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MCC to emulate SCG’s pink Test, and honour memory of Andrew Strauss’s wife, who died in December of cancer

Matt Roller16-Jul-2019Lord’s will transform from a smattering of egg-and-bacon into a sea of red on the second day of the second Ashes Test – on August 15 – in a show of support for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, set up this year as a tribute to former England captain Andrew Strauss’ late wife, who died after a battle with a rare form of lung cancer.The move will see the players of the two teams wear red caps and red stumps being used, with fans in attendance encouraged to wear red. It’s an almost direct parallel to Pink Stumps Day at the SCG in honour of the Jane McGrath Foundation.”The one huge opportunity you have as an ex-cricketer is to use that platform to raise awareness for what you’re trying to do,” Strauss, who served as ECB’s director of cricket after finishing up as a cricketer, said. “As soon as you go down that train of thought you think about the incredible work the McGrath Foundation has done in Sydney, and you think is that possible to replicate in this country.”I’ve played all my cricket here [for Middlesex] at Lord’s, and it’s an Ashes Test – you just think ‘wow, if the MCC are willing and able to make this happen, are willing to support it, we can put this together’.”Strauss said he had been “blown away” by “the incredible wave of support from the cricket family and fraternity” since his wife’s passing on December 29 last year.”This is the embodiment of that,” he said. “Doors have been opened that usually wouldn’t be opened and everyone’s said, ‘yeah, let’s do it, let’s make it a special day’.”I’m hopeful that it’s going to be a successful day for the foundation and a great spectacle – an addition to what’s going on on the pitch – it’s an incredibly important game and incredibly important day.”Strauss met his wife-to-be in a Sydney bar in 1998 while playing grade cricket during the winter, and were married five years later. Ruth, a non-smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017, and Strauss stepped away his job as England team director to care for her at the time, though he formally resigned only in October 2018.Strauss played in one of the earliest Pink Tests in the 2010-11 Ashes, which England won to seal the series 3-1.”My recollection of the Pink Test was how keen all the players were to support Glenn McGrath and support him, and what the charity was doing,” he recalled. “It added an extra dimension to the Test match and maybe a moment to pause and reflect and go ‘it’s an Ashes series, we’re all at each other’s throats and desperately want to win, but in the greater scheme of things there’s more important things out there’.”I loved the day, I thought they did it brilliantly, and I loved the way the Australian public connected and bought into that as a concept.”McGrath and Strauss have been in regular discussion about the personal aspect of dealing with grief while in the public eye, as well as the day itself. “He’s a great man,” Strauss said, “and it’s incredible to see how successful that foundation has been in Australia.”Strauss has spoken publicly about dealing with grief in a handful of newspaper interviews, and the effect Ruth’s passing has had on his two sons, Sam and Luca.The World Cup final on Sunday coincided with Luca’s 11th birthday, and Strauss said that it had been a bittersweet moment. “Time has passed by so quickly,” he said. “It’s been so incredibly busy for me and the boys – a lot of distraction there which has been great, but there are touch points where it really hits you.”Sunday was an incredible day for him to come and watch the World Cup final and how it unfolded, but the night before and the mornings were moments where it hit you that there were three of us there rather than four. Grief is not something that dies overnight – it hits you forever, but it evolves and changes.”

The captain was disappointed by the lack of application Pakistan showed in the second Test, but insisted 1-1 was a good result

Osman Samiuddin at Headingley03-Jun-20180:46

Sarfraz sees the positives in Pakistan’s defeat

After the discipline of Lord’s, the collective brain-fade at Headingley. If Pakistan were undone by good bowling in the first innings on the first day in Leeds, they were undone by their own urges on the third.At least five of their top eight fell to poor strokeplay, one caught at mid-on, another at mid-off, a third down the leg side, a fourth slogging, yet another playing across the line. It was the result, according to the captain, of a combination of factors.”We lacked discipline in batting in both the innings,” Sarfraz Ahmed said. “I think they also bowled well on the first day, but we had to play well in this innings and unfortunately we didn’t bat well as a unit.”A lead of 180-plus put pressure on us and we committed mistakes. And our batting unit is young so they will learn from the mistakes.”Thus in a rush of poor strokes ended a tour of considerable promise and with some gains for Pakistan. It wasn’t thought implausible before Pakistan arrived here that they might leave without a win.And Sarfraz had insisted all along that this would be a tour where they had everything to learn and nothing to lose. In that sense, the progress made by the likes of Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf will have been especially pleasing.”If you see when we came here people thought that we will not win one game but the way we played at Lord’s everything was perfect, our fast bowling was perfect, our batting and fielding were perfect,” Sarfraz said.”It’s disappointing that we had a chance to win the series but unfortunately we didn’t play well here. I am proud of my young team, the way [Mohammad] Abbas is bowling. Shadab is doing well, Faheem did well so really disappointed that we didn’t win but 1-1 is a good result for us.”The problem, as it has been for several years now is that Pakistan’s Test players – such as Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Abbas – will be out of action until October, when they next play the longest format. There are plenty of white-ball commitments until then but developing a Test side that remains in seventh place in that kind of calendar becomes a challenge.”We played our last Test in October so it’s difficult when you play a Test after five or six months,” he said. “Test cricket is a different format, you have to adjust to five-day cricket.”So it’s tough for the Test players, like Abbas who played his last Test in October. It’s tough but as a professional you have to adjust. We didn’t play well in this Test but in the last two Tests we played well. The more you play Test cricket, you get to mature as Test player. Now we have five Tests in UAE [two against Australia and three against NZ], and then we have three in South Africa and that will help us mature.”

Travis Head, the Australia limited-overs batsman, will return to Headingley this summer as Yorkshire’s overseas player for the NatWest T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2017Travis Head, the Australia limited-overs batsman, will return to Headingley this summer as Yorkshire’s overseas player for the NatWest T20 Blast.Head, 23, played four times for the club in last season’s competition, scoring 113 runs at a strike rate of 134.52 before being called up for Australia’s ODI series in Sri Lanka.He has played 29 matches for Australia in white-ball cricket since January 2016, and has earned a reputation with Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League as one of the most explosive batsmen in T20 cricket.”I am looking forward to returning to Headingley to play for the Yorkshire Vikings in 2017,” said Head. “I really enjoyed my time in Yorkshire last year and I can’t wait to meet up with the lads again.”As an overseas player, I would like to help the team go further than last year and hopefully win the NatWest T20 Blast.”Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, confirmed the signing during the club’s Annual General Meeting at Headingley.”When Travis came over last year, although his stay was relatively brief, he showed his capabilities in that short period. He has gone from strength to strength since then, so it an easy decision to bring him back.”Travis is now an established international cricketer and we are really looking forward to having him on board. Together with Peter Handscomb, I believe that we have two outstanding overseas players.”We have all bases covered now, so it is something to look forward to.”Andrew Gale, the first XI coach, added: “It was a no-brainer to bring Travis back. If we had the opportunity to bring him back, we were always going to. He has gone from strength-to-strength since he left us last summer, getting into the Australia team and being a consistent performer for them.”We have been looking at someone to make a big impact and Travis did that for us last year. He is a fantastic player around the dressing room and a fantastic one on the pitch.”That middle order batting position has been key for us in T20 over the last few years, getting someone who is explosive and can win you a game. Travis did that for us last year and given his availability, we were always going to try and sign him again.”

Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey has revealed in his latest book that he had been asked by the BCCI last year whether he would be interested in coaching India

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Mar-20161:28

Michael Hussey: “VVS accepted that I was not interested because of family reasons. But he would not accept my feeling that I was not up to standard for a job like that.”

Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey has revealed in his latest book that he was asked by former India batsman VVS Laxman if he was interested in coaching India. That approach was made during the last IPL, barely a month before Laxman was inducted by the BCCI into its three-man advisory panel, which was tasked with finding India’s head coach, a position left vacant after the exit of Duncan Fletcher following the 2015 World Cup.Since the departure of Fletcher, former India allrounder Ravi Shastri has played the caretaker role in his position as team director (since August 2014). The terms of Shastri and the rest of his coaching staff comprising the trio of assistant coaches – Sanjay Bangar (batting), Bharat Arun (bowling) and R Sridhar (fielding) – will expire after the World Twenty20.Hussey has been one of the most sought after among recently-retired players, especially in franchise-based T20 cricket. Since his retirement in 2013, Hussey has worked in various consulting roles, such as for South Africa at last year’s World Cup, and he will be assisting Darren Lehmann with Australia at the upcoming World T20.ESPNcricinfo understands Laxman had approached Hussey in person during an IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings last season. Hussey had been bought back by Super Kings in 2015 and Laxman is a mentor with Sunrisers. According to Hussey, Laxman’s approach came barely a week after former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene had asked him to consider taking over as assistant coach of Sri Lanka with the idea of graduating to the head coach position.”The former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene rang me a while ago to ask if I would be interested in being an assistant coach of Sri Lanka with a view to taking over as head coach a few months further down the track,” Hussey wrote in , his third book, which was released recently.”A week later the ex-India batsman VVS Laxman asked me if I would be interested in coaching India. My initial answer to both of them was no because at the time I did not want to be on the road ten months a year; I wanted to be at home with my family and make up for some lost time from the previous few years. But, probably more relative to them, I said to each that I did not think I was ready to become the head coach of an international cricket team.”It is understood that Hussey told Laxman even if he was willing to take up a job, he preferred to start as an assistant coach. According to Hussey, although Laxman acknowledged focussing on the family was a valid excuse, he insisted that the Australian was highly capable of coaching an international team. “VVS accepted that I was not interested because of family reasons. But he would not accept my feeling that I was not up to standard for a job like that. ‘You have played the game very well for a long time, you know what needs to be done, you shouldn’t doubt yourself’, he said.”I replied that coaching individuals within a team is one thing and perhaps I could do that right now. But, I said, these days coaching is not just about coaching players. It’s about dealing with boards, sponsors, business owners, investors, officials, all sorts of people outside the team environment,” Hussey wrote.”It’s a very complex job that requires numerous skills that have little or nothing to do with cricket.”Laxman, Hussey pointed out, again disagreed. “He said that guys with our level of experience had more understanding of the ins and outs of the game than just about anyone. It got me thinking that maybe you do not need to go off and do all sorts of courses and tick all the official boxes,” Hussey wrote. “Maybe just having played for so long ingrains in a long-serving former player the knowledge required to take on all that is necessary to be a good coach.”

Queensland cricket is in mourning over the loss of the state’s long-time chief executive Graham Dixon, who succumbed to brain cancer on Saturday night at the age of 61 after a battle lasting more than a year.

Daniel Brettig29-Jul-2013Queensland cricket is in mourning over the loss of the state’s long-time chief executive Graham Dixon, who succumbed to brain cancer on Saturday night at the age of 61 after a battle lasting more than a year.Highly regarded among players, coaches and administrators for his tireless work and good sense, Dixon had formally stood down as CEO only a month ago. Starting work at the Gabba as the state’s general manager in 1991 then replacing Barry Richards as CEO in 1996, his tenure coincided with Queensland’s rise from years of frustrated ambitions to an era of unrivalled domestic success.The Queensland chairman Jim Holding said Dixon had left a major imprint on the game in the state. “Graham was Queensland Cricket to many people during his time.” Holding said. “He felt a strong sense of duty towards the organisation, which meant he set the tone when it came to imposing high standards and meeting or eclipsing them.”His dedication to developing our headquarters at Allan Border Field will be a lasting legacy while the friendships and networks he forged with current and past players, fellow administrators, employees, delegates, government at all levels and the grassroots will stand QC in good stead for years to come.”His actions endorsed his words too. I don’t know of too many CEOs who would, almost without fail, be up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning to go down to Deagon to help take the covers off the pitches and assist with preparing the grounds for the day’s play. Likewise, he was very modest about his own standing and stature in our game, deflecting praise and actively avoiding the spotlight to allow it to shine on those that had ‘earned’ it, as he would observe.””As a group, we will miss his counsel, his generosity, his willingness to embrace innovation and think laterally. He enjoyed a challenge and his determination to achieve the ‘right’ result will be a loss to the game.”Since claiming their first Sheffield Shield in 1995, Queensland have won no fewer than seven titles, plus five domestic limited overs crowns. And Brisbane Heat won last summer’s second edition of the Twenty20 Big Bash League.That success could not have arrived without Dixon’s assiduous work to establish a strong and stable association, including numerous key appointments such John Buchanan as state coach before the first Shield was won, and in more recent times Darren Lehmann to coach the state, a role that catapulted him towards the national job he now holds.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, also offered a warm tribute. “Graham came to cricket administration at a local level while still in his teens, had a lengthy career as a club player and went on to be a respected state cricket association CEO through an important era for Queensland cricket,” he said. “He was also a thoughtful and respected voice at the national cricket table when CA, state and territory cricket association CEO’s regularly came together.”Graham was strongly pro-Queensland but he also contributed strongly to the national reform debate that has seen Australian cricket increasingly think and act as a national game.”

The Test series between England and South Africa features six of the world’s top 10 Test bowlers and eight of the top 17 Test batsmen

George Dobell at The Oval18-Jul-2012In an age of hyperbole and a time of superlatives, it is gratifying to come across a sporting contest that requires neither sensationalism nor propaganda. The Test series between England and South Africa features six of the world’s top 10 Test bowlers and eight of the top 17 Test batsmen. It will decide which team is ranked No 1 in the world. As Tony Blair so nearly said, now is not the time for soundbites, but the hand of history is upon our shoulders.This is the series that world cricket required. At a time when the lure of the longest format has been compromised and questioned, the global game should rejoice at the sight of two fine sides contesting a meaningful series in front of packed houses. Cricket has many issues, of course, but this encounter should remind us all that, at its best, Test cricket remains as entertaining, as captivating and as rewarding as ever.That it is squeezed in between ODI series and forced to fight for media space alongside the Olympics, The Open golf championship and a multitude of other sporting events tells you much about cricket’s current challenges. This series deserves better. But, in a sport which has grown so used to compromises that it would pawn its soul if only a buyer could be found, it is telling that such a contest has been condensed and pushed to the margins.Plenty of fine teams have toured England over the years. Sometimes, as was the case with West Indies and Australia for many years, they succeeded with dispiriting ease. But, arguably anyway, you have to go back to 2005 to find a time when an England team has taken on such good-quality opposition in such an open series. With skilful bowlers of all types, eye-catching batsmen, at least one great all-rounder and some of the toughest batsmen currently playing the game, spectators will not require cheerleaders, fireworks or music to enhance their enjoyment. This series is about cricket, not marketing.The only problem with such a high-profile clash is that the result may be seen as all important. There is a bigger picture here, though, as the supporters of South Africa and England will understand. South Africa were barred from international competition from 1970 to 1991; England supporters became inured to embarrassment after some grim years in the 1980s and 90s. For both teams, these are golden days that many feared might never have returned. Win lose or draw over the coming few weeks, that is worth remembering.That is not to say that the result does not matter. It matters plenty. While England may have been able to dismiss the reverse in the UAE as an aberration – they will have another opportunity to answer the questions about their ability in Asian conditions soon enough – their long-term hopes of creating a legacy by which other England sides will be judged may be fatally wounded if their proud home record is also tarnished. As things stand, they have won just one of their last three Test series. If that becomes one in four, any claims of supremacy will ring hollow. The rankings state they are No. 1; now is the time to prove their worth.England do not, perhaps, have the flair of their South African rivals. But they make few mistakes. They are professional. They are well drilled, well led and able to prey on any weakness of their opponents. In England, at least, they also have an excellent record. They have won seven successive series and lost only two since 2001; one to India in 2007 and one to South Africa in 2008.Led by the eminently calm and sensible Andrew Strauss, England have done nothing different in recent days. They always want to win. They always prepare professionally.”There will be an extra bit of spice because it’s the two best teams in the world,” Andrew Strauss, England’s captain, said. “But every series I’ve played against South Africa has always been keenly contested and I don’t think this will be any different.”It will be a good gauge for us. The rankings say we are No.1 and we have to go out and prove that now. It is going to be a stern challenge, but we always expect the opposition to be hard to overcome.”We have had our normal preparations. Everything on the surface looks fine. Our preparation has been solid and now it’s a case of moving from preparation mode to game mode.”England’s only selection decision will be the decision over whether to pick Tim Bresnan or Steven Finn. Graham Onions, who has a minor hamstring strain, is most unlikely to be risked and did not train on Wednesday. Whoever they select, Strauss was quick to credit the attack as one of England’s key strengths.”I am very comfortable with our bowling attack,” Strauss said. “It’s a match for any side in the world. They have proved that continuously over the last three or four years.”Their record speaks for itself. We haven’t needed that fifth bowler while taking 20 wickets pretty much continuously over the last 24 months or so. In some ways Ravi Bopara coming into the side gives you opportunity for a fourth seamer although he’s not an out-and-out bowler clearly. But our three seamers and Swanny have always done a good job for us.”England do have two potential weaknesses, though. The first is their catching which, in the slips and gully region, has been distinctly fallible over recent times. In a series which could be decided by small margins, that could prove crucial.The other issue is the on-going distraction caused by the fall-out between Pietersen and the ECB. Omitted from England’s World Twenty20 preliminary squad despite his insistence that he is available for all three formats – albeit it not on a permanent basis – there is legitimate concern that Pietersen’s dissatisfaction could cause discomfort in a dressing room that has been stable and focused for several years.But, while some of his team-mates are biting their tongues hard to avoid losing their tempers with Pietersen’s vacillating moods, Strauss insisted that he had no concerns and said he remained hopeful that a compromise – a controversial word in itself in this situation – could be reached whereby Pietersen’s return to all formats could be brokered.”The conversations that Kevin has been having have been between himself, his representatives and the board,” Strauss said. “The players haven’t been involved, the management haven’t been involved and that’s the way we’d like it to remain. It hasn’t been a distraction for us. It hasn’t entered our thinking and that’s enabled us to concentrate on preparing properly for this game. Kevin is determined to do well in this series. I haven’t seen any signs in his preparations to suggest he is anyway distracted.”

Harbhajan Singh has said it is “important to understand your body and manage it accordingly” in order to survive the rigours of the bloated schedule India’s cricketers are being subjected to

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2011Harbhajan Singh has said it is “important to understand your body and manage it accordingly” in order to survive the rigours of the bloated schedule India’s cricketers are being subjected to.”A lot of hard work has been put in outside the field, and I am glad that it is paying off when the country needs me the most,” Harbhajan told the ahead of the West Indies tour, where he will be vice-captain of the one-day side in the absence of all the other senior players who are either resting or recovering from injuries. “You need to build your stamina to remain fit and be raring to go, and that happens only with proper planning. During non-match days I make sure that I sleep well – it is the most important nourishment to your body. I don’t try and push my body too much. The key is to just keep things simple.”For the one-day leg, Harbhajan will be the deputy to Suresh Raina who appeared on the scene much after Harbhajan established his place in the Indian side. Harbhajan said that he was not too bothered about not being named the captain of the depleted outfit. “Not everybody gets to be [king], some have to be [minister],” he said. “It’s a great honour to play for India. Of course, the dream to captain the side is alive, and I hope that it happens someday. But until then, I just want to do the best I can for the team. It is an honour to just be a part of this side.”It [my role as vice-captain] is simple, I have to make sure the dressing room environment remains fresh and energetic. The main thing is to make the youngsters feel very comfortable in the dressing room. There should be positive vibes all around, and the most important thing is to try and maintain our winning momentum from the World Cup.”Harbhajan had a reasonably successful IPL, finishing with 14 dismissals in 15 games at an economy-rate of 6.98. He believed switching from the Twenty20 format to one-dayers at short notice would not be a problem for him. “They are diametrically opposite versions, but being a professional, I’m ready for it. In Twenty20s, every second guy can roll his arm over – you don’t need skill or great variation. However, in the 50-over format, a spinner can really achieve something substantial. The switch is quite drastic.”The IPL was alright, it still is quite an unpredictable format for everyone concerned, but especially the bowlers. As a spinner, all I can do is to pray that the four overs go well. If I get lucky, then I end up with a couple of wickets, otherwise the only constant is to get hit for runs all over the park. You can’t really judge a player based on his Twenty20 performances.”Harbhajan will share the spin burden with R Ashwin and Amit Mishra in the West Indies one-dayers, both of whom courted more success than him in the IPL. Harbhajan said there were plenty of options in the team and did not want to comment on the combination. He hoped that the youngsters would make use of the chance to shine in the absence of the regulars.”It is a relatively young side, and this tour should be looked at as an opportunity for them to grab,” Harbhajan said. “They have earned their team call-ups the hard way, and after knocking on the door for so long, they have an entire series to really stake their claim. Nevertheless, it will be a challenge.”

Ben Wright recorded a career-best 172 and James Allenby scored his first century for Glamorgan as the Welsh county put themselves in a strong position

19-May-2010
Scorecard
Ben Wright recorded a career-best 172 and James Allenby scored his first century for Glamorgan as the Welsh county put themselves in a strong position against Gloucestershire going into the final day at Cardiff. Responding to the visitors’ 417 all out Glamorgan amassed 583 for 9 before declaring – giving them a first-innings lead of 166.And Gloucestershire then finished day three on 12 for 1 with Dean Cosker
getting a vital breakthrough bowling Chris Dent with the final ball of the
evening session.Glamorgan were indebted to Wright, who scored the second century of his career. He dominated the fourth-wicket partnership of 157 with Michael Powell, who was only able to contribute 37. After Wright went, Jim Allenby and veteran Robert Croft shared a record seventh-wicket stand for Glamorgan against Gloucestershire of 153 in 39 overs.After a 30-minute delay to the third day because of rain Wright built on his fine overnight platform of 77 not out, reaching his second century in 140 balls with 14 fours and a six before overtaking his career-best 108 against Leicestershire in 2007. That was after Glamorgan had resumed the day on 257 for 3 – 160 behind Gloucestershire.But he was not content with just a century as he hit Vikram Banerjee and Gemaal Hussain for sixes into the grandstand racing to 150 with the final ball before lunch – his third 50 coming up in only 49 balls.The Gloucestershire bowlers did not have much to smile about until James
Franklin bowled Powell with a ball which kept a little low, and Wright was in sight of becoming Glamorgan’s first double-centurion since July 2006 when he edged a lifter from Jon Lewis. His impressive innings came to an end having faced 219 balls with 23 fours and three sixes.After Mark Wallace went for a duck caught at third slip off Anthony Ireland it was left to Allenby and Croft to take Glamorgan to maximum batting points and then take them past Gloucestershire. Croft produced a wonderful cover drive to take Glamorgan into the lead before Allenby secured his sixth 50 in six championship games this season. He reached the landmark from 78 balls, and his fifty included six boundaries.After going to tea at 478 for six, a lead of 61, Croft went to a 104-ball half-century, and after he was out, Allenby reached his first Glamorgan century from 157 balls with eight fours and a six. Allenby faced another 10 balls before he holed out to deep backward square off Ireland, who was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 114, in the pursuit of quick runs.

Visiting attack run riot on green Oval surface to set up victory with 34.1 overs unused

ECB Reporters Network28-Jul-2024Glamorgan thumped Surrey by seven wickets in their Metro Bank One-Day Cup group B match at the Kia Oval after bowling them out for 121 in 34 overs.It then took the Welsh county only 15.5 overs to knock off the runs, with Colin Ingram launching one magnificent six over long-off from down the pitch against fast bowler James Taylor as he ended up on 39 not out from 26 balls in their 123 for 3.Opener Eddie Byrom, who took a six and a four from Matt Dunn’s first over, also made a quickfire 28 before being caught at midwicket off Conor McKerr.Only Ben Foakes, with 44, and tailender McKerr (25) made significant scores for Surrey, who have now lost both of their first two One-Day Cup games. Glamorgan, by contrast, have begun the competition with two wins.Surrey, put in on a well-grassed surface, were soon 11 for 3 as Glamorgan’s new ball bowlers, Jamie McIlroy and Timm van der Gugten, found significant help from the pitch.Ryan Patel managed one scoring shot, an inside edge for four off McIlroy, before hitting van der Gugten to Kiran Carlson in the covers.Ben Geddes fell first ball, cutting McIlroy to point, and Dom Sibley had made just 6 when McIlroy nipped one away off the seam to have the former England Test opener caught at slip.