Kent were a delight to watch in limited-overs cricket last season, but as the international-ground counties dominate it will take some special performances to break the trend

David Hopps01-Apr-2016Head coach: Jimmy Adams
Captain: Sam Northeast
Last season
In: Adam Rouse
Out: Brendan Nash (released), Ben Harmison (released)
Overseas: Tom Latham, Kagiso Rabada (July)2015 in a nutshell
Kent were a delight to watch in limited-overs cricket last season, but could not follow up the plaudits with trophies as they exited in the quarter-final stage in both competitions. In the likes of Sam Northeast, Sam Billings (one of only three England players signed up for an IPL deal) and Daniel Bell-Drummond they have an exciting crop of young players who are bringing fresh live to Canterbury under the wise observation of Rob Key.2016 prospects
Kent do not have the appearance of serious challengers in Division Two of the Championship, for all their batting depth, but they have been lifted by a six-week mid-season spell for the young South African quick Kagiso Rabada. Early season will be more challenging for Sam Northeast’s exciting young squad, especially with Sam Billings on IPL duty: Tom Latham has the batting attributes to help them through the tough days. In one-day cricket, though, they can surely push for a trophy. South African-born Sean Dickson can add to that batting lustre, and all it needs is one young pace bowler to take his opportunity for them to be a limited-overs side to be reckoned with. With many seeing England’s T20 future as wedded to international grounds, they need to make themselves heard.Key player
With question marks around their pace bowling stocks, Kent’s potential trump card lies in two offspinners at either ends of their career, James Tredwell and Adam Riley. Riley had a second-season dip in 2015 after he was prematurely touted as an England possible in his breakthrough year. Kent remain convinced Riley has all the attributes to become an international spinner and are delighted to have tied him to a new contract.Bright young thing
Kent have any number of bright young things when it comes to batsmen, but they are sorely in need of extra pace bowling resources. They will hope that Matt Hunn, a 6ft 5ins fast bowler, will make further strides this summer after winning a few headlines last season with five wickets against the Australian tourists but the solve the problem long term they might have to widen their developmental base.ESPNcricinfo verdict
Kent’s formidable T20 batting line-up gives them an excellent chance of reaching Finals Day, even without a heavy overseas spend, but it would take a summer of turning pitches for them to challenge for the Second Division title.Bet365 odds: Specsavers Championship, Div 2: 9/1; NatWest Blast n/a; Royal London Cup 20/1

Peter Siddle has retained his Cricket Australia contract for 2016-17 despite the likelihood that he will be sidelined for a lengthy period of the year due to stress fractures in his back

Brydon Coverdale01-Apr-2016Peter Siddle has retained his Cricket Australia contract for 2016-17 despite the likelihood that he will be sidelined for a lengthy period of the year due to stress fractures in his back. The renewal of his contract is an encouraging sign for Siddle, whose international future appeared cloudy after the diagnosis in February following the Test tour of New Zealand.Stress fractures of the back are not uncommon among fast bowlers but are often suffered by younger men still making their way in the game. At 31, Siddle will need not only to recover well and return through the Sheffield Shield, but also fight off more youthful challengers if he is to add to his 61 Test caps.The 20-man contract list for 2016-17 was fairly predictable, with the only six players missing from the group announced last March being the team’s retirees: Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers. Coming in from outside last year’s initial group are Siddle, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns, Adam Voges, Peter Nevill, John Hastings, Nathan Coulter-Nile.However, all seven of those men played enough matches for Australia during the current 2015-16 period to have already been upgraded to Cricket Australia contracts. The only others who played enough to be upgraded during the 2015-16 year but missed out on 2016-17 deals were Matthew Wade and Scott Boland, who played exclusively in the shorter formats.Wade remains Australia’s preferred one-day international gloveman and has been named in the ODI squad for a tri-series in the West Indies in June, but Nevill was used in the World T20 in India. Others who missed out on contracts include Jackson Bird and Steve O’Keefe, both of whom played Test cricket during the past few months, as well as short-form players Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson.”The Australian team is set to embark on another busy year of international cricket and we believe the players chosen in this group are those that are right in contention to represent the country over the next 12 months,” national selector Rod Marsh said.”There is a lot of talent within this group and we have confidence that the players chosen can be successful in all three forms of the game, against a range of opposition, in a variety of conditions.”Following a number of high-profile retirements, we believe this group of players gives us a healthy blend of youth and experience to represent Australia at the highest level, allowing us the best chance of maintaining our number-one rankings in Test and ODI cricket, as well as improving our performances in the T20 format.”Australia’s next Test series is in Sri Lanka following the West Indies one-day tri-series, and then in the home summer they host South Africa and Pakistan for Test matches. A Test tour of India follows in the new year. Players from outside the contract list can be upgraded to CA deals if they earn 12 upgrade points throughout the year on a basis of five points per Test appearance, two per ODI and one per T20 international.Contract list George Bailey, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Adam Voges, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.

It must be a hoot inside Viv Richards’s head

Chris Ryan07-May-2016It must be a hoot inside Viv Richards’s head. Joel Garner, as we speak, is heading up the rebuilding operation in Iraq. Ricardo Powell, the US Secretary of State, is fixing himself a stiff drink. Faoud Bacchus, that randy old Greek god, is fixing himself several. Oh, and Dennis Lillee is a cowardly, cream-puff crybaby who stopped bowling bouncers because he was afraid he might cop a couple back.Welcome to the wacky world of Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards. In case you missed the news, the Master Blaster has been indulging in a scurrilous spot of Master Bluster. Now chairman of West Indian selectors – and that’s in the real world, not just his own – Richards has accused Lillee of watering down his ferocity once the likes of Andy Roberts and Michael Holding gatecrashed the Test arena in the late-1970s.Lillee, so the story goes, was terrified that if he pitched short at the West Indians they’d headhunt him back. "Lillee realised what would be coming at him," said Richards. "He was all huff and puff, but he wasn’t quite the same later on."Lillee, in typically swashbuckling style, has dismissed Richards’s taunts as "a heap of bulldust". "If Viv actually made that comment," Lillee went on, "then he must have forgotten a fair bit."And there you have it. The two most watchable and inspirational cricketers of the 1970s and 80s, the defining players of their generation, are at loggerheads.Now, this is all decidedly odd. Cricket is about forgiving and forgetting, letting sleeping dogs lie, what happens on the field stays on the field, and all that. Especially when the events in question occurred a quarter of a century ago. Especially when the two adversaries are revered warriors. And especially when one of them is the great, the one, the only DK Lillee.For Lillee had grace. Pore over the old videotapes and you still marvel at his fluency, his fluidity. He was like a giant gathering willy-willy, slowly uncoiling then scattering all in his wake. He’d reach the top of his run-up and turn, with not a flicker of hesitation. He’d begin with a couple of quickish trots before slipping into rhythm, back arched and arms horizontal, picking up speed as he hurtled creasewards. Then he’d launch into one almighty leap and, for a moment or two, the world stood still. His right arm high. His feet almost kissing the stumps. His torso classically side-on. For all the science in fast bowling these days, nobody has come close to devising so majestic an action.Lillee had charisma. Bucketloads of it, in fact. He made green-and-yellow headbands and chunky gold jewellery look cool. When he got hot and bothered he used to slide a lanky index finger across his forehead and flick away droplets of sweat. Then he’d lope down to fine-leg, shirt unbuttoned to his nipples, gold chain bobbing in a forest of black hair, his pelvis thrust out in the direction of Bay 13. Lillee was sex on legs and the MCG was his favourite tabletop.And yes, Viv, Lillee had guts. He never flinched, never shirked a challenge, never blanched at the sight of yet another flat pudding of a pitch. Ian Chappell always says wresting the ball from Lillee was like taking a bone off a Doberman. If he didn’t get you first time he’d roar back for a second spell, then a third. Then there was the way he kept fighting back from crippling injuries – to his back, his knees and most other vital joints. Lillee was brave, and crazily so.These attributes, what’s more, were widely accepted as fact. Back in the days when glossy magazines used to print long, rambling Q&As with all the star players, Lillee’s name cropped up repeatedly. Most Feared Opponent. Hardest Man To Face. "He had everything," Bob Willis once wrote. "Courage, variety, high morale, arrogance, supreme fitness and aggression."To Don Bradman, Lillee was "capable of the most devastation" of any fast bowler in history. "He had so much intelligence," gushed Sunil Gavaskar. For Richard Hadlee, Lillee was "my idol, my role model … I copied Lillee. I studied him and analysed everything he did, asking myself why he did it and whether there were aspects of his approach I could build into my own game."Now here comes the really curious bit. Richards, until this week, seemed to agree. In his latest book Sir Vivian – "The Definitive Autobiography", whatever that means – Richards calls Lillee "the most dangerous fast bowler I have ever faced". Curiouser still, he notes that Lillee "never bowled a short ball without a reason".He even recounts, almost fearfully, an occasion when Lillee struck him under the heart. Richards couldn’t breathe or speak. Lillee offered not a jot of sympathy. "When I looked up," said Richards, "he was back at his mark. In fact there wasn’t one Lillee ready to come snorting in at me again – I could see two … The crowd was chanting: Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! One Lillee is bad enough, but this was one too many."Sir Vivian came out in 2000. Three years ago. How could so much change so soon?It’s history that Richards, at the turn of the millennium, was voted Wisden’s fifth greatest player of the 20th century. Lillee polled six votes fewer to finish equal-sixth. And yet Lillee’s place in the pantheon is secure. Parts of the Richards legend demand closer scrutiny.Take his fixation with bouncers, for instance. It lives on today, as demonstrated by his gibe at Lillee, but first emerged when he was a brash young batsman. Richards’s refusal to wear a helmet always had more to do with macho breast-beating than commonsense. And was he really so fearless? There were times, Australians with long memories might recall, when Richards looked distinctly unnerved by a young Steve Waugh and even younger Craig McDermott.His greatest slice of luck was to be born West Indian. He only had to face Garner, Holding and Co in the nets. Richards claims Lillee went soft in his old age, yet he is on shaky footing here himself. Richards was dismissed for 15 or under nine times in his last 10 Tests on Australian soil. He remained a thunderous strokemaker once set. But by the age of 30, particularly on bouncy wickets, he could be a clunky starter.By the time Lillee hit his thirties it’s true, of course, that he had eased his foot off the pedal. Quite deliberately. Throat-ticklers were out. Indigestible leg-cutters and indecipherable variations in pace were in. Instead of terrorising batsmen Lillee outfoxed them. Richards is still being outfoxed 25 years later.His bouncer obsession filtered through most pointedly as captain. Under Clive Lloyd’s command the West Indian quicks tended not to waste bouncers on batsmen who could handle them. Bruce Laird, one of the gutsiest of all Australian openers, tells how he endured relatively few short deliveries. Instead they would aim to swing the ball at high speed on a good length. Bouncers remained something of a delicacy. Under Richards they were served up for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Four an over. Five an over. Too much was never enough. Richards, by the end, was a boring captain of a boring team.Boring is something Lillee could never be. He showed it again during a rare TV appearance on Monday night. He was interviewed by Andrew Denton, normally a witty and astute interrogator, who was reduced to shameless sycophancy in the presence of the great moustachioed wonder.No matter. Lillee was as engaging as ever. He told tall stories. He spoke warmly about Shane Warne, regretfully about his own on-field misdemeanours. He did a neat line in modesty too. "I can only remember three or four wickets I ever got – maybe 10," said Lillee. "It’s gone. Not that I want to get rid of it. It’s those red wines."Lillee’s memory might be scratchy but one thing’s for sure – it’s better than Viv’s. Unless Carl Hooper really is the old bloke who used to run the grocers shop on Sesame Street.Chris Ryan is a former managing editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly and a former Darwin correspondent of the Melbourne Age.

After a performance as perfect as this – in which John Simpson became their third batsman to score a brilliant ton, and Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones shared nine Hampshire wickets – it is only rain that can deny Middlesex now

Will Macpherson at Merchant Taylors' School30-May-2016
ScorecardAdam Voges finished unbeaten on 160 before Middlesex’s bowlers got to work•Getty Images

As Brendon McCullum watched on from the balcony atop this beautiful, expansive ground’s quaint, wisteria-covered pavilion, he would have been forgiven for wondering quite how his new Middlesex team-mates have failed to win in the Championship this season. Six games, six draws. There is mitigation: half of those games have taken place on the deadest of Lord’s tracks, while they have lost a staggering 618 overs – 103 out of each game – to rain. The top order has been making runs, the bowlers have been taking wickets, yet not a result in sight.After a performance as perfect as this – in which John Simpson became their third batsman to score a brilliant ton, and Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones shared nine Hampshire wickets – it is only rain that can deny them now. A downpour is forecast for Tuesday, but the heavy lifting is done; surely, across the final two days, the clouds will lift to allow them time to take the seven remaining Hampshire wickets, after they were made to follow on. On the basis of the second day’s play, that should not take long.Angus Fraser talks about the “Middlesex DNA”, the personality traits he wants to define his team, which is a rather hazy concept for those on the outside, but crystal clear to all in a united, friendly, laugh-a-minute dressing room. It was there last week, when Nick Gubbins, the baby of the side – and thus victim of a few pranks – was so touched to be taken out for drinks by his team-mates upon finally reaching a Championship ton, having three times fallen in the 90s. It was visible here, when James Fuller took his first – then second and third – Championship wickets for the club, and the back-slapping seemed to last for hours. It is audible every time Ollie Rayner or Murtagh let out their big barks, their umms and ahhs in the field; each gag is raucously laughed at, each achievement raucously celebrated.It was perhaps most obvious, however, as Adam Voges and Simpson came out and flayed to all parts in the morning session – with clouds low and fielders’ fingers freezing – to add a quickfire 125 in just 19.2 overs and set up a perfect declaration, allowing the bowlers 30 minutes before lunch, upon the completion of Simpson’s rocking, rollicking century. Roland-Jones described their efforts, to which Simpson contributed 72 off 61 this morning as Voges, who finished 160 not out turned the strike over, as “selfless, but highly skilful too”.”It’s never easy to go out and force the issue that clearly,” Roland-Jones said. “They set the tone, playing so positively to get ahead so quickly and we exploited the conditions that were out there.”Simpson, such a pugnacious, powerful batsman, played a dazzling hand. There was a front-foot pull for six off James Tomlinson, then another six to cow, and reverse-swept and straight-driven fours, all of Liam Dawson, as 22 were pilfered from five balls. Each came with crack cleaner than the last. Hampshire, on a pitch described by Roland-Jones as “pretty consistent, but always offering enough to the bowlers with enough lateral movement,” had been thoroughly beaten up by brilliant batting. They looked utterly demoralised.Either side of lunch, the nippy, nagging excellence of Murtagh and the Fraser-ish, bouncy Roland-Jones, a veritable nightmare bowling down the hill, bowled 11- and 10-over spells respectively. As Roland-Jones’s lift continually beat the outside edge, Murtagh’s off-stump line accounted for the top three. Sean Ervine and Dawson – who drove beautifully straight – dug in to share 34, Hampshire’s largest partnership of the day, but a screaming Sam Robson catch at gully saw off Dawson, and before long Rayner’s bounce gave his first over the wicket of Joe Weatherley. Murtagh returned to find Ervine’s edge, and Roland-Jones docked a limp tail.Hampshire’s horrid day was summed up by Tino Best, so hot against Nottinghamshire last week, so very cold today. There he was, at the end of the day’s first over, calling the 12th man on for a second jumper – to be fair, it was chilly enough to force umpire Neil Mallender to don gloves – but soon he was officially warned for beaming Voges and, later, a leading edge off Roland-Jones flew straight to mid-on. His funereal walk to and from the middle meant a one-ball innings lasted four minutes.The follow-on was enforced without the batting of an eyelid – and may mean Hampshire, who are three behind on the over rate, end up taking -2 points from the match. Middlesex continued on their merry way, Murtagh’s second ball taking the edge of Will Smith – promoted to open, before Fuller’s aggressive late burst did for Michael Carberry, caught low at second slip, and Ervine – stump cartwheeling – just as the new-ball pair’s exertions began to show. Off they went, revelling in their six perfect sessions and ready to meet their newest team-mate, knowing that first win is not far away.

Lancashire are unlikely leaders of Division One after promotion last season but in a stop-start season they refuse to be cowed

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge05-Jul-2016
ScorecardStuart Broad clubbed useful runs•Getty Images

A persistent breeze stiffened enough from time to time to ask less hardy spectators to consider putting on a jacket but at least it was a day that looked like summer. On the field, Stuart Broad worked up a sweat, eager to show his county the commitment that comes naturally to him in Test cricket. But an increasingly benign pitch was giving him very little back.Steven Mullaney, captain against his former county in the absence of Chris Read, was proactive, rotating the bowlers, frequently tweaking his fields, trying to make something happen. Broad ran willingly to where he was directed, chipping in too with suggestions on tactics to try. Deep into the last session, though, Lancashire’s openers had their sights on batting through to the close, determined that their concentration would not crack.They look like a side who believe in themselves. Promoted teams tend these days to find the step up a difficult one but Lancashire have established themselves among the front-runners. It would be a surprise if they are in first place at the end of the season but their players are not easily cowed.Tom Smith, a solid professional in the best traditions of county cricket, turned 30 now and with the wisdom and experience to go with it, locked horns again with Imran Tahir, as he had in the first innings. After a protracted battle, the legspinner had the last word then but this time Smith, so far, has the upper hand.At the other end, moreover, he had an ally who already looks equally at home playing the long game. Haseeb Hameed is not yet 20 in years but temperamentally seems much older, at least with bat in hand. The pair have been Lancashire’s best opening partnership so far this year, the first to put 100 or more on the board.In doing so, they have probably saved this game for Lancashire, who trailed by 198 on first innings, a scenario that looked unlikely after Nottinghamshire had lost half their wickets while still 35 runs behind.Steven Croft, as willing and versatile as he is, is not a wicketkeeper and it is a demanding position from which also to captain a side. Whether he could have done much differently, though, is a moot point, given that of all the things Mullaney tried later, none achieved a breakthrough.It has been a different match for Neil Wagner, who took 11 wickets when Lancashire beat Nottinghamshire handsomely at Old Trafford in May. His reward for 33.1 overs of toil this time was 3-107.”It was hard out there, on an unresponsive and flat wicket,” he said. “I thought we bowled well, we asked questions and we bowled better than we did yesterday, when we did not hit our lengths consistently and got hurt.”We thought if we could get a couple of quick wickets this morning we might be in with a shout but credit to Nottinghamshire they batted very well. Riki and Samit batted really well, as did Broady and the others who came in after. They never really gave us a chance.”But it was a great partnership between Haseeb and Tom and although there is a lot of work to do yet hopefully we are in a good position now to save the game.”Patel and Wessels could not be parted for more than an hour, adding 43 to an overnight lead of 27 before Patel, who had been watchful for the most part, feathered the thinnest of edges to Croft off Smith, who dismissed Wessels soon afterwards. Looking to accelerate the pursuit of bowling points, Wessels went after Smith and picked up his ninth boundary but was undone by the next delivery, which pushed him on to the back foot and took the edge, Liam Livingstone backpeddling from slip to take the catch.Wessels had to leave the field with a finger injury later in the day, handing the wicketkeeping gloves to Brendan Taylor for a period, but was able to resume after treatment.The end of one significant partnership, one that was worth 105 runs, merely introduced another. Broad, who has given good value to his county with the bat as well as the ball this season, combined with Brett Hutton to add another 79 for the eighth wicket, 31 of which came within the space of 18 deliveries, 24 from Broad’s bat, to clinch maximum batting points for Nottinghamshire with just one ball to spare.In an innings notable for unconverted starts – nine players made between 30 and 67 – neither Broad nor Hutton reached 50 but the lead kept stretching. Even Harry Gurney, a genuine number 11, made it into double figures, for only the eighth time in 95 first-class innings.The win that Nottinghamshire need rather more urgently than their opponents seems unlikely, however, unless Tahir can do something remarkable on the final day.

SLC and Muttiah Muralitharan have traded caustic verbal blows following an altercation between Murali and the Sri Lanka team manager over Murali’s consulting role with the Australia side

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jul-2016Sri Lanka Cricket and Muttiah Muralitharan have traded caustic verbal blows following an altercation between Murali and the Sri Lanka team manager. SLC has made a formal complaint to Cricket Australia over the altercation, and has also contended Murali had conducted centre-wicket training at the Pallekele ground without permission.With consternation about Murali’s role as spin-bowling consultant with Australia already high at SLC, a rumour began to circulate that Murali had influenced the preparation of a turning pitch at the P Sara Oval for Australia’s practice match last week. Having represented Tamil Union Cricket Club for much of his career, the P Sara Oval was effectively Murali’s home ground. It is a venue where he commands substantial respect.Sri Lanka would have preferred Australia to play their practice match on a seaming deck at odds with the surfaces that would be prepared for the Tests. Yet, Australia spinners Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon shared 12 scalps in that game, on a surface that had begun to take significant turn by day three.Having caught wind of the suggestion that he was responsible for the nature of that pitch, Murali said he confronted Charith Senanayake, whom he believed to be the source of the accusation. Murali denies having had any influence over the preparation of the P Sara pitch. Senanayake denies having sparked the rumour.”Charith has accused [me] and told the media that I have cut the grass on the pitch to help Australia’s spin bowlers to take the wickets in the three-day game. That’s a lie,” Murali said. “When I met him I asked him: ‘We played together and respected each other, why are you telling lies?’, he told me that they have just made an inquiry.”The Tamil Union wicket was made at the time by Janaka Sampath, who is the SLC board curator. They should clarify from him what actually happened, rather than going on rumour.”Tempers are understood to have spilled over during the exchange. SLC was eventually notified, and on Monday, its president Thilanga Sumathipala said the board was “deeply disappointed” by Murali’s actions and had lodged a complaint with CA.”There are two problems here,” Sumathipala said. “The first is that Charith Senanayake has made a complaint that he had been berated. The second is that a certain training session for the Australia players at Pallekele had been carried out without permission.”We’re very disappointed because Murali is a player the board spent a lot of effort saving. We saved him three times. From a professional standpoint, there is no problem with him working with the Australian team. But the issue here is an ethical one. We’ve named the trophy the Murali-Warne Trophy.”And I remember once when we went to Kandy with Murali, he was on a truck and there was so much support for him that it took four hours for him to get home. Kandy is his hometown, and he’s now had to coach an opposition team at Pallekele. Regardless of professionalism, we’re very hurt by this.”SLC vice-president Mohan de Silva attempted to calm tensions, stating the board had not lost respect for Murali, but others within the cricket establishment had continued to express their dismay. When Sri Lanka’s sports minister also expressed “disappointment” over him taking the Australia job, Murali reacted by admonishing the board for casting aspersions upon his “ethics”, and drew attention to his substantial body of humanitarian work.”About two years ago, the board headed by Nishantha Ranatunga asked me to do some work with the spinners and I said yes, and I went and worked with the Sri Lankan spinners for 10 or 15 days,” Murali said. “Since then no Sri Lankan board has asked me to do any job. If they had asked me before the [Australia] series to be a consultant, I would have said yes. They didn’t want me, and someone else wanted me. How could I be a traitor to this country? Australia asked me to coach for the entire series, but I told them I can only do 10 days because I don’t want to be in the opposition dressing room during the match in Sri Lanka, that’s not ethical.”Sri Lankan people have done a lot for me, and I think I have done a lot for them as well. Along with a friend I’ve opened the Foundation of Goodness, where every year we help 50,000 families. We built 1000 houses after the tsunami. Cricket-wise, through the foundation, we made about 30-40 wickets in the Northern and Eastern provinces. We hold an annual reconciliation tournament. We do more than what Sri Lanka Cricket does, with our own funds.”Murali said Sri Lankans pursuing coaching opportunities with other countries was a result of their being unfairly treated by the SLC.”These people who are accusing me should go and look in the mirror [and compare] what they are doing to the country and what I am doing. The other fundamental wrong is that when our players become brilliant coaches, the board chases them off. I’m talking about Chandika Hathurusingha, Chaminda Vaas, Marvan Atapattu, Mario Villavarayan, and Thilan Samaraweera, who went to Australia. These people are all working in different countries where they are valued more than they are here.”What we do is bring all the top coaches from abroad when we already have the talent. We are not using it. Am I the traitor or are they the traitors? When they pay also – the foreign coaches are paid so much more than the Sri Lankan coaches.”Murali was also incensed by how much had been made of his association with Australia in particular, a role which he felt offered personal vindication given his travails in Australia during his career. He had initially worked with the Australia spinners during a series in the UAE in 2014, before being approached again ahead of this series.”I know in ’95 and ’96 I had problems against Australia, and the whole of Sri Lanka backed me. I thought that when Australia asked me to coach, that’s them saying that I don’t do anything wrong – that I am correct and they were wrong at the time. That’s their proving it by asking me to train their spinners.”Does SLC think that just because I coach Australia for 10 days, Australia will win? If that’s the case I am the best coach in the world, and Sri Lanka should hire me every time, and we will win every time.”Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara tweeted in support of Murali on Monday evening. “Murali is a great son of Sri Lanka and he doesn’t have to defend himself. He loves his country,” Sangakkara wrote. “He is free to consult or coach anyone. If SLC had ever asked him to coach Sri Lanka, he always will. His consultancy with anyone is a way he can give back to the game.”He has given his best to his country on the field and off. He is always available for his country, all they have to do is ask. We [should be] proud of him. If any Sri Lankan spinner walks up to [Murali] and asks him about bowling, he will be the first to spend as much time as needed to help. Free.”

Given Sri Lanka’s growing injury concerns, the national selectors will pick a squad ahead of each Test for their upcoming three-match series against Australia, which begins on July 26

Sa'adi Thawfeeq17-Jul-2016Given Sri Lanka’s growing injury concerns, the national selectors will pick a squad ahead of each Test for their upcoming three-match series against Australia, which begins on July 26.Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya and co-selectors Romesh Kaluwitharana, Eric Upashantha and Ranjith Madurusinghe face a dearth of fast-bowling options after injuries to several first XI players. Dhammika Prasad’s shoulder injury is likely to keep him out of the Test series, while Dushmantha Chameera and Suranga Lakmal, who will undergo a fitness test on Monday for a hamstring strain, will be assessed later. Shaming Eranga’s suspect action leaves Nuwan Pradeep as the only seamer available for selection from the recent tour of England.”It is very difficult times as a selector to pick a balanced squad with so many injuries,” Jayasuriya, who is in his second stint as chief selector, said. “It’s a bit tough but we will try and pick the best possible team. I hope the players picked also know what is expected of them and that they will do their best.”Whoever is fit and whoever is doing well in the Sri Lanka A team, we’ll have to give them the opportunity. It is the feeding place for the senior side. If we feel there is somebody who is very good in the Sri Lanka A, emerging or Under-19 squads, we will not hesitate to pick them.”I am really happy the way some of the Sri Lanka A players have been performing in England. Fast bowlers Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando, batsmen Dhananjaya de Silva and Roshen Silva are quite a few players.”When we play in Sri Lanka we have a better chance of performing than when you are overseas. I am confident they can do well. But it’s a lot of hard work to come out and show their character.”Jayasuriya said despite the bowling concerns, Sri Lanka’s young batting core is headed in the right direction.”Our main concern is the bowling but this is also a good time for a youngster to put his hand up and perform and show his character,” he said. “The batting line-up is a fairly good one and stable. If you see the way they progressed in the Tests the batting was really good. It’s the one key department we can think that we are on the right direction.”With players like Kusal Mendis, Kaushal Silva, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews, the batting line-up did really well. Some of the innings of 20s and 30s, I would like to see them go and get a big 100 or 200.”The unfortunate thing about the Test series in England was that we had a very good bowling line-up but we started getting injuries from the first Test onwards and before long our main three fast bowlers – Prasad, Chameera and Eranga – were out of the scene. We were basically left with only another two fast bowlers Pradeep and Lakmal to run through the rest of the games. If not for those injures we would have done really well. But injuries are part and parcel of cricket and you have to face them.”Jayasuriya also felt the increased workload of international cricket was responsible for Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling injury crisis.”At the moment, they are playing a lot of cricket – Tests, ODIs and T20Is. In our days, our cricketing life span would have been about 15 years but now it has come down to about eight years.”In the present context if you play for 10 years you will have played more than 150 Tests and almost 300-400 ODIs on top of T20Is. A human body cannot take such a workload. The main thing is how the player manages and rehabs himself. It is easy to come and say ‘I am injured’. To play with the pain is the key. No fast bowler can play without any pain. They have to play with niggles here and there. We are currently working on the players with one of the best trainers, Michael Mann, who has been trying to get them into shape.”Jayasuriya said Chandimal will continue to be Sri Lanka’s designated wicketkeeper during the Test series with Kusal Perera as a middle-order batsman.”At the moment Chandimal is the better keeper, Kusal is a bit out of touch. Chandimal normally bats at No. 4 but because of the conditions in England, we pushed him to No. 6 and it was successful. We will discuss with him what position he is comfortable batting, he is flexible.”Although many Australian players have not played a Test in Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya warned against complacency.”They (Australia) have come early and started practice to get to know our conditions and they have hired (Muttiah) Muralitharan to get information about Sri Lankan conditions and pitches. They are very smartly doing their homework. At the end of the day they are also professionals, their coach has played here. We can’t take things lightly.”

The ECB delegation left Dhaka on Saturday evening after inspecting venues in Mirpur, Chittagong and Fatullah ahead of England’s tour of the country in October

Mohammad Isam20-Aug-2016The ECB delegation left Dhaka on Saturday evening with its host hopeful of England’s tour of Bangladesh going ahead as scheduled in October. The delegation inspected venues in Mirpur, Chittagong and Fatullah, giving special attention to detail when looking at the venues and hotels in Mirpur and Chittagong. The three-member delegation also had meetings with intelligence agencies and BCB officials in Dhaka, and were shown the security plan for the tour at the home ministry.A top official at the home ministry said the delegation was happy with the plan. The BCB, however, refrained from any overly confident statements before hearing from its English counterpart.The delegation included the ECB’s security advisor Reg Dickason, Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive David Leatherdale and the ECB’s director of cricket operations John Carr, and arrived in Bangladesh after completing a venue inspection for England’s tour of India later in the year.The BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said: “We will know whether it was a positive tour for them when they report back to the ECB. They will decide only then. They visited all the hotels and ground facilities, and were briefed about security.”There’s no time frame, and we won’t put any pressure. They took everything quite seriously here, and spoke to nearly everyone, including the country’s security intelligence. They were given a detailed security plan at the home ministry.”England’s tour of Bangladesh is scheduled to begin on September 30, and includes three ODIs and two Tests.Yunus also said that Bangladesh’s top government officials were aware of the developments, but did not comment on whether government-to-government contact had been established regarding the tour. The need for such an assurance from the Bangladesh government towards the UK is being discussed as a necessity, given the July 1 attack in Dhaka.England’s tour is set to be the maiden bilateral Test and ODI series in Bangladesh this year. So far this year, international cricket in Bangladesh has included the Under-19 World Cup, T20Is against Zimbabwe, and the Asia Cup.

England’s bowlers and middle-order were given a thorough test but stabd-in skipper Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali ensured they came out of the Fatullah practice match with a four-wicket win and their confidence boosted

Mohammad Isam04-Oct-2016
ScorecardImrul Kayes struck a century but Jos Buttler had the last laugh•Getty Images

England’s bowlers and middle-order were given a thorough test but they came out of the Fatullah practice match with a four-wicket win and their confidence boosted.Imrul Kayes’ hundred kept them in the back-foot but they fought back in the slog overs. Later when they slipped to 170 for 5 chasing 310, the stand-in ODI captain Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali pulped a challenging target as they won with 22 balls to spare. They added 139 runs for the sixth wicket in just 16.5 overs.England started off the chase as they should have, going after the home bowlers. Jason Roy struck couple of sixes, over midwicket and mid-on, and two more fours in his 22-ball 28. James Vince was also going well but in the ninth over, Roy fell to the rookie paceman Ebadot Hossain in the deep leg-side field where Kamrul Islam Rabbi took the catch.Vince fell two short of a fifty after he was caught behind off Ebadot in the 13th over. His 39-ball stay had eight fours and while the innings wasn’t long enough, it seems enough to suggest that England may as well go for the Roy-Vince opening partnership.Jonny Bairstow and Ben Duckett kept the run-rate almost intact but in the 19th over, Bairstow was caught behind off Kamrul Islam Rabbi for 11. Duckett who took a bit of time to get settled under the fading light, struck three fours in his 37-ball 29 before Shuvagata Hom bowled him in the 24th over.Ben Duckett cools off on his England tour debut•Getty Images

Things got a little nervy for the visitors exactly five overs later when Ben Stokes fell to Al-Amin Hossain for 28, having struck three fours and a six in 40 balls.From 170 for 5 however, new captain Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali mounted a counter-attack that would put them in good stead for the first ODI, especially if they are chasing under lights.By the 35th over, the pair had settled down with some boundaries and maintained the required run-rate. Five overs later, they accelerated further as they made it to 251 for 5, needing 59 runs in the last ten overs. Moeen fell when England needed just one run, after making 70 off 51 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Buttler was unbeaten on 76 off 63 balls with two fours and four sixes.When the home side batted first, Imrul wasted no time in setting his innings in motion, blazing the first ball of the innings, bowled by Chris Woakes, for a cover-driven boundary. There was no let-up whenever he got strike but at the other end, Soumya Sarkar struggled to get the ball off the square. He fell in the fifth over, beaten by Woakes’ pace and, judging by his slight crouch, a bit of uneven bounce. By that time Imrul had sped to 26.Imrul was excellent on the off-side whenever the English bowlers were too full or slightly short. He blasted sixes over midwicket off the front foot, and was severe on the spinners, particularly Adil Rashid. With Nazmul Hossain Shanto, he added 85 runs for the second wicket in 15.5 overs. Nazmul struck four boundaries in his 46-ball 36, at times matching Imrul shot for shot.Imrul reached the mark in the 27th over and hardly showed any let up, hammering his fifth and sixth sixes in the David Willey over in which he was finally bowled, leaving 21 overs remaining. His 121 came off 91 balls and included eleven fours and the six sixes. Imrul had added 71 runs for the third wicket with Mushfiqur in just eight overs.Mushfiqur too showed that he could middle the ball, adding another 69 runs for the fourth wicket with Nasir Hossain. During this partnership, Mushfiqur reached his first 50-plus score since June this year. He soon fell to Stokes in the 41st over, bowled for a 57-ball 51 that had five fours.Despite their brilliance for 40 overs, the BCB XI made only 49 runs in the last ten overs, losing five wickets. England’s bowlers, hitherto struggling to find their bearing in the heat, came back strongly. Woakes finished with three wickets while Stokes and Willey picked up two wickets each. Between the two England spinners, Rashid and Moeen, there was only one wicket giving away 117 runs in 17 overs.Ben Stokes bowls at Fatullah•Getty Images

Craig White, the former Yorkshire and England allrounder, is to join Hampshire’s coaching set-up ahead of the new season

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2016Craig White, the former England allrounder, has been named as Hampshire’s new head coach, following the departure of Dale Benkenstein midway through the 2016 season.White, 46, made his name at Yorkshire in an 18-year first-class career that included more than 12,000 runs and 395 wickets, and played 30 Tests and 51 ODIs for England between 1994 and 2003.He joined Hampshire as assistant and bowling coach in 2012, and was handed the reins for the final six matches of their County Championship campaign in 2016. Although he was unable to prevent their relegation, the club was handed a reprieve when the ECB sanctioned Durham for receiving financial support, and sent them down to Division Two instead.”I’m flattered and honoured,” White told BBC Radio Solent. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me and I can’t wait to get started in the job.””I was thrust into the job and I really enjoyed it. It was something I didn’t think I was quite ready for. Maybe another two or three years learning the trade might have been the right time.”But when [director of cricket] Giles White mentioned would I take on the job full-time, I said I would. I think some big names applied, so to be given the job permanently is a great honour.””Craig has been an integral part of the coaching set-up for a few years now,” said Giles White. “He has experience, a great understanding of the game and is respected by everyone here at Hampshire. For all those reasons he is the ideal person to take on this important role.”