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England spinner may need to move on from Somerset to secure regular first-team action

Matt Roller30-Jun-2020After confirming the arrival of Tim Bresnan on Tuesday, Warwickshire look set to turn their attention to Dom Bess, the England offspinner.Bess’s contract at Somerset expires at the end of the 2020 season, and ESPNcricinfo understands that Warwickshire see him as a potential long-term replacement for the retiring Jeetan Patel. The club’s sport director Paul Farbrace is known to be an admirer from his time working with Bess as England’s assistant coach, and is hopeful that the prospect of first-team cricket in all formats might lure him to Edgbaston.From this season, counties are no longer required to give 28 days’ notice to other clubs before entering negotiations with an out-of-contract player, and have been free to do so since the beginning of June. It is understood that Warwickshire are yet to make a formal approach to Somerset or to Bess’s agent, but that they are likely to do so later in the summer.Bess spent two months of last season on loan at Yorkshire, playing four County Championship games and six T20s. Head coach Andrew Gale said at the time that the club would “try everything we can” to sign him permanently, but the situation is complicated this year by the fact 12 players at the club are out of contract at a time when funds are limited due to the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.ALSO READ: Tim Bresnan joins Warwickshire on two-year dealThere may be several contributing factors when Bess makes his decision whether or not to stay at Taunton. He is currently Somerset’s second-choice red-ball spinner behind Jack Leach, whose contract runs until 2022, but they are competing against one another – and Moeen Ali – for a place in England’s Test team.Neither player is currently on a central contract – Leach was awarded an incremental contract for 2019-20, meaning the ECB top up his county salary – but both will hope to win one for 2020-21 if they can hold down a spot this summer.Bess also has ambitions to play white-ball cricket, but has only made four limited-overs appearances (three 50-over, one T20) for Somerset to date. Max Waller, Somerset’s main T20 spinner, is also out of contract at the end of the year, while allrounder Roelof van der Merwe’s deal runs until 2021. It also remains to be seen whether Bess would want move to the Midlands, having bought a house in Taunton two years ago.Another promising bowler whose contract expires at the end of the season is Mason Crane, the Hampshire legspinner. Crane has had a frustrating two years with injuries, but was part of the initial 55-man training group named by England in May and will come into contention for the ODI series against Ireland at the end of the month. He was expecting to focus on white-ball cricket this year after Hampshire signed Nathan Lyon to complement Liam Dawson in their Championship side, but the opportunity to play across formats elsewhere could turn his head.Somerset may also face a battle to keep hold of the Overton twins, Craig and Jamie. Both players’ contracts expire at the end of the season, and are sure to attract interest from any clubs in a financial position to offer them a deal. Somerset declined to comment.

Simon Katich’s Test career is effectively at an end after he was denied a Cricket Australia contract.

Daniel Brettig07-Jun-2011Simon Katich’s Test career is effectively finished and he may yet retire from cricket altogether after he was denied a Cricket Australia contract in the most significant change to the 25-man list of national team players for the 2011-12 season.Mike Hussey, 36, and Katich, 35, were the two players thought in most danger of being culled as the national selectors maintain their push towards youth. The strong form of New South Wales team-mates and fellow top order batsmen Phil Hughes and David Warner, late in the domestic season, arguably tipped the scales against Katich.All this was understandably difficult to fathom for Katich who, with 2928 runs at 50.48 since he was recalled to the Test team in 2008, has been not only Australia’s most reliable batsman but among the most bankable in the world. In that time only Alastair Cook has scored more runs.”It was obviously devastating for Simon, from the time he went out of the Australian team and fought his way back through weight of runs he’s been a really fantastic player for us and has been extremely successful,” said Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, at the contract announcement in Adelaide.”So it was a big decision, obviously really hard on Simon, but in our view the opening partnership is critical, it takes time to get a good opening partnership and we think now the time is right to make sure we have the right opening partnership come the Ashes.”He was really devastated as you can imagine, and they’re not easy phone calls to make, he was really upset.”Katich played his last Test during the innings defeat in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide in December last year, limping out of international cricket with a torn Achilles tendon that cancelled him out of the equation for the remainder of the series. His manager, Robert Joske, said Katich would take some time to consider his future before speaking publicly.”Simon’s bitterly disappointed but we’re going to take a look at all of the options,” Joske told ESPNcricinfo. “There’s lots of options we’ll look at, both playing and non-playing, before we decide what’s best for Simon and his family. We’ll wait until the dust settles.”Hussey’s staunch efforts during the Ashes were followed up by a rapid recovery from a hamstring tear to play a walk-on role in the World Cup in March, and he also made a century against Bangladesh in Dhaka during Michael Clarke’s first tour as captain in April. Hilditch said Hussey and the former captain Ricky Ponting would have to shepherd a young batting line-up through the perils of Sri Lanka and South Africa.”We see them having a very important role with our middle order,” Hilditch said. “It’s as tough as it gets, Sri Lanka away, South Africa away, India at home, we play three of the top four nations in the next 12 months, so it’s a really demanding time and we just think they’ve got a great role to play at the moment.”Another most significant contractual decision is the inclusion of the 18-year-old NSW paceman Patrick Cummins. Cummins, currently recuperating from a back strain that has kept him out of the Australia A tour of Zimbabwe, is the youngest player to be granted a contract since the current system was introduced in 1998.Xavier Doherty, John Hastings, David Hussey, Usman Khawaja, Jason Krejza and James Pattinson are the other players to be added to the contracts list, having all taken part in matches for Australia over the past 18 months. Alongside Cummins, Pattinson is considered one of the most promising fast bowling prospects in the country, and made his international debut in Bangladesh.”James has tasted international cricket and we see him as a young man of immense talent who is made of the right stuff to succeed at the higher level,” said Hilditch. “Patrick Cummins is an exceptional talent who has impressed with his opportunities to date for New South Wales and it will be very exciting to watch his progress.”We’re really all of the view that he’s a potential champion for Australia and we’re going to encourage that and look after him.”Cummins was shocked to receive a call from Hilditch, and later another from Clarke, as he came to terms with being so quickly in the national frame.”I got a call from Michael Clarke so that was pretty exciting – I didn’t have his phone number before, but now I’ve got it,” Cummins told reporters at the SCG. “I’m still level-headed about it, trying to play for NSW whenever I can, whenever I get an opportunity. There’s still plenty of quality bowlers out there and when they return from injury they probably deserve a spot ahead of me, so hopefully I can bowl well and keep that spot.”Apart from Katich, James Hopes, Andrew McDonald, Clint McKay, Marcus North, Shaun Tait and Adam Voges were also cut from the list, while Australia’s incumbent Test spinner Michael Beer was not offered a contract though he remains in the selectors’ plans.”You shouldn’t read too much into that,” Hilditch said of Beer’s absence. “Michael Beer and Steven O’Keefe are still very much in contention for Sri Lanka, even though they don’t get a ranking. Because we now rank three forms of the game there are still players we rank very highly who are out of that contract list.”
Cricket Australia contracts list 2011-12: Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

England’s Test captain prepared for possibility summer could be drastically hit

Alan Gardner30-Mar-2020Joe Root, England’s Test captain, has admitted that he is prepared for the possibility that there is no cricket played at all during the 2020 summer, with the UK currently under lockdown as it battles the coronavirus outbreak. Root also said that he expects conversations to take place “in the coming weeks” about the possibility of players taking pay cuts in order to safeguard the game’s financial future.England returned early from their tour of Sri Lanka earlier this month, as the pandemic began to take hold around the world, and the ECB has already said there will be no domestic cricket played before May 28. While the governing body is looking into the viability of holding games behind closed doors, Root conceded that scheduled home series against West Indies, Australia, Pakistan and Ireland may not go ahead.”It has definitely crossed my mind, it is a possibility,” he said. “But I think we have to try to stay optimistic, try to take things day by day, not get too ahead of ourselves, we’ve just got to be ready for whenever that opportunity to play again is.”We’ve got to stay fit, obviously can’t do much in terms of actual practice, hitting balls and bowling and stuff like that. Might be that my wife has to start giving me some throwdowns in the back garden but until things become that drastic it will be simply sit tight and wait. If that happens, then we’ll just have to adapt, make the most of those circumstances as a cricket community by coming together and doing the best for the game.”ALSO READ: PCA seeks collective solutions as players face prospect of pay cutsThe ECB is expected to announce measures aimed at propping up the professional game in England and Wales, with several counties contemplating “furloughing” their playing staff – effectively placing them on leave, with some of the costs met by the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme. It was also reported at the weekend that centrally contracted England players could be asked to give up around 20% of their earnings, although Root said such matters would be in the hands of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA).”I’m sure at some point in the coming weeks there will be a discussion,” he said. “That’ll probably take place between the PCA and the ECB, and until those happen, that’s not my area of expertise. I think we just have to concentrate on making sure we are as fit and as ready to go as we can be for whenever it is we get back to playing cricket.”While there are graver issues at stake over the coming weeks and months, cricket’s current shutdown could have several knock-on effects beyond the purely financial – from impacting on the 2020 T20 World Cup to delaying the World Test Championship, with the final currently scheduled to take place in England next year.Root, who said that over the last two weeks he had “been in touch with every single player” on England’s winter tours, was understandably frustrated at the interruption after overseeing an encouraging 3-1 Test series win in South Africa. But he suggested the enforced break would see an increased appetite for the game among players and spectators when cricket does resume.”It is frustrating. There are more important things to concern ourselves with but, from a cricketing point of view, we were preparing ourselves well for the two Test matches in Sri Lanka and we made big strides in South Africa. Of course very different conditions but you saw how the warm-up games panned out and how the younger guys adapted with the bat and readied themselves for those Tests – it felt like we were in a very strong position to do something again.ALSO READ: ‘We’re going to cherish getting back out there’ – Anderson“It would have been nice to get those games in to test ourselves out there against a side on the rise, to see if we could keep building our away form and build on the three brilliant Tests we had last time [in 2018-19]. Going into the summer, the six Test matches [against West Indies and Pakistan] will be crucial points, as the home games seem to be really important in the Test championship. It might be that changes now. When it comes to those games they might have to be rescheduled, play them abroad. I am sure there are a number of different scenarios we may have to find ourselves looking at down the line. Of course it would have been nice to play those two games [in Sri Lanka].”When you get time like this away from the game when it is unscheduled, guys will be even more determined to come back and play. When that opportunity comes, all the guys will be desperate to start playing again and all of the pent-up energy that will be there from spending time at home will be expended on the field and into performances. Whenever we get back to playing again there will be some very excited players playing it and people watching it.”Joe Root reacts to the cancellation of England’s Test series•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Like the rest of the country, Root and his family are observing guidelines to stay at home – he conducted his media duties via video conference call – with cricket activity currently limited to giving his three-year-old son, Alfie, throwdowns.”I’ve got an exercise bike at home and have generally been using that for my aerobic stuff. I’ve tried to stay isolated as much as possible, trying to get Alf running around the garden or doing something outside with the kits the ECB have kindly sent us. I’m taking this very seriously, trying to stay indoors as much as possible, avoid contact at all costs. It’s pretty impossible to get online shops at the minute. We’ve had one booked for three or four weeks. We’re literally trying to get out as little as possible, be efficient with what we’re buying and use, try to be creative with our cooking, finding different ways of using what we’ve got in the fridge, not wasting anything.”Having announced at the weekend that he has become a patron of Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Root has also written an open letter to cricket supporters, jointly with England women’s captain, Heather Knight, calling on people to “stay strong and united” and praising those on the frontline in the coronavirus fight.”It is motivating seeing how powerful it is when people come together and show support for a fantastic organisation like the NHS. We are very lucky to have it. We should appreciate it and not take it for granted. The work they are doing right now is amazing and they deserve all the support and care they are getting. Hopefully that continues long after this pandemic finishes as well.”

John Aaron has been suspended as the secretary of the USA Cricket Association by Gladstone Dainty

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2011John Aaron has been suspended as the secretary of the USA Cricket Association by Gladstone Dainty, the board’s controversial president, for what Dainty claimed were “comments damaging to the good standing and well-being of USACA”.In a move which brings into the open the battle between Dainty and those seeking to make him accountable, he claimed he had consulted “many of the USACA board members”, he told Aaron he was suspending him “immediately and indefinitely”.Aaron has been openly challenging Dainty over many aspects of the way he runs USACA in the wake of cancelled elections, the failure to replace Don Lockerbie, who Dainty sacked as CEO ten months ago, and a complete failure to communicate with factions of the board opposed to his actions as president. Dainty unilaterally cancelled a board meeting called by Aaron last weekend, even though it had been arranged in accordance with the constitution. The board has not met face-to-face for ten months.Aaron replied to Dainty that his action was “without basis and merit and is unconstitutional, and it impinges upon my right of free speech … in addition your reference to “consultation with many of the USACA board members,” is also unfounded and unsubstantiated, and at best refers to a minority”.The ICC, which has twice suspended the USA from international competition while Dainty has been in charge, has yet to comment, but it is likely it will be watching the unfolding events with increasing concern.

Rohit Sharma and Colin de Grandhomme have failed to fire in the two games played so far

The Preview by Varun Shetty28-Jan-20206:17

Do New Zealand have an answer for Bumrah?

Big picture

New Zealand did most things right in the first T20I, and not too many in the second. On current form, India – they have five consecutive wins – were bound to pounce on even the tiniest of openings, and they have gone 2-0 ahead on a tour that they were talking about even before their last series was over. On last year’s tour, India lost the T20I series, and the prospect of clinching this one with two matches to spare will no doubt be on their minds.It is a World Cup year in the T20I format and perhaps a five-match series is designed precisely to help the teams work out various combinations; for New Zealand, who are missing a number of first-choice players, the incentive to completely change their approach in the next match even goes a little beyond that. At 0-2 against a good team, there is little to lose. A change in venue, from Auckland to Hamilton, should also do them some good.

Form guide

New Zealand LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWW

In the spotlight

New Zealand have done their bit in trying to make the most of Colin de Grandhomme‘s abilities as a T20 batsman by batting him at No. 4 in both matches. With scores of 0 and 3, de Grandhomme is yet to make the impact they expect from him after the top three have done their job. They have not used him for his bowling this series, so New Zealand desperately need his batting to boost their middle overs.Rohit Sharma hasn’t quite brought the form from limited-overs cricket that he showed at the end of the home season last year. His scores in this series have been the only single-digit ones in his last ten innings across formats.New Zealand must find a way to prevent going 3-0 down•Getty Images

Team news

New Zealand’s only options on the bench are seam-bowling allrounders Daryl Mitchell and Scott Kuggeleijn. All signs so far point at Kuggeleijn coming into the XI, but it is not quite as straightforward with Mitchell, who can only come in at the cost of either the hitting abilities of Colin de Grandhomme or one of the spinners.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt),4 Colin de Grandhomme, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Tim Seifert (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner/Daryl Mitchell, 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Blair Tickner/Scott Kuggeleijn, 11 Hamish BennettIt is unlikely India will tinker with either department, but with the batting line-up stepping up so impressively, they might be tempted to forego Shardul Thakur’s batting ability at No. 8 for the pace of Navdeep Saini.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur/Navdeep Saini, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

Seddon Park is typically a high-scoring venue. In the last five T20 matches here, teams batting first have made 190-plus on three occasions. But in the last T20I played here, New Zealand posted 212 and only managed to beat India by four runs. That was a year ago.

Stats and trivia

• Teams batting first have won the last four T20 matches at this venue
• If India go 3-0 up, they will win their first T20I series in New Zealand on their third attempt

The two added 163 for the third wicket to seal a comfortable win

The Report by Hemant Brar06-Nov-2019Roston Chase fell six short of his maiden ODI hundred, while Shai Hope scored an unbeaten 77 as West Indies beat Afghanistan by seven wickets in the first ODI in Lucknow. They now lead the three-match series 1-0.After being put in, half-centuries from Rahmat Shah and Ikram Alikhil had taken Afghanistan to 126 for 2 around the halfway stage. But it was Alikhil’s run-out that proved to be the turning point. The batsman left his crease to congratulate Rahmat on his fifty with the ball still in play. And when Hope broke the stumps and West Indies appealed, he had to walk back.Afghanistan couldn’t recover from there and were bowled out for 194 in 45.2 overs. For West Indies, Jason Holder, Chase and debutant Romario Shepherd picked up two wickets each, while the USA legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr, who became the 14th player to represent two teams in ODIs, also chipped in with a wicket.West Indies lost two early wickets in their chase but Hope and Chase added 163 in a third-wicket stand to ensure West Indies were always ahead in the game. Chase fell when West Indies were seven away from the victory. Hope and Nicholas Pooran took them over the line with 21 balls to spare.Earlier, Afghanistan didn’t have a great start as Sheldon Cottrell and Holder bowled testing lines and lengths. With just five runs on the board after four overs, Hazratullah Zazai swatted one past Cottrell for four but the bowler slipped in a searing yorker next to send Zazai’s leg stump cartwheeling. In the next over, Holder had Ahmadi caught at second slip to leave Afghanistan 15 for 2 at the end of six overs.Rahmat and Alikhil too found it difficult to score and while Afghanistan played out 49 dot balls in the first ten overs, the two ensured there wasn’t a top-order collapse.Roston Chase cuts one away•AFP

In the 11th over, Alikhil pulled Holder twice behind square leg for back-to-back fours and that changed things a bit. Afghanistan got to 50 in the 15th over before Rahmat lofted Shepherd down the ground for a six and swept Chase for four. At the other end, Alikhil top-edged Joseph for six, clobbered him to deep midwicket for four and brought up his fifty in 47 balls after being 4 off 17 at one stage.Rahmat and Alikhil added 111 in 124 balls for the third wicket but the ball off which Rahmat brought up his fifty also saw his partner being run-out. Once that stand was broken, wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Najibullah Zadran was dismissed in the same over as Alikhil, caught at first slip off Chase for a duck. Rahmat and Asghar Afghan took the side past 150 but Rahmat too fell to Chase when he mistimed a scoop to Holder at backward square leg.Asghar tried to hold the innings together and almost succeeded in it. At 188 for 6 with him and Gulbadin Naib in, Afghanistan were looking good for a total of around 230-240. But they lost their last four wickets in three runs and failed to reach even 200.West Indies too didn’t start well. Mujeeb Ur Rahman beat Hope with carrom ball on more than once occasion but it was Lewis who fell to it. Playing back to a length ball, the left-hand batsman was trapped lbw. Shimron Hetmyer didn’t last long either and was caught-behind off Naveen-ul-Haq.But after that Chase joined hands with Hope and a small target meant the two could take their time. Chase was the dominant partner in the century stand, hitting 11 fours during his innings, while Hope played the supportive role.Though the Afghanistan bowlers were economical, they were not penetrative enough. Both Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi went wicketless, with former now having taken just three wickets in the last seven ODIs.In the 40th over, Mujeeb got Chase to edge one behind but Alikhil couldn’t latch on to it. Chase was on 85 at the time and West Indies 24 away from the win. Mujeeb eventually bowled Chase but it was already too late.

Chasing 167, favourites Nelson Mandela Bay Giants fell short despite Chris Morris’ 42 off 23 balls

Firdose Moonda13-Dec-2019The Tshwane Spartans will play the Paarl Rocks in the Mzansi Super League (MSL) final, after beating the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants by 22 runs in the playoff in Port Elizabeth. The Spartans are surprise finalists after half of their pool matches were washed out. Still, they snuck into the final three and then denied the favourites, the Giants, who were on top of the log for most of the competition, the chance to challenge for the trophy.The Giants opted to play to their strong suit and chase under lights but a committed effort in the field from the Spartans, who were without Lungi Ngidi, Tom Curran and Wiaan Mulder, saw the Centurion-based side advance. Ngidi sat out as a precaution after experiencing discomfort his hamstring, which he did not want to risk ahead of a busy International summer, while Mulder has a back injury and Curran has left for the Big Bash League. Lutho Sipamla, David Wiese and Imran Manack came into the Spartans side and played their part in ensuring Mark Boucher’s men will play in Paarl.For Boucher, the result could not have come at a better time, with the former international wicket-keeper set to be unveiled as acting South Africa coach on Saturday.The Giants will be bitterly disappointed with their performance in a crunch match, especially after Chris Morris’ sensational 42 off 23 balls, which kept them in the hunt until the final over. They ended the tournament in third place, despite having the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in the competition.Ben Dunked The tournament’s top run-scorer survived two inside-edges off Corbin Bosch’s bowling that he could easily have played on to his own stumps, but was not granted a third life when Pite van Biljon ran him out at the end of the seventh over. With the required run-rate touching nine an over, Heino Kuhn wanted every single on offer, even the one when he nudged the ball to point off Morne Morkel’s bowling. Kuhn ran hard, Dunk tried to run harder, but van Biljon picked up and threw in one motion and a direct hit at the striker’s end found Dunk short of his crease.Catches win matches After his involvement in Dunk’s run-out, Kuhn had to take on the responsibility of steering the chase but his former franchise team-mate had other plans. Kuhn cut Morne Morkel into the covers and another fielder may have deemed the ball too far away for them to cut off. Not Roelof van der Merwe, who spent years playing alongside Kuhn at the Titans. He launched himself to his right, went with both hands and took the catch low down to end Kuhn’s innings on 5 and leave the Giants on 57 for 4, still needing 110 runs off 69 balls.Morne Morkel enters his bowling action•BCCI

Magic Morne Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir have used this tournament to show South Africa’s soon-to-be-announced selectors that they are first in line for the T20 World Cup and Morne Morkel has used it to show that he would be right beside them had he not retired last April. After van der Merwe took the catch to dismiss Kuhn off his bowling, Morkel could have had big-hitting Marco Marais caught at mid-off when he sliced one into the air but Wiese couldn’t get there. With the next ball, Morkel had Marais under-edging onto his stumps, leaving the Giants on 83 for 5 in the 13th over. Morkel finished with 2 for 22 from his four overs.Nice one, Nabe Mthiwekhaya Nabe may not have played this match if Junior Dala was fit but the Giants will be pleased that he did. Not only did the 24-year-old take the two biggest opposition wickets, but he also claimed a stunning catch to keep the Spartans to a par total at St George’s Park. In his first over, Nabe had Dean Elgar caught off a cutter by Chris Morris at mid-on to end a 21-run opening stand. Then, he returned in the eighth over, with AB de Villiers looking imperious on 27 off 14 balls and duped him with a slower ball that he hit to extra-cover, where JT Smuts took a straightforward catch. And Nabe wasn’t done there. He was perfectly positioned at short third man in Imran Tahir’s third over when Toby de Zorzi reverse-swept a googly and just didn’t get enough elevation on the stroke. Nabe went for it with both hands, diving to his left and held on to add a 17th wicket to Tahir’s tournament total.Welcome to it, David Wiese Wiese was roped in for the playoff match after Tom Curran left for the Big Bash League and was immediately thrust into the thick of things. He joined van Biljon with the Spartans in trouble on 79 for 4 in the 12th over. Together, they added 87 runs off 52 balls including 71 runs in the last six overs. Van Biljon’s 48 off 32 balls will grab the headlines but Wiese provided important support. His strong cut shot was on display more than once but the highlight of his innings was the straight six he hit off Nandre Burger, which sailed over the sightscreen. Wiese also took three wickets, including two in two balls in the Giants’ last over to seal the win.

Chris Dent and Jon Lewis put on an unbroken 101 for the ninth wicket to ensure a draw for Gloucestershire in their Division Two match with Essex at Bristol

01-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Chris Dent and Jon Lewis put on an unbroken 101 for the ninth wicket to ensure a draw for Gloucestershire in their Division Two match with Essex at Bristol. The home side looked in danger of defeat when they were 209 for 8 in mid-afternoon and only 143 ahead overall.But young batsman Dent, with 70, and long-serving seamer Lewis, with a run-a-ball 50, frustrated Essex with a partnership that spanned 19 overs. Essex’s cause was hampered from the 46th over onwards by the bowling absence of Ryan ten Doeschate, who was ordered from the attack by umpire Steve Garrett for delivering two beamers in an over.Gloucestershire had begun the day on 37 for 2 and Essex struck twice in the first 10 overs to raise their hopes of victory. New Zealander Kane Williamson was caught behind off Chris Wright for 31, and Chris Taylor edged David Masters to Matthew Walker at second slip.The Gidman brothers, Alex and Will, revived the innings with a fifth-wicket stand of 70 in 15 overs, which ended when the former was lbw to Ten Doeschate for 42. The Netherlands allrounder was ordered from the attack in his next over, but it was still looking good for Essex when Will Gidman played across a delivery from Reece Topley just after lunch and was lbw for 32.Dent and Ed Young frustrated the visitors for 15 overs before Young’s attempted cut at Ravi Bopara only resulted in an edge to James Foster behind the stumps. It became 209 for 8 when Walker took a one-handed, low catch at second slip off Bopara to dismiss Ian Saxelby for six.But that was Essex’s last success of the day as Dent and Lewis played some fine attacking strokeplay to rescue a draw for Gloucestershire. The second new ball was taken just after tea, but there were few alarms for either batsman.Dent, in his first Championship outing since he fractured a finger against Glamorgan in mid-April, reached his 110-ball half-century by cutting Topley to the cover boundary.Topley conceded three boundaries in his next over, as Lewis hit him for four to long-on and fine leg and Dent cut him to the third-man rope. Lewis drove Masters for a straight six and, soon after, brought up his third half-century of the season with a single to deep square leg off Bopara. It came from 50 balls and included six fours as well the six.Alex Gidman immediately declared the Gloucestershire innings and the players shook hands on a draw.

Left-arm quick will head to New Zealand soon to have surgery to fix ongoing back issues and will miss the whole season

Alex Malcolm08-Oct-2019Australia fast bowler Jason Behrendorff has confirmed he will undergo the same lower spine surgery as James Pattinson in order to solve his ongoing back issues and help prolong his career.Behrendorff, 29, met with New Zealand-based surgeon Rowan Schouten in Sydney last week for an initial consultation and has been given the green light to undergo the procedure.He will head to New Zealand with his family to have the surgery in the coming weeks. He will now miss the entire domestic summer and is also in severe doubt to be ready for next year’s T20 World Cup in October, but the timing of the surgery has been designed to give him every chance to be fit.”Unfortunately, I’ve had the same injury over the last few years and we’ve tried a number of things and the injury continues to return,” Behrendorff said. “After a lot of thought and discussion we’ve decided that surgery is the best opportunity to find a more permanent fix.”I’m feeling good about the surgery, I’ve spoken to a number of Aussie and Kiwi bowlers who’ve had a similar surgery and they were all very positive about the results.”This particular procedure has had good success rates in other professional pace bowlers with similar reoccurring issues.”ESPNcricinfo revealed recently that Behrendorff, in conjunction with the Western Australia and Cricket Australia medical staff, was exploring the option of back surgery after scans recently uncovered a return of the stress fractures that have plagued him in the past.Behrendorff had conversations with Pattinson and Shane Bond about the surgery and their experiences recovering from it. He also spoke with Sydney Sixers fast bowler Ben Dwarshuis who underwent the procedure earlier this year and is already back bowling.The surgery involves fusing screws and a titanium cable into the lower spine to stabilise the stress fracture which is not healing conventionally. Christchurch-based surgeon Grahame Inglis has been the leader in the field and performed the surgery on both Bond and Pattinson. Schouten has worked with Inglis and performed Dwarshuis’ surgery this year. The WACA’s long-time head physio Nick Jones also did extensive research on the surgery and the recovery process and will be a key figure during Behrendorff’s rehab.The procedure was a huge success for both Pattinson and Bond and has also helped Matt Henry and Corey Anderson. Pattinson returned to Test cricket this year after going under the knife in late 2017, while Bond, who had the surgery when he was 30 years old, played six more years of top-level cricket.The rough estimated recovery time is between nine and 12 months but it is far from exact. Pattinson took 12 months to return to first-class cricket and it was another 22 months before he played Test cricket, although he had been out of the Australian set-up for 18 months prior to the surgery due to his injury issues.Dwarshuis played in the BBL semi-final on February 15 earlier this year before having the surgery. He bowled four overs for the first time in a match in Sydney grade cricket on October 5.ESPNcricinfo understands that this specific type of surgery has been performed on 18 patients over the course of nearly two decades by Inglis and Schouten and has a 100% success rate in terms of returning to full fitness.The surgery could pave the way for Behrendorff to return to all three forms of the game. He has been a white-ball bowler only in the last two years due to his ongoing issues. He has not played a first-class game since November 2017 but has an excellent first-class record.

Bill Gordon has passed the mantle of head groundsman at The Oval on to Scott Patterson

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2011Bill Gordon has passed the mantle of head groundsman at The Oval on to Scott Patterson. Patterson, 31, has been on Surrey’s staff since 2007 after gaining previous experience at Shenley CC, Horsham CC, Arsenal FC and Merchant Taylor’s School.”It is a great honour to become Head Groundsman at such an incredible ground as the Kia Oval and I am very much looking forward to continuing to prepare for the new season,” said Patterson. “I would also like to take this chance to thank Bill Gordon for teaching me so well over the last four seasons. He is one of the top groundsmen in the world today and learning from him has been an amazing experience.”A widely respected groundsman, Gordon won the ECB’s Groundsman of the Year award for six years running after taking over from Paul Brind in July 2003. Always favouring dry wickets that produced an even battle between bat and ball, Gordon produced the raging turner for the deciding Ashes clash in 2009 and played a major part in England reclaiming the urn.”This is a fantastic opportunity for Scott and I look forward to seeing him lead our ground staff over coming seasons,” added chief executive Paul Sheldon.
“Bill Gordon has been a fantastic servant of the Club for many years and I am delighted that he will continue to work with Scott.”Gordon has been part of Surrey’s groundstaff since 1974 and will continue his association with the county to offer specialist support to Patterson in all areas.