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Alan Richardson bagged a six-wicket haul as Worcestershire boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation and dented Lancashire’s title bid with a crushing 10-wicket win

01-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Alan Richardson made excellent use of a helpful pitch to boost Worcestershire’s survival hopes•PA Photos

Lancashire have put themselves in contention to win the County Championship by being in some ways a team greater than the sum of its parts, winning eight matches by pooling their resources more effectively than rivals with more obvious stand-out performers. Above all, their asset has been character and it is that quality that will come under close scrutiny now.They were beaten here by 10 wickets in a day and a half, having batted poorly in both innings. The result, built around a valiant near-century by James Cameron and the excellence of veteran seamer Alan Richardson, who finished with 6 for 22, not only makes the race for the title even more of a close-run battle but gives Worcestershire every chance of avoiding relegation at Yorkshire’s expense.Given that they began the season as every pundit’s favourite to go back to Division Two, their achievement deserves almost as much attention as Lancashire’s apparent attack of the jitters although inevitably it will not be given it.The fact is that Glen Chapple’s side began this round as title favourites but will end it having been knocked off the top of the Division One table and possibly down to third place. Warwickshire – perhaps even Durham, though they have only one match to go after the current round – will look at their own chance with fresh enthusiasm.Lancashire picked off the last four Worcestershire wickets in the first hour, Chapple himself – showing no sign of the knee problem that had kept him off the field for part of the previous afternoon – taking three after Kyle Hogg had broken the key partnership between and Cameron and Ben Scott at 97 when the wicketkeeper edged a wideish ball to his Lancashire counterpart.
Richard Jones was lbw offering no stroke before Cameron, having reached 98, was rather cruelly denied his hundred, bowled by one of several balls at the Diglis End that kept low. Kemar Roach followed him in quite quickly after another straight ball beat his optimistic swing.Worcestershire’s lead of 76 looked handy but Lancashire nonetheless would have expected to set themselves something relatively testing for the last innings. Instead, they were dismissed for 80 in just over 30 overs, the end coming just before 3pm. It is their lowest all-out total since Glamorgan dismissed them for 51 at Liverpool in 1997.Richardson, who is enjoying the most productive season of his career at 36, followed Chapple’s example of bowling full and straight and Lancashire’s batsmen, gripped by a combination of impatience and panic, succumbed one after another, whether by failing to move their feet, playing back when they should have been forward, or else just swinging carelessly across the line. Five of his six wickets were leg-before.Roach, the West Indian fast bowler whose pace only added to Lancashire’s jitters, bowled Chapple and Saj Mahmood with two frighteningly quick deliveries, claiming a third victim when Hogg, who had hit him a few meaty blows in the first innings, stepped back in search of another but was again beaten for pace.Stephen Moore, the Lancashire opener, was absent, attending the birth of his first child in Manchester at the very moment his teammates were falling apart. But even Peter Moores, the Lancashire coach, admitted it would have been unlikely he would have made much difference.”I don’t know what difference Stephen would have made but babies take precedence over cricket matches and quite rightly so,” Moores said. “He has had a little girl and we are delighted for him. There was never a dilemma over whether he would stay because family comes first.”It is disappointing result obviously but we batted poorly on both innings. We did not score enough runs in either to create any kind of pressure and there can be no complaints. The pitch had a little bit in it, a little bit uneven in bounce, but we lost five wickets to full straight balls which you cannot afford to do, especially in the top six.”But like the defeat in the Twenty20 semi-final last weekend, we have to take it on the chin. We will scrub ourselves up and prepare for next week. We have two matches left and if we win both I think we will win the title. Win one and we are in the frame. We will find out over the next two games if we have the character to do it.”Lancashire’s batting was collectively bad and while Moores backed away from coming down hard on his own players – in public, at any rate – he must have despaired at their lack of application and times and his assessment of Cameron’s performance said plenty.”He showed what could be done. He played himself in, didn’t play and miss an awful lot and didn’t get hit on the pad an awful lot. He showed the right game for that pitch and can take pride in the fact that, batting wise, he was the difference between the sides.”Richardson, meanwhile, having raised his tally to 62 wickets for the Championship season confirmed the view of pitch liaison officer Jack Birkenshaw that only negligible blame could be attached to the behaviour of the track.”I have played on a lot worse wickets this year, a lot more bowler friendly at least,” he said. “It did a little bit and maybe the odd one stayed down but in general I thought it was a really good wicket, certainly not a day and a half wicket.””We did not see that coming this morning, for sure, and I was a bit surprised that Lancashire crumbled as they did because they have shown a lot of fight this season but it was just one of those days when we bowled well and it all clicked.”The Staffordshire-born seamer reckons Worcestershire have earned the right now to determine their own fate after putting clear daylight between themselves and next-to-bottom Yorkshire.”We set out this season to be as competitive as possible and apart from in a couple of games we really have been competitive,” he said. “We have surprised some people, given some teams a bit of a fright and we have scraped together four wins. The fact that we are two games from the end and not in the relegation zone is a reflection of how well we have played.”At both ends of the table, at this stage what lies ahead is as much a test of nerve as technique. Lancashire, under pressure every season to stop the constant reminders of how long it is since they last won the Championship – 1934 in their own right, 1950 when they shared it with Surrey – must now prove that theirs is strong enough. Hampshire are their next opponents, at Liverpool next week, followed by Somerset at Taunton in the final round.

Former England allrounder and county veteran Dominic Cork has announced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2011Former England allrounder and county veteran Dominic Cork has announced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect. Cork, 40, had left Hampshire at the end of the 2011 season, and his retirement brings to an end a 21-year professional career.Always one for the big stage, Cork chose to make the announcement himself live on Sky Sports News. “I’m going to retire from all cricket from now,” he said. “It’s quite an emotional day for me, it’s a hard decision but it’s the right decision for me. I’m 40 now, I’m not getting any younger and it’s hard work, but I’ve had a great career.”It seemed retirement might be looming when Hampshire decided not to renew Cork’s contract for the 2012 campaign, but there had been talk that more than one second division county was interested in signing him. Ultimately, Cork decided that the time was right for him to go, however, and suggested that his decision was partly motivated by a desire to spend more time with his family, particularly following the recent death of his father.”There were offers out there, I considered them long and hard and looked at where I wanted to be in my life. Losing my father a month ago, who was one of my biggest inspirations, makes you think about your life and take stock. I want to get back to family life – cricket can make you a selfish person, and it’s time to give it back to people.”Cork finishes with 10,114 runs and 989 wickets in first-class cricket, while he also enjoyed some notable successes in limited-overs cricket during his three-year stay at the Rose Bowl, winning the domestic 50-over competition in 2009 and the Friends Provident Twenty20 in 2010. Cork played 32 ODIs and 37 Tests for England between 1992 and 2002 and on the biggest stage in England, at Lord’s, Cork took his best Test bowling figures of 7 for 43 in 1995, and played his most famous innings, in 2000, on both occasions against West Indies.He had been Hampshire’s captain since midway through the 2010 season, having begun his first-class career in 1990 and had a long stint with Derbyshire, where he was also captain, before joining Lancashire, until the move to Hampshire in 2009.

Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach and chief selector, has said he will not let his double role hamper him or the team in any way during their series against Sri Lanka in the UAE

Umar Farooq11-Oct-2011Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach and chief selector, has said he will not let his dual role hamper him or the team in any way during their series against Sri Lanka in the UAE. Sri Lanka, Mohsin said, is a tough opponent, which would make victory against them ‘sweeter’.”I am not going to confuse myself with the double responsibility,” Mohsin said on the sidelines of a training session. “The board has asked me to take up the responsibility. It’s a challenging one [assignment], a duty that has to be completed with responsibility.”Sri Lanka, no doubt, is one of the toughest sides in the world to play against, but we are ready to take them on. Conditions there [in the UAE] are obviously neutral for both teams, but what is important is that we have a strong combination. In the end, victory is sweeter when you beat a tough opponent.”With Waqar Younis stepping down as coach, the team’s think-tank now comprises all batsmen – Mohsin, assistant coach Ijaz Ahmed and captain Misbah-ul-Haq – but this won’t affect their bowling strategies Mohsin said. “I don’t think it’s a big thing. I am confident that we can make it, despite most of our strategy-makers being batsmen. I have extensive experience playing at the top [opening] slot and opening batsman know the nature of bowlers.”The Pakistan squad for the recent series against Zimbabwe was an experimental one, with the bowling attack in particular featuring several new names, but they still managed to win all their matches on the tour. Mohsin said the selectors has taken a ‘successful risk’ when choosing that squad and won’t be afraid of taking such a risk in future as well. “To achieve a big goal, you have to take risks. So despite receiving extensive criticism, we went with an experimental squad. As a selector, or now a coach, I won’t afraid of taking a risk.”Pakistan’s Test squad, which will take on Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi from October 18, assembled at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore for a four-day training camp. The 15-man squad, along with the four reserve players, began with fielding drills, followed by nets sessions. The team and its management had met on Monday evening for a briefing session on the new ICC playing rules, code of conduct and anti-corruption codes.

Michael Powell, the former Glamorgan batsman, is set to extend his county career after signing a two-year contract with Kent

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2011Michael Powell, the former Glamorgan batsman, is set to extend his county career after signing a two-year contract with Kent. Powell, 34, was released at the end of the 2011 season after 14 years with his former county.Having become only the third player to make a double-century on debut against Oxford University in 1997, Powell became the seventh highest run-scorer for Glamorgan with 12,377 first-class runs. He has also scored 4,640 one-day runs and represented England A five times.”I am looking forward to making the move to Kent and I’m extremely pleased to have signed with the club,” said Powell. “I hope to make a positive impact next season and look forward to the challenges ahead at Kent.”Powell will be looking to resurrect a career that has stalled since a serious illness in 2007 when complications during rib surgery became life-threatening. He was Glamorgan’s leading run-scorer in 2002 in a side containing Steve James and Matthew Maynard and was called up for England’s Natwest Series squad in 2004.But following illness, Powell struggled to regain form and his days at Glamorgan looked numbered when he lost his place in the County Championship team to Tom Maynard after six matches in 2010. Maynard’s departure to Surrey gave Powell another opportunity but in 12 games in 2011 he scored just 675 runs at 32.Kent’s chairman of cricket, Graham Johnson, said: “We are delighted that Michael will be coming to Kent. He has had a very successful career with Glamorgan and still has much to offer county cricket.”

A round-up of the second day’s play from the Ranji Trophy Plate semi-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2011Vidarbha‘s lower order made use of the satisfactory platform built on the opening day, crafting a formidable first-innings total by keeping Hyderabad on the field for the entire second day in Nagpur. At the end of it, Vidarbha had reached 467 for 8 and were in control of the semi-final. It had not begun well, though. They resumed their innings on 225 for 5 and soon slipped to 267 for 7, losing Sairaj Bahutule and Shrikant Wagh. But Ranjit Paradkar, who has two centuries this season, provided stability and momentum in the first two sessions with a watchful 75.If Hyderabad sensed an opportunity to polish off the tail after Paradkar departed with the team total on 342, they were in for a surprise as the lower order pair Amol Jungade and Akshay Wakhare raised an unbroken 125-run stand for the ninth wicket. Jungade’s 92 was his best first-class score, and Wakhare’s 50 was his second half-century. Hyderabad were left ruing a missed chance – Wakhare was let off when only on four and the total on 364. Barring that one chance the Jungade-Wakhare combine continued to frustrate the visitors’ bowlers unhindered.Maharashtra claimed three vital wickets after posting a strong first-innings total, to take control of their semi-final against Himachal Pradesh in Pune. Resuming the innings on 232 for 4, Ankit Bawne converted his 56 into a century, finishing on 137 off 375 balls. Bawne found able support in his captain Rohit Motwani, who made 59 before his attempt to cut his HP counterpart, Vikramjit Malik, led to his downfall. The fifth-wicket combine of Bawne and Motwani had added crucial 110 runs.Bawne stayed firm, despite the absence of a stable partner at the other end. The left-handed Bawne had batted for more than seven hours as he hit his second century of the season. He was the ninth batsman out, and Maharashtra’s innings ended on 415. When it was Maharashtra’s turn to bowl, Samad Fallah gave them an ideal start by dismissing HP opener Paul Valthaty lbw off the fourth delivery of the first over. Paras Dogra dominated a half-century partnership for the second wicket but he lost his partner, Abhinav Bali, with the score on 62. Dogra was then involved in the run out of S Sriram, who had once represented Maharashtra, in the final over of the day. At 68 for 3, HP have a mountain to climb.

Sri Lanka will start their three-Test series in South Africa without their promised pay cheques but with the assurance of their problem being resolved within the next week

Firdose Moonda15-Dec-2011Sri Lanka will start their three-Test series in South Africa without their promised pay cheques but with the assurance of their problem being resolved within the next week. The players have not received contract or match fees since March and had been assured by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) that a partial payment would be made before the series began in Centurion today.Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s captain, confirmed that none of the players had been paid yet but said the team has its mind on cricket, not cash. “I have not followed up on that,” he said in Centurion. “We are just keeping it to cricket here. At the moment we are just worried about cricket.”Dilshan did, however, say the players could receive some remuneration next week. “I think it might be sorted out next week. I think on Friday they are going to pay 50%.”Sri Lanka’s sports minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage said last week that players would be paid 65% of what was due to them, with the balance to be paid by January 15. SLC suffered from financial problems following the 2011 World Cup and had debts of $32.5 million after building two stadiums, in Hambantota and Pallekele, and renovating a ground in Colombo for the tournament. The SLC is due to receive payment from the ICC, which they will use to pay the players.On the eve of Sri Lanka’s arrival in South Africa, some of the hosts’ cricketers came out in support of their colleagues. Graeme Smith called the lack of payment a situation that is “far from ideal,” while AB de Villiers said it was a credit to the players that they continued representing their country without pay. When Dilshan and his team touched down, they thanked the South African players for their support.”I am very happy to say that we did help and it’s great to see Dilshan thanking us for that,” de Villiers said. “I thought it was a good call from Cricket South Africa and the Cricketers’ Association and we helped a friend a need.”

N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, has said the Indian board will not prepare rank turners for home Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2012N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, has said the Indian board will not prepare rank turners for home Tests. His comments were made last week, before Gautam Gambhir said India should prepare turners to level the playing field.Speaking on , Srinivasan also said that he was confident the Indian team would bounce back in next month’s ODI tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka.”Our aim is to give fair wickets and not one-sided ones,” he said on being asked whether Indian pitches should be tailored to back the spinners, traditionally one of the team’s strengths. Over the past few years, Indian Test surfaces have generally been slow and low, and produced lots of runs.India have a strong home record, losing only two Tests over the past five years, but are currently on a seven-Test losing streak overseas. Srinivasan insisted that India would not be content with home wins and wanted more away victories. “The intention, whenever our team goes out, is definitely to win. There is no such intention and neither will the BCCI be satisfied with a win at home,” he said. “Not at all. It is our earnest endeavour to win whether at home or outside.”Srinivasan also strongly denied that an overloaded cricket calendar was the reason for India’s poor performance. “If you take the last three years, England and Australia have played more number of days of international cricket than India has. I am including that [the IPL]. And also excepting M S Dhoni, nobody else has played all the days of international cricket.”

Mahela Jayawardene believes Sri Lanka have found a special player in Dinesh Chandimal after his third half-century of the series helped set up a record chase at Bellerive Oval

Brydon Coverdale at Bellerive Oval24-Feb-2012Mahela Jayawardene believes Sri Lanka have found a special player in Dinesh Chandimal after his third half-century of the series helped set up a record chase at Bellerive Oval. Chandimal scored 80 and kept the chase on track after Jayawardene fell for 85, and although he was out to an ill-judged attempted paddle off Ryan Harris, he had done enough to allow the tail to finish the job.Chandimal now sits on top of the series run tally with 306 at 61.20, and since the World Cup only Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have made more ODI runs for Sri Lanka. Jayawardene said Chandimal had embraced the No.4 position and had all the hallmarks of a long-term international player.”[He’s] definitely something special,” Jayawardene said. “Even before the World Cup, he was very close to being in that 15 but we felt he didn’t have the experience to be a part of that. But we made a decision soon after the World Cup that he was definitely going to be in the side permanently.”It was just trying to find a position for him and I feel that No.4 is a good position for him to bat long periods, and he’s got the big shots if he wants to. He’s learning every day, which is great. He’s a guy who learns a lot, asks a lot of questions as well off the field, which is good for Sri Lanka. Hopefully he will be one of those guys who will take us through the next ten years.”Together, Chandimal and Jayawardene were largely responsible for keeping Sri Lanka in the hunt after Australia posted 6 for 280. Jayawardene said there were some nervous moments towards the end as wickets started to fall, but he was impressed by the way Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews helped to steer the side into a winning position.”These guys, a couple of them haven’t had much experience, but I thought they handled the situation very well,” he said. “They didn’t go for those big shots, they just kept it going, singles, singles, and dragged the game as far as they could. And then when they wanted to hit that big shot, we knew that Thisara can do that, Angelo can do that, so we set it up nicely. They’re learning, that’s the most important thing.”I saw the domestic matches and the Tassie (Tasmania) boys have chased some big totals. The wicket looked pretty good and it’s tough to defend on this ground because there’s big boundaries on one side and then the smaller one on the other. It was just about trying to get a couple of partnerships. That’s what we discussed in the break.”The three-wicket victory has pushed Sri Lanka to the top of the series table and both they and Australia are now one match clear of India. India need to win both their remaining matches to be a certainty for the finals. Sri Lanka take on India in Hobart on Tuesday and Australia at the MCG next Friday, and a win in either of those games will be enough to confirm their place in the finals, which would be a fine achievement after they lost their first two games of the series.”If we can control our destiny we should do that,” Jayawardene said. “I’m quite happy with the effort. We knew we were playing good cricket, we just had to execute a few things better, which we are doing. Today also I thought we were probably a bit flat on the field. In that middle period we probably gave away the game but we managed to drag it back in the last six or seven overs, to a decent score, and then batted really well to finish the game off.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

Namibia beat Scotland in the ICC World T20 Qualifer in Dubai

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Abu Dhabi14-Mar-2012
Scorecard
Louis van der Westhuizen hit eight sixes in his hundred•ICC/Ian Jacobs

If a century is scored in an empty stadium, does it make a sound? The answer is yes according to one photographer on the field Wednesday afternoon inside the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.Each time Louis van der Westhuizen connected with one of his eight sixes for Namibia, it sounded like a gunshot had been fired from the crease. Scotland certainly grew weary of hearing the rat-a-tat-tat off his bat that started 11 balls into the match and didn’t stop until the innings concluded with the broad-shouldered, brutally elegant left-hander 106 not out off 54 balls in 33 degrees.”It was quite hot, I think I’m a bit dehydrated now,” van der Westhuizen told ESPNcricinfo after receiving the Man-of-the-Match award for his performance in Namibia’s 49-run win. “It’s hot but it’s always nice to get a century.”Namibia lost their first wicket with six on the board when Gerrie Snyman was beaten for pace by Safyaan Sharif. After top-scoring with 34 off 16 in Tuesday’s win over Ireland, van der Westhuizen arrived in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday ready to convert another start into the first century of the tournament.He hit his fifth ball into the sight screen at the Media End off Scotland captain Gordon Drummond. It was a warning shot signalling his intentions for the carnage he was set to unleash two overs later against off-spinner Preston Mommsen.Van der Westhuizen took the first ball from Mommsen and effortlessly lifted it over mid off for his second six, then followed it by flaying Mommsen over point for a boundary. On the next delivery, he leaned forward to launch the frazzled Mommsen over extra cover for another six. The over went for 18 and took the score to 43 for 1. Namibia, and van der Westhuizen, never looked back from there.”I think the fifth over was a bit of a turning point,” van der Westhuizen said. “I got used to the pace of the wicket and then started stroking the ball good.”The second-wicket partnership between van der Westhuizen and Raymond van Schoor added 86 in nine overs. Van Schoor was eventually trapped leg before for 30 when he missed a sweep against Drummond. Craig Williams came in and picked up the pace even more with two sixes but was caught on the midwicket rope going for a third.Van der Westhuizen continued on with his chanceless knock, beginning the final over on 88 and on strike to Richie Berrington, the only bowler to escape van der Westhuizen’s wrath to that point in time. But the Namibian didn’t let Berrington get off scot-free. Van der Westhuizen lofted the first ball over long off to go to 94. Berrington bowled a meaty full toss on the next delivery which was clubbed over long on to bring up van der Westhuizen’s century in 51 balls. There was time for one more boundary as well before the innings finished with Namibia 192 for 3.Scotland came out fighting to start the chase as Berrington laced two fours in front of point in a 17-run first over. Scotland were 45 for 1 after five but lost all momentum when van der Westhuizen came on to start the sixth and removed Berrington for 31 on his first delivery to continue a dream match. Berrington missed a sweep, was struck dead in front and with that Scotland’s momentum stalled.Any hope Scotland had of winning drifted away for good when Kyle Coetzer was bowled for 22 by van Schoor, foxed by a slower ball, to make it 90 for 5 one ball into the 13th over. The chase was abandoned and Majid Haq made sure to bat out the overs. Haq finished 27 not out in 21 balls and Scotland ended on 143 for 8.After winning their first two matches against ODI nations to start off tournament, Namibia are now in the driver’s seat to top Group B by the end of round-robin play on March 20. They play a winless USA on Thursday, who Namibia beat in a warm-up fixture last week by 22 runs. Van der Westhuizen isn’t ready to pencil his team into the knockout phase just yet though.”We’re a very unpredictable side,” van der Westhuizen said. “Like today if it comes off and we can just keep our composure, we are always in the running.”

Pune Warriors have filled up all their overseas slots having inked a deal with Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal on Wednesday.

Nagraj Gollapudi and Mohammad Isam29-Mar-2012Pune Warriors have signed up Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal, filling all their overseas slots for the coming season. Tamim, whose signing was formalised on Wednesday, became the eleventh overseas player for the Warriors and their second signing this week after Australian captain Michael Clarke.Tamim and the franchise management, led by their captain Sourav Ganguly, had been involved in talks for the past week. He joins Shakib Al Hasan as the second Bangladesh player in this year’s IPL, and the fifth from that country in the tournament overall.”I can gain a lot of experience by playing with greats like Sourav Ganguly and Michael Clarke. I like to talk a lot about cricket so I think I am lucky to be playing with them and look forward to learn new things,” Tamim told ESPNCricinfo.”It’ll be an extra boost, so it is very important that I do well. More importantly, just like Shakib opened the door for me, I would want that with my inclusion in the IPL, it will let other players from my country to play in this competition.”With the T20 World Cup coming up this year, it will be a big opportunity for me to perform in the format,” Tamim said.Tamim would look to carry his form into the IPL – he hit four half-centuries in the recent Asia Cup – given his failure during the Bangladesh Premier League last month where he only played two matches for the Chittagong Kings and scored only eight runs.