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Two men accused of the assault that left the New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder in an induced coma in hospital have appeared in the Christchurch District Court.A 37-year-old builder has been charged with assaulting Ryder and also with reckless disregard for the safety of others. The younger man, a 20-year-old carpet layer, is facing two charges of assault, one shared with the older man.The defence counsel for the older man, Jonathan Eaton, asked for and received a two-week remand on bail for the two men until April 18. He also won an interim suppression order over the names and images of the accused.Eaton said the incident had not been a “Jesse Ryder hate crime” as some witnesses had described it. In his description of events, Eaton said the two men had been out at a family dinner at Aikmans Bar and had crossed paths in a “convivial” fashion with Ryder across the evening.”The eye witness accounts are wildly inaccurate and misleading,” he said. “It goes to show why the justice system and public demand that these matters be dealt with in court before a judge and a jury and not by the media in the court of public opinion.”Eaton also disputed reports of Ryder’s injuries, claiming the batsman had not received a fractured skull but a serious concussion, and had also not sustained a collapsed lung.Ryder was interviewed by police in hospital on Monday but so far has no recollection of events on the night. He was discharged on Wednesday and has flown back home to Wellington.Ryder was hospitalised and placed in the induced coma to recover from injuries sustained when he was the victim of what police alleged to be two assaults in the space of a few minutes after a night out at the end of the Wellington Firebirds’ season.

This is the wintry scene that Eoin Morgan left behind as he set off for the razzamatazz of the Indian Premier League. While his team-mates were enduring near-freezing temperatures in Middlesex’s bubble at Radlett, he was setting off for the more hospitable cricketing climes of the IPL.Even the counties which preferred to prepare for the new season with trips to Barbados and Dubai, are now suffering one of the coldest England Springs on record, braving early-season friendlies which are bound to test the hardiest county stalwart.Middlesex can at least claim to be acclimatised. Along with the more thrifty of the counties, they have been practising from the outset in temperatures around zero, leaving footprints in the snow on their way to nets covered by a marquee of transparent plastic sheeting.Essex started a trend in 2012 by erecting a steel-framed structure on their square at Chelmsford and practising ‘outdoors’ on grass pre-season. By happy coincidence, the weather in 2012 was blazing hot. This year, with players facing snow and wind chill temperatures of -2C, Essex have been joined in the experiment by other counties such as Middlesex, Kent, Worcestershire and Glamorgan.Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said he was thinking about ways of conducting covered outdoor practice last year. “Lo and behold they did it at Essex,” he said. “We went over there to have a look and it seemed to work.”Fraser’s logic about the advantages of Radlett is persuasive. But for all that Middlesex’s marquee at Radlett Cricket Club, their training facility, has proved to be a learning process for Fraser, the head groundsman, Nick Searle, and his New Zealander assistant, Regan Sinclair.Fraser said: “We’ve obviously made an investment at Radlett and want to base ourselves here. Nick, the groundsman, is as keen as mustard to help so we said we’d go ahead with it. In a sense it has been a challenge because you learn as you go along.”For example, you forget the fact that when it rains the water goes off the roof and collects in a small area. If you are on a little slope, the water can start to roll underneath. There was a frantic day last week when I had to rush out to Costco to buy towels to stop the water coming down. But we pulled the sides out slightly and it’s okay now.”Standing inside the marquee – Kent call it their “greenhouse” at Canterbury – there is constant noise as the wind rattles rope and material against the metal framework, but the light is surprisingly clear. In fact, in sunshine the transparent plastic has produced glare, so that the sightscreen has to be moved further back to reduce the effect. The struts throw shadows across the mown strips, but the batsmen hardly noticed.The Radlett marquee was erected in early February to ensure the soil had dried by the time net practice started a month later. The use of four hired industrial heaters helped the process after the heavy winter rain, and the players were glad to have one heater on duty during practice to keep them tolerably warm. Beyond the mouth of the nets the air remained almost freezing cold. Woolly hats and multi-layers were required for the stroll over the crusty snow to the middle.The surface played true and easy-paced and not dissimilar to an early season Championship pitch, though sounds were deadened and deliveries from fast bowlers occasionally proved hard for the eye to judge in overcast conditions. Fraser and his assistants, Richard Johnson, Richard Scott and Mark Ramprakash, were hoping the side sheeting could be removed, but the persistent cold ruled out that idea.Middlesex had used Loughborough University’s indoor elite centre for the previous few years, but this time Fraser decided to take a gamble for meaningful practice, having pre-empted any possible player mutiny by arranging a few days of light training in Spain. Fraser and the players felt the adventure in the cold was worthwhile.”There are two reasons for doing it,” Fraser said. “One is financial. If you send a group of 25 people to South Africa for a week or 10 days, it costs you the thick end of £40,000 or £45,000. This net here is probably going to cost us in the region of £12,000 to £15,000. And also I question whether training in Dubai or Barbados, places like that, on dead, shirt-front pitches in 40-degree heat prepares you for the sort of conditions we’re training in today, when it’s quite cold and soft underfoot and the ball is nipping around. It’s a completely different sensation of bat on ball.”So there a cricketing aspect and a financial aspect. I think this is going to be the way forward. If we don’t go on a pre-season tour and we use this, we can almost afford another player on the staff. There’s a trade-off angle too.”We just want to get out there on the square. We’ve been practising over the winter in indoor schools where there is bounce and consistency. It’s a completely different feel to what you experience in the middle. The earlier we can get our players used to what it’s like outside the better.”Middlesex allrounder Gareth Berg reckoned the experiment at Radlett, his home club, was a “huge help”. He said: “In an ideal world we would love to have been in Barbados playing a bit of cricket and to have a few cocktails but, in terms of moving forward and being a better team, this is much more important.”When the County Championship starts on April 10, Nottinghamshire (Barbados) meet Middlesex (Radlett marquee) at Trent Bridge in Division One’s opening round, while in Division Two there is Lancashire (Dubai) versus Worcestershire (Kidderminster marquee) and Glamorgan (Cardiff marquee) versus Northamptonshire (Barbados). The die-hards will take on the sunshine boys and it will be interesting to see what happens.

Bangladesh’s newly appointed fielding coach, Corey Richards, will also act as the team’s batting coach in the interim, while the BCB looks to appoint someone permanently for the role ahead of the Sri Lanka tour. The BCB had said they were searching for a batting coach “from England”, but this has not yet materialised and is likely to take more time.”At the moment I will be looking after [the] batting. It will be [a] dual role,” Richards said. “I have done [the batting coach role] before. I am looking forward to mixing both roles in the side until the BCB tells me otherwise. I am just very excited to be here and work with this group of youngsters.”Richards’ last assignment was as a batting coach for Cricket New South Wales (NSW) over the past two years. He was also the assistant coach to the Sydney Sixers for the past two seasons. Last year, he was the head coach of the team when they won the Champions League in South Africa, as regular coach Trevor Bayliss was with the Kolkata Knight Riders at the time.”I haven’t had a technical role such as [being] the fielding coach before, but [when you are] the assistant or head coach of a team, you need to know [these] three fundamentals of the game.”Technically I haven’t had this title [at an international level] yet, but I have done a lot of work with the NSW team and the Sydney Sixers [in a similar role],” he said. “I think I have got the requirements and experience to hopefully do a good job.”The BCB will rely on Richards’ experience for now, but they also have another position to fill, as Stuart Karppinen, the team’s trainer will no longer be travelling with the team to Sri Lanka. The BCB are looking for someone to fill this role, or they will have to send a local trainer on the tour.Bangladesh are set to leave for Sri Lanka on February 28, ahead of which they have a short camp at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, which began on Wednesday with 13 players out of the 25 in the preliminary squad. The Bangladesh players who were in the BPL final will join the squad on February 22.

Hashim Amla has paid tribute to Pakistan’s spirited performance in the second Test at Newlands, saying the team had pushed South Africa “to our limits in certain respects”.”We were under pressure in our first innings, and then had to chase180 in the second,” he said. “[It] was never going to be an easy total.”Pakistan scored 338 in the first innings, with centuries from Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq. South Africa could have dismissed them for less than 300, when they were 268 for 8, but a 74-run stand for the ninth wicket between Tanvir Ahmed and Saeed Ajmal took Pakistan to a competitive total.After South Africa posted 326 in their first innings, Pakistan had a chance at victory, provided they could put together another substantial total. In the end they were dismissed for 169, leaving South Africa 182 to chase.Amla believed Robin Peterson’s 84 in the first innings helped close the gap on Pakistan, and ultimately proved the difference. “We all know the kind of work Robbie puts in behind the scenes, so it was wonderful to watch him oozing with confidence while he was batting,” he said. “He also made a significant contribution with the ball and has become a recognised player in his own right.”Saeed Ajmal, who picked up 4 for 51 to go with his 6 for 96 in the first innings, along with Mohammad Irfan providing pace and bounce, ensured the chase wasn’t easy and South Africa reached their target with four wickets in hand.Amla was unperturbed about the team’s modest batting performance. “It was not an easy wicket to bat on in the first innings – for both teams – and I wouldn’t read too much into it.”South Africa dismissed Pakistan cheaply in the second innings despite Morne Morkel bowling only 3.1 overs before injuring his hamstring. Morkel will not play the third Test in Centurion, with Rory Kleinveldt slotted to take his place.”Rory has become an integral part of the team, filling in whenever someone has been injured,” Amla said. “Against New Zealand [in January 2013], he bowled really well and he’s a quality performer. It’s a lovely opportunity for Rory to cement his position as one of the leading bowlers in the country.”Despite securing the series with a 2-0 lead, Amla emphasised every game was important as it maintained a winning culture within the team. “A lot of us in the top order have got in, but haven’t made massive contributions, so we’re hungry to do that. The bowlers have enjoyed their wickets, and will want to keep on in that vein, so there is a lot to play for. This country is a very proud nation so we have a duty to uphold in that regard.”

Thirteen English counties have taken advantage of £1million loans offered by the ECB to help boost the domestic game.In total, £18million is available between the counties who show evidence of a suitable business plan and the counties are required to meet certain targets relating to stadia and facilities, customer relations, community programmes and business operations.Only five counties – Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Nottinghamshire and Sussex – have yet to take advantage of the scheme but are expected to send business plans later in the year.The loans will supplement the annual fee payments made to all 18 counties each year. Last year total expenditure on the domestic game was £49.1million, £42.6 million being fee payments to the counties.ECB chairman Giles Clarke said: “With all sports facing increased competition for resources in a tougher economic climate, it is imperative that our first-class county clubs are financially robust, boast modern, spectator-friendly facilities and can continue to act as centres of sporting excellence within their local communities.”The increased investment will help the First Class Counties plan for the future with greater confidence and implement a programme of change which will help make our domestic game even more attractive to spectators, broadcasters and sponsors alike.”There was also a further boost for community clubs badly hit by last year’s wet weather with the ECB board allocating an extra $420,000 to the worst hit grounds.

Match facts

January 3, 2012
Start time 1200 (0630 GMT)

Big Picture

India are again left needing to come from behind, third time in their last four series. A superb display of swing bowling by Junaid Khan crippled India’s batting line-up on an overcast Chennai morning before MS Dhoni rescued his team with a fighting century. Such a procession of batsmen to the pavilion appears unlikely in Kolkata, where overhead conditions haven’t been as bowler-friendly and the curator Prabir Mukherjee has promised a “typical one-day wicket with lots of runs” with the side batting first having an early advantage. But the visitors have been practicing hard to seal their team’s first bilateral ODI series win over India since 2005.Pakistan’s seamers bowled extended spells at the nets on Tuesday, with Umar Gul, Junaid and Mohammad Irfan aiming at one stump. India, on the other hand, missed a session on Tuesday and have an optional one on the eve of the game. They may be short of adequate preparation for a game they cannot afford to lose.

Form guide (Completed games, most recent first)

India: LWWWL
Pakistan: WLWLL

Players to watch

Shoaib Malik was initially picked only for the T20s but has been retained for the ODIs and played a good supporting hand in Chennai. He’s had a good tour so far, guiding Pakistan to victory in the first T20 before giving Nasir Jamshed company in his team’s successful chase on Sunday. A former Pakistan captain, Malik has struggled to keep his place in the side for a while but his experience has come in handy in this limited-overs series.After his century in the first Test against England in Ahmedabad, Virender Sehwag has failed to fire. He was not picked in March last year for the Asia Cup, and could be under pressure to perform, given he’s had just one half-century in his last 10 innings in ODI cricket.

Team news

Rohit Sharma’s poor run of scores in ODIs continued in Chennai and India could consider replacing him with Ajinkya Rahane. However, there is uncertainty over Virat Kohli’s availability, as he limped off the field after slipping while bowling in Chennai. MRI scans revealed no serious damage, but his condition continues to be monitored.India (possible): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rohit Sharma/Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.It seems unlikely Pakistan will make changes, even though Mohammad Irfan proved expensive in Chennai.Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Junaid Khan, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Irfan.

Stats and Trivia

• Rohit Sharma is 22 short of reaching 2000 runs in ODIs.
• Kamran Akmal is 70 short of scoring 3000 in ODIs.

Quotes

“If he keeps on doing that then we will find another great left arm fast-bowler of Wasim Akram’s type.”

“We are used to playing with part-timers. Now it’s difficult for them to bowl 10 overs with five players inside the circle. So you’ve to assess whether six batsmen are enough or seven [are needed].”

Perth Scorchers 3 for 114 (Gibbs 40) beat Sydney Sixers 9 for 113 (Beer 2-19, Thomas 2-27, Cartwright 2-41) by 7 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChastened by the cloudy circumstances of their heavy defeat to the Melbourne Stars, the Perth Scorchers summoned a sharp display in the field to defeat the Sydney Sixers in the BBL match at the SCG.In doing so, the Scorchers ended the Sixers’ winning streak at 12, a run that had taken the team to both last summer’s BBL title and that of the Champions League in South Africa. The hosts were never likely to add a 13th win from the moment they slid to a wretched 6 for 28 after being sent in by Perth, leaving only the most mediocre of targets that Herschelle Gibbs’ strokeplay hastened into view.The Scorchers’ bowling ensemble was strong, led by Nathan Coulter-Nile’s parsimonious 1 for 9 from his four overs, while Michael Beer dismissed Daniel Smith and Brad Haddin with deliveries that spun enough to draw outside edges.No Sixers batsman passed 10 before a trio of rearguards by Steve O’Keefe, Ian Moran and Brett Lee swelled the tally a little. Perth’s batsmen needed only to avoid early wickets for their chase to find safe passage, and Gibbs added 51 with Shaun Marsh, who had recovered from a hamstring strain to take part.Gibbs and Marcus North fell in consecutive overs, but by then the damage had been well and truly done.

England A 245 for 1 (Solanki 109, Prior 122*) beat United Arab Emirates 243 for 5 (Asghar Ali 72, Syed Maqsood 74) by 9 wickets, and won series 4-0
Scorecard

An opening stand of 227 between Matt Prior and Vikram Solanki hurried England A to victory over the United Arab Emirates in the fourth and final match of their brief stay in Sharjah. Solanki was out for 109 shortly before the end, but Prior was still there with 122 as England A completed a nine-wicket victory with 8.4 overs to spare.A repeat of the third match, in which England A squeaked home by just one wicket, was never very likely once Prior, who smacked 13 fours and three sixes, and Solanki (seven fours, three sixes) got going. In the end it was a surprise when Solanki fell to Rizwan Latif, the UAE’s stand-in captain in place of the impressive Khuram Khan. It was the third substantial contribution in a row from Prior, who hit 84 in the second match and 56 in the third one.In contrast to England A’s supercharged start, the UAE had earlier made a disastrous one, losing both openers for ducks – Mohammad Taskeen caught behind by his fellow wicketkeeper Prior off Sajid Mahmood, and Atif Ali run out by Paul Franks. A confident 72 from 89 balls by Asghar Ali, who hit seven fours and a six, steadied the ship, and UAE were lifted to a handy total by an unbeaten sixth-wicket stand of 104 between Syed Maqsood, who made an unbeaten 74, and Naeemuddin Aslam (34 not out).Four bowlers took a wicket apiece, but the coach Rod Marsh won’t have been amused by the 26 wides that the England A bowlers sent down. The main offenders were Alex Gidman (11) and Mahmood (nine, plus two no-balls). But overall Marsh will be satisfied with the 4-0 result, and an excellent workout before the sterner tests that lie ahead in Sri Lanka, where they will contest a three-way one-day tournament that also includes Pakistan A.

Andy Flower, the England team director, has defended England’s handling of Kevin Pietersen and suggested that the player’s desire to appear in a whole season of the IPL proved to be the catalyst that destabilised his relationship with his team-mates and the ECB.Flower, speaking for the first time since Pietersen was omitted from the final Test against South Africa, admitted that batsman may never play for England again, but insisted that the team could retain their No.1 Test ranking even without the man many consider to be their best player. Flower also joined those calling for a window in the international schedule for the IPL, though he conceded there was little realistic hope of that at present.”I think it’s fair to say that Kevin’s issues over being available for the entire IPL have changed his attitude,” Flower said. “I think that was the catalyst for a lot of the stuff.”The IPL and the international fixtures in England are an area of conflict. And it will continue to be an area of conflict in the future. It would be better if there was a very clear window prior to our international season starting. But it doesn’t look like that is an issue that is going to be sorted out in the future so it may well recur.”Flower did accept responsibility for some failures of man management within the England set up, but insisted that Pietersen was guilty of far more serious errors of judgement.”You are questioning whether he has been managed properly,” Flower said. “I suppose it’s fair to ask that question. I think that’s what we’ve been doing over the years. There are certain behaviours that are unacceptable and I think we’ve seen some of that just recently. So to move forward we must get over those hurdles.”If you are asking if we take some responsibility for it I’m quite happy to take responsibility for a number of issues if that is the case. I don’t think text messages from an England player to South African players with some of the content I’ve heard that is in them is my responsibility.”I think one issue that I could have handled better is when I heard that some of the players were occasionally looking at that Twitter account that had been set up by some England supporter, or Nottingham supporter. I could have nipped that in the bud earlier.Andy Flower has said there is a long way to go before Kevin Pietersen can return for England•Getty Images

“But let’s just be perfectly clear on the severity of the situation. There is one thing a few players having a giggle at a Twitter account, there is another on some of the issues that we have seen rear their heads over the last two weeks. It is not just about the text messages, there are other issues to be resolved.”Flower confirmed that the ECB had approached officials with the South Africa touring team with a view to being shown the text messages Pietersen sent to their players that are alleged to have contained derogatory comments about England captain Andrew Strauss, but insisted the issue extended deeper than a mere spat between two senior players.”The issue is not specifically between the captain and Pietersen,” Flower said. “There are a number of unresolved issues and it would be inaccurate to judge it as just an issue between those two.”At this juncture there’s no meeting in the diary. We’ve just finished this Test match. I understand some people would like this resolved overnight, but I don’t think it is something that can be resolved overnight if we want to go about it properly. There are a number of outstanding issues to be resolved. An example of that would be finding out exactly what these text messages contained if we do really want to move forward either way.”I think face to face and man to man, where you can look people in the eye, is always the best way to resolve most issues. I think these things should remain private. I don’t think they should be played out in the media so leaking information, using PR agencies etc to resolve this issue is not the correct way to go about it.”I’m not sure of exactly the best way to investigate it, to be honest. We’ve tried to focus on playing cricket leading up to this Test match which is how this Test series should have been. It’s really sad for everyone involved the focus wasn’t on playing cricket here.”Flower was quite clear that Pietersen’s current apology – either the YouTube video or the letter sent through his management company – was inadequate and did not constitute a resolution to the situation. He also hinted that it was hard to see the issue being resolved before central contracts are offered to players, which is likely to happen before the team departs for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in mid-September. That suggests Pietersen may well not be considered for England’s tour of India. He confirmed that Pietersen would not be offered a central contract until the issues were resolved.”He sent an apology via his agent to the ECB,” Flower said. “If you are going to move on from situations such as this you need to know exactly what situation you are moving on from. So I think we need to get to the bottom of some of this speculation and rumours before we move on.”Regardless of central contracts, I wouldn’t like to put a time frame on it because that might unrealistic. To resolve certain issues of trust and mutual respect, it might take longer than that. I would rather not speculate [on whether Pietersen may have played his last game for England]. But he was speculating on it during the Test series, so there is a chance I suppose.England’s one-day side has shown it can flourish in the absence of Pietersen with Ian Bell slotting into the openers’ role, while Alex Hales made 99 in the Twenty20 against West Indies. Flower believes that, if the situation is not resolved, the Test team can move back to the top of the rankings without Pietersen.”Without a doubt,” he said. “English cricket has a great history and it has a great future. It is bigger than any one player. You will always move on from anyone, whether it be a captain, a coach or a player. I think the most important thing is that we do the right thing for England cricket. That’s how we will make our decision.”We try to make decisions that are in the best interests of the England cricket team or English cricket. That is what I’ve tried to do since I joined this team and that’s what I will continue to do.”

John Mooney, the man who hit the winning runs for Ireland against England in the 2011 World Cup, has been ruled out of the ICC World Twenty20 due to a serious finger fracture. He suffered the injury when fielding in Irish club cricket, having returned to the game as a bowler while still resting a dislocated thumb sustained last month.”I’m devastated to be missing out on the rest of the season and the Twenty20 World Cup”, Mooney told ESPNcricinfo. “I was playing as a bowler for my club North County at the weekend as I was resting my thumb from batting since I dislocated it against Afghanistan.”I took a sharp chance low to the ground at first slip off Eddie Richardson and looked down to see the top part of my middle finger was floppy. I knew it wasn’t good.”A visit to a finger specialist on Tuesday gave Mooney, who has won 134 Ireland caps, the news he was dreading. “He confirmed I have fractured it and ripped the tendon from the bone,” Mooney said. “I’m in a splint now for 12 weeks where hopefully the tendon will reconnect with the bone. It’s particularly hard to take as I had to fly home from the qualifiers early due to my hamstring injury.Cricket Ireland performance director Richard Holdsworth said the initial hope had been that an uncomplicated break might have had Mooney back playing by September. “We had hoped that it was just a break, and he might have been able to be back playing in 3-4 weeks”, Holdsworth said.”But he has damaged the ligaments and so we’ve reluctantly had to rule him out. It’s a great shame and a setback to him, especially as he was injured in the qualifiers in Dubai. He’s such a big part of the team and we really want him to be there.”Mooney has been a key member of Phil Simmons’ Ireland side since the 2007 World Cup, where he made just one appearance. The combative Dubliner famously struck the final blow as Ireland beatEngland at Bangalore in last year’s World Cup.But an injury sustained while diving for catch in the T20 qualifiers in Dubai in March ruled him out of early season with his club. He recovered and played a short trial with Sussex in June, before he returned early after deciding a county career was not for him.The Irish squad will be released at 9am local time on Friday, with England-bound Boyd Rankin certain to be included.