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Abdul Samad and Shahrukh Khan also score tons for their respective teams; Pujara out for a four-ball duck as Saurashtra struggle

Saurabh Somani19-Feb-2022Hanuma Vihari followed up a first-innings half-century with a second-innings 106, as Hyderabad put themselves in a strong position to gain an outright victory over Chandigarh on the third day of the first round of matches in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22.The day also saw aggressive centuries from two men who have made headlines for their short-form batting more, with Abdul Samad hitting 103 off 78 balls for Jammu and Kashmir against Pondicherry, and M Shahrukh Khan smashing 194 off 148 balls for Tamil Nadu against Delhi.Vihari, who was selected in India’s Test squad for the series against Sri Lanka, had been Hyderabad’s top-scorer in the first innings too, with 59 runs even though every single batter made it to double figures to drive the total to 347 all out. In contrast, Chandigarh had Manan Vohra playing a lone hand with 110 in a total of 216 in an Elite Group B match at the Vikas Cricket Ground in Cuttack.In Hyderabad’s second innings, Vihari hit his 22nd first-class century, as Hyderabad declared on 269 for 8, setting Chandigarh an unlikely 401 for victory. Tilak Varma shared in a 130-run stand for the third with Vihari, before he was out for 63. Chandigarh had already lost two wickets in the eight overs and were 21 for 2 at stumps.In the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Tamil Nadu held the advantage against Delhi in an Elite Group H match, thanks to Shahrukh’s swashbuckling innings, the standout century in a game that had Yash Dhull hitting a hundred on debut to rescue Delhi from 7 for 2, then Lalit Yadav’s maiden first-class century that swelled to 177 as he took Delhi from 253 for 7 to 452 all out. B Indrajith also hit 117, but it was Shahrukh’s 194 that stole the show. With only a day left, a draw seems most likely but Shahrukh has ensured Tamil Nadu will get first-innings lead points, a prospect that seemed unlikely when they were 162 for 5.In an Elite Group C match in Chennai’s SSN College of Engineering ground, Jammu and Kashmir were on the brink of victory against Pondicherry.Qamran Iqbal fell on his overnight score of 96, but Samad’s whirlwind century drove J&K to a first-innings lead as they were bowled out for 426 in reply to Pondicherry’s 343. Parvez Rasool’s spin then had Pondicherry tumbling to 113 for 9 at stumps, a lead of only 30 runs.File photo: Cheteshwar Pujara walks back•Shailesh Bhatnagar

In Ahmedabad, Cheteshwar Pujara was out for a four-ball duck as defending champions Saurashtra were made to follow on against Mumbai in an Elite Group D match.Overnight 18 without loss, Saurashtra were bowled out for 220 after Mumbai had piled on 544 for 7 declared. Pujara came in at No.4, and was lbw to Mohit Avasthi shortly after. Sheldon Jackson’s 61 was Saurashtra’s highest score in the first innings, but they put up a better show when following on, with openers Harvik Desai and Snell Patel having shared a 105-run stand that is still unbroken. Even so, given their massive deficit in the first innings, Saurashtra are trailing by a sizeable 219 runs.Three games finished on the third day, with Kerala beating Meghalaya by an innings and 166 runs in an Elite Group A match, Chattisgarh defeating Jharkhand by eight wickets in an Elite Group H match, and Manipur victorious by an innings and 25 runs against Arunachal Pradesh in a Plate Group match.Playing his first first-class match since his ban in 2013 for spot-fixing, S Sreesanth didn’t have a good outing for Kerala, although his team overwhelmed Meghalaya.In the first innings, Meghalaya were bowled out for just 148, with Eden Apple Tom taking 4 for 41 on debut. Sreesanth took the wickets of the No.9 and No.11 batters, returning 2 for 40 in 11.5 overs. Centuries by P Rahul, Rohan Kunnumal and Vatshal Govind then propelled Kerala to 505 for 9 declared, before they bowled out Meghalaya for 191. Sreesanth went wicket-less, giving up 57 runs in nine overs.

The tall paceman has already taken 13 wickets in just three innings at the start of the Plunket Shield

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2020Kyle Jamieson’s impressive start to the New Zealand season continued as he claimed a hat-trick on the second day of the Plunket Shield match against Central Districts.Jamieson, who took match figures of 8 for 45 in the opening round against Otago, removed Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver and Brad Schmulian for his hat-trick in the 27th over. The Auckland quick finished with figures of 5 for 41.The hat-trick delivery to Schmulian was a booming inswinger which came back sharply to take off stump as the batsman shouldered arms.”I said to mid-off and mid-on, I’m just going to bowl a big [inswinger] and try to make him play,” Jamieson said. “When you are on a hat-trick you have to try and go pole-hunting a little bit, it managed to come back a wee bit and the rest got swept up in the emotion of it. Pretty cool moment.” Jamieson has been working on adding the inswinger to his armoury over the last couple of seasons and has started to use it with greater regularity at the start of this summer. He has also tried to attack the crease more in his delivery stride having watched the Australia and New Zealand bowlers when he was first called into the Test squad as a replacement late last year on the tour of Australia.”It’s been a couple of years work,” he said. “Did a little bit last winter and continued it this winter. I got a couple out of the hand last week which settled the nerves in terms of bowling it in a game, it’s nice to be able to offer a couple variations to keep the batter guessing.”My first impressions of watching all the guys run, both the Aussies and the Kiwis, was just how much they attacked the crease and I thought there’s probably a little room to move for me in that area. I did a little work in the nets in Sydney and then brought it back, it’s about finding ways to keep improving and adding bits to your game. It helped me at the back end of last season and just trying to take it forward into this one.”Jamieson made an immediate mark on international cricket when he debuted against India in February, taking nine wickets in his first two Tests including 5 for 45 in Christchurch. He is now looking in fine form ahead of New Zealand’s home international season, which begins against West Indies late next month before a visit by Pakistan, boosted by a winter of fitness work with the cancellation of cricket due to Covid-19.”I’m very comfortable with where my game’s at at the moment, the things I’ve been working on and how I’ve been feeling in the middle more importantly. I certainly feel in the best shape I ever have going into a season.”

The hosts secured their very first ODI series clean sweep over a fellow Full Member in Stormont

The Report by Liam Brickhill07-Jul-2019James McCollum’s second fifty of the series, and a nuggety 49 from captain William Porterfield, took Ireland to an historic six-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Stormont. Following on from his fifty in Ireland’s series-sealing win on Thursday, McCollum set up Ireland’s pursuit of Zimbabwe’s 190 with 54 at the top of the order. Porterfield’s knock pushed Ireland closer to victory, and an unbeaten 35 from Kevin O’Brien secured their very first ODI series clean sweep over a fellow Full Member.With swing on offer with the new ball, McCollum didn’t have it all his own way early in his knock and was given a particularly thorough working over by Kyle Jarvis, playing and missing at three outswingers in a row. But Zimbabwe couldn’t make any inroads, despite several near misses and one clear chance that came their way. In the second over of Ireland’s chase, Tendai Chatara drew a false shot from Paul Stirling, a leading edge presenting Sean Williams with a tough high chance running back from cover, but it was spilled and Ireland cruised through the Powerplay at better than five an over.Having scored six consecutive fifty-plus ODI scores, Stirling was in sight of a seventh when he edged an attempted cut off Chatara to fall for 32. Zimbabwe snaffled a second wicket just before the first drinks break, Andy Balbirnie top edging a sweep off Williams before he could get going, but after the interval McCollum and Porterfield continued to find the boundary whenever one was needed to ease pressure.Porterfield nudged his way past 4,000 ODI runs during a 43-run third wicket stand that steadied Ireland and took the score beyond 100 in the 23rd over. At the other end, McCollum raised his fifty with a handsome drive through cover off Solomon Mire, but then fell against the run of play in Mire’s next over, driving a long half volley uppishly into the covers, where Ryan Burl dived to his right to hold the catch.By then, Ireland needed only 81 more runs from the better part of 25 overs, and Porterfield steadily whittled away at the target alongside Kevin O’Brien. So effective in the last match, today Zimbabwe’s spinners struggled to pin Ireland’s middle order down, with Porterfield putting the sweep to particularly good use against Sikandar Raza’s offspin.It was Ryan Burl’s part-time legspin that finally got the better of Porterfield, however, as he was beaten by sharp turn and bowled for 49 in the 37th over, with Ireland needing just 32. O’Brien administered the last rites, batting a little within himself but still allowing for the odd moment of flair.”We set out to win the series and obviously to win it 3-0 is pretty good,” Porterfield said after the game. “Starting back in May, quite a few cricketers have come in. It’s really pleasing that the lads are coming in and making contributions. There’s depth in that pool of players and the confidence is right up there.”It was one of Ireland’s veterans who set the match up. Once again utilising the conditions expertly, Tim Murtagh picked up 3 for 39 to lead the attack. He found the outside edge of Burl’s bat in the third over of the morning, the left-hander having been promoted to open, and then snapped up the vital wicket of Brendan Taylor for the second time in the series. With Craig Ervine dragging a pull at Mark Adair onto his own stumps, Zimbabwe were three down early and the slide began in earnest.They were tottering at 88 for 6, but Richmond Mutumbami joined a settled Williams at the crease to steady things somewhat with a 43-run stand. Boyd Rankin’s pace and bounce snapped the partnership, Mutumbami wafting flat-footed outside off to be caught behind, but after him Jarvis also showed a little stickability to chaperone Williams to his second fifty of the tour.Williams’ desperately unlucky dismissal for 67 – run out at the non-striker’s end as Adair palmed a firm drive from Jarvis back onto the stumps – completely opened up Zimbabwe’s tail. Jarvis attempted to push things on with a couple of lusty blows, but two overs later Zimbabwe were all out for their lowest total of the tour.”I’m obviously getting on a bit now, but still enjoying my cricket,” Murtagh said after being named Player of the Series for his nine wickets. “And these boys keep me young. I’m enjoying it. They’re good kids. They’re desperate to learn. Mark’s last over in the last game was really special. Shane [Getkate] looks like he’s been playing for years.””We haven’t played our best cricket,” admitted Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza. “Ireland have showed us up and really put us under the pump. We need to make better decisions under pressure. That’s what Ireland have done, every time they’re on top, they haven’t let us come back.”

The former Australian batsman will no longer continue as a selector after his contract ends in August because of his increasing involvement in TV commentary

Daniel Brettig14-May-2018Australian cricket will soon rid itself of a major conflict of interest after Mark Waugh chose to step down as a national selector in order to commentate full-time for the pay-TV provider Fox Sports.Officially Waugh is still slated to be the selector on duty when the limited-overs team travels to England in June for a series also to be broadcast on Fox, but he will have moved on by the time the next home summer begins.Waugh, who has been a selector since May 2014, will be part of Cricket Australia’s new host broadcaster, with Fox Sports (part-owned by News Corporation) having paid the lion’s share of the A$1 billion television-rights fee sought. In return for the cash, CA has hidden two of three international formats – ODIs and Twenty20s – behind a paywall for the first time in Australian history.For the past year, Waugh has been officially designated CA’s T20 selector in addition to being on the panel to choose teams across all formats, despite concurrently commentating for the Ten Network on its successful coverage of the Big Bash League (BBL). Ten’s loss of the rights to the BBL, alongside Nine’s forfeiture of the rights to international cricket for the first time in 40 years, has led to a feeding frenzy for commentary positions at Fox and also Seven, which will show Test matches and some BBL games on free-to-air television as part of a sub-licensing deal.Alongside the CA board director Mark Taylor while he was also commentating for Nine, Waugh’s has been the most obvious conflict on Australian television screens over the past four seasons, making for numerous awkward moments – not that Ten minded the recurring source of conversation starters. Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria’s operations manager, said what many were thinking after Waugh offered a thinly veiled criticism of Glenn Maxwell on one broadcast by saying of D’Arcy Short: “Haven’t seen him play a reverse sweep, have we in six games? I think some of the other batsmen around the country, take note.””I know he puts himself into a little bit of a conflict of interest by being a commentator as well, [but] I don’t think that’s the forum to discuss anything like that,” Graf told SEN Radio last summer. “Maybe ‘Junior’ should concentrate on his special comments but not maybe talk as much in relation to the selection side of things.”The Olympic hockey player and respected coach Ric Charlesworth, a state cricketer for western Australia in the 1970s and ’80s, raised the issue of Waugh’s conflict in a 2016 book. Charlesworth is a mentor to the new Australian coach Justin Langer. “Another boundary that seems to have been crossed in cricket is that of selection,” Charlesworth wrote in .”One of the Australian selectors, Mark Waugh, appears on television as an expert commentator and gives opinions on form and performance… this appears an extraordinary conflict of interest. Many of the traditional boundaries are being crossed and there is increasing pressure for coaches and players to ‘come out’ of the game during the contest and sponsors, broadcasters and producers drive this behaviour.”Given to following his instincts rather than relying overly on numbers, Waugh made a mark upon the final squad-selection he has been involved in, choosing Nic Maddinson for the T20 leg of the England tour even though the former state captain had been left out of the New South Wales contract list for next season.Waugh’s signature with Fox Sports joins those of Isa Guha, Mel Jones, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey and Michael Vaughan. Seven, meanwhile, have signed Ricky Ponting. Nine’s long-time commentator Bill Lawry has declined approaches from the two networks.

PCA chairman Daryl Mitchell believes the proposed new T20 competition in England is likely to dilute the quality of domestic 50-over cricket and provide “another kick” to its future

George Dobell17-Feb-2017The proposed new T20 competition in England is likely to dilute the quality of domestic 50-over cricket and provide “another kick” to its future, according to new PCA chairman, Daryl Mitchell.While Mitchell, the Worcestershire top-order batsman who was recently elected to the PCA role, regards the launch of the eight-team T20 competition, scheduled for 2020, as “inevitable” he has reservations about several aspects of it and promised to work hard to ensure the interests of all 400 PCA members are protected.”The new T20 competition looks like a great opportunity for the 90 to 100 lads selected to play in it,” Mitchell told ESPNcricinfo. “But the role of the PCA is to look out for the other 300 players, too.”The plan at the moment is to play the 50-over competition during the window when the new T20 competition will be on. But if you take the best 100 white-ball players out of the tournament it is pretty inevitable there will be a dilution in quality.”We’re told players not in action in the new T20 competition may be made available to their counties, but 50-over cricket is probably already the format given the least priority by the players – something that is reflected in the prize money – and this will be another kick for it.”Our role will be to ensure the money we’re told will come into the sport trickles down for the benefit of everyone.”Mitchell’s personal views would appear to conflict quite sharply with the ECB’s approach in several areas. He believes a partial return to free-to-air broadcasting is essential if the game is to reach a new audience, he preferred the idea of a two-division solution (with promotion and relegation) in the T20 debate, and he argues for a need to increase the wages of young players.He accepts, however, that the ECB has “an incredibly difficult job” in trying to “look after so many stakeholders” and that his role is to communicate not his own views but those of his membership. “It’s about feeding back the views of the collective,” he said.”One of the challenging parts of the job is the need to balance the long-term health of the game with the short-term benefits to our current member. We have to remember that, if we don’t look after the game, we might not have any future members.”We appreciate that the ECB are trying to ensure the health of the game in the long-term and we appreciate we’re one of many stakeholders. We know we have to balance our aspirations with the aspirations of everyone else and I’m looking forward to working with the ECB to that end.”But he believes the players may have been “a bit naïve” in their enthusiasm for the new T20 competition and that reality has “hit home in recent times”.”As a Worcestershire player, we really look forward to the T20 competition as it provides us with a chance to play in front of packed houses and on big grounds,” he said. “As things stand, we go into that competition each year with a chance of winning it. To have that taken away from us is a bit of a blow.”When the new competition was first talked about, I think everyone thought they were about to become millionaires. Now people are realising that only about a quarter of us will play. We’re going to need quite a lot of info from the ECB.”From a personal point of view, I liked the two-division idea and, from a personal point of view, I think we need to get some cricket back on free to air. I think the ECB recognise that, too, and they are very clear about trying to raise the profile of the game.”Responding to the ECB’s reported attempt to change the mechanism by which the domestic salary cap is calculated, Mitchell suggested his attention was more on players at the lower end of the salary spectrum.”The salary cap isn’t relevant to many clubs,” Mitchell said. “I’m more worried up upping the minimum salaries. There are players in county cricket earning around £15,000 a year, which I don’t think reflects the skill and dedication required to be a professional athlete.”I’m told that nothing is decided about the salary cap yet, but I think our main priority will be making sure some of the money coming into the game filters down to the lower ends.”

India and Sri Lanka are set to play a three-match T20 series, prior to the Asia Cup, as both teams look ahead to the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2016India and Sri Lanka are set to play a three-match T20 series, prior to the Asia Cup, as both teams look ahead to the World T20.The tour begins in Pune on Feburary 9, then the teams head to Delhi to play the second match on February 12 and the final T20 will take place in Visakhapatnam on February 14. These matches will be the first time the two sides face each other in the shortest format since the final of the 2014 World Twenty20, which Sri Lanka won in April 2014.The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, which acquired Test status in November 2015, will host only its third international match, and only its second T20I.

Fawad Ahmed pull off a stunning piece of fielding during Australia A’s tight win over Gloucestershire, but his bowling did not make a huge statement

Daniel Brettig in Bristol23-Jun-2013
ScorecardFawad Ahmed had a difficult match with the ball•Associated Press

Fawad Ahmed provided the single most thrilling moment of Australia A’s tighter-than-it-should-have-been victory over Gloucestershire when he clasped a blinding catch at mid-on to account for a stubborn Gareth Roderick. Unfortunately for Ahmed, it was also the most telling contribution he made to the last match before Australia’s selectors decided whether or not to add him to the Ashes squad that assembles in Taunton on Monday.Match figures of 31.2-9-100-1 for Ahmed told a story almost as barren as the tourists’ second innings fade for 111, against a Division Two team that their captain Michael Klinger conceded was still learning how to play “hard first-class cricket”. There were mitigating factors against the success of legspin in the match, cold temperatures keeping hands cold and an icy wind testing Ahmed’s command of length and pace.Ashton Agar’s left-arm spin fared rather better, though their relative tallies of overs suggested the 19-year-old was not being quite so closely observed by the selectors John Inverarity, Rod Marsh and Mickey Arthur. Ahmed’s best was eye-catching, several leg breaks fizzing past groping bats and some googlies misread as comprehensively by Matthew Wade as they were by the Gloucestershire batsmen.But a tally of two wickets from as many matches on the Australia A tour is the first significant reverse Ahmed has suffered since making his state debut for Victoria last summer and quickly factoring into the calculations of selectors, administrators, marketeers and ultimately Federal politicians, who passed legislation to expedite his application for citizenship last week.Questions about Ahmed’s readiness for an Ashes promotion were chief among those raised by the first long-form match played by an Australian team in England this year. Steve Smith, the stand-in captain while Brad Haddin rested, could thank his pace bowling triumvirate of Ryan Harris, Jackson Bird and the fast-rising Chadd Sayers for ensuring the tour would conclude with three victories out of three, but the tourists were placed under considerable pressure before getting there.On the second evening Dan Christian had taken the initiative well away from the bowlers, inflicting particular punishment on Ahmed. He would only add another six runs to his overnight total before the persisting Harris coaxed an outside edge behind, but after Benny Howell was pinned lbw first ball, a series of partnerships down the order had Gloucestershire creeping alarmingly close to their target, Ahmed’s catch notwithstanding.The last pair of Liam Norwell and Tom Smith had scrounged 36 together by the time Sayers claimed a deserved eighth wicket for the match, granting Wade his fifth catch among 23 byes, the morning session extended by an extra half hour for the taking of the final wicket proving a nervous 30 minutes for a team that had seemed in such command on the first day, declaring after a mere 58 overs then rounding up five early wickets.From there they had to fight the match out. Gloucestershire’s ability to fight toe-to-toe with a conglomerate of Australia’s best young players plus a sprinkling of Ashes tourists provided some disquieting evidence to back up the observation of the former England captain Andrew Strauss about what his side had witnessed down under in 2010-11.”We were surprised at the quality of some of the state sides,” Strauss told the . “Australia used to have a conveyor belt of talent but it was noticeable they were a long way behind where they had been four years previously.”On the evidence of this match there is still a lot of catching up to do, for Ahmed and Australia.

Notts were put in trouble after another top order collapse left Chris Read having to rebuild the innings

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge18-Jul-2012
ScorecardNottinghamshire do not care much for flat pitches that lead to dull draws. Their winning philosophy involves surfaces prepared with a more than even chance of a result, one way or another, the reasoning being that to chalk up enough victories to win the County Championship you have to risk the odd defeat.Not that they lose too many on their Trent Bridge pitches, even when they have been five wickets down before lunch on the opening day. Recoveries engineered by their under-appreciated captain, Chris Read, are as common as top-order collapses. There is another under way in this match.The signing of quality recruits such as Michael Lumb and James Taylor was supposed to bring stability to the batting, or at least limit the frequency of mishaps, but the pitch prepared for this match was revealed to have variable bounce as well as surface grass and Read must have feared it would be another day for his well-honed experience as soon as Surrey’s latest captain, Zander de Bruyn, won the toss and chose to field.De Bruyn was leading the side here, in the continuing absence, on indefinite compassionate leave, of Rory Hamilton-Brown, after the previous stand-in, Gareth Batty, was left out in favour of an extra seamer, which is an indication of how Surrey assessed the conditions.There was no Chris Tremlett, recovering from back surgery, who played against Lancashire in a four-day match last week but was rested from this one, nor Jade Dernbach, who is still missing with the side strain that forced him out of England’s one-day series against Australia.But the seam quartet that was wheeled out – with Tim Linley and Chris Jordan added – took the first five wickets for 84 in 23 overs nonetheless, although it might be argued that they could have done so at a smaller cost, given that only Jordan conceded runs at fewer than four an over, giving the Nottinghamshire batsmen width to play with on both sides of the wicket.They were helped by the vagaries of the bounce. Lumb’s dismissal leg before owed something to the ball keeping low, Taylor edged one that climbed on him more than he foresaw and Alex Hales, trying to defend on the back foot to Jon Lewis, misread the ball sufficiently to inside edge it on to the ground and into his stumps.In between, Samit Patel played a poor leg-side shot that had him caught behind off a thin edge as Nottinghamshire slipped from 35 without loss after five overs to 59 for 4 in the space of 11 more overs.This followed an extraordinary opening in which Hales and Riki Wessels, who had shared an opening stand of 89 in 9.4 overs in a CB40 match against Hampshire on Tuesday evening, seemed intent on continuing in that vein, Wessels taking three fours in Lewis’s first over before Hales took two more boundaries as Linley opened at the other end. Not surprisingly, this bold approach ran into trouble as Wessels, having rushed to 23 off 23 balls, edged Linley to first slip.Taylor’s dismissal ushered in Read to join Voges and what followed was the familiar story. Voges was missed on 5 without further addition to the score, which was a significant moment given that this Nottinghamshire side has a lengthy tail, but thereafter the pair took their chances without risking too much and added 34 in five overs up to lunch without further scares.In the afternoon, they had to negotiate two stoppages for rain before the last one proved terminal — limiting play to 42 overs – but maintained their concentration admirably and the partnership so far is worth 94 runs, which could prove invaluable if this match is a low scoring one.They have rattled along, in keeping with the pace of the innings overall, scoring their runs off 108 balls. Read has 49 from 63 balls with eight fours. The Notts skipper clocked up 11,000 first-class runs for the county during the match against Middlesex at Uxbridge last week. He has compiled 63 first-class half-centuries in 225 matches for the county, turning 19 of them into centuries, and more often than not it has been in circumstances similar to these.

Chris Gayle is prepared to apologise if he can’t substantiate some of the charges he made in his controversial radio interview in April, according to Wavell Hinds

Sriram Veera22-Jun-2011Chris Gayle is prepared to apologise if he can’t substantiate some of the charges he made in his controversial radio interview in April, according to Wavell Hinds, the vice-president of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).”He is prepared to answer the charges as honestly as he can and if there is a need to say sorry, I think he will say sorry,” Hinds told ESPNcricinfo. “Where he [Gayle] feels firm and has strong substance to back up his claims he will stand by them. If there are claims he has made where he has been a little excessive he is prepared to put his hand up and say sorry. In no shape or form does Chris think he is above West Indies cricket and he has stated that quite clearly to me … Where there are claims that he can substantiate totally, he can put to the board that he has been unfairly done or been disrespected, he will stand by them.””I have known Chris for many years, I know him like a brother and as a friend. He is a very humble guy and he is prepared to do what is necessary to play.”The WICB has expressed their displeasure with Gayle’s statements on that radio show in which he alleged the board had mismanaged his injury, West Indies coach Gibson had damaged Ramnaresh Sarwan’s confidence, and the board mishandled his contract talks in October 2010. It is feared that if the stalemate continues West Indies cricket might lose Gayle.Hinds, however, believes the issue will be resolved. “In my capacity as a director of the Jamaican board I had the opportunity to meet the executive of the West Indies board and we are trying to get some more answers from them on how they plan to tackle the Gayle issue. I am pretty confident we will have further discussions between the boards and also between the board and WIPA.”I am confident that Gayle will get justice. I support WIPA’s position to help players’ causes. Having said that I have to make sure I am fair and balanced. I will ensure that whatever decisions we make as WIPA impacts West Indies cricket in a positive way.”Chris Gayle was not included in the team for the first Test against India•AFP

Hinds said the WICB needed to be calm while resolving the issue. “They are the parent body and Chris is one of their charges. They have to have the father figure kind of approach. If Chris has stepped out of line in their eyes they can ask him to answer their charges but they should also be prepared to accept his side of the story. Once Gayle is prepared to accept his responsibilities as a player, they should have some form of rehabilitation that will bring Chris to where he should be given his status as a cricketing icon in West Indies cricket. We are prepared to have discussions which are pretty cordial and thrash through the issues in an open and fair platform.”The WICB and WIPA had a heated meeting on June 14, with Gayle present, which ended inconclusively, and reportedly featured an argument between WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine and WICB chief-executive Ernest Hilaire. The board have since said they will not deal with Ramnarine, which has drawn a strong response from WIPA, who said in a release, “WICB cannot tell us who should represent the players at meetings with the WICB.” WIPA also said Ramnarine may sue Hilaire for defamation after Hilaire said Ramnarine had threatened him during the June 14 meeting.Hinds too backed Ramnarine but added that both parties should be prepared to alter their positions so that they serve cricket in the best way. “I respect Ramnarine for his position and what he has done. He is pretty knowledgeable about the issues at hand and has the skills to carry his office in the most efficient manner. He has had a few difficulties with the officers of the board; we will try to quell those differences and we can co-exist.”Of course none of us are bigger than the game of cricket. If there are any alterations to be made by any individual, be it Ramnarine or from the board, that individual should be prepared to make the necessary steps to make sure they are serving cricket in the best way.”

Kyle McCallan, the Ireland allrounder, who retired in December last year after a 13-year career, has been awarded the MBE

Cricinfo staff12-Jun-2010Kyle McCallan, the Ireland allrounder, who retired in December last year after a 13-year career, has been awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire).McCallan played 226 matches, captaining in a record 54 games. He captured 256 wickets with his offspinners, third on the all-time list behind Dermott Montieth and Jimmy Boucher. He’s also scored 3616 runs at 23.33, again No.3 in the list of highest run-getters from his country behind Stephen Warke and Ivan Anderson. McCallan was part of the Ireland team that reached the Super Eights of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies after beating Pakistan in the preliminary stage.”It’s a great honour for me personally, but also my wife and parents. I was privileged to have worn the Irish jersey for over 13 years, and I had some fantastic experiences. I’ve been fortunate to have made some wonderful friends through cricket, and have memories which I’ll cherish. It was quite
simply a golden age for Irish cricket,” McCallan said.Ireland team manager Roy Torrens, who himself was honoured in the
Queen’s Birthday List in 2009, said: “I cannot think of another person who is more deserving of the award. He was a magnificent ambassador for
Irish cricket, both on and off the field. I’m delighted for him and
his family circle – they were wonderful supporters for him
throughout his Irish career, and I know just how proud they must feel.”Cricket Ireland Chairman David Williams added: “The award of the MBE to Kyle McCallan is a well deserved honour for one of our most distinguished cricketers. Kyle McCallan served Irish cricket in an exemplary fashion during his 13 year career, and was a perfect role model to both his team-mates and supporters of cricket in Ireland. It’s a great honour for both him and Irish cricket.”