Somerset Under 17’s travelled to the Rose Bowl to play a 2 day match against Hampshire last week.When Hampshire batted they were all out for 268 in 92 overs, with Miles Webber being the pick of the Somerset bowlers, ending with 5 for 38.Somerset were all out for 178 in 68 overs, with Lloyd Davies top scoring with 41, to give the home side victory by 92 runs.
Punjab v Bengal in Mohali
The Punjab quicks had a good time on the Mohali track in winning by an innings against Hyderabad. There is no reason Sourav Sarkar, Ashok Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh won’t like it. Watch out for Jiwanjot Singh, the Punjab opener who scored a double-hundred on debut. Punjab 7 points, Bengal 3 pointsRajasthan v Mumbai in Jaipur
Mumbai go to Jaipur sans all the Test stars and Ajit Agarkar. Rohit Sharma will captain them against the defending Ranji champions who managed just one point in their first match. Watch out for Pankaj Singh, who took nine wickets in the first match and might even have harboured thoughts of a Test call-up. Rajasthan 1, Mumbai 3Gujarat v Saurasthra in Surat
When Saurashtra had Cheteshwar Pujara available, they weren’t playing. Now that Pujara is gone to India Test camp, they kick off their season with this Gujarat derby. Gujarat are coming off a frustrating finish when they came close to sealing six points against Madhya Pradesh. Watch out for Parhtiv Patel, who scored 162 and 80 in the first match. Gujarat 3, Saurashtra yet to beginHyderabad v Madhya Pradesh in Hyderabad
Despite the presence of VVS Laxman, Hyderabad have got off to yet another disastrous start. Who said it was going to be easy? They could learn from their next opponents, Madhya Pradesh, whose lower order fought and fought to register one point against MP. Watch out for Jalaj Saxena, the India A spinner, who must consider himself the best spinner outside the Test squad. Hyderabad 0, MP 1
Delhi v Odisha in Delhi
Delhi, who lost their first match outright despite the presence of four Test stars, will miss not only them but also Ashish Nehra, who has been rested in order to fight the tight schedule. And they are still missing Rajat Bhatia, who got injured in the Champions League T20. Odisha hosted a rained-out match last week, and will hope for a drier time in the capital. Watch out for Parvinder Awana, who is one of the quicker bowlers in Indian domestic cricket but didn’t get to play in the presence of Ishant Sharma and Nehra. Delhi 0, Odisha 1Maharashtra v Uttar Pradesh in Pune
This is the impressive Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium’s first-class debut, and Maharashtra’s first game this season. This is also the game to watch out for Suresh Raina, who has been dropped from the Test side. Reports say he was sombre and didn’t even have lunch the day the announcement of his exclusion was made. Maharashtra yet to begin, UP 6. Read more here.Baroda v Vidarbha in Baroda
Vidarbha are coming off an outright win over Haryana, but will be missing Umesh Yadav who is away for Tests. Baroda, too, will be missing Irfan Pathan, who is out with a knee injury. Watch out for Yusuf Pathan, who failed twice in the previous match, scoring 24 and 0. Baroda 3, Vidarbha 6Tamil Nadu v Karnataka in Chennai
A rivalry that once was. Nowadays they play each other in front of 30 people or so. This will be a battle of the Karnataka bowling against the Tamil Nadu batting, although they will be missing the services of M Vijay, who has been called up for Tests. Tamil Nadu 1, Karnataka 1
Jharkhand v Assam in Jamshedpur
Big match in Group C. Assam and Jharkhand have emerged as early leaders in the group with seven points each. Watch out for Dheeraj Jadhav, who scored the first double-century of this Ranji Trophy.Andhra v Tripura in Anantapur
Two teams with ordinary starts to the season. Tripura lost by an innings in Guwahati, and Andhra conceded a first-innings lead in a rain-interrupted home match to Services at home. The weather is expected to be better this time. Watch out for Amol Muzumdar, who is 81 short of becoming the highest overall run-getter in Ranji Trophy. Andhra 1, Tripura 0Goa v Jammu & Kashmir in Porvorim
This is Goa’s first game of the season, and also their imported keeper Manvinder Bisla’s first since December 2010. Bisla was without a Ranji side in 2011-12, before he became a star through his innings in the IPL final. J&K will look to prove wrong those who have started calling them walking seven points after their innings defeat to Jharkhand. Goa yet to begin, J&K 0Himachal Pradesh v Services in Naduan
Himachal Pradesh came close to beating Kerala outright, but had to do with three points. Services are at three too. Watch out for Rishi Dhawan, who scored a century and took three wickets in Himachal’s first. Himachal 3, Services 3
The end of another frustrating week dominated by the wet spring weather.The only cricket we have had was a day and half in Derby but even then conditions were marginal with the run-ups and outfield very soggy.While the players are having to kill some time, spare a thought for the groundsmen around the country who are battling away for hours to get the grounds fit only to have passing showers ruin all their work.During rain the dressing room becomes a hive of activity and in most cricket autobiographies there will be several stories that have come from a rainy day.There are card schools, there are readers. There are guys who can’t keep still and there are those that just go to sleep. There are those who tidy up a few loose ends, then there’s the ‘Cat’, Phil Tufnell.Tuffers is great entertainment, passionate about his cricket and enjoys what he’s doing. Not renowned for his batting ability or courage at the wicket, he has had me in stitches this week talking about his past performances with the blade and what to expect from him this summer.It’s a nice time to be playing cricket in England.When I last toured here there was a lot of negativity surrounding the game and in particular the national team.That was two years ago and it’s completely changed.England have won their last four series and under Duncan Fletcher and Nasser Hussain they have gained direction and, more importantly, confidence.With Pakistan and Australia touring this summer England will be tested, but as long as they keep believing, we are in for some exciting cricket.I have spent a bit of time this week locating fellow Kiwi cricketers who have been gliding into the country to play a bit of cricket in the off season.Mathew Sinclair and Mark Richardson are two internationals who are over here, as well as several first-class players who have taken the chance to play some cricket abroad. Matt is based up in the North while Ritchie will be based close to me in London.Our next commitment for New Zealand is late July, when we visit Sri Lanka for a couple of weeks. Until then we just sit and wait for a break in the weather and hope we get some luck when the cards are dealt.
MS Dhoni feels India’s batsmen have contributed well as part-time bowlers in the absence of a genuine allrounder in the squad. Dhoni also said conditions in Sri Lanka had changed over the years and there wasn’t much help for spinners during India’s limited-overs tour to the country in July and August.”We are a team who rely strongly on batting. But some of the top batsmen play the role of part-timers,” Dhoni said after arriving in Colombo for the World Twenty20. “In T20 cricket, part-timers are very important. Our part-timers have been doing well.”We also don’t have a genuine all-rounder so we have to rely on part-time bowlers who are specialist batsmen. Yuvraj [Singh] is one and we have Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina. They will chip in an over each and that makes it a lot easier for us.”Dhoni was pleased to have Yuvraj back in the side but refused to comment on his selection soon after recovering from a rare cancer. “It’s a selection matter. But I am happy that he is in the team as he is a champion player and a match-winner. He also brings a balance in the team as in T20 cricket you don’t include a fifth bowler.”India will be based in Colombo during the World Twenty20. Dhoni said playing at one venue would help but also felt that conditions could still change as the tournament progressed. “We won’t be travelling much. We can put in a bit more effort in the net session and skill-oriented session.”I feel the conditions in Sri Lanka have changed a lot in the past years. When we came here in 2005, the wickets were different and when we came here last time [in July 2012], the wickets were different. The spinners did not get much help from the pitches in the five ODIs and one T20 we played here in our last tour.”If a ground is hosting many matches, then it will slow down and the spinners will get help. So we have to see the conditions and plan accordingly.”
Matthew Wade has said he had no warning from the umpires on field before he was suspended for pitch tampering and declared that he had done “the same thing” in every Sheffield Shield match he had played. Wade, the Victoria captain, was banned for one match after Cricket Australia found him guilty of altering the state of the pitch during Victoria’s recent match against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval.Cricket Australia said in a statement that Wade had been found guilty of “creating a long valley within the protected area by means other than natural wear and tear” while he was batting in Victoria’s first innings. Wade was reported by the umpires for breaching the section of the Code of Behaviour that deals with “unfair play”, and the match referee Daryl Harper upheld the report.Wade was fined 50% of his match fee and suspended for one Shield game, a penalty that was upheld despite an appeal from Wade and Cricket Victoria. On-field umpires warn bowlers against running on the so-called “danger area” of the pitch in their follow-throughs and can also warn batsmen against running down the middle of the pitch, but Wade said he had no indication from the officials that anything he did while batting was considered a problem.”No, I had no indications,” Wade said on Thursday. “I got told on the last day, before the fourth day. That’s when I found out. We went to the hearing that night and then I had a hearing a few days later. No real word during the game.”Wade scored 119 during the innings in question, on a challenging Hobart surface, and he was at the crease for 208 deliveries across two days without any warning from the umpires. Although he was unwilling to describe the actions that got him in trouble, Wade said he believed he had done nothing wrong and nothing different to usual.”It’s a bit hard to go into. There’s been plenty of appeals and I’ve had my chance to say what I’ve had to say,” Wade said. “The people who need to hear what has happened have heard what my side of the story is. I’m not going to stand here and go into the appeal, what I said in the appeal is the truth and exactly as I saw it, and the people who need to hear it have heard it.”It’s alleged that I was tampering with the pitch, that’s all I can say … My initial reaction was it wasn’t a big deal. To find out that I’d got suspended wasn’t ideal and I was disappointed with everything that went on, and disappointed with myself for putting myself in that situation. But it is what it is, I’ve got to move on and own that now.”I’ve played 70 Shield games and I’ve done the same thing every Shield game. The wicket was a little bit more underdone than probably what I’m used to playing on. I’ve got to be a little bit more aware of those situations and make myself better.”Wade is preparing to resume his place in the Victoria side for their match against South Australia, starting at the MCG on Friday. He said the most difficult part of the saga was to travel with the squad to Perth before his appeal, and then to have to watch them suffer an innings defeat at the hands of Western Australia without being able to help them on field.”It’s been disappointing to say the least,” Wade said. “A week ago the allegations came out and I went to an appeal and the rest is history. It’s been disappointing but the hardest thing was to watch the boys in Perth. I was over there trying to do my bit, trying to help out and do a little bit of coaching.”
Najam Sethi will continue as the chairman of the PCB’s interim management committee (IMC) until the conclusion of the ongoing court appeal, the Islamabad High Court has ruled. On Monday, a two-judge appellate bench heard the arguments of the PCB and the government with regards to the judgment passed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, who had called for fresh elections to appoint a PCB chairman.The next hearing is scheduled for November 7, when former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf and the petitioner will present their counter arguments.”The PCB and the government understand that the five-member IMC has been reinstated,” the board’s lawyer Taffazul Rizvi told ESPNcricinfo after the hearing. “Our plea was to maintain the status quo with IMC at the helm of affairs at the PCB while the hearing goes on.”The confusion over the status of Sethi and the IMC began on October 28, when Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui suspended Sethi at 9am for not complying with an earlier legal order issued by Justice Siddiqui to elect a permanent chairman for the PCB by October 18. However at 12.30pm on the same day, the board’s lawyers argued successfully to a different two-judge bench at the same court on the same case to maintain the status quo – that is, Sethi and the IMC – at least temporarily. However, the written order of this judgment, released on October 31, refers to no such conclusion, leaving those board officials who received it, baffled.Both judges admitted to an “inadvertent” typing mistake and clarified that the bench meant to ask the PCB to function until the appeal is decided. The PCB had remained without a chairman and administrative body for six days.Monday’s hearing began with Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination lawyer Asma Jahangir objecting to Siddiqui’s July order, which undermined cricket administration in the country as two chairmen were suspended in five months.”PCB is the only sports body in the country that is generating its own funds and in last ten years has paid Rs 350m of tax,” she said before Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan and Justice Noor-ul-Haq Qureshi. “But for the last many months, its functioning has been badly affected.”The hearing went on for four hours during which Rizvi explained to the court that the ongoing legal crisis was hurting the PCB’s ability to attract sponsors and broadcasters.Siddiqui had also named a retired Supreme Court judge to conduct the PCB elections and set Rs. 2.5 million rupees as a fee for the supervision of the election. The appeal bench ordered a stay against the election and the funds allocated for it.
Rahul Sharma, the India A legspinner, has said he always had the self-belief to overcome the drugs scandal that threatened to derail his career and prove he has plenty to offer with his bowling skills. Rahul took his maiden five-for in T20 cricket on Saturday, helping India A win the only T20 against West Indies A by 93 runs in Bangalore.Rahul had been picked for the first one-dayer, when he took 2 for 57 but was dropped for the next two. He was recalled for the T20 and his 5 for 23 sent West Indies A packing in 16.2 overs while chasing an improbable 215.”I am pleased to return with good performances after the IPL in 2012,” Rahul said. “It was a tough phase for me and I used to feel bad about it even during this season. But I had the belief that I could come out of it quickly and do well.”Rahul and his Pune Warriors team-mate, the South Africa fast bowler Wayne Parnell, were among 90 people detained following a party at a hotel in the Juhu suburb of Mumbai on May 20 last year, a day after the Warriors’ IPL 2012 campaign ended. According to reports, recreational drugs were consumed at the party. Both players were charged for consuming drugs in March this year but were allowed to play in IPL 2013.Rahul took four wickets in the three-match unofficial ODI series against New Zealand A recently and was named in the limited-overs squads against West Indies A. On Saturday, he dismissed Kirk Edwards for a first-ball duck, getting him to drive to mid-off. He then had the innings top-scorer Andre Fletcher bowled for 32, trying to sweep. He gave the batsman a salute send-off to stir things up. Faced with a mounting asking rate, the lower order gifted away their wickets in pursuit of runs.”The coaches, team-mates and captains believed in me. I had met Narendra Hirwani and he gave me some tips and shared his experience with me. I had a chance to speak to Anil [Kumble] as well,” Rahul said. “I’m looking to take this performance forward.”
Andre Russell, the Jamaican allrounder, is eager to carry over his outstanding Caribbean Premier League form for winners Jamaica Tallawahs into the West Indies A tour of India in September. Russell finished sixth in the CPL top-scorers chart with 203 runs made with at a league-leading strike-rate of 189.71.”I’m grateful for the opportunity to get back into the West Indies setup,” Russell said. “A team cricket is the next step from the international scene. I will remain positive and try to be as successful as possible with the bat and the ball. It’ll be hard work in the hot sun in India. I’m resting up right now and looking to get my fitness up.”Russell said his past experiences in visiting India with West Indies as well as a stint with Delhi Daredevils in the IPL would be beneficial for the A tour. Regarding the trying conditions in India, he said, “The IPL games are night games but it’s still humid. Playing in the day or day-night, whatever conditions, I’ll try to adjust and do the same thing I’ve been doing for Jamaica.”Russell has faded from the West Indies fray since the Zimbabwe home series in March. He said he will return as an allrounder and not just a batsman. On his improving Twenty20 form he said, “I’ll still back my bowling. There’s always room for improvement and I’m still a bowler even though it’s been the bat I’ve shone with lately. I improved on my field-setting and players like (Vernon) Philander, (Kumar) Sangakkara and (Muttiah) Muralitharan have helped me in their chats. Their experience added a lot for me. My death bowling has improved. Starting my spell was my problem but now I am starting better with the ball.””My batting has overtaken my bowling at the moment but I work hard at both. I’m enjoying my batting and getting the role in the innings to express myself. I just need a good start from the upper order and it’s easier for me. I love the last five or six overs to have a go.”With a lone Test against Sri Lanka in 2010 under his belt, Russell also expressed a strong desire for the long format. “I have been watching Test cricket since I was young and I think it can help my cricket a lot by playing the long format. It’s a dream come true for any cricketer. I’ve got a taste and playing in an environment with (Chris) Gayle, Dwayne (Bravo) and Shiv (Chanderpaul), is a good environment. ODI and T20 have been good to me so far but I’m not giving up on Test cricket.”
ScorecardNed Eckersley’s century was a vital innings•Getty Images
Ned Eckersley hit his third Championship century of the season as Leicestershire recovered from a shaky start to reach 270 for 7 at stumps on the first day against Worcestershire at Grace Road.Leicestershire, rooted to the bottom of the table without a win, have relied heavily on Eckersley throughout a disappointing season, and would have been in a poor way without his 106 off 249 balls.The next highest scorer was captain John Cobb, who contributed 44 to a fifth-wicket stand of 92 with Eckersley. Then a brisk unbeaten 22 from Ollie Freckingham in the final few overs, helped the home side a second batting point.After winning the toss Leicestershire found it tough going against some tidy seam bowling from Alan Richardson, Joe Leach and Jack Shantry. Greg Smith was caught at slip off Richardson for 1 in the fifth over of the morning, while Niall O’Brien led a charmed life making 31 off 59 balls.He played and missed outside off stump on several occasions, survived two big lbw shouts and edged one delivery from Leach between wicket-keeper Michael Johnson and first slip Moeen Ali, who both left the catch to each other. Leach gained his revenge when he finally had O’Brien caught at second slip by Daryl Mitchell.Eckersley survived a sharp chance to gully when he had made 16 and was also dropped by Moeen Ali on 29. But when Shiv Thakor and Tom Wells fell lbw to Shaaiq Choudhry and Shantry respectively, Leicestershire were in trouble at 94 for 4.The Eckersley- Cobb partnership turned things round, with 24-year-old Eckersley reaching his half century and 1,000 Championship runs for the season as well. He looks like being the only Leicestershire player to do so. O’Brien, with 595 runs, is the next highest scorer in the averages.Moeen broke the stand when he had Cobb caught at mid-off for 44 off 93 balls. But Eckersley brought up his century with a back foot four followed by a quick single off Graeme Cessford. It came off 222 balls and contained 14 fours. But he was sixth out at 226 chopping on against Richardson with the new ball.James Sykes chipped a catch to short midwicket three overs later but Ben Raine, unbeaten on 16, and Freckingham, took Leicestershire to a second batting point and were still together at the close.
David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, has revealed a trial is underway during the current Ashes series to enhance the role of the third umpire by feeding him direct pictures that would avert controversial incidents like Stuart Broad getting away with a thick edge in the first Investec Test last week. Broad stood his ground having edged a ball from Ashton Agar, after the on-field umpire Aleem Dar failed to spot the deflection off the bat. Having spent all their reviews, Michael Clarke’s Australia were left high and dry.Speaking on the BBC’s , Richardson admitted it was frustrating that, in the age of technology, Broad managed to escape. “It is, of course,” Richardson said. “For that reason, up to the third Test, we have a trial going on, independent of what is happening on the field, to allow the third umpire to have a bank of televisions where he can actually choose and get access to the technology much quicker than he would if he simply relies on the director or producer sending him the pictures up to him. If we progress along these lines … there is an opportunity for the third umpire to have the say and to overrule where he thinks an obvious mistake has been made.”Richardson stressed it was a long-term process but the ICC remained optimistic. “I don’t think people should think it is going to be introduced for the next series,” Richardson said. “It is at a very basic phase and we need to progress a lot further before we get it on board in a match.”Speaking on the unusual move by the ICC to reveal the assessment of the three umpires (Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus) and the various decisions they made during the Trent Bridge Test, Richardson reiterated that it was necessary bring the numbers out into open to erase certain doubts. However, he indicated that the ICC would not make it a norm to make the umpires assessment public.”We will take on a case-by-case basis,” Richardson said. “In this case we had put everything in perspective because it was an unusual Test match. There were so many decisions to be made, almost 75% more than normal.” The ICC release had stated that the on-field umpires made a total of seven errors, three of which were uncorrected.Not included in that list was a controversial ruling in favour of Australia debutant Ashton Agar, who was given not out when England appealed for a tight stumping. Richardson reasoned why it was not considered a mistake. “We have got a team of three who look at it,” he said. “First of all the match referee. Then if there is a bit of doubt then it goes to Vince van der Bijl, our umpires’ manager and then it goes to Geoff Allardice [the ICC’s manager of cricket]. They all felt there was just that element of doubt: was his foot in the air, maybe there was a spike on the ground? So there was just not enough for the third umpire to give actually give the decision against the batsman.”Asked if there was scope for benefit of doubt in favour of the player Richardson said primarily the ICC was looking for definitive proof to make a decision, “as far as it is possible”. He cited the example of the England of Joe Root, who was adjudged lbw at Lord’s on Thursday morning. “Anyone other than maybe an English supporter would acknowledge that it was fractionally pad first. In which case the correct decision, unfortunately, is out,” Richardson said.Richardson followed that by revealing an aspect of how the umpires’ assessment worked. “Let us say the on-field umpire had got it wrong, and he thought it was bat first,” Richardson said. “Then we will mark that technically incorrect because we say, look, there must have been some doubt in your mind so you have actually made a good cricket decision. So we don’t mark him in his personal records as having made a mistake. But technically it was an incorrect decision and we get it changed.”On Wednesday, the MCC’s World Cricket Committee, restated its backing for the DRS while pointing out that to make the system much more streamlined, the ICC needed to take control of it. But Richardson was defensive about such a step.”People say ICC should take complete control of technology,” he said. “Today we have two Hot Spot cameras, some ball tracking cameras and a couple of slow-motions cameras. But next year there will be something else … there will be real-time Snickometer. Then next year there is something else. So in a way we don’t want to hamper development. But it is going progress and it is going to become even more difficult to resist taking full advantage of the technology that gets developed. Our strategy has been: let us introduce technology but not on the basis they are just ball counters and coat hangers.”Richardson said that introducing various technologies into the game was never to make the role of the umpires obsolete. “We want them to be part of the game, the on-field umpires in particular, and that is why one of the reasons why we like the idea of them making the decision and then the players, if they really disagree, asking for it to be reviewed,” Richardson said.