Durham’s run of eight wins in nine ended in spectacular fashion as Lancashire homed in on a last eight place

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2018
ScorecardTHE brilliant form of opener Alex Davies helped Lancashire into the Vitality Blast quarter-finals, joining a Durham side whose remarkable run ended disastrously.After eight wins in their last nine games, they crashed to 4 for 4 in reply to 143 for six and finally struggled to 78 all out in 15.2 overs. Their previous lowest 20-over total was 93 against Kent at Canterbury in a 2009 quarter-final.Durham need to avoid defeat in their final group game at home to Derbyshire on Friday to be certain of a home tie in the quarter-finals. Lancashire, who finish at Edgbaston on Wednesday, are a point behind them.They also made a troubled start after being put in under heavy skies following rain at Chester-le-Street. But they recovered from 6 for 2 through Davies’s sixth half-century from 12 innings.His 64 from 62 balls contained only six fours, but his bustling style kept the score ticking over while holding things together before he fell to the last ball of the innings.Liam Trevaskis, who took three wickets when Lancashire needed only six runs off the final over against Durham at Old Trafford, was absent ill and Durham relied on seam until leg-spinner Ben Whitehad bowled two tidy overs late in the innings.Only two came off Chris Rushworth’s opening over then Karl Brown drove at Mark Wood’s second ball and lost his off stump. Four balls later a wild heave across the line resulted in Aaron Lilley edging behind and only 14 came from the first four overs.Davies and Dane Vilas cut loose with 27 off the next two, only for Vilas to drive well wide of off stump at Nathan Rimmington’s first ball and edge a second catch to Stuart Poynter.The same combination accounted for Jordan Clark after a 20-minute rain break and at the halfway stage Lancashire were 63 for four.Steven Croft contributed 30 to a stand of 47 before skying Rimmington to short fine leg and the Australian finished with four for 28 when Davies fell in identical fashion to Vilas.James Faulkner followed his unbeaten 18 by swinging one away to have Durham skipper Tom Latham caught behind third ball. Will Smith edged a drive two overs later and Graham Clark went the same way against Toby Lester.Paul Collingwood drove Lester straight to short extra cover, but rather than go for the jugular Lancashire rested Faulkner with figures of 2-1-3-2 and Durham briefly got into the game with 24 off two overs from Danny Lamb.But after the two wicketkeepers, Poynter and Ryan Davies, had put on 40 Matt Parkinson accepted a return catch off his first ball to remove Poynter. Although Davies swept him for six on his way to the top score of 27, the leg-spinner finished with three for 19 and 19-year-old Afghan Zahir Khan wrapped it up with two for eight.

Gary Ballance scored Yorkshire’s first Championship hundred since June to ease hopes of passing the follow-on target at Trent Bridge

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge05-Sep-20181:45

Drama at Taunton as Somerset and Lancashire tie

ScorecardSo much has gone wrong for Yorkshire this summer that to some of their followers, possibly even those in the committee room, could be excused for thinking that their luck is simply out, that relegation from Division One is somehow a preordained fate. The lifeline to which the players may cling is that it is in their hands.A well-worn cliché? Of course – but one that, in this instance, applies perfectly. Next to bottom on 94 points from 10 games going into this match, their last three fixtures are against Lancashire, Hampshire and Worcestershire, all of whom began this round feeling similarly fearful. Win any of those, they will have told themselves in the Yorkshire dressing room, and the points are almost worth double.The news from Taunton and Worcester will have done nothing to ease their anxieties. Points for a draw here could be precious, although they may take some securing. Nottinghamshire, themselves not properly out of the woods, made the most of their opportunity against a makeshift Yorkshire attack on an essentially flat pitch, setting a target of 299 just to avoid the follow-on, a total Yorkshire’s brittle batting line-up has achieved only five times all season.In their favour, Nottinghamshire are likewise without a full complement of bowlers. Jake Ball is out for the remainder of the season and Luke Fletcher, their most successful so far, has been on duty in the radio commentary booth rather than on the field – a sideline in which he shows a lot of promise, incidentally – although his absence is expected only to be temporary.Yorkshire made a dreadful start, nonetheless, when Adam Lyth edged the last ball of Mark Footitt’s opening over to gully, where Luke Wood held a fine catch. Footitt is playing his first match for Nottinghamshire on this ground for 11 years, so it will have felt almost like a debut wicket.At least better was to follow for the visiting team. Jeet Raval, the New Zealander who has taken over from his compatriot Kane Williamson as overseas player, had the misfortune to run into a particularly good ball from the left-arm of Harry Gurney, which took out his middle and off stumps, but Harry Brook played nicely for his 47 before Gary Ballance, whose patchy form this season has been in keeping with most of his team-mates, responded to the crisis with a timely century.Brook was out a little tamely, chipping straight to midwicket soon after Samit Patel had begun a 22-over unbroken stint at the pavilion end, but after their alliance had added 78 for the third wicket, Ballance found another solid and adaptable partner in Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who batted with valuable restraint to be unbeaten at the close.Ballance’s century is the first by any Yorkshire batsman since his own against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl in June, which is a telling statistic. Kohler-Cadmore could not get in the side at the beginning of the season but has an opportunity now, his half-century here following on from 81 against Somerset last week.Although there were a few deliveries early in his innings that unsettled him, Ballance eventually began to look comfortable. He scored 76 of his runs in boundaries, often worked off his legs but with a few punchy drives through the off side too.He fell soon after completing his hundred, when Patel – the man of the day for Nottinghamshire – spun one across him to have him caught bat and pad at short leg. Earlier, Patel and Matt Milnes, who made a career-best 43, batted freely in an eighth-wicket stand of 90 that secured maximum batting points for Nottinghamshire for the first time this season.There is not too much in this pitch now but the first overs of the third day may be pivotal, as they often are. If Yorkshire can score another 41 runs to achieve their first objective, they will have a chance to make their second.

PCB chairman Ehsan Mani has said he will look into the issue of conflict of interest on a ‘case-by-case’ basis

Umar Farooq23-Oct-2018Dual roles held by national-team coaches Mickey Arthur and Azhar Mahmood have come under the spotlight, following recent cases of high-profile names having to give up roles in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Arthur, Pakistan’s head coach, and Azhar, the bowling coach, are both also coaches with Karachi Kings in the PSL, which has raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.Last month, the PCB removed chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq from the PSL player draft committee because of a potential conflict of interest since he was involved with a talent-hunt programme run by one of the tournament’s franchises, Lahore Qalandars. Tauseef Ahmed, who is also part of the national selection committee while also being Islamabad United’s spin coach, was also left out of the PSL draft committee.Ehsan Mani, the PCB’s new chairman, has said he will look into other cases of conflict of interest on a “case-by-case” basis.”That is certainly something I will look at,” Mani told ESPNcricinfo. “I know commitments have already been made and contracts have already been signed so you can’t enter and break them overnight. But if there is a conflict of interest that effects Pakistan cricket, of course I will get into it.”[The PCB removed Inzamam from the PSL draft-selection process because] that created a conflict of interest. If he is there with the franchise then he can’t be choosing the players and that made logical sense. In terms of him [Arthur] and others involved with PSL franchises we will look case by case on merit basis and will raise [the issue] with them and consult with people concerned.”ESPNcricinfo understands that Arthur has no vote in picking Pakistan’s squads, though the selectors take his inputs on board, but he does have a vote in selecting the final playing XI.In 2016, Arthur was already Karachi Kings’ head coach when he took over the Pakistan role shortly after Waqar Younis’ resignation.Arthur, with then PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, had negotiated a contract to allow both roles, foregoing his monthly PCB retainer during the duration of the PSL. When he renewed his contract as Pakistan coach until the 2019 World Cup, this agreement remained intact. Arthur has coached Karachi Kings in all three seasons of the PSL so far, and is set to do so again in the fourth edition in 2019.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in 2016, Mani had questioned the decision to allow him to continue in both roles.”I do not believe that the national coach should be involved with any domestic team,” he had said. “This creates a conflict of interest. Unfortunately it is also a reflection of the governance standards of the PCB.”Arthur has brushed away any suggestions that his dual roles could be a problem.”I see absolutely no conflict at all and in fact see it as a massive benefit because it allows me to see all the best young talent available,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo in 2016. “I certainly am professional enough not to in any way be biased in selections or opinions on any player because at he end of the day I am here to assist Pakistan cricket and make Pakistan cricket the best and I am not going to jeopardize that in any way.”Other than cricket affairs, Mani has also removed Shakeel Sheikh from an advisory post created by the previous chairman Najam Sethi. Sheikh was the powerful former PCB governing board member representing the Islamabad region, and had taken on the role of advisor on domestic cricket and grounds upon the completion of his term last year. The role switch put him in a potential conflict of interest, and he was thought to be allotting a disproportionate number of matches to the Diamond Cricket Club ground in the Islamabad region.Sheikh was considered the most powerful non-cricketer individual running domestic cricket affairs. Mani has dissolved all the committees formed during Sethi’s tenure, citing conflict of interest as a major issue in all of them.

South Africa didn’t find any more answers to their batting woes in the final group game, but they found a relatively big win to close their tournament

The Report by Varun Shetty19-Nov-2018It was the same old story for Bangladesh as their bowlers strangled South Africa and restricted them to 109, but their batting couldn’t stretch the score past 80 for the fourth time this tournament. Thirty runs was a relatively huge win for South Africa, who didn’t leave the tournament with any more answers about their struggles with the bat than they had before the game began.

South Africa’s Dane van Niekerk on…

The atmosphere in St Lucia on Sunday: “I think it was brilliant. And I heard the game [between West Indies and England] was sold out. To get in there and see the atmosphere… 10,000 really excited fans, each and every person has rhythm, it’s quite exciting to see. The women’s game deserves a fan base like that. I hope the whole world saw how much fun the fans had tonight, and all credit to two very good sides that put up a very good show for them.”
On having a standalone Women’s World T20: “I think we need to create our own brand. As women cricketers, we can’t shy behind the men anymore because I think that’s where people make the mistake of comparing women’s cricket to men’s cricket. And our skill is just as good in our own right. So we need to shy away from being labelled, I guess, the same as the men, because I think that’s when people get their expectations all mixed up. I think it’s the way to go and hopefully it will stay.”

South Africa left out Laura Wolvaardt in favour of Sune Luus, which meant Dane van Niekerk was pushed up to a more natural role as opener. She joined Lizelle Lee who had her best outing of the tournament, hitting three fours as the new opening pair struck at more than eight per over. That was until she called for a single at short-third man and was run out sliding the back of the bat into the floor with a dive. This meant that despite having crossed the crease, the curve of the bat meant it wasn’t grounded. It was somewhat unfortunate, but it was yet another run-out for South Africa in a tournament marked by them. This was further emphasised later on with Mignon du Preez’s run-out in the 18th over, which was purely her own doing and cost South Africa runs at the end of the innings.In the middle, they were kept quiet by a very disciplined spin attack that pulled Bangladesh back from a Powerplay in which they had conceded 48. Van Niekerk was forced into a shell, and Marizanne Kapp was stunningly caught at deep midwicket by Fargana Hoque, diving to her left. From there, a series of ordinary shots against straight balls translated into a massive collapse and slowdown. Niekerk, Luus, Chloe Tryon, and Masabata Klaas were all bowled with the ball sneaking between bat and pad. Salma Khatun and Khadija Kubra were often the bowlers inflicting such damage.Dane van Niekerk clobbers one into the leg side•Getty Images

Neither team had incentive as far as progressing in the tournament was concerned, but at the halfway stage, Bangladesh had opened up one prospect – if they had chased 110 down in about 13 overs, they would have finished above South Africa on the table and sealed direct qualification to the next edition of the tournament.But that was never in the plan, it turned out, as they prodded through another unproductive batting Powerplay, making 13 for 1 in the first six overs. The boundary shots, it seemed, was limited to the sweep, which meant they had to wait till the eighth over to pick up their first four. But even with a largely spin-heavy attack through the middle overs, South Africa didn’t face too much by way of aggression. Bangladesh seemed resigned to the fate that they didn’t have sufficient big-hitters in the squad and the required rate had seemed too steep for them before even the halfway mark. Hoque and Rumana Ahmed batted nearly eight overs for their fourth-wicket stand of 27. It was the most significant one of the innings, and the underlying theme of the chase.

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.”

Minhajul Abedin said the youngsters had underperformed since making their international debuts but added Mahedi Hasan was still on the radar

Mohammad Isam16-Dec-2018Poor form has held back some of Bangladesh’s young cricketers who, at the start of the year, were touted for big things. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that Afif Hossain, Zakir Hasan and, to a lesser extent, Mahedi Hasan had been disappointing in domestic and representative sides since making their T20I debuts in February this year.Afif is a left-handed opener who bowls useful offspin, once snaring Chris Gayle as part of a five-wicket haul on T20 debut. Zakir is also a left-handed batsman who keeps wickets and is also known for his fielding. Both Under-19s graduates have been billed as the next big stars emerging from Bangladesh but so far they have struggled to find a spot in the senior side regularly.Mahedi, an offspinner who is useful with the bat, had impressed in the 2017 BPL along with Afif and Zakir. All three were doing well in the Dhaka Premier League List-A competition when they were picked in the T20I side in place of some senior players who were injured at the time.”We had high hopes about Afif and Zakir but they have been quite disappointing, to be honest,” Minhajul told ESPNcricinfo. “They haven’t made use of their skill development as well as given game planning much thought. Afif and Zakir didn’t do well in domestic cricket or in the Emerging Teams Cup.”Afif made two first-class centuries immediately after his T20I debut but, for Bangladesh A, he scored only 64 runs in six innings against Sri Lanka A and Ireland A. He has averaged 16.90 in the current first-class season, before making just 20 runs in the two Emerging Teams Cup matches.ALSO READ: ‘As long as he is alive, Hope will play’ – BrathwaiteZakir averaged 28.92 in 13 innings for Bangladesh A, before making three fifties in seven first-class matches this season so far. He made 69 in one of his two Emerging Teams Cup appearances.By contrast, Mahedi has done very well in this season’s Bangladesh Cricket League first-class tournament, averaging 80.50 with bat and taking 16 wickets at 26.75. “He is not out of contention,” Minhajul said. “Mehidy Hasan Miraz is playing all three formats while Nayeem Hasan made a wonderful start to his Test career. We consider him [Nayeem] as Miraz’s backup but Mahedi is also one of the offspinners in our radar.”The Bangladesh team management have instead trusted Nazmul Islam, Ariful Haque and Abu Jayed in recent times, with the trio regularly picked in the senior side. Nazmul has played all 13 of Bangladesh’s T20Is this year while Jayed has made an impressive start to his Test career. Ariful meanwhile has made debuts in all formats this year.One thing in common among Nazmul, Jayed and Ariful, as well as Mohammad Mithun who made his Test debut this year, is the length of time they have spent in domestic cricket. Afif, Zakir and Mahedi need a few more seasons in domestic and A-team cricket before they can have enough experience for their individual skills to develop, and to find consistency.It answers a long-standing question in Bangladesh cricket: do they really need to give youth a chance at the top so quickly? Perhaps, given the evidence, it is more important to let these young cricketers succeed and fail in domestic cricket for a few years before being picked at the highest level.

Desmond Haynes reflects on the great cricketers in Barbados history, and wonders how they would have fared in T20

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-20192:59

How would Sobers have fared in T20?

To coincide with England’s arrival in Barbados for the first Test, ESPNcricinfo spoke to West Indies legend and Visit Barbados ambassador Desmond Haynes to reminisce about the great players who hailed from his home island. Last week we featured his greatest Barbados Test XI. Now we focus on the players of his era who could have excelled in the shortest format.“I have no doubt that a lot of players from my age and even before then would have loved T20 cricket. A lot of us used to play county cricket in England, and the B&H Cup was very popular with our guys because the shorter format allowed us to express the aggressiveness in our games. Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner … they would all have been outstanding in the format.And even now, West Indians do really well in T20. We’ve won the World T20 twice in three tournaments, including that unforgettable win over England in Kolkata in 2016, when another Barbados player, Carlos Brathwaite, hit four sixes in the final over.I’ll never forget that day, I was in a bar with some English guys and I was saying right to the final over, ‘we’ll beat you’. Okay, I was mostly saying it because they were so confident, but when he hit the first six, I said, ‘oh my goodness, the bowler [Ben Stokes] doesn’t look confident of stopping these runs …”The rest was history. And so too are the illustrious names below…Garry Sobers (93 Tests, 1 ODI)The greatest allround cricketer of all time, and a player who could have performed in any role, at any moment of the game. He hit Malcolm Nash for six sixes in an over in a county game at Swansea; he could bowl rapid left-arm swing or spin, he could field brilliantly too. The ultimate package.Franklyn Stephenson (0 Tests, 0 ODIs)He was so unlucky never to play for West Indies. With his tall action, and his high hands, he was an outstanding fast bowler, and his slower ball was ahead of its time. It used to loop out of his hand and was so hard to pick up. But he was a very fine allrounder as well. I remember rooming with him during his Barbados debut in St Kitts in 1982, and he went out and got a big hundred against the Leewards Islands.Desmond Haynes (116 Tests, 238 ODIs)I left myself out of the all-time Test XI, but I really do think I’d have enjoyed myself in the T20 team. I made a century against Australia on my ODI debut in 1978, and I remember the occasional one-day game for Middlesex used to boil down to a 20-over slog. I loved charging at the bowlers and trying to hit them over midwicket and back over their heads. It was fun!Garry Sobers and David Holford leave the field after the fourth day•PA Photos

Collis King (9 Tests, 18 ODIs)Collis was one of those guys who was really aggressive at the crease, but he had a really good technique. He wasn’t just about slogging it all about, he had a really good defence and was a complete batsman. But he just loved to hit it over the top, and never more brilliantly than in the World Cup final in 1979, when he even outscored Sir Viv! Amazingly he’s still playing at the age of 67. His knees may have gone but his eye has never gone!Cammie Smith (5 Tests, 0 ODIs)Cammie once made 300 in a club game in Barbados, and I think he got off the mark with a six in Test cricket. When he was playing in the 1960s, he was an opening batsman with a difference, a guy who wanted to score from the start, and though he only played five Tests, four of those were on the legendary 1960-61 tour of Australia, including his debut in the tied Test at Brisbane. He was a player that people just wanted to come and see.Philo Wallace (7 Tests, 33 ODIs)Woah, he would have been a super player! T20 cricket would just be right up his street. Philo is a non-nonsense guy, a big strong fella from the St James area, so I know him well. He believed in hitting the ball, and he was a very good hitter of the ball! I remember him demolishing England in a Test match in Antigua in 1998. Hitting over the top with the field up, he’d have loved that!David Holford (24 Tests, 0 ODIs)David was my captain when I first played for Barbados in 1977, and apart from being a fine legbreak and googly bowler, he was a very good leader. He read the game really well and was very knowledgeable. But he could also bat too even though it wasn’t the main part of his game. He put on a huge partnership with Garry Sobers at Lord’s in 1966, and is even on the honours board for his century.For the perfect holiday in Barbados, including how to get here, where to stay and what to do, go to VisitBarbados.org

The banned Pakistan batsman pleaded not guilty after being charged by the UK’s National Crime Agency of conspiring to bribe players in the PSL

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2019Nasir Jamshed, the banned Pakistan batsman, is set to face trial in the UK after being accused of bribing cricketers in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).Jamshed and two UK nationals, Yousef Anwar and Mohammed Ijaz, were arrested in February 2017 as part of an investigation into alleged spot-fixing by the UK’s National Crime Agency.Jamshed, Anwar and Ijaz have been charged with conspiring to bribe players in the PSL to underperform. The offences are said to have taken place between November 2016 and February 2017. Anwar and Ijaz have also been charged with conspiring to bribe players in the Bangladesh Premier League, in late 2016.On Monday, all three defendants entered not guilty pleas at Manchester Crown Court. Their trial is set to take place at the same court, starting December 2. All three were granted unconditional bail and told to attend a pre-trial review hearing on September 6.In August 2018, Jamshed was given a 10-year ban by the PCB after being found guilty of five charges under its anti-corruption code.Five other players also received sanctions from the PCB over corruption charges relating to the 2017 PSL spot-fixing scandal. Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were each banned for five years, while Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan received shorter suspensions.

BCCI asked to work out fresh and appropriate sanction for the former fast bowler, ‘preferably’ within three months

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Mar-20192:01

‘Life ban lifted feels like a lifeline for me’ – Sreesanth

In what has come as a relief to former India fast bowler Sreesanth, the Supreme Court has “set aside” the life ban imposed on him by the BCCI for his alleged role in the 2013 IPL corruption and spot-fixing scandal. The apex court of the country has asked the BCCI to “reconsider” and “revisit” the length of any fresh ban, “preferably” within three months.Under the BCCI’s new constitution (registered in August 2018), all the duties earlier discharged by the disciplinary committee, made up of BCCI officials, will be performed by the ombudsman going forward. Therefore, Sreesanth’s fate will now be decided by Justice (retd) DK Jain, recently appointed for the job.Welcoming the court judgement, Sreesanth said he was positive about returning to the game. “The Supreme Court has given me a lifeline and it has helped me restore my dignity,” he said after the court delivered the verdict on Friday. “It’s a great opportunity for me to get back on the field.”The case dates back to 2013, when the BCCI disciplinary committee had penalised several players including Sreesanth on the basis of an internal probe conducted by Ravi Sawani, then head of the board’s anti-corruption unit. Along with Sreesanth, then with Rajasthan Royals, two of his team-mates – Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila – also received life bans for their alleged role in the spot-fixing scandal.The BCCI action followed the arrest of Sreesanth and the others by Delhi Police for alleged promises made to bookmakers during the 2013 IPL. The charges against Sreesanth pertained to the match against Kings XI Punjab, played on May 9.’It’s a great opportunity for me to get back on the field’ – Sreesanth•PTI

In the Friday judgment, the court was told that in “exchange” for the sum of INR 10 lakh, Sreesanth had “agreed to concede 14 or more runs in the second over” of his spell. And in order to “confirm the fix”, he was “required to place a hand towel in his visible pocket while ensuring there was no such towel during the first over”.That information was extracted from a taped conversation between Jiju Janardhan, Sreesanth’s close friend and team-mate at an Ernakulam club, and alleged bookie Chandresh Patel by Delhi Police on May 6, 2013, three days before the match.Sawani, a former joint director of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, had prepared two reports – a preliminary one (based on the taped conversations mentioned above), and a supplementary one, which was prepared after questioning Sreesanth in person and taking a written undertaking from the player.Based on Sawani’s findings, the BCCI disciplinary panel, comprising then president N Srinivasan along with the two vice-presidents, Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah, held Sreesanth guilty of “match-fixing and non-reporting of offences” under the BCCI’ anti-corruption code.The Supreme Court was hearing the matter because earlier this year, Sreesanth had challenged last August’s order of the division bench of the Kerala High Court, which had negated a judgment issued by the same court asking the board to lift the ban. The two-judge division bench had ruled that the BCCI ban could not be overturned or reduced.Sreesanth’s lawyer Salman Khurshid, a former Indian minister of external affairs, plead his case in the latest instance, and said that the BCCI had not followed the laws of natural justice while determining the sanction, and pointed out that a life ban was “excessive and maximum”. Khurshid argued that Sreesanth should have been penalised with a five-year ban at the most for not reporting the approach made by bookies, an offence under the BCCI’s code of conduct.In its judgement, the court concluded that BCCI had “not violated” any principles of natural justice while determining the sanction. However, the court did point out an anomaly in the BCCI verdict, that the disciplinary committee did not “advert to the aggravating and mitigating factors” as listed under its code.”Without considering the relevant provisions of Anti-Corruption Code, the disciplinary committee has imposed a lifetime ban on the appellant [Sreesanth] which sanction cannot be held to be in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Code itself,” the court said in the 73-page judgement. “When range of ineligibility which is minimum five years, maximum life time ban is provided for, the discretion to which, either minimum or maximum or in between has to be exercised on relevant facts and circumstances.”The court also said that Sreesanth had conducted himself with dignity by not immediately challenging the original ban. Keeping that in mind, the court said the BCCI ought to review its original sanction on the player.”The order dated 13.09.2013 of the disciplinary committee only to the extent of imposing sanction of lifetime ban is set aside. The disciplinary committee of the BCCI may reconsider the quantum of punishment/sanction which may be imposed on the appellant as per Article 6 of the Anti-Corruption Code. The appellant may be given one opportunity to have his say on the question of quantum of punishment/sanction.”

After leaking 27 in his first two overs, the seamer gave away only ten runs in his last two while claiming the wickets of Rahul and Sarfaraz

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai06-Apr-20194:42

Harbhajan and Tahir created pressure on Kings XI – Fleming

Scott Kuggeleijn bashed a hard length and cranked it up to 140kph for Northern Districts in the Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition. It was his hit-the-deck bustle that prompted Chennai Super Kings’ coach Stephen Fleming to get him on board as the injured Lungi Ngidi’s replacement.On the eve of the game against Kings XI Punjab at Chepauk, Super Kings received another major blow, with their designated death-overs bowler Dwayne Bravo joining Ngidi on the injury list.Three days after arriving in Chennai and after two training sessions, Kuggeleijn was asked to cut off his pace and, instead, make the batsmen manufacture it in the end overs. Kings XI Punjab needed 46 off the last three overs with eight wickets in hand. On IPL debut, Kuggeleijn was tasked with bowling two of those overs in front of a vociferous Saturday crowd. This, after he had repeatedly missed his lengths and leaked 27 runs in his first two overs.Kuggeleijn turned the tables on Kings XI, giving away only ten runs in his last two overs while claiming the crucial wickets of the well-set KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, who had put on 110 off 93 balls for the third wicket.Having been punished for bowling too full in the early exchanges, Kuggeleijn dragged his length back and mixed it up with cutters that gripped on a tired Chepauk pitch. The slower balls tricked both Rahul and Sarfaraz into holing out in the outfield.”[Kuggeleijn] interests me because he had some pace and played international cricket,” Super Kings’ coach Fleming said at the post-match press conference. “The thing we can’t understand without working with him is his temperament. He has been here for only three days and to throw him in a big game in a home ground was a big ask and the first two overs was just that.”It was about being firm on what we wanted: hit the middle of the wicket and bowl your cutters which is what we saw a bit during scouting. We were strong with him during that [strategic] break. It was just very instructional so that to take away any doubt from him and just do that and he did that well. Once he had confidence that it was working, he was able to get into that. He was fractionally full [early on] and that can be nerves and the whole environment. I was a bit worried we were going to be putting him in a situation which was going to be tough and he responded well.Fleming believes that Kuggeleijn’s impressive IPL introduction could help fill in the void created by the injury-enforced absences of Bravo and Ngidi, and David Willey, who has withdrawn from the tournament citing personal reasons. Fleming, however, hinted that Willey could return at the fag end of the season.”[We] just have to back him [Kuggeleijn]. MS [Dhoni] is very supportive,” Fleming said. “It is a culture where if it [the plan] hadn’t worked, we are not scathing. We understand how tough it can be. When we bring someone in we look at what skills they bring and try to get the best out of them. Today was a massive step for him to be part of the group and to win a game. To be part of the last part of the game, to make a big contribution goes a long way in making you feel part of the group.”We are a little bit thin; there’s no doubt about it, so that’s why the introduction of Scott was important just to see how thin we were. We have to work hard; at home we can get away with spinners. The bowlers are trying hard to make sure they can contribute and today they did. Keep that in mind that our spinners were outstanding as well. We know we have holes and we’re just scrapping hard to hide them.”