FIRST DIVISION
WARWICKSHIRE: The Frizzell County Championship trophy will be presented to Nick Knight before the start of play at Northampton tomorrow. Knight wants his side, who have not won since Guildford in July, to play like champions and finish their last match in style. Ian Westwood may get a game, as might Nick Warren, although the XI will not be named until after a final pitch inspection.
WEBSITE: www.thebears.co.uk
KENT: Kent have allowed Michael Bevan to return home to Australia after 11 disappointing matches. His lack of success and the fact that the county have used five overseas players this summer has led Graham Johnson, the chairman of the cricket committee, to seek more permanent overseas staff. Martin Saggers misses their final match against Middlesex tomorrow with knee trouble.
WEBSITE: www.kentcountycricket.co.uk
SURREY: Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, is one of four players to have been targeted by the club, Steve Rixon, the coach, has confirmed. Fleming, who has played for Middlesex and Yorkshire, is also wanted by Somerset. Rixon, who worked with Fleming when he was New Zealand coach, will not elaborate on possible arrivals or departures until after the final game against Sussex.
WEBSITE: www.surreycricket.com
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MIDDLESEX: Owais Shah, who had been linked with several counties since being relieved of the captaincy in June, has committed himself to the club by signing a four-year contract. Shah, 25, responded so well to his demotion that he has been included in the National Academy squad this winter. Stuart Clark, the Australian fast bowler, is doubtful for the game against Kent with a back problem.
WEBSITE: www.middlesexccc.com
SUSSEX: Mark Robinson, the former bowler who is now the club coach, has been awarded a testimonial next year. Robinson, 37, played for Northamptonshire and Yorkshire before joining the county in 1996. Three years later, he took his 500th wicket on the same day as he scored his 500th run. “He is exactly the type of player for whom testimonials were devised,” David Green, the chairman, said.
WEBSITE: www.sussexcricket.co.uk
GLOUCESTERSHIRE: Gloucestershire need six points at Old Trafford to stay in the first division, a total surpassed in each of their past 15 championship games. “We’re preparing in exactly the same way as we do for every game — the same way we prepare for finals,” Mark Alleyne, the coach, said. Ominous words for Lancashire. Martyn Ball is added to the squad as a second spin option.
WEBSITE: www.gloscricket.co.uk
WORCESTERSHIRE: Did it all go horribly wrong, or, looking back, did rain rob them? The biggest issue is the captaincy and there are no obvious candidates in the present team. There must also be concerns remaining over the resignation of Ben Smith, the former captain. Only Graeme Hick excelled with the bat, while only Matt Mason, with 51 wickets at 29.74, averaged under 30 with the ball.
WEBSITE: www.wccc.co.uk
LANCASHIRE: Barring a late hitch in Stuart Law’s application for UK citizenship, Lancashire should be able to sign two new overseas players for next season. In addition to Brad Hodge, they are hoping to entice Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lanka spin bowler, into a return to the club. Muralitharan had two previous stints at Old Trafford, in 1999 and 2001, taking 116 wickets from 14 championship matches.
WEBSITE: www.lccc.co.uk
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: Bilal Shafayat, the former England Under-19 captain, has been recruited from Nottinghamshire. Other new signings include Damian Wright, the Tasmania fast bowler. Kepler Wessels, the first-team manager, and David Sales, the batsman, have accepted new three-year deals but Carl Greenidge and Mike Cawdron have been released while Adam Shantry has left for Warwickshire.
WEBSITE: www.nccc.co.uk
SECOND DIVISION
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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Justin Langer, the Australia batsman, has been ruled out as a possible overseas signing — at least for next year. The county held talks with Langer last winter before opting for David Hussey, his compatriot, and would rather have a player with them for the entire summer. Barring a significant loss of form, Langer will be a key figure in the Ashes squad in 2005.
WEBSITE: www.nottsccc.co.uk
HAMPSHIRE: Hampshire’s final match away to Derbyshire tomorrow will go ahead after a minute’s silence in memory of Luke Sutton’s girlfriend, who was killed in a car crash. Chris Benham, a 21-year-old batsman from Purfleet, is expected to make his debut and Greg Lamb could make his first championship appearance. Shaun Udal replaces the absent Shane Warne as captain.
WEBSITE: www.hampshire.cricinfo.com
GLAMORGAN: Having won the totesport League, it has been an anticlimatic finish, losing the last three games and then winning promotion in the Championship on a day when a ball was not even bowled. “It was a bit strange achieving promotion with no one in the ground. I’m disappointed that we did not win Division Two,” Robert Croft, the captain, said. Matthew Maynard may need groin surgery.
WEBSITE: www.glamorgancricket.com
LEICESTERSHIRE: In a disappointing Championship season, the county can take some encouragement from the introduction of Tom New as wicketkeeper and the England Under-19 player will continue against Somerset in the final game tomorrow while Paul Nixon recovers from a torn cartilage. Phillip DeFreitas and Mark Cleary have both been struggling with ankle injuries.
WEBSITE: www.leicestershireccc.co.uk
SOMERSET: A review of the club’s workings and players’ contracts is under way. Among those whose futures have to be decided are Keith Dutch and Rob Turner. “There is a persistent trend to moan at just about everything the club says or does,” Peter Anderson, the chief executive, said. “Some letters claim to represent a large section of the membership. Has no one a mind of their own these days?”
WEBSITE: www.somersetcountycc.co.uk
ESSEX: Aftab Habib, who wants a longer contract than the one-year deal offered him by Essex, is in talks with other counties, with Middlesex favourites to sign him. Adrian McCoubrey, the Irish seamer, and Zoheb Sharif, the all-rounder, have been released. Both will play today for a joint Essex/Middlesex side in a 50-over match against South Africa at Shenley. Play starts at 10.30am.
WEBSITE: www.essexcricket.org.uk
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YORKSHIRE: David Byas, the director of cricket, is relishing the prospect of having Craig White, the captain, fully fit at the start of next season. White had just recuperated from a rib injury when a knee problem kept him out for the last two months of this campaign. “He was growing into his role as captain and he was bowling well,” Byas said. “A fully-fit Craig White will add a heck of a lot to any side.”
WEBSITE: www.yorkshireccc.org.uk
DERBYSHIRE: David Houghton, the director of cricket, has decided not to ask the ECB to call off the home Championship game against Hampshire starting tomorrow after the death of Nia Walters, the fiancée of Luke Sutton, the Derbyshire captain, in a road accident at the weekend. Derbyshire are certain to finish next to bottom but Hampshire could still win the Second Division.
WEBSITE: www.dccc.org.uk
DURHAM: Mark Davies was named the club’s player of the year at the end-of-season dinner on Monday night. Davies had been the leading wicket-taker in the country, with 50 at 18 apiece, before a side injury sustained at the end of July ruled him out for the rest of the season. Gordon Muchall was named batsman of the season, having averaged 35, an indication of Durham’s problems with the bat.
WEBSITE: www.durhamccc.co.uk