Lively scoring rates and sporting declarations were not sufficient to generate a result in the first unofficial Test between New Zealand A and Zimbabwe A in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2010
Scorecard Daniel Flynn’s aggressive 162 set the tone for the game•Associated Press

Lively scoring rates and sporting declarations were not sufficient to generate a result in the first unofficial Test between New Zealand A and Zimbabwe A in Harare.The hosts elected to field, and their decision was initially vindicated as the pedigree opening pair of Tim McIntosh and Peter Ingram departed cheaply on the first morning. However, Jamie How, fresh from a personally successful Champions League Twenty20 where he led Central Districts’ winless campaign, counterattacked with a stroke-filled 92 off 96 balls. Zimbabwe’s woes were complete when Daniel Flynn, who has played 16 Tests for New Zealand, went after their bowling in equally aggressive fashion. The pair added a bright 217 runs in 33.5 overs, a stand that set the tone for the rest of the match.Flynn smashed five sixes and 16 fours in his innings and was fifth man out for 162 off 175 balls. Gareth Hopkins held the lower order together with a watchful 50 as New Zealand finished with 426, scored at 4.22 runs per over. Mountaineers seamer Njabulo Ncube and the 14-ODI old Malcolm Waller chipped in with three wickets each for the home team.Unlike the visitors, Zimbabwe’s top-order batsmen did not capistalise on starts, with Steve Marillier and Vusi Sibanda falling for scores of 38 and 46. Left-arm spinner Nick Beard caused a lot of problems as the hosts stuttered to 224 for 6 on the back of Craig Ervine’s 55. Then followed a strong rearguard led by wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, who has represented Zimbabwe in the shorter versions of the game. His fourth first-class ton, supported by Timycen Maruma’s 59 helped the hosts reduce the deficit to manageable proportions, before they declared their innings in search of a result.New Zealand’s second innings ran into early trouble, and at 65 for 4 in the second session of the third day, Zimbabwe would have nursed ambitions of forcing a win. However, they had to contend with the captain James Franklin, whose batting has come a long way in the last couple of seasons. Franklin stroked his 12th first-class ton, and Hopkins weighed in with a solid contribution once again to lead the visitors out of trouble. Franklin declared the innings closed at 280 for 5, setting the hosts a target of 342 in a little over two sessions.Tino Mawoyo launched the pursuit with his second first-class ton, an unbeaten 125 off 160 balls with 12 fours and two sixes, but a steady fall of wickets at the other end meant that Zimbabwe could never step up gears. With the score 243 for 5 after 54 overs, the game was called off, but despite the stalemate, both teams had reasons to be pleased with their efforts.

A round-up of the second day of the second round of matches in the Plate League of the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2010Group AVineet Saxena and Hrishikesh Kanitkar added 161 runs in 56.1 overs to give Rajasthan the first-innings lead against Goa on a rain-reduced second day at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Resuming at 48 for 1, the pair frustrated Goa through most of the day’s play before Kanitkar fell for 73 off 185 balls. Saxena completed his seventh first-class ton by stumps and, along with Robin Bist, guided his side into a dominant position.TP Sudhindra scalped four wickets as Madhya Pradesh bowled Tripura out for 255 before galloping to 225 for 3 by stumps on the second day at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Sudhindra picked up all the four Tripura wickets to fall in the morning before MP openers Naman Ojha and Jalaj Saxena set about the task of securing the first-innings lead in aggressive fashion. Naman brought up his third first-class ton, an innings that included 14 fours and two sixes, but Saxena fell ten short of the landmark. The pair added 209 in 43.5 overs before exiting in quick succession. Devendra Bundela also fell soon after as Tripura’s spirits rose before stumps.Hyderabad’s decision to drop four senior players for Under-22 cricketers paid dividend as the 18-year-old Bavanaka Sandeep scored 130 on his first-class debut to give them a 149-run first-innings lead with 5 wickets in hand against Jharkhand at the HEC International Cricket Stadium Complex in Ranchi. Fast bowler Kuldeep Sharma gave Jharkhand a good start to the day, taking 3 for 50 to reduce Hyderabad to 117 for 4. But Sandeep put together a 109-run partnership with Syed Quadri who made 50, and an unbeaten 129-run stand with wicket-keeper batsman Ibrahim Khaleel (47 off 114) to put Hyderabad firmly in the ascendancy with two days to go.Group BRain helped Jammu & Kashmir keep Kerala’s lead down to just 11 runs at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Malappuram, but the hosts are sitting pretty with nine wickets in hand. Opener VA Jagadeesh (98 off 147) and Robert Fernandez (65 off 151) made full use of the 50 overs of play that were possible on the second day after Abid Nabi dismissed Abhishek Hegde early. J&K only managed 173 in their first innings and will hope for more showers to stave of defeat.A fighting 82 from No. 7 batsman Ranjit Paradkar helped Vidarbha reach 281 for 8 in their first innings against Maharashtra at the Golf Club Ground in Nasik. Vidarbha started the day at 42 for 3, after just 13 overs were bowled on day one, and were tottering at 169 for 6 when Azhar Sheik fell after a patient half-century. Paradkar and Shrikant Wagh then added 96 to rescue their side. It was a team effort by Maharashtra in the field as their four frontline bowlers took two wickets apiece.Services were locked in an even battle for the first-innings lead against Andhra at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur. Resuming at 23 for 1 and chasing Andhra’s score of 229, Services were propelled by Sowmyaranjan Swain’s compoised 71 off 185 balls. He added 71 with Yashpal Singh before wickets began to tumble. Seamer Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna picked up three wickets while Y Gyaneswara Rao finished with two as Services stumbled to 187 for 7. They need 43 runs to secure the first-innings lead but, given the low-scoring nature of the game so far, an outright result could be on the cards.

The Bombay High Court is expected to announce on Monday its verdict in the Rajasthan Royals case, where the BCCI has sought relief against the stay granted on the franchise’s expulsion by the arbitrator

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Dec-2010The Bombay High Court is expected to announce on Monday its verdict in the Rajasthan Royals case, where the BCCI has appealed against the stay granted on the franchise’s expulsion by an independent arbitrator. Both parties have completed arguments, with the board repeating its contention that the ownership of Rajasthan had changed hands while the franchise maintained that the “ultimate control” of the team had remained the same.Justice S Vazifdar, who is hearing the case, had granted an interim injunction to Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday, restoring to the team all its rights under the IPL franchise agreement, subject to certain conditions. The similarity between that case and Rajasthan’s prompted speculation of a similar judgement today. However, Rajasthan’s decision to not pay any monetary guarantees – unlike Punjab – led to Vazifdar deferring the decision to Monday.Rajasthan had gone to court against the board’s decision in October to terminate them for alleged violations in shareholding pattern, ownership and change in ultimate control without obtaining prior consent of the BCCI. The court directed that the matter be settled through arbitration. But in a setback for the BCCI, the arbitrator, Justice BN Srikrishna, observed that the board was aware all along of the franchise’s alleged violations that formed the basis of the termination, and that Rajasthan had not, in fact, violated the franchise agreement. The BCCI moved the High Court immediately to contest Srikrishna’s verdict.Monday’s judgement would be vital for the board because if Vajifdar upholds the arbitrator’s verdict, the Indian board could be forced to field ten teams in the fourth edition of the IPL. Also the player auction, scheduled on January 8 and 9, will go ahead as planned. The board will then have the choice of approaching the two-judge divisional bench of the Bombay High Court, and move the Supreme Court after that, if need be.During Thursday’s arguments, BCCI counsel CA Sundaram said Srikrishna had based his judgement on certain assumptions. Under the franchise agreement, any change in control or corporate structure in the bid company cannot happen without the approval of the board. “Such an approval has to be taken 15 days before the change is made,” Sundaram told the court.According to Sundaram the arbitrator erred in considering the ultimate control of the bid company had changed post the date of franchise agreement . That was because “the date should have been that of the Letter of Eligibily (LoE) and not of the franchise agreement,” Sundaram said.The board’s charge was that the bid company was Emerging Media (IPL) Pvt Ltd UK (EMIPL), but it was now only a minority shareholder in the franchise. Sundaram said that at the time the LoE was submitted, there was only one bidding company, EMIPL. “However, as of today there was a Mauritius-based company [EM Sporting Holdings] whose holding structure is not known to the Indian board. Therefore, the BCCI now did not trust the Jaipur franchise and therefore, the termination.”Rajasthan’s counsel Janak Dwarkadas said “ultimate control” had never changed in his client’s company. He said that originally when the franchise was formed the intended structure was meant to comprise of the ultimate company, the Mauritius-based EM Sporting, whose subsidiary would be Jaipur IPL Pvt. Ltd. (the applicant at the time of bidding).””The UK company was the bid company where Fraser Castelino and Ranjit Barthakur were the shareholders when the LoE was submitted. After the franchise agreement was signed, the UK Company sold its shares to the Mauritius company and now the Mauritius company was the parent company, whose subsidiary was Jaipur IPL, and these changes were bought to the notice of BCCI who had approved the same,” Dwarkadas said.

Andrew Hilditch has confirmed he won’t quit as Australia’s chairman of selectors, and the only way he will leave the job is if he is sacked by Cricket Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2011Andrew Hilditch has confirmed he won’t volunteer to end his role as Australia’s chairman of selectors, and the only way he will leave the job is if he is sacked by Cricket Australia. Hilditch heads the four-man panel but is only a part-time selector, also working as a solicitor in Adelaide, and his contract with Cricket Australia expires after the World Cup.Late last year, Greg Chappell took on the role as Australia’s national talent manager and full-time selector, which could have created an opportunity for Hilditch to step aside and focus on his legal career. However, despite Australia’s Ashes humiliation, and his own insistence that the selectors had done a good job, Hilditch remains keen to stay on after his contract ends.”I have still got the same passion for everything I can give to Australian cricket, I only do it for one reason and that is I love Australian cricket,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m trying to do the best job I possibly can, as is the whole selection panel. So it will be for someone else to tell me when I’m not required.”Hilditch was in Adelaide announcing Australia’s squad for the first ODI against England, which will feature several auditions from fringe men hoping to win a place at the World Cup. The selection of Australia’s 15-man group to defend the World Cup will be one of Hilditch’s final acts before a review of Australia’s woeful summer is instigated, and if Hilditch is stood down, the search will be on for a new chairman of selectors.Unlike Hilditch, his predecessor Trevor Hohns, who quit in 2006 to pursue his business interests, was seen as a bold selector, who oversaw the separation of the Test and one-day teams and also pushed champions like Ian Healy and Mark Waugh into retirement. Decisions on older plays like Ricky Ponting, Simon Katich and Michael Hussey might need to made in the near future, and Hohns said he would consider returning to the selection panel if he was asked.”It’s quite a challenge,” Hohns told the . “If the opportunity was to arise, I would give it serious consideration. I am not suggesting that is going to happen or suggesting that I am going to do any better.”The current four-man group – Hilditch, Chappell, David Boon and Jamie Cox – was criticised for several decisions this summer, including the lack of certainty over who was the best spinner for the Test side. But nearly a week after the series was surrendered in Sydney, Hilditch maintained that the selectors had not performed poorly, although he was disappointed at how his comments had been construed.”To the extent that someone thinks that we’re not disappointed with the result, I’m disappointed those comments were taken that way,” Hilditch said. “The reality is nobody could be more disappointed than the national selection panel. We picked what we thought was a squad capable of winning the Ashes and it wasn’t capable of winning the Ashes, so that is disappointing.”

A round-up of action from the World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Hong Kong

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2011Mark Chapman’s half-century powered Hong Kong to a four-wicket win over Papua New Guinea in the final of the ICC World Cricket League Division Three, at the Kowloon Cricket Club. The 16-year-old Chapman’s unbeaten 70 anchored Hong Kong’s chase after their bowlers, led by Najeeb Amar, restricted PNG to 202 for 9.PNG chose to bat and got off to a steady start with their openers Tony Ura and Jack Vare putting on 77 runs in just under 21 overs. Amar picked up the first of his three wickets when he dismissed Ura for 51. Asad Vala was run out in the next over but Vare and Chris Amini batted solidly for a half-century stand to take PNG to 133 for 2. Aizaz Khan picked up Vare for 48 and the dismissal, in the 37th over, triggered a collapse. Nizakat Khan dismissed Kila Pala and Christopher Kent in the 38th over, and the slide continued as PNG lost seven wickets for 69 runs. Amini fell on the penultimate ball of the innings as PNG just managed to nudge past 200.PNG needed a strong reply from their bowlers if they were to have any chances of defending their total. Hitolo Areni provided the first breakthrough when he had Courtney Kruger lbw in the sixth over. Roy Lamsam and Hussain Butt, who made a half-century when Hong Kong beat PNG in their final league game, batted solidly but Rarva Dikana struck to dismiss both of them in quick succession as Hong Kong looked in trouble at 60 for 3. However, Chapman played a determined knock, stringing together useful partnerships with Irfan Ahmed, Nizakat and Waqas Barkat, to wrest the advantage in Hong Kong’s favour. Najeeb hit some big shots as his unbeaten 37-run partnership with Chapman carried Hong Kong home. Chapman was declared the Man of the Match.”Today I feel like I’m flying, like I am sat on the moon,” said a delighted Najeeb Amar. “I am so happy that we’ve won the tournament. I was delighted to score the winning the runs with Mark Chapman in front of our home crowd. Credit must not just go to the team but also our coach, Charlie Burke. He’s unbelievable, he made my job easier, he gave us a simple task: don’t panic and the results will come, which they did this week.”Our team is full of surprises and talented guys, especially Mark Chapman among many others, they can prove themselves against any team and hopefully when we get to Dubai we can do the same. The teams in Division Two will be a tough task, but the way we perform and play and we can make it any level and we’re confident.””It’s an amazing feeling to win in front of my family and home crowd and then take home the man of the match medal too,” Chapman said. “I worked hard today to grind out the runs since I’ve not had a great run this tournament. I don’t know much about Dubai and the sides we’ll face, but I’m sure we’ll be ready.”PNG head coach, Andy Bichel, was obviously disappointed about not taking home the trophy but drew positives from the tournament and the side’s promotion to Division Two. “It’s disappointing to lose in the final, but the plan was to win promotion to Division Two which we have done,” he said. “We’re a young squad and hopefully this experience will inspire them to play better in Dubai.”We haven’t looked forward to Division Two yet, but it’s about being prepared to play at that one level up. Its about having plans for batsmen who will be of a higher standard, being in different conditions with different pitches. The higher standard you go, the better the wickets will get, the better the teams are and it will be a real test for us – we’ve got the players to do well, its now about preparing for the event.”

An unbeaten century by Adnan Ilyas led Oman to third place, as they beat Italy by eight wickets at the Hong Kong Cricket Club. Ilyas scored 120 off 105 balls, and put together a 198-run partnership with Vaibhav Wategaonkar, who scored 87 not out, as Oman chased down Italy’s 251 in just 41 overs. Italy had reached their score on the back of a quick 78 by wicketkeeper Hayden Patrizi and a measured 81 by captain Alessandro Bonora. The two put together 99 runs for the fifth wicket. Italy ended their innings on a high after smashing 51 runs off the last four overs, but the score proved to be an easy target for Oman.”It’s fantastic to win Player of the Tournament, but is somewhat bittersweet as we’ve not managed to win promotion this week,” said Peter Petricola. “I wasn’t able to play today as I’ve been suffering some soreness after bowling for the first time in a while for the side, but claiming those 11 wickets and scoring those runs for Italy has been worth it to see us stay in Division Three.”I think this week has shown we have the ability to challenge the sides in Division Three and if things had gone our way we could’ve have made it up a division, but I’m happy we’ve maintained our position.”

USA finished last after Denmark thumped them by 84 runs at the Mission Road Ground. Denmark’s wicketkeeper Freddie Klokker set up the win with an unbeaten century that took his side to 240, seamer Basit Raja then ran through USA’s top order, and some tight fielding from Denmark sealed the win. Three USA batsmen were run out as they crashed to 156 all out in 43 overs. Raja took 3 for 25 and his opening spell helped reduce USA to 48 for 4. They never recovered and were soon 105 for 9. Durale Forrest and Muhammad Ghous added 51 for the last wicket but it was little consolation for USA. They and Denmark will both be relegated to Division 4.USA captain Steve Massiah was reprimanded and warned by the ICC for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after showing dissent at the umpire’s decision.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said that he is confident about having a corruption-free World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2011Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said that he is confident about having a corruption-free World Cup, especially after the anti-corruption tribunal’s verdict that banned three Pakistan players on charges of spot-fixing.”I am confident for two reasons,” Lorgat told the . “The main one is that the vast majority of players are honest players. They do play the game in the spirit that it should be played. They are not seeking to make gains out of untoward means.”Secondly, we are alive to what could come to the fore in terms of corruption. We have measures in place, and people forget we had been tracking this long before the had broken the story.Lorgat said the ICC was having discussions at appropriate levels about whether gambling could be legalised on the sub-continent, where cricket has long been under the spectre of illegal bookies and betting. “I agree with the notion that if it is regulated, it is a lot better than if it is not regulated. We have made inquiries, and these are the things we are working towards.”Since the spot-fixing scandal broke last year, Lorgat said that the ICC had increased its anti-corruption staff, and were now “more vigilant around leads we pick up.”Lorgat has said that the punishments handed out were severe enough, and felt that it would
deter players in future. “I think it would take someone very brave not to take heed of what has happened.”In legal terms, you have to be proportionate when you mete out punishment. We must distinguish between match-fixing and spot-fixing. This is a very experienced group of judges. They have enormous experience and expertise, and they are independent. They have applied their minds and decided on what is a proportionate sanction.”

Round-up of the second day’s play in the second round of matches in the Faysal bank Pentangular Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2011Federal Areas made a solid start in their reply to Baluchistan’s 353 on a curtailed second day at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Only 39.2 overs were possible in the day, and Federal Areas finished 135 for 2, leaving them 218 runs behind Baluchistan’s first-innings score. Baluchistan’s No. 10 Zulfiqar Babar added some quick runs at the start of the day to increase his side’s overnight total of 320 for 9. Federal Areas then lost a couple of wickets early, with fast bowlers Abdur Rauf and Nazar Hussain taking a scalp each. Opener Raheel Majeed stayed steady at one end to finish on 67 not out, and he put together an unbroken 79-run partnership with Umar Amin.Not much play was possible at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore either, where Punjab’s batsmen continued to dominate the Sind bowlers. Starting on 347 for 3, Punjab added another 124 runs in the 37 overs bowled on the second day, to finish at 471 for 4. Overnight centurion Mohammad Ayub went on to make 140 before he was bowled by Sohail Khan. That dismissal did not stop the runs however, as Usman Salahuddin helped himself to an unbeaten half-century, and Kamran Sajid scored 42 not out. Punjab may have to consider declaring early on the third day if they want to force a result from the game.

Rahul Dravid has been included in the MCC side to play County Champions Nottinghamshire in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2011The former England seamer Simon Jones has been forced to withdraw from the MCC squad to face the champion county, Nottinghamshire, in the English-season curtain-raiser in Abu Dhabi next week. He has experienced some discomfort in his knee and has been withdrawn as a precautionary measure, to be replaced by the MCC Young Cricketer, Paul Muchall.Muchall is a batting all-rounder who had an excellent season for the YCs in 2010, scoring over 550 runs in the Second XI Championship, and also played well for Kent in the CB40 tournament towards the end of the summer. He is currently captaining the YCs side in a pre-season training tour in Abu Dhabi, and will provide cover for the MCC Champion County squad.”It is a shame that Simon has had to pull out of the match, but I am very pleased to welcome Paul Muchall into the squad,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s Head of Cricket. “One of MCC’s key objectives is to provide a pathway into the professional game for talented young cricketers, and this represents another avenue for Paul to develop his game, and share a dressing room with some very experienced players. I am sure that Paul will be raring to get stuck in and make the most of the opportunity.”One of the men he will be able to learn from is the former India captain Rahul Dravid, who is a prominent member of the MCC World Cricket Committee. Dravid will be joined by England wicketkeeper Steven Davies and the side will be led by former Australia opener Chris Rogers who has joined Middlesex.Other notable inclusions for the four-day game at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium which, as in 2010, will be played under floodlights using a pink ball, are the Afghanistan pair of Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi, who are former MCC Young Cricketers. Sourav Ganguly will replace Dravid for a Twenty20 event which follows the four-day match and also features Nottinghamshire, Durham and a Fly Emirates XI.MCC squad Chris Rogers (capt), Stephen Moore, Rahul Dravid (four-day only), Stephen Peters, Dawid Malan, Mohammad Nabi, Steven Davies, Hamid Hassan, Gary Keedy, Paul Muchall, Steve Kirby, Toby Roland-Jones, Sourav Ganguly (T20 only), Omar Ali (12th man)Nottinghamshire squad Ali Brown, Jake Ball, Neil Edwards, Scott Elstone, Luke Fletcher, Paul Franks, Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Akhil Patel, Samit Patel, Ben Phillips, Chris Read (capt & wk), Charlie Shreck, Mark Wagh, Graeme White

The PCB has said the communication Danish Kaneria sent the board from his former employers Essex “failed to satisfy requirements” of the integrity committee

Osman Samiuddin17-May-2011Danish Kaneria’s exclusion from the national team looks set to continue for a while yet, after the PCB has said the communication the legspinner sent the board from his former employers Essex “failed to satisfy requirements” of the integrity committee.The PCB had asked Kaneria to send them a certificate of clearance from Essex following his arrest by police and eventual release last summer in a spot-fixing case involving another player from the county. Earlier this week, Kaneria sent the board an email from Essex in which the club thanked him for his services and explained the reasons he was not being offered another contract. It was an email he had already submitted to the board late last year.”We have responded to Kaneria,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarward told ESPNcricinfo. “The clearance letter he sent is something he sent to us six months ago and which we had. We sought legal opinion and confirmed with the ECB, and decided that the document failed to satisfy the requirements of the PCB. So Kaneria has been advised to provide a clearance certificate at the earliest.”What exactly constitutes a “clearance certificate” is unclear: “We just want an idea of what Essex say about him and the case. They were his employers at the time. Will they consider him now?” is what the board’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi told ESPNcricinfo recently. Whether or not Essex will or can provide such a document is another matter altogether. Indications from board officials suggest that such a certificate may not arrive so readily, which leaves a question mark over Kaneria’s international future.Kaneria, presently Pakistan’s leading Test wicket-taker, has not played internationals since last summer. He was selected as part of the squad to face South Africa in a series in the UAE in November 2010, but was prevented from travelling by the PCB at the last minute. The board said he had not been cleared by the integrity committee, newly-formed in the wake of the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal.Since then, Kaneria has submitted various financial records and documents and appeared in front of the committee several times, but hasn’t managed to satisfy members. Until recently, the committee was asking him for transcripts of his questioning by police in the case, something Kaneria and his lawyers insisted they could not provide as it was part of an ongoing investigation in the UK.”This is an integrity issue for us,” Rizvi had said nearly two weeks ago, when asking for the clearance certificate. “The committee is not just made up of board members or cricketers, it has an ex-judge of the Supreme Court on it and in their opinion, Kaneria had not satisfied them so he has not been cleared. We can’t take a risk, so we have asked for this clearance now.”

Paul Collingwood has spoken about his hurt at losing the England Twenty20 captaincy to Stuart Broad and revealed that he wasn’t given the chance to interview for his position

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2011Paul Collingwood has spoken about his hurt at losing the England Twenty20 captaincy to Stuart Broad and revealed that he wasn’t given the chance to interview to keep the position. Despite insisting he still has the desire and determination to continue his England career, he also admitted he “has some thinking to do.”Collingwood was called to a meeting with Geoff Miller, the national selector, on Wednesday morning in London, 24 hours before the ECB revealed Broad as the new Twenty20 captain alongside Alastair Cook for the 50-over side. The decision to remove Collingwood came just a year after he led England to the World Twenty20 title in West Indies, their first piece of global silverware, and Collingwood had always stated his aim of defending the prize in Sri Lanka next year.”Four days ago I was upbeat about getting back into training and playing after my knee operation,” Collingwood told the Mail on Sunday. “I was full of optimism about trying to regain my form and my place in the one-day side.”As for the longer term, after retiring from Test cricket in the winter, I had my sights set firmly on leading our defence of the World Twenty20 in 2012. So when Geoff Miller told me, it was like a juggernaut had come along at full steam and completely wiped me out … just disbelief.”Collingwood, though, was quick to offer his full backing to the new captain. “I want to make it clear I totally support Stuart Broad as my successor. He has the kind of fast-thinking brain that you need in Twenty20 captaincy. But even though I understand all that … I’m still very disappointed and hurt by what has happened.”Despite being a reluctant captain, who needing persuading to take the Twenty20 captaincy in 2009 after having had a difficult time in charge of the one-day teams, Collingwood grew to savour the role. The successful World Twenty20 campaign formed the bulk of a record eight-match winning streak that only ended when England lost the second Twenty20 against Australia in Melbourne in January.”After having decided to retire from Test cricket, my desire and motivation to lead England on to the next World T20 grew stronger,” Collingwood said. “It was my passion, my last big ambition in international cricket. It meant a massive amount to me.”It is likely that Collingwood’s slump in form played a major part in the decision to look towards the future with Broad. Despite England’s Twenty20 success, Collingwood’s own contributions with the bat were minimal over the last year – with a top score of 21 in his last 13 T20 innings – and a persistent knee problem reduced his bowling workload.Yet, having retired from Test cricket after the Ashes, Collingwood was determined to revive his limited-overs career and underwent knee surgery after the World Cup. He remains on course to return for Durham’s domestic Twenty20 campaign, which starts in June.”By not playing Test cricket, I felt I would have the mental freshness to carry on as leader and to prolong my form when it came back and extend my international future,” he said. “Now, while it would be madness to cut things short straightaway, the future is far less clear than it was four days ago. I have some thinking to do. I’m still very fit and I want to show people I can still play.”