John Wright in his New Zealand days in 2012 © Getty Images Derbyshire have become the first English county to employ a specialist T20 head coach. Contemporary thinking, though, has rarely seemed more of a throwback as they have turned to John Wright, the former New Zealand Test batsman, who first set foot in Derbyshire nearly 40 years ago. Wright, 62, is steeped in experience with coaching spells for India…
Bangladesh must bridge the gap for chance of an upset
Match facts October 20-24, ChittagongStart time 10.00am (0400GMT) Play 00:47 Butcher: Bangladesh not just a warm-up to subcontinent marathon Big picture The first Test is the meeting of a major force in Test cricket and an irregular participant. Bangladesh are resuming the format after a gap of more than 14 months, while by the end of year England will have played 17 Tests in 2016 including seven in eight weeks…
Anderson to miss first Test against India due to shoulder injury
Play 02:06 Anderson defends fitness record England will be without their leading wicket-taker, James Anderson, for the first Test against India next month. Anderson has already been ruled out of the tour to Bangladesh due to a stress fracture in his left shoulder and now England captain, Alastair Cook, has revealed he will not be ready for the opening match in Rajkot which starts on November 9. “He won’t be…
The matches that made a record-breaker
Play 01:34 Butcher: Cook’s record a remarkable feat of endurance Test No. 1 – Debut century at NagpurOne hundred and two cricketers have made a century on Test debut, including ten Englishmen since the Second World War. But few have given such definitive proof of their poise and purpose as Cook, England’s emergency replacement on the tour of India in 2005-06. After Marcus Trescothick’s breakdown on the eve of the…
Debutant Stevenson bowls Redbacks out of tournament
Tasmania 7 for 295 (Doolan 79, Michael 57) beat South Australia 267 (Cooper 63, Stevenson 5-32) by 28 runsScorecard Cameron Stevenson picked up 5 for 32 on debut © Getty Images Tasmania fast bowler Cameron Stevenson picked up five wickets on debut at Hurstville Oval to prevent South Australia from reaching the Matador Cup finals. Needing to win with a bonus point in order to reach the elimination final, the…
Bollinger, Hughes help New South Wales into finals
New South Wales 2 for 210 (Hughes 97, Cowan 66) beat Western Australia 207 (Voges 62, Bancroft 56, Bollinger 3-26) by 8 wicketsScorecard Doug Bollinger picked up 3 for 26 © Getty Images Doug Bollinger helped deliver New South Wales a place in the Matador Cup finals as they secured an eight-wicket win over Western Australia at North Sydney Oval. Set 208 for victory, the Blues made an outstanding start…
Vala ton sets up PNG win over Namibia
Papua New Guinea 311 (Vala 144*, B Scholtz 5-105) and 189 (Morea 61, B Scholtz 6-65) beat Namibia 146 (Burger 52*, Siaka 3-16, Vanua 3-39) and 155 (Kotze 36, Siaka 4-38) by 199 runsScorecard File photo: Assad Vala struck another century for Papua New Guinea to lead them to a win in their first I-Cup match on home soil © IDI/Getty Stand-in captain Assad Vala scored an unbeaten 144 in…
Pink ball Test awaits du Plessis at site of 2012 debut
Faf du Plessis walked off unbeaten on 110 off 376 balls on Test debut to save a draw at Adelaide in 2012 © Getty Images After initial hesitation about playing in a day-night Test, South Africa are now anxious to begin preparations for their first fixture with the pink ball that will take place in Adelaide at the end of November. Although the match is the last in the three-Test…
ECB set to postpone launch of City T20
Northamptonshire won the T20 Blast this season, which now looks set to be England’s premier 20-over competition until 2020 © Getty Images The ECB’s proposal for a new city-based T20 competition, which had originally be slated for a launch season in 2018, may now be postponed until 2020 to coincide with a new broadcasting deal. The go-ahead to further explore the eight-team proposal was given by a 16-3 vote at…
Adams' fate remains uncertain after 'frank' views aired
If there has been no agreement on a way forward in the situation between Paul Adams and Cobras by November 1, it can go back to the CCMA © Getty Images The Western Cape Cricket (WCC) board will meet before Friday to decide whether they implement a suggestion from dispute resolution body, the Council for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), to appoint an independent assessor in 14 days time to…