Category Uncategorized

Bangladesh captain gutted as crucial no-balls cost team a berth in Super 4s

Mohammad Isam01-Sep-2022Among Bangladesh’s several errors, Shakib Al Hasan rued Mahedi Hasan’s no-balls the most in their two-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka that knocked them out of the Asia Cup.Mahedi’s first no-ball allowed Kusal Mendis, who was reprieved on four occasions, to bat beyond the seventh over. Kusal, who opened the innings, top scored with a 37-ball 60 to lay the foundation for Sri Lanka’s chase of 184.Related

• Report: Mendis, Shanaka and Asitha put Sri Lanka in Super 4s

• Luck Index – How giving four lives to Mendis cost Bangladesh

• Fernando: SL merely lucky, or back to punching above weight?

His second no-ball came in the last over when Sri Lanka needed three runs off four deliveries. In a somewhat tragicomical turn of events, as soon as Asitha Fernando and Maheesh Theekshana ran two, they heard the buzzer that pointed to Mahedi’s no-ball. Soon enough, the giant screens flashed the replay and Bangladesh knew their fate had been sealed. This incident was particularly disappointing for Shakib as he reflected on the team’s performance under pressure, and their early exit from the competition.”No captain wants no-balls from their team,” Shakib said. “It is a big crime when a spinner bowls a no-ball. We bowled a lot of wides and no-balls today. We were not disciplined. We didn’t know what to do when we were under pressure. We knew Kusal (Mendis) plays spin really well, so if we could get him early, it would have set platform for our spinners to come into the game.”But till he was there, it was hard for our spinners to bowl. He was dropped on two, and then when he was out, it was a no-ball. The spinner bowling a no-ball is a big no-no. Our spinners usually don’t bowl no-balls, but today it was proven that we break down under pressure. We are losing in crunch moments. If we won 50% of the close matches, we would have a better record in this format.”What also hurt Bangladesh was T20I debutant Ebadot Hossain’s inconsistency in his final two overs, which went for 38. The penultimate over of the chase, especially, turned the tide Sri Lanka’s way as he conceded 17, including a no-ball and a wide. This undid all his earlier good work; at the end of his first two overs, he had unreal figures of 3 for 13.Ebadot Hossain had mixed returns on T20I debut•Getty Images

“Ebadot has never played a pressure game like this,” Shakib said. “He has a lot to understand. He brought us into the game after his first two overs. We thought it was going to be his day. You expect a bowler to have good rhythm and be positive when he has taken three wickets in his first two overs. It wasn’t to be. He can learn a lot from this game.”Our plan was to get their batsmen out. That’s exactly what we did. They needed 25 or 26 [25] in the last two overs. Eight [seven] wickets down, you back your main bowlers to defend those runs against their tail.”Looking ahead to the T20 World Cup, Shakib underlined the importance of having to identify the best fast bowlers. “This was an eye-opener to see how we bowl in pressure situations,” he said. “You can expect good 10-12 overs of fast bowling on this type of pitch. Only those who can deliver will be in the team.”It is simple math. We looked at four fast bowlers here, and we will look at more in the tri-series in New Zealand so that we have a clearer idea who can do well in Australia.”Shakib also spoke of the few positives from the tournament. Like how the move to bump up Mehidy Hasan Miraz to open the innings, in his first T20I in nearly four years, worked.Mehidy responded with a 26-ball 38, hitting two fours and as many sixes. Shakib said this was something they had contemplated against Afghanistan too, before going with regulars Mohammad Naim and Anamul Haque.”He has done well in our domestic tournaments, so we had faith in him,” Shakib said of Mehidy’s promotion. “Even in the first game, he was in the mix to bat in the top order. He didn’t play the first game. He showed his character today. He wasn’t nervous. He was playing after [more than] three years, so it wasn’t easy for him. You have to give him a lot of credit, the way he handled the pressure in the first six overs.”Shakib also asked for a bit of patience from everyone as his team tries to work out plans going into the T20 World Cup. For starters, he said, he was encouraged by the team’s attitude and body language.”I have returned to T20I captaincy with these two matches. We have a lot in mind when we make a new beginning. Our planning started with the game against Afghanistan, so there will be right and wrong.”We have a plan in place. We want to reach a goal slowly. But if you notice our attitude and body language in these two games, despite the poor approach in batting in the first game, I think we have improved from our last three or four series.”

Dan Lawrence resists with 76 but Essex lead by just 45 going into day three

Andrew Miller16-Apr-2021After 12 matches and almost three years, the Fortress is on the brink of being conquered. Two half-formed comebacks in consecutive days, this time with their newest golden boy Dan Lawrence to the fore, cannot distract from the sort of frailties that have not been seen in Essex’s cricket for several seasons – ones that have left Durham on the brink of a seismic victory in the champions’ backyard.By the close of the second day, Essex had eked out a lead of 45 with four wickets still to come – and they will be able to look to Durham’s own close-of-play position on day one to know that, on this misleadingly placid deck, there could and should be plenty of resistance still to come. But with Scott Borthwick capping a superb captain’s performance with two late wickets, and the extra pace of Brydon Carse prising out the two vital wickets of Lawrence and Tom Westley, Durham showed the same hunger in the field that their lower-order had displayed with the bat. It’ll take something truly remarkable for this position to now slip from their fingers.The early signs that Durham were not for buckling came as play resumed in the brightest, most summery conditions of the match. After picking up four wickets for as many runs in the previous evening’s gloom to reduce their visitors to 148 for 8, Essex no doubt fancied their prospects of making hay in their second innings as soon as their opportunity came – whatever the deficit, they surely couldn’t make as many errors as they produced on the first morning of the contest.But they were never given a sniff of an early re-insertion, as Stuart Poynter and Matt Salisbury knuckled down for a ninth-wicket stand of 94 that grew in stature as the morning progressed. Essex opened with their likeliest partnership of Sam Cook and Simon Harmer, but they were each defied with ease, with Cook leaking a pair of soft-handed boundaries through third man that confirmed the pitch’s lack of menace now that the clouds had rolled away.And Essex’s frustration grew as steadily as the confidence of the two batsmen, and the size of the lead. Salisbury defied a previous first-class best of 37 by climbing onto the front foot to club Harmer down the ground for four – a shot that was wildly acclaimed on the Durham balcony – before Poynter rocked back to greet Jamie Porter’s first ball with a hard-handed crack through point. And even when Harmer exacted his revenge against Salisbury, inducing a lob to short leg for 42, Chris Rushworth strode out at No. 11 with every bit as much intent to loiter.Lawrence by this stage was on to partner Harmer in a twin-spin attack, but Rushworth responded with a volley of three sublime boundaries – including an inside-out drive through the covers to take the lead past 150. Sam Cook had to be recalled to restore order, inducing a third-ball nick to slip that brought an early lunch, but with a lead of 163 secured, and Poynter unbeaten on 52, the session had delivered riches far beyond anything that Durham could have wished for.The stage was set, therefore, for the champions to show their mettle, but sadly for Nick Browne, he never looked like being the man to deliver. He escaped his pair by the skin of his teeth, with an uncomfortable leading edge through the covers after edging short of slip, but two balls later, he climbed into a dreadful drive to an inducker from Rushworth, and lost his middle stump as he knelt through his stroke in resignation.Related

• Ian Holland, Sam Northeast tons set Middlesex a mammoth target

• Bracey century brings Gloucestershire in reach of Somerset

• Pope, Foakes blossom into form as Leics hit by Surrey fightback

• Mohammad Abbas hat-trick and six-for leaves Middlesex feeling abashed

At the other end, there was Alastair Cook – and whoever dares to write off English cricket’s most decorated nugget? But for the fourth innings in a row, he produced a curious blend of mindsets – with a brace of pinged cover-drives hinting at a fluency that he never quite showed in any other facet of his game. He’d ground along to 12 in the best part of an hour, before flicking uppishly to a leg-stump half-volley from Salisbury, and Jack Burnham at midwicket swallowed the offering with glee.From 19 for 2, Essex needed their two in-form batsmen to show their mettle, and for the next 34 overs they did just that. Westley, a double-centurion in the season opener against Worcestershire, was joined by Lawrence – whose first-innings 32 had been bettered only by the rampant Borthwick on that manic first day. And between them they chipped away at Durham’s lead in a stand of 103 that ought to have given their side the platform for a genuine fightback.Arguably, Essex’s first-innings agenda had been set by Westley’s flighty drive, and he had to overcame a few more anxious moments early on, as Salisbury in particular challenged his outside edge. But Lawrence, at the start of a summer in which most of his fellow Test batsmen are either injured, or at the IPL, or out of form, or all three, slipped effortlessly into the higher gear that showed he’s not about to shy away from the hard yakka now that he’s broken into the England set-up.After getting off the mark with a deflection through third man, he found the extra pace of Carse particularly to his liking as he rifled a pair of cuts through backward square, before showing off his wristy timing with a sublime pick-up off the toes from Ben Raine. And as he crashed Salisbury through the covers to bring up his first half-century of the season, the confidence being projected by Lawrence was palpable. So long as was on hand to set the terms for Durham’s fourth-innings target, there was no reason for Essex to believe that the game was out of reach.But then came the fatal lapses that have undermined Essex’s performances all match long. On 38, Westley lost his shape as Carse induced a gruesome back-foot waft to first slip, and though Lawrence kept cracking on in the same forthright manner, Carse would have his number too four overs later. Another back-of-a-length delivery lured a flat, hard pull through midwicket – but Lawrence connected almost too well with the stroke. It fizzed to Will Young at deep midwicket, who made a crucial chance look simple.Now Essex were truly rudderless, as Paul Walter and Ryan ten Doeschate clawed their way towards a lead with a series of imposing, but rattled boundaries. On 16, ten Doeschate attempted to biff a half-volley from Borthwick back down the ground, but managed only to scuff it in the air for the bowler to cling onto a blinder, diving across the crease. And the captain put his personal seal on the day two overs later, as Adam Wheater was done in by a ripping legbreak outside off, edging through to Poynter for 6.At least Walter was still there at the close, one away from a gutsy half-century, and Harmer’s presence for day three will be a very visceral reminder of what could yet happen if Essex are allowed to build a defendable lead. You can be sure that he’ll defend every run with personal gusto. But the drawbridge has been lowered and hordes from the North are closing in. You can’t imagine many prisoners will be taken in the final reckoning.

Neil Wagner removed Steven Smith again but Australia were miles ahead in the game

Report by Andrew McGlashan28-Dec-2019
Pat Cummins put further daylight between him and next-most prolific bowlers of 2019 with another display of supreme pace bowling as he claimed 5 for 28 to help dismantle New Zealand on the third day at the MCG. James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc shared the other five as Australia took a huge 319-run before opting to extend that rather than enforce the follow-onCummins was on a hat-trick at the start of his second over of the day when he removed Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls and Pattinson’s first blow left New Zealand 5 for 58 with the only question being how huge the deficit would be. In the end they were bundled out for 148, the first time they had been dismissed for under 200 since 2012*. Only Tom Latham, who faced 144 balls, passed 20 with a half-century of significant guts and determination but the rest of the New Zealand batting could not withstand the pace and consistency on display as their hopes of at least keeping series into Sydney all but vanished. To compound their woes, Trent Boult was ruled out of the final Test after suffered a fractured hand when hit by Starc while batting.The rest of the day was a curious display from Australia who steadily increased their lead without showing much intent. There was a moment of huge personal satisfaction for Neil Wagner who claimed his 200th Test wicket – the second-fastest New Zealander to the mark behind Richard Hadlee – by removing Steven Smith for the fourth time in four innings when Smith helped a short ball off his hip to backward square leg. It will not make a difference to the result, but it’s a tale Wagner will be able to tell for years to come.New Zealand’s ambitions at the start of the day rested on Latham and Taylor but that lasted just 12 balls as technique and ticker was tested with every delivery. The first ball of Cummins’ second over drew Taylor into a flat-footed drive with the thick edge flying quickly to Marnus Labuschagne at third slip where it was parried into the air and settled comfortably for Joe Burns at first. Next ball, Cummins came around the wicket to Nicholls and pinned the left-hander lbw with the review from Nicholls showing it would have hit the top of leg stump.With the roar of the MCG crowd behind him, Cummins ran in for his hat-trick ball but BJ Watling was able to keep it out. However, having managed to get onto the front foot a couple of times, Watling was not able to survive much longer when Pattinson, who was equally impressive on home soil, produced a beauty that bounced from short of a length and took the shoulder of the bat to first slip.The bleeding was momentarily stopped by Latham and Colin de Grandhomme – helped by a surprising over for Matthew Wade which cost 13, four more than Cummins conceded in his initial five-over spell – as Latham continued to show great composure in the face of the onslaught. de Grandhomme was less convincing and it was not a huge surprise when he fended an edge to gully off Starc.Two balls later Starc, and the rest of the Australians, became convinced they had another when Mitchell Santner fended a bouncer to leg gully. It was given not out on the field by Marais Erasmus and Tim Paine reviewed. As more replays came through the Australians become more sure, and with good reason, that it had brushed the wrist band before coming off the arm guard but eventually third umpire Aleem Dar said there wasn’t conclusive evidence to overturn. Paine was far from impressed and had a lengthy discussion with Erasmus.It did not have much of a material impact on the proceedings as Santner managed 3 off 32 balls as he was peppered by the short ball, a working over which ended when he edged a full delivery from Pattinson. By then Cummins had halted Latham’s dogged display when the opener’s concentration lapsed for a moment, chasing a ball with some width, and he completed his five wicket haul when Tim Southee provided Paine with his fifth catch.There was some merriment in the final-wicket stand as Wagner stood up to the short ball and Boult showed various techniques not in the coaching manual, but there was a heavy price to pay for Boult before he was bowled by a Starc yorker.After just 55 overs, New Zealand’s seamers were asked to strap on the bowling boots again. Australia were not too fussed about pressing the accelerator which led to soporific period either side of tea although whenever Wagner had the ball it was good viewing. David Warner tried to get a move on but slapped a short ball from Wagner to cover, Labuschagne was run out from short fine leg and, after briefly opening his shoulders with crisp straight six off Southee, Burns edged behind off Santner.Wagner was immediately brought back to bowl at Smith and all it took was four balls. Admittedly Smith had indicated that he was looking to press on, but there was a look of anguish and disappointment when he found the fielder. Teams around the world will have taken note, but whether they can pull it off as effectively as Wagner remains to be seen. That head-to-head battle has gone New Zealand’s way, but the team one is emphatically with Australia.*December 29: The statistic about consecutive innings under 200 was corrected

Two players hoping to be wear the baggygreen next week were in the runs while Joe Burns provided a reminder of why he shouldn’t be forgotten

Alex Malcolm28-Nov-2018Queensland opener Joe Burns sent a reminder of his class to the national selectors with a well-made 96 to help Queensland into a strong position against Victoria at the Gabba.Burns’ innings, along with 47 from Marnus Labuschagne, helped set up a 104-run first innings lead for the Bulls. The lead may have been more without a superb spell from Peter Siddle, who picked up four wickets.High-quality half-centuries from Test squad members Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb saw Victoria claw back infront but late wickets ensured the stumps lead was only 50 with five wickets in hand and two full days to play.Burns looked set for a century early in the day after adding 25 to his overnight total before Scott Boland squared him up with an excellent delivery to get him caught at second slip.Siddle then ripped the heart of the Bulls’ middle order attacking the stumps relentlessly to remove Charlie Hemphrey, Jack Wildermuth and Jimmy Peirson in quick succession.Labuschagne was patient for his 47 but ran out of partners, eventually holing out at deep fine leg attempting to hook Boland who picked up three wickets of his own.Travis Dean then become the first Victorian opener in 13 years to bag a pair when he was given out lbw to Michael Neser from the first ball of the second innings. Seven balls later Victoria were in enormous trouble when Aaron Finch was also adjudged lbw to Luke Feldman. The ball nipped back and hit the top of the pads as Finch was up on his toes but the umpire believed it would have hit the top of the stumps, much to Finch’s displeasure.Harris and Handscomb proved why they are in the frame for the Adelaide Test with a fluent 104-run stand. Harris struck 10 fours in his 62 before he missed a ball slanting in from around the wicket from Mark Steketee. Handscomb reached his second fifty in the match before he fell to Neser, edging to slip trying to defend a good delivery on a fourth stump line.Glenn Maxwell made it to 29 at stumps but lost Seb Gotch in the last over in fading light. Labuschagne’s part-time legspin did the trick for skipper Usman Khawaja to leave Victoria with an uphill battle to set a defendable fourth innings total.

Worcestershire closed in on the points they need to secure promotion thanks to half-centuries from R Ashwin and Ed Barnard

Paul Edwards at New Road26-Sep-20171:46

County Championship round-up: Hampshire slip towards drop

The winds blew southerly and they blew soft on the second day of this game. They conferred a warm blessing on the cricketers as if healing them after a Monday filched from November when a heavy sky had lain over the ground like a grimy cloth and the talk had been of sad departures. The breezes allowed Worcestershire’s cricketers to collect four of the six bonus points they need to confirm promotion and they also allowed Durham’s players to show a little of the resilience which has always characterised their cricket, even in dark times. Perhaps the latter was the more important demonstration, although you could have found few people in the Basil D’Oliveira Stand ready to agree.Worcestershire need only mind their own business this week. Six points will be enough to secure a place at English cricket’s top table. Events at Grace Road may reduce that requirement but neither that game nor any other need concern Joe Leach or his players. Sometimes the simplest truths are also the most reassuring and so the large and rather boisterous crowd at New Road cheered each bonus point and applauded extravagantly as landmarks were passed or wickets taken. By the close Durham were still 193 runs in arrears and have only five wickets to spend. One imagines not only Worcestershire’s promotion but also their title will be confirmed very soon, although Paul Collingwood may have something to say about that.Three Worcestershire batsmen made fifties albeit that Joe Clarke had added only 19 runs to his overnight 46 when Graham Onions lured him cannily into the drive and Collingwood took the catch. Clarke had done his best work on a drear first afternoon when his eight boundaries had offered a riposte to the day.The rest of Worcestershire’s innings was dominated by contrasting half-centuries by R Ashwin and Ed Barnard. Ashwin batted with classical simplicity, reaching forward to drive the ball through the covers or to leg glance it to the New Road stand. His only inelegance was fashioned by modernity when he reverse-swept Ryan Pringle. Ashwin is already a popular figure at New Road, a development caused as much by his availability to the general public as his skill with a cricket ball. For his part Ashwin enjoys being a county cricketer; he can walk into Worcester and buy a coffee without being mobbed or needing bodyguards.Ashwin made 82 and seemed likely to pick up his seventh first-class century when he was leg before on the front foot to Liam Trevaskis, thus becoming the slow left-armer’s maiden wicket in the first-class game. One hopes Trevaskis will dine out on his success. By then, though, Ashwin had steered Worcestershire to their second bonus point and had added 86 for the seventh wicket with Barnard, who had brought up the 200 with a sweep to square leg off Trevaskis.That shot was typical of Barnard, who later hoisted Trevaskis into the pavilion and smacked Pringle for two sixes in one over when Worcestershire were nine down. The first of these smashed the front door of Foley’s café, which lies within the precincts of the ground and caused the establishment’s closure on health and safety grounds. Some of the regulars at New Road were ready to make the case that their own health was not assisted by the decision. Cakes and ale are a serious business in these parts.Graham Onions claimed a four-wicket haul•Getty Images

Barnard was last out when swinging wildly at Mark Wood but the most successful Durham bowler was Onions who added Leach and Josh Tongue to his bag with the second new ball. Onions finished with 4 for 68 from 22 overs, the sort of figures he has been returning for 14 summers at the Riverside. The elegiac tone already present at this ground was thus deepened by personal dimensions. Would Onions bowl for Durham again? Not if they lose by an innings.Certainly Keaton Jennings will play only one more innings for the county. The opener’s move to Lancashire was confirmed on Tuesday and one hopes he plays some more distinguished shots in his second innings than he managed in his first attempt. A couple of streaky fours were followed by an ugly cut at Tongue and an edge to Ben Cox. Tongue made a second breakthrough six overs later when he beat Jack Burnham for pace and then whistled one past the batsman’s chest before bowling him with the last ball of the over. Thus do chess players remove their opponent’s pieces for fun before executing checkmate.Durham’s fortunes declined further when Leach removed Cameron Steel but Collingwood, as if embodying defiance, added 76 with Graham Clark before being bowled for 27 when making room to cut Ashwin. And yes, the spinner’s variations of pace and spin adorned a long but rich evening session when the shadow of the pavilion lengthened over the ground and one was reminded how much one will miss this stuff.Then, as if to offer slapstick in the midst of soliloquy, George Rhodes bowled two quite execrable overs of offspin and was butchered for 36 runs by Clark, who scampered to his fifty in the embers of evening, hitting five fours and three sixes. But the epilogue to the day still belonged to Worcester and to their captain, Leach, who caught and bowled Clark off a leading edge for 60. Home joy was increased when news came in of Northants’ late loss of wickets at Grace Road. Perhaps Worcestershire’s promotion will be confirmed elsewhere after all. Perhaps it little matters now. The cricket had been enthralling; the game had reclaimed itself from its sadder tendencies.

Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh left-arm paceman, is facing shoulder surgery early next month which could sideline him for six months

Mohammad Isam30-Jul-2016Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh left-arm paceman, is facing shoulder surgery early next month which could sideline him for six months. The BCB are currently mulling whether to have the operation in England or Australia, and BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said that a decision on a surgeon will be made by Monday, but that Mustafizur was mentally prepared for the operation.Mustafizur is currently in England having linked up with Sussex after extended delays but his stint came to end last week after two matches when he suffered the shoulder injury. He has seen a specialist in the UK, who recommended that the SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tear – which involves the ring of cartilage that surrounds the socket of the shoulder joint – could be treated through a surgery, which may rule him out for up to six months. Such a lay-off would rule him out of England’s visit in October and the tour to New Zealand at the end of the year.”In the last few days we have sent his reports to a number of places,” Yunus said. “We want him to be operated under the best surgeons. We have found two specialists in the UK and one in Australia. By Monday we can decide who will operate on Mustafizur’s shoulder. He is mentally prepared for the operation.”This sort of injury usually is treated conservatively but we are not going that way with Mustafizur because the doctors have said that it might recur in the future.”Yunus said that Mustafizur has been BCB’s priority and has always been withdrawn from the game at the onset of any injury. The first such occurance was during the Zimbabwe series in January this year when he was down with an injured shoulder. He also missed much of the Asia Cup and World T20 through a side strain while hamstring and ankle injuries delayed his Sussex stint.”We are taking the best care of Mustafizur. We have always withdrawn him from matches whenever he has complained of any physical problem,” Yunus said. “We haven’t seen him in Test matches that much. He has focused mostly in the shorter versions.”We didn’t send him to the PSL because he had injury. He had offers from the CPL. So that he is not overstressed, we are not letting him play when he has a problem.”

ICC chairman N Srinivasan believes there will be great difficulty setting up and sustaining rebel cricket leagues despite the amount of money they might offer players

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-20151:58

Brettig: Warner’s Essel Group warning must not be ignored

ICC chairman N Srinivasan believes there will be great difficulty in setting up and sustaining rebel cricket leagues despite the amount of money they might offer players.His statement comes on the back of the Essel Group, who were behind the Indian Cricket League in 2007, outlining the possibility of another rebel tournament in May. Reports said they had approached players like David Warner and Australia captain Michael Clarke with hefty contracts.But Srinivasan said the current system is prevalent in too many places and has existed for too long to be shaken.”Any attempt to form such a rebel league is not easy to succeed,” he told the . “Cricket as we know has been established over a long period of time in various countries. It is based on domestic structures that have been put in place for centuries as in the case of England and Australia, and 80 to 90 years in India.””Just because ICC events are popular and receive broadcasting rights, it doesn’t mean it can be duplicated overnight. The assumption that a substantial chunk of players will go away and be part of a league that will sustain itself over time … it is hard to see that happening.”The seriousness of the issue though cannot be brushed aside: “This is a company that’s coming in and trying to take over world cricket,” Warner had said, offering a player’s perspective. “At the end of the day if this company comes in and wipes out who you play for and you want to play cricket, what happens there? Who pays you? That’s the thing.”With the threat of a possible takeover of world cricket, the ICC had appointed a committee comprising Srinivasan, Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards and ICC finance and commercial chairman Giles Clarke to investigate the matter.The same men had been at the forefront of a shake-up themselves when the Big Three position paper was pushed through at the ICC, giving CA, the ECB and BCCI greater decision-making powers. That had been met with a good deal of critique as well, but Srinivasan maintained his defence, listing an increase in financial benefits and a shot at Test cricket for Associate countries.”The criticism is unfair. One looks at the financial model, the distribution is fair as far as the BCCI is concerned. They used to get a far lower share than what the region contributed. During this cycle, all Full Members will get more than in the previous cycle. Associates and Affiliates will get more, the glass ceiling is broken. The top associate will get an opportunity to play Test cricket. And there will be more opportunity for them to participate in ICC World Cup and Twenty20 events.”Another point of contention that has followed Srinivasan and the BCCI has been their stance on DRS. Srinivasan, although no longer BCCI president, was happy with the continued opposition to it.”When I was president, BCCI, for several valid reasons, did not agree to the use of DRS. The system includes ball-tracking technology as well as hot spot, snicko, etc. I am glad that the present BCCI management is doing the same.”

A round-up of the first day’s action of Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Yo Mahesh scored his top first-class score: 81•K Sivaraman

Haryana’s batsmen continued their horror run in the Ranji Trophy: two weeks after being shot out for 55 by Vidarbha, they crumbled to 66 all out against Odisha in Lahli. Astonishingly, they did put up a decent batting performance in between these two massive failures, posting 334 against England in a tour match.Odisha coming off a washout against Tamil Nadu and a resounding defeat against Delhi, had just the day they needed to start getting their campaign back on track. Basant Mohanty, their senior quick bowler, did much of the damage, finishing with five wickets as only two Haryana batsmen managed to make it to double digits – Abhimanyu Khod (12) and Rahul Dalal (21).Odisha capitalised on the advantage provided by their bowlers, reaching 177 for 6 with the help of 40s by their captain Natraj Behera and Biplab Samantray. Quick bowler Mohit Sharma turned in his best first-class figures of 4 for 37 to make sure Odisha didn’t completely run away with the game.
Scorecard
Tamil Nadu’s formidable top five faltered badly against Maharashtra in Chennai, but the home side were rescued by a trio of half-centuries from the lower-order. Less than a week after a high-scoring draw against Karnataka at the same venue, Tamil Nadu lost M Vijay and S Badrinath for ducks, and their other two big-name players – Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik – also couldn’t make much of a contribution.Baba Aparajith, one of the heroes of India’s Under-19 World Cup win, also fell cheaply, leaving Tamil Nadu at 87 for 5 in the first session. Fast bowler Shrikant Mundhe did the early damage, striking in each of his first three overs.Maharashtra who had had to wait 118 overs to get five wickets in their previous Ranji match, had as many wickets within 31 overs this time. If they were thinking of rolling over Tamil Nadu early, they were thwarted by a 110-run sixth-wicket stand between R Prasanna and Yo Mahesh, who went on to his highest first-class score. No. 8 Malolan Rangarajan then lifted Tamil Nadu towards 250 with his maiden first-class half-century.
Scorecard
Karnataka’s bowling had as many as three debutants but they didn’t fade against a strong Uttar Pradesh batting line-up that was fresh off making 669 for 7 against Maharashtra, and beating a full-strength Delhi outfit in the first round. Fast bowler HS Sharath had the best day of the trio, running through the middle order to finish with 5 for 60, to ensure Karnataka didn’t miss the services of the injured Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun.That UP didn’t have too bad a day despite the failure of Suresh Raina was thanks to the experienced Mohammad Kaif, who gritted it out for a patient century even as the rest of the specialist batsmen stumbled. They were reduced to 40 for 4 after the first hour, but with several lower-middle order batsmen chipping in with 20s and 30s, Kaif put together a string of partnerships that gave the UP score some respectability.
Scorecard
Delhi captain Shikhar Dhawan might begin to wonder whether his decision to field on a dead track was the correct one or not after Baroda reached 252 for 3 on the first day at the Feroz Shah Kotla with minimum difficulty.Baroda, led by their stand-in captain Ambati Rayudu in place of the injured Yusuf Pathan, showed that the conditions weren’t too tough at the Kotla. Rayudu ended the day on 83 and 25-year-old Abhimanyu Chauhan was with him on 82 to make it a long day for Delhi’s bowlers.
For more, read the full report.

John Inverarity is confident he has kept close enough ties with the game to make a success of his new role as Australia’s national selector

Brydon Coverdale28-Oct-2011John Inverarity is confident he has kept close enough ties with the game to make a success of his new role as Australia’s national selector. Inverarity, 67, was a surprise appointment to the newly-created full-time job, with Rod Marsh and Trevor Hohns previously considered front-runners for what will be one of the most important positions in Cricket Australia’s new structure.A former allrounder who played six Tests for Australia, Inverarity was more prominent in Sheffield Shield cricket and was considered a great thinker and captain during his 23-year first-class career for South Australia and Western Australia. Since his retirement from cricket, he was headmaster of a prestigious boys’ high school in Perth, and more recently served as head of St George’s College at the University of Western Australia.However, Inverarity has also kept his hand in cricket coaching, first at Kent in 2001 and then during a three-year stint as head coach of Warwickshire, which ended in 2005. Cricket Australia’s chief executive, James Sutherland, said Inverarity’s varied experience made him the outstanding candidate to succeed Andrew Hilditch, the current part-time chairman, as the head of the revamped selection panel.”There’s no concern at our end,” Sutherland said of Inverarity’s age. “One of the things that we’ve worked through in the interview process and got absolute satisfaction on is the fact that John Inverarity is ready to do this job. In many ways, this is his time to be involved in cricket.”He’s pursued another career, he has continued to have an involvement and an interest in cricket through that time, but he’s pursued another career. As I see it, it’s a career that is very much complementary to what this role as national selector is. In terms of any questions about his age, I just don’t think that’s an issue.”Inverarity will begin his new role after the tour of South Africa, with Hilditch and the interim panel set to continue choosing the teams during that trip. Cricket Australia’s attention will now turn to finding two independent part-time selectors to join Inverarity and the captain Michael Clarke on the panel, which will also include the yet-to-be-chosen head coach.Their challenge over the next few seasons – Inverarity has been signed to a three-year contract – is to manage the development of a host of young players, while also steering the side through a transition phase with older men such as Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey nearing the end of their careers. Inverarity said he was confident he had not been out of the game too long to handle the responsibilities.”I’m 67 but I feel very young at heart,” Inverarity said. “I’d like to think that over those 67 years I’ve had a lot of experiences from which I have benefited. The key thing in this is exercising judgment. I have followed the game very closely. I think in my life outside of cricket, particularly in education and being the headmaster of a school and warden of a university college, your experiences and exercising judgments and dealing with young people [will help].”All my life I have sought challenges. I have sought challenges of trying to be in the area where I can influence a leadership or management role and trying to get a group performing at its best. Whether that’s been in a cricket team or club, or in a school or in a university college, that’s what motivates me. That’s what I really enjoy doing. I feel that over the years I’ve had some success in doing so.”Inverarity is the second key appointment to stem from the Argus review, after the former rugby international Pat Howard was named Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance earlier this month. His appointment also came on the same day that his former Western Australia team-mate, Wally Edwards, was elected chairman of Cricket Australia.However, while Inverarity has a firm three-year deal to shape the future of Australian cricket, Edwards is less certain about the length of his tenure. The review into Cricket Australia’s governance is expected to be tabled later this year and could recommended the existing board being replaced by an independent commission.

Sri Lanka A’s bowlers ensured that there would be no fightback from the Pakistan A tail in Hambantota and that the match would end with bat having been utterly dominated by ball

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Sri Lanka A’s bowlers ensured there would be no fightback from the Pakistan A tail in Hambantota and that the match would end with bat having been utterly dominated by ball. The hosts had 86 runs to defend on the third day of the second unofficial Test and five wickets to take, which they did while conceding only 46.Twenty two wickets had fallen on the first day, with both teams being dismissed for less than 100 in their first innings, but an improved batting effort from Sri Lanka A in their second had set Pakistan a target of 179. The visitors’ top order wobbled and they ended the second day on 93 for 5, with the promising Hammad Azam unbeaten on 23.Azam, however, was the first batsman to be dismissed today, falling lbw to Jeevan Mendis for 40 off 81 balls. With him went Pakistan A’s hopes and three wickets fell for one run to reduce the visitors from 123 for 6 to 124 for 9. Sachithra Senanayake, an offspinner, took two while Mendis bowled Zulfiqar Babar for a duck to complete his five-wicket haul. Suranga Lakmal picked up the final wicket, that of Junaid Khan, to consign Pakistan A to a 39-run defeat.