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Australia’s all-time leading wicket taker joins the cause as the disaster continues to ravage large parts of the country

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2020Australia’s all-time leading wicket-taker Shane Warne has announced that he would be auctioning off his baggy green cap, which he wore throughout his 145-match Test career, to raise funds for the bushfire appeal as the disaster continues to ravage large parts of the country.According to the auction site, all funds raised by this effort will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. The item would also contain an autographed certificate of authenticity from Warne. Australia is in the midst of one of its worst-ever bushfire seasons which has led to loss of life and property, and a number of cricketers, including Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell, have come forward to support the cause. The Australia team had also auctioned off signed shirts from the Boxing Day Test and helped raised over AUD$40,000. Earlier, Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts had also said that he was open to the idea of staging a charity match to raise funds for the bushfire appeal, adding that the ODIs between Australia and New Zealand in March will be used to raise money.

Ireland will begin their first overseas Test match on St Patrick’s Day – March 17 – when they take on Afghanistan in India

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2018Ireland will begin their first overseas Test match on St Patrick’s Day – March 17 – when they take on Afghanistan next year, in what will be a second Test outing for both of the game’s newest senior nations.The Test will be the culmination of a nine-match itinerary, which will also include three T20Is on February 23, 24 and 26, and five ODIs on March 2, 4, 7, 9 and 12 – all in the northern India city of Dehradun, Afghanistan’s home from home.Both teams made their Test debuts in 2018, with Ireland taking on Pakistan in Malahide in May, before Afghanistan played India at Bangalore in June.”Afghanistan are a quality side with world-class players – it’ll be a great challenge in their ‘home’ conditions,” said the Ireland batsman, Andrew Balbirnie.”The Afghanistan series is a major step forward for Irish cricket as the tour is the first one as a Full Member.””It will no doubt be a test for the entire squad – taking on Afghanistan in subcontinent conditions will require a level of adjustment by both our batting and bowling units.For Afghanistan, the limited-overs leg of the tour will form part of their preparations for next year’s World Cup – a tournament for which they qualified in remarkable circumstances in Zimbabwe last year.Ireland missed out on that showpiece event, but their highlight of 2018 promises to be a maiden Test match against England at Lord’s in July, a four-day affair that will form part of their hosts’ preparations for the Ashes which get underway on August 1.”The level and regularity of top-quality international cricket in 2019 will be exciting for Irish cricket fans,” said Balbirnie.”The year will start with this Afghanistan series, and will involve a busy home schedule of matches involving multiple Full Member nations – starting with an ODI against England at Malahide in May.”There’s also the Lord’s Test against England in July, and the year will end with the T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in October.”

The left-arm spinner took six-fors in both innings to consign West Indies A to a heavy defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2017
ScorecardWICB Media/Athelstan Bellamy

Left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara ripped through the West Indies A line-up, with six-fors in both innings, to seal a 280-run win for Sri Lanka A in the second unofficial Test in Jamaica. The win helped Sri Lanka A bounce back from an innings defeat in the first match to level the series, with the third match set to start from October 26.Set a fourth-innings target of 425 on the third day, West Indies A were bowled out for 144 in 54 overs. Pushpakumara first prised out the top order, dismissing opener John Campbell, captain Shamarh Brooks and middle-order batsman Vishaul Singh for single-digit scores to leave them at 27 for 3, before returning to wipe out the lower order. That West Indies A scored 144 from a position of 80 for 7 was largely due to the lower-order partnerships led by Sunil Ambris (41).West Indies A’s first innings had followed a similar route against Pushpakumara, with the frontline batting order quickly reduced to 69 for 7. On that occasion Rahkeem Cornwall’s 46 carried West Indies A past 100 before Sri Lanka A bowled them out to take a first-innings lead of 157. Pushpakumara had returns of 6 for 52 in the first innings, and followed it up with 6 for 46 in the second.Sri Lanka A were not without a few batting stutters of their own, either. They had lost their openers by the 11th over of the first innings after electing to bat first, but Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka added a steadying 92 for the third wicket. Once the partnership ended, however, there was another slump and Sri Lanka A were struggling at 137 for 5 before they were boosted by Dasun Shanaka’s unbeaten 102. Shanaka added 105 with Roshen Silva for the sixth wicket and then took the lead with the lower order to help Sri Lanka along to 294. His 102 came off 108 deliveries and was his fifth first-class ton.Silva and Shanaka put together another crucial partnership in Sri Lanka’s second innings, adding 106 for the sixth wicket after the side had stumbled to 86 for 5. Silva made 86 off 159 deliveries, while Shanaka scored 60 off 85 deliveries, before an unbeaten 50 off 62 balls from Wanidu Hasaranga helped Sri Lanka put up 267 for 9 and stretch their overall lead to 424.

The excitement gathering around Nottinghamshire’s trip to Twenty20 finals day on Saturday is being tempered somewhat by the growing likelihood that they will playing their four-day cricket in Division Two next season

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge16-Aug-2016
ScorecardBrad Wheal took a career-best 6 for 51•Camerasport/Getty Images

The excitement gathering around Nottinghamshire’s trip to Twenty20 finals day on Saturday is being tempered somewhat by the growing likelihood that they will playing their four-day cricket in Division Two next season after the fleeting vision of a highly unlikely victory proved to be a mirage.It may be a destination that Hampshire will also have to contemplate but this victory, only their second of the season, in which Brad Wheal, the 19-year-old pace bowler, claimed his maiden five-wicket haul gives them at least a chance to stay up. Surrey’s victory over Warwickshire does not help them in that respect but Warwickshire themselves as well as Durham suddenly look more vulnerable than before.Nottinghamshire, whose batting has been brittle for much of the season, reached 243 for 3 after Steven Mullaney and Brendan Taylor put on 162 for the fourth wicket, which made a record fourth-innings target at least theoretically possible.But the loss of Mullaney and Samit Patel to consecutive balls from Wheal sparked a collapse that saw five wickets fall for 17 runs in the space of 49 balls, after which effectively only Imran Tahir and Harry Gurney stood between Hampshire and victory, neither of whom was ever likely to present a lasting impediment.Will Smith, the Hampshire captain and former Nottinghamshire batsman, hailed what he hopes will be a turning point in the club’s fortunes.”While Mullaney and Taylor were going well there was even a slight chance they could push for a win but on day four things can happen very quickly and credit to Mason Crane and Brad Wheal that they did, with quality spin and fast bowling,” he said. “But everyone in the attack bowled exceptionally well to set things up.”We knew too with the old ball as we had it, soft and pretty scuffed up, reversing a little bit and skidding through, that it would be hard for anyone coming in. There was always a sense that if we got one wicket we could get a few.

Russell available for Blast Finals Day

West Indies allrounder Andre Russell is available for Nottinghamshsire on NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day, leaving the county with a choice of which two players to field between Russell, Dan Christian and Imran Tahir.
Russell had a four-match stint with Notts in the group stages and coach Mick Newell said: “It’s too good an opportunity to miss.”
Notts had to wait to see if Russell was available because West Indies have two T20 internationals against India in Florida the following week.

“It has been a hard season with the tragic passing away of Hamza Ali and what’s happened to Michael Carberry, plus all the injuries to the bowlers, but there is a sense that we are getting some momentum at the right time and we have to take positives from last year, getting three wins in the last four games or whatever it was, and believe that we can still do it.”Chasing 468 to win, which required them to exceed the county record for a successful fourth-innings run chase, Nottinghamshire they began the final day at 42 for 2 thinking only about survival, yet after Hampshire managed to prise out only one wicket in the morning session, Mullaney and Taylor began to enjoy a sense of gathering impetus in their fourth wicket partnership.Although Taylor, who has been out of form much of the season, was hardly fluent, with Mullaney very much the opposite, readily picking out the balls he could hit and usually despatching them efficiently, there was a moment with around 60 overs remaining that the required rate was only a touch more than five an over.Yet in the steaming heat the possibility vanished almost in the blink of an eye.Wheal, who had accounted for Michael Lumb in the morning session as the former England batsman drove loosely outside off stump, surprised Mullaney with a delivery that climbed off a length, the ball looping into the air off the leading edge, to which Gareth Berg responded by running in from mid-off to take a good diving catch.Then Smith’s one-wicket-brings-another theory paid off as Samit Patel fell first ball, caught behind down the leg side. Crane, the legspinner and another 19-year-old, had Taylor caught low down at slip and as tea was taken Nottinghamshire’s comfortable position had gone, 245 for 3 rapidly transformed to 259 for 6.Two balls after tea, Crane claimed his third of the innings as Luke Wood flicked a ball off his hips straight to Ryan McLaren at leg slip and when Wheal thudded one skiddily into Jake Balls pads there was no way back. In the event, Tahir survived as Chris Read shouldered arms to another delivery that kept low and Gurney lasted three balls before his off stump was flattened.Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, was typically blunt in his assessment, with his side now 30 points adrift of seventh-placed Durham, who have a game in hand.”If we keep playing as poorly as that we will get what we deserve,” he said.”To say we might have been distracted by Saturday would be an easy cop-out. The truth is that this is just the continuation of some pretty ordinary four-day form, we haven’t suddenly produced a poor performance out of nowhere. And one fifty and one hundred from the top six on a pretty flat wicket is pretty ordinary.”It was a game neither side could afford to lose and by doing so we have put ourselves under a lot of pressure in the last four matches.”Stuart Broad is expected to be available for at least a couple of Nottinghamshire’s remaining matches, but Yorkshire, Durham and Somerset away, with Championship leaders Middlesex the only side still to come to Trent Bridge, look daunting fixtures.Hampshire, with Somerset and Surrey away, Yorkshire and Durham at home, hardly face an easy run-in and there is still a gap to close. Yet, given the chance, Nottinghamshire would certainly swap.

Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu said Lasith Malinga’s lack of penetration, and the bowlers’ failure to execute plans has paved their path to decline, though the plans themselves remain robust

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo23-Jul-2015Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu said Lasith Malinga’s lack of penetration, and the bowlers’ failure to execute plans has paved their path to decline, though the plans themselves remain robust.Sri Lanka had run hot in the first six months of 2014, winning all of their limited-overs tournaments, including an Asia Cup, a World T20 and an ODI series in England. However, they have been much poorer since January this year, losing bilateral series against New Zealand and now Pakistan, in addition to losing a quarter-final at the World Cup.

‘Shehzad played exceptionally’ – Azhar

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali lauded the consistency of his batsmen, as they chased down 252 with ease, to win their first ODI series in Sri Lanka since 2006. Pakistan’s top order has made runs all through the series. On Wednesday, Ahmed Shehzad hit 95 and Mohammad Hafeez scored 70.
“Shehzad played exceptionally,” Azhar said. “He played very positively and put the bad balls away. When Hafeez came, he played a crucial knock as they were putting a lot of pressure on us. He played like a senior player would play. We had a 100-run stand between them.”
Pakistan’s batsmen have also scored quickly throughout the series, notching run rates higher than six in each of the last two innings. “Once you have confidence that all the batsmen are in good form, you suddenly have a leverage to play fluently and take a few risks as well.”
The victory had been set up by Pakistan’s bowling, which has consistently been menacing through the tour. “When we got wickets we knew they lack a little bit of experience after Mathews – they didn’t have a lot of in form batsmen,” Azhar said. “When the wickets did come we knew that we can keep them to about 250 or 260.”

The team’s strategy has been brought into question through their limited-overs forays in 2015, as they have persisted with a substantial number of allrounders instead of fielding specialist bowlers. In this series, Pakistan’s bowlers have claimed 33 wickets to the Sri Lanka attack’s 15. Malinga, meanwhile, averages 37.50 this year.”I don’t think there’s a hell of a lot of issues with our planning and what we want to do with the ball,” Atapattu said. “Executing under pressure is something that concerns us. Plus we have played on good wickets. We’ve played on really good tracks starting in January this year when we started playing New Zealand in New Zealand.”We got six wickets in Kandy, but we haven’t got the wickets quite regularly as you would expect from Lasith Malinga. That’s something that we have missed. That’s one of the reasons we’ve lost the series.”Sri Lanka hit 252 for 9 batting first in the fourth ODI, but the ease with which Pakistan chased this total down suggested the target was at least 20 runs light. Atapattu said the absence of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara had left a considerable void in the side, but urged the young batsmen to begin converting their chances.”A lot of the batsmen getting starts and not going on to get a big score on basically flat wickets is disappointing. Most of them got starts and we needed a big one off one of them to get a big score or chase a big score. We got one when Kusal Perera got a 50 off 17 balls in Kandy. We haven’t had that frequently, and that is something people have to be responsible at the top of the order.”The exit of the two senior players has not just impacted the team’s batting, Atapattu said. “Missing two knowledgeable experienced players like that is going to be a bit difficult at the start, but life goes on. The young players have to take responsibility. Their capabilities and their thinking only surfaces when players like Mahela and Sanga leave. It’s a learning curve in terms of tactics and so on, but they are the ones who have to take Sri Lankan cricket forward. “Fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep bowled only 2.2 overs on Wednesday, before leaving the field with a hamstring complaint. He will be assessed before the team can decides on whether to draft another player into the squad, Atapattu said.

Hiken Shah’s third century in Ranji Trophy in as many games has helped Mumbai set Bengal a stiff target at the Brabourne Stadium

The Report by Siddhartha Talya at Brabourne Stadium03-Dec-2012
Scorecard
During a Ranji season in which Ravindra Jadeja has hit the headlines with another triple-century, Jiwanjot Singh has had a dream debut and a couple of players on the fringes of the Indian Test side have drawn the most interest, Hiken Shah has quietly gone about developing an insatiable appetite for runs. His nought in the first innings was a striking aberration in a prolific season, and his century today, which helped Mumbai set Bengal a stiff target, was his third in as many games.Mumbai gave themselves a good shot at a first outright win this season, declaring more than an hour before stumps with a whole day to play. The narrow gap in points between themselves and six other teams in their group, and a winless tournament thus far, has infused their campaign with some urgency, prompting them to declare instead of batting out and collecting three points. Bengal are desperate for a win themselves, after having lost two, and it’ll be interesting to see if they press for victory at the risk of forsaking a point should they lose.Manoj Tiwary, the Bengal captain, said it was important the openers Rohan Banerjee and Arindam Das continue to bat positively on the third morning, as they had done in the final hour when they took their team to 47 without loss at stumps. “These guys are playing well, [taking advantage of] loose balls,” Tiwary said. “The wicket has eased out and if we continue the good start till lunch, we can see that their guys can be defensive in the field as well. And if I step out onto the field then, even I can take that decision on what to do.”Mumbai began the day with a lead of 102 and they initially progressed cautiously, as the Bengal seamers probed them often, beating the edge, with the ball nipping off the pitch. It didn’t do much when Wasim Jaffer shouldered arms to Shami Ahmed early in the day, however, and the ball just clipped the bails. His opening partner Kaustubh Pawar was well set but fell when part-time offspinner Abhishek Jhunjhunwala was introduced into the attack, driving him straight to midwicket. Rohit Sharma continued to have a poor game with the bat, failing to capitalise on a reprieve at slip first ball to be bowled, at the stroke of lunch, through the gate while reaching out to defend an incoming delivery from Laxmi Shukla.Shah was well set by then, and Tiwary’s persistence with Jhunjhunwala, with a spread-out field that included five fielders in the deep, made the batsman’s job much easier. He went on to add 158 runs with Abhishek Nayar, and in quick time, thus setting the platform for a formidable lead, but he had a couple of close shaves along the way. There was an edge between the keeper and slip and a big appeal for lbw from Shukla that was turned down, prompting a discussion between Tiwary and the umpire.Shah, who said he devoted some time to doing yoga during the off-season to prepare himself mentally, was harsh on anything short outside off and there was plenty of that from Jhunjhunwala, who was repeatedly cut through point. The first ball after lunch was crashed through extra cover, and he brought up his half-century by slashing seamer Veer Pratap Singh past point. Singles were readily available for Shah and Nayar with a defensive field, and they still managed to find the boundary to score at over four an over before tea, adding 119 in that wicketless session.Both scored off Veer Pratap, down the ground and through the off side, and stepped up further when they began to sweep and reverse sweep Jhunjhunwala. Nayar reached his half-century with a flat six over square leg before tea, and Hiken did an AB de Villiers to reach his fifth first-class ton shortly after the break, reverse-paddling Jhunjhunwala for a boundary behind point. In a spell that yielded 92 in 14 runs, Jhunjhunwala was smacked over midwicket for another four by Hiken before the batsman finally fell for 118. His scores this domestic season before this knock, across all cricket, were 105, 105, 107, 92, 140, 156, and 0.Mumbai wicketkeeper Aditya Tare walked in and smacked the ball around for 19 runs, and his team declared immediately after he holed out. The Bengal openers had been separated in the first innings by a run-out. They were solid on the third evening, enduring some nervous moments when the odd ball kept low or beat the bat, but were largely secure. Bengal have depth in their batting and the final day promises to be a test of their determination to revive a disappointing run wrought by several missed opportunities.

A round-up of the fourth day’s play from the Ranji Trophy Plate semi-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2011On a closely-fought and tense final day in Nagpur, Hyderabad qualified for the knockouts based on a better run-rate against hosts Vidarbha. Hyderabad began the day in a good position, at 216 for 3, but both teams would have entertained hopes of going through. The determination of Hyderabad’s batsmen won out in the end, and they batted out the day. Though they didn’t gain a first-innings lead, they also didn’t get bowled out and their score of 486 for 8 in 166 overs came at a rate of 2.92 an over, marginally more than Vidarbha’s 2.77 for their 531 in 191.1 overs.The stars for Hyderabad on the final day came from their middle and lower order. Arjun Yadav, unbeaten on 91 overnight, progressed to make 128 and his partner Bavanaka Sandeep finished with 78. The pair fell within 47 runs of each other, and at 297 for 5, Vidarbha had the upper hand and were in with a chance of bowling out Hyderabad. But the batsmen fought on.Syed Qadri contributed 99 and was run out, agonisingly, short of a century. In the company of wicketkeeper Ibrahim Khaleel, he added 130 for the sixth wicket and played a critical role in steering Hyderabad towards safety. The pair went about their work slowly, however, and things got difficult for Hyderabad when they lost Qadri, Khaleel and Mohammed Khader in quick succession. 427 for 5 became 449 for 8, and with more than five overs still left in the day, Vidarbha had regained control. But, on a day of twists and turns, Hyderabad prevailed. Batting at No.8, Pagadala Naidu made a quickfire, unbeaten 29, off 28 balls, and added an unbeaten 37 off 32 balls with No.10 Lalith Mohan, who made 17 in 19. The duo took Hyderabad to the close, at a rate superior to that of their opponents, and in to the knockouts.Maharashtra booked their place in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, qualifying to the knockout phase based on a first-innings lead against Himachal Pradesh in Pune. Having bowled out HP for 236 on the third day and stretched the lead to 215, Maharashtra went about continuing their dominance in the contest and batted out the final day.HP’s only hope would have been to trigger a dramatic collapse that would give them an outside chance of a win, but that didn’t happen. The opening combination of Harshad Khadiwale and Chirag Khurana led the way for Maharashtra, adding 166. Khadiwale’s had a quiet season thus far and his first century this Ranji Trophy should give him plenty of confidence heading into the knockouts. The only consolation for HP on the final day was a four-wicket haul for offspinner Gurvinder Singh. Maharashtra finished with 288 for 5 and sealed their place in the top eight.

Mumbai middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane is the only uncapped player to be included in India’s 30-member World Cup longlist.

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2010Mumbai middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane is the only uncapped player to be included in India’s 30-member preliminary World Cup squad. Cheteshwar Pujara, who made a promising half-century on Test debut against Australia, has also been picked, as have opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, legspinner Piyush Chawla and allrounder Yusuf Pathan. There was, however, no place for Yusuf’s brother Irfan, who has missed the initial stages of the Ranji Trophy with an injury.The list, which will be trimmed to 15 players by January 19, also included three wicketkeepers in addition to MS Dhoni – Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and Wriddhiman Saha. Karthik used to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper as a back-up for Dhoni, but he was left out of the recent one-day series against New Zealand, where Saha took over for the first three matches. Parthiv was handed a couple of games as well – when Saha left early as a part of the Test squad for South Africa – and scored two half-centuries, making use of his first chance at the highest level in six years.Yusuf forced his way back into the reckoning when he won the fourth one-dayer against New Zealand with a brutal 123 off 96 balls after India were reduced to 188 for 5 chasing 316. Ravindra Jadeja, who was the preferred all-round option for the majority of last season was also included in the squad. Irfan’s absence from the list, however, highlighted just how far he has fallen in the eyes of India’s selectors.While the one-day side has looked settled in recent times, Dhoni has said a few places are still up for grabs, including one for a fast bowler and another for either an allrounder or a big-hitting lower-order batsman. India have not yet selected their side for the one-day series against South Africa, and with the first game to be played on January 12, the make-up of that squad should be an indication of the composition of the final 15 for the World Cup.Kris Srikkanth, chairman of the selection committee, said it was a team without surprises and expected a strong performance in home conditions. “This is a probables team and everyone selects himself,” Srikkanth said. “There is one more month to go to select the final team and we will sit down and think calmly before finalising the team. They have been doing well in one-day cricket. The World Cup is happening in the subcontinent and I am confident that the team will do well.”Preliminary squad: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Saurabh Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Cheteshwar Pujara, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar

Australia’s cricketers have expressed reservations over the ICC’s recently introduced Umpire Decision Review System

Alex Brown22-Dec-2009Australia’s cricketers have expressed reservations over the ICC’s recently introduced Umpire Decision Review System and proposed day-night Tests. Although 87% of state and international players surveyed by the Australian Cricketers’ Association said they were in favour of the UDRS, 92% said they wanted to see better technology used to assist umpires in the decision making process.The UDRS proved a major talking point throughout the recently completed Frank Worrell Trophy series in Australia – right up until the final dismissal of Kemar Roach in Perth – and it has polarised opinion within the Australian playing ranks. Precisely half of the surveyed Cricket Australia contracted players described the system as either successful or very successful, with 43 % unsure and seven % labelling it unsuccessful.”Players would like to see the technology have the ability to definitively determine whether or not a batsman is out,” Paul Marsh, the ACA chief executive, told Cricinfo. “Whilst players are supportive of the concept of using technology, they are yet to be convinced of the effectiveness of the current technology being used.”It’s human nature to expect technological tools to be foolproof and there’s no doubt the new system is experiencing some teething problems. Now that the game has gone so far down the path of allowing technology to assist in on field decision making, the players would like to see the game invest in the technology being used so it’s as good as it can be.”A week after David Morgan, the ICC chairman, suggested twilight Tests would be staged within the next two years, the ACA survey found 57% of state and international players were opposed to the concept, up substantially from the previous year. Almost 30% of CA contracted players said they would be amenable to day-night Tests if an appropriate ball was developed, with another 21% willing to consent only for matches against minor Test playing nations. But with the majority against the concept, the ICC and CA could be facing a tough sell.”The game does need to find an appropriate balance between the commercial and cricketing considerations,” Marsh said. “Many players don’t want to entertain day-night Test cricket because of the traditions of the game and the fundamental changes required. Others are more open-minded to it, however this is only on the proviso that the game isn’t compromised by doing so.”The most significant issue is whether or not a ball can be developed that can be used at night time. If an appropriate solution can be found I’m confident players and the ACA will be supportive of introducing day-night Test cricket. However, it does concern us that in some quarters there is talk of compromising the quality of the ball in order to introduce day-night Test cricket.”Meanwhile, the majority of surveyed Australian state and international players said they harboured some degree of concern over the World Anti-Doping Agency’s controversial “whereabouts” clause, which was rejected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India earlier this year. Fifty percent of players said they were worried about the divulging of personal information to the drug testers, with another 13% unsure.”Australian players wholeheartedly support the fight against drugs in sport and accept the need for an anti-doping policy,” Marsh said. “The whereabouts requirements under the new WADA code are, however, onerous and have created concerns for players around the world.”Having to advise the drug testing authorities as to your whereabouts for an hour a day, three months in advance isn’t an easy task and we have contended that international cricketers are accessible enough for nearly all of the year given their current playing and training commitments. The ACA and players have, however, taken a pragmatic approach to this issue and will comply with the code in the interests of the overall fight against drugs in sport.”

كرر فريق تشيلسي فوزه على خصمه فريق توتنهام، في مباراتهما مساء اليوم ببطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

واستضاف ملعب ستامفورد بريدج مباراة الفريقين في قمة منافسات الجولة الثالثة والعشرين، حيث فاز تشيلسي بهدفين دون رد. أهداف مباراة تشيلسي وتوتنهام

وكان الشوط الأول من المباراة قد انتهى بالتعادل السلبي بين الفريقين، ولكن تشيلسي نجح في التقدم سريعًا مع بداية الشوط الثاني، وتحديدًا في الدقيقة 47.

وتمكن المغربي حكيم زياش من تسجيل هدف تشيلسي الأول بعد تسديدة أكثر من رائعة، حيث سدد الكرة بباطن قدمه اليسرى من على حدود منطقة الجزاء، وسكنت الكرة أعلى يمين مرمى هوجو لوريس.

ولم يحتاج تشيلسي سوى 8 دقائق حتى تمكن تياجو سيلفا من تسجيل الهدف الثاني، والذي جاء بدايته من ركلة حرة نفذها ماسون مونت، حيث سدد الكرة تجاه منطقة الجزاء، واستقبلها تياجو سيلفا الذي سددها برأسه وسكنت أسفل يسار المرمى.

وشهدت المباراة تألق حارس تشيلسي كيبا، والذي برع في التصدي لفرصة خطيرة من هاري كين في الدقيقة 86، حيث سدد الإنجليزي الكرة برأسه لكن أبعدها حارس البلوز عن مرماه.

وكان الفريقان قد تلاقا في الفترة الماضية، في مباراتي نصف نهائي كأس كاراباو، حيث فاز تشيلسي بهدفين دون رد في مباراة الذهاب، ثم بهدف نظيف في الإياب وتأهل إلى النهائي لملاقاة ليفربول.

بتلك النتيجة، ارتفع رصيد تشيلسي إلى 47 نقطة في المركز الثالث، بينما تجمد رصيد توتنهام عند 36 نقطة في المركز السابع ولديه ثلاث مباريات مؤجلة.