Rest of India completed a comfortable innings-and-79 run victory on the fourth day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore24-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The margins of defeat for the Ranji champions in five of the previous six years in the Irani Cup: 404 runs, 361 runs, 187 runs, nine wickets and nine wickets. This season was just as comprehensive, as Rest of India completed a comfortable innings-and-79-run victory on the fourth day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Rajasthan’s batting and bowling were both not at the level of Rest of India’s, but what really hurt them as they tried to at least take the match to the fifth day was their appalling running between the wickets.There was an early alarm when Hrishkesh Kanitkar and Vineet Saxena had a communication breakdown, but both had the time to return to their creases. That wasn’t the case in the 26th over when Saxena nudged the ball towards square leg and took off, but Kanitkar didn’t respond and a sprawling Ishant Sharma fired in the throw to end the overnight partnership.Till then they had been largely untroubled by the pace of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, and a wicket had looked unlikely. Kanitkar and the batsman who had his reputation most enhanced in this the game, Robin Bist, were then comfortable against everything Rest of India threw at them. A few overs before lunch, Rest of India had resorted to having three men deep on the leg side when the left-arm spinners were operating, allowing Kanitkar to push the ball around and accumulate. Bist was more aggressive, unleashing some powerful drives and the partnership swelled towards a hundred.That stand also ended through a mix-up. Kanitkar pushed the ball towards point and wanted the single, but Bist didn’t. Though the return from Badrinath was a tough take for wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, there was enough time for the bails to be taken off and two of Rajasthan’s most adhesive batsmen had given away their wickets recklessly.Bist wasn’t as solid as in the first innings, edging several past the keeper in the middle of some crisp striking. With Pragyan Ojha getting the odd ball to turn and bounce, much depended on Bist if Rajasthan were to avoid an innings defeat. His footwork had been precise in much of the match, but on 67, he was caught on the crease to a delivery from Ojha that neither jumped nor turned dramatically, but still managed to sneak between bat and pad.That brought together the last pair of recognised batsmen, RR Parida and Dishant Yagnik. That pair, too, was separated by a run-out. Parida played the ball out towards sweeper cover; Yagnik ambled through the first run, assuming there was only an easy two to be taken before Umesh Yadav fielded; Parida pushed for the third but Umesh, who unlike most Indian fast bowlers has a strong arm, rifled in a throw that caught Yagnik short.Rajasthan were soon down to 226 for 8, on a track which was still not spiteful, against an attack which was not exactly fearsome. Ishant was disciplined, keeping the ball around off but wasn’t able to regularly clock above 130kph, Umesh continued to bowl too wide to worry batsmen consistently and the spinners were steady though not menacing.Even without Rest of India’s bowlers being at their best, Rajasthan were overwhelmed in the match, again highlighting the vast difference in between the two sides.

Greg Shipperd, the coach of Victoria, has called on Cricket Australia to allow 12 players per side in the Sheffield Shield in future seasons to provide greater opportunities for players on the fringe of Australian selection

Brydon Coverdale17-Oct-2012Greg Shipperd, the coach of Victoria, has called on Cricket Australia to allow 12 players per side in the Sheffield Shield in future seasons to provide greater opportunities for players on the fringe of Australian selection. Shipperd’s radical proposal comes as Victoria consider how to juggle their surfeit of strong contenders for next week’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania, although he has been campaigning for such a change for some time.Last week, Victoria beat Queensland at the Gabba with a side featuring eight players who have represented Australia and two more – Jon Holland and Rob Quiney – who the Victorians believe have the potential to play international cricket soon. Since then, they have been bolstered even further by the return of Andrew McDonald and Glenn Maxwell from the Champions League and finding men to squeeze out of the team won’t be easy.Cricket Australia is especially keen for the left-arm spinner Holland to remain in the side despite the fact that he has bowled only 10 overs in the first two Shield matches of the season, on green, pace-friendly pitches. CA’s desire for Holland, considered by the selectors as one of the best two spinners in the country, to be given game time meant the in-form batsman Aaron Finch was pushed out of the side, and Shipperd believes there could be a better approach.”When I think about the future of Australian cricket … we should play 12 players, because we’re going to have to make a decision on someone who could play for Australia who’s going to have to sit on the bench,” Shipperd told ESPNcricinfo. “Yes, we could send them off to 2nd XI cricket, but if it was Jon Holland to miss out, or Clint McKay, or John Hastings, or resting Peter Siddle, is that the best thing for Australian cricket and that player and the competition? I don’t think so.”Last game [Finch and Holland both playing] would have happened. Our batting depth would have been better, our bowling depth would have been still as strong, but the game would have been tougher for the opposition. Likewise they would have been in a similar position. The game would have been tougher for us. I think it’s all about playing tough, competitive cricket for Australia to get back to No.1 and we’ve missed that opportunity. Yes, it’s still 11 against 11, but there’s a lot of good players out there that aren’t being exposed to the game across the course of four days.”The main problem with Shipperd’s suggestion is that under the existing ICC regulations, the Sheffield Shield would lose its first-class status if it moved to 12 players per side, with 11 batting and 11 fielding. ICC rules clearly define the conditions of first-class cricket, including that matches must be “of three or more days’ duration between two sides of eleven players”. There is leeway for teams to be tweaked mid-match if a player is called up for national duty, but there is no provision for games to start with more than 11 players per side.Cricket Australia is believed to be open-minded to Shipperd’s idea in principle, but not if it meant the loss of first-class status for the Sheffield Shield. CA has been willing to think outside the square in one-day cricket where there is more flexibility – their move to a 12-a-side split-innings format in the Ryobi Cup in 2010-11 was particularly adventurous – and Shipperd wants a similarly bold approach for the longer format.”I’ve been saying it for years now, it is just unfortunately falling on deaf ears at the playing cricket committee level [at CA],” Shipperd said. “They keep blaming the ICC but I think that’s a furphy. Cricket Australia have on many occasions been a leader in terms of going our own way, in terms of finding what is the right recipe for us.”It’s not always about jumping in to bed, so to speak, with a slow-moving ICC process. I think we’ve lost a couple of years of player opportunity and player development and toughening up our environment because we’re beholden to some archaic traditional view of what a cricket team should look like, with 11 players only.”Shipperd said other state coaches were supportive of the idea, as were medical staff around the country. The move would help with the management of young fast bowlers, for the workload could be spread among a larger attack in each first-class match.

Maharashtra’s weird tactics against Uttar Pradesh in Pune have drawn the ire of opposition captain Suresh Raina, who minced no words in criticising Dermot Reeve, the newly-appointed Maharashtra coach

Amol Karhadkar in Pune11-Nov-2012When a team sets the opposition a target of 765 in a maximum of 169 overs in order to attain the first-innings lead, the game is as good as killed once the chasing side doesn’t lose early wickets. Maharashtra’s weird tactics in their Ranji Trophy season opener against Uttar Pradesh in Pune have drawn the ire of opposition captain Suresh Raina, who minced no words in criticising Dermot Reeve, the former England allrounder and newly-appointed Maharashtra coach.”They have a foreign coach and he needs to teach good things to youngsters,” Raina said after UP finished the penultimate day on 287 for 1 in reply to Maharashtra’s 764 for 6 declared. “I am not against anyone but at the same time, he is earning [Rs] 30-40 lakh [3-4 million] per season, so he needs to teach youngsters in a good way. Two-and-a-half days. We can also do the same when they come to play against us next time, but we all have to keep on improving our cricket.”Had Maharashtra declared just after Kedar Jadhav completed a triple ton on the second evening, their bowlers would have got a shot at the tired UP openers. But they continued to bat till bat 35 minutes into the third morning on a track that just doesn’t have any assistance for the bowlers.”I am unhappy with the way they have approached the game,” Raina said. “Perhaps they were scared of us. Jadhav played well and the captain [Rohit Motwani] as well but they needed to give us time to chase well. If they really want to achieve their goal of doing well in the Ranji Trophy, there’s no point in batting for almost two-and-a-half days and asking us to chase 765. But still we managed to reach almost 300 today. You might see something different from the UP team tomorrow.”Howsoever optimistic Raina tried to be, he eventually admitted it was virtually impossible to score nearly 480 runs in a day. “We will see how it goes in the first session. I am slated to bat next and then we have Piyush [Chawla], Parvinder [Singh], Arish Alam as well, so we have a long batting line-up. Still you can’t look to chase more than 460 on the last day. Somewhere around 340-350 is gettable but 460 is virtually out of question.”I am not happy with these tactics. We won against Delhi and when we came here – this is their first game – I thought they would try and improve on where they had left last season. But they were safe, they were too defensive. Hopefully they will improve over the next couple of games.”It wasn’t just the tactics. Raina was equally critical of the pitch which was nothing but a batsman’s paradise. “No bounce, no pace, no spin. There is literally nothing in it for the bowlers. They work so hard on their game, there has to be something in it for them. There are some who need to pick a lot of wickets in order to come back into the Indian team but they can’t do anything about it when you have such wickets.”

A preview of the newly revamped Quaid-e-Azam trophy – Pakistan’s premier first-class competition

Umar Farooq24-Dec-2012Pakistan cricket history is as old as the country itself. The Quaid-e-Azam trophy – the country’s premier first-class competition – has been a testing ground for cricketers in the domestic circuit since 1953. This year, 14 teams including Bahawalpur will compete in a newly revamped structure and is a chance for players to impress ahead of Pakistan’s South Africa tour in January 2013.The new structure promises improved competition among evenly-matched teams. The new regional teams are allowed to recruit five players from the old department sides, of whom four can be part of the playing XI. The 14 regional teams have been divided into two groups of seven, with top four teams from each group progressing to the super-eights while the remaining six would be playing in the plate league. The league toppers will contest in their respective league finals. Either way, each team will at least play eight matches apart from the finalIn a bid to give bowlers exposure to internationally-recognised cricket balls, the board has also made the use of Kookaburra balls mandatory for the tournament.Such measures have been taken by the board to revive national interest in the first-class game. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, but that interest seldom trickles beyond international matches – a far cry from the eighties and nineties when fans used to regularly flock the venues to watch players like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, etc. practice in the nets.Team previewsKarachi Whites and Karachi BluesKarachi is Pakistan’s biggest and the most successful regional cricket association having won the trophy 19 times. The city has two teams in the competition – Whites and Blues. The Whites are led by fast bowler Mohammad Sami and boast of prolific batsmen like Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Khalid Latif and Saeed Bin Nasir. The Blues, captained by former Test batsman Faisal Iqbal, have a promising fast-bowling line-up with Tanvir Ahmed, Tabish Khan and Anwar Ali.The Whites, more successful of the two teams with a hat-trick of titles between 1990 and 1992-93, won their last title in 2002 and last year, finished third in Division 2, while the Blues were led to their eighth title by Sami in 2009.BahawalpurAfter a successful debut in this season’s Faysal Bank T20 Cup, Bahawalpur are all set to make a return to first-class cricket after nearly a decade. Bahawalpur were the winners of the inaugural Quaid-e-Azam trophy in 1953 when they beat Punjab in the final. They won their second title in 1958. During the 200304 overhaul of domestic cricket, Bahawalpur were merged with the Multan region.Rehan Rafiq, an opening batsman who has played for WAPDA and Habib Bank in the absence of his native regional team, will lead the Bahawalpur side this season. The squad is relatively inexperienced and the team mainly relies on veteran allrounder Bilal Khilji, seamers Kamran Hussain and Mohamamd Talha.SialkotA renowned Twenty20 side, Sialkot won the 2005-06 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Golden League. Though they failed to defend their title the following year, they came hard to clinch it again in 2009.The combination of 20 players is centered on left-arm batsman Haris Sohail, who made 673 runs at 134.60 with four hundreds in the President Trophy for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. He was rewarded with a national call-up when the selectors chose him in the ODI squad for the India tour. Left-arm fast bowler Naved Arif, who immigrated to England last year, has returned to play for his native domestic side as an overseas player.Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, who has been serving a 12-week ban after testing positive for cannabis during his stint with Somerset, is back in action. Another promising left-arm spinner Raza Hasan was left out due to his career-threatening spine injury, which had also ruled out him from the ongoing tour of India.RawalpindiIt is always difficult to see a Rawalpindi side without Mohammad Amir and the dashing Mohammad Wasim but life goes on. A hugely talented side, Awais Zia, Umar Amin and Mohammad Nawaz are the spirit of the team now. Rawalpindi perhaps never were the favorites and have never won the title but the region is always busy in producing quality players for the national level.Umar Waheed, a promising middle-order batsman from the Under-19 circuit will kick off his first-class career this year while all-rounder Nawaz will have to shift gears after his showing for Pakistan U-19s last year. Zia, who has been desperately waiting for the trophy to start, is ready to take flight. Amin has already asserted his case in the President Trophy. He was the leading run-scorer, with 767 in nine matches at 45.11 and will be put through another test ahead of the South Africa tour.Lahore ShalimarIt has been more than ten years now since Lahore -believed to be the biggest nursery for national cricketers in the country – won a national title. The last time was in 2001. Like Karachi, Lahore also have two teams. They had a poor season last year, finishing second-last in Division Two, and managed to win only one match against Multan, who were glued tightly to the bottom with zero points. Shalimar suffered seven defeats with one drawn game against a depleted Quetta side.This year, they start their campaign after losing key players to the national side for the India tour, leaving Shalimar with the inexperienced lot. In the absence of Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz, Shalimar will have to rely on the veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf. Along with fast bowler Aizaz Cheema, Zia-ul-Haq and Mohammad Irfan will be the core of the bowling attack.PeshawarPeshawar have retained the core of the side that beat Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two last year. They were the underdogs but finished unbeaten in the division and were supposed to be promoted to Division One if the same structure had been followed this year.Peshawar are mainly centered on their batsmen Akbar Badshah and Mohammad Fayyaz, who were the second and third-leading run-getters in their division. Adding Israrullah to the mix makes it a formidable batting line-up. Their bowling attack is dominated by fast bowlers such as Imran Khan, the President Trophy’s third-leading wicket-taker, and Waqar Ahmed, who picked up 60 wickets last year for Peshawar.This year, they are entering the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with a reputation to carry on. They are certainly the favorites on paper and look good to finish among the top teams before going into the super-eight. They have earlier won the national championship in 1998-99 and 2004-05.

India have dropped Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh for the Nagpur Test

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2012India have dropped Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh for the Nagpur Test. Delhi fast bowler Parvinder Awana and Saurashtra allrounder Ravindra Jadeja have received their first call-ups, and legspinner Piyush Chawla replaced Harbhajan.Zaheer’s is the biggest fall. This is the first time he has been dropped from the Test side after his rousing comeback in 2006-07. He has taken 15 wickets in eight Tests in 2012 at a strike rate of 98 balls per wicket. In this series, he has taken four scalps at a strike rate of 133. Moreover, his fielding has been below par for some time. His replacement, Awana, took 5 for 81 against Karnataka in a Ranji Trophy match a day before the selection meeting. Reputed to be brisk, Awana has taken 21 Ranji wickets at an average of 21.57 this season.Yuvraj, called back after a double-century in the Duleep Trophy was deemed enough to prove his fitness, did not take his chance either. He scored 125 runs in five innings in the series. He has now played 40 Tests over various comebacks for three centuries and an average of 33.92.Yuvraj’s replacement, Jadeja, recently scored his third first-class triple-century in 13 months. He was dropped from India’s limited-overs squads earlier this year, but the two triples in one month this season and 18 Ranji wickets at 23.72 have put him ahead of Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary in the queue for a middle-order slot. Jadeja told he had hoped to get his chance after his run in domestic cricket: “I have proved my ability to stay at wicket for a long time, which is necessary while playing Test cricket, and I was hoping after making two triple centuries I would be selected for Test cricket.”Even as the squad was being debated, Tiwary was busy rescuing Bengal with 55 out of a score of 112 against Jadeja’s Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy. Four of Bengal’s wickets, though, fell to Jadeja. Tiwary retired-hurt with a pulled muscle, but that happened after the squad was announced.Harbhajan was recalled for the Tests without any improvement shown in domestic cricket, but a lacklustre show in Mumbai means he will be stuck on 99 Tests for a while. Not that his replacement, Chawla, has set the domestic scene on fire, with nine wickets at an average of 48.33.Awana and Jadeja made it to the T20 side too. Uttar Pradesh allrounder Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined them in place of the injured Irfan Pathan. Virender Sehwag and Zaheer, left out of T20 squad, were unavailable for reasons the BCCI didn’t state. Ajinkya Rahane took Sehwag’s place. Harbhajan has been dropped for T20s as well.Squad for Nagpur Test: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Parvinder Awana.Squad for T20Is: MS Dhoni (capt &wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Parvinder AwanaBy Sidharth MongaThis selection should drive home what a bad state Indian cricket is in. Piyush Chawla’s bowling averages over the last three first-class seasons tell you all you need to know about the reserves: 48.33 this season, 40.61 in 2011-12 and 41.04 in 2010-11. He was picked for the Nagpur Test against England despite that. No wonder Harbhajan Singh came back into the side without taking wickets at domestic level. The spin cupboard is bare, and the choice was between Amit Mishra and Chawla. The selectors overlooked Mishra, who at least has better stats than Chawla.There are better options in the fast-bowling department, but they are all injured. Most noteworthy among them are Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar and Sreesanth. Parvinder Awana, reputed to be a quick bowler, has had a decent season and looks a good pick with others unavailable. If the pitch in Nagpur is not a raging turner, at least one out of Awana and Ashok Dinda should debut.Ravindra Jadeja’s selection seems driven by numbers alone. His two triple-centuries this season, to go with one in 2011-12, have pushed him ahead of two specialist batsmen, Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary, who have been on the fringes for a long time. It could also be Jadeja’s left-arm spin, something that was supposed to be in Yuvraj Singh’s favour when he jumped the queue. The problem with this selection, on the evidence of what we have seen in international cricket, is that Jadeja is neither a top-six batsman nor a top-four bowler.

Michael Hussey has decided to retire from international cricket at the end of the summer in Australia

Daniel Brettig29-Dec-2012Michael Hussey has left the cricket world wondering why he is retiring, rather than why not. In the midst of one of his most productive summers and with his place in the team completely beyond question, Hussey, 37, will end his international career at the conclusion of the Australian summer, meaning the New Year’s Test against Sri Lanka in Sydney will be his last.It was a decision Hussey revealed he had all but made before the season began, and needed only a waning desire for the looming tours of India and England to confirm it. Known universally as “Mr Cricket”, this most intense and diligent Australian batsman could not find his usual enthusiasm for the 2013 schedule, and so will exit the game on top. The hole left by Hussey’s loss to the Australian batting line-up, fielding circle and dressing room is incalculable.”I’ve known for a while that I probably wanted to finish at the end of the Australian summer,” Hussey told ESPNcricinfo. “I just wanted to see how I felt throughout he summer and my feelings hadn’t really changed. I was looking ahead to the India series and the Ashes and I didn’t have the same excitement or buzz about the challenges ahead.”So I knew I was making the right decision because I knew my heart wasn’t 100% in spending that amount of time away from home and being excited about the challenges that are going to come forward. Not very many players get to leave on their own terms, so I’m very fortunate in that respect.”It’s not so much a decision about how I’m playing, I still feel like I’m playing well. But it’s more to do with everything else around the game, time away from home, the constant travel, the constant training, the constant pressures and stresses involved with international cricket as well, that eventually they take their toll on you.”There was no question about Hussey shelving Twenty20 or ODI matches to prolong his Test career, and in a way this was fitting, for no batsman in the 21st century has achieved such a revered place in all three formats of the game. Starting with the base of a pure technique fostered by opening the batting for Western Australia before he moved down the order, Hussey’s combination of placement, power and matchless running between the wickets made him a man for all situations. He can point proudly to innings as contrasting as his barnstorming 60* to steal a a World Twenty20 semi-final from under Pakistan’s noses in 2010, and his commanding 195 against England in the first Test of an Ashes series later that same year.”I’d say looks can be deceiving,” Hussey said. “It’s certainly not easy, it’s been very tough. And all three formats are very challenging in their own right. I think it just comes down to pride in your own performance really. I’m very proud to be able to represent Australia, and you want to help Australia win games. Thats what the drive was, no matter what format of the game it was, and so I just wanted to approach every game, no matter what format it was, with that attitude. Wanting to win for Australia.”Hussey’s sudden retirement means Australia have lost two of their most experienced batsmen this summer, following Ricky Ponting’s exit after the Perth Test against South Africa. The development will lead to a significant reshaping of Australia’s middle order ahead of a tour to India and back-to-back Ashes. While many will fear for the immediate future of the Australian team without Hussey as the glue in its middle order, Hussey is adamant he will not be one of them.”I’m not worried about the team at all,” he said. “There’s plenty of fantastic candidates to come into the team, and I’m sure whoever comes in will do a great job, score plenty of runs and help Australia win more Test matches in the future. It’s shown in the history of the game that players come and go but the game continues on, and it’ll be no different with me. There’ll be a new player come in and represent Australia with the same pride and passion as I have.”That pride was personified in Hussey’s role as the singer of the team song after a victory, a role handed down sparingly down the years from its origins with Rod Marsh. Others to have taken the role include Allan Border, David Boon, Ian Healy, Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer – rare company in which Hussey is most certainly not out of place.”The opportunity to wear the baggy green cap is the proudest thing, and then to prove to myself and the world that I could perform with that cap on, that gives me enormous pride,” Hussey said. “Then being able to play with some of the true legends of the game, guys like Warne and McGrath, Ponting, Hayden, Gilchrist etc, that makes me very proud I’ve been able to play with those guys, and lastly having the honour of leading the team song is something I’m very proud of as well.”CA chief executive James Sutherland said of Hussey: “Affectionately known as “Mr Cricket”, he has always been thoroughly committed to meticulous preparation and the highest levels of physical fitness which have in turn delivered consistent performances in all forms of the game.”An incredibly reliable player and leader within the Australian cricket team, Michael will retire from Test cricket with a record that puts him amongst the very best Australian batsmen of all time. Beyond his contributions to team success, he will be remembered for the way he has carried himself on and off the field – and in doing so he has won the respect and admiration of players, officials and fans all around the world.”Having made his ODI debut in February 2004, Hussey was belatedly awarded a Test cap in November 2005, having scored 15,313 runs at first-class level to earn it. He flirted with losing his place in the Test team during a dip in form during 2008 and 2009, but saved his place with a century in the final Ashes Test of that year, and went on to prove a pivotal component in the regeneration of the team under the captaincy of Michael Clarke.

Delhi Daredevils have appointed former England allrounder Jeremy Snape as performance coach for the upcoming IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2013Delhi Daredevils have appointed former England allrounder Jeremy Snape as performance coach for the upcoming IPL season. Snape was formerly South Africa’s sports psychologist and performance coach, and was also Rajasthan Royals’ performance director in 2010.”We are happy to welcome Jeremy as Performance Coach,” GMR Sports’ Head (Cricket) TA Sekar said. “We believe he has the right credentials to help the Delhi Daredevils achieve its goals. We are sure he will bring in fresh ideas and help the coaching staff bring the best out of the players in a high performance environment.”We are sure that Snape will enable the players be on the edge of their comfort zones as they deliver high performance through the coming season.”Snape, 39, said: “We are sure that Snape will enable the players be on the edge of their comfort zones as they deliver high performance through the coming season.”

Tim Southee believes New Zealand will face another long day in the field after their poor show with the new-ball on the first day

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington14-Mar-2013Tim Southee has blamed New Zealand’s insipid new-ball bowling in Wellington on the first day as the major reason why the home side are facing another long stint in the field, after Brendon McCullum had stuck to his pre-match promise of bowling first.Having sent down 170 overs in the second innings in Dunedin to try and force a victory, they had only two scalps to their credit after another 90 overs of toil. With Jonathan Trott unbeaten on 121 and Kevin Pietersen on 18, another hefty stint in the field will test New Zealand’s resolve.”It was a tough day. I don’t think we started particularly well with the new ball in favourable conditions, and the little period after lunch wasn’t great either,” Southee said. “There was a little in it early and I don’t think we used that to our advantage. We were chasing it from there. But between that we showed patches where we managed to dry up [the runs], and if we’d grabbed a couple of wickets, it could have been a different story.”New Zealand’s quicks bowled 114 overs between them in the second innings at University Oval, and were given a very gentle time of it between matches with almost no bowling on the warm-up days. After the early success of removing Alastair Cook, there was no further joy for the seamers, and it was left to Bruce Martin, the left-arm spinner, to tie up an end and eventually remove Nick Compton for 100, which ended a second-wicket stand of 210.Southee added that backing up after long spells in the field was something bowlers had to be prepared for. “It’s part of Test cricket and you almost have to enjoy it,” he said. “It’s tough, but it can be very satisfying when you get the rewards. The bodies have recharged and we are ready to go again. It’s a big day tomorrow and it’s [all] about enjoying it.”Yet, while England’s total of 267 for 2 suggests that there was only one decision a captain should have made at the toss, Jonathan Trott confirmed that they would have likely taken the same approach. “I think we would have done the same. Alastair is probably very lucky, or very happy, that it didn’t land on heads.”

Glamorgan will breathe a sigh of relief with the confirmation that Michael Hogan is to leave Australia to come and play in county cricket with his British passport

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2013Glamorgan will breathe a sigh of relief with the confirmation that Michael Hogan, the Western Australia bowler, is to leave Australia to come and play in county cricket with his British passport.Justin Langer, the Western Australia coach, had said he would do everything in his power to try and keep Hogan in Australia but his efforts have proved in vain and Hogan will arrive in Cardiff for the start of the new season.Hogan, 31, took 130 wickets at 27.66 in first-class cricket during his four years at WA – including 30 at 25 in the 2012-13 Sheffield Shield – a record that prompted Langer to increase his efforts to keep Hogan in Perth.”He has been an excellent servant of WA cricket over the past four years,” Langer said. “He made a positive impact during his time here, not only as an outstanding bowler but a popular team member as well.”Michael has also been an excellent role model, leader and example to all, that if you persevere and work hard, regardless of your age, then you can forge a successful career as a professional cricket player. He will be missed and we wish Michael all the best in the UK.”Glamorgan will be pleased to have secured an experience bowler to replace James Harris, the England Lions bowler who left for Middlesex at the end of last season. Hogan will join experienced left-armer Graham Wagg alongside youngsters Huw Waters, John Glover and Michael Reed in the fast-bowling ranks in Cardiff.Hogan said he was leaving WA with the side in rude health under Langer. “The signs are really good. There’s a lot of young kids who are only going to get better with more experience,” he said.”With Justin in charge he’s not going to let anyone off the hook, so the boys will be working really hard to get to that Shield final which we’ve just missed out on in the past two years. I’d love to see the boys get into one and win one.”I had a great time, the playing group in particular accepted me as an outsider from day one and I can’t thank everyone enough for that.”

Brett Lee has said he is “pleased and proud” to be given the bowling mentor’s role for Kolkata Knight Riders and is looking forward to juggling his dual role as mentor and opening bowler

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2013Brett Lee has said he is “pleased and proud” to be given the bowling mentor’s role for Kolkata Knight Riders and is looking forward to juggling his dual role as mentor and opening bowler. The former Australia fast bowler replaced Wasim Akram as bowling mentor for the side after the latter opted to take a year’s break.”I’m really proud and pleased to have been given the bowling mentor’s role. My job is to try and impart knowledge to the guys,” he told the . “Even though it might seem a short span of time, we’ll still have eight weeks in hand. Lots of cricket will be played during this period. And from what I saw during nets today, each of the players look in good nick.”KKR’s bowling was crucial to their victory last season and the side relied heavily on offspinner Sunil Narine. Lee said that Jacques Kallis could turn out to be an important bowler for KKR this season. “We have lots of key bowlers in our squad,” he said. “Guys like (Lakshmipathy) Balaji, (Pradeep) Sangwan are quite capable and ready to step up. Then there’s Kallis, who’s one of the best cricketers in the world. There simply cannot be any doubt about his ability with the bat. But with the ball, too, Kallis will play a huge role in determining the fortunes of the team.”Lee also expressed his confidence about KKR captain Gautam Gambhir’s form going into the IPL. Gambhir was dropped for the first two Tests against Australia and missed out on selection for the remaining Tests after suffering from jaundice.