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Hampshire seamer will return as overseas player in 2021

Matt Roller06-Aug-2020Hampshire have confirmed that Kyle Abbott will not play for the club in 2020, but will return next year as an overseas player.Abbott, who played 11 Tests for South Africa between 2013 and 2017, has been at home in KwaZulu-Natal throughout lockdown, and with the Covid-19 pandemic restricting international travel and causing visa difficulties, he agreed with the club that he would miss the curtailed county season, which began last week.Abbott signed for Hampshire on a Kolpak deal in 2017, and agreed a new three-year contract last year. This included a clause that meant he would become an overseas player after the UK’s transition period with the European Union ends on December 31, one of two permitted in all formats next season.”The window for Kyle’s return to the UK has narrowed significantly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the difficulties with visa delays and quarantine restrictions that have followed subsequently,” Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said.”We’ve had excellent dialogue with Kyle throughout this period, and with everything considered, we all felt the best course of action was for him to remain in South Africa in readiness for the 2021 season.”ALSO READ: Edwards misses county season, awarded testimonialAbbott is the second Kolpak player to confirm he will not be playing for Hampshire this season, after Fidel Edwards last week. Brad Wheal, the young Scotland seamer, is also unavailable as he is not in the country.Several counties were without their Kolpak players during the first round of Bob Willis Trophy fixtures. Surrey remain hopeful that it will be possible for Morne Morkel to come over from Australia at some stage this season, but Hashim Amla is unlikely to feature. Yorkshire have confirmed that Duanne Olivier will be available for their second game of the season.Durham are optimistic about the chances of Farhaan Behardien, who signed a Kolpak deal with the club in January, being available at some stage this season, though his arrival has been held up by visa difficulties.

The allrounder first walloped 25 runs off eight balls and then took three wickets for only 20 runs in his four overs

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Apr-20192:54

Pollard-Hardik stand shifted momentum our way – Behrendorff

Sometimes six overs is all it takes in T20 cricket. For 14 overs, Chennai Super Kings’ bowlers were all over the Mumbai Indians batting order, restraining them in supreme fashion. At 82 for 3, Mumbai were going at less than six an over, and seemed incapable of breaking out of the straitjacket the likes of Deepak Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja and Imran Tahir had put them in.Vitally, though, although Mumbai were being tied down, they did not collapse. Krunal Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav put on 62 off 49 together through the middle overs, laying a platform. With clean hitters like Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard to come, perhaps laying a quiet platform was all Mumbai’s top order needed to do.Hardik and Pollard were unstoppable in the last two overs of the innings, propelling the team from 125 for 5 at the end of the 18th over, to 170 for 5 after 20 – their partnership worth an invaluable 45 off 12 deliveries. Hardik was the more brutal of the two, walloping two sixes over midwicket and another over third man, as well as crashing a four through the covers, to reap 25 not out off eight deliveries. Pollard reminded the IPL of his own devastating potential, making 17 not out off seven. It was one of the IPL’s most efficient – Dwayne Bravo – that the pair took to pieces in the final over of the innings, plundering 29, after Bravo had conceded only 20 from his first three overs.Hardik’s match-defining all-round magicHaving been Mumbai’s most impactful batsman, Hardik also returned the best figures in the match, dismissing MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, before later removing Deepak Chahar to claim outstanding figures of 3 for 20.Earlier, he had waltzed in during the 17th over, Mumbai’s innings, made one run off his first two balls, then exploded. The first of his three sixes was off a Shardul Thakur short ball, which he deposited high into the stands beyond midwicket. The best strokes came against Bravo, next over. The helicopter shot to put the near-yorker into the stands beyond long-on was sublime – Dhoni watching on from a few metres away. Hardik then crashed Bravo to the extra-cover boundary, before last ball, scything him over backward point for six. From looking like they were headed for a seriously sub-par score, some dauntless death-overs hitting had hoisted Mumbai to a thoroughly competitive one.Kieron Pollard takes a blinder at deep point to send back Suresh Raina•BCCI

Mumbai’s bowling support actsJason Behrendorff and Lasith Malinga also played important roles, the former finishing with 2 for 22 from his four overs, having dismissed Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina with the new ball. Malinga, who took 3 for 34, removing Shane Watson, Kedhar Jadhav and Bravo, is expected to be unavailable for Mumbai’s next two matches, as he returns to Sri Lanka to play in the provincial one-day tournament.Thanks to these two, Super Kings’ chase also began poorly – Rayudu nicking Behrendorrf behind in the first over, before Malinga had Watson caught at point soon after. Raina and Jadhav seemed to be getting the innings on track when they struck 27 off the first 21 balls they faced, but Raina was soon caught brilliantly at the deep-point boundary by Pollard, who stuck out a hand high above his head to intercept what would have been a six. Behrendorff was the bowler. This was a blow from which Super Kings would never really recover.The Jadhav-Dhoni go-slowA scoreline of 33 for 3 after five overs is never promising, but perhaps even that is little excuse for the partnership that followed. Jadhav and Dhoni made only 54 off 55 balls together, allowing the required rate to balloon above 14 by the time they were parted. Dhoni struck no boundaries in his 21-ball 12. Jadhav struck five fours through the course of the partnership, but himself only made 36 off the 35 balls he faced in its duration. Then Hardik dismissed them both in the space of four balls in the 15th over, leaving two new batsmen with a near-impossible requirement.

Though he had calmed down somewhat after the match, Steven Smith was far from impressed when given out caught behind at a vital phase of Australia’s innings

Daniel Brettig21-Jan-2018Australia’s captain Steven Smith has called for an end to the practice of on-field umpires offering a “soft signal” to the third umpire on disputed catches, arguing that technology should be arbiter in such cases as the immediate reactions of players in the middle have often proven to be flawed.Smith was given out caught behind at a critical juncture of the third ODI in Sydney on Sunday, edging low to Jos Buttler who immediately celebrated the catch. The on-field umpires Chris Gaffaney and Simon Fry then referred the catch to the TV umpire Kumar Dharmasena with the soft signal of “out”, and while replays shrouded the catch in far greater doubt, Dharmasena did not deem it to be enough to overrule the initial impression of his colleagues.In assessing the process, Smith said he felt that the umpires’ signal was often dictated by the reactions – either celebratory or ambivalent – of players in the middle, and carried too much weight relative to the evidence provided by television cameras. He said he would prefer a system where the third umpire made a ruling based purely on the pictures in front of him.”I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the ruling with the soft signal. That’s obviously the ruling at the moment and it’s hard to overturn anything,” Smith said. “We’ve seen a few this summer that have been pretty similar and if the fielder goes up and actually celebrates they usually get given out and if you’re a bit apprehensive of what’s happened they normally get given not out.”It’s hard for them to overturn the decision. I’d actually like for the third umpire to have to make the decision whether it’s out or not. Just them having to do it, if that makes sense.”The soft signal was introduced for disputed catches in part because it was felt that two dimensional camera images and foreshortening often added doubt to catches that all on the field had considered clean, meaning too many were ruled not out as a matter of course. Simon Taufel, the former ICC umpires training manager, has explained the reason for its existence by stating that umpires needed to retain the primary responsibility for decision-making.”It’s part of the decision-making process,” he told the in 2016. “If the third umpire cannot find conclusive evidence to prove that the original on-field decision is incorrect, then it stands. On-field umpires are there to make decisions and answer appeals, not simply to send them upstairs to the third umpire to take the call.”Decision making is an important skill and one that should be applied at the highest level of the game. So, the soft signal maintains the premise that the decision-making happens on field and not just left to technology to provide an outcome.”David Warner fell early in Australia’s chase•Associated Press

Buttler, for his part, remained adamant he had caught the ball cleanly when queried about it afterwards. “I was pretty sure it was out,” he said. “I think any wicketkeeper would tell you, you know if you get your fingers underneath it. It always looks a bit either way on TV but for me it was out.”Smith made it clear he was not questioning Buttler’s honesty: “He obviously thought it was out, he’s a pretty honest guy, so he thought it was out and it got given out so I had to walk off.”Other questions had been raised about Smith via footage that showed him rubbing the side of his lips before shining the ball during England’s innings – the use of saliva is permitted under the game’s laws but lip balm is not. “It was all spit,” Smith said. “People said something about lip balm. If you look at my lips, they’re pretty dry, I certainly didn’t have any of that on. It’s just the way I get some spit into the side of my mouth and get some spit onto the ball. So there was nothing in it.”As for Australia’s loss, surrendering the series to England in the minimum three matches, Smith said he needed to improve personally alongside a better collective effort from his men. “Five wins out of last 18 games and that’s just not good enough,” he said. “We’ve got to start finding ways to get over the line. Looking at this game I think the first 44 overs was really good and then Jos played particularly well at the end and Woakesy played well as well.”But I don’t think we executed well. We probably just needed to bowl some good balls at the top of the stumps and try to get them swinging across the line; we bowled too full or too short and got hurt. We probably should have been chasing somewhere around 270 or 280 and then if we do that things might have been a lot different.”I’ve got to play some better cricket. It was about me trying to control the middle with the spinners and keep getting off strike. Tonight I wasn’t good enough at that. I should have been up around a run a ball, it would have made things a bit easier at the back end. Not many balls were hitting the middle of my bat, which was disappointing. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I need to watch the ball a bit closer or something like that. It’s something to look at for Adelaide, hopefully I can do it a lot better and start helping this team win some games of cricket.”Fined 40% of his match fee for being deemed two overs behind the required over rate and now facing a ban for a repeat offence over the next 12 months, Smith said that he and the bowlers needed to be more disciplined in the field – no fewer than 13 wides and a no-ball effectively granted England more than two extra overs.”Yeah it’s not ideal, it’s two extra overs and 14 runs or thereabouts,” Smith said. “They’ve got to be a bit better with that as well. I think we were about 27 minutes over time as well so it’s going to cost me a bit, but I don’t mind that. It’s not ideal to have to bowl two extra overs and give away runs against a quality opposition.”

For the second time in three matches, Mahmudullah defended six runs in the final over to bowl Khulna Titans to a sensational four-run win against Chittagong Vikings

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2016
ScorecardMahmudullah made it a no-contest in the last over•BCB

For the second time in three matches, Mahmudullah defended six runs in the final over to bowl Khulna Titans to a sensational four-run win against Chittagong Vikings at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Chittagong, in pursuit of Khulna’s 127 for 7, began the final over of the chase on 122 for 6, but Mahmudullah took three wickets and conceded just one run to leave Chittagong stranded on 123 for 9. With the win, Khulna rose to second on the table.That one run came off the first ball of the over courtesy Mohammad Nabi. Mahmudullah fired a wide one next ball, and Chaturanga de Silva nicked an attempted cut to the wicketkeeper. Abdur Razzak survived an lbw shout next ball, but fell immediately after when he heaved one to long off. All wasn’t lost for Chittagong, however, as the batsmen had crossed, bringing the set Nabi, on 39 off 21 balls, back on strike. But he failed to connect a cut off the fifth ball to leave them needing five off the final delivery, which he holed out to midwicket. Mahmudullah ended with figures of 3 for 24 in three overs.Before Mahmudullah, Shafiul Islam wrecked Chittagong. After Kevon Cooper sent back the Chittagong openers Tamim Iqbal and Dwayne Smith, Shafiul dismissed Shoaib Malik, Anamul Haque and Zakir Hasan in successive overs. That brought out Nabi, and he kept Chittagong’s fight alive through partnerships of 24 with Jahurul Islam (25) for the sixth wicket and 45 with Chaturanga for the seventh. Cooper was also impressive, finishing with 2 for 17 in his quota of overs.When Khulna batted, they were similarly in the middle of a wobble before being lifted by late contributions. When opener Riki Wessels fell, bowled by Razzak, he had made 28 out of the team’s 42 for 3. That would soon become 77 for 5, before Nicholas Pooran (29) and Ariful Haque (25 not out) shared 48-run stand for the sixth wicket that took them past the 120-mark. Nabi was brilliant with the ball too, taking 3 for 22 in four overs. Taskin Ahmed took 2 for 17 in three overs and Razzak finished with 1 for 23 in four.

An offer for Test teams to continue playing under floodlights, in order to avoid the farcical scenes at the end of Abu Dhabi Test on Saturday, was made by the ICC but rejected across the board by the Test match captains

Andrew McGlashan in Dubai19-Oct-2015An offer for Test teams to continue playing under floodlights, in order to avoid the farcical scenes at the end of Abu Dhabi Test on Saturday, was made by the ICC in the wake of a similar finish at The Oval in 2013 but rejected across the board by the Test match captains, including those of England and Pakistan.England were 25 runs short of victory in the opening Test against Pakistan as they chased 99 in 19 overs, of which only 11 could be bowled before the umpires took the players off despite the floodlights being in use. Two years ago, in the final Ashes Test at The Oval, England were also close to victory when play was aborted despite the presence of lights.Neither England captain Alastair Cook or coach Trevor Bayliss were especially critical of the umpires’ decision, although Cook did question whether there was the element of danger that is required for umpires to suspend play. However, it was a far-from-ideal image for a format that is struggling to retain relevance.David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said: “We have attempted in the past to say to the players that if we have floodlights and they are good enough to use for Test cricket that we should just bite the bullet, and, even if conditions are not as good as they might be, that we should play, finish the day or finish the match. However, that approach wasn’t accepted by any of the teams as they felt it could lead to unjust finishes.”One of the major sticking points remains the red ball used for Test cricket and how it becomes difficult to pick up under floodlights, which is why the current regulations state that once artificial light takes over from natural that play should stop.The inaugural day/night Test between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide next month will feature the use of a pink ball. Reservations remain among the players but they have reluctantly accepted that they will be used as guinea pigs as part of the bigger picture.Richardson was reported in the on Monday saying that there was consideration being given to developing a “greeny yellow” ball in Test cricket that would be suitable for normal and day/night hours of play. During an ICC event in Dubai, he confirmed that an alternative Test ball was being considered but said “too much” had been made of his initial comments.Joe Root walks from the field after bad light had left England 25 runs short in the first Test•Getty Images

“It just came to mind, I was thinking of the tennis ball which they changed to a green-yellow colour. I think too much has been made of the comment [that] we should think of a green-yellow ball. We have trialled pink and orange, and I think green-yellow has also been trialled but has been found wanting.”We are pinning some hope on developing a different coloured ball which we can use for day/night Test cricket and, if it’s good enough quality, long term, that we can use that for all matches which will help solve the problem.”On the broader subject of maintaining the relevance, and primacy, of Test cricket, Richardson said that there remained a chance of a Test Championship being created in the future. However, it would likely be using a league structure based over a period of years and series rather than the semi-final and final concept – based on the current Test rankings – that had been due to be held in 2017. For commercial reasons, that plan was shelved in favour of the rebirth of the Champions Trophy.The revamping of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) – which was taken out of the hands of the ICC during the Big Three carve up – is due to take place, and the context of bilateral series will be high on the agenda.”We are optimistic we can develop something for Test cricket more along the lines of a proper Test Championship, more than just random Test series,” Richardson said. “A Test league, at the end of which you can crown a champion, is something we’d like to consider quite seriously but there’s a long way to go and we need to consult widely.”Currently, the ICC Test mace is presented on a rolling basis to whichever country is top of the rankings on the April 1 cut-off, along with a relatively modest US$500,000 prize.

Kyle Coetzer, the Northamptonshire opener, has been named as Scotland’s new captain

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2013Kyle Coetzer, the Northamptonshire opener, has been named as Scotland’s new captain, after Gordon Drummond stepped down last week. His first match in charge will come on Friday, when Scotland take on Pakistan in the first of two ODIs.Coetzer, 29, has represented Scotland since Under-15s level, captained the side at the Under-19 World Cup in 2004 and was their leading run-scorer at the 2009 World Twenty20. Although he has not been in good form for Northants, with 109 runs in eight innings this season, he recorded his maiden ODI century against Afghanistan in March and averages 49.45 in the format.He will lead the side in all formats, with Preston Mommsen appointed vice-captain. Mommsen will take over captaincy duties during the YB40 and whenever Coetzer is retained by Northamptonshire.”This is a massive year for Scottish cricket, and personally a huge honour to captain my country,” Coetzer said. “I will be trying my very best to help Cricket Scotland continue to move forward in world cricket.”Scotland will host Pakistan in two matches in Edinburgh over the weekend, as part of Pakistan’s preparations for the Champions Trophy, which starts next month. Cricket Scotland will announce their squad on Wednesday.

Local Sri Lankan cricket fans who want to watch the full duration of the Test against England in Galle will be asked to fork out up to a month’s wages after it was confirmed there would be no cheaper tickets available for locals

Andrew McGlashan in Galle 25-Mar-2012Local Sri Lankan cricket fans who want to watch the full duration of the Test against England in Galle will be asked to fork out up to a month’s wages after it was confirmed there would be no cheaper tickets available for locals.Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed it had set the ticket prices at 5000 Sri Lankan rupees ($38) and 7500 Sri Lankan rupees ($57) per day, having seen the demand created by the visiting England fans as a chance to boost their struggling finances. That move has angered England supporters who feel they are being exploited for being loyal followers of their team overseas.However, it also prices many locals out of the game, as paying even for four days would equate to 20,000 Sri Lankan rupees, which is around four week’s pay for a large proportion of the population. Recent Tests in Galle have not been heavily attended by Sri Lankan fans – the game against Australia last year was not sold out despite much lower prices – but rather than trying to encourage more supporters through the gates the board has opted to cash in while it can. Yesterday, a Sri Lanka Cricket official said there would be a 1000 rupee ticket available but that has not materialised.”We need to develop the game of cricket in Sri Lanka so whenever there is an opportunity and a demand for tickets it is our policy to put prices up,” Nishantha Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka secretary, said. “You can see people buying tickets for this price. We will get the best deal. Yes, there is a substantial increase from previous tours and the World Cup but we have seen a lot of Sri Lankans buying tickets at this price.”There is talk of a protest by England fans on the opening day of the Test, suggesting they may decamp to the Dutch Fort which overlooks the ground, although many visiting supporters have arrived with pre-paid tickets bought as part of tour packages.Andrew Strauss did not want to comment on the ticket prices, but wanted as many England supporters in the ground as possible. “I don’t know the Sri Lanka Cricket board’s policy on ticket pricing,” he said. “But clearly we want to have as many fans as possible in the ground and we know the Barmy Army always travels and supports us wherever we go in the world. The more of them that are in the ground supporting us and watching some good quality Test cricket the better it is for not just for us but also the game as a whole.”Sri Lanka Cricket has severe financial problems after running up debts of $32.5 million to finance the building of two international stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and to renovate the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, for the World Cup.Payments owed to players, dating back to the World Cup, were only fully settled less than two weeks ago, after the state-owned Bank of Ceylon released 600 Sri Lankan million rupees ($5 million) after discussions with the sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, confirmed they had been paid up to the end of the CB series in Australia. “We got paid last week,” he said. “It’s something we couldn’t control, but the newly elected board made us a promise and they kept to that. We continued playing cricket and the boys were happy with that.”The players might be happier now, but supporters from both sides are unlikely to be having similar feelings.

Dale Steyn will undergo a fitness test ahead of South Africa’s match against Netherlands in Mohali on Thursday

Firdose Moonda in Mohali02-Mar-2011Dale Steyn was among three South African players to pass fitness Tests ahead of the game against Netherlands on Thursday. JP Duminy and legspinner Imran Tahir were the others.Steyn injured his side after colliding with Graeme Smith during a football match during the team’s warm up in Delhi on Sunday. Duminy had a lower back spasm and Tahir was suffering from a respiratory tract infection which is said to have cleared.With the Mohali pitch likely to offer more for the seamers, there was speculation that South Africa would not go in with three spinners, as they did for the first match against West Indies. Tahir, in particular, was earmarked as the bowler to be rested, especially after falling ill. van Zyl indicated otherwise, saying that Tahir made an effort to adjust his follow through after he was warned for running on the pitch in Delhi. “We worked with him yesterday and we will do a bit more work on it today. It doesn’t seem like it’s a huge thing and it won’t have any great effect on the way he bowls.”Dale Steyn was one of three South African players to undergo fitness tests ahead of the Netherlands fixture•Getty Images

If Tahir plays, it may mean no space for the two left-armers, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell, both of whom missed out on South Africa’s first match. van Zyl said he is not allowing himself to be persuaded into leaving out some of his big-name players, irrespective of the fact that South Africa are playing an Associate team. “If you underestimate your opposition it may become tempting to do that,” he said. “They are an opponent like any other and we are approaching them in exactly the same way.”The respect South Africa are treating the Netherlands with is a reflection of van Zyl’s attitude towards the Associate teams. Even though the ICC plans to shut them out of the World Cup in 2015 and cut the tournament down to 10 teams, van Zyl thinks they add value to the global showpiece. “I think they need to be here. It’s important for world cricket.”Left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar caught the eye of van Zyl who described him as a “very good bowler” and said the attack in general “bowls well wicket to wicket.” However, like many others, he feels their batting is their strength. “They have some really good batsmen. We saw how Ryan ten Doeschate performed against England.”Even though that batting line-up was reduced to 115 against the same West Indian side South Africa put to the sword, van Zyl said a big victory is not on his mind at all, and he wants his men to simply get the job done. “Our goals are not much more than winning the game.”