarial attitudes, and the benefits of inclusion, kindness, unity, cooperation and common purpose. We sincerely hope that his words were heard and heeded by our cricket administrators.”