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Waqar Younis has resigned as Pakistan coach. The upcoming tour of Zimbabwe will be his last assignment with the national team

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2011Waqar Younis has resigned as Pakistan coach citing personal reasons that include his and his wife’s health. The upcoming tour of Zimbabwe will be his last assignment with the national team.”I have tendered my resignation to the [Pakistan Cricket] board last week and the tour to Zimbabwe will be my last,” Waqar Younis said at a press conference in Karachi. “I have taken this decision on personal grounds, including medical grounds, and have no differences with anyone and my resignation has been accepted by the board.

Timeline

• March 2010: Waqar Younis takes over as Pakistan coach from Intikhab Alam

• May 2010: Pakistan reach the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean

• August 2010: The spot-fixing scandal breaks out during Pakistan’s tour of England

• November 2010: Zulqarnain Haider flees to London during the South Africa series in the UAE, after receiving death threats

• November 2010: Pakistan keep South Africa to a 0-0 draw in the Tests

• January 2011: Pakistan defeat New Zealand 1-0, winning their first Test series since 2006-07

• March 2011: Pakistan reach the semi-finals of the one-day World Cup, along the way bringing to an end Australia’s 34-match winning streak in the tournament

• May 2011: Pakistan win the one-day series against West Indies in the Caribbean 3-2

• May 2011: Cracks appear in captain Afridi and Waqar’s relationship following the Caribbean tour

“Had everything in my personal life — that is, my wife’s health and my own — been all right, I would not have taken this decision. But I do not want to fail to do the job justice because of the personal problems on my mind.”Waqar, 39, took over as coach of the national side in March 2010 in the aftermath of the disastrous tour of Australia on which Pakistan failed to win a single game. He replaced Intikhab Alam and his stint coincided with another turbulent phase for Pakistan cricket. The spot-fixing controversy erupted during the tour of England and the wicketkeeper, Zulqarnain Haider, fled to London while Pakistan was involved in a series against South Africa in the UAE. Prior to the World Cup, where his team reached the semi-final, Waqar oversaw a successful tour of New Zealand, where Pakistan won both the Test and ODI series.Waqar described his tenure as coach as a “rollercoaster” and claimed his side was shocked when told that he’ll be stepping down. “It was a roller coaster for me, with a lot of controversies including the spot-fixing scandal, but I am proud of the fact that all these young boys have carried on the good work despite these problems.”I only told the players on Saturday morning, and they were shocked because until today the matter was between me and the PCB, but I am sure that this young team will do well in future.”The PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said: “”The PCB has accepted his resignation and understands his personal reasons. His tenure was good and we wish him the best in his future.”Waqar’s most recent major assignment was the tour of the West Indies where Pakistan drew the Test series and won the ODI series but it was marred by his differences with then limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi over discipline and team selection that ultimately led to Afridi’s retirement from international cricket. However, Waqar claimed his resignation had nothing to do with what transpired during the West Indies tour.Ijaz Ahmed, the former Pakistan captain, who took over as batting and fielding coach at the same time as Waqar was appointed head coach, was appointed assistant coach for the tour of Zimbabwe. The PCB are yet to name a replacement for Waqar.The tour of Zimbabwe begins on August 28 and includes one practice game, one Test, three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Champions League Twenty20 game between Kolkata Knight Riders and South Australia Redbacks

The Preview by Nitin Sundar26-Sep-2011

Match facts

Kolkata Knight Riders v South Australia, September 27
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Gautam Gambhir’s return from a concussion lasted only one ball. He will want to last longer against South Australia•AFP

Big Picture

Both Kolkata Knight Riders and South Australia Redbacks suffered defeats in their opening games, and need quick turnarounds. The Knight Riders are worse off: their campaign has been shorn of momentum after successive losses to Somerset, including one in the qualification round. Gautam Gambhir’s return to action after the concussion he suffered in England was closely watched, but fizzled out when he perished first ball. Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan batted extremely well to lift the Knight Riders to 161, but the bowling let them down for the second time in two games, despite not having a perceptible weak link.South Australia were walloped by the Warriors in their first game, one in which they seemed saddled with one spinner too many. To make matters worse, Shaun Tait endured a forgettable day and was taken apart by JJ Smuts. Coming back from that 53-run hiding will require tremendous depths of resolve, but the fact that their opponents are just as short on confidence should lift their spirits.It is early days yet, but the Warriors look the most complete side in Group B, which is widely considered the easier one to qualify from. Four other teams could be tussling for the second semi-final spot in the group, and the team that loses on Tuesday could be out of that race.

Watch out for …

Brett Lee played a key role in the Knight Riders’ victory against Auckland Aces in the qualifying round, but has not been among the wickets. The chance to steam in against his domestic rivals could fire him up, though.Michael Klinger was one of the stand-out batsmen in the previous edition of the Champions League. He started well in the chase against the Warriors, but will want to make a bigger contribution against the Knight Riders.

Team news

South Australia will consider dropping one of their three spinners in favour of a seaming option. The Daniels – Harris and Christian – combined to pick up 4 for 47 against Warriors, but the rest of the attack went at over ten runs per over in picking a solitary wicket. The Daniels might be pressed into service earlier on Tuesday.The Knight Riders have tried Jaydev Unadkat and L Balaji as Lee’s support seamer, but neither looked convincing in their respective outings. With the spin depth in their side, they might be better off benching both, provided Jacques Kallis can complete a full spell. His solitary over was pounded for 16 runs in the previous game, which is an area of concern.

Stats and trivia

• This will be the first encounter between these sides
• Jacques Kallis is one of only five batsmen to have made more than 100 runs in the tournament. All five played in the qualifiers too.

Quotes

“We’ll obviously sit down and have a chat and the selectors will have another look at it. But playing three spinners has worked very well for us over the last two years and I don’t see that being any different on Tuesday or for the rest of the tournament.”

Zimbabwe have announced a strong A side to face New Zealand in the two-day warm-up match at the Bulawayo Athletic Club, which starts on October 28

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2011Zimbabwe have announced a strong A side to face New Zealand in the two-day warm-up match at the Bulawayo Athletic Club, which starts on October 28. All but one of the group have international experience, with seamer Mike Chinouya the only player not to have represented the national side.Chinouya has, however, been picked twice for Zimbabwe A and played in one of the four-day matches against the visiting New Zealand A side in October last year. He picked up four wickets in the match and played against the likes of Martin Guptill, Dean Brownlie, Chris Martin and Graeme Aldridge, who are all in New Zealand’s Test squad.Tino Mawoyo will captain the Zimbabweans, and the match will allow several players likely to be included in the Test side with a valuable warm-up. It will also provide seamers Chinouya, Ed Rainsford, Njabulo Ncube and Shingirai Masakadza – who has not played for Zimbabwe since the World Cup in India – with a chance to push for selection.Zimbabwe A squad Tinotenda Mawoyo (Capt), Elton Chigumbura, Mike Chinouya, Hamilton Masakadza, Shingirai Masakadza, Natsai Mushangwe, Forster Mutizwa, Njabulo Ncube, Edward Rainsford, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Malcolm Waller.

For the second time in six days, a game was won and lost in the batting Powerplay, but this time Sri Lanka were at the receiving end

The Report by Nitin Sundar18-Nov-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUmar Gul hit the stumps twice, taking out the first man and No. 11•AFP

For the second time in five days, a game was won and lost in the batting Powerplay. This time, however, Sri Lanka were at the receiving end as they fluffed the phase, picking up just 19 for the loss of two huge wickets, leaving their tail needing 72 off the last 10 overs. In conditions aiding spin, especially of Pakistan’s varied vintage, that was a bridge too far for Angelo Mathews to cross.Batsmen from both sides survived prodigious seam bowling but came unstuck against spin. The similarities didn’t end there – Pakistan made an almighty hash of their own batting Powerplay, to subside from a dominant 150 for 0 in 29 overs to 257 for 8, which in itself was a strong recovery. In the end, it proved sufficient to sneak home by 21 runs.Having gone past 10,000 ODI runs, Mahela Jayawardene looked set to launch a sortie similar to the one he had purveyed in the previous game, when the fielders came in with 91 needed off 15 overs. Saeed Ajmal ensured there was no reprisal, though, as he slipped a straighter one past Jayawardene’s forward press. Sarfraz Ahmed collected the ball and zipped the bails out at electric speed, with Jayawardene’s back foot hovering inches away from safety. Pakistan sensed the kill and choked Mathews – with the single unavailable, he played out ten dot balls before opening his account as the required-rate crossed seven.Mathews broke free in the 39th over against Sohail Tanvir, prompting Misbah-ul-Haq to revert to spin. Ajmal slipped another floater across the well-set Dinesh Chandimal, who scythed an outer edge to point. Lasith Malinga, who was among the runs in the Champions League T20, was promoted to No. 7, but Shahid Afridi pinned him with a quicker one. With Mathews out of sorts, Jeevan Mendis kept Sri Lanka alive, but Mohammad Hafeez ended his cameo. Mathews showed little intent to guard the tail – he took singles off the first balls of the last three overs of the game. Umar Gul needed no second invitation to finish the job.The pitch was neither the feather-bed that Pakistan’s 151-run opening stand – the biggest for any wicket in Dubai – suggested, nor the snake pit that their phase of 42 for 5 in the middle overs made it out to be. There was seam movement, sluggish bounce as well as real carry. Hafeez struggled against the first two, while Imran Farhat was clunked on the helmet when Dilhara Fernando thudded one in short.With the mischief in the pitch making itself apparent, Hafeez chose to be sedate. He survived a close lbw shout against Seekkuge Prasanna, and went on to prosper on width. Hafeez had meandered to 24 off 55 balls at one stage, before taking Fernando for four fours in one over. Sri Lanka’s slackening discipline was epitomised when Prasanna clanged Hafeez in the covers. Pakistan underlined their dominance with each opener slugging a six against the spinners, but the tide was about to turn.

Smart stats

• Pakistan, who have now played 68 matches against Sri Lanka in neutral venues have won 44 times. Overall, in the UAE, Pakistan have won 86 and lost 44 matches.

• The 151-run stand between Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat is eighth on the list of highest opening stands for Pakistan against Sri Lanka. It is also the second-highest stand for this opening pair after their 228 against Zimbabwe earlier this year.

• Hafeez scored his 12th half-century in ODIs to go with three centuries. In his last ten innings, he has scored 508 runs at an average of 56.44 with two centuries and three fifties.

• Mahela Jayawardene became the ninth batsman overall and the second Sri Lankan batsman to reach the 10,000-run mark in ODIs. He now has 10,004 runs at an average of 33.45 with 15 centuries and 61 fifties.

• The 106-run stand between Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan is the 12th century stand for the second wicket for Sri Lanka against Pakistan. It is also the seventh second-wicket century stand for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in neutral venues.

Hafeez fell playing a tired pull, Farhat holed out, and suddenly Sri Lanka’s spinners found an extra gear. Tillakaratne Dilshan hid the fast bowlers against Abdul Razzaq, promoted to No. 3, and he promptly hauled Prasanna straight to long-on. When Umar Akmal walked too far past a Malinga yorker to lose leg stump, Pakistan found themselves in an extraordinary rut; the Powerplay had just come on, and they had their two most obdurate batsmen – Misbah and Younis Khan – fresh at the crease. When Pakistan made 22 for 2 in their five-over block, Sri Lanka wouldn’t have gambled on doing worse when their turn came. Younis shepherded Pakistan through the end overs to give them a reasonable score.The chase was set up by a feverish 106-run stand between Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, after Gul produced a corker to flatten Upul Tharanga’s off stump. Gul’s legcutters and Sohail Tanvir’s innate curve made scoring difficult, but Dilshan and Sangakkara had the shots to find a way out. Plays-and-misses were interspersed with gorgeous strokes – Dilshan’s cover drives and Sangakkara’s glides standing out – and a lot of madcap running. Pakistan missed at least two direct-hits, before Sangakkara escaped the ignominy of becoming the first batsmen given out for obstructing the field under the new rules.Dilshan refused a single in the 19th over after pushing to Afridi at cover and setting off. Both batsmen were haring towards the keeper’s end when Afridi hurled the ball to him. Sarfraz, however, flicked one bail off before collecting the ball even as Dilshan ran into him. Sarfraz regrouped and shied at the other end, but this time Sangakkara, making a questionably circuitous turn, came in the way of the throw. Pakistan’s appeal was only for the miss at Dilshan’s end, which was rightly over-ruled by the third umpire.They didn’t have to wait long for redemption. In the 23rd over, Sangakkara pushed straight to mid-on and took off. The throw this time did not go to the keeper, but smashed out the stumps at the striker’s end with Sangakkara well short. The cameras panned to the trademark celebration of the fielder, the only man in the Pakistan team who puts his arms out and soaks in the adulation. He repeated the celebration five overs later, when Dilshan somehow contrived to guide him from a foot outside leg onto the stumps via his arm. In a game of many heroes for Pakistan, Afridi had once again made the biggest moves.

Dwayne Smith, the West Indies allrounder, has been named captain of the West Indies A Twenty20 Team that will take on Bangladesh A in two games in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2011Dwayne Smith, the West Indies allrounder, has been named captain of the West Indies A Twenty20 Team that will take on Bangladesh A in two games in St Lucia.Smith has played 10 Tests, 77 ODIs and 10 T20Is for West Indies, but his last Test came in 2006 and his last ODI in 2010. He opened the innings for West Indies in their last T20I at The Oval on September 25, when they beat England by 25 runs. He was not included in the West India A four-day squad that is currently playing two unofficial Tests against Bangladesh A.The 13-man squad includes three players who have never played for the West Indies senior team: legspinner Samuel Badree, who impressed in the Champions League T20, left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul who was part of the four-day squad, and batsman Jason Mohammed, who was named the Player of the Tournament and awarded the Richie Richardson Trophy for most outstanding batsman in the recently concluded Regional Super50 Tournament.Garey Mathurin, who starred in that game at The Oval, taking took 3 for 9 in on debut, joins Badree and Permaul as the three specialist spinners in the squad. T20 specialists, allrounder Christopher Barnwell and left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie have also been included, as has allrounder Carlos Brathwaite, who is a member of the West Indies A four-day squad.Meanwhile batsman Shamarh Brooks has been added to the West Indies A four-day squad as the replacement for Dwayne Bravo, who injured his ankle and was forced to miss the series. Brooks is a graduate of the Sagicor High Performance Centre and has played in 16 first-class matches for Barbados. He is also a former West Indies Under-19 captain.Squad: Dwayne Smith (capt), Samuel Badree, Christopher Barnwell, Miles Bascombe, Nkrumah Bonner, Carlos Brathwaite, Johnson Charles, Jason Mohammed, Garey Mathurin, Nelon Pascal, Veerasammy Permaul, Krishmar Santokie, Devon Thomas (wk)

Jimmy Hansra will lead Canada’s 14-member squad for the Caribbean T20 in January

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2011Jimmy Hansra will lead Canada’s 14-member squad for the Caribbean T20 in January. The team will be participating in the tournament for the third consecutive year, which will be held in Antigua and Barbados.Canada managed just one win out of four in last year’s edition, beating Hampshire, and finished fourth in their group. The squad will leave from Toronto on January 6 and start the tournament five days later against Winward Islands. The other teams in their group are Leeward Islands, Guyana and defending champions Trinidad and Tobago.Squad: Jimmy Hansra (capt), Rizwan Cheema (vice-capt), Manny Aulakh, Jeremy Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Salman Nazar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Raza Rehman, Junaid Siddiqui, Zubin Surkari, Hamza Tariq

Northern Districts rode on Kane Williamson’s all-round performance to snuff Wellington’s challenge by 34 runs at the Basin Reserve

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2012Northern Districts rode on Kane Williamson’s all-round performance to snuff Wellington‘s challenge by 34 runs at the Basin Reserve. Williamson did the early running at the top of the order after Northern Districts chose to bat. His 53 off 41 deliveries dominated his three partnerships and laid the base for Peter McGlashan to launch a late assault. McGlashan hammered three sixes in racing to 29 off 14 before being run out off the final delivery of the innings. Andy McKay and Luke Woodcock returned decent figures for Wellington, picking up two wickets each, but Mark Gillespie went for 49 from his four overs as Northern Districts ended on 162 for 7.Trent Boult and Scott Styris almost ended Wellington’s chase early, striking twice each to reduce them to 35 for 4, a position from which they never recovered. James Franklin was the lone batsman to produce any sort of fightback, but when he fell for 48 to Daniel Vettori, Wellington’s chase was all but over. Williamson helped himself to three lower-order wickets as Wellington were dismissed for 128 with an over to go.

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has been ruled out of the ODI series against South Africa because he has not recovered from a calf injury

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2012Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has been ruled out of the ODI series against South Africa because he has not recovered from a calf injury. He is expected to be fit for the first Test, and until then Brendon McCullum is likely to continue as stand-in captain.”He [Taylor] has started running and is ready to have a bat in the nets,” New Zealand’s physio Paul Close said. “He is on track to return to international cricket in time for the Test starting on March 7.”Taylor sustained the calf injury during the only Test against Zimbabwe in Napier and was forced to retire hurt on 122. He missed the limited-overs games against Zimbabwe and had been initially ruled out of only the three Twenty20s against South Africa. Now he will miss the three ODIs as well.New Zealand began their home series against South Africa with a six-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 in Wellington.

Shane Watson will happily return to Australia’s Test team as a No. 3 batsman, having reasoned that he is no longer in a position to demand the opening spot he vacated due to injury in 2011

Daniel Brettig15-Mar-2012Shane Watson will happily return to Australia’s Test team as a No. 3 batsman, having reasoned that he is no longer in a position to demand the opening spot he vacated due to injury in 2011.Since Watson fell prey to hamstring and calf injuries, the contrasting David Warner and Ed Cowan have begun a fledgling top order partnership that shows all the signs of developing into a fruitful union. They are now set to resume opening duties in the Caribbean, as Watson slips into the No. 3 spot vacated by an under-performing Shaun Marsh.A year ago Watson could have named his place – and his price – in an Australian team struggling to find successful practitioners in most positions. However now the team led by Michael Clarke has completed a successful home summer without him, Watson said he was grateful to have any kind of place in the team, and would have no qualms about walking out at No. 3.”I’m happy to play anywhere to be honest after sitting out all the summer and seeing how successful the Test team was, there’s no doubt that I’d love to fit in wherever I possibly can,” Watson said in St Vincent. “I have really enjoyed opening the batting in Test cricket and all forms of the game, but in the end batting at No. 3 you’re still certainly in the engine room with a newer ball potentially.”So I’m happy to try and compliment the team wherever I possibly can, because it has been an extremely exciting and successful Test summer and I’d love to be a part of that.”Watson was given the first hint of his future position when he returned to the ODI XI at No. 3 during the home triangular series. He may yet return to opening in the West Indies in limited overs formats, as he and the coach Mickey Arthur formulate the best plan to attack the hosts.”That’s where I finished up this summer, batting at No. 3, and what we’re working through at the moment is what’s going to be the best balance for our batting line-up, not just with me but with the other guys we’ve got at our disposal as well,” Watson said. “So that’s what we’re talking through at the moment, what’s going to be the best balance and what we think the West Indies are going to throw at us as well.”Australia’s reduced reliance on senior players has been part of the coaching and selection strategy across the summer, which Arthur said had been geared at building a squad of about 22 players capable of stepping into action at any given moment. He pointed to current absentees including Pat Cummins, Clarke and Mitchell Johnson as proof the team was now better equipped to cope with a relentless cycle of fixtures.”One of the briefs at the start of the summer was to create depth, and I think that’s really important to create a depth pool that you can choose from,” Arthur said. “With the amount of cricket we play, there’s injuries always crop up and obviously loss of form. I think we’ve realised that we need to manage our best players better in order to get better results from them, so we needed to create that depth.”We wanted to create a depth pool of 22 players by the end of the summer and we’ve prettymuch done that, and that has been reflected in the Test selections. I’m very confident that every player who steps up now to the side has had the opportunity and knows what is expected of him, so it has been a pretty successful summer in that regard.”The West Indian team, led by Darren Sammy, can call on a strong record at the Arnos Vale Ground for confidence ahead of their first meeting with Watson’s team. Sammy has enjoyed two of his better international displays at the venue, 4 for 26 in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2010, and 5 for 70 against Bangladesh in a Test in 2009.”So far St Vincent has been a very good ground for us, as a West Indies team we always get results in our favour here, and for me personally it is a happy hunting ground,” Sammy said. “The last three games we’ve played here we won all three, so obviously what happened against India and Pakistan we’re looking to repeat that and start this series off on a winning note.”We know we’re playing Australia and we’re not going to go out and play names, we’re just going to play good, positive cricket, and hopefully we can come out on top.”

Three players with significant sporting pedigree will become MCC Young Cricketers this season

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2012Three players with significant sporting pedigree will become MCC Young Cricketers this season. Liam Gough, son of former England fast bowler Darren, Billy Root, brother of Yorkshire batsman Joe, and Jamie Hoddle, son of former England footballer Glen, and are among 19 players in the 2012 squad.Unlike his father, Gough is a batsman who bowls offspin. He turned 17 in November and is the youngest member of the new intake. Hoddle, meanwhile, is an allrounder and is part of the Middlesex academy.Dipayan Paul from Blackheath is the other new recruit to the squad, hoping to build a professional career and follow New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor and Gloucestershire allrounder Will Gidman as successful recent graduates.MCC Young Cricketers benefit from state-of-the-art facilities at Lord’s and will compete in the south group of the Second XI Championship. They will also attend a pre-season training camp in Abu Dhabi alongside the combined MCC Universities.Several players from abroad will also be part of the squad. New Zealander Henry Nicholls made his debut for Canterbury before Christmas and was recommended to MCC by former Australia coach John Buchanan. Australians Ben Dougall and Alex Ross will also arrive as part of a reciprocal arrangement with the Darren Lehman Cricket Academy.MCC head coach, the former Gloucestershire and England allrounder Mark Alleyne, said: “I am delighted with the composition of the squad this year,” Alleyne said. “There is excellent strength and depth in all disciplines and I am looking forward to seeing how they develop as a group during the season.”The main aim for all the players this summer is sustainability and consistency. All of the guys are very talented young cricketers and they are all capable of putting in special performances – but the key is to be able to play well on a regular basis.”