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Canada’s Twenty20 squad will travel to Houston, Texas ahead of the ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament to play three warm-up matches against an invitational XI assembled by local entrepreneur Sakhi Muhammad

Peter Della Penna21-Apr-2015Canada’s Twenty20 squad will travel to Houston, Texas ahead of the ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament to play three warm-up matches against an invitational XI assembled by local entrepreneur Sakhi Muhammad.A Cricket Canada official confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the games will be played on April 28, 29 and May 1 before the ICC Americas qualifier which begins on May 3 in Indianapolis. Muhammad’s Smart Choice Auto Group is a former sponsor of the USA national team, and they will play an XI that is likely to include former West Indies internationals Mervyn Dillon and Ricardo Powell, as well Timroy Allen, Usman Shuja and former USA captain Steve Massiah, who were omitted from USA’s squad for the ICC Americas tournament.Muhammad, 48, will cover Canada’s local expenses in Houston including hotel accommodation, ground transportation and meals. He says he made a similar offer to USACA to host USA’s squad for warm-up matches ahead of their participation at ICC WCL Division Three in Malaysia last October, but USACA never responded to his phone calls or emails. It played a part in his decision to end sponsorship ties with USACA after an 18-month partnership beginning in May 2013.”How can you ignore people who have sponsored you?” Muhammad said. “How can you forget those guys and not respond to them? Every customer is important to me. If they contact you, you must respond. It doesn’t look good from a business point of view. You don’t do stuff like that.”Though he is no longer a sponsor of USACA, Muhammad says he has an interest in helping out cricketers from around the region. His Smart Choice club team, which participates in various private cash tournaments around the country, has featured many USA players including new captain Muhammad Ghous, Steven Taylor, Jasdeep Singh and Adil Bhatti. Muhammad also has a good relationship with Canada players like Ruvindu Gunasekera, Hiral Patel and Rizwan Cheema – one of the reasons he invited Cricket Canada for the mini-tour.”Canada will be better prepared,” Muhammad said. “This is the fact right now and we cannot walk away from it. You’d have to ask USACA why they refused yesterday and weren’t approached this time. I waited to assemble my team for about a month before finalising. If they had approached me and said we’d like to have our guys play against Canada, I’d have loved to do it because ultimately our preference is to help out the USA team too.”The games will be played at the Smart Choice Moosa Stadium – a brand new turf wicket complex in the suburb of Pearland located about 20 miles south of downtown Houston, for which Muhammad pitched in $2million of his own money. He insists he does not want his initiative to be seen as a threat to other facilities in the country like the World Sports Park or Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida.”We are not here to compete against California, Florida or Indianapolis,” Muhammad said. “More turf wickets are good for the country overall. You can’t just have Houston only. There need to be four or five centers where you can do this but the advantage we have is that Houston has a subcontinent population of over 250,000. Even if you get 5,000 of them interested you’re still doing good and if you have a good facility that gets people to come out and doesn’t cost too much to maintain then I think it’s worth it.”The winner of the mini-series will claim the Sushil Nadkarni International Trophy, named after the recently retired USA batsman.”He (Nadkarni) is from Houston and he has done a lot for US cricket,” Muhammad said, when asked about his reason for naming the trophy after Nadkarni. “After he retired I noticed that there was nothing done officially so being a Houstonian, it was important for us to acknowledge him. Doing this is something good in the long term for other players, especially for Houston people and for other senior players who play for the national team.”

ESPNcricinfo’s expanded coverage of English county cricket has been recognised by the ECB after it was named online publication of the year

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2012ESPNcricinfo’s expanded coverage of English county cricket has been recognised by the ECB after it was named online publication of the year in the governing body’s 2012 County Journalism Awards.Our expert team, led by senior correspondent George Dobell, has consistently led the way in providing the brightest and most significant county cricket coverage around. No other website offers the same quality of reporting, whether in the latest news stories, our extensive match reports or the rolling coverage provided daily in our insightful and irreverent county blog.Throughout the 2012 season, county cricket lovers increasingly chose ESPNcricinfo as their preferred choice for news of the domestic game – and our extensive coverage will continue in 2013.”The ECB is keen to promote the coverage of county cricket and we were delighted with both the quantity and quality of entries for this year’s competition,” ECB chief executive, David Collier, said. “Congratulations go to all our winners and our thanks to the Cricket Writers’ Club and the judging panel for supporting this initiative once again.”Other winners included the , named national newspaper of the year, the , which took the regional award, and special acknowledgement of the recently founded for “outstanding innovation and support of county cricket”. David Jordan, who writes for the Sportsbeat press agency, was named young journalist of the year.The awards were presented by Collier as part of an official reception hosted by the Lord’s Taverners for this year’s County Championship winners, Warwickshire. Women’s County Champions, Kent, were also present at Buckingham Palace for the annual presentation of the trophies by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who is Patron and “Twelfth Man” of recreational cricket’s official charity.Pat Gibson, the chairman of the Cricket Writers’ Club, added: “The winners in the national newspaper and online categories were rewarded for significantly improving their coverage and while the Yorkshire Post continues to set the standard among the regionals they were challenged hard by other newspapers from around the country.”

Shane Warne has declared that he will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash League this summer, but he has not yet decided which team will win his services

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2011Shane Warne has declared that he will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash League this summer, but he has not yet decided which team will win his services. Warne, 42, has not played elite cricket in Australia since his final Test, at the SCG in January 2007.His return will be a massive boost for the first season of the BBL, a competition that Cricket Australia has high hopes for when it starts in December. Warne said on on Channel Nine that he had not decided whether to turn out for the Melbourne Stars, who will play at the MCG, or the Docklands-based Melbourne Renegades, but that he was definitely planning to play.”It’s great that there’s two teams here,” Warne said. “I’m not leaning one way or the other. I’m definitely going to play a few games and have some fun. I think it will be nice to help the young players out and have a bit of fun with the Twenty20.”Warne retired from the IPL this year but has been hinting for some time at a possible comeback for the BBL. He won’t be the only former Australia star to come out of retirement for the Twenty20 tournament; the Brisbane Heat have already signed Matthew Hayden.

England duly wrapped up a comfortable 24-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in their five-match ODI series against Pakistan at Chester-le-Street

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at Chester-le-Street10-Sep-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJonathan Trott guided England’s innings after Steve Davies sparkled at the top•Getty Images

England’s winning momentum showed no signs of abating as they took the opening one-day international at Chester-le-Street by 24 runs, but at least they were made to work a little harder by Pakistan. Steve Davies led the batting effort with a powerful 87 off 67 balls, his first international half-century, and was backed up by a composed 69 from Jonathan Trott as England piled up 274 for 6 in a match reduced to 41 overs by a wet outfield. For once the visitors’ batting didn’t implode as some spirited contributions kept them alive but they couldn’t find the major stand required.There are 12 ODIs between now and the start of the World Cup for England to finalise their plans but conditions in Durham during early September are a million miles away from anything they’ll face in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, this is a strong one-day unit being put into place and one of the few areas still containing some uncertainty, the wicketkeeper-opening batsman, was a success here with Davies’ impressive effort.His only previous ODI came as an emergency replacement for Matt Prior at last year’s Champions Trophy when he faced Australia in the semi-final at Centurion. Here he timed the ball beautifully all around the wicket and was especially strong square through the off side whenever he was offered width during a lively 37-ball fifty. Unlike Craig Kieswetter, who often looked hyperactive at the crease and lost control of his shots, Davies remained still and composed until he fell cutting at Saeed Ajmal.In their current frame of mind it would have taken a monumental effort from Pakistan to chase down the runs, but they at least gave themselves half a chance. Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal added 62 for the first wicket, Pakistan’s best opening stand in any international since the Headingley Test against Australia, before Graeme Swann’s usual party trick of a first over wicket when Hafeez was well caught at deep-square leg.Despite all the allegations circulating in recent weeks players have insisted the matches will be played in the right spirit, but for a moment tensions nearly boiled over during Stuart Broad’s second over. Kamran pulled out of his stance and pointed angrily towards Trott at mid-on then Andrew Strauss became involved before Billy Doctrove stepped in. The heated moment appeared to pass by the end of the over, but feelings were clearly running fairly high.England’s fielding wasn’t quite at its best as Kamran was given two lives in two balls when he was missed by Strauss at point and Trott at long-off. This time the home side had breathing space, but Andy Flower and Richard Halsall, the fielding coach, will have noted the errors.
Michael Yardy reasserted England’s control when he had Mohammad Yousuf lbw coming too far across the crease and Swann won his duel against Kamran when the wicketkeeper couldn’t clear long off having made his first half-century of the tour.Umar Akmal hit 43 off 33 balls before trying to scooping Broad over the keeper and Asad Shafiq showed some spirit as he clubbed Tim Bresnan for four boundaries. But Shahid Afridi could barely middle the ball during a painful 25-ball innings and when he carved to cover it really was the end for Pakistan’s slim chances.It was England’s efficient batting display which set up the victory and they’d been led off in style as the new opening duo of Davies and Strauss who added 78 in 12 overs. Mohammad Irfan’s much-anticipated introduction into international cricket didn’t quite go to plan as his first over was dispatched for 15. However, it was still a touch harsh when he was whipped out of the attack after one over and his replacement, Umar Gul, didn’t do any better as his two-over burst cost 22 and he finished with 67 off six overs.Shoaib Akhtar was the only paceman to offer any control and was unlucky not to claim success in an opening five-over burst that cost just nine runs. He received very little support, however, and despite his parsimonious efforts England had 63 on the board at the end of his opening spell. Davies was dropped at short cover on 21 when Afridi could hold a stinging drive and Strauss continued to show impressive intent – no doubt aware that scoring heavily off the spinners will be key in the World Cup – as he launched Ajmal over long-on for his second six, Ajmal, though, claimed revenge when Strauss missed a mighty sweep and he was given a send-off by the bowler for his troubles.With Trott playing himself in and working the ball for ones and twos the onus was on Davies to keep the tempo high which he did successfully until he tried to cut Ajmal 13 short of his hundred.
Pakistan were unlucky not to strike again shortly afterwards when Doctrove failed to spot Trott’s edge off Ajmal on 26 and then lost the services of Irfan who limped off midway through his sixth over.Paul Collingwood fell trying to take advantage of the batting Powerplay and Eoin Morgan edged a cut off Afridi, but Trott registered his first boundary off his 54th delivery when he back-cut Shoaib.Trott then brought up his fifty from 64 balls and immediately stepped on the gas with the confidence of a man who is in the form of his life. A few lusty blows from Ravi Bopara ensured the momentum was all England’s and they never really looked liked losing. It says everything about the last two weeks that there was even a sense of gratefulness just for something resembling a contest.

Allrounder opts to focus on his own game after disappointing first season leading red-ball team

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2025Derbyshire allrounder David Lloyd has stood down as club captain ahead of the 2025 season. Lloyd, who joined from Glamorgan in 2023, led the club in the County Championship last year, but could not prevent Derbyshire from receiving the wooden spoon after finishing bottom of Division Two.In his first full summer at the club, Lloyd, 32, averaged 23.47 with the bat and 31.00 with the ball in the Championship, and has opted to stand down from the captaincy in search of better returns.”David has given his all to the captaincy and he has been a fantastic leader for us, but the mental pressures of trying to lead a team, especially while you are trying to rediscover your own form, coupled with having a young family mean it’s best for all parties if we take some of that weight off his shoulders,” Derbyshire’s head of cricket, Mickey Arthur, said.”David has been honest with me, he is determined to contribute to the team and his experience and leadership will still be invaluable for us, both on the field and in the dressing room, and I’m looking forward to seeing the best of him this summer.”Derbyshire underwent a revamp ahead of the 2024 season, with Lloyd taking the captaincy after the departure of Leus du Plooy and several new players coming in. But progress was limited – having been winless in 2023, they managed one victory to go with six defeats and a last-placed finish.That one win, however, did see them end a barren five-year run in Championship cricket at their Derby headquarters.Lloyd said: “This has not been an easy decision for me, but I have had a good group of friends, family and team-mates to confide in over this winter, and I believe this is what will allow me to focus on my game.”It has been an honour for me to captain Derbyshire, and I’m now looking forward to playing with less pressure on my shoulders, continuing to learn from the experience of Mickey and our coaching team, and showing our members and supporters what I can do.”We want to get back to competing across all formats, I am excited to play my part and hopefully helping our new club captain any way I can.”

How the ten IPL squads stack up after the player retention deadline of November 26, ahead of the auction on December 19

Deivarayan Muthu26-Nov-20230:46

Moody: RCB releasing Hasaranga and Hazlewood a surprise

Mumbai Indians: Hardik’s back

Mumbai Indians didn’t finalise Hardik Pandya’s return* by the retention deadline on Sunday, but the trade happened shortly after. They also traded allrounder Cameron Green to RCB to free up their auction purse, after releasing 11 other players.Players released: Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep WarrierPlayers traded in: Hardik Pandya, Romario ShepherdPlayers traded out: Cameron GreenPlayers retained: Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason BehrendorffPurse for the auction: 17.75 CR

Gujarat Titans: Who will succeed Hardik?

Now that Hardik’s gone, the Titans will have to appoint a new captain for the 2024 season. The rest of their core squad that won them the IPL title in 2022 and took them to the finals in 2023 remains largely intact.Players released: Alzarri Joseph, Odean Smith, Dasun Shanaka, Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep SangwanPlayers traded out: Hardik PandyaPlayers retained: David Miller, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit SharmaPurse for the auction: 38.15 CRRelated

• IPL 2024 auction: Titans' Hardik-sized hole, and other key positions the teams need to fill

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• Explainer: How player trades work in the IPL

• Lucknow Super Giants trade Romario Shepherd to Mumbai Indians

• Royals trade Padikkal for Super Giants' Avesh in straight swap

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Hazlewood, Hasaranga, Harshal out

RCB need to overhaul their bowling attack, having released Wanindu Hasaranga, recent ODI World-Cup winner Josh Hazlewood, David Willey and Wayne Parnell. They retained England left-arm quick Reece Topley, but he is prone to injuries. Mohammed Siraj is the only certain starter among bowlers in their list of retained players, and they have traded in Green from Mumbai.Players released: Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Kedar JadhavPlayers traded out: Shahbaz AhmedPlayers traded in: Mayank Dagar, Cameron GreenPlayers retained: Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Vyshak VijaykumarPurse for the auction: 23.25 CR2:06

Will CSK splurge on Cummins at the auction?

Chennai Super Kings: Stokes released

As expected CSK released Stokes, who had opted out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload. The departure of both Stokes (INR 16.25 crore) and Rayudu (INR 6.75 crore), who has retired from the IPL, will allow CSK to bid aggressively for overseas allrounders and quicks at the auction.Players released: Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Dwaine Pretorious, Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati, Akash Singh, Kyle Jamieson, Sisanda MagalaPlayers retained: MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Chowdhary, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha PathiranaPurse for the auction: 31.4 CR

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw stays

Capitals have placed faith in Shaw once again despite his poor season in 2023, but they lack power in the middle order following the release of Rovman Powell. They will be on the lookout for a finisher and a fast bowler.Players released: Rilee Rossouw, Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Phil Salt, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Priyam GargPlayers retained: Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh KumarPurse for the auction: 28.95 CR

Rajasthan Royals: Holder, Root released

Royals had hoped Jason Holder would lend balance and depth to their side last season, but they barely used him with the bat and failed to get the best out of him with the ball. A gun overseas allrounder will be top priority on their shopping list at the auction.Players released: Joe Root, Abdul Basith, Jason Holder, Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, M Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM AsifPlayers traded out : Devdutt PadikkalPlayers traded in : Avesh KhanPlayers retained: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Prasidh KrishnaPurse for the auction: 14.5 CR3:42

Was holding onto Andre Russell a good option for KKR?

Punjab Kings: Shahrukh, a surprise release

Releasing Shahrukh Khan (INR 9 crore) into the auction pool has allowed Kings to retain allrounder Sam Curran, who had become the most expensive player in the IPL (INR 18.5 crore) at the previous auction. If Kings can’t buy Shahrukh back at a lower price, they need a new domestic finisher.Players released: Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Baltej Dhanda, Mohit Rathee, Bhanuka RajapaksaPlayers retained: Shikhar Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harpreet BhatiaPurse for the auction: 29.1 CR

Kolkata Knight Riders: Several quicks among 12 players let go

KKR, like RCB, have overhauled their pace department, letting Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur and Tim Southee go among others. They also need a back-up wicketkeeper batter for Rahmanullah Gurbaz, having released both Litton Das and N Jagadeesan.Players released: Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, N Jagadeesan, David Wiese, Aarya Desai, Litton Das, Johnson Charles, Shakib Al HasanPlayers retained: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, Andre Russel, Venkatesh Iyer, Suyash Sharma, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun ChakravarthyPurse for the auction: 32.7 CR1:55

Moody: SRH might regret adding Harry Brook back in the auction pool

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Brook cut loose

Harry Brook headlines Sunrisers’ list of released players, but they already have a ready middle-order replacement for him in Glenn Phillips. Their spin attack, though, appears thin following the releases of Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein and Mayank Dagar, who was traded for Shahbaz Ahmed.Players released: Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein, Karthik Tyagi, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth VyasPlayers traded out: Mayank DagarPlayers traded in: Shahbaz AhmedPlayers retained: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank MarkandePurse for the auction: 34 CR

Lucknow Super Giants: Unadkat, Sams let go

LSG released eight players – none of whom can lay claim to being first-XI players, though new coach Justin Langer said it was hard for the franchise to let Daniel Sams go. Having also traded Romario Shepherd to Mumbai, LSG will eye overseas allrounders at the auction.Players released: Daniel Sams, Karun Nair, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Swapnil Singh, Arpit GuleriaPlayers traded out : Romario Shepherd, Avesh KhanPlayers traded in : Devdutt PadikkalPlayers retained: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-HaqPurse for the auction: 13.15 CR*.

Warwickshire batter has impressed in the Blast but last played a first-class game in 2019

Matt Roller29-Jul-2022Adam Hose has left Warwickshire for Worcestershire in a bid to revive his red-ball career, three years after his last first-class appearance.Hose became an integral part of Warwickshire’s T20 side this year and was the third-highest run-scorer in the Blast, but has been unable to break into the Championship side.He has now signed a three-year deal at New Road and hopes to emulate his former Warwickshire team-mate Ed Pollock, who has played nine Championship games this season after struggling for opportunities at Edgbaston.Related

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“I’m looking forward to a new chapter in my career at Worcestershire and delighted to sign for the next three years and hopefully, beyond,” Hose said. “I’ve got a fair amount of experience under my belt, but I’m only 29 and believe that my best years are ahead of me.”I know the club has a great history and a future that looks really bright, and that excites me, especially with the talented group of youngsters that the club continually produce.”Worcestershire have had a lot of success in recent times in white-ball cricket, and I want to play my part in repeating that Vitality Blast success of 2018 and 2019. But Ed was given his chance to play more red-ball cricket after moving to Worcestershire from Warwickshire, and I’m hoping I can also earn that opportunity with my form and in training.”Hose’s signing is a coup for Worcestershire. Several counties were interested in signing him, and they have already suffered two significant blows this summer with Moeen Ali and Ed Barnard both due to leave for Warwickshire at the end of the season.”It is an excellent signing for the club,” Alex Gidman, their coach, said. “Adam has turned himself into an exceptional cricketer. From a white-ball perspective, he has become one of the best batters in the country.”He is also very keen and eager to play more red-ball cricket and prove to everyone how good he is in that format as well. We’re delighted that he wants to come and play for us.”

Ben Stokes has suggested associating women’s sides with that of the men in franchise leagues, especially in the IPL

Alan Gardner09-Apr-2021Heather Knight has echoed recent comments from Ben Stokes and Smriti Mandhana, calling for the formation of a women’s IPL, saying it “would be amazing for the women’s game”.Knight lifted the WBBL title with the Sydney Thunder in November and was twice a Kia Super League winner before the English T20 league was scrapped to make way for the Hundred. She agreed that an IPL equivalent would be timely, and praised Stokes for speaking out in support of women’s cricket.”It was awesome to see Stokesy talk about the women’s IPL,” she said. “The more allies we have in women’s cricket, it really helps to change perceptions. It’s great from Ben to say that and I totally agree, I think it would be amazing for the women’s game to have an IPL.”You’ve seen it in Australia with the Big Bash, and hopefully here with the Hundred having men’s and women’s competitions alongside each other, it’s a really positive thing for the women’s game and really helps to progress things. It was really nice to see Ben make those comments.”Speculation about whether the BCCI could launch a women’s T20 league has circulated for some time, following the success of similar competitions in Australia and England. Speaking earlier this week ahead of the start of the men’s IPL, Stokes, an overseas player for the Rajasthan Royals, said he was very hopeful of fully fledged women’s franchises being established, too.”Yes, I think the women’s game, especially over the last four to five years, has gone from strength to strength and it’s great how it is filtering into the men’s game in terms of [parallel] competitions and things like that,” he said on Red Bull’s Decoding Athletes podcast. “I’m very hopeful there’ll be a women’s franchise side associated with every men’s franchise side so we’re able to grow the women’s game even bigger. What better place to do it than out here in India?”Related

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Since 2018, the BCCI has staged the Women’s T20 Challenge to run alongside the men’s IPL playoffs. Initially featuring two teams, it was expanded to three – Trailblazers, Supernovas and Velocity – in 2019 and 2020; last year, the plan was to add a fourth team, but the idea was scrapped as the BCCI decided to stick to the old format as the men’s and women’s events moved to the UAE because of the Covid-19 situation in India.The Challenge event is due to be held again this year, with the possible addition of that fourth team, but no dates have been confirmed and its viability could yet be affected by the rising number of infections in India.Mandhana, captain of the the Trailblazers, was also speaking on the Decoding Athletes podcast alongside Stokes and India men’s batter KL Rahul, and said it was “the right time to start” a women’s IPL in order to help the sport’s growth.””If you’re a young girl and you see people like you playing cricket at the highest level, that’s going to encourage you”•Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images

“I think the kind of performance last three-four years… IPL is all about youngsters and if you look at the current Indian team, the average age is around 23-24,” she said. “That shows that there are a lot of youngsters coming in so IPL is definitely going to boost women’s cricket and give the confidence in youngsters which we’ve seen in men’s cricket.”People who are making their debut are playing 145-150kph [bowling] like it’s a [regular] day at office, and you can’t feel that they’re nervous on their debut. So the IPL has had a huge impact in that and I feel the IPL will help women’s cricket as well. It’s the right time to start because if we really want to grow women’s cricket, especially in India, it’s the right time to start the women’s IPL.”Although the Kia Super League is now defunct, with a regional T20 tournament being put into place this year, the ECB has pushed to give the women’s Hundred a greater degree of parity with the men’s competition. The opening night of its new format will see the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals women’s teams go head-to-head in a standalone fixture at The Oval, with all of the other games played as double-headers on the same grounds.”When you switch on the Hundred as a young girl. you’re going to see men’s cricket and women’s cricket put on the same pedestal, the same branding, matches at the same venue, etc. I think that’s great and really important to do that, to change perceptions of getting people involved in cricket,” Knight said. “If you’re a young girl and you see people like you playing cricket at the highest level, that’s going to encourage you that it’s a sport for you.”Little things like playing the first-ever game of the Hundred as a women’s game is a really big step. It’s going to be a huge summer and hopefully the competition goes really well.”

Board president Nazmul Hassan also lists out further major changes in BPL, including preferable batting positions to Bangladesh batsmen

Mohammad Isam17-Oct-2019The BCB have dismissed two NCL coaches for failing to carry out the board’s directives. Rangpur Division coach Masud Parvez Razan didn’t pick Fardeen Hasan, and legspinner Rishad Hossain, while Dhaka Division coach Jahangir Alam also lost his job for not picking legspinner Jubair Hossain in the playing XI during the second round that began on Thursday.BCB president Nazmul Hassan said both coaches have been issued with a show-cause notice for not picking the legspinners, with the BCB keen on implementing certain rules in domestic cricket to help strengthen the national side. ESPNcricinfo has learned that both Masud and Jahangir have already been replaced by Zafrul Ehsan and Mohammad Salim, as the Rangpur and Dhaka coach, respectively.”We gave clear instructions to play legspinners in the NCL, but neither [Jubair Hossain] Likhon nor Rishad [Hossain] were picked in the XI in this round,” Hassan said. “We have show-caused two coaches from Dhaka and Rangpur for not selecting the legspinners despite being told to do so. We have to give them game time. How else can they improve otherwise?”

BPL set for further radical changes

The BCB have already put in place a rule for quick bowlers and legspinners in the BPL, and Nazmul Hassan said batting orders too would be mandated based on the national team’s interest.
“They must have a legspinner in the squad and if he is a local, he must be picked in the best XI. Teams should also set a batting order which is consistent with how the Bangladesh players are suited or needed in international cricket,” Hassan said. “We will give preference to fast bowlers who bowl 140kph. You can call this season’s BPL as preparation, a trial for the World T20.”

This is the first time that the BCB has taken such drastic action against coaches for not picking a legspinner. Over the years, domestic sides in Bangladesh have mostly opted for left-arm spinners and offspinners, leading to a paucity of legspinners in domestic cricket that has been lamented by players, coaches and selectors. Jubair did make his international debut in 2014, but though he had the backing of Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza and then coach Chandika Hathurusingha, he didn’t get the same backing in domestic cricket.The BCB has reportedly made it mandatory for first-class sides to pick legspinners in their XIs in the 2019-20 season. Minhajul Abedin Afridi, whom the chief selector first spotted as a net bowler in Chittagong last year, made his first-class debut in Chittagong Division’s previous match, while Aminul Islam Biplob, who made his T20I debut last month against Zimbabwe, made his debut for Dhaka Metropolis.Hassan said that in keeping with their plan to troubleshoot weaknesses, the BCB have also put in place rules for BPL teams to pick a local or foreign legspinner in every game, as well as give preferable batting positions to Bangladesh batsmen, whether in the top or middle-order.”They must have a legspinner in the squad and if he is a local, he must be picked in the best XI. Teams should also set a batting order which is consistent with how the Bangladesh players are suited or needed in international cricket.”We will give preference to fast bowlers who bowl 140kph. You can call this season’s BPL as preparation, a trial for the World T20,” he said.Hassan said that players will also require a fitness test to play in the Dhaka Premier League from this season, a first in the tournament’s history, while the bleep test level will be raised further next year. “We will raise the fitness level next year too but we will inform them at least a year in hand.”Players have to pass fitness test to play Dhaka Premier League too, and all of them have to be done in Dhaka,” he said.”Suggestions from the senior team’s coaching staff are being taken seriously,” Hassan said. “After the World Cup, our fielding coach pointed out that there’s a basic lack in fitness and understanding of fielding’s basics among our national team. Some of them can’t even throw properly. We are working on all the suggestions from the support staff. Initially we will stumble, but it is the best for the long-term,” he said.Hassan said that the board’s focus is building a side by 2021, so that they have a settled group by the 2023 World Cup in India.”We have been playing to win, but now we will do some experiments, as part of our long-term plan. Some of our decisions may seem different but by 2021, we want to build a solid team for the 2023 World Cup. A team that can serve Bangladesh for at least four or five years,” he said.

England were in a position from which to dominate India, but then gifted the ascendancy back to an alert and hungry visiting side

The Report by Sidharth Monga01-Aug-2018On Yorkshire Day, two Yorkshire batsmen put England in a position from which to dominate India, but then gifted the ascendancy back to an alert and hungry visiting side. The moment of inspiration came from India’s captain Virat Kohli who ran out Joe Root – once again between 50 and 100 – with a direct hit from deep midwicket, after which this side’s biggest match-winner R Ashwin, took out the dangerous duo of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. He ended the day needing one wicket to become the first India spinner to take a five-for in England since 2002. England ended the day at 285 for 9, having at one stage been 216 for 3.What will worry England is that they lost wickets to soft dismissals on a slow and low pitch that looked as though it ought to have assisted India more: seven of the nine wickets to fall were either bowled or lbw, which is India’s speciality. But what will infuriate England is that Root and Jonny Bairstow had the attack at their mercy, going at more than six an over in the final session until Root responded to Bairstow’s call for a second run that didn’t exist. It all went downhill for them thereafter.Kohli is ruthless. He doesn’t think twice before accepting such gifts, having all too often been part of the side on the receiving end of such lapses. The moment arose after Bairstow pushed Ashwin towards deep midwicket where Kohli, to judge by his leisurely initial response, didn’t appear to have considered the possibility of the batsmen attempting a second run. But then he heard the call, and all those hours of strength training kicked in. He went from leisure to business in no time, and Root would have struggled even without a stutter. The exclamation point was how Ashwin judged that the shy was going to hit the stumps, and let the ball go through MS Dhoni-style.Kohli seized the moment to remind Root, and all of England, of his bat-drop celebration after he had finished off the Headingley ODI. He blew kisses. He pressed his finger to his lips. And then he uttered the words that might just be the most enduring ones for this series: “Mic drop?” followed by two words that lip-readers will tell you were of four and three letters, the second of which is “off”. There has been so much talk of Kohli’s batting and his record in England, but here Kohli the fielder had opened the door for India to barge through.Joe Root’s dive couldn’t save him from being run out•Getty Images

Even before this brilliance in the field, Kohli had had a lively start to his day. He dropped Cheteshwar Pujara from India’s starting XI, picked only one spinner, and announced to the world that he wouldn’t look back and regret it if things went wrong. We make a decision and try to make the best of it, he has always said. And after losing the toss, his new-ball bowlers were losing their discipline when he surprised everybody by bringing Ashwin on in the seventh over of the Test.Ashwin had two left-hand batsmen in his sights, a damp pitch that can often offer turn, and a new ball prone to natural variation when it lands on the seam. Out of India’s limited-overs sides, under pressure every time a wristspinner does well with the white ball, and always reminded of his record in these parts of the world, Ashwin showed none of that anxiety. In only his second over, Ashwin set Alastair Cook up beautifully: a quick arm ball to push him back, a slow offbreak to lure him forward, another arm ball, another offbreak, and then the killer offbreak that pitched on middle, much straighter than the rest. The bat face closed ever so slightly, and the slow ball, given every chance to turn by the revs and the seam position towards short third man, spun past the defensive prod.As the early moisture dried out, England’s batsmen – Root and Keaton Jennings, the latter dropped on 9 by Ajinkya Rahane at slip – the turn went out and the batsmen became more comfortable. Ishant Sharma was too short, Umesh Yadav too straight, and it was left to Mohammed Shami, returning from personal problems and a failed fitness test, to keep India in the game. He did so with the wickets of Jennings and Malan in the middle session, but an urgent Bairstow had begin to take the momentum away from India in the second hour of the middle session.India looked ragged at the start of the final session. Shami was down on pace. Ashwin was attacked. Root and Bairstow were scoring at will. Even defensive fields were not working. It looked like Root had gone past those concentration breaks that had resulted in his last 10 half-centuries not getting translated into hundreds. And then they took the ill-advised second. Moments later, Bairstow dragged Umesh onto his own stumps.Ashwin is often criticised for using too many variations. A lazy bit of advice that every expert gives to him is to concentrate only on the offbreak. Here he showed he didn’t need that advice. He used his variations, a lot of them, but he also showed he is a bowler at peace with, and in total control of, his game. The arm ball with the upright seam swerved beautifully away from the right-handers. He even bowled a front-of-the-hand legbreak that swung back in. And then natural variation did the trick. He bowled an offbreak that turned enough to beat Buttler’s inside edge but not enough to miss the leg stump. Stokes played hesitantly at a long hop, offering a return catch. Not long before, it had seemed India were in for a long leather hunt on day two, but with England suddenly in freefall, it seemed the India openers might have to take guard on day one itself.Allrounder Sam Curran kept that from happening, but Ishant and Ashwin inflicted one final blow each before stumps to make the day India’s beyond any reasonable doubt.