Surrey opener heard of call-up after interrupted phonecall to selector Ed Smith at windy Taunton

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-20182:09

Burns’ consistency across seasons merited Test elevation – Ed Smith

Rory Burns believes he has enough “clarity in his method” to translate his prolific form for Surrey in the County Championship into a potential Test debut on the spinning wickets of Sri Lanka, after being named in his first England Test squad at the age of 28.Burns, who is back in action for Surrey at The Oval, has led the county to their first Championship title since 2002 with a formidable haul of 1319 runs at 69.42 in 13 matches, which is almost 400 runs more than his nearest challenger, Somerset’s James Hildreth.It has been the fifth season in succession that Burns has passed 1000 runs in Championship cricket, and speaking on Friday after confirming his call-up, England’s national selector Ed Smith said that he had impressed everyone with his consistency.”For me personally, it’s been a lot of hard work,” Burns told Sky Sports ahead of Surrey’s match against Essex. “I’ve tried to let my bat do the talking and churn out runs, and it’s satisfying to get the nod in the end and get the opportunity.”I’ve obviously got five seasons of backing in my own head. I’ve got some self-belief, so you’ve got to trust your method and trust the processes that you go through.”Burns heard the news while down at Taunton on Friday, where Surrey’s quest for a tenth consecutive Championship victory was curtailed by high winds. And that adverse weather may have been a factor in his slightly disjointed phonecall.”Ed Smith rung me last week after the Somerset game, but it actually cut out halfway through,” Burns said. “He started to tell me I’d got the nod, but it cut out so I had to run outside quickly and find some phone signal, and give him a call back.”The message got through in the end, however, and if selected for the first Test in Galle on November 6, Burns will be stepping into the shoes of none other than Alastair Cook, England’s all-time leading run-scorer who retired at The Oval earlier this month following a record run of 159 consecutive appearances.”I don’t think it’s [extra pressure], I think it’s exciting,” Burns said. “You probably can’t say enough about Alastair’s career – well I can’t, because I don’t think I’m as good as him at the minute. But it’ll be an exciting time and I hope I get an opportunity to do it.”Despite his success on home soil, Burns is under no illusions about what will await him in Sri Lanka, especially after speaking to his Surrey team-mate Dean Elgar, who toured the country with Sri Lanka back in July and August.Rory Burns and Dean Elgar plot a good day for Surrey•Getty Images

“I’m a decent player of spin, I’ve got a few options that I try to work my way through, but [Elgar’s] just got back from Sri Lanka, and said he didn’t face a ball of seam,” said Burns. “So it’ll be trial by spin and it’ll be interesting to see how I’ll go.”I think it’s about clarity in your method,” he added. “You need to understand what you do well, what your options are at certain times. It’s no different from going from seam to spin, there are different methods to both and you’ve got to cycle through them.”Burns’ batting technique, much like the man he is replacing, is best described as functional rather than beautiful. His backside sticks out to square leg, and he has a habit of looking towards mid-on before each delivery. But there’s no arguing with his body of work in recent seasons.”My method is slightly unorthodox,” Burns admitted. “There’s some nuances to it, let’s put it that way. I got told I was left-eye dominant, so [looking to mid-on] is about me trying to get my left eye on the ball as much as I can. Then it almost became a rhythm thing in terms of little routines at the crease. That’s how that came about.”Burns’ England call-up caps a remarkable year for a player who has only just taken up the reins at Surrey, the County Champions-elect.”You set out at the start of the season to try to win some trophies, we managed to get the biggest one, and then to get the call-up has been pretty special,” he said. “I am fortunate to come off the back of Gareth Batty and the way he stabilised the club in his tenure, so to win it is a special feeling.”We’ve done it with a group of young Surrey lads, a lot of guys in the system that we’ve played with a lot of the way up, through age groups and the academy.”From a playing side of things, we are backing youth, backing guys coming through the system and complementing that with some very good experienced cricketers around them, and off the pitch we seem to be getting people through the gate and making some money.”When we won [the title] at Worcester, most of the boys started celebrating but I was already thinking about next year and trying to do better. Hopefully this will be the first year of many years of success, but a lot of hard work has gone into winning it this year. We’ve got to recognise that, and try to reproduce it next year.”

The fast bowler bagged his fourth ten-wicket match haul in first-class cricket as Tasmania began their season with a 246-run victory

The Report by Alex Malcolm19-Oct-2018Jackson Bird celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

A seam-bowling masterclass from Jackson Bird helped Tasmania rout Queensland in their opening Sheffield Shield clash of the season at the Gabba.Bird took 5 for 42 in the second innings to complete his fourth ten-wicket match haul in first-class cricket after claiming 5 for 35 in the first innings in a worthy Player-of-the-Match performance.Queensland, the defending champions who beat Tasmania in last year’s final, began the fourth day needing 311 for an unlikely victory with eight wickets in hand.But the chase never got off the ground as six of the last nine batsmen failed to reach double figures. Luke Feldman made the second-highest score of the innings with 12 not out after Joe Burns posted 16 on the third evening.Bird rattled through the middle order with surgical precision. Charlie Hemphrey, Sam Heazlett, Nathan McSweeney and Jack Wildermuth were all caught behind the wicket to leave the Bulls decimated at 6 for 58.There was no rearguard action from the lower order with Gabe Bell and Tom Rogers finishing the job. Bell finished with 4 for 17 as Queensland were all out for 93. Only two Bulls players, McSweeney and Jimmy Peirson, managed to make more than 18 in either innings on their seaming home track.

It might be a little ramshackle, and it’s very last minute, but the Mzansi Super League is ready to kick off, with the likes of AB de Villiers and Rashid Khan in the mix

Liam Brickhill15-Nov-2018With a uniquely local name, new-look teams, picturesque grounds, a couple of marquee internationals, an overseas broadcast deal, and a local one that will nationalise cricket in a way that’s never happened before in South Africa, is it time to start believing the Mzansi Super League hype?After all the huff and puff over the failed first league, Cricket South Africa seem to have pulled their act together under chief executive Thabang Moroe and, while the paint might still be drying when the first ball is bowled on Friday night, this thing is happening.Many of the key elements have fallen into place despite the extremely short timeline since the CSA members’ council’s decided unanimously in mid-September that the league go ahead whatever the challenges. Stadiums have been chosen, teams announced, a player draft completed, a marketing campaign launched and, in the last couple of days, warm-up games played as the teams assembled.Vitally, CSA have also been able to secure a broadcast deal with Sony Pictures Network (SPN) that will open their league up to an Indian market, the channel broadcasting 28 matches, including the playoff and final on December 16.”As much as we had the skeleton of what we wanted for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League, there is a lot operationally that we had to make sure were in place and implemented,” Moroe told ESPNcricinfo. “This is the first time for all of us, at the same time we want to see the success and we want to see a quality product that will be well received by the public. So far, so good.”So far, so good in the short term, but in the long run there remain unanswered questions over the league’s sustainability. CSA recently told a parliamentary committee it expects to lose R 654 million in the next four years. That’s not including a projected R40 million loss in the first season of the MSL, and CSA also lost over R 200 million (USD 14.1 million) following the failure of the inaugural T20 Global League.Financing the MSL cannot be done without splashing plenty of cash, with the six new franchises each given over R 5 million to spend on their players, and a further R 10 million going towards the prize pot for the tournament. And that’s saying nothing of the transport, logistical, administrative and marketing costs associated with such an endeavour.CSA has said its annual financial statements would still show “substantial reserves” and first-season losses are nothing unique to the MSL – it took years for IPL teams and the Big Bash League to turn a profit – but their pockets are only so deep, and without incoming tours from England, Australia or India this season they won’t have a lot of cash coming in as it is.The Mzansi Super League trophy was unveiled by CSA•MSL

Amid all this, the MSL is positioned a little awkwardly as both a vehicle for expanding cricket’s footprint in South Africa – which is noble but not necessarily financially fruitful, especially without a headline sponsor on board – and a way for CSA to supplement its income. It is believed that CSA offered the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) the exclusive Sub-Saharan broadcasting rights for a cut price – Moroe says he is “not in the position of giving out the details, but there was value in the rights”, while SABC chief operations officer Chris Maroleng called the deal a “lucrative opportunity” for SABC, but no one has said exactly who paid what.The deal with Sony should help plug a little of the financial shortfall, and CSA does at least have a sellable product, given the quality on the field. Some of the biggest names in T20 cricket – Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Rashid Khan, Dwayne Bravo – will be taking part, as will all the familiar Protea players (as soon as they get back from Australia).Pleasingly, there will also be a few Zimbabweans knocking about, which will stoke some interest north of the border, and every squad has had to include young, local rookies.CSA faces a long and potentially rocky road to fully commercialise its homegrown T20 league, and off the field there will be yet more expenses as the legal battle with the disgruntled owners of the failed T20 Global League threatens to rumble on in court. “We have a legal team tasked with dealing with those matters,” Moroe said. The informed opinion seems to be that the legal wrangling could revolve around the terms of the original contract that the owners signed with CSA – what was warrantied by CSA, and what was not.While hurdles remain,CSA’s choice, in the cut-throat world of modern sport, was to evolve or die. It might be a little ramshackle, and it’s very last minute, but it has managed – finally – to get a league of its own off the ground.”Have a look at how, for instance, the Big Bash has taken off and captured the Australian and international markets” Moroe said. “It was natural for South Africa to also have a T20 competition of our own that will attract marquee international players and keep cricket among the top attractions in the country. People want to see a world quality product in our shores – and the Mzansi Super League will offer that.”

Which team picked up which player, and who did not receive a bid? Here’s the list

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2018

Sold players

Hanuma Vihari (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 2 croresShimron Hetmyer (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 4.2 croresCarlos Brathwaite (Base price INR 75 lakhs) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 5 croresGurkeerat Singh Mann (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 50 lakhsMoises Henriques (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 1 croreAxar Patel (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 5 croresJonny Bairstow (Base price INR 1.5 crores) sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 2.2 croresNicholas Pooran (Base price INR 75 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 4.2 croresWriddhiman Saha (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1.2 croresJaydev Unadkat (Base price INR 1.5 crore) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 8.4 croresIshant Sharma (Base price INR 75 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 1.1 croresLasith Malinga (Base price INR 2 crores) sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 2 croresMohammed Shami (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 4.8 croresVarun Aaron (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 2.4 croresMohit Sharma (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Chennai Super Kings for INR 5 croresDevdutt Padikkal (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 20 lakhsAnmolpreet Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 80 lakhsSarfaraz Khan (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 25 lakhsShivam Dube (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 5 croresVarun Chakravarthy (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 8.4 croresAnkush Bains (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 20 lakhsNathu Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 20 lakhsColin Ingram (Base price INR 2 crores) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 6.40 croresSam Curran (Base price INR 2 crores) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 7.2 croresHeinrich Klaasen (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 50 lakhsBarinder Sran (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 3.4 croreLockie Ferguson (Base price 1 crore) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.6 croresSherfane Rutherford (Base price INR 40 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 2 croresAnrich Nortje (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 20 lakhsOshane Thomas (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for 1.1 croresHardus Viljoen (Base price INR 75 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 75 lakhsHimmat Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 65 lakhsNikhil Naik (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 20 lakhsArshdeep Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 20 lakhsHarry Gurney (Base price INR 75 lakhs) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 75 lakhsPankaj Jaiswal (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 20 lakhsMilind Kumar (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 20 lakhsDarshan Nalkande (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 30 lakhsShashank Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 30 lakhsSimran Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 4.8 croresRasikh Salam (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 20 lakhsPrithvi Raj (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 20 lakhsLiam Livingstone (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 50 lakhsKeemo Paul (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 50 lakhsPrayas Ray Barman (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 1.5 croreAgnivesh Ayachi (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 20 lakhsHarpreet Brar (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 20 lakhsMartin Guptill (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1 crore – re-presented in accelerated auctionYuvraj Singh (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 1 crore – re-presented in accelerated auctionAkshdeep Nath (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 3.6 crores – re-presented in accelerated auctionJalaj Saxena (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 20 lakhs – re-presented in accelerated auctionM Ashwin (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kings XI Punjab for INR 20 lakhs – re-presented in accelerated auctionRuturaj Gaikwad (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Chennai Super Kings for INR 20 lakhsShubham Ranjane (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 20 lakhs – re-presented in accelerated auctionJoe Denly (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1 crore – re-presented in accelerated auctionB Ayyappa (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 20 lakhsShrikant Mundhe (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 20 lakhs – re-presented in accelerated auctionManan Vohra (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 20 lakhs – re-presented in accelerated auctionAshton Turner (Base price INR 50 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 50 lakhs – re-presented in accelerated auctionRiyan Parag (Base price INR 20 lakhs) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 20 lakhs

Unsold players

Manoj Tiwary (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Cheteshwar Pujara (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Alex Hales (Base price INR 1.5 crores)Brendon McCullum (Base price INR 2 crores)Chris Woakes (Base price INR 2 crores)Chris Jordan (Base price INR 1 crore)Naman Ojha (Base price INR 75 lakhs)Ben McDermott (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Rahul Sharma (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Adam Zampa (Base price INR 1 crore)Khary Pierre (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Fawad Ahmed (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Sachin Baby (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Ankit Bawne (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Armaan Jaffer (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Ayush Badoni (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Sheldon Jackson (Base price INR 20 lakhs)B Indrajith (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Anuj Rawat (Base price INR 20 lakhs)KS Bharat (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Arun Karthik (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Aniket Choudhary (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Ishan Porel (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Rajneesh Gurbani (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Chama Milind (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Tushar Deshpande (Base price INR 20 lakhs)J Suchith (Base price 20 lakhs)Yuvraj Chudasama (Base price 20 lakhs)Zahir Khan (Base price INR 40 lakhs)KC Cariappa (Base price INR 20 lakhs)R Sai Kishore (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Usman Khawaja (Base price INR 1 crore)Hazratullah Zazai (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Reeza Hendricks (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Shaun Marsh (Base price INR 2 crores)Saurabh Tiwary (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Hashim Amla (Base price INR 1 crore)James Neesham (Base price INR 75 lakhs)Angelo Mathews (Base price INR 2 crores)Rishi Dhawan (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Corey Anderson (Base price INR 2 crores)Parvez Rasool (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Jason Holder (Base price INR 75 lakhs)Luke Ronchi (Base price INR 75 lakhs)Mushfiqur Rahim (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Kusal Perera (Base price INR 75 lakhs)Glenn Phillips (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Vinay Kumar (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Kane Richardson (Base price INR 1 crore)Abhimanyu Mithun (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Morne Morkel (Base price INR 1.5 crores)Dale Steyn (Base price INR 1.5 crores)Praveen Dubey (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Qais Ahmad (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Satyajeet Bachhav (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Rilee Rossouw (Base price INR 1.5 crores)Daniel Christian (Base price INR 1 crore)Manpreet Gony (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Ali Khan (Base price INR 40 lakhs)James Pattinson (Base price INR 1 crore)Himanshu Rana (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Lewis Gregory (Base price INR 40 lakhs)Vishnu Vinod (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Patrick Brown (Base price INR 40 lakhs)Jaskaran Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Sandeep Warrier (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Fabian Allen (Base price INR 50 lakhs)Sikandar Raza (Base price INR 75 lakhs)Sairaj Patil (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Swapnil Singh (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Lalit Yadav (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Laurie Evans (Base price INR 40 lakhs)Jamie Overton (Base price INR 40 lakhs)Akash Parkar (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Karn Kaushal (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Mayank Dagar (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Zeeshan Ansari (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Kedar Devdhar (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Tanmay Mishra (Base price INR 20 lakhs)Aman Khan (Base price INR 20 lakhs)

While Edulji wants Ramesh Powar to continue, Rai appoints ad-hoc committee to shortlist new coach

Sidharth Monga and Nagraj Gollapudi 11-Dec-2018The question of the coach for the India women’s team, itself a highly divisive matter within the side, has become the latest flashpoint in the two-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), with Diana Edulji taking strong exception to the “unilateral” decision taken by Vinod Rai over the process of appointing a new coach.The war of words between the two surviving members of the CoA, which has been reduced from four following the resignations of two other original members, also reopened the role played by Virat Kohli in the controversial departure of Anil Kumble as the head coach of the India men’s team last year.

Powar reapplies for India women coach role

Ramesh Powar, whose tenure as the interim coach of the India women’s team ended on November 30, has reapplied for the position.
“I can’t let the girls down, especially Harman, Smriti for showing the support for the hard work we put together for three months,” Powar told ESPNcricinfo. “Whatever happens next is not in my control. Their backing gives you that much satisfaction that they recognise your hard work, their own hard work, the hard work we put together to qualify [for the World T20 semi-finals] after eight years, winning 14 games in a row, no matter whether it was beating Australia A or beating Australia. I thought about it for a week, discussed it with my friends and family. I felt I should do what’s in my control – to reapply – especially to respect their support and the hard work we put in together in such a short time which took us to the semis.”

Despite Edulji’s insistence on retaining Ramesh Powar, who had been India women’s interim coach till the World T20, Rai had signed a BCCI media release, which stated that an ad-hoc committee was formed to shortlist and finalise the new coach. The panel, comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shanta Rangaswamy, will conduct interviews on December 20.Rai said he was “constrained” to give the final instructions to appoint the ad-hoc committee in the “best interests” of women’s cricket. “We can’t extend uncertainty,” Rai said in an email sent to Edulji and the BCCI hierarchy, including the three office bearers.Edulji, who was disappointed with Rai’s decision, told ESPNcricinfo that “this committee has not been approved by me”. She strongly disagreed with Rai, saying he could not take “unilateral” decisions, considering the Supreme Court had given her equal authority.”As chairman he can’t take any unilateral decisions as there is no casting vote for chairman,” she said. “It is strange that in a democratic set-up of the CoA only views of one person are considered and the views expressed by other member who was also appointed by the Supreme Court along with you don’t matter.”The divide between the two CoA members surfaced as soon as the BCCI opted against renewing Powar’s contract, which had expired on November 30. Powar was appointed as the interim coach from September 1, replacing Tushar Arothe, who had to resign after senior players had told the BCCI that they did not agree with his coaching style.In a long trail of emails exchanged with Rai, which have been accessed by ESPNcricinfo, Edulji stressed that Powar should “continue” as coach because India’s T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana had requested he do so.Edulji reminded Rai that the precedent of listening to the player’s view had already been set last year during the controversial resignation of Kumble, who was told by the BCCI that Kohli had differences with his style of coaching. Edulji told Rai that he had accepted Kohli’s word despite Kumble having the backing of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), the three-member selection panel that had appointed him as coach.”The captain [Harmanpreet] and vice-captain [Mandhana] have requested their choice, so why can’t we respect their choice for this tour till we get clarity on the committee,” Edulji said in an email on Tuesday. “We can go ahead and continue with the same coach. The views of the two senior players must not be ignored.”Virat did not accede to Kumble continuing inspite of CAC saying so, then why not these two players get what they feel is best for the team.”Rehab mates: Harmanpreet and Mandhana, captain and vice-captain of India’s T20I team, spent quality time with each other while recovering from injuries at NCA•Annesha Ghosh/Annesha Ghosh/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In response, Rai argued that although Kumble had “stepped back” due to the “differences” with Kohli, players had not sent emails to CoA or the BCCI. Rai told Edulji that a head coach could not be picked by asking for the players’ votes. “Yes- there were differences between Virat and Kumble,” Rai said. “As a consequence of that Kumble stepped back. More importantly, the team did not send emails. The team must realise that that coaches are not decided on team votes.”Edulji responded saying there was “nothing wrong” with Harmanpreet and Mandhana recording their opinions about the coach saga in emails because “they were truthful in expressing their views.” Despite earning the backing of a majority of the Indian players, Powar could not earn similar respect from the team’s senior-most player and ODI captain Mithali Raj.Raj was included in only three out of the five matches India played in the World T20 and was dropped for the semi-finals against England. In a scathing email to the BCCI management, Raj said Powar wanted to “destroy” her career. In response, Powar said Raj threatened to walk out of the WT20 and retire if she was not allowed to open.Edulji also accused Rai of keeping her away from discussions when he met Raj and Harmanpreet in Delhi recently to resolve the differences between the pair and seek their views on the appointment of coach. The next day, Powar received a shot in the arm after Harmanpreet and Mandhana had sent out separate emails urging the CoA and the BCCI to continue with Powar, who they said had a positive impact on the players. As for the differences between Powar and Raj, both players insisted these could be sorted amicably. “In my absence, you had a meeting with the two women cricket captains and when I enquired on the same; you replied saying they wanted to meet you, so you met them. Once again, you have failed to understand that I have an equal say in all matters of BCCI as CoA with equal rights not less not more.”Edulji also wanted the CAC comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to conduct the interviews and shortlist the names for the women’s coach. The CAC members had informed the BCCI that they were not available to be present at such short notice, but given a “defined role” and adequate time they would be happy to help. Edulji suggested India could travel with Powar continuing as the interim coach for their tour of New Zealand in January, allowing CAC to do their job.However, Rai was in no mood to oblige. “We cannot now withdraw and say that we will continue with our ad-hoc coach of three months – who has been the reason for such bad blood in the team. This chapter has to be closed and the earlier the better.”Rai said that he could not understand why Edulji and the senior players were against hiring a new, experienced head coach, who could possibly help them crossover the “plateau” they keep hitting in big-ticket tournaments like the World Cup.Rai asked Edulji to instead “persuade” the Indian women players to “grow out of micro issues” and see the “macro” picture.” “What I cannot understand is why some members of the team, or any other person advising them, is against having an internationally acclaimed coach. Don’t we seek to upgrade the team from the plateau that they keep hitting in international games?

The head coach also backed captain Sarfaraz Ahmed for his wicketkeeping form over recent months

Umar Farooq08-Feb-2019With under four months to go for the World Cup in England, Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has said the selectors and team management will look at the upcoming PSL and the ODI series against Australia before finalising a squad of 15 for the global tournament. Pakistan play 10 ODIs before the World Cup – five against Australia in the UAE after the PSL and five in England in May – and Arthur said he and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq had 19 players in mind and would want to have two game plans in place for the conditions in England during the summer.”Inzi and I have been on the same page for a long while here. And I’m going to be honest because I’ve told the boys in the dressing room the same thing the other night,” Arthur said in Lahore after returning from South Africa. “I think we’ve got probably 19 players for 15 positions. PSL always throws up one or two good individual performers, so we are going to have a look at some of our borderline players, the guys that we are not sure about. We have to look at them during the Australian series and then we will make our minds up leading into England, obviously we will be taking 15 there. The key is players get clarity in terms of their roles and role clarity is particularly important.”Pakistan have given opportunities to youngsters with the advent of the PSL in the last couple of years. With the T20 league starting in under a week, players will want to impress the selectors particularly for slots in the middle order and the fast-bowling attack. The current probables for the pace attack comprise Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Usman Shinwari and bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf. Among the spinners, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim are the likely candidates to make the trip to England.”The other thing that’s important for us is having an option with two game plans,” Arthur said. “I’m saying two game plans because the weather in England at any given time is very unpredictable, so we need an option where we have our spinners, who are able to suffocate through the middle [overs] because the key for us to win one-day games is about taking wickets through that middle period.”Either we do that with two spinners or little bit of reverse-swing if the weather stays dry, or if the weather is wet over that period of time there we have to have an option of a seam-bowling allrounder who can come in and bat at No. 7 for us. So we’re very close, we’ve covered all our bases in terms of our personnel at the moment.”Pakistan fought hard against South Africa in the ODIs, losing the series 3-2, but their form since they won the Champions Trophy in June 2017 hasn’t been impressive. They have won 15 of their 27 completed matches since then, completing series wins only against Sri Lanka, ranked eighth, and Zimbabwe. In this time they were also blanked 5-0 in New Zealand a year ago, won matches only against Hong Kong and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in September, and drew the three-match series 1-1 against New Zealand in the UAE in November.AFP

Looking back at the South Africa tour, where Pakistan lost the Test series 3-0, ODIs 3-2 and T20Is 2-1, Arthur said he was proud of the way the team showed their “passion” and “intensity”.”I just think it is really important that I reiterate how proud I am of the cricket team,” he said. “We were two months away on the road. Four-and-a-half months away is a hell of a long time and the intensity and the passion that these guys trained with has been fantastic. So, look I am very very proud, players are very proud, of the development of the lot of our young players.”We’ve played the most cricket over the last four-and-a-half months than any other team in the world. That’s not an excuse, I’m not using it as an excuse because that’s the way it is. We’ve got to handle that. India have a large pool of players available to them. We didn’t rotate our players as much because we are in a process, we need to educate them in all conditions so that’s exactly the decision we’ve made.”Our planning is done. We’ve got our schedules, we’ve got everything in place leading upto the World Cup. Myself, Inzamam and Sarfaraz [Ahmed] have been completely united in the process that we are going forward.”Even though Sarfaraz’s own form has been under scrutiny, he recently got the backing of the PCB to lead the team in the World Cup. He has averaged only 26.62 in 12 ODI innings over the last year, scoring only one half-century. But with his replacement Mohammad Rizwan not impressing much with the bat in two ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa, the pressure on Sarfaraz was not mounting and Arthur, too, backed the captain primarily for his wicketkeeping skills and form.”It’s very simple, we need to be very fluid with out game plans,” Arthur said. “Sarfaraz has done exceptional work for us up and down the order. I think the thing that we’ve got to realise is over a long tour, form comes and goes and players start playing well and then they slip off the radar a little bit, and we need to then be able to send our form players at any given minute. In terms of fluidity in our batting order it’s whoever is in form and what that situation demands at that particular time. If you see all the best teams in the world have the ability to be flexible. We’re trying to be as flexible as we can. If we didn’t give the opportunity to players in those positions we wouldn’t know.”Understand that Sarfaraz’s first and foremost thing is captain and wicketkeeper, people forget wicketkeeping is a specialist position. Sarfaraz’s numbers over the last four-and-a-half months are mindblowing, one catch dropped, one stumping missed. I can tell you I did the research on the plane coming last night, he’s dropped eight balls in four-and-a-half months, so he is not out of form in his core job. His core job is to keep wickets and to take the catches and make the stumpings, he’s done a job over four-and-a-half months.”Sarfaraz will be the first one to admit that his batting form has come and gone. We have worked exceptionally hard on Sarfaraz’s batting going forward. When Sarfaraz plays well, he wins games for us. I want to reiterate I am not worried about Sarfaraz’s form. Sarfaraz Ahmed is a very very good cricketer. He and I work incredibly close together, we’ve got very close working relationship, as good as I had with any captain. I just need to put that to bed.”

While Australia are overseas playing ODIs there is much at stake for a number of domestic players in the final month of the season

Alex Malcolm22-Feb-20192:26

Siddle sees positives in lack of recent cricket

Batsmen

(Stats: leading run scorers)Marcus HarrisThe left-hander looked a lock for the Ashes series at the end of the Sydney Test having been the best performer against a top-quality India attack. But his failure to convert starts in that series came back to bite him in the two Tests against Sri Lanka and with the return of David Warner he may yet be forced out. There is no doubt the talent is there, he reached 20 in seven of his 11 Test innings, but only twice did he reach 50. He is the equal second leading run-scorer in the Shield this season with 501 runs having played four fewer innings than the leader Matthew Wade, who has made 572.Joe BurnsAfter being left out for the UAE tour and the India series Burns was finally recalled against Sri Lanka and made the most of the opportunity posting 180 in the second Test in Canberra. He now has four Test hundreds in 16 Test matches yet, somehow, he’s still not a certainty for England. His Shield record overall is what propelled him back into the Test side and he should score runs in the back half of the season. Significant scores in any of the games will carry extra weight and further reinforce his Ashes credentials.Marnus LabuschagneCompared to some others it might be harder for Labuschagne to miss the Ashes tour than to make it based on the positive reviews he has received following his performances in the last three Tests of the summer. He was a Test incumbent at the start of the Shield but a lean start meant he missed out until being somewhat surprisingly recalled for the fourth Test against India and he then made 81 at against Sri Lanka at the Gabba to shore up his place. His record against the Dukes ball in Shield cricket is solid with 707 runs at 39.30.

Sheffield Shield squads

New South Wales Peter Nevill (capt), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Stephen O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha, Greg West
Western Australia Hilton Cartwright (capt), Cameron Bancroft, William Bosisto, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Bradley Hope, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Lance Morris, Liam O’Connor, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Sam Whiteman
Victoria Travis Dean (capt), Scott Boland, Andrew Fekete, Seb Gotch, Marcus Harris, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, Will Pucovski, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Chris Tremain, Cameron White
Queensland James Peirson (capt), Joe Burns, Luke Feldman, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Charlie Hemphrey, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser,Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson
South Australia Travis Head (capt), Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Jake Lehmann, Conor McInerney, Joe Mennie, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Chadd Sayers, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter
Tasmania Matthew Wade (capt), Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Jarrod Freeman, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Tim Paine, Alex Pyecroft, Tom Rogers, Jordan Silk, Charlie Wakim

Kurtis PattersonAn unbeaten century in his last Test innings against Sri Lanka will be hard to ignore. He will at the very least go on the Australia A tour. The last four Shield games are a chance to really bed down an Ashes berth. Steve Smith’s return means one of the incumbents in Australia’s Test middle order is likely to miss out in the first Ashes Test plus the ever-present need for an allrounder always means the sixth batsman is vulnerable. Patterson can alleviate any doubts with a stack of runs.Matt RenshawHe finds himself on the outside looking in after being in the squad for the Sri Lanka series but missing out on selection. He found some good form in the closing stages of the BBL tournament and he played well at the end of the last Shield season scoring three centuries post-BBL. Like Burns, he has the challenge of two games at the Gabba and one at the WACA as well one against Victoria.Will PucovskiAll eyes will be on Pucovski in the last four games of the season. He has yet to play two games in a row this season at domestic level and only played two Shield games out of six before the BBL-break due to mental health issues. He has only had four innings in matches since Christmas, two for his club side in Melbourne and two for the Cricket Australia XI. How Pucovski handles four straight games and maybe a final, could determine whether he heads on the Australia A tour.Matthew WadeChairman of selectors Trevor Hohns explained Wade’s omission from the Test squad was partly due to him batting too low in the order for Tasmania. He will get a chance higher up the order, likely at No. 4, with Tim Paine back as wicketkeeper batsman and George Bailey injured. He has an opportunity to do something no player has done in Sheffield Shield cricket for four years: score 1000 runs. Not since Adam Voges and Michael Klinger both did it in 2014-15 has the mark been crossed. It was enough to earn Voges an Australia call-up aged 35. If it’s not enough to get Wade to England then the chorus of criticism from the public and media will reach an unprecedented level.Mitchell MarshHe started the summer as Australia’s new vice-captain and now he finds himself in no man’s land, out of favour for all three formats and unsure of his place in Australian cricket. To make matters worse he will miss WA’s first Shield game following the BBL break after suffering a nasty groin injury. He may need more runs and wickets than most to be recalled after failing to capitalise on his opportunities over the last 12 months.Daniel Worrall celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Bowlers

(Stats: leading wicket-takers)Peter SiddleSiddle has been a victim of his own success in that his trustworthiness and return to form led to him being included in all Australian squads across the summer but he ended up carrying drinks more than playing. Now he gets the chance to settle in for Victoria and bowl a lot of overs with the Dukes balls which will suit him perfectly. He was superb for Essex in England last year taking 37 wickets at 16.40 in just seven matches and he remains likely to be part of the Ashes touring squad.Chris TremainMuch like Wade, there’s nothing he can do other than pile up wickets in the hope of forcing the selectors hand through sheer volume of performances. He has dominated the Sheffield Shield over the last two seasons and is dueling teammate Scott Boland to be the leading wicket-taker once again.Scott BolandHe has been in tremendous form this season leading the Shield wicket-takers with 36 at 17.41. He didn’t get to play much in the back-end of the BBL season for Melbourne Stars and it will be interesting to see whether that affects his rhythm on return. He and Tremain might be in a straight shoot-out for a spot on the Australia A tour and the Ashes.Daniel WorrallThere has been a lot of discussion about Worrall’s chances for the Ashes tour. Injury will be the biggest issue. He is being rested from the first Shield game after the BBL due to concerns over his troubled back. If he can get up and going and play the last three games without interruption, and bowl well, he will almost certainly be part of the Australia A tour.Chadd SayersSayers has quickly become a forgotten man after making his Test debut in South Africa the match after the ball-tampering scandal and claiming the prized scalp of AB de Villiers. Since then he has played only three JLT Cup games and three Shield games earlier this season before needing minor surgery to fix a knee issue. He gets a chance to re-establish himself as one of Australia’s premier swing bowlers over the last four rounds to stake a claim for an Australia A berth.Jon Holland gives the ball a twirl•Getty Images

James PattinsonThe potential of having Pattinson join Australia’s already rapid attack has got tongues wagging. He made a cautious return to the Shield earlier this season after back problems before a side strain injury curtailed his BBL. He won’t be back until next month and remains a long-shot for the Ashes, but that is unlikely to stop the chatter if he gets among the wickets. Durability rather than wickets could be the deciding factor.Jon HollandHe was Australia’s second spinner in the UAE but has scarcely played in this home summer with three Shield games for Victoria out of six before the BBL and an outing for the CA XI where he claimed 4 for 28. How much bowling he gets between now and then might depend on the dominance of Victoria’s quicks, although they are playing on four flat pitches where his services will be needed in the third and fourth innings especially.Steve O’KeefeHe candidly admitted ahead of the BBL semi-final that his prospects of playing for Australia again are very unlikely. But Ashton Agar’s serious finger injury means that experienced spin options beyond Nathan Lyon and Holland are thin on the ground. O’Keefe’s record is exceptional and he can never be discounted.

Captain praises Rashid Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai and Waqar Salamkheil for setting up the victory by bowling Ireland out for 172 in the first innings

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2019History awaited them – a first-ever Test match win – but Afghanistan were still 118 runs off from the mark at the start of the fourth day in Dehradun. And a fourth-innings chase is nothing to be scoffed at, especially in India, where it’s been five years since anyone has taken down a target over 125. But Rahmat Shah and Ihsanullah played with the calmness that is normally found in Test-match veterans, both men reaching fifties to ease the team’s passage into the record books.How were they able to stay so calm? Well, their captain Asghar Afghan felt it was because of the domestic cricket they have played back home. “We have played a lot of multi-day cricket and automatically we have matured because of that,” he said at the post-match presentation. “Nowadays we are playing first-class cricket at home as well. Before we played three-day, two-day cricket but now we’re playing first-class.”Playing Test cricket was our dream and today we played our second Test and we won the game. It is a historic day for Afghanistan, for Afghanistan people, for our team, for our cricket board.”
The seven-wicket victory, though, was set up by the bowlers, with seamer Yamin Ahmadzai and spinners Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Waqar Salamkheil bowling Ireland out for 172 in the first innings after they had won the toss and chosen to bat. And that is significant because it’s been six years since a non-Indian side has won a Test despite losing the toss in this country.”I would like to congratulate the bowlers especially, Rashid, Waqar, Yamin, because the wicket was good for batting.” Asghar said.Ireland captain William Porterfield also pointed to their first innings as a turning point in the game. “I thought at the time, I fancied winning the toss, it was a big toss to win. Any multi-day game, you have to capitalise on your first innings. If we batted remotely like our second innings [when they made 288] in our first innings, I think it could’ve been a completely different game,” Porterfield said.”You’re taking about chasing upwards of 280-300, which could’ve been a completely different story. But taking nothing away from how Afghanistan played. They played very well throughout the whole game and came out deserved winners.”It’s still their second game, five lads making their debut… but I’m glad with they way they came in and went about it. How prepared they were. You want the lads to kick on and make big contributions and obviously we didn’t do that in the first innings and you’re always looking to come back into the game from that and once Afghanistan got past us, they never really let us do that.”

SLC hopes the hefty fine will send a “strong message” to the rest of the players regarding such behaviour

Madushka Balasuriya02-Apr-2019Sri Lanka’s Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne has been fined USD 7500 (LKR 1.3 million approx), by Sri Lanka Cricket, following his drink driving episode, which was a violation of his player contract. Karunaratne’s fine is the equivalent of the match fee he would receive for one Test.”When you’re preparing for an important competition like the World Cup, and we’re spending so much money on this upcoming [Super Provincial] domestic tournament, we just cannot tolerate this kind of nonsense,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva told ESPNcricinfo.On Sunday morning Karunaratne was involved in an accident with a three-wheeler in Borella, a neighbourhood of Colombo, which put the three-wheeler’s driver in hospital with minor injuries. Following the incident Karunaratne was arrested and released on bail, and his driver’s licence suspended. The three-wheeler’s driver has since been discharged from the hospital.Karunaratne, who will be captaining Kandy in the upcoming Super Provincial Tournament starting on Thursday, offered an apology on his Facebook page. SLC however was keen to ensure such incidents are not repeated; the hefty fine, it felt, will send a “strong message” to the rest of the players.”We just want to send a strong message to everyone that we mean business,” de Silva said.

The win means Capitals moved to the top of the IPL 2019 points table, the first time the franchise from Delhi has attained that position in the second half of an IPL season since 2012.

The Report by Saurabh Somani22-Apr-20191:29

We had a plan for Archer’s short balls and yorkers – Prithvi Shaw

Ajinkya Rahane brought out his full repertoire of shots and then some uncharacteristic ones, charging to a second T20 century, but even his 105* off 63 couldn’t carry Rajasthan Royals to a total that was safe from Delhi Capitals’ powerful top order.Shikhar Dhawan smashed 54 at two runs a ball, and Rishabh Pant shrugged off a run of low scores where he seemed to get himself out more than the bowlers. Pant came in at 77 for 2, with the required rate having crept over 10, and stayed till the end to steer the chase, smacking 78* off 36 balls that was full of one-handed slog-sweeps and stunningly timed sixes – including the winning hit in the final over.The win meant Capitals moved to the top of the IPL 2019 points table, the first time the franchise from Delhi has attained that position in the second half of an IPL season since 2012. They are level on 14 points with Chennai Super Kings, but ahead on net run-rate.Victory also put to bed the chasing jitters that had plagued Capitals. They have now won their last two matches while chasing. For Royals, defeat meant their chances of making it to the playoffs dwindled significantly, and they will most likely have to win each of their remaining four games to even be in contention for a spot.Rahane’s turbo charge after the dropHe had been involved in a mix-up with Sanju Samson that resulted in a run-out for Samson without facing a ball. He had looked like getting bogged down at the start. And he would have been on his way for 16 off 18 if Ishant Sharma had held on to the easiest of chances in the fifth over. Ishant clanged it, and from that point on, Rahane’s innings was turbo-charged. The next 45 balls he faced would bring 89 runs, and that included the end phase when he was tiring, with only 11 runs coming off his last 10 deliveries. In the middle period of his innings, between the drop and the sluggish end, Rahane was scoring at an Andre Russell-ian run-rate of 13.37.This was the avatar of Rahane that people had clamoured to see: aggression, innovation in shot-making and even the much-maligned ‘intent’. His classical shot-making has always been a beautiful sight, but he married that with scoops, paddles and whips too. Most crucially perhaps, his mindset appeared to be one of attacking the bowlers.Capitals pull it back at the deathAfter 13 overs, Royals were motoring at 135 for 1, with both Rahane and Steven Smith carting the bowlers around. The home side would have backed themselves to finish above 210 from there, but the last seven overs brought only 56 runs, with five wickets falling.It began with Smith skying Axar Patel to the long-off boundary where Chris Morris held the ball over his head just inside the boundary line. Royals had Ben Stokes and Ashton Turner to follow, and would have expected a powerful finish. Instead, they fizzled out. Stokes’ poor season with the bat continued, but even his returns looked massive when set against the unfortunate Turner, who got a third successive golden duck. Turner has now scored ducks in his last five consecutive T20 matches, four of which have been off the first ball.Rahane had done all the running for his team and in an ideal world, he should have played second fiddle at the end with the big-hitters powering through. Instead, it was left to him to continue the power-hitting, and a tiring Rahane couldn’t find the boundary as regularly as he had, and the ball wasn’t going off the middle as often either. Capitals had kept the trio of Kagiso Rabada, Morris and Ishant for the end, and all three kept the batsmen relatively quiet, meaning Royals ended with a slightly below par total on a flat track.Dhawan starts, Pant finishesDhawan has reinvented himself as a T20 opener midway through this IPL season, and the new version of Dhawan ensured Capitals rocketed off at the start. That meant there was no run-rate pressure from the outset, and Dhawan’s onslaught had given Capitals the dual cushion of allowing Prithvi Shaw the luxury to settle in, and not let the natural downturn when a wicket fell let the required rate climb too high. Dhawan didn’t try to see off any bowler, or play himself in against anyone. He simply attacked each one, and won his battles against each one too. The spectre of dew later on forced Smith to bowl Shreyas Gopal in the Powerplay, but Dhawan carted him for 15 runs in his opening over to nullify his threat.Pant walked in when Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer fell within eight balls. It was a delicate situation, which could have gone pear-shaped for Capitals if Pant had fallen. But with Shaw playing within himself to hold one end up, Pant opened up successfully. He didn’t attempt extravagant shots at the start of his innings, which was perhaps the crucial difference from how his last few knocks had gone. But he didn’t go into a shell either, which meant that by the time he was well set, he was already scoring at a rapid rate. Once set, he unleashed his full range. There are few bowling attacks in the world that can go unscathed against Pant in these situations, and Royals weren’t one of them.