In a typically dominant and clinical fashion, Karnataka headed towards their first win of the season by taking a first-innings lead of 225 runs and then dismissing two Bengal batsmen in a curtailed last session of the third day

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore10-Oct-2015
ScorecardShreyas Gopal brought up his third first-class century•PTI

In a typically dominant and clinical fashion, Karnataka headed towards their first win of the season by taking a first-innings lead of 225 runs and then dismissing two Bengal batsmen in a curtailed last session of the third day. Karnataka’s overnight lead of ten runs was extended by centuries from Shreyas Gopal (139) and Shishir Bhavane (119), who returned after an injury, and they declared on 537 for 9 with one full session to go in which Bengal scored 58 runs, before bad light stopped play. Bengal still trail Karnataka by 167 runs.The centuries from Gopal and Bhavane made sure Karnataka did not stutter once Karun Nair edged one to the keeper off a cover drive after adding only seven runs to his overnight 119. Bhavane drove impressively off the front foot while Gopal used some late cuts and back-foot punches to hit several fours on the off side. Besides defending the ball patiently in the first session, Gopal attacked when the Bengal pacers erred with their lengths.Bhavane, meanwhile, had to depend more on singles and twos because of his wrist injury. He took the top hand, which was injured, off the bat a few times while playing some shots and looked in slight discomfort with the impact of ball hitting the bat. He brought up his fifty off 127 balls by smashing Pragyan Ojha to the wide long-on boundary and by lunch Karnataka’s lead had reached 115. Gopal did not spend too much time in the 90s. He cut a ball to third man to move from 93 to 97 and soon flicked Ojha to the midwicket boundary for his 16th four to bring up his third first-class hundred.Ojha continued to bowl relentlessly from one end and the way both batsmen played him against the turn showed there was not much for spinners in the pitch. Gopal, in between, got a message from the dressing room to up the tempo with an eye on declaration. He started coming down the track to Ojha after lunch and struck Ashok Dinda and Sourav Sarkar for fours in consecutive overs. Bhavane also changed his strategy when he approached his hundred.He frustrated Ojha by sweeping one to square leg for four, and when Ojha moved long leg to square leg before the next ball, Bhavane swept him fine for another boundary. But just before he could reach his century, Veer Pratap Singh brought one delivery sharply into Gopal and had him lbw for 139 to break the 142-run stand. Bhavane then brought up his maiden first-class hundred in the next over by steering Ojha to third man for two.Karnataka started attacking immediately after Gopal was dismissed which resulted in quick runs with the fall of three more wickets. Vinay Kumar showed his intentions by getting off the mark with a reverse sweep for four and dispatching Dinda over the covers for another boundary. The plan cost Vinay when he made room again and was bowled by the same bowler. Bhavane’s vigil also ended in the next over when he pushed at a delivery away from his body and edged it for Wriddhiman Saha who took a good, low catch.Abhimanyu Mithun fell the way his captain was dismissed – he dispatched Veer Pratap for a six and was bowled next ball and with a massive lead in hand, Karnataka declared at the stroke of tea.Karnataka were made to work for the two wickets as the Bengal openers saw through the opening spells of Vinay and Mithun, which made them bring legspinner Gopal in the ninth over, but he also went wicketless. The batsmen capitalised on the loose balls on offer, before the fourth bowling change of HS Sharath brought them success when he trapped Abhishek Das in front of leg stump in the 12th over. Six overs later, Shreevats Goswami looked to sweep the ball with the turn but edged it onto the stumps with J Suchith striking in his first over.

Joe Root bemoaned the fact that he did not anchor the innings as England were left floundering against the pace of Wahab Riaz in Dubai

Andrew McGlashan in Dubai24-Oct-2015Joe Root has admitted England “weren’t able to handle” the pace and legspin combination of the Pakistan attack on the third day in Dubai as they lost 7 for 36 during the morning session to leave themselves a mountain to climb if they are to avoid defeat.He partially blamed himself, saying he should have been the batsman to go on and anchor the innings after he resumed on 76. A couple of early full tosses from Yasir Shah helped get him underway but he then edged a full delivery from Wahab Riaz which set England’s collapse in motion.”Fair play to Pakistan, they put us under a lot of pressure, they bowled very consistently and got the ball to reverse at speed and we weren’t able to handle that,” he said. “The legspinner bowled with some good control, but if we are being brutally honest there were a few shots in our dismissals which we would probably want to rethink.”Eighty-odd, set fair from last night, I felt as if I should be the one to go on and make a big score, build a big partnership with Jonny and we’d be near their score. So that was very disappointing.”Although Root fell between 83 and 98 for the fifth time this year – he made 85 in the first Test in Abu Dhabi – he has done more than most to help hold together a flimsy England batting order with 1207 runs in 2015. Other than him and Alastair Cook – the England captain has also scored over 1200 runs for the year – no other player in the XI is close to an average of 40 since England resumed Test cricket against West Indies in April.They were able to get away with lean returns in the Ashes, where two seamer-friendly pitches made for low scoring matches at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge which decided the series, but the warning signs have been there on flatter pitches such as Lord’s and The Oval where hefty totals have been the order of the day. However, Root insisted that he was not feeling an extra burden on him.”I don’t think so, you just go in and try and play every situation as you see it,” he said. “This morning we got it wrong, plain and simple. We knew what we had to do, I can speak for myself and the collective: we weren’t able to match Pakistan.”It’s not a very easy place to start your innings and when you are put under pressure, as we were, you can get found out if you aren’t right on the ball from the start. It’s something we’ve got to learn from and learn fast going into the second innings.”One player suffering more than most at the moment is Jos Buttler whose average since the start of the Ashes is 13.54. He made a duck, the third of Wahab’s three wickets in an electric nine-over spell. Cook praised Buttler’s qualities before the Test and Root, the vice captain, said that he could see him emerging from the slump very soon.”You can single out individuals as much as you want but as a side we always look after each, we are desperate for everyone to do well and currently Jos has had a couple of low scores but I’ve got every confidence in him turning it around and I can see him doing great things for England in the future.”

A round-up of Pro50 Championship matches on November 23, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2015Opener Regis Chakabva and Tinotenda Mutombodzi struck 61 each to help Masholand Eagles chase down a revised target of 225 in 48 overs against Matabeleland Tuskers with 12 balls and four wickets to spare by Duckworth-Lewis method in Harare.Chamu Chibhabha was dismissed cheaply but Chakabva kept the scorecard ticking as Eagles reached 52 for 1 before the rain arrived. Cephas Zhuwao was bowled by Tiwanda Mupariwa off the first ball after resumption but Chakabva and Mutombodzi added 36 together, after which Ryal Burl applied the finishing touches to the chase.Earlier a collective bowling effort saw Eagles restrict Tuskers to 227. Seven batsmen passed double figures but none managed to make a big score. Mbekezeli Mabuza hit 39 off 47 balls with the next best score being Mupariwa’s 31-ball 37. He clubbed two fours and two sixes but the total of 227 was not adequate in the end.Mountaineers beat Midwest Rhinos by 18 runs in the Pro50 Championship fixture at the Kwekwe Sports Club in Harare. Mountaineers made 242 for 4 on the back of half-centuries from Timycen Maruma (69) and Hamilton Masakadza (65). Donald Tiripano, the pacer, then recorded figures of 5 for 47 off 10 overs, his best List-A performance, as Rhinos were bowled out for 242 in the penultimate over.Rhinos’ top order floundered as they were reduced to 53 for 4, before Prince Masvaure (91) and Remembrance Nyathi (46) came up with the rescue act. The pair added 125 for the fifth wicket before falling in successive overs. Nevill Madziva made an unbeaten 27 to keep their hopes alive, but that was scant consolation as the last four batsmen could manage just nine runs between them.

Sabbir Rahman and Shahriar Nafees batted out of their skin to take Barisal Bulls to the BPL final, where they will face Comilla Victorians

The Report by Mohammad Isam13-Dec-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLendl Simmons’ 73 was in vain•BCB

Sabbir Rahman and Shahriar Nafees batted out of their skins to take Barisal Bulls to the BPL final, where they will face Comilla Victorians. The five-wicket win over Rangpur Riders came with three balls to spare, and it was sweeter as they won without the big-hitting Chris Gayle.The match was going smoothly in Barisal’s favour when Sabbir and Nafees were adding their 124-run, third-wicket stand, but it started to swing and turn in the last three overs. Sabbir was dropped on 77 in the 18th over by Darren Sammy at long-on off Thisara Perera’s bowling. Two balls later, however, when the batsman tried to hoick over midwicket again, Sammy managed to balance himself on his left foot for about three seconds, nearly leaning into the rope but hanging on brilliantly.One more run came from that over, leaving Barisal to score 19 from the last two overs. The first three balls of the 19th over went for five runs before Mahmudullah skied Sammy’s slower ball straight to long-off where Perera took an easy catch. Rayad Emrit calmly slog-swept the next ball, also a slower one, for a six over deep midwicket before he was beaten off the last ball.Barisal needed eight off the last over when Shakib handed the ball to Perera. He gifted a full-toss down the leg side first ball and Cooper’s thin touch beat the diving wicketkeeper for four. Cooper squeezed one almost to the boundary next ball, but had to settle for two before he hammered a four off another full-toss to seal the win. The players and officials poured out of the Barisal dressing-room, rejoicing a tough climb to the final.Barisal’s start to the chase had been disastrous as they slipped to 10 for 2 in the third over. From such a tough position, with a place in the final on the line, Sabbir and Nafees put together the sixth hundred-plus stand in this year’s competition. The third-wicket partnership started with a charge off Shakib, who gave away three fours in the fifth over. Mohammad Nabi was struck for a four and six through the leg side, before Nafees’ thick outside edge took the ball past the wicketkeeper off Sammy.Sabbir brought out the sweep in the eighth over, going for a fast four, before Nafees swung a boundary away off Abu Jayed in the tenth over. The pair picked up two fours off both Perera and Sammy in the next two overs.Sabbir brought up his first half-century of this season’s BPL in the 14th over, before sweeping past the deep midwicket and backward square leg fielders, again off Nabi. He didn’t get to the pitch of a Saqlain Sajib delivery but the ball sailed over long-off, taking the partnership past the 100-run mark. With Barisal needing 43 off the remaining 30 balls, Nafees blasted Arafat Sunny through midwicket before Sabbir struck his third six, over midwicket. Nafees was run out in the next over, which was also Shakib’s last, for 44 off 40 balls with six fours.When Rangpur chose to bat, there were expectations from Lendl Simmons, who had only scored a single fifty in the tournament. He struck the first boundary for the side in the third over, tucking Mohammad Sami past short fine leg. His new opening partner, Abdullah Al Mamun, making his BPL debut, lofted Al-Amin Hossain over midwicket for a six, before Simmons, too, got his first six with a pull off Taijul Islam over midwicket.The left-arm spinner was struck for two more fours in the same over before Seekkuge Prasanna clean-bowled Mamun for 20; the opening pair had added 52 in 8.3 overs. Soumya Sarkar continued his lean run, falling for only 6, though Sami took a good catch at long-off in the 11th over.Simmons and Shakib added a quickfire 44 for the third wicket, though it was the Rangpur opener who took Al-Amin for a six over long-off, and hit fours down the leg side and past point off Emrit and Prasanna. Simmons was bowled by Sami for 73 off 57 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. He had laid enough of a platform for Rangpur’s allrounders to go for broke in the last few overs.Rangpur lost four wickets in the helter-skelter last over – two of them run-outs, while Cooper took the other two to complete his second four-for in the competition. Rangpur’s good score of 160, however, was eclipsed by a valiant Barisal effort.

Dean Elgar has provided a forceful defence of South Africa’s coaching staff, who have taken a public battering in the aftermath of the team’s back to back series defeats

Firdose Moonda20-Jan-20163:45

‘Definitely not a dead rubber’ – Elgar

Dean Elgar has provided a forceful defence of South Africa’s coaching staff, who have taken a public battering in the aftermath of the team’s back to back series defeats. Head coach Russell Domingo and his slew of support staff were most heavily criticised by former captain Graeme Smith who questioned whether the management was getting the best out of the players and directing them in the right way. Elgar insisted they are.”My words are pretty firm. What’s been said in the media is quite wrong and a little bit hurtful. Our management deserve a lot more respect, especially by those guys who have worked with them before,” he said. “People don’t know what our management team do behind closed doors, with regards to their work ethic and giving guys freedom to prepare their own way. They have ticked all the boxes in my eyes.”Elgar found no fault with either preparation or personnel although he conceded a full-time batting coach could be a welcome addition to a backroom staff that includes two bowling coaches. “Our preparation has been brilliant. That’s a non-negotiable for us,” he said. “I do think a specialist batting coach would add a lot of value. I know there have been a few guys asked to help us, to a bit of a negative response. Even though you are playing for South Africa, you sometimes do need that little bit of fine-tuning from someone else that is just observing from the sidelines. I do think there will be a benefit for one in the squad. With regards to who it would be, I’m not sure.”South Africa have been through three batting consultants, Gary Kirsten, Mike Hussey and Smith, who played under Domingo for nine months between June 2013 and March 2014. In that time, South Africa drew a Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, beat India at home and lost to Australia. That period also saw the retirement of Jacques Kallis before Smith signed off from the international stage, putting the team into its greatest transitional period in a decade.At first, it seemed South Africa would cope with the loss of big names. They won a series in Sri Lanka and beat Zimbabwe and West Indies under Hashim Amla. But the frailties began to show in India, where South Africa were beaten 3-0 on turning tracks, and the malaise has continued into the England series.Injuries to key members of their pace pack – Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn – have hamstrung then in one department while a misfiring batting line-up, which has been bowled out for their two lowest scores since readmission in the last two series, has handicapped them in the other. As a result, there have been questions asked about the mental strength of the side and whether the behind the scenes dramas including transformation, uncertainty over AB de Villiers’ long-term future and now, the domestic match-fixing scandal is bleeding into performance.Elgar admitted the scrutiny around the team’s performances had not gone unnoticed but insisted the team remained united. “The best is to try and laugh it off. If you let that affect you, it’s taking a few steps back. I’m sure every player will say they don’t read what’s in the media, I do read the media,” he said. “It is disheartening to hear those things in the media but the Test side is a tight unit. I know that the cricket doesn’t reflect that, but we are. I can vouch for that. It is a little bit unpleasant hearing it in the media. That’s their opinions. I know from where I sit the Proteas are a strong unit.”South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo is under pressure after a string of poor results•Gallo Images

But they are also a changing unit, and that may be the biggest difference between them and a settled England side. “The English players seem to know their game very well. Two years ago, they were in a similar position to us. They were getting a beating by Australia or another team. Their players have adapted very quickly. It seems like they know their role very well.”They have a lot of impact players within their side. Ben Stokes adds a huge advantage with bat and ball and fielding at gully. They’re also a very experienced unit. Especially with ball in hand, you can see they know their stuff. They’re highly skilled and focused and they know what to do on the international circuit.”South Africa’s experience has been whittled down to that extent that even Elgar, who has only played 24 Tests, is now considered part of a senior core, especially when it comes to the top two. Given that Elgar is the experienced opener he is expected to anchor the innings, something he wants to work harder on.”I have been reasonably happy but in the same breath very frustrated as well. I’ve got three 40s, which if people know me, that really grinds me,” he said. “I would rather go out for zero than in the 40s or 50s, when the hard work has been done. All you have to do then is apply yourself a little bit more. There are still two more innings in the series and I’ll try and make it count.”If he can, it may strengthen his case as a candidate for the Test captaincy, which will be decided on during the winter break. De Villiers remains the frontrunner for the job but Elgar, who could have more years left than de Villiers, has been picked to lead the South African A side against England in a fifty-over warm-up match and may now start mulling the possibility of the main job.”Since school cricket I was someone that wanted to lead from the front. I wanted to be the best in the side. It was something that was drilled into me from a young age. Irrespective of who you are playing against. It’s about pride,” he said. “If it had to come my way, it’s something I will have to think long and hard about. I don’t think it’s something that’s very easy. I know it’s something a lot of guys take very seriously.”

A thrilling chase and a cruel missed chance saw India seal a Twenty20 series sweep over Australia at the SCG, as the more settled side was victorious once again

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the SCG31-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA thrilling chase and a cruel missed chance saw India seal a Twenty20 series sweep over Australia at the SCG, as the more settled side was victorious once again.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli laid the groundwork for India’s pursuit before Suresh Raina was able to finish things off with the help of Yuvraj Singh, who looked out of touch before finding his timing at precisely the right moment as the pair took 19 off Andrew Tye’s final over of the innings to finish off the win. Victory also lifted India to No.1 in the ICC T20 rankings; they were eighth before the series began.Raina was fortunate to be there, having escaped a stumping chance second ball. The bowler Cameron Boyce was Australia’s outstanding performer on the night, but he was let down by the glove work of Cameron Bancroft, a speculative choice as wicketkeeper for this match in the absence of Matthew Wade.The error typified Australia’s muddled approach to this series, just a month out from the World T20 in India. However they did have the consolation of an outstanding century by the stand-in captain Shane Watson, who showed why he should be indispensable to the team’s campaign on the same day his former team-mate Michael Clarke announced he intended to return to cricket after a five-month break.India’s bowling was not particularly strong this night, but their batting strength was demonstrated by Rohit, Kohli and Raina. Vitally, Raina and Yuvraj did not lose their heads under the pressure of the chase – a strong lesson for the Australians given their panicky displays in Adelaide and Melbourne.In pursuit of 198, India needed a fast start, something Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit were more than capable of providing. Dhawan only lasted nine balls, but in that time clumped 26 runs and made a mess of Shaun Tait. Rohit was a little more circumspect, but helped keep the score ticking over well ahead of the required rate.Australia were able to pull things back somewhat through the middle overs thanks largely to the bowling of Watson and the legspinner Boyce, who gave the ball teasing flight and loaded it with spin to beat Rohit, Kohli and Raina in the air. Boyce gained two wickets for his effort but should have had a third, when Bancroft missed the stumping chance that a more seasoned keeper might have completed.After Kohli’s exit to Boyce’s penultimate ball for another sparkling contribution of 50, Raina and Yuvraj Singh pottered around for a time. As MS Dhoni had done during the 50-over match on this ground a little over a week ago, they allowed the equation to stretch out while finding their bearings, and Tye was left to defend 17 from the final over.As though rousing from a deep sleep, Yuvraj pounced on Tye’s first two balls, flicking over backward square leg to the fence then pounding a six into the heaving crowd at midwicket. That rather simplified the equation for India, and a pair of hustled twos by Raina were followed by an exultant last ball boundary that completed India’s clean sweep.Watson had won the toss on a warm evening and walked out to bat with his Thunder opening partner Usman Khawaja. In the form of his life, Khawaja strolled to 14 from five balls before edging a good one from Ashish Nehra and being dismissed for less than 50 for the first time since last October.That was something of a shock for the crowd and the Australians, but Watson was soon finding his range with powerful shots struck through and over MS Dhoni’s fields. He was given a helping hand by a pair of no-balls from Jaspreet Bumrah in the fourth over, the second from the free-hit he gave up by bowling the first – both were crunched to the cover boundary by Watson.Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell could not endure in Watson’s company, but Travis Head provided common sense support to his captain, who grew in fluency and confidence with every over. A few weeks ago Watson had played similarly well on this ground for the Sydney Thunder against the Sydney Sixers, and this time Watson went on from his typical resting place between 50 and 90 to a maiden T20 international century.The milestone brought an expansive celebration by Watson on the ground of his adopted home state for several reasons. Not only was it a rare international century for him and a moment to assure his presence in the team for the World T20 in India, the innings was also doubtless a timely one a few days before the IPL auction.Watson would follow up with some tidy bowling, but as captain he could do little about some of the less illustrious work of others, as India romped home. They will go into the World T20 full of confidence; Australia meanwhile do not look sure where to go.

Canterbury-born allrounder Logan van Beek has been named in Netherlands’ 15-man squad for the World T20 in India

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2016Canterbury-born allrounder Logan van Beek has been named in Netherlands’ 15-man squad for the World T20 in India, which starts from March 8. Van Beek had played seven matches in the previous T20 World Cup in Bangladesh for five wickets and 78 runs, but has not played for Netherlands since. In terms of recent match practice, van Beek had played ten matches in Canterbury’s title-winning Ford Trophy campaign.Netherlands coach Anton Roux welcomed back van Beek and said that he was happy with the team’s performance in the UAE, where they won their Intercontinental Cup and World Cricket League Championship matches against UAE in addition to playing two T20Is against the hosts and Scotland.”After a very successful tour of the UAE, I am happy to announce an exciting group of Dutch cricketers that will represent The Netherlands in India at the WT20,” Roux said.”This group has shown an immense amount of commitment to what we are trying to achieve on the field of play, and to continue playing our brand of cricket. After a great season with Canterbury, the addition of Logan van Beek can only mean added value to the squad and we look forward to having him back. Being able to showcase our skills on the world stage in a tournament like this is a wonderful opportunity that we are very grateful for, and we intend to add more magical memories for the boys in orange. For some this will be a last shot at World Cup glory and for some it will be a first taste of cricket in magical India, which means it all adds up for some exciting times for all involved.”Opener Michael Swart, who was part of Netherlands’ recent tour to the UAE, though, has been left out of the squad. He had hit an unbeaten 60 in Netherlands’ seven-wicket win over UAE in the ICC World Cricket League championship. However, Swart had managed only 35 runs and two wickets in the subsequent two T20s.Tim Gruijters Tom Heggelman, and Eric Szwarczynski who all were part of Netherland’s previous World T20 squad did not find a place either. The squad for India includes 18-year-old Sikandar Zulfiqar who made his T20I debut for Netherlands against UAE earlier this week.The top eight teams have a direct entry into the main draw of the World T20 but Netherlands, who are ranked 12th, will have to go through a qualifying round. They are placed in Group A of the first round with Bangladesh, Oman, and Ireland and will play one match with each team, in Dharamsala. Their tournament opener is against Bangladesh on March 9. Only if they finish on top of the group will they move on to the main tournament.Squad: Wesley Barresi, Logan van Beek, Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Timm van der Gugten, Vivian Kingma, Ahsan Malik, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar, Sikander Zulfiqar.

In an unusual move India captain MS Dhoni invited a journalist to sit alongside him when asked if he was going to retire immediately after India were knocked out of the World T20 by West Indies

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai31-Mar-20161:01

WATCH – Dhoni solves the retirement question

In an unusual move India captain MS Dhoni invited a journalist to sit alongside him when asked if he was going to retire immediately after India were knocked out of the World T20 by West Indies. The journalist, an overseas correspondent, simply asked: “You have achieved virtually everything that a cricketer could. Are you keen to continue playing on?”Dhoni said “sorry” first, asking the question to be repeated. Having heard it again, with a big smile, he waved at the journalist, inviting him to come and sit next to him to discuss the question. “Come here. Let’s have some fun. Come here,” he said. The journalist obviously was not sure if Dhoni was being serious. Dhoni insisted. “Come, come, come. Seriously. Yeah, come,” Dhoni said pulling a chair towards him.As everyone in the media room looked on, the journalist walked and sat next to Dhoni. “You want me to retire?” Dhoni asked, putting his right arm around the journalist. The journalist said: “No, I don’t. I was just asking.”Dhoni’s response was surprising considering he has responded in the past to similar questions on retirement with a smile and a shake of the head many a times. But on this occasion Dhoni carried on. “I was hoping it was an Indian media guy because I can’t really say if you have a brother or a son who can play for India as a keeper,” he said while rubbing his beard with his left hand.Unprompted, he then said to the journalist: “Do you think I am unfit?” To which the journalist replied no. “Looking at me running,” Dhoni continued to which the journalist responded “very fast”.”Do you think I can survive till the 2019 World Cup?” Dhoni asked next to which the response was “sure, yes, sure.” “Then you have answered the question,” Dhoni told the journalist and also gave him a pat on his back.As the room filled up with laughter, Dhoni continued. “I wish it was an Indian media guy because I would have asked whether he has a son who is old enough to play and is a wicketkeeper to play. He would have said ‘no’ then I would have said maybe a brother who can play and who is a wicketkeeper. You fired the wrong ammunition at the wrong time,” he said, pointing once again to the overseas correspondent.

Franklyn Rose, the former West Indies pacer, was deported to Jamaica from New Zealand on Tuesday after spending five weeks in prison for overstaying on a work visa which expired in 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2016Franklyn Rose, the former West Indies pacer, was deported to Jamaica from New Zealand on Tuesday after spending five weeks in prison for overstaying on a work visa which expired in 2012.Rose, 44, played for University Cricket Club’s premier team apart from serving as a volunteer cricket coach for school kids in Auckland since moving to New Zealand in 2011. He spent the last five weeks imprisoned at Auckland’s Mt Eden Prison. reported that Rose was first served a deportation notice in 2014. His special application to stay back in New Zealand on “humanitarian circumstances” was dismissed by Craig Foss, the Associate Minister of Immigration.Rose, who made his international debut in 1997, played 19 Tests and 27 ODIs in all. Rose toured New Zealand in the summer of 1999-2000, and played his final Test against England in August 2000. He finished with 82 international wickets.

New Zealand have retained the services of head coach Mike Hesson, batting coach Craig McMillan, manager Mike Sandle, and strength and conditioning coach Chris Donaldson

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-2016New Zealand have retained the services of head coach Mike Hesson, batting coach Craig McMillan, manager Mike Sandle, and strength and conditioning coach Chris Donaldson. All four have signed contracts that extend until after the 2019 World Cup.NZC chief executive David White welcomed the development.”This is very positive in terms of our succession planning, our preparation for the major events on the horizon and, not least, general team stability,” White said. “It was really important for us to retain the intellectual property and institutional knowledge that these people have developed.”White had words of high praise for Hesson, who has held the head coach role since July 2012.”Mike’s the most successful coach in New Zealand cricket history and, in my opinion, the best selector we’ve ever had,” he said. “To have him committed to the Black Caps until after the next World Cup is great news for all concerned.”Hesson called it a “privilege” to coach New Zealand.”Being around a group which works together and is striving to head in the same direction is extremely rewarding,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be a part of the Black Caps culture and I feel lucky to be able to contribute to that for a little bit longer.”