Former board member claims English cricket faces “financial crisis” if new tournament fails

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2019Senior figures at the ECB have been grilled by MPs on the budget for the Hundred at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, amid fears that projected costs for the new competition have grown significantly.In an oral evidence session that formed a key part of the DCMS inquiry into the future of English cricket, Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, repeatedly failed to give specific answers to questions regarding the budget for the new tournament.Former Somerset chairman Andy Nash – who resigned from the board of the ECB 18 months ago citing “standards of corporate governance… falling well short of what’s acceptable,” and a “move to promote eight counties as the first among equals” – gave evidence citing figures from an ESPNcricinfo article which demonstrated that the expected cost of the Hundred has risen significantly since the tournament was initially proposed.ALSO READ: ECB deny downplaying Blast amid fears for Hundred’s ticket salesJo Stevens, the Labour MP for Cardiff Central, questioned why the ECB had chosen to introduce a fourth format, asking “what’s wrong with T20?”Colin Graves, the ECB’s chairman, claimed that “the rest of the world is looking at it [the 100-ball format]. There’s at least four countries out there that are looking at how it develops, and they are certainly interested in it.”But the tensest exchange came between Stevens and Harrison on the subject of the budget for the Hundred, with the competition set to start in July 2020.”You presumably had a budget for it when you started the Hundred,” Stevens said. “What was the budget, and how much has it cost? How are you doing against your budgeting?”Unhappy with Harrison’s initial answer, Stevens repeated: “Can you answer the question I’m asking? What was the budget and what have you spent?”Harrison replied: “That is three years ago, the budget has obviously moved from that point as the development of the concept comes to light and there are costs… we actually added a women’s tournament…”Stevens continued: “Mr Harrison, it’s a simple question. What was the budget and how much have you spent?”In total, Stevens asked six times what the budget was for the new competition, and how the ECB’s costs had compared to expectations. Harrison said: “The budget is in line with the game’s expectations. I’m not going to reveal what that is.”We have a valuation which was met in the process of the broadcast budget, and the tournament budget which is… the tournament hasn’t happened yet. It’s happening next year. We’re in the budget-planning process. We’re planning the budget now for next year which will go through the board, through the proper governance structures and will be revealed… will effectively be confirmed in time for next year. We haven’t done budgets for any part of our business next year yet.”The budget is in line with the expectations of the Hundred board, and the ECB board.”In the second part of the session, Nash described the introduction of the new tournament as “an almighty punt and a reckless gamble” with “the potential to split and bankrupt the game”.”It will clearly will damage the other three formats,” he said. “We’ll be left with a financial crisis.”Andy Nash expressed concerns about the ECB’s financial position at a DCMS select committee oral evidence session•Getty Images

Nash claimed the first year of the Hundred would see the ECB lost £20m, and said that it “is going to cost about £60m a year to put on. So if no new fans come it will have cost £200m to cannibalise the existing game.”In fact, the first-year lost is likely to be closer to £7.5million. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the ECB is set to claim that the Hundred will make a profit in its first year. The board projects that it will gross £51million in its first year against costs of £35million – but those costs exclude the £1.3m fee guaranteed to each county. With those included, the competition is not projected to make a profit in its first five years, though it could break even in year five. For the 2020 edition, the costs including payments to the counties are projected to be around £58.6million.T20 leagues around the world have similarly struggled for profitability until several years after their inception. Harrison later claimed that he could not provide full budget figures as they are not yet fully agreed and signed off by the board.Nash later claimed that “fans feel as though the game is being taken away from them”.”[The ECB] really are betting the farm that the next TV deal will pay back the investment on the Hundred,” he said. “We have here the germ of a major financial crisis for the game. This year was a fantastic success for cricket. Why put it all at risk? A lot of people in the game are completely baffled.”We’ll be left with a financial crisis. Where’s the justification for such a high-risk route?”Nash reasserted his support for a T20 competition split between two divisions of nine counties, as proposed by a working party he chaired when at the ECB. The plan was initially backed by the CEOs of the first-class counties.”You’d have nine teams in each division and, hey presto, you have an English Premier League in the top division,” he said. “That option is still there. It’s still what fans would like. It would cost nothing like as much as The Hundred. It would present far less of a risk.”

It was a day for the record book at the Adelaide Oval as Warner struck a triple century

The Report by Danyal Rasool30-Nov-2019If the opening day was wretched for Pakistan, the adjectives to describe the second are best left unprinted. There was no humiliation spared, no skillset left unexposed as Australia’s batsmen – led by David Warner’s epic unbeaten 335 – did what they liked to Pakistan for the first half of the day, with the bowlers cutting in on the action in the final session.Warner will grab tomorrow’s headlines, and cement a place in Australian cricketing folklore for his innings, becoming the first triple centurion in the Adelaide Oval’s history, and surpassing Donald Bradman’s 334 which Mark Taylor equaled in 1998. That was when Tim Paine finally took mercy on the hapless visitors, calling his side in just as the cricketing world was settling in to see a serious challenge to Brian Lara’s record 400 not out.Moment of history: David Warner brings up his triple century•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

If that tempted you to decry the pitch a mundane road, the final session would have had you reaching for the emergency brake. Mitchell Starc was one wicket away from a five-fer, while Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins swarmed all over Pakistan early. Regular breakthroughs meant there was never any chance of a partnership building that so much as hinted Pakistan might challenge Australia’s 589 enough to force them in to bat again at some point this Test. When it was time to wind up, Pakistan were 493 runs behind, with the tail already exposed. Babar Azam, predictably, was the lone source of resistance from the other end, but when the umpires called stumps, they might as well have been calling a halt to a boxing match.Pakistan were still seven overs away from the new ball becoming available when the day began, but the signs were ominous in that early half hour. Instead of being able to rein Australia in during that initial spell, Yasir Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed operated ineffectually, with Australia piling on 65 in nine overs of the old ball, scoring more freely than they had across the entirety of the first day. Any pressure they might have felt at the start was already well off when the new pink ball was called for, and the records were quickly stacking up.The 361-run partnership between Warner and Marnus Labuschagne was the second-highest second-wicket stand for Australia in Test cricket, with the pair joining an elite group to have scored 150 in consecutive innings. By the time Shaheen Afridi – again Pakistan’s best bowler – castled Labuschagne’s offstump with a genuinely delightful inswinger, he had amassed 162. Australia were 2 for 369, with Steven Smith walking in. Hardly a sight for sore bowling shoulders.Warner would continue to bring up milestones. He reached 200 and celebrated with the steel of a man only halfway through his journey. Moments later, it seemed, he was raising his bat for 250, which is when he really cut loose as Australia looked to wring every last run out of their innings. Pakistan didn’t help themselves when debutant Muhammad Musa had Warner caught at fourth slip from a no-ball, the second time a Pakistan debutant reprieved Warner in this way this series after Naseem Shah’s overstep in Brisbane.Tim Paine took a brilliant catch to remove Iftikhar Ahmed•Getty Images

Pakistan’s bowling might have been consistently listless, but the extent of Yasir’s nightmare may yet have career-affecting consequences for him. His struggles in the southern hemisphere are well-documented, particularly his record in Australia. But here it almost seemed safer to have Iftikhar bowling instead. He was, after all, “only” going at five per over, while Yasir conceded 197 in his 32 at more than a run-a-ball, unable to keep himself from dragging the ball down several times every over, or feeding them faithfully into the left-handers’ hitting arcs. If, in these past three years, Yasir worked on how to manage a game where wickets come at a premium, it did not show today.After Smith edged a wild hack, Warner and Matthew Wade combined for a breezy 99-run partnership which saw Warner bring up 300 with a pull off Mohammad Abbas – who still wasn’t targeting the stumps – and brought out a celebration so emotive it moved his wife, sitting in the stands, to tears. After that he was even more unconfined, and when he took Abbas for 17 in an over, it really appeared that 400 was going to be given a shot. But when a single to extra cover took him past 334 – to stand second behind Matthew Hayden’s 380 for Australia – Paine emerged from the dressing room and called them in, a cue for Adelaide to stand as one as its most prolific scorer walked off.It is perhaps no coincidence that was the precise moment when the wicket decided to change character as the lights took hold. Shan Masood was given out in the first over, and though he had it overturned, the breakthrough was never far away. Imam-ul Haq nicked off to Warner – who else? – in the slips in the fifth over, and it wasn’t long before Cummins found Azhar Ali’s outside edge after the dinner break, allowing Smith to take a sharp catch diving forward at second slip.It was, more or less, the way every Pakistan batsman was dismissed. Each one of the six that fell would have their outside edge tickled, with Starc doing much of the damage in the final half an hour. Asad Shafiq fell to one he could do little about, while poor shot selection from Iftikhar and Mohammad Rizwan meant Pakistan were making Australia’s task much easier than it needed to be. Sunday might be affected by rain, but it appears little can impact the outcome of this match.

Kasuza had been cleared of concussion via scans on Tuesday, but the doctor has confirmed a delayed onset

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2020Zimbabwe’s debutant opener Kevin Kasuza has suffered a delayed concussion after sustaining a blow to the helmet at short leg on day three of the first Test in Harare. Although Kasuza had been cleared of concussion via scans on Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s team doctor has confirmed that concussion has set in on WednesdayThe hosts have now named a like-for-like concussion substitute under the ICC’s new rules, bringing in 24-year old opener Brian Mudzinganyama into the XI. Mudzinganyama has impressed in recent domestic matches, hitting 127 for Rangers in late December. The substitution means he will now be make a Test debut.Kasuza, who made 63 in the first innings, had not immediately felt the effects of the blow, when a full-blooded Kusal Mendis pull caught him flush on the helmet in the first session of day three. After a few seconds, however, he took his helmet off, and suddenly appeared groggy. He was able to continue standing, partly with the support of his teammates, and after the Zimbabwe team doctor came out to assess him, he left the field before another ball was bowled. Despite being cleared of an immediate concussion by scans, Kasuza did not return to the field of play .The recently introduced concussion substitution protocols dictate that the team’s medical representative – usually the physio – must run standardised tests and submit a report to the match referee. On this occasion, match referee Javagal Srinath has accepted that Kasuza is suffering from concussion. It seems likely that Kasuza will be unavailable for the second Test as well, which starts on Monday.

Set 290 to win, NSW lose Larkin before shaving 41 runs off the target

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2020A stunning unbeaten century from Nic Maddinson has set up a tantalising final day between Victoria and New South Wales at the SCG.Maddinson clubbed 105 not from just 90 balls with nine fours and four sixes as Victoria declared their second innings closed at 1 for 168 after just 30 overs, having earlier bowled out New South Wales for 310 to gain a lead of 121. Marcus Harris also made 54 not out but was mainly a spectator as Maddinson assaulted his former team.Harry Conway made an early breakthrough in Victoria’s second innings, trapping Travis Dean in front, but that was the only joy for the Blues as Maddinson teed off.His century was his second of the season and his fifth for Victoria in just 11 matches since moving from New South Wales in 2018. It followed on from 95 in the first innings to give him 648 runs at 92.57 in Sheffield Shield cricket this year. Incredibly, he made more runs in this game than the entire BBL, where he contributed just 143 runs at 10.21 for the Melbourne Stars.The declaration left New South Wales needing 290 to win with ten overs and a full day to bat. They started the chase brightly moving to 41, but just prior to stumps, Peter Siddle made a breakthrough with Nick Larkin picking out Will Sutherland at square leg with a flat pull shot to leave the Blues with nine wickets in hand on the final day.Earlier, the Blues began the day at 4 for 201 in their first innings but folded for 310. Debutant Wil Parker continued his fairytale start to first-class cricket by claiming a third wicket with Dean taking a stunning catch at short leg to remove Daniel Solway. Will Sutherland breached the obdurate defence of Blues skipper Peter Nevill before Chris Tremain and Siddle cleaned up the tail.

Allrounder played three Tests for England in 1960, winning all of them

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2020Former Glamorgan and England allrounder Peter Walker has died aged 84 following a stroke.A dependable option with bat and ball, Walker’s standout attribute was his close catching: he managed 697 catches over the course of his first-class career, including a club-record 656 for Glamorgan, with the vast majority at either slip or short leg.Partly educated in South Africa, Walker spent two years in the merchant navy before starting to play first-class cricket, making his debut in 1956. He passed the 1000-run mark in 11 separate seasons as an attacking middle-order batsman, and after starting out as a left-arm swing bowler, he developed into a left-arm orthodox spinner towards the end of his career.He made his Test debut aged 24, making 9 and 37 in a win against South Africa at Edgbaston, and added his only half-century at Lord’s two weeks later. But three games – and three wins – into his England career, he was left out and was never called upon again. Alongside Martin Saggers and Toby Roland-Jones, he is one of three men to have played three Tests or more in his England career while maintaining a 100% win record in the post-war era.He was a key part of the Glamorgan side that went undefeated in the 1969 County Championship season, which culminated in the club’s second title, and retired in 1972 to further his broadcasting career with the BBC, where he was the face of Sunday League coverage for several years.He went on to become an administrator, and was a driving force behind the creation of the National Cricket Centre for Wales at Sophia Gardens. In 2010, he was awarded an MBE for services to cricket, primarily for his role at the centre.He later had a short stint as Glamorgan president, starting his tenure in March 2009 but resigning in November 2010 following the sacking of Jamie Dalrymple as captain and the departure of Matthew Maynard as coach.Glamorgan chairman Gareth Williams said: “Everyone at Glamorgan is saddened to hear this news. Peter was a club legend, a man who gave everything he could to the club he loved while playing, and later in an off-field capacity. He gave so much back to the game, in particular through his work with Cricket Wales and the National Cricket Centre, and through his outstanding service as President of Glamorgan.”Hugh Morris, the club’s chief executive, said: “A combination of world-class catching ability, aggressive batting and accurate spin made him a triple threat and a brilliant allrounder. He helped Glamorgan to win a County Championship title and represented England, making him a true legend of the club.”We may never see another player quite like him, and he will be missed by everyone at the club. Our thoughts go out to his family, and his friends.”

The defending champions didn’t make it, the strong contender choked. Now, we have the first all-Asian final

The Preview by Sriram Veera01-Apr-2020

The Big Picture

The defending champions didn’t make it, the mercurial outsiders stumbled, the strong contender choked, the Ashes winners ran out of gas, and after six weeks of high drama, we have come to this: the first all-Asian World-Cup final. And they deserve to be there: five of the top six run-getters, two out of top five wicket-takers, the fielder with the most catches and the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals will all be on show. The two teams have rallied around two of the best modern-day captains: MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara.Sangakkara is a fiercely ambitious man. Arjuna Ranatunga was almost the freedom fighter, infusing self-respect and clearing the colonial hangover, Mahela Jayawardene was the astute captain who brought so much tactical nous and cricketing intelligence, and Sangakkara is trying to add ruthlessness. Ranatunga pushed the boys to become men, Jayawardene made the men self-aware, and Sangakkara is trying to turn them ruthless. The evolutionary journey has produced a World Cup triumph, a runners-up finish and now, a chance to win it for the second time.Sangakkara’s dream, however, has been hit a nightmarish blow with the injury to Angelo Mathews. Even Muttiah Muralitharan won’t be 100% fit. Mathews’ absence severely affects the balance of the team and adds huge pressure on an already brittle lower-middle order, where Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera haven’t exactly set the tournament alight. Silva, who dazzled in the 2007 edition, has proved combustible in this tournament. Samaraweera is there to manage a collapse, and he did that really well in the curtailed game against Australia. Neither has Mathews’ talent to turn a 225 score into 275.To state the obvious, Sri Lanka will now heavily depend on Tillakaratane Dilshan, the captain and Mahela Jayawardene if they are to put up or chase down a daunting target. They will now have to bat with the knowledge that the lower middle order might not withstand a top-order collapse. Dilshan, though, is in great form, Sangakkara has looked as gritty as ever and while Jayawardene is yet to really flow, he can be always be counted on to come good in pressure games. And Sri Lanka have a varied bowling attack to defend even relatively unsafe totals and the ability to restrict the opposition from piling up too much.MS Dhoni is a quietly ambitious man. Sourav Ganguly was passionate, Rahul Dravid was process driven, Anil Kumble led from the front with his grit, while Dhoni has been an intuitive captain. He is level-headed, and shrewd enough to marry passion and process. He has soaked up the pressure of being India’s captain, is smart enough to know the value of his own brand, and keeps his star-heavy team rolling smoothly with the aid of Gary Kirsten. India’s previous two victories, against Australia and Pakistan, have ironed out many of the flaws seen earlier in the tournament. However, those two wins also raise the question of India being emotionally drained. Do they have fuel left in them to raise their game one final time?The batsmen, who had perhaps tried too hard to compensate for the relatively weak bowling attack by trying to do too much in the end overs and collapsed in the batting Powerplay, seem more aware of identifying a viable target. Someone or other has taken charge during tricky chases. Yuvraj Singh showed tenacity in the chase against Australia, and Suresh Raina maturity in his shot selection against Pakistan.The poor performance in the early part of the tournament seems to have freed up the bowlers. Expectations are lower and the pressure is off in some ways, allowing them to show better discipline and skill. Munaf Patel has greater control over his legcutters and Harbhajan Singh has slowed up the pace to give himself a better chance to take wickets.In the last two years, Sri Lanka and India have won eight games apiece against each other. In the last year, the record stands 4-3 in Sri Lanka’s favour. In their last five encounters in India, though, the record stands 3-1, with one no result, in the home side’s favour. However, these two teams have played each other so often – tomorrow’s final will be the 30th time since July 2008- that they should know everything there is to know about each other.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)IndiaWWWLW
Sri Lanka WWWWW

Watch out for…

Sachin Tendulkar has the records, the mountain of runs and memorable Man-of-the-Match performances but there are a few things that have eluded him: a Test innings like Brian Lara’s 153, a Ponting-esque record in World Cup finals and, indeed, a winner’s medal. He has openly talked about his thirst for that World Cup triumph and has played his part in India’s journey to Mumbai by being their top scorer. Will he achieve his dream tomorrow?Muttiah Muralitharan has written some great scripts for himself: a memorable last Test match where he took the last wicket to get to the magical 800, a fabulous performance almost on one leg in his last ODI at home and now, with one World Cup winner’s medal in the bag, he has the chance to end with another. He will fancy his chances against the Indian middle-order; he is likely to go around the stumps and aim for lbws with his off breaks and edges with his doosras. Can he script yet another great farewell?Virender Sehwag’s knock against Pakistan, defying the nerves of a World Cup semi-final, was vital in ensuring India could soak up the middle-over wobbles and reach a competitive score. If there is one man who can put up a nerveless display again in the final, it’s him. It will be interesting to see how he plays the Sri Lankan spinners. Will he continue to, as he has done during this tournament and perished a few times, try hitting the spinners almost solely through the off side?Mahela Jayawardene hasn’t scored much after that 100 against Canada but all along, and even ahead of the tournament, he has been talking about his itch to perform in the big games. He has the skills to tame the Indian attack and the elegance to do it in style. It was a hundred in the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup against New Zealand that proved a major turning point in his career. “That hundred gave me confidence that I can do it at this big stage,” Jayawardene said. “Ever since that moment I have probably lifted my game quite a bit and turned into a big-match player.” Will he turn up for Sri Lanka tomorrow?

Team news

Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the final and the Indian camp hasn’t made it clear whether R Ashwin or Sreesanth will play. This is what Dhoni said when asked a direct question: “That is a tricky one. If you see the Mumbai track there is a bit of pace and bounce for the seamers initially. Also if there is reverse swing going the third seamer can have an impact on the game. At the same time if the three seamers are bowling well I can easily manoeuvre the bowling. But with four spinners and two fast bowlers there is not much room to manoeuvre too much.”And just when you think that’s a clear hint Sreesanth will play, Dhoni adds, “If one of the fast bowlers has an off day it gets difficult. Still, not to forget, in whatever opportunities Ashwin got so far he has done really well. We have confidence in him. But we have not yet thought our bowling combination yet.”India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sreesanth/Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.Sri Lanka have drafted Suraj Randiv into the squad but in Mathews’ absence they will most likely turn to Thisara Perera, who almost doubles his career average of 19, and has a strike rate of 146.98, when he plays against India. It remains to be seen whether they will take the brave decision to play Randiv ahead of Rangana Herath. Randiv has played 13 games against India, with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 4.57, while Herath has played just one game against India. Herath has been playing regularly in this tournament, though, while Randiv has been drafted in from the cold.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Lasith Malinga, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Suraj Randiv/Rangana Herath..

The hot summer has transformed the nature of the pitch from the one on which Sri Lanka beat New Zealand. It’s a dry surface and the curator Sudhir Naik was quoted in Times of India as saying that 260-270 will be an excellent score batting first.There have been only ten day-night games at this venue and Sri Lanka achieved the highest successful chase, overhauling India’s 225 in 1997. The highest score by a team batting second under lights is 250. The chasing team has won four out of ten games under lights though.

Stats and trivia

Graeme Smith backs Ganguly; CSA more cautious but open

Nagraj Gollapudi and Firdose Moonda21-May-2020Is Sourav Ganguly a dark horse to replace his countryman Shashank Manohar, the outgoing ICC chairman?Ever since it emerged that Manohar would not stand for another term after his tenure ends with the ICC annual conference in July, the general perception was ECB chairman Colin Graves was the frontrunner to take charge as the new chairman of the global cricket body. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic stalling world cricket, the BCCI has taken the opportunity to test interests from several Full Members on whether they would support Ganguly.On Thursday, the former Indian captain got a firm thumbs-up from Cricket South Africa, whose representatives said “strong leadership” was necessary at ICC and Ganguly was “best positioned” to be at helm.CSA, however, backtracked somewhat* in an official press release issued later in the day, saying it did not want to “anticipate any candidates who may be nominated for this important position”.In 2016, Manohar became the first independent chairman of the ICC. The position of chairman had come into being in 2014 when N Srinivasan, another former BCCI president, had assumed that position unelected, though.In 2018, Manohar, the only candidate to file nomination, was re-elected unanimously by the ICC Board. As per the ICC constitution, Manohar is eligible for a third and final term. However, it appears as if he has decided to not take it up. That said, there remains speculation about whether Manohar might extend his term by a few months if asked by the ICC Board as world cricket grapples with the pandemic.It is understood that the ICC Board is yet to finalise the nomination process after which eligible candidates can pitch their hat in the ring. To be eligible, candidates needs to be a current or past ICC Director (one who attends the ICC Board meetings as a representative of the respective country).The 15 directors who sit on the ICC Board then are allowed to nominate one candidate. Nominees with two or more votes become eligible to contest the election. As it stands, the elections will happen at the ICC annual conference, which is scheduled tentatively for mid-July.Ganguly became eligible when he attended his first ICC Board meeting, in late March, via video conference. On May 28, he is once again scheduled to attend the next Board meeting where members would discuss the next step in contingency planning on resumption of cricket.Getty Images

‘He has the credibility’
On Wednesday, Ganguly led the BCCI team along with Jay Shah (BCCI secretary) and Arun Dhumal (treasurer) in their talks with CSA, who were represented by Jacques Faul (acting chief executive) and former South African captain Graeme Smith (Director of Cricket). After the meeting, Smith was unequivocal about his support for Ganguly should the former India captain contest the ICC chairman elections.”The president (sic, chairman) of the ICC now becomes a very key position going forward in terms of how the game can progress, and progress at the right level,” Smith said on media tele-conference on Thursday. “It would be great to see a cricket man like Sourav Ganguly get into the president (chairman) role of the ICC.”Now it’s even more important to have someone in a role that can provide leadership to cricket; that understands and can navigate the challenges in the game today. Post Covid-19 and with the things that are going to come our way, we need to have strong leadership and I feel like Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment. I know him well. I feel that he has got the credibility and the leadership skills and is someone that can really take the game forward.”Smith’s comments come on the back of negotiations between the two boards for a three-match T20I series in South Africa in August. India have shown “willingness” to tour subject to relaxation of travel restrictions. The meeting itself was a result of discussions between Ganguly and Smith over the past few months. Incidentally, Smith had even delivered the 2018 edition of the Jagmohan Dalmiya lecture, organised by the Cricket Association of Bengal, of which Ganguly was president at the time.Smith is the second person from the player fraternity to talk up Ganguly for the role. Recently, former England captain David Gower said he would not be surprised if Ganguly became ICC head in future. Gower said one had to be a “deft politician” to “run” the BCCI.”Sourav has the toughest task imaginable in charge of BCCI, but so far I would say the signs are very good. He has listened, given his own opinion and has pulled strings gently,” Gower said on the fan chat show recently, organised by . “He is a very, very good man and has those political skills. And if you do a good job as BCCI chief in the future, who knows? Being head of ICC is an honour… but look at where the power is. BCCI is definitely the bigger job.”Getty Images

Ganguly has BCCI support
ESPNcricinfo understands that Ganguly would be the clear first choice to replace Manohar even among BCCI members. Srinivasan is another eligible candidate, although he doesn’t qualify to be elected as a representative (over 70 years old) under the existing BCCI constitution.Insiders say even Shah could be nominated as the BCCI’s candidate, although for that he would first need to attend an ICC Board meeting. Anurag Thakur is the other eligible candidate, having attended ICC Board meetings as former BCCI president. However being a minister in the Indian government automatically disqualifies Thakur, the elder brother of Dhumal, as per the ICC constitution.Ganguly was elected BCCI president last October, but his tenure technically ends in July after which he would need to undergo a three-year cooling off period. The same is applicable to Shah, who was previously an office bearer at the Gujarat Cricket Association. However in his case, it could not be confirmed when his cool-off period would start.A month after taking charge Ganguly’s administration approached the Supreme Court requesting the constitution be amended and norms concerning an office bearer’s tenure be relaxed. The court is yet to hear the matter.Neither Ganguly nor the BCCI has made any public comments on whether he would interested in contesting the ICC chairman’s position. The one person who could be surprised if Ganguly were to enter the fray would be Graves. Last December, the trio of Ganguly, Shah and Dhumal had travelled to London to meet the ECB hierarchy giving the impression that the BCCI would back Graves’ nomination.However, the BCCI has been desperate to retain its powerful position at the ICC Board, something it feels has been lost since Manohar became ICC chairman. In recent months, various cricket boards including Cricket Australia, CSA, New Zealand Cricket have had face-to-face discussions with BCCI wanting to explore bilateral engagements to boost their commercial revenue with an India tour.A person privy to the discussions BCCI has had with various boards said if Ganguly decides to contest, he could “sail through”. This person said that most Full Member boards outside of the ECB, PCB and possible Cricket Ireland would support a BCCI candidate. One has already said that in public now.Faul said that CSA was open to supporting BCCI, which it said had played a “leadership role” at the ICC. “We’ve always worked with closely with India and I think India must play a leadership role when it comes to the FTP and a responsible one for that matter,” Faul said. “Our engagement with Sourav has been very positive and he has shown willingness to help us.”We have checked this with the leadership of South African cricket if we would support an Indian candidate and at this stage, we would. But we also have to look at the integrity of the whole process. I don’t think there are any nominations, no candidates that I know of, so they are still in the process.”From a CSA point of view, we don’t see any problems supporting an Indian candidate. To be fair, we’ve got to look at who is nominated, bring it back to the board, and there’s got to be a mandate.”Hours after the comments of Smith and Faul went public, CSA sent out a release quoting its president Chris Nenzani.”We must respect both the ICC protocol and our own protocol in deciding which candidate to back,” the release said. “There have been no candidates nominated as yet and once such nominations have been made the Board of CSA will take its decision in terms of its own protocol and give the chairman the mandate to exercise his vote as an ICC Board Director accordingly.”We have the highest regard for the opinions of our Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith, who is a well-respected figure in world cricket and has already made an immense contribution in fulfilling his mandate to make our cricket teams world leaders again.”At the moment we don’t want to anticipate any candidates who may be nominated for this important position to lead the game we all love.”*GMT 18.45 The story was amended to include CSA’s official statement.

The head coach, however, defended the selection and use of Shadab Khan at Old Trafford

Danyal Rasool10-Aug-2020Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq rued his side’s lack of fortune at crucial times on the fourth day as Pakistan slumped to a tense three-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the first Test at Old Trafford. Writing for the PCB’s in-house website, Misbah said Pakistan “were right on top until pretty much the last session of the game” and warned his players not to be “mentally down” as they try and hit back in the second Test, which starts on Thursday.In a detailed piece addressed to supporters following one of the more agonising defeats in recent years, Misbah paid “full credit to England for the way they fought back” and admitted his side may have panicked at crucial moments during Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler’s 139-run sixth wicket partnership during England’s chase. He addressed the failure of the Pakistan side to bowl short at Woakes early on during his innings – a perceived weakness of the England allrounder – but said Woakes and Buttler “had quite a lot of luck in that partnership”.”We are feeling frustrated, just as the fans are, after the Old Trafford Test match but this is how cricket is,” he wrote. “There are very small margins between victory and defeat and it’s easy to curse yourself when you’ve lost. There is disappointment, of course, but we must not keep that feeling in our minds otherwise it will be difficult to come back but the team believes we can fight back. It was a thrilling Test match and full credit must go to England for the way they fought back, came from behind and took the game away from us. There was wonderful cricket played by both teams. Sometimes luck doesn’t favour you, sometimes the opposition plays well – that’s the beauty of the game.”He praised Azhar Ali’s decision to bat first upon winning the toss, singling out Shan Masood for particular acclaim. “Shan should be given a lot of credit for his innings. He has been working so hard – with coaches Shahid Aslam and now Younis Khan – ever since I took the coaching job last September. He’s changed a few things in his basic set-up and his approach to batting in South Africa and then Australia. He’s a different batsman now and Younis has helped him too.”The decision to go with Shadab Khan at No. 7 raised eyebrows, particularly with Fawad Alam deemed to be the favourite to start given Haris Sohail’s withdrawal from the squad in June. But both Misbah and Ali defended the selection of Khan during the game, insisting he provided a balance to the side it had been lacking for a while.Shadab Khan appeals for a wicket•AFP

It was an argument somewhat undermined by Khan going on to bowl just 11.3 overs all match; it wasn’t until after the 50th that he was introduced in either innings, serving more as a back-up spinner than the genuine second spin option many might have expected when he lined up in the starting eleven. He did, however, score 45 in a crucial 105-run partnership alongside Masood in the first innings, steering the Pakistan innings back on course when it looked like it might be imploding. Misbah acknowledged some of the attention around his inclusion and his subsequent use as a bowler, without divulging much useful detail.”There has been debate about whether we could have bowled more short stuff or we could have bowled Shadab Khan earlier. Maybe so, but you also have to remember that Woakes and Buttler did have quite a lot of luck in that partnership. A lot of balls went here and there, into no man’s land. If one of those goes to a fielder then the situation could have been very different. We still need to improve, of course, but overall we fought really well against a top team in our first international fixture for six months.”After securing a 107-run first innings lead, Pakistan stumbled to 137 for 8 after tea on the third day, several soft dismissals contributing to Pakistan’s inability to kill off the game there and then. It meant England were set 277 to chase, which might have been a stiff target, but wasn’t the insurmountable one Pakistan would have been hoping for given the way the Test had panned out until then.However, only once had a higher fourth innings target ever been successfully chased at Old Trafford, and Pakistan had only ever lost four Tests having set a target higher than the 277 they set England for victory. The last of them came in the previous century, when an Adam Gilchrist-led counterattack saw Australia hunt down 369 to deny Pakistan a famous win in Hobart in 1999.Misbah promised his team would do their best to mount a fightback, thanking the fans for their support. “This is an unusual tour, of course, but we are feeling very happy and comfortable in the ‘bubble’. We are spending a lot of time together, which has allowed the group to bond well. My message to the fans is that you have given us excellent support from back home so far and we thank you for that. Please keep supporting Pakistan and we will do our best to come back in this series, which I really believe this team is capable of doing.”

Sammy’s Zouks aim to reach their first final in the CPL’s history

Matt Roller07-Sep-2020

St Lucia Zouks have been the CPL’s whipping boys since the competition’s inception in 2013, reaching the play-offs only once and losing more than twice as many games as they had won coming into this season.But a change of ownership has given them a new lease of life, and they sailed to a semi-final berth this season with six wins from 10 group games under new head coach Andy Flower. “Over the last five or six years at the Zouks, I’ve had too much of a role to play in the management,” captain Daren Sammy admitted. “Me being closer to the end of my career, I really wanted a strong coach where I didn’t have to do much of the talking, and just focus more on the on-field matters.”Sammy’s own pre-tournament proclamations that he hoped to “raise eyebrows” among the West Indies selectors have been made to look optimistic by a return of 34 runs and one wicket in 10 appearances, but his captaincy has still been an asset for the Zouks in his galvanising effect on players, and his willingness to embrace Flower’s matchup-driven philosophy.As a result, the Zouks have regularly targeted opposition left-handers with their army of offspinners, led by Mohammad Nabi, and left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan, while 22-year-old Javelle Glen has been a breakout star with his legspin. Against a Guyana Amazon Warriors side that has relied heavily on Shimron Hetymer and Nicholas Pooran with the bat, expect Sammy to lean on his offies throughout.With the bat, Roston Chase has been asked to play the Shoaib Malik role, according to Sammy, and has excelled with 203 runs at 40.60, while Afghans Nabi and Najibullah Zadran have been crucial in the middle order. Rahkeem Cornwall is yet to press on and make a big score, but has regularly provided top-order impetus.After peaking too early last year, it looked for a while as though Guyana would fail to peak at all this season, as they started the tournament with two wins and four defeats, struggling to find any consistency with the bat as Brandon King’s 2019 form evaporated and their young Caribbean talents failed to fire.But Pooran’s sparkling hundred against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots has sparked a run of four wins in a row, and it seems as though the Amazon Warriors are coming into the play-offs just as things are beginning to click. They have continued to lean heavily on spin this season, with Chris Green and Imran Tahir leading the way, while Naveen-ul-Haq – Afghanistan’s answer to Jasprit Bumrah – has enjoyed a breakthrough tournament.

Guyana Amazon WarriorsWWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
St Lucia Zouks WLLWW

Nicholas Pooran‘s maiden T20 hundred against St Kitts was an astonishing innings, with three consecutive sixes to reach the landmark the cherry on the cake, and seemed to vindicate Guyana’s decision to make him vice-captain and bat him at No. 4. Yet his season has been mixed overall: he made 68 in defeat against the Zouks, but has only 66 in his other eight innings. St Lucia’s strategy has generally involved using spinners who turn the ball away from the bat where possible, and Pooran’s record against offspin – average 37.33, strike rate 123.89 – suggests he should up to the challenge.He is the only man to score more than 2000 runs for a single CPL franchise, but Andre Fletcher has endured a difficult 2020 season for the Zouks, making 176 runs in 10 innings in the group stage. He has shown glimpses of form with scores of 42 against Trinbago and 46 against St Kitts, but shifted down to No. 3 in his most recent two innings. The self-styled ‘Spiceman’ made his name as a big-game player, bursting onto the scene with runs in the Stanford Super Series as an unknown 20-year-old; the Zouks need him to reprise that form.

Guyana left Chandrapaul Hemraj out for three games after a miserable start to the tournament, but he appears to have done enough to regain his place at the top of the order. Sherfane Rutherford has been in woeful form, averaging 5.57, and is not assured of a spot. The choice between Kevin Sinclair and Ashmead Nedd may depend on match-ups.Guyana Amazon Warriors (possible): 1 Brandon King, 2 Chandrapaul Hemraj, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Keemo Paul, 7 Sherfane Rutherford / Romario Shepherd, 8 Ashmead Nedd / Kevin Sinclair, 9 Chris Green (capt), 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Imran TahirThe Zouks have used 17 players this year, with some rotation around a solid core. Mark Deyal’s 40 against Trinbago seems to have secured him a spot at the top of the order, while Javelle Glen will be difficult to leave out given his impressive all-round returns in the tournament. Zahir Khan should keep his spot, but Sammy may decide he wants the security of a third frontline seamer.St Lucia Zouks (possible): 1 Rahkeem Cornwall, 2 Mark Deyal, 3 Andre Fletcher (wk), 4 Roston Chase, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Javelle Glen, 8 Daren Sammy (capt), 9 Scott Kuggeleijn, 10 Kesrick Williams, 11 Zahir Khan / Obed McCoy

The second semi-final will be played on the same Brian Lara Academy pitch as the first, and if the surfaces throughout the tournament are anything to go by, it will be slow, low and helpful for spinners. The ball has generally come onto the bat better under lights, and with heavy rain showers in the forecast, dew could be a factor.

Stats and trivia

• Shimron Hetmyer is the leading West Indian run-scorer in the competition so far, with 267. Only New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips has more overall.
• No seamer has as many wickets in CPL 2020 as Scott Kuggeleijn, whose strike rate – a wicket every 12 balls – is second only to Trinbago’s Jayden Seales (min. 10 overs bowled).
• Imran Tahir has taken at least 10 wickets in each of the last six T20 tournaments he has played in, dating back to last year’s IPL. He has 15 so far in this CPL.
• Andre Fletcher has taken 12 catches behind the stumps this year, leaving him with more wicketkeeping dismissals than anyone else.

“We were under some pressure so we had to come out with our backs against the wall to execute and win some games. But for the fans back home, we did it.”
“The cricket gods are crazy. I’d love to win my semi-final game, that’s why we play. It’s a clean slate now – what happened before doesn’t matter, it’s about how you play on Tuesday, and who wants it most.”

Parkinson, Hartley and Livingstone derail run-chase at Hove to book semi-final berth

Matt Roller01-Oct-2020Lancashire 140 for 8 (Croft 41, Vilas 40, Garton 3-28) beat Sussex 95 (Wright 36, Livingstone 4-23, Parkinson 3-9) by 45 runsLancashire’s spinners were too good for Sussex on a slow wicket at Hove, returning combined figures of 8 for 50 in 9.2 overs to seal their spot at Finals Day for the eighth time in their history.After struggling their way to 140 for 8 thanks to contributions from Steven Croft and Dane Vilas, Lancashire turned to their three-pronged slow-bowling attack comprising Tom Hartley, Liam Livingstone and Matt Parkinson to send Sussex’s run-chase into disarray.Sussex were 34 for 2 after the Powerplay – exactly the score Lancashire had reached after six overs – when Vilas turned to spin, and needed to tick over on a hybrid pitch. Those surfaces are usually renowned for the bounce and carry they offer, but this strip proved sticky and on the slower side. Sussex struggled to rotate, failing to score from 49 of the 104 balls they faced, and crumbled to 95 all out to end Jason Gillespie’s reign as head coach with a heavy defeat.Sussex on top earlyLancashire had flown out of the blocks batting first this season, scoring at nine an over in the Powerplay coming into this game, and when Livingstone belted Ollie Robinson for sixes in the second and fourth overs, it looked like that would continue. But when he freed his arms in the hopes of another towering blow over midwicket, he looked round to see his leg stump pegged back.That brought Keaton Jennings to the crease, tasked with anchoring the innings at No. 3. He clipped Robinson off his pads for four through wide long-on, but then miscued when rushed for pace by George Garton, offering a steepler to David Wiese at mid-on in the ring. With Croft struggling for timing against Tymal Mills’ changes of pace and Sussex electric in the infield, Lancashire’s Powerplay total was their second-lowest of the season.Vilas’ lone handSussex’s penchant for allrounders meant that they came into this game with eight bowling options, and Wright was happy to chop and change as he saw fit. He opted for a number of one-over spells through the middle overs in order to stop Lancashire finding their rhythm, exemplified by Davies picking out deep backward square leg as he swept a Delray Rawlins full toss, immediately after Ravi Bopara had interrupted the diet of left-arm spin.With 22 runs to his name off 30 balls at the end of the 13th over, Croft recognised he had to accelerate, and promptly deposited Rawlins for two sixes. Wright brought Garton back, chasing a breakthrough, and saw his second ball pulled over long leg for six more, but one ball later, he was well caught by Robinson on the rope looking to repeat the trick, prompting whoops and cheers from the balconies of the flats on Palmeira Avenue.But the variety offered by Sussex’s death bowlers could not prevent Vilas from hitting a crucial cameo of 40 off 28 balls, which included a wristy skewed six over wide third man and a slash over the vacant slips for four. If Vilas rode his luck, he also rotated brilliantly: he absorbed only four dot balls on a pitch where ticking over was the order of the day.Lancashire win the match-upsAll three of Lancashire’s main spinners have significantly better records against right-handers than left-handers, and Rawlins, the only leftie in Sussex’s top six, has a reputation as a destructive player of spin. With that in mind, it was vital for Vilas that he managed to get Rawlins out early which would expose Sussex’s right-handers to the ball turning away from them.Luke Wood’s opening over saw both Wright and Phil Salt hit boundaries, but when a fired-up Saqib Mahmood dismissed Salt with his first ball, miscuing a pull to mid-on, it meant an early entry for Rawlins at No. 3. He played skittishly, taking on the short ball without finding the middle and failing to hit his characteristic early boundary to settle his nerves.Lancashire rallied in the field, barking encouragement and sensing an opportunity as Wood steamed in for his third over with the new ball; he pegged back Rawlins’ off stump with a yorker, and wheeled away in delight, knowing full well that he had set things up perfectly for a middle-over spin fest.Spin seals itSure enough, Vilas turned to Hartley and Parkinson as soon as the fielding restrictions were lifted, and Hartley – a tall left-arm spinner in his breakthrough season – accounted for Bopara, who was trapped lbw on the sweep. With Sussex finding it hard to rotate the strike with Lancashire in tight to save singles, David Wiese broke the shackles when Livingstone arrived to bowl his liquorice allsorts, nailing a slog-sweep for six into a van. But two balls later he skied a catch to Rob Jones, running in from long-on, and Livingstone got the key wicket of Wright in similar fashion, as his loose drive picked out long-off. At 77 for 5 at the start of the 15th over, Sussex had no choice but to attack, and the result was three wickets in four balls for Parkinson who proved too good for the lower order. Mills belted a sublime straight six over long-on with the game effectively over, and became the only Sussex batsman other than Wright to reach double figures before he was stumped to give Livingstone his fourth and seal Lancashire’s semi-final spot.