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Faf du Plessis has said that transformation targets do not stop South Africa from fielding their best teams

Firdose Moonda27-Jul-2017Faf du Plessis is comfortable with the selection process in South African cricket and believes transformation targets are not stopping them from fielding their best teams. The South Africa Test captain was responding to fresh criticism by Graeme Pollock of a system that requires the national side to field a minimum average of six players of colour (including two black Africans) over the course of a season.Speaking at an event in London earlier this month, Pollock said South Africa would become a “middle of the road” Test team in future if the transformation policy remained in place. Du Plessis said he had not heard “the context in which Pollock was speaking” so it would be “unfair” to respond to Pollock personally but said that the team understood the policy.”We as a team understand what we need to do and how we need to take the country forward,” he said. “We get on with our business as usual. We play the best team and we try and win every game we play.”In 2016 the South African government banned four major sports – cricket, rugby, athletics and netball – from bidding for or hosting international events for not having done enough in terms of transformation. Each sport signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the sports ministry, the terms of which remain private. CSA has, however, made public the targets they decided to implement at national level and after exceeding them in the 2016-17 summer the ban was lifted.”The major thing is the problem with the politics and interference with the selection of players,” Pollock had originally said. “It’s affecting the performance of the side – they don’t put the 11 best players on the field. It’s never going to change. As South Africans, we’ve got to accept that South Africa are going to be middle of the road in their future Test cricket.”He took issue with the domestic set-up, where targets are applicable per match and require each franchise and provincial team to field six players of colour including three black Africans. Pollock said this created an inherently weak structure which produced below-par cricketers of all races.”You are going to pick a guy like Heino Kuhn, the opening batsman, who got a couple of hundreds in first-class cricket. He’s not good enough to play Test cricket. The guys are playing in a bad standard of first-class cricket in South Africa because of the politics and interference in selection.”A week after Pollock’s comments were first published, however, his spokesperson Basil O’Hagan issued a statement which claimed the quotes were “totally misconstrued”, issued an apology and said Pollock is in favour of transformation.”Graeme extends his sincerest apologies to CSA Board and the South African cricketing public for the manner in which his comments at recent function in London were totally misconstrued. Graeme fully supports the endeavours of the transformation process,” O’Hagan said.When asked by ESPNcricinfo which part of Pollock’s original statement was misconstrued, O’Hagan said he would not respond to every paragraph of the original article but called it “incorrect” as a whole. O’Hagan also said Pollock “maintains transformation is the way to correct decades of oppression of black South Africans and marginalisation of black cricketers.”The clarification did not prevent strong criticism from former Test player and current Cobras coach Ashwell Prince in the where Prince detailed his own struggles across a two-decade long career.”Pollock’s comments most definitely struck a nerve. Not just with myself, but it seems the overwhelming majority of South Africans. Quite frankly, as a former Protea, one has reached the point where you simply just cannot sit back and allow people with these kind of mindsets to keep feeding the world this kind of rubbish and just let it be,” Prince said.”People who were disadvantaged under the previous political regime simply have to be given opportunities which in the past were reserved for a privileged minority.”South Africa will have five players of colour in their side for the third Test against England at The Oval with Kagiso Rabada’s return following his suspension. They fielded four at Trent Bridge with JP Duminy dropped, but with the targets being assessed over a whole season whether they have been met or not for 2017-18 will not be known until after the home summer against Bangladesh, India and Australia.

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been charged by the ICC for violating the anti-doping code

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2017Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been charged by the ICC for violating the anti-doping code. Shahzad was tested on January 17 at the ICC Academy in Dubai, in an out-of-competition test, and the sample was analysed at a WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City. It was found to contain a prohibited substance, Clenbuterol, according to the ICC.As per the ICC’s anti-doping regulations, Shahzad will be provisionally suspended 12 days after issuing the notice of charges being laid – that is, from April 26. He has the right to request that his B sample be tested within five days from the notice, and to challenge the suspension within 12 days. If he challenges the suspension, a hearing will take place and the suspension will not be imposed till the outcome of the hearing is known.Shahzad also has to respond to the charge withing 14 days. If he does not respond, it will be considered to be an admission of guilt.The big-hitting Shahzad, who has played 58 ODIs and 58 T20Is, was last seen in action during Afghanistan’s series against Ireland in Greater Noida, India. In December 2016, he was named the Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year by the ICC, for the period running September 2015 to 2016.

USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake says a poor bowling performance was the main reason his side fell to Denmark by four wickets on Wednesday at WCL Division Four in Los Angeles

Peter Della Penna in Los Angeles 04-Nov-20162:06

‘It’s all about how we come back’ – Dassanayake

USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake gave credit to Denmark’s death bowling unit, saying their ability to bowl yorkers at the death saved them 30 runs in the final four overs that was a turning point in USA’s four-wicket loss on Wednesday at WCL Division Four. Dassanayake believes it is something USA must learn from when preparing to take on good teams in tournament play.”The major difference is that our bowlers didn’t bowl well and especially the main bowlers, our spinners,” Dassanayake said. “It was a decent batting track but defending 260 I would never doubt it but we bowled pretty badly. Having said that, Denmark bowled really well at the end. Almost every ball was a yorker and they defended about 30 runs in that period because of the way that they bowled. A lot of credit to them but it’s and eye-opener for our bowling department and at the death overs how we’re going to handle it if that situation comes again.”One area to come under scrutiny is not just USA’s poor bowling performance but the bowling strategy itself. USA captain Steven Taylor pulled specialist left-arm spinner Danial Ahmed from the attack after just one over for nine runs and didn’t use him for the rest of the game, the second time Taylor has done so in the tournament and instead opted to use himself and Alex Amsterdam to fill out those overs with part-time offspin. Taylor finished with 3 for 46 in ten overs while Amsterdam took 0 for 32 in seven.Ahmed bowled a superb spell of 0 for 29 in ten overs a day earlier against Oman and though he is wicketless so far in the tournament, he has had numerous chances put down off his bowling. Ahmed’s overall economy rate for the tournament is 4.27 and Dassayanake says he has confidence in Ahmed heading into the Jersey match.”I haven’t thought about any changes yet for Friday,” Dassanayake said. “We know Danial’s capability. Against Oman the way he bowled ten overs really contributed a lot to win that game. We have to keep building confidence in him. We’ll meet and see our best combination for Friday and come back with it. The things I have with the reserves, Jessy and Prashanth as bowlers, there are lots of options for me to select. I’m not blaming Danial, especially I don’t think anyone can blame him today because he only bowled one over. It’s just about giving that confidence to him and come back hard on Friday.”However, Dassanayake didn’t rule out other potential changes. Ali Khan has been bowling the last two games with a hamstring strain while Ravi Timbawala has been troubled since the first match of the tournament with a right thumb injury. Jessy Singh bowled well in the first two games of the tournament for USA before making way for Khan while hard-hitting Abdullah Syed is waiting to make his debut as a batting reserve.”We have to look into our injuries,” Dassanayake said. “Ravi is struggling with his thumb. Ali from the beginning had the hamstring injury but slowly he is getting better. There are a few other niggles. Still again we will assess all the injuries and see who is the best XI available for Friday.”Dassanayake remains bullish on USA’s chances of promotion despite the loss to Denmark. USA sits at 3-1 in a three-way tie for first place with Oman and Denmark, though USA has by far the best net run rate, which is the tournament tiebreaker. USA comes up against Jersey on Friday at Wong Cricket Field, a team currently 1-3 in the tournament whose only victory so far has come against winless Italy. A win for USA will clinch promotion to Division Three and set up a potential rematch in the final against Denmark, who take on Oman in a virtual semi-final at Severn Cricket Field.”When you lose it’s tough to take but still I am comfortable to say that USA is the best team in this league,” Dassanayake said. “It’s just one bad session we had in the evening. With my experience in World Cricket League, it always happens in these tournaments at this level. It’s all about how we come back hard on the next day. Everybody has to stay cool and come back and do their best on Friday and I’m pretty confident what we’re going to do. No one is panicking in our group. We have lots of confidence to get through this tournament. It was just a bad half day.”

Stuart Broad will not join up with the England ODI squad in India after poor weather prevented him leaving London

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2013Stuart Broad will not join up with the England ODI squad in India after poor weather prevented him from leaving London.Broad had been rested for the first three ODIs and was scheduled to return for the final two matches but his departure was delayed by snow and freezing conditions at London Heathrow airport. With the forecast not set to improve quickly, Broad would have struggled to arrive in sufficient time for the fourth ODI on Wednesday.Broad tweeted: “Gutted I can’t get to India. I’m off home with all my luggage at Heathrow. I’ll be waiting for the lads in New Zealand!!”He will now remain in Britain and fly to New Zealand for the first warm-up match on February 4, ahead of the Twenty20 series for which Broad will resume the captaincy having been injured for England’s two T20s against India before Christmas.”It’s not ideal because we were hoping for him to come out here and, whether or not he played in one of the last two games, just do some prep for New Zealand,” England one-day coach Ashley Giles said. “But we have a bit of time in New Zealand and he’ll meet us there.”It could be questioned how useful a week in India would be ahead of a tour to New Zealand where conditions will be a complete contrast. Broad will now return to Loughborough to continue his preparation.And although there were doubts about Broad’s fitness to play in India, his absence reduces England’s options if they choose to make a change to their bowling attack. Jade Dernbach is the main candidate to be replaced after taking only four wickets in the series. The cost of his wickets – 46.75 – compares favourably to the other England seamers but his economy rate of 7.79 is by far the most expensive of the frontline bowlers on either side.Giles said that part of the trip “was always about having a look at different options” and England could recall Chris Woakes, who took 1 for 60 in the second ODI, or pick Stuart Meaker, whose pace caused India problems in the T20 series. They also have left-arm spinner Danny Briggs in the squad if they need a second specialist slow bowler but conditions in Mohali for the fourth ODI are likely to provide more help to the quick bowlers.

Australia’s young allrounder Glenn Maxwell has declared he will be his side’s “x-factor” in the World Twenty20

Daniel Brettig17-Sep-2012Glenn Maxwell is headed for a breakout display at the World Twenty20 … or a sobering brush with reality at the same tournament.Having turned heads with a handful of spiky performances in his first appearances for Australia during their recent ODI and T20 series in the UAE, Maxwell has arrived in Sri Lanka flushed with confidence ahead of his team’s opening match against Ireland on Wednesday.He has spoken with plenty of brio about the sorts of displays he is capable of producing over the next three weeks, which in his mind will be match-turning efforts of the kind produced by the world’s very best. They are bold words from a 23-year-old with six international matches to his credit, and Maxwell will now need to back them up with plenty of action.”I’m very confident I can perform now at this level. Hopefully I can be that x-factor that Australia needs to win this tournament,” Maxwell said in Colombo. “I feel like I can become that x-factor in all three facets of the game and hopefully be that flair that Australia really wants to see.”That could mean a run out, a brilliant catch, a breakthrough wicket with the ball or big hitting. I’m really embracing that ‘x-factor’ tag. I don’t really have too many doubts, I don’t think I’m going to try to back down any time soon either.”Among a series of useful cameos in the UAE, Maxwell said he gained most from an unbeaten half century to guide Australia home in the third ODI in Sharjah. That innings clinched the series for Michael Clarke’s team, and gave Maxwell the belief that he could follow it up with even greater things at the World T20.”When I got the boys over the line at the end, that gave me the confidence to do anything in the squad,” he said. “I feel like I can give Australia more runs at the top of the order rather than the bottom. Hopefully a hundred is not too far away and it comes in this tournament.”Running his eye over other teams in the tournament, Maxwell said he expected England to shrug off the loss of Kevin Pietersen, the player of the tournament when Paul Collingwood led the team to victory over Australia in the final of the 2010 edition.”England has been a bit of a powerhouse. KP is one of the world’s best players but they’ve been able to cover for him pretty well,” Maxwell said. “I don’t think they’re going to miss him too much.””Their middle order is quite strong. Eoin Morgan gives them amazing versatility, he’s a great finisher and a really tough player to get out. Their bowling attack is excellent. They’ve got a great bowling coach in David Saker who has drilled them really well.”Maxwell’s words carry as much conviction as some of his strokes have done so far. Australia will hope for more of the same from Wednesday.

Canada’s inaugural multi-format National Cricket League, involving five teams representing different regions, will be played from August 2 to August 11

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2012Canada’s inaugural multi-format National Cricket League, involving five teams representing different regions, will be played from August 2 to August 11 at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Ontario. The tournament starts with a 50-over leg from August 2 to 5 followed by a Twenty20 leg from August 6 to 11.Country’s top 21 high performance cricketers and 44 elite cricketers have been divided among the five teams – Pacific Edge, Eastern Fury, Western Stallions, Prairie Fire and Central Shield. Canada’s national team captain Jimmy Hansra will lead the Pacific Edge team while allrounder Rizwan Cheema has been appointed the captain for Eastern Fury.

Technology conspired against Michael Hussey in the first innings at the MCG. He wasn’t finished yet

Daniel Brettig01-Jan-2012By indulging in a spot of impromptu primal scream therapy following his Boxing Day dismissal in Melbourne, Michael Hussey betrayed the frustrations of a dire run of scores. Having yelled to the heavens for a little more good fortune as he marched off the field, Hussey duly received it in the second innings, making a pivotal 89 with the help of a dropped catch and an edge behind that was not detected by the umpires.That performance, in a partnership of great value with Ricky Ponting, shored up Hussey’s place in Australia’s immediate plans, after a sequence of innings in which he had been getting out at all the wrong times. As perplexing for Hussey were the ways in which technology had conspired against him. In Hobart he was lbw first ball on referral, then at the MCG he was given out for another golden duck without having recourse to refer due to India’s reluctance to employ the DRS.”I said something like ‘give us a break’,” Hussey said of his scream. “I just felt like I’d been preparing so well, I felt really good in my mind, I felt like I’d been hitting the ball really well in the last couple of months but I hadn’t felt like I’d got any reward for the hard work that I’d been putting in. I was almost just yelling at the cricket gods really to give me a break here, you know? I probably got a bit of a break in the second innings so it’s amazing how the game works.”The DRS shall remain a point of conjecture throughout the series, and Hussey maintained Australia’s support of it, while offering some reservations about the veracity of ball-tracking technology.”I’m a fan of the DRS just to give the umpires a helping hand there for one, but also just because we want to get more correct decisions in the match,” he said. “I do still think that the technology can be improved, I’m not 100% convinced that there’s complete accuracy with the tracking system of the ball. Which is, I believe, one of the reasons the Indians don’t want to use it and that’s fair enough.”I’d have to say that I think the umpires did an outstanding job. They’ve got to make a decision within a split second on what they see and they don’t have the benefit of doing the slow-mo replays, having the technology to make their decision. Generally speaking, the umpires down in Melbourne did a great job.”As fortunate as Hussey was at times in the second innings, he also made his own luck by pursuing runs purposefully and aggressively from a position where Australia might easily have been bowled out for their third score of less than 100 within 12 months. Hussey’s first 20 balls, the subject of a dressing room placard urging focus at the start of an innings, reaped 23 runs, and India’s grip on the second innings slackened greatly thereafter.”I didn’t come out with any pre-conceived idea,” Hussey said. “I felt in really good touch in my own mind … it’s just a case of being able to get away with a bit of a start. I was lucky enough to get a ball on my pads to start with and just by getting away early it can sometimes give you that confidence and impetus to continue playing positively.”They were attacking obviously, because they had us in a lot of trouble. That opened up scoring opportunities for us and enabled Ricky and I to get a little partnership together and quite a positive one. It was really tough. I think Ishant Sharma was bowling up around 150km/h and it’s what Test cricket is all about.”From that base Australia built up to one of the team’s most satisfying Test victories of 2011, causing Hussey’s duties as leader of the team chant to be played out with particular gusto in the middle of the MCG some hours after the win was completed.”A very, very satisfying innings and partnership with Ricky,” Hussey said. “There’s no greater feeling to come in with your team under pressure and to be able to get a partnership to where your team can win the match. When you do go on and win the match you can sit back and after that game and really remember such great feelings. That’s where you get your respect from your peers, just going out and doing the business in a real pressure situation. Just a fantastic win by the boys.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the Group B game between India and West Indies in Chennai

The Preview by Sidharth Monga19-Mar-2011

Match Facts

March 20, Chennai

Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)Chennai will provide Harbhajan Singh with the best conditions to pick up wickets•Getty Images

The Big Picture

No wonder India play so much cricket without seeming to overly mind it. When MS Dhoni walks out for the toss for this game, it will have been more than a week since they last played in the World Cup. The off days for the Indian team, however, have been days of plenty of buzz and activity for the Indian cricketing public and media. Dhoni has suddenly gone from being Midas to moron for getting Ashish Nehra to bowl the final over; Yusuf Pathan is no longer a good choice to bat in batting Powerplay; heated meetings between selectors, board secretary and captain have been reported and denied ; the moon’s proximity to the earth has had its say; the next coach has become a topic of discussion; UDRS blunders and Sachin Tendulkar’s impending 100th hundred have been overshadowed; everything that can be debated, even those that cannot be, have been debated.If you have been watching news channels in India, or reading news publications, doom is not too far. Which is why the players have been asked to stay far away. Which is why it is a good thing that they are back on the field where they can sort out their team combination for the knockouts, and there are issues bothering them. Piyush Chawla’s inclusion in the XV, always a bit inexplicable, has so far been exposed as a mistake, a gamble gone wrong, which reduces India’s options if they feel that either of Munaf Patel or Nehra is out of form.And Virat Kohli – this will sound harsh on a young man in the form of his life – has hurt the team balance a bit, forcing Suresh Raina out, who is more suited at the slog end and is a pretty canny part-time offspinner. For this game, though, India might not have to make a choice, for Virender Sehwag is down with an allergic reaction to a painkiller injection.India’s opponents are now assured of a place in the knockouts, but the game is just as big for them. Bangladesh are the only Test team West Indies have beaten in an ODI since June 28, 2009, which hurts them bad. Also painful will be how they didn’t trust themselves to play normal cricket and finish a middling chase against England after the explosive start by Chris Gayle. They will dearly love to end that unflattering streak, and in the process finish at No. 2 in Group B, thus avoiding the best two sides from Group A in the quarter-final.If it provides some comfort, the previous major team West Indies beat was India, in Jamaica, through aggressive bowling. They will rate their chances because they are up against a side that is under pressure, no matter how much it avoids the media and the public. A side that will have done really well if it plays uninhibited, free-flowing cricket. West Indies might think the iron is hot.Chennai is certainly hot, and its spinner-friendly track and reverse-friendly square have provided the two matches of the tournament so far. The World Cup will want to bid it a fitting farewell before it moves to the flatter, more predictable surfaces.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India LWWTW
West Indies LWWWL

Watch out for…

Chris Gayle has to be hurting. In a chase of 244, he left his side at 58 for 1 in the seventh over, but the rest still managed to fall 18 short. Will he go back to reining himself in and playing through the innings? Will he decide to make Sunday his day and his day alone, and go swinging?Sides have decided the best way to beat India, at least when they are on the field, is to play Harbhajan Singh out and not give him wickets. Hence an economy-rate of 4.41, but only five wickets. At times it works for India, producing more wicket-taking opportunities for the other bowlers that the batsmen feel compelled to attack. In this World Cup, it has worked for the batsmen. Chennai, though, will be Harbhajan’s best chance of taking wickets: a turning pitch, and a fair sprinkling of left-hand batsmen.

Team news

R Ashwin, through all indicators, seems to the be the man India want the world to see as little of as possible before the big matches. Is a match that determines whether they face New Zealand or Sri Lanka in the quarter-final big enough?Sehwag is a big doubt. “Viru has got an allergic reaction in his right knee, so we will take that call either in the evening or on the morning of the game,” Dhoni said.India (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 & 11 two out of Ashish Nehra, R Ashwin and Munaf PatelLeaving Shivnarine Chanderpaul was a brave move on paper, but it did backfire on West Indies when they missed one batsman who would take the responsibility and anchor the chase on a difficult track. Do they bring him back? If they do, that will mean dropping either one of the specialist batsmen or one out of Andre Russell and Devendra Bishoo, both of whom had a superb game against England. Right now, Ramnaresh Sarwan seems to be the most disposable member of the XI that lost to England.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan/Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Darren Sammy (capt.), 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Devendra Bishoo.

Expect another baked turner with a hard square that should facilitate reverse-swing. For those looking for respite from the Chennai heat, the following is not good news. Chance of precipitation on Sunday: 0%.

Stats and trivia

• Legspinner Bishoo took three wickets on his debut in Chennai. Twenty three years ago, a legspinner in a similar mould, took 16 wickets on his Test debut, again in Chennai. West Indies then were at the receiving end of Narendra Hirwani.
• Everybody knows Sachin Tendulkar is one short of reaching 100 international hundreds, but he is also just 47 short of 18,000 ODI runs.
• The World Cup head-to-head between the teams is tied at three and three.

Quotes

“It is a big learning curve and hopefully we won’t repeat the same mistakes that have happened so far. We are human beings, we are always supposed to commit mistakes. Hopefully the interval between two will be long.”

Shane Warne has angrily rejected the tactics of Ricky Ponting for Nathan Hauritz on the final day of the second Test via a short blast on Twitter

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010Shane Warne has angrily rejected the tactics of Ricky Ponting for Nathan Hauritz on the final day of the second Test via a short blast on Twitter. As Hauritz was hit for 22 from his opening two overs, Warne backed up the struggling offspinner.”How the hell can hauritz bowl to this field??” Warne tweeted. “Feeling for hauritz , terrible!! What are these tactics? Sorry Ricky but what are you doing.”At times Hauritz had a field with a deep point, long-on and long-off, while also having a slip, short-leg and leg slip. In his first over Hauritz went for 12, with Cheteshwar Pujara off-driving two boundaries, and there was a cover drive to the boundary from M Vijay in the second.”With the wicket up and down and spinning big, tactics and backing bowler [are] crucial,” an earlier tweet said. “Pressure on Ponting and Australian bowlers.”Ponting and Hauritz have had differences of opinion over how he should bowl during the series and the offspinner has struggled for impact. In the first Test he returned 3 for 161 and in the opening innings of this match managed 2 for 153.

The New Zealand captain retained the Player-of-the-Year award and the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling, and also won the Walter Hadlee trophy for being the best ODI bowler

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2010

Winners at NZC awards 09-10

• Player of the Year – Daniel Vettori

• Walter Hadlee Trophy – Best batting in ODIs – Brendon McCullum

• Walter Hadlee Trophy – Best bowling in ODIs – Daniel Vettori

• JR Reid Best All Rounder Trophy – Brendon McCullum

• Redpath Cup – Best batting in first-class cricket – Ross Taylor

• Winsor Cup – Best bowling in first class-cricket – Daniel Vettori

• Domestic Player of the Year – men – Michael Bates

• Domestic Player of the Year – women – Nicola Browne

• The Phyl Blackler Cup – Best bowling in women’s cricket – Nicola Browne

• The Ruth Martin Cup – Best batting in women’s cricket – Suzie Bates

• Young Player of the Year – Matthew Rowe

• The Bert Sutcliffe Medal – for outstanding services to cricket – Martin Horton

• Sir Jack Newman Award – outstanding junior cricket administrator – John Grocott

• Fans Choice for Outstanding Individual Performance – Brendon McCullum

Daniel Vettori has won three of New Zealand Cricket’s major awards for the 2009-10 season: he retained the Player-of-the-Year award and the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling, and also won the Walter Hadlee trophy for being the best ODI bowler.”Daniel is and has been a consistently excellent performer for New Zealand over a long period and his fourth National Bank Player-of-the-Year award is a reflection of his hard work and dedication,” NZC chief executive, Justin Vaughan, said. “He has been a force in all forms of the game, and you just have to look at the ICC rankings for confirmation with Daniel ranked as the top ODI bowler, second ranked Test allrounder and fourth highest Twenty20 wicket-taker.”Vettori won the accolade of New Zealand’s top cricketer for the fourth time in six years. During the period of adjudication, he scored 742 runs in Tests at an average of 49.46, 398 at 30.60 in ODIs and 120 Twenty20 runs at 24. He also took 32 Test wickets at 36.75 each, 27 ODI wickets at 20.29 and 10 wickets at 22.80 in Twenty20 internationals.Vettori apart, Brendon McCullum also picked up a couple of awards – the Walter Hadlee Trophy for best ODI batting, because his performances in the UAE helped New Zealand achieve their first away series win against Pakistan, and the John Reid Best Allrounder Trophy for his batting and wicketkeeping. During the period under consideration, McCullum made three centuries and took 55 catches in all forms of the game.Ross Taylor claimed the Redpath Cup for his batting performances in first-class cricket. In 2009-10, he scored 1078 in 11 matches at an average of 53.90 and also set a national record for fastest century by scoring one off 81 balls against Australia.The awards for best bowler and batsman in New Zealand women’s cricket, the Phyl Blacker Cup and the Ruth Martin Cup, went to Nicola Browne and Suzie Bates. Browne took 16 Twenty20 and nine one-day international wickets and was the Player of the Women’s World Twenty20. Bates scored 185 runs in ODIs and 230 in Twenty20s. She was the Player of the Series on the recent tour of England.Browne was also the women’s domestic Player of the Year, top scoring in both List A and Twenty20 domestic games with 474 and 150 runs for Northern Spirit. She also took 16 one-day and five Twenty20 wickets.Auckland’s Michael Bates was the domestic Player of the Year in the men’s category, taking 37 wickets in the Plunket Shield, 14 in one-dayers, and 15 in the HRV Cup.