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Ireland have appointed Chaminda Vaas, the former Sri Lanka seamer, as their bowling consultant ahead of the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2016Ireland have appointed Chaminda Vaas, the former Sri Lanka seamer, as their bowling consultant ahead of the World T20. Vaas will begin his short-term assignment during Ireland’s visit to Abu Dhabi, where they will play two T20Is against UAE on February 14 and 16, and remain with the squad until the end of the World T20 in India.”I’m very excited to be joining the backroom staff of the Ireland team,” Vaas said. “There’s a lot of talent and experience in the squad which I’m confident I can add to.”I’ve played with and against some of the guys during my time in county cricket with Middlesex and Northants. I’m relishing the prospect of sharing the knowledge and experience I’ve picked up during my 20-plus years in the game.”Vaas, who picked up 355 wickets in Tests and 400 in ODIs, was New Zealand’s bowling consultant on a short-term basis in 2012, and served as Sri Lanka’s bowling coach from February 2013 to April 2015.
“It’s great to have Chaminda with us through the build-up as well as during the T20 World Cup,” said John Bracewell, Ireland’s head coach. “I have long been an admirer of his skills and like all the Sri Lankan cricketers of his era he was a great problem-solver.”His ability to get wickets in all forms of the game especially on the sub-continent was extraordinary. This experience will be invaluable to our bowling group.”

van der Dussen and Shamsi win men’s ODI player of the year and men’s T20I player of the year awards

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2021Quicks Anrich Nortje and Shabnim Ismail were named South Africa’s men’s and women’s cricketer of the year respectively at CSA’s annual awards ceremony, which was held virtually on Monday. Nortje became the 12th player to win the newcomer of the year and men’s cricketer of the year awards in successive years.Both players also bagged other major awards, with Nortje being named the Test cricketer of the year, South Africa fans’ player of the year and South Africa men’s players’ player of the year (sharing a tied vote with Aiden Markram). As for Ismail, she also won the women’s T20I cricketer of the year and South Africa women’s players’ player of the year awards.Having previously scooped up the women’s premier award in 2015, Ismail joined Marizanne Kapp (2013, 2014) and Dane van Niekerk (2016, 2018, 2019) as multiple winners in the professional era.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Batter Rassie van der Dussen was named men’s ODI player of the year while left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who is currently No.1 on the T20I bowling rankings, took the men’s T20I player of the year award. Lizelle Lee, meanwhile, claimed the women’s ODI player of the year award.”Anrich and Shabnim have set the highest standards that we expect from our icon Proteas players,” Pholetsi Moseki, CSA Acting Chief Executive, said in a statement. “Anrich’s international career to date has been remarkable. In the space of a year he has gone from being named our International Newcomer of the Year to our overall Player of the Year – an incredible achievement. The pandemic has restricted him to just 10 Test matches to date in which he has taken 39 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls.”Shabnim is the fastest bowler on the women’s international circuit, and she has been the leader of our Momentum Proteas attack for a long time now. She is the only South African to have taken 100 wickets in the T20 International format and she recently passed the significant landmark of 150 wickets in ODI cricket.”She has played a huge role in enabling our Momentum Proteas to break into the top group of countries with a world ranking of No. 2 in the ODI format.”Allrounder George Linde was adjudged the men’s international newcomer of the year while fellow left-arm fingerspinner Keshav Maharaj won big on the domestic front. He was named the SACA Most Valuable Player (MVP) as well as domestic players’ player of the season.Dolphins’ Ottniel Baartman, who recently earned his maiden call-up to the South Africa Test squad, was the inaugural winner of the Makhaya Ntini Power of Cricket Award. Titans’ Markram was named the 4-day domestic series player of the year for racking up 945 runs in seven matches at an average of 94.50, in the 2020-21 season. Former Dolphins allrounder Robbie Frylinck, who had announced his retirement earlier this year, was awarded the one-day cricketer of the season title while Lions’ Sisanda Magala was recognised as the T20 challenge cricketer of the season.

The squad will undergo another test before their opening match against Netherlands on Tuesday

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2021Three Sri Lanka players taking part in the Women’s World Cup Qualifier, which began in Harare on Sunday, have tested positive for Covid-19.According to an ICC release, the entire team was tested after one player showed mild symptoms. Two of the players who tested positive are experiencing mild symptoms, while the third is asymptomatic. All three are in isolation and are under medical care.The other members of the squad have returned negative tests, but the squad are isolating as a precaution and will undergo another test ahead of Sri Lanka’s opening match against Netherlands on Tuesday.Related

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“We have playing squads of 15 at the event, which allows for injuries and illness, including COVID-19 to be managed, and in addition teams have had the option of bringing traveling reserves with them.” Said ICC head of events Chris Tetley. “As you would expect, the remainder of the squad are being closely monitored and they will all be re-tested ahead of taking to the field on Tuesday.”The event bio-security plan provides us with protocols to manage positive tests effectively with the intention of enabling the event to proceed whilst keeping all other players and participants safe.”This is the second instance of Covid-19 related to a team taking part in the World Cup Qualifier. Papua New Guinea were forced to withdraw from the tournament, after a spate of infections within their camp left them short of players who could clear the Covid test that would allow them to fly to Zimbabwe.

Mumbai Indians have not ruled out Sachin Tendulkar’s participation in the second Qualifier on May 24

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2013Mumbai Indians have not ruled out Sachin Tendulkar’s participation in the second qualifier on May 24, despite the batsman suffering a wrist injury for which the normal recovery time is around three weeks.Medium-pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, however, will not play further part in Mumbai’s campaign because of a side strain, the franchise said.Tendulkar hurt his hand while batting during Mumbai’s home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 13 and retired hurt. He then missed Mumbai’s last two league games as well as the first qualifier against Chennai Super Kings in Delhi. The second qualifier is their last shot at making the final of IPL 2013.”On investigation we have found that there is some swelling in the wrist and around one of the tendons of his left hand,” the franchise said in a statement. “We have addressed this with an injection in his hand by a hand-and-wrist specialist. He is currently under rehab and is progressing well.”The normal recovery time for this injury is around three weeks, however rehab results in the past nine days have shown reasonable improvement and we are hopeful to get him back in action as soon as possible.”Kulkarni was injured on May 18, during Mumbai’s final league game, and missed the qualifier against Super Kings. His recovery period was estimated to be six weeks.

A wrap of the fourth day of the third round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Gujarat entered the final day at Eden Gardens staring at a certain defeat, but thanks to a century from Rujul Bhatt and a battling 83 from Rakesh Dhurv, they held off Bengal to avoid defeat. Gujarat began the day at 18 for 4, and lost the experienced Venugopal Rao on the first ball of the day. The scores of the top five read: 0, 4, 0, 12, 2. Gujarat’s resistance began with a 48-run stand between Rush Kalaria and Manprit Juneja, before Bhatt and Dhurv took over. The pair put on 149 for the eighth wicket to frustrate Bengal’s bowlers. It was Bhatt’s second century on the trot, but while the previous one against Saurashtra came on the flattest of tracks, this was a more testing surface and the match situation was also tougher. Bengal are now on six points, joint second place with Mumbai and Saurashtra, but those two teams have played a game less.
Scorecard
Saurashtra declared on their overnight score, giving themselves the whole of the final day to try and bowl out Hyderabad, but couldn’t pull off an outright win. Saurashtra’s decision to set Hyderabad a target of 345 in 90 overs was adventurous by Ranji standards and Hyderabad’s openers began positively, scoring 49 off 12 overs. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who took six wickets in the first innings, however removed both of them after which Hyderabad gave up trying to chase down the target. No. 7 Ashish Reddy struck a brisk 56 to raise the home side’s hopes briefly but after he was bowled by Jaydev Unadkat, Hyderabad’s primary task was doggedly playing out the remaining overs.
Scorecard
In a game with little to play for on the final day, Amit Paunikar went on to make his career-best score of 166 to push Railways to 353 in their second innings against Punjab. The other Railways batsman to make a substantial contribution was their captain Sanjay Bangar, who was unbeaten on 62. By the time Railways declared, with little more than a session for Punjab to bat out, the match was meandering along. Karan Goel was retired hurt, and Mayank Sidhana and Mandeep Singh fell early, but Punjab’s in-form batsmen Jiwanjot Singh and Uday Kaul played out the final 15 overs before the play was called off. Punjab continue to top the table with 17 points, opening up a 11-point lead over the second-placed teams.
Scorecard
At the KL Saini ground in Jaipur, in another of the group’s matches that was heading for a draw even before the start of the final day, there were no surprises. Madhya Pradesh helped themselves to some batting practice after having given up a hefty first-innings lead. Beginning the day 77 ahead, MP couldn’t declare too early to avoid the risk of an outright defeat; that meant they closed their innings only at tea, setting Rajasthan a target of 344 in one session. After having gained only two points from their two matches, defending champions Rajasthan picked up three from this match.

Yorkshire stumble to 165 all out after being inserted on bouncy surface

ECB Reporters' Network22-Jul-2021Gus Atkinson’s four-wicket List A debut helped Surrey make a winning start to their Royal London Cup campaign as they eased past Yorkshire by five wickets at Scarborough.Atkinson, 23, prospered with the new ball on a fast and bouncy North Marine Road pitch, claiming 4 for 43 to bowl the Vikings out for 165 in only 35 overs.Hashim Amla elected to bowl at the start of this Group B fixture, and the South African batting great later went beyond 10,000 career runs in this format with 29 to begin a successful chase. But Mark Stoneman played the match-clinching innings, an unbeaten 73 off 110 balls, having only just returned to Surrey following a four-game T20 loan spell with Yorkshire.Stoneman and co survived 4 for 57 for South African overseas quick Mat Pillans, who moved from Surrey to Yorkshire in late 2018.This fixture included eight players – four on each side – making their List A debuts.Atkinson made the initial breakthrough by bowling Will Fraine in the second over before getting George Hill caught at square leg and Jonny Tattersall caught behind as the hosts slipped to 40 for 4 in the 10th.Matthew Revis, another List A debutant, top-scored for Yorkshire with 43 off as many balls, while Gary Ballance made 39. They shared 81 inside 13 overs for the fifth wicket. But wickets fell quickly once more.The Vikings tumbled from 121 for 4 in the 22nd, losing their last six for 44 as most of the damage was done from the Trafalgar Square End.Opener Harry Duke, Hill, Ballance and Pillans were all undone by extra bounce, while Revis and Dom Bess will reflect on loose dismissals.This certainly wasn’t the way Yorkshire captain Bess would have wanted to celebrate his 24th birthday, with him skewing Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin to long-off.Hill and Pillans fell caught off top-edged pulls against Atkinson, the latter courtesy of a stunning diving catch on the run towards backward square-leg from wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. Ballance fended a short ball from Conor McKerr to gully, sparking the clatter of wickets.Amla and opening partner Stoneman then steadily shared 59 inside the first 13 overs of the chase. Stoneman hit two fours and slog-swept Bess for six as 14 came off the 12th, only for Pillans to claim two wickets in three balls in the 13th. He had Amla caught at wide mid-on pulling before bowling Ben Geddes, leaving Surrey 59 for 2.That forced Stoneman back into his shell, but he shared an important 54 with Smith. Pillans then struck twice in an over again, getting Smith caught at midwicket for 25 and Ryan Patel superbly caught one-handed in the gully by Tattersall – 116 for 4 in the 29th.Bess also bowled debutant Nico Reifer for an eye-catching 26, but Surrey’s victory was secured with 10.5 overs remaining.

When you face an asking rate of 15, you have no choice but to back yourself and go for your shots. That’s what Kieron Pollard was thinking when he launched his brutal attack against the Sunrisers Hyderabad

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2013When you face an asking rate of 15, you have no choice but to back yourself and go for your shots. That’s what Kieron Pollard was thinking when he launched his brutal attack against the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers in the final four overs of the chase at the Wankhede, helping his team to a seven-wicket win and the top of the points table.”The situation dictates itself when you walk in to bat [with the required rate] at 13 runs an over and if you block two balls, it gets up to 15 in no time,” Pollard was quoted as saying by , after the game. “It is a matter of backing yourself, the situation dictates itself and you have to play each ball on its merit and back your ability to clear the boundaries. Actually choose which bowler you want to hit, and capitalise.”Mumbai Indians needed 62 off 24 balls when Pollard and Rohit Sharma – who finished not out too, with 20 off 15 – took 29 runs of a Thisara Perera over. That was followed by 21 runs off Amit Mishra’s legspin in the 18th and, though Dale Steyn produced a very tight 19th over, with just a run-a-ball required off the final two Mumbai Indians were in control.Pollard’s unbeaten 66 off 27 is made all the more significant by the fact that he was recovering from a bout of the flu. “I am still sniffling a bit. I missed the game against Pune, the flu,” he said. “I came for practice yesterday, I was striking the ball pretty well. So once you are able to move and able to bat … I thought I was fit enough to play. The management decided obviously. We knew how important the game was and that was it.”Mumbai Indians coach John Wright said Pollard’s was an “amazing feat”. “What an amazing feat of hitting. I have never seen anything like that before,” Wright told the IPL site. “We were always up against it in the run chase. And they got those wickets [of Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu] immediately after Sachin retired, so we didn’t look like we were going to be winning the game but then that’s what a player like Pollard can do. That’s special.”Wright was also all praise for Rohit’s captaincy. “He has stepped into the captaincy role and he looks the part. It is very early days yet but I think he is going to be a very good leader,” he said. “We all contribute in our various ways but Rohit has taken to the job. He seems to be suited and the responsibility sits well with him – that shows through his performances with the bat and some of the decision-making on the field.”Rohit was named stand-in captain for Mumbai Indians a couple of weeks into their campaign, following Ricky Ponting’s poor form with the bat. Since he took over, Mumbai Indians have won seven off eight games. Rohit is the team’s leading run-scorer after 14 games, with 487 runs at 54.11 and a strike rate of 140.34.

Tim Bresnan has become the third England player in quick succession to insist that he will recover from injury in time for the Ashes series

Alison Mitchell03-Apr-2013Tim Bresnan has become the third England player in quick succession to insist that he will recover from injury in time for the Ashes series. Bresnan’s optimism about his recovery from an elbow operation follows equally upbeat assurances from Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen with the first Test against Australia now less than 100 days away.Bresnan’s second operation on his right elbow caused him to miss the tour to New Zealand, but he is aiming to play in Yorkshire’s friendly against Lancashire, beginning on April 16, and proving his fitness in championship cricket ahead of the first Test of the summer against New Zealand in mid-May.The latest top international to chat at length on Alison’s Tea Break, soon to be published exclusively on ESPNcricinfo, Bresnan admits he knew that his elbow trouble had left him down on pace for much of the previous year but was reluctant to face the consequences of another operation.”I was lacking a little bit of pace for the last year, which was something I didn’t really want to admit to myself,” he said. “One day I’d bowl brisk, and the next day I’d just have nothing. I knew it was the elbow but you’re in that position ‘I’m still doing a job but am I doing it to the best of my ability?’ And the answer to that question was probably ‘no’.”I’m actually excited now about the future, whereas, because I was bowling in a little bit of pain, it’s always in the back of your mind that you’re not giving it the full beans because it might hurt you.”It took a heart to heart with Graham Gooch in India for Bresnan to realise he had to speak up about his elbow pain, in order to avoid his career flatlining.”You just can’t get away with it against India. Here against the West Indies, absolutely fine, because it’s swinging, bit of reverse, maybe a bit of nibble. In India: nothing. There’s no hiding.”I think the time during the first Test when Sehwag just picked me up off a good length and hit me for six, I just went: ‘Wow, I’m not bowling quick enough here’. I think it was Goochie in a way who just said: ‘Look mate, I can tell you’re not right. I don’t know what you’ve been saying to the medical staff but you should be at a place now where you’re approaching your peak but you’ve just levelled off a bit’.”Now that he’s looking to make a comeback in the England side, Bresnan explains what sort of bowler he wants to be, why he can be more than the dependable workhorse in the side, and what it is that is motivating him.”I’ve only got six or seven five-fors. You never put me down for a truck load of wickets but stick me down for three an innings, which in anyone’s money is solid going. But if I want to be remembered as a cricketer, I was erring towards the stage where I was like, I don’t really want it to be that, I want it to be like: ‘He can win you games’.”Bresnan also takes a tongue-in-cheek ‘Yorkshire Test’ to see just how close to his roots he has remained, despite the global jet-setting life of an international cricketer. The results may be a little surprising.

Former India bowling coach has previously had an IPL stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2022Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun has been appointed in the same position by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the upcoming 15th edition of the IPL.”We are very excited to have someone of the calibre of Bharat Arun joining us as our bowling coach,” Venky Mysore, Knight Riders’ CEO & MD, said in a statement. “He will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to KKR’s strong support staff. We are delighted to welcome him to the Knight Riders family.”Related

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Arun, a medium-pacer who played two Tests and four ODIs between 1986 and 1987, brings with himself considerable coaching experience, having had two stints with India’s national side – first from 2014 to 2015, and then from 2017 till the end of the T20 World Cup in 2021.Before that, he was part of the India team which won the Under-19 World Cup in 2012, and has also been a part of the coaching staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, other than being with India’s domestic teams Tamil Nadu and Bengal.”I’m very excited and looking forward to becoming part of a highly successful franchise, such as the Knight Riders,” Arun said. “I have admired the Knight Riders franchise for not only being very successful in the IPL and around the world in T20 leagues but also for the way it is very professionally run.”His time with Knight Riders will not be the first time in the IPL. He spent three seasons – 2015 to 2017 – with Royal Challengers Bangalore as their bowling coach before he became part of the India set-up.”With a strong and successful pedigree in the international game, I’m sure Arun will complement the current staff we have and I look forward to working with him,” Brendon McCullum, the Knight Riders head coach, said. “His experience at international level and the ability to give confidence and clarity to our bowling group will be important, as we attempt to quickly align a new group of players to the values and style of play for KKR.”

Regular wickets keep Lancashire in the hunt on close-fought opening day

Valkerie Baynes29-Apr-2021April cricket is usually played in changeable conditions and the fine balance between a stubborn winter and a willing spring reflected the evenly poised contest between Sussex and Lancashire on an engrossing first day.It snowed when these sides met in the opening round at Old Trafford – the fixtures reversed after a bug infestation damaged the Hove outfield – and while temperatures were by no means that extreme, the briskness in the air was the one constant.As the players warmed up, the ground was bathed in glorious sunshine but neither that nor the gulls’ cries were convincing anyone to remove their winter coats – in some cases two winter coats – and dip themselves in the sea as a chill wind arrived and dense cloud cover set in, giving way to varying shades of white and grey for the rest of the day.Related

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Things began gloomily enough for Sussex when they lost Aaron Thomason for a duck on the 17th ball of the match, an excellent delivery from Tom Bailey that tore through the batter’s defences and clattered into middle and off.Stiaan van Zyl’s arrival at the crease brought the hosts numerous bright moments however, as he and Tom Haines drove – literally in van Zyl’s case – the Sussex recovery from 6 for 1 to 110 for 1 by lunch.van Zyl’s prowess through the off-side, namely his sublime driving through extra cover, accounted for the majority of his 12 fours, including two through the region off consecutive Danny Lamb deliveries.Having survived a chance early in his innings when Steven Croft failed to grab what would have been a stunning catch at second slip, van Zyl settled into a rhythm that looked set to deliver his second century of the season, following his 113 at Glamorgan during round two.Matt Parkinson entered the attack in the 21st over after his match-winning 7 for 126 among his nine wickets at Kent last week. But van Zyl lofted his sixth ball over the fence at long-on and, in Parkinson’s next over, helped himself to two fours, one swept and the second thumped through his favoured extra cover zone to move within one of his half-century, which he brought up with a single off Parkinson.Haines followed van Zyl in passing fifty a short time later – the fourth time Haines has done so this season – and the pair walked off for lunch with their side holding a much sunnier outlook than at the start of the day.Lancashire emerged from the break with a spring in their step and a chirp in their collective voice as they sought a breakthrough. They achieved it before their facade became forced through a probing Saqib Mahmood delivery that angled slightly across left-hander Haines and found an outside edge that went through to Dane Vilas behind the stumps in place of Alex Davies, who was fielding but couldn’t take the gloves after suffering a knock to his finger during the week.So ended Haines’ innings on 58 and a fruitful second-wicket stand with van Zyl worth 133. It continued a run of early form this season for Haines, who followed his 155 in the first match against Lancashire with scores in the 80s against Glamorgan and Yorkshire and he now has 455 runs from seven innings.”I’ve worked really hard for this,” said Haines, who put his form down to increasing his volume of practice during the off-season. “I’m loving my cricket this year.”I spoke to Alastair Cook at the end of the Essex game last year and he said, ‘all the best players in the world hit the most balls and that’s just how it is.’ I’ve just tried to do that really, it’s not hitting balls for the sake of it but hitting as much as you need to feel good.”van Zyl followed Haines out when, on 79, he slashed at a ball well outside off stump from Liam Livingstone – back in Lancashire’s side after leaving the IPL citing bubble fatigue – and found Luke Wells at backward point.Tom Clark and Ben Brown managed to steady Sussex again, although it wasn’t all smooth for Clark, despite the silkiest straight drive he produced to deposit Livingstone effortlessly over the fence.Dropped on nought, another of four chances missed by Lancashire, Clark copped a blow from Lamb that sent pieces of his helmet flying. Having passed an on-field concussion test, he was pinned lbw by Bailey shortly before tea and Sussex faced another period of reconstruction as the sky darkened and the floodlights came on.They did manage to rebuild once more through captain Ben Brown and Delray Rawlins, the latter reaching 42 off 64 balls, including straight sixes off Parkinson – which cleared the sightscreen and landed in the nets where Jofra Archer had been continuing his rehab from hand and elbow injuries – and Livingstone.But, with the new ball about to be taken, Rawlins slapped Parkinson straight to Wells at extra cover.Brown followed, trapped by a pin-point accurate ball from Lamb, returning to the attack having bowled six maidens among his 15 overs and conceded just 35 runs to that point.When Stuart Meaker fell to Bailey, Sussex were 292 for 7 having been 197 for 3 after winning the toss, suggesting that the failure of any of their batters to convert starts into big scores might leave them exposed.But their 318 for 7 at the close was hardly poor and left them within reach of a fourth batting bonus point with George Garton, who fell three shy of a century at Glamorgan, unbeaten on 30. It also highlighted the closeness of the tussle and set up another enthralling day.