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Gloucestershire’s chief executive Tom Richardson, the driving force behind the development of their Bristol headquarters, will leave the club at the beginning of September

David Hopps25-Jan-2013Gloucestershire’s chief executive Tom Richardson, the driving force behind the development of their Bristol headquarters, will leave the club at the beginning of September after 12 years in the post.Richardson has presided over good times and bad, including a period at the turn of the century when they were renowned as the best one-day side in the countrry. But it is the development of Nevil Road,in the face of considerable opposition, which will be his legacy.”It is a logical break point as we aim to have completed the development of the pavilion and media centre at the end of July, ” Richardson said. “I have hugely enjoyed my time here and feel privileged to have been involved for so long.Clearly, getting started on the development has been a major lift for the club and I am really pleased to have played a full part in that. There is a real buzz about the place at the moment and whilst in some ways it will be sad not to be involved next year it is time for me to move on.”It remains to be seen whether Gloucestershire’s investment will satisfy their ambition of attracting more international cricket to Bristol. England already has nine international grounds, all scrambling for their share of England cricket and any further expansion of the international calendar is impossible to contemplate.But at a time when the counties remain hopeful that Twenty20 cricket will prove a long-term attraction, especially after a general switch to Friday nights from 2014, Nevil Road’s expansion will give Gloucestershire the opportunity to rediscover their strength in one-day cricket, especially if they can stir Bristol’s sometimes apathetic following into greater support.The expansion of Nevil Road, approved by Bristol City Council in March, included the demolition of the Mound and Jessop stands, provision of 7,500 permanent seats and a 147-room apartment with basement car parking. There will also be a business and conference centre in a new pavilion and a new media centre which will replace the primitive or temporary accommodation in the past.Rex Body, Gloucestershire’s chairman, said: “Tom’s value to Gloucestershire cannot be overestimated, particularly the work he has done on our ground development programme, in at times extremely difficult circumstances.Richardson will retain a link with Gloucestershire by becoming involved in their Youth Trust activities whern he stands down from the chief executive post.

New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott has been named as a replacement for Corey Anderson, who has sustained a fracture to his left thumb

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2013New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott has been named as a replacement for Corey Anderson, who has sustained a fracture to his left thumb, for the ODI series against South Africa.Anderson was struck on his hand while bowling during practice. He will be in a cast for the next two weeks, thus ending his chances of making his ODI debut on this tour. Anderson played in all three T20s against South Africa last month, scoring 17 runs in two innings and failing to take a wicket.Elliott, who grew up in Johannesburg, has played five Tests, 37 ODIs and a single T20 for New Zealand but hasn’t featured in an international game since December 2010. He has scored four fifties and a century in his ODI career. He has played only once before against South Africa, in the 2009 Champions Trophy.New Zealand will play three ODIs against South Africa, between January 19 and 25.

The ECB has set April 22 as the date to hear Danish Kaneria’s appeal against the lifetime ban for involvement in fixing handed down to him by a disciplinary panel last year

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2013The ECB has set April 22 as the date to hear Danish Kaneria’s appeal against the lifetime ban for involvement in fixing handed down to him by a disciplinary panel last year. A first hearing was adjourned in December after initial legal submissions.Kaneria, who has been in London since December, is appealing against the ban, along with the £100,000 costs that were imposed on him. Despite being found guilty of corruption in relation to the Mervyn Westfield spot-fixing case, Kaneria has continued to deny his involvement and previously called for the appeal to be heard in front of an independent panel.The legspinner was barred from playing for the Pakistan national side in 2010 and the PCB has said that it would stand by the sanctions imposed by the England board, as the ICC’s anti-corruption code mandates. Kaneria’s ban from all cricket currently stands, pending the appeal result, and he has not played since March 2012.Kaneria is Pakistan’s leading Test spinner, with 261 wickets, and fourth-highest wicket-taker overall. He spent several successful seasons with Essex but was arrested in 2010, along with team-mate Westfield. Although no police charges were brought against Kaneria, he was found guilty by the ECB panel of inducing Westfield to under-perform in a 2009 limited-overs match and of bringing the game into disrepute.Westfield was jailed for four months for his part in agreeing to concede a set number of runs in an over during a CB40 match against Durham, in return for £6000. He was also banned for five years by the ECB, but can play club cricket after three.

Matthew Wade’s chances of playing in the third Test in Mohali appear slim after he struggled through wicketkeeping, fielding and running drills on the eve of the match

Brydon Coverdale13-Mar-2013Matthew Wade’s chances of playing in the third Test in Mohali appear slim after he struggled through wicketkeeping, fielding and running drills on the eve of the match. If Wade is ruled out due to his ankle injury it will leave the Australians with only 12 men available. Brad Haddin would keep wicket and the only real decision for the selectors would be which of the three spinners – Xavier Doherty, Nathan Lyon and Glenn Maxwell – to leave on the sidelines.The indications at training were that Maxwell would be the one to miss out. At the end of Australia’s practice session, Maxwell looked downcast during a lengthy on-field chat with the coach Mickey Arthur, and he was not present at a sit-down meeting of the spinners shortly afterwards when the spin coach Steve Rixon chatted to Lyon, Doherty and Smith on the boundary edge.The small pool from which to select is a stark contrast to the first Test in Chennai, when Australia had a group of 17 players available. But the team management’s decision to make Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja sit out for disciplinary reasons has left them with few options for the Mohali Test, starting on Thursday, which the Australians must win to have any chance of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Wade sprained his right ankle while playing basketball on Saturday and scans concerned the Australian medical staff enough that Haddin was flown to India as cover. On Wednesday, Wade trained for the first time since suffering the injury. His movement was clearly hampered during wicketkeeping drills with the fielding coach, Steve Rixon, and he also struggled to move freely during outfielding work and while running between the wickets.That work was followed by a lengthy discussion between captain Michael Clarke, Rixon, selector on duty Rod Marsh, team doctor Peter Brukner and physio Alex Kountouris. Wade left the fielding session to bat in the nets but looked despondent as he made his way into the team rooms after completing his training. Earlier in the day, Clarke had raised the possibility of Wade playing as a batsman only if he was unable to keep wicket.But the more likely scenario now appears to be that Haddin will take the gloves and bat at No. 6 in his first Test since January last year. If Wade is ruled out it will mean Phillip Hughes will certainly retain his place in the side and Steven Smith will be included for his first Test since Australia’s miserable 2010-11 Ashes series. The decision to sideline Watson, Pattinson, Johnson and Khawaja could cost Australia in this match but Clarke said it provided an opportunity.”There’s no doubt that somebody’s loss is somebody else’s gain and a big part of international cricket is getting a chance,” Clarke said. “A lot of people talk about young players – he should be picked, he shouldn’t be picked, is he good enough? The only way you find out if he’s good enough is if he gets an opportunity. A few guys who are going to get a chance in this game have been waiting for this opportunity and now it is about grabbing it with both hands.”The Mohali pitch remained under a hessian cover on Wednesday but the Australians had inspected it on Tuesday and Clarke said it did not appear to be the pace-friendly kind of surface he had seen at the venue in the past.”I saw the wicket yesterday,” Clarke said. “I haven’t seen it today yet but I imagine it wouldn’t have changed much. There’s not much grass to cut off and it was quite dry yesterday so it’s probably even drier today. I think the conditions are going to be very similar to what we’ve seen in the first two Test matches.”There’s no real surprises there. I’ve played some cricket here in Mohali and generally they leave a bit of grass on the wicket and it’s nice for fast bowlers but I’m not surprised that all the grass has been cut off. That’s part of international cricket. The positive of that is at least we’ve experienced it in the first two matches.”Possible team 1 David Warner, 2 Ed Cowan, 3 Phillip Hughes, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Moises Henriques, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Xavier Doherty, 11 Nathan Lyon.

1,000 silver Ashes urns were displayed on the Lord’s outfield to mark 100 days until the Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2013With 100 days to go until the London Olympics, Seb Coe was planting trees at Kew Gardens, Weymouth council were building sandcastles and the London 2012 motto “inspire a generation” was born.Having arrived at the same landmark ahead of this summer’s Ashes, MCC will be hoping one of the world’s most iconic series can also enthuse new crop of cricketers.As a reminder of what is to come this summer and to launch Chance to Shine’s campaign to promote good sportsmanship in schools, the Lord’s outfield was given the Art Attack treatment, minus Neil Buchanan, as schoolchildren helped create a giant Ashes urn.1,000 silver urns were used to balloon the smallest trophy in world sport to a giant 30 x 15 metre glittering outline on the Lord’s turf as the countdown to July 10 began, when the opening Ashes Test will take place at Trent Bridge.The new campaign will see 1,500 replica urns going around the country to 4,500 state schools where Chance to Shine cricket coaches will deliver hundreds of MCC Spirit of Cricket assemblies and lessons in good sportsmanship to around 400,000 children.”It may feel more like winter outside than summer but every cloud has a silver lining: there are just 100 days to go until the start of the Ashes,” Chance to Shine chief executive Wasim Khan, said. “And this summer there will not just be one Ashes series taking place but hundreds of them in schools up and down the country, thanks to our partnership with MCC. We’ll be using these replicas of the famous urn to inspire children to take up the game and to teach them about MCC’s Spirit of Cricket message: ‘play hard, play fair’.”

A preview of the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals

The Preview by Rachna Shetty02-May-2013

Match facts

Friday, May 3, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Kolkata Knight Riders find themselves racing the clock as time runs out on their bid to make it to the playoffs. With just three wins in 10 matches, Knight Riders risk finishing in the bottom half of the table unless they win every game from here on, including the one on Friday against Rajasthan Royals.Knight Riders have enough firepower in their line-up to create a final surge. But their biggest hurdle, against Royals and the other teams, has been inconsistency. They’ve had few days when the batting and bowling has clicked together and the failure of marquee players has dragged them down further. But Knight Riders will hope the side that takes the field on Friday can feed off the enthusiasm and support of the loyal home crowd.Royals need this win as badly as Knight Riders. They’ve been poor travellers this season and as the competition for the playoff spots heads for a logjam, a win here could give them some breathing space and possibly the momentum to open up a gap of a few points.Fortunately for Royals, they have players who have stepped up to the challenges thrown their way. The batting looks settled in spite of captain Rahul Dravid’s changes in the batting order. Shane Watson’s return to form and contributions from players like Dishant Yagnik, Brad Hodge, Sanju Samson and James Faulkner have helped them beat more fancied teams and they are more than capable of springing a surprise on Knight Riders.

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders LLWLL (most recent first)
Rajasthan RoyalsWWLLW

Players to watch

There probably will not be a better time in this IPL for Gautam Gambhir to stand up and show his leadership skills. His technique is strong enough to handle Sreesanth, James Faulkner and Shane Watson at the top of the order but, more importantly, he needs to be an innovative leader on the field and marshal the out-of-form batting line-upSince the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, when he returned to bowling on the same day that he quit his vice-captaincy, Shane Watson has taken five wickets. More importantly, in those four matches, he has amassed 268 runs at a strike rate of 174.

Stats and trivia

• Royals don’t have a great record on the road in the IPL. Of the 34 away matches they’ve played in the IPL, they have won 14 and lost 20.
• Shane Watson has an IPL strike rate of 147.62, which puts him fourth overall in the IPL
• Gautam Gambhir has the 19 fifty-plus scores in the IPL and is joint-highest with Rohit Sharma. Among the top five batsmen in the list, Gambhir is the only one without a hundred

Quotes

“We would try to get back the best players in the top order. We also need to give confidence to the middle order so that the team can score 150 plus, a competitive total in the game.”

A counter-attack in the middle order from David Warner and a miserly 18th over in the chase from Umesh Yadav gave some relief for Delhi Daredevils with a victory in the battle of the bottom-placed teams this season

The Report by Siddhartha Talya28-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
David Warner helped Delhi Daredevils to their second win this IPL•BCCI

A counter-attack in the middle order from David Warner and a miserly 18th over in the chase from Umesh Yadav brought some relief for Delhi Daredevils in the form of a victory in the battle of the bottom-placed teams this season. The win was only their second, as the Pune Warriors bowlers faltered after making inroads into Daredevils’ batting order and the batsmen struggled to step up when it mattered against some impressive fast bowling at the death in the chase. Warriors now find themselves at the bottom of the table in what is a third poor season in a row.Raipur is further from Delhi than it is from Pune (1253 as opposed to 1025 kilometres), but on its IPL debut the crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Daredevils and got the result they desired. Warner restored their faith in the side with a surge he launched in the 13th over of the Daredevils innings and retained the tone during a stand of 53 with Kedar Jadhav that took his side to 164. Yuvraj Singh and Luke Wright looked on track to chase that down until they ran into Umesh, whose skillful use of alterations in length and pace accounted for both wickets and all but consigned Warriors to their seventh defeat.Warner was charged with the responsibility of leading Daredevils’ recovery after the loss of Virender Sehwag and Unmukt Chand in a space of three deliveries. He did that successfully by reserving the harshest treatment for a spate of poor deliveries offered to him by the Warriors bowlers, who generously pitched on a length. And he was powerful enough to comfortably clear boundaries longer than there have been at other venues this season.He began with a clean, straight six off legspinner Rahul Sharma, then pulled IPL debutant Kane Richardson over deep midwicket. Ashok Dinda’s failed attempts at bowling the yorker resulted in three fours drilled down the ground in one over, before Richardson, in the penultimate over, was struck, again, over wide long-on and his head. The 19th over cost 21 runs, including another straight six by Jadhav, who, too, was severe on the length ball. The last five overs yielded 63 runs, 34 of those from the last two.Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch have been a productive opening pair and their 72-run stand gave Warriors a strong platform. Both were dismissed, Finch albeit unluckily, by deliveries bowled down the leg side by Irfan Pathan in the 11th over, but Yuvraj and Wright batted fluently. Yuvraj unleashed a stylish drive and cut off Irfan in his next over, collected a couple of boundaries past fine leg, while Wright flat-batted the seamers past the ropes on two occasions.The stand was worth 50 in 45 balls at the start of the 18th over, when 37 runs were needed. Umesh began with two dot balls to Wright, one of them a yorker, before slipping in a slower one to deceive the batsman, who holed out. Yuvraj was only able to score two runs off the next two, and top-edged one straight to deep square leg when Umesh dug in a short delivery to finish the over. Steven Smith can be a finisher, but 35 runs off two overs was a task that proved beyond him.

Tom Moody has praised the efforts of Biplab Samantray and Hanuma Vihari in helping Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals on Friday night

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2013Tom Moody, Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach, was delighted with his team’s performance against Rajasthan Royals Friday night, and made special mention of Biplab Samantray and Hanuma Vihari.”I am very pleased. It was [an] extremely important game for us and after [the] early setback the team showed character as a playing group,” Moody said. “And more importantly, the two inexperienced and young cricketers [Samantray and Vihari] took us to a position where we could compete in the second half of the game.”Moody was also all praise for James Faulkner, who took 5 for 16 in his four overs, his second five-for of the season. “His bowling is exceptional. The great thing is his ability to move the new ball around. He also has the ability to bowl very good slow balls, and yorkers on command. When you have [these] three ingredients, it makes you [a] pretty useful bowler at any stage of the game.”Rahul Dravid, captain of Rajasthan Royals, has faced a tough last few days in the wake of the spot-fixing allegations that have surrounded his team. However, he chose not to use the ongoing drama as an excuse for Royals’ poor showing against Sunrisers. “We bowled well to restrict them to 136 but were probably a spinner light on the day,” Dravid said. “And while we were batting, Amit Mishra was fantastic for them, but we got bogged down in the middle overs.”Dravid hoped to play on less sluggish pitches in the playoffs. “In the playoffs we will be a lot better hopefully. We also hope for better wickets in the playoffs as we have struggled on slow, low ones.”

Pain-free for the first time in more than six months, Mitchell Starc has promised Australia’s bowlers will not give Alastair Cook a moment’s peace in the middle, encouraged – but not made complacent – by the England captain’s difficulties against left-arm

Daniel Brettig in Worcester04-Jul-2013Pain-free for the first time in more than six months, Mitchell Starc has promised Australia’s bowlers will not give Alastair Cook a moment’s peace in the middle, encouraged – but not made complacent – by the England captain’s difficulties against left-arm pace.Starc revealed he relied on painkilling injections in his ankle for most of last summer and the tour of India that followed, before returning home when even the jabs did not mask the discomfort caused by bone spurs. The time away from the bowling crease allowed Starc time to observe Cook and company facing up to New Zealand’s battery of left-armers, and said both he and James Faulkner now fancied their chances.”As a group we have paid a lot of close attention to that New Zealand and England series,” Starc said. “For me and James Faulkner, being left armers, it was great to see a few of their guys really struggle against the left-armers. I’m sure they have gone away now and worked at that, but it’s encouraging. We’ll have to find a lot of different ways if things aren’t happening, to get them out. We can’t just rest on his struggles against the left-armers.”It’s a point of difference for us and hopefully we can get that ball swinging for as long as we can. It’s all about early wickets and being very aggressive against him being the captain of the side. They’re going to do the same thing to Michael, so as a bowling group we have to make sure we’re very aggressive as well.”The problems faced by Starc across the summer were a point of some consternation when he was kept out of the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka for preventative reasons, and the bowler himself registered his displeasure at the time. But the management of the issue allowed Starc to take part in most of the summer and only miss being available for one Test in India, and as shown against Somerset he is now running into form at the right time.”I’ve got no pain now, it was very painful in India,” Starc said. “It’s something I don’t have to worry about now, or worry about having a jab or being careful bowling this many balls, it’s all gone. It got pretty bad in that last Test in Mohali and injections weren’t working. It was more the one we didn’t know about, it wasn’t the one we picked up around Christmas time, it was the one that broke off and we didn’t know about and I went back for surgery.”Starc’s first international since Mohali was Australia’s ruinous defeat by England in the Champions Trophy. Tentative by his own admission, Starc said he had progressed a long way since his first ball of the match to Cook drifted harmlessly onto the pads. “I was still working on my rhythm and getting through that tentative spot as you do after an injury. I feel in a great place at the moment,” he said. “The last three weeks have been as good as I have felt in a long time. I’m happy with where my body is and where my bowling is.”A packed first day crowd at Taunton were witness to Starc’s destructive power when he finds the right gear. After Somerset had careered to 304 for 2, Starc and James Pattinson capitalised on Faulkner’s breakthrough to scoop an outrageous 6 for 0 with the second new ball, as part of a slide to 320 all out. Though heartened by the burst, Starc noted that next time he did not wish to wait until the 81st over at Trent Bridge to start wreaking similar havoc.”We knew we needed to finish the day well,” he said. “It was a tough toil through the middle period on a very flat wicket. Going into that last spell with the new ball we spoke to each other before we started and said we wanted to try and get three wickets in that last spell before close. To bowl them out we were happy with that and got to put our feet up for a couple of days. That second new ball is what we need to produce with the first new ball.”

Michael Carberry blazed and blasted Lancashire for his first Twenty20 century but the tenacious Red Rose refused to be bullied and gave Hampshire the shock of their live

Alex Winter at the Ageas Bowl07-Aug-2013
ScorecardMichael Carberry’s hundred came from the last ball of the innings•Getty Images

Michael Carberry blazed and blasted Lancashire for his first Twenty20 century but the tenacious Red Rose refused to be bullied and gave Hampshire, the defending champions, the shock of their lives before falling a run short in a remarkable chase.Carberry’s 66-ball century was the defining innings of the match but first Karl Brown, then Steven Croft and Gareth Cross threatened to upstage him. It would have been some upset and Lancashire’s highest chase in T20s but they failed by the narrowest margin. Hampshire were back at Finals Day.Chasing 10-an-over Lancashire stayed in touch with a brave effort. They regularly found the necessary boundaries and ran just as well as Carberry and his partners had done. Hampshire thought two wickets in two balls for Danny Briggs had killed the reply but Lancashire almost pulled off the miraculous.With 42 needed from three overs, Sohail Tanvir – who was in the Caribbean with Pakistan and missed Hampshire’s final three group matches – criminally bowled a no-ball and was sent to the long-off boundary as 11 runs from the over kept Lancashire alive.Chris Wood, who held his nerve to close out victory in the Clydesdale Bank 40 final last season, looked to be doing so again with block-hole deliveries but his final two balls were slightly overpitched and Cross went down to ramp the first to long leg for four and then slapped the sixth, a full toss, over long-on.That meant 17 were needed from the final over and Tanvir was given the task. Another no-ball preceded two well-directed yorkers. But in striving for another, Croft lined up the length and blasted it over extra cover. A single and a scrambled two from a ball which went no more than a yard from the bowler’s stumps meant four were needed from the final delivery. A low full-toss was swung down the ground, they could only get two and Hampshire breathed a mighty sigh of relief.To get that close was a tremendous attempt considering the pummelling they had taken in the field albeit on a pristine batting surface. Although Carberry took the headlines, the onslaught had actually been started by James Vince who stroked a 30-ball 60 during an opening stand of 110 in 10 overs.

Bransgrove’s rock ‘n roll

When you pump an eight-figure sum into a company, you would be forgiven for wanting some recognition but playing guitar at the company’s home is among the more outlandish activities of a chairman.

But Rod Bransgrove probably deserves it having transformed Hampshire with his investment. He’s allowed some fun. As such, his band, the ironically named , provided the post-match entertainment with a cheery mix of old classic rock and pop.

Bransgrove is a keen music fan and enjoys the company of Sir Mick Jagger among other famous musical names. His band, featuring some well-known local talent, made their Ageas Bowl debut last season with a charity gig. This one was just for the hell of it.

Carberry gave a chance to Stephen Moore at deep-backward square-leg when on 14. Glen Chapple thought he had bagged the prize wicket as Carberry hooked him into the deep. The Ageas Bowl fell silent as Moore ran in for the catch but he misjudged the flight, the ball carried over his left shoulder for four and the carnage began.A stocky figure with big muscles, Carberry has ballistic power. His cock of the wrists in the backlift allows the bat to flash through and even strokes not perfectly timed have sufficient projection to find the rope. And when he does find the meat of the bat he sends the ball a very long way.He found three such long balls. The first when Chapple wrongly decided a third over of his opening spell was a good idea during which a long hop was dispatched over midwicket. Kabir Ali was swung over long-on before Simon Kerrigan was hoisted into the sightscreen at the Northern End.But it was the carving drives and flicks square of the wicket where Carberry’s unconventional backlift benefitted him most. He placed the ball incredibly well and extracted plenty of twos. Lancashire were well and untruly given the run around.Lancashire had selected two specialist spinners in Kerrigan and offspinner Arron Lilley, playing just his seventh T20, but any hope that pace off the ball would trouble Hampshire’s power-hitters was quickly deadened. Neither bowler sent down his full allocation and conceded a combined 62 from six overs.In contrast Briggs, Hampshire’s leading wicket-taker in the competition, and Liam Dawson were far more economical. Briggs came up with two identical dismissals in the 12th over to seemingly swing the contest.Both Brown, one short of a half-century, and Simon Katich, went back to cut deliveries that slid on to their exposed stumps. But Brown appeared unlucky as replays suggested the ball may have missed the stumps and it was wicketkeeper Adam Wheater’s gloves that dislodged the bails.Briggs then had Moore caught and bowled after a more patient innings that required some acceleration to become a match-winning knock. That impetus was provided by Croft and Cross and they nearly brought a glorious conclusion.