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Andy Moles, the former New Zealand coach, will take over as Afghanistan’s batting coach, in preparation for the 2015 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2014Andy Moles, the former New Zealand coach, will take over as Afghanistan’s batting coach, in preparation for the 2015 World Cup. Moles, the former Warwickshire and Griqualand West opening batsman, has also held coaching positions with Kenya and Scotland in the past. He lasted less than a year in the New Zealand job, resigning in October 2009.”We are pleased to have the services of Andy Moles in our batting preparations for the World Cup,” Noor Mohammad Murad, CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said. “He has broad experience in international cricket both as a player and a coach and he will bring the benefits of this experience to our national players.”According to an ACB media release, Moles will arrive in Kabul later this week to begin his work with the team.

Lancashire have given three of young players their first professional contracts as Ashley Giles, the new head coach, starts to shape his squad for next season

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2014Lancashire have given three of their young players their first professional contracts as Ashley Giles, the new head coach, starts to shape his squad for next season.Haseeb Hameed, Matthew Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood, who are all 17, have joined the full-time staff. Hameed and Mahmood played for England U-19s in the 2014 season while Parkinson, a legspinner, has played for the U-17 side and in August took 6 for 28 in a Lancashire 2nd XI Trophy match against Leicestershire.Hameed scored 112 in that same match but really made his mark during the U-19 series against South Africa when he piled up 389 runs in five matches – the most by any batsman in a youth bilateral one-day series, beating the 387 of Phil Hughes against Pakistan in 2007 – including consecutive scores of 97, 97 and 125.Mahmood joined the Lancashire academy two seasons ago and has since been part of the England development programme. He made his U-19 debut in the second Test against South Africa where he took 3 for 12 in the first innings.”Internal development will be key to our medium and long term sustainability and success,” Giles said. “These young players are the future of Lancashire cricket and I look forward to working closely with them over the coming years.”The academy director, John Stanworth, added: “I am delighted the county have recognised the potential and achievements of these three youngsters and given them the opportunity to develop quickly as full time professionals.”

Which of these Chelsea greats would make our Super Eagles-Black Stars combined XI?

Goal/GettyGhana-Nigeria Combined XI

Ahead of this week’s World Cup qualifying double header between Nigeria and Ghana, GOAL Africa are picking our dream combined XI between these two West African heavyweights.

Both the Super Eagles and the Black Stars have storied histories in continental and global competition, and our shortlist for this combined Dream Team was overflowing with elite African talent.

However, only eleven stars can make the cut between these two West African giants, which of these two Chelsea greats would make the cut?

AdvertisementLefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty ImagesInternational Career

Despite being a part of an excellent Ghanaian generation, Essien only featured in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments—largely a consequence of the injury problems that undermined his career.

While he reached the final in 2010, the Black Stars ultimately fell short at the hands of Egypt. Mikel went one further as part of Stephen Keshi’s fine side, and got his hands on the big one in 2013.

The Nigerian also went on to reach four Afcon semis during his international career, most recently finishing third in 2019.

He missed out on three editions between 2012 and 2017, but did feature in three World Cups, reaching the Last 16 at Brazil 2014.

While Essien was present for Ghana’s debut display and their run to the Last 16 in 2006, injury denied him a place in the team that reached the quarters four years later.

Winner: Mikel

GettyClub Career

These two are immensely decorated at club level, with the majority of their silverware coming ast part of Chelsea’s magnificent flurry of successes under the likes of Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo.

Essien won two Premier League winner’s medals at Chelsea, and was an unused substitute in the 2012 Champions League final, where Mikel did feature in the victory over Bayern Munich.

The pair each won three FA Cups with Chelsea, although while the Nigerian was still around for the Europa League triumph of 2013—by which point Essien had departed—The Bison did win two Ligue 1 titles as part of a magnificent Olympique Lyonnais side.

Winner: Essien

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Getty ImagesIndividual Accolades

Essien comfortably outclasses Mikel here, probably testament to him being seen as a far more dynamic and impactful player during his peak years.

The midfield powerhouse never won Caf’s African Footballer of the Year award—among the finest continental stars not to do so—although he did clinch the BBC version of the prize.

He did make Caf’s podium on five occasions though, and indeed, no one has finished in third place more times than the Ghana star.

The midfielder was Ligue 1 Player of the Year for 2005, only the third African player after Ali Benarbia and Didier Drogba to win the award, and was named in Caf’s Team of the Year on four occasions.

Mikel was never really in contention for these kinds of honours during his senior career, having won plenty of individual accolades as a youngster, for both Chelsea and at the Fifa World Youth Championship.

He twice made the Nations Cup Team of the Tournament, once finished runner-up in the African Player of the Year award, and twice made Caf’s Team of the Year.

Did Mikel deserve more individual accolades during his career?

Winner: Essien

Worcestershire have managed to secure the services of two New Zealand internationals to add some quality to their squad in a season where they are largely tipped to struggle.

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2014Worcestershire have managed to secure the services of two New Zealand internationals to add some quality to their squad in a season where they are largely tipped to struggle.Colin Munro, the hard-hatting left-handed batsman, and left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan have been secured for parts of the season.Munro, 27, will be Worcestershire’s second overseas player for the NatWest T20 Blast. He will be available for the whole tournament which begins on Friday May 16. McClenaghan will arrive for six weeks in July and August when Worcestershire’s main overseas signing, Saeed Ajmal, competes in the Caribbean Premier League.McClenaghan will feature in the entire group stage of the Royal London Cup, three T20s and three County Championship matches before Ajmal returns at the back end of the season.Both players are high-quality acquisitions who featured in New Zealand’s World T20 campaign. Munro, who came to the attention of Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes on pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi with an innings of 47 in 28 balls, scores his T20 runs at a strike-rate of 133.89 while McClenaghan has excelled in his 22 ODIs with 48 wickets at 22.83 – including decisive spells against England last summer.”Both Colin and Mitch both have real match winning pedigrees,” Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said. “Colin we came across in Abu Dhabi and I was immediately impressed with the way he struck the ball against us.”His strike rate of an equal amount of sixes to fours in T20 cricket shows the way he plays the game and I look forward to him showing some of his boundary hitting to the Worcestershire fans.”Mitch will replace Saeed and play three T20 games alongside Colin to give a real Kiwi flavour to our team. “His aggressive and quick left-arm bowling will be important in our push in both competitions. I am really looking forward to working with them.”Worcestershire supporters will be pleased that investment has been made in the playing staff with the financial situation tight at New Road – a profit is required to satisfy the clubs bankers. Last season the county made no impression on either one-day competition and finished well off the pace for promotion in the Championship.Munro said he was “excited and delighted” to be able to take part in the NatWest T20 while McClenghan added: “The opportunity to play all three forms of the game over my six week stint will hopefully allow me to make a difference at an important time of the year.”A full run in all the Royal London Cup group matches will also give a focus for success while aiming to make telling contributions in both the NatWest T20 and County Championship matches.”

Cricket South Africa will consider restructuring its provincial, semi-professional competition, the second tier of its domestic cricket, when its board meets early next month

Firdose Moonda07-May-2014Cricket South Africa will consider restructuring its provincial, semi-professional competition – the second tier of its domestic cricket – when its board meets early next month. ESPNcricinfo understands the proposal on the table is based on fewer fixtures between the 14 affiliates but no reduction in the number of teams. This revamp is possibly a part of a cost-cutting measure in the aftermath of last summer’s curtailed tour by the Indian team.CSA is estimated to have lost out on earnings of around R300 million (US$30 million) from the shortened tour by India, which was cut from three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20s to two Tests and three ODIs. As a result of the shortfall, operations around South African cricket are being streamlined.”The organisation has been forced to take a critical look at the business to see how it can be more efficient and save money in a difficult climate,” said an insider in the know of developments. “At the same time, cutting costs must not be at the expense of cricket.”The second tier of domestic cricket, which operates as a feeder system for the six franchises, has been identified as a primary area for downsizing because it is seen as the only bloated segment of the domestic game. The provincial set-up consists of 14 teams who will likely be divided into groups based on their geographic position to reduce the number of matches they play. The most likely scenario is a two-way split with one coastal and one inland group but the pools could be sub-divided further.Currently, all 14 provincial teams play against each other in a three-day league, which has first-class status. That amounts to 13 matches each for a team. One rung higher in the domestic game, the six franchises, who compete in a four-day first-class competition, operate under the same round-robin structure and only play 10 matches each.”If we look at it, our semi-professional sides are playing more than our franchise teams, which just does not make sense,” a second source said. “With that amount of matches, there is also the cost of umpires, venues, travel and accommodation so it would make sense to cut that down.” CSA, however, did not respond to questions sent in by this reporter.The semi-professional one-day and Twenty20 competitions have already seen that logic applied. The 45-over competition has teams playing just seven matches each while the 20-over event has been halved into inland and coastal groups, in which teams play six matches each before the final is contested between the top teams from each pool.The administrators are also looking at a way to revamp the shortest format and are mulling an FA Cup-style T20 competition, which could be modelled on a knock-out structure. This would include all 14 affiliates and would take place over a set period of a couple of weeks. It could also see the franchise T20 tournament dissolved although the details of that are sketchy. Importantly, CSA will only look at a new T20 competition if it can find a sponsor.Funding for the semi-professional competition has been difficult to secure, as it has faded into the background of franchise cricket. After a three-season sponsorship with South African Airways between 2005 and 2008, CSA has gone six seasons without a sponsor for the provincial tournaments. In last year’s financial statements, the most recent ones available, CSA reported that it spent R52.7 million (US$5.2 million) on amateur cricket, which includes the semi-professional competition, that was initially dubbed amateur because cricketers taking part in it were not on contract.At the start of the 2010-11 season, CSA announced that it was making provisions for seven amateur players per province to be contracted through a semi-professional structure which, it hoped, would keep players in the game for longer.This is still in effect and the amounts earned by the semi-professional crickets are understood to be between R120,000 (US$12,000) to R170,000 (US$17,000) a year. Contracts have recently been renegotiated which has provided security that player number will not be cut for now, although that may change in the future.The June 3 board meeting will also include ratification on the new Test captain following Graeme Smith’s retirement in March. The national selectors will decide on a candidate, believed to be either AB de Villiers or Faf du Plessis, and the board will then approve their choice. South Africa’s new leader will take his team to Sri Lanka in July for a two-Test series.

There was more misery for Bangladesh on the second day in Chittagong as they were hit with five penalty runs after a lackadaisical bit of fielding

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong05-Feb-2014As if Kumar Sangakkara ruthlessly punishing the bowlers was not enough, Bangladesh were hit with five penalty runs after a lackadaisical bit of fielding on the second day of the Chittagong Test.Shakib Al Hasan tried everything to disrupt Sangakkara’s concentration, but it went horribly wrong when he bowled a wide way down the leg side in the 146th over. Shamsur Rahman, Bangladesh’s makeshift wicketkeeper, didn’t even attempt to stop the ball and as it rolled towards the fine-leg fielder Tamim Iqbal.With only the No. 11 for company, Sangakkara was looking to farm the strike and had declined the easy single on offer. With no urgency to get the ball back, Tamim sauntered after it, and lobbed in a casual throw towards the stumps. To his dismay, the ball hit the helmet placed behind the keeper and immediately the two umpires converged to discuss the issue. They then awarded five penalty runs in accordance with Law 41.Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka had seen the ball beat Ajantha Mendis’ bat and hit the offstump only for the bails to stay firmly in place. The penalty runs were another slice of misfortune for them on a day when almost everything went wrong, as Sri Lanka powered their way towards 600.

Chris Gayle has been ruled out of the one-day series against England after suffering lower back pain following the first Twenty20 involving Ireland

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2014Chris Gayle has been ruled out of the one-day series against England after suffering lower back pain following the first Twenty20 involving Ireland as West Indies try to ensure he is fit for the World Twenty20. Dwayne Smith, the allrounder, has been called into the squads for both the one-off Ireland match and England series as a replacement.The opening T20 match against Ireland was Gayle’s first competitive fixture since he injured his hamstring during the one-day series in India last November which led to him missing the entire tour of New Zealand and the domestic Nagico Super50 tournament.A WICB statement said: “Gayle experienced stiffness in his lower back following the first T20 International against Ireland on Wednesday. He had precautionary scans and will have medical management and necessary treatment in Jamaica.”Following the second T20 against Ireland, which West Indies won to level the series, Darren Sammy said a cautious approach would be taken with Gayle ahead of their World Twenty20 defence in Bangladesh before which they face England in three T20s in Barbados early next month.”He is really working hard on his fitness, but he was feeling just a little soreness in his lower back and we decided we are not going to take the chance,” he said. “He is very important for us and we have already lost the services of [Kieron] Pollard so we are giving Chris the best possible chance for him to be fit and recover nicely for us to use him in the future.”Smith faced Ireland in the two T20 matches which marked his return to the international fold after a gap of more than a year. He was the highest run-scorer and MVP in the Super50 tournament where he made 232 runs in four innings at 58.

An unbeaten fifth-wicket partnership of 146 between Mithun Manhas and Manan Sharma helped Delhi to 195 for 4 against Gujarat at the end of day two

Devashish Fuloria in Surat08-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Gautam Gambhir was dismissed for 31•Associated PressThe failures of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had left Delhi in a precarious position in Surat but Mithun Manhas and Manan Sharma thwarted Gujarat’s probing bowling on a testing pitch. Their unbroken 146-run stand gave Delhi a chance to pull close to Gujarat’s first-innings total of 320 after they had been reduced to 49 for 4 in the 30th over.The morning session had been all about the anticipation to see Sehwag bat, as several people leaned on the railings in the stands to see who was opening, but were disappointed as soon as they realised it was Unmukt Chand with Gambhir.Less than an hour later, they leaned again to see if it was Sehwag walking up to the middle after Chand’s off stump was pegged back by Akshar Patel, but it was Puneet Bisht instead who took to the field.Sehwag did however come in to bat soon, as Delhi lost Bisht 15 minutes before lunch. The stand behind the dressing room reverberated with the chants of “Viru Viru”, and was accompanied by claps, whistles and cameras, but for the business-oriented populace of Surat, that was one investment that was about to go sour.Sehwag didn’t show the patience to wait till lunch, and charged offspinner Jesal Karia in the fourth delivery he faced, aiming for the long-on boundary. The mishit, though, went only as far as mid-on, where Akshar nervously wobbled under the skier for a few seconds, before sending the whole Gujarat team into frenzy. With that, any hopes that Sehwag may have harboured of making a comeback into the Test team, were further shrouded in thick mist.Gambhir was prepared to show more respect to the bowlers on a pitch that displayed enough mood swings. It was a typically western Indian red-soil pitch that afforded good bounce to the seamers, but with a number of deliveries misbehaving from time to time, the batsmen had to stay watchful all day.Gambhir survived against a couple that stayed low, but was dismissed with one that bounced a touch extra and caught the inside edge on its way to the short-leg fielder.The Gujarat bowlers, on their part, used the conditions to their advantage by bowling on the stumps. Akshar, who came into bowl as early as the sixth over, hardly erred in line or length, bowling a miserly spell of 27-14-24-3. “I was told by the captain about not to worry about the batsmen and bowl accurately,” Akshar said. “Had I tried too many things, it would have helped the batsmen. The pitch had enough, so I just stuck to my lines.”Wth Delhi’s seemingly powerful top-order all flattering to deceive, It was left to the old pro Mithun Manhas and the young Manan Sharma to drop down the anchor. Manhas, a veteran with more than 8000 first-class runs, tackled the spinners by using his feet, playing late, and by doing what he has always done in the absence of Delhi’s stars for the past few seasons – solidly defend.The seamers troubled him – he was twice struck on the box – but he hung on to score his 44th half-century. There were plenty of deft touches and back-foot punches, as he hit 11 fours in his innings. He also smashed two sixes by driving one over long-on, and the other over long-off.Manan followed a similar template by waiting for the odd loose ball to score, eventually hitting a six to arrive at his first half-century in first-class cricket. Manhas praised the resolve the young batsmen showed. “Manan is a rookie, he doesn’t think about the pitch or the spin,” Manhas said. “His head is clear; if there is a ball to be hit, he hits it.”The two fought together for 46.4 overs to slowly push Delhi towards 200.

Steven Smith has come in for high praise after his sparkling 73 in Canberra, with AB de Villiers dubbing him “a captain’s nightmare”, and Aaron Finch going one further by naming Smith in the same breath as de Villiers himself

Daniel Brettig19-Nov-2014Steven Smith started this series as a somewhat miffed 12th man in Perth.Three games on, and in Canberra, Smith showed precisely why he felt that way: his sparkling 73 lifted Australia’s tally beyond South Africa’s reach, causing AB de Villiers to dub him “a captain’s nightmare” and Aaron Finch to go even further by naming Smith in the same breath as de Villiers himself.This was high praise indeed for a man who had been elbowed out of the XI by the return of Shane Watson, the fitness of Michael Clarke – regrettably an occurrence no longer guaranteed – and the selectors’ faith in Glenn Maxwell and George Bailey.Clarke’s hamstring opened up a spot for Smith, and on a Manuka surface where batting became more difficult the older the ball became, his nimble feet, hands and mind stood out a mile, not least when his extraordinary “nutmeg” shot in the final over completed a dire day for Morne Morkel. Smith looks nobody’s idea of a batsman surplus to Australia’s World Cup team.”I think his strength is that he’s got a lot of energy at the wicket,” said de Villiers. “He’s almost a captain’s nightmare when he comes to the crease after 25-30 overs, especially on this kind of ground where you know you’re not going to get three and four wickets in patches.”You’re going to have to work hard for your wickets, and if you get a busy cricketer at the wicket it makes it very difficult for you to control the innings, to keep your rhythm and just to pace it a little bit better. He makes it really difficult for us in doing that.”Finch had played diligently and well to battle out of his own dalliance with poor batting touch, 109 a first score of better than 50 since September the result of some more circumspect batting than he is known for. But it was Smith who won man of the match, and rightfully so in Finch’s opinion, for he knew how the softer ball became harder to bully in later overs.”Smithy played one of the great innings I thought, the way he came in from ball one and struck it into the gaps and ran hard and never allowed the bowlers to settle,” Finch said. “He was moving around the crease and played a couple through his legs, I don’t know how he does that.”He was super and that’s really shown the class of the player. We’ve seen that in Test cricket for a while and in one-day cricket it’s starting to get better and better and more consistent. The beauty of Steve is he’s a great player of spin, so teams are reluctant to bowl that at the start of his innings because that does allow him to get away.

You’re going to have to work hard for your wickets, and if you get a busy cricketer at the wicket it makes it very difficult for you to control the innings, to keep your rhythm and just to pace it a little bit better. He makes it really difficult for us in doing thatAB de Villiers

“At the same time he bats in the middle order in Test cricket and can play pace. So he’s a hard guy to tie down – I think he’s a very similar type player to AB de Villiers, you really struggle to bowl dot balls to them in a row, and through the middle of the innings if you’ve got somebody who’s constantly getting off strike or hitting boundaries it’s such a hard thing to defend against.”Smith’s upward trend in this series reflects his wider international career, which began with confusion over his precise role – batsman, an allrounder or leg spinner – then went through a period of domestic exile and solid learning, before blossoming into the player many thought he would become when he burst into the NSW team in 2009.He has provided an example of how to grasp technical and mental maturity that others, notably Maxwell and Finch himself, would do well to remember. Finch’s innings showed that he too is learning and evolving, on the sort of pace that will allow him to perform staunchly at the World Cup next year.”I knew I’d been hitting the ball well lately but when you do get a couple of starts and you miss out a couple of times things start to play on your mind a little bit and you start to wonder how good a form you’re actually in,” Finch said. “But I still had confidence in my game.”As for the pressure for spots that has seen Smith running drinks, James Faulkner sent for Sheffield Shield duty and Maxwell cooling his heels on the Manuka boundary, Finch felt it a force for good, so long as the players kept thinking in terms of the team and each other.”It’s a real positive when you have guys challenging for spots because you know that’s driving you to perform well, and if you don’t perform you’re sitting on the pine,” he said. “Nobody’s safe in the side except the skipper – when you have that competition in the side it’s really quality.”Guys are still helping each other out. There’s none of this ‘I’m trying to look after my own spot’, it’s just about helping the team win games and us becoming the best players we can.”Smith is getting closer to that peak than most.

Lou Vincent has confirmed he is one of the former New Zealand cricketers under investigation by the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-20130:00

New Zealand Cricket addresses ACSU match-fixing probe

Three former New Zealand players, including Lou Vincent, are being investigated by the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit. The news, first reported by , was confirmed by the ICC and New Zealand Cricket – without mentioning names – before Vincent acknowledged he was one of the three under investigation.Chris Cairns, whose name figured in media reports on the issue, released a statement on Thursday saying he had not been contacted by the ICC or NZC in regard to any investigation of alleged fixing.The story emerged from New Zealand on Thursday morning, with the saying the ACSU had been in the country for four months as part of a match and spot-fixing investigation. NZC did, however, confirm that the matches involved were not in New Zealand or under their jurisdiction.Vincent made his involvement public through a brief statement. “I wish to let everyone know that I am cooperating with an ongoing ICC Anti-Corruption investigation that has been made public today,” he said.”This investigation is bound by a number of rules and regulations that mean I am unable to make any further public comment. I will personally talk to the public when I am able to. In the meantime I cannot comment. Please respect me and my family’s privacy until such time.”Cairns’ statement came after he told : “We need to let the investigation by the ICC run its course.”In his second, public, statement, he said: “No representative of the ICC, New Zealand Cricket or the New Zealand Players’ Association has contacted me in regard to any connection by me to an investigation into alleged fixing. I have no information, and was therefore shocked and dismayed to discover the speculation in today’s media.”Twenty months ago, the High Court in England ruled that I’ve done nothing wrong – which is on record for everyone to see. Like you, I will be looking for answers.”His reference to the High Court related to a suit he filed – and won – against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi over a defamatory tweet sent in January 2010, in which Modi referred to Cairns’ alleged involvement in match-fixing as the reason for barring him from the IPL auction.David White, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, confirmed that he knew the identity of the players involved, but clarified that the players were not currently active and the matches in question had not taken place in New Zealand.”New Zealand Cricket is aware that the International Cricket Council is investigating a small number of New Zealand cricketers,” White said in Dunedin. “We have been aware of this investigation for a number of months and we are shocked and surprised by the allegations. We support the ICC’s investigation as corruption has no place in our our sport.File photo: Lou Vincent stated that he was cooperating with the ACSU’s investigation into allegations of fixing•Getty Images”However, I would like to clarify a number of matters. No current New Zealand players are being investigated, no games played in New Zealand are being investigated and lastly no matches under NZC jurisdiction are being investigated. This is an ongoing ICC investigation and I simply can’t comment further.”When pressed for further details, such as names, timescales and when the matches in question took place, he repeated the “no comment” line.Current fast bowler Tim Southee was asked after the day’s play of the Dunedin Test – where New Zealand were playing West Indies – whether the story had been talked about. “There were a few conversations going around but it is out of our hands, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Southee said. “Once we got to the ground we got our game faces on and concentrated on the job in hand.”An ICC statement, issued after the story broke, read: “Following the publication of an article in a leading New Zealand newspaper earlier today in which it is alleged that a small number of former New Zealand cricketers had engaged in fixing activity in historic cricket matches and were being investigated by the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), the ICC confirms that it has indeed been working closely over the past few months with its colleagues in the domestic anti-corruption units of member boards to investigate these and related matters.””The ICC and all of its members maintain a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption in the sport, and the ACSU will continue to collaborate with relevant individuals in order to complete its investigation process.”Naturally, as the investigation remains ongoing and nobody has been charged with any offence, no further comment will be made by the ICC or by NZC.”New Zealand is set to play a central role in world cricket over the next 15 months. It hosts the World Cup Qualifiers in January then is joint-host, alongside Australia, for the 2015 World Cup.