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One of the game of cricket’s best-known umpires, Shakoor Rana of Pakistan, has died at the age of 65. It’s believed he suffered a heart attack at his home last night.Shakoor Rana will inevitably be remembered for the confrontation which took place between him and the then England captain, Mike Gatting, during a tense session of play in the Faisalabad Test of 1987-88 between Pakistan and England. The incident, memorably caught on camera at the time, almost led to the tour coming to a premature end. Gatting today expressed sympathy, saying: “I feel sorry for his family.”A popular man, Shakoor was known to his friends as a jovial and hospitable character. He had happily been entertaining friends on the night of his death.He was buried this morning amidst the prayers of his well-wishers. Apart from his friends and family, his funeral was attended by scores of cricketers past and present, fellow umpires, PCB officials, CricInfo, members of the press and media, cricket fans and admirers.Shakoor Rana was born on April 4 1936 and belonged to a renowned sports family from Lahore; his brothers Shafqat Rana and Azmat Rana both represented Pakistan in Tests. A third brother, Sultan Rana, became a cricket administrator and is acting as a national selector for the junior teams.Shakoor was a right-hand bat and right-arm medium-fast bowler. He played in 11 first-class games, making his debut in 1957-58 and playing his final game in 1969-70. He represented Railways, Lahore and Punjab with a highest score of 48 and a batting average of 12.55 and best bowling figures of 4-88, at an average of 36.41.Shakoor’s two sons, Maqsood and Mansoor, are engaged in first-class cricket on the domestic circuit. Apart from cricketers, the family also produced a film star: Moammar Rana, a son of former Test cricketer Shafqat Rana.Shakoor Rana made his debut as a Test umpire against the West Indies at his home town of Lahore in 1974-75 and supervised the last Test against the visiting New Zealand team at Lahore in 1996-97. During his career as an umpire he supervised 18 Tests and 22 one-day internationals. He was a highly competent umpire; upright and bold in his decision making.In Shakoor Rana’s sudden death Pakistan has lost a highly-respected former umpire and a devoted lover of the game of cricket.

Kevin Pietersen, England’s newly qualified South African-born batsman, has hit out at his non-selection for this winter’s tour of South Africa, hinting that politics may have played a part in his omission.”I was disappointed not to go to South Africa because I have scored more than 5000 first-class runs in county cricket at 54 in the past four years,” Pietersen told The Guardian. “I haven’t spoken to the selectors but I have heard that they don’t want to take me back to South Africa, with all the extra pressures.”Pietersen, who was born and raised in South Africa, has an Afrikaaner father but an English mother, and he has already earned himself something of a reputation for plain-speaking. His resentment of non-white quotas in South African sport played a major part in his decision to shift his allegiance to England, and his burning ambition led last season to a major rift with his county side, Nottinghamshire, where he has been spending his four-year qualification period.”You are brought up to be loyal to the country you are in,” added Pietersen, “but I have never been totally patriotic to South Africa. It is a case of how I was brought up at home. My mum ruled the roost and she is English through-and-through. Dad is an Afrikaner but he doesn’t speak Afrikaans at home. If England go to South Africa and win, I’ll be a happy boy.”Rod Marsh, Pietersen’s coach at the National Academy, is adamant that his country of origin played no part in his omission from the South Africa tour, adding that England will benefit from his desire to play at the highest level. “English cricket’s spirit will be strengthened by him, not diluted,” said Marsh. “He has made an enormous sacrifice of leaving his own country. Maybe English cricket’s spirit has been diluted in the past by those English players who have not wanted it enough.”

Hampshire Hawks will be flying high and fast tonight (Wednesday 18th June) to outwit and outplay the Essex Eagles in their next Twenty20 match at The Rose Bowl.Following the roaring success of Friday’s sell-out inaugural match, the non-stop action and carnival atmosphere will return as feathers fly on the pitch and fireworks light up the sky over the cricket and Westlife’s tribute concert by Westlives.Gates will be opening at 2.30pm for a 5.30pm match start. Tickets covering the cricket, concert and fireworks are £10 for adults and £5 for under sixteens and parking is available at The Rose Bowl for £5 but get there early to avoid the rush."This is an important match for the Hawks with everything still to play for in qualification for the Twenty20 Cup finals" says Nick Pike, Managing Director of The Rose Bowl. "We’re definitely setting our sights on a fast and furious win."It looks like being another great night at The Rose Bowl – one not to be missed!EndsPress Contact: Katie Hall 023 8047 2009 / 07900 433242Jane Kerr 07976 549705

Auckland scored a convincing 10-wicket win over the New Zealand Academy side in their game at Lincoln Green today.The Academy efforts to build on the fine start provided by Jamie How last night were undone by Auckland left-arm spin bowler Mark Haslam who picked up the wickets of Jonathan McNamee and Brendon McCullum in successive overs, McCullum being bowled around his legs attempting a sweep shot.The Academy was in line for an innings defeat at 129 for five wickets.But two Aucklanders looking to make an impression against their home town club-mates, Nick Horsley and Reece Young set about the recovery with a good mixture of defence and aggression as Auckland captain Brooke Walker found when bowling his first over of the day and being hit for four boundaries by Young.Horsley was out just before lunch for 67 to end a 102-run partnership in 99 minutes.Young was out soon afterwards, leg before wicket, a decision which involved a consultation between the two umpires at square leg.Andre Adams claimed the wicket to go alongside that of Horsley he had picked up earlier.Then Nathan McCullum was the third of three wickets to fall in 12 balls with only five runs being added. At lunch the score was 236/8 and the end was nigh.An Adams yorker bowled Warren McSkimming while Taraia Robin soon departed lbw to Haslam, leaving the total at 258 – a lead of 23.Haslam (4-60) and Adams (4-45) shared the spoils and batsmen Tim McIntosh and Matt Horne scored the winning runs for the 10-wicket margin.The teams play a one-day game tomorrow with Daniel Vettori making an appearance at the bowling crease for the Academy as a trial for his return to Australia.

Plans for the county season to start overseas are back on the table as the ECB looks to find a solution to fixture congestion in the domestic season.With the ECB’s plans to reduce the County Championship schedule to 14 games per side abandoned for at least another year and clearly unacceptable to several counties, further options will now be considered. And one of those plans, favoured by Sussex among others, is to move part of the domestic programme into March and play the games overseas. Possible destinations include Spain, the UAE, South Africa and various Caribbean nations.While Sussex have suggested only playing “part of a domestic 50-over tournament overseas before the start of the normal season” it is possible that up to two Championship matches and two 50-over matches per county could be played outside England and Wales.When the plans were first mooted, in June 2013, they received a lukewarm reception. But now, as county members reflect on some of the possible scenarios, this may be considered the least bad option.There are decent cricketing reasons for the initiative. It would ensure a symmetrical fixture list in both divisions and it would enable players to gain more exposure in conditions that would favour spin bowling far more than would be the case in early-season England. It would also ease fixture congestion during the rest of the season and allow the time the England team management insist is required for rest, recovery and practice.It is understood that, at the time the idea was first aired, several tourist boards and travel companies contacted the ECB to offer sponsorship or incentives, so the costs may not be as much of an issue as they might appear at first glance. About half of the counties currently prepare for the domestic season with overseas tours. The UAE and Barbados are the most common venues.While county members would be encouraged to travel to watch the games, many would find the cost prohibitive and would naturally resist the reduction in cricket available close to home. But with compromise likely over the coming months, it is one option that will warrant further discussion.

I regret, that despite complying with every request made to me by the UCB since September 2001, including:(1) submitting to and passing a UCB -sanctioned fitness test with a view to securing a contract;(2) committing myself to play five-day and one-day cricket for South Africa until the end of the World Cup;(3) representing and captaining South Africa A;the UCB has refused to offer me a contract and has further failed to provide any reasons for this refusal.I furthermore wish to confirm that I received no indication whatsoever as to what match fees, if any, would be paid to me for my participation in the Newlands Test match.All I required was to be treated in a manner equal to the other senior players.I wish to thank all of you who have supported me and have been just as excited as I was with my recall.In conclusion, I would like to wish the South African team every success for the upcoming Test match.DJ CullinanMarch 5, 2002

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