Leicestershire’s success on the field in 2011, and the generosity of their supporters off it, have helped the club to record a £294,000 profit for the year

Alan Gardner07-Feb-2012Leicestershire’s success in Twenty20 cricket in 2011, as well as the generosity of their supporters, has helped the club to record a profit of £294,000 for the year – a remarkable turnaround in the county’s finances from 12 months ago, when they announced record losses of more than £400,000 and the auditors questioned whether Leicestershire could continue as a going concern.Mike Siddall, the chief executive, said that increased gate receipts and prize money from Leicestershire’s victorious Friend Life t20 campaign, as well as almost £200,000 received from private donors, had significantly bolstered the county’s finances, despite them finishing bottom of Division Two in the Championship. Extra income from the ECB, following the lucrative visit of India last summer, and improved returns from commercial operations also contributed to the surplus. In total, turnover increased by £600,000 to more than £3m for the year.”Increased ECB income from the India Test series has helped but we’ve also had donations from members,” Siddall told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve had a number of anonymous donors and in total we’ve raised getting on for £200,000 in donations from members – which is a remarkable total really. The members have really rallied round to help the club in its time of adversity and I’m very grateful for what they’ve done.”A bit of success on the field also helps. Match receipts increased by £124,000, because we had a lucrative FLt20 quarter-final against Kent and we also had a full house for our T20 game against India in August. We got £60,000 prize money for winning the T20 trophy and the commercial team managed to bring in an extra £70,000-worth of sponsorship during the year.”Winning T20 was brilliant for us,” he added. “We got £60,000 prize money, we got £25,000 from the gate at Edgbaston for finals day and we also probably got about £20,000 for getting in the Champions League. So it was worth £100,000 to us and it came at the right time.”Siddall took over at the end of 2010, after a turbulent year that saw the departure of former chairman Neil Davidson and chief executive David Smith, and has overseen the county’s recovery. The 2011 accounts include increased legal costs of around £40,000 as a result of settling disputes with Davidson and Smith, although savings were made due to the departure of Tim Boon as head coach. Former player Ben Smith has recently started in his position as the county’s new batting coach.The club is currently free of debt and has also succeeded in renegotiating with Leicester city council a covenant pertaining to any potential sale of Grace Road. Previously, Leicestershire were only entitled to £24,000 – the figure the club paid the council when it bought the ground in 1966 – should they wish to sell. That has now been negotiated up to £500,000, Siddall said, giving Leicestershire increased security in raising bank loans.However, Siddall warned that there were still tough challenges for the year ahead. The visits of West Indies and South Africa for three-Test series against England this summer are unlikely to raise as much money for the ECB, which will affect county grants, while a one-day fixture against Australia at Grace Road may not stimulate the locals in quite the same way that India did.”We know that we’ll have £300,000 less income from the ECB this year,” Siddall said. “Secondly we know we haven’t got a sell-out game against India. Thirdly – are we going to win the T20 again?”The bottom line is, it’s going to be a difficult year. The board have set a break-even budget for this year, so there’s a great big difference from £294,000 profit. We’ll need to peddle extremely hard to get to that because it depends on a fair amount of extra commercial revenue coming in – and we’re obviously doing our best to bring that in at the moment – but the economic climate is not exactly in our favour.”Siddall confirmed that the county will have Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq back again for the FLt20, as Leicestershire look to defend their title, while negotiations are ongoing to bring former West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan in as overseas player for the full season.

Mahela Jayawardene’s Sri Lankans have gone from tournament favourites to disappointment in less than two weeks

Siddarth Ravindran in Mirpur21-Mar-2012Less than two weeks ago, when Mahela Jayawardene and the Sri Lankans landed in Dhaka after a spunky performance in the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia, he was asked what he had done to revitalise the side since taking the captaincy from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Jayawardene had played down the notion of a magic wand, pointing out some of the highs under Dilshan’s leadership before bringing out the old cliche, “a captain is only as good as his team”.Today, after three defeats in the Asia Cup and little to be happy about besides the resolution of their pay problem, Jaywardene was asked by a journalist whether there was something wrong with his captaincy. He was initially nonplussed by the question, grinning disbelievingly at being asked that, before regaining his composure.”Amazing isn’t it, two weeks of cricket does that to you, eh?” he said. “We played Australia in the finals and I can’t become a bad captain overnight. A captain is as good as his team and there are no secrets to it, just that he handles certain situations. We haven’t played good cricket, there are no excuses for that.”Sri Lanka came into the tournament as favourites, but have been flat over the three matches. The fielding, such a strength of theirs in Australia, was lacklustre, highlighted again by Sachithra Senanayake shelling a straightforward caught-and-bowled chance off Tamim Iqbal. The bowling hasn’t shown the verve of the previous series, and some of the shot selection by the batsmen has been questionable.It hasn’t been a happy tournament for Mahela Jayawardene and the Sri Lankans•AFP

“I thought the Indian game was crucial when we were 200 for 2 or 3, chasing 300-plus but somehow we failed to finish the game off and from that point onwards we have not been able
to play consistent cricket,” Jayawardene said. “We have to take responsibility for not
playing all-round consistent cricket, that is the reason.”Sri Lanka were in Bangladesh less than 30 hours after completing a grueling tri-series in Australia, and didn’t have a single training session until after their first game. Jayawardene, though, didn’t blame the jam-packed itinerary for his side’s listless performance.”We knew it was a tough schedule for us but that cannot be the excuse,” he said. “We made many mistakes with the bat, ball on the field, so we will go back home and assess it. We raised our game pretty well in Australia and had set some standards but we could not maintain those standards.”He also had words of praise for Bangladesh’s expectation-defying performance in the tournament. “They have played some amazing cricket and as a group they have performed more than individuals.”Previously, in a Pakistan v Bangladesh match, it was clear who the overwhelming favourite was, but Bangladesh are starting to change that notion. Asked to pick a winner in Thursday’s final, Jayawardene sat on the fence, though he did offer a light-hearted tip to both captains. “Both teams will be practising their tosses because batting second is a big advantage here.”Edited by Brydon Coverdale

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, has said he will ensure that there are enough quality spinners to replace him in the national side when he retires

Umar Farooq14-Apr-2012Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, has said he will ensure that there are enough quality spinners to replace him in the national side when he retires. Ajmal, the top-ranked spinner in the ICC rankings in both Tests and ODIs, also said that he was optimistic of playing till the 2015 World Cup.”I hope by the time I am ready to walk out, another Ajmal would be ready to take my place,” Ajmal told ESPNcricinfo. “I will ensure this and it’s my responsibility to do so. Pakistan has very talented players and there is no dearth of spin bowlers. There are a lot of good spinners. (Abdur) Rehman is playing and Raza Hasan is a talented boy heading in the right direction.”Ajmal, 34, made a late entry into international cricket at the age of 30 but has earned a reputation for being one of the best spinners in the world. Ajmal didn’t play his first Test till he was almost 32 but has since picked up 107 wickets in 20 Tests. He said that he did not worry about having lost so much time before he got the chance to play international cricket.”Age definitely plays a key role but I have no regret for being late into international cricket,” Ajmal said. “Who knows if I had played earlier I might not have been the same Ajmal. What I am today is more important for me.”I am currently 34 and I know my age won’t let me play perhaps more than three years. But it’s also a matter of fitness that can actually extend a player’s life. I am optimistic that I can play at least till the 2015 World Cup before calling my time from the game.”Ajmal hoped that he had inspired enough young players to take up spin bowling. He is also planning to launch a cricket academy next year in his city Faisalabad. Ajmal recently wrecked England with his doosras and off-breaks and finished with 24 wickets in the three-Test series in the UAE.”A lot of bowlers around the world are so much keen about the doosra and I love to help. Being a quality spin bowler is tough and it takes time to obtain results. You need to be very patient.”A spin bowler normally does not inspire kids as compared to a fast bowler who creates an instant impact with the youngsters who want to play cricket. But I think I have inspired a lot of youngsters to play the game.”Edited by Abhishek Purohit

Robbie Joseph claimed six wickets in Glamorgan’s first innings as Leicestershire set the visitors a testing target despite being bowled out for 110

06-Apr-2012
ScorecardRobbie Joseph left Glamorgan’s batsmen shell-shocked on his Leicestershire debut, claiming 6 for 47 to put his side into a match-winning position at Grace Road.The Welsh side were routed for 124, giving Leicestershire a first-innings lead of 125, and though Glamorgan struck back to bowl out the hosts for 110 in their second innings they closed the day at 21 for 1 as they chased a challenging victory target of 236. Once again Joseph was the wicket taker, bowling Gareth Rees for 4.Joseph, 30, who was released by Kent at the end of last season, has joined Leicestershire on a short-term contract. He could hardly have made a more impressive start and Leicestershire head coach Phil Whitticase said: “He is enjoying it here and gives our attack that bit of extra pace.”Glamorgan began the second day at a perilous 25 for 5 with the possibility of being asked to follow on staring them in the face.Some steely batting by the tailenders helped them avoid that ignominy – but not before two early alarms. Jim Allenby and Mark Wallace both fell to the impressive Joseph in his first three overs of the day, leaving Glamorgan at 34 for 7 with another 66 runs needed to prevent the follow-on.But nightwatchman Dean Cosker, along with Graham Wagg, Robert Croft and Huw Waters, added 90 more runs for the last three wickets. Wagg led the way with a belligerent 42 off 60 balls, hitting seven fours before edging to wicketkeeper Ned Eckersley to give Joseph his sixth wicket and bring Glamorgan’s innings to an end.Leicestershire’s second-innings batting performance showed just how much they needed their three-figure advantage. With the ball continuing to seam and swing around, the hosts were dismissed for 110 in 42.4 overs as the Glamorgan seamers revelled in the helpful conditions.
Only two batsmen made it to double figures, Jacques du Toit top-scoring with 40 and opener Matt Boyce making 11, while the extras column contributed 18.Wagg – who bagged the big wicket of Ramnaresh Sarwan, bowling him with a well disguised slower ball – took 3 for 29, while Moises Henriques claimed 3 for 25.It was Henriques who brought Du Toit’s 67-ball innings to an end, finding some extra bounce to have him caught at gully. Unlike the first innings, there was little resistance by Leicestershire’s middle- and late-order batsmen this time, with the last four wickets falling for 25 runs in 11 overs.But Glamorgan were still set a challenging victory target of 236 and the early loss of opener Rees, bowled by Joseph in the fourth over, made the task look even more difficult.

Surendranath, the former India fast bowler, has died aged 75 following prolonged illness

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2012Surendranath, the former India fast bowler, has died aged 75 following prolonged illness. He played 11 Tests for India between 1959 and 1961, and also had a 15-year first-class career with Services that ended in 1969.The highlight of Surendranath’s career was the tour of England in 1959, during which he took 16 wickets at 26.62 though India were blanked in the five-match Test series. He was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells, as shown by his back-to-back five-wicket hauls in the England series during which he bowled 47 overs in an innings at Old Trafford and 51 at The Oval. He was the second highest wicket-taker in the first-class matches on that tour, with 79 scalps, only behind legspinner Subhash Gupte.”On that tour of England, he troubled the best of players – Peter May*, Colin Cowdrey, everyone,” Chandu Borde, the former India batsman who was his team-mate during the series, said. “He was mostly an inswing bowler, who got the odd one to move away. He bowled excellent medium-pace, and being a soldier he was also a fighter on the field. Along with Ramakant Desai, he formed a very good opening attack for India.”Surendranath was also a part of home series against West Indies, Australia and Pakistan. He had success in his first Test against Pakistan, in Kolkata in 1960-61, but his international career ended a fortnight later as he couldn’t make much of an impact in the next Test in Chennai.His first-class career extended for eight more years, and he ended with 278 wickets at 25.37. * May 07 2012, 04.20. The name of the player has been corrected