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Record-breaking captain backs Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues to find form

Annesha Ghosh03-Jul-2021Mithali Raj has identified Sneh Rana as a key allrounder for India’s future after Rana completed a memorable comeback to the longer formats with a stunning Test debut last month and impressive returns in India’s thrilling win in the third ODI on Saturday.Rana’s cameo of 24 from 22 balls at No. 7 in Worcester was pivotal to her 50-run sixth-wicket stand with Raj as the duo helped India seal a four-wicket win in the final match of the three-game ODI leg of the multi-format series. Earlier in the day, Rana had also made an imprint with the ball, returning figures of 7-0-31-1, having opener Lauren Winfield-Hill caught for 36 to break a 67-run second-wicket partnership. She had picked up 1 for 43 in the second ODI.”Definitely, yes,” Raj said when asked about Rana, 27, emerging as a formidable choice as allrounder upon her return to international cricket after a five-year gap. “That’s a slot we’ve always looked for somebody who has the shots to clear the field – strong shots all round. And it helps to have a player there who can also bowl. So it’s good to have her in the side.”She’s definitely shown that she does have the character in her to be built into a good player. In the current era, in modern cricket, allrounders play a very important role in the composition of the team. I’m sure that she has a bigger role playing for India in the coming years.”Related

• Sneh Rana enters the Commonwealth Games with a game-changing over

• Mandhana: 'It's a lot of fun to bat with Shaifu'

• Ramesh Powar: Players like Sneh Rana are 'what we need right now'

• Mithali Raj: 'I don't seek validation from people'

• The love, loss and comeback of Sneh Rana

While Rana’s form was one of the bright spots for India in their 1-2 loss in the ODI segment of the seven-match series, ODI vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s underwhelming batting form on the tour so far hasn’t been ideal for the visitors. Kaur made 16, 19, and 1 in the three ODIs and 4 and 8 in the drawn Test in Bristol last month.Raj, however, backed Kaur to regain form as the tour enters its T20I leg, the first of the three matches on July 9 in Northampton.”It does happen with any player,” Raj said of Kaur’s lean patch. “Sometimes you’re just not in form. But as a team and as a unit we back players who have been match-winners. We also know that single-handedly she has won games for us with her innings. This time around she needs the support of the team to back her.”It’s just a matter of one innings for a batter like her to get [back] her rhythm and timing.I’m sure with the T20 format, a format that suits her game, I really hope she will be back among the runs.”That India are far from settled as far as their No. 3 goes was borne out in them giving Jemimah Rodrigues a go in that position in the second and third ODIs after Punam Raut’s slow scoring in the first ODI played a part in parching India of urgency. Rodrigues, however, laboured to just 8 and 4 in the two innings.”A young player – obviously, she (Rodrigues) will take some time,” Raj said. “It’s just matter of experience and exposure for players like her. When a player goes through bad form, as [fellow] players, seniors, and team management we can give her the confidence and the backing, but it boils down to the player herself to have that belief to come out of the [bad] form. Again, for a batter, it’s just a matter of one innings to get the timing right and hope that as a young player she should get back in form.”As far as the composition, right now we are going with five bowlers but something we are looking at is to have another allrounder in the side. But, then again, it cuts down a purist – whether a batter or a bowler. We are throwing some ideas. By the next series, we should see what sort of a pool of players we look at and get into the team.”Sneh Rana celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Raj revealed that aside from Raut and Rodrigues, other batters were also in contention to be tried in the No. 3 slot.”Now the series is over, but we do have a few names and players in our mind,” Raj said. “Again, it’s important that we need to see how they fit into the team. Purists are very few in the modern era of cricket. We need to look at the allrounders also and how the composition of the team will come is very crucial. But that’s also an area we are looking at, No. 3 and even No. 6 and No. 7.”Though Raj retired from T20I cricket in 2019, India’s performance in the third ODI, she said, would boost the confidence of the Kaur-led T20I team on whom the onus rests to add to India’s four points gained so far in the multi-format series as opposed to England’s six.”Yes, it is [a confidence-booster],” Raj said, “because that’s what I told the girls, I said – we’re still in the series. Winning a game like this puts pressure on them. Getting into the T20s, the entire unit should be confident. If they go on to win the first two games and then the last would be a decider and clearly the series will be excitedly placed. Yes, I’m sure that the girls will do well in the T20 format.”

“Shift in business objectives” ends two-year Test deal, but Covid-19 outbreak causes county termination

Andrew Miller10-Apr-2020Specsavers, the opticians and eye-test specialists, have confirmed their withdrawal as sponsors of both the County Championship and England men’s home Tests for 2020, citing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for the former, but a change in “business objectives” for the latter*.Specsavers came on board as the County Championship’s principal sponsor in February 2016, on a four-year deal that was due to end after the 2019 season. Two years later, they took over from Investec as principal sponsors of England men’s home Tests, on an initial two-year deal that encompassed high-profile series against India in 2018 and Australia the following year.And though the company said in a statement that they have “left the door open” to further opportunities to work within English cricket, it means that the ECB’s precarious finances are likely to take a further hit in the short term, with no replacement deals yet being confirmed for either competition.It is, however, understood that the ECB can expect to recoup some of their losses incurred during the pandemic through their insurance, having taken out “Communicable Disease Cover” in the wake of the SARS outbreak in 2002-04.”We have had a phenomenally successful partnership with the ECB during the past few years. Sadly, as a result of the current pandemic and incredibly challenging trading conditions, we have been forced to review our commitments,” read a statement from Specsavers.”As a result, we have taken the extremely difficult decision to bring to an end our sponsorships of the County Championship and the domestic umpires. In addition, we will not be renewing our partnership for Test cricket … however, this decision was taken at the end of last year due to a shift in business objectives.”The timing of Specsavers’ withdrawal from the Test deal is particularly notable, given the huge publicity the company received during last summer’s thrilling 2-2 Ashes series, particularly after the third Test at Headingley in which the bespectacled Jack Leach played a key role in England’s famous victory.Last Thursday, Specsavers branding was removed from all social-media references to the County Championship and England’s Test series in 2020, as well as from the ECB’s official website.”Our partnership has allowed us to be part of some fantastic cricket; the incredible performance from Jack Leach in the Ashes at Headingley was an obvious highlight,” added the statement.”The partnership with the ECB has also allowed us to raise awareness of the importance of regular eye and hearing tests and we are incredibly proud of our work with the ECB. We would like to wish the ECB the best of luck and success for the future and we have left the door open to work together again in the future, if circumstances allow.”This year’s County Championship had been due to get underway over the Easter weekend, with the first round of four-day games originally scheduled to start on April 12. However, the season has been postponed to May 28 at the earliest due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and further delays are anticipated with the UK currently implementing social distancing measures to combat the spread of the virus.The ECB is mapping out a series of contingency plans, depending on how much of the English season is still available to be staged, as and when the current restrictions on live sport are lifted. Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, recently stated, in a letter seen by ESPNcricinfo, that a complete cancellation of the English season could cost the game up to £300 million.Last week, the PCA announced that, following discussions with the ECB and the 18 first-class counties, £1 million of domestic prize money would be redistributed to help fund player wages. An agreement was also reached for counties to furlough their playing staff if required, an option that several have since confirmed they will be taking up.England’s contracted players recently donated £500,000 of their salaries to the ECB and selected good causes, with the women’s squad also accepting 20% pay cuts in line with those of their coaching and support staff.West Indies were due to arrive in England next month to begin a three-Test tour, with the first match scheduled to start at The Oval on June 4, but that prospect looks increasingly unlikely.”The deadline of 28 May still stands, but it’s looking less and less likely that we’re going to be out there in June,” said Ashley Giles, England men’s director of cricket.Confirming the news, the ECB thanked Specsavers for being “a wonderful partner for many years”, and reciprocated the company’s willingness to seek further deals “if circumstances allow” in the future.*3pm BST – This story, originally published on April 10, was updated with confirmation from Specsavers and the ECB

Former Worcestershire cricketer had been accused of raping a sleeping woman in 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2019The jury in the trial of Alex Hepburn, the former Worcestershire cricketer who was accused of raping a sleeping woman, has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict.The case at Worcester Crown Court was adjourned on Friday afternoon, the fifth day of the trial, after the 12-person jury failed to reach a majority verdict following more than nine hours of deliberation.Hepburn, 23, now faces the prospect of a retrial after pleading not guilty to two counts of rape, following his initial arrest in April 2017.In the course of the trial it was claimed that the alleged victim, who cannot be named, had awoken during the attack, having initially assumed Hepburn to be Joe Clarke, his Worcestershire team-mate, with whom she had had consensual sex earlier in the night.Hepburn, who was born in Western Australia and moved to England in 2013 to pursue his cricket career, told the court that he had previously arranged to sleep in his friend’s room, and did not see the woman until he was in bed beside her.The case brought to light what was described in court as a “sexual conquest game” on the social media app WhatsApp, involving a number of Worcestershire’s players, including Hepburn and Clarke.Miranda Moore QC, for the prosecution, alleged that Hepburn had been “fired up” by his desire to win the competition, having posted the rules of the game to the WhatsApp group five days before the alleged attack.Hepburn, giving evidence, had claimed the WhatsApp group was “meant to be nothing more than immature chat between a group of friends”, adding that he was embarrassed that his family had had to see the comments that he had made.The Crown Prosecution Service will now discuss the prospect of a retrial with the lawyers and the judge, Jim Tindal, with a decision due in 14 days’ time.It is also understood that the ECB, the PCA and Worcestershire CCC are paying close attention to the case, with the behaviour of the club’s players likely to come under scrutiny from the Cricket Discipline Commission, irrespective of the verdict.

The Delhi openers added a massive 232, thereby bringing their deficit down to only 15 runs with seven wickets in hand against Bengal

The Report by Arun Venugopal in Pune18-Dec-2017Gautam Gambhir plays through the off side•AFP

Delhi not only learnt from their opponents’ mistakes on the first day, but also thrived on them as Gautam Gambhir (127) and Kunal Chandela (113) doubled-teamed Bengal to all but secure the first-innings lead. After mopping up Bengal’s last three wickets for the addition of only 17 runs on the second day, Delhi ended the day on 271 for 3, with Gambhir caught behind off Mohammed Shami on what turned out to be the last ball of the day. Delhi trail Bengal by only 15 runs with middle-order batsmen Rishabh Pant and Himmat Singh still to come.

Chandela credits college cricket for his rise

Kunal Chandela began his first-class career in fine fashion with three fifties in as many innings. The 23-year-old right-hander scored 64 against Hyderabad on debut and followed it up with 81 and 57 against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-finals. While he had done enough to justify his selection ahead of Unmukt Chand, Chandela realised the importance of making a big score for himself and his team.
“I wasn’t converting my fifties [into big knocks],” Chandela said. “I had a chat with the coaches, who asked me to give myself some time. The more time I gave myself it was better for me and the team.”
He said batting alongside Gautam Gambhir during the course of their 232-run partnership helped him focus better. “Gauti was very supportive and helped me wherever I was making a mistake,” he said. “He asked me to back myself and hit the balls that are meant to be hit. At one point, I played the sweep when he said I was playing very well straight so I didn’t need to do it.”
In 2016, Chandela, who was Delhi captain Rishabh Pant’s senior at school, grabbed attention in the Delhi cricketing circle with a triple century to help North Zone beat West Zone in the All-India Inter-Zone Tournament. “College cricket helped me a lot. Players of a different generation knew it was [like] first-class cricket,” he said. “It was good for me to play days’ cricket. I got to experience four-day cricket there.”

The 232-run opening stand between Gambhir and Chandela also solved a problem that coach KP Bhaskar had described ahead of the quarter-finals as the team’s only weakness. Before Monday’s double-hundred stand, Delhi openers had posted only one 50-plus partnership all season. Despite some testing bowling from Shami and Ashok Dinda with the new ball, Gambhir and Chandela were scoring at a good clip – there were six fours hit in the first seven overs. Gambhir fancied his pulls, slices and dabs during the course of his 42nd first-class hundred even as Chandela, whose game appears to be built on balance and economy of initial movement, drove effortlessly on the way to a maiden century in his third first-class match.Shami was inconsistent on a day he had to shoulder a huge chunk of Bengal’s bowling workload. During the course of the 23.2 overs he bowled, Shami produced spurts of inspiration, like in the last half-hour when he attempted to bounce out Gambhir and Nitish Rana with a leg gully, deep square leg and a fine leg. Shami’s efforts finally earned him a wicket after he went around the stumps for one delivery and aimed for Gambhir’s body with a short-pitched ball. Gambhir couldn’t evade the ball as it brushed his glove, caught by the wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami down the leg side. Furious with himself, Gambhir slammed his bat against the sightscreen on his way back, but he had reasons to smile for the better part of the day.Along with Chandela, he sought to derive maximum value out of any loose deliveries that came their way. Delhi scored 178 of their 271 runs in boundaries, and the Chandela-Gambhir combine contributed 162 of those. More often than not, their boundaries arrived in clusters, and the resultant spikes in scoring messed with Bengal’s rhythm. On one occasion, Chandela smashed B Amit – Bengal’s most disciplined bowler of the day – for four fours in an over: a punch through the off side, a streaky prod and a brace of flowing drives. Delhi whipped up 131 runs in 30 overs in the second session. The strike-rates of both batsmen were similar too, at around 58. While Gambhir brought up his century off 123 balls, Chandela took 149 deliveries.There was also some good fortune for Gambhir. He was the beneficiary of two reprieves, on 44 and 101. On the first occasion, Dinda provoked an edge in the 19th over but Sudip Chatterjee dropped the offering at slip. Then, in the 40th over, Gambhir edged one behind off Aamir Gani’s offspin, but umpire Abhijit Deshmukh turned down Bengal’s loud pleas. Chandela, who has three fifties from as many first-class innings, brought up his hundred with a majestic swivel to pull the ball to the fence.After an underwhelming pair of sessions, Bengal showed marginal improvement after tea. They had gone wicketless for 61 overs, but sent back Chandela thanks to an excellent effort from Goswami, who flung to his right to complete a one-handed catch off Amit. Goswami completed his second catch soon after when Dhruv Shorey shaped to pull a short delivery from Dinda.Earlier in the morning, Bengal’s lower order folded up without much fight in 7.2 overs. Navdeep Saini began the destruction by trapping Goswami in front of the stumps after beating him for pace. Gani was run out thanks to a direct hit from Manan Sharma at midwicket, who also caught Dinda’s attempted hoick that ballooned up.

Younis Khan’s 33rd Test hundred gave Pakistan the ideal first-day platform in the second Test against West Indies, lifting them from an uneasy 42 for 2 to a commanding 304 for 4 at stumps

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsYounis Khan’s 33rd Test hundred gave Pakistan the ideal first-day platform in the second Test against West Indies, lifting them from an uneasy 42 for 2 to a commanding 304 for 4 at stumps. Returning to the side after missing the day-night Test in Dubai to recover from a bout of dengue fever, Younis looked like he had never been away. He added 87 with Asad Shafiq for the third wicket, and 175 for the fourth with Misbah-ul-Haq, as Pakistan ground down a limited West Indies attack in typically benign first-day conditions in Abu Dhabi.Younis made 127 before he fell in the 84th over of the day, slog-sweeping Kraigg Brathwaite’s part-time offspin to deep midwicket. It turned out to be the last ball of the day, with the umpires ruling that the light had faded too much to continue just as the nightwatchman Yasir Shah walked in to the middle. Misbah, who already has five hundreds in Abu Dhabi and averaged 99.77 at the ground before this innings, went to stumps batting on 90.West Indies’ bowlers endured a long and largely thankless day on the field, made worse by two costly misses. In the last over before tea, Kraigg Brathwaite failed to hold on to a return catch off a firmly-hit flat-bat drive when Younis was on 83. Then, batting on 54 in the eleventh over after tea, Misbah nicked a ball from Shannon Gabriel that straightened in the corridor. Wicketkeeper Shai Hope, having initially moved in the wrong direction, dived low to his right behind the stumps, and the ball bounced out of his right glove.Gabriel bowled impressively in patches, picking up two wickets and generating reverse-swing with the old ball, but the rest of West Indies’ bowling didn’t make much of an impact. Miguel Cummins and Jason Holder made up somewhat for their lack of incision by conceding less than three runs an over, but the spinners were neither threatening nor economical. Among them, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase and Brathwaite conceded 181 runs at an economy rate of 4.41.Having chosen to bat first, Pakistan lost their first wicket in the fifth over of the morning, Azhar Ali playing on while looking to drive Gabriel through the covers, the ball nipping in a little and not quite coming on to the bat. Walking in at No. 3, Shafiq got going almost immediately, rising to his toes to cut Gabriel for four off the second ball he faced. In the next over, he punished another short ball, this time swivelling to pull Miguel Cummins through square leg.Shafiq continued to play his shots, moving confidently forward to ease drives through the covers and nimbly back to cut and pull deliveries from Bishoo that were only marginally short. As he sparkled at one end, Sami Aslam played a strange innings at the other. He seldom got the strike, and barely scored any runs when he did, while not looking particularly troubled by any of West Indies’ bowlers. By the end of the 13th over, he was batting on 6 off 28 balls and Shafiq on 32 off 44. Then, off the second ball of the 14th over, he looked to drive Bishoo through the covers, against the turn, and was bowled through the gate by a dipping legbreak.Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan became owners of Pakistan’s most prolific partnership in Tests•Getty Images

In walked Younis, back in the side after missing the first Test to recover from a bout of dengue fever. He got an early freebie from Bishoo, wide and overpitched, to smear through the covers, but that was his only boundary in the 62 balls he faced before lunch, as West Indies tightened their lines and lengths. There was little in the conditions to challenge either batsman, and Younis moved safely to 29 without always looking at ease.His shuffle across the crease caused him a couple of uneasy moments: Cummins found his leading edge while he tried to work through the leg side, and Jason Holder got him to nick the ball when he moved across rather than forward, towards the ball in defence, but both balls fell safely short of fielders.Soon after lunch, Younis nearly played on to Cummins; defending firmly into the pitch, he had to stretch his left foot out to kick the ball away as it rolled back towards the stumps. But he grew increasingly comfortable at the crease after that, and took heavy toll of the spinners, pouncing on anything cuttable, and driving through the covers with and against the turn, the pick of his shots an inside-out loft over extra-cover off Chase’s offspin.Shafiq fell in the ninth over after lunch, chopping on while trying to force Gabriel through the covers off the back foot. Gabriel was reversing the ball both ways in this spell, and beat both of Misbah’s edges soon after he came to the crease, but Holder took him off after a spell of only three overs. The longest spell Gabriel bowled all day lasted four overs.With West Indies’ main threat out of the way, Misbah began enjoying himself, greeting Bishoo’s reintroduction by pulling his third ball, a rank long-hop, over midwicket for four, and then, three balls later, launching a flighted ball high over the long-on boundary. Younis and Misbah took 40 runs off Bishoo’s eight-over spell before tea, shutting the door in West Indies’ faces right after Gabriel had opened it a crack with the wicket of Shafiq. Misbah only hit six boundaries in his innings: four of them came off Bishoo, of whom he took 37 runs in 40 balls.Post-tea, West Indies went into defensive mode, getting Cummins to bowl wide outside off stump with a packed off-side field. But the tactic didn’t really stem Pakistan’s run flow; there was no movement available to him, and plenty of large spaces in the vast outfield for Misbah and Younis to push the ball into for twos. After four overs, Cummins gave way to Gabriel; he found Misbah’s edge in his second over, and Hope – playing this Test match because Shane Dowrich pulled up injured in training – put the chance down. Pakistan were 242 for 3 at that stage, and 242 for 4 may just have rattled them given they were playing five bowlers. Instead, Misbah and Younis added a further 62.

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group B matches played on October 1, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Mandeep Singh’s ninth first-class ton featured 14 fours•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Uday Kaul and Mandeep Singh shared an unbroken partnership of 178, helping Punjab seize the initiative on the first day of their Ranji Trophy clash against Railways in Chandigarh. Punjab, opting to bat, were dealt an early blow when their opener Manan Vohra was run out for 5 by Saurabh Wakaskar in the ninth over. Jiwanjot Singh and Kaul offered a brief resistance, but Jiwanjot’s wicket in the 25th over reduced the hosts to 57 for 2.From then on, though, Kaul and Mandeep took center stage, batting out the next 65 overs to lift Punjab to 235 for 2 at stumps. Kaul played the more patient foil, stroking nine fours during his 92 not out, while Mandeep hit 14 fours to reach his ninth first-class ton.
ScorecardNineteen-year-old opener Almas Shaukat struck a century on his first-class debut, lifting Uttar Pradesh to 260 for 2 on day one against Madhya Pradesh in Moradabad. Shaukat received ample support from his opening partner Tanmay Srivastava, as the pair added 125 inside 44 overs.While Srivastava eventually fell for 75, Shaukat remained unbeaten on 110, with 17 fours and one six. MP also picked up the wicket of Himanshu Asnora – trapped lbw by Ankit Sharma – but Shaukat and Mohammad Saif (34 not out) led UP safely to stumps without any further damage.
ScorecardFifties from Mohammad Kaif and Ricky Bhui helped Andhra make slow progress against Mumbai in Vizianagaram. Scoring at just over two an over, the pair shared an unbroken 152-run stand for the third wicket, as Andhra recovered from a jittery start to make 170 for 2 by stumps.Andhra, after being inserted, soon found themselves floundering at 18 for 2, as Srikar Bharat and Prasanth Kumar were both caught behind by the wicketkeeper Aditya Tare. However, Mumbai failed to find any more breakthroughs, as Kaif and Bhui held firm for 65.4 overs. While the captain Kaif remained unbeaten on 66 with nine fours and a six, Bhui was not out on 91, with 12 fours and two sixes. Tamil Nadu v Baroda in Chennai – Bhatt, Yusuf spin TN into trouble

Manoj Tiwary sounded the first unofficial salvo in the run-up to the India-Australia series when he said that a good number of Australian batsmen had been “wanting” in their technique against the India A spinners

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2013Manoj Tiwary sounded the first unofficial salvo of an otherwise far ‘kinder, gentler’ run-up to an India-Australia series in a long time when he said that a good number of Australian batsmen had been “wanting” in their technique against the India A spinners on day two of their three-day practice match at the ICL Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai.Tiwary, a free-spirited batsman, became the second centurion in the India A innings, scoring 129 as his team was all out for 451 just before tea on a rain-affected day. After the day’s play, with Australia scoring 131 for 4 and losing all four batsmen to the spinners Rakesh Dhurv and Jalaj Saxena, Tiwary didn’t hold back, either on opinion or prediction.”They haven’t played the spinners as well as they could have – because I think the technique was [found] wanting,” he said. Australia were tootling along at a good clip against the four India A medium pacers before spin was introduced in the 21st over. Left-arm spinner Dhurv had Ed Cowan leg before in the 23rd over and Australia lost three more wickets before stumps. Off-spinner Saxena had Phil Hughes stumped and Usman Khawaja bowled, both scoring 1. Of all the batsmen, it was only Shane Watson who looked completely in control.Tiwary said of the bulk of the Australian top order, “They were not sure of their defence to be honest. That’s why they were not stretching enough to play the spin and not going back enough to play their shots.” Australia are without captain Michael Clarke and opener David Warner and Tiwary was not without his assessment. “If this is the way they are going to bat, it’s going to be difficult for them to be honest… to face quality spinners like Bhajjupa (Harbhajan Singh) and Ashwin and Ojha. The way they are bowling, it will be very difficult for them.”Should the wicket in Chepauk, where the first Test begins on February 22, be like what it was at the Guru Nanak College ground – slow, low, with very little pace and minor turn – Tiwary predicted more worries for “all their bowlers.”Watson though said there was, “absolutely no doubt about what India is going to hit us with.” The start of the tour, he said, was proving to be a “big learning curve for a lot of the guys” and that the best approach to playing spin in India had to be “proactive.” Spinners he said must “certainly” be attacked. “You can’t just allow them to settle in a certain line and length and allow them to be able to bowl that ball over and over again. At some stage that ball is going to turn and bounce and do something. As individual batsmen, we have to find a game plan to have as much success as we can.”Australia’s lesser-experienced batsmen, he said, were however, “very talented guys.””They have scored a lot of first-class runs in different conditions and it won’t take a very long time to find a game plan and a technique that will work here.”Lost in the assessment of Australia’s response to the two rather unheralded Indian spinners was Tiwary’s own performance; every time he has been given an opportunity against touring sides, he has scored runs this season, getting 93 against England A before his century in Chennai. “I came out to play this match, not to impress anyone but just to make myself happy after scoring runs. I was very conscious about getting big runs here to prove myself that I can score runs against quality opposition as well,” he said.One of the shadow men for spots in the Indian Test middle order, Tiwary more talked about for his one-day game said, “My dream has always been to play Test cricket. It depends on the selectors what they think about me and whether they can show some faith in me. My job was to score runs and I will do that as long as I play first-class cricket and four-day cricket.”The push for an India spot, he said, demanded a high degree of determination because of the competition. “You know the competition is so high you can’t miss out in an innings because you will go back few months of selection.” When asked whether he considered his game good enough to handle fast bowling adequately, he said that he was not concerned what his game “looked” like. “What I can do is I can score runs and if you can only look ugly and score runs, I will still go for runs. It doesn’t matter if I look odd or ugly in facing quick bowlers. I know my game and I know how to score runs. That’s how I have been able to score more than 5000 runs in seven or eight years of first-class cricket.”

Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain, Mahela Jayawardene was appointed in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2012

Sri Lanka ODI squad

Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welegedara, Dhammika Prasad
Stand by: Thilan Samaraweera

Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain from all three formats, the country’s new selection panel appointed former captain Mahela Jayawardene in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India. Angelo Mathews remains the vice-captain of the 15-member squad which also includes Dilshan.Jayawardene was ODI captain from 2004 till 2009 (he took over as Test captain in 2006). He resigned in 2009, saying he wanted his successor to have sufficient time to build the team for the 2011 World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara took over from Jayawardene but stepped down after leading Sri Lanka to the final of the World Cup. Dilshan led Sri Lanka for nine months after the World Cup, but resigned on Monday following series defeats in both Tests and ODIs in all his four assignments.Jayawardene has led Sri Lanka in 97 ODIs, winning 57 and losing 35. Whether Jayawardene is handed the Test captaincy as well remains to be seen; Sri Lanka’s next Test series begins only in the last week of March against England at home.Farveez Maharoof, the bowling allrounder, and Chanaka Welegedara, the fast bowler, were recalled after having last played an ODI for Sri Lanka back in June 2010. The duo were the only changes from the squad for the recent ODI series in South Africa, in place of Kosala Kulasekara and Dilhara Fernando. Thilan Samaraweera, who was ignored for the South Africa ODIs, was put on stand-by.Maharoof was the leading run-scorer in Tier A of the 50-over domestic Premier Limited Over Tournament 2011-12 with 219 runs from six games at an average of 43.80 for the Nondescripts Cricket Club. He also picked up 10 wickets in the tournament at 17.00 and an economy rate of four. Welegedara has been a regular member of the Test side of late, and has now been rewarded with a place in the limited-overs squad as well.Rangana Herath and the offspinner Sachithra Senanayake, who debuted against South Africa recently, will form the spin attack. There was no place for Suraj Randiv, who last played an ODI against Australia in August 2011.

Shahid Karim, Mohammad Amir’s lawyer, has said he would have preferred an independent tribunal to adjudicate on the charges against his client over the spot-fixing controversy

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2010Shahid Karim, Mohammad Amir’s lawyer, has said he would have preferred an independent tribunal to adjudicate on the charges against his client over the spot-fixing controversy, instead of the three-man panel set up by the ICC. Amir, along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, has been provisionally suspended by the ICC for their alleged involvement in the controversy, and the final hearings are scheduled to be held over six days in Doha from January 6-11.”Looking at the case from a legalistic point of view, from the point of view of the case being presented to an independent and unbiased tribunal, then I think he has a fair chance of coming out clean,” Karim told . “However the situation is an odd one. Ideally we would have liked the tribunal to be completely independent of the ICC, but at this point in time I have to have full faith in the tribunal.”The ICC’s three-man tribunal includes Michael Beloff QC, Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa and Sharad Rao of Kenya. Beloff, the ICC code of conduct commissioner, had chaired the hearings into the appeals of Amir and Butt against their suspensions in Dubai, and had upheld the ICC’s decision. Subsequently, the PCB revoked the central contracts of the players.Beloff’s prior participation in the hearings drew objection from Karim. “We raised a slight objection to Michael Beloff QC chairing the hearing in Doha, as he had heard the case in the provisional hearing, but he chose not to remove himself,” Karim said. “However, my training as a lawyer requires me to have full faith in the forthcoming tribunal and I should expect a fair hearing.”Although the members of the three-man tribunal are already part of the anti-corruption commission which is a permanent body in the code of the ICC and are nominated by the ICC, and the tribunal members have been picked out of those members, I still think that I have faith in their independence and impartiality.”Karim was confident of a verdict in favour of Amir, claiming there were certain mitigating circumstances in his case. “One of the mitigating factors is age and the other mitigating factor is Amir’s previously unblemished record,” he said. “Emotionally he is drained, he’s been affected badly by it, but he’s coping as best he can and above all he is very confident that he will come out of this clean.”And in the event of an unfavourable verdict for Amir, Karim said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. “If the hearing does not go our way we plan to take the matter further. The next stage of the process would be to go to the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne. It is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport and would be completely independent and divorced of the ICC.”Meanwhile, Butt’s lawyers have asked the ICC for a postponement of the hearings to prepare their reply.

The MCC has selected a blend of youthful promise, Test experience and county stalwarts for the traditional season opener against the County Champions.

Cricinfo staff26-Jan-2010The MCC has selected a blend of youthful promise, Test experience and county stalwarts for the traditional season opener against the County Champions starting on March 29.This year is a landmark for the fixture, with the match not being played at Lord’s for the first time. Instead the game, against Durham, will take place under lights in the Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi with a pink ball, in an attempt to research the feasibility of Test cricket under lights.Gloucestershire captain and former MCC Young Cricketer Alex Gidman will lead the side that includes Mark Ramprakash, who, at 40, continues to dominate domestic attacks. Also in the ranks are two players who will be eager to impress national selectors: Leicestershire’s James Taylor, the Cricket Writers’ Club and PCA Young Player of the Year for 2009, and Middlesex and England Lions paceman Steve Finn.In a lively fast-bowling pack, Finn will be joined by Gloucestershire’s Steve Kirby, and Chris Tremlett, who is trying to resurrect his international career with a move of from current county Hampshire. In addition, Essex wicketkeeper James Foster will play in this fixture for the third year in succession.John Stephenson, the MCC head of cricket, said he is looking forward to being part of latest development in the game. “This is a traditional fixture, but there’s little else about this match that is traditional,” he said. “It’s not just a contest between MCC and the Champion County, but a crucial step in researching the pink ball and first-class cricket under floodlights.””We’re very pleased to be fielding an extremely talented MCC team in what will undoubtedly be a tough test against the strongest county in England. From speaking to our players in recent weeks, it’s clear there is a passion to play in this game: not only so they can kick-start their season but because they feel they can contribute to our wider research for the good of the game. We’re really looking forward to the match.”Gidman echoed these sentiments, saying that he is looking forward to being part of cricketing history. “I was delighted to be invited to play in this match, and to be asked to captain is a huge privilege. My family have strong ties with MCC, and both myself and my brother Will spent time as MCC Young Cricketers, so I cannot wait to lead out the MCC team in such an historic fixture,” he said.”Using pink balls under lights in a four-day, first-class match promises to be a very interesting experiment and certainly something that every player will be looking forward to being a part of.”MCC team 1 Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire) (Capt), 2 Scott Newman (Middlesex), 3 David Sales (Northamptonshire), 4 Mark Ramprakash (Surrey), 5 Dawid Malan (Middlesex), 6 James Taylor (Leicestershire), 7 James Foster (wk) (Essex), 8 James Middlebrook (Northamptonshire), 9 Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), 10 Steve Kirby (Gloucestershire), 11 Steve Finn (Middlesex)