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Tufnell's PR coup Wisden CricInfo staff - October 4, 2002
Phil Tufnell's appearance on ITV's "I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!" is the best thing to have happened to English cricket for years, according to the deputy chairman of the England & Wales Cricket Board, Michael Soper. "Tufnell has actually got a 'personality"', said Soper. "People like heroes, however unlikely. He was a bloody good spinner but, bless his heart, he has done more for cricket in these past 10 days than anyone I know, raising cricket's profile." (May 9) Lancashire have failed in their bid to sign Carl Hooper, the former West Indies captain, as a replacement for Harbhajan Singh. While replacements are allowed for overseas players who are on international duty, they are not permitted as cover for injury. (May 9)
Yorkshire have confirmed the signing of Yuvraj Singh, who will fill the void left by Craig White, after he underwent a rib operation. Yuvraj becomes the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to play for Yorkshire. "I am thrilled with the offer," he said, "and I think it will be a great experience." Yuvraj has yet to play Test cricket, but he has 73 one-day caps to his name, and was a key component of the team that reached the World Cup final. (May 8) Gloucestershire have signed the up-and-coming New Zealand fast bowler Ian Butler as a temporary replacement for their allrounder, Ian Harvey, who has been selected for Australia's forthcoming one-day series in the Caribbean. (May 7) Click here ![]("/images/wci.gif")
After prolonged negotiations, Rahul Dravid has confirmed his playing for Scotland in their debut in the National League. Dravid, who is getting married on May 5, will begin his 12-match tenure with Scotland in the game against Hampshire on June 1. (May 2) Derbyshire have signed the Indian batsman, Mohammad Kaif, as their second overseas player. Kaif, who has a four-month contract, will replace Shahid Afridi at the end of May, and is expected to make his debut against Glamorgan at Swansea on June 4. (Apr 30)
Paul Collingwood, who dislocated a shoulder last week, is set to be out of action for two months, instead of six weeks as was earlier expected. The joint damage, which requires surgery, makes him doubtful for the home one-day international series against Pakistan in June. (Apr 26) Trent Bridge will host the finals of the Twenty20 Cup. The final was orginally scheduled to be played at Lord's, but local residents objected to plans for live music (all-girl group Atomic Kitten will perform at the final). The tournament starts at Southampton on June 13 when Hampshire entertain Sussex, with Mis-Teeq and Irish boy band D'Side scheduled to appear. (Apr 25) Warwickshire's Nick Knight fears he could miss a chunk of the season owing to a persistent right-knee injury, which he sustained during the winter. He said: "If it gets worse we will have to reassess the situation, and there is a chance I will have to miss some cricket." (Apr 25) Collins Obuya, the legspinner who starred for Kenya during their World Cup campaign, has signed for Warwickshire. (Apr 22) Click here
Glamorgan's coach, John Derrick, has hinted that the financial pressures of modern-day cricket may eventually lead to a merger with one of its local rivals. "There could be an argument for us blending with Gloucester, Somerset or Worcester," said Derrick. "It's similar to what's going on in Welsh rugby - we need to get together quality squads for international cricket." Glamorgan have recruited just one overseas player after record losses last year, and the recent ECB funding cutbacks have forced a vast hike in membership prices. (Apr 16)
Warwickshire have signed Michael Clark, the Australian fast bowler, for the first six weeks of the county season. Clark, who plays for Western Australia, was recommended by new Warwickshire coach John Inverarity and will act as cover for Shane Bond, who is due to arrive in Edgbaston at the end of May. (Apr 16)
Wasim Akram has admitted that this coming county season could well be his last, and he intends to bow out in style. Wasim, who signed for Hampshire as a stand-in for Shane Warne, is familiar with English conditions after a decade at Lancashire. "I did my homework before I came here about the team and Hampshire itself and so far everything is 100 percent. I think this could be my last season. By September I'll be finishing - hopefully on a high note." (Apr 15)
Harbhajan Singh's career as a Lancashire player may be over before it has even begun. Harbhajan was due to join Lancashire after the current TVS Cup in Dhaka finished, but his arrival has been put on hold because of a finger injury. Lancashire have not yet lined up a replacement but said they were monitoring the situation. (Apr 14)
Yorkshire and England allrounder Craig White had an operation in Leeds to have two inches removed from a rib and he could miss three months of the season. The surgery was designed to end the side-strain problems plaguing him since the start of his international career eight years ago. (Apr 11)
Phil Tufnell has announced his retirement from first-class cricket following a meeting with Middlesex officials at which the county refused to offer him any contractual guarantees after the end of the 2003 season. (Apr 10) Click here for more
Greg Blewett will stand in for Andrew Symonds as Kent's overseas player for the first six weeks of this season. Symonds will be on national duty in the West Indies during this period. (Apr 9) Ian Botham is returning to Somerset, the county where the legend began, as an advisor to the new chairman Giles Clarke. Botham spent 15 years at Somerset, before leaving in 1985 when they sacked Viv Richards and Joel Garner. (Apr 8)
John Crawley has been named as Hampshire's captain for the 2003 season. (Apr 7)
Australian seamer Adam Dale has turned down an offer of a seven-week contract with Warwickshire as cover for Shane Bond. Dale is reported to have wanted a season-long deal. (Apr 6)
Days after Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper Russell Warren broke a finger, the county suffered a further blow when Guy Welton was forced out of their South Africa tour with a shoulder injury. Welton underwent surgery on his shoulder in December. (Apr 5)
Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Caddick and Alec Stewart have all been withdrawn from the first two rounds of the County championship, in order to rest ahead of a busy international summer. The remaining five centrally contracted players - Mark Butcher, Andy Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard and Marcus Trescothick - are all free to play from April 18, the first day of the season proper. (Apr 4)
Wasim Akram has replaced Shane Warne as one of Hampshire's overseas players for this summer. Wasim, 36, has signed a one-year deal after an attempt to sign Shoaib Akhtar fell through due to his Test commitments. "For me it is a fresh challenge and a new chapter in my career," said Wasim, who spent a decade at Lancashire. "The aim is for Hampshire to gain promotion in both competitions this year, and I hope to be able to play a part in that ambition." (Apr 2)
The ECB has agreed a budget reduction of £4 million with the First Class Forum (FCF) as a direct result of the Zimbabwe saga. The 18 counties are likely to receive £30,000 less than originally intended. "It is regrettable that these cost savings need to be found," said Tim Lamb, the ECB chief executive, "but it is only right and proper that all parts of the game should bear the pain. Like all responsible businesses, we need to balance our books and we will further renew our efforts to run cricket on the most cost-efficient basis." (Apr 2) Click here for more A £50,000 grant from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the European Cricket Council has saved Scotland from pulling out of their debut in the National League due to a lack of a funding (Mar 28) Click here for more Lancashire's legspinner Chris Schofield may miss the start of the county season after falling down a flight of stairs. Schofield, 24, who played two Tests against Zimbabwe in 2000, suffered an ankle injury in the accident. He is already under pressure for a place at Old Trafford, after the signing of India's Harbhajan Singh. (Mar 26) Worcestershire's long-standing opening batsman, Phil Weston, has joined Gloucestershire on a two-year deal. Weston, 29, joined Worcester in 1989 and played over 170 first-class matches, scoring more than 9,000 runs, including 17 centuries. (Mar 26)
The South African allrounder, Steve Elworthy, has joined Nottinghamshire on a six-week contract for the beginning of the 2003 season. Elworthy will act as cover for Stuart MacGill and Chris Cairns, who are to be away on international duty. (Mar 22)
Darren Lehmann will not return to Yorkshire this summer. Lehmann agreed at the end of last season that he would take a year off if selected for Australia's tour of West Indies. Yorkshire have decided not to sign a second overseas player in his place. (Mar 18)
Darren Gough has agreed a new contract with Yorkshire. Full details have not been revealed, but Gough is effectively on probation for the first three months of the season, given the continuing doubts over his fitness. He has not played a Test since August 2001. "To be honest it has all been settled since October," Gough said. "All it has centred around is me being fit or showing signs of getting back to full fitness. Yorkshire have been loyal in that respect." (Mar 17)
Npower have agreed to sponsor the new Twenty20 Cup that will make its debut in June. The deal will last for three years and is worth a six-figure sum, according to BBC Sport. Twenty20 features all 18 counties, split into three groups of six, playing 20-over matches starting at 5.30pm. (Mar 13)
Shoaib Akhtar has accepted Hampshire's offer to be one of their overseas players for the coming season, instead of the banned Shane Warne. Shoaib said that the deal is yet to be signed, but he will go to Hampshire next week for a fitness test. (Mar 7)
Yorkshire suffered record financial losses of almost £1.3million in 2002, a year of turmoil on and off the field. The county's income dropped by more than £200,000. "None of the budgeted increases in income was met, and many were below the previous year's levels," said, Brian Bouttell, the chief financial officer. "The largest deficiency was in the club shop. Basically they should have stopped buying when it became clear that they could never sell the stuff, but that did not happen." (Mar 5)
Former England batsman Kim Barnett, 42, has been released by Gloucestershire with a year remaining on his contract. He has been approached by Shropshire. (Mar 3)
Left-arm seamer Mark Harrity has signed a one-year deal with Worcestershire. Harrity, who holds a British passport, has been played regularly for South Australia since 1993-94, taking 197 wickets at 38.37. (Jan 31)
Leicestershire have confirmed the signing of Virender Sehwag and Australia A's Brad Hodge as their two permitted overseas players for the 2003 season. (Jan 30)
Seamer Andre Nel has completed a one-year deal with Northamptonshire. The contract agrees that he can be released if called upon by South Africa. (Jan 29)
Anthony McGrath has succeeded Darren Lehmann as Yorkshire's captain. Lehmann, who is likely to miss much of the county season through international commitments, is currently serving a five-match ban for racial abuse. Yorkshire stress, however, that this had no bearing on their decision. "We were looking for a captain who can pull things together and take us forward," said their chief executive, Colin Graves. (Jan 24) Yorkshire> have sacked their Australian coach Wayne Clark, according to a report on BBC Radio Leeds. Clark's contract was due to expire at the end of the 2003 season, but has been terminated early, only 18 months after he led them to their first county championship for 33 years. Yorkshire were relegated last season. (Jan 20) South African fast bowler Nantie Hayward is to join Worcestershire on a two-year deal, according to a report on the United Cricket Board of South Africa website. (Jan 8)
Graeme Hick has agreed to stay at Worcestershire at least until the end of 2006. Despite being relieved of the county captaincy, Hick, 36, pledged to remain with the side he has represented ever since he arrived from Zimbabwe in 1984. (Dec 23)
Leicestershire batsman Darren Stevens, 26, has agreed a new two-year deal with the county. (Dec 23)
The ECB confirmed that the Rose Bowl, home of Hampshire cricket, will host a minimum of three one-day international matches from 2003 to 2006, including the Zimbabwe v South Africa match on July 10, 2003. (Dec 19)
Kepler Wessels, the former South African captain and Australian batsman, is the new first-team manager of Northamptonshire. Wessels replaces Bob Carter, who left the county after a disappointing 2002 season, and will join up with them after the World Cup in February and March. (Dec 14)
Shaun Udal has signed a two-year extension to his contract, that will keep him at Hampshire until June 2005. (Dec 13)
The South African allrounder, Andrew Hall, has been signed by Worcestershire for the 2003 season. (Dec 11) Hampshire have said that they will not be offering Mark Waugh a contract as their second overseas player in 2003. The county said that they were looking for a "younger man" to join Shane Warne. (Dec 9)
Shane Bond has agreed to return to Warwickshire for the 2003 season, after standing in for Shaun Pollock for three weeks this year. (Dec 6)
Rikki Clarke has agreed a new five-year with Surrey. Clarke was one of the the England one-day squad at September's ICC Champions Trophy, although he didn't play, and in September was named young cricketer of the year by the Cricket Writers Club. (Dec 5)
David Byas, the former Yorkshire captain who emerged from retirement last season to join Lancashire, has quit once again. Byas played 283 first-class matches, scoring 15,082 runs at an average of 35.07. He scored 29 centuries and 83 fifties, and in 2001, he led Yorkshire to their first County Championship title in 33 years. (Dec 4)
Kevin Dean has committed his future to Derbyshire by signing an extension to his contract which will keep him at the county until 2005. Allrounder Graeme Welch has also extended his contract until the end of 2005 while Mohammad Ali signed a new two-year contract. (Dec 4)
Russell Warren has signed a three-year deal with Nottinghamshire. Warren lost his place in the Northants side at the end of the 2002 season because of personal differences within the team. (Dec 4)
Nathan Astle will join Derbyshire as their second overseas professional next season. He joins the Australian Michael Di Venuto at Derby. (Nov 28)
Wicketkeeper Adrian Aymes, 38, has left Hampshire after 16 seasons with the county. A persistent knee injury restricted him to just five appearances last season. (Nov 30) Stuart MacGill is to return to Nottinghamshire after agreeing a two-year deal. MacGill took 40 wickets in six Championship appearances season. "It's terrific news," said Mike Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket. "Stuart showed himself last season to be the best attacking overseas bowler at this club since Richard Hadlee." (Nov 27) Fast bowler David Masters has become Leicestershire's sixth signing of the close season. Masters, who left Kent at the end of the summer, joined on a two-year contract. (Nov 27) Iain Sutcliffe has ended weeks of speculation over his future after leaving Leicestershire by signing for Lancashire. (Nov 25) Somerset have signed Aaron Laraman from on a three-year deal. Laraman, 23, struggled to break into the Middlesex first team, making only 14 first-class appearances over the last four seasons. (Nov 22) Leicestershire have signed former England Under-19 batsmen John Maunders and John Sadler, and 25-year-old spinner Rupesh Amin. General manager Kevin Hill said: "All three players have reputations of determination and quality. We are delighted to sign them, and they will all be pushing for first-team places next season." (Nov 21) Less than a fortnight after being offered the captaincy of Leicestershire, Iain Sutcliffe has turned down a new contract and said that he wants to leave the county. Ousted captain Vince Wells has joined Durham. (Nov 19) The Oval will continue to stage international cricket for the next 20 years after Surrey signed a long-term agreement with the England & Wales Cricket Board. As well as guaranteeing that international games will continue to be held on the ground, the deal provides financial support to help modernise and redevelop facilities. Surrey expect that the capacity of the ground will eventually reach 23,000 from its existing 18,500. (Nov 15) Ben Smith has been appointed Worcestershire captain in succession to Graeme Hick. Smith, 30, joined Worcester from Leicestershire at the beginning of 2001. (Nov 15) The ECB has unveiled the format for its new 20-over-a-side competition, the Twenty20 Cup. The counties will be divided into three zonal groups, with the semi-finals and final to be held at Lord's on July 19. (Nov 13) Click here for more The England A seamer, Alamgir Sheriyar, has joined Kent on a two-year deal, after asking to be released from his contract at Worcestershire. (Nov 13) Surrey have confirmed that their two overseas players next year will be the Pakistan Test players Azhar Mahmood and Saqlain Mushtaq, both of whom played for them during the Championship-winning season of 2002. Meanwhile young fast bowlers Tim Murtagh and Phil Sampson have signed extensions to their contracts at The Oval, and James Benning, an allrounder, has signed a fulltime contract. (Nov 7)
Leicestershire have named Phillip DeFreitas as their new captain for next season after their first choice, Iain Sutcliffe, turned the post down. The county also announced that Devon Malcolm, 39, has signed a new one-year deal. (Nov 6) Graeme Hick has been sacked as Worcestershire captain after three years in charge. Tom Moody, Worcester's coach, said it was felt the time was right to move forward, allowing Hick to concentrate on his batting. (Nov 6) Jeremy Snape, who was released by Gloucestershire at the end of the season, has signed a three-year deal with Leicestershire. (Nov 5) Fast bowler Ed Giddins has signed for Hampshire. (Nov 5) David Graveney's dual role as chairman of selectors and chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association has been called into question after his intervention in the dispute at Leicester. (Nov 1) Robin Martin-Jenkins has signed a three-year deal which will keep him at Sussex until the end of the 2005 season. (Nov 1) Paul Nixon has rejoined his old club Leicestershire on a three-year contract. Nixon, who toured Pakistan and Sri Lanka with the England team in 2000-01, was unexpectedly released by Kent at the end of last season. (Oct 30)
Kent have signed Peter Trego, a former England Under-19 allrounder, from Somerset on a two-year contract. (Oct 28)
Mali Richards, the son of Sir Viv, has been offered a contract by Middlesex. Mali, 19, was born in Taunton during his father's Somerset days and was educated at Cheltenham College. Although he has already represented Antigua at senior level, he is as yet unsure where his national allegiances lie. (Oct 23)
Mike Hussey has been reappointed as Northamptonshire's captain for next season. (Oct 22) James Kirtley has signed a new four-year contract with Sussex with will keep at Hove until the end of the 2006 season. (Oct 21)
Mal Loye, 30, who left Northamptonshire at the end of the season, has joined Lancashire. (Oct 8) Warren Hegg has been reappointed as captain of Lancashire for the 2004 season. They have also extended the contract of Mike Watkinson, their cricket manager, until the end of 2005. (Oct 8) Surrey have released Rupesh Amin, the left-arm spinner who took 25 wickets in 14 first-class matches for them since 1997. (Oct 8) Somerset have announce that Mike Burns will captain them in 2003. He replaces Jamie Cox, who stood down after a season which ended with Somerset being relegated from the first divisions of both the County Championship and National League. (Oct 4)
Somerset have signed West Indian fast bowler Nixon McLean as their second overseas player for next summer. (Oct 3)
Leicestershire have announced the signing of Virender Sehwag as one of their overseas players for 2003. (Oct 1)
Glamorgan have released batsman Alun Evans and allrounder Keith Newell. (Sept 29)
Hampshire have announced that opening batsman Jason Laney, offspinner Irfan Shah and seamer James Schofield were being released, and Giles White had retired. (Sept 24)
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