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Fast bowler hopes to ‘bring a little bit of anxiety’ to England’s batting lineup

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2019Lockie Ferguson says that international cricket has had an “awesome year with fast bowlers”, and that he hopes to “bring a little bit of anxiety” to England and Australia’s batsmen after being named in New Zealand’s squads for their upcoming Tests against those opponents.Ferguson is in line for a Test debut, having exclusively played white-ball cricket in his international career to date, but has an impressive first-class record, with 153 wickets at an average of just 24.30 in his 42 games in the format.ALSO READ: Ferguson in line for Test chance amid packed schedule“[I’ve] been very much focused on white-ball [cricket] for the last year,” he admitted. “I think I played three first-class games – a couple against India A – last summer, and then obviously not a lot over the winter we just had.”I’ve played a lot of red-ball cricket for Auckland and some ‘A’ games as well, so I understand what it takes to be a fast bowler at that level, and you can’t always go at 100 percent like you can in one-day and T20 – you have to pick and choose when to bowl quick spells, and that’s all part of the learning process.”[Test cricket] is definitely going to be a new challenge. Obviously like in other formats, it’s a step up from domestic level, and fortunately I’ve played quite a lot of these players before at that level, so it’s not completely new. But the red ball is a whole new different beast, and it’s the longer form both mentally and physically, so it’s going to be a challenge.”Ferguson faces a tough challenge to break into New Zealand’s side. Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner have formed an impressive seam-bowling trio over the past five years, and since November 2017, they have played as a triumvirate in all but one of New Zealand’s home Tests.But head coach Gary Stead has hinted at rotation over the next five Tests, given New Zealand’s punishing upcoming schedule, meaning that there should be opportunities for Ferguson and Matt Henry at some stage.”We’ve got three internationally-recognised, world-class bowlers who have been doing an exceptional job for us, and put us [at] No. 2 in the Test rankings,” Ferguson said. “That’s fantastic, and it’s awesome to be in and around, and learning off those guys as well – it’s just nice to rub shoulders with them.”It’s going to be a tough team to break into, but there’s obviously a lot of Test cricket coming up.”Lockie Ferguson at his point of release•NurPhoto/Getty Images

Ferguson was the second leading wicket-taker at the World Cup this year, and said that international cricket has had a great year as far as fast bowling is concerned.”I think international cricket has had quite an awesome year with fast bowlers,” he said. “I know at the World Cup, earlier on perhaps they were talking about spinners being the real threat, and it was exciting for me as part of the fast-bowling fraternity to see fast bowlers at the top of [the wicket-taking] list.”I don’t think it changes at all for Test cricket: fast bowlers are going to cause problems and create a threat for batters just from pure pace. At the same time, you have to be accurate, and I guess personally that’s one thing I’ve worked on for a long time – bowling quick, but making sure that I’m putting it where I want to put it.”Ferguson admitted that if he does play, his role – as New Zealand’s fastest bowler – will involve trying “to bring a little bit of anxiety” to England’s batsmen, but added that raw pace was part and parcel of playing at the top level.”England obviously have some quick bowlers too with Jofra Archer in their line-up, and it does the same thing to both teams,” he said. “That’s probably the most exciting part about Test cricket – there’s no limit on overs, so you know you’re probably going to face [opposing quicks] at some point in time.”The first Test against England will be played at Mount Maunganui, which will be the inaugural Test at the ground, and Ferguson suggested that the wicket should be good for batting, though may offer some variable bounce.”I haven’t played there in a few years,” he said, “[but] my flat-mate Henry Cooper is an ND [Northern Districts] boy, and said that it’s not a bad batting track but it does go up and down a little bit. It’s hard to tell at this stage – every wicket you play on in New Zealand can be different, so I’m sure we’ll be turning up and assessing the conditions when we’re faced with them.”

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.

While measuring up-and-coming Australian spinners against Shane Warne effectively sets them up for failure, Nathan Lyon has shown himself to be an example worth looking up to

Daniel Brettig27-Aug-2017Upon winning the lbw verdict that pulled him into the 250-wicket zone, Nathan Lyon paused briefly on his haunches before arising as Australia’s second most prolific spin bowler after Shane Warne.If he looked only mildly pleased at the milestone, it said more for a day of hard work and perseverance than anything else. A brief, unsuccessful stay as nightwatchman would follow for Lyon, a man who has always stated his willingness to do any job for the team that anointed him custodian of its celebratory chant. Though by no means as freakish as Warne nor an all-round talent in the class of Richie Benaud, the bowler-batsman-captain whose 248-wicket tally he passed on day one in Dhaka, Lyon never gives anything less than his most unsparing effort. In the cooler light of the post-play review, Lyon was rightly proud.”I’ll tell you here right now, I’m never taking over Shane Warne,” Lyon said. “I’ve always said that I’m not about personal success but I woke up to a message from my mum and dad. They said go out and do us proud. You get those types of messages and you reflect on your career and where you stand in the game – it’s pretty special.”Richie Benaud was an unbelievable legend of Australian cricket and cricket in general. To overtake him in the wickets column is something pretty special. I hold it pretty close to my heart. I’ve got some very good mates in this change room that I think are great, and no doubt when I get back home after this series, I’ll sit down with my family and have a drink and celebrate that personal goal but let’s just see how this Test match goes first.”On a used, dry and occasionally spiteful surface, Lyon had been bowling in the seventh over of the match. But any thoughts of a quick run through Bangladesh’s middle order were assuaged when Tamim Iqbal sallied forth to hammer Lyon inside out over the cover boundary – an audacious shot to play at 18 for 3. From there, Lyon was frustrated for much of the afternoon by Tamim’s boldness and Shakib-al-Hasan’s more considered approach to spin.That the captain Steve Smith was required to call upon Glenn Maxwell for the delivery that broke the stand will not have sat well with Lyon. Not because he dislikes Maxwell or his bowling, but because Lyon has long since his 2011 debut regarded himself as a bowler capable of taking the key wicket to change a day’s flow. Having done so numerous times in India earlier this year in what was perhaps the best series of his career to date, Lyon would have expected to break the stand.Shakib Al Hasan walks off after being dismissed by Nathan Lyon•Getty Images

“I think the two guys batted very brave,” Lyon said. “They took the game on, which you have to do in these type of conditions. I think on this wicket if you bat well in partnerships and bat together, you can score runs. I’m not going to sit here and deny them credit. They’re two good players, they played some incredible shots out there and took the game on. Hats off to them. It’s now our opportunity to take the game on
in our first innings and see where we get to.”Your spinners have to bowl well and bowl well in partnerships and be consistent. That’s what myself and Ashton and Glenn Maxwell are trying to do, be as consistent as possible and challenge Bangladesh’s defence, and that’s going to be a big thing. Personally I felt that they were uncomfortably trying to defend me and they took the game on, and hats off to them, they were playing some brave and decent cricket.”Instead Lyon returned to find Tamim already defeated by a Maxwell ball that stopped and bounced, and by the time he reached the sixth ball of his 18th over, he was nursing the unflattering figures of 0 for 59. It was here that Lyon’s day turned, with a prancing delivery that Shakib could only manage to guide airily into Smith’s safe hands at slip. Next an artful change of pace and a little extra bounce had Mehidy Hasan given out caught at short leg, though replays showed the ball had not in fact touched the glove.Lyon, though, was not fussed about this modicum of fortune, much as he has uncomplainingly forged on through spells out of the Test team, a long-time absence from the limited overs set-up and wide variations in the quality of Australian wicketkeeping at the other end of the pitch. Through it all, he has steadily learned and added to his repertoire, most pointedly developing after a poor tour of Sri Lanka in 2016 to excel in India and so set the scene for his Dhaka milestone. The 250th wicket, a skidder that trapped Taijul Islam, demonstrated one of the ways in which Lyon has grown.All those episodes have, in turn, served as lessons for Ashton Agar, playing his third Test match and first alongside Lyon, after briefly deposing him in 2013 as a mussy-haired teenager. With four years of first-class cricket now behind him, Agar has returned at 23, the same age Lyon was when he made his debut, and the older man was happy to talk in terms of guidance.”I think we can learn as a partnership from our first innings going forward,” Lyon said. “To be honest, I’m pretty happy, that’s a personal best for Ashton Agar, taking three wickets. I thought when he bowled – I’m sure he wanted to bowl more overs as well – when he bowled, he bowled with nice rhythm. Sitting with him and having a chat before, he’s pretty happy with where he’s sitting. I’m pretty happy with bowling in a partnership with him.”For a considerable time it seemed difficult to know what to expect of an Australian spin bowler following after Warne, other than the impossible. Now the way ahead is far clearer, for Lyon has shown what can be done.

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.

All must live in a post-Phillip Hughes world, where the protection of the head and the region around it is given far greater attention due to the unimaginable events of last summer. As a result, Chris Rogers has been ruled out of the first Test in Dominic

Daniel Brettig in Roseau02-Jun-2015Chris Rogers complained of a headache the morning after his blow to the head, but had felt worse. Peter Brukner had certainly seen worse, including when Rogers himself was struck in the back of the helmet when fielding close to the bat at the Gabba last year. Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann want to choose their best XI, and for the past 19 matches that has included Rogers as the steady, calming presence at the top of the order.On Monday morning before training at Windsor Park, these four men debated Rogers’ availability for the first West Indies Test in Dominica. It was a lengthy and at times animated exchange, with plenty of arm waving evident from a distance. The final result had Rogers ruled out of the match due to signs of concussion after the impact from a local net bowler that momentarily stunned him on Sunday.Once upon a time, this dialogue would have gone another way. As the player protested his readiness, the coach and captain would have allowed him to continue batting in the nets and let him take his place in the side unless there was major evidence of trouble. The advice of the team doctor – or physio in earlier years – would have been just that.In the extreme case of Justin Langer, he fought through repeated blows to the helmet until 2006, when a particularly sickening hit from Makhaya Ntini in Johannesburg left him badly shaken and set him on the road to retirement within a year. Nevertheless, in the second innings Langer was physically blocked from leaving the dressing room in his batting gear by the captain Ricky Ponting and team manager Steve Bernard, as Australia stuttered through a nervy fourth innings chase.Now, however, all must live in a post-Phillip Hughes world, where the protection of the head and the region around it is given far greater attention due to the unimaginable events of last summer. Brukner, of course, had flown instantly from Melbourne to Sydney upon word of Hughes’ injury reaching him, and stood ashen-faced alongside the family as they dealt with the pain of a loss that will forever influence thinking about the dangers inherent in the game.”I think there’s probably a few players that wouldn’t have played as many Test matches as they did if that was the case long ago,” Clarke said of changing times. “But, I think there’s obviously a lot of research done by the experts in all sports. You know, it is spoken about a lot – certainly when I spent some time at home before coming here – in the AFL and in the rugby league in particular.”There’s been a lot spoken about with concussion and as hard as it is on Chris, I think credit needs to go to Peter Brukner, our team doctor. He’s an expert in this field and he believes Chris has those symptoms and it wouldn’t be smart form him to take the field. So, look, I always want to win, I always love seeing Australian cricket have success. But at the end of the day I’d rather see the health and safety of the individual come first and foremost, and in this case that’s exactly what we’re doing and I think it’s a really smart decision.”The smartness or rightness of the decision will be of only scant solace to Rogers, who finds himself out of the Test team at the outset of dual tours that have been billed well in advance as his final cricketing lap of the world. Ruled out for medical reasons is not the same as being dropped, but now the opportunity passes on to others, likely Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges, to seal their places in the Test team. Brukner said that Rogers tried to talk him around “as they do”, and Clarke placed himself in the opener’s shoes.”Oh, look, I think Chris is exactly like me,” he said. “He wants to play, as I want him to play, but he also understands and respects that there is a lot more to it than just walking back out onto the field and playing again, as I’m sure the doc would have said, if he gets hit again who knows what the consequences are, and I don’t think anybody wants to see that happen for the sake of missing one game. You know, that’s the way it is.”In some ways, it appeared as though Rogers knew he was in trouble from the moment of the ball after he was hit. He had shrugged off the blow in the nets, as is traditional, but a wild haymaker at the next delivery drew a self-recriminatory scythe at the stumps. Rogers has been so prolific for so long it can be easy to forget there is a fragility to him common to all batsmen, and whether he appreciates it or not, some time to take stock before returning in Jamaica may not be a bad thing.Meanwhile, Australia will try to go on without him in Dominica, much as West Indies will battle without their own left-handed limpet Shivnarine Chanderpaul. They will do so because they never again wish to feel the way they felt on November 25, 2014, a day that ensures no doctor’s opinion will ever be taken lightly.Asked about this episode in light of that one, Nathan Lyon conveyed its scarring by saying very little at all. “You know the answer to that,” he said. “So I don’t really need to go into that over here, sorry.” Australia never want to go back there, and so Rogers must sit out this match.

Delhi came out of their Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu with first-innings points that were hard-earned and well-deserved

Sharda Ugra at Feroz Shah Kotla27-Nov-2012
ScorecardKB Arun Karthik struck a century on the final day to secure a draw for Tamil Nadu•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Delhi came out of their Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu with first-innings points that were hard-earned and well-deserved; of the two teams at the Kotla, Delhi were more purposeful and intense.Tamil Nadu spent the final day of the game following-on and holding out for a draw. They ensured there were no more dramas after they had been dismissed for 224 on Monday in reply to Delhi’s first-innings score of 555. Led by their opener, K B Arun Karthik, who scored his first Ranji century of the season, Tamil Nadu ended the day at 220 for 2 in 77 overs. Karthik was not out on 121 after a little over five hours of resolute but aggressive batting. It was a performance that Tamil Nadu could have done with 24 hours earlier.Karthik, who, in the company of Abhinav Mukund and Murali Vijay, is the least known of the Tamil Nadu triumvirate of openers and began his competitive career in Sri Lanka, held off a sustained first-session burst of seam and swing from Delhi’s attack, well aware that once the morning session was past, he could cash in. Five minutes before lunch, though, Abhinav Mukund drove uppishly against left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra to Rajat Bhatia at mid-off; on the other side of the break Tamil Nadu lost the wicket of Baba Aparajith to wobble a little at 117-2, but the calming presence of S Badrinath was quick to put an end to Delhi’s dreams of an outright win.With Badrinath striking the ball from the middle of his bat, Delhi accepted the sign that there was little point in their quick bowlers being forced to run in all afternoon. Karthik began facing the second rung of Delhi’s bowling, once he had held off Bhatia. As he neared a century, he was given an entire bowling sweet-shop to tuck to; first from Unmukt Chand and then even more delicious offerings in a few Vaibhav Rawal full tosses. He smacked Rawal twice towards the midwicket boundary with a bat-swing that would have made baseball legend Babe Ruth proud and leapt from his nineties to his fifth first-class century.Play was called off 30 minutes after tea at the start of the mandatory overs. Delhi captain Shikhar Dhawan said there were no regrets in his dressing room about having to field for two days running. “We had to give ourselves the chance to get seven points, plus we wanted our bowlers to have bowl in a second innings here; if we get into the quarters, this would have been a good experience for them.”Delhi have picked up three points from this game and Tamil Nadu just one; at the halfway stage for both teams, Delhi with 11 points from four games, are third behind surprise leaders Odisha and Baroda who have 13. Tamil Nadu have slipped to fifth with nine points from four games, UP on fourth with 10 points from three. Delhi now play three of their next four games away from home. Coach Vijay Dahiya believes if Delhi can get two outright wins from their next four games, they will have a “80 to 90 percent chance” of qualifying for the quarters.From December 1 to 4, Delhi will play Haryana in Lahli while Tamil Nadu travel to Vidarbha.

A round-up of the second round of matches from the domestic Supersport Series in South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2011It was a spinner’s paradise in Pietermaritzburg where the Titans beat the Dolphins by seven wickets.The Dolphins were skittled out for 243 in their first innings. Morne Morkel first hurt them by removing Imraan Khan for 18 before CJ de Villiers deepened the wound when Hashim Amla was trapped lbw. However it was Paul Harris, who is no longer nationally contracted, who had the biggest impact. He manhandled the Dolphins middle order to take 5 for 37 in the innings. Wicketkeeper Daryn Smit put up a fight, with his unbeaten 77, and a 79-run seventh wicket stand with Kyle Abbott, but it was not enough to stop the Titans bowling them out on the first day.In the Titans reply, Tumelo Bodibe and Henry Davids went cheaply on a pitch that was difficult for batting. But the Titans did not suffer any more slumps as national team hopeful, Jacques Rudolph, was among the runs again. He top scored with 118 and shared a century stand with Farhaan Behardien to set the Titans up to take the lead. Heino Kuhn’s gritty 90 will be of interest to the national selectors as he took the Titans to 117-run advantage.Harris opened the bowling in the second innings but did not make an impact immediately. The Dolphins ground out a 66-run first wicket partnership before Khan was out lbw to Martin van Jaarsveld’s offspin. Harris removed Hashim Amla and van Wyk to open the door for legspinner Shaun von Berg to create havoc. His 5 for 76 crippled the Dolphins middle order and their score of 288 in the second innings set Titans a modest target of 172 to chase.Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj caused trouble, plucking three Titans wickets, half-centuries from Berhardien and van Jaarsveld saw the Titans to victory after lunch on the fourth day.On a traditionally flat pitch in Kimberley, the Lions and Knights drew a high-scoring encounter. Runs were slow but steady as the Lions declared their first innings on 455 for 9. Stephen Cook batted throughout the first day and scored 131, which he could not add to on the second morning. Ryan McLaren celebrated his international recall with three wickets and Dillon du Preez, who replaced Johann van der Wath, also claimed three as the Lions middle order battled.Their second century came from an unlikely place. No. 9 batsman, Dale Deeb, better known for left-arm spin, did a Jason Gillespie and scored 101 to give the Lions a meaty first innings total. Late on the second day, the advantage had swung firmly to the Lions as Pumelela Matshikwe took four wickets to have the Knights on the back foot at 95 for 5.Obus Pienaar, who played for South Africa Under-19s, scored a century and put on 155 with McLaren, who made 55 to steer the Knights to safety. Du Preez’s 83 took the Knights to within 100 runs of the Lions total, when Morne van Wyk declared on 378 for 8, 77 runs behind.His decision quickly looked like the right one, with the Lions stumbling to 72 for 4, with Quinton Friend doing the early damage. Alviro Petersen who is competing with Jacques Rudolph for a Test spot, dropped to No. 4 in the order, but scored a duck to end with disappointing stats of just 35 runs in the match. Neil McKenzie and Temba Bavuma both scored centuries to make sure the Lions could build a competitive total. They declared on 266 for 4, at lunch on the last day, setting the Knights a target of 344 and leaving themselves two sessions to bowl them out.Reeza Hendricks and Dean Elgar started safely with a first wicket stand of 62 but Cliffe Deacon’s triple strike after breaking through the opening partnership gave the Lions a sniff. He took here wickets in three overs to send Elgar, Boeta Dippenaar and Ryan Bailey packing. Deacon finished with five wickets in the innings, but the Lions did not have enough time to bowl the Knights out and had to settle for the draw with the Knights at 189 for 6.

In a ruling that could have widespread repercussions for cricket administration in India, the Kerala High Court has said the officials of the Kerala Cricket Association can be considered public servants

Tariq Engineer26-Oct-2010In a ruling that could have widespread repercussions for cricket administration in India, the Kerala High Court has said the officials of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) can be considered public servants, and directed a lower court to continue hearing a complaint alleging misappropriation of funds by the association. The complaint was filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which applies only to public servants.The KCA had argued that it was a private body similar to a club, and therefore did not come under the purview of the act. In its order, the High Court observed that the KCA had a monopoly on cricket in the state and performed a public duty and a public service, and so was liable to be investigated by the vigilance department.The complainant, Balaji Iyengar, a chartered accountant and former Kerala junior cricketer, had filed the original complaint against the KCA in the Vigilance Court two years ago. The court ruled in favour of the KCA, saying its officials were not public servants, but Iyengar challenged the ruling in the High Court. In quashing the lower court’s order, Justice M Shashidharan Nambiar held that the officials do fall under the definition of public servant as laid out in the act.TC Matthew, the KCA secretary, told ESPNcricinfo it would challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court, adding that the decision, if allowed to stand, could result in a number of cases being filed against the BCCI and other sports associations.Indian cricket’s governing body has consistently held it is a private organisation and not accountable to the public but the Kerala ruling could open the door for anyone to challenge the functioning of the BCCI and cricket associations around the country.”It will be a landmark judgement of sorts if upheld by the Supreme Court,” the activist lawyer Rahul Mehra said. “In effect, what you are saying is that these officials are akin to government officials.” Mehra famously pursued public interest litigation against the BCCI in 2000 in an attempt to extract more accountability from the board.The Delhi High Court ruled in Mehra’s favour in 2004, saying that the BCCI was accountable to the public as it performs important public functions. That ruling was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in a case involving television rights between Zee Telefilms, an Indian television company, and the BCCI. This decision takes things another step further, Mehra said. “It has opened a door which I have been trying to open for about five years.”

Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke has conceded that the game could be better served with a less crowded international calendar when the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) is devised

Cricinfo staff06-Nov-2009Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke has conceded that the game could be better served with a less crowded international calendar when the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) is devised. His comments came as a stiff and sore Peter Siddle arrived home in Melbourne for the first time after more than five months on tour.Siddle has been one of the hardest-working members of Australia’s squad this year, having not been at home since April, when he enjoyed a brief spell following the Test series in South Africa. Since then he has been in England for the World Twenty20, the Ashes, and the one-day series, then went straight to South Africa for the Champions Trophy and from there dashed to India to play for Victoria in the Champions League Twenty20 and stayed on for the ODI series.”It has been a long tour, I guess,” Siddle said in the Age after touching down in Melbourne. “The guys have been away for a long time now and we’ve probably played a bit too much cricket, but we will see how we go and I’m sure the boys will go well in the next three matches and come home with a [series] win.”The biggest thing is probably the mental side of things. Just being away from family and friends, all the normal stuff you do when you’re back home. You’re always changing hotels, different sceneries and living out of a suitcase, those are probably the things that take their toll the most. It’s always going to be a lot of games and a lot of cricket played, that’s what the spectators want to see and that’s our job.”The questions over Australia’s packed schedule have become more intense due to the high injury rate over the past couple of months. Five men have flown home from India mid-series and four first-choice players were unavailable in the first place, but in several cases the injuries appear not to be due to over-use.Tim Paine and Brad Haddin both broke fingers, Callum Ferguson wrenched his knee in the field, while James Hopes and Moises Henriques tweaked hamstrings despite not being part of the long Ashes tour. But Jack Clarke said it was still worth pushing for a less packed FTP when the current programme expires after 2012.”It is not fixed yet as to what’s going to happen, that’s been one of the hold-ups in releasing the FTP, the ICC events,” Clarke told the . “The type of events and the regularity is one of the things.”I suspect the game can’t support an ICC tournament every year, but the ICC’s also got to get money to get countries dividends, and not just the Test-playing countries but the associates and affiliates. So hopefully less will be more, and I’d be surprised if there’s an ICC event every year, going forward in 2013-2020.”When the Australians – those who haven’t departed already – fly home from India after next Wednesday’s final ODI, they will have only a fortnight to prepare for the first of six home Tests of the summer. The coach Tim Nielsen said the crammed schedule had made things hard and a seven-match ODI series was probably too long, but the squad had to keep doing its best under the circumstances.”It does make it difficult but at the same time I think it is the same for pretty well everyone around world cricket at the moment,” Nielsen said in the . “Five [games in India], to me, would be probably about right but … we know the reasons for seven-game series. There’s television involved, all different things.”

Tahmid said switching between formats quickly is something the pair worked on

Mohammad Isam28-Dec-2024On the night before the Boxing Day Test, Sam Konstas told his batting coach Tahmid Islam that he would only play the scoop against Jasprit Bumrah after he reached 150. But, after a number of early plays and misses against the champion fast bowler on debut at the MCG, Konstas brought forward his plans for the scoop. It hardly surprised Tahmid, Konstas’ 29-year-old batting coach.Tahmid said as much in a conversation with Bangladeshi journalists on Saturday, a chat arranged by Prime Bank Cricket Club, Tahmid’s team in a short stint in the Dhaka Premier League several years ago. The news of Tahmid being Konstas’ batting coach has made headlines in Bangladesh.Tahmid, speaking via Zoom, said Konstas’ instincts took over on Test debut. “We were having dinner the night before when he told me that the plan was to only scoop once he got to 150,” Tahmid said. “It wasn’t really part of the plan [to play the shot so early]. But he is someone that plays on instinct. He plays with a lot of freedom. He doesn’t really think of the consequences of what people are going to say if he gets it wrong. I think it is his biggest skill and asset. Whereas loads of players think about the consequences like ‘what if I fail doing it’ or ‘what if I get out playing it’ or ‘the media and coaching staff will have a go at me’.”Related

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“Sam is quite assured in his game. After playing and missing six times in his first ten or 12 balls, he thought that the best way to put pressure on Bumrah was to try to put him off his length. He threw a different challenge at Bumrah, which was really good for Sam. It really shell-shocked India. They weren’t expecting a 19-year-old to come out and play with that sort of freedom.”Tahmid, who works with Elevate Cricket Coaching, said that he was hardly surprised by Konstas’ choice of shots against a bowler of Bumrah’s class.”It isn’t a surprise. The reason Australia picked him was to throw India a different challenge. Sam took on the Indian bowling attack, minus Bumrah, during his century for the Prime Minister’s XI against India about three weeks ago. He played with a lot of freedom. He played the reverse-scoop. He ran down the wicket to play back over the bowler’s head.”Sam is someone who will play some shots and put people off their lengths, as opposed to the traditional approach. It was a bit of a gamble. It paid off for Australia. Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith were talking about how Sam’s innings gave them the opportunity to go out and express themselves as well. It was the freedom which they probably lacked in the first three games.”Debutant Sam Konstas obliges fans at the MCG•Getty Images

Tahmid, who first took up coaching when he was playing in the Yorkshire Premier League in 2013, said that he first met Konstas when he was 14 years old, at Cranbrook School where Konstas was on a cricket scholarship. “Five years ago, I took up coaching at Cranbrook in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. That’s where Sam got a scholarship to go to school. That’s where we initially met. He was 14 years old. We had this really good connection from the first couple of sessions that we did in school.”Tahmid narrated the story of how he formulated a plan for his cricketing future with Konstas’ father. “I was having dinner with his dad one night. We had some Greek food, which is their heritage. I put together a bit of a programme for him to try to target for the next phase of his life, which was to play Under-16s cricket in the New South Wales (NSW) system. It was where it all started for him. It was about his technical, mental and tactical game.”As the journey evolved, we were lucky enough to have Shane Watson involved in the mindset side of things. I worked quite closely with Shane over the last few years. I worked with him in Major League Cricket (MLC) with the San Francisco Unicorns.”Konstas added power to his game in the last 18 months when, alongside Tahmid, he worked on his white-ball skills. “He was always a technically sound player growing up. He had the fundamentals of the game. He wasn’t a very powerful player though,” Tahmid said. “He didn’t score very quickly growing up, so he focused a lot on his white-ball cricket in the last 18 months.”He made his BBL debut two weeks ago. The focus was to make him a better T20 player. He was contracted last year but didn’t play any games. That’s where his white-ball game really started to develop and come along.”Tahmid said that his friendship with England batter Harry Brook helped him mould Konstas’ cricket. “Someone that we use [as a reference] is Harry Brook, with whom I was lucky enough to play in Sydney. He is the No. 1 [currently No. 2] Test batter in the world. He is a fantastic all-format player, with whom I am really good friends. I get a lot of information from him, which I relay on to Sam, on how to transition between formats.Sam Konstas debuted in the BBL earlier this month, and a baggy green followed quickly•Getty Images

“It can be quite challenging but nowadays, you have to switch between formats. Sam plays Big Bash five or six days before the Boxing Day Test. If you don’t have the ability to switch between formats, you will get left behind.”Of course Konstas also didn’t just come out with the scoops, reverse-hits and ramps overnight. He has worked hard at these shots in the nets. But, Tahmid said, to execute the same shots in a high-profile match at a packed MCG takes a lot of confidence, which remains a defining feature of Konstas. “He has been doing reverse-ramps for five or six years in the nets. It doesn’t happen by mistake. They need a lot of preparation to go out and execute in a game. And when you have clarity from your captain and organisation, it helps you to go out and express yourself. You don’t have the fear of getting dropped.”I think he was always a confident person. He always wanted to be the best player in the field. He used to tell me after training, ‘what celebrations do you want from me when I get a century tomorrow?’ That’s what he told me before the Boxing Day Test too.”