Middlesex vs. Surrey

Middlesex take on rivals Surrey in a pre-season friendly at Merchant Taylors' today.

Middx won the toss and chose to bowl first.

15:50 - Surrey have just declared after little over four hours at the crease on 189-4 in 60 overs. 

What have Middlesex got up their sleeves to pull off a win against their closest rivals?

Bad light ends the first of two days for Middlesex and Surrey. Middlesex were 4-2 after 8.3 overs at close of play.

Middlesex declare on 241-7 after just over 59 overs on day two of the friendly.

Ball on Willow.

County Cricket News: Hampshire

HAMPSHIRE

The county side have chosen to drop their "Royals" nickname for the limited-overs formats of the game as they celebrate their 150th anniversary this season.

Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire's Chairman, said; "[The logo] provides a perfect balance between recognising the important historical milestone and developing a modern feel that will help the club continue to move forward for years to come." This comes after the club unveiled a new shield for the occasion.
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IN

Matt Coles, the medium-pace bowler, has joined Hampshire for the 2014 season from Kent. The England Lions left-handed batsman has signed a three-year deal after being on loan at Hampshire at the tail end of last season.

Will Smith signed a two-year deal to play for Hampshire at the end of the 2013 season. The right-handed batsman and right-arm off-spin bowler previously captained Durham from November 2008 leading them to a County Championship title in his first year as skipper.

Ex-pro footballer Joe Gatting eventually followed his Uncle, ex-England captain Mike Gatting, into cricket - signing for Sussex in 2009 and making 152 on his debut. Sussex "wanted to strengthen [their] batting and Joe ticks that box" according to Hampshire manager Giles White.


Ball on Willow

KP to Captain Daredevils

The Delhi Daredevils have named former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, 33, as their captain ahead of the IPL season this year. 

KP took to twitter to write in 140 characters or less on the subject; "I'm excited about leading the Delhi Daredevils. We want to have a hard working and fun environment where we enjoy our cricket."

Pietersen is England's record run scorer. As such, combined with his recent involuntary exit from international cricket (making him available for the entire IPL season for the first time), KP is looking like a force to reckoned with.

He missed the 2013 tournament because of injury but back in 2012, playing again for the Daredevils, he scored an average of 61 runs a game.

The Delhi Daredevils paid £880,000 at auction for Pietersen last month.

One person who can't wait to see KP's performance in the IPL is Australian cricketing legend, Shane Warne. "He's a world-class player. He's always been one of my favourite players to watch. I love seeing him bat, the way he takes on the game."

Pietersen, who has previously represented The Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Deccan Chargers in the IPL, said he felt "incredibly honoured" to be "working alongside [former South African batsman and coach] Gary Kirsten". He also spoke highly of their squad, combing "youth and experience" with "a brillant coaching set up".

Good luck to KP, his season starts April 16th.

Ball on Willow.

Saying Goodbye to Smith

Graeme Smith, the South African skipper, has let the sporting world know that the final test in the series at home that his team is currently playing against Australia will be the last of his lengthy international career.

Smith spoke out saying; "This has been the most difficult decision I've ever made. I felt that retiring at Newlands would be the best way to end it because I have called this place home since I was 18 years old.

Scoring 9257 test runs in his career, he is behind only South Africa's leading run scorer of all-time: Jacques Kallis. As the fourth ever youngest Test captain Graeme Smith will be truly missed in the world of international cricket.


Ball on Willow.