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“All I want is to have options moving forward,” Rohit says on Shivam Dube the bowler

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-20241:13

Aaron: Suryakumar’s innings should be appreciated

Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 49-ball 50, which bailed India out from a precarious situation on a low-scoring New York surface against USA, wasn’t a typical 360-degree knock, but it impressed his captain.”He showed he’s got a different game as well, that is what you expect from experienced players,” Rohit Sharma said on the official broadcast after India won their third straight game to enter the Super Eight stage. “To come out and bat differently if the situation demands, that is what Surya did. The partnership [67-run stand] with [Shivam] Dube was very important for us. In the end, to take us home was a great effort.”We knew it was going to be a tough task scoring those many runs [111], but credit to us. At the end, we held our nerves, got that partnership as well. We lost wickets upfront but credit to Surya and Dube to show that maturity and take the game till the end.”Related

• 'Iceman' Netravalkar creates the moment, and then lets it pop out

• USA hit with first-ever stop-clock penalty at crucial time against India

• Suryakumar and Arshdeep script hard-fought India win

Dube finished on 31 off 35, and though he did the job required off him, the scorecard won’t reveal his struggle to force the pace against cutters dug into the surface. Dube was on 5 off 14 balls at one point, but muscled a six off Corey Anderson in the 15th over just as USA were beginning to tighten the screws. Before that shot, India needed 44 from 35.While Dube’s spin-hitting has made him a point of difference in the middle overs for Chennai Super Kings for two IPL seasons now, and led to his selection for the World Cup, he is also expected to chip in with the ball. On Wednesday, Rohit turned to Dube for an over. That went for 11. In a match where 221 runs were scored from 38.2 overs.”I think that is something we want; we want options with us,” Rohit said when asked about Dube the allrounder. “As and when we feel like we can use them, we should be able to use them. Today, I thought we could use them, the pitch had something in it. But yeah, again, all I want is to have options moving forward.”Rohit called the conditions “very tough” for batters, but lauded his bowlers, particularly Arshdeep Singh, for leading the way. Arshdeep struck twice in his first over – the first of the match – and finished with 4 for 9, his career-best figures in T20Is. Hardik Pandya also picked up two key wickets, of Aaron Jones and Anderson, with short deliveries.”We knew bowlers had to take the lead,” Rohit said. “We knew run-scoring is difficult on this pitch. Again, all our bowlers did the job, particularly Arshdeep, the way he started off was magnificent. Playing cricket here wasn’t easy. It could’ve been anyone’s game.”All three games we played, we had to stick in till the end and take the game as deep as possible. Lucky for us, we managed to pull through in all three games and [we] take a lot of confidence for a victory like this.”Rohit also lauded USA’s Indian-origin players for their performance. Saurabh Netravalkar, the left-arm seamer, was his junior in the Mumbai circuit once upon a time, while Harmeet Singh, the left-arm spinner, went to the same school as him in the Mumbai suburb of Borivali.”Lot of these guys, we’ve played cricket together,” Rohit said. “But I’m very happy to see them, their progress in cricket. Last year, we saw them play in the MLC [Major League Cricket] as well, they’re going from strength to strength, and I can hope for nothing but the best for them. They’re hard-working guys making their mark here in US.”

Ahead of New Zealand tour, the high altitude and cold weather, and the pace, bounce and movement, offered conditions they are likely to face there

Madushka Balasuriya23-Feb-2023Sri Lanka’s cricketers and coaching staff provided a glowing endorsement of the country’s latest training facility in Radella, Nuwara Eliya, following a week-long training camp at the newly renovated ground.Located some 4000 feet above sea level, the Radella Cricket Ground – home to Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club – is among the most picturesque in the world; its immediate surroundings comprise the trademark greenery and mountainscapes of Sri Lanka’s hills, with waterfalls and tea estates aplenty, ready to greet those who venture further out.But more than the scenery, it was the conditions at the ground which most pleased those in attendance. Ahead of the team’s departure to New Zealand – where they will compete in two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is – the combination of high altitude and cold weather, along with the pace, bounce and movement present at Radella, offered the players as close a facsimile to the conditions they are likely to face in the coming month.Related

• Will Sri Lanka's perfect preparation reap rewards in New Zealand?

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“The wickets we’ve been playing on have been excellent,” Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood said on the sidelines of the training camp. “Decent pace, good bounce, little bit of movement, and obviously the climate has suited us as well as training at high altitude; very similar to what we may face in New Zealand.”The renovation work has been headed by Godrey Dabrera, Sri Lanka Cricket’s manager of international venues and facilities. Having started on the work towards the end of last year, Dabrera headed a 20-member team in relaying four centre-turf wickets as well as installing five practice wickets, all of which was completed in a span eight weeks.”The work that Godfrey and the team have done here has been absolutely fantastic, to get this place up and running, to give us the conditions and the facilities we have here,” Silverwood said. “They’ve done a great job in such a short period of time as well.”Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne echoed his coach’s thoughts, and was particularly pleased at his bowlers being afforded extra time to get used to colder climes.”I think the bowlers benefitted quite a bit. For the fast bowlers, it’s not like bowling in warm conditions; bowling in colder conditions is a little harder,” Karunaratne said. “Even for the spinners, gripping the ball can be difficult in a colder climate. So things like that were very useful. We also have a lot of young players in the squad who haven’t played in New Zealand, so this was a very useful experience.”Sri Lanka completed their training camp on Thursday, and will now head back to Colombo to continue their preparations. The tour of New Zealand begins with the first Test from March 9 in Christchurch.

“It’s a disappointing performance from day one in the position we were in at lunch time and from then on, we weren’t at our best.”

Mohammad Isam05-Jan-2022Tom Latham was left to rue two missed opportunities for his side after their eight-wicket loss to Bangladesh in Mount Maunganui. It was a spectacular win for the visitors, but just as unexpected was how the home team, which held a 17-match unbeaten home record before this game, capitulated, second-best in most departments.”It is obviously a disappointing performance from day one, in the position we were in at lunch time [66 for 1],” Latham said. “From then on, we certainly weren’t at our best. Losing six [five] for 70 on day two didn’t allow us to get to the 400-450 mark. Bangladesh showed exactly how to operate in the first innings. They put us under pressure. We tried to build partnerships in our second innings but couldn’t push the advantage.Related

• Ross Taylor: 'All good things have to come to an end'

• Miracle in Mount Maunganui (or how Bangladesh pulled off the mother of all upsets)

• Ebadot rips through New Zealand as Bangladesh complete historic win

“They showed it with the ball today. They were confident. They bowled really well. Full respect to them. They certainly outplayed us throughout the five days.”New Zealand’s 328 in the first innings was – before the second-innings 169 – their lowest total against Bangladesh at home, and the bowlers also couldn’t raise their game enough to swing the balance.”[It’s fair to wonder] whether we could have attacked the stumps a little bit more earlier on. But the ball was always swinging throughout the innings,” Latham said. “We haven’t played a lot of cricket here. It is not a huge amount of information, whether we could have gone a little bit straighter earlier.”They obviously played the short ball really well. They showed us the lengths we needed to bowl. They got enough out of the surface to trouble us.”New Zealand were almost at full-strength, regular captain Kane Williamson the only one missing out. And they chose to leave out Ajaz Patel, their best long-format spinner who recently became only the third bowler in history to complete a ten-wicket haul in an innings, against India in Mumbai.”It is hard to say [whether Ajaz should have been picked],” Latham said. “We give 100% backing to whoever goes out there in the XI. I thought Rachin (Ravindra) did a great job for us bowling into the wind. From that end, the surface didn’t necessarily spin a lot. I guess that’s the conversation in the future when we play here.”Latham also brushed aside the notion that New Zealand were weighed down by expectations after becoming world champions.”We know it is a new two-year cycle. What we did last time was outstanding. It was a pretty special time. The focus has quickly shifted to the two-year cycle here. We started over in India. This is the first Test of our home summer,” he said. “We are certainly not resting on [our laurels]. We know we have to turn up and play our brand of cricket. Unfortunately we didn’t quite do that.”We have a chance in a few days to put another good performance on the board.”

“We need to ensure only those who are really required to be with the players are part of the bubble”

PTI03-Sep-2020Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia on Thursday said the Covid-19 positive cases in the Chennai Super Kings contingent could have hit any of the eight franchises and wants only those people in the IPL bio-bubble who are “really required” to be with the players. Thirteen members of the CSK contingent, including two players, tested positive for the virus last week, raising safety concerns for the tournament taking place in the UAE amid the pandemic.”The CSK incident has taught us that it can happen to anyone even when the best of precautions are taken and therefore we must be more compliant and rigid on the bio-bubble protocols. We need to ensure only those who are really required to be with the players are part of the bubble,” Wadia told .The franchisees’ non-player and non-coaching staff includes team operations manager, and social media specialists. The cricketers are also required to spend time with the marketing staff during photo shoots which will be held closer to the IPL beginning September 19. The CEOs and owners, most of whom are yet to reach the UAE, are also allowed in the bio-bubble but any violation of the BCCI’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) will send them into a seven-day quarantine.”The number of staff outside of the teams and their support staff and the match officials should be limited to the absolute minimum,” the BCCI SOPs say.When asked if he would be travelling for the tournament, Wadia said: “I have not finalised my plans but I normally don’t interact a lot with the players. I have spoken to Anil Kumble (head coach) twice so far just to check what is going on. I am very comfortable interacting on Zoom and other [online communication platforms].”Wadia asserted that there is nothing to worry about in the wake of developments at Super Kings as positive cases have also been found in major European football leagues on resumption. Even NBA players have tested positive.”The BCCI has put internationally established protocols in place,” Wadia said. “If you look at the football leagues, there were cases in the beginning and the highest of precautions were taken. There are so many variables [in the current situation]. I don’t think people need to worry at all. Things will get better and smoother as we go forward.”The teams will have to cope with a financial hit as their share from the BCCI central revenue pool stands reduced after new title sponsor Dream11 paid nearly half (INR 222 crore) of what Vivo was paying. The teams will also lose out on the gate money with the tournament held overseas and in front of empty stadiums. Delhi Capitals chairman Parth Jindal has predicted a 30% drop in teams’ revenues in case the BCCI doesn’t compensate them.Wadia said his team too is seeking compensation from the board but he also chose to look at the brighter side.”Every problem is an opportunity for someone else. So now everyone (potential sponsors) is trying to take advantage of the situation,” Wadia said. “We do hope that BCCI compensates in some form or manner. Be it this year or next year for the hit we are taking. But I would rather look at glass half full than half empty. At the least, the IPL is happening after all that we have gone through this year.”

Ashantha de Mel was appointed as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup and had clashed earlier with the coach over selection choices

Madushka Balasuriya02-May-2019Sri Lanka Cricket believes that coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Ashantha de Mel will have no issues working together in the Sri Lankan dressing room, after the pair is said to have “thrashed things out” prior to the latter’s appointment as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup starting at the end of this month. Since de Mel took the reins as chief selector ahead of Sri Lanka’s tour to New Zealand, the pair had clashed over several selection choices – most notably the exclusion of Dinesh Chandimal and Lasith Malinga’s captaincy.

Other decisions taken by SLC’s executive committee

• Chandima Mapatuna appointed as the logistic manager of the team for the World Cup. Mapatuna, who is also the head of international cricket of SLC, will travel with the team for the World Cup

• In the wake of recent tragic incidents in the country, SLC will take additional measures to strengthen the security of the team at the World Cup. SLC is working on it in consultation with the Ministry of Sports and the ICC

• Roy Dias appointed as coach of the ‘A’ team for the upcoming tour of India, in May, while Chaminda Mendis has been appointed as team manager. Mendis will also continue to function as a national selector

• Avishka Gunawardena appointed coach of the emerging team for the tour of South Africa, in June. Hemantha Wickramaratne appointed team manager and will continue to function as a national selector

• SLC has decided to donate Rs. 2 million to the Relief Effort Fund set up by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith The Arch Bishop of Colombo, to support the victims of the affected areas and parishes following multiple attacks on Easter Sunday

“Before the appointment we got the both of them together to talk things through,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “They eventually thrashed things out and now we’re very confident that they’ll work quite well together.”De Mel’s appointment, which was rubber-stamped by SLC at an executive committee meeting on April 30, had been mooted for some time, but speculation had been rife over whether he and Hathurusingha would be able to get along over the course of the six-week tournament.It was a spat with the new selection committee that culminated in Hathurusingha being removed from the role of selector-on-tour in February. And since then Hathurusingha’s job security has only become more tenuous.In March, he was given “a break” during Sri Lanka’s T20I series against South Africa after rumours surfaced of him having fallen out with certain players and staff. The situation was so dire that SLC CEO Ashley de Silva flew over personally to hold crisis talks, following which Hathurusingha returned to the island for further mediation. During this period, there were also reports of SLC seeking legal advice over possible options with regard to prematurely terminating Hathurusingha’s contract which will only run out in 2020.However, following clear-the-air talks with the board, Hathurusingha is understood to have agreed to rein in his methods as a “total dictator”, much of which de Silva believes had manifested during the course of the nine-month SLC power vacuum, when the governing body was run by a sports ministry-appointed competent authority.”We were in two minds whether to discontinue him or not,” de Silva said. “We needed to know if he was amenable to our way of thinking and whether he would change his attitude. Because to be quite honest, he had become a total dictator after we left, and that’s also one of the reasons that the selectors were gunning for him.”But he has now promised to toe the line with the administrators and the selectors, because to be honest his thinking in terms of the national team has been good, although the results haven’t followed unfortunately.”Sri Lanka will begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Cardiff on June 1.

Amitabh Choudhary has claimed that the Committee of Administrators (CoA) left the board’s office-bearers out of the decision-making process

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Mar-2018The BCCI’s freshly unveiled player contracts face the danger of being put on hold with Amitabh Choudhary, the board’s acting secretary, challenging the decision that was approved by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). Choudhary has accused the CoA of breaking the law and is now planning to approach the court for intervention on the matter.Choudhary has said none of the board’s three top office-bearers, including him, was consulted or appraised during the negotiating process with the players. A list of 26 players were awarded four different types of contracts, including the newly introduced A+ category for five high-performing players who represent India in all three formats.That list was drawn up by the three-man selection panel headed by former India wicketkeeper MSK Prasad. However, Choudhary claimed that despite being the convener of the selection panel, he was not privy to the players’ list. “I was not a part of any decision-making process,” Choudhary told ESPNcricinfo. “As far as I know none from the BCCI (office-bearers) was part of the process. I am the convener of the national selection committee. I confirm there was no meeting of the selection panel on the subject.”Choudhary said the CoA had “broken the law” and that he would bring it “to the knowledge” of the court. “On such a major national issue, where I legally would have been the cutting edge, the interface, and if I don’t have a clue, I cannot keep waiting for the time when I will file an affidavit because it would lead to a lot of damage.”However, the CoA chairman Vinod Rai has countered Choudhary’s allegation saying the office-bearers were kept in the loop considering the recommendations on the new contracts structure was sent to the BCCI finance committee as early as last September. Rai said no one in the finance committee, which is headed by Jyotiraditya Scindia and includes the BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry, responded even once. “The finance committee has not even deliberated once for the past five months,” Rai said.Rai said it was “unfair” to keep postponing awarding the contracts to the players especially since they could not be insured otherwise. “Players have been playing since last October without any contract. The bigger issue was without the contracts the BCCI could not insure them.”Critics of the CoA in the BCCI say Rai is using the issue of insurance merely as a “ploy”. One BCCI official challenged the CoA to show any communication to the finance committee because the office-bearers were not aware of any such.According to Choudhary, any decision involving finances ought to be taken by the BCCI’s general body, namely the working committee, which has not met for several months now. Rai agreed that as per rules, issues such as player contracts are first worked out by the board’s finance committee which passes a resolution, which then gets ratified at the board’s annual general meeting.However, with the BCCI and the majority of the state associations – the board members – failing to implement the Lodha Committee recommendations as mandated by the court, the CoA has barred the AGM. “Yes, but the finance committee should have cleared it and the SGM met twice last year, but they did not do anything,” Rai said.

David Warner’s bumper ODI run helped him win a second successive Allan Border Medal while Mitchell Starc became the first bowler in nine years to claim the Test Player of the Year award

Daniel Brettig23-Jan-20172:39

What was your highlight of the year?

David Warner’s enormous improvement as an ODI batsman has lifted him to a second consecutive Allan Border Medal, on a night when Mitchell Starc’s outstanding spells in Sri Lanka and resilience against South Africa and Pakistan helped him to his first Test Player of the Year award.Though the medal provides a weighting that favours Test displays over those in other formats, Warner’s success was built upon a prolific voting period in ODIs, long thought to be his weakest format. He coshed no fewer than seven centuries in eligible limited-overs matches, helping Australia to series wins in the Caribbean and Sri Lanka in addition to their consistent success on home soil.

Allan Border Medal votes, top 10

David Warner 269
Steven Smith 248
Mitchell Starc 197
Josh Hazlewood 153
Mitchell Marsh 142
Usman Khawaja 122
John Hastings 101
Aaron Finch 94
George Bailey 93
Adam Zampa 77

This season Warner also put the capstone on a Test summer that started poorly but ended strongly with a pair of sublime hundreds against Pakistan in Melbourne and Sydney. The first bought time for the hosts to force a result in a rain-blighted Boxing Day Test, the second a scorching affair before lunch on day one of the New Year’s match.However, Warner’s away record remains a considerable blindspot, as an overall Test average of 38.53 and four centuries attests, as opposed to 59.21 at home with 14 centuries. During five Tests on the road in New Zealand and Sri Lanka, Warner polled in only one Test; SSC was coincidentally the only match in which he passed 50.The need for Warner to do more away from home is something his captain Steven Smith noted in an interview with ESPNcricinfo this week. Smith’s own displays were more consistent in Test matches, but he was beaten into second place for the Test award by Starc.This was a tremendous achievement given that he did not take any part in the series in New Zealand that began the year. However a magnificent lone hand in Sri Lanka, where he plucked 28 wickets in three Tests when no other player truly enhanced his reputation, was backed up by sterling efforts against South Africa and Pakistan.David Warner was also named Australia’s ODI Player of the Year•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Those arrived despite Starc being heavily inconvenienced by a deep cut to the leg sustained in a training accident, ironically when he had been rested from the ODI series in South Africa. Starc was the first bowler in nine years to win the Test award; it is a fact of the way Cricket Australia’s medical staff feel compelled to manage the workloads of fast bowlers that such garlands will invariably be more common for batsmen like Warner.Earlier this season Shane Watson had been conveyed around the SCG for a lap of honour to recognise his international retirement. But his earlier performances in a year when Australia once again disappointed in the World Twenty20 tournament, held in India, allowed Watson to round off his days in Australian colours with the T20 award – his third overall.The night was also marked by Hall of Fame inductions for David Boon, Matthew Hayden and the late Betty Wilson. Boon’s address was perhaps the evening’s emotional high point. Having conflicted a tough-as-teak highlights reel by contending he is actually “soft as butter”, Boon did indeed tear up as he acknowledged his fellow players, the former national team coach Bob Simpson, and his wife Pip.Hayden spoke with equal feeling of his family and team-mates, and also exhorted the present players in the room to push themselves on the looming tour of India, the venue where he memorably made a Test spot his own in 2001. “My great challenge to this current group of players,” he said, “is to ensure every day you’re trying to get a little bit better because you’re going to have a lot of tough days.”

Melbourne Stars cruise to their first win of the season after fifties from Glenn Maxwell and Peter Handscomb help them win by five wickets

The report by Daniel Brettig27-Dec-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGlenn Maxwell’s 83-run stand with Peter Handscomb in just 10.2 overs converted Melbourne Stars’ chase into a cruise•Getty Images

Glenn Maxwell was at the forefront as the Melbourne Stars brushed aside the Sydney Sixers at the SCG to demonstrate how the balance of BBL power appears to be shifting.The Stars had been vanquished at the MCG by the Sydney Thunder, for so long the tournament underachievers. But they proved far too powerful for the Sixers who, without a major innings from either Brad Haddin or Nic Maddinson, were unable to set a challenging target for the visitors.There was irony as the Sixers were tied in knots by the spin triangle of Michael Beer, Adam Zampa and Maxwell, exactly the strategy they favoured themselves against at the SCG. But without Nathan Lyon’s wiles due to his Test match duties in Melbourne, the Sydney spin collective was second best, though Steve O’Keefe did not bowl badly upfront for the hosts.Any chances of the Sixers defending their mediocre 139 was snuffed out by Maxwell, who played with invention and power but also a degree of restraint while partnering Peter Handscomb. Their stand of c was exactly what the situation required.Having lost twice against Adelaide Strikers and the Thunder to commence the competition, the Stars needed a win, and Maxwell’s all-round contribution played large part in achieving it. He has ambitions to play Tests for Australia, but of more pressing responsibility is to play a dominant role in the national team’s tilt at a first World Twenty20 title in India early next year.In addition to defeat, the Sixers also had to cope with injury to Moises Henriques, who was forced to retire hurt with a calf injury just when his side were hoping to lift off. The apparent recurrence of a problem that Henriques battled in November had the Sixers captain holding his hand to his head as he was conveyed from the ground on a motorised stretcher.That injury may yet keep Henriques out of the remainder of the BBL. As importantly it is another blow to the formerly dominant Sydney T20 team – the Thunder are giving them a run for the domestic dollar this summer.

A half-century and three wickets for Mark Wood, from Ashington, put Durham on course for their second win of the season at Trent Bridge

George Dobell at Trent Bridge01-May-2013
ScorecardMark Wood has played all his Championship matches at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

There was a time when a match-turning contribution from an Ashington fast bowler was commonplace at Durham. Though with Steve Harmison’s decline, such days have been had been consigned to the past.But here Mark Wood, playing only his third Championship match – coincidentally, all have been at Trent Bridge – followed a career-best performance with the bat with a spell of 3 for 11 in 22, with all of his scalps a Test batsman. Describing himself as “a family friend” of Harmison and a product of the same Ashington club, Wood has the rare gift of pace that earmark him as a cricketer of rich potential.He can bat, too. He defines himself as a bowling allrounder but, earlier in the day, reached his maiden Championship 50 with a pulled six and dominated a last-wicket stand of 71 in only 12.2 overs with Graham Onions. It was a partnership that not only extended Durham’s lead to 151 but may well have had a deflating effect on Nottinghamshire’s morale.But on a wicket that has, at times, appeared painfully flat – the return of the heavy roller is far from universally popular among county spectators – it was Wood’s incisive bowling that may have had the greatest impact. Wood, by some distance the sharpest bowler on display in this match, belied the easy-paced surface to persuade Ed Cowan to nibble one angled across him, trap James Taylor attempting to play a straight one through square leg, and then, most impressively, have Samit Patel caught off the glove as he tried to deal with a bouncer. It was a spell that cut through the Nottinghamshire top order and provided Durham with an excellent opportunity to claim their second win of the season. Nottinghamshire resume on the final day with half their second-innings batting dismissed and still trailing by six runs.Such was Wood’s contribution, he could well be forgiven for questioning why he has not played more regularly. On his last appearance, here last August, he claimed 5 for 78 to help his team to a 16-run victory, but then found himself dropped for the next game.”I’m pleased to be here,” Wood said afterwards with a smile. “It seems to be the only place a get a game. Of course I was disappointed to be dropped last year. But I understood the reasons. We have a good attack who had done really well so when Ben Stokes came back I missed out. Hopefully this time, if I get a couple more wickets, I can make my case even stronger.”Wood was quick to admit he was building on foundations laid by Will Smith. Smith, who batted for 505 minutes for his 153, blunted the attack at their freshest and the pitch at its most helpful to establish a platform from which the lower-order could build. It paid a higher dividend than even he can have hoped, though, when the last five Durham wickets added 323 runs to the total. He finally fell, caught at mid-on, after he attempted to whip Patel’s left-arm spin through midwicket.”Smith has been the difference between the sides,” Wood said. “And he’s the reason we’re the favourites in this game. He showed great concentration and the work he did made it much easier for me.”While Wood led the way in the last-wicket stand, punching Patel for one lovely four through mid-on and carving Graeme Swann over extra cover for another, Onions also played his part. He thumped one back past Stuart Broad and drove Swann square as Durham kept Nottinghamshire in the field for 157.3 energy-sapping overs.But it is Wood’s bowling that may, in time, be of interest to the national selectors. He is not particularly tall or strong-looking but, from a short, straight run with an unusual start – a pronounced push off his back leg which, he says, is a technique learned from sprinters – he generates impressive, skiddy pace. He can reverse swing the ball, too, and showed an encouraging cricketing brain when talking about his wickets.”We had just got the ball reversing when Cowan edged that one that left him,” he explained. “With Taylor, we put the man behind square for the pull and, when we had him expecting the short ball, I pitched it up. And then with Samit, I hid the ball so he couldn’t tell which way it was going to swing and then surprised him by bowling a bouncer.”Gareth Breese, who had already contributed a useful 44, followed up with the wicket of Steven Mullaney – surely the only cricketer with Hooters as a bat sponsor – sharply caught off a fine arm ball, while earlier Alex Hales, back when he should have been forward, lost his middle stump.Michael Lumb, timing his drives sweetly on either side of the wicket, remains and looks in good touch, but he has a great deal of work ahead of him if Nottinghamshire are to salvage a draw from this game.At least Nottinghamshire had encouraging news of their England players. Broad bowled with increased pace and purpose on the third day. He finished with his third successive four-wicket haul in successive innings and would not have been flattered by a fifth. Just as importantly, he reported no adverse reaction to his 31 overs and confirmed that he would take a full part, with bat, with ball and in the field, in the remainder of the game.Swann came through unscathed, too. While he finished without a wicket, he did see two chances go down off his bowling – he was the guilty party on one occasion – and was the most economical of the Nottinghamshire bowlers. Perhaps there were a couple more full tosses than we are used to but, bearing in mind it was his first bowl in competitive cricket since the elbow operation, this was a pleasing return.

Chris Gayle and the WICB have reached an understanding that paves the way for the former West Indies captain to return to the national team as early as the upcoming tour of England, Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) has reported

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2012Chris Gayle and the WICB have reached an understanding that paves the way for the former West Indies captain to return to the national team as early as the upcoming tour of England, Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) has reported. However, the deal’s success will be tested by an ongoing lawsuit – to which Gayle is a party – between the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and the board. Gayle hasn’t played for West Indies since the 2011 World Cup.The agreement between Gayle and the WICB was brokered by CARICOM (the Caribbean Community) and had the involvement of St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. According to the report, a meeting will be convened between the two parties to “tidy up residual matters” after both parties expressed regret for their actions. “In the light of all of this, the WICB and Mr Gayle agree that the way is now clear for his active return to West Indies cricket, subject to all necessary fitness considerations,” the report quoted from the agreement. “A date is to be set for this meeting, convenient to all parties, including Mr Gayle who is currently in India,” Baldwin Spencer, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and the chairman of the Prime Ministerial sub-committee of cricket was quoted as saying.Gayle has reportedly said he will be unavailable for West Indies duty for the entire duration of the IPL, which ends on May 27. West Indies are due to tour England for a full series between May 5 and June 24 and Gayle’s participation in the IPL means he will miss the Test series. However, he was prepared to forego his contract with Somerset and play for West Indies in the one-day and Twenty20 games on that tour. He also said he was available for the World Twenty20 this year and that he was not seeking to “cherry pick” the series he played.In a statement dated March 29, the board said it was “disappointed” over Gayle’s unavailability during the IPL but in the “spirit of compromise and subject to agreement being reached on all outstanding residual matters” it would convey Gayle’s unavailability to the selectors.The board hoped Gayle would drop the lawsuit concerning No-Objection Certificates filed by the WIPA against it, though Gayle, in a statement last week, said he could not “possibly contemplate withdrawing unilaterally from proceedings”, especially when such a move would affect all West Indies players. The board, though, has since written to Prime Minister Gonsalves, arguing that Gayle’s participation in the lawsuit was not consistent with the agreement reached with the board.It also questioned why Gayle could not withdraw from the lawsuit unilaterally. “As the lawsuit was started by WIPA without him, and his claims are set out separately, we do not understand why Mr Gayle says he cannot contemplate withdrawing from the lawsuit without WIPA.”Our efforts must surely be focussed on bringing about the resolution of all outstanding matters between the Board and Mr Gayle.”