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Former West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts has questioned the fitness of the current pace attack on the eve of the first Test against England at Edgbaston

Melinda Farrell17-Aug-2017Former West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts has questioned the fitness of the current pace attack on the eve of the first Test against England at Edgbaston.Roberts was speaking in Birmingham at Wicketz, a children’s clinic hosted by the Lord’s Taverners, ahead of the day-night Test alongside fellow West Indies greats Viv Richards, Curtly Ambrose and Richie Richardson. While all four former players acknowledged there were significant weaknesses in the side, Roberts handed out the harshest assessment of bowlers.”To be honest I don’t know what is the strength of West Indies cricket today because we don’t bat too well and at times it depends on the fitness of the fast bowlers,” Roberts told ESPNcricinfo. “It seems as though some of them are prone to breaking down.”I’m hoping that they are all at full strength and that they’ll all be able to last the full five days. If they do they may have a chance but you see it’s very difficult if you do go in with four bowlers and you have problems with one because the overall team is not as strong as I would like to see.”Roberts was critical of the amount of time players spend in the gym and suggested they should spend more time in the nets. But he singled out 20-year-old Alzarri Joseph as the bowler who could thrive in English conditions.”He’s young, I think he’s probably the fittest of the lot in terms of not breaking down and he also swings the ball a bit which is not common,” Roberts said. “Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel are more seamers. They seem to hit the deck a lot harder and try to get legcutters and offcutters whereas Alzarri Joseph, especially early in the innings, will try to swing the ball and that’s very important here in England. So I won’t be surprised early on, if he takes the new ball, if he takes one or two early wickets.”In contrast, former West Indies bowling coach Ambrose felt the current crop of bowlers were holding their own in Tests, but he called on the batsmen to push harder for competitive – and defendable – totals.”I’m not saying they don’t have batsmen who can score runs, they do,” Ambrose said. “But you can’t keep scoring 180, 200, 220 in Test cricket and expect to win too many games.”One of the batsman who has impressed Richardson, the former team manager, is Shai Hope. Although Hope averages just 19.57 in ten Tests to date, Richardson believes his temperament marks him out as a batsman who can develop into a mature player.”His attitude towards batting, towards the game, he’s always willing to learn,” Richardson said. “He listens and you can see he would make changes to his game.”If he got out a particular way he would go into the nets and try to work on his weaknesses and I like that about him. He’s always willing to learn and always asking questions, he’s got a desire to work hard and to achieve great things.”Richards, perhaps typically, called on the West Indies batsmen to show no fear and, while acknowledging England are heavy favourites going into the series, believed the pink ball could be something of a leveler in the opening match.”England is one of the best places for you to play the game itself and one’s got to look at it that way,” Richards said. “All the players from the West Indies who have toured this part of the world would have gone back from England being a much better player. I’m hoping the guys do understand that, the batters themselves understand that.”There are no demons playing in this country. If you can play and you back yourself enough, you’re going to have success and that’s what it’s all about. Knowing your requirements, knowing your limits, the things you can get done and the things that you cannot get done.”Don’t worry about them talking about the seam and the swing and all that sort of stuff, it can be countered. If you’re good enough.”

Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman will undergo shoulder surgery on August 11 in London, according to the Bangladesh Cricket Board

Mohammad Isam06-Aug-2016Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman will undergo shoulder surgery on August 11 in London, according to the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Andrew Wallace of London’s Fortius Clinic, who was recommended by the ECB to the Bangladesh board, gave Mustafizur the appointment for the surgery. The recovery time could keep Mustafizur out for at least six months.”The operation will take place in London on August 11,” BCB’s media committee director Jalal Yunus said. “After Mustafizur had met him yesterday, he gave the appointment. We are confident that Mustafizur is in good hands. We want this to get over as soon as possible.”BCB president Nazmul Hassan had said on Tuesday that Mustafizur was sent to Wallace after the surgeon who was the board’s initial choice went on leave. There was talk of sending Mustafizur to Australia for the surgery, too.Mustafizur had complained of pain after his second match for Sussex on July 22. He was ruled out of the rest of their one-day and T20 campaign with a SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tear, and did not return to Bangladesh, instead meeting specialists for the injury to his left shoulder.

Windward Islands wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher has reportedly been arrested at the Douglas Charles airport in Dominica on possession of ammunition, Dominica News Online reported

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2015West Indies and Windward Islands wicketkeeper-batsman Andre Fletcher has reportedly been arrested at the Douglas Charles airport in Dominica on possession of ammunition, (DNO) reported on Thursday.According to the news report Fletcher, 27, had been in Dominica practicing with the Windward Islands team and was leaving the country when he was arrested. DNO reported he would appear in court on Friday.Lockhart Sebastian, the Windward Islands manager, said he was aware of the arrest, according to the report. “I will support him, I will not abandon him … that is the job of a manager,” he was quoted as saying by DNO.Fletcher, a national of Grenada, has played 15 ODIs and 22 Twenty20 internationals for West Indies; his most recent appearance being in a T20 game against South Africa in Durban in January this year. He has played 60 first-class matches and was a regular in the Windwards Islands side during the 2014-15 season.

Kieran Powell became the first West Indies batsman to hit two hundreds in a Test since Brian Lara in 2001

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur16-Nov-2012On the fourth day of the Dhaka Test, Kieran Powell became the first West Indies batsman to score hundreds in each innings of a Test since Brian Lara achieved the feat against Sri Lanka in Colombo 11 years ago. The only other West Indies opener to hit twin Test centuries is Gordon Greenidge in 1976, but Powell was more concerned about what awaits his team on the fifth day than in history.Powell wasn’t even aware of who he stood a chance of emulating with his 117 and 110, saying he was reminded by a member of the support staff the night before. “Last night I was speaking to my massage therapist and he told me that this is perfect opportunity to do something like this,” Powell said. “I am not too sure how often it happened but I am happy that it happened to me.”After fielding for a day and a half, Powell’s second-innings century has been a reflection of his marked improvement as a batsman in the past year. He has now scored three centuries this year, solidifying his position in the Test side. Even in the space of two innings, Powell has showed the maturity that has escaped many West Indies openers when batting in the subcontinent. He adjusted perfectly to the match situation and the pitch, playing a lot straighter in the second innings while he had played all around the wicket in the first innings.He was however part of the reason West Indies are in a position of weakness as they slipped from 212 for 3 to 244 for 6 at stumps. Powell was the fourth wicket to fall when he misjudged a straighter delivery from Shakib Al Hasan, exposing two new batsmen. That too in the absence of the experienced Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was ill and resting at the team hotel on the fourth day.West Indies are 215 ahead with four wickets in hand, which Powell felt was a score from which they could push for a win. “I think we are still in a good position. I think once we get to 300 tomorrow we should be in a good position to look for a win or even trying to save the game.”All we need to do tomorrow is to bat through the first session. Once we do that we should be in a safe position and then push forward from there. I think we have enough time considering the [state of the] wicket.”

The lawyer of Mohammad Asif grilled the prosecution’s chief witness – former journalist Mazhar Mahmood

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court12-Oct-2011The lawyer of Mohammad Asif grilled the prosecution’s chief witness – former journalist Mazhar Mahmood – as to whether he knew of any phone-hacking during his undercover investigation in the alleged spot-fixing trial on Wednesday. And he also became the latest to try to discredit agent Mazhar Majeed.It was the most fraught session so far in the six days of the trial, in which Salman Butt and Asif face charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.Alexander Milne QC, the barrister of Pakistan fast bowler Asif, quizzed Mahmood on how he came to begin his covert sting investigation. Mahmood replied that he had received information from a source (whose identity he kept secret), who he had known for a long time. He added there was an agreement that there would be payment to the source on publication of his information.Given the developments in this year’s closure of the , due to illegal phone-hacking methods used to acquire exclusive stories for the newspaper, Milne pressed Mahmood on whether he had any knowledge of hacking and whether the origin of his initial information come from hacked text messages.”Is this not hacked material?” Milne asked. “Downloading texts from a telephone without the knowledge of the person who owns that telephone is illegal.”Milne added: “I’m asking you if there is anybody at the who has hacked evidence that might be of relevance to this case and which would be disclosable?”Mahmood, speaking from behind a screen for the third consecutive day in the witness box and becoming slightly defensive because of the questioning, said: “I had no idea about any phone hacking…prior to doing anything with the information I received, I spoke to the lawyer at the newspaper.”Milne also suggested to Mahmood that he met with Asif after the controversy was published, while posing as a lawyer by the name of Imran Sheikh. Milne also suggested to Mahmood that he was spotted in Lahore between December and January earlier this year by Asif, despite telling the court he had not visited Pakistan in that time. Mahmood vehemently denied both suggestions and agreed to submit his passport to the court for checks.”Not only is he (Asif) a match-fixer, but he is a liar,” was one of Mahmood’s angry responses. “He’s been banged to rights as far as I’m concerned and I have no desire to meet him.”Milne opened his address by first asking Mahmood about his experiences with Majeed, the agent at the centre of the trial, and referred to a number of bizarre claims and boasts by Majeed, which was a similar line of questioning taken by the legal team of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt.In his line of questioning, Milne was implying that Mahmood should have realised Majeed was a fantasist. Milne suggested to Mahmood that “he made as much effort to impress you as you were to impress him, with all the names that were dropped”.Milne added: “He claimed to know everyone at Sky Sports, as well as Roger Federer and Brad Pitt…he had an Aston Martin, a fleet of cars and a big house. He was always ‘bigging’ himself up and told you his house cost £1.8 million.”Mahmood was asked by Milne whether he believed all of his boasts, to which Mahmood answered: “It was of no interest to us. I was only interested in the criminality of the people involved.”The case continues.

Brendon Diamanti, the New Zealand and Central Districts allrounder, has retired from domestic cricket in order to spend more time with his family

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2010Brendon Diamanti, the New Zealand and Central Districts allrounder, has retired from domestic cricket in order to spend more time with his family. Diamanti, 29, played only one ODI and one Twenty20 international for New Zealand but was a regular for Central Districts in all three formats.”After some months of deliberation I have decided that my priorities in life have changed and I want to spend more time with my family,” Diamanti told NZPA. “I also felt that I had achieved what I wanted as a player at first-class level and that the time was right to step aside and allow someone else the opportunity.”Diamanti, a lower-order batsman and medium-pace bowler, made his debut for Central Districts in 2003 and scored two hundreds in 27 Plunket Shield matches. He averaged 25.72 as a batsman and took 57 wickets at 34.77 apiece. He played 59 List A matches and averaged 28 with both bat and ball.”We are sad to be losing Brendon to retirement as he has been a major contributor both on and off the field,” Central Districts chief executive Hugh Henderson, who was surprised by Diamanti’s decision, said. “Brendon is a complete professional and has always demonstrated the commitment and work ethic required to succeed.”

Heath Mills has said New Zealand cricket will soon be “on the cusp” of a player drain unless the board takes measures to improve remuneration

Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2009Heath Mills, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association chief, has said New Zealand cricket will soon be “on the cusp” of a player drain unless the board takes measures to improve remuneration and player contracts in the changing environment, where commercial leagues are competing with international cricket.”The biggest issue for all of us in the game in New Zealand is the ability to attract and retain our best players,” Mills told the . “We’re struggling to retain our best players now; guys are retiring before their time, for whatever reasons, and we may have a situation where our best players may opt to play casually for New Zealand so they can play in the IPL.”Several New Zealand players, including Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, opted to join the unofficial ICL in India and they were banned from playing for New Zealand until recently, when their exile ended. And Iain O’Brien retired unexpectedly during the ongoing Test series against Pakistan in order to move to England to be with his wife.The NZCPA and NZC will meet around the New Year to discuss the collective bargaining agreement for the next four years, “the most significant negotiation we’ve had to date given the changing landscape of cricket,” Mills said. He is of the opinion that unless improvements are made, players could refuse central contracts and choose to play for clubs and franchises in competitions around the world instead. “Cricket is changing from having a commercial base solely focused around international cricket to a commercial base built around a combination of international cricket and club or franchise competitions like the Indian Premier League.”If we don’t have a contract system and playing environment that retains our best players then we are at risk. As we start negotiations with NZC we will find out what the numbers look like in the next four year period – hopefully they are good but if things remain the same we will end up like a lot of other sports in New Zealand where the best players end up playing overseas.”

There was enough time for Sri Lanka to strike four times before the weather opened up shortly before lunch

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Nov-20243:11

Takeaways: Right call by Sri Lanka to bowl first

Under dark Durban skies, Sri Lanka had very nearly their perfect first morning of a first Test, their captain inserting the opposition, before his seamers removed four South Africa batters.But only 20.4 overs were possible on the first day before rain arrived just before scheduled lunch. It stayed put over Kingsmead, until play was called off at around 3pm.Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando had led Sri Lanka’s advances, zipping the ball around on a somewhat moist surface to frequently beat and occasionally collect the outside edges of South African bats.Vishwa, the left-arm quick, was especially disciplined, finding significant inswing in the air from over the wicket, as well as away movement off the deck. He took the wicket of Tony de Zorzi, who was caught by a diving Kamindu Mendis at second slip, soon after Asitha had Aiden Markram held in the cordon – both bowlers striking in their second over of the day.Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs scratched their way through to the drinks break, putting on 32 together, with many of those runs coming off the outside edge through deep third. But Lahiru Kumara, Sri Lanka’s fastest bowler, made amends for a wayward first over by having Stubbs fend one to third slip. Soon after, he nipped a ball through David Bedingham’s defenses to send his off stump cartwheeling – the most dramatic dismissal of a short day’s play.Sri Lanka could have had an even better morning but for two indiscretions. Bavuma, who survived 47 balls and ended the day on 28, should have been held by Dimuth Karunaratne for 1, but he grassed the low chance at second slip. That was off the bowling of Vishwa. Then, shortly before rain arrived to cut the session four minutes short, Bavuma edged a Kumara bouncer he was trying hook, but Kumara was found to have marginally overstepped. Bavuma was on his way to the dressing room when the umpires called him back. He was on 20 at that point.Bavuma, however, was perhaps the most restrained of South Africa’s batters. He covered the line of his stumps nicely as Sri Lanka’s opening bowlers plugged away in the channel, and though he frequently had his outside edge beaten, he did not appear especially eager to feel bat on ball. He had wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreyne for company when the showers came through.Though Kumara claimed two wickets, his four overs cost 35 runs. Asitha and Vishwa both went at less than three an over.The forecast for Thursday is for better weather. Sri Lanka will feel they did justice to the good bowling conditions they got by dint of having won the toss.

Abigail Freeborn’s unbeaten 107 overshadowed in losing cause as Sunrisers secure back-to-back wins

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Grace Scrivens, Amara Carr and Mady Villiers all hit half-centuries as Sunrisers stunned Central Sparks to register back-to-back wins in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the first time.Teenager Scrivens, leading the side in place of the injured Dane van Niekerk, scored a gritty 51 and Carr struck 58 before Villiers’ explosive knock of 56 from 46 balls all but wrapped up a four-wicket victory at Chelmsford.Their efforts overshadowed a magnificent maiden hundred by Abigail Freeborn, who batted through all but nine deliveries of Sparks’ innings for an unbeaten 107 from 140 that enabled her side to post 227 for 8.But it was not enough for the visitors, who slip out of the play-off places after Sunrisers – having failed to win a single game in the tournament’s first two editions – chased down the target with five overs to spare.Sparks opted to bat after winning the toss, yet their start was less than ideal as Eva Gray opened up with a maiden and Kate Coppack bowled Bethan Ellis off her pads without a run on the board.Freeborn was soon into her stride, pummelling Coppack’s half-volley to the cover fence and overtaking partner Eve Jones as she clipped Amu Surenkumar for another boundary to raise the visitors’ 50 in the 10th over.Smart running helped to keep the scoreboard ticking over, but spin duo Scrivens and Jodi Grewcock (2 for 36) gained some degree of control and it was the latter who broke the partnership of 99. The legspinner tempted Jones down the track for Carr to take off the bails and that stifled the scoring rate, with shrewd bowling changes earning Sunrisers further success as Gray and Jo Gardner (2 for 21) collected wickets in the space of five deliveries.With Katie George drilling Grewcock straight to cover and Gardner’s flight deceiving Charis Pavely, Sparks slumped to 167 for 6 but Emily Arlott’s pugnacious 22 helped them clamber above 200.Although Freeborn advanced to a deserved century, Scrivens marshalled her attack cleverly and a death-overs charge never materialised, ensuring Sunrisers would chase just above four-and-a-half per over.However, accurate powerplay bowling from Arlott (2 for 33) and Grace Potts meant the home side initially struggled to gain traction, with the ball crossing the rope just once before Arlott had Ariana Dowse taken at gully in the eighth over.Grewcock, having just carved off-spinner Georgia Davis to the point boundary, departed lbw later in the over, but Carr and Scrivens dug in to nudge Sunrisers towards the target with a resolute partnership of 80.The skipper progressed to her third half-century of the tournament before falling leg before to Hannah Baker and, despite that setback, Carr followed suit by clouting an Ellis full toss to the midwicket fence.Villiers eagerly took up the baton after Scrivens’ departure, dispatching Davis (2 for 43) for successive boundaries and dominating the strike, with a single Baker over disappearing for 15 before another leg-side four off Arlott took her to a 40-ball half-century.Sparks sensed a glimmer of hope when they prised out Carr and Villiers in successive overs with 25 still required, but Gardner and Surenkumar saw their side across the line.

Here’s how we captured the record over in our ball-by-ball commentary

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-20222:44

Giles: ‘Broad probably got carried away in the emotion’

83.1: Broad to Bumrah, FOUR runs. Hooked, into the gap! Massive top edge, and I think Crawley might have just got to it… Bounced through and over the rope83.2: Broad to Bumrah, 5 wides. Dug in short, clears Billings! Way above the batter as he began to swing for it again. Wides signalled83.2: Broad to Bumrah, (no ball) SIX runs. Hoicked into the boundary boards, another fat top edge… and it’s a no-ball as well! Bumrah finagling vital runs here. This one went fine of third, but Leach was never getting to it83.2: Broad to Bumrah, FOUR runs. Full toss, bludgeoned through mid-on! Must have been close to another no-ball, on height – but Aleem Dar only signals four. Smoked down the ground by India’s captain83.3: Broad to Bumrah, FOUR runs. Thick-edged to fine leg, four more to Bumrah… and that boundary takes India galloping past 400!83.4: Broad to Bumrah, FOUR runs. Swung off his feet through midwicket! Bumrah ends in a crumpled heap, but he’s middled it nevertheless! Four in front of deep square leg83.5: Broad to Bumrah, SIX runs. Splatted for six more! World record for Bumrah! More short stuff and he whirls it up and away over deep backward square leg. Knee in the air, some Calypso flourish to that one83.6: Broad to Bumrah, 1 run. Tip and run, Broad sweeps up and throws himself into the stumps with Siraj diving for his ground. Just makes it home!