Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah has rued the five washed-out days during the series against South Africa, saying that playing against the No. 1 Test side would have been valuable experience

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur02-Aug-2015Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah has rued the five washed-out days during the series against South Africa, saying that playing against the No. 1 Test side would have been valuable experience for a growing team. He said the players would now have to use the Bangladesh Cricket League, which is reportedly going to be held soon, to tune up for the two Tests against Australia in October.”It would have helped us immensely had there been ten days of cricket, whether we won, lost or drew the matches,” Mahmudullah said after a third successive day of the second Test in Mirpur was lost to rain. The last two days of the Chittagong Test had also been washed out. “We would have played ten days against the best team in the world, and tested our skills better against them. It will be good if there is BCL before the Australia series, gives us a chance to play matches before a big series.”There was sunshine at the Shere Bangla Stadium around 2.00 pm on Sunday, less than half an hour after the fourth day was abandoned. Both teams were at the venue, but the ground was not fit for play following a heavy afternoon downpour. This Test, and with it the two-match series, is certain to be drawn.On the first day, Mahmudullah had made 35 after batting for more than two hours, and he said it was a crime to get out after putting in the hard work to get a start. “I think everyone understands the need to take the opportunities,” he said. “It is always hard to score the first 20-30 runs. It is the major hurdle. Then one has to play normally. Three-four of us got out in the 30s and 40s. I think it is a big crime. We have to find out, by speaking in groups and individually, how we can get out of this.”Over the last three days, like the other players, Mahmudullah has also been frustrated by the weather. “I think it is quite a tough situation. It is quite frustrating when you prepare yourself mentally for a five-day game and three days on the trot get called off. But it is important that one doesn’t lose focus. It is also important to enjoy and relax when we are back at the hotel. When we head to the ground, we have to switch on since we have to get prepared for the match.””At breakfast today I was talking to Imrul about what would have happened had the match taken place properly. We sometimes talk about such things. We spend time in the hotel room but when we are together, we talk cricket. We share ideas. He [Nasir Hossain] was telling me in the morning that he isn’t feeling well. He has been not out for two days. We all want to play but we have to face the circumstances. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

A big hundred from James Taylor was a perfect return to form for Notts as they seek to dampen relegation fears, but it is unlikely to quicken England’s interest after a lean season

ECB/PA19-Jul-2015
ScorecardJames Taylor’s return to form might have come too late to interest England•Getty Images

James Taylor scored his first LV County Championship hundred of the season as Nottinghamshire eventually dominated an absorbing first day against Sussex at Horsham.The 25-year-old has had a modest season by his standards but he clearly enjoys facing the Sussex attack. His unbeaten 163 was his third score of over 150 against them, following 163 in 2012 and 204 in 2013, and helped his side reach 358 for 5 at stumps.There were two periods in the game when Sussex had control. Ollie Robinson, who finished the day with four wickets, helped reduce Notts to 30 for 3 before returning in the afternoon to claim Rikki Wessels (94) and Samit Patel in successive overs.That left Notts 186 for 5 but Taylor and his captain, Chris Read, wrested the initiative for their side after tea by extending their sixth wicket stand to 174.While Wessels deserved credit for his aggressive counter-attack it was the understated but effective way with which Taylor went about his business which most impressed.His first 50 runs took 119 balls but he went to his hundred from 71 more before accelerating once he had reached the milestone with some eye-catching shots, particularly through the off side.By stumps he had faced 247 balls and hit 23 fours, having batted for five hours 40 minutes so far. It was his tenth score of over 150.It is three years since Taylor played the last of his two Tests and he lost his England one-day place for the recent series against New Zealand. But as the inquest into England’s hammering in the second Test begins, the 25-year-old will be hoping that this innings can be the start of a productive end to the season.Nottinghamshire certainly needed him to be at his phlegmatic best after their top order had been wrecked by Robinson and Matt Hobden.Robinson made the breakthrough in the sixth over, removing Alex Hales courtesy of a juggling catch at second slip by Chris Nash. Hobden had Brendan Taylor lbw working to leg with his fourth ball before Robinson picked up Steven Mullaney with a ball which seamed just enough to take the edge.On a quick-scoring ground Wessels was soon into his stride, taking just 48 balls over his 50 which included a six over mid-wicket off Peter Burgoyne.After lunch Wessels and Taylor extended their fourth-wicket stand to 144 from 38 overs before Robinson made his double strike.Wessels chipped a catch to Luke Wells at mid on, having hit 13 fours and a six from 199 balls faced, before Patel was held in his follow through by Robinson.Steve Magoffin bowled without luck and Luke Wells was unfortunate to have Read dropped at slip on 35 by Ed Joyce, but otherwise Taylor and Read made unflustered progress in the evening session, even after Sussex took the new ball. Read reached his 50 with a boundary past the diving Luke Wright at third slip just before stumps.A dry pitch is expected to turn by the fourth day and Notts have recalled 40-year-old slow left-armer Gary Keedy for his first Championship appearance of the season.

Rob Key’s first Championship century inside 16 months helped Kent prosper on the opening day of their LV= County Championship clash with Division Two leaders Lancashire in Canterbury

ECB/PA01-Sep-2015
ScorecardRob Key added another hundred to his large collection at the St Lawrence Ground•Getty Images

Rob Key’s first Championship century inside 16 months helped Kent prosper on the opening day of their LV= County Championship clash with Division Two leaders Lancashire in Canterbury.On an overcast day when 26 overs were lost to rain and bad light, Kent’s top-order flourished against a weakened and lethargic Lancashire attack to post 235 for 3 from only 70 overs’ play.Key hit a season’s best 113 and featured in stands worth 72 with Daniel Bell-Drummond and then 149 inside 35 overs with Joe Denly on a day when Lancashire – who began the round needing five points to clinch promotion – clearly expected ball to dominate bat.Without three key members of their pace attack – including the division’s leading wicket-taker in Kyle Jarvis as well as their overseas pro James Faulkner, both with fractured hands – Lancashire elected to field first when play started on time at 10.30am.However, only 28 balls were bowled during a staccato opening session before the players, with Kent on seven without loss, fled for cover from a heavy shower for an early lunch just after noon.Key might have gone for 3, when Alviro Petersen downed a slip catch off Glen Chapple with the home total on 23 without loss, yet Kent’s only casualty of the opening two sessions came after 28.3 overs.With his score on 37 after 103 minutes at the crease Bell-Drummond, walking across his stumps and aiming to leg, was trapped lbw by a Tom Bailey off-cutter to make it 72 for 1.Key scored only four boundaries in his patient 116-ball 50, two of which came with straight drives in successive overs from left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan, as Key and Denly set out their stall to bat time.Denly reached his 79-ball 50 with a sweetly-timed leg-side clip off Chapple for his eighth boundary, while Key reached three figures with an all-run four after straight driving the same bowler. The hundred came off 179 balls and included 11 fours, 10 of them boundaries.It was Key’s first Championship century since May 5 last year when he scored 126 in the win over Surrey. It was also his 24th first-class hundred on the ground for Kent, where he is comfortably the county’s leading run-scorer with almost 8,000 runs to his name.Bad light took the players off for a fourth time shortly before 5pm and Key and Denly both perished soon after the resumptions half an hour later. Denly, playing late to the skiddy pace of Jordan Clark, departed lbw for 65 then Key, after 201 balls, fenced at a Clark lifter and spooned a comfortable catch to gully off the shoulder of the bat in the same over.Lancashire might have finished the day on an even bigger high had Karl Brown held onto a sharp slip chance offered by home skipper Sam Northeast when on 4, but the opportunity, off the bowling of Clark, went to ground allowing Northeast and night watchman James Tredwell to bat out the three remaining overs through to stumps.

South Australian allrounder Alex Gregory will captain the Cricket Australia XI in their inaugural Matador Cup campaign next month

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2015South Australian allrounder Alex Gregory will captain the Cricket Australia XI in their inaugural Matador Cup campaign next month. As many as eight players could make their one-day debuts as a result of the inclusion of a seventh side in the tournament, with a squad made up of talented young players who missed out on selection in their respective 14-man state squads.Gregory, 20, played for the Redbacks in last summer’s Matador Cup and is one of six squad members with List A experience. The team has been introduced this season in an effort to provide greater exposure to elite-level cricket for some of the country’s emerging players, and CA national talent manager Greg Chappell said he was confident the side would be competitive against the states.”The idea behind it was to make sure the next generation of cricketers were going to get the opportunities they need to keep their development going,” Chappell said. “There will be some familiar names from having played a little bit of first-class cricket or a little bit of 50-over cricket for their state previously.”They are the ones the public can start looking at with the view to perhaps watching them grow over the next few years, get into their state sides and hopefully go on to represent Australia.”They will be competitive. There are probably three or four players that we thought we might have in the CA XI side who have gone on and been selected by their states and we would expect them to play prominent roles in their state squad. So maybe we have frightened some of the states into thinking they needed to pick some of their young players and, if that’s the case, that’s terrific.”National Cricket Centre head coach Troy Cooley and Australia Under-19 mentor Graeme Hick will be in charge of preparing the squad for their Matador Cup campaign. The tournament will be played around Sydney through October and the Cricket Australia XI’s first match is against New South Wales on October 5.Cricket Australia XI squad Alex Gregory (SA, capt), Sam Heazlett (Qld), James Peirson (Qld), Ben McDermott (Tas), James Bazley (Qld), Seb Gotch (Vic), Matthew Short (Vic), Jack Wildermuth (Qld), Jhye Richardson (WA), Liam Hatcher (NSW), Mitch Swepson (Qld), Hilton Cartwright (WA). Riley Ayre (ACT/NSW), Matthew Dixon (WA).

Shane Warne has said he wants to see as many countries as possible play in a World Cup and hopes fans now watching the Cricket All-Stars tournament might one day turn up one day at the showpiece event and represent America

Peter Della Penna in Houston12-Nov-2015Shane Warne has said he wants to see as many countries as possible play in a World Cup and hopes fans now watching the Cricket All-Stars tournament might one day turn up one day at the showpiece event and represent America.”We all think it’s a global game and would love everyone to play the game of cricket,” Warne said in the post-match press conference in Houston on Wednesday, after his Warriors beat Sachin Tendulkar’s Blasters by 51 runs.The Cricket All-Stars series has been billed as a means to expand the reach of the game, but it comes at a time when the ICC has shrunk the number of teams participating at a World Cup to 10, limiting the chances of Associates like the USA taking part. Warne was asked of this disparity and he replied by saying he thought the ICC “are trying to do the best they can by the game of cricket.””All we can do is do our part,” he said. “And that’s why we’re [the All-Stars] here in America playing the game of cricket and trying to promote the game of cricket as best we possibly can. We would love to see all the countries play in a World Cup but at the end of the day, the ICC are trying to do the best they can by the game of cricket.”America only just missed out on the last [T20] World Cup. So hopefully we can see America playing in a World Cup down the track and maybe one of these kids or some of these guys that we’ve coached in New York or Houston or maybe in LA, we might see them in one of the World Cups down the track and that would be absolutely fantastic.”The crowd in Houston was modest – the 42,000 capacity stadium was less than half-full – but rowdy. The overwhelming majority at both Citi Field in New York and Minute Maid Park here were either South Asian immigrants, who grew up watching cricket in the subcontinent, or their American-born children. When asked if he felt the matches had succeeded in making a connection with the wider American community, Tendulkar acknowledged that there was still a ways to go.”I think we’ll have to take gradual steps,” he said. “We’re not going to get 25,000 Americans watching overnight but it has to start somewhere. I’m sure among these spectators, even if there are 2% Americans, then that 2% is better than nothing. Over the years, cricket was not played here at this scale. Now slowly, slowly it’s going to start. The whole idea is to try and motivate as many youngsters as possible to pick up a cricket bat, which we’ve been doing.There have been rumours that the Cricket All-Stars plan to come back to the USA annually, but there is no guarantee. If they do come, it’s difficult to envision Houston as a repeat destination based on the crowd turnout when there are alternatives such as Chicago or San Francisco to check out. Despite that, Warne was effusive in his praise for the city and the stadium.”I think all of the players enjoyed the facilities at the stadium here. As an annual event, we’d love to come back to America every year. All of us, everywhere we’ve been so far, we’ve been welcomed. I think everyone, the amount of those who’ve said thank you for bringing cricket to America. It’s our pleasure to be here, to have us in this great country and for all the players to be playing. Whether we come back to Houston? We hope we can because we’ve been treated wonderfully well here.”

Uncapped opener Udara Jayasundera and rookie legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay have been selected in Sri Lanka’s Test squad for the tour of New Zealand

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Nov-2015Uncapped opener Udara Jayasundera and rookie legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay have been selected in Sri Lanka’s Test squad for the tour of New Zealand. The 15-man squad, which features three spinners, four quicks and eight batsmen, has no room for opener Kaushal Silva and offspinner Tharindu Kaushal.Batsman Lahiru Thirimanne was also dropped from the squad altogether, after a being left out of Sri Lanka’s most recent Test, against West Indies. Kusal Mendis, the 20-year old wicketkeeper-batsman who took Thirimanne’s place in Colombo, was included again. Kithuruwan Vithanage also made a return to the Test squad, following good outings with Sri Lanka A in New Zealand last month.Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera featured among the quicks alongside Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal. Shaminda Eranga remained injured and unavailable for selection. Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera were the other spinners.Jayasundera’s inclusion was expected after he hit 52 and 99 across two first-class matches against New Zealand A in Christchurch and Lincoln in October, a week after making 142 against the West Indians in a Colombo practice match. The 24-year-old has been a consistent domestic performer for Ragama Cricket Club and struck 842 runs at 64.76 in the most recent Premier League Tournament.”Udara Jayasundera has been among the runs and has been batting very well,” chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene said. “We’re just following our policy of picking players on form and giving youngsters who show potential the opportunity, whenever the situation warrants.”Vandersay, 25, had been in the selectors’ sights since June, when he took a five-wicket haul against the Pakistanis in a tour match. He has since impressed in Sri Lanka’s emerging team, and recently claimed two five-wicket hauls in the first-class games against New Zealand A. He was the equal-highest wicket-taker in that series with 12 scalps at an average of 24.50.”A wristspinner brings a different dimension and lot more attacking possibilities to any side,” Wijegunawardene said. “With Rangana and Dilruwan as our main, frontline spinners, we just thought Vandersay would give us another option. We do have our reasons for picking three spinners for the tour. We’ll wait and see.”Silva’s exclusion was perhaps the biggest surprise of the squad announcement, after he had held his place atop the batting order for almost two years. He has not consistently made runs, however, and his average is 31.90 after 44 Test innings. Silva has also had a poor recent run of form; he has only one fifty in his last 11 innings.”Over the last few games Kaushal was not giving us the expected performances,” Wijegunawardene said. “We felt that Kusal Mendis or Udara Jayasundera would be a better option. Of course we would like Kaushal to find his form and return to the side.”Silva’s omission means Jayasundera is likely to open the batting alongside Dimuth Karunaratne.Mendis was a surprise selection for an overseas tour, as he has only one first-class hundred and one fifty, after 11 matches. He made his Test debut against West Indies in Colombo, scoring 13 and 39. He will also serve as the reserve wicketkeeper to Kusal Perera on tour.”We all saw what Kusal Mendis’ capabilities were in his match in Colombo, where he was facing fast bowlers bowling at 145kph,” Wijegunawardene said. “We’re confident that he’s got the capability. You’ve got to take the plunge at some point.”Sri Lanka play two Tests, in Dunedin and Hamilton. The first begins on December 10.Test squad: Angelo Mathews (captain), Kusal Mendis, Udara Jayasundera, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group A matches played on December 17, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2015Ajinkya Rahane’s century ended in vain as Rajasthan gunned down 302 against Mumbai with Rajat Bhatia’s unbeaten 94 at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad.Rajasthan lost opener Manender Singh early in the chase but Dishant Yagnik and Puneet Yadav pitched in with forties each to keep the scorecard ticking. Abhishek Nayar got rid of both, but Ashok Menaria and Bhatia took charge with a 145-run partnership, which tilted the balance in Rajasthan’s favour. Bhatia drilled eight fours and three sixes and remained unbeaten on 94 off 71 balls.Having opted to bowl, Rajasthan struck early, courtesy Pankaj Singh who got rid of Mumbai’s top three. Aditya Tare then exited for a duck as Mumbai were left reeling at 44 for 4 within 12 overs. Rahane, however, combined well with Surya Kumar Yadav in a 125-run stand. By the time Rahane was out, Mumbai had reached 270, and they eventually crossed 300. Bhatia and Menaria then fired and kept their team in the race for the knockouts.B Aparajith’s fifty and a string of 20-plus scores trumped Tanmay Agarwal’s second List A century as Tamil Nadu took a step closer to the knockouts. They chased down 231 in 47.5 overs to take their fourth win of the tournament, against Hyderabad.Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik gave their side a solid base in the chase, adding 57 together. However, seamer Mohammed Siraj, playing his maiden List A match, produced a double-strike to remove the openers. M Vijay and Vijay Shankar propped up Tamil Nadu before R Ashwin and Aparajith dropped anchor. The pair put on 86 before Ravi Kiran had Aparajith caught behind for 55. Three balls later, the seamer had R Satish bowled for a duck. Ashwin was dismissed for 36 in the next over, but B Indrajith and Aswin Crist guided Tamil Nadu home with three wickets and 13 balls to spare.Earlier, Agarwal led Hyderabad’s recovery, striking 11 fours and 1 six during his 96-ball 105. Opener Danny Derek Prince got the next-best score – 31 off 41 balls. Tamil Nadu chipped away at the wickets, L Balaji, who was playing his first game of the season, the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 33. He was complemented by Satish, Ashwin, and Shankar who grabbed two wickets each. This meant that Hyderabad were dismissed for 230 in 49.2 overs, a total that proved inadequate in the end.A trio of fifties marshalled Services‘ chase of 262 as Assam sunk to their sixth loss in six matches. Opener Soumik Chatterjee gave the early impetus with Amit Pachhara before Rajat Paliwal built on the platform as Services sealed the deal in 45.2 overs in Secunderabad.Having opted to bat, Assam were reduced to 28 for 2 in 7.4 overs by Diwesh Pathania. Sibsankar Roy and Amit Verma lifted their side with a 100-run partnership, but Pathania came back and sliced through the lower order, as Assam were restricted to 261. Pathania finished with career-best List A figures of 5 for 54.

Bangladesh Under-19s left-arm spinner Saleh Ahmed Shawon said he enjoys playing on a big stage and draws motivation from the crowds cheering his name.

Mohammad Isam01-Feb-2016Saleh Ahmed Shawon is fidgety, unlike the mostly calm Nazmul Hossain Shanto or the bright-eyed Bangladesh Under-19s captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz. The left-arm spinner is the Bangladesh team’s prankster, making wisecracks and keeping everyone cheerful, while at times, by his own admission, being the victim of his team-mates’ pranks. Despite his antics, Shawon has been the team’s leading wicket-taker since January last year, with 53 dismissals at 16.01 in 30 matches.He doesn’t look at one person for too long and his hands are constantly fidgeting, but he did stand still for the duration of the press briefing. The bowler has also started to like the big stage, and draws motivation from the crowd cheering his name.”I always try to keep my team-mates amused, I joke around, especially when I see someone down,” Shawon said. “I try to poke him, ask him what’s wrong. And they, too, have fun at my expense. I also find a lot of motivation playing in front of a crowd where they are calling out my name and cheering us. Maybe some people take it as pressure, but I like it.”While bowling, he has the run-up of a front-on bowler but slides into a side-on action and flights the ball consistently. He has set himself a target of finishing as one of the leading wicket-takers in this tournament, although he admitted his primary job was to keep the runs down.”In team meetings, we have been told to keep the runs in check,” he said. “I don’t go for wickets. I just want to keep it to 20-25 in my ten overs. [Getting a] Wicket is a matter of luck. We think that our bowling attack can defend a score like 240, which will be hard for any opponent in any condition.”My target is to be among the top five wicket-takers in the tournament, or if possible the highest wicket-taker.”Shawon stated that in a bid to keep the players under less pressure, the team management had told them to approach the World Cup as a set of two three-match series’. Personally, though, he doesn’t seem too nervous about the big stage.”We are looking at it as a series, not a World Cup. We shouldn’t be tensed about playing a World Cup, that’s what our captain and vice-captain have told us ahead of the tournament,” he said. “We have divided it into two three-match series. So we have the three matches in the group stage, and three in the knockout. If we can win six, we can win the World Cup.”It is not really possible to think this way but it is about believing it yourself, you get what I’m saying?”

A round-up of the Under-19 World Cup games played on February 9, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2016An outstanding all-round display from Hasan Mohsin helped Pakistan thump Nepal by 122 runs in the Under-19 World Cup. First, he came in with the score at 30 for 3 and struck a scintillating 117 off 106 balls in a total of 258. Then he took the new-ball and decimated the Nepal chase with 4 for 42 to in the fifth-place playoff semi-final in Fatullah.The day had begun with tremendous promise for Nepal. They won the toss, opted to field and new-ball bowler Aarif Sheikh dismissed both Pakistan openers for a duck. Gauhar Hafeez, returning from injury to lead Pakistan, was sent back after 13 balls while his partner Mohammad Umar faced only three. When Hasan Khan succumbed to Dipendra Singh Airee’s medium pace, Pakistan were teetering on the edge, with a run-rate of 2.25 per over besides the early blows. Then came the partnership that decided the result. Mohsin strode out to join Saif Badar (88 off 106) and added 189 runs in only 187 balls to wrest the advantage.Mohsin’s work was not done for the day though. He took the new ball and ran through Nepal’s line-up in the chase, leaving them at 29 for 5. Prem Tamang, at No. 8, mustered an unbeaten 65 off 91 balls and under his leadership, the final three wickets dug in for nearly 27 overs. The contest, however, had been decided by the first 10 overs when Mohsin’s figures read 5-0-11-4. He finished the match as top-scorer and joint highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in the tournament.Afghanistan Under-19s eased to an eight-wicket win against New Zealand Under-19s in Cox’s Bazar, to move to the ninth-place playoff final. New Zealand were reduced to 35 for 6 by the 19th over, after opting to bat. Useful contributions, however, from Josh Clarkson (25), Aniket Parikh (48) and Nathan Smith (23) took New Zealand to 135, before they were bowled out in the 45th over.Rashid Khan picked up three wickets for 30, and bowled five maidens in his 10 overs. Zia-ur-Rehman and Shamsurrahman were also economical while picking up five wickets in between them.Afghanistan lost Karim Janat for a run-a-ball 13, but captain Ihsanullah and Tariq Stanikzai steered Afghanistan closer to the target. Though Ihsanullah also fell to Aniket Parikh, for 47, Perwez Malakzai and Tariq finished the chase with 22.3 overs to spare.

Billy Godleman has been appointed captain of Derbyshire’s County Championship side after Wayne Madsen stepped down

George Dobell24-Mar-2016Billy Godleman has been appointed captain of Derbyshire’s County Championship side after Wayne Madsen stepped down.Madsen had led Derbyshire in red ball cricket for four seasons, a spell that included winning promotion to Division One. While Derbyshire were relegated the following year, Madsen was named as Championship player of the year for his defiant batting.Godleman, 27, enjoyed a good season with the bat in 2015. In the course of passing 1,000 Championship runs in a season for the first time, he made centuries in three successive innings and impressed as stand-in captain in three games when Madsen suffered a broken finger.Godleman, who has also had spells at Middlesex and Essex, recently signed a new deal to keep him at Derbyshire until the end of 2017. Only William Storer, Levi Wright, Peter Kirsten and Kim Barnett had previously scored three centuries in succession for the club.32-year-old Madsen recently signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until the end of 2019.”He’s been a great captain and he’s still got ambitions to play for England,” Graeme Welch, the club’s Elite Performance Director told the . “I still believe he is one of the best players in the country and I think he is good enough to play for England.”He is still a great ambassador for this club and still one of our main men but he just wants to move back into the ranks and help the younger lads that way. He just sees himself in a bit of a different role at this time.”Wes Durston will continue to lead Derbyshire in the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup.Derbyshire have also agreed a two-year contract extension with Welch, which secures his future until the end of the 2018 season.”Graeme has played a key part in the club’s progression over the past two-and-a-half years and his contract extension will ensure stability for everyone involved,” Chris Grant, the club’s chairman, said.”If we are to continue to be sustainable as a county, we need to be producing our own players and Graeme’s role in this has been clear to see. Our goal is for success on the field while developing England players and Graeme has already shown his ability to achieve this with England recognition for Mark Footitt, Tom Taylor and Matt Critchley.”The club have also announced that Kim Barnett, who set a host of records for Derbyshire during his playing career, is to be their new their president for the next two years.