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The South Africa allrounder remains tied to the game having signed on as a coaching consultant for Namibia

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2019Albie Morkel, the South Africa and Titans allrounder, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday, ending a professional career that has spanned nearly 20 years.Morkel played one Test, 58 ODIs and 50 T20Is for his country, scoring 1412 runs and picking up 77 wickets across formats. He was an especially effective force in short-form cricket, both at home and abroad. He was an IPL champion with Chennai Super Kings – his 91 wickets making him the third-highest wicket-taker for the franchise – and he captained the Titans to a hat-trick of T20 titles from 2015-16 to 2017-18. So effective was he with his big-hitting abilities and canny medium-pace that he was brought into the South Africa squad for the World T20 in 2014 after he publicly admitted that his international career was over.The next step of his career takes Morkel to Namibia, with whom he has signed a contract to work as a coaching consultant starting January 2019.
“Time has run out for me on the cricket field, and I would like to announce my retirement from the game.” Morkel said in a Titans press release. “The last 20 years of my life took me on an incredible journey, with so many awesome memories that I will cherish forever.”Titans’ chief executive officer Dr Jacques Faul said plans for a farewell match were being put in place. “He deserves a send-off, and also a chance for the Titans fans to say a fond farewell. It wasn’t just for Titans that he was a massive player, because he also served the Proteas with distinction.”Morkel, who began his domestic career in the 1999-2000 season and graduated to international cricket in 2004, represented eight teams – CSK, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rising Pune Supergiant, Derbyshire, Durham, Somerset and St Lucia Zouks – outside of South Africa and the Titans.”I would like to thank Jacques Faul and everyone involved at the Titans for giving me the opportunity to live my dream,” he said. “The squad is in a healthy state and I’m looking forward to seeing the progress that the younger players will make. I will forever be a big Titans fan.”” I want to say a big thanks to Cricket South Africa, because it was a huge honour to represent my country. Thank you to my family, friends, supporters and sponsors who were there for me through thick and thin, and most importantly my wife who played an unbelievable supporting role, allowing me to do what I love.”Professional sport can be a ruthless space to operate in, and it’s impossible to do it without a solid support system. Thank you so much.”
Morkel has committed himself to a Titans tour later this year before “enjoying the game from the other side of the rope”. His brother Morne had retired from international cricket last year, although he is still active as a Kolpak player for Surrey in the English county circuit.

Spinners Shreyas Gopal and K Gowtham wrapped up Karnataka’s second win of the season while Rinku Singh’s 136-ball 122 not out ended in vain for Uttar Pradesh

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2017Railways secured their second outright win of the season, routing Assam for 55 in their second innings and handing them an innings-and-184-run loss in Guwahati.Resuming on 41 for 7, Assam added only 14 runs to their score before being dismissed in 32.3 overs. Seamer Anureet Singh, who sparked the collapse, ended with 5 for 28 – his 15th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Deepak Bansal and Amit Mishra complemented him with two wickets each. Wicketkeeper Kunal Saikia was the only Assam player to reach double figures in their second innings.Legspinner Shreyas Gopal bagged a match haul of nine wickets, including four in the second innings, to wrap up Karnataka‘s second outright win in two matches, against Hyderabad in Shimoga.Chasing 380, Hyderabad were bowled out for 320 with B Sandeep top scoring with 80. The overnight pair of opener Tanmay Agarwal and captain Ambati Rayudu had extended their stand to 53, before Agarwal was pinned lbw by offspinner K Gowtham. Allrounder Stuart Binny then claimed the key wicket of Rayudu for 31 to pin down the visitors to 117 for 4. Sandeep and Ashish Reddy then propped up the chase with fifties each before the spinners cleaned up the lower order. Gowtham took three wickets, and stretched his match haul to six. Hyderabad were ultimately dismissed in 109.4 overs.Karun Nair, who had struck 134 off 229 balls, was named Man of the Match in his first match of the Ranji Trophy season.Offspinner Chirag Khurana’s second six-wicket haul of the match trumped Rinku Singh’s 136-ball 122 not out – his maiden first-class hundred – and secured Maharashtra‘s 31-run win over Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow.Resuming on 256 for 4, Maharashtra added 26 runs to their overnight score before declaring on 282 for 7, setting Uttar Pradesh a target of 324.The hosts lost Almas Shaukat and Himanshu Asnora early, and when captain Suresh Raina was dismissed for 5 by Khurana, Uttar Pradesh were 105 for 4. Akshdeep Nath and Rinku then put on 112 for the fifth wicket in 21.2 overs. The stand ended when Nath was dismissed for 79 off 123 balls. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar contributed 23 but his wicket triggered a collapse: Uttar Pradesh lost their last five wickets for 38 runs to be bowled out for 292.

West Indies captain Jason Holder felt the gulf between the region’s first-class structure and the international level stood exposed, as they lost the third Test by 237 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2016Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, felt the gulf between the region’s first-class structure and the international level stood exposed, as they lost by 237 runs in Gros Islet to concede the four-Test series to India with one match still to play.”It is going to be difficult. Test match cricket is very different from our first-class cricket at this point of time. I have had the privilege to play first-class cricket and I’ve also had the privilege to play Test cricket and I can see a vast disparity between the two,” he said. “It is a situation where many of us coming to international cricket and are trying to learn on our job. It is definitely not easy, but it is something that we are faced with and I hope the guys can learn quickly.”Hope that our guys’ bodies are accustomed to the workloads of international cricket because it is far different from first-class cricket. For instance you get a first-class game where a fast bowler hardly bowls the amount of overs we have bowled in this series. For the last five to 10 years we have had spinners dominating first-class cricket in terms of wickets taken. So it is a transition that we have to try to open up and adjust to as quickly as possible. It is by no means easy and sometimes we don’t make it easy for ourselves.”West Indies, who had to bat out a minimum of 87 overs to save the Test, were bowled out for 108 in just 47.3 overs, with just one batsman – Darren Bravo – crossing 20. They had fared only marginally better in the first innings, being bowled out for 225 after being handily placed at 202 for 3 at one stage.”We haven’t been able to put up reasonable first-innings totals which have hampered us in the recent past. If you don’t put up a good first-innings total, then you are chasing the game,” Holder said. “We need to knuckle down. As batsmen, we need to be accountable for our actions. At the top, predominantly, we haven’t been consistent; not getting starts we’ve been looking for.”Asked to elaborate on the batting struggle, Holder said it was simply a case of being too overcautious at times, apart from failing to learn from their mistakes in the first innings. “I think the difference from here to Jamaica is that we also spent time but we didn’t score,” he said. “I think most of the batsmen have spent some time initially but they haven’t tick over the scoreboard as well as we would like. I can’t speak for every batsman and it is a situation where each batsman needs to cope, how we are going to score and how we are going to occupy the crease. So sitting here is difficult to answer but all I can say is that the responsibility is on the batsmen at the present time.”Holder emphasised the need to string together patches of domination before looking at bigger goals, something the team did sporadically in Jamaica, and then on the first two days in St Lucia before things slipped away from them.”At the beginning of the series, I made very clear that we need to show signs of improvement. We have had a really tough tour in Australia in terms of our bowling and I have seen significant improvements in terms of our bowling,” Holder said. “We have been inconsistent with the bat for quite a while now. You have to make steps forward and you just can’t leap. As a baby you need to crawl before you can walk.”Definitely winning is a priority but we need to put ourselves in position to win games but the only way we can do that is by taking 20 wickets and at least putting up a very good first innings total in terms of securing the draw and then push for win. But we haven’t been able to put ourselves in those situations, to be quite frank. I think, moving forward, we need to be more consistent in terms of getting those first-innings total, 350-plus, obviously taking 10 wickets up front and coming back and taking the other 10. I think that’s the direction in which we need to move towards.”

Legspinner Amit Mishra has been recalled to India’s Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in August

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-20154:49

Agarkar: Mishra’s selection shows lack of young spinners

Legspinner Amit Mishra has been recalled to India’s Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in August. Mishra, 32, last played a Test in 2011 and he took legspinner Karn Sharma’s place in the team that had travelled to Bangladesh in June. It was the only change to India’s 15-man squad.Mishra has not played a Test since the 2011 tour of England, where he played two matches and took three wickets at an average of 106.66. In the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season, Mishra played six matches for Haryana and took 10 wickets at an average of 20.40.”Amit Mishra has always been part of our thinking,” India’s chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said in Delhi. “If you remember, even last year he was in the reserves [for the West Indies series]. The final authority of picking the XI is the role of the captain and the team management. Why A was not played and why B was picked it is not what we get into. Looking at the conditions, we have picked him for this SL tour.”Karn and fast bowler Mohammed Shami were not considered because of fitness problems. Karn had been ruled out of India’s tour of Zimbabwe in July with a fractured finger, and Shami is presently recovering from knee surgery.Opener KL Rahul had missed the Test in Bangladesh because of dengue fever and his replacement Shikhar Dhawan made a hundred in that game, leaving India with three openers – M Vijay being the third – to choose from in Sri Lanka.The selectors have not picked a reserve wicketkeeper in the squad as back up for Wriddhiman Saha. “We have a standby wicketkeeper we have nominated,” Patil said. “Secretary and selectors, we are aware who is the wicketkeeper nominated if there is injury on the SL tour.”Does he have the technique or not, time will tell,” Patil said of Saha batting at No. 6. “We have backed him looking at his performance in domestic cricket. The kind of experience he carries. You immediately cannot replace someone like Dhoni and come in and deliver the results. But we certainly feel that Wriddhiman is the right option and looking at his ability in batting as well, he should strike a good balance.”BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur also said Virat Kohli would turn out for India A in the second unofficial Test against Australia in Chennai from July 29-31.”Virat Kohli had requested the selection committee for some match practice and wanted to play a game against Australia A,” Thakur said. “He will be playing the second four day game against Australia A.” Patil, however, confirmed that Cheteshwar Pujara would lead India A in the game.Squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Varun Aaron, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Rohit Sharma, M Vijay, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul

West Indies women squared their five-match ODI series against South Africa 2-2, winning the final game by 22 runs in Roseau

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2013
Scorecard
West Indies women squared their five-match ODI series against South Africa 2-2, winning the final game by 22 runs in Roseau. Stafanie Taylor led the way for the hosts with 76 at the top of the order and putting together a 117-run stand for the second wicket with Shemaine Campbelle, which gave West Indies the foundation for a big score. However, they slipped from 129 for 1 to 177 for 8, Dane van Niekirk troubling them with some leg-spin that fetched her three wickets.The target, though, proved too much for South Africa in the end. West Indies made steady inroads into the batting in a collective bowling effort. South Africa had hope when top-scorer Marizanne Kapp and Cri-Zelda Brits forged a 31-run stand for the third wicket, taking the score to 98 for 3. But after Kapp fell, the rest of the batting crumbled. Brits was the last woman out, for 35, as South Africa were bowled out for 155. Three West Indies bowlers – Shaquana Quintyne, Campbelle and Shakera Selman – picked up two wickets each. West Indies were beaten in the first two games; they won the third and the fifth, while the fourth was abandoned due to rain.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between India and West Indies in Mumbai

The Preview by Sidharth Monga21-Nov-2011

Match facts

Tuesday, November 22
Start time 0930 (0400 GMT)Can Darren Sammy’s side avoid losing 3-0?•AFP

Big Picture

Not counting two-Test flings, India have whitewashed only two series. It’s a surprising statistic given how progressively difficult India have become to defeat at home. Only South Africa have beaten India in a Test at home in more than five years, yet a whitewash has hardly ever been a thought in recent times. A mix of flat tracks and slow starts has denied India absolute domination even while being kings of their castle.In this series against West Indies, though, India overcame the slow start in Delhi and the flat track in Kolkata. They now stand on the cusp of that elusive whitewash, just like they did in 2002-03 against the same opponents, the last time India went into the last Test with the possibility of a clean sweep. India fell behind in that Eden Gardens Test back then, and Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman forced a draw on the final day. They won’t want to leave the job unfinished this time.When West Indies went to Pakistan in 1997-98, they had been whitewashed only once, that too in their first series, back in 1928. In less than 14 years since that Pakistan tour, they have added six to that tally. Times have been desperate, but West Indies have gone six years without getting whitewashed. They will need their best cricket to avoid another.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
India WWLLL
West Indies LLWDD

Watch out for…

Darren Bravo has obvious talent to match the Brian Lara mannerisms. It was well advertised that his century in Kolkata, Bravo’s 12th Test, left him with an identical run aggregate and average as Lara had after 12 Tests. In his 13th, Lara scored 167 off 210 balls to set up an innings win.As a partnership, India’s openers have provided solid enough starts this series, but neither Virender Sehwag nor Gautam Gambhir has scored a century this year. They have both fought injuries: Sehwag has played five of India’s 10 Tests this year, Gambhir six. They can both do with innings that make them feel good ahead of the tour of Australia.

Pitch and conditions

Wankhede usually provides fair tracks that make for exciting cricket. The red soil provides good bounce, liked by fast bowlers, spinners and shot-makers. The outfield is quick too. The Mumbai “winter” is kicking in, which merely means slightly nippy mornings and nights, and mid-30 temperatures during the day. Rain, clouds and bad light are not likely to affect the Test. This is the ground’s first Test since renovation for the 2011 World Cup.

Team news

India have dropped Yuvraj Singh, and barring any injuries Virat Kohli should be back for his fourth Test, all against West Indies. Feeling “sluggish”, MS Dhoni chose to give the pre-match training a miss, but the team management was confident he would play. Also, do India want to have a look at Varun Aaron before they go to Australia?

India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ishant Sharma/Varun Aaron, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh YadavWest Indies have had an injury scare, but expect Shivnarine Chanderpaul to play despite a strained calf muscle. He did not practise on the eve of the match, though. Ravi Rampaul will have recovered from his stomach bug, and could replace Kemar Roach. The batting has been a worry, but there isn’t much West Indies can do other than shuffle the order and separate the inexperienced top three.West Indies (probable) 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Kirk Edwards, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Marlon Samuels, 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Carlton Baugh (wk), 9 Ravi Rampaul/Kemar Roach, 10 Fidel Edwards, 11 Devendra Bishoo

Stats and trivia

• Rahul Dravid needs 21 runs to become the second man to reach 13,000 Test runs. With five centuries this year, he has matched his best year, 2002.
• Sehwag needs 117 to become the 23rd batsman to reach 8000 runs. If Sehwag gets there in his next innings, he will be fourth-fastest to the mark. If he takes between two and five innings, he will be the fifth-fastest. Two more sixes, and he will become the second-highest six-hitter, behind only Adam Gilchrist. He is currently level with Chris Cairns on 87 sixes.
• Chanderpaul holds many records, but in Kolkata he reached one that will hurt him on more than one count. He is now part of 64 Test losses, more than anybody. He broke former team-mate Lara’s record. Chanderpaul is not likely to get rid of this dubious distinction anytime soon: the next current player on the list is Tendulkar, who has been part of 50 defeats.

Quotes

“We would like to definitely win the series 3-0, that’s our target. We would like to concentrate on the process and, if we end up winning the match, it will be great for us.”
.”We are monitoring the situation to see if he could make it tomorrow. Given the experienced player that he is we will take a call tomorrow.”
.

Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir arrived in Dubai on Friday to appeal against their provisional suspensions for alleged involvement in spot-fixing

Osman Samiuddin29-Oct-2010Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir arrived in Dubai on Friday to appeal against their provisional suspensions for alleged involvement in spot-fixing. The pair left Lahore accompanied by their lawyers and will now appear at a hearing over Saturday and Sunday with Michael Beloff, the chairman of the ICC’s code of conduct commission.Butt and Amir, along with Mohammad Asif, were suspended by the ICC on September 2, after being charged with various offences under Article 2 of the ICC’s anti-corruption code; Asif has since withdrawn his appeal. The suspensions came after the claimed to have exposed a scam in which deliberate, planned no-balls would be bowled by Amir and Asif during the Lord’s Test against England, with the involvement of Butt, who was then captain.The ICC had initially wanted the PCB to take action against their own players, but were compelled to step in eventually after Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, indicated that the trio was available for selection for the ODI series that followed. Eventually, the players “voluntarily” withdrew from that series and the ICC handed out notices and suspended them the same day.The hearings will only concern themselves with the matter of the provisional suspensions and whether or not the ICC followed the correct procedures in taking that action. The matter of the players’ innocence or guilt and the actual charges against them will not be heard. Thus, even if the suspensions are lifted and the players allowed to return to cricket, a full hearing into the case will still take place later to determine their innocence or guilt in the matter. This is thought to be one of the reasons why Asif withdrew his appeal; unlike Amir and Butt, even if his suspension is lifted, he would not have been able to play for Pakistan immediately because he is barred – for a drug-related offence – from entering the UAE, where Pakistan’s current series against South Africa is taking place.The hearing is expected to be a detailed one where the players and their lawyers will be allowed the opportunity to build their cases. The ICC lawyers will be the only other people inside the hearing and though there is expected to be evidence from the ACSU placed in front of Beloff, he is expected to only listen to the arguments of the players and not argue or discuss their innocence or guilt.The players cannot appeal against the decision of these hearings. The next step, irrespective of the outcome here, will be the full hearing before the independent tribunal. The date of that is not yet decided and may well depend on the outcome of the ongoing police investigation over the matter in the UK, where the case against the players is with the Crown Prosecution Service.Of the three, Butt has been increasingly vocal over the last few weeks, making a number of public statements expressing confidence that his suspension will be lifted and that he will eventually be cleared. Before leaving early on Friday morning, similar sentiments were expressed once again. “Either you are guilty or you are not, and I think I am not guilty and I am sure about it,” he told reporters at the airport.He will be represented in Dubai by his lawyer Aftab Gul, a former Test cricketer, and Khalid Ranjha, a former law minister. Both share the confidence of their client. “We are going for justice in their court,” Gul said. “We can’t pre-empt what decision they give, it’s their discretion, but our case is very good. There is no strong evidence against Salman Butt on the basis of which we can say that he should remain suspended.”Amir, who has not made a statement throughout this time, said on departure that he hoped he could return to the side. He will be represented by Shahid Karim, the lawyer who defended Asif in a doping case in October 2006.Though two full days have been set aside for the hearings it is not certain that it will take that much time to reach a judgment. The two days were scheduled keeping in mind that there were three players initially appealing. “It will be eight hours hearing daily, but I don’t think it’s a 16 hours case,” Gul said.A swift return for Butt and Amir could be on the cards should a favourable decision be reached. Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s chief selector, told that he would seek a no-objection certificate from the PCB immediately should they be cleared to play by the ICC.

ICC president David Morgan feels the possibility is very real and close to fruition.

Cricinfo staff16-Dec-2009ICC president David Morgan has given a clear endorsement of day-night Tests, saying he would be “surprised and disappointed” if it didn’t happen in the next two years. He did not, however, commit on the other current Test-related issue, that of a championship in the format.Morgan, who earlier this year had hinted that Test cricket may be reduced to four days, feels the possibility of the five-day game being played under lights is close to fruition.”I’d be surprised if we don’t see day-night Test cricket within the next two years, surprised and disappointed,” Morgan said at a meeting of the Indian Journalists’ Association at The Oval.”If you look at a country like Australia with big stadia and very hot conditions, Australia is made for day-night Test cricket,” he said. “Eighteen months ago, I wouldn’t have been overly enthusiastic, thinking of the tradition and the records. But the way Test match cricket has changed over 130-odd years, I see [day-night Tests] as a very good reason for bringing the crowds out.”Day/night cricket is less important in England and Wales because the grounds, which are relatively small sell-out. It’s more important in countries with large stadia and hot conditions.”The ICC is also looking into creating a World Test Championship, though Morgan shied away from the term and stressed the need for Tests to have context.”In terms of each Test match having a context beyond bilateral series, real progress could be made soon,” he said, adding there might be a “climax” although he didn’t say how this would be achieved.”We want to ensure Test match cricket is as popular around world as it is in this country [England]. The ECB have little trouble in selling out the first four days of a Test.”Attendances for Test cricket in England is healthy as opposed to other countries where it has been on the wane for some years, and the ICC has been in talks about ways to protect and enrich the game’s oldest format in the face of lucrative Twenty20 leagues like the IPL.Other radical changes, such as a two-tier format, had been mooted for the next Future Tours Programme. “At ICC, we regard Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game. It’s the form of the game cricketers seek to play,” he added. “It is interesting Test cricket has endured and I am sure it is going to continue to thrive. The ICC has recognised that in some countries Test-match cricket is not that popular in terms of people paying at the gate. It needs to be a competitive event and it needs pitches that provide a good balance between bat and ball.”Morgan’s comments came a day after it was announced that the first-class game in the West Indies will include radical innovations such as day-night matches and the use of pink balls to boost spectator interest.