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Former Zimbabwe batsman Dave Houghton has returned to Derbyshire as batting coach

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2011Former Zimbabwe batsman Dave Houghton has returned to Derbyshire as batting coach. Houghton, 54, was the county’s director of cricket between 2003 and 2007 and has also held coaching roles with Worcestershire and Zimbabwe.”David is a premium world-class batting coach,” said head coach Karl Krikken. “His knowledge and experience will be of great benefit to all of our batsmen, as it has been to players in the international set-up during periods of coaching with the ECB.””Clearly David’s vast experience and success in the game will be a major asset to the whole club, and in particular our batsmen,” added chairman Chris Grant.Houghton was first offered the role of director of cricket at Derbyshire in 2003, having cemented his reputation as a good leader during a spell as coach with Worcestershire in the mid-1990s. He is also the uncle of Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance, who first arrived in English cricket with Derbyshire when Houghton was in charge.He quit his post with Derbyshire in July 2007, Don Amott – who was the county’s chairman at the time – saying that the parting was amicable.Houghton played 22 Tests and 63 one-day internationals for his country, was their first Test captain and holds the record for their highest Test score with 266 against Sri Lanka in 1994. He also represented them at hockey, as a goalkeeper.

Former Bengal medium-pacer Premangsu Chatterjee, who holds the record for the best figures in an innings for an Indian in first-class cricket, has died in Kolkata

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2011Former Bengal medium-pacer Premangsu Chatterjee, who holds the record for the best figures in an innings for an Indian in first-class cricket, died aged 83 in Kolkata on Tuesday. Chatterjee played 32 first-class matches for Bengal between 1947 and 1960, leading the side on seven occasions.There were two major highlights in Chatterjee’s career. In 1957, he took all ten wickets in an innings against Assam, bowling them out for 54 and finishing with figures of 19-11-20-10. In the previous season, he had taken 15-109 in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Madhya Pradesh to power Bengal to the final, where they ended up losing to Bombay, despite Chatterjee’s seven-wicket haul in the first innings.Former Bengal captain Chuni Goswami, who played for Bengal soon after Chatterjee’s retirement, called him an inspirational player. “He was a great swinger of the ball and a wonderful cricketer,” Goswami told . “His records speak for themselves. He would have been very successful if he was born in this era. It’s really sad that he could not play for India because of poor backing from the state administration.”

It was with characteristic understatement that Ashley Giles summed up his Warwickshire side’s performance with the phrase: “a bad day at the office”. In truth, this may well prove to be the defining moment of his side’s season

George Dobell at Edgbaston20-Aug-2011
Scorecard
It was with characteristic understatement that Ashley Giles summed up his Warwickshire side’s performance with the phrase: “a bad day at the office”. In truth, this may well prove to be the defining moment of his side’s season.A second innings batting performance that saw five of the top six dismissed for ducks only exasperated a wasteful display that saw Warwickshire squander several opportunities to clinch a game that had been theirs for the taking. Whether it was failing to establish a crushing first-innings lead, allowing Hampshire off the hook of being, in effect, three for three in their second innings, or collapsing in their second innings, Warwickshire may well come to rue this display for years to come.Might this be the day that ended Warwickshire’s Championship challenge? They certainly haven’t played like prospective champions over the last couple of days, though it is worth noting that Nottinghamshire were dismissed for just 59 by Yorkshire towards the end of last season. They still won the title. As it is, Warwickshire are now 25 points behind Lancashire, but with a game in hand. That eight-point pitch penalty is also looking more important as the season progresses.There is, however, a fragility about Warwickshire’s top-order batting that was alarming. It’s only the second time Warwickshire have been dismissed for under a 100 in the Championship this century, but it is worth noting that the previous occasion was also this season.On the first instance – against Lancashire at Edgbaston – the batsmen were almost blameless on a pitch that was turning square. This time they were tentative to the point of being pathetic.Perhaps that’s harsh. Perhaps it does little to reflect Hampshire’s excellent fight-back in this game. Perhaps it fails to credit the James Vince’s eye-catching century and James Tomlinson and Chris Wood’s fine new ball bowling. Certainly Hampshire played some skilful, courageous cricket over the second half of this game.The truth is, however, that Warwickshire made life far too easy for them. Whether it was their loose second-innings bowling, their timid second-innings capitulation or their careless first-innings batting, Warwickshire must reflect that they gave this game away.The turning point of this match did not come on the third day. It came on day two. It came when the likes of Jim Troughton and Tim Ambrose surrendered their wickets with the loosest of drives that were utterly inappropriate to the circumstances. It came when Rikki Clarke guided a ball to slip and Chris Woakes ran himself out. It came, largely, due to complacency. Warwickshire had the opportunity to finish off Hampshire; instead they offered them a series of lifelines.This is also a result that just about sustains Hampshire’s hopes of pulling off their ‘great escape.’ Though they remain bottom of the Division One table – adrift by 21 points – they have now won two in a row and have a game in hand on Yorkshire. Results elsewhere – at Scarborough and Blackpool – also did them a few favours, though their stand-in captain, Jimmy Adams admits that next week’s game against Worcestershire remains a “must win” encounter.In Vince they certainly have a talented young batsman. While the 20-year-old’s record is infuriatingly mediocre – this was his first score over 20 in eight Championship innings – he clearly has tremendous talent. His driving off the front foot is wonderful – as good as anyone in the county game – while he’s also very good off his legs. The comparisons with Michael Vaughan are obvious and fair.Vince added 72 for the fifth-wicket with the night-watchman Tomlinson, before the killer blow was administered in an 119-run stand for the sixth-wicket with Sean Ervine. While Vince, in particular, feasted on some poor bowling – Woakes opened with two leg-stump half-volleys and showed more than a few signs of weariness – both batsmen increasingly took the fight to a tired attack. Wood, bludgeoning 32 (with six fours and a six) rubbed salt into the wound with a late cameo that broke the spirit of the hosts. Warwickshire’s final target of 308 was always likely to be too much for them.Spare a thought for Chris Woakes, however. Has anyone ever taken ten-wickets in a match and top scored in both innings only to finish on the losing side before? With Clarke limping out of the attack with a hamstring strain, Woakes’ burden was increased. He claimed the third 10-wicket match haul (10 for 123) of his career here as well as scoring 87 runs. Warwickshire simply ask for too much of him. On this occasion, it showed.His top-order batting colleagues have no such excuses. Some of them have struggled all season and here surrendered their wickets with remarkable ease. Ian Westwood cut a long-hop to point, William Porterfield was drawn into prodding at the very next ball and edged to the keeper, while Jim Troughton suffered his fourth duck of the Championship season when his weak prod resulted in an edge to the keeper. Troughton’s run of form, with just three half-centuries since August 2009, is simply not sustainable for a specialist batsman.Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s deeply unimpressive debut (he loitered around in the field with his hands in his pockets like a truculent teenager and was a noticeable absentee from Warwickshire’s on-field huddle) ended when he reached for a wide one and, inevitably, edged to slip, before Rikki Clarke pulled a short ball directly to the fielder at deep square leg. For a team on 45 for 6, it was a very odd shot.There were some moments of excellence from Hampshire, too. Ambrose received a peach of a delivery from Tomlinson that took his edge, while Michael Bates, who has endured a miserable game with the bat, showed why he’s so highly rated as a keeper by pulling off a superb leg-side stumping. Standing up to Tomlinson’s medium-pace, Bates pounced when Varun Chopra dragged his back foot out of his ground. Woakes and the tail at least averted record-breaking awfulness, but could no noting to prevent Hampshire completing victory by 209 runs.There are, as ever, mitigating factors for Warwickshire. Most pertinently, Hampshire’s opening bowlers utilised the new ball very well and the pitch had worn enough to offer some assistance. But there was nothing untoward in either the bowling or the conditions. The batsmen simply failed.Nor will life become easier. Warwickshire are without William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Chris Woakes on international duty for next week’s match against Yorkshire. Rikki Clarke is also an injury doubt.Looking further ahead, however, it seems more likely by the moment that Gary Keedy will be a Warwickshire player next season. Giles described Keedy as “top of his wish list” for next year, while it seems that Lancashire may decide the time has come to fully back their very impressive younger spinners.In the shorter-term, their top order simply have to stop making excuses and start making runs. It’s the only currency by which batsmen, ultimately, can be judged.

Danish Kaneria has resubmitted a communication from his former county Essex to the PCB’s integrity committee in the hope that it will be enough to clear him to be selected once again for Pakistan

Osman Samiuddin15-May-2011Danish Kaneria has resubmitted a communication from his former county Essex to the PCB’s integrity committee in the hope that it will be enough to clear him to be selected once again for Pakistan. The communication, ESPNcricinfo understands, is an email the club sent Kaneria last November, primarily explaining the decision not to offer him another contract.The legspinner, currently Pakistan’s leading Test wicket-taker has not played since last summer after becoming embroiled in a spot-fixing scandal while at Essex for which he was arrested but eventually released by police. He was selected as part of the squad to face South Africa in a series in the UAE in November, but was prevented from travelling by the PCB at the last minute, the board saying he had not been ‘cleared’ by an integrity committee, newly-formed in the wake of the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal the same summer.Since then, Kaneria has submitted various financial records and documents and appeared in front of the committee several times but hasn’t managed to satisfy members. Until recently, the committee was asking him for transcripts of his questioning by police in the case, something Kaneria and his lawyers insisted they could not provide as it was part of an ongoing investigation in the UK.Last week the board accepted the reasoning and asked instead for Kaneria to provide them with a “clearance certificate” from Essex, as his employers at the time of the scandal. A misunderstanding emerged in reports that said Essex had provided a new clearance certificate which Kaneria had sent to the PCB. In actual fact, Kaneria has simply resubmitted a document he has already presented to the board.In it, Essex explain the financial and strategic reasons behind not offering him another contract and thank him for the seven years he played for them. PCB officials have confirmed the receipt of this communication and that it was a document they had been given earlier. The board will now decide whether it qualifies as the kind of clearance they have asked for.

Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who was dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the Twenty20 and ODI tour of West Indies, has said that he is ready to make his comeback into the national side as a “specialist batsman”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2011Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who was dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the Twenty20 and ODI tour of West Indies, has said that he is ready to make his comeback into the national side as a “specialist batsman”.”If Pakistan can find a better wicketkeeper than me,” Kamran told , “then I will try to make a comeback as a specialist batsman because batting is something I enjoy a lot and I can bat at any position.”Kamran was dropped from the Pakistan squad following a disappointing World Cup campaign, with bat and gloves – he dropped centurion Ross Taylor three times in the game against New Zealand, including twice early on, and also committed several errors in the games against Sri Lanka and the semi-final with India. Coach Waqar Younis had hinted that it was time for a new wicketkeeper to be picked.Kamran said that he was still disappointed with his performance in the New Zealand game. “And some people don`t want me to forget it. The day seemed to be cursed. People just criticise and forget my past performances. I also love my team and I`m the one who suffers the most because of the missed chances.”Kamran, who has made six hundreds in 53 Tests and five in 137 ODIs, said he was working hard on his wicketkeeping and batting as he was desperate to make a comeback to the national team. “I want to serve my country in whatever role the selectors see for me in the side.”Mohammad Salman was picked as the wicketkeeper for the one-day series in West Indies, and reports suggest that Kamran is unlikely to be called up for the two Tests that follow in the Caribbean. Kamran suggested that the focus was only on his shoddy performances, while his overall performance, both as a wicketkeeper and batsman were being ignored.”It is true I have had some bad matches in recent months but my performances should be viewed on overall basis. Overall my performance as a wicketkeeper has been fine and I`ve one of the highest dismissals among all the wicketkeepers who have played for Pakistan.”

The Indian women’s team have just completed a one-day series win over West Indies and are set to take them in three Twenty20s, but what their captain Jhulan Goswami wants is more Test matches

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2011India women have just completed a one-day series win over West Indies and are set to play them in three Twenty20s, but what their captain Jhulan Goswami wants is more Test matches.It has been more than four years since India last played a Test series. “I do miss Test cricket,” Goswami said. “It is more challenging than other forms of the game.”Mithali Raj, the Indian vice-captain who has played only eight Tests in a decade-long career, agreed saying more matches are required to better the team’s bench strength and would help attract more players to the game. “We need at least three to four international series every year,” Raj said. “That would be good for youngsters who are new to the system and will keep the momentum going for seniors. The Test format is good for the youngsters as it is all about applying techniques.”The immediate challenge for India is the Twenty20 series against West Indies starting Saturday and Goswami was hopeful that her team will carry the winning momentum from the ODI series victory. “The team is on a high after the 3-2 series win against West Indies,” she said at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, where the series will be played.”We know this ground very well and have played here many times,” she said, “We have about six or seven allrounders. This, I think, is our basic strength.” Goswami said the series would be good preparation for the tour of England later this year.West Indies skipper Merissa Aguilleira said she expected a competitive T20 series. “Our approach would be very different from that of the ODI series,” she said, “There was a problem in the middle order during the ODIs, but the girls were learning from their mistakes.”Our side is a less experienced than the Indian side, but we are working on our weaknesses and looking forward to win the T20 series.”

Australian cricket’s on-field and off-field operations will be put under the microscope after Cricket Australia announced it would commission independent reviews of the game’s governance and team performance

Brydon Coverdale08-Feb-2011Australian cricket’s on-field and off-field operations will be put under the microscope after Cricket Australia announced it would commission independent reviews of the game’s governance and team performance. The two separate reviews have been called for in the wake of the humiliating 3-1 Ashes loss, which featured three innings defeats as well as some dubious selections.The entire structure of Cricket Australia itself will be assessed, but what comes of the team performance review, which could intensify the heat on the coach Tim Nielsen and the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch, is equally fascinating. The board wants the reviews to be complete by its annual general meeting in October, meaning there could be sweeping changes by this time next year.”I don’t think anyone is happy with what came out of the Ashes series and that’s why the board has commissioned this review, to work out how we get the Australian cricket team back on top in Test cricket,” CA’s chief executive James Sutherland said. “It’s a great opportunity. Out of what happened in the Ashes if we can closely examine some of the faults that the experts may deem to have caused this, then it won’t occur again.”In terms of what implications that has for people in certain roles right now, that will happen in due course. Andrew Hilditch is as disappointed as I am in the performance of Australian cricket in not winning the Ashes and being beaten how we were. We’re really looking forward now.”The board has not yet decided what experts will be involved in the review, but those decisions should be made within the next three weeks. Jack Clarke, the chairman of Cricket Australia, said the team review would be “exhaustive, independent and transparent.”The governance review could result in a serious shake-up of Cricket Australia’s structure, which includes an unusual arrangement at board level. As founding members, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia each have three votes on the board, but Western Australia and Queensland receive two each, and Tasmania just one.The corporate governance experts Colin Carter and David Crawford will be involved in the governance review, and Crawford has a history of instigating major overhauls. Crawford was responsible for a 1992 report that brought about the creation of the AFL Commission, and in 2003 he recommended the formation of the Football Federation of Australia.A more recent Crawford report commissioned by the Australian government suggested a review of the way funding was divided between Olympic and non-Olympic sports, and met strong opposition from the Australian Olympic Committee. Carter is the president of the Geelong Football Club and spent 15 years as an AFL commissioner.”I don’t want to pre-empt what it is going to say,” Clarke said. “The basis on which David Crawford and Colin Carter have been engaged is that they will provide a report to the board. The timing of that is not exact yet, it’s up to the board then to decide which of those issues we do and do not go forward with.”

It’s never good to dwell too much on the past, but for those of an Aston Villa persuasion it may still wrangle that they almost snapped up one of Europe’s premier playmakers in Miralem Pjanic, yet twice failed to get the deal

The Bosnian midfielder had caught the attention of clubs across Europe following a fine debut campaign at senior level with Metz during the 2007/08 season, with the then-teenager netting five goals in 38 appearances for the club.

After just one season with the French side, however, he was plucked by fellow Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, albeit while revealing that he had spurned the advances of others in order to continue plying his trade in France.

Speaking at the time, the youngster revealed that Villa – then managed by Martin O’ Neill – had been one of the clubs he had opted to shun in order to make the switch: “I had requests from abroad, including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Aston Villa and Fiorentina, but I wanted to stay in France.”

Having missed out then, the Midlands outfit again turned their attentions towards the free-kick “specialist” – as he has been dubbed by Juninho Pernambucano – three years later, with Alex McLeish keen on adding the player to his ranks following the sale of Stewart Downing to Liverpool.

Again, however, those at Villa Park were to be disappointed as he instead opted to head to Italy, joining Serie A giants Roma in a deal worth just €11m (£9.2m), with McLeish and co eventually signing Charles N’Zogbia that same summer in a £9.5m deal.

Since then, the 32-year-old has gone on to feature for more of Europe’s elite clubs, eventually joining Juventus in a £25.4m deal in 2016 where he would win four successive league titles, before he was moved on to Barcelona in the summer of 2020 as part of a deal that saw Arthur Melo head in the other direction.

While it failed to work out at the Nou Camp in his debut campaign, the 103-cap international has impressed out on loan at Turkish side Besiktas this season, registering two key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game in the league, as well as 1.1 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per 90.

A midfielder of all-around quality, he has earned comparisons to Italian icon Andrea Pirlo, with the passing maestro having been one of the silkiest and most technically gifted players in his position in Europe over the last decade or so.

Having been so close to capturing that talent will no doubt be a real punch in the gut for those at Villa, with the club having had to watch on as he adorned the jerseys of some of the continent’s finest clubs.

In other news, Huge blow: Aston Villa now receive big injury setback that will leave Gerrard raging…

Round-up of the fourth day of the seventh round of Division Two of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2010Abbottabad moved to the top of the table with a nine-wicket win against bottom side Quetta at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Quetta’s lower order put up a fight on the fourth day, with Taimur Khan scoring 89 and legspinner Kashif Sattar getting 49 as the visitors reached 348 from their overnight score of 167 for 5. The damage, though, had been done in the first innings, when Abbottabad had taken a 254-run lead. It meant they needed only 95 to win with around a third of the day to play on Tuesday. Opener Fawad Khan didn’t waste any time, getting 59 off 43 balls, and taking Abbottabad home in 13.5 overs.Pakistan Television’s new-ball bowlers Mohammad Ali and Zahoor Khan took five wickets each to bowl Lahore Shalimar out for 106 and give their team a 242-run victory at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. The hosts could last only 22.2 overs in their second innings, as only four of their batsmen reached double figures. Zahoor’s five-for gave him nine wickets for the match. Pakistan Television made a quick declaration on the fourth morning, after adding just 17 to their overnight total of 189 for 6 and allowing Zohaib Ahmed to complete his half-century. The win takes them to within three points of Lahore Shalimar in the table.Fast bowler Lal Kumar helped Hyderabad to their first win of the season, against Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. The visitors won by 252 runs after bowling Peshawar out for 126 in their second innings, with Kumar taking 5 for 42. Hyderabad were cautious with their declaration, batting for 35 overs on the fourth day and leaving the hosts an impossible target of 378. Kumar then helped convert the guaranteed three points into nine, as Peshawar’s top order collapsed to 39 for 5. Peshawar could only last 34.5 overs and move below Hyderabad in the table.Karachi Whites needed just 21.2 overs on the fourth day to complete a seven-wicket win against Lahore Ravi at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. After the fall of three early wicket, Wajihuddin (54*) and Rameez Aziz (34*) held firm to take Karachi to the target of 121. The win pushes Karachi to third, two places above Lahore Ravi in the table.

Lokomotiv Moscow winger Gyrano Kerk has claimed that he could have potentially joined Leeds United back in 2020, but a move failed to materialise.

The Lowdown: Kerk settling in at Lokomotiv

The 26-year-old joined his current club from Utrecht last year but he is still taking a little time to settle into his new surroundings.

Kerk has chipped in with two goals and two assists in his first 15 appearances for Lokomotiv, not an earth-shattering return but an indication that he can chip in occasionally.

Alas, he has revealed that, had things taken a different course, the speedy winger could now be a Leeds player.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Kerk makes Leeds transfer claim

Speaking to FC UtrechtFans [via Sport Witness], Kerk claimed that the Whites wanted to sign him a couple of years ago, only for the potential move to fall through.

He revealed: “There were possibilities to take a step higher in the Eredivisie, but that interest did not materialise.

“After that canceled KNVB Cup final [in 2020 due to the pandemic], Utrecht also wanted to keep me in order to start the fiftieth anniversary year as strong as possible. There was interest from Leeds United at the time, but in the end that did not go through.”

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The Verdict: One that got away

Kerk is someone who could have provided Marcelo Bielsa with an additional wide option at Leeds, bringing much-needed attacking depth to his squad in the process.

While not necessarily an elite player, the Dutchman still enjoyed 85 goal involvements in 175 appearances for Utrecht, highlighting his quality in the final third.

Also, at 26 Kerk is still in and around the peak years of his career, so going back in for him this summer could be worth considering for Leeds, especially if Raphinha moves on amid ongoing speculation over his future at Elland Road.

In other news, a journalist has made a key claim regarding Bielsa’s Leeds future. Read more here.