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Club legend had taken on high-performance advisor role while supporting his wife’s battle with cancer

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2025Alec Stewart is to resume his role as Surrey’s director of men’s cricket with immediate effect, the club have announced.Stewart, 62, stepped back from working full-time at the Kia Oval after the 2024 season, in order to help care for his wife, Lynn, who died of cancer in April. He remained involved in a new role as high-performance advisor, with Surrey opting not to appoint a successor.However, after one season away, he is set to retake the reins in the pursuit of more success. Stewart, who returned to the club where he spent his playing career as director of cricket in 2013, oversaw a strong player development pathway alongside four County Championship triumphs, including three in a row at the end of his first stint.”Surrey has always been my home and I am now ready to return to full-time duties with the club again,” Stewart said. “My priorities have always been to support the cricket management team and the squad to be the best county in the country, to bring cricketers into our professional squad through our pathway system and help players to fulfil their dreams of representing their country.”Related

• Batty praises 'irreplaceable' Stewart as Surrey seal three titles in a row

• Alec Stewart takes up new advisor role in extension of Surrey career

• Rory Burns reaps the benefit as Surrey set sights on four in a row

• Lynn Stewart, wife of Alec, dies after 12-year cancer battle

Surrey remained the team to beat in 2025, but were pipped by Nottinghamshire in the final rounds of the season to end up second on the Division One table.Stewart will be reunited with head coach, Gareth Batty, and captain, Rory Burns, as they look to re-establish their dominance of county cricket’s oldest competition.Oli Slipper, Surrey chair, said: “Alec is a legend of Surrey and we are looking forward to having him back in his role as director of men’s cricket. Alec’s record speaks for itself and he’s been the driving force in so much of the club’s success over many, many years.”Steve Elworthy, CEO at Surrey, added: “Alec’s commitment, drive and attention to detail has built the team into the side it is today and we know he will continue to progress the team as he resumes his role at the helm on the men’s game in the county.”Alec has remained an important part of the cricket management team over the last 12 months and he continues to drive the highest of standards across the club.”

The Knight Riders captain also admitted that his team’s bowling ‘was found wanting’ in recent matches

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-20191:20

We are aware our bowling needs to get better – Dinesh Karthik

After suffering his sixth straight defeat at the helm, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik stressed that his team-mates “trust in their leader” while admitting that his team’s bowling “was found wanting” in recent matches.Knight Riders lost to Rajasthan Royals by three wickets on Thursday and are lagging behind in the playoffs race, placed sixth with only four wins from 11 matches. They now need to win all their remaining games, although even that may not ensure a final-four berth.”I think our bowling overall, a lot of times, has been found wanting a little bit, definitely,” Karthik said at the press conference after the match. “I think our batting as well a lot of times, and that’s why we’re not being able to close games which we even end up scoring a lot of runs in. But the fact is that that’s something we need to look into, at least it can get better and the boys are aware of it.”Karthik was asked whether or not he was going to continue with the captaincy, the reference being to Royals, who switched from Ajinkya Rahane to Steven Smith after a similar streak of losses.”Obviously, when the results don’t go your way these questions will be asked and I understand that. But as a team we’re trying to do a lot of things right,” Karthik said. “There are not things we’re not attending to, we’re trying to make the right changes, we’re trying to build the right combination and trying to come in every game believing that we’ll win.”We’re trying to keep everybody in good space and making sure the dressing room is good and they all trust in their leader. It’s my job to lead from the front but sometimes results don’t go your way so obviously it’s a tough thing to kind of mend. But the fact is that we’re trying hard as a team and I have belief in my boys that we’ll come strong every game.”Graeme Smith also asked Karthik on the host broadcaster’s channel how he was taking the six losses as a captain. “A lot of it will boil down to how much they trust me as a leader and it’s important that you keep the mood of the dressing room really good,” Karthik said on . “Those are the things we’ve done well. I think as a team we’ve fought, we’ve been there but just the fact that we’re not able to cross the line is obviously not a good feeling.”Knight Riders had an impressive run at the beginning of the tournament, riding on four wins in their first five matches, including a close comeback in a Super Over finish against Delhi Capitals. But since beating Royals by eight wickets in Jaipur, Knight Riders have slipped down the table.”That’s what this tournament is all about, and I’ve always said that when we won, it always feels good but when you lose close games like these and somehow don’t cross the line and then you feel, ‘wow, how are you going to get there?'”

The two spinners, from MP, claimed 16 wickets between them in the final and were “very difficult to play on this pitch”

Ashish Pant15-Sep-2025Rajat Patidar, the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy-winning captain, hailed the “great character” shown by Central Zone not just in the final but throughout the tournament. He particularly heaped praise on the two spinners, Kumar Kartikeya and Saransh Jain, who shared 16 wickets between them in the final as Central Zone won their first Duleep Trophy title since 2014-15 by defeating South Zone by six wickets.”They have played a lot of matches together, Kartikeya and Saransh [for Madhya Pradesh] and they have the skill and are very difficult to play on this pitch,” Patidar said after the game. “The track was really good to bat and our bowlers dominated and made it tough for the other team. That was a positive sign.”It’s been a flawless tournament for Central Zone, where they cruised through the quarter-final against North East Zone and the semi-final against West Zone, qualifying for the final by virtue of gaining first-innings leads. Then, in what had been a high-scoring tournament, Central Zone bowled first in the final and skittled South Zone for just 149, which paved the way for a comfortable win on the final day.Related

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“This wicket was slightly dry, and that is why we decided to bowl first,” Patidar said. “We wanted to bowl them out in the first innings as early as possible. That was our aim and it made the game easier.”We predicted that it would help the fast bowlers, but I wanted to give one spinner at least an over to see how the pitch is responding. I realised there was more help for the spinners rather than the fast bowlers.”L Balaji, the South Zone head coach, meanwhile, lamented the first-innings collapse and missing out on a few runs in the second as the major reasons behind his side’s disappointing performance. Chasing 65 on the final day, Central Zone lost three early wickets but despite the surface doing plenty of tricks, the chase was never going to be daunting.”The last day panned out to be bowler-friendly. Had we got more runs in the first innings or the second, had the partnership [between Ankit Sharma and C Andre Siddarth] been extended, it would have been a solid game,” Balaji said. “[A target of] 150 would have been an ideal kind of fourth-innings target for the bowling unit to fight hard.”Kumar Kartikeya kisses the Duleep Trophy silverware•PTI

South Zone’s team combination for the final was also a talking point. They went with three fast bowlers and one spinner in a bid to extend their batting line-up. It backfired with the Central Zone spinners finding plenty of purchase through the game, and the lone South Zone spinner, Ankit, bagging six wickets without any spin support from the other end.”We played three seamers in the previous game and wanted to stick with pretty much the same combination,” Balaji said. “All the bowlers bowled their heart out. Had we won the toss, the third seamer would have come into play. But I felt the boys did well selection-wise. We were consistent when it comes to the combinations.”Balaji also agreed that some of the shots played by the batters in the first innings “were a little bit unnecessary” as South Zone collapsed. But he was confident the experience of playing a major final would keep the players in good stead.”There are a lot of ifs and buts,” he said. “Shot selection-wise, some shots we could have been a little bit restricted. But on the field, when they are instinctively playing, you just have to give them the freedom to play their shot. But it was okay. This is a young batting unit and they will learn from this.”Balaji was also impressed by Siddharth’s temperament in the second innings. The 19-year-old fell for just 12 in the first innings but ensured he made up in the second, scoring an unbeaten 84. He stitched a 192-run seventh-wicket stand with Ankit, keeping the Central Zone players waiting.”We were put under pressure and he came up with a solid knock which we required at that time,” Balaji said about Siddharth’s knock. “That partnership was needed, and yes, coming not out is very important as a cricketer. He will learn. On the way, he will definitely learn a lot from this exposure and from this experience. I am sure he has got the talent to go higher.”

Will Young’s ton goes in vain even as Pat Cummins reinforces his standing as the in-form bowler in Australia’s attack

Andrew McGlashan in Brisbane10-May-2019Steven Smith boarded the flight to the World Cup with questions over his form significantly eased as he struck an unbeaten 91 at Allan Border Field to help Australian XI secure a five-wicket victory over New Zealand XI, although there was momentary scare around his recovering right elbow.On 63, Smith ran his bat in as he completed a single – which wasn’t as tight as he thought – and the bat jarred in the crease. He dropped it and immediately started flexing the elbow on which he had undergone surgery in January and which has been a focal point over the last few months. At the drinks break, he was examined by the physio, but by the end of the chase he appeared to shake off any pain that might have been there.If there was just short-term discomfort and no long-term problem, Smith’s week in Brisbane would get a significant tick, with this innings following his unbeaten 89 in the second match. He was on track for a century but, with the over-rate slower than in previous games, the light faded too much and when a Smith straight drive hammered into Jimmy Neesham, the umpires decided it was too dark.It was a testing chase for the Australians when they slipped to 4 for 137 with David Warner having fallen caught behind for 2 much to his frustration, as it followed the duck he scored in the second match.However, Glenn Maxwell provided the impetus needed with a 37-ball half-century full of power and invention, bringing out a reverse pull for six shortly after passing fifty. For all the focus on Smith and Warner, so much about Australia’s batting order at the World Cup rests on Maxwell.The other dominant innings of the day came from the player of the week Will Young with his second hundred in three days. It took his tally for the three matches to 301 to highlight how unlucky he is to not already be capped by New Zealand. That will now have to wait until the end of the year as he faces shoulder surgery on his return home.As in the successful run chase two days ago, it was Young’s stand with George Worker which laid the platform as the pair added 82 for the second wicket. Worker completed his second half-century of the week before top-edging Adam Zampa to short third-man. The legspinner also trapped captain Tom Latham lbw.Young and Neesham then upped the tempo in a stand of 67 during which Young reached a hundred filled with high-class strokeplay that continued to mark him out as an international cricketer in waiting.When both set batsmen fell – Young yorked by Marcus Stoinis and Neesham finding mid-off against Mitchell Starc – the innings slipped with Pat Cummins taking his haul to four wickets to reinforce his standing as the in-form bowler in Australia’s attack. Although Zampa claimed two wickets, he was taken for more than eight over, being particularly harshly treated by Neesham, while Stoinis’ brace also came at significant cost.Starc increased his workload after just five overs in the second match – his first outing for three months – with eight overs across three spells.

Punishments handed out to two teams over wayward bowling in protest at umpiring decisions will be reconsidered after appeals to the BCB

Mohammad Isam09-Apr-2018The BCB will review its decision to punish Fear Fighters Club and Lalmatia Club, their players, coach and manager, after they admitted to losing Dhaka Second Division Cricket League games on purpose as a form of protest against alleged biased umpiring. The matches produced two of the most bizarre scorecards ever seen.The need for reassessment came after the punished submitted multiple letters to the BCB requesting a pardon to renew their careers over the last 12 months. In January this year, both Lalmatia and Fear Fighters appealed to play in this year’s Second Division League but were denied.Jalal Yunus, the BCB director who was part of the three-member inquiry committee formed in April 2017, said that the BCB would discuss all these appeals later this month.”We have received appeals from some of the players and clubs,” Yunus told ESPNcricinfo. “I think Lalmatia have put in a request recently too, and one of the captains has also submitted a letter. We are going to sit for a review soon.”Last year, the BCB effectively terminated Fear Fighters and Lalmatia from the league and handed 10-year bans to bowlers Sujon Mahmud and Tasnim Hasan. They also banned captains Faisal Ahmed and Tonumoy Ghosh, Lalmatia coach Asadullah Khan and manager Adnan Rahman for five years each.The BCB delivered the punishments within ten days, without much in the way of clarification or due process, and soon enough flaws emerged in the investigation. The committee didn’t meet all those involved in the incident, and were said to be lenient on umpires Shamsur Rahman and Azizul Bari, the central figures in the entire episode.During both games, umpires Shamsur and Azizul were said to have prevented captains from both Fear Fighters (against Indira Road Krira Chakra) and Lalmatia (against Axiom Crickters) from seeing who actually won the toss. They were also alleged to have bullied players from these clubs during the games, and then went on to give several questionable decisions.In the first of the two games in question, frustrated by what had happened during their batting innings, Fear Fighters’ Tasnim gave away 69 runs in 1.1 overs which included eight wides and six no-balls. Following Tasnim’s example, Lalmatia’s Sujon, having allegedly been treated the same way by umpires Shamsur and Azizul, gave away 92 runs in four deliveries that included 13 wides and three no-balls the next day.The BCB’s inquiry committee said later in their report that umpires Shamsur and Azizul should have stopped Tasnim and Sujon from bowling in this manner. For being unable to control the match, Shamsur and Azizul were handed six-month bans which ended in November last year, and they are now eligible to officiate in league games.Both bowling performances made headlines across the cricket world and while on the surface it appeared to be one of those quirky scorecards, scratching slightly below revealed the tale of Dhaka’s lower leagues.Several umpires, including Shamsur and Azizul, are recognised as problematic, with many clubs putting in written complaints against them in previous seasons. In the Dhaka Premier League, umpiring was a major issue in 2016 but it has since reduced in the following two seasons, including this year when only a few incidents have come up.There have, however, been continued calls for better umpiring in this season’s Dhaka’s Second Division League. There is also fear among many clubs that umpiring could again be an issue in the First Division League, the second tier of the Dhaka league system, which began on April 8.The punished players – Sujon, Tasnim, Faisal and Tonumoy – remain out of action, as Dhaka’s leagues form the pinnacle of Bangladesh’s domestic cricket. Over the last 12 months, they have tried to play in unofficial leagues in small towns, although in some tournaments their BCB bans became an issue. One of them has even dabbled with umpiring.

Hampshire unable to hold off visitors’ chase in six-over contest on south coast

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay13-Jun-2025Max Holden stole the limelight from Lhuan-dre Pretorius’s exhilarating debut as Hampshire Hawks and Middlesex tied a DLS thriller in the Men’s Vitality Blast.South African wunderkind Pretorius hammered a 22-ball 44 as Hawks struck 63 either side of the rain delays.Middlesex needed 76 to win after DLS recalculated the score, and after Chris Wood began with a maiden, Hawks were heavy favourites. But Holden whacked 38 in 18, before Kane Williamson’s 23 and Ben Geddes’ 10 took Middlesex to the brink but both sides had to share two points.It was Hampshire’s eighth T20 tie, and Middlesex’s fourth.Pretorius only arrived in the UK on Thursday having finished an unofficial Test for South Africa A in Saint Lucia on Wednesday. Jetlag seemingly didn’t have any impact on Pretorius as he rocketed a front-foot pull to the boundary off the first ball of the match, after Middlesex had chosen to bowl first.He continued with a well-timed clip off the pads and a wristy thrash through the covers to take two further boundaries off the opening over.Hawks fans had been made to wait for Pretorius – who arrived with high expectations after leading the scoring charts in the SA20 in his homeland over the winter, including a debut unbeaten 97.Dewald Brevis’ immediate impact only whetted the appetite for the second gun Proteas’ entrance, although it was somewhat dampened by the revelation that the pair would only be available until June 20 after being called up to the Test squad to face Zimbabwe.After striking 15 off the first over, runs continued to flow off Pretorius’ bat to reach 29 off 14 balls – although James Vince was caught at cover point off Zafar Gohar.Persistent rain hit after four overs and begun a two hour and 20-minute delay. Play was almost restarted for an 11 over-a-side match but another shower forced another delay. Eventually, a six-over-a-side game was started and Pretorius got going again.In two overs, Pretorius whizzed to 44 not out from 22 deliveries, including a bullet six over deep midwicket, with Toby Albert happy to just rotate the strike. It took Hampshire to 63 for 1, with DLS turning that into a 76-run target for the visitors.Their hopes of chasing that were dented as Wood begun with a maiden over – with just a leg bye on the total.James Fuller started with another dot and leg bye before Middlesex finally kicked into gear. Holden got away with an inside edge before carting over extra cover for four, over square for six and another inside edge for four boundaries in a row to take 19 off the second over.Another 18 runs off the following over got Middlesex closer to the rate but just as Holden reached 38 off 18 balls he skied straight up in the air.A Williamson blast for six made sure the DLS par was level going into the final over, with 13 required. Scott Currie went one, two, two with a dropped catch, two, a Ben Geddes four down the ground before a final ball bye to the wicketkeeper meant the game was tied.

Rana’s five-for saw West Indies go from 85 for 1 to 146 all out before a counter-attacking start helped Bangladesh take a lead of 211

Mohammad Isam02-Dec-2024Bangladesh’s counter-attacking batting and accurate fast bowling gave them their best day on this West Indies tour so far. At stumps on the third day of the Jamaica Test, the visitors led by 211 runs after they bowled out the hosts for 146. This was only the second time in their history that Bangladesh took a first-innings lead after being bowled out for less than 200 runs.They fared much better in their second innings – and the game’s third – finishing the day on 193 for 5, coming on the back of some hostile bowling from the West Indies fast bowlers. The fielders, too, brought some heat with their words. Bangladesh, for the most part, appeared to show restraint. Umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Asif Yaqoob intervened several times to talk to a fielder or West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.Earlier in the day, West Indies had thrown away a solid position to fold for 146, losing their last nine wickets for only 61 runs. Nahid Rana, the sensational fast bowler, led Bangladesh with a maiden five-wicket haul, that included some intimidating bowling. Rana’s figures of 5 for 61 in the afternoon also included a bruising of Kemar Roach, who got hit twice on his shoulder while batting. Roach would later come out to bowl only in the 31st over of the third innings, allowing Bangladesh to avoid facing the man with a devastatingly good record against them.Rana’s morning burst that left West Indies limping was a continuation of his performance on the second evening. Apart from his pace, his height generated extra bounce on the Sabina Park pitch. It helped remove Brathwaite with a 142kph snorter that caught the batter hopping at the crease. The fend-off resulted in a loopy low catch to substitute Zakir Hasan at gully.Rana forced Kavem Hodge into a mistimed pull shot shortly afterwards, but Taskin Ahmed couldn’t latch on to the catch running in from fine leg. It didn’t cost Bangladesh a run, when later in the same over, Litton Das took a superb behind the stumps catch to remove Hodge.Taskin got into the act when he bowled Alick Athanaze off the under edge. But it wasn’t just pace that knocked West Indies down. Taijul Islam got one to turn between Justin Greaves’ bat and pad, bowling him for just 2. Mehidy Hasan Miraz too picked up a wicket, when he trapped Shamar Joseph lbw shortly after the lunch break.Rana and Taskin were fired up, and Hasan Mahmud wasn’t too far behind. He trapped Joshua Da Silva lbw and got Keacy Carty caught behind, down the leg side, in the space of three deliveries.Rana then made light work of Alzarri Joseph, forcing him on the back foot, before foxing him with a slower ball which Alzarri timed straight to mid-off where Mehidy took a tumbling catch. It ended a fine morning session for the visitors, who took seven wickets for 65 runs in 25 overs. West Indies lasted three more overs after the lunch break when Rana had Kemar Roach lbw, to complete his five-for and give Bangladesh an 18-run lead.Shadman Islam was solid again for Bangladesh•Athelstan Bellamy

Before Bangladesh’s innings began, umpire Dharmasena could be seen speaking to Brathwaite and also with the slip cordon. Jayden Seales wouldn’t back down, however, continuing to engage with the Bangladesh batters before gesticulating towards the Bangladesh dressing room when he dismissed Mahmudul Hasan Joy for a duck.The chatter from the West Indies bowlers and fielders, though, lost its voice when Shahadat Hossain, promoted to No. 3, started going after the bowling. He miscued a couple of lofted shots before he cracked Alzarri for a four with a square cut.He curled one through mid-on off Shamar before Brathwaite dropped him on 22. Shahadat, however, didn’t back off, as he slammed Alzarri through mid-off shortly afterwards, for another four.But Shahadat fell trying one lofted shot too many. Seales took the catch at mid-off when Shahadat miscued Alzarri, but his 26-ball 28 with four fours had lifted Bangladesh’s mood.It resulted in a burst of fours from Shadman Islam and Mehidy, who batted at No. 4 in the absence of the ill Mominul Haque. Mehidy struck Shamar for four fours in a row in the next over. He struck two straight drives before edging two through the slip cordon. Shadman and Mehidy then hit three pull shots to get as many fours in the following over bowled by Seales. Shadman then struck Seales for two more fours, to make it ten fours in the space of four overs.Shadman, however, fell shortly after the tea break, edging Shamar in a similar fashion for the second time in the game. He scored 46 off 82 balls, including seven fours and his dismissal ended a whirlwind 70-run stand for the third wicket. Mehidy followed Shadman shortly afterwards, strangled down the leg side by Shamar and given out after West Indies successfully reviewed a not-out call. Mehidy also struck seven fours in his 39-ball 42.Litton and Jaker Ali then struck Seales and Shamar for two fours each, before Da Silva dropped Litton off Shamar’s bowling. It was a slightly difficult chance down the leg side but wicketkeepers are often seeing taking such catches. Litton fell for 25, almost against the run of play, when he missed Greaves’ offcutter.Jaker stayed firm, taking Bangladesh past the 200-run lead as West Indies captain Brathwaite struggled to rotate his bowlers around in Roach’s absence. Greaves filled in but the main bowlers struggled to keep the visitors quiet. Bangladesh fought tooth and nail against West Indies’ bouncers – of various kinds – to claim a memorable day in Jamaica.