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Peter Siddle’s lack of cricket has compelled the selectors to give the New Zealand tourists an unexpected sighter of one of their likely Test opponents in two warm-up matches

Daniel Brettig16-Oct-20152:21

Siddle excited for NZ and pink-ball challenges

Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle’s lack of cricket during the Matador Cup has compelled the national selectors to give the New Zealand tourists an unexpected sighter of one of their likely Test opponents in two warm-up matches in Canberra.In addition to joining Michael Hussey in the day-night Prime Minister’s XI fixture to be played with a pink ball on Friday, Siddle will also play the two-day match with a red ball from Saturday.It is unusual for any touring team to be given a sight of the bowlers they are likely to face in the Tests, with the host nation preferring to field lesser combinations that mean a significant step up to international contests. However, Australia’s selectors were left without a choice by the Bushrangers’ preference for James Pattinson, John Hastings and Scott Boland in their limited overs XI.Some have suggested that Siddle might have played in the Cricket Australia XI added to this year’s Matador Cup as a way of affording further opportunities for younger players, but this possibility seems not to have been considered in the short timeframe that followed the postponement of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh. That decision left numerous players without their previously planned schedules, leading to criticism of how the Australian team will lead into the Gabba.Mitchell Johnson pointed out that it was “not ideal” for the hosts to be playing one Sheffield Shield game with the pink ball before playing two Tests with the red and then the first day-night Test in Adelaide to conclude the series. Meanwhile New Zealand get a pink-ball game against the PM’s XI, then two red-ball warm-ups in Canberra and Sydney, before another pink-ball practice fixture in Perth between the second and third Tests.Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann had previously speculated that Siddle might be left with only club cricket ahead of the sole Sheffield Shield round that precedes the first Test of the summer at the Gabba, after expressing his displeasure at how Victoria had declined to play him in their Matador Cup team.However the selection chairman Rod Marsh said the need to give Siddle decent match practice ahead of the Trans-Tasman series had overruled any desire to keep the Test bowlers away from New Zealand before they reached Brisbane.”We believe it is important to field a strong squad against what we know will be a very competitive New Zealand side in these tour matches,” Marsh said. “Peter performed well at The Oval in the final Ashes Test and as part of his preparation for the summer we want to give him some high-standard match practice.”These tour matches and the first round of the Sheffield Shield give Peter important opportunities to impress ahead of the Test series.”Having spent the past two weeks running drinks and looking on from the sidelines, Siddle was relieved to be getting a chance to play anywhere. He will link up with the PM’s XI coaching duo of Ryan Harris and Greg Blewett next week.”It’s truly an honour to be selected in the Prime Minister’s side,” Siddle said. “I haven’t played in that match before and I’m really looking forward to it and the following two-day tour match. This will give me a good opportunity to experience the pink ball as well as face-off against New Zealand.
”It will be great to work alongside Mike as captain and I’m looking forward to seeing who else may be selected in the squad.”Siddle went to England for the Ashes without the security of a CA contract, and will need to play more Test cricket this summer if he is to secure an incremental version of the deal he had held consistently over the past seven years.

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2013Sreesanth, the India and Rajasthan Royals bowler, has alleged the IPL withheld the “real video” of the incident between Harbhajan Singh and him in IPL 2008. In a series of tweets from his personal Twitter handle Sreesanth said Harbhajan had not slapped him but was a “backstabbing person”, and he received “no support whatsoever” from “selfish” people involved in the issue even though they knew “it was not my fault”.”I want the world to c it..Whn I went to shake hands afte the match..he had lost it..he had already planned to hit me(elbow me)all his anger,” Sreesanth tweeted. This tweet, along with several others, has since been deleted.Harbhajan refused to comment on the issue when he was approached in Mumbai by the media.He was scared to speak out earlier, Sreesanth said, but now wants the “world to know what happened”. The truth would be revealed by the video he said, which was kept “in hiding” by the IPL. He said Sudhir Nanavati, the BCCI-appointed commissioner who investigated the incident, knew the truth. He also said the “incident was planned by a few”.However, Sreesanth did not reveal his version of events. Footage of the actual incident has never been shown to the public.Meanwhile, Nanavati contradicted Sreesanth’s claims that he was elbowed saying that Harbhajan did slap him. “In the video footage, I have seen Harbhajan use the backside of his right palm to give him (Sreesanth) a slap on the right side of his face,” Nanavati told . “It was clear cut, it was there to be seen in the video footage.”What I have seen in the frame of the video was that Harbhajan, after giving him a slap, was coming back once again to hit him but at that time, two security personnel had stopped him.”The 2008 incident involved Mumbai Indians’ Harbhajan Singh hitting Sreesanth, his India team-mate who was then playing for Kings XI Punjab, during the routine round of handshakes after the game between the two teams in Mohali. The incident itself was not shown on camera but Sreesanth was spotted in tears after that. Harbhajan was banned for the rest of the tournament, while Sreesanth was let off with a warning. After the hearing by match referee Farokh Engineer, the then IPL chairman Lalit Modi said Engineer had found Harbhajan’s attack to have been “totally unprovoked”.The outburst was prompted by a report in Friday’s that said the Virat Kohli-Gautam Gambhir spat during the IPL game in Bangalore on Thursday was similar to “slapgate”. As Kohli was heading back to the pavilion after being dismissed, Gambhir ran past him on his way to celebrating with his team-mates. They appeared to exchange words and then charged at each other before the other players and one of the umpires separated them.Harbhajan and Sreesanth are due to meet on April 17 in Jaipur, when Royals play Mumbai Indians.

Northamptonshire have signed Australia batsman Cameron White as a second overseas player for the Friends Life t20 competition

George Dobell29-Mar-2012Northamptonshire have signed Australia batsman Cameron White as a second overseas player for the Friends Life t20 competition.White, who was dropped as Australia’s T20I captain in January, is expected to be available for the entire competition and will join up with Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas at Wantage Road. For White the deal represents an opportunity to find some form and regain his national place ahead of the World Twenty20 in September, while Northamptonshire hope they have secured the services of an explosive, match-winning batsman.White represented Somerset with some success in 2006 and 2007. His innings of 141 not out, for Somerset against Worcestershire in 2006, remains the fourth-highest score in the history of T20 cricket and the second highest in English domestic T20 cricket. In that same season, White also struck a T20 century against Gloucestershire.The 28-year-old recently endured a miserable campaign in the recent Big Bash, however, averaging just 7.85 in eight matches. He played the last of his 29 T20Is in October 2011 and the last of his 87 ODIs in April; as well as four Tests in 2008. A part-time legspinner, White plays for the Deccan Chargers in the IPL.While Northants were obliged to cancel their plans for an overseas tour of South Africa due to financial constraints, it is understood that a couple of private sponsors have emerged to cover the costs of a second overseas player.”This is an important signing for Northants’ FLt20 campaign,” head coach David Capel said. “Cameron will be able to add huge amounts of firepower to our middle order batting. Cameron comes to us with a proven track record, both internationally and domestically in the shorter forms of the game and he has the ability to find the boundaries, as seen by the fact he has scored t20 centuries.”Northamptonshire’s chief executive David Smith said: “As a former captain of Australia in this format of the game and with Champions League and IPL experience, Cameron will bring a wealth of international experience to our T20 squad. This signing would not have been possible without the help of external benefactors and we would like to place on record our appreciation to them once again.”Edited by Alan Gardner

It is New Zealand’s batting on which the heaviest burden rests, for that is where
expectations should be highest

Osman Samiuddin24-Mar-2011What holds the greater weight of argument: that New Zealand do well enough
to even have a side that, for the most part, plays consistently
competitive cricket despite an entire population that is a third of
Dhaka’s alone? Or, that given the quality of players they have produced,
they are actually underachieving? Stuck somewhere between those two
questions, it never seems to have been any other way for them.Here they are in the knock-out stages of yet another World Cup. Five times
they have made it to the semis but never any further, beaten, on occasions,
by a better side and on other occasions by themselves. With this side
those questions have been most resonant. If they lose to South Africa
on Friday in Dhaka, it won’t be a surprise. If they win, it will be an
upset, but a real surprise, or a shock? Not really. In any case, the
attention will fall on South Africa.There is no question New Zealand have players here who can change games.
In their batting order are some of the cleanest, sweetest ball-hitters in
world cricket; Martin Guptill’s straight driving has been one of the
pleasures of the group stages. Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor,
Scott Styris and Jacob Oram should always be a threat.Few fast bowlers as initially unsuited to these conditions can have
progressed so much individually as Tim Southee, the influence of Allan
Donald as bowling coach quite apparent. Southee is probably the least
noticed fast bowling success of the tournament. Others have chipped in
around him.Daniel Vettori will be hoping the likes of Ross Taylor will come good against South Africa•Associated Press

They now have back their captain, one of the best allrounders in the game
and a figure with the authority and stability most captains dream of. The
majority of them field as electrically as eels.And still it has been a campaign befitting them so far, unwilling to
resolve those basic questions. They were awesome against Pakistan,
obviously with the bat, but also in the field. The minnows were
dispatched with greater comfort than some other teams were able to manage.
But losses to Australia and Sri Lanka were so complete that there looked
nothing of the true contenders about them.In a way they have swung as much as Pakistan do, and more than this
England team. Sometimes they remind you of Mark Greatbatch’s withering
assessment late last year that some of the players think they are better
than they actually are. And there remains around
them talk of player power, which never has beneficial consequences.It is the batting on which the heaviest burden rests, for that is where
expectations should be highest. The numbers of Taylor, McCullum and
Guptill stand up well from the group stages – they’ve all got over 220
runs and average 81.66, 59.75 and 55.5 respectively – but in only one big
game can it be said to have come together the way they want it to.”We played our best game against Pakistan when the batting fired when we
got a guy get through to a hundred, with a couple of crucial partnerships
through it,” Daniel Vettori said. “We’ve been at our worst when those
things haven’t happened. That will be the key to our success.”If the top five perform it will give us a chance. We’ve got a very good fielding unit
and a solid bowling attack so if we can complement that with a good
performance with the bat we will be in with a chance. “It is the potential of that top order that New Zealand are waiting on,
that might take them from where they are stuck, to a different plane
altogether. There isn’t frustration at them not having done more so far,
Vettori said, but expectation.”It’s not so much the frustration as much as looking forward to the next
game and realizing these guys can do it,” he said. “They are extremely
talented and if you look at their records, as they stand alone, they are
pretty good. What better time to rectify a couple of tough performances
than now? We’ve seen the game plan that works against Pakistan, able to
build a total and be able to unleash at the end. If we get a guy like
Taylor, Styris or Oram in those last ten overs with wickets in hand, then
we know we can be dangerous.”Friday would be a good time for them not simply to know that they can be
dangerous, but to actually be so. Else the status quo remains.

The West Indies batsman is hoping the ongoing Jamaican Cricket Festival will help him regain full fitness ahead of the ICC World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff11-Apr-2010West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan is hoping the ongoing Jamaican Cricket Festival will help him regain full fitness ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 at home starting at the end of the month. Sarwan returned to West Indies midway through the Australian tour late last year after injuring his back and he was rested for the home series against Zimbabwe as a precautionary measure.”Right now I’m about 80% fit. I’ve been doing a lot of training for the last couple of weeks and I spent the last few days in Barbados with the guys and it went well,” he said. “That really helped me. It’s just a matter of getting to match fitness now and hopefully these couple of games will help to get me there.”Sarwan made a return to first-class cricket after the Australia tour, but despite scoring a century for Guyana, the West Indies selectors decided to preserve him for tougher assignments, which include the World Twenty20 and the home series against South Africa.Sarwan was named in the West Indies XI squad for the Jamaican Cricket Festival, a competition that also involves Ireland, Canada and hosts Jamaica. However, he managed only 5 in the outing against Canada.”This competition is very important for me,” Sarwan said. “Of course I haven’t played for a while and I think it is presenting an opportunity for me to prepare myself for the upcoming games but it’s also very important for us as a team and we are hoping to get something positive out of this.”Looking ahead to the World Twenty20, Sarwan was confident of his team’s chances. “I don’t think there will be a problem getting support from our fans,” he said. “I think over the years although we have not been at our best, the fans have been very supportive and I think they know that we need their support now. Hopefully we’ll be able to have a good showing and go all the way in the tournament.”

Opener makes unbeaten 50 to defeat Worcestershire by DLS method

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2024Nottinghamshire 100 for 3 (Hales 50*) beat Worcestershire 141 for 6 (Hose 43) by 1 run – DLSAlex Hales helped Nottinghamshire celebrate their first win of the summer in the Vitality Blast after overcoming Worcestershire Rapids by one run under the Duckworth-Lewis Method at Visit Worcestershire New Road.The Outlaws had lost their opening five matches in the competition including the meeting with the Rapids at Trent Bridge nine days ago. But a disciplined bowling performance by their seamers restricted the home side to 141 for 6 under heavy skies.Then Hales batted responsibly to ensure there was little threat of Notts falling behind the Duckworth-Lewis Method. He scored 50 not out from 37 balls to guide his side to victory by the narrowest of margins.For Worcestershire it was a third successive defeat.Nottinghamshire captain Joe Clarke won the toss and elected to bowl first on a fresh hybrid pitch which was two-paced in nature. He persevered with all-pace during the powerplay and was rewarded with three wickets.Ben Lister made the first breakthrough when Worcestershire Club captain, Brett D’Oliveira, top-edged a catch to third man. Josh Cobb was then trapped lbw by Matt Montgomery working to leg and Matthew Waite pulled Olly Stone into the hands of deep mid wicket.Worcestershire were restricted to 27 for 3 in the first six overs and it became 42 for 4 when Ethan Brookes went to cut and was bowled.The Rapids broke the shackles in the 15th over from Lyndon James which yielded 15 runs with Nathan Smith smashing a six over long off.Adam Hose and Nathan Smith added 69 for the fifth wicket with the latter striking maximums off Lyndon James and Calvin Harrison. But Harrison brome the stand when Smith perished on the deep midwicket boundary.Hose battled away to make 43 off 35 balls before he holed out to long on in the penultimate over from Ben Lister.Worcestershire’s new ball attack of Smith and Tom Taylor bowled accurately and the latter made the breakthrough when Joe Clarke (26) lost his middle stump.Run-scoring was again not a straightforward process on this surface and the increasingly leaden skies meant Nottinghamshire had one eye on Duckworth Lewis.Hales ensured they moved comfortably ahead with two sixes in the opening over from Cobb. But West Indian spinner, Hayden Walsh, struck in his first over when he bowled Will Young to leave the game again in the balance.Walsh made it two wickets in two overs as Haynes went for a reverse-sweep and was lbw.But Hales again wrestled the initiative for his side with two enormous pulls over the midwicket boundary at Walsh’s expense to edge Notts in front.

South Africa captain puts off-field emotions to one side to lead team to priceless series win

Firdose Moonda29-Jan-2023″I am still here and I still deserve to be where I am.”That’s what Temba Bavuma meant when he gestured to his name on the back of his South Africa shirt and then thumped on his heart and the Protea badge as he celebrated his third ODI century.His innings of 109 from 102 balls been described by commentators and former captains Shaun Pollock and Ashwell Prince as the best they’ve seen Bavuma bat in international cricket, not only because of his clean hitting and quick-scoring but because of the context this hundred came in.Bavuma has spent the last year on an “emotional rollercoaster,” with questions over his place in South Africa’s white-ball sides and his ability to score quickly enough to keep up with modern batting trends. Painful, but also legitimate, questions.Since his 110 against India in Paarl last January, Bavuma had batted in 33 international innings across all formats, scored four fifties and had been dismissed in single figures 15 times. Among those were two ducks and a 3 against India on his comeback from an elbow injury that sidelined him for three months in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. There, he captained South Africa to an exit at the hands of Netherlands. He was subsequently snubbed at the SA20 auction and is the only member of the current squad not playing in the marquee T20 tournament, which has become the biggest party in the country’s cricket. Imagine being the national white-ball captain and not invited.”Emotionally it can be draining and it can be taxing. As much as you try to block it out, it does affect you,” Bavuma said. “The biggest one is when it affects people around you – your family. As a player, I have my ways of dealing with it. It is a part of the journey.”But that doesn’t mean it was easy. “We all go through periods of ups and downs, whether in our careers and family life,” Bavuma said. “The difference [with professional sportspeople] is that it’s in the eyes of everyone and everyone wants to have a piece of you. It’s about trying to not be as emotional as you can and to see things as plainly, as they are. Blocking out the noise is something you have to do but that is quite impossible, especially me in the situation I find myself in, as the captain.”That’s why Cricket South Africa offered him as much quiet time as possible. When Bavuma returned from the T20 World Cup, he, along with Kagiso Rabada, were the only two players not required to play red-ball cricket in preparation for the festive Test series against Australia, so they could take a mental-health break. Bavuma ended as South Africa’s most successful batter on an otherwise disastrous tour, making 185 runs at 37.00 in the 2-0 series loss.When he came home from that tour, Bavuma had another two weeks off before this series as the SA20 launched, and it allowed him to clear his head. “Being out of action for the last two weeks, being at home and away from the game, has also helped me,” he said. “Physically, I’m maybe not in the best shape but mentally I am. I’ve come in a bit more open towards the team and how we would like to go about things.”He also came into an environment with a new coach (albeit only temporarily in white-ball cricket). Bavuma has worked with Shukri Conrad at domestic level. and after the pair were spotted deep in dialogue in Bloemfontein, he revealed that Conrad had helped him work through some of his doubts.”The conversation I had with Shukri helped,” Bavuma said. “It was just being vulnerable to the coach about where I see myself and how I feel about everything. He helped me clear through all the nonsense that was in my head and helped me get ready for the series.”But he wouldn’t reveal too much more. “It was just him giving me an ear, hearing me out and validating the feelings that I’ve had. The biggest thing is getting your mind into the right state to play the game. Shuks is not a therapist. What I enjoyed was the honesty and the clarity that he gave in the chat.”Whatever was said, it obviously worked. Bavuma showed his intent in the first match, albeit he only scored 36. He made those runs, however, off 28 balls to give South Africa a good start and went on to make good tactical decisions in the field (such as holding Sisanda Magala back for the middle overs) which gave South Africa the series lead.Related

• Temba Bavuma finds form, and South Africa try out pacer workload management

• 'Feelings of almost being let down' – Temba Bavuma on not being picked for SA20

• Nortje, Magala engineer England's demise

• Roy escapes his 'horrible year' with emotional and 'angry' century at Bloemfontein

• Bavuma will captain South Africa for as long as team-mates and management want

Then, he brought out the big guns. Chasing a record 343 at the Mangaung Oval, Bavuma was a batter transformed. He outscored Quinton de Kock from the get-go, with with five fours and a six from his first 25 balls to assert himself with a hundred for the ages, and after overcoming a bout of cramp, a celebration to match.”It was quite emotional getting to that moment.” he said. “The celebration wasn’t planned. It was a reminder to myself and to everyone that I am still here and I still deserve to be where I am.”Bavuma put his bold strokeplay down to a mindset of “looking to score, looking to dominate the bowlers,” and South Africa’s approach that is less about results and more about establishing a style of play that they can employ for a few years. “We’ve made it clear to ourselves that our focus is going to be on the process but not so much on the outcome,” Bavuma said.But the outcome for Bavuma mattered much more than he was willing to say. A self-confessed “resolute guy” who tried to “put my best foot forward”, Bavuma has obviously been hurt by the events of the last year. However, he has carried himself with integrity throughout. He knows his responsibilities as the captain – and before this series said he was willing to stay on as long as he was wanted but also that he would step aside if needs be – as the country’s only black African international batter and a role model to millions.For them, he had this message: “I’m sure other people are going through what I went through. You’ve got to find a way to keep going forward. Don’t give up. Keep going forward.”