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Worcestershire have signed Graeme Cessford, a Royal Air Force Corporal, for the 2013 season

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2012Worcestershire have signed Graeme Cessford, a Royal Air Force Corporal, for the 2013 season.Cessford, 29, has been granted elite athlete status by the Royal Air Force which means he can take his chance in county cricket before returning to the military when his contract expires.During the 2012 season Cessford made three appearances for Worcestershire’s Second XI, taking seven wickets. He also played for Northumberland Minor Counties and Chester-le-Street in the North East Premier League.”I’m delighted to have signed for Worcestershire,” Cessford said. “I’d like to extend a massive thank you to the Royal Air Force, the RAF Sports Board, and Worcestershire for giving me this fantastic opportunity.”Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, said: “Cess has the ability to bowl with pace and this will be a valuable asset in our 2013 campaign. He will give the squad some depth for bowling spots and I am looking forward to working with him.”Squadron Leader Sally Varley added: “Corporal Graeme Cessford has been granted Elite Athlete Status by the Royal Air Force. This status allows him time to realise and develop his cricket potential through the opportunity to play for Worcestershire County Cricket Club. In addition, the Royal Air Force has exceptionally adjusted Corporal Cessford’s employment for a year to include a public relations engagement role.”Cessford is not the first county cricketer to join from the military in recent seasons after Gloucestershire signed David Wade, an active Lance Corporal with Royal Signal Corps in the British Army, although he was released after the recent 2012 season after a two-year stint where he failed to break into the First XI.

BCB president Mustafa Kamal said Bangladesh would not tour Pakistan if the ICC did not agree to send their match officials

Siddarth Ravindran in Dhaka12-Mar-2012The uncertainty over whether Bangladesh will tour Pakistan next month and end a three-year drought of international cricket there continues, after BCB president Mustafa Kamal said they would not tour if the ICC did not agree to send their match officials. Several moves over the past two weeks suggested the tour was going to be given the green light. These included a Bangladesh delegation approving the security infrastructure in Pakistan, and the ICC introducing a special dispensation that would allow “non-neutral match officials” for bilateral series in “exceptional circumstances”, should it find it unsafe to appoint its officials for a series.However, Kamal has now said said there was no question of the tour going ahead if the ICC did not provide officials. “We won’t go if everything doesn’t happen within the standard practice, which is the allocation of match-referees, umpires and all things by the ICC,” he said on Wednesday in Dhaka. “That [allowing officials from the competing teams] means we are not going there because ICC also has responsibility. If they don’t take responsibility, then on what basis can I send my players.”The ICC’s recommendation to allow bilateral series to continue even though the governing body had security concerns about them had already drawn flak from the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association.Pakistan have not hosted any international matches since a terrorist attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore three years ago. They have played most of their home matches in the UAE since then, though the PCB has been pushing hard to stage matches in Pakistan.Kamal said he too wanted international cricket to return to Pakistan.”I am the president of the BCB and also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, in that sense I have a dual responsibility, and yes I do want cricket to happen in Pakistan but it all depends on many issues – security, the ICC’s views and the government’s approval. The discussions are on and in a short time we will announce our decision.”Last week, a nine-member delegation from Bangladesh, headed by Kamal, had been given a two-day demonstration of the security plan for the proposed bilateral series next month. After being briefed about the arrangements, the delegation had been satisfied with arrangements in Lahore, and Kamal had been optimistic about the series going ahead.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Mitchell Starc’s presently irresistible blend of swing, speed and direction is all in the wrist – the result of a fiendishly simple piece of advice from Wasim Akram

Daniel Brettig07-Feb-2012Mitchell Starc’s presently irresistible blend of swing, speed and direction is all in the wrist – the result of a fiendishly simple piece of advice from Wasim Akram.Since a brief meeting with Wasim at the SCG nets during the New Year’s Test against India, Starc has plucked 14 wickets at 13.42 in all competitions, finding the rhythm to test the very best batsmen.Twice he has removed Sachin Tendulkar, lbw to a ball curling back in the Perth Test, then pouched in the gully as he stretched to cover a Starc delivery snaking across him in Sunday’s Melbourne ODI. That dismissal was largely the result of the batsman’s knowledge that he could just as easily received a delivery that swung back: exactly the sort of doubt a left-arm bowler must create.Watching it all from the commentary box has been Wasim, who said his words to Starc had focused on sending the ball down with a snap or flick of the wrist at the point of delivery, a gambit known to enhance swing. It appears to have done the trick for Starc, who turned heads when he next appeared in the Twenty20 Big Bash League before returning to the national side.”One thing I like about him is he’s got the in-swinger going to the right-hander, he’s got the pace, he’s tall and he’s fit,” Wasim told ESPNcricinfo. “When I saw him in the nets we just mainly spoke about the swing bowling and wrist positioning.”I told him when he comes in to bowl to the right-handers like he does normally, to flick his wrist at the last moment to gain the most swing – the snap. On these wickets [in Australia] if he learns to do that he will get a lot more wickets.”If he’s done well after talking to me for half an hour, the credit goes to him. He’s picked it up so well, he’s a nice guy and I’ve told him next time I’m around, I’m here for the one dayers so if he wants to come up to me I would like to have a word to him about reverse swing as well.”Wasim’s advice, which also covered how to use the variation from around the wicket to pose more questions for batsmen when the ball lost its shine, was delivered with a healthy helping of encouragement, for the former Pakistan captain liked plenty of what he saw in Starc even before he had seen him bowl in the flesh.”It is a very simple, beautiful action, an easy action, upright, wrist is straight, everything is very natural to him, so that is a plus,” Wasim said. “He’s got a bright future. I had a very quick arm action, but his action is very beautiful, nice and smooth. Now he is flicking the wrist he’ll be more dangerous and over the next three to four months he is only going to get better. With his action there is less chance of injuries, that’s for sure and a good sign for him.”While Starc has benefited from Wasim’s empathy for left-arm bowlers, the older man said he was also impressed by the way the Australian attack has been harnessed by a former international foe, Craig McDermott.”He has a very good coach in Craig McDermott, who has been there and done it himself and he knows the psyche,” Wasim said. “I have a problem with coaches who’ve never played cricket at that level. First-class level, fine, but that level is different. You need to be able to explain it to a youngster that ‘look, I have done it’ and that’s how they pick things up very quickly.”Starc is not the only left-armer Wasim is hoping to aid during his time in Australia he is also open to working with Mitchell Johnson during his rehabilitation from foot surgery. Their paths may yet cross in Perth this week while the triangular series visits the west.”Being a left-arm bowler I can explain much more to left-armers than right-armers. The wrist positioning, angle, the crease,” Wasim said. “I remember seeing Johnson three years ago in South Africa, he was bringing the ball back in, he was getting wickets left, right and centre, but after that series it was gone.”Being a left-arm bowler at this level if you don’t have the in-swing you’ll be struggling, you’re not going to get many wickets. I can work with him and if he can get in touch I would love to help him – he’s a very talented cricketer, and he has a future as well, as long as he can get his in-swing back.”

A round-up of matches from the third weekend of Kenya’s new East African Cup and East Africa Elite League

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2011Much of the action took place off the field after eight national squad players boycotted last weekend’s matches in another row over central contracts. But this time Cricket Kenya took a hardline stance and refused to back down, leading to the eight seeking a meeting with the board on Friday. But the franchises took the initiative and told the players they had been dropped and would not be selected again this season, in effect scuppering any hopes they had of negotiating their way back into the Kenyan side.East Africa Premier LeagueRwenzori Warriors beat Rift Valley Rhinos in the meeting of the only two previously unbeaten teams, bowling out Rift for 77 and then knocking off the runs for the loss of five wickets with three overs to spare. Rift never recovered from collapsing to 3 for 3Nairobi Buffaloes moved second with a last-ball five-wicket victory over Nile Knights, Rajesh Varsani thumping a four with two needed for the win. Colins Obuya, who had reportedly received threats over his participation in the tournament while other former team-mates were striking, led the Nairobi innings with 55.Coast Pekee’s made it five losses in as many games as they only managed 95 for 6 in their 20 overs – Dominic Wesonga the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 15 – and Kongonis strolled to a six-wicket win with seven overs in hand, Duncan Allan celebrating his call-up to the national team with 51.East African CupKongonis moved top of the table, beating tournament whipping boys Coast Pekee by 70 runs (D/L). Kongonis overcame a middle-order collapse which saw them slip from 58 for 1 to 64 for 4, eventually posting 219 for 8. Weather interventions left Pekee chasing 149 from 23 overs, a target which proved well beyond them as they limped to 78 for 6.Nile Knights were left frustrated after rain washed out their match against Nairobi Buffaloes with them in a strong position. Ugandan international Arthur Kyobe scored 123 off 100 balls to steer the Knights to 261, and in reply the Buffaloes were wobbling on 55 for 4 from 17.4 overs when the rain came.Rwenzori Warriors, who are finding the 50-over game a tougher prospect, finally recorded their first win, beating Rift Valley Rhinos by five wickets. The Rhinos lost their way after starting well, losing their last nine wickets for 90 as they were bowled out for 137. The Warriors needed fewer than half their allocation of overs to knock off the runs.

Finally West Indies managed to put together the kind of cluster of performances they have been missing

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga13-Jun-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outKieron Pollard played one of his better international innings•Associated PressFinally West Indies managed to put together the kind of cluster of performances they have been missing, and hence losing matches – often from positions from where they could have won. Today, though, they didn’t relent despite a poor start, and registered a welcome win albeit after the series was lost. Lendl Simmons got his sixth fifty in his last eight innings, Kieron Pollard notched up his personal best against a Test-playing nation, Carlton Baugh again played the support role before taking the lead behind the stumps, Andre Russell smacked 25 off 14 before unsettling India with his bouncers, and Darren Sammy and Anthony Martin backed up expertly with their bowling, scalping six under-pressure batsmen between them.Smart Stats

The 103-run win is West Indies’ third-highest margin of victory over India in ODIs. The highest is the 135-run win in Vijayawada in 2002.

The 146 is India’s sixth-lowest score against West Indies overall and their second lowest in the West Indies.

India’s 146 is their fifth-lowest score in ODIs since the beginning of 2008. Their lowest in the same period is 88 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in 2008.

The 96-run stand between Carlton Baugh and Kieron Pollard is the second-highest for the sixth wicket for West Indies in ODIs against India after the 118-run stand between Ricardo Powell and Nehemiah Perry in Singapore in 1999.

Pollard’s 70 is his fourth half-century and second-highest score in ODIs. His highest is the 94 against Ireland in the 2011 World Cup.

Anthony Martin’s 4 for 36 is fourth on the list of best bowling performances by a West Indies bowler against India in ODIs since 2005. In the same period, Ravi Rampaul’s 5 for 51 in Chennai is the best.

It was never going to be an easy win. Not with Praveen Kumar and Amit Mishra in the kind of form they’ve been in. The two bowled six maiden overs and took five wickets between them to undo Simmons’ good work. Simmons brought West Indies back from 41 for 2 through a counter-attack on the returning Ishant Sharma and on the dominant Mishra. However, he saw his partner in recovery, Darren Bravo, pick out one of three fielders on the leg-side boundary to send West Indies into a tailspin that stopped with Simmons’ run-out to make it 103 for 5 in the 27th over.This was Simmons’ ninth innings out of 27 that ended between 40 and 77, a trend that flatters and then deceives. However, another flatterer-and-deceiver forgot the deceiving part today. Pollard played one of his more responsible international innings to pull West Indies out of trouble.After an edgy start, Pollard showed much better discretion and cricketing sense. Hitting Manoj Tiwary for a straight six and a four in the 32nd over, he reached 19 off 19, and started working the singles. Baugh reciprocated just like he had done with Russell two days ago. There was a moment when Baugh should have been run out for 17, running casually with his bat in the air, but the umpire chose not to look at the replays. That was not the first mistake Norman Malcolm made, nor was it the last. His lbw call against Marlon Samuels was dodgy, as were a couple of wides, and he would go on to deny India another run-out in the last over of the innings.Pollard, meanwhile, was making all the right decisions. The big shots and the singles were mixed well. There was also a deft late-cut, and the big hits were aimed only down the ground. Nor was there any urge to hit every delivery into the stands. He went after Mishra only when he bowled flat. He contributed 64 to the 96-run stand. Having put India under pressure, Pollard holed out in the first over of the batting Powerplay that begun in the 44th over.That didn’t stall the momentum, though, as Russell continued with his clean big striking, hitting three fours and a six to help West Indies get 57 in the Powerplay. Having reached their best score of the season, West Indies were aggressive in defence. The pitch wasn’t as slow as the ones in the earlier matches, and Kemar Roach and Russell didn’t bother about keeping some in the tank. They went all out against the inexperienced top order, and Sammy was canny from the other end.India’s slide began with Tiwary, who was jetlagged on debut when his stumps were clattered by Brett Lee and was now playing his comeback match as an opener, a role he is not accustomed to. It showed as he struggled against the moving ball. Nerves were on display too. He almost ran himself out and was dropped off Roach before finally edging Sammy. Parthiv Patel pulled, flicked and upper-cut well in scoring 26 of the 41 runs that came while he was at the crease. Sammy, though, got rid of him with a smart one-handed return catch to his left.S Badrinath was then pinged by Russell’s bouncers. There was an air of helplessness in the way he moved about the crease, trying to get out of the way, looking for the upper-cut. The struggle finally ended when he gloved a hook and was quick in rushing off the field.Martin, who is a firefighter in Antigua, then came on to give his full-time job a bad name. Here were India facing the heat, and the fireman stoked the fire by scalping India’s best batsman, Virat Kohli, in his first over and the innings’ 21st. Baugh, who had taken an overhead catch behind his body to send Badrinath back, now finished a flashy stumping as Kohli overbalanced for a split-second. Under pressure, Suresh Raina looked for release, but slogged Martin straight to midwicket to make it 111 for 5.Yusuf Pathan soon did something similar to Simmons, but there was still one man West Indies needed to see the back of. Rohit Sharma had denied them on two previous occasions in this series, but this time he top-edged a slog-sweep off Martin after having looked good for 39 off 47. Game over.

Dilhara Fernando, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been ruled out of the limited-overs series against England due to an injury he sustained during the third Test at the Rose Bowl

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2011Dilhara Fernando, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been ruled out of the limited-overs series against England due to an injury he sustained during the third Test at the Rose Bowl. Fernando, who played two Tests on the tour and will be returning to Sri Lanka, has been replaced by seamer Dhammika Prasad.Prasad, 28, last played an international game in November last year and hasn’t played an ODI since August 2009. He’s been on the fringes of the national side since he made his debut in February 2006, but will now be part of a pace attack that also includes Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Matthews and Thissara Perera. The limited-overs’ games include a Twenty20 international, starting on June 25, followed by five ODIs.

Victoria claimed a first outright victory of the season by 55 runs as Tasmania fell a mere 16 balls short of salvaging a draw on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2011
ScorecardJames Pattinson plucked the last three wickets as Victoria won with 16 balls to spare•Getty ImagesVictoria claimed a first outright victory of the season by 55 runs as Tasmania fell a mere 16 balls short of salvaging a draw on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart.Chasing 318 to win, the Tigers were bowled out for 262, last summer’s Shield winners suffering a third consecutive outright defeat to start their title defence.James Pattinson, Jayde Herrick and the off spinner Glenn Maxwell nabbed three wickets each for the Bushrangers, Pattinson nipping out the last three with the second new ball as the clock ticked near to stumps.The Tigers’ final day defiance had been led by the opening batsman Steven Cazzulino, playing in place of the injured Mark Cosgrove. His front elbow was prominent in a fighting innings, but wickets fell regularly at the other end.Ed Cowan snicked an off break to slip, Nick Kruger was lbw on the back foot, and George Bailey and Evan Gulbis were both undone by full, curving Herrick deliveries.Allrounders James Faulkner and Luke Butterworth gave the Tigers a slim chance of victory in the final session, before the final four wickets went down swifty.Matthew Wade, the Bushrangers’ gloveman, was named man of the match for his two important innings, while the Tasmanian captain George Bailey was reprimanded for showing dissent towards the umpires’ decision to decline an appeal against David Hussey on day three.

The former Warwickshire offspinner Maurice Holmes has had his bowling suspension lifted with immediate effect

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2011The former Warwickshire offspinner Maurice Holmes has had his bowling suspension lifted with immediate effect but he can’t use his doosra.The change follows a period of remedial work on his action after an initial analysis in June 2011 was invalidated on the basis that he was unable to replicate the action used in matches under laboratory conditions.The independent analysis found his doosra to be illegal and Holmes has been warned against bowling that particular delivery in competitive county cricket. However, the same assessment found that Holmes’s off-break delivery was bowled within the tolerance level and so he can continue to bowl this type of delivery in competitive county cricket.A Loughborough University student, Holmes was dubbed the ‘English Murali’ because of his ability to bowl a and was recruited by Andy Moles when he was coach of New Zealand to help their batsmen prepare to face Muttiah Muralitharan on their 2009 tour. He was released by Warwickshire at the end of the 2011 domestic season

Manchester City have been one of the deadliest teams in the Premier League in terms of scoring goals over the past few years.

Since Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge of the club back in the 2016/17 season, City have scored at least 80 goals in every league campaign, breaching the 100-goal mark on two occasions.

Now that the next summer transfer window is around the corner, it seems as though the reigning league champions have their eye on adding one of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers to their ranks.

What’s the news?

According to journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano during his latest Here We Go podcast, talks between the Manchester club and Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland over a potential summer transfer move are progressing.

He said: “In the coming days we’ll have some final answer on Erling’s side. We know that Manchester City are progressing with talks but on Real Madrid’s side, they feel Man City are the frontrunner. They are in the process to sign him but it’s not a done deal. They are working on the details, the conditions and the payment.”

City fans will be delighted

Since joining the German club back in the 2020 January transfer window from RB Salzburg, the 21-year-old has been scoring goals for fun.

With 87 appearances under his belt, the striker has scored 85 times and delivered 23 assists for his teammates.

One of those assists came against Guardiola’s team in last season’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash.

Last season saw the centre-forward rack up 90 shots at goal in the Bundesliga, with 47 being on target, leaving only Robert Lewandowski (56) and Andre Silva (53) with more.

To further highlight what a hot commodity the Norway international is, only Kylian Mbappe (£144m) has a higher market value than Haaland (£135m) in world football according to Transfermarkt.

Having been reported earlier this month that the Manchester club have agreed terms on a potential deal for the striker, it certainly feels now like the Citizens are in the driving seat to eventually bring Haaland to the Etihad Stadium this summer.

Taking all of this into account, this will only be music to the ears of many City fans who will undeniably be over the moon with the prospect of seeing the Dortmund star firing in goals for their side.

Moving forward, if City can wrap this deal up as quickly as possible, this will surely put them in a good shape ahead of next season and keep their impressive record for scoring goals going.

In other news: Pep can blow supporters away as MCFC eye bid for “dynamic” £58m gem, he’s Gundogan 2.0

West Indies A moved into a strong position in their second unofficial Test against Pakistan A thanks to opener Kieran Powell, who fell two runs short of his maiden first-class century

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2010
Scorecard
West Indies A moved into a strong position in their second unofficial Test against Pakistan A thanks to opener Kieran Powell, who fell two runs short of his maiden first-class century on the second day at Arnos Vale.Powell, a 20-year-old from Leeward Islands, was involved in two substantial partnerships: first with highly rated opener Kraigg Brathwaite for 60 runs, and then 91 with Guyana’s Assad Fudadin for the third wicket. Powell hit three sixes and five fours in his 98, which follows a half-century in the drawn first game against Pakistan last week. Jonathan Carter guided West Indies after Powell was dismissed, finishing the day unbeaten on 44, with Denesh Ramdin, the out-of-favour West Indies wicketkeeper, for company.West Indies’ bowlers had earlier polished off the Pakistan tail. Resuming on 239 for 7, the visitors added another 22 runs before being bowled out.