Peter Moores, the Lancashire coach, believes left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan is already an international-class bowler

Andrew McGlashan at Liverpool11-Sep-2011Peter Moores, the Lancashire coach, believes left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan is already an international-class bowler after his 9 for 51 bowled the county to a vital Championship victory with just four minutes to spare against Hampshire. With the second ball of what was likely to be his final over of the match, he had Neil McKenzie caught at slip by Tom Smith after the final-wicket stand had lasted 21 overs.The match-winning haul at Aigburth was his second notable analysis of the summer after he took 5 for 7 against Warwickshire, at Edgbaston, but he has been limited to three appearances because of the presence of Gary Keedy. Next summer he will be the main man if Keedy’s move to Warwickshire is completed in the off-season and he certainly appears ready to take over the mantle, which will be a further shop window to impress the England selectors, having tasted Lions honours earlier this season.”I think they are looking at him now,” Moores said. “He’s been unlucky this year because he hasn’t played as much because Gary has done a fantastic job. He has the ability to put pace on the ball, he’s got two or three different deliveries and how he bowled in the second innings was the quality of an international spinner – that’s the highest compliment I can pay. He got good players out with fairly unplayable balls on a pitch that became quite subcontinental.”When he burst onto the scene last year he immediately showed his talent,” he added. “He’s got a great combination; a great work ethic and real belief in his own ability and they are what you need to be a top-flight player. One of the strengths of a Lancashire player can be when they come through a mixture of the academy and the league structure; the league is a school of hard knocks while the academy provides a more structured environment.”The man himself certainly doesn’t lack confidence. He demonstrated that during the final day at Aigburth when he told his captain that he’d like to bowl at Keedy’s end. Glen Chapple agreed to the switch, but Kerrigan was informed “he had to perform”. Kerrigan promptly took a wicket with his first delivery to remove James Vince and proceeded to take seven of his nine wickets from the River End.”Keggsy fancied it and when someone shows belief I think you should go with them,” Chapple said. “He took a wicket in his first over and there was no reason to go back. If someone believes in themselves that much you should listen to them. To take nine wickets on that pitch was a remarkable effort. It was by no means a spinner’s paradise, it just shows he got quality.”Not surprisingly, after such a memorable performance, the confidence wasn’t about to subside quickly. “When I get into a rhythm, and this is a bit of arrogance from myself, I feel that I can bowl as well as anyone in the world,” Kerrigan said.He had only previously taken seven wickets in an innings at any level – with his best haul coming for club side Ormskirk – and wryly pointed out the high mark he’d set himself with nine wickets. “I don’t think I’ll be beating them,” he said. “I’ll be worried now for the rest of my career but I think I’m wasting my time. It’s a really great moment, and I’ll remember stuff like this when I retire.”

Virender Sehwag has said his shoulder is feeling better and he hopes to return to the India side for the Test series against West Indies that starts on November 6

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2011Virender Sehwag has said his shoulder is feeling better and he hopes to return to the India side for the Test series against West Indies that starts on November 6. Sehwag played for Delhi in a domestic Twenty20 match against Jammu and Kashmir on October 21, his first competitive game since returning prematurely from the tour of England. He was dismissed for 1 but notably bowled two overs, something he was not able to do before undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in May.”This game helped me test my fitness,” Sehwag told after the match. “I can bat and bowl as well. I am still having trouble with my throwing. I am doing my strengthening exercises and following the fitness routine.”Sehwag had been rushed back into the India Test team after his surgery, but after poor performances in the last two Tests in England it was determined that his shoulder had not fully recovered and he returned before the one-day series. Sehwag said he wanted to be completely fit before making his next comeback.”My target is to get fit for the West Indies series,” he said. “But before that I need to undergo a fitness test. I will play only if I feel fit and fine.”Sehwag will not play in Delhi’s next Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Punjab on Saturday but may play against Hyderabad on Monday or Services on Tuesday.

England team director Andy Flower was named UK Coach of the Year at the 2011 UK coaching awards.

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2011England team director Andy Flower has been named UK Coach of the Year at the 2011 UK coaching awards.Flower, 37, was also named UK High Performance Coach of the Year in recognition of his role in helping England to a first series win in Australia for 23 years and becoming the No. 1 Test side in the world.Having taken over from Peter Moores in January 2009 – initially on an interim basis after Moores and Kevin Pietersen, the then captain, lost their jobs on the same day – Flower has also guided England to become World Twenty20 champions and the ECB chief executive, David Collier, lauded his contribution.”Andy has been an outstanding coach to the England cricket team and I am delighted that his dedication, knowledge and all-round leadership skills have been recognised within the wider sporting world,” said Collier.”The last twelve months have been momentous ones for England and this is in no small part due to Andy’s personal drive and determination to bring the best out of his players and ensure that our preparation and performance are second to none.”A special lifetime achievement award was also presented in honour of the former England fast bowler Graham Dilley, who died in October. The presentation was made to Dilley’s son, Chris Pennell, in recognition of Dilley’s work as a bowling coach with Surrey, Scotland and England, and most recently as head coach of Loughborough University.”Graham made a very significant contribution to our game as a coach,” said Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket. “This award is a fitting tribute to the role he played in enabling so many players to realise their full potential at both domestic and international level.”

After half-empty grounds during the India-England ODIs, the venues in Cuttack and Visakhapatnam had strong crowds for the one-dayers between India and West Indies.

Tariq Engineer05-Dec-2011After half-empty grounds in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata during the India-England ODIs, the venues in Cuttack and Visakhapatnam had strong crowds for the one-dayers between India and West Indies. According to local cricket association officials, the contrasting crowd response was because of the surfeit of major matches in the bigger cities, while smaller centres were starved of games featuring India.”In a big city a World Cup happens, the IPL happens. In Orissa, in two or three years, we get one [international] match,” Ashirbad Behera, the Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) secretary told ESPNcricinfo. “Our Orissa Premier League happened and the stadiums were jam packed. We are asking the BCCI to change the schedule, to switch matches from big cities to smaller cities.”The Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, which seats 45,000, was full for the first ODI against West Indies, whereas Eden Gardens was half-empty in October.The stadium in Visakhapatnam, which has a capacity of 20,000, also had a full house for the ODI between India and West Indies. It was the second ODI held there in just over 12 months. Before the Australia ODI in October 2010, Visakhapatnam had to wait nearly four years for an India game. It has had only four international matches since the new stadium staged its first ODI in April 2005.Indore, the venue for India’s fourth ODI against West Indies, will stage its first day-night match at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, where only two one-dayers have been held so far, in 2005 and in 2008. Before 2005, ODIs were played at the local government owned Nehru Stadium, which staged nine matches between 1983 and 2001.Narendra Menon, the secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, said that all tickets available online for the Indore game – about 30% of the total – had been sold out. The association began selling the remaining 70% through local banks this morning. The capacity of the stadium is 26,000.”This match is [taking place] after three years. The last [international] match was in 2008. People are naturally waiting to have one-day match,” Menon said. “[In the bigger venues], if you include IPL matches, they have 25 matches like this. How can you expect all the time, houseful? You can’t.”Since December 2008 the Feroz Shah Kotla hosted eight ODIs and two Tests (it was also banned for a year by the ICC for a poor pitch); the Wankhede in Mumbai held the 2011 World Cup final, three other ODIs and a Test, while the Brabourne Stadium also hosted a Test; and Eden Gardens staged five ODIs, two Tests and a Twenty20 game. All three cities also have IPL teams, which play seven home games each season.Orissa has written to the BCCI asking to host Test matches and Menon said they would like to hold Test matches in Indore as well. “Definitely. Our ground and wicket is absolutely as good as all other grounds in India.” Unlike Orissa though, MP has not yet officially asked to host a Test but the plan on doing so in the near future. “We are going to have Duleep Trophy final this year, so I am just waiting for that match to be organised properly. We have never had any five-day match at this ground. If the Dileep Trophy match goes up to five days, we will see the behaviour of then wicket, and then we will ask.”When the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack was renovated to add 6000 seats to its previously existing 39,000, organisers said they improved facilities for spectators by adding more toilets and drinking water outlets, and arranged to have local music played in the stadium. And when they were unable to accomodate the demand for tickets, the OCA put up 10 giant screens outside the ground. Behara said, “Outside the stadium 25,000 people were standing.”At a time when a jaded audience and an overdose of cricket is emptying grounds in major urban centres, Indian cricket’s smaller, less glamourous venues are making a strong case to stage the big games.

Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain, Mahela Jayawardene was appointed in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2012

Sri Lanka ODI squad

Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welegedara, Dhammika Prasad
Stand by: Thilan Samaraweera

Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain from all three formats, the country’s new selection panel appointed former captain Mahela Jayawardene in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India. Angelo Mathews remains the vice-captain of the 15-member squad which also includes Dilshan.Jayawardene was ODI captain from 2004 till 2009 (he took over as Test captain in 2006). He resigned in 2009, saying he wanted his successor to have sufficient time to build the team for the 2011 World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara took over from Jayawardene but stepped down after leading Sri Lanka to the final of the World Cup. Dilshan led Sri Lanka for nine months after the World Cup, but resigned on Monday following series defeats in both Tests and ODIs in all his four assignments.Jayawardene has led Sri Lanka in 97 ODIs, winning 57 and losing 35. Whether Jayawardene is handed the Test captaincy as well remains to be seen; Sri Lanka’s next Test series begins only in the last week of March against England at home.Farveez Maharoof, the bowling allrounder, and Chanaka Welegedara, the fast bowler, were recalled after having last played an ODI for Sri Lanka back in June 2010. The duo were the only changes from the squad for the recent ODI series in South Africa, in place of Kosala Kulasekara and Dilhara Fernando. Thilan Samaraweera, who was ignored for the South Africa ODIs, was put on stand-by.Maharoof was the leading run-scorer in Tier A of the 50-over domestic Premier Limited Over Tournament 2011-12 with 219 runs from six games at an average of 43.80 for the Nondescripts Cricket Club. He also picked up 10 wickets in the tournament at 17.00 and an economy rate of four. Welegedara has been a regular member of the Test side of late, and has now been rewarded with a place in the limited-overs squad as well.Rangana Herath and the offspinner Sachithra Senanayake, who debuted against South Africa recently, will form the spin attack. There was no place for Suraj Randiv, who last played an ODI against Australia in August 2011.

A strong all-round performance from England Women led them to their second consecutive win in New Zealand, beating the hosts by 48 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAnya Shrubsole celebrates bowling Frances Mackay•Getty Images

A strong all-round performance from England Women led them to their second consecutive win in New Zealand, beating the hosts by 48 runs to go up 2-0 in the five-match series.England were sent in at Seddon Park and their openers laid a strong platform, adding 82 in 8.4 overs. Charlotte Edwards made 33 off 26 balls and the innings’ top-scorer, Laura Marsh, scored 48 off 29 with 11 boundaries. Both of those batsmen fell in quick succession but, from 86 for 2, Sarah Taylor held the rest of the innings together by scoring 45. She was dismissed only in the 20th over and England finished with 166 for 7.Lucy Doolan, who replaced Sian Ruck, took 2 for 30 for New Zealand. Ruck had broken her hand during training in the lead-up to the game and was ruled out of the remainder of the series.Anya Shrubsole continued her strong performance on tour, striking early by dismissing New Zealand opener Frances Mackay in the chase. Suzie Bates and Sarah McGlashan rebuilt the innings from 2 for 1 with a 56-run partnership, but New Zealand began to collapse after they fell to Danni Wyatt and Marsh.Amy Satterthwaite and Bates, who made 37, were out with the score on 89, and New Zealand were dismissed for 118. The last eight wickets had fallen for 29 runs. Wyatt was England’s most successful bowler, taking 3 for 24 in four overs.”It’s been a great start to the series and to go two-nil up is fantastic,” the Player of the Match, Laura Marsh, said. “It was a great track to bat on and I enjoyed being able to put runs on the board with Charlotte. The outfield was quick and the pitch was good, so it was important that we bowled to the right areas to defend our total. It was another great team performance today and we’ll be looking to continue this up in Auckland.”