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South Africa’s management has explained the players will wear black armbands in memory of people who were an important part of cricket in the country “especially post-unity”

Firdose Moonda03-Feb-2013South Africa’s management has explained the players will wear black armbands in memory of people who were an important part of cricket in the country “especially post-unity”, according to team manager Mohammed Moosajee.The team did not wear black armbands for former players Neil Adcock and Peter van der Merwe, who died last month, and no on-field tribute was paid because of sensitivities surrounding South Africa’s racially-divided past although there was a moments silence at CSA’s AGM.*”The player policy is that they will consider wearing black armbands if someone who is close to the
 team and management from a family perspective, or someone who has been involved in CSA, especially post-unity, dies,” Moosajee said. “If you open it up further than that, you’ve got to remember the sensitivities on both sides. With sensitivities on both sides, whom do you say yes to?”Before South Africa’s readmission in 1991, only white players represented the country because of the Apartheid policies in place. Adock played between 1953 and 1962, while van der Merwe’s career was between 1963 and 1967. Players of colour formed their own board and held domestic matches but none were eligible for the national team.As a result, Cricket South Africa has tried to restrict commemorations to those involved only after readmission. For that reason, the players’ shirt numbers begin from 1991. The decision to not award Test numbers to players before unity and the absence of armbands has aggrieved some former players.”It’s time to forgive and forget,” Barry Richards said. “We can’t keep up this pretence that there was no cricket before 1992. I was three years old when the National Party came in to power in 1948, but I’ve paid the penalty. They keep talking about disadvantaged people – no-one’s more disadvantaged than Graeme [Pollock] and I. We couldn’t have Test cricket and we’re not recognised now.”It was a sad part of our history, but let’s acknowledge that the guys who were good in that era were good, and when they die we respect them. It would be nice if the team did that. Neil Adcock in his prime would have got into a World XI and you have to acknowledge that. There is a certain respect that should be shown older guys. It just goes on and on and it’s time to bury it all. It smacks of pettiness.”Graeme Pollock agreed. “The lack of black armbands for Adcock and van der Merwe is in line with the thinking that anything that happened pre-1992 doesn’t get any credit or wasn’t part of the system,” Pollock said. “Everybody who has played for South Africa has made a contribution and those 
two gentlemen certainly made a contribution.”Adcock took 104 wickets at an average of 21.10 in his 26 Tests while van der Merwe captained South Africa to their second Test series win in England, in 1965.* 11.55GMT, February 4: This story was amended to add that a minutes silence was observed at the board’s AGM.

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches played on March 6, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2013
Scorecard
Knights prevailed over Titans by eight runs in Centurion in a high-scoring game. The Knights were asked to bat and their openers gave them a fitting start, Rilee Rossouw and Loots Bosman adding 92 in 10.4 overs. Bosman almost batted through to the end of the innings, dismissed off the penultimate ball for 91, an innings that included five fours and five sixes. He was involved in another attacking partnership, with Pite van Biljon, who blasted 32 off 16 balls and helped push the score to 196.Titans lost captain Henry Davids in the first ball of the chase. The Knights seamers Johan van der Wath and Malusi Siboto made steady inroads, picking up two wickets each, and reducing the opposition to 61 for 5 in the eighth over. Roelof van der Merwe and Albie Morkel revived the innings, however. Van der Merwe made 66 in 45 and Albie smashed four sixes in his 48. The pair put on 96 runs in 51 balls, giving their team sniff at victory. But both fell off successive deliveries in the 17th over bowled by Dean Elgar, and even though the tail took the Titans to 188, the big push Albie and van der Merwe are capable of delivering at the death was absent.Knights now have three wins from five games.
Scorecard
Warriors beat Cape Cobras by seven wickets in Port Elizabeth. Their bowlers, seamers Wayne Parnell and Andrew Birch, especially, bowled economically, to restrict Cobras to 129 for 7. The pair picked up four wickets between them and conceded just 44 in eight overs. After being reduced to 13 for 3, Justin Ontong (41) and Dane Vilas (35) put together 75, before the lower middle order took the score to 129.Warriors began the chase steadily, with a 42-run opening stand, though quickly slipped to 52 for 3. But Sambit Patel (34) and Adrian McLaren (36*) stabilised the innings in a 630run partnership and set up the team’s victory. Victory was sealed with three balls to spare. Warriors are third on the points table now, behind Knights, who trail table-toppers Lions.

Luke Ronchi, the former Australia wicketkeeper, has earned his first call-up to a New Zealand squad after being picked for the one-day series against England and the Champions Trophy in June

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2013Luke Ronchi, the former Australia wicketkeeper, has earned his first call-up to a New Zealand squad after being picked for the one-day series against England and the Champions Trophy in June. Daniel Vettori also made a return after eight months out of international cricket with an ankle injury, selected in the one-day side.There were few surprises in New Zealand’s Test squad for the England tour, with opener Martin Guptill and fast bowler Mark Gillespie, both returning from injuries, added to the group that featured in the recent home series against England. With Gillespie’s return, seamer Ian Butler misses out, the only omission from those home Tests.Fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan, who was ruled out after the first game of the one-day series against England after suffering a side strain, returns to the one-day side. He had been quite effective in the one game he played, taking 4 for 56 though he could not complete his quota of overs. Guptill had been injured in the same match, pulling a hamstring.Gillespie last played for New Zealand a year ago, in the home Test series against South Africa. He then injured his ankle, before gaining a call-up for the T20 series in South Africa in December, only to pick up a side strain and miss out further.Batsman Hamish Rutherford and keeper BJ Watling are the ones to miss out from the home England ODIs. New Zealand lost that series 2-1, before going on to draw the three-Test series 0-0.Their tour of England includes two Tests, starting on May 16, followed by three ODIs. That is followed by Champions Trophy between June 6 and 23. Following the Champions Trophy, before they return home, New Zealand play two T20s against England.Test squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Dean Brownlie, Peter Fulton, Martin Guptill, Mark Gillespie, Tom Latham, Bruce Martin, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk), Kane Williamson
ODI Champions Trophy squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson

Harbhajan Singh went for 26 runs in a horror first over of the match, but he hit a six in the last over that broke the hearts of a packed Eden Gardens to top off Mumbai Indian’s comeback in the match

The Report by Sidharth Monga24-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Redemption arrived on the same night for Harbhajan Singh•BCCI

Harbhajan Singh went for 26 runs in a horror first over of the match, but he hit a six in the last over that broke the hearts of a packed Eden Gardens to top off Mumbai Indian’s comeback in the match. From 46 for 1 after three overs of the match, Mumbai clawed their way back through Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga and Pragyan Ojha who went for 72 runs in their 12 overs and took six wickets, including just three runs in the special last over bowled by Malinga. Dwayne Smith then led the chase with batting more hit than miss, followed by handy contributions from Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard before Harbhajan redeemed himself for the night.There was a measure of redemption for Rohit too, who was leading in the absence of Ricky Ponting who had sat himself out. Rohit went against the common knowledge that Yusuf Pathan has been going through a wretched time against pace, and instead provided him spin at the start. Yusuf tucked into Harbhajan who seemed to lose fresh chunks of confidence every ball.Immediately partial redemption arrived for Harbhajan when Yusuf edged to him at slip the first legitimate delivery of pace he faced. Mumbai had got a toe in the door there, and little by little they shoved their foot in. Johnson got Yusuf, Ojha frustrated and got the other big two, Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis, the latter once again for a pedestrian strike-rate, which often gets masked by Kallis’ all-round ability and stylish stroke-play. Kallis wasn’t available to bowl today, and the man substituting for him was involved in a crucial and unfortunate incident.Coming together at 92 for 3 in the 12th over, Eoin Morgan and Manoj Tiwary tried to force the pace, but Johnson and Malinga proved to be too good towards the end. Morgan hit Johnson straight to midwicket, and Malinga’s last over was a reminder of how impossible it was to hit him was when he was at his best. A mix of yorkers and slower balls had two sets of stumps demolished.In the chase, it seemed like Mumbai were playing against one man, Sunil Narine, who took three wickets for 17, and turned the game around every time he was called upon, but the batsmen were smart and batted well against the others. Narine dismissed the birthday boy Sachin Tendulkar through the gate pretty early, but by then the scratchy Smith was beginning to time a few.And Smith is a dangerous batsman that way. He can look scratchy before hitting a brief purple patch and taking the slightly relaxed opposition by surprise. As he did in this game, even with wickets falling at the other end. By the time he got out – in Narine’s second over, in his second spell – he had clobbered 62 of Mumbai’s 82 runs, and had left them 78 to get in nine overs.Captain Rohit now targeted Sachithra Senanayake, who registered his most expensive Twenty20 figures: 1 for 50 in four overs. Two sixes in one over brought the target down to 56 off seven overs, an asking rate consistent with the one at the start of the innings. Normally, you would back the chasing side, but Narine still had two overs remaining, but even before Narine was called back a slice of luck awaited Mumbai.For the second time this season, a Knight Riders fielder at long-off lost a catch in the lights, and this one proved to be mighty expensive. Pollard was missed by substitute Brendon McCullum, and he had brought the target down to 10 by the time he eventually got out. Narine, though, had his last say before retiring for the night, taking Rohit with the last ball he bowled, leaving Mumbai 28 to get off three overs.Pollard looked assured for two overs, but was done in by an extremely slow delivery at the start of the last over, bowled by Rajat Bhatia. It was clear the trick had lost all its novelty when Harbhajan waited deep in the crease, and smacked a slow dolly over midwicket. Three off three was easy to get after that.

Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan, who have been dropped from the ODI team, have been retained in the top A category while fast-bowler Umar Gul, who plays all three formats, has been dropped from A to B

Umar Farooq14-May-2013The PCB has has announced 30 central contracts for 2013, with a 15% increment in the monthly retainership fee. Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan, who have been dropped from the ODI team, have been retained in the top A category while fast-bowler Umar Gul, who plays all three formats, has been dropped from A to B. Kamran Akmal, who wasn’t considered for a central contract last year, has been awarded a Category C contract this time.The PCB, for the second straight year, has increased the retainership incomes, with the Test match fees across all categories up by Rs. 55,000. “The 2013 Central Contracts have raised the Retainership fee by 15 per cent,” the PCB said in a statement. “In the 2012 Central Contract, the same had been increased by 25%. It may be noted that the increase in player fees in 2012 made after 3 years as the last increases were made in 2009. Thus in the last two years a total increase of more than 40 % has been made.”

The contracts list

Category A (Pakistan Rs. 359375 monthly): Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi
Category B (Pakistan Rs. 251562): Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Abdur Rehman, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Nasir Jamshed
Category C (Pakistan Rs. 143750): Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat, Aizaz Cheema, Taufeeq Umar, Adnan Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Irfan
Stipends category (Pakistan Rs. 71875): Sarfaraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Umar Amin, Zulifqar Babar, Asad Ali, Harris Sohail Sohail, Anwar Ali

The raise this year was a result of lengthy negotiations between players and the PCB, as most of the senior players were unhappy with the retainers offered. Players have been deprived of the ICC tournaments appearance fee by the PCB, and they were also barred from playing the 2012 Bangladesh Cricket League. Last year, a lack of planning meant Umar Akmal, Afridi and Saeed Ajmal failed to fulfill their commitment with their respective Big Bash League franchises.A senior player, on the condition of anonymity, told ESPNcricinfo last month that players were underpaid compared to other teams around the world. “Whatever the case is, we are missing IPL and last year players even missed out on the BPL,” said the player. “In a country where cricketers are playing the game as their full-time livelihood, they should be treated with care. We need serious deliberation on this matter with the PCB.”The players were without contracts since December 31, 2012. They were handed their current contracts on Monday hours before Pakistan’s 15-man squad departed for Scotland ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. In a press release, the PCB listed 30 names across four categories “A, B, C and stipends,” with five men, including Afridi, handed the top contract. Nine players – who failed to find themselves in three major categories – were slated into the stipend category.

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene feels Sri Lanka will be severely tested during the ICC Champions Trophy but hopes the team can bank on its experience to do well

Sa'adi Thawfeeq26-May-2013Former captain, Mahela Jayawardene feels Sri Lanka will be severely tested during the ICC Champions Trophy. Sri Lanka are in Group A with host England, Australia and New Zealand, three countries that bank on pace for success, and they open their campaign on June 9 against New Zealand in Cardiff.”It’s a tough group in those conditions but what we have to think of [is] how we’ve played in such big tournaments in the past,” Jayawardene said. “We should not think of the result but just take one game at a time and move on. That’s what we’ve done in the past in big tournaments with great success.”We’ve got the talent, we just need to go out there and back ourselves and perform.”The top two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals and Sri Lanka need to win at least two of their three league matches to progress to the next stage.A veteran of 391 ODIs – third behind Sachin Tendulkar (463) and Sanath Jayasuriya (445) in the list of players with most ODI appearances – Jayawardene was wary about Sri Lanka’s batting in English conditions. “Our batting will be tested, but the last time we were there we countered them well. We’ve got the capacity to do that and hopefully give our bowlers the opportunity. We should not think too far ahead and just concentrate on those little things.” Jayawardene also holds the record for the most consecutive appearances for Sri Lanka in Tests (93) and ODIs (122).The Champions Trophy will be his first major international tournament since the T20 international against Australia in January. Jayawardene missed the Test and ODI series against Bangladesh after fracturing a finger during a domestic game in February. He returned to competitive cricket in the IPL, captaining Delhi Daredevils.”I wasn’t used to that kind of injury and it was a bit tough,” Jayawardene said. “Initially, it was a bit of a struggle for me to hold the bat but I had to push myself because that was the only way I could get better and get my mobility back.””The first two-three weeks [of IPL] were a bit tough I got hit a few times on the finger while fielding. Now it’s improving and it will take about another month or so before I get full mobility. It was a bit unusual to sit in the sidelines. I was eager to get back into action. Although I didn’t have a good season with Delhi, getting back to playing cricket got me going.”He had a poor season in the IPL this year, scoring 331 runs at an average of 22.06. The team had a poor finish, too, with three wins in 16 matches. Jayawardene put down his performance to a lack of consistency instead of a lack of form. He also expressed his disappointment at not being able to play in Chennai, after Sri Lankan players were prevented from playing.”Diplomatically speaking, I think we did the right thing, the government did the same thing as well when they sent people to Delhi and Mumbai,” he said. “After going and playing in India we created a better situation because the rest of India was really upset that we were not able to travel to Chennai.”You need to look at these things in a very diplomatic way and what’s best for the country. We don’t want another war, we don’t want to be in another situation. We should be looking at diplomatically heading in the right direction, solving our own issues and moving on, rather than getting people from outside and creating disharmony amongst ourselves in the country. We shouldn’t let our emotions take control over us.”At 35, with more than 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs and an enviable captaincy record Jayawardene has only a few blanks left on his resume.”Individually, I have slowly achieved my goals but now I am looking to win big tournaments for the country,” he said. “We have already won the Champions Trophy, although we were joint champions. If I can get another one, it will be great.”Jayawardene, who dead batted questions on his retirement by stating he will trust his instincts to guide him on the matter, is also conscious of his role as a senior member of the Sri Lankan team. “The other thing is to try and guide the younger generation in the right direction and get them to push themselves. Those are the few responsibilities that I have while playing”, he said.

Sri Lanka inflicted a number of statistical wounds on India during their bonus-point victory at Sabina Park, a result Virat Kohli called a “reality check” for his side

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2013Sri Lanka inflicted a number of unsightly statistical wounds on India during their bonus-point victory at Sabina Park, a performance Virat Kohli called a “reality check” for a team that had suffered two defeats in the Caribbean after winning the Champions Trophy in England. India’s chances of making the tri-series final are now diminished, because they need to win both remaining matches and hope West Indies beat Sri Lanka to avoid needing a bonus point.*”We have to analyse what we did wrong. We have two more games to go,” said Kohli, who was standing in for MS Dhoni in his first ODI as captain, after the 161-run defeat. “This is going to hurt the guys a little bit.”India’s bowlers did not challenge the Sri Lankan openers after Kohli had won the toss; the upshot was a 213-run opening stand and the first time that a team batted 50 overs in the first innings of an ODI without losing more than one wicket.”It was a tough day at the office. We were not up to the mark with the ball,” Kohli said. “The Sri Lankans batted really well, and we did not. To chase down 349, you need a quick start, we were not able to do that, that did not give us momentum.”India were dismissed for 187 in the 45th over, managing only 13 more than Upul Tharanga’s individual contribution to Sri Lanka’s 348, with Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 49 being the top score.Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews had been dismayed at losing the toss but was thrilled with how the match played out. “We needed that, especially after losing the toss, we were on the back foot. Mahela showed his class. Upul struggled a bit initially but batted through and was brilliant later.”We needed to get that 250, bowlers never let us down if we score 250. Hats off to Mahela and Upul. I am doing my bit the way I can.”The unbeaten 174 was important to Tharanga because not only was it his best ODI score, but it had come after he was recalled to the squad due to an injury to Tillakaratne Dilshan. Tharanga had been sidelined since January.”We needed to get a start because we lost the toss on a sticky wicket,” Tharanga said. “The first ten overs were crucial. They [India] bowled well upfront. So we had to ride that, and then we put the pressure back on them.”*0650 GMT The sentence had said that India needed to win at least one of their remaining games with a bonus point. This has been amended.

Janaka Gunaratne’s confident 40 from 31 powered Basnahira Greens to a challenging 139 for 6 on a slow Premadasa surface, before their bowlers ensured a 14-run win over Uthura Yellows in the Super4s T20 tournament in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2013
ScorecardFile Photo: Suranga Lakmal was instrumental in limiting Uthura below their target•AFP

Janaka Gunaratne’s confident 40 from 31 powered Basnahira Greens to a challenging 139 for 6 on a slow Premadasa surface, before their bowlers ensured a 14-run win over Uthura Yellows in the Super4s T20 tournament in Colombo.Gunaratne arrived with his side struggling at 43 for 3 in the ninth over, after being put in to bat by Uthura. However, he quickly set about accumulating runs along with Dimuth Karunaratne, who took a cautious approach as wickets fell around him. Gunaratne struck two sixes off Jeevan Mendis in the 13th over to get the innings going, but lost Karunaratne after the opener went for a big shot against Akila Dananjaya in the 14th over.Left-arm spinner Sohan Boralessa was Uthura’s early strike weapon, conceding only 14 from his first 3 overs and dismissing Dilshan Munaweera and Angelo Mathews. But the spinner ended badly, giving away 19 runs in the 15th over, his last of the match. Shaminda Eranga had Gunaratne out to a hook before the batsman reached 50, but Kithuruwan Vithanage and Kosala Kulasekara ensured the final overs were fruitful, scoring 22 and 15, respectively.Uthura began with an assured 45-run stand between Mahela Udawatte and Ashan Priyanjan, but boundaries proved elusive after the openers fell, and the required rate kept climbing. Captain Dinesh Chandimal made 19 from 20 balls, and Jeevan Mendis 19 from 23, leaving Thisara Perera with plenty to do when he arrived in the 16th over.Perera had been in fine batting touch in the Twenty20s against South Africa, and he began well, gathering 17 off his first 6 deliveries. However, he fell to a mis-hit off a low full toss from Suranga Lakmal to long-off, taking the side’s chances of a victory with him. The Basnahira bowlers finished with good economy rates, while Lakmal was the leading wicket-taker with 3 for 20.

The ECB, had it decided to stick rigidly to the Laws of the game, could have ordered the umpires to bring this match to a close and to re-start this contest on the same pitch after one of the scorers was taken ill

Ivo Tennant at the Ageas Bowl06-Sep-2013
ScorecardRob Keogh’s maiden first-class century, which he upgraded to 221, was near wiped from the record books•PA Photos

The final day of this match predictably ended in a dull draw, watched by all too few spectators. That there was any play at all was not just as a consequence of an improvement in the weather. The ECB, had it decided to stick rigidly to the Laws of the game, could have ordered the umpires to bring proceedings to a close and to re-start this contest on the same pitch.The reason being because one of the two official scorers, Tony Weld of Hampshire, was taken ill and returned home. There was no replacement for him.Tony Kingston, representing Northamptonshire, had to score for both clubs for the entire day, using one computer. This is contrary to Law 4 (The Scorers) which stipulates the appointment of two scorers. Indeed, the “notchers” or “chalkers”, as they were known, have long been considered integral to the staging of a cricket match.A scorer for OPTA, supplying data, continued to operate in the same scorebox here but did not take over Weld’s work as well. Hence, in theory, the umpires, Martin Saggers and Steve O’Shaughnessy, could have insisted that the match be restarted and another four days allocated.What occurred instead was that Alan Fordham, the ECB’s Operations Manager, “used his discretion” to ensure this fixture was completed. “The alternative,” according to a spokesman, “was to end the game.” Tim Tremlett, Hampshire’s Cricket Secretary, spoke to the umpires and contemplated scoring himself, but had other work to consume him. Asked if he had contemplated contacting Vic Isaacs, the club’s long-serving former scorer who lives near the ground, he said he would not be taking up that option.Isaacs would have been the obvious replacement in that his 31 years service with the club remains a post-war record and he continues to score in local club matches. Yet he fell out with the club and Tremlett, his “line manager” as he called him over the public address at the end of his final match in 2006. It was anticipated that Isaacs would be granted a Benefit year by the club the following season, but instead Rod Bransgrove, the chairman, imposed a ban on his attendance. Isaacs’ son, Richard, who scores for Sky, said his father would have been happy to be called up if asked.There have been other instances of clubs being without their scorers, if not for an entire day’s play. Mike Selvey, the former England bowler, recalls a match at Tunbridge Wells in which both the Middlesex and Kent scorers, Harry Sharp and Claude Lewis, did not pick up their fountain pens in the first half hour of the second session because they were having such a good lunch. When Lewis wanted to go to the lavatory at other times, Derek Underwood, whom once he coached, would fill in his scorebook. Computerisation brought all this to an end. Kevin Baker, the Hampshire analyst, will stand in for Weld for the club’s Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-final against Glamorgan.The match itself started half an hour late owing to rain and was concluded with a declaration by Northamptonshire at 4.20 pm. Hampshire, no doubt, would have preferred an earlier finish given their looming semi-final. Maybe the ECB could have done them a favour in bringing about an early conclusion, after all.

On Wednesday, Nigel Hilliard, the Essex chairman, said that the prospects of Monty Panesar remaining an Essex cricketer next year will be dependent on how well he fits into the dressing-room for the remainder of the season

Ivo Tennant at Colchester22-Aug-2013On Wednesday, Nigel Hilliard, the Essex chairman, said that the prospects of Monty Panesar remaining an Essex cricketer next year will be dependent on how well he fits into the dressing-room for the remainder of the season.Given that he has been in the middle for most of his first few days at Colchester, bowling no fewer than 54 overs, he has hardly had time to converse with his new colleagues. Yet, according to James Foster, his captain, the signs are highly auspicious.”I had been with him on an England Lions tour and I knew him to be a quality guy,” Foster said. “Monty has fitted in really well. He keeps himself to himself but he has shown great exuberance around the dressing-room and enjoys a bit of banter. It has helped that he has known other players from the past – he has played a lot of cricket with Ravi Bopara and against Gautam Gambhir.””I don’t know what has been agreed between Essex and Sussex and have no idea if he will be back next season – that is down to the powers-that-be – but there is no question he has gone down well. I thought his bowling was excellent on a good batting pitch which did not offer anything in the way of spin. His control was relentless. It does not look as if the pitch is going to break up, either.”The perception from the boundary was that Panesar was firing the ball in at the batsmen, striving for containment and maidens rather than enticing them into trying to hit against such turn as there was or over the top. Not so, felt Foster. “There was plenty of variation and he mixed his pace up nicely. The only way a spinner could get a lot out of this pitch was through control. He was bowling against good, in-form batters. That was what I, as a wicketkeeper, found to be exceptional.”Foster said the club had had to move smartly when they knew Panesar was being released by Sussex and was amused that Northamptonshire had arrived at Colchester at the start of this week anticipating that the England spinner would be turning out against Essex. “Monty could make the difference between us gaining promotion and remaining in the second division,” he said. “In theory, pitches take spin at this time of year and that is why we went for him. I am not sure whether he will play in our remaining one-dayers.”Panesar is staying in a Colchester hotel this week and will then move into the Chelmsford area. Foster said that as part of the agreement over his release from Sussex, he was not be permitted to join a Division One club – in other words, he would not be allowed to play against them for the remainder of the season. The Essex captain was unaware that Sussex had prevented him from speaking to the media during the Colchester festival.There was no play on the third day to test whether or not there would be anything in the pitch to encourage the spinners on both sides. The presence of Panesar has been well received by Essex members and supporters, but inevitably there has been the odd grumble over the wages that will be paid to him between now and the end of the season. He will remain on the same salary he was receiving from Sussex. After that, the club will be competing in a free market.