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New sports minister Hugh Robertson has given a strong hint that the Conservative government will abandon plans to put home Ashes Test back on free-to-air TV

Cricinfo staff24-Jun-2010New sports minister Hugh Robertson has given a strong hint that the Conservative government will abandon plans to put home Ashes Tests back on free-to-air TV.The previous Labour government appeared to be backing proposals to return cricket to terrestrial TV, which created much opposition from the ECB and counties which feared a major loss of income, but when a decision wasn’t made before the general election there was always a chance the plans would change.Robertson also suggested that the current tough economic conditions mean that sporting bodies should be allowed to maximise their revenues, although he urged them to look at income streams away from the multi-million pound world of TV rights.”The previous Government did this for political purposes but then didn’t include it in their manifesto which is interesting,” Robertson told the Wisden Cricketer website. “Since then the economic situation has deteriorated quite sharply. Big public expenditure cuts will impact in sport so the way to equalise that is to give them [governing bodies] the freedom to market their own rights.”Since 2006 all live England cricket in the UK has been shown on BSkyB with highlights of home internationals available on Five. The recent IPL was shown on ITV4, a digital channel which is available over free platforms.

Given the contrasting mindsets that the two sides will bring to the game, the pitch could well decide the course of the third Test between West Indies and South Africa

The Preview by Nitin Sundar25-Jun-2010

Match facts

June 26-30, 2010
Start time 10.00am (14.00GMT)

Big Picture

Morne Morkel will look to add to his ten wickets so far in the series•AFP

After going down in each of the eight matches on tour, across all formats, the high-scoring stalemate in St Kitts came as relief to the West Indies. While questions over the quality of their fast bowling resources persist, the hosts will be pleased with the fact that that their batsmen spent time in the middle. Still their lack of intent in pushing South Africa after reaching a potentially dominant position suggested a defensive mindset. With their inability to bowl out the oppositions twice getting exposed repeatedly, West Indies are likely to approach the third Test looking for a draw.Expect South Africa to have other plans though. Having faltered in their quest to claim the No. 1 spot in Test cricket in India, Graeme Smith’s men will be eager to regain lost ground. In that context, the margin by which they win this series could be crucial. Given the right conditions, their pace attack has shown the ability to bully the hosts’ batting line-up, while their batsmen have the nous to survive testing periods. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will know that another annihilation of a Test top-order here will fast-track their evolution into one of the most feared new-ball attacks in the game. Led by their fast bowlers, South Africa will come out firing on all cylinders in the decider.Given the contrasting mindsets that the two sides will bring to the game, the pitch could well decide the course of the match. Historically the tracks at the Kensington Oval have been conducive to bounce and movement but, keeping with the trend throughout the West Indies, there has been a definite slowing down of the pitch in recent times. Though the World Twenty20 games hosted here featured bouncy wickets, there are indications that things will return to old ways. Anything will be an improvement on the country road that was laid out when England visited last year, when a mind-numbing 1649 runs were scored for the loss of 17 wickets.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

West Indies DLLDL
South Africa DWLWW

Watch out for…

Having feasted on the West Indies’ attack in the shorter versions, Hashim Amla will be disappointed on wasting opportunities to enhance his reputation as a Test batsman on this trip. While he was removed early in both innings in the first Test, he made starts before falling to Shane Shillingford twice in St Kitts. For a man who collared Harbhajan Singh and co. in the dust bowls of India, it must rankle that he has struggled to deal with an offspinner young to Test cricket. Knowing Amla’s methodical ways, he will come back with a plan to counter Shillingford.
This series has re-emphasised the alarming dearth of quality quick bowlers in the West Indies, but Kemar Roach is one man who can address that concern. In the absence of Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, Roach is West Indies’ sole hope for carrying on one of their greatest legacies. They sorely missed his penetration in Trinidad, and there was little for his ilk in St Kitts. If there is any spice on the Barbados track, expect Roach to step up.

Team news

Dale Richards, who scored a pair of fifties in the ODI series, has been included at the expense of Travis Dowlin, and should open the innings with Chris Gayle. In Ravi Rampaul’s absence Nelon Pascal can expect a recall. Darren Sammy suffered a thigh injury during training and is ruled out, but was unlikely to get a call up.
West Indies (likely) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Dale Richards, 3 Narsingh Deonarine, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Brendan Nash, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Sulieman Benn, 9 Shane Shillingford, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Nelon PascalSouth Africa are unlikely to change the combination though Paul Harris will feel the pressure with Johan Botha waiting in the wings for the spinner’s slot.South Africa (likely) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Paul Harris/Johan Botha, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Pitch and conditions

The pitch supervisor Winston Reid predicts the wicket to settle down after the first few hours, so bowlers can expect another five days of hard grind. Interestingly, Reid hinted at spin in the latter stages of the game, which will interest Shillingford and Sulieman Benn. The weather might come into play at some stage in the match, with scattered showers predicted on all five days.

Stats and Trivia

• West Indies have not defeated South Africa since the Port Elizabeth Test in 2007; In the meantime they have lost 17 straight games, across all formats
• Chris Gayle is 23 runs away from becoming the ninth West Indian batsman to aggregate 6000 Test runs
• South Africa have played three Tests at the Kensington Oval, winning, losing and drawing one respectively. The victory came in 2005, when Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers struck centuries

Quotes

“A lot of people write off a lot of guys at 30 but I think when you get to that age, you understand batting more. I don’t go in the game with any sort of pressure.”

“We have had an excellent tour of the West Indies so far, and it would be a pity not to finish it off on a high note.”
“We need someone to fill the gap in our bowling. We need someone, or some help for us to get 20 wickets, which will help us win the Test match.”

Ravi Bopara’s second century of the match and an unbeaten 90 from Alastair Cook put Essex firmly in control of their battle against County Championship leaders Yorkshire at Chelmsford

22-Jul-2010
ScorecardRavi Bopara’s second century of the match and an unbeaten 90 from Alastair Cook put Essex firmly in control of their battle against County Championship leaders Yorkshire at Chelmsford.
After establishing a first-innings lead of 75, they will go into the final day 304 ahead after reaching the close on 229 for 3 second time around.Bopara made 102 in a third-wicket stand of 199 with Cook but both needed the benevolence of Anthony McGrath to prosper. McGrath put down each batsman at second slip. Bopara had made 38 when a straightforward catch was spilled before Cook was reprieved on 68, this time a
far more difficult chance high to his left. Oliver Hannon-Dalby was the luckless bowler on the first occasion before Tim Bresnan was left cursing his misfortune on the second.As he had done in the first innings when making 142, Bopara excelled with some glorious drives either side of the wicket. Both batsmen completed 50 with the aid of seven fours but Bopara needed 32 fewer deliveries to do so – 72 to Cook’s 104.Bopara reached his century from a further 63 balls, by which time he had added a further three fours and three sixes, the last of which, a mighty blow over long on at the expense of Adil Rashid, carried him into three figures. The legspinner, however, was to extract his revenge soon afterwards when Bopara was bowled trying to cut.Although more circumspect, Cook was still quick to seize upon the opportunity to punish the loose delivery as he reached the close on the brink of his first century for Essex at first-class level since 2007. He had so far hit 13 boundaries in an innings spanning 172 deliveries.Earlier Yorkshire, resuming on 227 for 5, lost their remaining wickets while adding a further 97 before the innings was brought to a close shortly after lunch. Most of those runs were gathered by Rashid who was left stranded on 52 when last man Hannon-Dalby was run out. Between periods of watchful defence, Rashid laced his innings, which lasted 103 balls, with eight boundaries.Left-arm spinner Tim Phillips claimed two of the remaining wickets, including a return catch to get rid of Bresnan and end an eighth-wicket half-century partnership, to return figures of 4 for 94 from 44 overs. Andy Carter, the fast bowler on loan from Nottinghamshire, provided the main back-up support. His lively and aggressive approach brought him 3 for 77 from 24.1 overs.Essex were soon in trouble when they began their second innings. Jaik Mickleburgh fell to the first ball of the innings, bowled by Bresnan, and Tom Westley suffered a similar fate against Steve Patterson with the total on 15 – but then Bopara and Cook took over.

Seven players – Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger – feature in the longlists for the three major categories for the 2010 annual ICC Awards

Cricinfo staff18-Aug-2010Seven players feature in the longlists of each of the three major categories for the seventh annual ICC Awards. Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger are all nominated for the Cricketer of the Year and the Test and ODI awards in the list of nominees released by the ICC today. The awards ceremony will be held in Bangalore on October 6.The nominations, which recognise cricketing achievement for the period between 24 August 2009 and 10 August 2010, were made by a five-man selection panel chaired by Clive Lloyd, chairman of the ICC cricket committee. The panel also includes former international players Angus Fraser, Matthew Hayden, Ravi Shastri and Duncan Fletcher.This year’s awards comprise nine individual prizes and three team awards and includes, for the first time, a “people’s choice award” that will be decided by online fan votes.ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the awards were an opportunity for the ICC and the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable performances of the world’s top players.Graeme Swann, originally omitted from the Cricketer of the Year category, was a late addition after the ICC apologised for “a genuine oversight”.

The nominations

Cricketer of the year: Hashim Amla, Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke, MS Dhoni, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Virender Sehwag, Dale Steyn, Sachin Tendulkar, Daniel Vettori, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson and Graeme Swann*Test player of the year: Hashim Amla, James Anderson, Mohammad Asif, Doug Bollinger, MS Dhoni, Tamim Iqbal, Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis, Simon Katich, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Virender Sehwag, Dale Steyn, Graeme Swann, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane WatsonODI player of the year: Hashim Amla, Doug Bollinger, MS Dhoni, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ryan Harris, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Shane Watson and Cameron WhiteEmerging player of the year: Mohammad Amir, Umar Akmal, Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Shafiul Islam, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Angelo Mathews, Eoin Morgan, Pragyan Ojha, Tim Paine, Wayne Parnell, Kemar Roach, Steven Smith, Paul Stirling and David WarnerAssociate and Affiliate player of the year: Ashish Bagai, Richie Berrington, Muddassar Bukhari, Tom Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Trent Johnston, Kevin O’Brien, Mohammad Shahzad, Samiullah Shenwari and Paul StirlingTwenty20 international performance of the year: Sulieman Benn 4 for 6 v Zimbabwe, Deandra Dottin 112*v South Africa Women, Chris Gayle 98 v India, Michael Hussey 60*v Pakistan, Mahela Jayawardena 100 v Zimbabwe, Mahela Jayawardene 98* v West Indies, Nuwan Kulasekera 3 for 4 v New Zealand, Ryan McLaren 5 for 19 v West Indies, Brendon McCullum 116* v Australia, Eoin Morgan 85* v South Africa, Nehemiah Odhiambo 5 for 20 v Scotland, Ellyse Perry 3 for 18 v New Zealand Women, Suresh Raina 101 v South Africa and Darren Sammy 5 for 26 v ZimbabweWomen’s Cricketer of the Year: Suzie Bates, Nicola Browne, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Devine, Jhulan Goswami, Lydia Greenway, Sarah McGlashan, Shelley Nitschke, Ellyse Perry, Laura Poulton, Mithali Raj, Gouher Sultana and Stafanie TaylorUmpire of the Year: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Asoka de Silva, Billy Doctrove, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Tony Hill, Daryl Harper, Rudi Koertzen, Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel and Rod TuckerPeople’s choice awards: Michael Hussey, Mahela Jayawardene, Andrew Strauss, Sachin Tendulkar, AB de Villiers

Zimbabwe took second place on the Intercontinental Cup points table after earning nine points in a high-scoring draw based on a first-innings lead against Ireland

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Zimbabwe took second place on the Intercontinental Cup table after earning nine points in a high-scoring draw based on a first-innings lead against Ireland. They are now ahead of Scotland, who refused to tour Zimbabwe for their scheduled Intercontinental Cup clash in October. Should the two teams not play each other, Zimbabwe, ahead on points, are likely to qualify for the final in Dubai in November against table-toppers Afghanistan. Zimbabwe Cricket ruled out the possibility of a neutral host for the Scotland fixture but the ICC is yet to take a call on the matter. Zimbabwe’s lead also meant Ireland were knocked out of the race for the final; they are now fourth.A draw looked seemingly inevitable at the end of the third day as Zimbabwe batsmen Sean Williams and Keith Dabengwa smashed centuries to help their team overhaul Ireland’s 465. The Zimbabwe lower order, led by Forster Mutizwa’s unbeaten 67, extended Zimbabwe’s total to 590 on the fourth day. Ireland seamers Kevin O’Brien and Trent Johnston shared eight wickets but, by then, their team was virtually out of contention.Ireland did bat 54 overs on the final day and erased their deficit with captain William Porterfield making an unbeaten 66, laced with 11 fours. But the game ended in disappointment for his side which finished with two wins, a loss and three draws in the competition.

Shaun Pollock is set to be the bowling consultant for the South African ODI team for their three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2010Shaun Pollock, the former South Africa captain, is set to be the bowling consultant for the South African ODI team ahead of their three-match one-day series against Zimbabwe that begins on October 15 in Bloemfontein.Pollock, who retired from international cricket in early 2008, confirmed to that he would be in Bloemfontein to assist the South African team for a couple of days.Pollock played 108 Tests for South Africa picking up 421 wickets and scoring 3781 runs. He played 308 ODIs scoring 3519 runs, picking up 393 wickets.

Chris Lynn helped Queensland overcome a breakthrough century from Daniel Christian to snatch a dramatic victory over South Australia in Townsville

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2010Queensland 7 for 259 (Lynn 70, Putland 3-53) beat South Australia 6 for 258 (Christian 100, Cooper 71, Gannon 3-68) by 3 wickets

ScorecardDaniel Christian was responsible for setting up South Australia, but the side couldn’t repay him with a win•Getty Images

Chris Lynn helped Queensland overcome a breakthrough century from Daniel Christian to snatch a dramatic victory over South Australia in Townsville. The Bulls were chasing the Redbacks’ 6 for 258 and relied on Lynn, the 20-year-old, as they struggled to spark, having resumed their second innings at 2 for 101 in hot conditions.Queensland had a 13-run advantage after their opening bat, thanks to Chris Simpson’s 42 off 40 balls, but Lee Carseldine went early in the final chase for a slow 35. Lynn was left in charge and he put on 73 with Nathan Reardon (32) and stayed for 70 off 73 balls, with three sixes, before falling in the 42nd over.Ben Dunk stepped up to blast an unbeaten 18 off 11 and Chris Hartley chipped in with 12, but when he was bowled the Bulls still wanted five off the last three balls. At that point South Australia fell apart, giving up three byes, including an overthrow, on the second last ball. Chris Duval (3 for 68) then handed the match over with a no-ball for a high full toss.The result was a shame for Christian after he posted his highest limited-overs score to revive the Redbacks. South Australia were in trouble at 4 for 76 shortly before their first innings ended, but Christian and Tom Cooper (71) dragged them ahead during a stand of 126. Christian powered to 100 in 90 balls and blasted four sixes before being caught from the final ball of the innings, giving Cameron Gannon his third wicket.

Ashes cricket will be shown free-to-air in England after digital channel ITV4 secured rights to broadcast one-hour evening highlights

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2010Ashes cricket will be shown free-to-air in England after digital channel ITV4 secured rights to broadcast one-hour evening highlights.ITV had success with its exclusive UK coverage of this year’s Indian Premier League and now gets a first chance of showcasing Test cricket as well as the seven one-day and two Twenty20 internationals against Australia in January and February.The highlights will be broadcast at 10pm, shortly before the following day’s live action will be about to get underway. Nevertheless ITV say the channel is available to 93% of UK homes and its coverage is welcome news to those who feared no terrestrial coverage of the Ashes would be available.ITV controller of sport, Niall Sloane said: “There is huge demand to see England defend the Ashes and I’m delighted that we have secured highlights, free-to-air for UK viewers.”

In the build-up to this Test match, England referred back so often to Headingley and Johannesburg, the scenes of their capitulations in their last two marquee series against Australia and South Africa, that complacency could not have been further from the

Andrew Miller at the WACA18-Dec-2010In the build-up to this Test match, England referred back so often to Headingley and Johannesburg, the scenes of their capitulations in their last two marquee series against Australia and South Africa, that complacency could not have been further from their thoughts. But somehow they’ve let their ascendancy slip again. With five wickets tumbling on a raucous third evening at the WACA, they face the prospect of going to Melbourne on Boxing Day with the series locked at 1-1, and the destiny of the Ashes in the balance all over again.On Friday, a display of individual brilliance from Mitchell Johnson hoisted Australia back into the contest, but Saturday’s batting performance owed more to demoralisation than any particular brilliance on the part of the bowlers. This time, Johnson needed no prodigious swing to find the edge of Andrew Strauss’s bat, while the last-ball dismissal of Paul Collingwood, whose score of 11 exactly matches his average in his last nine innings, summed up a match that is no longer in England’s hands.”It’s just one of those things,” said Chris Tremlett, who was England’s outstanding performer on the day with 5 for 87. “We bowled pretty well today at the end of the day, we fought back after a tough morning session and we were pretty pleased to bowl them out for what we did [309]. But credit to Australia, they bowled pretty well this evening. For the last few months, England have played pretty tough cricket, so it’s just one of those things.”However, the dynamic of the series has been transformed with astonishing speed. On Friday morning, as England’s openers moved effortlessly along to 78 for 0, the joke doing the rounds – with a serious undertone – was whether Australia’s bowlers could manage as many as 20 wickets in the series, never mind the match. Their tally at that stage stood at 17 after two completed Tests, at a cost of 1475 runs. Since the dismissal of England’s series mainstay, Alastair Cook, however, they’ve racked up 15 for 190.”Teams are always going to bat well [sometimes],” said Peter Siddle.
“You can’t just think that they’re going to be poor or be great all the time. To their credit they batted really well in those first few matches and we couldn’t break it, but it was just a matter of being patient and bowling as a group – that’s what’s changed here. All four quicks have bowled with patience and consistency and in great partnerships together … it’s put the pressure right on them.”England’s preparation and attitude throughout their Ashes campaign has been faultless, and Australia will remember full well what happened in England 18 months ago, when an innings victory at Headingley left England needing to bounce straight back in the final Test at The Oval to snatch the Ashes. They did just that, with Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss refusing to panic even while the press and public went into a tizzy on their behalf. The onus now will be to find the same level heads again.”It’s pretty obvious the guys are disappointed to get out because they’ve put in some pretty impressive performances in the other games,” said Tremlett. “But we’re not worried about momentum. They are going to take some momentum with a positive performance on their front, but we’re going to concentrate on our game. We’re still full of confidence, we’re still 1-0 up in the series and there’s always tomorrow and we still believe we can do it.”The second-innings collapse, when it came, was dramatic and unpreventable, with a succession of previously unruffled batsmen falling to strokes that they would not have played in other circumstances – particularly Kevin Pietersen, whose open-faced steer into the slip cordon almost caused him to thwack his bat on the plastic seating as he returned to the dressing-room.Tremlett, however, insisted that a degree of decorum had been retained in spite of England’s impending defeat. “It’s about not panicking when those situations happen,” he said. “Throughout the series the dressing room has been a pretty calm environment, even though we lost a few wickets we still remained pretty calm. It’s a long shot but we still believe we can put a partnership together and still win this game.”Siddle, however, was already preparing for Australia’s victory celebrations, with the prospect of a real tussle going into the festive season finale. “It does change things,” he said. “There was obviously a lot of pressure on us in this match to get a result. Mike Hussey was outstanding, Shane Watson held it together. It’s just a good team effort so far. There’s still a lot of work to be done but it does make a big change for us.”We just knew we had to change a little bit and work a little bit harder in the matches,” he said. “We just knew that if we played our best cricket that would put them under a lot of pressure. That’s what we’ve shown in this Test match, that we can play some good cricket.We’ve shown everyone out here, batting and bowling, that we can fight and we can work hard. If we could be patient and work them over, instead of them playing on top of us, we knew we could get results.”

Ricky Ponting will have surgery on his broken finger on Tuesday but he remains on track to start Australia’s World Cup defence next month

Peter English at the SCG03-Jan-2011Ricky Ponting will have surgery on his broken finger on Tuesday but he remains on track to start Australia’s World Cup defence next month. The decision was made late on Monday afternoon after the physio Alex Kountouris felt an operation was the best way to help Ponting’s recovery.”Ricky had further x-rays today on his fractured finger which have shown that the bone fragment has further displaced and will not heal without surgery,” Kountouris said. “He is expected to miss the one-day international series against England and recover in time for the World Cup on the subcontinent.”Ponting fractured the little finger on his left hand in Perth two weeks ago and while he played in the Melbourne Test, he was ruled out of the final match of the series at the SCG. The injury leaves his Test career in some doubt as he is 36 and Australia’s next series is scheduled for Sri Lanka in August.Despite his recent batting struggles, Ponting remains a key man in Australia’s one-day side and has not lost a World Cup match in two tournaments as captain. The event begins in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh next month and Australia will be aiming for their fourth consecutive victory.