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PCB chairman adopts combative stance, asks Bangladesh to prove Pakistan is unsafe if they feel it is so

Danyal Rasool in Karachi23-Dec-2019Pakistan’s days of hosting international cricket away from home are over, according to PCB chairman Ehsan Mani. Hours after Pakistan wrapped up a Test series win against Sri Lanka in Karachi, the first time any Test cricket has been played in the country since 2009, Mani insisted that there was “absolutely no doubt” Pakistan would play all home series within the country going forward.Mani’s comments came at a time when top figures in Pakistan cricket have taken a strong stance on the upcoming, but as yet unconfirmed, Bangladesh tour of Pakistan. Reports suggest Bangladesh are willing to play T20Is in Pakistan, but want the Tests at a neutral venue. On Sunday, head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said Bangladesh had “no excuse” not to tour, while Test captain Azhar Ali urged the ICC to get involved should such a scenario come up.”No one should be under any misapprehension as to where Pakistan’s home Tests will take place,” Mani said at a press interaction. “All of Pakistan’s matches, against Bangladesh or anyone else, will take place in Pakistan. I still hope the BCB will reflect on the matter and accept there is no reason for them not to visit Pakistan.”If Sri Lanka can come – and bringing them was very high-risk – then it is safe. If anything even minor had happened, people would have said it isn’t safe to come. But they trusted the people here and came and they [the ones that opted out] said they wished they had come for the limited-overs series as well, because what they’ve been told and the ground realities are very different.”After initial optimism about the tour of Bangladesh, as ESPNcricinfo has reported, the PCB has become concerned by the unresponsiveness of its counterparts in Bangladesh. Mani said he had read more about the tour in newspapers than via official communication from the BCB. “When they receive feedback from the Sri Lankans about how security matters were dealt with, hopefully they’ll think again and decide to tour,” Mani said.Pointing out that the PSL draft had over 400 overseas players listed, Mani argued that individual players no longer had a problem with coming to Pakistan. Unlike the last few editions of the PSL, where a handful of games at the back-end of the tournament were played in Pakistan, the entirety of the tournament will take place in the country this year.A lingering uncertainty, now that the PCB has become more forceful in its insistence that teams visit Pakistan for tour commitments, is what would happen if a visiting side refused to tour for a scheduled series. The PCB has, until now, opted against disclosing what its course of action would be, but Mani said the burden of proof had shifted from Pakistan to any team that believed it was unsafe to tour the country and hinted at the possibility of taking the matter to the ICC for resolution.”I have been around with the ICC for a long time. I know the way it works,” he said. “They will have to prove Pakistan is not safe. We think it’s safe, and we’ve shown the world it’s safe. Look at what happened in Christchurch [with the Bangladesh team], and incidents can happen in Australia and England, and all around the world. India is at present in far greater turmoil from a security perspective than Pakistan is. I will not take a risk with any players’ safety or security. We will listen to everyone who is worried about coming here, but ultimately they’ll have to prove it isn’t safe to come here.”The PCB’s tone might suggest discussions with the BCB have stalled, though Mani insisted talks had not been called off. While Mani stressed that nothing but a full tour would be acceptable to the PCB, he stopped short of suggesting that Pakistan would rebuff any other offer.”We would absolutely have the right to dispute such a decision with the ICC,” he said. “I don’t want to say too much, because our discussions with the BCB are ongoing. When they formally tell us what decision they’ve taken, we’ll see what we need to do. The Bangladesh women’s team came to Pakistan, as well as the Under-16 team, and they went back very happy. So we don’t want them to be in any doubt that if they play us, it will be in Pakistan.”

Queensland climb to the second spot on the Shield table after thumping Tasmania inside three days

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2020Queensland’s seamers led by Michael Neser and Mark Steketee destroyed Tasmania to set up a ten-wicket victory inside three days at the Gabba.Neser and Steketee took three wickets apiece to bowl Tasmania out for 236 on the third day. Half-centuries from Tasmania trio Ben McDermott, Tim Paine and Beau Webster ensured the home side would bat again but the paultry target of 58 was light work for Queensland openers Joe Burns and Bryce Street.McDermott and Paine added 54 in the morning session after Steketee removed nightwatchman Gabe Bell. McDermott reached his second half-century of the season and absorbed 189 deliveries before Steketee produced another cracking delivery to break the partnership and have McDermott caught behind.Paine and Webster also added 56 for the seventh wicket with the Australian Test captain passing fifty for the second time in the Shield season. He struck eight fours and a six but Neser knocked him over with the second new ball to expose the tail. Tasmania lost 4 for 43 with Webster the last man out for 50.Burns and Street needed just ten overs to reach the target of 58. Burns raced to 46 not out from 35 balls with six fours and a six before Street hit the winning runs to deny him a half-century. The win moves the Bulls up to the second spot on the Sheffield Shield table.

Queensland board director Ian Healy said the NRL and AFL could show the way for cricket to resume

Daniel Brettig30-Apr-2020Cricket’s custodians in Australia should have the luxury of being able to wait on the outcomes of the winter football codes’ attempts to return to play before making any far-reaching decisions about cutbacks to the game’s costs, the Queensland board director Ian Healy has said.As Cricket Australia (CA), their state association owners, and players union partners remain at considerable odds over the central governing body’s prescribed medicine to handle the financial shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, Healy pointed out the fact that the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL) competitions will effectively provide a pointer for how cricket might fare next summer.This is not only in terms of the logistical and health precautions required, but also how the game is received by broadcast audiences starved of sport for several months at least. Healy’s words reflected the kind of scepticism CA’s chairman Earl Eddings and fellow director Paul Green are believed to have faced when presenting the organisation’s finances and forecasts to the states and the Australian Cricketers Association on Thursday.There is concern that cost-cutting decisions, ostensibly made to save money for worst-case scenarios next summer, may be made without a full enough picture. This has already been reflected in CA stand downs for some 200 staff, and is believed to have spread to Cricket Victoria (CV).”It’s been a bit of a bombshell and I think the staff have felt it to be a bit of a bombshell,” Healy told SEN Radio. “They were incredibly accommodating, the staff, to agree to what their conditions now are, so that was a great show of respect by the staff of CA. We all know how much the staff love working for our brands, whether that be state or national cricket. But it was a surprise to all to come down so quickly and so early.”I thought they’d be, and I think they are, working really hard behind the scenes in organising the India trip and they really want the NRL and the AFL to get going so that they’ll show us how to do the quarantine stuff and isolation stuff and run a comp. They’re going to try to do it with 18 and 16 teams and Australian cricket have only got two, maybe four if the Indian women play our women. There may be four teams we have to isolate – it shouldn’t be anywhere near as difficult as these domestic comps will need to be. So hopefully they get going and show us the way.”Proposed cutbacks at CV are understood to be overwhelmingly in the area of community cricket, where “boots on the ground” to grow the game in schools, clubs and rural areas were a large part of strategic funding by CA to all states since the financial model changed in 2012. The states had collectively pushed back on CA’s original request for a 45% reduction in annual grants, with current discussions surrounding the concept of a 25% drop with inbuilt variation up or down, depending on revenue fluctuations related to next summer’s schedule.But there has been a cascade of uncertainty around the game since CA and its chief executive Kevin Roberts claimed that the game may be broke by August without drastic cuts to spending amid the pandemic. That has led the states, players and some staff to ask questions about the direction taken, and leave CA’s leadership trying to justify their chosen path. As of Thursday night, there still appeared to be far more work to do on that front.”I hope Cricket Australia do expose their financial information to the players association and the states as quickly as possible, so those bodies can make their calls on what they need to do for their businesses and cricket looks different but it’s still on the rails,” Healy said. “The saving grace to the World Cup is it is not necessarily all CA, it’s an ICC organising committee. So it’s sort of removed a bit.”They’ll be doing a whole lot of work on their stuff, and there’s one next year, another World Cup, so that might go by the by, a little easier than other times, because it is a lot to be done. We’re doing it tough with 16 clubs in NRL, let alone 15 countries. It probably will turn to India quite quickly, and I’m wondering if there’s any other countries that want to come over here too. We’re pretty isolated and a little island and we might be open for business.”The other thing I’ve been really impressed with is the players’ comments. Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Tim Paine, David Warner, Steve Smith, they’ve all said we’re happy, we’re in this together, like the catch cry of the whole virus thing. I don’t think there’s many surprises in that MoU, the agreement between the players and Cricket Australia, everything’s there for such instances.”

“He’s still quite young and he’s got a couple of good seasons, but this would be the making of him.”

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-20204:55

How Bumrah performs post-injury will be his making – McGrath

Jasprit Bumrah has had a lean run since his return from a stress fracture, sustained last year. He showed signs off rust in his first international game, a T20I match in Indore in January, on return, and later he went wicketless in the three-match ODI series in New Zealand. In between, during the T20I series in New Zealand, he wasn’t at his best either, giving away 17 and 13 runs in Super Overs.ALSO READ: Chopra: What’s behind Jasprit Bumrah’s dip in form?In the Test series opener at Basin Reserve, Bumrah managed just one wicket in 26.4 overs in a heavy loss for India.Former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath reckons that how well Bumrah copes with this phase during his comeback will shape his career.”It comes back to the individual and how well he knows himself and how well he has done previously,” McGrath told ESPNcricinfo. “So, yeah, Jasprit Bumrah, he’s still quite young and he’s got a couple of good seasons, but this would be the making of him.”McGrath stressed on the importance of a positive mindset and clarity in thought, explaining bowlers usually need time to feel their way back into action.”It’s more about the mindset,” he said. “Coming back from injury is more like starting the season. If you finish the season up here [indicating a high level with his hand], the next season you want to start back up here. It doesn’t work that way and it took me a few seasons to work that out. I thought this is where I want to get to [the high level] and I’m starting the season again or coming back from injury, I’m starting down here [at a lower level]. So, I’ve to realise that and allow myself a few matches to get into where I want to get to and get on that upward slope. I think that’s probably the biggest issue – the expectations from everyone, back in the team I’ve got to pick up exactly from where I left off.”And if you identify that you’ve got things in place, then your thought process is, ‘Okay this is what I want to achieve this game and it’s about the process. Getting the ball coming out well, bowling the areas I want and then building it up each match.’ If you got that way, the process, two or three matches, you’re back up at the top. But, he [Bumrah] has played only one [Test] match and everyone is into him. That’s how it goes.”Prior to his T20I comeback, Bumrah had been pulled out of Gujarat’s Ranji Trophy fixture. Should he have been allowed to test out his fitness in four-day cricket before coming back to international cricket?”Sometimes, it is a better way, otherwise no,” McGrath said. “It’s about the player themselves – where they are at and what they’re looking to achieve. To me, it’s more how we he bowled. Did he bowl a heap of rubbish? Then maybe there’s a few issues. Did he bowl well and didn’t take a wicket? One-day cricket is not about taking wickets. Early on you want to take wickets but it’s about containment. T20 cricket is sort of similar, and it’s about how well he’s bowling.”Sometimes, coming back in Shield cricket in Australia or Ranji Trophy you have over here, there’s more expectations on the player to come back and dominate first ball. And if he doesn’t, then there’s more pressure.”

Seamer had signed a two-year contract at the county

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2020Somerset have announced that Vernon Philander’s contract with the club has been cancelled by mutual consent.Philander, who played his final Test match for South Africa against England in January after announcing his retirement from international cricket, had signed a two-year deal with the county on a Kolpak registration.All existing Kolpak registrations will be cancelled on December 31 this year, but the PCA has lobbied the ECB to increase the number of overseas players permitted in the County Championship and One-Day Cup from one to two, meaning Philander would have been able to stay on as an overseas player.All professional cricket in England and Wales has been suspended until July 1 at the earliest due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Like the majority of counties, Somerset have furloughed their players and the majority of their non-playing staff.ALSO READ: England’s Test hopes boosted by latest government strategySomerset did not commit to re-signing Philander for 2021 in a press release, but Andy Hurry, the club’s director of cricket, left the possibility open.”These are clearly very uncertain and challenging times for all counties with no cricket until at least July 1 and the likelihood of a condensed and truncated season,” Hurry said. “It was such an exciting prospect to visualise Vernon returning to the Cooper Associates County Ground, but given the current uncertainty the cancellation of his contract was a prudent and sensible decision. I would like to thank Vernon and his management team for their understanding of the current situation and we hope one day to see Vernon back wearing Somerset colours”.Philander is the first non-overseas player to have his deal cancelled, following a number of announcements from counties confirming that their international signings would not be joining them as planned. Several other non-overseas players are not currently in the UK, including Mark Cosgrove, David Wiese and Stiaan van Zyl, while three coaches – Dave Houghton (Derbyshire), Michael di Venuto (Surrey) and Jason Gillespie (Sussex) – are at home with their families in other countries.

Unbroken stand of 231 see Kent take control against south-coast neighbours

ECB Reporters Network09-Aug-2020Teenager Jordan Cox and winter recruit Jack Leaning notched their first centuries for the county as Kent took control of their Bob Willis Trophy south group game. Sussex endured an 85-over day in the Canterbury dirt as Kent’s second-wicket pair piled on a record unbroken stand worth 231, beating the club’s previous best against Sussex of 229 set by Kentish legends Arthur Fagg and Leslie Ames at Hastings in 1948.By stumps and the midpoint of the match Cox had reached a career-best 167 not out while Leaning finished unbeaten on 110 as Kent closed on 338 for 1 for a narrow six-run lead.Cox, a 19-year-old right-hander who only opened in this match in the absence of Kent’s England duo Joe Denly and Zak Crawley, cruised through the so-called nervous 90s within six deliveries to post his maiden century from 150 balls with 16 fours and a brace of sixes. A Kent Academy product playing only his second first-class innings on the ground, Cox moved to three figures with a huge six over long-on against the bowling of Jack Carson.The England Under-19 batsman started the Kent response to the Sussex all out total of 332 by featuring in a first-wicket stand worth 107 with Daniel Bell-Drummond. Bell-Drummond fell soon after lunch for 43 when Mitch Claydon, the former Kent seamer, got one to hold its line against the Canterbury slope and graze the shoulder of the bat. Harry Finch completed the dismissal with a sharp low catch at second slip.Normal service was resumed once Claydon and George Garton rested, however, as Cox combined with Leaning, the ex-Yorkshire batsman and one of four Kent players making their home debuts, to deepen Sussex’s woes.Leaning reached his half-century from 88 balls and with eight fours while at the other end, Cox continued to show excellent judgement of length. Fleet of foot, he skipped down the pitch to drive anything flighted, or rocked back deep into his crease to cut or reverse sweep once the Sussex attack attempted to adjust their lengths.With his score on 134, Cox took a painful blow in the chest after ducking into a Stuart Meaker bumper but batted on after treatment from Kent physiotherapist Dan George. It proved Cox’s sole misjudgement of the day.Kent reached 200 for their first batting bonus point when, in the 50th over, a Delray Rawlins long-hop allowed Leaning room to cut to the ropes at backward point. The 300 followed in the 74th over when Cox clipped leg side against Garton to reach his own 150 from 221 deliveries.Leaning, who joined from Yorkshire during the close season, notched his first ton in Kent colours and his fifth in first-class cricket from 162 balls after cutting his 16th four of the day through backward point off a rare loose delivery from Garton.At the start of day two Kent used up 27 deliveries to winkle out the 10th Sussex batsman. Visiting skipper Ben Brown was the man to go after 283 minutes at the crease and when only two shy of his 19th first-class century. Cutting at one too close to the body from Harry Podmore, Brown chopped the ball onto off stump. Podmore finished with 4 for 85 and rookie offspinner Marcus O’Riordan took career-best figures of 3 for 50.

The franchises had earlier been told to expect the fixtures list by August 20

Shamya Dasgupta26-Aug-2020With just over three weeks to go for the start of IPL 2020, there is still no clarity on the schedule of the 60-match tournament, to be played across the UAE. The delay in announcing the fixtures list – which the franchises had been told to expect by August 20 – stems from Covid-19-related travel restrictions between the emirates.There has been a spike in infection cases in the UAE, and mandatory checks have been ramped up at the border, making travel into Abu Dhabi more time-consuming than before. ESPNcricinfo understands that the IPL Governing Council members who are in the UAE have been speaking to officials of the Emirates Cricket Board – headed by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of culture, youth and social development – to try and get the matter resolved urgently.It’s not only that the tournament is likely to be split – the plan is to host 21 of the 56 group-stage games each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and 14 in Sharjah, with the playoffs in the first two emirates. In addition, Abu Dhabi is the base for two teams, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, who will have to cross the border several times.Though officials of the BCCI and IPL Governing Council have so far not commented on this, it seems to be no more than a matter of logistics, of synchronising team travel schedules so they comply with Covid-19-specific border entry regulations. Matt Boucher, the CEO of Abu Dhabi Cricket, believes the border issue, however, should not be too big a problem if everyone concerned follows the protocols put in place by the BCCI (for the event) and of the UAE government.”At the border, it’s either a DPI test or a PCR test, and it’s purely to protect the population of Abu Dhabi. Many hundreds of people are using the border every day, and it’s certainly not a hassle or an issue,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “It just has to be, of course, tailored into the event schedule with rotational testing. But the teams need to be tested in accordance with the protocols of the event, the UAE government, and the BCCI protocols for the event. And if those are in line with the testing procedures at the border, then the facilitation will take place.”The way the UAE authorities want it to work is for all team members – players and anyone else travelling into Abu Dhabi – to return negative tests 48 hours before they get to the border. After that, with VIP lanes and police escorts in place, the delay shouldn’t be as much as some people fear, Boucher felt.”If Sunrisers Hyderabad is staying in Dubai, and playing in Abu Dhabi on a Wednesday, the team rotation for that test needs to take place 48 hours before they travel to Abu Dhabi. And they can then travel seamlessly back to Dubai. It shouldn’t be a sticking point.”The match schedule and the testing of the players need to be aligned. It’s not an easy task, it needs to be thought out, it needs to be calculated, but the safety of the players and others is the most important thing. It’s not an international border, it’s a safety mechanism.”Similar logistics will apply for the Abu Dhabi-based teams, Boucher said. “For example, if Mumbai are playing in Dubai on Wednesday, then 48 hours before that match they need to have the PCR test to return from Dubai. That will be facilitated by a VIP lane and Dubai police escorts and Abu Dhabi police escorts. Upon their return to the Abu Dhabi border, the police will already have all the negative test reports, and they will seamlessly come through the border via a VIP lane.”There have also been murmurs of some teams not being happy about playing games in the afternoon heat, with matches starting at 2pm local time – ten double-headers had tentatively been penciled in by the IPL Governing Council when they announced the decision to shift the tournament to the UAE. Whether that is still a sticking point or not remains to be seen.

Rahul, Pooran and Maxwell can take pitches out of the equation, but there are question marks over their death bowling

Saurabh Somani14-Sep-20204:35

‘This could be Mayank Agarwal’s season’

Where they finished in 2019: Sixth, tied on points with Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad (12 each), but behind both on net run-rate.Potential XI: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (capt & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, K Gowtham, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammed Shami, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi BishnoiBatting: If the Kings XI take the bold call of having a first XI without Chris Gayle, they might just achieve a better balance in the side. Their two best overseas batsmen are Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell, and they’ll need their other two overseas spots for bowlers.A top order that has KL Rahul alongside Pooran and Maxwell is one that is capable of taking pitches and conditions out of the equation. Both Rahul and Pooran have the ability to shift gears seamlessly and bat deep, while Maxwell provides the ballast.Sarfaraz Khan can be a powerful finisher too. He was in top form in the Ranji Trophy, and with the IPL originally scheduled right after that tournament, the timing was perfect. That he has the talent has never been in doubt, but it remains to be seen if Khan has managed to keep his fitness and training on track during the extended break. If he has, that batting line-up looks very powerful indeed.The expected slowness of pitches in the UAE should not be as much of a factor for this Kings XI batting group that is adept at tackling both pace and spin.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bowling: Kings XI have an above-average spin department, led by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is coming off an excellent CPL, where he was the second-highest wicket-taker and gave up runs at just 5.29. That means he’s got a lot of game-time and a lot of recent experience of bowling on tired pitches that host a number of matches in a short time-frame, and both could be key points at the IPL.The all-round talents of K Gowtham should see him be part of the attack too, while Sheldon Cottrell brings in the left-arm element and should take the new ball alongside Mohammed Shami.Kings XI have the exciting Ravi Bishnoi, who set the Under-19 World Cup alight with his legspin, to throw in the mix too, and other spin options in M Ashwin and Harpreet Brar.But, while Ishan Porel is a good addition, the rest of the back-up seamers are pretty raw and untested. If Shami can’t make the XI for whatever reason, Kings XI will be hard-pressed for options to replace him.Another area they might struggle in is death bowling. They have Chris Jordan, but including him would mean no room for Cottrell, who is a greater wicket-taking threat.Young player to watch out for: The highest wicket-taker at the Under-19 World Cup at the start of this year, Bishnoi drew widespread admiration at the tournament. He has proven difficult to score off, while also being a constant wicket-taking threat with loop, drift, a wicked googly. Bishnoi turned 20 a couple of weeks before the IPL’s start, and this could be among the best opportunities he gets. He’ll have the advantage of conditions, with pitches expected to be slow and likely to be subjected to unprecedented wear and tear. He’ll also have the advantage of working under Anil Kumble, a different type of legspinner to Bishnoi but one who knows more about the art than most in the world. Whether Bishnoi gets a long enough run remains to be seen, but the setting is ideal for the exciting young legspinner.Coaching staff: Anil Kumble (head coach), Andy Flower (assistant coach), Wasim Jaffer (batting coach), Jonty Rhodes (fielding coach), Charl Langeveldt (bowling coach)