All posts by csb10.top

Stuart Broad said England could leave the World T20 with their “heads high” despite going out of the competition after their second defeat in three games. Broad admitted to the wearying effects of a long and arduous winter of touring but was looking forward to the opportunity for rest and recovery before England begin a “new era” in May.England lost by three runs to South Africa, ending their chances of reaching the semi-finals. A young and slightly experimental squad will play one more game, against Netherlands on Monday, before heading home as the ECB prepares to appoint a new head coach. Broad said he was uncertain about his own future as T20 captain and may miss the start of England’s season as he attempts to get over a chronic knee injury.”We’ve had a lot of positives come out of this World Cup but we can hold our heads high with some of the performances we’ve put in,” Broad said. “If we had got out of the group there would have been a lot of surprised people. We’re disappointed but we’ve done some good stuff with the squad available to us.”We lost key men through injury. We can hold heads up high and at the end of the day T20 is an entertainment business and I don’t think anybody is going to leave the ground today disappointed with nearly 400 runs scored, sixes, fours, and catches.”The county season gets underway next weekend, with the chance for several players to push for recognition as England look to begin afresh after losing heavily in Australia and following up with mixed results in the Caribbean and Bangladesh. Ashley Giles, the limited-overs coach, is favourite to succeed Andy Flower in charge of England across all three formats, with the ECB expected to hold interviews for the position in early April.”It’s going to be a new era of English cricket isn’t it?” Broad said. “It has been a tough winter. We’ve been away a huge amount of time so there are some fantastic opportunities available for players in the summer. We don’t know the shake-up of the Test side but you know the opportunities will arise and that’s exciting for players to be involved in. I expect to see some excellent performances this summer, guys really desperate to play, hungry to succeed for England and we’ll have to play some good cricket to beat Sri Lanka and India.”It’s an exciting time to be part of English cricket. Change is exciting from time to time. It’s been a really tough winter, we’ve not had a huge amount of success. Australia was a really tough tour, back-to-back Ashes over the past nine months is as tough as it gets for a cricketer, not just on the field but off it too with all the hype that comes with Ashes cricket. So it has been a draining winter and I’ll have to be honest, I’m looking forward to a bit of a break come Tuesday.”Broad has been T20 captain since 2011, when England experimented with a tripartite system. He has twice led England at the World T20, both times on the subcontinent, with the next tournament due to be held in India in 2016. Asked about continuing in the role, he said: “I don’t know, there’s going to be a decision made on coaching staff so there might be a few changes in the next two months or so. I’m probably going to be unavailable for the start of the season in one-day cricket to sort my knee out.”A period of rehabilitation will be required for Broad to get over his patellar tendonitis, an injury that has resulted from his heavy workload over the winter, and discussions with whoever is appointed to take charge of England will determine the way forward. England begin their season with an ODI against Scotland on May 9, followed by limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. The first Test of the summer begins on June 12.”I need a rehab period on my tendonitis, which is generally about an eight-week period so whether I take just four weeks in April to play in May and then take a couple of months after the season I don’t know but it’s got to the stage where it’s really sore and I need it sorting out. You know in international cricket you can’t perform at your best when you’re carrying an injury. We’ve managed it pretty well but it’s in the hands of the medical staff and a bit of negotiation with the head coach when that’s decided.”England made 193 for 7 against South Africa, their joint fifth-highest score batting second in T20s, despite no one scoring more than 38. The total surpassed their record chase against Sri Lanka from two nights ago but England paid for conceding 55 runs from the last three overs, as AB de Villiers scorched his way to an unbeaten 69 off 28 balls. Broad credited de Villiers for a match-winning innings as the bowlers, particularly Jade Dernbach, again came in for punishment.”We’ve come up three runs short and there’s some pretty clear ways we could have stopped those three runs,” Broad said. “We didn’t particularly field well, but that can happen in these conditions. We didn’t have the one guy going to get the Hales-like knock like he did the other day or 60 or 70 you realistically need in these sorts of chases.”But sometimes you have to hold your hands up and that knock from AB de Villiers is as good as you’ll ever see. He hits the ball 360 degrees and targeted the short boundary with fantastic success. We tried to go for yorkers but in these conditions it’s unrealistic to get your yorkers consistent with a bar of soap. He took it away from us in those last few overs. If we’d been chasing 170 it would have been pretty gettable.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
6:42

Butcher: Mumbai have too many old players for T20

Mumbai Indians have John Wright as their head coach, Anil Kumble as their team mentor, Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach, Sachin Tendulkar as an ‘icon’ and Robin Singh as assistant coach. Ricky Ponting was added to that list of illustrious names today, joining as an advisor. The expansion of the brains trust didn’t result in a change in fortunes, as Mumbai went down for their fourth defeat in a row after their batting misfired yet again.Delhi Daredevils may not have any superstar in their bowling ranks, but they combined to stifle Mumbai on a slow surface in Sharjah. Mumbai scores so far in this tournament have been 122 for 7, 115 for 9 and 141 for 7. To that sorry list, they added 125 for 6 today, again giving their bowlers too little to work with.Things didn’t go according to plan right from the start for Mumbai. The plan to push Rohit Sharma to the top of the order in place of the struggling Michael Hussey didn’t work as Rohit was run-out by a Mohammed Shami direct hit in the second over. The ploy to have allrounder Corey Anderson at No. 3 seemed to be working a touch better as he hit two muscular boundaries, before finding man in the deep. Aditya Tare had already done the same.M Vijay’s 40 guided the chase•BCCI

Ambati Rayudu, an influential member for Mumbai in recent seasons, couldn’t make an impact this time, poking around for a 21-ball 14. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Mumbai batting has been the absent form of the ultra-consistent Michael Hussey, who had another forgettable outing before being undone by a slower yorker from Jaydev Unadkat. Perhaps the time has come to drop Hussey.CM Gautam played sweeps and reverse-sweeps to make an enterprising 18-ball 22 and Kieron Pollard overcame a slow start to unleash a couple of monster sixes and lift Mumbai’s run-rate above six.Daredevils’ spinners have been one of their weaknesses this season, but Shahbaz Nadeem and JP Duminy proved hard to get away on the sluggish pitch where the ball didn’t come on to the bat. The lack of pace worked for medium-pacer Laxmi Shukla as well, and he troubled Pollard in particular.Daredevils have a formidable top five, and the target of 126 was never going to be a problem unless there were plenty of early wickets. The openers, Quinton de Kock and M Vijay, provided a steady start with Vijay going on to top score with 40. Hussey took a stunner at point to dismiss de Kock, Lasith Malinga got rid of the in-form JP Duminy, and though there were a few anxious moments for Daredevils, Mumbai never really looked like posing a serious challenge. It gave Daredevils their second win in five matches so far.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to list an injunction filed by Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), which had sought to prevent N Srinivasan from being the BCCI nominee for the position of the ICC chairman. Srinivasan, who had been replaced as BCCI president following the court orders over the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, is likely to take over as the ICC’s first chairman during the ruling body’s annual conference, which will be held in Melbourne between June 23-27.The CAB had filed the application on Tuesday seeking a hearing in the vacation court on June 16. However, the two-judge bench of Justice JS Khehar and Justice C Nagappan observed that the interim order passed in April was “very clear”. In April, the court had refused Srinivasan’s request to be reinstated as BCCI president, but the two-judge bench of Justice AK Patnaik and Ibrahim Kalifullah would not hear the CAB’s plea on barring Srinivasan from continuing to represent the BCCI at ICC meetings.With the regular court in recess until June 30, any application filed in front the vacation bench needs the permission of the judge to be listed for a hearing. “Our only request today was to hear the case on Monday. The case was not argued at all today,” Nalini Chidambaram, one of the senior legal counsels for CAB, said.Aditya Verma, on behalf of the CAB, has been appealing to prevent N Srinivasan from taking over as ICC chairman•The Indian Express

Chidambaram stressed that it would be wrong to interpret the court’s decision today as if it had given a nod to Srinivasan’s representation at the ICC.”The judges just said the previous order passed by the court on April 29 was very clear. So we are going to again approach the court on June 16 seeking a fresh hearing in the matter. It is very important matter and hence we wanted the court to hear us and then decide, ” she said.Srinivasan has represented India at ICC meetings since September 2013 and was also present at the Executive Board meeting in Dubai in April. The CAB, meanwhile, has sought to prevent Srinivasan from taking charge at the ICC, citing the court’s decision to keep Srinivasan out of the BCCI set-up until the investigation into charges of corruption in the IPL are complete.Desh Gaurav Sekhri, a lawyer specialising in sports litigation said, that in refusing to list the injunction, the court could have taken note of the fact that it may have little jurisdiction over the actions of a global body like the ICC, unlike the BCCI which directly impacts India.”It’s a question of subject matter and locational jurisdiction,” Sekhri said. “When it comes to the BCCI, we have a clear question of the court having both subject matters as well as a locational jurisdiction where it’s a question of domestic cricket and the governance/administration of it.”When it comes to the ICC, the Supreme Court of India doesn’t really have any subject matter jurisdiction over the matters of the ICC. It’s an international cricket governing body and the actual relevance of an Indian being a part of the administration…it’s a global kind of a role and if anything, it is after Mr Srinivasan has already finished his tenure or his suspended tenure at the BCCI.”Technically they are not two peas in the pod. What we have is a situation where either an Indian is being nominated by the BCCI or the ICC feels that it’s a candidate who it feels will be a very good president or chairman of the ICC. So I don’t think the Supreme Court will entertain any such pleas or litigations.”The case dates back to June 2013, when Verma raised charges of a conflict of interest in the BCCI’s original two-member inquiry panel for the IPL corruption issue. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel “illegal”. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Nilay Dutta to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players.

Ian Bell has rejected the suggestion Alastair Cook is on the brink of resigning the England captaincy and said it was the performance of the players rather than any tactical shortcomings that have cost the side in Leeds.Bell, England’s unofficial vice-captain and the man most likely to be appointed captain should Cook step down, was one of the batsmen dismissed on the fourth evening of the second Test as England finished on 57 for 5 chasing an improbable 350 for victory.While Bell praised the century by Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews as “one of the best” innings of its type he had witnessed, he also accepted that England had “failed to execute their skills” or take their chances in allowing their opposition back into the game. In particular, he conceded that England’s bowlers had pitched too short and the fielders had failed to cling on to a succession of opportunities.”It looks like we’re going to lose this Test,” Bell said. “And that is absolutely gutting. But there is absolutely no doubt [that Cook will continue as captain]. I don’t think the tactics were wrong. I don’t think he could have done anything more.Dhammika Prasad ripped through England’s top order to cap a woeful day for the home side•Getty Images

“Our plans were to get the ball full and we didn’t quite do that. I don’t think the bowlers will sit there and say they got it right. It felt the kind of wicket that, with anything short, you wanted to make the most of it.”And we, as batsman, had an opportunity with the bat to bury them in the first innings. We didn’t take it and I think they showed what good teams do: when people are down, you have to keep them down.”We had chances in the field and we put them down. You can’t do that with good teams. You can’t give those world-class players opportunities or they will hurt you. They’ve been outstanding today, but we’ve been really disappointing. We’ve been outplayed. They recognised today was a massive day and they’ve won it.”As a group, we’ve got to help him [Cook]. We’ve got to get right behind him and start performing as a team. He’s got more hundreds than anyone in an England shirt and he’s been one of the best batsmen I’ve ever played with. Form is temporary. One innings and he’ll be flying again. So I’m not worried about his batting at all.”Bell offered warm praise for Mathews’ century, but admitted that England had erred tactically in giving him singles in the hope of attacking his lower-order partners. Instead, Bell, suggested, they should also have attempted to dismiss Mathews.”Hats off to him,” Bell said. “It was an incredible knock. He’s played arguably one of the best knocks we’ve seen against us, certainly shepherding the tail. I can’t remember one, since I’ve been playing, that was better than that towards the back end, the way he has played with the bowlers.”But you look back with hindsight and I think if you want to stop someone like that scoring runs you get them out, don’t you? You don’t just try to stop them scoring. But I hope tomorrow that we’ve got five guys who can show what it means to wear an England shirt and come out with some pride and at least do something.”We’ve been working really well and there’s this one really bad day we’ve had in the last eight or nine. In a two-match series, you can have one bad day and lose it. If this was a five-match series, we could fight our way back in, but we can’t.”

ScorecardDavid Payne caused considerable problems for Leicestershire•PA Photos

David Payne claimed four wickets as Gloucestershire strengthened their position at the top of Group A with a seven-wicket win over Leicestershire in a rain-affected match at Bristol.The visitors posted 136 for 8 from 25 overs after losing the toss, their innings having been interrupted by the weather at 61 for four after 15 overs. Greg Smith top scored with an unbeaten 55 off 73 balls with six fours and a six, while Payne returned 4 for 23 from six overs.Gloucestershire’s target was revised to 131 under the Duckworth-Lewis method and they coasted to victory with 13 balls to spare, skipper Michael Klinger unbeaten on 55 and Will Gidman on 39 not out.Dan Redfern was the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers with 2 for 19 from five overs, but it was a day when the weather conspired against the Foxes.After the start had been delayed for an hour by morning drizzle and the game initially reduced to 45 overs per side, Payne wasted no time plunging Leicestershire into trouble. In his first over, the second of the game, he had Niall O’Brien caught behind by Gareth Roderick for a duck, while his next three overs also featured wickets.Angus Robson also fell to a catch by Roderick for 13, while Matthew Boyce’s off stump was removed by an inswinger when he had made four. When Payne bowled Redfern for 6 with the first ball of the eighth over he had figures of 4 for 14 and Leicestershire were 31 for 4.Greg Smith and Shiv Thakor were forced to exercise caution after such a collapse and had taken the score to 61 by the end of the 15th over when more rain set in.Payne finished his six-over spell with 4 for 23, while Gidman was typically miserly in conceding just 19 from his five overs.The sun finally broke through at mid-afternoon and when the covers had been removed umpires Peter Willey and Steve O’Shaughnessy decided to restart play at 3.45pm with the game reduced to 25 overs a side.Leicestershire had just ten more overs to build a competitive total and that hope suffered an immediate blow as Thakor got an inside edge to the first ball after the resumption from Benny Howell and became Roderick’s third victim, having made 11.Scott Styris did his best to inject some zest with 29 off 24 balls, including a swept six off Jack Taylor, but he then skied Craig Miles to deep midwicket. The next over saw Tom Wells bowled by Taylor and Leicestershire were 115 for 7.Jigar Naik fell cheaply to Taylor, but the off-spinner’s last over saw Smith strike him for four, six, and four in a glittering three-ball spell that included two reverse sweeps to give his side a chance.Klinger and Hamish Marshall set about the reduced target with zest, putting together and opening stand of 46 inside nine overs before Marshall advanced to a wide ball from Naik and was stumped for 22.But Redfern then caused some nerves by striking twice in the 12th over, bowling Chris Dent on the back foot for seven and having Will Tavare caught at mid-wicket. At 59 for 3, Gloucestershire needed 72 off 13 overs. But Klinger, who faced 66 balls and hit five fours, found a reliable partner in Gidman and the pair saw the hosts safely home.After the game Payne said: “It was an important toss to win. We always like to bowl when rain is about and have been talking about taking wickets up front, so I was delighted to make that contribution.

Misbah-ul-Haq has said Pakistan are ready to square off against Sri Lanka and insisted that his team is capable of bouncing back hard. Pakistan haven’t won a series since beating England 3-0 in the UAE in 2012 and after the Galle defeat last week are facing another winless series.”We did play well [in Galle] but we weren’t consistent,” Misbah said at the pre-match press conference in Colombo. “We played well in patches and lacked the consistency in every department so what we are going to do is to ensure we are on our toes in every session. Our batsmen did score runs in the first innings and are still in form and in good shape. There are things that need to be improved and we will ensure that we will go hard to pull this one our way.”In Sharjah earlier this year Pakistan, who were trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, came back hard to beat Sri Lanka and square the series 1-1. Pakistan are looking to repeat that here, by starting the Test afresh and forgetting the result of the first Test. “Every game is a new game regardless what happened in the previous game so we are looking forward to win this one to level the series,” Misbah said.”We obviously need to improve in every department as there is always room for it. We are concentrating on the present and forget what was in the past, whether it was good or bad, because after all we have a new day ahead with a new game that will be entirely different. I think this time we will ensure that we are on the money throughout the game.”Mahela Jayawardene will retire from Test cricket after the second Test at the SSC, where he has scored 2863 runs in 26 Tests, the most by any batsman at a single ground. He averages 77.37 with 11 hundreds, including his highest score of 374 against South Africa in 2006. His record against Pakistan isn’t dazzling but Pakistan are still wary of him.”Plan against Jayawardene is simple,” Misbah said. “Get him out as soon as possible and spoil their party. But at the same time we know how good he can be at his home ground. He is a class player and particularly at his own ground he is a different man. He has scored ample runs and he could be dangerous, so as a team we obviously would want to take him down.”Pakistan are traditionally known for their bowling strength but the attack struggled to take wickets at Galle. Misbah admitted this played some part in their defeat but wasn’t too concerned. “We shouldn’t blame our bowlers as it is about the conditions, as it happens when you have purely batting conditions. And Sri Lanka are well aware of their home conditions and similarly the conditions in UAE are quite close, so this is the reason I think when you are playing in the hands of batsmen and the bowlers struggle.”In Galle, Misbah underbowled left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, who only sent down 39 overs in the first innings compared to 59.1 from Saeed Ajmal. Rehman didn’t bowl at all in Sri Lanka’s second innings. “There is no particular reason or strategy not to bowl with Rehman,” Misbah said. “It is all about when a team is already doing well with one of their best bowlers so we have to go with it. He wasn’t at his best of rhythm so that is the only reason I didn’t bowl him otherwise he is a very good bowler.”

ScorecardFile photo: Saqlain Sajib’s 9 for 82 is the best figures by a Bangladesh player in first-class matches•Bangladesh Cricket Board

Bangladesh A left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib blew Zimbabwe A away on the first day of the unofficial four-day match in Cox’s Bazar, as he collected 9 for 82 – the best bowling figures in first-class cricket by a Bangladesh player, beating Abdur Razzak’s 9 for 84 in 2012.The visitors were bowled out for 206 in their first innings, after which Litton Das and Shadman Islam guided Bangladesh A to 30 for no loss at stumps.Sajib started by removing Tino Mawoyo in the 15th over, but Zimbabwe A captain Vusimuzi Sibanda and Brian Chari led a recovery by adding 61 for the second wicket. Chari fell to Sajib after lunch, having made 30 off 56 balls, and he was soon followed back to the pavilion by Mark Vermeulen.That third wicket prompted a mid-innings collapse as Zimbabwe A lost their next four wickets for just nine runs. Sibanda was dismissed for 62 off 99 balls with five fours, and was quickly followed by Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Luke Jongwe and Tawanda Mupariwa, as Zimbabwe A fell to 122 for 7 by the 39th over. Jongwe was bowled by Farhad Hossain, before Sajib removed Mupariwa to claim his fifth victim.The wicketkeeper-batsman Regis Chakabva added 65 for the eighth wicket with Wellington Masakadza, the younger brother of Hamilton and Shingi. Chakabva was the last man out, for 64 off 110 balls with three fours, as Sajib walked off with his first nine-wicket haul. He is now only the second Bangladesh bowler after Razzak to achieve this feat. Sajib’s previous best was 7 for 29 during the 2009-10 National Cricket League.

BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel has blamed the WICB for failing to resolve internal issues, which resulted in the series being called off with an ODI, a Twenty20 and three Tests still to be played. The players, Patel said, had to be “convinced” to take the field for the Dharamsala ODI, though he still sympathised with their situation.According to Patel, he, on behalf of the BCCI, had given the WICB president Dave Cameron a deadline of Thursday, the eve of the Dharamsala ODI, to confirm that the West Indies will respect the commitment of the full series despite the dispute between WICB, West Indies Players Association and the team members. The duo met on the sidelines of the ICC Business Corporation Board meeting in Dubai over the weekend.”After I spoke with the West Indies players in Kochi, the players agreed to play but everyone knew that the dispute was still unresolved. We were hearing that someone from WICB was to meet the players in Kolkata [ahead of the fifth ODI on October 20],” Patel told ESPNcricinfo. “We needed clarity and reaffirmation of their commitment about the tour, so I told Mr Cameron to confirm to us by Thursday that the series will not be interrupted.”Patel said Cameron tried to explain to him that he was “trying his best” to resolve the issue, but his hands were tied. “I told him you cannot put an international series in jeopardy due to internal issues,” Patel said. “No board should let internal issues affect international cricket, after all.”

BCCI seeks legal advice

The BCCI has called an emergent working committee meeting in Hyderabad on October 21 to discuss the consequences of West Indies’ decision to pull out of the India tour after the Dharamsala ODI. The working committee will decide on whether the BCCI will take legal action against the WICB.
“We have referred the matter to our legal cell and asked them to let us know by the 21st about how we can pursue the issue legally,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told ESPNcricinfo. “They have entered into a bilateral agreement with us, and they have abandoned the tour due to their internal issues, so we will have to seek compensation. But depending on the legal advice, the working committee will decide the future course of action.”

Instead of receiving any communication from the WICB, though, Patel got a call “very early in the morning” on Friday from a “support staff member of the Indian team”. “I was told that the West Indies players have refused to play any further part in the series. It came as a shock.”Patel then asked Anurag Thakur, the BCCI joint-secretary whose home association was to stage the Dharamsala ODI, to convince the West Indies players to take the field. He felt calling a match off on the morning of it would have been detrimental to the BCCI, the broadcasters and the fans, Patel said. “All the tickets had been sold out, so it wouldn’t have been fair to the public. Anurag managed to convince them and they agreed to play the match around noon.”Thakur confirmed that he had spoken to the players but, he said, it was not easy to convince them to play. “Despite [attempting] every bit of convincing, they were hell bent on not playing,” Thakur said. “Before the BCCI decided to prepare a formal announcement [on the status of the tour], I personally went up to the players in order to talk them into not pulling out [of the Dharamsala ODI] and fortunately succeeded in my quest.”Given the time difference, Patel said he thought he would hear from the WICB once the day started in the Caribbean. Instead, just when the match was about to start, he received an email from Richie Richardson, the West Indies team manager, that said “the team will not be in a position to continue with the series”. “You cannot call a tour off unilaterally. It is not just unprofessional but is also detrimental to the game at large,” Patel said.Patel insisted he did not blame the players, though. “Whatever is the case, the onus is on the board to not let things slip up to such lows. We are extremely disappointed with the unilateral decision.”Thakur was not as forgiving to the players. He said the BCCI should seek ICC action against them and the WICB, as well as compensation for the losses caused by the tour being called off.”First, the BCCI should file a complaint with the ICC about the behaviour of players and the West Indies board,” Thakur said. “Second, in order to have successful future tours, BCCI should not play with the Windies. Third, it should also file a claim for compensation with the WICB – the amount of revenue it is going to lose. And fourth, also the local associations, those that have spent truckloads of money to get everything in place only to have one of the teams pull out, should take necessary actions.”I do sympathise with the West Indies cricketers but this is no way to deal with a matter or to take a decision. They could have made up their mind before coming to India – they may have some valid reasons but at the same time this is not the way to behave.”

Leicestershire’s management restructuring has continued with the appointment of Andrew McDonald as head coach. McDonald, who played for Leicestershire in 2010 and 2011 and was capped four times by Australia, is still currently a regular member of the South Australia side but is unlikely to be pressed into playing at Grace Road, with compatriot Clint McKay filling the overseas slot next season.McDonald’s name had been linked with the job for some time and his arrival follows that of Wasim Khan as chief executive, with a mandate to reinvigorate the club. Leicestershire finished bottom of Division Two for the second season running and have not won in the Championship since 2012, the worst run by a county since the 1930s.A thin squad has been further depleted by the departures of Shiv Thakor, Josh Cobb, Nathan Buck and Greg Smith – though Ned Eckersley, Matthew Boyce and Charlie Shreck have signed new contracts. Of McDonald’s team-mates during Leicestershire’s victorious FLt20 campaign in 2011, only Boyce and Jigar Naik remain.”I developed a relationship at Leicestershire as a player and the opportunity to return in the role of Head Coach is one I am looking forward to,” McDonald said. “To take on the challenge of creating a successful, but also importantly sustainable cricket programme, while fostering the development of an emerging group of young players, is an extremely exciting prospect for me.”Coaching has always been something I have harboured ambitions to pursue. I think that going into coaching at a relatively young age, while still involved in cricket in the way I am in Australia as a player, is a very progressive move for both myself and Leicestershire.”McDonald succeeds Phil Whitticase, who was removed as director of cricket last month but remains with the club for the time being. Leicestershire’s interim chief executive, Andrew Boyce, praised McDonald as the “epitome of Australian grit” and someone with “a strong mental attitude to winning games”. Leicestershire fans are unlikely to have forgotten his record as the club’s leading run-scorer in their unexpected FLt20 success.”Andrew was a great influence on the younger lads as a player here,” Boyce said. “He helped us to get over the line on numerous occasions. Andrew was a good performer on the pitch and a very good person to have in the dressing room. When somebody is able to have time to make decisions in the cauldron environment in T20, you know you have a clear thinker. Andrew has always been able to make an assessment of what is required to win a game and never panics.”Andrew is currently playing a key role at South Australia and has lots of experience in the Big Bash. His fellow Australians look up to him and respect him. That says a lot about his character and standing in the game.”

State memorial service announced

The New South Wales premier Mike Baird has announced that a State Memorial Service will be held at the SCG for Phillip Hughes on a date yet to be confirmed.
“This service has been arranged in consultation with Phillip’s family, and it will be an opportunity for the entire community to pay their respects to a much-loved Australian and New South Welshman,” a statement from the premier’s office said.
Cricket Australia and Cricket NSW said they supported the announcement. “It will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground and as such will be an opportunity for the entire community to pay tribute to a much-loved Australian,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia CEO, said.
“The SCG is a place that Phillip cherished so dearly, and it is a ground where Phillip provided cricket fans from around the world with so much joy.”

There has never been a team meeting quite like it.Australia’s Test squad met in the SCG dressing room on Friday morning, as they and their forebears have done hundreds of times over the past century or more. Usually such meetings discuss plans for opposition batsmen, and bowlers, mental approaches and mottos to keep everyone on the task. They are all about cricket.This time, it was not the coach Darren Lehmann nor the captain Michael Clarke who took the floor. Instead it was the melancholy duty of the team doctor Peter Brukner to run the players through what had happened to Phillip Hughes, and the vexing task of the team psychologist Michael Lloyd to counsel them on how to move forward from this indescribable event.For a few hours the players sat in the room, talking, crying or simply contemplating. Talk of resuming cricket was far less pertinent than that of honouring Hughes. Combat can wait – there must first be grieving, remembering and healing.Australian cricket has taken what it can from the familiarity of the grand old ground, huddling around the SCG and its Members Stand in particular over the past 24 hours.Within a few minutes of Hughes’ death being announced on Thursday, they began to stream into the ground. Players, coaches, support staff, administrators, family and friends all set out for the cricket ground with a sense of terrible grief but also simple logic. There was no better place for the cricket people of New South Wales and Australia to be when they were in such unforeseeable pain.Almost all of the current team was present, including Clarke, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Steve Smith, David Warner, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson. Past players such as Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark, Simon Katich and Phil Jaques mixed with coaches including Lehmann and his assistant Craig McDermott.Sean Abbott was there too, comforted with words and embraces, including those of the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland. It is often easy to forget that Sutherland was once a state fast medium bowler himself, who tried naturally and routinely to bounce out impish opposition batsmen just as Abbott had done on Tuesday.”It’s been fantastic the way people have shown concern for Sean,” Sutherland said. “Sean’s holding up really well – I had a chat to him last night and I was incredibly impressed by the way he was holding himself and his maturity.”But the point is this is not a moment in time for him, this is a grieving process that will affect people in different ways. What we will do and the relevant experts will do will be to provide Sean with all the support he needs to work through this. but right now I can say he’s holding up very well and I’m incredibly impressed with him.”The gathering was spontaneous, lacking a central speech or address, but possessing a shared sense that this was place all needed to be. Around 200 people gathered as late afternoon stretched into evening. Some sat in the home dressing room, some leaned by the dressing room door. All passed through the Members Bar, which the SCG Trust had staffed and stocked at short notice to meet the needs of the moment.Memories of Hughes were shared, most drawing laughter, some drawing tears. “I think reflections last night were a little bit about what has happened in such a short space of time,” Sutherland said. “But I also know there were some great stories being told and quite a lot of laughter about the cheeky little boy who came down from Macksville and had the highest ambitions for himself and his cricket. He will always be remembered.”Every few minutes, the mourners wandered out onto the field of play in twos and threes, trying to make sense of an event that has mixed cricket with tragedy in the most horrible way. The centre of the SCG is where so many of these men have made their names. It is now a place made even more sacred in their eyes by the falling of a comrade.