West Indies edge first ODI.

Michael Lumb's century on his ODI debut was not enough to save England.

England suffered further chaos in the Caribbean after losing the first ODI against West Indies by 15 runs, despite being in a commanding position.

Michael Lumb led England’s run-chase with an impressive century on his England ODI debut, becoming the second Englishmen to do so.

West Indies added nearly 200 runs in the second half of their innings, demonstrating just how well England had started, but also how badly they had finished, with the ball.

The visitors leaked 85 runs from the last five overs and their run chase could have been ever harder if it wasn’t for tight start to the game, with six maidens in the first 20 overs.

The hosts struggled to accelerate at the start of the innings and England reduced the opposition to 45-4 in the sixteenth over, presenting the rest of the team with an unfavorable task.

Kent spinner, James Tredwell, proved to be economical for England, finishing with 1-21, claiming the important wicket of opener, Dwayne Smith (24).

The innings was initially rebuilt by Lendl Simmons (65) and West Indies captain, Dwayne Bravo, who added 108 for the fifth wicket, giving the hosts a more competitive target.

At the death England’s bowlers proved ineffective. Captain Stuart Broad bowled just six overs and all-rounders, Ben Stokes and Ravi Bopara, didn’t bowl at all.

Bravo (87) and Darren Sammy, were belligerent in the latter stages of the innings, sharing 13 fours and 5 sixes between them.

Tim Bresnan claimed 3-68 from his allocation, removing Sammy off the final ball of the innings, but the damage had already been done by the all-rounder who smashed 61 from 36 deliveries.

The response began with two ODI debutants, Lumb and Moeen Ali, with both batsmen vindicating England’s decision to open with these uncapped players.

The opening stand, worth 96 runs, was the highest by two debutants in ODI history. Lumb reached his half-century from 58 balls, but the following delivery saw the dismissal of his partner for a valiant 44, after he had earlier claimed 1-25 with the ball.

Luke Wright had flourished in the Australian Big Bash but was unable to replicate this form for England. Sammy removed the Sussex all-rounder for just one and the innings was halted by the sudden loss of two quick wickets.

Ably assisted by Joe Root, Lumb soldiered on and the pair amassed a 50 partnership for the fourth wicket to steady the innings.

The hosts soon became fatigued by this stand, and Lumb capitalized on this, reaching his century from 109 balls as he led England’s chase of 270.

As is often the case, the batting powerplay had a negative impact for England, losing Lumb and Stokes, as the required run rate continued to rise steadily.

This forced pressure on Root (37) and Buttler (12) and they were both dismissed in quick succession, leaving England with a complicated task. 

With just four wickets in hand, England struggled to cope with the run rate approaching 12 runs per over and the efforts of the unbeaten Bopara (23) and Bresnan (14) were not enough to save England.

After starting their chase comfortably, England’s innings was halted by the experienced batsmen who have once again failed to live up to expectation.

The damage done by the West Indies batsmen proved decisive but, after a miserable ordeal in Australia, England fans are becoming accustomed to this kind of disappointment.

County Cricket - Week Two - Stevens and County Championship Tips.

Kent sign Bollinger for 2014 campaign.

Kent have announced the signing of Australian fast-bowler Doug Bollinger as an overseas signing for the entirety of the 2014 season.

After enduring a tough 2013 campaign, this signing is a signal of intent from the Spitfires as they strive for a successful season. 

The 32-year-old has played on 12 occasions for his country at Test level, claiming 50 wickets from his short spell in the Australian side at an average of 25.92. 

With the international schedule enabling a number of Australian players to populate the county game, Peter Siddle, Jackson Bird, Glen Maxwell and Aaron Finch have already been secured by English teams, who are aiming to capitalise on their availability. 

Bollinger has recently enjoyed a fine run of form in the Sheffield Shield competition for New South Wales, earning 21 wickets at an average of 25.47 and Kent may have captured his talents at the perfect time. 

Commenting on his decision to sign for Kent, Bollinger said, “I am very excited about the opportunity to play with Kent.

“I feel I am bowling as well as I ever have, and look forward to being able to contribute both on and off the field. I have had quite a few chats with Jimmy Adams and can’t wait to get over there and rip in.” 

Head Coach Adams admitted he was thrilled with his latest acquisition: “We are all excited and pleased to have Doug coming to Kent for the 2014 season.

“Doug is an extremely talented player who is bringing a wealth of experience, having performed successfully at all levels and across all formats. We are confident he will make a positive contribution to Kent Cricket in the season ahead.” 

The arrival of such a bowler will aid Kent’s bid for success next season and bring experience to an otherwise unproven and youthful bowling attack. 

With the fewest number of bowling points in either division, justifying the acquisition of Bollinger is simply a result of needing to take more wickets to win matches, as opposed to drawing, a feat managed by Kent on eleven occasions in the Championship last season.

Hogg and Reece earn MCC slot.

It has been announced that Kyle Hogg and Luis Reece will feature in the Marylebone Cricket Club's squad as part of the T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi.

Lancashire's player and young player of the season had an incredibly successful 2013 and will play alongside ex-Lancashire legend Muttiah Muralitharan in a squad led by Indian batsman, Virinder Sehwag. 

The Lancashire men will also be playing against some of their fellow teammates, as well as Durham, Sussex and a Fly Emirates XI.

The annual champions four-day match will follow this tournament.

Predominantly a championship bowler, Hogg's absence in this warm-up tournament will allow Lancashire to trial a few other players, whilst the opening bowler continues to get vital practice.

However, with Stephen Moore's move to Derbyshire, it will be interesting to see how Reece plays in a limited overs fixture and shine a light on his potential to open in limited overs matches for Lancashire. 

Hogg was one of three Lancashire players to reach fifty wickets for the season, a feat also reached by skipper Glen Chapple and England debutant Simon Kerrigan, finishing the season with 60 Championship wickets at an average of just 18.42 runs per victim.

Hogg was trumped by Michael Hogan and Alan Richardson, with both men claiming more wickets in Division Two, but Hogg proved to be a vital part of Lancashire's return to the first division, with a number of key performances against promotion contenders, Northamptonshire. 

After a difficult start to the season, Luis Reece initiated himself as a regular in the first eleven, securing the uncertain role of opener alongside Paul Horton after several opening combinations were trailed. 

Reece proved to be one of the emerging talents from last season, scoring eight half-centuries, accumulating 722 runs from just 16 innings. 

Despite failing to make a maiden century for the Red Rose county, his average of 55.54 shot him towards the top of of the batting averages, along with Horton and Simon Katich, who finished top of the averages.

MCC squad travelling to Abu Dhabi: Virender Sehwag (India, capt), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka, capt), Sam Robson (Middlesex), Luis Reece (Lancashire), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Prasanna Jayawardene (Sri Lanka), Ollie Rayner (Middlesex), Andre Adams (Nottinghamshire), Harry Gurney (Nottinghamshire), Kyle Hogg (Lancashire), Monty Panesar (Essex).

The tournament begins on 21st March and, as always, reports and news of the tournament can be found here.

County Cricket- Week One - Overseas players and Lions success.

Surrey secure KP for T20 competition.

Pietersen set for Surrey return.

After a period of uncertainty for the former England batsman, Kevin Pietersen has secured an extension to his time at Surrey, with a deal which will see him primarily feature in the Natwest T20 Blast competition.

Once the news emerged that the ECB had sacked Pietersen, debate over his future was as much of a grey area as the decision to sack him in the first place.

One of the most flamboyant players in the game of late, Pietersen had a number of options including the IPL, KFC Big Bash and even perhaps retirement, but his return to county cricket will keep him in the game beyond his international career, which has taken a sour twist of late.

Surrey won the inaugural T20 competition and have reached finals day on four other occasions, but since 2003 have been unable to add to their initial success, making Pietersen's presence a vital part of their bid for silverware.

The top-order batsman also made it apparent to his Twitter following that: "This is a T20 contract, but I can play in the County Championship too," which would give him an important role to play at Surrey, following their relegation last season.

The Director of Cricket Alec Stewart said “We are delighted to have agreed terms with Kevin, and to have a player of his ability at the Kia Oval.

"Unsurprisingly there was a great deal of interest in Kevin from around the world, but he has made it very clear that he wants to play at Surrey and it is not only good news for the Club but for the domestic game in this country. 

"We are now looking forward to watching him in the middle, scoring a bucket load of runs for Surrey.”

Similarly elated by the decision, Kevin Pietersen added “I’m absolutely delighted to have agreed terms with Surrey and am thoroughly looking forward to playing my cricket for the Club this summer.

“I’ve had some of my best moments in cricket at the Kia Oval and I’m really excited at the prospect of getting back out there playing in what will hopefully be a brilliant summer for us all at Surrey.”

Turbulent spells at Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and most recently with the England squad have led many to believe that his disruptive attitude is detrimental to the rest of the team, but this remains to be seen at Surrey.

Pietersen's Surrey and former England team mate, Chris Tremlett had this to say:

Certainly, his destructive capabilities will make him one-to-watch this season, and if he lives up to expectation he will, as Tremlett mentions, be giving the opposition much to think about.

His International T20 record speaks volumes, with 1,176 runs in 37 appearances for England at an average of 37.93.

Pietersen was, in many ways, one of the pioneers and remains to be a key figure in the shortest format of the game. His potential to hit the ball, combined with his ability to play his 'switch-hit' shot make him one of the most entertaining players to watch when he is on form.

KP exit key to England's recovery?

It has been a long time coming, but Kevin Pietersen has finally parted company with the international squad following the decision that he would not be a part of the ODI or T20 series for England's tour of the West Indies.

The reason I say it has been a 'long time' coming is because both his form and his attitude has led to an inevitable, self-inflicted consequence of failing to perform, whilst simultaneously believing that he is, as has been proven on a number of occasions throughout his career, above the rest of the team.

Pietersen's turbulent career has been forecast from a very early stage, with his disruptive nature spanning as far back as 1999 when he was a member of the KwaZula Natal team in his native country of South Africa.

After facing omission from this team due to what he believed to be a quota-based decision, rather than merit, Pietersen's anger can be identified by his comments regrading the captain of the national team, Greame Smith, referring to him as, "an absolute muppet, childish and strange."

Before his career had even begun, he had established himself as a controversial player, but a talented player in equal measure. 

Nasser Hussain spotted his potential and recommended that he sign for an English county and, in 2001, he made his debut for Nottinghamshire, scoring his maiden first-class century against Loughborough UCCE.

Pietersen seemed to keep his head down for a while and his reduced notoriety did not seem to impact his scoring, as he made over 1,200 runs in his first season averaging 57.95. In the following season he scored four consecutive centuries and his potential as Test player was on the rise every time he played.

Due to his performance in the 2003 season, Pietersen was selected for ECB national academy tour of India, but back at home, matters were taking a sour twist.

With Pietersen's career on the rise, Nottinghamshire's relegation and 'poor pitches' at the time led to Pietersen requesting a move to another county, causing the captain at the time, Jason Gallian to brake some of his equipment, saying that "if he doesn't want to play for Notts he can...", well he wasn't happy.

Here, Pietersen seems to have been unjustified for using what was, and remains, a Test match venue as a poor batting surface, as an excuse for becoming part of a team who were set to play in the second division.

Made to honour the final year of his contract, Pietersen made an immediate move to Hampshire, under the captaincy of Shane Warne.

His signing was, however, redundant from Hampshire's point of view, as Pietersen remained a key player for the national squad for many years to come and due to his central contract, the South-Coast outfit only acquired his services on 26 occasions in his six-year spell with the club.  

A much lighter reasoning for his departure from Hampshire, the birth of his son, meant that the top-order batsman would move to Surrey and if he started to complain about The Oval as a batting surface then, clearly, he was not destined to be a groundsmen after retiring. 

Pietersen had to endure a large amount of criticism when he returned to South Africa with the England squad, but was able to silence his critics with a number of impressive batting displays. 

At one stage his ODI average was a staggering 234.00, but his true calling would be in Test cricket and the historic return of of the Ashes into English hands.

By scoring 158, Pietersen allowed the fifth and final Test to end in a draw leading to euphoric celebration, under the notion that he was, rightly, one of a number of heroes. 

Pietersen continued to dominate for England and in 2010 guided England to victory in the World ICC Twenty20, averaging 62.00 and was named player of the series. 

This purple patch may well have heightened a pre-existing arrogance, but when a player is, or rather was, as good as Pietersen, it is hard to criticise, that is of course, if they continue to be world-class. 

Unfortunately for KP his form dipped and England, and the ECB for that matter, were left with a tough decision, one which is still yet to be fully explained, but one which was perhaps justified in light of past and recent events. 

Former England coach - Peter Moores. 

Pietersen retired from limited overs cricket, stating that the next generation of cricketers should be given the opportunity, but this did not stop him from accepting a highly-payed role on three separate occasions in the Indian Premier League, but who could blame him?

His fall out with the current Lancashire coach, Peter Moores, came as a result of Pietersen questioning Moores's coaching methods but, as a Lancashire fan, it would be unfair for me to weigh in on this particular issue. 

Suffice to say that a popular expression emerged amongst the Lancashire faithful: "There's no 'I' in 'Team' but there is in 'Pietersen'...."

A pattern emerged under the recently departed Andy Flower, who was uncertain if he could carry on coaching England as long as Pietersen remained a part of the international set-up. 

His form has taken a serious hit in recent years and a reoccurring knee injury has meant that Pietersen has not been able to give as much as he previously could, leaving those in charge with a disruptive player, who was injured and failing to deliver on a consistent basis.

It took a long time for people to come to this realisation because of how good he can be. Even if he came-off once in every ten innings, people were prepared to allow him to continue, for the promise of seeing an explosive display once in a while. 

One has to feel a little sympathetic for his situation, as his return to county cricket may be hindered by Surrey not being able to pay his wages, now that he is no longer contracted to the ECB. 

However, with a large amount of money, a family in London and his international career behind him, the reality of the situation leads me to believe that he may not return to county cricket and if he does it won't be for very long, with the possibility of a career in television being a realistic target for this cricketing icon. 

The ECB's decision, whilst vague in certain aspects, was a 'unanimous decision' and it is therefore difficult to argue that his exit was a strange, or at least, sudden decision. 

Pietersen, like so many before him, has however been a scapegoat after England's horrific tour of Australia, but with four Ashes victories on his CV he can defend the case that he has given more than enough to the game.