Lancashire fixture reflection.

Only an hour has passed since the announcement of the 2014 county fixtures and already it feels like April amongst cricket fans, who are planning hotel bookings, summer holidays and when to book  time off of work...

Lancashire will commence their return to the top-flight of the County Championship with a trip to Trent Bridge on Sunday 6th April, as they take on a fellow former holder of the Division One title, Nottinghamshire.

The expansion of the t20 format has meant that the tournament starts a little earlier this season in mid-May and Nottinghamshire will also have the honour of hosting the Lightning for the curtain-raiser of the shortest form of the game.

The most exciting prospect this season for Lancashire fans was the promise of five, yes, five matches against Yorkshire across all formats.

The Tykes visit Emirates Old Trafford for a Championship match in the closing stages of the season, the match commencing on the 31st August, with the reverse fixture at Headingley taking place in late May.

Yorkshire will also visit Old Trafford for the first of Lancashire's 50-over matches in the newly named Royal London Cup, which starts much later than last seasons 40-over contest in late July.

There is a possibility for 11 matches in a single month, August, for Lancashire, eight of which are in the RLC competition.

All 11 of Lancashire's home one-day matches will be floodlight, with 6.30pm starts for NatWest T20 Blast and 2pm for Royal London Cup games, which promises to entice big crowds from the local area.

The only marginally disappointing aspect to these fixtures is the confirmation that, in Lancashire's 150th season, just one match will be played at an out-ground, either Liverpool or Southport, when Nottinghamshire visit the Division Two champions.

The clash of the Champions will take place on 15th of June and August respectively, with Lancashire travelling North to Durham first for what promises to be an interesting match.

The last time Lancashire travelled to this ground they snatched a narrow win by two wickets as Ajmal Shahzad and Kyle Hogg guided the Roses outfit over the line against a challenging bowling attack.

2014 fixtures released.

APRIL
Date	Days	Comp	Opponents/Report	Venue/Tickets	Start/Res/Score
Sun 6	4	LV=CC	Nottinghamshire	Trent Bridge	11.00
Sun 20	4	LV=CC	Warwickshire	Emirates Old Trafford	11.00
Sun 27	4	LV=CC	Northants	Northampton	11.00
MAY
Date	Days	Comp	Opponents/Report	Venue/Tickets	Start/Res/Score
Sun 4	4	LV=CC	Sussex	Emirates Old Trafford	11.00
Sun 11	4	LV=CC	Middlesex	Lord's	11.00
Fri 16	1	NWT20	Notts Outlaws (F)	Trent Bridge	19.00
Sat 17	1	NWT20	Worcs Royals	Emirates Old Trafford	18.30
Mon 19	3	UNI	Loughborough MCCU	Loughborough	11.00
Fri 23	1	NWT20	Derbyshire Falcons (F)	Derby	19.00
Sun 25	4	LV=CC	Yorkshire	Headingley	11.00
Fri 30	1	NWT20	Warwicks Bears (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	18.30
JUNE
Date	Days	Comp	Opponents/Report	Venue/Tickets	Start/Res/Score
Sun 1	4	LV=CC	Somerset	Emirates Old Trafford	11.00
Fri 6	1	NWT20	Yorkshire Vikings (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	18.30
Sun 8	4	LV=CC	Warwickshire	Edgbaston	11.00
Fri 13	1	NWT20	Leics Foxes (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	18.30
Sun 15	4	LV=CC	Durham	Durham Emirates ICG	11.00
Fri 20	1	NWT20	Northants Steelbacks (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	18.30
Sun 22	4	LV=CC	Northants	Emirates Old Trafford	11.00
Fri 27	1	NWT20	Yorkshire Vikings	Headingley	17.30
Sun 29	4	LV=CC	Somerset	Taunton	11.00
JULY
Date	Days	Comp	Opponents/Report	Venue/Tickets	Start/Res/Score
Fri 4	1	NWT20	Warwicks Bears (F)	Edgbaston	19.00
Sun 6	1	NWT20	Worcs Royals	Worcester	14.30
Fri 11	1	NWT20	Leics Foxes (F)	Leicester	19.00
Sun 13	4	LV=CC	Nottinghamshire	Home	11.00
Fri 18	1	NWT20	Derbyshire Falcons (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	18.30
Thu 24	1	NWT20	Durham Dynamos (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	18.30
Sat 26	1	RLC	Yorkshire Vikings (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	14.00
Sun 27	1	RLC	Hampshire Royals (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	14.00
AUGUST
Date	Days	Comp	Opponents/Report	Venue/Tickets	Start/Res/Score
Fri 1	1	NWT20	Quarter-Final 1		17.30
Sat 2	1	NWT20	Quarter-Final 2		16.15
Sat 2	1	NWT20	Quarter-Final 3 (F)		19.00
Sun 3	1	NWT20	Quarter-Final 4		14.30
Tue 5	1	RLC	Essex Eagles (F)	Chelmsford	14.00
Thu 7	1	RLC	Derbyshire Falcons (F)	Derby	14.00
Sat 9	1	RLC	Worcs Royals	Worcester	10.30
Tue 12	1	RLC	Gloucs Gladiators	Bristol	10.30
Thu 14	1	RLC	Northants Steelbacks (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	14.00
Fri 15	4	LV=CC	Durham	Emirates Old Trafford	11.00
Thu 21	1	RLC	Leics Foxes (F)	Emirates Old Trafford	14.00
Sat 23	1	NWT20	Finals Day	Edgbaston	11.15
Tue 26	1	RLC	Quarter-Final 1		10.30
Thu 28	1	RLC	Quarter-Finals 2 & 3		10.30
Fri 29	1	RLC	Quarter-Final 4		10.30
Sun 31	4	LV=CC	Yorkshire	Emirates Old Trafford	11.00
SEPTEMBER
Date	Days	Comp	Opponents/Report	Venue/Tickets	Start/Res/Score
Thu 4	1	RLC	Semi-Final 1		10.30
Sat 6	1	RLC	Semi-Final 2		10.30
Tue 9	4	LV=CC	Sussex	Hove	10.30
Sat 20	1	RLC	Final	Lord's	10.30
Tue 23	4	LV=CC	Middlesex	Emirates Old Trafford	10.30

Key:  LV=CC - LV= County Championship Division 2 (4 days) RLC - Royal London One-Day Cup NWT20 - NatWest T20 Blast MCCU - University Centre of Excellence match (3 days) SEC - 2nd XI County Championship (3 days) SET - 2nd XI Trophy (1 day) SEt20 - 2ndXI t20 ACAD - Academy Match EAt20 – Emirates Airlines Twenty20 RC – Roses Challenge T20F - Twenty20 Friendly (1 day) TOM4 - Tourist Match (4 days) TOM1 - Tourist Match (1 day) F - Friendly (D/N) - Day/Night Floodlit Match

West Indies duo facing retribution.

The West-Indies duo have previously been
 disciplined for the same discrepancy.

West Indies spin bowlers, Marlon Samuels and Shane Shillingford, have been reported to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for illegal bowling actions, following their heavy defeat to India in Sachin Tendulkar's final Test match.

The limit of 15 degrees was believed to be exceeded by on-field Umpires Richard Kettleborough and Nigel Llong who have reported the incident to the governing body of world cricket.

Previous cases of questionable deliveries have led to much controversy and both of these bowlers have previously been queried regarding their irregular actions. 

Shillingford claimed 5-179 in India's first and only innings and was first reported for this indiscipline whilst making his Test debut in 2010 and was banned for a month after his average elbow extension was believed to reach 17 degrees.

The more experienced Samuel made his debut ten years earlier and was banned it 2008, but he did not resume bowling in international cricket until September 2011.

The Jamaican-born all-rounder also served a two-year suspension from cricket between 2008 and 2010 for supplying information to a bookmaker.

The prior investigations led to both men being suspended from bowling in international cricket and they were only allowed to return to spin bowling after undergoing remedial work.

Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Harbahjan Singh have all previously been questioned and indeed cleared over their irregular actions, with all men experiencing great success from their very individual styles.

The former is the leading wicket taker in Test match history with 800 wickets from just 133 games and Singh has claimed 413 victims for India.

Of all recent cases, Malinga's low and 'slingy' action best demonstrates the issue with exceeding permitted angles, which caused Kettleborugh and Llong to report the Caribbean duo. 

The pair are permitted to continue bowling, but must undergo analysis by 7th December, or they will face further retribution. 

The Little Masters departure.

An idle the world over, Sachin Tendulkar will be remembered as one of the most significant figures in the history of cricket.

His final match for national side, India, versus West Indies, presented the 40-year-old with the opportunity to finish what has been an indescribably successful career in style, having already notched-up 51 Test centuries.

Although he was unable to add to his hundred centuries, he advanced from his overnight score of 38 passing his 68th Test match half-century, as he helped India to set-up a convincing win of an innings and 126 runs against an indifferent West Indies outfit.

A smart catch from Darren Sammy at first slip off the bowling of part-time spinner, Narsingh Deonarine, cut his final innings short on 74, causing a momentary outbreak of stunned silence, followed by an applause worthy of royalty, a reaction which demonstrated just how big a miss he will be.

The excitement and euphoria he brings, particularly to his domestic following, exemplifies just how much better the sport is for having had such a magnificent talent.

His international career stretched nearly 25 years and, since the very first of his two-hundred test matches, he has been a vital part of India's long-standing command over world cricket.

The Indian selection committee had first shown interest in selecting Tendulkar for the tour of the West Indies in 1989, but they did not want him to be exposed to the dominant fast bowlers of the West Indies so early in his career.

He eventually made his Test debut later that year versus Pakistan, accruing just 15 runs, courtesy of a young Waqar Younis, who also made his first appearance in this match.

Tendulkar has a number of batting records to his name, including most runs and centuries in both Test and one-day internationals.

The veteran has amassed just shy of 16,000 runs in his Test career alone and a total of 34,000 in all formats.

Whilst his individual contributions have been a spectacle for us all, it is also worth noting that, like so many of the past cricket nations i.e West Indies who have dominated particular era's of the sport, his role alongside other cricketing greats propelled India to the top of the rankings.

Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh mirror the importance of India's rounded strength with figures such as Rahul Dravid supporting the growth and success of the top order batsmen.

His series of stand-out performances in such a successful outfit made him an instant icon and he is certain to remain a fixture in the hall of fame for generations to come.

Revolution afoot for domestic cricket.

With the ECB announcing several important changes to the domestic game, it is fair to say that the next instalment of county cricket will have a radical edge to it, but are these changes likely to enhance the quality of the game?

Perhaps the most significant of all the new rules was the decision to increase the number of points awarded for a draw in the County Championship from three to five.

Whilst this may seem to be a small alteration, the allocation of five points for a draw is the largest accolade for this kind of result for some time, with four points previously awarded in 2009.

The fluctuation in these rules calls into question as to why the ECB feel the need to change their decisions so often.

The importance of a two point increase may seem to be minute difference, but tell that to Warwickshire who would have finished level on 188.0 points with Sussex in last seasons County Championship had this ruling been in place.

Straight away we can start to see how these apparently small changes can make a big difference.

In addition, the ECB have also announced that the use of the heavy roller may be permitted in all forms of the game, but this decision rests solely with the home team, who will be able to decide when they wish to use it.

The immediate advantage of this decision is that the home team will have an ace up their sleeve.

If bowlers are playing on a featherbed of a wicket the heavy roller will flatten out the pitch, providing pace bowlers with extra bounce.

Whilst the true difference of this change will remain to be observed, once again it is a decision that, a short while ago had a much more different approach.

Cast your mind back to 2010 when the use of the heavy roller was banned after a match had started, a decision which the ECB claimed would: "maintain and promote the preparation of good cricket pitches."

The common cliche in this instance would be to observe that this rule would be the same for all counties and provide no real advantage to any one team, but sheer reasoning will inform even the amateur spectator that certain teams are likely to benefit more from this and, likewise, the teams which favour spin bowling will see less benefit.

For those of you who thought the white creases were boring and unimaginative, you will be pleased to hear that alternative colours will be permitted, a decision which seems to have stemmed from the colourful features of the Australian Big Bash, such as flashing bails.

As the commercialisation of, well, everything seems to be taking place, the ECB has also made alterations to the one-day game which prove to distance red and white ball cricket.

ODI regulations will be replicated on the county scene in the Royal London One-Day cup, with new balls being used at both ends and twenty20 matches will now be decided by a super over 

All of these changes, whilst harmless, seem to have motives beyond the benefit of the game. 

Fans want to see results and, although in hindsight you would prefer a tie, if you lose that is, the ECB's logic in this instance is reflective of the paying customer, who would rather see their team lose, than not get the chance to win.

The likelihood of games finishing as a tie is small, but it has happened before, i.e the Roses clash in Yorkshire last season, but these changes will be less likely to impact one-day cricket than the changes to the longer form of the game.

The practice of breaking the stumps at the bowlers end, commonly referred to as 'Finning', will now be punished with a no-ball, as apposed to a dead ball - And why not?

Even on the village green cricketers are able to avoid touching the stumps when they bowl and there is no reason as to why bowlers should feel the need to be so close to the stumps.

The harsh truth of this decision is, do what 99% of bowlers do and you wont be punished - Sounds fair.

The final leap into the future of county cricket involves an enhanced role for TV Umpires, who will be called into the frame to review No-Balls in the case of a dismissal.

Much like the previous decision, this has a strong case for being introduced. Previously unseen or unfair decision can now be reviewed from the on-field umpire from the bowlers end and, if justice is done, how can this be detrimental to the game?

Important changes to ECB regulations.

Several important alterations have been made to the County game by the ECB.

Perhaps the most significant news of late for domestic cricket was announced by the ECB today, who have decided to make several significant changes to the game.

The previous ruling in the County Championship awarded three points for a drawn match and this figure has now been increased to five points and 16 for a win - bonus points remain unchanged.

Bowlers who break the stumps whilst delivering will now be punished with a no-ball as the ECB adopts a ruling initially formulated by the MCC.

In addition the home team can decide whether or not to make the heavy roller available in Championship and one-day matches, but this may only be used once in the game.

ODI regulations will be replicated on the county scene in the Royal London One-Day cup, with new balls being used at both ends.

T20 matches will now be decided by a super over and the colourful nature of the shortest form of the game received a further boost, with alternative colours to white permitted for crease markings.

TV Umpires are also set to play a larger role on the county scene with ICC ruling creeping in to domestic cricket.

At the request of the on-field Umpire at the bowler’s end, the TV Umpire should check for a No Ball, but only for a dismissal. 

Waist high full tosses will also be reviewed, also for dismissals at the bowler’s end and request of the on-field Umpire, with any doubt benefiting the batsman. 

Commenting on the changes, ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: “These changes are designed to make our domestic game even more spectator and viewer-friendly as well as bring the county game into line with rule changes which have been successfully implemented at international level by the ICC."

"They will come into force along with the new county schedule next season and are the product of extensive consultation and discussion with all our key stakeholders in the domestic game.”

Lancs search for new overseas player.

Simon Katich was an instrumental figure in the squad last season.

Lancashire will need to search for a new overseas player after it was announced that Simon Katich has accepted the role of Player Development co-ordinator for an AFL team.

The Australian international will start this job part-time until the Australian Big Bash contest has reached an end, allowing the Perth Scorchers captain to see out his duties until he takes the job on a permanent basis. 

This news will come as a disappointment to the Lancashire faithful, due to Katich playing a key part in the Red Rose counties return to Division One of the County Championship.

Topping the batting averages for the second division with 73.13, his accumulation of 1,097 runs was undoubtedly a major factor in Lancashire's success' last season and, as such, he leaves a sizeable void for the club to fill.

Katich plays a lofted cover drive on his way to
62 in Lancashire's innings win vs Leicestershire. 

As well as his immense contribution to the longer form of the game, Katich also demonstrated his credentials as captain of Perth Scorchers, leading the Lightnings averages for the FLt20 contest at 44.17.

Despite their elimination in the quarter-finals to Katich's former employers, Hampshire, Lancashire fought to the very end, losing by the cruel margin of one run.

At the age of 38 many professional cricketers would feel the need to be rested, or even retire, but this was certainly not the case for Katich, who featured in all three formats of the game for Lancashire.

His only notable absence from the squad came in a freak accident in training, which saw the Australian batsman struck on the temple.

The incident, which occurred prior to Lancashire's LV County Championship tie at the Ageas Bowl, presented Andrea Agathangelou with a chance to shine and the all-rounder made an instant impact scoring 121 in the visitors first innings.

Katich scampers through for a single vs
Worcester as he reaches one of four centuries.

Katich's highest score of the season, a magnificent double-hundred away at Essex, set-up a historic victory for Lancashire, who won by an innings and 105 runs, bowling their hosts out for just 20 in their second innings.

Whichever player attempts to fill his boots faces a monolithic task, but Lancashire exercised a great deal of strength and depth last season in their batting and the addition of Jos Buttler will only increase this.

One thing is for certain. His efforts will not be forgotten and the club wish him well with his new employment.

England slipping on the international stage?

England have set their sights on the pending Ashes series down-under, but the recent One Day International series between their long-standing Aussie rivals and hosts, India, who won 3-2, saw a rebirth for two great cricketing nations, who have both suffered substantial losses over the past decade.

Gone are the days of Kumble in Kolkata or Warne at The W.A.C.A, in a period which has seen England leapfrog all test nations, culminating in their success as the number one test side on the fifth day of an Oval test match against a dejected Indian outfit.

An innings and 242-run loss back in 2011 proved to be a low-point for India who had leaked 710 first-innings runs to England. Further salt was rubbed in to the wounds when you consider the departure of ‘The Wall’, Rahul Dravid, just four months later, as India lost one of its greatest contributors to the game.

Whilst India seem to have lost players one at a time, most recently the great Sachin Tendulkar, Australia lost a plethora of talent in the blink of an eye, leaving them with the improbable task of filling gaps left by Hayden, Gilchrist, Warne, McGrath and Lee.

In truth, both nations still have a long way to come before they will reach the glory of yesteryear, but the number of breakthrough performances in the recent ODI series calls into question if we are looking at the next Sachin?

Incredible displays from the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, George Bailey and James Faulkner made this one of the greatest ODI series’ of recent times, and not just because of how closely fought each match was, but instead, for the confirmation that both Australia and India have a strong future in the game after a spell of uncertainty.

Australian captain Bailey led from the front with a massive 156 in the penultimate tie of the series and Rohit Sharma’s double-century, only the third in the history of ODI cricket, sealed a series win for India in the final match of a thrilling series.

Performances of this quality and consistency are hard to sweep under the mat and if this kind of success edges its way into the longest form of the game, there will be cause for concern in the England camp.

England may still be ahead of these countries in the test rankings, by a finite margin, but on the limited overs scene they are slipping fast. Sitting third in the ODI ranking behind these two nations and sixth in the T20 format, England are hardly in a position that strikes fear on the global stage, with much to prove before they can be considered as brutal as their competitors.

Retaining the Ashes remains the principal concern for England, but a 2-1 win for the Aussie’s in this summer’s ODI series was an early warning sign that England are a long way off the pace in other formats of the game.

There are a number of reasons to be optimistic if you are an England fan. Competition for places and squad rotation has been a real strength of their recent displays.

This policy does however have a limited number of implications. Are England’s players fit enough to sustain the schedule they are faced with? Do we take some formats of the game as serious as other nations? Or, quite simply, have England finally found a balance, not Gary, but stability, which allows them to field such different squads, a luxury that their competitors do not have.

Certainly, some might argue that a player who is capable of transferring their game from red to white ball is more useful and gives the team continuity, but there is no reason why England shouldn’t be competing with their toughest rivals with such strength and depth at their disposal.

By this time next year England will have completed their trip to the Southern Hemisphere, as well as their hosting of India for the 2014 summer, and these tasks will be decisive to the future of English cricket.

After such time has passed maybe we will have a more rounded opinion of just how far England have to go before they will catch up, or perhaps, how far they have come to rise to such a challenge.