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Liam Norwell: 'All the emotions came out, I was nearly in tears'

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Bowler glad to have repaid Warwickshire’s faith after injury-wrecked season

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Sep-2022It says a lot about Liam Norwell’s drive that he hopes his 9 for 62, which dragged Warwickshire to safety with a five-run victory over Hampshire, will allow his team-mates and fans to forgive him for his absences this season.Norwell’s figures – the 12th best in first-class cricket for Warwickshire – saw a fourth-innings target of 133 defended on a remarkable final day of the 2022 County Championship season. It brought just a second win of the season for Warwickshire but one that lifted them above Yorkshire, who will play Division Two cricket next season after defeat to Gloucestershire on Wednesday opened the door for their relegation rivals.Warwickshire were spared the ignominy of going down as defending champions, a success Norwell was very much a part of, with 49 dismissals at an average of 18.26 in 2021. This season, however, back issues, a concussion sustained in the second match of the season against Essex and a right elbow injury restricted him to three Championships appearances coming into this last round. Such ailments are an occupational hazard for bowlers but Norwell seems to have taken them to heart.Related

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  • Liam Norwell's career-best nine-for saves Warwickshire's season in five-run thriller

That he was even available to play here was a surprise to many. Following consultation with doctors, his prospects of playing again this summer were rated at “10%”. After getting through all eight games in the Royal London Cup, the club felt the best course of action was to sit out the remainder of the season to avoid pushing it too far.However, with the bowling stocks low, especially after Jayant Yadav and Mohammed Siraj returned to India, Norwell put himself forward to head coach Mark Robinson as a possible solution. And how. Even with little preparation and lacking full match fitness, he dug deep to bowl all but three of the 23.5 overs sent down from Edgbaston’s Pavilion End, and was relentless throughout.”I feel like I’ve let the lads and the management down quite a bit this year,” an exhausted Norwell said afterwards.”Personally, I’m as frustrated as anyone about how the season has gone. Back issues, concussion, tearing my elbow – I’m as frustrated as anyone. I believe, without trying to sound arrogant, if I played more this season, we wouldn’t be in this position… I just have that confidence in myself. And I hope I proved that today.”Of that, there can be no question. His performance, which began with 4 for 36 in the first innings, will go down as one of the most remarkable in the club’s history. Indeed England have closely monitored Norwell, as someone with both the frame and skills to challenge batters of the highest quality. This display simply confirmed what they saw in the former Gloucestershire man.Back in March, he was the first bowling reserve for the tour of West Indies, and was close to a full call-up as Mark Wood struggled with an elbow injury of his own in the first of the three Tests. Norwell, however, revealed he would not have taken the call, let alone the opportunity. A couple of weeks after he was told to wait on standby, his newborn contracted meningitis and nearly lost his life.Thankfully, his son – their second child – is healthy now. And after such a finish, the attention of selectors will be piqued once more. Test captain Ben Stokes was clearly impressed, championing the spell on social media. Norwell, however, feels his time has passed.”I’ll be honest, now I’m 30 and there are younger lads come in like [Matthew] Potts, I don’t think I have got a chance. But I will keep putting in performances and you never know.”After not wishing to be arrogant by rightly claiming greater availability would have prevented Warwickshire being involved in a dog fight at the end, dismissing his own England prospects is perhaps a dip too far into modesty. Understandably, his focus is on resting up, getting fitter over the winter and playing all of next season. But the skills on show, whether unerring accuracy or clever use of the knuckleball, were sure signs of a bowler with a strong command of his craft.The mindset, evidently, is already there. Not just coming back from injuries, or the character showcased in the two match-deciding spells but even at the tea break when he took himself to one side to maintain his focus. “I sat by myself, to be honest with you,” he said.”I felt quite emotional at tea and I wanted to make sure I was the man to drive us over the line. I got our physio to get me some food and I just sat in the table in front of the viewing area and just looked out onto the pitch. It’s what I did last year when we won the Championship, just to try and keep myself focused. I thought if it worked last year it might work this year. Luckily it did.”He did admit to one moment of weakness. Upon taking the wicket of Keith Barker, bowling the left-hander to make it 91 for 7, his left hamstring began cramping, causing more discomfort than the right elbow which was sore but manageable. At the end of the over – Norwell’s 14th – he asked his captain Will Rhodes if he could come off. The reply could not be misinterpreted.”I have to give Will credit. I tried to take myself off after the Keith Barker wicket. I was cramping. I won’t use the language he used but he basically said ‘you’re bowling until the end of the game’. Him and Dom Sibley just kept getting around me and they kept pumping me up and getting me going.”Along with encouragement from his team-mates, he had Warwickshire’s physio for company down at fine leg. At the start of his last over, defending just five, he produced a beauty to uproot James Fuller’s middle stump when the bowling allrounder looked set to win Hampshire the game. Four balls on, a full, inswinging delivery wrapped Mohammad Abbas on the pads to confirm the win and survival.”I just went a bit mad,” Norwell said of the final celebration. “All the emotions came out, I was nearly in tears. It means a lot to me – I feel like I’ve let everyone down this year by not playing.”Helping us stay up and put in that performance I hope is repaid the lads and supporters for not playing.” It is safe to say it has.

India brace for long quarantine: two weeks in Mumbai, 10 days in Southampton

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BCCI awaiting exemption for family members of squad

Nagraj Gollapudi17-May-2021The Indian contingent that will head to the UK for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England this summer will undergo a hard quarantine, spanning two weeks, starting May 19. Also part of this plan will be the Indian women’s squad, which is scheduled to play a one-off Test followed by three ODIs and three T20Is. Both the Indian squads will assemble in Mumbai and are likely to fly out together on a charter flight to London on June 2.As per the BCCI’s plan, the 20 players in the men’s Test squad, excluding those residing in Mumbai, will start their quarantine at the team hotel from Wednesday. The BCCI has arranged charter flights that will pick up all the players, coaches and support staff from different parts of India and bring them to Mumbai.From May 24 onwards the rest of the squad and members of the team management residing in Mumbai, including Indian captain Virat Kohli, his deputy Ajinkya Rahane, senior batsman Rohit Sharma along with head coach Ravi Shastri, will enter the bio-secure bubble at the Mumbai team hotel. The Mumbai group will also serve a strict home quarantine starting on May 19.To ensure the bubble is completely secure, the BCCI has arranged for all members – both the men’s and women’s squads – to get three negative tests before they board the flights to Mumbai. There will be further testing done at the team hotel in Mumbai before they embark on the London flight.Saha to join Mumbai bubble later
Wriddhiman Saha, who is one of the two wicketkeepers along with Rishabh Pant for the WTC final and the England series, will join the Mumbai bubble in the week leading to the England departure. Saha had tested positive for Covid-19 during his stay in the Delhi leg of the IPL where he plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Saha, who has been in quarantine for two weeks, has got the BCCI permission to visit his family in Kolkata before he heads to Mumbai to join the Indian Test squad.Related

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  • Rahul to undergo surgery for appendicitis

Saha was one of the three players, along with KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna, whose availability, the BCCI had said while naming the squad, was subject to fitness. Rahul had undergone surgery to treat appendicitis during the IPL where he is captain of Punjab Kings. Krishna, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders, had tested positive for Covid-19 a day after returning from the IPL to his home town Bengaluru recently.Ten-day quarantine in Southampton
The men’s squad will head directly to Southampton where India will play New Zealand in the inaugural WTC final between June 18-22. ESPNcricinfo understands that as per the permission sought from the British government by the ECB, which will coordinate with the ICC in hosting the WTC final, the Indian Test squad will undergo a 10-day quarantine at the team hotel which is located within the ground premises in Southampton. However unlike the hard quarantine in Mumbai, the Indian squad would be allowed to train in a controlled fashion within the Southampton bubble, which will comprise the team hotel and the ground and training facilities.BCCI awaits exemption for family members
One significant question still facing the BCCI is getting exemptions for the family members of the Indian contingent. It is learnt that the ECB is working with the UK government on seeking these exemptions.With the number of Covid cases nearing 25 million overall, India is only behind the US globally and also has the third-largest death count since the pandemic hit. Recently the UK government had put India on the red list of countries for travel – both outbound and inbound.
Despite most of its adult population having received at least one shot of the vaccine, the UK government has been cautious about incoming travellers from India mainly due to concern over the growing number of cases related to the coronavirus variant, B.1.617.2, which originated in India. On Monday, Matt Hancock, the British Health Secretary said there were about 2,323 cases of the Indian variant.At present, the BCCI has allowed family members to be part of the Mumbai bubble. The family members will undergo the same bio-safety protocols meant for the team while living in the bubble.

'Jofra Archer must keep wanting to learn' – Joe Root

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Captain backs fast bowler to bounce back from tough New Zealand tour as thoughts turn to South Africa

Andrew Miller03-Dec-2019Joe Root, England’s captain, has backed Jofra Archer to learn his lessons quickly after a chastening first taste of overseas Test cricket, and believes that England will travel to South Africa for next month’s four-Test series all the better prepared for the challenge after two hard-fought Tests in New Zealand.Archer endured a frustrating series, in what was his first experience of first-class cricket outside of England, let alone at the highest level. With his speeds noticeably down as he struggled to get to grips with the Kookaburra ball, he picked up two wickets across 82 overs in the two matches. His fortunes were epitomised on the final day in Hamilton, where Joe Denly dropped a sitter at midwicket to deny him the prize scalp of New Zealand’s captain, Kane Williamson.Off the field he was distracted too, following an incident of racial abuse at Mount Maunganui that has led NZC to lodge an official complaint with the police. But speaking at the end of the series, Root reiterated that Archer, 24, is still very new to international cricket, and will continue to be an incredible asset to England if he carries on developing as he has done so far this year.”I think he’s found that Test cricket is hard, and you’ve got to keep backing up those performances over and over again,” Root told Sky Sports. “You can sometimes bowl extremely well and get no reward.”And he’s young,” Root added. “He’s right at the start of his career, and as I said at the start of the trip, there are big expectations on him. He’s still got a lot of learning to do, but one thing I know for sure is that he’s a fantastic talent and there’s no doubt he’s going to contribute massively for England in Test cricket.”But he has to keep wanting to learn, and to stay nice and resilient mentally and physically as well, because these conditions can wear you down. I expect him to bounce back quite strongly from something like this, because he’s a fast learner. He’s proven that when he’s played domestic cricket around the world, in all these big franchise tournaments. Hopefully we’ll see see him back at his best soon.”ALSO READ: Taylor, Williamson secure New Zealand series winEngland’s selectors will name their squad for the South Africa tour over the weekend, and Root said that in spite of the series scoreline in New Zealand, they could take heart from the manner in which the side bounced back from their innings defeat in the first Test, and from the lessons they took from New Zealand’s star peformers – not least the Man of the Series, Neil Wagner, who claimed back-to-back five-fors on the unresponsive decks.”I think we learned a lot about the group,” said Root. “Obviously the ideal scenario is perform extremely well, and come away with a 2-0 series win, so it’s not worked out how we would have liked, but [for South Africa] we’ve now seen what it can be like if the surfaces do get like this with the Kookaburra ball. And like we did at Mount Maunganui, we have to learn very quickly and take that forward into those four games.”You’ve got to learn from the opposition as well,” he added. “You look at someone like Neil Wagner – he’s got a big heart, a big engine, and keeps running. And that’s what you want, you want guys who, time and time again, want to be putting themselves in that position, to keep wanting to create chances and keep trying to change the game.”Wholesale changes for the tour of South Africa are unlikely, although James Anderson will doubtless return to the fray if he can prove his fitness after missing the bulk of the Ashes with a long-term calf injury. He is currently on a training camp in Potchefstroom with other potential selections, including Mark Wood and Jonny Bairstow, whose omission from the New Zealand tour left Ollie Pope with the wicketkeeping duties at Hamilton after Jos Buttler suffered a back strain on the eve of the match.Pope performed creditably in difficult circumstances, making a career-best 75 in England’s only innings, although he did drop a straightforward chance off Williamson on the final morning of the Test.”Look, we didn’t expect Jos to go down as late as he did, but it does happen,” said Root. “And we knew that that could happen when we picked the squad. And, bar one mistake today, Ollie made a very good account of himself. He showed great maturity with the way he batted throughout his innings and proved why he got given that opportunity.””Jonny is out in South Africa practising,” Root added. “He’s obviously not played red-ball cricket or been given an opportunity to prove himself, in terms of match time, so he’s doing some work with a couple of coaches and facing those [bowlers], and make sure he’s match-hardened if he’s to be selected.”One key decision will be the availability of Moeen Ali, who requested time away from red-ball cricket after a tough home summer, and who hinted to ESPNcricinfo last week that he is not yet sure he’s ready for a return to the Test arena. But, with England opting for an all-seam attack in Hamilton amid doubts about Jack Leach’s penetration with the ball, his prowess as a spin-bowling allrounder is still highly valued by his captain.”I need to sit down and speak to Ed [Smith, selector], and to Moeen, and find out exactly what the situation is with Mo,” said Root. “One thing is for sure, we know how talented he is. We know what he has produced in Test cricket over his career. It’s very easy to look at small sample sizes that have happened more recently, but he’s a he’s a fine, fine player and I’m sure at some point, he’ll be back in and raring to go. But once those conversations have happened, I’ll give you a little bit more.”

Australia seek desert glory; Fakhar eyes Test cap

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If Dubai was anything to go by, Australia have shown they’re up for a fight. For a bruised Pakistan, nothing but a win will do

The Preview by Shashank Kishore15-Oct-2018

Big Picture

The first Test reinforced a few age-old lessons about cricket in the UAE: dead as the tracks may appear to be, do not jump the gun until both sides have batted once. It may all look dull and dreary halfway into the Test, but a blink and the game springs to life when you least expect it to. Pakistan would certainly vouch for it. Just when statisticians and pundits had begun to check for record double-century opening stands, Australia collapsed dramatically.The collapse handed the advantage to Pakistan, but they weren’t in the mood to take it. A decision to bat on didn’t do them any favours. This has now added to the scrutiny around Sarfraz Ahmed’s captaincy, and nothing but a Test win in Abu Dhabi can sooth a bruised side that is yet to win a Test in UAE in over two years. There isn’t a better time to reverse that, for it would at least give their beleaguered captain some breathing space after a spate of ordinary results, including the ones at the Asia Cup last month.Australia are just beginning to wriggle out of a crisis under a new leadership group. Justin Langer, the head coach, has been quite vocal about the need to not just be satisfied with what they’ve achieved so far. This tour has been in the making for three months now, and has its roots in India, where they played a stream of matches against the A sides of South Africa and India. They’ve even managed to integrate two young Indian domestic spinners into the set up to help prepare them for Tests on dry turners.Visualisation techniques, spin lessons, simulation, matches – they’ve all been checked. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and if Dubai was anything to go by, Australia have shown they’re up for a fight. Langer will expect much more from his boys if they are to move to the next level and for that, the rest of the batsmen have to show the resolve of Usman Khawaja and captain Paine. This could in many ways direct the course the team takes ahead of a big home summer against India.

Form guide

Pakistan: DLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: DLLLW

In the spotlight

Fakhar Zaman has played just two first-class games since the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final in 2016-17 that brought him into national reckoning. Since then, he’s built a reputation of white-ball destroyer. At the Asia Cup last month, he struggled from what coach Mickey Arthur called a ‘confidence crisis.’ He’s had two weeks to rejuvenate. A finger injury to Imam-ul-Haq means he’s set to receive his maiden Test cap. In that final, he made a quickfire 170 not out. Now, against a potent Australia attack, he may have to shelve some of his flamboyance. Can he display another facet to his game?Even Shaun Marsh will struggle to explain his decade of underachievement since international debut in 2011. Injuries, poor form, and competition may have contributed to him being in and out of the side, but even that can’t explain why he has played only 33 Tests. Now, with Steven Smith and David Warner serving bans, there is an opportunity for him to make the No. 3 spot his own for the immediate future. Scores of 7 and 0 in Dubai – he was out nicking behind in both innings – will add to his itch to make an impression before the bigger challenges later in the summer. Against an unrelenting attack, the pressure isn’t likely to be any less, but he’ll still have to find a way out, even if it means curbing his natural instinct of looking to drive on the up on docile surfaces.

Team news

Imam’s injury means Fakhar is set to become Pakistan’s 234th Test cricketer. But Pakistan will be asking two other questions. Bilal Asif’s Test initiation with a six-for quickly dissipated after a wicketless show on the final day. This could make them ponder over the inclusion of legspinner Shadab Khan, who has been troubled with a groin strain lately. Also, what of Wahab Riaz, who bowled 27 wicketless overs across two innings? Mir Hamza could come in as a like-for-like replacement, which potentially means two new Test caps for Pakistan.Pakistan XI: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Babar Azam, 6, Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Mir Hamza/Shadab Khan, 9 Bilal Asif, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Yasir ShahMarnus Labuschagne failed with the bat, but his legbreaks were more than useful. This could earn him another opportunity, even though Matt Renshaw is knocking on the doors for a middle-order berth. They will possibly hand a debut to one of two fast bowlers – Brendan Dogget or Michael Neser – in place of left-arm spinner Jon Holland, who had a forgettable outing in Dubai.Australia XI: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschangne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland/Ashton Agar/Michael Neser

Pitch and conditions

A time-lapse from three days prior to the game will reveal how the tinge has changed from green right through to biscuit brown on match-eve. The heat will ensure the track will break as the Test progresses, allowing the spinners to come into the game on days four and five. It should be the best for batting early on. No prizes for guessing what the captain winning the toss will do.

Stats and trivia

  • Pakistan’s previous Test win in the UAE came in Abu Dhabi in 2016. Since then they haven’t won a Test in the UAE in four attempts, losing three – one to West Indies and two to Sri Lanka – and drawing the first Test of this series in Dubai.
  • Azhar Ali needs 59 runs to go past Misbah-ul-haq as the batsman with second highest Test runs in the UAE, He is going through a bit of a lean patch of late though, averaging just 17.10 from this last 10 Test innings.
  • Nathan Lyon averages a poor 84.85 from three Tests in the UAE. Elsewhere in Asia, he’s taken 80 wickets at an average of 27.01.
  • Mohammad Abbas is one wicket away from being the joint-fastest Pakistan pacer to 50 Test wickets.

Quotes

“Can’t say if the pressure will be more on Pakistan or Australia. We are the home side and obviously, people expect us to win and so there is pressure. Having said that, these are favourable conditions for us and we have to make the most of it.”
“It’s one of those things, you can get nailed for it either way, so it can be a hard job, but I’m sure they know what they’re trying to do, we certainly know what we’re trying to do, and what matters to us is what’s inside our four walls and I’m sure Sarfraz and Pakistan are the same.”

Pakistan to visit Scotland for T20I series

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The series, set to follow on from England playing an ODI in Edinburgh, will be the first instance of Scotland hosting a Full Member for a T20I

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2017Scotland will host Pakistan for a two-match T20I series in Edinburgh next year. It will mark the first face-off between the two sides in the 20-over format since they met in the group stage of the 2007 World T20 in South Africa, where Shahid Afridi’s all-round performance eased Pakistan to a 51-run win.The series, set to be played in the same week that England arrive for an ODI, also at The Grange, will be the first instance of Scotland hosting a Full Member for a T20I. The fixtures against Pakistan will be held on June 12 and 13.Pakistan’s last visit to Scotland was in 2013 for a two-match ODI series, where they defeated the home side by 96 runs before the second game was abandoned due to rain.Weighing in on the significance of the series, Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer said: “To have the opportunity to take on a hugely talented Pakistan team at home in two T20Is is wonderful news for both the players and our supporters.”With these matches taking place in the same week that we host England in an ODI in Edinburgh it gives us a great chance to show how far we have come as a group in both of these formats of the game.”It also means that, having defeated Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka this year, we have another great chance to take some more Full Member scalps. As a squad we want to test ourselves against the world’s best and, in Pakistan and England, we have two of the current top sides in the world coming to Scotland next summer. Along with the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in 2018, the year is really starting to look like an exciting one for everyone involved in Scottish cricket.”Like many of the Associate nations, Scotland have struggled to arrange fixtures against Full Members. They face a challenge if they are to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, which has been reduced to 10 teams, but could target the next World T20, in three years’ time, as another opportunity to further their cause.

Jennings commits his future to Durham

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Keaton Jennings has signed a new four-year deal to remain at Durham after interest from a number of other counties

George Dobell06-Aug-2016Keaton Jennings has signed a new four-year deal to remain at Durham. Jennings, who had been out of contract at the end of the season, had emerged as a target of several rival clubs with Warwickshire having held talks with him in recent days and seeing him as a potential leader of their side.But, despite their well-documented financial pressures, Durham have been able to hang on to Jennings and have now secured him on a long-term deal. He has stood-in as captain in recent days and looks a potential club captain of the near future.Despite being born in Johannesburg, Jennings emerged through the Durham academy and made his first team debut for the club in 2012. A solid, patient, top-order batsman, he is currently the top run-scorer in the top division of the County Championship and has emerged as a valuable medium-pace bowler in limited-overs cricket. Aged just 24, he has the bulk of his career ahead of him.”Durham has afforded me the opportunity over the past few years to learn the trade and start to build a career and I am grateful for their support,” Jennings said. “As a team, we have an exciting future ahead in search of the same success that we experienced in 2013 and 2014. It’s a privilege to be part of this environment and I’m looking forward to adding value where possible.”The singing will come as a considerable relief to Durham. Already resigned to losing Mark Stoneman to Surrey, there have been fears that the club could lose several other top players to rival clubs as money troubles inhibit their ability to pay comparable wages. But news of Jenning’s new contract will boost hopes they can also retain the services of Scott Borthwick and Mark Wood.The news will be a setback to Warwickshire, though. Having lost the service of Varun Chopra, who has announced he is returning to Essex at the end of the season, the club were hoping to sign a replacement top-order batsman with many years in front of him. Jennings fitted the bill perfectly.

Yorkshire crush Durham to go top

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There was something very ominous and deeply appropriate about the manner in which Yorkshire completed their innings victory over Durham

Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street01-Jul-2015
ScorecardJack Brooks helped finish off Durham as Yorkshire won by an innings to go top of the table•Getty Images

There was something very ominous and deeply appropriate about the manner in which Yorkshire completed their innings victory over Durham on the fourth morning of their match at Chester-le-Street.For three months or more, Jason Gillespie has been stressing the quality of the players in his squad who are barely if ever mentioned in connection with international selection. No one thought it false optimism or misplaced confidence.When England had six Yorkshire cricketers in the West Indies, Yorkshire prospered. During the Test and one-day series against New Zealand, in which many of their players were involved, Yorkshire prospered, even if they were not at the top of Division One table.When Yorkshire began their game against Durham last Sunday, four of their players were in Spain getting to know the new England coach Trevor Bayliss during a pre-Ashes training camp. And on the day when Adil Rashid was included in the 13-man squad for next week’s first Test in Cardiff, Andrew Gale’s side clinched the win that took them 11 points clear of vanquished Durham with a game in hand.Some still believe that Middlesex or Warwickshire might mount a challenge for the title. Well, the season is only half over and there is, indeed, a lot of cricket to be played. But it’s very difficult to argue against the view that Yorkshire have not only the most talented squad of players in the country but also the deepest pool of players. England calls may cause changes to be made but, at the moment, excellence comes as standard.”This was a fantastic win against a quality side,” Gillespie said. “You always want to be play good, hard consistent cricket but to be able to do it against Durham on their own ground is very satisfying.”I’d like to think that people would see that we are playing some very good cricket but we are halfway through the season and there is a lot of work to do yet.”We are 11 points clear with a game in hand and that’s a great position to be in but there are a lot of good sides in this division, so we need to make sure that we maintain our standards and then the points table will take care of itself.”Yorkshire’s cricket on this last day was as ruthless as the team’s followers have come to expect. Steve Patterson, made the first breakthrough in the fifth over of the morning when Gordon Muchall played fatally late at an inswinger which went on to brush his off stump.Having taken a wicket with the old ball, Yorkshire’s new-ball pairing of Jack Brooks and Ryan Sidebottom brushed Durham aside with the new one.Encouraged by the arrival of Ryan Pringle, the first of five men not selected solely for their batting, Brooks and Sidebottom took the last five wickets in 32 balls. Brooks took three in seven to finish the innings with 4 for 66 and Sidebottom removed Durham’s opening batsman, Mark Stoneman, who was leg before after making a determined 131 in 329 minutes.By the time Chris Rushworth edged Brooks to Jonny Bairstow just before 12.30pm, only the fact of Yorkshire’s victory needed to be confirmed; the superiority of Gale’s cricketers had been clear for some time. Durham will no doubt regroup and Warwickshire will also offer Yorkshire a proper challenge at Edgbaston, starting on Sunday. But at the moment it is very difficult to see the title going anywhere but back to Headingley in September. Indeed, we may be seeing the early stages in the establishment of a new Yorkshire dynasty.

New Zealand drop Kruger van Wyk

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New Zealand’s change of captaincy has overshadowed a number of changes in their Test squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa, with the wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk, the legspinner Todd Astle and the batsman Rob Nicol all left out after being part of th

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2012New Zealand’s change of captaincy has overshadowed a number of changes in their Test squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa, with the wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk, the legspinner Todd Astle and the batsman Rob Nicol all left out after being part of the group that toured Sri Lanka. A 15-man squad has been named, with the other change the absence of Ross Taylor, who has decided to take a break from cricket following the captaincy drama.BJ Watling will take the gloves for the two Tests in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, while the batsmen Dean Brownlie and Peter Fulton have earned recalls. Brownlie, 28, was impressive during his first two series against Zimbabwe and Australia last year but was dropped following the tour of the West Indies in August, while Fulton, 33, has not played for New Zealand in any format for three years.There was also a call-up for the uncapped left-arm spinner Bruce Martin, 32, who is the leading wicket taker among spinners in the Plunket Shield this summer with 15 at 31.80. Martin, who plays for Auckland, was second only to Neil Wagner among all wicket takers last season with 37 at an average of 37, and the selectors believe his style of bowling will be of more value in South Africa than the legspin of Astle.”We don’t require a leg-spin option in South African conditions so have left out Todd Astle but he is very much part of our thinking for the future,” coach Mike Hesson said in a statement. “Bruce Martin is a specialist spinner who can bowl a lot of overs and he deserves an opportunity after showing good recent form. Following on from BJ Watling’s good form in Sri Lanka and again while back in New Zealand, he has been selected as the Test wicketkeeper.”Fulton is also back in the Twenty20 squad, having not played a T20 international for nearly four years, while there were call-ups for a number of uncapped players. The left-arm fast bowler Corey Anderson, allrounder Jimmy Neesham, wicketkeeper Derek de Boorder, batsman Colin Munro and fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan were all included and could make their debuts.Tim Southee and Jacob Oram were not considered for the T20 squad due to the upcoming births of their children, and Andrew Ellis was ruled out with a side strain. The tour begins with a Twenty20 in Durban on December 21, followed by T20s in East London and Port Elizabeth, before the Tests take place in the first half of January. Three ODIs will follow the Tests, but the one-day squad is yet to be named.Test squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Peter Fulton, Daniel Flynn, Dean Brownlie, BJ Watling (wk), James Franklin, Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Jeetan Patel, Bruce Martin, Chris Martin.Twenty20 squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Martin Guptill, Rob Nicol, Peter Fulton, Colin Munro, Nathan McCullum, Corey Anderson, James Franklin, Jimmy Neesham, Derek de Boorder, Mitchell McClenaghan, Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult, Ronnie Hira, Adam Milne.

Copeland stars in New South Wales win

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Trent Copeland reminded Australia’s selectors of his credentials with a five-wicket haul that set up victory for New South Wales in Sydney

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2011
ScorecardTrent Copeland collected 5 for 44•Getty Images

Trent Copeland reminded Australia’s selectors of his credentials with a five-wicket haul that set up victory for New South Wales in Sydney. Copeland was axed from the Test squad for the series against New Zealand, having toured in South Africa and Sri Lanka, and in his second match back for the Blues he picked up 5 for 44 to help restrict Western Australia to 199.Copeland struck three times in his first three overs and the Warriors never fully recovered from their shaky start of 4 for 14. The opener Wes Robinson steadied things somewhat with 87 but his only serious support came from the fast bowler Nathan Rimmington, who was coming off his maiden first class hundred and scored 46 in an 89-run stand with Robinson.The visitors were all out in their 49th over and didn’t crack the 200 mark, hardly what the stand-in captain Luke Ronchi wanted when he chose to bat. The New South Wales chase was reduced to 198 from 46 overs due to rain and when they stumbled to 5 for 103 the hosts looked in danger.But half-centuries to Steven Smith (57 not out) and Peter Nevill (55 not out) got the hosts home with 16 balls to spare.

Next hearing on Lalit Modi postponed by two weeks

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The next hearing of the BCCI’s disciplinary committee that is considering the case against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has been postponed by two weeks to December 27th and 28th

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2010The next hearing of the BCCI’s disciplinary committee that is considering the case against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has been postponed by two weeks to December 27th and 28th. The three-man committee was scheduled to have its next sitting on Monday and Tuesday, but decided to push it back on the request of Modi’s attorney Mehmood Abdi.Abdi asked for the postponement after Modi’s counsel Swadeep Hora, who has been cross-examining the witnesses of the BCCI, met with an accident on Friday evening. Arun Jaitley, one of members of the committee who is also a part of the IPL governing council, agreed to Abdi’s request.At the previous hearing on November 22, Modi had raised a technical point that the panel probing charges of financial irregularities allegedly committed by him as the IPL chief did not have the mandate of the board’s AGM held on September 29.The board, subsequently, convened a special general body meeting on December 11 and appointed the same three-man panel consisting of Jaitley, Chirayu Amin and Jyotiraditya Scindia to continue the disciplinary proceedings against Modi.