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Shaun Udal, Hampshire Cricket’s long service all-rounder has been offered a new two year contract.Udal who had an excellent season culmination in him winning both the Hampshire Players Player of the year award and The Hampshire Cricket Societies player of the year, was delighted to be continuing in what he describes as the best club in the world.”I feel” said Shaun, talking to the web site, “A strong feeling amonst the players that we are about to turn our fortunes round. 2002 was disappointing,” continued Shaun “but with Warnie back, another overseas player to be announced soon, and most the other lads training and playing around the world, we look forward to 2003 with renewed eagerness”.

The Board of Cricket Victoria have accepted with regret, the resignation of Matthew Elliott as the vice-captain of the Victorian Bushrangers.Following a recommendation from the Victorian State Selectors, the Board have appointed Darren Berry to replace Elliott as vice-captain. The appointment is effective immediately and for the remainder of the 2002/03 season.In announcing his decision, Elliott said it was the right one for both the team and himself. “I feel it is in the best interests of the team and myself, that I make a decision aimed at assisting me recapture my best form “.Elliott added that his decision was an extremely difficult one to make so early in the season. “I understand the timing of my decision isn’t perfect, but had I continued in the role it would have been for the wrong reasons. Shane Warne, Darren Berry and the coaching staff have my total support and I look forward to achieving success with the Bushrangers squad this season”.

Hampshire recorded a comprehensive Frizzell Championship victory over Kent, with a day to spare at The Rose Bowl. It was their first championship victory over the hop county for 8 years.Paul Nixon who has often been a thorn in the Hampshire’s side held the home side up with a belligerent 77*, and on the way to saving the innings defeat and setting a target he was aided first by Ed Smith (77) and then by Min Patel.Patel was particularly harsh on Shaun Udal, his innings of 58 included a hugh six into the members new pavilion and seven well struck fours, it was to end when predictably with the second new ball Alan Mullally sent his middle stump cartwheeling. Amjad Khan also showed some resistance to the Hampshire bowlers, but with tea threatening Johnson and Mascarenhas mopped up the tail to set Hampshire “nelson” 111 for victory.Despite losing Will Kendall at 17, the target was easily obtained with John Crawley showing his class with a well struck 50, and Giles White batting at four for Smith who was nursing a bruised finger, a sprightly 27.It is interesting to note that Hampshire’s previous Championship win over Kent in 1994 contained three of the Hampshire side that played in this match (Smith, White and Udal) and two of the Kent XI (Fleming and Patel).

Glamorgan Dragons have taken another step towards the Norwich Union League Division One title with a five-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Colwyn Bay.An unbroken partnership of 54 for the sixth wicket between Dragons’ skipper Steve James and young ‘keeper Mark Wallace took the home side to victory, and a two point lead over Worcestershire Royals at the top of the table. The Outlaws’ place in division one is now held by a thread.James, playing the anchor role with a determined 54 not out, and 20-year-old Wallace, came together with their side wobbling on 173-5 in pursuit of the Outlaws’ 226-7 from their 45 overs. Wallace finished unbeaten on a 32-ball 37.Earlier Ian Thomas hit a fine 64 – his second half-century in the competition this year – to ensure a good start for the Dragons. But when he fell with the score on 111, and Matthew Maynard followed shortly afterwards, the game was in the balance.However, James’ third half-century in the competition this season, and Wallace’s best effort of the year took the Dragons to victory in front of a delighted home crowd.It was a brave effort from the Outlaws. They had set a competitive total based around contributions from the experienced Darren Bicknell (51 from 72 balls) and the youth of the in-form Bilal Shafayat (48 from 52 balls) after winning the toss and deciding to bat.The control of Adrian Dale (nine overs, 3-29) was the main stumbling block for the Outlaws. His medium-pace snared three vital wickets in Bicknell, Nicky Boje and the potentially destructive Kevin Pietersen as the visitors became bogged down in the middle of their innings.Useful late hitting from Paul Franks and Stephen Randall gave the Outlaws total a boost, but the force is with the Dragons and their game against Royals next week has all the look of a title decider.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has confirmed thatDamien Fleming and Chris Davies have both withdrawn from the Pura Cupmatch against NSW starting tomorrow.Fleming is being rested following a slight right shoulder strain hesuffered during the recent Pura Cup match against WA. The SACAanticipates he will be fit to line up in the Pura Cup game against theVictoria Bushrangers from November 22.Redbacks paceman, Mark Harrity, will be flown to Sydney to replaceFleming for tomorrow’s game.Davies has a strained right hamstring, and also should be fit to rejointhe squad for the match against Victoria later this month.Right-hand batsman, Nathan Adcock, has been called into the State sideto replace Davies.

Mohammad Akram, the former Pakistan pace bowler, lifted a little of the gloom surrounding his countrymen’s efforts at Test level by producing the best figures in England’s Bradford League first division for 14 years.Akram, in his first season with Undercliffe, took all 10 wickets for 25 runs against Cleckheaton, to become the 28th top division player to claim a full house in the league’s 98-year history.Another former Pakistan international, Iqbal Sikander, was among the wickets for Leigh in the Liverpool Competition as they ended Lytham’s unbeaten start to the premier division campaign.Sikander took five for 42 from 16 overs to reduce the opposition to 82 all out en route to a six-wicket victory.

Former Australian vice-captain David Hookes has been named as Victoria’s new cricket coach at a press conference in Melbourne today.Hookes, 46, has been appointed to a two-year contract and assumes the reins as the Bushrangers’ new mentor from outgoing coach Mick O’Sullivan in the wake of a troubled season for Victorian cricket.Hookes was a late entrant into a race that had seen Jamie Siddons and Matthew Drain emerge as the favourites to assume the position but won the support of officials during a series of talks over recent weeks.”It’s a great feeling to be involved again at first-class level,” said Hookes.”I’m looking forward to working with the players in the squad to ensure that the Bushrangers are again a successful team.”I’ve been in cricket changerooms for (a total of) ten minutes since I retired ten years ago, and that was at the invitation of Greg Chappell.”(But) I felt pretty happy to put my hat in the ring … to find out where I sat in the marketplace, in cricketing terms,” he added of a decision that was also influenced by encouragement from Victorian Cricket Association (VCA) operations manager, Shaun Graf.Hookes was one of Australian interstate cricket’s most outstanding players, amassing 10,439 runs in 136 first-class matches for South Australia with a style of batting that was often marked by its aggression. He was a long-time captain of the state, held the record for being the most prolific run scorer in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup history, and played 23 Tests and 39 one-day internationals in a career with Australia that also included a stint as then captain Allan Border’s deputy in the early 1980s.He inherits his new job at a crucial time for cricket in Victoria, and flagged a desire today to see the team adopt a far more attacking and ambitious philosophy.The Bushrangers endured a disastrous 2001-02, losing then coach John Scholes to a shock resignation on the eve of their opening match of the season and ultimately stumbling into fifth place on each of the two domestic competition tables.The retirement of captain Paul Reiffel during the season exacerbated the woes, while the omission from the Bushrangers’ senior team of Test off spinner Colin Miller added to a spectre of political in-fighting that has appeared to plague Victorian teams for much of the last decade.Against the background of widespread media criticism from within Victoria, the state’s selection panel was also restructured in the wake of the performance, with elections forcing the removal of long-time members Graf and Neil Buszard.The Bushrangers reached successive first-class finals in each of the preceding two seasons but have been unable in recent years to arrest a trend that has seen the state fail to win a title at that level since 1990-91.Hookes has no formal coaching experience, but has maintained an association with cricket in a role as a media commentator throughout the ten years that have followed his retirement.In a surprise move that shares similarities with South Australia’s decision to allow Greg Chappell to actively maintain his business interests, the VCA will permit Hookes the chance to pursue his burgeoning media career alongside his coaching commitments.

Richard Jones and Stephen Mather are cricketers with much in common – troubadors, both, who have travelled the country north to south searching for the best place and the chance to fully display their talents.Jones came from Auckland to Wellington in search of a fresh beginning, a new and unbiased audience, when he found his favour in his home town had begun to wane. Here, in a town and at a ground which had always been pleasing in his memory, he found his second chance.And Mather, even more the cricketing gypsy, moved from Wellington to Otago, from Otago to Wellington in search of satisfaction, stability and a stage from which to entertain. He also was a minstrel in search of inspiration and the chance to entertain.Today in diverse but complementary performances, Jones and Mather found their muse and their apotheosis. Today, in each other’s company, they found the sanguine setting which allowed them at last to express their true abilities.In masterpiece innings which straddled three sessions, Jones and Mather produced a fourth wicket partnership which was a record for Wellington against all first-class opponents and which gave them unshakeable control of their Shell Trophy match against Otago which concluded its third day.Jones made 188 – his second first-class century, his second century in consecutive Trophy matches and his highest first-class score – and displayed in front of his new home audience the ability he and a few discerning others knew that he possessed.Mather made 107 – his first century in this Trophy season in which he has returned prodigally to the Wellington colours, an innings which was more arduous than celebratory but which made a timely declaration of his talent when he had begun to feel self-doubt and the doubts of others.Jones was playing to prove his worth to his new province and Jones also to demonstrate worth because he felt that his form had invited reappraisal of his selection. Together they put on 274 for the fourth wicket as Wellington reached 407/7 before declaring their second innings and, with their 80-run first innings lead, put in front of Otago a total of 488 to win the match.They also left themselves a minimum of 120 overs in which to bowl Otago out and to add outright points to those they have already achieved for a first innings lead. In 20 overs before stumps tonight, Otago’s international openers Matt Horne and Mark Richardson batted soundly to reach 61/0. Horne was 41 and Richardson 19 when stumps were drawn.But the day was wholly dominated by the collusive achievements of Jones and Mather. They had come together before stumps on the second day when Wellington was 63/3 and struggling to build decisively on the foundation of that first innings advantage.They saw Wellington with some difficulty but great care to 100/3 at stumps and they resumed at that total this morning determined to bat to lunch, then to tea and to consolidate Wellington’s position of strength.Wellington owed its state of overwhelming command to their efforts, particularly to their achievement in batting through the first session. By the end of that session Wellington was 202/3, Jones had his century and Mather had made dogged progress to 44 and was ready to branch out.Jones resumed at 39 not out and scored 73 runs before lunch, reaching his 50 in 175 minutes and his 100 in 268 minutes, when Wellington was 184 and Mather was still only 38. Mather had been 16 when Wellington resumed and added only 28 in the 140 minutes before lunch.Mather’s performance in that first session was anything but characteristic. He is usually a dashing batsman and he had a lively century in club cricket on Saturday to emphasise those credentials. But he knew how important to his confidence and, possibly, to his continued selection chances a big innings was today. He talked about managing the risks in the early part of the day and he was only prepared to increase his strokeplay when the first perils of the day had been negotiated.Jones batted with much more of his natural freedom before lunch, even more before lunch and tea, when Mather matched his scoring rate, and with complete abandon after tea as Wellington rushed towards a declaration.The partnership was finally broken in the shadow of the tea adjournment when Mather stepped away to off to pull a ball from Bradley Scott and was bowled behind his legs. At that point the partnership had endured 319 minutes and 529 balls, Mather had batted 19 minutes more than five hours, faced 259 balls and hit nine fours.Jones went on to reach 175 by tea – his 150 came in 373 minutes – then tried to pounce on a double century as Wellington batted 10 overs after the break before declaring. He reached 188 before he was finally out, driving a low return catch to Scott in the 116th over of the innings – the first with the second new ball.He had batted through all of those 116 overs, for 433 minutes, facing 357 balls and hitting 22 fours and two sixes, the first of which brought up his half century. Nor was he even tired at the end. Scoring runs is never tiring, Jones said.He remembered that he had scored his first first-class century – 141 – for Wellington against Canterbury in their previous Trophy match at Christchurch then been out first ball in their first innings here before mounting to a century again. There, in a nutshell he said, was the vicarious nature of cricket.Jones’ first call at the close of play was to the man he calls his mentor – to Barry Sinclair, the great former Wellingtonian who, as club captain of Auckland’s North Shore club, has taken a proprietorial interest in his career. Sinclair encouraged Jones when he felt he had exhausted his opportunities in Auckland to move to Wellington and try to reanimate his cricket career.”That’s why I came down here … it wasn’t happening for me in Auckland,” Jones said.”The stats added up. If you look in the almanac I was underachieving and I’d be the first to admit that. I needed a change and I realised I had to get out of that comfort zone.”I realised I had to go out and, rather than have promise, go out and do it. So I decided to come to Wellington. I’d always liked the city and it’s the best cricket ground in the country so I thought I could settle here. I contacted Wellington and they said there’s a position in the team but it’s for an opener. When I came down here they said you can open or you can’t play. I said ‘okay, I’ll open’.”Mather also knew the time was ripe for him to make his mark. He had been unavailable for Wellington’s early Trophy games because of work commitments, had played the Cup matches but knew he needed to give a sign of form.He was in danger of becoming a “club bully” he said – someone who scored lots of runs in club games but not at a higher level. The importance of the innings, the state of the match, curbed his early strokeplay, he said, but the best thing of all was that he had responded to his team’s need.”I just didn’t want to make any mistakes. I lowered my risk levels as much as I could. I figured if I got through the first session I could open up and play a few shots.”One of the pleasing things about the innings was that we were in a bit of trouble when it started at 63/3. So my batting was a bit out of character at first. I had to avoid the risk, try to bat us out of trouble and then free up.”I’d missed out in Canterbury on a flat wicket but it wasn’t in a situation where my innings would have made a difference or altered the state of the game. Today, when an innings was needed, I produced.”I was pleased today that I didn’t give many chances and while it wasn’t the most flamboyant knock I did what was required when it was required. I played the percentages.”

Former captains may find their records erased from WisdenIf the recommendations of Sir Paul Condon are accepted, then the cricket records of former skippers Mohd. Azharuddin, Hansie Cronje and Salim Malik will be erased from the Bible of cricket – the Wisden. This is one of the 20 rules proposed by Sir Paul, who heads the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.A report published in The Sunday Times says that Condon believes such an action will help clean up the game in his report submitted a few days ago, quotes PTI. “My ambition is to make it so tough for the few bad guys still left that the risks are not worth it,” Condon said. Some of the other recommendations suggested are to make players sign forms accepting to face prosecution if found guilty of match-fixing, restricting use of mobile phones within the dressing room and higher pay and more prize money.The daily has also said that Condon has evidences of about 20 players, umpires and administrators allegedly involved in the scandal. However, because of legal restraints they are unlikely to be named in the interim report, the daily said.Indian coach says Kumble has to ‘fight’ for his placeThe Indian coach John Wright said that ace Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble has to `fight’ back to regain his place in the side. He said this while chatting with reporters during the preparatory camp in Bangalore which began on Sunday. The six-day camp began ahead of India’s tour of Zimbabwe.Kumble returned from South Africa last week after undergoing treatment to his injured shoulder and practiced at the camp along with Venkatesh Prasad, who is also not among the list of probables. Both the players said they would attend the camp on all days and would avail the training benefits. In an interview last week, the Karnataka leg spinner had said that he was feeling much better but was not yet match-fit.And now a Tendulkar stand at the Wankhede stadiumThe Mumbai Cricket Association has proposed to re-name the North Stand at the Wankhede Stadium as the Sachin Tendulkar stand in honour of the Indian batting maestro.Tendulkar joins other Bombay and India greats like Vijay Merchant, PollyUmrigar, Vinoo Mankad and Sunil Gavaskar who have stands named after them. The proposal is said to have mooted by the Mumbai Cricket Association president Sharad Pawar.The MCA will also felicitate Tendulkar at a function on May 23 at the Wankhede Stadium. He will be presented with a cheque of Rs 2.5 lakhs (approx US$5300) and a silver bat. The function has been got up to felicitate Tendulkar for being the first player to cross the 10000-run mark in ODIs.Tyson to conduct coaching camps in PuneA coaching camp under the watchful eyes of former England fast bowler Frank Tyson will be held in Pune from May 21 to June 5. The camp will be jointly organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association and the Maharashtra Cricket Association at two levels. The first will be for young state players and the second camp will be for those selected by former Test player Balwinder Sandhu. Former Indian bowler Paras Mhambrey will assist Tyson during the camp.The joint secretaries of the MCA, AH Mate and Avinash Ghatpande told reporters in Pune on Sunday that the first camp, consisting of 25 players who have represented Maharashtra in the under-19 and under-22 teams, will commence on May 21 and will end on May 27. The second camp will commence on May 28 and will go on till June 3. This will be for players, who have represented Maharashtra in the under-14 and under-19 teams. The coaching camp named MCA-Frank Tyson Clinic will be held at Shirke ground at Mundhwa in Pune.The coaching will consist of video analysis, explanations of bio mechanics and correction of faults. There will be a separate seminar for coaches between June 3 and 5 which is open for all prominent cricket coaches in the state, MCA sources added.

Match facts

September 30, 2012
Start time 1930 (1400 GMT)With problems aplenty, no wonder MS Dhoni has greyed already•Associated Press

Big picture

There was a time when all an out-of-form Pakistan cricketer needed to do was turn up against India, and he would magically regain his touch. How India will be hoping they can do some of that when they play Pakistan in their middle Super Eight match on Sunday.Confused, low on confidence, playing as if with the weight of the world on their shoulders, India find themselves in a tight corner. Their trusted players are not performing, and some of the reserves provided by the selectors are not good enough. And for the first time there are questions around the captain’s place in the side: he strikes at 110 runs per 100 balls, has never scored a T20I fifty, and twice in India’s three last defeats he has hurt the side’s momentum, failing to score a run a ball in the latter half of the innings. One more defeat, and India won’t even have a backdoor entry left after their massive negative run-rate.India do seem to have turned the tables from the time Pakistan used to dominate this “rivalry”. Since the start of 2006, India have won 15 and lost eight internationals against Pakistan, but still trail the head-to-head 58 to 81. Pakistan, though, will be feeling good about their game after having pulled off an improbable win over South Africa. And their bowlers might not have had the best of tournaments until Friday, but they do remain a threat. They will also know from first-hand experience during the warm-up game that Indian bowlers can be bossed when put under the slightest of pumps.Pakistan have a statistic to set right, though: they have never beaten India in any 50-over or 20-over World Cup match.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

India LWWLW
Pakistan WWWLW

Watch out for

Nasir Jamshed scored a fine century the last time Pakistan played India, but was denied a win by a superlative 183 from Virat Kohli. The two are the most promising young batting talents from the respective countries, both have been batting at No. 3 so far, and hold the key to a solid innings for their side.India’s opening – whether with the bat or with the ball – is now a matter of major speculation after the Irfan Pathan experiment with the bat and the R Ashwin one with the ball. Surely Irfan has got to get the new ball if he is to be used as a bowler? And surely India must want their specialist batsmen to get most of the overs?Umar Gul may have won the previous match with the bat, but where has Gul the yorker-bowler disappeared? In 10 T20 matches this year, Gul has conceded runs at 8.4 an over, as opposed to an impressive career economy-rate of 6.88.

Team news

After the England match, Dhoni said he had problems of plenty at his hand. Less than 35 overs of cricket later, he has plenty of problems. Does he stand by his decision of keeping Virender Sehwag out and playing five bowlers? Does he look at the place of Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma in that middle order? Will Manoj Tiwary ever get to play a live game? What does he do with an under-performing Zaheer Khan? What does he do with his own form? Only one thing might be certain at this time: Piyush Chawla’s yet other, inexplicable, comeback might have ended.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Rohit Sharma/Manoj Tiwary, 7 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Zaheer KhanPakistan will be questioning Shahid Afridi’s utility as a bowler who bats at No. 7. He has done his bit with the ball so far. He is the only Pakistan bowler other than Saeed Ajmal to have bowled all his overs in every match so far, and has conceded runs at only 6.33 an over. That should be enough to keep his place in the XI, but his six-or-nothing batting at No. 7 will remain a cause for worry.Pakistan (probable) 1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt.), 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Nasir Jamshed, 4 Kamran Akmal (wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Yasir Arafat, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Raza Hasan.

Pitch and conditions

Conditions at the R Premadasa Stadium now present an interesting dilemma. The curator has now begun to leave the pitch dry, which should make you want to bat first. However, with the ever-present threat of the rain you also want to exploit the Duckworth-Lewis anomaly and avoid the wet outfield.

Stats and trivia

• Shoaib Malik loves playing India. His overall international average is 31.67 over 282 matches, but in 38 matches against India he has scored four of those nine centuries and has averaged 46.41. In an unrelated incident he has married an Indian, tennis player Sania Mirza.
• Pakistan and India have never played each other in a T20 international outside the World Twenty20.
  

  Quotes

  “For me I think Virender Sehwag can be very dangerous. I hope he’ll play the next two games. I think it won’t be easy to play the next two games without him.”
  BBC”When we play India there is lot of pressure because our people always want us to win. The same is the case in India, so there will be pressure on both teams.”