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Abdur Rehman flew straight in from Dubai to take three wickets as Somerset closed on top at Hove

David Hopps at Hove04-Sep-2012
ScorecardAbdur Rehman took three wickets as Sussex were bowled out cheaply•Getty Images

Even for the modern cricketer, two matches on different continents within barely 12 hours is pushing it a bit, but Abdur Rehman pulled it off it somehow. Two wickets for Pakistan in a floodlit ODI against Australia in Dubai and, a long-haul flight later, three more wickets for Somerset at Hove. He was probably content to get his loosener on the cut bit. It was a wonder he was not so disorientated that he bowled it against the sightscreen.Life was certainly of a slower pace when Les Lenham, who is still Sussex’s part-time batting coach at a sprightly 76, began an association with the county in 1952. He was summoned to Hove in August of that year, small kit bag in hand, in expectation of a game and instead spent the day selling scorecards, working the scorecard and picking up banana skins.But even as he watched Rehman demolish Sussex’s lower order, Lenham’s thoughts did not dwell on the lifestyle of the itinerant cricketer as much as something more substantial. He was on hand to watch Murray Goodwin’s farewell to Hove and stuck to his remarks at a knees-up to mark his 60 years with the county by reasserting that he had seen no finer Sussex cricketer in his lifetime. As the list includes Ted Dexter, it is quite a compliment, one to fit alongside his 24,000 runs and 48 hundreds for Sussex in all formats.”I was asked who I thought had been the best Sussex batsman I had seen and I looked at Murray and said the question was not too difficult,” Lenham said. “He has an amazing flair for the game, great hand-eye co-ordination and amazing powers of concentration. His cover drive is a joy to watch and he must be one of the finest square cutters the game has ever seen. He watches the ball longer than most, too; it’s a gift to stand still and wait.”But better than Dexter? Such an accolade is not easily made in Sussex where he lorded it over so many bowling attacks in his heyday in the early sixties. “Ted played many outstanding innings, but he wasn’t always bothered with the grafting. When the chips were down I would always back Murray ahead of Ted. Ted was one of the most exciting players the world has ever seen, but what has made Murray great has been his ability to assess the situation.”Now he has assessed the situation and decided, at 39, age has caught up with him. He has not added to those centuries this summer and, in first-class cricket, barely averages more than double figures. His Test career – only 19 Tests for Zimbabwe – is a thing of distant memory.He was given a sitting ovation today – these Hove deckchairs take some getting out of when your sprightliest years are behind you – and a more sympathetic ripple when he returned to the pavilion with 16 more runs to his name, edging Sajid Mahmood to second slip where Marcus Trescothick held one of his five catches.A glide to third man off Alfonso Thomas possessed the touch of earlier seasons, but it was Thomas’ day which took a turn for the better as he removed Matt Prior, Ed Joyce and Ben Brown within the space of three overs shortly before tea. Joyce had been Sussex’s bedrock, committing four-and-a-quarter hours to a disciplined 65 which ended when he edged to the wicketkeeper. He had also skied a pull to mid-on on 47 but Peter Trego had overstepped.Somerset named 12 and fielded 11, under the ECB regulation that allows international players to have an active substitute until they arrive. Jack Leach, Rehman’s substitute, even got an over of slow left-arm in before lunch, but Rehman walked onto the field around 2pm and had a preamble about half-an-hour later.He was in his 16th over when he took his first wicket, Mike Yardy providing Trescothick with another victim. James Anyon fell in identical fashion in his next over and, in the one that followed, Sussex’s innings came to an end when Lewis Hatchett was bowled for nought.Lenham had witnessed many better Sussex batting days. Goodwin will take some replacing, but his tutor thinks he is retiring at the right time. “By the time I started coaching him, there wasn’t a lot to do,” he said. “The art of coaching is sometimes to say ‘well done, great shot and this is why it was a great shot.’ I didn’t have to tighten up a method like Murray’s. But he has had a bad season and there comes a time when the days in the field feel longer and you are not moving or timing the ball quite so well. You’ve got to realise there comes a day.”

Majority of the previous set of office bearers were voted in uncontested, will hold positions for two years

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-May-2021Shammi Silva has been elected Sri Lanka Cricket president again, after he and the majority of the previous set of office bearers were voted in uncontested. They will hold these positions for two years.Silva’s faction, which includes vice-presidents Ravin Wickramaratne and Jayantha Dharmadasa, and secretary Mohan de Silva, did not face any challenges in this election, after an opposing faction withdrew on Tuesday. That faction had comprised Sri Lanka’s first Test captain Bandula Warnapura, Nishantha Ranatunga, and K Mathivanan, and had cited the “lack of a level playing field” in the elections process in the letter indicating their withdrawal. Both Ranatunga and Mathivanan, however, had held elected positions within SLC over the last 10 years.

SLC’s office bearers until May 2023

• Shammi Silva – President

• Ravin Wickaramaratne-Vice-president

• Jayantha Dharmadasa-Vice-president

• Mohan de Silva-Secretary

• Krishantha Kapuwatta-Assistant-secretary

• Lasantha Wickramasinghe-Treasurer

• Sujeewa Godaliyadda-Deputy treasurer

Although Silva’s faction regained their offices, they will now face increased scrutiny after the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) publicly questioned several financial and administrative lapses within SLC, earlier this year. There is also the matter of the previous board led by Silva having failed to hold elections in time, which led to the sports minister intervening to dissolve the board, and appoint a management committee to run SLC for several weeks until fresh elections were held.The re-election of Silva and his committee also means that initiatives they had begun in their previous tenure – such as the Lanka Premier League – will likely continue through this next tenure. Silva was first elected president in 2019, and had been vice-president before that.

Fast bowler available for seven games after West Indies’ Test series against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2021Surrey have signed Kemar Roach, the West Indies fast bowler, for the first seven games of the County Championship season.Roach will be the club’s second overseas player for the early part of the season, alongside Hashim Amla, who initially joined Surrey on a Kolpak deal ahead of the 2020 season.While Surrey already have several fast-bowling options on their books, they have opted to bring in Roach’s experience following Morne Morkel’s departure, and with Sam and Tom Curran due to miss the start of the Championship season to play in the IPL.Roach will be returning to county cricket after a decade-long absence, following a brief spell at Worcestershire towards the end of the 2011 season.Related

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He will fly to the UK after the completion of West Indies’ second Test against Sri Lanka, and Surrey said in a press release that they expect him to be available for their season opener against Gloucestershire on April 8, “subject to any Covid restrictions and quarantine rules”. He will return to the Caribbean after the fixture against Middlesex, which starts on May 20.”I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Surrey for the early part of the summer,” Roach said. “Two grounds I wanted to play at as a kid were the two Ovals: Kensington and The Oval, home of Surrey.”When Alec Stewart showed an interest in me I had no hesitation in saying yes to him. The club has a strong squad with a nice balance of youth and experience. I would like to thank CWI for allowing me the opportunity to go back and play county cricket again after a number of years.”Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said: “I’m very pleased to have secured the services of Kemar for the first seven games of the upcoming season. He’s a highly skilled bowler who we feel will suit the conditions of the early part of the English domestic season.”He is vastly experienced at international and domestic level and bowled very well in last summer’s Test series in England without amassing the wicket haul he really deserved.”

Body calls on ICC and its member boards to show “willingness to prioritise and act on” the matter

Matt Roller13-Nov-2020The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), the game’s global players’ body, has criticised the ICC and its member boards for failing to show “enough of a willingness to prioritise and act on” the issue of systematic contract breaches in sanctioned cricket.Earlier this year, FICA’s annual report found that 34% of current players have experienced issues with late or non-payment in events or leagues approved by the ICC or its members, highlighting problems with six tournaments including the Bangladesh Premier League and the Abu Dhabi T10. And, at its virtual annual meeting this week, FICA said in a media statement that its board had “resolved to continue to focus on global solutions in response to the growing and significant statistics on player non-payment and late payment” in such events.Tom Moffat, FICA’s chief executive, said that the body had proposed “clear global solutions” and that players “deserve to play in a regulatory environment that protects them, not just the ICC and boards”. Moffat told ESPNcricinfo that FICA has highlighted two potential solutions in particular: contract minimum standards and contract enforcement mechanisms.One lawyer explained earlier this year that many contracts in T20 leagues are “cut-and-paste jobs”. Moffat explained that minimum standards were necessary “to ensure a basic level of fairness in all sanctioned cricket”. “There is no point in having enforcement mechanisms to enforce “bad” contracts,” he said.Possible mechanisms for enforcing contracts are upheld, including escrow payments, by which funds are kept in the custody of a third party and paid out when specific conditions have been fulfilled. Moffat said that FICA had proposed “central bank account requirements with player representative oversight” and “the establishment of a fit-for-purpose global arbitration tribunal set up to deal with employment-related disputes”.”There is precedent for these sorts of measures in other global sports and given the direction of travel in cricket, with the growth of the domestic leagues landscape, private ownership, and a more club-based model, cricket should be taking learnings from those sports,” Moffat said. “We believe global solutions are necessary as the problem is global, the ICC’s sanctioned cricket regulations currently regulate players globally, and we believe those regulations should protect players, not just the ICC and boards.”While the ICC’s management has expressed some support for such enforcement mechanisms, it does not have jurisdiction over domestic leagues, which are instead run by member boards, and as a result is unable to sanction them with regards to payment.Also on the agenda at FICA’s meeting was the issue of players’ commercial rights, as revealed by ESPNcricinfo last month. Moffat said that the likelihood of litigation being brought forward left him unable to go into detail, but confirmed that there were “several ongoing issues relating to the use of player attributes and content by the ICC and its partners for commercial purposes”.Heath Mills, the chief executive of the New Zealand Players’ Association and a board member for the last 18 years, has been appointed chairman following the culmination of Tony Irish’s term in the role. Irish, who left his role at the Professional Cricketers’ Association in the UK earlier this year for family reasons, will continue to sit as an independent board member. The Dutch Cricketers’ Association has also joined FICA, becoming the tenth players’ body to do so.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka batsman, has said the current captain Mahela Jayawardene may have to lead till the 2015 World Cup in order to provide sufficient time for a successor to be groomed

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Colombo15-Jun-2012Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka batsman, has said the current captain Mahela Jayawardene may have to lead till the 2015 World Cup in order to provide sufficient time for a successor to be groomed.Angelo Mathews, the 25-year-old allrounder, is widely seen as a leading candidate to take over when Jayawardene steps down. Mathews has established himself in all three formats, but has struggled with injuries during his three-year career. Dilshan cautioned against thrusting the leadership on Mathews too soon.”You can’t give someone the captaincy all of a sudden. He (Mathews) has to be groomed under a good captain for two to three years,” Dilshan said after a training session at the R Premadasa Stadium. “Not just on how to handle things on the field, but also off the field. Those are some of the things I learned. It’s not easy, mind you. I hope Angelo will be a good captain, but he has time. He has to work under Mahela.”Kumar [Sangakkara], Mahela and I are nearing our retirement age. After the next World Cup we would be gone. I think Mahela will have to shoulder the burden till the next World Cup.”Dilshan also defended his decision to step down as captain five months ago, following the tour of South Africa. He had never spoken publicly about the main reasons for quitting and said he wanted to remain tight-lipped about it till he gives up the game.”There were many reasons for me to step down. I don’t like to discuss them at this point as I am still involved in the game,” Dilshan said. “But when I retire I will reveal why I quit.”Dilshan took over as captain from Kumar Sangakkara after the 2011 World Cup, led his team on tours to England, the UAE [against Pakistan] and South Africa and at home against Australia. His captaincy came under severe criticism as Sri Lanka lost both the Test and ODI series against all the four countries.His form with the bat also dipped during his captaincy. Dilshan led Sri Lanka in 11 Tests since May 2011, of which his team won one Test and lost five. His own average during his tenure was 33.60, well below his overall average of 40.89. In the same period, he led in 21 ODIs, winning eight and losing 13. His batting suffered even more on the ODI front, as he averaged 20.95 against his overall figure of 34.68.”At that point, with the way things were going, I felt that it’s good to give up the captaincy and concentrate on my game,” Dilshan said. “During that eight-month period I learned a lot of things. That experience taught me who people were. I think it was the right decision to step down.”Dilshan said he was the only realistic choice to captain Sri Lanka after Jayawardene and Sangakkara both had leadership stints. Mathews, who was named vice-captain before the home series against Australia last year, wasn’t seen to be experienced enough to take over the leadership. Dilshan said he accepted the role because of the lack of options. Jayawardene took over for his second stint at the helm early this year before the one-day tour of Australia.”I didn’t want the captaincy and back then no one wanted to take over the captaincy,” Dilshan said. “There was no leader and that prompted me to take over the leadership.”Reflecting on the positives of his captaincy, Dilshan said winning the Durban Test, Sri Lanka’s first Test win in South Africa, gave him tremendous satisfaction.”When I took over as captain, I wanted to give younger players opportunities. Most players made most of those opportunities and I am glad that those players are taking the initiative these days to win us games. That’s my biggest achievement as Sri Lanka captain. The other thing that I look back with fondness is being able to win a Test match in South Africa which no captain has been able to do. Even that ODI series in South Africa we could have won, but we lost unfortunately due to rain.”

In February the Blues were routed by an innings and 323 runs inside three days at the WACA ground, but this time it was the visitors claiming outright points with a day to spare, by the handsome margin of eight wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2012
ScorecardIt takes plenty of character to return to the scene of a grim defeat and erase its memory by notching a strong victory, and that is precisely what New South Wales achieved by defeating Western Australia in the opening Sheffield Shield match of the season.In February the Blues were routed by an innings and 323 runs inside three days at the WACA ground, but this time it was the visitors claiming outright points with a day to spare, by the handsome margin of eight wickets.Starting out with a deficit of 141, the Warriors’ second innings was never likely to amount to enough once Trent Copeland had nipped out three of the first four wickets with only 68 on the board, Steve O’Keefe claiming the other in what was a strong allround display by the NSW vice-captain.Liam Davis and the wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt held up the Blues for a time by adding 97, and Mitchell Johnson added 48 with Nathan Rimmington down the order, but a target of 108 was never likely to trouble the Blues provided they attacked the target with the right intent.Peter Nevill provided the required aggression with a stroke-filled innings, and he was at the crease to post the winning runs in the company of the captain Michael Clarke, thus completing a highly productive week for the Blues after they also won the limited overs match against WA.After one match, NSW now have as many outright wins as they managed for the whole of last summer, and will be confident entering their second fixture against Tasmania at Bankstown Oval from Wednesday.

Muttiah Muralitharan confirmed he would play for the Renegades in the Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2012The two most prolific wicket-takers in international cricket are expected to be part of a cross-town rivalry in Melbourne this season, after Muttiah Muralitharan confirmed he would play for the Renegades in the Big Bash League. Muralitharan, 40, will be based at Etihad Stadium in the Docklands and Shane Warne is likely to head back to the MCG to play for the Melbourne Stars again, although his return is yet to be confirmed.It will be Muralitharan’s first taste of Australian domestic cricket after he signed for Victoria in the Big Bash in 2009 but was forced to withdraw due to a conflict with Sri Lanka’s international schedule. Last season, he chose to play for Wellington in New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 competition instead of the BBL, but he was keen to test himself in Australia this year.”I wanted to play one season in Australia and the opportunity from the Melbourne Renegades was there so I took it with both hands,” Muralitharan said. “Last year I watched [the BBL] from New Zealand and it’s a good standard of players and a competitive tournament.”I think it will be interesting to play against [Chris] Gayle because he’s one of the best batsmen in T20 and I played with him at the Royal Challengers Bangalore [in the Indian Premier League]. It will be good to play with him or against him. I think Shane is a great bowler and I’ve always admired him. I’ll try to do well and he’ll try to do well for his team.”Gayle has not yet been announced as a signing by any of the eight teams this year but he is expected to feature in the tournament, having been a major drawcard for the Sydney Thunder last season. Muralitharan is the fourth international player to be signed for the BBL this year, after Daniel Vettori (Brisbane Heat), Owais Shah (Hobart Hurricanes) and John Botha (Adelaide Strikers).Muralitharan will do much of his work on a drop-in pitch at Etihad Stadium, which he said might help his cause. “Sometimes the drop-in pitches can assist the spinners so that might help me,” Muralitharan said. “There’s a big Sri Lankan community [in Melbourne] so hopefully they can come and watch.”Attracting Muralitharan will be a valuable boost for the Renegades, who have lost key batsmen Brad Hodge and Glenn Maxwell to the Stars. Teams have until Friday next week to sign at least 14 players, and must finalise their 18-man squads by the end of November.

Auckland reaffirmed their position at the top of the HRV Cup table with a seven-wicket hammering of Central Districts, with 27 balls to spare at the Colin Maiden Park

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2012
ScorecardAuckland reaffirmed their position at the top of the HRV Cup table with a seven-wicket hammering of Central Districts, with 27 balls to spare at the Colin Maiden Park. The win means Auckland have now won six of their eight games, two more than their nearest competitors, Canterbury. With only two wins in eight games, CD are languishing in the middle of the table.CD’s decision to bat in a rain-reduced fixture ran into early strife, when they lost four of their most experienced batsmen – Jamie How, Peter Ingram, Kieran Noema-Barnett and Mathew Sinclair in a three-over phase to slump to 29 for 4. Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor attempted a recovery, but once Oram succumbed to Ronnie Hira in the ninth over, there was no looking back for Auckland. Taylor was the only batsman to cross 20 as his side succumbed to 90 for 9 in their 15 overs.Anaru Kitchen then powered Auckland to the target with plenty to spare, hitting three sixes and two fours in 34 off 22 balls. His effort backed up a strong opening stand from Azhar Mahmood and Martin Guptill that yielded 37 in 4.2 overs to put Auckland on course for the win.

SASCOC has offered to meet with the ICC to provide assurance of its independence

Firdose Moonda12-Sep-2020The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), which instructed Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) Board and Executive to step aside on Thursday evening, has written to the ICC emphasising that its intervention cannot be considered government interference and is based in South African law.SASCOC’s communication with the game’s global governing body comes even as CSA seeks legal advice on the validity of SASCOC’s involvement in its affairs.Specifically, SASCOC sought to distance itself from the country’s government and offered to meet with the ICC to provide assurance of its independence.”SASCOC rejects any allegation or insinuation that the SASCOC intervention constitutes Government interference,” SASCOC’s letter to the ICC reads. “At no stage does or did SASCOC act under the direction or control of the Minister of Sport in the country, or the Government of the Republic of South Africa. The Board exercises its judgment independently of Government, or any other outside influence.”However, in SASCOC’s resolutions passed on Tuesday, it lists resolution 2.8 as “the directive by the Minister of Sport and Recreation for SASCOC to intervene into the affairs of CSA.”SASCOC is a legislatively-created body recognised by the National Sports and Recreation Act of 1998. It is the only sports confederation in South Africa, and is the umbrella body under which all sporting bodies in the country operate. In terms of SASCOC’s constitution it is allowed to “enquire into the activities of any of its Members where malpractices and other forms of misconduct are alleged,” its letter to the ICC reads. “The SASCOC Constitution also makes provision for SASCOC to enquire into the operational, administrative and financial activities of any of its Members where there are allegations of maladministration. CSA as a Member Federation subscribes to the SASCOC Constitution, and is bound by it.”While CSA has committed to engaging with SASCOC, it issued a media statement in the early hours of Friday evening confirming it “does not agree” with SASCOC stepping in. Former ICC Head of Legal David Becker told ESPNCricinfo that CSA is unlikely to be able to stop SASCOC from getting involved, given how broad SASCOC’s powers are.SASCOC maintains the only reason it has taken this much interest in CSA is because it believes the game of cricket is being damaged by CSA’s actions. “Given the litany of complaints that has plagued CSA since at least December 2019, there can be no doubt that CSA has been brought into disrepute, and that its standing amongst players and ex-players, the media, the public and most importantly, its stakeholders such as sponsors, and the government, have dramatically diminished resulting in a loss of trust and confidence in the organisation,” SASCOC’s letter said.The next step in SASCOC’s process is appointing a task team to investigate CSA’s administrative and financial affairs. SASCOC hoped to work with the Cricket South Africa Members’ Council – the body made up of the 14 provincial presidents who have the highest decision-making powers in CSA – to nominate the members of the task team but the Members’ Council did not meet with SASCOC on Friday. Instead, the CSA Board and Members’ Council is meeting this weekend while SASCOC appears likely to be deciding on the task team on its own.”The Task Team will be composed of eminent South Africans who have standing and integrity, and once identified, will be conducting an initial investigation within a period of one (1) month,” SASCOC said. “The Task Team will remain accountable to the SASCOC Board and the Members’ Council of Cricket South Africa once its findings and recommendations are made.”The Task Team is not an “attempt to place Cricket South Africa under administration,” but it does require “the CSA Board and those Senior CSA Executives who serve on it on an ex officio basis to step aside in order to facilitate the work of the Task Team.” SASCOC called such a request entirely reasonable, and indeed necessary,” and stressed that “The Task Team will consult with the Members’ Council where necessary, and seek its approval from time to time.”Chief among the Task Team’s missions will be to access CSA’s recently completed forensic report, which it used to dismiss former CEO Thabang Moroe. CSA has not made the report available to anyone except its members’ council who have been required to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to view the report but may be allowed to see it in full this weekend. Still, both SASCOC and the country’s sports ministry want access to the report in order to understand the depths of CSA’s governance issues.”CSA’s steadfast refusal to make the forensic report available is puzzling, as it appears that they are unable to self-correct if the report is not made available, not only to its own Members, but also to the media and the public at large since it is a public document,” SASCOC said.

A farewell half-century by Michael Klinger helped Worcestershire to a draw after rain on the final morning spoiled a hard-fought match with Sussex at New Road.

19-May-2012
ScorecardMichael Klinger has looked a compact, well-organised opener•Getty Images

A farewell half-century by Michael Klinger helped Worcestershire to a draw after rain on the final morning spoiled a hard-fought match with Sussex at New Road. The visitors tried to make up for the lost time with a century for Ed Joyce and a knock of 98 by Chris Nash before a declaration at 258 for 4 left Worcestershire chasing a target of 315 in 60 overs.This was beyond their range in cold and miserable conditions but they made sure of their fourth draw in six games, reaching 174 for 4 before time was called at 5.50pm with a dozen overs still to be bowled.In his six-week commission, Klinger has looked a compact, well-organised opener, and although this was only his second time past 50 in the championship, most of his innings were played on bowler-friendly pitches. The value of his last appearance could not be underestimated as Worcestershire edged towards safety after Daryl Mitchell had fallen lbw to Naved Arif’s second delivery in the 10th over of the innings.Ably supported by Vikram Solanki in a partnership of 76, Klinger made 67 with eight fours and a six but his departure was unfortunate with the thinnest of deflections on the leg side in attempting to hook James Anyon.While Klinger is set to return to England in July for a tour with Australia A, his Test-playing compatriot Phil Hughes will begin his stint in Worcester in the CB40 match against Middlesex at New Road on May 27.Worcestershire wobbled for a while when Monty Panesar took two wickets in six balls and James Cameron retired after a short ball from Anyon struck him on the side of his face, but Solanki, unbeaten with 44, and Gareth Andrew, 27 not out, saw them to safety.When the rain relented for a start after an early lunch, Sussex lost four wickets in adding 115 in 10 overs after their openers had resumed an overnight partnership of 143. With the a damp run-up at the New Road end causing problems, Andrew conceded 29 in two overs, although he should have removed Nash on 78 when David Lucas dropped a sitter at long-on.With 12 fours and three sixes, Nash was on the brink of a celebratory century in his 100th first-class match when he was lbw, trying to work Moeen Ali’s first ball of the day off his legs.Joyce safely reached his hundred with his second six – he also hit 11 fours in an unbeaten 108 – and Joe Gatting clattered four sixes, one of these clearing the pavilion, while making 36 from 11 balls.