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Derbyshire have announced that they are “no longer pursuing” a deal to bring Marlon Samuels to the club

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2017Derbyshire have announced that they are “no longer pursuing” a deal to bring Marlon Samuels to the club. Samuels revealed in an interview last week that he had been offered a contract “worth £120,000-130,000 a year” to sign as a Kolpak player for Derbyshire, while expressing his frustration with West Indies’ selection policies.Samuels was left out of the ODI squad for West Indies’ series with England but was said to be reluctant to go down the Kolpak route, as it would bar him from international cricket. However, Derbyshire have now withdrawn their interest.A statement on the club’s website said: “Derbyshire can confirm it has been in contact with West Indies international Marlon Samuels and his agent regarding opportunities at the club.”The club remains committed to exploring all options to strengthen the side ahead of the 2017 season. However, we have a number of routes available and, in view of recent events, the club is no longer pursuing Marlon Samuels.”Samuels, 36, was not selected for the England ODIs after opting to miss the majority of the WICB’s Regional Super 50 competition in order to play in the Pakistan Super League. He was critical of the board for not showing more loyalty after a 17-year international career that has seem him play more than 300 times for West Indies.”I’ve got a Kolpak deal on my plate which I’m contemplating,” he said of the offer to play county cricket. “It’s a three-year deal with Derbyshire. Worth probably £120,000-130,000 a year. The money is not the issue at the moment, I’ve been playing international cricket the last 17 years so have set myself the right way. This is about principle, about being loyal.”

While Yuvraj’s injury will be a major blow, the poor form of Warner and Dhawan, and lack of match practice for Boult have left the Hyderabad thinktank with several issues to ponder over

Vishal Dikshit08-Apr-20165:19

Jayawardene: Nehra can allow Sunrisers to play extra foreign batsman

2015 form

Sixth, or third from the bottom, after winning half of their 14 matches. At one stage, towards the end of the league, they were in third position.

Big picture

Only three seasons old in the IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad have already witnessed the highs and lows of a T20 league. After making the playoffs in their maiden season, they ended the next two in the bottom half of the table.

Sunrisers Hyderabad squad

David Warner (captain), Ricky Bhui, Trent Boult, Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Siddarth Kaul, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman, Naman Ojha, Karn Sharma, Tirumalasetti Suman, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Reddy, Bipul Sharma, Ben Cutting, Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Eoin Morgan, Ashish Nehra, Vijay Shankar, Barinder Sran, Aditya Tare, Kane Williamson

In IPL 2015, they looked set to make the playoffs, but lost their last two matches and were bunted down the table. Often, their middle and lower orders could not capitalise on the strong starts from David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan. To rectify that this season, they bought Yuvraj Singh, Aditya Tare and Deepak Hooda to add to their retained players’ list of Eoin Morgan, Naman Ojha and Moises Henriques. If Yuvraj’s poor form in the World T20 was not enough of a worry, an ankle injury has ruled him out for two weeks. The Sunrisers thinktank would also be bothered by the batting form of Warner, who was moved to the middle order by Australia in the World T20, and Shikhar Dhawan. Trent Boult’s lack of match practice – he didn’t play a single game in the World T20 – could also be an issue.They have added more teeth to their bowling by purchasing two in-form quicks, Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur Rahman. The two left-armers will join Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their best bowler last season, and Boult. Legspinner Karn Sharma will continue to lead their thin spin attack. In the allrounders category, Sunrisers have two Australian options – Henriques and Ben Cutting.Overall, the real push Sunrisers need for a berth in the playoffs will have to come in the second half of the season, something they lacked in the previous two editions. “With the balance we have, there won’t be any excuse this year,” captain Warner said before the start of the season.

Burning questions

Will Sunrisers tinker with their trusted opening pair of Dhawan and Warner to include Kane Williamson at the top? Or will they continue with Dhawan and Warner, and move Williamson down, or maybe leave him out of the XI? To strengthen the pace attack, will they pick Mustafizur or Boult to assist the Indian combination of Nehra and Bhuvneshwar?

The go-to men

David Warner hammered seven fifties in IPL 2015 with an overall strike rate of 156.54. Even though his bat barely spoke in the recent World T20, a seven-week tournament bodes well as he looks to find his touch again.Ashish Nehra could be their trump card to take down the opposition’s top order, with his wicket-taking abilities in the Powerplay. Twenty-two wickets last season – fourth overall – and an economy rate of 5.94 in the 2016 World T20 underline his importance.

Bargain buy

For the kind of promise he has shown so far in international cricket, and the form he exhibited in only three matches in the World T20 – his haul of nine wickets included a five-for – Mustafizur Rahman was not too expensive a purchase at INR 1.4 crore ($US 208,000). Having more subcontinent experience, he could even get the nod ahead of Trent Boult in the XI.

Availability

Yuvraj’s exclusion for two weeks is the only injury blow.

Coaches

Head coach – Tom Moody, spin-bowling coach – Muttiah Muralitharan, mentor – VVS Laxman

Quote

“The way he [Nehra] has come back, he looks stronger and he knows what he has to do to play at the highest level. I have been seeing that and I think if we go back to the Australian series where India beat us, the way he started and finished was a fantastic effort. I think he is a great bonus and plus point for Sunrisers Hyderabad going into the season.”

The final-wicket pair of Logan van Been and Ed Nuttall helped Canterbury into a Super Over, but Auckland’s Michael Bates snuffed out their hopes after that

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2015
Auckland won the Super Over
ScorecardFile photo: Michael Bates picked two wickets and gave away just five runs in the one-over eliminator•Getty Images

Michael Bates’ magnificent performance in the one-over eliminator restricted Canterbury to 5 for 2 in five balls, Colin Munro then finished the game in one ball, smashing Hamish Bennett for a six to seal Auckland’s thrilling victory.It was a brutal end to Canterbury’s hopes in their chase of 171 after their final-wicket pair had batted splendidly to tie the game in the first place. Logan van Beek and Ed Nuttall came together with their team needing 32 off the last 15 balls. That equation became 16 off the final over, eventually it was just one run too many. Having fallen so agonisingly short, Van Beek, who made 24 off 15, with two fours and Nuttall, who hustled 13 off 8, with a six, could only watch as their team slumped to a fourth straight defeat in the Super Over.Earlier, opener Aiden Blizzard had kept Canterbury up with the required rate of 8.55 with his 38-ball 57. A knock made all the more necessary because Auckland kept picking up wickets in clumps. Captain Ronnie Hira was the first to go in the third over, Henry Nicholls followed him in the fourth and a score of 37 for 2 left both teams in with a sniff.The pendulum swung Auckland’s way thanks to their captain Rob Nicol – he dismissed Blizzard and Andrew Ellis in the space of two balls and Canterbury were left needing 65 runs in 44 balls with only four wickets in hand. Mitchell McClenaghan took two wickets in the 18th over, which meant the asking rate soared to 12.8, which turned out to be just enough.It was Auckland’s second win in three games and their batting did set it up quite nicely. In the first innings, Colin de Grandhomme got to a fifty in only 25 balls and Nicol came in during the third over and batted through the innings to make 50 not out off 48 balls. Bennett was the pick of Canterbury’s bowlers producing returns of 2 for 30 in his four overs.Prior to the start of the game, a minute’s silence was observed for Jonah Lomu, the New Zealand All Black who passed away at the age of 40.

Nasir Hossain, the Bangladesh allrounder, has said that Bangladesh A’s upcoming series against India A will be ideal preparation for the home series against Australia in October

Mohammad Isam09-Sep-2015Nasir Hossain, the Bangladesh allrounder, has said that Bangladesh A’s upcoming series against India A will be ideal preparation for the home series against Australia in October. Nasir is one of 14 national players included in the Bangladesh A squad, who are scheduled to play three one-dayers and a three-day game against India A, as well as a three-day match against Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka.”Doing well in India will keep us well prepared for the Australia series next month,” Nasir said. “I think this is why there’s a number of national team players in this team. We are going there to win the one-day series. It is better that we are playing the three-day matches in the latter part of the tour. After we play the two three-dayers, we play against Australia.”Expecting a tough opposition from India A, Nasir feels the tour will be helpful for the national players. “We have returned to training after a break. We will have a number of national team players in the side.”This tour will be good for our individual performances. It will be harder because India A will not make it any easier for us. I feel it will be a good contest,” he said.After being dropped for the Zimbabwe series last year, for the first time in his international career, Nasir completed his comeback in all three formats in July this year when he was picked for the second Test against South Africa. He was unbeaten on 13 the end of the first day, but the rest of the game was rained off.Nasir continued to stay in the limited-overs squads after he was picked for the World Cup, but did not spend a lot of time in the middle, the longest stretch being 44 balls against South Africa in the first ODI. Instead, his bowling flourished as Mashrafe Mortaza persisted with him in critical phases of one-day games.He said that he does not have a personal target for the India tour but he will be looking to grab any chance that comes his way. “I played in the last Test so I don’t really have to make a comeback. I play each match to perform. We have to play well in India. They are a strong side. We will be more focused in this tour.”I don’t have a personal target. I want to make use of any opportunity that comes up,” he said.

The ICC board has suspended the membership of the USA Cricket Association with immediate effect

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-20152:30

ICC suspends USACA membership

The ICC board has suspended the membership of the USA Cricket Association with immediate effect. The ICC made its decision based on the findings of a review group it had constituted to look into the status and activities of the USACA, and after meeting USACA representatives during the ongoing ICC annual conference week.According to an ICC release, the review group “had expressed significant concerns about the governance, finance, reputation and cricketing activities of USACA”.The suspension will cut the USACA off from ICC funding, and rule it ineligible to determine whether events staged in the USA are given approved status or not. As per the ICC operating manual, the ICC will take over that function.Despite the USACA’s suspension, the USA national team will be allowed to take part in next month’s World T20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland. The USA Under-19 team will also be eligible to participate in the Americas U-19 Championship in Bermuda.”The ICC Board has made this difficult decision after careful consideration and in the best interest of the game and all cricketers in the USA,” the ICC chairman N Srinivasan said. “The country has tremendous potential but because of governance, financial and cricketing challenges, the opportunity to grow the game is not being properly nurtured.”The ICC Board had put USACA on notice in its January meeting this year and had hoped that it would show some urgency to address and improve in the areas that were identified as weaknesses. Unfortunately, the response to date has been inadequate and it has proved necessary for the ICC Board to take further action.”To have its membership reinstated, the USACA will need to show the ICC board that it has addressed “conditions relating to governance, finance and its cricket activities”, with the ICC chief executive David Richardson – assisted by representatives from the BCCI, ECB, CA and WICB – monitoring its progress.

Peter Borren has been named captain of Netherlands’ 14-man squad for the ODI against South Africa in Amstelveen on May 31

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2013Peter Borren has been named captain of Netherlands’ 14-man squad for the ODI against South Africa in Amstelveen on May 31.On May 28, Netherlands’ YB40 squad will travel to Amsterdam for the Canal Bike Race against the South Africans. They will then practice for two days in Amstelveen before the ODI.Squad: Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Daan van Bunge, Mudassar Bukhari, Tom de Grooth, Tim Gruijters, James Gruijters, Tom Heggelman, Ahsan Malik, Paul van Meekeren, Stephan Myburgh, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart.

Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade and Patrick Cummins are all in line to make their international debuts after being named in Australia’s squad to tour South Africa next month

Brydon Coverdale28-Sep-2011Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade and Patrick Cummins are all in line to make their international debuts after being named in Australia’s squad to tour South Africa next month. Australia’s selectors have chosen separate 14-man groups for the Twenty20s and ODIs in South Africa, with Mitchell Johnson axed from the Twenty20 outfit and David Hussey cut from the one-day side.Cricket Australia are still in the process of choosing their new selectors, so the squads were picked by an interim panel led by the outgoing chairman Andrew Hilditch, along with Greg Chappell, Jamie Cox and the stand-in coach Troy Cooley. The captains were also part of the panel – Michael Clarke for the ODI squad and Cameron White for the T20 group.A serious shoulder injury that ruled the allrounder John Hastings out of the trip opened the door for Marsh, 19, who is set to follow his older brother Shaun and father Geoff in representing Australia after being picked in the Twenty20 squad. A promising allrounder who played for Australia A on the recent tour of Zimbabwe, Marsh had been earmarked for higher honours since captaining Australia to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2010.He’s not the only teenager in the touring party, with Cummins, 18, having made both the T20 and ODI groups. A fast bowler who was the bolter in Cricket Australia’s contract list this year, Cummins would be Australia’s youngest ODI debutant if he plays in the series, beating his New South Wales team-mate Josh Hazlewood, who played at 19 last year.It has been a remarkably quick rise for Cummins, who has played only two one-day matches for his state and has not yet taken a wicket in the format. His inclusion in the ODI squad means he will miss the first two rounds of the Sheffield Shield season.The retirement of Brad Haddin from Twenty20 internationals, combined with Tim Paine’s finger injury, meant Wade was the logical wicketkeeping choice for the shortest format. Wade, 23, has been third in line behind Haddin and Paine since playing for Australia A last year, and he confirmed his credentials with a standout summer in the Ryobi Cup.But the news wasn’t so good for two of the older members of the side. David Hussey, 34, lost his ODI place despite being part of the World Cup squad earlier this year and winning a CA contract, while the selectors preferred Doug Bollinger to Johnson in the Twenty20 side.”Mitchell [Johnson] has struggled in this format of the game to date,” Hilditch said. “Most Twenty20 internationals have been at the start of tours and Mitchell has not always been at his best in these matches. Obviously Mitchell has a great skill set for Twenty20 cricket and we are sure he will put a lot of pressure on us to pick him in the future in the Twenty20 team.”We consider we have picked an extremely strong Twenty20 squad, which has a good balance of experience and exciting young talent. There is flexibility in the squad to deal with conditions in South Africa as we continue to prepare for the ICC World Twenty20, which is only a year away.”A key man in the T20 squad is David Warner, who has also been given a chance to resume his career in the 50-over format, having not played an ODI in more than two years. Hilditch described Warner’s recent form as “irresistible”, including three centuries in first-class and one-day cricket on the recent Australia A trip to Zimbabwe.The inclusion of Warner comes after Haddin, who opened with Shane Watson during the World Cup, moved down the order during the recent ODIs in Sri Lanka. That could mean a battle between Warner and Shaun Marsh to become the next long-term opening partner for Watson in the one-day international side.Australia play two Twenty20 internationals, in Cape Town on October 13 and in Johannesburg on October 16, before the series of three ODIs in Centurion, Port Elizabeth and Durban. The squad for the two Tests, in Cape Town and Johannesburg in early November, will be announced in the coming weeks.ODI squad Shane Watson, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Xavier Doherty, James Pattinson, Patrick Cummins, Doug Bollinger.Twenty20 squad Shane Watson, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Steve O’Keefe, Brett Lee, James Pattinson, Patrick Cummins, Doug Bollinger.

Laura Marsh and Jenny Gunn gave England the series win with a five-wicket victory in the third Twenty20 in Mumbai

Cricinfo staff08-Mar-2010
Scorecard
Laura Marsh took 1 for 25 and scored an unbeaten 47•Getty Images

Laura Marsh and Jenny Gunn gave England the series win with a five-wicket victory in the third Twenty20 in Mumbai. England were set to chase just 126 but after their collapse in the second match, it was not expected to be an easy chase.And the win had looked doubtful when they lost three wickets with 23 on the scoreboard. Danielle Hazell was bowled when she stepped outside leg stump looking to cut left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana in the second over. Captain Charlotte Edwards fell in the next over for an 11-ball 17. She was followed, two balls later, by Katherine Brunt, stumped off Sultana for 4.But Marsh and Morgan steadied the innings with a 49-run stand – the highest of the series. England’s fifty came up in 6.4 overs as compared to India who reached the landmark in 9.1 overs. While the Indian batsmen had struggled against England’s main spinners, Marsh and Morgan played India’s spinners with ease. Morgan’s dismissal in the 11th over did not put England off course. Gunn assisted Marsh well, rotating the strike and clearing the infield for twos. India were sloppy in the field and lost the opportunity to run out the batsmen.But even by the 19th over, India had a chance to take the series. England needed 10 off 12 balls and Sultana, who had taken two wickets and kept things tight, came to bowl her final over. Gunn tried to sweep her first ball and was bowled by one that went straight. Sultana conceded two off the next three balls and England needed a run a ball. But Sultana gave a wide off her next ball and Marsh picked a four off the final to ease the pressure.Marsh had also bowled well during India’s innings, breaking the 48-run stand between Poonam Raut and Mithali Raj by having Raut stumped for 26 in the 10th over. Raj fell five balls later and though Harmanpreet Kaur scored an unbeaten 30 off 25, their total wasn’t enough at the end of the day.