Dominic Cork retire from cricket game

Former England international Dominic Cork has announce his retirement from cricket at the age of 40.

The all-rounder has called time on a memorable career which brought him 37 Test and 32 one-day international caps as well as taking in spells at Derbyshire, Lancashire and his most fresh employers Hampshire.

"I'm going to leave from all cricket from now," Cork told Sky Sports News.

"It's quite an exciting day for me, it's a hard decision but it's the right decision for me.

"I'm 40 now, I'm not receiving any younger and its hard work, but I've had a great career."

Cork admits his decision was partly aggravated by his desire to spend more time with his family, chiefly following the recent death of his father.

"There were offers out there, I careful them long and hard and looked at where I wanted to be in my life," he sustained.

"Losing my father a month ago, who was one of my biggest inspiration, makes you think about your life and take stock.

"I want to get back to family life - cricket can make you a self-centered person, and it's time to give it back to people."

"Hopefully I'll still be concerned in cricket. I've not really thought about it, maybe a little bit of comments, and doing a bit of PCA work and mainly just staying around cricket - but taking time away from the game with my family and doing a little bit of calming that I've not done for so long."

Cork made his England one-day international first appearance against Pakistan in 1992 and his Test debut in 1995 against West Indies at Lord's, playing his last matches in both forms of the game against India in 2002.

He sustained: "Walking out as a Test cricketer at the home of cricket was a unbelievable moment, I loved every minute of it.

"I suppose I should have played more for England, which was down to me and a few injuries all through my career."

Cork took a hat-trick in only his third Test - the fourth Test next to the West Indies at Old Trafford - setting up a six-wicket England win.

He recalled: "It was strange. It was a Sunday morning and Brian Lara and Richie Richardson were in. It was the first over of the morning, there was barely anybody in the crowd.

"The lucky wicket was Richie Richardson - Junior Murray and Carl Hooper just played around directly deliveries.

"It is a feeling that even now gets the hairs on the back of my neck sticks up because it was such a great day. I loved every minute of playing for England; I just wish I'd played more."

Cork also lovingly recalls playing along Ian Botham, adding: "I can go back to 1981, watching him at Headingley and saying 'I want to be Ian Botham'.
"To be able to play in the same side and warm up with him was just dreamlike. Nobody can take that away."

On his toughest opponent, the Staffordshire-born all-rounder added: "The best bowler I faced would be Wasim Akram - pace, left-arm, swung it and was very hard to face.

"There are two batsmen I would pick. Steve Waugh would be number three, first would be Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara. I'd almost certainly just go with Lara because I bowled against him in his pomp, but overall I think Tendulkar has been the better player."

Mike Watkinson, Cork's coach during his spell at Lancashire from 2003 to 2007, hailed a "marvelous competitor" on hearing of the player's retirement.

He said: "I wish him all the best. He was a wonderful participant and I enjoy working with him at Lancashire."

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Darren Sammy observe Stanford encouraging

Allen Stanford might be pending trial on charges of deception but West Indies Captain Darren Sammy believes the Texan businessman may still have left a positive legacy.

Sammy is leading an inexpert Windies side in the first of two Twenty20 matches against England tomorrow, partly as a makeweight in a broadcasting contract that initially included the Stanford Super Series.

That was initially slated to be an annual event culminate in a one-off match between England and a West Indian XI, with each winning player collecting a cheque for US Dollars 1million .

That opposition only ran for one year, in 2008, before Stanford's business empire, which was based in Antigua, began to crumble.

In the superseding years Stanford has been charged with fraud in the United States, which he without before being affirmed unfit to stand trial.

Away from legal issues, Sammy believe Stanford's asset in West Indian cricket - and specifically in the shortest format of the game - remains in proof in the youngsters on duty at the Kia Oval this week.

"With all due admiration to what Stanford did in the Caribbean, I don't think it could be replace," said Sammy.

"The attention that was generating during the Stanford T20 was very good for us. Now the board has the Caribbean T20 which is a very good event, in which we've seen guys like Johnson Charles, Nkruma Bonner and Christopher Barnwell, who were all exposed because of Caribbean T20.

"I don't know what is going on now with Stanford but what transpire as a result of his tournament, I think it's exposed some good players for us."

For a variety of reasons, counting personal dispute and contribution in the Champions League, the West Indies are with no first-choice players such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Darren and Dwayne Bravo, Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul and Sulieman Benn.
Sammy, though, is presentation their absence as a chance to blood new faces.

"We are missing guys, who is unlucky, but we have a young side and these guys look very certain and eager to step out at the Oval," he said.

"We have the World Twenty20 coming up and, counting these two games, we only have four before that tournament.

"Optimistically we can come up with the right merge for next year's world cup.

"Like England we now have a young team and players eager to state themselves with bat and ball, so it's gonna be attractive."

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Cricket world mourn Tiger’s death

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who overcame an impair eye to become a prophet and revolutionary captain of the Indian Test team, has died in Dehli at the age of 70. He was distress from interstitial lung disease.

He is survived by his wife Sharmila Tagore, his son Saif Ali Khan and his two daughters Soha and Saba Ali Khan. Tagore, Saif and Soha are well-known actors in India's film industry.

Pataudi played 46 Tests between 1961 and 1975 and was debatably India's most captains. He was known the leadership in his fourth Test, when he was 21, in Barbados in 1962, because the regular captain Nari service provider was in hospital after getting hit on the head by Charlie Griffith.

Pataudi was the youngest Test captain, a record that stood until 2004. He led India in 40 Tests and had a winning career despite impair vision in his right eye, which was damaged in a car accident. He also captained Sussex and Oxford University.

India won nine Tests under Pataudi and it was during his term that the team began to believe it could succeed. He advocates the multi-spinner plan because he believed India wanted to play to their strength and used it to achieve their first overseas Test win, in Dunedin in 1968. India went on to record their first away series victory, beating New Zealand 3-1. Pataudi was the Wisden Cricketer of the Year that year.

Pataudi scored 2793 runs at an average of 35 and made six centuries, the main of which was a winning 203 next to England in Delhi in 1964. However, many rate his 75, scored on one leg with one eye, alongside Australia in Melbourne in 1967-68 as his finest.

Pataudi retire in 1975 after West Indies' tour of India. After retirement, Pataudi served as a match referee between 1993 and 1996, officiate in two Tests and ten ODIs, but mainly stayed away from cricket administration.

Pataudi was the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi until 1971, when the Indian governments abolish royal entitlements through the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. He was also the editor of Sportsworld, the now obsolete cricket magazine, and a television commentator in the 1980s but slowly withdrew from an active role, though he remains a strong voice in Indian cricket.

Since 2007, bilateral Test series between India and England have been contest for the Pataudi Trophy, named after his family for their contribution to Anglo-Indian cricket. Pataudi's father, Iftikhar Ali Khan, represent both England and India in Tests. Pataudi had taken ill since his come back from England this summer after present the Pataudi Trophy to Andrew Strauss at the end of the four-Test series.

Pataudi was also a advisor to the BCCI from 2007 and part of the first IPL governing council but refused to carry on in the role in October 2010, when the BCCI made important changes to the league following the sacking of Lalit Modi as its chairman.

As the spate of controversy increased, Pataudi was the only member of the governing council to admit the body's responsibility, saying it "failed in its role to monitor the IPL's administration and be more questioning of decisions taken." In a forceful speech at the 2010 Raj Singh Dungarpur monument lecture at the Cricket Club of India, Pataudi had said it was the responsibility of the BCCI to take moral leadership of the game.

In April this year, Pataudi also took the BCCI to court in April this year, claim the board had not abided by its agreement with him while he was a advisor as well as a member of the IPL governing council.

At the opening ritual of the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 today, Ravi Shastri called for a minute of silence in honour of Pataudi.

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Graeme Swann happy to go ahead England

Graeme Swann will be happy to play the 'granddad' figure in his first match as England captain, next to West Indies at The Oval on Friday.

At 32, Swann is a minimum three years older than any of his charges chosen to take on equally inexpert opponents in two Twenty20 fixtures in the space of three days.

The off-spinner has taken over the captaincy in the absence of the upset Stuart Broad and his deputy Eoin Morgan, both stressed with shoulder problems and improbable to play again for England this year.

Swann will not be completely forsaking his standing as team joker, despite his added responsibility as England seek to build up for next year's defense of the ICC World Twenty20 circlet they won in the Caribbean 16 months ago.

True to type, he said: "I feel like a granddad to some of these boys.

"I've been approximately the block a few more times than these lads, but it's nice to have that bit of knowledge under your belt."

Swann is enormously confident too by the potential of the likes of Jonny Bairstow - fresh from his sparkling international debut next to India in Cardiff in last week's final NatWest Series match - and several others.

"These young guys are coming into a stress situation, but we consider they're good enough to cope with that," he said.

"I'm sure they'll take pleasure in it once they get on to the park and realize what a good time we have as a group. They'll love being a part of it.

"We're very eager about these youngsters. They've been bring up on this format of the game and they're outstanding at it."

England is already eyeing their next World Twenty20 campaign, in Sri Lanka almost accurately 12 months away. "With that Twenty20 'World Cup' being in the sub-continent, I think we're going to have to play a lot of spin bowling over there," Swann added.

"We've got lads like (Danny) Briggs and (Scott) Borthwick coming into this team who are superb young spinners with outstanding records in Twenty20.

"I'm confident they'll do well over the next few days, if they play.

"We've not got many games before Sri Lanka. We're proud world champions, and want to keep hold of that covering so these are vital games for us.

"It's a bit of added stress for me. But I'm going to enjoy that and succeed on it."

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Mohammed Kaif steps down as UP captain

Mohammed Kaif has stepped down as captain of the Uttar Pradesh Ranji cricket team but would carry on playing as a batsman for the state side.

Sources say, Kaif, who led the side for six years, is likely to be replacing by R P Singh as the left-arm pacer's name is doing the rounds in the state cricket circles.

"I am happy with my stretch as captain of the UP side. In the last six years, we reach the final four times and once we won the title. But now I want to play just as a batsman," Kaif told PTI from Bangalore, where he will play in the Champions League T20 for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Kaif, who played 125 ODIs and 14 Tests for India, has knowledgeable UPCA Secretary and IPL Commissioner Rajeev Shukla about his decision.

"I well-versed him about this post Challenger Trophy. I would like to be part of the team just as a batsman."

Kaif skillfully parry a question on who he would like to take over as next captain.

"There is no shortage of talent in the state. Whoever is chosen, I will support him."

UPCA chief selector Gopal Sharma also refuse to reveal as to who will lead the side.

"When the selection committee will sit, then only it will be decided. We will absolutely Miss Kaif as captain but the good thing is that he will be in the mix to guide the players," he said.

Another UPCA official, who wished not to be named, said, "though Suresh Raina is the best option to lead the side but since he is busy with the national team, he won't be able to use sufficient time with the state side. So, R P Singh is front-runner for the job."

Other sources say, if R P Singh is engaged for some reasons, then Praveen Kumar or Piyush Chawla might get the job. It is likely that the selection committee also chooses a new coach and the manager.

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