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It began as a club season with obscure Little Stoke in the Staffordshire League, and transformed itself into a glorious Lancastrian summer. Dinesh Mongia’s season seemed to have reached its zenith when he was one of the front-runners to replace Sachin Tendulkar in the Champions Trophy squad and, for a few moments, believed he had actually been picked. But, then, he hit rock bottom.The selectors had indeed initially chosen Mongia as the replacement, and he was asked to join the team at their London hotel on September 6. Minutes later, however, they rang him back and told him that there had been a mistake.A crestfallen Mongia told Wisden Cricinfo it was a “communication gap”, and wasn’t willing to delve too much into the gory details. “I wouldn’t want to say anything about that,” he dead-batted. And asked about where he sees his career going from here, he was equally concise: “I can just do my bit, keep working hard and hope that the good times will come.”And there have been good times aplenty this season. Playing for Staffordshire against Lancashire early on, he not only impressed with the bat but also with his left-arm spin, including a caught-and-bowled dismissal of Stuart Law. Both Law and Carl Hooper, Lancashire’s overseas players, then suffered injuries and Mongia was called up to fill in.With some cracking performances in the County Championship and the Twenty20 Cup, in which he finished as the tournament’s most economical bowler, Mongia made a significant impact. “It’s been fantastic,” he said. “It’s a great feeling to play for such a big county and make such a difference. Unlike in India, we play almost six days a week. There is so much cricket to be played and you are always on your toes.”Mongia acknowledged the effect that Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s coach, has had on his bowling. “He really helped me out in that aspect. I have improved as a bowler now.” He was also very flexible about his batting position: “I have done well at [both] the top and the middle order. I am willing to adapt to any situation. I see myself as more of an allrounder now.”Mongia’s thrills spilled beyond the cricket when he was invited as a chief guest to the launch of a Indian restaurant, as he was a huge draw for Indians resident in England.On March 8 this year, Mongia captained North Zone to a Duleep Trophy triumph and was considering the possibility of playing league cricket in England. Next week, he will return to India after his final game in Staffordshire. The six months in between turned out to be a heady period, but he certainly could have done without the Indian selectors’ momentary lapse.

Glamorgan needed just 13 balls to score the remaining 12 runs they neededto beat Durham by 8 wickets at Cardiff. This victory – their 4th of thesummer – allows Glamorgan to rise up to 3rd place in the Division Two table,and, with four Championship matches remaining, it gives a major boost to theWelsh county`s promotion hopes.Whilst wicket-keeper Mark Wallace deserves much credit for his career-best 117, thevictory was largely the result of a remarkable spell after tea on Friday afternoonby Michael Kasprowicz. The Australian took 9-22 in 10.4 overs as Durham dramaticallycollapsed from 119-1 to 174 all out.Kasprowicz, who took 11-105 in the match at Chester-le-Street last year, returnedthe second best bowling figures in Glamorgan`s history, and his spell, for therecord, was as follows:

10th ….w(Love).11th ….1.12th ..4…13th 4… w (Lewis).14th ….w (Peng)w (Wells)15th ..w (Mustard)…16th ……17th …44.18th .w (Bridge) 4lb 1..19th …w (Pratt)4.20th .w (Killeen)….21st .w (Phillips)

Kasprowicz`s final return of 9/36 was a career best and his analysis eclipses three othermajor records – his figures surpassed the previous best by an overseas player for the Welsh county (8/17by Waqar Younis against Sussex at Swansea in 1997), and are the best ever inWales by a Glamorgan bowler (9/43 by Jim Pressdee against Yorkshire at Swansea in1965). In addition, they were the best ever at the Cardiff ground, beating Pat Pocock`sreturn of 9/57 for Surrey against Glamorgan in 1979.The only superior analysis for Glamorgan remains Jack Mercer`s 10/51 against Worcestershireat New Road in 1936, whilst George Geary`s astonishing 10-18 for Leicestershire at Pontypriddin 1929 are still the best ever return in a first-class match in Wales.

In a welcome show of interest after a two-year lull, domestic cricket returned to Mutare a fortnight ago with the start of a new 30-over knockout competition. Called the Oliver Jordan Cup in memory of the beloved player/administrator Alderman `Olly’ Jordan, who died last year, five teams will contest this new trophy. Donated by his son Mark – a lawyer residing in Yorkshire – this competition revives a pre-season tradition (not played for ten years or more) once known as the Athenides Cup. In another salute to his memory, the new media centre at Mutare Sports Club has been named the Oliver Jordan Score Box in recognition of the countless occasions he scored for Manicaland.Two new teams are contesting this competition – the Development X1 (drawn from the mostly black high-density suburbs) and Hillcrest College. The other sides are Mutare Sports Club, Easterns and Casuals. All five will additionally play in the Mutare league, revived by the new committee after years of serious decline.Results of matches in the Jordan Trophy so far have put old rivals Casuals and M.S.C. into next week’s final, with the youthful M.S.C. overwhelming favourites. Casuals will take some pleasure from progressing to the finals with their forty-something side, whilst the ever-mercenary M.S.C. have poached five Academy professionals in a bid for elusive honours.Most of the academy coaches have arrived back in Mutare in readiness for Manicaland’s national league program that starts on 21 October. Neil Ferreira has been confirmed as both captain and chief coach, in charge of coordinating and monitoring Manicaland’s coaching staff. This is likely to be a bigger job than he bargained for, given the reputation some coaches earned last year for spending more time chatting up schoolgirls than working at the nets.At the Manicaland A.G.M. a month ago Mark Burmester was elected chairman, despite an impending move to Juliasdale (100 kilometres north) to become a potato farmer. He takes over the role from his father Greville who managed the job from the slightly closer locality of Bvumba (35 kilometres south). Kevan Barbour (president), Tony Cumming (treasurer) and Suku Naik (Harare representative) were re-elected en bloc, whilst newcomers Brian Moore (vice Chairman/domestic cricket fixtures), Andrea Moore (secretary), Alan Walsh (domestic clubs), Joel Muzeya (low/high density schools) and Humphrey Tait (private schools) complete the new-look committee. Brian Moore and his wife Andrea are new to Mutare from Masvingo, where they were heavily involved in Lowveld cricket administration.It is envisaged that the committee will run Manicaland cricket along the lines of its parent body the Z.C.U. — individuals being identified with specific jobs. It is also hoped the Z.C.U. will appoint a full-time (paid) administrator to direct this (unpaid) committee, plus oversee all other cricket business in the province. The Z.C.U. have been promising provincial administrators for a couple of years and a board of control meeting this week should ratify this and other new national posts. The jobs will then be advertised in the national press.

At 2 PM on Friday at the Adelaide Oval, when history is made with the delivery of the first pink ball of a Test match, chances are either Tim Southee or Tom Latham will be front and centre, Southee opening the bowling for New Zealand, Latham watching at the non-striker’s end as Martin Guptill takes on Mitchell Starc.Of course, there is also the small matter of squaring a Test series, but the significance of the occasion is not lost on the New Zealand players. Aside from the 40000 fans expected on the opening day, New Zealand know the eyes of the entire cricketing world will be trained on this match and, for a team that all too often performs in the wings of the international stage, the prospect of stepping into the spotlight is an exciting one.”It’s obviously pretty exciting to have that many people there for this historic Test and I think it’s going to be a great fixture,” Latham said. “It’s a massive occasion for us and Australia and, flying over the stadium yesterday, it was pretty cool to see it first hand and it’ll be pretty cool to get there tomorrow.”From the sounds of things, and going by what I’ve heard about the surface, it’s a pretty flat surface so it’d be pretty nice to get out there and face the first ball of a pink ball Test.”Most of Latham’s team-mates have also only had a bird’s eye view of the stadium and are relying on hearsay – only Brendan McCullum, Ross Taylor and Tim Southee have played Test cricket here – but the uncertainty of how the pink ball will play has rendered the notion of experience more difficult to judge.”We’re continuing to learn about what the pink ball is going to throw at us,” Southee said. “Just the way it reacts at certain times of the day and how you’re going to cope with different phases throughout the day.”It does a little bit more under lights. That’s not an unknown, both sides know that. Both sides can swing the ball. It’s how you perform in that time when it does do a little bit.”Another uncertainty for New Zealand is the fitness of Trent Boult, after an irritated disc prevented him from bowling in the two-day pink ball warm-up match against Western Australia XI.After a disappointing start by his own high standards to the series in Brisbane, Boult’s ability to swing the ball was a significant factor on the second day of the WACA Test as New Zealand fought their way back into the match. His absence in Adelaide will be a blow in conditions that are far more likely to favour bowlers than in either of the first two Tests.”I don’t think as a bowling group we’ve hit out straps the way we’d like on this tour so far,” Southee said, having suffered a back injury scare during this series. “But there’s still one game to go and hopefully we can show the high standards we’ve shown for a long time now.”There’s a lot of depth in the bowling group and if he [Boult] is unavailable I’m sure someone will step up and fill his shoes.”

Surrey have signed Australia batsman Aaron Finch as cover for Kumar Sangakkara while he is at the Caribbean Premier League. Finch, who has previously played for Yorkshire, is expected to be available from July 2, when Surrey begin a Championship fixture against Warwickshire.Sangakkara is Surrey’s main overseas signing for 2016 but has been named as one of the marquee players in this year’s CPL draft, which will be held next week. The CPL is due to run for six weeks from the end of June until the beginning of August, a particularly busy time of the English season when Surrey have fixtures in all three formats.Finch had formed an association with Yorkshire, coached by former Australia bowler Jason Gillespie, and had spells there in 2014 and 2015. Despite his T20 prowess, where he captains Australia and is ranked the No. 2 batsman in the world, his more notable performances for Yorkshire came in the Championship; he averaged 46.11 in eight matches, scoring one of his four first-class hundreds, compared to 20.75 in the NatWest T20 Blast.”This is a great opportunity for me and one I am very much looking forward to,” Finch said. To have the chance to play all forms of the game is a challenge I will relish, as I have ambitions to represent Australia in Test match cricket. I’m aware that Surrey have an exciting young squad and I hope I am able to add to their obvious talent.”Finch is currently beginning rehabilitation from a hamstring injury but hopes to be fit to lead Australia’s World T20 campaign next month.Surrey’s director of cricket, Alec Stewart, said: “Securing a player of Aaron’s quality for such a busy period of red- and white-ball cricket is excellent news for the club and I’m confident we will see his qualities in all formats of the game.”Last week, Surrey announced a short-term deal with Dwayne Bravo as their second overseas player for the Blast but his availability will also be cut short by his involvement in the CPL. The county are also looking for a new head coach, after Graham Ford’s departure for Sri Lanka and Paul Farbrace’s decision to stay with England.

Australia’s Centre of Excellence is set for a significant overhaul after the federal government confirmed it would provide $17.5 million to help Cricket Australia improve the Brisbane facility. The government’s contribution makes up half of the $35 million project which will include a redeveloped indoor training centre, indoor pool and sports medicine facilities.James Sutherland, the CEO of Cricket Australia, said other countries were catching up to Australia in their training programs and it was important to remain a world leader in the field. He said the redevelopment was part of a strategy to help Australia retain their No. 1 rankings in Test and one-day cricket.”The Centre of Excellence through the Australian Institute of Sport programs has produced some of Australia’s greatest male and female cricketers over the last 20 years,” Sutherland said. “There is no doubt that Australia punches above its weight on the international sporting stage.”The Centre of Excellence began as the Cricket Academy in Adelaide in 1987 and has helped to train and develop 265 male players, including 43 who have reached international level, and 44 women’s players. The centre moved its base to Brisbane’s Allan Border Field in 2004. In addition to the training facilities the new funding will be used for on-site accommodation, office space, and redevelopment of the grandstand.

Bengal, last year’s Ranji Trophy runners-up, might start the Indian domestic season as one of the favourites but none of their league matches will be telecast.Two teams – Bengal and Karnataka – were conspicuously absent in the schedule that the Indian board unveiled in Mumbai yesterday, announcing 70 days of live telecast of domestic games. According to the board “logistical” issues demanded that two teams would always miss out but a number of people have felt there was a political angle to the whole issue.It’s no secret that cricket associations from Bengal and Karnataka have traditionally opposed the Sharad Pawar lobby. The fact that the announcement was made just two days before the board’s Annual General Body meeting also gives an impression that it was an exercise to garner a few vital votes.Though Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the board, wasn’t aware of the “exact” reason, he insisted that there weren’t any political intentions. “We’ve discussed it with Nimbus and maybe they had some logistical problems,” he told Cricinfo. “Maybe there was not much time for the television crew to be moved to those venues etc. This is just the plan for the first year and there is still a chance of making changes to this also. So let’s see what can be done.”However, that explanation is not holding too much water. Goutam Dasgupta, the Cricket Association of Bengal’s representative at the board’s annual general body meeting, has already said it’s “not cricket” while Brijesh Patel, the secretary of the Karnataka Cricket Association, simply said, “Ask those in the board. They must know the reason for this.”Considering that they were part of the Plate division last season, it is highly unlikely that Saurashtra and Rajasthan – respectively, the home associations of Shah and Lalit Modi, the board’s vice-president, and whose matches will be telecast live – will match the quality of cricket expected from Karnataka and Bengal.The board has also struck out two world-class venues – Eden Gardens and Chinnaswamy Stadium – in their television schedule for the season.

Border made short work of Eastern Province on the second day of their season opener at Port Elizabeth, winning by an innings and eight runs as EP collapsed to 113 all out just before tea. Earlier, Border extended their first-innings lead to 121 when they declared at 297 for 8 after the mandatory 85 overs. Border’s captain, Murray Ranger(57 not out) and Lundi Mbane (48) put on 94 for the sixth wicket as Border pushed towards bonus points. The Border seamer, Phaphama Fojela, then took 4 for 33 as EP collapsed with only Sithembile Makongolo (56) showing any resistance.A maiden first-class hundred from Craig Thyssen (157) and 97 from Riel de Kock allowed Free State to declare at 478 for 8 at Bloemfontein, a lead of 236. At the close, Gauteng had progressed to 82 for 0, when bad light stopped play nine overs early. Stephen Cook was undefeated on 56.Fighting innings from Griqualand West’s captain, Wendell Bossenger (62) and the debutant Frans Holtzhausen (52) enabled the visitors to recover from 94 for 5 to 241 all out, still 140 behind the North West total of 381. At stumps the lead had been extended to 375 as North West finished the day on 234 for 3, thanks to 96 not out from Mohammad Akoojee. With the pitch becoming more batsman-friendly a draw could be on the cards.Despite taking a very experienced team to Benoni, Northerns have their backs against the wall after being bowled out for 134 and taking a three-run lead into the second innings against neighbours, Easterns. The Easterns bowlers shared the wickets with Morne Morkel and Brendon Reddy taking three and Siraag Abrahams four. An undefeated 117 by Andre Seymore then raised the Easterns hopes as they reached 201 for 8 at the end of the day’s play. A feature of the innings was the use of nine bowlers by Northerns in an attempt to gain the upper hand.

Sunil Gavaskar, the chairman of the ICC’s playing committee, has said that South Africa might be the first country to test the experimental one-day rules that the playing committee had suggested during their last meeting. The Times of India reported Gavaskar as saying that the rules would be implemented in first-class cricket before they could be applied to international matches.”It has to be seen at the domestic level,” Gavaskar said. “The ICC had requested various national associations to start with this experiment. I think South Africa has decided to adopt the format.”The suggestions made by the committee included keeping the ball ‘live’ after a batsman is out, thus making it possible for two batsmen to be out off the same ball. Also, one-day games could feature 12 players, of who 11 bat and 11 field. Another recommendation was that the 15 overs fielding restrictions in one-day games could be implemented whenever the batting team desired.Gavaskar denied that this would give the batting side an unfair advantage. “The original suggestion was that itself. But then, the thought came up that if a side which is bowling first bowls out the opposition in the first 35 overs without opting for fielding restrictions, it may become unfair for a side batting first. By giving this option to the batting captain, both captains will come into play.”

England have released Sussex fast bowler James Kirtley from their one-day squad for the upcoming triangular one-day series with South Africa and Zimbabwe, following Richard Johnson’s return to fitness.Johnson, 28, who took six wickets on his Test debut against Zimbabwe earlier this month, missed England’s 2-1 one-day series win over Pakistan with a knee injury, having originally taken Kirtley’s spot in the 15-man one-day squad.Kirtley did not feature in the Pakistan series which England wrapped up onSunday with a four-wicket win at Lord’s.England open the triangular series, against Zimbabwe, at Trent Bridge onThursday (June 26).