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Durham v Yorkshire: Rana is handed deadline to report for duty
YORKSHIRE last night issued an ultimatum to their overseas player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, saying his contract will be terminated unless he arrives at Headingley Carnegie by May 1.
The club have given the Pakistan pace bowler a deadline after ongoing problems with his work permit and visa ruled him out of the opening County Championship match of the season here at the Riverside.
Rana had been due in England on April 1 to take up the final year of his two-year deal.
But Yorkshire still have no idea when his paperwork will be finalised, prompting them to give the player until 5pm on Friday week to report for duty.
Yorkshire – who have yet to decide whether they would sign an overseas replacement – have sent a letter to Rana and his agent outlining their position.
The club have upped the ante after holding talks at board level and taking advice from the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).
Yorkshire's chief executive Stewart Regan said: "We're not prepared to wait forever and need this situation sorted out quickly.
"We appreciate that Rana is also frustrated with the delays but we can't have ongoing uncertainty surrounding our overseas position.
"Martyn Moxon, our director of professional cricket, is still of the mind that if Rana can get here by May 1, then he can still make a valuable contribution.
"But we need to create a sense of urgency and put some pressure on the Pakistan embassy, because this guy could lose his contract if the issue is not resolved."
Yorkshire have already displayed patience beyond the call of duty with Rana, who treated them appallingly when he signed for the rebel Indian Cricket League last year without their permission.
Should Rana return to Headingley, he would be unable to play in the Twenty20 Cup because of his ICL commitments and his attitude to the club has been as poor as his performances.
Yorkshire certainly showed no sign of missing him at Chester-le-Street yesterday as they began their Championship season in encouraging style.
They might have feared a fruitless day in the field against the defending champions after losing the toss beneath cloudless skies.
But although Matthew Hoggard was picked off during an opening spell of six overs for 30 runs, Tim Bresnan's first spell was pacy and penetrative as Yorkshire restricted the home team to 303-7 on a day when honours ended just about even.
Bresnan removed both opening batsmen during a burst of 8-2-11-2 from the Lumley End as Yorkshire seized an early grip before a good-sized crowd.
First, Mark Stoneman was well caught by Gerard Brophy with the total on 20 – the wicketkeeper diving acrobatically to his left – before the dangerous Michael Di Venuto skied to Hoggard at mid-off after scoring 36 of the first 41 runs. It was an uncharacteristically dreadful shot by Di Venuto, who top-edged an attempted pull through mid-wicket.
Durham lost a third wicket before lunch when Gordon Muchall was lbw to the hard-working Steve Patterson in conditions that offered just enough help to keep the seamers interested.
The home side slipped to 82-4 in the second over after lunch when Durham captain Will Smith edged Hoggard to Brophy, who picked up another catch when Dale Benkenstein followed one from Deon Kruis with the total on 129.
Staring down the barrel of a below-par score, Durham were indebted to Ian Blackwell and Phil Mustard for a splendid sixth-wicket partnership of 107 characterised by the sort of positive strokeplay for which both are famed.
Blackwell was within five runs of his second hundred of the season when he gave Brophy his fifth catch of the innings off Hoggard, but Mustard was still there at stumps on 62.
The other wicket to fall was that of Liam Plunkett, well caught in the slips by substitute James Finch off the excellent Bresnan.
Yorkshire's Adil Rashid has been named in the England Lions team for the four-day match against the West Indies at Derby (April 30-May 3).
Rashid's call-up rules him out of next week's Championship game against Worcestershire and the Friends Provident Trophy match against Gloucestershire.
England Lions: Key (captain), Ambrose, Bell, Mahmood, Moore, Patel, Plunkett, Rashid, Trott, Woakes, Wright.
LV County Championship
Division One
Durham v Yorkshire
Riverside: Durham won toss.
Durham First Innings
M J Di Venuto c Hoggard b Bresnan 36
M D Stoneman c Brophy b Bresnan 2
W R Smith c Brophy b Hoggard 21
G J Muchall c Brophy b Patterson 13
D M Benkenstein c Brophy b Kruis 17
I D Blackwell c Brophy b Hoggard 95
P Mustard not out 62
L E Plunkett c Sub b Bresnan 10
C D Thorp not out 24
Extras b10 lb8 w5 23
Total 7 wkts (96 overs) 303
Fall: 1-20 2-41 3-69 4-82 5-129 6-236 7-257
To Bat: G Onions, S J Harmison.
Bowling: Hoggard 21 5 72 2, Bresnan 22 5 51 3, Kruis 18 2 60 1, Patterson 22 6 61 1, McGrath 9 5 19 0, A U Rashid 4 0 22 0.
Umpires: N G B Cook and P Willey
Yorkshire: J Sayers, J Rudolph, M Vaughan, A McGrath (capt) A Gale, G Brophy (wkt), T Bresnan, A Rashid, S Patterson G Kruis, M Hoggard.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -5 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
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