County Cricket Round-Up - 6th March

County Cricket Round-Up - 6th March

Jacob Oram will make Worcestershire his first county in 2013.

©REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte. Picture Supplied by Action Images

New Hampshire wicket-keeper Adam Wheater has said that he has received no assurances from his new employers that he will be their first choice wicket-keeper at the start of 2013. This comes despite his former county coach Paul Grayson insisting that that was the reason for the 23 year-old’s departure from Chelmsford.

"I think Paul was trying to cover his own back in saying that," Wheater said during a press conference before flying to Barbados with his new team-mates for a pre-season tour. "I am on a two-year contract and have been given no assurances."

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Former Hampshire wicket-keeper Neil McCorkell has died at the age of 100. He played for Hampshire from 1932 until 1951 - a spell that includes an interruption for war work as a firefighter at a Vickers factory in Newbury. After retiring, McCorkell emigrated to South Africa and worked as a cricket coach at Parktwon Boys High School in Johannesburg for 30 years. A cricket ground - the McCorkell Oval - is named after him.

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Kent have signed former Somerset all-rounder Calum Haggett for the 2013 season. Haggett represented England at Under-19 level but his development was interrupted when he was diagnosed with a leaking heart valve in 2010. He didn’t play for Somerset at all in 2012 and spent the final two months of the season playing in Kent’s second team.

"Calum has impressed with consistent performances for the second XI last summer, finishing the season with a major contribution against Leicestershire with both bat and ball," Simon Willis, Kent's high performance director, said.

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Worcestershire have signed former New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram for the Friends Life t20 campaign. Oram has become a specialist Twenty20 player since retiring from international duty with New Zealand.

Director of Cricket, Steve Rhodes, commented, "I have admired Jacob's all-round qualities for some time now and his t20 experience, which he has gained from global competitions, is a major plus factor in our desire to have a successful Friends Life t20 campaign. He can bowl at the start, middle or end of the innings and can clear the ropes as a batsman, so our supporters will enjoy watching his exciting performances."

Oram commented "The opportunity to play for Worcestershire CCC in this season's Friends Life t20 competition was something I could not turn down. While I have never played bounty cricket, it has always been a goal of mine so I am very excited at the prospect of representing the club.

"Another attraction to Worcestershire was the chance to play at the picturesque New Road cricket ground. I have played a few games there for New Zealand (2004 and 2008), as well as the New Zealand Youth Team (1996). It's a beautiful ground and one that I will be privileged to call "home", at least for a month!"

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Yorkshire will become the Yorkshire Vikings in one-day cricket next season. They had been known as Yorkshire Carnegie in previous seasons but the sponsorship deal with Leeds Metropolitan University came to an end.

"We wanted a name that was relevant to the community," Danny Reuben, Head of Media & Marketing at Yorkshire, told ESPNcricinfo. "And, as the Vikings settled here 1,300 years ago and shaped the look and the language of the region, they have had a huge impact. One of their legacies was establishing the three Ridings of Yorkshire and the words 'York' and 'Yorkshire'.

"We are also entering into a partnership with the Jorvik Centre in York, which is the home of Viking history in this part of the world, and they will provide match-day experiences which will hope will capture the imagination of younger supporters.

"We did have an online poll to pick a new name but we had to ignore the results as it was high-jacked by Lancashire supporters. Had it been up to them, we would have been called the Yorkshire Puddings!"

In other news, the club will play a 50-over game against the MCC at Headingley on 26th June as part of their 150th Anniversary celebrations. It will be the first time that Yorkshire have played the MCC in a one-day game and the first time that the two clubs have met in any format since 1987.

© Cricket World 2013