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Cricket Scotland began a celebration of their history by launching the Scottish Cricket hall of fame in Edinburgh

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2011Cricket Scotland began a celebration of its history by launching the Scottish Cricket Hall of Fame in Edinburgh to showcase the cricketers that have all played an integral part in the development of Scottish cricket.Twelve players were inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of their pioneering spirit that has helped develop the game in Scotland. From 2012 two further inductees will be announced each year.Among those included at the launch are Gregor MacGregor, who played eight Tests for England between 1890 and 1893, Mike Denness – England captain for 19 Tests and former ICC match referee – and former Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton.”I’m very proud and privileged to be among the first inductees into the Scottish Cricket Hall of fame,” said Hamilton. “It really makes all the hard work over the last 20 years worthwhile.”Hall of Fame
Leslie Balfour, Gregor MacGregor, John Kerr, James Aitchison, Jimmy Allan, Mike Denness, George Goddard, Brian Hardie, Iain Philip, Dougie Brown, Gavin Hamilton, Craig Wright

ESPNcricinfo previews the fourth ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran19-Nov-2011Match factsSunday, November 20
Start time 1500 (1100 GMT)Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 64 in the third ODI was only his second half-century in 15 innings•AFPBig PictureThe batting Powerplay played its role in adding to the excitement of the World Cup, often tripping up a batting side coasting towards a large score or jumpstarting a flagging chase. The rules have been tweaked since and though the Powerplay is now taken earlier, it continues to add an element of unpredictability to the game, and was pivotal to the results of the previous two one-dayers between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.Sri Lanka were reasonably well placed in their chase on Friday when they opted for the Powerplay. Cue 19 runs in five overs, the wickets of both their set batsmen and an arduous challenge that proved too much for the tail. It was similarly poisonous for Pakistan in the second ODI – 26 runs, three wickets and a chase that was virtually over. In what is a must-win game for Sri Lanka – Pakistan lead the five-match series 2-1 – how both teams handle the batting Powerplay could be crucial.Teams are yet to properly re-calibrate their approach during the later set of fielding restrictions. Previously they targeted about 50 runs in that five-over spell, while now they need to tone down their ambitions, given that a big chunk of the innings still remains after that Powerplay. Mahela Jayawardene has already predicted how the two new balls will lead to lower totals, suggesting that 250 could be the new par score.A par score of 250 seems like a throwback to the 1990s, a feeling that is only emphasised by Sunday’s game being played in Sharjah. This signals the return of top-tier one-day cricket to the venue that was the hotbed of ODIs during 90s. Sharjah Cricket Ground is the runaway leader in terms of number of one-days hosted, but it’s been eight years since two major teams contested a 50-over match there.Form guidePakistan: WLWWW (most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWLWLWatch out for …Imran Farhat’s place has been under scrutiny for much of his international career but he has finally begun to put together a string of performances that could satisfy the critics. Three half-centuries in five ODI-innings is a start, but he still needs to improve his conversion-rate.It’s been an up-and-down year for Upul Tharanga. There was the high of scoring loads of runs during Sri Lanka’s run to the World Cup final, followed by the low of a three-month drug ban. Tharanga may not attract the headlines as much as the current Sri Lanka captain and his two predecessors, but he has quietly accumulated 12 one-day centuries, the third-highest by a Sri Lanka batsman.Team newsMost of Pakistan’s XI picks itself. The only question is over which fast bowler will partner Umar Gul with the new balls. Aizaz Cheema got a look-in for the first two games before being replaced by Sohail Tanvir. After Tanvir’s lacklustre effort on Friday, Junaid Khan could well be in line for a place.Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Sohail Tanvir/Junaid Khan.Dilhara Fernando didn’t have the best of games on Friday. With Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera also being right-arm quicks, Sri Lanka may be tempted to add variety to the attack through the change of angle Chanaka Welegedara provides.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Seekkuge Prasanna, 11 Dilhara Fernando/Chanaka Welegedara.Stats and trivia Of the major Test nations, only Sri Lanka don’t have any batsman with an ODI average above 40.00. Kumar Sangakkara, with 37.77, has the highest one-day average for a Sri Lankan
Pakistan’s biggest ODI victory over Sri Lanka, and second biggest overall, came in Sharjah, when they won by 217 runs in 2002Quotes”It wasn’t easy early on in the previous match. The ball wasn’t coming onto the bat, but spending more time in the middle just gave us a bit more confidence.”

“We have to get used to it. I don’t think 300 and 350 runs are [now needed for] winning. Now 250 runs can be [enough for] a winnable target, with two new balls.”

Wahab Riaz, the Pakistan left-arm fast bowler, has said he is relieved to be back in the Test squad after an unexplained six-month break from international cricket

Umar Farooq27-Dec-2011Wahab Riaz, the Pakistan left-arm fast bowler, has said he is relieved to be back in the Test squad for the series against England, after an unexplained six-month break from international cricket. Riaz seemed to have cemented his place in the Pakistan team after an impressive introduction to international cricket but has found himself out of the national side after the tour of the West Indies in May this year.His name had come up during the spot-fixing trial of Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir in October. The prosecution read out a written statement by Pakistan’s security manager, Major Khwaja Najam Javed, which said Najam had found Azhar Majeed, brother of player agent Mazhar Majeed who was convicted of spot-fixing, in Riaz’s room in the company of Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal after midnight during The Oval Test match. At the time his name came up in the case Riaz was with the Pakistan Test squad in the UAE for a series against Sri Lanka but did not play any of the Tests and was sent home before the one-day series.”I am happy and relaxed to be selected again,” Riaz told ESPNcricinfo. “I am honoured that the PCB and the selectors have kept their faith in me and supported me all the way. It was a nagging situation for me when I was out and it’s obviously difficult when you are not part of the national team despite having all the ability to represent them.”It was tough not being part of the squad for some time. But I had a firm belief that things will be cleared; I don’t want to get into the details. What I know is that I am ready for yet another stint. I have kept myself fit and in form while playing domestic cricket so I don’t think I will face any difficulty.”Riaz’s last Test match was against West Indies in May. After that he had a stint with Kent during the English domestic season and was rested for Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe. He seemed set to return for the series against Sri Lanka but did not play a match and was subsequently left out of the squad for the tour of Bangladesh. In the meantime, he took 30 wickets for National Bank of Pakistan at an average of 24.86 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s first-class competition. He also got 213 runs in eight innings at an average of 35.50.Riaz, 26, said he is working on troubling the England batsmen with pace during the Test series that starts in the third week of January. He is among two left-arm seamers in the Test squad, the other being Junaid Khan, who has taken 13 wickets in four Tests in Riaz’s absence. Riaz said he had added to his game by improving his batting and wanted to help Pakistan continue their successful run.”I am fully fit and in good rhythm to carry on. I’m focusing on speed and some variation in my deliveries. I am bowling at a speed of 150 kph and am useful with the bat down the order.”Our team has done well through the year. The England series will be a tough one but we’ve got a good combination of bowlers. I will do my best to live up to the expectations.”

Graham Ford has announced he is quitting as head coach of Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2012Graham Ford, the former South Africa coach, has announced he is quitting as head coach of the Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise. Ford, who requested to be released with immediate effect, said he had ambitions of coaching an international side.”While I feel a passion for Dolphins cricket, I respectfully ask for an immediate release from my Dolphins coaching position in order to follow my dreams of involvement at an international level,” Ford said.Ford took over as coach of South Africa from Bob Woolmer in 1999 and held the position till 2001. He moved to Kent as director of cricket in 2004, and in 2006 he returned home to take charge of the Dolphins. In June 2007, he was offered the challenge of coaching India but, to the embarrassment of the BCCI, declined. In 2009, he withdrew his name from the shortlist of candidates for the England coaching job.

Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s outgoing interim coach, has said every limited-overs match against England could have been won

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Feb-2012Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s outgoing interim coach, has said he was surprised with the team’s performance in the limited-over series against England, and insisted that every match had been winnable. Pakistan lost all four one-dayers before losing the Twenty20 series 2-1.”I am disappointed with the performance,” Mohsin told reporters on his arrival in Karachi. “We played so well throughout the Test series and beat the world No.1 team. I am surprised at the team’s performance in the limited-overs matches but every target against England was achievable.” Pakistan defended 144 in the first T20, before failing to chase down targets of 151 and 130 in the remaining two matches.Mohsin was Pakistan’s chief selector before being given an interim coaching role in September 2011 after Waqar Younis resigned on medical grounds. During his short tenure, Mohsin coached Pakistan to series wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh besides the clean sweep of England in the Tests.”I am satisfied with my tenure and did my best,” Mohsin said. “I am ready to serve my country, but my top priority is that it should be in a respected manner and with dignity, without which I will not hold any post. Winning against England in the Tests was special but in limited-over series we lost due to the poor batting and I am disappointed that the team failed (in ODIs and Twenty20s).”But this is the same team that was being lauded only a few days back and now everyone is so critical and talking about inducting new blood, which is again strange.”Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq also warned about making drastic changes to the team, insisting that an overhaul wouldn’t work.”We did try our best but England came back strong and credit must be given to them. I think we are responsible as our batting failed.”Misbah is facing a hostile reaction from the Pakistan public after his 32-ball 28 in the deciding T20, which Pakistan lost by five runs. Pakistan had seemingly been in control, needing 36 off the final five overs with Misbah and Umar Akmal in the middle, and with seven wickets remaining but couldn’t complete the job.”I think we need to take this decision only after assessing our resources and if you have those resources then do that,” he said. “But if you don’t have quality cricketers then it will do harm. If you change for the sake of change it will not help.”All those who watch are sentimental and they talk like this. You sit down and analyse and if you have a replacement for a player then you replace him. Drastic changes will not help.”Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

Philander is in the fledgling stages of a career that looks set to take off with all the glory of an eagle in full flight and he cannot be expected to take a five-for every time he walks on to a cricket field

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton12-Mar-2012More than Newlands, the Wanderers or SuperSport Park, the pitch at the University Oval in Dunedin is the surface Vernon Philander should remember best. It is the only one on which he has not taken a five-wicket haul in an innings and, by implication, has provided him with his biggest challenge so far.Philander is in the fledgling stages of a career that looks set to take off with all the glory of an eagle in full flight and he cannot be expected to take a five-for every time he walks on to a cricket field. What he can expect is for things to get tougher after his dream start, and Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor and to a lesser extent Trent Boult, gave him a glimpse of what that might look like.With New Zealand nine down going into the third morning, Philander was handed the ball, a gesture that could be seen as him being given the opportunity for another five-for. Instead, he dished up five juicy length balls in succession to Boult who responded by planting them over the boundary rope. Perhaps what made it more insulting was that it was another bowler who was giving Philander the treatment.In the second innings, it was a more intense battle against New Zealand’s two set batsmen. Philander was properly tested. Although he still kept his usual line outside the off stump and got occasional movement away from the batsmen, he did not find the edge. He was forced to try different things on an unresponsive pitch, adjust his gameplans and out-think the opposition rather than just outplay them and he admitted it gave him a few more things to ponder.”Your biggest test is always away from home,” Philander said. “I’ve had the luxury of playing at home in my first few games so it’s a bit of a mental test having to come here and perform as well as I have at home.”The New Zealand tour is Philander’s first Test series outside South Africa and although he maintained that his line will probably work anywhere in the world, he said his lengths have had to change. “It’s a touch slower than what we have back home .So I’ve got to bowl it slightly shorter than what I would do at home,” he said.The Seddon Park pitch in Hamilton is expected to be similar to the one the teams played on in Dunedin and, if anything, it will be drier and more difficult for the rest of the seamers. The one thing on offer may be movement and if it’s there, Philander is convinced he can make it work for him. “If there is movement, I am probably the one bowler that will exploit it,” he said. “I always back myself to get something out of the wicket and with the new ball it’s a big plus for me [to try and do that].”His opening partner, Dale Steyn, has not had the same success of late. Steyn took two wickets in the Test but it has become a talking point that he has not had a five-for in an innings where he has bowled with Philander, something that may be tough if Philander keeps taking all the available wickets. While analysts have started to discuss whether Steyn is bowling within himself, Philander does not believe there is anything to be concerned about. “Dale is a wonderful bowler and bowlers always go through patches like that sometimes,” he said. “It’s going to take one spell to get him back.”Kruger van Wyk said he expected as much from the man he played against in first-class cricket in South Africa at least six years ago, before moving to New Zealand and is enjoying facing him again.”There are not too many weak links in the South African side. Philander has been a top performer in first-class cricket for as long as I can remember, even when I was back there,” he said. “They ask a lot of questions of you as a batter so you have to be on top of your game. But we are up for that challenge, we look forward to playing some good sides and you want to be tested against good players. It will be great to face them again.”

A round-up of Sunday’s matches in the MiWAY T20 Challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2012Another day and another defeat for Impi, their eighth in eight games, this time to Warriors by 48 runs in East London. Warriors chose to bat and a strong performance from the top order led them to 168 for 4. The captain Colin Ingram top-scored with 51 off 30 balls and Craig Thyssen made 26 off 12. Impi’s chase foundered after a decent start. They were 32 for 1 in five overs but then slumped to 46 for 4, with Paul Collingwood making only 8. Ryan ten Doeschate scored 56 and had it not been for him Impi would have finished with far fewer. No other batsman made more than 20. Andrew Birch took 3 for 18 for Warriors, and Nicky Boje and Makhaya Ntini took two wickets each, as Impi were dismissed for 120 in 18.4 overs.Titans overcame a minor blip in their chase and secured a six-wicket win against Cape Cobras at Newlands. Chasing 143, Titans were well placed at 81 for 1 after 12.5 overs. Their run-rate wasn’t exceptional but they had plenty of wickets in hand. However, they lost Pieter Malan, who top-scored with 48, and Heino Kuhn in quick succession and needed 55 runs off 33 balls with two new batsmen at the crease. The captain Martin van Jaarsveld then provided momentum with 25 off 14 balls and Farhaan Behardien made 29 off 14 deliveries to secure victory in 19.1 overs. The Cobras legspinners Brad Hogg and Alistair Gray turned in another impressive performance, taking 2 for 22 and 1 for 18 in four overs each. Titans’ victory was set up by their bowlers, who limited Cobras to 142 for 5 in 20 overs. Cobras slumped to 31 for 3 in five overs before Owais Shah and Dane Vilas gave the innings direction again. Alfonso Thomas took 2 for 32 and Roelof van der Merwe 1 for 19 for Titans.The match between Dolphins and Lions in Durban was washed out without even the toss taking place. The teams were awarded two points each. Lions stayed top of the league with 20 points from six games, and have a match in hand over Titans, who are second with 19 points from seven games. Dolphins are second from bottom, with 14 points from six games.Edited by George Binoy

Graeme Swann has been named as England’s Most Valuable Player over the winter, according to the ranking system used by the PCA

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2012Graeme Swann has been named as England’s Most Valuable Player over the winter, according to the ranking system used by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA). Swann’s 10-wicket haul against Sri Lanka earlier this month helped England to a first Test win in five matches and took his tally to 39 wickets in all formats.Swann held off Kevin Pietersen, who scored 151 as England levelled the two-Test series with Sri Lanka at 1-1, to win the FTI MVP award, which includes a cheque for £2,000 to be given the charity Lowe Syndrome Trust. Swann has previously been England’s MVP twice before – after the tours to South Africa and Bangladesh in 2009-10 and following the 2010 English summer.The draw in Colombo – in which Swann finished with match figures of 10 for 181 – also ensured England retained their No. 1 Test ranking for a while longer.”I’m delighted to have won the FTI MVP after what has been a tough winter and it’s obviously great that we’re still number one too,” Swann said. “It is nice to win any award but it is especially pleasing to win one where you are compared to your team-mates on hard statistics.”Losing the three Tests against Pakistan was a real blow, but we picked ourselves up in the ODIs and again after the defeat in Galle to prove there’s plenty of fight in this team. The performance in Colombo bodes well for the summer, and hopefully we can carry that momentum into the Test series against the West Indies.”Sebastian Mathews, senior vice-president of FTI Consulting, said: “Congratulations to Graeme on his win, not only for this winter, but for becoming the first person to win a hat-trick of England FTI MVP awards. It was a very exciting end to the winter FTI MVPs where Graeme was run very close and this sets us up for an exciting summer of cricket ahead of us.”The MVP ranking system, used by the PCA since 2007, takes into account factors such as bowlers’ economy rates and the percentage of a team’s runs scored by individual batsmen, alongside more standard measurements such as wickets, runs and catches.Swann also topped the individual Test statistics with 146 points from five matches at an average of 29.17. His total was over 40 points clear of nearest challenger James Anderson. ODI captain Alastair Cook led from the front in 50-over cricket, topping the standings with 113 points, while Pietersen, who scored 30% of England’s runs in the shortest format, was the T20 FTI MVP.Edited by Alan Gardner

The ICC is investigating claims of irregularities involving a Kenyan player during the match against Pakistan at Hambantota during the 2011 World Cup

Martin Williamson24-May-2012The ICC is investigating claims of irregularities involving a Kenyan player during the match against Pakistan at Hambantota during the 2011 World Cup. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the ICC has also advised the Kenyan board not to engage the player concerned in any official capacity.Pakistan won the match by 205 runs after bowling out Kenya for 112. During the Pakistan innings Kenya’s bowlers conceded 37 wides, equalling the world record.”Cricket Kenya has … been advised that at this stage the ICC cannot comment on any investigations,” Tom Sears, the board’s chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are happy to assist the ICC in any way to ensure that any corruption in the game is dealt with and if there has been any wrongdoing, any individuals involved are punished accordingly. The Kenyan Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs is aware of the allegations and has also pledged their support in eradicating any corruption.”Kenya’s performance during the tournament, which they ended without a win, was heavily criticised and resulted in a top-to-bottom review by Cricket Kenya. As a result, some senior players were not offered new contracts.The ICC were initially alerted to an incident involving the Kenyan player outside the World Cup with a report from another player that several approaches were made to spot-fix in international matches involving other Full Member countries. While that investigation by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) remains open, it is believed it has not been pursued as it came down to one person’s word against another.Subsequently another allegation was made against the same cricketer concerning the World Cup match. Cricket Kenya is now in discussions with the ICC about the claim.An ICC spokesman said that it “has a standard policy of not making any comment on the ACSU’s activities”.

An unofficial tri-series in Harare, involving two sides they have beaten soundly in the past means Hashim Amla’s side don’t have too much of a challenge ahead

Firdose Moonda18-Jun-2012You would be forgiven for thinking it strange that Hashim Amla sounded like a man going to war when South Africa departed for Harare. For one, Amla rarely sounds like anything but a man coming from an ashram. Then of course, there are the facts to consider. South Africa’s Twenty20 squad are going to play in an unofficial tri-series in Harare, involving two sides they have beaten soundly in the past and will likely continue to beat in various formats almost all of the time.Nothing to get too excited about, except that only victory will justify their inclusion in this competition. “We are kind of expecting that [to win],” Amla said. “But in the T20 format, teams that are not so well known can perform really well too. But, we are expecting to perform well.”It is almost unnaturally bullish talk from the stand-in skipper ahead of what is increasingly looking like a meaningless contest. There’s certainly no prize at stake – Zimbabwe Cricket could barely afford to host the event – neither is there much recognition for the team who wins, no rankings points and surely no bragging rights to take into the World T20.The only benefit it could have is that of preparation but even that is starting to look dubious from a South African perspective. Their players will spend two months in England before the ICC tournament even crosses their minds and will have far more pressing issues at hand. The Test squad will be concerned with wresting the No.1 ranking from England, the ODI squad with not fading as dramatically as they did after the Test series victory four years ago and only then will twenty-over cricket become an issue worth pondering.From a timing perspective, this week probably comes too early for it to be called a camp for the World T20. Johan Botha alluded to it when he said he thought it was “too far out” for him to be worried about missing out through injury, because he will play enough cricket between now and September to be ready.When South Africa requested the fixtures, they asked for five matches in five days, a schedule that would create intensity. The inclusion of Bangladesh in the event changed it to four matches in six days, with the additional possibility of a final. While that is not drastically different to what South Arica initially wanted, their attitude seems to have changed.Instead of using the week to fine-tune tactics and strategies with a squad that closely matches to the men who will travel to Sri Lanka, South Africa have opted to rest captain AB de Villiers and their frontline pace bowlers Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. Given these players workloads, it made sense to leave them out, although it does mean South Africa will field teams in Zimbabwe that do not look like the XIs who will play in Sri Lanka, particularly not on the bowling front.It’s a concern that Amla hinted at when he said ultimate specialisation is not the way to go. “It does seem that that’s the trend these days, to have specialised players but I guess the ideal would be to find a good balance; where the team doesn’t change a lot and there’s a good core of players and other guys just fit in,” he said.This series will be more of a case of the latter. Opportunity will be present for a relatively unknown bowler like Chris Morris to make an impact, for Wayne Parnell to come full circle after his comeback from injury over a year ago and for Marchant de Lange to show his last over heroics in New Zealand were no fluke.Of greater concern though will be the batting. South Africa’s 14-man squad is loaded with middle-order batsmen, none of him have nailed down a spot as their own. Colin Ingram, Justin Ontong, Farhaan Behardien and Dane Vilas will all have the chance to perform but given the experimentation that is likely to take place, none of them can count on a sustained run in Harare.The player who may be particularly concerned about where he will fit in is Faf du Plessis. Although considered an integral part of the ODI squad, du Plessis has yet to play in T20 for South Africa but forced his way into the squad through his showings in the IPL. Du Plessis was asked to open the batting by Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming and did so with some success, scoring three half-centuries and ending the tournament as his franchise’s second highest run-getter.Du Plessis’ promising form led to speculation that he may open the batting with Richard Levi, a position currently held by Amla, who has not had much to show for the eight T20s he has played. Amla left space for juggling the batting order, which should give Du Plessis at least one look in. “We know in T20 format, very seldom does a team get bowled out. So you can afford to have guys opening the batting who don’t normally open the batting to get them in as quickly as possible.”Du Plessis could also challenge Amla on the captaincy front. Having been named captain of the A side, du Plessis may have to step in if Amla is left out for a game for the sake of testing combinations. Amla was a reluctant leader during last year’s ODI and T20 series against Australia and was only named captain for this week when Botha was ruled out. For him, this series will also be an opportunity to have another shot at the task. “I always understood as vice-captain that sometimes AB [de Villiers] won’t be around and I will have to do it.”