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Brad Haddin spent his first full day as Australia’s vice-captain insisting Michael Clarke, his new master, is the right man for the top job

Peter English31-Dec-2010Brad Haddin spent his first full day as Australia’s vice-captain insisting Michael Clarke, his new master, is the right man for the top job. A new cricket leader is usually a time for celebration in this country, but Clarke’s appointment for Monday’s fifth Ashes Test at the SCG has been greeted with extreme caution.Ricky Ponting is missing the match due to a broken finger and Clarke enters the fixture in poor form and with only pockets of public support. None of that matters to Haddin, who says the team is 100% behind the leader.”He is ready to do this job,” Haddin said at the SCG. “He’d be excited about the prospect of captaining Australia and he will do a very, very good job. We’re 100% behind him and, being a good mate of mine, I’ll support him in any way I can. He deserves to be in this position … he’s the best man for the job.”Haddin, 33, said the public reaction to all the Australian players changed from week to week. However, Clarke’s rating among large sections of the community, particularly in his home state of New South Wales, has been more consistent. His lack of runs in the series – 148 in eight innings – hasn’t helped endear Clarke to the detractors and the lukewarm response adds to the pressure on the country’s 43rd Test captain.”You are one good innings away, or sometimes one good cover drive away, from the support being with you,” Haddin said. “Michael is a very strong character so things will be okay. He has got a very good cricket brain and you saw that through the T20 World Cup [when Australia made the final]. He thinks a lot about the game, he is going to do a very good job.”Haddin, who hopes his elevation is temporary, has played 31 Tests since replacing the retired Adam Gilchrist in the middle of 2008. He has leadership experience with New South Wales and gets a close-up view of the game as wicketkeeper. It will be interesting to watch how he juggles his post as one of the team’s verbal enforcers with his new responsibilities.The first aim for Australia is to show some signs of collective improvement after being thoroughly out-played in three of the four matches. The hosts are upset to have failed in their push to regather the urn – Haddin said the results were “unacceptable” – but they will aim to take comfort in a victory in Sydney.”It’s disappointing we have lost the Ashes and we are disappointed in our own performance, but you have to move on pretty quick in sport,” he said. “We have to win this Test match to make this series 2-all.”

Yasir Hameed, the Pakistan batsman, has lodged a formal complaint with the UK Press Complaint Commission against the tabloid , which had done a video sting operation on him last year

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2011Yasir Hameed, the Pakistan batsman, has lodged a formal complaint with the UK Press Complaint Commission against the tabloid . Hameed, who last played for Pakistan on the 2010 tour to England, was the subject of a video sting operation by the tabloid, in which he was seen discussing the fall-out of the Lord’s spot-fixing controversy and, among other things, an approach by a bookie during the 2004 Champions Trophy in England.Hameed says he was duped by the investigative reporter who came to him in a hotel in Nottingham claiming to be a representative of a global airline who wanted to talk about possible sponsorship deals, days after the end of the four-Test series, and is now seeking a formal apology and retraction from the tabloid.The complaint centres on four points, of inaccurate reporting, a breach of privacy, misrepresentation of character and harassment. Hameed opted to wait till the end of the spot-fixing hearings and a definitive verdict before he filed the complaint.Soon after the video came to light, Hameed was called to the Pakistan High Commission in London to explain his utterances in the video. He issued a statement later that day saying that the man, an Abid Khan, sent him intimidating SMSs after the meeting when Hameed denied what had been attributed to him.Hameed was also asked to explain the incident to the PCB’s integrity committee earlier this year, and he apologised to the board about the conversation. “I was trapped into it but I should not have said all that before a stranger and I apologise to all the players who were hurt because of that,” Hameed had told . It is believed the board has held back on his payments from the tour, though it isn’t clear whether it is because of this incident.

Pakistan have been, and probably will continue to be, reminded of the spot-fixing crisis for some time still

Osman Samiuddin in Hambantota21-Feb-2011When Pakistan take on Kenya in Hambantota on Wednesday, it will be their first international match since Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were banned from the game for spot-fixing. Pakistan lost the sixth and final ODI to New Zealand on the same day – February 5 – since the trio were handed minimum five-year sanctions.The three have not been available for Pakistan since September 2, however, when they were provisionally suspended by the ICC following the Lord’s Test. In that time Pakistan have played 16 ODIs, winning seven and losing eight; they won, however, their most series against New Zealand.Pakistan are trying to move on from it – and there was a real energy and buzz about their practice on Monday – but they have been, and probably will continue to be, reminded of it for some time still. “We all know that we’ve been through tough times but that doesn’t mean we don’t have talent,” coach Waqar Younis said. “We are good enough to beat any team on our given day. I don’t think anybody is even thinking about match-fixing or spot-fixing. We all are geared up because it’s a great tournament.”It hasn’t, however been easy. “Some days are harder than others, but the motivation is there and we try to make sure that we keep delivering,” he said. “I’m glad we had a series just before the World Cup and we won that quite convincingly, and that really gave us momentum. The best way to go about it is don’t read the newspaper in the morning, or see what is in the TV. Just keep focus on the job given to us.”Comments by Stuart Broad, ahead of the warm-up game between the sides in Dhaka – about avoiding Pakistan players in the team hotel – haven’t helped push the issue aside, but Waqar didn’t seem unduly fussed by the attitude. The response, he said, will come on the field.”If someone has that will to keep distance from us then it’s his will,” he said. “As far as Broad is concerned, I don’t want to comment on what he said. If he has said something which is not good, which is not fair to any individual or to any team I don’t want to say anything on that. We will probably show it on the field.”

The WICB will expose as many young players as possible to international limited-overs cricket over the next two years in order to create a deeper pool from which to choose a team for the 2014 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup

Tariq Engineer15-Apr-2011The West Indies Cricket Board will give as many young players as possible exposure to international limited-overs cricket over the next two years in order to create a deeper pool from which to choose a team for the 2014 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup, its chief executive Ernest Hilaire has said. He spoke to ESPNcricinfo a day after West Indies left out Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, their three senior-most players, from the squad for the first two ODIs of the five-match series against Pakistan that begins on April 21.Hilaire, though, insisted no one has been dropped permanently.”We recognise we need to support our senior players,” Hilaire told ESPNcricinfo. “We are also very clear that we need to have greater depth in the senior team. We cannot rely on one or two players. It is not a formula for success. I am convinced, and the board is convinced, that we need to start building a team that will win in 2015.”There is no indication that any player has been axed. The selectors will explain to every player how they fit into the plan. There is no inherent right for players to play every match.”West Indies had a disappointing World Cup campaign, exiting the tournament following a big defeat against Pakistan in the quarter-finals and Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan were subsequently left out of the start of the Pakistan series.Hilaire added that Gayle was yet to undergo a fitness test after picking up an injury during the World Cup, though this was not mentioned when the team was first announced.The policy of blooding as many new players as possible will be limited to the ODI and Twenty20 teams, with the Test team bearing a more settled look, because there are definite dates for ICC tournaments. “The Test schedule is different. It is home tours and away tours so it is a different strategy for limited-overs and Tests,” Hilaire said.The policy was put in place in October 2010 and was in evidence during the 2011 World Cup, in which Darren Bravo, Andre Russell, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach and Devon Thomas, all younger than 26, got the opportunity to display their skills under pressure, with promising results. Hilaire said he expects more like them will see action at the highest level so that in two years time West Indies will have a core group of battle-hardened players that will give them a chance of winning major trophies again.”We cannot keep seeking quick-fix solutions to West Indies cricket”, Hilaire said. “We need a structured approach. We are making a heavy investment in cricket development. Lots of investment in youth programs. You need long-term plans. You do not become world beaters overnight. You need to build a winning environment.”Hilaire conceded that there would be setbacks along the way and expected criticism of the board’s approach given the diversity in the region and the passion for cricket, but was adamant the board must do what it thinks is right.”There is a bigger picture and that is the success of West Indies cricket.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur

The Preview by Sriram Veera08-May-2011

Match facts

Monday, May 9, Jaipur
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Shane Warne’s farewell song has begun•AFP

Big Picture

This will be the first game that Shane Warne will be playing at home after announcing his decision to retire from the IPL at the end of this season. The home crowd is likely to get behind their favourite captain. The first-leg of the home-and-away game was won by Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk. Jaipur have always enjoyed the home advantage but the dry and slow pitch at Sawai Mansingh should also suit Chennai’s spin-heavy attack.In Chennai, though Shadab Jakati starred, it was the seamers, Albie Morkel and Doug Bollinger, who did the job for the home team. It’s in the seam department that Chennai trump Rajasthan for both teams generally like to go in with a three-pronged spin attack. Jakati’s performance in the last game has added more teeth to the attack; Chennai would hope that Suraj Randiv can get more consistent. Chennai’s batting has become more potent since the arrival of Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina’s form has seen an upswing in the second half of the tournament.Rajasthan’s batting has been a hit-and-miss affair. If Shane Watson and Ross Taylor click, they can get a big score. Else, it comes down to Johan Botha and Ashok Menaria to push them to a competitive total. Rahul Dravid finally broke his habit of throwing away starts with a polished 66 against Chennai and Rajasthan would wish he can remain consistent from now on.

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai: LWWWW (fourth in points table)
Rajasthan: LWWWL (fifth in points table)

Team talk

Will Chennai give another chance to Randiv? They like to play three spinners but Randiv has just taken six wickets in eight games at an economy rate of 7.68. While Jakati has improved in the last few games, Randiv has stagnated. The Jaipur pitch might give Randiv another chance at redemption. Chennai have another option in West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who arrived late on Sunday. Bravo made just 54 runs in the ODI series against Pakistan that West Indies lost 3-2 and picked up four wickets, but New Zealand allrounder and Chennai team-mate Scott Styris wrote on Twitter that Bravo had arrived “just in time for today’s match.”Stuart Binny hasn’t sparkled yet – he hasn’t batted or bowled much. Will Warne replace him this time?Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Albie Morkel is a talent on the path of self-destruction. How else can you explain his absence from the South African national side in the ODIs? He is a free-scoring batsman who has often, in the IPL, impressed with the ball but always struggles to find consistency. With the skill-sets at his disposal, he should be a more regular feature in the national side. Will he find that elusive consistency?Rahul Dravid was one of the main batsmen for Bangalore in the previous editions. He provided stability and at times, even momentum. He has got off to starts this season but has failed to convert most of them. The previous game witnessed a turnaround. Can he carry on? This Rajasthan team needs him even more than Bangalore; they need someone who can allow Watson and Taylor to express themselves. It has to be the job of Dravid who can allow them to do it.

Prime numbers

• With an average of 54.70, Michael Hussey has the highest batting average in IPL history, ahead of Shaun Marsh’s 52.20. Johan Botha is a surprise third with 48.80, albeit he has played just 10 games
• Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma are at the top of the catches list in the IPL with 28 apiece.

The chatter

“We knew it was coming. He had to work very hard during off season to be in shape for IPL and has bowled really well. We will take his decision as positive and as a challenge.”

Paul Valthaty has done his reputation no harm in the IPL, but he has more to do before he can get a call-up to the Mumbai Ranji team, Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer has said

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2011Paul Valthaty has done his reputation no harm in the IPL, but he has more to do before he can get a call-up to the Mumbai Ranji team, Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer has said.”This performance [in the IPL] will help him. He has made those runs against quality bowling and I’m sure the selectors will keep that in mind,” Jaffer told the . “However, you can’t judge someone for first-class cricket based on performance in Twenty20 games.”It’s a different format. He has to do well in tournaments like the Times Shield [in which Valthaty plays for Air India] and prove himself.”Labelling Valthaty ‘talented’, Jaffer said the injury he suffered below his eye during the Under-19 World Cup in 2002 and inconsistency have set him back. “He was a good cricketer at the U-19 level. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury and then had a few lean years, when he was in and out of Mumbai teams.”He has always played the odd remarkable innings in the Times Shield, but then would have a lean run. He was very inconsistent. However, with age people do mature and he has become better.”Valthaty grabbed the national spotlight by powering Kings XI Punjab home in a big chase against Chennai Super Kings with a blistering century on April 13. Since then, he has been trading places at the top of the IPL’s leading run-scorers’ table. However, he hasn’t played first-class cricket and has represnted Mumbai in one List A game.Jaffer – who played his last international match in April 2008 and has had a good run in the 2010-2011 Ranji Trophy averaging 80.88 – also said he is “hopeful” of breaking into India’s Test team, should the seniors choose to take a break during the tour of West Indies this summer.

Misbah-ul-Haq has replaced Shahid Afridi as Pakistan’s ODI captain for their upcoming two-match series against Ireland

Osman Samiuddin19-May-2011The curtain has finally come down on Shahid Afridi’s reign as ODI captain, with the PCB replacing him with Misbah-ul-Haq for the two ODIs against Ireland at the end of the month.No official reason has been given for the move to replace a man who has led Pakistan to two ODI bilateral series wins – although against weaker sides – as well as a semi-final run in the 2011 World Cup: when contacted board chairman Ijaz Butt refused to speak on the topic. In 34 ODIs, he won 18 and lost 15 games; a stretch which included tough series against England and South Africa. However Butt had had told a television channel on Wednesday that “no assurance has been rendered to Shahid Afridi of retaining him as skipper for the upcoming one-day international matches in Ireland.”I didn’t give any assurances to anyone and we are still in the process of debating the changes for the series against Ireland which is also important,” the PCB chief added.It is likely, however, that the move came after the board decided they had had enough with Afridi’s penchant for awkward public statements. The latest situation arose when Afridi returned from the Caribbean and hinted at unhappiness with coach Waqar Younis over matters of selection. The pair were never on fantastic terms – Waqar had preferred Misbah as captain for the World Cup itself – but held together through the World Cup. But differences grew between the pair during the course of the ODI series which Pakistan eventually won 3-2, Afridi unhappy at the amount of say Waqar wanted in the selection of the final XI.Afridi was sent a showcause notice by the board and was due to meet the chairman over his comments as well as his relationship with Waqar. A report in , the leading Urdu daily, said Afridi had spoken to the chairman on phone last week before flying out to the USA on a fund-raising tour on Tuesday and been assured that the situation wasn’t a serious one. Board officials have also constantly downplayed the differences between the pair since Afridi’s arrival, a situation which also led Mohsin Khan, chief selector, to the brink of resignation.Last December, during the tour of New Zealand, members of the team and the board were also upset with Afridi’s very public criticisms of the performances of the side in two Twenty20 losses.Afridi took over as ODI captain properly in June last year, before the Asia Cup, having been appointed the Twenty20 captain the previous year. He was never given the leadership on a full-time basis, but first irked the board by walking away from the Test captaincy on the tour to England, one Test after being appointed. Misbah, currently the Test captain, now becomes the fifth ODI captain under the near three-year tenure of Butt; there have also been six Test captains in that time.Afridi does retain a place in the 16-man squad for the two ODIs on May 28 and 30. Three changes have been made from the ODI squad that defeated West Indies. Opener Ahmed Shehzad, middle-order batsman Usman Salahuddin and fast bowler Sadaf Hussain have been dropped. In their place come Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Umar Gul; Younis and Gul were both rested for the Caribbean ODI trip and Younis missed the Test series after his brother passed away.Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Salman (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam

Sarfraz Nawaz, the former Pakistan fast bowler, has said that there is plenty of fast bowling talent in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011Sarfraz Nawaz, the former Pakistan fast bowler, has said that there is plenty of fast bowling talent in Pakistan and proper guidance is all that is needed to help players make the most of their abilities.”Nowadays bowlers have natural swing but lack execution,” Sarfraz told the . “There was a time when umpires didn’t check the ball and it was easier to craft the ball accordingly but now reverse-swing has become harder.”Sarfraz, who will be coaching fast bowlers at the PCB Fast Track Coaching Programme at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore that begins on July 3, said that the retirement of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis had left a void that Pakistan was not equipped to fill at the time, but the coaching programme will help correct that.”I agree that the process of transformation was halted after Akram and Waqar walked away. Pakistan did not have any sort of backup then. But I think that once I finish this coaching stint, there will be a lot of improvement. Some of our bowlers have technical flaws. Mohammad Talha is a superb prospect but his growth seems to be stagnant.”Abdul Qadir, the former Pakistan legspinner, has also joined the coaching programme and was equally optimistic about making progress with the spinners. “Leg-spin bowling is rare and is one of the difficult departments,” Qadir said. “But I’m happy the talent is still alive in the country as we have Yasir Shah, Usman Qadir and many more in the domestic circuit.”I’ll ensure that they become better bowlers after the programme.”Chief selector Mohsin Khan and former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmed will also be part of the programme as coaches for the 12-man pool of batsmen. The programme for the fast bowlers and batsmen will run from July 3 to July 18 and the allrounders, middle-order batsmen and spinners’ programme will be held from July 20 to August 3.

James Taylor, the Leicestershire batsman, will captain England Lions in their four-day and one-day matches against Sri Lanka A next month

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2011James Taylor, the Leicestershire batsman, will captain England Lions in their four-day and one-day matches against Sri Lanka A next month. The squads include Scott Borthwick, the Durham legspinner, Nottinghamshire batsman Alex Hales while Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, is included for the one-day matches.Taylor takes over the Lions captaincy from James Hildreth who led them on the tour of West Indies and against Sri Lanka, at Derby, earlier this season. Taylor has already faced Sri Lanka A for Leicestershire and scored an unbeaten 168 in the recent four-day match with began their tour. When he faced the full Sri Lanka team in May he scored an excellent 76 in tough conditions.However, the really interesting selections are those players who haven’t appeared for the Lions before. Borthwick has moved ahead of Adil Rashid as a legspinning allrounder after taking 19 wickets at 30.57 in the County Championship along with scoring 348 runs at 38.66.Hales has impressed at the top of the order for Nottinghamshire and has made 592 runs in the Championship, including a career-best 184 along with 214 runs in the CB40 and 409 in the Friends Life t20 at a strike-rate of 149.81. The other new faces in the squads are Joe Root, the 20-year-old Yorkshire batsman, an interesting choice as he has yet to score a first-class hundred, and pace bowlers Jack Brooks and Stuart Meaker from Northamptonshire and Surrey respectively.Stokes, meanwhile, may already have played for England this season if it hadn’t been for an untimely broken finger after he began the summer in fine form. Overall he has 609 Championship runs included three hundreds – one a career-best 185 – and has chipped in with 17 wickets.It isn’t just fresh faces who make up the squads, however, with Ravi Bopara included in both parties and Steven Finn for the three one-day matches along with Warwickshire allrounder Chris Woakes who has played ODI and Twenty20 cricket for England.The four-day match takes place at Scarborough from August 2-5 with the three one-day games on August 12, 14, and 16 at New Road and Wantage Road.Four-day squad James Taylor (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Jack Brooks, Jade Dernbach, Alex Hales, James Harris, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, Joe Root.One-day squad James Taylor (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, James Harris, Stuart Meaker, Chris Nash, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

Darren Stevens took career-best match figures of 11 for 70 as Kent swept aside Surrey in three days to win their Division Two clash by 265 runs

12-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Darren Stevens took career-best match figures of 11 for 70 as a Kent side, inspired by a backs-to-the-wall, unbeaten century by their captain Rob Key, swept aside Surrey in three days to win their Division Two clash by 265 runs. Facing a mammoth target of 370 for victory, Surrey capitulated inside two hours for a paltry 104 – their worst championship total in a decade – to lose with almost four sessions of the game remaining.Surrey’s demise started as early as the third ball of their second innings when Stevens, Kent’s first-innings hero with career-best figures of 7 for 21 – trimmed the off stump of left-hander Steve Davies with a sublime away-swinger.In poor light Mark Ramprakash shuffled hesitantly forward to a full ball from Matt Coles that plucked out the off stump to spark a dramatic collapse that saw the visitors lose their last nine wickets for 78 runs.Zander de Bruyn became one of eight Surrey batsmen to record a duck in the match when he edged behind off Stevens, who then had Surrey top-scorer Rory Hamilton-Brown (40) caught at third slip at the third attempt by counterpart Rob Key. That gave Stevens his first ever 10-wicket match haul.Jason Roy miscued to mid-off against the same bowler leaving James Tredwell to run through the tail on a crumbling surface with a season’s best haul of 5 for 35.Earlier, Kent batted for the first 24 overs of day three in adding 63 to an already impressive 300-plus lead. Key carried his bat for the first time in four years to score a stoic, unbeaten 110 from 202 balls – his 20th century for Kent at the St Lawrence ground.Backed up by the tailenders and last man Simon Cook in particular, Key’s century included only five fours and came off 192 balls. The former England right-hander went 33 overs without posting a boundary yet his innings, coupled with the bowling of Stevens, ensured that Kent secured their fourth win of the campaign to bank 21 points to Surrey’s three.The only bright moment of a dire game for Surrey came when their doughty right-arm seam-bowler Tim Linley dismissed Kent tailender Adam Ball to secure his 50th championship scalp of the summer. Otherwise, these were three days Surrey will quickly want to forget.Key was the only player of the game to pass 50 as Kent took big strides in staving off the championship wooden spoon while also leaving Surrey’s promotion hopes in tatters.