Just four days after the ICC provisionally cleared his bowling action, Harbhajan Singh is all set to make his debut in English county cricket when he turns up for Surrey in their four-day match against Warwickshire at Whitgift School today (June 1). Harbhajan’s doosra came in for intense scrutiny after he was reported by Chris Broad, the match referee, during India’s series against Pakistan recently. He was subsequently cleared following a report by Marc Portas, an independent biomechanist.Harbhajan had earlier lashed out at the ICC for the confusion about his bowling action, but he insisted that the chapter was closed, and that he would now concentrate on putting his best foot forward for Surrey. “I’m not upset with anyone. I’m just happy the waiting is over and I can get on with playing cricket,” Harbhajan told AFP. “I was always confident that there was nothing wrong with the doosra.”I gave the test and was cleared. I would like to thank the Indian board for backing me all the way and hopefully this will be sorted out now for the rest of my life. These things don’t bother me. The ICC were doing their job and my job is to bowl well for my country and whoever I play for.”Looking ahead to the match against Warwickshire, Harbhajan said: “This is my first game for a while but I’m confident things will go okay. I’ve always wanted to play county cricket. I’ve talked to Rahul Dravid, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble and they were totally changed after playing here – you learn a lot playing abroad and hopefully I will be a much better cricketer after my time here.”Playing for Surrey means Harbhajan’s home ground will be The Oval, a venue where he has done well in the past. In the only Test he played here, in 2002, Harbhajan took 5 for 115 in England’s first innings, but he was even more impressive in his only ODI at the venue, in September last year: even as the rest of the Indian bowlers were disappearing to all parts of the ground – India conceded 307 in 50 overs – Harbhajan bowled splendidly to return figures of 2 for 14 off 10 overs. “I love bowling at The Oval I’ve done well here in the past and I’m keeping my fingers crossed I will do that with Surrey.”Steve Rixon, Surrey’s coach, expressed the hope that Harbhajan would play a major role in the county’s quest for a Championship title. “There’re no qualms that we can win the Championship. Harbhajan will help us finish tight situations and tidy tails up. We’re playing well and heading in the right direction. Harbhajan will make a major contribution to our success in the future.”
Michael Dighton slapped Victoria’s bowlers all over the ground as he guided Tasmania to a hard-fought 9 for 313 at stumps on day one of the Pura Cup clash at the Bellerive Oval. Tasmania were 3 for 46 when Dighton came to the crease and he scored 152 runs in commanding style off 208 balls, including 18 fours and five sixes.Dighton passed the milestone of 2500 first-class runs en route and blitzed his season best of 127 not out against Queensland at Bellerive in January. His innings ended when he was caught at cover by Cameron White off Allan Wise, the left-arm paceman, who later captured Andrew Downton (3) to finish with three for 59 off 22.Dighton’s sixth-wicket stand with Sean Clingeleffer yielded 163 before Clingeleffer (46) was snared by Brendan Joseland, the debutant in his first over. “I guess it was just one of those days,” Dighton said, unaware he was just 65 runs shy of 1,000 for the season. “I just tried to put the bad balls away and there was a short boundary on one side (so) I tried to take a bit of advantage of that. It is good to contribute to the team after being in early trouble.”Xavier Doherty was unbeaten on 15 at the close of play, while Gerard Denton was 12 not out. Dighton said he hoped the pair could add at least 30-odd runs tomorrow to push the Tigers over the 350 mark.Andrew McDonald proved a top performer today. He was recalled to the squad at the eleventh hour after Ian Harvey was forced out with a groin strain. McDonald’s first victim was Shane Watson, who was caught behind for an unlucky 13. Michael Di Venuto (16) was next when he was caught at gully by David Hussey. McDonald also claimed Dan Marsh for a duck on his next ball to leave Tasmania flailing on five for 83. When Darren Berry caught Marsh he reached the milestone of 600 first-class dismissals.Tasmania, placed second (22 points) are hungry for an outright win to secure a final berth against Victoria (40), with Queensland (18) and NSW (17) still in contention.
Bert Sutcliffe’s achievement in scoring 385 runs for Otago against Canterbury in 1952/53 and setting a standard which is still the highest score by a New Zealander, will be honoured in a novel, or should that be a non-fiction, way by Otago Cricket.As a 125th jubilee project, Otago Cricket are publishing a limited edition book on the unique feat of their association fielding the players who scored the first six triple centuries by New Zealanders.The book, “The 300 Club” has been written by the senior editor of CricInfo New Zealand, Lynn McConnell, and will go on sale on April 16 at the annual Otago Cricket dinner in Dunedin.”We will be producing 385 numbered copies. I expect the finished product to look very good and for the book to be a sought after collectors item – published by the Otago Cricket Association,” the Association’s chief executive Graeme Elliott said.”The book features a topical account of each of the innings and a profile of the batsmen concerned, along with scoreboards of the matches.”The books will have leather covers that will be dark blue and have gold lettering for the title and at the bottom of the cover.”The book also opens with a detailed encounter of the first International match played in New Zealand in Dunedin in 1864 as part of the Carnival of Cricket that also included the first first-class match to be played in New Zealand,” Elliott said.Pre-April 16 orders can be made through Otago Cricket by e-mail to [email protected] or by phone (03) 455 4056, fax (03) 455 4250 or mail to PO Box 1419, Dunedin.
Nottinghamshire’s Australian batsman Greg Blewett had his hopes of completing 1,000 runs in first-class cricket this summer frustrated by rain in their CricInfo Championship game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.Blewett, needing 93 runs to reach the 1,000 mark, was going well on 67 when bad weather caused a 24 over stoppage. He was sensibly content to avoid mishap in the final session – finishing four runs short of his personal target on 89 not out as Notts reached 164-1.Darren Bicknell fell early, lbw to Mel Betts, and Jason Gallian had to retire hurt on 23 when he was struck on the hand by Vasbert Drakes, but Blewett preyed on anything loose with consummate timing and seemed to have no trouble maintaining his concentration as the City of Birmingham Symphony went through a two-hour concert rehearsal in the adjoining Cannon Hill Park.The pitch did not appear to be offering much to assist either seam or spin and Warwickshire’s hopes of claiming a significant first innings lead were undermined when Betts went off with a side strain early in the Notts innings.England ‘A’ batsman Ian Bell had earlier written his name in the Warwickshire record books when his 103 made him the youngest Championship century-maker in the county’s history at 19 years and 115 days.This beat Richard Sale, who was 19 and 296 days when he scored his maiden Championship hundred in 1939, and enabled Warwickshire, who were 270-5 overnight, to take their total to 373.Bell, who was dropped when he had scored four, had another escape on 88 when a sharp chance off Kevin Pietersen was missed by Jason Gallian at slip and had batted for more than five and a half hours, hitting 15 fours, when he fell to a mistimed pull against left-arm-seamer Greg Smith.
Heading into the New Year at Elland Road, there’s plenty to be positive about for Leeds United.
With two wins and two draws to date in December, Daniel Farke’s Whites have impressively pulled themselves out of the Premier League relegation mire, with the 4-1 triumph over Crystal Palace last time out being a very early Christmas gift for the passionate West Yorkshire masses to savour.
Unfortunately, though, even as Ethan Ampadu and Dominic Calvert-Lewin lead by example, with the Leeds captain noted as having “run the show” versus the Eagles as per the Athletic’s Beren Cross, there is a large portion of Farke’s camp who are still staring the exit door in the face.
Who could leave Leeds in January?
With Calvert-Lewin now up to an eye-catching seven Premier League strikes for the season, and Ampadu firing home first first-ever top-flight strike against Oliver Glasner’s men, it goes without saying that this duo are some of the first names on the German’s team sheet.
The same cannot be said for midfielder Ilia Gruev, who has fallen down the pecking order dramatically ever since promotion was achieved. The likes of Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach have not helped Gruev in that regard, arriving through the door in the summer to bolster the midfield ranks.
Consequently, the Bulgarian has only managed to line up for three full Premier League matches this season for Farke’s men, and with the ex-Norwich City manager now clearly finding a winning rhythm with his chosen lineup, it feels very unlikely that Gruev will push back into his first team plans shortly.
Jack Harrison will also surely be feeling the inevitability of his Leeds career ending, with no goals or assists coming his way from his limited 263 minutes of league action this season.
Only 22 minutes of that meagre tally fell in November and December, with the 29-year-old, who once lifted the Championship title in West Yorkshire under Marcelo Bielsa, now some way off the first team picture.
Illan Meslier’s contract also expires at the end of the season at Elland Road, with a sad farewell looking likely as early as January if he’s sold, or at the very end of the campaign, with the Frenchman, despite being error-prone, a long-standing Whites servant having notched up 215 appearances for the club.
He isn’t the only part of Farke’s promotion-winning camp who has seen all of his game time dry up after promotion, though.
Leeds star looks finished in 2025/26
That is the one glaring negative about Calvert-Lewin now coming to the forefront as Leeds’ main marksman, with previous free-flowing strikers pushed to the background to accommodate the goalscoring prowess of the top-flight proven ace.
Joel Piroe has fallen victim to these changes up top, despite the ex-Swansea City centre-forward actually picking up the coveted accolade of the Championship’s golden boot last season.
A clinical 19 goals were scored by the lethal number 10 last campaign as Farke and Co romped home to the title. Journalist Josh Bunting was right in his assessment that Piroe is an extremely “dangerous” forward presence to try and contain in the second tier.
His manager was even more complimentary, having hailed him as the club’s “best finisher” when he was in this red-hot form, while even outrageously claiming that the 26-year-old was a “world-class” star when leading the goalscoring charts.
Piroe’s league numbers for Leeds
Stat
24/25
25/26
Games played
46
9
Games started
36
2
Goals scored
19
0
Assists
7
0
Stats by Sofascore
Yet, Farke, despite all this praise, has barely handed the Dutchman opportunities to shine in the Premier League, resulting in Piroe still being goalless this campaign, from a minimal nine appearances.
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He is now cutting an “anonymous” figure – as he was once criticised in the Championship when not on top form by journalist James Marshment – with his 15-minute cameo against a leaky Palace defence seeing him register no goals on the away side’s net.
Staggeringly, he last attempted a shot at an opposition goal back in November when Aston Villa came to town, with Lukas Nmecha a far better reserve option up top for Farke to call upon when he’s fit, having bagged four top-flight strikes since leaving Wolfsburg behind.
Piroe could well prove to be an inspired pick-up for a second-tier outfit in January, aiming to push into the promised land of the Premier League, with the unusually goal-shy number ten surely done now at Elland Road.
Farke now has his own David Batty at Leeds in "indispensable" star
Daniel Farke has a new leader in his Leeds United ranks who could be considered his own David Batty.
Peter Willey, the chairman of the umpires’ association, has admitted he is pleased to see Darrell Hair restored to the ICC’s elite panel. Hair was removed from the elite panel in the aftermath of The Oval Test in 2006 but the ICC have now welcomed him back into the fold.”I think everyone felt for Darrell as an umpire really,” he said. “He did what he thought was right. He wasn’t backed up and he paid the price. I am glad he has come back, I hope he does well and has a long future as a Test umpire. I’ve always found him an honest man and a good umpire. He is a strong umpire. Some people don’t like that.”Willey, a former England batsman who went on to umpire in 25 Tests, also defended umpires in general, adding that TV replays were putting them under increasing pressure.”When I finished, all this technology was just coming in and you’ve got the added pressure of, every time you go in the middle, of everything being dissected in super slow-motion. People forget you’ve got a split-second to give an honest decision.”If the technology that they use on the TV is 100% accurate, I would say use the TV. But I don’t think it is 100% accurate. There are loads of things they can’t pick up. I don’t agree with Hawkeye. I don’t think it gives a very honest description of where the ball pitches or is going. On certain pitches, you pitch the ball in the same spot and one delivery will go up and one will go down so, how they can predict where the ball will go, I just don’t know.”Then there is the case of bat-pad appeals. They tried it out a competition in South Africa a few years ago. Batsmen were asked to give an honest opinion on six bat-pad catches and every time the TV got it wrong. It is very difficult, even in slow motion, to decide whether the ball has hit the bat or not.”
Surrey slipped to their first defeat as Middlesex avenged their defeat at The Oval 11 days ago with an eight-wicket victory at Lord’s in another match shorted by the rain. That they played at all was nothing short of miraculous as torrential downpours lashed most of the capital. But a 20,000 plus crowd saw Surrey stumble to 85 for 5 in 13.3 overs before rain interrupted, and when play resumed Middlesex were set 73 from 10 overs. Opener Eoin Morgan made 25 not out off 18 balls and James Dalrymple smacked 26 off 15 as Middlesex cruised home with 14 deliveries in hand. Middlsex, who have had half their matches washed out, now go within one point of Surrey.Sussex moved into second place on Net Run Rate with a 17-run win over Essex under lights at Hove. Forties from Luke Wright and Chris Adams pushed Sussex to 163 for 6 and Grant Flower and Ravi Bopara seemed to have put the visitors well on course. But Sussex’s seamers came up trumps – which was just as well as their much-vaunted spinners struggled – and Essex, who needed 38 off four overs, lost their way and in the end fell well short.
North Division
Andrew Gale’s 56 led a well-paced Yorkshire chase as they beat Durham by six wickets with two balls in hand at Chester-le-Street. Durham’s 133 for 5 always looked below par.
Midlands-West-Wales Division
Worcestershire kept their hopes of a quarter-final place alive with a three-wicket win over Somerset at at Taunton with two balls to spare. Justin Langer’s 45 off 36 balls and James Hildreth’s 40 off 27 steered Somerset to 148 for 7, but another Australian opener – Phil Jaques – got Worcestershire off to a flier with 59 off 50 balls and then Roger Sillence hammered 19 not out off 11 balls at the death.
Afghanistan’s cricketers made it two wins out of two on their historic maiden tour of England, as they eased to a seven-wicket victory over the Officer Cadets of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.This was a match-up that few could have envisaged. The future leaders of the British Army, many of whom could soon be serving in Afghanistan itself as the military operation in Helmand is stepped up, versus the pioneers of a sport learned in exile in Pakistan and carried back home with enthusiasm after the fall of the Taliban regime.It was never a close contest, but in the spirit of past tussles between the two nations, neither side gave an inch until the final run had been scored, whereupon the Last Post was sounded and the Academy’s standard was lowered from the flag-pole outside the pavilion.The cadets took their defeat with dignity. For many it was the first match of a season that has been decimated both by rain and the inevitable demands of an arduous 42-week training course, and the ring-rustiness was at times evident against an opposition as good as anything that most of the players had ever before encountered.
Particular praise was lavished on Shahpur Zadran, a 19-year-old left-arm seamer who conceded just two runs from his first six overs as he buzzed his deliveries across the bows of a succession of becalmed batsmen, and Mohammad Nabi, who hit the headlines in March when he clubbed a matchwinning century against MCC in Mumbai. This time it was his offspin that earned the plaudits, as he ripped out four middle-order wickets for 22 in eight overs.The intrusions of Sandhurst’s hectic schedule were in evidence throughout the day. A third of their available players were whisked away to South Wales on the morning of the match to undertake a 70km hike through the Black Mountains, while their star performer, Officer Cadet Michael Sheeran, who made a gritty 64, had just returned from ten days of sleep deprivation in Thetford Forest.And for the cadets in their final term, there was little time to wait in the pavilion and chew their bat-handles. Having recently settled on the regiments they intend to join at the end of their course, they took turns to disappear off to the army tailors, to have their mess and service kits measured up.And there was little time for practice before the match. Several of the team had spent the previous week learning the ropes of counter-insurgency, which involved donning riot shields and deflecting potatoes and petrol-bombs flung by their colleagues from close quarters. At least their reactions against the fast bowlers had been fine-tuned, if not their footwork against the spinners.For the Afghans, this was just the latest phase of an eye-opening two-week tour. Under Taliban rule, cricket had been limited to just four of the 22 provinces and was viewed with great suspicion by the Vice and Virtue Police, who once arrested several players for forgetting to attend to their prayers during a match.Now, however, the game has spread throughout the country, and in turn beyond its own borders, with the national side gaining more recognition with every new achievement. On this tour, they are scheduled to play seven matches against a variety of opponents, with the next match taking place against a Glamorgan 2nd XI at Swansea today.
Makhaya Ntini is to be given the South African board’s (UCB) approval to play for Warwickshire during the break in South Africa’s schedule. Ntini will replace Heath Streak when he returns home in August for series against New Zealand and India.”In principle the deal has been approved, and we’re sorting out the conditions we will release him on,” Gerald Majola, the UCB’s chief executive, told Reuters. “He’s a rhythm bowler, and the feeling is that he needs to be bowling before our season starts.”Majola added that final approval for Ntini’s release should be completed by the end of the week.Warwickshire spokesman Keith Cook told BBC Sport: “We first targeted Makhaya about 18 months ago.”
England’s preparations for the series against West Indies will include a masseuse for the first time – but the players have had to pay a third of the cost of having Vickki Byrne accompany them after what one newspaper described as "a tense stand off with Lord’s".Michael Vaughan asked the England & Wales Cricket Board to pay Byrne’s £15,000 bill, but the board would only stump up a third, with a sponsor picking up another third. That left the players to make up the difference."At the start of every tour the ECB provide a sum that can go towards the cost of providing a local masseur, to be sourced locally," explained an ECB spokesman. "Vickki worked for the team throughout last summer, however, and the players wanted her on board for this tour as part of the management team. While we want to give the England players the best possible support, we have had to operate within certain financial constraints during the last year and we can’t throw money at the team.”Byrne, who owns the Reading-based Body Works International, has worked with the England team for the past two years. She travelled with the side to Jamaica last week – but while the players were in business class, she was stuck back in economy.