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The Pakistani offspinner, Saeed Ajmal, has joined Worcestershire for the second half of the 2011 season, pending the granting of a No Objection Certificate from the Pakistan Board and work permit approval

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2011The Pakistani offspinner, Saeed Ajmal, has joined Worcestershire for the second half of the 2011 season, pending the granting of a No Objection Certificate from the Pakistan Board and work permit approval.”We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Saeed to the club,” said Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes. “He’s a bowler of international stature and as a spinner with good variation he will be a crucial weapon during the latter part of the season, when the wickets notoriously begin to turn.”Ajmal has taken 33 wickets in nine Tests for Pakistan, with a best of 5 for 82 against England at Edgbaston in July 2010. He was also an integral member of Pakistan’s victorious World Twenty20 campaign in 2009, in which he claimed 12 wickets at 13.58, including a best of 4 for 19 against Ireland.”Worcestershire has a special standing in Pakistan due to its association with Imran Khan, and I am proud to be able to represent the same club as the great Imran,” said Ajmal. “I am confident that with the help of Steve Rhodes and the boys at the club, I will settle in and give my all for the club in search of honours in 2011.”

is edited by cricket journalist Suresh Menon and comprises 18 essays by writers who have watched Tendulkar’s career, and in some cases been a part of it

Nitin Sundar09-Feb-2011″I shudder to think what today’s coaches would have done with Sachin Tendulkar.” So begins Sanjay Manjrekar’s contribution to , the latest book on the game’s most prolific batsman, launched in Bangalore on Wednesday. It is a statement that underlines Tendulkar’s most defining characteristic – his endurance. Tendulkar has been the only constant through 21 years (and counting) of the game’s metamorphosis, and excelling in every format. After all these years at the top, with his every move analysed to death, is there anything more that can be written about Tendulkar? The answer, going by , seems to be a yes.The book, edited by eminent cricket journalist Suresh Menon, comprises 18 essays by writers who have watched Tendulkar’s career, and, in the cases of Manjrekar, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid, been a part of it. Seventeen of the 18 essays are freshly commissioned – “I was the only lazy one,” says Menon with a chuckle. Yet, as the editor of the book, his contribution is to have taken it from conception to paperback in just over seven months. Fittingly, it includes a foreword by the man who is to bowling what Tendulkar is to batting – Muttiah Muralitharan.It was also fitting that Dravid launched the book, and Kumble received the first copy: Kumble and Tendulkar held the record for the most Tests played by two cricketers together (122), until the Dravid-Tendulkar combine (currently 135) broke it. Kumble marveled at Tendulkar’s ability to master every aspect of the game he set his mind to. “Sachin just rolled his arm over, and turned the legspinner and the googly by the same huge width, while I was struggling to spin the ball,” he said. Menon recalled Kumble once saying that if Tendulkar took to legspin, he himself might have never played for India.Kumble also remembered his debut at Old Trafford in 1990, in which Tendulkar scored his first international century. “Kiran More had ordered me to keep standing on the balcony, since Tendulkar was batting well when I was there,” Kumble said. “I was allowed to sit down only after he reached his hundred, and the match was saved.”Both Kumble and Dravid also spoke of Menon’s contribution to cricket writing. Dravid recounted how he used to preserve, and be inspired, by Menon’s newspaper articles on him when he was a schoolboy cricketer. He believed this book would stand out from the crowd thanks to the sheer quality of contributors, including Peter Roebuck, Greg Baum, Harsha Bhogle and Barney Ronay. “The book is a great reflection on Tendulkar’s accomplishments, and is something youngsters taking to cricket will enjoy reading,” he said. “Chronicling good writing is not something we do very well in India, and this book is a very good start.”, published by Krab Media and Westland, is priced at Rs. 599 in India, and $16 everywhere else

Australia began their World Cup campaign on a winning note, wrapping up an easy 91-run win over a Zimbabwean outfit with no answer to the pace battery of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill21-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shaun Tait’s pace was too much for Zimbabwe as Australia surged to a 91-run win at Motera•Getty Images

Australia began their World Cup campaign on a winning note, wrapping up an easy 91-run win over a Zimbabwean outfit that had no answer to the pace battery of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson, who finished as the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 19. Zimbabwe had put in a spirited display in the field to keep Australia to 262 for 6 on a good batting wicket, but they never looked like chasing the runs down once a positive opening stand between Charles Coventry and Brendan Taylor had been broken.With Lee and Tait steaming in with the new ball, Zimbabwe’s openers had every reason to be nervous but they quickly shed their early jitters – Coventry’s flambuoyant flash over cover point being a particular highlight – and started to settle before Lee switched his length with immediate reward. Digging the ball in, he drew a false stroke from Coventry and an ungainly hook resulted in a top edge that Lee himself charged round to catch.Brendan Taylor did his best to overcome the setback but the revival was short-lived and after Tatenda Taibu glided Johnson straight to slip Tait beat Taylor for pace, aiming one full and straight and pin-balling it off bat and pad to disturb his stumps. It was extreme speed that did for Craig Ervine, too, as he took his eyes off a Johnson bumper to wear one on the grille and was pinned on the pad in front of middle and leg by the very next ball. With the Umpire unwilling to send him on his way, a successful referral was asked for and Zimbabwe’s chase quickly began to slide towards the mire at 44 for 4 in the 13th over.Williams didn’t look particularly comfortable against Johnson either, but he and Chigumbura did at least manage to survive the onslaught and slowly began to rebuild against Australia’s second string. The chase derailed completely when Chigumbura gloved Jason Krejza to Haddin for 14 in the 22nd over and Zimbabwe’s last hopes evaporated soon after, Williams wafting Tait to slip as the score sank to 96 for 6. Despite some stubborn resistance from Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer, there was no coming back from there.

Smart Stats

• Australia scored just 28 runs in the first ten overs of their innings. Their lowest ever aggregate in the first ten overs since 2000 is 7 for 4 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2006.

• Shane Watson, during the course of his 79, scored his 20th half-century in ODIs. In 28 matches since the beginning of 2010, he has scored one century and ten fifties at an average of 42.81.

• Ricky Ponting was run out for the 30th time in ODIs, which is second only to Mark Waugh’s 32 run-out dismissals among Australian batsmen. Ponting also holds the record for most run-out dismissals in Tests (14).

• Ray Price, who picked up 1 for 43 off his ten overs, has a career economy rate of 3.87, which is the best among spinners who have bowled in at least 50 innings.

• With their 91-run victory, Australia extended their undefeated streak in World Cups to 30 matches. Their last defeat in World Cups came against Pakistan in May 1999.

• Mitchell Johnson finished with figures of 4 for 19 in 9.2 overs at an economy rate of 2.03. Among Australian bowlers who have bowled at least eight overs in an innings in a World Cup match, Shane Warne has the best economy rate of 1.10 against West Indies in 1999.

• Ricky Ponting has now played in the most World Cup matches (40), going past Glenn Mcgrath, with whom he shared the previous record of 39 matches.

It had been a different story for Zimbabwe when they were in the field as some disciplined bowling and inspired fielding ensured Australia’s batsmen never really got away from them. As has been the case so often in recent times, Shane Watson provided the bulk of the runs at the top of the order with a well-paced 79, while Michael Clarke guided their charge past 250 with an unbeaten 58.Watson and Haddin made a strangely subdued start, and despite the admirable professionalism shown by Zimbabwe’s attack one might have expected more than 28 runs to have come from the first Powerplay. While Chris Mpofu, the only specialist seamer in the side, maintained a disciplined off-stump line, Ray Price shared the new pill and also lived up to his unapologetically brusque reputation, laying into Watson before he’d even faced a ball.The batsmen finally decided they had had enough of the wait-and-see tactic and broke loose with 17 off Mpofu’s sixth over but Zimbabwe struck back when Utseya came on at the end of the first Powerplay. After an exemplary start to his spell – in which not a run was scored for the first nine deliveries he sent down – had his reward when Haddin stepped back to a flighted delivery and was struck in line with middle and leg. Umpire Asoka de Silva thought there might have been an inside edge, but Zimbabwe asked for a review – this being their first ever look at the UDRS – and had the decision over-turned.After a quiet start to his innings Watson started to strike the ball with ominous force, lifting Cremer into the stands with a brutal pull, before he was removed by Zimbabwe’s second fortuitous referral of the day. Stretching forward to a Cremer legbreak, Watson played with more pad than bat to prompt an emotive appeal. This time it was Umpire Richard Kettleborough who decided there was enough doubt to turn it down, but wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu insisted on a referral and Zimbabwe were rewarded with the result they wanted.They were given a serious lift in the very next over as Ricky Ponting, in his first full international innings since his return from a finger injury, took on Mpofu’s arm with a hard-run second as the ball rolled to midwicket. A pinpoint rocket throw hit the wicket directly to catch him well short to spark wild celebrations from Zimbabwe and with that Australia were 144 for 3. Clarke and Cameron White started their rebuilding effort cautiously and Zimbabwe never let the game get away from them, Mpofu recovering well from a cumbersome start to his spell at the death to rattle White’s stumps and reduce Australia to 207 for 4.David Hussey and Steve Smith came and went in quick succession but gave the innings some oomph while they were at the crease, both clearing the boundary with some powerful strokes. Clarke remained to guide Australia to a total which, while probably not as many as they would have hoped for, still proved far too much for a Zimbabwe line-up with precious little experience of facing express international fast bowling.

Match Timeline

Glamorgan will need 226 runs on the final day of their match against
Leicestershire, with seven wickets remaining, if they are to make a winning
start to the County Championship Division Two season

10-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Glamorgan will need 226 runs on the final day of their match against
Leicestershire, with seven wickets remaining, if they are to make a winning
start to the County Championship Division Two season.Leicestershire set the Grace Road visitors a victory target of 338 after Will
Jefferson had steered them out of trouble with a magnificent century – and
Glamorgan closed day three on 112 for 3.At once stage Leicestershire were 43 for 5 in their second innings – but
Jefferson and Jigar Naik shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 149 to lead the
home side to a total of 245.Jefferson’s 112 was the 15th first class century of his career and his third
for Leicestershire since he joined them from Nottinghamshire at the start of
last season, while Naik weighed in with 67.Starting the third day on 78 for 5, the hosts made good progress – adding
104 runs in 34 overs by lunch without losing any more wickets. Jefferson, 48 overnight, reached his 50 with two early singles and then took successive boundaries off Robert Croft to bring up the 100 partnership.The opener looked in excellent touch, timing the ball well – particularly
through the offside. Two more fours off Dean Cosker took Jefferson to 100 off
180 balls with 12 boundaries. Although it was his third century for Leicestershire, it was the first he had scored at Grace Road.Naik was providing solid support and reached 50 off 128 balls with eight fours,
before the partnership was broken shortly after lunch. Jefferson, looking to drive off the back foot against Adam Shantry, edged a low catch to Michael Powell at slip having made 112 off 213 balls.Naik was out a few overs later, snared at short leg off the bowling of Robert
Croft. But he had done an outstanding job for his side, hitting 10 fours in his
179-ball innings.The last three wickets added another 35 runs before Cosker had captain Matthew
Hoggard leg before wicket, leaving Glamorgan a challenging target of 338 on a
pitch starting to show some variable bounce.Cosker was again Glamorgan’s most successful bowling finishing with 4
for 50, while Graham Wagg claimed 3 for 59.Gareth Rees and Alviro Petersen gave Glamorgan a solid start to the run chase
until both were out in the space of four balls with the score on 43.Petersen was first to go, trapped lbw by a Nadeem Malik yorker, then Rees then
chopped the third delivery of the next over from Claude Henderson back into his
stumps.Bragg and Powell carefully set about rebuilding the innings and looked to have
succeeded with a stand of 64 until, in the penultimate over of the day, Naik had
Will Bragg lbw for 43 to give Leicestershire the edge in what looks like being a
tight finish.

Deccan Chargers were handcuffed by Yuvraj Singh’s round-arm left-arm spin, submitting to a middling total after a flashy start

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga10-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Yuvraj Singh led the Pune effort with the ball•AFP

Deccan Chargers were handcuffed by Yuvraj Singh’s round-arm left-arm spin, submitting to a middling total after a flashy start. They lost two wickets to Yuvraj at crucial junctures, and scored only 17 off his four overs. Mitchell Marsh and Rahul Sharma did their bit too, conceding 49 in their eight overs. Marsh was rewarded handsomely with three wickets in the 19th over with frustrated batsmen looking to force the pace. Jesse Ryder and Manish Pandey made light work of the chase, although this game was inconsequential to qualification for further rounds.The match might not have an impact on who goes to the playoffs, but it grew immensely as drama when Yuvraj announced at the toss that Sourav Ganguly was finally going to play in this year’s IPL. Having been ignored by his home side Kolkata Knight Riders, and picked by Pune Warriors only after an injury to Ashish Nehra, Ganguly came in to bat with the win more or less in the bag, but found time to hit a trademark six over midwicket off Amit Mishra in an unbeaten, run-a-ball 32. One member of the enthusiastic crowd found his way onto the ground, and fell at his feet during the break after Robin Uthappa’s wicket.The chase by then seemed easy, but with the way Shikhar Dhawan and DB Ravi Teja started the game, a facile win would have been the last thing on Pune Warriors’ minds. They brought up the fifty in the sixth over, but Yuvraj dismissed Dhawan in his first over, and the squeeze that followed slowed Deccan down. Five fours and two sixes were hit in the first six overs, only six boundaries in the rest of the piece.Dhawan and Teja were good against the medium pace of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shrikanth Wagh, and Dhawan welcomed Rahul Sharma and Wayne Parnell to the crease with sixes. When he tried to do the same to Yuvraj, who had brought himself on to stop the bleeding, the bowler pulled the length back, bowled a little slower, and Dhawan could only sky him to cover. Marsh followed it up with a played-on dismissal of Teja’s. At 56 for 2 in the eighth over, Kumar Sangakkara and JP Duminy tried to make sure there were no more quick strikes.However, Rahul beat Sangakkara’s sweep with a flat, straight delivery. Yuvraj came back, and tortured Daniel Christian with deliveries that wouldn’t spin. Finally Christian played around his front pad to be caught dead plumb. At 98 for 3 in the 15th over, the onus was on Duminy to take Deccan to a good total. However, as has been the case of late, Duminy couldn’t make a telling contribution, managing a run-a-ball 30.Dale Steyn, faced with the prospect of defending a pedestrian total, took matters in his own hands, and scored 10 off the last over, in the process scoring only the third boundary since the 15th over. Ryder, though, was quick to see off the only threat to their chase. He punched, drove and hooked Steyn for four, four and six in the first over. Between them, Ryder and Pandey scored 84 off 62, which basically finished off the chase.

Runs could be doubled in a designated “super-over” and spectators may be allowed to take home balls hit into the crowd as part of Australia’s new Big Bash League next summer.

Brydon Coverdale26-May-2011Runs would be doubled in a designated “super-over” and spectators allowed to take home balls hit into the crowd under proposed rules for Australia’s new Big Bash League next summer.Cricket fans have been asked to comment on a range of possible tweaks to the rules governing Twenty20, many of which are designed to boost scoring rates in the eight-team competition, which is expected to kick off in December.Mike McKenna, Cricket Australia’s head of marketing and the BBL project owner, has made no secret of his desire to spice up the T20 tournament, which will feature city-based sides such as the Brisbane Heat, and two each in Melbourne and Sydney. One of the most unusual suggestions is for each team to be given one super-over, which would likely be nominated by the batting side before the start of the over.Cricket Australia’s survey states the idea, in which the runs from that over alone would be doubled, was intended “to provide both teams an opportunity to get back into the game”. The cricket statistician Ric Finlay, who runs the Tastats website, said introducing such a rule would cause some distortion in the record-books, but it was likely the games could still be designated official Twenty20 matches.”It is true to say that other interventions have distorted outcomes, including fielding restrictions and powerplays and penalties for no balls,” Finlay told , “but this innovation seems on the face of it to be departing more radically from what we know as traditional cricket than anything else that has gone on before. The factor that may allow these matches to be included in records of all T20 matches is the generally-accepted status of all T20 cricket to be a gimmicky form of the game where almost anything goes.”The advantages for the batsmen might not end there. “Based on increasing scoring and making the game more exciting”, as the survey says, the 12th man could be allowed to enter the batting order as a kind of pinch hitter, in a similar setup to the super-sub rule that was used in one-day internationals several years ago.There is also a proposal to allow only one fielder outside the circle in the first five overs of an innings, leaving bowlers little room for error. Two men could be used outside the circle from overs 6 to 10, three fielders from overs 11 to 15, and four men during the final five overs of an innings.And if those ideas don’t create enough of a challenge for bowlers, they may also need to get used to several changed balls throughout an innings. A baseball-style rule is being considered whereby fans would be able to keep a ball that clears the fence, meaning that with many sixes – and the Big Bash record is 14 in an innings – a new ball would be given to the bowler.However, it’s not all bad news for bowlers – allowing two bouncers per over is also a possibility, to allow bowlers a little extra room to attack. The Big Bash League is slowly taking shape, but several key steps remain to be resolved, including the recruitment of players to the eight sides and the part private ownership of two of the Melbourne and Sydney teams.To take the survey and comment on the proposed rules, click here.

James Anderson is set to lead England’s attack in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl on Thursday, after being named in a 12-man squad at the expense of Surrey’s Jade Dernbach

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2011James Anderson is set to lead England’s attack in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl on Thursday, after being named in a 12-man squad at the expense of Surrey’s Jade Dernbach.Anderson missed the second Test at Lord’s after suffering a side strain during the first innings of the Cardiff Test, but he was optimistic of a quick return and will be officially passed fit provided he successfully negotiates Lancashire’s Friends Life Twenty20 match against Worcestershire on Sunday.Anderson comes into the squad for Dernbach, who came close to making his Test debut at Lord’s before the selectors decided to go with the extra height of Steven Finn. As it turns out, the lack of variety in England’s attack was exposed at Lord’s, with Tillakaratne Dilshan leading the way for Sri Lanka with an excellent 193.England National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “Jimmy Anderson is the leader of our bowling attack so clearly he will be a significant inclusion should he get through Lancashire’s Friends Life Twenty20 match against Worcestershire unscathed.”Side strains can be particularly troublesome for bowlers but given Jimmy’s injury was a grade one strain and therefore a low grade injury, he is expected to be fit for selection. A period of rest and recovery has certainly been beneficial and we obviously wouldn’t include Jimmy in the squad if the medical staff weren’t confident of his fitness.”Anderson looked in prime form in Cardiff as he took 3 for 66 before picking up his injury on the second afternoon, although it didn’t stop him being the nightwatchman. Then, in his absence, England’s three-man attack completed a stunning victory on the final afternoon as Sri Lanka were skittled for 82.”It’s been a tough week because I can honestly say I haven’t felt a moment of discomfort since the diagnosis was made so I do believe I probably could have bowled in their second innings,” Anderson told last week’s The Mail on Sunday. “I fully understand the position of the medical staff; this is going to be a long summer and there was no point in taking a risk. But it may have been something that felt worse than it was because of the cold and windy weather.””I had mixed emotions as events unfolded on the last day in Cardiff,” he added. “It was fantastic to see us doing so well, taking the wickets and winning but, at the same time, it was tough to watch them all celebrating and not be involved on the pitch.”Assuming Anderson comes through his match against Worcestershire, England may face a tough decision as to which of their seamers to omit for the Rose Bowl.Stuart Broad’s recent appointment as England Twenty20 captain is an acknowledgement of his senior status within the England squad. Nevertheless, his record in red-ball cricket is becoming something of a concern, with his two wickets at Lord’s costing 154 and coming at 3.75 an over. After 36 Tests, he still averages an unworthy 35.97.”I don’t think he’s quite getting the rub of the green at the moment,” said Andrew Strauss after the Lord’s Test. “He’s bowled some very good balls that are passing the edge, and has probably bowled better than the statistics say. But all of us have to keep trying to improve, and make sure our performances get better.”The likelier man to miss out is Steven Finn, who became the youngest England bowler to reach 50 Test wickets during the Lord’s Test, but who leaked his runs at close to 4 an over and appeared to be lacking in rhythm in the early part of Sri Lanka’s innings.”I think Steven Finn got a lot better as the game went on,” said Strauss. “He’d been out of the side a little bit, so I suppose he had every right to feel a bit anxious at the start. But all our bowlers bring something different, and certainly Jimmy does with his consistent lines and swinging it a bit more than the others. We are very hopeful he’ll be fit.”England squad Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Steven Finn.

Spin twins Adil Rashid and Azeem Rafiq bowled Yorkshire to a breathtaking victory by 11 runs with five balls remaining in a tight Roses clash

17-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Spin twins Adil Rashid and Azeem Rafiq bowled Yorkshire to a breathtaking victory by 11 runs with five balls remaining in a tight Roses clash in the Friends Life t20 North Group at Headingley Carnegie.Chasing a 179 target, Lancashire lost two wickets in Rafiq’s first over before they were further hit by Rashid who claimed three wickets in five balls. Even then they were not quite down and out because Jordan Clark lashed Richard Pyrah for two sixes and a four off successive balls in the penultimate over which cost 24 runs.These blows hurried Lancashire on to 167 for 9 but with 12 wanted off the final over, Gary Keedy attempted to run a bye off Ryan Sidebottom’s first ball and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow threw into the stumps to run out Clark who had struck 38 from 18 deliveries with three fours and two sixes.Yorkshire joyously celebrated a Roses double which leapfrogged them above their opponents in the table and at the same time boosted their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals. It was Lancashire’s third defeat in 10 days.The heavy rain which had been forecast managed to hold off – much to the delight of the majority in the 13,000 crowd. Rashid finished with 4 for 26 – his third haul of three wickets or more in five matches – and Rafiq had 2 for 29 from his four overs but the Man-of-the-Match award went to Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale who held his side together with a well-judged 60 after they had been put in to bat.He received excellent support from Bairstow in an opening stand of 69 inside eight overs, Yorkshire’s best start of the season. Gale bludgeoned two fours in the opening over from Luke Procter and Bairstow made Tom Smith suffer by smashing him for two fours and a big six over backward square leg.Sajid Mahmood helped to stem the flow of runs but it was Keedy who came on to make the initial breakthrough by having Bairstow lbw for 32 from 19 balls with five fours and a six as the batsman failed to make contact with an intended reverse sweep.Adam Lyth maintained the momentum in a 65 stand in 7.3 overs with Gale who had smacked six fours and a six off 46 deliveries before he hit a full toss from Smith to mid-off. Lyth gave a return catch to Mahmood off a slower ball after making 45 from 33 balls and Gary Ballance’s unbeaten 25 included successive sixes on either side of the wicket at Smith’s expense.Stephen Moore and Smith began brightly in poor light for Lancashire but at 26 in the third over Moore was run out by Joe Root’s direct hit from the boundary edge. Smith was caught and bowled by Rashid in the next over to make it 27 for 2.Then Rafiq entered the attack to bowl Steven Croft middle stump with his first ball and trap Mahmood lbw with his fifth. Karl Brown and Gareth Cross staged something of a recovery with a 51 stand in seven overs before Rashid’s dramatic intervention in the 15th over.He had Cross lbw for 30 aiming to leg, enticed Brown into giving Rafiq a catch above his head at long-off and gained another lbw verdict against Procter. Kyle Hogg and Steven Parry lost their stumps to Ajmal Shahzad and Sidebottom respectively but Clark’s lusty blows kept Lancashire interested right to the end.

Norman Gordon, the lone survivor from the final timeless Test, has become the first Test cricketer to have lived 100 years

Sidharth Monga06-Aug-2011Norman Gordon, the lone survivor from the final timeless Test, has become the first Test cricketer to have lived 100 years. Gordon, a South Africa pace bowler, was renowned for his fitness and athleticism during his playing days. He bowled 92.2 eight-ball overs during that timeless Test. He could play only five Tests because his career coincided with World War II. He lives in Johannesburg.The reception around his 100th birthday has been emotional, according to his son Brian. Exhausted, Gordon was not available to talk. “The reception they had for him at his school was overwhelming,” Brian said. “That brought him to tears.”Jeppe High School for Boys, the school that Gordon went to, felicitated him a day before his 100th birthday. “He has been pretty pleased, and a bit nervous,” Brian said. “The reception they gave him at the school today was unbelievable. Marching bands were there, and three of the previous headmasters were there. Ali [Bacher] was there. And the choir, and the whole assembly, all the boys at the school assembly. And they named a board at the school after him.”The final few months of the 100th year have not been easy. “[His health is] not bad, but he had a fall in April,” Brian said. “He broke his arm and he really battled, and he has aged about three years in the last four months. Otherwise he is okay. He has just slowed down a lot. Yeah. Just very, very tired.”That hasn’t stopped Gordon from going to his favourite Hutton Golf Course “almost every day”. “I bring him here almost every afternoon. If he has nothing else to do, we come and sit at the golf course.” Norman stopped playing golf three years ago, but he loves to spend his time there. Before the fall in April, he used to go there everyday.The birthday itself is hectic too. “He is coming to the golf course because we are having a benefit golf day for him,” Brian said. “Then in the evening we are going to the Wanderers. Ali Bacher and South Africa Breweries have organised a party for him at the Long Room in the evening.”

Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, is set to add to his tally of Twenty20 teams after agreeing terms with Zimbabwean domestic franchise Mid West Rhinos

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2011Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, is set to add to his tally of Twenty20 teams after agreeing terms with Zimbabwean domestic franchise Mid West Rhinos. Tait will play for Rhinos during Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 competition in late November this year.Tait, who signed up to play for the Melbourne Renegades in Australia’s Big Bash League six weeks ago and will also represent Dolphins, the Durban-based South African franchise, for the Pro20 competition early next year, said he hoped his Zimbabwe stint would help boost his match fitness ahead of his Big Bash outing.”That’s the thing with Twenty20 tournaments, you’ve got to pick which ones are at the right time to keep your match fitness up, and rest in between,” he said. ”It’s just [before] the Big Bash, so it’s perfect timing.”The dates for Zimbabwe’s fortnight-long Twenty20 tournament have not been finalised but it is expected that the competition will be completed by December 3, which will allow Tait to travel back to Melbourne well in time to prepare for the Big Bash.Tait retired from Tests in 2008 and quit ODIs too following Australia’s exit in the quarter-final stage of the 2011 World Cup. He then represented Rajasthan Royals in the IPL this year, grabbing six wickets in four games. He was forced to turn down a deal with Surrey earlier this year due to an elbow injury sustained during the IPL. His Zimbabwe deal was set up by his former teammate Jason Gillespie, who has also re-signed as coach of Rhinos.”The way it’s going I’m just going to play [Twenty20] tournaments,” Tait, who is still available to play Twenty20 cricket for Australia, said. “If clubs are keen to sign me, that’s great. I’ve become sort of a freelance Twenty20 player.”