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St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth is set to regain the Boxing Day Test, Graeme Smith revealed at the post-match presentation following his team’s victory over Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2014St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth is set to regain the Boxing Day Test, Graeme Smith revealed at the post-match presentation following his team’s victory over Australia.Although not full for this Test, there was a livelier atmosphere – helped, in part, by the famous band – than Kingsmead in Durban managed to produce when handed the Boxing Day encounter that was reinstated last year after being ditched in 2012 in favour of Twenty20 internationals.Most recently that involved Jacques Kallis’ farewell to Test cricket, against India, but there were relatively small crowds across all five days despite the final appearance of one the game’s greats. Even when the gates were thrown open on the final day the crowd only reached 7000 at a venue that can hold 25,000. Across the first three days there was an average crowd of 9000, the best at Kingsmead in recent years, but still disappointing for a festive season Test.It will be St George’s Park’s first Boxing Day Test since 2007 when it hosted West Indies in a match that the visitors won. West Indies are scheduled to tour South Africa for a three-Test tour, the first of which will be played in Centurion from December 17. Newlands will host the new year’s Test after missing out in 2014.”The Christmas Test is a premier fixture on our cricketing calendar and I hope the fans in Port Elizabeth will come out in their numbers to support the Proteas,” Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief, said. “This is always a fixture that the players look forward to and I’m sure the PE fans will make it a special and jovial occasion when it returns this summer against the West Indies.”CSA also announced South Africa’s schedule for the coming year that includes a maximum of 24 ODIs against five countries in the lead-up to the World Cup. The programme also includes six Tests between July 2014 and January 2015 – two of them against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, one against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe and three home Tests against West Indies.”Once we have completed our challenge for the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh next month, we will turn much of our attention to next year’s World Cup,” Lorgat said. “Building quality experience is a vital part of preparing our ODI squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The series of ODI matches we will be playing in these two countries will provide valuable experience for the players as they prepare for the conditions expected during the World Cup.”At the same time we would want to respect the primacy of Test match cricket. The Sunfoil Test Series against the West Indies will be the highlight of our home summer. With the traditional New Year Test match at Sahara Park Newlands and a Boxing Day encounter at Axxess St. George’s, fans will be in for a treat as we continue to defend our No 1 status.”CSA’s schedule means Durban will go without a Test for the second time in three years, while the Wanderers, which hosted the first Test against India, won’t get a Test.

BJ Watling, the New Zealand wicket-keeper, will lead the New Zealand A squad on a month-long tour to England, which includes eight players with Test experience

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2014BJ Watling will lead the New Zealand A squad on a month-long tour to England, which includes eight players with Test experience. The side will play nine 50-over matches, including games against Sri Lanka A, Scotland and England Lions, and two three-day matches against Kent and Surrey.The tour will be an opportunity for the management to look at some of the fringe players in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup. “It’s a very important tour in terms of the World Cup and players showing they are able to perform certain roles for us,” Mike Hesson, New Zealand coach, told the .With the opener’s slot in ODIs not yet confirmed, Hesson identified Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham and Anton Devcich, who are part of the New Zealand A squad, as candidates for the World Cup squad.”They will have a number of opportunities to show they are capable of batting at the top of the order in one-day cricket. It’s going to be a huge opportunity for those guys. There are some very contestable positions for the World Cup squad,” Hesson said.Devcich, Colin Munro and Ish Sodhi will return after the one-dayers and will be replaced by Todd Astle, Michael Bracewell and Mark Craig for the three-day games.The one-dayers will begin on July 31 with the first game against Northamptonshire, while the first three-day match will be played on August 25.New Zealand A squad: BJ Watling, Hamish Bennett, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, Anton Devcich, Grant Elliott, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Ish Sodhi, Todd Astle, Michael Bracewell, Mark Craig.

Wayne Parnell has been released from the South African squad at the World T20 to attend a mandatory court hearing in Mumbai on Thursday in relation to the drug-related charges laid during the 2012 IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2014Wayne Parnell has been released from the South African squad at the World T20 to attend a mandatory court hearing in Mumbai on Thursday in relation to the drug-related charges laid during the 2012 IPL.It means Parnell will not be available for the match against Netherlands in Chittagong although he had not been selected for South Africa’s first two group games.Speaking about the appearance, Parnell’s manager, Donne Commins said: “Wayne has been called to appear before the court in India purely for procedural purposes in relation to the courts ongoing administration of the case concerned. Our understanding is that there will be no substantive enquiries made of him at the hearing, nor will the matter be progressed otherwise than as a matter of procedure.”South Africa’s team manager, Mohammed Moosajee, said: “We were made aware before the T20 World Cup that Wayne would have to travel to India to appear in court as a matter of procedure and we have made provision for this in our planning.”It’s unfortunate to lose him for a game in the middle of an important tournament him but we must respect the law. Furthermore, Wayne has expressed no wrongdoing so we hope that the case can be concluded as soon as possible.”Parnell was among 90 people detained following a party at a hotel in the Juhu suburb of Mumbai on May 20, 2012, a day after Pune Warriors’ IPL 2012 campaign ended. Of the 90 people, 86 apparently tested positive for drugs including 35 foreign nationals.Parnell has denied any wrongdoing, and was released on bail following a court appearance in Mumbai last year.He will rejoin the squad on Friday morning ahead of South Africa’s match against England.

On a pitch being used for the first time in the tournament, Shane Watson decided to bowl first against the strong Chennai Super Kings batting line-up

The Report by Devashish Fuloria23-Apr-20145:47

Agarkar: Rajasthan Royals blew it

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dwayne Smith’s second half-century proved to be a match-winning effort•BCCIOn a day that the usual Chennai Super Kings heavy batting artillery failed to fire, their bowling, led by the versatile Ravindra Jadeja’s four-wicket haul, carved out a seven-run win against Rajasthan Royals on a slow Dubai pitch.Defending a middling total, Jadeja’s two wickets in two balls in his first over swung the pendulum decisively in favour of Super Kings, the wickets being those of Shane Watson and Sanju Samson. Royals never really recovered from the jolt and despite some happy hitting towards the end, disintegrated to their second defeat.When Super Kings were asked to bat, Brendon McCullum mis-hitting a number of deliveries seemed a case of the batsman struggling but if anything, it was actually an indication of the nature of the pitch which wasn’t as batsmen friendly as thought to be before the start of the match. McCullum was eventually out to a stunning catch by Steven Smith behind midwicket, hitting a length delivery from James Faulkner higher than longer.That slowness of the pitch didn’t seem to bother Dwayne Smith, however, as he raced to his second half-century in three matches with a flurry of big hits. After carefully playing out his first 18 deliveries for 17 runs, Smith used the pace the seamers offered him and carted the ball around the ground, his next nine deliveries bringing him 33 runs.Smith reached his fifty with a six but was done in by the sponginess of the surface in the very next delivery as he tried to force the ball over the infield, but only spooned a catch to mid-off. What followed was a period of play controlled by the Royals’ slower bowlers. He wouldn’t have known at the time, but he did end up playing the defining innings of the match as no one from either team came close to his strike rate of 178.57.The canny Rajat Bhatia, who later joked he was probably bowling “slower than the pitch”, served up his most economical spell in the IPL of 4-0-13-2 – all 13 of them in singles – hardly giving any pace for the batsmen to work with. At the other end, Pravin Tambe removed the dangerous MS Dhoni to push Super Kings from a comfortable 59 for 1 to a perilous 74 for 5. Was it not for a fighting 36 from Jadeja, Super Kings would have had to settle for a much lower total than what they eventually got.The task at the start of the second innings would have been considered manageable given the skill-level in Royals’ batting and the knowledge of how the pitch was going to play. Though Royals lost Abhishek Nayar early to a suicidal run, Rahane appeared comfortable as he regularly employed late deflections to manoeuvre the ball. Samson was impressive, launching Ben Hilfenhaus for two clean sixes to finish the fifth over on 37 for 1.The introduction of spin in the sixth over had the same effect as in the first innings with Rahane top-edging a sweep to deep square leg. Dhoni tossed the ball to Jadeja in the next over that pushed Royals to the edge of the precipice.

In-form Will Gidman and Benny Howell took two wickets apiece as Gloucestershire enjoyed much the better of a rain-affected first day against Derbyshire.

Press Association25-May-2014
ScorecardBenny Howell took two wickets as Gloucestershire enjoyed the better of the day•Getty ImagesIn-form Will Gidman and Benny Howell took two wickets apiece as Gloucestershire enjoyed much the better of a rain-affected first day against Derbyshire.Play did not start until after lunch but visiting Gloucestershire made the most of the 71 overs that were available as they reduced Derbyshire to 166 for 6. Most of Derbyshire’s batsmen made starts but none managed to really push on, with opener Paul Borrington top-scoring with 42 and captain Wayne Madsen contributing 33 before both fell with the score on 78.Allrounder Scott Elstone, fresh from penning a two-year contract extension with the county, was unbeaten on 36 at the close but it was in the main a day dominated by the ball after Gloucestershire had won the toss and opted to field.The Westcountry side are missing three key pacemen through injury but in Will Gidman they have a bowler in fine form and he needed just six deliveries to make the breakthrough as he sent back Stephen Moore for 1, caught by his brother Alex at first slip.Gidman, who claimed a seven-wicket haul in Gloucestershire’s 290-run win over Kent last time out, also sent back the dangerous Madsen – caught by former England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones on his debut after joining on loan from Kent. That came soon after Borrington had been run out attempting a third run as Division Two’s bottom side Derbyshire slumped to 78 for 3.Borrington’s departure ended a promising 77-run stand with his skipper and brought Marcus North – brought in to cover for Shivnarine Chanderpaul – to the wicket for his first Championship appearance for the county since 2006.North, the veteran Australian, was in scintillating form during his first short stint with Derbyshire, scoring 465 runs at an average of 93, but he could only make 11 here before he shouldered arms to Howell and saw his stumps shattered. Howell also struck next, having Alex Hughes caught by James Fuller at midwicket for 16 to make it 123 for 5.Derbyshire wicketkeeper Gareth Cross sought to launch a counterattack but, after hitting Tom Smith for a straight six, he was trapped lbw by Fuller having struck the bowler for successive boundaries off his previous two balls.That proved to be the final wicket of the day for Gloucestershire, although they almost snared Elstone before the close as well with the diving Jones unable to take the chance to give Elstone a late reprieve.

Yorkshire planted one foot firmly in the quarter-finals when they crushed Derbyshire by 59 runs with 15 balls to spare in a one-sided game at Chesterfield.

Press Association13-Jul-2014
ScorecardYorkshire planted one foot firmly in the quarter-finals when they crushed Derbyshire by 59 runs with 15 balls to spare in a one-sided game at Chesterfield.Alex Lees continued his remarkable run against Derbyshire with a Twenty20 career-best unbeaten 67 – he has now scored 403 in 3 innings in all cricket against them – as Yorkshire raced to 183 for 4 from their 20 overs.Kane Williamson made 41 off 26 balls and skipper Andrew Gale smashed a rapid 34 as 68 came off the last five overs and, although Gareth Cross hammered 37 from 19 balls, Derbyshire collapsed to 124 with five Yorkshire bowlers striking in their first over as nine wickets fell to spin.Williamson put down a marker by driving and cutting Wes Durston for three fours in the opening over and, although Aaron Finch never got going, Lees took full advantage of an early life to hammer the attack on the ground where he made an unbeaten 275 in the LV= County Championship last season.Lees was on one when he drove former Yorkshire spinner David Wainwright to long-off where Alex Hughes misjudged the chance and could only push the ball over his head for six. The next ball vanished over the pavilion and when Lees drove Chesney Hughes back over his head, it was his third six in six balls but Derbyshire stemmed the flow of runs with Marcus North bowling Williamson in the ninth over.North then had Johnny Bairstow stumped swinging to leg and the tempo dropped until Gale smashed the Australian through the covers for the first boundary in 5.2 overs. That opened the floodgates for a second time as Lees and Gale plundered 65 from 38 balls with Lees reaching 50 by hitting Durston back over the bowler’s head for his third four.Gayle holed out to deep square leg after hitting four fours and a six from 20 balls but Tim Bresnan made sure Derbyshire would face a daunting chase by driving Mark Turner for six as 18 came from the last over.Derbyshire lost Durston who was bowled sweeping at the second ball of their innings but Cross pulled Bresnan for six and hoisted Williamson onto the top of a refreshment wagon before driving him into the crowd over long-off. The former Lancashire wicketkeeper was threatening to spoil Yorkshire’s afternoon until he pulled Richard Pyrah high to deep mid-wicket where Williamson took the catch just inside the rope.With Cross gone, Yorkshire got the game back under control and with the rate climbing, Wayne Madsen chipped Azeem Rafiq to long on and Billy Godleman was stumped charging the offspinner as Derbyshire limped to 67 for four after 10 overs.North was caught and bowled by Adil Rashid for 20 two runs later and Alex Hughes became Rafiq’s third victim when Bresnan took a diving catch at deep midwwicket.Alex Lees transferred his four-day form to the NatWest T20•Getty ImagesAlthough Tom Knight hit three sixes to give the Derbyshire fans something to cheer, the game had long gone and Derbyshire’s 10th defeat of the season was inevitable long before Turner chipped Adam Lyth to mid-on.”I thought the way Alex Lees batted was nothing short of sensational,” Yorkshire’s first team coach Jason Gillespie said. “He read the situation very well and made sure he was there at the end. At the end of the day you have to get your skills right and the way we bowled and fielded was fantastic.”Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen said: “They probably got 25 too many and although we got a good start, when the spinners came on it was pretty difficult to score. The innings by Alex Lees changed the game, he struck the ball extremely cleanly and while it was not good to be on the other end of it, it was good to watch.”

Ross Whiteley hammered an unbeaten 84 against his former county to help Worcestershire secure a NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final place by beating Derbyshire by 28 runs at New Road.

Press Association25-Jul-2014
ScorecardRoss Whiteley smashed nine sixes in his 84 from only 38 balls•Getty ImagesRoss Whiteley hammered an unbeaten 84 against his former county to help Worcestershire secure a NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final place by beating Derbyshire by 28 runs at New Road.Worcestershire roared to victory after man-of-the-match Whiteley slammed nine sixes and two fours off 38 balls. Victory enabled skipper Daryl Mitchell’s men to march into the last eight for the second time in three seasons, with a trip to Surrey awaiting them.Derbyshire finished firmly anchored at the foot of the North Division with only one win throughout their entire campaign, which ended with six losses on the trot.Worcestershire, who completed the double over Derbyshire after winning by eight runs under the floodlights at Derby last month, were put in after losing the toss and made 209 for 4.They got off to a solid start, with Mitchell signalling his intention by collecting a confidently struck boundary off the first ball of the innings. He put on 38 in four overs with fellow opener Richard Oliver, who then sliced Greg Cork to Matt Higginbottom at cover.After smacking six fours off 19 balls, Mitchell pulled Ben Cotton to Wayne Madsen to depart for 36 before Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Colin Munro brought up the 50 off the first ball of the sixth over.They were 64 for 2 at the end of the six-over Powerplay but Munro’s hopes of a big innings, after cracking three successive fours, evaporated when he was bowled for 16 attempting to reverse-sweep Marcus North.Whiteley was dropped by Alex Hughes off Wes Durston on 25, though the next delivery saw Hughes redeem himself by holding on to a catch at long-on to remove Kohler-Cadmore for 22.Whiteley made the most of his let-off by reaching a half-century off 28 balls, with five sixes and one four. He needed only another 10 balls, featuring four sixes and a four, as he made his highest score in all cricket for Worcestershire and put on 89 in 7.4 overs with Ben Cox, who made 29 not out.In reply, Derbyshire lost North to New Zealand paceman Mitchell McClenaghan before they completed their Powerplay on 57 for 1. Gareth Cross and Wes Durston produced bright and breezy knocks of 34 and 36 respectively, but Worcestershire battled hard to keep them in check with some smart fielding and bowling.Billy Godleman and Madsen gave their side hope with a stand worth 56 in 4.2 overs, but once the fourth-wicket partnership was broken by Jack Shantry, Worcestershire went on to wrap up their eighth win of the season by restricting the visitors to 181 for 7, Madsen top-scoring with 40.Worcestershire’s chief executive David Leatherdale was delighted by the club’s progress to the quarter-finals. “T20 has been good us,” he said. “We started with two losses on the road and then got six wins in a row to give us the momentum. We’ve played some decent cricket and everybody has dovetailed at some point to get us to this position.”To progress to the quarter-final in what is a tough group, when you’ve got Lancashire, Notts, Durham and Yorkshire, we certainly probably wouldn’t have been top of the list to qualify at the start of the season.”Derbyshire’s elite performance director Graeme Welch praised his side’s work ethic despite their poor record in the competition this season: “We didn’t win any games in anything early season and that dragged us down, but the lads have been brilliant and kept going all the time.”The work ethic has been second to none and they have kept doing all we have asked of them, but it’s been difficult.”

South Africa pacer Beuran Hendricks has been ruled out of the Zimbabwe ODI series after sustaining a back injury while playing for South Africa A in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2014South Africa’s left-arm fast bowler Beuran Hendricks has been ruled out of the ODI series against Zimbabwe after sustaining a back injury while playing for South Africa A in Australia.Hendricks played five matches for South Africa A in the quadrangular A-team series but missed the first four-day game against Australia A in Townsville last week.According to CSA, Hendricks has suffered a lumbar strain and has been advised a period of rest and recovery. The board has decided not to send a replacement for Hendricks as the ODI squad already has pacers in Marchant de Lange, Kyle Abbott, Wayne Parnell and the uncapped Mthokozisi Shezi.South Africa’s frontline pace bowlers – Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander – have been rested for the ODI series, which begins on August 17, but will return for the tri-series against Zimbabwe and Australia.

In a huge blow to Pakistan, offspinner Saeed Ajmal has been banned from bowling in international cricket by the ICC after his action was deemed to be illegal

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2014Recent drive against faulty actions

August 2014 – Sohag Gazi reported, to be tested in Cardiff

August 2014 – Prosper Utseya reported, to undergo testing

August 2014 – Saeed Ajmal reported, banned in September

July 2014 – Kane Williamson banned after tests found his action illegal

July 2014 – Sachithra Senanayake banned, undergoes remedial work

December 2013 – Shane Shillingford suspended from bowling, cleared in March 2014; Marlon Samuels prohibited from bowling quicker deliveries

October 2013 – Johan Botha cleared by Cricket Australia after being reported during a domestic match

May 2013 – ECB suspends Glenn Querl, Jack Taylor from bowling

April 2013 – CA bars seamer Cameron Gannon

In a huge blow to Pakistan, offspinner Saeed Ajmal has been banned from bowling in international cricket by the ICC after his action was deemed to be illegal for all deliveries. Ajmal, who has been Pakistan’s lead spinner in all formats in recent years, was reported after the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month.The decision to ban him was taken after an ICC accredited team of bio-mechanics experts tested his action at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. Ajmal can apply to the ICC for a re-assessment at any time after modifying his action.”An independent analysis has found the bowling action of Pakistan’s offspinner Saeed Ajmal to be illegal and, as such, the player has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect,” the ICC said. “The analysis revealed that all his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations.”Ajmal, however, was hopeful that a medical condition – the natural bend in his arm because of an accident – would work in his favour when the appeal is made to the ICC’s bowling review group.”I am positive about this and not worried because I believe I can make the World Cup,” Ajmal told reporters in Faisalabad. “They are yet to consider my medical reports and once they do it I am sure there shouldn’t be any problem. If one has a medical problem then what can he do? So I am 100% positive and hoping for the best.”Ajmal is the No. 1 ranked bowler in the ICC ODI rankings and is among the top ten in Tests and Twenty20 internationals. He his the highest wicket-taker across formats in the last three years.This was the second instance of Ajmal being reported for a suspect action. In April 2009, the bowler had been reported while bowling the doosra, and was cleared the following month.The issue of suspect bowling actions had come up during the ICC cricket committee meeting in June, where there was a general consensus among members that the current methods used to detect illegal actions were imperfect. It had recommended changes to help match officials get more support from biomechanists in order to identify illegal actions with “more confidence”.In the last few months, Sri Lanka offspinner Sachithra Senanayake and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson were reported and subsequently banned from bowling due to illegal bowling actions.

The absence of two high-profile Twenty20 cricketers hamstrung Sri Lanka’s Southern Express in Champions League T20, their manager has said

Sa'adi Thawfeeq18-Sep-2014The absence of two high-profile Twenty20 cricketers hamstrung Sri Lanka’s Southern Express in Champions League T20, their manager has said.Southern Express lost all three matches of the qualifying group – to Northern Districts (from New Zealand), Mumbai Indians and Lahore Lions (Pakistan) – to make an early exit from the tournament.”[Tillakaratne] Dilshan’s absence had a psychological effect on the team. Everyone was upbeat with Dilshan’s inclusion in the team,” Southern Express manager Shane Fernando said. “We were hoping that he and Kusal Perera would provide the ideal start to our batting.”The team would have benefited not only from Dilshan’s batting but also from his bowling and fielding.”Fernando said that Dilshan who represented English county Surrey did not participate at team practice sessions due to a calf-muscle injury. “The national team physio said that he was fit to play but ruled him out of practice.” Eventually Dilshan pulled out of the tournament due to a family commitment.”We were also without another world-class T20 performer Lasith Malinga who opted to play for Mumbai Indians,” said Fernando. “Malinga was instrumental in Southern Express qualifying to play in the Champions League when we emerged winners of the SLC Super Fours T20.”Fernando said apart from these two players the team was a balanced unit but lacked the experience of playing T20 cricket, especially under lights.”We had the talent but most of the younger players had little exposure to playing T20 cricket and playing under lights,” Fernando said. “The occasion became a little too big for them.”Although our team preparations were good and we went with a good chance of qualifying these little factors proved decisive in our final result.”