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The Cricket Association of Bihar has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court verdict of July 30

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Aug-2013In a move that could further delay the return of N Srinivasan as the active BCCI president, the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court verdict of July 30. The High Court had ruled that the BCCI had violated its own rules in the formation of the inquiry commission investigating the corruption allegations against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals and their owners, and the CAB contended in its petition that the High Court could have recommended an alternative method of investigation.On August 7, the BCCI had filed its own SLP in the Supreme Court against the High Court judgment. In its 13-page SLP, the BCCI contested the High Court order, asking how the CAB’s public interest petition could have been entertained when the Indian board was a private body.The two-judge bench of Justices AK Patnaik and Jagdish Singh Khehar had asked CAB to file their reply by August 29. However in the wake of CAB’s SLP, the hearing has been pushed back by a day and will be heard now on Friday. The CAB’s SLP, filed on August 17, sought no interim relief.The CAB’s main contention in its SLP is that the High Court, having established that the BCCI had broken its own rules in setting up an investigation, could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations. The BCCI’s inquiry had cleared Gurunath Meiyappan, who is Srinivasan’s son-in-law, and Raj Kundra and the two franchises they were part of, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.In their 61-page order, High Court Justices SJ Vazifdar and MS Sonak had said that although it could not be firmly established, there was a “degree of involvement” of Srinivasan in setting up the original three-man probe commission.In the SLP, the CAB asked, “whether the High Court, having found that the constitution of the Commission was not in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of Respondent No. 1 (BCCI), and having acknowledged that a key focus of the probe panel was a close relative of Respondent No.2 (Srinivasan), was right in refraining from suggesting a fail-proof mechanism to enquire into the facts leading to the publicly known allegations?”During the High Court hearing, the BCCI legal counsel had argued strongly that the inquiry was set up under the IPL’s Operational Rules. However, the judges had concluded that the BCCI had broken rule 2.2, which made it mandatory that at least one member of the IPL Code of Behaviour committee sat on the probe panel.The CAB’s lawyers also argued that they filed the SLP because the “reputation” of BCCI was at stake, and that the IPL scandal wasn’t merely a question of disciplinary problems.”…the High Court failed to appreciate that the IPL Operational Rules are only concerned with breaches of discipline that affect the IPL. The present matter deals with alleged violations that, if enquired properly, would likely bring into question various broader issues, such as the integrity of players (who may, after the IPL season, play under the India banner), nexus between administrators of the Board, administrators of IPL teams and players, and various other factors that have led to the sharp reputational crisis that faces Respondent No.1 today,” the SLP said.The important ground listed in the CAB SLP dealt with the powers given to the BCCI president whenever a probe committee is set up. “The relevant power is available under Rule 32, which on a reading makes it clear that the President of Respondent No.1 (BCCI) must lead such enquiry as the appointing authority, overseeing authority and the authority to whom such enquiry commission’s report is to be submitted. In the present matter, given that the enquiry relates in large measure to the role of a close relative of Respondent No.2 (Srinivasan) who is also the de-facto President, and the team belonging to Respondent No.3 (India Cements) in which he is a key shareholder and Director, it is not possible to hold an enquiry that both appears and also is fair and transparent,” the SLP said.Although the BCCI was tight-lipped about the latest events, the Supreme Court order will carry a lot of significance. A decision favouring Srinivasan would facilitate his taking over as president immediately, ending the brief reign of the interim BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya.However, any delay in the court proceedings is likely to have an impact on Srinivasan’s tenure as the president. Under normal circumstances, Srinivasan would have officially sought the constitutionally allowed one-year extension (till September 2014) to his time as president at the board’s AGM on September 30, but that will be under a cloud if his legal problems aren’t cleared by then.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between England and South Africa at Lord’s

The Preview by Alex Winter15-Aug-2012

Match facts

Thursday, August 16
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Graeme Swann needs a return to form if England are to retain their No. 1 status•Getty Images

Big picture

For the second series this year, England are faced with a must-win final Test in order to preserve their No. 1 status. They managed to produce a No. 1 performance in Colombo to defeat Sri Lanka and stay top of the pile. That performance followed four consecutive defeats and, once again, England have to pull something out of the bag after less-than-ideal preparation.Their cricket might have improved at Headingley in the second Test but any sign of improvement has been totally overshadowed by a social media ruckus. Twitter, YouTube, text messages and emails have ensured Kevin Pietersen’s long-term England future has dominated the news rather than the facts of the immediate future – England have to win this Test. And without Pietersen they are without the man that took the series back to South Africa and at last put them under pressure with his 149.South Africa might be a little miffed by the Pietersen saga too. They have come dangerously close to being dragged into the mire and few are discussing their opportunity to ascend the summit of world cricket, for which they need only a draw. They are by far the more settled of the two camps and have players in form and in confident mood. Several had injury worries after the second Test but they are now fully recovered and preparing to take South Africa to the top.Much will depend in this match on England’s ability to score enough runs. Sounds simple enough – and the totals they have achieved so far in this series would have been good enough to pressurise many teams – but England have found themselves with too few runs to play with against the depth, talent and mental strength of South Africa’s line-up. Twice England have squandered positions to rack up very high scores and they cannot afford to miss their chance at Lord’s, otherwise South Africa’s order could swamp them once again.

Form guide

England DLDWW (Most recent first)
South Africa DWDWD

Watch out for

There is suddenly some pressure on Graeme Swann. The stock of England’s premier spinner has fallen in the last year – he didn’t have the devastating effect the Pakistan slow men enjoyed in the UAE and laboured for 50 fruitless overs at The Oval under suspicion of an elbow injury. He took his first first-class wicket since June last week for Nottinghamshire at Taunton. Last summer, Swann used the final Test against India at The Oval, to re-establish his claim as one of the world’s best spinners by bowling his side to victory on the final day. He will be hoping for a repeat performance.Dale Steyn endured a miserable Lord’s debut on South Africa’s last tour in 2008, taking 1 for 117 as England built a huge first-innings total. He will be looking for happier memories this week and will hope to add to his 10 wickets – making him the leading wicket-taker – in the series so far.

Pitch and conditions

The Olympic archery tournament was completed less than two weeks ago so it will be interesting to see how the outfield has coped with temporary stands and artificial paths. “It’s not as pristine as you normally see Lord’s but you’ve got to give credit to them for the effort they have put in,” Graeme Smith said. The square was largely unaffected by the archery and with the drier weather in recent weeks than at the start of the season, a truer surface than during the West Indies Test should be found.

Team news

Pietersen’s absence could be the excuse England need to play five bowlers in their search for 20 wickets – something they have been loathe to do in recent times. They used Samit Patel as a fifth bowler in Sri Lanka but you have go back to Dhaka in February 2010 for a match where five specialist bowlers were picked. Swann could replace Pietersen with Ian Bell batting at No. 4 and Matt Prior at No. 6. The tried-and-tested method, however, would be to slot Jonny Bairstow back into the side.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 James Taylor, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven FinnSouth Africa will remain unchanged, as all their injury worries, Alviro Petersen, Jacques Kallis and Smith, have recovered.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Stats and trivia

• In total, the teams have met 14 times at Lord’s with England winning six and South Africa four.
• England haven’t beaten South Africa at Lord’s since 1960 – six Tests ago – when they triumphed by an innings and 73 runs.
• South Africa’s record Test total came at Lord’s in 2003 – 682 for 6 declared.
• Andrew Strauss’ 100th Test will be his 50th as captain, while Stuart Broad’s 50th Test will be his 100th first-class match

Quotes

“We expect England to be England over the next five days and we just have to be better than them at it.”

Perhaps it was the loss of 23 overs to poor weather on the third
night. Perhaps it was the lack of a really good quality spinner. Or
perhaps they were just unlucky

George Dobell at Wantage Road23-Jul-2011
ScorecardPerhaps it was the loss of 23 overs to poor weather on the third
night. Perhaps it was the lack of a really good quality spinner. Or
perhaps they were just unlucky; certainly several edges flew
tantalisingly close to fielders. But, in the end, Derbyshire had to content themselves with a draw at Northants.The visitors were the better side for a large portion of
the game, but were unable to finish off a home side that bat deep and
fight hard. It was, in many ways, an excellent advert for the benefits
of two division, four-day cricket. The days when sides simply rolled
over and died when the pressure mounts are, largely, gone.These are exciting times for Derbyshire. Perhaps, in terms of a
promotion challenge, this will prove a year too soon. But they have a
developing squad of young players – Dan Redfern and Tom Knight are
among the talented youngsters who missed this game – and will surely
only improve in years to come. The prospect of Mark Turner and Mark
Footitt bowling in tandem is mouth-watering. Derbyshire have not been
blessed with such pace bowlers for many years.John Morris is a man with many positive qualities. He has an excellent
eye for talent and assembled a gifted squad at Derbyshire. Perhaps,
however, he was not the most sympathetic man-manager. His replacement,
Kark Krikken, a fellow who shows a bit more carrot and a little less
stick, may well prove better at nurturing the developing team.
They have some challenges. Greg Smith and Tim Groenewald are both the
subject of multiple 28-day approaches from other counties and
Derbyshire may face an uphill struggle to persuade the high-quality
role-model cricketer to join them for next season. Paul Collingwood
remains the target; Rob Key, whatever the rumour-mill may suggest, is
not.Earlier in the day, Derbyshire thrashed 97 in 14 overs to set-up their
declaration. Whiteley, who looks a fine prospect, scored his final 35
runs from just 10 balls, with both he and Smith registering selfless
half-centuries. It left Northants requiring a most unlikely 358 to win
in a minimum of 80 overs.Any chance they had of achieving that was ended by another excellent
spell from Turner. His extra pace accounted for both openers before he
had conceded a run which meant that, including his spell that ended
the first innings, he had taken five wickets for no runs in 24 balls.For those who last saw him ball in the CB40 final, it was a remarkable
improvement. Rob White briefly lifted hopes of a run-chase as he plundered 18 off
one over but, when he was run out after attempting an insane single,
the draw was Northants best hope. Jon Clare accounted for Rob Newton,
with a full ball, and Mal Loye, with one that bounced more than
expected, but O’Brien and Hall ensured there was to be no collapse.Hall, who passed 50 with two successive sixes, occasionally lived
dangerously, but the edges either flew through vacant fourth slip, or
bounced just in front of the cordon.”It was a bridge too far,” Krikken said afterwards. “But I’m proud of
the way we’ve played. Turner and Whiteley stuck their hand up in this
game and we can take great confidence from the way we’ve played. But of course I’m disappointed. If we’d have won we’d have put ourselves right in the mix. But I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. We just need to take it ball-by-ball and match-by-match and
we’ll do fine.
“We’ve given them a chance to play with freedom. We have a great team
spirit and all the guys are enjoying their team-mates’ success.”In the end, it wasn’t such a bad match for Northants, either. They
stopped the rot after the Championship defeat to Essex and the horrid
run of T20 form and showed some character as Niall O’Biren and Andrew
Hall added an unbroken 106 for the sixth wicket to make the match
safe.They still remain well-placed in the promotion race. They lead the
table by 18 points, though Middlesex have a game in hand. More
importantly, the lead over third-placed Glamorgan is 20 points.In the longer-term, their efforts must be to retain the services of
promising players such as Jack Brooks. Brooks, who has been one of the
best seamers on the circuit this season, is the subject of interest
from five other counties, with Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Kent among
them.Many a young man can have their head turned by the offer of big money
and the chance to play at a big club. But Brooks is a level-headed fellow. He’s enjoying his cricket at Northants, he’s enjoying the responsibility he has been given and he’s
enjoying the company of his team-mates. It would be a bit of a
surprise if he left.

Jesse Ryder’s disrupted year has continued after a nagging elbow injury ruled him out of New Zealand’s tour of Sri Lanka

Cricinfo staff21-Jul-2010Jesse Ryder’s disrupted year has continued after a nagging elbow injury ruled him out of New Zealand’s tour of Sri Lanka next month. Ryder, 25, spent most of last summer fighting a serious groin problem and only returned for the World Twenty20 in the West Indies.He entered that tournament with hurt ligaments in his elbow and batted five times for 93 runs. Ryder eventually succumbed to the pain, which is particularly bad when he throws, missed the Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in May and has failed to recover during his time off.”Due to the compressed nature of the tour and his speed of recovery so far we feel we have insufficient time to get Jesse fully fit and able to take part in any of the one-day matches,” the coach and selector Mark Greatbatch said. “Therefore we have made the decision to keep Jesse in New Zealand where he will continue his rehabilitation from the elbow injury and return to playing as soon as possible.”A replacement will be named for the tri-series tournament that also involves India. New Zealand will be captained by Ross Taylor at the event, with Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum both on paternity leave.Greatbatch said it would be a huge achievement if New Zealand won the tri-series. “The team is a relatively young side without Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum but it gives other players an opportunity to express their natural talent on the international stage,” he said. “We’re building towards the first one-day international and are confident we will be ready when it really matters.”The squad departs for Sri Lanka on August 1 and the first match is against India on August 10. This week the players travel to Australia for three 50-over practice games against Maharashtra in Darwin to acclimatise.

It’s not clear if the team management wanted to rest him or Bumrah himself wanted to be rested

Alagappan Muthu31-Oct-2024Jasprit Bumrah is likely to miss the third and final Test of the series against New Zealand in Mumbai. Bumrah was with the team when they began training at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, but all he did were some light fitness work and some fielding drills. He did not bowl during either of the training sessions that India had at the stadium.It is understood that Bumrah doesn’t have an injury, and it’s not known yet if the team management wanted to rest him or Bumrah himself wanted to be rested.The news that Bumrah could miss the game came to light shortly after head coach Gautam Gambhir mentioned that all the players were available for selection, and brushed aside concerns about Bumrah not bowling at training.Related

• Gambhir: I don't think our skill against spin has gone down

• New Zealand look to go where no team has gone before in India

“I think he [Bumrah] is just done his preparations,” Gambhir said on Thursday, “I think we know how the weather is in Mumbai, so obviously he needs to conserve his energy as well. So he’s done his bowling, he’s prepared really well, and he’s fine. That’s why he’s a senior player, he knows how much he needs to prepare for the Test match.”Bumrah has played all four Tests of the home season so far, and has bowled the third-most overs (90) and picked up the third-most wickets (14) . He was handed the vice-captaincy of the team recently and is in line to lead them at the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November, when Rohit Sharma is expected to miss the first Test for personal reasons. Given his other role as the team’s bowling leader, India will want Bumrah to be fit and firing for each of the five Tests of that tour, which begins on November 18 and goes through to January 7.There were no indications from the team management, in the two days they attended training at the Wankhede, that Bumrah would miss the game. Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar even highlighted how India’s recent Tests haven’t really gone the distance and that Bumrah’s workload hadn’t hit the levels where they would be concerned about him.”In the two Test matches that he’s bowled [against New Zealand] around 20-25 overs. So he hasn’t bowled a lot,” Nayar said on Wednesday. “Yes, there will always be a thought process about his workload. Also we played two games that we’ve not had five-day cricket, it’s more three, three-and-a-half. So he’s got ample rest. But Booms is very important to us and his workload will always be something on our mind.”Fast bowlers are unlikely to get a lot of assistance from the Mumbai pitch that has been prepared. The red soil should ensure there is good bounce and the early-morning moisture combined with the new ball might provide a small window for them to do a little damage, but largely it is the spinners to whom both teams will be turning to. India have already gone down 2-0, their first series defeat at home in 12 years, making the Test something of a dead rubber, although there are WTC points at stake. India are on top of the WTC table and fighting for a spot in the final at Lord’s in June 2025.

England have scored at 4.86 in their second innings, ensuring they go into the final innings of the Test as standout favourites

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Jul-2023Saturday at The Oval was never going to be quiet. After Australia had tried and failed to quieten the crowd here on day two of this fifth Ashes Test, England turned the volume back up to 11 on day three with a sensory overload of a second innings to assume control of this final round of a tumultuous series.But it is a day that will be remembered for what happened at its end. Speaking at stumps, after England had reached 389 for 9, leading Australia by 377, Stuart Broad announced this would be his 167th and final Test. Before attempting to ensure he goes out on a win, he will resume his innings with fellow veteran quick James Anderson. They were able to tough out the day to give them a shot at some bonus runs on Sunday before they strap their bowling boots back on in the pursuit of a 2-2 series scoreline.Unsurprisingly, a team driven by entertainment used their final Test innings of the summer to produce a “best of” performance. There were contributions throughout the line-up, with the biggest from the main headline-grabbers over the last six weeks. Such has been their speed of play in both innings, they have even stolen a march on the rains forecast for day five.Zak Crawley’s 73 took him to a final tally of 480 runs for the series, with the Kent batter the clubhouse leader on the run-scoring charts, 56 ahead of Usman Khawaja. Joe Root fell short of a second century of the series, for the second time in ten days, with an engaging 91. And Jonny Bairstow, who has had more words dedicated to his wicketkeeping – most of them unflattering – provided a reminder of his batting prowess with a punchy 75 that ensured one of these sides went into the final innings of a match as standout favourites for the first time this series.Such was the flow of play, and thanks to a hugely partisan south London crowd, Australia’s attack seemed secondary to proceedings. They bowled their overs – slowly, as per this series, managing just 80 in the day – but beyond that, runs came as and when England wanted, and wickets, too. Mitchell Starc’s 4 for 94 and Todd Murphy’s 3 for 110 spoke of their endeavour among the carnage. The pair combined for day three’s last five wickets, which fell for just 47 runs.Australia’s first-innings lead of 12 coming into the weekend was considered nominal in the grand scheme of things. The key question was whether England had learned from mistakes made at Edgbaston and Lord’s, where batting miscalculations bordering on over-indulgence spurned promising positions and, ultimately, led to two defeats that put the Ashes beyond their reach.Joe Root ramps a boundary over deep third•Getty Images

Within the first over, England were into the lead. Crawley did as he had done at the very beginning of this series, striking the first ball for four through the covers, as 13 were scored off the first six deliveries – almost as many as Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne managed in the first hour of play on day two.Both Crawley and Ben Duckett raced out of the blocks, bringing up their fifty stand in 8.4 overs before Duckett was adjudged caught behind on review, at the end of the 17th over. The 79 they managed took their opening partnership tally to 359 for the series, at a rate of 4.72 – just 0.01 shy of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer’s scoring pace during the 2002-03 Ashes.With Moeen Ali unable to bat higher than five because of time spent off the field after picking up a groin strain while batting on day one, Ben Stokes strode out at No. 3 for the first time since November 2018. It has long been a position others have suggested for him, particularly given Root’s preference of No. 4. And he showed the necessary application in a stand of 61 with Crawley.The pair made it to lunch on 130 for 1 from 25 overs, and were keen to add plenty more. Those hopes died just nine deliveries into the afternoon session, when Crawley edged a smart delivery from Pat Cummins to Steven Smith at second slip.No bother. Out bounded Root to join Stokes, two best mates who are England’s best at gauging a situation, which, given the lead was only 128, was one of controlled hurry. First, however, a huge dose of luck. With just four to his name, Root was hit in front by Josh Hazlewood and adjudged not out, presumably because contact with bat and pad were close enough to suspect bat first. Cummins opted for a review, which confirmed pad as the first point of contact. Alas, the umpire’s call on line of impact meant Australia had to suck up a not-out call that got bitter as Root clicked through the gears.Mitchell Marsh was the unfortunate recipient of the reverse-ramp for six, over-correcting the next ball to see a full toss tickled down leg for four. At one point, Root had raced to 35 from 32, just two behind Stokes on 37 from 30 more deliveries. Then, with three successive fours off Starc – driven, fortuitously under-edged up and over Alex Carey, and guided more deliberately over the wicketkeeper’s head – took him ahead of Stokes. England’s lead, meanwhile, was up to 200.A single off the start of the very next over brought up Root’s second half-century of the series, from 42 deliveries. Stokes, however, would not join him, becoming the first of two wickets to fall in the space of nine deliveries. An attempt to channel Root’s aggression saw him cloth Murphy to Cummins at wide mid-on. Harry Brook walked in and closed out that Murphy over with the straightest of straight sixes, but he could not resist feathering a wide-ish Hazlewood delivery to have him heading back to the dressing room.Pat Cummins contemplates his options as England pile on the runs•Getty Images

The early work cushioned the mini-collapse (England were still 210 ahead) and Root’s presence at the crease meant there was always calm in the middle. Bairstow’s entrance has usually been cause for some kind of manic passage, but there was little of that here. The most productive partnership of the innings – 110 – was as normal as we have seen in the Bazball era. No undue risks, especially as Australia were the ones having to do the probing, meaning the Yorkshire duo just had to wait for the bad balls to come.Bairstow brought up a seven-boundary fifty from 60 deliveries, in keeping with a reserved domination by his standards that saw him contribute 70 of the century stand he and Root brought up from 142 deliveries. It was a stand that would only last an over more, as Murphy found some quality drift and bite off the surface to spin into Root’s stumps via an inside edge.The annoyance of falling nine short of a 31st Test century was eased somewhat by the lack of bounce from the delivery, which Root will look to exploit as the sole, functioning spinner. With the lead at 320, Bairstow and new batter Moeen were happy to go for broke.Bairstow could not get going, eventually falling to Starc attempting to find a second boundary after Root’s dismissal, but Moeen did find 29 more runs himself. Some were classy – a picture-perfect straight drive off Starc – while others were not, like when Hazlewood missed a catchable chance at fine leg, which ran away for four.A classy looking ramp off Starc allowed Hazlewood to make amends with a catch on the rope running to his right from fly slip, before England were whittled down to their final pair of Broad and Anderson, who managed to see things through to stumps. Though Anderson was struck on the arm, he toughed it out to take the innings into day four, even overturning an lbw decision off the penultimate ball of the day.The ovation when Anderson walked out at 379 for 9 was akin to a farewell, greeted to the field with a standing ovation and the singing of his name. None of those in the stands knew it was actually the man already out there who was about to finish up for good. No matter – they can make it up to Broad on day four.

The Delhi Capitals head coach says Pant could be “exceptionally dangerous” on the Australian pitches

PTI and ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2022Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes Rishabh Pant will be “exceptionally dangerous” on “fast and bouncy” Australian pitches during the upcoming T20 World Cup, where he could be best utilised as a “floater” as per match situation.Ponting has worked closely with Pant at Delhi Capitals and rates the Indian wicketkeeper-batter very highly.”He [Pant] is a wonderful player. He is just an outstanding young man, who has got the world at his feet. And he’ll be exceptionally dangerous for India, especially on the wickets we’ll provide in Australia…. good flat, fast, bouncy wickets. He’ll be one of the players to watch out [for] in the tournament [T20 World Cup] for sure,” Ponting said on ICC Review.For Ponting, Pant’s batting position should be flexible as per the Indian team’s requirements.”I reckon having him as a floater. I’ll probably have him listed at (No.) 5 in the [Indian] batting line-up.”But in certain situations, where it gets to a stage where there are seven-eight overs to go and they are one-two down, then I will look at sending him in and giving as much time as I possibly can. He is that dynamic and that explosive and that is certainly the way I would look at trying to use him,” Ponting said.In a press conference on the eve of the first T20I, Pant had been asked about the possibility of playing a floating role.”I think it depends. We will see the conditions,” he had said. “If we feel like we need a floating batting line-up, we will take it forward. I don’t think in these kinds of conditions we want a floating batting line-up. The kind of batting line-up we have, leftie-rightie is not a big deal for us because we play spinners day in and day out. So we will try not to do a lot but at the same time, if we need to, we will.”Pant managed to score just 340 runs from 14 IPL games in 2022 with an average of 30.91. And according to Ponting, Pant was frustrated with his performance in the IPL.”He probably didn’t have his best tournament. I know he was really frustrated with his IPL this year because he went into the tournament batting better than I’ve ever seen him bat before.”And even by his own admission, he said the same thing to me, halfway through the tournament that he didn’t feel he was getting results that he probably should have and that he probably deserved. And as I kept reinforcing that thing to him at the nets that that’s a T20 game. You make a little error of judgement on your 15th or 18th ball, and you are 35 not out at that stage and all of a sudden your game is over. That’s sort of how it felt for him and the team through that last tournament.”

The allrounder has been pleased with his bowling in the BBL but has been disappointed by his lack of runs

Alex Malcolm02-Feb-2021West Indies and Sydney Sixers allrounder Carlos Brathwaite has cautioned against the Caribbean Premier League introducing the Power Surge into this year’s tournament for fear it might jeopardise players preparation for the T20 World Cup in India.Speaking ahead of the BBL final at the SCG on Saturday, Brathwaite has liked the innovation that was introduced in the BBL this season as part of three new rule changes.Leagues around the world are looking at the success of the Power Surge in the BBL with a view to possibly introducing it elsewhere.Whilst Brathwaite is not against the Surge coming into the CPL altogether, he said the timing of such a move was important as it would not be ideal for middle-order batsmen ahead of the T20 World Cup in India where there will be no Power Surge in play.”It’s a nice innovation for the tournament,” Brathwaite said. “However, with the World Cup being around the corner, it also can give a false pretence of where a guy is at. If he gets a massive spark in the Surge and then you see him with a strike-rate of 170, 180, 200.Related

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• Starc won't play in BBL final despite being fit for selection

“If you’re going to the World Cup and there’s no Surge in the World Cup then all of a sudden it can be a bit of a false dawn. So, I don’t know if this year in the lead up to a World Cup would be the best for it. I think it’s something that the Big Bash will keep because they’ve been gaining rave reviews from pundits, journalists, and players. So, in a few years, if it’s the thing, yeah, why not. I just think it’s a matter of timing.”Brathwaite has bowled four Power Surge overs across the tournament picking up two wickets at an economy rate of 12.00. Of the 23 bowlers in the BBL who have bowled four or more overs in the Surge, he is ranked 19th for economy rate in the Surge overs.”The challenge is a big one for sure,” Brathwaite said. “It’s about clarity. You’re expected to get met in the Surge. Teams target around 15 runs per over in the Surge overs, so if you can restrict teams to 7, 8, 10 runs, I guess you’re winning.”I guess on reflection, one thing I’d like to have done is to have picked up a few more wickets. I’ve gone quite defensive, around the wicket, into the heels and just trying to mix it from there, whereas you watch other guys in the tournament go a bit more attacking and basically have the same fields that they would have in the first Powerplay and try to break the back of the batting because players are taking a lot more risk in the Surge as well. So on personal reflection that’s one thing I could potentially have done a bit better.”Surge numbers aside, Brathwaite has been an outstanding contributor with the ball for the Sixers throughout the tournament. He has taken 16 wickets at an economy rate of 7.84. Of the 17 bowlers in the BBL who have taken 15 wickets or more, only six have a better economy rate.Success with the bat has been harder to find: ‘I forgot my runs in Barbados apparently’•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

“I think the pitches probably suit my bowling a lot more than most places around the world,” Brathwaite said. “I’m able to run in and hit good lengths. Kind of that four-day length. For me personally, one of my cues is hitting the top of off stump. From place to place that I go I would always be talking to one of the local players just to get an idea of what length hits the top of off stump.”My powerplay bowling probably hasn’t been the best in the first four, but that being said, coming back in the Surge or at the death, or coming in those middle overs with five men out and trying to control the run-rate, I think I’ve been executing quite well and keeping things quite simple and not thinking too much or getting funky with my fields, just being really clear and executing as well as I possibly can.”Brathwaite has struggled with the bat though scoring just 45 runs in 10 innings with a highest score of 21, but remains hopeful he can deliver if needed in Saturday’s final.”I forgot my runs in Barbados apparently,” Brathwaite said. “So hopefully if needed with the bat, I can come to the forefront as I haven’t done for the season. So that has been a bit disappointing. But overall, I do think I’ve helped the team with the ball massively, in the field, and off the field gelled quite well as well. All positives bar the bat.”He is excited to play again at the SCG for the first time this season, a venue where he made his highest Test score.The ground will have a 75 percent capacity for the BBL final meaning more than 28,000 will be allowed to attend.”I’m looking forward to playing at the SCG,” Brathwaite said. “I probably played one of my best Test knocks there. Having been deprived of that and now being able to represent the team in front of our fans at the SCG it may be a bit more of an occasion than just a Grand Final.”So once we control our emotions and continue to execute, the other guys have played enough cricket at the SCG to know and understand and assess the conditions quickly and then implement the game plan that has worked over the last few years if the conditions are the same.”

Masakadza, 36, was appointed Zimbabwe’s captain across formats in February but with the ICC suspending Zimbabwe in July, things have become uncertain

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2019Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza has announced his decision to retire from international cricket after the upcoming T20I tri-series in Bangladesh.”After a great deal of consideration, I have decided to announce my retirement from all formats of international cricket at the end of the upcoming triangular series in Bangladesh,” Masakadza said at a press conference at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday. “It has been an enormous privilege to have played for and captained my country, and this is one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make.”Masakadza, 36, had been Zimbabwe’s captain across formats since taking over from Graeme Cremer in the fallout of Zimbabwe’s failed World Cup qualifying campaign last year – his second stint in charge, having also lead the country in 2016. The ICC’s suspension of Zimbabwe in July meant that his future as well as that of other cricketers in the country became much more uncertain, and Masakadza said that without the lure of a potential place at the T20 World Cup next year to look forward to, he felt the time was right to end his international career.He becomes the second Zimbabwe player – after Solomon Mire – to announce his retirement after the ICC suspension.”I was looking forward to the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in Dubai next month, but with Zimbabwe barred from the event, I feel the time is right to shift the focus to the next generation,” Masakadza explained. “There is some fantastic talent coming through, and with Zimbabwe’s focus now on the 2023 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup, I believe now is the time for the younger players to rise to the challenge of taking us to the global showpiece.”I was sort of feeling it was coming towards the end of my career. The one thing that was keeping me going was trying to play one more World Cup for the country, in T20, but now that we’re not involved with that, I just thought I might as well call time now. Make way for the next guy coming through. I’d be standing in the way of someone else if I stayed on.”Masakadza’s decision brings to an end one of the most storied careers in Zimbabwean cricket. In February 2000 he was the first black Zimbabwean player to score a first-class hundred, doing so while aged just 16. He made his Test debut in 2001 against West Indies and became the youngest player to score a Test hundred on debut, a record that has since been broken by Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful. In all, he played 38 Tests and scored 2223 runs at 30.04.A veteran of 209 ODIs – only the Flower brothers Andy and Grant and Elton Chigumbura have played more for Zimbabwe – Masakadza scored 5658 runs at 27.73. His best came during the five-match ODI series against Kenya in 2009 when he scored 467 runs, including two scores over 150, a record at that time for the most runs in a bilateral series.He has so far appeared in 62 T20Is, tallying 1529 runs at 25.48 with a strike rate of 115.92. His best in the format, an unbeaten 93, came against Bangladesh in 2016. While it was in the Test arena that he initially made his greatest strides, Masakadza developed into one of Zimbabwe’s most devastating batsmen in the shorter formats and in 2009 entered the top five of the T20I batting rankings, the highest ever by a Zimbabwean in the format.”Throughout my international career, it has always been about giving everything to the team, playing with dignity, and upholding the spirit of the game,” he said. “It has not been an easy road. I failed it at times, but I’ve never stopped trying. That’s what makes it sad for me to leave. But I can do so with pride, and a big smile on my face, knowing I have given everything to the game, and my nation.”Masakadza thanked Zimbabwe Cricket, his coaches and the support staff that helped to prolong his career from his teens into his mid-30s. He mentioned Andy Flower, with whom he played at Takashinga cricket club, as a past mentor and paid tribute to his wife Vimbai as “a remarkable pillar of strength”.”But most of all, I have to thank the teams I played with,” he said. “I know what I’m going to miss the most is being part of a change room. The joy of bonding together and striving to achieve a goal is what made cricket special for me. I learnt a lot from my team-mates, and I leave the game with wonderful memories, and strong friendships.”Finally I would like to thank the Zimbabwe cricket fans. The game is lucky to have you, and I’ve been lucky to play before you. To represent Zimbabwe and thus to represent you has been a privilege, and one which I will always cherish.”Masakadza will continue to play domestic cricket for at least one more season. “It was very big for me, when I started playing, playing with guys like Andy and Grant Flower, guys who had played such a long time at this level. I learned a lot from them. It would only be fair to give another youngster the same opportunity to learn a bit from me, and feed off me as well.””As a bit of advice to the next guy [to captain Zimbabwe], the biggest thing is to put the work in and get the boys working together as a unit, pulling together in one direction. Once you do that, with the amount of talent we have in Zimbabwe, we’re really hard to stop.”

While Angelo Mathews said they were open to shuffling batsmen around, he emphasised that it was important to retain players too

Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Aug-2018Sri Lanka are in a little bit of a muddle. So woeful have they been in ODIs lately, that it is difficult to say who exactly forms the core of their team, let alone what those individual players’ roles are. So right now, they are trying to experiment, and yet are trying to strike a balance – they also want to give prospective players a good run in the team before they are cast off and new aspirants take their place.The background to this, of course, is that Sri Lanka are coming out of a period of incredible flux. In the 20 months between the start of 2016 and August 2017, Sri Lanka had fielded no fewer than 39 players in ODIs, as the previous selection committee shuffled cricketers furiously while the team’s performance nosedived. Sri Lanka know now that changing players that often does not yield good results – in fact, it led them to their biggest ODI slump in 20 years. But that time is now running out to nail down their World Cup combinations, and the team is still performing woefully.”We have an opportunity to try a few combinations, but at the same time we need continuity,” Angelo Mathews said, reflecting on the balance Sri Lanka must now find. With the series against South Africa now dead, this would ordinarily be a good time to trial new players, but Sri Lanka cannot afford to experiment anywhere near the extent South Africa can, because even the hosts’ core players have not begun to perform consistently in this format.”We will try to give opportunities to whoever who has not played so far, but unfortunately I don’t think we will be able to give everyone the opportunity. This is a learning process and we need to keep the same player as much as we can.”One of the players Sri Lanka are praying will come good is Kusal Mendis. Although Mendis had an excellent start to the year, playing match-winning knocks in Bangladesh before hitting a Test hundred in Trinidad in June, his form appears to have fallen off since. He has not crossed 40 in his nine most recent innings – across formats. After he had begun this one-day series with scores of 3 and 0, Mendis was moved down the order to No. 4, where he made 31 off 34 balls on Sunday. This shuffling around of batsmen could be a feature of Sri Lanka’s short-term ODI future, while they work out their best combination, Mathews said.”If you look at the last game or two, Kusal Mendis hasn’t been scoring runs at No. 3. In the last couple of games that he has played, going to the wicket in the first couple of overs when you don’t have runs behind you, can also worry you a little bit. We know the talent that he has got – he is an unbelievably good player. Flexibility has been spoken about in the dressing room – we want everyone to be flexible.”Sri Lanka have made a conscious decision to request batting-friendly ODI pitches at home, in order to replicate the kind of conditions they are likely to encounter in England next year. Despite the 0-3 scoreline in the series so far, this is a strategy worth persevering with, Mathews said.”We’ve got to play for our pride now. We started something in the last match – when we play on good wickets, the bowlers and the batters will get exposed. That is something that we have to deal with – it’s something that we have to get better at. We will continue to do what we have planned, without shoving it away after one or two games. This is a process.”