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.
A CAPTAIN’S KNOCK is one of the most over-used clichés in cricket. It wouldn’t have been out of place, however, to rubber-stamp it at the North Stars Cultural and Social Club ground yesterday.With a sweet sense of timing in almost every aspect, Courtney Browne sped to a impressive century to rescue Barbados on the second day of their third-round Carib Beer Series match against Jamaica.As the Barbados captain walked out onto the middle of the packed, scenic Crab Hill, St Lucy ground 40 minutes after lunch, his team’s 141 for five, which soon became 161 for six with the loss of in-form Floyd Reifer, represented the potential of a modest total.By the time he returned to the pavilion and a standing ovation just after 5 p.m., it had been transformed to a more satisfying 325 mainly on the strength of his unbeaten 103 off 157 balls."It was good innings, but I wasn’t really worried about a hundred," Browne told SUNSPORT."We had a target in excess of 300. After we got 300, I realised I was about 12 or 14 away from a hundred and I decided I would take it."In eight overs before the close, Jamaica reached 19 without loss when bad light halted play just before 6 p.m. on a day in which the first hour-and-a-half was lost because of wet conditions.In the past, Browne has responded to potential crises by counter-attacking and yesterday was no different."I knew I had to bat. One of the things about our team is that the lower order always scores quickly. We always turn over the strike," he said.With the help of the typically busy Ryan Hurley, whose 36 came from 54 balls, he rebuilt Barbados’ position with an entertaining seventh-wicket partnership of 69 at better than a run-a-minute and then a solid eight-wicket stand of 51 with Ian Bradshaw.The 32-year-old Browne was even more electrifying when last man Sulieman Benn joined him at a stage when he was still 23 away from his fifth first-class century and third at the regional level.With Benn incapacitated by a troublesome knee, Browne dramatically raised a notch. In less than 20 minutes he moved from 77 to his first hundred as Barbados captain."When you are in the 70s, you have to pick up momentum a little more to get closer," Browne said. "A No. 11 or Benn seeing 23 runs is different than him seeing nine. If he sees nine runs on the board for his captain to get a hundred, he’ll bat with a lot more confidence than if he sees 23 or 30 runs."After one of Browne’s trademark slog-sweeps over mid-wicket against off-spinner Nehemiah Perry, he followed with the more traditional sweep in the direction of square-leg.Essayed off successive balls, both went for boundaries and there was another four off the other off-spinner Gareth Breese through extra-cover that took him to 95.When Jamaica wrapped up the innings, Browne was left high and dry in an effort that lasted three-and-a-half hours and included eight boundaries.This was a critical hundred for the hosts, but the captain still rates his maiden regional first-class century, which was made against a Leeward Islands attack that included Curtly Ambrose, as his best at this level."Three hundred and twenty-five is a very good total on this pitch. It will take a lot of effort in the field, but the way our guys are playing, they are very committed and I am sure they’ll come out and do very well for their country," he said."The pitch now is doing a bit for the spinners. We’ll try to plug Benn and Hurley in as quickly as possible and see what they can do."Before Browne entered, Reifer was the backbone of Barbados’ innings, his polished 61 following a century against India "A" last weekend.He was, however, one of three batsmen whose soft dismissals allowed Jamaica to send Barbados from the relative comfort of 129 for three to 161 for six.Both Kurt Wilkinson, who extended his overnight 32 to 45, and Dwayne Smith edged attempted cuts off left-arm spinner Ryan Cunningham, while Reifer gave a return catch to Breese to be dismissed for 61 off 154 balls.For the first three hours, Jamaica relied almost exclusively on spin to the surprise of many who felt there might have been some assistance in the surface following overnight rain that delayed the start.Franklyn Rose wasn’t given the ball until after tea and Darren Powell sent down only two overs up until the day’s second interval.ScoreboardBARBADOS 1st Innings (overnight 89-3)P. Wallace c wk Hibbert b Rose 6S. Campbell c Breese b Powell 0K. Wilkinson c wk Hibbert b Cunningham 45R. Hinds c wk Hibbert b Bernard 23F. Reifer c and b Breese 61D. Smith c Samuels b Cunningham 6*+C. Browne not out 103R. Hurley lbw b Perry 36I.Bradshaw c wk Hibbert b Perry 20T. Best c Parchment b Perry 1S. Benn c Samuels b Perry 10Extras (b4, lb1, w1, nb8) 14TOTAL (all out) 325Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Campbell), 2-7 (Wallace), 3-49 (Reifer), 4-129 (Wilkinson), 5-141 (Smith), 6-162 (Reifer), 7-231 (Hurley), 8-282 (Bradshaw), 9-286 (Best), 10-325 (Benn).Bowling: Rose 9-0-59-1 (nb6), Powell 8-2-44-1 (nb1), Bernard 12-3-44-1 (w1), Perry 30.2-6-80-2 (nb1), Breese 26-3-65-3, Cunningham 17-3-28-2.JAMAICA 1st InningsL. Garrick not out 19B. Parchment not out 8Extras (lb1, w1, nb2) 4TOTAL (no wkt – 8 overs) 31To bat: M. Ventura, D. Bernard, G. Breese, *R. Samuels, +K. Hibbert, N. Perry, F. Rose, D. Powell, R. Cunningham.Bowling: Best 2-1-2-0, Bradshaw 4-0-22-0 (nb2, w1), Hurley 2-0-6-0.Position: Jamaica need another 295 runs for first innings lead with all their wickets in hand ahead of today’s third day.Umpires: Clive Duncan (Guyana), Vincent Bullen (Barbados). Stand-by: Mervyn Jones (Barbados). Match referee: Carl Brome.
Six umpires will officiate in the Coca Cola Cup One-Day Tri series tobe contested by Sri Lanka, New Zealand and India in Colombo from July18 to August 5. They are Asoka de Silva, Peter Manuel, Gamini Silva,TH Wijewardene, LV Jayasundara and DN Pathirana.The following are the dates, fixtures and the umpires:July 18: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand at Premadasa stadium.Umpires. LV Jayasundara and DN Pathriana.TV Umpire: P. Manuel, Reserve: TH Wijewardene.July 20: India vs New Zealand at Premadasa stadium.Umpires. G Silva and DN Pathriana.TV Umpire A. Silva, Reserve: TH Wijewardene.July 22: Sri Lanka vs India at Premadasa stadium.Umpires: P. Manuel and TH Wijewardene.TV Umpire: G. Silva, Reserve: DN PathiranaJuly 25: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand at Dambulla.Umpires: Asoka Silva and LV Jayasundara.TV Umpire: P. Manuel, Reserve: Gamini Silva.July 26: India vs New Zealand at Dambulla.Umpires: P. Manuel and G. Silva.TV Umpire: LV Jayasundara, Reserve: A.SilvaJuly 28: Sri Lanka vs India at Dambulla.Umpires: A. Silva and P. Manuel.TV Umpire: G. Silva, Reserve: LV Jayasundara.July 31: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand at SSC.Umpires: TH Wijewardene and DN PathiranaTV Umpire: A. Silva, Reserve: LV JayasundaraAugust 1: Sri Lanka vs India at SSC.Umpires: A. Silva and G. SilvaTV Umpire: TH Wijewardene, Reserve: DN PathiranaAugust 2: India vs New Zealand at SSC.Umpires: TH Wijewardene and LV JayasundaraTV Umpire: DN Pathirana. Reserve: P. ManuelThe umpires for the final to be played on August 5 at Khettarama havenot yet been confirmed. The umpires for the Test series will bedecided on the performance in the Coca Cola Cup.
Aston Villa had a fairly miserable return to Premier League action on Saturday following on from the latest international break.
Having travelled to Molineux to take on their Midlands rivals Wolves, Steven Gerrard’s side ended up losing 2-1 after an Ollie Watkins penalty wasn’t enough to overturn their 2-0 deficit at the halftime point.
One other blow the Villans suffered in the clash was to left-back Lucas Digne, who had to be replaced by Ashley Young after just 13 minutes.
Now that a couple of days have gone by since this defeat, an update has emerged on the Frenchman’s fitness, which will surely be a big positive for Gerrard and a huge boost for the team.
What’s the news?
According to a Twitter post from Villa journalist Gregg Evans, Digne was taken off the pitch “after complaining of an upset stomach,” rather than being injured.
Since arriving at Villa Park back in the previous January transfer window from fellow Premier League side Everton in a deal worth £25m, the 28-year-old has made nine league appearances, quickly cementing himself as their first-choice left-back.
Great news for Gerrard
In those appearances, the defender has racked up an average of 1.2 key passes per game, the third-highest of any Villa player as well as an average of 1.1 crosses per game, the highest of any player in Gerrard’s squad.
This highlights just what he offers the side and why they may have weakened after his early exit against Wolves.
His overall performances have earned the former Toffees star a season rating of 6.79 from WhoScored, making him the seventh-highest Villa player above the likes of Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia and Danny Ings among others.
This shows just how much of a solid signing he’s been for the Villans since his winter arrival.
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Moving forward, with confirmation that Digne didn’t suffer an injury at the weekend and was just an upset stomach that forced him off the pitch, this will surely be a relief for Gerrard given how much he’s relied on the Frenchman.
With Villa now having lost their three previous league games, having Digne and his attacking talents in the side on a consistent basis will surely be a big boost for the team and their hopes of turning their fortunes around.
In other news: Forget Young: “Stupid” Aston Villa dud who lost 71% duels was a liability v Wolves
Brett Lee is not surprised that Twenty20 looks set to expand beyond the existing tournaments and he has repeated calls for the ICC to do what it can to accommodate the format in its existing calendar. Lee is in Mohali preparing for his first match in the Indian Premier League (IPL), for the Kings XI Punjab against Chennai on Saturday.However, this year’s IPL could be just the beginning of the Twenty20 explosion with suggestions of two IPL tournaments to be held next year, while Allen Stanford is planning a US$20 million match. England are also considering developing their own domestic version of the IPL.”Twenty20 is now a proven form of the game and, as we have seen all over the world in the last few years, it is something the fans love,” Lee told the Sydney Morning Herald. “It’s not too hard to see other people wanting to get on board and competitions popping up around the place, especially if the IPL is successful.”But the last thing you want to see is players leaving their countries to sign up with Twenty20 competitions. My heart is always with the baggy green cap and that is where my loyalty will always lie, but I can’t see why there can’t be room for both types of cricket. I think the people who run the game need to allow a window of opportunity for players to play in the IPL to avoid problems in the future.”Lee believes the first IPL will be a success and he is confident that after the recent fractious Test series, tensions between Australia and India players have eased. His team-mates at Mohali include Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth, and Lee hopes playing together will help men from the two nations better understand each other.”Everyone knows there was an incident or two in Australia last summer, but that is water under the bridge,” he said. “It’s a competitive game and players can occasionally cross the line, and that can get blown out of proportion sometimes with the way the media portrays it.”From my experiences in India, I genuinely think people love the Australian team, despite everything that’s been said. I also think that with players from different countries now sharing the same dressing room, it is a great opportunity for all of us to learn more about each other, about our cricket and cultures, and improve the whole mood of the game.”
Super 4s cricket kicks off in England this weekend and Rosalie Birch has been named as the new Sapphires captain following Laura Newton’s retirement.The Twenty20 Challenge will be held on Monday 28 May, with Sapphires taking on the Emeralds, captained by Alexia Walker. Nicki Shaw’s Diamonds, last year’s winners, will take on the Rubies, who are led by Gill Richards.Shaw is taking over temporary charge of the Diamonds while Charlotte Edwards recovers from knee surgery. Edwards’s knee flared up after the quadrangular series in India, but she hopes to be back playing by mid-July ahead of the New Zealand series in mid-August.The winners from these two games will then face each other in the Final, while the remaining two teams will have a third place play-off. The first round of matches starts at 11.30am, followed by the third place play-off and the Final at 3pm. All games will be played at Loughborough University.The league competition begins on the weekend of June 2-3, with further matches taking place on June 16 and 23 and over the weekend of July 7-8.Ebony Rainford-Brent, representing the Diamonds had this to say about the Super 4s; “It’s a great platform for players to showcase their talent. It is also an excellent way of preparing for international level, by facing the best in the country on a regular basis and to push yourself either individually or as a team. For me this is my first Super 4s season and I look forward to having the opportunity of playing a key role and producing some good performances.”