News Archive - July 2002

ANTHONY McGRATH and Gary Fellows kept Yorkshire�s season alive at Essex yesterday after securing the Tykes a place in the semi-finals of the
Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy. McGrath and Fellows shared a decisive sixth-wicket stand of 128 to ensure Yorkshire finished level pegging with Essex�s score of 283 and clinched a
thrilling last-over victory by virtue of fewer wickets lost.It was a tremendous display from the duo, who defied the critics when they came together with Yorkshire needing seven an over from their final 18 overs.The pairing dug deep and showed grit and determination to guide Yorkshire to what could prove to be a priceless victory in what has so far been a depressing season.McGrath and Fellows both scored high-quality half-centuries and worked the Essex field to perfection. McGrath played some tremendous shots square of the wicket while the classy Fellows drove the ball well.McGrath took just 44 balls to reach his 50 while Fellows smashed a huge
straight six to clock up his half-century off the same number of deliveries.After being down and out at one stage, Yorkshire needed to show great
character and victory was finally secured off the penultimate delivery of the game.It was an amazing fightback because all looked lost when Michael Vaughan was controversially given out caught behind off Graham Napier after making a
valuable 42.Vaughan had batted well, showing great composure, but his dubious dismissal
left Yorkshire reeling on 155-5 and victory looked like a formality for in-form Essex.But it was not all down to the batsmen, with Yorkshire bowling and fielding well despite Essex racking up a more than challenging total from their 50
overs.Essex recovered well from the early loss of Nasser Hussain, Matthew Hoggard deservedly dismissing the England captain after Richard Dawson clung on to a catch at point despite clashing with Darren Gough.Darren Robinson and Jon Dakin took up the challenge with relish and shared the first of three half-century stands before a brilliant piece of fielding
from Vaughan accounted for Dakin.Robinson, who took 61 balls to reach a belligerent 50, was next to go when he presented Chris Silverwood with a return catch, but Andy Flower and Ronnie
Irani kept the score ticking along at a fair rate.Irani hit 32 off 31 deliveries before falling victim to a superb inswinging
yorker from Gough, while Flower played some excellent shots on his way to 75 before edging a quicker ball from Craig White.The wicket was no more than White deserved and the discarded England
all-rounder demonstrated his qualities with a fine second spell of bowling that conceded just 23 runs in six overs.White was the pick of the Yorkshire attack, but skipper Darren Lehmann also
bowled tightly while Gough, Silverwood and Hoggard all caused problems.Yorkshire�s pressure paid dividends in the last eight overs as, following Flower�s dismissal, Essex tumbled from 246-5 to 283-9 at the close.In reply, White hammered a couple of lusty blows before lofting a routine chance to Aftab Habib and Yorkshire were struggling on 12-1.Silverwood and Matthew Wood steadied the ship, the former playing some great
shots in making 37, but Yorkshire lost wickets at regular intervals and struggled to make early headway.Former Yorkshire star James Middlebrook rubbed salt in the wound when Lehmann got himself in a tangle and played on, and at 120-4 the game appeared to be drifting away from the Tykes.Vaughan soon followed after a shocking decision, but Essex had not banked on
the determination of McGrath and Fellows and the duo displayed great courage in turning the game around.They say that one swallow does not make a summer, but Yorkshire could not have picked a better time to prove they really do have the character needed to win tough matches again.

Some of England�s finest cricketers will be hoping to bowl over O2�s senior management team next week to notch up hundreds of runs � and pounds for charity.
Veteran players Gladstone Small, Phil Simmons, Jimmy Adams, Arnie Sidebottom, Ian Austin, Chris Broad, Chris Lewis and Neil Foster have agreed to team up with the mobile telecommunications operator in a fund raising two-day special at Headingley, home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, the first event of it�s kind to be held at the ground on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 23 and 24.

The charities being supported include the breast cancer charity HEAL and the Professional Cricketers Association, which works with disadvantaged young people in the community.
The event is the brainchild of Duncan Wallace, O2�s Director of Customer Service, who is based at Stafford Taylor building in Leeds. He has been an active supporter of HEAL since his wife, Jennie, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.
�You always think this sort of thing happens to someone else but it can strike anybody,� said Duncan. �Jennie�s prognosis is good and she is coping well with the chemotherapy but it is a long haul.�
HEAL is a London and Essex-based charity that raises funds for research into the causes and treatment of cancer and to buy vital pieces of equipment for patients.
Duncan and Jennie have been married for 14 years and have four children, Jessica, Matthew, Caitlin and Sam.
The family will be at Headingley for the cricket as well as other O2 staff and their children. Even the company�s board of directors have arranged their meeting to coincide with the day and will be using the ground as their venue.

Local people will also be taking part. A group of 25 youngsters from the West Indian Family Counselling Service have been invited to a special party at the cricket school. The Service operates from the Roscoe Methodist Church in Chapeltown, Leeds. These children were chosen in partnership with the employee volunteering organisation, Leeds Cares, part of Business in the Community.
�The children are all very excited at the prospect of meeting the players and visiting Headingley,� said Brenda Redfearn, business co-ordinator at Leeds Cares. �They were delighted on hearing they had been chosen. It�s not only a great opportunity for the children but also for the organisation to gain recognition for the marvellous work they do in a disadvantaged area.�

Although O2 has organised the event, they have been supported by a number of their suppliers and partners. These include Nokia, Motorola, Ventura, ANOVO, Efunds and BT Wholesale.
Each of the companies will put forward a team of seven players who will be captained by one of the former England cricketers.
�It promises to be a great day with the bonus of raising a lot of money for charity,� said Duncan, himself a keen cricketer who once boasted of playing at British Universities level.
Yorkshire CCC Commercial Manager Sharon Gott commented, �We are very excited to be holding such a prestigious event here at Headingley and hope it will be the start of many more events like this in the future.

Stop Press: Big Brother evictee Alison has just confirmed that she will be attending the cricket match to lend her support. Big Brother is sponsored by O2.

A superb all-round display by Craig White helped Yorkshire Phoenix cruise to a comfortable 135-run victory against Somerset Sabres in the Norwich Union League Division One at Scarborough.The England international smashed a rapid 64 before ripping through Somerset's middle order and taking five wickets as Somerset collapsed in
dramatic fashion.
White finished with figures of 5-19 as Somerset were shot out for just 148 in reply to Yorkshire's 283-9.
Anthony McGrath also hit a half-century for the Phoenix while Darren Lehmann (32), Michael Lumb (35) and Gary Fellows (25) all made useful contributions.
Former Yorkshire star Paul Jarvis also made a surprise return in front of a healthy Scarborough crowd when he came out of retirement to help ease
Somerset's bowling worries.
Jarvis claimed the wickets of Fellows and Richard Dawson, but went for 52 in eight overs.
The victory keeps Yorkshire in touch of the leading pack.

Michael Lumb and Tim Bresnan were today named in the ECB provisional list of 20 players who will be considered for the National Academy in Adelaide this winter.

Hugh Morris, ECB Performance Director, said, "At this stage of the season we wanted to concentrate our minds on the kind of players who might be invited to the National Academy this winter. Creating such a list allows us to concentrate our resources and to film, study and analyse these players in-depth, which will enable the NA Staff to create individual programmes for them.

"This is by no means an exclusive list and if other players perform well in the remainder of the season then they will also be considered for selection.
The shortlist contains a number of players from the 2001/2programme. It is considered that these players would benefit from a further winter at the
Academy."

The ECB National Academy squad will be announced with the England Senior Test Match and One-Day squads for the winter.

The National Academy will again be based in Adelaide for 2002-3. Current plans are for the players to spend approximately nine weeks in Adelaide from early October before returning home for three weeks over Christmas. A post
Christmas playing programme is currently being finalised.

Provisional list of Academy players
Kabir Ali (Worcestershire)
Gareth Batty (Worcestershire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Ian Blackwell (Somerset)
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
Matt Bulbeck (Somerset)
Paul Franks (Nottinghamshire)
Kyle Hogg (Lancashire)
Simon Jones (Glamorgan)
Ed Joyce (Middlesex)
Michael Lumb (Yorkshire)
Gordon Muchall (Durham)
Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire)
Chris Read (Nottinghamshire)
Darren Stevens (Leicestershire)
James Treadwell (Kent)
Chris Tremlett (Hampshire)
Jim Troughton (Warwickshire)
Mark Wallace (Glamorgan)
Matt Whiley (Leicestershire)