Chandrakant Pandit marks a return as the Mumbai coach after over a decade, when there isn’t a single Test player in the squad for the first two matches

Amol Karhadkar30-Sep-20153:39

Jaffer has been a pillar of Mumbai cricket – Pandit

The last time Chandrakant Pandit was in charge of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team, for the 2004-05 semi-final against Punjab, the team had five Test cricketers. During his three-year stint as coach, Mumbai won two titles, thanks to the presence of a plethora of experienced and international players in the side.In 2015-16, when Pandit marks a return as the Mumbai coach after over a decade, there isn’t a single Test player in Mumbai’s squad for the first two matches. Naturally, Pandit has his task cut out to get Mumbai back to winning ways.”Mumbai have always had experienced players, that is something we are probably missing out on,” Pandit told ESPNcricinfo ahead of Mumbai’s season-opener against Andhra. “Some of the players have been around for four-five years. That four-to-five years’ experience has to be utilised. One has to stand up as a role model especially when we have six-seven youngsters who can look up to them. I always believe whatever force we have, we should believe in it and go forward.”Its legacy of winning the Ranji Trophy as frequently as the local train logjam in the monsoon aside, Mumbai Ranji teams have always seen a plethora of current and former Test players in action. The old Mumbai fans would not have imagined a Ranji squad without a single Test player.It has happened this year. Even last season, with Wasim Jaffer being injured for most of the season, Mumbai had to field a team without a Test player but Jaffer was present in the dressing room and worked as a mentor for most of the season.Jaffer has switched to Vidarbha as a professional now. With Zaheer Khan unfit and the duo of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane on India duty, Mumbai have had to field a relatively young squad. More than his run-scoring ability, it is the experience factor for which Mumbai will miss Jaffer the most.”You think about every experienced player who has contributed in the dressing room, there is no replacement at all. Wasim Jaffer has been a great player. He was a pillar for Mumbai,” Pandit said. “What he has done in the last so many years, I think that will be missed in the dressing room. He was looked at [as] one of the role models in the dressing room. When I was young, we looked at Vengsarkar, Gavaskar, Patil who inspired us. That is what something will be missed this season.”A young outfit led by Aditya Tare will begin the quest for winning Mumbai’s 41st Ranji title. But it will be a humongous challenge for Mumbai, considering seven of the 15 squad members have had single-digit caps in first-class cricket. Pandit feels it’s a “huge challenge” to get the best out of youngsters.Thanks to their consistency in pocketing Ranji titles in the past, anything but a title-winning performance is traditionally treated as a failure. Pandit believes Mumbai cricket is coming to terms with that fact.”People who are involved in Mumbai cricket, they do understand you can’t win it every year. But everyone wants to win,” he said. “I am sure they understand that now. We may miss out for another one or two years but the plan is to dominate for five years thereafter [in succession].”I don’t really think about it because some other states have really improved. The competition level, infrastructure and facilities have improved. Naturally every state is going to take advantage of that. We cannot underestimate any other team.”

Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza has been named captain of the BCB XI that will play against the touring Zimbabweans in a one-day game on November 5

Mohammad Isam03-Nov-2015Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza has been named captain of the BCB XI that will play against the touring Zimbabweans in a one-day game on November 5. Four other members of the current ODI squad – Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman and Jubair Hossain – will also play in the warm-up game at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, two days ahead of the first ODI.This will be Mashrafe’s first competitive game since July 15 after his planned return in the National Cricket League – Bangladesh’s first-class competition – had to be cancelled last month after he was hospitalised with dengue fever. He started training with the squad on October 29 but the team management is carefully managing his recovery from the illness.Das, Mushfiqur, Sabbir and Jubair will feature in the practice game in a move focused on giving them batting and bowling practice ahead of their first international encounter in nearly four months, a period in which these four players have played domestic first-class cricket.The selectors also included Shahriar Nafees after he finished as the highest scorer in this season’s National Cricket League with 715 runs at an average of 79.44 in six matches for Barisal Division. In the last match, he struck 168 and 174 not out.The uncapped members of the 13-member squad are Mehedi Maruf and Sunzamul Islam, and pace bowlers Delwar Hossain and Tawhidul Islam. Maruf, Sunzamul and Tawhidul have been impressive performers in this year’s first-class tournaments but Delwar’s inclusion came as a surprise given that he has only played a single first-class game so far in the 2015-16 season.BCB XI: Imrul Kayes, Anamul Haque, Liton Das, Shahriar Nafees, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Mehedi Maruf, Jubair Hossain, Sunzamul Islam, Delwar Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Tawhidul Islam.

The question of why criminal charges were not brought against Lou Vincent has been raised by Chris Cairns’ defence in his perjury trial at Southwark Crown Court

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2015The question of why criminal charges were not brought against Lou Vincent has been raised by Chris Cairns’ defence in his perjury trial at Southwark Crown Court. Vincent is one of the key witnesses against Cairns but has faced no legal action despite admitting to match-fixing and money laundering in the UK.Vincent, who has previously said Cairns ordered him to fix matches, was banned from cricket for life in 2014 under ICC regulations and his evidence forms a large part of the case brought by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).Vincent was not given any guarantees that he would not be charged by officers investigating the case but Oliver Pownall QC, representing Cairns, suggested the Metropolitan Police was only interested in material that could be used against Cairns.The court also heard of CPS concerns that not pursuing charges against Vincent could “seriously undermine the prosecution”. Notes from a meeting in February 2014 questioned whether Vincent was “rushing to the door” to implicate others and minimise his own role.However, detective chief superintendent Michael Duthie said that his main concern had been investigating the allegations of perjury, emphasising that issues to do with fixing were for the ICC and ECB. Cairns is accused of perjury and perverting the course of justice during his 2012 High Court libel action against Lalit Modi.”My decision was to investigate what happened at High Court, not match-fixing,” Duthie said. “I knew [Vincent] cheated and lied. We didn’t give any immunity or promises. If he started giving evidence about criminality in interviews with our staff, we would have stopped and cautioned him.”Pownall suggested that the idea Vincent would have been pursued for his crimes was a “sham” and that officers feared he would not give evidence against Cairns if he was also charged, something Duthie denied.Duthie and detective constable Lucy Wade were the final witnesses to be called by the prosecution. Cairns, who denies all charges against him, is due to the take the stand next week.The trial continues.

Not many England cricketers have reacted to their selection for a major tour – a tour against the No. 1 Test side in the world no less – with “a bit of a chuckle”

David Hopps21-Nov-2015Not many England cricketers have reacted to their selection for a major tour – a tour against the No. 1 Test side in the world no less – with “a bit of a chuckle”, but that is how Samit Patel says he reacted when he was summoned against expectations for the Test series in South Africa.Assumptions that Patel had been called up for the Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, following Zafar Ansari’s injury, and then would be routinely discarded had only been encouraged by a 2-0 series defeat which led to a widespread debate over the state of spin bowling in England. He did not figure in many predicted squads on the day the tour party was announced, but he was in the one that mattered.Patel’s reputation proved more robust than even he expected. He played the final Test, performed as well as his two spin partners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, and won the vote for South Africa ahead of Rashid as England’s selectors opted to give Moeen some meaningful competition with a like-for-like replacement on a tour where spin bowling is expected to play a secondary role to a diet of pace.”I had a bit of a chuckle to myself to be honest,” Patel told ESPNcricinfo at the Chance to Shine Street awards. “I’m just happy I’ve been given the chance to go to South Africa. I get pigeon-holed as a subcontinent cricketer which I don’t really like. So hopefully I can put that right and stop people saying that because I have played all my cricket in England. So I don’t really agree when people say that. I can’t be because I play in this country as well.”But it was very much a surprise to be honest. I thought they were going to go with Mo and Rash again – just continuity wise I thought that’s the way they’d go – but surprisingly I got the call. I was very surprised.”Rashid will benefit from his omission. He has not been deliberately excluded to play Big Bash in Australia – as Andrew Strauss, the director England cricket, has made clear that Test cricket remains paramount – but the selectors were aware that the opportunity existed for him to join his Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie at Adelaide Strikers and are delighted about this opportunity ahead of the World T20.That leaves Patel only too aware of his role in South Africa: if not carrying the drinks, he begins very much Moeen’s understudy, on hand in case of injury or a collapse of form with bat or ball. As a player who treated his Test series in the UAE “as though it was going to be my last Test tour” that is no hardship.”I’d fill any role for England. If they told me to bat No. 9 or 10 I’d bat there. Whatever fits the team I’d do. I think Moeen is fantastic – a good bowler, great batsman – so I think I’m second choice definitely. I personally think just Moeen and four seamers will be the make-up of the team. I’m not talking myself out of it, I just think that’s the way we’ll go.”He is supremely relaxed about James Anderson’s observations after the lost series in the UAE that England’s spinners needed to learn quickly. “I wasn’t aware what Jimmy said – it’s irrelevant though because he’s just trying to help the team. We do have to learn quickly. It’s a Test match playing for England. We probably did get exposed but they’re used to playing on wickets like that so you can’t really say we bowled badly. We bowled bad balls but so did their spinners. They were just more consistent at building pressure than we were.Samit Patel provides some impromptu coaching during the Chance to Shine Street awards at Kia Oval•Chance to Shine

There is not much in his record to suggest he is about to bowl out South Africa if he gets the chance to add to his seven Tests. If he does play, expect to see two fingers of his bowling hand strapped together as a protective measure, the legacy of a dislocation suffered during his first over on his Test return in Sharjah. “I’ve had it checked out and it’s fine, but I’ll probably keep the strapping on because I don’t want it slipping out again.”As a representative of England’s put-upon spin-bowling collective, Patel has learned to make the best of things. In 14 years of county cricket, he has become inured to Trent Bridge’s seam-friendly surfaces, averaging 200 overs a season and taking his first-class wickets at a touch over 40.”I don’t think it’s correct when people say we don’t have English spinners because we do. I don’t think our wickets encourage spinners. When it’s green in April, May, sometimes even June, why should people bowl spin? Groundsmen should make more spinning wickets if English cricket wants to see better spinners. I don’t think you should do that every week – groundsmen should pick their games, probably in the middle of the year, in June, July and August. I think we need to see more spinning wickets for us to get better batting and bowling on them.”It is a trimmer, more mature Patel these days, a far cry from the player who first won England honours seven years ago. If it would be unwise to suggest he is free of his addictions (only Samit could have gazed at the canapes at The Oval as if his resolve was being tested), at least the talk of his weight issues has relented. He thinks that is partly down to his own development, partly because of a less judgemental attitude around the England squad.”The environment does change. Hopefully I’ve made a better impression than when I first came in. My attitude then was poor and naïve. The criticism I got was probably fair, not wholly, but the majority. I think I’ve moved on from there and changed, which hopefully everyone has seen.”I thought I was untouchable. I couldn’t do anything wrong. I started well against the South Africans. Everyone thought I’d carry on but it doesn’t really work like that. It was a different period but you learn as you get older what you can and can’t do, and what you need to do.”Samit Patel was attending the Chance to Shine Street Awards. Lycamobile supports the programme as part of its mission to bring communities together. Chancetoshine.org/street

A round-up of the Group C matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy played on December 14, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2015Centuries from Ankit Bawne and Kedar Jadhav set Maharashtra up for their third win in three matches, a comfortable 47-run win over Andhra. Choosing to bat, Maharastra were in deep trouble against the bowling of D Siva Kumar and CV Stephen, losing lost four wickets in the space of seven balls to slip to 17 for 4. From there, Bawne and Jadhav rescued them with a 194-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Jadhav, the dominant partner, was out for a run-a-ball 101 (11×4) in the 46th over, while Bawne batted on till his dismissal in the final over for 100 off 143 balls, with 11 fours and a six.Chasing 242, Andhra got off to a good start courtesy opener KR Sreekanth, who scored an 85-ball 74 (7×4). Sreekanth added 51 with Srikar Bharat for the first wicket and 60 with AG Pradeep for the third, but wickets fell steadily thereafter, the last eight falling for 83 runs. Andhra were eventually bowled out with 7.1 overs still remaining, with offspinner Shamshuzama Kazi picking up four wickets.Delhi made light work of Tripura to register their third win in four matches and put themselves in a good position to qualify for the knockouts. Tripura, who were sent in to bat, were bowled out for 100, with Parvinder Singh’s 20 being the highest individual score. Pawan Suyal, the left-arm pacer, finished with 3 for 14 off his 10 overs, while Naveep Saini, Manan Sharma and Pawan Negi picked up two wickets apiece. Delhi lost the wickets of Dhruv Shorey and Unmukt Chand cheaply, but Nitish Rana’s unbeaten 67 helped them cruise home in just 16 overs as the match ended shortly after the lunch interval.
Aditya Waghmode’s maiden List A century led Baroda to their second win of the tournament, as they beat Odisha by 56 runs in Delhi. Batting first, Waghmode anchored Baroda’s innings with 111 that included ten fours, before he was dismissed in the last over of the innings. Apart from Waghmode, no other Baroda batsman crossed 30, as the side was dismissed for 225 in their 50 overs. Ankit Yadav was the pick of Odisha’s bowlers with returns of 4 for 44 in nine overs.In the chase, captain Natraj Behera struck his second successive fifty of the tournament with an unbeaten 67. Behera’s innings was in vain as he kept running out of partners, his side slumping from 54 for 1 to 72 for 5 in the space of eight overs. Odisha never quite recovered from that blow as they were eventually bowled out for 169. Left-arm spinner, Bhargav Bhatt was the pick of Baroda’s bowlers with figures of 2 for 16 in ten overs, while Munaf Patel and Hardik Pandya chipped in with two wickets apiece.

“Every second person asks me when the IPL will have a women’s edition. I hope it’s sooner rather than later,” says India Women’s captain

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2016Mithali Raj, captain of the India Women’s team, believes winning the World T20 in March-April could change the game in the country. Raj, speaking ahead of the limited-overs series in Australia, also revealed that she and Jhulan Goswami, the senior-most members of the squad, were approached to play for Adelaide Strikers in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Big Bash League, but had to turn down the offer because of the domestic commitments.”The T20 World Cup will be important in popularising the game. If we do well in it, it will definitely give birth to the women’s IPL,” Raj said at a press conference in Mumbai. “It’s not a bad idea. Every second person asks me when the IPL will have a women’s edition. I hope it’s sooner rather than later.”Women’s cricket in India seems to have taken a turn for the better in recent times. Central contracts were formally announced in November, with Raj being one of eleven women cricketers to receive a fixed yearly remuneration. Earlier this month, the Lodha Committee report called for a greater presence of women in the BCCI’s power structure, with representation in key decision-making bodies.Citing the example of the World T20, where the semifinals and finals are played just before the men’s game, Raj said the women’s game in India needed better marketing if it had to attract the kind of popularity the sport enjoys in Australia and England.”If you’d asked me this question three or four years back, I wouldn’t have known,” she said. “But this is an ideal time to promote women’s cricket through the IPL, because people are aware of it (professional T20 leagues). A lot is happening for women’s cricket at this point, with the contract system in place. The World T20 will be very important in terms of popularising the game more. The girls have responded well during the T20 games and one-dayers.”Raj, who will lead India in three T20Is and three ODIs during their two-week tour of Australia starting with a warm-up fixture against Governor General’s XI in Sydney on January 22, hoped the exposure against the reigning World T20 champions would toughen her side. Interestingly, Raj is just one of four players – Goswami, Punam Raut, Harmanpreet Kaur and Thirush Kamini being the others – to have played international cricket in Australia.”Except two or three players, we do not have big experience, but the young side has worked together for the last two years. I am hopeful the young team will give their best on the tour,” she said. “We will be touring Australia for the first time since 2009. Though the wickets there will be different, with a lot of bounce, it will help us in preparing for the World T20. As a player, before playing the T20 World Cup, it is important to play in batting-friendly wickets and playing is Australia is the best option. The girls will get good exposure ahead of the big tournament.”With just two wins in nine matches, India are placed seventh out of eight teams in the ICC Women’s World Championship table. That means, the upcoming three ODIs in Australia are vital if India are to finish in the top four and earn a direct entry into the 2017 Women’s World Cup. Raj said, while the focus was on T20s, they weren’t losing sight of what they needed to do in the longer format.”The ODIs are also important as we won the last series against New Zealand but lost out a spot in the women’s World Cup on points. We need to be in the top four to qualify for the 2017 World Cup.”India kick off their tour of Australia, their first overseas assignment since the England tour in 2014, with a T20I double header on January 26, with the women’s game preceding the men’s match. The three T20Is will be followed by three ODIs.

Andrew Flintoff, England’s Ashes-winning allrounder and former captain, has been elected the new President of the Professional Cricketers’ Association

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2016Andrew Flintoff, England’s Ashes-winning allrounder and former captain, has been elected the new President of the Professional Cricketers’ Association.Flintoff was elected on Tuesday at the PCA’s annual general meeting at Edgbaston Golf Club on Tuesday, and succeeds his fellow Lancastrian David Lloyd to become only the seventh President in the Association’s history.His tenure will include the PCA’s 50th anniversary celebrations next year, when a number of high profile events are planned.”This is a huge honour, especially as it will be the Golden Jubilee of the PCA in 2017,” Flintoff said. “I have been a PCA member for more than 20 years now and it is an organisation that I am proud to be involved in.”The Association has carried out pioneering work on mental health and wellbeing for past and present players through the Mind Matters series and the PCA Benevolent Fund does outstanding work in looking after players, past and current, and their dependants who fall on hard times.”We have a small but dedicated team of professional staff who I look forward to working closely with during my time as President.”Jason Ratcliffe, the PCA assistant chief executive, said: “Fred has always offered his help freely down the years, so it’s fantastic that he will take up this prestigious honorary role. He has transcended cricket since finishing, and as the last terrestrial cricketing hero, he has earned respect and universal popularity. We’re all looking forward to having him on-board especially over our 50th anniversary”The previous holders of the PCA presidency are John Arlott, Jack Bannister, Mike Gatting, Sir Ian Botham, Chris Broad and Lloyd, who was pleased with the identity of his successor.”I’m delighted to hand over the reins to Freddie who I know will be as thrilled as I was to become PCA President,” Lloyd said.”It’s an honour that is bestowed on very few and to head an organisation that does so much to help so many is a huge privilege.”The PCA will also have a new chief executive starting in March, with David Leatherdale, the former Worcestershire batsman, set to replace Angus Porter.

Lions’ left-arm spinner Jean Symes has been suspended from bowling in domestic cricket with immediate effect, after a test found his bowling action to be illegal

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2016Lions’ left-arm spinning allrounder Jean Symes has been suspended from bowling in domestic cricket with immediate effect due to an illegal action. He will not be allowed to bowl until remedial work is undergone and he passes a re-assessment of his bowling action.The suspension comes after an independent assessment of his action revealed it to be illegal. Symes, who has 68 first-class wickets at 37.66 and 60 List A wickets 31.00, is currently representing his provincial side, Gauteng.

Sania Iqbal will be replaced by Diana Baig in Pakistan women’s World T20 squad, after she suffered a fracture in her right thumb during a training camp in Karachi

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2016Sania Iqbal will be replaced by Diana Baig in Pakistan women’s World T20 squad, after she suffered a fracture in her right thumb during a training camp in Karachi.The decision, made by the Women’s National Selection Committee, was approved by PCB Chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan.Baig is a 20-year-old right arm pacer, who has played just one ODI and one T20I to date.Pakistan women open their World T20 campaign with a match against West Indies women on March 16.Pakistan women squad Sana Mir (captain), Javeria Wadood, Bibi Nahida, Sidra Amin, Bisman Maroof, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nida Rashid, Iram Javed, Asmavia Iqbal Khokhar, Anam Amin, Sadia Yousaf, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Diana Baig

Rob Key, the former England batsman, has announced his retirement from professional cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2016Rob Key, the former England batsman, has announced his retirement from professional cricket.Key, 36, played 15 Tests for England from 2002 to 2005 with a top score of 221 against West Indies at Lord’s in 2004. Overall in first-class cricket he scored 19,419 runs, alongside 6469 in List A and more than 2000 in T20sIn a statement, Key said: “The club and I have come to a mutual agreement, after a long and enjoyable career, to call it a day. It’s time for the younger players to have their chance, and it doesn’t feel right for me to stand in their way anymore.”I would like to say a massive thank you to all who have supported me throughout my career. It has been a great honour to represent Kent. I don’t know what the future holds but I look forward to what the next chapter has in store.”Key has already started to make a career for himself as a well-respected commentator and TV pundit.Key made his first-class debut in 1998 having been part of the England side which won the Under-19 World Cup earlier that year. He made his Test debut against India, at Trent Bridge, in 2002 and played in the 2002-03 Ashes. His final Test was against South Africa, at Centurion, in 2005 when England clinched the series and Key had played an important role in the previous Test when he made 83 in the first innings at the Wanderers.He was briefly recalled to the international fold in 2009 as part of England’s squad for the World T20 but his only outing in the competition was the opening defeat against Netherlands.Key passed 1000 runs in seven English seasons, his best return being 1896 in the 2004 summer which also brought his Test double century.He was appointed Kent captain in 2006 and led them for nine seasons in two spells, which included winning the 2007 T20 Cup.Kent chairman George Kennedy said: “Rob has been an outstanding servant of Kent and England throughout his career.”He is a club man and selfless captain whose records will stand as testament to his ability with the bat. Perhaps more importantly his leadership and loyalty to Kent in some turbulent times has helped lead the club to a much stronger place. The current crop of exciting talent has learned much from his time at the helm.”A Kent side without Rob at the top of the order will look very odd and everyone at the club wishes him all the best for the future.”