The BCCI has convened an emergent working committee meeting on August 2 in Mumbai, ahead of its special AGM on August 5 in New Delhi

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2016The BCCI has convened an emergent working committee meeting on August 2 in Mumbai, ahead of its special AGM on August 5 in New Delhi. The meeting will focus on the Supreme Court’s order to implement the Lodha Committee recommendations and the proposed T20I series between West Indies and India in the USA next month. The notice for the working committee meeting was reportedly sent on Saturday.”A working committee meeting has been convened in Mumbai on August 2 to discuss the Supreme Court verdict on Justice Lodha Committee’s reforms in the board,” BCCI sources told . “It will also discuss the two-match T20 series between India and West Indies proposed to be held in Florida, USA after the conclusion of the current tour of West Indies by the Indian team.”Asked whether everything had been finalised about the short T20 series, the sources told , “more or less”.The BCCI had earlier announced a special general meeting in August 5 in New Delhi to discuss the recommendations, which were approved by the Supreme Court on July 18. BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke are also scheduled to meet with the Lodha Committee in Delhi on August 9, although a board official had told ESPNcricinfo that a date had not yet been fixed.The meetings come after the BCCI was given between four and six months by the Supreme Court to implement the Lodha panel’s recommendations, which cover wide-ranging aspects of Indian cricket at the central and state level. RM Lodha, the former chief justice of India who was the architect of the report, has been directed to oversee the transition.The other agenda before the working committee is the proposed series in Florida, and a source with knowledge of negotiations between the BCCI and the WICB told ESPNcricinfo that the series was “98% on”. The 2% hold-up on finalising the August series is based on multiple factors, including the visa status of the players. However, multiple sources have confirmed that the BCCI has already submitted names, photographs and documents for their intended T20 squad to the US Embassy in Jamaica, where the second Test started on Saturday.

West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite said that the support of senior players was a major factor in achieving victory on his captaincy debut

Peter Della Penna28-Aug-2016West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite said the support given to him by senior players was a major factor in achieving victory on his captaincy debut. No one was more pivotal than allrounder Dwayne Bravo, whose nerveless final over clinched a one-run win over India in a run fest at the Central Broward Regional Park in Florida.”I just want to publicly say thanks to all the senior guys for the help and support they give me on the field throughout the 20 overs,” Brathwaite said after the win. “Everyone always has suggestions and it kind of eased my role as captain, as a new captain as well, to have such maturity and such experience on the field always lending a helping hand.”Before the final ball, we were just fiddling with fields and wondering if to double-bluff or just try to stop the two. So Bravo finally decided and I asked him, ‘What’s your plan?’ He said, ‘A slower ball.’ I didn’t believe he’d bowl a slower ball but I told him, ‘I’m backing you. Execute. Express yourself.’ I know he came out trumps for us once again and for how many ever years he’s been doing it in T20 cricket for West Indies, once again he bowled a champion over, stuck to his guns and bowled a very, very top last delivery to one of the best finishers in world cricket.”Outside of the final over, Brathwaite said the game as a whole was one of the most memorable T20 affairs he’d been a part of, made even more special by the fact that it ended with a victory, in his first match leading the side.”It’s a relief. I always wanted to get that first one, that first win as captain,” Brathwaite said. “I know it was a fantastic team effort by the boys. I think that was one of the better T20 games I’ve ever been a part of and it was a fantastic spectacle and I’m just happy that my first game could be memorable but most importantly that we came out on top.”Brathwaite was playing in the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill for the first time, having been with the West Indies Test squad throughout the four-Test series earlier in India’s tour. But with the exception of Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels, the other nine members of the West Indies XI on Saturday had all recently played at the stadium last month, when the Caribbean Premier League held a six-match leg at the facility, while Samuels had also played for West Indies at the ground in 2012.The West Indies squad’s familiarity with the nuances of the venue proved vital at the start of the match, in particular for Evin Lewis and Johnson Charles. One aspect of the ground is the deceptive wind patterns. From field level, the breeze is only faintly detectable. However, standing at the top of the grandstand one will notice the jet stream that cuts through the roof of the stands and blows from elevation northwest above the ground. All that’s required is to get underneath the ball and mother nature does most of the work carrying it over the ropes for six.Charles utilised this jet stream to score brisk half-centuries for St Lucia Zouks against Jamaica Tallawahs in both innings he played at the venue last month while Lewis made 79 for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots against Trinbago Knight Riders. On Saturday, West Indies reached 164 for 1 after 11 overs, and 109 of those runs came in the six overs batting from the Pavilion End, hitting with the jet stream.The last over in that stretch was Lewis’ 32-run 11th over which began with five sixes off Stuart Binny. In all, 16 of the record 21 sixes hit by West Indies on the day came batting from the Pavilion End, making a mockery of the 73-yard boundary measured off by groundsman Mark Perham. Conversely, India only scored 62 runs from their first six overs batting from the Pavilion End.Lewis, who was Man of the Match for his maiden hundred in just his second T20I for West Indies, said afterward that having the experience of playing in the ground recently as part of the CPL was a definite advantage over India at the start of the game.”It had a big impact obviously,” Lewis said. “I played two games on the wicket. Kudos to the groundsman. He’s been doing an extremely good job. I just went out there and backed myself, hit the balls in my scoring areas and put them away.”

Alastair Cook has dismissed allegations of ball tampering against his England side as “a load of rubbish”, adding his voice to Pakistan’s dismissive response

George Dobell10-Aug-20161:48

Dobell: Ball-tampering story regrettable

Alastair Cook has dismissed allegations of ball tampering against his England side as “a load of rubbish.”England’s seamers used reverse swing to cut through the Pakistan batting on the final day of the Edgbaston Test, claiming, at one stage, four wickets for one run. It left England leading the four-match series 2-1 with only the Oval Test left to play.Some news organisations in Pakistan have subsequently broadcast footage of England in the field at Edgbaston and suggested that they tampered with the ball in order to gain reverse swing.Although that footage, particularly footage showing Joe Root vigorously shining the ball, looked innocuous and the Pakistan camp have dismissed the allegations, the story has rumbled on for a couple of days.”It’s a load of rubbish,” Cook replied when asked about the allegations. “Someone showed me the clip on Twitter of Rooty shining the ball. It’s just shining the ball, isn’t it?”Let’s be honest. It’s shining the shiny side of the ball on his trousers. It’s an absolute load of rubbish as far as I’m concerned. It’s so far-fetched that it’s just nonsense. I don’t think it will affect anyone, it certainly hasn’t affected our changing room.”Cook also expressed disappointment that the story might overshadow what has been, until now, a good quality series played in fine spirit between two well-matched sides. While previous encounters between the sides have been tainted by various controversies – not least when some in the British media made similar allegations against Pakistan players – this one has been notably free of such issues.”We’ve been talking about cricket for three Test matches – for the first time in a series I’ve played against Pakistan,” Cook said. “And hopefully we’ll be talking about the cricket – good or bad – at the end of this next game.”It’s a little sideshow and hopefully it stays there. Both sides should be commended for the way they’ve played so far.”Mickey Arthur, the Pakistan coach, confirmed that there had been no complaints from his team to the match officials at the time or subsequently and Misbah-ul-Haq also played down the allegations. Indeed, the Pakistan captain suggested his bowlers could learn from the way in which England cared for the ball.”We don’t just want to get into those things,” he said. “The game is over and credit should be given to the England team for the way they bowled and got us out.Alastair Cook praised the spirit in which the series has been played•Getty Images

“That was a super spell by all their bowlers, especially after lunch. That happened, it’s gone and we have to focus on the coming game. We should have played better.”Reverse happens and sometimes on the last day it happens because the pitch is so dry. There are right ways to roughen the ball. You bowl cross seam, throw the ball from the boundary on the ground, you shine it from one end and these are legal ways to roughen the ball. You care for the ball and the team which does better it achieves reverse swing. This is an art, a science and whole time you have to care for the ball.”We have to carefully look at it so that our bowlers can also achieve that. We have to take care of the ball and these days one or two bowlers bowl cross seam so that you hit one side of the ball on the pitch, we have to do that.”England bowlers are experienced like Anderson and Broad and know how to utilize that, they know the conditions. Our seam bowlers have played less cricket so they have to learn that and care for the ball. We have to gain that experience and concentrate on that.”We were a little bit concerned, the way it just happened just after the lunch, because it was not doing anything until the fourth day and suddenly it started. But obviously the fifth day is different and it could happen. The umpires are there, the match referees are there and I am not there to check those things.”I think they are very good bowlers and a very good side. Especially Anderson and Broad. These bowlers know what to do especially how to take care of the ball day, how to reverse it specially. There was concern the way it just swung in that hour, but we are not taking anything ahead of that.”The on-field umpires check the condition of the ball at the end of each over and when a wicket falls. The TV umpire can also advice on the basis of what they see on their screens. The ICC have confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that no complaints were made by the umpires and that there is no on-going investigation.

In the end, the spectre of relegation did not materialise for either team, even though the heaviest defeat of their season in terms of runs left Lancashire sweating for a few hours

Jon Culley at Edgbaston23-Sep-2016
ScorecardJeetan Patel helped finish off Lancashire’s second innings•Getty Images

In the end, the spectre of relegation did not materialise for either team, even though the heaviest defeat of their season in terms of runs left Lancashire sweating for a few hours on the outcome of Hampshire’s escape bid in Southampton.Warwickshire knew they were safe at lunchtime in effect, with all three of the batsmen they had identified as most likely to deny them the win safely seen off. Lancashire were 72 for 6, having lost Haseeb Hameed, Steven Croft and Liam Livingstone in the morning session and the handshakes of congratulation exchanged between the Warwickshire players as they left the field did not seem premature.Indeed, within 50 minutes of coming out again the match was over. Lancashire did their utmost to resist, nightwatchman Simon Kerrigan manfully extending his duties to two hours and 22 minutes before he was at last winkled out by Jeetan Patel.Patel took three wickets to finish the season with 69 in the Championship, reaffirming his status as the most consistently effective spin bowler in the competition. Rikki Clarke, willingly bending his back as if he were 24 rather than 34, claimed four and Chris Wright, who has finished the summer looking rejuvenated, a couple. Their combined weight of knowledge, their ability to deliver when it matters was always likely to be too much for a Lancashire side at the other end of the spectrum in terms of experience. And so it proved.After winning a trophy at Lord’s last weekend, it has been a good week for Warwickshire. Yet no one is pretending there are not major issues to address after a season that they began with expectations – among pundits at least – that they would be pushing for the title.”It is satisfying in that the way we bowled and fielded in the first innings was exceptional, we then backed it up with the bat in the second innings and pressed home the advantage with the ball,” Warwickshire’s director of cricket Dougie Brown said.”We knew we had to play 12 good sessions and not lose our way as we have done in some games and we did that. But it is frustrating that we have left it to the last game of the season to play one of our best games.”Is everything rosy after winning a trophy? No. Because we don’t want to be fighting to stay in the division, we want to be competing for silverware on all fronts.”So we will reviewing the season as players and as a management team, looking at what we need to do.”We think we know what the conclusions will be but we need to get to the bits that are important and just make sure we have a focus during the next few weeks and months, so that we are champing at the bit at the start of next season.”Brown admits that the challenge he faces is to rejuvenate the team while still making the most of what Patel, Clarke, Wright and Keith Barker can still deliver with the ball, likewise Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott and others with the bat.”Refreshing the squad is difficult,” he said. “You are always faced with trading off performance against potential performance down the line. We know the age profile of the team is not going south, it’s going north.”But you can’t argue with the fact that Jeetan is top of the MVP ratings and Keith and Rikki are in the top 10. It would be madness to say that because these guys are older players you just cut them.”Injuries have not helped. Mark Adair would have played a lot more but he has a stress fracture in his back, as would Aaron Thomason, an extremely talented all-rounder, but he has a stress fracture in his back as well.”Bell’s season could have been better, but allowance has to be made for the refocusing he has had to make after slipping off England’s radar for the first time in more than a decade. What’s more his appetite to play on is undiminished.”It has been an adjustment for me,” he said. “The style of cricket and the amount of cricket has been different. The style of bowling is different, facing guys I have not faced before.”It has been a challenge. But I will learn from the experiences and I still want to improve. My desire is still to play for England but putting on a Warwickshire shirt means as much to me.”It does not work for everybody but I see Trescothick playing for Somerset at 40 with the same desire, likewise Paul Collingwood up at Durham and I want to go on as long as I can and win trophies.”For Ashley Giles, the previous occupant of Brown’s position and now Lancashire’s guiding force, emotions were mixed. The possibility of going down has been hard to take but he sees plenty of cause for optimism.”We have been beaten by the side, one with a wealth of experience, but you don’t like losing. It hurts,” he said. “Not winning more games has cost us, and we’ve only got ourselves to blame. Overall, if you don’t win games of cricket, you’re going to be behind the eight-ball.”There’s obviously been factors that will be pointed in my direction, such as not replacing Neil Wagner, although there were not a lot of available options. But Alviro Petersen going, we couldn’t do much about.”I will say at the same time that we’ve been able to blood some really good youngsters and we’ve seen some really good performances. I know it sounds like I’m looking for positives, but you can’t question the way Haseeb has come on, how Livingstone has come on and Rob Jones and Tom Bailey too. At the moment, we all feel pretty crap. But time’s a healer.”We outperformed expectations up front, and suddenly everyone’s going ‘we’re going to win the Championship’. That’s why I started the season saying ‘we need to stay up’. I didn’t mean that negatively. It’s because of where we are and we knew in reality it would be a struggle.”But I knew that if we consolidated our position in Division One, we’d be better for it next year. And I stand by that.”

ESPNcricinfo has been named Online Publication for the fifth year running in the ECB’s County Journalism awards

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2016ESPNcricinfo has been named Online Publication of the year for the fifth year running in the ECB’s County Journalism awards, after another season of in-depth coverage of the English domestic game, which concluded with the thrilling final day of the Specsavers County Championship, involving the County Cricket Live blog and extensive reports from staff and freelancers writers.Will Macpherson, a regular contributor to ESPNcricinfo’s county coverage, was named Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young County Journalist, an award which comes with a £3000 prize which will fund a trip to the UAE next March to cover the first North v South fixtures.Tim Wigmore, another of ESPNcricinfo’s freelancers, was a runner-up in the category alongside Henry Cowan from with each receiving £1000.The was named County Cricket Newspaper of the Year for the second time in three years with last year’s winner, the , receiving a commendation.The was named Regional Newspaper of the Year for its comprehensive coverage of First Class, Minor County and club cricket in the South West region. It receives a £2,500 prize supported by the Cricket Writers’ Club in association with Benenden Health, Smile Group Travel and William Hill. The and the were also commended in this category.Dave Fletcher, who recently completed his first season as a county commentator with BBC Radio Derby, was named the Christopher Martin-Jenkins County Broadcaster of the Year and receives a £5,000 prize.Mark Baldwin, chairman of the Cricket Writers’ Club, said: “The judging panel was impressed particularly by the strength in depth of the entries in the Young County Journalist of the Year category.”I would like to congratulate Will Macpherson for the quality and range of his portfolio, which won him the main award but the writing of our two runners-up, Tim Wigmore and Henry Cowen, was also exceptional, and had to be, given the quality of many other entries.”The Cricket Writers’ Club’s continued support for ECB’s initiative in running these awards now includes offering prize monies in the Regional Newspaper of the Year category, precisely because the club wants to do what it can to support hard-pressed cricket writers in the regional press and also to underline its belief in the value to the game of coverage of county cricket in this area.”Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, said: “These awards recognise and reward the vital role cricket writers and broadcasters play in driving interest in all our domestic competitions. My congratulations to the winners and our sincere thanks to all the individuals and media organisations who provided such comprehensive and insightful coverage across a truly memorable county season.”

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has said familiar conditions at home will help his side rebound mentally from the India tour

Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Nov-2016Australia’s Test-match losing streak may be making headlines, but their neighbours across the Tasman have not fared much better this year. Of nine Tests played in 2016, New Zealand has lost six, winning only the two matches against Zimbabwe. Their four most-recent results have all been losses.Unlike for Australia, however, the losing streak has come overseas, against formidable opposition: the first loss came against South Africa, and the next three in India, where many teams have suffered in the last three years.Now back at home, with a grassy pitch before them and a long summer ahead, coach Mike Hesson has said his team will not dwell on the overseas failures. They will instead aim to fall back on memories of their unbeaten stretch at home between 2013 and 2015.”I think we’ve won seven out of our 11 Tests at home in the last three years, with a couple of draws and a couple of losses,” Hesson said. “You do that because conditions are familiar to you, and you adapt quicker than other sides.”We’ve been stressing the fact that we need to prepare for conditions that we’re more familiar with. We’ve got some experience to draw on over the last three or four years. It’s a matter of going through that rather than reliving India. Conditions over there were significantly different to what we’re going to face over here.”New Zealand’s batsmen had had a particularly torrid tour of India, where no one managed a century across three Tests. Their main destroyers on that tour had been spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who shared 41 scalps between them. Hesson said his batsmen had rebounded mentally since that series, which ended a month ago.”The conditions are here very different, so the skillset required is different. We acknowledge that we didn’t adapt as well as we needed to in India. Hence, we underachieved, especially with the bat. Here, I’m very confident the guys know the conditions.’We’ve got some experience to draw on over the last three or four years. It’s a matter of going through that rather than reliving India’ – Mike Hesson•Associated Press

“There was a period of having to deal with dented confidence, but that was some time ago. At the time we needed to dwell on some of the areas we hadn’t performed well in, and we’ve done that. Then we need to move on – that’s the nature of international cricket. When you perform and you win easily, you don’t dwell on that either. You move on.”The top order will have to contend with the likes of Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah, as they battle for Test form. Pakistan’s attack had delivered two Test victories in England this year, and Hesson believes they are a particularly dynamic outfit.”We’ll be challenged by this Pakistan attack, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “They’ve got an attack that suits all conditions around the world. They swing the new ball, they reverse it, and they’ve got a very good spinner. They’ve also got experience in their batting line up. They’re tough in every condition, so they’re bowling attack is going to pose some challenges for us.”The Hagley Oval surface has generally been seam-friendly over the first two days of the Test. Although it had a significant covering of grass two days from the Test, Hesson expected the pitch to settle quickly.”The pitch has good pace and bounce, which stays throughout. And I think it turns into a pretty flat surface. It’s one of those surfaces where you are going to need to have resources to bowl a lot of overs, rather than think you’re going to bowl them out in a session and a half. I don’t think it’s going to be like that.”

Scott Boland’s 4 for 30 helped Melbourne Stars restrict Adelaide Strikers to 152, a total chased down with the help of Ben Hilfenhaus’ violent 32

The Report by Will Macpherson at the MCG10-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBen Hilfenhaus’ unbeaten 32 off 24 balls helped Melbourne Stars stave off an accurate bowling performance from Adelaide Strikers•Cricket Australia

Six nights ago, Eoin Morgan drove Ben Hilfenhaus down the ground for six to secure an unlikely win for Sydney Thunder over Melbourne Stars.Thus it felt poetic that Hilfenhaus’ fraught, violent innings of 32 saw his team over the line by two wickets and with three balls to spare against Adelaide Strikers at the MCG, moving the Stars to third on the BBL table.On New Year’s Eve, 152 had been enough for Strikers to pull off an unlikely heist against Sydney Sixers. Against the Stars, despite the best efforts of their new signing Ish Sodhi, that same figure – which looked underpar at the innings break – was not quite enough. With four defeats to their name, their hopes of making the knockouts are all but over.Strikers’ fast start … and slow deathDavid Hussey stuck the Strikers in and 41 balls later, he’d have been wondering if he made the right call. Ben Dunk, the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer, had lost his opening partner Jake Weatherald, but raced to 35, and looked in fine touch. He had run twos hard, and picked the gaps; Strikers were 60-1, and cruising.But Hussey’s trump card, 19-year-old Liam Bowe, tossed the last ball of his first over up and Dunk bit – a touch of dip saw him fail to get to the pitch and he picked out mid-off, where the captain took a fine catch. From there, everything slowed up for the Strikers. With Dunk gone, they failed to score a boundary for seven overs. Brad Hodge and Tim Ludeman struggled for fluency and slogged their wickets away in the same Scott Boland over.With all Stars bowlers impressing (all six who bowled finished with an economy rate of 7 or 7.50), a low total was always on the cards. It took until the 18th over for Jono Dean to hit the Strikers’ first six, but he became Boland’s fourth wicket two balls later. In the following over, Ben Hilfenhaus found himself on a hat-trick.A spinner called elbowEven Kevin Pietersen admitted it was the first time he had seen Bowe, the bespectacled lad from Bendigo, bowl. But, with his funky chinaman bowling and subtle variations, he proved a triumph – and, as if to prove a point, immediately became Twitter’s top trend in Australia. His performance would have eased the Stars’ worries about the absence of Adam Zampa for the rest of the tournament.The bespectacled Liam Bowe finished with 1 for 21 on debut•Cricket Australia

Ish’s instant impactThe big difference between this year and the last – when they topped the table – for the Strikers has been the absence of their spin twins, Jon Holland (injured) and Adil Rashid (with England). So when Chris Jordan went down with a hamstring injury to compound their depleted bowling stocks, Jason Gillespie turned to Ish Sodhi.His debut could barely have gone better. He belted the final ball of Strikers’ innings for six that took the score over 150. Then, in his first over had Peter Handscomb bowled with a topspinner, and shed just two singles. His second went for five. David Hussey hit the first ball of his third down the ground for six, but the second was caught brilliantly at midwicket. In his final over, Evan Gulbis smote a six, then nudged into the leg side, with an eye on two. Sodhi sprinted across to midwicket. Pietersen hesitated turning for the second, Sodhi turned and threw to the bowlers end, where Hodge had crept in to remove the bails. It was a spectacular piece of fielding to complete a spectacular debut. It was not quite enough.The vital 18th How often does the 18th over of the chase turn a T20? Wes Agar, debutant and brother of Ashton, had been savaged by Quiney in the first over of the chase, but returned in the 16th, and bowled five dots to Hilfenhaus. Hodge trusted the youngster with another over.He nailed four down the ground, scampered two to long-on, then slogged four more through square leg. He swung and missed, then two more were slashed through the covers. A slower ball ended the over, and Hilfenhaus flat-batted it down the ground for six.There was still time for a twist. Ben Laughlin bowled Gulbis and Boland in the 19th, meaning three were required from the last. Hilfenhaus and Beer traded singles, and the game was done.

WAPDA will need Salman Butt, their captain to come good with support from the middle order if they are to win the tournament, having taken the first-innings honours

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAhmed Shehzad made an impression upon return from a stint with Comilla Victorians in the BPL, striking 104 off 137 balls•AFP

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) were on the verge of a stunning come-from-behind win in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy after conceding a first-innings lead against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the National Stadium in Karachi.HBL, who recovered from 21 for 6 in the first innings to post 236, made WAPDA toil for 122.5 overs in the second innings. Their top three made centuries in the team’s 485 for 1 declared. Imam-ul-Haq, nephew of Inzamam-ul-Haq, top scored with 200 not out, while Fakhar Zaman and Ahmed Shehzad made 170 and 104 not out respectively.Set an improbable target of 444, WAPDA ended the penultimate day on 83 for 2, with Salman Butt (38) and Mohammad Saad (20) at the crease. Usman Khan, the left-arm seamer, picked up both wickets to fall.Having eclipsed Asadullah Butt and Mujahit Jamshed’s 16-year record for the highest opening stand (252) for HBL, Imam and Zaman, who resumed on 264 for 0, added 39 more before Zulfiqar Babar broke through. Ahmed Shehzad, returning to the first-class format after a stint with Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League, then made a mark, hitting five fours in his 137-ball 104 before Abdur Rehman declared.WAPDA will need Butt, their captain to come good with support from the middle order if they are to win the tournament, having taken the first-innings honours.

Lancashire have turned to one of their own to try and bring success to the county with the announcement of Glen Chapple as head coach

Andrew McGlashan17-Jan-2017Lancashire have turned to one of their own to try and bring success to the county. Glen Chapple, who has been involved with the club for more than 25 years, has been named as head coach to replace Ashley Giles.Chapple, who worked as a first-team coach under Giles, will be assisted by Mark Chilton, the former Lancashire opening batsman who had a 14-year career, after he was promoted to assistant head coach having worked with the second team over the previous three seasons.Both were named in an interim capacity in December when Giles returned to take the director of sport role at Edgbaston and it came as little surprise that they were confirmed in the positions.There are few who have worn the Red Rose with such distinction as Chapple – who took 985 first-class wickets and 320 in the one-day game during a career that began in 1992 – and though that does not automatically mean a successful coaching career is assured, Lancashire have appointed someone with a intimate knowledge of the club and the demands it brings.”I would have been ready to take this job whenever,” Chapple said. “I’m still reasonably young in coaching terms but I have I feel I have a lot of experience.”Between the pair of us we’ve worked with a lot of international coaches and also have a lot of experience of this club and how it operates, the members and supporters and what they want us to achieve. We are aware of all that.”Chapple called the current Lancashire squad “exciting” but acknowledged that top of his to-do list over the next few weeks, as well as preparing the players for the pre-season tour of Dubai, is recruiting some experience to help competitiveness in all formats. In 2016 they narrowly avoided relegation in the County Championship and failed to get out of the group stages in the T20 Blast and Royal London Cup.In recent times the runs from Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen have been lost, while the club are unlikely to see much of Jos Buttler in the first half of the season due to IPL and England commitments. Haseeb Hameed will be available while England are in white-ball mode, but from July will likely be away with the Test side.News of a signing is expected in the coming weeks and that could indicate heading down the Kolpak route, although both Chapple and Chilton stressed the importance of continuing to nurture local talent.”We do need to make additions to the squad, we need to make sure we can compete in all forms,” Chapple said. “This particular squad at the moment is exciting, it has a lot of young players. Some who were blooded last year and took their opportunity well. So it’s certainly exciting times. But we are a young squad and we have to understand that it will develop.”We want to build a team who are aggressive, ambitious – I think the squad needs some experience to go with it, we’ve lost a lot of players in recent years through retirement, injury and players not coming back. We have some areas we need to develop, but to work with the young players we have here is exciting.”Over the coming months we’ll be looking to balance the squad. When you get into the season there are challenges that come, but we want to go into the season with a chance in all three competitions. You are looking to help a team develop, but it’s results driven as well. To say you can win three is a bold statement, but we aren’t focusing on one over the other.”Chapple said he will draw on his experiences with Giles and Peter Moores – he made specific reference to his time as captain under Moores, during which Lancashire won their first County Championship title in 77 years – but said it was important the new coaching structure went about things their own way.”I had a particularly good time with Peter Moores because I was captain and it was six years long. But at the same time you go into a job and do it your way, we’ve been around the game for 25 years now so aren’t just looking at other coaches. We’ll work on things that we think are important, you have to do things your way otherwise it won’t look right.”As a final piece of housekeeping, it was worth noting that Chapple has never officially announced his retirement as a player. He last appeared in 2015 but remained registered. Is that, now, officially it? “Let’s just let that slip into the background and not mention it, possibly,” he said.

Steven Smith’s new tally of 939 rating points puts him at sixth in the all-time list of highest points, behind Don Bradman, Len Hutton, Jack Hobbs, Ricky Ponting and Peter May

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2017Australia captain Steven Smith reached a career-high 939 points to extend his lead at the top of the ICC Rankings for Test Batsmen after the first Test between India and Australia. His new tally of 939 rating points puts him at sixth in the all-time list, behind Don Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs and Ricky Ponting (both 942) and Peter May (941). Smith surpassed Garry Sobers, Viv Richards and Kumar Sangakkara, who all had career-high ranking points of 938.Smith, who struck crucial knocks of 27 and 109 in the Pune Test, has a 66-point lead over second-placed Virat Kohli and leads third-placed Joe Root by 91.A strong outing for Josh Hazlewood – who went up to 860 points – moved him to joint-second in the rankings for Test bowlers with Ravindra Jadeja. R Ashwin remained at the top with 878 rating points.Matt Renshaw’s gutsy knocks of 68 and 31 saw him move by 18 places to 34, his career-best ranking, while Steve O’Keefe’s career-best performance of 12 for 70 in the Pune Test saw him climb to a career-high ranking of 29.Mitchell Starc, who struck a crucial first-innings half-century and took two wickets in Pune, moved three spots up to fourth in the rankings for Test allrounders, where Ashwin leads the pack as well.