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Bangladesh batsman Aftab Ahmed has announced his retirement at the end of the 2014-15 season

Mohammad Isam27-Aug-2014Bangladesh batsman Aftab Ahmed has announced he will retire at the end of the 2014-15 season. He said that his focus will turn to coaching and setting up an academy in his hometown of Chittagong.He will play the upcoming season’s Dhaka Premier League for Brothers Union after switching over from Gazi Tank Cricketers on the first day of player transfers being held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.The decision comes as a surprise, since Aftab is a few months short of his 29th birthday and still fit. But he said that the state of his playing career was what prompted the decision. Last season he averaged 23.81 for Gazi Tank and 18.20 in three first-class games.”This is my last Premier League, I don’t wish to play any longer,” Aftab said. “It wasn’t based on any emotional factors. It is completely a personal decision. This is my last year. You all please pray that I can leave on a high.””Cricket has become tough. Club officials think in a different way. I got a very low offer this year. So by putting everything into consideration, I thought this is the right time. If I had taken a bit longer, it wouldn’t be good for me. This is how I came to this decision.”He is yet to gain higher level coaching credits, but wants to help Chittagong get out of the mire in cricket development. Not since Nazimuddin, who debuted in 2007, has Bangladesh’s second-largest city produced an international cricketer.”I am setting up a cricket academy in Chittagong, which will be opened in the near future,” he said. “I want to take my coaching career to a very good level. Currently cricket in Chittagong is in bad shape, so I wish to take it to a better place.”Aftab played just 11 Tests for Bangladesh but he was more of an ODI player, winning 85 caps. He famously hit Jason Gillespie for a six in the last over of Bangladesh’s miraculous win over Australia in Cardiff in 2005.But three years later, he would join the rebel Indian Cricket League and be shunned by the BCB. He did make it back to the Bangladesh team in 2010, only to play two more Tests, averaging 17.00, and making just 80 runs in five ODIs. His last international match was in the World T20 that year.”The start of my career doesn’t really reflect what I eventually became as a player,” he said. “The ICL had a profound effect on my career at a crucial time. I mean, I couldn’t really end my career as I would have wanted. Still, I think people loved me for the way I played the game.”

Russell Domingo, South Africa’s head coach, has been given an extension till April 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2014Russell Domingo, South Africa’s head coach, has been given an extension till April 2016. CSA reached a unanimous decision on extending Domingo’s original two-year contract, which would have ended in April 2015.The decision to keep Domingo on was taken at Cricket South Africa’s AGM in Johannesburg on Saturday. Following the meeting, a CSA statement said the board had a net profit of R199 million (US$ 18m) in the last financial year, and termed that to be a good return given the shortening of India’s tour in December-January. “We are extremely satisfied with the results especially in the light of the unfortunate curtailment of the Indian tour,” CSA president Chris Nenzani said.Russell Domingo will continue as South Africa coach until April 2016•AFPTeam manager Mohammed Moosajee’s contract was also extended at the meeting.Domingo’s tenure had got off to a rough start when they were drubbed 4-1 in Sri Lanka in July. He had said then Sri Lanka was a “hell of a tough place to tour”, but in 2014, they secured their maiden ODI series in the country and capped it with a determined stonewalling effort in Colombo to reclaim the No.1 ranking in Tests. As they had done in Johannesburg against India where they had almost sneaked through to an unlikely victory, South Africa absorbed everything the Rangana Herath-led attack had to offer to save their 1-0 lead.They had also come from behind in the UAE to level the two-Test series with Pakistan and take the ODIs by an authoritative 4-1 margin. They blanked world champions India in a three-match ODI series in December and most recently defeated Australia in the final of the one-day tri-series in Zimbabwe.Australia had also handed them a low during a hotly-contested Test series in February-March this year, when South Africa went down 2-1 at home. Also, an ICC trophy remained out of South Africa’s reach when they fumbled in the semi-final of the World T20.

Three matches into his one-day comeback, a groin injury has forced Shaun Tait out of the Matador Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2014Three matches into his one-day comeback, a groin injury has forced Shaun Tait out of the Matador Cup. The 31-year old fast bowler had retired from one-day cricket after the 2011 World Cup, but made himself available this season in hopes of helping South Australia win a trophy.However, Tait suffered discomfort in his groin while playing against Queensland last Sunday and the coach Darren Berry says it is severe enough to cut his comeback short.”He was chasing a ball in the outfield, strained his groin and unfortunately that is the end of the Matador Cup for Taity,” Berry told “He goes back home now and we will reassess that in a week’s time.”Injuries have followed Tait throughout his career and not being able to handle the strain his action put on his body was a major factor in his decision to exclusively play T20s before this season. He joins his captain Johan Botha and wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman on the bench and losing them has impacted South Australia’s performance badly. They are yet to post a win after four matches.”There is no hiding behind that at all, but when you have 10 senior players out of your side in a team sport of 11, it certainly decimates your line-up,” Berry said.South Australia next game is against Tasmania on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya has expressed alarm at Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara’s statements to media regarding team selection, and has said the players’ comments revealed Sri Lanka’s plans

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Nov-2014Sri Lanka chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya has expressed alarm at Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara’s statements to the media regarding team selection, and has said the players’ comments revealed Sri Lanka’s plans. Jayawardene has made public his desire to open the innings, while Kumar Sangakkara suggested he was disappointed to be heading home mid-series, after the selectors had chosen to rest him.Jayasuriya said he had spoken to both Jayawardene and Sangakkara in a meeting with captain Angelo Mathews and coach Marvan Atapattu last Friday, but would now consider leaving the two senior batsmen out of selection discussions.”By the way things are happening, we might even have to keep them out of the meetings where plans are discussed,” Jayasuriya told . “This is setting a dangerous precedent. What they have told media are things that we had discussed at a meeting. They were just basic ideas only. Nothing was final. When they go and tell the media as if it were all their plans, it puts us in an embarrassing situation.”Debates around Jayawardene’s batting position have arisen in selection meetings over the past 18 months, with Jayasuriya among those who believe Jayawardene’s promotion up the order would leave the middle-order too exposed. Jayawardene said he has repeatedly asked to be sent up the order, only stopping short of “going down on my knees to the selectors and asked for me to be allowed to open”, because he feels he plays his best cricket at the top of the order.Meanwhile, upon his departure from India, Sangakkara had said: “Nobody likes to leave a series in the middle, especially when losing”. He had also suggested Dinesh Chandimal bat at No. 3 in his absence, and Lahiru Thirimanne take up a spot at No. 6.”Those are decisions that the national selectors should take, not the players,” Jayasuriya said. “If the players are going to do our job, what is the point of having selectors there at all?””I had a one to one chat with Sanga and he did not protest the decision at all. Selectors had already decided when they named the squad for the India tour to rest Sanga and Dhammika Prasad for the last two ODIs. Sanga keeps wickets and then needs to bat long. It is a tall order and with so many fixtures against England and New Zealand coming up, we need to manage the seniors carefully. It was a case of preserving him for the long schedule ahead rather than looking for a win at all expense.”Jayasuriya has leveled similar criticism at Jayawardene and Sangakkara before. In March, Jayasuriya had said he felt “very let down” by the players, when they had effectively announced they would quit T20 internationals, before they had confirmed their retirements with the selectors.”Discussing plans with media is not the ideal way to face the challenges,” Jayasuriya said.

A round-up of the Georgie Pie Super Smash matches that took place on November 22

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2014A brace of half-centuries from Michael Pollard and Grant Elliott set up Wellington’s 25-run victory against Canterbury at the Westpac Stadium. After getting sent in to bat, Wellington slipped from 82 for 1 in the 11th over to 91 for 4 in the 13th, before Elliott steadied the innings with Brad Hodge. Hodge made 30 off 21 balls and Elliott made 52 off 23, striking four sixes. The initial platform for the score of 178 for 6 had been laid by Pollard, who made 54 off 39 balls. Ronnie Hira took 2 for 25 in four overs for Canterbury, but Andrew Ellis’ two wickets cost 43 runs.The Canterbury chase had a woeful start with the top order failing. They were 56 for 4 in 10 overs after Peter Fulton fell. Brendan Diamanti made 73 and Ellis 30 to stabilise the innings but Canterbury were always behind the asking rate. Elliott followed up his half-century with figures of 2 for 36 and Brent Arnel took 2 for 31 to limit Canterbury to 153 for 9.Auckland collapsed for 90 to suffer a 56-run defeat against Central Districts in Wellington. Chasing 147, Auckland lost two wickets in the first over, two more wickets with the score on 51, and then collapsed from 86 for 6 to 90 all out in 17 overs. No one got to 20. Ben Wheeler took 4 for 8 in three overs for Central Districts, while Ajaz Patel and Andrew Mathieson claimed two each.Central Districts’ innings had also suffered at the start after they were sent in to bat – they were 54 for 4 in 7.3 overs when Will Young was dismissed for 30 off 22 balls. Kruger van Wyk made 34 off 39 deliveries to stabilise the innings, while Kieran Neoma-Barnett’s 41 came off only 30 deliveries. Their 71-run stand helped Central Districts recover to 146 for 7, which proved plenty in the end.

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group B matches played on December 30, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2014
ScorecardFile photo – Harbhajan Singh bowled 15 wicketless overs against Saurashtra•ESPNcricinfo LtdSixteen wickets fell at the Feroz Shah Kotla as Delhi closed in on a massive win over Gujarat. Resuming on 34 for 1 in reply to Delhi’s 425, Gujarat folded for 150, with left-arm spinner Varun Sood grabbing four wickets. Eight Gujarat batsmen reached double figures but they only managed a top score of 22.Made to follow on, Gujarat began their second innings with a rapid opening stand of 53 between Samit Gohel and Priyank Panchal. The wicket of Gohel in the 10th over began a collapse that saw them lose four wickets for the addition of just two runs. Smit Patel and Chirag Gandhi stemmed the loss of wickets briefly, with a 28-run fifth-wicket stand, before both fell in the space of four overs. Jesal Karia and Rush Kalaria then added 46 for the seventh wicket before Sood trapped Kalaria lbw to pick up his fifth wicket of the innings. All seven second-innings wickets fell to spin, with offspinner Shivam Sharma picking up the other two.
ScorecardOdisha were left on the cusp of victory after their seamers bundled Haryana out for their second low score of the match in Lahli. Declaring on their overnight 232 for 9, with a lead of 105, Odisha bowled Haryana out for 143 in their second innings. Avi Barot and Nitin Saini gave Haryana a 42-run opening stand and Amit Mishra made 37 at No. 9, but there were few other contributions of note as the medium-pacers revelled yet again. Deepak Behera finished with four wickets while Basant Mohanty picked up two. Left to chase a target of 39, Odisha lost Natraj Behera in the first over and were 8 for 1 at stumps.
ScorecardA big century from S Badrinath helped Vidarbha gallop along at four runs an over in their second innings and declare to set Rajasthan a target of 405 in Jaipur. At stumps, Rajasthan were 33 for 1, having lost opener Siddharth Saraf in the fourth over of their innings.Vidarbha’s innings didn’t get off to a great start, losing Aniruddha Chore and Faiz Fazal within the first ten overs. Fazal was lbw to Aniket Choudhary for a 31-ball duck. Ganesh Satish and Badrinath put on 80 for the third wicket before Choudhary struck again to dismiss Satish for 32. This brought the first-innings centurion Shalabh Shrivastava to the crease, and he proceeded to add 191 with Badrinath at 4.66 runs an over. Shrivastava made 75 off 110 balls, with 11 fours, and fell two overs before Vidarbha declared with Badrinath unbeaten on 152 off 203 balls, having struck 19 fours.
ScorecardA century from Sagar Jogiyani and solid contributions from the rest of Saurashtra’s top three highlighted another bat-dominated day in Rajkot. Saurashtra moved to 281 for 1 in response to Punjab’s daunting 659 before they lost three wickets in a clump late in the day. At stumps, Saurashtra trailed by 351 with Sheldon Jackson and Kamlesh Makvana at the crease.Resuming on 27 for 0, Saurashtra’s openers extended their partnership to 101 before left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh bowled Bhushan Chauhan for 49. That was Punjab’s only wicket for a long time, as Jogiyani and Arpit Vasavada batted through the next 54.2 overs and put on 180, before they fell at the same score, in the space of six balls. Vasavada made 78 off 156 balls, with seven fours, and Jogiyani 145 off 283, with 16 fours and two sixes. Punjab struck once again before stumps to get rid of the Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah. Harbhajan Singh was Punjab’s only wicketless specialist, and he did the least bowling of the four, sending down 15 overs for the cost of 48 runs.

It has been a “hell of a year”, in the words of Alastair Cook but he will have to wait a few more days to see if it has been worth it – at least from a personal perspective

Alan Gardner in Colombo16-Dec-20142:01

Three things England learnt in Sri Lanka

It has been a “hell of a year”, in the words of Alastair Cook but he will have to wait a few more days to see if it has been worth it – at least from a personal perspective. After England slipped to another heavy defeat to cap off a 5-2 beating by Sri Lanka, Cook admitted that his performances in one-day cricket had not been good enough and that he “could have no complaints” if the selectors decided to relieve him of the captaincy for the World Cup.In 2014, England have lost four out of five ODI series, with their sole victory coming in the Caribbean when Cook was rested as part of preparations for the World T20. The last time he oversaw victory in a bilateral series was against New Zealand in February 2013.England’s head coach, Peter Moores, and the ECB managing director, Paul Downton, have already given Cook their public backing but the final decision will be taken this week when the World Cup selection is finalised. By the time he turns 30 on Christmas Day, Cook will have been able to digest whether or not he is the man to lead England in Australia and New Zealand.There was little to brighten Alastair Cook’s mood in the final ODI•Getty Images”No one has got any divine right to play for England, that’s the way it should be and my performances this year in the one-day game haven’t been good enough,” he said. “I can’t have any complaints if the decision went against me. It’s not been for lack of effort or wanting to try and improve my game I just haven’t been good enough this year.”I haven’t given it too much thought because if the decision went that way I can’t do much about it. I haven’t scored the runs I would like to have scored and we haven’t won the number of games I would like to have won. So if it happens I could have no complaints but as a leader you take tough days on the chin and hope people are learning from it.”As the team’s fortunes have plummeted, so have Cook’s returns with the bat. A scratchy 32 in the final Colombo ODI meant he has now scored one fifty in his last 22 innings and it is two-and-a-half years since his last hundred. Cook continues to believe he can turn around his form, suggesting that when the runs finally come it will be in a torrent, and said that he was “incredibly hungry” to lead England in a successful World Cup campaign.”It’s a frustration to us all because away from the middle I’ve hit the ball as well as I have done, especially on this trip,” he said. “The longer that number goes up the more of a worry it is but you do what you always do, keeping trying, working hard as you can at your game and you back yourself to turn the corner. When the floodgates to open it should be good.”I’m incredibly hungry to do well, I don’t like not seeing a job through, and I see a lot of potential in this team. Jimmy and Broady will come back and add some real quality to our bowling attack and we’ll go there hopefully in a good frame.”Without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England’s inexperienced attack struggled in Sri Lanka but it was arguably the indifferent form of the senior batsmen that contributed most to defeat. Cook’s highest score was 34 from six innings, Eoin Morgan averaged 12.85 and Ian Bell was dropped after two games. England rarely managed to pull together a concerted display but there were impressive individual performances from Moeen Ali, Joe Root, James Taylor and Chris Woakes.”It’s been a hell of a year,” Cook said. “We haven’t won the games, there’s been a big change in personnel within the team and it’s been a year of transition, certainly from 15 months ago when we were winning the Ashes at home to what’s happened. It’s been a year you wouldn’t expect but England have found some outstanding cricketers as well.”Providing he is appointed, Cook has not given up hope of England making a better fist of things at the World Cup. “I think we can surprise people,” he said. “We’re going to have to play better than we have done here. We’ve got a huge amount of talent in the squad and I think we’ve made some good strides in certain areas on this tour. We’ve worked incredibly hard, so yeah, there’s no reason why we can’t in better conditions for us.”

There will be no Lions cricket in England this year for the first time since 2006 after Cricket Australia revealed they had no plans for an ‘A’ tour of the UK during the Ashes

Daniel Brettig and George Dobell23-Jan-2015There will be no Lions cricket in England this year for the first time since 2006 after Cricket Australia revealed they had no plans for an ‘A’ tour of the UK during the Ashes.While the 2013 summer saw Australia send something approaching a shadow squad to Scotland, Ireland and the UK in the lead-up to the Test series, CA have now confirmed they will not be sending a second team this year.CA’s team performance manager Pat Howard said this was largely due to the fact that, where in 2013 the Ashes was preceded by the 50-over Champions Trophy, this time a large Australian Test squad will be together in the West Indies for two Tests immediately prior to arriving in England. There is an Australia A tour planned, but it will be to India in late July and August as part of a three-year agreement with the BCCI and Cricket South Africa.”The lead-in to the last Ashes series was white-ball cricket with the Champions Trophy, so there wasn’t a red ball lead-in, so what we needed to create, particularly for red-ball specialists, was the Australia A tour to Scotland, Ireland and Gloucestershire,” Howard told ESPNcricinfo. “This time we’ve got a red ball lead-in with the West Indies series and with an extended squad we can make sure we get the preparation right for those players, so we’ve got a strong squad in red-ball preparation leading into the Ashes.”What we did is move some one-day games against West Indies into 2015-16, where we have a tri-series [in the Caribbean]. So we’ve got a consistent red ball lead-in. Underneath that, we do have games against India A in July and August while the third and fourth Tests are on. We will also have players in county cricket who can be called on if and when required, and we know who those players are as well.”We’ve made sure there’s a fair gap between the last Test in Jamaica [ends June 17] and the first game in Kent [starts June 25] and we also worked closely with the West Indies board to make sure the second destination had direct flights into England, so that any of those times and adjustments are mediated. There are two four-day games against Kent and Essex in the lead-in, so making sure we have enough time has been a priority.”Howard was adamant the lack of a direct “shadow” tour for the Ashes had not been a cost-saving measure. “The driver here is the West Indies lead-in – you make sure you prioritise the Ashes when you’re doing your budgets,” he said. “We believe having guys around the West Indies group, having guys around the England group, county cricket and Australia A experience for the 2017 India Test tour all have multi-functional roles in terms of getting experience – and getting experience in the subcontinent is important too.”Though such matches had not been scheduled into the fixture list, the ECB admitted they had expected Australia to send a side and that they have been unable to confirm alternative touring teams in their place. “I can’t speak for England,” Howard said. “They may have assumed that after 2013, we’d do the same thing in 2015, but we’ve been working backwards from the schedule and made sure we made amendments to the West Indies tour to make it a better fit and cleaner lead-in to the Ashes.”When we toured with Australia A in 2013 it wasn’t a bilateral, there was no owing, and we just went over and paid for our own ability to do that, organised games with Scotland and Ireland because of the county season then worked with the ECB for the Gloucestershire game.”Whatever the reasons, CA’s decision leaves England without Lions fixtures in the coming season for the first time in almost a decade. That news will come as a relief to county coaches who risk seeing their squads diluted during the domestic campaign, but it will be a blow to the England set-up who place great store in the development benefits of the Lions programme.The ECB hope touring ‘A’ sides will return in 2016, with their preferred option being a tri-series between the Lions and two overseas teams.

Firdose Moonda at Seddon Park15-Feb-20151:45

‘Toss played a big part’ – de Villiers

South Africa, a World Cup and pressure. Like a proper suit, they come as a three-piece set. That’s why AB de Villiers fully expected to be under the pump in the opening match, albeit against Zimbabwe, and took heart from the way his team came through their first test in the tournament.De Villiers praised the way South Africa fought through tough conditions early on in their innings, when the top order imploded against a disciplined Zimbabwe attack.”The toss definitely played a big part in them getting ahead early on in the game,” de Villiers said. “It was difficult to bat in the first 15 overs. It was slow and sticky, very Zimbabwe-like conditions and difficult to hit through the line. Zimbabwe don’t have a lot of pace in their attack and they are very clever in the way they use the bowlers.”But it was only in the Zimbabwe chase that de Villiers really felt he was confronted with the possibility the game could go down to the wire and he had to demand more from his men. “At the first drinks break in the Zimbabwe innings I said to the guys, ‘We are here in a tight game.’ They were on target and we needed something to happen. We needed the pace to change.”Although de Villiers had made use of both JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien, he only introduced his trump card, Imran Tahir, in the over before drinks and it was only after the interval that the legspinner began to look dangerous. Tahir had an appeal for lbw against Chamu Chibhabha turned down and proved difficult for the opener to pick. Chibhabha almost offered a return catch in the next over and then the over after that mistimed a slice over extra cover to the fielder on the boundary.”Imran changed the pace for us,” de Villiers said. “He formed some partnerships with the ball.”Still, de Villiers could not relax because Tahir’s breakthrough brought together Zimbabwe’s most experienced pair. Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor kept Zimbabwe in the hunt despite a mounting required run rate, which nevertheless could be overcome with just one big over. As South Africa showed when they were batting, wickets in hand at the end could make even 30 runs in an over possible.”I felt pressure right throughout the game. You know you have to get wickets to win the game because if they have batsmen out there, they can get the runs,” de Villiers said. “Those guys are not just out there batting for fun. You know you have to get breakthroughs all the time.”Tahir got the other major breakthrough as well when he had Masakadza caught at cover and that was when South Africa clawed back control. Even though Zimbabwe remained ahead of South Africa’s equivalent score until the end of the 46th over, their actual challenge was stubbed out with about 15 overs to go and South Africa were guaranteed a comprehensive win.That does not mean the favourites have nothing to worry about. De Villiers pointed to a “slow start” in the top order as an area to improve on but excused it this time, because of the conditions and the aggression shown by a middle order, which has solidified. Instead of concentrate on improvements, South Africa are looking forward to two days off after a win de Villiers said he was “very satisfied” with.

West Indies offspinner Sunil Narine underwent a fresh testing process on his bowling action at the Sri Ramachandra Universtity, an ICC-accredited centre, in Chennai on Thursday

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Apr-2015West Indies offspinner Sunil Narine underwent a fresh testing process on his bowling action at the Sri Ramachandra Universtity, an ICC-accredited centre, in Chennai on Thursday. The reports from the test are likely to be submitted on Saturday, and by Monday, the BCCI’s sub-committee dealing with suspect bowling actions will finalise its decision on whether Narine would be available to play for Kolkata Knight Riders this IPL.This means Knight Riders were forced to grudgingly accept the BCCI diktat which stated that Narine had to undergo tests at the Chennai centre despite him having got a clearance from the University of Loughborough in March.It is understood that Narine appeared in front of the BCCI’s sub-committee which deals with suspect bowling actions. Former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath is head of the three-man panel which comprises former India captain S Venkataraghavan and ex-international umpire AV Jayaprakash.Srinath’s panel observed Narine in real time and also put him through various tests with the entire process lasting for less than two hours. Apparently the panel did not study the results from the Loughborough centre.Knight Riders had lodged a protest with BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya questioning the necessity of a separate test when Narine had got himself cleared from an ICC-accredited testing centre in Loughborough. But Dalmiya informed the team management that he was helpless and instead of giving an explanation, he suggested it would only benefit the franchise if Narine traveled to Chennai.Narine remains the most valuable player for Knight Riders, the defending IPL champions, who will play Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener on April 9 at Eden Gardens. After he was called in successive matches during last year’s Champions League Twenty20, Narine made a comeback to competitive cricket with Trinidad & Tobago in the Nagico Super50, including a career-best 6 for 9 in the final to overwhelm Guyana.More importantly, Narine achieved that feat with a new bowling action, which he has been working extensively on in the company of experts like former Pakistan offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq.