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The Nottinghamshire seamer, Charlie Shreck, was crowned Player of the Season at the club’s annual awards dinner at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. Shreck was the club’s leading wicket-taker in 2008, taking 76 wickets in all competitions, 58 of them in the County Championship.”It’s an honour and a surprise to win the award because a few of my team mates would have been considered worthy winners,” said Shreck. “Mark Wagh scored 1,000 runs, Samit has been exceptional, Darren Pattinson has done very well and Chris Read has proved to be an excellent captain.”It has been a good season for the club and although we were disappointed to miss out on the LV County Championship in the final game of the season, we have finished second which is a great achievement.”The Notts squad travel to Guernsey today to take part in benefit events for AJ Harris and Shreck believes that the club can mount a serious challenge for silverware in 2009.”We’ve had a good experience this year and we know what we’ve got to do to win it in 2009,” said Shreck. “Durham came second in 2007 and won it this year. We’ll have broadly the same squad and we’ll all be more even determined because we came so close.”We’ve got a couple of dinners, a golf day and some cricket lined up in Guernsey and it will be a good chance to relax after a long season.”Test Match Special broadcaster Jonathan Agnew was the guest speaker at the awards dinner with speeches from Notts Chairman Peter Wright, Chief Executive Derek Brewer and Director of Cricket Mick Newell.Alex Hales was named Second XI Player of The Season for the second successive year and Sam Kelsall picked up the Academy Player of the Year Award.

Ajay Ratra demonstrated that he is fighting to get his Test place back with an innings of 101 not out for the Indians in their tour match at Derby. Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh all got into the forties as the tourists reached an imposing total of 445 for seven declared – enjoying the batting practice afforded by a second string Derbyshire attack and some equally friendly conditions. Ratra took 206 balls and hit 14 fours in his hundred.The county side then made a steady start to their reply. Steve Stubbings and Rawait Khan put on 131 for the opening partnership before Stubbings was bowled by Harbhajan Singh for 66. Dominic Hewson fell to Kumble for 66 as well, and then Kumble picked up another wicket before the close leaving Derbyshire on 228 for three – still 217 behind. Khan is not out 77.

England captain Nasser Hussain ensured that his team enjoyed another good day at the WACA in Perth by recording the first century of the tour and taking his side to a first innings lead of 114 against Western Australia. Although the end of the innings was a disappointment with the last five wickets falling for only 15 runs, Andrew Caddick claimed a wicket when the home side batted again to leave them at 16 for one at the close of the second day.The start of play was brought forward to make up for time lost to the weather on the first day, but the early start did not agree with Robert Key who was out before he could add to his overnight score of 33. The batsman did not necessarily agree with the decision, giving the impression the ball might have bounced before reaching Matt Nicholson in the gully off Brad Williams.Marcus Trescothick was more circumspect in his approach than either he or Key had been on the first evening, but was within a boundary of his fifty when he edged Nicholson to third slip.With the score standing at 94 for two at that point there was a chance there might have been a collapse, but Hussain and Mark Butcher saw to it that the attack made no immediate inroads. The pair put on 59 together as Butcher gained valuable time at the crease. He remained to face 84 balls before offering no stroke to a ball from Jo Angel just before lunch and he was out for 29.John Crawley helped his captain add 79 for the fourth wicket before he played on to Stuart Karppinen for 45 and Alec Stewart reached 29 with six boundaries before driving Angel carelessly and was caught at second slip.Next to go was Hussain who had batted with immense assurance to reach 117 from 220 balls in a stay of nearly five hours in the middle that will give great heart to both him and his team. His end came when he pushed forward to Nicholson with just a hint of tiredness to be caught behind.The Australians make a point of targeting the opposition captain and, with this innings under his belt, Hussain will be under no illusions about the sort of reception he is likely to receive in Brisbane during the first Test. However, he is likely to feed off that as a sign of respect.The rest of the England innings would have been more familiar to Australian spectators – including selector David Boon – as the last five wickets fell in the space of six overs as only 15 runs were added to the total. They all went to Nicholson who finished with six for 79. In this same fixture on the last Ashes tour, Nicholson grabbed the headlines with seven for 77. Hussain was captaining England on that occasion and scored 118 in the first innings.Western Australia did not open with their captain, Justin Langer, who is nursing a stiff neck, in the second innings. Mike Hussey took his place but it was regular opener Scott Meuleman who lost his wicket in the seven overs before the close. He was lbw to Caddick as Western Australia finished the day still 98 runs behind.

Javagal Srinath might have announced the reasons for his sudden and surprising retirement from Test cricket but Sourav Ganguly is not having any of it. The Indian skipper firmly believes that the Karnataka speedster must lead the Indian attack on the very demanding tour of England that is set to follow.”I shall definitely try and make him understand that the team needs him in England. I was surprised more since he didn’t tell anything about it (his plans to retire) when he left for India. I’ll try my best to convince him and take him to England,” Ganguly said before leaving the West Indies.Knowledgeable sources say that it was his omission from the one-dayers that prompted Srinath to make the decision. When told about this, Ganguly said, “I had absolutely no idea. This is the first time I am hearing about it. But I failed to understand what he meant by saying that he would not be playing in the Test matches any more.”Does he want to say that he would continue to play in the one-day matches? Once the selectors know that he will not be available for Tests, will they pick him only for the one-dayers? I’ve to discuss all these things with him and then only will I be able to say anything more on this subject,” he added.The tour of England will begin with the Indian team’s involvement in a tri-nation tournament including Sri Lanka and the home team. After this they would be involved in a four-Test series against the Englishmen. The Indian skipper was convinced that the team needed Srinath to do well in the Test matches.”We are developing into a team. Although we are yet to win a Test series abroad, we have shown that we can win Tests overseas. And Sri was an integral part of this team. He is our best bowler and can guide the young fast bowlers,” the Indian skipper observed.Srinath also seems to have been frustrated by the fact he could not bowl as well as he would have liked to in the last two Tests in the Caribbean. In fact, before leaving the West Indies at the end of the Test series, he indicated to some of his teammates that he was seriously considering retirement. But they did not take him seriously as this was not the first time that the star speedster had voiced such thoughts.”Yes, he told me that he could not bowl at the pace he was used to and that he was not enjoying playing. But I told him that with age, every great fast bowler lost a few yards of their pace but they made up for it by concentrating more on variety which assisted their team in a big way.”Marshall, Roberts, Akram, McGrath were all very fast at the beginning of their careers, but later they developed greater variety and became more dangerous. I told him to follow in their footsteps. He is too nice a bowler to be retired now,” Ganguly said, before signing-off.

HOBART – A youthful Tasmanian cricket team will go to Sydney for matchesagainst New Zealand and New South Wales early next month.With many of its frontline players on international or English countyduties, last season’s Pura Cup finalists will have only a small nucleusof seasoned players.Coach Brian McFadyen said it would be a good chance for youngsters andfringe players to show what they could do.In keeping with the learning experience, the captaincy will be rotatedfor the three matches.The Tigers will play a full strength New Zealand team, which will bepreparing for the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, in one-day matches onSeptember 4 and 5 at Davidson Oval.It will then play a two-day game against NSW at Tunks Oval.Included in the team is 22-year-old opening batsman Luke Williams, anoff-season signing from South Australia.The team: George Bailey, Gerard Denton, Graeme Cunningham, MichaelDighton, Xavier Doherty, Sean Clingeleffer, Shane Jurgensen, DanielMarsh, David Saker, Scott Mason, Shannon Tubb, Luke Williams.

John Crawley today confirmed that he has signed a five-year contract with Hampshire, and that he is looking forward to joining his new colleagues on Monday.It ends a difficult winter for the 30-year-old, who requested an early release from his Lansashire contract when he was replaced as captain by Warren Hegg after a disappointing 2001 season. The county narrowly avoided relegation in the CricInfo Championship and failed to win promotion in the National League.”It’s been a very long winter, and it’s fantastic that it’s finally sorted out,” Crawley told reporters at Hampshire’s headquarters, the Rose Bowl. “It’s all in the past now. I’m looking forward to the season, probably more than any other in my career.”Hampshire have agreed to contribute towards the buy-out costs of Crawley’s contract. He would not comment on the Lancashire situation, stating that under his new contract he wasn’t allowed to. However he does believe that there should be a system of arbitration for complex situations of this kind.As to his reasons for joining Hampshire: “I was impressed with the facilities when I came down last year, and the people, and the whole development at Hampshire.”This whole saga has been going on since before Christmas – it’s been a strain on me and my family. Hampshire showing great ambition was one of the main reasons for coming here, because I’m more used to a conservative club with old-fashioned methods.”I still have a burning desire to play for England, and I’m still learning at 30.”Expressing his delight at the signing, Hampshire coach Jimmy Cook said: “It’s not my policy to go out and recruit players, but when players of Crawley’s calibre become available you’d be foolish not to look at them.”He brings a lot of experience and stability to our squad, and he will also help the young players with their development. With his signing and that of Nic Pothas, there’ll be huge competition for batting places this season.”A statement released by Lancashire earlier today read: “Following a period of protracted negotiation, the club has agreed to release John from his contract upon the payment to the club by him and Hampshire County Cricket Club Limited of a suitable five-figure compensation payment.”The exact terms agreed between the parties are subject to a formal writtenagreement which is the subject of a confidentiality obligation.”The club wish to place on record their thanks to John for his 12 years ofservice to the county.”Crawley scored more than 15,000 runs in his 11 seasons at Old Trafford, winning 29 Test caps. He succeeded Wasim Akram as captain in 1999, leading Lancashire to a National League title. They were also twice runners-up in the Championship.

Norfolk 239/8d (C Amos 95, AR Clarke 5-84)
Buckinghamshire 24-2
Cheshire 229 (SJ Renshaw 98)
OxfordshireDevon 388/8 (GTJ Townsend 131, KAO Barrett 84)
Shropshire 28/0Herefordshire 348-6 (PS Lazenbury 143, A Farooque 85)
Wales 7-1.Lincolnshire 295/7d (M Dobson 81, M Fell 57*, J Trower 52)
Staffordshire 15/0Dorset 392/8 (SWB Rintoul 139, TCZ Lamb 81, MG Miller 79)
Wiltshire 15/1

Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella made two changes to the national cricketselection committee by including former Sri Lanka Testwicket-keeper/batsman Amal Silva and former Bloomfield, Air Force and CCCcricketer K.M. Nelson.Silva and Nelson replace Shammi Silva and Lalith Kaluperuma respectivelyfrom the five-man committee which completed its term at the end of April.The new committee comes into immediate effect.Three members of the former committee – Tikiri Banda Kehelgamuwa, BrendonKuruppu and Kapila Wijegunawardena – have been retained.Kehelgamuwa, a former Sri Lanka fast bowler, continues his position aschairman of selectors.Silva joins Kuruppu and Wijegunawardena as the three people who haverepresented the country at Test level in the selection committee.Silva played for his country in nine Tests as a left-hand opening batsmanand wicket-keeper, scoring 353 runs (avg. 25.21) including twocenturies, one of which was made on his first appearance at Lord’s againstEngland in 1984. He also claimed 34 victims (33ct, 1st) behind thewicket and played in 20 One-Day Internationals.Silva is presently the chairman of the umpires committee of the Sri LankaCricket Board (BCCSL) interim committee.Nelson has been on the national selection committee on two previousoccasions. A former cricket administrator who had served the Cricket Boardin different committees, he is presently the chairman of selectors of theMercantile Cricket Association, of which he was once president.The first priority of the new selection committee will be to pick thecaptain of the Sri Lanka A team which will come up against Pakistan Ain a series of three unofficial Tests and three unofficial One-DayInternationals starting next month.They will also have to name the senior squad to commence training for theforthcoming home Test series against India and the one-day triangular series against India and New Zealand which begins on June 18 with the Test series to follow from August 14.

Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has advocated the need for appointing a media manager for the team, saying it would ease the pressure on the captain and the players considerably."Most of the teams have a media manager these days which makes the job much easier for the team. Only the teams in the sub-continent don’t have one. I think it is very necessary", Ganguly said in an interview to Doordarshan telecast on Friday.Ganguly said that the captain has to answer a lot of questions during a series and often the media misreports the statements which gives a totally different meaning."When statements are distorted, people who read the reports have a different idea of the situation. If we have a media manager, it will ease the pressure on the captain, coach and the manager", he said.The Indian captain, who appeared for the first time in a joint interview with wife Dona, spoke on a wide range of subjects covering some of the controversies during the recent series against Australia and his family life.Ganguly said the series of controversial articles and misreporting in recent times had prompted him to be more reticent and choosy while handling the media in the country. "…after some time, you come to know who is doing the right thing and who is not doing. You have to judge for yourself", he said.Ganguly, who led India to a remarkable 2-1 series win against the formidable Australians, said that the off-field strategies he had adopted against the Australians were deliberately done to create pressure on them."Everything was part of a strategy. They (Australians) did everything they wanted and often crossed the limits. I think it was not correct on their part. We just gave them back", the Indian skipper disclosed."When you are competing to win a crucial series, you tend to overdo it at times at the cost of sportsmanship. We thought that the only way to stop them was to do what they did. I could understand that it was affecting them", he said.Ganguly said that he had a lot of respect for the Australian captain Steve Waugh and his teammates but some of the complaints they made during the series were "school boy stuff".On the chucking issue which has resurfaced in international cricket, the Indian captain said the issue seemed quite complicated and he often saw no perceptible change in the action of a bowler after being cleared of throwing."It is no doubt an issue. There is no point giving a bowler undue advantage. But at times, when a suspended bowler returns after two months, I see no change in his action".Ganguly said that once a bowler was cleared of chucking by the International Cricket Council’s committee on illegal deliveries, he should never be called again. "If a bowler is repeatedly called, it puts a lot of pressure on him. He has to get cleared again and again and it is not good for him".Ganguly described an article by former Australian captain Ian Chappell during the India-Australia series as "pre-planned" and said he had to issue a rejoinder as he had made certain baseless remarks about the team."He has the right to criticise my batting and my captaincy. Every individual may have their own opinion. But he said certain things involving the team without even verifying the facts. Everything was pre-planned", he said.Going down memory lane, the Indian skipper recalled his schooldays which he thought were the most important part of life as it laid the foundation for the future.Wife Dona said that though life had changed a lot after her husband became the national captain, many of the things still remained the same. Going to the movie halls has become a big problem for Indian cricket’s star couple. "He enjoys going to the movies. We generally go for the last show. If there is a lot of crowd, Sourav joins us after the show starts when it is dark", she disclosed.Dona also recalled her early experience in cooking and how she was apprehensive of how Sourav would take it. "It is in England when I first started cooking for him. He was playing county cricket and craved for home cooked food. As time passed, my cooking also improved".Describing her husband as a "self-made man", Dona said Sourav seldom relied on his family for mental or emotional support. "He is strong. Anybody playing for the country has to be strong". She revealed how she used to carry Sourav’s favourite food items to the hotel during the Test matches in Kolkata where the captain stayed with the team in the hotel.

The Mercantile Cricket Association six-a-side tournament will be held thisweekend (21st and 22nd April) at the MCA, Wesley, and D.S. SenanyakaGrounds. Thirty-five teams will take part in the two-day event, which isbeing sponsored by Union Insurance for the seventh year in a row. East-WestInformation Systems won the tournament last year.