Former fast bowler Eric Upashantha the lone new face in five-member senior selection committee

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2018Graeme Labrooy has been reappointed Sri Lanka’s chief selector for another term along with the majority of his existing panel. The big change is that Asanka Gurusinha, Sri Lanka’s cricket manager, is no longer a selector. Coach Chandika Hathurusingha will function as the selector-on-tour, having performed that role since January.Elsewhere in the panel, former first-class allrounder Sajith Fernando makes way for former seam bowler Eric Upashantha, who has served in several selection panels over the past few years. Gamini Wickremasinghe, a former wicketkeeper, and Jery Woutersz, who had recently been the national team’s manager, keep their places in the committee.Having assumed the role when the national team was in crisis last year, Labrooy’s committee has overseen a period of relative stability. Sri Lanka’s Test side made gains on recent tours to the UAE, India and Bangladesh, though the side continues to struggle in limited-overs formats.Among the bolder decisions Labrooy’s committee made was dropping Kusal Mendis, then re-selecting him after a break, and inserting off spinner Akila Dananjaya into the Test squad. Both of those moves have paid dividends so far.Labrooy’s panel is also understood to work quite closely with Hathurusingha, who although has no official powers when it comes to picking a squad, is believed to have substantial influence over the panel.This committee’s next assignment will be to select the Test squad for the home series against South Africa in July, once the ongoing series in the West Indies winds down.

Derbyshire have known some dismal days in East Midlands derbies and this ranked among one of the worst as they succumbed long before the A52 rush hour had cleared

David Hopps07-Jun-2018
ScorecardAs East Midlands derbies go, this one will go down as one of the great mismatches. Derbyshire’s players will hope to file it along with other brain fades such as telephone banking passwords and where their car keys are. A calamitous batting display saw them wafted aside for 110 on a sunny afternoon, leaving Nottinghamshire, the holders, to scamper to a place in the play-offs with an eight-wicket victory.That win came with disparaging haste as Notts endeavoured to lift their net run rate and thereby claim a home tie in the play-offs by finishing second in the group – it later transpired, successfully. Riki Wessels set the tone by striking the first four balls of Hamidullah Qadri’s second over straight for six – the over went for 28 – and to ribald cheers the game was settled within 11.5 overs. Wessels made 63 from 34 balls and Tom Moores caught the mood, batsmen with the licence to have a bit of fun.Derbyshire have had worse derby disasters. They were once bowled out for 16 on this ground, still their lowest total, as Fred Morley took 7 for 7 in 1879. Morley was regarded as the fastest bowler in the land and, had he not died of dropsy five years later, he might have fancied picking up a couple of wickets here, such was the ineptitude of Derbyshire’s display.”It’s unacceptable to be bowled out for just over 100,” said Billy Godleman, Derbyshire’s captain. “The surface was an interesting one and posed challenges, particularly when the seamers were bowling.”At least Derbyshire brought some cheer for England. Jake Ball, Nottinghamshire’s tall, languid pace bowler, has replaced Chris Woakes in England’s ODI squad for the Australia series and he loosened up with four wickets. There was an uplifting sight, too, for Peter Such, the ECB’s lead spin bowling coach, who was delighted to see Matthew Carter’s stately offspin reap three wickets too.Carter is one of England’s forgotten spinners, his progress hindered by the Championship’s banishment, by and large, to the start and end of the season. But he came into this match with two Royal London Cup four-fors this season and looked in good order. He is a tall man who just walks up the wicket with deliberation, but his rhythm was excellent and he drew turn from a used surface. He should get a Championship outing at Taunton this weekend and can still have a fine career ahead.Godleman was the Derbyshire wicket most sought, his tournament record standing at 505 runs at 84.16, but the captain only added four more, Carter drifting the ball into the left-hander then finding bite to have him caught at slip. Alex Hughes obligingly hacked a ball turning down the leg side to midwicket and Carter returned later to defeat Hardus Viljoen’s rustic heave.With Ball having Ben Slater caught at the wicket, Derbyshire were three down within 4.5 overs, their two batsmen who have dominated their 50-over season both gone and hopes of sneaking a top-three spot already retreating. Matt Critchley played brightly for 33 before chopping at Luke Fletcher’s wideish outswinger and the most surprising shot of all came from Wayne Madsen, who was his usual reliable self in making 37 only to heave Ball to long on in suicidal fashion.There were other giveaways too: a sweep down deep square leg’s throat by Gary Wilson, a leave alone against Ball by Darren Smit, although as Ball himself remarked after a second look, that one did come back a bit. Derbyshire didn’t even make it last until the rush hour had departed, leaving their supporters to queue up the A52, adding their own fumes of dismay to the evening pollution.

One week, a team scores 481 runs in 50 overs. The next, another loses chasing 189 after being 186 for 3. Clearly, cricket doesn’t do middle ground

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2018One week, a team scores 481 runs in 50 overs. The next, another loses a match chasing 189 . Clearly, cricket doesn’t do middle ground.#Collapzilla – High Wycombe, a club team in England, lost seven wickets in 11 balls•Peterborough Town CC

Far removed from the pyrotechnics of Jason Roy and Alex Hales and Jos Buttler, there was a club game in the town of Peterborough in Northamptonshire and the local team was looking beat. After all, there were 12 balls left, only three runs to get and seven wickets in hand. That’s when it happened. #CollapzillaThe unravelling of High Wycombe began with fast bowler Kieran Jones picking up four wickets in four balls to start the penultimate over of the chase, and ending it as a maiden over. Imagine the odds. Experts suggest it is somewhere between finding an Oxford-educated unicorn and owning car keys that never get lost.The final six balls were the responsibility of a 16-year-old offspinner. According to the , Danyaal Malik was the sixth-choice bowler in an under-strength attack.Nathan Hawkes took strike on 57. The first ball was reverse-swept for a single, but that was only the start of another collapse. The next four yielded three wickets and a remarkable victory.And so Peterborough won the regional final of the the ECB National Club Championship, and proceeded to the tournament’s last 16.* Yes, this was no friendly neighbourhood game of cricket, but a fixture right towards the top end of club cricket in England.*

Outgoing ICC chief executive David Richardson touched upon on-field behaviour, ball tampering, cricket’s ever-growing global presence, and much more in the 2018 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2018***Good evening Mr President, Guy, ladies and gentlemen.I’d like to start by thanking Lord MacLaurin and the MCC for the invitation to stand here before you tonight. It’s a huge honour, if not a little daunting.Even more daunting than when I came to Lord’s as a member of the South African team in 1993, post-isolation, and we met the Queen prior to the start of the Test. Before the match, they briefed us on how to address the Queen, as Your Majesty or Ma’am, but not to talk to her unless she talked to you.But they didn’t tell us how to address Prince Philip. The Queen arrived, we all lined up. The Queen came down the line and shook hands. I recall her wearing white gloves. Prince Philip, following behind, stopped to talk to Fanie De Villiers, who was standing next to me. I heard the Prince say “a pleasure to meet you”, and pointing to Fanie’s blazer pocket, he asked, “what happened to the Springbok?”Fanie’s first language, and only language actually, is Afrikaans. I was a bit worried because the replacing of the Springbok emblem with the protea was quite controversial in some quarters, and I knew Fanie was one of those who would have preferred to keep the Springbok. He hesitated a bit and then said, “well, Your Worship, the springbok has jumped.”Actually, he was not trying to be funny. Spring is an Afrikaans word, meaning ‘to jump’ in English. He wanted to say , a clever play on words, explaining that the springbok has moved on. Not quite the same effect when directly translated into English. Fortunately, Prince Philip must have understood what he meant and he moved on.But that was not my first visit to Lord’s. A very long time ago, in 1979, in the midst of an apartheid South Africa, as a 19-year old, I was part of a multi-racial team selected to come to England. I am not even sure who arranged the tour, but it was sponsored by Barclays Bank.The tour started in London. We stayed at the Danubius, and on the day we arrived, we were taken to the Lord’s shop to be kitted out, whites, bats, pads and gloves. The coach of our team was a gentleman called Colin Milburn, a name that I’m sure will ring a few bells in this room.A colourful character, an attacking, entertaining batsman, whose career was cut short by a car accident where he lost an eye. He imparted his experience not only in the skills of the game, but also in the art of ‘off-field’ tactics, teaching us the importance of socialising with your opponents and the medicinal values of gin and coke! Wherever the team went, we were struck by how popular a figure Colin Milburn was.The manager of the team, more of a mentor really, was one Colin Cowdrey, who was what I had imagined the English gentleman to be – softly spoken, impeccable manners, always dressed in a jacket and tie.In one of the matches, he made a guest appearance for the team playing against us. I recall he put his blazer over his whites before sitting down to lunch. And at tea time, I noticed him going into the kitchen to thank the tea ladies. Indeed, wherever we went, I noticed the tea ladies fell over themselves in excitement whenever he appeared. He was a lesson to our team in how to respect the game, your own team-mates, the opponents and the umpires.The two Colins were entirely different personalities, but both epitomise the nature of our great game. A game that is inclusive and accommodating of all types. A game that by its very nature exposes the personalities of the players, allows the players to express not only their skills and their passion for the game but also their characters, warts and all. This is what makes cricket so appealing and fascinating to those who are watching. We cannot and should not be looking to sanitise it out.As fans, we want our players enjoying and expressing themselves, we want to see emotion, passion and pride from players. What we don’t want is robots, lacking in personality, but equally what we don’t want is ugly behaviour.Lately, we’ve seen too much ugly on and off the field of play. As a sport, we must be united, not just in our desire to protect the spirit of the game, but every single person in the game needs to commit to living that spirit and ensuring it is relevant in the 21st century, continuing to make cricket a unique sporting proposition.What exactly is this spirit of cricket? The spirit of cricket isn’t an historical hangover; it is part of the fabric of our sport. No other sport has codified the spirit so blatantly in its Laws, and we disregard it at our peril. The phrase ‘it’s just not cricket’ is not an accident, it’s because cricket’s DNA is based on integrity, and people know that cricket represents something more than a game.But we have seen too much behaviour of late that puts that in jeopardy, and it has to stop. Sledging that amounts to no more than personal abuse, fielders giving send-offs to batsmen who have been dismissed, unnecessary physical contact, players threatening not to play in protest against an umpire’s decision, and ball-tampering; this isn’t the version of our sport that we want to project to the world.Getty Images

The public reaction, around the world, to the incidents in the recent Australia-South Africa series was an eye opener. The message was loud and clear: cheating is cheating and is not what we signed up to.As administrators, we have to do our part and we have agreed to take stronger action against behaviour that is unacceptable, to back our match officials more, and for boards to behave in a manner themselves that creates a culture of respect between teams. We have taken a step in the right direction.But the reality is, it will be the players who can safeguard the reputation of the game with their actions on and off the field. It is the nature of the players’ personalities, their strength of character that will ultimately define the spirit of the game and what it means in the 21st century.And here it is important for current players to understand that they represent not only themselves but all the players that have gone before them, and those that will follow. The vast majority of players do this day in and day out. Players like Kane Williamson, Hashim Amla, Mithali Raj, Jos Buttler, Katherine Brunt, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni.Going back in time to players I played with or against – Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock, Alan Donald, Courtney Walsh, Richie Richardson, David Boon, Rahul Dravid … so many examples. Players who played hard, never gave up, never took a backward step, played with passion and a sense of enjoyment, but never disrespected the opponents or the umpires. Players who the fans loved to watch.Over the last few months, I’ve read comments from players requesting guidance on what is allowed in relation to the ball. Asking if they can chew gum, wear sunscreen or drink a sugary drink, and to be brutally honest, I find this a little disingenuous.The laws are simple and straightforward – do not change the condition of the ball using an artificial substance. If you are wearing sunscreen, sucking a mint or chewing gum with the intent of using the cream or sugary saliva on the ball, you are ball-tampering.You may not always get caught, we are not going to stop players chewing gum or from wearing sunscreen. There are many players who have chewed gum on the field throughout their careers, and never once thought to use it on the ball, but if you are caught – and we have only caught players when it is pretty obvious what they are doing – then don’t complain. Saying others do it is not a defence – you are cheating.Sledging is another element of the game that constantly draws attention – where do you draw the line? Banter, even elements of gamesmanship have always been a part of the sport, and in my view, play a part in adding to its mystique and unique character.I think in most cases sledging/chirping is a waste of time, often resorted to by players who are trying to psyche themselves up or boost their own lack of confidence, and very often it’s counter-productive.We tried to unsettle Steve Waugh by asking him what it was like to be the unpopular twin, with Mark getting all the toys when they were growing up – it had no effect and only made him more determined, seemingly getting runs whenever he batted against us.Pat Symcox is someone I played with who always loved to have a few words. Matthew Hayden’s career was in two parts. In the first, he had a very unhappy tour of South Africa, suffering a string of low scores in the series. In the second innings of the final Test, he got a duck. As he passed Pat Symcox on the way back to the dressing room, Pat said, “Don’t worry Matt, Donald Bradman also made a duck in his last Test innings.”Matthew Hayden was dropped after that, but a season or so later, came back for an extraordinary, successful second stage of his career, including a record-breaking tally of runs against South Africa in a later series. There was a time when teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could be bullied mentally – that is not the case anymore.But there is a difference between the examples I have given and what amounts to no more than ugly personal abuse in the guise of playing ‘aggressively’. That type of ugly behaviour is not what sport, never mind cricket, is all about, and is simply unacceptable. And it is the latter that we are attempting to eradicate. A specific new offence, personal abuse, has been introduced, punishable as a level 3 Code of Conduct offence, which will result in a ban of up to six Test matches or 12 ODIs/T20Is.So, apart from this, what has ICC done to address the situation? Three main points.Firstly, we have introduced new offences and increased the severity of the associated penalties to serve as an effective deterrent.Secondly, we will take steps to educate the players on what it means to play the game within the spirit – advising them on not only what you can’t do, but showing them examples of what type of conduct does exemplify the spirit of the game as we would like to see it.Finally, the boards have agreed to adopt principles of behaviour that will create an environment of respect for the game, the match officials and each others’ teams. This includes the philosophy that the touring team should be treated as honoured guests in the country, with the standard of practice facilities and other logistical arrangements exactly the same, if not better, as the home team.The boards, including their ground staff, the players, their support staff, coaches and team managers, must all act as the guardians of the spirit. Mike Procter as coach of South Africa was a brilliant example of this. If you got a bad umpiring decision, you could expect less sympathy from Mike than you get when you have a hangover. “Bad luck” was all you got from him. Unqualified acceptance of an umpire’s decision, good or bad, was a given as far as he was concerned.Too many coaches or team managers of recent times are too quick to side with their players, blame the umpires for being biased against their team, storming off to the match referee’s room to complain.We are relying on everyone to showcase cricket and inspire a new generation of players and fans. Winning must obviously be the aim of any game, but not at all costs, not when it means compromising the integrity of the game.We must all work proactively to protect the spirit of the game and make it a relevant part of cricket in the 21st century. In my view, it is imperative to the long-term sustainability of the game. After all, who will want their kids to play cricket if what you see and read about is foul language, bad sportsmanship or corruption.And, of course, we all want more kids playing cricket. Growing the sport, in terms of the number of both participants and fans, is a key pillar of our global strategy for cricket that we will be launching later this year.The spirit of cricket should not only define how we play the game but how we fulfill cricket’s broader purpose. The first question sponsors ask us is, ‘why cricket’…’what’s the purpose of cricket’? At its most basic, cricket provides enjoyment, an opportunity for people of any age or gender to be entertained, and to connect with each other. Cricket has a great capacity to unite people, to inspire and to empower.We need to ensure that cricket is not elitist but is accessible to and capable of being enjoyed by all.There is little that depresses me more than receiving a glossy report from a well-meaning cricket board in South America extolling their efforts in growing participation, normally accompanied by a photo of kids clad in whites at a fielding practice in a huge semi-circle with a coach hitting catches to them. If you are lucky, a catch might come your way every 10 minutes or so. How to turn kids to basketball or water polo in one easy lesson!In the coming months, we will be launching a new app that will give kids and adults the chance to enjoy cricket anytime, anywhere, and in a way that suits them. This is a big departure for the ICC, but we cannot expect to do things the same way time after time with different results. We need to put our arms around ALL of cricket and celebrate the fact that anyone can play and enjoy it.Whether it be a game on a basketball court in New York, in a floodlit car-park at night in Dubai, the backyard with your friends, the street in Papua New Guinea, or the beach, they must feel they are part of the cricket family.It is not only in playing the game that we need to be more inclusive, it is also necessary to provide opportunities for people to watch and follow the game. Many cricket fans will tell you their first memory of cricket was going with their father or grandfather to an international match at the MCG or Eden Gardens. It is at that age that heroes are created. I came back from watching South Africa play Australia at Newlands in 1970, and immediately changed to batting left-handed like Graeme Pollock and bowling off the wrong foot like Mike Procter in my backyard games.We are also considering how we use technology and the digital space to attract younger fans. Shorter form, less conventional content that kids want to share must be a central part of what we’re all doing.It is the diversity of cricket that is so precious – different formats, different nationalities, different shapes and sizes of people playing. As a sport, we can and should be making every effort to diversify even further both in terms of new markets, but perhaps even more importantly in my mind in relation to women and girls.Cricket has always been known as the gentleman’s game, but that is a label we should attach to the character of the game only, not the gender of those playing the game. It is a game for all. For too long, we have ignored the potential of women in cricket and effectively 50% of the population. But that is changing significantly and will continue to do so.Last summer’s ICC Women’s World Cup, and particularly the final here at Lord’s, showed us the huge opportunity the sport has to attract more women and girls, not only as players and fans, but also ensuring the sport is a place where women want to work – as administrators, as commentators, as journalists… we must remove any barriers to entry based on gender.Getty Images

Last year, the decision was taken to televise all 31 matches of the ICC Women’s World Cup. We worked with broadcasters to incentivise them to carry all the matches, and their support saw the event reach 180 million unique viewers worldwide.This was a 265% viewership increase in comparison to the same event in 2013. We now need to supply the demand, ensuring there is access to compelling and competitive cricket. By doing that, we can build up a market where the women’s game becomes self-sustainable because sponsors and broadcasters know the commercial benefits.We need to do everything possible to make cricket a choice for young girls around the world. We need to get the basics right – even something as simple as ensuring they have their own changing facilities will make a big difference.It is such an exciting time for the sport. Cricket is in great health, with more than a billion fans around the world, and room for much more growth. We don’t have all the answers to the challenges we face, but we are working collectively to solve them.Nelson Mandela was right when he said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where there was once only despair.”Acting in the spirit of cricket means remembering this in our decision making, ensuring that we use cricket to provide enjoyment to and to unite, inspire and empower communities around the world.Cricket and its spirit is defined by the personalities of its participants – administrators, umpires, referees and the players themselves. On the field, cricket needs its larger-than-life characters – its Colin Milburns, Freddie Flintoffs, Shane Warnes, Virat Kohlis and Ben Stokes, its lovable rogues. But equally, it needs its Frank Worrells, Rachael Heyhoe-Flints, MS Dhonis, Rahul Dravids and its Colin Cowdreys to make sure we all stay on the good-guys (or girls) side of that “line”. The future of our game depends on it.Thank you once again for inviting me, and thanks for listening.

The opener’s unbeaten 73 took India to victory by nine wickets with 30.1 overs to spare after Sri Lanka had been bowled out for just 98

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2018Smriti Mandhana smashes the ball down the ground•SLC

India’s bowlers shot out Sri Lanka for only 98 in 35.1 overs at the Galle International Stadium before Smriti Mandhana stroked an unbeaten 73 off 76 balls to bring up victory in 19.5 overs.Opting to bat, Sri Lanka were in trouble early, with Mansi Joshi having Prasadani Weerakkody caught behind in the sixth over with the score on just 8. Sri Lanka had started slow, and were consistently hindrered by the new-ball tandem of Jhulan Goswami and Joshi, who returned to international cricket after 14 months, recovering from a knee injury sustained during the limited-overs home series against Bangladesh A in December last year. The duo reduced the hosts to 18 for 3 in the Powerplay, and the spinners mounted further pressure thereafter.Goswami snared No. 3 Nipuni Hansika in the ninth over, for her 300th international wicket, the first woman to get that many. Goswami, who called time on her T20I career ahead of the tour, would later return to get No. 9 Udeshika Prabodhani, and now has 40 wickets in Tests, 205 in ODIs and 56 in T20Is.Joshi ended with the best figures on the day, 3 for 16 in 6.1 overs, while Goswami took 2 for 13 in eight. Poonam Yadav, who became the third-fastest Indian to 50 ODI wickets, finished with 2 for 13 in four. Save for Harmanpreet Kaur, who bowled only one over, every Indian bowler had at least one wicket, including debutant D Hemalatha.For Sri Lanka, the only notable contributions came from captain Chamari Atapattu, who made 33 and was seventh out at the score of 78, and No. 8 Sripali Weerakkody, who scored 26.Coming off a prolific run at the Kia Super League in the UK, where she finished as the leading run-getter and the Player of the Tournament, Mandhana took the lead in India’s chase, getting into her stride quickly and finding the fence regularly. At the break, India had already reached 43 without loss in in seven overs, with Mandhana on 31 off 29.The lunch interval didn’t hamper Mandhana’s momentum, with two fours hit in the first over on resumption. She reached her half-century – her fifth in last six ODI innings – in only 42 balls, with a six off Sripali Weerakkody.India looked set for a 10-wicket victory before Punam Raut miscued an inside-out lofted drive to backward point off Inoka Ranaweera to end the opening stand at 96 in 18.4 overs. Mandhana, who appeared to be in visible discomfort against offspinner Shashikala Siriwardene, escaped at least three edges in what turned out to be the last over of the chase. She then hit a boundary off the fifth ball of the 20th over – off Siriwardene – to seal the chase.Mithali Raj faced only two balls and didn’t score off them, but this was still a landmark match for her. She went past Charlotte Edwards (117) as the most-capped captain in women’s ODIs with her 118th appearance. Raj also equalled Edwards with her 72nd ODI win as captain, which is second overall behind Belinda Clark’s 83 wins from 101 matches.

The player auction for the 2019 season is likely to take place on December 16 in Goa

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Oct-2018South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock is the IPL’s first trade of 2019, before the auction takes place in mid-December. ESPNcricinfo understands that de Kock, who last year played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, has been traded to Mumbai Indians in an all-money deal.Royal Challengers had bought de Kock for INR 2.8 crore (USD 437,000) at the 2018 auction. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Mumbai have bought de Kock at that price and to offset the deal, they have released Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman (INR 2.2 crore, USD 343,000) and Sri Lankan offspinner Akila Dananjaya (INR 50 lakh, USD 78,000).De Kock played eight matches in IPL 2018, scoring 201 runs at a strike rate of 124.07. Although Mumbai already have two wicketkeepers in Ishan Kishan and Aditya Tare, they might have been keen on de Kock for his top-order batting. They used the hard-hitting West Indies batsman Evin Lewis as opener earlier this year, but he struggled towards the end of the season, prompting the Mumbai coaching staff to seek back-ups. De Kock, who has also played for Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad, has impressive numbers in the IPL, scoring a hundred and six fifties in 34 innings. He has also made 573 of his 927 runs in the Powerplay, at a strike-rate of 125.6.The IPL has two main trading windows with the first one starting immediately at the end of the season stretching to a month before the auction and the second one from after the auction till the start of the tournament. Since 2018, the IPL also introduced a mid-tournament window for franchises to trade uncapped players and players who had not played more than two matches.With the last date for retentions and release being November 15, franchises are busy working out their plans for the new season before they make fresh buys at the auction. A purse of INR 3 crore will be available for the franchises in addition to the balance left after last year’s auction.The IPL has not yet formally communicated an auction date, but ESPNcricinfo understands December 16 has been earmarked with Goa as the likely venue. The franchises were told that the auction was supposed to happen between December 15 and 20.The franchises will also want clarity over where the IPL will take place in 2019 because India’s general elections will be taking place around the same time as the tournament. This had been the case in 2014 as well when, owing to security concerns, the first set of matches were played in the UAE.Now, however, the franchises are averse to playing in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi because they fear the pitches would end up being too slow. The IPL has not revealed any plans yet, but it is understood that South Africa has been chalked in as an alternative venue. It is also waiting for the central election commission to announce the date for the elections, but franchises want an answer soon so they can prepare for the auction accordingly.

England have named three uncapped players in their squad of 15 for the Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean next month

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2018England have named three uncapped players in their squad of 15 for the Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean next month, as they look to add the 20-over title to the 50-over crown that they won in memorable circumstances on home soil last year.Nottinghamshire’s Kirstie Gordon and Sussex’s Linsey Smith – both left-arm spinners with Loughborough Lightning in the Kia Super League – have been named for the first time, while the 20-year-old batsman and legspinner Sophia Dunkley is also included after impressing this season for Middlesex and Surrey Stars.Smith was a breakthrough player for Southern Vipers when they won the inaugural Kia Super League in 2016, and has continued to star for Loughborough Lightning this year, alongside Gordon, who was regularly in the wickets as they reached this year’s final.

England WWT20 squad

Heather Knight (Berkshire, capt), Tammy Beaumont (Kent), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Sophia Dunkley (Middlesex), Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire), Tash Farrant (Kent), Kirstie Gordon (Nottinghamshire), Jenny Gunn (Warwickshire), Dani Hazell (Yorkshire), Amy Jones (Warwickshire, wk), Nat Sciver (Surrey), Linsey Smith (Sussex), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire), Danni Wyatt (Sussex)

“It’s always an exciting time when any England squad is announced but especially when there are three newcomers included,” said Mark Robinson, England’s head coach.”Sophia, Kirstie and Linsey have all had outstanding summers domestically and impressed when they have been in and around the group. All three will bring something different to the squad.”Everyone is looking forward to the challenges ahead and we can’t wait to get out there and get started.”England will travel to the Caribbean without the services of Sarah Taylor, their world-class wicketkeeper-batsman, who was withdrawn from consideration last week in the ongoing management of her anxiety condition.Amy Jones has been named as the squad’s first-choice wicketkeeper in Taylor’s absence, and may vye with Lauren Winfield for an opener’s berth alongside Tammy Beaumont and Danielle Wyatt.

Having retired from international cricket in 2012, the former Zimbabwe captain and their convener of selectors has signed for a Sri Lankan domestic side for the forthcoming first-class season

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2018Fast bowler Carl Mumba receives his Zimbabwe Test cap from former captain Tatenda Taibu•AFP

Tatenda Taibu, the former Zimbabwe captain and their convener of selectors until March this year, is set to return to competitive cricket, six years after retiring from international cricket. He has signed for Sri Lankan domestic side Baduraliya CC for the forthcoming first-class season, he confirmed to ESPNcricinfo, in response to an advertisement for an overseas player.Taibu, the youngest ever Test captain, played 28 Tests and 150 ODIs for Zimbabwe before calling time on an 11-year-long international career in 2012 at age 29, stating that he wanted to focus on working for the church.One of Taibu’s motivations behind his return to professional cricket was that his son had never seen him play the game.”My son Tatenda Jr also often asks how I used to play, now that he has taken a liking to the sport,” Taibu said. “He didn’t really get the chance to see me as he was too young at the time. I have stayed extremely fit and healthy and feel I’m still one of the fittest cricketers around, so I thought maybe I can let him see for himself how I can perform.”Since his international retirement, Taibu had been living in the UK, where, in 2016, he returned to cricket after signing for Liverpool and District team Hightown St Mary’s. He made his first foray into administration the same year, as Zimbabwe Cricket’s convener of selectors and development officer.During his time in the UK, he also founded the Harare-based Rising Stars Academy, which received funding from Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) and private sponsors, and the academy collaborated with an English sports agency and secured club contracts for players picked as among Zimbabwe’s most promising.Earlier this year, Taibu was sacked as ZC’s chief selector, along with coach Heath Streak and captain Graeme Cremer, in the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s failed 2019 World Cup qualifying campaign. Taibu later criticised ZC for its treatment of players and said he believed that part of the reason he was sacked was because, “I said all the things I should have said while I was in the organisation. That’s why I was ousted.”

The fast bowler is yet to fully recover from his shoulder injury. Shadab Khan is out too, but Fakhar Zaman is fit to play

Danyal Rasool in Centurion24-Dec-2018Pakistan will have to fight for just their third Test match win in South Africa without the services of Mohammad Abbas. Sarfraz Ahmed confirmed at a press conference at Supersport Park that the Boxing Day Test came too soon for Abbas, with the shoulder injury that kept him out of the third Test against New Zealand ensuring he will play no part in the opening Test.”Abbas is not fit for the first Test, hopefully he will be fit for the second Test,” Sarfraz said. “Shadab Khan, too, will be back for the second Test, but Fakhar Zaman is fit.”Legspinner Shadab has been nursing a long-term groin injury which caused him to miss the home Tests against Australia and New Zealand, although he did take part in the limited-overs games against New Zealand. Opening batsman Fakhar, meanwhile, has not featured for Pakistan since November 11 thanks to a knee injury, but played in the tour game against a CSA Invitation XI last week.Abbas’s sensational performance in the two-Test series against Australia on the generally placid UAE tracks in October – he took 17 wickets in two Tests at 10.58 – meant he was considered Pakistan’s trump card for the seamer-friendly pitches in South Africa. After the shoulder niggle last month, he was initially thought to be ruled out for the entire South Africa tour, before it emerged that he could participate in the bulk of this series. He had at one point been believed likely to win the fitness race by Boxing Day, only for Sarfraz to confirm otherwise.Abbas’s absence means Pakistan are left with just three specialist seamers in Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi along with the allrounder Faheem Ashraf. That quartet is all set to feature in the Centurion Test now. Sarfraz also hoped the surface would allow the legspinner Yasir Shah some purchase in the later stages, effectively confirming the spinner’s involvement in Shadab’s absence.

Dynamites were restricted to 116 for 9 in pursuit of 137, a batting performance that was a far cry from their big-hitting ways in their last four games

The Report by Mohammad Isam16-Jan-2019
How the game played outRajshahi Kings broke Dhaka Dynamites’ four-match winning streak, successfully defending a total of 136 for 6 as Arafat Sunny took extraordinary figures of 3 for 8 from his four overs, including the scalps of Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan.Dynamites were restricted to 116 for 9, a batting performance that was a far cry from their big-hitting ways in their last four games when either their openers, or allrounders, made a big score.When the Kings batted first, Marshall Ayub top scored with 45 off 31 balls, with three fours and two sixes. It was his first BPL match since the 2013 tournament.But the Kings’ middle-order couldn’t take advantage of the start provided by Ayub and Nafees, as Sunil Narine grabbed three wickets to stifle the middle order.Turning points– Nafees and Ayub put on 75 runs for the second wicket in just 8.5 overs, a refreshing performance from two batsmen known more for their exploits in the longer versions of the game.- Kings made only 27 runs in their last five overs, losing three wickets.- Ryan ten Doeschate and substitute Soumya Sarkar combined to take Kieron Pollard’s boundary line catch, to leave Dynamites seven down and send back the team’s last remaining hope in their chase.Star of the daySunny’s first ball had Russell, promoted to No 3, caught at mid-on before he bowled Rony Talukdar with an arm-ball. When he had Shakib caught at the deep midwicket boundary, the Kings’ celebration said a lot about how crucial they felt the wicket was to their chances.The big missUmpiring errors continued in the BPL with the third umpire in this game judging ten Doeschate not out when the Snickometer (or UltraEdge) clearly showed a spike when the ball was passing his gloves in the 12th over of the Kings’ innings. Ten Doeschate was initially given not out by the on-field umpire too.Where the teams standKings join Comilla Victorians and Chittagong Vikings with six points, while the Dynamites remain on top of the points table with eight points from five games.