A decade after a young Alastair Cook smote the Australians to all parts of Chelmsford, another youthful Essex opener in Tom Westley did much the same

Daniel Brettig in Chelmsford02-Jul-2015
Scorecard1:10

Westley-Bopara partnership tests Australia attack

It has not taken long for the first parallel with 2005’s storied Ashes series to arrive. A decade after a young Alastair Cook smote the Australians to all parts of Chelmsford, another youthful Essex opener in Tom Westley did much the same to humble a strong touring attack on the second day of their final tour match before the first Investec Test in Cardiff.The comparisons do not stop at Westley’s free scoring either. The bowler to bear the brunt of most punishment was Nathan Lyon, just as Stuart MacGill had been belted by Cook 10 years before. And the batsman who accompanied Westley for much of his afternoon jaunt was the same man who had partnered Cook – none other than the enigmatic Ravi Bopara.Cook is known to rate Westley highly, and his aggression – perhaps the by-product of a career where he has been most successful in Twenty20 matches and less so at first-class level – gave the tourists plenty of food for thought. By day’s end edges were flying through vacant spaces that would earlier have played host to slip fielders, underlining how the mood had changed.In all it was a somewhat sobering experience for Michael Clarke’s team, as neither Mitchell Starc nor Josh Hazlewood could find the cutting edge that had them slicing through West Indies more or less at will in the Caribbean. Starc started with a dirty wide after appearing to get his spikes stuck in a foothole, and Hazlewood was tidy without overly threatening. As the day drew to a close Starc went around the wicket to swerve through Westley and the nightwatchman Jamie Porter, but it had been a long wait.Of all the bowlers it was actually the venerable pair of Peter Siddle and Shane Watson who looked most capable, using their English experience to good effect. Siddle is considered the reserve pacemen behind Starc, Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris, but the latter’s persistent knee pain means the Victorian is now very much in contention for Test match duty.Watson, of course, had plenty of reason to bowl well, having been stretched for his spot by the brazen batting of Mitchell Marsh, who went on in the morning to 169 before losing his off stump to Matt Salisbury. Pointedly, Clarke turned to Marsh before Watson, but the younger man’s overs were expensive, with three no-balls suggesting he was straining for effect.When introduced to the attack a few overs later for his first bowling of the tour, Watson maintained a nagging line while swinging the ball away – he certainly asked more questions than Marsh and provided a reminder of why two of his three five-wicket hauls in Tests have come in England, against Pakistan during a short series in 2010.Lyon was less able to control the scoring, finding himself set upon by Westley almost from the moment he was called into the attack. The pitch offered little by way of bounce or turn, but it was still somewhat unnerving for the Australians to see Lyon attacked without mercy, ending his first spell with the figures of 5-0-54-0. If later spells were less expensive with a more circumspect field, they were seldom dangerous. A missed stumping by Peter Nevill when Bopara had 35 would have done little to enhance Lyon’s mood.There is little question about Lyon’s place, for he bowled neatly in the West Indies and if anything has put more space between himself and the wrist spinner Fawad Ahmed since the pair flew out together with the rest of the squad in May. The sight of Fawad bowling at a sponsor’s cap placed on a good length during the tea break suggested unhappiness with his consistency – it is reasonable to suggest that both tweakers could benefit from the presence of the absent Cricket Australia spin consultant John Davison.As also demonstrated by a similarly proactive innings by Daniel Bell-Drummond at Canterbury last week, Westley showed that Australia’s strong bowling attack can be reduced in stature by brave batting with intelligent, calculated risks. Whether the sort of freedom Westley showed in 2015, or Cook in 2005, can be replicated under the harsh glare of a Test match spotlight is a question still to be asked.

After scoring an unbeaten 88 which secured Bangladesh’s seven-wicket win against South Africa, Soumya Sarkar revealed that he kept trying to pull the short balls since he was confident he had the mindset to take on the visitors’ attack

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur13-Jul-2015After scoring an unbeaten 88 which secured Bangladesh’s seven-wicket win against South Africa, Soumya Sarkar revealed that he kept trying to pull the short balls since he was confident he had the mindset to take on the visitors’ attack. Soumya said that he was not worried about the consequences, like getting out, but understood the need to prolong his good starts.”I heard from somewhere that they will stop me by bowling bouncers,” Soumya said. “I wanted to play at them, even if I got out. I wanted to get out of that mindset. I planned that no matter how fast they bowl and how much they try to bounce me, I just wanted to take them on.”South Africa’s pace attack bowled eleven deliveries to Soumya that ranged between very short to just short of good length, but the batsman either managed to get on top of the bounce, or threw himself at a pull. He initially got mixed results as many of the balls fell short of the mid-off fielder after he failed to time it.But later in the innings, after Soumya had crossed 60, he cracked a pull emphatically off Kagiso Rabada for four. It was a statement of intent that he later said wanted to deliver to the opposition attack. Soumya added that South Africa hardly gave him breathing space like he received from the Pakistan attack on his way to an unbeaten 127 three months ago. He rated this unbeaten knock higher than the century.”Against South Africa, I have had to make a bad ball as they weren’t giving away. Pakistan were giving at least one bad ball per over. This was a tougher knock. We were chasing a bigger total against Pakistan so we could plan accordingly. Small targets are always hard to chase. We have to change plans quickly. You have to start fresh after quick wickets. I will keep this innings ahead.”In the four innings after his maiden century on April 22, Soumya failed to bat for more than 47 deliveries or 70 minutes. He made 54, 34, 40 and 27, but got out trying to attack further. The BCB president Nazmul Hasan had mentioned the same to him during their meeting on Saturday, but Soumya said he has heard the exact same thing from everyone.”Everyone says the same thing. Even those who are younger than me tell me, ‘Bro, please finish your innings’. I have been getting used to this,” he said. “I didn’t do too many different things to prolong my innings. My target wasn’t to score a 50 or a 100 but to finish the chase. I just wanted to play till the end.”Soumya said that he minimised the risk in his plan to play a longer innings. Bangladesh’s poor start of losing Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das by the fourth over also contributed to his subdued start.”I cut down one or two of my shots thinking that it might bring me a positive result. A big innings always brings relief. I started differently today but that was due to the circumstances. I think I faced just one ball in the first three-four overs. We had lost two wickets by then so I had to think fresh. I had thought earlier that I would play in my own way. But the two wickets changed my plans.”The other factor he feels helped was having Mahmudullah back in the team. Soumya and Mahmudullah added 135 runs for the third wicket that took Bangladesh within four runs of victory. The pair has already added three fifty-plus stands and Soumya said Mahmudullah understands his game the best, which helps them bat well together.”Since the World Cup whenever I see Riyad bhai come to bat, I smile. I do that whenever I see him in the middle. Today I told him everything is fine. But what he tells me, I always take it seriously. He understands my batting very well.”

Trevor Barber, the New Zealand batsman who played one Test match at the Basin Reserve in 1956, has died in Christchurch at the age of 90

Brydon Coverdale10-Aug-2015Trevor Barber, the New Zealand batsman who played one Test match at the Basin Reserve in 1956, has died in Christchurch at the age of 90. Barber had been New Zealand’s oldest living Test cricketer; the oldest now is his former Wellington team-mate and the man who captained Barber in his only Test match, the 87-year-old John Reid.A dashing batsman who liked playing his shots, Barber was called up for the third Test against West Indies in 1956 when Bert Sutcliffe was unavailable due to ill-health. West Indies batted first and Barber had the distinction of catching out Garry Sobers while fielding at gully, in what was the first wicket of the match.”It was going past and I threw the hands up – I was a bit of a show-off,” Barber told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year. “John Reid was bowling and he said ‘that’s a nice way to start your career’.”However, with the bat he was unable to have a great enough impact to retain his place in the side, and was out to Sonny Ramadhin in both innings, for 12 and 5. Barber’s attacking approach to batting would perhaps have suited the modern game, but against West Indies it brought his downfall in both innings of his Test match.”Today I might have got away with it,” Barber said. “But I went for sweeps to the leg side off short balls in both innings. My understanding as a captain and also as a batsman was that the first thing you’d do when you go out there is dominate the bowlers. Don’t let the bowlers get on top of you. Get behind the line of flight, bat straight, and when they bowl one off the wicket, give it a go. I did that and I got bloody caught at square leg.”Barber was 30 at the time of his Test appearance, and was captain of Wellington in the Plunket Shield competition. His first-class career began in 1945-46 and finished in 1959-60, but it brought him only one century, and 2002 runs at an average of 23.01. Contemporary reports described him as “a swashbuckler” who, especially early in his career, was more concerned with the joy of batsmanship than playing long innings.”A cricketer more of the pre-war era always on the lookout to thrash the bowling with off-drives, lofted shots to the boundary, pulls to square-leg and square-cuts which often caused fieldsmen to wince when trying to stop them, Barber was always scoring runs attractively, but also losing his wicket rather easily,” a article said in 1957.Barber captained Wellington to the Plunket Shield title in 1956-57 and also led Central Districts later in his career. A part-time wicketkeeper who enjoyed assessing a batsman’s weaknesses, Barber said captaincy was one of the parts of the game he found most satisfying.”It’s lovely to have some control of the game, and also the players,” he said. “I used to have quite a number of discussions with the players before we’d go out and play. I’d say this player has a weakness here, I want you Bob Blair to bowl on a length just outside his leg stumps, and I reckon we can get him.”I always remember on one occasion down at Dunedin, I said to John Reid, who was bowling to Sutcliffe, I said ‘I think he’s got a weakness on the leg glance, I’m going to field at leg gully and you bowl down leg’. We got him for a duck! It’s those little things.”Born in Otaki in 1925, Barber was raised on a dairy farm and learnt the game from his father.”I remember in the backyard he used to put out a kerosene tin,” he said. “I used to have a bat and he’d throw the ball to me. He’d say ‘go on, hit it over my head’. He made me very keen.”After his playing career ended, Barber worked with the Shell oil company and was responsible for its sponsorship of sporting events including the New Zealand Golf Open and the domestic cricket competition, which became known as the Shell Trophy. It continued a lifelong love of cricket.”I still follow it with interest,” Barber said earlier this year. “It’s just amazing how much the game has changed from my time. We only played Test cricket and Plunket Shield. Now there’s T20 and 50-over, it’s bash and slash. It might have suited me. When you see blokes like McCullum and Williamson doing so well, it’s marvellous.”

Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson will join the ICC’s elite panel of match referees as a replacement for the retiring Roshan Mahanama

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2015Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson will join the ICC’s elite panel of match referees as a replacement for the retiring Roshan Mahanama.However, Richardson will not take up his new position until early next year, when he completes his current tenure as manager of the West Indies team. Mahanama last week announced his intention to step down from the ICC’s elite panel at the end of the year after more than a decade in the role.The appointment means Richardson will become the first West Indian to serve as a match referee in Tests since Clive Lloyd, who retired in 2007. He also follows fellow West Indians Jackie Hendriks, Cammie Smith, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott, who all served as match referees in the past.”I am excited and honoured to have been selected for one of the most important jobs in cricket,” Richardson said. “Having been on either side of the fence, first as a player and then as an administrator, I think I have the experience and insight to help me contribute positively alongside some of the finest and most experienced match officials.”Richardson played 86 Tests from 1983 to 1995, as well as 224 one-day internationals. He was appointed team manager of West Indies in January 2011 and will continue to serve in the role until the end of the Test tour of Australia, which concludes with the Sydney Test from January 3 to 7 next year.”Until the end of the Australia tour, I will remain fully committed and focused on my current assignment as the West Indies cricket team manager and I would like to thank the West Indies Cricket Board for its support over years as well as the encouragement it provided to me in taking up this new role,” he said.The ICC’s elite panel of match referees is made up of seven former cricketers who officiate in Test matches, and Richardson will join Ranjan Madugalle, Chris Broad, David Boon, Andy Pycroft, Javagal Srinath and Jeff Crowe. The ICC’s general manager of cricket, Geoff Allardice, said Richardson would be a valuable addition to the panel.”Richie is one of the greats of the game, who is admired for not only his accomplishments as a batsman but also the way he captained the West Indies when he embodied traits such as integrity, leadership and sportsmanship in his dealings both on and off the field,” Allardice said.”He is very familiar with the demands of international cricket through his experiences as a player, captain and now team manager, and he will bring a fresh perspective to the role. On behalf of the ICC, I congratulate Richie on his appointment and look forward to working with him. We have no doubt that he will make a strong and important contribution to ensuring the game continues to be played in the right spirit.”

West Indies captain Jason Holder has received a one-match suspension for maintaining a slow over-rate during the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2015West Indies captain Jason Holder has received a one-match suspension for maintaining a slow over-rate during the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Since it was Holder’s second transgression of the year – he had been found guilty of a minor over-rate offence in the fifth ODI against South Africa in January – he will now miss West Indies’ second match of the ongoing Sri Lanka series, on Wednesday.Holder was also fined 40% of his match fees, while his team-mates were docked 20% of theirs. The fine and suspension was imposed by the match referee David Boon, who ruled that West Indies were two overs short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration. Holder pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.In accordance with Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Players Support Personnel, which relates to minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 % of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.Holder slammed a 13-ball 36 in the first ODI to give West Indies some much-needed impetus, but his team narrowly lost the match by one wicket.

West Indies, who have been elbowed out the 2017 Champions Trophy since they last played an ODI, will be looking to regain their reputation against a Sri Lanka team that has not won an ODI series since 2014

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Oct-2015

Match facts

November 1, 2015
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)1:01

New-look West Indies hope for change in fortune

Big Picture

Sri Lanka have had an abysmal year in ODIs. The last time they won an ODI series was against England at home, and let’s be fair, that barely even counts. They lost the ODI series in New Zealand 4-2, crashed spectacularly out in the World Cup quarter-final, and have since lost to Pakistan.But they are now up against a side that has arguably had an even worse 2015 – partly because they have barely had the chance to play any ODI. West Indies were defeated 4-1 by South Africa at the beginning of the year, memorably lost to Ireland in a World Cup campaign which also came to an end in the quarter-final, and they have not played since. During their down time, West Indies were elbowed out of the 2017 Champions Trophy.Jason Holder’s men now set out to regain something of their reputation – to prove that they can still be a force in limited-overs cricket, even if Test-match excellence is some way off. There are a few bright sparks in the side, as partially evidenced by the visitors’ stirring comeback in the practice match on Thursday. In that game, Carlos Brathwaite and Andre Russell – batting at nos. 8 and 9, cracked 193 runs together off 109 balls, to propel the team beyond 300. West Indies may not yet have a side that can prevail over five days, but they still have limited-overs cricketers who can scramble oppositions.Though West Indies’ trial by spin is likely to continue on a Khettarama surface known to turn up dry on match day, they will be pleased that Rangana Herath – chief among their banes in the Tests – will not play. Instead, Sri Lanka are set to field a more fragile spin attack. Sachithra Senanayake has been a diminished bowler since remodeling his action last year, Ajantha Mendis has often been exposed by powerful hitting, and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay is yet to play an ODI.Sri Lanka’s batting appears much sturdier than the visitors’ top order, but is awash in inexperience, and as such, is hardly infallible.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WLLWL
West Indies: LWLLW

In the spotlight

Lasith Malinga bowled so poorly against Pakistan, he was eventually dropped from the XI for the last match of that series. His T20 returns were no better. Having been visibly unfit since his ankle surgery last year, Malinga has lost a little of the accuracy and pace that once envenomed his bowling. He is Sri Lanka’s T20 captain for now, and with a major tournament on the horizon, fans will be intrigued to learn whether Malinga can still make top orders wobble as much as his belly recently has.Since Sunil Narine last played an international match, in August last year, he has had his action reported and tested twice by the BCCI. He has been cleared by them to bowl, after adopting a remedied action, which has not been tested at international level yet. With Marlon Samuels also facing suspicion of throwing, Narine’s nous and variations will be relied upon on in Colombo.

Teams news

Sri Lanka may try to shoehorn batting allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya somewhere in the top seven – most likely at No.6, pushing Milinda Siriwardana to No.7. The rest of the top order is fairly predictable. With Jayasuriya and Siriwardana both capable of providing spin, Sri Lanka may opt to include tearaway Dushmantha Chameera, to provide variety to the pace attack. Lahiru Thirimanne is expected to reclaim his place at No.3, after being dropped in the Tests. Dinesh Chandimal is suspended for the first ODI, and is likely to be replaced by Danushka Gunathilaka, meaning there could be two ODI debutants.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Shehan Jayasuriya, 7 Milinda Siriwardana, 8 Sachithra Senanayake, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Dushmantha ChameeraIt has been so long since West Indies have played an ODI, their XI is much more difficult to predict. Narine looks likely to play, and Andre Fletcher looks likely to open in place of the injured Chris Gayle.West Indies (probable): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Carlos Brathwaite, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Ravi Rampaul

Pitch and conditions

Colombo has been experiencing heavy evening rains all through the past week. More of the same is expected on Sunday, which means the Duckworth-Lewis equation may be used at some point in the evening. The Premadasa surface is usually given to turn.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have won four and lost eight matches this year.
• Marlon Samuels’ ODI record in Sri Lanka is almost as poor as his Test record. He has hit 57 runs at an average of 14.25 across five innings on the island.
• Angelo Mathews needs 85 runs to reach 4000 in ODIs.

Quotes

“We won’t announce our team till the morning of the match, but there’s a good chance we’ll see some young players in the XI.”
“Sri Lanka is ranked higher than us now. If we beat this team here now, we will gain quite a few rankins points. It’s important that we keep winning games and keep boosting our points. All these restrictions and cut off points in terms of ICC tournaments is very important.”
*13:16 GMT – This story had incorrectly included Dinesh Chandimal in the probable XI. This has been fixed.

A round-up of the Group C games from the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 on November 24, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2015
ScorecardIt was a startling change of narrative in Ranchi – the first day produced over 300 runs and the second, which turned out to be the final day of the match, resulted in 26 wickets and Shahbaz Nadeem took 11 for 90 to lead Jharkhand to an innings-and-71-run victory over Himachal Pradesh.It was deadly symmetry for the HP. They were bowled out for 133 in the first innings and were bundled out for the same total when they were asked to follow on. More fun with numbers: Nadeem, who was the wrecker-in-chief, gave away 45 runs in both innings.Jharkhand were not immune from the wrath of the bowlers either. They crumbled from an overnight 306 for 4 to 337 all out with left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma claiming 6 for 59. But HP’s response with the bat was woeful. Ankit Kalsi made a half-century, but he was the only man to score more than 22. Nadeem bowled only 14.2 overs and yet came away with seven wickets.With a lead of 204 runs, Jharkhand enforced the follow-on and hurtled to victory in 32.1 overs. This time there were no fifties. Prashant Chopra and Nikhil Gangta made 32 and 38. There were six single-digit scores around them. This time Jharkhand rallied around Nadeem. He took four wickets, Kaushal Singh took three Sonu Singh, on first-class debut, took two.
ScorecardFrom conceding a first-innings lead to sitting on the cusp of an outright victory, Saurashtra had a see-saw day to savor thanks to a Jadeja. Dharmendrasinh is a No. 11. He couldn’t have prevented his team being bowled out for 157, but he did ensure Kerala suffered a massive collapse in their second innings. His 6 for 59 was the major reason the hosts fell from 51 for 2 to 105 all out. That left Saurashtra with a target of only 115.Saurashtra resumed on 55 for 6 and received a much needed boost from 19-year old Samarth Vyas making a fine show of himself on first-class debut. He came in at No. 8 and struck 54 off 90 balls with two fours and three sixes. Thanks to him the final three wickets were able to add 87 runs and Saurashtra ended up with 157 runs – an agonizing nine runs away from Kerala’s 166.Spin had been the way to go in the first innings and Jadeja was given the new ball. After all, he had taken five wickets the first time around. The move worked as VA Jagadeesh, who had struck a half-century on the first day, was bowled in the fifth over. But he needed help to make the match-turning impact and that came from 24-year old Vandit Jivrajani (4 for 31), the offspinner who was making his first-class debut. They sank their teeth into the Kerala middle order – Sachin Baby out for 6 and Sanju Samson bagged a duck as the score slipped from 51 for 2 to 57 for 7. Saurashtra gained a firm hold over the match and are now 99 runs away from a win with nine wickets in hand.
ScorecardHanuma Vihari, who began the second day in Hyderabad on 94, kicked on to make his third first-class double-century, propelling his team to 548 for 5. He occupied the crease for 555 minutes, striking 22 fours and two sixes to punish the Tripura attack.B Anirudh added only three runs to his overnight score of 75 before he was pinned lbw by seamer Manisankar Murasingh. Bavanaka Sandeep was more adhesive and kept Vihari good company in a 213-run partnership, the second 150-plus stand of the innings. Vihari was finally dismissed, by offspinner Swapan Das, for 219, but 26 runs each from Himalay Agarwal and Kolla Sumanth took Hyderabad to 548 before the declaration arrived.The hosts amplified their advantage further with former Under-19 pacer Chama Milind removing Tripura opener Virag Awate for 3. The day ended with Tripura facing a deficit of 535 runs.
ScorecardGoa piled on the runs against Jammu and Kashmir, declaring on 552 for 5, before pacers Rituraj Singh and Prasanth Parameshwaran dismissed the J&K openers inside four overs. Pranav Gupta and Ian Dev Singh survived till stumps but stare at a deficit of 509 runs.The day though belonged to Swapnil Asnodkar, who resumed from an overnight 74, stroked 28 fours and three sixes during his marathon innings of 232. The other overnight batsman – Sagun Kamat – scored a century of his own before he became Parvez Rasool’s second victim. Rasool claimed two more wickets but ended up conceding 169 runs.

Neil Flack will lead Scotland at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, and the squad will prepare for the tournament with a training camp in Sri Lanka on January 12 before arriving in Bangladesh on January 20

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2015Neil Flack will lead Scotland at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. The squad will prepare for the tournament with a training camp in Sri Lanka on 12 January before arriving in Bangladesh on January 20.Scotland, who booked their place in the tournament after winning the only available European slot during the Under-19 qualifiers in Jersey, will play two warm-up games against West Indies and Fiji in Dhaka before they arrive in Cox’s Bazar for their group fixtures.There are places for Haris Aslam, the legspinner, and Scott Cameron, the seamer, after both earned representative honours with Scotland A during the 2015 season. Gordon Drummond, the former captain, will share the head coach duties with Cedric English.”It has been tough challenge to get here but we feel we have selected a strong squad for what will be Scotland’s third consecutive appearance at this age-group event,” Drummond said. “The guys showed good resilience this summer to qualify for the World Cup, and we have been working to add to this through various supportive training opportunities this winter.”The players are aware the challenge now is to convert all the good work they have done in the last few months into the competitive environment and are determined to put on a good show for Scotland. The excitement is starting to grow in the group the closer the tournament gets with everyone fully aware of what a fantastic opportunity this is.”Scotland face a stern test in Group A against current Under-19 Champions, South Africa on January 29, before taking on Bangladesh ( January 30) and Namibia (February 2).Squad: Neil Flack (capt), Haris Aslam, Ryan Brown, Scott Cameron, Harris Carnegie, Mohammad Azeem Dar, Mohammad Ghaffar, Rory Johnston, Ihtisham Malik, Finlay McCreath, Mitchell Rao, Owais Shah, Simon Whait, Jack Waller, Ben Wilkinson.

Michael Burns, the former Warwickshire and Somerset cricketer, has been introduced to the ECB’s first-class umpires’ full list for 2016, following the recent retirement of Martin Bodenham

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2016Michael Burns, the former Warwickshire and Somerset cricketer, has been introduced to the ECB’s first-class umpires’ full list for 2016, following the recent retirement of Martin Bodenham.Burns, who played as a wicketkeeper as well as a seam-bowling allrounder in a first-class career that spanned 13 years, also served as Somerset’s captain before retiring in 2005. He was added to the umpiring reserve list in 2012.Bodenham, who was appointed to the first-class list in 2009 following a distinguished career as a football referee, remains the only individual to have officiated across both domestic professional football and cricket.”Martin can be very proud of the successful transition he made from one sporting code to another,” said Gordon Hollins, the ECB chief operating officer. “He has been a highly respected figure within our first-class game and leaves with ECB’s sincere thanks for his contribution to cricket and our best wishes for his retirement.”We are also delighted to welcome Michael onto the full first-class list for the first time and congratulate him on having made such an impressive start to his umpiring career.”ECB Full List 2016 Rob Bailey, Neil Bainton, Paul Baldwin, Mark Benson, Michael Burns, Nick Cook, Nigel Cowley, Jeff Evans, Russell Evans, Steve Gale, Steve Garratt, Michael Gough, Ian Gould, Peter Hartley, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Graham Lloyd, Jeremy Lloyds, Neil Mallender, David Millns, Steve O’Shaughnessy, Tim Robinson, Martin Saggers, Alex Wharf.

Alex Gidman, the former Gloucestershire captain who moved to Worcestershire in 2015, has been forced to retire at the age of 34 due to a finger injury he suffered in the latter stages of his first season at New Road

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2016Alex Gidman, the former Gloucestershire captain who moved to Worcestershire in 2015, has been forced to retire at the age of 34 due to a finger injury he suffered in the latter stages of his first season at New Road.After picking up the injury in the penultimate week of the season, ahead of a match against Durham at Chester-le-Street, he underwent joint-replacement surgery when he became unable to flex the joint.At the time a recovery period of 12 weeks was expected and Gidman was confident of being fit for the 2016 season, but after consultation with specialist Mike Hayton it has been decided he will not be able to reach the fitness levels to play professionally.”It is with great sadness that I have no choice but to retire from the sport that has given me so much,” he said. “I have been really lucky to have played for so long and I have so many great memories.”Obviously my many years at Gloucestershire included the majority of my success but I have really enjoyed the last 18 months meeting some fantastic people at Worcestershire. I can’t thank the many coaches, team-mates and of course supporters enough. I’m excited about the future, but will miss the game. I wish all the players I have played with the best of luck for the 2016 season and beyond.”Gidman had a disappointing first season at Worcestershire – scoring 397 runs in 12 Championship matches and made one appearance in both the T20 Blast and Royal London Cup – although missed a month of first-team cricket in July after suffering concussion when he was struck by a bouncer against Nottinghamshire.Overall he finishes with 11,622 first-class runs, 4473 in one-day cricket and 1448 in T20 alongside 103 first-class wickets and 71 in List A. His most prolific first-class season came in 2014 – his last with Gloucestershire – where he scored 1278 runs at 45.64 including his career-best 264, which came the day before he confirmed his move to Worcestershire.He reached as far as England A (and Lions) level with tours to the UAE and Sri Lanka in 2004-05 then Bangladesh in 2006-07 – on the back of a domestic season where he scored more than 1200 first-class runs – and played a match against West Indies in 2007 when the Lions opening attack was James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He was also appointed captain of England A for the tour of India in 2003-04, but was forced to withdraw before the tour with a hand injury.