Cricket Diary: Miller's decision, Bumble's dragon

By Richard Gibson

Big-hitting David Miller has declared himself available for Yorkshire if they reach the Champions League – despite it meaning he will miss up to three first-class matches for his South African franchise Dolphins.

Should they get to the final of the Friends Life t20 campaign, Andrew Gale’s team would enter world cricket’s premier club tournament at the qualifying stage - held between October 9-11. The final is on October 27.

However, he is currently scheduled to feature in Supersport Series fixtures against Warriors, Knights and Cape Cobras from October 4-21. “I will be available for the Champions League, definitely. It is in South Africa, and it would be great to be able to get into that,” Miller confirmed.

“Hopefully things will come off for us on finals day. The semi-final is massive for us because the top two go through, so we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

The 23-year-old has been an inspired signing by the club, and has struck 14 sixes in the competition – leaving him second only to Essex’s James Foster ahead of finals day on August 25.

He has already been granted  permission to feature in the Cardiff showpiece despite a clash with the South Africa A tour to Ireland. He will be released immediately after a 50-over game between the Proteas’ second string and the Irish on August 23 and return ahead of a Twenty20 contest on August 27. Ever-present Miller is Yorkshire’s leading run-scorer with 271 runs at an impressive strike rate of 156.

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Sky Sports’ national treasure David Lloyd spent three days observing South Africa’s Bearded Wonder during the first Test at the Oval – and then returned home to discover a Bearded Dragon in his back garden.

Hours after watching Hashim Amla record the Proteas’ maiden triple Test hundred, Bumble discovered the lizard during a spot of gardening. Having captured it in a dustbin lid, he took it to the local vet in Cheadle Hulme, and it was eventually reunited with its owner via the RSPCA and reptile expert Crocodile Joe.

“It turns out El Diablo lives just up our road and had gone missing six weeks ago,” Bumble explained. “It had been sunning itself on the patio one day when it decided it was time to clear off.”

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James Anderson, a modern cricketer who takes the Roses rivalry very seriously, managed to raise a smile – no doubt through gritted teeth – at his 30th birthday present from England colleague Tim Bresnan this week.

Lancashire fast bowler Anderson was presented with a Yorkshire shirt with his name emblazoned on the back by Bresnan when he arrived in the dressing room at Headingley ahead of the second Investec Test.

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Village Cup semi-finalists Woodhouse Grange were given a perfect start to their York & District Senior League match against Beverley last week when new-ball bowler Richard Mann claimed a hat-trick with the opening three deliveries of the match. Mann failed to take another wicket but Woodhouse Grange inevitably continued their fine form with victory.

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Indian international umpire Sundaram Ravi was restricted to 194.1 overs across two County Championship matches during his exchange programme but he is not the only import to have officiated over here this summer.

Ravi, whose appointments for festival matches at Cheltenham and Chesterfield were wrecked by rain, was the highest-profile of the men in white coats. West Indies sent Nigel Duguid to stand in Second XI cricket, along with Nepal’s Buddhi Pradhan and Neils Bagh, of Denmark, the latter pair sponsored by the International Cricket Council.

“The real benefit for them coming over here is getting themselves organised with trains and hotels, and generally being out and about,” said the England and Wales Cricket Board’s umpires manager Chris Kelly. “Understanding the weather and suitability of grounds for play, and the impact of bad light are also challenges they might not be used to.”

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Date: 01/08/2012 12:18:28 by Richard Gibson
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