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Zimbabwe have included allrounders Malcolm Waller and Greg Lamb in their 15-man squad for the lone Test against Pakistan which starts on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2011Zimbabwe have included allrounders Malcolm Waller and Greg Lamb in their 15-man squad for the lone Test against Pakistan which starts on Thursday. Injured medium-pacer Keegan Meth and allrounder Elton Chigumbura, who picked up a knee injury on match eve, are the only absentees from the squad which memorably beat Bangladesh earlier this month in Zimbabwe’s return to Tests after six years. Chamu Chibhabha was drafted into the side in place of Chigumbura.Lamb, 30, has played 14 one-dayers for Zimbabwe since his debut last year. He makes it to the Test pool after taking three wickets, including that of the experienced pair of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, in the tour match against the Pakistanis and following that up with a solid 40.Waller also had a decent outing against the Pakistanis, taking two tail-end wickets before making a brisk 32. He returned to the Zimbabwe set-up for the one-dayers against Bangladesh, after being sidelined for more than 20 months. He was also the fourth-highest run-getter last season in the Castle Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s domestic first-class competition.Squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Regis Chakabva, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Tino Mawoyo, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Greg Lamb

Full coverage of the spot-fixing trial of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif in London

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2011October 4
News – Butt and Asif arrive to begin court case
News – Jury sworn in for spot-fixing trial
October 5
News – PCB lawyer observes court trial
News – Prosecution opens with details of illegal bettingOctober 6
News – Jury sees no-ball footage and phone recordsOctober 10
News – Court hears how spot-fixing plan unfolded
News – ‘More matches were to be fixed’
News – Huge odds of exact no-balls – expert

A court heard on Monday a recording of how the alleged Pakistan spot-fixing controversy was spawned

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court10-Oct-2011A court heard on Monday a recording of how the alleged Pakistan spot-fixing controversy was spawned – from an initial conversation about setting up a Twenty20 event to a murkier debate about fixing and how Pakistan players made significant amounts of money from the corrupt practice.The latest development unravelled as former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif sat in the dock at Southwark Crown Court, on the fourth day of their trial as they defend themselves against charges of bowling pre-determined no-balls in the Lord’s Test against England last year. They deny the charges.The court had already heard the initial opening from prosecution witness Mazhar Mahmood, the investigative journalist who lured agent Mazhar Majeed in a sting operation. What came next was another recorded conversation that saw their business drift from potential innocent opportunism to alleged corruption.Mahmood had first gained Majeed’s trust by discussing the possibility of using Majeed’s Pakistani player clients in a Twenty20 event to be staged in Abu Dhabi. But then, after a second meeting at the Bombay Brasserie restaurant in London, the two went outside to Mahmood’s car and it was there that the journalist dropped his cover story and brought up the subject of fixing, saying that is what his Far East bosses are really interested in. Majeed was not spooked by the change of topic, quite the opposite.”Yes there’s big money in this thing,” he was heard boasting on the recording in court. “(But) they have made it very, very difficult in many ways (to fix now).He added: “I have been doing it with them (the Pakistan players he claims to control)…for about two and a half years and we’ve made masses and masses of money.”He went on to describe how he deals with an illegal Indian bookmaking cartel because they pay more for the information, and added how he and the players fix “brackets” of matches, or small periods within a match. He told of how they might fix the amount of runs scored within a ten over period.”If we have scored 13 off three overs then the market will be expecting high scoring so the boys will then slow the scoring down and might score just 14 or less off the next seven overs,” Majeed was heard to say on the tape.He also told of how bowler Mohammad Asif would signal the start of a bracket by running in to bowl and then stopping short so the umpire would rule a dead ball. The case continues.

Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has been handed a one-game first-class match ban and been fined 12,000 Pakistan rupees for ‘showing serious dissent’ at an umpire’s decision during the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament

Umar Farooq03-Nov-2011Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has been handed a one-game first-class match ban and been fined 12,000 Pakistan rupees for ‘showing serious dissent’ at an umpire’s decision during the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament.The incident occurred during the second innings of the Karachi Blues v Habib Bank Limited (HBL) match at the National Stadium in Karachi, when Asif Zakir caught Shehzad at first slip off the bowling of Tanvir Ahmed. HBL batsman Shehzad was given out by the umpire, but refused to accept the decision claiming the “catch isn’t clean”. The umpire, after deliberation, upheld the decision.Shehzad responded by looking skywards in disgust, swinging his bat at the turf and shaking his head again, and continued to fume after reaching the dressing room. He had been batting on 60 on the final day, following a century in the first innings, and the game was drawn.”Players are forbidden to show dissent at any umpires’ decision,” match referee, Iqbal Sheikh told ESPNCricinfo. “Shehzad is an international cricketer and, for this, he must be more responsible than any other player. You [as an international cricketer] have to set an example and help the aspiring cricketers. The whole incident was a bizarre one, we had to show him the video recording as well.””He was given several warnings during the game for his behaviour, that was the main reason he was banned apart from the fine,” Iqbal said. “And he had already committed three Level 1 offences, so this time he automatically earned the one-match ban.”Shehzad was also fined a similar amount on disciplinary grounds in Rawalpindi last month. Here, the charge was registered by on-field umpires Akbar Khan and Anis Siddiqi. Such Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of a fine of Rs 15,000, with the possibility of a ban as well depending on the upon the level of the offence.Shehzad is currently at the No. 3 spot on the season’s first-class run-scorers’ table, and has enjoyed a good run in the tournament so far, with two hundreds and two fifties at an average of 53.55 in five matches. He was also fined similar amount last on disciplinary ground in Rawalpindi last month.

Centuries from Mominul Haque and Nasir Hossain marked a strong Bangladesh response to West Indies’ 358

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2011
ScorecardCenturies from Mominul Haque and Nasir Hossain marked a strong Bangladesh response to West Indies’ 358. Bangladesh were in trouble at 59 for 4, the West Indies opening seamers Nelon Pascal and Shannon Gabriel nipping out two wickets each. But they struggled to get past Mominul and Nasir, who added 259 for the fifth wicket. Mominul struck 20 fours and a six and Nasir, still unbeaten, finished the day on 123, having hit 14 fours and a six.Nasir’s century was his second in first-class cricket, Mominul struck his first. Bangladesh, at stumps, were in a good position to gain a first-innings lead – they ended the day on 331 for 5, only 27 adrift, having scored at close to four an over. Earlier in the day, Bangladesh bowled out West Indies, picking up the two remaining wickets in quick time.

A round-up of the first day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2011Group ATamil Nadu’s S Badrinath was given an award for playing his 100th first-class game•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Eighteen wickets tumbled on the opening day between Railways and Saurashtra in Delhi, and at the end of it Saurashtra were well placed to take the first-innings lead. On a sharply turning track, Saurashtra were shot out for 175 after choosing to bat, with Ashish Yadav taking 4 for 35 for Railways. The visitors had made a steady start, with the openers adding 59, before ten wickets fell for 112 runs. Wicketkeeper Sheldon Jackson top-scored with 39.When they batted, Railways crashed to 71 for 8. They had got to 18 without damage before losing four wickets for no runs. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled unchanged from the Pavilion end after replacing seamer Sandip Maniar in the fourth over of the innings, took three of those wickets and finished the day with 6 for 22. Mahesh Rawat was the only Railways batsman to show some application, using his feet well and stepping down the track several times to kill the spin. He remained not out on 31 at stumps.First-class cricket returned to Shimoga after 32 years, and Stuart Binny marked the occasion with his second rescue job in as many games. His unbeaten 86 airlifted Karnataka from 171 for 6, after their top order fell apart against Uttar Pradesh in relatively easy batting conditions. Binny, aided by Sunil Raju, steered them to 300 for 7, leaving the game even after a see-saw day. Read the whole report here.Thirty-one years after his namesake took five wickets on first-class debut for Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, medium-pacer Balwinder Sandhu repeated the feat and dealt a blow to Punjab’s hopes of securing a quarter-final berth. Sandhu struck with his third delivery in first-class cricket and, along with Kshemal Waingankar, ensured Mumbai did not suffer from the absence of the experienced Aavishkar Salvi, who left the field clutching his side in his second over. Read the whole report here.A solid performance from Rajasthan’s top order gave them a strong platform for a formidable first-innings total against Orissa in Jaipur. After getting sent in to bat, Rajasthan lost Aakash Chopra early but Vineet Saxena, who is coming off a hundred against Saurashtra, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar made half-centuries and added 139 runs for the second wicket. Both batsmen were dismissed in successive overs with the score on 158, but Robin Bist and Rashmi Parida steered Rajasthan to 209 for 3 at stumps.Group BAshok Dinda’s five-wicket haul helped Bengal curb Baroda’s strong start and reduce them to 284 for 9 in Vadodara. Baroda only need first-innings points to secure a quarter-final berth and they were on course for a formidable total after being asked to bat. After they lost Anupam Gupta early, Aditya Waghmode and Rakesh Solanki scored half-centuries to lead Baroda to 145 for 1.Dinda dismissed both set batsmen and cut through the middle order, reducing the home team to 222 for 6. He then broke a 56-run partnership for the seventh wicket before Sourav Ganguly struck twice in the only over he bowled to leave Baroda on 278 for 9. Three wickets had fallen for no runs. Dinda ended the day with figures of 5 for 96.Gujarat’s bowlers made short work of Haryana’s batting line-up, dismissing them for 207 in Surat. Medium-pacer Mehul Patel took 4 for 59, and he was supported by Ishwar Chaudhary and Ashraf Madka, who took 3 for 50 and 2 for 23.Haryana had made a steady start after choosing to bat but lost their way from 59 for 1. Sunny Singh top scored with 69 but had no support from his team-mates, none of whom passed 30. Gujarat then lost their captain Parthiv Patel off the first ball of their innings, but Priyank Panchal and Niraj Patel steered them to 46 for 1 by stumps.Both teams squaring off in Chennai are already in the quarter-finals and it was Tamil Nadu that had the better of the first day against Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh had chosen to bowl, a decision that did not pay off – though the opening pair of T Sudhindra and Ishwar Pandey extracted a bit of movement off the pitch – as all the Tamil Nadu top-order batsmen got starts and three of them converted it into half-centuries to help them reach 294 for 4 at stumps.M Vijay and Kaushik Gandhi made 83 and 80, while Dinesh Karthik was unbeaten on 60. Vijay and Karthik were both in positive in their approach as Tamil Nadu had at least a half-century stand for each of the first four wickets, ensuring MP’s successes were few and far between. Vijay crafted some crackring drives, while Karthik peppered the straight boundary. S Badrinath, who was playing his 100th first-class game, meanwhile, hit the only six of the day before falling for 32 at the stroke of tea. The visitors used as many as eight bowlers and Amarjeet Singh had the best figures – 2 for 79.

Yuvraj Singh could be ruled out of cricket for six months due to the ongoing treatment of his non-malignant lung tumour

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2012Yuvraj Singh, the India batsman, could be ruled out of cricket for as many as six months due to the ongoing treatment of his non-malignant lung tumour. This means he will at least miss the Asia Cup and the IPL, where he captained the Pune Warriors last year.The last time Yuvraj played competitive cricket was the Tests against West Indies last November, and he was originally hoping to return as early as next month’s ODI tri-series in Australia.According to PTI, quoting an unnamed source from the IPL, Yuvraj is currently overseas. He has travelled to the United States in order to undergo “advanced treatment” for the tumour following which there will be a period of recuperation expected to take several months as well. This means he would not be available to play in the IPL, which starts on April 4. The unnamed IPL source said it could take up to “six months” for Yuvraj to return to cricket.It has been a nightmare run for Yuvraj since his Man-of-the-Series performance in India’s World Cup victory last year. An injury kept him out of the tour of the West Indies and his contribution to India’s tour of England was cut short by a finger injury sustained during the Nottingham Test. He returned for the home Tests against West Indies, and was left out of the side for the third Test, in November.

AB de Villiers has been on 15 international tours but his next one, the upcoming series in New Zealand, is his first as captain

Firdose Moonda10-Feb-2012AB de Villiers has been on 15 international tours but his next one, the upcoming series in New Zealand, may as well be his first. Not only does it take him to a country he has never toured before but it is his opening overseas assignment as captain of South Africa’s limited-overs sides.Since taking over the leadership role last June, de Villiers has had just one opportunity to actually lead. January’s five-match rubber against Sri Lanka was his first in charge. South Africa won the series 3-2 but it was manner of results rather than the results themselves that got de Villiers noticed.Under him, nothing stood still. Not the No. 4 position in the batting order, which was rotated between him, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis, not the regular pattern of bowling changes, not the scoring rate. South Africa seemed to have more life, they played with a different intent and although they lost the last two matches in the series, they did not appear to stop having fun. De Villiers said the trip to New Zealand is a chance for the good times to keep rolling.”We are young side and we have a lot to prove. We are going to try and get a bit of a team spirit going over there,” he said in Johannesburg, ahead of the team’s departure for Auckland. “It’s tough to get a team spirit going when you are at home, things are a bit disjointed, but on tour there’s nothing else to do but be with your team-mates. We’re going to have a good time over there.”Since making his ODI debut in 2005, de Villiers has been all about fun on the field. As the years have gone on, he has also developed a more thoughtful side to his game and it’s the combination of the surreal and the serious that saw him progress to the captaincy. de Villiers is a deeply passionate and proud man. As a result, losing is always failing to him and the collective is always more important than the individual. Travelling to New Zealand will test all these values, adding to what will already make the series compelling.New Zealand knocked South Africa out of the last World Cup and they have also had a successful summer, winning a Test in Australia and mauling Zimbabwe. Like South Africa, they are building towards something and their blend of youth and experience seems to be at its optimum. In their backyard, where South Africa have not been since 2004, de Villiers said any opposition will have to be wary. “They are a very clever team, they think on their feet,” he said. “But hopefully, we’ll be the smarter team in the series.”The tour is the first of three overseas outings for South Africa this year and will be used as the springboard for what is being billed as the contest of 2012, in England. “We understand that this tour is important for our tour to England. This will be a very competitive series. This is a big tour in terms of what we want to achieve as a Test side,” coach Gary Kirsten said. Should South Africa whitewash New Zealand in their three-Test series, they will take over the No. 1 ranking. If they don’t, they will have another chance in England.Before they even look that far, they have three Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs to contest. The former will be crucial to their plans to win an ICC Trophy for the first time since 1998, at the World T20. South Africa play 11 T20s before that competition, including five against Zimbabwe, and Kirsten said the New Zealand series will allow them to start strategising.”The T20 team is a very young team, so there will be a lot of energy,” he said. One of the newest members of that side is opening batsman Richard Levi, who replaces Graeme Smith. Levi has been setting fireworks off in the domestic twenty-over competition for the last two seasons and Kirsten said he hopes that will translate on to the international stage. “We would be very excited if we could have a batsman in our top six that is consistently explosive. Let’s remember that the pinch-hitters haven’t come off in the shorter format of the game so if he comes off and becomes a superstar for South Africa cricket we will all be very happy.”Levi, Marchant de Lange and recalled all-rounder Justin Ontong are three names de Villiers says are “exciting to be going to the World T20 with,” and he hopes to integrate them into the side as quickly as possible. The trio are entering the set-up at a welcoming time, with a creative captain who will demand nothing but their best.In addition to the expectations on his team, de Villiers also has high hopes for himself. He wants to use the trip to develop and enforce his own style. “I thought the boys responded well to my leadership but I am not there yet, I’ve got a lot to learn.”His education will come on a maiden voyage to New Zealand and as captain. At his departure press conference, de Villiers looked and sounded as excited and nervous as a teenager about to attend his first high-school ball. By the sounds of it, a ball of a different kind is in order in New Zealand.

Dinanath Ramnarine has resigned as president and chief executive of the West Indies Players’ Association effective March 31 and Wavell Hinds will succeed him

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2012Dinanath Ramnarine has resigned as president and chief executive of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) effective March 31 and Wavell Hinds, who is presently the treasurer, will succeed him as president until the Annual General Meeting this year.WIPA secretary Andrew Richardson said the announcement was not a surprise as Ramnarine, who held office for ten years, had advocated a change to refresh the organisation with new leadership. “We wish to recognise that he [Ramnarine] has served meritoriously over those ten years”, Richardson said on the WIPA website.Hinds called it a “depressing day” for West Indies cricket. “We were well advised that this day will come but hoped it would never materialise,” Hinds said. “We are all saddened by his decision, given his outstanding contribution and great personal sacrifice to WIPA.”In the interim, Michael Hall will act as the chief executive while Ramnarine agreed to assist as an advisor during the period of transition.Ramnarine became WIPA president in 2002 and aggressively represented the interests of the players in negotiations with WICB. In 2004, he was offered the position of chief executive after successfully negotiating increased sponsorship payments for players in the 2003 World Cup and securing compensation for players injured during the period of 1999-2003.Since then, Ramnarine negotiated a substantial increase in retainer contracts and first-class fees that benefitted international as well as domestic West Indian players. Under his leadership, WIPA adopted a new constitution, which brought it in line with the guidelines and modern practices of similar cricket associations.

A round-up of the Faysal Bank Super Eight T-20 Cup matches that took place on March 26

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2012A combined bowling effort set up Sialkot Stallions‘ five-wicket win against Lahore Eagles‘ at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Bilawal Bhatti took three wickets and the rest of the bowlers chipped in to restrict the Eagles to a modest 129. Saad Nasim, batting at No.9, was the top scorer with 27. Sialkot lost Imran Nazir early but Shakeel Ansar and Shahid Yousuf made useful contributions to lead Sialkot to victory.Khalid Latif’s 88 set up Karachi Dolphins‘ 32-run win over Rawalpindi Rams at the same venue. Put in to bat, the Dolphins managed 171 for 4, thanks to Latif’s contribution. He shared stands of 75 and 72 with Asad Shafiq and Rameez Raja respectively. Rawalpindi’s pursuit of the target was stalled by Sohail Khan and Faraz Ahmed, who took three wickets apiece. Naved Malik was the top scorer with 59, but he lacked support.