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South Africa’s coach, Mickey Arthur, believes that Duncan Fletcher’s insight into the England dressing-room could be a vital factor for the forthcoming Test and ODI series

Cricinfo staff18-Nov-2009South Africa’s coach, Mickey Arthur, believes that Duncan Fletcher’s insight into the England dressing-room could be a vital factor for the forthcoming Test and ODI series, after he linked up with the South Africa squad in Potchefstroom on Tuesday to resume his role as a batting and tactical consultant.Fletcher coached England for seven years up until 2007, and guided the team to unprecedented success in that time, including six series wins in a row leading into the 2005 Ashes. He led England on two tours to South Africa, starting with his maiden series in charge in 1999-2000 and culminating in a memorable 2-1 triumph five years’ later.During England’s warm-up match against South Africa A at Potchefstroom, however, Fletcher could be seen sitting in the stands alongside the South Africa chairman of selectors, and afterwards Arthur was delighted to speculate about the nuggets of information that will be divulged in the coming weeks.”I think Duncan’s voice in the dressing room just before a series against England is going to be brilliant,” Arthur told reporters after the match. “He’s with us until the second ODI and then he comes in five days before the first Test match, and he works with our Test squad until the end of the first Test.”Fletcher performed a similar role for South Africa on their historic tour of Australia in December and January last year, when they won their first series in the country since the end of Apartheid. “It’s a no-brainer really,” said Arthur. “When we signed Duncan last year we signed him for the Australian series, especially the one in Australia, and obviously thinking of the England series.”He flew in today and worked with us in a training session this morning. I brought him to Potch because we wanted to discuss a couple of things. It’s great having his knowledge around. I always think you need to keep refreshing, you need to keep stimulating the environment and the players. And we’ve done that by bringing in different voices at crucial times.”Although England’s squad is significantly different from last time Fletcher was in charge, during the 2007 World Cup, many of the key personnel were among his stalwarts, not least the captain, Andrew Strauss, and Paul Collingwood, whom Fletcher first selected in the summer of 2001.”The simple fact is he knows a few of us pretty well,” Collingwood told Cricinfo. “He knows our characters pretty well, but his main asset is his technical brilliance. He knows our techniques pretty well and I’m sure he will give some tips to the South Africans. But our technique and mentality towards the game probably changes all the time, so that’s a way to combat them when we come out and play our cricket in the middle.””I don’t know how he’s going to feel,” said Arthur, when asked if Fletcher would feel awkward about revealing inside information, “but Duncan brings a lot to us.”

Afghanistan and USA will meet in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in February for the main event in the West Indies

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009Afghanistan and USA will meet in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in February for the main event in the West Indies, but any potential political embarrassment will be diluted with the match taking place in Abu Dhabi.The two teams have been pooled with Ireland and Scotland in Group A of the Qualifiers, which will be hosted in the UAE from February 9 -13. Kenya, Netherlands, Canada and the UAE make up Group B. from April 30-May 16.The winner of the tournament will join South Africa and India in Group C while the losing finalist will join Group D, which includes West Indies and England. Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Scotland have made it directly into this qualifier on the basis of their ODI status while the UAE and USA are participating at the ICC’s request.The 17 matches will be split over five days between Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium (six games) and the Dubai Sports City (11 games). The Super Four matches and final will be played in Dubai.

Ricky Ponting has conceded he could move down the order to finish off his outstanding career – but only if there is someone better at No.3

Cricinfo staff13-Jan-2010Ricky Ponting has conceded he could move down the order to finish off his outstanding career – but only if there is someone better at No.3. Ponting’s form during the Australian summer has been poor and he has only one game left against Pakistan, starting in Hobart on Thursday, to improve his record of 216 runs at 27.An elbow injury has hampered Ponting since he was hit by Kemar Roach in Perth, but there has been talk of the captain shifting from his preferred spot to allow a new face to tackle the newer ball. “If I don’t think I’m the right person to bat there then I won’t bat there,” Ponting told the Australian. “If I think there’s someone else better equipped than me to bat at No.3, then that time may come [to move down the order].”Despite his small returns, Ponting is confident of a return to form that will end the talk over his position. “It was only a few games ago that I felt right at the top of my game. I felt really good at the start of the season,” he said. “I know that one-day cricket is a different form but I thought during that one-day series in India was as well as I’d ever played. That’s not that long ago.”The place of Shane Watson at the top of the order is not under threat and Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, believes it could be his in the long term. Watson was thought to be better suited in the middle, but has starred since replacing Phillip Hughes in England, scoring 819 runs at 63 in eight Tests.”All I can say is that we thought it was the right position for Shane, and he’s really nailed it,” Hilditch said in the Herald Sun. “It’s nice to know he can bat anywhere in the order, but he may well open for the rest of the career. I’m sure he’s thrilled to be doing well as an opener and I think he could continue in that position.”

Pakistan’s cricket community lost a great personality, a person who was known as the encyclopedia of Pakistan cricket and someone who most importantly ushered in a new era of sports journalism in the country

Waheed Khan05-Feb-2010Pakistan’s cricket community lost a great personality, a person who was known as the encyclopedia of Pakistan cricket and someone who most importantly ushered in a new era of sports journalism in the country.For someone who had worked closely with him and under his guidance at , the genial and colourful personality of Gul Hameed Bhatti will be missed sorely because he set new standards in sports journalism and in encouraging young talent; his passion for cricket rubbed off on anyone who came in to contact with him.Born in Lahore in September, 1947, Bhatti dabbled as a pilot in the national airlines and worked in the public relations department in PTDC before turning to his twin passion of journalism and cricket. In 1973-74, he entered the world of the sports media.He served as the editor of the popular (Pakistan) magazine, which was known as the bible of Pakistan cricket internationally and played a big part in making the careers of several outstanding cricketers.He also combined with Abid Ali Kazi and the late Noman Badar to launch the cricket statisticians association of Pakistan and the annual Pakistan cricket book. It is difficult to really underline here the tremendous contribution Bhatti made to Pakistan cricket but suffice to say if anyone wanted to find out details of some obscure record or details of a particular domestic match played in the ’50s or in the ’90s, Bhatti Sahib was the final word.After joining the in 1990 as its sports editor, he succeeded in changing the trend of sports journalism in the country by making it investigative, colourful and informative while moving away from the existing trend of drab and dull lengthy analyses and the heavy dependence on agency stories.He was an editor who backed his reporters completely. was his usual question and once a reporter convinced him his story was factual and correct he had nothing to worry about.Bhatti had the capacity to absorb all the pressures and dissent that came from the top or from angry officials and players and his message to them was clear: “I will back my reporters all the way.”He was promoted as the editor of the newspaper but his first love remained sports, a position to which he returned after a few years.Bhatti remained jovial even after the death of his wife, Razia Bhatti, in 1996, herself a fearless journalist and editor of the magazine who later launched . But the loss of his wife affected him and his health began to deteriorate and after overcoming a bout of throat cancer, he suffered a brain stroke last year and was bed ridden. He passed away on Thursday night after another brain stroke and due to the failure of his vital organs. Even after his death, the contribution and position of Gul Hameed Bhatti in Pakistan journalism and cricket will remain at the top. We will all miss you Bhatti Sahib.

Michael Klinger and John Hastings, two players who switched states to gain greater opportunities, have been rewarded for their post-move success at the Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne

Brydon Coverdale15-Feb-2010Michael Klinger and John Hastings, two players who switched states to gain greater opportunities, have been rewarded for their post-move success at the Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne. The South Australia batsman Klinger was named the State Cricketer of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Hastings received the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award having established himself as a key man in Victoria’s line-up.Klinger scored 36 votes and beat the Victoria pair of Chris Rogers (29) and Brad Hodge (27) for the state title. During the voting period, which ran from December 24, 2008 to February 1, 2010, Klinger scored 1532 runs at 56.74 across all formats. He was the leading Sheffield Shield run scorer last season and is again near the top this summer.The two consecutive prizes for Klinger have justified his decision to leave Victoria during the 2008 off-season, at which time he had made 1569 first-class runs at 27.05. His tally is now 3504 runs at 41.22 and the two strong years must have him firmly in the minds of the Australian selectors.Another state-switching success story was Hastings, the Victoria allrounder, who moved from New South Wales at the end of 2006-07. Hastings, 24, decided that his opportunities were likely to be greater with the Bushrangers than in a Blues line-up where he would compete with Moises Henriques as the preferred young allrounder.Hastings finished with 46 votes, well clear of the New South Wales allrounder Steven Smith on 30 and the Queensland fast bowler Ben Cutting (8). Hastings has played every Sheffield Shield match for the Bushrangers this season and is second on the competition wicket tally with 25 victims at 25.12, and he has been a valuable player in the shorter formats as well.”It seems a long while ago now,” Hastings said of his move south. “Three years ago [Victoria coaches] Greg Shipperd and Simon Helmot gave me a call and said do you want to come down to Victoria and see if you can try your luck down here and it’s been brilliant. I feel like I’m a lot stronger and a lot fitter than I was last year.”Across all formats during the voting period, Hastings scored 324 runs at 29.45 and took 49 wickets at 22.77 in 17 matches. He joins a list of Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year winners featuring elite names such as Brett Lee, who won the inaugural prize in 2000, Nathan Bracken, Shane Watson and Ben Hilfenhaus.The Women’s International Cricketer of the Year was Shelley Nitschke, who claimed her second title having also won last year. Nitschke (71 votes) scored a narrow win from Lisa Sthalkear (64), having made 631 runs at 35.05 in 18 ODIs during the voting period and collecting 17 wickets at 29.47.

Ruhuna, Kandurata, Wayamba and Basnahira South qualified to play in the semi-finals of the Inter-provincial Limited Overs to be played on Friday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq17-Feb-2010Ruhuna, Kandurata, Wayamba and Basnahira South qualified to play in the semi-finals of the Inter-Provincial Limited Overs to be played on Friday (February 19). Ruhuna will take on Basnahira South at Moratuwa while the other semi-final will be a repeat of the final round-robin match between Kandurata and Wayamba. It will be played at the NCC.At the completion of the round-robin league stage, Ruhuna ended on top of the standings after their final game at P Sara Oval against Basnahira South ended in a no-result due to rain. Chasing Basnahira South’s total of 230 for 8, Ruhuna were not happily placed being 61 for 4 after 15 overs when the interruption occurred. Basnahira South and Basnahira North tied with 10 points for fourth spot. But as Basnahira South had won the round-robin league match against their opponent they qualified for fourth place, although Basnahira North had a better net run-rate.It was hard on Basnahira North because they had beaten SLC Combined XI in their final match by three wickets at De Zoysa Stadium and had all but qualified to play in the semi-finals.Kandurata, who had held onto the lead right from the start of the competition eventually ended in second place when they suffered their second defeat. Kandurata was unfortunate to lose on the D/L method by two runs at Pallekele after rattling off an impressive 312-4, during which opener Kaushalya Weeraratne hit a brilliant 143 off 158 balls (16 fours, three sixes) and Chamara Kapugedera an attractive 88. Wayamba scored their runs at a good pace keeping an eye on the weather and when rain stopped play they were 147 for 3 off 25 overs which under the D/L method was two runs ahead of the target. The final is scheduled for Sunday (February 21) at Moratuwa.

Mumbai Indians can bounce back, for Sachin Tendulkar is in tremendous form, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard boost their all-round strength and Zaheer Khan is proving highly consistent

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Mar-2010They are owned by the richest Indian in the world. They are led by the best cricketer of this generation. They have one of the best fast bowlers in their ranks. But Mumbai Indians, despite their high profile, failed to reach the knockout phase in the IPL’s two editions thus far.An array of reasons can be cited behind for their struggle: In the first season, Mumbai did well to hold together after the Harbhajan Singh slapping incident. But what hurt them the most was the absence of Sachin Tendulkar from the first half of the tournament due to injury. There was also plenty of chopping and changing of the line-ups, and the inexperience of the domestic players was apparent on more than one occasion despite Tendulkar and Shaun Pollock’s best efforts to inspire the team through their leadership.In 2009, Zaheer Khan was bought from Royal Challengers Bangalore, adding strength to the bowling department. Zaheer also filled the spot vacated by Pollock, who took up the role of mentor. Jonty Rhodes added vitality to the training sessions with his agility and reflexes. JP Duminy was signed up for a whopping US$950,000 after his heroics in Australia, but, on home soil, was unable to finish off games or give that final thrust to innings when left on his own. It did not help that Zaheer injured himself in the field midway through the tournament, and Sanath Jayasuriya failed to provide the usual fireworks in the beginning. Mumbai ended on the second rung from the bottom.But things look more positive the third time around. Tendulkar is in tremendous form with the bat and even if he is yet not a formidable batsman in Twenty20 cricket, the defining innings doesn’t seem far. Mumbai’s middle order is bolstered by the presence of the Trinidad pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, both supremely athletic allrounders having the ability to win games on their own. Zaheer is currently among the most consistent fast bowlers and if he is well backed-up by Lasith Malinga, with Jayasuriya firing at the top with Tendulkar, Mumbai can bounce back.The buzz
The blue on the jersey has been shaded to a darker tone. The inspiration behind the new design was the state-of-the-art Bandra-Worli sea-link, which connects the northern suburbs to south of Mumbai. The idea was to create a design that would not only be new, but also resemble the enterprise and growth of Mumbai – the golden stripes across the bust of the shirt depicts the two pillars of the sea-link and the blue is the shade of the Arabian sea. The team has also found support from sponsors, whose count has increased to 14, five more than last year.Another first is the sale of wrist bands in the Mumbai colours, autographed by Tendulkar, the proceeds of which will be passed over to provide education for underprivileged kids supported by five NGOs.New faces
Mumbai stamped their authority as the richest franchise in the League, bagging Kieron Pollard in the silent tie-breaker for an undisclosed sum, rumoured to be as high as that of the richest players in the IPL. Robin Singh leads a new coaching set-up, with Paras Mhambrey as his deputy. The pair did not waste time in picking few of the best players from the unofficial Indian Cricket League – Ambati Rayudu and R Sateesh, Rahul Shukla, Ishan Malhotra, Ali Murtaza, and Aditya Tare have been fast-tracked into the primary squad.Kieron Pollard’s success in the Champions League has taken him a long way•Getty Images

Watch out for
Sachin Tendulkar. He is in stupendous form and will be hungry to prove his worth in a format he hasn’t dominated.Missing in action
The Caribbean pair of Bravo and Pollard would be absent in the opener against Rajasthan Royals, for they will be wrapping up the ODI series against Zimbabwe, which ends on March 14.X-factor
Pollard can provide the firepower lower down the order, something Mumbai expected from Duminy last yearStrength
A formidable batting order: Tendulkar, Jayasuriya, Shikar Dhawan, Bravo, Pollard and Abhishek Nayar.Weakness
Barring Zaheer , the rest of the fast bowling department, including Malinga, have been inconsistent. But Zaheer, who has been the Indian bowling captain for the last two years, has the ability to hold the attack together, and along with Harbhajan in the middle overs, can lead the rest of the pack in the right direction.IPL 2009 – the key figures
Final position: SeventhTop scorer: JP Duminy with 372 runs at 41.33 and strike-rate of 114.46Top wicket-taker: Lasith Malinga with 18 wickets at 17.33 and economy-rate of 6.33Best result: Eight-wicket win over PunjabWorst result: Nine-wicket defeat to BangaloreHighest team score: 187 for 6 v KolkataLowest team score: 116 v DelhiPrediction for 2010
Mumbai have the ability to make the semi-finals, but a return to the spot they ended at in 2008 is more realistic.

Mumbai Indians, already in the semi-finals, sent a strong message to their rivals by crushing second-placed Bangalore, whose net run-rate also took a beating

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran17-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
JP Duminy’s quickfire 42 powered Mumbai to 191•Indian Premier League

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s final league game was delayed by an hour due to a couple of low-intensity blasts outside the stadium. The organisers decided to go ahead with the match, and spectators were ushered into the stands amid heightened security.Once the match began, Mumbai Indians, already in the semi-finals, sent a strong message to their rivals by crushing second-placed Bangalore, whose net run-rate took a beating but remained just high enough to make them favourites for a semi-final spot. Mumbai also brushed aside any criticism about them being overly reliant on orange-cap holder and captain Sachin Tendulkar, whose rare failure didn’t prevent the table-toppers from amassing 191 on a greenish track.Ambati Rayudu has been the best of the ICL returnees this season, and added to his growing reputation with another power-hitting cameo that jumpstarted Mumbai after a dawdling start. Kieron Pollard briefly showed why he was so sought-after during this year’s auction, after which JP Duminy’s clinical finishing silenced the home crowd, as it had when he lashed an unbeaten 99 in the Champions League.Needing to score at nearly 10 an over from the outset, Bangalore were rarely in the chase, plodding to 12 after three overs and losing both openers on 34 in the Powerplay. There was still hope for a deep Bangalore batting line-up, but once Harbhajan Singh removed both Kevin Pietersen and Rahul Dravid in quick succession, the required-rate spiralled above 13. That proved too much even for the home side’s biggest hitters, Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor, both of whom were foxed by slower ones, and Bangalore’s focus shifted to reducing the margin of defeat and keeping their net run-rate from slinking too low.Bangalore’s best phase of the match was the Powerplay after choosing to bowl. Tendulkar walked out with his fourth opening partner in four matches, Ryan McLaren, but the new combination could only squeeze 30 runs in six overs off the home side’s quick bowlers. McLaren made slow progress and Tendulkar wasn’t at his best either, falling just before the end of the Powerplay to a low catch by Ross Taylor at deep square leg.It was in the ninth over that Mumbai switched to top gear. Rayudu launched an onslaught on Pankaj Singh, preferred again to Praveen Kumar, lashing 22 off the over to boost the run-rate to a more Twenty20 level. He benefited from Bangalore’s clumsy catching, when Vinay Kumar palmed an overhead chance over the rope at long-on.A couple of quiet overs followed before Rayudu decided to take on the tournament’s most economical bowler, Kumble. He clubbed consecutive sixes over long-on off the Bangalore captain, and backed that up with a couple of fours against Kallis, before a sharp, short delivery forced him to offer a return catch.Despite that sustained hitting, the crowd wasn’t expecting a target near 200 after the sluggish Mumbai start. But Pollard, who murdered the Delhi Daredevils attack in his previous match, continued in the same vein, slamming three consecutive sixes to round off a forgettable day for Pankaj. Kumble, though, made it a short stay for Pollard by tricking him with a quicker delivery, trapping him lbw.Bangalore thought they had got rid of the danger man but Duminy continued his love affair with the Chinnaswamy Stadium with a controlled cameo. He started by thumping Kevin Pietersen over long-off and then caned Kallis’ length deliveries for 19 runs in the 18th over. A boundary each in final two overs pushed him to 42 off 19, and Mumbai had taken 113 off the final nine overs.

Nicky Boje, the former South Africa allrounder, has announced he is to step down as Northamptonshire’s captain with immediate effect

Cricinfo staff17-May-2010Nicky Boje, the former South Africa allrounder, has announced he is to step down as Northamptonshire’s captain with immediate effect. He will be replaced in the role by another allround South African import, Andrew Hall, with Niall O’Brien as vice-captain.Boje, 37, had captained the county for two years, leading them to a Twenty20 Finals Day and to within one point of promotion in the County Championship last season. But Northants made a stuttering start to their county campaigns this season, with inconsistent results in the County Championship, and three losses in their first three Clydesdale Bank 40 games.”It is after much thought and consideration I have decided to step down as Captain,” said Boje. “I feel it is in the best interest of the team and it is vital that my own contribution as a performer is maximized for the remainder of the season.”I have really enjoyed the experience of captaining the team for the past two years and I’m proud with the progress that has been achieved during that period. I am now looking forward to the remainder of the season and making my contribution as a player to the brand of positive, entertaining and exciting cricket ahead.”

Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being asked to leave the field by his captain Chris Gayle

Cricinfo staff31-May-2010Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being ordered off the field by his captain Chris Gayle. During West Indies’ seven-wicket loss to South Africa in Dominica, Benn upset Gayle so much by failing to follow instructions that he was told he was no longer required.”I actually asked him to leave the field,’ Gayle told reporters after the game. “As a captain, it was a situation like you ask a particular bowler to do it and he said he had never done certain things before. That’s why you have practice sessions, to practise. I asked him to simply bowl over the wicket. I don’t see why it should be a problem.”He wasn’t up for it and if you’re not up for it, why give that particular bowler the ball. I just see it that he [Benn] doesn’t want to take part. It was my call to actually ask him to leave and tell him that he is not needed anymore.”Benn’s behavioural issues came to a head during the Perth Test in December, when he was suspended for two ODIs following a clash with Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin. He had previously been fined and forced to have counselling after what was labelled “insubordinate” behaviour during a West Indies A tour of England in 2002.His fiery nature has also been on display at club level, when he was fined after an altercation with an opponent while batting for his Barbados club Spartan. It is unclear whether Benn will play any part in the fifth and final ODI against South Africa in Trinidad on Thursday.The fourth ODI had a dramatic finish with Dwayne Bravo bowling three consecutive dot balls in the final over, leaving South Africa with one to get off the last delivery. AB de Villiers then played the ball to midwicket and sprinted the single as Darren Sammy fumbled. Gayle praised Bravo for his bowling effort but said that, despite making 303, West Indies should have scored a lot more.”Credit must go to Bravo for the way he bowled the final over,” Gayle said. “But to get 300 runs, and lose was not good. We should have scored at least 30 or 40 more runs based on the start that Dale [Richards] and I gave the team, but we were very disappointing in the middle overs again, too many dot balls. We also missed a few catches, and this is the inconsistency. At times, we do well with the bat, and then turn up and do something completely different with the ball.”