ESSEX’S GREAT EXPECTATIONS IAN BELL BEYOND THE ROPE March 2012 Issue No.1 Graeme Hick IN! Talks about his new life down under NEW W WReveals hiDs buounrcse btaockn ability £310 NDisicausslels OIrel’aBndr’s iuencen rtain future Boyd RScalinag Nenw kin HeiEnggland Fhast Bowtlings Coach David Saker Hampshire’s Chris Wood THE BIG Goes Undercover INTERVIEW ISSUE No.1 March 2012 ASHLEY GILES £3.75 PREVIEW 2012 SEASON CAPTAIN’S CORNER BOUNDARY OPENING STAND BOUNDARY’S MAGIC MOMENT England Batsman Kevin Pietersen There were times in the match when they put us on the back foot “and that was expected, so we did well to win in the end Sharjah, UAE February 10, 2012 Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq Afghanistan vs. Pakistan praised the spirit of the Afghanistan FAIRy TAleS always seem to be exclu - side who pushed the Test nation all sively reserved for outlandish Hollywood the way in Sharjah films and in the minds of the most cre - ative authors. But within the sporting arena, fairy tales can in fact come true. After winning their way through five di - visions in two years, gaining a berth in the World Twenty20, and dominating better established Associates and Affili - ates in the four-day format, Afghanistan have reached base camp - an ODI against a Test-playing nation. As expected, Afghanistan were sec - ond best, but the result was never im - portant and frankly misses the point. From within the rubble of a war torn nation, a group of cricket loving men have risen and brought pride to a country in desperate need of admiration. 2 BOUNDARY MARCH 2012 BOUNDARY www.boundarymagazine.com 3 Contents - March 2012 Edition BOUNDARY OPENING STAND BOUNDARY - March 2012 Edition Hello and THE BIG INTERVIEW BATTING ORDER OPENING STAND 6 SnapShot WThee lcome 8 Cricket at a Glance CONTENTS 16 10 Worcestershire Preview 2012 Hello and welcome to Boundarry! 12 Edito Captain’s Corner We know as england fans that it is very 15 Boyd difficult to be upbeat at the moment after Top Tweets their dismal showing in the UAe, but 26 don’t panic, not yet anyway. Forget the 15 BOUNDARY Competition Rankin batting horror show that is the england middle order and bring some enjoyment back into your cricketing life by picking up our new cricket magazine aimed at Ashley Giles MIDDLE ORDER bringing you the lighter side of the game. The former England Test star talks us through his 16 The Big Interview In our debut edition we go on safari, career and the moment he almost gave it all away Ashley Giles - My Career figuratively speaking, as we chat to new england lion Boyd Rankin - and he 22 Going Undercover: Hampshire gives us an unique insight into life on tour with the england boys. 24 Wes Durston Interview In our very first Big Interview, we gave former england Test star Ashley Giles 26 Boyd Rankin Interview a visit as he spoke in depth about his 22 12 career, and tells us about the time he - Scaling New Heights almost gave it all away. 30 Graeme Hick Scaling New Heights We hear from england’s fast-bowling - Living in a Land Down Under Rankin has his eyes firmly set on England as coach David Saker and take a long he completed his maiden tour with the Lions distance phone call from Worcestershire 32 legend Graeme Hick as he reveals his Life Beyond The Rope: Ian Bell new life to Boundary. 34 David Saker Interview With the new season now almost upon us, finally, we hear from Richard Jones Chris Wood Captain’s Corner 36 and Alan Richardson as they preview Goes Undercover and talks Andrew Hall talks about Boundary Riders the year ahead before they go back to school and take part in a quick pop quiz. about his teammates Northants and South Africa - With Barker & Whiteley Andrew Hall is in captain’s corner, 10 Chris Wood dishes the dirt on his team - mates and we go beyond the rope with CLOSE OF PLAY Ian Bell, all during the middle order slog. 38 County Ins and Outs So forget england’s torturous tour to the 40 UAe, relax, pick up a copy and enjoy Niall O’Brien reading our debut edition while strolling 32 - Ireland’s Uncertain Future Worcestershire CCC around the boundary. 42 Club Life - Shrewsbury CC Preview the 2012 season Thank you and enjoy, 44 The Only Way Is Essex 34 Ian Bell 46 BOUNDARY’S Magic Moment CBounhdarry eidsito r Airey Life Beyond The Rope David Saker 30 www.b oundarymagazine.com England’s Fast Bowling Editorial Visit our new website BOUNDARY BLigh0ter sUide oNf theD gamAe frRom aY cross the rope and follow us on Exclusive coach insists we have the Editor & Design Boundary Riders March 2012 Issue No.1 Chris Airey Keith Barker and Ross Whiteley Twitter for all the + Features best quartet in the world @Airey14 36 latest B OUNDARY news + Interviews + Videos and much more Graeme Hick Photography Northants, Hampshire, Warwickshire, Essex Living in a Land Down Under Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Getty Images, Flickr, Twitter, Matt Walker @boundary_mag Facebook, ECB 44 The Only Way is Essex 4 BOUNDARY MARCH 2012 BOUNDARY www.boundarymagazine.com 5 SNAPSHOT - Alastair Cook BOUNDARY OPENING STAND Two hundreds in a row Where Abu Dhabi SWhen NFebruaAry 15th 2P 012 SHOT doesn't happen too often Who Alastair Cook so I'm delighted What He became the first england captain to score back-to-back hundreds in ODIs as he helped his side secure a series “ whitewash against pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi Did you know Cook scored more runs in the side’s first two ODIs against Pakistan than in the entire three match Test series prior to it. In six innings the left-handed opener scored 184 runs - and he then thrived in the shorter format hitting ?consecutive centuries - 137 and 102 England Innings We've been saying all along that we don't become bad players overnight. Form fluctuates and, now I'm on a decent run, “it's important I try to cash in 6 BOUNDARY MARCH 2012 BOUNDARY www.boundarymagazine.com 7 Cricket at a Glance BOUNDARY OPENING STAND OPENING STAND A This Month’s Winners ... Saeed Ajmal Richard Levi Afghanistan The Pakistani spinner The 24-year-old hit a A remarkable story from T took 24 wickets in world record 16 sixes in a War ridden nation who A Pakistan's whitewash the fastest ever T20 after winning their way victory over Andrew international 100, hitting through five divisions in CRICKET Strauss' side and took 117 off just 51 balls for two years competed in career-best Test South Africa against New their first ODI against a figures of 7-55 in the Zealand - then secured Test-playing nation, opening game of the an IPl contract with the competing surprisingly series. Mumbai Indians. well against Pakistan. GThis MLonthA’s LosNers ... CE Eoin Morgan England suffer Test whitewash to Pakistan Captain Andrew Strauss insisted England had not be - come a bad side overnight after they were whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan in the UAE. Strauss acknowledged, though, there had been “a consistent failure” from his side with most top-order batsman severly under performing in their first Test series in 2012. FIVE NOT OUT They lost the first Test by a humiliating 10 wickets, thanks to NEWS Saeed Ajmal’s career best figures of 7-55. Ireland have announced that they are They would go on to lose the second Test by 72 runs and applying to the International Cricket then the third by a margin of 71 runs. The left-hander scored 199 runs in 17 innings on Council for Test match status. The dismal english batting performance was the story of the the tour of the United Arab emirates and averaged The Irish, who have set 2020 as their target series, with all top order batsman failing on almost every outing to the middle in the hot Arab desert. It was simply not just 30 in Tests. He was subsequently dropped entry date, will give central contracts to 23 Ireland players while coach Phil Simmons good enough and improvement is desperately needed in from the Test side travelling to Sri lanka in March. equally difficult surroundings of Sri lanka this month. has signed a new two-year deal. Ricky Ponting Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who is undergoing Sachin Tendulkar failed to chemotherapy for cancer, has tweeted that his Month’s Vital Stats reach his 100th century in tumour was "almost way out of the system." February, that is 12 months He tweeted he had got the "good news" after a doctor Record for the number of and counting now examined his reports.yuvraj is being treated in the US 99 wickets to fall by LBW in a Australia beat Sri Lanka for a rare, but curable, form of cancer. Micha3el Cl2arke 9smas* hed 39 single Test match in the in the final of the 2012 boundaries and one six in Dhaka Gladiators won the inaugural Bangladesh final game of the Pakistan Tri-Series with victory in his record breaking knock Premier League T20 series, beating Barisal Burners vs. England Test series the MCG decided which is the highest 17 E by eight wickets in the final. 2-1 Barisal Burners scored 140 runs for the loss of seven, ever score at the n SCG g but captain Brad Hodge's heroics were not enough to l The former skipper scored just 18 runs in five a save them. n innings in the Tri-Series against India and Sri d Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell India chase 321 in 37 overs lanka and was dropped from the squad - he then w admitted that he may never play in ODIs again.