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A magnificent innings from Harmanpreet Kaur was the centerpiece of Melbourne Renegades’ victory as they went to the top of the table with a big run chase. Harmanpreet struck five sixes in her 46-ball innings in which she timed the acceleration perfectly in the second half to enable them to get home with two balls to spare as Sophie Molineux found the boundary twice in her three deliveries.At the midway point of the chase Renegades were well behind on 2 for 55 – despite a brisk innings of Jemimah Rodrigues – needing 106 from 60 balls, but then Harmanpreet took charge having been 10 off 16 balls. Consecutive sixes against Amanda-Jade Wellington signaled the change as the required rate was kept with realms. Josie Dooley played her part as did Jess Duffin, but Harmanpreet was the game changer. In the 18th over she took advantage of a free hit from a Darcie Brown beamer to flick another six over fine leg and then superbly sent Sarah Coyte over cover in the 19th.She had earlier played her part with the ball with a couple of late wickets to help keep Renegades within range. A second-wicket stand of 73 between South Africa team-mates Dane van Niekerk and Laura Wolvaardt and dominated the first part. van Niekerk was the aggressor until falling lbw then Wolvaardt was able to find the boundary late on as 33 came from the last three overs but it still wasn’t enough.Alyssa Healy goes down the ground•Getty Images

Alyssa Healy led the way with the bat and Nicole Bolton nabbed three wickets against her former club as Sydney Sixers lifted themselves back into the middle of a congested points table with an emphatic victory.Healy dominated Sixers’ innings with 58% of their total as she fell one blow short of her fifth WBBL hundred. She formed a 101-run opening stand with Ellyse Perry but there may still be questions about the scoring rate alongside her even though it did not make a difference on this occasion. Ash Gardner, who has had a lean tournament so far, made 8 off 16 balls at No. 3.Scorchers never made an impression on the chase. Sophie Devine couldn’t get going before being superbly caught at midwicket by Lauren Cheatle who also bowled excellently with 2 for 13 including 14 for balls in her four overs. But it was the spinners who went through the innings with Bolton and Radha Yadav taking 5 for 33 in six overs between them. Bolton removed Chloe Piparo, sent in at No. 3, and Chamari Athapaththu in four balls and when Yadav claimed Beth Mooney in the next over the game was done.Annabel Sutherland claimed three wickets•Getty Images

Table-toppers Brisbane Heat were comprehensively turned over by Melbourne Stars after they could only manage 95 from their 20 overs. It was a marked contrast to Saturday’s performance when opening pair Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne added 140 against Hobart Hurricanes.Less than 24 hours later, Redmayne was trapped lbw in the opening over by Kim Garth and it set the tone for a poor batting display. Harris tried to hold the innings together but was bowled when she swung across the line at Tess Flintoff. Laura Kimmince’s lean season, where she hasn’t got out of single figures, continued when she scooped into the keeper’s gloves to give Annabel Sutherland one of her three wickets. None of the Stars bowlers went at a run-a-ball.Elyse Villani was quickly out of the blocks in the chase and made 26 of the 30-run opening stand with Meg Lanning before edging behind. With no scoring-rate pressure Lanning, who has been low on runs, was able to play within herself while Maia Bouchier ticked along comfortably.Phoebe Litchfield plays a reverse sweep•Getty Images

Defending champions Sydney Thunder completed a weekend resurgence to kickstart their season with a second victory in two days as they dominated Hobart Hurricanes.Smriti Mandhana provided the foundation for Thunder’s innings with her second half-century of the tournament while Phoebe Litchfield (31 off 25), Deepti Sharma (20 off 15) and Sammy-Jo Johnson (13 off 9) added impetus. Tayla Vlaeminck had made an early breakthrough but the left-hand pair Mandhana and Litchfield added 70 in eight overs for the second wicket. The fifth over of the innings from Vlaeminck lasted 10 balls.Mandhana didn’t find top gear and was out the ball after reaching fifty as Nicola Carey hauled Thunder back but her final over, the 19th, cost 15 against Deepti and Johnson.Issy Wong provided a huge breakthrough second ball when Rachel Priest drove to cover and Hurricanes fell behind the required rate. Mignon du Preez threatened to turn things around but became Deepti’s second wicket and Hurricanes fell away from 2 for 66. Deepti’s 3 for 13, following her handy innings, earned the player of the match award.

An all-round display from Sri Lanka was too much for Namibia to handle, with Dasun Shanaka’s men beating the Associate side by seven wickets. Spinner Maheesh Theekshana was primarily responsible for bamboozling the Namibian batting line-up, who didn’t find any rhythm all innings, collapsing to 96 all out inside 20 overs.A brief stutter at the start of the innings from Sri Lanka in the chase looked like it had given Namibia a faint glimmer of hope. Ruben Trumplemann, Bernard Scholtz and JJ Smit each picked up a wicket to send Sri Lanka’s top three on their way, but just when Mickey Arthur and his side began to get tingly, along came a fourth-wicket partnership to resume normal service. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Avishka Fernando added 74 for the fourth wicket, easing to their target with 39 balls to spare.Maheesh Theekshana’s mystery makes inroadsJust as Ajantha Mendis used to utterly befuddle Associate sides’ batting orders that had not seen much of his bowling before, Sri Lanka’s newest mystery spinner – Maheesh Theekshana – was Namibia’s primary destroyer. He claimed a wicket with his very first delivery (in the Powerplay no less) when Stephan Baard ran at him first ball, and managed only to miscue him high to mid off. Zane Green also holed out trying to hit Theekshana in the Powerplay, that catch going to mid on. Then, in the sixteenth over, Theekshana bowled Jan Frylinck with what seemed to be a carrom ball. In his very first World Cup match, his figures were 3 for 25.Sri Lanka’s quicks overwhelm Namibia’s battersNamibia had only played one T20I against full-member opposition before this match. They would rarely have faced an attack with two bowlers capable of breaching 145kph. Dushmantha Chameera claimed only one wicket, but was especially quick in this game, hitting 149kph at one point, and hitting opener Zane Green on the helmet with a 147kph delivery. His two Powerplay overs cost only 11.Lahiru Kumara was not quite as fast, but frequently bowled quicker than 140kph, and was perhaps the bowler of the match. He delivered one over in the Powerplay, two in the middle overs, and one at the death (he could only bowl three balls before the innings ended), claiming figures of 2 for 9 from his 3.3 overs.Chameera took 1 for 19 from his four, and Chamika Karunaratne – who was often in the high 130s kph range – claimed 1 for 17.Namibia run through Sri Lanka’s top threeTop order batting is by a distance Sri Lanka’s worst suit, and just as they had against Oman and Bangladesh in practice matches over the past two weeks, Sri Lanka lost early wickets. Kusal Perera looked good while he was at the crease, but was the first to go, mis-hitting a Ruben Trumpelmann slower ball to mid off. Neither Dinesh Chandimal nor Pathum Nissanka looked particularly comfortable at the crease, and sure enough, they both perished in quick succession as well – Nissanka trapped in front by a sliding delivery from Bernard Scholtz, before Chandimal edged Johannes Smit behind. That wicket left Sri Lanka 26 for 3, and seemingly in some trouble.Fernando and Rajapaksa take the chase homeIn the end, though, Namibia had not put up enough to really test Sri Lanka. Fernando could take his time playing himself in, even if Rajapaksa was a little more anxious to get some early boundaries. Even when two or three successive dot balls came, they did not exert substantial pressure. Soon, the bad balls were being picked off with increasing ruthlessness, and Sri Lanka were marching towards their total. Rajapaksa was dropped at the boundary by Scholtz on 18, but otherwise played a decent innings, hitting two sixes and four fours in his 42 not out off 27. Fernando finished with 30 off 28. Their unbeaten partnership was worth 74.

Big picture

This Chennai Super Kings side – which is one win away from a spot in the playoffs – functions at a very high level because of a stable first XI with clear role definitions.Faf du Plessis is the aggressor. And while he takes care of the run-rate, Ruturaj Gaikwad can simply play to his best tempo.Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu are perfect as No. 3 and 4 because of their natural ability to attack spin bowling. It is thanks to their efforts that Super Kings have been the quickest scoring team (9.05) in the middle overs (7-16) this season.

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Then comes Ravindra Jadeja, whose batting and finishing ability has shot through the roof, so much so that he is basically carrying MS Dhoni, which is fair enough since MS Dhoni has carried this team for years.There. That’s the plan. And it never changes.Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand began the season with a captain whom they no longer want in the XI, their middle order is so brittle it limits the way their top order plays and a lack of a recognised finisher means there is always a chance of things going wrong at the exact time you want everything to go right – the death overs. This disarray is the reason why they are dead last on the points table. A loss tomorrow will eliminate them from playoff contention.

In the news

It looks like David Warner’s time with the Sunrisers is coming to an end. He wasn’t even at the ground for the last game they played and then went on to suggest on social media that this may be the new status quo. Head coach Trevor Bayliss did nothing to quash that suggestion, instead saying they wanted their younger players to experience what it is like to be at the ground, in the midst of all the action.Ruturaj Gaikwad has developed his game so much he’s almost like a new signing for Chennai Super Kings•BCCI/IPL

Likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Priyam Garg, 5 Abhishek Sharma, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Siddharth Kaul, 11 Sandeep SharmaChennai Super Kings: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Sam Curran/Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Josh Hazlewood/Imran Tahir

Strategy punt

• If there is one team against whom Dhoni can finish the way he used to, it is Sunrisers. He is destructive against their death bowlers, taking 81 runs off 46 balls from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and 45 off 25 from Siddharth Kaul. But this plan only works if – and it’s a big if – CSK can prevent their from facing Rashid Khan because that head-to-head ain’t pretty: 23 runs in 32 balls, one dismissal.
• Kane Williamson loves playing against Super Kings. Check out how his stats against all their best bowlers: 50 runs off 29 balls against Dwayne Bravo; once dismissed, 49 off 35 against Jadeja; never dismissed, 57 off 38 against Shardul Thakur; twice dismissed and 58 off 44 against Deepak Chahar; never dismissed. Williamson batting through the innings could once again prove crucial to Sunrisers’ chances.

Stats that matter

• Last IPL, over the course of 12 matches, the average first-innings score in Sharjah was 178. But this season, thanks to a relaid pitch that is a lot slower and a lot less conducive for shot-making, the average first-innings score is only 136.
• A measure of how incredible Jadeja has been with the bat in recent seasons. Since IPL 2020, he is one of only three players to score at least 400 runs and average over 50. The others are KL Rahul and Williamson.
• Rashid finds life a bit tougher than usual playing against the Super Kings. He averages 27.6 – his worst out of all teams – and gives up a boundary almost every over (33 in 36) – again his worst out of all teams.

Wellington Masakadza, who last played an international match in March 2016, has been included in Zimbabwe’s ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka.* The left-arm spinner, who has 15 wickets from 10 ODIs, last appeared in a 50-over international fixture in 2015, against Afghanistan in Sharjah.The Zimbabwe squad for the only Test of the tour had three recalls – Regis Chakabva, Carl Mumba and Natsai M’shangwe – while uncapped allrounder Nathan Waller was also picked. Solomon Mire, Richard Ngarava and Chamu Chibhabha were left out. Waller was a part of Zimbabwe’s squad for the home series against Afghanistan in February but did not get a match. The changes also mean that Mire and Ngarava will have to wait longer for a maiden Test appearance.This is Zimbabwe’s first tour of Sri Lanka since a three-Test series in December-January 2001. While the five-match ODI series on this tour begins on June 30, the one-off Test will be played in Colombo, starting July 14.ODI squad: Solomon Mire, Hamilton Masakadza, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer (capt), Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Peter Moor (wk)Sikandar Raza, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Donald Tiripano, Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza, Malcolm Waller, Chamu Chibhabha, Tarisai MusakandaTest squad: Regis Chakabva, Hamilton Masakadza, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer (capt), Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Peter Moor (wk), Sikandar Raza, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Donald Tiripano, Nathan Waller , Natsai M’shangwe, Malcolm Waller, Carl Mumba , Tarisai Musakanda*June 28, 4.00am GMT: This story was updated after Zimbabwe Cricket sent out the official release

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County Championship round-up: Lancashire sweat over Anderson injury

James Anderson is occasionally seen as one of England’s grumpier cricketers but he can hardly have failed to be content with life as he began his sixth over on the first morning of this 270th Roses match. Having already caught Adam Lyth at third slip off Tom Bailey and bowled Alex Lees playing no stroke for nought, Anderson was probably looking forward to interrogating the techniques of Gary Ballance, the country’s most in-form batsman, and Peter Handscomb, an Australian with whom he will hope to renew hostilities in the winter.But that is where the tidings of joy ended for Lancashire, England and the bowler himself. As he was about to bowl his 34th ball of the day Anderson pulled up in his delivery stride and immediately collapsed on his back in the middle of the pitch clutching the right side of his groin. Umpire Nick Cook quickly summoned Lancashire physio, Sam Byrne, with whom Anderson left the field. Thus a match which takes pride in its insularities acquired national significance within an hour of it beginningGlen Chapple, the first team coach at Old Trafford, confirmed that Anderson had suffered a tight groin and would be assessed again on Saturday morning to see if he needs a scan. Chapple’s counterpart, Andrew Gale, was in admirably generous mood, saying that “for the sake of the country’s cricket, no one wants to see Jimmy go down,” but Gale’s magnanimity did not, of course, prevent Yorkshire’s batsmen looking to make hay on a day when the sun rarely shone at Emirates Old Trafford.Those efforts were led, predictably enough, by Gary Ballance, for whom this spring has been a season of greater than green abundance. Yet by the close, Yorkshire cause’s was being advanced by Jack Leaning and Andrew Hodd, whose unbroken 73-run partnership for the seventh wicket had probably justified their captain’s decision to bat first, even if that decision was prompted by a fear of batting last.Indeed, this first day at Emirates Old Trafford was notable for a scoring rate and a measure of justified caution which would have been familiar to the watching Richard Hutton, Yorkshire’s newly-appointed president. Hutton’s own era was notable for its Verdunesque sieges against the White Rose’s closest rivals, albeit that such rivalry also concealed warm friendships and a common approach to the incomparable game.To a degree Yorkshire and Lancashire need and deserve each other and this was grittily apparent as the visitors proceeded carefully to 71 for two at lunch with Peter Handscomb and Ryan McLaren, both of whom were playing in their first four-day Roses match, tussling for advantage. McLaren, who looks a better signing with every day’s cricket he plays for Lancashire, won that battle when he had Handscomb lbw for 29 in the sixth over of the afternoon.Yet as they pondered a score of 90 for 3, Yorkshire supporters could be encouraged by the way their captain was batting and especially his neat and accurate footwork. Last summer Ballance scored 780 Championship runs despite often appearing moored to the crease; this year he has three centuries and two fifties to his credit and his movements are altogether more fluid and purposeful. Perhaps he has watched his Yorkshire and England colleague, Joe Root, in action and adapted the injunction of the popular songster, Robbie Williams, to the effect that “if you can’t get a run and your best friend can, it’s time to move your body”. More likely, of course, Ballance has tweaked his technique to good purpose in the manner of fine batsmen. As a result, he leads his county in more ways than one.All of which only increased the mild shock caused when Ballance was dismissed for 74 by a wide ball of no menace from Bailey, the wicket-taking capability of the delivery only being revealed when the batsman slapped it carelessly to Stephen Parry at mid-off. That wicket was the prelude to Lancashire’s best period of the day since Anderson had conjured one back off the seam to trim Alex Lees’ off stump. Tim Bresnan hit Simon Kerrigan for a straight six but was bowled for 13 by one from McLaren which kept slightly low. Azeem Rafiq had managed only 16 when he pulled an unusually short ball from Parry straight to Steven Croft at midwicket. That left Yorkshire on 178 for 6 but Leaning and Hodd’s shot selection was the best of the day and they looked in little trouble as they shepherded their side to a slight superiority at the close.Yet the relative gentleness of the evening session and the sense in which it took its place in a long tradition did not expunge the equally pleasant memories of the early morning when Anderson had run in under full sail and the cricket had been watched by 4000 schoolchildren, all of them attending the Lancashire Foundation’s Schools Open Day. The children were given Lancashire Lightning flags and nearly all were flourished as Croft led his players out for the morning session. Not since Pyongyang displayed its latest batch of missiles have thousands of red flags been waved with so much zeal; certainly such enthusiasm was a contrast to the seething silence which once characterised the first mornings of Roses matches. God knows what Emmott Robinson would have made of it.

Shahid Afridi has joined Karachi Kings as “president”, according to the franchise. He is likely to feature for the team as a player, too, in the third edition of Pakistan Super League in 2018, though this is yet to be confirmed; the PSL’s trading window ahead of the next edition is yet to open. Last month Afridi had announced on Twitter that he had left Peshawar Zalmi after two years with the franchise.ESPNcricinfo understands that Afridi is likely to be traded between Peshawar and Karachi as part of the formalities later this year. For now, Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Afridi had joined his franchise as president.Afridi had tweeted on March 25 that he was “announcing my end of service as president & player of Peshawar Zalmi Team due to my personal reasons”. He said it was “time for another” team. Following his tweets, Peshawar’s owner, Javed Afridi, told ESPNcricinfo that he was “clueless” in the matter. Later, it was learnt that Afridi had parted ways from the franchise over disagreements with the owner.”There are things that I don’t want to bring in media but Javed’s vision has changed with the time,” Afridi said on a TV show on Geo News. “I don’t want to become a hindrance to Javed’s goal and vision, because I have my own foundation and a lot of other things. So I can not fullfil his commitments and want to focus on my things as well. I wanted to announce it after the PSL final, but I had couple of commitments with Zalmi, so I waited for the right time.”Afridi, who is based in Karachi but was born in Khyber Agency, had talked about the importance of Peshawar Zalmi to his local region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a day before his Twitter announcment. “We have not created the Peshawar Zalmi team to play just a month’s cricket in the PSL and then sit at home,” Afridi had said. “Our work goes beyond the cricket field and we want to change the lives of the underprivileged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”Peshawar Zalmi won the PSL title in 2017, defeating Quetta Gladiators in the final held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Afridi had missed the final with a finger injury that he picked up during the playoffs in the UAE. In all, in ten matches in PSL 2017, he had scored 177 runs at 25.28 with a strike rate of 173.52, and taken two wickets with an economy rate of 6.75. He had captained the franchise in the inaugural edition of the tournament, before handing over to Darren Sammy this year.

Ravindra Jadeja has climbed one place to join R Ashwin at No.1 in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers in what is the first instance of two spinners jointly claiming the top spot.

Top five bowlers in Tests

1. Ravindra Jadeja – 892 points
1. R Ashwin – 892 points
3. Josh Hazlewood – 863 points
4. Rangana Herath – 827 points
5. Kagiso Rabada – 821 points

Jadeja’s seven wickets, including a first-innings six-for, in the second Test against Australia helped him occupy the top rank and assured India the No.1 spot in the ICC Test Team rankings for the annual April 1 cut-off.He shares the top spot with Ashwin, whose eight-wicket haul took him past Bishan Bedi as the fifth-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests with 269 scalps. However, Ashwin’s poor returns with the bat – 20 in the last four innings – meant he has dropped behind Shakib Al Hasan on the list of Test allrounders.The last time two bowlers shared the No.1 rank was in April 2008, when Dale Steyn and Muttiah Muralitharan were at 897 points. Jadeja and Ashwin are currently at 892 points each, and lead Australia’s Josh Hazlewood at No. 3 by 29 points.In the rankings for Test batsmen, Virat Kohli lost his second spot to Joe Root after managing only 40 in his last two Tests. Steven Smith maintained his reign at the top for the 77th Test, edging past Ricky Ponting’s 76 matches as the third longest stint at the top among Australians after Steve Waugh (94) and Don Bradman (93).

Scorecard
Shubman Gill anchored India’s chase with an unbeaten 138•PTI

Shubman Gill’s maiden hundred and an accurate bowling display from India Under-19’s bowlers, led by legspinner Rahul Chahar and left-arm spinner Anukul Roy, propped the hosts to a thumping seven-wicket win against England U-19s at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Chasing 215, India rode on 17-year-old Gill’s 157-ball 138, an innings that featured 17 fours and two sixes, to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.Gill began India’s chase in sprightly fashion, hitting three boundaries in the first over. England’s bowling attack missed the accuracy of Matthew Fisher, who sat out with a niggle, as the openers capitalised on plenty of run-scoring options off their wayward lines. Gill’s timing on a slow surface was impeccable. On a quick outfield, all he needed to do was find the gaps. He played the ball discernibly late, a marked improvement from the first two games, where he was dismissed as a result of hard hands through the line. He struck two sixes in his innings, a flat-batted slap over mid-off off a free hit and a pull over square leg.India raced past 50 in the seventh over, forcing Max Holden, the stand-in captain for Fisher, to turn to spin early. The move worked for England: Delray Rawlins had Himanshu Rana caught behind, edging a cut and Priyam Garg trapped in front off a non-turning delivery. Left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White, one of three inclusions for England, then had Salman Khan lbw, reducing India to 101 for 3.Thereafter, Harvik Desai and Gill combined to put on an unbeaten 115-run partnership to ease India home with 35 balls to spare. England’s bowling lacked penetration and depth, their lines were inconsistent, and the fielding was substandard. As the afternoon wore on, their frustration grew. Rawlins and Jack Blatherwick were involved in verbal squabbles with Gill, forcing the umpires to intervene.England’s day didn’t begin well either. After opting to bat, Holden continued his run of wretched scores on this tour. He was dismissed for eight in the fourth over off fast bowler Heramb Parab. After Henry Brook was caught for 12, George Bartlett and Rawlins, who was promoted to No. 4, were responsible for England’s rebuild.Both batsmen were fluent from the outset. Bartlett in particular, was strong off his wrists, finding the boundary – he hit six fours and a six – with ease on a sluggish pitch. However, as the spinners were introduced and the field spread, Bartlett found run-scoring increasingly tougher. Chahar troubled him by dragging his length back, extracting just enough turn. Bartlett survived a close lbw appeal off Chahar in the 22nd over, and was stumped in the next, attempting to heave a ball he wasn’t close to.Like the rest of the series, Rawlins had no such trouble against the spinners, continually using his feet and cross-batted strokes to push the score along. He hit 11 fours and two sixes – some were bludgeoned, some a result of deft touch. He hit two boundaries in the 43rd over, a six over long-off and a four over midwicket, to move to 96. The next ball, however, he reverse-swept Roy to short third man, missing his second century in three games by a few feet.Wicketkeeper Ollie Pope missed a cut off a slider and Will Jacks was acrobatically taken by Chahar at midwicket. A score of 171 for 3 quickly turned to 200 for 7 as England’s lower order struggled to find fluency against India’s spinners. Chahar returned towards the end to pick up three wickets, two of which were stumpings off wild slogs, capping a fine effort in the field.

Marlon Samuels has called on the WICB to “compromise” in their selection policy after he was omitted from West Indies’ ODI squad, and suggested he could accept a Kolpak deal in county cricket if an agreement cannot be reached.Samuels, twice man of the match in World T20 finals, was left out of West Indies’ 15-man squad after electing to miss games in the Super 50 competition – the Caribbean regional List A tournament – in order to play in the more lucrative Pakistan Super League. Current WICB policy is that no player will be considered for the international team unless they have made themselves available for the entire regional competition in that format.But Samuels, who claims he was offered double the value of his previous West Indies retainer contract (worth $135,000) to appear in the BPL, argues that the WICB could learn from the example of the boards of New Zealand and England, who allow their players to appear in overseas T20 leagues without it rendering them ineligible for international cricket. Late last year, Samuels was one of the three players – along with Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite – to decline the WICB retainer. It is understood that Samuels was offered a Grade C contract worth $115,000, demoting him from the previous Grade B.”Why can’t I play some games in the PSL and come back and play against England?” Samuels asked in an interview with , a Jamaica-based television network. “I’m not 20. You’re still telling me to miss out on everything. Why can’t you compromise?”The rule they have doesn’t make any sense. You have to compromise. Eoin Morgan, the England captain, is playing in the PSL and then he goes to the Caribbean. Why can’t I do the same? Why play hard ball in everything?”While there is some logic in the WICB stance – they insist that, to retain the strength of their regional competitions, their best players must participate – the reality of the policy has been to deny them many of their best players. Players such as Samuels, who is aged 36, and aware of the diminishing opportunities he may have to earn for his retirement, can earn far more on the T20 circuit than the WICB can afford to pay in retainers. Sunil Narine, ranked third in the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings, is another who has been deemed ineligible.The ECB, by contrast, has actively encouraged some players to take part in the IPL during the county season – they have even allowed the likes of Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes to skip two ODIs against Ireland – reasoning that the benefits of the experience will outweigh the negatives of the dilution of their own domestic product. There might also be an acceptance that the value of central contracts cannot keep pace with the escalation in T20 fees and that, as a result, compromise is required.While Dave Cameron, the president of the WICB, recently stated the board’s selection policy could be reviewed, the selection of the ODI squad to play England suggests there has been no change in the short term.Samuels has not played for West Indies since the Pakistan tour in the UAE last year, and was dropped for the tri-series in Zimbabwe. He was especially surprised at his omission from the three-match ODI series against England given WICB’s recent investment in him when the board paid for his travel to England for his bowling action to be tested. That trip proved fruitful as the ICC cleared Samuels to bowl in international cricket once again.”I didn’t pay for my bowling. ICC didn’t pay for my bowling .The West Indies Cricket Board paid for my bowling. So they invested in my bowling for me to come back to bowl against England. Now I’m going to hear that I’ve to stay and play all the Super50 games.”Incidentally, Samuels ended up playing just one match for Leewards Islands in the Super50 before he left to play in the PSL.Samuels also revealed that he has been offered a three-year Kolpak deal by Derbyshire worth up to £130,000 a season, fuelling concerns that West Indies could be hit by a spate of international retirements of the sort that recently shocked South African cricket. While it is understood he has indicated a reluctance to accept the deal – he would prefer a deal as an overseas player in county cricket, thereby sustaining his hopes of playing international cricket – he has suggested it remains on the table.Samuels asserted that, for him, it is loyalty to West Indies that comes first, which was evident in his 17 years’ service in Caribbean cricket. “I’ve got a Kolpak deal on my plate which I’m contemplating,” he said. “It’s a three-year deal with Derbyshire. Worth probably £120,000-130,000 a year. The money is not the issue at the moment, I’ve been playing international cricket the last 17 years so have set myself the right way. This is about principle, about being loyal. I’ve been a loyal soldier for West Indies cricket and continue to play. I showed some loyalty, so I expect a bit of loyalty. I’m only the one from 2000 still here, sticking round and playing for the West Indies.”Samuels said he was in “no rush” to sign the Derbyshire deal as, after the PSL, he would travel to play another league in Hong Kong and had a “few other deals” in the bag.Samuels is unlikely to be the only Caribbean player attracting interest from England’s first-class counties. Darren Bravo, whose relationship with WICB would appear to be in tatters following a public falling-out with Cameron, is one who is certain to be snapped up if he decides to go that route, while fellow Trinidadian Denesh Ramdin is also understood to be of interest.Ravi Rampaul, the second highest wicket-taker in this year’s Super 50, is already on a Kolpak deal with Surrey, while former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was second in the batting averages, has recently signed a similar deal with Lancashire. Fidel Edwards is also signed to Hampshire as a Kolpak, Other players such as Jofra Archer, Keith Barker and Chris Jordan have also chosen to pursue their careers in England when they could have been eligible for West Indies.

Lou Rowan, the Australian umpire who was at the centre of the 1971 controversy in which England captain Ray Illingworth led his team off the SCG, has died at the age of 91.Rowan officiated in 25 Tests as well as the inaugural one-day international, and was one of Australia’s leading umpire through much of the 1960s. Prior to his death he was also Australia’s oldest living Test umpire, and away from the game he was a former Queensland drug squad detective.He was most remembered for the 1971 Sydney Test, during which Rowan warned England fast bowler John Snow for intimidatory bowling to Australia’s Terry Jenner. After the warning, Snow was grabbed by a member of the crowd while fielding on the boundary, and Illingworth walked his team off the field in protest.Rowan instructed Illingworth that England had to resume play or forfeit the match, and play did indeed continue. In his memoir, titled , Rowan – who also did not give a single lbw to England during five Tests of that series – said he did not regret his actions on that day.”It is not a happy thought that, as an umpire, I might have been the spark to explode Anglo-Australian Test cricket relations to smithereens,” Rowan wrote. “But I have no regrets for my part in the affair; I would act no differently in similar circumstances now, whether at club or international cricket level.”Rowan had also been on the field during another controversial moment earlier in his career, although on that occasion was not an antagonist. Standing in his third Test, at the Gabba in 1963, Rowan was at the other end when his fellow umpire Colin Egar called Ian Meckiff for chucking, effectively ending Meckiff’s career.