Andrew Gale and Jacques Rudolph both scored unbeaten centuries as Yorkshire
thrashed Essex by 10 wickets in their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at Chelmsford

25-Apr-2010
ScorecardJacques Rudolph reached his century from 98 balls as Yorkshire stunned Essex•PA Photos

Andrew Gale and Jacques Rudolph both scored unbeaten centuries as Yorkshire
thrashed Essex by 10 wickets in their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at Chelmsford. Responding to a total of 232 for 9, the visitors romped home with 4.1 overs
to spare to inflict the heaviest defeat suffered by Essex in a limited overs
match.The previous record was also against Yorkshire, by nine wickets at Headingley
in 1982. Gale, in recording his first century in limited overs, finished with 125 that
came off 115 balls and included 12 fours and three sixes. Rudolph contributed 101 from 102 balls with the help of 13 boundaries. Their partnership represented their highest for any wicket in one-day league cricket.The nearest Essex came to breaking it was when the total had reached 64. Gale,
30 at the time, thrashed hard to cover point where Tim Phillips put down a
difficult chance low down. But from then onwards, the Yorkshire pair progressed with embarrassing ease while plundering runs from seven bowlers. Yorkshire’s other star was West Indies paceman Tino Best who picked up 4 for 46 in his eight overs.It all left Grant Flower probably wondering what he needs to do to finish on a
winning side. In recording his first limited-overs century in English domestic cricket, the
Zimbabwean showed he is still a force to be reckoned with even though he is in
his 40th year.He arrived after the first two wickets had gone down in the opening four overs
and skilfully found the gaps against both pace and spin to keep the scoreboard
ticking over.Flower’s innings was punctuated with seven fours and a six, this at the expense
of spinner David Wainwright when he launched him over long off, and the only
other batsman to put together a worthwhile contribution was skipper Mark
Pettini.While Flower ended with 113 not out from as many deliveries, Pettini struck 51
from 56 balls, before cutting Wainwright to backward point. That dismissal brought to an end a partnership of 81 in 15 overs and none of the remaining batsmen got beyond 16 as Best made his presence felt.He destroyed the middle order after earlier bowling England opener Alastair
Cook with a full toss in his first over. Cook’s only scoring stroke was a lofted drive to the boundary from a free hit that followed a no ball. It all added up to a fine start for Yorkshire who came into this game having won their opening two matches in the County Championship.

New signing Steven Mullaney took three quick wickets to rip the heart out of the Hampshire batting and set up a convincing 35-run win for Nottinghamshire in their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at the Rose Bowl

Cricinfo staff02-May-2010

ScorecardNew signing Steven Mullaney took three quick wickets to rip the heart out of the Hampshire batting and set up a convincing 35-run win for Nottinghamshire in their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at the Rose Bowl.Mullaney, signed from Lancashire in the close season, finished with 3 for 24 as Hampshire’s poor start to the season continued. Hampshire have now lost all five matches in both competitions and there was never any doubt they would lose this encounter after overnight rain and persistent drizzle reduced the match to 24 overs each.Home captain Nic Pothas chose to field first and his decision was immediately called into question as second-wicket pairing Hashim Amla and Alex Hales put on 69 in only eight overs.Veteran former England all-rounder Dominic Cork put a break on the scoring by taking three wickets in 10 balls – removing Amla for 33, Hales for 41 and then Mullaney for nine to a catch at the wicket.But Hampshire struggled to build on their successes with Chris Read and Paul Franks putting on 48 for the sixth wicket to build a formidable total of 180 for 8 from their 24 overs. Hampshire gave a debut to Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Ragana Herath but he conceded 21 off his first two overs and 38 from his four, without taking a wicket. Cork finished as Hampshire’s most successful bowler with 3 for 30.The hosts never really looked like reaching their target. Openers Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams put on 43 in 41 balls for the first wicket with the latter striking two fours and two sixes in his aggressive 29. But Mullaney came on to change the course of the match by dismissing Adams, James Vince and the hard-hitting Sean Ervine on his way to demolishing the Hampshire top order.Mullaney’s first spell was made up of three for five from three overs and, although he became more expensive later, the damage was done. Hampshire were 63 for 5 when Pothas was out, leaving his side still needing 118 from 10 overs.Only then did Hampshire cut loose, with South African Neil McKenzie and Liam Dawson putting on 67 in seven overs, but the cause was already lost. McKenzie fell at 127 and Cork went at 135, leaving Dawson to play for respectability with a top score of 47 from 28 balls which included three fours and two sixes.

The Indian captain has said his inexperienced seam attack had the most to gain from the short tour of Zimbabwe, which includes an ODI tri-series involving Sri Lanka and two Twenty20s

Cricinfo staff25-May-2010Indian captain Suresh Raina has said his inexperienced pace-bowling attack had the most to gain from the short tour of Zimbabwe, which includes an ODI tri-series involving Sri Lanka and two Twenty20s. The seamer-friendly tracks in the country will be a learning experience for the batsmen as well, but Raina hoped the fast bowlers will be able to compete for places once the seniors return.”We have some very good medium pacers. Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar and Ashok Dinda have done well in domestic cricket to earn their place in the side,” Raina told the ahead of the team’s departure. “The Zimbabwe wickets would provide them with a good opportunity to prove themselves again.”The Indian batsmen, including the more established players like Raina himself, struggled to cope with the pace and bounce of the West Indian pitches in the ICC World Twenty20, where the team exited after the Super Eights. However, Raina was confident of a better performance in the longer format.”In T20 you have to smack every ball from the start. But in the 50-overs game, you have to hold back a bit,” he said. “It’s a long format. We have players who have done well in ODIs and Tests.”Raina was appointed the stop-gap captain after the selectors decided to rest several senior players, including regular skipper MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan. Raina’s most high-profile captaincy stint so far has been leading Chennai Super Kings for a few games in the third season of the IPL in Dhoni’s absence. He has led the India A team in the past as well as his home state of Uttar Pradesh, though he’s not the first-choice captain there as well.Raina was confident of leading the country despite his limited experience. “Yes, it was my dream, but it also means added responsibility,” Raina said. “I have played under Ganguly, Rahul-bhai [Dravid] and Dhoni. I spoke to Dhoni, he just asked me to keep it simple. And Sachin [Tendulkar] always says, ‘if you stay humble you’ll achieve all that you want’.”He added that his position in the batting order is not certain. “I will speak to the coach about the line up. I will try to bat up the order, but all that will depend on the situation there.”India play their first game of the tri-series on May 28 against Zimbabwe.

02-Jul-2010
ScorecardFormer South Africa international Herschelle Gibbs’ first century in Twenty20 cricket was not enough to earn Yorkshire a win as Nicky Boje somehow snatched Northamptonshire a tie at Wantage Road.Gibbs hammered a magnificent 101 not out off 53 balls with his explosive knock including five sixes and eight fours, as Yorkshire made an imposing 180 for 3 off their 20 overs. Improbably, with Northamptonshire needing 13 off the final ball, Richard Pyrah’s no ball was clouted for six by Boje over long leg with Gibbs’ former South Africa team-mate smashing the following delivery through midwicket for four to claim a share of the spoils.Yorkshire won the toss and chose to bat first, but they got off to a bad start when, in the third over, Adam Lyth launched Chaminda Vaas to Alex Wakely at extra cover. Captain Jacques Rudolph made 14 before chipping Boje to Northamptonshire skipper Andrew Hall at extra cover.But Gibbs made it to 50 off just 28 balls as he continued to punish the Steelbacks attack. He and Anthony McGrath added 58 runs together for the third wicket before the latter, who made 16, hammered Lee Daggett to David Willey at long-onAfter his dismissal, the visitors really cut loose with Gibbs and Jonathan Bairstow blasting 73 runs between them in the last five overs. Bairstow smashed two sixes in consecutive balls off Vaas in the penultimate over on his way to an unbeaten 32 off 14 balls, with Gibbs claiming his century in the final over from 53 balls.Chasing 181, Northamptonshire openers David Sales and Vaas raced to 50 off just 27 balls as they took the game to the Yorkshire attack. Former West Indies paceman Tino Best finally made the breakthrough when he forced Sales, who was just one short of a deserved half-century, to edge to wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy.The in-form Vaas did make his 50, off 38 balls including two sixes, before smashing Adil Rashid to Azeem Rafiq at mid-wicket. Elton Chigumbura made 11 before launching Pyrah to Rashid at deep midwicket as the wheels began to fall off the Steelbacks chase.Two wickets by McGrath in the penultimate over threatened to seal Northamptonshire’s fate as O’Brien was caught by Lyth at long-off before Hall smashed him to Pyrah at deep midwicket. But Boje struck a six and a four off the last two deliveries to claim an unlikely tie.

Scotland experienced some hiccups in what was meant to be an easy chase, but held their nerve to beat Afghanistan by two wickets and sealed their place in the World Cricket League Division One final with Ireland

Cricinfo staff09-Jul-2010Scotland experienced some hiccups in what was meant to be an easy chase, but held their nerve to beat Afghanistan by two wickets in Rotterdam and sealed their place in the World Cricket League Division One final with Ireland.Through a combined bowling effort, they skittled out Afghanistan for 141. Left-arm spinner Ross Lyons bagged three wickets and was supported by seamer Gordon Goudie and the leg-spin of Moneeb Iqbal, who took two wickets each. Afghanistan had begun poorly, losing two wickets inside the first five overs and despite a middle-order resistance led by captain Nawroz Mangal, who top scored with 38, they collapsed to lose their last six wickets for 43.Opener Fraser Watts held firm for Scotland in their chase with his patient 46, and at 105 for 3 it seemed they were on track for a comfortable win. But Mangal, seamer Hamid Hassan and offspinner Mohammad Nabi caused a scare, nipping out five wickets in quick time, including the last three for just five runs. However, amid the stutter, Iqbal fought the pressure with a guarded 15, off 36 balls, to keep one end stable and help his team to victory with more than six overs to spare.Ireland completed their fifth consecutive win in the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 by beating the Netherlands by 39 runs at Amstelveen and entered Saturday’s final as the only unbeaten team in the tournament. The victory was made possible by Ireland’s middle and lower order, which led the team to 177, and their bowlers, who skittled the Netherlands for 138 in the 39th over.The stars of Ireland’s defense were spinners George Dockrell and Paul Stirling, who picked up four wickets each. Dockrell claimed 4 for 35 while Stirling’s four cost only 11 in 6.5 overs. They cut through the Netherlands line-up, preventing partnerships and stifling the run-rate. Peter Borren top scored with 47, and his 73-run partnership with Bas Zuiderant shepherded the innings from 59 for 4 to 132, giving the hosts hope. Borren’s dismissal, however, triggered a collapse and the last six wickets fell for six runs.Ireland had also suffered a collapse in their innings, that of the top order. They slumped to 59 for 5 before John Mooney anchored the innings with a half-century. Useful 20s from Andrew White and Nigel Jones propped up the innings. Mark Jonkman and Bernard Loots took three wickets apiece for the Netherlands.31-year-old Loots, who replaced Maurits Jonkman in the Netherlands side only on Thursday evening, was thrilled with his debut performance. “I heard on Tuesday that I may be playing and the clearance came through yesterday so it’s been exciting and also happened quite quickly,” he said. “I bowled decently although it was very disappointing to lose as that would have crowned the day for me. I’m realistic about my role in the side – I know I’m there more as a container than a striker but I only went for two runs an over today and I’ll settle for that and the three wickets were a great bonus.”In the clash of winless teams in Schiedam, Canada thumped Kenya by six wickets. Canada’s captain Ashish Bagai made his third half-century in five matches to guide the chase after the bowlers had restricted Kenya to 153.Such a one-sided encounter didn’t seem likely when Kenyan captain Maurice Ouma (38) and Collins Obuya (23) had steered them to 105 for 3 by the 32nd over. However, the Kenyan lower-order collapsed spectacularly, the final seven wickets going down for 48 runs, with the last five only collecting 13. New-ball bowler Harvir Baidwan was the most successful of the Canadian bowlers, taking three wickets.Canada were in a bit of a bother at 71 for 4, but Bagai and Zubin Surkari stitched together an unbroken 83-run stand to reach the target with more than 14 overs to spare. Bagai scored the bulk of the runs, hitting nine fours on his way to a 78-ball 61. The two sides face off again on Saturday to in the fifth place play-off.

The plays of the day as the action continues apace between Pakistan and Australia at Lord’s

Brydon Coverdale at Lord's14-Jul-2010Afridi not afraid-i
Shahid Afridi walked to the crease for his first Test innings in nearly four years with Shane Watson sitting on the imposing figures of 2 for 0 from seven deliveries. But instead of going block-block, Boom Boom went bang-bang. Second ball, Afridi nonchalantly flicked a boundary over midwicket and followed with another four and a six. It was much the same in the next over, including a six over long-off, but Watson had the last laugh when Afridi was caught at mid-on trying to clear the infield again. It left Watson with the Twenty20-like figures of 3 for 30 from three overs, including a maiden, while Afridi departed with 31 from 15 balls in a 15-minute cameo. “That’s probably the only way he knows how to play,” Watson said. “That’s the reason people love him but also people can get a little bit frustrated with him at times. I had no answers for a couple of overs. Every time I bowled a ball that I felt came out well he just hit it for four or six.”Able Tasmanians
This is the first time three Tasmanians have played in the Test team together, and they were in the thick of the action early on the second day. Ben Hilfenhaus started from the Pavilion End but was soon swung around to the Nursery End, and with his first delivery from that side he drew an edge behind from Imran Farhat. Tim Paine comfortably pouched the ball to register his first Test catch. Oh, and it was Ricky Ponting who switched Hilfenhaus to the Nursery End, where the slope worked in his favour.Don’t come in, spinner
There was considerable interest in how Steven Smith would bowl at Test level, but we’ll have to wait until the second innings to find out. Such was the swing in the air and the success of Australia’s pace attack that Ponting didn’t require a single over of spin, as Pakistan were bundled out in the 41st over of their innings. Smith did manage a contribution in the field, though, when he stood at third slip and snaffled his first Test catch. It was the final wicket of the innings, which handed Watson a five-wicket haul.Bollinger bubbles with enthusiasm
Doug Bollinger always charges in at full speed during his run-up, but he took his commitment to new levels with a chase off his own bowling. Danish Kaneria clipped the ball wide of the short-leg Simon Katich but there was nobody else in the vicinity, so Bollinger hared off (or should that be haired?) to haul the ball in himself. There’s never a dull moment with Doug, and his ungraceful and unnecessary slide several metres inside the boundary, which the ball wouldn’t have reached anyway, brought cheers from the crowd. He was left red-faced and puffing, but the tea break soon arrived and he had a chance to cool down.Johnson banishes Lord’s hoodoo
Lord’s was the venue where Mitchell Johnson suffered an Ashes meltdown last year, at times struggling to land the ball on the pitch, but he exorcised some of those demons today. Johnson finished with figures of 1 for 31, but it didn’t reflect his accuracy and the danger he posed to the batsmen. “He bowled beautifully today,” Watson said. “You could see him working over the batsmen every single over. To see the control that he showed today, it was pretty special. He swung a few balls as well, when he got it absolutely perfectly. Just the way he was able to work over the batsmen with his bouncers, with his control of length and line, was pretty special to see. I got one of the best seats in the house fielding at first slip.”

Lancashire limped to an overall lead of 120 runs with seven second innings
wickets intact in Canterbury after another cut and thrust day that saw 10
wickets fall on the second day of the County Championship Division One match
against Kent

19-Aug-2010

ScorecardLancashire limped to an overall lead of 120 runs with seven second innings
wickets intact in Canterbury after another cut and thrust day that saw 10
wickets fall on the second day of the County Championship Division One match
against Kent.The visitors dismissed the hosts for 249 for a slender first innings lead of
17, before slumping to 52 for 3 second time around. However, they were rescued by a fourth-wicket stand of 51 between Shivnarine Chanderpaul (23 not out) and Steven Croft (38no).The visitors reached the game’s midway mark on 103 for 3 having again
suffered at the hands of their first innings nemesis, Darren Stevens – who took
two wickets for 38 runs – and Simon Cook (1 for 26).Stevens, who took three Red Rose wickets for no runs in the first innings,
snared both openers Tom Smith (five) and Paul Horton (29) leg before wicket. Cook then joined the party by pinning Mark Chilton lbw for seven, but only after a thoughtful period of reflection by umpire Tim Robinson.Chanderpaul, fresh from a first innings golden duck, dug in thereafter with
Croft to extend the Lancashire lead into three figures as Kent, having turned to
spin in the shape of James Tredwell and Martin van Jaarsveld, struggled to beat
the bat.The second day started with Kent making steady headway in the first session
with a third wicket stand of 76 in 28 overs between Joe Denly and van Jaarsveld
before the Lancashire seamers finally discovered a dangerous line and length
either side of the lunch break.Van Jaarsveld (34), cutting off the back foot against Kyle Hogg, picked out the
fielder at backward point then, soon after the resumption, Geraint Jones (10)
dragged the ball onto his stumps off the bowling of Glen Chapple.Chapple, the pick of Lancashire’s attack with 4 for 45, then nipped one back
off the seam as Denly shouldered arms and pegged back the right-hander’s off
stump – his 69 was his second best score of a disappointing championship
season.Although the Kent tail all made starts, the innings unravelled thereafter as
left-arm spinner Gary Keedy held sway. Alex Blake was pinned leg before on the back foot, Simon Cook miscued to cover when aiming to leg and Matt Coles mistimed to short midwicket as Keedy bagged 4 for 49 and Kent gave up a 17-run deficit.

David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, has said that Pakistan are unlikely to be welcomed back to England for any series outside the Future Tours Programme

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2010David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, has said that Pakistan are unlikely to be welcomed back to England for any series outside the Future Tours Programme, after relationships between the two boards dipped to a new low following the allegations from the PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, that England’s players accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval on Friday.Earlier this summer, Pakistan played a series of two Tests and two Twenty20s against Australia in England, having been prevented from hosting their own home internationals due to security concerns following last year’s shootings in Lahore. There had been tentative plans for further such matches to take place in 2011, but Collier admitted that this was now effectively off the agenda.”We have been through difficult times before with Pakistan, as we all remember,” said Collier. “They’ll certainly be part of the Future Tours Programme in the future, [although] it’s not for a few years that Pakistan are due to tour the UK. We are working with them on a number of [neutral] games, but we have to give it time. Time is a great healer, but now and probably next year is not the right time to consider that.”Speaking to Sky Sports during the interval of the fourth ODI at Lord’s, Collier explained how a meeting involving the ECB and the England team management, that got underway at 9pm on Sunday night, ended up being extended into the early hours of Monday morning. A strongly worded joint statement was eventually released an hour before the start of the game today, in which the ECB promised to support any moves from the players towards legal action.”The players were obviously incensed by the allegation, and quite rightly so,” said Collier. “The ICC have made it very, very clear that there were no England players were under any suspicion, therefore we have made the statements we’ve made today.”There were some very difficult decisions for everybody to have to make, including the players, and I pay extreme credit to the players for the way they have conducted themselves throughout the whole series, not just for the past 24-48 hours. There was true leadership last night, and a lot of soul-searching, and I think the players, and the PCA, who have worked very closely with us, deserve a lot of credit.”When asked how close the series had come to a cancellation, Collier admitted that “all options” had been examined, although the decision to play on had hinged on two key points. “One is the precedent,” he said. “If a comment is made, do we cancel a tour in the future, and that was a concern to the board. The second concern was that we didn’t learn until the middle of the afternoon yesterday, and a lot of people would have travelled for this game already. We owe it to the general public to put on a show.””It has been an extraordinary two to three weeks, and a very sad two to three weeks,” he added. “A lot of people have been under an awful lot of pressure, no-one more so than the chairman of the Pakistan board, who has been very much at the forefront of all of the response from the [PCB]. He’s done a lot of travelling during that period, so that is the sympathy that we have.”This is different to anything I’ve experienced in cricket because has been over a prolonged period of time, not just one or two days, but the bigger concern is for the game as a whole,” said Collier. “The most important thing is that integrity is at the heart of the sport. If there is a cancer in the game, we have to get rid of it and it doesn’t matter where in the world it is and which team is involved. At the chief executives meeting last weekend, we made it very clear that there had to be zero tolerance, and we had to get it cut out of the game, if it is there.”

A round-up of the second day of the opening round of matches in Division 1 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2010Opener Ahmed Shehzad and Saleem Elahi made merry on the second day to put Habib Bank Limited in complete control against Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium. HBL lost an early wicket, that of Taufeeq Umar, but more than made up to build a first-innings lead of 180 with nine wickets still in hand. Shehzad smashed 24 fours and three sixes on his way to his maiden double-century in first-class cricket while Elahi, who, like his partner, has also played for the national team, played a patient hand to finish the day on 110. The pair added an unbeaten 307 for the second wicket and looks good for more as HBL aim to extend the lead to a margin that is large enough to enable them to force an innings win.Babar Ali stormed to his maiden first-class hundred as Multan posted 226 for 5 in reply to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines first innings total of 368 at the Multan Cricket Stadium . Babar struck 17 fours and a six in his 114, which came off 140 balls. He was dismissed by Adil Raza, who was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 42 from 14 overs. Kashif Naved on 44 and Ahmed Raza on 30 were at the crease when play ended, having added 42 for the sixth wicket.Adnan Akmal made 79 from 106, with 10 fours, and added 76 with Adil for the ninth wicket, to help push SNPL to 358. Left-arm spinner Ahmad Raza was the most successful bowler, taking 6 for 110 from 39 overs.The contest between Islamabad and National Bank of Pakistan was even at the end of the second day at the Diamond Club Ground. The overnight batsmen Imad Wasim and Rauf Akbar took the Islamabad score past 300 on the second morning, with Imad reaching his maiden first-class century. The 109-run eighth-wicket stand was broken by left-arm spinning allrounder Qaiser Abbas, who finished with four wickets. But NBP’s bowling lacked discipline; they bowled 24-no balls and the extras tally of 46 was the second-highest run-scorer for Islamabad, who were bowled out for 352. NBP looked in good shape in their response with opener Rashid Riaz (66) and Umar Amin, who played for Pakistan on the tour of England, adding 83 for the second wicket. But seamer Shehzad Azam rattled the line-up with three wickets with the score on 148 before Rehman Qadir and allrounder Hammad Azam steered their team to 201 for 5 at stumps, still 151 behind.Left-arm seamer Mohammad Khalil ensured Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited held the edge against Rawalpindi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. He grabbed 3 for 12 in 8.4 overs to seize the initiative after the Rawalpindi openers had put together a partnership of 92 and seemed good to wipe out the 120-run lead ZTBL had managed to build. Rawalpindi finished the day on 117 for 4, still three runs behind, but have opener Shoaib Nasir still batting on 56. Earlier in the day, fast bowler Sadaf Hussain ran through the ZTBL line-up, finishing with 6 for 69, his best figures to date. ZTBL looked set for a substantial lead with three of their batsmen, led by Shahid Yousuf who top scored with 70, reaching half-centuries. But the last six wickets fell for just 12 runs and ZTBL folded for 235 before fighting back again with the ball.Water and Power Development Authority continued to dominate their contest against Sialkot at the Jinnah Stadium. They had bowled out Sialkot for 126 on the opening day and built a 213-run lead on the second, thanks to an unbeaten 112 from Ali Azmat. Azmat first supported opener Adil Nisar (93) in a 74-run stand for the fifth wicket. When Nisar fell, WAPDA were 180 for 5 and Sialkot had a chance to fight back. But wicketkeeper Ahmed Said, along with Azmat, who notched up his fourth first-class century, put their team firmly on top with an unbeaten 159-run stand and extending WAPDA’s score to 339 for 5 at stumps.

Fast bowler Ruel Brathwaite has signed a two-year contract with Durham

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2010Fast bowler Ruel Brathwaite has signed a two-year contract with Durham. Brathwaite, 25, had trialled with the Durham second XI earlier in 2010 before he was asked to join the main team for the final two weeks of the season.”I was delighted to be offered a contract with Durham after my initial spell with them,” Brathwaite said. “The boys really made me feel incredibly welcome while I was there and I can’t wait to join up with them in pre-season as we prepare for our 2011 campaign. I’m excited for the opportunity ahead and I’m looking forward to making my mark.”Brathwaite, 25, made his Durham debut in the club’s final County Championship match of the season against Somerset and had match-figures of 4 for 118. Hailing from Barbados, Brathwaite was Dulwich College’s first cricket scholar and has played first-class cricket for Loughborough University, Cambridge University and the MCC.”Ruel has a great attitude and real enthusiasm about the game which really fits well in our dressing room,” Geoff Cook, Durham’s head coach, said. “We’ll be working closely with him to finalise his status as English-qualified. We’re pleased that, despite offers from other counties, he decided to commit to Durham.”