Lehmann has 'brought enjoyment back' - Rogers

Rogers: 'Boof has brought the enjoyment back'

Chris Rogers has hailed Australia's coach, Darren Lehmann, for bringing a sense of enjoyment back into playing for the national side. Speaking to Alison Mitchell in her latest Tea Break interview for ESPNcricinfo, Rogers praised Lehmann's "old-school mentality" as something he could relate to.

Rogers, who scored a phenomenal 241 to lead Middlesex to a magnificent victory against Yorkshire, has become a fixture in Australia's Test side at the age of 36 and also talks about his strength in adversity, saying his Ashes hundred in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG was particularly special as "there was lots of pressure there". He discusses splitting his life between England and Australia, scoring 200 for Leicestershire against his countrymen in 2005 and the possibility of going into coaching when he retires.

Rogers, who played a solitary Test in 2008, returned to the Australia squad for last year's Ashes tour, at the start of which Mickey Arthur was replaced as coach by Lehmann. Despite losing that series 3-0, Rogers said Lehmann had an immediate impact.

"I grew up a little bit in the old-school days, when it was far more relaxed, you did enjoy yourself," he said. "Now it's far more professional. I think 'Boof' has brought back that old-school mentality a little bit. I remember the first thing he did, we had a meeting and he said it won't go for more than half an hour and when it did hit half an hour, he said, 'Right, that's it, we're all going to the pub'.

"We went to the pub and I could look around and see the guys and it was almost like, 'Is this really happening?' I think he's brought that enjoyment back, where you play hard and you play to win but you also enjoy yourself and you don't take yourself too seriously. I enjoy that because I think that's the kind of mentality I try to bring to Middlesex and the other sides I play for. My Test career has coincided with his coaching career and it's worked out well for me particularly."

Since then, Rogers has scored four Tests centuries and been an important cog in the side that whitewashed England in the return Ashes in Australia and then beat South Africa on their own patch. With Australia's next Test commitment coming in the UAE against Pakistan, he will have a full season with Middlesex, for whom he scored his 67th first-class hundred against Yorkshire earlier this week.

The full interview with Chris Rogers in Alison's Tea Break will be published on Thursday

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RCA election results to be declared on May 6

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the election officer appointed to overlook the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections to declare the results on May 6. Effectively the court decided not to entertain the BCCI's petition which was filed in January to challenge Lalit Modi's participation in the RCA elections. The BCCI has said that allowing Modi, who was banned by the board's disciplinary committee for life, to return to the RCA would hurt the image of the board.

The RCA polls were held on January 19 under the observation of former Justice of the Supreme court NM Kasliwal. The votes were concealed in a sealed envelope. Today AR Dave, the judge hearing the case, asked the court to pass the envelope to the election officer who would declare results on May 6. At the same time Dave said that anyone objecting the results could take up the issue in an appropriate forum. It also told the BCCI counsel that its client was free to act under its regulations as per law.

Modi welcomed the court's decision and was optimistic of winning the elections. "I am extremely happy that the Supreme Court has taken the right decision and allowed the due democratic process to go forward. We are hoping our group will win the elections. If we do win we will have an agenda and vision which I will make clear after the results," Modi said.

While expelling Modi on multiple charges of misconduct, the BCCI had said that "he shall not in future be entitled to hold any position or office, or be admitted in any committee or any member or associate member of the board". Modi, however, got his candidature for the RCA presidency approved by the Supreme Court by exploiting a technicality that the RCA was governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act.

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Glamorgan survive after Naik strikes

Leicestershire 500 (O'Brien 133, Taylor 63, Naik 59*, Wagg 4-107) and 179 for 8 dec (Smith 97, Wagg 4-65) drew with Glamorgan 359 (Rees 72, Rudolph 65, Wagg 57) and 250 for 7 (Rudolph 63, Walters 57*, Goodwin 50)
Scorecard

Glamorgan battled to a draw against Leicestershire at Grace Road after being seven wickets down with an hour remaining.

Having set the visitors a target of 321 for victory on the final day, Glamorgan looked in trouble at 204 for 7 but Stewart Walters (57 not out) and John Glover put on 46 to deny the home side.

Leicestershire resumed on 77 for 1 in their second innings, already 218 runs ahead, and that lead was extended to 320 when they declared on 179 for 8. Graham Wagg, who took four wickets in the first innings, was again the chief threat as he added another four wickets to his haul.

Dean Cosker chipped in with the other three but it was Will Owen who denied opener Greg Smith a century with a sharp run out. The bowler got a fingertip to Jigar Naik's shot and diverted it onto the stumps at the non-striker's end when Smith was on 97.

That prompted a declaration from Leicestershire and Glamorgan made the steady start they would have hoped for. Jacques Rudolph and Gareth Rees took the visitors to 49 without loss before the latter edged Charlie Shreck behind to Niall O'Brien.

William Bragg was then bowled by Rob Taylor for 7 but Rudolph and Murray Goodwin added another 60 runs before Rudolph was caught by Ben Braine off the bowling of Naik for 63. Goodwin also chalked up a half-century but his departure for 50 was swiftly followed by Jim Allenby for a duck as Leicestershire sensed the chance of a victory.

Naik then snared captain Mark Wallace as well and when Wagg fell, too, Glamorgan were seven down with more than 16 overs left. Leicestershire had up to seven men around the bat but Walters' unbeaten half-century and Glover, 19 not out, resisted the pressure impressively to guide Glamorgan to safety.

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Australia reclaim No.1 Test ranking

Australia have returned to the No.1 Test ranking for the first time in nearly five years, after the ICC's annual rankings update. Despite not having played a Test since their series win over South Africa in the first week of March, the Australians have edged ahead of South Africa because the rolling nature of the rankings system means results from 2010-11 have now been dropped.

Michael Clarke's men also hold the top position in the one-day rankings, meaning it is the first time since December 2008 that Australia have been No.1 in both the Test and ODI formats. It is the first time since August 2009 that they have sat at the top of the Test rankings, having originally been displaced following their unsuccessful Ashes tour of England that year.

The annual update means results from 2012-13 are reduced to a 50% weighting, so Australia's home Ashes fiasco in 2010-11 and their six Test losses across two tours of India have now either disappeared entirely from the rankings or been devalued. Their home Ashes clean-sweep over the past summer and their 2-1 win in South Africa allowed them to move ahead of South Africa, who had been No.1 since August 2012, by a fraction of a point.

India have suffered a significant fall, slipping from third down to fifth, while England and Pakistan have each gained a place, up to third and fourth respectively. New Zealand and Sri Lanka switched places, with New Zealand now ranked sixth in Tests and Sri Lanka down to seventh, while West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh remain unchanged at the bottom of the table.

However, Australia's immediate reign at No.1 could be short-lived, with South Africa facing two Tests in Sri Lanka and one in Zimbabwe before Australia's next Test series, which is against Pakistan in the UAE in October. Still, the return to the top is a significant achievement after Australia slipped as low as fifth on the Test rankings in 2010 and 2011, and then went nine consecutive Tests without a win during 2013.

"We are incredibly proud to be the number-one ranked team in the world in both Test and ODI cricket, which are two of the team's most important goals," Clarke said. "There has been an enormous amount of hard work and effort on and off the field that has led to this result.

"However, the true test of a great side is sustained success and now our goal is to maintain these rankings and continue to play great cricket as we lead into challenging Test series against Pakistan and India, and the ICC Cricket World Cup at home.

"We had a fantastic home summer against England and a great series win away against South Africa earlier this year, but the challenge now is to continue that form. We have a huge amount of respect for the South Africa side, and the length it held the number-one Test ranking is testament to the great side it is. South Africa will no doubt continue to be a formidable opponent in Test match cricket."

Clarke and coach Darren Lehmann have often said that Australia's goal was to achieve the No.1 ranking in all three formats and while there is a significant way to go in T20, where they currently sit sixth, sitting on top in Test and ODIs is a considerable accomplishment. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said Clarke and Lehmann deserved plenty of credit for the results.

"Everyone involved with the Australian team - players, coaches and support staff - should be incredibly proud of this achievement," Sutherland said. "There has been a huge amount of hard work and effort on and off the field to get to this point and it's something that those involved with the side should take time to savour.

"Australian cricket's team performance programme led by Pat Howard deserves considerable credit for this outcome. High praise needs to go to Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann for their excellent leadership."

In the ODI rankings, the only change to result from the annual update was that England and South Africa switched positions, with England up from fifth to fourth and South Africa down from fourth to fifth. Australia, India and Sri Lanka still occupy the top three spots in the one-day list.

ICC Test Championship

1 May 2014

Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1. Australia (+1)	32	3950	123
2. South Africa (-1)	23	2831	123
3. England (+1)	30	3131	104
4. Pakistan (+1)	20	2064	103
5. India (-2)	23	2343	102
6. New Zealand (+1)	26	2383	92
7. Sri Lanka (-1)	22	1986	90
8. West Indies	19	1442	76
9. Zimbabwe	8	322	40
10. Bangladesh	14	287	21

ICC ODI Championship

1 May 2014

Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1. Australia	35	4020	115
2. India	53	5923	112
3. Sri Lanka	53	5890	111
4. England (+1)	36	3947	110
5. South Africa (-1)	32	3486	109
6. Pakistan	47	4716	100
7. New Zealand	31	3031	98
8. West Indies	40	3744	94
9. Bangladesh	23	1683	73
10. Zimbabwe	20	1228	61
11. Ireland	8	273	34
12. Afghanistan	9	304	34

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Patel to fight removal from BCA in court

Sanjay Patel, the BCCI secretary, has challenged his expulsion from the Baroda Cricket Association in court. Patel, who was removed as the BCA joint secretary on Saturday, has filed a suit in the Vadodara District Court.

"This act of the BCA managing committee is nothing but a premeditated act of vengeance by some of the BCA managing committee members, so I have challenged it in the court," Patel told ESPNcricinfo. "After consulting my lawyers, I am convinced that the managing committee has committed an unconstitutional move, so I will fight it out legally to be reinstated in my home association that I have been serving for over a decade."

The case will be heard on May 1.

On Saturday, the BCA managing committee cited Patel's unlawful co-option into the BCA managing committee in 2002 and ordered him to step down as an office-bearer and vacate his position from all sub-committees of the BCA. Patel was co-opted into the managing committee two years after becoming a BCA member in 2000. Since the BCA rules state a member cannot be co-opted for at least three years after his membership is approved, the managing committee removed Patel and three other members.

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Wagg of the tail saves Glamorgan

Leicestershire 500 and 77 for 1 (Smith 45*) lead Glamorgan 359 (Rees 72, Rudolph 65, Wagg 57) by 218 runs
Scorecard

Graham Wagg starred again with a fine 57 as Glamorgan made a good fist of responding to Leicestershire's first innings total of 500 all out on day three of their Championship Division Two match at Grace Road.

Wagg, who had taken four first-innings wickets to limit the Leicestershire damage, passed his half-century before he was caught by Rob Taylor off Charlie Shreck shortly after helping them to avoid the follow on, to bring an end to the Glamorgan innings at 359.

In a match delayed by bad light, Glamorgan had resumed on 126 without loss but Jacques Rudolph managed to add just two to his overnight total before he was run out in the fourth over of the day on 65. Fellow opener Gareth Rees reached 72 before he was bowled by Ben Raine as Glamorgan fell to 161 for 2. A solid 35 from Stewart Walters and 41 from Jim Allenby maintained the visitors' momentum.

Anthony Ireland was the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers with 3 for 81 off his 27 overs, figures almost matched by Shreck, for whom the wicket of Wagg gave him a total of 3 for 84 off 29.

Leicestershire launched a solid reply in their second innings with Greg Smith and Matthew Boyce putting on 63 for the first wicket before Boyce was caught by Mark Wallace off Dean Cosker for 24. Smith went to reach an unbeaten 45 and Ned Eckersley joined him as Leicestershire reached 77 for 1 at stumps for an overall lead of 218.

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Kervezee ton gives Worcs upper hand

Worcestershire 432 for 9 (Kervezee 110, Moeen 99, Andrew 71*) lead Derbyshire 219 by 213 runs
Scorecard

Alexei Kervezee's 110 and 99 from Moeen Ali put Worcestershire well on top at stumps on day three of their Championship clash with Derbyshire at New Road. Former Netherlands international Kervezee reached his ton off 132 balls and helped the hosts, responding to Derbyshire's below-par first innings total of 219, reach a hefty 432 for 9 at close.

Resuming on 31 without loss, openers Daryl Mitchell and Matthew Pardoe put on 72 for the first wicket before the Derbyshire attack had belated success when Mitchell was caught by Dan Hodgson off David Wainwright for 26. On a frustrating day in the field, spinner Wainwright was the pick of the Derbyshire attack as he finished with 3 for 102 off his 28 overs.

Pardoe followed seven overs later, one run short of his half-century, and the visitors scented a change in fortune when Tom Kohler-Cadmore fell lbw to Tony Palladino for 11. But those hopes were extinguished by a fine fourth-wicket stand of 78 between Ali and Kervezee before Ali met Wes Durston's offspin with a back-foot shot straight at Tim Groenewald just before tea.

Kervezee battled on to make his century before he was caught by Wayne Madsen off Mark Footitt to leave Worcestershire on 388 for 7. Jack Shantry's departure from the next ball left Footitt on a hat-trick, but Footitt would have to wait two more overs for his third wicket of the innings when he had Saeed Ajmal caught by Chesney Hughes for 1.

At the close, Gareth Andrew was providing sterling resistance on an unbeaten 71 with last man Charles Morris 13 not out as Worcestershire carved out a lead of 213.

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Brown 'encouraged' by Trott latest

England's Jonathan Trott joined his Warwickshire team-mates in the dressing room to witness their 98-run win over Nottinghamshire from the pavilion balcony but head coach, Dougie Brown, played down the prospect of another attempted playing comeback for the troubled batsman.

Trott, who left England's Ashes tour to Australia after the opening Test because of what was described as a stress-related illness, returned to Championship action for his county just under three weeks ago only to suffer a relapse, after which it was announced he would take an indefinite break.

"I assume he will be around the dressing room for the next little while," Brown said. "We had a good chat and we know where he is at and all I can say is what we spoke about is very encouraging."

However, Brown would not be drawn on the subject of a return to playing cricket, even at 2nd XI level. "Let's just see where he is at," he said. "He is dealing with something that has been ongoing for a while and the last thing I want it to be, just because he is back in the dressing room, is it turning into a circus.

"I would really like it to be understated, for him to do what he needs to do to get back into cricket and for people to leave him to do that. People now understand that this is something he has got to focus on to get himself back to where he needs to be, without it being a circus."

Interviewed before the season began, Trott insisted he was not suffering from depression but burnout in Australia, where his problems became public knowledge after he suffered a peppering from Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson in the opening Test.

He had hoped a period at home with his family, away from the pressures of an Ashes series, would enable him to make a quick recovery. However, after a low-key comeback in a pre-season University fixture, Trott was selected for Warwickshire's opening Championship match against Sussex at Edgbaston, where he looked comfortable in the first innings but again struggled against short-pitched bowling in the second, twice being hit on the head and body before he was caught at deep square leg playing a poor leg-side shot.

His troubles were compounded when he then dropped a routine catch in the slips offered by the Sussex matchwinner, Ed Joyce, and confessed to his team-mates afterwards that his problems had resurfaced.

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Gloucestershire stumble to Masters

Gloucestershire 104 for 6 (Masters 4-39) v Essex
Scorecard

Essex made a strong start to their LV= County Championship Division Two game against Gloucestershire but the visitors were frustrated as the match was interrupted by bad weather for the second day running.

David Masters led the Essex charge, taking 4 for 39 as Gloucestershire were reduced to 104 for 6 before play was prematurely stopped for bad light and rain after 31.1 overs.

Winning the toss and choosing to field, Essex looked to make up for lost time after the elements had ensured not a single ball had been bowled on the opening day.

Gloucestershire made a disastrous start as they fell to 0 for 2 after just three overs with both Michael Klinger and William Tavare removed for ducks by Masters. Klinger, who has now scored just three runs in his last three innings, was the first to go as he was clean bowled and, three balls later, Tavare joined him when he played straight into the hands of Ben Foakes.

Opener Chris Dent dug in and together with Alex Gidman, Gloucestershire looked like they might begin to build a platform. In the seventh over, however, Gidman fell to the bowling of Graham Napier, nicking the ball behind, leaving the hosts in trouble at 23 for 3.

Gloucestershire's morning went from bad to worse soon after as Napier took his ninth wicket of the Championship season when he bowled Hamish Marshall for 4.

Will Gidman managed eight better than his brother but was unable to turn an encouraging start into a big score as Masters induced the edge and Alastair Cook held on at first slip. However, Dent, fresh from a half-century at Glamorgan, kept the Gloucestershire score respectable as he hit eight fours on his way to 47.

Just as the opener looked to reach his half-century, play was stopped for bad light before heavy rain extended the delay. The action temporarily resumed later and it took just eight balls for Essex to add another scalp to their tally as Cameron Herring edged Masters' delivery to Foster.

Ian Saxelby joined Dent at the crease but in the 32nd over the umpires again sent the players back into the pavilion for bad light before more rain saw the day's play brought to an early close.

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No sign of BCCI calling AGM on Srinivasan issue

More than a week has passed since the BCCI discussed convening a special general meeting to replace N Srinivasan on the board's disciplinary committee, but now it appears as though the meeting may not happen in the near future.

An SGM requires a 21-day notice period but as of today no notice had been served by the BCCI secretary to any of the board's member units. According to BCCI regulations, for an SGM to be convened, the secretary must issue the notice within ten days of "a resolution of the working committee". However, because there was no resolution passed at the working committee meeting on April 20, neither the secretary Sanjay Patel nor acting president Shivlal Yadav, who has powers to call a meeting in special circumstances, are in a hurry to convene the meeting.

Representatives of at least one member from all five zones who attended the working committee meeting confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that despite a vocal suggestion to convene an SGM, no resolution was passed. Patel, who is set to lose his post at the Baroda Cricket Association, didn't respond to questions, but a BCCI source revealed the SGM may not be convened at all.

One of the cases waiting to be heard by the disciplinary committee, which comprises BCCI president Srinivasan and vice-presidents Yadav and Rajeev Shukla, is that of Ajit Chandila, one of three Rajasthan Royals cricketers arrested on corruption charges during the 2013 IPL. He filed a reply to the disciplinary committee in April but the case has not proceeded because the Supreme Court sidelined Srinivasan from the BCCI's affairs as a fall out of corruption allegations in the IPL.

While the ruling faction in the BCCI believes the remaining two members of the disciplinary committee can meet and decide on Chandila, a bereavement in Yadav's family has resulted in the acting president taking a break from his responsibilities.

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