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Mark Ramprakash has become the first player to crack under the pressure of playing on county pitches that are more treacherous than they have been for 25 years

David Hopps25-Apr-2012Mark Ramprakash, the most prolific batsman in English first-class cricket, has become the first player to crack under the pressure of playing on county pitches that are more treacherous than they have been for 25 years.With April looking bound to become the wettest on record, and flood alerts anticipated in many regions over the next four days, the ECB’s gamble on the earliest start to the Championship season has already turned sour.Ramprakash, who at 42 is England’s most experienced current player, has been penalised under the ECB disciplinary code for abusive language to the umpires Nigel Llong and Jeff Evans during Surrey’s Championship match against Worcestershire at The Oval last week.All 22 players batted on the third day, with Ramprakash getting one of the unkindest deliveries of all – a shooter from Alan Richardson which extended one of his most unsuccessful sequences in a record-breaking career. Surrey’s first-innings total of 140 was their lowest at The Oval since 1999.Ramprakash, who is now only one transgression away from an automatic suspension, has condemned the start to the Championship season as “a lottery” and described batting conditions as the most difficult since his career began in 1987 – a debut that coincided with English cricket’s final move to an era of covered pitches.”There has been extravagant movement and it has made batting at times a lottery,” Ramprakash told The Daily Telegraph. “In our dressing room we are saying that conventional play is not effective and you feel like you need to chance your arm because the bowlers are so much in the ascendancy.”It is the hardest I have found it since 1987 when I started. I think it is really tough, especially for the younger players who have worked hard all winter. It is hard and the guys don’t know whether to stick or twist at the moment. You try to ‘guts it out’ but then you feel it is not getting any easier and you never really get in.”The pitches are doing plenty throughout the game. It has been very difficult and it is more about trying to bat in a very aggressive way whenever possible. I don’t feel that is proper batting. I feel proper batting is treating the ball on its merits.”Groundsmen, who have been allowed minimal square preparation time in a season that began on April 5, the earliest Championship start date ever, have pronounced it virtually impossible to produce good batting pitches in cold, wet weather that makes it difficult to remove enough moisture from the pitches.Players brought up on dry four-day pitches, and influenced by the more aggressive nature of the one-day game, have shown little appetite for the sort of dutiful, defensive innings that were a regular feature of the game in the era of uncovered pitches. England’s professional game switched to covered pitches in 1980; a further experiment in 1987, Ramprakash’s debut season, in which pitches were left uncovered during the hours of play, was abandoned after only one year.Ramprakash was reported by the umpires for a level one breach of the code: using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting and/or making an obscene gesture. An ECB statement said: “As this incident follows a previous breach of the fixed penalty system within the last two years, Ramprakash has received three penalty points. This penalty will remain on his record for a period of two years and he now holds six penalty points. The accumulation of nine or more penalty points in any two-year period will result in an automatic suspension.”April is expected to be the wettest on record with some areas forecast to be hit by a month’s rain over a few days as the drought that has afflicted many parts of the country breaks in spectacular fashion. The Met Office has issued several severe weather alerts, with southern England and eastern Scotland likely to be worst affected. “Strong and gusty winds and significant and heavy falls of snow on higher ground” are also predicted over the coming days.Ramprakash, who has 114 first-class centuries, the most made by any current player, has managed only 62 runs in six innings at an average of 10.33 so far this season. He will attempt to put that right, weather permitting, against Durham at The Oval tomorrow, one of eight Championship matches scheduled. Rain is forecast in all of them with temperatures forecast to be as low as 7C.Edited by Alan Gardner

Joe Denly and Chris Rogers helped Middlesex claim their first CB40 Group A victory of the season after they crushed the Netherlands by eight wickets.

15-May-2012
ScorecardJoe Denly continued his excellent start to the season•Middlesex CCC

Joe Denly and Chris Rogers helped Middlesex claim their first CB40 Group A victory of the season after they crushed the Netherlands by eight wickets. The duo put on an unbeaten 166, with Denly finishing four runs shy of a century and Rogers making 83 not out as the visitors overhauled the Netherlands’ 212 for 9 with 16 balls to spare.Paul Stirling was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers with 4 for 27, Steven Crook picked up two wickets and Gareth Berg ran three batsmen out as the hosts were restricted to a manageable total in Voorburg.It was the Netherlands’ first loss of their CB40 campaign after they had beaten Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in their opening two matches. After being put into bat, Netherlands got off to a decent start, with openers Stephan Myburgh and Michael Swart reaching a fifty partnership in the 10th over.Although the latter was run out by Berg for 23 immediately after, Myburgh and Cameron Borgas guided the hosts to 114 for 1. Yet Stirling removed Borgas with his third delivery and then accounted for Myburgh, who struck eight fours in his 66, in his next over.Wickets continued to flow freely thereafter, although Mudassar Bukhari ensured the Netherlands did reach a competitive total. Burkhari, the Pakistan-born allrounder blasted three fours and two sixes and had made 39 off just 30 balls before he was the eighth man out in the 39th over, with Berg claiming another run out. Yet Bukhari’s efforts ensured Middlesex did not simply blow through the lower order as the Netherlands reached 212 for 9.Timm van der Gugten then ensured the visitors got off to a disastrous start in their reply, bowling Dawid Malan for a first-ball duck. But the wicket proved to be a rare highlight in the field for the Netherlands.Stirling followed up his wonderful bowling efforts with a quickfire 28 before being dismissed by Swart in the 10th over.Any hopes the Netherlands had of a collapse were dismissed by the solidity of both Denly and Rogers. Denly was unusually subdued in the early period of his innings yet he gained in confidence and finished on 96 off 117 balls.Rogers settled into his stride immediately and he brought up the winning runs in the 38th over with his sixth four to ensure Middlesex bounced back from last week’s home defeat to Gloucestershire in style.

Charlotte Edwards played herself into form ahead of England Women’s ODI series with India Women by scoring an unbeaten 72 as her side comfortably beat Ireland Women at Loughborough.

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2012
ScorecardDanni Wyatt took 2 for 12 to stifle Ireland’s chase•Getty Images

Charlotte Edwards played herself into form ahead of England Women’s ODI series with India Women by scoring an unbeaten 72 as her side comfortably beat Ireland Women at Loughborough.England captain Edwards dominated the Ireland attack, hitting eight boundaries in a 61-ball innings. She and Aran Brindle added 53 together as England posted 136 for 4.Danni Wyatt then set England on the path to victory by removing both Ireland openers caught by Jenny Gunn after a 47 stand for the first wicket. From 55 for 2, Ireland only managed 30 more runs falling a long way short of their target.”It was really nice to be back playing together,” Edwards said. “We were a little bit rusty in the field but that’s understandable given we haven’t had that much cricket due to the rain. We’ve got another days training then we’ll be looking forward to getting the India series underway on Tuesday.”England Women play the first match of the T20 Series against India at Canterbury on Tuesday June 26.

Somerset’s CB40 game against Durham, scheduled to take place at The Recreation Ground in Bath on Sunday July 22, has been moved to Taunton

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2012Somerset’s CB40 game against Durham, scheduled to take place at The Recreation Ground in Bath on Sunday July 22, has been moved to Taunton because of the continuing adverse weather conditions.Somerset’s chief executive Guy Lavender said: “Sadly the poor weather during the first part of the year has meant that the pitch at Bath isn’t going to be ready in time for us to play there on July 22 leaving us with no alternative other than to transfer the fixture back to the County Ground.””This really is a tremendous disappointment for all of the spectators who come and support Somerset when we play in Bath, for the Bath and Wiltshire Area Committee and Bath Rugby who have all worked hard to put this in place.””The club is very disappointed because we are keen to play cricket outside of the County Ground and hope the conditions are more favourable in future seasons for games to go ahead at Bath. However the weather has conspired against us this year so it is just not going to be possible.”The club will be contacting ticket purchasers shortly to offer a transfer to the match at Taunton or a full refund. Further details are available on the club’s website www.somersetcountycc.co.uk or through their Ticket Office on 0845 337 1875.

Gary Ballance and Azeem Rafiq spared Yorkshire’s blushes at Headingley after Unicorns had threatened to pull off a shock victory

12-Aug-2012
ScorecardGary Ballance and Azeem Rafiq spared Yorkshire’s blushes at Headingley after Unicorns had threatened to pull off a shock victory in the CB40 League Group C encounter.Chasing a modest revised target of 162 in 37 overs, Yorkshire appeared to be cruising at 34 without loss but then four wickets fell for seven runs in the space of 22 deliveries, and when rain caused a brief interruption at 78 for 5 in 18.4 overs they were well behind the required rate.Fortunately for the home side, Ballance kept his nerve with a fine unbeaten 69 and he was well supported by Rafiq, who made 34, the pair putting on an unbroken 91 for the sixth wicket to haul Yorkshire back into the match and they went on to win by five wickets with three overs remaining.The slide began when paceman, Bob Woolley, came into the attack and his first ball sent captain Andrew Gale’s off-stump flying. In the next over, Adam Lyth edged Glen Querl to wicketkeeper, Tom New, and it became four wickets in as many overs as Woolley had Phil Jaques taken at first slip and David Miller was caught behind off Querl without scoring.Ballance and Adil Rashid appeared to be getting on top of the situation until Rashid fell lbw to Paul Hindmarch the delivery after flicking him over backward square leg for six.The short rain break seemed to settle Yorkshire’s nerves and the batsmen began to take control, Ballance reverse sweeping Luke Beaven for four and Rafiq driving Bradley Wadlan to the cover boundary.Ballance off-drove Beaven for a mighty six to reach his half-century off 76 balls and when he hit the winning boundary he had received 83 balls and struck six fours and a six. Against the same opponents at Scarborough earlier in the season, Ballance plundered 103 not out.Put in to bat, Unicorns were never able to break free from the stranglehold imposed on them by Ryan Sidebottom and Rashid and they would not have reached 150 for 6 off their 37 overs but for an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 56 between skipper, Keith Parsons, and Woolley.Making his first appearance in just over six weeks after recovering from a calf injury, Sidebottom swung the ball appreciably in the humid conditions and he struck in his opening over when Wadlan offered no stroke and had his leg stump flattened.Vishal Tripathi and New tried hard to settle the innings down but at 32 in the ninth over Sidebottom struck again by dismissing New, the left-hander nibbling outside off-stump to give a catch to 22-year-old debutant wicketkeeper, Dan Hodgson, from Northallerton.Moin Ashraf held on to a return catch from Jayden Levitt before Rashid joined the attack in the 15th over and began with two wickets in his first over, bowling the patient Tripathi with a googly and trapping James Ord lbw with a similar delivery.He went on to bowl Luis Reece for 25, his only boundary shot being a big six off Rafiq, and Rashid’s final figures of 3 for 24 followed hot on the heels of his career-best 4 for 38 against Northamptonshire in the previous match.At 94 for 6 in 27 overs, a complete slump was prevented by Parsons and Woolley, but a sudden break for rain at 141 for 6 in 36.1 overs brought about a reduction in the overs.With only five balls remaining on the resumption, Parsons immediately belted Sidebottom for six over mid-wicket. His unbeaten 48 came off 60 deliveries with two fours and a six while Woolley made 28 not out with three fours.

Thirteen CSA nominated South African domestic cricketers, eleven of whom are black, will hone their skills in a nine-day training session in Bangalore

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2012Thirteen young South African cricketers nominated by the national board will take part in a nine-day training session in Bangalore to prepare for their domestic season, which starts next month. The squad – comprising six batsmen, six spinners and a fast bowler – will to be coached by former India spinner Sunil Joshi, among others.One of the focus areas is developing a generation of black batsmen – South Africa have never had a black African batsman. “We identified some of the most talented black African batsmen in an attempt to further develop their skill set,” CSA’s General Manager Corrie van Zyl said.Another target, he said, was to help spinners develop, and to allow batsmen to learn playing spin on spin-friendly pitches.Former South Africa spinner Nicky Boje will accompany the squad in the absence of Paul Adams, who resigned as CSA’s spin consultant to take up coaching responsibilities for the domestic team Cape Cobras in June.”[Boje] is a fantastic person to mentor our next generation of spinners and we look forward to calling upon his expertise to ensure proper development of our spin bowlers,” van Zyl said.The squad:Spinners: Dane Piedt (Cape Cobras), Siya Simetu (Cape Cobras), Eddie Leie (Highveld Lions), Simon Harmer (Warriors), Shaun Von Berg (Titans), and Tabraiz Shamsi (Dolphins)Fast bowler: Ayavuya Myoli (Border)Batsmen: Khaya Zondo (Dolphins), Omphile Ramela (Highveld Lions), Grant Mokoena (Highveld Lions), Tumelo Bodibe (Titans), Mangeliso Mosehle (Titans), and Luthando Mnyanda (South Western Districts)

Chris Nash made his third Championship hundred of the season as Sussex tightened their hold on the game against Somerset

David Hopps at Hove05-Sep-2012
ScorecardChris Nash: unlikely to be falling into the vacancy at England opener despite more runs for Sussex•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss has retired and the debate about who will step into his England opener’s job has suddenly become more pressing. Nick Compton and Varun Chopra, who have both passed 1,000 Championship runs in Division One, have their admirers. As for Chris Nash, whose unbeaten century left him 43 runs short of becoming the third England-qualified batsman to 1,000, he never merits a mention.It will probably always be this way for Nash, no matter how much he waves his arms. In fact, it is perhaps something to do with the way he waves his arms. Les Lenham, Sussex’s batting coach, might put it more technically, but after a couple of Lions appearances, England have lost interest. “It’s always a dream,” he said. “All you can do is score runs and put your name in the hat.”But Sussex spectators appreciate Nash’s fighting spirit and his hundred against Somerset, from 157 balls, has left them strongly placed for victory as, to all intents and purposes, they chase runners-up spot in Division One. He had a few alarms as his hundred approached, stealing a tight run to mid-on to reach 99 and surviving Steve Kirby’s direct hit and then was spared an lbw appeal before he drove Peter Trego down the ground.Alongside him, Murray Goodwin assembled only his second Championship fifty of the season in his Hove farewell. He received a sitting-and-standing ovation as if Sussex members were confused about correct etiquette. They will doubtless get to their feet sometime today.Sussex have lavished praise upon him, and he upon them, and that has just added to the feeling that, at 39, he is heading into retirement. But he wants none of it – he is looking for another county and as he is also viewed as a good team man he should get one last deal. He set off at a dash, with four boundaries in eight balls, his signature cut shot was warmed up by some short and wide stuff by Sajid Mahmood (his signature ball muttered one cynic) and he got the confidence to try to bat big one last time.It was a gorgeous late summer’s day at Hove, the sort that Britain had seemingly forgotten how to produce, and Nash and Goodwin, in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 139, topped up Sussex’s first-innings lead of 87 rather like a few of the spectators are topping up their tans: pleasurably and methodically with a minimum amount of fuss. They led by 273 at the close. You could almost hear Somerset’s ageing pace attack creaking.They had collapsed dismally in the morning. At 68 for 1, Somerset were making sturdy, if unspectacular, progress towards Sussex’s 221. Then they lost nine wickets for 66 in 24 overs. It is never good news for Somerset when Marcus Trescothick gets out, but this was overdoing the feeling of despair.Trescothick, 20,000 first-class runs under his belt, fell lbw to Sussex’s rangy Australian quick, Steve Magoffin, and Somerset lost three wickets for three runs in three overs, the weakest shot from James Hildreth who shovelled Monty Panesar to midwicket.Peter Trego bats like a gambler. In fact, sometimes he bats like The Dice Man, the cult novel by Luke Rhinehart, which tells of a psychiatrist who begins making increasingly important life-and-death decisions based on the casting of dice. It all looks highly exciting and somewhat random. Trego took four boundaries in a row off Magoffin but then self-destructed, hooking James Anyon to deep backward square, where Nash took an athletic catch.Magoffin’s three wickets were matched by Lewis Hatchett, a young left-arm quick, and Panesar, whose three cheap wickets against the tail will have done him no harm as he gently reminds the England selectors that he is still around ahead of the selection next week of the Test squad for India.When Steve Snell drove him to mid-off, Panesar lugubriously joined the celebrations as if he was not entirely sure he had been invited, like the hanger-on walking into the room at a student party. Well, not entirely like that because obviously he wasn’t carrying a cheap four-pack of lager.

A wrap of the opening day of the first round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Parthiv Patel’s massive century led Gujarat to a commanding score on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. Coming in with his side in trouble at 30 for 2, Parthiv batted aggressively and formed the mainstay of substantial partnerships for subsequent wickets.Parthiv added 133 with Niraj Patel, 87 with Venugopal Rao and 48 with Manprit Juneja before falling to Jalaj Saxena in the 81st over. He had batted 205 balls for 162 runs and hit 26 fours. Juneja remained unbeaten on 42 at stumps, as Gujarat ended on 327 for 4. Anand Rajan took 2 for 67 for Madhya Pradesh.
Scorecard
All five of Hyderabad’s top-order batsmen made starts but only Akshath Reddy converted it into a half-century, as the hosts Punjab struck at regular intervals to take the upper hand on the first day in Mohali. Medium-pacers Manpreet Gony and Amitoze Singh took three wickets each while conceding less than three runs per over.Punjab had a solid start after winning the toss, with their openers adding 77 before Ravi Teja was dismissed by Amitoze. Sandeep Sharma then dismissed his fellow Under-19 World Cup winner Hanuma Vihari to break a second-wicket stand of 59. Gony had Reddy caught behind in the next over, reducing Hyderabad to 138 for 3, after which Amitoze struck with consecutive deliveries, dismissing VVS Laxman and Syed Quadi in the 62nd over.So while Punjab had a satisfactory day overall, their captain didn’t fare as well. Harbhajan Singh, who was left-out of India’s Test squad, took 0 for 39 in 20 overs.
ScorecardThe poor light in Kolkata allowed only 59 overs to be bowled on the opening day between the hosts Bengal and the champions Rajasthan at Eden Gardens. During that time, Bengal laid the platform for a solid first-innings score, but their advantage was weakened by two late wickets.The hosts lost Jayojit Basu, dismissed for 6 for Pankaj Singh, early after choosing to bat, but the other opener Subhomoy Das anchored the innings. He added 68 runs with Writam Porel for the second wicket, and 95 with his captain Manoj Tiwary for the third. Bengal had progressed to 169 for 2 when Tiwary was dismissed by Madhur Khatri for 47. Seven runs later, they lost Das for 95, unlucky to be given lbw to a delivery from Pankaj that was missing leg stump. Pankaj took 3 for 30 and was economical too, conceding only 1.76 runs an over.
Scorecard
The start of the Ranji Trophy has rarely been under such scrutiny. The return of India’s star players to their domestic sides has been the biggest draw for fans, but not too far behind are those players possibly competing for a place in the Test squad during a long home season. At the Wankhede Stadium, Sachin Tendulkar batted with comfort, assuredness and ultimately supreme confidence to give a disappointingly small crowd of a few hundred spectators the performance they’d come to watch. Click here to read the full report.

South Africa and Australia could play festive-season Tests against each other before 2021 as the boards of both countries are willing to discuss the current scheduling

Firdose Moonda25-Nov-2012South Africa and Australia could play festive-season Tests against each other before 2021 as the boards of both countries are willing to discuss the current scheduling. Australia are due to host South Africa in November 2016, and Pakistan over the holidays, but the fixtures could be switched after Cricket South Africa (CSA) indicated a willingness to tour Australia over Christmas and New Year.If a rearrangement is agreed upon, it will be a change from CSA’s announcement two years ago, when chief executive Gerald Majola said the teams would not meet in that period until 2020 at least because both boards wanted to host Boxing Day and New Year Tests. With Majola no longer in office, acting CSA chief executive Jacques Faul said South Africa would consider revisiting the issue. “We can always discuss the option as long as it is mutually beneficial,” Faul said.Apart from the ongoing tour, South Africa had always visited Australia over the holiday season. They made five trips after readmission before Majola convinced the ICC not to include another visit in that period in the 2012-2020 FTP. His reasons were driven by Australia’s refusal to tour South Africa over the same time.”When the FTP was being discussed we brought forward a proposal that we would play them once in Australia and once at home. They didn’t accept our proposal,” Majola said in November 2010. “We thought if they don’t want to tour here, we will also say we don’t want to tour there during that time so we can host our own Tests.”Majola’s rationale seemed to make sense but South Africa brought the policy into question when they scheduled a Twenty20 instead of a Test on Boxing Day this summer. New Zealand will be touring South Africa and will play three Twenty20s on December 21, 23 and 26. CSA thought that would be the best way to maximise revenue over the period, given the opposition. However, they gave an assurance that there would be a Boxing Day Test in future seasons.While the Boxing Day Test is regarded a grand tradition in South Africa, as it is in Austalia, it not particularly profitable for CSA, with numbers dwindling after the first day. In contrast, festive-season Tests draw the biggest international crowds of the summer in Australia. For that reason, CA would prefer if South Africa travelled to Australia and not vice versa. Hosting South Africa would also be to CA’s liking because, along with England and India, they are big draw cards.”We have a long-held view that our preference is to play South Africa during that festive season,” James Sutherland, CA chief executive, said. “We understand the background and the reasons why that hasn’t happened this time, but
it’s not as easy as that. There’s a future tours programme that is in place until 2020. While we might like to try and engineer something, if that was a possibility, the knock-on effects all around the
calendar would be quite significant. But it would be a nice conversation to have. Both commercially and in terms of the promotion of the game here, it’s something that we have wanted to preserve.”The FTP has already been planned for the next eight years and Australia will host the Ashes, and series against India, New Zealand and West Indies over the next three. South Africa are due to tour in November 2016 with Pakistan to follow later that year. That could be an opportunity for the boards to agree to move the fixtures so South Africa visit over Boxing Day and New Year. Sutherland and Faul will meet at the ICC Chief Executive’s Conference in Dubai this week and Sutherland said it would be “something to add to the agenda.”

Shane Watson’s Test captaincy debut is now a “distinct possibility” following Michael Clarke’s suffering of a hamstring strain in the first Test against Sri Lanka

Daniel Brettig at Bellerive Oval17-Dec-2012Shane Watson’s Australian Test captaincy debut on Boxing Day is now a “distinct possibility” following Michael Clarke’s suffering of a hamstring strain in the first Test against Sri Lanka, according to the national coach Mickey Arthur.While Clarke led his team in the field on the fourth day and after scans and treatment overnight will do so again on the fifth, his barely mobile state was plainly clear, leaving him in considerable doubt to be fit in time for the biggest date on the Australian cricket calendar. Arthur confirmed this, and mentioned the former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin among a quartet of batsmen in the queue to replace Clarke.”It is a distinct possibility, it would be a really good challenge for Shane,” Arthur said. “We’ll learn a lot about Shane and his leadership ability, I’m confident he will come through it very well. If it does materialise, it will be a really good opportunity for him.”That batter, whoever it is, would have to be part of our extended squad. There are possibilities. [Brad] Haddin’s one of them, [Rob] Quiney’s one of them and certainly Usman Khawaja’s very much in the frame. Alex Doolan has played well also.”Arthur said Clarke was resolved to stay out in the field so long as the Test needed to be won, and having taken two wickets on the fourth evening Australia look in fair shape to take a 1-0 series lead on the final day.”He will get all the treatment he needs, he will get that after hours tonight and he will get that tomorrow between breaks,” Arthur said. “You would have to cut Michael’s leg off for him not to be out there. He certainly wants to marshal the troops and he wants to be there if hopefully sometime we can clinch a win. We don’t know exactly the extent of the injury just yet. We will wait for the scan and once we have the scan we will be able to assess.”Arthur also confirmed that Ben Hilfenhaus’ side injury was serious enough to rule him out of the Boxing Day Test and in all probability the New Year’s Test in Sydney. He nominated Jackson Bird and Nathan Coulter-Nile as the two men most likely to join the squad in Melbourne, as Australia’s list of injured fast bowlers has now extended to seven.”All I can say is we’ve had a list of bowlers leading into our summer, and we’re well down the list at the moment,” Arthur said. “But it’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for a couple of those guys. The names that have been on everyone’s lips are guys like Jackson Bird, it could be Nathan Coulter-Nile, and that will form part of the discussions we have tonight.”