Kevin Pietersen has retired from all international limited-overs cricket with immediate effect. He will remain available for consideration as a specialist Test match player only

David Hopps31-May-2012Kevin Pietersen has retired from all international limited-overs cricket with immediate effect. He will remain available for consideration as a specialist Test match player only. The news comes four months before England defend their World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka.”With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the World Cup in 2015,” Pietersen said. “I am immensely proud of my achievements in the one-day game but still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket.He has no plans to retire from the IPL, which will further increase tensions between the IPL and international cricket and heighten the debate over whether a window is becoming increasingly necessary to seek accommodation between the tournament and the international circuit.Pietersen’s decision ends protracted discussions about his England future, which he persistently denied, in which he envisaged a future playing Tests and T20s only.This was prevented by the terms of ECB central contracts which state that any player who makes himself unavailable for either format of one-day cricket is automatically ruled out of selection for both ODIs and T20s.”For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming World Twenty20,” Pietersen said.The stipulation is seen as essential in protecting England’s extensive Test summer in which 50-over cricket still plays a central part. England have just begun one of their busiest summers on record, a programme involving a summer of six Tests, 14 ODIs and four T20s.An ECB statement said: “Pietersen, who discussed his position with the ECB during the recent Investec Test at Lord’s, accepts that his current contract will continue to run through to September 2012 but that the contract will be downgraded to reflect the fact that he will only be selected for Test cricket for the remainder of his current contract.”The terms of the central contract state that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one-day formats automatically rules himself out of consideration for both formats of the game as planning for both formats is closely linked.”This is designed to reflect the importance of one-day international cricket which is a strategic priority as England look for improved performances in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2015 ICC cricket World Cup.”Pietersen, 31, has played 127 ODIs and 36 T20s for England, making his international debut in 2004 against Zimbabwe in Harare. He has scored 4184 runs at an average of 41.84 in one-day internationals and averages 37.93 in international T20s.Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, said: “ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin’s decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title.”Kevin is a world-class player and we would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts and we look forward to his continued contributions towards the Test match side.”

Pragyan Ojha underwent a precautionary scan after hurting his neck during batting practice at the Premadasa

Abhishek Purohit26-Jul-2012Pragyan Ojha, the India left-arm spinner, has had a precautionary scan after hurting his neck during batting practice at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Ojha was hit while trying to pull a ball during throwdowns in the indoor nets at the ground. The extent of the injury was unclear but it is understood to not be serious. Ojha seemed to be in some pain as he walked out of the indoor facility feeling his neck.Ojha has two days to recover ahead of the third ODI against Sri Lanka on Saturday. He played as the second spinner alongside R Ashwin in the first two games of the series in Hambantota, taking a combined 1 for 51 in 6.5 overs. Legspinner Rahul Sharma is the third specialist spinner in the India squad.The five-ODI series is level at 1-1 after India won the first game in Hambantota and Sri Lanka won the second.

Australia A made a solid start as they chased 224 for victory against Durham after another day dominated by the ball at Chester-le-Street

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2012
ScorecardAustralia A made a solid start as they chased 224 for victory against Durham after another day dominated by the ball at Chester-le-Street. The home side earned a lead of 38 before stumbling to 49 for 5 in their second innings, but a robust 62 from Ian Blackwell, the first half-century of the match, set a demanding total.However, in 13 overs before bad light brought an early close Ed Cown and Liam Davis added 56 – 44 of which came in boundaries – after the top order failed to convince in the first innings. Australia A had resumed on 111 for 6 and Nathan Coulter-Nile fell to the fourth ball of the day and, after a stand of 41 between Tim Paine and Mitchell Starc, the last three wickets fell for seven.Australia A’s pace bowlers were soon making inroads. Starc had Mark Stoneman, the Durham captain for this match, caught behind and Alister McDermott added two more scalps to the four he took on the opening day including that of Ben Stokes.Blackwell, though, responded with the most free-flowing innings of the match as he crunched six fours and three sixes in a 63-ball stay. He added 86 in 19 overs for the sixth wicket with Michael Richardson to push the lead towards 200.Jon Holland, the left-arm spinner, broke through in his fourth over and he claimed two further wickets to help end Durham’s innings. Coulter-Nile, who was a late addition to the squad after James Pattinson was injured, also ended with 3 for 32.

Rajasthan’s Robin Bist sent out a message to the national selectors, with a century on the first day of the Irani Cup in Bangalore, though his efforts were undermined by a Umesh Yadav five-for

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore21-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Robin Bist extended his fine form from the previous season, with a first-day century in the Irani Cup•K Sivaraman

Rajasthan’s Robin Bist extended his prolific first-class run, and sent out a message to the national selectors, with a century on the first day of the Irani Cup in Bangalore, though his efforts were undermined by a Umesh Yadav five-for that left Rest of India in a strong position.A batsman scoring a 1000 runs in a Ranji season is a difficult task, but Bist accomplished that during Rajasthan’s run to the title last season. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a place on the India A tour of the Caribbean earlier this year, which had a whole host of contenders for middle-order berths in the Test side. In a series where runs were tough to score, Bist failed in the one chance he got, and was left out of the A side’s next assignment, the visit to New Zealand. Three months out with a thumb fracture didn’t help either.Bist’s response was an assured hundred in the first chance he got, and that too against an attack that had three members of the India Test squad. “It was a very big match for me, I am coming back after three months, playing such a big game,” he said after the day’s play. “I was really very desperate to make runs, not a hundred, but to make runs on this track against these bowlers.”Two Rest of India bowlers who were under the spotlight were Ishant Sharma, who was returning from a lengthy injury lay-off and left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, a star at the Under-19 World Cup. Ishant’s first day of top-flight cricket since February began with a short and very wide delivery, but he had a reasonably accurate first spell, testing the batsmen around off though he wasn’t getting too much movement. He was too wide in his second spell, but turned in a more accurate stint after tea.Harmeet had an even longer absence from first-class cricket, not able to make the Mumbai Ranji side since the 2010-11 season. They was a load of pressure on the 19-year-old to deliver, given the hype over his performances in Australia and also because by picking him Rest of India’s slow-bowling consisted of the infrequent combination of two left-arm spinners. He didn’t flight the ball too much in his first spell, and was a touch short as well, and was taken for plenty by the Rajasthan batsmen. While he didn’t cover himself with glory on the first day, it should be kept in mind that he is very raw in the format, and needs time to learn how to bowl in the longer form.Much of the talk ahead of the Irani Cup was about the mismatch between the two sides, and about how a Rajasthan team missing four key performers from last season – fast bowler Pankaj Singh (knee injury), opener Aakash Chopra (shifted to Himachal Pradesh), batsman Ashok Menaria and fast bowler Rituraj Singh (both in the India A team) – would compete against Rest of India. Those worries seemed to be well founded when, after being sent in on a track with a bit of grass but not much help for the bowlers, Rajasthan slid to 46 for 3, with their set batsman Ankit Lamba throwing away his wicket by edging a full and wide delivery to gully.To compound matters, Rajasthan were a batsman short, with their wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik (first-class average 22.53) coming in at No. 6. Bist, though, calmed Rajasthan’s nerves with a trouble-free partnership for the fourth wicket with Rashmi Parida. By lunch, they had moved to 81 for 3, and for an hour after the bowling was made to look pedestrian before a Parida misjudgement ended the stand: he shouldered arms to an Ishant Sharma delivery angling in, and was mortified to see it crash into the top of off.Bist continued to build his innings, highlighted by his cuts against the spinners and flicks off the pads. Bist particularly enjoyed one shot. “When I was on 86, and hit Umesh a flick to midwicket, one of the best shots I have played,” he said. He had one let-off on 41 when an edge went low and wide to M Vijay at first slip, but otherwise made the pitch look like the tame one it was. Yagnik was aggressive after tea, taking 14 off a Pragyan Ojha over, and Rajasthan cruised to 218 for 4, when Umesh sliced through the Rajasthan lower order to put Rest of India in charge.Umesh hadn’t made much of an impact with the new ball, generally dropping it too short and not making the batsman play enough. There were several hittable full deliveries on the pads as well, but when he returned for his third spell, he pitched it up and had several of the tailenders edging behind. In the space of 27 deliveries he snared five wickets, starting with a marginal decision lbw decision against Yagnik, who was struck on the pad just outside off stump.Bist was unbeaten on 92 when Yagnik fell, and such was the haste with which Rajasthan caved that it briefly looked like Bist might miss out on a century. He got there, though, with a top-edged pull, not a stroke he was happy about, but there was no mistaking the delight at reaching the hundred. “I was disappointed at the shot, I was not enjoying the hundred because it was a very poor shot,” he said. “I kept telling myself that I don’t have to play pull shot, because that’s the shot I really like to play, against any sort of bowler, if he is the fastest one I don’t care.”Still, his unbeaten 117 couldn’t stop Rajasthan from being bowled out for 253, which is not likely to be enough against a Rest of India line-up filled with domestic heavyweights.

Jonathan Trott is doubtful for the final one-day international following the hand injury he sustained from Dale Steyn

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2012Jonathan Trott has been ruled out of the final one-day international against South Africa being unable to hold a bat following the hand injury he sustained from Dale Steyn at Lord’s on Sunday.Trott took a blow on his right hand early in his innings of 48 and was in clear pain throughout the rest of his stay in the middle and had two visits from the physio. Jos Buttler, the Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman who is in England’s Twenty20 squad, has been called in as cover for Trent Bridge.An ECB statement said an X-ray of the hand ruled out any major fracture. Trott also went for an MRI scan on Tuesday.Although Buttler has been added to the squad, Trott’s absence will mean a likely recall for Jonny Bairstow who is the spare batsman. He has been unfortunate not to find a place in the starting XI during the series following his successful return to the Test side at Lord’s, where he made 95 and 54, plus his impressive unbeaten 68 in the Friends Life t20 semi-final against Sussex.England have opted to stick with Ravi Bopara despite his problems with the bat where his series scores are 16, 0 and 6. Bopara, though, has bowled well and took 2 for 34 at Lord’s.Trott has been the anchor of England’s batting during their two victories in the series which have given them an unbeatable 2-1 lead and ensured they will retain the No. 1 ranking going into 2013. He made 71 at The Oval and 48 at Lord’s, forming crucial partnerships with the more aggressive Eoin Morgan and Ian Bell.Trott’s stability at No. 3 has also helped compensate for the lean time of Alastair Cook who has yet to post a significant score in the series. Trott has been in early in all three completed matches with England having opening stands of 0, 14 and 2.

Taj TV has acquired television rights from the WICB for a period of seven years, beginning from January 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2012Taj TV has acquired television rights from the WICB for a period of seven years, beginning from January 2013. Taj TV, which operates five sports channels including Ten Sports and has previously telecast West Indies cricket, bought the terrestrial broadcast rights for the Caribbean as well as the production rights, the West Indies board said in a release.In all, the release said, Taj TV will broadcast 253 days of international cricket as part of the deal, and provide television production for free-to-air stations throughout the Caribbean. However, the numbers behind the deal were not revealed.”We are extremely delighted to continue our long standing association with Taj TV Limited who has been our media rights partner previously and with whom we have had a solid and mutually beneficial relationship,” the president of the WICB, Julian Hunte, said.

Zero to one millimetre of rain is forecast for the final day in Adelaide. One millimetre can be enough to save a batsman if a bowler has overstepped the crease but it won’t be sufficient to rescue South Africa in this Test

The Report by Brydon Coverdale25-Nov-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Michael Hussey scored a half-century as Australia retained control of the match on the fourth day•Getty Images

Zero to one millimetre of rain is forecast for the final day in Adelaide. One millimetre can be enough to save a batsman if a bowler has overstepped the crease but it won’t be sufficient to rescue South Africa in this Test. They will need either an unexpected deluge or something equally miraculous from their remaining batsmen if they are to avoid defeat, and although South African sides have done remarkable things before, it is impossible to see any way out of this predicament.Michael Clarke left Adelaide Oval on the fourth evening knowing that only six wickets stood between his men and a 1-0 series lead. Even though the Australians were one bowler down after James Pattinson was ruled out of the rest of the Test summer due to injury, the strong start provided by Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon meant the effect of his absence was significantly lessened. At stumps, South Africa were 4 for 77 in their chase of 430, with AB de Villiers on 12 and Faf du Plessis on 19.