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Shakib and Nazmul finish with 5 for 47 off eight overs as Bangladesh break five-match T20 losing streak to level series

The Report by Mohammad Isam04-Aug-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAFP

Another Bangladesh comeback, another major contribution from their senior players. Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal powered the visitors to a 12-run win against West Indies to bring them back level in the T20I series. Towards the end of the West Indies chase, Mustafizur Rahman and Nazmul Islam took three wickets each, but the win was set up by Tamim, who top-scored with a quickfire 44-ball 74, while Shakib complemented his half-century with figures of 2 for 19 from four overs.Shakib and Tamim added 90 runs for the fourth wicket. Tamim’s innings had his best strike-rate in a 50-plus knock, while Shakib reached his first T20I fifty in more than two years, spanning 17 innings. West Indies will rue losing four early wickets in a chase of 172.Despite the loss of Evin Lewis, whose lean patch has now spanned four successive innings, West Indies had got off the blocks rapidly. Andre Russell clattered Rubel Hossain for a four through point, and two sixes – over deep midwicket and cover point – in a 16-run third over. He followed it up with another monster hit over midwicket, this one dumped outside of the Lauderhill ground. But, later in the same over, after another four, Mustafizur had him top-edging a short ball to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim.

Abu Hider gets demerit point for foul language

Bangladesh fast bowler Abu Hider has picked up one demerit point and been fined 20% of his match fee for “using inappropriate language” during the second T20I against West Indies. Hider was in breach of Article 2.1.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct, and accepted the sanction, meaning there was no need for any formal hearing
According to an ICC release: “The incident happened in the 14th over of the Windies’ run-chase, when Abu Hider ignored an earlier warning by the on-field umpires by again using inappropriate language after Rovman Powell had hit him for a six.”

Marlon Samuels lasted three balls: he edged the first one for four, struck a high six off the next ball, and facing Shakib in the next over, clubbed him to deep midwicket, where Liton Das dived forward to complete the catch. Rubel had Denesh Ramdin lbw in the eighth over, in the midst of a 33-ball boundary drought.Andre Fletcher’s six over midwicket in the 10th over broke the shackles, and it was four overs later that the late-overs slogging really began. Rovman Powell hammered Abu Hider for two sixes in an over when Fletcher was dropped at deep midwicket on 36. Fletcher fell in the next over, having just struck his second six, having made 43 off 38 balls and added 58 for the fifth wicket with Powell.Liton then produced a superb catch at the wide long-on boundary, evading an oncoming Soumya Sarkar, and completing a running catch along the boundary rope. Shakib capped off the over by conceding only three runs to end with 2 for 19 from four superb overs.Rubel followed it up with another over that didn’t have any boundaries. He could have finished the over with a wicket had Shakib not dropped Powell on 37. Powell fell in the next over though, caught behind attempting a pull, after a 34-ball 43.Earlier, Ashley Nurse once again struck early for West Indies, sending back Liton and Mushfiqur inside four overs. Liton, who was promoted from No. 3 to open the innings, lasted only five balls before sending a low catch to Carlos Brathwaite at mid-off. Mushfiqur, who was also promoted, fell trying an awkward reverse sweep to point.Sarkar had another wretched stay, this time taking up 18 balls to make 14. He struck a six and a four, but looked out of tune against pace. He has now scored only 82 runs in Bangladesh’s last 10 T20Is.Tamim, though, looked for runs despite the three early wickets. Apart from his first six, a low screamer over extra cover off Samuel Badree, he collected three fours through tickles down the leg-side and one edge to the left of wicketkeeper Ramdin.Shakib took over from Tamim from the 10th over, in which he struck Keemo Paul over the off-side field twice for fours, before launching Kesrick Williams for three fours in the 13th over. He blasted one over cover while the other two came via powerful pull shots. His first six also came off Paul, struck over point and just over a jumping Nurse.Tamim, who was dropped on 47 by Rovman Powell, ended his innings in a blaze. Against Russell in the 16th over, he struck three sixes – twice over midwicket and one dead straight — and a four, before falling off the final ball of the over.West Indies pulled things back considerably as Bangladesh, despite a settled Shakib and a usually big-hitting Mahmudullah at the crease, added just 33 runs in the remaining four overs.

The Australia coach had cited players’ century counts to justify Glenn Maxwell’s omission from the Test squad, but ended up counting international hundreds twice

Daniel Brettig13-Sep-2018Australia’s coach Justin Langer read a spreadsheet incorrectly in coming up with a “total hundreds” statistic that counted international centuries twice.Hundreds have been a common theme of Langer’s recent public discussions on team selection, either side of Tuesday’s announcement of the 15-man squad to play two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE in October.The unselected Glenn Maxwell, Langer said, had only made 17 centuries “above A-Grade cricket” while the suspended Steven Smith and David Warner had 79 and 88 respectively. Aaron Finch, meanwhile, was credited with 41 hundreds across all forms. This was cited as a reason why Maxwell, in particular, needed to be more productive to regain a place in the Test team.However, these figures could only be reached by tallying all the common statistical categories for centuries – Test, ODI, T20I, first-class, List A and T20 – as though they are entirely separate. This overlooks the fact that the latter three categories already include their international equivalents.Smith, then, does not have 79 hundreds but 48; Warner not 88 but 53. Finch’s tally slips from 41 to 28, and Maxwell’s from 17 to 13. So the overall, basic point about hundreds scored still stands in terms of Maxwell not making as many as the rest, but the nuance is a matter for questions. Over the past 48 hours, many in Australian cricket have been asking them.Langer, it must be said, did not deliberately inflate these tallies to enhance his point. ESPNcricinfo understands that he made a tabulation mistake and has, after being informed, returned to quoting the correct figures. He also stands by his comments about needing Maxwell to pass three figures more often in all formats.But queries remain nonetheless. Langer was talking in these terms as far back as August 18, when an interview with him was published in The Australian. “He’s [almost] 30 years old, for example,” Langer said of Maxwell at the time. “Steve Smith’s 29 and got 79 hundreds, Glenn Maxwell’s got 17 hundreds.”This week, after the squad was officially announced, Langer was still referring to Maxwell’s tally as 17 as opposed to 13, and Travis Head’s as 15, versus his actual tally of 14. Many are now wondering how many discussions these figures were mentioned in, and whether they included the selection meeting itself.

“At the end of the day, in Test cricket and there’s a method to our madness, Glenn Maxwell is 30 years old and everything above A-grade cricket he’s scored 17 hundreds,” Langer told . “I’ll put that in perspective for you, Steve Smith has scored 79 hundreds and David Warner’s scored 88 so we all know Maxwell’s a terrific bloke, he’s a brilliant fieldsman, he’s got talent to burn, but he’s also a very frustrating cricketer because he needs to score more hundreds.”Travis Head, for example, is six years younger than Maxwell and he’s got 15 hundreds and white or red ball, he’s a developing cricketer, he’s a terrific young bloke, he’s a captain of South Australia, has been for three years and incredibly impressive.”Among the many problems confronting Australian cricket in the year of Newlands, ball tampering, and a loss of public trust is the continuing role of the selectors. There are those within Cricket Australia who no longer believe in the concept of a selection panel, and there was a subtle downsizing that took place earlier this year when Mark Waugh resigned and was not replaced, meaning more selection power – specifically over the T20I team – now resides with Langer as coach.But of even more importance is the fact that the players and the public are struggling more than ever to make sense of decisions made by the selectors, and respect the office bestowed upon Langer, Trevor Hohns and Greg Chappell by the Cricket Australia board. When the justifications put out through media avenues were based on incorrect information quoted repeatedly, that loss of public trust was only exacerbated further. It has only been a matter of days since CA launched a public relations campaign with the tagline “it’s your game”.Of course, Langer is no-one’s idea of lazy or unconscientious, and his image of tireless hard work and commitment to the cause was undoubtedly a factor in CA’s decision to appoint him as Darren Lehmann’s replacement on a four-year contract. But the oft-quoted line about great power being accompanied by great responsibility is accurate in this case, and the spotlight on Australia’s head coach is far greater than anything Langer experienced in Western Australia from late 2012 to earlier this year, or as an assistant to Tim Nielsen and Mickey Arthur from 2009 to 2012.Among the first things Langer said publicly as coach was about acknowledging the contrition of the suspended Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft in the context of making mistakes. He expanded to state that “every single person in Australian cricket” had areas in which to get better. Selection, though a tricky business, must be underpinned by sound and correct reasoning.When contacted, Cricket Australia declined to comment.

From watching India play at Lord’s from the stands, to walking out to bat at The Oval, Vihari’s journey is still a work in progress

Deivarayan Muthu in Bengaluru16-Oct-2018After finding no takers in the 2014 IPL auction, Hanuma Vihari signed up with Hutton CC in the Essex league in England. During his time off, he was in the stands for the Lord’s Test that year, soaking in Ajinkya Rahane’s counterattacking century. Four years later at The Oval, he would walk in to bat after Rahane was dismissed.After overcoming early jitters, he made a fifty on Test debut and claimed three wickets to boot. He could not break into the XI for the home series against West Indies that followed, but celebrated his 25th birthday with the side. Some turnaround, eh?”It was a wonderful Test where Ajinkya [Rahane] got that hundred. I think I went to watch the second day, but after four years actually me representing India was also wonderful. It was a great feeling,” Vihari gushed on the sidelines of the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final between Andhra and Hyderabad at the Just Cricket Academy Ground in Bengaluru.

Hanuma Vihari on:

From being a Rayudu fan to playing against him: “It is very special. Once I look at at those memories of watching Rayudu bat when I was a kid in Hyderabad… He’s a great batsman and in my opinion he’s one of the best in the county because the amount of time he has when he plays I still admire him a lot. Great fun playing against him.”
Captaining Andhra: “It made me think about the game more. Once you think about the game more, it will help your batting as well. You know what the bowler is exactly trying to do, it’s a great honour to be captaining Andhra. It’s a wonderful team and we’ve been playing wonderful cricket in the last two years.”

“Sharing the dressing room with them on my birthday was very special. Because it was my first birthday after coming into the national side and everyone greeted me well.”Vihari had started out being a nervous wreck in his early exchanges at The Oval. He fell over his front foot and was pinned plumb in front for a duck by Stuart Broad. But umpire Joel Wilson shot down the appeal, and England didn’t review either, handing Vihari a lifeline. Broad kept targetting his pads with booming inswingers, but a piece of advice from captain Virat Kohli helped him weather that burst.”I was just looking to get the runs to get the deficit down and obviously having Virat at the other end helped because he gave me clues of what Broad was doing,” Vihari said. “I was making adjustments with my front foot because he [Broad] was getting it in quite sharply. I [opened my stance], giving more space with my front foot and those were the adjustments I made to ensure I counter the inswing.Vihari picked out his straight drive off left-arm seamer Sam Curran as the shot that made him believe he “belonged here”.”That was the moment where I got confidence because if you move your feet in and drive the ball, you get your eye in,” he said. “Those are one of the moments you need in international cricket to be confident about yourself.”Vihari wasn’t as confident when he went unsold in the 2014 auction. He did get another gig with Sunrisers Hyderabad the next season, but he blew it by tallying just 39 runs in four innings. He hasn’t been part of the IPL since.”He was always talented but there was a time when he wasn’t getting the opportunity,” Vihari’s former coach at Andhra, and current India Under-19 bowling coach Sanath Kumar said. “He wasn’t getting recognition and he wasn’t even getting picked up for the IPL. All those things – and some bad experiences in Hyderabad – weighed on his mind and he started doubting himself. “Such setbacks have defined Vihari’s career. He lost his father in 2005 when he was 12 and was later dropped from Under-13s state side. He hadn’t been selected for the 2012 Under-19 World Cup either, but was eventually picked as a last-minute replacement for the injured Manan Vohra.”These setbacks have made me a better person,” he said. “Once you reflect on it, it will make you more humble and whatever you achieve, you have to keep going consistently and not relax or get complacent. But those are things, which make you stronger. If you are strong enough, it can make you a stronger person. Otherwise, you crumble. That is the choice I had. Every international player has a story. This is my story.”He has added another chapter to his story by unlocking his power game in limited-overs cricket. It was on display against Hyderabad on Monday: he cracked four sixes in his 99-ball 95, including three that went out of the ground. He also was central to Andhra qualifying for the semi-finals in the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 378 runs in eight innings at an average of 54 and strike-rate of 103.84. Only his Andhra team-mate KS Bharat, Saurashtra’s Cheteshwar Pujara and Karnataka’s Mayank Agarwal had made more runs than him in that season.”My mindset has also changed in limited-overs cricket. I want to be more aggressive,” Vihari said. “I have a formula in the four-day format, which I don’t want to change much. But in the one-dayers and T20s, I want to be more expressive; I know I have the shots. I want to be the X-factor in the team. I just don’t want to contribute to the team score but I also want to win matches. With my game, I want to create some fear in the opposition when I’m there in the crease.”

Team meets with affected fans on outfield during Test after many are forced to switch hotels due to booking oversight

George Dobell15-Nov-2018Joe Root has written to England spectators inconvenienced by the booking fiasco in Kandy’s hotels expressing his sympathy for their trouble and his gratitude for their support.Around 100 England supporters, some of whom had booked and paid many months ago, were told a week or so ahead of the second Test that their rooms at the Earls Regency Hotel on the outskirts of the city were no longer available.Due to a remarkable oversight, the bookings of the teams and officials at the same hotel had not been confirmed. But, in a desire to ensure their accommodation was at a good-quality hotel in reasonably close proximity to the ground, the Sri Lankan government insisted supporters had to be moved to accommodate those involved in the game. The only other option, they suggested, was to move the Test.As a result, those supporters were relocated to hotels much further from the ground. Some were anticipating journeys of up to three hours each way from Dambulla, though those times have been mitigated somewhat by police escorts. Spectators were also underwhelmed to be ‘compensated’ with a fruit platter in their hotel rooms.While the ECB and England team are blameless for the debacle – such responsibilities lie with the hosting board – it is clear they have been embarrassed by the inconvenience caused to supporters who have spent their holiday allowance and money on watching them play.So Root and his team met with around 100 of those affected on the outfield during lunch on the second day of the Test, posed with pictures and handed out letters expressing their sympathy.
“As England Test captain, I would like to thank you on behalf of the team and the ECB for your support here in Sri Lanka,” Root wrote.”We all feel the loyalty, commitment and passion that you and our travelling supporters show. It is unmatched in world cricket and must never be taken for granted.”So it has been a huge disappointment to all of us that your plans for the Kandy Test match have been badly disrupted, with your accommodation moved so far from the Earl’s Regency.”You would have made your plans some time ago and looked forward to an incredible experience, seeing this country and watching Test cricket.”It was a big surprise to us to hear of Cricket Sri Lanka’s booking issue and the threat that the match itself might be moved altogether. I can assure you that the ECB has made its views clear.”I also know how hard our tour manager here and his colleagues at Lord’s have worked to find a solution and that, whatever additional arrangement made by our hosts, this has had an impact on you and caused difficulties for your trusted tour operators.”As leader of this group of players, I promise that we will do all we can to give you a performance to remember and thank you for your part in this Test match.”Thanks too for your continued support – we hope to see you at the ground.”Each letter is hand-signed by Root.The relationship between the England players and their travelling supporters is genuinely warm. Each day of away Tests, a group of supporters sing the hymn Jerusalem – often accompanied by The Barmy Army’s trumpeter, Billy Cooper – during the first over of play. It is usually acknowledged or applauded by the players.Meanwhile The Barmy Army have told supporters “don’t be an idiot” after the Galle Test was twice interrupted by streakers.”Entering the field of play is illegal,” The Barmy Army said in a Tweet. “Streaking is considered the height of offence and an insult to the religious beliefs of the Sri Lankan people. Offenders will be arrested, placed before court and imprisoned. Don’t be an idiot.”

Alyssa Healy said that there is an “aura” building around the Australia team as they secured a place in the World T20 final

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2018Australia women are hoping to heal the scars of their recent near-misses at global tournaments after convincingly overcoming defending champions West Indies to reach the World T20 final.The hosts were overwhelmed in North Sound, bowled out for 71 in reply to Australia’s 142 for 5, which was built on another Player of the Match performance from the prolific Alyssa Healy who had suffered concussion in the final group match against India following a collision with team-mate Megan Schutt. She showed no ill-effects, hitting 46 off 38 balls on a surface she said made strokeplay tougher than in the group stage in Guyana.The result offered a measure of revenge on West Indies for the drubbing they handed out in the 2016 final in Kolkata where Australia were thrashed by eight wickets. That was followed by defeat in last year’s World Cup semi-final against India which meant Australia did not have any global silverware in the cabinet heading into this tournament.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I’d be lying if I sat here and said we haven’t got scars after the last couple of World Cups. To be ranked No. 1 in the world and not have a trophy is sort of something we were looking to rectify,” Healy said. “So for us to go out there and execute exactly what we wanted to do it’s just really pleasing. It’s such a proud win. And I think everyone deserves to be emotional and to be really happy about it.”I think to come here to the West Indies, to play in front of a crowd like that that’s 99 percent going for the West Indies, we sort of thrive off that, we love being the underdogs in Australia. We don’t get to do it too often. For us to come here try to take a trophy off the West Indies was always going to be really difficult. So for us to go out there and play such a good performance today it was really special.”There could have been some jitters in the Australia camp after they had suffered a heavy defeat in their final group match against India even though it came with a place in the semi-finals secure. However, Healy said it was taken as a chance to ensure everyone stayed grounded in their drive to learn from previous mistakes.”I think the last two World Cups we were a part of we took two pretty hard defeats,” Healy said. “But at the same time I think we learned from those things and I think it shows the maturity of the group to be able to come back together. And I think that’s why this team is so good at the moment and we’re learning from those losses. And I think even losing to India in that last round game, I think we learned a lot out of that.”Having entered the World T20 on the back of successful series against New Zealand and Pakistan and now reaching the final in convincing fashion there is a feeling the team is ready to go one better than recent tournaments. Their opponents in the final will be England, which had not been confirmed when Healy spoke following victory, meaning an Ashes showdown for the title.”I’m not too sure I can put my finger on it. But it’s just, there’s something special. There’s a bit of an aura around this group at the moment and there’s just something really special building and we’ve got one more huge game to go,” Healy said. “And you know we’ll be disappointed if we can’t get over the line no matter our opponent. But this is just a really special feeling about the group at the moment and even the young girls that have come into the side and just stepped up where needed and just fit in really nicely.”

Pakistan board issues apology after confidential details meant to be sent to the government in bid for tax exemption are mailed to all franchises too

Umar Farooq14-Dec-2018An already at-times tense relationship between the PCB and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises has grown a little worse, with the Pakistan board erroneously revealing franchises’ financial details to each other. It was an embarrassing enough slip-up for the PCB chairman Ehsan Mani to issue an apology to the franchises on behalf of the board.The issue stemmed from efforts already underway to change the PSL’s financial model – brought about because franchises are concerned at having not yet broken even on their investments. The PCB had asked for the financial details of each of the franchises, with a view to sending them to the Pakistan government in a bid to gain tax exemptions for the franchises.A document with the consolidated details was sent to the franchises themselves, causing the furore.Now each franchise has the details of the others’ incomes, expenses and losses, a serious breach of trust. “We are competitors to each other on the business front, how can the PCB reveal this financial data, this is totally unfair,” a team owner said. “We cannot do anything at this stage, but we will be careful next time when it comes to trusting the PCB.”One major aspect of the remodel is the PCB’s request to the federal government for a 10% exemption on holding tax, and the Punjab government for 16% exemption on sales tax. For this, the PCB required each team to submit their accounts, which it would then send to the government to build up their case. The PCB did make an official request for exemption in writing to the government.However, after that, the PCB’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed shared the document with the franchises too. The document included all the amounts spent on running the team and marketing, among other things. In a meeting in Lahore on December 5, the franchises questioned the move.Over the last couple of seasons, the franchises have raised concerns over the amount of tax they have had to pay on top of their franchise fees and other operational expenses. The first set of commercial and sponsorship rights deals the PSL signed when it launched have now ended, and with enhanced deals now being inked in – as well as the scare caused by Multan Sultans’ financial meltdown – the remaining five franchises have sensed this is time to push for better deals for themselves.*All the franchises and the PCB have agreed on taking the legal route to gain tax exemptions. Salman Iqbal, the Karachi Kings owner, took the lead and filed an affadavit to launch a petition in court, aiming for the grant of a stay order against the government taxes.Tax exemptions from the government, though, are unlikely to be okayed this season. The Najam Sethi-led PCB had also tried to get tax benefits for the PSL but failed.The five franchises have also asked the PCB for an increase in their shares in the central revenue pool, to cover their losses. For the first three years, the PCB put 85% of the PSL’s media rights revenue, 50% of the title sponsorship rights money, and 50-60% of the gate money into a central pool, which was then shared out equally among the franchises. The sale of TV rights this year, which is estimated to be in the region of USD 40 million, could be a leg-up for the franchises, given they will each be entitled to an equal share of 85% of that amount.December 15, GMT 0745 *The story was updated to include this paragraph.

Takes over from Luke Ronchi as Islamabad captain, while Shadab Khan was named Sami’s deputy

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2019After weeks of build-up, the PSL’s most successful franchise Islamabad United named 37-year old Mohammad Sami as captain for the fourth edition of the tournament. The defending champions and the winners of two of the three tournaments held thus far had earlier appointed 20-year old Shadab Khan as vice captain.Sami has not played for Pakistan since March 2016, with international consistency proving elusive throughout his career. In the PSL, however, Sami has found a rich vein wicket-takerrforming outstandingly all three seasons. He is the second highest wickettaker across the Pakistan Super League with 37 wickets in 27 matches, behind only Wahab Riaz. He averages 17.43 – again only bettered by Wahab in the top 20, with his economy rate of 6.55 unmatched among the top ten fast bowlers.Upon announcement of the captain, Islamabad United owner Ali Naqvi said: “Sami has always served the franchise with utmost respect and honour. He has always conducted himself in way that defines us and has been one of the stars for the team over the past three years, winning multiple matches on his own. Furthermore, he has years of captaincy experience – he has captained various Karachi teams, on and off, for almost a decade now, and has been successful in that role.”In turn, Mohammad Sami expressed his own delight at being appointed captain, declaring himself “honoured and privileged” to be allowed the opportunity.”It’s an honour for me that Islamabad United and Ali Naqvi have selected me to lead the franchise. I have always aimed to give my all to the team, to repay the faith that they have vested in him, and I hope that I will be able to rise to this challenge too. I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity and I hope that I will continue Islamabad United’s tradition of success.”Islamabad United kick off the PSL on February 14, with the first game of the tournament to be played in Dubai against Lahore Qalandars.

Cricket Australia and the players committed to providing more than AUD30 million to help the lower levels of the game in a significant outcome for two competing sides

Daniel Brettig14-Feb-20191:03

Great to give back to the game that’s given us so much – Hazlewood

At the MCG announcement of more than AUD30 million in grassroots funding from the players’ slice of the Australian cricket revenue pie, the chief executives of Cricket Australia, Kevin Roberts, and the Australian Cricketers Association, Alistair Nicholson, appeared less as warm friends than cordial partners.Given their respective roles at the height of the 2016-17 pay dispute, this was understandable: Nicholson and the ACA ultimately refused to deal with Roberts as lead negotiator, preferring to wait until his pragmatic predecessor James Sutherland entered the fray. Roberts and Nicholson still have some way to go to be as close as Sutherland and Nicholson’s predecessor Paul Marsh once were.For Belinda Clark, the executive in charge of CA’s game development and community tiers before she was called in as the interim replacement for Pat Howard in team performance, the MCG announcement led by Josh Hazlewood and Holly Ferling was an apt demonstration of two organisations learning how to effectively co-exist after some years in open conflict with one another.”Strictly speaking it wasn’t meant to be released until the end of the MoU process [in 2022] so what we’ve been working on for quite a number of months is what is our mechanism to allow us to invest now, rather than wait,” Clark told ESPNcricinfo. “So if you think about how much effort and the number of conversations that need to happen in order to set that up, it is quite a big achievement from both CA and the ACA to get ourselves on the same page in order to drag money forward and let it start going to the community well before the end of the MoU.”If we’d played it as it should have been played out we’d have been waiting another four years to invest, and we’ve got on the same page and we’re investing it early, which is a great result for the community, it’s great that the players have made that decision and great that CA’s been able to facilitate that.”During the pay war, the blue sky money afforded to the players at the end of an MoU period – the “adjustment ledger” above the projected revenue percentage paid out as a lump sum to all players contracted during the period of the agreement – was a key battleground.1:03

Great to give back to the game that’s given us so much – Hazlewood

CA, led by Roberts, were adamant that this money should not just go straight into the pockets of players already well paid when the game had other urgent needs. On the other side, Nicholson and the ACA argued fervently that the players were happy to pitch in more money to help the game’s other levels provided they had some oversight as to how.The compromise, landed upon well before the Newlands scandal that ultimately cost another key MoU protagonist, CA chairman David Peever, his job, was to have the players commit at least AUD30 million from the end of the new MoU to grassroots.In terms of urgency, CA had already identified major infrastructure and facility shortfalls through an audit of cricket venues, but through the players’ share will now be able to provide significant assistance to clubs in terms of equipment and playing kit – costs more traditionally taken on by parents and clubs themselves and thus presenting an entry barrier for many families and prospective junior players.”What this money’s allowed us to do is really address how sometimes those small clubs [say] I just need another kit, I’ve got an extra team and I need another kit of gear, or I need some more stumps or those operational things that traditionally sports don’t fund, clubs are responsible for those costs,” Clark said. “This burst allows people to get their head above water and make sure they’ve got those things ready for people to be playing.”For Hazlewood, a regional product from Bendemeer in country New South Wales, childhood memories of tatty old shared bats, pads, gloves and protectors until well into his teen years made this a particularly relevant investment for those who will follow him. “We had a team kit for as long as I can remember growing up and everyone just grabbed a bat and pads and no-one really had their own gear until maybe 15 or 16 even,” he said. “If we can add to that team kit, get a few more bats in there and help guys out, that’ll be great.”More broadly, the value of the players not only investing but being seen to do so funneled neatly into the goals set for CA and the ACA by the cultural reviews that flowed out of Newlands. Hazlewood agreed that a greater sense of connection to the clubs and communities a long way from the highly funded and often hermetically sealed elite level served to remind him and others of how fortunate they were.”When you’re playing for Australia and you’re in and out every day, you’re on tour all the time, it does become a job and it feels like that sometimes,” he said. “It takes sometimes to go back to the country and to see where you started and seeing the kids playing now and even men at 45, 50 years of age playing every weekend, purely for the love it of it, it reignites that spark why you started and it’s good to see.”The other thing of note about Nicholson and Roberts at the MCG on Thursday was the fact that both men stayed at a safe distance from the television cameras and recorders. The players, then, took centre stage – an arrangement the two chief executives looked more than happy about.

The Mumbai Indians bowler could have run the Kings XI Punjab batsman out, but decided to let the opportunity pass

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-20193:02

Agarwal took the game away from us – Shane Bond

A second incident in the first week of the IPL involving a bowler running out a batsman before delivering the ball was averted.Mumbai Indians’ Krunal Pandya decided not to break the stumps with Kings XI Punjab’s Mayank Agarwal, the non-striker, out of the crease before the ball was released.The incident took place in the tenth over of the Kings XI innings. Agarwal was on 19 at the point and would go on to make an explosive 43 off 21 balls to inject momentum into Kings XI’s eventually successful chase. Kings XI were 80 for 1 at that point, and by the time Agarwal departed, the target had come down to 60 runs from 39 balls.ALSO READ: The spirit of cricket is not a substitute for the lawsKrunal Pandya sends Chris Gayle off•BCCI

As per the IPL playing conditions as well as Law 41.16, Krunal had the right to run Agarwal out. Although there is no rule to warn the batsman, it’s regarded as a convention, Krunal opted to just let Agarwal hop back into the crease.Moments later the broadcasters zoomed the camera towards Kings XI captain R Ashwin. On Monday, playing in Jaipur against Rajasthan Royals, Ashwin had run Jos Buttler out backing up at the non-striker’s end. His action had generated a massive debate on social media and elsewhere, with several players, past and present, criticising Ashwin for forgetting about the Spirit of Cricket. The MCC, the custodians of the Laws of the game, initially cleared Ashwin of any wrongdoing, but a day later reviewed that call, saying the offspinner had “paused” too long before releasing the ball, something not “within” the spirit of cricket.When Mumbai bowling coach Shane Bond was asked by commentator Brendon McCullum on air if Krunal’s action was “gamesmanship”, the former said, “Just a subtle dig, mate, at the mankad.”

The Australia captain is keen for the format to expand beyond the single Ashes Test that is currently played every two years

Alex Malcolm09-Apr-2019Australia captain Meg Lanning wants to see more women’s Test matches beyond the Australia v England Ashes rivalry, and believes India are the key behind growing the format.Australia head to England later this year to play a single Test in the multi-format women’s Ashes series that includes three ODIs and three T20Is as part of a points-based seven-match series.There has only been one women’s Test in the last three years and India (two matches) and South Africa (one) are the only two nations outside of Australia and England to have played women’s Tests at all in the last decade.”We’d love to play more Test matches,” Lanning told . “Unfortunately, it’s only Australia and England that are interested at the moment, and we only play each other every couple of years. That probably is a bit of a problem.”Hopefully down the track more countries are interested. I think India would be great at playing Test matches. I think they’d probably be the big fish to get involved because they’ve got such a big influence in cricket.”If that was the case, I think that would definitely help that side of the game grow. But, unfortunately, one game every two years, it’s difficult to prepare for and play well. But we enjoy playing them so hopefully there’s a few more down the track.”Lanning, 27, debuted for Australia in 2010 but has only played three Test matches compared to 85 T20I matches and 72 ODI matches. She said preparing for Test cricket was a significant challenge given the women don’t play the format regularly and don’t play any long-form cricket domestically.”It is something we don’t do too often, so that presents another challenge to us, just in terms of training and the preparation for that,” Lanning said. “We’ve got to get the balance right to be ready for that format, because we play so much short-format cricket that it takes us a couple of days sometimes to work out what we’re doing in a Test match.”We obviously want to win that Test match. It’s not the be-all and end-all of the series, but it does play a big part, and putting on that baggy green is a very special moment for all our group, and we always look forward to that opportunity.”So preparing for that is something we’ve looked at, and we have certain days along the way, and weeks, where we have the focus on the longer format because we don’t obviously train too much for that given that we don’t play.”Lanning missed the last Ashes Test in Sydney in 2017-18. The match ended in a draw after Ellyse Perry made an unbeaten 213, which was the third-highest score in women’s Test history and only the seventh double-century.The women’s Ashes series begins in July with the lone Test to be held at Taunton in between the three ODI matches and three T20I matches.