All posts by n8rngtd.top

ECB Reporters Network08-Jun-2016
ScorecardPaul Stirling’s unbeaten hundred made light work of a rain-reduced target•Getty Images

Paul Stirling hit a fluent century as Middlesex inflicted a third Royal London One-Day Cup defeat in as many games on holders Gloucestershire by seven wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis system at Bristol.The home side posted 254 for 8 after losing the toss, Hamish Marshall top-scoring with 74 on the day he announced that his 11-year stint with the county would end when this season is over.Gareth Roderick contributed 64, while Toby Roland-Jones (3 for 36) was the pick of the Middlesex attack. James Fuller claimed 2 for 45 on returning to his former county.Facing a revised target of 208 from 35 overs following a rain break, Middlesex skated to victory with 21 balls to spare, Ireland batsman Stirling reaching his ton off 87 balls, with 11 fours and 3 sixes, before finishing unbeaten on 125.Gloucestershire’s innings had got off to a poor start when Chris Dent miscued Roland-Jones to cover where Nick Gubbins took a comfortable catch in only the second over.Michael Klinger had survived a loud shout for a catch behind in the opening over from Tom Helm, but looked in good touch moving to 20 before edging a defensive shot off Roland-Jones straight to Ollie Rayner at slip.Roderick had made only 13 when badly dropped by Eoin Morgan at point off Helm, an error which allowed the batsman to share the most meaningful partnership of the innings with Marshall.The latter hit a straight six off James Franklin and Roderick followed suit off Fuller to bring up 100 in the 21st over.When both Roderick and Marshall reached 62-ball half-centuries in quick succession the hosts looked set for a big score. Then Roderick overbalanced in making an ugly mishit off Helm and was caught at mid-off by Franklin.That was 150 for 3 and Gloucestershire still looked well placed as 31 more runs were added before their innings turned sour in the 35th over, bowled by Roland-Jones.Rayner did the damage, running out Cockbain for 14 at the bowlers end from short mid-wicket as he was sent back attempting a quick single and three balls later catching Marshall in the same position off a poor shot.Suddenly the home side were 183 for 5 and needed to rebuild. There was never much momentum to the innings after that as Benny Howell, Kieran Noema-Barnett and Craig Miles fell without making much impression.Stirling was dropped on one by Klinger at second slip off Liam Norwell in the third over of the Middlesex reply. The visitors had reached 17 without loss when rain brought an interruption. The revised target left them requiring a further 191 from 28.5 overs under the floodlights.Stirling hit 2 sixes over mid-wicket off Howell in racing to a half-century off 44 balls. Dawid Malan contributed 29 to an opening stand of 84 before being well caught at deep extra cover by Dent off Miles. Gubbins was dropped by Miles at fine leg on 17 off the unlucky Norwell and, with Stirling continuing to play positively, it was a mistake Gloucestershire could not afford.By the time Gubbins, on 37, skied a catch to mid-on off Matt Taylor, Middlesex were 156 for two, needing only 52 off more than 12 overs. Morgan perished at the death, but Stirling batted through and hit the winning boundary.

South Africa captain AB de Villiers has expressed his disappointment at the “soft dismissals” from his batsmen that let Australia back into the contest in the fourth match of the tri-series in St Kitts

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-20163:23

‘We almost handed it over to Australia’ – Du Plessis

South Africa captain AB de Villiers has expressed his disappointment at the “soft dismissals” from his batsmen that let Australia back into the contest in the fourth match of the tri-series in St Kitts. Chasing 289 for victory South Africa appeared to be cruising at the 25-over mark, when they had 137 for 1, but the innings fizzled out and they were dismissed for 252 in the 48th over.All of the top five batsmen made starts but none made it past the 60s. Hashim Amla drove straight to cover for 60, Faf du Plessis sliced one to point for 63, de Villiers was bowled when Josh Hazlewood found some reverse swing and JP Duminy pulled Adam Zampa tamely to deep midwicket, leaving too much work for South Africa’s long tail.”Lots of our dismissals were soft dismissals tonight, including my own,” de Villiers said. “Those things are bad decisions at the wrong time. It’s not really something you can work on. It’s just something we have to fix in the next game with a better mindset … The wicket played pretty well throughout the game. We’ve got no excuse, we just didn’t bat well enough.”With the ball reversing, Australia had little trouble running through the South African lower order, collecting the last seven wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs. It was a tame end for South Africa after they enjoyed a 105-run stand between Amla and du Plessis. Playing his first game back from a finger injury, du Plessis was pleased with his touch but not with how he departed.”We pretty much controlled the game in that second innings for about 80% of the time, with myself and Hashim and then myself and AB,” du Plessis said. “To be honest, I thought that when myself and AB were batting it was pretty much in our hands. We felt in control.”Obviously we knew Australia had to get wickets to get back in the game and they did that with some good bowling from Starcy at the tail-enders there. But I think we can point the finger straight back at ourselves – some pretty poor shots to give them wickets to get them back in the game.”Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa each picked up three wickets, but the difference in the match was the 109 scored by David Warner earlier in the day. He was the only man from either team who really capitalised on a start, and du Plessis said if one of South Africa’s set batsmen had stayed in until the end, the result would have been different.”It’s one guy saying ‘I’m going to win the game today’ and putting his hand up,” du Plessis said. “If you look at the best players in the world, it’s guys that can do that more consistently, someone like Virat Kohli at the moment who is winning a lot of games of cricket for his country. Today we had three batsmen – myself, Hashim and AB – who could have done that.”It was notable, though, that the South African bowlers found virtually no reverse swing but Starc and Hazlewood got the ball to move just enough later in the day, enticing a few mistakes from South Africa’s batsmen. Zampa also kept his head towards the end of the match and finished with 3 for 52 from his 10 overs.”It’s always hard to start against a ball that’s reversing when you’ve got someone like Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood coming in at you,” Australia’s captain Steven Smith said. “I thought those guys did a terrific job when the ball started to go. I think we got five wickets in six overs at one point and that obviously turned the game.”[Zampa] was good. I put him under a bit of pressure at the end there as well. I bowled him a few overs where they could have hit a few to these small straight boundaries. But he held his nerve nicely. He changed his pace, mixed it up, bowled some googlies and he’s come a long way.”

Rain wrecked Surrey’s Championship match against Middlesex for the second successive day

ECB Reporters Network12-Jul-2016
ScorecardKia Oval was a bird bath again•Getty Images

More heavy rain in south London meant a second successive day of little cricket and left Surrey’s Specsavers County Championship Division One match against Yorkshire at the Kia Oval looking destined to be a draw.Surrey have reached 164 for 5 in their first innings, from 49.4 overs, with Steven Davies and Ben Foakes the not out batsmen on 29 and 14 respectively.A total of 142 overs have been lost so far in the game, and just 16.4 overs were possible on day two before the first rain showers arrived at 12.19pm. Repeated downpours then made the Oval groundstaff’s attempts to mop up a futile exercise and play for the day was eventually called off soon after 4.30pm.The 79 minutes of play at the start of the day were action-packed, however, with David Willey and Steven Patterson taking three wickets for no runs in nine balls as Yorkshire put Surrey’s top order under severe pressure and, initially, reduced them to 121 for 5 after they had resumed on 95 for 2.Davies hit Adil Rashid for two fours in the leg spinner’s only over shortly before the weather interruption, while Foakes has also done his bit to steady the Surrey first innings after Willey removed Zafar Ansari and Jason Roy and Patterson grabbed the prized wicket of Aaron Finch.Finch and Ansari, who had rallied Surrey from 36 for 2 on the opening morning of the game, took their third wicket stand to 85 before Willey fired a yorker through left-hander Ansari’s defences to bowl him for 40 and detonate two stumps out of the ground in spectacular fashion.Two balls later, in the next over from Patterson, a checked push-drive brought Australian batsman Finch’s downfall for an aggressive 57-ball 52, with the bowler jubilant as the catch was taken at short extra cover.Then, in Willey’s next over, Roy pushed at a ball angled across him by the left-arm seamer and keeper Andrew Hodd took the thin edge at the third attempt to send back the England one-day batsman for a duck.Willey said: “It’s a pretty flat pitch, so for us to get three for 70 this morning was a good session for us. Finch is a dangerous player, and we talked about a few different options to him. We knew we’d get a chance at some stage, so it was important we took it. I think we bowled quite nicely today and got our rewards. We deserved the wickets we got.”Aaron was hitting the ball very nicely down the ground, and we thought we might get a chance in that area. Thankfully, we did.” On bowling Ansari, he added: “I missed my length by about seven foot and bowled a yorker. Anti-skill! I was meant to bowl a length ball that held its line into off-stump. It was a fluke.”

Having already conceded the series to Australia, Sri Lanka need their top order to fire and go in with a clear strategy if they hope to win the fifth and final ODI in Pallekele

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Sep-2016

Match facts

September 4, 2016
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)Dhananjaya de Silva has proven that he is worth sticking with as an opener for now, but he needs more support at the top of the order•Associated Press

Big Picture

Australia have lost three of the four tosses, lost players to injury, and put their captain on a flight home, and yet have eased to a series win, with their most dominant performance coming in the previous match. Sri Lanka have had the dusty tracks they prefer, had rowdy crowds cheering for them from overflowing stands, and had their first-choice top order available through the series, and yet have consistently failed with the bat.The hosts arrive in Pallekele with several decisions to make now. Angelo Mathews has been ruled out, throwing out the balance of the whole XI. Dhananjaya de Silva has suggested he is worth sticking with as opener for now, but Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando have failed at the top of the order this series. And with Thisara Perera now omitted, at least one bowling spot becomes available as well. Sri Lanka say they are building a team for 2019, but unlike in Tests, where some future-proof players have been identified, they are still rifling through ODI candidates.They seem a little conflicted as to what strategy to pursue in the shorter formats as well. Sri Lanka can claim to have revolutionised ODI batting in 1996, but in recent years, they seem to be trying to kill off limited-overs bowling, lately fielding as few as two specialist bowlers in the XI.David Warner’s captaincy, meanwhile, has been in as fine form as his complaining. So good have Aaron Finch, George Bailey and Matthew Wade been, Sri Lanka’s spinners have found themselves defused on some very dry tracks.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


Australia WWLWW
Sri Lanka LLWLL

In the spotlight

No one has played Mitchell Starc better on this tour than Dhananjaya de Silva. Owner of an exceedingly simple – and immensely watchable – batting technique, de Silva has the strokes to access virtually any part of the ground, and he has showcased both creativity and grit. Now that he has begun to open the ODI innings, Sri Lanka desperately need him to continue succeeding there.George Bailey’s batting average is a healthy 42.47, but in Asia, this figure rises to 62.14 across 17 innings. Bailey has been Australia’s best operator in Sri Lanka, partly because he is the smartest. He puts spinners off the length early in their spell by using his feet, or the sweep. He manipulates the field better than his team-mates. And he is rarely fooled by variations. Each of the Tests he has played in an underwhelming long-format career so far has been in Australia. If Bailey’s mastery of Asian conditions continues, though, perhaps the selectors could consider him for the forthcoming Test tour of India.

Teams news

This being a dead rubber, Sri Lanka may take the chance to ratchet up the experimentation even further. Upul Tharanga is likely to enter the XI, as is Dasun Shanaka. Where they will bat is anyone’s guess. Suranga Lakmal is due for a match as well.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Dhananjaya de Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (capt.), 5 Upul Tharanga, 6 Kusal Perera (wk), 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Dilruwan Perera, 10 Amila Aponso, 11 Suranga LakmalAustralia may keep the same XI, unless it is felt the track demands a second spinner, in which case Nathan Lyon may replace Scott Boland.Australia(probable): 1 David Warner (capt.), 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 George Bailey, 5 Travis Head, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 James Faulkner, 8 John Hastings, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Scott Boland/ Nathan Lyon

Pitch and conditions

Pallekele has historically been one of the more seam-friendly venues in the country, with the ball tending to nip around under lights especially.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have won five of their last six matches in Pallekele, losing only to England in a rain-affected game played over two days.
• Dinesh Chandimal has previously captained two ODIs, against South Africa at home, both of which Sri Lanka won.
• The three top wicket-takers in the series are all Australia seamers. James Faulkner and Starc have nine scalps apiece, while John Hastings sits behind them on eight. Adam Zampa has seven, level with the best Sri Lanka bowler, Amila Aponso.

Quotes

“We are playing a few more quicks than what they (Sri Lanka) are, but with variable bounce and reverse swing, we’ve countered their spinners.”

Having captained India Blue in two matches of the Duleep Trophy, Gautam Gambhir has categorically asserted that the pink ball behaves in “exactly the same way” as the red ball

Gaurav Kalra08-Sep-20165:51

‘The word form is a very overrated thing’ – Gambhir

Having captained India Blue in two matches of the Duleep Trophy, Gautam Gambhir has categorically said that the pink ball behaves in “exactly the same way” as the red ball. Rejecting assertions that playing with a pink ball under lights is significantly different to the way long-form cricket is usually played, Gambhir said the players are required to make only minor adjustments to come to terms with the conditions.”We have to be clear, it is only the colour of the ball that has changed, nothing else has changed,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo from Delhi. “It is a Kookaburra ball that behaves exactly the same way as a red ball or a white ball. People make so much fuss about the pink ball that it swings more or dips more, you can’t pick the wristspinners and so on. I believe the more you think about it, the more complicated you make the game. It is far more visible in the day time as compared to the red ball because it is far more brighter. In the last two games that I have played, I have seen nothing different. The red ball and pink ball behave exactly in the same way.”The Duleep trophy, played in a zonal format previously, was re-formatted this season by the BCCI as an experiment to gauge the players’ reaction to playing first-class cricket under lights with a pink ball. India Blue, led by Gautam Gambhir, will face India Red, led by Yuvraj Singh, in the final in Greater Noida starting September 10. The intention behind the tournament is also to assess the feasibility of playing a day-night Test match in India in the near future, though Gambhir was unenthused by such a move.”I am a traditionalist, I have always believed it is meant to be played during the day, that is my personal observation,” he said. “You can change the 50 over to T20 format, but Test cricket should remain the way it has been because you can’t lose the charm. Ultimately, the idea behind the pink ball is so that you can pull the crowd back. In England and Australia, there are packed crowds during the day Test matches. Maybe because we couldn’t pull crowds during day time, we wanted to experiment. Maybe we could have promoted Test cricket in a far better and bigger way as compared to how we promote our T20 and one-day cricket. I personally feel we should keep Test cricket the way it is because night Test cricket would take the charm away from Test cricket.”Gambhir’s form in the Duleep Trophy has been encouraging with scores of 77, 90 and 59 in the three innings. Since losing his place in the Indian Test team after a faltering comeback in England in 2014, the left-handed opener has fallen off the selectors’ radar. Now with M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul jostling for the two specialist opening positions, Gambhir faces a tough task to convince the selectors that he can find the form that saw him score nine centuries in his 56-Test career. However, Gambhir insisted that he wasn’t thinking about a national recall, focusing instead on how he could contribute to the team in every match he plays.”I am very happy because, obviously, at the start of the season, you are very nervous because you want to start off the season really well,” he said. “Three half centuries in a row is really pleasing and I hope I can continue this momentum into the season. But at the same time, I would have loved to convert these half centuries into hundreds. I still have two more innings to go.”I have always maintained one thing that the platform does not matter to me. My job is, whenever I play and for whichever team, my job is to score runs. I have played enough to know that I can’t keep thinking about playing for India because that will be very selfish of me. If I am playing Duleep Trophy I should concentrate 100% on that. If I can’t do that, I wouldn’t be doing justice to my team. To be honest to your job, you have to be 100% on what role you have been given and what role you have to perform.”In cricket, people relate you and your prime form to the amount of runs you score, but at the same time, if you are content and happy and at peace with your game, that is what I have always believed in. This word called form is a very overrated thing. If I am at peace with my game, I am happy with my game, ultimately I will end up scoring runs. But for people, golden phase etc. is all related to the amount of runs. At the moment, I am far more at peace with my game than when I was scoring all those runs for India.”Since he last played a Test for India in August 2014, Gambhir has scored 1450 runs in 32 innings in first-class cricket at an average of just under 49. Only one opener, Abhinav Mukund with 1618 runs, has scored more runs in domestic cricket than Gambhir during this period. However, last season, Gambhir produced underwhelming returns, averaging under 38 for 488 runs without a single hundred in his 14 innings for Delhi. Gambhir argued those numbers had to be evaluated in the right context as he insisted on “result-oriented wickets” as Delhi captain in the quest to achieve more outright wins.”Since I made my debut, we hadn’t won 12 or 13 outright games like we have in the last 2-3 years,” he said. “My aim has always been to prepare wickets which can give us outright results. We could have easily gone and played on flat wickets where people could have scored 800-900 runs in a season. But I have always believed that is not the way to play this game, it is meant to be played to win.”If we go out there and think we need to get the first-innings lead and I need to score my own hundred or double-hundred and try and represent my country, that would be very unfair on the bowlers as well. Then, I would have been very selfish about my own individual performances and thinking about my own comeback. What about the other 10 people then, who would be helping me or help Delhi win? I may have ended up with less than 500 runs, but with a young side, we won four [three] outright matches and missed on qualifying by one point. If you score runs on a result-oriented wicket, it gives you far more satisfaction than scoring them on a flat track.”

After having been set an improbable target of 517 with two-and-a-half sessions to go on the fifth day of the Duleep Trophy final, India Red’s batsmen played a series of poor shots to fall well short of the far more achievable goal of batting out time for

The Report by Sirish Raghavan14-Sep-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRavindra Jadeja’s unerring accuracy fetched him his fifth 10-wicket haul in a first-class match•BCCI

After having been set an improbable target of 517 with two-and-a-half sessions to go on the fifth day of the Duleep Trophy final, India Red’s batsmen played a series of poor shots to fall well short of the far more achievable goal of batting out time for a draw. They subsided for 161 to hand India Blue a crushing 355-run victory and, with it, the Duleep Trophy.Ravindra Jadeja took five wickets to add to his five in the first innings, and Karn Sharma chipped in with three, but India Red’s biggest nemesis was their own indiscretion. For a majority of their innings, they seemed content to swing with abandon on a wearing pitch that merited a far more calibrated approach.There was sharper turn than on the previous four days, but it remained slow turn and was far from unplayable. However, as Jadeja, Karn and Parvez Rasool warmed into their respective spells, and began putting balls in line with the stumps they became increasingly difficult to play.As India Red sunk deeper into a hole largely of their own creation, the India Blue spinners began to enjoy themselves, taking wickets with some liberally tossed up deliveries. Jadeja’s ball to dismiss Amit Mishra – the sixth wicket of the innings and fourth in six overs – had just the right amount of flight, turn and bounce to pick up a healthy outside edge on its way to Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.Not long later, Karn drew Ankush Bains into an extravagant drive, which he only managed to nick to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and Sangwan played onto his stumps the next ball. It was Jadeja who took the wicket that sealed the victory, with 43.5 overs left before the scheduled close of play, when he trapped Nathu Singh plumb in front.The day had begun with India Blue pushing their lead past 500, which was followed by Pankaj Singh bowling another venomous first spell that had India Red’s top-order batsmen in a lot of trouble. His second delivery cut into the left-handed Abhinav Mukund to hit him on the back pad in front of the stumps, but the umpire turned down the lbw appeal. Though he was batting out of his crease, he was lucky to get away with it. Abhinav was struck on his right shoulder in that same over, off a ball that reared off a length, and though he initially tried to bat on, he had to eventually leave the field for treatment and did not return.Pankaj then induced an outside edge off Dhawan, batting on 11, but Karthik could not hold on to the catch diving to his left. Despite the skill with Pankaj bowled, his five overs could not produce a wicket. They fell to the spinners instead. Chatterjee top-edged an attempted sweep off Jadeja and Dhawan finally succumbed to Rasool’s probing line when he nicked to first slip where Gautam Gambhir took an excellent diving catch.India Red went into tea at 49 for 2. Upon resumption, their demise was swift. Yuvraj Singh perished to a top-edged sweep off Jadeja that went straight to deep midwicket. Binny, having earlier been caught off a no-ball, gifted his wicket away when he went for – and missed – a full-blooded sweep to a Jadeja delivery that pitched on middle-and-off and straightened. Gurkeerat was stumped attempting an ambitious inside-out drive off Karn. By this stage, the India Blue spinners were humming along and, with Jadeja’s dismissal of Mishra, the end was very near.In the wake of India Blue’s 355-run victory, Pujara and Jadeja, with an unbeaten double-century and a 10-wicket haul respectively, would have many good memories to take with them into the home Test series against New Zealand later this month. Dhawan and Mishra, with only 58 runs and three wickets respectively, might be less upbeat.

The Supreme Court of India has directed the BCCI not to distribute funds to its state associations until they comply with the Lodha Committee’s recommendations

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Oct-20165:23

Kalra: Supreme Court giving BCCI as much breathing space as it can

The Supreme Court of India has passed an order that limits the BCCI’s financial freedom and power until the board and its state associations comply with the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.In a 25-page order issued on Friday, the court directed the BCCI not to distribute funds to its state associations until they submit affidavits stating compliance with the recommendations to the court and the Lodha Committee in two weeks. The order was passed by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.The court also asked BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke to meet the Lodha Committee before November 3. They were required to submit an “affidavit of compliance” in the court by December 3, elaborating on the recommendations already implemented by the BCCI and what it had done to persuade the state associations to adopt the recommendations. The court scheduled the next hearing for December 5.

BCCI’s financial wings clipped

The Supreme Court has asked the Lodha Committee to oversee financial transactions undertaken by the board by putting in place the following measures:
♢ Appoint an independent auditor to check the income received and expenditure incurred by the BCCI
♢ Fix a threshold value for BCCI contracts which would be overseen by the auditor from the tender stage
♢ Approve or disapprove BCCI contracts above the threshold value and obtain the advice of the auditors on the fairness of the tendering process
♢ Formulate the terms of engagement and reference for the auditors. The BCCI shall bear the costs, charges and expenses of the auditors

In another significant decision, the court asked the Lodha Committee to appoint an independent auditor to verify the BCCI’s accounts. The Lodha Committee was also asked to set a “threshold value” for various contracts the BCCI enters into, and all contracts in excess of that amount would need the committee’s approval. The next major contract for the board is the IPL broadcast deal, set to be finalised on October 25.”I’ve always maintained that we have the highest respect for judiciary. We have welcomed the Lodha Committee recommendations, we more than welcome them because we have nothing to hide,” Thakur told after the order came out. “I’m very optimistic in my approach and I am sure some of the issues that we have requested for a re-look will be addressed. We are not fighting against anyone. All I have been saying is that there is confusion regarding certain recommendations. I am sure a dialogue can be had in the interest of the game.”Friday’s order is the second one issued this week by the court, after an interim order on October 17 in response to the Lodha Committee’s status report, which had recommended that the BCCI office bearers be “superseded” and a panel of administrators be appointed because the board was impeding the implementation of the court-approved recommendations.In its order the court noted that there was “substance in the status report”. It also said the BCCI was in “breach” of the July 18 court order that had approved the majority of recommendations in the Lodha Committee’s report and asked the board and states to implement them in four to six months. “Implementation of the final judgment of this Court dated 18 July 2016 has prima facie been impeded by the intransigence of BCCI and its office bearers,” the court order said.The court said that “at this stage” it was refraining from approving the Lodha Committee’s suggestion to supersede the BCCI office bearers because the board had said in a submission to the court that “it would make every genuine effort to persuade the state associations” to comply with the recommendations.The BCCI’s position had been that it could not implement the Lodha Committee’s recommendations without a majority of its state associations agreeing to do so. The key recommendations the board said the states were reluctant to accept were the one-state-one-vote policy, the age cap of 70 for administrators, and the limit of three, three-year terms with cooling-off periods in between for office bearers.The court order put the states under pressure to comply by cutting off their funding. “The BCCI shall forthwith cease and desist from making any disbursement of funds for any purpose whatsoever to any state association until and unless the state association concerned adopts a resolution undertaking to implement the recommendations of the Committee as accepted by this Court in its judgment dated 18 July,” the court order said. A state was to receive funds from the BCCI only after the resolution, signed by its president, was submitted to the committee and the court.The court said it had taken cognisance of the argument raised by the board’s legal counsel Kapil Sibal, who had said the BCCI would “demonstrate” to the Lodha Committee how it had already fulfilled some of the recommendations. The court asked the committee to verify whether there had been “full compliance”.

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith said that a waning culture, the rotation policy and the pressure on captain Steven Smith could be contributing to Australia’s recent slide

Firdose Moonda09-Nov-20161:26

‘Australia is a dangerous team, they can bounce back’ – Dean Elgar

“Something is not right” in Australian cricket, according to former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who described his greatest rivals as being in “turmoil,” following their recent spate of losses. Graeme Smith said he felt a waning culture was among the reasons for Australia’s troubles, but also named the rotation policy, the pressure on Steven Smith and a strengthening South Africa as contributing factors.”There is obviously a lack of confidence that has developed, maybe through these losses, and the way they collapsed and fell away in that Perth Test. To me, it showed that, maybe, there is a lack of confidence or self-belief in that set-up at the moment. It does show me that there is something that’s not right there,” Graeme Smith said on the day he and former Australia captain Bill Lawry were made honourees of the Bradman Foundation, at a gala dinner at the SCG.After a 3-0 defeat in the Test series in Sri Lanka, Australia rallied to win the ODIs and T20Is, but then took a young side to play in South Africa, where they were whitewashed 5-0 in the ODI series. Graeme Smith believed that was where the cracks started to show, and that they have only widened after the defeat in the first Test.”I was quite surprised at some of the selections that came to South Africa in the one-day series, and that hurt them badly. They lost 5-0,” Graeme Smith said. “For me, [the Australian team] was obviously built on the skill factor, but it was always built on a hardness, a really strong respect and culture for that Australian environment. I wonder whether it’s this whole rotation policy, whether some of that has been lost: that culture, that respect within the environment has been lost with so many different players coming through the system.”Given the increasingly busy international schedule, most teams – South Africa included – seek to rest players, but Australia’s decision to leave their first-choice attack at home for the South Africa ODIs was surprising. They may have to do more of the same in the near future, having packed as much cricket as possible into the home summer. Towards the end of the 2016-17 season, Australia’s T20 side will play against Sri Lanka 16 hours before the Test team plays against India in a fixture collision Graeme Smith thinks will only further contribute to culture dilution.”I was surprised at this method of James Sutherland looking to play a Test and T20 at the same time. It’s very un-Australian for me,” Graeme Smith said. “Playing for Australia was something that was always preached to be how proud people were. It just seems like that is in turmoil a little bit at the moment.”In the middle of that mess is Steven Smith, a fairly new captain. Graeme Smith was once in a similar position, and understands what it’s like to be trying to find your place as a leader. “I can resonate with being in that position as a new captain. You have a lot to figure out, and I think you only have to pick up a book or a newspaper to realise there was quite a polarised, abrasive culture within the Australian set-up before he took over,” Graeme Smith said. “He is probably rebuilding, trying to create his own leadership style – how he wants the team to play, what are the type of players he wants to select – he’s probably trying to work that out. Results have gone against him in Sri Lanka, he lost the ODI series in South Africa, and now the first Test at home. He was probably banking on being really strong at home this summer to resurrect things. He has got to ask a lot of questions.”One of them is whether David Warner, who led the side to limited-overs victories in Sri Lanka, is better suited to the job. “There will be natural debate on who is the right person to lead – should it be the old style, brash David Warner approach, or Steve Smith. He has to overcome a fair few things, but, hopefully, he’ll be able to do that really quickly,” Graeme Smith said.Another is how Steven Smith’s South African counterpart, Faf du Plessis, who has only captained in three Tests, only one away from home, and had only a three-man attack to work with, in the words of Graeme, “outdid him”. Du Plessis, who is leading in AB de Villiers’ injury-forced absence, continues to make a strong case for being given the role full-time, and it appears he has the backing of Graeme Smith too.”Faf has developed hugely of late, he has grown into the role. There was a real void in South African cricket in terms of leadership over the last period. The intellectual capacity around the team in terms of coaching and the selection – they had a three-captain type system and he has stepped in through injuries from AB, and Hash stepping aside, and he has slowly gained the respect and grown himself,” Graeme Smith said. “Tactically, he outdid Steve Smith on the weekend, the players respect him, he seems to get the best out of them and there is almost a bit of leadership traction and strength developing again in the South African team, which was Iacking through the three-captaincy system and the coaching set-up, and he is slowly bringing that back together.”

Former Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal has retired from international cricket to take up a role as a national selector

Umar Farooq04-Jan-2017Nawroz Mangal, under whose leadership Afghanistan secured ODI status in the 2009 World Cup Qualifiers and then qualified for the 2010 World T20, has retired from international cricket to take up a role as the national chief selector.Mangal, 32, played 49 ODI and 30 T20Is for Afghanistan, making 1139 runs and 454 runs respectively. When Afghanistan played their first international against Oman 13 years ago, Mangal was a part of the XI.

ACB gets new chairman

The president of Afghanistan, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, has appointed Atif Mashal as the new ACB Chairman. Atif Mashal replaced Nasimullah Danish and will serve as the ACB chairman for the next five years.

He now finishes as one of five Afghanistan players to have passed 1000 runs in ODI cricket. He struck two ODI hundreds; the first of which – 112 not out off 96 balls while opening the batting – guided the team to a seven-wicket win in the ICC World Cricket League Championship in 2012-13.Mangal, who took over as captain in 2007, handed the reins to Mohammad Nabi in November 2010 but remained a fixture in the team’s line-up, gaining a second chance at leading the team before once again giving up the role to Nabi in March 2013 in order to focus on his own batting.Two years later, he hit a chanceless half-century against Papua New Guinea to seal Afghanistan’s spot in the World T20 in India in 2016.He, however, did not make the squad for the tournament in India. His last international was against Bangladesh in Mirpur in October last year. Opening the batting, he hit a 38-ball 33, but Afghanistan slid to a 141-run defeat.His retirement leaves a significant hole in the batting line-up. Shafiqullah Stanikzai, the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s chief executive officer, however, welcomed Mangal’s experience in the selection panel.”He [Mangal] is a senior and legendary cricketer in Afghanistan cricket,” Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo. “Selection is something which is very important and it requires a well-respected individual. Since cricket is very huge in the country and every Afghan is believed to be a stakeholder in cricket we needed a figure of his stature.”So for the last six months we were in discussion with Nawroz to step down from his position as a player and accept the role as a chief selector. He, after consulting with friends, family and all stakeholders, has accepted the contract-based job, which is likely to run for two years. It’s an honour for Afghanistan cricket that a player like Nawroz, who has a big fan following and respect among others, is the chief selector.”Mangal’s first assignment as Afghanistan’s chief selector is to the pick the squad for the Desert T20 tournament to be held in the UAE from January 14 to 20. Apart from UAE and Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, Oman and Scotland will take part in the tournament.

A round-up of the Super Smash matches held on 16th December, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2016After overcoming nerves to clinch a one-over eliminator against Wellington, Canterbury won their second successive fixture, this time by nine runs, at Basin Reserve on Friday.Sent in to bat, Canterbury posted 199 for 4 on the back of half-centuries from Tom Latham (63) and Henry Nicholls (67 not out), who was earlier in the day left out of New Zealand’s ODI squad for the home series against Bangladesh.Canterbury had lost Chad Bowes in the third over, but Peter Fulton helped get the innings going with a 34-ball 44 in which he struck six fours and a six. Then Latham and Nicholls built on the advantage.Wellington were in control of the chase till the 12th over as they raced to 104 for 1, courtesy Hamish Marshall’s sprightly half-century. But Todd Astle, the legspinner, struck to dismiss Marshall and break a 67-run second-wicket stand to revive Canterbury.Then their bowlers applied the breaks, escalating the asking rate to ensure late cameos from Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi weren’t enough for Wellington, who succumbed to their third loss in the tournament to remain at the bottom of the points table.Wellington had lost Michael Papps in the fifth over, before Marshall and Stephen Murdoch, who made a 29-ball 38, brought the equation down to 96 off 52 balls, with nine wickets in hand. But their dismissal in the space of 16 deliveries derailed the chase.Astle finished with 2 for 36, while Kyle Jamieson and Ed Nuttall had one wicket apiece.Mahela Jayawardene anchored Central Districts’ innings with 62 before their bowlers took regular wickets to complete a five-run win against Otago in Napier. The win – their second in three games – saw Central Districts move to the top of the Super Smash table.Choosing to bat, Central Districts opener George Walker fell for 15 after putting up a stand of 36 for the first wicket. His partner, Jayawardene, then added 52 runs with Jesse Ryder (25) and another 25 runs with Will Young (18) to take the team to 113 before he was dismissed for 62 off 44 balls as the third wicket, off James Neesham’s bowling. Tom Bruce remained not out on 33 off 19 balls to take Central Districts to 166 for 5, while Neesham finished with 2 for 24.In their chase, Otago lost both openers Anaru Kitchen and Hamish Rutherford within the first three overs, the former being run out for 2. Michael Bracewell was the third to go with the team’s score at 40 before Neil Broom, who was selected for New Zealand’s ODI squad against Bangladesh, scored a 25-ball 28.Broom was the fourth to go with the team at 57 for 4 before part-time spinner Walker struck to get rid of Derek de Boorder. With the team at 61 for 5, Neesham (34) added 52 runs for the sixth wicket with Josh Finnie (27) before they both fell in consecutive overs.With Otago seven down, Brad Wilson hit a 10-ball 21 but his dismissal, at the beginning of the last over, squashed Otago’s hopes of a dramatic win. Five Central Districts bowlers finished with wickets to their name, with Seth Rance and Ben Wheeler taking two each.