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Chris Gayle’s return to the NatWest T20 Blast was overshadowed by a superb hundred from Chris Nash as Sussex beat Somerset in a one-sided contest at Hove to make it two wins from two in the South Group

ECB Reporters Network01-Jun-2016
ScorecardChris Nash made his maiden T20 hundred•Getty Images

Chris Gayle’s return to the NatWest T20 Blast was overshadowed by a superb hundred from Chris Nash as Sussex beat Somerset in a one-sided contest at Hove to make it two wins from two in the South Group.Nash made 112 not out from 64 balls, his first T20 century, to help his side to 222 for 3 then Gayle found the explosive pace of left-armer Tymal Mills – who had previously set out his stall to target Somerset’s big-name overseas signing – too hot to handle and was yorked for 5 by a delivery timed at 93mph.Roelof van der Merwe made a defiant 59 and Mahela Jayawardene a classy 51 but Somerset were never in contention and were bowled out in the last over for 174 to lose by 48 runs.Nash and captain Luke Wright laid the platform for Sussex’s second 200-plus total of their Blast campaign with a stand of 156 in 14 overs for the first wicket with Nash making the most of two fielding lapses. He was dropped on nought off the second ball of the match by James Hildreth at backward point and again in the fifth over by Jayawardene, having scored 17.Wright did not hit the first six of the innings until in the seventh over but it signalled an onslaught by the Sussex batsmen, who plundered 90 off the next eight overs. Nash was first to his half-century but he was soon overtaken by his partner, who eventually found his timing in his first game of the season after recovering from back and wrist injuries.Wright’s 83 came from just 39 balls and included five sixes and eight fours as he harnessed a strong wind and targeted the Sea End boundary. It was a surprise when he played on to the legspinner Max Waller and Sussex lost Ross Taylor in the next over, caught at long-on off a mistimed drive.But Nash pressed on and Matt Machan gave him excellent support in a third-wicket stand of 51 from 28 balls. He reached his hundred in the 19th over by hitting Jamie Overton over long-on for six before gliding the next ball to the backward point rope. He finished with 13 boundaries and three sixes from 64 balls faced. Overton took 2 for 45 but the Somerset attack were guilty of bowling too short.An asking rate of more than 11 runs an over was always going to test Somerset and they suffered an immediate blow when Ajmal Shahzad bowled Jim Allenby for a duck with the first legitimate delivery of the innings.But the big moment came in the next over when Mills, with the strong wind at his back, began to bowl consistently at more than 90mph. Gayle top-edged his second ball over the slips for four but when he stepped away trying to hit the next delivery through the off side he was bowled, much to the delight of a 5,500 crowd.Sussex’s other seamers complemented Mills’ raw pace. South African David Wiese picked up 4 for 38 on his debut and Shahzad ended Somerset’s faint hopes when he had Jayawardene caught at long on for 51 from 39 balls in the 11th over.

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s contract has been extended until the 2019 World Cup

Mohammad Isam19-Jun-2016Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s contract has been extended until the 2019 World Cup. The decision was approved at a BCB board meeting on Sunday.Assistant coach Ruwan Kalpage, fielding coach Richard Halsall and fitness and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan were also retained for another three years.Hathurusingha, who was appointed head coach in July 2014, will also hold a place on the six-man selection committee, along with Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud, who is also a BCB director, and the cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan.The proposal to expand the selection committee was put forward last month and ratified by the BCB on Sunday. This means Bangladesh’s national squads will be picked by a six-member panel, which would include three selectors, two board officials and the head coach.”We have only legalised the current process,” Hassan said of the change. “The cricket operations committee chairman will call the meeting with the selectors, coach and manager. The coach will give his strategic input, if he has any. The manager will give his and the captain’s input.”Former Bangladesh batsman and junior selector Sajjad Ahmed was promoted to the three-man panel under Faruque. He replaced former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who has been put in charge of picking Bangladesh’s women’s teams. Minhajul Abedin retained his place as senior selector on the panel.Former Bangladesh players Hannan Sarkar and Hasibul Hossain have also been made junior selectors.Another outcome of Sunday’s board meeting was the reinstatement of Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain’s central contract. He had been omitted from the National Player Contract list in February 2016 due to a disciplinary breach. Simon Helmot, who was named BCB’s High Performance coach a week ago, has been retained until 2019.The BCB are also in the midst of preparing a response to the two-tier Test proposal, although discussion on that matter was not entertained at Sunday’s meeting.”I stopped the CEO when he was giving a presentation on the two-tier system because the discussion itself is now at an early stage,” BCB president Hassan said. “It was only discussed at the CEC [Cricket Executives Commitee] level in the ICC.”

Darren Stevens admitted his disappointment after his side had closed on 397 for 9 for an overall lead of 186 at the mid-point of this the 165th Canterbury Cricket Week fixture

ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2016
ScorecardDarren Stevens fell short of his century but carried Kent to a strong position•Getty Images

Kent’s beneficiary Darren Stevens was already ‘suited and booted’ by the close of play having top-scored with 81 during Kent’s fascinating Specsavers County Championship tussle with promotion-chasing Worcestershire.With a benefit dinner at the Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham awaiting him, Stevens admitted his disappointment after his side had closed on 397 for 9 for an overall lead of 186 at the mid-point of this the 165th Canterbury Cricket Week fixture.”We’re disappointed with our day’s work to be fair. I got in, Dickson and Denly did too, but we all got out without going on to get a big score,” said the former Leicestershire batsman.”Yes, we’ve got a nice little lead, but we only wanted to be four or five wickets won at this stage. Personally I’m disappointed. I started counting down to my hundred and it proved a big mistake. It’ll be the last time I ever do that and I’m really gutted to miss out on three figures.”If I were still there at the end of the day I’d be sitting pretty on 140 not out and the side would have a 220 lead. We should be in a stronger position.”The 40-year-old all-rounder batted 142 minutes and hit 12 fours and a six which, in tandem with half-centuries by Sean Dickson and Will Gidman – the latter on loan from Nottinghamshire and on his Kent county championship debut – ensured that the hosts will go into day three in a fairly dominant position.Resuming on their overnight score of 55 without loss in response to Worcestershire’s 211 all out, Kent lost three first-session wickets as batsmen again struggled to bat long-term on a spicy Canterbury pitch.Daniel Bell-Drummond, celebrating his 23rd birthday, added only seven to his first-day score before becoming the first casualty of Ladies Day at the world’s oldest cricket festival.The right-hander fenced a Kyle Abbott leg-cutter to second slip, where Ross Whiteley held onto the good catch diving to his left in front of first slip to make it 74 for 1.Joe Denly moved smoothly to 21 before having his off stump trimmed by a Charlie Morris yorker then Sam Northeast spooned a catch to cover off a leading edge to gift Ed Barnard a wicket and leave centre stage marooned on 995 county championship runs for the summer.At the other end Dickson, Kent’s South African-born right-hander, posted a 106-ball half-century with nine fours – his fourth 50 of the county championship campaign.Having taken his side in at lunch on 152 for 3, Dickson added only two to his interval score before chopping on against Ed Barnard to go for a well-made 77.Sam Billings and Stevens then teamed up to add an attractive 40 runs inside 13 overs before Billings, on 33, edged an attempted cut to the keeper off the bowling of Charlie Morris with Kent still trailing by two on first innings.Stevens and Alex Blake took the hosts into profit before Blake (9) lamely chipped to short mid-wicket off the bowling of Joe Leach with Kent seven short of their second batting bonus point.Stevens marched on to a 67 ball 50 with six fours and a six, the 69th half-century of his career but only the fourth of this somewhat barren benefit summer.Soon after tea and only 19 from is maiden ton of the summer Stevens slapped one to cover off the bowling of Joe Leach then James Tredwell gloved a half-hearted pull to the keeper to go for 9.The Kent tail wagged however, as Gidman and Matt Coles combined to add 51 inside 14 overs before left-handed Coles holed out to cow corner.Gidman was still unbeaten at the close however, having posted his maiden Championship 50 for Kent from 86 balls and with five fours.

Kingsmead has provided an assurance that the outfield issue which caused the Test between South Africa and New Zealand to be abandoned will not affect any other matches this season

Firdose Moonda26-Aug-2016Kingsmead has provided an assurance that the outfield issue which caused the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand to be abandoned earlier this week will not affect any other matches this season. Durban do not host a match for another five and a half weeks, when South Africa play Australia in an ODI on October 5, and acting CEO Rajesh Behari insists they will be ready.”We are already hard at work taking measures to ensure that the condition of the outfield does not impact on both international and domestic fixtures in the future,” Behari said in a statement.Already, ground staff at Kingsmead have filled the exposed patches with top soil and have fertilised the field to prompt the grass to grow as they wait for the ICC’s verdict after the outfield was rated poor by ICC match referee Andy Pycroft. CSA had 14 days from the issue of the report card to respond to it. The ground will then either receive a warning or a fine up to US$15,000.In mitigation of the state of Kingsmead’s outfield, which was deemed too soft for play on three days of the Test match, was that Durban experienced unseasonal rainfall of more than 400 millimetres in July and 65mm on the second night of the match. The heavy downpours meant the outfield was not allowed to settle after it was decompacted and relaid mid-June, following what CSA said were complaints by the South African and New Zealand players after limited-overs matches were played there last winter. It has since been reported by the that the New Zealand players did not have an issue with Kingsmead, but only said they found the Centurion outfield too hard.Both SuperSport Park and Kingsmead had work done to their outfields in preparation for this series but SuperSport Park’s revamp took place in April and only involved overseeding with winter grass, not digging. Kinsgmead’s happened more than two weeks after Comrades’ Marathon, which finished there on May 29, and saw 40 tonnes of sand removed and a new covering laid over it. It has since been claimed the digging at Kingsmead was also done too deeply. CSA oversaw both processes.In this statement, Behari said the combination of all the factors contributed to the abandoned Test. Like CSA he acknowledged that his ground staff had done “everything in their power to deal with the problems with the softened outfield, but that their role was limited in scope by the match officials in charge of the Test once the wet outfield complications developed”.Umpires Ian Gould and Richard Illingworth asked the ground staff not to use any artificial means of drying the surface, fearing the super sopper would worsen the soggy outfield, and left it to natural sunshine and wind to dry and harden the ground. There was not enough of either for play to be possible but those watching from a distance, who saw clear blue skies on television and a tacky outfield below, were left to questions whether Kingsmead is up to international standard.Behari is determined to reassure those critics with pristine conditions for the rest of the summer, in which Kingsmead will host two ODIs, three franchise first-class games, four franchise one-day cup matches and five franchise T20 matches. There are no more Test matches scheduled for Kingsmead this summer but it may come into contention for next season’s Boxing Day match.”We benchmark this stadium by the very best in the world and are determined to ensure that each and every match and Test matches in particular are memorable at this venue,” Behari said. “The only ground to have hosted more Test matches in South Africa is Newlands and our rich Test cricket heritage here at is something that we guard unwaveringly. Summer rains are a reality in Durban and we want to make sure that this ground, which has a good reputation for drainage and dealing with rain delays, will be in top condition for the upcoming domestic fixtures as well as the two internationals against Australia and Sri Lanka.”

Fully recovered from the back troubles that have kept him out of international cricket for ten months, James Neesham wants to return to his original carefree ways with the bat

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2016James Neesham’s last Test match, in Brisbane last November, wasn’t the happiest of experiences. Having just come back into the New Zealand side after being deemed to have recovered fully from a stress fracture, he continued experiencing discomfort in his back while bowling, and was ruled out of the remainder of the series. Now, close to a year later, Neesham is back in the Test squad, and says he is back to full fitness, after a summer spent in England, playing limited-overs cricket for Derbyshire.”The main result for me [from the Derbyshire stint] was I got through the whole season uninjured and basically had no issues with the back at all,” Neesham said, after New Zealand’s squad arrived in India. “So I suppose the aim now is to get the loading up again and make them good enough for Test cricket.”Neesham said he had worked specifically, while in England, on getting back to cricket-fitness.”It was more tweaking little things,” he said. “We did a lot of work on the rehab prior to the Australian series last year, and were pretty comprehensive on that side of things, but I think over in Derby it was more about, I suppose, finding what works and what doesn’t, and changing up especially the gym programme a little bit – basically making cricket the number-one priority as opposed to regaining the strength base and fitness base, which it was before Australia.”Since the start of his international career, Neesham felt his game, particularly his batting, had become less carefree, and ahead of the Tests against India, he hoped to return to playing his natural game.”I’m basically looking to go back to how I played when I first came in to international cricket,” he said. “I think I was a bit more carefree and a bit more, I suppose, , especially with batting, and then once you start feeling the pressure of international cricket and wanting results and wanting runs, it can curb your game a little bit, which I think is one of the traps I fell into.”So I’m just looking to go back to playing my natural game. It’s a bit of a cliché, but hopefully runs and wickets will flow from there.”Though he has visited India previously, Neesham is touring the country with the Test side for the first time. He hoped he could feed off some of the more experienced members of the squad such as Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson.”I’ve had an A tour, Champions League, and then IPL, so I’ve had three tours over here now, and you learn something new every time you come over,” he said. “And there are obviously guys in the team that have come over here a lot more times than I have, so I’ve been looking to glean some knowledge off guys like Ross and Kane, especially about playing spin and playing their spinners in particular, but I think, as I said before, if you play your natural game and have some clear plans about how you’re going to go about scoring runs, then that should hold you in good stead.”

The durability of the pink ball and its visibility under lights remain concerns among some of the players who featured in the recently-concluded Duleep Trophy

Arun Venugopal16-Sep-2016The durability of the pink ball and its visibility under lights remain concerns for some of the players who featured in the recently-concluded Duleep Trophy. They felt the experiment needed to be carried out further in domestic cricket before India could host its first day-night Test match.In the first match of the tournament, between India Red and India Green, the ball largely passed the visibility test, but the success came with a caveat: the game was played on a grassy pitch and lush outfield.In fact, players admitted to being surprised by how the ball retained its glaze for long periods, and even complained that it took reverse-swing, an integral aspect of seam bowling in subcontinental conditions, out of play. The main issue that came up during the first two games was the ball going out of shape and having to be changed frequently.In the later stages of the tournament, the BCCI decided to try the pink ball on drier and more abrasive pitches more akin to conditions usually found in India. This time the ball didn’t just lose shape, but also colour. India Red’s Abhinav Mukund, who scored a half-century and a century in the first match, said he faced difficulty in sighting the ball once it lost its sheen.”That [visibility under lights] is a big factor,” Abhinav told ESPNcricinfo. “When it is scuffed up, the colour of the ball goes from pink to greyish. When you apply any natural substance on it, like sweat or saliva, it becomes black-ish. And when it hits the boundary ropes, it becomes even more grey-ish and then you have to change the ball.”Dinesh Karthik, who scored 55 in India Blue’s first innings in the final, said he couldn’t pick the scuffed-up ball, and had to ask the umpires to take a look and possibly consider changing it. “I faced Nathu [Singh] and I didn’t pick a couple of balls,” Karthik said. “I couldn’t especially see a full-toss that took the edge of the bat and went for a boundary. I went and asked the umpire and he had a look and realised that the ball was scuffed up and it was really hard to pick.”Both Abhinav and Karthik acknowledged the difficulty in spotting the seam, especially when the wristspinners were bowling. Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored an unbeaten 256 in the final, also mentioned this during the presentation ceremony, saying he had found it harder ot pick the googly.It became quite evident when India Red’s Gurkeerat Singh and Stuart Binny were trying to hit their way out of trouble in the final against the spinners, often struggling to pick Karn Sharma’s googly. Neither batsman, despite scoring half-centuries, was fully in control, and often stepped out of the crease to neutralise the break.As a solution to the problem, Abhinav suggested that the colour of the seam be changed from black to something brighter. “Maybe a different kind of leather, and a different colour of seam – maybe neon or something? Also, maybe you can change the ball at 60 overs instead of 80 overs.”India Blue seamer Pankaj Singh felt replacing the scuffed-up ball owing to poor visibility took reverse-swing out of play. “On [dry] wickets like these [in the final], you try to get the batsman out by reversing the ball, but whether this ball will reverse is difficult [to say],” he said. “If this ball deteriorates or scuffs up too much it has to be changed and if doesn’t scuff you can’t reverse it.”Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, who finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps from three games, said the pink ball drifted and dipped, but didn’t turn much. India Blue coach and former India offspinner Aashish Kapoor felt negating the impact of the dew would be the biggest factor in determining the future of day-night Test cricket in India.”In India cricket is a winter sport. If Test matches are going to be held during winter and dew comes in, it’s a big factor,” Kapoor said. “People keep talking but unless you play you don’t realise how wet the ball it gets – it is like a soap bar in your hands. If in a Test match, you are going to play three hours under lights when the dew comes in at 6 or 7 [pm], and you are having a soap bar, your bowlers are out for three out of the six hours of the game.”Gautam Gambhir, the India Blue captain, cited his team-mate Pujara’s experience while suggesting that the ball changed its behaviour under lights. “Pujara thought it behaves differently during the day-time and it behaves differently during the night, especially with the pace of the ball and the ball skidding through [for the seamers],” he said. “The conditions change completely when the game starts at 2 pm, and obviously the conditions are completely different when the artificial lights take over.”Karthik concurred with Gambhir’s view, and said the ball felt heavier while he kept wicket under lights. “During the day, the ball feels a little lighter when it hits the glove, and it doesn’t actually sting as much,” he said. “But, in the evening I did realise that even though there has not been much dew, the ball for some strange reason gets that much harder and hits the glove a little harder for the medium pacers. That’s why you can see there has been a template where short balls have got wickets in the last session because I think the ball skids on a little more.”In the final, Pankaj’s two-wicket burst early in India Red’s first innings featured deliveries that skidded off the surface quicker than expected, under lights. Both Abhinav and Sudip Chatterjee were beaten for pace, and it didn’t appear that the cracks on the pitch had much to do with either dismissal.The ball used for the Duleep Trophy was the pink Kookaburra. Karthik said there was a case for SG, which manufactures the ball used in India’s first-class and Test cricket, developing a pink ball for Indian conditions. “If they can come up with a pink ball which is more suited to Indian conditions, which I am sure they will start trying in time, it will be interesting to see how that ball compares to the pink Kookaburra,” he said. “A red SG ball has more to offer in Indian conditions than a red Kookaburra; the same could be the case with the pink ball.”While night cricket isn’t an uncommon phenomenon for most Indian cricketers, the likes of Robin Uthappa have found playing at night for four or five days in a row physically taxing. “If I had to make a suggestion, if we could play the game more towards the evening, that would make the game more even-stevens,” Uthappa said during the first game between India Red and India Green. “If we can have a specific stop-time… and if you have lost time make sure you start earlier. What I have noticed it is the boys get tired; generally we play from 9.30 [am] to 4.30 [pm], and we have a few hours before going to sleep. In this format, you don’t have time for recovery.”Karthik echoed Uthappa’s views and said playing a day-night Ranji Trophy match, which the BCCI has proposed, would make for an interesting challenge. “Right now we are probably sleeping at midnight and waking up at 10 -10:30 am,” Karthik said. “For that one [day-night] game we can do that, but when you go to the next venue you go to the normal game and you wake up at 6- 6:30 [am] to get ready. So, these are the challenges you need to get accustomed to.”Karthik, however, felt pink-ball cricket was here to stay given the spectator interest it drew – the attendances were upwards of 3000 steadily through the tournament. “If the crowds are a yardstick to go by in day-night matches, we should give that box a tick. I think it is a great way to bring crowds in.”

Dale Steyn has been ruled out of South Africa’s Test series in Australia with a fractured right shoulder

Firdose Moonda at the WACA04-Nov-2016Dale Steyn has been ruled out of South Africa’s Test series in Australia and could face up to six months out of the game with a fractured right shoulder. He did damage to the shoulder, which he had broken last season, while bowling on the second morning of the first Test in Perth.”I felt this pop or like a thud in my shoulder. There was a lot of pain,” Steyn told Channel Nine. “I had to go off the field and have an MRI. I did something very similar against England in December in a similar area but it wasn’t as bad. That was a stress reaction, which is like a very hairline little crack. This time it’s more like a fracture. It’s kind of broken the whole bone. I will probably have surgery and a plate in there. So we’re probably looking at a minimum of six months before I’m up and going again.”The last time took about three months and I was up and running and ready to play. As the scheduling goes, there’s a lot of cricket to be played and people want you to play. I didn’t have the full time to recover. I have been dealing with this for quite some time and I was wanting to rush and get to the Twenty20 World Cup, I wanted to go to the IPL. I wanted to play. This time I have to take the time to let it heal properly.”Steyn will return to South Africa after the WACA Test to see a shoulder specialist and it is “highly likely” according to South African team manager Mohammed Moosajee, who is also a medical doctor, that he will require surgery. Steyn is five wickets away from overtaking Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker.”He is extremely disappointed at the moment but knowing Dale, he will come back stronger,” Moosajee said. “We need to to give him the best opportunity to recover because South Africa and the world wants to see Dale Steyn play again.”Steyn complained of discomfort in the first session and went down after delivering the fourth ball in his 13th over – his seventh of the day – after picking up the first wicket of the morning. “He heard something thud or pop when it happened,” Moosajee said.Steyn remained on his haunches in his followthrough and held his right shoulder while grimacing in pain. Keshav Maharaj and Hashim Amla were the first of his team-mates to arrive at his side before physiotherapist Brandon Jackson walked him off the field, 42 minutes before lunch. He was taken to the hospital where scans revealed the fracture. He returned to the ground and watched his team-mates bowl Australia out but will not take the field at all and will only bat if “absolutely necessary” depending on the state of the game.The cause of Steyn’s injury is not entirely known except that it may have stemmed from trauma, such as a motor-vehicle accident, and was not caused by action on a cricket field. Injuries of his nature are so rare that Moosajee said there was only one documented case of it affecting a cricketer in the literature. The bowler, a 27-year-old from Staffordshire, was not named in a report Moosajee had with him but required the lengthy recovery time.Steyn has already spent several months tending to this injury. He broke the shoulder late last year and broke down in the Boxing Day Test against England and was ruled out of the rest of that series, including the limited-overs’ matches.Steyn had returned from the injury at the World T20 in March, when he played in two of South Africa’s four matches. He was then left out of the Caribbean triangular series in June – officially rested but unofficially dropped – and allowed to play in the NatWest T20 Blast to regain form. He returned for South Africa’s Tests against New Zealand and seemed back to his best with eight wickets in the Centurion win. He also played in four of the five ODIs against Australia and was occasionally seen holding the shoulder but did not need treatment at any stage.Before this series against Australia, Faf du Plessis stressed the importance of Steyn staying fit for the thee Tests because of his role in leading South Africa’s attack. Now, that responsibility will fall to someone else, most likely Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, but South Africa may consider flying in a replacement.Morkel is not playing this Test after concerns over his match readiness following two months on the sidelines with a back injury. He has only played one first-class match since making his return but has also bowled in the warm-up matches on this tour. “Morne is progressing quite nicely since he injured his back. During the build up to this week he looked pretty good. It looks like he will be available for selection for the second Test,” Moosajee said.Should Morkel not be 100% ready, South Africa have a fifth specialist seamer in Kyle Abbott. Others who could come into contention are Hardus Viljoen, who debuted against England last summer and is currently second on the first-class competition wicket chart with 21 scalps at 23.04, or Marchant de Lange, who has not played a Test since 2012 and is fourth on the list. Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell are also both injured.

Former Australia women’s captain Karen Rolton was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in a ceremony during the tea break on the opening day of the Adelaide Test

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2016Former Australia women’s captain Karen Rolton was the latest inductee into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame. Rolton was presented with a personalised cap during the tea break on the opening day of the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Adelaide.She became the 81st player overall, and the sixth woman to receive the accolade. Belinda Clark, Rachel-Heyno Flint, Enid Bakewell, Debbie Hockley and Betty Wilson are the other five women internationals to have been presented the commemorative cap.”It’s with great honour that I accept this award of being inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, “Rolton, who was the first ever recipient of the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award in 2006, said. “To be acknowledged like this is something that I never expected and I am truly grateful to be listed amongst some of my all-time cricketing heroes.”I’d like to thank Cricket Australia, my teammates over the years and, most importantly, my parents for supporting me playing cricket as a junior and right until the end of my career. Finally, thank you to the ICC for inducting me into the Hall of Fame, and your ongoing support of women’s cricket.”Rolton is the only Australian woman to score more than 1000 Test runs; her 209* against England is the highest individual score by an Australian woman. She also scored 4814 runs in 141 ODIs at an average of 48.14, with eight centuries – a record only recently beaten by current Australian captain Meg Lanning. Rolton was also part of two of Australia’s World Cup triumphs – 1997 and 2005 – and captained the team in the 2009 edition.”Karen had a long and successful career which saw several high points, including a century in an ICC Women’s World Cup final,” ICC chief executive David Richardson said. “She proved her class time and again with superb performances, particularly in big matches, making her so well respected. She was a player women cricketers from around the world looked up to.”With increased investment, women’s cricket has grown rapidly over the past few years but it is through the exploits and example set by players like Karen that young women and girls are inspired to take up the game. We congratulate Karen on behalf of the ICC for her successful career and for this well-deserved award.”Rolton is first of four cricketers who will be formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame this season. The other three are Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, Australia’s Arthur Morris, and England’s George Lohmann.

Cricket Ireland has announced its list of centrally contracted players for 2017, with the return of Ed Joyce and a specialist wicketkeeping role for Niall O’Brien among the most significant developments

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2016Cricket Ireland has announced its list of centrally contracted players for 2017, with the return of Ed Joyce and a specialist wicketkeeping role for Niall O’Brien among the most significant developments as Ireland target a promotion to Test status over the next two years.O’Brien is no longer contracted to a county, while Joyce has pared back his Sussex commitments in order to take part in Ireland’s inter-provincial tournament, which was recently given first-class status.

Cricket Ireland 2017 contracts

Category A: John Anderson, Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, Jacob Mulder, Kevin O’Brien, Stuart Thompson, Craig Young
Category B: Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Niall O’Brien, William Porterfield, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Greg Thompson, Gary Wilson

“It is great news for the Inter-Provincial series that Niall will be joining Ed Joyce in our new first-class competition, but also playing a key part in developing our young wicketkeepers in the national pathway,” Cricket Ireland’s performance director, Richard Holdsworth, said.”We shall be announcing more specialist coaches over the coming months in a plan to identify and develop key skill areas for Ireland-based coaches.”Joyce is one of ten players to have been given a Category A contract. John Anderson, Andrew Balbirnie – who was released by Middlesex earlier this year – and young legspinner Jacob Mulder were awarded their first full-time contracts. Mulder, who was born in Perth, Australia made his international debut against Hong Kong in September.Allrounder Stuart Thompson, who announced during the summer that he would be taking an indefinite break from the game to deal with performance anxiety issues, has retained his Category A contract.As well as targeting Test status via the Intercontinental Cup – they currently top the table with four wins from four – Ireland have a busy 2017 lined up, with two ODIs in England, a tri-series with New Zealand and Bangladesh and a one-off ODI against West Indies at home. They are also set to play in the Desert T20, an eight-team Associate tournament, in January.Holdsworth said that the move to bring Joyce back was part of a concerted plan for the future development of the game in Ireland, and would involve him coaching at the academy and mentoring young players.”It has been one of our strategic objectives to bring players back home from England and for Ed to be the first is very appropriate,” Holdsworth said.”Ed will not only be based here in Ireland training with the national squad, but will also help our next generation of international cricketers in a specialist batting and leadership coaching role, working with the Shapoorji Pallonji National Academy and Ireland youth squads as well as mentoring some national performance squad players.”Nine others players have agreed Category B contracts, including several who still play county cricket in England such as the captain, William Porterfield, seam bowlers Tim Murtagh, Boyd Rankin and Barry McCarthy, wicketkeeper Gary Wilson and allrounder Paul Stirling.

Appointed in August 2012, Cook has led the team through more Test matches than any other England captain

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-20172:04

The highs and lows of Cook’s captaincy

Alastair Cook has stepped down from his role after 59 Tests as England captain. His appetite to continue had been questioned during England’s 4-0 defeat to India before Christmas and Cook has now confirmed he will pass on the captaincy, with Joe Root his likely successor.Appointed in August 2012, Cook led the team in more Test matches than any other England captain. His record includes Ashes victories at home in 2013 and 2015, as well as series wins in India and South Africa. With 24 Test wins, he is joint-second as England’s most successful captain but five losses in seven Tests over the winter meant he also eclipsed Michael Atherton’s record for defeats.Cook discussed his decision with Colin Graves, the chairman of the ECB, on Sunday evening and has confirmed his continuing commitment to playing Test cricket to Andrew Strauss, England’s team director, and the selectors. Strauss suggested Cook’s replacement would be named before the ODI tour to the West Indies later this month, with Root favourite to be be named as England’s new captain – the 80th in their Test history – in the coming days.Cook, 32, is England’s most-capped Test player, their most prolific batsman with 11,057 runs in 140 Tests to date, and has scored more Test centuries than any of his countrymen. He also led the one-day side on 69 occasions between 2010 and 2014, another England record.During his five seasons at the helm he was named Cricketer of the Year (2012) and ICC World Test Captain (2013) and his services to the game were recognised with a CBE – collected at Buckingham Palace on Friday – to follow the MBE he was awarded in 2011.”It’s been a huge honour to be England captain and to lead the Test team over the past five years,” Cook said. “Stepping down has been an incredibly hard decision but I know this is the correct decision for me and at the right time for the team. I’ve had time to reflect after the India series and this weekend I spoke to Colin Graves to explain and offer my resignation.”It’s a sad day personally in many ways but I want to thank everyone I’ve captained, all the coaches and support staff and, of course, the England supporters and the Barmy Army who follow us home and away and have given us unwavering support.”Playing for England really is a privilege and I hope to carry on as a Test player, making a full contribution and helping the next England captain and the team however I can.”Alastair Cook was awarded a CBE last week•Getty Images

Strauss, the man from whom Cook inherited the Test captaincy in 2012, paid tribute to his former opening partner and explained the next steps in appointing a successor.”I want to thank Alastair, on behalf of the ECB and from a personal perspective, for the fantastic contribution that he’s made to the England Test team since taking over as captain in 2012,” Strauss said.”His country owes him a great debt of gratitude; he’s led the team with determination, conviction and a huge amount of pride over the last five years and his record stands for itself. With more matches leading the team than anyone, including two Ashes wins, he deserves to be seen as one of our country’s great captains.”Off the field as well as on, he has shown his strengths, developing the team and its culture, managing a fundamental transition and helping us to build for the future. As with all leaders, there have been times where circumstances have tested him but his resilience and temperament have helped him to prevail and to prosper.”He has always served with the best interests of the team in the front of his mind and stays true to that as he steps down from the role. Alastair will be missed in his capacity as captain but I hope that he has a number of years left to add to his record-breaking feats as an opening batsman and look forward to his continued success.”We now move on with the process of appointing the right successor. There are a number of established players who are playing formal or informal leadership roles and whilst we’ve rightly not spoken to anyone in relation to the Test captaincy so far, we can now talk fully and openly within the team. We expect to be able to make an announcement before the team head to the West Indies on February 22.”Cook first captained England in Bangladesh in 2010, deputising for the rested Strauss. After taking over permanently in 2012, Cook led from the front with three centuries as England came from behind to win their first Test series in India in 28 years. England retained the Ashes with a 3-0 win the following summer but cracks were beginning to show and Australia took swift revenge a few months later.The 5-0 whitewash left England needing to rebuild, and the decision to do so without the involvement of Kevin Pietersen was one of the most controversial of Cook’s reign. Beaten at home by Sri Lanka at the start of the 2014 summer, England then lost the second Test to India at Lord’s, prompting Cook to consider resigning. He chose to continue but his hopes of leading England at the 2015 World Cup were dashed when the ECB sacked him less than two months before the tournament.He subsequently oversaw the regeneration of the Test side, as players such as Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow helped England to regain the Ashes in 2015 and then secure a memorable win in South Africa the following winter.Although England’s progress was recently checked by two difficult tours of the subcontinent – drawing 1-1 with Bangladesh before being outclassed by India – Cook had retained the support of his players and the coaching staff. His decision to step down comes during a seven-month gap between Test commitments and gives his successor time to prepare for home series against South Africa and West Indies, before the challenge of another Ashes tour to Australia.