Boots worn by the young fast bowlers Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood are being investigated as a potential source of the foot injuries that cruelled their summer

Daniel Brettig17-Jan-2012Boots worn by the young fast bowlers Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood are being investigated by Cricket Australia as a potential source of the foot injuries that have cruelled their summer.Pat Howard, the Australia team performance manager, has requested the investigation after noting that Cummins, Pattinson and Hazlewood were all wearing the same type of Asics cricket boots while sustaining foot injuries.”I’ve asked exactly the same question,” Howard told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a fair question, we’re not suggesting it is the reason, but it is something that has to be reviewed as part of the overall.”Workloads, body management, history, age, footwear, all those things have got to be reviewed as part of the bigger picture.”There’s lots of people wearing Asics that haven’t had that problem. It is definitely being reviewed, but the reality is they’re all young men and it is also about how much bowling have they done in the lead-up to this period [to getting injured].”Cummins complained of heel pain during his Test debut against South Africa in Johannesburg, and has not played a competitive match since after the early signs of stress fractures were spotted.Pattinson scooped 25 wickets in four Tests before complaining of foot pain during the second innings of the SCG Test, and was ruled out of the remainder of the series against India when scans also revealed stress hot spots in the metatarsal bone.Hazlewood, who made his ODI debut for Australia in 2010, returned to action for New South Wales this summer after a lengthy recovery from back stress fractures, but has been put out of action for the remainder of the domestic summer due to a fracture in his left foot.When he took the job as team performance manager from a background of rugby and pharmacy, Howard promised to ask awkward questions, and the one of fast bowlers’ footwear is not the most convenient. Asics, manufacturers of the boots worn by the fast bowling trio, took up a lucrative equipment and sponsorship deal with CA at the start of the summer.Asics boots have long been the favoured footwear of fast bowlers in Australia, and are also popular in England.Howard said that while the injuries had been unfortunate for those concerned, they had also allowed the selectors to expand the pool of fast bowlers they are confident of choosing for international duty, whether they be in the marquee series against India or lower profile engagements against New Zealand or the West Indies.”We have changed the mandate for what we look for out of different series,” Howard said. “What we have done well and the selectors and the coaches and the medical staff have worked really hard on, is having Mitchell Starc and Ryan Harris there around the Test team.”They were coming into the squad in Sydney, bowling in the nets in Melbourne, we wanted these guys in and around because we knew the workloads had been very high for the likes of James Pattinson and we had to make sure players were ready to go.”Part of it is mitigating injury and part of it is making sure the next guys are raring and ready to go. We know players will be injured and one of the positive things we’ve got out of this summer is we’ve got a lot of bowlers we believe in, and we actually believe there’s a couple more we can believe in. That’s been a positive out of the summer.”

Brendon McCullum will lead New Zealand in the ODI and T20 series against Zimbabwe, in place of Ross Taylor who has been ruled out due to a calf injury

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2012Brendon McCullum will lead New Zealand in the ODI and T20 series against Zimbabwe, in place of Ross Taylor who has been ruled out due to a calf injury he sustained during his century in the only Test in Napier.The hosts have picked four uncapped players – left-arm seamer Michael Bates, legspinner Tarun Nethula, allrounder Andrew Ellis and wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Latham in the ODI squad. Also in the squad is Dean Brownlie, who played in the Tests in Australia, but BJ Watling, who scored his maiden Test ton in the ongoing Test in Napier, has been left out.Latham, who plays for Canterbury, is the top run-getter in the Ford Trophy, New Zealand’s domestic List A competition, averaging 62 in five matches. Bates, who was part of the Auckland Aces team that won the HRV Cup, the domestic T20 competition, was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Nethula has a good List A record thus far, with 17 wickets in 11 games and Ellis is experienced, having played for Canterbury for 10 years.New Zealand have picked Auckland allrounder Colin de Grandhomme and left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira for the T20 leg of the tour on the back of performances in the HRV Cup. The players missing from the ODI and T20 line-ups are left-arm spinner Luke Woodcock and seamers Andy McKay and Graeme Aldridge, who had toured Zimbabwe last year.There’s no Jesse Ryder either, as he continues his recovery from a calf tear.”The new caps have earned their chance through solid performances at domestic level and we think it’s the right time to take a look at players who will be in the frame for the Twenty20 World Cup later in the year, and looking further ahead to the 2015 ODI World Cup,” New Zealand’s National Selection Manager Kim Littlejohn said.”Tarun Nethula and Ronnie Hira have been the form spinners this season and richly deserve their selection through consistently good performances.”Michael Bates has been one of the best pace bowlers for Auckland over a number of seasons and is a skilful death bowler who also offers us a left-arm option. Colin de Grandhomme and Andrew Ellis also played extremely well in the HRV Cup and their all-round skills with bat and ball are well suited to ODI and T20 cricket.”Tom Latham is an exciting keeper batsman who is very well equipped for short-form cricket and we think he has the potential to make a big impact on the international scene.”New Zealand ODI squad: Brendon McCullum (capt), Michael Bates, Doug Bracewell, Dean Brownlie, Andrew Ellis, Martin Guptill, Jacob Oram, Tom Latham, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Tarun Nethula, Rob Nicol, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson.New Zealand T20 squad: Brendon McCullum (capt), Michael Bates, Doug Bracewell, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson.

Mitchell Starc’s presently irresistible blend of swing, speed and direction is all in the wrist – the result of a fiendishly simple piece of advice from Wasim Akram

Daniel Brettig07-Feb-2012Mitchell Starc’s presently irresistible blend of swing, speed and direction is all in the wrist – the result of a fiendishly simple piece of advice from Wasim Akram.Since a brief meeting with Wasim at the SCG nets during the New Year’s Test against India, Starc has plucked 14 wickets at 13.42 in all competitions, finding the rhythm to test the very best batsmen.Twice he has removed Sachin Tendulkar, lbw to a ball curling back in the Perth Test, then pouched in the gully as he stretched to cover a Starc delivery snaking across him in Sunday’s Melbourne ODI. That dismissal was largely the result of the batsman’s knowledge that he could just as easily received a delivery that swung back: exactly the sort of doubt a left-arm bowler must create.Watching it all from the commentary box has been Wasim, who said his words to Starc had focused on sending the ball down with a snap or flick of the wrist at the point of delivery, a gambit known to enhance swing. It appears to have done the trick for Starc, who turned heads when he next appeared in the Twenty20 Big Bash League before returning to the national side.”One thing I like about him is he’s got the in-swinger going to the right-hander, he’s got the pace, he’s tall and he’s fit,” Wasim told ESPNcricinfo. “When I saw him in the nets we just mainly spoke about the swing bowling and wrist positioning.”I told him when he comes in to bowl to the right-handers like he does normally, to flick his wrist at the last moment to gain the most swing – the snap. On these wickets [in Australia] if he learns to do that he will get a lot more wickets.”If he’s done well after talking to me for half an hour, the credit goes to him. He’s picked it up so well, he’s a nice guy and I’ve told him next time I’m around, I’m here for the one dayers so if he wants to come up to me I would like to have a word to him about reverse swing as well.”Wasim’s advice, which also covered how to use the variation from around the wicket to pose more questions for batsmen when the ball lost its shine, was delivered with a healthy helping of encouragement, for the former Pakistan captain liked plenty of what he saw in Starc even before he had seen him bowl in the flesh.”It is a very simple, beautiful action, an easy action, upright, wrist is straight, everything is very natural to him, so that is a plus,” Wasim said. “He’s got a bright future. I had a very quick arm action, but his action is very beautiful, nice and smooth. Now he is flicking the wrist he’ll be more dangerous and over the next three to four months he is only going to get better. With his action there is less chance of injuries, that’s for sure and a good sign for him.”While Starc has benefited from Wasim’s empathy for left-arm bowlers, the older man said he was also impressed by the way the Australian attack has been harnessed by a former international foe, Craig McDermott.”He has a very good coach in Craig McDermott, who has been there and done it himself and he knows the psyche,” Wasim said. “I have a problem with coaches who’ve never played cricket at that level. First-class level, fine, but that level is different. You need to be able to explain it to a youngster that ‘look, I have done it’ and that’s how they pick things up very quickly.”Starc is not the only left-armer Wasim is hoping to aid during his time in Australia he is also open to working with Mitchell Johnson during his rehabilitation from foot surgery. Their paths may yet cross in Perth this week while the triangular series visits the west.”Being a left-arm bowler I can explain much more to left-armers than right-armers. The wrist positioning, angle, the crease,” Wasim said. “I remember seeing Johnson three years ago in South Africa, he was bringing the ball back in, he was getting wickets left, right and centre, but after that series it was gone.”Being a left-arm bowler at this level if you don’t have the in-swing you’ll be struggling, you’re not going to get many wickets. I can work with him and if he can get in touch I would love to help him – he’s a very talented cricketer, and he has a future as well, as long as he can get his in-swing back.”

A fluent 63 from Hashim Amla eased South Africa to 136 for 2 at stumps after a wet outfield in the morning and poor light late in the day only allowed 42 overs to be bowled

The Report by Andrew Fernando23-Mar-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Hashim Amla was among the runs again•Getty Images

A fluent 63 from Hashim Amla eased South Africa to 136 for 2 at stumps, after a wet outfield in the morning and poor light late in the day only allowed 42 overs to be bowled. Ross Taylor chose to field on a green surface expected to seam, but although Graeme Smith was removed by one that jagged off the pitch, New Zealand struggled to achieve pronounced movement for extended periods, with spinner Daniel Vettori called on to contribute more than a quarter of the hosts’ overs. Alviro Petersen played a restrained knock to end the day in sight of his first half-century of the series, while JP Duminy, who replaced an injured Jacques Kallis, was unbeaten on 23.Amla was gifted a leg-glance to the fine-leg fence to ease him into his innings, but it wasn’t long before the offside repertoire was humming happily as well. A back-foot stroke through the covers was more unwound, than punched or played, while two cuts either side of point disappeared to the boundary before the fielder had budged, much less moved, to intercept the shot. He was beaten soundly twice on the inside edge, but didn’t allow either ball to dent his positivity, dispatching Dean Brownlie for three commanding boundaries in the same over he went past 50.But the languid nature of Amla’s strokeplay was increasingly matched by the slowness of his movement in the middle – perhaps hampered by a ball he’d edged onto his groin early on – and he perished playing an uncharacteristically flat-footed pull off Mark Gillespie soon after tea.Alviro Petersen was reserved in comparison, often finding sprightly fielders when he played full-blooded shots, but content to defend nonetheless. He had struggled with the ball that came into him, falling to it thrice in four innings so far in the series, but navigated Chris Martin’s inswingers with more poise on this occasion, dabbing it straight against the early movement. He charged Daniel Vettori to loft him over the ropes before leaning back to blast him through square leg as tea approached, but they were rare shows of violence in a dour display.New Zealand had started well through Martin and Doug Bracewell, but waned in threat as the movement steadily gave out despite their discipline. Gillespie could find neither the direction nor the pace that decimated South Africa’s middle order in the first innings in Hamilton, and was lucky to claim Amla with a short, wide ball. That wicket breathed some edge into the New Zealand attack in the nine overs after tea, but Duminy only helped himself to some quick runs into the vacant outfield with the bowlers attacking.Early in the day’s play, New Zealand’s first wicket was marred somewhat by controversy. Martin beat Smith’s outside edge repeatedly with movement in the air and off the pitch, but it was the other edge that brought the batsman’s demise, even though Smith felt he had not made contact. Aleem Dar and New Zealand were convinced ball brushed the willow when Bracewell brought one in past Smith’s cover drive, but despite a review from the batsman, and Hot Spot showing nothing, Dar’s decision was upheld.

Yuvraj Singh has said that Virat Kohli is a “very special kid” and that he had learnt a lot from the early years of Kohli’s career

Sharda Ugra in Delhi11-Apr-2012Yuvraj Singh has said that Virat Kohli is a “very special kid” and that he had learnt a lot from the early years of Kohli’s career. “Since the time he has joined the Indian team, I saw his work ethic and I wished and wondered why I didn’t have that work ethic when I was his age,” Yuvraj said during his first media conference on returning to India after receiving treatment in the USA for a rare cancer.Kohli has come to represent the most promising face of Indian cricket currently and was even appointed vice-captain ahead of Gautam Gambhir for the recent Asia Cup. At the start of the 2000s, after he made his ODI debut for India, it was Yuvraj who belonged in those shoes. He was asked as to what his advice would be to Kohli to prevent him from repeating the mistakes Yuvraj himself may have made ten years ago.As the question ended, a grin broke out on Yuvraj’s face and his reply in Hindi was completely tongue-in-cheek. “” roughly translates as a description of Kohli being both the next big thing in cricket as well as quite a character.More seriously, Yuvraj said that Kohli was a “very special kid” and “really talented”. “Actually I have learnt a lot from him,” Yuvraj said. “His work ethic is brilliant, his focus is immense. Since the time he has joined the Indian team, I saw his work ethic and wished and wondered why I didn’t have that work ethic when I was his age.” Yuvraj said he talked a lot to Kohli because he had realised that for an Indian cricketer, early success made his 20s “a very vulnerable age.” “When you get success in your 20s, you can get vulnerable and it can affect your focus. So I try and help him with whatever I can… at times you have to keep him in check, under control sometimes.”Kohli’s tally of 11 ODI centuries in 85 ODIs over a four-year period was “a phenomenal record,” according to Yuvraj. He said he wished he could have had such a record, “but unfortunately I batted down the order, but he is a very special player in the making.” Yuvraj was happy to see Kohli being made India vice-captain at a young age and said, “I hope he goes up the ladder stronger and stronger. I am very happy for his success.”Edited by Abhishek Purohit

With Chennai Super Kings needing five runs to win off the final delivery, Rajat Bhatia bowled a full toss which Dwayne Bravo heaved over the long-on boundary

The Report by George Binoy14-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDwayne Bravo was mobbed by his team-mates after winning the match for Super Kings with a last-ball six•AFP

With Chennai Super Kings needing five runs to win off the final delivery, Rajat Bhatia, who had bowled MS Dhoni and conceded only four from the previous five balls, bowled a full toss. Dwayne Bravo, who had missed a heave off the fifth ball, heaved again, and this time he hit the ball high into the night sky. Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir, fielding in the circle, kept his eyes fixed on the ball as it began its descent, and grimaced as he watched it fall agonisingly out of reach of his fielder at long-on, and just over the boundary. The Super Kings were out of the dug out, craning their necks to see where the ball landed, and once they saw it was a match-winning six, there were several streaks of yellow speeding to embrace Bravo. He was standing there with arms aloft, having taken Super Kings to No. 4 with only one league game remaining.Had the match been tied, it would have been less of a surprise, for Super Kings’ chase had followed a pattern eerily similar to Knight Riders’ first innings.In pursuit of 159, Michael Hussey and M Vijay added 97 runs in 10.1 overs before Sunil Narine, who continued to confound batsmen with his variations during his spell of 4-0-14-2, dismissed both of them in the space of three balls. Hussey had demonstrated impeccable timing on a pitch that demanded application, hitting four sixes in a half-century that threatened to make short work of the chase, before he top-edged a sweep. Vijay was bowled trying to cut a straight one.When Knight Riders had been sent in after losing the toss, Gambhir and Brendon McCullum had set off at breakneck speed, adding 99 in 11.2 overs before they were dismissed in the space of five deliveries. Gambhir scored his sixth half-century of the season and took charge of accelerating his team’s innings while McCullum played second fiddle, relatively speaking. They were setting Knight Riders for a formidable total when McCullum was run-out and Gambhir was bowled after the ball came off his inside-edge and pad, gone for 62 off 43 balls.With the Knight Riders openers gone and two new batsmen at the crease, Super Kings began to drag the run-rate back, by striking regularly. The hosts slipped from 99 for 0 to 128 for 5. Jacques Kallis was unlucky to be given caught behind while sweeping, because the ball came off the arm, and Yusuf Pathan hit his customary solitary six before holing out to Bravo on the long-on boundary. Bravo caught Manoj Tiwary there soon after and Knight Riders were eventually kept to 158.Super Kings went down the same path. After the Hussey-Vijay stand, they were slowed down and then lost Suresh Raina to a run out in the 14th over. MS Dhoni played out four consecutive dot balls against L Balaji as the gap between runs required and balls remaining began to grow. Balaji conceded two runs off the 14th over, and Bhatia five in the next. Super Kings now needed 44 off 30 balls.After the 17th over of the first innings, Knight Riders had been 127 for 4. After the 17th over of the chase, Super Kings were 127 for 3. They lost Faf du Plessis to the first ball of the 18th. With 27 needed off the last two overs, Dhoni changed the course of the chase. He nearly beheaded Marchant de Lange, such was the ferocity with which he clubbed the first ball to the straight boundary. The next was a full toss that disappeared through deep midwicket and the third was a towering six over long-on.Super Kings were favourites, needing only nine to get off the final over, but Dhoni was bowled off its second ball, missing Bhatia’s slower ball. Bhatia went on to bowl three more exceptional deliveries, but his last was the full toss that allowed Super Kings to move to No. 4 in the league.

Hampshire have registered Bilal Shafayat, the former Nottinghamshire batsman, on a short-term deal

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2012Hampshire have registered Bilal Shafayat, the former Nottinghamshire batsman, on a short-term deal as they seek to cover the absence of Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams.Shafayat, who was released by Nottinghamshire in 2010, has been a part of Hampshire’s second XI set-up for the last two seasons, making a double-hundred against Glamorgan and a century against Middlesex in 2011 and 39* then 77 against Essex last week at West End.It means Shafayat, who represented England at Under-19s level in 2001, will be available on a match-by-match basis for selection for the first XI should he be required, although he has no formal contract. He has been added to the squad for the Championship match against Derbyshire.Hampshire’s manager, Giles White, said; “Bilal will provide back-up for our batting line-up over the next few games. Having missed Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry for different reasons in the last few matches we thought it wise to have some additional strength in depth in case of any further losses.”Bilal has proven a very able cricketer in our second XI as well as for Nottinghamshire so I’m sure he’ll be able to step into the side should he be required.”

Cricket’s sole appearance in the Olympic Games will be re-enacted later this month when teams from France and Britain meet to reprise a match that took place in Paris 112 years ago.

David Hopps09-Jun-2012Cricket’s sole appearance in the Olympic Games will be re-enacted later this month when teams from France and Britain meet to reprise a match that took place in Paris 112 years ago. France Cricket (FC), the national governing body for the sport, will field a side against the MCC in Twenty20 and 50-over matches at Chateaux du Thoiry on June 16.The MCC already has its own Olympic connections. Its Lord’s home will stage the archery competition in the London Olympics later this summer.The matches, which have no official Olympic status, are being played to raise awareness of cricket in France, although they will doubtless attract a miniscule amount of attention compared to another France v England clash – in the European football championships on Monday.In an Olympic year, however, the matches will offer a reminder of one of the more unusual episodes in Olympic history when Devon County Wanderers played a mixed France side drawn from Standard Athletic Club and Albion CC in Paris at the Velodrome de Vincennes. The match was 12-a-side and the majority of France’s team were ex-pats. Britain won the game by 156 runs.Although the match was eventually classified as an OIympic event, more than a century passed before cricket was given full recognition as a sport by the International Olympic Committee OC in 2010.The ICC has yet to decide whether to apply to become an Olympic sport – it would presumably play havoc with an already overcrowded international calendar – and the absence of cricket from the London Olympics has meant that an obvious opportunity has already passed the game by.France claims about 4,000 active players and more than 200 qualified coaches. They have already achieved one notable success by getting permission from the French Primary School Sports Association to deliver cricket training to teachers, raising ambitions to spread the word in 200 primary schools by 2015. Because of a shortage of cricket grounds, the plan is to develop short forms of the game indoors.France are among the lowliest nations in world cricket, with ambitious to qualify for Division Eight of the ICC’s World Cricket League in Samoa in September. After indulging in a spot of Olympic history, they will take part in a four-nation qualifying tournament from June 20-23 against Austria, Belgium and Gibraltar.

A five-wicket haul from Brian Vitori, followed by a half-century from Tino Mawoyo, helped Zimbabwe A consign Sri Lanka A to their second-straight defeat in as many games

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2012
ScorecardA five-wicket haul from Brian Vitori, followed by a half-century from Tino Mawoyo, helped Zimbabwe A consign Sri Lanka A to their second-straight defeat in as many games in the tri-series in Harare.Zimbabwe chose to bowl, and Vitori justified the decision right away, removing Kushal Perera for 2. In the 11th over, he claimed two in two balls, and Sri Lanka – who were already scoring at a far from threatening rate – hardly recovered. Vitori picked up the following two wickets as well, to complete a five-for. The other Zimbabwe bowlers all shared the wickets around, as Sri Lanka were bowled out in 45 overs for 160. Bhanuka Rajapaksa was the only batsman to make much of a difference for the visitors, with 57 from 67 balls.In the chase, Zimbabwe were in a bit of trouble after losing Chamu Chibhabha and Sikandar Raza cheaply, but a 94-run stand between Mawoyo and Stuart Matsikenyeri put them back on course. Though they had the game firmly in their grip, a mini-collapse, in which they lost 3 for 22, meant they couldn’t finish the game in 40 overs to claim a bonus point. The five-wicket win was achieved in 40.3 overs.Zimbabwe play South Africa at the same venue on Sunday.