Posted by CricZone
in Thursday, 31 May 2012
Pietersen retires from England one-day cricket...
Kevin Pietersen has retired from all international limited overs cricket with immediate effect. He will remain available for consideration as a specialist Test match player only. The news comes four months before England defend their World T20 title in Sri Lanka.
"With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the World Cup in 2015," Pietersen said. "I am immensely proud of my achievements in the one-day game but still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket.
He has no plans to retire from the IPL, which will further increase tensions between IPL and international cricket and heighten the debate over whether a window is becoming increasingly necessaryto seek accommodation between the tournament and the international circuit.
Pietersen's decision ends protracted discussions about his England future, which he persistently denied, in which he envisaged a future playing Tests and t20 only.
This was prevented by the terms of ECB central contracts which state that any player who makes themselves unavailable for either format of one-day cricket is automatically ruled out of selection for both ODIs and T20s.
"For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming World Twenty20," Pietersen said.
The stipulation is seen as essential in protecting England's extensive Test summer in which 50-over cricket still plays a central part. England have just begun one of their busiest summers on record, a programme involving a summer of six Tests, 14 ODIs and four t20s.
An ECB statement said: "Pietersen, who discussed his position with the ECB during the recent Investec Test at Lord's, accepts that his current contract will continue to run through to September 2012 but that the contract will be downgraded to reflect the fact that he will only be selected for Test cricket for the remainder of his current contract.
"The terms of the central contract state that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one-day formats automatically rules himself out of consideration for both formats of the game as planning for both formats is closely linked.
"This is designed to reflect the importance of one-day international cricket which is a strategic priority as England look for improved performances in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup."
Pietersen, 31, has played 127 ODIs and 36 t20s for England, making his international debut in 2004 against Zimbabwe in Harare. He has scored 4,184 runs at an average of 41.84 in one-day internationals and averages 37.93 in international t20 cricket.
Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, said: "ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin's decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title.
"Kevin is a world-class player and we would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts and we look forward to his continued contributions towards the Test match side."
Posted by CricZone
in Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Pybus appointed Bangladesh coach...
Richard Pybus, the former Pakistan coach, has been named Bangladesh coach, taking over from Stuart Law who resigned in April. Pybus hasn't been in charge of an international side since 2003 but had flown to Bangladesh earlier this month to interview for the post.
Pybus, who took up coaching in his mid-twenties, was appointed Pakistan coach for their 1999 World Cup campaign while at Border, before returning to the South African provincial side. He coached Pakistan again until the 2003 World Cup and had stints with Titans and Cape Cobras (South Africa), and Middlesex. He was with Cobras until March 2012 and was also linked to the South Africa job last year.
Posted by CricZone
in Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Sammy leaves Gayle door ajar...
West Indies' captain Darren Sammy did nothing to quash the theory after his side's defeat at Lord's that Chris Gayle should be invited to strengthen his side in the rest of the Test series against England, as well as the one-day matches that follow. Gayle's involvement in IPL is over after Royal Challengers Bangalore were eliminated from the tournament and such has been his troubled relationship with the WICB that any emergency dash to the UK in time to play in one or both of the remaining two Tests seems hard to imagine.
But Sammy refused to close the door on the possibility after West Indies' five-wicket defeat against England at Lord's put them 1-0 down in the series, suggesting that both he and the coach, Ottis Gibson, would be content to accommodate Gayle's late arrival.
"Whatever happens outside this squad takes its own course," Sammy told Sky Sports. "Whoever comes in we will welcome them into the team and hopefully they will help. It is up to the selectors to select the team.
"I think Chris has said he is available for Test cricket, one-day cricket and T20 so it is up to the selectors. We have been having some difficulties at the top of the order and if he comes in we would all welcome him, myself, Ottis and all the guys."
One change West Indies will consider for the second Test at Trent Bridge on Friday, and one which needs no political machinations, is the inclusion of Shane Shillingford, the Dominican who took ten wickets in his last Test, against Australia on his home ground in Roseau in April.
Shillingford, according to Sammy, had been omitted at Lord's partly because he could not cope with the cold weather - and with higher temperatures forecast in the build-up to Trent Bridge that could change.
"Shane was experiencing a bit of difficulty gripping the ball but in the course of this Test match he has done some work and hopefully his fingers will be warm enough and ready for him to play for us in the next match," Sammy said. "He played a crucial role in the last series and once he is ready to master the cold we will have him in."
Posted by CricZone
in Thursday, 10 May 2012
Misbah steps down as Twenty20 captain...
Misbah-ul-Haq has stepped down* as Pakistan's Twenty20 captain and Mohammad Hafeez has been named his successor for the Sri Lanka series in June.Misbah had captained Pakistan in eight games. His last Twenty20 assignment was the three-match series against England in the UAE in February, which England won 2-1. Misbah scored 67 runs there, with a strike-rate of just over 80.
Hafeez said he was looking forward to the additonal responsibility. "Representing Pakistan is always an honor and captaining it is more than that. Now being a captain, I don't see any added pressure," Hafeez said. "The strategy might be different but while implementing them I will take my coaches and the PCB on board to get the best results for the team."
Fast bowler Mohammad Sami, who last played for Pakistan in 2010, made a comeback. Sami had taken only one wicket in five matches for Karachi Dophins in the domestic Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup in March, but had finished as the joint leading wicket-taker in the Bangladesh Premier League for Duronto Rajshahi. He was particularly successful against Dhaka Gladiators, claiming a hat-trick and then figures of 5 for 6 against them in two league games.
The new faces in the squad include Sialkot Stallions batsmen Shakeel Ansar, who came into the limelight with his maiden Twenty20 hundred against Peshawar Panthers in March in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup, and Haris Sohail who went through that tournament scoring 173 runs in four matches without being dismissed. Left-arm spinner Raza Hasan, who claimed 12 wickets in five games in the Super Eight T20 Cup for Sialkot, also made it to the squad.
Pakistan will play two Twenty20s, five ODIs and three Tests between June 1 and July 12 in Sri Lanka.
Posted by CricZone
in Friday, 4 May 2012
Mohammad Asif released from prison...
Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been released from jail after completing half of his one-year sentence for spot-fixing, his lawyers said. He was freed from Canterbury Prison in southeast England on Thursday morning.
Asif, 29, was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November 2011 of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments over deliberate no-balls bowled during the Lord's Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. He is still under a seven-year ban (the last two years of which are suspended) imposed by an ICC tribunal in February last year.
His team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir were also found guilty. While Asif and Butt denied the charges against them in court Amir, who was released in February after serving half of a six-month sentence, pleaded guilty. Butt, who is currently serving a 30-month jail sentence, was banned for ten years (with five suspended), while Amir got five years.
Mazhar Majeed, the agent who was accused of setting up the deal that was uncovered by a newspaper sting operation, was imprisoned for 32 months
