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Another week of action in the IPL has flown by, with England’s contingent once again in the thick of things. Here’s a rundown on how they have fared to date. Click here for last week’s update.Archer in silken form, but little to show for itRajasthan’s hot form from the first week of the tournament has somewhat frittered away, but there’s not much more that Jofra Archer could have done to keep them competitive in consecutive defeats to KKR and RCB. With the ball he has been a dementor, sizzlingly quick and with such command of his variations, and with the bat he just keeps landing his punches – maybe not with quite the alacrity of week one, but he’s still got eight sixes to show for 25 deliveries in the tournament, a higher ratio than any other player. Talking of ratios, Archer has so far served up 51 dot-balls in the competition, the most by any bowler – 29 of which came from this week’s 48 deliveries. At one stage against KKR, he had figures of 2 for 4 in three overs. Who knows what might have happened had his last ball of the night, an uppercut from Eoin Morgan, not been palmed over the ropes by Tom Curran for six.Sam Curran, the finisher with unfinished businessWhat are we supposed to make of a world in which CSK’s best chance of pulling off a stiff run-chase is to get the GOAT of finishing off-strike, and hand the cudgels to England’s pint-sized pugilist, Sam Curran? For the umpteenth time since India’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, MS Dhoni’s wonky pace-maker has cost his side dear, but when Curran strode to the crease in Dubai on Friday night with 51 still needed from 14, and deposited his first ball high over midwicket for six, the prospect of another miracle was revived. Curran had, after all, been rattling along at a strike-rate of close to 300 in the first week of the tournament, but alas for CSK, he only faced two of the last 11 balls of the innings – including a last-ball lump down the ground for another six. With the ball, Curran had a bit of a mixed bag this week. One disastrous over against Sunrisers ruined an otherwise good impression with the new ball, but he did the needful in their ten-wicket stroll against KXIP.Morgan’s wise old head keeps KKR competitiveThat post-World Cup glow continues to radiate from the bat of Eoin Morgan, who is playing with a freedom that he probably hasn’t known since the earliest days of his cross-over from the Ireland to England camps more than a decade ago. He played two vastly contrasting innings this week, each of them an unflappable display from a player who’s come through the pressure cooker and now is ready to savour any situation – whether it’s Archer hunting for his head in Dubai, or an asking rate of 16 with wickets running out in Sharjah. In the former, he kept his cool (and rode his luck) to make a vital 34 not out from 23 balls; in the latter, he watched three wickets fall before he’d faced his first ball, and promptly lumped Anrich Nortje for the first of five sixes in an 18-ball 44. It wouldn’t be enough, but it took his side closer than they could realistically have hoped.Eoin Morgan hit three sixes in a row off Kagiso Rabada•BCCI

Buttler finds his range in low-key weekNothing much to write home about from Jos Buttler just yet. However, this week’s scores of 21 from 16 against KKR and 22 from 12 against RCB suggest that most aspects of his game are in good working order, and his usual full-throttle service should only be a matter of time. Certainly, his solitary six in the latter match – an effortless front-foot pick-up off an Isuru Udana slower ball – was a remarkable feat of timing and wristwork. But as his England team-mates discovered against Australia this summer, Buttler’s serenity can at times give a misleading impression of the pitch conditions, and without him on hand to power through the middle overs, Rajasthan are leaving themselves with too much catching-up to do at the death.Hard yakka for Tom Curran as Rajasthan stumbleIf Tom Curran was relieved to escape the six-hitting slaughterhouse of Sharjah – the scene of some uncomfortable moments in his opening two games of the tournament, then his bowling figures didn’t get much of a massage on the friendlier surfaces at Dubai and Abu Dhabi – 1 for 77 in 7.1 overs all told, including a bit of a schooling from a revitalised Virat Kohli against RCB. In mitigation, Curran has regularly been handed the toughest overs at the back-end of the innings – ones in which his team-mate Buttler said that conceding 15 was a win if it meant you weren’t clattered for 20-plus. His appetite for the scrap has been undiminished in the circumstances, as exemplified by his hard-earned half-century in a losing cause against KKR. In a tight table, who knows how crucial that salvaging of RR’s net run-rate may be.Bairstow proving it’s tough at the topIt’s all gone a bit Test-match for Jonny Bairstow this week – for better and for worse. An uncomfortable grind against Delhi Capitals was amply justified in hindsight, as he resisted some tight bowling on a two-paced deck to make 53 from 48 and give Rashid Khan more than enough runs to defend. But three days later against CSK, he fell victim to an outstanding opening gambit from Deepak Chahar – length ball, outswinger, savage inswinger, the latter uprooting Bairstow’s off stump for a duck as his initial plans for a cover drive were contorted into a wretched hack across the line. His week was completed with 25 from 15 against Mumbai, an innings which was arguably undone by David Warner’s lack of fluency at the other end. Their bromance is still smouldering but it’s not quite igniting the passions as it did last year.Johnny Bairstow drives on the up•BCCI

Chris Jordan’s birthday bumpsIt was Chris Jordan’s 32nd birthday on Sunday, but it wasn’t a very happy return to the Kings XI side. After conceding 30 runs in the final over of his previous appearance against Delhi, Jordan was pumped for a further 19 in his comeback over against CSK, with Faf du Plessis cashing in on his variations with four fours in five balls at the end of the Powerplay. It got no better as he returned for the 11th over, Shane Watson this time dispatching him for consecutive fours to bring up his first fifty of the tournament. By which stage the game was long gone. You can’t pin a ten-wicket defeat on the travails of one man, but Jordan’s lack of confidence epitomises a team with one win in five to date.Stokes primed for action; Banton, Moeen wait for the callBen Stokes has landed in the UAE after his compassionate leave in New Zealand, and could be ready when Rajasthan return to Sharjah for their rematch against KXIP, assuming he comes through his six-day quarantine period. Meanwhile, Moeen Ali (RCB) and Tom Banton (KKR) are still itching for their first outings of the competition – Banton could conceivably get a trial run at the top of KKR’s order this week, following a run of misfires from Sunil Narine.

Devon Conway, the South Africa-born batsman who qualified for New Zealand this August, is just “focusing on the task on hand” as he braces for a much-awaited international debut.Conway, 29, led the run-charts in the Plunket Shield, One Day Trophy and T20 Super Smash last season, and has been in fine form for Wellington this year too, scoring 157 against Auckland earlier this month. His exploits earned him a place in New Zealand’s T20I squad for the upcoming home series against West Indies, and he is looking forward to something “pretty special” over the next few weeks.”It’s all very exciting that it’s happening. I’m just looking forward to getting out there for a potential debut,” Conway said. “To be honest, I don’t listen too much about the expectations people have for me. I think about staying in the moment and to focus on the task at hand. Whatever else happens, happens. I try to get away from that sort of thing.”You never know when an opportunity is going to come, so you want to be ready and not look to far ahead. That’s how I look at it. It’s been pretty special – being with this group of players, and the environment and culture they have, getting to know them better. All that being said, I’m still waiting for the final XI for tomorrow to be announced.”Like most teams, New Zealand have not played an international game since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Conway doesn’t expect the players to be too rusty.”Most of the guys have been away with the CPL or IPL, so there won’t be any new stuff to get used to. They know about their roles and the game plans. Right now, the boys are just looking to get out of isolation and bring their different energies together. It’s all about being mentally ready. These guys are coming from the CPL, so they’ve already seen most of the bowlers and played against them. That’s an advantage for us. They’ve been working and training for a while, so preparation wise, it’s not a problem for us.”With the T20 World Cup coming up in 2021, it’s about working out all the positions and the best XI. And learning to execute your roles, be it in New Zealand conditions, Australian conditions or Indian conditions. It’s pretty cool looking into the stuff behind the scenes. There are opportunities to see various players come and right now New Zealand are just looking to build a pool of players who could make that T20 World Cup squad. It’s exciting times for New Zealand cricket.”Conway himself got some much-needed practice with the New Zealand A team in the past week, scoring an unbeaten 46 and 41 against the touring West Indians.”I definitely gained a lot of confidence,” he said. “Having the opportunity to play against some international bowlers was a big boost. Having the time out in the middle, I can take the confidence into the T20s as well, even though it’s a different format. I know that even international bowlers can miss sometimes, so you can’t let the pressure get to you.”Luckily with the shorter format, everything happens faster. It’s about calming the nerves, understanding the situation at present, and tackling it head on. In Tests and four-day matches, the pressure is with you longer. In T20s, you have to adapt as quickly as possible.”Conway also confirmed that he will be throwing his weight behind the Black Lives Matter movement on the field.”Unfortunately, we haven’t had the opportunity to meet together with the West Indies players. But Timmy (Tim Southee) and the management met with them, and they briefed us about the movement. It was awesome to hear about [how] we can support and get behind them tomorrow. It’s a really good initiative that is creating awareness worldwide. Now it’s all about backing that decision and supporting it anyway we can.”

Warwickshire believe they have become the first “professional first-class county” to adopt the principles of the Rooney Rule in launching the appointment process for a new head coach of their men’s team.The club, which sacked Jim Troughton from the position last week, published an advert for the vacant position on November 2. Applications must be received by November 14 with an appointment expected around a month later.In that advert, the club has reiterated its “commitment to representing the communities it serves” and its desire to employ “a diverse and inclusive workforce at all levels of the organisation”. As a result, Warwickshire have confirmed the “principles of the Rooney Rule will be adopted to encourage applications from suitably qualified BAME candidates.” This is, they state, “the first time that a professional first-class county has adopted these principles”.The Rooney Rule – named after Dan Rooney, the former chair of the NFL’s diversity committee – is a form of affirmative action that demands ethnic-minority candidates are interviewed for head coaching and senior administrative positions.”In line with Warwickshire’s Equal Opportunities policy and desire to adopt the principles of the Rooney Rule, should the club receive applications from suitably qualified BAME candidates they will be added to the vacancy short list with a minimum of one BAME candidate invited to first interview,” the advert continues.While Warwickshire recently signed Manraj Johal, a seamer who has graduated from their own academy, by the time the 2020 season finished the club had no non-white player or senior coach on their staff. And while the club played a part in the development of the likes of Kabir and Moeen Ali as young players, both felt a need to move to Worcestershire to win greater opportunity. Their nephew, 16-year-old Ismail Mohammed, recently made the same decision.The current management at Warwickshire are acutely aware of this failure of the squad to reflect the local community and are determined to rectify it. As well as this adoption of the Rooney Rule, they have recently signed up to the African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) programme.”There shouldn’t be a barrier in the mind of anybody with the right experience who wants to apply for this job,” Stuart Cain, Warwickshire’s chief executive, said. “So, we think it’s right to adopt the principle of the Rooney Rule in the same way as many of the world’s leading sports organisations have.”Birmingham is one of the UK’s, if not Europe’s, most diverse cities and we have to reflect this when holding a mirror up to the club and how we operate at every level, from the board down”.Among the other criteria required by the advert, a “tangible proof of developing teams capable of winning domestic cricket competitions” is demanded, as is “proven success at winning trophies, domestically or internationally”. The likes of David Saker, currently with Sri Lanka, and Ottis Gibson, currently with Bangladesh, would be certain to gain an interview if they apply while, from closer to home, Graeme Welch, the club’s current bowling coach, would also be a strong candidate.The principles of the Rooney Rule will also be utilised by the ECB when appointing specialist coaches to work with both the England team and the most promising county players. They are expected to appoint specialist batting, seam bowling and spin bowling coaches in the coming months.Marcus Trescothick and Jon Lewis (the former Durham head coach) are expected to challenge for the batting position, while Jon Lewis (the former England seamer and current England U19 coach) and Welch are well placed for the seam-bowling job. Jeetan Patel is favourite for the spin position.

Cameron Green added to Australia’s list of injury concerns when he was struck on the side of the head by a fierce straight drive from Jasprit Bumrah on the opening day of the pink-all warm-up match at the SCG.It was later confirmed that he was subbed out of the match under the concussion protocol and replaced by Patrick Rowe but had been cleared of any fractures.Pip Inge, Cricket Australia team doctor, said: “Cameron sustained a mild concussion while bowling for Australia A. This is Cameron’s first concussion. He has returned to the team hotel and will not play the remaining two days of the tour match.”We will continue to monitor him and provide an update on his condition in due course.”Bowling the first delivery of his seventh over – in his second spell of the day – Green took the ball on the side of his head in his follow through as it burst through his hands.He immediately went to ground and the umpires called for medical staff straightaway with the India batsmen quickly showing concern. By the time the physios and doctor had made it to the middle Green was on his feet but after a short assessment left the ground.Green’s blow follows the hit to the helmet suffered by Will Pucovski in the previous warm-up match at Drummoyne Oval which left him with mild concussion and in doubt for the opening Test. Australia are already without David Warner for at least the Adelaide match due to his groin injury.Green was pushing his claims for a Test debut having made a century and taken two wickets in the first Australia A game following a strong start to the season in the Sheffield Shield. He is still limited to four-over spells as he returns from stress fractures of the bat but his batting alone makes a strong case for selection.He had earlier produced an excellent delivery to have Shubman Gill during his first spell.

The Brisbane Heat have been locked out of travelling to Victoria from Queensland this week due to the Victorian government’s hard border on travellers from Covid hotspots, something which has forced Cricket Australia to relocate seven upcoming BBL matches from Sydney and Melbourne as it tries to keep the season alive.CA has already shifted three fixtures from Sydney to Canberra, including the upcoming Sydney derby between the Sixers and the Thunder.

Fixtures relocated

• January 14: Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Renegades, Manuka Oval, 7:15pm AEDT (originally at Docklands)

• January 21: Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Oval, 6:45pm ACDT (originally at Melbourne Cricket Ground)

• January 22: Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Oval (originally at Sydney Cricket Ground)

• January 24: Sydney Thunder vs Adelaide Strikers, Adelaide Oval (originally at Sydney Showgrounds)

• January 24: Sydney Sixers vs Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Cricket Ground (originally at Sydney Cricket Ground)

• January 25: Adelaide Strikers vs Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Oval (originally at Sydney Showgrounds)

• January 26: Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers, venue TBC (originally at Sydney Cricket Ground)

But the Heat were scheduled to head to Melbourne to face the Renegades on Thursday at Docklands. But Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, went into a three-day lockdown after a rare community Covid-19 case was found on January 7. The Victorian government has imposed border restrictions on travellers coming to Victoria from Queensland and New South Wales which has caused chaos with CA’s scheduling after they were unable to get exemptions for the teams who were in Queensland from January 2 onwards.The Heat-Renegades fixture on Thursday has been moved to Manuka Oval in Canberra, in the ACT, and won’t be played in front of a crowd, while the Heat’s match with the Adelaide Strikers, that was scheduled for the MCG on January 21, has been instead shifted to Adelaide.Alistair Dobson, the head of the BBL, said the border restrictions from the Victorian government forced CA’s hand.”We have elected to move this Thursday’s Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Renegades match from Marvel Stadium (Docklands) to Manuka Oval given the Victorian Government’s current restrictions on travel from Brisbane and to create certainty that this fixture can be delivered,” Dobson said. “Unfortunately, given the operational difficulties in providing a safe and secure environment for fans to attend at such short notice – including the ACT Government’s requirement that all tickets go off sale 24 hours prior to the match – tickets to this match will not be available to the public.”In addition, we will be shifting the Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat match to Adelaide Oval as a result of that venue being re-engaged at the back end of the tournament, a great reward for Strikers’ members and fans.”CA have also moved all the remaining matches that were scheduled to be played in Sydney interstate to avoid any potential disruptions for the remainder of the season. “We understand our many passionate members and fans of both the Sixers and Thunder will be disappointed by today’s news that KFC BBL 10 matches won’t be played in Sydney this year,” Dobson said.The schedule changes mean that the Sixers and the Thunder won’t play a single match at home this season. Both sides already had to endure heavy restrictions while playing in Western Australia against the Perth Scorchers after arriving from Queensland.The Heat had already faced issues earlier in the tournament when Chris Lynn and Dan Lawrence were fined for breaking CA’s Covid protocols in Canberra.

Victoria and New South Wales are planning to push ahead with Monday’s Marsh Cup opener at North Sydney Oval despite difficulties in getting the Victoria side to Sydney following their state government’s decision to impose a strict five-day Covid lockdown starting at midnight on Friday.The Victorian government announced on Friday afternoon that the state would head into its third strict lockdown in 10 months following an outbreak of the new variant of Covid-19 from a quarantine hotel near Melbourne Airport.In response, the NSW government announced that any travellers arriving from Melbourne into NSW would be forced to undergo a five-day stay-at-home order in line with the Victoria lockdown.Related

• Pucovski might require shoulder surgery, could miss rest of domestic season

• Pat Cummins named NSW captain for the rescheduled Marsh Cup

• Restructured Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup to forge ahead

The decision by the Victorian state government forced a flurry of meetings at Cricket Australia and amongst the state cricket associations as the men’s 50-over Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield were due to recommence next week while the women’s 50-over competition, the WNCL, was already in progress with Victoria and New South Wales playing the second of back-to-back matches at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Friday.The NSW women were able to secure a flight out of Melbourne on Friday night prior to the lockdown being imposed at midnight. But Victoria’s men’s team was unable to get on an early flight to Sydney ahead of Monday’s Marsh Cup match.On Friday evening, Cricket Victoria was still working with Cricket New South Wales and the Victoria and NSW state governments on the team’s travel plan to Sydney with the aim for the match to still go ahead. The team first needs government clearance to fly to Sydney and also needs to secure enough seats on a plane as the number of flights available between the two states changed due to the Victorian government’s lockdown. There is an expectation that the Victorian team will get clearance and be able to fly to Sydney on Sunday.The game is due to be Pat Cummins’ captaincy debut for NSW after he was named as the Blues’ Marsh Cup captain for the remainder of the season.Victoria and Australia batsman Will Pucovski is set to miss the Marsh Cup and Shield match that follows as he continues to struggle with his shoulder injury.Earlier this week, Cricket Australia announced a restructured Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup fixture for the remainder of the season despite some state border concerns already existing prior to the Melbourne outbreak.Only Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Queensland were fixtured to play on resumption next week because the majority of Western Australia’s playing squad and coaching staff are stuck in mandatory 14-day home quarantine in Perth. The WA government has imposed a 14-day quarantine on travellers from states that have not been Covid-free for 28 days, meaning that the players and coaches involved with the Perth Scorchers in the BBL final in Sydney had to quarantine on return home.The WA team is due to travel to NSW for a Marsh Cup match on March 14 although the WA government’s quarantine requirements for travellers from NSW will be dropped between now and then should NSW remain Covid-free.Victoria’s women are due to head to WA for a WNCL match on March 18 while the men are due to travel to WA for a Shield match on March 23. The WA government has reinstated a hard border with Victoria meaning no travellers can enter without police clearance, and any exempt travellers with clearance would be required to do 14-days hotel quarantine.Victoria coach Chris Rogers spoke early on Friday morning prior to the announcement of Victoria’s five-day lockdown and expressed concern about whether the season could be completed in full.”We’re worried about the fact that we might not get games in,” Rogers said. “There’s probably an expectation or at least some wriggle room around the fact that we might have some games cancelled.”It’s probably up to me and the coaches to prepare players to play and what will be will be. We just have to roll with the punches as a lot of sports have done and take what comes.”You’d love for every game to go ahead but one of our last games is against Western Australia in Perth so that’s going to be touch and go. We’ll have to see how that plays out.”

England will extend its tours of West Indies in 2022, adding an extra Test and two more T20Is to their schedule.The tour next January will now feature five T20Is – increased from three matches – to be followed by England returning to the Caribbean for three Test matches in March – increased from the original two games.The possibility of extending the tour, expected to be worth nearly US$100m to the region, was reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, with CWI President Ricky Skerritt saying it would be an acknowledgement of West Indies’ agreement to travel to England last year. That trip, consisting of three Tests behind closed doors in Southampton and Manchester, helped the ECB stage a complete international season in the middle of the pandemic and avoid an estimated £380 million budget black hole, but Skerritt said it had not earned the tourists anything financially.

Schedule

• January 28: 1st T20I

• January 30: 2nd T20I

• February 2: 3rd T20I

• February 4: 4th T20I

• February 5: 5th T20I

• March 1-4: warm-up game

• March 8: 1st Test

• March 16: 2nd Test

• March 24: 3rd Test

Each Test match of the West Indies tour is estimated to be worth US$20-$25 million to the hosts and each T20I US$4 million.”This expansion of next year’s England tour to the Caribbean is welcome news for West Indies Cricket and for the region’s tourism economy,” Skerritt said when the tour extension was confirmed on Wednesday. “It has come about because of the special relationship that has been developed between our respective boards.”We have already begun discussions on how the ECB can help us in our development programs and I am pleased that ECB has been showing so much appetite and goodwill to assist.”Ian Watmore, the ECB Chair, said: “We hugely appreciated the support of Cricket West Indies, and all its men’s and women’s players, in helping us host a full season of international cricket in the summer of 2020. Following the conclusion of those tours to England we have been in discussions with CWI to understand how we can best support them moving forward and one way was to extend our existing England men’s tours to the Caribbean in 2022.”The three Tests will form part of the next ICC World Test Championship, while the additional T20Is will make it the biggest series between the sides in the shortest format, providing extra preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia the following October.The Test series will be the first in which England and West Indies compete for the newly commissioned Richards-Botham Trophy, named in honour of West Indies’ batting icon Sir Vivian Richards and England’s great allrounder Lord Ian Botham.The venues for the matches are expected to be announced by the end of April.

Incumbent USA Cricket board chairman Paraag Marathe has retained his position as an independent director and will serve a second term in the role after being approved by the rest of the board of directors, according to a press release from the governing body.”I am honoured to continue my role as an independent director for USA Cricket and chair of the board as we continue to build on the significant, foundational progress made over the last two years in collaboration with my colleagues and the wider community,” Marathe said. “There is no doubt that the last 12 months have been a very challenging period, not just for USA Cricket, but the world as a whole.”I remain confident that the developments we have made off the field, where we have navigated the continued uncertainties of the Covid-19 landscape, will enable us to make great progress on the field in 2021 and deliver upon our key priorities. I am especially pleased to see the plans coming together for the staging of National Championships in each of the men’s and women’s senior and U19 categories for the first time ever, and being able to deliver a full calendar of cricketing activity across the board this year.”USA have not played any international cricket since returning from an ODI tri-series in Nepal in February 2020. They were due to host Scotland and UAE in April 2020 for an ODI tri-series in Florida but the series was postponed in one of the first set of fixtures to be affected during the Covid pandemic. ODI tours of Oman and PNG that were slated for March and May have also been postponed, forcing the cancelation of a training camp USA Cricket had organised ahead of the scheduled tours.Related

• Leadership vacuum at USA Cricket as chairman Paraag Marathe resigns

• Smit Patel quits BCCI system to 'carve out a second coming of sorts' in America

• Delayed elections – USA Cricket board members file lawsuit against other members, chief executive

• NFL executive Marathe named USA Cricket's chairman

• USA Cricket targets ICC Full Membership by 2030

However, USA Cricket recently announced Under-19 men’s national championships to be played in Texas from April 4-11 in a bid to get domestic programs back underway after lengthy inactivity during the pandemic.”The launch of the USA Cricket Foundational Plan in 2020 now provides us with a direction for everything that we are working on, and I am committed to playing my part in helping USA Cricket achieve its overarching vision of becoming a Full Member of the ICC by 2030 and establishing cricket as a mainstream sport here within the USA,” Marathe said.”We have some ambitious objectives, including pursuing the opportunity to host global events, seeking cricket’s inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and establishing a professional Twenty20 league played in world-class cricket venues across the country. But we are also conscious of the need to invest our time and resources into growing areas that have to some extent been neglected for many years, in particular around youth development and engaging women and girls in all aspects of the sport.”Marathe’s first term, which was due to last for two years, began in August 2018 following the conclusion of the inaugural USA Cricket elections. Marathe, along with Catherine Carlson and Rohan Sajdeh, were installed as unelected independent directors by the other seven members of the then newly elected USA Cricket board. USA Cricket’s constitution mandated that the first board chairman must be one of the three independent directors, with Marathe getting the nod to take on the chairman’s role.However, Marathe’s first term wound up lasting more than 30 months following delays in the subsequent election, which was due to take place in August 2019 but did not occur until February 2020. Unlike his first term, Marathe’s reappointment has taken place prior to the next round of board elections, which have also faced numerous delays. USA Cricket has yet to announce a definitive voting date.Marathe’s second term as board chairman is due to be a three-year term ending in 2024.

Andrew Ingleton has resigned as Cricket Victoria chief executive with Nick Cummins, the BBL general manager with the state, appointed to an interim position.Ingleton, who held the role for three years, oversaw a period where Cricket Victoria significantly cut back on its community cricket staff as part of major job losses during the early stages of the pandemic.Cricket Victoria also disbanded the boards of the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades which made the two chief executive positions redundant.In a statement, Cricket Victoria said discussions over Ingleton’s departure had been going on since the start of the year.”I’d like to thank the board, senior management and staff for the opportunity to lead and work with them over the last three years. Our people are an outstanding group of dedicated professionals who are passionate about seeing cricket continue to thrive in this state,” Ingleton said.”I’d also like to extend special thanks to all of our players, coaches and support staff for their extraordinary commitment and resilience during 2020-21 to deliver a successful season, against all the odds.””I’m proud of the on-field performance of our Big Bash clubs and our men’s and women’s state teams and believe Cricket Victoria has unearthed some future stars for Australian cricket.Cricket Victoria chair David Maddocks said: “At a personal level I’d like to sincerely thank Andrew for the leadership, support and passion he has invested as chief executive over the last three years. The season we have just completed has come with some extraordinary challenges, but the organisation is well-positioned to recover from the Covid impacts and reinvest in Victorian cricket,”

India Women are set to tour Australia for a bilateral series in September. The tour, originally comprising three ODIs and slated for January this year, was officially postponed in December 2020. A report on the Cricket Australia website at the time said the series, rescheduled for the 2021-22 season, would be expanded to include three T20Is.While CA is yet to make an official announcement on the dates or make-up of the series, Australia pace bowler Megan Schutt said on a recent podcast that her side’s next assignment would be against India.”We have got a tour against India in mid-September,” Schutt said on , hosted by Kate Cross and Alex Hartley, in an episode aired on May 13. “So, there’s a couple of camps. I believe we are doing one in Darwin, which will be really cool… and then the tour against India. And then pretty much from there things get crazy with Big Bash, WNCL, Ashes, World Cup, and hopefully the Commonwealth Games.”It is understood the Australian board will make an announcement regarding the new dates for the series soon.Related

• Ellyse Perry: 'The more Test matches we play, the better we are going to get at it'

• India Women to play their first day-night Test during Australia tour

• Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav set for maiden WBBL deals

• Shafali Verma gets maiden ODI, Test call-ups

• India women's January tour of Australia postponed

India are due to tour England next month for a multi-format assignment that gets underway on June 16 with a one-off Test in Bristol. Three ODIs and as many T20Is follow, with the tour ending on July 15. At least five India players – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, and Shafali Verma – are expected to then stay back to participate in the inaugural edition of the Hundred, which will take place from July 21 to August 21.A number of India players, including Verma and Radha Yadav, are also set to be part of the seventh edition of the WBBL, which is likely to run in its usual October-November window.