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Alex Barrow’s career-best 88 helped Somerset recover from a poor start to post 314 all out on the opening day of the LV=County Championship match with Northamptonshire at Taunton.

Press Association31-Aug-2014
ScorecardAlex Barrow took his opportunity in the absence of the injured Craig Kieswetter•Getty ImagesAlex Barrow’s career-best 88 helped Somerset recover from a poor start to post 314 all out on the opening day of the LV=County Championship match with Northamptonshire at Taunton.Having lost the toss, the hosts plunged to 70 for four after David Willey had removed both openers cheaply. But 22-year-old Barrow then counter-attacked with 18 fours in sharing a fifth-wicket stand of 153 with Nick Compton, who made 79.Seamers Willey and Azharullah capitalised on a green looking pitch, while the batsmen enjoyed the benefit of uninterrupted sunshine. By the close Northants had replied with 39 for no wicket and were entitled to feel on top.At the start of the day Marcus Trescothick scored the five runs he needed to reach 1,000 for the season in first-class games. But, having made 12, the Somerset captain had his off stump knocked back by Willey.It was 25 for two when opening partner Johann Myburgh, also on 12, was lbw to an inswinger from Willey, whose seven over opening spell from the Old Pavilion end brought a return of 2 for 12.At the other end Azharullah bowled eight overs for 21, half of them maidens, and picked up the wicket of youngster Tom Abell, bowled off stump for 2.James Hildreth helped Compton add 28 for the fourth wicket before carelessly pulling a catch to midwicket off Andrew Hall, having made 22.It was 81 for 4 at lunch, with Barrow still not off the mark. His first scoring shot was an edged boundary through the slips, but as the afternoon wore on the stand-in wicketkeeper for the injured Craig Kieswetter produced a string of sweet cover drives.Compton, who had played and missed with uncharacteristic frequency early in his innings, also settled, having been unbeaten on 30 at the interval. He moved to a half-century off 114 balls, with 9 fours.Barrow quickly followed to the same landmark, having faced 67 deliveries and struck 11 boundaries. After more positive stroke-play, a flowing drive through extra cover off Willey saw him equal his previous best score of 83 and beat it with a single in the same over.The pair had taken the score to 223 when Barrow followed a short ball from Willey and was caught behind down the leg side by wicketkeeper Adam Rossington, having faced only 97 deliveries.Compton looked on course for a hundred, but the last ball before tea from Azharullah pinned him lbw on the back foot and Somerset were 235 for 6. He had batted for 11 minutes short of four hours and faced 170 balls.The final session saw Azharullah have Peter Trego caught behind for 13, while Ben Duckett ran out Craig Overton for 22 with a direct hit from point.Alfonso Thomas was bowled middle stump by James Middlebrook, but Lewis Gregory ensured Somerset of a third batting point with a confident 33 before being last man out to Willey with the second new ball.Northants were left with 11 overs to bat. With one or two alarms, skipper Stephen Peters and James Kettleborough saw them safely to the close.

AB de Villiers, the South Africa ODI captain, has said that New Zealand are “one of the favourites” for the 2015 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-20142:02

Home advantage big plus for NZ – de Villiers

AB de Villiers, the South Africa ODI captain, has said that New Zealand are “one of the favourites” for the 2015 World Cup. De Villiers said the combination of familiar conditions and crowd support would make New Zealand even more competitive than they usually were in the one-day format.”I would not call them dark horses. I would say one of the favourites,” de Villiers said on arrival in Auckland for a three-match ODI series. “Always a very competitive ODI team. Playing on their home grounds in their country, they’ll be even more competitive. We know what they are capable of, especially playing in these kinds of conditions. They haven’t won a big tournament for a while so they must be very motivated to do well. We are expecting a very competitive series.”[They are] very used to the conditions over here in New Zealand and Australia. They will have a lot of home support with the games here, even in Australia as well. It is a short flight over there. They will have a lot of people right behind them and wanting them to do well. Haven’t won a World Cup so they will be desperate to do well.”De Villiers said New Zealand would also be boosted by the probable return of Daniel Vettori, who has been battling injury concerns and hasn’t played an international since the Champions Trophy in June 2013. Vettori was picked for a one-dayer against Scotland, and took 0 for 43 from ten overs, the first time he bowled that many in a game this year. De Villiers said he wasn’t surprised with Vettori’s comeback as New Zealand had been working to get him ready come the World Cup.”I played in the IPL with him and that was always the plan, to have him as part of the World Cup squad,” de Villiers said. “No surprises for me and I would feel very confident if I was in their team having Dan in the side. Huge amount of confidence, experience that comes into the side. He has done it before. He has got the world’s best batters out before.”From a captaincy point of view it is always nice to have a guy like that in your side, right behind you, helping you with a few moves and the thought process of how you are supposed to be moving forward as a team.”

Peter Chase’s recent success for Durham has earned him a place in Ireland’s squad for the pre-World Cup tour of Australia and New Zealand which begins later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2014Peter Chase’s recent success for Durham has earned him a place in Ireland’s squad for the pre-World Cup tour of Australia and New Zealand which begins later this month while Alex Cusack has been recalled after a lengthy period out with injury.Eddie Richardson, Graeme McCarter or John Anderson are three players closest to potential selection who have been overlooked while Ed Joyce has been rested to allow him to recover from the rigours of the English domestic season.For Chase, the naming of the squad continues a memorable few weeks which saw him hastily signed by Durham, who were in the midst of a pace-bowling injury crisis, and he subsequently took 5 for 64 to help them to a vital victory against Nottinghamshire which helped preserve Division One status.”We’ve opted for Peter Chase who with his height and pace gives us some variety in the seam bowling department,” Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, said. “We’ve seen just how effective he can be with his performances in the County Championship with Durham in recent weeks.””Eddie Richardson and Graeme McCarter were unlucky to miss out and were very close to selection along with John Anderson. There are a lot of bowlers in the squad who are very similar to Graeme and Eddie and the selectors felt we needed something different.Cusack, who has played 51 ODIs, has not appeared for Ireland since May but Simmons said that this tour had always been pencilled in for his return although quite how much part he plays on the field remains to seen.”He has been in a long period of rehabilitation and is fit to train now,” Simmons said. “He will be back training and bowling this week and part of his continued rehabilitation will be in Australia with the hope he is able to play towards the latter half of the tour in New Zealand.””Alex has been injured before tournaments in the past but topped our bowling averages, so the selectors feel given his past record he deserves the chance to prove he can be fit for the World Cup, and this is the only tour before the final squad of 15 is selected in early December.”Meanwhile, Cricket Ireland felt it was prudent to give Joyce time to manage a degenerative hip condition which needs constant monitoring after he has played a central role for Sussex over the last six months.Performance director Richard Holdsworth said: “Ed has had a number of niggling injuries over the summer as well as a long-term degenerative hip which he has been managing well for some years with the support of medical staff at both Sussex and Cricket Ireland.”Ed is 36 years old now and if he is to continue to play at the highest level we need to carefully manage his programme, therefore both Ed and ourselves have decided it is best for him to rest and recover from the season for a good period to ensure he’s revitalised for the World Cup.”Squad William Porterfield (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell , John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Stuart Poynter, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Andrew White, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

On Tuesday, the Indian selectors will pick the squad for the four-Test series in Australia. The first question they would need to resolve is: who are the three first-choice openers?

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Nov-2014Should Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay continue to pair up as India’s openers in Australia?•Getty ImagesWho are your first-choice openers?
M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan obviously would come first. KL Rahul based on current form and as somebody who has made a real mark for himself in the last year or so. Then there is Gautam Gambhir, someone who is trying to fight and stay on the radar. Those are the four you would be currently looking at because you would ideally go on current form.Of these four, Vijay would be part of my first choice. Then Dhawan, because it is always an advantage to have a left-hander at the top of the order. He also complements Vijay, who has shown he can grind the bowling attack. Dhawan, meanwhile, likes to play his shots. They are similar in their approach to the previous pairing of Virender Sehwag and Gambhir. Viru [Sehwag] has to feature as one of the three openers, I strongly feel. During the IPL, he was in unbelievable touch. He really looked good and it would be important for him to perform in the Vijay Hazare trophy (domestic one-dayers). Shikhar failed badly in England so whether the selectors would go for a guy who is young, dynamic and keeps scoring runs in ODIs remains to be seen. My first-choice opener is Vijay. He is absolutely on the top. So my favourites are Vijay, Viru and Shikhar. An aggressive opener in Australia is a must. The way Vijay has played in England, he is an automatic choice. In terms of temperament, he is in the best place. There will be some question marks over Shikhar based on his stint in England, but you cannot forget his form in the previous Test series in India.Surendra Bhave: “Virender Sehwag has to feature as one of the three openers.”•BCCIWhat about the third opener?
It depends on what the selectors actually are looking for. The present selection panel has shown, on quite a few occasions, that they are looking ahead even though they did pick Gambhir for the England tour. With Rahul piling pressure with runs in a big final like the Duleep Trophy, he is a strong contender. It will be a contest between Rahul and Gambhir because they have hit centuries in the Duleep Trophy.In Gambhir’s case, he was unfortunate as the rub of the green did not go his way in England. It is not easy for someone to comeback after a two-year lay-off and straightaway hit the straps. Also [in the two Tests he played against England] he was not getting a start and then getting out, he was quickly getting out. So in such a scenario it is difficult to assess what he can and cannot offer. But if you are talking about a tough tour, then you would consider Gambhir’s mental toughness and experience into account. In the event that one of Vijay or Dhawan fails, what do you do? Do you include a fresh opener?Now it remains to be seen whether the selectors go for experience, since it will be a long and tough tour of Australia, or whether they will opt for somebody who is young and in good form. The eventual decision would depend on which direction the selectors want to go. I don’t think the selectors and team management would be interested in shuffling Ajinkya Rahane’s number in the batting order. He has the potential to play the new ball. But, at his current position in the middle order, he has played a crucial role when the second new ball comes around and has proved recently that he can shepherd the lower order and that is a vital role. So as a worst-case scenario, he can be factored in. Otherwise, Rahul could be a frontrunner. His century in each innings in the Duleep Trophy final, along with his performance in the last domestic season where he was a crucial element in Karnataka winning a treble as well as his finish of more than 1000 runs, puts him in a good position. If the selectors pick Viru as the second opener, then Shikhar is my third choice. But, in Test cricket, he is not a finished product. He is not a batsman who plays with soft hands and that landed him in trouble in England. But, on Australian pitches, it might possibly work. He has also got runs against Australia, even if it was in Mohali, in his debut Test. He is a player, just like Viru, who has the ability to have an impact immediately.Is it time to groom someone young and new?
There are two: Rahul and Robin Uthappa. Robin, I mention not just because we have been working together for two years now. His century at Lahli in the Duleep Trophy semi-final was a good indication of his mental strength. He has shown controlled aggression in his batting in the recent past. Take Lahli, which was a challenging pitch. The opposition (East Zone) was out twice for below 100 whereas he scored 120 in the first innings. But for him to make the Test team as an opener I still feel it will depend on how he finishes the forthcoming Ranji Trophy.The mindset of the selectors and the team think-tank remains to be seen. So many times they have shown they would like to play safe, especially in Australia, where they have backed experience rather than including a new talent in the past. But, in England, the same did not work in the case of Gambhir. I feel this is a perfect time to groom a new talent. It is a tough call.Is it end of the road for Sehwag and Gambhir?
It does look very slim for Sehwag to be considered. The selectors have not considered him for more than a year now. So if they do pick him, they would need to explain clearly what made them go for Sehwag. As I said, Viru is one of my three first-choice openers. He might have batted in the middle-order last year for Delhi but that does not really matter as he had even told the selection panel I was part of that he wanted to finish his career as a middle-order batsman. Given the circumstances right now, you need a compact batsman at one end and Vijay, a traditional opener, provides that solidity. Complementing him at the other end, I feel, should be Viru. He has been a game-changer and game-breaker in any form of cricket. His form his excellent: it is not only the big-bang shots he played in the IPL, he was scoring runs for fun. He was absolutely in total command. He has had his rough phase where lack of form and the eyesight put his position in doubt but the times he gave dazzling starts, India have won many of those matches.

Sean Abbott is set to return to Sheffield Shield cricket on Tuesday as his captain Moises Henriques called for his name to be “expelled” from the tragedy of Phillip Hughes’ death

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2014Sean Abbott is set to return to Sheffield Shield cricket on Tuesday as his captain Moises Henriques called for his name to be “expelled” from the tragedy of Phillip Hughes’ death. Abbott has been named in a 12-man squad to play for New South Wales in their Shield game against Queensland at the SCG.The next round of Shield games was to start last Friday but due to Wednesday’s funeral for Hughes it was postponed to begin on Tuesday, coinciding with the start of the first Test between Australia and India in Adelaide. The return to the SCG will be an emotional one for the New South Wales side, as that was the venue at which Hughes was struck down by a bouncer nearly a fortnight ago.Abbott, the bowler who sent down that delivery, did not play grade cricket in Sydney at the weekend but Henriques said he was coping well under the circumstances. Henriques said Abbott should be treated like any other player who had lost a friend and been affected by the tragedy.”He’s coping pretty well,” Henriques told the radio programme. “I guess from our point of view as fellow players, we’re trying to expel his name from the tragedy a little bit, because in my opinion I don’t think he’s any more at fault than any other fast bowler who’s bowled a bouncer in his career.”We’re actually trying to remove his name from everything that’s happened, and just treat him as another one of the players. I think that’s how he wants to be treated – another one of the guys who went through the same thing, has lost a friend and lost someone close to them.”It frustrates me when he gets named a lot because it escalates guilt a little bit, as if he should be feeling guilt. I certainly don’t think he should be feeling guilt at all, and I guess that’s why we’d prefer just to call it ‘the bowler’, rather than ‘Sean’.”In a statement, Cricket New South Wales said that players had been given the option of withdrawing from this week’s match should they feel not ready to play. However, aside from those who have now joined the Test squad, all of the New South Wales players who took part in Hughes’ final match have been named in the 12-man squad. Henriques will captain the Blues in his first outing for the state since he injured his calf against Victoria in a one-day game on October 17.Meanwhile, South Australia also chosen a 13-man group to travel to Hobart to take on Tasmania, with Kane Richardson, Daniel Worrall and Adam Zampa having all ruled themselves out as they continue to deal with the loss of Hughes. Kelvin Smith, Cameron Valente, Sam Raphael, Kelvin Smith and Gary Putland have been included.Tom Cooper, who was batting with Hughes when he was struck at the SCG, said he would play in Hobart but had found it difficult to get over the image of Hughes being struck. “I keep replaying it,” Cooper said. “A few of the New South boys have said that as well, they keep replaying it over and over in their minds. That is one of the toughest bits.”Cooper was also Hughes’ house-mate in Adelaide and said that because Hughes was so often touring with the Australia side, his absence at home had not yet sunk in. “It’s a little bit weird because he has always been on tour, it is not un-normal for him to not be around,” Cooper said. “It hasn’t really hit home yet. I’m guessing it’s going to come and go in waves because we’re so used to him being away.”Tasmania have made one notable change for the match against South Australia, with former Test wicketkeeper Tim Paine dropped and Ben Dunk included as gloveman. Paine has had a disappointing start to the Shield campaign with only 88 runs from his six innings, while Dunk’s limited-overs start to the summer earned him a call-up to Australia’s T20 side and last week he showed his red-ball form with 215 in the Futures League.Queensland have added uncapped offspinner Cameron Brimblecombe to their squad for the match against New South Wales, while fast bowler Cameron Gannon is also in the 13-man group as a replacement for Ryan Harris, who is in the Test side. Victoria will play Western Australia in Perth and have added Marcus Stoinis, who has recovered from an ankle injury, and David Hussey to their squad, with Chris Rogers out due to Test duties.New South Wales squad Moises Henriques (capt), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Scott Henry, Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Steve O’Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu, Will Somerville, Mitchell Starc.South Australia squad Johan Botha (capt), Tom Cooper, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Travis Head, Trent Lawford, Tim Ludeman, Joe Mennie, Gary Putland, Sam Raphael, Chadd Sayers, Kelvin Smith, Cameron Valente.Tasmania squad George Bailey (capt), Alex Doolan, Jackson Bird, Ed Cowan, Xavier Doherty, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Andrew Fekete, Ben Hilfenhaus, Sam Rainbird, Jordan Silk, Jon Wells.Queensland squad James Hopes (capt), Cameron Boyce, Cameron Brimblecombe, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Peter Forrest, Cameron Gannon, Peter George, Chris Hartley, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Reardon.Victoria squad Matthew Wade (capt), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Daniel Christian, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, David Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Tremain, Cameron White.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq will take no further part in the one-day series against New Zealand, having picked up a hamstring injury during the second ODI on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2014Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq will take no further part in the one-day series against New Zealand, having picked up a hamstring injury during the second ODI on Friday. Shahid Afridi will lead the side in his absence.Misbah sustained the injury in the third over of New Zealand’s chase in Sharjah, and did not take the field for the rest of the game. The PCB is yet to decide whether Misbah will stay with the team or return to Pakistan.His injury comes at a crucial time for Pakistan, as the team tries to firm up its combination and build momentum ahead of the World Cup in February and March.The series against New Zealand is currently tied at 1-1, with three games to play. The third ODI will be played on Sunday, in Sharjah.Pakistan are also without fast bowler Umar Gul and allrounder Bilawal Bhatti for these matches. Gul, who had made his return to international cricket in this series after a long injury layoff, was left out of the second ODI due to a bruised tendon in his left ankle. Bhatti, meanwhile, is out with a hand injury.

Counties will be encouraged to develop “home-grown” players by a series of new regulations brought in by the ECB.

George Dobell23-Jan-2015Counties will be encouraged to develop homegrown players by a series of new regulations brought in by the ECB which seek to micro-manage the way they draw up their playing budgets.While the most eye-catching change will see the salary cap cut by 10% – the new limit will be £1.976m a year – ESPNcricinfo understands that a 10% discount will be given to England qualified players of any age on the county staff provided they have not played for another first-class county previously.For counties that produce England players, however, the salary cap will not be as draining as first appears.The ECB have also introduced, for the first time, a minimum salary fee per squad of £750,000 per year in an attempt to ensure the standard of all county cricket remains relatively high and that an acceptable proportion of the central fund is committed to player expenditure. Only a couple of counties are understood to have salary bills so low, with the rest above £1m.The salary figure includes any benefits in kind as defined by HMRC, plus flights for overseas players, but it does not include travel expenses for away games in county cricket.While the timing of the decision is odd – it will take force from April and most counties have already finalised their budgets for the coming season – it is understood that some leniency will be shown to any county who has already committed to a salary package in excess of the new level.But it will do nothing to encourage counties to sign the “big name” overseas players that have been so admired in other domestic T20 tournaments and it may spell the end of Surrey’s attempts to re-sign Kevin Pietersen for the 2015 season.The club recently recruited Kumar Sangakkara as an overseas player and, while they had retained the budget to sign Pietersen as well, now admit that will prove difficult.The PCA – the players’ union – gave a lukewarm response to the news. While Angus Porter, the PCA chief executive, welcomed the introduction of the minimum payment – an initiative designed to ensure counties invest in cricket rather than using money for ground redevelopments or debt repayment – he was uncomfortable with the late notice of change given to counties.”This news has taken everyone by surprise a little,” Porter told ESPNcricinfo. “And while the salary cap is a hypothetical problem for 16 or 17 of the counties, we do not welcome a constraint. We believe counties should be able to pay what they can afford.”That having been said, we do rather money is spent on paying England-qualified players properly instead of spending ridiculous sums on overseas players.”We would also like to sit down and work out a formula to establish such principles in the future, rather than having a situation where this is decided year-by-year. We know what TV revenues are; there is no reason we cannot work something out which allows everyone greater certainty over their planning in the longer term.”The ECB have already instigated several incentive schemes to promote the selection of young, England-qualified players as they limit the freedom of counties to allocate their funds as they see fit.Clubs are financially rewarded for including England-qualified players in Championship and List A cricket, with the optimum payments being made if two of the players are aged under 22 and three more are under 26 on April 1 of that year. The ECB also lobbied for greater work permit restrictions designed to make it harder to players who are not England qualified, including Kolpak registrations and overseas players.While such schemes have produced more opportunities for homegrown players, they might also have taken a bit of experience – and as a consequence, quality – out of the domestic game. There is a fear that it will lead to a growing gap between the international and county game.The cut to the salary cap might also create issues for clubs with players coming back on the pay roll following a period with central contracts. Durham were penalised – they were forced to pay a small fine and deducted points in all three competitions for the 2013 season – for breaching the cap in 2011 during a period in which Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison lost their central contracts and returned to the county’s pay-roll. Under the new regulations, exceptions will be made in such circumstances.

George Bailey will have no qualms about leading Australia his own way at the World Cup, should Michael Clarke fail to make the tight deadline he has been set by the national selectors to prove his fitness for the tournament

Daniel Brettig15-Jan-2015George Bailey will have no qualms about leading Australia his own way at the World Cup, should Michael Clarke fail to make the tight deadline he has been set by the national selectors to prove his fitness for the tournament.Over the past two years Bailey has become accustomed to his recurring commission as stand-in leader, though never granted the opportunity to make the team his own. The worst of this arrangement was seen during the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, when Bailey did not know day to day whether Clarke would return from back trouble, and Australia were eliminated amid the David Warner Walkabout debacle.Bailey remembered those weeks with something of a grimace, but felt the team had evolved considerably in the 18 months since. Even as Clarke batted for 15 minutes at the SCG on Thursday as a prelude to spending time with the team to continue his rehabilitation efforts, Bailey said he would be confident of establishing his own stamp on the role should the full-time leader be ruled out.”I think the regularity of it has probably made it easier than what it would be,” Bailey said of his walk-on role. “Unfortunately it has happened quite a bit over the last 12 months. It is something that we have been used to as a team, having to deal with not having a player like Michael in the side. I think we have responded pretty well when that has been the case. I think our record speaks for itself. I am used to it, I guess.”We have a really strong senior group. Got a lot of guys who have played a lot of one-day cricket together. So in terms of the way we like to play, the structure around our tactics and I guess the general team ethos, we are well drilled. I am very comfortable with how that is going. I think the team is very comfortable with how that is going.”In contrast the the Champions Trophy, in which a timid opening loss to England at Edgbaston then a wash-out against New Zealand left Australia all but out of contention entering their third and final pool match against Sri Lanka, the hosts have plenty of time to find their rhythm. The triangular series and then a relatively leisurely schedule of group matches will allow them to re-establish the aggressive brand they have pursued in all formats under the coaching of Darren Lehmann. Bailey said the summer’s structure but also the team’s mindset made for a considerable change from 2013.”In terms of the structure of the event, I think there is none tougher than that,” Bailey said. “That became a knockout event very, very quickly, the way the weather was in that tournament for us. It has been a long time. I think we had a little period there where we went away from playing good one-day cricket or one-day cricket that is synonymous with the way Australia play, so it’s been a really good process and a good sort of timeline for the way we have sort of come back playing some really aggressive, exciting cricket.George Bailey’s ODI batting form has tailed off since a stellar 2013•Associated Press”I think the way we play cricket makes people want to watch. That’s been pleasing, hopefully looking back, we had a lot of guys who were pretty young in that tournament as well, so there’s a few familiar faces who are still about for here who now have 30-40 games extra under their belt. So all that experience holds us in pretty good stead, I reckon.”One of the elements of World Cup play that teams must learn to deal with is a schedule unlike anything else they play, including this triangular series. Matches are often separated by gaps of four or five days, unusually ample downtime that can make it hard for a team to maintain momentum. But when the quarter-finals arrive, the knockout format means sharpness is mandatory.”We will just be looking to play as well as we can and get our confidence up and get our structures right in terms of how we want to play, make sure that we are approaching each game with the same sort of consistency,” Bailey said. “Boring stuff but in terms of getting our process right for going into a tournament where you have quite a break between games and building up towards what becomes a knockout phase.”In that regard, we are actually approaching it as a very clichéd one game at a time with the tri-series, try not to look too far ahead. But hopefully, if we are playing as well as we can, then that will be putting the other two teams on the back foot.”There is one possible twist to Bailey’s leadership role this tournament. If Clarke is injured he will be captain, but should room need to be found for Clarke’s return, Bailey may yet find himself dropped from the team altogether, given the prodigious run of form found recently by Steven Smith. Bailey had an exceptionally strong 2013 with the bat but has tailed off more recently – in November against South Africa his only score of note, in Perth, was pockmarked by several dropped catches.”With a squad of 15, that’s absolutely the case,” Bailey said when asked about the potential for him to be captain and spectator within the same tournament. “We have probably more captains in the side at the moment than you can poke a stick at, which is a wonderful position to be in. Every person who is playing, regardless of any other positions, will just be looking to perform to make the case for retaining them within the XI pretty compelling.”As for how Bailey would respond to that pressure, he did not quite have an answer yet. “I am not sure,” Bailey said. “I’ll tell you in three weeks.”

Groundsman will receive greater assistance in producing better quality pitches – seen as essential to the health of T20 in particular – by a new team of cricket liaison officers next season.

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2015Groundsman will receive greater assistance in producing better quality pitches – seen as essential to the health of T20 in particular – by a new team of cricket liaison officers next season.The new four-man team, who will also assist umpires, replaces the old structure of pitch liaison officers and umpire coaches and will be attendance for all four days of a County Championship match. As a result, there will be slightly more responsibility on umpires in assessing a pitch.The panel comprises Tony Pigott, a former pitch liaison officer, Phil Whitticase, who was sacked as Leicester director of cricket at the end of last season, Graham Cowdrey, returning to cricket after a career in finance following 14 seasons playing for Kent, and Stuart Cummings – who ran the match official departments for the Rugby Football League.”The idea is to get someone at every match,” Chris Kelly, the ECB umpires manager, said. “We’ll keep them working as much as possible and the intention is to to have four appointments per round. The umpires will mark all pitches as they see it but if there was a concern we would still have the flexibility to move the guys on the panel around to cover any incident.”The CLOs will be there to support all stakeholders including the groundsmen and the umpires, and having them there for all four days of a County Championship match will allow us to receive more detailed and live information back from the grounds.”The process, on the face of it more supportive, replaces a system in which pitch inspectors would rush to grounds at the first sign of a fall of wickets to decide whether points deductions should be levied.”The PLOs might have been viewed a bit like policemen – they’d be appointed to a day of a Championship game or turn up at a ground if something was going wrong,” Kelly said. “We see our CLOs building positive relationships with the groundsmen, as well as the umpires and other key figures at the match – relieving some of the anxiety from what was there before.”We’re in this for the long haul, and at some time in the future we expect to see us able to cover every first team county fixture in all competitions.”

Abdur Razzak’s six-for on the final day guided South Zone to a 216 run win over North Zone in the opening match of the Bangladesh Cricket League.

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2015
Scorecard South Zone outplayed North Zone by 216 runs in the opening match of the Bangladesh Cricket League’s first-class competition. Abdur Razzak’s six-for on the final day completed the win, and gave him his seventh ten-wicket haul.Batting first, South Zone posted 352 with Sohag Gazi hitting his fourth first class century. He came to bat when Anamul Haque was dismissed for 94 late on the first day. Gazi struck five sixes and eleven fours in his 113-ball 108. He added 105 runs for the ninth wicket with Al-Amin Hossain who contributed just 13 runs to the partnership. Medium-pacer Ariful Haque took 6 for 75.In reply North Zone were bowled out for 235 runs with Al-Amin Hossain and Razzak taking four wickets each. South Zone extended their 117-run first innings lead by adding 266-3 in 56 overs in their second innings. Anamul slammed his ninth first-class hundred, 111 off 165 balls with 13 fours and two sixes. Saikat Ali and Tushar Imran also struck fifties.On the final day North Zone were set 384 to win, and they hardly gave themselves a chance. Apart from Razzak’s six, Gazi picked up three wickets as they were bowled out for 167 runs.