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Ashley Giles, the England one-day coach, has vehemently denied accusations made by Bob Willis that England have been tampering with the ball during the Champions Trophy

David Hopps15-Jun-2013Ashley Giles, the England one-day coach, has vehemently denied accusations made by the Bob Willis that England have been tampering with the ball during the Champions Trophy.Willis, a former England captain and one of their most prolific fast bowlers, claimed on Sky Sports that there was no other reason for the umpires to change the ball part-way through Sri Lanka’s run chase at The Oval on Friday.”Let’s not beat about the bush – Aleem Dar is on England’s case,” Willis said. “He knows that one individual is scratching the ball for England – who I am not going to name – and that’s why the ball was changed.”Giles launched a strong denial ahead of England’s crucial final group match against New Zealand, which England must win to be certain of their progression in the tournament.”We don’t tamper with the ball and I hope we can talk about something else,” he said. “It is disappointing because we have a huge game, a quarter-final must-win, and there are a lot of headlines about the wrong stuff.”With the situation the other day, the ball was changed because it had gone out of shape. We asked the question, the captain asked that question to the umpires which he has a right to. The ball was changed, the rest is history.”I guess we always take allegations seriously. People have the right to say what they say, we can’t stop them. It sounds boring, but we have to focus on what we want to do. The most important thing is winning cricket matches and not what Bob Willis says.”Willis questioned the official line – universally repeated by ICC, ECB, umpires, match officials and the England captain, Alastair Cook – that the ball had been changed because it was misshapen.”Have you ever heard of the batting side complaining about the shape of the ball, or the umpires saying ‘we’re going to change the ball because it’s out of shape’?” he asked.”The bowling side change the ball because it’s out of shape because they think it’s gone soft. That’s the reason, pure and simple. How naive does Alastair Cook think we are? The ball was changed because it was out of shape? He didn’t want the ball changed, so why was it changed?”Cook has been England’s preferred ball hander during Tests. Because he sweats so little, his hands remain relatively dry and maintaining the dryness of the ball is a crucial component in getting it to reverse swing.That role has primarily been handed over to Ravi Bopara during the Champions Trophy.Giles complained: “There is even mention of one of our player’s specific roles and that player is an extremely good cricketer and has had an extremely good series so far and we would like to let him concentrate on playing his cricket as best as he can.”He insisted that reverse swing was being achieved by fair means.”The one big thing about this tournament so far, particularly at Edgbaston where we did get reverse swing, is how dry the squares are. That is a mixture of the amount of watering you are allowed to do, the new drainage systems, which saps the moisture out of the squares, and the amount of wickets that have been cut on those squares because there have been practice games and a number of internationals played on those squares.”There are loads of different methods. At Edgbaston we were probably bowling cross-seamers as early as the third or fourth over. From the boundary you go for a throw on the bounce because not everybody can throw it in on the full from 70 metres and that is permitted by the regulations, to bounce it in once.”Alastair Cook was unhappy about the ball being changed•Getty ImagesThe problem started for England when umpires Dar and Billy Bowden changed one of the two balls in the 26th over of Sri Lanka’s successful run chase at the Oval on Thursday evening.Within minutes, an ICC spokesman officially told ESPNcricinfo that the ball had been changed because it was misshapen.An ECB spokesman later took the same line, saying: “The umpires and match referee cannot talk about specific incidents during a tournament. But our understanding is that the ball was changed because it went out of shape.”England were unhappy as their attack was starting to gain reverse swing, which was key to their opening victory over Australia, with Cook leading the protests.The replacement ball moved little and Kumar Sangakkara went on to complete a superb unbeaten hundred to guide Sri Lanka to victory.After the match, Cook said: “The ball was changed because it was out of shape. The umpires make these decisions and you have to accept them. Sometimes you don’t think they are the right decisions.”Confusion also surrounded whether the officially misshapen ball went through the gauge that is used to check whether a ball is out of shape.One member of England’s management team said that the ball went through the hoop and that explained Cook’s anger, as it was still fit for purpose. But England’s fielding coach, Richard Halsall, claimed the ball did not pass through the device. Neither the ICC not the ECB has provided clarification.Australian umpire Darrell Hair, together with West Indies’ Billy Doctrove, docked Pakistan five runs for ball-tampering during a controversial Test against England in 2006.Pakistan refused to take the field and forfeited the match in protest – the first time this had happened in Test history. They were subsequently exonerated by an ICC investigation and the ensuing row ultimately cost Hair his career as a senior international umpire.However, the match officials in the England-Sri Lanka match took no similar action and the ICC explained that, as the umpires haven’t reported anything and no team has complained, they were not planning to take any action.

Brian Langford, a former Somerset captain and one of the most respected players the county has ever produced, has died at the age of 76

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2013Brian Langford, a former Somerset captain and one of the most respected players the county has ever produced, has died at the age of 77. No-one has played more than his 504 first-class games for Somerset and only Jack White and Arthur Wellard have taken more than his 1,390 first-class wickets for the club.Langford was born in Birmingham, but he moved west to Bridgwater when he was just four and made his Somerset debut in 1953 as a 17-year-old off-spinner. Somerset were a weak side in those days and his debut Championship appearance – against Lancashire at Bath – saw his side succumb to an innings defeat in a single day.He fared far better in his next game, claiming 14 wickets to help Somerset to victory over Kent. Until James Harris, then with Glamorgan, beat the record in 2007, he was the youngest man to take a ten-wicket haul in the Championship. He claimed another 11 wickets in his next game, against Leicestershire, to underline his rich promise.Langford never quite pressed for England recognition, but over a 22-year career of great reliability, he went on to play a substantial part in improving the fortunes of the club. He captained between 1969 and 1971 and, as well as helping bring the likes of Brian Rose and Peter Denning into the side, saw Somerset develop into a top-ten team. He claimed 100 first-class wickets in a season on five occasions, with his best year coming in 1958 when he took 116 wickets including career-best figures of 9 for 26 against Lancashire at Weston super Mare.His most famous performance came in the first year of the Sunday League in 1969. Langford delivered his eight overs – the maximum allowed to an individual bowler in the competition at the time – without conceding a run, his figures of 8-8-0-0 setting a record for economical limited-overs bowling that can never be bettered.Upon retirement he remained involved with the Somerset committee and was the chairman of the club’s cricket committee in the tumultuous 1986 season, when Sir Ian Botham, Sir Viv Richards and Joel Garner all left the club in acrimonious circumstances.”Langy was a very fine off-spin bowler and, for a number of seasons, was the almost the county’s lone bowler,” former team-mate Peter Robinson, who often travelled with Langford to games, told Somerset CCC’s website. “At the time that he was in his prime there were a number of good offspinners on the county scene, but if he had played in another era he could well have played for England.””Brian’s contribution to Somerset County Cricket Club was enormous,” the club’s chief executive Guy Lavender said. “He was a remarkable player, an outstanding leader and a charming individual. He will be sorely missed by all of Somerset’s members and supporters and we would like to extend our sincere condolences to Brian’s wife Maureen and all of his family at this immensely sad time.”

Zimbabwe Cricket is set to announce former international Andy Waller as the new national coach. Waller will begin the job ahead of the home series against Bangladesh

Firdose Moonda01-Apr-2013Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is set to announce former international Andy Waller as the new national coach. Waller will begin the job ahead of the home series against Bangladesh, which begins on April 17. He was the preferred candidate from a shortlist that included assistant coach Stephen Mangongo and current batting coach Grant Flower.The fate of the rest of Zimbabwe’s support staff is not known, ESPNcricinfo has learned. Bowling coach Heath Streak has not been informed whether his contract, which expired yesterday, will be renewed and he is not part of preparations for the series against Bangladesh. Neither Streak nor Flower traveled with the team on their recent visit to the West Indies because of a change to ZC’s policy on touring parties.Waller held the role previously, in 2009, when he was coaching manager of Zimbabwe. He had also been in charge of Namibia and the Mid-West Rhinos franchise. His first task will be to reinvigorate the players, as Zimbabwe prepare to host an international side for the first time in 18 months. They play Bangladesh in two Tests in Harare, followed by three ODIs and two Twenty20s, all in Bulawayo. Bangladesh just completed a tour of Sri Lanka, where they shared the ODI series and lost the Tests and the only T20.Zimbabwe lost all seven matches they played in the Caribbean, which was Alan Butcher’s last series as coach. The lead up to the tour had been marred by controversy. Apart from the decision to leave Streak and Flower at home, there was also an intense debate between ZC and the country’s sports ministry about a new regulation concerning the composition of selection committees.In its first proposal, the ministry wanted all selectors to be former internationals, and because the Zimbabwe coach is also a selector it would have ruled out someone like Mangongo. The regulation has been relaxed but it would have had no bearing on the appointment of Waller, who represented Zimbabwe in two Tests and 39 ODIs between 1987 and 1997.Waller will succeed Butcher, who took over in March 2011 and oversaw Zimbabwe’s return to Test cricket later that year, but they could not sustain their positive start. After beating Bangladesh in a one-off Test and an ODI series, Zimbabwe lost at home to Pakistan and New Zealand, were badly beaten in New Zealand and then had a break for a full year before touring West Indies.

Mitchell McClenaghan will stay back in South Africa for the two-match Test series starting January 2

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Dec-2012New Zealand and Auckland left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan will stay back in South Africa for the two-match Test series starting January 2. McClenaghan replaces Tim Southee, who was ruled out last week due to a thumb injury.McClenaghan, 26, played the two Twenty20 internationals on the current tour, picking up a wicket in each game. “With Tim Southee’s injury and Mark Gillespie being unavailable due to injury we have taken the opportunity to add Mitchell McClenaghan to the Test squad for the two match series against South Africa,” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said. “Mitchell has been an impressive performer over the past couple of domestic seasons and deserves this opportunity following a promising start to International Cricket during the T20 series in South Africa.”Mitchell is a talented and exciting young fast bowler who has the ability to unsettle batsmen with his pace and bounce. We are confident if the opportunity arises during the tour he will perform well during the Test series.”McClenaghan has played 26 first-class matches, collecting 76 wickets at 39.03. This Plunket Shield season, he’s played four matches and taken 14 wickets at 34.85. He said his raw pace was an asset. “I can definitely feel like I can bowl a good spell of heat and hopefully put them on the back foot.”

Fifties by opener Shitanshu Kotak, captain Jaydev Shah and Sheldon Jackson kept Saurashtra in the hunt for a challenging first-innings total on the first day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Punjab

Amol Karhadkar in Rajkot16-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe Saurashtra veteran Shitanshu Kotak made 54•ESPNcricinfo LtdPalam in Delhi may have been stealing much of the attention in what is being termed as the sequel to David versus Goliath of this Ranji Trophy season, with Services taking on Mumbai after having surprised Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-finals. However, the television cameras were in place at the Khandheri stadium on the outskirts of Rajkot, with hosts Saurashtra taking on Punjab. And except for the pitch and the cameras, there was nothing common with Khandheri of five days ago.Then, with India taking on England in an ODI, the Rajkot-Jamnagar highway had turned into a fair. Since the stadium was hosting its maiden international game, every single seat was occupied. Cut to Wednesday. With Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja – the two famous cricketing sons of Saurashtra – missing in action, it didn’t matter to Kathiawaris that a Ranji semi-final was being played in their region. And had it not been for Harbhajan Singh’s star attraction, the crowd of 20 at the start of the day wouldn’t have swelled to 200 by the end of it.Harbhajan may not have had as much of an impact as expected by those who turned up. But they were entertained by three batsmen from their home team. Fifties by opener Shitanshu Kotak, captain Jaydev Shah and Sheldon Jackson kept Saurashtra in the hunt for a challenging first-innings total.On a wicket that had a tinge of live grass – kept more for binding it together for the better part of five days rather than assisting seamers – it didn’t come as a surprise when Shah chose to bat on the batsmen’s paradise. It was Punjab who struck an early blow. Siddarth Kaul and his new-ball partner Sandeep Sharma had shared 79 wickets this season coming into this game. In the fourth over, Kaul got one to nip back from a good length and Sagar Jogiyani was left stranded in his crease, watching the off stump cart-wheeling after the ball ricocheted off his pads.Kaul also got rid of Rahul Dave, playing in place of the run-machine Pujara, who had to join the Indian ODI squad after scoring 352 in last week’s quarter-final against Karnataka. Dave fished at one outside off to offer Siddarth’s elder brother Uday a catch behind the wickets.At 58 for 2, Punjab would have wanted to their opponents to fold up just like they did on the first morning of their league game in Mohali two months ago. But the senior-most members of the side – Kotak and Shah – not only prevented a collapse but ensured that Saurashtra had a respectable, if not imposing, score with a 92-run partnership.While Shah was his usual self, having a go at anything that was pitched up to him, Kotak didn’t go into a shell as he often does in such situations. The 40-year-old veteran was leaving balls outside off as well as always. What came as a pleasant surprise was when he drove the medium-pacers with élan whenever presented with an opportunity.With two left-handers at the crease, Harbhajan, who came on in the 20th over, bowled an extended spell either side of the lunch break. And his persistence finally paid off when Kotak’s attempted cut off a ball that was too close to his body ended up being a glide into Mandeep Singh’s safe hands at first slip almost an hour after lunch. Shah carried on with his assault, lofting Harbhajan straight over his head soon after raising his fifty.With Shah not budging against Harbhajan and the legspinner Sarabjit Ladda, the Punjab captain finally introduced left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma – who replaced Gurkeerat Singh from the XI that overcame Jharkhand in the quarter-finals – in the 57th over. And the move paid off immediately. Thirteen runs short of what would have been his fifth first-class century, Shah holed out to Sandeep at long-on off Bipul’s fourth ball.Jackson played a solid knock despite losing the promising young batsman Aarpit Vasavada. Jackson was fortunate towards the end of the day when an edge was held by a diving Harbhajan at wide slip. Replays showed Kaul had some part of his foot behind the line when he landed, but dragged it out at the time of release.

South Africa U-19 halted Pakistan U-19’s three-match winning streak with a 42-run victory in Cape Town

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2012
ScorecardSouth Africa U-19 halted Pakistan U-19’s three-match winning streak with a 42-run victory in Cape Town.Batting first, South Africa overcame an indifferent start through a 98-run fourth wicket stand between Shaylin Pillay and Theunis de Bruyn. The latter was the mainstay of the innings, contributing 73 off 76 balls. No. 7 batsman Prenelan Subrayen chipped in with 25 at nearly run-a-ball as South Africa surged to 240 for 7. Zia-ul-Haq and Usman Qadir impressed with two wickets each for Pakistan.Opening bowler Corné Fry dismantled the chase early, removing both Pakistan openers before they could settle in. The support cast backed up Fry and left Pakistan in trouble at 107 for 6 in the 28th over. No. 8 Qadir resisted with a fifty, but it was only a matter of time before Pakistan subsided. They were 42 runs short when they were bowled out in the 44th over.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, has said his team is full of confidence after their run of form in 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2011Pakistan expectedly wrapped up the first Test against Bangladesh on the fourth day, giving them their fifth win in their previous nine Tests – this one by an innings-and-184-runs. That run of form, encompassing the last 12 months, includes series wins over New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.One of the factors in Pakistan’s consistent run has been the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq, who took over in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal in 2010. Misbah, however, chose to give his team the credit after their latest triumph.”I think if the team is doing well then credit goes to everyone, which also includes the captain,” Misbah said. “But the main thing is players are important in the team. If they are not performing, the captain can’t do anything. For which I think the credit goes to every player. They are putting in their efforts and fulfilling their responsibilities. That’s why the team is winning.”Misbah put his team’s determination to win matches down to their reaction to the spot-fixing scandal which could have easily thrown them into disarray. “I think the way we are performing, you can say what happened with Pakistan cricket, the boys have come out really strong and all wanted to do well. It’s the reason behind that. The day controversies hit the team, I think the boys had it set in their mind that they will prove that they are a good cricket team and good players.”While Pakistan’s recent string of results have naturally infused the side with confidence, Misbah said the spark came from their series against South Africa last year, where Pakistan fought to draw both Tests. “The confidence comes from the performances. When you are performing as a team game by game and you are performing well, the confidence is building. This is really helping us as a team. The series against South Africa in October last year was a big test for us. We played really strong against them in the two Test matches and at that time South Africa was one of the best Test sides.”After that the team got the confidence as every player performed in that series which kept on building in every match after that.”Misbah felt that Bangladesh were under huge pressure in Chittagong as they collapsed for 135 in the first innings. Though they made a better fist of it in the second to reach 275, it was mostly a struggle. “In the first innings they got out easily and once you get out easily on a flat track I think it’s difficult to make the comeback. That helped us. They lacked in confidence. A batsmen is helped if he is consistently scoring runs. If you are not scoring runs, it becomes difficult to stand strong as a batsman.”Pakistan’s decision to field was vindicated by the result and Misbah said that it was a strategy they had been employing for some time now. “We managed to exploit the wicket with our bowlers in the first two sessions of the first day. For the last two years we have been doing this and so far we have been able to take good advantage of it. Once we have the target in our mind, the bowlers and the batsmen together performed really well. So if we ever find even a little advantage for the bowlers, we choose to bowl first.”

Royal Challengers Bangalore have picked up Andrew McDonald, the allrounder from Australia, from the Delhi Daredevils for the 2012 IPL season

Tariq Engineer11-Jan-2012Royal Challengers Bangalore have picked up Andrew McDonald, the allrounder from Australia, from the Delhi Daredevils for the 2012 IPL season, the IPL has said. Harmeet Singh, the Punjab medium-pacer, has also moved from Deccan Chargers to Kings XI Punjab.According to a Daredevils official, the transfer fee for McDonald was US$100,000. McDonald played only one game for the Daredevils in 2011. In his three seasons with the team, he played just six games, scoring 76 runs and taking five wickets.”All-rounders are a priceless asset and we are pleased to add Andrew to our squad,” Sidhartha Mallya, the director of Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, said. “He has excelled with bat and ball in different formats. We have no doubt that he will make a big difference to our prospects in the coming IPL season.”TA Sekar, the head of cricket for Daredevils owner GMR Sports, said McDonald “would fit in well with the Royal Challengers.”McDonald is currently playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League, where he has made 156 runs from five games at an average of 52.00 and a strike-rate of 136.84.Harmeet played two games for the Chargers in 2011, picking up three wickets at an economy rate of 7.57.Harmeet and McDonald were the fourth and fifth players to be traded during the current transfer window. Dinesh Karthik moved from Kings XI to the Mumbai Indians for a record $2.35 million, with R Sathish heading in the opposite direction. Kevin Pietersen was transferred to the Daredevils from the Chargers.”The process of player-transfers during the trading window is gaining in momentum, and we are likely to see more action in the days leading up to 20 January 2012, when the first part of the window will close,” Rajeev Shukla, the IPL chairman, said.There will be another short window for trading after the February 4 auction in which the players of now-terminated franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala will be sold. The 2012 IPL will run from April 4 to May 27.

In the wake of the widespread allegations of embezzlement of the BCCI grants at the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), the Indian board has asked its auditors to investigate the matter and prepare a detailed report on the situation

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Mar-2012In the wake of the widespread allegations of embezzlement of the BCCI grants at the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), the Indian board has decided to take action and has asked its auditors to investigate the matter and prepare a detailed report on the situation.

Even as his name has featured in the alleged financial scam at the JKCA, Muhammad Aslam Goni was in Johannesburg, as the manager of the India team for the one-off Twenty20 played on Friday evening at the Wanderers against South Africa. Though he was appointed to the post by the BCCI, no board official would comment on the appointment.

“We are asking the auditors to check the JKCA accounts and report back to us,” Anurag Thakur, the BCCI joint-secretary, told ESPNcricinfo. According to Thakur there was no deadline set and a final call on the matter would be taken by the BCCI president N Srinivasan once the auditor’s report was ready.The allegations came to light when Muhammad Aslam Goni, the JKCA managing committee chairman, lodged an FIR with the police on March 10 against Ahsan Mirza and Mohammad Saleem Khan – the JKCA general secretary and chief administrative officer respectively – accusing the duo of pushing the BCCI funds into bogus bank accounts created in the name of the association.But on March 21, Goni himself was dragged into the controversy when majority of the 62 JKCA working committee members claimed Goni, too, was involved in the scam and demanded he resign from the chairman’s position. The working committee requested JKCA president Farooq Abdullah to dissolve the current management committee and organise fresh elections at the end of April.

Marlon Samuels made a promising return to Test cricket with a half-century in his first innings for three years, but he was not satisfied after West Indies struggled against Pakistan’s attack

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2011Marlon Samuels made a promising return to Test cricket with a half-century in his first innings for three years, but he was not satisfied after West Indies struggled against Pakistan’s attack. After Pakistan’s tail wagged to reach 272, West Indies battled to 184 for 8 at the close of the second day, with Samuels having fallen for 57 late in the afternoon.Still, there were some good signs for Samuels, who has completed a two-year ban for his alleged involvement with illegal bookmakers. He struck seven fours and two sixes and top scored in an innings where no other player had so far reached 25.”This was my first innings on my return to Test cricket and I conditioned my mind to play a long innings for the team,” Samuels said. “It was a good feeling to go out there and play the way I did for the team but I’m not totally satisfied. I have been getting big runs since I came back into first-class cricket for Jamaica and I was looking to carry on and go all the way today.”I was hitting the ball very well. I came into this match with a lot of runs behind me and my confidence is high. Right now in my life, my form is a state of mind. I don’t think my form will leave me at this moment and I am just stroking the ball the way I like and getting into the groove.”I reached 50 and my goal was to go on and get a hundred. I was thinking once I got to three figures the team would be a good position and we would get the lead. I wanted to be there to get the target for the team.”Samuels departed while trying to get some quick late runs, caught at long-off trying to clear the boundary off the spin of Saeed Ajmal. That left the tailenders Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul with plenty of work to do, with only the No. 11 Devendra Bishoo still to come, and Samuels said he had faith the lower-order men could do the job.”I was talking to Roach when we were together, and I told him to believe,” he said. “He is a guy who can bat and he is showing that. I believe in the guys to do the job for the team and take us close to the runs we need to get for the lead. We’re still in the game. There is a lot of cricket left to be played.”West Indies need a similar tail-end effort to that provided by Pakistan after Tanvir Ahmed and Saeed Ajmal put on 78 for the last wicket. Tanvir made his maiden Test half-century and was the last man out for 57, and he said the pair knew it was an important partnership.”I think Saeed and I did very well to bat the way we did, and give our side such a big partnership because the pitch is not playing easy,” Tanvir said. “We needed those runs for the team, and it helped us to post a respectable total. I told Saeed Ajmal to try and play as straight as possible because they were bowling well, and he followed my advice, and I did the same, and it worked.”