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.”
Javagal Srinath, the former India fast bowler, reckons Irfan Pathan’stemporary loss of form is “not a cause for concern and that he should bepersisted with.” Srinath asserted that, given his age and talent, Pathanwill bounce back and is still a worthwhile investment.Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, the former India spinner and currently acommentator, felt that it was crucial for Pathan to focus on swing and notpace. Speaking in a forum jointly organised by the television broadcaster, Ten Sports, and the Press Club of Mumbai, Sivaramakrishnan observed that Pathan had been low onconfidence in the recent series in the Caribbean.”When he started out, he was more side-on [at the point ofdelivery], but now his action seems to have opened up,” said Sivaramakrishnan. “Andy Roberts, [the former West Indies fast bowler] identified a few technical deficiencies. His initial strides in his run-up were longer and it shortened as heapproached the crease. Roberts said that it should be the opposite.”Srinath concurred with Sivaramakrishnan’s view that Pathan’s focus shouldbe on swing but asserted : “there is a minimum threshold of pace – 130kph – which he should maintain”.Looking ahead to the tri-series in Sri Lanka, also featuring India andSouth Africa, Muttiah Muralitharan was identified as the chief reason why Sri Lanka will start as favourites. Should the Indian batsmen, especially Mahendra Singh Dhoni, try to attack Murali? Srinath reckoned that it wouldn’t be an easy task.”Dhoni can tear apart a one-dimensional bowler,” explained Srinath, “but Murali is multi-dimensional, with his and variations.” Sivaramakrishnan agreed and was of the opinion that India should preserve wickets against Murali and ensure that they score 35-40 runs without losing a wicket. He said: “If he remains wicket-less, a wicket-taker like him might end up trying too hard and that could benefit India.”Sivaramakrishnan identified Ajit Agarkar as one of the key bowlers forIndia, with the capability of restricting Sanath Jayasuriya. “He was ourbest fast bowler in the West Indies and managed to contain Chris Gayle, astrokeplayer in the mould of Jayasuriya.” While Sivaramakrishnan felt thatAgarkar should have been retained for the Test series, Srinath believed his absence was a “blessing in disguise”. He said: “Agarkar’s body is fragile whichdoesn’t allow him long spells. He should stick to playing one-daycricket.”
Considering the sluggish wickets on offer in Sri Lanka, Srinath said thatit was imperative that India went with two specialist spinners – Anil Kumbleand Harbhajan Singh, backed by two seamers. The panel felt that theplaying surfaces in Sri Lanka and the West Indies, where the World Cupwould be played, are quite similar, and hence this tri-series would be anideal dress rehearsal for the big tournament.Srinath believed it was time Kumble was reinstated permanently to the ODI squad. “Kumble is a senior pro and should be assigned a task to groom the other bowlers – spinners as well as fast bowlers, given that he has a wealth of knowledge in fast bowling. He should have been included earlier.”Srinath backed Zaheer Khan – who has been out of the squad since the tourof Pakistan and now included in the 30-member probables list for theChampions Trophy – and stated that he had earned his recall after asuccessful stint with Worcestershire.On the Rahul Dravid-Greg Chappell combination, the panel shared the viewthat Dravid had found a like-minded individual in Chappell – both aremethodical in nature but felt that it was time they cut down onexperimenting and arrived at a settled combination. While Srinath acceptedthat flexibility is important, the constant shuffling of the batting orderhad affected the performances. He cited Pathan as a case in point. “Theadded pressure of batting has affected his bowling.”On Sachin Tendulkar’s return from injury, the panel exuded confidence thathe would be among the runs. Srinath felt that Tendulkar could still walkinto the team. He said, “He has to play whether he makes runs or not. He mighteven struggle in this tri-series but will come good soon. It will bedifficult for anybody, however great, to come back immediately into formafter a long lay-off.”The panel were unanimous in their opinion that South Africa were severelyhandicapped by the absence of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and JustinKemp. Manjrekar and Srinath expressed concern over Shaun Pollock’s loss ofform and pace. Srinath opined that “his body has taken enough beating”,while Manjrekar was especially “saddened” at the sight of Pollock bowlingoffspin in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka.
West Indies hardly needed any more distractions. A bitter player dispute with the West Indies cricket Board over personal sponsorships, a dispute that has created rancour between those now in the squad and those who refused to sign tour contracts, already provides a large enough distraction. But as they prepare for the second and crucial Test, a dark cloud hovers over their star bowler of the opening match.Jermaine Lawson’s 8 for 102 appeared to be a triumphant return to the Test arena after two years of controversy and injury. His express pace and hostility rocked the Sri Lankans in both innings at the Sinhalese Sports Club and created an opportunity for a famous victory. Ultimately, it was a chance squandered, as Sri Lanka’s tail wagged stubbornly on the second afternoon, exposing the West Indies’ inexperience, but Lawson had identified himself as a match-winner and in the present scenario, there are precious few of those.West Indies players have rallied around Lawson, according to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, their captain and solitary batting pillar. They appear almost certain to pick him too, although he will face the world’s scrutiny every time he runs into bowl. It will be a mountainous test of character for a 23-year-old man. Chanderpaul will ask him before the start to focus only onthe game but conquering all the demons that must surely be running through his mind will be easier said than done.West Indies’ only hope is that his team-mates rally with deeds as well as kind words. His fellow fast bowlers, especially Tino Best and Daren Powell, need to raise their games and carry some of Lawson’s burden. The batsman, pathetically weak in the second innings last weekend – five of the top six contributing just 11 runs – must quickly work out survival strategies against Sri Lanka’s premier bowlers, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan.The tourist’s cause has not been helped by the unsettled weather in the hill country leading up to the game. The wet weather prevented the curator from producing proper practice nets and batting practice has been limited to a few minutes on the eve of the match. Fortunately, according to the locals, the weather is now set to clear after Thursday’s Poya Day (Full Moon) holiday.West Indies main selection quandary is whether to include Ryan Ramdass for his debut. The opener, who scored heavily in the A team series that preceded this tour, would probably have played in Colombo were it not for a shoulder injury but he has now been passed fit. Xavier Marshall, a double failure in the first Test, may be the player to make way should Ramdass get the nod, although he too impressed with the A team.Sri Lanka’s preparations have not been trouble-free either, and for the third consecutive training session, Muttiah Muralitharan was confined to his bed trying to shake off the flu. The other flu-ridden players – Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya (tonsilitis) – looked perkier than the previous day but hardly pictures of good health as they worked out gently in the morning.All the players are set to play, according to Marvan Atapattu, and the only hope is that no -one else succumbs to a virus that started from the top, the manager and captain, before spreading like wildfire. Aside from the flu, all the niggles and minor injuries appear to be under control and Sri Lanka will be picking from a full squad.Sri Lanka could make changes, and both the captain and coach hinted at this. “We will play the best team to win in the conditions,” said Tom Moody, adding, “and the conditions appear to be different.” Although there has been rain, the pitch is brown and grassless and expected to take turn. This means that Sri Lanka are likely to retain two spinners, with Upul Chandana possibly coming in for Rangana Herath. Nuwan Zoysa is also pushing hard forGayan Wijekoon’s place.Considering that Sri Lanka have a 1-0 lead and struggled mainly with their batting in the first Test, an extra batsman, the in-form Russel Arnold, may be discussed at No 7 when the management meets in the evening. But this defensive move would leave them with just two quick bowlers, a gamble if the unsettled weather does not clear away with the full moon as anticipated.Likely teams:Sri Lanka 1 Marvan Atapattu, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 MahelaJayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Upul Chandana, 9 Nuwan Zoysa, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Lasith Malinga.West Indies 1 Ryan Ramdass, 2 Sylvester Joseph, 3 Runako Morton, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwaine Smith, 7 Denesh Ramdin, 8 Omari Banks, 9 Tino Best, 10 Daren Powell, 11 Jermaine Lawson.
With the England cricket team creating waves in the West Indies, Warwickshire joined forces with England’s main sponsors, Vodafone, to create an indoor beach cricket event for local primary schools.The aim was to bring a little bit of the Caribbean to Edgbaston Cricket ground. The indoor school was filled with 10 tonnes of sand, palm trees, surfboards and deck chairs, and the atmosphere was provided by a steel band and an barbecque.Two local Birmingham schools attended – Montgomery Primary and Prince Albert Juniors. They were coached by Warwickshire’s development coaches for the day and given tours of the ground as well. After a barbecque lunch, the children then got the opportunity to have a question and answer session with three England and Warwickshire players – the captain Nick Knight, Jim Troughton and Dougie Brown.The event was attended by 80 children, as a little taste of the Caribbean was brought to Birmingham on a cold March day.
South African middle-order batsman Jonty Rhodes has undergone surgery on the broken hand he sustained whilst fielding in the World Cup match against Kenya in Potchefstroom yesterday.Rhodes injured his right hand when trying to catch Maurice Odumbe in the 31st over of the Kenyan innings.An X-ray in Potchefstroom revealed a break of the fifth metacarpal bone on his right hand.Rhodes was taken through to Johannesburg yesterday afternoon to see a hand specialist who, under local anesthetic, reduced the fracture and inserted two pins to hold the bone together and facilitate union at the fracture site by immobilisation.He then rejoined the team in Potchefstroom.South African team physiotherapist Shane Jabaar said,” the specialist felt that Jonty would have the pins in for about 3 weeks to allow for the bones to knit together and the fracture to heal. Thereafter there would be some pain, but that could be managed.”Jabaar added,” during the period of recuperation Jonty will continue to train and exercise in order to strengthen and constantly improve the functional use of his right hand.”Rhodes himself said it was an awkward time for it to happen, but remains positive.” I suppose if I was going to break something during the World Cup then now is as good a time as any, at least we have got three weeks before the Super Sixes. Its not the end of the world, I have played with pain before.”Rhodes broke the same bone but in his left hand in Australia on the 1992/93 tour.As to his further participation in the World Cup, Rhodes said ” I have no idea what the selectors plans are for me, I will just have to wait and see.”Selection convener Omar Henry said that he will be speaking with his fellow selectors and the team management through the day and would hope to make an announcement regarding Rhodes’s further participation in the tournament by late Thursday afternoon.
After three days of the Second Test at Harare Sports Club, the matchwas still in the balance by the close, although solid batting secondtime round had perhaps given India a slight advantage. At 197 forfour, they were 119 runs ahead with six wickets left and threateningto leave the home side a difficult target.Zimbabwe began the day with a lead of 64 runs on first innings and twowickets left. Brian Murphy did not add to his overnight 17, drivingirresponsibly at a full-length ball from Harbhajan Singh in his firstover, when all that was required of him was support for Grant Flower,and lost his off stump.Brighton Watambwa came in with a runner, after his hamstring strain,and held firm, but Flower fell for 86, well caught low down by VVSLaxman at slip off Javagal Srinath. Zimbabwe totalled 315, a lead of78. With the strength of the Indian batting, this could be describedas no better than `useful’.Samir Dighe opened with Shiv Sunder Das for India second time round,but at first Zimbabwe’s opening bowlers wasted the new ball, failingto make the batsmen play all too often. Then Dighe (4) followed aball from Andy Blignaut outside the off stump and edged a catch towicket-keeper Andy Flower.Laxman did not look very comfortable at first and had a lucky escapewhen a miscued pull off Travis Friend lobbed high into a vacant areatowards fine leg. He immediately celebrated with two magnificentcover-driven boundaries, followed by a fierce pull for four and anoff-drive for three, all off Blignaut’s next over. Then he lashedFriend square and Murphy picked up a sharp ground-level catch atpoint. The umpire did not refer the decision to the third umpire; areferral under existing technology could not have given a decision intime, and umpire Asoka de Silva is to be congratulated on having thecourage of his convictions. Laxman was out for 20 and India were 32for two.Das and Tendulkar continued watchfully after lunch, steering Indiacautiously into the lead again and taking no chances. Zimbabwe bowledaccurately to an off-side field, finding quite a bit of swing, andscoring opportunities were not frequent as each side strove to weardown the other. Zimbabwe, one seam bowler short with Watambwainjured, were at a disadvantage here over the long term, and thedecision was taken to risk Guy Whittall’s dodgy knee by giving him aspell.Das has plenty of patience but Tendulkar restrained himself admirably,until in the thirties he felt settled enough to pull and cut Friendtwice for four in an over. He reached his fifty just before tea.Zimbabwe had little for which to reprove themselves during theafternoon session, except possibly some lack of imagination, but werenevertheless helpless as the balance of the match swung slowly butsteadily in India’s favour. Their approach seemed to be simply tobowl tightly just outside off stump and wait for the batsmen to make amistake, and India were batting with plenty of patience.In the final session some poorer bowling enabled India to restart withconfidence and the century partnership was reached. Das reached hisfifty with a neat cut for four through the slips, but then Tendulkar(69) chopped at a ball from Streak outside off stump, for it to flyhard and straight to Grant Flower in the gully.Thereafter the cricket slowed right down, as Zimbabwe continued toplay a come-and-get-me policy, using mainly their seamers and givingleg-spinner Murphy little work. Das came almost to a standstill,while Rahul Dravid played the odd exquisite stroke to the odd looseball. Had they stayed to the close, Zimbabwe would indeed have beenstruggling, but Andy Blignaut took the second new ball, due for thefinal over of the day, and had Dravid caught at the wicket for 26, amajor blow for Zimbabwe. Das finished unbeaten with 68.