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Pakistan is excited to have the international cricket back in the country, after Bangladesh confirmed they would tour for a short limited-overs series at the end of this month

Umar Farooq15-Apr-2012Pakistan is ‘ready’ for the return of international cricket to the country, after Bangladesh confirmed they would tour for a short limited-overs series at the end of this month. Bangladesh will be the first Full Member of the ICC to tour Pakistan since March 2009.The teams will play two matches, an ODI and a T20, both at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The ODI is scheduled for April 29 and the T20 for April 30″We are ready to host them,” Intikhab Alam, PCB’s director for international operations told ESPNcricinfo. “We have world-class stadiums that are always ready to host cricket all year long. Everything is in place so there is no difficulty for us to host them at short notice.”There’s been no international cricket in Pakistan since March 2009, after terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka team bus and a van carrying ICC officials to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on what would have been the third day of the second Test of that tour. Some members of the Sri Lanka contingent and reserve umpire Ahsan Raza sustained injuries, and six security personnel and two civilians were killed.Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi said the security situation in the country had improved over the last three years.”It’s a major breakthrough and I am excited to see Bangladesh touring Pakistan,” Afridi told ESPNcricinfo. “It is a much-needed development. Not only will it revive international cricket here, the people in the country will also be entertained.”Obviously the incident in Lahore (terror attack) was unfortunate but Pakistan has learnt its lessons. I understand the security concerns are up on their minds but things have improved and everything will go well. I have always believed that cricket is a game which keeps a relationship cordial between two countries. All countries should support Pakistan in a time of difficulty.”The PCB, under the chairman Zaka Ashraf, has been keen to revive international cricket in Pakistan, using all its resources and engaging the government to provide full-fledged security to visiting teams. Pakistan have been playing their “home series” in off-shore venues like UAE, New Zealand and England. There’s also a plan to “host” Australia in Sri Lanka later this year.Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner, who turned down a county offer to remain home with his family, welcomed the fact that the team will not have to travel outside the country to play this series.”Playing our home series in Pakistan is always helpful,” Ajmal said. “Though we have been playing in similar conditions in UAE, there are so many factors involved that give you the advantage. The news about Bangladesh touring Pakistan is good for players and the country.”Pakistan’s politicians also supported the development. The foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, said: “PCB’s efforts have finally borne fruit and Bangladesh team’s visit will help bring international cricket back to Pakistan and will motivate more teams to come to our country.”The interior minister, Rehman Malik, said the best security would be in place. “We will leave no stone unturned and put in place the best possible security for the Bangladesh team as per our promise and make this tour an exemplary one so that other teams also tour us.”Rashid Latif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, stressed the need for the “best arrangements”. “We must not leave any loopholes in security because we cannot afford a minor mistake or any lapse in arrangements.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between England and Pakistan, in Dubai

The Preview by David Hopps16-Jan-2012Match factsMisbah-ul-Haq and Andrew Strauss have both spoken about letting the cricket provide the headlines in this series•AFPTuesday, January 17-21, Dubai
Start time 1000 (0600 GMT)Big PictureHistory will hang heavily over this series. Three Pakistan players are serving custodial sentences after being found guilty on match-rigging charges during the 2010 series in England. However much England suggest that the affair is now largely a media obsession and Pakistan provide indications of more stable and contented times, such matters cannot be easily waved aside.That Pakistan recover their strength and reputation is vital for the health of world cricket and England have been reminded of their responsibilities to contest the series in a natural manner and to rise above any resentment, which does exist, over what has gone before without losing the competitive and aggressive edge that has contributed to their rise to the No. 1 Test side in the world.Pakistan are careful not to speak of “home advantage” because Dubai, however much the conditions might be similar to those in Lahore or Karachi, is simply not home. But sub-consciously England feel themselves in an away series, not a neutral one. Their policy of six specialist batsmen, three pace bowlers and a solitary spinner automatically comes under strain on placid surfaces and the loss of Tim Bresnan, the most capable batsmen in their lower order, does not make a change of tack easy.Test series between Pakistan and England have often been wonderfully combative affairs. As long as the pitches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi encourage attractive cricket, it is an appealing prospect.Form guidePakistan: WWDWD
England: WWWWW
Players to watch Saeed Ajmal has enlivened the build-up to the Test by announcing, Shane Warne-style, that he is about to unleash a formidable new delivery. The doosra – “the other one” – is about to be supported by the teesra – “the third one”.
Whatever the impact of that proves to be, Ajmal will test England’s improvement against spin bowling to the utmost. For England, Stuart Broad will be desperate to escape the run of injuries that have disrupted his progress over the past year. A bruised foot suffered when batting in the nets is unlikely to hinder him, but it gives a further impression of vulnerability that he could do without.Team news Any temptation that England felt to abandon their policy of six batsmen disappeared the moment that Tim Bresnan, the sturdiest batsman among the bowling attack, left the tour through injury. To include Monty Panesar as a second spinner would therefore entail perming three fast bowlers from six. In the first Test at least, they are likely to exclude Panesar and stick to a proven formula.
England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Chris Tremlett
Pakistan (probable) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnam Akmal (wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Wahab Riaz
Pitch and conditions England are bracing themselves for a demanding bowling experience on a benign surface, in conditions that do not offer the fast bowlers much help. The two Tests played at the DICS so far don’t entirely support that view with only one total so far in excess of 400.Stats and trivia England are sure to remain top of the ICC Test Championship if they do not lose to Pakistan by more than a one-Test margin in the three-Test series. England have three bowlers – Graeme Swann, James Anderson and Stuart Broad – in the top four of the Test rankings. In their last home series against Pakistan, England dismissed the opposition for less than 100 on three occasions. Pakistan have won nine, lost 11 and drawn seven of their 27 Tests since their loss of home Tests because of security concerns. Only seven of those Tests have been at a neutral venue.Quotes “It’s all a bit smoke and mirrors isn’t it. Just remember, you don’t play the bowler and what he says, you play the ball that comes out of his hand.”
“It’s good to see every player backing the other. The days of infighting and rifts seem to be over.”
“We play our cricket very, very hard. There’s no way Jimmy Anderson, who is a grumpy bowler, is not going to be grumpy. The guys will still be aggressive, that’s what has got us to No 1.”

Northamptonshire have concluded their search for a left-arm spinner by bringing in Con de Lange, a 31-year-old South African who qualifies as a UK resident from his time living in Scotland

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2012Northamptonshire have concluded their search for a left-arm spinner by bringing in Con de Lange, a 31-year-old South African who qualifies as a UK resident from his time living in Scotland. de Lange’s signing has been made possible due to the assistance of “external benefactors”, chief executive David Smith said.Northants have been without a left-arm slow bowler for the last two years and recently stated that they were looking to fill that gap before the start of the season. de Lange, who has played all of his cricket in South Africa, has 175 first-class wickets to his name and is a capable lower-order batsman.”I’m very excited to be joining the Northants squad, having noticed how well the team has played over recent seasons,” de Lange said. “I want to be part of a successful squad and help the club gain promotion to Division One of the County Championship. I’m a fighter and I’m determined to always give my best for the team.”The arrival of de Lange will provide competition for offspinner James Middlebrook as the county looks to go one better on last season’s third-place finish in Division Two.David Capel, Northamptonshire’s head coach, said: “We have considered many candidates throughout the past 12 months and I am pleased that we a signed a player of Con’s quality, who will further strengthen the spin bowling department. I’m sure he will prove to be a great addition to the team.”Smith added: “The club has been very fortunate to have had some external benefactors in Northamptonshire assisting us in making this signing possible. At 31 years of age, Con will bring valuable experience to our squad and help us to be competitive in all forms of the game.”

Offspinner James Middlebrook recorded his best figures for Northamptonshire asthey dominated the first day of their County Championship match againstGlamorgan at Swansea

27-Jul-2011
ScorecardOffspinner James Middlebrook recorded his best figures for Northamptonshire asthey dominated the first day of their County Championship match againstGlamorgan at Swansea.The Division Two leaders bowled Glamorgan out for 252 in their first innings,with Middlebrook recording figures of 4 for 63 in 17 overs. Only StewartWalters, with 81 not out, offered any real resistance for the Welsh county. In reply, Northamptonshire openers Stephen Peters (28) and Mal Loye (35) tooktheir side to 67 for nought at the close.After winning the toss Glamorgan seemed to make a solid start on a slow StHelen’s pitch against the left-arm opening attack of Chaminda Vaas and DavidLucas.Vaas, who got some swing with the new ball in the warm conditions, had threelbw appeals against Gareth Rees turned down by Steve Gale. But the fourthdecision was upheld as Glamorgan found themselves 40 for one and that became 44for three as Will Bragg and Alviro Petersen were out in consecutive overs.First, Bragg played a loose shot, edging to Rob White at third slip to giveLucas a wicket with his first ball from the sea end, before captain Andrew Halltrapped Petersen with one that kept low. Petersen had looked untroubled untilthat moment, having struck seven fours in his 33.Glamorgan were able to launch a pre-lunch recovery helped by Walters, preferredin the side to Ben Wright, dispatching Lucas for a six and a four in the sameover. After reaching 93 for three at lunch Glamorgan proceeded to lose seven wicketsin the afternoon session.The regular fall of wickets started with slow left-armer Paul Best, on loanfrom Warwickshire, bowling Michael Powell, before Jim Allenby clipped a ballstraight to mid-wicket – the first of Middlebrook’s four wickets.Mark Wallace went leg before playing round his pad, James Harris was bowledbehind his legs and Graham Wagg was stumped giving Middlebrook his impressivereturn. Vaas returned to remove Robert Croft and Dean Cosker, leaving Waltersstranded on 81 after nearly three hours in the middle. He faced 132 balls andhit seven fours and two sixes.In reply Peters and Loye both played sensibly and also prevented James Harris,the England Lions seamer, from taking his 200th first-class victim. Just before the close Loye survived a confident leg before appeal by Cosker.

Junaid Khan starred as Lancashire continued their climb up the North Division with a thumping 10-wicket Friends Life t20 win over Derbyshire at Old Trafford

03-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Junaid Khan starred as Lancashire continued their climb up the North Division with a thumping 10-wicket Friends Life t20 win over Derbyshire at Old Trafford.The Pakistan left-arm seamer bowled with pace as he picked up three wickets for the first time in his fledgling career to restrict the visitors to just 81 for eight after captain Luke Sutton had elected to bat first. Lancashire opener Stephen Moore then made a mockery of the visiting total with 54 not out off 33 balls, including four sixes, as the win was secured with 11 overs to spare.This was the hosts second 10-wicket win this summer and only the third of their history. It was also the fastest ever 10-wicket win in the history of English Twenty20 cricket. Junaid, 21, who also took two wickets in Friday’s win over Durham, struck twice in his first two overs today, getting both Wes Durston and Garry Park caught behind by Gareth Cross to help leave Derbyshire 24 for 3 in the fifth over.Junaid also held a tough high chance at mid-on in the next over to help fellow overseas player Farveez Maharoof get rid of the dangerous Martin Guptill for eight. Derbyshire, who started the game level with their hosts on 10 points from 11 matches, never recovered as they posted the lowest total in their 20-over history.Chesney Hughes and Ross Whiteley tried to mount a Falcons’ fightback with a stand of 29 for the fifth wicket but the former played on to Maharoof in the 13th. Lightning spinners Stephen Parry and Gary Keedy also struck, as did Sajid Mahmood, before Junaid returned at the death to bowl Jon Clare and complete figures of three for 12.Left-handed Hughes top-scored with only 16 as the woeful Falcons recorded the fifth lowest total in English Twenty20, making only four boundaries in the innings. Moore then blazed a trail at the top of the Lancashire order in reply.Moore and Tom Smith posted 28 off the first three overs, the former racing to 32 from 18 balls, including straight sixes off Durston’s off-spin and Clare’s medium pace. Smith survived a rare drop from New Zealand’s Guptill off Durston and the batsmen brought up their 50 stand in the sixth over, their fifth in this season’s competition.Moore hit his third six off Clare before Smith got in on the act by slog-sweeping Hughes. Moore’s fourth six, also off Hughes, brought up a 32-ball half century as Derbyshire were put to the sword.

Darren Bravo went from being cheap imitation to being a decent impression of Brian Lara, setting up West Indies’ win with 34 off 12 after his rather strange go-slow

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga16-Jun-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDarren Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan were the key men in West Indies’ chase•Associated PressIn 12 balls Darren Bravo went from being cheap imitation to being a decent impression of Brian Lara, setting up West Indies’ win with 34 off 12 after his rather strange go-slow seemed to have countered Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 75, leaving them 80 to get off the last eight overs. This was the second time this season that West Indies won two matches after losing the series, but it was also a complete role reversal: usually known to fluff their lines in the end, they pulled this back in the last overs of both innings. Andre Russell and Anthony Martin facilitated the comeback with the ball as West Indies took the last seven wickets for 62, and Bravo’s effort transformed the seemingly intentless innings.The Sabina Park crowd danced its way to a din. Sir Viv Richards watched coolly from a box; the discarded Chris Gayle, sporting a new Afro, celebrated in the stands; and the current captain Darren Sammy jumped for joy after what seemed like hours of pensive silence in the players’ balcony. Immediately after the winning runs were hit, with an ultimately comfortable eight balls to spare, Samuels ran straight towards Gayle, jumped the fence, and shook his hand.That West Indies could hit so well in the end was also down to the best pitch of the whole ODI season in the West Indies. It had pace, it had bounce, it tested the batsmen, and it also offered value for shots – a welcome change from the slow and low affairs in Trinidad and Antigua. In the first half of the match, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma passed the test even as their team-mates struggled, and also managed to play the shots that got them runs.Smart Stats

The unbeaten 103-run stand between Darren Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan is the fifth-highest third-wicket stand for West Indies against India in ODIs

Bravo’s 86 is his fifth half-century and his highest score in ODIs. His previous best was 79 against Sri Lanka in Colombo earlier in 2011

Sarwan is third on the list of highest run-getters for West Indies in ODIs against India behind Desmond Haynes and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. His average of 61.66 though, is thje highest among all West Indian batsmen who have 1000 or more ODI runs against India

Andre Russell picked up his second four-wicket haul in eight ODIs. He now has 15 wickets at an average of 20.06. In three matches in the series, he has picked up eight wickets for 110 runs at an economy rate of 4.48

This is the 25th time overall and the sixth time against India that West Indies have successfully chased a 250-plus target in ODIs

The 110-run stand between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is the fourth highest for India for the fourth wicket in ODIs against West Indies

After Kemar Roach and Andre Russell had hustled the Indian openers out, Kohli hardly looked at unease. He saw Manoj Tiwary look a bit uncomfortable, and then try to hit out, at the other end, but he never needed to resort to taking risks. For a man who favours the front foot a touch, Kohli didn’t show too many problems transferring the weight back, and more impressively wasn’t troubled when the bowlers tried the surprise full ball.There were edgy moments as was expected on a juicy pitch, but there were quite a few loose ones on offer too. And Kohli waited for them, taking full advantage. Rohit, at the other end, seemed to carry from his good form, ending as the series’ highest run-getter. He hit only two fours and a six in his half-century, but the duo still went at a brisk pace, adding 110 in 20 overs.Kohli’s run-out, a mix of an ill-judged second and a special bit of fielding by Sarwan at fine leg, started the turnaround. Martin was the first to capitalise on that, bowling Rohit in the first over the Powerplay. Russell then came back and went for broke. He bowled bouncers of different pace, didn’t mind the odd wide, and ran through the lower order with three wickets in eight deliveries.If Russell bowled like there was no tomorrow, the batsmen seemed to be leaving the chase for some other day. Adrian Barath and Bravo were the early culprits even as Sarwan played the best innings since his comeback. Barath benefited from two dropped catches and two run-outs in his 46-ball 17, and Bravo struggled with the same trait of either hitting shots straight to fielders or defending with hard hands. He took 58 balls to cross the strike-rate of 50.That meant Sarwan had to take risks. He pulled Ishant Sharma from wide outside off, backed away and cut over cover, and had to go big at the first sight of the part-timers. In the 33rd over, with the asking-rate having reached 7.38, he lofted Suresh Raina for a four and a six, and it seemed that finally the real Sarwan was ready to replace the pretender we have been used to over the season.With that six, though, he started cramping up, and after a struggle for five overs and more than a few raised eyebrows from the umpires, he walked off. Samuels came in, took his time to settle in, and Bravo too hardly seemed to be taking the initiative. Sixteen came in the first four overs of the partnership, and Bravo then asked for the Powerplay.Boom. The game changed. As inexplicable as his first 51 off 84 were, there was a ridiculous ease about his hitting in the Powerplay. R Ashwin was the first one to suffer, going for sixes over wide long-on and cow corner. Mishra for the first time in the series was out of his comfort zone, and he dished out a high full toss, which Bravo deposited into the grass on the other side of the boundary. The next ball was a regulation sweep, but it carried over square leg for another six. In the next over, he lofted a Vinay Kumar slower delivery over long-off. All three had respectable figures until then; not only were they rearranged, West Indies now needed just 42 off 33. Mishra came back to have Bravo stumped with a googly, but Samuels and Kieron Pollard showed enough sense, skill and power to turn the rest into a cruise.

Andrew Hudson, South Africa’s convenor of selectors, has admitted his panel “created expectation” for Thami Tsolekile when they told him he would play in the upcoming the two-Test series against New Zealand

Firdose Moonda21-Dec-2012Andrew Hudson, South Africa’s convenor of selectors, has admitted his panel told Thami Tsolekile he would play the Test series against New Zealand before going back on their decision. Their stance had to be reversed when AB de Villiers decided he would like to continue in his new role as keeper-batsman.Hudson’s acknowledgement comes after Tsolekile revealed he was “disappointed,” at being left out of the squad and confused about the reasons for his exclusion. Tsolekile spoke to various media outlets in the last few days and expressed his concern over the administrators not following through with their promises.”I wasn’t expecting to play in England because I knew that I went there as a substitute when Mark Boucher was injured and I had no expectations at all. When I packed my bags for Australia, I also knew I was going to be the back-up keeper,” Tsolekile told ESPNcricinfo. “But before that tour, the selectors told me I would get a chance against New Zealand, especially if things go well. When I spoke to them again, I was getting different messages. There’s nothing I can do now. I’ll just keeping doing what I am doing for the Lions.”More often than not a player voicing discontent over non-selection in the public domain would cause a fracas, but this time it has only resulted in sympathy. Cricket South Africa’s acting chief executive Jacques Faul confirmed the organisation would “sit down and have a chat about what happened because we have to interrogate the process,” while Hudson said he “feels for Thami.”Hudson was the bearer of Tsolekile’s bad news but emphasised he was willing to be “transparent” about what had happened. “When Boucher was forced to retire in England we need a replacement and even though AB was reluctant to do the job, we asked to fill in for the next two tours,” he said. “We did tell Thami he would get his chance against New Zealand.”After the tour to Australia, AB came back to us and said wants to continue keeping wicket because he is enjoying it. That was not the case six months ago. AB’s interest in doing the job meant the situation was different.”De Villiers was able to alter his earlier position because the selectors wanted him as the first choice wicketkeeper anyway, according to Hudson. “When he told us he wanted to play as the wicketkeeper that was fantastic news for us because we can now play an extra batter or extra bowler at No.7. It is not a case of him dictating to us. If he changes his mind at any stage, we will respect that.”Although de Villiers has a history of chronic back problems, which worsened after the England tour, Hudson said the administrators are happy for him to continue keeping wicket even if it means he is rested from limited-overs matches, such as the forthcoming three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand. De Villiers is South Africa’s ODI and Twenty20 captain but Hudson said he will be rotated so he is able to focus on Test cricket.In the longest format, South Africa have stuck to a seven-batsmen strategy since England with the additional player proving worthy. Both JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis carried underperforming players at No.6.Jacques Rudolph and Dean Elgar – who bagged a pair on debut in Perth – have averaged 21.50 in the position and Hudson said although the selectors take note of that they will continue with the tactic “especially when we have JP back.” Duminy has just completed the first month of six in his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in Brisbane.As a result of the policy to play seven batsmen, Hudson said: “Thami is now in competition with AB for his place in the squad.” While Tsolekile claimed that was never explained to him as bluntly as that, he admitted that Hudson told him he needs to put in better performances with the bat.Hudson has spoken to Tsolekile’s franchise coach Geoff Toyana and asked for Tsolekile to bat higher up the order to give him the opportunity to score big hundreds. Tsokeile usually slots in at No. 7 but was moved up a place in the on-going first-class match against Warriors. It was his first competitive outing in seven weeks and he scored an unbeaten 88. In the same round of fixtures, Rudolph managed 9 for Titans and Elgar 43 for Knights.Apart from the cricketing argument, there is also concern that Tsolekile’s exclusion represents an anti-transformation stance especially since South Africa’s Test team has not included a black African in almost two years, since Lonwabo Tsotsobe in January 2011. Still, Hudson insisted he and his panel “are committed to transformation.”CSA, though, are concerned about representation. The next board meeting is on January 9 and Faul said there is a possibility that legislation will be passed to ensure development is better attended to. “We already have directives at semi-professional level to ensure black African players come through we may have to legislate it at franchise level as well,” he said.Hudson said even if those instructions extend to national level, he will happy to accept them. “If the board want to propose further guidelines, I will embrace them and see them through,” Hudson said. South Africa does not have an official quota system in place at the moment. It was previously mandatory to play four players of colour in every team which included black Africans, mixed-race and those of Indian descent.

Enticed by the chance to revitalise Australian cricket and do it in his MCG “backyard”, Shane Warne has confirmed he will line up for the Melbourne Stars in the BBL

Daniel Brettig08-Nov-2011Enticed by the chance to revitalise Australian cricket and do it in his MCG “backyard”, Shane Warne has confirmed he will line up for the Melbourne Stars in this summer’s Twenty20 Big Bash League.Warne will play for the duration of the competition, having decided that the initial offers of a one or two-match cameo appearance, made when he was still reticent about returning to cricket after retiring from the IPL earlier this year, would not have been worthwhile.Calling himself a “young 42″, Warne said he had not yet decided whether this would be his only summer with the Stars, but was enthused by the prospect of helping attract younger generations to cricket, not least his own three children.”There had been a few offers about coming out to play and I was pretty comfortable with where I was at,” Warne told a press conference at the MCG. “But then looking back at how lucky I’d been with Australia and Australian cricket and what I’d been able to achieve at the highest level with a great group of players, when Cricket Australia started to launch the BBL, something new with all the city-based teams, it was something quite exciting.”I thought ‘if I’m going to do this, let’s do it properly’ … it is a great opportunity where I can give something back to cricket, my kids are getting older, they love Twenty20, and the MCG is a great place to play.””The MCG’s been my backyard for 20 years, there’s something special here, I love playing here, the people of Melbourne always get behind me, whether it was for the Australian team or Victoria, and the MCG was something that really swayed it for me.”Having slimmed down in recent times, and bowled well for Rajasthan in his final IPL tournament, Warne said he had little doubt he would be able to contribute meaningfully to the Stars’ campaign on the field as well as off it.”If I wasn’t confident in my own form and being part of a team I don’t think I would’ve taken up that one or two games to get whacked around a little bit, because that’s what happens in T20,” he said. “But I think I’m in such good shape at the moment, I feel excited about playing cricket and being involved in a good team.”I think I can have a significant role, whatever Whitey [Cameron White, captain] and Shippy [Greg Shipperd, coach] want me to have I’m happy to do. I wouldn’t go into playing these games without a sense of confidence in my ability that I can go out there to make a difference.”Commercial considerations were mulled over also, and it is useful for the Warne to be back playing in Melbourne when a club bearing his favourite number 23 has just been opened at the nearby Crown Casino. However he denied that money was a major fact in his return, something the Stars chairman Eddie McGuire confirmed by pointing out that the fee agreed for two games would not be growing to accommodate seven or nine matches.”It’s got nothing to do with money, if it was about money me coming and playing cricket I’d still be playing in the IPL – I retired from that,” Warne said. “This is something that I’m passionate about, something that I think is unique to Australian cricket, city-based cricket teams are something new and that enticed me.”My kids that are 14, 12 and 10 can’t really remember dad playing cricket that much, but now they might be able to remember me playing at the MCG. With the seven games there’s a salary cap and all that, so it’s nothing to do with the money, otherwise I’d be playing in the IPL still.”Warne will now be in the slightly incongruous position of playing his matches head-to-head with the national team’s Test matches against India, much as his mentor Ian Chappell did during World Series Cricket from 1977 to 1979. He maintains a sense of optimism that all cricket formats are helping, not detracting from, one another.”All the versions of the game continue to help [each other]. T20 I think has helped the whole game of cricket,” Warne said. “There’s a place definitely for Test cricket, T20 and one day cricket at the moment, just finding that right balance and not doing too much of each.”If you have to face Glenn McGrath in a couple of overs in a Test match and you needed 20 to win you’d slog him, in a T20 game you’d slog him as well, you get more confidence in all the forms of the game to smash him around. So each version of the game helps each one, and it makes all the versions more entertaining. I don’t see a conflict in that at all, I think it’ll all help together and it’ll be an exciting summer.”Inevitably, Warne was asked about his high-profile fiancé Liz Hurley, brushing off the notion that he was returning to cricket so she could watch him play in Australia, but admitted she might not be a great fan of the Stars’ green strip.”She calls them costumes that we play in,” he said. “I’m not sure what she’ll think about the green costume…”

Allen Stanford has been deemed unfit to stand trial on charges of running a $7 billion fraud and needs treatment for a drug addiction, a US judge has ruled

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2011Allen Stanford, the American billionaire who invested in cricket in the Caribbean, has been deemed unfit to stand trial on charges of running a $7 billion fraud and needs treatment for a drug addiction, a US judge has ruled.Stanford is facing charges of fraud, money laundering and obstruction but the court has ruled him incompetent to face trial. He sustained an injury after being attacked in jail in 2009 and has become addicted to the medication he was prescribed for treating depression and anxiety.”The court finds Stanford is incompetent to stand trial at this time based on his apparent impaired ability to rationally assist his attorneys in preparing his defense,” US District Judge David Hittner wrote in his ruling in Houston, Texas.Hittner denied a request by Stanford’s lawyers to release him on bond and place him in a private treatment facility for his addiction, ordering him instead to be committed to the custody of the attorney general to “undergo medical treatment for his current impaired mental capacity” and eventually take a competency exam. The judge also recommended that Stanford be sent to a medical facility within the US Bureau of Prisons.Stanford became famous in the cricket world after creating the Stanford 20/20 tournament in the West Indies. He then, in partnership with the ECB, launched a Stanford Super Series Twenty20 cricket competition with his All-star team from the West Indies taking on England in a $20-million winner-take-all match.Stanford has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of fraud, money laundering and obstruction. He faces up to 375 years in jail if convicted.

This forms part of our Loan Watch series, where The Transfer Tavern analyse how one club’s player is doing on loan based on a recent performance.

The Lowdown: January loan

Ellis Simms was sent out on loan to Hearts by Everton in the January transfer window and has since scored six goals in 16 games across all competitions for the Scottish Premiership outfit (Transfermarkt).

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It has been reported that Farhad Moshiri is now plotting a ‘major’ overhaul of the squad in the summer, including potentially selling both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, so the majority owner at Goodison Park will now have to decide what to do with Simms once he comes back from his loan spell in Edinburgh.

The Latest: Simms scores

After coming off of the bench in the 72nd minute, Simms ended up scoring the winner for Hearts just 11 minutes later as they beat Dundee United 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in their first game after the late-season Premiership split.

The striker, who also achieved a 100% pass success rate in his short cameo, made an instant impact, and looks to be blossoming into a fine player at just 21 years of age.

The Verdict: Keep him!

If Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison are sold, and Everton find themselves relegated from the Premier League, Frank Lampard’s team must be looking to keep Simms in the senior squad for next season.

The youngster made his plenty of goals already at youth level, so he has already shown his credentials to play more regularly for the club.

Nonetheless, his performances and goals for Hearts are surely giving Moshiri a headache as he weighs up whether to sell Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, which in turn would then potentially open up a pathway for Simms.

In other news, find out which Toffees duo were deemed ’embarrassing’ against Liverpool