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Shane Watson has stood down as Australia’s vice-captain across all formats, declaring that he wants to focus his attention on his own performance

Brydon Coverdale20-Apr-2013Shane Watson has stood down as Australia’s vice-captain across all formats three months out from the Ashes, declaring that he wants to focus his attention on his own performance. Watson’s role as Michael Clarke’s deputy was the subject of significant public debate during the recent Test tour to India when he was one of four players suspended for a match for failing to complete a task set by the coach Mickey Arthur.Later the same day, Watson flew to Sydney for the birth of his first child and while checking out of the team hotel said he would use his time at home to weigh up his cricketing future. However, a few days later Watson committed himself to the team in the long term and rejoined the squad in Delhi, where he captained Australia in the fourth Test when Clarke was unavailable due to his back injury.But during that match, Watson’s disappointing run of batting form continued and he finished the tour with 99 runs at an average of 16.50, a miserable return given that he had chosen to embark on the trip as a batsman only. Watson has not scored a Test century since October 2010 and since becoming vice-captain in 2011 he has managed only 627 Test runs at 24.11.”Making the decision to step down wasn’t easy but it’s something I’ve been thinking about since the Test series against India ended,” Watson said. “I think it’s the right time for a change for both the team and me. I’ll be honest and admit I wrestled with the decision for some time, however once I made up my mind, I informed Cricket Australia so the selectors could consider their options for the Ashes given the squads will be announced soon.”I want to be the best Test player I can be for Australia and think I can do that by stepping down from the vice-captaincy to focus my attention on scoring runs, taking wickets and doing whatever is necessary to help the team achieve success. I won’t be the vice-captain in title but I think I can still be a leader and strong contributor around the group.”Yesterday I rang John Inverarity, Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke to advise them of my decision and they respect that decision and agree with me that this is the best outcome for me and the team. I thank Cricket Australia for the leadership opportunity over the past two years and I’m really looking forward to this next phase. In my conversations with Mickey and Michael I reaffirmed my commitment to the team and support for them as we fight to win back the Ashes and get back to being ranked number one in the world.”John Inverarity, the national selector, said: “Shane Watson should be commended for making the tough call to step down from the vice-captaincy to focus on playing. Regardless, he will still be an important senior leader within the team. The national selection panel will now consider and then put a vice-captaincy recommendation to the Cricket Australia Board for its approval.”Watson was named vice-captain to Clarke in March 2011 after Ricky Ponting stood down as the team’s leader. He filled in as Australia’s captain in nine one-day internationals for five victories as well as leading in the Delhi Test.

ESPNcricinfo previews the match between Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran11-Apr-2013

Match facts

Friday, April 12, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Welcome back: Virender Sehwag’s return will boost Delhi Daredevils•AFP

Big Picture

Before the IPL began, if a poll was taken to predict which team would lose its first three matches, Delhi Daredevils wouldn’t have got many votes. Despite the loss of Kevin Pietersen and Ross Taylor, the table-toppers from the previous season seemed to have enough firepower in the line-up. The absence of their spearhead Morne Morkel, busy with the domestic competition in South Africa, and Virender Sehwag, who was struggling with a bad back, set them back further. Morkel returned for the previous match but couldn’t stop Mumbai Indians’ marauding batsmen.As they look to snap their losing streak, Daredevils will be boosted by the return of Sehwag, which means they will be able to field a full-strength line-up (among players available for this season) for the first time. What will also encourage them will be the fact that they are up against Sunrisers Hyderabad, generally regarded as one of the weaker teams in the competition despite their two wins from the first three matches.Sunrisers have begun surprisingly well, largely on the back of a formidable bowling unit. Dale Steyn continues to show why he’s the premier bowler in world cricket, Amit Mishra continues to show why he has been such a success in the IPL over the past six seasons, Thisara Perera has sparkled with both bat and ball, and even Ishant Sharma, usually not the most reliable of bowlers in limited-overs, has been tidy. Their batting isn’t exactly fear-inducing though, with several little-knowns who are unlikely to be consistent match-winners.

Watch out for …

Daredevils’ spin attack: One of the big weaknesses in Daredevils’ squad last season was the lack of experienced spinners. They tried to address that by recruiting South Africa’s Johan Botha and Sri Lanka’s Jeevan Mendis, both of whom can bat as well. Neither of them have impressed in the chances they got so far. Will they turn to another overseas allrounder, Roelof van der Merwe, to partner Shahbaz Nadeem or will they give 20-year-old left-arm spinner Pawan Negi a go?Kumar Sangakkara: In the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Sunrisers’ batting is heavily dependent on their foreign stars. While Perera and Cameron White have contributed, their captain Sangakkara hasn’t yet hit his stride. Given the limited number of game-changing batsmen in the line-up, Sunrisers need a big innings from Sangakkara soon.

Stats and trivia

• With 45 wickets for Daredevils, Morne Morkel is just one wicket behind Amit Mishra, the leading wicket-taker for the franchise
• Thisara is among the most nomadic of IPL players, having represented four different franchises in four seasons: he began with Chennai Super Kings in 2010, moved to Kochi Tuskers in 2011, switched to Mumbai Indians in 2012 and is currently with Sunrisers
• Over the past week, Sangakkara became the second wicketkeeper, after Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal, to complete 100 dismissals in Twenty20s

Quotes

“Viru (Sehwag) is improving, he is getting better with every passing day. But we will take a decision on him only tomorrow. There is still 24 hours for the match, so there is plenty of time for him to be fully fit.”

Middlesex slip to heavy defeat despite Jack Davies’ debut half-century

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2021Alastair Cook and Tom Westley crashed big half-centuries as Essex crushed Middlesex by nine wickets in the Royal London Cup.England legend Cook clocked his 48th List A fifty to end 92 not out while Eagles captain Westley returned an unbeaten 87, the pair putting on 159 together.Essex were only chasing 212 after Shane Snater’s 3 for 45 and two-fors for Simon Harmer and Ryan ten Doeschate, and completed a comprehensive victory with 11 overs to spare to maintain their 100 per cent record in the competition.Westley won the toss and restricted Middlesex to a below-par 212, with runs not flowing particularly freely on a green-tinged wicket under thick grey clouds.Sam Robson was the exception to the rule has he stroked 18 in nine balls before he was strangled down the leg-side by Snater. Joe Cracknell was leg-before to Snater and Australian Peter Handscomb was excellently snaffled at first slip by Cook as the visitors slumped to 31 for 3.Middlesex then produced their two, much needed, partnerships of note as Max Holden and Robbie White added 49 before Holden top-edged a sweep to the short boundary and was replaced by Jack Davies, who put on 67 with White.Related

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Neither White nor Davies scored at any great speed but ticked along, the former falling for 47 lbw to Paul Walter, while List A debutant Davies reached his half-century in 67 balls.Middlesex lost their last five wickets for 39 runs as Luke Hollman was lbw to Westley, James Harris chipped straight back to Harmer, Thilan Walallawita edged ten Doeschate behind and then the Dutchman produced cat-like reactions to pouch a return from Davies. Snater ended up at the top of the wicket pile, returning 3 for 45, as Ethan Bamber pulled into the leg side to end the innings.Essex’s chase looked in little doubt from the moment Will Buttleman cut Walallawita to the boundary with the fourth ball. Cook looked in sumptuous form with pure timing trumping outright power. An on-drive through midwicket, a straight drive and a push through the off side typified his style and got him motoring.Buttleman flicked straight to Robson at short midwicket, having put on 54, with Cook in a rare batting misjudgement from the hosts.
Cook reached his 20th format fifty for Essex in 60 balls with a flick off his legs, with Westley unfurling some glorious stroke play as the duo reached a century partnership in 118 deliveries.Westley moved to his half-century in 59 balls before threatening to overtake his experienced partner, and eventually preventing him from reaching three figures.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided not to continue with Inzamam-ul-Haq as the team’s batting consultant for the tour of South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2013The PCB has decided not to continue with Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan batsman, as the team’s batting consultant for the tour of South Africa for which the team departed on Sunday morning. Inzamam was supposed to travel for the tour but ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB did not approach him.Inzamam was appointed for the role just before the team’s short limited-overs tour of India. He helped the team prepare for the tour but did not travel to India with them due to his commitments with a TV channel. However, he was committed to go to South Africa. Even though there was no written agreement between the PCB and Inzamam over covering the South Africa series, both had an understanding to carry out the deal.”We have engaged the services of Inzamam ahead of the India tour,” PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf had said last month on appointing Inzamam. “He won’t travel to India with the team but will help the batsmen in the camp as batting consultant. He will be part of the touring unit that goes next year to South Africa.”The PCB had planned to recruit a specialist coaches with separate people taking charge of batting, bowling and fielding, but gave head coach Dav Whatmore the additional responsibility of a batting coach. The idea was then shelved and the PCB opted to go series-by-series instead of appointing a full-time batting coach.Pakistan will play three Tests, two Twenty20s and five ODIs in South Africa during their two-month tour, starting with a tour match between Pakistan XI and South African Invitation XI at Buffalo Park, East London from January 25 to 28.

Also says Ravindra Jadeja is “looking good” at training on return from his thumb injury

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2021MS Dhoni is likely to remain part of the Chennai Super Kings set-up at IPL 2022, according to the franchise’s CEO, Kasi Viswanathan. Viswanathan also confirmed that allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who left India’s tour of Australia early with a broken thumb and hasn’t played since then, is “looking good”.”I don’t think it is going to be his final year. This is my personal view and I don’t think we are looking at anybody now,” Viswanathan told the .This is not the first time Viswanathan has come out with such a statement. With doubts over Dhoni’s future in the game swirling ever since the end of the 2019 World Cup, he had said last August, “We can expect MS Dhoni to be part of both [IPL 2020 and 2021] and probably for even the next year – 2022.”Four days later, Dhoni retired from international cricket, and the Super Kings went on to have a woeful run at the 2020 IPL, finishing seventh out of eight teams in the UAE. Dhoni himself managed only 200 runs from 12 innings at a strike rate of 116.27 in the tournament. Questions of a complete overhaul of the Super Kings set-up naturally followed, prompting the question to be put to Viswanathan.On the topic of Jadeja, who had fractured his left thumb during India’s epic draw in the New Year’s Test in Sydney, Viswanathan said that while he might not have played cricket since that game, he has been training with the team and they are hopeful of him being fully match fit for their opening game, against Delhi Capitals on April 10. “See, Jadeja has been cleared [to play] by the NCA [National Cricket Academy],” he said. “He has joined our team for practice. He is looking good. He is working hard. And we are hoping that he will be fully fit by the time the IPL starts.”Viswanathan also said the Super Kings’ decision to pick Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara at the auction – his first IPL gig since 2014 – was partly down to wanting to “honour him” following his fine showing in Australia, but also because of his “calibre” as a batsman. The bid – at his base price of INR 50 lakh (USD 69,000 approx.) – drew attention given the tempo and style of his batting: his T20 strike rate stands at 109.35.”We also wanted to honour him, that’s for sure. But at the same time, I can tell you one thing, a person of his calibre with such good technique, he can adapt to any format,” Viswanathan said. “That is our view. He can be a player who can contribute a lot to CSK. That’s what we felt and that is the reason why we picked him.”He will certainly have a role to play, but I cannot say whether he will play the first game or the second game.”The Super Kings’ top officials throwing their weight behind Dhoni is not new. Last year, N Srinivasan, the vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements, owners of the Super Kings, had also indicated that Dhoni would be retained at the next mega auction, at the time scheduled for the lead-up to the 2021 edition. As part of the fallout of the pandemic, that has now been postponed by a year, and it remains to be seen whether Srinivasan’s opinion stands then.

Allrounder in line for first Durham appearance since 2018 after finger injury

Matt Roller07-Jun-2021Ben Stokes is set to play his first T20 Blast game for nearly three years next week when he makes his comeback from the finger injury he suffered in the IPL.The early stages of the Blast, which begins on Wednesday, will see a number of England players including Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid make their first appearances in the competition for several years, and Stokes – who last played in Durham’s quarter-final defeat to Sussex in 2018 – is among them.Stokes’ injury had initially been expected to keep him out of action for up to 12 weeks, or early July, but his recovery from surgery has been smooth. “I’m able to bowl, I’m able to get in the gym and I’m able to hit some balls again,” Stokes wrote in his column last week. “I’m at an exciting point of my recovery where full-on training is not that far away and then I can start thinking about playing in a match again.”Details of Stokes’ comeback are yet to be confirmed by the ECB and he could target one of the back-to-back 2nd XI T20s against Lancashire on June 14, but Durham have four fixtures in the Blast from June 15-20 and he is likely to return in one of them.England are due to name a squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka later this week, with the group scheduled to meet up on June 19 ahead of the first T20I in Cardiff on June 23. Eoin Morgan suggested in March that he was expecting to be without England’s multi-format players during this summer’s white-ball series, but their unavailability for the ongoing New Zealand Tests following the IPL could yet see them named in this squad.Players selected for the white-ball squads and not involved in the squad for the second New Zealand Test will be available to appear in up to six rounds of the Blast, depending on their respective teams’ fixture lists. That means Buttler and Stokes are both likely to play more games in the Blast than in the Hundred this summer, with England’s Test players set to play a maximum of three group games and the knockout stages in the new 100-ball competition.Related

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Buttler – whose last appearance for Lancashire in any format was on Finals Day in 2018 – is set to play the first of his six games on Wednesday afternoon against Derbyshire, in a strong Lancashire side that will also feature Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Saqib Mahmood and New Zealand’s Finn Allen.Bairstow and Rashid will play their first T20s for Yorkshire since 2016 and 2018 respectively and are set to be available for up to five fixtures, while Dawid Malan and Joe Root will also be partially available. “It’s been a while since I’ve played for Yorkshire because of injury, availability, Covid, all that sort of stuff,” Rashid said. “But I’m definitely looking forward to it: it’s always a privilege to play for Yorkshire, where I was born and bred.”Chris Woakes, whose last Blast match was in 2018, is also due to appear for Birmingham Bears after he gets through games for the 2nd XI on Monday and Wednesday. Moeen Ali’s last match in the Blast was the 2019 final: he missed the whole of Worcestershire’s 2020 season while on England duty, but has been warming up for the Blast by playing for their 2nd XI.Chris Jordan has returned to the UK from Barbados and will play for Sussex this week, but the group stages are likely to come too soon for Jofra Archer as he continues a period of “intensive rehabilitation” following elbow surgery. Morgan himself is due to be available to captain Middlesex in the early stages of their season following a break from the game after the IPL.Jason Roy, Sam Curran and Tom Curran will all be available for Surrey’s opening fixtures. Roy made five Blast appearances last summer, but the Currans have not played since 2019. They were due to play their first unofficial games since the IPL’s postponement on Friday, but rain washed out a planned intra-squad friendly at The Oval.

Friday will be a busy day at the Cricket Centre – the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai – with a host of meetings lined up

Amol Karhadkar14-Mar-2013Friday will be a busy day at the Cricket Centre – the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai – with a host of meetings lined up. The most important will be the working committee meeting to discuss the income tax department’s recent notice, and there will also be an IPL-centric conference.The tax authorities had slapped a Rs 2300 crore notice (approx. $433m) on the Indian board following a change in the BCCI’s objectives. As a result, the income tax department has not only demanded tax from the income generated through commercial properties, primarily the IPL, but they have also demanded taxes from the affiliated units of the BCCI for the share of IPL profits distributed among them.Following the notice, the BCCI in its working meeting on February 4 in Chennai, had formed a committee headed by treasurer Ajay Shirke to suggest the plan of action. With the financial year set to end on March 31, the deadline for the income tax notice, Shirke and his committee will present their suggestions to the working committee, which will then decide the course of action.Meanwhile, Friday is also likely to see the end of suspense over the venue for Pune Warriors’ home games. With the Sahara Group, owners of the franchise, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association, the staging association, involved in a legal dispute over the title rights of the stadium on the outskirts of Pune, Sahara have been reluctant to play their home games in Pune. With the sixth edition of the IPL set to get underway in less than three weeks from now, time is running out for the
IPL top brass.The IPL authorities are also likely finalise associate sponsors for the next five years. While Hero MotoCorp Ltd, who were associated with the tournament for the first five years, have announced their decision not to continue their association with the T20 extravaganza in the same manner,
the IPL executives are hoping for at least five slots to be finalised.

The Pakistan Super League is set to be the latest money-spinning Twenty20 competition but English players have again be warned against participating by the player’s union

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2013The Pakistan Super League is set to become the latest money-spinning Twenty20 competition but English players have again be warned against participating.The PSL is scheduled to be launched on March 26 and could be worth more than $100 million according to organisers but the Professional Cricketers Association, England’s players’ union, is reported to have “grave concerns” about security in Pakistan. It has contacted each county asking them to refuse to issue No Objection Certificates – which would deny players permission to take part.”Our advice is that players should not take part in the PSL,” PCA chief executive, Angus Porter, told the “I’m certain England will not issue No Objection Certificates to their centrally contracted players.”The PCA also expressed apprehension over the Bangladesh Premier League but several English players have been involved in the first two editions. Worries over payment guarantees haven’t deterred the likes of Joe Denly, the Middlesex batsman, who had his county’s backing to take up an offer to join Barisal Burners earlier in the week. Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah and Phil Mustard are among other English players at the BPL.But counties have been less inclined to allow their players permission to play in the IPL, which clashes with the start of the English season. Alex Hales, Michael Lumb and Samit Patel were all told by Nottinghamshire they could not take part if they were bought by a franchise. Monty Panesar does have permission to enter the player auction from Sussex.

Former England offspinner confirms end to 24-year playing career

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2021Gareth Batty, the former England offspinner, has called time on a playing career spanning 24 years and will take up a position as assistant coach at Surrey.Batty, who will be 44 this month, captained Surrey in T20 cricket over the last two seasons, but confirmed his retirement at the club’s end-of-season awards evening. In two spells at the club, he played 377 matches and took 534 wickets. He finishes as Surrey’s joint-leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket, alongside the also departing Jade Dernbach, with 114.He also spent eight successful seasons at Worcestershire, claiming almost 500 wickets across the formats. It was while at Worcestershire that he first won recognition with England, making his ODI debut on the 2002-03 Ashes tour and playing the first of nine Tests in Dhaka the following winter.Related

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In 2016, at the age of 39, he won a remarkable England recall for the Test tours of Bangladesh and India, playing in Chattogram and Mohali after 11 years out of the side.Batty had already begun coaching on a part-time basis with Surrey, working with the club’s young spinners, Amar Virdi, Dan Moriarty and Will Jacks, and will now move on to the backroom staff, under director of cricket Alec Stewart and head coach Vikram Solanki.”It’s been a privilege to have played the professional game for more than 20 years,” Batty said. “I never took a moment of it for granted and I know how fortunate I am to have represented the teams I have.”I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has been involved in a highly enjoyable career: team-mates, coaches, family, friends and fans. I’m now excited to start a new career at this great club and looking forward to all the challenges and opportunities that will bring.”Having made his first-class debut with Yorkshire in 1997, Batty moved down to Surrey and then on to Worcestershire, before returning to the London club in 2009. He was Surrey’s club captain between 2015 and 2017, during which time they were promoted back to Division One of the Championship, ahead of a successful tilt at the title in 2018.He also oversaw a run of three consecutive Royal London Cup finals – although Surrey were defeated on each occasion at Lord’s – as well as an appearance at Finals Day in last year’s T20 Blast.Back in an England shirt: Batty won a surprise Test recall in 2016•Getty Images

Stewart said: “Batts should look back on his playing career with immense pride. He achieved so much in the game and has always given 100% commitment to every team he has represented. His knowledge and passion for the game is second to none which will be a great asset as he embarks on his coaching career.”He will be missed in the dressing room for everything he has given as a captain and player, but I know that loyal and caring nature will now be transferred across into his coaching. As we congratulate him on all he has achieved as a player, we now look forward to him starting out on his coaching career which I have no doubts he will make a great success of. Cricket is in his blood and we’re very fortunate to have him at Surrey helping to develop and improve our players.”Solanki added: “There are few that have given as much of themselves to both the game and the teams they’ve played for than Gareth. Time and again, whether as player, captain or player/coach, he has put Surrey CCC ahead of himself when the club has needed him most. Fiercely competitive, totally committed and entirely selfless, Gareth epitomises what it is to be a professional sportsman in team environments.”On a personal note I am grateful to have had the privilege to play alongside Gareth and look forward to working with him as a coach. He has a wealth of experience across all aspects of the game that will hugely benefit our squad.”