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Abahani relinquished a golden opportunity to sign Shakib Al Hasan and some other top names in Bangladesh cricket, instead focusing on youth

Mohammad Isam25-Aug-2013Abahani relinquished a golden opportunity to sign Shakib Al Hasan and some other top names in Bangladesh cricket, instead focusing on youth. It could yet end up as the smartest move as most of the Bangladesh players will be busy in October, taking on New Zealand at home, coinciding with the business-end of the Dhaka Premier League.”Our focus is youth this year,” said Abahani official and BCB ad-hoc committee member Ismail Haider Mallick. “We didn’t go for Shakib and Mahmudullah. We want to pick players who will be fully available during the whole league and not just for a few matches.”Their first pick was Liton Kumar Das, a young wicketkeeper-batsman and it was followed by the likes of young allrounders Alauddin Babu and Taposh Ghosh. There is a sprinkling of experience in the form of Shahriar Nafees, Nazimuddin and left-arm spinner Nabil Samad but the majority of the 14 players they picked are below the age of 25.Shakib has only played for Abahani in one season, in 2008-09. It ended badly, with the supporters trying to assault him after Abahani lost to arch-rivals Mohammedan by one wicket in the title-deciding game.Defending champions Victoria Sporting Club also let go of a chance to draft Shakib and Tamim Iqbal, instrumental in their triumph last year. They went for Nasir Hossain, now a player of high demand in the domestic circuit.The two newly-promoted sides, Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity and Kalabagan Cricket Academy, were lucky to have their share of some senior players. Batsmen Faisal Hossain and Shuvogoto Hom Chowdhury went to Khelaghar while Marshall Ayub, Sahagir Hossain and Talha Jubair went to Kalabagan Cricket Academy.

The BCCI’s next course of action in response to the Lodha Committee’s report is expected to be delayed as its state units have sought more time to discuss the recommendations

Arun Venugopal26-Jan-2016The BCCI’s next course of action in response to the Lodha Committee’s report is expected to be delayed as its state units have sought more time to discuss the recommendations. A BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo that president Shashank Manohar had informally suggested convening a special general meeting – effectively the board’s first official reaction to the report – on February 15, but it is all but ruled out as an SGM requires a 21-day notice period.It is understood that the BCCI’s legal committee, headed by PS Raman and comprising Abhay Apte and DVVS Somayajulu, is slated to meet on February 7, but with the state associations unlikely to put forth any concrete suggestions by then very little is expected to come out of the meeting. The legal committee had earlier met with Manohar and Thakur on January 17, but a source privy to the meeting said it was “inconclusive.””It was agreed at the meeting that there were issues that needed rectifying, and that we needed state associations to come on board,” the source said. He added the BCCI agreed with the Lodha Committee’s observations on transparency, proper upkeep of accounts and the need for election officers and an Ombudsman. “But there are other issues that needed to be discussed threadbare, and that’s why it is a time-consuming process. The president [Manohar] is very keen to resolve it, but at the same time there are logistical difficulties.”After the report was made public on January 4, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had asked state associations to convene their internal meetings and discuss the recommendations before January 31, but most of them have pointed out that a document of such wide scope and serious implications couldn’t be rushed. “Studying the report is at least a three-month job, if you aren’t doing anything else that is,” the BCCI official said. “We need to time to study, internalise and discuss without bias before adopting or rejecting it in toto, or adopting parts of it.”Some units like the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association have already conducted a meeting of its executive committee, but have given its members more time to present their thoughts on the recommendations. Mumbai Cricket Association, among the first state bodies to react to the report, said it would accept the recommendations “made for transparency and ethics,” but has subsequently not discussed it at its AGM recently.Officials of the MCA and Hyderabad Cricket Association have spoken of the need to have their legal experts study the report. “We need a good lawyer to go through it,” HCA secretary John Manoj said. “I have already informally asked Anurag Thakur for more time. We are having our EC [Executive Committee] meeting [today], and after that we will formally write to the secretary tomorrow requesting for a time of 30 to 45 days.” Other associations which haven’t made formal requests are expected to follow suit in the coming days.Rajesh Verma, secretary of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association, attributed a busy domestic schedule as another reason for the delay. “This is the time when all the tournaments are at their peak. There are zonal tournaments till the 31st in Ranchi,” he said. “We are also hosting the Sri Lanka women’s team for an ODI and T20 series, so we will form our own ideas and collectively look at the report soon.”However, Aditya Verma, secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar and the petitioner in the IPL spot-fixing case, has contended that the BCCI was deliberately trying to drag its feet on the issue. “Surely they are delaying it,” he said. “At present, why would BCCI want to implement these recommendations with the interests of many of its members at stake?”Verma has filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking full implementation of the Lodha Committee report. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi has agreed to hear the plea.

Opener’s innings forms bedrock of Northamptonshire reply as draw becomes favourite

ECB Reporters' Network10-Apr-2021Ricardo Vasconcelos’ sparkling 154 under pressure turned around Northamptonshire’s fortunes on a weather-affected third day of their LV= County Championship clash against Kent.The highly-promising youngster raced to his sixth first-class hundred, sharing a 142-run partnership with Rob Keogh to lead Northamptonshire’s fightback after the loss of three early wickets. By the end of a day finished early due to bad light and sleet, Northamptonshire had reached 301 for 5 and a draw looks likely.Vasconcelos peppered the boundary ropes with an array of stylish drives and cut shots and took on a series of short balls from fast bowler Miguel Cummins, which he hooked to the square leg boundary with some ease.Northamptonshire will be encouraged to see their young opener continue the rich vein of Championship form which saw him play a key role in their 2019 promotion push and earned him a five-year deal at Wantage Road.Northamptonshire had resumed on 91 for 1 in reply to Kent’s daunting first innings 455. The visitors made two early inroads with the evergreen Darren Stevens bowling his trademark nagging off-stump line. He enticed Emilio Gay to edge a ball which nibbled away but when he made a rare error in line and strayed on to leg stump, Alex Wakely failed to cash in and instead clipped a half-volley directly to short midwicket.Stevens should have picked up a third, but Charlie Thurston was put down by Denly at backward point. The mistake did not prove too costly as Thurston was bowled shouldering arms to a Harry Podmore delivery which seamed back sharply.With Northamptonshire still 220 runs behind at 135 for 4, Vasconcelos looked to put the pressure back on the opposition, running quick singles and building a partnership with Keogh who was largely content to play the support role and dispatch the occasional bad ball for four.Vasconcelos soon accelerated and was particularly harsh on Cummins as he moved quickly through the nineties. He drove him to the midwicket boundary and then hooked his next two deliveries for two further fours, bringing up his century in the process from just 120 balls.After tea, Kent turned to spin and having passed 150 with a series of sweeps, Vasconcelos fell to a catch off Jack Leaning, having faced 209 deliveries and hit 20 boundaries. It was an exceptional innings from the 23-year-old who joined Northamptonshire in 2018 having grown up playing in Boland.

England do not make life easy for themselves in knockout tournaments, but they secured their passage to the Champions Trophy semi-finals

The Report by Andrew McGlashan16-Jun-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook showed he can score at Twenty20 pace•AFP

England do not make life easy for themselves in knockout tournaments, but they secured their passage to the Champions Trophy semi-finals through a collectively impressive performance from the bowlers which followed a brisk innings from Alastair Cook after the weather had threatened to leave their hopes in Australia’s hands.But even as England were heaping pressure on New Zealand’s top order as they chased 170 in 24 overs, the weather still loomed. Rain, which had caused a five-hour delay after the toss, was creeping over the Bristol Channel and although the chase was behind the rate, if the match had been abandoned before 20 overs New Zealand would have gone through and England would have needed a favour from Australia on Monday.The 20th over, sent down by the peerless James Anderson, itself included more drama when Corey Anderson, who was added to New Zealand’s squad on the morning of the match as a replacement for Grant Elliott, appeared to injure his calf after aborting a run and spent several minutes receiving treatment which did not impress Ashley Giles and David Saker on the England balcony.Still, even after Anderson had completed the over there could have been another twist. Tim Bresnan conceded 19 in the next over as Kane Williamson, who made a brave 67 off 54 balls, and Anderson took their partnership to 73 before Williamson skied to cover off Stuart Broad whose heel was ruled, by the third umpire, to be fractionally behind the line. It was a mighty tight call.England’s new-ball bowling had soon made the chase appear far more daunting than some envisaged after their last seven wickets fell for 28 in 34 balls. Anderson set the tone with a three-over opening spell of testing pace and movement which accounted for the hapless Luke Ronchi and Martin Guptill in the space of three balls in the fourth over.When Ross Taylor was pinned lbw by Bresnan – his use of DRS did not save him – New Zealand were 27 for 3 and their hopes rested on Brendon McCullum. But none of the batsmen could get hold of England’s attack.Ravi Bopara, proving almost impossible to score off, was able to hustle through five overs for 26 and when McCullum pulled him to deep square-leg, where Joe Root held a brilliant low catch, New Zealand’s chances of winning had taken an almost terminal hit. For a short while it appeared they were playing for rain, and the abandonment, with the new batsmen not exactly speeding to the wicket until Williamson and Anderson gave it one, final, forlorn effort.New Zealand had appeared to claim a significant advantage when they won the toss, but the fact that the match was completed to the adjusted length without further interruption, and therefore the need for Duckworth-Lewis was erased, meant England did not suffer in the way that can be the case when run chases are reduced after further rain.But it was still tricky to assess what a matchwinning total would be batting first. That England had solid progress for 18 overs was down to their captain. The one format Cook does not play for England is Twenty20, but that does not mean he doesn’t want to and he showed what a complete all-round batsman he has become with 64 off 47 ballsQuite extraordinarily, he was dropped three times and all three chances were shelled by Nathan McCullum. There were two misses at midwicket when Cook has 14 and 37 and, the simplest, at backward point on 45. McCullum eventually held a return catch off the England captain which heralded an upturned in his fortunes. He ended the innings having held four chances.For the first time in an ODI innings Cook hit more than one six. But England could not finish with a flourish as Kyle Mills, who became the leading wicket-taker in Champions Trophy history, and Mitchell McClenaghan shared seven wickets.Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, who remained at No. 3 despite the shortened match, fell inside the first four overs, but Root was immediately busy at the crease, using his wrists to find that gaps (a skill not natural to all England’s batsmen) and provided the first six over the innings when he pulled Daniel Vettori over deep midwicket.Brendon McCullum switched his bowlers around regularly and it was the return of James Franklin that saw Cook, who reached his fifty from 39 balls, move up a gear when he straight drove his first delivery into the sightscreen at the River End. Just to show he can play “out-of-the-box” he followed that with a scoop over short fine-leg before his second life at midwicket by Nathan McCullum and he later lofted Williamson over wide long-off.Once again England’s power hitters – Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler – could not make a major impact and neither could Bopara match his recent onslaughts. But this time the bowlers did not fail in their task.

Batter is asymptomatic and could feature in the latter half of the five-game assignment, provided he does not develop symptoms

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Feb-2022Kusal Mendis has tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of Sri Lanka’s T20I series against Australia. He is asymptomatic, and because he has already had three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, he will only be required to undergo seven days of isolation. As such, Mendis could feature in the latter half of the series, provided he does not develop symptoms, SLC’s chief medical officer Dr Daminda Attanayake told ESPNcricinfo.”He has been put in isolation since Monday and all the protocols have been followed,” she said. “Since the players have had the booster, we have changed our protocols, and those who have been first contacts for him don’t have to go into isolation. But they will also continue to be tested.”Mendis’ seven-day isolation is due to end on Monday February 13 – the date of the second T20I, in Sydney. If he makes it into the XI, Sri Lanka will likely target his return for the third match, in Canberra, on February 15.Mendis’ Covid-positive status was indicated by a Rapid Antigen Test on February 7, before being confirmd by a PCR test.His absence from will mean Sri Lanka are without the Lanka Premier League’s top scorer for the start of this series. They do have options however, with Avishka Fernando, Danushka Gunathilaka, Charith Asalanka, and Pathum Nissanka all in the squad, among others.The first match of the five-game series will be played in Sydney, on Friday.

Kate Cross takes three early wickets to peg back Covid-depleted Superchargers

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2021Lizelle Lee fired Manchester Originals to an eight-wicket win at Headingley to dent Northern Superchargers’ hopes of reaching the women’s Hundred knockout stages.The Originals opener hit a rapid 68 to help the visitors ease to their target of 127 with 14 balls to spare, after captain Kate Cross starred by taking three wickets.Lee’s innings meant a superb unbeaten 75 from compatriot Laura Wolvaardt – who singlehandedly helped Superchargers post a competitive total – was in vain.Superchargers are second in the table with one match to play, level on points with Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles who both now have a game in hand.Lee led the way as Originals set a blistering pace in the Powerplay, smashing 11 boundaries to reach 50 without loss after 25 balls, the highest Powerplay score of the women’s Hundred to date.Related

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Emma Lamb fell shortly after for 10, well caught by Wolvaardt off Linsey Smith, but Lee continued in imperious fashion. She reached 52 from 27 balls, before smashing the first six of the match, and alongside compatriot Mignon du Preez reduced the target to 40 from 50 balls.Superchargers made the key breakthrough with 29 balls remaining as Lee was caught on the boundary by Wolvaardt off Kalea Moore, falling for 68 from 40 balls featuring 13 fours and one six – with Originals needing 25 from 29 deliveries.But du Preez took up the baton, hitting ball 77 for six to ease any nerves as she finished on 24 to see the Originals home.Having won the toss, Originals captain Cross led the charge with the ball – taking three wickets as Superchargers posted the lowest Powerplay score of the women’s Hundred of 16 for 4.Laura Wolvaardt strides off after her unbeaten half-century•Getty Images

Cross had Lauren Winfield-Hill caught behind off the third ball before Hannah Jones grabbed the key wicket of the tournament’s top-scorer Jemimah Rodrigues, brilliantly stumped by Elllie Threlkeld for seven.The Originals skipper returned to bowl a 10-ball set, dismissing Alice Davidson-Richards and Bess Heath without conceding a single run to leave Superchargers four down.Three successive boundaries arrested the slump as Wolvaardt and Sterre Kalis set about rebuilding patiently, nudging the hosts’ total past 50 from 55 balls.Kalis was run out for 19, ending a useful 38-run stand, but Superchargers finished strongly by taking 72 runs off the remaining 31 balls. Wolvaardt played the starring role, passing 50 from 44 balls before smashing 20 off the final five to finish with 75 from 51.Superchargers were without three players, after one squad member’s positive test forced two other players into self-isolation. Originals, meanwhile, were again missing the injured Harmanpreet Kaur, who is due to return to India to spend time with her family ahead of the national team’s series against Australia.

Removal of set batter, with lesser hitters to come, could have made the difference

S Rajesh11-Nov-202118.3 Dropped! That was ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary for the third ball of the 19th over, when Matthew Wade, then on 21 off 13, was given a life by Hasan Ali. You could sense that it could be a vital drop, and it was confirmed emphatically when Wade smoked the next three balls for sixes to end the contest without even the need for a 20th over.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

How costly was that missed chance?According to ESPNcricinfo’s Luck Index, that error cost Pakistan 15 runs. Wade took two runs off the ball off which he was dropped, and then hit 18 off the next three, which means 20 runs were scored off four balls. Luck Index estimates that those four balls would have only gone for five runs had the catch been taken.

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This calculation is done by assuming that Wade would have been dismissed off that ball, and three balls he played subsequently would have been played by Pat Cummins and Marcus Stoinis, who was the non-striker. Based on the scoring patterns of these batters, Luck Index estimates that five runs would have been scored off those three balls, which would have left Australia needing 15 from the last over. That, the algorithm estimates, would have been too much for the remaining batters to achieve.Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, made a mention of that error in his post-match comments, and seeing the impact of that missed opportunity, it’s not difficult to see why.

Pune Warriors did most of the basics wrong against the much-fancied Chennai Super Kings, but still won by a huge margin

The Report by Sidharth Monga15-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Aaron Finch provided Pune Warriors with an effective start•BCCI

They keep saying you have got to do the basics right, more so in Twenty20. They lie. On Monday night in Chennai, Pune Warriors did most of the basics wrong against the much-fancied Chennai Super Kings, but still won by a huge margin.While batting only two of the seven Warriors batsmen went at a strike-rate of more than 112.5, and one of them faced 18 dots out of 45. They wasted a flying start – their best in all IPLs – with a muddle in the middle, Mitchell Marsh holed out into the deep and didn’t even cross over, Manish Pandey slogged when he should have handed over the strike to Steven Smith, T Suman dropped a sitter that would have reduced Chennai Super Kings to 2 for 2, and they were consistently on the worse side of minor fielding errors.Still, riding on Aaron Finch’s 67 off 45 and Steven Smith’s unbeaten 39 off 16, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s impeccable swing at the top of the defence, Warriors pulled off the upset. Their basics might not have been perfect, but there was enough of the spectacular from the three aforementioned gentlemen.The first ball Finch faced he drilled back past Dirk Nannes for four. He would hit seven more fours in the Powerplay. With a short back lift and a punch packed behind them. Robin Uthappa at the other end, though, fumbled his way to nine off 12 at the end of the Powerplay. The singles didn’t come, Uthappa kept struggling, but Finch kept hitting enough boundaries to take this stand to the best opening for Warriors ever.Then came on R Ashwin’s spin and Chris Morris’ bustle, and Warriors lost their way. In going from 96 for 0 to 128 for 4, they consumed 29 balls and looked set for a below-par total, especially after the 18th over produced just three runs. However, Smith, who wouldn’t even have played but for the Tamil Nadu government’s problem with Sri Lankan cricketers, had other ideas. He went crazy against Nannes and Dwayne Bravo, reverse-flicking the latter for a huge six over third man in the final over. Twenty-eight came off those last two overs, but this was still a strictly fighting total.Under Bhuvneshwar’s swing, the total grew a leg. With his second delivery, he trapped S Anirudha – who replaced Michael Hussey – with an inswinger. He looked like he could get Suresh Raina with each of the remaining deliveries of that wicket-maiden. Catches kept getting dropped, the fielding was not the sharpest, but Bhuvneshwar nipped out Raina soon.Abhishek Nayar’s cutters and Rahul Sharma’s accuracy did the job in the middle overs, and once again Super Kings were left with close to 14 an over to chase through MS Dhoni, Bravo and Albie Morkel. It wasn’t to be this time as the bowlers and fielders held their nerve.

Rob Keogh attends funeral online before returning to crease to thwart Glamorgan

ECB Reporters' Network14-Jul-2021Glamorgan 462 for 4 dec (Carlson 170*, Cooke 133*) drew with Northamptonshire 215 and 250 for 5 (Keogh 71*, Gouldstone 67*, Neser 3-52)Glamorgan were frustrated by Northamptonshire’s middle order as the two teams shared a LV= Insurance County Championship draw in Cardiff.The home side declared on their overnight score of 462 for 4 for a first-innings lead of 247 runs and with Northamptonshire two men down, they were firm favourites for victory.Such a win would have been remarkable given the length of time lost to rain over the first two days and a Glamorgan success looked even more likely when Michael Neser took three quick wickets.But an unbeaten 71 from Rob Keogh – whose innings came in two parts after he retired on 50 to attend his late grandmother’s funeral service online – steadied Northamptonshire’s innings and Harry Gouldstone’s 67 not out made the game safe.Northamptonshire – who were already a man light after Gareth Berg suffered an ankle injury in the day two warm-up – were dealt a further cruel blow.A club statement on Wednesday morning read: “Luke Procter will miss the final day of the ongoing County Championship fixture against Glamorgan.”Procter left the squad on Tuesday evening following news of a family bereavement. The thoughts of everyone at Northamptonshire County Cricket Club are with Luke and his family.”It meant Glamorgan needed only eight wickets on the final day to win the match and they grabbed their first with just the second ball of the morning.Northamptonshire captain Ricardo Vasconcelos was strangled down the leg side by Neser who had received his Glamorgan cap just minutes earlier.Charlie Thurston edged Neser through the vacant third slip area, but Emilio Gay was the next to go in the same fashion as Vasconcelos.
Thurston again had a reprieve when another edge – this time from Timm van der Gugten’s delivery – went through the slip cordon once more.Thurston’s luck finally ran out when he edged a good Neser delivery to Chris Cooke for 29 and what was the Glamorgan wicketkeeper’s third catch of the morning.With Glamorgan’s seam attack on top, it was perhaps a surprise to see captain Cooke turn to spin. Andrew Salter, Marnus Labuschagne and even Billy Root didn’t look too dangerous as they all had a twirl. Northamptonshire’s first session went from bad to worse when Saif Zaib was needlessly run out with the last action before lunch. Keogh hit Salter to Labuschagne at cover and the Australian’s throw was too fast for Zaib and Cooke whipped off the bails.Neser and Labuschagne settled into the attack after lunch but found Keogh and Gouldstone in obdurate mood. Keogh went to 50 from 112 balls but then immediately retired with family matters on his mind.Bowler Simon Kerrigan arrived at the crease and Glamorgan sensed an opportunity, but he and Gouldstone put on a fifty partnership. Salter thought he had got Kerrigan caught at silly point by Labuschagne in the final session and although he was caught behind by Cooke off Michael Hogan for 36 when the second new ball came, Glamorgan couldn’t do enough to force victory.Northamptonshire finished on 250 for 5 with Keogh back at the crease and wearing a black armband.

Western Storm stumble after century opening stand between Parfitt and Knight

ECB Reporters' Network31-May-2021Central Sparks emerged victorious by 41 runs against Western Storm thanks to a magnificent innings by Amy Jones, who recorded the highest score in the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy to date. Jones finished not out on 163 not out, her second successive century to guide her team into a winning position, despite a good bowling performance from Storm.With Sparks reaching 295 for 7, it proved a step too far for Storm, with Ria Fackrell taking 4 for 34, despite an unbroken opening partnership of 102 between Heather Knight and Lauren Parfitt who both scored half-centuries.It was a restrictive start by Storm taking key early wickets, as the Sparks reached 44 for 3 after 13 overs. Lauren Filer took two wickets in her first spell, with Eve Jones and Marie Kelly dismissed for 5 and 7 respectively, and Gwenan Davies was run out for 15.However, from then on the Sparks looked comfortable in their innings, as Amy Jones played freely to make her century, and having excellent support from the middle order. Milly Home contributed 18 to a partnership of 80 before falling to Fi Morris; Steph Butler and Amy Jones then put on 68, before Knight bowled Butler for 27.Jones carried on her excellent form from the Sparks’ victory in their previous game against Diamonds, bringing her century up off 83 balls, including 11 fours and three sixes. The Sparks kicked on after reaching 200 in the 40th over, with Jones finishing unbeaten on 163 from 114 balls, while Sarah Glenn and Fackrell fell for 7 and 11 respectively.Western Storm did get off to a fast start however, reaching 102 without loss, before Glenn got the much-needed breakthrough, bowling Knight for 59. Parfitt then brought up her half-century, from 80 balls, as the Sparks began to take command, taking five wickets for 35 runs, and restricting Storm. Fackrell claimed her first three wickets to put the Sparks in the driving seat.Parfitt was first to fall, bowled for 91, followed by Sophie Luff going lbw to Liz Russell for 27 and Hennesey stumped for 4 off Fackrell’s bowling. Nat Wraith was then bowled by Glenn for 2, with Danielle Gibson the third of Fackrell’s wickets, caught for 18.Left needing 88 from the final ten overs, wickets continued to fall for Storm, with Emily Arlott taking two in two balls: Anya Shrubsole was caught for 13, and Morris dismissed in the same fashion for 21. With Fackrell claiming her fourth wicket, Mollie Robbins caught for 1, the remaining requirement proved too much for Storm.