Michael Carberry doubts that his Test career will extend beyond the single cap he earned with England in Bangladesh in March but his current form may persuade the selectors to prove his pessimism to be misplaced

Jon Culley09-Aug-2010

ScorecardMichael Carberry is not pinning his hopes on an England re-call despite his good form this season•Getty Images

Michael Carberry doubts that his Test career will extend beyond the single cap he earned with England in Bangladesh in March but his current form may persuade the selectors to prove his pessimism to be misplaced. Hampshire’s 29-year-old opening batsman made a hundred in each innings against Durham at Basingstoke last week but played down his prospects of a recall by declaring: “That ship’s sailed.”Elaborating, he continued: “I’m not ruling it out altogether but the way things have panned out, I don’t think I’ll be in an England shirt for the time being. Opportunities might come round again but I’m relying on injuries.”Carberry was overlooked when Eoin Morgan was chosen for the opening Test of the summer against Bangladesh in May and it was that snub that persuaded the left-hander to take the gloomy view that he must be too far down the pecking order to make a recall likely in the immediate future.Yet he was one of the players England selector James Whitaker wanted to monitor on day one here and, while he fell short of adding a sixth century of the season to his recent record, Carberry continued to provide food for thought after another failure for Alastair Cook at Edgbaston.He was foxed in the end by Somerset’s in-form Murali Kartik, whose arm ball he nicked into the gloves of Craig Kieswetter after playing back in anticipation of turn, but had made 71 to help Hampshire battle to 130-2 after being put in on a green pitch.His 68-run partnership with Michael Lumb for the second wicket followed a 62-run alliance with Jimmy Adams for the first, although his co-opener had led something of a charmed life, surviving a chance to second slip off Charl Willoughby only four balls into the day and another at square leg on five two overs later, when Jos Buttler made a rare drop.Buttler had to pull on the wicketkeeper’s gloves for half an hour when Craig Kieswetter went off for treatment on a hamstring problem but England’s Twenty20 wicketkeeper was deemed fit enough to continue and held a catch off Peter Trego as Adams ran out of luck soon after resuming.Lumb looked rather more secure in reaching 42 but then gave a return catch to the impressive Kartik off a leading edge, sparking a mini-collapse for Hampshire from 180 for 2 to 186 for 5.Kartik had 19-year-old Vince groping about in the crease as three deliveries in a row beat the bat before striking with another that went straight on – a beautiful piece of bowling that illustrated that the youngster still has much to learn, for all the fanfares that have accompanied his recent progress.Alfonso Thomas was then rewarded for some penetrative but until then luckless pace bowling when Neil McKenzie was given out lbw despite being well forward, leaving Sean Ervine and Dan Christian to set about rebuilding before heavy rain forced an early finish at a cost of 18 overs.These sides may meet again in the Twenty20 Cup final on Saturday but Kevin Pietersen will almost certainly not feature, despite being made available by England coach Andy Flower.The England batsman regained some form with his 80 in the second Test at Edgbaston but Giles White, the Hampshire coach, confirmed that Pietersen, who has already announced that he will leave the county at the end of the season because he wants to be closer to his home in Chelsea, is unlikely to be picked.Hampshire passed up on picking Pietersen when England released him for a Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Kent last month, explaining that they would rather work on the development of other players with international prospects, such as Lumb, Carberry, Adams and Vince.”I suspect there will be no change in our policy,” White said.Somerset, who have won four of their last six First Division matches to raise their hopes of landing the title for the first time in their history, will overtake Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire at the top of the table with a win in this match.

Mohammad Irfan has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Kolkata Knight Riders, who are awaiting the governing council’s new regulations for international player contracts

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2010Mohammad Irfan, the Pakistan fast bowler, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, who are awaiting the governing council’s new regulations for international player contracts. By applying for an no-objection certificate (NOC) from the PCB, Irfan will only strengthen his case should new regulations – and the political climate – allow Pakistan players to participate in the IPL. Irfan’s MOU also contains a clause under which he stands to get $10,000 from Kolkata as compensation, should the stalemate around Pakistan’s involvement in the IPL continue. His proposed contract with the franchise is worth $75,000.”All the formalities of the deal with Kolkata Knight Riders have been finalised, but now I require a NOC from the [Pakistan] board to finalise the deal,” Irfan told . Irfan is currently in England as part of Pakistan’s one-day squad for the five-match ODI series.Irfan impressed Kolkata with his performances on their development tour of Sri Lanka and had been recommended to the franchise by Wasim Akram, Kolkata’s bowling consultant. Nearly seven foot tall, Irfan, who is among the tallest cricketers in the world, said he was looking forward to playing for Kolkata. “I’m very happy to have such a huge opportunity, and playing in the IPL is without doubt a great opportunity to do something big on the international stage.”No Pakistan player was part of the IPL auction in 2009 but it was their absence from the 2010 auction that was more contentious and troubled. The players were cleared to be part of the auction pool but none of the franchises bid for any of them, ostensibly concerned about player availability because of strained ties between the governments of India and Pakistan.”I don’t know about the past,” Irfan said, “but I am following a proper procedure to secure the deal.”

Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner, has insisted that the growing quarrel over match-fixing allegations would not affect relations between Britain and Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2010Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner, has insisted that the growing quarrel over match-fixing allegations will not affect relations between Britain and Pakistan and deflected criticism of recent allegations made against England by Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, calling Butt’s comments “a very innocent argument”.The ECB has announced that it will be taking legal action against Butt after describing his allegations that England’s players accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval as “wholly irresponsible and completely without foundation”.Pakistan’s tour will be completed with a series decider at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, but the tension between the two camps has been palpable and spilled over into a physical confrontation between Jonathan Trott and Wahab Riaz in the nets before the fourth match at Lord’s on Monday.Hasan, however, sought to downplay Butt’s comments. “Mr Butt made a very innocent argument,” Hasan told BBC Radio 4’s programme. “He said it’s very strange that, when Pakistan loses a match, people describe it as spot-fixing or fixing of the match. When Pakistan win the match, the same allegations are levelled against it.”He insisted that the escalating row would not have a wider political impact in relations between Pakistan and England. “Will this row sour our relationship? My answer is certainly no. This is a separate matter. Our relationship with the UK was not made overnight. It has its roots in the past. It is on solid ground.”Hasan also defended Pakistan’s cricketers, adding: “I can tell you our boys are innocent. I still maintain [that] until proven guilty, they are innocent.”Hugh Robertson, the UK’s sports minister, told that calls for Pakistan to be thrown out of world cricket would have a negative political impact, saying: “In terms of the wider British-Pakistan relationship, if we were seen to be playing a part in throwing them out of world cricket, that would have a very severe impact across the piece.”

Sri Lanka’s build-up to next year’s World Cup continues when they leave for Australia on Sunday to play a three-ODI series

Sa'adi Thawfeeq16-Oct-2010Sri Lanka’s build-up to next year’s World Cup continues when they leave for Australia on Sunday to play a three-ODI series. One of the biggest challenges ahead of Kumar Sangakkara and his team is winning next year’s marquee tournament, and thereby emulate the achievement of Arjuna Ranatunga’s side which won the World Cup in 1996, the last time it was held in the subcontinent.”When you play sides as good as Australia, if there are any small weakness they are highlighted. It will be interesting to see how far we’ve come over the last one-and-a-half years,” Sangakkara said. “Every tour has brought improvement. What those improvement areas are, sometimes you identify at practice but sometimes they are more obvious in games.”The Australian tour and the home series against the West Indies starting next month gives Sri Lanka their only opportunities to work on the grey areas and finalise the batting slots and the bowling combinations ahead of picking the final squad for the World Cup.The return of legendary offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan is a tremendous boost to the team, according to Sangakkara. “There is no substitute for Murali. We saw what he did in the last Test that he played against India, the amount of fire and enthusiasm he has, the challenge he took to take eight wickets. That kind of attitude in a side does wonders. He is the best team man that I have played with. He has no ego, he is always team first and him second.”To have that kind of person in the side helps us to bond together, helps everyone communicate better and also lifts us as a team. To make any impact in the World Cup or any tournament for that matter that kind of energy, enthusiasm, never-say-die attitude is vital.”The injury to key allrounder Angelo Mathews, who is recovering from a knee strain, has altered the team combination for the Australian series. “We have to wait and see how we can play our combinations because if Angelo Mathews cannot bowl on this tour he can still hold his own easily as a batsman,” Sangakkara said. “It also means that we’ll have to play our old combination of three specialist fast bowlers and one spinner.”Sangakkara himself was fighting to be fit for the tour after tweaking his left hamstring at practice two weeks before the team’s departure. “I am almost back to full fitness after a couple of days running at full pace,” he said. “It looks very good at the moment I just need to make sure that I keep working hard at my rehab and getting my muscles stronger because hamstring injuries can recur.”It was on the same left leg (but a different side) that Sangakkara suffered a hamstring injury when Sri Lanka last toured Australia in 2007.

The ICC has set up a three-man tribunal to look into the spot-fixing allegations against three Pakistani players

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010The ICC has set up a three-man tribunal to look into the spot-fixing allegations against three Pakistani players. The hearing will be held between January 6 and 11 in Doha, Qatar.The panel that will look into charges against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir is made up of Michael Beloff QC, Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa and Sharad Rao of Kenya.The three players were provisionally suspended by the ICC in September for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy during the Lord’s Test. In a sting, Mazhar Majeed, a player agent, claimed to have paid Amir and Asif to bowl no-balls to order with the collaboration of Butt. The players lodged appeals against their suspensions, though Asif eventually withdrew his, and they were heard in Dubai in October. Michael Beloff, the ICC code of conduct commissioner who chaired the hearing, rejected their appeals, following which the PCB proceeded to revoke their central contracts.The hearing of the appeals was only meant to establish whether or not the ICC followed the correct procedures in provisionally suspending the players, and not their innocence or guilt. The trio face the possibility of criminal charges in the UK, and evidence gathered by Scotland Yard has been passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service.Apart from Beloff, the two other members of the tribunal have shared a long association with the ICC. Sachs, who was a senior judge on the constitutional court of South Africa, is Cricket South Africa’s representative on the ICC’s Code of Conduct Commission. Rao is Kenya’s representative on the same commission with wide experience in international legal and sports panels, including the Commonwealth Games Federation. He has also served as a panelist on the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the Olympics.

Corrie van Zyl does not think experience in Twenty20 events like the IPL or the Champions League will help Indian players handle the conditions in South Africa during their three-Test series which starts on Thursday

Firdose Moonda13-Dec-2010Corrie van Zyl, the South Africa coach, has said experience in Twenty20 events like the IPL and the Champions League is unlikely to help India’s batsmen handle South African conditions during their three-Test series which starts on Thursday in Centurion.”When you play here as an IPL team or in the Champions League, you play on wickets that are a lot slower and flatter,” van Zyl said at a press conference in Johannesburg. “They might feel a lot more comfortable touring because of those experiences, but in terms of the conditions such as the pace and the bounce, I don’t think they would have an advantage. It’s not easy to get used to South African conditions if you haven’t been playing in them for a while.”The Twenty20 tournaments – IPL 2009 and Champions League 2010 – were held in April-May and September respectively, times when South African pitches are traditionally known to be slower. It’s only when summer fully strikes, from November to February, that pace and bounce becomes a factor and for that reason, van Zyl thinks the Indians will have a lot of adapting to do.The South Africa media has been making threatening noises about the hosts’ desire to exploit their home advantage and van Zyl confirmed that view. “We are hopefully going to play on wickets that will benefit our style of play. There’s been a lot of talk about pace and bounce and yes, that’s what we would like to see from our South African wickets.” With a pace attack that’s spearheaded by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, and an Indian line-up that’s become known for its vulnerability to the short ball, it’s clear what South Africa’s strategy will be.The home seamers, however, are not the only ones looking forward to responsive pitches. Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth spend most of their time toiling in the subcontinent and will relish the chance to enjoy some assistance from the conditions. van Zyl believes the team that makes better use of the conditions will finish on top. “It’s one thing to play in those conditions and another thing to execute. If we think that the Indians don’t have bowlers that can bowl well on bouncy wickets then we are mistaken. It’s about who handles the bounce and the pace the best.”South Africa are certain to include a fourth seamer in the starting XI, but van Zyl was “not comfortable” discussing whether that bowler will be Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Ryan McLaren or Wayne Parnell. Tsotsobe is the incumbent, having played in the West Indies in June, which was the the last time South Africa used four seamers – Steyn, Morkel and Jacques Kallis being the others. Tsotsobe was the leading bowler during the one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE and indications are that he will get the nod.”Tsotsobe has grown tremendously as a bowler and a lot of that has to do with the fact that he has improved tremendously in terms of confidence,” van Zyl said. “I don’t think he is the bowler he used to be, purely from a confidence point of view. He has worked hard on his strength and conditioning and I think he has really come along recently.”Tsotsobe has only played one first-class game this season for his franchise, the Warriors, in which he took just one wicket. He is not the only South Africa player who may lack adequate practice, as wet weather continues to play havoc with the team’s preparations. The squad assembled in Johannesburg on Sunday, and their first practice session on Monday was delayed by two hours. They had just managed to get onto the field at the Wanderers when rain interrupted again. van Zyl has “an eye on the weather, and the other eye on what we can do if it does rain for the whole week.” Indoor nets are available if need be, but ideally, van Zyl will want his batsmen to practise outdoors.Alviro Petersen, AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel, Ryan McLaren and Paul Harris had match time thanks to the MTN40. Players who were not involved in the domestic tournament have found other avenues to train, and some, like Tsotsobe, travelled to Cape Town where they were under assistant-coach Vincent Barnes’ watch. Graeme Smith’s fitness, however, remains a concern. He was cleared to play after fracturing the ring finger on his left hand against Pakistan, but is yet to face hard balls.While India have never won a Test series in South Africa, and have only won one out of 12 Tests since 1992, they’ve got progressively got better at competing overseas. The current world leaders in Test cricket are also visiting South Africa for the first time under Gary Kirsten. That factor alone has increased tension ahead of the series.”He’s not playing, is he,” van Zyl joked about Kirsten’s involvement. Even though South Africa won’t have to contend with Kirsten on the field, van Zyl is aware of the other challenges MS Dhoni’s side will pose. “It’s an excellent Indian team. If you are talking about a good team then you can’t single out individuals, they are not No. 1 because of an individual, they are No. 1 because they are a very good unit and I think if we look at one or two individuals then we are going to miss the boat.”Many feel that if India fail to beat South Africa, the credibility of their ranking will be in doubt. van Zyl said he was not going to bother about the ratings until the series was over. “It’s not really for me to say if the ranking would be right or wrong,” he said. “I would just like to see us beat them in this Test series, then we can see about that.”

Romel Currency, the right-handed batsman, has been named captain of the Combined Campuses & Colleges for the upcoming Caribbean T20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2010Romel Currency, the right-handed batsman, has been named captain of the Combined Campuses & Colleges for the upcoming Caribbean T20 tournament.The team includes several players who represented CCC at the 50-over tournament in Jamaica in October but there are two newcomers in batsman Kyle Hope and legspinning allrounder Nkrumah Bonner.Hope made his first-class debut for Barbados in the WICB four-day tournament earlier this year but has been overlooked ever since. Bonner, the West Indies Under-19 allrounder, represented Jamaica earlier this year in the four-day championship and also played for Sagicor High Performance Centre in the One-Day Tournament.The CCC selectors have omitted former captain Omar Phillips, who is listed among the reserves, as well as fellow top-order batsman Nikoli Parris.The second edition of the Caribbean T20 will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua and Kensington Oval in Barbados from Monday, January 10 to Sunday, January 23. The students have been drawn in Group A alongside Jamaica, Guyana, Windward Islands and English County side Somerset. They will play the tournament-opener on January 10 against the Windwards at 4pm (local time).Combined Campuses & Colleges: Romel Currency (captain), Floyd Reifer (player/coach), Miles Bascombe, Martin Nurse, William Perkins, Kyle Hope, Ryan Wiggins, Chadwick Walton, Nkrumah Bonner, Kavesh Kantasingh, Ryan Austin, Gilford Moore, Kevin McClean, Boris Hutchinson. Reserves: Omar Phillips, Marlon Richards, Nikolai Charles, Kyle Corbin.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith says he has always dreamed of having an attacking spinner like Imran Tahir in his side

Firdose Moonda in Durban11-Jan-2011Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, says having an attacking spinner like Imran Tahir in his side is “something that I have dreamt of throughout my captaincy.” Tahir, who was born in Pakistan, was named in the South Africa one-day squad for the five-match series against India days after receiving citizenship and has since also been picked in the 30-man preliminary World Cup squad.Smith said he is looking forward to helping the 31-year-old legspinner, Tahir, feel at home in the national set up. “It’s about getting to know him a little bit as a person; spending some time with him is going to be crucial.” Smith said. Tahir’s rise in status, from domestic player with promise to international player on the verge of greatness, has come at lightning speed and the anticipation surrounding his debut is at fever pitch.Smith tried to downplay the pressure factor, saying the most important thing was to manage Tahir properly. “I just want to let him find his feet and grow in the environment.” The hype surrounding Tahir may end in anticlimax instead of crescendo when the first ODI in Durban starts on Wednesday because inside sources say it is “unlikely” he will play.While the spotlight has been firmly fixed on Tahir, there are still 13 other squad members to think about and with this being the last ODI series before the World Cup in February, Smith has a lot on his mind. He is aware conditions in South Africa are totally dissimilar to the conditions in the subcontinent, where the World Cup will be played. “It’s going to be very difficult to produce Nagpur out at the Wanderers.” Still, Smith realised the series was important in terms of getting mentally ready for the World Cup. “Our mindset is very crucial here. We want to play really good cricket and get the confidence up and players need to get good performances under their belt.”South Africa still have a few questions to answer before they pick their World Cup squad and Smith is hoping this series will provide some of those solutions. Being without Jacques Kallis for all five matches allows an opportunity for someone else to establish themselves in the allrounder’s role and Smith hopes it will be Wayne Parnell. “Wayne Parnell heads the pack in terms of developing his batting and his bowling and we are trying to get him to a point where he could play that number eight role, performing with both bat and ball.” Parnell is widely known as an aggressive left-arm seamer but he has shown confidence with the bat and played as an allrounder at national Under-19 level.Parnell is part of a group of youngsters that are starting to form the new core of the South African one-day team. Colin Ingram, David Miller and Faf du Plessis are some of the others and Smith wants to make sure that he, personally, plays a role in mentoring the future stars of South African cricket. “They are young guys trying to stake claims [for a place]. It’s my job to be sort of the more mature figure around the group at the moment and give them the guidance that will allow them to play their natural games.”Smith made clear how much he will rely on vice-captain Johan Botha to assist him in this task. Botha’s worth as a cricketer, which is often questioned by critics, was given a sure-fire validation when he was picked up for $950,000 by the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL auction. Smith referred to Botha as one of the premier allrounders in the side and as someone who directs the game for South Africa. “Johan has been excellent; he really controls the game for us.” Botha is being tipped to take over the one-day captaincy when Smith relinquishes his post after the World Cup.Smith had previously said how much he would treasure winning an ICC trophy before stepping down and the World Cup will be his last opportunity to do so. Smith said the team is doing everything they can to ready themselves for February’s tournament. “Everybody is just trying to develop their games in different aspects, trying to bring new shots into their game and trying to move forward with the times. We have been working on certain things for a while now.”

Worcestershire have signed Victorian allrounder Damien Wright for the early part of the 2011 season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2011Worcestershire have signed Victorian allrounder Damien Wright for the early part of the 2011 season. Wright will arrive in time for the first home Championship match against Yorkshire on 8th April.Wright is currently in the middle of the Australian season and has taken 19 wickets at 24.10 in the Sheffield Shield. His exploits with that bat have been less impressive, with 59 runs at 11.80.Wright played for Somerset in the early part of last season and joins a Worcestershire side that was promoted from Division Two after a successful season in 2010.Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, thinks Wright’s bowling will be well suited to the challenges of moving up a level. “Damien is an ideal bowler for early season conditions in England and his experience and quality will be a huge bonus in getting a good start to what will be a very challenging year in Division One,” said Rhodes.”His hard working no nonsense style of cricket will be terrific for our dressing room and to gain his signature in front of other county interest is a boost for our players, staff and supporters.”Wright is similarly excited about his move and feels he has something to offer both on and off the field at New Road. “I can’t wait to arrive at Worcester in April,” he said.”I have loved every minute of my previous experiences in county cricket and the opportunity to play at New Road is an exciting one. Worcestershire have a group of talented young bowlers that I look forward to playing alongside and also working with off the field as well.”

A round-up of the second day of the third round of the Regional Four Day Competition

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2011Windward Islands are on the verge of an easy win against Guyana in St Vincent. After bowling out Guyana for 142 on the opening day, Windwards’ top and middle orders chipped in to steer them to 223 on the second. Andre Fletcher made 43 and Keddy Lesporis contributed 46. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo picked up five wickets, giving his team a chance of a fightback despite conceding an 81-run lead. But Guyana capitulated in their reply. Seamer Mervin Matthew picked up four wickets, blowing away the top order, and leaving his opponents reeling at 98 for 9 at stumps. Bishoo resisted with 23 down the order, but there is little hope left for Guyana with just one wicket remaining and them just 12 runs ahead.Barbados fought back on the second day against Jamaica at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Seamer Jason Holder finished with a five-for and shared eight wickets with Fidel Edwards as the pair ran through the remainder of the Jamaica line-up after they had posted 316 for 5 on the opening day. The last five wickets fell for just eight runs, the first among them being overnight batsman David Bernard, who made 84. In response, the Barbados batsmen impressed with opener Kraigg Brathwaite making 76, backed up by a half-century from captain Ryan Hinds. At stumps, Barbados were 220 for 4, still 96 runs behind.Combined Campuses and Colleges took control over their contest against Leeward Islands in Antigua. In a collective bowling effort, where each of the six bowlers used picked up at least a wicket, CCC were able to bowl out Leewards for 186. The Leewards top and middle-order batsmen got starts but were unable to push on. Tonito Willet was the only one who managed to reach a half-century and he was helped by Lionel Baker at No.10, who made 37 to rescue his team from 125 for 8. But Leewards still conceded a lead of 100 which was extended to 147 by stumps with CCC still having nine wickets remaining.Trinidad and Tobago held the edge against England Lions at the Queen’s Park Oval. T&T needed just one wicket on the second day to end the England Lions innings and that didn’t take too long to come as the visitors were bowled out for 325. T&T replied strongly with openers Lendl Simmons and Justin Guillen chipping in with 30s, and the experienced hands Runako Morton and Darren Ganga adding an unbeaten 49 for the third wicket to take their team to 173 for 2, still 152 adrift.