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Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo has explained he has struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League since his switch from Stuttgart.

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Endo finds Premier League to be physicalHas struggled to make impact in Klopp's sideLiverpool face Fulham this weekendWHAT HAPPENED?

Endo reiterated that he is very happy to be at Liverpool, despite his bit-part role in the side this season, and that he is still adjusting to the speed of the Premier League. A late transfer window signing, the Japanese international was brought in to fill a holding midfielder void left by the departing Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Saudi Pro League.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesWHAT ENDO SAID

Speaking on his struggles, Endo said: "Yes, it's harder than I thought, but I'm very happy to be here. Physically, it's speedy, so it's very hard to adapt but it's the Premier League and I keep trying and keep playing and I'll get better. I'm already 30 years old but I feel I have a chance to grow as a football player so I'm so happy to be here and I can improve."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Endo formed part of the major midfield overhaul that Liverpool underwent in the summer which also saw Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch arrive in Merseyside. Departing the club included several midfielders; Henderson and Fabinho, as well as Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Fabio Carvalho and Arthur Melo.

While Mac Allister and Szoboszlai have stolen the headlines, Endo has struggled to find consistent game time and form. However, there is an expectation Endo will be given greater game time over the busy Christmas period.

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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

Liverpool sit third in the Premier League and play Fulham on Sunday afternoon hoping to put pressure on league leaders Arsenal. If he plays, Endo will be hoping to put in a strong performance to remind Jurgen Klopp of his place in the side.

The BCCI ombudsman, Justice AP Shah, has asked the board to take an “unequivocal undertaking” from spinner Harbhajan Singh that he will no longer be in the management of the sports apparel company, Bhajji Sports

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Feb-2016The BCCI ombudsman, Justice AP Shah, has asked the board to take an “unequivocal undertaking” from spinner Harbhajan Singh that he will no longer be in the management of the sports apparel company, Bhajji Sports, and will not be associated with the company, even in terms of sponsorship, for the duration of his contract with the Indian board. Shah also took the opportunity to tell the BCCI that he had received a lot of allegations similar to the complaint against Harbhajan, especially from the state associations, and suggested that players, coaches, selectors and administrators make prior disclosures of similar associations with companies or academies.Shah’s decision came after a conflict of interest allegation was filed last month questioning Harbhajan’s links to a sports apparel company that sponsors various state teams in domestic cricket.In a complaint filed against Harbhajan in January, Mumbai-based activist Niraj Gunde stated that Bhajji Sports had reportedly sponsored six Ranji Trophy sides. Shah’s ruling noted that the company was owned by Mrs Avtar Kaur, Harbhajan’s mother, and the company was started before the spinner’s current contract with the board came into effect and before the present rules regarding conflict of interest were framed. Harbhajan was given a Grade C contract by the BCCI in November for the 2015-16 period.”The Ombudsman notes that this company appears to be run, not by Mr Singh, but by his mother,” Shahs said in an e-mail sent to Harbhajan, Gunde and the BCCI on Wednesday. “It must be mentioned that several cases have been brought to the attention of the Ombudsman where companies associated with cricket management or sporting apparel, or cricket coaching/training academies, are run in the names of relatives of cricketers, with which the cricketer is also associated or connected. In many of these cases, although the company is owned by someone else, it is named after the cricketer in question. In the present case, the Ombudsman notes that the two news reports submitted by the applicant show Mr Singh’s association with Bhajji Sports. The veracity of the news reports is not challenged by Mr Singh.”According to Shah the only course of action he would recommend for Harbhajan was to dissociate himself from Bhajji Sports completely as long as he had a BCCI contract. “Given the facts and circumstances of the case, the Ombudsman believes that the best course of action may be that the BCCI take an unequivocal undertaking from Mr Singh that he will no way be involved in the management of the company, Bhajji Sports, and that under no circumstances will he be associated with the company’s products (including by way of sponsorship), so long as his contract with the BCCI is alive,” Shah said.Making a broader point in his ruling on similar conflict of interest situations, Shah stressed the need for players, coaches, selectors, administrators at both national and state levels to disclose any conflict in context of the rules laid down on the issue by the BCCI.”The Ombudsman recommends that all concerned individuals (cricketers, selectors,coaches, and administrators) should be required to make standard disclosures about their affiliations in the context of the conflict of interest rules (which may pertain, for example, to cricket coaching/training academies, sports management companies, sports apparel manufacturers, etc.),” Shah said.”If the disclosures reveal that an individual does have such an association, they may be asked to either terminate their association with such companies/academies, or asked to resign from their position as cricketer/selector/coach/administrator, as covered by the conflict of interest rules.”

The BCCI has retained a base price of Rs 2 crore (approx. $320,000) per international match while inviting bids for a series-title sponsor for all the major matches played in India

Amol Karhadkar19-Sep-2013The BCCI has retained a base price of Rs 2 crore (approx. $320,000) per international match while inviting bids for a series-title sponsor for all the major matches played in India, in place of Bharti Airtel, the telecommunication company that decided not to renew its contract for the same.The board decided to float a tender for the period beginning October 1 to March 31, 2014, which includes at least 13 international matches. The winning bidder, though, will then get the first right to extend the agreement till March 31, 2018.After Bharti Airtel decided not to extend their contract, the BCCI’s marketing committee, which was presided over by president N Srinivasan in the absence of its chairman Farooq Abdullah, finalised the invitation to tender (ITT) document. The ITT will be available to “only corporate entities with a turnover of Rs 100 crore, for performance deposit of Rs 3 crore” at Rs 2 lakh. The bids will be opened in the presence of all the bidders on October 3.While the media statement issued by BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel didn’t specify the base price, a summary of the ITT document that was finalised at the meeting, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, recommended “to have the same base price of Rs 2 crore as the tender done in 2010”.While barring agents from representing corporate houses, the BCCI decided to allow consortia bids. “It is recommended that the consortia is allowed to bid for the title sponsor with consortia members nominating the title sponsor and other associate sponsor during the time of the bid,” the marketing committee suggested.Besides being awarded the title sponsorship of all the senior domestic tournaments barring the Challenger Trophy, which will be played in September, and the domestic Twenty20, the winning bidder will also be able to avail 28 other rights. Some of the prominent ones include: “Integration into the event logo and the use of all official marks; right to put up to 12 advertising boards of standard size (approx. 3ft x 20ft) in the stadium at all matches and the right to nominate the positioning of these 12 boards; exclusive branding on the stumps; and non-exclusive branding on the BCCI’s website”.The marketing committee also took into consideration the current title sponsorship deals of Cricket South Africa, Cricket Australia and the ECB. It noted that CA awards Test sponsorship for $2.4mn and ODI sponsorship for $0.8mn, the ECB awards Tests for $1.07mn and ODIs and T20s for $0.25mn, and CSA’s sponsorship is priced at $0.45mn per Test, $0.5mn per ODI and $0.3mn per T20.

Tom Westley and Jaik Mickleburgh put together Essex’s first opening century partnership of the season against Leicestershire at Chelmsford to finish on 161 without loss

01-Aug-2012
ScorecardTom Westley and Jaik Mickleburgh put together Essex’s first century opening partnership of the season as they reached the close of a rain-affected opening day in their Division Two match against Leicestershire at Chelmsford on 161 without loss.Only 57 overs were possible, with the afternoon session limited to 8.3 overs. Mickleburgh, appearing in only his third Championship match of the season, was first to his half-century, reaching that landmark with an on-driven six at the expense of left-arm spinner Claude Henderson.In the bowler’s next over, Westley swept the ball to the square-leg boundary rope to take the total into three figures, and soon after collected a single that took his own contribution to 50.At that stage, he had faced 126 deliveries and struck half-a-dozen boundaries but he was a little fortunate immediately afterwards when an attempted pull fell just short of diving wicket-keeper Paul Dixey.Westley once again showed his liking for the Leicestershire attack having recorded 81 – his highest Championship score of the season thus far – when the teams met earlier in the campaign at Grace Road.With another 39 overs lost to the weather, Essex have now lost 1,576 overs in the County Championship so far this season. Twelve days have been completely washed out.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Centurion

Preview by Andrew McGlashan14-Dec-2011Match FactsDecember 15-19, Centurion
Start time 1030 (0830GMT)South Africa’s attack, led by Dale Steyn, will be a tough proposition for Sri Lanka’s batsmen•AFPThe Big PictureWhen discussion turns to contenders for the top spot in Test cricket, South Africa feature prominently in the debate. Yet they haven’t won a home Test series since 2008 – and that was against Bangladesh – having watched leads evaporate against Australia recently and India last year. If they have serious aspirations to return to the top of the table they need to win this series against Sri Lanka.Everything suggests that should be well within their grasp. Sri Lanka have had a poor 2011 since reaching the World Cup final and have suffered three consecutive series defeats; against England, Australia and Pakistan. Although each was only a 1-0 margin there was a clear gap between them and their opposition. It’s a void that they’ll struggle to narrow against South Africa.There was always going to be a tough period in Sri Lanka’s history when Muttiah Muralitharan (not to mention Chaminda Vaas) departed the scene and the bowling attack is thin. However, in many ways the bigger concern is the form of the top order. With the honourable exception of Kumar Sangakkara the big names have failed to fire consistently. More is needed from Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera.It will be a severe challenge for them against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, who made an impressive start to his Test career against Australia. They will be looking forward to the prospect of testing out the Sri Lankan batsmen on a bouncy, green Centurion pitch.South Africa, though, have to take this series by the scruff of the neck if their reputation isn’t to suffer. They have not always coped well when expectations have been high.Form guide (Most recent first)
South Africa LWDLW
Sri Lanka DLDDDWatch out for…Dale Steyn is the attack leader and Vernon Philander the new kid on the block, but don’t forget about Morne Morkel. He has moved to first change rather than being Steyn’s new-ball partner so when the Sri Lanka openers take strike they’ll have that nagging thought that Morkel’s steepling bounce is still awaiting them. Morkel’s Test record – 121 wickets at a touch under 30 – is impressive but there is a feeling it could be even better. Against a visiting team unsure of conditions, this is a chance for Morkel to make a mark.Tillakaratne Dilshan has been up and down the batting order this year as Sri Lanka try to find a combination that works. Against England, at Lord’s, he hit a fabulous 193 as opener but then moved down to No. 5 when Australia visited before returning to the top for the final Test against Pakistan where he hit 92. Like with Virender Sehwag there will be times when Dilshan produces something fairly unflattering against the new ball but he also has the ability to set a tone and lead from the front. He won’t back down against South Africa’s quicks and that should make fascinating viewing.Team newsSouth Africa are expected to stick with the side that faced Australia which means no recall for Alvrio Petersen but Jacques Rudolph is on notice that he needs to convert his starts at the top of the order. However, perhaps most under pressure is Mark Boucher who needs a strong series to convince people that his career isn’t on the wane.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Rudolph, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran TahirSri Lanka named a 12-man squad on the eve of the Test which included both spinners – Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath – but with conditions likely to favour the seamers it would be a gamble to have just two frontline pacemen. Their options are limited, however, with Nuwan Pradeep having flown home injured. Sangakkara, who split the webbing on his right hand in the warm-up match, will have a final fitness test but the signs were promising.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Kaushal Silva (wk), 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Chanaka WelegedaraPitch and conditionsThe pitch was as green as Pakistan’s kit the day before the match so the pace bowlers on both sides will be licking their lips. The weather was overcast for training, with similar conditions expected through the game but no major rain forecast. However, there may be some afternoon thunderstorms as is common on the Highveld.Stats and trivia Sri Lanka have played seven Tests in South Africa and only avoided defeat once with a draw in Durban in 2000 when rain washed out the fourth day. However, four Sri Lankan players from that Kingsmead Test are due to play in Centurion; Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dilhara Fernando – who took 5 for 98 South Africa have won 12 of their 16 Tests in Centurion, the only defeat coming in the rain-affected 2000 match against England when Hansie Cronje set up the final-day run chase.Quotes”Whenever there’s a subcontinent team, it’s always the talk. That’s the reality that Sri Lanka face, that our pace bowlers are in their own conditions and want to exploit that.”
“If we can play our brand of cricket, we can beat any team in any conditions.”

It was a relief for Scotland and Canada finally to get a cricket match, after their 4-day Inter Continental Cup match at Uddingston last week was completely washed out, and the two one-day internationals suffered a switch of venue.

Callum Stewart12-Jul-2012
ScorecardAlasdair Evans was the pick of the opening bowlers•ICC/Ian JacobsCalum MacLeod missed the chance of a hundred in bizarre circumstances but found joy all the same in his unbeaten 99 as Scotland took a step closer to World Cup qualification with a four-wicket defeat of Canada in Ayr.Scotland chased them a target of 177 in 42.1 overs, and took a step closer to the World Cup by overtaking UAE and moving into the second qualification spot.MacLeod would have had a chance for his century, was it not for an errant overthrow from a Canadian fieldsman, when the wicket keeper thought the game was already over.He said afterwards: “I was delighted with the team performance out there, and I’ve been fortunate to contribute in both ODIs, T20s and CB40s. Qualifying for the World Cup is the main goal, and it’s been a terrific job by the Ayr groundstaff this week to get the pitch playable.”This was no ordinary praise for the groundstaff. It was a relief for both teams to finally to get a cricket match underway after the four-day Inter Continental Cup match at Uddingston last week was completely washed out, and the two one-day internationals suffered a switch of venue and cancellation on three occasions.On the last possible day of play the sun was shining at Cambusdoon in Ayr. The ground staff had been working full time here for over a week just to make this game possible. Understandably, Scotland chose to field in the sunny, but damp conditions.Canada staggered to 177 all out in the last over, with Ruvindu Gunasekera providing the only real resistance with 53 before cheaply giving his wicket away.Canada’s opener Hiral Patel was trapped lbw early on by Alisdair Evans who was the pick of the opening bowlers. The gangly figure of Gunasekera produced some big if unorthodox shots and was the only Canadian batsmen to reach fifty, making 53 from 75 balls before he was stumped off the off-break bowler Majid Haq.It was a youthful Canada batting line-up. Nitish Kumar, 18, in at No 3, failed to live up to his reputation and was caught behind off the bowling of Josh Davey for just 9. Zeeshan Siddiqi steadied the ship, but was in danger of grinding Canada to a halt, as he stole most of the bowling at a strike rate of less than 50.Along with Damodar Deasrath he stopped the flow of wickets but allowed the Scottish bowlers to take control. Canada struggled to rotate the strike with the arrival of spinners Haq and Preston Mommsen who managed to pin down the run rate.Canada’s frustration eventually told. Siddiqi played a handful of erratic shots before trying to make room to cut the ball and chopping on, to the delight of the Scottish fielders. This was followed by a succession of three run outs, each due to miscommunication from the batsmen who could not decide whether they wanted a single or two, and then found themselves stranded in the middle.It all led to Scotland’s wicketkeeper Craig Wallace being involved in five wickets, with Haq bowling his allocated 10 overs for just 19 runs and taking two wickets.Scotland’s chase did not get off to an ideal start. They lost Northants’ batsman Kyle Coetzer in the second over when he played a flashing cut to a short ball, only to be taken by a great catch from Usman Limbada at backward point. This brought Davey to the crease at No 3 and he nudged and pushed the singles and rotated the strike along with MacLeod who despatched the ball to all corners from an early stage.MacLeod was the anchor of the Scottish innings as his team-mates came and went around him. It really was a solo performance as no other Scottish batsmen managed to get over 25.The pace bowling of Durand Soraine was expensive but yielded two key wickets. But Canada’s batting performance did not give their bowlers much to defend, and as such they were chasing wickets from an early stage. Scotland were always ahead of the run rate.

Lisa Pursehouse has become the first female chief executive at a first-class county after being confirmed as the new CEO of Nottinghamshire

George Dobell14-Mar-2012Lisa Pursehouse has become the first female chief executive at a first-class county after being confirmed as the new CEO of Nottinghamshire.Pursehouse, who has worked at Trent Bridge since 2000, served most recently as deputy chief executive and succeeds Derek Brewer who will vacate the role on April 27 to take up his new role in charge of the MCC.Brewer and Pursehouse are seen as prime movers in Nottinghamshire’s emergence as one of the top international cricket venues in the UK and have also overseen a period of stability and financial success which has enabled them to compete strongly on the pitch.Nottinghamshire have won the County Championship twice in the last six seasons and recently beat stiff opposition to win the right to host an Ashes Test in 2013 and 2015 as well as a Test against India in 2014. Crucially, Nottinghamshire have also completed their redevelopment without incurring the substantial debts suffered by many of their competitions.Nottinghamshire’s chairman, Peter Wright, said: “Her knowledge of the commercial needs and operational demands of our business is exceptional and she will now have the opportunity to stamp her mark on this great club. I am delighted that she has accepted this opportunity and the challenges that it will involve.”Pursehouse joined Yorkshire in 1995 before moving to Trent Bridge in 2000 with a brief to develop the commercial activity of the club. Her promotion to deputy chief executive in 2005 saw her take responsibility for the commercial and operational aspects of the business and she has sat on multiple ECB working parties designed to enhance relations between the governing body and the first-class counties.”We are rightfully proud of the things we have achieved at Trent Bridge in recent years but there is no complacency here and we are certainly not immune from the significant challenges that lie ahead,” Pursehouse said. “This role is the greatest honour and the biggest challenge that I have ever faced but I have a clear vision and I am relishing the road ahead. I look forward to leading the next chapter at Trent Bridge.”Brewer, the outgoing chief executive, was quick to praise her contribution. “Lisa was my greatest ally during my tenure and I am delighted that the committee has seen fit to install her as my successor,” he said. “Her knowledge base is an incredible asset to the club and I wish her every success.”

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted he “misread the pitch” at the Harare Sports Club in their seven-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the first ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2013Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted he “misread the pitch” at the Harare Sports Club in their seven-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the first ODI. Misbah had won the toss and elected to bat on what he thought would be a good pitch for the team batting first.Even though they were cruising at just under five-runs per over till the 38th over with eight wickets in hand, they only managed 244. Pakistan won both Twenty20s last week on the same ground after batting first after they lost the toss on both the occasions.”We misread the pitch. It was looking like it was going to be slow in the second innings, but I think it was slow in the first innings and played better in the second,” Misbah said.Misbah gave Zimbabwe the credit for chasing a competitive target of 245 with 10 balls to spare. Their top order scored nearly three-fourths of the runs and handled Pakistan’s spinners deftly as Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi went wicketless.”I think Zimbabwe really deserved it,” Misbah said. “They played really well and played better than us. Specially the way their openers batted, there was no panic in their batting line-up and they did it comfortably. The way they bowled and batted, they really took the game away from us. They are a much improved side, especially in home conditions, they are a better side. I think we have to go back and think where we went wrong to really improve our batting, bowling and fielding.”Misbah stated that their total of 244 was not enough and that their bowling and fielding let them down. Pakistan fielded five bowlers, but their bowling struggled as they failed to break Zimbabwe’s opening partnership.”I don’t think it [244] was enough, you can’t say it was a fighting total on this pitch,” he said. “Maybe we fell 30 runs short. Still, you need to bowl and field very well but we were missing something in the bowling line-up, especially with the new ball and our fielding wasn’t up to the standards.”Opening bowlers are our strength – both of them [Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan] give us breakthroughs in the first 10 overs with the new ball, but we were struggling and not getting wickets at the top so that is where we are missing [something]. I think it is really important to get wickets at the top to put the opposition under pressure.”Pakistan are not playing a second-string side on this tour, the way India did earlier this month when they were led by Virat Kohli, even though they play South Africa and Sri Lanka later this year. Misbah defended the selectors’ decision of naming a full-strength squad for the current tour instead of giving youngsters a chance.”In Pakistan people feel that we should win these matches and a lot of people were saying that you should try youngsters and this and that,” he said. “Almost 60% of the players are already new in this team, they are just making their way into international cricket, they are playing regularly at the moment. This team is already relatively new and we played with our full strength. We got the team here, we played with our full strength and we lost.”I think we have to change this psyche because in international cricket all the teams are good enough. And specially if you are playing in their own conditions, you need to be 100% focused and you need to be 100%. Otherwise, if you give them just a little bit of chance, they can do these sort of upsets. We need to just come back strongly and play our A game, our best game then you can really win these games.”The remaining two ODIs of the series will be played on Thursday and Saturday on the same ground before the two-Test series starts next month.

Preview of the first Test between West Indies and Zimbabwe in Bridgetown

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran11-Mar-2013Match factsMarch 12-16, Bridgetown
Start time 1000 (1400 GMT)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul warmed up for the game with a century for Guyana in the first-class competition•WICB Media/Ashley Allen PhotoBig PictureThe last time West Indies won five Tests in a row was back in the late 80s, when they were still the reigning kings of world cricket. Viv Richards was the captain, leading a side strewn with legends to comprehensive series victories in England and Australia. West Indies have fallen so far from those peaks that in the seven years Prior to the start of their home season last year, they had been victorious in only five Tests.Through a quirk of scheduling that pitted them against some relatively lightweight opposition, West Indies are currently on a four-Test winning streak, with two matches against the Test irregulars Zimbabwe coming up.The Kensington Oval was a fortress for West Indies for much of the 20th century but, although the record has dimmed in recent years, Darren Sammy’s experienced side will be confident of extending their successful stretch to six games.While the home side chase some impressive numbers, for Zimbabwe the chance to play Test cricket is a rarity. They haven’t played a five-day game since they were trounced in Napier by an innings-and-301-runs by New Zealand more than a year ago. This will only be their fifth Test since ending their six-year exile from the longest version of the game in 2011.Besides the crippling shortage of experience, they will be up against unfamiliar conditions as well, in what will be their first Test in the Caribbean since 2000. Additionally, they are without the assuring presence of two Zimbabwe stalwarts from the coaching set-up, Grant Flower and Heath Streak, and there is further uncertainty on the horizon as this head coach Alan Butcher’s last series in charge before his contract expires.Form guideWest Indies: WWWWD (Completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe: LLLW
Players to watchIn his second coming, Marlon Samuels has quickly became West Indies’ most influential batsman across formats. He was missing in the limited-overs leg of the series as he completed his recovery from the eye injury he suffered in the Big Bash. His first match since early January was the tour game against the Zimbabweans last week and he hit his stride with a brisk 55. He’s in a rich vein of form in Tests, having scored six half-centuries and three hundreds in his past nine matches.Brendan Taylor is among Zimbabwe’s most important batsmen, but he hasn’t quite managed to find his form in this series so far. A string of single-digit scores in the limited-overs matches meant he hasn’t been able to carry the touch that made him one of the standout players in the Bangladesh Premier League last month.Team newsThe West Indies batting is slowly beginning to acquire a settled look, with three senior batsmen in the top five and two promising youngsters in Kieran Powell and Darren Bravo as the other two specialists. One of their decisions to be made will be whether to play two specialist spinners, or to go in with one slow bowler and the part-time offerings of Narsingh Deonarine as back-up.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Veerasammy Permaul, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Shane Shillingford, 11 Tino BestZimbabwe (squad) 1 Brendan Taylor (capt), 2 Tino Mawoyo, 3 Vusi Sibanda, 4 Hamilton Masakadza, 5 Regis Chakabva, 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Kyle Jarvis, 8 Keegan Meth, 9 Tendai Chatara, 10 Chris Mpofu, 11 Prosper Utseya, 12 Sean Williams, 13 Timycen Maruma, 14 Raymond Price, 15 Graeme CremerStats and trivia West Indies didn’t lose a single Test at the Kensington Oval between 1935 and 1994. There have only been six Tests so far between the two sides, with West Indies winning four and the other two being drawn.Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Heath Streak are the only three players to have played in all six Tests between the two sides.With 23 wickets, Ray Price is the most successful bowler in Tests between West Indies and Zimbabwe.Quotes”Having Marlon back is great news for us. The injury was unfortunate but he has been a big player for us in the last 12 months or so.”

“Hoping we’ll bat better than we did in the one-day series, we need to get more runs to stay competitive.”

Darren Stevens recorded his fourth Championship century of the season as Kent piled on the runs against Division Two rivals Gloucestershire

22-Aug-2013
ScorecardDarren Stevens continued his impressive campaign with the bat•Getty ImagesDarren Stevens recorded his third Championship century of the season as Kent piled on the runs against Division Two rivals Gloucestershire on a rain-shortened second day. Responding to Kent’s 474 all out, the visitors went in at stumps on 80 without loss after 29 overs to trail by 394 at the mid-point of this 162nd Canterbury Cricket Week clash.Stevens, who earlier in the month was charged by the ICC for his failure toreport a corrupt approach while playing for the Dhaka Gladiators in February, made light of the pressure to build on his overnight score of 98 not out.Heavy morning showers had delayed Stevens and the resumption of Kent’s first innings until umpires’ inspections at 1.30pm and 2pm, with play finally allowed to start at 2.20pm. The 37-year-old Stevens needed only two deliveries to reach his hundred by clipping a loose delivery from left-arm seamer David Payne to the ropes at square leg for the 18th boundary of a 127-ball ton.His innings ended selflessly for 126 when – with his side needing seven runs for a fifth batting bonus point and with only four balls remaining before the 110-over cut-off – Stevens top-edged an attempted pull against Benny Howell to be caught by Michael Klinger at short extra cover.Home captain James Tredwell followed in the next over for a season’s best 48 when he steered a Craig Miles legcutter to Chris Dent at second slip to make it 399 for 8. With useful double-figure contributions throughout the tail, including an unbeaten 44 by Calum Haggett, Kent reached 474 before last man Charlie Shreck lost his leg stump just after 4.30pm.Meanwhile, Kent confirmed that Matthew Coles, their 23-year-old strike bowler, has turned down a contract extension and is set to leave the club.