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Vusi Sibanda, as expected, has been picked in Zimbabwe’s squad of 15 for the first unofficial Twenty20 of the tri-series against South Africa and Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2012

Zimbabwe squad for first Twenty20

Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan taylor (capt & wk), Elton Chigumbura, Craig Ervine, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Graeme Cremer, Prosper Utseya, Richard Muzhange, Chris Mpofu, Kyle Jarvis, Shingi Masakadza, Malcom Waller, Regis Chakabva, Brian Vitori

Vusi Sibanda, as expected, has been picked in Zimbabwe’s squad of 15 for the first unofficial Twenty20 of the tri-series against South Africa and Bangladesh. Opening batsman Sibanda was not considered for Zimbabwe’s tour of New Zealand in January, after he chose to play grade cricket in Australia instead of fulfilling domestic commitments in Zimbabwe.Left-arm spinner Ray Price and wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu are left out from the squad due to injuries – Price has a hamstring niggle, while Taibu is recovering from a finger injury. Taibu’s absence means captain Brendan Taylor will keep wickets.Being the hosts allows Zimbabwe the opportunity to experiment with their combination, chairman of selectors Givemore Makoni said. “Since we are playing at home, we have the flexibility to change the squad as we go along,” Makoni said. “So the squad we are announcing is only for the first Twenty20 match.”Zimbabwe play Bangladesh in the tournament opener on Sunday.

Michael Di Venuto, the Durham batsman, has retired from county cricket with immediate effect after six years with the club

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2012Michael Di Venuto, the Durham batsman, has retired from county cricket with immediate effect after six years with the club.Di Venuto, 37, scored 6488 first-class runs for Durham since joining in 2007 including a tally of 1654 in 2009 when the county won the second of their back-to-back Championship titles. However, this season he had averaged 29.10 from five matches and decided he could no longer reach the levels required for the first-class game.”My body won’t allow me to prepare and play the way I want,” he said. “I set high standards for myself and if I was to continue playing then it would be below these standards. While I know I still have some quality short form cricket in me, the day in day out nature of first-class cricket I physically can’t do anymore.”My time at Durham has been incredible. To play with a great bunch of blokes in some history making teams is something that I will cherish and look back on fondly. My family and I have loved our time in the North East and have some wonderful memories to take home with us. I’d like to thank everyone involved with the club for making our time here so enjoyable. We will miss Durham CCC.”Geoff Cook, the head coach said: “Michael has been a prolific run scorer for the club during his time here and is a much respected player, who will be greatly missed. He has proved to be a real inspiration on the field and the knowledge and guidance he has shared with our squad, especially the batsmen, has encouraged growth within the side.”Michael should be incredibly proud of his time here at Durham and we wish him all the very best with his future endeavours.”Prior to his lengthy stay at Durham, Di Venuto, who appeared in nine one-day internationals for Australia, also played for Derbyshire and Sussex

S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu batsman, has been called up to the India squad for the Tests against New Zealand as a replacement for VVS Laxman

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2012S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu batsman, has been called up to the India squad for the Tests against New Zealand as a replacement for VVS Laxman. Laxman, who was in the 15-man squad for the two-Test series, announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect on Saturday.Badrinath, 31, has played two Tests for India, the last being in early 2010 in the home series against South Africa. He has a Test best of 56 in his three innings. His most recent international appearance was during the limited-overs leg of India’s tour of the West Indies last summer.A consistent performer on the domestic circuit, Badrinath was the highest run-getter in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy, where he amassed 922 runs at 131.71. However, he had a middling 2011-12 season: he had picked up a shoulder injury during the Challenger Trophy in October last year and, as a result, missed the first three rounds of the Ranji Trophy. When he returned, he scored 292 runs in nine innings.When Rahul Dravid retired in March, Badrinath’s name floated around as a possible replacement for him in the India Test middle-order. But, at that point, a BCCI official had told ESPNcricinfo that the odds were against Badrinath. “Not only is he 30-plus, but he has been tested already,” the official said. “He is a good player at domestic level but unfortunately does not seem to fit at the highest level.”

Bangladesh will witness its first day-night first-class game when one of the four opening day National Cricket League matches will be played with a pink ball in Mirpur on October 14

Mohammad Isam04-Sep-2012Bangladesh will witness its first day-night first-class game when one of the four opening day National Cricket League (NCL) matches will be played with a pink ball at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on October 14. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made this announcement at the end of a meeting which also tweaked the requirements for prospective bidders for the BCB worldwide media rights.The pink ball has been used before in a women’s one-day international in 2009, and first-class matches in the West Indies and England. Two English county season-openers were also played with the pink ball in the UAE in 2010 and 2011.BCB president AHM Mustafa Kamal also confirmed that the existing first-class competition, the NCL, will be turned into a franchise-based tournament to be held on a single-league basis, the final of which will also be a day-night five-day game. “For the first-time ever first-class cricket will be played under lights using a pink cricket ball that has been approved by the ICC,” he said. “This tournament will be run by the BCB, but will be executed by the different zones. We are also going to take nine former cricketers from the different regions, to coordinate this tournament.”Since there weren’t many offers from companies to buy the divisional sides in the competition, Kamal said the BCB would start the first-class tournament with any number of company-bought franchise. “Even if we get [even] two franchises, we want to start the tournament and keep it competitive. The rest of the teams can have names of the divisions during the tournament,” he said.BCB also amended the prerequisites for prospective bidders for broadcasting and media rights and extended deadlines for obtaining the tender document (September 6) and submission (September 12). The new requirement stipulates a tender to be acceptable if one among the marketing agent and the broadcaster has five years’ experience in the related field. Earlier all three components of the media rights – production, broadcasting and marketing – required five years of experience in cricket coverage.The changes to the stipulations were made after only two companies made offers when the first deadline – August 31 – closed.”We will consider one of the three components (production, marketing and broadcasting) in the successful bidder with five-year experience,” Kamal said. He said he wanted the new offer to be iron-clad after the experience they had with Nimbus during the 2006-12 broadcasting deal.”We will not only look at our financial benefit and compromise with quality. We will consider both as major selling points. We will not repeat the mistakes that we made in our last deal. We had a $56 million deal with Nimbus, in which production cost was included. Now we will not take any risk, keep everything in net-basis.”There will be an insurance cover put in place as well. At the time of the offer, they have to pay $2.5 million as security money in the form of bank guarantee, bank draft, etc. But we will take this for a few days. A week after we give them a letter of intent, they have to pay the first year’s payment in cash,” he said.Kamal will head a new committee to scrutinise the bidders. The other members of this committee are BCB directors Ahmed Iqbal Hassan (finance committee chairman), Jalal Yunus (media chairman) and Mirza Salman Ispahani (tender and purchase committee chairman). The BCB chief hoped that the new broadcaster will be appointed by this month, the deal being for four years till 2016.Meanwhile, the BCB has awarded Tk 1 lakh ($1224 approx.) each to members of the Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team that finished seventh in the World Cup in Australia. Anamul Haque and Taskin Ahmed have been awarded Tk 2 lakh ($2447 approx.) each for being top performers with bat and ball for Bangladesh.

Surrey have offered Graeme Smith, South Africa’s Test captain, a lucrative long-term deal that could potentially require him to give up international cricket

George Dobell and Firdose Moonda27-Sep-2012Surrey have offered Graeme Smith, South Africa’s Test captain, a lucrative long-term deal that could potentially require him to give up international cricket.ESPNcricinfo understands that Smith has been identified by Surrey as the perfect man to lead their rebuilding process after a season that saw the retirement of senior batsman Mark Ramprakash, the death of the talented Tom Maynard and the departure of former captain Rory Hamilton-Brown. Smith would open the batting and lead the side.It is not hard to see the attraction from Surrey’s point of view. Smith, who will be 32 in February, has played more than 100 Tests and, as captain, overseen South Africa’s ascent to No. 1 in the rankings. He averages almost 50 in Test cricket and scored a century in his 100th Test, against England at The Oval earlier this year.After years on the road, a period of relative stability in London might well prove attractive for Smith too. He has recently married – his wife is from Ireland – and had his first child. But, while Smith has achieved almost everything he could have wanted as a Test player and no longer warrants selection in South Africa’s T20I side, the ambition to win a World Cup remains strong.While it is possible that Surrey would consider signing Smith simply as an overseas player and be happy for him to continue his international career, it is understood from a source in South Africa that the club are looking for a long-term option and would be reluctant to accept a situation where a player comes and goes according to the international fixture list. South Africa are scheduled to play in the Champions Trophy in England next June and then tour Sri Lanka in July and August.Surrey declined to comment.

Wicketkeeper batsman Sunitha Anand is the only new name in the 15-member India’s Twenty20 squad for the upcoming Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2012Wicketkeeper batsman Sunitha Anand is the only new name in the 15-member India’s Twenty20 squad for the upcoming Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup scheduled to take place in Guangzhou, China from October 24. Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur will continue in their role as the captain and the vice-captain.India is placed in Group A with Hong Kong, Pakistan and Thailand, while Bangladesh, China, Nepal and Sri Lanka are in Group B. Two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals to be played on October 30. The final will be played the next day. All the matches will be played at the Guanggong International Cricket Stadium in Guangzhou, the venue for the 2010 Asian Games.Squad: Mithali Raj (captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Ekta Bisht, Archana Das, Jhulan Goswami, Reema Malhotra, Mona Meshram, Sulakshana Naik, Nagarajan Niranjana, Rasanara Parwin, Anuja Patil, Poonam Raut, Amita Sharma, Shubhlakshmi Sharma, Sunitha Anand

Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been ruled out of Rajasthan’s next game against Madhya Pradesh, and with the team having gained only two points so far in this season, his absence will be a blow

Amol Karhadkar in Jaipur16-Nov-2012Instead of celebrating Diwali – and his 38th birthday – at home, Hrishikesh Kanitkar chose to prepare for Rajasthan’s next Ranji Trophy game, against Madhya Pradesh at the KL Saini Stadium in Jaipur from Saturday.However, instead of celebrating his birthday with his team-mates, Kanitkar had to rush to a hospital and get an MRI scan done on his left calf, which he had injured during a fielding session on Wednesday. The results confirmed on Friday what Kanitkar and the Rajasthan camp had feared – he would be unavailable for the game against MP.He has led Rajasthan to back-to-back Ranji titles and has been the in-form batsman for his team, having scored a century against Mumbai last week. Coincidentally, even last season, after scoring a century against Mumbai, Kanitkar missed the next game due to an injury.His absence is a big blow but the Rajasthan camp is hoping to derive positives from the “uncontrollable” incident. “Hrishi bhaiyya’s absence is a jolt no doubt, but we are treating it as an opportunity for Puneet Yadav,” stand-in captain Vineet Saxena, who will be leading Rajasthan for the first time in a Ranji game, said on the eve of the game. “It is up to Puneet to cash in on the chance that is presented to him and try and minimise the impact of his [Kanitkar’s] absence.”Yadav has been on the fringes of Rajasthan’s side, and has featured in six first-class games, though he hasn’t yet been able to establish himself in the side. And if the wicket at the KL Saini Stadium remains as green as it was the day before the match, he will have a challenge ahead.But more than banking on Yadav, Saxena hoped that the rest of the Rajasthan batsmen would perform consistently in order to at least gain three points for the first-innings lead. The likes of Robin Bist, last season’s highest run-getter, and young batsman Ashok Menaria have failed in Rajasthan’s opening game against Bengal, and though Saxena and Kanitkar batted well against Mumbai, their bowling performance hurt them.”We have discussed the need for being consistent in all departments,” Saxena said. “Our batsmen and bowlers have clicked once in two games so far, but if the team has to do well, it should happen collectively. All that we have been discussing is if every individual performs his designated role, it will help the team in a great way.”While Rajasthan have been pondering over how best to fill Kanitkar’s absence, MP will be hoping their seasoned players do the job for them. Captain Devendra Bundela, a veteran on the domestic circuit, was banking on Naman Ojha, the only international in MP’s line-up, Jalaj Saxena, and himself, to rise to the challenge against the defending champions. While the experienced players will hope to help MP maintain their position among the top three teams of the group, young Harpeet Singh, who is expected to be included in the team, will be keen to cement his place in the side.With two points from as many games, Rajasthan need an outright victory to get the campaign on track. Kanitkar’s absence makes that target a lot tougher. “It’s obviously very disappointing for the whole team, not just him and me,” Rajasthan coach Meyrick Pringle said. “For Rajasthan, he plays a formidable role in the line-up of the side. Not only does he play a big role with his batting, but also his captaincy… he is a big hero here. Everybody loves the guy and he adds huge value, so it’s a huge loss to the side for this game, especially because we have to win it.”It remains to be seen if Kanitkar’s absence ends up motivating his team-mates more than helping MP, a team he represented for two seasons before joining Rajasthan in 2010-11.

Shane Watson hopes his move to No.4 in the Test batting order will allow him to take on a greater bowling workload

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2012Shane Watson hopes his move to No.4 in the Test batting order will allow him to take on a greater bowling workload. At the WACA last week, in his first match back from a calf injury, Watson sent down nine overs in each innings, and while there was no set limit on the amount he was able to bowl, Watson said he felt the captain Michael Clarke had held him back.”Mickey Arthur talked to me at the end of the last Test to say the way it was looking, they were going to move me down to four,” Watson told reporters on Friday. “It’s taken me a few days to get my head around that, but it means I can bowl a few more overs.”In the last Test match, I know Michael in the second innings was a bit hesitant to bowl me a few times towards the latter part of their innings, just to give me the chance to be as fresh as I could going into bat. The ultimate is to be able to contribute with both bat and ball throughout the whole Test match and not be held back. Batting at four will give me that extra time to freshen up.”Watson will move down the order for Australia’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Hobart to accommodate Phillip Hughes at No.3 in what will be one of at least two changes to Australia’s side. The selectors must also decide on the make-up of the attack, with Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus having sat out of the Perth match due to niggles after their heavy workload in the previous game in Adelaide.John Hastings, who played in Perth, won’t be part of the side in Hobart but both Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson will be fighting to retain their positions. Clarke said the Australians were yet to decide on what attack would work at Bellerive Oval.”When somebody doesn’t play in a match, it gives someone else an opportunity and that’s what has happened,” Clarke said of Siddle and Hilfenhaus. “Now we’ve got to work out what’s our best XI.”

Cameron White, the Melbourne Stars batsman, has labelled as “remarkable” the reprimand given to his Melbourne Renegades opponent Marlon Samuels over the altercation that earned Shane Warne a one-match BBL suspension

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Cameron White, the Melbourne Stars batsman, has labelled as “remarkable” the reprimand given to his Melbourne Renegades opponent Marlon Samuels over the altercation that earned Shane Warne a one-match BBL suspension. White has also refused to apologise for not going to the aid of Samuels when he suffered a severe facial injury from a Lasith Malinga bouncer later in the same match.Warne was banned for a match after he grabbed the shirt of Samuels during the second innings of the January 6 game and while Samuels was also charged with breaching the Code of Conduct, his hearing was delayed by a fortnight due to his injury. Samuels was let off with a reprimand after the Code of Conduct commissioner John Price ruled that Samuels threw his bat after “extreme provocation” from Warne, who had just thrown a ball that hit Samuels.However, the problems had started with an incident earlier in the match when Samuels was bowling and appeared to grab the Stars batsman David Hussey, who was turning to complete a second run. The charge that emerged from that incident, that Samuels “engaged in deliberate or inappropriate physical contact with a player or official”, was dismissed.”Being provoked, I don’t think you can use that as an excuse,” White said in Melbourne on Tuesday. “It’s remarkable, isn’t it? How many times have you seen someone throw their cricket bat on a cricket field and get [reprimanded] for being extremely provoked? I’ve never seen it before. That’s what the judiciary came up with.”The heated nature of the match continued when Samuels was struck by a bouncer and the only Stars player who came to check on his welfare was the bowler, Malinga. The injury proved to be serious enough to rule Samuels out of the upcoming ODI series against Australia and meant he was confined to his hotel room for the past two weeks, but White said there were a number of reasons the Stars players did not come to Samuels’ aid.”I don’t think he’s very well-liked, definitely not just from the Stars’ point of view but probably in Australian cricket,” White said. “People think he carries on a bit. There’s probably a few reasons [we didn’t check on him]. We were quite busy.”

Michael Hussey will work at a quartet of limited overs matches as a television commentator

Daniel Brettig23-Jan-2013Deemed surplus to Australia’s limited overs plans this summer by the national selectors, Michael Hussey will instead work at a quartet of matches as a television commentator.Having revealed his decision to retire from the international game on Channel Nine following the Boxing Day Test, Hussey has been signed by the network to commentate on four matches, the two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka and the final two ODIs of the series against the West Indies.Hussey’s first appearance at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium on Australia Day will be juggled with his on-field duties as captain of Western Australia, who will be engaged in a Sheffield Shield fixture against New South Wales in Blacktown from Thursday.Following his retirement announcement Hussey had said he would like to “try a few things” now that he was no longer tied to the relentless schedule of an international cricketer, and though he is set to continue to play for the Warriors, the Perth Scorchers and Chennai in the IPL, he will now have more time for pursuits such as television.While initially Hussey had hoped to farewell Australian cricket via the ODIs and T20s against Sri Lanka and the West Indies, he was informed during the Sydney Test that the national selector John Inverarity and his panel had decided not to choose him for the matches, preferring to try players who would be available for the longer term.”I’m disappointed not to be playing in the one-dayers because that was my plan,” Hussey said after his axing. “I love one-day cricket. That’s where I got my opportunity to play for Australia, so I definitely wanted to play.”But I understand what the selectors are trying to do. They’re trying to build for the 2015 World Cup and I’ll get over it I guess.”The decision to remove Hussey from the squad while also resting Michael Clarke, David Warner and Matthew Wade was considered so sensitive by Cricket Australia that the team performance manager Pat Howard briefed Nine’s director of sport Steve Crawley and members of the commentary team about the squad for the Sri Lanka series the day before it was announced.