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Aaron Finch, the 26-year-old Victorian, ransacked England’s bowling with an eye-popping world record 156 as Australia secured their first victory in any format for 200 days.

The Report by Andrew McGlashan at the Ageas Bowl29-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAaron Finch blazed a trail from ball one•AFPWhether Australia can produce young batsmen who are able to occupy the crease in Test cricket remains up for debate. That they can produce batsmen who give it an almighty thump there is no doubt. Aaron Finch, the 26-year-old Victorian, ransacked England’s bowling with an eye-popping world record 156 as Australia secured their first victory in any format for 200 days.It was a ferocious display of hitting from Finch, who had six previous T20 caps, as he tore England’s attack to shreds with a brutal display, in the process going well past Brendon McCullum’s 123 as the highest score in an international Twenty20. Australia’s eventual 248 for 6 was the second-highest total in a T20 international – and the highest in a match involving two Test nations – only Sri Lanka’s 260 against Kenya was out of reach and for a while it appeared they may cross that landmark too.A couple of weeks ago in the Friends Life t20 quarter-final there was 200-plays-200 match and the consistency of the one-day pitches at the Ageas Bowl deserves much praise – 457 runs in 40 overs is value for money, even if to watch such a boundary-fest all the time would dull the senses. But to chase 249 would have bordered on miracle territory. England, not surprisingly, could not get close – although did pass 200 for only the fourth time in a T20 – despite Joe Root’s entertaining 90 off 49 balls. Tellingly, perhaps, England could only manage five sixes to Australia’s 18.Fourteen of those came off Finch’s bat, another of the records that he broke during the onslaught. He began with a six first ball, picked up effortlessly off Steven Finn, and it was a theme that would continue throughout. Each of Finch’s landmarks came up with a six; his half-century, from 26 balls; his hundred, off 47, beating McCullum’s record, and his 150.He was on track to beat Richard Levi’s 45-ball hundred against New Zealand, in Hamilton, as the fastest on the international stage but after reducing himself to a couple of singles had to settle for second spot when he launched his 47th delivery, from Stuart Broad, for another six. He was the first Australian to make a Twenty20 international hundred and it took him just 13 more deliveries to power past 150. By then, it had long since stopped being an even contest.The bowlers had no answers, although not for the first time there was an absence of yorkers – anything fractionally off target was dispatched over the boundaries with strength, timing and, occasionally, some finesse; although this was not an innings of deft touch and placement. Finch’s sixes over the off side, one struck as he slid outside leg stump, were perhaps the most breathtaking.Picking through the wreckage of England’s figures may seem a rather pointless task, but there are a couple of overs that stand out. Root’s only over cost 27 – he made the mistake of conceding a single to Shaun Marsh first ball – and Danny Briggs, on his home ground, was taken for 23 in his last, all by Finch. Following on from Martin Guptill’s huge innings in the one-day international here earlier in the season, this is not a favourite ground for England at the moment.The only England bowler to have an economy rate in single figures was Jade Dernbach, which itself will bring surprise from many. He finally removed Finch and also dumbfounded Shane Watson with a back-of-the-hand slower ball after his 37 off 16 balls, in a stand of 99 in seven overs, had gone almost unnoticed.Finch and Marsh had added 114 in nine overs for the second wicket having come together early following David Warner’s bizarre dismissal. Swinging with all his power, he top edged Broad’s second ball and, in the process, lost his bat which flew towards short fine-leg while Jos Buttler settled under the catch. Warner then had to walk back to collect his bat from an obliging England player who had picked it up. It was the high point of the innings for England.But the crowd had another moment to savour. The opening over of the chase, bowled by the much-missed (at least by the England supporters) Mitchell Johnson, cost 17 and included two wides and three boundaries. Johnson, though, recovered from those early problems by trapping Michael Lumb lbw and then having Eoin Morgan caught at point while he touched 93mph on the speed gun.But Josh Hazlewood created the most physical damage. Root needed treatment for a cut lip after a short ball from Hazlewood squeezed between his peak and grille. Warner, who had come close to inflicting something similar earlier in the tour, was the first Australian to go up to Root who, after a few minutes, did not seem overly troubled by the blow as he notched a 29-ball fifty and he later took 16 off Johnson’s last over much to the joy of the fans who stayed on to the bitter end.In the seventh over there was also a significant moment. Fawad Ahmed, the legspinner, delivered his first international over. It went for 10 and his four overs ended up costing 43. It was not really an evening to be a spinner. His story remains a remarkable one but, for one night at least, it was trumped.

Angelo Mathews embarks on the Champions Trophy as a largely untested commodity. Can he use this platform to successfully secure his position at the helm and lead Sri Lanka to success?

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-May-2013Both on and off the field, Angelo Mathews gives few emotions away. There was a time when he was among the team’s most exuberant men, but experience, and the onset of responsibility, have seemingly dulled his zest for public elation. He is now equally stoic with a dozen microphones set before him.As Sri Lanka departed for the Champions Trophy in England, Mathews had little to say, aside from trotting out worn-out assurances that the side would seek to capitalise on its strengths, and had set its sights on the semi-finals as their first target. Four months into his tenure, Mathews is already proficient in the art mastered by all jaded captains – that of talking without saying much at all. Only, Sri Lanka’s problems in the approach to the tournament did not need vocalising. The IPL has laid them bare.Nine of Sri Lanka’s probable first XI travelled to India for the tournament, and only Thisara Perera and Sachithra Senanayake have returned with any semblance of form behind them. Of the three Sri Lankan captains, Kumar Sangakkara dropped himself from the side, mid-season, citing a poor run, while Mathews himself surrendered the captaincy when his own place in an ailing team became threatened. Mahela Jayawardene remained at the helm of Delhi Daredevils throughout the tournament, but the team finished dead last, with him having done barely anything with the bat to prevent it.Among the others, Tillakaratne Dilshan failed to fire in five outings, while Jeevan Mendis and Kusal Perera largely warmed the dugout benches during the last two months. Lasith Malinga meanwhile, who had been among the IPL’s safest bets in previous seasons, was as bipolar for his franchise as he has been for Sri Lanka in the last 18 months.Over the past week, the team has arrived piecemeal from across the Palk Strait and headed immediately into Champions Trophy training sessions, to join the six non-IPL cricketers who have been at it for almost a month.”I’m not really worried about our form,” Mathews said. “The IPL is completely different to what we will play now. We are professionals, and we know how to prepare for a tournament like this. The boys are pretty confident of themselves. The guys who were in India and Sri Lanka have all trained well, and there was a training tournament here. When we prepare for the Champions Trophy, we put in a lot of effort, and as a team we are ready for this.”Despite his optimism, Mathews will know the team has further to go than if they had all embarked on their flight to England with runs and wickets to commend them. However, there is also truth in his assertion that the Champions Trophy is a different beast. Alongside Pakistan, Sri Lanka have been the most consistent side at major tournaments in the last six years, making it to four finals in their last six ICC events. Their results leading in to each tournament have not always suggested they would progress to the final.On each of those occasions, the team has ignited at the beginning of the tournament, finding, as a collective, gears that elude them in many bilateral affairs. By the time the group stage is complete, they have been marked as favourites, and have ridden that momentum to the final, where vexing decisions and uncharacteristic nerves have hastened their ultimate demise.Chief among the reasons for their sudden surge has, in the past, been leadership. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara matured as cricketers before they were handed the reins, and have proven shrewd as captains in major tournaments.Mathews may possess a steel temperament, but he has not yet shown himself as a canny leader, and his batting form is a law unto itself – failing abruptly just when formidable scores are beginning to cluster together. His bowling has been more consistent, and it is this that has helped make him a vital part of the Sri Lanka side since his arrival. He is yet, however, to truly establish himself on the international stage in the way that almost every Sri Lankan captain has before him.The Champions Trophy is his biggest assignment yet, as captain, and his challenge has been magnified by the state of his own game, as well as those of the side’s senior batsmen. If Mathews can stir up the familiar courage Sri Lanka teams have embraced in recent tournaments, he will emerge a secure leader, and repay the faith he has been afforded. If he cannot, he will remain a young captain on trial, with plenty still to prove.

A spirited performance on the field, followed by a resilient 95-run stand between David Warner and Unmukt Chand helped Daredevils add a third win to come level with Knight Riders

The Report by Devashish Fuloria01-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDavid Warner played a measured 66 to marshall the chase•BCCIA spirited performance on the field, followed by a resilient 95-run stand between David Warner and Unmukt Chand helped Delhi Daredevils add a third win to come level with Kolkata Knight Riders. Knight Riders are now level with Daredevils, squandering a two-point advantage. The task of making it to the playoffs, for both, remains a distant dream.Daredevils had been the happier side halfway into their innings. The first couple of overs from Brett Lee and L Balaji indicated there was help for the bowlers, but Virender Sehwag laced a couple of boundaries to set the innings into motion. Gautam Gambhir spilled an easy chance off Sehwag at short cover, but it didn’t hurt Knight Riders much. Sehwag steered a length delivery into the hands of slip in the next over, the relief writ large on Gambhir’s face. And when Mahela Jayawardene fell in an identical manner the next over, Knight Riders had found an opening.Unmukt Chand had a torrid time in his first four games, but he set about improving his run with a patient stay in the middle. He was at sea against Sunil Narine’s variations, but hung in and kept rotating the strike. Fortunately for Daredevils, there wasn’t much scoreboard pressure; only a couple of productive overs were needed to catch up with the required rate.That impetus was provided by measured aggression from David Warner, who pierced the boundary every now and then and helped bring the equation under control during the 12th over that yielded 15 runs. By that time, Chand had settled down and started stroking boundaries – an upper-cut past slip being the most stylish – to bring up his best score this IPL. He fell trying to hasten the end but Warner, who scored his third half-century this IPL, switched gears, unleashed the ruthless strokeplay he’s acquired a reputation for and sealed victory with 13 balls to spare.Gambhir called the Raipur stadium one of the best in the country in terms of facilities, but the venue didn’t bring any cheer for Knight Riders after they chose to bat. Manvinder Bisla, who was in imperious touch in the last two matches, started with a casual pull that rocketed to the deep square-leg boundary, but, off the very next ball, Gambhir called him for a suicidal single and paid the price as Irfan, the bowler, beat him in a dash to the striker’s end.What followed was a period in which the Daredevils seamers – and the fielders – started shutting escape routes for the batsmen. Bisla was beaten for pace by a sharp delivery from Umesh Yadav. Yusuf Pathan attempted to mark his authority with a huge hit off Morne Morkel, but was brilliantly caught next ball by Irfan, who took the skier running backwards from square leg.That brought the experienced pair of Jacques Kallis and Eoin Morgan together, but their alliance was short-lived. Morgan reverse-swept Shahbaz Nadeem for a boundary, but when he tried to pull the long-hop next ball, Yadav charged in from deep square leg to take a good, low diving catch. Kallis followed Morgan in the next over, as another stunning, one-handed catch at point, from Ben Rohrer, reduced Knight Riders to 50 for 4 in the ninth over.Debabrata Das and Rajat Bhatia started the repair job, making slow progress with occasional hits to the boundary to bring Knight Riders to 83 for 5 with five overs to go. They hobbled to 110 for 6 at the end of the 18th, but some timely hitting by Lee propped up the score to 136, a good effort on a ground with bigger boundaries. It wasn’t good enough, however.

Sylhet Royals and Chittagong Kings will battle it out in the semi-final to decide the finalist who will play against Dhaka Gladiatiors

Mohammad Isam16-Feb-2013Match factsFebruary 17, 2013
Start time 1800 (1200 GMT)Ryan ten Doeschate’s form will be crucial for Chittagong Kings•Bangladesh Cricket Board Big PictureSylhet Royals would take heart from the gumption they have shown against Dhaka Gladiators. After Chris Gayle had flattened them with a century, it would have been easier to fade into the background of such a performance. Instead, they took the fight right till the end. It gave them the momentum to take on Chittagong Kings, who beat Duronto Rajshahi to make it to the second semifinal.The Royals would like to continue to play as the underdogs. It is a tag that has suited them so far, although a team that has Dwayne Smith and the marauding Mushfiqur Rahim alongside Elton Chigumbura has enough firepower to knock over a big total. They have some runs due from Paul Stirling, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mominul Haque.The composition of their bowling attack would once again hover around who they pick between Dirk Nannes and Sajidul Islam. Common sense on a wicket like Mirpur would urge the Royals to pick all their overseas batsmen but leaving aside Nannes hardly makes sense even though Sajidul, his replacement, took three wickets.Kings’ win in the elimination match over Rajshahi would give them enough reason to believe they can knock out the Royals. But they were not tested enough to feel the need of Brendan Taylor, their in-form batsman who left for Zimbabwe. They are likely to pack the team with allrounders, but ultimately a lot will depend on Ryan ten Doeschate and Mahmudullah with the bat. Form Guide(Most recent first, completed matches)
Sylhet Royals LWWLW
Chittagong Kings WLWLW In the spotlightMushfiqur Rahim will again be in the thick of things whether with the bat or behind the stumps for the Royals. His brilliant 86 against the Gladiators showed he usually has the measure when the team is chasing. His captaincy will be tested too, particularly after some of his bowling changes completely backfired against Gayle.
The knockout match would be a huge test for Kings’ pace bowler Rubel Hossain for whom bowling at the death has been quite a struggle. He has done well in one game out of three when they were defending a total, so if such a situation arises in this game, Rubel’s over could be the clinching factor. Team newsPaul Stirling and Dwayne Smith have been passed fit for the game, Smith however will not be able to bowl. The Royals could still go with Sajidul as the left-arm seaming option, despite having Nannes around.
Sylhet Royals (probable): 1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Dwayne Smith, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Mominul Haque, 6 Elton Chigumbura, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Nazmul Hossain Milon, 9 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 10 Sohag Gazi, 11 Sajidul IslamShaun Tait has been ruled out of the match with a groin injury which means Kings are unlikely to break the winning combination from the previous game.Chittagong Kings (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Nurul Hasan (wk), 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Ryan ten Doeschate, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Ariful Haque, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Kevon Cooper, 9 Rubel Hossain, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Enamul Haque jnr Pitch and conditionsA sudden cold spell in Dhaka could reduce the amount of dew during the second innings, though the wicket will still benefit the batsmen. Stats and triviaSylhet captain Mushfiqur Rahim is the third batsman to score more than 400 runs in this edition of the BPL. Quotes “It is certain that the match will be highly challenging for both the sides but I’m confident that our boys would give their best effort in tomorrow’s match.”

“We have to be a lot more positive against Sylhet Royals, particularly with the bat. I think that’s the only change in approach we need to make.”

Mervyn Westfield has been issued with a summons from the High Court in London compelling him to appear at Danish Kaneria’s ECB disciplinary appeal

George Dobell11-Apr-2013Mervyn Westfield has been issued with a summons from the High Court in London compelling him to appear at Danish Kaneria’s ECB disciplinary appeal.The development is an unusual one and there is some doubt as to whether the High Court has any jurisdiction in the affairs of a sporting body’s disciplinary procedure. The appeal is currently scheduled for April 22, with Kaneria expected to travel from Pakistan to England on April 17 to mount his defence against a life suspension from cricket.Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, was banned and charged £100,000 in costs by an ECB panel in June 2012 for his part in the spot-fixing case involving former Essex bowler Westfield. Kaneria had been found guilty of inducing his former Essex team-mate to underperform in a limited-overs game in 2009 and of bringing the game into disrepute. Westfield, who was jailed for his role in the case, gave evidence against Kaneria at the hearing.As all boards under the governance of the ICC have an agreement to mirror bans imposed in such circumstances, Kaneria’s ban has been effective worldwide.Kaneria’s appeal hearing was originally scheduled for December but, after the ECB was unable to gain Westfield’s cooperation, it was postponed until April. Without Westfield’s evidence, the ECB’s case against Kaneria is severely compromised. Kaneria’s lawyers are looking not just for his ban to be overturned – at 32, he harbours hopes of a reviving his international career – but they are also claiming “very substantial damages” from the ECB.Westfield remains reluctant to appear at the appeal. He feels that the harshness of his penalty – a four-month prison sentence and a five-year ban from the first-class game (he is allowed to return to club cricket after three years) – did not reflect the fact that he pleaded guilty and gave evidence and helped the authorities with their investigations.ESPNcricinfo understands that Westfield’s lawyers are currently considering their reaction to the summons. Both the ECB and Kaneria insist they want Westfield to appear at the appeal hearing, although it seems the ECB is the party with most to lose from his absence. Kaneria’s lawyers remain adamant that, without Westfield’s evidence, the ECB “has no case”.

India have dropped Virender Sehwag for the first three matches of the five-ODI series against England, which begins on January 11 in Rajkot

Amol Karhadkar06-Jan-2013India have dropped Virender Sehwag for the first three matches of the five-ODI series against England, which begins on January 11 in Rajkot. The decision came after Sehwag was left out of the XI that beat Pakistan in an ODI in Delhi earlier in the day. India gave a maiden limited-overs call-up to Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 203 off 221 balls in a Ranji Trophy match last week.A BCCI source told ESPNcricinfo that this could well be the end of Sehwag’s limited-overs career. Sehwag has been dropped, said the source, because “he doesn’t figure in the plans for the 2015 World Cup”. Pujara has been brought in “to anchor the innings, especially in the wake of new rules”, which now allow a maximum of two bouncers per over and require a minimum of five fielders inside the circle at all times, which encourages more attacking bowling. The selectors have left it to the team management to decide Pujara’s batting position.Pujara’s inclusion was the only change to the squad that lost 1-2 to Pakistan, which meant MS Dhoni, India’s best batsman in the series, kept his captaincy despite calls from former selectors for fresh leadership. The sources said Dhoni’s captaincy didn’t go through much of a debate.Rohit Sharma was retained despite poor returns in ODIs of late. His last six scores were 5, 0, 0, 4, 4 and 4. Since the end of the series against West Indies in 2011, when he was the Man of the Series, Rohit has averaged 13 over 14 matches with one half-century. Rohit escaped the axe primarily because of “lack of alternatives”. He might not have made it had Manoj Tiwary been fit.Since his double-century against West Indies in December 2011, Sehwag has averaged 23 over 11 matches, including a top score of 96. Sehwag is possibly seen as the weaker fielder, which becomes significant keeping in mind the World Cup in Australia.Sehwag’s replacement, Pujara, is quick in the field and has been scoring runs. After his double-century that stunned Madhya Pradesh six days ago, Pujara said he knew his time was not far away. “That [ODI selection] is something that is not in my control,” Pujara had told ESPNcricinfo. “I have always performed in domestic one-dayers. I don’t need to worry about it. My time will come. One way or the other I will get my chance to play in the ODI team. I just need to keep performing.”The bowlers were all retained after they successfully defended 167 against Pakistan on Sunday, India’s fourth-lowest score batting first in an ODI win.Squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Amit Mishra.

Somerset have continued to cement their reputation as one of the best run, and financially secure, county set-ups after they announced a record profit

Andrew McGlashan06-Dec-2012Somerset have continued to cement their reputation as one of the best run, and financially secure, counties after they announced a record profit of £409,000 up to September 2012, a marginal increase on the previous year.It is a considerable achievement by Somerset considering last season was one of the wettest on record with the weather impacting all counties.Somerset’s position was strengthened by their second-place finish in the County Championship as well as being able to stage a home quarter-final in the Friends Life t20. There was also the impact of their successful Champions League T20 run in 2011 when they reached the semi-finals.Chief executive Guy Lavender told the club’s website: “This has been a very tough year and whilst we have seen some weather-related reductions in match receipts, we have been able to drive the club’s business forward in a number of different areas. It is of credit to both our playing and non-playing staff who have worked hard to make sure that we have thrived again this year.”Somerset are also producing a regular supply of cricketers for England. Nick Compton, whose career has been transformed since moving from Middlesex, is currently opening the batting in India while both Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler are involved in various parts of the limited-overs set-up.Andy Nash, the chairman, added that there remain two major targets for the club. “Our twin ambitions are to win the County Championship and to bring one day international cricket to the County Ground. We are well placed to begin preparatory work on the next phase of ground development and having consolidated and strengthened our cricketing squad for next season, we are in good shape for the 2013 campaign.”The club are in the process of recruiting a new director of cricket after Brian Rose stepped down at the end of last season. Dave Nosworthy, the former Highveld Lions coach, is understood to be the leading candidate for the position.Alviro Petersen, the South Africa opening batsman, has been signed as an overseas player for the first part of the season.

To paraphrase that north-eastern philosopher Terry Collier, of The Likely Lads fame, Lancashire and Durham supporters have hardly been filled with jollity and merriment this season with no wins beteween them in 13 matches

Paul Edwards30-May-2012
ScorecardGraham Onions’ four wickets put Durham back into the match against Lancashire but Paul Horton’s dogged innings held his side together•Getty ImagesTo paraphrase that north-eastern philosopher Terry Collier, of The Likely Lads fame, the homes of Lancashire and Durham supporters have hardly been filled with jollity and merriment this season. In Bacup and Blaydon, expectations have had to be adjusted downwards as the teams who have bagged the title in three of the last four years have failed to muster a championship win between them in 13 attempts.So it was not surprising that the first day’s play at Chester-le-Street saw both sides exhibit the batting frailties that have bedevilled their early seasons. Eighteen wickets fell, and by no means all of them could be explained by the pitch or the atmosphere, helpful as the latter was.For the sixth time in nine completed first-class innings this year Durham were dismissed for under 164 and their 102 all out was their lowest total since they managed a mere 90 against Lancashire at Old Trafford in 2008.For their part, Lancashire have been bowled out for fewer than 200 six times this season and it astonished few pundits when they lost four wickets, all of them to the resurgent Graham Onions, in reaching 19. Paul Horton and Luke Procter then ground out 44 runs for the fifth wicket but even that most modest of revivals was stifled when Procter played an uncharacteristically loose cut to Ben Stokes.Horton ploughed doggedly on, though, batting throughout the 40 overs faced by Lancashire. Helped by Gareth Cross, Glen Chapple and Kyle Hogg, he batted , making 31 not out off 103 balls, and by the close Lancashire had carved out an advantage of 39 runs. For all that he was bowled by a Jamie Harrison no-ball when on six and dropped at slip by Gordon Muchall off Stokes when 11, Horton’s was a gutsy effort, well befitting the man who batted nearly eight hours to save a game against Warwickshire less than a fortnight ago.The consequences of his vigilance may be considerable here too: an advantage of 50 runs could be decisive in this match.”Paul’s effort was brilliant because to come away with 30 out there is like getting 50 or 60 in normal conditions,” said Procter. “He held the innings together and people batted round him. Kyle Hogg’s still there and we’ve a chance of building a vital lead.”Nevertheless, when wickets fall with such a clatter, suspicious eyes are directed towards the pitch or the atmosphere, and there was certainly enough in the conditions to encourage Chapple’s decision to bowl first on winning the toss.However, the first four Durham wickets all owed more to batting error than any other factor, with Hogg taking three wickets in six balls, the best of them that of Stokes, who edged a catch to Cross when trying to take the bat away. Will Smith, though, was bowled round his legs and Muchall simply chased a wide one – which he thought he didn’t touch. Mark Stoneman had begun the decline by steering Chapple straight to Simon Kerrigan at square leg.Dale Benkenstein and Paul Collingwood added 44 runs for the fifth wicket – precisely as Procter and Horton did in the late afternoon – but any hopes of prolonged circumspection dissolved when the Zimbabwean edged a slash off Procter to Cross.That was the start of a remarkable spell for Procter, the Oldham-born medium-fast bowler, who profited from the increasingly heavy atmosphere to take a career-best five for 17. Collingwood was lbw for 25 when half forward to Procter as Mustard’s side lost their last four wickets in just 7.3 overs of the afternoon session.Rain prevented Lancashire beginning their innings for nearly two hours, but if the clouds were higher when the game resumed, the threat of Onions was in no way diminished.As if attempting to batter his way into the England side regardless of rotation policies or player fatigue, the Durham seamer extracted enough movement from the wicket to persuade both Stephen Moore and Ashwell Prince to give slip catches. Karl Brown was trapped on the crease by one that came back into him and Croft departed having played an ugly slash.Perhaps the Lancashire batsman was not prepared to wait for the ball “with his name on it”, although as Horton could later testify, it doesn’t half help if that delivery is a no-ball.

England’s offspinner Graeme Swann has voiced sympathy for Kevin Pietersen’s decision to retire from one-day internationals to escape a relentless international schedule.

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2012England’s offspinner Graeme Swann has voiced sympathy for Kevin Pietersen’s decision to retire from one-day internationals to escape a relentless international schedule.”There comes a time when you get towards the end of your career, into your thirties, when something’s got to give,” Swann has told . “You can flog yourself to death and fall to pieces or you can start to be quite wise and make a pragmatic decision.”Whatever Kevin’s made his decision for, whether it be financial matters or the family or whatever, I can understand where he’s coming from because there’s certainly times I look at a schedule and just think: ‘How can I do this? My body’s killing me. I haven’t seen my kids, my wife is ready to get up and walk out because I’m never here.’ We’re human beings at the end of the day.”I’ve got a kid being born at the end of the summer and I’m going to see her for a week in the first six months of her life. I look at that and think how am I going to do it? How can I possibly get through?”If it was a couple of years down the line there’d be no two ways about it, I’d be saying, right, something’s got to give and something has to go.”Swann insisted that Pietersen, like all players, had an absolute right to make his own decision about when to retire, in whole or part, from the England side.”I can understand where Kev’s coming from and I can understand where the ECB are coming from at the same time: ‘We pay you well, we expect you play, it is a short career.’ But people have to face facts that you are in control of your own destiny, so you decide: ‘I’ve had enough, I’m going to retire from whatever form of the game,’ then that’s it.”Swann has repeatedly expressed disenchantment with the amount of 50-over cricket played by England, openly stating a preference for Tests and Twenty20, but he said he did not expect to follow a similar course.”It’s hard to say, but I think it would be all or nothing for me, to be honest,” he said. “If you pick and choose which one to ease off then I think for me it’d cause a lessening of my affections in the other forms.”

Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, will miss the first six to eight weeks of the season after damaging his ankle ligaments on Warwickshire’s pre-season tour to Barbados.

George Dobell02-Apr-2012Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, will miss the first six to eight weeks of the season after damaging his ankle ligaments on Warwickshire’s pre-season tour to Barbados.He sustained the injury in the final of the Banks Barbados Cup Final at the Kensington Oval. Sliding to stop a ball in the field, Woakes’ studs stuck in the turf in an episode reminiscent of Simon Jones’ career-threatening injury at Brisbane in 2002. Warwickshire initially feared that Woakes had broken his ankle.Woakes has been referred to ECB medical staff who have arranged for him to see a specialist to asses the length of his absence.The news is a substantial blow to the county’s Championship hopes. Woakes, 23, has emerged as a key allrounder in recent seasons and averaged 48.25 with the bat and 21.78 with the ball in first-class cricket last season. A bowler capable of swinging the ball both ways, Woakes might have been expected to prove particularly dangerous on early season wickets.The injury also a setback to Woakes’ own international ambitions. He has played four ODIs and three T20Is and retains hopes of forcing his way into the England Test side in all formats. He is expected to miss the first four rounds of championship games and the opening CB40 fixture.Warwickshire received better news of Tim Ambrose, the former England wicketkeeper. He underwent hip surgery over the winter and was not expected to be fit for the first couple of rounds of games. But he is recovering ahead of schedule and is now hoping to be available when the club’s season starts in earnest with a championship game against Somerset at Edgbaston on April 12.