Archive for June 30th, 2006

Surrey to play Sussex in Twenty20

Unsurprisingly, Surrey head into tonight’s floodlit match against Sussex at Hove with an unchanged line up.

Having won the first two matches of this year’s campaign, Surrey will be looking for another win tonight, which will put them well on the way to qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Surrey are the only team in the South group to remain undefeated so far and would remain heavy favourites to top the group.

The Brown Caps have a formidable record in this competition, having won 21 out of 27 matches since Twenty20 began in 2003 but the Sussex Sharks are one of the few teams to have beaten Surrey. Last year at the Brit Oval, Sussex beat Surrey by three wickets so captain Rikki Clarke will be keen to erase those memories with a win tonight.

Surrey’s last visit to Hove in a Twenty20 Cup match resulted in one of their biggest ever victories so Surrey supporters will be keen for more of the same.

The full side is; James Benning, Ali Brown, Mark Ramprakash, Azhar Mahmood, Rikki Clarke (captain), Stewart Walters, Jonathan Batty (wicket-keeper), Tim Murtagh, Ian Salisbury, Nayan Doshi, Jade Dernbach.

Play is scheduled to start at 7.30pm and you’ll be able to catch every minute of the action by tuning into BBC London’s commentary at 94.9fm.

Please note that Surrey’s next home match, which begins tomorrow at 12.30pm, has always been scheduled for this time. There seemed to be some confusion with regard to the start time but it has always been publicised by us as 12.30pm. When the World Cup Schedule was announced late last year, we forecasted that there might be the possibility of an England match that would fall on the same day. So, to avoid a clash, we decided that the 12.30pm kick-off was best. Due to licencing agreements however, we are unable to show the football but with the scheduled finishing time of around about 3pm, it should give fans plenty of time to reach a suitable location to watch the game which kicks off at 4pm.

Surrey’s home Twenty20 matches are sponsored by Sporting Index.

Knight Available For Selection - Twenty20 Cup clash

Nick Knight will be available for selection for the Twenty20 Cup clash between the Warwickshire Bears and Gloucestershire Gladiators starting tonight at Edgbaston. The match starts at 5.30p.m and spectators who wish to watch the World Cup game between Germany and Argentina which kicks off at 4pm will be able to in the bars around the ground.

Knight has been sidelined for the last three games with a groin strain and will be keen to get back to the Twenty20 Cup action. Ticket sales for the games at Edgbaston have beaten all previous years with a total of 22,000 tickets pre-sold over the four games.

Ashley Giles, who underwent a further operation on his hip in America on Monday is recovering under the management of the ECB Medical team.

Lee Daggett, who suffered a side strain earlier this week has had an injection into the area and will hopefully be fit to play in a couple of weeks.

England U19, Nick James, fractured his hand during the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy match against Lancashire last Sunday and will be out for a considerable time.

Naqaash Tahir is recovering from lower back discomfort and Nick Warren, who could not bowl due to a bruised finger will both play in the second team fixture against Gloucestershire on Monday 3rd July.

Overlay Experts To Make ICC CWC 2007 Venues ‘World-Cup Ready’

GL Events has been named by ICC and GCC as Official Supplier of overlay products and management services for ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

In addition, the French company has been selected as the exclusive primary supplier for the Central Procurement Programme (CPP) which was established to source overlay items.

This appointment means that GL Events will be responsible for providing all temporary components that are required to make all 12 venues “World Cup-ready”, including temporary grandstands and suites, roof systems, hospitality villages, replay screens, turnstiles, security systems and all temporary building structures.

Noting that GL Events has “great technical experience with the Olympics, FIFA World Cups and golf and tennis events worldwide”, ICC CWC 2007 Venue Development Director, Donald Lockerbie, said: “It’s wonderful to see such expertise coming to the Caribbean. GL will supply up to 50 per cent of the overlay requirements and – through a tendering process – manage the acquisition of the rest of the overlay. In some cases, they will need subcontractors and in all tenders GL will be looking regionally and internationally for partners.”

Caribbean companies which applied last December to supply equipment and services under the CPP will now deal directly with GL Events and work to be selected as secondary overlay suppliers. Lockerbie explained that the Lyon-based firm will now accept tenders from those companies which have been pre-qualified. The successful companies will be contracted as secondary suppliers to GL Events.

“Those companies whose bids are successful will be contracted directly to GL Events. Given that GL (Events) will not only be managing overlay but will also be a sponsor – as the Official Supplier – this gives us a partner who will really care about meeting our goals,” pointed out the ICC CWC 2007 Venue Development Director.

“It’s the last step needed to ensure our stadia meet the promises made to the ICC and to the people of the Caribbean.”

Lockerbie confirmed that GL Events “has accepted, as part of the contract, the provisions of the Caribbean Economic Enterprise (CEE) and will first look to Caribbean nationals and firms as its partners”. The CEE initiative stipulates that any international company which is awarded an ICC CWC 2007 contract must partner with Caribbean people or companies in executing their professional duties.

All nine Local Organising Committees (LOCs) in the Host Venues have signed a contract with GL Events naming the latter as their management contractors for overlay.

“The Venue Development Department has been developing the CPP for over two years and to see nine LOCs come to an agreement with GL Events is the most positive step we could have taken to complete our venues on time and to world-class standards,” he added.