Indian cricket legend Rahul Dravid's father dies

Former captain Rahul Dravid's father, Sharad Dravid, on Wednesday passed away here at 4.15 pm at his Indiranagar residence, according to a release issued by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
KSCA sources said the senior Dravid had health problems for the last four years. He was 79 years old.
Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company best known for producing jam, and thus the cricketer was bestowed with the nickname Jammy by his classmates at St Joseph's Boys' High School.

KSCA sources said Dravid's father had health problems for the last four years. He was 79 years old.

Sharad's wife, Pushpa, is a former professor of Architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE).
KSCA President Anil Kumble, Office Bearers and Members of the Managing Committee (Vijay Bhardwaj, Sujith Somasundar and S Vijaya Prakash) mourn the sad demise and offer their deepest condolences to the aggrieved family, the release said.

Cricket: Wilmslow back to winning ways

Wilmslow 1st XI 202 for 4 beat Stalybridge St Paul's 1st XI 98 all out by 104 runs
Wilmslow CC got back to winning ways away at Stalybridge St Pauls CC with a comfortable 104 run victory.
Openers Rob Herriott (64) and Elliot Rowe (47) demoted from their opening slots, provided the impetus after a resolute if slow opening 32 overs. The pair along with Adam Dixon (20no) and Toby Rowe put on 100 runs in just 12 overs to post a competitive 202 for 4.
Bowling unchanged Ross Kinnerley bowled intelligently and quickly for a return of 4 for 40, Tom Rowe also had 4 and brother Elliot completed a successful day with bat and ball taking the last two.
Wilmslow CC now move into 3rd place and face near neighbours Wayfarers who currently sit in second spot next week.
It was a good weekend for the Squirrels as they won their League Cup Quarter Final at Appleton, posting a below par 135, a fine bowling and fielding performance ensured the win by just 2 runs.
There was further success for Pat Harts 3rd XI at Salford Jewish. It is always a pleasure making this trip, even when the Greater Manchester Bike Ride brings the city to a halt. Batting first, the Development XI hit 135, a score the home side were confident of overturning.
It was not to be, the mix of experience and youth in the Wilmslow attack won the day. The Chairman returned the best figures with 3 for 24 but Jake Woodhouse, Jack Newson and Ed Hart bowled great lengths and direction to make scoring very difficult.
Scoring runs was not a problem for Stalybridge against the 2nd XI. There were too many runs leaked by the home side and whilst they made a good start in reply, 200 was too many to chase on the day. The highlights of a disappointing day were Mark Green and Andy Metzelaar with 30's, and Toby Ward with 4 wickets.

England’s Bresnan signs new Yorkshire contract

The 28-year-old all-rounder, fresh from scoring an unbeaten 105 for England in their Ashes warm-up match against Essex at Chelmsford this week, has signed a new Yorkshire contract to stay at Headingley until December 2016.
The Pontefract-born cricketer made his county debut in 2001 – after coming through the ranks at Townville and Castleford Cricket Clubs – making him the youngest player to play for Yorkshire in 20 years, beating Paul Jarvis’s record of 16 years and 75 days back in 1981.
Over the years he has developed into a genuine all-rounder and along with Headingley team-mates Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow will be hoping to get the nod for next week’s opening Ashes match against Australia.
“It is great news that Tim has committed his long-term future to the Club,” said Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon.
“Tim has firmly established himself as an England regular but his commitment to Yorkshire is vital in our on-going efforts of developing a strong squad based around players produced through the club development system.”
Bresnan becomes the sixth player this summer to sign a new deal, joining Bairstow, Moin Ashraf, Gary Ballance, Steve Patterson and Azeem Rafiq, who are now committed to Yorkshire for the foreseeable future.
England wrapped up victory against Essex yesterday, but Bresnan was unable to add any wickets to his unbeaten century.
Graeme Swann (5-68) and Graham Onions (4-43) skittled the county opposition out to chalk up a 229-run victory and complete preparations before next week’s Ashes.
Bresnan now has a nervous few days to wait and see if he gets the nod to play at Trent Bridge on Wednesday, with Steven Finn also battling for a bowling spot.
And while Bresnan welcomed his success with the bat, he accepts he will be judged on his bowling skills first when it comes to international recognition.
“Lower-order runs could play a part in winning Test matches further down the line,” said Bresnan.
“The bowlers will be picked on form so if I’m not bowling well it doesn’t matter how many runs I’ve got. The batting side comes as a bonus.
“If it’s a straight shootout then the batting might help me but if I’m not bowling well enough then that won’t matter.”

Cricket crackdown on fans who pass information to bookmakers

Telegraph Sport has learnt that nine spectators have been ejected from at least five grounds this season at county and international matches under suspicion of working for bookies in India. Last year it was 12 but with the county Twenty20 season only just in full swing the number is already close to matching that.

ECB anti-corruption officers are policing matches live on Sky which are beamed into India. “The reason we are concerned is because of the threat these people pose to the game as a whole,” said an ECB spokesman. “They are agents for illegal bookies in the subcontinent and if they could get access to a player or official they would approach them with only one thing in mind. Anyone talking to them and mentioning the state of the pitch or selection for example would be breaching the anti-corruption code so we are protecting the clubs and players. It is one part of making sure matches are as safe as possible.”

The agents for the bookies are often communicating with India via hidden microphones or smart-phone messaging systems. They are passing on data such as fours and wickets using a coded message system. Matches shown in India are often on a 15-second time lag, which means live information from inside the ground can help a bookie fix the odds.

The ECB is not concerned about punters using laptops to bet on legal gambling sites in this country, a system known as court-siding.

This season suspected agents for bookies have been thrown out of matches in Durham, Cardiff, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston and Northampton. Officers threw one fan out of the Champions Trophy match between South Africa and India at Cardiff and another was intercepted at Durham’s Riverside Ground at a match between Durham and Hampshire on June 22 after posing as a Sky Sports employee. He has subsequently been banned from all county grounds in England.

Pakistan's chief cricket selector Iqbal Qasim asks to step down

Pakistan's chief cricket selector Iqbal Qasim has asked to step down at the end of his tenure, he said Thursday, denying any rift with the national team's captain and coach.

"I have told the top officials of the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) that I have completed my tenure so they should appoint a new panel for future selection," Qasim told AFP.

Qasim led the selection committee which on Wednesday named squads for one-days and Twenty20s for this month's tour of the West Indies, dropping flopped players Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat, and recalling all-rounder Shahid Afridi.

Local media has regularly speculated about differences between Qasim, Pakistan cricket captain Misbah-ul Haq and coach Dav Whatmore, and Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez over selection, but Qasim denied any rift.

"I had no differences with anyone," said Qasim, a former left arm spinner who played 50 Tests and 15 one-days for Pakistan.

"I completed my tenure in April but then PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf requested me to continue till (July and) the West Indies tour, which I did," said Qasim.

Qasim's committee came under criticism after the team crashed out of the Champions Trophy in England last month.

He has served repeated tenures as chief selector. In 2010, he resigned after the team's 3-0 rout in Australia in 2010.

"The team wins and the team loses, which is part of the game so there should be no differences," said Qasim. "I thank Misbah, Whatmore and Hafeez for their cooperation."

Pakistan officials are yet to decide on Qasim's request to go, but say that a new selection panel will be announced later.

Pakistan will play five one-day and two Twenty20 matches in the Caribbean. They will tour Zimbabwe in August for two Tests, three one-day and two Twenty20 matches.

Shane Warne wants to help out Australian cricketers as part of the coaching staff

New coach Lehmann has made it clear he wants legends like Warne involved under his regime.
And the leg-spinning great, who is also particularly close with captain Michael Clarke, said he will be available for advice.
"It was very nice of Darren and Michael Clarke to say they would like me to be involved with the Australian team," Warne wrote in a column for London's Telegraph.
"I am always there to help any Australian cricketer and always have been. If I need to be around at practice to have a chat with the boys about tactical stuff or bowling, then I will do that.
"It's good to be part of the set-up but, most of the time, my role will be informal, catching up on the phone or chatting over a drink or meal.
"I do not need a fancy job title to help out."
Warne has held a disregard for cricket coaches over the years, but said Lehmann was more mentor than clipboard holder.
Long-term teammates through the 90s and 2000s, Warne recalls Lehmann's desire to always keep players around in the dressing sheds after play talking cricket.
It's a policy Lehmann has already introduced to the Australian side he took over on Monday after Mickey Arthur was sacked.
"He has an excellent cricket brain and a calm way of going about things. This will be infectious to the team," Warne wrote.
"He loves talking about cricket - his outlook will help the team feel a lot more relaxed about everything.
"Boof likes to sit around after play and debrief the day, talking about what everyone has learned.
"I remember, during the late 1990s, when I was captain of Victoria and he led South Australia. It was the start of the new age with players quick to get out of the dressing room. We made a pact to get back to the old days. When we walked out to the toss, we said after each day's play, whichever team fields comes into the other dressing room after play to talk cricket.
"We would often go home at midnight in taxis."
Warne said England would be feeling flat after losing the Champions Trophy final to India from a winning position, and believes Australia can take advantage in the first Test.
He will also commentate for television throughout the series.

England turn to power of poetry

 

As a weapon to defeat Australia, poetry does not spring immediately to mind. But that is what the ECB hopes will fill England with strength after the publication of a poem to mark the arrival of the Investec Ashes series.

We would like to know what you think of it.

Cricket has inspired a fair deal of poetry over the years. There is nothing more rose-tinted in the canon than Vitai Lampada by Sir Henry Newbolt in 1892 with his exhortation to 'Play up ! play up ! and play the game!'

#RISE has something for everyone.

Lord's will delight in the attention given to the honours board, no player can resist imagining himself with a set jaw and white knuckles and, as for the obsessive scorers among you, there is even a mention of dot balls. In an age of Twenty20, an homage to the dot ball is soothingly traditional.

The poem will take pride of place on the Trent Bridge programme when the Ashes begins on July 10.

We think it has a bit of Jerusalem about it, although even that is not entirely a good thing as Jerusalem tends to be removed from hymn books these days. But they will still be bashing it out in Nottingham on July 10 no doubt as England seek to fill Australia with trepidation