Eric Simons has confirmed that Gautam Gambhir will not play in Friday’s match against Chennai Super Kings at the Feroz Shah Kotla

Jamie Alter in Delhi18-Mar-2010Gautam Gambhir will not play in Friday’s match against Chennai Super Kings at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Eric Simons, the assistant coach of Delhi Daredevils, has said. Gambhir pulled a hamstring during Wednesday’s defeat to Mumbai Indians and was forced off the field within the first 10 minutes of the match. In his place the vice-captain Dinesh Karthik has been elevated to the lead the side.”He [Gambhir] is going for a scan to see how bad it is. Once we assess him, only then we will know how long he will be out for. It’s reasonably serious and he won’t play on Friday,” Simons said.”The captain plays an important role. He should understand the game and should be able to take quick decisions. So many captains have been fined for slow over-rate in this tournament and we need to be careful.”Karthik has captaincy experience leading his state side Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy and other domestic competitions but this is his first task leading players of international quality in a lucrative tournament. Delhi won their first two matches before losing heavily to Mumbai at home.Gambhir joins a long injury list that includes Graeme Smith, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Ashish Nehra, Charl Langeveldt and MS Dhoni – all within one week of the IPL. Yusuf Pathan recovered from a shoulder issue and Virat Kohli survived a dodgy fall while bowling. However, most injuries – Gambhir’s the notable exception – have been the sort that cannot be avoided on the field, as Lalit Modi, the IPL Commissioner, stressed on Thursday.”I think injuries are not happening because it [the IPL] is packed too soon, injuries are happening because of the game,” Modi told the TV channel CNN-IBN. “Injuries will take place if the person gets hit by a ball on the wrong place and that’s what happens. Cricket is a game like that, it’s not because of the schedule that one gets injured.”

Leicestershire, who finished bottom of Division Two last season, are on the
brink of victory in their first County Championship game of the new campaign at
Grace Road

11-Apr-2010
ScorecardLeicestershire, who finished bottom of Division Two last season, are on the
brink of victory in their first County Championship game of the new campaign at
Grace Road.They need just 51 more runs on the final day to beat Northamptonshire after
enforcing the follow-on and bowling the visitors out for 269, leaving a victory
target of 65.Leicestershire closed on 14 for one as new captain Matthew Hoggard decided
against claiming the extra 30 minutes. But with good weather forecast again tomorrow, victory should be a formality when play resumes. It was Hoggard who wrapped up Northamptonshire’s first innings when he had Lee Daggett caught behind by Tom New in the fifth over of the day.The visitors had added just 11 runs to their overnight total of 179, giving
Leicestershire a lead of 205 and Hoggard had no hesitation in asking them to bat
again. Left-arm spinner Claude Henderson finished with splendid figures of six for 21
off 20 overs and Hoggard, in his first game for his new club, took two for 35.But Northants put up much sterner resistance second time around with Robert
White hitting a brisk 68 and David Lucas an unbeaten 40. Lucas led some excellent late resistance to frustrate the Leicestershire attack, sharing a last-wicket stand of 52 with Daggett. It was a strange innings from the visitors. Despite losing wickets at regular
intervals, they also scored at a rapid rate, with 170 out of their total of 269
coming in boundaries with 41 fours and a six.After Henderson’s heroics in the first innings it was Leicestershire’s battery
of seamers that did the bulk of the damage this time with Wayne White taking
four for 58, his best Championship figures since he joined Leicestershire. Nathan Buck also impressed with a return of three for 36, while Henderson took two more wickets to finish with a match haul of eight for 68.White, although often erratic, produced some excellent deliveries to remove Paul Harrison, Mal Loye, Robert White and Northants captain Nicky Boje.They were vital scalps and at one stage it looked as though the home side would
snatch victory with a day to spare. But Lucas and Daggett kept them at bay and when Matt Boyce fell to Lucas for three at the start of Leicestershire’s innings, Hoggard decided to delay the victory charge until the final day.

Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback

Peter English21-Apr-2010Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback. A torn patella tendon in the first ODI against Australia last month ruled him out of the IPL, where his price tag was US$675,000, and continued a desperate battle with his body.Oram, speaking at New Zealand’s training camp in Australia, said he is “good to go” for the Twenty20 tournament, which is a relief to himself and the side. In form Oram is one of the game’s most brutal hitters and a useful medium pacer, but he has been hampered by injuries – back, calf and Achilles problems occurred before the latest setback – throughout his career.”The knee is alright, at the moment there are no problems,” Oram told Cricinfo. “It’s nearly six weeks now since I was hurt, but it could have been a lot worse. It could have been four to six months instead of four to six weeks. It’s still been hellishly frustrating, especially missing the Australian series, which is the big one.”There was also the financial pain of losing his huge IPL fee, but throughout his rehabilitation he remained focussed on the event in the Caribbean. New Zealand open the tournament when they face Sri Lanka in Guyana on April 30 and back up against Zimbabwe on May 4.”The carrot for me was the World Twenty20, which is still a massive event, so I pinned my hopes to that,” he said. “I’ve had to start looking at the big picture. Three or four years ago I used to rush back and it doubled or tripled the time out. This time it hasn’t been like a winter break and I’m looking forward to more.”During the lay-off he was at home with his wife and six-month old son and the 31-year-old knows his life is changing. He has already retired from Tests after 33 games to prolong his limited-overs career, which includes 139 ODIs and 23 Twenty20s.With each new fitness problem Oram finds it harder to keep going. “Now it is. Maybe the first four or five lengthy injuries – going home from a tour or missing a series – didn’t worry me,” he said. “I was young and I just got back. Now it’s eroded the energy of my psyche. It weighs on my shoulders.”Oram, whose knee becomes “a bit stiff” after bowling, is not the only one in the New Zealand squad who is suffering. Kyle Mills (knee and shoulder), Jesse Ryder (stomach), Ian Butler (groin) and Aaron Redmond (groin) are also trying to eliminate doubts over their bodies in Brisbane this week. The training was restricted on Wednesday when they were forced into an indoor cricket centre after being hit by the sort of wet weather they knew they would get at home.Oram said having so many players coming back was not a problem. “New Zealand teams are used to it, a wealth of injuries,” he said. “Kyle and Jesse are very important to the team so it’s more about being excited to have them here than worried about them.”Having their core of star players firing is the key for New Zealand, who made the semi-finals in South Africa in 2007 and the second round in England last year. “If we can get everyone fit then we’re a real chance to go all the way,” Oram said. “The 40-over game helps us. For the five to 10 years that I’ve been playing, we’re always better and more comfortable with the shorter forms. If things go well it could play into our hands, but then Twenty20 is so fickle.”

Lancashire held the slightest of advantages after the first day of the County Championship Division One match at Old
Trafford

27-Apr-2010

ScorecardSteven Croft fell just short of being the second centurion on the first day, as he was dismissed for 93 shortly before the close•Getty Images

An accomplished century by Ashwell Prince and a fifth successive Championship
fifty from Steven Croft ensured that Lancashire held the slightest of advantages
after the first day of the County Championship Division One match at Old
Trafford.Coming together with their side poorly placed on 86 for 4, the pair put on 144 for the fifth wicket in 42 overs. By the close, though, Lancashire had subsided to 317 for nine, still an acceptable position for home supporters after a morning in which all the batsmen had been discomfited by the bounce and movement of Kent’s new-ball pair of Makhaya Ntini and Amjad Khan.The home side’s position would have been considerably stronger had Prince not been run out by a direct hit from deep mid-wicket fielder Joe Denly when he had made 115. This, however, will have come as some small relief for the Kent fielder, who had dropped the South African at point when he had made only 18.For his part, Croft shrugged off any blame for the run-out and seemed set for a century when he was caught by first slip James Hockley off Darren Stevens for 93 in the penultimate over of the day. Since Prince’s departure he had watched as three batsmen had been dismissed, two of them in the space of five Stevens deliveries in the previous over.Lancashire’s progress to three bonus points in the evening sunshine was in sharp contrast to a morning session in which only Prince had made batting look at all straightforward, and even he needed Denly’s error in order to be able to enjoy the friendlier conditions in the afternoon.Despite pulling Khan for a six into the pavilion off the delivery before his let-off, Prince clearly understood that watchful resistance was the key to success in the 28 overs before the interval. He had seen both Lancashire openers bowled playing loosely at the Kent seamers, and he watched from the other end as Paul Horton lost his off stump when a
Stevens delivery kept low and defeated his defensive push.Lancashire’s fortunes reached their lowest ebb five overs after lunch when Mark Chilton was beaten by Ntini’s bounce and edged to Martin van Jaarsveld at second slip. For the rest of the afternoon session Prince and Croft batted with increasing assurance as the pitch eased and the pair had taken their stand to 92 at tea.Both batsmen had their alarms, Prince edging his former team-mate Ntini over the slips and Croft surviving an impassioned lbw shout from the same bowler. Yet the balance of the early stages of this contest clearly shifted as Kent’s support bowlers initially failed to match the incision achieved by their new-ball pair.Stevens, though, finished with four for 42, a fitting reward for his accuracy and persistence.
Ntini, fresh from playing no games at all for Chennai Super Kings in the 2010 Indian Premier League, extracted plenty of early life from the Old Trafford wicket and was unlucky not to enjoy more success.

Trent Johnston will captain Ireland for the two matches against West Indies A later this month and the World Cricket Division One one-dayers between July 1 to 10

Cricinfo staff15-Jun-2010Trent Johnston will captain Ireland for the two one-day matches against West Indies A later this month and the World Cricket League Division One one-dayers between July 1 and 10. The selectors announced the squads for the two series and the key players missing are current captain William Porterfield, wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien and fast bowler Boyd Rankin.All three have been omitted because they have county commitments. The new faces in the squad are Albert van der Merwe, the offspinning allrounder, and Sussex fast bowler Craig Young. Andrew Poynter, who’s in both squads, has been rewarded for his impressive start to the season for both his club, Clontarf, and Ireland A.”The county players have one and four-day games over the period, so we have to plan without them. It’s always a balancing act with the counties, and we’ve got bigger games ahead,” Ireland coach Phil Simmons said. “We’re looking at alternatives in the bowling. The quick bowling is our weakest area, so it’s a chance for us to try out Craig Young to see what he can do, and also Phil Eaglestone, who has been on the periphery now for a few seasons. In the spin department, Albert van der Merwe has started the season well with his club, so he’ll get his opportunity. It’ll be a chance too for me to see Rory McCann with Niall [O’Brien] unavailable.”While I agree it doesn’t look the strongest squad at first glance, don’t forget there are still eight or nine of the team who started the games in the ICC World Twenty20. In a way, it might be a good thing that these guys aren’t available, as it gives those drafted in a great chance to force their way into the reckoning for the World Cup next year.”Ireland’s games against West Indies A are at Stormont on June 23 and 25.Squad for WCL: Trent Johnston (capt), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Phil Eaglestone, Nigel Jones, Rory McCann, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.Squad for West Indies A : Trent Johnston (capt), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Phil Eaglestone, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson

Steven Smith was four when Shane Warne entered cricket folklore by ripping a legbreak the width of Mike Gatting, and next month Smith could become the first Australian legspinner to play a Test in England post-Warne

Brydon Coverdale at Old Trafford26-Jun-2010Seventeen years ago, an Australian legspinner walked out for his first Test match on English soil and promptly delivered the ball of the century. Steven Smith was four when Shane Warne entered cricket folklore by ripping a legbreak the width of Mike Gatting, and next month Smith could become the first Australian legspinner to play a Test in England post-Warne.Nathan Hauritz has flown home with a foot injury and unless he enjoys a miraculously quick recovery, Smith is in line to make his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s. He has spent plenty of time around the Test squad, having been called in as cover in Perth and Melbourne last summer before touring with the team in New Zealand.On Saturday, Smith sat in the pavilion at Old Trafford, the venue of Warne’s most famous moment, and briefly pondered the possibility of winning a baggy-green. Although he was keen to focus on the more immediate challenges of Australia’s stuttering one-day series, he said joining the elite ranks of Australia’s Test cricketers would be a magic moment.”It’s a different standard,” Smith said of Test cricket. “It’s the highest level you can play at. At the moment, Pakistan are a good side, and if I get the opportunity to play in a couple of weeks it will be a dream come true to wear the baggy green. I’m not really thinking too far ahead, it’s just about playing my best cricket at the moment and trying to win a couple of one-day games and get back in this series.”If a Test call-up does arrive, Smith should be in a positive frame of mind. He finished the domestic season with a seven-wicket Sheffield Shield haul for New South Wales, having also scored four hundreds in the tournament and finished sixth on the run tally.Then came the New Zealand tour, which was followed by an impressive World Twenty20 campaign, in which he ousted Hauritz as Australia’s preferred slow bowler and finished third on the wicket list behind Dirk Nannes and Charl Langeveldt. Throw in a solid combination of 41 with the bat and 1 for 40 with the ball on Thursday, in his second ODI, and Smith feels good about the state of his cricket.”Everything is coming together pretty well,” he said. “I learnt a lot about myself as a player in the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. It was a big learning curve for me and coming back and playing one-day cricket, it’s always been a dream of mine to play for Australia.”It’s hard to predict what he will show in Test cricket, if given the opportunity. As a precocious, confident Australian legspinner, the Warne comparisons are inevitable, but Smith is a vastly different player.He might not have the ripping legbreak or perfect flipper, but could Warne bat in the top six at Test level? Could Warne hare around the boundary rope and take one-handed screamers time after time? Smith had some tuition from Warne during the Australian season, but doesn’t expect his bowling to leave quite the same mark as Warne did on his first trip to England.”He hasn’t taught me that one yet,” Smith joked of Warne’s Gatting delivery. “Hopefully it will come in at some point. Warney was probably the reason I started bowling legspin when I was about 14. I’ve had a few sessions with him and he’s been great for me.”Judging by Smith’s form over the past six months, he’s right about Warne’s influence. Now to start making his own mark.

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Aamer’s fine spell in the first innings at Lord’s has led Wasim Akram to comment that Aamer “is much cleverer than I was at the 18”

Cricinfo staff15-Jul-2010Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Aamer’s four-wicket haul in the first innings at Lord’s has led pace legend Wasim Akram to comment that Aamer “is much cleverer than I was at 18″. Aamer, a left-arm seamer like Akram has impressed since he burst on the Test scene in 2009 leading to comparisons between the two. Akram’s endorsement comes as a confidence booster for the young seamer who is part of Pakistan’s talented pace attack for the England tour.”It was exciting to watch Aamer bowl so well at Lord’s,” Akram told after Aamer finished with four wickets in the first innings. “He is a special talent and has pace, nip and can swing the ball both ways which is ideal for a paceman, and augurs well for his future.”Aamer’s spell, supported by Mohammad Asif, helped Pakistan bowl Australia out for 253. Given the inexperience in their batting line-up, a lot is expected from the Pakistan seam attack, and Akram was pleased with Aamer’s development.”Aamer has got a head start and is a quick learner, so I see no reason why he can’t go on to become a leading fast bowler. He is already spearheading the Pakistan pace attack and watching him bowl, everything pitched up, banging in every delivery and testing the best batsmen in the world excited me no end,” Akram said.Akram however had some technical advice for the youngster. “What I noticed at Lord’s and in the series in Australia is that he bowls wide of the crease. That may help the ball to come in, but on slower tracks it won’t work, so he needs to bowl closer to the stumps,” Akram said.Akram also dismissed concerns that Aamer may struggle with injuries due to wiry build. “Some people say his physique is not that of a fast bowler, but he is only 18. He can strengthen his muscles with time and I am sure he will spend more time in the gym,” Akram said.

Jaidev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav, mainly as net bowlers, to Colombo came good in an undesired way as two frontline bowlers missed India’s first net session of the tour

Sidharth Monga11-Jul-2010The BCCI’s move to send over Jaidev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav, mainly as net bowlers, to Colombo came good in an undesired way as two frontline bowlers missed India’s first net session of the tour. Sreesanth was down with a knee discomfort and Harbhajan Singh with fever. Sreesanth has had an MRI done, and the board is likely to make an official communication on Monday. A first nets session without two main bowlers would have frustrated the visitors after a steady drizzle denied them practise on Saturday.The issues with Sreesanth and Harbhajan are coincidental, but that the board agreed to the team’s request for extra bowlers is worth credit. It is believed that the team management had asked the BCCI for a couple of promising young bowlers, who could solve India’s problem of lack of quality net bowlers on their away assignments. So Unadkat, playing in the India A tour of England, was asked to accompany Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Mithun, who are part of the Test squad.Although this is a hastily arranged tour, the BCCI had earlier acted prudently by getting the programme changed to include a three-day tour game, and making sure the team reached the country nine days before the first Test. The Indian team had come in for a lot of criticism for the absence of a warm-up game in their World Twenty20 schedule. They didn’t have a warm-up game on their previous Test tour, to New Zealand, either. Both these decisions could be pointing towards a pleasant change in the board’s attitude where it listens to the needs of the team management.The choice of the bowlers is interesting. The 18-year-old Unadkat, who was one of India’s better performers in the Under-19 World Cup, first caught attention when Wasim Akram, his coach at Kolkata Knight Riders, had nice things to say about him. Yadav has taken the more conventional route to the reckoning, through two solid reasons with Vidarbha. He made his ODI debut during the second-string Indian side’s tour of Zimbabwe.Neither of these bowlers have had chances to bowl at Test batsmen: Unadkat is yet to make Ranji debut, and Yadav plays in the Ranji Plate League. “It was the board’s decision to send them here so that they get exposure bowling to Test batsmen, and also our batsmen get proper practice,” Ranjib Biswal, India’s manager on tour, told Cricinfo.

Mohammad Irfan, the fast bowler from Pakistan, has reached an agreement with Kolkata Knight Riders to play for them in IPL 2011, though only after the BCCI approves the deal

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2010Mohammad Irfan, the fast bowler from Pakistan, has reached an agreement with Kolkata Knight Riders to play for them in IPL 2011, though only after the BCCI approves the deal. Irfan shot to prominence after an impressive debut season in Pakistan – watch him bowl here – and was nearly selected in their World Twenty20 squad in May.Irfan, a left-arm fast bowler who is nearly seven foot tall, is among the tallest cricketers in the world and he impressed Kolkata with performances on a development tour of Sri Lanka with them. He had been recommended to the franchise by Wasim Akram, Kolkata’s bowling consultant. As Irfan is not yet a Pakistan international, he does not need to go through an auction process and can be signed directly by a franchise.”I have signed for KKR for the fourth edition of IPL,” Irfan told . “I was called by them to Sri Lanka on the recommendation of Wasim Akram and they were impressed by my performance in the three matches. I played two Twenty20s and a one-day match against a side that included a number of Sri Lankan international and A team players.”Cricinfo understands, however, that Irfan and Kolkata have a Memorandum of Understanding, which will only become a contract once approval from the BCCI is forthcoming. This may not be as straightforward as it sounds, given the difficulties Pakistan players have had with the IPL. In the league’s first season in 2008, a number of players from Pakistan appeared in the tournament, but deteriorating political ties between the two countries in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai in November that year meant no Pakistani played in the last two seasons of the IPL.The PCB decided against sending their players in 2009 but their absence from 2010 was more contentious and troubled. The Pakistan players were cleared to be part of the auction pool but none of the franchises even bid for any of them, ostensibly concerned about player availability because of strained ties between the two governments. Pakistan was upset, however, because their players had been granted the requisite visas, as well as no-objection certificates, from the PCB and cast doubts on the reasons behind the boycott.If approved, Irfan’s contract is understood to be for one year and worth $75,000, with an additional $2000 for every game he appears in. Irfan will also have to get an NOC from the PCB as per IPL regulations and likely rom the Pakistan government as well.Irfan’s rise is one of the more unique stories in Pakistan cricket. He is a product of rural Pakistan, from the town of Gaggu Mandi, which produced another former quick, Mohammad Zahid. He was working in a plastic pipe factory and playing club cricket when a fan-forum cricket website – which heard Irfan’s name while talking to Nadeem Iqbal, former fast bowler and now coach in Multan – pushed for his introduction to Aaqib Javed at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.Aaqib was enthused by what he saw and soon after, Irfan debuted for Khan Research Laboratories. He took nine wickets in his second game and ended the season with an impressive 43 in ten games. He came close to national selection when he was named as a replacement for one of the injured seamers for the 2010 World Twenty20, but his name was withdrawn in a typically confused muddle: captain Shahid Afridi and coach Waqaar Younis were keen on taking him along and announced his inclusion, before PCB chairman Ijaz Butt overrode the decision, claiming procedures had been violated in the call-up.

Kevin Pietersen’s hopes of boosting his confidence with a big score for Surrey at Bristol were shattered in the first over of the third day’s play

15-Sep-2010
ScorecardKevin Pietersen’s hopes of boosting his confidence with a big score for Surrey at Bristol were shattered in the first over of the third day’s play. The England batsman fended a lifting delivery from Gloucestershire’s Gemaal Hussain to Chris Dent at second slip to depart without adding to his first-day score of 40 not out.Resuming on 112 for 3 after the second day was washed out, the visitors were bowled out for only 186, Rory Hamilton-Brown also making 40, as Jon Lewis and Anthony Ireland claimed three wickets each. In reply, Gloucestershire, weakened by a stomach bug at the club, had reached 106 for 5 when they declared to set up a decisive finish. By the close Surrey
had made 55 for 2 in their second innings to lead by 135.The home team took the field for the morning session without captain Alex Gidman and Hamish Marshall because of illness. Several other players were affected to a lesser extent. Hamilton-Brown took three runs off the opening delivery from Hussain, giving Pietersen the strike. The third ball of the over appeared to take off and Dent held a sharp one-handed catch above his head.Pietersen had faced 61 balls and hit five fours and a six. He had batted beautifully in difficult conditions on the opening day and must have expected a longer stay. Hamilton-Brown’s typically positive 51-ball innings ended when he was caught at mid-off by Lewis off Ireland to make the score 152 for 5.From there only Gary Wilson (34) held up the Gloucestershire bowlers on a lively pitch. There was a maiden first-class wicket for 18-year-old offspinner Jack Taylor, who yorked Chris Tremlett for five. Surrey were 186 for 8 at lunch and failed to add to that score as Ireland
and Lewis polished off the tail.Former Surrey player Jonathan Batty’s miserable first season with Gloucestershire continued when he was dismissed for 10 with the reply on 26. He got a leading edge to Tremlett and was caught by Tim Linley running in from mid-off.Dent followed lbw in the same Tremlett over for a duck, but Chris Taylor helped Porterfield add 75 before falling to Stewart Meaker for 33 on the stroke of tea. Porterfield had reached his half-century off 87 balls with five fours and a six, but he fell early in the final session, caught behind when trying to force a delivery from Tremlett away off the back foot.When Jack Taylor became a fourth victim for Tremlett, Gidman, who was due in next, declared 80 runs behind. Surrey lost Jason Roy and Mark Ramprakash, the latter bowled driving at Ireland
for 33, in extending their advantage.