Lancashire have signed Neil Wagner as their overseas player for the majority of their 2016 first-class season.Wagner, the New Zealand left-arm seamer, will be available from the start of the County Championship season and will feature primarily in that competition. He will be available until at least the end of July and could be available for the entire season if not required for New Zealand’s tour of South Africa.He has currently taken 67 wickets from his 18 Tests. He has previously had a brief spell in county cricket with Northamptonshire – he came into a struggling side in 2014 and took only 10 first-class wickets in five matches at a cost of 72.80 apiece – and has also played club cricket in the region for Ormskirk in 2008. He claimed five wickets in an over while playing for Otago against Wellington in April 2011.His aggression, stamina and commitment should render him a useful addition to a Lancashire side that was promoted back to Division One at the end of last year. With the top division almost certain to shrink to eight teams (from nine) at the end of 2016, Lancashire will have little opportunity to consolidate.”We are delighted to have brought in Neil Wagner to strengthen our bowling attack,” Lancashire coach, Ashley Giles, said. “Neil is a world class bowler with a tremendous pedigree and having him available for such an extended period will give our Division One campaign a real boost.””I am extremely excited to play for such a great club,” Wagner said. “I have always admired Lancashire, ever since playing in the Liverpool Lancashire league for Ormskirk in 2008.”
Nayan Doshi, the left-arm spinner, has terminated his contract with Surrey with immediate effect, ending a three-year association with the club.Doshi, 28, who joined Surrey in 2004, cited a lack of opportunity as his reason for leaving. “I regard myself as a good spin bowler,” he said, “and I just didn’t feel that I had the backing that I should have had. It is for this reason that I have decided to step down. There are no bad feelings as this was my decision and I wish the club the best of luck for the remainder of the season.”However, Alan Butcher, Surrey’s cricket manager, was disappointed at Doshi’s decision, arguing that the club “need people who are prepared to take on a challenge”.”It’s not unusual for a professional sportsman to be left out of a team,” Butcher said. “They don’t enjoy it but on most occasions they take it on the chin and fight to regain their place as Alastair Brown has vowed to do.”It’s a pity that Nayan is unwilling to do this as he was part of our future plans but in the position we find ourselves in, we need people who are prepared to take on a challenge. This appears to be no longer the case and so I have accepted his resignation.”In all, Doshi took 120 wickets in first-class cricket at 34.10 apiece, but his main success came in the Twenty20 where he is the leading wicket-taker at domestic level.
Johan Botha, the South African offspinner who had been suspended because of a dodgy action, has received support from his countryman and former offspinner Shafiek Abrahams. Abrahams, who played a solitary ODI in 2000, felt that the equipment used in England recently to evaluate Botha’s action was below standard and outdated.He also added that it was strange that Botha’s action was within the prescribed 15 degrees when he was tested in South Africa. “It is incomprehensible that Johan’s action has again been found to be illegal,” Abrahams told News24.com. “This is really laughable. He was tested several times in South Africa and his action was far under the prescribed mark of 15 degrees. However, in England it appeared well over the mark.”Even with the naked eye one can see his action looks good. A bowler’s action cannot change so much overnight. There are many other bowlers in world cricket whose action does not look as good as Johan’s.”There are many more cameras and other equipment at the Institute of Sports Sciences than at the ICC’s centre,” said Abrahams. “I know people at Cricket SA are unhappy about the test. They are drawing up a report. Much money has been wasted to have Johan tested.”Tim Noakes, head of the Sports Science Institute at Newlands, was also baffled by the result of the recent test. “The result of the test [done in England] shows that Botha now bends his arm more than he did when he was originally tested in Australia. This means all the work we did during the past few months has made his action worse,” Noakes was quoted as saying on the Supercricket website.Noakes was doubtful about the English test. “This is not a simple test in which the guy’s arm is measured while it is flat on the ground. You measure the movement in his bowling action, and that happens very quickly. You have a specific model that you have to use. The Australians in Perth use the same model as we do. The people in England use another model.”Noakes also claimed that when Botha was tested in Cape Town for the first time after the test in Perth, the result was almost the same. “The difference between the results was less than half a degree. In science, you try, as far as possible, to repeat tests in precisely the same manner to obtain the best results.”Botha’s action was reported in his debut Test against Australia at Sydney in January 2006 and he was suspended after tests in Perth. He will again be tested at Newlands on Thursday. If his action is shown to be legal, Cricket SA will request that he be tested again in Perth.
Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, has expressed doubts over India’s preperation for the opening game of the Videocon Cup at Bulawayo. Fleming said he expected India to struggle against New Zealand in tomorrow’s game as he felt their decision to arrive at the venue barely 24 hours before the match could backfire.”I am a bit surprised at Indians’ late arrival at the venue,” said Fleming. “It will be interesting to see how they manage their energies. If they win then obviously it is a smart move but if they struggle, as I expect them to struggle, it wouldn’t be such a smart move.”The Indians arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday but spent the next two days in Harare, fine-tuning their preparation and letting go an opportunity to acclimatise themselves to the difficult conditions in Bulawayo. They took an early morning flight to arrive in Bulawayo this morning.Bulawayo gets extremely hot in the afternoon and Fleming described it as “a sense of burning in the lungs” during daytime. He also said India would be under pressure to perform well against his galvanised side. “They have always been a very strong side but I expect the pressure to be on them to perform. They are naturally gifted players although I haven’t followedtheir form.”We intend to exert pressures on individuals in the Indian team. Obviouslyplaying against them is a step up but we have played with confidence in recenttimes.”Fleming said one of the reasons why his team has been in top form is because all the players have been fit and available for selection including Nathan Astle. “He batted in the nets today and is available tomorrow. The key for us has been the consistent performance which wasn’t there in the past season because of injuries to five or six players at the same time.When we get a top side we are pretty good and we will have a chance to measure ourselves in the next six months when we play against sides such as Australia. Potentially we remain a very good side.”Fleming was not upset at the poor return to international cricket of his star allrounder Chris Cairns who was belted for 74 runs in his nine overs against Zimbabwe yesterday. “This was his first bowl in a long time. He has been a little rusty but then he is a seasoned campaigner. It will take him little time to get into the tournament.”Fleming indicated Cairns could be dropped tomorrow but it would not be becauseof poor form. “We have players who are playing well and can cover up for him,” he said. “If he isdropped, it would be for tactical reason and not form.”
In the latest round of National League matches, Worcestershire came out on top, but only just, in a rain-affected game against Scotland, and Sussex defied the pace of Shoaib Akhtar to set Durham a stiff total at Hove, with Robin Martin-Jenkins picking up three cheap wickets as Durham fell 99 runs short.Worcestershire batted first after winning the toss at Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh, which had been soaked by morning rain, and were soon on the back foot, when Graeme Hick fell for 7, caught by Dewald Nel off the bowling of Asim Butt. Scotland continued to bowl well, and Worcestershire were reduced to 69 for 6 as five of the top six were dismissed for single figures, but Vikram Solanki (36) and Kabir Ali (33) provided a little stability, and helped Worcs to a total of 128 after 22 overs.In reply, Scotland lost Asim Butt early, and despite some runs from Sridharan Sriram (24) and Ryan Watson (26), were always behind the required run-rate. David Leatherdale, Kabir Ali and Nadeem Malik picked up wickets regularly, and despite Paul Hoffman’s last ditch effort, Scotland were never really in with a shout.At Hove, Matt Prior’s maiden century, and a 69-ball 81 from Chris Adams helped Sussex to a highly competitive 261 for 4 from 45 overs against the Durham bowling attack, lead by Shoaib Akhtar. Prior started fairly slowly, but after passing 50 accelerated well to bring up his hundred only 43 balls later. He finally fell caught by Graham onions off Neil Killeen for 119.An unbeaten 58 by Gary Pratt was the only highlight for Durham, whose top order were rolled over by Martin-Jenkin’s medium pace. Shoaib Akhtar once again failed at number four, and with only Gordon Muchall (22) sticking around for any length of time, Durham crawled to 162 for 8 at the end of their allotted overs. Scorecard Scorecard
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is delighted to announce the re-launch of Junior Gladiator Membership.Young supporters, who are under 16, can join the club for season 2003 for only £12.Their membership will entitle them to
Free entry to all Frizzell County Championship home fixtures
Free entry to all one day National League home games
Free entry to all Twenty20 home matches
An autographed team photo
Birthday and Christmas cards signed by the players
Free family ticket for the all new an exciting Twenty20 competition
A unique Junior Gladiator cap for season 2003.
Tom Richardson, Chief Executive saysFor more details please contact Peter Hall on 0117 9108007.
The Somerset Board XI are in action on Sunday when they take on Gloucestershire Board XI at the most attractive North Perrott Cricket Club.In their previous match against Cornwall at Falmouth a couple of weeks ago, Somerset were beaten by the weather and after restricting the home side to 187 in their 50 overs they had to settle for a share of the points as the rain prevented the match from being completed.Team manager Peter Robinson told me that the line-up to face Gloucestershire would be very similar to that which faced Cornwall, with the only likely change being a replacement for Joe Tucker who suffered a suspected stress fracture to the foot playing against Northants Seconds recently .The Somerset side will again be skippered by Kevin Parsons from Taunton St Andrew’s and will include Chris Hunkin, Kevin Sedgebeer, and Matt Dimond,(all Taunton St Andrew’s) Gareth Andrew, Tim Burt and Wes Durston, (all Glastonbury) Richard Pannell,(Keynsham), Ian Jones(Somerset CCC)and an extra batsman.The match will be played over 50 overs a side and gets under way at 11am. North Perrott’s delightful ground is situated about three miles east of Crewkerne just south of the A30. Refreshments will be available all day.
Rangers have been handed a positive injury lift as their Ibrox stars have returned back from friendlies and World Cup qualifiers this week…
What’s the talk?
Gio van Bronckhorst has confirmed that Alfredo Morelos and Ianis Hagi are the only injury concerns for the Gers heading into the weekend’s Old Firm clash.
No other players have come back with knocks from representing their countries, and they are all set to be available for selection on Sunday.
The club’s official Twitter account quote Van Bronckhorst as saying: “All the players returned fit, only Hagi & Morelos are missing.”
Delight
The Ibrox faithful will be delighted with this news, as it means the vast majority of the players came back from international duty without any setbacks, providing the Dutchman with a big boost as he has not lost multiple first-team assets.
For instance, Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun started both of Nigeria’s clashes with Ghana. They lost on away goals after drawing 0-0 and 1-1 in their World Cup qualifying play-off, which means that they will not be heading to the tournament later this year. Thankfully for Rangers, they did not sustain any knocks from these matches and will be fit to face Celtic this week.
Aaron Ramsey coming back without any issues will leave supporters particularly buzzing given how bleak his situation looked halfway through the international break.
Wales manager Rob Page revealed that the midfielder was dealing with a knock after their 2-1 win over Austria in their play-off. The 47-year-old told Sky Sports, via STV: “They both (Ramsey & Bale) struggled towards the end of the game. You could see both of them were holding their groins and hamstrings.”
He was then left out against the Czech Republic earlier this week, potentially leaving Gers fans worrying about his fitness. However, Van Bronckhorst’s comments suggest that the 31-year-old will be fit enough to play in the Old Firm clash.
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Ramsey has the quality to have a major impact against Celtic after missing out on the teams’ last meeting two months ago. He made his first Premiership start against Dundee last time out and scored the equaliser in the 2-1 win, showing off his predatory instinct in the penalty area as he was perfectly positioned to follow up into an empty net after Kemar Roofe’s header was saved.
Supporters will therefore be excited to see what the Welshman can do against the Hoops, as his goalscoring touch from midfield could be key to picking up the three points. He produced 130 goal contributions throughout his time at Arsenal in England and managed 12 goals and assists combined in 65 outings for Juventus in Italy, which shows that he knows how to be a difference-maker at the top level, and his availability for Sunday will be a big boost for the Gers.
AND in other news, Rangers had a major disaster on “complete” 243 G/A ace who’s “like Harry Potter”…
Cricket’s determination to reassert itself as England’s national summer sport has received a fillip with the release of record attendance figures since the ECB was founded 18 years ago.Professional cricket in England, at both domestic and international level, attracted 2,328,000 spectators in 2015 – and much of that impetus has come from a rejuvenating county system which has returned record attendances across all three formats since ECB records began.In county cricket more than 1.5 million people attended LV=County Championship, Royal London One-Day Cup and NatWest T20 Blast matches combined and all three competitions recorded increased total attendances year-on-year. For the first time, more spectators watched T20 cricket than England internationals.International attendances were also up – by 75,000 on 2014 – despite all five Investec Ashes Test matches finishing inside four days – in a summer also enhanced by an attractive New Zealand side and sell-out Women’s internationals.
On the up
More than 560,000 fans watched England in Investec Test matches; 193,000 in Royal London ODIs and 31,000 in NatWest International T20s.
513,000 people watched LV =County Championship matches – up from 495,000 last year.
More than 200,000 people attended the 72 Royal London One-Day Cup matches – an increase of around 500 per match on the previous year.
Such optimistic figures come while debates continue over the restructuring of the county game with the intention of making it more relevant to modern-day needs, financially more stable and able to equip England with a steady supply of international cricketers who can succeed across all three formats.England and Wales will stake the 2017 Champions Trophy and the World Cup two years later and the tournaments are regarded as critical in bringing the sort of lift to the game that was experienced in the 2005 Ashes series.They come, too, with negotiations underway for the next round of TV contracts, with BT expected to be a big player alongside Sky, but with the BBC looking more financially-strapped than ever when it comes to sporty, so reducing options in the free-to-air market.The growth in attendances on England’s professional circuit will also persuade traditionalists to argue for the retention of the 18-county format. Change in county cricket does not come easily – unlike tinkering – and the counties have won assurances that there will be no major changes ahead before the new TV deals come into being.But a deeper analysis of the figures will, perhaps inevitably, reveal winners and losers – suggesting that if revolution is off the agenda, for the moment at least, evolution is quickening. The fact that only 11 of the 18 first-class counties achieved gains in T20 attendances provides further proof that the financial gap between the Haves and the Have Nots may be widening and that England’s professional circuit, by enabling the best to flourish, might eventually deliver a successful elite capable of winning the TV deals that are vital to the game’s financial health.Much of the recent domestic growth is being driven by the increasingly powerful Test match counties – Surrey, for example, in the NatWest Blast, where big crowds at Kia Oval provides the sort of atmosphere that can be marketed worldwide or Yorkshire, where two Championship wins in succession have reawakened loyalties towards first-class cricket’s oldest competition.Hampshire are claiming that they are one of only two counties to record an increase in all three domestic competitions in 2015, Yorkshire being the other.Of the seven countries whose T20 crowds did not increase with the overall trend, three counties – Somerset, Sussex and Essex – have been playing to capacity crowds for some time. Glamorgan suffered by having an inbalance of home fixtures in May. Northants are known to be in financial disarray. One of the big losers was Durham, who are struggling to attract big crowds to Chester-le-Street for internationals and county fixtures.The story was not just about the international grounds, however, with Kent also showing notable signs of stirring after many years ion the doldrums on the back of a vibrant, young T20 side.The commitment to ground improvements over the past decade might have put county finances under strain – collective debts are estimated at £170m – but it has delivered venues, both big and small, more able to meet modern needs.Tom Harrison, ECB’s chief executive, said: “Across the summer attendances grew for each of the county competitions as well as the international games. These figures reflect a big effort by the counties, our international venues and partners to enhance the match-day experience, improve facilities and make our cricket grounds as fan-friendly and accessible as possible.”They are all good signs and there are big opportunities ahead. We know that there’s more that can be done to draw people to watch and play cricket and further improve standards across the game.”
Graeme Hick has agreed a new one-year contract with Worcestershire which will keep him at the county until the end of 2008 by which time he will be 42.Hick, who made his debut for Worcestershire in 1985, shows no sign of slowing down and he has been in good form this summer, scoring 574 runs at 41.00 with two hundreds. He is also on song in limited-overs matches, with 466 runs at 77.66 and he also impressed in Twenty20 matches with 193 runs at 32.16.”Graeme is in some of the best form of his life and is clearly fit enough to continue playing,” Martyn Price, the county chairman, said. “Most importantly he wants to carry on for at least another year and wants to play for Worcestershire. During what has been a difficult few weeks for the club, we can start concentrating on what really matters and that is our cricket. It couldn’t be better news for everybody involved.””I’m really enjoying my cricket this year and still feel as fit as ever,” Hick said. “Playing cricket is what I love doing and my enthusiasm for the game remains. I also believe we are close to having a very good team and I certainly want to be part of it when we start winning a few titles.”