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“Not sure we’ve seen the end of him but we’ll wait and see, that will be his decision”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2021Justin Langer retains hope that Tim Paine will return to international cricket after terming the former Australia captain “one of the best people in the game” following his whistle-stop visit to Hobart ahead of the Ashes.Langer made the trip south after being released from quarantine last week with Paine’s captaincy having come to end while he was with the group of players and staff returning from the T20 World Cup.Having initially remained available for selection for the Ashes, with all indications he would have been picked had he proved his fitness after neck surgery, Paine then opted to step away from the game to manage his mental health which has led to a debut for Alex Carey.Related

• Paine out of Ashes after taking indefinite break from the game

• Carey determined to keep focus in 'the biggest game I'll play' as Test debut locked in

• Gilchrist sees similarities between his Test ascension and Carey's

It has created the possibility that Paine has played his last Test and while Langer said the immediate priority was his health and family he did not believe it had to be the end.”He absolutely loves cricket,” Langer said. “He’s 37, he’s as fit as any athlete, certainly in our squad and we’ve got some fit athlete’s. He looks after himself so well. Who knows. His No. 1 priority at the moment is his family and that’s how it should be. Not sure we’ve seen the end of him but we’ll wait and see, that will be his decision.Justin Langer visited Tim Paine last week•Getty Images

“He’s one of my really close friends and someone I admire enormously. Certainly in this generation of players he’s one of the best people I’ve met in the game. He’s been our captain for a long time, me and him have been through a journey like we have with all this group, so it was nice to see him.”Langer confirmed that he first knew of the text messages in mid-2018 as the squad was heading to England for a limited-overs tour and added he had not heard about them again until shortly before Paine stepped down.Paine has not put a timeframe on his break and Australia have named a squad for the first two Ashes Tests. It had been considered likely that this series would mark the end of his Test career.Langer, who came into the role after the ball-tampering scandal, also lamented the situation Paine had been left in”We live in a world of perfectionism, don’t we? We’re a very judgemental society,” he said. “As I said at my very first press conference when I was asked about Steve Smith and David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, there’s not one person asking questions or watching this who hasn’t made a mistake in their life.”There’s not a single person. And our captain, one of the best, made a mistake and is paying a heavy price for it.”

“It was about using it as an opportunity to be a bit more disciplined as a batting group”

George Dobell06-Jun-2021Joe Root has defended England’s approach on the final day of the first LV= Insurance Test against New Zealand. England were set 273 off 75 overs on the final day but, by the time hands were shaken on a draw with five scheduled overs remaining, they were still more than 100 runs from their target.Dom Sibley, who finished unbeaten on 60 from 207 balls, reached his half-century in 161 balls. That is the equal-seventh slowest half-century by an England opener this century. But while there was some frustration from those watching in the ground or on TV, Root, the England captain, suggested there wasn’t a “realistic opportunity” of victory on a demanding surface providing uneven bounce and against an excellent seam bowling attack.Instead, he was content to his see his young side – the top seven in this match, without the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, was the youngest England has ever fielded in a home Test – spend some time at the crease after a modest first-innings effort.”Having played on that wicket for a few days, we knew it wasn’t going to be as straightforward as it looked,” Root said. “If you look at the run rate throughout the game, it was hard to score above three an over even when the pitch was at its absolute best.”We wanted to lay ourselves a foundation but, once we got through the initial phase, it just didn’t feel like there was a realistic opportunity for us to win the game. So it was about using it as an opportunity to be a bit more disciplined as a batting group. At times in the first innings we showed a little bit of ill discipline. This was a chance to put that right and take a bit of confidence going into the rest of the series.”The last two times we’ve played in New Zealand we’ve been hammered in the first game and pretty much out the series. But going to Edgbaston, this series is very much alive. We’ve got a chance to win it and we can take confidence from some very good individual performances in this game.”Related

• A Lord's celebration marred by England's lack of will to win

• Rory Burns earned this recall, and needed this innings

• England hold out for draw with Dom Sibley's unbeaten fifty

• Ollie Robinson suspended from all international cricket

Root expressed particular satisfaction in the performance of Sibley, who came into this match having not made a double-figure score in his six most recent Test innings.”He showed great resilience and character out there,” Root said. “He really did trust his defence and show that he has the mental capacity for Test cricket. Sometimes you learn a lot about players in those situations.”On a surface like that, where the ball was going up and down, when guys respond in that manner, it tells you a lot about them. I’m really pleased for him and it will give him a lot of confidence.”But Root did admit that the side’s young middle-order batters were going to have to “learn very quickly” after a first-innings performance which saw five of them contribute just 24-runs between them.”I think there were a number of dismissals that weren’t good enough for Test cricket in the first innings,” he said. “We are better than that as a side. They’re going to have to learn very quickly in this environment. But you know they have the right attitude and the right temperament. When they have made mistakes in the past, they have responded well.”Today was an opportunity to show that we can be a little bit more resilient and harder to get out. The guys fronted up and I think they did it very well.”

The New South Wales left hander will play his first first-class match since October

Andrew McGlashan13-Feb-2020A year ago Kurtis Patterson had completed the high point of his career – a maiden Test century – and looked a more-than-even chance of being part of the Ashes. However, things did not turn out that way and this week in Sydney he will play just his second first-class match of an injury-disrupted season which has seen him slip back into the pack of batsmen-in-waiting.His Ashes hopes dwindled during a lean Australia A tour of England before the squad was picked and hopes of forcing his way back into the set-up at the beginning of this season were dashed by a quad injury, initially suffered in training before its recurrence during the Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania. The 26-year old has since admitted he was too keen to push his comeback.Patterson only returned to first-team action in mid-January – for his new BBL side Perth Scorchers – and will now finally have the chance to pull on the whites against Victoria at the SCG.”I accepted the reality of the situation,” he said. “I just had to concentrate on putting all my energy into getting my quad right. It’s never nice to miss big chunks of cricket, especially when it feels like you are batting well, so just really stoked to be back playing.”It will take a lot for Patterson to get back in the Test fold any time soon. Australia swept all five home Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand with just two matches in Bangladesh between now and the start of the 2020-21 home summer. There is, perhaps, one middle-order position to play for with Matthew Wade having not nailed down his spot but Patterson is unlikely to figure in the thinking for Bangladesh even if he knows he remains in the selectors’ thoughts having been included in a strong Australia A side to face England Lions in Melbourne next week.”It’s a white-ball winter with the T20 World Cup on [next October] with the amount of white-ball cricket the boys are playing in South Africa and England,” he said. “To be honest, I’m just happy to be back playing. I’ve worked on that skill of putting the Australian stuff out of my mind, there’s only two Tests and they are in Bangladesh ,so who knows how much this back half of the season with a seaming, swinging Duke ball will count for that? It will just be nice to win some games for New South Wales and hopefully another Shield.”A return to Australia A colours excites Patterson as the selectors continue the recent trend of picking strong sides in what have become Test trials of late. Patterson benefitted from one last season when his twin hundreds against the Sri Lankans in Hobart hastened his Test debut when he had not been in the original squad.”Lot of credit is due to CA, the feeling among the playing group is certainly that it’s a genuine second XI Australian team which wasn’t really the case for a few years,” he said. “The guys understand they are close, there’s a bit of added pressure on those games, it’s not just a hit around for the young players of potential. It’s always nice to play an English team and potentially leave some scars.”Beyond the latter part of this domestic season, Patterson’s plans remain undecided. He has previously spoken about being keen for a county contract but he may put his focus into fitness and the fact he is due to get married.”Still trying to work that out, I’m getting married on May 16 so, in terms of cricket, that throws a bit of a spanner in the works and obviously with the quad I need to dedicate some time to that in the off season to make sure I get that right going into next summer.”

The players also received one demerit point each for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2018Pakistan’s Hasan Ali and Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan and Rashid Khan have all been fined 15% of their match fees for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct in separate incidents during their Super Four clash in the Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi on Friday. One demerit point was subsequently added to their disciplinary records. It took Afghan’s demerit-points count to two, having already received one in February 2017, within a period of two years.Hasan and Asghar were found to have violated Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”, while Rashid breached Article 2.1.7, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an international match.”Hasan was penalised for threatening to throw the ball towards Hashmatullah Shahidi, after the batsman had driven it back to the bowler, in the 33rd over of Afghanistan’s innings.Afghan was pulled up for brushing shoulders with Hasan, the bowler, while completing a single four overs later.The incident involving Rashid came in the 47th over of Pakistan’s tense 258 chase, when the legspinner gave Asif Ali a send-off, holding his index finger up and staring into the eyes of the batsman.After the game, all the three players admitted to the offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura has been suspended for two ODIs for maintaining a slow over-rate during the first ODI against Pakistan in Lahore

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2015Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura has been suspended for two ODIs for maintaining a slow over-rate during the first one-dayer against Pakistan in Lahore. He will now miss Zimbabwe’s final two ODIs against Pakistan in Lahore.Zimbabwe were ruled to be three overs short when time allowances were taken into consideration. ICC remote match referee Roshan Mahanama handed Chigumbura two suspension points while each of his players received a 40 percent fine (10 percent for each of the first two overs and 20 per cent for the third over), according to the ICC Code of Conduct.If the actual over-rate is more than two overs short in an ODI or a T20 international, such an offence is considered a serious over-rate offence under the Code. If Chigumbura is found guilty of a second serious over-rate offence in an ODI over the next 12 months, he will receive a sanction of between two and eight suspension points.Chigumbura pleaded guilty to the charge and there was no formal hearing.

Pace bowler Mark Footitt and opening batsman Billy Godleman guided Derbyshire to a seven-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Press Association29-Apr-2015
ScorecardMark Footitt took six second-innings wickets•PA Photos

Pace bowler Mark Footitt and opening batsman Billy Godleman guided Derbyshire to a seven-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Bristol.Footitt took three of the last four Gloucestershire wickets to fall on the final day to finish with 6 for 94 and a match haul of 9 for 166. Hamish Marshall, with 79, and James Fuller, who made 51, put on 94 for the seventh Gloucestershire wicket, but both were dismissed by Footitt as the hosts were bowled out for 411.Set 142 to win in a minimum of 53 overs, Godelman made 51 as Derbyshire secured their first four-day victory of the summer and handed Gloucestershire their first defeat.Gloucestershire began the day on 253 for 6 and a draw did not look out of the question as Marshall and Fuller took advantage of good batting conditions.

Floodlights approved

Gloucestershire have been granted planning permission to install floodlights at Bristol after the city council approved plans on review.
Floodlights were essential for Bristol to stage World Cup matches in 2019, of which they have been allocated three games, and further international cricket.
“This decision finally allows us to realise our ambitions to bring international cricket to Bristol,” Will Brown, Gloucestershire chief executive said.
“We would like to thank everyone who has helped us develop these plans, particularly our neighbours whom we have continued to work with since February.
“We will continue to work with them and officers to ensure the Floodlight Management Plan is in place before we start using the lights.
“We will now work towards installing the lights ahead of the start of the 2016 season.”

Fuller dominated the stand with nine fours in his 76-ball half-century, most of which were driven through the covers. He was eventually undone by a perfect inswinger from Footitt, which clipped the top of middle and off stumps.Marshall’s four hours of resistance ended two overs later when he fell victim to Martin Guptill’s third brilliant catch of the innings, as the New Zealander snaffled a square drive from Marshall high above his head at backward point.Craig Miles and Liam Norwell added 45 for the ninth wicket before the innings was wrapped up shortly after lunch. Norwell edged a drive to wickeketkeeper Harvey Hosein to give Footitt his sixth wicket, before Matt Taylor fell to another backward point catch by Guptill, this time off Shiv Thakor. Miles was left unbeaten on 31, having struck five fours.Godleman and Ben Slater ensured Derbyshire’s victory chase would be a straightforward one with an opening stand of 81, in which Godleman played much more freely than his fellow left-hander. Slater fell for 25 when he carved a delivery from Norwell to Will Tavare at point. From the next ball, Godelman edged Taylor to Chris Dent at second slip, having struck seven fours in his 62-ball innings.Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen joined first-innings double centurion Guptill in the middle and pair upped the tempo with a stand of 52 in six overs. Guptill, who hit 11 sixes in the first innings, struck three more in his unbeaten 31, all of which came in an over from Fuller.Madsen cracked five fours in his 20 before Fuller had him caught at second slip by Dent with nine runs required. But the win was duly completed by Wes Durston.”It was a tough final day and, to be fair, I thought they played really well today and yesterday,” Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen said. “We had to toil hard and we were a bit disappointing in the first hour. But we came back strongly just before lunch and picked up a couple of wickets, which were crucial. Footie bowled with exceptional pace to get those wickets and then I thought we were quite clinical in the way we went about knocking the runs off.”Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson said: “The last two days we showed character, the first two days we didn’t. We needed to get more runs in the first innings. We got into a position where we should have got 300-plus and then we’ve dropped catches again when Derbyshire batted, which didn’t help us, and we didn’t put the ball in the right areas for a long enough time. Those are the bare facts. I can’t fault the last two days, but we need to improve in first innings cricket.”

Justin Langer has been confirmed as Western Australia’s new coach, leaving his role as an assistant with the national team to try to improve the state side’s fortunes

Daniel Brettig14-Nov-2012Justin Langer has been confirmed as Western Australia’s new coach, leaving his role as an assistant with the national team to try to improve the state side’s fortunes after almost a decade without a domestic trophy and widely known cultural problems.The announcement, which also has Langer taking up the job as coach of the Perth Scorchers in the BBL, arrived the day after Australia drew the first Test with South Africa in Brisbane. Langer will be in place as coach of the Warriors in time for Saturday’s domestic limited overs match against South Australia in Perth.He has been contracted until the end of the 2015-16 season, offering Langer the chance to work with and improve the the team’s results over a lengthy term.Noted for his heavy emphasis on team-work and the mental side of the game, Langer has the job ahead of him to build a WA side in his own determined and dedicated image, following a dire start to the season that included widely publicised disciplinary problems at the T20 Champions League in South Africa and three outright losses to start the Sheffield Shield.”I am really thrilled to be taking up the position as Warriors and Scorchers Head Coach and feel that the energy for my work will be doubled now that I am back home around my family, my cricket friends and my personal friends,” Langer said.”I have two main objectives. The first is to bring cricket back to life in Western Australia, and the second is to help these boys become men on and off the cricket field.”I was very fortunate to serve an apprenticeship with the Australian team and I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started on this new challenge at what promises to be an exciting time in WA cricket.”Dennis Lillee, the WACA president, said Langer’s fortunes would be dictated as much by the ability of the players and support staff to work hard with him as it would be the coach’s responsibility alone.”Some issues relating to the underlying culture within the Warriors and Scorchers have been identified recently and Justin’s appointment is the first step we are taking to bring back a strong culture to the WACA,” Lillee said.”We must go forward and no one needs to be reminded of Justin’s outstanding credentials. He is a steely, dedicated man of cricket with a no-nonsense approach and is exactly what we need to turn this talented Western Australian side into a committed team using all of its natural talent.”However it can’t just be the coach that turns things around. We need players to put up their hands to be positive and tough leaders within this group going forward.”Having retired from a decorated international career at the conclusion of the 2006-07 Ashes series in Australia, Langer returned to the national set-up as batting coach in November 2009. Since then he has applied for various coaching jobs, including WA’s, and was also a candidate for the senior Australian coaching job when Mickey Arthur replaced Tim Nielsen in 2011.In replacing Langer, Cricket Australia will employ the Centre of Excellence coach Stuart Law as a batting assistant this summer, and may then look further afield for a longer term replacement. Pat Howard, the team performance manager, described Law’s tenure as a “try before you buy” scenario for the national team.”Stuart was there all week, we obviously knew this a little bit prior [to the announcement], and so he’s had a full week of training with the Test team all last week,” Howard said.”Stuart’s a really solid individual and has made a real impact. The fact he’s got experience not only in Australia but on the subcontinent and England to help deal with players of the future, and he’s got an impact now to work over the next couple of weeks with the players of now.

South Africa, dominant since the start of the second day, secured an innings and 12-run victory at The Oval

The Report by Andrew McGlashan23-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDale Steyn celebrates his fifth wicket as South Africa closed in on victory•Getty Images

South Africa, dominant since the start of the second day, secured an innings and 12-run victory at The Oval as they broke the back of some stubborn England resistance either side of the new ball on the final afternoon. Ian Bell and Matt Prior had given the home side hope, but Imran Tahir broke the stand and Dale Steyn then steamed in to finish with 5 for 56.The result was nothing less than South Africa deserved for a performance that confirmed what a formidable team they are and they achieved it on a ground where they had not won in 13 previous attempts. Indifferent on the first day, they barely put a foot wrong from the moment they rattled England on Friday morning. Showing the benefit of a finely balanced attack including pace, swing, seam, accuracy and spin, they did not fret when resistance was being put up.It was England’s first home defeat since losing to Pakistan, on the same ground, in 2010 and their first innings loss since facing South Africa, at Johannesburg, earlier that same year. For South Africa, it continues their run of taking the series lead each time in England since readmission although it is the first time they have won the opening Test since 1994.As in England’s first innings, when Kevin Pietersen was dismissed, it was wicket moments before the second new ball that undid much of the good work. Prior, having shown impressive judgement, swept Tahir who was bowling around the wicket into the rough and a top edge went to Jacques Kallis at slip. The sweep, which caused England so many problems in the UAE and in Galle, was back to haunt them.Bell, having reached his slowest Test fifty and resisted for 220 deliveries, then played his worst shot for some time when he guided the ball straight to Kallis at second slip as though giving morning catching practice. As in Cape Town in 2010 it was another defiant display from Bell but the weakness of the shot that ended his stay was symptomatic of why England came off second best. You cannot let down your guard for a moment against this South Africa team.A tail, even with England’s pedigree, against a new ball is gift-wrapped for a pumped-up Steyn and it did not take him long. Stuart Broad was given out through the DRS to a glove down the leg side and Graeme Swann drove to cover. Tim Bresnan and James Anderson resisted for 10 overs, delayed tea, and threatened to make South Africa bat again, but Tahir ended the match with a grubber to trap Anderson lbw.Although England had hope shortly after lunch, the major damage had been done the previous evening with the loss of four top-order wickets. Bell and Ravi Bopara resumed with the deficit still 150 and the odds stacked against them.Initially Bopara suggested solidity with a tight defence and a couple of confident shots into the leg side, although he came within a millimetre of losing his off stump when he left a delivery from Steyn which shaped back. Then, in Steyn’s next, his eyes lit up at the offer of some width but instead of the ball finding the cover boundary it took a bottom edge into middle stump. The days between this Test and Headingley will be filled with further debate over his Test place.After the early spells from the quicks, Tahir, who created plenty of problems on the fourth evening especially for Andrew Strauss, was introduced and should have removed Bell for 20 in his first over but AB de Villiers could not take a regulation outside edge. It was de Villiers’ first mistake of the match and ultimately would not prove costly.For the second time in the match, Prior and Bell were nearly involved in a run out when Prior played a ball square to cover and Bell was a little slow responding for the run, but de Villiers could not quite gather JP Duminy’s throw. When Bell elegantly drove the last ball of the session down the ground there was just a thought that a Cardiff-style escape was within England’s grasp. South Africa soon dashed that notion.

Glamorgan’s County Championship Division Two clash with Yorkshire at Colwyn Bay was abandoned as a draw on Saturday with no play possible on any of the final three days.

09-Jun-2012
ScorecardGlamorgan’s County Championship Division Two clash with Yorkshire at Colwyn Bay was abandoned as a draw on Saturday with no play possible on any of the final three days.Umpires Mark Benson and Paul Baldwin called the game off at 9.15am with no prospect of play because of persistent rain which had left pools of water on the outfield. Yorkshire take four points from the contest to three for Glamorgan, who remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.There has been so much rain that Sunday’s Clydesdale Bank 40 game between Glamorgan and Durham at the ground must be in doubt unless there is a dramatic change in the weather.

Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of England’s five-match ODI tour of India, which gets underway next month

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2011Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of England’s five-match ODI tour of India, which gets underway next month, after it was confirmed by the ECB that he is to undergo surgery to correct a long-standing shoulder problem.Morgan’s absence will be a big blow to England on the slow and spin-friendly tracks of India, where his unique ability to create and work gaps in the field would have been invaluable. He was withdrawn from the squad for the home series against India ahead of the second ODI at the Rose Bowl earlier this week, after feeling “acute” pain during the Twenty20 international at Old Trafford.”After seeing a specialist today it has been confirmed that Eoin will require surgery to his right shoulder with the likelihood of repairing a chronic SLAP lesion,” said the ECB chief medical officer, Nick Peirce. “We have managed the injury to date with a conservative program but Eoin has now reached the stage where surgery is most appropriate progression of his treatment.”Following the operation Eoin will undertake a rehabilitation programme ruling him out of all cricket for approximately 12 weeks. The recovery period is anticipated to see him return to full fitness ahead of England’s tour of the UAE commencing in January.”Morgan initially developed discomfort in his shoulder during the Ashes tour in the winter, but until the pain flared up during the Twenty20, it had not been a significant hindrance to his batting. The bigger problem areas had been diving and throwing from the outfield.”It’s obviously a massive loss,” said England’s captain, Alastair Cook. “He’s an outstanding player. It’s gutting news for Eoin that he has to have this operation and miss a substantial amount of cricket and an important tour. But as always, it gives someone else an opportunity.”Eoin’s been a hallmark of our batting, a fantastic middle-order finisher,” added Cook. “But someone else now gets the opportunity to do that, and if we can develop more people in that role it can only strengthen our team. We want to keep improving as a team, and need a good squad to do that.”Earlier this year Morgan suffered a finger injury during the one-day series in Australia but continued to play on after suffering the blow. By the time he was sent home two days before the end of the tour, the damage was serious enough to stop him heading to the World Cup. However, he did eventually join the tournament after Kevin Pietersen suffered his hernia.Late last month Morgan made his international captaincy debut when he led England against Ireland in Dublin and has also begun to settle himself in the middle-order of the Test side.