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Dane Vilas, the former South Africa wicketkeeper, has signed a deal with the Durban-based Dolphins franchise for the 2017-18 season

Firdose Moonda04-Apr-2017Dane Vilas, the former South Africa wicketkeeper, has signed a deal with the Durban-based Dolphins franchise for the 2017-18 season. Vilas, who played six Tests for South Africa and has also signed a Kolpak deal with Lancashire, was based at the Cobras for the last seven seasons.Vilas will add rare international experience to a Dolphins squad that lost several big names ahead of the 2016-17 season. David Miller and Kyle Abbott both left the franchise, leaving Imran Tahir as the only national player in the ranks at the start of last summer. Since then, Andile Phehlukwayo and Keshav Maharaj have both played for South Africa, adding some superstar quality to the outfit.Although Dolphins also have another wicketkeeper on their books in Morne van Wyk, the 38-year old is in the twilight of his career and recently handed the captaincy to Khaya Zondo. With Dolphins also losing Daryn Smit, who has relocated to the UK, Vilas will do the bulk of the keeping duties across all formats. He is not expecting to do the same at his county, where he has been signed primarily as a batsman, thus ensuring his workload does not become excessive across back-to-back seasons.”I will be available to keep for Lancashire if they need me to but they have a young keeper, Alex Davies, who is trying to break into the England ranks, so it will be good to offer assistance where I can,” Vilas said “Signing the Kolpak deal will mean that I will be able to focus on contributing to the Dolphins in all three formats.”Dolphins have also contracted Lwandiswa Zuma, a 20-year-old seamer who was schooled at Maritzburg College, the alma mater of Kevin Pietersen, and a South African under-19 player who was plying his trade at the Bloemfontein-based Knights.In the 2016-17 season, Dolphins, under new coach Grant Morgan, did not win any trophies. They finished fourth in the first-class and one-day cups and fifth in the T20 competition.

Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, has asked Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh to refrain from politicising the staging of the India-Pakistan World T20 match in Dharamsala

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Mar-20161:47

‘We must not politicise sport’ – Thakur

Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, has expressed strong concerns over a reported letter written by the Himachal Pradesh chief minister to the Indian government, expressing his state government’s difficulty in providing security for the marquee World T20 match between India and Pakistan, scheduled to be held in Dharamsala on March 19.It is understood that Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who heads the Congress government in the northern state, wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), saying the match should not be played in Dharamsala, keeping in mind prevailing local sentiment in Himachal over the recent terrorist attacks in Pathankot, which lies close to the Pakistan border, near the intersection of the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.”Many incidents have taken place in recent past, like Pathankot attack,” Singh told the media on Tuesday. “Soldiers from Himachal lost their lives in J&K. If our war veterans don’t want Indo-Pak match to be held in Dharamsala, Himachal cricket association should accept their condition.”Dharamsala is set to host eight matches in the World T20, including two Super10 games: Australia v New Zealand on March 18 and the India-Pakistan game the next day.Singh said his objection was only limited to the March 19 match. “They are not opposing holding of matches,” the Himachal chief minister said. “They are against Pak team playing in Himachal Pradesh.”However Thakur, a member of parliament with the ruling BJP central government, said Singh was only playing mischief, and that it was inappropriate to mix sport and politics. “The venues for World Cup were finalised a year in advance. The allotment of matches for the World Cup were finalised many months ago,” Thakur told reporters in Delhi on Tuesday. “Fans and media from around the globe based on the fixtures make their bookings and we make sure we provide them with the facilities. At the eleventh hour to show your failure that we cannot provide the security, it only gives a bad name to the state and the country. I feel there should be no politics [involved].”According to a senior BCCI official who was involved in organising the 2011 World Cup co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the protocol has been for the board to consult and coordinate with the federal government with respect to the security of the matches across all venues. Once the matches were allotted the MHA would then co-ordinate with the respective states where the venues were based and work closely with the security machinery including the local police commissioner for the smooth conduct of matches. This official said the same procedure was followed before the venue and match allotments were finalised by the BCCI and the ICC.Thakur, the son of former Himachal chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, gave the example of the recent South Asian Games, which included Pakistan as one of the participating countries. “If Assam can host the South Asian Games, and 100-plus athletes from Pakistan can participate, then why is it not possible for Himachal government [to host the WT20 match]? I think there should not be any politics. It is a matter of pride for the country.”According to Thakur the Himachal Pradesh government’s stand was “unfortunate”, as it would only support the anti-India sentiment exisiting in certain sections in Pakistan. “Pakistan used to say that Pakistan’s team is not secure in India and if the Congress government in Himachal is supporting that statement or vindicating that then it is unfortunate.”Thakur did not waste the opportunity to play ping pong with Singh, pointing out that some of the local Himachal politicians who were now protesting against allowing Pakistan to play in Dharamsala had made no objections when Pakistan played a tour match in 2005 in the scenic tourist city. “The same people who oppose this now were, in 2005, post the Kargil war, coming forward to give bouquets to these same Pakistan players and pose for photographs with them.”Thakur said he knew of many Congress ministers in favour of the match being held in Dharamshala. “There should be no politics in sport,” he said. “You should look at sport in relation to the prestige of the country.”

Luke Wright will get the chance to press his case for an return to England’s ODI team when he leads the Lions in three 50-over matches against Bangladesh A later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2013Luke Wright will get the chance to press his case for a return to England’s ODI team when he leads the Lions in three 50-over matches against Bangladesh A later this month. Ashley Giles, England’s limited-overs coach, will take charge of the Lions and have the opportunity to assess the form of Wright, who has become a key member at the top of the order in England’s T20 side since his recall last year.Three players yet to make their Lions debuts are part of the 12-man squad. The Somerset and Northamptonshire bowlers Jamie Overton and David Willey and Sussex’s allrounder Chris Jordan, the first man to take 50 Championship wickets this season, have all been called up. They will join several players already capped by England, including Jos Buttler, James Taylor, Ben Stokes and Danny Briggs.Wright last played ODI cricket for England at the 2011 World Cup but has previously said he has “huge ambitions to get back into the one-day side”. Michael Carberry, who played a single Test against Bangladesh in 2010, will also get the chance to press his case for a limited-overs call-up – he is the second-leading run-scorer in this year’s FLt20, after making a century in Hampshire’s quarter-final on Wednesday, and fifth in the YB40.”We are delighted to reward this Lions team with an opportunity to impress the selectors ahead of a number of forthcoming ODI series,” the national selector, Geoff Miller, said. “Many of this squad have been in or around England, Lions, EPP or PEPP squads before, so it is a great chance for them to push for places for the England ODI games later this summer and also this coming winter.”Looking further ahead, we are also keen to build a strong platform for the 2015 World Cup, so opportunities such as this play a big part in giving the coaches an opportunity to assess the levels of these players first hand.”The timing of the games has not been universally welcomed, with a full round of Championship matches taking place during the same week. The first unofficial ODI at Bristol is scheduled for Tuesday August 20, followed by matches on August 22 and 24. Yorkshire, who currently lead Division One, will be missing in-form batsman Gary Ballance, while defending champions Warwickshire will lose Boyd Rankin for their match against Somerset, who will continue their attempts to stave off the threat of relegation without Buttler and Overton.A further Lions fixture will also be incorporated into the schedule, after Northamptonshire’s qualification for Friends Life t20 Finals Day meant they would be unable to fulfil a two-day fixture against the touring Australians. The ECB will announce the Lions team to play the August 16-17 match early next week.England Lions squad: Luke Wright (capt), Gary Ballance, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Chris Jordan, Jamie Overton, Boyd Rankin, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Vince, David Willey

Group B leaders Surrey continued their unbeaten start to the CB40 campaign with a convincing victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff.

02-Jun-2012
ScorecardSteve Davies took his first-class form into white ball cricket with a 48-ball 58•Getty Images

Group B leaders Surrey continued their unbeaten start to the CB40 campaign with a convincing victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff. Half-centuries from Steve Davies and Zander de Bruyn helped Surrey to 173 for 9 from their 40 overs and then spinner Murali Kartik helped restrict Glamorgan to 107 for 9 before rain ended proceedings 14 overs from the end, with figures of 4 for 26.Surrey, who won by 57 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, have now been successful in all four of their matches while Glamorgan are still looking for a win in any competition.Put into bat Surrey raced to 40 for 0 before captain Rory Hamilton-Jones edged John Glover to debutant Martin van Jaarsveld at slip. Jason Roy had brought up the Surrey 50 with a straight six but then edged Simon Jones to slip. It left Surrey 61 for 2 in the eighth over.Davies, who reached a 32-ball 50, miscued a drive to mid-on and only six more runs were added before Tom Maynard went leg before to Allenby. It left Surrey 96 for 4 in the 18th over. Although de Bruyn looked solid the Surrey wickets kept falling. Allenby had Matthew Spriegel caught behind and Gareth Batty was bowled by Glover, while Cosker trapped Jon Lewis lbw with his final ball.Kartik went to a fine running catch in the deep by Allenby off Will Owen as Surrey slipped to 166 for 8 before losing de Bruyn from the final ball. He went for 52 from 79 balls.In reply Stewart Walters edged a good ball behind from Jade Dernbach at the end of the third over before van Jaarsveld was trapped lbw by Jon Lewis. It left Glamorgan 30 for 2 in the eighth over.De Bruyn had to go off with an injured hand with Spriegel having to finish the over, but it worked in Surrey’s favour as the stand-in bowler bowled Marcus North. It was the first of two wickets in the space of three balls as Kartik struck with his second delivery to trap Gareth Rees in front. Glamorgan slumped to 41 for 4. That became 49 for 5 as Mark Wallace was bowled by Kartik and Chris Cooke was run out.With Glamorgan reduced to 81 for 6 all hope was lost when top-scorer Allenby was stumped giving Kartik the charge before Stuart Meaker bowled Cosker and Will Owen became Kartik’s second stumping victim. But rain forced the players off the pitch with 14 overs remaining and Surrey celebrated.

Pakistan left-arm seamer Junaid Khan has been signed by Lancashire

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2011Lanchashire have signed Pakistan left-arm seamer Junaid Khan as an overseas player for the remainder of the Friends life t20 tournament, subject to his registration.”Junaid is a hot prospect who was recommended to us by Wasim Akram,” Lancashire Cricket director Mike Watkinson said. “He is initially with us for our Friends Life t20 campaign but there may be some scope for him to feature in our County Championship squad later in the summer.”The 21-year-old fast bowler has played seven ODIs and one Twenty20 game for Pakistan and was part of their Test squad on the recent tour of West Indies. He was Pakistan’s second-highest wicket-taker in the recent two-match ODI series against Ireland.”Junaid is an extremely talented cricketer,” head coach Peter Moores added, “who will supplement our seam attack. He bowls with good pace and variation and we look forward to working with him.”Lancashire had earlier signed Sri Lankan allrounder Farveez Maharoof for the season.

Cricket Australia has agreed to the BCCI’s proposal to convert the seven-match ODI series scheduled for October to two Tests and three ODIs

Cricinfo staff24-Jun-2010Cricket Australia has agreed to the BCCI’s proposal to convert the seven-match ODI series scheduled for October to two Tests and three ODIs. The Indian board’s Tour, Programme and Fixtures committee announced the new itinerary today, with the first Test to be played at Mohali beginning October 2.

Tour itinerary for India v Australia

October 2-6 First Test – Mohali
October 10-14 Second Test – Bangalore
October 19 First ODI – Kochi
October 22 Second ODI – Goa
October 24 Third ODI – Vishakapatnam

The second Test will be played in Bangalore, followed by three one-day matches to be held in Kochi, Goa and Vishakapatnam. Australia will also play a three-day practice match at Mohali in September to begin the tour.This is not the first time the Indian board has made changes to a tour itinerary. Earlier this year, Cricket South Africa agreed to replace a five-match ODI series with two Tests and three ODIs. The board’s determination to schedule more Tests has come in the wake of India ascending to the No.1 Test ranking for the first time.The BCCI also announced the schedule for New Zealand’s tour of India in November. The teams will play three Tests and five ODIs. The first Test starts on November 4 and will be played in Ahmedabad. The second and third Tests will be played in Kanpur (November 12) and Mumbai (November 20).The schedule for the ODIs will be decided later based on logistics but the venues are Bangalore, Mohali, Chennai, Guwahati and Hyderabad.

Brydon Carse to debut, Chris Woakes set for first overseas Test since 2022

Matt Roller05-Oct-2024Ben Stokes has been ruled out of England’s first Test against Pakistan in Multan, as he continues to recover from a torn hamstring. Stokes confirmed after training on Saturday that he is not yet fully recovered from the injury he sustained two months ago while playing in the Hundred.In Stokes’ absence, Chris Woakes will play his first overseas Test in two-and-a-half years and his first in Asia since 2016, while Brydon Carse will make his Test debut. Ollie Pope will captain England for a fourth successive match in Stokes’ absence, having led them to a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka last month.”I tried my hardest to try and get myself fit for this first game but we’ve taken the call to miss this one. I’ve not quite managed to get game-ready,” Stokes said. “We got to a certain point, but just looking at the bigger picture around what we’ve got coming up and actually physically where I’m at with my rehab, I’m not quite ready to play.”Related

• Stokes finds his peace in home comforts after 'hardest trip' to Pakistan

• Jamal, Shaheen, Naseem return to Pakistan's XI for first Test against England

• Anderson's golfing absence highlights inexperience of England seamers

• The good news for Pakistan? England have problems. The bad news? Pakistan have bigger ones

Stokes spent the first 45 minutes of England’s training session doing shuttle runs with Peter Sim, the strength and conditioning coach. He later batted in the nets, facing spin from Rehan Ahmed and local net-bowlers as well as throwdowns from England’s coaching staff, but is taking a cautious approach to his comeback.He will now target the second Test in 10 days’ time. “I’ve pushed myself incredibly hard,” Stokes said. “I’ve worked really, really hard with the medical team to get to where I’m at now. I think I’m further ahead than what we expected today. Look, I’ll be working just as hard over the next 10 days to try and give myself a chance to be fit.”Whatever sports you play, you’re going to get injuries. I’m 33 now, so I’ve put my body through quite a lot. I’ve started working incredibly hard over the last two years: I know that I’m getting older, so it’s not through lack of effort. It’s just one of those things where, with what we do, you’re going to put yourself at risk every time you walk out on the field for injuries.”Brydon Carse has been confirmed for a Test debut•Getty Images

If Stokes is available for the second Test, it may only be as a specialist batter – though he said it was “too far away” to tell. “That’s in my 10-day plan from now to that next one, eking bowling back into my training. We’ve had a good plan put together by myself and the medical guys out here, so I’ll be working incredibly hard to try and give myself a good chance of being ready.”England confirmed their XI later on Saturday, two days out from the first Test. They have picked two specialist spinners, with Jack Leach returning to the side for the first time since January alongside his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir. Gus Atkinson has shaken off a thigh niggle and will play his first overseas Test after impressing during the English summer.Carse pipped Olly Stone and his Durham team-mate Matthew Potts – who both featured against Sri Lanka last month – to the final spot in England’s seam attack. Carse, like Potts, impressed in England’s recent ODI series against Australia but his additional pace and superior batting have seen him win the battle to be England’s third fast bowler.Having missed most of the summer due to a gambling ban, Carse regularly hit 90mph/145kph during Australia’s tour and has impressed England’s players in the nets. “He’s a natural wicket-taker,” Joe Root said. “He’s got those balls in him that, out of nowhere, on the flattest of wickets, you can make something happen… He offers a huge amount to the squad.”Carse, 29, was born and raised in South Africa but qualified for England through his ancestry in 2019. He will become England’s sixth Test debutant of the year after Tom Hartley, Bashir, Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Josh Hull, and has been carded to bat at No. 9, just below Atkinson.England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir

Opener scores 100, Tom Moores 72 not out as Kent pay for wayward bowling

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2023Nottinghamshire opener Ben Slater completed his first LV= Insurance County Championship hundred since April last year to lay the foundation for a solid opening day against Kent at Trent Bridge.The left-hander, who has had a lean year by the standards he has set in recent seasons, made exactly 100, with wicketkeeper Tom Moores finishing unbeaten on 72 as Nottinghamshire closed on 275 for 5.Kent’s bowling lacked consistency. Matt Quinn and Arshdeep Singh kept to a little over two runs an over but Jas Singh’s two wickets came at a cost of 11 fours and a six in 12 overs.Beset by injuries and other non-availabilities, Kent were forced to sign two on-loan batters ahead of this fixture but might have expected more from their seam attack on a pitch that looked green enough to have tempted Nottinghamshire to bowl first had they won the toss.Under an overcast morning sky, batting looked hazardous when the stumps were under threat but Kent’s bowlers were too often wide of that mark in the opening session, conceding boundaries in 12 consecutive overs across one expansive passage of play.Joey Evison, a talented allrounder who left Trent Bridge last year through lack of opportunities, inflicted the only wound to the Nottinghamshire top order when Haseeb Hameed, who was beginning to find his timing after a slow start, played all round one that hit the knee roll of his front pad.The exception among the Kent seamers was Arshdeep Singh, the Indian white-ball international left-armer who is playing in the last of his five first-class matches in England this summer. Unlucky at times from the pavilion end as Nottinghamshire reached 116 for 1 at lunch, he was rewarded for switching ends shortly afterwards as the New Zealander Will Young, another at the end of a short-term contract, pushed forward to a ball that found the edge.Nonetheless, the day was still unfolding nicely for Nottinghamshire until just over an hour into the afternoon session, when they lost Joe Clarke and then Slater within four overs. Clarke, who had steered his first ball for four to the short boundary on the Bridgford Road side, looked in ominously good touch as he drove and pulled two more boundaries and then hoisted Singh over the longer boundary for six.Yet he was stopped in his tracks on 22 when pinned in front by a swinging delivery from Quinn. Minutes later, after running three from a straight drive to complete his hundred from 150 balls, Slater was squared up a touch by a ball from Singh that found the thinnest of edges, a second catch for Harry Finch, who continued as stand-in wicketkeeper with Jordan Cox injured and Sam Billings taking time away from the game.It left Steven Mullaney and Moores with a rebuilding job at 169 for 4, not helped by a stoppage of 108 minutes after a burst of heavy rain followed by a lengthy mopping-up operation.The delay cost 15 overs and, seemingly, Kent’s hopes of building any momentum on the back of those two important wickets as the fifth-wicket partners added 83 before there was another breakthrough, Mullaney falling leg before as Singh hurried one through.Kent had missed two chances along the way, with Mullaney dropped inexplicably by Ben Compton at first slip on 16 off Arshdeep, and Moores given a life moments after his eighth four had taken him to a 77-ball half-century as Singh shelled a difficult caught-and-bowled.

Was out celebrating a win with Petherton Cricket Club team-mates when the incident occurred, resulting in head injury

Firdose Moonda31-May-2022Former South African Under-19 bowler Mondli Khumalo is in an induced coma in Bristol after being assaulted outside a pub in Bridgwater on Saturday night. Khumalo has suffered bleeding on the brain and has had two operations thus far. He remains in a serious condition. A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident.Khumalo, 20, is contracted to Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland in South Africa, and is on his first overseas stint as a professional for North Petherton Cricket Club. The team was out celebrating a victory last weekend when the incident took place. ESPNcricinfo understands that Khumalo was unconscious at the scene and received emergency medical treatment at Southmead Hospital. It is not yet known what Khumalo’s long-term prognosis is.North Petherton Cricket Club and Khumalo’s agent, Rob Humphries, have begun work on assisting the Khumalo family, especially Mondli’s mother, to obtain a passport to travel to the United Kingdom to be with him. “Mondli is such a gentle guy. His mom just can’t understand how something like this could have happened to him,” Humphries told ESPNcricinfo. “And everyone at North Petherton just adores him. He is a genuinely lovely kid. He was having a really good time here. He had bowled really well and he had become such a wonderful part of the club.”Khumalo represented South Africa U-19 at the 2020 World Cup, has four first-class caps and received a high-performance contract from Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland for the 2022-2023 season.Though Khumalo’s medical bills while he is in hospital are covered, it is not known whether he will need further treatment in future. North Petherton have set up a crowdfunder page in his name to assist in any way needed.

Siraj won’t return for the last rites in Hyderabad due to quarantine protocols

PTI20-Nov-2020India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who is in Australia with the Indian squads for the upcoming four-Test series, lost his father Mohammed Ghouse on Friday in India. According to a BCCI release, Siraj was offered the option of flying back home but the fast bowler decided to stay with the Indian squad in Australia.Ghouse was 53 and lost the battle to a lung ailment. He was instrumental in Siraj’s growth as a cricketer as he supported his son’s ambitions with his limited resources. The Indian squad, currently in the middle of a 14-day quarantine period, has been training in isolation on the outskirts of Sydney after arriving on November 13 from the UAE after the IPL.Siraj, 26, has played one ODI and three T20Is so far and is part of the Test squad in Australia. He will be the fifth pace-bowling option along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini. Ishant Sharma, currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, is also expected to join the squad ahead of the first Test starting on December 17, once he is declared fit.In a video posted on social media by the BCCI on Tuesday, Siraj and Shami were seen bowling with the pink and red balls to captain Virat Kohli and other batsmen.Siraj recently represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL to take 11 wickets in nine games, including a match-winning 3 for 8 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.