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Matt Renshaw, who scored 60, said that he responded to what the Indian players said to him with a smile to try and unnerve their bowlers

Daniel Brettig05-Mar-2017Australia’s day two plan was simple: bat all day and wear down an Indian bowling attack trundling through an 11th Test match of the season. But the execution of this plan was made difficult by an untrustworthy Bengaluru pitch, and a snarling, desperate home side, intent on getting in the Australians’ faces, and in turn, their wickets.What played out was riveting, low-scoring stuff. Australia’s 197 for 6 was their lowest score in a full day’s play since Nagpur in 2008, when a Mexican stand-off on a flatter pitch – MS Dhoni employed 8-1 off-side fields which the tourists could not shake – reaped a mere 166 runs. But, where Simon Katich in particular met that grind with mounting frustration, Matt Renshaw responded to Virat Kohli’s niggle with a broad grin, and a deliberate one at that.”I don’t try and say too much out there,” Renshaw said after his 60 from 196 balls took him past 400 balls faced for the series. “I just try to smile, because in my past experience, smiling seems to unnerve the bowlers a bit more than talking back. They seemed to get quite frustrated.”I was just trying to enjoy it and laugh at what he was saying because some of it was quite funny. He [Kohli] was just reminding me to run off and go to the toilet again, which happened in Pune, so it was quite funny. We all took it pretty well and we know that they’re trying to get under our skin because we’ve got a one-nil lead in the series.”Renshaw had a ringside seat as Kohli tried pointedly to distract his opposite number Steven Smith. “There was a bit of talk, but I think that’s because they’re trying to unnerve each other and try and get under the skin. But it was all good fun and good contest out there,” he said. “It was really loud out there when he was doing that. It’s something I’m probably not used to, but it’s about embracing different conditions and challenges that we get.”Incredibly, the surface at the Chinnaswamy Stadium may actually be more difficult than the one prepared for the first Test in Pune. Spin, bounce and pace are all variable, requiring Renshaw and the rest of the Australians to adapt further still to every ball spun or seamed down towards them.”I think Pune we knew was going to spin. This one, we don’t really know which one is going to spin. That’s the challenge,” Renshaw said. “Some are turning quite a lot, some are not turning as much, some are going on with the angle. It’s trying to play for the one that doesn’t turn and then if it goes past the bat, it goes past the bat. But it’s probably a bit harder against the quicks because it’s not bouncing as much or some are going up.”I think every run is vital. We sort of felt like we were just about to get on top of the game when I got out, so it’s quite frustrating from that point of view. If we’d got a few more runs, me and Shaun Marsh, we could have had complete control of the game.”The mental challenge presented was underlined by how successive Australian batsmen fought their way into a position where they may have been able to assert themselves, only to drop their guard. Smith did so, then Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, and finally Shaun Marsh. “It probably wasn’t a great move from me, but Jadeja is a really smart bowler and he probably saw me coming, so he fired it down there,” Renshaw said. “I tried to get a bit of pad on but just missed it.”However, the visitors were still able to ward off the threat of a batting collapse, steadily adding runs across the day to leave Matthew Wade and Mitchell Starc with a chance to build a significant lead on day three. In doing so, it appeared that all had taken something from watching Renshaw, who said his own determination to stay at the crease had been derived from a creative interpretation of junior cricket rules devised to give everyone a go.”I wasn’t the biggest bloke. Instead of retiring us on balls, they retired us on runs, so once we got to 50, we had to retire and someone else would come in,” Renshaw said. “I didn’t really want anyone else to bat, I just wanted to bat for myself. I tried to get to 50 as slow as possible. I don’t think it was my fault, it was my size.”

Dinesh Karthik struck his 10th List A century as Tamil Nadu’s juggernaut culminated with the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy title, with a 37-run win over Bengal

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTamil Nadu players were visibly pleased after their Vijay Hazare Trophy win•PTI

Dinesh Karthik struck his 10th List A century as Tamil Nadu secured the Vijay Hazare title with a 37-run win over Bengal at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. It was Tamil Nadu’s fifth one-day title, and their first in seven years since their dual triumph in 2008-09 and 2009-10.Karthik’s 112 helped Tamil Nadu recover to 217 after they were dented by Bengal’s fast-bowling duo of Ashok Dinda and Mohammed Shami, who took four wickets in his second match back from knee injury. He hit speeds north of 140kph and also impressed with slower offcutters. Tamil Nadu’s bowlers, however, fought back and dismissed Bengal for 180. Seamer Aswin Crist took 2 for 23 and finished as this season’s highest wicket-taker with 20 scalps.The win capped a dominant three weeks for Tamil Nadu, whose 22-run defeat to Maharashtra in a Group B clash in Cuttack was the lone blip. That despite them missing several key players, with regular captain Abhinav Mukund, M Vijay and R Ashwin engaged with the Indian Test team, and their new-ball duo of T Natrajan and K Vignesh having sat out with injuries.The win hadn’t seemed as likely in the early part of TN’s innings after they opted to make first use of the surface. Dinda found appreciable movement in the early exchanges and prised out both the TN openers inside seven overs. Shami then trapped B Aparajith lbw, and with Dinda striking a third time, after finding the outside edge of captain Vijay Shankar, TN were reeling at 49 for 4.Dinesh Karthik continued his excellent form and counter-punched his way to a hundred•PTI

Karthik began to rebuild with B Indrajith as the duo stitched 85 for the fifth wicket. It took a run out to end the association after Indrajith copped a blow on the arm off Karthik’s drive. Karthik continued to build TN’s innings with support from Washington Sundar and Aswin Crist. He frequently pierced the off-side infield and brought up his century with a reverse sweep through point off Aamir Gani’s offspin.Thereafter, TN’s innings ended in swift fashion as they lost their last four wickets for 17 runs. Shami produced a double-strike in the 46th over, before the innings ended with Karthik’s hit-wicket in Shami’s next over. By then, Karthik had taken his season tally to 607 runs – a tournament record and 39 clear of Shreevats Goswami’s 568 runs in 2009-10.Like TN, Bengal’s innings was rocked not long after it began. Abhimanyu Easwaran was run out to a direct throw, and with Crist pegging back Agniv Pan’s offstump two deliveries later, Bengal were 4 for 2 in five overs. That would become 68 for 4 with Goswami and Manoj Tiwary perishing after getting off to starts. Sudip Chatterjee and Anustp Majumdar briefly stemmed the rot with a 65-run fifth-wicket partnership, but that was it as far as partnerships of note went. Chatterjee was cleaned up for 58, and with the lower order barely offering resistance, Bengal folded in the 46th over.

Joe Root enjoyed a rewarding Champions Trophy warm-up – and saw off his brother for good measure in the first time they had met in county cricket

George Dobell29-Apr-2017
ScorecardJoe Root and his younger brother Billy had fielded together for England•Getty Images

Joe Root began his preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy with his highest and, he felt, best List A innings for Yorkshire to help them to a comfortable victory at Trent Bridge.In a match containing 18 international players, and eight in Champions Trophy squads, Root provided the definitive contribution: an hurried, unfussy and unbeaten innings of 75.In a game where only one other man made 50 and against an attack containing five international bowlers, he was calm and restrained. Against three bowlers who are likely to feature in the Ashes later in the year, he made batting look easy.In truth, this was an anti-climactic encounter. On a ground where the average score in this competition last year was an eye-watering 385, Nottinghamshire provided a reminder of the reasons they were relegated in the County Championship with a feckless batting performance that saw them bowled out with more than nine overs of their allocation unused. Their total was 200 below last year’s average and every bit of 100 below par on a slow and perhaps slightly two-paced surface.Just for a moment, as Stuart Broad charged in from the Pavilion End, it seemed we might see a contest. But for all the pace he generated, for the immaculate length he bowled and for all the intimidating stares he aimed in Root’s direction – several of which were met by a bemused grin – there was no way past Root’s bat and no way to apply pressure with such a paltry score to defend.And, having largely seen off Broad and the accurate Jake Ball, he milked the rest with ease. Shortly before the end he reverse swept his brother Billy Root, a spinner with a hint of Murali in his action, for four and then pulled him for six to complete the victory with more than 17 overs to spare.The pair, who had never faced each other in county cricket – although they have fielded together for England when Billy fulfilled 12th man duties – travelled to and from the game together. After the six had landed, they exchanged a hug. Joe will play the next two Cup games for Yorkshire before departing on England duty. Billy, a terrific fielder and more than competent batsman if his List A debut against Worcestershire on Thursday is any indication, may struggle to retain his place if Steven Mullaney, who missed this game with a foot injury, is fit to return next week.”It was a horrible situation,” Root senior said of his treatment of Root junior in the dying moments of the game. “I do feel guilty, but you’ve got to be professional. I know he’d have done the same to me if I’d been bowling. I might suggest on the way home he doesn’t bowl too many half-trackers.”Stuart bowled really well, with good pace. I think he was trying to create a bit of theatre, but it’s hard to take it seriously when you know someone that well.”Playing against this attack is about as close to international cricket as you get. It probably was my best one-day innings for Yorkshire. We were very clinical all day. It was a good, ruthless performance.”The result gives Yorkshire a perfect start to their white-ball season but means Nottinghamshire have lost both their opening matches in this competition. Bearing in mind that the team which qualified for the quarter-finals last year suffered a maximum of three losses from their eight games and the fact that this year’s qualification process – involving a play-off to reach the semi-finals – is even more stringent and you might conclude that Nottinghamshire have, already, left themselves little margin for further error.Yorkshire’s bowlers deserve credit for applying pressure. Liam Plunkett, who didn’t concede a boundary until his eighth over, and Tim Bresnan, who struck Michael Lumb a blow on the thumb that saw him skip fielding in order to go for an X-ray, were especially impressive.But Nottinghamshire would accept that there was a lot of self-inflicted damage within their batting. Having negotiated the powerplay without much alarm (they were 43 for 0 after 10 overs) Alex Hales chipped Azeem Rafiq’s first delivery straight back to him, Lumb pulled a long-hop to mid-wicket and Samit Patel pulled another long-hop to mid-on.Riki Wessels and Brendan Taylor rebuilt sensibly during a fourth-wicket stand of 65 but when Wessels clipped a leg-stump half-volley to deep backward square, it precipitated a sharp decline.Root, arguably the only man in the top six to be dismissed, edged one angled across him, Taylor picked out deep mid-wicket and James Pattinson was run-out having presumed, wrongly as it transpired, that his drive had beaten Rafiq at short extra-cover. The image of Broad, last man out and caught on the boundary despite having 55 unused deliveries, rather summed up the somewhat overly aggressive nature of the innings.Broad struck with his first ball in reply – Jonny Bairstow shuffling in front of a straight one – but the result was hardly in doubt. Adam Lyth took three boundaries off Pattinson’s first over in reply and, although Lyth fell pulling, Root was not to be denied. It was, perhaps surprisingly, only his third List A half-century for Yorkshire. It was also only his 17th innings.Having caressed Broad for boundary through mid-on – his on drive perhaps the highlight of the day – Root eased him off his hip for four more. He only scored off seven of the 22 balls he faced from Broad (four singles and a two completing the picture), but he recognised that seeing him off was more important than seeing him punished and showed the composure and maturity that was lacking in the Notts innings.”Their bowlers created some pressure and we had a few soft dismissals,” Taylor admitted afterwards. “They made it difficult to score, for sure, but 180 is never going to be enough at Trent Bridge. I’d think 260-270 was on the cards on that pitch.”Yorkshire face Lancashire at Leeds on Monday, meaning Root will face, as he put it, “another grumpy fast bower” – in the presence this time of James Anderson. He will then face Mark Wood and co. when Yorkshire host Durham on Wednesday.The pitches may not be quite as quick as those we anticipate in the Champions Trophy, but the level of competition isn’t far short. It bodes pretty well for England that Root, at least, is finding his form.

Ireland have slid considerably over the last year or so, while Bangladesh have just one win from their last five ODIs, leaving both teams desperate for a win

The Preview by Akshay Gopalakrishnan18-May-2017

Match facts

May 19, 2017
Start time 10.45am local (0945 GMT)Tamim Iqbal’s good recent form will leave the onus of building the innings with him•AFP

Big picture

A win percentage of 31.5 in completed ODIs since the start of last year pretty much encapsulates how far Ireland have slid in recent times. In two series preceding the ongoing tri-nation tournament, they lost 2-3 to Afghanistan in Greater Noida, before being swept 2-0 by England in England.Conditions played a part in their toils against Afghanistan as Ireland couldn’t quite cope with the slow surfaces in Greater Noida and succumbed to a team that clearly had superior spin stocks. The familiarity of the cold, harsh climes of Malahide, however, hasn’t bred success for them either: they came up short against a weakened New Zealand team, led by Tom Latham.An ageing team has also played a part – the average age of their XI against New Zealand was 29. Veterans like William Porterfield, Niall O’Brien, Kevin O’Brien and Gary Wilson – all of whom played significant roles in Ireland becoming the top Associate nation – are well into their 30s now.Bangladesh’s graph has moved in the opposite direction. Since making the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal, series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa have made them a force to be reckoned with in home conditions. They came into the tri-series fresh off levelling Test, ODI and T20I series on the tour of Sri Lanka. However, their recent record outside the subcontinent hasn’t been too encouraging. They returned from their tour of New Zealand without a single win in eight international games across formats and have also had mixed results in Ireland overall, with four wins from eight international matches.

Form guide

Ireland LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLWLL

In the spotlight

Peter Chase, the 23-year old right-arm pacer, has had a mixed start to his ODI career. Chase has 23 wickets from 16 matches, but also averages 38.95 and has an economy rate of 6.83. His performances in this series have typified that. In the opener, he rocked Bangladesh with early strikes before rain intervened, and finished with 3 for 33 in six overs. In his next match, he was slapped for 74 runs in ten overs by New Zealand. Chase can generate pace and bounce and, in conditions amiable for pace-bowling, this series is an opportunity to bring some consistency in his game and step up in the absence of senior bowler Boyd Rankin.Tamim Iqbal has one fifty and a century from his last five outings with the bat. His good form augurs well given Bangladesh’s tendency to lose wickets in a cluster, often from good positions. Tamim’s experience is also welcome in what are likely to be tough batting conditions.

Team news

Ireland gave Simi Singh an ODI debut in place of Stuart Thompson against New Zealand, and Simi had a forgettable match scoring 9 off 14 balls in a chase of 290. Thompson himself had replaced Ed Joyce in the series opener against Bangladesh. If Joyce has recovered from his back injury, it is fairly certain neither Simi nor Thompson will find a place in the XI.Ireland (probable) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Niall O’Brien (wk), 4 Andy Balbirnie, 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Gary Wilson, 7 Stuart Thompson/Ed Joyce, 8 George Dockrell, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Peter ChaseIn Bangladesh’s previous match, against New Zealand, Taskin Ahmed made way for the returning Mashrafe Mortaza, who had missed the first match due to an over-rate suspension. Bangladesh failed to defend 257, but with Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain both taking wickets, Taskin will likely miss out again.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

The Malahide pitch is known for being green and pace-friendly but it also turned out to be a good batting track in the previous match between New Zealand and Ireland. Spinners from both sides also did well, with Mitchell Santner claiming a five-for. While it is expected to be partly sunny around start time, rain is forecast at noon and there is cloud cover expected right through the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• Mahmudullah needs 28 more to complete 3000 runs in ODI cricket.
• The average scoring rate in the first innings in Malahide is 5.7, which translates into an average first-innings score of 285.

Several Irishmen had served as Associate representatives on ICC committees and these spots will open up as a result of Ireland’s change to Full Member status

Peter Della Penna23-Jun-2017Three new representatives were elected to represent Associate Member interests on the ICC’s Chief Executives Committee (CEC) at the ICC annual conference this week, part of several changes to take place as a result, to some degree, of Ireland’s application for Full Membership being accepted. Several Irishmen had served as Associate representatives on ICC committees but with their newfound Full Member status, they will maintain spots on the various meeting groups while opening up vacancies for fresh Associate representation.The expiration of Warren Deutrom’s two-year term as one of the three Associate representatives on the CEC coincided with Ireland’s elevation to Test status, allowing him to stay on the committee. Fellow members Greg Campbell of Papua New Guinea and John Cribbin of Hong Kong have been replaced by Bermuda’s Neil Speight and Botswana’s Sumod Damodar, while the other spot in the Associate trio has been filled by Betty Timmer of the Netherlands.Deutrom and Cribbin had both been on the CEC since at least 2007, while Campbell lasted just one term after replacing the UAE’s David East in 2015. Timmer has already been a part of the ICC’s Women’s Committee as the Europe representative.With the change in Ireland’s membership status, Kevin O’Brien could lose his spot as Associate representative on the ICC’s Cricket Committee•Getty Images/Sportsfile

Bermuda’s Speight had been a long-serving Associate representative on the main ICC Board before he was replaced by Ireland’s Ross McCollum in a vote taken at the 2016 ICC annual conference in Edinburgh. McCollum had been selected to a two-year term along with Namibia’s Francois Erasmus and Singapore’s Imran Khwaja. Ireland’s Full Membership, however, means a by-election for McCollum’s Associate seat will take place at some point later this year, likely at the next ICC board meeting in October.Like Deutrom, McCollum will still hold a place on the board by virtue of being the chairman of a Full Member country. But the Associate seat vacated by McCollum takes on increased significance after the ICC approved governance reforms in a new constitution, which now give each of the three Associate representatives voting rights. Prior to Thursday, Associate representatives attended board meetings in an observational capacity.The one other spot that may also come up for review is on the ICC Cricket Committee. Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien currently holds a place on the panel as the Associate representative, but may now be squeezed out due to his country’s change in membership status. It is unknown when a replacement would be decided, but most likely by October as is the case with McCollum’s vacancy.

Sri Lanka are likely to be without Lasith Malinga and Kusal Mendis in the second ODI against Zimbabwe, with both having contracted influenza and being recommended 48 hours of rest

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2017Sri Lanka will be without Lasith Malinga in the second ODI against Zimbabwe, and are also likely to miss Kusal Mendis, with both players having contracted viral influenza after the first game. SLC also said that left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan had missed the first ODI due to the same illness, but has come back into contention for the second.Sri Lanka have drafted seamer Suranga Lakmal, and batsman Chamara Kapugedara into the squad as potential replacements for Malinga and Mendis. Both Lakmal and Kapugedara played in the recent Champions Trophy.Malinga is currently five wickets short of 300 in ODIs, five short of becoming the fourth Sri Lanka bowler to the mark after Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya. Mendis became the joint second-fastest Sri Lankan batsman to 1000 ODI runs on Friday, and has also been the most consistent Sri Lanka batsman over the past 12 months.The second ODI will be played in Galle on July 2. Sri Lanka are currently 0-1 down in the series, having lost the first ODI despite posting 316 for 5; Zimbabwe’s successful chase was the first time any team pursued an ODI target in excess of 300 and won on the island. Three more ODIs will be played in the series, all in Hambantota, followed by a one-off Test at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

New Zealand’s first home day-night Test, against England next March, remains an uncertain prospect

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2017New Zealand’s first home day-night Test, against England next March, remains an uncertain prospect with NZC still awaiting approval to stage the match under lights at Eden Park while one Test has been dropped from West Indies’ visit with an eye on the future structure of the international game.Whether floodlit or not, England will play New Zealand in Auckland from March 22-26 followed by the second Test in Christchurch from March 30. Those matches will conclude New Zealand’s home summer which also includes a limited-overs tour by Pakistan during January in an overall schedule which has 13 ODIs and 10 T20s – four as part of the tri-series with Australia and England – alongside just four Tests.When the venues for New Zealand’s 2017-18 season were originally announced last year, West Indies had been pencilled in for a three-Test series but they will now play just the two – at the Basin Reserve (starting December) and Hamilton (starting December) – with NZC expecting a new Test Championship to be approved later this year which will shape the make-up of many future international tours.

New Zealand’s 2017-18 home season

West Indies 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20s
Pakistan 5 ODIs, 3 T20s
T20 tri-series 2 matches v England, 1 match v Australia plus final at Eden Park
England 5 ODIs, 2 Tests

“If we look forward to the way Test cricket will probably go in the future, we are very hopeful that in October the ICC will sign off on a new Test Championship commencing in 2019/20,” David White, the NZC chief executive, said. “A typical tour will be two Test matches, three ODIs and three T20s so we are trying to get aligned with what we’ll have in the future.”We’ve got four Test matches which will be the norm going forward, with two tours, with 13 ODIs which is a lot but it is the start of our preparations for the 2019 World Cup.”The hopes of the first floodlit Test in the country hinge on gaining approval from Auckland council to use the Eden Park floodlights on a Sunday. New Zealand faced Australia in the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide in 2015 while, if it goes ahead, the match will be England’s third in eight months – they play their first day-night Test against West Indies, at Edgbaston, later this month followed by the Ashes encounter in Adelaide during December.”We’ve completed a resource consent hearing with Eden Park and we’re hopeful within the next week or two we’ll have a result from the independent commissioners on whether it will proceed,” White said.It has also been confirmed that Napier has lost its ODI against Pakistan – which has been given to the Basin Reserve in Wellington – with concerns it would not be ready for the January match following last year’s outfield issues when the ODI against Australia was abandoned due to problems with drainage. However, the ground will host an ODI against England in March.There is a Boxing Day ODI against West Indies in Christchurch and a New Year Day T20 against the same opposition in Mount Maunganui. The T20 tri-series, the first of its kind, had already been confirmed with the final being held at Eden Park on February 21.

“Serious consequences” if the board does not cooperate regarding Lodha recommendations. Also, the office bearers told to individually list “suggestions” on the new constitution drafted by CoA

Sidharth Monga21-Sep-2017The Supreme Court has given the BCCI three weeks to come back with “suggestions” related to the draft constitution that the Committee of Administrators (CoA) proposed for the BCCI. The court took a stern view of BCCI’s stalling tactics; there has as yet been no official feedback to the draft constitution submitted by the CoA last Monday. The court threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against the three interim office bearers – president CK Khanna, secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry – but eventually let them off for the time being having warned them of “serious consequences” failing “absolute co-operation” in implementing the Lodha reforms in the BCCI.The matter will next be heard on October 30; the court will be off for eight days for Diwali in October, which possibly adds to the three-week window given to the BCCI. The office bearers, who were present at the hearing, have been told to attend the October 30 hearing too.The three office bearers will now have to individually list their suggestions, which could rid them of any loyalty issues they might have previously had as long-term members of the board as it were. During Thursday’s hearing, the CoA’s lawyer Parag Tripathi told the court that a “concerted attempt has been adopted by the office bearers not to follow the judgement of this Court.” The court heard that the office bearers had shown “obstinate attitude and unnecessary intervention” despite “our order”. Khanna and treasurer Chaudhry came in for special rebuke by the CoA’s representative. The court heard that there hasn’t been “a whisper from Khanna or Anirudh Chaudhry” to convince the board to pass a resolution. The CoA also made the court aware that the BCCI’s general body made the CEO of the board leave a meeting, and that none of the office bearers made an attempt to make him stay.The court stated in its order that it had already agreed to “debate” on “three or four” of the Lodha Committee recommendations. The court asked the three office bearers to provide suggestions to the CoA concerning these points and failure to do that would attract severe consequences. “If the aforesaid three office bearers do not give suggestions in accordance with the judgement of this court which has accepted the Justice Lodha Committee report, they shall face serious consequences,” the court said in its order. “The draft constitution shall include the suggestions given by Justice Lodha Committee in its entirety so that a holistic document comes before this court.”One of the big “suggestions” the BCCI has with the draft constitution – in effect the Lodha Committee’s recommendations – is that the elected general body wants to retain the power to control and decide the role, the functions and the powers of the professional wing of the board, which will be the CEO and other office bearers from “time to time”. The CoA lawyer argued that it will defeat the spirit of Lodha recommendations, which sought to keep the political, elected wing of the board away from the professional wing.The other two main suggestions are to do away with cooling-off period for office bearers and the policy of “one state, one vote”. ESPNcricinfo understands that most of the BCCI’s general body agrees to limit the objections to these three, but there are a few state associations within who don’t want the objections be limited to these three. N Srinivasan’s Tamil Nadu and Niranjan Shah’s Saurashtra are believed to be leading that charge.The lawyer representing the BCCI office bearers also emphasised that the draft constitution includes additions to the order passed by the Supreme Court on July 18 last year. Most of the FAQs, as clarified by the Lodha Committee later, are “beyond the judgement”. The court asked the BCCI to make a note of all that in its “suggestions”. The court, however, made it clear that it will have no further discussion on the issues of the strength of the selection committee, the status of non-state members such as Railways and Services, and the one-state-one-vote policy; the court has heard enough arguments, and will rule on it as it sees fit. The court also made it clear that there was no need for a further general body meeting for the purpose of drafting the new constitution of the board.The court also asked the CoA to determine which is the rightful association to represent the Union Territory of Puducherry, which has been represented by “three claimants”. The court asked the CoA to forward the report of the Affiliations Committee and sort out the issue in two weeks’ time.

A reported blast has occurred during a Shpageeza Cricket League match in Kabul on Wednesday afternoon, and all the players, coaching staff and match officials were safe

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Sep-2017A reported blast has occurred during a Shpageeza Cricket League match between Boost Defenders and MIS Ainak Knights in Kabul on Wednesday afternoon. Although the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) was not certain about what caused the blast, local media in Kabul reported a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a security checkpoint en route to the Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground in Kabul. Local media also reported that the blast had killed two people, but the board’s CEO confirmed that all the players, coaching staff and match officials were safe.The league, Afghanistan’s domestic Twenty20 tournament, comprises six teams and features about two dozen overseas players from South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Oman. The Defenders-Knights match was the second game of the day, following the Amo Sharks-Kabul Eagles contest.According to Shafiqullah Stanikzai, ACB’s chief executive officer, the blast occurred during the fourth over of Knights’ chase of 202. South Africa batsman Cameron Delport had scored a 42-ball century earlier to power Defenders to 201 for 6, which was seven runs too many for Knights.Apart from Delport, the other overseas players at the ground at the time of the blast were Morne van Wyk (South Africa) and Rayad Emrit (West Indies) for Defenders, while the Zimbabwean trio of Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl were representing Knights. Adam Hollioake, the former England captain, is the Defenders coach while Andy Moles is coaching Knights.The match was stopped briefly, but once the Afghanistan government-appointed security gave the clearance, it resumed. “It is not yet clear what caused the blast,” Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo. He also said the security heads assured the ACB that cricket was not the target in this unfortunate incident and hence the game was allowed to carry on.Afghanistan was recently inducted as the 12th Full Member by the ICC in June. The security situation has not permitted any international cricket to be played in the war-torn country. But for the Twenty20 league, Stanikzai said the Afghanistan government itself was involved in security.”For this tournament, a special decree has been issued by His Excellency, the president of the country, to look after the security,” he explained. “We heard a sound, but we were not sure exactly what happened. The match was stopped for short time but resumed once the security heads told us we can carry on. The president’s special advisor was also present at the ground to assure the security. They told us there is no threat to the players.”

The South Africa coach will look to appoint four other support staff – an assistant coach, a batting coach, a fielding coach and a spin-bowling coach – over the next few weeks

Firdose Moonda30-Oct-2017Charl Langeveldt will not be retained as South Africa’s bowling coach with Ottis Gibson expected to take over the role alongside his duties as head coach. Although he did not confirm whom he has been scouting, Gibson is expected to appoint the rest of his support staff over the next few weeks, which will include an assistant coach, a batting coach, a fielding coach and a spin-bowling coach.ESPNcricinfo understands former Natal and Durham batsman Dale Benkenstein, who last held a coaching role with Hampshire, is frontrunner to become Gibson’s assistant with Adrian Birrell, the incumbent moving on from his role. While there is no clarity over the future of Claude Henderson, the current spin-bowling consultant, batting coach Neil McKenzie is likely to be retained. There is also the possibility of foreign consultants being employed as the need arises.”Obviously, Cricket South Africa have to make that happen. At the moment, there are just names of people that I think can do a good job with the team, some overseas, some local,” Gibson said. “I will do the bowling, then there will be a batting coach, a fielding coach, an assistant coach and a spin bowling coach – so four, plus myself. Having spoken to Charl, bowling has always been my specialism as a coach, fast bowling. He fully understands that.”Langeveldt has been South Africa’s bowling coach since Allan Donald left the post after the 2015 World Cup. Although he and the other assistants who served under Russell Domingo were kept on to work with Gibson in his first assignment against Bangladesh, a new panel will be put in place before South Africa’s four-day pink-ball Test against Zimbabwe, which begins on Boxing Day.Langeveldt, however, will not be lost to South African cricket. Gibson has also floated the idea of appointing elite bowling and batting coaches, who will work the domestic circuit to help feed players to the national side. “I am also in discussion with CSA about a few key positions that I think can make a difference in this country in terms of having elite coaches. So if there is an elite fast bowling coach for CSA, not just for the team, and an elite batting coach when we are on tour, and we have a couple of injuries and I want to know who is the next best fast bowler in the country, I have a person I can go to,” Gibson said. “At the moment, if I ask that question, I will be asking it to the selectors, and the selectors are doing a great job but the selectors are not coaches. Sometimes you want a coach.”While South Africa have a high performance set-up led by former national bowling coach Vincent Barnes and an academy coach in Shukri Conrad, Gibson appears to be in search of someone who can work with all the cricketers on a more consistent basis. For now, he is keen on establishing relationships with the six franchise coaches, with whom he met last Friday to discuss what sounds like a national coaching strategy, specifically designed for the 50-over game and the 2019 World Cup.”I had a really good discussion with the franchise coaches last week to get their input and tried to get a feeling and a message from them as to what I need from them and what they need from me as well,” Gibson said. “It was a really good chat. I really enjoyed meeting the guys and explaining my philosophy and how I want to take certainly the white-ball team forward towards 2019 and they are fully on board with a lot of the stuff that we discussed. Hopefully, over the next 2 months or so, we will continue to build those relationships.”Gibson will see plenty of the franchise coaches in that time as he plans to attend as much of the domestic T20 tournament as possible. “I am going to go around watching and try and see what there is.” Thereafter, he has extended an open invitation to the franchise whenever the national team is in their town. “For example, if we get to Port Elizabeth and there is no franchise cricket, then the two preparation days we have is an open invitation to the franchise coach to come and see how we do things,” Gibson said. “Wherever we go in the country, there is an open invitation to the franchise coaches to be a part of our preparations.”