Candidates

With Mick Newell putting his cards on the table last week, Mark Robinson (Sussex) has followed suit this.                                                                    
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26154975

It was also announced yesterday that Paul Collingwood would help out with the trip to WI.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26162900

Middlesex Mafia

New England selector, Angus Fraser - the Middlesex Mafia, with Paul Downton, take over from the Taffia!

Nottinghamshire Squad 2014 Nos.1,2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10

AJMAL SHAHZAD Born 27.7.1985 Huddersfield, Yorkshire RHB RFM Cap 2013

YEAR		M	I	NO	RUNS	HS	AV’GE	CT	ST	100	50	30	0	I	OVERS	M	RUNS	W	AV’GE	ARPO	BPW	BB	5wI
	2013	12	18	2	379	77	23.69	1	-	-	2	2	-	21	343.4	66	1125	26	43.27	3.27	79.31	3-21	-

Nottinghamshire Squad Nos. 11,12, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28

Who play for the Outlaws in the T20 Blast?

Nottinghamshire Squad 2014 Nos. 37, 41, 43 and big numbers

ANDREW CARTER Born 27.8.1988 Lincoln RHB RMF

Scotland Cross the winning line

Today (01 Feb) Scotland beat UAE by 41 runs to win the World Cup Qualifiers Cup.
(3 catches for Matty Cross)

Scotland qualified for the World Cup by beating Kenya in today's Super-Six game. Matty Cross scored 55, opening, as Leicestershire's, triallist, Preston Mommsen (78) and regular, Rob Taylor (46*) chased down 261 for victory.


http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-qualifier-2014/engine/current/match/696759.html?CMP=chrome

Bear Anger

Bear anger

Warwickshire have defended their decision to re-brand the county as the Birmingham Bears for next season’s Twenty20 competition, itself spruced up and re-named the NatWest Twenty20 Blast.

The club have been criticised for discarding its  county-wide association for the shortest form of the game – now to be played largely on Friday nights and spread over the season rather than concentrated in the middle – with some members claiming they were alienated by the focus on the city.

But Colin Povey, the county’s chief executive, believes the switch – which has the blessing of the England and Wales Cricket Board – is an important step in attracting a wider audience, and stressed the Championship and 50-over sides will remain Warwickshire. Birmingham City Council, which has funded much of the re-development of Edgbaston, was a prime mover in pushing for  the change.

“We don’t want to alienate those fans,” said Povey of any disgruntled members. “We know the Twenty20 format and the time of the games means it is most likely that very local people come to those fixtures. We have to be realistic in this day and age. If your primary funding partner says ‘would you like to think about this, we think it might be a good idea’, we would be stupid and naïve if we ignored that.

“We know that 70-75 per cent of people who attend T20 matches at Edgbaston live in a B postcode. We want to try and give those members of the local Asian communities that enjoy Edgbaston with India  v Pakistan and Champions Trophy fixtures a good enough excuse to come down and associate themselves more closely with their local team.”

The Twenty20, split into north and south groups, will run from mid-May to the end of July and includes Middlesex playing back-to-back games against Essex and Surrey on one day at Lord’s.

The season will also feature a new 50-over competition, the Royal London One-Day Cup, in two divisions followed by the quarter-finals. The County Championship season opens on 6 April.- Independent

The anti-Birmingham Bears campaign is gather on Facebook

www.facebook.com/warwickshirebears

Taking a step in the opposite direction towards tradition and heritage -

Hampshire have dropped 'Royals' from their name for limited-overs cricket ahead in preparation for their 150-year anniversary.

The club have also revealed a new logo to celebrate 150 years of existence.

Hampshire played their first game on 7 July 1864 at the Antelope Ground, Southampton against neighbours Sussex.

"The enhancement of our logo has been timed to complement our celebration of Hampshire's 150th anniversary," said cricket chairman Rod Bransgrove.

"It provides a perfect balance between recognising the important historical milestone and developing a modern feel that will help the club continue to move forward for years to come."

The club were previously called Hampshire Hawks but switched their name to 'Royals' in February 2010. - BBC Sport

Postcard from Canberra

From Andy writing from England's latest tour match:

This day nighter was played in heatwave conditions at the pleasant Manuka Oval ground in Canberra.Liberal PM Tony Abbott's side was captained by Brett Lee and was a mixture of promising young players and old hands. None of the Australian side that has given England nightmares here in Australia featured. 

Postcard from Sydney NSW

Day 2 Report

Cricket watchers were still filing into there allocated seats at the sun-kissed SCG when the now not unexpected calamity occurred at the start of England's batting .

Swann quits all cricket

Graeme Swann chose today to announce his retirement from all forms of cricket, with immediate effect. Swanny cited that his body wasn't up to playing 5 day cricket any more and that he felt that he couldn't justify his own place in the team when a game was at its latter stages, just when he should be having most impact.