November 2014 ~ InulPoker Sitting

Sunday, November 30, 2014

County ins & outs

Stay up to date with the latest player signings, moves and speculation from all the counties.

Counties are allowed to field two overseas players in Twenty20 games, with up to four registered for that competition, although only two can be registered at any one time, and registrations must be for a minimum of 10 days.

Only one overseas player is permitted in the County Championship and One-Day Cup competitions.

Also shows, where relevant, players' previous counties

UKP: Recently obtained UK passport

Kolpak contracts are signed by foreign players, using a loophole in European Union law to avoid counting against the quota of one overseas player per club.

Players who moved counties or retired during the 2014 season are included on the 2014 list. Have we missed anyone? Please let us know.

Overseas player 2014: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies); Marcus North (Australia); Cheteshwar Pujara (India)

Overseas player 2015: TBC; Pujara may return, depending on IPL and international commitments

Ins: Shiv Thakor (Leicestershire), Will Davis (YTH), Adam Wheatcroft (YTH), Harry White (YTH), Wayne White (Lancashire)

Outs: Tim Groenewald (Somerset), Mark Turner (REL), Matt Higginbottom (REL), Gareth Cross (REL)

Overseas player 2014: Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka); John Hastings (Australia); Varun Aaron (India)

Overseas player 2015: John Hastings (Australia)

Ins: none

Outs: Gareth Breese (REL)

Overseas player 2014: Jesse Ryder (New Zealand)

Overseas player 2015: Jesse Ryder (New Zealand)

Ins: Callum Taylor (YTH)

Outs: Ben Foakes (Surrey), Sajid Mahmood (REL), Tom Craddock (REL), Tim Phillips (RET), Tymal Mills (Sussex)

Overseas player 2014: Jacques Rudolph (South Africa); Darren Sammy (West Indies)

Overseas player 2015: Jacques Rudolph (South Africa)

Ins: James Kettleborough (Northants), Craig Meschede (Somerset, season-long loan), Colin Ingram (KPK)

Outs: Murray Goodwin (RET), Gareth Rees (RET), Stewart Walters (REL), Tom Lancefield (REL), Mike Reed (REL), Jim Allenby (Somerset)

Other news: Glamorgan have been docked two points for 2015's One-Day Cup for a poor pitch against Durham in August 2014.

Overseas player 2014: Michael Klinger (Australia); Mark Craig (New Zealand)

Overseas player 2015: Michael Klinger (Australia, from June)

Ins: Tom Hampton (Buckinghamshire), Kieran Noema-Barnett (UKP), Geraint Jones (Kent)

Outs: Will Gidman (Nottinghamshire), Alex Gidman (Worcestershire), Graeme McCarter (REL)

Other news: Geraint Jones will take over as captain in four-day cricket from Michael Klinger.

Overseas player 2014: Kyle Abbott (South Africa); Glenn Maxwell (Australia); Nathan Rimmington (Australia), Imran Tahir (South Africa)

Overseas player 2015: Jackson Bird (Australia, first three months of season); Yasir Arafat (Pakistan, for one-day cricket); Abbott may return when Bird departs

Ins: Andre Adams (Nottinghamshire, on short-term deal as player-coach), Yasir Arafat (Sussex)

Outs: David Balcombe (Surrey), Michael Bates (REL), Ruel Brathwaite (REL), Owais Shah (had been on match-by-match T20 contract)

Possible signings: Australian seamer Nathan Rimmington, who holds a UK passport, may return in 2015 as a non-overseas player.

Overseas player 2014: Doug Bollinger (Australia)

Overseas player 2015: TBC

Ins: Sam Weller (YTH), Ryan Davies (YTH), Joe Denly (Middlesex)

Outs: Geraint Jones (Gloucestershire), Mark Davies (RET)

Overseas player 2014: Junaid Khan (Pakistan); Usman Khawaja (Australia)

Overseas player 2015: TBC

Ins: Nathan Buck (Leicestershire), Haseeb Hameed (YTH), Matthew Parkinson (YTH), Saqib Mahmood (YTH), George Edwards (Surrey)

Outs: Andrea Agathangelou (REL), Oliver Newby (REL), Kabir Ali (REL), Wayne White (Derbyshire)

Other news: Director of cricket Mike Watkinson has stepped down and been replaced by Ashley Giles, while opener Paul Horton will be suspended from the first two T20 matches of 2015 after being found guilty of serious dissent. Glenn Chapple will stay on in a coaching role, but will not be captain, while Kolpak player Ashwell Prince has reverses his decision to retire.

Overseas player 2014: Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies); Scott Styris (New Zealand)

Overseas player 2015: Clint McKay (Australia)

Ins: Aadil Ali (YTH), Zak Chappell (YTH), Neil Pinner (YTH)

Outs: Shiv Thakor (Derbyshire), Nathan Buck (Lancashire), Josh Cobb (Northants), Greg Smith (Nottinghamshire), Anthony Ireland (REL), Michael Thornely (REL)

Other news: The county have scrapped the role of director of cricket, but incumbent Phil Whitticase has not left the club, while ex-Australia all-rounder Andrew McDonald has joined as head coach, but is not expected to be registered as a player.

Overseas player 2014: Chris Rogers (Australia), Dan Christian (Australia)

Overseas player 2015: Adam Voges (Australia)

Ins: Max Holden (YTH), George Scott (YTH), Robbie White (YTH)

Outs: Gareth Berg (REL), Adam Rossington (Northants), Ollie Wilkin (REL), Joe Denly (Kent)

Other news: Voges will replaces fellow Australian Rogers as Middlesex's Championship captain. David Houghton will become batting coach on 1 January, replacing Mark Ramprakash who has taken up the same role with England.

Overseas player 2014: Richard Levi (South Africa), Ian Butler (New Zealand), Neil Wagner (New Zealand)

Overseas player 2015: TBC

Ins: Josh Cobb (Leicestershire), Adam Rossington (Middlesex), Saif Zaib (YTH)

Outs: David Sales (RET), Andrew Hall (REL), Matthew Spriegel (RET), James Middlebrook (REL), James Kettleborough (Glamorgan)

Other news: Alex Wakely will become captain in all formats in 2015, with David Willey (a reported target for Surrey) as vice-captain. Former skipper Stephen Peters will stay on as a player.

Overseas player 2014: Peter Siddle (Australia); James Franklin (New Zealand)

Overseas player 2015: TBC

Ins: Will Gidman (Gloucestershire), Greg Smith (Leicestershire)

Outs: Phil Jaques (REL), Andre Adams (Hampshire), Sam Kelsall (REL), Ajmal Shahzad (Sussex)

Overseas player 2014: Alviro Petersen (South Africa), Dirk Nannes (Australia); Colin Ingram (South Africa)

Overseas player 2015: Abdur Rehman (Pakistan)

Ins: Tim Groenewald (Derbyshire), Ollie Sale (YTH), Tim Rouse (YTH), Sam Wyatt-Haines (YTH), Jim Allenby (Glamorgan)

Outs: James Burke (Surrey), Nick Compton (REL), Craig Meschede (Glamorgan, season-long loan)

Other news: Matthew Maynard has replaced Dave Nosworthy as director of cricket, while high performance director Andy Hurry has left to take up a role with England, and batting coach David Houghton is also leaving to take up the same position at Middlesex.

Overseas player 2014: Graeme Smith (South Africa), Robin Peterson (South Africa), Hashim Amla (South Africa), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)

Overseas player 2015: TBC

Ins: Ben Foakes (Essex), James Burke (Somerset), David Balcombe (Hampshire)

Outs: Tom Jewell (REL), Kevin O'Brien (had been contracted for T20), Jack Winslade (REL), George Edwards (Lancashire), Kevin Pietersen (REL)

Overseas player 2014: Steve Magoffin (Australia); Yasir Arafat (Pakistan)

Overseas player 2015: Steve Magoffin (Australia)

Ins: Fynn Hudson-Prentice (YTH), Tymal Mills (Essex), Ajmal Shahzad (Nottinghamshire)

Outs: Yasir Arafat (Hampshire), Jon Lewis (RET, is to become bowling coach)

Overseas player 2014: Jeetan Patel (New Zealand); Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

Overseas player 2015: Jeetan Patel (New Zealand)

Ins: none

Outs: none

Overseas player 2014: Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan); Colin Munro (New Zealand); Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand)

Overseas player 2015: TBC; director of cricket Steve Rhodes said he was "optimistic" Ajmal may return, though that was before Ajmal was suspended for an illegal bowling action

Ins: Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire)

Outs: Nick Harrison (REL), Matt Pardoe (REL), Graeme Cessford (REL)

Overseas player 2014: Kane Williamson (New Zealand); Aaron Finch (Australia)

Overseas player 2015: TBC

Ins: Josh Shaw (YTH)

Outs: Azeem Rafiq (REL)

Fans pay Twitter tributes to Hughes

Cricket fans and players have been using their bats to pay tribute to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes.

The 25-year-old died on Thursday, two days after being struck in the neck during a domestic match in Australia.

Thousands of people have posted photographs on Twitter, using hashtags #putoutyourbats and #putyourbatsout.

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said: "People are putting bats in their back yard and in their front window. We thank them for that."

The idea has captured the imagination, with professional players and amateurs joining in as a mark of respect.

Pakist

an also paid their respects before the start of play against New Zealand at Sharjah

The England team honoured their former Ashes rival by placing their bats outside their dressing room in Sri Lanka

The Australian Cricketers' Association posted 10 bats in their tribute picture

Hughes's Australia team-mate David Warner posted this picture on Instagram

Ex-Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist and his family paid their tribute

Graeme Swann paid tribute with a bat with which he made 63 not out - the same score Hughes was on when he was struck

England batsman Jonathan Trott also posted a picture on Twitter in memory of Hughes

Tributes came from a variety of sports, with Australia's rugby union team among those paying their respects

Cardiff City FC paid tribute prior to their press conference

Former Australia and Worcestershire batsman Tom Moody displayed three cricket bats

Ex-Australia international Dean Jones with his bat and baggy green cap, guarded by his dog Norman

Former England captain Michael Vaughan included an England cap in his picture

Google joined the tributes on their Australian site

"A single cricket bat at the entrance to the SCG. The writing on the bat says "63no Forever". #putoutyourbats" - Sydney's Today Show's Chris Urquhart

Paul D Taylor, from Sydney, is believed to have started the Twitter trend

ricket fan Chris Biddiscombe wrote on Twitter that his seven-year-old son had taken this picture

Fans from around the world paid their respects. This picture is from James Williams

Billy Bragg: "Not a cricket player, so don't have a bat, but shocked and sad to hear of the death of Phil Hughes #putoutyourbats"

This message sums up the feelings of thousands of cricket fans

Australia united in grief after Hughes death

Cricket bats and caps belonging to the players are placed near the scoreboard which displays a tribute to Phillip Hughes

Summer in Australia means cricket. That's just the way it is. Footy boots are put away and cricket bats come out. The seasons mean a set of bat and stumps is the perfect present from Santa.

Those bats, a symbol of carefree fun in the sun and of a young kid's dream, now symbolise the life of Phillip Hughes, who died on Thursday playing the sport he loved; the sport millions of Australians love.

As Fiona Bruce reports, people have been posting images using the hashtags #putoutyourbats and #putyourbatsout

Those bats, of all brands and sizes, are now standing proud in the windows of shops, homes and offices across Australia. They are leaning against the back gate, propped against a stump in the middle of a suburban park or resting against a gum tree with a well-worn club cap dangling over the handle.

They are part of the social media campaign - with people posting photographs using #putoutyourbats and #putyourbatsout - which has swept across the country and around the world, as a way of paying respect.

Cricket Australia displayed 63 bats in the windows of its headquarters in Jolimont Street in Melbourne - 63 being the score Hughes was on when he was struck that fatal blow on Tuesday.

Former wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist lined up four bats in a row outside his house and wrote: "From the Gilly kids."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott leaned a bat against the wall of Kirribilli House, his official residence in Sydney.

A portrait is painted on a store display in memory of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes.

A store in Sydney painted a display in memory of Phillip Hughes

The mark of respect has come through other sports too - and from all age groups. Australia's Under-16 girls hockey players, the Futuroos, placed their sticks in a spiral around a tree. Elsewhere the crowd broke into applause during the 63rd minute of the A-League football match between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United on Friday night.

Australian former Premier League footballer Tim Cahill tweeted from New York, saying he knew Hughes was a big soccer fan, so for all those who didn't have a cricket bat, he was starting #putoutyoursoccerballs

As an extension of this, some have simply started displaying things they love, in the way that Hughes loved cricket. An electric guitar was photographed leaning up against a brick wall with the same hashtag.

Tim Cahill puts out a soccer ball in memory of Phillip Hughes

Tim Cahill has started the #putoutyoursoccerballs as Phillip Hughes was a big soccer fan

In the Northbridge district of Perth a mural of graffiti art has appeared on a red brick wall. It depicts a green matted cricket pitch, the words HUGHES in 3D, and a solitary cricket bat leaning against the name. A store in Sydney arranged for a banner portrait of Hughes to be painted in its front window. Hughes' old primary school in Macksville wrote on the notice board outside the building "RIP Phillip Hughes. You will always be part of our Macksville family."

In the front window of a family home on a tree-lined street in Sydney, two adult cricket bats next to a child-sized bat seemed particularly poignant; a reminder that Hughes was once a child - and his parents are now one child less. To that end, every parent in the country has been touched by this tragedy; the loss of such a young, talented son, and a country boy living out his dream.

On the day of Hughes' death, Port Melbourne CC cancelled senior training and held a BBQ in the clubrooms instead. Their junior cricketers were in action on Saturday and wore black armbands to mark the passing of one of their heroes. As they stood side by side in whites at the edge of the pitch, their coach told them that during the minute's silence perhaps they could think about how much fun it is to be able to play cricket with your mates. Because that is what Phillip Hughes did.

A special piece of graffiti is displayed on wall in Perth in homage to Phillip Hughes

One small cricketer reached 63 not out, then retired. Usually the retirement score would be 50 in junior cricket, but this weekend Cricket Australia asked it be changed to 63, to match the score Hughes was on when he was hit. The little fella was proud that he had reached the milestone in honour of his hero.

Scenes like this were repeated all over the country with players as young as seven observing 63 seconds of silence. Clubs painted Hughes' Baggy Green number, 408, on the outfield. Grade cricket in Sydney had already been cancelled out of respect for Hughes in his home state.

Wherever you are in the country, it is hard to avoid conversations about Hughes's death. Buying a newspaper across a counter in Melbourne leads to the cashier exclaiming his disbelief and sadness at the front page - before adding that he is not even a cricket fan.

Cricket Australia displayed 63 bats in the windows of their Headquarters in Jolimont Street in Melbourne

Cricket Australia have displayed 63 bats in the windows of their Headquarters in Melbourne

Australia's Daily Telegraph devoted its entire front page on Saturday to a montage of touching images from #putyourbatsout. Other papers such as the Adelaide Advertiser kept Hughes on the front page as well as the back. Victoria is in the midst of state elections this weekend, so coverage in Melbourne's Age and Herald Sun starts four pages in, whilst still dominating the sport. ABC's iconic sports programme, Grandstand, was flooded with tributes to Hughes when they threw open the phone lines on Saturday.

As more and more bats appear, it feels as if the sense of shock and grief might be starting to give way to a more reflective feeling about the life of Phillip Hughes; about remembering the country lad who would have turned 26 on Sunday, and remembering what he achieved as a cricketer.

For those closest to Hughes, though, the grief remains heartbreaking and raw. A distraught Michael Clarke fought back tears and struggled to maintain control when he read out a tribute statement on Saturday on behalf of the whole Australia team. "To Greg, Virginia, Jason and Megan," he faltered as he addressed Hughes's parents and siblings, "we share in the deep pain that you're feeling." Between sentences there were heart-wrenching pauses while the Australia captain - "our captain" as the Aussie media refers to him - tried to hold himself together. Australians are rightly proud of the way Clarke is supporting both his team-mates and the Hughes family. Right now, he is in need of as much support himself.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott put out a bat with a black arm band as a mark of respect for Phillip Hughes

Fourth fastest Test 200 for McCullum

Third Test, Sharjah (day three of five):

Pakistan 351 v New Zealand 637-8

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum hit the fourth fastest double hundred in Test history on day three of the third Test against Pakistan in Sharjah.

McCullum reached 200 with his 11th six from the 186th delivery he faced and was out two balls later for 202.

Only Nathan Astle and Virender Sehwag, twice, have made quicker double tons, with Astle holding the 153-ball record.

With Kane Williamson also making 192, New Zealand closed on 637-8, a lead of 286 in their bid to level the series.

153 balls - Nathan Astle, New Zealand v England, 2002

168 balls - Virender Sehwag, India v Sri Lanka, 2009

182 balls - Virender Sehwag, India v Pakistan, Lahore, 2006

186 balls - Brendon McCullum, Pakistan v New Zealand, 2014

194 balls - Virender Sehwag, India v South Africa, 2008

The partnership of 297 between McCullum and Williamson is a New Zealand record for the second wicket, while the total of 19 sixes hit by the Black Caps is also the most in a Test innings.

For McCullum, the double hundred is his second of 2014 to go with a triple hundred, a trio of scores only previously matched in a calendar year by Sir Donald Bradman.

McCullum is a former team-mate of Phillip Hughes, the Australia batsman who died on Thursday.

The New Zealand team have written Hughes's initials on their shirts and, at the end of the day, McCullum released a statement on behalf of the Black Caps.

"Our focus at the moment is not on our performances, it is all about Phil.

"We are heartbroken for Phil's family, Greg, Virginia, Megan and Jason. No one should go through what you guys are going through right now.

"You are all in our thoughts, our hearts and in Phil's case, our memories."

Pakistan lead the series 1-0 after victory in the first Test in Abu Dhabi.

Yorkshire start defence at New Road

Champions Yorkshire will travel to promoted Worcestershire in the opening round of the 2015 County Championship to start the defence of their title.

Jason Gillespie's side will launch the county season on 22 March when they play an MCC XI in Abu Dhabi in the traditional four-day curtain-raiser.

The Championship begins on 12 April, with promoted Hampshire facing Sussex.

The NatWest T20 Blast starts on 15 May and the Royal London One-Day Cup on 25 July, with holders Durham at Northants.

The basic format for the summer remains unchanged with most Championship fixtures starting on Sundays, the majority of T20 Blast games on Friday evenings and the group stage of the 50-over One-Day Cup congested into a period of 26 days.

The opening round of Championship games will also see Middlesex, a disappointing seventh in 2014, at home to Nottinghamshire and Somerset, with new director of cricket Matthew Maynard in charge for the first time, playing host to 2013 champions Durham.

Only two matches will take place in Division Two in the opening week, with Leicestershire, who have not won a four-day game since 2012, but have a new head coach in Australian Andrew McDonald, taking on Glamorgan at Grace Road while relegated Northants, led by new four-day skipper Alex Wakely, at home to Gloucestershire.

Ashley Giles, newly installed as Lancashire director of cricket, will have to wait an extra week until 19 April before his side's opening fixture away to Derbyshire as they look to regain their place in Division One at the first attempt.

The second round of Division One games sees Yorkshire away again, this time meeting Notts at Trent Bridge, the ground where they clinched the title in September, while runners-up Warwickshire enter the fray by taking on 2014's Division Two champions Hampshire at Edgbaston.

29 August: T20 Blast finals day

19 September: One-Day Cup final

22 September: Final round of Championship games start

Lancashire's relegation means the only Roses clashes of the summer will take place in the T20 Blast, unless Lancashire and Yorkshire progress beyond the group stage of the One-Day Cup and are then drawn to face each other.

Yorkshire will host the first T20 Roses fixture at Headingley on 5 June, with the return game on 3 July.

Trophy holders Birmingham Bears, Warwickshire's guise for the format, who beat Lancashire by four runs in the 2014 final, meet Notts at Trent Bridge in their opening game on 15 May, with the two nine-team groups unchanged from 2014.

The final round of group games takes place on Friday, 24 July, with the quarter-finals taking place from 12-15 August.

Edgbaston will play host to finals day for the seventh time on Saturday, 29 August, six days later than this summer.

The One-Day Cup final at Lord's, which Durham won with victory over Warwickshire by three wickets this summer, will take place on 19 September.

The final again comes before the last round of Championship fixtures, starting on 22 September, in which Yorkshire will be at home to Sussex, who last won the title in 2007 but have boosted their pace bowling options by signing Ajmal Shahzad and Tymal Mills.

Group A: Surrey, Derbyshire, Worcestershire, Yorkshire, Northants, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Durham.

Group B: Kent, Hampshire, Sussex, Essex, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Glamorgan.

North: Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire), Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Worcestershire, Northants.

South: Kent, Essex, Sussex, Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Glamorgan.

NZ beat Pakistan to share series

Third Test, Sharjah (day four):

New Zealand 690 beat Pakistan 351 & 259 by an innings and 80 runs

New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs in the third Test at Sharjah to share the series 1-1.

After posting their highest ever innings total of 690 to establish a 339-run first-innings lead, the Black Caps dismissed Pakistan for 259 to wrap up victory inside four days.

Spinner Mark Craig took 10 wickets in the match, as well as hitting 65, and was named man of the match.

Pakistan won the first Test at Abu Dhabi by 248 runs.

The series-squaring victory concludes a highly successful year in Test cricket for New Zealand, who have also claimed series wins at home to India and away in the West Indies.

But the result was overshadowed by the death of Australia batsman Phillip Hughes, which caused the second day of the Test to be postponed.

"It was definitely really tough circumstances under which to play the Test," said New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, whose superb innings of 202 underpinned the victory.

"Our thoughts were elsewhere, but I'm proud of the guys for sticking together."

Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez, who made 197 in the first innings, was named man of the series.

Why a death in sport hits us so hard

Young men of 25 die every day - in crashed cars, on battlefields, in cancer wards.

When it happens in a sporting arena it is no more tragic, but its impact is both more universally felt and somehow far more shocking.

Elite sportsmen are our real-time superheroes, capable of physical wonders beyond the rest of us, seemingly unbound by many of the same biological constraints.

Watching them can make us feel immune to the real world. Sport becomes our great escape from its darker mortal realities, an alternative playground where the language is one of battles and great victories but from which everyone walks away to fight another day.

Phillip Hughes: BBC Sport looks back at Australia batsman's career

Its tragedies and losses aren't real, even if the hype would sometimes make you believe they were. So when the illusion shatters, as it has with the death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, it is utterly unexpected and difficult to accept.

We know there is danger in sport, in repeatedly ducking a hard ball bowled at 90 miles an hour or driving a twitching rocket of a Grand Prix car.

It is what fires much of our admiration. It also makes an accident like the one that killed Hughes, or that cost Ayrton Senna his life at San Marino in 1994, all the harder to comprehend.

These were ones who were supposed to be invulnerable to the odds, who could flourish where logic suggested it was impossible.

We mourn the person and empathise with their families. We also mourn the sporting loss: the World Cups Munich air disaster victim Duncan Edwards could never light up, the races and world titles Senna would never win, the Test centuries Hughes will never score.

Because sportsmen's lives are quantifiable in a way that others aren't. They are known to us like friends. They are deaths with statistical eulogies.

Chris Eubank (left) and Michael Watson (right) square up during their rematch WBO Super Middle Weight title fight held on September 21, 1991 at White Hart Lane, in London.

The WBO super-middleweight rematch between Chris Eubank (left) and Michael Watson at White Hart Lane in 1991 left Watson fighting for his life

In the records of races won or goals scored or wickets taken comes an understanding of what they have achieved and what they could have gone on to do.

With their premature loss comes bewilderment. Hughes's final scorecard will forever read 63 not out: a lovely start, not enough, not yet.

Cricket, like all other sports, is rich in fables of the miracle comeback or improbable recovery.

Hughes himself had been involved in one of its most famous, when his 81 not out in a last-wicket partnership with teenage debutant Ashton Agar almost won his side an unfathomable victory in the first Ashes Test in the summer of 2013.

It conditions us to expect the same from its protagonists off the pitch. These men and women are fighters, used to taking on the odds, to cocking a snook at reason and precedent.

So it was that when news first broke of Hughes's collapse at the Sydney Cricket Ground, hope spread almost as quickly as the distress.

Perhaps the recent tragic accidents to F1 drivers Michael Schumacher and Jules Bianchi, devastating though they have been to both men and their families, have also inured us to the stark medical logic of severe brain trauma.

The induced comas of Schumacher and Bianchi slowly, painfully slowly, presaged a partial recovery. Medical experts in Sydney may have feared the worst. Many others, misguidedly, did not.

For Sean Abbott, the 22-year-old whose delivery struck Hughes the fatal blow, these will be overwhelming hours.

Ayrton Senna at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos, 1994

Ayrton Senna's death at Imola in 1994 still haunts Adrian Newey, then chief designer at Williams

Hughes's death was not Abbott's fault. Neither was Senna's down to Adrian Newey, the chief designer at his Williams team, yet the Briton is still haunted by that calamitous day two decades on.

Some of those who have shared his awful predicament have been able to fight their way out through strong logic and the forgiveness of those they hurt.

Chris Eubank, a far more intelligent man than his cartoonish public persona suggests, may not have been capable of quite the same ruthlessness in the ring after his fight with Michael Watson in September 1991 left his opponent with permanent brain damage.

But neither did he regret the upper cut that put Watson in a coma for 30 days - only its outcome. Why? Because had he not thrown that punch, in a contest that had brought both men close to the edge, he would have failed in his responsibilities as a professional boxer.

He was there to fight, just as Abbott was there to bowl. That was the element he could control. The consequences were not.

Not everyone is blessed with Eubank's capacity to recover.

Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini was a 21-year-old lightweight world champion when he fought South Korean Duk Koo Kim for his WBA belt in November 1982.

A brutal contest ended in the 14th round, when 44 unanswered punches from the American left his opponent on his knees. Kim collapsed in the ring, suffered two blood clots on the right side of his brain and died in hospital four days later. The referee, Richard Green, killed himself the following year. Kim's mother, equally unable to cope, took her own life four months after Green.

Thirty years later, it is still the defining moment in Mancini's life. He is still approached by strangers, asking to see the hand that threw the final punch, still has dreams in which he attempts to embrace Kim.

"It's still too painful to talk about it," he said in 2007. "I just don't want to keep reliving it. There have been a lot of prayers, a lot of thoughts. But you never get over it. You never understand."

For cricket, the trials are likely to come much sooner. Next July, when Australia and England's fast bowlers charge in to the opposition openers on the first day of the Ashes series, how will supporters in Cardiff react if, as happened on the first morning of the 2005 series, a short-pitched ball hits a batsman flush on the head?

Ray Mancini trades blow in his final fight against Greg Haugen (right) in April 1992

Ray Mancini, pictured in his final fight against Greg Haugen in 1992, was only 21 when a WBA lightweight title fight resulted in the death of Korean Duk Koo Kim

When Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting were struck at Lord's nine years ago, it was greeted with roars of approval from around the ground. Hindsight has anointed it the moment Australia's all-conquering team knew they were in a fight, a symbolic and physical blow from which they would struggle to recover.

That series was no one-off. Australia's thumping Ashes victory last winter was in large part based on Mitchell Johnson's ability to intimidate England's batsman with short, hostile bowling. The West Indies built an era of dominance around the same strategy.

Hughes's death was a terrible freak. But its consequences are there for all of us - for his family, for Abbott, for Johnson and other fast bowlers, and for us as supporters, reminded of our own vulnerabilities by someone we supposed exempt from them.

Listen again to the 5 live Sport Phillip Hughes tributes programme

Australia retire Hughes's ODI shirt

A grief-stricken Australia captain Michael Clarke said Phillip Hughes's number 64 one-day shirt would be retired following his death.

Hughes died on Thursday aged 25 two days after being hit by a ball.

Clarke said: "I asked Cricket Australia if Hughesy's one-day international number 64 could be retired, to which they agreed. That means so much."

Hughes's funeral will be on Wednesday and Australia's first Test against India will not start on Thursday.

The Australian newspaper features a mosaic of Phillip Hughes made up of pictures of the #putoutyourbats tribute

Pausing frequently to wipe away tears, Clarke said: "Our promise to Hughesy's family is that we will do everything we can to honour his memory.

"He epitomised what the baggy green is all about and what it means to us all.

"Our dressing room will never be the same. We loved him, and always will. Rest in peace."

Before its delayed start was announced, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said the Test match against India in Brisbane should not start on Thursday.

"I don't think it would be right," he said. "Even if the boys think they can play it would be a miracle if they find the right frame of mind needed for five days of cricket."

The England side stood for a minute's silence before their one-day international against Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan bats and caps are lined up in tribute to young Australian batsman Phillip Hughes who died

Sri Lanka's players lined up their bats and caps at the same match

Cricket has never been safer - Cook

Venue: Colombo (RPS) Dates: Saturday 29 November Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, Radio 4 LW, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website.

Cricket has "never been safer" despite the death of Phillip Hughes, says England captain Alastair Cook.

The Australia batsman died on Thursday, two days after being struck in the neck by a short-pitched delivery during a domestic match in Sydney.

But Cook said: "It hasn't been a safer game ever than it is now. We've got to keep on playing cricket the same way.

"The safety provisions over the last few years have gone through the roof. Bouncers can't be outlawed."

Click for further reading:

Cricket Australia to hold an investigation over player safety

Fans on Twitter pay tribute to Hughes

Phillip Hughes, batting for South Australia, was hit on the neck by a short-pitched ball on Tuesday. He never regained consciousness.

Australian team doctor Peter Brukner explained Hughes died as a result of "vertebral artery dissection".

His family paid tribute to a "much-loved son and brother".

Emotional Australia captain Michael Clarke stayed with Hughes's family at his bedside for two days.

Australia rugby union team set to wear black armbands against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

A State Memorial Service for Hughes will be held at Sydney Cricket Ground. A date has yet to be announced.

Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott described Hughes' death as a "shocking aberration".

Cook said players who played with Hughes in county cricket could be rested for Saturday's second one-day international against Sri Lanka.

They include Eoin Morgan and Steven Finn, team-mates of Hughes at Middlesex, and Moeen Ali, who played with him at Worcestershire.

"It's been a tough few days for everyone," Cook said, confirming that Morgan, Finn and Ali had access to "support networks".

Cook said he thought all three were in the right frame of mind to play against the Sri Lankans at the weekend but added: "We can make that call on Saturday if they don't feel they can."

There have been a number of tributes to Hughes.

On social media, players and fans have been posting photographs of their bats as a mark of respect to the 25-year-old, using the hashtags #putoutyourbats and #putyourbatsout.

The England team have also joined in, placing their bats in a row outside their dressing room in Colombo.

England bats in a row outside their dressing room

England are 1-0 down in the seven-match series against Sri Lanka after suffering a 25-run defeat in the first one-day international, but Cook took heart from England's battling performance.

"We know we've got to improve on a lot of areas but I was encouraged with the start of the tour," he said.

Lancashire order new batting helmets

Lancashire cricket director and head coach Ashley Giles has ordered new helmets for his team after the death of Phillip Hughes.

The Australia Test batsman, 25, suffered a fatal blow to the neck during a domestic match in Sydney.

Giles said he wanted the squad to be as well protected as possible.

"They've all got helmets but have they got the up-to-date, the best, which could make the difference? We put in an order," Giles told BBC Radio 5 live.

Cricket Australia said they would conduct their own investigation into player safety after Hughes' death on Thursday.

But England captain Alistair Cook said he believed the sport had "never been safer " and added that bouncers could not be outlawed from the game.

Cricket helmets have evolved since former England captain Mike Brearley's model from the late 1970s

Former England spin bowler and limited overs head coach Giles, who moved to Old Trafford in October after the Red Rose county were relegated to Division Two, said the club had received a wake-up call.

"Regularly, the helmet manufacturers are checking they've got the best technology, it's up to date," he added.

"Masuri completely redesigned their number one helmet in the last 12 to 18 months, which is now the Formula 1 of cricket helmets.

"It gives you a wake-up call, in your own side. Where are we with helmets?

"Some of these things are just a freak. You can't protect against every single thing."

'Weeping' Australia mourns Hughes

The death of Phillip Hughes has left a country weeping and has "changed cricket forever", according to former Australian batsman Michael Slater.

The 25-year-old died on Thursday, two days after being struck in the neck during a domestic match in Australia.

"I think we've all wept in the last day or so," Slater told BBC Radio 5 live.

"I don't think anyone thought the outcome would be Phillip Hughes passing away."

He added: "It is so heavy and confusing. It's not what happens in cricket. In this instance, it has changed cricket forever.

"The whole of Australia is mourning because he was a fighter. He got dropped by Australia but came back out and scored lots of runs. Australians can relate to that. His death has affected a nation."

A floral tribute to Phillip Hughes, left at Lord's cricket ground

Click for further reading:

An analysis of how cricket might change after Hughes's death.

Bowler Abbott 'holding up', says Cricket Australia.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland told a news conference in Sydney on Friday that a decision has not yet been made on whether next week's first Test against India in Brisbane will go ahead.

"Cricket will go on when we're ready, but we've not broached that subject with the players yet," he said.

"We will in time, but they've got other things on their mind.

Friday's Sydney Morning Herald pays tribute to Phillip Hughes

"To many people, seven days does not seem far away, but, in other ways, it is a million miles away. We will get there when we can."

Cricket Australia general manager Pat Howard added: "We need to make sure the players are in a position where they can make strong choices. That is not now. The focus is on people rather than the cricket."

Sutherland added that he had spoken to bowler Sean Abbott, whose delivery caused the fatal injury to Hughes, and said the 22-year-old New South Wales player, was "holding up really well".

Sutherland added: "I was incredibly impressed by the way he was holding himself and his maturity."

Australian Broadcasting Corporation's lead broadcaster, Gerard Whateley, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, describing the death of Hughes as "a numbing shock, which is more akin to when terrorist attacks have occurred around the world".

Whateley added: "You seek comfort first with your family and then more broadly."

Cricket Australia has also released a video tribute to Hughes.

It was put together by cameraman Adam Goldfinch, who has toured extensively with the national side.

Phillip Hughes, batting for South Australia, was hit on the neck by a short-pitched ball on Tuesday. He never regained consciousness.

Australian team doctor Peter Brukner explained Hughes died as a result of"vertebral artery dissection".

His family paid tribute to a "much-loved son and brother".

Emotional Australia captain Michael Clarke stayed with Hughes's family at his bedside for two days.

Australia rugby union team set to wear black armbands against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott described Hughes' death as a "shocking aberration".

Australian media has also been paying tribute to Hughes, with front and back pages dedicated to the life and career of the left-handed batsman, who played 26 Tests for his country.

Cricket fans around the world also marked the passing of Hughes by posting photographs of their own bats on Twitter, complete with the hashtags #putoutyourbats and #putyourbatout.

Paul Taylor, from Sydney, is believed to have come up with the idea.

Cricket fans on Twitter have been posting pictures using #putoutyourbats

Flags at Lord's cricket ground in London, the spiritual home of the sport, were also flown at half-mast.

The death of Hughes has also sparked discussions about player safety.

Sutherland said there would be an "immediate" review of safety protocols, in consultation with manufacturers.

Former Aussie pace bowler and current Yorkshire first team coach Jason Gillespie told BBC Radio 5 live hopes the focus remains on Hughes,

"I don't think this is the time to start talking about laws and safety," he said.

"I think this is a real time to grieve because there's a family who have lost a son, lost a brother and there's a wider cricket community who have lost a team-mate and lost a close friend.

"I'm still in shock, to be honest, and very numb. It's just hard to put into words, to be perfectly honest.

"This has rocked the sport of cricket to the very core."

"A single cricket bat at the entrance to the SCG. The writing on the bat says "63no Forever". #putoutyourbats" - Today Show's Chris Urquhart on Twitter

ABC's Whateley said the death of Hughes at just 25 and the fact that the tragedy had "happened in front of us" made it, in his view, the "worst day I've known in Australia sport".

He added: "We've seen it and lived through it for three days and there was a sense of dread as his team-mates and family made those terrible processions to the hospital.

"The announcement of his death felt like a collective blow for all Australians.

"Virtually every Australian sporting organisation has joined in the condolences.

"From teenagers being drafted into AFL competition, to iconic figures like track cyclist Anna Meares and 100m hurdler Sally Pearson, they have all been struck by this.

"It is the collective endeavour of Australian sport so it touches them all."

Flowers laid next to photograph of Phillip Hughes outside Adelaide Oval. 28 Nov 2014

Flowers and other tributes have been laid outside the Adelaide Oval

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, described the death of Hughes as a "freak accident" and said it would "be the end of Test match cricket" if bouncers were outlawed.

"The aggressive nature of Test match cricket has to carry on," he added.

However, Vaughan said that the sledging that marred the last Ashes series must be "stamped out".

"You want fast bowlers firing down bouncers, intimidating batsman," he said. "That's high level sport.

"But over the last few years cricket has gone beyond respect. I hope this incident will send a message worldwide that you play aggressive, but let's stamp out this verbal abuse."

Cook rejects Pietersen criticism

lastair Cook has rejected Kevin Pietersen's call for him to resign as England one-day captain.

Saturday's eight-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka was England's 15th in their last 22 completed one-dayers against Test-playing nations.

"Dear Alastair, if you care about England's chances this winter, please resign," Pietersen wrote on Twitter.

But Cook said: "People are entitled to their view. That's the nature of the beast when you're on the outside."

The opener added: "People believe what they want to believe. In our dressing-room, we've got to stay strong as a group.

"We're the guys who have the honour of playing for England at this moment in time, and we have guys who have the opportunity to turn it round - not other people outside."

"Alastair's a determined guy. He always wants to do well," said England all-rounder Ravi Bopara, who has made back-to-back half-centuries in the two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.

"He's trying his best to do the country proud, the fans proud, himself, his team-mates, his family. He's a good enough player to turn it around. He's a fighter.

"I've seen him do it before, and I'm sure it'll come round very soon."

Pietersen, who was discarded by England after the Ashes whitewash in Australia, also asked for Cook to stand down in September.

After the defeat that put England 2-0 down in the seven-match series in Sri Lanka, he also called for Alex Hales to take Cook's place at the top of the batting order, using the hashtag "get Hales in".

Cook made only 22 as England were bowled out for 185 in Colombo, taking his 2014 tally in 50-over internationals to 436 runs in 16 matches at an average of 29.

"I think you feel the heat when you're not scoring runs," said the 29-year-old. "If you have two games at the start of a tour, and don't score them, you're naturally going to start feeling that.

Alastair Cook has made only one half-century in his last 18 one-day international innings. The last of his five hundreds came in June 2012.

"I've just got to do what I keep doing, believing in myself, doing my basics right."

Cook took charge of the one-day side in 2011, initially enjoying success by leading England to the top of the world rankings in 2012.

England also reached the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy, where they were beaten by India, but, since then, have managed only seven wins against leading nations.

Cook's side now have nine more games - five in the ongoing series in Sri Lanka and four in a tri-series with Australia and India - before the World Cup begins in February.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes there is still time to make alterations, writing on Twitter: "It's not too late to change. It's not too late to compete, but England won't if they stay the same."

Hughes the 'uncomplicated natural'

Phillip Hughes and friend Michael Clarke leave the field together on a day where Hughes hit his second century of the match against South Africa in 2009

By Jim Maxwell Australian Broadcasting Corporation commentator Phillip Hughes was an uncomplicated country boy, who moved as a youngster to play cricket against the men from the city.

The son of a banana farmer, an upbringing in the coastal town of Macksville involved honing his raw talent on a pitch that had more room on the off side than the leg.

Because of that, he developed a rapier thrust of strokes through the off side that remained throughout his career.

Hughes joined Western Suburbs, the Sydney club of current Australia Test captain Michael Clarke, and cut such a swathe early on that he was called into the New South Wales team for his first-class debut just before his 19th birthday, making 51 in his maiden innings at that level.

That early success gave an insight into the self-belief Hughes possessed, or was perhaps simply a result of the fact that he had come to town to do what he loved: play cricket.

He was uncomplicated, a natural, phlegmatic, laconic, affable and easily engaged. Very early on in his time in Sydney, I asked him to get involved in a charity day with a lot of kids and he didn't hesitate.

It was that simplicity to his character that made Hughes liked by an enormous amount of people. He was easy-going, a lovely, team man.

He did not appear to possess any jealousy or envy, which can be common in professional sport. He held no grudges when he would later be left out of the Australia side, by selectors who perhaps could have shown more tolerance to a few of his errors.

Phillip Hughes: BBC Sport looks back at his career

His international career, which began little more than a year after that first-class debut at the age of 20, was spasmodically brilliant.

The twin hundreds he made in only his second Test made him the youngest batsman to ever achieve that feat, but chinks in his armour were found and he was left out of the side six months later, during the 2009 Ashes in England.

Hughes would never again fully own a spot in the Test team, with his last match, in the 2013 Ashes, coming only one game after he shared what was then a record last-wicket partnership of 163 with Ashton Agar.

Along the way, he became the first Australia batsman to score a century on his one-day international debut, against Sri Lanka in Melbourne in 2013. But, again, a place in the limited-overs side was never guaranteed.

However, it was at the time of his death that Hughes was just returning to the top of his game. With Clarke set to miss the first Test against South Africa, his 63 not out for South Australia against his old New South Wales team was putting him in line for a recall.

Things were looking good when, a few days before his 26th birthday, he missed a hook shot and was hit on a part of the head that was just too vulnerable.

As he was carried from the pitch, Hughes was flanked by David Warner, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin, three men who had been part of his cricketing development, team-mates with New South Wales and Australia and, above all, friends.

Though they were opponents that day, they were brothers in arms. While Hughes was tended to and operated on in Sydney that evening, players from both sides stared into the night, inconsolable.

Before he died, there was a feeling that Hughes was on the verge of not only re-appearing for Australia but doing it in a big way.

Now, there is just huge loss and a sense that such a prodigious talent has been prevented from fulfilling his enormous potential at the highest level.

A young man with so much to offer has been taken in his prime.

Jim Maxwell was talking to BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt

What next for cricket after Hughes?

The cricketing world has been united in grief and shock at the death of Australia batsman Phillip Hughes.

The 25-year-old died on Thursday as a result of the injuries sustained when he was struck by a ball while batting for South Australia against New South Wales.

For a while, the sport stopped, not only to pay tribute to the talented left-hander, but also to consider if more could have been done to prevent the freakishly unusual set of circumstances that took his life.

Here, BBC Sport looks at how cricket might change in the aftermath of Hughes's death.

Click here for further reading:

Tributes to Phillip Hughes the 'uncomplicated natural'

Cricket Australia to hold an investigation over player safety

Almost immediately.

The second day of the third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand was postponed on Thursday, but that match will resume on Friday. England are set to play the second one-day international of their tour of Sri Lanka on Saturday.

But, naturally, it is in Australia where some sense of cricketing normality will be hardest to restore.

Captain Michael Clarke reads a statement on behalf of Hughes family

The Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales was abandoned when Hughes sustained his injury, with the other two games in that round of fixtures following suit on Tuesday.

The tour match between a Cricket Australia XI and India has been cancelled, along with the weekend's Sydney club programme.

Currently, there is no mention of the first Test between Australia and India, which begins on 4 December, being cancelled, but participating in that match would be a tremendous ask for some of the Australian players who were close to Hughes.

David Warner, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin and Nathan Lyon were all on the pitch when Hughes was struck, while captain Michael Clarke read a statement from the Hughes family at a Cricket Australia media conference.

"It will be interesting to see if any players, or even a collective, say it is too soon to play," said Australian Broadcasting Corporation cricket commentator Jim Maxwell.

For all the discussion of changes to the laws that govern short-pitched bowling and improvements in safety equipment, nothing, on the outside at least, will be altered in the short-term.

However, there is no telling how this could affect the mindset of cricketers of all abilities.

Those within the sport have been unequivocal in their support for Sean Abbott, the bowler who delivered the bouncer that hit Hughes.

Abbott was only doing what pace bowlers have done for as long as the game has been played - using the short ball as a legitimate tactic and method of taking a wicket. He is desperately unfortunate that this particular short delivery had such tragic consequences.

Now that the bouncer - used to intimidate for so long - has caused a fatality, might fast bowlers think twice before targeting the head of an opposing batsman?

"I've hit people before, obviously not with those terminal circumstances," said former Middlesex pace bowler and BBC cricket analyst Simon Hughes.

"It's a terrible feeling when you injure anyone in sport, even though you are trying to intimidate them."

Matthew Hoggard, who took 248 Test wickets for England, added: "As a bowler, you will think twice. What happens if it's me who delivers that ball?"

For all the talk of the bouncer being used to intimidate, Hughes - who was 63 not out when he received the fatal blow - was actually on the attack, playing a hook stroke that had brought him so many runs in the past.

Hughes was wearing a helmet, a relatively new addition to cricket having only become commonplace over the last 30 years. Arguably, they have made batsmen less likely to be wary of short bowling and, as a result, perhaps more likely to be hit.

The Analyst Simon Hughes on cricket safety

"Helmets have unfortunately taken away a lot of that fear and have given every batsman a false sense of security," wrote former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott.

"They feel safe and people will now attempt to either pull or hook almost every short ball that is bowled at them."

Now, though, with what has happened to Hughes fresh in the mind, batsmen may be more wary of the short ball, less likely to attack with pulls and hooks, more likely to duck or weave out of harm's way.

"Phil Hughes's injuries will send shivers through cricket," wrote former England captain Michael Vaughan. "Batsmen will now feel that while they are out in the middle they are in a world that is full of danger with the risk of serious injury."

Hughes was struck at the base of the neck in an area not covered by his helmet. That he received a blow in this region is, again, highly unusual.

Hughes was swivelling to play the hook, was on the ball too early and, by the time it reached him, he had turned to expose the back of his head - a part of the body rarely at risk of being hit. The impact at the base of the skull split one of the major arteries and caused massive bleeding.

Cricket helmets have evolved since former England captain Mike Brearley's model from the late 1970s

Former International Cricket Council president Jagmohan Dalmiya has called on the game's current administrators to work on upgrading the safety of helmets, which were only recently standardised.

However, Chris Taylor, a former England Under-19 international who now works as a cricket retailer, says it is impossible for a helmet to provide complete protection.

"Once the helmet starts trying to cover the neck as well, it's going to restrict your movement as a batsman," he said.

"You need to be able to move quickly so if it's restricting your head and your neck, we could get to the stage where you just wear full body armour because at the end of the day you can get a blow on your chest that can cause you serious problems."

Antonio Belli, professor of trauma neurosurgery at Birmingham University, also accepts that there may never be a helmet that offers complete protection and points out that cricket remains a relatively safe sport.

"We should design helmets as strong as technology allows," he said.

"But we need to accept that in cricket and other sports that involve hard objects or bodily contact there will always be freak accidents.

"For the number of hours played in cricket, it's actually considered a safe sport in terms of concussion."

For someone outside the sport, it may seem ridiculous that a legitimate part of cricket is the hurling of a piece of leather towards the head of an opponent at speeds of up to, and sometimes over, 90mph.

However, short-pitched bowling has long been a prominent and thrilling part of the game, from the infamous Bodyline Ashes series of 1932-33 to Mitchell Johnson's performances against England last winter, via batsmen facing the great West Indies pace attacks of the 1980s with nothing more than courage and a cap for protection.

Laws to protect batsmen do exist. Sustained intimidatory bowling is policed by umpires, while no form of the game allows more than two bouncers per over to be bowled.

And, despite the tragic consequences of the delivery that struck Hughes, there seems to be no desire within cricket to ban the bouncer.

"We need to remember that is the first death we've seen," said Hoggard. "Yes, the death of a player is very tragic, but, to change the laws and the way that we play - I don't think Phil would have wanted that."

Toast to bouliebeer for TPL win

This Sunday brought the fourth week of season seven of the Twitter Poker League, 595 players turned out for the game and five hours later, "bouliebeer" won, and took home $111.99. Last week's third place finisher "BunoCST" returned to take on the challenge of being a bounty player this week, and "Lindowsweet1" extended his season lead.

Every week the top four finishers are made a bounty prize player for the following week, usually 300FPP but as "BrunoCST" was the only one of the four to return this week, I upped the bounty reward to 500FPP. "Mr.JimBim" came so close to eliminating him, when he got his K?K? in vs. the bounty's J?J? (below) - but unfortunately for him he didn't quite have him covered, by a mere 73 chips.

He was taken out the following hand (above) when he was virtually forced all in with T?2? a.k.a. the Brunson. He was drawing dead on the turn and "naampje" somewhat effortlessly picked up the 500FPP prize. Shortly after that we took the first break, just under an hour into the game, 268 players remained and were all aiming to make at least the top 90 players, and the money.

By the time the second break rolled around there were just 103 players left, and it wasn't long before we were in the money. Each of the 90 players were guaranteed at least $1.54 and had picked up a minimum of 5 points for the leaderboard. Once in the money most, if not all players will have been focused on building a chipstack and heading for that elusive final table.

When we eventually got there, "bouliebeer" had a slight lead over "abarcot", with 190k and 175k respectively. We kicked off with a big hand, a cooler and a double elimination. "lkkr hoor" raised, "PVG501" flatted with K?K? in the cut-off, "Mgielka5" called from the small bling with A?T? and chip leader "bouliebeer" had a great price to close the preflop action with 6?5?. The flop brought everyone a piece T?5?5?, "Mgielka5" jammed with top pair top kicker, "bouliebeer" flatted with his set and then "PVG501" moved in with Kings up. "Bouliebeer" held and took down a monster pot, when the turn 7? and river J? came. Play was now seven handed and players took another short break.

"GryffinCA" was this week's 7th place finisher, later revealed to be @EdensaysHi on twitter, they took part in a three way all-in between the button, small blind and the big blind. The button held T?T?, "GryffinCA" held A?8? in the small blind and the big blind held K?Q?. When the board ran out 3?3?7? Q? 6? "abarcot" scooped the majority of the pot, and "Calin0410" who was on the button with Tens was crippled. He bust a few hands later when he ran A?T? into the T?T? of "lkkr hoor". While he picked up more outs by the turn Q?8?4? 8? the river didn't bring the Ace nor the flush, and he left in 6th place for $25.28.

Five-handed play was brought to an end by a very unlucky or lucky hand - depending on who you were in the hand. Action was folded around to the blinds, and after a small raising war, "sanzhuk" got his 8?8? in pre-flop vs. "bouliebeer" who held 5?5?. The flop J?A?5? brought a set for the chip leader , and with no ei8ht on the turn Q? and river 4? "sanzhuk" left in 5th place. Four-handed play lasted a fair while before "abarcot" and "tatasegio" got it all-in blind on blind with A?3? and K?2? respectively. The better hand won, and "tatasegio" who was the shorter of the two left in 4th place - Taking $44.62 with him for his efforts.

Play continued for a short while three-handed, then "lkkr hoor" got involved in a pot with J?8? vs, "bouliebeer" who held a slightly better Jack J?T?. The flop J?3?2? brought both players top pair, and naturally all the money went in, the turn 2? and river T? brought no hope for "lkkr hoor" and he finished in third place. Heads up play was a lengthy ordeal, with both players taking a rare 5th break, but it was all over when "bouliebeer"'s T?T? held vs. "abercot"'s A?J? all in pre-flop.

Congratulations to all players who cashed, made the final table and of course to "bouliebeer" who took the win. While they may have missed out a little, and come 3rd overall "lkkr hoor" was lucky enough to make a straight flush on the final table! More than that, he was paid off when he made it, a rare occurrence and always fun to watch.

InulPoker Sitting

Instruction

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Sunday, November 30, 2014

County ins & outs

Fans pay Twitter tributes to Hughes

Australia united in grief after Hughes death

Fourth fastest Test 200 for McCullum

Yorkshire start defence at New Road

NZ beat Pakistan to share series

Why a death in sport hits us so hard

Australia retire Hughes's ODI shirt

Cricket has never been safer - Cook

Lancashire order new batting helmets

'Weeping' Australia mourns Hughes

Cook rejects Pietersen criticism

Hughes the 'uncomplicated natural'

What next for cricket after Hughes?

Toast to bouliebeer for TPL win

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