Grant Flower has agreed to join Essex from next season. Flower, 33, has agreed a two-year deal, and will play as a non-overseas player under the “Kolpak” ruling.Flower played 67 Tests and 219 one-dayers for Zimbabwe, and fared better in the one-day format, averaging a little over 33 with the bat, and taking 104 wickets with his flattish left-arm spin. He announced his retirement from international cricket last week after playing a leading role in the recent disputes between the so-called rebel players and the Zimbabwean board.He will join his elder brother Andy, who retired from the international game after the 2003 World Cup, and who has been with Essex for three years. It will be Grant’s second spell in county cricket, after a brief flirtation with Leicestershire in 2002.Flower’s arrival at Essex will mean that they will have three Zimbabwean-born players in the squad, providing Scott Brant, their overseas fast bowler, returns next season. Flower, like his brother, will qualify as a local player because Zimbabwe has a trade agreement with the European Union. The loophole arose when Maros Kolpak, a Slovakian handball player, went to the European Court in a bid to play in Germany without being classed as a foreigner because he came from a non-European Union country. His victory meant that workers from around 100 countries who have trade agreements with the EU are now protected by European employment laws.”Grant is a very talented cricketer who will bring an added dimension to our upper order,” said David East, Essex’s chief executive. “He is a brilliant fielder and provides us with another spin-bowling option in all forms of cricket. We very much look forward to him joining us in 2005.”
On Saturday a new generation of cricket fans will assemble en masse at Trent Bridge, the venue for the first-ever Twenty20 Cup final. At the competition’s launch back in May, in the trendy Kensington Roof Gardens complete with pop bands and fancy dress, the general consensus was “ok, it’s a gimmick, but let’s see what happens.” A gimmick it remains, but it has turned out to be a successful one.
Ian Harvey: the only Twenty20 centurion and top of the batting averages
The ECB have gone to great pains to tell us how the crowds have been on the up, which was their preliminary aim. And with a sell-out crowd for the finals day, audiences are set to touch 255,000 for the whole competition, thrashing the 2002 Benson and Hedges Cup in terms of bums on seats, as well as breasts in jacuzzis.The day kicks off at 10.45am with the first and less glamorous semi-final, between Leicestershire and Warwickshire. Leicestershire won the North group with five wins out of five – even though Dominic Cork did his best to dispute that – while Warwickshire made it as the best runner-up. They lost only one game, against the other semi-finalists Gloucestershire, and were blasted there mainly off the back of Nick Knight’s bat. Knight smashed 235 runs in the group stages and he will need to continue to shine brightly against the wily Leicestershire Foxes’ attack, who have used the spinners as the secret of their success.Indeed, Virender Sehwag surprisingly heads the Leicestershire bowling averages, and he and Jeremy Snape will play a big part in slowing things down. Warwickshire too have relied on their slow bowlers, and Neil Smith and Collins Obuya will have to work out a way of keeping Brad Hodge quiet – he averages 47.00 with a top score of 97.The second semi starts at 2.45pm, but promises to be worth the wait. Surrey take on Gloucestershire, undoubtedly the two best one-day teams in the country, and this tie is worthy of a final itself. Both breezed through the group stages unscathed, and both have dangermen worth watching. For Gloucestershire, Ian Harvey took to Twenty20 like a bat to ball. He became the first – and only – player to score a century with a blistering 50-ball 100 against Warwickshire. He averaged 80.33, by far the highest, and along with his fellow Antipodean, Craig Spearman, (averaging 44.75) they have the most explosive top order of the four teams.For Surrey, Azhar Mahmood stands out above all their international superstars. Mahmood only played in three group matches due to Pakistan’s involvement in the NatWest Challenge, but he certainly made his mark with both bat and ball. He averaged over 50 runs, took eight wickets under ten apiece and is a proven matchwinner. Adam Hollioake, Surrey’s captain, is also tailor-made for the game with his buccaneering batting, and he heads the competition’s wicket-takers with 13.The winner of the second semi will be favourites for the final, which starts under the lights at 7.15pm. The finale will complete a long day, but if it’s anything like the group stages, then it should be an exciting one. And bearing in mind Atomic Kitten will be strutting their stuff in the interval, there will be enough to keep everyone interested.
Bangladesh is fighting to avoid an innings defeat as they were all out for 251 in their first innings and forced to bat again. To avoid the follow on the hosts needed 343 runs, but a horrendous come-and-go of the local batsmen led the squad to end up with 92 runs short of their target. The only consolation was the swashbuckling hundred that came from Habibul Bashar’s bat, who batted exceptionally well all through and arranged his innings with 15 sparkling boundaries.With the overnight 57 for 1, Bangladesh lost Al-Sahariar in the first hour today, when the opener failed to fend off an Olonga delivery that trapped him lbw. He got three lucky survive throughout his 29.The next partnership was looking auspicious as Aminul Islam was batting sensibly, though Bashar was scoring most of the runs. Aminul gave a return catch to Marillier at 21 and the leggie took it comfortably. The people of Chittagong were much disappointed to see their local hero Akram Khan back soon after Aminul’s exit. Again it was Marillier to remove him for a scanty 6 besides his name.Bashar was retaining the strike as much as possible and batted fearlessly. He deserved a century long before, at least in one of the five half centuries he made; but fate remained stern on him on every occasion. This ground was the opportunity to score big runs and he knew it.He hit four boundaries after he reached eighty and reached his hundred (108) by flicking Olonga to third man. Bashar lost his concentration a bit and Grant Flower took this advantage to beat him lastly by a delivery that turned sharply, slopped through his bat and clipped his bails off.After Bashar, Mohammed Ashraful put some resistance to score a patient 33. The kid overcame the initial nervousness and batted prudently. He played 140 balls while his teammates were dropping quickly. Skipper Naimur Rahman could not take control of his run drought once again scoring 5 runs only.Bangladesh were packed up for 251 with more than two days ahead. Left arm off spinner Grant Flower bagged four wickets.The remaining session allowed 10 overs of play and the hosts were 15 for no loss at the close of the day.
Sunday, October 18, 2015 Start time 1330 local (0800GMT)3:44
Agarkar: Kohli and Raina’s form a big concern for India
Big Picture
Now we have a series. Although India have competed, it has taken them four matches to actually win one and to remind South Africa this tour has only just begun, and that there is still a long way to go. The one-way traffic has stopped and hopefully, the ping-pong has begun.Although MS Dhoni was around even before the second ODI, he was mostly being criticised for his bowling plans and his contributions with the bat were minimal. But a game-changing 92 later, India’s leader seems to be back, and it seems only natural that his men will follow.South Africa would have been anticipating this. They knew the bubble would burst, that both India and Dhoni would be back. But how they respond will be crucial. AB de Villiers has already instructed the batsmen to take responsibility for their defeat in the second ODI, which suggests South Africa are more inclined to do some self-examination than scruitinise the other side too much. They should not navel-gaze too much, but just enough to know that what let them down in Indore was the same thing that has often let them down before – a soft middle order.India will also want some improvement from the batsmen, especially for the likes of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina to build on what have been fairly consistent, solid starts. The hosts’ end game though, will be to take the lead for the first time on this tour.
Form guide
(last five completed games most recent first)IndiaWLWWW South Africa LWWLW
In the spotlight
Harbhajan Singh would not have played in this series if not for the injury to R Ashwin, but now he has his chance to re-establish himself in the ODI set-up. He made a good start by taking two important wickets in Indore and bowling spells filled with flight to eat into South Africa’s subconscious. Harbhajan mainly played during a time when South African batsmen struggled against spin, and he will be looking to prey on even the slightest weakness from the opposition.It has not gone unnoticed to the Indian media that Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are being outbowled by Kagiso Rabada. One reporter even asked bowling coach Charl Langeveldt whether he was concerned about his premier pacemen. However, while Rabada may be stealing the headlines, Steyn has been the one setting the tone and Morkel, who is with Shaun Pollock to lengthen his run-up and chance his shoulder positioning, has been making life awkward for the India batsmen. It is unlikely to bee too long before either seamer reclaims the mantle Rabada has poached.
Team news
The three changes India made ahead of the second game worked well for them, and they may consider keeping the same winning XI. That would mean no room for Amit Mishra, who may consider himself unlucky to miss out, and another chance for the misfiring Shikhar Dhawan. An alternative would be to promote Rahane to the opening berth and create room for another player lower down, but that may be more tinkering than India think is worth the trouble for now.India: (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ajinkya Rahane 4 Virat Kohli, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Umesh YadavSouth Africa’s only consideration will be whether to give David Miller another chance or opt for an all-round option in Chris Morris. Kyle Abbott, Khaya Zondo and Aaron Phangiso are likely to remain on the bench.South Africa: (probable) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Miller/Chris Morris, 8 Dale Steyn, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran Tahir
Pitch and conditions
Another run-fest has been promised, but as we saw in Indore, that does not always mean it will materialise. The surface in Rajkot is fairly dry, and there is no dew expected. Of larger concern, security has been beefed up after a political activist Hardik Patel issued a threat to block the teams’ way to the stadium because of unhappiness over the allocation of tickets to different communities.
Stats and Trivia
The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium has only hosted one ODI before – a high-scoring game between England and India, in January 2013, which England won by nine runs.
Virat Kohli has gone 12 ODI innings without a half-century to make 2015 the leanest of his fifty-over career so far. In 17 games, Kohli averages just 28.64, the lowest he has averaged in a calendar year since his debut in 2008.
Despite David Miller’s lean run, which has seen him go 13 innings without an ODI half-century, 2015 has bee his best year as an international cricketer. He has played 21 ODIs and averages 47.71.
Quotes
“If I have conditions on offer I would swing the ball a lot than the rest of the bowlers.”
Paul Grayson, Essex’s beleaguered coach, has been confirmed in the role until the end of the season as the club’s general committee has overwhelmingly resisted a recommendation from the new cricket chairman Ronnie Irani to remove him immediately from the post.The debate about Grayson’s future could hardly have been more disruptively timed, coming only a few days before Essex’s NatWest quarter-final against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston which was duly lost in one of their most disappointing displays of the season.The committee, clearly wary of a repeat, voted in Chelmsford on Monday to delay their decision on Grayson’s future, even as Essex travelled to their final Royal London Cup group match against Sussex at Hove, another season-defining match in which victory would ensure them of a home quarter-final.Grayson has supervised consistently excellent displays in limited-overs cricket since taking charge in 2008 with Essex second only to Hampshire in the number of victories in one-day cricket in that time. But while Hampshire have gone on to win trophies, Essex have repeatedly faltered in the final stages, encouraging Irani to press for change soon after being elected to the role last month.It is the timing of the recommendation that has brought most unease, although in some ways that was unavoidable. Grayson was anxious to determine his future before the end of the season after the decision of the former cricket committee chairman, Graham Saville, to step down after 27 years in the role naturally introduced a period of reassessment within the county.Grayson, it is interesting to note, is one year into an official three-year plan in which it was made clear that the priority was to secure a one-day trophy and reshape a young Championship side based on home grown players. That commitment has been followed to the letter with a whole host of debutants given an opportunity to prove their worth for a county that lacks the pace bowling depth to sustain a serious challenge.Irani sounded more ambitious, stating upon taking office: ” We need to try to get into division one of the County Championship. We’ve fallen short of that for quite a few years now. We have to change and we have to improve massively.”We have an immensely talented group of individuals and it is fair to say that at this moment in time we have underachieved in the last seven or eight years.”We are still talented and it is great to see young players coming through like Nick Browne, Tom Westley and Jamie Porter. We have to make sure we keep doing that, while getting Essex back to the level that we were in years gone by, knocking on doors and trying to win trophies.”At this moment in time Paul is the head coach and we have to respect that position until the cricket committee decide on anything different.”Quite how much Grayson can be blamed for a prolonged failure to reach Division One of the Championship is a question worth asking. As a coach, as opposed to a director of cricket, his powers have remained limited, much against the trend in the county game and Essex’s budget is considerably lower.Essex still have one of the most traditional structures in county cricket with the outgong cricket chairman Saville, a former England U19 coach, and captain, James Foster, having had most influence on the big cricketing decisions. That way of doing things is unlikely to change.
ScorecardRachel Priest scored her maiden ODI ton•Getty Images
Opener Rachel Priest’s maiden century set up New Zealand’s 96-run win over Sri Lanka in the first Women’s ODI in Lincoln. Besides going 1-0 up in the five-match series, New Zealand have moved up to fourth on the ICC women’s championship points table.Asked to bat, New Zealand ran up a big score thanks to their top-three batsmen. After captain Suzie Bates (38) and Priest added 84 runs for the first wicket, Priest raised 131 runs in the company of Amy Satterthwaite, who made 69 off 72 balls.While there weren’t any major contributions after Priest and Satterthwaite departed in the space of three overs, the hosts made enough to stifle their opponents. Left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera cleaned up the lower order and finished with four wickets.Sri Lanka’s reply had a good beginning, as Chamari Atapattu put on 54 runs with Prasadini Weerakkody, but once Weerakkody was run out, wickets began to fall at regular intervals. Only Atapattu resisted for the visitors, but with little support from the other batsmen, the chase was never on. Offspinner Leigh Kasperek accounted for four wickets, including those of Atapattu and captain Shashikala Siriwardene.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Meg Lanning top-scored with 43 off 38 that featured five fours•Getty Images
Meg Lanning’s 38-ball 43 and a disciplined performance from the Australia Women bowlers steered them to a comfortable 25-run win over Ireland Women in the first of the three T20Is in Dublin. After scoring 140 for 5, Australia reduced Ireland to 58 for 6, before the hosts hauled their score past 100 but the match had fallen out of their grasp by then.Opting to field, Ireland struck early with the wicket of in-form Jess Jonassen for 5 but Elyse Villani and Lanning stitched a crucial stand of 56 in 7.1 overs to lay a strong platform. Villani fell for 32 in the tenth over even as Lanning continued, to marshall the score past 100 in her 50th T20 international. Ireland fought back by taking three quick wickets of Lanning, Ellyse Perry and debutant Grace Harris, for a duck, within eight balls for only one run – two of those taken by 17-year-old legspinner Elena Tice. But Alex Blackwell and Jess Cameron smashed 36 runs off the last 23 balls to stage a comeback and post a competitive total. Tice finished with 2 for 35.Ireland went off track in their chase early when Perry and Jonassen removed the openers within the first three overs. Cecelia Joyce stalled the fall of wickets with a patient Laura Delany, 9 off 17, to take the score past 50, but medium-pacer Harris broke the stand by having Joyce stumped for a brisk 26. Fifty-one for 3 soon became 58 for 6 as Rene Farrell took a return catch, Harris struck again and a run-out added to Ireland’s woes.They needed another 83 from 52 from there, but with only four wickets in hand. Gaby Lewis, Kim Garth and Lucy O’Reilly chipped in with double-digit scores but could not avoid the loss as Australia inflicted two more run-outs. Harris made up for her two-ball duck with a spell of 3-0-15-2 and only one of Australia’s six bowlers conceded at more than six runs per over.”Nervous is probably an understatement,” Harris said of her debut. “I suppose because the nerves hit me early with the bat, by the time I got out to the field [to bowl], I was a bit fresher and over it. With the ball I just knew what my job was and went straight into it. I didn’t get hit for a boundary until the third over so I was just trying to bowl to the field the skipper had set me and Meg was happy with how I was going.”
Sri Lanka have lost a long-standing umpire following the death of Stanley Kuruppu. Kuruppu, 82, father of former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Brendon Kuruppu, was renowned for his services to the umpiring fraternity in Sri Lanka. He was a pioneer in forming the umpires committee for the board in the mid-sixties.Kuruppu was a qualified Grade One umpire and officiated in division I club cricket and important school matches. He was also the vice-president of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers Sri Lanka (ACUSL), who later became a life member for his services to umpiring.He did a lot to promote the game and popularise it. Kuruppu had thorough knowledge of the laws of the game and conducted many seminars on umpiring for the benefit of up and coming umpires. A government servant in the clerical grade, he also served as president of the Sri Lanka Softball Association. He was ailing for a long time and is survived by his second wife Dulcie and two children.
Gloucestershire maintained their unbeaten record in the Pro40 this season with their fifth win on the trot over Derbyshire at Derby. Alex Gidman was the star for Gloucestershire with a brutal 84 from 60 balls, taking his side to an imposing 285 for 6, and he also took the key wicket of Travis Birt who made his highest score in the competition. His 84 came from 67 balls and it appeared he was taking Derbyshire to a win, but he received little support from his team-mates and Derbyshire fell short by 37 runs.
Somerset’s Twenty20 win secured them their first trophy since 2001 as they toppled Lancashire, the favourites from the start of the season until the start of the final, with a clinically attacking performance. Their seamers reduced Lancashire to 41 for 5 and then Graeme Smith led Somerset home with an unbeaten 64.Somerset’s triumph was more extraordinary given the situation they found themselves in during the semi-final against Leicestershire, with the defending champions requiring 80 from 12 overs before their batting imploded against some superb bowling and livewire fielding from Somerset.For Smith, named man of the match, the trophy was a perfect way for him to leave Somerset, as he heads back to South Africa to prepare for the next international season. “It means a lot. I’ve come in and I feel I have been part of building towards the future. It’s just fantastic to finish off and see the guys perform so well. This is my last day with the team so to walk away with a trophy is special and I’ll get on that plane with a really good feeling.”It’s been good for my game as well being here. From a batting point of view Twenty20 has really benefited my game. I’ve been able to hit the ball out of the ground, which is something I’ve not done before and I’ve found a new type of game working over here on some good wickets.”Smith felt the key to Somerset’s success in both the semi-final and final was their efforts in the field. “First game, getting 157, I though we’d cooked ourselves and then especially when they got to 75 for 0 and I knew we were struggling. But the key thing was the guys never gave up. In these conditions, in front of big crowds, with big pressure, some of these guys who aren’t used to those types of conditions can crack if you keep going at them and they gave it to us.”Then, with the ball upfront [in the final], Andy Caddick was brilliant. You can see he has been on the big stage for a lot of his life, he just looks forward to the occasion and he took two big wickets and it really made the difference. He was backed up by Richard Johnson and some superb fielding.”Mark Chilton, Lancashire captain, was philosophical in defeat, and admitted that it was the batting which fell short of its usual standard. “We never quite put enough runs on the board. We’ve been so strong in the competition all year round that it’s just a shame that we fell at the final hurdle.”Twenty20 is the type of game where you just don’t quite catch the ball right, but I felt the big turning point was Andrew Symonds’s run out. He has been in great form and if he had been able to a build a partnership for us for four or five overs we would have been quite well placed.”We watched the second semi-final as we hadn’t seen much of Somerset but obviously it didn’t do us much good.”