Simon Kerrigan, the left-arm spinner who played one Test for England during the 2013 Ashes, has been let go by Lancashire

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2018

Simon Kerrigan, the left-arm spinner who played one Test for England during the 2013 Ashes, has been released by Lancashire. Kerrigan made the decision earlier this year to put his playing career on hold and help out with coaching at the club.He did not play at all during the 2018 season and has now been allowed to leave Lancashire at the end of his contract, along with two other homegrown players, batsman Karl Brown and allrounder Arron Lilley.It marks a sad decline for Kerrigan, 29, who played a key role in Lancashire’s 2011 title win – his 9 for 51 sealed a last-gasp victory over Hampshire at Aigburth – and was then handed a Test cap two years later. His appearance at The Oval was wrecked by nerves, however, as his eight wicketless overs went for 53 runs, Shane Watson mercilessly cashing in.Kerrigan’s career seemingly never fully recovered. Having taken 58 wickets at 21.98 in 2013, his returns fell away steadily, and he spent the end of the 2017 season on loan at Northamptonshire. In April this year, he decided to take a break from playing.”My form hasn’t been at the level that it needs to be for a while now and after discussions with head coach Glen Chapple and the cricket management team at the club, we have all agreed that I will remain part of the playing squad and assist with coaching across all areas of Lancashire cricket for the time being,” Kerrigan said at the time.Brown was also a member of the 2011 title-winning team – Lancashire’s first outright for 77 years – contributing 997 runs at 35.60, but he was never able to match those returns in first-class cricket. He did continue to feature regularly as a white-ball batsman, and alongside Lilley helped Lancashire to lift the T20 Blast trophy in 2015.Lilley made his debut in 2013 and featured regularly in the T20 side – 70 of his 96 appearances were in the shortest format. This season, he played in all 15 of Lancashire’s Vitality Blast matches, helping them to Finals Day, but only bowled 13 overs, taking one wicket at 105.00.Lancashire’s director of cricket, Paul Allott, said: “Karl, Simon and Arron have given their absolute all for the club over the years, having come through the age-group and Academy system. The club would like to thank them for their contributions both on and off the field, and we wish them all the best for their futures in whatever paths they take.”

Arron Lilley has joined Leicestershire on a two-year-contract. Lilley, an offspinning allrounder, was released by Lancashire at the end of the season and joins seamers Chris Wright, from Warwickshire, and Will Davis, from Derbyshire, in signing for Leicestershire.Lilley developed through the Lancashire system and has a decent record in all forms of the game. Due to Lancashire’s strength in spin bowling, however, he struggled for opportunities – he has played only one first-class and one List A match in the previous two seasons – and saw most of his appearances come in T20 cricket, where he has batted in the top-order and sometimes opened the bowling.He was a member of the Lancashire side that won the T20 Blast in 2015 and will join left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson, who also developed through the Lancashire Academy, at Leicestershire.The club hopes the signing of Lilley will go some way to filling the chasm left by the departure of Ben Raine, who has returned to Durham. Zak Chappell has also left, signing for Nottinghamshire, while Ned Eckersley, Richard Jones, Tom Wells, Mark Pettini and Rob Sayer were released at the end of the season. The club have also been in a long-running dispute with Michael Carberry, who has not played since he was deposed as captain in May. It seems most unlikely he will return.Leicestershire also confirmed last week that Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas, who had an outstanding 2018 season, will be returning next year.”Arron will add great value to our side,” Leicestershire’s head coach, Paul Nixon, said. “He is a three-dimensional cricketer who will be valuable in all formats. Lancashire are renowned for producing high-class spinners, and he wants to compete for a place in all three competitions.”Arron also has a very good white-ball record and will add to our plans nicely. Arron is a hard-hitting batsman, fine off-spinner and tremendous fielder, and we’re delighted to have him on board for the 2019 season.”Lilley said: “I am delighted to be joining up with Paul Nixon and the squad. I am keen to develop my game in all three formats and am confident that Grace Road is the best place for me to do that. I can’t wait to get started.”

The former India batsman said at the Dilip Sardesai memorial lecture that the only way to preserve Test cricket was to serve it to viewers at their convenience

Ankur Dhawan in Mumbai01-Oct-2018Test cricket needs saving and the players can be its saviours by embracing day-night Tests, Sanjay Manjrekar said at the Dilip Sardesai memorial lecture. Manjrekar felt that cricket’s “cocky” attitude towards fans and archaic traditions in dissension with the changing times were impeding the format’s popularity. He expressed a need for the five-day game to be offered to fans “as per their convenience”, as they were no longer inclined to flock to cricket grounds during work hours.”The world is ever-changing and with it the taste of people. Don’t be fooled by the crowds at Test matches in England, that’s an aberration. I travel the world and see countries struggle to pull crowds to Test cricket,” Manjrekar said at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai on Monday.”It’s not that there’s zero interest in Test cricket, just that people can’t come to the stadium or watch on TV. That’s because we are cocky. We have kept the timings such that they are working hours. Gone are the days when people would bunk office and fill up every seat at the Eden Gardens. It’s time to be humble and offer Test cricket to fans as per their convenience.”The only way to increase viewership, popularity and thereby its quality is day-night Test matches. Why aren’t we playing more day-night Tests? It’s a no-brainer. It would draw more viewership.”The game’s biggest crowd puller, India, declined to play a day-night Test proposed by Cricket Australia as part of the four-Test series later this year. They were entitled to do so under ICC’s current regulations for bilateral series, which state that hosting a day-night Test requires the consent of the visiting team. However, they are likely to be stripped off that choice once the Test Championship starts, as member boards have recommended it should only be the prerogative of the host nation.It is understood that senior Indian cricketers were wary of being thrown into a pink-ball contest without having trialled it convincingly at home. While the pink ball has been tried in the Duleep Trophy – with mixed reactions from the players – most of India’s Test regulars did not participate. Manjrekar felt that it was paramount that administrators prioritised the greater good of the game as the players, subsumed by the desire to win, are prone to a myopic attitude during their playing days.”The players are wary of it – the pink ball, the dew factor, etc. But I’ve always believed that conditions are never unfair if they are the same for both sides. What is happening is that we want to give perfect conditions for players to play, even if it means nobody is watching. There was a time when the relationship between players and boards, especially in India, was uneasy. They were always at loggerheads. But we must be careful that we don’t go to the other extreme and make players happy, come what may. Not at the cost of the game. Take the bull by the horns. Do what’s best for the game, for its long-term health. And make the players join, even if they are reluctant. They will thank us later. As a player I, too, had a narrower vision of the game than I do now.”

Mason Greenwood's loan club Getafe have been hit with a three-game partial stadium ban by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

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• Getafe hit with punishment by RFEF
• Spanish side given partial stadium ban
• Fans abused Sevilla coach and player

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Madrid club were hit with a €27,000 fine and will have to close off part of their central stand for the next three games in La Liga as part of a punishment from Spanish football's governing body, it was announced on Wednesday.

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• THE EXPLANATION

  The partial closure is punishment for the racial and xenophobic abuse that was aimed at Sevilla coach Quique Sanchez Flores and Marcos Acuna in last week's La Liga game. The match was stopped by referee Iglesias Villanueva in the second half as part of the league's protocol for dealing with racism after racial insults were aimed at the defender and the coach.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Spanish football has toughened its stance on racism following many high-profile incidents. Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has been a vocal critic of the lack of action taken to fight the issue in Spain after he was the target of abuse on many occasions.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Sevilla boss Sanchez Florez was appalled after being insulted during the game. He said afterwards: "I don't want people to use the word gypsy as a racist insult. Some of the crowd think they can come to a game and say whatever they like. We're workers who need to be respected in the work space. I think it's abhorrent."

The left-arm quick didn’t open the bowling for the first time since September 2014, and Australia’s captain said the move had nothing to do with fitness concerns

Daniel Brettig04-Nov-2018Australia’s captain Aaron Finch has revealed he abandoned the new-ball skills of Mitchell Starc as an attempt to find a way out of their recent ODI losing streak – now 17 defeats in 19 matches following a six-wicket trouncing by South Africa in Perth.Defending an inadequate total of 152, there was widespread surprise when Australia opened up with Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Coulter-Nile rather than Starc, the first time since September 2014 that he had not been called upon to use the new ball in an ODI.South Africa certainly couldn’t believe their luck, collaring 16 from Coulter-Nile’s opening over before Starc was swiftly called in for the fourth over of the innings. Finch said the decision had been to do with seeking a fresh tactical edge rather than any fitness concerns for Starc, who entered the series with Billy Stanlake as injury cover after complaining of hamstring tightness during the UAE tour.”We’d planned to go in with Coults and Josh with the new ball,” Finch said. “It didn’t work out for Coults in the first over today, then we went to Starcy pretty quick. It’s just a tactical thing to be honest. Sixteen out of 18 losses in a row, 17 out of 19 now, we’re looking for something to try, to try some new things, something different.”If you keep doing the same thing over and over it’s the definition of insanity, isn’t it? We’re looking for a combination, looking for a method. Obviously, a few more runs would be handy as well.”When you’re defending a low total it feels like you have to over-attack. It’s almost like the quicks can’t settle in to their work. They’re always searching for something.”The choice of Coulter-Nile and Hazlewood over Starc reflrcted an Australian set-up that is straining every sinew to find new and better ways of performing, perhaps even to the point of overthought. Reacting to the result, Finch intoned his belief that the wheel would turn. In his position it is impossible to publicly conclude anything else.”It will turn,” Finch said. “The way that we’re training, believe me, the way that we’re training and preparing the wheel will turn and it will happen quickly. It might not be tomorrow, it might not be the next day. But I think if we keep improving and keep practicing as we are it will turn.”You’d say guys at times are probably doubting themselves. When guys are not performing as well as they can do and have done in the past there’s always going to be a little bit out of doubt. When South Africa bowled as well as they did today you have to be at your absolute best to get through that.”We can’t question the way anyone’s been training or preparing. It’s been spot on. It’s just one of those things. You’re only one good shot away from feeling on top of the world again.”

Manchester United supporters have been left fuming after seeing their Premier League clash with Brentford scheduled for 8pm on Easter Saturday.

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Man Utd host Brentford on Saturday nightFans annoyed by kick-off time Train problems due to Easter shutdown WHAT HAPPENED?

Manchester United have seen their Premier League clash with Brentford on Saturday moved to a late kick-off. The two teams will meet at the Gtech Community Stadium at 8pm local time on Easter Saturday. This is the fourth time this season that Manchester United fans have seen their team play away from home at 8pm on Saturday, more than any other team in the English top flight.

AdvertisementGettyTHE EXPLANATION

The problem for visiting supporters is that train services between London and Manchester are facing disruption over the Easter weekend. The last train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly on Saturday leaves two minutes before United's 8pm kick-off. Engineering work means there will be no services between the two cities on Easter Sunday. All of this means that Manchester-based fans who want to watch the game face having to spend the weekend in London, unless they fancy a 410-mile round trip by car.

WHAT MAN UTD FANS HAVE SAID

A spokesperson for the Manchester United Supporters' Trust told : "For the fourth time this season, United are away from home at 8pm on a Saturday which just goes to show the blatant disregard the TV companies and football authorities have for match-going fans. During Covid they said that football without fans is nothing – it’s time for the football authorities to show they meant it."

Chas Banks, secretary of the Manchester United Disabled Supporters’ Association, also hit out at the scheduling and called for change. He said: “I don’t travel to away games anymore. After years watching United home and away, it all became too much as the years passed – I’m in my 70s now and a disabled wheelchair user – and the football authorities clearly didn’t give a flying one about the problems it causes to fans when they schedule kick-offs at crazy times.

“They sit safe in the knowledge that whatever bonkers changes they made to the fixture list, the United away supporters would find a way to get there somehow. The scheduled kick-off changes seem even crazier if, like me, it takes three hours to get from your bed to actually leaving the house to begin your journey. As time has passed it really did start to feel like they were doing their absolute damnedest to stop me and other disabled United fans from watching my club playing away from home.”

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Getty WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD

United fans will head to London fresh from a thrilling 4-3 win over rivals Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last time out. Manager Erik ten Hag said afterwards he hoped the victory could be a "turning point" for his team after what's been a difficult campaign for the Red Devils.

Sarfraz and Imad scored fifties in the chase, but the rising asking rate was too much to overcome for Pakistan

The Report by Danyal Rasool07-Nov-2018
It’s a complete dozen, now, and really, there was no need to wonder if it might have been any different. New Zealand’s 12th successive win against Pakistan was sealed comfortably, despite the visitors playing largely ordinary cricket for much of the contest. Kane Williamson’s men started poorly, fell away towards the end of the innings, and dropped in intensity in the last half of the second innings. And yet, but for a few fleeting overs when Sarfraz Ahmed and Imad Wasim put together a damage-control partnership, the result today was never in doubt.It was a 130-run partnership between Ross Taylor and Tom Latham in the first innings that set New Zealand on their way to 266, the kind of score that Pakistan have struggled to run down in the UAE. And then a scintillating hat-trick in the third over of the chase from Trent Boult – fresh from paternity leave – ripped chunks out of Pakistan’s top order and effectively killed the game off. The wounds he inflicted on Pakistan were ultimately destined to prove fatal, and condemned Pakistan to a slow, painful death over the 47 overs that followed. Pakistan limped on towards 219 before New Zealand put the official seal of approval on a win that had been several hours in the making.Taylor and Latham – whose record in Asia stacks up with the best – had turned the tables on Pakistan with their century partnership. But all that changed when Shadab took three wickets in an over, and was desperately unlucky to miss out on a hat-trick of his own. Imad followed by removing Taylor for 80, and from being set up for a big finish, the visitors suddenly found their tail-enders trying to bat out the overs. Only a partial recovery, thanks to big-hitting by Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee, got New Zealand over 260, but they still ended up slightly short of what they were set for half an hour earlier.That they didn’t have to pay for it was thanks to the heroics of Boult. After the out-of-form Fakhar Zaman played on, Babar Azam edged behind trying to reach for a wide yorker. Reduced to 8 for 2, Mohamad Hafeez walked out to find Boult – who had arrived in the UAE just three days prior – on a hat-trick.That’s when he chose to produce the best delivery of the lot, an inswinger that crashed into Hafeez’s pads. He burnt a review, trying to deny the left-armer the hat-trick to no avail, and Pakistan had lost their top order cheaply in face of a daunting chase.From there onwards, there were a number of workmanlike efforts by a number of batsmen who tried to revive Pakistan, but they were simply too far off the pace. Shoaib Malik and Imam-ul-Haq put on 63 before falling within an over of each other, and when Shadab Khan was erroneously given out (he missed the ball by almost a foot) caught behind, it brought Imad and Sarfraz Ahmed together for one last hurrah.To their credit, they did about as much as they could have, given the circumstances, but the scale of the task they had been left was simply insurmountable. Not even a 103-run partnership, achieved in relatively quick time, was enough to put Pakistan in the ascendancy, and as soon as Sarfraz dragged de Grandhomme on, the contest looked all but over.Batting first after winning the toss, the early wickets of the openers immediately consigned New Zealand to grinding out the middle overs, and Kane Williamson did that for a while with Taylor. The spinners were being negotiated well enough, and with Imad not as menacing as he had been in the T20Is, they found a regular outlet to keep the score ticking along. But then Shadab bowled a most un-Shadab delivery, a long-hop, only to see Williamson play an equally uncharacteristic shot to give short midwicket an easy catch. It was awful cricket all round, but the hosts came out of it chuffed with themselves.Taylor struggled to get going initially, and his frustration manifested itself in controversial fashion after he seemed to question if Mohammad Hafeez was bending his arm beyond the legal limit after his first over. It unleashed outrage from Sarfraz, who complained to the umpire and engaged with Taylor several times. The batsman wasn’t willing to let go as Sarfraz persisted with Hafeez, who chose not to get involved, and for a while there was real edge to the way the game progressed.With Taylor and Latham in control and a slew of big hitters to come, Shadab found turn and trapped Latham and Henry Nicholls in front of successive deliveries, with Pakistan’s kryptonite Colin de Grandhomme edging to first slip two balls later. Imad then bowled Taylor in the next over to deprive New Zealand of recognised batsmen in the last seven overs, and Pakistan swarmed all over the visitors.Pakistan should have polished them off soon after, but Ish Sodhi – who had before today averaged 2.16 in ODIs – bailed his side out with an unlikely cameo. Three glorious sixes off arguably Pakistan’s best death bowler Hasan Ali by the pair gave New Zealand 23 off his last two as they undid some of the damage caused by Shadab. Sodhi scored 24 (until today he had a total of 13 ODI runs), and even Trent Boult smashed Junaid Khan for six off the last ball to haul New Zealand to 266. It required 50 runs off the last five overs by the tail against a fearsome bowling line-up.It was more than enough to do for Pakistan, who were hoping to show what transpired in the Asia Cup was a one-off. Instead, Pakistan will be desperate to ensure it doesn’t come across as if the real one-off was the Champions Trophy 17 months ago.

ESPNcricinfo’s live blog of the first round of the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 season

Shashank Kishore02-Nov-2018

Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, has been ruled out of the England Lions tour of the UAE after routine scans found a stress fracture in his back.Parkinson enjoyed a stellar season in all formats last summer, claiming 59 wickets all told, including 18 in the Royal London Cup, the most by any bowler, and a further 25 in the Vitality Blast.On the strength of those performances, he was earlier this month named as one of Melbourne Star’s signings for the 2018-19 Big Bash, an opportunity that could now be in jeopardy depending on the seriousness of his injury.”It’s a real shame for Matt that he’s forced to miss the tour,” said Andy Flower, the England Lions head coach. “He had a fine summer for Lancashire and his selection was just reward for the ability that he’s shown.”He’s been shut down from bowling and he’ll see a spinal specialist this week as we try to determine the full extent of his injury.”Parkinson will be replaced in the England Lions squad by Sussex slow left-armer Danny Briggs.It is the second time in as many winters that a young England legspinner has been diagnosed with a stress fracture, after Hampshire’s Mason Crane was ruled out of the tour of New Zealand, having made his Test debut at Sydney during the Ashes.Crane made a comeback to county cricket in the summer but was ruled out for the rest of the season after helping Hampshire win the Royal London Cup final against Kent in June.

In an exclusive interview with ESPNcricinfo, the newly elected PCB chairman spoke about the need to revive bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-20184:32

‘The people want India-Pakistan cricket, and you can’t go against their will’

Ehsan Mani, the newly elected PCB chairman, has termed India’s stance on playing Pakistan “hypocrisy”. In a climate of political tension between the two countries, India have not played a bilateral match against Pakistan in any format since January 2013, but have met them 10 times since then in multilateral events.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Mani said it was the “will of the people” that cricketing ties between India and Pakistan resume, and added that sporting contact would improve relations between the two countries.”The main thing is that we play cricket against each other. When we play cricket, especially in our countries – when we go to India or when they come here – helps in increasing people-to-people contact. Indian fans come to Pakistan. Lakhs of fans have come to Pakistan from India and everyone goes back happy.”There’s no better way to improve the relations between countries than having sporting contacts, cultural contacts. For me, that is far more important than any amount of money that comes into the game.”Indian public obviously love to see India and Pakistan playing, and so does the Pakistan public. Rest of the work is of the politicians and frankly, once India is in the lead-up to its elections next year, so I don’t think there will be any softening in their attitude. But in the long term, the people want it and you can’t go against the will of the people forever.”There is a lot of hypocrisy at the moment. India plays an ICC event against us but doesn’t play a bilateral series. That is something that we need to address.”India-Pakistan matches, Mani said, had the “highest value financially in the world”, but he maintained that the PCB’s desire for the resumption of ties was about more than money. When asked if Pakistan cricket could survive without bilaterals against India, he had a one-word answer: “forever.””Money isn’t the issue, it’s more about the game,” he said. “There are more viewers for an India-Pakistan match than any other match in the world. So, if the Indian government decides to deprive its own citizens of watching an India-Pakistan match then that is their choice.”Mani’s predecessor as PCB chairman, Najam Sethi, was instrumental in moving the ICC to set up a dispute panel to resolve the impasse over India-Pakistan bilateral cricket. The PCB and the BCCI are currently awaiting the panel’s verdict.Asked if he would have chosen the dispute-panel route, Mani said he would have preferred dialogue with the BCCI and the Indian government, and recalled his role, during his tenure as ICC president, in convincing the Indian government to green-light the first full India tour of Pakistan in 15 years.”I would have preferred for there to be board-to-board discussions and board-to-government decisions,” Mani said. “I was ICC [president] in 2003 and India and Pakistan were not playing each other then.”I went and met the Indian government and I took with me the people that were leading the Indian cricket board at that time – Mr. [Jagmohan] Dalmiya, Mr. [IS] Bindra, Mr. Rajsingh [Dungarpur] – and we went to the different ministries concerned with India-Pakistan cricket relations, and they spoke more in favour of resuming cricket between India and Pakistan than I did as a Pakistani.”I had to be slightly neutral since I was with the ICC. But I didn’t have to say anything – they were the ones saying we want to play against Pakistan. There is always some political interference in India but the Indian government has said, ‘Look, at the end of the day, it is the BCCI’s decision to play or not play against Pakistan, but they have to come and present a case to us,’ and I took them on face value.”It took us about a year but they came in 2004 because I kept going back with people on the Indian cricket board and I was going as the ICC President and not as someone representing Pakistan.”For all that, Mani said he wouldn’t keep trying to persuade India to play Pakistan beyond a point.”I don’t intend to ask India to play us at all,” he said. “If they want to play they tell us, if they don’t want to play that’s fine. But we are not going to go after them, we are not going to beg them. It’s good for the game if India-Pakistan play each other but it will be on equal terms.”