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Derbyshire were incensed at James Tredwell’s substitution as their promotion hopes took a blow at Kent

David Lloyd at Canterbury06-Sep-2012
ScorecardSam Northeast has enjoyed a coming-of-age season•Getty ImagesDerbyshire are not happy, not by a long way. And the suddenly vulnerable second division leaders will be fuming all over again by tomorrow night if England spinner James Tredwell bowls promotion rivals Kent to a vital victory here.The visitors were shocked to learn just 45 minutes before play resumed this morning that, contrary to emails sent by the ECB to both teams and the umpires ahead of this game, vastly experienced campaigner Tredwell was being allowed to replace fellow off-spinner Adam Riley in the home side at the halfway stage of this highly significant match.”They told us Tredwell could come in if he didn’t play at Trent Bridge and we have got an email to that effect,” explained Derbyshire’s head coach Karl Krikken. “He played in that game, so from half past two yesterday we thought he wasn’t going to play here. At a quarter to 10 in the morning, I found out from the umpires that he was able to play.”The rules were set at the start of the game but it’s like saying ‘it doesn’t matter, let’s tear that up and he can play anyway’. It’s wrong, it’s totally and utterly wrong. I feel sorry for the Derbyshire supporters and for the players because they have worked their knackers off to get into this position and you look to play a fair game and then don’t get it.”Kent want to do their best so they will try to push every rule they can, but it’s totally wrong. It’s nonsense. It’s moving the goalposts.”The principle of England players leaving and joining Championship matches on days one and two is now firmly established, even though it goes against the grain for those traditionalists who insist cricket is an 11-a-side game, full stop. But it was the ECB’s change of mind, under the “exceptional circumstances” rule mentioned in the competition regulations, that so annoyed Derbyshire.Because the ODI at Trent Bridge was won by South Africa with more than 15 overs to spare, the Board accepted Kent’s request to release Tredwell after all – on the basis he would have plenty of time to travel to Canterbury from Nottingham last night. And they are not at all apologetic about the revised decision, seeing it as a sign of their flexibility and desire to let county cricket supporters watch the best players in action whenever possible.”We operate on the basis that England players should be made available for their counties so long as there are no fitness or workload issues,” an ECB spokesman said.Kent chief executive Jamie Clifford added: “It is crucial that there is a spirit of co-operation between the counties and the ECB, and in particular concerning England players if we are to continue to support Team England.”The bottom line here, of course, is that a 20-year-old spinner, Riley, playing only his 13th first-class match, has been replaced by a 30-year-old, Tredwell, who has taken 332 wickets at this level.Tredwell warmed up for tomorrow’s task by bowling five maidens tonight, having earlier played a part in the one wicket to fall after Derbyshire had been set a mighty 404 to win. When Wayne Madsen edged Mark Davies, Darren Stevens parried the chance at third slip for Tredwell, at second, to hold the rebound.Whatever happens on the final day, Derbyshire will go into next week’s final round of matches as second division leaders. But having been top of the table almost all season, the gap is now far too small for their comfort. Yorkshire have already won so defeat tomorrow would leave them just one point clear – with Kent only a further five points back in third spot.It is a great pity, though, that this bit of a rumpus over Tredwell’s introduction took some of the shine off a terrific Kent batting performance which saw Sam Northeast, the highly talented 22-year-old opener, make a championship best 165.This was the former England Under 19 batsman’s sixth first-class hundred overall and his third of what has turned out to be a coming of age season.Northeast has taken a little longer to develop than had seemed likely when he was scoring centuries for fun as a schoolboy and making the Harrow 1st XI as a 14-year-old. But he batted beautifully for six hours here without giving a chance, striking 14 fours and depositing spinners Wes Durston and David Wainwright for one six apiece.Having taken three wickets, for one run, just before close of play yesterday, Derbyshire appeared to be right back in this match with Kent only 120 ahead. But Northeast and Nash combined brilliantly to deflate the visitors during a stand of 137. Then Northeast twisted the knife by adding 123 alongside Mike Powell before finally upper-cutting a catch to third man.Derbyshire had endured more than enough for one day. But they will be back to fight again in the morning.

A wonderfully-crafted new-ball spell from Vernon Philander, which brought him five wickets in six overs, sparked one of the most humiliating days in New Zealand Test history

The Report by David Hopps02-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNew Zealand’s innings lasted 19.2 overs – the shortest ever completed innings for them in Test cricket•AFPA wonderfully-crafted new-ball spell from Vernon Philander, which brought him five wickets in six overs, set the tone for a wholly embarrassing day for New Zealand as they careered to the third-lowest Test score in their history, and the lowest Test total since 1974, in a contest which wasted no time in giving the impression of a mismatch.The New Zealand innings, undermined initially by Philander’s excellence, but increasingly defeatist as it progressed, lasted only 19.2 overs as they were bowled out in the first session. Lunch was still 19 minutes away when Daniel Flynn made a hash of a pull at Dale Steyn to be the last man out, leaving New Zealand no nearer to finding a semblance of stability following the controversial sacking of Ross Taylor from the captaincy.It was a gorgeous day at Newlands, and a capacity crowd soaked up the sunshine and relished the sight of South African domination.South Africa lost their captain, Graeme Smith, in two overs leading up to lunch, but the mastery established by Philander was equally apparent with the bat. Alviro Petersen helped himself to a measured, unbeaten Test hundred to underline his growing maturity. Hashim Amla purred along much as he pleased against optimistically attacking fields, extending his repertoire on occasions as if to stave off boredom and making 66 from 74 balls, before he wandered blithely across his stumps against James Franklin and suffered for his presumption.Statistical landmarks, though, fell elsewhere. Dale Steyn reached 300 Test wickets in his 61st Test before lunch and became the fourth South African to do so, following Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald and Makhaya Ntini. Then came another redoubtable figure, Jacques Kallis, who joined Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid as makers of 13,000 Test runs. He briefly gorged himself on the New Zealand attack in the unconcerned manner of a king used to more exacting feats before departing with many potential courses left uneaten.This has been one of the sorriest interludes in New Zealand cricket, with allegations of dishonesty and former players burning blazers, but when the real business – Test cricket – returned, matters became even worse as New Zealand were humbled by a mighty South Africa pace attack.Philander’s method was simple and clinical as he maintained impeccable accuracy and found just enough assistance to be persistently threatening. Martin Guptill, Dean Brownlie and BJ Watling edged to wicketkeeper or slips, New Zealand’s brusque new captain, Brendon McCullum, was bowled off an inside edge trying to cover the outswing and Kane Williamson fell lbw after his recourse to DRS proved unsuccessful.There was nothing manifestly disturbing about Philander, no trepidation caused by express pace or even lavish movement, but conditions were lively enough and he lulled a somewhat naïve New Zealand batting line-up into error, killing with kindness, a technician takinbg advantage of indeterminate footwork. It took South Africa a long time to recognise his subtle talents and he is making up for lost time.He returned new-ball figures of 6-3-7-5, quite a feat for a bowler who had been doubtful for this Test after tweaking a hamstring a fortnight ago and who was described by Smith, his captain, on the eve of the Test as “provisionally fit”. New Zealand will be provisionally judged to be out of their depth and the two-Test series will be provisionally held to be over.All this delayed, if not entirely overshadowed, Steyn’s move to 300 Test wickets. He went unrewarded in his opening spell while Philander wreaked havoc, but switched to the Wynberg End for his second spell and with his third ball bowled Doug Bracewell with a delivery that swung away to hit off stump.The last thing New Zealand needed was a difficult decision at the toss, but that was what McCullum faced in his first Test in charge since the removal of Taylor. The pitch was green, if not especially so, and certainly not as green as the New Zealand batsmen. It would have been tempting for New Zealand captains of the old school to feel their way into the Test by having a bowl. Instead, McCullum took the assertive route, as is his style, and his team was found entirely wanting.In cricketing terms, McCullum’s decision was justifiable. There were enough cracks in a pitch dried out by the strong winds of recent days to dissuade McCullum from batting last and, if he looked upwards, he found a stunning Cape Town morning, with Table Mountain shimmering under cloudless blue skies. All they had to do was survive a session. Instead, Philander’s lissom skills soon took their toll.He had a wicket with the last ball of his first over, an outswinger edged by Guptill. There were two more wickets in his third over; a good-length ball caused McCullum to play on and Brownlie fell third ball for nought. It was a limp shot from Brownlie who was batting in Taylor’s spot at No. 4 (a spot where Taylor made 142 and 74 in his last two Test innings, against Sri Lanka in Colombo), one that was hardly designed to fill New Zealand with a sense of feelgood.Philander was unlikely to be given a long spell considering the creeping doubts about his fitness, but he made the most of his limited timespan. Williamson, after having the temerity to drive him down the ground, fell lbw to the last ball of his fourth over and BJ Watling fell to probably the best ball of the lot when the first delivery of his fifth over again found the edge. Morne Morkel preyed upon the tail.Kallis and Steyn’s historic moments will mean that much of the attention will rest upon them. But this is only Philander’s third Test at Newlands and he already has 19 wickets at 9.73. He loves Test cricket and he loves nowhere more than Newlands.

SLC will be reviewing the actions of captain Mahela Jayawardene and team manager Charith Senanayake, after Jayawardene said he had “lost all confidence in dealing with SLC” in a letter to the newspaper

Andrew Fernando22-Dec-2012Sri Lanka Cricket’s Executive Committee will review the actions of captain Mahela Jayawardene and team manager Charith Senanayake, after Jayawardene said he had “lost all confidence in dealing with SLC” in a letter to the newspaper. Jayawardene’s letter had come after the newspaper carried a story about a request from Jayawardene to the SLC, which he had believed was confidential.Jayawardene’s request to the SLC was to have the player’s allotment of the guarantee fee from the World Twenty20 shared with the team’s support staff as well as Sri Lankan groundstaff and curators, whom he said had worked “closely and tirelessly with the team” during the tournament. This request was turned down by the board, which said it did not wish to “deviate from standard practice”.Details of this request and the SLC’s response were obtained by the , who ran a story on the matter, which also quoted SLC’s treasurer Nuski Mohamed laying out the reasons as to why Jayawardene’s request was denied. This public airing of an issue Jayawardene believed to be sensitive then prompted him to write a letter to the newspaper.”As the Captain of the National Team, I am disturbed and deeply disappointed that a confidential document handed over to Sri Lanka Cricket has been published in the on December 19 causing much concern, embarrassment to players and other staff members,” said Jayawardene in the letter, published on December 21. He said that as a result of the story being leaked to the papers, he had “lost all confidence in dealing with SLC in the future”.SLC has since issued a release saying the “release of [Jayawardene’s] views through the Manager, direct to the media is a breach of their respective contracts on the part of both the Captain and the Manager and this matter will be taken up for discussion when the Executive Committee next meets.”Jayawardene is due to step down as captain following the end of Sri Lanka’s tour to Australia.

A commanding knock of 88 from Christopher Barnwell stole the thunder off Chris Gayle’s mammoth century to steer Guyana to the final of the Caribbean T20 after an impressive win against Jamaica in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2013
ScorecardChristopher Barnwell’s 88 took the match away from Jamaica•WICB MediaA commanding knock of 88 from Christopher Barnwell stole the thunder from Chris Gayle’s eighth T20 century and took Guyana past Jamaica in the Caribbean T20 playoff. Guyana now play table-toppers Trinidad and Tobago in the final on Sunday.They started their chase of 184 poorly, losing opener Derwin Christian in the first over. Although Ramnaresh Sarwan struck three boundaries and a six to keep up with the required run-rate, he dragged one on to his stumps in the fourth over. Trevon Griffith and Barnwell batted responsibly to keep them in the hunt, adding 79 off 55 balls. After that, Barnwell controlled the chase.His innings was full of strokeful boundaries. Arriving to the crease at the fall of the second wicket, ahead of the regular No. 4 Narsingh Deonarine, he maintained a balance between pushing the scoring rate to keep his side in the contest, and cutting the risks. The three-over period between overs 15 and 17 produced 53 runs, and swung the match in Guyana’s favour. The 17th over, especially, epitomised Guyana’s confidence and their opponents’ lack of it, when strike bowler Krishmar Santokie bowled two balls down the leg side and a full toss, to give away 19 runs in the over. Santokie’s injury while fielding, however, might have affected his bowling, but by then Jamaica were out of the contest.Jamaica looked favourites when Gayle, playing his second match of the competition, smashed 122 off 61 deliveries – his second-highest Twenty20 score – to propel his team to 183 for 6. He ruined the figures of spinners Devendra Bishoo, Royston Crandon and Veerasammy Permaul, who was smashed for 28 runs in his only over. He smashed 12 sixes, breaking his own Caribbean T20 record of the maximum number of sixes in an innings (9) that he had gained in his previous knock. Rain, which delayed the start of the game, made it hard for bowlers to grip the ball.Gayle began his big hitting in the second half of the Jamaica innings, helping them score 142 runs in the final ten overs after scoring 41 off the first ten.Of the other seven Jamaica batsmen, only two got into double figures. Captain Tamar Lambert, who scored 23, spoke in the post-match presentation of the failure of the other batsmen to score alongside Gayle. He stressed that one man couldn’t single-handedly win the game for the side all the time.But the difference between victory and defeat for them lay in the Guyanese batsmen’s resolve and a slip in momentum in the middle overs by the Jamaica bowlers.

By the end of day two in Chennai, India reached a contented 182 for 3 with Virat Kohli offering typically wristy support to Sachin Tendulkar

The Report by Daniel Brettig23-Feb-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSachin Tendulkar’s innings was the most assured and ominous he has played at Test level in recent memory•BCCIIn the space of his first two balls, Sachin Tendulkar changed the complexion of this match. Arriving at the wicket with India a forlorn 12 for 2 in reply to 380, he punched a rampant James Pattinson through the covers with so much certainty that a previously confident Australia were given pause, while a momentarily cowed India breathed anew.By the end of the day Pattinson had burst through a third batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, but used only in a pair of micro-spells he was unable to get at Tendulkar, and the hosts reached a contented 182 for 3 with Virat Kohli offering typically wristy support. Tendulkar’s innings was the most assured and ominous he has played at Test level in recent memory, though it could easily have ended in the final over before tea.Nathan Lyon pushed most of his deliveries through, but second ball he looped an off break that Tendulkar padded away dismissively though it appeared bound for the stumps. Australia’s appeal was prolonged, but the umpire Marais Erasmus was unmoved. The close call had a restorative effect on Tendulkar, allowing him to go on to only a second half-century in his past 14 Test innings, and a deflating one on Lyon, depriving him of the confidence an early wicket would have provided. He was seldom a threat from that moment.India’s innings had been delayed until after lunch by the obduracy of the Australian tail. Michael Clarke went on from his overnight 103 not out to 130, going past Greg Chappell on Australia’s list of run aggregates along the way, and Peter Siddle dead-batted to a stodgy but valuable 19 from 94 balls. Pattinson and Lyon then managed to extend the session, each ball a little victory for the pair though they were both fortunate to survive lbw appeals. Lyon ultimately succumbed when his sweep was well held at leg slip.R Ashwin again bowled teasingly, and Lyon’s wicket gave him a new innings high-mark in first-class cricket. Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh struck earlier in the morning, the latter improving somewhat on his diffident performance on the first day of the series. Redolent of a desert, the pitch required constant vigilance by the batsmen, and does not look like improving.M Vijay and Virender Sehwag walked out for the start of the afternoon session aware that Australia’s most threatening bowlers would be employed immediately. Mitchell Starc took the first over and bowled tidily without extracting his pet inswing to the right-hand batsmen, relying on the occasional short ball for the element of surprise. He was later to spend too many overs around the wicket, negating his natural angle, and the creation of footmarks for Lyon.At the other end Pattinson charged in for his first Test since a side strain removed him from Australia’s attack in Adelaide last November. Clearly instructed to bowl at his fastest in short spells by his captain Clarke, Pattinson touched 150kmph during a three-over stint that exhilarated everyone but the Indian opening batsmen.Smart stats

Sachin Tendulkar’s half-century is his seventh fifty-plus score in Chennai. In 15 innings at the venue, Tendulkar has scored 947 runs with five centuries and two fifties at an average of 94.7.

Tendulkar, during the course of his knock, also went past 7000 runs in home Tests. Only Ricky Ponting has more runs than Tendulkar in home Tests. Tendulkar is also 128 runs away from becoming the highest run-getter in Tests against Australia.

Since the start of the England series in 2011, India’s opening partnership has averaged just 33.56 in 32 innings. Among top Test teams (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe), only New Zealand and Sri Lanka have a lower average for the opening wicket.

For the first time since November 2009 (end of his 70th Test), Virender Sehwag’s average fell below the 50 mark. Since the Edgbaston Test in 2011, Sehwag has managed just 867 runs in 28 innings at an average of 30.96 with one century.

R Ashwin’s 7 for 103 is his best bowling performance in Tests surpassing his previous best of 6 for 31 against New Zealand last year. Overall, it is the tenth-best bowling performance in Chennai (seventh-best by a spinner).

Michael Clarke’s 130 is the highest individual score by an Australian captain in Tests in India. He surpassed the record of Ricky Ponting, who made 123 in Bangalore in 2008.

For the 11th time overall and the first time since the Delhi Test in 2008, all wickets in the Australia innings fell to Indian spinners.

Entering the match with modest domestic form, Vijay was beaten for pace by a full ball that tailed back fractionally and plucked out leg stump via the inside edge. Sehwag never seemed at home, and a late defensive prod on a ball angled back into him resulted in a dismissal that looked bizarre but also felt inevitable.It was reminiscent of Graham Gooch’s famed handled the ball dismissal in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1993, only this time the batsman allowed the ball to drop on the stumps rather than pushing it away with an illegal glove. Having worn his spectacles to the middle, Sehwag strolled off in search of a new optometrist.Tendulkar marked his guard with few recent Test runs behind him, and a clear pattern in his recent dismissals – the stumps were bound to be attacked. But he confronted those first two balls with such assurance that the tone of the innings changed almost immediately, Australia’s bowlers and fielders given pause by the poise of an ageing master, as he set his soundest foundation for quite some time.Pujara lost little by comparison, technically compact but never missing a chance to score, and together with Tendulkar he pushed India out of the worst of the danger. Tendulkar’s non-shot against Lyon will stick in the memory of the Australians should he go on to a century on day three, much as Clarke’s escape from a bat-pad appeal gave India reason to feel wronged on the first afternoon.Australia’s bowlers found some reverse swing not long after tea, Moises Henriques and Siddle both bending the ball usefully. But it was Pattinson who found a way through Pujara, though with a delivery never intended to curve. Delivered across the seam, it skidded through low and beat Pujara’s slightly lax defensive stroke, leaving India precariously placed at 105 for 3.But the breach was not fully exploited. Pattinson again returned to outfield duty after only three overs, Lyon remained inconsistent, and the rest were lacking in danger if not effort. Clarke eventually brought himself on from over the wicket, and had the ball biting out of the rough. But he was unable to land there enough to maintain pressure, and the day petered out with Tendulkar looking every bit as assured as his first two balls had been.

James Pattinson has conceded he did not take his axeing from the Test side well on Monday but has come around to the realisation the severe punishment was necessary for letting his team-mates down

Brydon Coverdale12-Mar-2013James Pattinson has conceded he did not take his axeing from the Test side well on Monday but has come around to the realisation the severe punishment was necessary for letting his team-mates down. Pattinson, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja were all told they would not be considered for the Mohali Test starting on Thursday due to their failure to complete a task on how they and the team could improve following the innings loss in Hyderabad.After the decision was made by the coach Mickey Arthur, captain Michael Clarke and team manager Gavin Dovey, Watson flew home to be with his pregnant wife but also said he would consider his future as a cricketer. Pattinson, Johnson and Khawaja remained with the squad and trained as usual on Tuesday, and they will be available for selection for the fourth Test in Delhi after serving their one-match penalty in Mohali.”We had a training session yesterday and we apologised to the team about it,” Pattinson said on Tuesday. “It does hurt, missing a Test match. It’s not only that, you let your team down as well. At the time I was told I was quite upset. At the start I didn’t take it as well as I probably could have. The easy thing for me was to make excuses and say it’s a harsh punishment.”But the reality is it’s not – it’s part of playing cricket for Australia. You’ve got to do everything right. It wasn’t hard for the other 12 blokes to get it in on time and they took the time out to really reflect and do what’s best for the team whereas we four didn’t. Right now I’m still hurting about it but in the long run I think it’s going to make us a better team.”Following the loss by an innings and 135 runs, the tenth biggest margin for an Australian defeat in Test history, Arthur asked every player in the squad to think about where they and the team had gone wrong and could improve. They were given four days to complete the task and while 12 did so by the Saturday night deadline, four had still not by Monday morning.”It was one of those things where I didn’t put in 100% for the team,” Pattinson said. “At this level you can’t forget. It’s pretty cut throat and personally not good enough. It wasn’t a hard task at all and it was something that was very valuable for the team going forward. It comes down to preparation for a Test, you can prepare in the nets and the batting, bowling and fielding but preparing off the field as well is just as important.”It shows a lack of respect to the coach, the captain as well, and the rest of the team. I know if I was in their position, as a team member, I’d be quite disappointed in them for being a bit selfish. People talk about it as a harsh punishment but looking deeply into it you realise probably it’s not. If you want to be part of the Australian cricket team you have to do everything right. It’s not acceptable. I believe it’s the right punishment. Everyone in the group needs to understand that this is the lengths we need to go to to be successful as a team.”On Monday, Clarke and Arthur were at pains to stress that their extreme decision was the result not only of the players failing to complete this task, but also because the squad in general had been lax over the course of the tour and an example needed to be made. The initial reaction from a number of former players was one of disbelief that four men would be left out due to what might have seemed a trivial oversight, but Pattinson said in a young playing group he understood the need to build a positive culture.”They’re entitled to their opinion and a lot of the players that are saying that were great players and they probably didn’t have to deal with this stuff because they were in a period of time when they were on top of the world,” Pattinson said. “We’re in a different position. We’re trying to build a culture. We’ve got a lot of young guys. I think other people are starting to come around a bit more and understand the reasons behind it.”It’s not massive things. A lot of people are saying it’s just for not handing something in but it’s more than that. It’s little things like sometimes being late for something. You can give fines for that but that’s only so much. You talk about being late to things, the worst thing is actually being excluded from something. Being excluded from the team, being excluded from playing a Test match. That’s what hurts the most.”Australia will miss Watson in Mohali, the venue where he made his last Test century, but Pattinson will be arguably an even bigger loss on a pitch expected to offer more bounce for the fast men. Pattinson has taken eight wickets at 23.62 on this tour so far, twice as many wickets as any other Australian bowler, but he said the bigger picture for Australia was not just about this Mohali Test but about creating a strong team structure in the longer term.”Hopefully we’ve got the talent to one day be a great team,” Pattinson said. “We’ve got a huge period with the back-to-back Ashes that are going to be important. I think we must get these little niggling things out of the way now and send a message that come Ashes time we will be ready to go – and united as a group – to perform there, because the Ashes are massive for us and we are striving to get back against the Poms.”

MS Dhoni believes his forthrightness helped him earn a captaincy recommendation from Sachin Tendulkar

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2013MS Dhoni believes his forthrightness helped him earn a captaincy recommendation from Sachin Tendulkar. He said he received Tendulkar’s backing in the matter, which was a “huge thing”.”On the field, I always give my honest inputs about team strategy,” Dhoni said at the launch of , a book that celebrates his stellar innings. “Tendulkar and I used to discuss team strategy on the field. If I was convinced [about something], I would even disagree with him and it happened quite often.”I think my honesty has paid dividends when he recommended me for captaincy. He might [have been] thinking that I had learnt in quick time [about] different aspects of the game and team strategy. Even if I was not made the captain, it was a huge thing that Tendulkar had recommended my name for captaincy.”Dhoni, who debuted for India in 2004, took over the limited-overs captaincy from Rahul Dravid after India’s tour of England in 2007. He had a smashing start to his captaincy, leading India to victory in the World Twenty20 2007 in his first series in charge. Soon after, he lost his maiden ODI series as captain, at home to Australia, but followed up with victory in the tri-series in Australia that also included Sri Lanka. He took over the Test captaincy full-time from Anil Kumble in November 2008 in the Nagpur Test against Australia, and has now become India’s most successful Test captain with 23 wins from 46 Tests.Dhoni, who labelled Tendulkar his “sporting hero”, also spoke about the first time he met him. “I think that was in a Duleep Trophy match in Pune in 2000-01 or 2001-02 season. I was in East Zone squad and was carrying drinks. Tendulkar made 199 in that match and he was batting when I went onto the field to serve drinks to my team-mates in the drinks break.”Suddenly, he asked me, ‘Can I have a drink also?’ That was my first meeting with Tendulkar, my idol. I did not speak a word to him and ended up serving a drink to him.”

Gary Kirsten has decided not to renew his contract as South Africa coach

Firdose Moonda10-May-2013Gary Kirsten’s tenure in charge of South Africa will end on July 31 after he decided not to renew his contract for a further two years. Kirsten, who was appointed in 2011, cited the needs of his sons, Joshua and James and daughter, Joanna, who are all under the age of 10, as the only reason for him opting not to continue to be in charge of the team he took to No.1 on the Test rankings. His last assignment will be the Champions Trophy in England before he settles in to spend more time with his family.”I feel I can no longer cope with the lengthy periods of separation from my family that this job demands,” Kirsten admitted. “Last year, I had 250 days away from Cape Town, my home. I believe my absentia as a father is compromising my responsibilities to my family. I’ve just had five weeks at home now, which is the longest period I have had there for a few years and I began to realise the impact my absence as a father has had on my family.”When Kirsten took the job as South Africa coach, he made it plain to his employers, CSA, that his first priority was to his family. His contract included terms relating to the amount of time he could spend at home, even during the season and on tours, because he did not want the job to rob him of his primary role of husband and father.At the time, he and his wife, Deborah had a policy in place about the maximum number of days they would spend apart – 21. Kirsten also assured her if the separation ever became “unbearable”, he would not continue as coach. He has now decided it has reached those levels and Deborah was among the most surprised by that conclusion.”I don’t think she believed me when I said I was not going to renew,” Kirsten said. “But that’s how I feel about the importance of the institution of family. I don’t want to be a statistic so that when my kids are grown up, they say they didn’t see their dad. Right from the outset of my contract, it was a concern – how I would be able to manage the time apart. I even considered doing only one format of the game but we felt it would be unfair on many people. The last five weeks at home have made me more aware of my responsibilities.”Kirsten denied that political reasons pushed him, although there was some suspicion he was under pressure for a slow transformation rate, especially in Test cricket. Although South Africa has not had a quota system in place for several years, it was widely frowned upon that no black African played in the longest format for South Africa during Kirsten’s time in charge. “No, that has nothing to do with it. I’ve given my reasons and those are 100%,” he said.Kirsten leaves South African cricket in a healthy state at Test level, where he had the best record of all past coaches. The team won 63% of the Tests they played and Kirsten was the only coach who took them to No. 1 in the world with victory over England. “The Test team moved to new heights,” he said. “We’ve got an incredibly strong senior player base. They are the heartbeat of the team and they drive the values and the culture of the team, so I move away very comfortable that that is in place.”His limited-overs returns were not as striking. So far, Kirsten is the third-worst performing coach in the fifty-over game with a win percentage of only 56%. He conceded, “performances in ODIs and Twenty20s haven’t been where we wanted them to be. But we’ve built a good base of players.”After winning the World Cup with India in 2011, Kirsten was widely thought to be the man who would help South Africa finally lift that trophy. But he said that was never part of his plans. “It was not my intention to go to the World Cup. My work is part of a process to help the players and South African cricket reach the goals they want to reach,” he said, although he did have some advice for the man who takes South Africa to the 2015 event. “Going into the World Cup in two years, we don’t have to shift the team around too much.”Kirsten has one more chance to achieve success in the fifty-over format with the team in a month’s time. He pledged to approach the Champions Trophy with “renewed vigour,” but after that family will have him around almost full-time.Kirsten confirmed he will not seek any other employment immediately although he will not rule out contributing to South Africa in a consultancy role. “I like to think my time is not done. I don’t think I will ever leave coaching but it would have to be in a way that suits my needs,” he said.CSA will appoint a committee to handle the appointment of the new coach, who will take over for the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka in July and August. Kirsten himself could be involved in the process and hinted his assistant, Russell Domingo may be best placed to take over.”My relationship with Russell has always been a close one. He is passionate and clinical and he has done a lot of coaching. I have no doubt that he is very capable of doing high-level coaching jobs,” he said. Domingo and bowling coach Allan Donald’s contracts also expire at the end of July and they will only know if they will continue in their roles after the new head coach has been appointed.Donald appears interested in continuing. He is currently coaching Pune Warriors in the IPL and told ESPNcricinfo that if it was up to him, he would stay on. “I spoke to Gary personally a couple of days ago and I respect his decision 100%,” he said. “At the moment we are very focused on the Champions Trophy and I’m sure that this team needs no motivation to go and win this tournament for Gary. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve just got to let this whole thing take its course and, for me, there is no decision to be made about my future with the Proteas.”

Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan, who have been dropped from the ODI team, have been retained in the top A category while fast-bowler Umar Gul, who plays all three formats, has been dropped from A to B

Umar Farooq14-May-2013The PCB has has announced 30 central contracts for 2013, with a 15% increment in the monthly retainership fee. Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan, who have been dropped from the ODI team, have been retained in the top A category while fast-bowler Umar Gul, who plays all three formats, has been dropped from A to B. Kamran Akmal, who wasn’t considered for a central contract last year, has been awarded a Category C contract this time.The PCB, for the second straight year, has increased the retainership incomes, with the Test match fees across all categories up by Rs. 55,000. “The 2013 Central Contracts have raised the Retainership fee by 15 per cent,” the PCB said in a statement. “In the 2012 Central Contract, the same had been increased by 25%. It may be noted that the increase in player fees in 2012 made after 3 years as the last increases were made in 2009. Thus in the last two years a total increase of more than 40 % has been made.”The contracts list

Category A (Pakistan Rs. 359375 monthly): Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi
Category B (Pakistan Rs. 251562): Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Abdur Rehman, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Nasir Jamshed
Category C (Pakistan Rs. 143750): Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat, Aizaz Cheema, Taufeeq Umar, Adnan Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Irfan
Stipends category (Pakistan Rs. 71875): Sarfaraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Umar Amin, Zulifqar Babar, Asad Ali, Harris Sohail Sohail, Anwar Ali

The raise this year was a result of lengthy negotiations between players and the PCB, as most of the senior players were unhappy with the retainers offered. Players have been deprived of the ICC tournaments appearance fee by the PCB, and they were also barred from playing the 2012 Bangladesh Cricket League. Last year, a lack of planning meant Umar Akmal, Afridi and Saeed Ajmal failed to fulfill their commitment with their respective Big Bash League franchises.A senior player, on the condition of anonymity, told ESPNcricinfo last month that players were underpaid compared to other teams around the world. “Whatever the case is, we are missing IPL and last year players even missed out on the BPL,” said the player. “In a country where cricketers are playing the game as their full-time livelihood, they should be treated with care. We need serious deliberation on this matter with the PCB.”The players were without contracts since December 31, 2012. They were handed their current contracts on Monday hours before Pakistan’s 15-man squad departed for Scotland ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. In a press release, the PCB listed 30 names across four categories “A, B, C and stipends,” with five men, including Afridi, handed the top contract. Nine players – who failed to find themselves in three major categories – were slated into the stipend category.

Ravi Sawant, the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, has said that N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, would be assumed guilty if he resigned now

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2013Ravi Sawant, the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, has said that N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, would be assumed guilty if he resigned now since he did not resign the day Gurunath Meiyappan, his son-of-law, was arrested. Sawant also said that although the issue of conflict of interest in Srinivasan’s case was a valid one, raising it six years after the start of the IPL by some BCCI members was opportunistic.”Today, if he [Srinivasan] resigns, people will straightaway accuse him of being guilty and that is the reason he is not resigning,” Sawant told . “He is saying, ‘I will prove there is nothing against me personally.'”Sawant added that any person shouldn’t be holding two conflicting positions, but the BCCI made an exception when they allowed Srinivasan to hold his position in the board while being the managing director of India Cements, the owners of the Chennai Super Kings franchise. To bring up the issue now, Sawant said, was not correct.”The rules were already in place. First time when buying a franchise, all the rules were applicable,” he said. “That time, he was not the BCCI president. He has gone from treasurer to secretary to president. So someone should have voiced their concerns, because these rules were made to prevent certain things to happen. You are now saying those rules were there and there is a conflict of interest and he should resign. To my mind, we should retrospectively think about it, why didn’t we object to his buying a franchise.””If you are supporting the decision of him buying a team, now to make an issue out of it is not correct. All these people speaking against him now are holding positions in the board, and they have worked with him. How can you raise an issue now?”The president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, G Vinod, said since Srinivasan was an elected president and did not intend to resign, the matter should be taken up at a working committee meeting so that all board members can discuss their positions. However, Chetan Chauhan, the vice president of the Delhi District Cricket Association, said Srinivasan should step down while Gurunath was under investigation and could return if Gurunath was absolved.