Boycott’s attempt to rejoin Yorkshire’s board to limit expenditure has failed after his candidacy was rejected by 758 votes to 602 by Yorkshire members at the annual general meeting on Saturday

David Hopps26-Mar-2016Geoffrey Boycott has experienced something that at one time sounded impossible: he has lost a vote from his beloved Yorkshire members.Boycott’s attempt to rejoin Yorkshire’s board has failed after his candidacy was rejected by 758 votes to 602 by Yorkshire members at the annual general meeting on Saturday.Boycott was driven by the desire to question further development at Headingley with the club about £22m in debt. The rugby stand, which has a dual purpose and divides the cricket ground from the Leeds Rhinos rugby league ground, is decrepit and badly needs replacing.Yorkshire are enjoying one of the most successful – and peaceful – periods in a generation, having won successive Championship titles and also announced a profit of £368,000 in 2015, their first profit since 2009.Boycott had promised that he would not interfere in cricket matters if elected, stressing that he wished to ensure that the club spent within its limits.His calls for austerity differed from other board members and candidates who are adamant that Headingley must upgrade to reclaim its status as a major international venue at a time when Cardiff and Chester-le-Street are under pressure as well as ensure it is equipped to deal with any future growth in England’s T20 competition.Leeds Rhinos’ parent company, Leeds CF & AC, also regard a new rugby stand as essential and anticipate support from Leeds City Council and Welcome to Yorkshire, the tourist board.Boycott accepted his defeat graciously, saying: “I didn’t put up to win or lose. I thought I could do some good for the club. I just want everyone to know that I love the club, it’s been part of my life for 60 years, I love its history, its traditions and I know many of the members, personally.”I just wanted to put some points of view, some opinions to help. It’s not going to change anything. I’ll be watching and supporting the team as I’ve always done. We have a very good set of players, an excellent coach, good management behind the scenes – they’re a pleasure to watch. I’ll be here of the first match of the season. I’m disappointed – but nothing’s changed.”Even Michael Vaughan, a former England and Yorkshire captain, backed the stance, saying: “He’s 75 years of age. Come on Geoffrey, go and have a game of golf!”Yorkshire’s chief executive Mark Arthur, former chairman Robin Smith and Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire were all voted onto the board.Steve Denison, who was elected as Yorkshire’s chairman in March, had also dared to oppose Boycott rejoining the board, insisting in a letter to members that the club needed specialist skills to deal with their financial situation.Denison, a partner at PwC in Leeds, has vowed to reduce Yorkshire’s debt which largely arises from the need to buy Headingley. “We’ve had this pile of debt for too long,” he said upon his appointment a year ago. “It’s there for good reason, but we need to get rid of it. Over the next five to 10 years, we need to make sure that we’re paying down if not all of that debt then substantially all of it. That’s my No 1 priority.”Denison said of Boycott: “He’s a legend of the club and we want to see him at Headingley at every possible opportunity. He’ll always be welcome here so let’s hope that’s what happens going forward.”John Hampshire, a former team-mate of Boycott, who left the club in the 1980s railing against constant in-fighting, has been named as the club’s new president in succession to the former player and umpire Dickie Bird.

Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed that the ECB has made a request for the tour between the two teams, which starts next month, to use a points-based system to decide a winner across all formats

Andrew McGlashan and Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Apr-2016Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed that the ECB has made a request for the upcoming series between the two teams to use a points-based system – following the lead of the women’s game – to decide a winner across all formats. England are scheduled to host Sri Lanka for three Tests, five ODIs, and a T20I.

How England’s last three series would have panned out

If a scoring system of four points for a Test win (and two for draw), and two points for an ODI or T20 win was used:
v South Africa: South Africa 16 (Tests 6, ODIs 6, T20s 4) – England 14 (Tests 10, ODIs 4) – Final T20 the decider
v Pakistan: England 14 (Tests 2, ODIs 6, T20s 6) – Pakistan 10 (Tests 8, ODIs 2) – Final T20 the decider
v Australia: England 18 (Tests 12, ODIs 4, T20 2) – Australia 14 (Tests 8, ODIs 6)

The proposal will be discussed by the SLC committee at its next board meeting either later this month or early in May although even if it is agreed each format will continue to be contested for separately as well.”The ECB has made a request, but we have not discussed or agreed up to this point of time,” SLC’s secretary Mohan de Silva said. “We will probably take it up at the next executive committee meeting. The CEO and the Cricket Operations Manager will have to make a recommendation to the committee.”The ECB led the way in introducing points-based scoring across all three formats for the women’s Ashes in 2013. Initially, there were six points available for winning a Test (two for a draw) and two points for the ODIs and T20s, although the Test allocation has since been cut to four points as there was concern the one-off Tests had too much of a weighting.Until now, the men’s game has kept each of its formats distinct during bilateral tours, but there is a desire to try and increase the context of tours and give meaning to matches that may otherwise have little significance. It could, potentially, make end-of-tour T20s the deciding fixture in determining the overall winner.It was a topic covered in this year’s Editor’s Notes in with Lawrence Booth writing: “Walkovers happen, but cricket would benefit if they didn’t happen in a vacuum… last summer’s women’s Ashes provided a glimpse of a solution, already suggested elsewhere for the good reason that it makes sense: hand out points for every win on a bilateral tour (say, six for a Test, three for a one-day international and two for a Twenty20), tot them up, then award three to the overall winner, or one each in case of a draw.”The exact details of how a points system would work if the idea was adopted for the English season are yet to be confirmed – and it remains to be seen whether there would be conflict with existing sponsorship deals, with each format in England being under a different name – but individual series winners would remain.Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard said that events in the UK would be monitored with interest ahead of Australia’s next assignments, including a multi-format tour of Sri Lanka in July and August.”We’ve noted the trial and we will see how it plays out,” Howard said, “before considering any changes to our current system, whether it be at home or in away series.”The only two Test series ‘trophies’ that England do not currently hold are against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, who are the second visiting team for the season and whose tour could also adopt the points system. Sri Lanka won 1-0 on the 2014 visit to England, and Pakistan won 2-0 in the UAE late last year.

India’s attempts to host a day-night Test has gained further ground with Eden Gardens set to host the country’s first pink-ball multi-day cricket match in June

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2016India’s attempts to host a day-night Test has gained further ground with Eden Gardens set to host the country’s first pink-ball multi-day cricket match.The final of the Super League, a local tournament in Bengal to help identify players for the state’s Ranji Trophy team, is expected to be played under lights from June 18 to 21. Sourav Ganguly, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, hoped the “experiment” would help India host a day-night Test “in the near future”.”Pink-ball cricket indeed is the way forward,” he told the . “Test cricket’s popularity has been steadily declining and we must do something to arrest the slide. The pink-ball Test in Australia last year received an overwhelmingly positive response and we must embrace the change. The Super League final under lights is an experiment with an eye to hosting day-night Tests in the near future. I think it would be a very good experience.”Ganguly is also the head of the BCCI technical committee that recommended the Duleep Trophy, an inter-zonal first-class tournament, be played with pink balls soon after then board secretary and current board president, Anurag Thakur, had announced plans to play a floodlit Test against New Zealand later this year. NZC, however, said a number of factors needed to be finalised before going through with the match.Though cricket in India is usually played with the SG ball, the Super League final will be played with a pink Kookaburra, which requires a specific set of conditions to last.There had been complaints that it deteriorated quickly and became difficult to pick up, from both batsmen and fielders, when it was trialled in the Sheffield Shield, Australia’s first-class tournament, before it was approved for the day-night Test in Adelaide in November 2015. The pitch for that game had to have a more-than-normal coating of grass to help delay the wear and tear of the ball, and it resulted in exaggerated lateral movement. Another concern with hosting a floodlit match, especially in India, is dew.”Certain conditions are required for the pink ball to hold up for a substantial period,” CAB secretary Abhishek Dalmiya said. “We have spoken to Kookaburra’s subcontinent head and will follow the advice.”

McLean Park is set to trial a drop-in pitch over the coming season in a bid to convert the cricket ground into a multipurpose venue, according to reports

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2016Napier’s McLean Park is set to trial a drop-in pitch over the coming season, in a bid to convert the cricket ground into a multipurpose venue, the has reported.According to the report, the Napier City Council has approved funds worth NZ$1 million to have a drop-in pitch trialled in domestic cricket over the 2016-17 summer. If the trials go well, the plan is to have the entire square removed and replaced with drop-in pitches, to allow the ground to also host rugby, A-league football games, concerts and other events without lengthy breaks to take care of the cricket surfaces. Floodlights suited to day-night Tests are also part of the plans.”The cricket wicket dominates the preparation for the ground prior to summer and restricts [its use] during summer,” NCC event manager Kevin Murphy was quoted as saying. “So over that period we would generally not be able to use the park for much else.”[For now] you’ve got six or seven rugby games and a few cricket games and it doesn’t really get utilised during the other parts of the year. But if there’s no cricket block in there at all and we’re just dropping wickets in, we’ve got the ability to look at football, concerts and whatever else that might come along.”In 2016-17, Napier is scheduled to host one Twenty20 against Bangladesh, and ODIs against Australia and South Africa. The following season, it is pencilled in for ODIs against Pakistan and England.

The hosts begin a busy period of ODI cricket by welcoming a somewhat battered opposition for a pair of matches in Malahide

The Preview by Alan Gardner15-Jun-2016

Match facts

Thursday, June 16
Start time 10.45 local (0945 GMT)William Porterfield and Angelo Mathews pose with the series trophy•Getty Images

Big picture

Ireland begin what they hope will be a busy period of ODI cricket by welcoming a somewhat battered Sri Lanka across the Irish Sea for a pair of matches in Malahide. The series will provide a useful test of their progress after John Bracewell’s first year in the job of head coach.Although Ireland have theoretically been given a pathway to reaching the 10-team 2019 World Cup, a lack of fixtures means they face an uphill struggle to reach the top eight and secure automatic qualification (West Indies, currently ranked No. 8, are 52 points clear of Ireland in 12th). But the visit of Sri Lanka, ahead of a five-match series against England, will allow Ireland to return their focus to the format that has given them greatest exposure on the world stage after a disappointing World T20.It is only by playing the top sides that Ireland can be expected to progress and these two ODIs will be their first against a Full Member since a one-off game with Australia last August; Pakistan will also visit later in the summer, with a five-match series against fellow Associates Afghanistan in between. This all represents vital competitive game time for Ireland.As they look for a first major victory in Dublin, Ireland might be tempted to view Sri Lanka as wounded prey. Heavily beaten in the Tests against England, they have brought in several new faces (and some not so new) for the ODIs and their first challenge will be in working out a first-choice XI. Since Sri Lanka played five one-dayers against New Zealand in December-January, injuries, withdrawals and a change in selectors mean that only five of the side that played at Mount Maunganui are available here.Sri Lanka have a reputation as hardened Associate-beaters, however, as well as experience of playing Ireland in Dublin, having won with reasonable comfort in 2014. Graham Ford will be hoping a change to white-ball cricket can bring out some of their native belligerence once again.

Form guide

Ireland: WLLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWLLW

In the spotlight

Boyd Rankin‘s last ODI appearance came in an England shirt, at the end of the ill-fated Ashes tour of 2013-14. His time as an England-qualified Irishman was not the happiest but he remains a classy bowler, reliably effective with his county Warwickshire and set for a first home appearance in green in almost four years. The last time Rankin played at Malahide, he took 4 for 46 – but that was for England against his countrymen.Upul Tharanga has 13 ODI hundreds to his name but has played only nine matches in the last two years (one of which was against Ireland in Dublin). His last significant contribution was even further back in time, an unbeaten 174 against India in 2013 that stands out like a lighthouse amid the rocky returns of the latter half of his career. Recalled after strong domestic form at the age of 31, he will add vital experience to a transitional side.

Team news

Ireland lost Niall O’Brien, due to a calf strain, and Stuart Thompson (personal reasons) from their original squad of 13, while Craig Young was not considered due to injury. Durham seamer Barry McCarthy looks set for a debut, unless Max Sorensen is preferred. John Anderson provides another batting option but played the last of his three ODIs in 2014.Ireland (possible): 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Gary Wilson (wk), 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Stuart Poynter, 7 George Dockrell, 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Boyd RankinTillakaratne Dilshan made himself unavailable for the tour but Sri Lanka do have Kusal Perera back after his now-rescinded doping ban. Kusal Mendis could make an ODI debut, with Lahiru Thirimanne struggling for runs – although ODIs are his strongest format. Sri Lanka have several all-round options, including the uncapped (in ODIs) Dasun Shanaka, Danushka Gunathilaka and Farveez Maharoof, whose last international appearance came in 2012.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne/Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dasun Shanaka/Danushka Gunathilaka, 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Suraj Randiv, 10 Shaminda Eranga, 11 Suranga Lakmal

Pitch and conditions

The surface is unlikely to be chock-full of runs, with 250 the par score in recent years and some assistance likely for seam bowling. There has been some rain around but the forecast is reasonably good for Thursday

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka and Ireland have met four times in ODIs, with two wins for Sri Lanka and two abandonments.
• Ireland’s lowest all-out ODI total came against Sri Lanka during the 2007 World Cup, when they were dismissed for 77 in Grenada.

Quotes

“There’s a big opportunity for us to get a series win against one of the top-ranked sides. There’s no reason why we can’t come away from this with a 2-0 win.”

Anil Kumble has high praise for fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who has returned to Test cricket after 18 months

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-20161:09

‘Shami’s an important cog in our wheel’ – Kumble

India coach Anil Kumble has high praise for fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who has returned to Test cricket last month after a gap of a year and a half. Shami has troubled the West Indies batsmen with extra bounce, and has eight wickets at 24.62 after two Tests.Shami had been sidelined for much of 2015 by a knee injury that required surgery and left him in crutches for more than a month. He made his comeback in the Antigua Test last month, and responded by cutting through the West Indies middle order in the first innings. In the next Test at Sabina Park, he struck twice early on the fourth day before the rain arrived and stalled India’s hunt for a win.”I’m really happy for Shami. Coming back after 18 months is not easy,” Kumble said. “The way he has come back and bowled aggressively, yesterday I thought he bowled the best spell that I have seen, a fast bowler running in and right through the Test. Even today in the last session he was running and bowling at 140. That says a lot about his fitness and his motivation to come back as well.”After his return to full fitness, Shami was a key member of the Indian Test side, Kumble said. “I think he feels a lot stronger now and his rhythm has been good. The problem was with his knee which was affecting his run up. Once that was sorted and he was fit and came back… fast bowling is all about rhythm and the run up. Once he got the rhythm I think the confidence came back. We’ve seen from the start of the Antigua Test to now, his confidence is far greater. That’s because he has a lot of overs under his belt.”With Shami having played two Tests in two weeks, Kumble noted the need to monitor the workload of a quick bowler on the comeback trail. “He’s an important cog for us. We don’t want to look too far ahead. The workload is something we are aware of. The last Test in Antigua the bowlers bowled back to back, we try and take workload in training sessions with respect to what happened in the match.”

Northants Steelbacks confounded the sceptics yet again with a third Finals Day appearance in four years as Adam Rossington led them to victory against Middlesex

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Aug-2016
ScorecardAdam Rossington saw Northants to Finals Day•Getty Images

Northamptonshire Steelbacks sealed the second Finals Day spot with a commanding seven-wicket win over Middlesex. “No one likes us and we don’t care” rang out from a few in the Ken Turner Stand, as they rose to embrace more Twenty20 success.While the sentiment seems a tad forced, there is a feeling in this part of the world that many take delight in shedding light on their faults, while applying the dimmer when success comes their way. For the third time in four years, they will command the Edgbaston spotlight.It was a game that boiled down to how both sides operated outside the Powerplay overs. And even that can be caveated by the fact that the Steelbacks, who were all for chasing before Dawid Malan won the toss and opted to set a target, knew they didn’t have to break sweat.That Northants were led to victory by a measured and unbeaten 67 from Adam Rossington will have stung Middlesex supporters. Rossington used to be theirs: a plunderer of runs in the Middlesex second team while the first XI stuttered, hammering away at a door that, ultimately, never fully opened for him.Opportunities came with the white ball, but Middlesex’s ambivalence to limited overs cricket at the time, coupled with John Simpson’s desire to play all forms, meant he was beginning to exist in a void. The cheers of six-and-a-half thousand filled every bit of air above Wantage Road when he helped the final ball of the match around the corner for four.So much of the occasion spoke of being Northants’ night. Two hours before the start, Abington Avenue was at a standstill as members were turned away from the car park as Sky set-up their various trailers across most of the Wantage Road car park behind the Pavilion. “That’s why we don’t invite ’em round,” snarled an attendant.Sky’s cameras, or rather their absence, has been a point of contention in these parts. Despite reaching Finals Day twice in the previous three seasons and starting the 2016 campaign with a bang, this quarter-final was only their third televised match of the season.Originally scheduled for just one – at home against Birmingham Bears – a second came due to a last minute switch, when Yorkshire Vikings needed a win to guarantee a quarter-final spot (or at least that was the Northants slant). It did not take long in this broadcast for viewers to figure out what happens next.Malan, who rattled off an unbeaten 185 off 126 balls for the England Lions in his last innings at Wantage Road, was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Rory Kleinveldt, before Nick Gubbins followed in a similar manner to Richard Gleeson to reduce Middlesex to 10 for 2 in the second over. As a pair, it Kleinveldt and Gleeson’s opening spell, hitting just back of a length with all they could, that scuppered Middlesex’s chances of posting a competitive total.Paul Stirling’s natural instincts were reined in and, when he departed, thoughts turned to George Bailey, who they restricted to a run-a-ball 46, for Gleeson’s second wicket of the innings. Legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna’s 2 for 20 from his four in the middle of the innings – accounting for Stirling and the destructive John Simpson for eight – and regular bowling changes eventually saw Middlesex stumble to 132.It meant that when pressure was built during the opening six overs of Northants’ innings, through dot balls and a packed and expectant off side, it was easily relieved with a six over midwicket from Richard Levi, an exquisite swing into the stand at extra cover from Rossington or consecutive fours muscled down the ground by Josh Cobb.If there was one moment that might have turned the game, it was when Ben Duckett, Northants’ leading T20 Blast run-scorer, was dropped on three after driving aerially to Gubbins stationed at cover to Nathan Sowter, at the end of the eighth over. It was hit low and hard to Gubbins’ right and, given the measly target, the quality of the batsman and the importance of the match, it simply had to be taken.With the first ball of the very next over, Duckett stepped down and flicked James Franklin over midwicket for four to bring up 2,000 runs in all competitions. He would go on to make 29 in a 58-run partnership with Rossington that effectively sealed Northants’ passage to their fourth Finals Day.Given the uncertainty that exists at the club, that is a remarkable feat. Middlesex were shorn of Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan and James Fuller through injury. But Northants, too, have had a plethora of ailments to such an extent that they have spent as much time at a nearby sports therapy clinic as they have in the nets recently. That they have only used 16 players this season is remarkable. “We don’t have any more than that,” remarked Northants skipper Alex Wakely.No doubt some will insist on labelling them as “outsiders” in the lead-up to Edgbaston. But this will be their third appearance at Finals Day in the last four years, winning the competition in 2013 and finishing runners-up in last year’s showpiece. That is far beyond the work of “underdogs”. That’s what you call pedigree.

Middlesex, a well-resourced club, have not won the County Championship since 1993, but a Lancashire collapse suggests they might be taking the slow train to success

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford13-Sep-2016
ScorecardMiddlesex’s slips lie in wait as Lancashire crumble to 32 for 5•Getty Images

As Roald Dahl suggested, tales of the unexpected come in many forms. Behind the mundane, lurk both the remarkable and the macabre. One of the domestic game’s oddities is that Middlesex, a well-resourced club, have not won the County Championship since 1993; another is that Somerset did not win the title when they boasted some of the best cricketers in the world.At lunchtime in this game, when Middlesex had been bowled out for 327, it seemed that Somerset’s chances were improving with every run they scored in Leeds. Barely an hour later, though, James Franklin’s men were jubilant as they reduced Lancashire to 32 for 5 before some stubborn resistance from the home side left them on 102 without further loss at the close.Yet this was still a fine afternoon for Middlesex and they have two days to confirm their superiority and collect the 22 points that might leave them the length of a seaxe from glory. Somerset end a day of wonderful fluctuation needing to seal their win over Yorkshire and pray that Lancashire are stirred to break their habit of being relegated every other year.Some supporters at Old Trafford are reconciled to such biennial disappointment. So it was difficult to know whether Lancashire supporters travelling to Old Trafford from Wigan or Westhoughton for a 10.30 start on the second day of this game were more surprised to get a seat on the early train or to see their bowlers take seven wickets in a session. Probably the former.After all, it seemed unlikely that Steven Croft’s bowlers would be as ineffective or their fielding as fatigued as it had been on the first day. For them to those wickets for 65 runs in 27 overs during a slightly extended morning session was within possibility’s bounds; especially so once Tom Bailey and Kyle Jarvis had removed three recognised batsmen wickets in the first ten overs with a ball that was still quite new.On the other hand, some of the morning trains from the west are so crowded and their progress so pedestrian that any suggestion of comfort is greeted with astonishment. Indeed, the locomotive has been christened “the Parbold Flyer” by commuters whose capacity for irony seems only to have been sharpened by the sensory delights of close proximity to their fellow passengers. Other despondent travellers are more choleric: Gathurst, Wigan Wallgate, Westhoughton, Bolton: the stations of the bloody cross.Yet once they had recovered feeling in their limbs, travellers on what seems slowest loco in the land may have raised their arms in triumph as Bailey and Jarvis bowled both Dawid Malan and Stevie Eskinazi off the inside edge in the opening quarter-hour of play. Those dismissals changed the temperature of the game and revealed this Manchester pitch as one responsive to accurate bowling, not least because the bounce is increasingly variable.Early success emboldened Lancashire and James Franklin’s men found the spinners no easier to play than the seamers. Only the Middlesex captain, who took 112 minutes over his careful 31 not out, survived for long as Simon Kerrigan took three wickets from the Pavilion End and Croft removed Tim Murtagh, courtesy of Rob Jones’ sharp diving catch at short leg. So instead of knowing they needed to bat for the rest of the game to save it, Lancashire’s batsmen were faced with a total they had a hope of reaching in one dig.For 13 overs or so, it seemed to make not a brass farthing of difference to them. Unlike the train journey to Deansgate, Lancastrian delight didn’t last for ever. More significantly, the marvellous potency of this Middlesex attack was revealed as they dismantled Croft’s top order, reducing the home team to 6 for 4 in the eighth over.They needed a drop of luck, mind, although one could argue that bowlers of the quality of Toby Roland-Jones deserve all the good fortune going. Certainly there was no great twist of fate about the dismissal of Haseeb Hameed, who pushed pretty blamelessly forward at the ninth ball he received but only edged it to Ollie Rayner at second slip.Middlesex’s bowlers were encouraged by this early success and they soon had more wickets to celebrate. Luke Procter’s careless fence to Tim Murtagh only gave a catch to Stevie Eskinazi in the gully and Roland-Jones then took two wickets in three balls. Alviro Petersen was caught down the leg side off a ball which seemed to touch only his thigh and Croft lost his off stump when failing to cover late movement.Suddenly the cricket acquired a new tension. Both Lancashire’s future in the First Division and Middlesex’s hopes of the title hinged on what might happen in the next hour. Meanwhile Somerset were building a big lead at Headingley and you did not need to be born in Glastonbury to wonder wistfully if this was going to be their year at last.Jos Buttler, as if batting for both Lancashire and the county of his birth, hit three pedigree fours off a Murtagh over but then fell for 16 when his leg side nick off Roland-Jones was brilliantly caught one-handed by John Simpson diving to his left. It was a catch to help win a title. Gloom in Weston-super-Mare. Talk in Taunton of another meek Lancastrian capitulation. Remember 2010? They do.The hopes of the home side now rested on Rob Jones, who was playing his fourth first-class innings and Liam Livingstone, whose style is more suited to the cavalry charge than the cautious advance under enemy fire.Only 45 minutes earlier Jones had opened the batting with Hameed; he had already enjoyed the company of more flighty partners than a botoxed Floridian billionaire; Livingstone, for his part found batting at No7 was getting him to the wicket more quickly than going in first drop. In Lancashire’s previous home match against Somerset he had tramped out at No3 in the 31st over; now here he was, facing a new ball with the score on 32 for 5. “Do you fancy dropping down the order and going in earlier?” must be a strange question for a young cricketer to answer.The atmosphere grew heavy and close as if to intensify the importance of the cricket. Each run was greeted with a relieved rattle of applause before spectators contemplated its significance. Jones played with a maturity far beyond his years and his 42 not out was the sort of innings that is worth a month’s cricket to a young player; Livingstone, having batted poorly in the previous match, showed that he is learning what this professional game is all about and was unbeaten on 31.Either side of break for bad light and hints of rain, the pair added an unbroken 70 in 25 overs before bad light arrived as a prelude to some serious weather. “Storms From Stoke” said a colleague and it could have been the title of an Arnold Bennett novel.No matter. When play was called off, Lancashire’s hopes were still alive and Middlesex’s optimism had been dampened a touch by more than a thunderstorm. It had been a great day’s cricket. Spectators donned their helmets and crash pads and made for the rush hour chuff-chuff home.

Sanjeev Chawla, one of the accused in the 2000 match-fixing scandal, was arrested in London in June following an extradition request from India

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2016Sanjeev Chawla, one of the accused in the 2000 match-fixing scandal, was arrested in London in June following an extradition request from India, the has reported. Chawla’s case will be heard in London on October 3, even as the UK’s Crown Protection Services (CPS) has written to Delhi Police asking for details about the security arrangements and facilities in the prison in which Chawla will be kept.”The arrest was made following the Indian government’s extradition request. He faces charges of fixing cricket matches between India and South Africa in 2000,” Yasser Mehmood, press officer of the CPS, told the . “Chawla’s case will be heard at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on October 3.”Chawla, along with former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje, was named in Delhi Police’s chargesheet filed in July 2013 for fixing matches between February and March 2000. The scandal came to light in April 2000 after Delhi Police got hold of a taped conversation between Cronje and Chawla in a conspiracy related to “match-fixing and betting” during South Africa’s tour of India in 2000.Cronje, who died in a plane crash in June 2002, later admitted that he had received 6000 pounds from Chawla for providing personal favours in a Test against England in Centurion in January 2000, in which he forfeited South Africa’s second innings in a rain-affected match. Chawla was also named in the King commission’s report that had investigated Cronje’s activities.In January 2001, Chawla was arrested by Scotland Yard in North London in connection with alleged match-fixing, and was also accused of offering money to two England players to underperform in a Test match against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1999. In June that year, he was released as there was “insufficient evidence” to prove the charges against him.The other bookmakers and gamblers listed in the Delhi Police’s 2013 chargesheet were Rajesh Kalra, Krishan Kumar, Sunil Dara and Manmohan Khattar.

Sent in to bat on a green and slightly damp Harare surface, Zimbabwe lasted only 41.3 overs, leaving Sri Lanka a target of 155 that they chased down breezily courtesy Dhananjaya de Silva’s unbeaten 78

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsZimbabwe’s top-order collapse began when Brian Chari nicked Suranga Lakmal to second slip•Associated Press

Sent in to bat on a green and slightly damp Harare surface, Zimbabwe lasted only 41.3 overs, leaving Sri Lanka a target of 155 that they chased down breezily courtesy Dhananjaya de Silva’s unbeaten 78. Easy on the eye and ruthless on anything short or on his pads, de Silva scored his second ODI half-century, and put on 56 for the first wicket with Kusal Perera and 84 for the second with Niroshan Dickwella to steer Sri Lanka home with 153 balls remaining.Given the total they were defending, and the fact that the pitch was easing up as the match wore on, Zimbabwe couldn’t afford to give Sri Lanka’s batsmen any lives. De Silva was the recepient of one off the first ball of the chase, when he nicked Tinashe Panyangara to wicketkeeper Peter Moor only to be reprieved by a no-ball call. The pressure was off Sri Lanka thereafter, with Zimbabwe’s bowlers sending down a steady stream of loose balls, usually erring on the short side. Perera and Dickwella were both out to pulls, but the shot was also highly productive, bringing Sri Lanka 38 runs off 14 balls, including seven of their fours and the one six of their innings, hit by Kusal Mendis off Graeme Cremer’s legspin.With the surface offering sideways movement as well as bounce, Upul Tharanga had no second thoughts about choosing to bowl first – it was the 17th time the captain winning the toss had done so in the last 19 matches at the Harare Sports Club – and his seamers took no time making use of the conditions, running through the top order to leave Zimbabwe 50 for 6. They were in danger of falling short of 100 for the fifth time in ODIs against Sri Lanka, but Peter Moor and Graeme Cremer prevented that eventuality with a seventh-wicket partnership of 55.Moor fell for 47, while Cremer, who moved the total past 150 with some help from Donald Tiripano and Tinashe Panyangara, was left stranded on 31. Making his ODI debut, allrounder Asela Gunaratne finished as Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler, picking up three lower-order wickets with his medium-paced offcutters.The early damage, though, was done by Sri Lanka’s three frontline seamers. Suranga Lakmal started the top-order procession in the fourth over of the innings, hitting a good length in the corridor and letting the pitch do the rest as Brian Chari and Craig Ervine poked uncertainly and nicked to the slip cordon. Nuwan Kulasekara, returning to Sri Lanka’s line-up for the first time since January, then got one to stop on Sikandar Raza, who flicked in the air to short midwicket, before Sean Williams threw his wicket away to spin, jumping out to left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana, slogging, and missing the line of one that went with the angle from around the wicket.Nuwan Pradeep, the third seamer, struck the next two blows, straightening one just enough to get Chamu Chibhabha lbw playing across the line, and then, in his next over, moving it a little further to get a leaden-footed Elton Chigumbura caught behind. Zimbabwe had lost six wickets in just 17.1 overs.Moor looked in excellent touch in an aggressive 52-ball innings, striking cleanly and fearlessly whenever anything was in his zone; he hit four effortless sixes, the pick of them a shovel over long-on off Pathirana and a pull off Kulasekara that lifted Zimbabwe past 100. He fell the very next ball, though, caught on the crease by an inducker that hurried past his defensive jab and rapped his front pad in front of middle and leg.Tiripano showed impressive technique for a No. 9 in moving to 19 before going for an ill-advised hoick off Gunaratne that picked out long-on. Gunaratne then spun an offcutter like a fast offbreak to pin his fellow debutant Carl Mumba lbw, before Panyangara, slog-sweeping merrily, hit a four and a six before he was the last man out, miscuing another attempted slog. Watching from the other end, Cremer wouldn’t have been too pleased with that shot, or indeed the one Tiripano played to get out. He had batted sensibly and looked in barely any trouble, and would have hoped someone stuck around long enough with him to take Zimbabwe as close to the 50-over mark as possible.